Latest / Mac & Bone Podcast / Mac & Bone Show - Courtney Cronin Interview

Transcript

Mac & Bone Show - Courtney Cronin Interview · Mac & Bone Podcast

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Our next guest is not going to annoy anybody um
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: she is awesome what does she not do for espn
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: bone whether it's hosting now in the studio a bunch
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: whether it is the bears reporting she's done over the
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: years being based there in chicago whether it's the general
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: nfl reporting and heck you will hear her often on
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: espn radio right here on wfnz in charlotte she is
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: courtney cronin And she is here to talk about Panthers
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: Bears with us. Courtney, how you doing? What's going on?
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: I'm great, guys. I'm excited for Sunday, hopefully. I looked
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: at the weather forecast. Looks like the rain's going to
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: be at bay a little bit, but going to be
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: a hot one. And I'll be on the sideline for
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: that game. So definitely trying to get mentally prepared for that,
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: as I'm sure these players are too. But they both
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: practice in pretty hot climates, so probably nothing new for them.
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: No, that's true. That's true. And you, that's right. I
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: left out of all your jobs I mentioned at ESPN.
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: I left out the fact that you do sidelines for
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: the ESPN NFL games, and that includes the Panthers and
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: the Bears this weekend. You covered the Bears a lot,
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: so obviously we're going to ask you a lot of
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: questions about them. In addition to what you think about
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: the Panthers, let me start, though, with our home team.
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: They made the playoffs last year, Courtney, and that was
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: a huge step for us. It had been nine years.
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: So we see the progress in this team. but it
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: definitely feels like the national media is kind of looking
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: at it and saying, well, you only won eight games.
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: You backed in. You need help to get in. How
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: do you feel? Do you feel like the Panthers can
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: keep taking step forwards, or are you not so sure?
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: What do you think?
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: No, I think they can. I think it's a winnable division.
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: I mean, you had three teams with eight and nine
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: records at the end of week 18 last year and
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: the Panthers are the team that get themselves into the
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: playoffs and, you know, push, push the Los Angeles Rams
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: to the brink. in that playoff game in the wildcard round.
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: So I think they have all the makings of a
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: team that's on the rise and not a team that's
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: going to take a step back. Yes, there's offensive line injuries,
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: but every team deals with something like that going into
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: the first week of the season. And it's a long season,
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: which is what we've seen. You see how a team
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: looks week one is going to look a lot different
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: than week 18. I think you can say the same
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: thing about the Panthers last year. You could say the
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: same thing about the bears last year from where these
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: two teams started. So yeah, I think it's a team
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: that has a big question to answer at quarterback. This
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: year is Bryce, the franchise guy, because if he is,
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: they're going to be paying him a lot of money.
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: And it is a good spot to be in when
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: you have a quarterback to pay again, like relating the
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: two teams that are playing this week, just because of
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: where these two quarterbacks were taken between Bryce and Caleb Williams.
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: Like these are good problems for teams to have when
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: you're trying to sort out Do we have to go
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: back to the drawing board at quarterback or can we
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: lock somebody in effectively in your mind for the next
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: five to 10 years? And I, and I do think
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: that they have that. And then obviously a Teterola McMillan
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: is a star in the making, really excited to see
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: what that backfield looks like this year. Certainly too. You know,
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: there's a lot to like with this team, the Brooks
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: Hubbard splits, all of that. So I think they're a
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: team that could very well win the NFC South. Again,
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: you're going to have to fend off a very pesky, uh,
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: team down there in Tampa Bay who seems to win
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: it just about every year. Baker got the new contract,
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: so he's motivated, but I think the Panthers will be
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: right there in the mix.
• 3:23
  Speaker 3: Courtney, a player that both franchises know well that is
• 3:26
  Speaker 3: no longer a part of this game is DJ Moore,
• 3:28
  Speaker 3: former Panther, now former Bear. How does he no longer
• 3:32
  Speaker 3: being on the Bears affect the offense and are Burden
• 3:36
  Speaker 3: and Odunze ready to take that mantle as the one
• 3:39
  Speaker 3: and two guys in the wide receiver room for the Bears?
