Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - 5 On It & expectations for Caleb Williams in his 2nd year with Ben Johnson (Hour 3)

Episode Date: March 2, 2026

In the third hour, Leila Rahimi, Mark Grote and Russ Dorsey of Yahoo Sports discussed a variety of sports topics in the 5 On It segment. After that, Rahimi and Grote discussed what we should expect out of Bears quarterback Caleb Williams in his second season with head coach Ben Johnson.

Ring Central's AI receptionist uses voice AI to answer on the first ring, so you'll never miss a call again. In just a few minutes, you can personalize your own AI receptionist to answer questions, route calls, schedule appointments, and even send texts in multiple languages. Plus, it's easy to scale. Create unlimited AI receptionists across any phone system. It's all powered by one reliable platform for effortless AI communications. See for yourself at ringcentral.com.

Ring Central, voice of your business. Why have I asked my electrician I found on Angie.com to bury my pet hamster? I was so moved by how carefully he buried my electrical wires. I knew I could trust him to bury my sweet nibbles after his untimely end. This is very strange. Angie, the one you trust to find the ones you trust. Find pros for all your home projects at Angie.com. Presented by Team Mobile, the official wireless partner of Odyssey Sports.

With an awesome network and great savings, there's never been a better time to join Team Mobile. Visit your neighborhood store to make the switch today. It's time for five on it. Rahimi Harrison Rooney. Bring you five topics on their minds today. On 104-3 the score. Number one. This is five out of a 104-3, the score with Laila Rahimi, Mark Grody,

and special guest Russell Dorsey National MLB Insider. Here's question number one. Now that the NFL scouting combine is over, has your opinion changed about the position the bears should zero in on with the number 25 overall pick in the NFL draft? No, I draft for position of need. I'm not a GM who has a job. I'm a fake GM.

Instead, I sit in front of this microphone, just yell into oblivion. But I still think that this one is a pretty big no-brainer for me. The class of defensive linemen is rich. It is robust. It's like a good morning cup of coffee. Not like a cheap one that tastes like acid or flowers or something else. Well, flowers I like. But the point is, it's a good class of defensive lineman.

And guess what the bears mean? Defensive line. And from what I understand with everybody grading out of the, the combine, there were no drawbacks. Like, that's the thing you're looking for, right? If somebody woefully misses on a driller, they woefully don't hit a 40 time, or next up, if the pro, if the pro day doesn't match what they did at the combine. And I didn't get that impression. And in fact, I think it only solidified some of the campaigns of the non-Rubin Bain or David Bailey. Those two probably go first and second. But, you know, does Cassius Howard look even better

after this. The richness of this defensive lineman class, I think, just proved again to be how I feel like the bear should go. And I know Ryan Poles says best player available. Oh yeah, Ryan Poles, well, if a receiver is the best player available, how many can you have on one team?

This isn't seven on seven, buddy. You're going to have to make a decision on these lines. Pretty fancy by Ryan Poles last year because he gets to puff his chest out about best player available this year because he got it right with Colston Loveland.

He didn't necessarily need a tight end. People didn't love it at the time. Didn't love it at the time. Well, yeah, because everybody wanted Ty Warren. We're sitting here doing a draft show. Like, we're getting ready for Ty. Also a good player, but it worked out for the Bears. It did. It worked out for the Bears, like, to have that player who wasn't necessarily

a position of need. And then it worked again with Luther. They drafted a wide receiver. Why did they do it? And then they get your pillow in the second round as well. Actually, it's a pillow. It is a pillow. You're right.

Thank you for the correct. He's a pillow. I was like, really? You never heard that? Oh, you never heard of Chris Emma. Got it. Chris Emma corrected us with all of his snottiness. And he got it wrong as well, which is beautiful.

No, not poor Emma. Look, if you want to be on this radio station, you're going to take your lessons for something like that. Not poor, Emma. When I got here, 10 years ago, I got told in 2017 the next year that I got to go to Hallis Hall and that there would be free soda and, good lighting in the studio and I was like soda and lighting. Sick.

It was pretty great, actually. I really enjoyed it. And then all I found out when I got there was that Zach Zadman and Adam Hogue would just mess with Chris Emma constantly and I'd be cackle laughing the whole time. Okay, now I feel bad for Chris Arma. That's unnecessary. The bullying that goes on at hell. No, I'm kidding.

I was not bullying, but it was definitely like your younger brother stuff. I'm going to say if he's there, I like Caleb Banks out of Florida. Interior defensive lineman showed well at the combine. Also, if you wanted to package your first round pick to go get Max Crosby, I'm not mad at that either. Oh, really quick. You're a Maxenista? I am.

Before we move on, this is hilarious, texter. They said when Russ was 300 pounds, he sounded like chunky peanut butter tilman. His voice was a little lower. Peanut Tilman and chunky peanut butter chilmen. Also, thanks to everybody who has Nellie's concert schedule. Nellie is also going to be at the Brookfield Zoo. I love it. I love it.

Is that real? See, this is what you use the text line for. Science experiments to find out how far the 670 signal goes. And concert schedules. If Brookfield Zoo is now doing concerts like SeaWorld is doing concerts where it's just like throwback hip-hop concerts, I'm here for it. With lions roaring in the background. It wasn't just SeaWorld.

