Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - Full Show — September 14, 2026

Episode Date: September 14, 2026

Leila Rahimi and Mark Grote celebrated the Bears' offensive explosion in a 59-37 win against the Panthers on Sunday in their season opener. They also welcomed on Score football analyst Anthony Herron to share his takeaways from the Bears' victory.

This hour is brought to you by Menards. Save big money at Menards. Rahimi and Grody 10 to 2 on 104 3 The score. The Bears opened the season against the Panthers on Sunday. So big question. Who you got? I've got the Bears winning

this game 27 to 24 over the Carolina Panthers. There. Done. I think in this case, yeah, I'm going 27, 24 Bears. This is one of my 11. I'm throwing another meatball out there. I think it's going to be a pretty big win by the Bears. I think they're going to win 31 to 17. My lack of confidence in the Bears defense has me thinking it's going to be a shootout type of

game, high scoring affair. 3431 Bears, though. Welcome to NFL kickoff weekend. Hot and Muggy in Charlotte, North Carolina. This is where Luther Burden did a lot of damage in the screen game, but he lost the football and the Panthers have it. Oh, disaster strikes on Chicago's opening drive. No, no, no, don't do that.

Five receivers in the pattern. Williams, flush to the left. And he's going to take off with eyes for the end zone. Touchdown Caleb Williams. And the Bears are able to answer back. They will want it. With Swift, patient run, bust throw, and the Bears take the lead. D'Andre Swift is in the end zone.

Another fake to Manangai. Williams sets up, throws into double coverage. It is poker. Williams' 4 for 4 on the drive. Pressured. Takes the lead. He's in motion. It is Swift.

It is a touch. Dr. Swift getting paid D'Andre Swift getting into the end zone twice today. To be slide to deliver the knockout punch for Chicago up by 20. Swift breaks through on a season opening cake for Chicago. Well, the Bears are getting the first place treatment. One of the toughest schedules in the NFL. They take a first step towards those lofty goals and expectations. A monster game, 59 to 30.

Chicago. Talk about wanting to have the highest scoring offense. Listen, that'll always be the goal. We want to be the highest scoring. We want to have the most wins. We want to win Super Bowl. That's what we do. We didn't get into this profession

trying to be mediocre average. I need it. I need it. Go ahead. We are back, baby. We are back, baby. We are back. We are back.

We are back. Mark Grody. Midday's 10 a.m. to 2. On Chicago Sports Radio. It will not get old for me to say today. Bears 59, Carolina 37. As we welcome you in to Rahimi and Grotie on 104.3, the score. You are absolutely listening to a Plummer's 911 football Monday presented by Busey Bank and great clips.

Welcome in. We are open 312, 644. 67. Laila, I'm just going to answer a text message right away here from the 708. Groats, how many bears does that bear's performance get from yesterday? 59 bears. They get 59 bears. Shout out to Adam Zensky, because he actually brought that up on Twitter. Shout out to you, Mr. Studs. But 59 bears, I think on this day, is appropriate. How are you, Leila? I'm hung over. I blacked out what happened yesterday. It's so perfect.

It was, and the funniest part is there were frustrating moments in the game. And it doesn't even matter because they just kept going at their game plan. That second half was a whoopin. And I'm sorry. I'm not sorry. I'm not sorry. I wanted to go for two. I wanted to see the 60 on the board.

I wanted to see it. I wanted to feel it. I wanted to experience it. And I know that's not the classy thing to do. But neither was Channing Greenback. sucks during the game multiple times in Charlotte. How good is that?

All of it was, it was on 10. We knew this day was going to come. We joked about it. I said the game plan was going to be Big 12 after dark. 47, 42 was going to be the outcome of not this particular game, but just joke that that was kind of

the mindset we needed to have coming into the season. Didn't stop it from feeling good though. No, it did not. And in the words of Lawrence Taylor, as it pertains to the defense. You all got to get a whole lot better than that. Don't worry, we'll get to that. And 478 yards, the defense allowed 353 passing 125 on the ground.

I think it's hilarious listening to the five Butte open that Tyler Bueber put together and hearing Adam Amin appropriately on Fox, along with Drew Brees, saying, in this game, think about it. Think about a game that the Bears win 59 to 37. And in the opening sequence of the game, on offense, he is having to say things like disaster strikes. Disaster struck in a game for the Chicago Bears where they scored 59 points. And it did feel awfully disastrous early on in the game when there is an explosive run by DeAndre Swift to begin the game. And there's Roma Dunzee with a hole.

And then there's the guy, Luther Burden, that we're all buying stock in because Ben Johnson has told us. to buy stock in Luther Bird. He gets the ball. He does his thing. He's running up field, and he fumbles the football. And Stevenson and Thineman are missing tackles. And you're all like, oh, man, is this going to take a little while to get going? And then all they did after that, ladies and gentlemen,

it's not going to get old giving out all these tidbits today. Seven of their next 12 drives were touchdowns for the Chicago Bears. Holy bleep, yay, bears. That's our segment for the next hour. Yeah, because it is. A Chicago Bears team scored 59 points. A loud 37 and scored 59. Say it again.

A Chicago Bears team scored 59 points. Your Chicago Bears team yesterday. Yes. That doesn't feel real. No, it doesn't. And that's the whole point of this. We wanted to see what this offense could do. And yeah, I feel like the first three drives still felt like the preseason.

But once they got it going, they really got it going. And it was just the way they kept to the game plan to. There were times where they weren't getting that penetration between the tackles that they wanted for the run game. Doesn't matter. We're going to keep doing it. And then we see what happens. When you've got Kyle Munungai, just running over people for that 61-year touchdown. The receivers who are blocking all day.

I'm not saying this game was perfect by any means, but take the dub. Take the dub when you've put the entire NFL on notice. To score 59 points in a game in the NFL, I don't care who your opponent is. I don't care how it happens. There's a reason this is such a rarity. And your team did it on Sunday to open the season, no less. Statement has been made. Yeah, and I love hearing things like that.

This is a warning to the NFC North. And is this not 5937 necessarily? This is the template that we've all been talking about in this offseason, as in we've all expected and assumed that Caleb Wurton. Williams and this offense would take the next step, that Colston Loveland would take the next step, that Luther Burden would take the next step, that myriad of guys on this offense would take the next step, and that the defense wouldn't be particularly good. Now, will the bear score 59 points a game? No, they may not score another, well, maybe that's a good question. Will the bear score 50

again this season? Probably. Probably. Potentially. Potentially. I'm not even going to worry about will right now. I'm just going to live in what I saw yesterday. That's a good place to live because that is not going to get old. But it's amazing that these were, by everybody, essentially, the talking points of the Bears. Offense goes to the next level. Still pretty worried about the defense. A lot of ambiguity in the defense. And one of our great hopes, I thought, was that maybe there is one person who can make this defense better. Maybe that's Jalen Johnson. Unfortunately, Jalen Johnson did not have a particularly good day yesterday,

nor did Tyreek Stevenson have a very good day yesterday. And I'm not looking at and say, okay, there's still a problem with Jalen Johnson. He may have just had a bad day, and it's been a while since he has played, obviously, too, except towards the end of last year. But it is amazing how in one game, maybe a microcosm, maybe symbolic of what we're going to see for the rest of the year. But I can tell, I can promise you that that is exactly what you and I were saying, That's what our listeners were saying, that this was, this was the template for the Bears, 59 to 37. Yeah, sadly.

And there were moments, yes, everybody talking about the defense or text line. You can call us too. We're opening up the phones on this football Monday, 312, 644, 67, 67. Because we are getting texts like that. We are hearing from people about that defense. Like A15, scoring 59 points is great. But when are we going to talk about the 37 points allowed? The offense is fire, but we can't rely on them scoring 40 points a game.

You might have to right now. Sure. And you can look at the box score metrics, and you can see when most of the tackles, when your leading tacklers are in the secondary and they're not in the linebacking core, to me, that's always a bit of a red flag. And then, you know, I wanted to, like, Cam Lewis ends up with five solo tackles. But, like, for example, you would like to see your linebackers get more tackles. Like, Devin Bush had two solo tackles, you know.

He did recover the fumble. Got to give him credit for that. But I did see other spots in the defense that did help with this. Montes Sweat got a timely sack when the bears needed a stop. Third seven. Those things matter to me when I see Montes Sweat at least get a sack when the bears needed the defense in the line and the pass rush to come through. And I said, Ben, don't break.

37 points on any other day, you're probably saying, well, yeah, this is bend and break. Disaster. But not when your offense is scoring the way it did. And with the run game, that's the part of this that I want people to really focus on, is that to score 59 points in the NFL, just based on how many plays you're running, based on how time of possession would work, based on the fact that there's a professional team, a playoff team, a division winner on the other side of you at home,

you're probably going to have to sling it. Not the case. Caleb Williams only has 29 attempts in this game. He was 21 of 29, 269 yards, and a 124 passer rating. You know, that's the other part. At one point, he and Bryce Young had perfect passer ratings at the same time in this game.

Pretty incredible. Yeah, DeAndre Swift, 18 carries, 124 yards, three touchdowns, and he should have had more. He had two plays taken away due to bad holding penalties early in the game, explosive plays, and then all of a sudden he gets that 32-yard burst. He says, you ain't taking that one away from me, and that they ended up turning that into a touchdown.

yet it was Bradbury and Rome with the early holds. Yes, phone lines are open. 312, 64, 64, 67, 67 is the number. The question we're throwing out there to you, and you could take this in any direction that you would like here on Rahimi and Grotia on 104.3, the score. Are you buying what you saw from the Bears yesterday? Call in 312, 644, 67, 67 is the number.

We see your calls coming in right now. We see your text messages coming in. Why don't we do a quickie here before we go to a? our first break. Just to keep it real here. Appropriate, but I'll allow it. Brantz is in Jacksonville, Florida. Brantz, you're on Rehemi and Grotie. What you got on the Bears, buddy?

Good morning, y'all. So, you know, my daughter actually trains with Caleb Williams' Corbyt trainer, and that guy does put in the work. So I think it's definitely showing, continues the work on his footwork. I've seen some of the videos. So you know he's putting the work in the offseason, which is definitely showing on the field?

And then my other statement was just, is the Panthers defense that bad? offense is that good. I don't think so, man. Look, the Panthers were a middle of the pack defense last year, and in theory they've added a couple of really good players to their defense. They drafted on defense this year. They paid Jalen Phillips $30 million a year. They don't have they signed Evan Lloyd. Maybe they're bad early on, but like generally speaking, you look at the personnel, and Lela just mentioned the two big names right there. I don't think that this is going end up being a bad Carolina defense. 312, 644, 67, 67 is the number. We will take our first break.

Be patient with us. This is a good time to call in, though. Get on hold. You'll talk to Ray Diaz. We will get to you. We promise 312, 6444, 67, 67. Are you buying what you saw from the Bears yesterday? 312-644-67-67 is the number. Shout out to Ray Diaz, our executive producer, and Tyler Bueberbaugh on the other side of the glass. our Twitch producers. Log on to Twitch.tv. slash the score Chicago. You can watch the show

and hang out with the Twitch mob. What's going on, Twitchers? You can comment in there as well. Connor O'Donnell, Max Curtis, and Jacob Stutz, all making that happen as we broadcast live from the Hyundai studios, brought to you by your local Hyundai dealers. More Rahimi and Grody coming up next year

on 1043, the score. Rahimi and Grody. I mean, I'm just going to make it happen. I'm a dog. Midday. 10 a.m. to 2 on the score. See if you can get him into field goal range. Young goes down field.

Oh, it's picked off by the rookie. Malik Mohamed. In his first NFL game gets his first NFL interception. We were just talking about the confidence, a confident throw by Young, but Muhammad dives out there for the pit. Heck yeah. I just laid it in Europe. Shopping bags and a tourist. That's the opening line of this song.

Oh, nice. That's Layla Rahimi right there. Blake was me. You know I got it. I am Mark Grody. We called the show Rahimi and Grotia 1043, the score. You are listening to a Plumbers 911

Football Monday presented by Bucie Bank and great clips. The Bears beat Carolina 59 to 37. Yeah, I admit it. I was pretty worried about Malik Muhammad from what I saw. I was not. No, friends.

I never wavered. I don't know why. I mean, the guy didn't play the position at Texas, which makes it even more impressive. And I've had conversations. What Texas do Saturday, Ohio State? Hell's yeah. We are on.

How'd that go for you? And while I'm out of how'd that go for you, Green Bay? That'll be addressed later in five on a ladies and gentlemen. You extended your coach who then made another fourth quarter massive failure of a mistake. Oh, let's go. You failed. Anybody else wants some today? You want some of that there, Carolina?

You like that? How about that, by the way? fans go into Charlotte. There's no surprises anymore, Leila. Another team's home stadium to chant Green Bay sucks. Well, they were big. We got you there too. There was a ton of Bears fans there. I don't

think that Bears fans outnumbered the Carolina fans. In fact, they didn't because you could tell watching the broadcast, but they made their voices heard. But yeah, Malik Muhammad with that pick at the end of the first half, he had a diving PBU at one point in time past breakup.

So I thought he comported himself well. He stacking those days together. I absolutely love it. Are you buying what you saw from the Bears yesterday? 312, 644, 67 is the number. Let's get going on these calls, Lales. Shall we? We shall. By the way, our segment brought to you by almost free teeth.com save on dental implants today. How about Bob? Bob and Downers Grove. Bob, you're on the score with Rahimi and Grotie. What's going on, man? Hey, guys. How you doing? The best. We are the best. We are the best. best today? Oh, I am absolutely buying 100% what I saw yesterday, and I'll tell you why. That offense was absolutely on point. It was on point. DeAndre Swift was so good. Everybody

saw the way he ran, but twice linebackers came free right up the middle, and they were going to ruin Caleb's day, and he just stepped in and stoned them. And I'll tell you what, our defense isn't nearly as bad as we, as it showed yesterday. Malik Mohamed and Danny Thineman, they come from absolute stud programs. Malik Muhammad has every expectation of being a starting quarterback in this league. He's not going to have to worry about nickel. He's taken Tyreek Stevenson's position real soon. We are going to whoop the Vikings.

The Packers had no running game. We were going to run it right down their throat. We're going to win. I am not worried one bit about Carson Wentz walking in here and putting up 30 points on us. Get out of town with it. No way. We are going to score 40, no problem. We're not going to have to worry about the Blitz game because Swift and Menongai are just going to run it down their throat. It is a nightmare for the NFL to have the Bears, Caleb Williams, under center, a Ben Johnson downhill running game, and play action.

We are going to destroy this. Hey, Bob, real quick question for you. Can I ask you a quick question before you go? 17 and 0? Oh, I don't know. We got a tough one with the bills late in year. We'll see. Oh, all of a sudden, we got a tough one, huh? Wait a minute. What was all that 40 points of game talk?

Hey, stop harassing the vibe. We're not, this is the NFL. There are a lot of good teams, but we are about to whoop the Vikings there. See you later, Bob. Okay, I like that declaration. I did hate watch the Packers Vikings after the Bears game. I watched Post game. I listen to Ben Johnson.

I listen to Caleb Williams. And I was like, let me see what's going on to this here, Packers and Vikings game. And then I'm like, oh, the Green Bay Packers are up. And then Malpour decided to take points off the board for his own team. And then suddenly there went the collapse again. There was. There was two years in a row, Matt LaFleur. Two games in a row, I should say.

Great first call. Let's name our calls. We'll call that call Danny Thineman. Put that down as Danny Thineman. I like that. I kind of like Danny Thineman. How about Wayne? Wayne is it Lafayette?

What's up, Wayne? Oh, you're on the score, man. What's going on? my god i finally got through to my old buddy grody man and miss leila what a fine what a fine day to talk to you too hell yeah my favorite people in the world boy and look forward to seeing you guys again one of these days soon boy i sure do hey uh before i get to my bear thing me and dust and rosy size since you got your own show now we're gonna call you mr tall on the saddle grody like john way mr what wait what was it mr mr tall on the saddle grody Oh, okay, okay.

You're riding tall, act accordingly. Act accordingly, people. I'm a different man now, Jack. He's tall on the saddle every day when he comes to work, buddy. You betcha.

Thanks, Wayne. Hey, you guys, I think if we had our number one pickup in the office season, Mr. Kobe Bryant in there, they don't think they would even score 20 points on us. And I'm buying into it big time. As long as we got Caleb and Mr. Johnson calling the plays, and our running, and everybody stays healthy. We're going to have an unbelievable year this year.

And Grody, all those bad years you had, you deserve a couple really good ones here, buddy, because you stuck right in there with all that ugly stuff. And now it's going to get pretty for you, old buddy. Wayne. For you, Leila. Oh, thank you, Wayne. And how are you doing? Everything okay, health-wise?

