Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - James Palmer talks Bears signing Kalif Raymond, Chicago's pass rush needs (Hour 2)

Episode Date: March 10, 2026

In the second hour, Leila Rahimi and Marshall Harris were joined by James Palmer of Bleacher Report and The Athletic, who shared his insight on the Bears' new additions and reacted to the biggest headlines coming out of the opening day of NFL free agency. After that, Rahimi and Harris discussed how the Bears still have a pass rushing problem that needs solved. Later, they conducted the Halftime segment.

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

This hour is brought to you by Jewel Osco. Here he is my guy, James Palmer. Get in here. We don't have a lot of time. You know what, James? I love him when you check in to Snitchville. Go ahead. All right, well, I'm a permanent resident, so here we go. I think there was a bit of cohesion issue within the offense. I think you started to see, and I know DJ knew this, Caleb really wasn't looking his way towards the back end of the season as much. And it didn't seem like there was a whole lot of, like, trust from, I don't know which direction from one side to the other.

I think DJ is a very professional receiver that plays the position. in that manner, if you understand that term. And I think Caleb is a little bit more of a difficult quarterback to play in that manner with. With Rahimi Harrison Grody on 1043 The Score. This is Rahimi Harrison Grotie on 1043 The Score. And joining us on our hotline. Also on Twitch, twitch.tv slash the score Chicago is our friend James Palmer. James is with the athletic.

He is the co-host of the Scoop City podcast with Diana Rossini. He's an NFL insider for Bleacher Report. and he is the co-host of 89 with Steve Smith. And he's our friend. James, how are you? Family, how are we doing? Oh, we good. It's day two.

We were waiting for some more hot scoops. Right? Yeah. Anything you... Yeah, we got a salty Schefter right now. It's already like we're off and running. He's all fired up and upset. It's been great to watch.

Wait, what is he upset about? We've been working on our show. Okay, well, see, so Shaft... Shepty was a little upset in that, I think, that studio, that Thunderdome studio, he was the first time in there and working his phones and what. not, but I think he's just kind of saying, you know, the league year, everybody says, the new league year, four o'clock Wednesday, he's like, no, free agency is, you know, noon on Monday. I mean,

nobody talked to anybody, right, guys? These deals just happened in an instant as soon as the legal tampering window opened, right? So I'm doing the math. There's no way nobody spoke to each other prior to that window, right? Do we need a legal tampering window for the legal tampering window? Is that what you're saying? Yeah, let's do this. Like, let's go by the book and say, like, we have to have a legal opportunity for two days that these teams can first speak to one another. But before we do that, let's put all of them in one city in Indianapolis in a number of watering holes, and they will not speak to each other. And not exactly a city, James, known for having a plethora of watering holes per capita.

Only few options. You know, and they close early-ish. This isn't the East Coast or Chicago, for example, where you can sneak off to some dive bar nobody knows about. Chances are you're going to see a lot of these people out and about. Listen, if you guys want to split a shrimp cocktail of St. Elmo's, just tell me right now, okay? That's what you want to do, James. We can do it. I'd love to do it. I didn't even go this year, which I was there for five days and I didn't even make it into St. Elmo's. It was a rare year. Oh, I was going to say, I was thinking you met the combine, actually, but to avoid St. Elmo's is

a feat. Sometimes they bring it to you guys with the early shrimp cocktail in the morning. All of that said, though, what do you think about a lot of the movies? that were done. Now, I'm going to say, I think you know this because you've been on our station a lot. We were very in love with the Max Crosby idea. We were very in love with Tyler Linderbom, especially since we knew him from playing at Iowa. But Max Crosby left the Raiders. Tyler, Linderbom went to the Raiders and the Bears don't have either guy. Yeah, Layla, but do you love either them at the cost that it would have taken? I guess that's the point of this offseason, right? Value is everything, right? And with the

Raiders essentially did to my understanding is they knew this was essentially over, and I feel like John Spitech was lying to my face at the Combine. Now, he was, they knew at the end of the season kind of the way that this was going to go, and they played it, I think, very, very well, and they just listened to offers. And was Chicago one of those teams that was, you know, in Indianapolis and other spots trying to kick the tires on Max Carlin? Certainly, there were a number of teams. But I kept hearing the same ones, and I kept hearing the Ravens, I kept hearing the bills, I kept hearing a couple of other teams, Chicago being one of them. And Dallas was certainly right there, I would consider them the runner-up on Max Crosby. But what John Spitech did is he essentially just

