Ben Johnson’s First Message to Chicago Bears: “Win Now” | CHGO Bears Podcast
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It's time to make America affordable again. It's time to support the President's plan. Welcome in to the CHGO Bears podcast on a very interesting Tuesday. There he is saluting you, Gregory P. Allen Braggs. Let's go.

doing great work what a performance by greg bragg's steven killing it everybody adam killing it at house hall you always bring in the fire your intensity your passion with the speech yesterday clearly that resonated because all we heard from the players today was how they were impressed by what they heard there so yeah yeah yeah i mean ben i think uh focused on some things that i didn't focus on but that's probably a good job by him as far as winning now they want to win by a lot

They want to kill everybody. Our guy Adam Hogue was at Hallis Hall doing the on-the-ground work for us today. Good job.

afternoon to you sir reporter today Hogue what's up brother yeah Carm you also forgot to address the parking in your speech because uh apparently you know there's fine details like that that need to be handled by the head coach in his first first address we heard that from Caleb so you you missed on the parking the parking lot was chaos uh this morning because nobody knew where to park

Well, so since you're out there, did you get any details on that? Who's parking in spots that are not theirs? Who's parking in polls a spot? Who's taking George's spot? That's actually not George. Who's taking somebody's spot in upper management that is irritated? It bears players. That's coach polls, by the way. Yeah. No, I don't know. Right.

the point that there's just some logistics obviously need to be handled there. But once again, I just want to point out, this is a credit to the bears. They have not done this in past years. I don't remember since my time covering this team, them having media availability at the start of the off season program, maybe it happened once or twice, like a long time ago, but certainly not

recently and I think it's great I mean I think it's great you you heard from four guys today that theoretically could be team captains um maybe iffy on darn all right I don't know but you're talking about four of the more established players um now that are here

and I think that's a great way to, you know, communicate what happened with Ben Johnson. First, first message. I thought it was very interesting and I know we're going to talk about a lot of this, but you know, you, you set it off top car. It's wind now we're going to win now, but not only that wind by a lot, like foot foot on the gas,

we're going to dominate. That's the message. And that is a, that is a departure. I feel like in a, in a good direction for the bears. Yeah. I mean, very exciting for you, Greg. Well, I mean, yeah, cause I agree. That was definitely the tenor of some of the messaging. There were some different things that we're going to touch on, but yes, Jalen Johnson says, well, Hey, you want to win by seven or do you want to win by 70? And then other players echoed that that's

kind of what the messaging came from Ben Johnson. We're trying to dominate. And so, but I still like the fact that Caleb Williams and Jalen Johnson didn't take the bait when they were asked about, Oh, you know, is this so much different than last time? They're like, well, Hey, we haven't done anything yet. We got to put in the work. You know, Jalen was like this last year as well. You know, not going to buy into the hype and to see a guy like Caleb Williams who clearly, uh,

you know, through what he was saying and the ups and downs of last year, there was a lot of humbling. And so now you come into this season, you have Ben Johnson there, uh,

already quizzing guy, the quarterback room. Right. So I'm excited to talk about that as well. I, I, I would love to hear more about that quizzing and the details behind that. Mark was saying, Oh, how did you do? You know, that, that would have been a, that'd have been great to find out, but it's just cool that Ben Johnson first day in yesterday is already applying the pressure. Yeah. I am loving the fact that Ben Johnson is swinging doors open and say, and just, Hey,

What did, what did you digest from yesterday's conversation? What do you, what did you learn? That's a lot. Keep, keep guys on their toes. Why don't we, why don't we pivot to hearing from these guys and we can react to it. Jalen was the star of the show today, but you know, the quarterback is the quarterback. So we're going to start with Caleb and, and,

And as we got it going here, basically, this was the introduction, Caleb, back in front of the media for the first time as we get ready for 2025. And, you know, it was, I don't know, he seemed enthused, and then he covered a lot of topics here right off the top. Me? I'm great. I'm great. Glad to be back, healthy, strong. Glad to see everybody back here and, you know, getting everything going.

What was your first impression of Ben Johnson addressing the team for the first time just the first couple days? Yeah, it was great. Being able to see him get up there,

He said something that, you know, he said, you know, you never forget your first day as a head coach. And, you know, he said, it's a great day. And, you know, let's get this thing rolling. He jumped out there and, you know, said a bunch of do's, said a bunch of don'ts, said, you know, a president, what we're going to be like as a team, finding our identity and all of that. So, you know, we're excited. Obviously, we have to put in the work. Can't be too excited.

because the work hasn't been done, but definitely excited for what's to come and the future. How do you feel about the work ahead? It's five months from now until the season starts. How do you feel about what that's going to require of you and the opportunity that that presents? Yeah, I'm super excited about it. I think...

Being able to be in this position, being able to have a first year the way I did, ups and downs, and then to be able to come in here, be as confident as I was last year or possibly even more, and to be able to get here with the group that we have.

I really can't wait to get to work with these guys. We've got a good group of guys, personality-wise and obviously talent-wise. It speaks for itself and what some of these guys have been able to do and some of the key pieces that we added so far to this team. So far, we've meshed well these past two days of introduction and now today of our first workout and getting after it.

We're all really excited and we can't wait to put in the work. Obviously, like I said, we have to do it. It's something that time, energy, effort, sacrifice, and that doesn't just mean us putting in time on the board, us putting up time on us being here, working out, lifting, getting stronger, faster. It's also us hanging out in the offseason, building that bond so that when times do get tough,

You know, because it's a long season, as I can say now. You know, it's a long season. And so being able to build that bond off the field so when times get tough, you know, we fight through it, we get through it, and, you know, we keep going as a team.

All right. So we got the do's and the don'ts, which is, I guess, replacing the wise, which I think is a good thing for bears fans. Oh, your, your reaction from the opening for a, from Caleb today.

Yeah, I mean, look, like Jalen, I want to couch everything said on this show as like we're in the honeymoon phase. This is hope springs eternal, all that good stuff. So we're going off a lot on words. Everything needs to be shown with action. That all being said, I like the words. I like him from what I heard there, which was essentially an opening statement and an opening question and answer or two.

is him understanding what needs the work that needs to be done. Right. And I think that is sort of a lingering question with Kayla Williams, not in, and we've talked about this, not really in any negative way, but just, um,

Going above and beyond at the quarterback position to understand what it takes to be extremely successful with the talent that he has. Clearly, he possesses. And so going off of the words on his first time talking since the offseason program started, I like what he had to say there.

Yeah, I agree. Like I said, humbling from last year. But I'm curious, Hogue, how come you didn't step in and explain EPA to him? Because it was clear when he was dialed up about it. I think it was clear he did not know what EPA was, but he was just having fun with, you know, being respectful to the answer. Well, hold on. You are jumping ahead to our next cut where he was –

slightly oddly asked about EPA, which I thought was... It's Hoag's wheelhouse. I'll be honest. Shout out to Dan Wiener because it was...

Look, I'll take it behind the scenes. I had about three questions and a text message from Braggs of worth of questions that I wanted to get in, juggling video, which I'm not really used to, and not trying to make excuses. It was a competitive room. I had a front row seat. I should have gotten more in than I did. I'm going to raise my hand on that, hold myself accountable. But that was, it was a little bit farther down the list, but I was tempted to ask about EPA. So I didn't hate that Dan got that question in.