Yes, ma'am. I want to thank Dr. Orton from the Lafayette Cancer Society, Dr. Orton. Dr. Orton, is that Kyle? Is that related to Kyle? Al Orton, because he's from that area now. I don't know. Mr. Orden, he's from Virginia, so he might be an off-breed cousin or something. I don't know. Well, very happy to hear you're healthy and doing well.

I want to thank him because my PSA went from 31 to 7, and now the next time I go in, it's going to be down to zero. God bless you, Wayne. That means I got it all. So I'm going to be around to antagonize and see and give you guys all the praise and world-worldly fame that you guys are going to. I'll show us all the time. Wayne, you're the best, man. Thanks so much for the call. I don't know that Kobe Bryant could have saved.

Maybe it would have been 450 total yards. The problem was, unfortunately, it was the cornerbacks. It was Tyreeks Stevenson, giving up the Jalen Coker, 51-yarder. It was Jalen Johnson giving up a 27-yard play, and the Jonathan Brooks 46-yard catch-and-run. And look, it's not like these guys won't get better. In fact, I think both of these guys will get better and eventually look very good. They had bad games yesterday. Yeah, that's the bottom line.

I didn't love the fact that Bryce Young had all day to throw an empty. Yeah, I felt like he looked so comfortable. That was excellent use out of empty out of the Panthers offense and Dave Canales. I feel like that was a very smart play. You know, they were able to tie the game of 21 as we saw. And yeah, there were some bad tackles too and bad contain. And Jalen Johnson, if you are Kevin O'Connell, you're looking at trying to create more mismatches. I'm surprised they didn't you slot more.

Unfortunately, Jalen got beat several times in that game, but I know he probably wants that one back. Yeah, I was weirdly like, now in retrospect, I didn't want Jonathan Brooks to burn anybody on the Bears. But I'm happy for Jonathan Brooks. This guy's had a tortured career so far, like three games and two awful injuries, former second round pick, so good for that guy. Guess what, Leila?

Yes. It's Frank in Oak Park. Ah, now we're cooking. Frank, you're on the score with Amy and Grody. Brilliant. I'm almost buying into everything, but let me explain. It's good to be back for Rahimi and Grotie for a new bear season. And I thought it might be a bad omen when Ferrari lost one card of bad breaks in Spain

and the surviving racer could only manage fourth. But the Bears' offense deodorized some shaky defense on a record day. Granted, the Panthers were an eight-and-nine division winner last year and played better the second half with wins against the pack and the Rams. But baby, you can't be giving up 478 yards and 37 points or close to it each week and get what you want to accomplish. Now, if you can get that down to 340 or 350 each outing, and you get the three takeaways like Sunday,

with this offense, you could go to the Super Bowl. Oh, dang, that was a conversational and short, Frank call. Yeah, wasn't ready. I also want to point out this. It was not just the way the Bears won in time of possession, but total plays. They ran 70 total plays. That's how you win a ball game.

That's how you score 59 points, by the way. And I understand, yes, the defense did not look good. But unfortunately, I think a lot of this somewhat went to plan. They knew that their defense was not going to be as good as their offense. Right. They knew it. Yeah. Yeah, no matter how many.

I mean, and Ben Johnson was asked questions. throughout the offseason in the spirit of, are you just going to have to go out there and outscore teams because of your defense? And of course, Ben Johnson gave the politically correct answer, which is not to denigrate the defense. But I think we saw, again, if that is the template in an exaggerated way, it's not surprising. Yeah, 552 total yards, 291 rushing yards to go along with six touchdowns on the ground,

26 first downs in all those plays that Layla just matched. out. There's just so many things from this game that I don't even know if we'll get to all of the cool little history points and bullet points that this game brought us. Right. Not to mention how this NFL opener was historic and the amount of points that were scored total.

But yes, on the other side, you have every reason. In a world where we saw the Seahawks defense show you yet again why it won the Super Bowl in their first game of the season. The defense still does win. But in the meantime, this is what this team was constructed to be. It was just an extreme example.

I've got the numbers right here, Laila. You just talked about for an opener, the combined teams, 96 combined in an opener is the record, 5937. The old record wasn't that long ago, of course, because this is the era in which offense is king. It was in 2018, 88 points combined between Tampa Bay and New Orleans. That was a Tampa Bay 48 to 40 win over the Saints. How about Tony and Joliet? Tony! You're on Rahimi and Grotie on 104.3, the score. What up?

Oh, my God. My friends. My friends. Lela. Grody! What's up, Tony? Fares Monday. And it was the best fairs Monday we've ever had, man. Because to answer the question, it's not even close, man. Caleb is not generational. He's once in a lifetime. Oh, boy. It's like when we knew Michael Jordan was there and we had it, we never looked back. and just like a once in a lifetime player,

the people before them did great things. Bird Johnson, great. But Michael took it to a home at a level. So Patrick Mahomes, he's coming for you, buddy. We're going to be unbelievably great. And another cool thing, too, you take Menongai and Swift together with their production is.

It's almost like having Walter Payton back. This offense is crazy. It's going to be great. And I look forward to talk to you guys. congratulations on the new show listen every day so happy to be back love you guys so much

let's go grody let's go baby let's go Tony take some mad call again we always appreciate your calls here you're in a promo now you've made the station imaging congratulations no he did with the morning show yeah oh you did well it was funny olen cruz did the pre-imposts with olin crutes and patrick mannallie yesterday we had an absolute blast

those guys are just so good and olen cruz was asked a question after the game is this the best one of you ever seen a better tandem of rushing backs or running backs for the Bears. And he said he went where I would have gone. I think a lot of Bears fans would have gone as well. And that was Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson at one point in time. I mean, that was a nice one-two punch once Benson got himself going.

It was nice. I mean, you think back to, of course, Walter Payton and Matt Suey, but quite frankly, like Matt Suey was not a prolific rusher. He was the fullback who led Walter Payton to all of his yards. and he was a terrific running back, but he was not a big time running. That was the style of football at the time. That's how that went.

They were the only ones with that style of running game in the NFL at the time. Oilers were like that too, with Earl Campbell. So that was, you know, the bears were just tremendous at it because of Walter and Matsui. Yeah. Yep, no doubt about it. Yeah, kids, there was a time where it was a no-brainer to draft your running back number one overall in the league or number two overall in the league and then somewhere along the line it changed.

But we'll go through that book a little bit later on and also give more tidbits on Walter Payton, the legendary Bears running back that people don't know anything about. Only I know things about Walter Payton, Layla. I'm the only one. Grady was telling Jared Payton, his son about him this

morning. It was a very interesting conversation. Keep listening for your chance to win a pair of tickets to see Weezer when the gathering tour makes it stop in Chicago. on September 22nd at United Center featuring special guests, the shins and the silver sun pickups.

Tickets provided by Live Nation. Go to Ticketmaster.com to buy tickets. Are you buying what you saw from the Bears? We'll keep these calls cooking to see you guys on a whole. We'll try to fire through as many of these calls as we can when we return on Rahimi and Grody. As you are listening to a Plummer's 911 9-1-1 Football Monday presented by Busee Bank

and great clips on the score. Rahimi and Grohemi and Grody. 10 a.m. to 2 on Chicago Sports Radio 104 3, the score. Switch, breaks through, and breaks free. Icing on a season opening kick for Chicago. Did you say 89 total points? What are you going to add?

That's 64 to that. 95 point ball game. 58 points from the Chicago Bears' offense. Incredible. Hey, man, good for John. Jaday Walker to get the touchdown. And some people think that he got the ball in that spot because of the blocking and the tackling that he was doing. Jada Walker played with purpose like so many Chicago Bears in the game yesterday in a 59-37 win over Carolina.

As we welcome you back into Rahimi and Grotia 104. The score we get to be here talking bears with you until 2 o'clock today. Anthony Herron for two segments starting at 11 o'clock as he will give us his insights. as he always does with us here on Rahimi and Grotie. In the meantime, let's continue with your calls here on a victory Monday for your Chicago Bears. And it's Mario in Hyde Park. Hi, Mario. Thanks for calling the score.

Hey, good morning, everybody. Hello, Laila Rahimi. Hello, Mark Grody. Mario. Hey there. First of all, if you drop a 50 burger on any team in the NFL, that's mightily impressive. I don't care what kind of defense you got. That's a feat.

And I'm wondering if the bear's offense is going to act kind of like a defense in terms of ball possession and being able to control a game and keep a good defense off the field. I'm sorry, keep a good offense from the opposite team off the field. And in doing that, the Bears could win a lot of these games that we've been thinking, they may not win. If Caleb will, first of all, that dude, man, extend, why wait, do it today, extend that man, because he is it. If the bears are able to beat Minnesota next week, that's humongous.

That's a division game. They need to get as many division games as they possibly can if they're going to advance in the tournament. And then my last little thing, I, like you, Mark, I don't think the defense, I think that's fixable. I think Jaylen Johnson has a much better game next week. I think Tyreek Stevens and gets coached up big time this week, and he has a better game next week, too. It was bad, but I'm not as discouraged by that as some people might be. And by the way, Manungai, Mark Grody, remember Manungai.

He gets that ball in his hands, and he gets a little bit of space. that tandem of Swift and the Nunangai is or immutable. And I'm looking forward to this. I think it's going to be all right. Yeah, and thanks for the great call, as always, Mario. And yeah, people have been checking in on the text line, too, about other bears tandem runners. And somebody mentioned Thomas Jones.

And was Thomas Jones an A-Train? I guess that doesn't run familiar to me. I remember A-Train. I thought it was James Allen that was the starting running back that year. for the Bears of Anthony Thomas, the A-Train from Michigan, and eventually A-Train took over as the starter. Shout out to Roland Harper as well,

who was a better runner than Matt Suey in a good combo with Walter Payton. We talked already about Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson as well. But yeah, I mean, the Bears have a chance to take advantage. They have three straight home games now, Lela. Minnesota on Sunday. They host the Eagles on a Monday night football, and then the Jets at home as well.

But what did you think about the idea of because there's that conundrum. Like when you are trying to pacify the defense or make up for the defense, I should say. You could run up a bunch of points or you can keep the defense off the field by taking your time on your ride. I don't think that 21 pilots.

I don't think that they're going to take their time on their ride though with this off. They want to score, score, score, fling the ball. Although Caleb only threw the ball 29 times. Riot Fest on Friday. Hell yeah, bro. I think it's twofold. I don't think that Ben Johnson is necessarily,

coordinating the offense and Press Taylor to overcome for the defense. I think that systematically and schematically, they want this thing built in some way, shape, or form on the run. Ben Solek did a really good deep dive a couple weeks ago on ESPN.com talking about how the bear's defenses is not as run-based as you think. I don't know how that adjusts after what we saw yesterday. It was undeniable. There's an element of Ben Johnson that will take what the defense gives him. but at the end of the day, what we saw was also, what works in the NFL, especially in a hot weather game, your offensive line keeps moving forward, it keeps grinding forward when you can't always get the penetration between the tackles like you want. Can you get it later in the game? And that's what we saw Kyle Munungai. You also have very savvy bears blockers too. So I think it wasn't necessarily time of possession as much as this is how we develop our offensive rhythm as a team. This is what we know will hurt teams.

late in games. Are we keeping our defense off the field? Yes. But at the same time, we also saw the defense make some key stops. Ben don't break. They made some key stops when the bears needed them to. And there were times where

I think that Panthers' offense was methodically moving the field down the ball. But then you get the Montes-swet sack, for example, in a couple other stops, and the turnovers are there. Yet again, they overcome the fumble, and they even win the turnover battle yet again. So all that combined, I think it still says, like, why would you change what you know your team does well on defense?

It's what your team was built for. Caleb Williams yesterday didn't have to sling it all over the field. And because of that, he was able to hit some home run balls. They established a screen game, too, which was really encouraging. Like, I don't necessarily know if it was overcoming for the defense or they just know, this is what these guys do. We're going to set them up well, and then the rest will follow. Yeah. Well, and to your point about the defense, having made plays yesterday, it was classic complimentary football that led to the Kyle Munn guy, 61 burst. Oh, my God, the guy's running like a 4-340 on that play.

But it was Jalen Johnson and Dylan Thineman who ganged up on Tett McMillan to cause that fumble. I still don't know who punched it out or who gets more. Was it Jalen Johnson or Dylan Thieneman that gets the responsibility for having caused that fumble? I don't know. I believe it was Jalen Johnson. Was it Jalen? Okay. Okay. Okay. Devin Bush with recover on that, and then I think it was the next play, the 61-yard burst of a run by Kyle Munnungi. Caden Davis, active for this game.

Recovered a fumble in the game. And the Bears did stop Carolina on the fourth and three. Is that the way? Am I getting this mixed up? Was it the fourth and three stop that they had? And then it was the Monong guy, or was the Monong guy after the forced fumble by Jalen Johnson? I don't know that any of it matters, but it was the defense making a... few stops along the way.

I went with my notebook instead of a Google Doc. Yeah. That's the force fumble or the... It just takes more time to find. Either way, it was a good defensive play that ultimately led to the touchdown run by Kyle Manunga. I'm just getting myself all tangled up. There was just so much that happened in that game.

And I feel like we're just now starting to scratch the surface of this Bears 59 to 37 win. And we will continue to discuss it next with our guy, Anthony Herron. Anthony Heron will be here for two segments. We'll talk offense, defense, special teams, Caleb Williams, DeAndre Swift, all things bears. Coming up with Anthony Heron next on Rahimi and Grotie on 1043, The Score. The score. This hour is being brought to you by Menards. Save big money at Menards.

Anthony Heron, score football analyst. The determination to run after catch. It's not only about the wiggle in the open field. Yes, he's a big play waiting to happen. but he's got that grit about the way he runs the rock. It's really fun to see Luther Burton when he's got the ball. Now Williams downfield. Oh, what a snatch down was by Luther Burden the third for another first down.

Inside the 30 to the 29, 31 seconds left. Former NFL defensive lineman and Iowa Hawkeye. Anthony Heron received credit for it. Tenacious job by Anthony Herron number 99. Mr. Haddon, I want to compliment you. He's doing a fine job. Big Ann Heron. on 104 3 the score.

It's Rahimi and Grody on 1043, The Score, and you are listening to a Plumbers 911 football Monday presented by Bucie Bank and Great Clips. Bears beat Carolina 59 to 37. You can follow Anthony Heron on X at Big Aunt Heron is the way to do that. He is on Twitch right now as he joins Rahimi and Grody. Anthony, what did we see?

yesterday. We saw one of the most talented, most capable young offenses in the National Football League who had been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to show folks what they were capable of in the 2026 season. And man, did they unleash on the Carolina Panthers? There was a lot of folks, a lot of guys on the field who I just got the sense that they've been so anxious to bring. what they've been experiencing in a lot of ways in private,

because it's one thing to go out there and be able to view practice and to be able to see what they're going about in walkthroughs and some of the few videos, even in preseason games. But they knew that they felt like there was something special that they were capable of, and we saw it on display in Carolina yesterday. We absolutely did, and I think we just have to get used to the fact that this is this is the new world order now let's hope right we joked i mean we joked about it and it is it's uncomfortable to watch on the defensive side of the ball but at the same time offensively and i just

i keep reiterating it to score over 50 points in the nfl on any team i know it happened to the bears last year but to score for 50 points in the nfl the way they did yesterday against a playoff team at home a team who won its division last year that is as big of a statement as you you can make. And then to do it with the run game, to run 70 plays where you're predominantly running the run plays are working for you. I think there is an anomaly there that really stands to be appreciated today. I'm not here to tell you. I expect Carolina to be one of the best defenses in football this season, but Devin Lloyd is going to make plays. Jalen Phillips is going to sack quarterbacks. Derek Brown is going to stuff runs and be in the back field. We've

seen what J.C. Horn is capable of. He's going to pick quarterbacks off. They've got guys who will be making plays this year for a team that will likely be very competitive again in that division. That being said, Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams made Mitzmead of them. That offensive line was moving folks against their will. It was just really fun to see so much of the work, so much of the preparation, the detail that they've gone about things with.

come to fruition on the field. And even as Bryce Young was extremely impressive in his own right, and Carolina's offensive playmakers were given that Bears defense fits. So it wasn't like the Bears' offense could just kind of take their foot off the gas, throttle things down, and just sort of ooze their way to a secure win. They had to stay urgent. They had to stay vibrant. They had to stay in attack mode.

And they did. And I like the fact that there was consistently a need for them to respond. Now, some of it was self-inflicted that need to respond to Carolina making plays here, but they did need to. And so consistently they were able to. And there was just such a control and a confidence to the way that Caleb Williams went about the task of being a pro quarterback yesterday that is extremely encouraging for Bears fans. I'll use your word, the urgency and I'll use authority as well with which DeAndre Swift was running

is so vastly different from the DeAndre Swift we saw two years ago in his first year. We saw versions of it last year after the first four games. What did you see? What was, you mentioned the offensive line moving people and there is no doubt about it. They get a ton of credit for what the running game did yesterday. but what did you see specifically from D'Andre Swift and maybe even Kyle Munnangai as well? He's become such a decisive runner.

