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Bear Bones: Chicago Bears @ Green Bay Packers · 2nd City Gridiron

0:03
[SPEAKER_00]: Hello there, and welcome in to Bear Bones.
0:06
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm Danny Mian.
0:08
[SPEAKER_00]: I know some of you guys know me.
0:09
[SPEAKER_00]: Mason has some work related stuff that he's gonna be out of town for this week.
0:15
[SPEAKER_00]: So it'll be me and I'll be joined here shortly with Brendan Shagroup.
0:20
[SPEAKER_00]: He is getting all himself all set up while I am here in front of you with my ugly mug.
0:25
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm ready to talk and recap a little bit of bears eagles here today.
0:32
[SPEAKER_00]: And then obviously it's it's the big rivalry.
0:35
[SPEAKER_00]: It's the game.
0:36
[SPEAKER_00]: It's packer week and we'll get to that down the line.
0:39
[SPEAKER_00]: But I just would like to kind of rehash a little bit the the Eagles bears match up, which I know we've seen bigger name podcasts and people nationally and locally talk about it pretty much all week leading into what this game is.
1:01
[SPEAKER_00]: And what the Philadelphia Eagles game actually means, the Eagles Bears game was in a word if you use a hyphen and ask kicking.
1:12
[SPEAKER_00]: The Chicago Bears imposed their role on the Philadelphia Eagles.
1:19
[SPEAKER_00]: It wasn't as close, I think, as the scoreboard may indicate near the end of the game.
1:27
[SPEAKER_00]: The bears had, for the first time since they played the Detroit lines in the 1985 Super Bowl season, two 100-yard rushers in Kyle Manungai and Deondrae Swift, like I said, 1985.
1:40
[SPEAKER_00]: Those Walter Payton and Matt Sui for those who are keeping track at home.
1:46
[SPEAKER_00]: The defense was kind of what it's always, what it's been all year opportunistic and playing
1:58
[SPEAKER_00]: And it was the first game all year where I know myself as a fan, analyst, podcast, or however you may view me tuning in as they can hang with anyone in this league.
2:16
[SPEAKER_00]: Do I think they're particularly great yet?
2:19
[SPEAKER_00]: Nobody do think they're an objectively good football team at this point.
2:29
[SPEAKER_00]: Congratulations, Bears.
2:30
[SPEAKER_00]: You've given me expectations.
2:33
[SPEAKER_00]: There's no way around it now.
2:35
[SPEAKER_00]: You are 93.
2:36
[SPEAKER_00]: You have won so many games in a row.
2:41
[SPEAKER_00]: You have done all this while still certain things are lacking on your team.
2:50
[SPEAKER_00]: Your line-backing core is depleted.
2:51
[SPEAKER_00]: Your second area is depleted.
2:53
[SPEAKER_00]: Your defensive line is horrifically underperforming, sand, and sometimes sweat recently.
2:59
[SPEAKER_00]: Your offensive line has been a revelation.
3:01
[SPEAKER_00]: They have an argument, if not case for top five in the league, if not the very best units in the league, especially when it comes to run blocking.
3:11
[SPEAKER_00]: And if you want to talk about run blocking porn or just this is how you're supposed to draw it up.
3:17
[SPEAKER_00]: Ben Johnson's Ben Johnson in Russia are designing some great stuff and watching specifically the right side of the line when they run behind Jonah Jackson and Donald Wright.
3:28
[SPEAKER_00]: It's, it's amazing.
3:30
[SPEAKER_00]: It's awesome.
3:31
[SPEAKER_00]: It's so much fun even though Jonah Jackson does remind me of a heavyweight price fighter in a sense of who relies a lot on knockout punches and not just flurrying.
3:41
[SPEAKER_00]: Where it's like, man, when he misses, he misses, but when he when he connects, it's fantastic.
3:50
[SPEAKER_00]: So I just wanted to kind of get
3:54
[SPEAKER_00]: get into that kind of thought process and really.
3:58
[SPEAKER_00]: And really kind of up and here's Brendan.
4:06
[SPEAKER_00]: Hey, Brendan, how's it going?
4:08
[SPEAKER_02]: What's up, Danny?
4:09
[SPEAKER_02]: Sorry about that traffic.
4:11
[SPEAKER_02]: Just literally accidents are happening everywhere and maybe late, so I apologize for that.
4:16
[SPEAKER_02]: But it's good to talk with you.
4:18
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it's always a pleasure to talk.
4:20
[SPEAKER_00]: And we haven't really talked since I believe it was a post-draft podcast.
4:23
[SPEAKER_00]: I know we were scheduled to have Yon then kind of a question about it.
4:25
[SPEAKER_00]: I came up, but I was kind of just rehashing the Bears Eagles matchup and kind of going over
4:32
[SPEAKER_00]: two things really happen.
4:34
[SPEAKER_00]: One, I think we can stop talking about the bears is just kind of this plucky happy go lucky team where they are I think they're objectively not a great team but a good football team.
4:44
[SPEAKER_00]: Well coached even though the defenses clearly punching above its weight class given their injuries and lack of ability specifically on the defensive line and
4:55
[SPEAKER_00]: Then covering a little bit on offense like how the offensive line is a revelation.
5:02
[SPEAKER_00]: They're they have an argument for one of the top five if not the best unit in football specifically when it comes to run blocking this year.
5:10
[SPEAKER_00]: So if you want to chime in a little bit on that while we reach three hash a little bit of last week before getting into bears backers.
5:19
[SPEAKER_02]: the biggest thing I said, I mean, point blank.
5:22
[SPEAKER_02]: I just said the bears went from contenders or pretenders to contenders last week.
5:27
[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, that was clearly the measuring stick game that everybody was waiting for.
5:31
[SPEAKER_02]: Because yeah, they kind of squeaked by a few of these
5:34
[SPEAKER_02]: These teams that were could be perceived as below their level.
5:39
[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, the Steelers may be not as much because they do have talent.
5:42
[SPEAKER_02]: They're good, they're well coached, but obviously the Vikings, the Giants, Saints, like all of that going back.
5:48
[SPEAKER_02]: Everybody is waiting for that one signature moment.
5:50
[SPEAKER_02]: Like, well, how good is this team?
5:52
[SPEAKER_02]: Are they just a team that can beat up on bad teams?
5:56
[SPEAKER_02]: Or is this actually a good team?
5:57
[SPEAKER_02]: And clearly, they show last week, and not only just with the win, but the way, like you said, they dominated from start to finish.
6:04
[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, you could look at the box score, it says one thing, but when you just watched how they manhandled on offense that Eagles defense, they won the trenches easily.
6:13
[SPEAKER_02]: They were the team that wanted to be there.
6:15
[SPEAKER_02]: The offensive line, I mean, you said it, then be in a revelation.
6:19
[SPEAKER_02]: This is the best offensive line in my lifetime.
6:22
[SPEAKER_02]: Easily and we're going back to you know mid 2000s with with only crudes Rubin Brown, John Tate like those are good teams, but I mean just I've never seen a line with such cohesion
6:36
[SPEAKER_02]: And just the ability to get after guys and you've got like somebody like Joe Toney, who's a tactician when it comes to past protection, and then you got brawlers like Drew Dalman and Jonah Jackson next to him, even left tackle, which should be a lot more of a glaring weakness than it is.
6:55
[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, they've been able to make it work with with unproven talent there.
7:00
[SPEAKER_02]: This is dead.
7:01
[SPEAKER_02]: They said they showed their contenders point blank and yeah now is the time and they also went from the hunters to the hunted.
7:11
[SPEAKER_02]: I think that's also a make thing to bring up because in the past everybody was like, okay, well, they're the bears.
7:17
[SPEAKER_02]: They're going to screw up anyway, but now.
7:19
[SPEAKER_02]: That the top of the NFC, they're at the top of the division teams are going to get them their best shot.
7:24
[SPEAKER_02]: They're not going to be underestimated anymore.
7:26
[SPEAKER_02]: So I think you're going to see a mentality shift when it comes to opponents going forward.
7:33
[SPEAKER_00]: I would agree with that.