It was SeaWorld in San Diego, like the OG SeaWorld. I don't know if SeaWorld San Antonio's. rolling that out. Or if it even still exists. Back to Bears in the position of knees and all that stuff. Like they have no defensive players, they have no safeties. I'm not sure like... We're playing safety.

They have a couple of corners. I know they have no linebackers really. Eventually they will have no linebackers. That's T.J. Edwards is hard. We don't know why he's coming back. Do they even have T.J. Edwards. So I understand where Ryan Poles is coming from and he even said, like he

gave the understanding that I know it's cliche to say best player available. Everybody wants to say that. But when that date comes, when the draft comes, April 23rd, the Bears will probably be drafting for need, and that need is defense. Okay. Bears. Number two.

On a scale of 1 to 10, what's your level of concern? What's your level on the concern meter? Trademark, after seeing Cubs left-handers Shora Minaga, gave up three homers in yesterday's exhibition game. That's just two-and-two-thirds innings against the White Sox. Okay, I know we talked about the concern meter trademark a little bit. I

jumped the gun. I apologize. You did not. Don't worry about it. It's a whole new audience. It's a new hour, Ross Dorsey. Hi, new people. Also, like, sometimes a new thought comes to you after some time. And by some time, I mean like a 30 second commercial break. I'm not kidding. That's how I am. Unfortunately, I've remained steadfast on this. My concern meter is at least a six because he was giving up home runs before this and specifically to the White Sox. Do you remember when he gave up half the yard that cross town. And then that was right after Brad Biggs declared the socks were a wagon. And I was like, holy crap. That Brad Biggs is on to something because that is definitely the case here. Also, like, didn't he talk about the need to not tip pitches? And like, at least one of those I thought

was a decent pitch. But then I look back and they were all pretty heftily over the center of the plate. But point being, this is not what I need out of Shodi Imanaga again this year. I thought I was going to stop by virtue of a roster change. But yeah, my concern may are still six. I'm going to say a three. I'm going to say a three. Ball flies in Arizona. Guys are working through things.

If this is happening on May 1st as opposed to March 1st, I'll come on here and say, hey, man, we need to talk about Shodhi and Managa. But until we get to games that matter, let guys work through things. Like, guys are going to strike out a lot during spring training sometimes too. Doesn't mean they're not good. Doesn't mean they're not good.

of doing other things. I'm going to give people the benefit of the doubt. And then he had that monster first couple of months. I'm going to stick with what I said earlier too. I'm going to go 5.5 on the worry meter. We can't go from this like just dying out at the end of the season last year to the Cubs. Did they really want him back on the starting staff this year? Or did they get stuck with the guy this year?

And then just what? like, you're right, Russ. They're working on things. We don't know what's really in their head. We don't know what the actual spring training game plan is. He's got the pitch thing on his glove. So he's calling his own. Yeah, working through the pitchcom for the first time.

He's calling his own. So I do add that all in. But if I'm getting real specific, like with the Edgar Carroll home run on an 01 count on a fastball where the velocity is supposedly up. I don't know what the gun reading was because they didn't have it on the scorebug. Stand by, please. MLB.com had it. Up and in fastball that was warranted up. by Edgar Carroll. Shout out to Edgar Carrow because he hit the home run. I just thought that was

a decent pitch that Carrow hit. That part scares me. The one-one curveball to Brayden Montgomery, no problem. And then I don't know what he was doing with the Austin Hayes pitch, where it's just center cut. Middle, middle, middle. So that's the stuff that's scared. Like, what are you working on? Like, tell me what you're working on if that's what you're working on. Hayes, I watched a couple times. Hayes had a downward break. He just hung it. So like that, that was it. It was a breaking ball that didn't break a little enough. That was a breaking ball? Okay. Supposed to be. Okay. What was the Velo jump that everybody's talking about? Two miles. But here's, okay, so the at-bats with Edgar Carrow was a called strike. It was on the line outside. Right. 93.7 fastball. And to confirm,

it was shoulder high on Caro inside. Yeah. So that's, that sounds like a, that's a really good pitch. 94-mile and hour four seam fastball. Look at this on the chart. No, I mean, that piece is not really in the zone. He rolled up to hit that. You're right. I should give Carol some credit, too, for having to hit the ball. Carol's a decent hitter now. You hit a good pitcher's pitch out of the ballpark.

Salute. I thought that about Hayes' pitch, but then I watched it. I was like, oh, the shape of it was good. It just landed too high. From what Shoto was doing last year. 91 last year. Like, their guys throwing 98 consistently. So we got to put it in some context.