Kyle Munung guy has been a decisive runner since the first time he carried a football in Pop Warner. That hasn't always been DeAndre Swift. I've been breaking down DeAndre Swift film since he was in high school. So I've been watching his entire football journey since that point. He's always been a guy who's looking for daylight,

like the obvious daylight, the apparent open field opportunities are where he's always been drawn to like a moth to a flame. Now between last season, and I'd say it's even enhanced growth in what we saw yesterday, a guy who's so decisive in his willingness to attack downhill, to see the hole and sometimes be slow to it and fast through it, but that burst that he gets to the line of scrimmage with

and then even if there's contact on him, that willingness just to continue to power his way through defenders, he's just a very different running back now than he was earlier in his career, earlier in his NFL journey. He's always been an effective running back, but most of that has been finding essentially the finesse ways to go about it and the open field ways to go about it. Now we see this version of D'Andre Swift with a willingness to kind of do the boring.

a similar fashion of what we're talking about with Caleb Williams, D'Andre Swift is now willing to do the boring as a running back to hit the hole as it's designed, as it's assigned. But then when that opportunity is there to make something big happen, he's still more than capable of bursting into the open field and being this great open field playmaker as well. Yeah, one of my notes and my, I went with the notebook, Big Ant today. Grody, Grotty, rather I write in the notebook instead of the Google Doc. Google Doc last year was 100 pages. That's probably still winning.

But one of my notes says, Deont, first it says feed Swift, good penetration of the middle, plus 9. CSW first down, nice block, first down, commit plus 6 run. He had a very nice game yesterday.

Cole Comette quietly, had a very nice game, especially in the blocking game as well. There were a couple, I think, past plays to commit that Caleb probably won back. And then the other note that I have here is DeAndre Swift nearly killed a guy. Like the way that they were,

running was just first of all, feed them because he and Menangai were doing so well, but then you're right. The way they were doing the simple stuff so well, some of the best offenses I've watched in the NFL over decades were boring, but they were boring

because everybody was so good at their jobs. That right side of the line is kind of like that too. DeAndre Swift did that yesterday. It's underappreciated how much the run game needs to time up with the blocking scheme. and that that's a place where DeAndre Swift has covered so much ground in the couple of the years now that he's been here with the Bears.

We can all remember a couple of seasons ago, his first year here, all the moments on social media where you freeze, frame it, and there's this open hole that it looks like DeAndre Swift should get vertical and go into and he's still looking to bounce the football. And, you know, I wondered very aloud here on this station and other platforms. is that kind of the plateau for DeAndre Swift? Is that what he's capable of in this league? When you scheme him into open field, he can make a big play,

but not necessarily be this down-in, down-out running back that runs with detail. There's a detail to the way he runs the football that helps set up the blocking assignments. And for Kyle Menangai, for his running mate, it's like they've been able to sort of blend their skills because Menongai is now a more creative open field runner. That cut

he made, I want to talk about these bears receivers in a second, too, but the cut he made off of some of these blocks that were being thrown by Burton and Raymond and what we saw from Walker as he got into space. That looked DeAndre Swift-ish.

So Swift being willing to get vertical and time things up with the footwork that's necessary to set that up. And Manunga now, looking for those jump cut opportunities to burst into open field. We see them kind of learning from each other and combining the best aspects of what they are as running backs and all the detail of the way these things time up and block themselves up.

It's really, it's talked about in more detail and more volume with the way that rhythm and timing matters in the passing attack, but rhythm and timing in the run game with when and how running backs hit the hole to set up their offensive line, the tight ends, the receivers as they're blocking, that's a big part of how the Bears run game is successful because there's so much detail to the way they execute it. That is the insightful voice of Anthony here of 104-3, the score, the Big Ten Network, Fox 32, NBC Sports. And you can catch Big Ant on the score post-game show on Sunday evening coming up after the Minnesota game this week. All right, Anthony, what would you like to talk about as it pertains to the Bears wide receivers? The personality of a football team can show a lot in certain position groups.

And it's seen most easily, I would say, on the lines of scrimmage. If you really view yourselves as a physical football team, if a coaching staff wants their film to speak to people, then yes, the offensive and defensive line is where people will turn to most directly. But how you really know if a squad is bought in, you watch the wide receiver core. You look at the way the receivers act when they're not getting the football. It's one thing when you break the huddle

and you know you're the guy at the top of the route tree, you're going to be the number one option, and you run that route really hard, you present your numbers to the quarterback, and you hope that he's going to throw you the rock because you've really set things up perfectly, then yes, it's easier to really try and perform at your peak of effort when that's the case.

But when they're handing the ball off, as much as the bears hand the ball off, and that's the film that upcoming opponents see, they know they got to strap it up when Jaday Walker is going to be out there in the open field, tekechettling folks. When the way that you have, you know, Roma Dunes a stalk blocking and driving his feet,

getting his hands inside and driving his feet on contact like he's an offensive tackle, you have Khalif Raymond, one of the smallest guys on the field in there inserting in the blockers. Luther Burden has the insertter as a lead blocker on some of these run schemes. And they're taking pride in it. Like that matters so much.

film speaks to opposing defenses to let them know the bears mean business. When you see the little guys on an offense with that degree of intensity and integrity with the way they're attacking the game of football, that's encouraging. It's exciting. I'm confident that film room at Hallis Hall is all has been lighten up, just watching the way. You show that stuff to everyone on the entire team. You show that to people in the front office when you say, look at our little guy. attacking the opponents in this way.

That shows the personality of this football team, the buy-in of this football team more than anything else they can put on film. I couldn't agree more, and there's technique involved with that, and our segment with Anthony Heron is sponsored by great clips. It's got to be great. One of the things that was most compelling to me wasn't just the fact that the technique was so sound. I flash back.

I do this. I'm sorry. But I will never forget just wanting to throw something at the TV. when I believe it was, I don't think it was Getsy, I think it was O-C previous to Getsy. So it was one of the Matt Negi O-C's. When they asked Darnal-Muni to set the edge, do you remember that?

And Darnal-Money was maybe a buck 50, and they had him in a position where there was a clear physical mismatch, and they asked him to set the edge. And you knew at that point, you knew at that point, there was no way that was going to be a successful blocking scheme, number one,

the play was going to fail from the start, it did. And then I'm out here going, okay, oh, oh, these guys know how to block. Like, you're seeing some really nice open field blocks from guys where there is a physical mismatch, but the technique was so sound that they were able to get it done. And even think about, you know, from a technique perspective, think about that play, the 61-yarder. And I'm not convinced that Kyle Manungai would beat both of you in a foot race over 60-plus yards. But Manunga, as he bursts and gets to top gear, there's a chance for him to go. And how many times have we seen in football where the other receiver who's hustling but then does something dumb?

And here's Jaday Walker. He's hustling and he's sprinting down the field trying to secure a touchdown for his teammate. And instead of clipping some guy in the back, instead of shoving somebody down, instead of grabbing a jersey or maybe taking a cheap shot that could draw a penalty flag and take a touchdown off the board, he sprints fast enough to get in front of several defenders and then just wards them off. just boxes them out, just booty blocks the defense to make sure that Mana guy is going to get that 61-yard touchdown run. That's the type of intelligence of intensity that this team can really thrive off of if they keep that. Now, having a dozen penalties in the game is not a good thing, but that to me, that moment is an indicator where they're still trying to think the game, one of their youngest, least experienced players in a moment like that, thinking the game at a high enough level to do something that does require.

effort and intensity while still having an intellect about the way he executed it. You're listening to a Plumbers 9-1-1-1 Football Monday presented by Busey Bank and Great Clips. It is the Rehimi and Grotie show on 104-3 The Score. We are absolutely talking to Anthony Heron right now. What did you think about Caleb Williams' game? Man, to combine the physical tools that he has with the aptitude, the acumen that he operated from within the pocket, When I'm talking about Caleb looking comfortable in the game, I'd say a great indication of that is his leading receiver being Khalif Raymond in the game.

Because from a matchup perspective, Colston Loveland coming out of the game with a couple of targets and no grabs, you put up 59 points, your leading receiver not being Roman Dunezay, not being Luther Burton, not being Colton Loveland or DeAndre Swift, not being Cole Komet. But Khalif Raymond is not a guy who you say that's our matchup advantage. That's the guy who we know the defenders can't cover. But that's just Caleb letting the defense speak to him. That's Caleb letting the defense tell him, where's your weakness? Where should I be going with the football here?

And the fact that Khalif Raymond was that guy who came out on the top end from a targets and a reception's perspective, that just indicates to me that Caleb is seeing the feel cleanly. He got a variety of coverage looks in that game yesterday from the Panthers and handled them all really well. but then still when the play did break down, when he needed to get into his bag with some of those physical traits of the mobility, the open field speed, he was still willing and able to do that to that balance between the left brain and the right brain. That's so difficult for all of us who are maybe more dominant on either side to manage. We saw him in real time, in live action on a national football league field operating with both those ends of his personality and his traits. at a level like we don't see all the time, man.

So all the excitement that many of us have had that the football world has had with the Madden cover and everything else, if that's just the first time, we're going to see him do that at that level. Sky's the limit. And I have a question to ask you after our break about a rookie who I think deserves a lot of flowers in this game defensively. So I want to get your thoughts.

So do we want to do that next with Anthony Heron? I think that's a good idea. Plus, we do have to talk about the defense, which gave up. 478 yards. I'm glad you have flowers because there were some flower worthy defensive plays for sure, but we have to talk about some of the defensive breakdown. So we will do that coming up next with Anthony. And by the way, we'll have another caller segment after Anthony Heron right around 1140, 1145. We've got people, if you're on hold, you will be rewarded, but make no mistake about it.

We will continue to keep the phone lines open here on Rahimi and Grody. 312 644, 67, 67. More with Anthony Heron on the Bears next right here on the score. Raheimi and Grody. Dio and I are obsessed. Midday, 10 a.m. to 2 on the score. Still Deshawn Watson and Porter Backhill. Floated for Dylan Saps in and nowhere to go. And what do you know?

The rookie Malik Mohamed stays right on Kip. Bring me Malik Mohamed and System of a Down. Beautiful. They rocked us at Soldier Field. Can't wait to be there this Sunday. You got those lyrics right? That is what people tuned in for today. It is us half-singing system of a down lyrics.

If you web-search the lyrics to the song, does it just say gibberish? Yeah, it does. That's what it is. It's Rahimi and Grotie on 104-3. The score will give back to Anthony Herron here in just a second. But at first I have to tell you that this segment with That Man, Anthony Heron, is brought to you by Plumbers 911, plumbing emergency. call the plumbing professionals available 24-7-1833-3-plum 9-1-1.

And you did hear the play by Malik Mohamed, who I think had a fantastic debut. What did you think of the rookie corner out of Texas? Interception to helping the Bears yet again when the turnover battle in the game. I was struck by the game plan that Carolina came in with because I certainly, I told you guys last week. was thinking if you got Malik Mohammed and Dylan Thinemann out there with a couple of other guys who haven't started for the Bears, even though they might be veterans and Cam Lewis and or Xavier Woods, I was guessing that's where their passing attack would end up trying to get after. But they really didn't.

It was more the veterans and that they were catching Jalen Johnson and Tyreek Stevenson in these aggressive postures on double moves, getting chunk plays over and over again. and I think it's a credit. Two things. One, Dennis Allen, essentially simplifying the coverage responsibilities. Just making sure that Malik Mohamed is going to constantly be in man coverage because one of the toughest things for a nickel to do

is to decipher so much of the information that the closer you get to the box, to the line of scrimmage, to all the big people, and to the football, then that's where you have to be able and willing to react in a moment's notice. Sometimes you have to react with physicality. Sometimes you have to react with finesse. But depending on what the scheme is and what your assignment is, there's a lot of really quick decision-making that happens when you're defending in the slot. He pretty much had Malik Mohamed and the entire secondary.

It was like an AMC defense. They were pretty much always in-man coverage against Carolina that did provide some opportunities for Bryce Young to extend the play. Sometimes you got backs turned of defenders and people are running around. But you didn't see. bus. You saw some physical errors, but you didn't see mental errors necessarily.

I thought that really put Malik Mohamed in a situation and Dylan Thinemann in positions to just be comfortable without having to overthink and over-evaluate. And it combined well with the offensive onslaught that we saw from the Bears where they were constantly playing with a lead.

So then DA could be in a position where he didn't necessarily feel like there needed to be a lot of schematic adjustments. He certainly got more aggressive in the second half of the bringing more additional pressure. But Malik Muhammad handled that really well. That same feisty and competitive demeanor that I was talking to you guys about in the preseason, that showed up in the game yesterday.

And it was really a great grab that he made on that interception to close out the first half. Yeah, he had a good weekend between Texas beating Ohio State his alma. All right. And then his, you know, his Bears win. That wasn't bad. That was an insane game. I know you had an eye on it. I did.

Yeah, very closely, very closely, no doubt. When I was doing post post yesterday, there were a couple of folks who were basically saying like, all right, I'm done with Jalen Johnson. He's not back. I'm so worried about him and what he's doing. And he's never going to be a great player again. I responded to a couple of them. I'll say this for Jalen Johnson, and there's a lot of scrutiny and expectation because he has been a great player when healthy earlier in his career. What I saw yesterday from Jalen Johnson was a guy who guessed wrong multiple times.

I saw a level of aggression and coverage that isn't who he frequently is. One of the reasons that the interception numbers weren't exceptional earlier in Jalen Johnson's career was because he constantly keeps himself in a position where the quarterback doesn't normally throw his guy to football. Those double moves yesterday, both with, like Tyreek Stevenson being being on a double move, that doesn't surprise me. Double moves have always been the foil for Tyreek Stevenson. For Jalen Johnson, that's not something we've seen. I didn't see a guy who I felt like had lost a step physically. Okay, good.

Good. Yeah, I saw a guy who looked to me like he guessed wrong on multiple occasions. But even that moment where the slant route gets caught, and I'm forgetting which Panthers receiver, then I don't know statistically if Thineman got credit for the force fumble or if it was Jalen Johnson. I don't know either. I think it was Johnson, but it's a great question still.

Chasing all the way across the field like Jalen Johnson had to before he peed up punches that ball out, you saw some tracing speed, some chase down speed from him having to get out of his break, be sudden in his movements, and then get into chase mode to track down a receiver. And while he's doing it to be able to have the body dexterity to punch the football out while he's trying to secure a tackle. So I didn't see anything that concerned me with Jalen Johnson physically. And mentally, that's always been one of his superpowers is reading routes on the run.

He didn't have a good day doing it yesterday, but I'm not discouraged where Jalen Johnson's at at the moment. All right, that's good. I mean, that was going to be my question. That's a relief because of what we saw last year where he clearly, because of the injury, was off a step and exposed quite a bit and good for him for coming back in the first place last year. So hopefully he will get better going forward. Defensive line, Big Ann, obviously, and Layla and I talked about Montes Sweat with a huge sack on third and seven early in the game, exploiting Monroe Freeling, which is what you're supposed to do to a rookie tackle in this league who I don't even think they wanted to put out there. in this game, but injuries dictated that. What did you think about the defensive line in general, though, yesterday? The Bears did what they could to sort of attack in waves as I anticipated, where they had a number of bodies rolling through. And between Dio, Dengbo, and he and Montes sweat at times with flop sides,

where you'd see sweat pretty regularly rushing the left edge. In the first half of the game, we got into the second half, and he and Dio flipped assignments, responsibilities. And sometimes you're just trying to get a feel for what it's, like rushing against the other offensive tackle. And throughout his entire career, Montes Sweat hasn't consistently been a guy that's shown comfort rushing either edge.

It really had as many opportunities to rush from both edges. So I like them at least switching that up on occasion in the game. We saw Austin Booker get plenty of reps and more so pass rush than rundowns yesterday where you get Diodangbo,

kind of switching down to the inside as a three technique over the guard. But Montes Sweat getting that early sack. It was nice. He got to the course. quarterback more consistently early in the game than he did as the game were on. And you can get kind of tired when you're chasing a guy like Bryce Young around as consistently as that Bears D-Line had to.

It was hot muggy conditions. We saw Christina Pink saying it was 126 or 128 degrees on the turf or whatever. So I'm not surprised the D-Line didn't look as energetic in the second half as they did in the first. You would hope they're going to find ways to be more impactful, more effective throughout more of the game than they were yesterday. Yeah, and I noted how much time, and Empty, no less. Price Young had to throw.

