Countdown is here as Bears' season opener awaits (Hour 1)

0:00Wake up! Wake up! Come on, guess wake up, man. David Ha! David Ha? You muted in. Sorry about that. Hello, George. So, that was one of the best questions you've ever asked. Yeah, I'm sure it's going to get an answer just as good. This is Ha. Yeah. Okay. Ha. Check me out, man. Jared Payton! With me, we want you to see this Jared Payton wearing his father's number number 34. I hear my name again, and I'm like, who's calling me? So I look back at the people working, and it's not them. It's this guy that's sitting down right by the door, and he goes, Jared, man. Man, I love you on the score, man. I'm like, I'm going to be off doing it. The hot and Peyton Show. Tyle will be conference championship go, and who will be enjoying a confetti shower in Sofie Stadium on Valentine's Day? I'm going to make my quick. AFC Bills and Ravens.

1:01Ooh, you got the same team, I like it. With the Bills winning, going to the Super Bowl, and the Rams taking on Dubbers, Rams winning that game, though. And then it's going to be Rams and Bills and the Super Bowl Rams hoisting the Lombardi trophy at the end. All right, I think the AFC will be the Bills and the Ravens in the AFC Championship game, in the NFC. The Rams don't have a weakness, guys. The Rams will be in the NFC Championship game, and they will beat the Chicago Bears. And then the Rams and the Ravens, and I got to pick the Rams. I hate going Chockity, Chock Chock. I'm already ready for Dustin to say that. Get up in the morning with the hot and Peyton Show. Mornings 5.30 to 10 on Chicago's sports radio. Chock Chock Chock Chock Chock Chock Chock Chock Chock Chock Chock Chock Chock Chock Chock Chock Chock Chock Chock Chock Chock Chock Chock Chock Chock Chock Chock Chock Chock? Well why am I going to, be cho drive to Chockity, Chockity Chock Inner, DHR. Whatお for 3the score.

2:03So hot guy like, a��를. Good morning, Chicago, happy Friday, it is the hot and Peyton Show en Chicago's sports radio. 104 for 3 the sports broadcasting live from the Scorieys Hyundai studio brought to you by your local Hyundai dealers. I am David Ha� Ruthie Pohlinsky. Is in for Jared today. Good morning, Ruthie. Good morning, David. that. The Rams don't have a flaw. The Rams have no weakness. Have no weakness. What a...to come in and be reminded of how silly we can be when we are projecting the football game in the football season. Yes, last night was the beginning of the Rams march to Sofie Stadium and it did not go according to plan. Imagine flying 35 hours to score seven points. The Rams fired 15 hours, took a nap, trotted out to the field, put out whatever that was and then had to go get back on a plane for 15 hours. 49ers went 27 and 7. It was not even close.

3:09It was dominant. It was a dominant showing by San Francisco and it did it did reveal the difference in approach in terms of getting there. How long to get your body clocks readjusted and the Rams were there for about 26 hours and it showed. Now I said that to you early. This is it's that simple. The Rams did not handle that correctly. The 49ers did and you were quick with an answer. I'm curious to see how it looks in week two and three because I think the 49ers planned for week one. I think the Rams are focusing on having a quick bounce back when they get home. So I'm curious to see we're gonna all learn how it goes and listen, that may not have been the reason the Rams lost. The Rams might actually stink. I don't think the Rams are going to stink. No, they've too much talent. They have too much talent. But Miles Garrett should maybe like tackle somebody. He had 27 pass rush snaps. He had zero pressures. This first time that's

4:14happened since 2018. He's not healthy. Right. He doesn't look like somebody that is operating at 100% and that was the word throughout training camp. At the same time, I don't know how you can tell because we hadn't haven't seen whether it's the Rams on Thursday night or Friday morning in Australia or the Seahawks and the Patriots on Wednesday night. What we're seeing in week one so far are teams treating the opener like preseason. It looks like a bunch of guys who were trying to get into shape who haven't played intense football at that level in a long time and this is what you get. It does feel sluggish especially like to start these games. Obviously what we saw from the Seahawks and the Patriots that sort of felt like a preseason game and then the injuries are a part of that too. Whatever that was last night was fascinating. Let me just say one thing. Brock Purtie is that dude again. I love Brock Purtie. But he has had

