Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - Cassie Carlson recaps everything we learned at the NFL Combine | Take The North

Episode Date: March 4, 2026

From 'Take The North' (subscribe here): The NFL Combine was a fountain of information! Dan Wiederer and Mark Grote bring in FOX 32's Cassie Carlson to help us unpack everything. What were people around the league saying about the Bears at the combine? Is receiver DJ Moore going to be traded before the new league year begins? And what are the latest rumors about Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby? To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Dan Weiderer. The whole key to sustaining success in this league is to have a quarterback play that is top tier and can consistently push you down those roads. And Mark Grody. We're allowed to at this point. Bears fans are allowed to right now dream big and predict what you want out of the season. We're going to take the North and never give it back. Hello again, everybody.

and welcome into the Take the North podcast along with Dan Weider of The Athletic. I am Mark Rodi of 1043, the score. Danny Boy, how are ye today? Really good. I'm really good. The off-season's chugging along. We're starting to accelerate. We've got a lot to dig into. We're here.

We're in March now, Mark, and NFL March Madness begins. Let's rock. Let's do it. And as you can see on our screen right now, if you are watching on YouTube or on video, wherever you might take in this podcast. We are very excited to be joined by the wonderful Cassie Carlson of Fox 32 sports anchor and Bears reporter over there at Fox 32 right across the street from the score. It's a great job exchange that goes on.

She's also the host of the offseason. And she was on the score recently hosting a morning show. What's going on? Cassie, how are you? Oh, I'm great. I think I have the post morning show and post-combine cold going. So it's a compilation of everything going on, which means it's a busy time of the year, which is good.

Because over the last three weeks since the Super Bowl ended until the combine, I'm like, all right, so it's been how many weeks since football ended? Like, we need it back and it's back. Cassie, I think we're going to start with that morning show appearance because you are now like in the team photo of people that has had to experience what that is. You know, being ready to be on the air at 5.30 in the morning requires a different alarm than you're used to setting. I want you to take me and Grotie and the rest of our audience into the first time trying

to prep yourself for 530 on. on air at 670 the score. 104.3. Yeah, it's different. So it reminds me of every time I do the morning show here at Fox 2, because unlike my job where it's like you come in at the start of the day at 10 o'clock or 2 o'clock and you work all day and then you go on air at night. The morning show is you wake up, you go on air, and then you do all your work after.

So it's so flip-flopped. But my alarm went off at 3.30 in the morning. Didn't sleep very well because obviously I was a little worried that the alarm wouldn't go off. And then I had no coffee, which is unlike me, until I actually got to the score. And usually, like in my typical morning routine, I'm a very routine person. I have two cups of coffee before I do anything to start the day. And so it was pure adrenaline, but it was fun. All the prep work is done the night before, which is interesting too.

I was up watching the Olympics because David Haw was like, be ready to talk about the Olympics. And I'm like, okay, figure skating, noted. Here we go. Yeah. And luckily, there was Max Crosby having Caleb Bow. Williams on his podcast, which in my mind, it's like, perfect, four hours is going to be fly by. If we can talk about an hour and eight minutes of those two talking together and sort of decipher all the subliminal messaging that we think went on and everything that Caleb Williams said.

So it was really fun and four and a half hours flies by. I didn't stand up the entire time either, which was very impressive to Haw. He was like, she hasn't moved from the chair. I'm like, no, I'm like locked in in the chair. And I didn't stand up until after I was done. I always say because I did, I put in, it felt like a sentence. As fun as much fun as I had doing mornings, once upon a time in my career, I did I think five, five years of getting up that early, doing updates for our morning

show on the score, which at the time was Mully and Hanley then became Mully and Haw. And the way I always describe it to people is number one, you never get used to it. Like people were always like, oh, you get used to it after. No, I never got used to my alarm going off. middle of the night. So number one, you never truly get used to that feeling. It's stunning and lonely and stressful. But I always say, once you crack the mic and you get into the pool, like I like the pool analogy too, the water's a little cold at first. But once you get in, you get used to the water, it feels good. And your day is done at 10 o'clock, maybe a little nap. But for the most part, like,

if you can handle that really awful part of the alarm going off in the middle of the night, it's say when in the mornings. The tough part, though, was after because I had to go to work straight after, which, as you mentioned, luckily, it's like right across the street. So I was like, all right, full go. We're not stopping out one door into the next. And we're not going to sit down until after the workday is over. At 7 o'clock, I sat on my couch.