That was one of those indicators for me where I wonder if Dennis Allen goes back and shows that tape because MT is supposed to be where your defensive line eats and that wasn't the case at all. Right. You're not getting chipped. You're not getting doubled as frequently just depending on how many bodies you're showing.

One of the things that's within the Dennis Allen scheme, you can have linebackers more consistently walked up into the A-GAP. and once you do start showing mug looks or you start having, whether it's a zero technique, nose, you get a linebacker head up on the nose. When you're covering the center, then you can create one-on-one matchups on the outside.

When you do that against an empty backfield, you're guaranteeing that your defensive ends are going to be one-on-one with those tackles. And so that's available to the Bears. One thing they started doing, and a factor in the reason that they seemingly wore down more in the second half, they began using more power rushes. Montes Sweat was getting home early in the game.

You guys remember last year, I talked to you a lot about how much time Montesweet spends as a power rusher, powering through the body of the offensive tackle as opposed to just looking to turn the corner. And that's a difference between he and a guy like Max Crosby, who spends more time beating offensive tackles in space with more finesse-based moves. Montes Sweat is more of a power rusher. But as he turned the corner a couple of times early in that game, he just utilized speed and his levers, violent hand. as Bryce Young started to run around and extend plays,

the bears were more focused on condensing the pocket and just not allowing those easy escape lanes for a really diminutive and very elusive quarterback in Bryce Young, who can be tough to sack, just because frankly, you've got to reach down to the ground to get him sometimes with how small he is and how he can duck and dodge and dip his shoulders. So you saw the bears take more of a focus on condensing the pocket with power,

but that does take a lot more energy. It's a lot more physically taxing as a power rusher. When you're, as opposed to the offensive line in a run scheme, like with pad level, like I was highlighting on social media what Darnell Wright and Jonah Jackson are doing, just firing off the ball moving folks. When you're bull rushing an offensive lineman who frequently is bigger and heavier than you, it takes a lot of energy to do that. I think that's a part of where the Bears D line kind of wore down a little bit more in the second half too,

and they weren't pass rushing and getting free as much, but it's because they spent more time down the middle of the offensive line, just trying to condense the pocket. Anthony Heron with us here, Rahimi and Grotie on 104-3, the score. Let me take you to the second quarter, Anthony. The bears are up 21 to 14. It's a fourth and one on their own 20, and the Bears go for it.

The Caleb Williams sneak is no good. It turns into a Bryce Young touchdown to tie the game at 21. What did you think about the play there? Or the decision, really, or both, really. The decision bothered me more than the play. it just felt unnecessary. And the way their offense was rolling, I more than understand having confidence in the bear's offense,

but at your own 21, like, yeah, fourth and one, you want to convert fourth and one, but you got the ball at your minus 20, minus 21, in that area of the field with the way that the Panthers offense had begun rolling in the game too. That to me was just an unnecessary risk. It was kind of an unforested area, I think by Ben Johnson.

And this is certainly going to be, it's going to continue to be a part of the Ben Johnson experience. And as an old football dinosaur, I feel I've come a long way on the idea of going for fourth downs. I don't have an issue with attempting fourth downs frequently, but just the full context matters. The minus 21 with the way that Carolina's offense has just been slicing up the bear's defense up to that point in the game,

to me if you don't convert that, the risk reward of that doesn't. doesn't outweigh the idea of getting some field position to punt the ball away and giving your defense a legitimate chance to try and come up with a stop. I didn't like that decision. I didn't like the execution either. Unfortunately, we've seen Caleb Williams have a bad habit where he will turn his back to the line of scrimmage on a play like that. It happened last year, and I feel like it was something he overcame last season. But then we see it happen a couple times in the game yesterday where he finished with his back toward the line of

cribbed. You're not going to move forward if you're floating backward. Like this is not a pole vault. And I think we saw that too. I wonder if he's like if Caleb is pushing a boulder up a mountain, does he, does he do it facing the boulder? Does he turn around and try to drive his legs in that way? But from about, excuse me.

Bears. I got you. Yeah. Bless you. Thank you. I'm going to drink water. Don't. Don't.

Don't you go dying on us now, man. I'll also point out the high jump is another case where you move forward by floating backwards, but it doesn't always work in football. I've never tried the Fosberry Flop myself. I had a track coach at Bolinburg High School when I used to try to do the high jump. He would never let me do it. He said I was too big. So if I actually landed on the high jump pole at some point, he was very worried I was going to break it at my size.

So this is an equipment decision, more so than it was a skill decision. Yeah, I mean, I don't know what the budget was at that point. It's like when you break a backboard, your parents have to pay for it, then that's a bit of a concern of an issue. Suppose if I had to broken the high jump pole at some point, then we'd had to pay for that too. You were doing high jump? Like, I didn't have it.

Well, I was hoping to. I was attempting to, but it didn't end up working out. I was not allowed to do it because my track coach wouldn't let me. He had a big problem with the idea that I might actually break the polls. I would mess around with it in practice, but he never got to the point where he let me try it in the meat. Because at some point, no matter how good you do in a track meet, you're going to have to miss a high jump at some point.

I wasn't a bad jumper back in the day, you know, the whole Quadzilla thing, but he never did let me actually try it in a meet. If he knew I could make certain heights in practice, he'd let me tinker around, but no, I never got to do it in a meet. Because at a certain point, you're going to miss, and he's worried at my size, if I missed, I was going to break all his equipment. What did you end up doing in track then? Shot and disc.

I would occasionally sprint, you know, do some of the big man relay type of stuff and, you know, occasionally run the 100s and 200s, because we get done with the shot putting disc really early in a track meet. Then from there, we're just sitting around for hours waiting to take the bus home. So, yeah, I do a little bit of running here and there, but mainly shot putting disc. Anthony, you're the best, man. Thanks for joining us. Get right there, buddy.

I don't want to do it. We don't need you coughing at the end of these segments. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, no. It's asking a lot, man. Two whole segments with you guys. I'm trying to put up with it the best I can. We're testing my stamina.

You're awesome. Thank you, man. We really appreciate you. Groves, Layla, appreciate you both. Thanks, Ann. That is Anthony Heron. I love this text message from the 847 because we came in with Chop Sui from System of a Down as our music coming into Anthony Heron. And the texture says, I love that my dad just texted me.

Is System of Adown a real band? And are they considered good? Thank you for forcing my dad to consult with me for my music expertise. And yes, they're a good band. Well, you don't have to ask, are the Bears good? And that's a nice place to be in. So sure, we'll take band talk. No doubt about it.

Yeah, there's a new metal revival going on right now. And the phone lines are open. We've got people that are hanging, that have been just so patient, that are still on hold with us right now. So we will get to some of those calls next. 312, 644, 67, 67. What is your reaction to the Bears' 59-37 win over the Panthers?

312, 644-67. It's Rahimi and Grody on 104-3 the score. Rahimmy and Grody. Midday's 10 a.m. to 2. on Chicago Sports Radio 104 3, 3, the score. And Kyle Manon, 61 yards to the house. Longest run by far of his NFL career.

Touchdown Chicago. Kyle Menonio, just bursting to the end zone right there. Adam Amin with the awesome call on Fox from yesterday. That's your complimentary football. The Bears had just stopped the lions on there. The lions. The Panthers on their own little attempt at 4th and 3. Nope, nope.

And then we're going to put it right in your face after that. And Manunga is going to get some nice blocks along the way. And he's going to get into the end zone. And the game was about to be over right there. As we welcome you back into Rahimi and Grotie on 104. Let's go back to some calls. Are you ready, Layla, to go back to the phone lines? I mean, it is what we do on a football Monday.

Is it not? A victory Monday. The chicken is going to be here soon. Rinalys, friends. Rinalys is providing us with the victory chicken. today. Layla has showed food discipline up until that point. We're all showing food discipline. Yeah, I haven't eaten today.

Yeah. That'll be my first meal. We might have to get coffee too. Breakfast at 1 o'clock. Ooh, delicious. I already got coffee. It's in the fridge because I don't want to drink it yet. Let's go south a little bit. Let's go to Chinatown. And that's where we find Henry. Hey, Henry, thanks for calling. You're on Rahimi and Grotie on the score. Hey, how are you doing? Well, first off, I apologize. I feel like I sound like Doc Rivers from screaming at the TV and cheering at my local bar, Bernice's tavern. You're all welcome to Bingo Night on Wednesdays.

Anyways, I wanted to say, you've talked about it, I really admire Ben Johnson being committed, just committed to the run game. We've seen, like, offensive-minded coaches not do that. You know, spam past plays like it's Madden. so I it's just it's just cool to see a dual running back channel that we have and what a week one I mean I just feel like you probably notice this too just going around the city everybody's mood is just just bumping into people and bears gear and just starting a random packers suck chant it's just awesome and yeah no it's just uh yeah finally uh shout out to

Lana at knockouts for listening to me, Mark out about the Bears game, and talk about my cat and video games. That's all I got to say. You guys are great. Take care now. All right, Henry. Yes. Hey, shout out to Lana.

We were going to do a shout out to Lana, but Henry already did the shout out to Lana. You know, it's interesting that he talks about the running game because it really illustrates the difference between Matt Nagy, because remember people who are like, oh, he's, this is, Ben Johnson is Matt Nagy. It's like the same idea. This guy is going to pass, pass, pass the ball and have these explosive offense. But the difference is with Madaggy after every game, and there were a lot of wins in 2018, we're like, yeah, but what about the running game?

Where was Jordan Howard? Where was the rest of that running game? The fact that he sticks to it and believes in it and creates it himself. Like he constructs, Ben Johnson is responsible for constructing the entire running game, which is a relative rarity for a head coach to do that. It's also just a sign that you built an offensive system and you're not just collecting plays from everywhere. that's part of that as well. Tariqoan having only four touches in the playoff game with the double doy

will never not sit with me because it showed that the offensive game plan was to just run a bunch of plays and maybe some of them work and maybe they don't. That's not what this head coach does. Jim is in Aurora. Hi, Jim. You're on the score. Yeah, good morning. Hey, I want to plug about that fourth down play.

To me, that just shows the genius of Ben Johnson. Because number one, it shows his mindset, the confidence that he has in that offense, that they can do anything, which is everybody knows in sports. A lot of football based on your mind, you know. And it sets up for the rest of the season. Defense approaches are going to have to realize the Bears have third and five, third and six. They're not going to pass the ball. They might run the box.

They got two plays to get that five or six yards. So from here on out, the rest of the teams to play in the Bears are going to have to think like that now. Third and short, third and mid, they're not going to pass like everybody else. I think we saw some of that yesterday, especially third and three. That's the question, Mark. That's really where you see some of the offensive philosophy. I love it. And for them, if they want to run the ball or they're very determined,

especially at a shotgun to run the ball on third and three, because then you're that much farther behind the line of scrimmage. You have that much farther to go. You can see why that really does actually take place. But I can't get behind going for it on fourth and three. That's not a good example of his genius. I don't think that's a good example of his risk-taking and his confidence. I don't know that's a good example of his genius.

I feel like the first half felt like part of the preseason still. It nine penalties. You know, the bold choices were made. Fumbles happened. It felt very, at least to start. I was like, what? Are we still doing some preseason hangover here? I mean, yeah, it started with a Roma Dunezay penalty on a D'Andre Swift explosive play.

Just some bad discipline penalties too. Right. The fumble by By bird. It was an entire game. The first half was an entire game. It was 31.24 at halftime. The Bears had 315 total yards at halftime. They had 125 rushing yards at halftime.

And as you just said, nine of their 12 penalties for, actually I don't have the yardage here. I have the yardage. Also, everybody asking about the meatball machine, it will happen at 145. the meatball machine never closed. It is open for you. Permanently. So the Bears committed 12 penalties total for 57 yards. But in the first half, according to my notebook, it was 9 for 42.

Yeah, that's it. Yep. I literally couldn't read my scratchy writing right there. Panthers had, I think, 11 penalties in the game. It's what happens. Like, beginnings of seasons are always weird with referees. Like, they're sloppy play. I'm not saying the Bears didn't deserve the penalties.

Same with Carolina. but it's like, refs are always testing new stuff. I'm not sure what it was this week. Nobody wanted to call a face mask in the entire NFL yesterday. Which is interesting. You said that earlier.

I don't, philosophically, I don't understand, unless the rest were just literally missing it. Sometimes it was a hand-on-a-face mask at the end of the play, but I don't know about you guys. I saw a ton of face masks in games, multiple games yesterday that I watched,

and it felt like none of them were even being called. That's amazing. We'll get to more of our NFL thoughts on the league and the North and five on it. But one more call here. Let's go to Tony near Midway. Hey, Tony, you're on the score. Hey, what's up? I'm as excited as anyone about the Bears, but I do have a concern that I think could be pretty consequential for them. And that is, we're just bad on short yardage, whether that's on the goal line or like we saw yesterday with the fourth down conversion attempt. We were bad

last year. And I just don't get it because our offensive line is really good. We've got good running backs. Just your thoughts on that and hopefully they can clean it up because it could make a big difference as far as scoring. You're right. No, it's a weird quirk. As good as the bears are seemingly everywhere else offensively.

As we were talking about, Layla, they're a little klutzy when it comes to the one yards and Caleb Williams has got to be better at some of the quarterback sneaks. No, it's been a problem. And yes, quarterback sneak for whatever reason has been a bugaboo. But the only thing I can say is once again, he's probably watching that film going, oh, here's something that I did

last year that I shouldn't do that came back a couple of times. That was the surprising part. You just can't finish with the back, you're back to the play. You're not going to go anywhere. You're going the wrong way. And it's, I know it's scary and I can't imagine what it's like when you're a quarterback trying to do that. That doesn't seem fun to me. But it does seem like it's part of the job. Right. And with all the people moving they were doing, yesterday the offensive line was awesome that they can't get that one yard it's really agonizing but that is that is fixable that is a fixable thing and bears were for for the record they were 10 of 14 on third down yesterday it was just that one fourth down play they made i see i see the thought process for ben jones going forward on

fourth down yeah but at the same time they scored a touchdown right afterward to carolina that was an easy drive for them no doubt and i'll say like in real time i kind of full holding my arms and I'm like, okay, because we all trust Ben Johnson, right? And we know that this is what he does. So I wasn't like mad. Like I think a lot of people were like, what are you doing? You're crazy. Even I think Drew Breeze was like, I thought they were just going to try to draw them to do the old draw them off sides thing. I was like, okay, Ben, I trust you. Go ahead and you blew it in now. Try to draw them off sides at their home. Like that, there's that layer of it too. Not trying to draw them offsides at Soldier Field. How about the Bears fan or the Bears

trying to quiet down the crowd in Carolina. The Bears fans are still making noise on offense. Stop making noise on offense, Bears fans. Don't do that. Oh, yeah, that was an Adam and Meem pointed out the sign, the joking signed by the Panthers. Hey, the Bears need you guys to be more quiet, aka Panthers fans, get loud.

Yeah, rack it up. Coming up next year on Rahimi and Grotie, more Bears questions and NFL questions and five on it. We're even going to slide in a baseball question as well. Don't worry. We haven't completely forgotten the Cubs and White Sox. They are of consequence this week. Five on it. No doubt about it. Five on it is next.

Rahimi and Grody on 104.3, the score. The score. I got five. It's time for five on it. Rahimi and Grody. Bring you five topics on their minds today. On 1043, the score. Number one.

You're listening to a Plummer's 911 football Monday presented by Bucy Bank in great clips. And hey, it's a victory. Monday. So here's question number one. What did you learn about the Bears from their 59-37 win over the Panthers in their season opener? I learned that Ben Johnson wasn't playing when he said he wanted to break all offensive records. I learned that Ben Johnson wasn't playing when he said he wants to embarrass teams and really make the point and run up scores. 5502 total yards, 291 rush, six touchdowns. I learned that this was the most points in

an opener for the Chicago Bears since the year 1948 when the Bears scored 45 against Green Bay at Wrigley Field. I learned that this was the third time in the Super Bowl era that the Bears have scored 50 points in a game. I also learned that this was the highest 96 combined points in an opener was a record. The old record was an 88 of 88 in 2018

between Tampa Bay in New Orleans. I just learned all sorts of stuff. about the Chicago Bears in a historic 59 to 37 win over Carolina. I learned that the Bears' commitment to the run game is real, and it is incredible. That's what I saw yesterday. I saw a Bears team that not only committed to it, but DeAndre Swift was a huge, huge asset in blocking for Caleb Williams, because the Panthers also decided to just run straight up the middle and shoot the gaps sometimes on the wide zone run schemes.

