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Biggest reasons Bears will be EVEN BETTER in 2026 · Da Windy City Sports Podcast

0:00
[SPEAKER_03]: Let's get this party started, right?
0:04
[SPEAKER_03]: Oh, we're recording, that didn't even know.
0:10
[SPEAKER_03]: Welcome to the Windows City podcast.
0:12
[SPEAKER_03]: You see Alex Shapiro.
0:13
[SPEAKER_03]: I am Kenneth Davis, and this is presented by fanside it.
0:18
[SPEAKER_03]: We brought you a little murky dismal for anybody that knows anything about the rainbow bright movie.
0:23
[SPEAKER_03]: Kind of right.
0:23
[SPEAKER_03]: That's so mad with you.
0:24
[SPEAKER_03]: Um, but now we're going to bring you speaking of brightness and rainbows, some optimism, all right, and we're going to give you things to be optimistic or things that we think you should be optimistic about with the bears this off season and into the upcoming seasons.
0:40
[SPEAKER_03]: So that's what we're going to kick off today.
0:42
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm going to let my guy out Shapiro started off with what he is optimistic about the bears transitioning into the 2026, 2027 season.
0:52
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, yeah, kind of so we went over a lot of reasons why hey, this thinking go in the wrong direction next season in our last episode.
1:02
[SPEAKER_01]: So if you want a little, if you need to be humble, if you need to be taken down a peg and you have you missed that won't go backwards in our last episode.
1:09
[SPEAKER_01]: But I think there are actually more reasons to be optimistic about the Chicago Bears moving forward than there are reasons to be pessimistic even though of course we all need to dose reality, right?
1:21
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, I think, and we're going to put these in absolutely no order whatsoever, but I think, I mean, let's start at the tipi top.
1:34
[SPEAKER_01]: Let's start at the tipi top and then we'll get granular because I was going to start something granular, but it really starts at the tipi top and that is Ben Johnson.
1:41
[SPEAKER_01]: The bears got the coach right.
1:43
[SPEAKER_01]: He was the top coach of the coaching cycle.
1:46
[SPEAKER_01]: They opened up the checkbook.
1:48
[SPEAKER_01]: They brought him in.
1:49
[SPEAKER_01]: They paired him with Caleb Williams.
1:52
[SPEAKER_01]: They paired him with Ryan polls.
1:56
[SPEAKER_01]: And it worked in year one, it simply worked.
2:00
[SPEAKER_01]: And one of the reasons I think that it was most successful is that this team took on his identity.
2:08
[SPEAKER_01]: This team took on his intensity.
2:11
[SPEAKER_01]: They clearly bought in.
2:14
[SPEAKER_01]: You could see the foundations of the program, right?
2:16
[SPEAKER_01]: It starts up front, it starts with that run game.
2:21
[SPEAKER_01]: And this is a guy who,
2:22
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't have fears about his offense getting figured out in the NFL and him having to totally redo his scheme because we know Ben Johnson's tricks because Ben Johnson has been running his offense in the NFL for several years now, right?
2:43
[SPEAKER_01]: Many years with the lions and now one year with the bears and the fundamentals are the same.
2:50
[SPEAKER_01]: Run the ball, run the ball well and then
2:53
[SPEAKER_01]: to play action off of that and then hit them with the big explosives and of course there's going to be the trickeration on top of that and that's all the fun stuff but the foundation and the fundamentals have been there.
3:05
[SPEAKER_01]: They have been successful year after year and I have no reason to believe that those fundamentals and that foundation is going to go away.
3:16
[SPEAKER_01]: The Ben Johnson offense to me is a proven commodity at this point.
3:21
[SPEAKER_01]: So they got the guy.
3:22
[SPEAKER_01]: They have started to build the culture.
3:24
[SPEAKER_01]: They have started to build the program.
3:25
[SPEAKER_01]: They're going to continue to add to that.
3:27
[SPEAKER_01]: They're just going to add more and more pieces to that.
3:30
[SPEAKER_01]: So Ben Johnson to me is arguably the number one reason.
3:37
[SPEAKER_01]: Why?
3:39
[SPEAKER_01]: And I'm sure we're going to get to another huge huge reason who plays off of that, but I'm not sure that this next reason is as successful if not for Ben Johnson and if things go right, Ben Johnson should be in Chicago for a very, very, very, very long time.
3:53
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, only money, I think, or metal some metaling from up top and the bears ownership hasn't been known to me, metal some.
4:02
[SPEAKER_03]: And I think Ryan posed in those where he lays in his hierarchy and Ryan posed at one point may want to have more recognition, particularly if the bears are as good as we hope they will be.
4:15
[SPEAKER_03]: Ryan posed may want to go somewhere where he may get an opportunity.
4:21
[SPEAKER_03]: There may be an organization that comes for him, offering him so much that he can't believe because he's attached to the success in Chicago if the bears are as successful under Ben Johnson as we think they can be.
4:34
[SPEAKER_03]: Um, and that then Ben Johnson will be hand picking his own general manager like we thought he could have last year because the question was could he work and did he want to work with Ryan Polls because of the fact he had so much leverage.
4:48
[SPEAKER_03]: He was going to be a guy that could perhaps pick who was going to come in with him.