7:33
[SPEAKER_00]: And now like you factor that and I brought it before you got on the just just kind of continue the offensive line and specifically the running game of what it's been.
7:45
[SPEAKER_00]: to 200 yard rush or in a single game for the first time since 85 when they played the lion with Matsui and Walter Payton obviously.
7:54
[SPEAKER_00]: What's so amazing about this is we're so quick to obviously and with with reason give credit to Raushar and Ben Johnson and that often that revamped offence of lion and hats off to Ryan Poles for going out and get the getting the guys that clearly they targeted as an organization with their coaching staff.
8:12
[SPEAKER_00]: But I do want to
8:15
[SPEAKER_00]: who is as much as I am like the running back guy I really enjoy watching running backs and evaluating running backs come drowsies and whatnot like I kind of handwave the idea that the enemy could matter all that much when it comes to this because he's a running backs coach.
8:33
[SPEAKER_00]: What's he got a yellow and screen user vision get low, you know, hit the whole hit hole.
8:38
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes, he could just not be stupid kind of thing like what it's one of those things, especially when you factor it's too broad, right?
8:49
[SPEAKER_00]: One Kyleman on guys development is palpable.
8:52
[SPEAKER_00]: He has gone from in the bless three or four, we specifically being a incapable pass blocker almost.
9:00
[SPEAKER_00]: to being a guy who's sick as nose in there and he's he'll get in the way it'll be more a little bit more than speed bump and he's viable to be kept on a field now.
9:11
[SPEAKER_00]: Snaps not coming for a snap of like, hey, it's third and three Kyleman on guy come on in and like run hard get these three yards.
9:19
[SPEAKER_00]: to now he can sit in there and deandry sweep.
9:22
[SPEAKER_00]: This is the best football deandry so it's been playing in his career, I think.
9:27
[SPEAKER_00]: He's not doing a better tip toe behind the line.
9:30
[SPEAKER_00]: Like I'm always looking to bounce everything.
9:33
[SPEAKER_00]: And it seems like most of his success, it looks like it's coming on mid zone, almost like Gap duo hybrid runs.
9:43
[SPEAKER_00]: Where you're not really asking him to read, you're just asking him to plant and go.
9:47
[SPEAKER_00]: and just use his really good athleticism.
9:49
[SPEAKER_00]: And I just kind of want to give credit and flowers or if you want to say it to Eric B.
9:53
[SPEAKER_00]: Enemy and the running backs room for obviously being a pretty key part of this running game is like run a song.
10:00
[SPEAKER_00]: As it were.
10:02
[SPEAKER_02]: It's a great point.
10:03
[SPEAKER_02]: I know I remember exactly where I was when it was announced that the enemy was coming in and I was I was floored.
10:09
[SPEAKER_02]: I was I mean I was very excited to have just a proven coach, a hard ass coach who I knew would be able to probably get
10:16
[SPEAKER_02]: out of somebody like Swift, but it's really good to point out that he should, yeah, he definitely should be getting as far as your spot on with Deander Swift playing his best ball.
10:27
[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, the stats show it, the eye test shows it.
10:30
[SPEAKER_02]: He's not only just a lot more decisive, but he's willing to take on contact more.
10:35
[SPEAKER_02]: He's falling forward, which I think is big because going back to last year, anytime he would have any sort of contact, it would like, it's like he would just,
10:45
[SPEAKER_02]: fall flat as a pancake.
10:46
[SPEAKER_02]: And that was it.
10:47
[SPEAKER_02]: You touch them once he's down.
10:48
[SPEAKER_02]: And now you're seeing a guy who just keeps his feet moving, not only just with like hitting a hole's decisive, but yeah, just
10:56
[SPEAKER_02]: Keep in his head forward, keep charging forward, and then picking up those extra like two to three yards.
11:03
[SPEAKER_02]: Like, I can't think of who there's some backs that are really good about it.
11:07
[SPEAKER_02]: Like you think they're down and then all of a sudden they're getting those extra few yards.
11:11
[SPEAKER_02]: That's who you reminds me of.
11:14
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, and when I got it, well, I was just gonna say real quickly about my non-guy.
11:19
[SPEAKER_02]: I want to tell you story, real quick.
11:22
[SPEAKER_02]: After the contract, I was very mad on my non-guy.
11:26
[SPEAKER_02]: I figured he was kind of just one of those guys from Rutgers.
11:29
[SPEAKER_02]: He had a lot of production.
11:30
[SPEAKER_02]: It wasn't necessarily going to translate as well as it could to the pros.
11:34
[SPEAKER_02]: I thought he was kind of bit undersized, not as strong as maybe.
11:38
[SPEAKER_02]: He showed in college and he would maybe look falter against NFL D fences.
11:42
[SPEAKER_02]: I saw him as like a kiddin carry type going back to the 2014 draft.
11:48
[SPEAKER_02]: I get this email from a, I think his name is Peter, I never get emails like everybody's tweeting at me when it comes to draft coverage bears wire stuff.
11:57
[SPEAKER_02]: So anytime I get an email, I'm like, oh, this is fun.
11:59
[SPEAKER_02]: This is exciting.
12:01
[SPEAKER_02]: And this guy is like, you're going to fall in love with one on guy, I promise you.
12:04
[SPEAKER_02]: This guy is going to just be the surprise of the draft.
12:08
[SPEAKER_02]: He was steadfast in it.
12:09
[SPEAKER_02]: He's like, I'm not a bear's fan, I'm a Rutgers fan, but I'm going to be a bear's fan because I'm a non guy.
12:14
[SPEAKER_02]: Um, all throughout camp, you would email me and he's like, I know you're not believing in him yet.
12:19
[SPEAKER_02]: Just just wait.
12:21
[SPEAKER_02]: And then after the Bengals game, when he just had the stage all to himself and he showed exactly what he could do, I just responded back to this guy, I'm like, Peter, I'm a believer now.
12:30
[SPEAKER_02]: You got me in, you have a hook line and sinker.
12:34
[SPEAKER_02]: This guy just, you mentioned the development, how he was a liability and past protection.
12:39
[SPEAKER_02]: You saw it in the preseason, you saw it early on, just the way that he's developed at such a quick pace.
12:45
[SPEAKER_02]: past protection for rookies is not easy.
12:47
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm sure you know that running back being in your position.
12:51
[SPEAKER_02]: You know that better than anyone.
12:53
[SPEAKER_02]: The fact he's developed so much while also having to get those meaningful snaps in a race where the bears are actually good is pretty incredible.
13:02
[SPEAKER_02]: So hats off to the entire coaching staff for that.
13:05
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it's been a lot of fun specifically and it's been I feel like a lot of it's been since that really early on by and we fireworks like they got their small sample size of what we can and can't do and then it's like they just Next what they couldn't do and started exaggerating, accentuating building off of the things they could do to make it into what it is now and
13:30
[SPEAKER_00]: I think that's the hope going forward for the passing game.
13:33
[SPEAKER_00]: But before we get there, because I feel like that's something we should more touch on for what the Packers game might be.
13:39
[SPEAKER_00]: What would a bear bones show be without touching on the injury or for a little bit?
13:43
[SPEAKER_00]: Because that's what Dr. Mason West and myself tend to do.
13:48
[SPEAKER_00]: So I got it in front of me, I apologize.
13:50
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't have Mason's access to all his pretty ribbons and banners and bows and all the graphics.
13:55
[SPEAKER_00]: So I've got the injury report pulled up right here in order for the bears.
13:59
[SPEAKER_00]: Your DNP's are Ruben Hippelette with a shoulder, Roman Dunzey with a foot to reach Stevenson with a hip, and Joe Toney with a nine-inch or a related veteran rest day, then you have limited for TJ Edwards and Kyle Monungai with his ankle, who was actually upgraded from yesterday when he was limited, and then full participants, Andrew Billings, Jalen Johnson, Dominique Robinson, and Noah Suhl.
14:23
[SPEAKER_00]: So I think we can pretty much count HIPAA light and and Tyre Stevenson out for this game.
14:33
[SPEAKER_00]: I haven't heard any updates regarding them at all.