listened. He didn't set a price. And teams were in and they were trying to put their prices out there. Layland, essentially what ended up happening was when it came closer to the deal getting done and everybody realized that it was going to take two ones, that's when teams started dropping off like kids and really want this chocolate factory. They were just toast. They were off. So essentially it ended up being like Dallas, really wanted to, but couldn't essentially get there. And two ones are there for Max Crosby for the Ravens and they do a rare move for a team that's right there ready to try to get over the hump and oftentimes that happens with pass rushers. I don't know if, you know, Ryan Poles ever wanted to give up that amount of capital. I don't think so. And then

with Tyra Linderbom, I mean, I thought it was bonkers to say he's going to get 25. And then yesterday morning I kept hearing around the league like, no, no, this is going to get closer to 25. Like the market is 18 with Creed Humphrey in Kansas City. And then he gets 27. And it's like, Oh my gosh. So I don't think that was either, you know, in the realm either for Chicago. So I do think you have to be measured in a sense in terms of value. And I think Ryan Poles with both those deals was able to do that. My question is this with the Linderbaum signing specifically, because to reset the market at 150% of what the next highest AAV is from 18 million to 27 million, did the Raiders outbid themselves? Help me understand this, James. I think they did a little bit. And Marshall, you have to remember, there is a minimum you have to spend in the NFL. Like, the Raiders needed to spend money.

You know that Office episode where Michael finds out there's a surplus and he has to spend something? That's essentially what was going on with the Raiders. Like, they're so far below that over the next couple of years, they have to make sure that they spend. What I do think they did, and, you know, everybody overspends in free agency, so let's just say that that's there. But you overspent for a rare player that has no red flags and very few. of them reach free agency, right, in today's NFL. They're all locked up. But because of the way the franchise tag is with offensive linemen and him playing center and the way it went, him and Alec Pierce are the rare players that probably get there with no red flags at all. So you

overpay in free agency period. You overpay for a guy that really has no question marks next to his game. And then also, I think he makes your team better in essence of your top two players. I know Brock Bowers is probably right in that mix, but Ashen Denty, you take him in the top 10 last year. he's hit at or behind the line of scrimmage and probably 60% of his runs roughly. And you have a dominant run blocking center that fits exactly the way Clint Kubiak runs that scheme. So it's a force multiplier to where you're overpaid, but he makes your star running back that you invested a lot of draft capital in to get better. And then you have a number one overall pick that we all assume is going to be Fernando Mendoza. And who better than to have a very smart, savvy.

Obviously he's better in run blocking than pass blocking, but that type of center to be in front of your new quarterback. you may be overpaid, but at the same time, he makes your top two investments over the last two years exponentially better. And maybe that softens the blow a little bit about where they were at in terms of price. James, you want to join us for some breaking news? Yeah, hit me. So this, according to Ian Rappaport, the Bears are signing former Lions wide receiver and returner, Kleefe Raymond. Raymond, yeah. Adding an intriguing weapon in Chicago.

I think that's a good description for him. I was wondering if any Ben Johnson familiar guys would be. make their way over here. Took a little bit, but it finally happened. Yeah, I knew Khalif. I think he was in Denver, right, where I live. Kleefe's been around a little bit. Yeah, he is kind of that gadgety type of guy that can do a couple of different things for your receiver group.

After losing, I mean, he's not a replacement for DJ more, right? But after you lose a body in a room, sometimes you like to fill it. That's essentially what the bears have done this free agency, right? Linebacker out, linebacker out, safety, possibly out, safety. And so they kind of have stayed right in that same zone. But this is kind of one of those little guys that can be out there and make some plays for it. Yeah, it can be a third, fourth option in an offense that I think some of those top guys in terms of weapons are going to draw a lot of attention. James, I feel like I'm beating a dead horse, but the horse isn't dead.

The horse is very much alive. And that horse is opposing. Well, it's an expression. Don't take it literally. I think we have a disclaimer in our shows. Don't take Marshall's analogies literally. But listen, I've been talking about the Bears need for a better path. rush since I have been talking about the Bears.

And I'm trying to find the best path to that. It feels like the draft is an avenue that finally can maybe help with this. But from what you're seeing, whether it's draft because you were at the combine or now free agency in this kind of second wave. And also the fact that Trey Hendrickson's still out there available as a free agent, what do you think is the most prudent and smartest way for the Bears? any team trying to attack that common problem. Yeah, there's a couple of different approaches, Marshall, that teams take.

And the Bears might be in that group like you've seen in Buffalo a number of years, where it was, we're right there after we saw the run that Chicago went on. And I've seen the bills and covered them in the postseason where they've gone on these runs. And then they go, you know, we need a closer. Like that's oftentimes the way edge rushers are thought of for teams that are right there, certainly kind of like a baseball analogy essentially, like our dominant edge rush rusher is great for your roster when you're not close to winning a Super Bowl. I mean, we just watched Max Crosby's career in Vegas, right? It's different when you're a contender.

