Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - Mark Potash tells us what he thinks is sustainable about the Bears | Take The North

Episode Date: January 31, 2026

From 'Take The North' (subscribe here): We have former Chicago Sun-Times reporter Mark Potash filling in alongside Mark Grote for this one. Potash explains why he's so confident the Bears will continue to have success when the 2026 season comes around. Also in this episode, Grote and Potash look closely at the Bears defense. What do they need to add most in order to improve next season? To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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What's the reason, Doc? It's here with your host of these guys. Dan Weiderer. The whole key to sustaining success in this league is to have a quarterback play that is top tier and can consistently push you down those roads. Mark Grody. We're allowed to at this point. Bears fans are allowed to right now, dream big and predict what you want out of the season. We're going to take the North and never give it back. Hello again, everybody and welcome into the Take the North podcast along with Mark Potash, who is filling in for our guy, Dan Weederer, Potsie, of course, the former Sun Timesman. And he still writes and creates for his own domain.

Mark potash.net. Potzi, it is a blast to have you back on the podcast here on Take the North. How you doing, man? I'm doing great, Mark. Thanks. Great to be on the show. Absolutely. We love having you. Dan, as we record this, interestingly enough, is down the hall from me where he is performing a radio show. He is currently part of the Spiegel and Holmes show, filling in for Lawrence Holmes. So he's sorry he couldn't be here. but Mark, he did tell me to tell you, hello. Well, I appreciate that. I'm always willing to take his leftovers. That's the state of my life right now, Mark.

I'm here for it. It is funny to me that in the shop in which I work, where I have my full-time job right here at the score, where we are conducting this podcast, the person who doesn't work full-time in this building, has left his responsibilities of the podcast behind to be doing a part-time job that he is not usually a part of. I don't get it.

It doesn't actually make sense to me now that I'm putting it together, Mark. Well, you know, he's got, Dan's got a lot of irons on the fire. Everything's going good for him. He's got too many jobs. I don't have enough. I'm not sure we've got to do something about that. Yeah, help a potsey out for crying out loud. I mean, I don't like seeing the word former behind the Sun-Timesman and all the value that you have provided.

Yeah, it became tougher and tougher to watch the season. It was interesting from the outside looking in. I stayed with it and tried to stay connected, but it became tougher and tougher to watch the season and not be there every day. That was a very much more difficult kind of transition that I thought, and I really missed it. So that's why I'm always glad to talk bears. It makes you feel a part of it again. Well, that's interesting, too, and that's probably a good place to pick up the Bears talk, because that's the season in a nutshell.

It was more than ever, it was a season in which you just have to let it be fluid. You just have to sort of let it play out. And that's difficult. It was difficult for me. It can be difficult for all of us to not make grand proclamations about a season. But to your point about how it got better and better and better, it felt like early in the season. and you and I probably at some point in time talked about it, whether on air or off the year. There was something about it that didn't feel sustainable earlier in the season.

But by the end of the year, it started to feel as fortunate as some of the bounces were for the bears, even in the end of the season. There was a lot that felt sustainable about the way they were winning in the final six or seven games, which leads me to the idea that it feels sustainable going into the end. this next season, which I haven't felt in forever, Mark. Yeah, I mean, and Mark, the three elements, we've talked about it before, the three elements that made it so sustainable or made it real, made it happen this year, and make it sustainable, you know, the coach, the quarterback, the offensive line are pretty much still there.

So, so I think, you know, the Bears are going to be, hey, the Bears won seven games with fourth quarter rallies. Their coach didn't make any friends at the end of the season in the playoffs. they're going to be pegged as a team that will falter that is due for a fall in 2026 because they have the sustainable, seemingly unsustainable elements of all those miracle comebacks, all those breaks, 33 takeaways on defense. That in and of itself is not sustainable. So they will be pegged as a team, but I go back to the same thing. When you have the coach and the quarterback in place, that's a game changer as far as that goes.

And I think that's where they at least start. They have a foundation of being sustainable. And frankly, you know, it doesn't get talked about it. They also won seven games, but they lost four games late also. They were eight and five in one score games. That's not the kind of, you know, I think it's the Vikings in 2020 and like 11 and in one score games. Yeah.

Then last year they were nine and one. They faltered again. the Chiefs, I think, were 11 and 0 last year in one score games. Then they went 1 and 9 this year. When you're that fortunate, you know, 11 and 0, 9 and 1, then you're due for a falloff. They were 8 and 5. That's a much more sustainable record in one score games,

especially when the strength of your team is coming back. And that goes back to something I'm sure we'll get to, and that's going back to 2018, the last fair's playoff team, which is when, you know, they have. had that great season, everything went their way, but their defense, not only was their defense, even if Vic Fangio stays their defense, the strength of their team isn't going to be the same. And when he left, it dropped off. You know, they dropped off to what I think was like from first to 25th and interceptions,

from like ninth to 28th and sacks. I mean, they couldn't sustain that. And when the offense didn't make progress, they fell off. This is a much different situation. The strength of this team is, unless they get injuries, is going to be. better next year. Because they have the coach, they have the quarterback, and they have at least four-fifths of an offensive line. And so if I'm betting on it, I know they're going to be picked as a team to fault or to fall. If I'm betting, I'm betting it's almost more likely that they

at least sustain that record. Well, and the biggest. In my last first and 10 of the season, I think I had, what, 11 and 6, the same record they had had this year. I just believe they have because of that foundation that the bears have never had, I think that's the reason for optimism. Right, because for once we're talking about offensive sustainability and you feel like they can get it together defensively, even though they did live a charmed life in a lot of ways. And when they didn't force the turnovers,

they were exposed defensively. And we saw it get better in the final game. I mean, they were really good against the Rams. The defense was. So I'm not saying it was all bad. Well, the weather helped or two. Let's not forget that. Yeah.

