← Forward Progress - A Chicago Bears Podcast
Forward Progress - A Chicago Bears Podcast
What were the factors that led to Ben Johnson moving Joe Thuney to left tackle?
00:48:09
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- [00:00]
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Matt Abaticola
Can I make my site firmer?
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Dan Bernstein
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- [01:17]
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N rakuten.com why choose a Sleep Number Smart bed?
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Can I make my site softer?
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Matt Abaticola
Can I make my site firmer?
- [01:23]
Dan Bernstein
Can we sleep cooler?
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Sleep Number does that cools up to eight times faster and lets you choose your ideal comfort on either side. Your sleep number setting J.D. power ranks sleep number number one in customer satisfact with mattresses purchased in store and online. And now the more you buy, the more you save on beds, faces and more limited time. For J.D. power 2025 award information, visit J.D. power.com awards check it out at the Sleep Number Store or SleepNumber.com today.
- [01:50]
Matt Abaticola
I mean, if you're a Bears fan, you're thinking Forward progress. Come on.
- [01:55]
Dan Bernstein
10219 219.
- [02:02]
Matt Abaticola
Forward Progress A Chicago Bears podcast with Dan Bernstein and Matt Abeticola on 312 Sports.
- [02:13]
Dan Bernstein
We give you Forward progress and we give it to you on 312 Sports. Bernstein, Abaticola and getting ready for Championship Weekend. I don't know where you are on this, but there are some who prefer this to super bowl weekend because you get twice the High quality, important football without all of the everything else.
- [02:37]
Matt Abaticola
Well, how do you feel about.
- [02:42]
Dan Bernstein
Doesn't really change for me because I don't do a lot of the everything else with the Super Bowl. I turn on the TV a little before kickoff, and I try to distract myself throughout the day. But, yeah, I don't mind two big football games. I wish Jarrett Stidham weren't starting one of them. You know, I feel. I'd feel a whole lot better if one of the teams involved had its actual quarterback, and that kind of sucks. And the fact that Zach Charbonnet's hurt now, too.
- [03:06]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah, I know. Yeah. I. I mean, I'm more. I. I'm more excited about the Super Bowl. That's more of a. That's more of a thing in our house. Yeah. And. But, yeah, of course I'll watch these two games as best as I can, because I only have. Well, I think there's like six or eight basketball games in our house on Saturday, so. And then there's another seven on Sunday.
- [03:29]
Dan Bernstein
Do you need to bring in outside help to usher these, you know, your children, or get them where they need to be? I would think you need some sort of service, perhaps, to do all this for you.
- [03:41]
Matt Abaticola
No, there's no service. It's just. It's my wife and myself.
- [03:45]
Dan Bernstein
How many are you coaching?
- [03:47]
Matt Abaticola
I don't coach basketball.
- [03:48]
Dan Bernstein
None of them. Okay. I don't.
- [03:49]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah, I don't. I've given up on basketball and baseball. I just focus on football now. But on. On Saturday, what do we have? There's a baseball practice. There's 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 games on Saturday and a practice on Sunday. There's 1, 2,3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 games on Sunday.
- [04:12]
Dan Bernstein
All right, well, you're going to find a way to watch both of these football games. I will be interesting and exciting, and I am not going to spend my time lamenting the Bears absence. I'm not. I'm not going to say, boy, I wish the Bears were here. I. I'm a little sad that we don't have more Bears football to watch this year. I am, because it was just looking forward to. It was great, the anticipation of Bears games. You know, not having the excitement now, not. Not thinking, ooh, the Bears game is coming. I missed that a little bit. But. But no, I'm ready for some really good football.
- [04:42]
Matt Abaticola
No, I'm done being sad about it. I think I've crossed that threshold now where it's. I've accepted it. I've moved on. I'm still disappointed because I think that they gave that game away and left a ton of opportunity on the field with points to be scored. And I think having gone watch it again, I think they could have comfortably won that game against the Rams, which was. That just makes it harder and more disappointing. But I'm done being sad. I do miss the anticipation and excitement because I was looking forward to Bears games all week, you know, and that hasn't happened for me in quite some time. Where it was, it could be a Monday or a Tuesday, and I was already thinking about Saturday or Sunday's game, and I haven't had that in a long time. Where in the past couple years it was just, you wake up and it's like, oh, there's a Bears game today. Like, what am I doing? Am I going to be home to watch it? Yeah, I will. I'll be home to watch it. Where now it was like multiple days of anticipation and excitement. So, yeah, that is still sad. I'm done being angry about it. Still a little disappointed. But yeah, I'll look forward to watching whatever I can of these games. Heading into the super bowl, one thing I wanted to talk to you about is the move that Ben Johnson made of shifting Joe Tunney over to left tackle and having some time now of the actual game being done to kind of think through and process all that, because it came up relatively, you know, there wasn't a long period of time to think about it. And now having watched it again and thinking through it, I wonder how the tuning move impacted Drew Dahlman, who had one of his worst games of the season. So. And I wonder how did. How did the tuning move impact Drew Dahlman? Because his bad game wasn't.
- [06:24]
Dan Bernstein
That's a great question.
- [06:26]
Matt Abaticola
Right? His bad game wasn't about snaps. His bad game was about blocking and that their blocking scheme was completely thrown off between the tackles to run successfully up the middle to the. To the Rams defensive front. How did Joe Tunney moving over a slot impact Dahlman by having Jordan McFadden next to him.