And Buffalo did that with Vaughn Miller. They did it with Joey Bosa. And you try to get these veteran guys that still have something in the tank that were, you know, some of the best in football and they're a little bit cheaper towards the end of their career. Those guys are all still available and there's still possibilities, I think, if you want to plug them in, I think you can wait a little bit. And I think there's a lure like Chicago partially has. Von Miller really takes into account, do I have a chance to win another Super Bowl? Like, money's not really an object to me. I think Joey Boe's is a little bit in the same vein. And can you kind of lure these guys in with the idea that, you know, they have an opportunity

to win a ring in Chicago and you can kind of wait them out in free agency? There's that path. Obviously, there's a path of drafting them and, you know, keeping them and making sure they never, you know, hit the likes of free agency and you keep giving them deals. The Trey Hendrickson one is obviously still out there, and it's out there. And to my understanding is because nobody's met his price. And we've seen Trey out there in golf attire during offseason activities where everybody's practicing and he's holding press conferences. He's a guy that holds pretty firm in where he believes his value is. And I think right now, when we all assumed on Monday, he was going to fly off the board pretty quickly in his first time in free agency at 31. It doesn't

happen. It's probably because he believes his value coming off that injury is still extremely high. But I do think in free agency is the hardest way to do it. The big, The biggest contract that was given out on Monday was Jalen Phillips, when the Panthers kind of swooped in behind the Eagles back and landed him to a four-year $120 million deal. That's a 26-year-old pass rusher in the prime, at a prime position, but also was an injury history. This could blow up in their face. It could be great for Dave Canales and Dan Morgan and company, but it could blow up in their face. There's a reason why these guys at the pass rushing position are available in free agency. So I'm always weary, Marshall, of going after that position in free agency.

I would prefer it in the draft. And if you don't go that way, then can you get those guys at the tailender of their career that can either rotate and kind of help you get after the quarterback in the fourth quarter and in certain instances? Well, James, I think part of it too is we talk to James Palmer, who works with the athletic and also with Leacher Report. I think part of the issue is on its face, if you say 30-year-old pass rush or once, 30 million coming off of a surgery. That's a rough headline. Now, when you factor in, it's Trey Hendricks and the individual. changes a lot of this, but I wonder how much of it still overrides the fact that he is indeed Trey Hendrickson. I totally agree with you later. And there's certain players that are considered

outliers. I think Trey might be it. I mean, if you take away the injury and how terrible things went honestly between the two sides this past year, each of the two previous seasons, what do you have? 17 and a half sacks? When he gets to the quarterback, he oftentimes strips the football. I mean, he doesn't wear gloves, which is still makes him one of my favorites, and I think Chicago would love him for that too. But there is always a risk with every free agent. And I think that's why these guys are available. That's why they're there. But at the same time, you look at these deals like Addafei Owe getting four years for $100 million from the commanders, like, listen, they haven't really connected on a lot of their big veteran type of moves lately. So you kind of

look at all of these going, I get it's Trey Hendrickson. And I've seen enough of him play to where I still think he has a ton left in the tank. And a lot of people around the league I talk to do believe that. But Trey is very firm with his numbers. And it's going to take the league in general to more or less tell him the number is going to go down. Because what often happens in free agency, as we were just talking about what Tyro Linderbaum is, it takes just one team to go, hell, I'll pay it. You know what I mean?

Like, that's all it takes and that's what he's waiting for. The league might collectively need to tell Trey Hendrickson that he's not going to be worth that. And in free agency, when teams panic, sometimes that doesn't work. When you look James at Kevin Byard and the success he had in kind of a resurgent year last year, past the age of 30, a third time now he's been first team all pro as a safety. I like the idea of the Bears pairing him with Kobe Bryant in the defensive backfield. But at the same time, I'm wondering, because much like Trey Henderson, I was surprised he was still on the board here as we go into day two of this.

I feel like the longer he's out there, the more likely it is he comes back to the Bears. but I would be surprised if he didn't get paid more than the $7.5 million a year the Bears were paying him. He's been a very fascinating player for the course of his career in all honesty. I think he's been undervalued in terms of dollars his entire career. He's never been put in that Derwin James and Kyle Hamilton and top safeties in the league group really at any point in his career. And I don't know why because I think we saw plenty of playmaking ability even at the age of. he was at this past season. And I know Chicago loves him, and I know Ryan Poles loves him, and he admitted at the combine, it might be a challenge to bring him back. But oftentimes with players

of this age, Marshall, you're kind of right where you're always keeping a tab. Like Bill Belichick used to do this all the time to where there were certain players that he had a strong affinity for, but he knew that they could possibly get paid elsewhere. But he also was like, if you get anything, just come back to me and tell me what it was, because obviously we'd love to have you, but I'm in some cap constraints here, and this is kind of a similar conversation. I think Ryan Poles could probably have with Kevin Byer. Like, just make sure you keep checking in with us and have the ability to possibly for us to match that. And it just because of the reputation has been what it is, and again, I don't know why, because he's an outstanding player,

might be beneficial to where things stand with Chicago right now. TBD, in a sense, but I do think the position as a whole has an increased value over the last two seasons, I would say. and then this past year with the entire world just talking about Nickyman Worry has really made the position a little bit more attractive in terms of teams' aggressiveness towards it specifically in the draft too. But I do think it's one of those situations because of the relationship and the age that you can continue to probably keep tabs and see if there's a possibility to bring him back. Because you're right, having both those guys back there, I think Kobe Bryant was a really, really good pick.