Okay. Sorry for jumping ahead. You and, and we were, and brag should all do a podcast. Cause I would, I personally would not have asked him about EPA trying to stump the quarterback on some weird stat that yes, I get it, but that's not what he's thinking about. Well, our EPA, which come on. And I gotta be honest. I didn't love his answers. Uh,

you know, we got to do the work. I'm excited. Speaker 0 : I made season form already. Speaker 3 : Second day of reporting to house and we're already Speaker 0 : Answers. Why are they talking about EPA? They don't get it. Speaker 3 : Well, I, you know, I'm coming in this year as confident. I was last year, maybe even more. He doesn't even hold

on maybe even more you've been here for a year you should be a lot more confident you know a ton more he's like yeah it sounded to me like he got knocked back and he's still trying to find his way you know he doesn't like all the coach speak

He should be finding his way. He did get knocked back. He had 18 offensive coordinators last year and was, is a miracle. He survived that season and played in all 17 games. That's, that's fair. Fine. Great. But I mean, that's, let's talk about a reality of where he's in. The guy's trying to find his confidence that he had going into last year that because of everything that happened in year one, it was a tough year. So that's what I'm trying to understand.

line here in brilliant car and press conference analysis mode here you are a beautiful mind but here forget okay we can get we can get away from my my do's and don'ts in that in that opening foray let's here comes the epa answer uh you know dan wieter outstanding reporter chicago tribute been doing this for more than a minute asked him straight up about epa and here and and after he

Well, here's his answer. Being decisive and being accurate mentally and sharp mentally. And so, and just being on top of it. So, you know, I think that starts from it, the decisiveness. And then, you know, when you get out there and, you know, when you're decisive, everybody plays a lot better when you're decisive. And there's, you know, the QB positions when you're on the field is played in gray.

And so having everything else that I can have in black and white is a part of that. So, you know, that part, you know, when you get in the field, you're decisive. You go out there and you rip and, you know, you're more accurate with the ball. You get to place it where you want. You get to go out there and, you know, make checks and be clear-minded. So that's the goal. And, you know, we'll work towards that and working on Ben's EPA.

Okay. I know an answer in the, in the classroom when you clearly don't know the answer, but you're trying to fake your way through it. I did this many times in high school. That's exactly what happened right there. Oh, do you think that the Caleb Williams and by the way, I don't think it matters, but do you think that Caleb Williams knows what EPA is?

I think he's generally aware of it. I don't want him to know what goes into every piece of the formula. That would be horrible. Like if he's only worried about like jacking up the EPA and he knows like, oh, this is going to get this equation, blah, blah. That's not the point. And I explained this last week. You can keep making fun of it. The reality is EPA is a simple stat.

Did you help yourself score points on that specific play? That is what football is anyway. So all Caleb needs to know is what he said in that answer. Be decisive, complete the pass.

know what the assignment is on the play, make the ball move forward, EPA up. This does not need to be complicated. And he doesn't need to know every little thing that goes in the EPA. Neither do you, Carm. I'll take care of that. All right? It's like a college basketball player having to know points per possession. That's a Matt Painter job. That's not Braden Smith's job. Exactly. Listen to me.

My point is this. I want, I want Kate. I'll know that Caleb is confident and has it down and is leading that room. When he starts asking, answering questions, the way Jalen Johnson answers questions, Dan, we'd are asked you about EPA. What can I do? Complete passes.

not get sacked, move the ball down the field, be a good quarterback done. It just did a direct answer. He doesn't, but if he didn't know what EPA was, which is fine. I mean, we're, we're, I think we're dragging this out, but like, if he didn't know what EPA was, then just simply, Hey, what is it? What is it? Right.

But he's just trying to get through. He would have gotten killed for that, too, if he said that. So he's got to fight his way through. He could have had fun with it, but whatever. It's silly. It would have been great if he said it. I thought it was more funny than... The Environmental Protection Agency? Didn't we just dismantle that? I mean, he could have done that. I don't know if he knows it. I don't care if he knows it. I'd like to see him be straight, direct, not...

Genuine, not coach me. Complete some passes, man. What do you want me to know the offense? How am I going to help EPA be a good quarterback? I mean, it's, I don't know, direct annoyed. That'd be great.

I think you guys are being ridiculously hard on him for April. Don't bring me into this. Don't bring me. I thought the EPA thing was funny. I don't care about it. And I don't care about his coach speak either. I just care about him and Ben Johnson coming together. And, and, you know, when he said, you know, our, our,

Our relationship here is key, and our growth together is key. That's the biggest thing here on the line. And as I said, the biggest takeaway I had from Caleb's presser was him talking about being quizzed by Ben Johnson. The whole quarterback room was, I'm curious to know what that quiz was, how he did, and the details behind that. Outside of that, I don't have one issue with Caleb. Now, Carm, different animal. Listen, let me be clear.

I'm not trying to make this out to some huge Caleb issue. I'm making it out to a suggestion to what I'd like him to get to. You don't, you don't just don't cater to, to Hogue and Weterer and Cronin. He did have less arms. There were less arms. Yeah.

I think there were less sums. Have you watched these clips? I think he looks good. He's ready to go. Oh, my God. I am not going to make it until week one. You are not. Seriously, both of you, for the love of God, stop analyzing the press conference. I did.

Let's just move on to the next thing. This is so ridiculous. This is so ridiculous. I'm telling you it's ridiculous. This is press coverage analysis day. We will get to more of that and just moving through. There's football to talk about. Jalen Johnson's going to cover the number one wide receiver. Can we please talk about some actual football? Listen.

I am more than happy to. I want to talk about the quiz. I didn't know that was news. But we are getting to Jalen, who did answer questions in a brilliant Jalen way today that does matter, and I'm very excited about it. Next. But first...

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as we wrap up Caleb, tell me what you thought actually did matter from today's press conference. Cause I know anytime you ever in the QB, there's gotta be at least some takeaways. Well, you're right. And like, I think is, I think this is why I was getting frustrated earlier. Cause I actually think he said some of the things you're asking him to say, like,

he was asked about going under center because ben johnson talked about that last week that was a big thing i was focused on last week was because he mentioned that to to me first in his interview uh last monday and then it came up again tuesday morning and ben explained why and so caleb addressed that today like what it takes for him to go under center and he said

It's working, getting up to the line, visualizing, getting the line, saying the cadence, being under center, controlling those things, going over the routes, concepts, footwork in your head in the off season. So that when those times hits, it's the fourth quarter. You can't think about those things. You can't focus on those things. It just becomes second nature, second habit. Later on, he also mentioned Jared Goff and just about how over time with Ben, you could just see it like,

goes back to what Ben said in his opening press conference back in January, the seeing the game through the play caller, right? So you're on the same page. And once you get the play and that headset turns off, you can't hear your coach anymore. Now you take over as the quarterback and you understand everything that's in front of you and you go out there and execute and you complete those passes. So again, it's like, I feel like Caleb based on what he said today, if we're really going to overanalyze things that were said today,

has a good grasp on what he needs to do here. And so whatever the test was, and obviously we're not going to get a copy of the quiz. I don't think that's anything new, by the way. It's pretty simple in football. You go through an install on one day, you get tested on it the next day just to make sure there's comprehension, especially I think if you're a quarterback. So I think that's all that was when he was saying we already got a quiz today. Know what was in the text yesterday. Ace the test today when you're looking back on it. And I just feel like...