- [06:43]
Dan Bernstein
That is a really interesting and observant question to ask because as much as we're crediting Jordan McFadden and as much as we're saying, hey, you know, we didn't know who this guy was and what a big ask of a. Of a practice squad guard to come in in this moment and be competent and to do what he could do, how much of that were the guys on either side of him? How much of that was also. And not taking away any agency? I'm not, I'm not trying to deny him proper credit, but what was the Heat loss for somebody like Dahlman, who now had larger concerns about making sure everybody was aligned, making sure they knew which way the protections were sliding? And it's all a center's job. But when, when he, did he have to cover for him?
- [07:34]
Matt Abaticola
Did he have to cover for him? And also how, how, how, how much of an impact was there when Tuni and Dalman would double team and then Tony would drop off or Dalman would drop off? How much of that was taken away because they couldn't ask McFadden to do, hey, you need to double here and then, and then step off to your left and take this or go left and then double. Like, I mean, how much of that was impacted in what they normally do?
- [07:58]
Dan Bernstein
And only they or their positional coach, Dan Rosher, could answer that right now. And but those are really good questions to ask. And I and all credit to you, but I wish I had thought of that.
- [08:10]
Matt Abaticola
And here, and here's why I think about it more about it because I, because I started to think like, well, what happened to Theo Benedict? Like, why was Theo Benedict allowed to get into the game, get a snap and he actually have a pass thrown to him? Why was he not allowed to play left tackle? And I know Ben Johnson said, well, I like the move to Tuney over there, and he's done it before, which he has for the Chiefs last year, and the defensive pressure that they were going to bring from their defensive line, it necessitated Tuney moving over. But Theo Benedict was a guy that you counted on in the season to play. And I wanted to go back through and I wanted to specifically look at two games, the Browns game and the Raiders game. The Browns game, Benedict didn't play at all. Ozzie Trapillo played 100% of the snaps on the O line. But Theo Benedict was the starter in the Raiders game and Ozzie Tripillo came in when Braxton Jones got hurt. And tropillo had about 60% of the snaps. But Theo Benedict was left tackle, was right tackle and then left tackle for 100% of the snaps. He was good enough to play in a game that featured one of the most ferocious edge rushers in the game today. Why was he not good enough? What happened that said, it's better to move Joe Tunney and maybe compromise what we do on the interior of our line instead of having Theo Benedict play left tackle?
- [09:40]
Dan Bernstein
Well, my first guess, and this is just trying to really think it through and answer your question honestly, it May be because everything that they do is predicated on motions, shifts, formations. Right. It may be once they got their game plan, once they had their idea of how they were going to game plan, that the tight end and or h back help was going to be different somehow. That maybe they said, boy, this is gonna be the left tackle and just the left tackle that we need to get people in patterns. We can't afford to have this, this and this helping with Jared Verse or helping with this guy or the fact that they move enough people around and they just figured they needed an individual who could be more responsible for his own guy, his own space without help. I'm just kind of spitballing.
- [10:40]
Matt Abaticola
No, no. And I don't. I think that's a. That's a. That's a solid answer to it. And I know. I think Jordan Verse maybe had one play, Jared Verse that had one play that I can think of where he really beat Joe Tuney at the left tackle side. I can't really think of anything else, but. But I wonder how much of the game plan or the run scheme was compromised in that move. And you had a guy who played a guy that you counted on in snaps to win football games in the regular season who, who all of a sudden wasn't good enough to play at left tackle, but yet a guy that hadn't taken any snaps was deemed better and a better option to play left guard and move your all pro left guard out the left tackle. So I want to know what happened when all season long, Dan on the defensive side of the unit, what was good enough for the defense was next man up, next man up.
- [11:36]
Dan Bernstein
It also breaks the cardinal rule that the coaches have long said, don't make two moves when one will suffice.
- [11:45]
Matt Abaticola
Correct.
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Dan Bernstein
Don't make two when one will suffice. And especially on the offensive line. It also flies in the face of conventional wisdom about the teamwork of an offensive line and how long it takes, especially with the lack of full padded practice time, of why it takes offensive lines lack of longer to get better because of muscle memory and the knowing.
- [12:09]
Matt Abaticola
The guy next to you and the.
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Dan Bernstein
Dance steps of working and knowing that guy next to you. So something significant had to happen, I think for them to do something like that or they had to foresee something in their game plan or something. Why? Well, maybe they say Benedict can't handle this. We trust that Tierney can handle it well enough.
- [12:32]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah. And if that's the case, that's pretty significant. That's pretty significant that you could trust a guy to go 100% of the snaps in the Raiders game against one of the best in the game. And I know it's a different defensive front, Raiders and Rams. I understand that. And again, this isn't some kind of shot or dig at Jordan McFadden who I think acquitted himself really well and had a good game for being put in that situation. The Bears didn't lose the game because of Jordan McFadden. I just wonder in breaking the continuity of that interior line, how that impacted their ability to run and their game plan and their scheming and even the plate calling of Ben Johnson, which I don't think was very good all game.
- [13:12]
Dan Bernstein
And it also throws this into focus because of the difficulty that they had on short yardage and the difficulty they had in between the tackles and the number of times where when they would, they'd pull aside a line and they chase the play down from the back.
- [13:33]
Matt Abaticola
From behind, from the backside.
- [13:34]
Dan Bernstein
Yes, there wasn't enough of an internal seal when they would try to double team. These are all really good and actually fairly technical questions that would deserve sitting down with somebody and a laser pointer and a screen of saying here's, here's why we had to do this because look at what they're doing on the defensive. Benedict couldn't handle this quite as well. Or they might say they, they don't pressure a guard the same way they.