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: It's been pretty seamless, a transition from DJ Moore, where
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: all those targets are going to go, to the next
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: in line. Because it's Colston Loveland who led this team
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: in receiving last year, the rookie tight end. His ascent
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: has been incredible to watch. And watching him every day
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: in training camp practice, there's not a day that goes
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: by where you're like, wow. without a wow play. Like he's,
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: he's terrific. And I think a lot of what DJ's
• 4:08
  Speaker 2: workload was last year goes to Colston Loveland. It goes
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: to Roma dunes. It goes to Luther burden, but beyond
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: that wide receivers, three, four, and five, whether it's Kalief
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: Raymond or, Davian Thomas, who the NFL world really hasn't
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: seen unless you were watching preseason games and you only
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: saw the one where he was really active in the
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: finale against Tennessee. Like that's a tool that Ben Johnson
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: gets to unlock at his disposal this year, knowing he
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: has so much talent ahead of where somebody like Thomas
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: is on the, on the depth chart. So yeah, DJ
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: Moore leaving opens up what the bears can do. And
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: it's not that there was a log jam last year,
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: but there was this expectation that a veteran receiver who
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: had been with Caleb Williams through two different coaching staff
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: would be the piece that you can't do without, but
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: they realized pretty quickly where DJ is in his career
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: is and being able to kind of clear some things
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: out for other guys to get opportunities, they had to
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: do that in the receiver room because you had three
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: number ones between Moore, Adunze, and what Burden became last year.
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: It wasn't going to be sustainable that way. This is
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: an offense that might have a different wide receiver one
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: or a top pass catcher every single week, and that's
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: the way that Ben Johnson wants it. I look at
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: this transition from March, the day he was traded, to
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: where we are now on September 10th, And the word
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: seamless is probably the only thing I can use to
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: accurately describe how they've gone from that era of the
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: offense into year two of this Ben Johnson offense.
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: Yeah. We're talking with Courtney Crone. She covers the Bears,
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: covers the NFL and for ESPN. And we'll be covering
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: the Panthers-Bears game in Charlotte tomorrow. on ESPN Radio on
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: the sidelines on Sunday. Courtney, Ben Johnson's fascinating to me.
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: He's a bit scary this week being a Panther fan
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: because I just think he's brilliant offensively. I'm not going
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: to lie. I wanted him here. He basically said, David Tepper,
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: I'm good. I'll do another year in Detroit. And then
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: he ends up getting the Chicago job. What is he
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: like to cover? Do you feel that he's just going
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: to prove to be the special head coach that he
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: looked like he was in year one.
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: I don't know if I've covered a more intense head coach.
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: I've covered coaches who can be rough around the edges,
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: who give off this vibe of intensity, but for Ben
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: Johnson to live it day to day in every moment
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: that you see him in Hallis hall to the practice field,
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: to then games, it's, It's quite a sight to witness
• 6:39
  Speaker 2: because a lot of coaches, I think, talk about being
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: that way. Ben Johnson, from what I've gathered about him
• 6:46
  Speaker 2: over the last two years, lives that. And he truly
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: wants to live that. And that's who he is. It's
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: who he's been. I think there's kind of this internal...
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: like I want to call like a chip on his
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: shoulder because I do think it's more than that. But
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: think about his career path. He goes to Miami. He
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: really wasn't a part of any traditional coaching tree. He
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: gets to coach all over the offense and then he
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: gets fired with the rest of the staff after surviving
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: multiple head coaches, mind you. But to start over where
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: he did as an offensive quality control coach in 2019
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: to where a lot of his peers at that time
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: were getting jobs as coordinators and were you know, with
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: connections in the league, whether they were former players, whether
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: they were part of different trees, like Ben never had that.
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: So the opportunities that he's gotten in, like, it might
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: look like a fast ascent to some, but he's really
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: gathered a lot of Intel, every place he's been and
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: being in Detroit, building that offense, becoming the hottest head
• 7:43
  Speaker 2: coaching candidate, arguably in the league in 2025, uh, to
• 7:47
  Speaker 2: then taking over a place that had just been a
• 7:49
  Speaker 2: revolving door of instability at the head coaching position, at
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: the quarterback position, trying to figure out what the identity
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: of this team is. They moved into the modern era
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: of the NFL where it's not just about the run
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: game and defense. There's nobody better to take over a
• 8:05
  Speaker 2: place that has expectations of trying to get back to
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: being a relevant franchise. And he's gotten them there. He
• 8:12
  Speaker 2: got them there in year one. So for him to
• 8:14
  Speaker 2: set the bar where he did 11 wins, a playoff
• 8:17
  Speaker 2: win the first time in 15 seasons, I think that's
• 8:20
  Speaker 2: only ratcheted up Ben's intensity even more going into this year.