Caleb does understand this stuff and it's really that simple. Two things. Number one, Steven side note, make sure you take snid bits comments for the snid bit segment. Indeed. I need those comments. Don't let those go to waste to back to you. Hoke. All right. Things I liked about Caleb and that the, it seems like he's embracing the under center thing is, you know, and that process, which is cool. You want to take a guess at what I didn't like in that, in that particular stanza that you just brought up.

How well do you know me, Ho? Because you know me pretty damn well. It frightens me at times how well you know me because, you know, we've known each other now for 15, 16, 18 years, whatever it is.

I'll tell you what. Second nature part? I don't know. Yeah, yeah. Okay, we're getting into the second nature part. He's like, so when the fourth quarter comes rolling around, the fourth quarter, they scored three points in the first quarter. This has got to be second nature when the game starts. No, but the fourth quarter, let's get it ready right when the game starts. Let's flow. I don't need to remind you again that the Bears sucked in the first quarter this year. Fourth quarter, first quarter, right?

The head coach is talking about killing. He lost the game when he froze in the moment at the end of the freaking game. What are you talking about? If he had been better in the first quarter, then that issue wouldn't have been in the fourth quarter. The Bears were terrible in the first quarter. Who are you to walk off the set? You want to be in a fight with Hoag? Is that what you were doing? Get back here. Sit down. You guys have it out. You guys have it out. Yeah.

Don't listen to him. Yes, both can be true. He just didn't mention the first quarter. Leave him alone. But ultimately, I'm with you, Hogue. As I said, the humbling of last year, he named all the things that he needs to be better about this offseason because, in my opinion, he's acknowledging those are the things he struggled with. And then also saying there's going to be ups and downs. Then he even emphasized that, like, I know that now.

So I think there was some, you know, I think he was a little naive going into last year and there was a lot of hype and a lot of hope. And he's sitting there like, well, hey, no, there's still work to be done. I don't know anything about this guy. We just got here two days ago. So that for me is the acknowledgement of the work that still is ahead of them and not getting, you know, putting the cart before the horse. Yeah.

You know what's amazing about this show is just the roller coaster that you go on every day, at least that I go on every day. Yesterday, I was having a great day with the chat. Today, I am back to being enemy number one, which is... Is there any obscure athlete that you can record while nobody is talking to you? Who already put things they liked about the quarterback. He had a nice haircut. That's funny. Hey, listen. I agree. The guy's going to... Listen. Listen.

I hope he, I, this is, he's going to have a great year. He's going to be fantastic. There's, there's no doubt about it. All the good things. And I'll tell you, as we wrap this up, I'll tell you why it matters though. For real. You were so convincing when you said that. I wasn't trying to be convincing. This is, this is why it matters. Okay. He is...

In a perfect world, in a normal world even, this is the leader of the football team, okay? And if we're going to get real for a second here, outside of just a press conference that doesn't really matter at all, if we're going to be real for just one second here, he is the leader of the team. And from all parts of that locker room last year, we heard about his work ethic. We heard about his understanding of the offense. All these things matter. He has to have it down and nailed and be a different –

And front of the room guy himself this year. So I am going to be paying close attention to how he's sounding because I do think it matters. And there's no way that he has galvanized that locker room the way you would want ideally a quarterback to do. It is a major point of emphasis for him to eventually get there. And so maybe I'm nitpicking. I guess I am. But look, this is going to matter for him and how well he resonates in that room and how well he's able to lead the team and eventually get the Bears to where they want to go.

So we can end it there. And maybe I got dead silent. Hogue's not entertaining it. And I understand. Hogue agrees. You agree a little what I just said, I think. He said we could end it there. So I was waiting for him to tee up the next thing. There's 800 other things to talk about from these press conferences. All right. Can we hear? Well, I was going to.

We'll get to Jalen Johnson in one split second here. I would just like to point out, though, I think that was our first double walk-off in the show's history. And considering one of the two guys is barely weight-bearing right now, I just want to emphasize the magnitude of that walk-off and how...

Yes. It was very painful as I, it was very painful as I walked off. No, that's a joke because today at physical therapy, I got cleared to not have to be on my crutches if I'm not walking long distances. So that's where we're at right now. Yes. Yes. And, and it does feel like the first double walk up, but I do have many memories of sitting on this set by myself, which, uh, you know,

One could argue if that's good or bad for the show. But don't walk off the show. We're going to have a lot of fun here in the next segment. The next 38 minutes are all fun. Yes, the next segment, we're going to dial into Jalen Johnson, who was the star of the day, really. And Tremaine Edmonds and Darnell Wright also spoke to the media, so we'll talk about those things as well. But first, I want to give a shout-out to our friends over at Cornwall.

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and come hang out with us yeah it's gonna be a great great night with uh all the fun looking forward to it hey let's get to jalen johnson and hey real quick karm i just wanted to because people in the comments saw my i just reacted to something but the nuggets fired michael malone and that's what i just reacted to and i was like what i was stunned i didn't even know that there was a chance that could happen that's bizarre the grizzlies fired their head coach

Yeah, that's because he didn't know how to use Edie. That's what you get. Yeah. That's probably exactly what it was. Taylor Jenkins got fired on March the 28th, and now you're telling me that Michael Malone was fired? There must be a mutiny going on in Denver. I mean, they've slipped from, what, the three seed, and now they're in the four or five. I think Golden State's sitting at six. Shout-out Peck. Shout-out Big Dave. Shout-out Will Gottlieb. That's...

Billy Donovan, by the way, going to the Hall of Fame. Congratulations from all of us at CHGO Bears. Hey, I'm sure our DMVR crew will be having a big emergency pod coming up here soon. So maybe when the show's over, check that out because that's massive news. And get it together out there, Denver. Somebody's got to stop Luca and LeBron. Dan Ritz, Malone couldn't explain EPA well, so that makes sense. There it is. Malone and EPA. Okay.

Hey, leadership. The Bears locker room turned into a disaster last year. They need a whole lot more of it. It's why Ben Johnson's here. Jalen, what do you want to see happen going forward? You are one of the leaders of this team. If you see it, call it out. I think that's the biggest thing for me, and I feel like, too, at this level, accountability isn't just talking to, but about action and changing certain things. I mean, I feel like if I can use myself as an example, if I'm not...

let's say maybe covered as good as I need to. To me, it's not just accountability. Oh, yeah, they'll just cover better. But I mean, to me, there are certain aspects

action that needs to be taken from somebody else to hold me accountable to that. So I mean what that looks like is different for every player, every situation. But I think too you gotta, if you see something, say something. And then if it's not getting fixed, you gotta do something. So I mean to me that's what accountability is. Can you get a sense, I know this is the talking phase of the offseason, can you get a sense of if that's gonna be in the lovely expected to be now or do you have to wait till closer to I guess phase three when you're on the field?