5:20his moments where he's been the guy that he was when he burst onto the scene. Yeah. Surprisingly. And then he maybe leveled off a little bit. Now it seems as if he's had a very productive offseason and he's ready to go and he looks locked in and he's using his legs in a way that he hasn't maybe as much last year. Brock Purtie did have a game last night that made you think that he is focused on doing things that maybe people think they can't do in San Francisco. Slice and in Dyson. I mean it was really impressive. Plus he's got a D. Bo back. D. Bo Mike Evans. Mike Evans. I mean are we kidding. Mike Evan. I mean that is going to elevate. If he can stay healthy, that's going to be crazy. And you know, they're deep Fred Warner. Hold on a second. Great to see him back on a football field. He was absolutely just going bananas. Like he you could tell that that man loves football. They're about to be back on the field. They looked really good. I'm going to say one thing here. I am a Kyle

6:22Shanahan gal. I don't I don't really I kind of came to terms with that last night. Like I like I sometimes kind of roll my eyes at the tree at that tree. The tree the Shanahan tree. But that's only because you're defensive about Ben Johnson has no tree. Who is his own tree? Well, I sort of rolled my eyes at it before because you know, I covered the Mike McDaniel era and Miami. I my first NFL team that I covered was the billbell check Patriots. So I'm sort of always been I've sort of identified myself with the par cells tree. I'm a par cells gal. I can see that. Like I'm a kind of a par cells gal. I do think that. And what I think is so cool about Ben is that he is his own tree. Like he is he is his own man rooted in intensity. But anyways, back to my confession, I am a of all of the whole tree. I can wrap my head around Kyle Shanahan because I just think he's he's he's just done. And I think he's just done it so well for

7:24so long. And he's been so consistent that I think it's just awesome. That's good. Well, the site for a lot of 49ers fans and a good reminder to people in the NFL if they were expecting the 49ers who had a very tumultuous off season, especially the summer. Kyle Shanahan with the car accident. Jed York with his transgressions. And I think then you wonder about the distraction that that created if it did at all. But last night, they were locked and loaded and they look like one of the better teams in the NFC right now. I just can't believe obviously we have college football this weekend to look forward to, but I'm sort of anti college football right now. I know we're going to get into it. But I just can't believe we have to wait till Sunday for another NFL game. I can't imagine why you would be anti college football wanting to look away from a sport or from your program or your alma mater. I wouldn't just take a second and contemplate why? Take a second. You heard me go on my rant on the Chicago lead. Let's yeah, I mean college football is tough for me right now.

8:28I'm just going to say yeah, you Michigan graduates are going to take a second to look at things. So yes, we'll get into some of that. This is. All right, we have a big day big show because it is a Friday. It is a Friday before the bears opener and that's when it gets real Sunday in Carolina bears and Panthers. And this is a four seasons heating air conditioning plumbing sewer and electric football Friday presented by your local four dealers and Advent. So Ruthie. This is big day. Jared is not here today. He is attending the funeral from Matsui, which I'm sure will be a celebration of a life well lived 68 years old. Matsui passed away on Sunday and this week has been an outpouring of appreciation and respect and love for one of the more reliable Chicago bears of the 85 bears and you have heard from a lot of people this week and Jared has talked about it as well.

9:29So that's just shows you how much he still was beloved in this community. It's been really wonderful to hear Jared on the station. I've loved listening to you guys the last couple weeks. Am I the first? You are? Whoa, I'm the first fill in for the. I don't like to think of the picture. I'm a pain show. I'm part of the team. Yeah, they're part of the team. That's so nice. You're the first person to sit there other than Jared. I think obviously with the Matsui situation, which is so devastating and obviously sending my thoughts and prayers to the Sui family and of course the Peyton family, but it was sort of surreal to listen to Jared on this on these airwaves, be able to articulate something so significant to this city in such a way that was so personal for him and his family and you're sitting there listening, you're like, I can't believe I'm listening to Walter Peyton's son every single morning. And I think that's just such a cool thing that you

10:32guys get to have and that the listeners get to be gifted with because there's such historical context that comes with Jared being a part of this station. Tuesday morning, he came in and I think even he would say that he was unsure how he would handle those kind of memories in expressing them in a way that was as eloquent and special as he did. And that to me was, I had the similar reactions like this is really unbelievable access to these kind of stories, memories, yeah. The proximity to all of this happening. So yeah, it's going to be an emotional day for the Sui family condolences to them and everyone who loved Matsui. So Jared will be at attending the funeral. You are also working a very long day today. You have pre and post game white socks tonight. Yeah, I'm feeling for Chuck tonight on CHSN. We're going to have the big profile show in the Chicago lead. And you're going to at some point in time, I would imagine celebrate the Jewish New Year.