It's not a scheme fit entirely for him, but he's just enough of a player and brings that Super Bowl mentality, and those guys are oftentimes coveted to teams that feel like they're on the cusp. I think also, James, there's the penalty of perhaps drafting too well. Ian Rappaport pointed this out yesterday. The Ravens' 2022 draft class has collected $298.5 million in contract extensions, with Daniel Fah Lele still available. Kyle Hamilton, as you mentioned, $104 million. Tyler Linderbaum, $81 million.

Travis Jones, 40 and a half million. Charlie Kohler, 24.3 million. Jordan Stout, 12.3. Isaiah likely at 40. I never thought that you could draft too well, but perhaps that is the case here. It happens, certainly, and that's why we have the comp pick system put in place later. Is that a touchy subject in Chicago? I'm trying to bring up compensatory picks?

Is it touchy, or is it just the fact that the NFL doesn't want to enforce the spirit of the law that they decided to enact? Yeah, it is interesting that within the bylaws, within the written aspect of it, Lely, yeah, it says, you know, a decision-making role, i.e. general manager. Essentially, when you use the term general manager in your description of it, it makes it, I think, completely insane. But that's why when you draft that way, again, the salary cap infringes on your ability to keep everybody. Seattle's going through this because John Snyder drafts really, really well, and everybody wants your players after you win a Super Bowl. I remember that happened in 2015. in Denver with an unbelievable defense that got torn apart because of salary cap constraints and you draft all these guys really, really well. The prior that I look at in a direct example of what this is is like Rashid Walker still available out there as a left tackle who's a serviceable left tackle. Is he great left tackle? No.

But they drafted him in the seventh round. He's probably going to get paid in the next 48 hours here. And then they're going to get probably a third round pick in return. You got to keep flipping it in that sense when you hit on certain guys and they walk in free agency. But it's also why I think you have to do deals early. I had a great conversation with George Payton at the Combine. And one of the things Denver has done, and you just saw them bring in zero players,

only re-sign their own players on the first day of free agency, was that he does deals really, really early. And when you draft well, you have to do deals early. Now, Nick Benito is an absolute steal as a pass rusher. And so is Jonathan Cooper. And Pat Sertan's deal is, like, he's like the fifth highest paid corner in football now, and that's a steal. And so doing deals early,

when you draft well, I think is really the key, but oftentimes people try to kick the can down the line and they get themselves in trouble. James, I just, before we let you go, I did want to say, please give my best to your dad, who I worked with for a long time in Philadelphia, Scott. That's why I dropped the family. Yes, yes. And then I also tell your sister I said, what, today's her birthday. Oh! Today is my sister's birthday, for sure. And I will text, Jen. I will text her up. Yeah, my dad's hanging out in Clearwater with the Phil's, hopefully a big signing today. anything at a press conference, locked the picture.

He runs those press conferences. And we'll just say, say hi to Megan Nicks for me as well, too. So everybody's covered. Yeah, for sure. Everybody is covered. Yeah, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you for also hanging out with her afternoon show.

And thanks for taking the time out of a very busy NFL day. So we appreciate it. Anything for you guys. That's a Nick's painting right there, Lela. No, are you serious? 100% it is. Yes. Love that.

You have a star on your hands. That's outstanding. It's for sale, everybody, if anybody wants. There you go. James, thanks again, and congratulations to Nix on wonderful talent. We appreciate it. Thanks, James. I'll tell you said what's up. See you guys, Marshall. That is James Palmer, who hosts Scoop City with The Athletic, and he is also an NFL insider for Bleacher Report and the co-host of 89 with Steve Smith. So let's pick up where we left off with James, because we've touched on it a little bit in our discussion surrounding the Bears inactivity or at least basic activity when it comes to addressing the defensive line.

Minimal activity is what we'll call it. Essential activity? Sure. I think that that probably falls under the category of Neville Gallimore being essential activity. It's probably not enough. So how much is it going to be? We'll figure that out next.

The podcast Campus Files is back with more stories of scandal, crime, and intrigue on college campuses. Campus Files. Available now wherever you get your podcasts. Rahimi Harrison Grody. I don't want to break time. I want to yell at Barson. Can we handle more Anthony Heron?