• 8:24
  Speaker 2: Like if you mentioned 2025 to him now, he's going
• 8:26
  Speaker 2: to get ticked off. Like that is like, and it's
• 8:29
  Speaker 2: not disingenuous. It's truly stop asking me about it because
• 8:32
  Speaker 2: I've been over it since two days after the Rams
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: game ended. And it took forever. people inside that building.
• 8:37
  Speaker 2: It took the fan base, it took the players a
• 8:39
  Speaker 2: lot longer to move on. But the way he sees it,
• 8:43
  Speaker 2: he doesn't want to become what some of these other
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: teams that feel like a flash in the pan were.
• 8:49
  Speaker 2: Then they go fade back into their irrelevancy. And that's
• 8:52
  Speaker 2: a tough task when you have the hardest strength of
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: schedule in the NFL and you have a defense right
• 8:56
  Speaker 2: now that is struggling with injury. And we truly don't
• 8:59
  Speaker 2: know what the identity of that group is going to
• 9:01
  Speaker 2: be because they thought they were going to be Their
• 9:04
  Speaker 2: strength is going to be in the secondary. I don't
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: know if that's the case anymore with two significant injuries
• 9:08
  Speaker 2: that is reshaped how that thing looks. But if there's
• 9:11
  Speaker 2: anybody who invites that smoke and wants all of the
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: attention on the offense to show, hey, I can put
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: up 50 points and we can win these games and
• 9:20
  Speaker 2: we can win shootouts if we have to, that's Ben Johnson.
• 9:23
  Speaker 3: Courtney, what's the vibe and expectation from the Bear fan
• 9:28
  Speaker 3: entering this season? Is it that they can go to
• 9:30
  Speaker 3: another level even from last year? Is it trepidation about
• 9:33
  Speaker 3: the defense? Take us into the mind for what you
• 9:35
  Speaker 3: know of the Bear fan right now and what they're
• 9:38
  Speaker 3: thinking entering this year.
• 9:40
  Speaker 2: Most fans that I've spoken with engage like their pulse
• 9:44
  Speaker 2: on what this year is knows how quickly the thing
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: can turn. Because remember, 2018 is not that long ago
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: when they had the magic of Matt Nagy early on.
• 9:54
  Speaker 2: And then 2019 comes around coming off the year where
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: they go to the playoffs and it's a double doink.
• 9:59
  Speaker 2: but they're still feeling really good because they had a
• 10:01
  Speaker 2: great defense and still had a lot of questions about
• 10:04
  Speaker 2: Mitch Trubisky, but like 2019 was such a letdown for
• 10:07
  Speaker 2: this fan base. So that's not lost on this, on
• 10:11
  Speaker 2: this group of supporters of the bears, but it feels
• 10:15
  Speaker 2: different because number one, you have a competent head coach
• 10:17
  Speaker 2: and a competent quarterback. That pairing has never been in
• 10:20
  Speaker 2: question since Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams teamed up. It
• 10:23
  Speaker 2: was between Mitch Trubisky and Matt Nagy. And you saw
• 10:26
  Speaker 2: that friction in training camp in 2019 manifests itself throughout
• 10:30
  Speaker 2: that season to where you knew he was on borrowed
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: time early on in his career and that this thing
• 10:35
  Speaker 2: wasn't going to last. That's not the case here, but again,
• 10:38
  Speaker 2: The difference with that year to this year to then
• 10:41
  Speaker 2: coming off last year, the NFC North is loaded. Detroit
• 10:45
  Speaker 2: is back. The Green Bay Packers are considered a favorite
• 10:48
  Speaker 2: to win the division by some. I think Detroit personally
• 10:51
  Speaker 2: does that. And then you don't really know what you're
• 10:52
  Speaker 2: getting with Minnesota. The fact that the Bears win the
• 10:55
  Speaker 2: division last year. And most sports books have them as
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: the third best team, third place finishers in the NFC North.