11:33Russia Shana. Yes. I will probably be mostly celebrating tomorrow. I'm going to drive to St. Louis to see my family. So I'll celebrate with them tomorrow night. Tonight I was going to be thinking white socks. You and I know don't tell Hashem. I'm not telling anybody. No, it's not. It's my Jewish guilt. No, I think first of all, I love Russia Shana. This is one of my favorite times of year. It's funny because like I love this time of year where summer turns into fall. Baseball turns into basketball football hockey. I know what baseball turns into. We're going to talk about that today. That's on the agenda. But it's funny. I'm doing white socks tonight. They're playing the cardinals. Obviously my hometown team. And then I'm driving to St. Louis. From St. Louis. I didn't know that. Well, we've never discussed that. Congratulations on the Cubs not losing last night. Oh, thank you very much. Thank you very rough. No, no, no. I think you needed a break. I did. You needed a break from the Cubs

12:35playing. You said that on the air. I appreciated that. You pointing that out last night. Well, you had a little bit of a meltdown yesterday. That's okay. Many meltdown. I'm entitled to that. That's what this is for. So you're going to be busy tonight and then celebrating the Jewish New Year over the weekend tomorrow in St. Louis. I'm glad you're getting home to see your family. And then throughout the country, obviously throughout the world, this is the 25th anniversary. It's very hard to believe. But it's 9-11. You look at your calendars. It's September 11th. And certainly on September 11th, 2001, everyone remembers how somber that day was, how impactful it was on everybody. And everyone has their own frame of reference when they mark that occasion today as people will throughout Chicago, throughout the country and world. And it takes you back to different places. I was working in South Bend at the time and will never forget where I was at that moment. And I'm sure you have a different memory because you were in school, you're in elementary school. Yeah. I remember, you know, I was in third grade, which is crazy to think about

13:3925 years. I'm 25. So how does that work? No, I think about coming downstairs, get ready for school. And my mom is in the kitchen watching the news on like our little kitchen TV at the time. And I just remember coming downstairs and she was just sobbing, like watching the TV. And I, that's my memory. Like it's stuck in my brain. And then I remember I went to school and we had the news on like in the classroom and we couldn't and like we just didn't really have school. It's impossible to comprehend what you would be thinking. And I was so young at the school. Yeah. Yeah. In elementary school at that time. Third grade. Yeah. Third grade. Mrs. Rose's class. Dustin, you remember what I can't, I'm trying to get over the fact that you were in third grade when that happened. It's mind boggling. I was working at a sporting news radio. I think we were sporting news radio by then. I can't remember exactly when the switch from one on one sports. I was in Northbrook. And I remember,

14:40I was on the treadmill when the first plane went into the tower. And I had like a three TV setup. And I always had like news on one, but I had like sports center was on the train. I'm like, what is going, what's going on? Took a shower and started driving up to Northbrook. And then all of a sudden we're getting instead of booking like regular football Friday guests, we're like looking for terrorism experts. And the white socks ironically, they were in New York. Yes. And I remember like we were playing what we used to call Hotel Bingo to get guests on the air. And we were like dialing looking for white socks members to come on national radio, to come on and talk about what was going on. I want to say, and this was before I really knew who Don Cooper was. I want to say like we got Don Cooper on. I believe he's told that story. And he's in New York. He's a he's a he was with the Yankees for a long time. And you're your native exactly. Yeah. But I mean, just watching and being why I wanted to go. I wanted to go to New York.

15:47A buddy in mind, we're like, let's get in the car and go. What can we do? Yeah. I was not, I wasn't married yet. I wasn't married yet. So I didn't have any kids yet. So such a helpless feeling. Everybody wanted to do something. Nobody knew exactly what that was. And you just didn't quite grasp the normity of it at the time. You just couldn't quite process it because it just seemed so surreal. I couldn't remember driving. My son was a year old in the back of the cars in his car seat. And I was in South Bend taking him to daycare such a way, the babysitter that we had set up and turning around and just kind of because of that, not quite knowing exactly what to do. But was quite sure that this day was not going to be something that we had ever experienced. I think in our business too. And I was too young at the time to really, I think, feel this. But I think in our business, you have such an appreciation for how that information was spread so quickly at a time where we didn't have really social media or pre-social media. Pre-social media,