I don't even think I ate dinner. And I had the TV on and I was out cold. Like I didn't wake up until the next day. But I didn't have to prep for a morning show the next day either. So I can only imagine what it's like when you have to like stack the days one after another, I was like, I could just fell asleep. woke up the next day. I'm like, all right, back to my regular routine, but it was really fun. One of the best parts

of going in for that morning show is the fact that the highways are completely empty and then you get downtown and there's people kind of milling around downtown and you're like, did you just wake up? Have you not going to sleep yet? Who are these people that are out on the streets here down near those intersections where Fox and the score are? Cassie, Grotie has expressed a

significant case of FOMO from the Combine last week. He did not join us in Indianapolis. Our job today is to kind of rub it in to him on what he missed and you can kind of share your experience. I have to say, like, you are among the hardest working people down there. I told you after we sat down for our little session on Thursday that, like, there's a lot of good content, and you've got a lot of people. And so like, when you're on your way back from Indy and you're unpacking all that, what's kind of your process of realizing,

one, how much you did, and two, the volume of people that you were able to pick their brains on. Oh, well, I appreciate the kind words. I think, one, I have a fear of, did I get enough? That's where my mind goes first because there's so many people there. And you're like, wow, I really wish I got to talk to this person or that person. Do we cover the prospects enough? But I think when I digested it a little bit more, the reality of the combine this year is it wasn't so much about the prospects. And that was why it was such a different experience for me in particular. Like, we have gone down there the entire week, Monday through Friday, for the last three years. And the two years prior, it was last year, Ben Johnson was the star of the show because he was the new head coach in the year before.

We were waiting, I think, all week until Caleb Williams spoke on probably an early Friday morning. Yeah. And so it was just a totally different experience in that sense. And it was more so of, I thought, how nationally the bears are viewed now that they made it to the playoffs, they have Ben Johnson, they have Caleb Williams, and how people feel so much stronger about them now than they did, even back in 2018. I talked to Rich Eisen. And he was like, you know, when I watched 2018 and the Bears go to the playoffs, I felt like I still needed to see more. He goes, after watching Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams and the Bears win playoff games this year, he's like, I've seen enough. Like, these are the two guys that are going to take this team into the future and be the ones to bring a Super Bowl back to Chicago.

And so I just think the confidence nationally is exuding in the Bears right now. And it's all because of first off, I would say Ben Johnson and secondly because of Caleb Williams' talents. And so I thought that was the most interesting thing of just how it felt so different from years past. But all for good reason that the bears aren't picking in the top time. It's like you were reading my notes because that comment from Rich Eisen was one I wrote down after watching a lot of your stuff. Because usually it's, you know, Chicago gets really excited. And then the national people are like, relax. Like this is a crowded league.

There's a lot of teams that are good. A lot of teams that are competitive. This year I feel like it's like the national people being like, man, I'm so excited about where the bears are headed. And people in Chicago are like, settle down. Like we've seen bottom. fall out of this team. It's like a total role reverse and I'm sure, Grotty, you've felt a little of that in the last week as well.

Well, guys, I was just as Cassie was talking about the rich eyes and comments, I couldn't help but thinking about the fact that this year was like the best case possible scenario for this team. All the things that Bears

fans and maybe even Bears reporters have been desirous of came to pass this year. The head coach, you just hired was great, was the star of the show. Like, how many times have the Bears not only gotten it right with the coach, and I think they've gotten it right, even after just one year with Ben Johnson, not only gotten it right, but to the point where he was the most important person

with the Chicago Bears, you had progression with your quarterback. All I wanted out of this season was at the beginning of the year, my desire was, I want to know that the Bears have a quarterback. Is he perfect? No, but I know the bears have their quarterback yet. I'm able to say that confidently, which I was not able to say last off season, or was I able to say it in the first seven games of this season? And that's my problem. I mean, that maybe I should have been more measured about able to.