If that was played in L.A., that would have been like a 3128 game. Oh, really? You think so? You think Stafford? Because Stafford looked rattled in that game, though. Didn't he? No, they were good defensively, but they had to win it almost literally the wind at their back. So, I mean, I'm just saying I'm not sold on that as, as, you know, something that,

a big statement for the Bears defense. Okay. Okay. They were good. Hey, Dennis Allen did a great job. He made the most of this defense, and that's a credit to him, and a credit to Ben Johnson for hiring him. It made a big difference.

That could have been a disaster. That defense with the injuries they had, you know, the funny thing is about the defense is what they had going in, they had the elements. You know, they, same old thing. They had playmakers at all three levels. They had the elements of a good defense. And then they had injuries. Yeah.

Starting with Jalen Johnson and then Kyler Gordon, and then all of a sudden now they're, now they're vulnerable. And so Dennis Allen really made a difference. But I guess going back to the original point is, yes, that was a good defensive performance against a good, you know, the best offense in the league. But I have to, in all objectivity, I think they had a little bit out. Okay. You know what?

While we're at defense, I'm glad we got there and that's the beauty of a podcast. We can spray in all sorts of directions and we could circle back to stuff. But I am thinking about the defense and there's a couple names that you didn't mention right there. and understandably because neither made an impact this year. One of those is Dio Dangbo, who was hurt early in the game after really, he had a sack in the first game against Minnesota, but that might have been where it is.

He may have had 1.5, but he was not a factor, nor was Shamar Turner, the second round rookie player. Neither was a factor because of injury as easily as it is to look negatively upon, especially O'Dangbo, because we weren't sold on him before he even. and came here, you do have him coming back this year. And if we're going to sit here and praise the development of, especially, I guess, more on the offense of side, but praise Dennis Allen and say Dennis Allen can, you know,

make players out of guys, can develop players. You have to look at it that way and say, okay, O'Dangoa coming back. That is a plus. Shemar Turner coming back certainly is a plus because we have no idea what he can do. So that's an optimistic way. to look at a couple of freebies that you kind of get back on your board this year. Obviously, you have to think bigger about the more expensive pieces, like your two safeties that are both out of contract, your two starting safeties.

Do you want to continue to pay Tremaine Edmonds to be that off-ball linebacker? So there's tons of questions on defense. How are you looking at everything, Mark? Well, I think the defensive line is the most interesting part of the team, because usually when you're a week in an area and you want to approve, you have whole obvious holes. They have places like, you know, Shemar Turner was, was not great.

I mean, he was a disappointment as a rookie, a disappointment before he got hurt. And so was O'Dangbo. So if O'Donbo coming back prevents him from trading for Max Crosby, that might be a negative, you know? I mean, so you have something coming back and it's just an absolute X factor. That doesn't mean in the second year, O'Donbo can be better than he was and be what,

be what Ryan Poles wants him to be, or expects him to be. But that's a trick. I guess what I'm saying is that's a little bit of a tricky roster situation. Because you're not going to cut those guys. They're both coming back. But if they prevent you from getting better or from making other changes, that could end six games in the next year we could be talking about something we think is a positive now.

We're saying, well, that, you know, that kind of set them up for failure. So I guess what I'm saying is we don't know if that's good or bad. that they have those coming back. But it's better. Right now, it's, it's, it's a positive because it's something they got zero out of two positions they got very little out of last year that they have a chance to get more out of this year. And then Dennis Allen is a factor in that too. You know, that's another thing. They're not going to lose Dennis Allen. That's something. When you have a defense coordinator, no offense, who's been, you know, twice fired head coach, he's not going to get a lot of offers. So it's not going to lose your, you know, you're not going to lose

your coordinators. You know, you're not going to, you're not going to lose Ben Johnson. the beauty of having, you know, that's why people said, why are you keeping Iber Fluse when you have this number, this number one pick quarterback coming in and they ended up getting, you know, because, because you need an offensive guy, because you're not going to lose the offensive guy. You lost the defensive guy in 2018. Now you're not, now you're not going to. So I'd say overall, they're in pretty good, they're in pretty good shape to, to take another step in year two, just like the Lions did with Campbell and Johnson in 2023. Even though Ben Johnson is, and I'm sure that you have heard Ben Johnson

and how he could not have pivoted more quickly to next season than he did. And it started with... Almost four words in, right? Yeah, yeah. Before the last season. Yeah, yeah. that one too yeah but even even after the game it was

even after you lost L.A. and the players uttered the same because Ben Johnson said it to them and that is that you know this none of this is coming back that you well obviously some of it is coming back but you can't just assume that there is going to be carryover for that

you know it's been interesting that his messaging has been so hard but I like it and I wanted to bounce it off of you because you and I have seen it and have been pessimistic and cynical about some of these past winning Bears teams because they were won and done's. Like the 2001s of the world, the 2018s of the world, which really was that, even though it never really was like rock bottom in that era. It slowly went down. But at least this coach has, not necessarily because of the Bears past, has that knowledge of understanding the way.

the real world works that you're not a field goal kicker away like in 2019 from getting back to winning a playoff game yeah this is this is not uh this is not that this is not a one and done team they could not make the playoffs next year but make it two of the next two or three years after that i mean this is you can't even look at it like as a next year thing this is a four or five year thing where i think i that's why i say they yeah they could falter next year i mean they're still you know Yeah. But the next year, they're going to be, they'll be set up. They'll still be set up to take a step.