- [14:04]
Matt Abaticola
Pressure tackle and maybe. Yeah. And again, and this I'm not, this isn't some kind of indictment against, against the coaching staff, against the O line coach, against Ben Johnson. I just want to understand because it, it, it goes contrary to everything they've done so far this year leading up to that game. What, what could have been which ended up being the final game of your season and why it was more beneficial to the team to break that continuity of the interior line than it was to put Theo Benedict out of the position he played before and was asked to play and had played there successfully throughout the season for you when needed. And again, that whole next, next man up mentality. Why impact two positions when the next guy up was there and was good enough and healthy enough and active to go out and get a pass, the pass thrown to him as well.
- [14:57]
Dan Bernstein
Yep. I will never understand that there is, I never will. You cannot give me an explanation of that that I'm going to buy.
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Matt Abaticola
The fact that he, unless it was some kind of goal line play, up by three touchdowns, the fact that he was an option on a passing route was insane to me.
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Dan Bernstein
Where there were defenders around him waiting to pounce as the ball bounced off his hands. I mean, that was it. That. That could have been the season right there in. And maybe that's just a brain fart by everybody involved, but whatever it was, don't do it again.
- [15:28]
Matt Abaticola
All right? So I just. I just wanted to talk through that and ask. That's good. It just. It's just been on my brain for the last couple of days.
- [15:33]
Dan Bernstein
It's a nice catch. It's an. It's something because of everything else that was going on. And we're like, oh, this is happening. I guess, you know, Brad Biggs had the late scoop the night before, right? And then all of a sudden it's, you know, as we understood, it became reality. And here it is. Here's this guy and here's the inactive. So I go, shit, I guess this is what's happening. And it never maybe wasn't the time or the place to drill down on it, but I don't know when we can actually get that time next.
- [16:04]
Matt Abaticola
But yeah, because. Because it was just, you know, Ben Johnson said that tone that Tunis done this before, and that was just the reason and which he has. But that's. That was what was given and that's what we accepted. And now with a couple days to breathe through it, it's like, I really want to understand more. I want to, because it doesn't make sense to me. When you have used Theo Benedict and he started and he's played, why wasn't it good enough at that point? Why disrupt two positions and bring a guy who hadn't take any snaps and as opposed to a guy who actually had taken steps?
- [16:35]
Dan Bernstein
It's a great question and we'll leave that as an open concern.
- [16:40]
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- [17:29]
Matt Abaticola
Things I want to point out because we looked at next gen stats throughout the course of the season and there were two guys on the Bears that actually landed number one in two different categories. The longest tackle of the season belonged to Jaquan Brisker. Longest tackle, he went 95 yards in week two against the Lions to make a tackle.
- [17:52]
Dan Bernstein
Okay. The longest distance traveled to make a tackle. Okay.
- [17:55]
Matt Abaticola
So number one and also the only sack recorded this year under two seconds.
- [18:05]
Dan Bernstein
The only sack recorded under two seconds was a Bear. Was it. Was it Booker?
- [18:12]
Matt Abaticola
And it was Sunday. It was Sunday.
- [18:16]
Dan Bernstein
Really?
- [18:17]
Matt Abaticola
Dominique Robinson. Dom Rob's move up the middle was 1.9 seconds. Was the fastest sack of the season. The next closest was 2.09, the only sack under two seconds. So you had two Chicago Bears that finish number one in a next gen stat category.
- [18:33]
Dan Bernstein
I think they're not necessarily meaningful.
- [18:37]
Matt Abaticola
No, they're not. But it's just. It's fine. I always looked at the stats. Yeah, I always look at that. That category on NFL.com.
- [18:44]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah. Because there was really no move. He didn't set anything up. There wasn't a hand fight.
- [18:49]
Matt Abaticola
He just went through the gap and tackled him, landed on top of him. I love when he came up to and he had the grass and his face mask.
- [18:57]
Dan Bernstein
Speaking of which, did you see that video about the Seattle Seahawks and the sack?
- [19:04]
Matt Abaticola
Oh, yeah. No. You sent that to me.
- [19:06]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah.
- [19:07]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah. That was awesome. That was really, really cool.
- [19:09]
Dan Bernstein
Wasn't that talking about Gray Zabel and just watching offense and defense work together and have an offensive lineman say to a pass rusher, you know, instead of getting hung up in what they, why don't you go under? And if they're going to make that move, you shoot the under gap.
- [19:29]
Matt Abaticola
Exploit the gap.
- [19:29]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah. Okay. Okay. Okay. And then the very next opportunity gets, the guy comes immediately over to the sidelines like, hey, thanks. Yeah, that was pretty cool for showing me that. It was really cool.
- [19:40]
Matt Abaticola
Very, very cool. All right, then a couple. One other thing I want to look at. I looked at Caleb Williams completions. We talked about it all year. And the expected completion percentage. So Caleb Williams completion Percentage finished at 58.1. His expected completion percentage was 65. And we know that the Bears had the most drops of any team in the league.
- [20:05]
Dan Bernstein
And that they throw it down the field a lot.
- [20:07]
Matt Abaticola
Yes, but it was the biggest differential from expected completion to completion at negative 6.9. The largest, most positive differential in the NFL was Drake May for the Patriots. His completion Percentage finished at 72%. His expected completion percentage, Dan, was 62.8.
- [20:34]
Dan Bernstein
Wow.
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Matt Abaticola
A differential of 9.1.
- [20:37]
Dan Bernstein
Now, these are not necessarily sustainable season to season.
- [20:41]
Matt Abaticola
Correct.
- [20:42]
Dan Bernstein
It takes time to look at a body of work. I don't know that you want to be a court. You don't want to ask your quarterback. Remember, in. In Ben Johnson's world, he's scheming people. Open, open.
- [20:54]
Matt Abaticola
Correct.