You were right. I would agree. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. I mean, like it just like just watching it game by game, it didn't feel like it was there. And then the fact that they won. So and and Cassie, I'll ask you this question, it felt legitimate. too. As much as Ben Johnson says everything is different, nobody's coming back, don't think about,

don't even look at last year. You're damn right. I'm still looking at last year. And because they did it for the most part, except for a few lucky moments, it felt pretty legitimate and pretty sustainable. Do you think it's sustainable even going into this year, Cassie? Yeah. So I asked Ben Johnson that same question because reiterating what he said of they're like starting from ground zero after the season ended. but I think more so of what will carry over is the culture that clearly needed to be changed when he came in a year ago. Like this entire place at Hallis Hall needed to be reset and restructured and there needed to be higher expectations than ever before.

And back to the comment about they got the coach right, that's something that Kevin Byard said multiple times throughout the season and that's someone that I think everyone trusts whatever comes out of his mouth. I felt like from the moment he was hired, everyone felt like the Bears got the coach right because of how intense intentional and intense he was with his words and then every action that he had backed it up. And so I think that's what's going to carry over from last season. I think the hard part for the players and probably the quarterback in particular who has

vocalized his lofty goals on Max Crosby's podcasting, he wants to have the number one offense in the league is that, you know, it's up to then now to not feel like last year was enough. Like you're coming off this high of a season where you reached new heights that this team hasn't hit in 15 years. And now you have to be able to find it within yourself to put that work in again to get back there. And I think that's what Ben Johnson is mentioning of starting from square one, where he said when the season ended at the end of season press conference, he didn't feel like last year's training camp was very hard.

And so he's now tasked with showing up training camp late in July again and having that same sort of intensity and getting all these players to buy in again, going back to the fundamentals and starting over from scratch in that sense. And so I think that's really, I think the culture will carry over. The players understand what he's all about. But now it's on the players to find it within themselves to put in that work that it took to get back to where they were this past season. And so, yeah, I think he's just talking about complacency. I could see like now that the season has kind of like simmered down and you're off riding that high, how exhausting it is.

And I feel like if we're exhausted from it, the players are even more exhausted from it. And so finding it within themselves, these are all very self-motivated guys. to just know that they have to start over and all the work that it took they're going to have to replicate. It's no secret that I've been a fan of Ben's messaging since the week after the season ended. And you just mentioned a word that he mentioned a bunch last week, complacency. He kept saying complacency and entitlement. And those are like the two things that they're defending against so that they don't feel like

the success they had last year promises them anything. And to your point, there was so much hard work that went into the success of last year. And ultimately, when you zoom out with a sober look, you say, all that did was get us into the final eight, right? Like we were just one of the final eight teams standing and there's more to do. And so I guess when you sat down with Ben, what did you sense from him just sitting across from him? I think there's probably a satisfaction in what they were able to get done in year one. Obviously, there's a never-ending ambition that he breathes whenever you talk to him. What did you sense in your conversation with him down there in Indy?

I actually sense similar to what Caleb said on the Crossy podcast. to keep going back to that, but it's like the most recent thing we've heard from him, that he's ready to get back in the building. And to have your head coach and your quarterback say that same thing, you know, that they are both hungry for the next step. And these are two high achieving, lofty goal guys that are a relationship that started a little bit iffy. And now there's a respect for one another. And so to hear the two main guys on this team, you know, have this itch to be better and get back to work despite needing to take a break, not being able to, I thought was really positive. And then it was all about just how to get better. And, you know, I think there's a belief still

in Ben Johnson with this roster, despite there are going to be changes of just how much he trust the guys in that locker room at this point. Because a lot of last year, too, was finding out who he could trust, how to build trust, especially with these young players. And to see that grow over the course of the season, now you sense that Ben Johnson just knows his players so much better. And he knows how to put them in better spots. And so especially with Caleb going into year two of Ben Johnson's offense, knowing it's a complex offense, knowing that they're going to have to go back and find little things that he needs to improve on, which I know they both had a long list heading into the offseason, but just picking up from not square one, but you know, you're on level two

and going from there, I think is going to allow this offense and this team to blossom even more. And I get the sense of maturity from Caleb Williams. Ben Johnson is sensing that too, to hear Caleb put up all these lofty goals and to see the arc of of his season. And I think we could all tell just how he grew in front of the podium, how much more confident, how much more mature, his teammates noticing it as well. I think that's just going to carry over into another year. And for a season last year, where I felt like going into it, Caleb Williams was kind of, I don't want to, I can say put in his place by Ben Johnson of like, you're talented. You're about to enter my offense now.