So big picture-wise, they're in much better shape than they've been. And it all stems from Ben Johnson. I mean, you can't say enough about him. I always say, you know, I've always been big on just the whole dysfunction of the bears and how it just consumes everybody who walks in there. Ben Johnson was the one guy in that place. He's been the one guy in there who has been untouched by Bears dysfunction. I've said it many times, I'm sure, you know, many, I've said many times that, like,

he, you know, he has to change Hall's Hall's Hall before House Hall changes him. And he definitely did. They do things differently. Even to the press conferences, if you know, even, you know, they had separate press conferences. He was in a team. And then Ryan Poles was second. Normally they have both guys up there, which is really, which is very unproductive,

especially for us, to have, like, your coach and your coach. your GM there. You're playing volleyball with questions to one, the other. This is the way you do it. And it's just funny that they just happen to best start doing things right like that, even though one small thing that doesn't matter to a lot of people, when Ben Johnson gets here. So I think that's the most important thing as far as you talk about sustainability and will they grow from here. I think Ben Johnson makes, he's the difference right now. We'll see. At this point in time, you know, Madagie, I think he even kind of implied in stories about, you know, his candidacy. that were done later in the season for head coaching job,

that he wasn't the same guy. He stopped being you in year two. We'll see if that happens. And all of a sudden he was different. And things changed in year two for him. And we'll see if that happens to Ben Johnson. But I highly doubted, just knowing even from afar, not being in the building like I used to be,

even from afar, I can just see that his fortitude, just the power of his will, his personality, if you will, is strong enough to sustain that and make changes. They do things from them just breaking the bank to pay him and from Ryan Poles trading for Joe Tunney and signing Drew Dalman instead of Ryan Bates and who's the lineman, the guard. Noah Jackson or Jonah, oh, Nate Davis. Oh, last year. Yeah.

My point is look at the impact he's made. He's made people better. And he's made everybody better with the, I always say with the exception of getting the stadium. That's the only thing that didn't happen. That was the one thing they didn't get done this year. But that's the one thing he did not have his hands on, right? So like everything he touched, I think, has been positive.

And I just think that's the way he is. I think it's been. So I guess my overall point is I think he's the difference. He's the reason when you say, well, how is this going to be different from, like 20th, 2019 or whatever, or any other bear situation. It's because the head coach actually kind of runs things at Hallis Hall now instead of Halis Hall kind of consuming him with the way they do business.

And that's a huge factor. Yeah. It makes the Bears a different organization. It does. And I'll admit, after reflecting upon it, the optics were right at Hallis Hall the other day. As you said, they didn't have the dual function lectern this time. That's one thing.

But the other part of it, too, I admit, like I did, I was a little curious as to why we didn't hear from George McCasky that day, maybe even Kevin Warren. And then as I reflected, I was like, okay, this probably was something that they planned out, that they wanted, you know, Ben Johnson to be the biggest voice there. They definitely wanted Ryan Poles to have his say, but they wanted that to be the power. They wanted to show us that day that, football-wise, that that's where the power is. And they didn't want the stadium talk to bring everybody down too. Well, there's that. It's dominated the conversations with both of those guys. Yeah.

I think they realized that that was not a winning situation for them. So that was a smart move on their part. But you're making smart moves. That's good. Every day at Sierra, you'll find top brand apparel, footwear, and gear for 20 to 60% less than department and specialty store prices. And during clearance time at Sierra, those incredible prices are, 40 divided by 2.25 carry the one even lower.

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the Draymond Green Show. Unfiltered takes, real hoop talk, and big time guests. There's no holding back on the court or on the mic. Follow the Draymond Green show wherever you get your podcast. Actually, where are you on the state? Could you handle the, if they really did it, if they really used Northwest Indiana,

and they finally pulled the biggest surprise party this season the city has ever seen and said, yep, the Chicago Bears are moving. to Indiana. How would you react to that? And where are you with it? Well, I mean, I wouldn't be happy about that, but I don't think that would alter the direction of the franchise or alter the future of the franchise. I mean, it would just be, I mean, yeah, it wouldn't be great, but it wouldn't, big picture wise, it wouldn't change a whole lot. I still think you're going to end up in Arlington Heights, but.

I think it's still the Heights. Yeah, I think so. And I'm not saying that this is just a leverage play, you know, it might turn out that that's what it is. But I just think, I think kind of cooler heads will prevail. They should be in Illinois. They should be, Arlington Heights, to me, is a spot. I've said it many times, and I think they will be there. But I mean, yeah, no one's going to abandon the bears just because they're playing the games in Indiana. I mean, that's, you know,

I think there would be some really hard, hurt feelings and maybe even a couple of games, like a fan who's really pissed off about it, maybe they'd stay away for a while. Maybe if a buddy was like, I got a tick and nah, I'm not going there, but it wouldn't last. It's like when people complain about big changes in baseball. I use that analogy. They're like the pitch clock.

And let's just make it even. Adding the DH. It's like it never wasn't part of the National League at this point. I think that's the way it would be. It would be harsh, man. It would be harsh for my ears. Honestly, I wish they were staying downtown Chicago. I'm from here.

I'm a purist. I love, love, love where Soldier Field is now. I don't want them to even move out of the city, let alone out of the state. But I think, I think as humans, oddly enough, and this is not something that I would tell younger, Mark Rohde, we would probably adapt relatively quickly. And that's me saying this.

Yeah, it would only be a factor if they start losing again. A long losing streak, then I think people would be less likely to go, and then it would become an issue. So actually it's a kind of should motivate them to stay good. But hey, Mark, football is an addiction. the bears are an addiction. No one's going to abandon the bears because they play in Indiana.