- [20:55]
Dan Bernstein
So if things.
- [20:56]
Matt Abaticola
That's the goal, at least.
- [20:57]
Dan Bernstein
Right. The goal is that there's no question to whom the ball should be thrown. It's all a matter of how quickly it's recognized and the ball gets out. That's what he's looking at more than trying to say, did you make something out of less than it was? And there's very. It's too much to ask a quarterback every season to do what Drake May did this year. It's just that that's not fair to him.
- [21:21]
Matt Abaticola
No, you're not wrong on that, too. But I just thought that was interesting. Largest differential of 9.1 for Drake May. Largest negative differential in the NFL was Caleb Williams at negative 6.9.
- [21:33]
Dan Bernstein
Well, so think about that like that's a good sign. Then you can interpret that. Sure. That if he did this well and.
- [21:41]
Matt Abaticola
They had this season and this offensive output.
- [21:45]
Dan Bernstein
Yes. And this level of scoring with that much room to improve.
- [21:50]
Matt Abaticola
Correct.
- [21:51]
Dan Bernstein
That's a great sign. And what Caleb said immediately after, when asked what do you need to work on next year? He said, my feet and my accuracy.
- [21:58]
Matt Abaticola
Yes.
- [22:00]
Dan Bernstein
How much time we spent on this show here on Forward Progress, trying to explain why Caleb Williams just. Why it's okay to ask for him to be more accurate.
- [22:10]
Matt Abaticola
Right. And then people got so offended, angry about it.
- [22:12]
Dan Bernstein
Yes. Oh, my God. The response. He said it. He just said, I gotta be more accurate. All right. Can we. Can we put that to bed now?
- [22:20]
Matt Abaticola
I hope so, because. And what we criticize and talked about, not every pass, because we. And people will say, well, people drop passes. We weren't talking about those. It was. It was very specific. Clean pocket, firm foundation, open receiver, on time. He missed too many of those. That was the problem. He knows it. His coach knows it. What are you going to work on for 20, 26? My footwork and my accuracy. Thank you, Caleb. Yes.
- [22:46]
Dan Bernstein
That's not you. That's not me. That's Caleb Williams saying that.
- [22:50]
Matt Abaticola
Right. All right. One, there's a guy here, and I know it's premature as we're going into the championship weekend. There's a guy that I've seen on multiple websites as a potential free agent target for the Bears.
- [23:03]
Dan Bernstein
All right.
- [23:04]
Matt Abaticola
Are you familiar with the defensive lineman, defensive end from Denver, John Franklin Myers?
- [23:11]
Dan Bernstein
John Franklin Myers. That also sounds like the dean of a business.
- [23:23]
Matt Abaticola
Him and Truman Pauly can start a.
- [23:26]
Dan Bernstein
Firm together right now. What did I say Truman Pauly was somebody on the Federal Reserve. He's a, a fed governor.
- [23:33]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah.
- [23:33]
Dan Bernstein
Who gives, who gives a speech at like you know, the, the, the St. Louis Economic Club. John Franklin Myers. All right, there he is, 29 years old.
- [23:42]
Matt Abaticola
Denver Broncos fourth round pick from the Rams in 2018.
- [23:47]
Dan Bernstein
64288.
- [23:49]
Matt Abaticola
Yep. Finished with seven sacks last year, seven and a half this year for the Denver Broncos. He was traded to the Broncos for a six round pick from I believe the jets after being drafted by the Rams. But he's a guy that I've seen on a couple different places. Now mentioning as a potential fit and where the Bears may be a suitor for John Franklin Myers as a defensive end, I only bring it up only because there's a game this weekend to watch. He's number 98. As you're watching the Broncos game, Broncos and Patriots just keep an eye out and see what you think of John Franklin Myers, number 98 on the Broncos defensive line.
- [24:27]
Dan Bernstein
All right, well, we'll do that. His, his sack numbers are modest.
- [24:30]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah, they're modest.
- [24:32]
Dan Bernstein
He has 34 in a seven year career. He had seven and a half the regular season this year, seven last year. And obviously his numbers might be buoyed by being part of a terrific defensive line with. But what I love about him, what I love about him is from 2021 when he was age 25, 16 starts. 17, 17, 16, 15. That.
- [25:04]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah, that durability.
- [25:06]
Dan Bernstein
Impressive numbers.
- [25:07]
Matt Abaticola
Yep, absolutely. So just as you watch the game this weekend, keep an eye on number 98. Just you know, keep a, keep a watch on how he plays. A couple other coaching tidbits for the Bears. The Bears are bringing in Will Long L A W I n G. He is or was the offensive coordinator for Boston College and has familiarity and a friendship relationship with Ben Johnson from the days at North Carolina. They didn't say what he's going to, what, what his role will be for the Bears though. We know that there will be an open running backs coaching role but we don't know where he fits into the whole game plan.
- [25:45]
Dan Bernstein
He's never been a running running backs coach. He has coached tight ends. He has been an offensive Assistant. He's been a grad assistant. Defensive quality control. So his. If the only specific position with which he has listed experience is tight ends doesn't mean he couldn't coach running backs. But he was a walk on wide receiver at North Carolina when Ben Johnson was there, so. Okay.
- [26:15]
Matt Abaticola
Will Long from Boston College. And then I saw two other names in a couple different spots about, you know, keep an eye on possibility to replace Eric Biennami, former running backs Deuce Staley, who is currently the running backs coach for Cleveland, and Darren Sprols, who is a personnel consultant for the Philadelphia Eagles. And I've seen their names come up a couple different spots from. From websites and stuff.
- [26:42]
Dan Bernstein
We're gonna have a problem if they add Deuce Staley.