16:52pre-cell phones kind of, right? I mean. Well, there were cell phones, but it was certainly not to the degree in communicating like right now. And so I think in our business, like people's immediate reaction is like to think about how that was covered or how, you know, Stefan Holt, there was a clip that NBC5 put out, obviously my former station, like they put out this clip of him communicating with his dad, Lester, like during the whole process and they were emailing. That was powerful. That was incredible. That was powerful. Stefan Holt and his recollection of what that day meant and how he did communicate with his dad, Lester, who was covering it. In the midst of all of it. Yeah. Incredible. In the middle of it. So everyone will have their own frame of reference. Everyone will have their own memories that they process through. And certainly everyone will have their sympathies that they're expressed or condolences for people that lost loved ones on September 11, 2001, 25 years ago today. So there's a lot going on. So emotional day and a lot of different ways for a lot of different people. We're going to talk sports. We're going to get back on track. We've got

17:55the bears opening up on Sunday against the Panthers yesterday, the latest injury report. We heard from Dennis Allen. We heard from press Taylor. And I have to say this, we began the preseason. I know you remember this training camp. Dennis Allen talking got everybody going. Football is back. The beginning of training camp. He talks like a guy that loves the fact that he's a football lifer. And the more I hear from Dennis Allen, especially in days like yesterday, you're sitting there and you're like, I just want I just want to play. I just want to go out and do something for DA. I'm going to call him DA because I want to feel closer to him because he's my guy. He's a coach. He's a football coach is football coach. And yesterday he brought it and he reminded you that, all right, maybe the bears can't coach him up. Maybe the bears can overcome some of these weaknesses that they that they have in the secondary or they have the defensive line. He talks in a way as corny as it sounds that makes you believe that they can be better than many people expect them to be after really, I think, relatively quiet off season of adding impact players. And you know, last

18:59year Dennis got some grief right from the media when he didn't want to talk about the previous week, right? He was talking on Thursdays. He didn't want to talk about the brief. So there was sort of an adjustment period, I think, getting to know him last year, former head coach, somebody who has been through a lot in his football career. And you wonder if there is sort of a re-energized version of Dennis Allen that we're getting after, you know, seeing what he did last year with the personnel he had was very impressive. And the takeaways were obviously special, magical, if you ask wrong. But I do think there's probably part of him is like, man, I still got this. Right. Like, I, like, Kobe Bryant's down, I can do it. Like, let's figure it out. And you feel that when you talked, when you hear him talk, I texted you yesterday when I was listening to the press conference, I go, this is awesome. This is awesome. Every time, and every time he's talked to

20:00this whole off season, he's brought that energy. See, but you're on to something because that's exactly what I was thinking. You're Dennis Allen. You're a defensive coordinator. You're a football coach in House Hall. And you know that maybe things aren't perfect. Kobe Bryant out. You didn't get the big, get big defensive past pressure in the off season. Fine. You're going to... Kyler Gordon. Exactly. You're going to embrace that, though, because you love the fact that the pressure is on you. You love the... You love when you have to try to reach guys and get the most out of them, whether it's technique or tenacity, whether you're trying to tap into something, you love the fact that you have to coach in a way, because let's face it, it's easy to coach Miles Garrett, even though we had coming off a bad game. Those are the guys that are easy to coach. Just get to the quarterback, young man. Do what you do because you are gifted in a way that most players aren't. But it's a lot different when you're dealing with Jordan Vanneberg and

21:02Contavia Street and and Jaden Love. Dylan Thieneman. Dylan Thieneman. And you got to get the most out of these guys. And it's on you. And you know what? As a football coach, you love the fact that it's on you. Yeah. Because you say, I want that responsibility. I'm in this profession because I embrace that kind of thing. And let's go. It's so cool. It's so true. And I'm just thinking about Vanneberg as a great example of somebody that they identified. His staff found him, drafted him, wanted him, wanted him. And then put him in, it's, you know, fifth team reps, six team reps, and got all the way up to first team reps and then traded Jervon Dexter because they felt so good about the guy that they found and developed and sort of like found a little diamond in the rough. Like that's a great example of of Dennis saying like being like energized by that part of coaching, which is the development part of it. And that's what you got yesterday. From Dennis Allen, from press Taylor, and you heard from some players, but I think really when