And DeAndre Swift was left being the last line of defense. sometimes to Caleb Williams. And that was incredible to see his blocking as well as just what he was able to do on the field. Kyle Munungai running away with it for the 61 yards. That was the absolute dagger. Just to see the blocking that the bears did on the side of that,

the commitment that everybody had to the run game and just making sure their guys next to them got yards. Just excellent blocking out of receivers, excellent secondary blocking out of your tight ends and out of your running backs. And then to be able to ground and pound and still run 70 plays and still

score 59 points. I can't say enough about how this is an outlier, but it's also Ben Johnson saying, hey, yeah, we wanted to run a better offense. Yeah, we wanted to be the best offense in the league, as you talked about Mark Rodi. But additionally, they invested in this. Were you upset when you got what you wanted? That's what we saw yesterday, both unfortunately on the defensive side and then on the offensive side, this was the plan and it was executed. Are you okay with this being the way of the world in this year in the NFL? It might have to be. I also learned within the show today, I'm sorry, I'm going overtime on this question.

I also learned that Jalen Johnson needs to guess better. And at least per Anthony Heron, whose insights I trust, it wasn't a physical thing. It's not a Jalen Johnson lost a step thing. It's that in his opinion and his what, reviewing of the tape that Jailen Johnston was not guessing well, and that Tyreeks Stevenson needs to stop falling for the stop and go, for the double move on those particular plays. So get better. Oh, yeah, there was a little bit of fall down, go boom there that happened. Yeah. We're all learning.

That's a sick twist. I like that. Yeah, here's question number two. What was your biggest takeaway from week one in the NFC North? Lela was watching some NFC North yesterday. ladies and gentlemen. I don't know about you guys, but if you decided to turn over to old channel two and then check out the Packers and Vikings game that featured, by the way,

nice call done, nicely done by JJ Watt. And then also, of course, the rest of the broadcast team that is so incredible, Jim Nance, that was lovely to see. Was a Green Bay game

that saw the Packers leading and then the whole thing just fell absolutely apart. The Vikings scored 29 straight points. points. Kyler Murray goes down. It was ugly video. But then you see the Vikings with Carson Wentz, dare I say, Winses Soda, after he used to play in Wensylvania when he was with the Phillies.

Those all the things they say. I came up with Winsa Soda. I don't know how they feel about it. They're probably insulted about. I don't think the Vikings fans care because they came back and won and beat the Packers. So another fourth quarter failure by the Matt LaFleur Packers. They scored 22 points in the fourth quarter. As I said, 29 unanness.

and come away with a 39 to 22 win. So let me get this straight, Matt LaFleur. You get extended after your fourth quarter breakdown against the Bears and back-to-back games against them. Then you roll up against another division rival, a team you should have beaten, frankly. And this happens? Tough scene. Cram up your cramhole with the floor. Tough scene.

How are those fake play-by-play dudes doing after that game? Did we check on them again? Don't wake those guys up. They're already awake. They've been doing this. And then they get mad when we talk about them. Well, you've been talking about us for a long time. Wake up!

And then they search our mentions. Why are you doing that? Stalking. Are you not satisfied with your lives up there? Stalker. I'm not searching your mentions. I just get to watch the game and see the scoreboard. I kind of learn that Detroit might be like the Bears, man,

because they're hurting a little bit injury-wise all of a sudden defensively. They do win. They beat New Orleans 31 to 30. But I was talking about this yesterday, man. That could be, for myriad reasons, bears lions this year, because the bears were 0 and two against the lions last season. And because the Detroit Lions straight up embarrassed Ben Johnson in the Bears last year with their own 50 Burger.

I can't wait to see Bears and Lions this year and the exhibition that that might be. And then as per your Minnesota Green Bay game, I loved that game. I know you did. One of my friends called me and I was doing play-by-play the game because I was like, you need to watch this game. Carson Wendz coming to Soldier Field.

Could J.J. McCarthy step on the field in that game and repeat his second half from last year in the opener at Soldier Field. My brain did go there for a second. But it's like with Minnesota, they're just so unpredictable. I picked them for fourth in the division this season. But there they are. Winning this game against the Packers. 39 to 22 and just be in Minnesota. Like they are year after year.

Such a difficult team to predict. So I got my eye on you, Minnesota, and I did like seeing Green Bay lose. There was a graphic that went up, and I don't know what Chicago Bears fan was working on the CBS broadcast. But it was last three games with double-digit second-half leads. 2025, we 16 at Chicago, led by 10.

Result L by 6. 2025 wild card at Chicago led by 18 Result L by 4 Today led by 12 And then question marks Elle again 5 on it Number 3

Love a good Green Bay L And this is a victory Monday This is 5 on it 104 3 the score Layla Rahimi Mark Grody Sauer is brought to by Plumers 9-11 Plumbing Emergency

Call the plumbing professionals Available 24 7 at 1 833 Plum 9-1-1. Here's question number three. We're going to expand the NFL map out. What was your biggest takeaway from week one around the rest of the NFL? Are the New York Giants better than people thought they were going to be?

I mean, Jackson Dart looked really good for the Giants last night, 23 to 29, 230 yards, three T-Ds, and zero picks. And how about the guy they kept showing in the booth, calling the game for the New York? Giants. His name is Matt Nagy. Now, they do have a hardball on the sideline, so he's going to get most of the shine and the credit, but they were giving lots of credit to Matt Nagy. Good to see healthy Malik neighbors as well. One other quick takeaway from the NFL too, man. Oh, boy. Does Josh Allen have some folks to play with in that receiver room? Kincaid with five catches for 130 yards, and an old friend of everybody's.

What? DJ Moore. Oh, he had a nice day. How about DJ Moore? Five catches, 100 yards, and a touchdown in his debut as a Buffalo bill. Shout out to our old friend DJ Moore. I hope the Bears don't end up missing him.

It wouldn't appear from the first game that the Bears missed DJ Moore, but I'm happy for DJ Moore. I'll always root for DJ Moore. I also was, impressed with DJ Moore's output in the game yesterday. And that was a heck of a game. Yeah, those are two playoff contenders in the AOC in Houston and in Buffalo. And I was reading some of the discourse from Houston about the game saying it's a meltdown. But at the end of the day, you're playing the bills, who I think are going to the Super Bowl. Same. I got him winning the Super Bowl.

Yeah. And what did we see? We saw Josh Allen be Josh Allen. And then we saw DJ Moore, I think, get the appropriate target. and production that I think he wanted to see in his career. So that was one of those, oh, everybody's who I thought they were in this. Good call. The part about the giants beating the Cowboys, I got into it with somebody on Twitch because I don't think that even for what the Cowboys were predicted to be this season,

I still don't see them winning the NFC East. And if that wasn't a good example of them not proving that they might not win the NFC, East. There's a lot of football to be played, but I don't think the Cowboys are as complete of a team as we think. Eagles and Commanders was low-key interesting. That ended up being a two-point game. And then I think it was, it was for me overwhelmingly just the hate watch of the late game being the Packers and the Vikings was Chef's Kiss. Such great joy you got from that. I am enjoying the joy that you derive. Yet another stat. Point differential last season, last five games, regular and post season for the Packers,

first through third quarters, plus five. Fourth quarter and overtime, minus 53. Ew, okay. Five on it. Number four. And then I'll get some, you should be better. This is classless.

I don't care. What are you talking about? I don't care. Who's going to say that? No, people search our posts about them and then talk about them. Like, they work for the Packers or they own the team or something. That's what we're supposed to get hate from the Packers people.

Don't worry about that. It's just funny to me. Like, oh, this random Packers person is not what I'm talking. Hey, we hate on them every day. What are you talking about? Exactly, exactly. No, I just, I laugh at the whole spectacle of it all. I find it entertaining.

There's no be better, right? Yeah, there's no be better. This is the Packers. Screw you Packers. All things go, man. It can get as ugly as you want. Yeah, and yes. I'm going to enjoy my lovely day in Chicago and have some Rinali's chicken.

And then I'm going to take a two hour walk on the lakefront before I watch baseball. Yeah. Speaking of baseball. Uh-huh. Here's question number four. What stood out to you about the Cubs and White Soxx? this weekend. I'll tell you what.

The Cubs Saturday win over the Pirates stood out to me because Jacob Webb got himself

into the game and was good. Comes in with the bases loaded, gets him out. He ended up sticking around for an inning

in a third and he was fine. And I got to say that's quietly because it's just been so bad for him. So I was really encouraging for me

to see that. Jacob Webb had a good Yeah, he did. And, and Ryan Zephyrjan got the save. Now, he only had to record one out because it was Rawlison who got the first two outs in the inning. We call that a Mike Montgomery,

by the way. Somebody gets the first two outs, and then you're Montgomery, you come in and you win a World Series. I have dubbed it the Mike Montgomery save. That's what Zephyrion got for the Cubs. So that stood out to me. As for the Chicago White Sox, I don't know why I'm continuing

to speak in this covert voice, but I'm enjoying myself right now. It's almost like your NPR about the baseball. Take a sip of your coffee. The White Sox on Saturday as well got something that they've been lacking lately, not just timely offense, but that magic thing that they had been having

throughout the season. Randall Gritchick, just when you thought it was over, Sox, Randall Gritchick with an opposite field to run Homer to eventually win that game. So that was sick to see. And then how about old David, Sandlin coming in. Perfecto for 5 and a 3rd yesterday before the roof caved in on Chris Murphy and

Sandlin loaded the bases and the Cardinals beat the socks. So that's what stood out to me. By the way, so I was texting with one friend of our show, Herb Lawrence. FOS, in front of the show. Herb. Yes. After I enjoyed a, I knew he would, more importantly, enjoy the end of the Minnesota game that saw them lose to Mississippi State.

shout out Marshall Harris, Hale State 38 to 13. So up, Mars Hall. And then they had the cutaway of PJ Fleck. And I said in all caps, row that boat, blank. And I can't say it on the air. And then Herb was worried about the socks. And then he texts me back later in the evening and said, but I like to see that, though.

And that indeed was the White Sox coming back, beating the Cardinals, six to five, which they desperately meet it, because the lead is now down to a half game in the Central. Are we panicking yet? Half a game. Of course they're panicking. Are you kidding? And oh, by the way,

you're playing the Cleveland's, Cleveland Guardians, the Clevelands, you're playing the Cleveland's in Cleveland today. It's a three-game series, guard that, which now, unfortunately, is part of the program here. I told you I was looking forward and kind of stressed out about this series, and here we are. So, yeah, this is, that is going to be peak viewing for me. Meanwhile, the Cubs are facing the Braves. So this is just one of those early parts of the week, where I'm going to be baseball stressed for three days in a row on both sides. the town. I would like to turn to my colleague Ray Diaz for an observation

from the baseball weekend. We not only got to see in person in the good seats, no less, every glee on Friday. Yeah, you too. We not only got to see a first one of the series, which helped the Cubs then take two of three from the pirates,

but also, runs scored a plenty. We saw 12 runs, right? I don't even know how to act. It was amazing. It was amazing, especially the contrast of the previous game we had gone to it was the Cubs in the White Sox and the Cubs had some trouble scoring runs. So it was delightful to be, you know, in the nice, you know, end of summer, transitioning to fall type weather and see some runs scored by the Cubs, man.

It's a beautiful thing. And Shoda. Shoda was good. He allowed just one homer. He did. Six innings, two runs, five hits for Shoda in that game. Five on it. Number five on it.

I want to four through the score of final question. A video posted on X-by Titans reporter Jim Wyatt showed a Jets fan proposing to his girlfriend on the Titans sideline before yesterday's game at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. So the question is, should this be allowed? I sent this to our thread because what are we doing here? All of this is bad. And I'm not necessarily anti-end game proposal. I've seen a lot of happy couples. I'm happy for them.

But proposing to your girlfriend when you're a Jets. fan when it's not your home team so you're you're in Tennessee you're not even at the metal lands then you're doing this before the game before the first NFL game of the season when your focus should be on the game as a fan so now you're on somebody else's field doing this before the game and then you're also doing this before the first game of the season this is all bad every everything is bad but what i don't know that i would have said you What if he, though, just received this opportunity like he was gifted the opportunity. Because going on the sideline for fans.

Disrespectful to the Titans, frankly. It's a big deal, though. What if this was the one time in his life that he was allowed on an NFL field? And he thought, wow, this is a great moment. Honey, we're watching our team, but we get to go down on the field. Like, field passes. You don't just, like, not many people get to go down on the field before games. As a sideline reporter with the Bears for four years,

I remember how excited and exuberant people were when they got to take those tours on the sideline. This might have been a once in a lifetime thing, Leila. But that's why you just let that moment be that moment? Why do you have to combine major moments? That's what people do, though. Have you ever seen, like, the proposal at a wedding thing, like where there's a wedding happening and then somebody else proposes? That's really disrespectful to the bright and grooms.

I don't know, man. I think that's a thing. Why would I make somebody's wedding about myself by proposing? Well, because then everybody, then the family, if you're friends and their family, then it's just one big, it's a proactive. It's a happy, happy day. Now, don't propose at weddings. that's the Bright and Grooms Day.

I like double happiness. Don't propose on another team's field. This is where we need. This is for me. The lingering questions become like I need to know more about the girlfriend. Is the girlfriend some sort of massive football fan? Because if she's not, what are you doing, bro? You're not.

If you're really a Jets fan and you've already declared that, then you need to respect the Jets and propose at the Meadowlands. Okay? You chose that life. All right. Fine. Fair enough. Fair enough.

Coming up next year. I don't know before the game. Like, just enjoy the game. Unbelievable. I'm sorry, this upset you so much. I hope that you feel better now. It's just bad for. I'd have said no.

You're not better now. I would have said no. Why don't we break down some of the, as good as it was yesterday? There were some stressful moments in the Bears' 59 to 37 win over the Panthers. We've kind of hit on some of them, but let's do it deeper dive. on some of the stress that we might have been feeling during this Bears game. It's Rahimi and Grody on 104-3, the score. Rahimi and Grody.

Hey, pay attention. Midday, 10 a.m. to 2 on the score. This is an interesting area of the field to go for it. Well, the second stood strong. You could pass up. The defense was ready for it. And the Browns can do a lot for you. This time it was Bobby Brown who filled the gap.

It was a good neutral word that Adam Amin used there. interesting place. Oh no, that was out of Amin voicing his disapproval in play by play form. That was what that was.

I caught that. Oh, yeah. It's interesting. And I think Drew Breez thought it was interesting too when he said out loud some version of, I thought he was just doing

the old try to draw him off. No, no, they're really doing it. It's going to have the ball's been snapped and they're not going to get it. Oh, my God. And then Bryce Young scores a touchdown to make it

21, It did not feel good. It did feel stressful at that point because you don't want your head coach, who we all believe in, to be making mistakes like that. Yada, yada, yada. They scored 59 points in the game. It's Rihemi and Grody on 104-3, the score. We'll talk more about that and a few other stressful moments that are on our minds. But we've had people asking us about our guest list for Bears Mondays and Bears Weeks in general.

As you know, that we stack it. here at the score with great insightful guests. Can we get some music for our announcement that we didn't plan on announcing? Yeah, anything. Anything. Or some NFL music, you know? Or limp biscuit or system of a down or just anything. Anything would sound good.

Because we literally had somebody ask us, hey, what, is your quarterback guru Tim Jenkins coming back? Well, and number one, the meatball machine is open. That's true, too. We had a lot of questions. Meatball machine at 145 per usual. But in the meantime, the meatball machine. ball machine is open for you.

Right. You go to the Odyssey app and then right next to Listen Live, you hit that button right there next to listen live and you can leave a 60 second message for us to play on the air. That's only 60 seconds the voice message. So you got to do

some work or else you got to call back and leave another message. That's right. So that's 145 right? Correcto. Yes, yes. We already have one of our guests on today that you will join us weekly. That's Anthony Herron. He'll be a part of the show throughout the Bears season and more. because, you know, is Anthony Herron, and we love Anthony Heron.

At 1 p.m. today, and usually 1 p.m. on Mondays, Dan Wheater of the athletic, ladies and gentlemen. Wee-D. That's right. Take the North up and running right now. Dan was in Carolina. I can't wait to talk to him at 1 o'clock just to set the scene for us. You two kids record a Take the North Pod yet?

We did. We just record it last night. It was wild. I did it from Fox 32. He did it from Carolina. Anyway, you got to do it. We got it done last night. So that's up and running right now.

the north. We appreciate your support. Tuesdays here on Rahimi and Grotie during bear season. It's going to be Patrick Manley at 11 a.m. I had a blast with Manali and Olin Croutts yesterday doing pre and post game here on the score. They sounded so happy. Oh, it was so good. Olin this morning, too, was the happiest I've ever heard him. It just warms my heart. Giddy Olin. Olin's going to be doing dances and all sorts of stuff, all that stuff that he usually is disgusted by. I don't know, man. The buy-in he has of Ben Johnson is like at a 10, like it is for all of us. But in true Olin form, he then caught himself being too positive and said, now I might get used as the poison, you know, in the Bears locker room because I'm too effusive in my praise.