So it's really not that big of a factor. That big of a factor. The only question is like for the bears is what, yeah, like I said, the only time I could see it being an issue is if they're bad, as if they're getting another rut and if they're bad, then yeah, I'm not going out. I'm not going down there to watch that. Yeah, the bad news bears of Northwest Indiana.

Yeah, you could have them. You could keep them. And they should probably think about that. No offense. to the current state of the bears being so rosy, but there are down times, you know. Yeah, man, they're asking about, like, I was at a press conference once, uh, when the, when the, uh, when there was the announced plans for the United Center. Yeah.

I remember talking. I think it was Howard Pizer at the time. I said, have you considered the fact that the bears aren't, I mean, the bulls aren't always going to have Michael Jordan to fill this house. And he said, yeah, yeah, we figured that out. And sure enough, as it turned out, it was, they were absolutely right because after the Jordan era, when they were the bear, the Bulls were as bad as any team could be. The exact opposite of what they said they didn't want to be, they still, they fill that,

they, to this day, to this day, they filled that place like you would never believe, like who, you know, who would have thunk it? Yeah.

They could fill that place. So I don't know how I got off on that. But anyway, no, I mean, the point is, I guess it is a factor, though,

is like, what happens when they're not good, but I still think they'll end up Arlington Heights, not just because of the, of the proximity of it, and that it's in Illinois, but just because if you looked at the,

the, what they had, for the whole setup there, it just was the best. It was everything, if you, if you could, if the bears are not going to play at Soldier Field or downtown, it was, it was by far the best option. And I think that's why I think it'll still end up there. It's always been at least the most logical and, you know, keeping sentimental reasonings and my own selfish desires to see it, need down.

I can, I understand that that is in a lot of ways untenable if the bears want. what they're looking for in a stadium. So I agree with you. Yeah, if I'm pushing the button, it's probably Arlington Heights. Last thing I'll say about the stadium thing is, like, even though the bears are well behind and what they said they were going to do,

and some of this ain't been pretty, like the bears have made a good move with this Northwest Indiana thing and getting mobilizing the politicians in Indiana, getting the commissioner to come out to the site, you know, all of it, it's a good, even if it is just a leverage play, and it's really hard to believe deep down inside that it's not a leveraged play, the bears have made made a strong move that has some people squirming right now, I think. And I didn't, I didn't think I'd necessarily say that throughout the process. Yeah, they're asking for public money, but it's not outlandish. What they're asking for is that outlandish. So really, it's up to the politicians in Illinois to kind of, to kind of, do their part and at least, you know, make a step towards making it happen. They can't get together, you know, then that's one thing.

But, you know, at least got to put a little bit more on the front burner than it is, if I may say. Yeah, yeah, no doubt about it. Let's do the quarterback. Let's talk about Caleb Williams because we haven't really touched on him, Caleb Williams as well. Let's hope that he, like Ben Johnson, remains, as you put it, untouched by Bears dysfunction. because he got a little tap on the shoulder last year with Bears dysfunction, one that who knows?

I don't know if we'll ever know what really went on within that season with Caleb Williams last year. But he, Mark, I thought, as you described the bear season getting better and better, there was a correlation with the quarterback. Not necessarily him causing the Bears to be better a lot of times. Obviously he did. But I thought that he made a believer out of me in terms of do the Bears have? have a quarterback? Yes, Mark, the Bears have a quarterback. How did you look at Caleb Williams season? Yeah, I thought it was a big year for, you know, just a huge step for him. And I think he, you know, I, to me,

what made him different from the other quarterbacks like Fields and Trubisky were talking about is just his, actually, his floor was, was so much higher that his bad games, he could still win, you know, he could still be a difference maker in poor games, which Rex couldn't do. And even Jay Cutler, to a certain extent, couldn't do. And obviously Fields and Trubisky. And so it was interesting. We've heard so I have to admit, I'm more annoyed than most about hearing about how all the great throws, all the great plays he can make. I know he can make great plays.

I said all that I don't want to hear about his great. I want to see, I want to see him make the accurate throws and early downs that kind of get the offense going and do and do all the things that he's supposed to do the fundamental parts of Ben Johnson's offense. But I got to say, his big plays made the difference. His big plays trump his inability, his lack of having the other part down pat. You know what I'm saying? That's kind of almost like, for lack of a better word, disqualifying. It kind of pulls the rug out from under you. But he was so good at the big plays.

I mean, literally had four plays, four passes that would be the play of the year for a lot of teams. and he had them all in one year. He had like a career's worth of great plays almost in one year. I mean, so I think that was, I think, yeah, I think that was positive. He's not there yet. It's also kind of funny. I know I said this before, but, you know, everybody's convinced he's the guy, and I don't blame him, and they're absolutely right.

But, you know, he was like 22nd in passer rating this year. He was 32nd in the NFL in completion percentage. I mean, he has some numbers that, like, would tell, would like have you shaking your head if he weren't Caleb Williams. Yeah. You're able to kind of trump those things by with his, with his great play. So, you know, credit them. But it's kind of interesting and kind of getting off a little bit on that.

It's like of all the goals that they set this year and all the presumed ones and the actual ones they set, there's one in particular that they missed. They missed by a lot. And that was 70% completion percentage. Way off. Yeah. I think I would like to have asked Ben Johnson. Maybe he was.

I don't think he was like, why was it, why was he so far off? How much of it was just the offense just not being ready? How much of it was him being accurate? How much of it was him throwing balls away to avoid sacks? Yeah. Why was he so far off? And the only reason I bring it up is because that's the only thing, that's the one stat that gives me pause as far as can he be an elite quarterback.