14:36
[SPEAKER_00]: I did find the addition of a doonset in general coming into this interview for earlier this week and then into today a bit
14:45
[SPEAKER_00]: interesting because I don't remember a point in the game or anything where he came up lame or anything.
14:52
[SPEAKER_00]: I thought he played pretty much the whole game.
14:54
[SPEAKER_00]: I couldn't really remember anything where he got hurt.
15:00
[SPEAKER_02]: No, I don't either.
15:02
[SPEAKER_02]: The first thing I thought of was this has to be related to the heel injury that he suffered earlier in the season that he's been managing.
15:08
[SPEAKER_02]: He talked about it.
15:09
[SPEAKER_02]: He's like, it's more of a pain tolerance thing.
15:11
[SPEAKER_02]: And for a few weeks, he would be DNP on Wednesday, live it down on Thursday, and then, you know, limited or full practice on Friday with the expectation that he was gonna go.
15:23
[SPEAKER_02]: That wasn't on the injury report the last few weeks, though.
15:29
[SPEAKER_02]: It's anybody's guess as to whether it's the re-engineer, or just like a re-aggravation of it, or if it's something new on a different foot, we don't only know.
15:37
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm going to, I'm just going to assume that it's the same type of injury that he's been dealing with, and that that's a guess too.
15:43
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I bet he plays, maybe he doesn't see the same sort of snaps and, you know, the bears go in like 12 person, a little bit more.
15:51
[SPEAKER_02]: They do that anyway with Colcomet and Colston Loveland means could could be in a bigger DJ more game, a lot of days, a key is get more snaps with their burden.
16:01
[SPEAKER_02]: So as of now, we'll see what tomorrow brings.
16:04
[SPEAKER_02]: I think Roman Dunes is going to play.
16:06
[SPEAKER_02]: He may just not see the same sort of snapshot that he's used to.
16:11
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and then I guess to follow up with Rome, do you think maybe this, what we're both assuming and guessing, because I tend to agree that it's maybe just the heel flaring up on him again, and it being pain management, as they said, are we not wondering, is this like,
16:32
[SPEAKER_00]: feeling like he's making an impact on the game, because it just feels like he's, I'm like a better terminology, almost on a milk carton sometimes.
16:43
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know, I just feel like I don't notice him at all when he's, especially on the first watch of the live airing of the broadcast.
16:52
[SPEAKER_00]: If you write, I just feel like I don't feel his presence at all, they're like, I see him, but I don't feel like he's out there.
17:00
[SPEAKER_02]: No, I would agree, and it's definitely it definitely has not been the same since early in the season.
17:06
[SPEAKER_02]: I know he had that big game against the Ravens, but since then he's just been kind of, you know, getting a player to, he's still highly targeted, he's still one of the top targets of Caleb, but
17:17
[SPEAKER_02]: I think it plays a factor, but at the same time, Danny like he's dropping balls, he's not getting his foot in bounds.
17:25
[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, maybe that has a has a factor in it in terms of like some of the sideline catches when he is getting targeted.
17:31
[SPEAKER_02]: There's always just something that happens where the two with Caleb and him just cannot connect.
17:37
[SPEAKER_02]: Um, and I think just over the last few weeks with getting the running game going and kind of, you know, getting DJ more going, cool some love and it feels like Caleb is less reliant on him and more so with the other two guys.
17:53
[SPEAKER_02]: I think it's a factor, but I also just think there's some weird things going on where he needs to be more aware of his surroundings, he needs to be more locked in when it comes to bringing in the ball.
18:05
[SPEAKER_02]: Maybe the biggest thing to be honest, the foot isn't allowing him to separate as much as possible.
18:11
[SPEAKER_02]: I know like he's not the best burner, but he is a really good route runner.
18:15
[SPEAKER_02]: And some of his rots are there, but at the same time, I feel like others just aren't as like sharp and concise as they can be.
18:21
[SPEAKER_02]: And so I'll do that with learning a new playbook.
18:26
[SPEAKER_02]: Right, that too.
18:27
[SPEAKER_02]: And I know the passing game is very complex.
18:30
[SPEAKER_02]: As Ben Johnson said, it's not where anybody wants it to be.
18:33
[SPEAKER_02]: And I think you can see just things happening with, you know, errors happening with DJ Moore guys slipping guys, you know, running the wrong route.
18:42
[SPEAKER_02]: It's a collective issue.
18:44
[SPEAKER_02]: But when you have that with Rome, it definitely doesn't help things.
18:48
[SPEAKER_00]: Sure.
18:49
[SPEAKER_00]: And then just to kind of got to go over it.
18:52
[SPEAKER_00]: Packers in to report limited for Carl Brooks, Devon Bullard, Edger and Cooper with an ankle ankle and a shoulder.
19:00
[SPEAKER_00]: Brent and Cox Jr. with a joint limited for Matthew Golden and eight Hobbes and Joshua Jacobs with his knee along with Marshan Lloyd, who's practiced one doe, I believe has been opened.
19:11
[SPEAKER_00]: George Love was a full participant with his left shoulder.
19:15
[SPEAKER_00]: More limited with Colin Oliver, Jaden Reed, both of whom are in their practice window,
19:21
[SPEAKER_00]: Zach Tom with his back looks van nest with his foot, Koy Walker with his neck, don't even work with his ankle, and then two did not participate with saving on Williams in Devontay Wyatt.
19:31
[SPEAKER_00]: And with that, we will move into our preview of
19:35
[SPEAKER_00]: What's been in our Yubilee, I feel like the biggest game of their season, but then being sub-500 in division, and you are now playing your biggest rival with a quarter back, who's been playing some very good football, especially as of the last couple weeks in Jordan Love.
19:54
[SPEAKER_00]: Where do you want to start with this, Brendan?
19:57
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't really... Well, I'll just ask you this because
20:04
[SPEAKER_02]: In the past, half or week was always sort of one of those things where you clinch your butt cheeks a little bit tighter and you're like, okay, here we go.
20:10
[SPEAKER_02]: Time for another beating.
20:12
[SPEAKER_02]: uh... let's just get on with the week because uh... there's nothing usually good comes out of pack a week uh... except for the last time these two teams play the now the bears are coming in with a lot of competence uh... ben johnson has kind of talked is talk a little bit so i i guess my first question you is um... do you fear the packers the same way you have over the last few seasons or are you kind of turning over a new leaf uh... with a new sense of confidence going into this week
20:43
[SPEAKER_00]: Can it be some combination there of where there's like obviously, I think this is the most well coach bearous team we've seen probably since early on with Matt Negey.
20:54
[SPEAKER_00]: They are the I would argue probably the most innovative run offense in the NFL right now while they're trying to figure their passing game out with some of the blocking schemes and some of the combinations they dial up, especially with that
21:15
[SPEAKER_00]: But at the end of the day, like, stands that last game last year to season closer, they're the boogie man.
21:25
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, you just, like, I know we're going back some seasons now, but when Aaron Rodgers said, I own you, I've always owned you.
21:33
[SPEAKER_00]: He's right.
21:35
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, and until like, I always go back to the Steve Young Moment where he finally wins the Super Bowl and he goes to his,
21:42
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, his line, you know, we'll finally take that monkey off my back, kind of thing.
21:47
[SPEAKER_00]: It feels like the monkey is still on your back until you, you exercise those demons as it will.
21:53
[SPEAKER_00]: And do I, this year, no, not really, but I still respect Matlifler as a coach, just by a myriad of Packers fans and writers seemingly ready to pull the plug on the Matlifler experience.
22:07
[SPEAKER_00]: That's insane.
22:08
[SPEAKER_00]: Whatever, okay.
22:12
[SPEAKER_00]: The thing that makes them feel human or less than less than what they've been in recent years, Josh Jacobs is looking like the workload is finally wearing on him and I know he's got the foot injury, whatever working on him, but he feels like he's aging.