- [26:45]
Matt Abaticola
Why?
- [26:46]
Dan Bernstein
Because of Staley the Bear?
- [26:48]
Matt Abaticola
Oh, yeah. I thought that was a good fit.
- [26:50]
Dan Bernstein
I don't know. No, see, I. I'm worried that Staley is gonna feel like he's not the only Staley and then it's gonna be like Highlander.
- [26:57]
Matt Abaticola
Oh, I liked it. And you could put them out together on like promotional events and just combine their name. Do Staley the Bear.
- [27:02]
Dan Bernstein
They're gonna have some. Some battle to the death because you've got Staley and then you've got Staley and they. Somehow the universe can't support two of them both being Chicago Bears. I don't know. I don't know. There's. We shall see but like it. It's fine. I'm not going to. I'm not going to pretend that I have a strong feel.
- [27:22]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah. Oh, no, no. I just.
- [27:23]
Dan Bernstein
Running backs coach.
- [27:24]
Matt Abaticola
It's only because again, I've seen. I've seen their names. I've seen their names come up in different spots. So when you start seeing the same name come up from different individuals and different websites and whatnot, it's just something to keep an eye on. And I know we wanted to go around the NFL as well too, with some coaching hires that are being made. Let's start in in Los Angeles with the Chargers. And a move that I think we were both impressed with that Jim Harbaugh made in naming and bringing in McDaniel. Mike McDaniel. I'll tell you why. Offensive coordinator.
- [27:55]
Dan Bernstein
There's a lot that I like about this and I'm a fan of Jim Harbaugh generally, even though I think he's crackers.
- [28:03]
Matt Abaticola
I agree. I love Jim Harbaugh.
- [28:05]
Dan Bernstein
I love the guy, but he is. He's a strange man. He's wired in just very different ways. But in a league Where a lot of coaches have a very difficult time asking the question, what don't I know? And where do I need help? Rather than bringing in people to bolster an already set vision and people to validate things that a coach believes to be true. This hire, I think, shows humility, I think, especially when coupled with the departure, with the firing of Greg Roman. Harbaugh's never been in the NFL without Greg Roman running his offense. And I mean ever, ever, ever. That's his guy. They are joined at the hip, and.
- [28:56]
Matt Abaticola
That'S how the Harbaugh boys operate.
- [28:58]
Dan Bernstein
That's his offensive guy. And even though Harbaugh is an offensive mind, at least you know what side of the ball he's on and when they're. When they're calling plays or he's saying, I want to run it here, I want to pass it here. Whatever his level of involvement is, that's because Greg Roman is putting the game plan together in large part not anymore. And for him to do this and say, Mike McDaniel, you're the guy in large part that created these, the biggest Ben Johnson kinds of things and the McVeigh things that people credit Mike McDaniel. I want to say even Kyle Shanahan has said he's. He's stolen stuff from Mike McDaniel when it comes to the. Of formations and compressed formations and motions and orbit motions and everything else that's used for Harbaugh to say, bring me up to speed. We.
- [29:48]
Matt Abaticola
We need.
- [29:48]
Dan Bernstein
We need to do things that these other teams are doing because I've got a. Some raw material here in this quarterback that can be a lot more than he's been, particularly in the playoffs. Mike, what don't I know? What can you help me with? I think it's a really good hire.
- [30:02]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah, I think it is a great hire. And hopefully they can do something to fix that offensive line because that's where their issues begin and, and really end as far as offensively speaking. But, yeah. So they make the hire of Mike McDaniel as OC. Let's move on to the other Harbaugh brother who had his introductory press conference as the new head coach of the New York Football Giants. And I just. I don't know how it's going to work. I don't. I don't like some of the things I heard within their power structure in the hierarchy. Yes, we've given John Harbaugh all this, this power within personnel and decisions, but it doesn't end with him. It's going to be a collaboration between John Harbaugh, the general manager and ownership. But he's going to be, and this is what they said, he's going to be a very important cog in the wheel, maybe the most important cog in the wheel. I don't like that at all. Especially with ownership being involved. Why is ownership involved in personnel, in coaching, in player decisions. You don't need to be have a collaboration of ownership, general manager and head coach. I just don't know how that's going to work. Now. He doesn't strike me as a significantly driven ego kind of guy that, that can be real abrasive or off putting to those around him. But he wants to be in charge and he went there to be in.
- [31:30]
Dan Bernstein
Charge and say he's in charge.
- [31:32]
Matt Abaticola
Right. I don't, I don't like this whole idea of this collaboration when you, especially when you include the ownership to it.
- [31:36]
Dan Bernstein
It reminds me of Ryan Pace. This reminds me of all of the difficulty we had pinning down responsibility for decision making on the Ryan Pace Bears. And it made me want to tear my hair out because we couldn't figure out who would get credit, who would get blame. You can't do this there. This is the quote. Let me read this. This is Harbaugh talking about how he's going to work with Joe Shane. To me, it's really not that important to the big picture in the big scheme of things. I think it's kind of overblown in terms of how it works. The main thing is that it works. And he said that we have and that we work together. It's kind of what I was used to. It felt like a good way to start off. I think we're all going to work together. I promise you. We all report to the boss and the boss's ownership. Not good enough. Yeah, that is not good enough. And there's no way that the assembled New York Giants beat is going to allow this to stand and be able to work it because you're asking for trouble internally and externally when people do not know who is in charge and who ultimately has authority. Wait till draft day. Wait till, wait till draft day. Right.
- [33:02]
Matt Abaticola
Is Chris Mara going to have some input on who they draft?