Midday's 10 to 2 on 1043, the score. Time consumed for only one yard. Take the snap at 52. And now they've got them. It's Hendrickson. One play after nearly getting to him. This time he completes the deal. Trey Hendrickson stacking Patrick Mahomes.

This is Rahimi Harrison Grody. That was courtesy of CBS. And every time I hear Jim Nance now, all I want to say is, I don't know, Jim. I really don't know. I don't know either. Tony Romo would be right on that if he were saying it now. This is Rahimi Harrison Brody. And that's it.

We went over it a little bit at the top of our show. We talked about it with James Palmer a bit. But the pass rusher of your dreams doesn't appear to be walking through the door for the bears. But the pass rusher of perhaps Ryan pulls his dreams is still on the bears. I do think they deserve time. I think Grady Jerich got better as the season went on. We didn't know he was going to have to have a surgery, though, and that got reported by

Brad Biggs after the fact when he was out for an extended amount of time at the beginning of the season. Diro Dangbo, like we said, we'd love to know which Achilles he tore in 2021. one in addition to knowing it was the right one in November of this year, and then trying to figure out that timeline. And then in addition, understanding that Max Crosby was available, goes to the Ravens for the two first rounders. And then we see that Trey Hendrickson is out here as a free agent, but hasn't found a home yet. I think James is right. I think James knows that Trey has a price in mind, which wouldn't make it make sense, given all of the consternation he's had over

his contract the past two seasons. And then there's also the fact of the matter of there's not a ton of NFL teams who can afford him. The Bears right now would have to do some very creative accounting in order to get it done. So the good news for the Bears is that the number one free agent Eddrusher is Trey Hendrickson and he is still available. That's the good news. The bad news is, and I'm using CBS Sports on this one. I think I'm looking at the same free agent tracker that you are. You start at guys who are listed, I don't know, number two, O'Dafie O'A, number three, Higo. Jalen Phillips, Higgo. Boye Maffey.

He go. John Franklin Myers. Higong! And then you get what, and I get it with the textures, I get it. They're like, I don't want an old guy to rush the passer. But you start seeing, I don't know, Janavian Clownie. Wait, is Clowney still out there? That's what a question.

I think he signed a one-year deal with the Cowboys. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. But he's not in the top 100. I know who is still out there. A Bosa. You can get yourself a Bosa, fresh off the bills. Fresh off being PFF's number 29, edge. I mean, even Kingsley and Agbari signed a deal.

What I'm saying to you, Layla, is that on day one, edge rushers got snapped up quick. And that's why I tend to believe, that the help is coming from the draft, point blank, period. The help is coming from the draft. I just, I don't think it's a bad strategy this time. I do not think that with the 25th overall pick, given who you have under team, given what your needs are,

given that you still have to sign three more safeties, I don't think it's a bad problem. Here's where it gets to be a problem, though, is if you still cannot rush and get home like you want to. You still can't disrupt the passer. What makes it even worse is we know that the pass rush and run defense are married. A lot of times the bears think they're getting a good pass rusher. What they get is a good run defender.

That's the upside. It's because your defensive linemen still tackle well at the line of scrimmage. We have not seen enough of a pass rush. We've seen opposing quarterbacks get way too comfortable. See Jordan Love in that first game, for example. and then what we've also seen, and the Packers are another good example of this, they control time of possession like nobody else does in the league.

You can run. You can run on the Bears. You can run effectively. Throw the slot patterns, run effectively, and that is a simple trite and true way to win. Are you familiar with the adage, get you one who can do both? Like, that's the goal here,

is to get somebody who can play on the edge and can both stop the, the run effectively, but also get after the quarterback. And unfortunately for the Bears, they're paying a guy a lot to do that. And he's done what I would call an adequate job, Montez Sweat. Has he been as consistent as you would like? Of course not, because Max Crosby exists, you know. Michael Parsons exists.

Miles Garrett exists. And sometimes I go back and forth in my own head trying to be like, is that standard reasonable? Because we're talking about future Hall of Famers when we talk about them. Can you not just have waves of guys as the last two Super Bowl champions have had? See, and even on our text line, it's split.

630, I don't want an old guy or a pre-injured guy, 309. Cam Jordan in a rotation would be awesome. There's a million different paths you can take here. Or there's the text. People say they don't want an old. past rusher, but then they want Cleal Mack. I think he just gets a pass because he's a former bear. Nostalgia is a hell of a drug.