22:03you heard from the coordinators, it was just like, all right, weak ones here. Can't wait for Sunday. Press is awesome too. And I know you, we've talked on the show before and many other shows that we loved listening to Declan because he felt like a Ben Johnson interpreter. I do get that sense from press. Press is brilliant. When he talks, you're like, this man is, it's very easy for him to communicate, which I think we felt that way with Declan. He was maybe a little nervous, but I think that had something to do with the fact that he was 12, you know, 28 or whatever. He was so, but press is so, it has so much experience. He's been on so many different teams that have had different trajectories. And I think he now is energized by the fact that he gets to be learning from Ben Johnson and he gets up in front of the microphone and he's he's fluid. It's smooth. And then obviously we know we love Richard Hytauer whenever he gets up in front of a microphone. We're going to talk about Richard Hytauer today because he had some interesting things to say about the long snapper Bo Gardner, who we haven't really talked a lot about. We're talking football all morning long. It's big time at seven Joe Fortenbaugh, 7.45 appointment radio every Friday in the fall.

23:08We're going to talk baseball with Kuhm, Ron Kuhm, at eight o'clock. The Cubs were off yesterday mercifully. They're back in action today hosting the Pirates for a three game series at Riggly, the White Sox who lost to the Pirates, two to nothing last night in a very tight pictures duel. They go on the road as Ruthie said to St. Louis to play the Cardinals. We'll talk about that throughout the show. Mike Palma, 8.45 and John Schoep, the former Bears offensive coordinator under Dick Jaronne and the one of the mentors for Ben Johnson down in North Carolina. He coached North Carolina. He knows Ben Johnson and his family. He has that connection and we're going to explore that at nine o'clock and a lot of other things along the way. Ruthie Polinsky is in for Jared today. It's the Hawn Peyton show. The pick six is next. Keep it right here on Chicago Sports Radio 104 3 the score. It's pick six with Hawn Peyton where we debate the top six sports stories of the day and then open it up to you. The Chicago Sports Fan call us at 312-644-6767

24:14or you can tweet your thoughts at Hawn Peyton. Pick six with Hawn Peyton starts now. And here we go. The Cubs welcome the red hot pirates into Rigglyfield from the red line for the weekend with Showed him and I got on the mound today and one game behind the fillies for that top wildcard spot. What happens over at Clark and Addison over the weekend? What a good question. What a good question. I have no idea. I know Dustin. He's a shaking your head. For all you're watching a twitch. Dustin shaking his head. We're not supposed to say I don't know. Rule number one. I've saying I don't know for a fact because this cup team makes you never know. You never feel good. You're never certain about anything. Oh Alex Bradwood stinks. No he doesn't. He's great. Oh the Cubs are great. They want ten in a row. No they stink because they lose ten in a row. This is the best bullpen that they could put together. Yeah that was the story maybe in July.

25:15I don't know what to expect for this cup team. The pirates are coming in hot. The pirates I think believe they can make the playoffs. They're chasing a wildcard spot. They're one game over 500 now. It's unlikely but they can't be dismissed like you thought that you could dismiss them. Wilbur Dotelle on the mount. I thought today was Schien's day. It's Saturday. Okay. Why did they push Schien's back to Saturday? Because Shota's pitching. Shota splits are good during the day. I'm glad he's pitching in daylight. And Schien's I think during the day and wriggly has struggled but tomorrow's a day game as well. I know there's no night games. So maybe they just wanted an extra day of rest. I could I could understand that. Last night Jared Jones was lights out. I mean that guy. They have some good young pitching on that pirate staff. So the Cubs what version of them will you get this weekend? You better get the urgent version. Craig Council better managed from the gut

26:15rather than the analytics. That's very simple oversimplifying things but based on our most recent example you'd like to see some signs of life at Wrigley Field. Some signs of urgency from the Cubs because things are slipping away very quickly. I don't care what the fan graphs percentage is say. The I test says the Cubs are failing and right now they have three games at home to change the trend and do it now. Well I do know what's going to happen at Clark and Addison. They're going to play baseball 1245 pregame right here on the square. That's what we do. That's what we know for sure. I believe the Cubs will win two of three. They will not sweep. They will not get swept. I really am looking forward to that matchup though on Saturday. Like that's a that's a really good pitching matchup. I mean the Cubs are massive favorites today. Almost minus 200. They're minus 199. That's a huge favorite in baseball. Pirates coming in red red hot and then Sunday Matthew Boyd is throwing for the Cubs.