- [33:05]
Dan Bernstein
I mean, the Bears have at least been honest about it and we know that. And Ryan polls has said that Ben Johnson has a strong influence, but it's still Ryan polls pick. It's still his draft.
- [33:19]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah, I don't know. Just hearing that stuff and because I don't have some kind of personal or emotional connection to it, I don't care if it works out or not. I just don't think it's going to in that kind of form. When I heard that, that just, that was a lot of red flags. And you know, I said to you earlier, my spidey sense went off that that doesn't work because ultimately it's not going to work in that, in that big market either.
- [33:38]
Dan Bernstein
And it's been Chris Mara more than John Mara who's been the active owner. So you got to, you can't just say the owner. To whom are you talking?
- [33:46]
Matt Abaticola
Well, yeah, with John being sick and Chris has taken more of a forefront as far as the ownership is concerned. And he was a big reason that Jim, that John Harbaugh was hired. Like it started weeks ago, apparently a relationship that was, that was introduced by Tom Coughlin and Chris Merritt and they went out and had lunch together and that's where it all started. But man, I like, if I'm John Harbaugh, I'm not going there to collaborate with the GM and the owner.
- [34:13]
Dan Bernstein
You don't have to. You don't have to. And, and when you want to know how these things can really go wrong, when you just look across town and look at what we were talking about with the jets where Woody Johnson all of a sudden gets these whims that come from his 18 year old grandsons sticking bricks. Yeah. Brick and Chick and you. And you're. And you find out that you're working for children and that's how sometimes these, these bizarre billionaires, they're all weird and they do weird things and if, if it's, if, if Chris Mara is going to be officiating and you know, refereeing between his general manager and his head coach, that you're already setting this thing up to be confusing and, and untenable.
- [35:02]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah. No, I agree. I agree. A couple other minor notes before I get into something a little bit bigger. Danny Smith, you're familiar with that name, he was the special teams coach for Pittsburgh.
- [35:14]
Dan Bernstein
Oh, the old guy.
- [35:15]
Matt Abaticola
The old guy, yeah. That's the only reason why I brought it up. So guy. So he's, he's now he's going to be the special teams coordinator at Tampa Bay. He took that job. He's 72.
- [35:24]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah.
- [35:24]
Matt Abaticola
So it's funny you called him the old guy.
- [35:26]
Dan Bernstein
No, because he, he looks like the guy, like the guy in the country club who's all. Who's playing gin. You know, everybody else is out golfing and he's sitting in the clubhouse and he just wants to play gin.
- [35:39]
Matt Abaticola
The social experience. Yeah, for sure.
- [35:41]
Dan Bernstein
That's what he looks like. Yeah. Okay.
- [35:44]
Matt Abaticola
Okay. David B L O U G H. David Blau. I want to say Blow.
- [35:50]
Dan Bernstein
Blow. Blow. Blow. He started a game against the Bears. He was a Lions backup quarterback.
- [35:56]
Matt Abaticola
Correct.
- [35:57]
Dan Bernstein
Remember? Was that. Was that. It was one of the years where the Bears were facing nothing but backups. David Blow.
- [36:03]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah. So he's the new offense coordinator. Washington.
- [36:07]
Dan Bernstein
Cool.
- [36:07]
Matt Abaticola
After one season as the assistant quarterbacks coach.
- [36:10]
Dan Bernstein
Perfect job for him. Yes.
- [36:14]
Matt Abaticola
And then two other things.
- [36:16]
Dan Bernstein
I'd hear that name ever again.
- [36:18]
Matt Abaticola
Right. David Blau.
- [36:19]
Dan Bernstein
David Blau.
- [36:21]
Matt Abaticola
I think from what I've been reading too, and just looking around the Steelers, I think this, the Steelers next head coach is going to be Chris Shula of the Rams. That's where I think they land.
- [36:39]
Dan Bernstein
Okay. Because he.
- [36:41]
Matt Abaticola
Defensive young.
- [36:45]
Dan Bernstein
Young and defensive.
- [36:46]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah.
- [36:47]
Dan Bernstein
Those are. Those would be boxes to check. Oh, by the way, David Blau, starting quarterback for the Lions Thanksgiving Day against the Bears in 2019. Okay. His first NFL start. 22 for 38, 280 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. And the Lions lost 24 to 20. Oh, David Bell.
- [37:07]
Matt Abaticola
But he still got the job. So I think Chris Shula is going to end up in Pittsburgh. That's just my feeling. And then one last thing around the NFL, this whole. And we talked about this a couple weeks ago when it was announced that Troy Aikman would be serving as a. As a special consultant to Stephen Ross in Miami.
- [37:26]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah.
- [37:27]
Matt Abaticola
And now Miami makes their hire and they hire John Eric Sullivan as their new general manager and Jeff Halfley as their new head coach. Both, of course, coming from Green Bay and looking up Sullivan. Sullivan has been there since 2003 in different variable in various personnel roles. So that's a long time. 20, 22 years to be there. Gets the GM job in Miami. Jeff Halfley goes from defense coordinator. And I wanted to go back through and look at the number of games that Troy Aikman and Joe Buck did for the packers. And the one specific game against the Bears where he was singing the praises of Jeff Halfley and telling packers fans, hey, you're gonna. You're gonna miss this guy when he's gone. Because I'm pretty sure he's gonna get a head coaching job somewhere. I wonder what kind of impact Troy Aikman had in that, because we heard him talk shit about Mike McDaniel in Miami saying, I have no idea what this fourth quarter or even remember how bad that was before. Right before Mike McDaniel plan is.
- [38:29]
Dan Bernstein
I don't know what they're doing. Yes.