Because guys who have, when you're talking about footwork and fundamentals and things like that in year two or year three, that sometimes that can be something that you just can't help. Yeah. And maybe that limits. Now, that doesn't mean he can't be a, he could, this is his bot. This should be his low, you know, right? His base.

So he can win you a play, literally can win you a playoff game. It's a much different situation. But I got to say, if we're talking about, gee, what is the ceiling for him? I don't know because he's got certain, there are certain facets to his game, uh, that, uh, including the completion percentage that make you wonder, will he ever get it? Now, I will let me say this. he's at that point.

I'm always mocking the Josh Allen comp because that's the one that everybody goes to because he's the easy one to go to because he's an athletic guy, but he's not freakishly athletic. He's not Lamar Jackson. Right. He's not even Patrick Mahomes as far as the way he throws and plays the way. He's the one guy if you have a struggling quarterback, you can always point to Josh Allen as a guy who struggled early and got better late

because he'll almost always fit your guy. So I will say this. Having said that, Mark, I think this is the time where it's most applicable because Josh Allen made a big jump in year three. I think year two to year three. If you look at my camera with the numbers where I forgot with it. But made a big jump in accuracy. And that kind of made him an MVP candidate.

I think it was in year three with the bills. And so Caleb Williams was following that track. There's no doubt about it. I mean, that's one thing he proved. This is not just wishful thinking. like you might have said with fields or whatever. This isn't not just hope. He's actually on that track based on what he did on the field.

And so I think he can follow that. Now, will he make the big jump to 69, 70% or whatever? Maybe not. But even if it gets just a little bit better, which a lot of it just could be familiarity with the offense, everybody being together again. That little bit, that helps. That's what creates the kind of momentum and continuity

that allows them to take leads early in games so they don't have to have those comebacks. So you can say, yeah, they're not going to have seven comeback wins, but if he gets a little bit better, you won't need them. And so that's where the hope is. And not just hope, that's where the expectation is, that he'll be not a lot better, but just a little bit better. And so that's why I think, again, a reason for optimism,

I think they're going to take a step forward on offense. And again, not to run on here, but with the one qualifier of being injuries. Of course. Yeah. The Bears had their share of injuries. It's interesting. The Bears had their share of injuries this year, but they had injuries they could overcome.

Even Jalen Johnson. Yeah. You know, Kyle and Gordon, they brought in C.D. Gardner Johnson. He was good. You know, they lost T.J. Edwards for a while. They survived that. They lost O'Dangbo and got better with Austin Booker. I mean, they were losing the right people.

They lost their left tackle, and they actually improved, at least the first time. I know. They didn't lose any of the guns. You know, it's interesting. like I always look at like the to me the the the the Chargers and the bears are on similar tracks. They both have new coaches and they both have quarterbacks who aren't quite there yet, but are certainly ahead of just the they're getting there, okay? Both teams lost two offensive linemen for significant points of the season, okay?

Yeah, yeah. But the Bears lost Tripillo and they lost Braxton Jones, okay? The Chargers lost Rishon Slater and Joe Al. They're two best offense of line for almost the entire season. Okay. So my point is the Bears had their share of injuries. It's not like they had no injuries when you know there's going to be a correction, but it's where you get them.

If it's Tooney and Dolman injured next year, you got a totally different season. And then you had this a totally different situation. So they were fortunate. So I think even though they had their share of injuries, they were fortunate. So I guess my point, if I can remember what I was talking about was that's the one, that's the one X factor. Yeah. Talk about their offense.

I think their offense is absolutely primed to take a major step next year because they have a young quarterback who should get better. But injuries will tell you, we'll tell the tail. Well, and to your point about the, it's a great thing you bring up about replacement parts on the bears. The bears, good teams have good depth. And you're right, if they had lost their center and their left guard, who knows what happens, do they have that kind of depth to sustain for the season? I don't know, but there's all sorts of examples all over the field, especially on defense,

especially in that secondary, which we know had its issues this year, but held together with playmakers like Deshaun Wright, stepping in and doing terrific work in terms of having a nose for the football. I don't know if you mentioned because you were given, like, lots of good examples, but DeMarco Jackson, you had a name for himself stepping in for T.J. Edwards, man. Like, like, they showed that, and that is, look, every team. has to, like, depth is like such a huge thing in the, obviously, in the NFL, and you can almost whittle it down to the teams that have the best depth. There's got to be a core relation with

lots of winning. And that's what the Bears had this year. Yeah. So, I mean, like I said, it's, it's all timing and it's where they happen. And, you know, I guess there are people who would probably love to see Tyson Bayesian in this office. Everybody, everybody's intriguing. That's a great thing about, that's a great thing about having a guy like Ben Jansen, you know, I made a list of, I think it was nine players that polls brought in to either start or be a part of a regular rotation. And if you list them by how much of a contribution they made, the first six were all offensive players. The last three were like, Shamar Turner and O'Dangbo. Yeah. I can't remember who the other one was. But anyway, but all the, all the offensive.

of guys, you know, and that didn't even include Manangai, who was a seventh, who was, who was, who was like their, you know, the guy they wanted to, a guy they wanted to get in the second round or a position they wanted to fill in the second round. Right, right. Seventh rounder, I didn't even include that. But my point is, everybody is a candidate to be a breakout player in this offense. And so, um, so I, you know, so I think, I guess my point originally was like, yeah, it's crazy as I was, even, even a guy like Baygett would be intriguing in this offense. And admit, I'm not going to, you wouldn't, I think, I think, I think the talk of him being better than Caleb Williams, I think that's kind of, oh yeah, that's over.