I mean, that's honestly an all-season thing to me. I mean, it can start now in certain ways, but, I mean, too, I feel like really fall camp will probably be the time when you see it the most because that's when things are really heated. That's when things kind of start, when you start really building your base and foundation as a team. But, I mean, that can go throughout. That should go throughout the whole season. So, I mean, hopefully that is something that is –

in somebody's mind now to do and in our team's mind to do, and then we just carry it throughout the season. Shout out to Hippie Nerd. How can you not love Jalen Johnson? Seriously, how can you not love Jalen Johnson? When he, to the whole point of this, when he talks, like, thank you. We need that guy in the room. Hogue, if you see it, say something, right? Well, right, and, you know, I guess if I wanted to,

kind of have a negative response to that. It was, it would be like along the lines of, okay, well, you know, like that could have been, you're on the team last year. That could have been done more too. However, you know, I think at times he did do that. Remember he was the one that did finally stand up in the room, but I

I mean, I think he got foos fired. Right. But to my point of, and we'll hear more messaging from Tremaine Edmonds who said, and Darnell Wright said the same thing where, you know, they talked about accountability and being consistent is one way to maintain that accountability. That was the other tenor of the day. And for Jalen Johnson, if you see something, say something to me, that's a

pivot to the leader the way the leadership of the team was right last year they had a certain way they had eight captains this year it sounds like they're gonna only have four and you have these guys come up today they're they have it to me they're pivoting to a different direction of how they're going to be leaders as players and be leaders as coaches and to hear him say that that means hey they're

Last summer, Shane Waldron, they have issues with things going on, and they're not saying anything. They wait until the season starts, and the bullets start flying. You know, Hogue, I've said this 900 times on this show, and there's a reason because it is important that these guys call each other out and hold each other accountable so that when the season starts, this stuff is cleaned up. So I love that he said that. Obviously. Obviously.

that's why I was gonna well you know to finish my point that's what I was gonna say like

And this was why I was pushed back down last year too. Like it's a both thing. It's not, this is all the player's fault that there wasn't accountability or the, it starts with the coaches though. It always starts with the coaches. It has to start with the coaches. So that's where it starts with Ben Johnson's message to the team and everything he's been saying since he got hired account integrity and accountability, integrity and accountability. So like that has to get across right now. That's why this is like, like,

These press conferences matter only in what we're hearing that was legitimately coming from the meetings that we don't get access to yesterday and what the tone of those messages were. So,

see it, call it out is great, but that has to actually be put in action. And this is where I think we can, I can lend more credence to what Jalen Johnson was saying throughout his press conference, because while he did set the right tone with comments like that, he also repeatedly kept going back to like, I'm tired of all the talk. Like,

We got to show the action. So that tells me he understands that it goes well, way beyond just, you know, saying it now they have to actually execute it. And I am optimistic that this will be different going forward. Hit the like button for Jalen Johnson. We can just roll through these real quick here because he just underlines a bunch of stuff. And one, you're talking about accountability and just putting,

you know, boots on the ground, so to speak. They asked him, well, why are you here? This is optional. And I thought his answer to this is exactly, again, why you want this guy in your room outside of the incredible talent that he is. Show my respect. I think it's kind of just big for me to just come in and be able to shake guys' hands, see them in person. I just talk to them on the phone. But to come in and really just be with the guys, too, show the guys that I'm here.

um, really just show face. I think for me, that is important to do big ones. We talked with Ben and Ryan last week. Lives on the West coast. Jalen's got a family. Jalen doesn't have to be here. Jalen's a veteran. He's earned all the rights. Jalen is making the trip to shake your hand, to see you in person, let you know I'm here. I've been through coaching change after coaching change, after loss, after loss. And I've been a pro bowl, damn ass player. And they paid me. And I, I'm going to take that as a very serious thing. I, I,

He's here because he's trying to show that he respects what's going on. What more do you want, right? Yeah, and I'll just be quick on this because I think it can be –

Both again, in that if you're, if you're a player who has earned a contract and you haven't gotten it or you're trying to get it or whatever, and you need to hold out for that, like I can respect that. But once you do get paid and you do want to be a leader on this team, it goes back to what we were talking about yesterday. It's important to be there. And I thought that was a great answer from Jalen Johnson who understood it doesn't mean you have to be there.

Every single day during the offseason program, there can be wiggle room. You live on the West Coast. You need to fly home a day earlier so you can spend time with your family. I'm okay with that too because this is voluntary and it is in the CBA. But for the most part, this is your job and you show up and you do the job. And right now, this is a very important time for the Bears. So I'm glad to hear that from Jalen Johnson.

No days off, no family, no smiling. Just win, please. And win by a lot. He was asked about blowing teams out and his thoughts on that. And Jalen's always talking about whipping that ass, I think is how he says it. And he said it again here. What's the message there?

Would you rather win by seven points or 70? - So I mean, for us that's-- - You want to blow teams out. - Yeah, I mean, to me, you get in a fight, you just don't want to barely win the fight. You want to whoop the guy in front of you. So I mean, that's what the mentality is for us. It's not just about barely winning or barely getting by, but dominating. And I think for us, that's the mindset that we need to have. And it's not just about

Trying to just get better and take the next step and just win more games than we won last year. It's about, to me, changing your mentality and how you go about attacking things. I feel like as a unit, if we can go in with that confidence, that mentality, I don't want to go and blow the team out in front of us and that they can't mess with us. I feel like a lot of times that willpower will get you there. Jalen, do you pay attention to the draft? If so, is there anybody you've got your eye on? It's into the draft or the players in the draft? Yeah, the players in the draft.

Yes and no. I mean, all I know are really five guys, the top five. Of course, the Travis Hunter is the two quarterbacks. Probably Abdul Carter, and then probably after that, I'm not really sure. But I mean, honestly, that's above my pay grade. I mean, guys can be great college guys in college and then come to the league and stink it up. I mean, we see that year after year. So for me, I don't really pay too much time or put too much time into it. I just let the professionals do their job and bring in who they feel like we need.

So I loved the part of, look, you know, we're not just trying to get this much better and just get by. No, that's not that dude's mentality. I also love the fact that he's not paying any attention to the draft. Like kidding. I'll see him when they get here. I don't need to become some draft expert. Anybody want to comment on that one or should we play the last one?

What's the last one about? The last one's about does anything feel different, which I think is just the home run cut here as to who he is. Why don't we play it? Does anything feel different right now, Jalen? You got a new head coach in here. They're paying $13 million for him, the whole thing. Does anything feel different? I've been through it too many times, as you mentioned. This is your third head coach. I'm not sure how many defensive coordinators I've had. Does anything feel different with Ben Johnson and Dennis Allen this time? Anything new?

No, I mean, we're still trying to figure each other out. I mean, I just seen the guy in the program for the first time yesterday. So, I mean, nothing feels different for me. And then today, again, I'll see in camp to start. And, I mean, that's when the real ball will show up. And then really, I mean, throughout season, we'll see. I mean, things can start off rocky in the beginning. We figure it out and things change throughout the back half or middle of the season. Or we start off hot and then we're

We should do this. I mean, it kind of just depends for me. At the end of the day, to me, it's about winning. And if we go out there and we win on Sunday, I'll feel good about everybody. Jalen, how about style of play? You've played in a couple different styles of defense here. What have you been able to see, watch, or how do you feel like this would suit your skill set?

You lock up the number one guy. Number one on number one. So I mean for me that's what I'm looking forward to doing. That's what I'm looking forward for the most. That's what I train for. That's what I work hard for. So I mean for me it's just going to be about that. Being ready to go out there and lock up, challenge guys, make things hard on offense, mess up timing. And then shoot the dogs up front. They got to eat. So I mean everybody just do what they do best. Dogs eat and then the guys on the back end recover. Does that mean you expect to travel?

I expect to you. Do you want to walk those lines down? Sounds start. We played more main coverage than you guys right around here. I'm sure I'm going to look forward to playing a little bit more bad than maybe having the best. Yeah, that's what I feel like I'm the best at. You got to love that smile and ho ho getting in there with a double asked if he's going to travel. I follow the number one guy all over the field. You were you were focusing on the scheme a lot today in your questions.