And you're going to have to work really hard to understand it to proving himself that he, you know, he's a good quarterback. He's very talented. But how can you earn that trust and make a step in that and continue to prove that you can be one of the best? I think that's going to be the challenge for Caleb. It goes back to the complacency word of taking that next step and continuing to want to be the best. And I just get the sense that Ben Johnson does believe in him to do that and the rest of the roster. Yeah, I was tell Dan, I've said there's multiple times on the podcast and over on the score that there were times in training. camp where I wasn't sure

if Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams were going to make it. And then he starts... Day one. Yeah, day one. Day one is right. In meantime, he's like, I love my bestie over here, Tyson Bage, and he can do no wrong. Look at you.

You just stay over there and be good. And then Caleb, but yeah, he coached the hell out of him, and it seemed like, you know, something that Dan talked a ton about and justifiably last year was learning how to be a professional It seems like there are some things that he has checked the box for, even though we all know there are things that he's got to get better at.

Hey, this is Richard Deich, the host of the sports media podcast. If you're interested in what's happening with all the places where you consume sports, the sports media podcast has you covered. I've been turning down interviews all week. Hoda Copy, reached out, Oprah, George Stephanopoulos. So I said, no, I was booked on the Deich podcast before the Taylor Swift phenomenon. I must live up to my responsibility. Listen, wherever you get your podcasts.

I do want to switch gears a little bit with you because I thought, like, if there's one, my biggest takeaway, as far as the nuts and bolts of the combine and things we heard and things we saw, had to be DJ more. And it was just perfectly played ambiguity by the bears in this case because they love him. He's the best.

He's the toughest. He's the greatest teammates. He made some of the greatest catches and franchise history, but it's the NFL and business and is business. And I'm sure with both of you guys, the number one question that I get asked by friends and family and people on the street, my dad asked me last night. I said, what are they doing with this deal? Are they going to trade DJ Moore or not? Cassie, your thoughts on the DJ more offseason saga. Yeah, it is ambiguous, isn't it, because of all the things that Ryan Pohl said about his toughness,

Ben Johnson talked about how he probably knows every position on this offense better than anyone else on the team. Poles also said that he doesn't know how this roster is going to look when he mentioned DJ Moore either, whether or not he's going to be on this team. And I laughed because Poles, Ben, they both went through like a two and a half hour media car wash, which is a lot of talking in a little bit amount of time being asked the same questions. And you could kind of sense towards the end, like Poles was giving a little bit of a different answer every time he was asked about DJ Moore, where at first it was like, oh, we love him. Then it was like, oh, yeah, we'll listen to, you know, some calls.

And so you're like, all right. So clearly they are trying to build up and make him seem desirable for other teams and his trade market while also knowing that he is valuable to his team, but also the number that is connected with him is that he is going to be the highest paid player on the roster next year, making $28.5 million and they have cap constraints. And so I think it's more of the business decision when it does come down to DJ Moore and also realizing what they do have in that wide receiver room and knowing that Luther Burden is their young star that has a similar play style on a rookie contract, one of Ben

Johnson's guys. I think it all plays into that while DJ Moore is valuable to this team in this offense, there's no doubt about that. I mean, you wouldn't win those games without DJ Moore late in the season. Consistently early in the season, you felt like his production obviously dipped and there was some chemistry issues with Caleb Williams. but I mean, he's a key player on that offense. However, I think it comes down to a business and that they need to,

they have other areas of need that would be more important than in that wide receiver room at this point. And I think that's going to be a tough player to potentially move on from. I also think the interesting thing, though, is how DJ Moore is viewed amongst the rest of the league, because when I asked Eisen this, too, like, if there is a narrative around him because he is the player attached to the Max Crosby Raiders train. And he's like, not really. Like I don't know like how much of the league feels strongly about DJ Moore going in and being a wide receiver number one on any team because he's not the Jamar Chase.