4:53
[SPEAKER_03]: Um, that's my number one.
4:54
[SPEAKER_03]: I mean, I've said that, um, he's the most important thing.
4:58
[SPEAKER_03]: I think that has come into the bear's orbit for two reasons.
5:02
[SPEAKER_03]: He is a great coach already.
5:05
[SPEAKER_03]: We have to know if it's long time or is it just a blip?
5:09
[SPEAKER_03]: Clearly, we don't think it's just a blip.
5:11
[SPEAKER_03]: But also, he's an offensive mind that we've all opined for or feared that the OC was gonna leave.
5:20
[SPEAKER_03]: All right.
5:21
[SPEAKER_03]: Oh my god, the office coordinator is going to be so good and they're going to take him from us.
5:25
[SPEAKER_03]: We don't need it.
5:26
[SPEAKER_03]: We need to average offensive coordinator because we don't want someone to steal from us and have to find another guy.
5:32
[SPEAKER_03]: I don't want to flirt with the fine woman.
5:34
[SPEAKER_03]: You know all of that.
5:35
[SPEAKER_01]: It doesn't matter that Jacqueline Doyle left.
5:37
[SPEAKER_01]: Because Ben Johnson is the offensive coordinator of this team which we'll talk a little bit about the deck.
5:42
[SPEAKER_03]: We'll talk more about that later in this show and also also the next make sure you check it out because we're going to go over some of the senior ball players that we think will fit on the spirit roster.
5:53
[SPEAKER_03]: Because you brought up running the football Alex and him across my mind.
5:57
[SPEAKER_03]: I wonder if one of those Penn State running backs or what running back they're going to bring in because I'm sure they're still probably going to bring in a running back day to or day three.
6:07
[SPEAKER_03]: Um, yeah, Ben Johnson is him.
6:09
[SPEAKER_03]: He's the reason that everything works.
6:11
[SPEAKER_03]: I've said, even if Caleb failed, I'm happy they got Ben Johnson because then Ben Johnson just go out and pick his own quarterback that he think to work his system at some point.
6:19
[SPEAKER_03]: Now we're lucky that Caleb isn't going to be a failure.
6:22
[SPEAKER_03]: We don't know what Caleb's ceiling will be.
6:24
[SPEAKER_03]: So that will be something to move for.
6:26
[SPEAKER_03]: But speaking of Caleb, of course, the number two most optimistic thing is you got the quarterback that does the hard thing
6:35
[SPEAKER_03]: and that's coming back and winning games.
6:39
[SPEAKER_03]: He didn't have to learn that he was born with it and we've seen it in the pros, like live inaction all the time, right?
6:49
[SPEAKER_03]: Like there's something about, hey, it's two minutes on the clock.
6:52
[SPEAKER_03]: It's not time to go.
6:53
[SPEAKER_03]: Then Caleb has
6:56
[SPEAKER_03]: the arm angles and the geometry I've mentioned in the past episode, the Steph Curry-like mental geometry that he can come up with to make a past work knowing how his body and what he needs to do to get the ball in the awkward position and awkward places that defenders can't get to.
7:13
[SPEAKER_03]: The mobility he's faster than we thought he wasn't college basically.
7:18
[SPEAKER_03]: I know at one point this year his
7:24
[SPEAKER_03]: the fact that, and towards the end of the year, we didn't even talk about this anymore.
7:29
[SPEAKER_03]: It was because the offense is a lot of play better.
7:32
[SPEAKER_03]: You can't bring this little man down like it's nothing, like this isn't Kyler Murray.
7:37
[SPEAKER_03]: This dude is thick down low in his bottom half and he's breaking tackles with six foot, six guys, grabbing onto a show doesn't he's popping free like it's nobody's business a year two under this great offensive mind.
7:53
[SPEAKER_03]: Um, they, they seem like they're going to be some patico, the fundamentals.
7:57
[SPEAKER_03]: We've heard refining the fundamentals.
8:00
[SPEAKER_03]: There seems something about him and we, we know since he was a kid that his parents let live alone in high school, that he wants to be great and he will work to be great.
8:09
[SPEAKER_03]: And he has the guy to teach him how he needs to be great while developing in the system.
8:15
[SPEAKER_03]: And then that I think is the the osmosis of Caleb and Ben Caleb and Ben are going to get to be together for time period of time.
8:25
[SPEAKER_03]: where they're going to grow their own offense in a way because Caleb can do some things that Jared golf couldn't do to be honest with you.
8:35
[SPEAKER_03]: And there's some things that Jared golf can do in a dome with accuracy.
8:39
[SPEAKER_03]: The Caleb can't do yet that the offense may have to be tailored around him.
8:42
[SPEAKER_03]: You hope the accuracy improves.
8:45
[SPEAKER_03]: But this offense is going to be built on those two guys finding the best way for their to for the brains on both ends, but also Caleb to actually go out on the field and implement what they think works best for them.
8:59
[SPEAKER_03]: So I mean, I'm not even joking just because this is an optimistic episode, but that's something to be extremely optimistic about we always the bears rather.
9:09
[SPEAKER_03]: have always had a season where they played above their heads.