But, like, for a guy who wasn't throwing that hard, it probably does. it will help him at some point just to have a little bit a giddy up. One last thing I'll say for people that are concerned. Zad Granky, who's arguably a Hall of Famer, used to have starts during spring training where he would say, I only threw

fast balls today. I only threw a couple of breaking balls. I only threw as he was working through and that's one of the best starters we've seen in the last 25 years. So I'm not calling Chodi Minaga Zach Grink. But what I am saying is you have pitchers who have been great, like elite level starters,

who go into starts in the spring and have game plans like that. Because I'm working on my fastball, I'm just going to throw it. Number three. This is five on it. I'm 104. Three, the score with Leila Roheemey, Mark Grody, and Russell Dorsey, National MLB Insider. Here's question number three on Sunday, 104. The score's own, Bruce Levine, reported that Cubs left-hander, Justin Steele, has been

released from the care of renowned orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist, Dr. Keith Meister. Here's what Steele had to say about it when talking to reporters on Sunday. There are a lot of factors that go into it, but is there any sense for long-term timetable? You know, fans are going to wonder when we see Justin Steele back on the mound. I mean, yeah. I mean, I would still be sticking to this same timeline that we kind of been saying, May, Juneish. And, you know, all of this is with the mind, you know, the thought in mind that the outings in October and November are going to be the ones that matter the most. So I would say keep that in mind as we're talking and thinking about this.

The fact that they didn't put you on a 60-day I-L, is that if you hope that you could return before? I'm going to be honest, I don't even know the implications of all that stuff. I don't even know what any of that really means. I just know 60 days and whatnot. That is Justin Steele talking to reporters about his road to coming back to the Cubs. When do you think? Steel actually pitches in a game for the North Siders.

You guys notice End of the Road by Boys to Men was playing in the background? Very appropriate. Good catch. I hate my brain. I hate my brain. End of the road of his care under Dr. Keith Meister. Keith Meister has spoken, ladies and, well, and Bruce, when he tweeted this, he was like, he has been released from his care.

He is free to go back into society now. Like, wait a second. What happened here? Was there a ceremony? And why is Dr. Keith Meister the one that is allowed? Like, can I see Dr. Keith Meister? Will he allow me into the world? He sounds pricey.

Keith Meester is very pricey. Oh, yeah. If you need the internal brace, he is the leading expert in that surgery. Wow. And is it me? It's Meester? I think it's, I'm 95% sure it's me. Meester is better.

The Keith Meister. He got named by Hawk Heraldson. The Keepmeister. Let me tell you about the Heat Meister. Cole Meister, what about that, wimpy? I do think it's going to be June. Because the way Justin Steele, first of all, elected to get that surgery, I don't necessarily know if it was like absolutely necessary.

And when he talked about it the way he did, given that there's got to be a rehab start too that factors into this, I think it's going to be June. When you hear him talk, like didn't you get that indication? Maybe the end of the road did kind of color my. opinion there, but still, I don't know what I'm going to do. There's zero reason to rush him. Yes. Like the, the, what they were able to do this offseason is add to their starting pitching depth, which was a need for them going into the postseason last year. They just, the reason they had to

start Shodhita Yamanaga against the Milwaukee Brewers, because they really didn't have other options. And so now they do. And the benefit of April and May is you're going to have off days. You can, you know, push guys back. You don't necessarily need five starters in that first portion of the season. They'll be able to slow play this thing. He doesn't have to make 30 starts this year. He doesn't have to make 25 starts this year. You want Justin Steele making, hitting his stride, August, September into October when you're pushing for the postseason. That's most important. I hope it's June. I am with you. I hope that you're right that there's no reason to rush him consider it. In theory, there's actual depth in this starting rotation this year.

Assuming we can get Shoda going and get the worry meter down a little bit, you still have Ben Brown who can start a game or two. You have Javier Assad. I don't know what's happened to Jordan Wicks. I'm very worried about Jordan Wicks, the former first round pick, but you do have a deep staff. And, you know, assuming you get some of what you got out of Matthew Boyd last year, what Edward Cabrera, the difference that he can make. So you're going to have a Full season of Kate Horton. Full season of Kate Horton. Yeah.

So I think it's going to be June and I hope it is June. And I hope that the division is bad enough that the Cubs can afford to relax a little bit. I mean, there I go again. There I go again. Hoping the Brewers underperform, are you? The voodoo magic and then dudes you've never heard of rattled off 97 wins. And the pirates are talking big now, too. The pirates are talking big.

It only takes one injury to, uh, eviscerate depth. And so you're knocking on wood that doesn't happen. But until that happens, and you know you're going to need more than five starters to get through a season, you feel good about where you are. Guys, Ben Brown seems like he's really working on this third pitch, too. I think it's really important for him to be successful. Sure, could use it.

Are you kidding? Yeah, exactly. A singer, I mean, he seemed pretty confident about it. Yeah, I heard how to be talking about that yesterday. Well, and he was on in the dugout with Taylor McGregor. Yep. Number four. Yesterday was March 1st.

Rent is due, but were the Bulls do. The Bulls were due. I didn't think they were going to go on a historic run, though, for the team, the 270 run that they went on during the game. I was like, oh, the Bulls have got some shots going. And then I was like, wait a second, Milwaukee can't shoot. And then I was like, oh, you're not converting this possession either. Oh, oh, you're not going down the court on it.

Oh, you guys have gotten cold. Oh, you've gotten real cold. Then we're seeing Allie Oops with giddy and modest. and they're just out there hooping, and the next thing you know, it's a 27-0 run. It's like the Ann 1 tour showed up the United Center and the Bulls won. They were due.

I didn't want the Bulls to be due. They hadn't won the entire calendar month of February. When Stacey said it couldn't get any worse, he was right, it couldn't get any worse. Here's my thing. It don't look pretty. I wasn't mad at it. Like, I just know what it takes for them to get the draft capital

that they need and winning. And winning don't help. No, they should have lost that. You got out tanked. That's what happened. That's what happened in that game. You got out tanked. Like the Battle of the Bad happened, Grody.