He's not the Justin Jefferson. He's a little bit more under the radar. Doesn't discount his toughness or his ability. He's just not one of those top tier stars. And so I think that's what makes it interesting is, you know, obviously a lot of teams are in this Max Crosby talk right now if the Raiders do end up trading him. and is DJ Moore a big enough of a star for a team to want to trade for him? To want to trade for him and to want to take on the contract and invest in him in the way that he is. Again, that DJ contract runs through 2009.

There's four more seasons on it. There's an easier exit plan after the 27 season. So that whole thing factors in to everything. Since we're on the topic of Max Crosby, a possible DJ trade, Max and Caleb, it's crazy. This morning we wake up and on the betting markets, Max, to the Bears is now the most likely scenario according to the betting markets. Now, Kevin Fishbane and I wrote in the athletic, you know, basically 10 reasons why it wouldn't make sense for the bears.

And so we're in this crazy period of the athletic. What's the matter with you guys? They won't. What's the 10 reasons they won't? What's going on? If it's a Greenberg idea. So here you guys go. You guys take the floor and talk about the possibility of Max Crosby coming here, why it

would make sense. And maybe, you know, why you agree with you. Kevin and I. Okay, Wyatt would make sense. I think he's the most premier pass rusher that is potentially going to be available. I think he has higher upside than Trey Hendrickson, if you want to go the free agency route. I think that got the sense actually after leaving the combine, it's probably less likely that the bears will trade for Max Crosby because of the deep edge class. Everyone seems to want to stay young, draft, and develop. And so I actually left feeling like Max Crosby either might.

stay in Vegas. That's the game that the Raiders are playing right now, that they see him there. Or, I mean, I think the Cowboys sound intriguing, honestly, to trade for Crosby. They have a higher first-round draft pick. And that, I think, would tip them over the top, given their offense as well. So I actually left the combine thinking that Max Crosby, well, I'd be a huge fan. I'd be so excited if the Bears traded for him. I think it makes more sense to draft one of these edge rushers and go deep into the draft class, into this draft class. that's deep at edge, I should say. So that's kind of how I left, actually, leaving the combine.

I don't know if you felt differently, Dan. I just sensed that- You're advising your clients to steer away from that Max Crosby to the Bears bet that everyone is popularly betting right now. Cassie Carlson is advising clients against it at this moment. $5 bet never hurt nobody, right? Yeah, I think the way the edge class stacks up, everyone was like, let's draft and develop.

And Ryan Pohl's even said they're planning on it as if they're going to have to pay Caleb Williams. And so Max Crosby could also get traded to the Bears walk in and want a new deal as well. He's making like $38 million or something. So I think that all has to come into play. So I leave more so that Max Crosby not being traded to the Bears. I'd be excited if he does. Yeah, I mean, honestly, I would probably bet against it.

Just the way that they've been talking, us all understanding the assets that they have and don't have. Also understanding the way Ben Johnson probably wants to operate that they would like to have future first round picks in their hoster for the upcoming years. I will say this, like you laid it all, the why of having him here is obvious and you laid it out very well. But I also say like a guy like that, of course he would resonate with 32 cities for sure, but a guy that plays with that sort of hyper energy in Chicago, I mean, we've seen guys

of way lesser talent than Max Crosby that have played for the Bears or are other teams in this town. Personality, blue collar ethic, attitude, hustle. that stuff plays here just a little bit more than it plays it. And a budding bromance with QB1, right? Those guys are comfortable with each other. You got their faces on both sides of the ball. That could get along with one another really well.

Oh, man, that would bring the hoops game in the locker room to a whole new level. I don't know if Caleb's going to be playing as many hoops. That was funny. Or more, maybe. The Ben Johnson off-season comedy tour is pretty hilarious with stops in Indianapolis, Chicago, the United Center. I think I saw him on the marquee at the Chicago Theater when I was walking into the score yesterday. Opening up for Anderson Cooper and Cohen will be the great Ben Johnson. He really has embraced the personality side of this.