9:13
[SPEAKER_03]: And the question in the off season was, well, is that quarterback really the quarterback or Dan, they need to go get a quarterback?
9:20
[SPEAKER_03]: They don't need to go get a quarterback.
9:22
[SPEAKER_03]: No, they've always had this and the offense was, we got a good defense, but man, we don't have a real offensive coordinator or something Alex said, the lead figured out the offensive coordinator, the following season.
9:35
[SPEAKER_03]: Ben Johnson has been figured out.
9:37
[SPEAKER_03]: He's already said that his system is a month.
9:39
[SPEAKER_03]: He pulls from a bunch of different things.
9:41
[SPEAKER_03]: He's just not running the numbers or running the West Coast.
9:45
[SPEAKER_03]: You got a guy that can steal as you want your offensive mind.
9:50
[SPEAKER_03]: Go back and remember, Andy Reed going to college is 10 years ago to study to spread, you know, like you got a guy like that.
9:58
[SPEAKER_03]: So this is top of the line.
10:03
[SPEAKER_03]: In an NFL, you rather have a lot of money on your offensive side, because you can rebuild that defense easier through the draft.
10:10
[SPEAKER_03]: Like, and defenses unfortunately, age faster.
10:14
[SPEAKER_03]: You know, like you can have dog.
10:16
[SPEAKER_03]: Joe Flacco just played in a pro bowl.
10:20
[SPEAKER_03]: to hand touch game last night.
10:22
[SPEAKER_03]: All right.
10:22
[SPEAKER_03]: Just just to black football game.
10:24
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm meant to say he took that just let you know like you got your a corner back in the rules change.
10:30
[SPEAKER_03]: That guy can last well into his 30s.
10:32
[SPEAKER_03]: All right.
10:33
[SPEAKER_03]: So it's not too much for 40s.
10:36
[SPEAKER_03]: I know, but we keep thinking everyone's Tom Brady and everyone's not Tom Brady.
10:40
[SPEAKER_03]: All right, like Aaron Rogers is guess what Aaron Rogers is you are not Tom Brady.
10:44
[SPEAKER_03]: All right.
10:45
[SPEAKER_03]: Now, that could be because Tom Brady didn't have to use athleticism the way that athleticism affected in the Aaron Rogers game.
10:54
[SPEAKER_03]: But still, we everyone thinking you can be Tom Brady is not fair.
10:58
[SPEAKER_03]: That's the out ended on this.
11:00
[SPEAKER_03]: Remember how after
11:02
[SPEAKER_03]: Adrian Peterson came back and like three months from a torn ACL, right, to win an MVP after having a phenomenal season he tore his knee up at the last game of the season or something to get second to last game of the season, how Derek rose and Robert Griffin to third was supposed to just pop back up from knee injuries and they weren't because everyone's not Adrian Peterson, all right, that's the point that I'm trying to get to all right, you can go ahead.
11:26
[SPEAKER_01]: I love that.
11:27
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, and I want to touch more on something that you mentioned about the evolution of this offense, what's going to be really fun moving forward is with a year in the books and some time to reflect now both Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams will go back.
11:47
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm sure they're going to watch every game.
11:49
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm sure they're going to think and reflect and say these were the concepts I liked the most.
11:57
[SPEAKER_01]: These were the concepts that didn't really work, just didn't really click.
12:01
[SPEAKER_01]: So you take the stuff out that didn't really work that well and you take the stuff that was really good and that's what you're building on.
12:10
[SPEAKER_01]: That's what you're iterating on.
12:12
[SPEAKER_01]: And this, that is the stuff that becomes the 201 version of this offense, and that's how you build on strengths and you pare down some things that didn't work so good, you know, there were not a ton of designed runs for Caleb Williams.
12:27
[SPEAKER_01]: this year, but something we noticed.
12:29
[SPEAKER_01]: Hey, when he had the opportunity to scramble, as you just said, dude, it's pretty fast and he was decent at recognizing, oh, it's man coverage and nobody's in front of me.
12:38
[SPEAKER_01]: Let me just scramble.
12:40
[SPEAKER_01]: Let me just scoot out here and pick up a quick easy 11 yards.
12:45
[SPEAKER_01]: So maybe they'll look at that and say, hey, why don't we put some QB draws in here?
12:50
[SPEAKER_01]: Right, we saw some, we saw some great QB draws in the playoffs that led to very successful moments in great touchdowns, adding things like that now now you're iterating now you're giving the defense something extra think about so these are the things That are really exciting and I'm going to lead this to another I'm going to get a little bit more granular now reason to be optimistic.
13:14
[SPEAKER_01]: As you said, just based on the offense and all they've invested in offense, they have a young core of playmakers and I agree with you, I think they're going to reshape that running back room, even a little bit more.
13:30
[SPEAKER_01]: uh so that they're going to continue to add.
13:33
[SPEAKER_01]: I would bet.
13:34
[SPEAKER_01]: I would bet.
13:35
[SPEAKER_01]: Good wait.
13:35
[SPEAKER_01]: This way once this way.
13:36
[SPEAKER_03]: One second before you do that.
13:37
[SPEAKER_03]: I want to say one last thing on the Kayla.