22:37
[SPEAKER_00]: the receiving group has always been sort of lackluster since Jordan love has been there in net the end of riders has been that's why they keep investing resources into it higher on the draft with Chris Watson and and Matthew Golden and even like Dobb was a fairly high pick I believe as a third or fourth rounder coming out of Nevada like they've always put like good amount resources into it and then you factor in the interior of their defensive line
23:03
[SPEAKER_00]: I came to call it replacement level.
23:05
[SPEAKER_00]: It's bad when you factor in Devante Wyatt's out and Carl Brooks is banged up.
23:11
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, who's manning the interior of their defense a lot against this interior with Dalman, Jonah Jackson, and Jotuni who's just been moving people out of the way these last few weeks?
23:26
[SPEAKER_00]: So they feel finally,
23:29
[SPEAKER_00]: It almost feels like I'm sure I've used this reference on this show before, like the rare times, the bears have been good.
23:35
[SPEAKER_00]: It feels like when Rocky cuts Drago and it's like he's human, so he's not a mission.
23:42
[SPEAKER_00]: He is a man, you can get him.
23:44
[SPEAKER_00]: Like it feels a little bit like that to use a really corny reference.
23:49
[SPEAKER_00]: So it's like, yeah, the butt cheese you're still getting clenched a little tighter to use your, your terminology, but they feel getable.
24:02
[SPEAKER_02]: That's exactly how I feel to maybe I'm maybe a little more optimistic than you are because
24:08
[SPEAKER_02]: I take a lot of stock in maybe a lot, but I take a good amount of stock in what happened to end the season back in January because that is important for a young group like this.
24:20
[SPEAKER_02]: It's important for Caleb, the core of that team that just went through hell to get through that losing streak and to finally end the season in the lambo field and you're just expecting the same old thing.
24:31
[SPEAKER_02]: All right, just give us our weapon and send us on our way to the offseason.
24:36
[SPEAKER_02]: And maybe it's because I was at that game to is my first time at Lambo and I felt the same way I was a wounded animal coming in and God bless Packers fans I they are a lot nicer in person.
24:46
[SPEAKER_02]: They kind of treated me like that wounded animal.
24:48
[SPEAKER_02]: They were like, okay, you're safe now
24:51
[SPEAKER_02]: You're here to watch a good football team.
24:54
[SPEAKER_02]: We'll take care of you.
24:54
[SPEAKER_02]: You want to brought, you want to new gliers?
24:56
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm like, you guys are very nice, thank you.
24:59
[SPEAKER_02]: But getting that big win to kind of shed off that massive losing streak, I think, you felt the relief from Caleb Williams after that game.
25:08
[SPEAKER_02]: Walking the tunnel, there's the video of him just exhaling, be like, woo, like, finally, we got that win.
25:14
[SPEAKER_02]: And I think there's something to be said for being able to kind of vanquish some of those demons.
25:19
[SPEAKER_02]: And now you're coming in with a lot more confidence.
25:23
[SPEAKER_02]: You mentioned some of the mismatches there.
25:25
[SPEAKER_02]: I think the packers, while they have kind of finally figured out an offensive identity without Tucker craft.
25:32
[SPEAKER_02]: Because it took a bit after you got injured, they really couldn't do much on offense.
25:36
[SPEAKER_02]: Their passing game ran through the tight end and the riders, receivers, or kind of a secondary option
25:43
[SPEAKER_02]: They're getting them more involved, getting Christian Watson back, I think, is a big get for them.
25:47
[SPEAKER_02]: And do we know if Jane Greets going to get activated this week?
25:51
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know if that haven't heard either way.
25:53
[SPEAKER_00]: But I know he's I believe it's the last week of his practicing window, right?
25:57
[SPEAKER_00]: So if they don't activate him this week, he won't be activated the rest of this year.
26:02
[SPEAKER_00]: I believe so.
26:02
[SPEAKER_02]: It's either this week or next week is the final week of it.
26:10
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, so that is that is significant, but it seems like it takes the packers a few weeks to kind of like figure out a way to get those guys in reintegrated as well.
26:20
[SPEAKER_02]: I think the bears defense could be a decent matchup for Jordan love if you can get pressure on them, which of course is the biggest step when it comes to this unit, but.
26:28
[SPEAKER_02]: considering how opportunistic the back end is with takeaways with how Jordan loved throw some of those balls and off the back foot.
26:37
[SPEAKER_02]: I think he gets, he's been a good quarterback, but he gets lucky at the same time.
26:42
[SPEAKER_02]: And somebody like, that's why he's going to ask me.
26:45
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
26:46
[SPEAKER_00]: With the Jordan love thing because I've asked this amazing and at a certain point if it feels like luck But the luck keeps going your way.
26:55
[SPEAKER_00]: It's not luck anymore.
26:56
[SPEAKER_00]: I feel like I've never seen a quarterback just Yip back foot throws.
27:02
[SPEAKER_00]: It just don't get punished the way a quarterback does usually like Jordan love does He just if feels like it's in eight like I'm just gonna I'm falling down backwards.
27:13
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm off my back But I'm just gonna
27:16
[SPEAKER_00]: rip this thing down the seam and here's here's hoping guys like and it never seems to be punished except for now and again.
27:26
[SPEAKER_02]: I was going to say so there he is susceptible to those yo-yo games where he has like three intersections and it's been a while since he's had one and I just I have a feeling that this is going to be one of those days where Dennis Allen who has historically
27:43
[SPEAKER_02]: Done while against the Packers in Jordan love.
27:45
[SPEAKER_02]: They played him tight back in 2023.
27:47
[SPEAKER_02]: I believe when he was the defense coordinator in 2021, 2021 or 22, I think it was 21.
27:55
[SPEAKER_02]: When they just beat the crap out of Rogers, he threw like three or four picks.
27:59
[SPEAKER_02]: He's been able to get the best of this Packers' offense under the floor in the past.
28:04
[SPEAKER_02]: I just feel like those throws, because I think they can be lucky.
28:08
[SPEAKER_02]: This is what going to be one of those games
28:15
[SPEAKER_00]: from your words, from your lips to God's ears, honestly.
28:20
[SPEAKER_00]: Because it just feels like the amount of the use a hockey term, Puckluck, he gets away with.
28:27
[SPEAKER_00]: In those very situations, it's like, this is absurd.
28:30
[SPEAKER_00]: No other quarterback has this kind of luck just throwing footballs up in the air and being like, well, worked out, huh?
28:41
[SPEAKER_00]: So we usually do a segment on this show.
28:43
[SPEAKER_00]: I know you've been on here before, but just to refresh your memory, call love it, hate it, rehabilitated.
28:47
[SPEAKER_00]: It's a matchup you love, a matchup you hate, and a matchup you'd love to just rebuild and or like something like that.
28:56
[SPEAKER_00]: So it can be individual player matchups, it can be unit matchup, it can be positional group matchups.
29:03
[SPEAKER_00]: What does a matchup in this game that you absolutely love?
29:06
[SPEAKER_00]: Like this is what I want to see, I can't wait to watch this.
29:11
[SPEAKER_02]: Well, we talked about it before, so I'm not going to spend too much time on it.
29:14
[SPEAKER_02]: But the interior lineman, Dalman, Tony, Jonah Jackson, again, is this Packers interior defensive line, losing Devante Wyatt was massive.
29:25
[SPEAKER_02]: And I remember I was watching the Lions game where he got hurt.
29:28
[SPEAKER_02]: That last micoparsin sack was all because of DeWantay Wyatt just taking out every kid who is blocking at the time on the lines offensive line, but it just opened up the space for micoparsins to come through and take down Jared Goff.
29:43
[SPEAKER_02]: With practice level guys, now filling in obviously they traded away Kenny Clark as well, so like there were already fit on the
29:53
[SPEAKER_02]: This is just a prime opportunity to take that's a similar game plan to what they had against the Eagles.
30:00
[SPEAKER_02]: Put it against this Packers offense and or Packers defense and just let the let DeAndres Swift come on on guy go control the time of possession, keep their offense off the field and make a statement early on.
30:15
[SPEAKER_02]: So I think it's it's clearly the best match up on paper
30:24
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, so mine is going to piggyback a little bit off of that because it melts a little easy to go with the interior matches, interior line, the interior defensive line, mine is with with how the running backs have been playing, I'm interested to see them in space.