Well, yeah, I guess it's sort of our brand, but you know, let me just say this. He says it doesn't feel different. It feels different to me. It feels a lot different to me because when Matt Eberflus was in his first summer as head coach and I, I understand it's only been two days and you know, the time is a little bit different, but this guy got moved down to the, the,

the number two defense at one point, it was clear they weren't necessarily hitting it off from a scheme standpoint. There's a smile on Jalen Johnson's face today. He's clearly the first impressions that I always talk about, which are huge. He said, Ben Johnson, the first impressions there were good. And then when it comes to Dennis Allen and the scheme,

Finally, what everybody's been asking for, put him on the number one wide receiver, let him travel around the field and follow that guy. Clearly that's what Jalen Johnson wants to be doing. He wants to embrace that. He's been paid to do that. He's going to get to play more man coverage. The vibes here are completely different. So he can say it doesn't feel different right now. And I understand why he's saying that. But to me as somebody who's covered this and covered his entire career with the bears, it definitely feels different in a positive way.

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Don't let celery be decoration for wings. Tap the banner to save the celery. Yeah, no, I completely agree.

So it's exciting. And when we get to a point where we can, you guys get an opportunity to watch them practice here in a couple of weeks, it'll be fun to see, you know, cause like these guys are, they're not a young, like last year there was like a mixture of young guys and vets and it's starting to get to a point where everybody's kind of started to been around the block a little bit. So this attention to detail, this level of seriousness with their approach is,

You know, and you hear that in Jalen's answer. Obviously, he's a grizzled vet at this point, and those guys are tired of the hype, and I totally understand that. So I'm just excited to see how this mentality transfers over to the practice field. I love all that. We'll see. Hey, man.

I've been here. I'm a number one cornerback. They pay me to be it. I cover the guy. I don't think he's taking any shots at Ben in any way, shape, or form. But like, hey, you're a new head coach. I'm not just going to sit here in a press conference and completely blow you up. I don't know. We got to win some games. And by the way, if we start out four and two, I'm not going to be going crazy either. Let's see how we do in an entire year. As he eloquently brought up, we can start out great like they did last year and then shit the bed. So,

This dude wants to win games, man. He is exhausted by the amount of losing that he's gone through. I think that's very obvious. But yet his work ethic and his performance, it really doesn't slip. Although, you know, you can nitpick him, but the guy, he's just always there and he's always taking a lot of pride in his performance. Yeah, and I think that's true. But I think really whatever job you're in, you want to be put in position to have the most success possible. And I think it's fair to say that

You know, he just never was really in that spot in the last defensive scheme.

despite still playing well and earning a well-deserved contract extension, I just, I think he feels it. I know I feel it. I think most fans feel it, that there's more there. There's more there and it's not really his fault. He needs to be put in a better position and just having him sort of, all right, you're just going to stay on one side. This is your territory to guard. We're going to be sort of

passive. We're going to keep everything in front of us. Just don't give up a big play. Eventually the other team's going to screw up. No man, he's an aggressive player. It's on his film. Going back to Utah, let him be aggressive. His mindset is to be great,

to lock down the number one guy on the other team. Let him do that. Let him move around. Let him freelance a little bit more, get his hands on the football more. Are there going to be more mistakes sometimes? Probably, probably, but there's also probably going to be bigger game changing plays. And it's also going to allow him to, to be less of a guy right now that in this league, I think he's respected, but it's just, I don't know if you were asked some random fan in Denver, Denver,

you know, who are the top cornerbacks in the league? They're probably not going to say Jalen Johnson, but I think he has the potential to have that name come up in that type of conversation, but he needs to be able to put in a position where he can make more splash plays. And I think that that's probably why you see that smile on his face, why he seems to be bought in here today on April 8th. And I hope that it all comes to fruition. Well, and

And I don't know which which players said, you know, the additions of Grady Jarrett and Dio Dangbo. They're going to bring havoc because he Jalen said it. Thank you. Because that's the other part of this equation. Yes. From a schematic standpoint, him being able to play man, that's important. But these guys being able to get to the quarterback. And as he said in that clip, we just played. Let the big dogs eat.

You know, that's going to be the other half of this. But to your point about Jalen Johnson playing man-to-man, you can say that about their top three corners. Tyreek Stevenson is the same way. He wants to bulldog you. You know, Kyler Gordon, big, long, physical cornerback. So I think that this is...

And for fans, you should be very optimistic that this defense fits these cornerbacks much more than it did for Matt Eberflus, who was, you know, obviously we all understand the cover two and bend, but don't break. It's been a staple here in Chicago for a long time, but it'll be nice to get to some aggressiveness this year. Well, it's interesting. The flu is part of his career because, and I thought it was a great underlining by you, Hogan, how things are different. They demoted him.

He probably wanted to kill him. I'm on the second team. Are you kidding me? Well, think about it. He started by being demoted and he ended it with him screaming at him in the locker room. Right. But yes, all of that, his whole flu journey. But in the middle of that...

He was playing at the highest level he's ever played as least as far as taking the ball away and it got him paid. Right. So it's kind of a weird, but that speaks to his work too. Of course it does. And I don't know if he'd give loose credit. You go ahead. Well, no, I think that's important to say, like, I, I, it's not apples to apples because Jalen Johnson was in a different part of his career when that happened. And, and,

you probably talked to the coaching staff that were all around when they made that decision to sort of boldly demote him to motivate him clearly. Um,

he probably needed it and it probably helped him that can all be true um but I still think that the contrast of the vibes and how comfortable he is or even just excited times it's okay to be excited it's much better to be excited about a new coaching staff to all to early on have friction

And I had this pop up in my head, actually. I'll give Carm credit because he, he, in one of his negative ways of calling something out that maybe sometimes I push back on of saying you're reading too much into it. I think in hindsight was spot on, but I remember during hard knocks,

you were like this, these one-on-one meetings between Caleb and Flues, like there's just something off here. And I, you know, I don't know if that's true or not, but I was thinking about today that,

him talking about meeting with Ben Johnson already, how different that that must already feel and what those meetings must be like. And, and so I do think that there's, there is some credence to that idea of just like the buy-in to understand it's trust, right? It comes down to trust. Do you trust the guy who's trying to teach you these things? Who's trying to coach you up? And I do think it's fair to be like,

Why am I having these meetings with this defensive head coach? You know, as opposed to Ben Johnson, who's had success at running the number one offense in what, in what category guys EPA over the last three years. I got it right. Well, and what you're saying with, you know, when you talk about the difference between meeting Ben Johnson and meeting Matt, he was like,

was dialed up for this and a couple of the other players too. Well, what's different between this year and last year? And so they had every opportunity Caleb included to throw pot shots at the former coaching staff and they didn't right. Every

Everything's about looking forward. And so they could have said, well, you know, and I thought he was going to go there when, hey, what's the difference between Ben Johnson and what you've dealt with? He could have thrown some little side shots like, oh, this guy, you know, from however you want to dial it up. And he didn't. So it goes without saying at this point, at least you hope it does when we actually see the results from Ben Johnson. He did that enough last year.

I mean, you know, that's not my decision from Caleb to Jalen literally openly freaking out on him in Detroit to the point that the Bears would fire a coach in the season for the first time ever. Let's move on to Tremaine Edmonds because we're getting close to the top of the hour here. And, Ho, you...