That's another, I guess the point is, I think I was kind of a counter my, my own point in that if you lose a guy at the wrong position, then depth doesn't. Oh, right. No, no, I, I don't think you have a, I don't think you have a darn all right, you know, I don't think you have a backup there that would, yeah, no, no, no, or even a quarterback, even a quarterback or so, so everything, or even Lovelland, tell you the truth. Oh, yeah, man. You know, Co-Commack cannot be him. I mean, no offense.

No, no, he can't. He's completely different. Same thing. So, yeah, so there's certain positions where you just, you just can't afford to lose people. And, you know, and they were, they did fine there this year. Right. And just to put a bow on, I know we, we had a lot of different avenues within the Caleb Williams. Yeah.

Sorry. No, no, no. No, no. I am anything but succinct. No, this is why I love having you on. Again, it's a podcast. I don't care, Mark. I don't care.

It's all good. It's like score overnights. It is like score overnights. Right. You are, you are, again, you are made. I'm going to keep putting that B in your bonnet until you give in. I'm trying, man. I'm one office away from my boss.

Maybe I'll take a walk down there and say, you know, I'm trying to get to put it in their brains, but hopefully it'll come up. But just putting a ball on Caleb Williams, because you brought up. You hit all the right notes in terms of still there's a few concerns that are left. The 58% completion percentage. And I know. And you correctly said, there's got to be reasons for it. You got to really look deeply.

But there are questions to be asked about all of that for sure. And I think that the biggest part is that what I was going to tell you, Mark, the coaches know that too. That's what they said to us at Hallis Hall on the last day, both Ryan Poles and Ben Johnson in some form and paraphrasing both said, oh man, he did incredible things, but we got work to do. We got some things that still got to get better. So that's the beautiful part, I think, about Caleb Williams. And then just the improvements too, the one that can never go on look for. There's a couple.

The fact that he was only sacked 24 times this year relative to the 68 last year is certainly a testament to the rebuilt offensive line. But also we saw it, the awareness for Caleb Williams, that was so much better. And then the touchdown to interceptions ratio, again, darling, 27 to 7. But I think that's it. I think that, like, you just, if people don't want to take it from us or anybody who has opinions about the quarterback, listen to what Ryan Poles and Ben Johnson said, both love him, both know that he's the guy, but both also know he can be better.

Yeah, yeah. And two things there, Mark, like, we're now at a start. stage when you come to that, now we're at that stage where the things are saying, we know that, we've got to work at it. Those are things that you work with a quarterback and they may never get fixed. Maybe. Yeah. Those are things that we've talked with Bears quarterback coaches and offensive

coordinators and coaches about previous quarterbacks. And those are certain things that now we're at the point where, yeah, fundamentals, footwork, all those, those are red flags to me at this point. I'm not going to say it's not going to happen. But I'm saying those are things where just because you say you're going to work It doesn't mean you're going to get better at it. That's for any quarterback, no matter how talented you are. On the other hand, you mentioned a couple of other things that I think do give you an indication that this guy, he learns well.

Okay. There are two things. I don't want to consider him an instinctive quarterback, but I think he's a little bit of an instinctive athlete. And I think he's done two, he did two things with regard to the sacks. I think he did a much better job of kind of anticipating where pressure was coming from and kind of knowing when to avoid it. And I also think, to me, I think he learned just how fast NFL defensive players are. I think his first year, I think he underestimated just how he, I think he thought he can get away from people that he couldn't get away from his first year. I think that caught him.

And he seemed to do a much better job of understanding that, hey, I need to move a little faster. I need to, I need to avoid this guy. This guy's faster. I thought I don't think quarterbacks ever admit that. I don't think they will ever admit that. I think we brought that up. He would never admit it. But I really feel like that was one big improvement that he did, more of an instinctive thing,

where he just kind of realized, hey, is that why he looked faster this year? Like, he did. Like, I think the question was even asked of him during one of the, like, are you faster? Well, I think it's more of a reaction thing and just knowing that he can get, you know, thinking, there's, you see it all the time where quarterbacks think he can get away from someone. Absolutely. That's what I thought. I think you realized it.

But that's a totally different thing, I think, the idea that he has a gear that I think really, makes him, like when he's going for the sideline, he reaches a gear. I think Dan touched on this one earlier at some point somewhere, that like he has a certain gear that he has that doesn't show up at like the combine, you know? It just, yeah, that, that he's faster. Now, he's not as fast as Justin Fields, but he seems to be when he's really being chased, you know, I always say at the combine when the time guys, they should time guys with somebody chasing them, because then you'll see how fast they really are. Oh, yeah.

Like Jerry Rice, they never knew how fast he was. They saw how fast he was when somebody was chasing him. You know, so he was the knock on him in the draft in 85 was that, you know, he didn't have great speed. Well, when you get the ball in his hands, all of a sudden he was faster than you thought, you know. So anyway, I get it off on another tangent. I apologize.

But anyway, Caleb Williams, yeah, I think it was a big improvement. And maybe not. Maybe a quarterback guru would say, oh, that's nonsense. But to me, the eye test, I think you really did a lot better job. of sensing of being, you know, scapability, improving his capability and avoiding situations. And also, you know, you're understanding just how fast players are. I think that was a big factor.

So I guess my overall point about that was that just showed an ability, kind of an instinctive, kind of athletic thing that can learn. So if it's there to be done and athleticism can make the difference, he'll do it. So I think that's the, to me, that's the positive part of the things he has to work on. And, you know, we'll see if it happens. But again, you've got a great package to start with. everything's kind of like arrow pointing up with everything because he just has so he's got he's proven he's we know we've seen it we're not just hoping he does things that that that like you know we saw it fields or maybe he's passing maybe he'll get better at reading defenses or whatever no we know he's got it now he's just got to you know he's just got to take the next step again going back to going back to the josh allen cop he's right there that's that's it's a legitimate cop now it's not pie in the sky no doubt man hey this is rich

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. And I want to ask you one more thing here. You probably know understanding. I think you understand the essence of sports talk radio, that it can occasionally be prone to ridiculous topics, ridiculous opinions, and ridiculous ideas and questions. I don't know. I don't know if you realize that. Not me.