13:39
[SPEAKER_03]: Okay.
13:40
[SPEAKER_03]: Sure.
13:40
[SPEAKER_03]: Sure.
13:41
[SPEAKER_03]: Also remember this.
13:43
[SPEAKER_03]: Kayla is going to start to climb the pocket and start to escape through the A to B and C gap.
13:51
[SPEAKER_03]: Right.
13:51
[SPEAKER_03]: And then that's because Kayla is now escaping like mobile quarterbacks and it's from coming out of the back end.
13:57
[SPEAKER_03]: Right.
13:58
[SPEAKER_03]: And when he starts to just like Snoop Hutley did to the bears, when he starts to see, oh, those live backers have their backs turned to me, right?
14:09
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm out, right?
14:10
[SPEAKER_03]: Like, and that's going to, that's going to be an issue when he's running straight up.
14:15
[SPEAKER_03]: And, and how deep into the going to have to defend him.
14:18
[SPEAKER_03]: All right, Alex, please go ahead.
14:19
[SPEAKER_01]: No, no, he'll get better and better.
14:20
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
14:21
[SPEAKER_01]: It's true.
14:21
[SPEAKER_01]: I guess I didn't really hammer that up.
14:22
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, Caleb Williams, you mentioned at the sky, the limit.
14:26
[SPEAKER_01]: We don't
14:27
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
14:29
[SPEAKER_01]: That's what's so crazy.
14:30
[SPEAKER_01]: Ben Johnson has been so good at developing this offense and building this program so far in one year and Caleb Williams has already shown
14:40
[SPEAKER_01]: a lot of improvement, right?
14:42
[SPEAKER_01]: A lot of the questions we had about Caleb Williams about processing, about going through his reads, one, two, three about throwing balls with anticipation, right?
14:50
[SPEAKER_01]: That rookie year, there's soon to be moments that he didn't trust throwing guys open.
14:56
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, that difference between college and NFL, it looks like there was a little lack of trust.
15:00
[SPEAKER_01]: We saw huge leaps forward in those regards.
15:04
[SPEAKER_01]: So he's already shown us.
15:06
[SPEAKER_01]: I can get better from year to year.
15:08
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm not just a college phenom, so I have every reason to believe again, he'll get better from year two to year three.
15:13
[SPEAKER_03]: Just pretty enough.
15:14
[SPEAKER_03]: You just hit another one.
15:15
[SPEAKER_03]: Now, everyone, how many times was Caleb telling him how he wants to get them the ball?
15:20
[SPEAKER_03]: Right.
15:21
[SPEAKER_03]: Now, you have another year in the same system, same receivers.
15:25
[SPEAKER_03]: I'll see some practices in Ben Johnson system.
15:28
[SPEAKER_03]: This is where I want you to be when this happens.
15:30
[SPEAKER_03]: Hey, if this is happening, I want you to go there instead of going here, like seeing the same field the same way.
15:37
[SPEAKER_01]: DJ Moore flattened that road out my guy.
15:39
[SPEAKER_01]: That part.
15:39
[SPEAKER_01]: That's yeah.
15:41
[SPEAKER_03]: Kind of beat around the bush right there.
15:42
[SPEAKER_01]: Thank you.
15:42
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
15:43
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.
15:44
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, so that's kind of what I'm getting at.
15:45
[SPEAKER_01]: This is a young group of filmmakers.
15:48
[SPEAKER_01]: that should be here for a while.
15:52
[SPEAKER_01]: It's not just Caleb Williams.
15:54
[SPEAKER_01]: It's Caleb Williams and Roma Dunesay, drafted in the same year.
15:59
[SPEAKER_01]: It's Caleb Williams and Luther Bird and Anne Colson Loveland, drafted a year later.
16:05
[SPEAKER_01]: DJ Moore is still under contra.
16:07
[SPEAKER_01]: I know he's been a lightning ride.
16:09
[SPEAKER_01]: DJ more still under contract still, like a pretty young guy.
16:14
[SPEAKER_01]: He is certainly not.
16:15
[SPEAKER_01]: He is not an old man, wildly vet.
16:18
[SPEAKER_01]: Is he a veteran?
16:18
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes, absolutely.
16:20
[SPEAKER_01]: But it's not like he's, it's not like he's Cooper cup out there.
16:24
[SPEAKER_01]: He's still got a lot of tread on his tires and he's a warrior and there's a lot of good football left out of DJ more.
16:34
[SPEAKER_01]: Same thing with Cole Comet.
16:35
[SPEAKER_01]: This is a young man.
16:37
[SPEAKER_01]: So
16:39
[SPEAKER_01]: You add all of these pieces now, exactly as you're saying, growing together.
16:45
[SPEAKER_01]: That consistency between a playmaking group where now they all have a better understanding of the offense.
16:51
[SPEAKER_01]: Now they all have a better understanding of what they like to do when they need to color outside the lines.
16:58
[SPEAKER_01]: When there's an option on a route, you know, are you going to stick it there?
17:02
[SPEAKER_01]: Are you going to sit down?
17:03
[SPEAKER_01]: Are you going to break it off here?
17:04
[SPEAKER_01]: Are you going to take it vertical?