Got in there again on, you know, the identity of the defense and what kind of scheme. So this is Tremaine kind of wide-ranging here. You know, what the D is going to look like is on the back end of this and their identity at the front. Tremaine Edmonds, Bears linebacker, entering his third season in Chicago. To be able to work towards a goal, you know what I mean? But we know that's a long ways away, so we've got to start now. We've got to build that identity, and we've got to put the work in. How would you describe Dennis Allen's initial vision for the game?

Yeah, I think it was very direct. Understanding where we are as a football team, understanding that

you know, how we're going to get there. You know what I mean? Obviously, the message is like we want to win. We want to win now. And I think saying that and being blunt with it is what we needed to hear because that's our mindset going into it, especially the guys that's been here. Like we want to win, and we got the pieces to win. And I think knowing that the coaches understand that coming in, it's not like, oh, we're going to take the best. It's like, no, this is what we got. Now let's put the plan in action. So it's all about the work. You know what I mean? I can tell just by his energy, his passion,

the way he communicated his words, you know what I mean? The tone in which he communicated is all geared towards, "Now, like, we want this to happen right now." You know what I mean? It don't have to-- Like, we not waiting for anything. Like, "Let's get this thing. Let's hit the ground running." And that's what the message is, and you know what I mean? That's what we receive as players.

And more than all, that's what I receive as a player. And it brings excitement because we are all excited. Not just that, but it's all about belief. Belief that we can win now. Belief that we can be special right now. How do you feel like your skill set fits this scheme?

Yeah, we haven't really gotten to a lot of the scheme stuff. Obviously, a lot of things have just been happening. Yesterday was our first day. So as we begin to unfold this playbook, you know, I'll be able to answer that question with everybody. What was Ben's message? So A for effort, Hogue, on the scheme today. Nobody wanted to talk about it. I guess they're not there yet. But I did find that interesting. Well, Jalen did.

Jalen gave a completely different answer to the same question. I mean, that almost makes me worried about Tremaine because you can't tell me he hasn't been watching some Saints defense and understanding what they do.

Maybe he's just trying to keep you at a distance. He gave you the Heisman, buddy. How the turntables. Now, Hogue is reading into things. Yeah. How the turntables. All right. Because I know Hogue's got to get out of here. I just want to underline this.

That the message is win now, period. A lot of moving, you know, first year head coach, second year quarterback, a lot of moving parts, won five games last year. Win now, damn it. That's what they're talking about. Well, let's go around the room then, Hogue. I mean, 70 touchdowns for the Lions last year. How many touchdowns are the Bears going to get? We could just make our pick now. And I'm sure when we put it on the record. 400. 400.

Speaker 2 : Hey, well to your scheme question, do you think that Tremaine is going to be a different player this year before we get to training camp on April the eighth unfair question. But do you think that you'll, we're going to see a different level? Speaker 3 : I think the bears think he will be, I think the bears think that, that he'll his skillset will be better suited to what the scheme is. I personally don't know enough about it to, you know,

I think it'd be a great question probably for Lance the next time we, you know, Greg, you have him on Bears After Dark or, you know, I think. Great show.

Speaker 2 : Yeah. Thank you. Speaker 0 : I just, I'm sorry. I'm not trying to punt on the question. I just, I do. I'm reporting that. I do think the bears believe that he's better. I don't know enough about the linebacker spot and the differences between those two schemes yet to really understand it myself. But I do think Tremaine admins could, and I wrote this actually came out this morning, by the way, quick plug my, my thoughts on each defensive position group on the bears.

uh, roster right now going into the NFL draft. But I did put that in there as well when I addressed Jermaine Emmons, but I said, he's gotta be better. Like for each, for each position, I said, here's the safest bet. Here's the guy who needs to improve. And here's what to keep an eye on. And for the linebacker room, it was the safest bet is TJ Edwards. And the, and the,

The guy who needs to get better is Tremaine Edmonds, or at least the guy they got to get more out of. And then what to keep an eye on is who the hell's replacing Jack Sanborn. And if they draft somebody there. And when are they bringing them back? I'm assuming they're trying to figure out how to get it back because that clearly was a horrible decision. Hey, oh, great job. Press conference. I mean, I mean,

I've been talking to Sand God nightly, and he's upset, but he understands, and he's going to do his best to represent the Cowboys. It's the way it is. Ho, you're back here tomorrow to get us back in order here? Enough of this press conference analysis talk, damn it.

I think it was a great show, but yes, it shows not over. These guys are taking over. Yeah, I'll be back in studio tomorrow, though. Actually, we have Pete Bursich in tomorrow. We're going to go deep dive into a division rival tomorrow in studio. Bursich in studio tomorrow? Bursich. It's only been put in Slack eight times and on that spreadsheet you never look at. I know that Bursich is coming in. Come on. I've been counting the minutes until Bursich arrives. All right. Good job today, buddy. Thank you.

There goes Hoag off to Hoagland. Yep. We actually, as a reminder, as we cross into the second hour here, come to our draft party, become a diehard. Thank you for watching on the television, which is probably gone and come and gone, but we love you on Samsung TV and all that. We are in overtime right now. I actually think we should start with overtime just to give you a great feeling, Gregory. I mean, Tremaine Edmonds, he loved what he saw from Ben Johnson in his first speech yesterday. Let's hear it.

Yeah, it was him in front of the whole team. Like I said, some of those things that I just talked about, you know what I mean, was his message, you know what I mean? Obviously, first day is kind of overwhelming a little bit. You got to go through logistics. You got to go through security stuff, medical stuff. It's a whole lot of stuff to try to get in in a small period of time. But, you know what I mean, more or less, it was just about mindset and mentality and talking about what we need to do right now starting day one as an organization. People talk about his intensity.

Yeah, you can feel it. You can feel it, man. Just like I said, the confidence level. You know, like you said, being a first-time head coach, being able to address the room, that's important because you feel that as players. You feel that as, you know what I mean, just everybody in the room, man. You know what I mean? Stepped up there with confidence. You know, guys was all theirs. You know what I mean? Gave them the utmost respect.

And that's what it's all about, you know what I mean? And you feel that as players. I felt that. And I'm like, okay, this has got to be a real deal. Like, you know what I mean? We got the same type mindset. So that's the thing that you get most excited about. Even walking out that room, it's like, okay, I feel the energy. Let's put the work in as players now. Terrain, you've been on.

Okay, this guy's the real deal. That was great. Right? Right. I mean, he's a guy that came from Buffalo, right? Pretty young captain in Buffalo. Comes over here, and it's certainly been a roller coaster ride to have a guy walk into the room, and that's his response. That's his... I mean, I know, like I said, it's the selling hope season, and we like that Jalen Johnson didn't sell hype, but this guy's saying that.

But at the same time, it was notable. It was. It is. It is. And my sincerity meter, I bought it. You bought it? I bought it. I bought that one. Sometimes I'm looking to buy things and I get duped, but I bought it. He could have been a little slower. Like, hey, yeah, he did a nice job. We're getting to know him. Yeah.

call him the real deal. He real deal. Ben Johnson. I enjoyed that. I agree. It was, it was refreshing. It's just refreshing to get to this point. I mean, how refreshing is it right now? What are we 16 days away from the NFL draft? And we're not talking about the head coach this off season. We're not talking about the quarterback. We're talking about depth. We're talking about the trenches. We're talking about,

You know, and so it's just kind of a change of pace this year where I think that, you know, we're not talking about hard knocks this offseason. We're going to talk about getting to work, putting our head down, and hopefully start winning some damn football games. I was watching Good Morning Football for a little bit this morning. Great show. They do a good job. Love Kyle Brandt. He's a welcome on the show anytime. They did a mock draft, and in the mock draft, Gentile,

Tyler Warren and Will Campbell were all gone when the Bears picked 10th. That's a nightmare scenario. Right? Like, I was... And I'm looking... They took Armand Membo, who was there at 10, who doesn't fit at all because he's a right tackle. Who are you moving to left? Either way, you're asking a whole lot for somebody to change positions. But then you're looking down the list. Who are they going to take? So that actually...