30:40
[SPEAKER_00]: asked the back seven and see how they do when you are coming up again, guys should Quay Walker play, should you know, because I, I get on my soapbox, I feel like at least every other week on this show, talking about how awful, just linebacker play is in the NFL largely, just because.
31:00
[SPEAKER_00]: There's really not many great linebackers anymore when you find them.
31:04
[SPEAKER_00]: It's like people forget how impactful and really good linebacker can be.
31:07
[SPEAKER_00]: Obviously, their job is made easier by the big fellows up front.
31:10
[SPEAKER_00]: We, you know, it's football 101.
31:12
[SPEAKER_00]: Big guys make your life easier on the back end.
31:15
[SPEAKER_00]: But
31:16
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm really interested with the level that my non-guy has been at.
31:19
[SPEAKER_00]: It's a level that the Andre Swift has reached this latent to his career to see them against the safety and the corner or not the corner, but the linebackers as they get into that second level.
31:30
[SPEAKER_00]: Because it's not a map, it's not if they get to the second level.
31:34
[SPEAKER_00]: It's when, like, I just don't feel like they're going to have a
31:43
[SPEAKER_00]: good time with it going forward because they're just, I mean, they're like the number two rushing offense in the NFL right now, I believe they failed the number two and they were number one as of this past week.
31:56
[SPEAKER_00]: So you factor that in with the the master class of play calling and the run game that Ben Johnson has been calling.
32:06
[SPEAKER_00]: It feels like an easy thing to kind of really look forward to.
32:12
[SPEAKER_00]: I like that.
32:13
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like
32:41
[SPEAKER_00]: TJ, TJ Edwards got loving me, plays really hard.
32:44
[SPEAKER_00]: He's clearly got some soul for the defense.
32:46
[SPEAKER_00]: It's just he's for sure handed to tackler as he is.
32:52
[SPEAKER_00]: He's just has never been a great athlete at the lineback or position.
32:56
[SPEAKER_00]: And now you factor and he's beat up as a lineback or be like and all the accumulation of hits over the course of his career.
33:03
[SPEAKER_00]: Like,
33:04
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know how much a hampered TJ Edwards is going to matter potentially outside of like just getting people in the correct spots, even though the Marko Jackson was rather impressive last week, I'll say, but I don't like what specifically if they go condensed formations and get the running game going and do a lot of it in breaking stuff and getting these back up linebackers who don't move well in space like an OSU or like a and then
33:34
[SPEAKER_00]: I think I said his name right and what a play calling like Matt LaFlor could do to the interior of this or to the the first and second levels of this defense should they get in their bag.
33:51
[SPEAKER_02]: It's a good point, and we've been waiting for an offensive coordinator for a play caller to take advantage of those limitations that linebacker didn't happen.
34:02
[SPEAKER_02]: What kind of happened with the Steelers?
34:04
[SPEAKER_02]: I thought they had a decent game plan going in.
34:07
[SPEAKER_02]: They just couldn't execute it as well, especially with the bears' offense scoring 31 points.
34:14
[SPEAKER_02]: That has its limitations and the same thing with the Eagles.
34:19
[SPEAKER_02]: TJ Edwards, I would hope that his hamstring is healed up and maybe they were waiting on his hand to heal up because yeah, he just, he looks, I feel like he looks a step slower in slower every single year.
34:32
[SPEAKER_02]: He was great in 2023, looked a little slower in 2024, and then I think, moving him to middle,
34:41
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, moving him to middle and moving to main admins to the weeks.
34:44
[SPEAKER_02]: That is really helped him out a lot.
34:46
[SPEAKER_02]: It's going to be very interesting to see what he looks like without to main admins who was having an outstanding year.
34:51
[SPEAKER_02]: I'll kind of not piggyback but go off a little bit to the side of that.
34:58
[SPEAKER_02]: Um, I'm just going to go to the Bears defense backs against Christian Watson.
35:01
[SPEAKER_02]: Um, speed is not their game.
35:03
[SPEAKER_02]: I know a size is helpful, but we've seen a Sean Wright while he's been opportunistic with the the takeaways.
35:10
[SPEAKER_02]: Um, he gets burned a lot.
35:11
[SPEAKER_02]: It's very much a feast or famine type player.
35:14
[SPEAKER_02]: Um, Jalen Johnson, his speed isn't his game either.
35:17
[SPEAKER_02]: Um,
35:18
[SPEAKER_02]: And I just worry with Christian Watson continuing to get healthier and healthier being more integrated into the offense.
35:24
[SPEAKER_02]: You saw, you know, the trust that he's, you know, been rebuilding with Jordan love all it takes is one big explosive play to break the game open and that's the guy who can do it.
35:34
[SPEAKER_02]: selfishly, I happened.
35:36
[SPEAKER_02]: I was a big Christian Watson fan coming out from the 22 draft.
35:40
[SPEAKER_02]: I just thought he was a mismatch nightmare if he could learn to get better with his routes and really helped has been the biggest issue with him over the last few years, but when he's healthy, he is one of the most explosive players at the Wider Sea Reposition.
35:53
[SPEAKER_02]: So I'm just worried that the Bears defense of Bax won't be able to keep up with that and they're going to let up a big player too that could change the game.
35:59
[SPEAKER_02]: And if they do, number nine is going to be the, you know,
36:04
[SPEAKER_00]: agreed.
36:05
[SPEAKER_00]: I saw, I forget we tweeted out, but like the the explosive play rate of which he's been playing.
36:11
[SPEAKER_00]: They are catching these last four weeks since getting off of IR.
36:18
[SPEAKER_00]: He's been insane.
36:19
[SPEAKER_00]: It's like he's good for a couple of deep place every week.
36:23
[SPEAKER_00]: Like you were kind of mentioning and looting to.
36:25
[SPEAKER_00]: So he's just like he feels like he's lightning in a bottle right now.
36:30
[SPEAKER_00]: And I personally and truthfully didn't expect
36:36
[SPEAKER_00]: inconsistent he's been in his career on top of coming off as such a significant knee injury midway through this year so that's um that's been a issue then moving on I guess to the final part of it which is rehabilitated um I feel like it's been the
37:03
[SPEAKER_00]: Ben Johnson made everyone feel a little bit better with his very nice words of Caleb Williams last week, saying like how he's doing so great and I know there's thought process that he is very, very pleased if not giddy with the overall development of him coming into this year, but the
37:31
[SPEAKER_00]: subside and change for the better.
37:33
[SPEAKER_00]: And I'm not saying, I know people hear this, I'm sorry, I hate her.
37:37
[SPEAKER_00]: I think Hillary is going to be very good.
37:40
[SPEAKER_00]: If not great.
37:41
[SPEAKER_00]: The problem I run into with him is, great quarterbacks.
37:49
[SPEAKER_00]: Don't have seven, eight, nine sprays a game.
37:51
[SPEAKER_00]: And I know it's easy to say last week, you know, with the 20, 30 mile long wins, this that the third, that's the reason for the,
37:59
[SPEAKER_00]: the inaccuracy issues.
38:03
[SPEAKER_00]: It's like, but he has these every other week too.
38:05
[SPEAKER_00]: It's not just weather related or he's got way too many sprays for a guy of his talent level.
38:12
[SPEAKER_00]: Now, do I think that's going to continue into the rest of his group?
38:17
[SPEAKER_00]: No, I really don't.
38:18
[SPEAKER_00]: But I know in the short term, especially if you want to capitalize on what is.
38:22
[SPEAKER_00]: a surprise season in the rookie quarterback window of Caleb Williams, those have to be corrected.
38:29
[SPEAKER_00]: It's on now Brendan, you know as well as I do, it's completely unreasonable to say no more sprays period.
38:36
[SPEAKER_00]: Sprays hat, Patrick Mahomes has brain, Lamar Jackson has sprays, Josh Allen has sprays.
38:41
[SPEAKER_00]: Two or three, two, three, four, sprays a week is totally, it's what I've heard.