17:09
[SPEAKER_01]: Of which there are many there are billions of nuances so once they get like all the easy stuff the shifts the motions the place once they get all that down then take at the nuances down
17:20
[SPEAKER_01]: As they continue to build and build and build and build and build and build that's chemistry that's what we're talking about when you say chemistry building that chemistry I've said it all the time on this podcast when they can look at a defense see what's happening look at each other on the line of scrimmage and with one look just be like, yeah, I know exactly what you're going to do that's that's where it gets really, really exciting that is a big reason for optimism that all of these dudes are going to be growing in this offense together doing that stuff right we're sure to
17:49
[SPEAKER_01]: No, that was my turn.
17:50
[SPEAKER_01]: No, that was my thing.
17:52
[SPEAKER_01]: Is that all the young playmakers?
17:53
[SPEAKER_01]: All the young playmakers are going to be together.
17:56
[SPEAKER_03]: So my third one.
17:58
[SPEAKER_03]: Well, this is my second, but this is on third on my list.
18:01
[SPEAKER_03]: We've been in the order actually I flipped.
18:04
[SPEAKER_03]: I put Caleb first, but then is the most important.
18:07
[SPEAKER_03]: I've always said, I've been in the most important.
18:10
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm going back to the coach's staff and is the second year dinnazawa.
18:13
[SPEAKER_03]: And Dennis Allen getting the the the the ingredients that he needs for his style of defense.
18:21
[SPEAKER_03]: They're going to be some DBs that are picked up in his draft.
18:24
[SPEAKER_03]: They're going to I think and I'm at this is going to be a two for.
18:29
[SPEAKER_03]: Because I have all here filled the linebacker position or I don't know.
18:33
[SPEAKER_03]: How long, uh, to main admins may remain a bear, I know that contract is fresh, but I don't know how the how punitive is cap wise, because I don't know if he fits into what Dennis Allen wants to do with his linebackers.
18:48
[SPEAKER_03]: And again, I don't I don't think he's a bad player at all getting in the year.
18:51
[SPEAKER_03]: He was hottest fish grease.
18:53
[SPEAKER_03]: Um, but Dennis Allen getting that defensive alignment, check out the draft.
18:57
[SPEAKER_03]: podcast coming up soon.
18:59
[SPEAKER_03]: This is how I get that defensive anchor, particularly right in front of the center between shading the center and the guard in that three technique type of style.
19:11
[SPEAKER_03]: I can hear less, less grapstein in the back, talking about the three technique reading it off right now for anybody who knows old school or audio.
19:18
[SPEAKER_03]: Um, but yeah, I think Dennis Allen being, uh, running the defense and now knowing what he has and knowing what he needs to where they can really go after the quarterback.
19:29
[SPEAKER_03]: They were not going after the quarterback with their down line this year.
19:33
[SPEAKER_03]: I believe they're going to get more pressure.
19:35
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm not saying they're going to have the best defensive line, but clearly they're going to get more pressure and part of that is, I mean, I got, this was a two for us to three for now.
19:45
[SPEAKER_03]: Let's also remember, because we're already 20 minutes in on this.
19:51
[SPEAKER_03]: So I, because we can't count forever.
19:53
[SPEAKER_01]: So I'm trying to give you the three piece combo.
19:56
[SPEAKER_01]: Give me the three piece combo.
19:57
[SPEAKER_03]: This is the three piece combo.
19:58
[SPEAKER_03]: This is, and also we have to see what they have in Schermar Turner.
20:03
[SPEAKER_03]: All right.
20:04
[SPEAKER_03]: So he wasn't drafted low, this is the second round pick or was he a second or third round?
20:10
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, it was the second rounder.
20:11
[SPEAKER_03]: Yes, second round pick.
20:13
[SPEAKER_03]: So now you'll see this guy that was supposed to be able to play inside and outside.
20:19
[SPEAKER_03]: He's coming back into the fold.
20:22
[SPEAKER_03]: We know that Austin Booker has some talent.
20:24
[SPEAKER_03]: We don't know what it is.
20:25
[SPEAKER_03]: Just get, we got to see, we got to see.
20:29
[SPEAKER_03]: We've been
20:34
[SPEAKER_03]: But still, those are my, for the defensive sides.
20:37
[SPEAKER_03]: Those are my optimistic opinions or things to be.
20:41
[SPEAKER_03]: I think the people, the same with DJ Moren, you talked about being a lightning rod.
20:47
[SPEAKER_03]: When people were coming for Dennis Island, it was crazy to me.
20:51
[SPEAKER_03]: because you're talking about a dude that's not getting nothing from the front side and what he's supposed to do.
20:56
[SPEAKER_03]: His lab actors are hurt and even in there, 49ers are just doing curls in front of them all day.
21:02
[SPEAKER_03]: That the eggs and curls all day longer front of their faces and nothing's taking place.
21:06
[SPEAKER_03]: So, and then we've seen them and the,
21:10
[SPEAKER_03]: half time adjustments defense.
21:12
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.
21:12
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes.
21:13
[SPEAKER_03]: There were some games.
21:13
[SPEAKER_03]: You saw the source into the season where it was like, Dan, often this is the the Green Bay game.