Oh, that seems like, as you just put it, Stephen, a nightmare if that happens. I don't think that's actually going to happen, but it was interesting that in their mock, that's how it went. We'll pivot to the draft talk that I know that you needed on this day. Well, Caleb, that was the other interesting thing. We didn't bring it up at the beginning of the show, but yeah, here it is where he talks about maybe the approach the Bears are going to take here in the draft. I think the cool part is that...

Yes. I'm not much removed, but I don't think they're taking too much. We have experts in the building of getting certain guys here and filling those gaps and holes. That's why we have people get paid for that. Mine is to go out there and win some games. I think there is a sense of it of like, I think we'll be trying to go for the best player that we can get. You always want to be in that position. That's something that I've

kind of learned about and hearing from the vets and things like that and you know just just Been around this past year, you know when you try to be in those positions you want to You want to be in position to get the best player and I think right now We're we're in position to be able to just you know Get the best guy that we think is needed for the team and I don't know what the needs are Y'all probably have a better idea than me, but I think you know the group we have right now is amazing and so

And the holes that we filled through free agency and all of that, I think now is the time to the draft where you get to go and draft guys, the best players, and then get guys to be able to develop them with people like Joe and Darnell and all these different guys. Wide receivers, running backs, tight ends, you get to kind of pick your poison and develop them. Thanks, guys. So it did resonate, that best player available conversation.

And people in the chat are naming defensive players to the draft scenario that I just named. You want me to nitpick that one or would you rather I didn't? Because I can. With Caleb? Yeah. No, I don't. I'm going to do it anyway. You already did enough nitpicking. All right. Are you going to do a little more? No. He's right not to do it. I don't know what the needs are. I think you have a little bit of an idea. I'm sure he has some desires. Right.

But earlier you said you liked that Jalen didn't talk about the draft, and then he did. Yeah. So he stayed in his lane. Stay in your lane. Stay in your lane. Yeah. Yeah. No, I mean, like I said, we're in a place right now when I said it –

to Briggs. Briggs. He was like, I'm like, the bears are in a good spot in the draft. She's like, really? I'm like, yeah, I know that sounds silly, but they are, they're in a good spot. I don't think that's a controversial statement. Whether all this works out or not, but, uh,

best player available at 10 shows that your roster is in a place where, you know, like there isn't like this dire need where people are freaking out one way or the other. They can literally go 10 different ways there with the number 10 pick. So for me as a fan, that's exciting. The, the mystery of the unknown here, uh,

and what we're going to hear here in 16 days. Well, now they're looking for depth. They're not necessarily trying to get a starter at number 10. It could be that way, but it's not a necessity like it's been in years past. Depth is a necessity too, as we learned last year. When you lose Andrew Billings and your defense falls off a map, you know, they need depth to this team. They need really good players. They need good players. They don't need depth. They need impact dudes. Quality depth. Good players.

No impact player. Right. You need the impact player. The Eagles. Somebody. No, but the Eagles defensive line has depth and it's quality depth and they rotate these guys. And we're not, you're not trying to add your Von Dexter. You're trying to add Dexter.

Jalen Carter. You need, they need to, let's not, let's not, let's not go crazy on the talent level on the team. I'm not. Okay. Good. I'm not, I'm not, I'm just, you're not getting rid of the guys that are in those spots though. No, we're signing all of them. Who do they look? They, they just brought back another, uh,

Who do they just sign? Whatever. It doesn't matter. I'm not saying the players they have are all pros, but I'm saying they have filled their roster out now. Chris Williams is back. Six. With the offensive lineman? No, the defensive lineman. Oh, defensive lineman. Yes, Chris Williams. Chris Williams is back from the Colts. We gave him a six-round pick for him. He flashed a handful of times. Yeah.

He's back. So is Bill Murray. So is all your guys. Bill Murray. They're all back. They're all back. Hey, let's get to snid bits and shout outs and whatnot. And supers. Super dupers. Super duper. Can we do snid bits first from snid bit? My favorite snid bit is snid bit. Snid bit. Carm. Just listen to yesterday's episode. Huge disrespect by Hogan Braggs.

She's a national treasure. Speaking of Delilah, of course, we talked about Delilah yesterday. Delilah. On the light at night. And 15 kids, adopted 11, speaking truth every night, giving love out there. When you come to Delilah, you listen to Delilah. And then after Delilah, you just feel better because you listen to Delilah, which is what we're trying to do on this show. I'm not sure we accomplished it quite today. I think maybe we did. Carlisle. Carlisle. Carlisle.

Carmonica. I need you to listen to Delilah. Will you listen to it? I'm aware of Delilah on 93.9 WLIT. Are you? Yeah. Can we listen together tonight? Sure, we can listen together. All right, me and you are listening to Delilah. As you play your Carmonica and we go back over the press conferences today. I'm coming over to the region. We're going to listen to Delilah. San Diego, Mike, 499. Hey, guys, they need a trench drunk T-shirt before draft night. Can you make it happen?

I'll text Eric right now because I agree. We need trench-drunk t-shirts for sure. For sure. For sure. You might have to make that one yourself like you made the Carm t-shirt. They end up getting Will Campbell. I mean...

You've spoken into existence. And shout out in our, well, I guess if we're moving off snippets to shout outs, shout out to obvious shirts. They made the extend Kyle Tucker shirt that we, we, we colored. Well, you drew it all. I drew it. Yeah. The extend Kyle Tucker sign. I know you think it's funny when I make signs, when we went to the bleachers in the Friday one 20 club, and now it has become a shirt. Well, he made two shirts for me and Cody. We'll see if more get into production for,

the rest of the people, the good people at Wrigley Field. But we're just pumping shirts out here. And so let's get a Trench Drunk t-shirt. Let's do it all the way across the board. Question for the chat. One is yes.

Grown men can make signs. Two is no, you're a grown man. Don't go to a baseball game with a sign. Drawing a sign is one of the, you know, coloring a sign. It's one of the more therapeutic things you can do. So if you're frustrated by today's show because of present company included, you know, maybe, you know, just coloring, you know, getting into something, arts and crafts, it's going to make you feel better. But you know what? Before we get to Pizzitola, I will say this. I will defend you. Before we get to Pizzitola.

Before we get to Pizzitola, I will say this about you, Mark Harmon. Yeah, Greg. You are always ahead of the curve. You're not always right because your instinct is to try to be ahead of the curve. And so some people think it's a bit, but no, this is truly how he is on a daily basis, whether you're at dinner with him or you're on a show with him. And so...

But the one thing I'll always say about Mark Harmon is he's not afraid to go against the grain. And there's a lot of podcasts out there selling a line of crap and selling a lot of hope, selling a lot of hype because they want your clicks and bears fans. And I'm one of them. We love our hype.