38:46
[SPEAKER_00]: It's the eight, nine, ten that where it's like, how are you this inaccurate when you were never that inaccurate coming out of school?
38:57
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think a lot of it is probably too pronged.
39:00
[SPEAKER_00]: One is the offensive we know is complicated.
39:02
[SPEAKER_00]: He's a Sean Payton sort of like that's for his, it feels like that's for his roots in Genesis are when he built built off of that very historically very complex hard offense.
39:14
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think sometimes you can see it in the moment where you're taking and trying to dissect of what he should be doing and it's not just just like it's not muscle memory in second nature yet.
39:25
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think it's also, his mechanics are weird.
39:27
[SPEAKER_00]: I feel like he's trying to swim in like, do his mechanics, like he's trying to remember what he retotted himself.
39:34
[SPEAKER_00]: And he's also trying to remember what he was taught in the office and through his playbook and through film session, all at the same time, which I think could be resulting in a lot of these misses or sprays.
39:43
[SPEAKER_00]: But I just, that's the thing I need rehabilitated, because I think, overall, there's people open.
39:49
[SPEAKER_00]: He's just missing.
39:52
[SPEAKER_02]: My favorite analogy that I came up with this year, I've tweeted it a few times, so this, you know, you may have heard it, but I'll say it again.
39:59
[SPEAKER_02]: Going in week one, watching Caleb Williams, it was like watching and listening to a middle school jazz band play.
40:07
[SPEAKER_02]: And I'm a musician by, you know, background as well, sports, so I've been there where you're playing the notes, you're getting through the piece, but it just doesn't sound right.
40:16
[SPEAKER_02]: You're not swinging, you're not playing with that boss
40:21
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, type of genre you're playing.
40:24
[SPEAKER_02]: It's just your planet's straight or you're just not in the pocket as it needs to be.
40:29
[SPEAKER_02]: That's what I felt like with him in week one where his body's doing one thing, his arms doing another, he's thinking one way, that's gotten a lot better.
40:37
[SPEAKER_02]: And it feels like he does have more of much more of a rhythm, much more of a feel.
40:41
[SPEAKER_02]: I wonder, I think it's a combination of so many different things and Caleb is partly to blame.
40:49
[SPEAKER_02]: By the way, Danny, it's okay to be critical of the quarterback.
40:51
[SPEAKER_02]: Like I hate when everybody says like, you have to...
40:55
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, have to sort of like, you know, I love Caleb, I think he's the greatest thing ever.
40:59
[SPEAKER_02]: I just wish he would do better.
41:01
[SPEAKER_02]: Like it's okay to, and this is just a general comment.
41:04
[SPEAKER_02]: Like it's okay to never do that.
41:05
[SPEAKER_02]: Especially when the bears are doing so well.
41:07
[SPEAKER_02]: Like you, you kind of are expecting good things now.
41:11
[SPEAKER_02]: And you, it's nice to see that they're winning in spite of the fact that he's been inconsistent.
41:17
[SPEAKER_02]: Um, but I'll kind of, I was going to say the same thing when it comes to the passing game, but I'll take it to not only Caleb Williams, but the entire operation.
41:26
[SPEAKER_02]: It just feels like it's out of sync and going back to what I said before with Rome.
41:31
[SPEAKER_02]: Guys, either are not in the right spots, they're dropping balls, they're slipping.
41:37
[SPEAKER_02]: If they do have a good play like it may come back because of a legal motion penalty, it just feels like not everybody is on their peace and cues and knowing that there's a lot of Mike Marks background and kind of like schemes and concepts within this offensive system where
41:54
[SPEAKER_02]: that's sort of a system where guys need to be at a certain spot where the quarter of ice can deliver it.
42:00
[SPEAKER_02]: And we don't know if that if Caleb is throwing to where a guy is supposed to be or if it is just an accurate pass, I think there's probably a little bit of both.
42:10
[SPEAKER_02]: Um, so the whole thing just needs to get cleaned up.
42:13
[SPEAKER_02]: I am, um, I'm happy that Ben Johnson addressed it because going back to what you said about the run game had meeting fixing over the by week.
42:22
[SPEAKER_02]: That was called out very specifically and he said this isn't a deandre swift problem.
42:26
[SPEAKER_02]: This isn't everybody problem.
42:28
[SPEAKER_02]: And look what happened.
42:28
[SPEAKER_02]: They become one of the best if not the best rushing offenses in the league.
42:32
[SPEAKER_02]: Now,
42:32
[SPEAKER_02]: do I think like the same thing's going to happen with Caleb with five weeks or five games to go?
42:37
[SPEAKER_02]: Probably not, but I think it's going to get better and I think these guys are going to continue to tighten up and get better when it comes to learning the scheme and getting that to be muscle memory.
42:47
[SPEAKER_02]: So I just need better from every single person involved because everyone's taken a turn of messing this up.
42:56
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I think that's a good way to put it because it's like I guess that I I'm just saying from what a lot of my frustration with the accuracy thing is he never really showed these issues at USC and right a lot of times he didn't even really show him last year outside of when he was going terrible way too much and now they're.
43:14
[SPEAKER_00]: It almost is like he's trying to make put more Jared golf into Superman or Jared golf works perfectly, like as you put it as a musician, he's very much into whatever everything is in cadence and rhythm in time in the pocket, he's it's almost like they're trying to put more of that into Superman and I think maybe that's
43:43
[SPEAKER_00]: based in you will do things the way it's designed and Ben Johnson straight up told us he doesn't want 50-50 plays.
43:52
[SPEAKER_00]: He wants wide open guys.
43:54
[SPEAKER_00]: So that's where I was getting out with then and you're absolutely right it's okay just because you criticize something you like doesn't mean you hate it.
44:02
[SPEAKER_00]: It means there's a criticism and that a guy who is put in the same
44:13
[SPEAKER_00]: Like there's a there's a level of expectation of you like fair or not like that's what he's got
44:21
[SPEAKER_00]: So that's more what I was getting at.
44:24
[SPEAKER_00]: And it goes both ways, like to your point of the whole offensive operation for passing in us to be better.
44:30
[SPEAKER_00]: When is someone gonna make a play?
44:32
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, I'm not gonna talk about it on Twitter once or twice throughout the week.
44:37
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, Rome would do in a make a play challenge.
44:40
[SPEAKER_00]: Or it's like, dude, how perfect does the set up me to be for you to do in what the 10th pick in the draft?
44:46
[SPEAKER_00]: And I pick in the draft, make a play.
44:49
[SPEAKER_00]: Like I go back to, I think it was against the Steelers, the, like it was not an easy catch by any means, but we're Kayla it's an inside breaking route to the to the field goal post and he puts it between the safety and the slot and he puts it we're only wrong can get it's a hard catch, but it's a catch someone of his caliber should make instead it just goes, you know, flying through the back of the end zone and it's like, I mean, it's a good throw.
45:15
[SPEAKER_00]: Like what like it's a hard throw, but it's a good throw in a hard area of the field.
45:23
[SPEAKER_00]: And it's like at a certain point someone's got to make a play.
45:27
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
45:28
[SPEAKER_00]: And also more.
45:31
[SPEAKER_02]: No, you're right.
45:32
[SPEAKER_02]: I was just going to say also we tend to any time there's like a missed throw or like there's a drop on the finger tips or something like that.
45:39
[SPEAKER_02]: Everyone sort of like Blame goes from one side to the other.
45:42
[SPEAKER_02]: Oh, so we see we're so all.
45:43
[SPEAKER_02]: Oh, this is quarterback's fault.
45:45
[SPEAKER_02]: It's like, no, it's it's both it's almost always both Unless it's like actually like a blatant drop where somebody's like, you know, tossing it to them and hits away the hands up, you know, 10 yards.
45:57
[SPEAKER_02]: But
45:58
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, it's just there's there's always it's never like a hundred percent that I've thinking of like multiple throws to roam where like yeah Caleb could have put a better ball there that's probably like 65% on Caleb for 35% roam and then there's other ones it's like hey he had his fingertips on him that's like 80% roam 20% Caleb it could have been a better throw
46:19
[SPEAKER_02]: when you're, when you're the number nine pick, when you're one of the top three wide receivers in the draft, like, you know, you're on that field for a reason.