21:18
[SPEAKER_03]: The office is doing whatever the hell they want to on the bears.
21:19
[SPEAKER_03]: And then they come back out and they they stifle the that that old post office.
21:25
[SPEAKER_01]: So there's personal changes or scheme changes both.
21:27
[SPEAKER_03]: Right.
21:28
[SPEAKER_01]: Four.
21:28
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
21:28
[SPEAKER_01]: Thank you.
21:29
[SPEAKER_03]: We just have many news in the middle of that.
21:31
[SPEAKER_03]: Who's that guy right there out there, right?
21:33
[SPEAKER_03]: Let's not
21:34
[SPEAKER_03]: Dennis Allen is definitely a plus to have as your defensive coordinator.
21:39
[SPEAKER_03]: Absolutely.
21:40
[SPEAKER_01]: I have a quick answer to your question before I'll get to my last one.
21:47
[SPEAKER_01]: Tremaine Edmonds.
21:48
[SPEAKER_00]: This is just for your information, just for your information.
21:52
[SPEAKER_01]: If he happened to be cut this off season, it would save the bears 15 million against the cap, and it would cost them under two and a half million in dead cap per spot rack.
22:08
[SPEAKER_01]: That's according to spot rack.
22:10
[SPEAKER_01]: These are just the numbers.
22:12
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm simply providing you the numbers per spot rack.
22:15
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay.
22:16
[SPEAKER_01]: Another huge reason to be optimistic I'm going back offense because for me, it's all offense.
22:22
[SPEAKER_01]: The offensive line.
22:24
[SPEAKER_01]: When is the last time heading into an offseason, the only question in the offensive line was like one position.
22:30
[SPEAKER_01]: And I know it is the most important position.
22:31
[SPEAKER_01]: It's left tackle.
22:32
[SPEAKER_01]: Left tackle is big, big, big, big, big, big.
22:35
[SPEAKER_01]: But I feel like every single year, they got two or three questions on the offensive line.
22:42
[SPEAKER_01]: But that interior,
22:45
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, that interior overhaul was a huge success even though Jonah Jackson missed a few games.
22:52
[SPEAKER_01]: The bears have enough depth they were able to get through it.
22:55
[SPEAKER_01]: Luke Newman gave them good snaps.
22:57
[SPEAKER_01]: Uh, Theo Benedict gave them good snaps.
23:01
[SPEAKER_01]: Jordan McFadden gave them good snaps.
23:03
[SPEAKER_01]: So if a guy goes down, they've got the depth, the the three guys in the middle.
23:07
[SPEAKER_01]: looked phenomenal, jotony, even though, jotony is one of those vets.
23:13
[SPEAKER_01]: He's one of those vets.
23:15
[SPEAKER_01]: But guess what?
23:15
[SPEAKER_01]: He was an all-pro.
23:16
[SPEAKER_01]: And he looked every bit in all-pro, back at left guard.
23:20
[SPEAKER_01]: And then Darna Wright also developing into an all-pro tackle.
23:25
[SPEAKER_01]: So that consistency there, yes, I know the bears need a left tackle.
23:31
[SPEAKER_01]: But the fact that we feel real good, we feel really good.
23:36
[SPEAKER_01]: about four out of those five guys, I think is a huge, huge reason to be optimistic about this team.
23:45
[SPEAKER_03]: All right.
23:46
[SPEAKER_03]: So for my last one, I'm going to give you a four for.
23:51
[SPEAKER_03]: Make it, it makes it my last five.
23:53
[SPEAKER_03]: Yes, well, last 20.
23:55
[SPEAKER_03]: All right.
23:57
[SPEAKER_03]: So it's something that you just said.
24:00
[SPEAKER_03]: You mentioned the offensive line, right?
24:03
[SPEAKER_03]: They're going to have to perhaps look at what they're going to have to do to stabilize the left tackle since I got Aussie trip that's was going to be his name Aussie trip all right I got Aussie trip Miss is going to be out for a long period of time and we don't know how he's going to be when he comes back So either through free agency or through the draft
24:25
[SPEAKER_03]: Um, and then just look at that prospect being somebody that can perhaps do something along the line.
24:30
[SPEAKER_03]: Um, or to say what I was a trip.
24:33
[SPEAKER_03]: Um, they're going to probably do something and then again, it seems like they have the proper, um, pro personnel and draft scouts to pick out those people.
24:44
[SPEAKER_03]: But I want to go to offense too, but I want to get out.
24:47
[SPEAKER_03]: from the line, and I want to go to offensive pass catchers.
24:53
[SPEAKER_03]: Luther Burton's going to have a second year in NFL, and in the system, he's studying right now because he definitely needs to, but he's studying the playbook and he's getting better.
25:04
[SPEAKER_03]: Romo Dunze, I think, will get better and that drop as many balls as he did this past season.
25:09
[SPEAKER_03]: I think there's something about
25:12
[SPEAKER_03]: passes being thrown directly at his body that forces him to be a body catcher.
25:18
[SPEAKER_03]: But when there passes thrown out, you know, you can see his catch radius, right?
25:23
[SPEAKER_03]: He's not, he's not, yes, when the, when is Adam, he, he is, he's not very good at it.