27:23So you know we haven't done it. We kind of teased it yesterday David. We haven't done your your your circle of trust. You're who's pitching when who gets the ball first. Well done later. Well done later. Matthew Boyd's probably part of that and that's going to be another day game. So three three day games over at Riggly at Clark and Addison. Cubs win two of three. I too believe the Cubs win two of three and I think Shoda Amanaga sets the tone in the daylight. He is coming off of a great performance against the Marlins pitched into the seventh right. Um, obviously I think Shoda Amanaga has had his moments of doubt certainly. But I do think today is a day that he can set the tone for the Cubs who need a boost back home and can win two out of three. This upcoming weekend. I want everyone to zoom out for a minute. Okay. Oh, I said to lecture.

28:30The Cubs are a playoff team right now. I know that tone. The Cubs are a playoff team right now. I know they don't play at Riggly. I know it's it wouldn't be ideal situation for the Cubs if the playoff started tomorrow. But I do think it's important to remember that this is a very good baseball team who just played the best team in baseball and maybe was humbled a little bit. But I think the turnaround begins today. They haven't once in Saturday. I know. It's been a long week. It's been a really long week and Cubs them. They're due. They're due. That's a good question. Well, speaking about Cubs, there's the voice of Ron Cumer. He'll join you at 8 a.m. a Friday staple right here on 104-3. The score. The White Sox just got swept by the pirates managing two measly hits and now had to your hometown. Say Lewis for a three game series against the Cardinals. Which biggest concern

29:32the starting pitching or the slumbering offense can the socks win the series. The White Sox were held to five hits in three games. Oh my gosh. Against the pirates. They've lost six of eight games and the A.l. Central lead is now down to one and a half games over Cleveland. To me, the offense is the bigger concern right now. The starting pitching has been wobbling, but I think in the grand scheme of things, you simply cannot win games, let alone a playoff series. If you score three runs in three games and you get shut out in the finale when you're trying not to get swept. So I think this is a big opportunity for the White Sox. To bounce back this weekend in St. Louis, the Cardinals are very beatable. Just ask anyone in my hometown. We've been calling this White Sox team resilient all season long. This is an opportunity. This is the weekend to prove it, to say it again, to have everyone say it because everyone's talking about the fatigue. This is a young

30:35group. This isn't new for them. They're inexperienced blah, blah, blah. I love what Ozzy said yesterday. You're young. You don't get tired. Like keep playing. I think they take two or three. And I think we're having a very different conversation about this team on Monday. I hope I hope you're right, which is usually hard for me to say not that I hope you're right, but in this situation, you know, 20 years ago Dustin, like the White Sox Cardinal series. It's like the two teams I hate the most in all in baseball. That that's what this would be. I'm wondering. I'm wondering if when we get back here on Monday and the White Sox are in Cleveland taking on the Guardians, will they still be in first place? Will the Guardians be on the Guardians are spending the weekend in Minnesota? I think the Cardinals are greater than the twins. I know the Cardinals have not had the year they wanted to have,

31:39obviously, but I think the Cardinals are a better baseball team than the twins are. And I wonder if when we get back here, if the White Sox are actually a half a game back potentially of the Guardians with three games head to head with the division on the line. It's a tough question. You know, we could keep going about, you know, Ruthie talked about the hits. They struck out 11 times last night. They've lost eight of 11 just moving that little, I mean, they're not in a good space. Murakami had the one home run the other day, right? But he had had a streak of like five to eight straight strikeouts. Oh, he's really struggled. Yeah. I they better win two out of three. They are clinging to a game and half lead in the division one and a half up with 16 to play. Not to mention we had hoped that the White Sox would be in that number two seed territory. The Astros won yesterday. So here they come. Oh, wait, the Blue Jays are still to be heard from. Oh, there's more,

32:45the Rangers are chasing a postseason spot. A lot of teams with a lot more veteran experience and maybe better pitching than the White Sox have are in the mix. And the pitching we began the week. That was the biggest problem. Sean Burke has been his last outing, not good. And then you wonder about the depth of the rotation, but pitching has not been the bigger issue of late as Ruthie points out. It's offense. They've got three guys who have hit 30 or more homers and they need to start hitting homers again. You need Sam Antonacci to find a way to get hit by a pitch three times in a game to get on base or whatever. If not, he's going to elbow somebody. But this is the biggest problem. Scoring runs, getting hits, getting on base. There was a I believe a zoom conference with Kayla Bonhamer yesterday. They might only play her the month for the White Sox. Did anybody ask him how quickly he can get to the Chicago? Because that's not as crazy as it sounds. When they