I mean, this talk about resonating. But staying with the players. Let me ask you this question, Cassie, because I love asking this question. And that is, is Austin Booker good? Could Austin Booker be a double-digit? I feel like he's kind of the wild card in some of this, like a little bit in the background, considering where he was drafted and considering his career so far.

But he showed some flashes last year. I think we're waiting to see Austin Booker be healthy for an entire season, which I think you could say about a lot of the defensive linemen, to be honest. And I think that's what Poles keeps mentioning when defending his draft picks and his free agent moves of Shmar Turner. as well as Dio Dangbo, he felt like we're starting to turn their corner as they were moving them across the defensive line,

and that's when their injuries, season-ending injuries happen. And so I think Austin Booker, I think he has potential. I still think he's probably a little, I don't say small, but light. He used to gain some more weight. But I think he has speed.

I think he can come off the edge. I just think it's the being able to stay healthy and be more consistent. And I think the thing, too, is this is what resonated with me when I talked to Ben Johnson, which a lot of people took this, as he was talking about Max Crosby.

I asked him as like an offensive play caller, what kind of edge rusher gives you the most fits when you're trying to game plan? And he said, not necessarily the biggest name guy, but the guy who never takes a play off. And so I think that's what we're looking for with the Bears, whether it's someone on their roster or someone they're going to draft or trade for.

And Max Crosby would be a player that has a high motor and doesn't take a play off. But like that's what they're wanting as someone who's go, go, go, and can constantly get, some pressure on a quarterback. And that's just something that they haven't been able to find with anyone, I would say that they've drafted or found him for a agency. And that's my only knock on the whole going edge rusher in the draft is the bear's ability to actually define those players and scout those players.

Because I don't know that we've seen that from Ryan Poles yet of feeling like he can identify who those guys are and then bring them in and develop. That would be my only knock on why they should trade for Max Crosby rather than, or I guess you could go a free agency rather than drafting someone. Because I think Austin Booker, yes, you feel like he still has a lot of upside, but you're still waiting for it to flash consistently. Little early March tease here, Mark Grosy. The athletic Kevin Fishpan and I have our mock draft 2.0 all seven rounds for the bears on Wednesday.

I'm not going to tell you the name, but I'm going to tell you that I went edge rusher with the 25th pick. Stay tuned on Wednesday for that. Yeah, a little tease there. That's really, really exciting stuff. leads the world in medicine development. It matters. We get new medicines first, nearly three years faster. Five million Americans go to work

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Max, $100 cashback per month. I got an important question for you, Cassie. Do you have your passport renewed? Is it valid right now? I do. So here's the reason. I went to Spain last year. Oh, okay.

Where were you? Barcelona. Never been to where I think you're asking me about. Yeah, so here's why this is relevant today. We learned through the NFL official channels that the Atlanta Falcons have been chosen as the host team for the Madrid game. The Bears have some sort of marketing partnership deal with the NFL and Spain. There's a possibility because the Atlanta Falcons are on the Bears' road schedule this year, that that game could be played in Madrid.

My passport is renewed as well. your reaction. I love it. I love it. I had heard rumblings about this at the combine last week. And I heard something interesting. I would actually need to fact check this, but I'm just going to say it anyway,

that you can't be the home team in international games, back-to-back games. So the Bears were never going to be the home team if they were going to go to Madrid or whatever. So they would always be the away team, which is great because they still have nine home games. So that's really beneficial if you are the Bears, and we know Bears fans travel.

I also know they've done a ton of, of different camps. Jermaine Edmonds, I think, spent time in Spain, boosting up the bear's names. A little bit ironic there. But he had done a bunch of camps last year, and I know they've been over there a lot. So it would be fun,

and I would love to play the Falcons, right? Because that means the bear fans are going to dominate that stadium. That's right. And it would be a fun road trip. And, yeah, Spain, and I heard it would maybe be later in the year. Sounds like a great getaway

when the cold weather hits Chicago. I'm all for it. Grot, you think we can take the north there? We'll see now. now as per the beginning of the conversation i did not go to indianapolis do you think they would then be like oh yes spain no problem we got you well this podcast keeps building we've got like six months to build uh and maybe we do a go fund me get grody to spain yeah we can get grody to spain yeah i love the this audience would rally behind you i love the idea of a go fund me for me just in general i i love that

and i did actually it's so funny you guys bring this up i just got my finally got my real ID. Just now? Well, I know. I know somehow. It was that $43 fine that you would get that really $50. Exactly. I feel like there was jail time coming for people that didn't have the real ID by like St. Patrick's Day.