25:33
[SPEAKER_03]: And last and definitely,
25:40
[SPEAKER_03]: Oh, and now, you know what, I'm gonna go even further than that.
25:44
[SPEAKER_03]: One thing that Ben Johnson has done, and there was a thought about, okay, and no, we talk about 12 with 13 personality life, right?
25:51
[SPEAKER_03]: And using it, and really benefiting from it.
25:54
[SPEAKER_03]: And it took a while to get coast to love and go with.
25:56
[SPEAKER_03]: But co-comment, not being the past catcher that we were kind of sold initially.
26:03
[SPEAKER_03]: Co-comment's always been a good two way of tied in
26:10
[SPEAKER_03]: But now being able to utilize what cost, I mean, what Cocoa Comet can do, right?
26:16
[SPEAKER_03]: And being in 12 or 13 and taking advantage of those mismatches that Ben Johnson does, and now they have another year of doing this.
26:23
[SPEAKER_03]: right like that right there with those with all those pass catchers and knowing and being in this system another year when this when this becomes old hat for them just think about this this isn't old hat for them yet this isn't like I know it like the back of my hand when it's like oh I know when DJ does that I'm doing this
26:42
[SPEAKER_03]: Right, and I'm not even talking about Caleb.
26:44
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm talking about another receiver or tidy in like, oh, when DJ goes there, I know this space is going to be open.
26:50
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm going right here, right when you when they all get to that point in this system.
26:55
[SPEAKER_03]: Look out in a field, because there's going to be burning down the house.
27:11
[SPEAKER_03]: How many plays did you call him, a guy?
27:13
[SPEAKER_03]: None.
27:14
[SPEAKER_03]: Come over here!
27:16
[SPEAKER_03]: But again, a guy that in Declan Doyle has been trained by some of the brighter offensive minds in the league.
27:23
[SPEAKER_03]: You're talking about just recently coming over from Sean Payton.
27:26
[SPEAKER_03]: one of the top two or three offensive minds within NFL being here.
27:33
[SPEAKER_03]: You got a guy that the coaching trees that he comes from will see if he can be good with going over to Baltimore and now coaching Lamar Jackson.
27:46
[SPEAKER_03]: So your thoughts on Declan Doyle being the new offensive coordinator for the Baltimore ratings.
27:51
[SPEAKER_01]: It's another one of those things where yes.
27:54
[SPEAKER_01]: theoretically a lateral move.
27:58
[SPEAKER_01]: It is theoretically a lateral move, but he gets out from under Ben Johnson, who again, it's like everybody knows Ben Johnson is the offensive dude.
28:06
[SPEAKER_01]: Ben Johnson is the offensive play collar.
28:08
[SPEAKER_01]: So it gives Declan Doyle chance to spread his wings a little bit.
28:12
[SPEAKER_01]: And my goodness, what a meteoric rise for this guy.
28:16
[SPEAKER_01]: That's what's really most impressive.
28:19
[SPEAKER_01]: Declit and Doyle, kind of famous, is 29 years old.
28:24
[SPEAKER_01]: He turns 30 in a month, and March, he will be 30 years old, which is crazy.
28:30
[SPEAKER_01]: He was a tight-ends coach for the Broncos, under Sean Payton, as you said, for two years.
28:36
[SPEAKER_01]: spent one year as the offensive corridor for the bears and now he's an offensive coordinator for the Ravens.
28:41
[SPEAKER_01]: So like we'll see how he was who years as a as a possession coach.
28:45
[SPEAKER_02]: Was he with a shenanigan or make value?
28:48
[SPEAKER_01]: He was with someone else before going to St. Oh, yes, we're 19 to 2022 as an assistant is like an offensive assistant.
28:55
[SPEAKER_01]: So he wasn't even position coach.
28:57
[SPEAKER_01]: So just an absolutely meteoric rise.
28:59
[SPEAKER_01]: People talk a lot about his mind.
29:01
[SPEAKER_01]: He seems to be a very sharp guy, very smart guy.
29:04
[SPEAKER_01]: So just.
29:07
[SPEAKER_01]: Another rising star in the NFL, and it'll be interesting to see what he takes from Ben Johnson as he continues to career as he continues his career and and what his career shapes up to be because he has learned from a couple of the best in the biz so hats off congrats to Declan Doyle and congrats yeah
29:31
[SPEAKER_03]: to get everyone else that really, really, really, really, really, really in.
29:36
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, yeah, that's a, that's an episode of episode.
29:40
[SPEAKER_03]: I agree.
29:41
[SPEAKER_03]: Um, this I want to make this while I'm being facetious.
29:45
[SPEAKER_03]: Hey, guys, offensive coordinate left, are you still worried?
29:49
[SPEAKER_03]: Remember that?
29:50
[SPEAKER_03]: Oh, my god, the offensive offensive, the bears.
29:54
[SPEAKER_03]: We've lost an OC and guess who what we, we, how we feel.
29:58
[SPEAKER_03]: We don't give a damn.
29:59
[SPEAKER_03]: All right, that's not feel good, everybody.
30:01
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm trying to bring a little happiness and rainbows and lollipops to you because this used to always be the bear's fear.