Yeah. And the Bulls won. Well, or did they? I agree with that. I agree with that. I mean, a 27, like, that's got to be among the biggest runs in the NBA this year. That's a run where you just tip your category, like, hey, we didn't have it tonight. You know what it is?

The NBA is a game of runs. It is. It is. And it's easier and easier to come back. This did not sit well with me because if you're a bad team, especially in this town, if you're going to have a bad losing streak, you may as well make it the worst ever losing streak in franchise history. So I'll be honest, I had my mindset on the 2000-2001 Chicago Bulls, which lost 16 straight games under Tim Floyd with guys like Dali Bore Bagger Reach, Fred Hoyberg,

Dragan Tarlack Ron Arteceston Elton Brand were the savings graces of that team but that's what I wanted you may as well get the worst and they didn't Five Number five

A new ranch milkshake will be available at Great Wolf Lodge locations from March 5th through May 20th there is a Great Wolf Lodge located in Gurney by the way if you're interested The Ranch milkshake combines vanilla ice

cream with ranch dressing. The shake will come with a sweet and salty lime rim and a whipped cream topping, all garnished with crispy chicken, carrots, and celery. Would you like to try the ranch milkshake or is it a hard pass? That's why we're going to the state fair. This is Great Wolf Lodge. I get what you're doing, but you didn't have to. Just create a great Bloody Mary and stick all the stuff in the Bloody Mary like they do.

You know, where it looks like a bouquet of food. This wasn't it for me. This was absolutely not it. Ranch dressing is suspect, in my opinion. Really? Just in general. Hot take. Yeah.

Sometimes it's good, but a lot of times I'm like, I don't know. So I can't be doing a ranch dressing. Like, I already kind of think ranch is like a milkshake, but this is taking it too far. Too far. Sometimes, man, we don't have to try all the things. We don't. Like, I thought it was like, okay, is it a take on like a save? like there's going to be things in there that work with the ranch but can't justify it ranch with

vanilla ice cream sounds disgusting tell you what forget the ranch you put blue cheese in that shake though i'm gonna take it down blue cheese and vanilla blood that's the worst thing i've never heard of my life talking about the chunky blue cheese okay that's not the like cheap stuff that's restaurant variety that's doing that's disgusting chunky blue dressing dressing shouldn't go in with ice cream. Blue cheese and vanilla. Next year you could be like, yeah. Put some thousand island in there.

Oh, wow. They didn't even think about that. My gosh, that's good. Absolutely not. I pray for humanity. Like, I get sweet and salty. That's, this is going to a different place. It's probably really good, though, but I would still not try it.

I'm out. Yeah. Blue cheese? Okay. I can't. I'm not going to eat all day now, Grudy. That's terrible. See?

Well, I don't want you getting back to be in a few. fatty. That's why. I appreciate it. I appreciate it. He said he was. Back in the day. If we both have lived that life, we could talk about it, you know, unlike the normies out there who just have normal bodies.

I feel like I can joke about my weight. I don't know that I can joke about others. It's one of the most insane combinations. That's, I gritty. I thought I knew. Of items. What's that? Like, that's an insane level of items to put together.

Vanilla. He really want these blue cheese. Chunky blue cheese. Chunky blue cheese. I'm out. I'm out. Like, line the rim of the glass

with the blue cheese. Here's the thing. We say perhaps the most compelling combine conversation for you next. Ben Johnson talked about what he wants to see in a second year with Caleb Williams.

And there's a lot of information here. And that is a very tantalizing topic. To go with a disgusting combination of blue cheese and vanilla. Gather yourselves. Ring Central's AI receptionist uses voice AI to answer on the first ring. So you'll never miss a call.

again. In just a few minutes, you can personalize your own AI receptionist to answer questions, route calls, schedule appointments, and even send texts in multiple languages. Plus, it's easy to scale. Create unlimited AI receptionists across any phone system. It's all powered by one reliable platform for effortless AI communications. See for yourself at ringcentral.com. Ring Central, voice of your business. Why have I asked my HVAC guy I found on Angie.com to change my grandpa's tracheotube? I was so amazed at how we replaced our air ducts. I knew I could trust him to change Pop Pop's tube. I think we should call a doctor.

Angie, the one you trust to find the ones you trust. Find pros for all your home projects at Angie.com. Presented by Team Mobile, the official wireless partner of Odyssey Sports. With an awesome network and great savings, there's never been a better time to join Team Mobile. Visit your neighborhood store to make the switch today. What's up? It's Draymond Green. I'm back for my 14th NBA season and my podcast of Draymond Green show is back too. This season, I'm breaking down games.

Reacting to the biggest NBA stories and sitting down with teammates, rivals, and culture shapers. And trust me, I'm not holding back. On the court or on the mic. Two new episodes every week. New segments, big conversations, real basketball talk for the real hoop heads. Listen to and follow the Draymond Green Show wherever you get your podcast. We're back. We're better.

Let's get it. Good. Rahimi Harrison Grody, Midday's Tyndal 2. On Chicago Sports Radio, 104, 3. This is Rahimi Harrison Brody on 1043 The Score. And this is something that amidst all of the business of the bears and the discussion surrounding what the priorities are or maybe what they see, it kind of got lost in the shuffle and I think it deserves discussion with you, Mark Grody.