33:49added Tommy FAM, I wondered if they, you know, they added a guy that's 38 years old who got hurt pretty quickly. That's what happens when you're in your late 30s still play Major League Baseball. I would have preferred the bring up the kid who's got 36 dingers in the minors. They need something. They need to spark. They look tired and teams that can't look even more tired. And the White Sox, they better take two out of three because I don't want to come in here Monday morning and say second place White Sox. If you got your best answer, some of these questions are Dennis Allen and we're not going to hear from him for another couple of weeks, I would imagine. That is the voice of Brad Biggs. Biggs time, 7 a.m. this morning Bears DC, Dennis Allen, heaped praise on Panthers, QB Bryce Young on Thursday as expected. I see a guy that's got the ability to, you know, hurt you with his mobility, hurt you with his feet. And so, you know, I think, you know, our ability to rush the passer and

34:50and keep him from being able to create plays with his feet. I think are going to be really important. I think, you know, his decision making, I think, has sped up from maybe where the last time I saw him, and so he's got a lot of big talented receivers, tight ends, things of that nature to throw the ball to. So I see a vastly improved player. All right, was Allen just keeping praise, being respectful, or do you believe he has the ability to carve up that Bears defense on his way to a victory, which quarterback has the better afternoon? Well, I think Caleb Williams is going to be the best quarterback on the field and have the better numbers on Sunday. But I don't think that you should look at Bryce Young and see the version that you want to see, or maybe we saw earlier in his career. He has every, he has the capability to turn his career around as he began to do last year. There are limitations. And I think part of those limitations are rooted in his size or his

35:54stature. He's smallish. And so that puts him at a disadvantage. At the same time, he is a playmaker, and he does have the ability to get hot. And he's got a number one receiver and Tepic Millen that is a guy that is dangerous. So there are some weapons and I would not underestimate him. Not in week one, not in season four, because he might be a guy that's playing for a lot in his career, and certainly wanting to get off on the right foot this season in his home building. So as we saw last night with Brock Pertey, as we saw from Drake May, quarterbacks that are utilizing their escapeability or their mobility, that's something that Bryce Young can do and hurt you. So he can get out of a lot of jams on third and seventh, where you might think he has them set, you have them sacked, and he escapes and slivers through and gets a first down. You want to limit those types of plays, you want to play, I think more safe behind him

36:55than taking risk because you do have potentially two rookies in that secondary. And if you are able to keep things in front of you, you're going to limit how much Bryce Young can hurt you. I would not underestimate him, but I don't think he can take over this game. I mean, Bryce Young should be every bear's fans second favorite quarterback of all time. I mean, of all time, just a quick reminder, Bryce Young equals DJ Moore, Darnell Wright, Tyree Stevenson, Caleb Williams, and Luther Burton III. That's what Bryce Young did for the Bears. They clearly won that trade. Now they need to win with those guys we just mentioned minus DJ Moore. It's no longer there with Buffalo now. We'll help them go to the Super Bowl and win it. That's a whole other story. And they now need to win the game that got them all these guys for Bryce Young. They picked up Carolina, picked up the fifth year option on Bryce Young. I would be shocked if Bryce Young gets

37:59paid by the Panthers. I think Bryce Young will have a career in this league. I don't think it's what the Panthers on some huge hundred plus million dollar contract. If they win the division, though, it's going to be hard to say, let's take a chance on a new guy or let's sign Tyson Bayesian. No, stay away. Oh, no, I'm upset. That's my job. That was my job. I really upset. 66. Why would he leave Seattle? All right. Let me answer the question. Dennis Allen has to do this. Right? Like Dennis Allen has to get there every week. He's going to put the opposing quarterback on a pedestal because that's what he's doing in his meeting rooms. And that's important. And I don't think he's lying. I think he has some really good insight on and he explained it really well on what Bryce Young is probably going to look like this year. He has better pieces around him. They really ramped up that offense, adding some big pieces to defense. And this is a

39:06big year for Bryce Young. It's make or break, right? Like I don't necessarily see them. If the unless this thing goes real south, I don't necessarily see them moving on from Bryce Young. The problem is then you have to pay him like a story. That's a whole other story. But with that being said, Bryce Young didn't play much in the preseason. You know who else didn't play much in the preseason? Caleb Williams. Or Matthew Stafford. I mean, that's the fear that you go and break me. No. You know, so that's sort of the fear. There's an unknown that comes with week one. And I think that's the best thing you can do is prepare for Bryce Young and all things. And all shapes and sizes. I know we talk about Bryce Young in his size. He has some large past catchers, right? Tec Mcmillan. They also had a Darren Waller. He's a huge red zone threat. Yeah. He's late 30s, right? Yeah. He's been around for a while. It'll be interesting to see