- [38:31]
Matt Abaticola
And then he gets hired as a consultant, sings the praises of Jeff Halfley. Yeah, it's, you know, at first when you brought it up I was like, yeah, you know, whatever. But now as I think back through it and I see the hirings they made and if that really is something the NFL wants, well, the NFL has.
- [38:48]
Dan Bernstein
No choice because especially now, well.
- [38:53]
Matt Abaticola
With Tom Brady being a commentator and an.
- [38:56]
Dan Bernstein
Owner, even beyond that, that we, because owners are owners. And I know this sounds simplistic and you don't want this to be true, but when they make a decision, when the director of a broadcast, regardless of who is doing the game, regardless of who the on air broadcasters are, when the director has in his notes, we are going to have multiple cutaways and name and show the coordinators, we are going to say who they are. Those are the star makers. The way names get talked about is by the, the directors and the producers of the broadcast deciding. And in the playoffs it's, it's always there. We see some of it and you know who the people are, you know who the telegenic guys are. The only reason I can tell you who Danny Smith is was because you would see him after a big plate clap in his hands and running down the field, I'm like, oh yeah, it's the old Steeler guy. It looks like somebody dad. Yeah, yeah, the old guy. You know, because you just, you, you, you start to know who they are a little bit and. But in the playoffs is where you get the attention, where your name starts coming up for things. I will never forget what was said to me when I was at a, it was the, the NBA pre draft camp and there are all these people. It's a big, it's a job fair at the pre draft camp. Everybody's trying to talk to people and have lunch with people and it's sort of like the winter meetings are where you're, where coaches try to find jobs and, and I had one college assistant coach who was at this thing tell me at the time, this is years ago, and he told me, because you know, we're all here and everybody's talking everybody's ear off. He goes, you know, all that matters is, does, does Dick Vital mention you? I said, what do you mean? He goes, that's it. He said, if you're watching Duke, Carolina. And out of nowhere, out of nowhere, Dick Vital brings up, let me tell you the next coaches who everybody's going to love. You're doing a wonderful job. And he'll name some guy at Sienna or some guy at, you know, Texas A and M Prairie View, because that's all that matters because of the way colleges think and because of how important that Q rating is. And I wonder now because owners are so fickle and sometimes stupid and that they'll, they hear a name like, oh yeah, I've heard of that guy. That's probably a good hire. And people, when I, when I go to the, to the club this weekend, people say, good job hiring that guy. That makes me feel right. And so these, when Aikman can say whatever he wants and couch everything in these multiple jobs and Brady can say what he wants, but it is important, it does matter. The attention that is paid to people on national broadcasts. Can Aikman overcome that? Can Aikman say in a closed door meeting where his boss, where he's being paid to do a different job, can he say, yeah, I know I said all that about him in this game and I'm on record, everybody knows I said all this stuff about him, but after that interview, I'm not sure I can recommend him for your team right now as a good fit. We like to think that people can.
- [42:06]
Matt Abaticola
But I also look at it from the other side of it too, is like how real were the other interviews that the Miami Dolphins had with other potential coaches?
- [42:17]
Dan Bernstein
Like the Bears, Eber flu interviews, right?
- [42:19]
Matt Abaticola
Did Troy Aikman say, hey Stephen, this is the guy you need. I've talked to this guy enough. I believe I've seen enough from this guy. This is the guy you need. And, and where those other candidates just, you know, you know, lip service because they got to fulfill a requirement and.
- [42:33]
Dan Bernstein
He can do our interviews, right? And they do it all the time. What you're saying happens all the time where you say, look, this is clearly the guy. Do these. If somebody blows you away, that's fine, but. But when, as of right now, unless we have reason not to hire this guy, let's hire this guy, right?
- [42:50]
Matt Abaticola
Talk to X, Y and Z. But this is the guy you really need to go with. And in the course of my getting to know this guy and thinking he's the right guy for you, you know, I learned that he has a great relationship with this personnel guy, John Eric Sullivan, and we all know who, you know, you know, blah, blah, blah, and how, how that all works together, you know, and what he takes away from his, his pre show preparation, pregame preparation as a commentator and what he's learning and mining for information to share with the owner who he's now being paid As a consultant for.
- [43:25]
Dan Bernstein
It'S a tangled web of allegiances. And then you wonder after the fact. You can even wonder as a viewer, it's one thing to say as a team when you're hiring him what the motivations are, but then afterward, and you can wonder, well, is this now because he's invested in. In his recommendations, is he now predisposed to say nice things and compliment his people more? You think it's human nature for that to be true?
- [43:57]
Matt Abaticola
Oh, yeah, absolutely. You're 100% correct.
- [44:02]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah. You'd think that there's enough people out there, enough smart people spread around who know the game really well that you don't need to go to a major national broadcaster and hire that person as a consultant.
- [44:14]
Matt Abaticola
You would think, yeah. But again, I don't know what their relationship was prior or whatever, so who knows? But just thought that was some interesting stuff. And of course, we'll keep an eye on and track what else is happening because we still have the. What is it still six openings in the. In the NFL as far as head coaching jobs are concerned. So there's still the six jobs. Yeah. So we'll keep a track on that and see where that leads and where. Where it goes and what the Bears end up doing. And I know on another forward progress this week, probably tomorrow, you want to get into taking a look at the Bears roster for.