I think that's what they remember 12 and 4. They remember having a chance. They remember things going poorly after that, but they remember we had that one season. And the whole goal here is to make sure that 2025 isn't quote unquote that one season. Also, we are talking about the line and we are talking about and end and edge rusher, but as we've seen, there have been very successful pass rushers out of the linebacker position specifically in the NFL last season. So I factor that in as well and also acknowledge this

question. Would you say the position that has seemed to have lost importance on the defense must be the linebackers based on the moves the bears have made that signed from Chris and Milwaukee? I don't necessarily think so, but I think they prioritize the linebacker in a different way. Like, for example, we talked about when Tremaine Edmonds left, one of his upsides, wasn't just that he looked more comfortable and he seemed to be more productive for the Bears this past season, but also he had four interceptions to his name to go along with the 112 tackles in the regular season. So the Bears get Devin Bush, who they think is an upgrade speed-wise, and he also had a career

high, two pick-sixes, three total interceptions, three-year-30 million-dollar deal. Do they think that he could be another bull? ballhawk for them. But is he a kind of player we've seen who's a major pass rusher out of that spot? No. I don't think the Bears use their linebackers in the same way, say, last year's Giants did, or say the Pittsburgh Steelers, something along those lines. No, I see the speed being the greatest asset here and the upgrade and speed from Edmonds to him and that speed is upgraded, whether it's Edmonds you're talking about or T.J. Edwards, frankly, this is a guy who's a former top 10 pick before being deemed somewhat of a bust in Pittsburgh.

and then find a new life last year. When you see what he's able to do with the Browns defense, that was great. Unfortunately, the offense, not as great. So that's the way I look at him specifically coming into this. I will say this, Leila, if you're looking at how are the bears going to get to the quarterback, based on what we've heard from Ryan Poles and his dependency on guys playing closer to what his expectations are, whether they're coming off injury or not, a lot of this is just Dennis Allen being able to him up what he has.

Well, and what is one of the big phrases that Dennis Allen likes to say, Marshall? He can run. Emphatically, beautifully, happily when he talks about, say, the draft picks that he had gotten. Ruben Hippolyte. He can run. That's something that he greatly desires. Also, when you look at the sack leaders in the league, you know, Brian Burns is who I'm

thinking of when I think he's not your traditional pass rusher. he's listed as a linebacker, but you know how the Giants used him to the tune of 16 and a half sacks, second to only Miles Garrett in the regular season. You know, that's a good example. Montes-Wed, of course, listed with his 10, that put him at 15. You know who is still in the top 20, by the way? Still. Who?

Von Miller. Von Miller had nine sacks. He's an old guy, but he gets it done. Genevian Clowny had eight and a half. He's not young. And he still gets it done. But when it comes to listed out of the linebacker position, we know how guys move around.

Nick Benito fits into that, but we know that he usually line up on the line, especially in the Blitz look that Denver would give. The game against the Patriots, the AOC Championship game, is a good example of that. But there is some flexibility in how you view linebackers, but the bear seemed to be fairly consistent in how they replaced Tremaine Edmonds. I want to know what moves are going to be made between now and the draft to get them in position to be able to not only just take the best player available each time their draft pick comes up,

but to have them feeling like they have enough of a core to go into training camp and understand that the defense has been upgraded. And so looking up and down and understanding that guys are hurt and guys are coming back from injury, not just obviously up front, also in the secondary. It's how are you piecing that together? And I think these next couple of days are going to be big in that because you don't know what, as I would call it, the runoff is going to be guys who think they're going to get paid a certain amount. Trey Hendrickson falls into this category. But other guys, too, there's a long list of guys that we see every year who last through the first wave of free agency. And then you just hope you can get some value fines in free agency, maybe even a week into it or two weeks or a month into it.

but I think the issue still remains. The pass rush was not enough. And unlike what Ben Johnson has to say when it comes to having sacks with a lead, the Seattle Seahawks showed you why sometimes the best up is the one at the line and it is not when you have the lead or it is not when you have a two touchdown lead

or a one touchdown lead. It's when you have a one field goal lead and you've got to make some serious hey. It's the field position. It's knowing that they can get a stop rushing four down linemen. It's knowing that they have waves of pass rushers. And that any time your offensive production was going to be stunted mid-drive because they were so good at getting a stop when they needed one.

Even when you didn't need one, they would get stops. Text line's hilarious, Leila. 6-30. All this bears angst. I need to eat a can of frosting. I support it. And yes, 847, Kim Jordan, would. be perfect being paired with Dennis Allen, which is why that happened for many, many years in the

NFL. 3-1-2. Maybe polls won't be aggressive for a defensive end in free agency, but maybe we'll be in the draft, trade up. Look, I don't know that they need to trade up. I think there's enough edge rushers. Yeah. I don't think, though, that Zion Young is going to be available.