Well, that's why we love Olin. He is so real and he's awesome. 1225. There he is. Tim Jenkins on Tuesdays. He's our quarterback guru. He breaks on every single thing that Caleb Williams does, and we can ask him any question about any throw or any interception or any incompletion. Hopefully there's not a lot of those. But he's awesome.

So we love that he is back. At 1 o'clock on Tuesdays, we will have a bear. We will have on the show 1 p.m. on Tuesdays defensive tackle Neville Gallimore. We wanted some personality, man. And we think on this show that Neville Gallimore will provide a big pop of personality. He seems like an interesting human being and hopefully he'll have a great season too. Super entertaining. If you've ever watched him on bear social media, I think he's really funny and just, yeah, engaging. So we're looking forward to it. We love that he agreed to join us. So he

will join us tomorrow, Tuesday at 1 p.m. on Wednesdays. Our guy, Mike Florio will be on at 11. I mean, he's on with us all season long, but it's even, it goes up a level during the season. He's on with us at 11 a.m. on Wednesdays. 1 p.m. It will be Clay Hart. who will join us. A lot of times he joins us in studio when he's available. We'd love having Clay. His insights are awesome. And then we'll have Herb Howard on.

We don't know exactly the times because sometimes that is a fluid situation considering what goes on at Hallis Hall. So he'll join us on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Herb will join us. Our new official full-time Bears Beat reporter here on the score. If you missed the dramatic passing of the torch last week from Cody's, I did do that as Herb Howard takes it over for me. on Thursdays as well.

I'm in. Danny Parkins at 1 p.m. on Thursday. I am going to have to watch First Things First today because why do I have the feeling Danny is going to be doing victory laps? Well, what? Because Josh Allen is going to win MVP this year? No. No.

No, there's already videos coming out of Danny celebrating. He's going to have a costume, right? He's got to have some sort of pageantry involved. There's some massive chain. So I have a feeling that that's going to come into play. I'm imagining it's a chain with a spinning Ben Johnson face on it. That's what I'm picturing. Somebody make that.

Somebody has to make that now. Is Ben Johnson okay with it? Oh man, Olin was hilarious about Danny yesterday talking about his takes. We've been all over those Danny takes. The take audit is one of my favorite things that Danny came up with last week. He claims he had already come up with the phrase take audit. But I hadn't heard it until... I hadn't either.

Yeah. That was new to our show. And then finally on Fridays, thrilled that we have these two insiders back, like we had last Friday. I love our Fridays. 11 a.m. on Fridays, the great Adam Hogue will join us of Hogan Johns and C.HGO.

And then Kevin Fishpain. He is terrific and awesome. The nuggets are second to none. He will join us on Friday at 1225 Fisciy Business, of course, from the athletic. I like the way this list looks, and who knows who will pop up intermittently throughout the season on Rahimi and Grotie.

You've got a beer down on a daily basis. That's right, Stony. All right, back to stress. Let's get stressed again. You know, we talked about the fourth downplay. And again, my feelings in the moment were, okay, I trust you, Ben Johnson. Like, I admit, I don't know how you felt in the moment.

I was not, like, punching the wall. Like, what are you doing? You're crazy. I was sort of like, okay, what do you got here? you're Ben Johnson. This is what you do. You learn from Dan Campbell. We live with it. We die with it. Of course, I was pissed off when it didn't work, but I have to admit, I was not one of those who was enraged with Ben Johnson for doing what he did.

You don't get enraged because the game ended so well for the team. Yeah, but even in the moment, even in the moment where it wasn't, the game was not in tow at the time. I'm saying in the moment, in the moment, what were you feeling? Were you mad? Were you like, you're crazy man? I thought it was a bad call. And they hadn't really gotten down. at that point yet enough to where I felt confident that they would get the proper forward

movement in that sneak that they wanted to. And I thought it was a bad habit too where Caleb Williams backs into the line of scrimmage and you're not, if you're a quarterback doesn't believe he's getting across, there's no way you're getting across. There were multiple failures on that play, but I felt the same way. So even when you hear Drew Brees say, well, maybe they were trying to draw off sides at their home. Yeah, that was the other part about this.

It wasn't at Soldier Field. It's not unprecedented. Ben Johnson is playing chess, not necessarily checkers. So what was he trying to set up? But that was the only fourth down that they went for in the game. And I think it's because they ended up having such a significant lead.

There were times where that lead was in question. A stressful moment was Caleb Williams throwing an interception in the end zone that got nullified because of a penalty. That was very stressful. There were a couple. And at that point, then that's when they end up scoring 52. That was on that drive.

So I can't even believe I'm saying that in these moments. But I do think that when it came to the fourth and one, it was too aggressive. I can't justify making that call on the road against a team that was offensively moving the ball very well on you. To put it like that, where the going down by more, and they didn't at that point, it was a tie game. but where you could put yourself into a bigger hole against a team where you might have needed that touchdown back in another learning scenario, I don't necessarily know that that's the call you make.

All right, so we've two stressful moments. That one. Layla mentioned the interception in the end zone. That was momentary. Oh, no, no, no. You just wanted to seal the deal at that point. Absolutely. The beginning of the game was 100% stressful.

I mean, the Andre Swift, big run. You're like, oh, yeah, this is what I've been talking about, this whole preseason. I've been telling all you guys when I go out to the training camp, DeAndre Swift looks great. He's poised to have his best year. He pops a big one called back on a hold by Roma Dunzee. That wasn't even the most stressful part of the start. Luther Burden, whom we all bought stock in because we were urged to buy the head coach with that fumble to turn it over. And then Bryce Young turns it into seven.

That was super stressful. Stevenson and Thineman missing tackles back to back early on in the game. The false starts, you know, one of them by Bradbury as well. I found that I was very stressed out with the chaotic beginning for the bears. I was like, is this what we're going to be talking about in this game? Is this going to be one of those weird openers that comes undone? And it was quite the antithesis as it turned out. Oh, yeah.

And one of my favorite radio show hosts in Dallas joke that Ben Johnson was Icarus. What's that? The, I don't know Icarus. The mythical creature in mythology who flew too close to the song and had wax wings and then melted and met its untimely fate.

Okay, I didn't know that that was Icarus. I've heard flying too close to the sun. Did you guys know Ike-know-Icarus? I knew of the reference. I didn't know all of the lure, such as the wax wings I didn't know. I know the reference. Yeah, but Penn Johnson was indeed not Icarus.

He did not fly too close to the sun. He ended up winning the wax wings. the game handily and could have scored 60, dare I say. I really wanted them to go for two. I know you did. I thought that would be a little gluttonous myself. I was there too. But when your defense gives up 37 points, if you just blind item that, and you don't

know what happened to the game, you don't feel good about your chances. How about Baby T, do you guys think that Baby T, Tyler Farrengold, that he wanted 60? Well, you know, you talked about... Baby Tee wanted to go for it on every fourth down. He wanted Tori Taylor to not exist. No banana ball punt by Torring. which worked by the way how about that that was part of the uh the weaponry that ben jonson mentioned oh grody started mentioned the stressful start of the game and you know we had wrapped up the

pregame show with olan and pat and grody and i was here in the control room and baby t was in here with me and he was losing his mind over the start of that game he was in here and sensed he was screaming well he picked 13 wins right like you're not going to win 13 with a start like that uh ray and i also sat behind at the cubs game a guy who listen so shout out. Oh yeah, that's right. He did ask me, he goes, so what do you really think? And I'm like, I'm telling you, I really think it's, I've got 11 and 6 on my schedule.

That's hilarious. That's so funny, like when people ask, okay, what's the real deal? I know what you guys say, but really, what's really going on? No, what's really going on is what's really going on. Yeah, there are times when our minds change, but then there are times where if you can't find tape of us saying something, it's probably because that's how we really felt. That's true. When we come back, we haven't talked much about, if at all, about the Roma dunes

a Randy Moss-esque moment in the game. And Fox analyst Drew Brees broke it down, expertly. He had some things to say. Layla and I have some things to say about that particular play. So we'll keep it rolling next here. On a victory Monday, the chickens coming. It's Rahimi and Grody on 104. Rahimi and Grody.

Let's go live to our hotline. Pete Crow Armstrong. What's going through your mind right now? Oh, sorry, but what's your profanity? in top of the mind. You've got to let it flow, and I feel like that's exactly what happened. Our poor producer, Ray spilled his coffee, so thanks for christening our studio.

Midday, 10 a.m. to 2 on the score. Scores. Williams is well-protected, flushed out, making for the home run ball downfield, and Romadunesay over the rookie Lee, picks it out of the air and takes it down inside the 10.

Quite a catch by Roma Dunzee there. and Grotie on 104-3, the score that's in the first quarter. It's a second and eight, 47 yards. Caleb Williams said, okay, I see you. I'm going to throw it up here. And Roma Dunzee then goes over the top of, as mentioned there, by Adam Amin on Fox, the young cornerback, Will Lee.

And that led to a DeAndre Swift touchdown. I mean, Leila, that's part of why the Bears drafted Roma Dunsette number nine overall in 24 because he could make catches like that with the big body. Well, that was it. And Rome was also wide open whenever he threw up his hand to signify that he was. He's on the right side of the field. Caleb Williams likes to roll out right. We see Rome throw up his hand. I don't think there's anybody within a six-yard vicinity of him once he threw up his hand. He then had to adjust because once Caleb saw him. And wasn't that the play where Caleb threw mid-air? he had left both his feet to go up.

Was that? I mean, I know that there was at least another play where he did the Jordan thing. Yeah, it wasn't quite the Jordan where he's got his feet apart. But there was one where he lifts up and throws up. And I believe that was the one I'd have to double check the tape. But the point is Caleb Williams found him. He had to come back to the ball a little bit. He did.

It took a little while for Caleb because you're right. There was like he had like three or four steps on Will Lee. But then eventually he wasn't as open when Caleb found him, but Caleb trusted him, made the right throw. And obviously Romadunze made the right play. And the right man was in the booth, well qualified to talk about a play like that. Fox analyst Drew Breeze broke down Roma Dunzee's catch late in the first quarter. This is just, hey, I trust my guy.

Sometimes people like to haul these 50-50 balls. When the DB's back is turned and you're throwing to your number one receiver, this is an 80-20 ball. He's got to beat by seven yards. But the minute you feel the DB's back turn, you trust your guy. It's either a catch or it's going to be a PI. In that case, it is a heck of a catch by Roma Dunesay. Look at that. And the important part that here that Drew Breez illustrates is when he says it's either going to be a catch or a PI,

your chances are already favorable. Yeah. Because you're either drawing the pass interference, as he mentions, which gives you the downfield yards, or you actually get the catch. And for Rome to get that to trust his instincts. No, he's open, no, he can get that ball. And then even when the coverage comes to him, he's still able to maintain his composure

and use his hands to his advantage to get that ball was huge. I did see the replay. Caleb Williams did leave both feet, and he was jumping while he was throwing that ball. And that's the other part of this, to have the arm strength to be able to do that mid-air when you're supposed to be planted to be able to get that loft. Incredible on both sides.

No doubt, no doubt. A good memory by you. It led to a swift. I've touched on the other part of this as well. And shout out to our next guest coming up at 1 o'clock, Dan Weeterer, who wrote a whole article in the athletic about the scrambled drill and how some of that, like, they want to take the scramble drill to another level this year and play off of it as if it's its own offensive set.

That was a scrambled drill scenario right there. So Caleb, good for Caleb to finally identify, took him a second to get there. and Robo Dunesay pulling the play in as well. So like more of that, more diversified. I just love that because, you know, the scramble drill wasn't always necessary last year, but I think that was a justified spot for it. Well, and what's funny is, you know,

who else had himself a few scramble drills was the guy on the other side. We saw Bryce Young do some of that too. So that was just... He was good. I mean, he was really good. Like 300... We keep talking about the breakdowns by Jalen Johnson and Tyreek Stevenson and justifiably.

But he was good. like Bryce Young might be going to another level as well. He's not in the Caleb atmosphere, I don't think, but who knows? I mean, he obviously ascended and had career highs in most offensive categories last year. I think he could still be pretty good. I also think that what we saw with some respect on the Carolina defense overall given to Romadunese. I think they anticipated that he was probably going to get the most targets. Kaleef Raymond, I think it may, is Kaleef the new Blanky?

We might want to discuss that. Eight catches. because this is blankie. Yeah, and that was referring to Rome previously, but I feel like Caleb Williams definitely knew where to find Koliath-Raman when he needed to. But I feel like the Panthers defense tried to negate the threat of Roma-Dunze as much as they could. Rome's still doing some fun athlete things like we saw on that catch.

And then ultimately, just a really nice performance out of the receivers. How about the fact that Colston Loveland, you know, here we are talking about everything that went on to the game. and we thought Colson Loveland would be a huge part of this. And then he wasn't even targeted in the first half, but two targets, right? On the whole game, you're right. And I think that's awesome because it's like,

I mean, I think Ben has said versions of, hey, man, there's going to be games where one guy's going to get one or two catches and he's not going to be a big part of it. And then, like, somebody like Colston Lovellon, I wouldn't be surprised if he had 10 catches, 400 yards against Minnesota on Sunday. So it's kind of nice when, in theory, maybe your best offensive receiver or catcher of footballs didn't have a quote-unquote good game,

although the blocking was pretty sound in what he had been doing. That's a pretty good sign. But how about Colquette? Like Colquette got to be the star on that 22-yard play. Another drop in the bucket. Caleb Williams is pretty good, we're finding out, throwing into double coverage. I always go back to Jay Cutler when I think about that

because he would throw into double and triple coverage, and it never seemed to work out. Like, he was fearless in that regard. There is a touch that we have been seeing since the second half of last year with Caleb Williams in those scenarios, and it was gorgeous to see. Well, and if you're really good, you can be confident and throw into double coverage.

You also have to have the receivers who are good enough to get it. Yeah. And Rome, that was his bread and butter at Washington when he was in college. He was really good at the go up and get it. 414 on our tax line 312, 644-66. 67 is our number. They say, I've seen Caleb miss quite a few deep balls. So I'm surprised to hear when they say he's so great at throwing the deep pass.

He's got the arm strength to do it. And when you see him throw last year, for example, a ball off flea flicker that goes more than 60 yards in the air, you know that he's good at the arm talent. It's just sometimes they don't always line up in the deep game. I think he's been reluctant because he doesn't want to throw interceptions to throw more downfield. and we've been saying, I've been saying in particular, I wanted to take more shots for that reason. Dan Weider of the Athletic and my partner on the Take the North podcast

was in Carolina yesterday. Let's bring him in next to see what he thinks about this bear's 59-37 win over Carolina. Weedman next on Rahimi and Grotie on 104-3, The Score. This hour is being brought to you by cars for kids. Dan Weiderer, Bears reporter and senior writer for the athletic. You're going to be relying on a lot of young players, guys that have to materialize into who they thought they were. The Bears are who we thought they were. On their contributor for 1043, the score.

We'll mention this mainly because Dan Weirer said we would mention this nugget. Host of the Take the North podcast. We're going to take the north and never give it back. Dan Weider. Thanks, Coach. We'll go first to Dan Wheatier. On Chicago Sports Radio, 1043, the score. Weezy! Heck yeah, man.

It's Rahimi and Grotie on the score. You are listening to a Plumbers 9-1-1 football Monday presented by Bucie Bank and Great Cliffs. Dan Weeder joining us right now, apparently from the Carolina airport. Dan, we appreciate you joining us in the chaos of travel. I don't know if you knew this or not, but the Bears beat Carolina 59 to 37.

I know we did a whole podcast on it yesterday. It's not been 24 hours yet. We're getting closer and closer. are to that, but what are you thinking about now after you slept on this win for the Chicago Bears? Yeah, the Bears beat the Panthers Grotie, and they beat them pretty good. I was a witness to it. It was incredible to see that type of offensive eruption in the manner that the Bears put it together. I think everyone in the locker room afterwards was of the belief that they left some things out there, and that is incredibly encouraging when you go for

552 yards and 59 points, and you just feel like this team is building towards something something really, really special. So I think my biggest takeaway this morning is that the floor for this franchise has been elevated to a level that we are not really that familiar with and the ceiling we can't even see yet. Well, that's it. It's wild to say, oh, here are some stressful moments in the game. What we're talking about a Bears team scoring, an amount of points that, frankly, had been inconceivable for generations of watching this team. And that's where we're at with this. Dan, one of the best things I think about the point total is they did. this overwhelmingly on the running game.

And to be able to score with 70 plays, 59 points, and do it on the ground, it's not very often you see that combination lead to that result. That says a lot about the success that they knew they were going to have. I feel like EPA came into this too, and we haven't even touched on that today. Well, look, we know that what makes Ben Johnson special is how devoted he is to the running game. And his ability to teach it, his ability to install it, his ability to get his players to believe in what he is setting them up to succeed with is incredible.