Ben Johnson, in a side session with the media at the Combine last week, was asked about what he expects to see from his quarterback Caleb Williams in year two. How are the advantages Caleb has being in the offseason in his second year with you in terms of knowing what you want? And also, you know, how much growth can be made because, you know, it's not new anymore. It's, you know, focusing in, I guess. Yeah, well, I mean, we saw enormous growth over the course of the season. You know, I keep going back to what seven-on-seven looked like at the end of the year versus what it looked like to start the year. A drill as simple as that.

And yet you see him look so much more comfortable going with the end of the year. through some of those same plays. You know, a lot of it was like riding the bike for the first time with some of these concepts. You just hadn't seen it. And you get thrown a different coverage each and every time. Now you can accelerate your vision a little bit more. And that's what he's learned to do. And that's where I'm really confident the direction he's going.

I'm excited for him. I think he's going to be able to look at some of these cutouts from the Self-Skout and look at what he could have done a little bit better. I think what's most encouraging to me is something happened at the end of the year where I showed him one thing on tape and didn't even think it would come up in the next game and yet it did. And then he threw the ball to the exact spot that I would have wanted him to throw the ball to. Now, the result of the play wasn't what we wanted to for other reasons. And yet something as simple as that, I'm like, holy cow, if this guy can take one little nugget that we talked. talked about the week prior, and we really weren't emphasizing, and yet be able to apply that

real time in a game, man, he's really going to ascend quickly. And so I'm looking forward to it. I really do think this next offseason will see significant strides. That's high praise from Ben Johnson. And he sounds a lot different about Kayla Williams and talking about him now than he did it say this time right before the season began, for example. after her trading camp. Yeah. I mean, and there's still obvious places where Caleb Williams still needs to work. I mean, the easiest one completion percentage, 58.1% was 32nd in the league.

You know, all the stuff, checkdowns, footwork, accurate, the runner ball that we always talk about. That he got better at. The one thing, Leila, that has bothered me all year about. Caleb Williams or since he's been with the Bears and I bring it up a lot and that's the batted down balls at the line of scrimmage and I'm like I was thinking like he's got to be up there in the league and yeah as it turns out Caleb Williams had 18 passes batted down at the line last year tied for second in the league with Dak Prescott behind Trevor Lawrence who had a league high 20 of those from from last year so there's some like I feel

I don't know if this is the right way to put it. Easy ways to get better for Caleb Williams. You know what I mean? Like that doesn't seem like it would be a huge haul to look at some obvious spots where he can get better. The runner ball, you should be able to fix. Getting in better places to throw the ball should be something that he gets better at. So I hesitate to use that word easy, but I think with Ben Johnson, there are some discernible things that he can improve. Yeah, I think the bat of ball.

concept is one that I've thought about as well because that was always one of those things I wanted to see more of was, for example, the throw to Colston-Loveland over the middle that helped win the game against Cincinnati. Those are the ones where at his height, you are doing the most. You know, you're having to see over the line. People are jumping up at that point to try to bat the ball, for example. Are you throwing a line drive or are you throwing more of a three-pointer? Yeah. And some of it's because of the off-scriptness. I get it. You know what I mean? Like Caleb sees the field in a different way than others. I think about Max Crosby and how he rushed the line

and how he was able to bat the ball down at the line of scrimmage. Yeah, I mean, that one stands out. He has a tendency to go to his outside. You know, typically that would mean behind turn all right because that's the more consistent way. Also, because there's pressure on the left side, he's getting flushed out of the pocket. So when you predict that, you know, like where do you think the ball is going to,

so if you're rushing rushing, rushing the passer on the right side of the plate, his right side, then that's obviously something that stands to happen as well. That might have just been timing too. Yeah, timing. And then the height thing too. I mean, he's not a tall quarterback. And so that's part, did you remember when I was at the combine? Are you kidding?

We're the ones who told you to go find out how tall he was. But here's the thing, Trevor Lawrence is 6-6, so what's his excuse? Right, right, right. You know, if he's number one, Dak Prescott is 6-2 and has been in the league, how long? And at one point, was getting serious conversation for MVP. Yeah, I don't know what their stories were. Like I had to go back and actually watch theirs, but.

Lawrence had no excuse. If you hadn't had that many balls batted down, my goodness, where were the team of Ben record-wise in the regular season? He might have ruined the season with his batted balls. I don't think that was it, but they definitely enjoyed quite the come-up with Liam Cohen as the head coach. What if that keeps going?

Is that keeps going? Like, does he, does Trevor Lawrence, like, has he made man now? Has he made it? Like, is he just going to keep getting better? Or is he is what he is? He was marketed originally as a, generational talent. He's on his second contract. Absolutely. No, he's good. He's good. But no, he's not generational. Please.

I mean, but here's the thing. Trevor Lawrence in his second year, let's do this. Let's do the thought exercise. So let's take the Bears bias out of it. Trevor Lawrence in his second year under Liam Cohen, I'm optimistic. So why would I not have reason to believe I should be optimistic with Caleb Williams after showing that much improvement in one year? Right. And his second year with Ben Johnson. Third year in the league, I mean, I know his first year sucked with the coaching around him, but you can't take it away from it. It will be his third year.