I think he gets taken higher. Also, 9-20. This might be the one, Leila. You can put lipstick on Di-O-Ding, but. but it's still going to be Di O'Donbo and his one sack. He's going to be so mad at us that by the time he's able to play,

he's going to be like Forrest Whitaker on Fast Times or Ridgemont Eye and he's going to tackle everything. That was amazing. They messed up that man's car and then he messed up the opposition on the football field. Yes, I am nodding.

Nodding in fear and respect. Okay. There's a very, very important story affecting the fabric of our time. I think you're right. This goes beyond just the playing lines. This is somewhat out of bounce,

or at least it was deemed to be out of bounce by one professional sports organization. It's like Tipper Gore stepped in for no reason. We'll do that next. Hey, everyone, I'm Josh Radner, and I am so excited to tell you about how we made your mother a rewatch podcast looking back at how I met your mother. And I'm here with Craig Thomas,

who co-created the show along with Carter Bays. Hi, Craig. Hey, Josh, somehow it has been 20 years. since the show premiered. I'm going to check the math on that. 10 years since it went off the air. And we thought that made this a perfect time to look back, see what the hell we did and why the show still seems to resonate with fans around the world today. Follow and listen to How We Made Your Mother, wherever you get your podcasts.

What time, my dude? It's halftime. It is indeed halftime. And as of 1145 today, Trey Hendrickson is still available. I don't think he's going to the Bears. I'm sorry. Could. I'm sorry.

Could. Prove me wrong. Then we'll have a great. time. In the meantime, we talked about the Bears' moves that they had made so far. Benjamin Solac was on with Spiegel and Holmes yesterday. Strongly recommend going back and listening on the Odyssey app. You can click on that specific segment and listen to it because he was great. So we brought back some of what he had to say about how Kobe Bryant, the new safety, fits into the Bears secondary, and also how Garrett Bradbury fits on the offensive line,

and how I personally, me, Leila, thought that Braxton Jones did the Bears a favor. Because I think Braxton Jones could have gotten paid. And then we talked to James Palmer at 11 o'clock. Got some breaking news, too, about the report of the Bears agreeing to a deal with Khalif Raymond, the former Lions wide out and returners. So this is good. They're calling that an Antoine Rendell L signing. Well, that's right.

Okay, so he did, on the coaching side, he got one of his guys. But I was waiting on the player side to see if he was going to get one of his guys. He got one of his guys. So we've got that going for us, which is nice. Does it change how I feel about Jod A. Walker? No, I think he's still going to somehow get involved in all of this. Is that wrong? I like development.

He seems like a player that you've developed. Correct. So that is where we stand now, as we also talk about the lack of pass rush. It's laptop. This is an injustice. This is Travis sham mockery. It also just

why did people who aren't involved have to get involved? Oh, that's right, because we live in America. You say you want to protect the children, yet there are obvious ways to protect the children, but I don't think canceling Magic City Night in Atlanta was one of them. This sucks. Layla. Buzzkill.

My favorite thing that's come out of this is the reaction on social media, and there has been an abundance of reaction on social media. Can I read a few of the tweets? Yeah, are any of the men speaking for women? Those are always my personal favorite. Well, I think I have men speaking, but they're speaking up in support of Atlanta. Here's Trevor Scales, SportsCenter Anchor, who's from Atlanta, by the way. I wonder how that Clippers investigation is coming along since we got so much time to get in folks' business.

Exactly. What are we doing here? someone tweeted a picture of the Hawks back when they were the number one seed and if you'll remember Al Horford was that team and he was in the middle of the photo but they took Al Horford out the photo since he was one of the people who complained about Magic City Monday. Yeah, because what are you doing Al Horford? You're not one of them anymore. You can't be. So yes, Magic City, much to Luke Cornett's happiness.

Because what did it have to do with Luke Cornett exactly? I'm still not quite sure. The NBA swooped in and canceled, kind of like the process, kind of like the NBA stopping the process. They canceled the March 16th promotion due to concerns raised throughout the league about giving a strip club the spotlight.

They were selling hoodies. It's not like they were selling something else and wings, which everybody knew they were famous for. Adam Silver made the announcement saying, when we became aware of the Hawks scheduled promotion, we reached out to Hawks' leadership, to better understand their plans and rationale. What plan and rationale did you need?

They wanted to celebrate something that people enjoy. They knew their audience. The question is, why didn't anybody else? Because we live in two Americas. That's why. If you want the real answer. I will speak up for women. Well, did anybody ask a woman how she felt about this?

Since there's all these men speaking out for them all the time? Probably not There were a lot of statements being made though That Luke Cornett came out with a whole thing Al Horford as I mentioned came out with a whole thing The bad news is they have these sweet hoodies right And if you didn't pre-order one of these hoodies They won't be selling these hoodies

You had to have pre-ordered Those sales will be honored, no more sales So those things are going for a thousand on the black market But what's going to happen to those Because you had them all made Are you going to incinerate them Which is an environmental hazard? do I need to talk to you about clothing waste in the world?