And so you've got this group up front, these offensive linemen that are really, really talented, but also really, really bought in to what they're trying to execute. You've got these running backs who understands what is being asked of them. D'Andra Swift coming into the season, understanding he needed to get better with his tracks and his aiming points and his ability to see the holes that were there for him and hit him. And so then you get all this stuff put on the tape, and you've got this, as my colleague Kevin Fishpain would call it, proof of concept of like, hey, This is what we told you to do.

You guys did it. Take a look at these results. These are pretty impressive. And so there's a lot to build on. And then, as I said, I think this team understands they're going to go back in to the video as early as today. And obviously, in the next couple days, and they're going to see a turnover on the first drive. They're going to see a handful of penalties, five on offense yesterday. They're going to see a fourth and one that they didn't execute.

There were a lot of mistakes in there that the coaches can get their attention back to, you know, center stage with by highlighting that and saying, guys, there's still things we've got to get better at, and yet we did score 59 points and run away from the poor Panthers. With the 59 points scored yesterday, Dan, what were you able to learn from Ben Johnson about what he was most excited about from the game? Did he have a favorite play? What really turned him on in that game? I wrote about this today at The Athletic because both Ben and Caleb selected their same favorite play, and it's not the play that you would expect those guys to gravitate towards in a fireworks. show like yesterday was, but it was Kyle Monongai's run, which I think we all agree was sort of that upper cut to the jaw that broke that game open, even though there was still a full quarter to play,

and they noticed the blocking, right? And in particular, Jada Walker up ahead of the play, running alongside Monongai, had turned back, trying to figure out how he could clear out a couple extra defenders ultimately getting his butt back and thrown his rear end out there to make sure that Monongai was untouched for the last 30 yards of that run. And so, you know, like Caleb said, this is who we want to be. This is the identity that we need to have, that we want to have, where it's just all 11 on every single play, doing everything they can to invest in the success of that play. And so when you get those things and you're able to highlight them, it's really rewarding. And then obviously, Jaday gets a touchdown catch later in the game as the true

reward for his effort there. And it all just came together in a way where, again, like, I think that the euphoria in Chicago right now is unlike anything that I've ever seen, in terms of offensive capabilities for the Chicago Bears. Well, and Dan, I couldn't agree with you more. Our segment with Dan Weirer is sponsored by Bucie Bank, building business, growing wealth since 1868. I think somebody, and I'm talking to the guy who I think somebody is, should do a deep dive on, it's one thing for the receivers to try to block.

It's another for them to actually block and be good at it. And that's what we're seeing. We're seeing effective use, effective blocks, even when there's physical mismatches, in a way that I hadn't seen with previous Bears' offenses. Okay, and so this circles back, Layla, to the leader of the football team, and it's Ben Johnson's ability to reach everyone in that locker, and in particular the offense as it relates to this conversation,

in a way that resonates. And I spent a lot of this summer trying to figure out from guys, why is it that Ben resonates the way he does? When he tells you to do something, why is it not 100 questions? It's just coach on it, you know? and it comes down to three things, in my opinion. It's one, Ben is Uber confident, right? And you guys hear him speak, and you feel the confidence he projects when he talks to us,

to them, to everyone, right? There's just a belief in who he is and what he's teaching that resonates. He's proven, right? He came to Chicago with a resume where even on the first day that he held a meeting, guys knew what the lions under his watch had done on offense. You know, and so that proven nature, I think, just gives you a credibility that provides momentum to everything you're trying to do. And last but not least, certainly it's how fanatical Ben is about his own self-improvement,

about his own desire to succeed. Those guys see that every day. They feel it every day and they try to emulate it. So when you talk about, okay, why are receivers blocking the way they are? It's because the head coach and his assistants have reached them in a way where they are 1,000 percent bought in, and there is no wavering on any of it. And this is, I mean, this is a special sauce, and I'm sure you can hear the excitement the way I describe it, because I've been around a lot of losing football teams over time. And when you see a winning football team start to crystallize with winning ways,

you're like, this is why I was so hard on these losing teams over the years because they weren't doing the things that winning football teams do. That's the voice of Dan Wheater, senior writer at the athletic covering the Bears co-host of the Take the North podcast that we get to perform together. And this segment with Dan Weeter is brought to you by Plumbers 911. Plumbing Emergency, call the plumbing professionals available 24-7 at 1833 Plum 911. And connected to what you were just talking about with Layla with the Great Blocking. You wrote that immaculate article in The Athletic about the Scramble Drill. How much satisfaction did you have, Dan, seeing the scramble drill play to Roma Dunese

that Lola and I were just talking about in the last segments? Yeah, I mean, look, like that is everything. You know, and this traces back to how much time and effort this entire group spent on realizing that this has to be a weapon for them to go to the levels that they want to go to, and to see that click in that moment where the quarterback throws a ball and a playmaker who was drafted in the top 10 shows you his elite gifts at making contested catches, and you get a huge play out of it, and you're in scoring range once again. And you just, again, you see the positive reinforcement for the work that was put in

specifically to make that click within a game. And I don't think it was just that highlight. I think there were moments in that game, or even Caleb, as just a really graceful scrambler, throughout the two touchdown runs, there's a handful of moments in that game where he's just out there looking for an open target, looking for an open target, doesn't find one, bam, eight yards first down. You know, and those are the things that steal the soul of the defense. And I think we probably saw that three times yesterday where it was just so calm, under control.

Next thing you know, he's using his speed. He's beyond the first down marker and the Panthers have no answers. Do you guys remember the VH1 show, Best Week Ever? Yeah. Did you think of that when Ben Johnson pointed out what a week DeAndre Swifted had? That's good. You have your birthday. You have the extension for the contract, and then you are part of a just absolutely demoralizing ground game in a win like that?

Right. And like, DeAndre hits that first explosive run of the day, and it gets called back because of a hold on Rome. And you're sitting there like, oh, man, you know, we spent a month and a half talking about how ready for this season, DeAndre Swift is to go attack this thing. And he gets, you know, an early setback. And then he just comes back all day long, the 32-yard run early in that game. where he bounces off a tackle from Devin Lloyd. He spins off a tackle.

I think it was Will Lee in the next level that he got off. And it just felt like a tone-setting run where it was the Bears announcing to Carolina, like, we're going to do this all day. Like, we're going to punish you up front. We're going to give this guy his opportunity to make plays. And DeAndre went and did that. I think you both are aware of how much I admire the way Swift goes about his business. You know, he's just so soft-spoken.

But every single day is in that building trying to figure out what he can do to help the football team. When you see a guy get rewarded financially, come back, get rewarded on the football field with his production, and then immediately say, we've got to go back to work. You understand why the Bears want him here for three seasons beyond this one. Well, and Dan, another part of it was he was having to be the last line of defense in front of Caleb Williams a couple of times because he was the offset back of Williams was out of the shotgun, and the Panthers wanted to shoot the center gaps. And did you notice how much DeAndre Swift was having to help out up the middle there sometimes? Right. And there's just, there's just so much harmony to this offense right now. You know what I mean? And in the past, we spent many a Monday, listening to coaches tell us, oh, we were just, you know, there's just one or two guys that screwed that play up. And now we're like, man, look at how all 11 made that play work. You know what I mean? And so it's a beautiful thing when you find that, you find that level of detail, you find that investment from the group. And again, like, you know, it's 59 points in the opener. I think we're all level-headed enough to understand it's not going to.

going to be that every week. But there's also a sense that, like, look, there's 17 more weeks and 60 more regular season games to see what they can come up with to take this even to another level. And that's not going to equate to 60 plus points, but I think you're going to see an offense that's CRISPR that responds and meets its moments more regularly. And you're going to have some real entertaining Sundays and Thursdays and Mondays as the season goes on. On the other side, you know, let us hope that the Bears' defense is not allowing 37. points a game that they're not allowing 478 yards a game, but it is not a shocker that the Bears defense is the part of the team that was suspect because we talked about the fact that it

probably would be suspect until proven otherwise. I guess the issue that I have with the defense yesterday was the fact that Tyreeks Stevenson and Jalen Johnson were getting exposed yesterday. Jalen Coker having a huge game, eight catches for 138 yards and two TDs. Worried about Jalen Johnson at all, Dan? And I guess to a lesser degree, Tyreeks. Stevenson. Well, I've got to go back. I haven't gotten into the defensive rewatch yet, and so I'm eager tonight and tomorrow to kind of get my eyes on that a second time and try to figure out if I can identify what was causing that. Hopefully, Dennis Allen will indulge us on Thursday. On Thursday, that we get the air with some questions and some oversight on kind of

what he saw as he went back through this performance and can educate us a little bit on why it went wrong. I know we'll look ahead of the Vikings that's a promise to the DA that we We will do that as well, but we'll want, you know, kind of his lens on that performance yesterday, because it did leave a lot to be desired, and you're going to need those guys in the secondary. We talked about them coming into the season. Those guys are going to have to step up and make plays and be part of the coverage in the Russian coverage aspect of the bears, trying to make life hard on opposing quarterback. So there's going to need to be a jump there.

I just need to get a better lens on it to figure out what the common denominators were yesterday. Well, one way to do it, I think, is to ask, you know, Kevin O'Connell's going to game plan off of what he saw. And if I'm KOC, I'm trying to get as much isolation and man coverage for Justin Jefferson as possible. Just that's evergreen. And then the other one is, how are you going to not expose those crossing patterns again, like what we saw the Packards do last year, with similar personnel responsible? Redmond, it looked like, I will say this, like Malik Mohamed yesterday competed, you know, and I think that was one of the pluses that we knew he was going to bring to the table

when the season started it was going to compete. and his interception at the end of the half. It was after the Caleb Williams touchdown scramble, and Ben Johnson had emphasized end of the halves for so long, and that wasn't just to his offense. It wasn't we just need to get better offensively at the end of halves. It was we need to close out as a defense and limit what Ben calls the retaliatory score. When you get an offensive that goes down and gets your points before the half,

got the door, slam it shut. And Muhammad coming up with that interception, I thought, was a big moment in that game, and a big moment for a rookie who needs kind of some of those good, feeling so that you can lean into those when some of those bad feelings occur when when he's exposed as the weeks go on. Yeah. I would never pick somebody like Malik Mohamed to be at all disappointing on the Take the North podcast.

I would never predict something. That is Mark Gordy's guilt brought to you by the Take the North podcast. Because we're dumb and we force ourselves to make these predictions on the Take the North podcast. And at the end of the season, we tell everybody about our dumb predictions. But that's just one game for Malik Mohamed. But yeah, he looked great, and I hope he was terrific all year. You know what was also nice, Dan, to see Montez sweat get an early sack this season

after such a slow start last year to have that third and seven sack to stop that drive where it was. I would have liked to have seen more Montez that the game went on, but I thought it was nice to get one in the sack column for him. I agree with everything you said. Nice to get one. I wanted to feel him a little bit more as that game went on, particularly as we talked about what this matchup was going to be for the Bears with some tackles that they felt like they might be able to expose,

including a rookie in Monroe Freeling. You kind of hoped that you could have felt that more through a day, and maybe that point total wouldn't have ticked up toward 40 with what the defense gave up. But yeah, you know, positive moments all throughout. I will point out that they got that special teams take away on the banana ball from Tori Taylor that Ben is thrilled with after the game. And that's a big moment in that game because it allowed them to retain the lead.

They turned that into points there. And remember, that's not too long after. they got stopped at fourth and one deep in their own territory where, you know, if that game goes sideways on you, that's what Ben is answering for today on Monday. You know, what are you doing going forward on fourth and one deep in your own territory like that? Obviously, that's who he is. That's the identity. People in Chicago in the outside world are going to have to be ready for those types of decisions. But for the bears to quickly regroup, I thought said a lot about their ability to play the game on their terms,

get the takeaway, turn it into points and have the lead again. Well, and Ben Johnson doubled down on his desire. and his goals for this team. And I thought that that was pretty strong of a statement, even after he saw his defense give up 37 points. He once again said, no, I'm sticking to this. I want to be the best scoring offense ever. And he didn't back away from that at all after the game.

So it's almost like you're sitting over my shoulder here. I'm on one of those famed rocking chairs here at the Charlotte International Airport. And writing a little bit of something about that 2013 Broncos team that averaged the record setting 37.9 points and why Ben set that target for this team and what it actually means beyond the goal, which is just the mentality, right? Of, hey, guys, like, we want to be unforgiving. Every time we touch the football, we believe we can and should score. And so you have to adopt that mindset.

There is no time to take a breath. And I think it was Colt combat in the first week of camp who said, like, we want to be unforgiving. And it's such a good word because it is a mindset. It's like, you know, and I think Cole followed up and said, we're going to score points until they tell us we have to stop scoring points. You know, and so that's where Ben wants their headspace. And so I don't care that it's fourth down deep in our own territory. You've got one yard to gate.

Go get it. They failed. They obviously were in a bind after that. And guess what? They went and scored 38 more points after that. So they were able to respond and regroup and do the things that the head coach wants them to do. I have been told to inform you about another feature at the Charlotte Airport, even though I don't know that you'll need it. there is a robot that does manicures.

Oh, yeah, I don't know. I'm going to go in on that today. I'm actually a little bit scared of robots these days. My fear is escalating. So if I see that thing, I may either run or I may kick it. Yeah, I mean, as long as it's still working for you. But in this case, yeah, there's a viral video of getting a manicure at the Charlotte airport by a robot. So there's that as well. If you want to, like, have some free time and check it out outside of the typical airport feature.

like rocking chairs. It's a nice airport here. They got plenty of food options. I will tell you, every time I travel, it reminds me of how lame O'Hare is in terms of its options for hanging out and eating and just finding a place to get some work done. So that's a challenge to the city of Chicago

and O'Hare Airport to help its game. Spoken like somebody who spends time in the American Airlines Terminal. That's how I feel. Good, better, best never let rest. Dan, you just get yourself back here safely, Okay, mister? All right, you and I will get our podcast scheduled aligned,

and you said something very, very fitting here earlier in this hit. You said we're pretty dumb on the Take the North podcast. That is true at all times. Sometimes I think we can be smart too, and we'll bring a little both to the equation this week. That's right. Keep it a dumb, the Take the North podcast. Oh, yeah. See you, Weeter.

Take care, man. Dan Weederer is our guide right there. Yeah. It is a bitch to get our schedules together these days. I'll tell you that right now. Because it was a lot easier when I was at Hall's Hall all the time. We were marching in the same time schedule. But we make it happen.

That was Dan Reader. That's what good partners do. Exactly. Exactly. Just like you and I. There's a little give. There's a little take. You've got to come to the – you've got to compromise sometimes.

Not every day is the same. That's exactly right. Dan Weeder is the senior writer at the Athletic, covering the Bears and co-host of the Take the North podcast as well. Keep listening for your chance to win a pair of tickets to see Weezer when the gathering tour makes it stop in Chicago on September 22nd Inside Joke, if you know, you know, at the United Center,

featuring special guests the Shins and the Silver Sun Pickups. Tickets provided by Live Nation, go to Ticketmaster.com to buy those tickets. So here's the deal with the Bears. They scored 59 points yesterday, and they're not satisfied with the 59 points that they score. yesterday. We've got audio to prove it from Ben Johnson and Roma Dunesay

next on Rahimi and Grotie on 104 3, the score. Rahimi and Grohemi and Grohemi. My name is Layla Rahimi, and I love sports, and I don't care who knows. We like sports and we don't care who knows. Midday, 10 a.m. to 2 on the score. Well, the Bears

are getting the first place treatment. One of the toughest schedules in the NFL. They take a first step towards those lofty goals and expectations. A monster game. 59 to 37 Chicago. Just the way Ben Johnson wrote it up, just how Ben Johnson has been talking

throughout this entire offseason. We welcome you back into Rahimi and Grotie. On 104-3, the score, it is funny how Ben Johnson talked about wanting to just break all the records of the Denver Broncos. And last year he talked about, I believe in a Dan Weeter article,

probably others had had it as well, that he wants to embarrass teams. And here he is. is his second year rubbing his hands together and putting up 59 points on Carolina in week one on the road in a 59 to 37 win over the Carolina Panthers. And I want to say that as many times as I possibly can because it is a beautiful score to discuss. But let's get into some of this audio here. And I do have it now.

My board is refreshed. We had a refresh issue here just a second ago. Got to put the hamster back on the wheel. Yeah. It's amazing. I was like, why don't I see this? I don't know to see that. Oh, because my laptop was offline, and I can't see the stuff that I'm supposed to be talking about.