30:09
[SPEAKER_03]: And now, as an organization run by a better office of my, we're going to be popping off OC's like they're going out of style in the future.
30:17
[SPEAKER_03]: All right, that's it.
30:18
[SPEAKER_03]: That's how, I'll tell you this.
30:20
[SPEAKER_03]: One of them's going to be really good.
30:22
[SPEAKER_03]: And at some point, we're going to be like, damn, that one was nice.
30:25
[SPEAKER_03]: He did bring a little something next year.
30:27
[SPEAKER_03]: But guess what?
30:27
[SPEAKER_02]: That's one of the best things about having the office of mine to play calling here coach.
30:31
[SPEAKER_03]: So Charmin Bay kicks these, his dog walker just got a job last week.
30:38
[SPEAKER_01]: For real.
30:38
[SPEAKER_01]: Now it's almost more, it's almost more worrisome that the bears lost Eric Bienamy.
30:43
[SPEAKER_01]: They're running back's coach.
30:44
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, that it is.
30:46
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, because Eric Bienamy brought intensity to practice.
30:50
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
30:50
[SPEAKER_01]: Eric Bienamy had DeAndre Swift.
30:53
[SPEAKER_01]: and Kalmanungai playing a certain way, you know, like you could feel that there would be fingerprints on their style.
31:01
[SPEAKER_01]: However, the next offensive coordinator is for the Chicago Bears.
31:05
[SPEAKER_01]: Will they have a voice in the room?
31:07
[SPEAKER_01]: Absolutely.
31:08
[SPEAKER_01]: Will they help Ben Johnson organize his thoughts?
31:11
[SPEAKER_01]: Will they bring ideas to the table?
31:14
[SPEAKER_01]: Absolutely.
31:15
[SPEAKER_01]: But, but again, like, let make no jokes.
31:20
[SPEAKER_01]: This is Ben Johnson's
31:24
[SPEAKER_03]: Do we have anything on some of the names being bandied about?
31:28
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, there's a guy from...
31:31
[SPEAKER_03]: Senator.
31:32
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
31:32
[SPEAKER_01]: Exactly.
31:33
[SPEAKER_01]: From the bangles.
31:36
[SPEAKER_03]: That's what he turned it down.
31:37
[SPEAKER_03]: We had a couple of guys that he was going to chill, which makes sense, which makes sense.
31:42
[SPEAKER_01]: Again, you know Ben Johnson's to do right people are going to wonder, people are going to wonder how much are you really doing over there.
31:49
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
31:49
[SPEAKER_01]: And then.
31:50
[SPEAKER_01]: He's been floated.
31:51
[SPEAKER_01]: Press Taylor is the passing game coordinator for the theirs right now.
31:56
[SPEAKER_01]: So he's a voice that's already in that building.
31:59
[SPEAKER_01]: They already know he already knows what Ben Johnson is looking for.
32:02
[SPEAKER_01]: He already knows how Ben Johnson needs help.
32:05
[SPEAKER_01]: So press Taylor's another name who's come up and, you know, he could probably just elevate up and help organize those thoughts in the same way that Declan Doyle was.
32:15
[SPEAKER_03]: All right.
32:15
[SPEAKER_03]: You in the extra points, sir, before we get out of here.
32:18
[SPEAKER_01]: No extra points.
32:19
[SPEAKER_01]: You're not going to believe it.
32:20
[SPEAKER_01]: Kind of no extra points for me today.
32:22
[SPEAKER_03]: I have an extra point of something that football related.
32:26
[SPEAKER_03]: Tonight, me, your old lady, my former co-host, and his old lady demos, we so gather and go see new edition boys to men and Tony Braxton at the UC.
32:41
[SPEAKER_03]: Now, I have never seen voice demand in Tony Braxton.
32:44
[SPEAKER_03]: I have seen no addition, but the fact I've seen them all on the same stage performance together, not just different sets.
32:50
[SPEAKER_03]: They're all performance together.
32:52
[SPEAKER_03]: And to hear, new additions version of the classic can you stand and reign along with voice demand version will be epic.
32:59
[SPEAKER_03]: So that's see me at the UC.
33:01
[SPEAKER_03]: Nice.
33:02
[SPEAKER_03]: But yeah, this is Wednesday also.
33:05
[SPEAKER_03]: But check me out.
33:06
[SPEAKER_03]: I will be there enjoying and sanging off key
33:11
[SPEAKER_03]: Who do you like more Tony Braxton or Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony
33:41
[SPEAKER_03]: Great question.
33:41
[SPEAKER_03]: All right.
33:42
[SPEAKER_03]: For Alex Shapiro, I'm kind of Davis coming up.
33:45
[SPEAKER_03]: We're going to give you on our next episode draft, but only senior ball players.
33:50
[SPEAKER_03]: All right, because we got a lot of draft stuff.
33:52
[SPEAKER_03]: I know it's early, but hey, you want to have a little fun.
33:55
[SPEAKER_03]: And we're going to talk senior ball.
33:56
[SPEAKER_03]: So make sure you check out that episode comment like and follow.
34:00
[SPEAKER_03]: We always appreciate you here on the Winni City podcast.