It will be, but at the same time, when you asked yourself at the beginning of last season, what you wanted to see out of Caleb Williams, knowing, yes, Ben Johnson threw out there the 70% completion rate. Yes, that was a part of it. But when you asked yourself, how was he going to improve? what were the things you were looking for? Some of the same, well, maybe the biggest thing for me going into this year is because I saw it up front, obviously covering the bears, was the deep ball accuracy. Just that accuracy in general, because that didn't seem to be part of his story at USC in terms of having trouble with accuracy.

So that was probably the biggest part and then the taking less sacks, which he accomplished in a big way. And he was more accurate, too. And I think 708 makes a good point on our tax line. Caleb also likes to use creative arm angles that could cause those as well. And even that improved throughout the year. You know, it wasn't just the arm angles. It was that not everything was a plus plus fastball. Like when you've got to throw off speed a little bit with that touch to somebody who is either running perhaps a crossing pattern over the middle of the field.

Or, you know, it's somebody just ahead of the line of scrimmage that can get some yards for you. I feel like that was also the case. Well, hopefully, I'm sure that's part of what they're looking to approve on the batted balls, and they can look at each and every one of them and look at what the story was and hopefully improve that a little bit without, and this has been one of Ben Johnson's superpowers, without taking away Caleb Williams's identity. He never did that this year. I mean, he probably did tone some things down early and simplified some things early,

but you never saw Ben Johnson not allowing this quarterback to be himself. The one thing, at least if it's a quarterback-related issue, not receivers needing to catch issue, I want to see a more established screen passing game. Okay. Yeah, yeah. I mean, I'm talking old school, just basic. Your receiver is next to you, you know, line of scrimmage-wise. Like, he's dead even with you in the play.

He's five yards away from you. Just toss it really easy, like that touch pass to be able to let him go. And that's a runner's ball, too. Ben Johnson was also on with Mike Florio. So here's what Ben Johnson told Mike Floreo about this same need to do things. Give me one thing that you want to see Caleb Williams do to get to the next level in 26. He's got to continue to ascend, continue to work and go in the same direction that he ended the season. That's the hard part is coming back and getting back on the horse and regaining right where he left off.

I think that's really important. And I think when you look back at last year, there's probably 40 throws out there that, man, if we can find a way to get completions on, we feel so much better about where we're at as an offense, our passing game. And he's going to feel a lot better about where he's at as a quarterback as well. And there's some throws he made last year that I don't know that anyone else can make those throws. You're 100% right. And that's the balancing act because, yeah, as much as we want those 40 throws to come, we still have probably those 40 that he's. he did make that not many other players can make. Yeah, I mean, it's fair to think about it.

You don't want to digress at the things that you did get good at. And those balls that Ben Johnson is talking about, yeah, they were spectacular. But it also just showed that his deep ball accuracy got better. You don't want that. So keep that. Don't let that waiver at all. And then the other part two was the alluding of pressure was an A plus for Caleb Williams. this year in terms of the

awareness of the pressure and then alluding it was elite. I can't say that. Everybody wants to hear that word out of my mouth. His ability to elude pressure and runaway was elite last year, kids. No, it absolutely was. The only person

who impersonated Caleb Williams better than Caleb Williams was Micah Parsons in practice. Yes. That's it. Like, that's the list. Coming up next year on Rahimi Harris and Grotie, what about what the general manager thinks? Cassie Carlson of Fox 32 talk to Ryan polls, so he will add to this conversation. Ring Central's AI receptionist uses voice AI to answer on the first ring, so you'll never miss a call again. In just a few minutes, you can personalize your own AI receptionist to answer questions, route calls, schedule appointments, and even send texts in multiple languages.

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Follow and listen to the Lazy Genius podcast on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Next. Rahimi Harris and Grody. Middays 10 to 2 on 1043, The Score. This is Rahimi Harrison Grotie on 1043, the score. We thank you for joining us on the sunny Monday.

Yeah, real nice to have you today. Real good. It is. And we're talking about just the wrap-up of the NFL combine, where for the bears this year as opposed to last, it may not have been as much about which prospect looks the best, even though that is very much front and center. There's also just a lot of business done at the league. People talk for the first time in a couple months. You might have an easier discussion or a more salient point that's made once you're removed from a, gutting loss in the playoffs, for example. And that's where I feel like Ben Johnson and Ryan Poles were. When asked about the conversation surrounding, what's the next order of business for Caleb Williams,

how do you build on the progress that he made? We heard from Ben Johnson. So what about Ryan Poles? Well, Cassie Carlson sat down with him on Fox 32. If you missed it, it is on their YouTube channel. Fox 32 Sports has a great YouTube channel. And she asked him his thoughts on his young quarterback's goals for the team's offense. Caleb was on obviously a podcast and he said he wants to be the number one offense in the league next year.

Also talked about being a little bit of a maniac and just in terms of how he wants to be the best on the field. When you hear your quarterback continue to make that message public, I mean, what excites you about that? I mean, his overall maturity from the day he got into the league to what it is today is really impressive. That growth is really impressive. I got to give Ben a lot of credit for that. They spent a lot of time together. He's starting to do the things, not just say, but do the things. that professional quarterbacks do.