- [44:46]
Dan Bernstein
I want to. I want to look at specifically all of the free agents and I want to look at the decisions and not. And go a little deeper than a yes, no, yes, no, yes, no. But there is a long list of unrestricted free agents. There are restricted free agents. There is an exclusive rights free agent. There's a street free agent. And just look at some of this information that we have. And in a vacuum, obviously, because each one of these, we don't know the number of alternatives that would be available. Because you can't just say, yes, keep this guy, get rid of this guy. If I keep this guy, it is instead of whom. These are all the things that Ryan polls and everybody looking at that board that they're sorting through. But I do think that we need kind of an accounting of at least what we thought the contributions were of the people who are now free agents for next year. And I think we can do that for tomorrow. I think that'd be. Be a good time and place for it.
- [45:44]
Matt Abaticola
Yep. I want to also remind you that we've mentioned it a few times now here on all the shows, the 312Sports app. If you haven't gotten the app yet? You can get it at the Apple Play Store or at the Apple App Store. Google Play. Get it, download the app, get the app. I know I'm old. I said download and then register. And then there's great prizes available for you on there as well. You can get all of the shows that we have on the 312Sports Podcast Network. So it's DBU and forward progress and organizations win championships which is recording another episode today. For some more Bulls talk, we also have from the 50, my own podcast. I dropped one on Monday with Tom Sillo, a 59 year old college freshman who walked onto the football team in Lycoma.
- [46:30]
Dan Bernstein
The picture you used on Social is so good.
- [46:34]
Matt Abaticola
Isn't it great?
- [46:35]
Dan Bernstein
It's the picture of him, you know, because he looks athletic enough, you know, like very athletic. Yeah, he does look the part but then you just see it's like oh wow, he's playing college football. Okay.
- [46:49]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah, he's in uniform and you see like 18, 19 year old kids around him.
- [46:54]
Dan Bernstein
That's great.
- [46:55]
Matt Abaticola
On a knee. It's a really cool story. So check that out. Tom Sillo, 59 year old college football player at Lycoming College. But get the 312Sports app. All the stuff is right there for you. And then all of our YouTube channels for forward progress and for the 312 for DBU. Make sure you subscribe and like we take all your comments in there on Friday. We'll have Friday feedback Friday so you can email the show. It's Dan at 312Sports or Matt at 312Sports. All your comments there. You can leave audio Messages on the 312Sports app. So we love having you part of the community, make sure you stay involved as Dan filters through all of that stuff and brings back. We need to figure out off air, off show. I guess I should say what we're doing for our top 10 list this week. I have an idea. So we'll talk about it.
- [47:41]
Dan Bernstein
Is this something that we are going to. Are we committed to doing a top ten list every week?
- [47:46]
Matt Abaticola
Well, that's what we'll talk about. And see I like doing it but I have a different angle. See what you think about it. We'll figure that out for Friday show.
- [47:52]
Dan Bernstein
Okay. Okay, fair enough. Because usually Thursdays it's my work day. That's when I actually grind on those things. No, don't laugh.
- [48:00]
Matt Abaticola
Oh no, no. I know, I know, I know. Yeah, it's Thursday night for me as I'm going all the committee I should say.
- [48:05]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah.
- [48:05]
Matt Abaticola
Usually I'm sad, though, because I had my exit interviews with the committee. Okay, so they're gone. They're not. I mean, the basement's dark down here now. Yeah. I got some feedback about the towels we provide and the thread count on.
- [48:18]
Dan Bernstein
The sheets, so I thought it might be a little low. I predicted it.
- [48:23]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah, it was a little low. The food, they were happy with the food and the beverage choices, but they just. Yeah, it was the towels and the thread count.
- [48:30]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah. I heard that the. The vintage year of a couple of the red wines was not ideal. That one said that there was. That it wasn't exactly the best year in the south of France.
- [48:44]
Matt Abaticola
Well, it's hard to balance out because I got that guy and I got the other people that like the fruit wines from, like, Michigan and Wisconsin, the cranberry chardonnay and the. The peach merlot. You know, I mean, it's hard this. It's hard to balance that. I don't have enough space.
- [48:59]
Dan Bernstein
I know. And a couple people on the committee only like a lot of the old world burgundies and classically structured Bordeaux. But some of the scuttlebutt that I heard was that the Rhone blend was not exactly the best year.
- [49:15]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah. My wine cellar, the towels, and the thread count on the sheets just weren't up to their par, so.
- [49:20]
Dan Bernstein
All right, so we have a lot of stuff coming your way for the remainder of the week, and some of it Bears centric, a lot of it. Watching what is going to be happening in the NFL as it goes into this last. Well, about a month left, still. Almost right. Two weeks. And then there will be more coaching movement and hell, the NFL's year round. And that's why. Did you go ahead?
- [49:43]
Matt Abaticola
Did you see the. What Natalie told me yesterday. The. There's an opening act for Bad Bunny, the halftime show.
- [49:51]
Dan Bernstein
Is it me? It's green day for Bad Bunny.
- [49:55]
Matt Abaticola
Yes.
- [49:56]
Dan Bernstein
Cool. Oh, I hope they do. American idiot.
- [50:00]
Matt Abaticola
Well, you've seen some of their recent stuff they've done live, right?
- [50:04]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [50:05]
Matt Abaticola
I mean, there's gonna be a political slant to that. I was really surprised.
- [50:09]
Dan Bernstein
Oh, they're not. They're not gonna. To. To let this opportunity pass them by.
- [50:13]
Matt Abaticola
I would. I would think not. I would think not for sure.
- [50:16]
Dan Bernstein
So not part of a redneck agenda. Okay. Okay, I'm down.
- [50:23]
Matt Abaticola
That works.
- [50:23]
Dan Bernstein
And that'll do it for Forward Progress today on 312 Sports where progress has stopped.
- [50:35]
Matt Abaticola
Forward Progress, a Chicago Bears podcast with Dan Bernstein and Matt Abeticola. On three. One, two, sports.