And if you dare go against the hype, then you're going to be villainized. And this dude is the low-hanging fruit. He's the easy target. And each one of you don't keep the same energy when he ends up being right about things. He's not always right about things. But when he is, I'd love to see people keep the same energy when they freak out on the current show. And let's say down the road he ends up being right about something. He's not going to be right about today.

But write about something else. Keep that same energy is all I'm going to say. So I'm defending you, Mark. I understand. I want you to name a time I was wrong. If you have one of your favorite times when I was wrong, I'm sure you've got a bunch in your arsenal that you can just fire.

Or none. See, that's what I'm talking about. There's just too many. I mean, but that's your trick is you just are flying off the handle. It's like, you know, at the club, you know, and so I can't keep up with the amount of things that are your beautiful mind. You're a beautiful man. Now we can get to Pizzatola. Thank you so much. Yes. While I gassed you up now, we'll get to Pizzatola and bring you right back down.

Five bucks for Pizzitola. In my mock draft, I traded Carm and his harmonica for a chocolate donut. Hope it's a good one. And drafted Stephen Nicholas to be a starter in front of the camera. I win. Hey, listen, Stephen's got all the thoughts and...

I just do the best I can in front of here. It'll be a very interesting show with you producing and me on the mic. Nobody listens to me here because I have said for two years now we should do this where we switch. Steven thinks it's a terrible idea. One of the worst ideas I've ever heard. He thinks it's a terrible idea, but I think it's a great idea to have the talent.

and the producers be on the show. I don't know how to do what he does. And that's where we all gain a newfound respect by understanding the other side of the camera. I think it's a great idea. And if it goes...

to hell, then that makes it even better. It's a fun day. It's a fun day. Let's have a car crash. You know, I'm not necessarily. People go to NASCAR events all the time for the car crashes, right? Or watch TV for the car crash, right? Yeah. I could tell you stories about when I vended auto racing events, but I won't do that because nobody cares. And maybe I'll

I'll hit that one up in the Discord. Shout out to the Florida Gators. No, no, hold on. Okay. Well, yeah, no, go ahead. Shout out to the Florida Gators winning the national championship. Pretty remarkable run by Florida. Coming back a few games. I mean, every game it felt like they were going to lose. And then somehow they come back and win with this scatter basketball where they just –

you know, run out and spray as many shots as they possibly can and bringing it back to the Bears and the Florida Gators. Jervon Dexter coming into Hallis Hall looking slim with the slim cut.

uh so i you know a lot of fans were taking things from that uh how he looked walking in a little lighter jervon dexter some people saying hell maybe he'll play on the edge a little more this season i mean he's gotten a few reps out there but it'll be interesting to see where he goes jervon's a good dude and maybe we'll get him on the show to talk about the interesting angle about that too is dio odango has also played inside

Right. So, I mean, you could just flip flop those two. I suggested this a few weeks ago when, when they brought in dial that and I had some pushback by some people in the council. I, I, I do. I think that making those guys interchangeable parts, uh, just makes it, uh, tougher for defense or offenses to game plan against. A, uh,

Shout out to Kelvin Sampson, who the look on his face was similar to the look that Hogue was giving me all show. Now he knows how I feel after the Purdue-Houston game. Now, talk about a bridge too far. I'm sure he, as the head coach of the team, knows how you felt in the stands. Well, no, he doesn't know how I feel. Just saying.

Now he knows how I feel. I'm sure he knows exactly how you feel. He's going to find out how I feel next year when Purdue wins the national championship in our hometown of Indianapolis. It's called the natty. The natty. You got to give respect. The natty in Naptown next year. Todd Golden.

I think I looks like the manager. He's the head coach of the Gators. It's unbelievable. Got introduced to Todd Golden last night. I was late on the Golden. Hey, shout out to the Golden, by the way, a.k.a. Johnny the Golden Gern. Great man out there. One of my friends, the Golden. Hey, hey, shout out. Last shout out of the show to Chicago State, the Cougars, where, yes, it's true. I did win the 4-0 men's tennis tournament last

couple of years ago crushing just huge performance by me love playing in the Chicago State tournament but now I'm thinking about going out for football because their new head coach Bobby Rome II was announced today the Cougars going into D1 football here comes Bobby Rome II who does have a tie to Ben Johnson how's that well he was a hang on I've got to write oh the he was a

He played at Carolina when Ben was there. Wow. Florida Memorial University is coming from an HBCU, which is sweet. So we need this dude on the show. We do. This is a perfect off-season guest guest.

He can promote Chicago state. He'll come on and give us the details about Ben Johnson in his younger days. That's exactly right. Uh, and he reached out yet. I have actually a quote being selected. Yeah. I was on this yesterday. Uh, cause I got a little tip that the chase is on the case. Yeah. Uh, being selected to build Chicago state's football program is an honor. And I'm grateful for the trust president, Scott, uh,

Dr. Carroll and the entire University of Put-I-Me said, Coach Rome, our visions are aligned. We want to build a program that's representative of the South Side and bring Chicago along on this exciting journey. Hey, huge undertaking, giving kids an opportunity to play some D1 football on the South Side of Chicago. All of this is sweet. I wanted to underline it. And this guy's won a ton of games, by the way. He led Florida Memorial FMU football.

From zero conference wins to back-to-back Sun Conference Championship game appearances 2023-2024. So took a team to the bottom, to the top of the conference. That's a hell of an accomplishment. And now he's trying to lead Chicago State. What are you smiling at on the way out here? Nothing. Somebody, Isaac Siegel, took a picture of the walk-off, the double walk-off. Steven should have walked off too. Somebody got to produce. Then Carm would have to produce.

The double walk-off. Listen, every time you all walk off the set is when I make my best points. It's true. I mean, Hope walked off the set for the Derek Carr, which you were right at first about, and then you ended up being wrong later because then he got worse. I was right. You were right for like a little bit. I was right. The point is I was right. All right, we're back tomorrow. Big guest in studio. Who's in studio tomorrow that I just said I was super excited about? Pete Bursich. Bursich, right.

On the radio call for the Minnesota Vikings. We spent some time with him down at the Combine. Good dude. Going to bring some good insight on a division rival. Yeah. And...

Some draft guests are in the works that you're going to enjoy as well. So a lot of that, as we head up to the draft 16 days away, you can trust your math on that. Good job, Gregory. Excellent job by Steven today, as always getting the zillion clips that we get in there and leading the way. Hogan, Halas, you in the chat and, uh,

Poppy the puppy, who was outstanding this morning on her walk, really just came out of the gate strong, had a good focus, and I chased down to the tennis balls like you, you know, to the best of her ability. That's all you can ask out of Poppy. What's up? I mean, we're going to shout out our pets. Yeah. I haven't shouted out my new cat. He's been at our house for a month now. Cheeto Burrito Bandito. That's his name. His full legal name. You know, you can...

It's a lot about a person who chooses a cat over a dog, but we won't get on that. I did that for my beautiful seven year, six, about to be seven year old daughter who loves cats. And I'm a dog person. And I still put my preferences to the side to give happiness to my daughter. And I might still just get a dog anyway. Yeah, you should do damage to that cat. No, I'm kidding. Cats are great. Cats are lovely. Lots of people love cats. I'm just not a, I'm allergic and I can't get there. Uh,

Hey, had a lot of fun today. We'll see you tomorrow. Time to say goodbye. Say goodbye. See you tomorrow. Bye.

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