And that gets me excited because if his mentality is that, it'll start rubbing off on a lot of the other guys. And if we get the whole crew moving with that mentality, trying to be the absolute best in the league, one of one, we're going to be at a really good spot. That's as optimistic as I've ever heard Rampol Sound. I loved what he said about, don't just say it. Because Caleb Williams, from the second he was at that podium,

at the NFL Combine there. He was very good with his words. I can throw any ball. I could throw any ball. That's right. I can throw it. I love that for you, but you had a 50-some-odd completion percentage.

But the problem was... Your receivers did not help you. In his first year, despite not having a good infrastructure, Caleb Williams was not... And I'm not saying like there was no laziness, none of that stuff. he did not know what it really meant to be a professional quarterback in this league.

So that part is real. And I'm not saying he's got this yet, but he's taken some huge strides. And before I forget, by the way, Cassie Carlson will be on TTIN, take the north. I believe tomorrow. I do believe I can confirm that with our guy, Weedsie, when the weed man joins us at 1 o'clock. So shout out to Cassie Carlson. And by the way, Dan Weiderer expanded on this. You can read his article in The Athletic.

Yes. And shout out to Cassie Carlson. I didn't realize that was her first time co-hosting a whole show with David Haugh last week. I didn't realize that either. Did a great job. Way to go. I hope you guys do the wrap up with her. Ask her how she felt.

You know, like what did she see in those hours that she was with David? I think she said, and this is what we all do the first time we work a morning show. I think she said she got up at like 2.30 or something like that because you're just nervous and you got that weird energy. You don't really heart thumb. It's a very, very lonely feeling. That's the only the way I could describe getting up in the middle of the night to go to work. It's stressful. It's, it's angst writing.

It's all of that. So, yeah, I'd like to, I will ask her about that. Well, she did a great job. And it takes years off your life. So credit to everybody. So don't do it again. Everybody who does that on a day-to-day basis and also fills in with us. We appreciate it.

So it was a good interview. And Fox 32 has a YouTube channel, as I mentioned. so you can check it out. But Ryan Poles is the one who really kind of tap the collective breaks that everybody was very much gearing up toward when he was asked about a possible extension for Caleb Williams. Now, he addressed it. He understands that's part of the budget. That's good business. But he doesn't sound like he's there yet. And I think that was important too, that he still has work to do. And that was something that was notable to you when he said that as well. Oh, I've been tracking that since the end of the season press conferences

that both Ben Johnson and Ryan Poles said the exact same thing. Yeah, we saw what you saw. It was pretty spectacular in the second half of the season. We saw some discernible improvement. You like that. I do like that. I like saying that. I really do.

I think Kirk Cusses might be back in the division. Really? Yeah. Wait a minute. Yep. Where? His old team. Oh, wow, yeah.

He could go to, are they really done with J.J. McCarthy? I don't know that they're done with JJ, but that would buy him some time. Do you think there's a fatal flaw with that's another phrase I like? Fatal flaw with J.J. McCarthy that they're seeing now. Can I just do the take? Do you want me to do the take here on JJ? Yeah. Since life is good in Caleb land, we can focus on other teams.

Would you like for me to just, here's the thing. Bring it. J.J. McCarthy ran a run heavy offense at Michigan. J.J. McCarthy was known for being a hell of a leader. He came from a good coach. So not only did he have his own personal pedigree that he built up and earned, he also had the blessing of a respected coach in Jim Harbaugh. So because of that, I think a lot of scouts saw a lot of potential in him, and they saw the intangibles. But I think they tried to fill the tangible part with intangibles, and that's why there's a bit of a

disconnect now that's happening in Minnesota. Yeah, that's pretty good. I mean, and we all saw it. We all know what he was at Michigan and Jim Harbaugh was heavily lauded for it. He should be. They won. They won a national championship with him, which is another reason that people were so into him, but he didn't have to do a lot. But similar to proximity with greatness when it comes to say Rocheon Johnson backing up Bejan Robinson. You also had to factor in the other part of it, which is the other individual's talent that your proximity is too. So for example, maybe at Texas they didn't care as much about the backup running back being elite because they had the best running back of the nation at the time.

Maybe Jim Harbaugh, knowing that he's a hell of a coach, knew what exactly to do to make J.J. McCarthy look good. Additionally, you know, there's the Justin Jefferson dynamic there, which I think if you like ball, you want to see that guy catch pass. It's not against the Bears, but you want to see he deserves his talent to be put on a stage, right? He deserves to flourish. And so when he's your first option, and then you've got all these other issues, it's going to be by nature a pass first offense. Well, you drafted a run for a system quarterback. So that's how I feel. He was one of the darlings of the low-key,

I should say, low-key darlings of the combine a couple of years back. And scouts for that reason. Oh, yeah. It was the combination of factors that led them to want to believe X would fill in the gap. We, hey, Ryan Poles, we know he loved Caleb Williams. Everybody who's worked with him has too. Love Caleb, that was the guy. Caleb Williams is the guy, the guy. But Ryan Poles love J.J. McCarthy too. A lot of GMs love J.J. McCarthy.