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: That's not lost on these fans who understand like a
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: wildcard finish still gets you into the playoffs. You're still
• 11:08
  Speaker 2: a wild, a playoff team. If you have 10 wins,
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: if you are a second place in your division. So
• 11:13
  Speaker 2: I think it's actually pretty measured among most fans that
• 11:18
  Speaker 2: don't anticipate all of a sudden going to become the
• 11:21
  Speaker 2: Superbowl favorites when you have a pretty stacked NFC ahead
• 11:26
  Speaker 2: of them, whether it's the Seahawks eking out that win
• 11:29
  Speaker 2: last night, the Rams, and we'll see them tonight and
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: what they are. The NFC West is loaded. There's, there's
• 11:35
  Speaker 2: some pretty fair expectations. Nothing that I think is over
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: the top with these Bears fans.
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: All right. That's interesting. I didn't know. I didn't know
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: if the mini Ditka's were, were, were Superbowl shuffling again,
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: but that sounds like they're keeping it measured. All right.
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: Here's the whole interview. Courtney is built towards this moment
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: right here. All right. I need to ask you this question.
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: You live in Chicago. I have heard a lot about
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: the Chicago style hot dog. I have never had one.
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: It seems like it has a whole lot of stuff
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: on there, like mustard, relish, onions. Tell me if I'm
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: leaving something out. Tomato wedges, a dill pickle, peppers, celery, salt,
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: and there might be more. I don't even know. Is
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: that combination, does it work? Like, do you, what do
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: you think of the Chicago dog?
• 12:17
  Speaker 2: I'll be very honest. As someone who grew up here,
• 12:20
  Speaker 2: I don't crave the Chicago dog. I am kind of
• 12:24
  Speaker 2: sacrilegious with like, I put ketchup on my hot dog.
• 12:27
  Speaker 2: You put ketchup on brats. I don't think it needs
• 12:30
  Speaker 2: to be the be all end all. You don't need
• 12:32
  Speaker 2: to crucify somebody by the way that they decide to
• 12:34
  Speaker 2: eat their food. But I have had a Chicago dog.
• 12:37
  Speaker 2: I had one three years ago at Byron's on the
• 12:40
  Speaker 2: north side here. just because I wanted to try it.
• 12:42
  Speaker 2: I can't say I don't like something I've never had,
• 12:45
  Speaker 2: even though I thought at the time that all the
• 12:47
  Speaker 2: combination of those things on it were probably a little much.
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: It's good.
• 12:51
  Speaker 2: It's not my favorite way to eat a hot dog,
• 12:53
  Speaker 2: but to each their own. And it is a thing here.
• 12:56
  Speaker 2: And it's kind of the fun of getting new players
• 13:00
  Speaker 2: into town when you can ask them, about deep dish pizza.
• 13:05
  Speaker 2: One of the first questions I asked Caleb Williams and
• 13:07
  Speaker 2: Roma dunes, a, how do you take your pizza? Is
• 13:10
  Speaker 2: it tavern style is the right answer in my mind,
• 13:12
  Speaker 2: but both of them seem to like deep dish. The
• 13:14
  Speaker 2: hot dog question always comes up too. It's a, it's
• 13:16
  Speaker 2: our way of endearing out of towners who the franchise
• 13:20
  Speaker 2: hopes will be a big part of this team for
• 13:22
  Speaker 2: a long time to our culture here in Chicago. Cause
• 13:25
  Speaker 2: food is a big part of it. Just like Carolina
• 13:27
  Speaker 2: barbecue would be for you guys.
• 13:29
  Speaker 3: I love it.
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: I love it.
• 13:30
  Speaker 3: As a ketchup only on a hot dog person, I
• 13:32
  Speaker 3: don't know if me and the Chicago dog would get
• 13:34
  Speaker 3: along too well.
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: No, but you and Courtney, and I'll put ketchup with
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: the mustard on a hot dog. We get shamed, Courtney,
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: all the time by listeners, by people around here about
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: the ketchup on a hot dog.
• 13:45
  Speaker 3: You can't even find the hot dog itself.
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: There's so much stuff on top of it. I don't
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: get it. I don't get it, man. All right. Courtney,
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: we appreciate you. We talked two of our favorite things,
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: football and food. We appreciate you. Everybody listen to her
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: on ESPN Radio's coverage of Panthers Bears on Sunday. Thank you, Courtney.
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: We appreciate it. Thank you both.
• 14:04
  Speaker 2: Take care.