And as far as sending a bad message to the women of the NBA community, here's the thing. Reverse it to men, right? Reverse it to men. Does a woman speak out for men and say this is bad for all men? No, men would say, oh, there's a bunch of us, we have different opinions on things. So why is it that women have to have the same opinion on mass, despite being 51% of the world's population? Wouldn't that indicate that women's opinions vary based on topic and idea? And that they could, I don't know, speak for themselves.

Are you saying that not all people think alike in groups of people that we tend to lump together? I think it's always funny when people say, on behalf of women, X, like some one outcome. Because you would never do that if the situation were reversed for a man. And you can use that exercise for a lot of things. Oh, well, we had a woman in that spot. we're never going to do that again. Well, you would never say, oh, a man had that job. We'd never hire a man again.

That just doesn't happen. So I feel like this falls under that kind of concept. There's been a lot of talk. You know who's been getting a lot of the... And sell the hoodies. Sell the hoodies. Who cares? Donate the money to a charity and then everybody wins.

I should have purchased one of these hoodies. They're sweet hoodies. If you want to do something for women from this, why don't you donate the money from the hoodie sales to a battered woman's charity? that would make something good happen. And I'm just using that as an example. I'm not implying any certain outcome here. But if you want to do something that's positive for women,

sell the hoodies then and then donate them to a cause that is for women who are in rougher times or are being diminished. Or in this case, you know, having a situation where that money could really go far. You're trying to be constructive and do positive things. here. That's not the nature of how social media or complainers in general work these days. I just want to point that out.

I admire your thought process in this, Leila, but I think you're being a bit unrealistic. Let's check in with... Offering suggestions and solutions as opposed to just complaints. I know it's not my usual mode of operation either, but I feel like it's the right one. Let's check in with Luke Cornyette, who just spoke with Spurs, the Spurs Beat on the cancellation of Magic City, and I quote, that feels appropriate. I see the news and obviously the league has to do what they have to do, talking to people and figuring stuff out and not just acting quickly. I think they made the right move.

But we moved on pretty quickly. We moved on pretty quickly. Because it never had anything to do with you. Yeah, that's kind of the thing. Another good tweet, because I like to... They're playing the Orlando Magic. They're not playing the Spurs. They're not.

I wonder how Robert Orie would feel about this. I'm trying to find the actual tweet with the photo of the Carl Malone statue. Can't find that at this moment. But there have been a lot of Carl Malone digs here. One featured this talking about the cancellation. And unlike Carl Malone, Magic City checks ID. Yeah, yeah. Oh, but save the children and save women.

Carl Malone. In case you didn't know, Carl Malone had to settle and pay child support after impregnating a 12-year-old while he was in college in Louisiana. Those were the allegations, and I say he was never convicted of anything in criminal court,

but he did settle and pay child support. So that exists. And there's a statue of him out front in Salt Lake City. You know what I think happens to those hoodies? What? I'm very curious as to your theory on this. I think they end up on the dancers.

Oh That is a novel idea Oh and by the way No wings either Because why have wings To celebrate Like if you would set a restaurant Or as to how it's described

In some places Where I used to live Lunch with a view And here's the funniest part Is you hear me advocating for this I haven't gone to any But that's the point I don't go

But that doesn't mean That I'm gonna Tell other people what to do And again That's the difference There were not going to be dancers at the game or anything. It was more about TI performing, putting on for his city. There was a podcast beforehand. They were going to offer the wings that everyone raves about

from Magic City at the game in three different locations in the arena. Or just sell the hoodies and then donate the money to charity and a good cause. Oh, I found the tweet I was looking for. David Dennis Jr. tweets out a statue, picture of Carl Malone talking in front of his statue the day. It was unveiled in Utah. I'd much rather explain to my kid what Magic City is than go to a jazz game and explain to them who this is a statue of. 7.08. So wait, they want to speak on behalf of women, but don't want to come up with ideas or solutions for the fake outrage when speaking for women. Nailed it. Also, it was women in leadership who came up with this idea to begin with. But did they don't count? Some other guy who has a job in San Antonio. He does, though.

Don't forget about the guy with the job in San Francisco. Just do yourself a favor and find a spot where it sounds absolutely ridiculous because it always does to say, speaking on behalf of all men as a woman, never going to happen. I speak on behalf of me, and that's it. There's a thought. There's a thought. Let people do what they do. And if you're that offended by what somebody else is doing, here's a thought.

Don't pay attention to it. Concepts. Five on it is next. Hey, y'all. I'm Maddie. And I'm Poodle. And together, we host the podcast, Reality Gays. We are two ridiculous homosexuals who love nothing more than talking about reality television and tearing in a new one.

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