GMs and scouts. Absolutely. Like, and so that's why it's hard for me to believe that they will have left him for dead. If they're trying to challenge him by bringing somebody else in to shake him up a little bit, or if there is actually something that they notice, and they got a pretty good head coach there, pretty good scout who didn't necessarily want that, who could look at that, JJ McCarthy and say,

yeah, he does this thing that we can't overcome. And that's why we have to bring in other guys. My issue was always just that. If you knew how Caleb Williams felt, did you do enough for your team in not talking to Jaden Daniels? Like, I would have talked to Jaden Daniels. I would have, but I mean, he can't really argue with what's going on right now. Right now.

The Bears have a quarterback. Well, because that's the beauty of a team sport. Yeah, so he might have gotten lucky, you know, by not talking to others. The result happened. To fix it, they brought in the right guy. Like, in football, it's never too late to fix a mistake, especially. You know, so I think in that case, not that it was a mistake, but that, you know, if you're not going to at least talk to another guy because you're so hell bent on this,

Well, you'd better make that situation work. Yeah, I can't. And you better pay for it, and they did. Yeah, I can't lament that at this moment. I mean, that made sense last year with Jaden Daniels' season. I'm saying, I guess, two years ago now when Jaden Daniels was excellent and Caleb Williams was just kind of meh. And it felt like I said, it's the Dunkin Donuts race at the United Center where you think you know who's got the, it's Jaden Daniels. Oh, no, no, no, it's not going to do.

Jay J. J. McCarthy looks pretty. No, no, no. Oh, but out of nowhere, you think Caleb's going to lose the United States. the race. You're getting excited at the UC right now. Here comes Caleb speeding around the outside. So it's pretty amazing that class of quarterbacks. I can't wait to see where it ends. Well, and the thing, the other part is, too, is Drake May didn't have a terrible year. No. I didn't even mention him in my little Dunkin' Donuts race. Yeah. But as part of this, I think it's also just, why wouldn't you leave every stone unturned? Like if nothing else, it reinforces your decision about Caleb Williams.

Right. You talk to somebody else. Hey, and Ryan Pace did the same thing with Mitch Tribisky by just looking at him and saying, yeah, that's all we're in. Dan Weederer can tell us all about that if we really want to go back into the past. I can't go there again. No, I'm not interested. But you know what? It is why I bring it up because that was a mistake.

And if you had scouted other quarterbacks, I don't know that you'd have been in the same position. Yeah, they didn't get away with it. In this case, they may get away with it. Well, they got away with it because they made the right to sit. and a head coach. You know, they took the offensive genius out of the building next door.

Wow, that's a good. You just, I know we don't have time to get into it, but you just brought up the chicken or the egg question right there saying, so you're talking about Ben Johnson

has made the difference with Caleb. Without Ben Johnson, you know, you don't think Caleb would have this. I don't think he would have been as good. Okay. That's because Ben Johnson put his players in better positions to succeed.

I mean, he's a great coach, but it's also a great question. Like, did Caleb, Does Caleb Williams, like, is... Ben Johnson isn't throwing the football on the field. Is Ben Johnson?

Ben Johnson isn't backing up 26 yards behind the line of scrimge and throwing a dart to Colquemet. But no matter what, if all things were equal, would Caleb Williams have needed an elite head coach to be successful in the league? Is that the only way for him? Like he needed, there is guidance that he needed that he couldn't have an average coach. He's not talented enough to overcome stuff. Now, that I think he is, but he didn't have an average coach before he had a below average coach.

He did. So it's a great question. And we've kind of, and it's been a big talking point all year. The star of the season was Ben Johnson. It wasn't Caleb Williams. I mean, 1B, I suppose. You and I have a couple of Laila Grady shows later this week. I'm going to collect some receipts from one little known source called Tom Brady.

And I'm going to play them for you. And then we can discuss how much a coach can make a difference in a quarterback's career. I would love to hear that. Yes, we will be. doing what, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday? Is that our... Yep. It's Marshall and me tomorrow.

It's you and me, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. Rahimi's receipts are back. I don't know that they left. They just got, you know, then it became the whole show, and then it's not really receipts. We're doing it together. Right. They were very well-featured back when you were in my chair.

Yes. Back in the day. It was like, Rahimi's receipts were heavy. That's also because we had a dude who thought he was real smart, would roll out empty with a full-back read as the hot read against a blitzel. heavy offense in Minnesota. Wait a minute. Who's that person you're talking about? Luke Getzey. Oh, the Getsmeister.

I thought you were talking about a host at first. Oh, God, no. If a host called that player, I'd be like, yo, what were you thinking? I am smart. Why do you think I'm not smart? A host rolling out of empty would be really bad, huh? I'm unfiltered. How does that...

Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Un-filtered. Dan Widerer is next. uses voice AI to answer on the first ring, so you'll never miss a call again. In just a few minutes, you can personalize your own AI receptionist to answer questions, route calls, schedule appointments, and even send texts in multiple languages. Plus, it's easy to scale. Create unlimited AI receptionists across any phone system.

It's all powered by one reliable platform for effortless AI communications. See for yourself at ringcentral.com. Ring Central, Voice of Your Business. Presented by Team Mobile, the official wireless partner of Odyssey Sports. With an awesome network and great savings, there's never been a better time to join Team Mobile. Visit your neighborhood store to make the switch today.