Not me. That's other people. But I'll buy it. You know, yeah, I'll trust your judgment. I questioned that my co-host on Rehemi Harrison Grotie asked. me and that we discussed for an hour the other day was is, is the question is, is Caleb Williams the best Chicago Bears quarterback ever? Now, if you want to answer that question, you can, but what I really want to ask you is, and feel free, feel free to take a stab at that one if you

want, but you don't have to. What I really want to know from you is because it is, it's a much more, it's an answerable question, I think, previous to Caleb Williams. Previously, Previous to Caleb Williams, who is the Bears best quarterback ever? You may answer the following questions in any way, change, or form that you would like to. It's all you. To answer the first question, no, he's not the best quarterback in Bears history. That's Sid Luckman. Okay.

You got to remember. Sid Luckman was brought in by George Hallis. George Hallis made a trade with the Steelers to get him with the number two pick. It was one of those things who said, you draft this guy, we'll take him. and they he knew he wasn't just a guy who you know he wasn't tom brady maybe this guy can work out he was brought in specifically for the T-formation for run that offense and and George Halas said many times that he thought that was the guy who could do it who you know had you know everything it took and so he was right about that

and he made that offense go it was literally a sensation I mean so so and and they won four championships and they were the scourge of the and NFL for six years. This is impossible to do. So when you win championship, hey, of course, this passerating isn't the same or whatever. Well, right. 11 games seasons, you know, most attempts ever was 323. That's why this is impossible. I'm just comparing quarterback to quarterback. They're playing the position. Okay. Who's the best quarterback? A quarterback in that, regardless of era,

Sid Luckman did more at that position. Okay, just relative to what he was. He was more responsible for their success. It wasn't just a guy who happened to be in that spot. He was the reason they were good and so explosive. And the reason everything made it. So I would say to me, there is absolutely no doubt that Sid Luckman is the best quarterback in Bears history.

But I will say, I mean, obviously you can't compare. It's very difficult. As far as the numbers and things like that and playing quarterback. But, you know, if Caleb Williams was born in, you know, 1920 or whatever, you know, he wouldn't have been this guy in 1939 or 1940 either. I don't know if it would have been a lot of play back then, period. So, yeah, well, that's a whole different show. Right, right, right. But that was the Syracman era, you know.

Yeah, but you're right. But anyway, so, yeah, to me, there's no doubt. And again, it goes back to, I hate to be, I don't, I'm not, I'm not porn. cold water on the whole Caleb Williams thing because I think he's much different than any I know. I got you say it's just funny. I like, you know, it doesn't take much to excite Bears fans about a quarterback. I know, man. I will say he did some spectacular thing. So it's not like there's, it's not like it's fools gold or whatever. But it's, so he did some legitimately spectacular things that get you excited. But again, you know,

22nd in the league and pass a rating. I mean, you know, you know, 30 second, whatever. I mean, He was good, but he needs, he, he, now... Testing season is right around the corner, and this is when confidence really matters. When kids take time to review key concepts and strengthen their skills before assessments, it can make all the difference. Ixel helps reinforce what they're learning right now,

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Just because we finish rewatching the office does not mean we're going anywhere. Every Wednesday, we'll be sharing even more exclusive stories from the office and our friendship with brand new guests. Plus, you can revisit all the Office Ladies rewatch episodes every Monday with new bonus tidbits before every episode. So follow and listen to Office Ladies on the free Odyssey app and wherever you get your podcast. There's more. There's more. He needs to be better to be prepared to sit left one. Right. Right, right. He's a, because the field is so poor, he's a worthy candidate to be discussed. But yeah, you got to, you got to mention other names and McMahon and Jake Cutler and all of those. And my biggest, like, I, of course, look, I enabled the topic. I enjoyed the topic. I thought it was fun to discuss. But in the end, in conclusion, it's just too early to ask a question that loaded. You know what I mean? Because it is, it's fun.

and maybe Caleb is. Maybe he is the greatest bear's quarterback of all time. It's just too early to lay that on my desk. I can't have that on my desk yet, you know what I mean? Even though I played with it. McMahon is interesting. I love what everything Jim McMahon did. I mean, his right, he was like at one point, he was like 43 and 5.

You know, to include like the games he came off the bench against, I think he gets Tampa and Minnesota and won. His record, you know, the bears were good. You play with the great teams a little again, but if you look at his record when he played versus the other quarterbacks, it's significantly better. So it's not like he was just the right guy at the right time. No doubt. He's stepping to be in there. McMahon now, yeah, yeah, was McMahon, could he make, could he, was he as athletically as good as Caleb Williams?

No, I know, I would say not. Can I was not quite that, although he made his own share of spectacular plays, you know, in his own way. He did. He did. In his own way. And he couldn't stay healthy. but, you know, that was a part of being Jim McMahon. It was almost destiny that he wouldn't stay healthy because if he was a kind of guy, you know, if he played, if he avoided contact like Caleb Williams does, he might not have been Jim McMahon.

You know what made him great, you know, obviously was also his undoing. Yeah, he never had a full 16-game season, not once. But his record is phenomenal. And his, you know, even though without having like great pass rating numbers and all that stuff, he was a difference maker. So I know I mentioned Luckman as my go-to guy as far as the best quarterback. But Jim McMahon deserves special mention because he was more than just a quarterback who happened to be on those great teams. He was a big part of that.