But Ben Johnson, after yesterday's win, Layla, he doubled down on wanting to be the highest scoring offense in NFL history. Listen, that'll always be the goal. We want to be the highest scoring. We want to have the most wins. We want to win super bowls. We want to – that's what we do. We didn't get into this profession. trying to be

mediocre average. And that's every NFL team. So that is what it is. You know, we make decisions over the course of a week what's best for our football team to win the game. That's the most important thing and that goes into everything that we do. The way he was not backing

down, I thought, though, was what's impressive here. There was no doubt in the voice. There was, and then for him to say, that's why we're here, that's what we do. That's letting not just his team know again, but us know how they want to operate. And I love a good mission statement. I love a good reiteration of a mission statement because things change and sometimes you don't know with head

coach. But for him to double down on it when he saw what he saw in the game on the defensive side of the ball. You know, some coaches will say, well, yes, that's a goal. We got to adjust X, Y, and Z. It's the way they say things, not necessarily the actual yes, no. And I don't know why you, you wouldn't keep trying for it. I don't know why you wouldn't do that if you're Ben Johnson. And to go ahead and put the league on notice to do it in this way, again, via the running game, which I think is so crucial in this. A lot of teams would try to pass their way into that.

You know, I think of the Patrick Mahomes, for example, Texas tech offenses back in the day. You know, Cliff Kingsbury, Mike Leach, the air raid and trying to be a system and a system that doesn't necessarily produce, especially at a professional level like this. into having that happen. So why not? You've done a lot of the work, scoring 59 on your way to get there, and you've got 17 games,

as opposed to the 16 the Broncos had in 2013. Oh, my God. 291 rushing yards in this game. Swift, 18 for 124. Kyle Menongai, 10 for exactly 100. Caleb himself, 10 carries for 65 yards in this game. We talked a little bit about Khalif Raymond, who we all expected to be. a big part of this offense, but a third option, right?

Probably like Luther Burden, maybe a fourth option. Luther Burden, Roma Dunzee, Colston Loveland. And yesterday, eight catches for 84 yards. I don't know if he'll have that kind of production against Minnesota. Luther Burden, five catches for 63 yards, and then there's a drop-off after that. Roma-Dunzee just ended up happening. He had the big 47-yard play, but just two catches for 52 yards. mentioned it a couple times today. Colston

Loveland with just two targets and a bunch of zeros by his name. He was productive as far as blocking is concerned, but it just makes you look at it and say the things that he says come to pass. Every week it might be different guys. You might have a week where Colston Loveland

doesn't touch the football, but then against Minnesota, maybe he'll touch the football 10 times for 150 yards and Khalif Raymond will have two catches. So I love the diversification of the offense and the possibilities that exist that you can see after one week of football with the Bears. I don't think you get there by having the same people produce in the same ways every week.

That's not the goal. And that's not offensive success typically in the NFL anymore. I mean, it'll get you there, but it won't get you to a record-setting number of points. So you have to have multiple threats and too many weapons. And that was my takeaway from yesterday. The Bears had too many weapons for what we saw against the game. The Panthers. The Panthers didn't have enough answers, period. And when you thought all your options were locked up,

your quarterback ran 20.9 miles an hour for a touchdown. Oh my God. The bear, can you say that again? I'll say it again. The bears have too many weapons. I mean, all of this stuff, I think, part of yesterday and why the first hour of the show today, we named Holy Bleep and go bears, it's because this is still, like there's been spasms of good bears offense in the past. Like, believe it or not. flashes,

yeah. Flashes is a good word. Like, glimpses. Under Mark Tressman, there was some of it. Even with Jake Cutler, under Lovey,

there was some of it. When you had, you know, Alshon Jeffrey and Brandon Marshall and Martellus Bennett, like we've seen the flashes of it. We saw the flashes of it, even with Matt Nagy at times

on individual plays. But this is the real stuff. And I think that it's causing Bears fans and me and you and all of us to be like, just wow, like how do we handle this? How do we negotiate what we're seeing? Just accept it.

And even like yesterday in the postgame show, Olin Kruits was like, I guess I'll have to get used to this as a new way of Bears football. It's real, I guess is what I'm building up to. This is real what Ben Johnson has been putting out there because as you said, this is what he's been talking about and reinforcing it here once again. It's also what happens when it's based off a system

and not just a bunch of plays you like. Yeah. And so I still want to see how much of that Dolphins offense that Ben Johnson said he was going to watch in his time off during the off season. And he impressed Taylor with presses two one terabyte hard drives each. How much of that are we going to actually see echoed? Did we see a lot of that, I think echoed or at least built upon in yesterday's game? You know, I talked a lot about how I felt like the Rams and Bears had such similar offenses. You talk about 13 personnel and how that works together in concert.

I do feel like we saw the beginnings of the foundation of some of that yesterday. Absolutely. Let's hear from Roma Dunesay. This is him after the game, discussed how there are areas of improvement for the offense. You want to play the perfect game. That's what we're striving for. You know, we've heard the head of snake and Ben Johnson say he wants to be the most prolific offense, you know, in history. So it takes those attention to the details, even when you score 59 points,

harping on those things that you can improve on to get to that point. So we're all bought into that and we're all trying to accomplish that. So regardless of the points, you know, outside on the board, it's about our individual execution every single play. So there's Roma Dunes. Let me play the Caleb Williams, and we'll discuss both of these cuts here because I thought that Caleb Williams really hit it home here on this topic. Caleb Williams, after yesterday's win, discussed how the offense will look from here on out.

I think it's how we want to look each week. And that doesn't just happen. It happens over time. It happens, you know, through training camp, OTAs. It happens through the week of preparation that we have. It happens. We'll have an open communication throughout the week about what works, what doesn't work, you know, wide receivers and tight ends and all of that.

And then, you know, just the mentality, all of that. I think that's who we want to be each week. And we've got to go clean up. We've got to go be truthers. Obviously, this is going to be our kind of worst game. I know points don't necessarily show that. But execution and, you know, the blocking and the whole, the penalties, all these different things. And so just being able to be a truth or about who we are and go watch the film.

And I know we won, obviously, the goal each week is going to know. We did that this week. And we're very proud of ourselves. So being able to go back tomorrow, we have that 24 hour, go back tomorrow, enjoy it and all of that. But find ways to get better for this next week because we've got a worthy opponent. It's our worst game. That's what he just said. That's our worst game right there.

A lot of stuff to clean up. There were. There were penalties. The penalties were spread pretty evenly, by the way, between offense, defense, and special teams. I don't know what the exact breakdown was, but it was pretty even. Coach, how do you feel about your penalties being spread between all three phases? Is that the all three phases you meant? No.

Is that the goal? Like, if you're going to have penalties, coach, is that the way you want it? You get five, you get four, and you get three. Two on Dio. Do you want me to mention that part? Oh, yeah, Dio, what did you think about that? He had a nice penalty early in the game. He had two.

He had two penalties. Yeah, he had two. You're right. Garrett Bradbury had a penalty early. Roman Dunes had a penalty earlier. Montez Sweat had an early penalty. Yeah, well, fortunately for the Bears, the Panthers had a couple of very timely penalties that I mentioned like the negated interception in the end zone. Yeah, well, yeah, the Bears 12 penalties for 57 yards.

And Carolina had 11 penalties for 84 yards. It was pretty even. That's all you want, right? You want a game. So that's improved. As long as everybody's getting the same calls. Also, Caleb Williams is not using Truthor correctly. Can I just say, like this is what stood really?

You and I looked at each other at the same time. It is not the traditional usage of the phrase truther that we heard from Caleb Williams. Yeah, truther actually means you're searching for truth where there isn't. But it is such a statement on the culture. I know this is well established that Ben Johnson came in Hallis Hall and changed the culture.

But the idea that he is saying, we need to be truthers about what we need to do the right way by way of what Ben Johnson is striving and teaching them. It's a bad word. Well, no, I'm just saying like... Truther is like saying you didn't believe Barack Obama was born in the United States. Exactly.

But in this sense, he's... In this sense, he is saying, we can do better. And we need to be truthers about the team that we can be. And this has not... Despite scoring 59 points was not perfect. And we're striving for perfection. We want to be the perfect bears. We're perfect bear truthers.

You've been sitting on this one for a while, haven't you, right? No, just don't on me. Oh, it did. It didn't hit me the same way last night. Yeah, that's it. We all listened to the press conferences the first time, but then the way you say it the second time, that makes it different.

It's pretty funny. It's just kind of a little funny turn of phrase, but yeah, I like it. I, these things happen over time. Absolutely. But in the meantime, there is a lot of teaching tape here. And as Olin points out,

and I think it's safe to say logic dictates, you'd much rather be teaching after a 59 to 37-37 win than some sort of 37-34 loss. Right, no doubt. Yeah, textures have been great all day today. We read as many of these as we possibly can. We haven't been able to read as many out loud as we'd like to as well.

But we appreciate all the text at 312, 644, 67, 68, 85. We're going to have to recalibrate as Bears fans. It's just different. Absolutely. I mean, that's a great point. 2-24, how bad is Braxton Jones injured? It's a good question. I mean, he came out of the game for a while.

Benedet inserted and then I believe Braxton Jones finished the game, right? Like, I think Braxton, I think he's okay. But hopefully we get an update from the coach out at the hall today. I'm not sure what the schedule is. He got rolled up on. That was an ugly film that we saw for Braxton Jones. So clearly we want to try to keep him in as much bubble wrap.

Also, also, just to button up this other topic. What was all that Ozzie? Tripillo listed as questionable talk Bears injury report on Friday. Well, what was inaccurate about? He was questionable and he didn't play. So, like, I'll take questionable every week from that guy. I don't know if this is a winky face thing or what, but okay. I'll play this game.

There's gamesmanship to be had when it comes to Ben Johnson. You think that the opponents are really like, oh, man, Ozzie Tripillo might play. It got me. But then again, I don't have to care about the actual game plan. I mean, I'll do respect to Ozzie Tripillo. It's not like he's known as like a dominant left tackle. Yes. But, I mean, don't you, but what do you, come on, don't you at least list him as doubtful?

Is this where you're using the great area of the injury report? There's no doubtful designation. That's true. Yeah, that's true. So I guess he has to be listed. The bears are truthers. They're telling the truth. I just use their wrong now.

Stop it. So that's improvement. You know what? That's improvement. Yeah. Okay. Maybe you'll lose by seven next week, Gerald. I want to.

I want to lose. Why am I so? I know what I'm getting. I know. That sound bite is just for you, Layla. It is just for you. Oh, so many Jerry soundbites are. Uh-huh.

I want to make sure we leave maximum time here for the meatball machine. Our meatball machine is loaded. It is smoking. It is ready to let loose here in just a second. Smoking meatballs. And make sure you have the fire extinguisher, Tyler. Yeah. On it on it.

Before we do that, Weezer giveaway. I got Weezer tickets for you. Caller 6 to the score contest. line 312 540-0-670. You will win a pair of tickets to see Weezer when the gathering tour make the stop in Chicago on September 22nd at the United Center, featuring special guests, the Shins and the Silver Sun pickups, tickets provided by Live Nation. Go to Ticketmaster.com to buy those tickets again. The number 312-540-0670, the meatball machine will be unleashed next for the first time this year on the score. I appreciate all the flowery comments there.

Midday, 10 a.m. to 2 on the score. Score, score. Hey, guys, check out this meatball machine. Oh, yeah. The familiar sound of the meatball machine here on Rahimi and Grody on 104.3, the score. It's been too long. Yeah, it has. The meatballs are out.

And if you, by the way, if you are interested in moving forward, leaving a message for the meatball machine, you go to the, 104-3 the score on the Odyssey app tap voice message next to listen live and share your thoughts, maximum 60 seconds, and we'll share your messages on Monday. And it is Tyler Buehberbaugh that is responsible for gathering all of the meatball messages. Are you ready to let it loose over there? Enveloped. Inveloat.

Ben Johnson had a bit of a shch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-by-way yesterday. Did you hear that? No. I forget what it was, but he definitely had a little of a... I was watching on YouTube, by the way, and when that happened, like my... I guess the app I was using, the YouTube app, kind of freaked out, and the whole thing looked pixelated. So he went, and the whole screen was all pixelated and weird. Yes, that also happened on Twitter.

So it must have been their video feed. There it is. Meetball us, Tyler. Come into your life from Burbank. It's good to know you. We love the way you play. The Super Bowl polka Cherish these days

Hey, bring it on home Chicago to stage That's lovely That's go bears That fourth down call It was absolutely atrocious I'm kind of wondering If Matt Nagy killed Ben Johnson

And took his skin suit And is actually calling plays On the sideline today As one does Because that shades of Matt Nagy Right there and I didn't like that at all Whoa, what? Amazing.

Skin suit, right? That was, I kind of wonder, finish with extreme thought. Yeah, that was for you, Grotie. I think that's a... What about a size 12? Perfect. Yeah, you've really got to stop delving into silence of the limbs in every impression. It never stops, man.

It really doesn't. Never does. See, now you're influencing our meatballs. I've consolidated all my impersonations, and it's just that. Meatballs and skin suits. Benjamin, David Johnson. Yes, that's his middle name. I look it up.

52 points in a season opener, and there's still six minutes left in this game. 52 points in this economy? Caleb looks solid. The offensive line looks great. The run game has been spectacular. He's – Caleb's spreading the ball around to multiple targets. Yeah, the defense has not looked spectacular,

but they've made enough plays. They've gotten a bunch of. bunch of turnovers. Sure, special teams need to stop giving Carolina and future teams short fields, but damn it, if this doesn't, this is completely unconventional to my

fandom and what I know from football, but if this is what the combination is going to be this year and this is how this team executes, this is the meatball machine. Are we looking at a Super Bowl team, my friends? Where?

Meat ball. Seventh. fun. 17 and all. That that was fun. I'm just relaxing, watching all this other

BS football, and think about how we just got 59 and Colston Loveland didn't get a touch. I would have never believed you

if he said we were going to get 59 points on the road and Colston Loveland wouldn't catch a ball. That was something else. Props to that offense. Ben knows something.

something. Ben must know something. I mean, that, the defense, ew, that, that was not good at all. And there was plays and, you know, but, you know, we'll get to that. We'll get to that. Because we're not going to score this 59 every week and we're going to need the defense down the road. But impressive. First day. Layla, Grody. No, no, no, no. Bear. So, I was listening in the morning. Joe Fortinball, one of the Vegas guys talking about, oh, this is going to be a pros versus Joe's matchup. You know, you fans, you casuals, you're taking the bears, but us experts, we're taking the Panthers.

And you know what? I held off. I held off on taking the bears. I should, I could be going to Disney World right now if I just follow up. You know what? I'm the expert now, right? Book me Fridays at like 1230 or so. I can give you the picks.

The cubs are going to get swept. I can say that, too. Oh. Anyone else? Any other questions? Just ask. Meatball machine first. The guy booking himself on the show.

Gotta love that. I actually like the solution he came with. You know, just tell people what you want. If Fishbane or Hogue cancels on Friday. That guy. That guy. Hey, what's up, y'all? I almost forgot about this.

I know I had to come in. Go ahead putting in my two cents. Man, go bears all the way out here in the Bay Area. They drive 59 on them. 59. Come on now. Nobody, none of us have ever seen that. Anyone within my listening voice, whatever, ain't never seen that.

All I'm going to say is, go bears. Go bear. Yeah. Hey, Grody, you got to get them like. 18 and a half bears 18 and 3 quarters just Just for that 59

So 59 bears Is what he did Anyway man I can't wait for the season To go ahead and season And you know Hey We might be

We might be privy to something big Y'all Go Bears Hey meatball machine Bears Nation is back We came into Carolina And destroyed those kitties Our offense

This looks like a juggernaut. And Caleb is coming for MVP. Buckle up because we're in for a fun season. Bear down. Green Bay sucks. Green Bay sucks. Green Bay sucks. Green Bay sucks.

Green Bay sucks. Bear down, baby. Hey Meatball Machine. You know, I'm trying not to be a meatball because I am a total. irrational human being, but my own mother has texted me multiple times today about the bears saying that she's never seen them score this many points. I don't know what to say about that because she's right. I can't remember the last time either. Because it hasn't happened. What do I do? I don't know. Go Bears.

Mob. 59 points. Lovewin doesn't catch a single pass. Caleb doesn't even throw for 300 yards. And they scored 59 points. That defense. Yeah. And some of the fumbling stuff that happened, also not good.

But, um, oh my God. Caleb is going to have an unbelievable season. They've got to keep that man up right and keep him healthy. Because if they can do both of those things, we could have a very, very fun winter. Bears. Nice. Good job, meatballs.

That is a successful week one of meatballs. We appreciate all of those. You guys are hilarious. You guys are the best. and coming up next on Rahimi and Grotie. It is time to transition with the afternoon show of Spiegel and Holmes. They join us in studio next here on the score.