Well, there was the, remember, it started like the demand or the requirement for the real ID started just before the pandemic. And then that gave us all an excuse to procrastinate. That was all I needed to think that I was never going to get. Six years. All it took you with six years to get on the horse. No one's waiting in that line. That line, like I will avoid it at all costs,

which is why I don't even have an Illinois driver's license. Still, I have my Tennessee because I'm not waiting in the DMV line. Yeah. Actually, I'll, shocking confession by Cassie Carlson on the bottom. I know. I don't know what that means for me if someone hears this like illegal. Yeah, yeah.

Hold over. Clean this up. Clean this up for Cassie. You're going to be, you're going to be targeted. But it did make me also realize. that my passport is like six months overdue. So somehow, some way, I know. I've got to get that fix, which I will, just in case we're all going to Spain together.

While we're talking about fun things and traveling and food, I don't think we were talking about food, but we are going to talk about food now because I want to know where you stand on this Cassie Carlson. Dan and I both realized sort of organically on this podcast before Dan took off for Indianapolis and I didn't, that we both don't really need the St. Elmo's famous, a shrimp cocktail, which they commit in a pool of super hot at a 10 horseradish sauce. And I usually like hot things. And I delicately shared with our audience and with Dan thinking I was going to get shot down for it.

I don't need it. I want to be able to put as much shrimp cocktail or no shrimp sauce on. my shrimp as I want. How do you feel about the St. Elmo's shrimp cocktail? I feel like I could really use it right now because my sinuses are so clogged. I had it three times last week. Oh, so you are a lover. You are a lover of the gym cocktail. But there's definitely a science about how you have to eat it. Like if you go the first time and you take a bite of it like straight out of the little cup that it's saying like you are going to die. Like you have to put it on a separate plate and you have to literally like scrape off all of the cocktail sauce and just use like the remnants that are on top.

Like if you have like any like dose of it on there, like you are in for a treat, you're going to be everyone is going to know that you don't know how to eat the St. Elmo's shrimp cocktail. Grotie Cassie and Jeff Weiris were alerting me to this science after I had already been through Elmo's. And clearly she went back two more times to go get the shrimp cocktail. Yeah, well, Dan told us all of his secrets to keeping his stomach sound. Oh, we'll get to that. We'll get to that. You sit still right there, Cassie. But obviously, now I think next year I'm going to have to try it with the Carlson-Weiris approach, right?

scraping the sauce off and seeing what I can do it. But, like, you know, as I've said a couple times, like, you watch people around the table sort of having aneurysms and hemorrhages and everything else. they're crying like Courtney Cronin at the dinner I was with was like I feel like it was like 11 minutes of tears coming down her face and I was like you just paid $22 for that experience like what what are we doing there but clearly your your methodology seems like it might be a little bit of a way around that so which also I find saying almost funny now because sometimes I'll be at the grocery store in Chicago and they do sell their shrimp cocktail sauce so I mean you guys could do like this with guests on the Take the North podcast where like combine week you are having them live taste test the shrimp cocktail. I don't know if it's as spicy if it comes with preservatives and such, but they sell it at your local grocery store. That could be like a fun little party trick. It's kind of like the hot ones, wings, like shrimp cocktail sauce.

Yeah, let's see how tough you are. Like, people always brag about how I love hot foods. Well, let's see if we put bane this shrimp in that sauce. Do you actually like it? I don't know if this pertains directly to anything about the shrimp. But was there an issue, weedsy with your stomach? This is what Cassie was alluding to here. I want, you guys can both weigh in on this.