46:27
[SPEAKER_02]: Like, not everything's going to be perfect.
46:29
[SPEAKER_02]: You got to bail.
46:30
[SPEAKER_02]: You bail out your teammates out all the time.
46:35
[SPEAKER_00]: So that's pretty much, I think it for like the game preview, because
46:45
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I guess one thing, and it came up after I was talking, you know, with one of our, one of our good friends Quentin Chris go after another podcast and has didn't make like the live feed I wish it did.
47:00
[SPEAKER_02]: Just Ben Johnson's aggressiveness when it comes to some of these road games and division games so.
47:06
[SPEAKER_02]: going into Philly on that opening drive bears go for the fourth down deep in their own red zone or deep in the Eagles red zone, they don't get it, they don't get points, thankfully didn't matter, but it was close for a decent time where it could have.
47:20
[SPEAKER_02]: I wonder if that same mentality is going to present itself on Sunday because I was looking back at the Vikings game, you know, a road division game, the bears did not attempt any fourth downs, not one.
47:34
[SPEAKER_02]: And that's surprising, they don't want to go back to that, or bright.
47:38
[SPEAKER_02]: So I'm wondering, just knowing the stakes,
47:42
[SPEAKER_02]: Is this a game where Ben Johnson is going to have that same sort of mentality where, you know, they're going to be hunting on fourth down, they're going to pass up field field goal opportunities, or will you want to take the points a little bit more, knowing like just, hey, this is a team within our division, we're on the road to hostile environment and map the floor knows this knows this group well, I just wonder.
48:07
[SPEAKER_02]: what's going to happen when those situations come up because they're going to come up, obviously.
48:13
[SPEAKER_00]: That's really interesting, especially when you factor in when he had an introductory press or when he took the friendly little shots at specifically Matt LaFours and how he liked beating in twice a year.
48:24
[SPEAKER_00]: So you would imagine the aggression that was going to be there and even maybe the willingness to kind of empty the magazine as it were in terms of some of the play calling and like,
48:37
[SPEAKER_00]: I know Ben Johnson hates the term trick plays because in the to him, they're all just plays.
48:43
[SPEAKER_00]: So I think that's really good.
48:45
[SPEAKER_00]: I didn't even think about that though.
48:46
[SPEAKER_00]: That's a good point, Brennan, when you bring up he didn't go for single fourth down against the bike.
48:51
[SPEAKER_00]: That's really interesting.
48:54
[SPEAKER_00]: I never would have even considered to think about looking that up, honestly, because he would go for it.
49:05
[SPEAKER_02]: Right and we've seen it so much sometimes and it's a gamble sometimes it works out.
49:10
[SPEAKER_02]: It's crazy how much things have shifted even the last like three years and
49:16
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, and in the Packers, you know, going back to what you said about the comments, they're still well aware of that.
49:22
[SPEAKER_02]: The O.C.
49:23
[SPEAKER_02]: came out today and said, like, yeah, that was we take that personally.
49:39
[SPEAKER_00]: Like you just got here, bro.
49:42
[SPEAKER_00]: You just laid the bears as a pack early.
49:44
[SPEAKER_00]: All right, if you want to hate them, I guess, like final means.
49:49
[SPEAKER_00]: And then before we get out of here, Brendan, we always do four or five picks against the spread to see what you would do.
49:58
[SPEAKER_00]: So if you don't mind, I'll give you four or five games and we'll get out of here.
50:03
[SPEAKER_00]: Sure.
50:04
[SPEAKER_00]: Let's do it tonight.
50:05
[SPEAKER_00]: We've got the Cowboys at the lines.
50:07
[SPEAKER_00]: The Cowboys are favored by or the the lines are favored minus three and a half.
50:11
[SPEAKER_00]: These are purr draftings.
50:14
[SPEAKER_00]: What do you like minus three and a half of the lines?
50:17
[SPEAKER_02]: I've been.
50:19
[SPEAKER_02]: I've been on the Cowboys.
50:21
[SPEAKER_02]: I just think they're peaking at the right time.
50:23
[SPEAKER_02]: They found a formula that works for them.
50:26
[SPEAKER_02]: The lines are a little bit healthier than I thought they would be.
50:29
[SPEAKER_02]: I was just looking at the notifications to see who was in her out.
50:33
[SPEAKER_02]: They happened to paint penacewels in.
50:35
[SPEAKER_02]: I think I'm on raw, he's out, right?
50:37
[SPEAKER_02]: That's how I was out.
50:40
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, sure.
50:42
[SPEAKER_02]: It's going to be tough.
50:43
[SPEAKER_02]: The Dallas run defense versus the lines run off and it's going to be very interesting.
50:48
[SPEAKER_02]: I think Dallas there they've got a formula that's working right now.
50:52
[SPEAKER_02]: Give me the plus three and a half with them.
50:55
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm with you on that plus three and a half.
50:57
[SPEAKER_00]: We will then move on to a big game, especially with Joe.
51:02
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, I'm guerrillas.
51:03
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm on rise active.
51:05
[SPEAKER_00]: I thought I saw you in any point.
51:07
[SPEAKER_00]: That's what this guy is saying in the chat.
51:10
[SPEAKER_00]: I thought it.
51:10
[SPEAKER_00]: I thought he was done.
51:12
[SPEAKER_00]: for at least this week, um, that changes the calculator a little bit, but I still, I'm saying what the cowboys took over.
51:21
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, yeah, I think long thing wrong.
51:25
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, um, Bengals at bills.
51:28
[SPEAKER_00]: So Joe Burrow's back, the second straight match up against a former MVP, Burrow at the bills might plus five and a half or my bill or favorite minus five and a half,
51:43
[SPEAKER_02]: is an interesting line.
51:44
[SPEAKER_02]: I think so the Ravens gave it away quite a bit, and I guess it was a fairly lapsided game.
51:55
[SPEAKER_02]: Burrows beat in the bills there, especially in the playoff, so I think he is capable of doing.
52:00
[SPEAKER_02]: You know what's great?
52:02
[UNKNOWN]: I
52:03
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm going to go with Joe Burrow.
52:05
[SPEAKER_02]: I think it's fun.
52:06
[SPEAKER_02]: I think he's built for this.
52:09
[SPEAKER_02]: I love the competitor in him.
52:11
[SPEAKER_02]: They have a shot somehow.
52:13
[SPEAKER_02]: I think they still have a shot.
52:15
[SPEAKER_02]: And this is a doer die game for them.
52:18
[SPEAKER_02]: Let's let's see the Bengals plus.
52:20
[SPEAKER_02]: You said it was five.
52:22
[SPEAKER_02]: What's about an app?
52:24
[SPEAKER_02]: Five and a half.
52:24
[SPEAKER_02]: Give me the given the Bengals.
52:27
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay, I'm going to go the other way.
52:28
[SPEAKER_00]: I think that Josh Allen and the company are going to take care of this.
52:33
[SPEAKER_00]: I just don't.
52:35
[SPEAKER_00]: I think Burrow is good.
52:37
[SPEAKER_00]: Obviously, I just, I'm also a resident of Burrow later.
52:42
[SPEAKER_00]: I think it's just on brand for me to just hate.
52:48
[SPEAKER_00]: We will then move on to, do we want to talk at all about Pittsburgh Baltimore?
52:52
[SPEAKER_00]: Is that just kind of battle of the middleing
52:58
[SPEAKER_02]: I'll just say this, like Pittsburgh, it feels like this is one of those games where they're going to bounce back somehow and just keep it like level as all things should be when it comes to them.
53:10
[SPEAKER_02]: I'll just, I'll pick Pittsburgh out even though it might be like a pickup or something.