He was not only a big part of making the offense good, but making the whole team the whole team good. To me, he was special. Yeah, no, I agree. I agree. I mean, that's something for Caleb to aspire to as well, not just Luckman, but also Jim McMahon is a guy who, you know, and he's already there. You can tell you. I mean, he makes plays in his own way, the same way McMahon did, you know, when they're behind in desperation. You know, McMahon was great in desperate times and kind of will his team through with, you know, with Ditka's urging, you know, to victory.

And we've seen that. It went when desperate, when it's desperation time, that guy, uh, that guy, uh, Caleb Williams, he flips a switch. It's really, there's no doubt about it. He just had to get better when it's not desperate. Yep, he knows. I always go back to like, and then not to knock him or whatever, but, you know, like I always go back to the,

he was in the midst of all those comeback victories, but when it came time to, when he was behind, but when he was ahead and he needed to put the hammer down, I think both he and Johnson were lacking against Pittsburgh when they had those two, three and outs. And like, it's like they needed the desperation, to, you know, they couldn't close the door. That's a big part of it, too. You know, the Rams couldn't close the door against the, against the bears and got to overtime because they couldn't, you know,

because Sean McVeigh, you know, played for, you know, played to give the bears another possession. Closing the door is important, too, besides just coming back, coming from behind. And I think that's a step the bears, Ben Johnson, too, and Caleb Williams need to take next year, is being able to do that and shut that door. Well, and I'll leave it at this. Ryan, said to your point, he said, and this goes back to your one score, wins and losses from earlier to Ryan Polls says he does not want to be the cardiac bears. Like it's the NFL, all games are close, but it doesn't have to be like that. Yeah. And I think even, you know, Ben Johnson is acknowledged, or you can just tell that, you know, closing games mean something, you know,

not just, you know, getting first downs and closing out games, that's, that's an important part. That's a they need to take. And I think when the offense is better, you know, the offense should really be better. You know, in Detroit, they didn't make a real big jump in year two in Johnson's office, but that's because they already had the quarterback. They made the big jump in year one. They went from like 25th to 5th in office because they had a veteran

quarterback. So they didn't really, so they were better offensively, but golf was pretty much the same quarterback in year two. In fact, his pass rating might have been down a little bit. He was the same. But the Bears, you know, their big jump was at running back, where they kind of, they dump Swift and they brought in Montgomery and Gibbs and got better there. But in general, their big jump was in first year. The Bears have a quarterback who should allow them to make the big jump in year two. That's what I'm really expecting.

I'm expecting their offense would be much better if everybody's healthy because the quarterback has so much more room for growth than they had with golf in Detroit. Right. And then once that jump occurs, even if there isn't a monumental jump, my gut is that this quarterback will eventually be paid. And that eventually opens up a whole bunch of other headaches or creativity that will have to open up. But right now, we don't have to deal with that. Mark, this has been, you are always spectacular, my friend. Is there anything else you want to get out there that you've been itching to discuss here pertaining to the bears or anything else in life? Maybe even the books behind you, anything that's going on.

that you would like to talk about on the Take to North podcast. I just think that if there's a flaw in the Hall of Fame voting, Bill Belichick should not pay the price. He should not be the one. He should not be the one to suffer. It should be the Kenny Anderson. Nova. I love Kenne Anderson.

Joe lefty, right? Was he a lefty? You know, and Elsie Greenwood and who was a Roger Craig? They're all great. But they should pay, you know, no offense to them. It's a Hall of Fame. and so that's the hot topic now. So I agree.

I think what's coming out now is that, yeah, the system is flawed. That's what created this situation. But my point is that the system is flawed. Bill Belichick should not be paying the price. No, he should not. Somebody else. Sorry. Sorry.

Sorry, a fringe. No offense to the greatness of those three players. But a fringe Hall of Fame are not making it is not as big an injustice as Bill Pelich not being a first ballot Hall of Famer that he deserves to be. He definitely deserves to. That would be a random comment of the show. I appreciate it, Mark. I knew you would bring it.

You are the best. Mark, thank you, as always, for coming on to take the note of the podcast. I can't guarantee you that Dan will ask you to come on, but I sure will. I'll ask you to come on again. Thanks, Mark. Yeah, I have my doubts as well, but I appreciate your sentiment. That's Mark Podash, ladies and gentlemen, the former. son timesman, but that doesn't mean you can't read this man who has a wealth of experience,

obviously, as you just heard. You should go right now to mark potash.net. That's where he hangs out. That's where you can get Mark's opinions. That's where you can get gambling. The whole thing, right, Mark, it's everything, right? Oh, I got the nostalgia. I got collectibles. Yes. Everything in that. A lot of bears, bulls, everything. I got the five. No, my magnificent seven, seven people most responsible for the Bears resurgence. Oh, oh, I love that. Including one surprise. Oh, I'm going, I'm going, I know what I'm doing after I say goodbye.

That is Mark Poddash. Thanks to Mark Potash. Thanks, Mark, appreciate it. Yeah, Dan, too. Thanks for Dan for having so many jobs that I get a chance. Right, right. We get pushed behind. I appreciate it. Yeah, he just, he's like, you guys go ahead, you guys go on a quarter and do the little

podcast. I've got Terrestrial Radio to do on this day. Or our guy, Dan Weider, for Adams-Didensky. Another thank you to Mark Podash. I'm Mark Brody saying thank you so much for watching and listening to the Take the North podcast. Thank you, everybody. Hi, thanks.

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