I volunteered, Cassie has an interview, does a good job of getting people comfortable. And at the end of our session in Indianapolis, I volunteered that my three things at the combine that keep me alive through the week are liquid IV, big dose of that, our X-Bars, and then some candy ginger from Trader Joe's, which helps to settle my stomach after some big dinners

and long nights out. And Cassie recoiled. She was uncomfortable. She shut down in the interview. She said, that's the end of our show. And it felt like a TMI moment for me. And I've been trying to recover for about a week since then. Well, thank you for the compliment that I just make you feel so comfortable if you start talking about. I'll share everything. I'll share everything. I'll take it. Yeah, I was like, all right, I don't know how to segue from that. Usually I feel like I can like find good segues. I'm like, oh, yeah, from Ginger to settle your stomach to and I was like, yeah, we got a wrap. This is that reminder where, like, you know,

I think you and I sort of think of ourselves always as like, we're like 30 years old for the rest of time. And then you realize that younger people have no idea what older people go through. And so Cassie's like, oh, my God, old man with a stomach issue. Let's cut this. Let's cut this up right now. Pepto-chewables, kids.

Pepto-chewables. That's the way that I go for sure. Cassie, this has been a blast as, always having you on. The off season is back. Third year or second year for the off season? Second year of the off season. It's fun.

Dan's been on it. It's a little different this year or more of like a panel type show because we do our Chicago sports tonight every day. So yeah, it's fun to talk football all year long and it's been a labor of love, but fun to see a vision come to life. And that's Fridays at 6 and 10 o'clock on Fox local and Fox Chicago. And of course, on YouTube,

which is where we share a lot of our. stuff. So, no, it's been a fun show. And as we all know, we started it two weeks ago now, I guess. And I was like, all right, it seems like it's a little dead. And then it was like, Max Crosby, uh, stadium, um, something else happened. I was like, all right, perfect, perfect week to start this show. So it is truly never ending. So it's a really fun show. Yeah, we didn't even bring up the stadium today. Arlington Heights. Right. We don't. Yeah. Yeah. I like, I went, I went like full bore on that for like two weeks straight talking to people. Like, I'm on break right now.

Everybody is. Even the government's on. Yeah, you have until March 18th, and then we can talk about it again. Two week break. Seriously. Cassie, thank you so much for coming on Take the North like you do. We appreciate you so much. Thanks for having me on, guys.

You got it. We appreciate it. Dan, anything else before we get out of here? Is there anything else that's pressing? I feel like we really unloaded today. We let it all out. We did. And we'll have another, you know, we'll have another show before the end of the week to

unpack a few more things. I feel like this time of the year, you're constantly, just checking your phone for texts or tweets or anything else. There could be developments any minute now, and then it'll force us to react to those. And so we'll see which direction all heads, but I'm ready to see which direction it heads, because that's the fun part of the offseason.

Can't wait. This is one of the, look, we rarely had, we've had these off seasons where everything feels optimistic, but far and few in between. So I'm loving, loving, loving the offseason version of the Take the North podcast. And we know, again, so appreciative of all of our listeners and viewers, because when the bears are winning,

it's just a whole different vibe. More people, I mean, we love the volume. We continue to introduce or to be lucky enough to have new listeners and new viewers seemingly every day on this podcast, which is just an absolute blast. And if each and every one of our listeners could contribute $5 today, Mark Grody could go to Madrid. I could have gone to Indianapolis and we wouldn't just put this together. We'll do a telephone for you, Mark.

I appreciate. Yeah, wherever you go to send money, I am accepting it. Wherever you're comfortable doing that, please have let that happen. No, I am kidding for the record. I'm not. We're getting this going. Okay. I will accept your money at the end of the day. For that guy, Dan Wheater of the athletic and frequent

1043, the score contributor. For our guy, our executive producer, Adam Szenzynski, who does not have his real ID either and seems to be really confident about not having it because he just uses his passport to fly. Fine, Adam Studzinski is not eligible. I am Mark Grody saying thank you so much for listening to and watching to Take the North Podcast. Great talk. See out there. Thank you, everybody.

It's a season two playoff race with T's a season two playoff race with T. PGL, presented by SoFi, Sunday at 9 p.m. Eastern, Jupiter Links versus Boston Common Golf. Monday at 7 p.m. Eastern, Los Angeles Golf Club versus New York Golf Club. Tuesday at 9 p.m. Eastern, the Bay Golf Club versus Jupiter Links. Keep up, it's golf. Watch on ESPN, ESPN2, and the ESPN app.