53:13
[SPEAKER_02]: I could look at my wife and I have five and I have five and I have five and I have five and I have five and I have five and I have five and I have five and I have five and I have five and I have five and I have five and I have five and I have five and I have five and I have five and I have five and I have five and I have five and I have five and I have five and I have five and I have five and I have five and I have five and I have five and I have five and I have five and I have five and I have five and I have five and I have five and I have five and I have five and I have five and I have five and I have five and I have five and I have five and I have five and I have five and I have five and I have five and I have five and I have five and I have five and I have five and I have five and
53:32
[SPEAKER_00]: All right, and then two more games, and then we'll get to Bear's Packers on the on the pick up something at football Houston at Kansas City.
53:40
[SPEAKER_00]: I actually think this is an awesome game without especially without Houston's been playing defensively minus three and a half.
53:45
[SPEAKER_00]: So it's effectively a wash by by Vegas standards.
53:50
[SPEAKER_00]: What do we like to do?
53:51
[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, Houston is one of the most dangerous teams right now with their defense.
53:54
[SPEAKER_02]: I am concerned about their offense, but just given how ineffective Patrick Bahomes was against the Cowboys, I know they have extra right, I'm actually now I'm talking myself into it.
54:06
[SPEAKER_02]: Give me the three and a half of the chiefs only because they have extra rest and this is effectively a doer by game for them and the Texans of kind of as good as they have been If kind of been getting away with a little bit of BS that I feel like should catch up at some point I'll take chiefs minus three and a half
54:35
[SPEAKER_00]: He would be GPO if Miles Garrett didn't exist, right?
54:39
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, he's gonna be up there.
54:42
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
54:42
[SPEAKER_00]: And then, hopefully, it's out there.
54:45
[SPEAKER_00]: Finally, Eagles, the Chargers Eagles plus two and a half.
54:48
[SPEAKER_00]: Or minus, no, Chargers plus two and a half.
54:51
[SPEAKER_00]: What?
54:54
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay, Eagles and Chargers on the Chargers in the brain are home to our plus two and a half.
55:02
[SPEAKER_02]: And what's the status of Justin Herbert at this point?
55:07
[SPEAKER_02]: He was practicing today, yeah.
55:12
[SPEAKER_00]: I saw a video of him dropping back and throwing it at charges practice on the Twitter.
55:16
[SPEAKER_00]: OK.
55:18
[SPEAKER_02]: This one is all, this one is very interesting.
55:20
[SPEAKER_02]: I think, so I called it going into the various eagles game.
55:23
[SPEAKER_02]: I was like, this is an eagles team that is teetering right now.
55:32
[SPEAKER_02]: Assuming Justin Herbert plays, I'll I'll take the charge.
55:36
[SPEAKER_02]: There's plus two and a half.
55:37
[SPEAKER_02]: This is like you're talking about a hardball team that just as hard knows they they they're going to give it their all.
55:46
[SPEAKER_02]: I yeah, I just I don't trust the Eagles now.
55:49
[SPEAKER_02]: They have to win a game for me to you know see that the bleeding is stopping because we've seen it before with them two years ago once they start falling they don't stop.
55:59
[SPEAKER_00]: That is 100% true.
56:01
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm actually going to take the Eagles to rebound.
56:04
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm a big believer in failing hurts.
56:09
[SPEAKER_00]: And it seemed like every time we count him out, he seems to kind of resurrect for a time.
56:14
[SPEAKER_00]: So I know that everything seems to be
56:21
[SPEAKER_00]: very much in flux and ready to implode there.
56:24
[SPEAKER_00]: Like it feels very, feels very fragile, right?
56:28
[SPEAKER_00]: But I'll take them to at least ward it off for another week.
56:33
[SPEAKER_00]: And then finally, the show for the beloved bears at Green Bay.
56:40
[SPEAKER_00]: Last I checked it was minus five and a half, but Green Bay is not favored back up to minus six and a half.
56:44
[SPEAKER_00]: It feels like a pretty big number given how bold these have been playing.
56:50
[SPEAKER_02]: It is.
56:50
[SPEAKER_02]: And going back to last week, we saw the same thing.
56:53
[SPEAKER_02]: Bears were seven point underdogs still, you know, Vegas not giving them a chance.
56:58
[SPEAKER_02]: People still believing that this is some sort of black magic.
57:02
[SPEAKER_02]: The last two weeks, look, I picked against the bears last two weeks.
57:05
[SPEAKER_02]: I begged them to let me.
57:07
[SPEAKER_02]: I was waiting.
57:08
[SPEAKER_02]: I know, I was waiting for the Florida fallout.
57:11
[SPEAKER_02]: I just didn't, I didn't feel good going to the Steelers game and everybody was
57:15
[SPEAKER_02]: Everybody got so mad at me and I'm like, guys, I just don't feel good about it.
57:19
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm glad to be wrong.
57:20
[SPEAKER_02]: And then the Eagles, I figured they would cover, but I was just worried that there was going to be too much talent.
57:27
[SPEAKER_02]: At some point that, you know, the bears were going to falter maybe late or something, but
57:35
[SPEAKER_02]: On changing my tune this week, I feel like those demons that we talked about earlier at the start of the episode have been exercised against Green Bay.
57:43
[SPEAKER_02]: Caleb has played well against them overall.
57:45
[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, remember he led them back to that, you know, would be game winning field goal.
57:51
[SPEAKER_02]: That was blocked.
57:52
[SPEAKER_02]: He's clearly been up for the challenge against the rival, something that many quarterbacks have not done.
57:57
[SPEAKER_02]: Um, the fact that there's been one in spite of them, um, it seems like Caleb's able to actually be a win because of guy against this defense.
58:06
[SPEAKER_02]: And I just, this team is playing with the confidence that we've never seen before Ben Johnson is pushing all the right buttons.
58:13
[SPEAKER_02]: They're coming off extra rest.
58:15
[SPEAKER_02]: I'd love the idea that they've had an extra day or two to kind of get a game plan together.
58:20
[SPEAKER_02]: The last time we saw that was after bi week against Washington and they looked very good overall.
58:28
[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, I know it kind of went back and forth a little bit but they came out what looked great.
58:33
[SPEAKER_02]: And I just think this is, this is the Bears Chance yet again to, they showed they were contenders last week.
58:40
[SPEAKER_02]: They were going to prove it this week and really take a step forward in terms of what, you know, around the league, what the belief is in them.
58:49
[SPEAKER_02]: I think it's going to be something like Bears 26 Packers 24.
58:56
[SPEAKER_00]: I will, I will agree with you, the Bears Outright
59:01
[SPEAKER_00]: The vibes are too good, so I'm sure we're all going to be let down in spades, because this is just what happens.
59:08
[SPEAKER_00]: But you know what, we saw the fireman outside of winter circle playing bare down on their PA system.
59:16
[SPEAKER_00]: It's the vibes are immaculate right now, and I want that to continue.
59:22
[SPEAKER_00]: So instead of thinking like you said, think long and think wrong, I'm not thinking about it.
59:27
[SPEAKER_00]: It feels like right now everything's going to well.
59:31
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, everything's too good.
59:33
[SPEAKER_00]: The vibes are great.
59:35
[SPEAKER_00]: They've bought into the coach.
59:36
[SPEAKER_00]: The coach is clearly in his bag.
59:38
[SPEAKER_00]: And he's got a bit of a mini-buy coming in and trying to fix this passing game up on top of game conditions that should really favor their game plan last from last week.
59:48
[SPEAKER_00]: Against Philadelphia, against a baby food soft interior defensive line of the packers.
59:55
[SPEAKER_00]: Give me the bears to cover on one.
1:00:00
[SPEAKER_00]: That should probably do it.
1:00:02
[SPEAKER_00]: We would like to thank our lovely sponsors, kombuchaed, go to kombucha.com, backslash, beer, bear, gut check to get 15% off any in all orders, shout out to Mason for getting them as our sponsors.
1:00:13
[SPEAKER_00]: And thanks for joining us, Brendan.
1:00:15
[SPEAKER_00]: Appreciate it.
1:00:17
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, of course.
1:00:17
[SPEAKER_02]: I was great to talk about with you and hope we can do it again soon.
1:00:24
[SPEAKER_00]: All right, awesome.
1:00:25
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, bear down, bears fans will see you later.
1:00:28
[SPEAKER_00]: Be safe and enjoy your weekend.