40:08how they use him. And they've been a little strange about talking about how they're going to use him. So it'll be, we'll find out. But Caleb Williams has to have the better day. The expectations are higher for Caleb Williams. He has the better coach. He has the better play collar. There's a lot of newness on the headsets in Carolina as well. So I think Bryce Young has qualities that can threaten you. But I do think that bears have enough to shut it down. Those are questions to ask him. All right. Here we go. Veteran safety Xavier Woods. He popped up on the injury report with a groin raising questions about his availability on Sunday. How important is it for Woods to play Sunday and why? Why not? At this point, who cares? I mean, it's just like next man up next man up next man up. Like they're all sort of figuring it out together. No, I'm being a

41:08little facetious. It is important because you heard Dennis Allen talk about Xavier Woods yesterday and how his experience and the veteran leadership that he brings to the field is very different than that of a young player who needs a lot of coaching and development. So it's a big deal. And I'm sort of joking. But I, but from a skill level standpoint, I don't know what the drop off is necessarily. The experience I understand, but the drop off from Xavier Woods to next man up, whether it's, you know, Cam Lewis, Elijah Hicks, right? These are some of your options there. Like I don't know what that talent drop off is. I want to remind everyone that Xavier Woods was on the street before he was a bear. And there's a reason that he was non-signed before he was a bear. So we don't really know what we haven't seen a ton of him. We know that he's physical. We know that he has experience and he made some plays in the preseason and training camp joint practices

42:12etc. But I'm not panicking over this because I think already the defense is in the secondary is where you see the most concerns anyway for him to be out there and sort of compliment the Dylan Theanman lack of experience would be huge. But if he's not out there, Dylan Theanman, you're a first round pick. Go play like it. But they need somebody with Dylan Theanman, don't they? I mean, I was shocked. I mean, if you were watching on Twitch, I mean, I almost hurt my, I needed a Matt Sui Neckroll to support my head from breaking my shoulder. I mean, wow, if he's out, I think that's a huge thing if he's out. I think 75% of him is probably better than the next man up. I mean, of course, they're going to have to put somebody else out there. And maybe I'm over valuing woods and the whole connection of Dennis Allen, but it seemed to that has seemed to work a little bit for this defense. I don't think they've given this defense maybe as much support from free agency as they do

43:15on the other side of the ball and the money obviously is being spent on the offense. But they have had success with guys kind of off the street who have connections with the defense of coaches because of past experiences together. So I think this would be a big loss for the bears. I do too. I think that because you want something you can count on in the way of certainty. Now, Xavier Woods is not going to be a turnover machine one would think. He's not going to be somebody that is explosive defensively, but you need a, not, I don't want to diminish his role, but he's a placeholder and he's somebody that can get as deep as the deepest and keep everybody lined up. And there's value in that. He will be making if he's healthy is a 120 second NFL start. That's why Dennis Allen was at the front of the room on Thursday talking about that giving him a sense of comfort or confidence because he doesn't really have to make plays, but you can't

44:19allow big plays to be made. There's a difference there. The bears went from when they lost Kobe Bryant and they had to pivot to this is planned B or C. This is the emergency plan. Yes, it's not something you want to do, but they did it. They went from being a team that wanted to play downhill with their safeties as they would say to playing back line. You have to be as deep as the deepest. You're not going to be as aggressive. You can't be in as many man covered situations. You can't attack to the degree that you may want to or envisioned because you have limitations with some of your talent. You also have an experience with Dillanthineman. That's where Xavier Woods comes in the handiest because if he has to pull if he can't play then Cam Lewis would be your starter at free safety one would think and then you would start Malik Muhammad as the nickel back as it looks now. Malik Muhammad may get some action, but I would be surprised if Dennis Allen were to start

45:21two rookies in the secondary because I just think that he did not sound like a guy that yesterday. Let me put it the other way. He sounded like somebody valued experience and I think that's what Xavier Woods offers more than anything and coaches. They like to be able to go to bed at the night before the opener and look at their depth chart and understand that they've got a guy who has made a 121 NFL stars before. That's how you feel good about your game plan. So I think if he plays Bears' defense will feel very good. If he doesn't I think Bryce Young could have a better day. That's just because they're going to be more possibility for a big play. All right that's Bears' defense. When we come back press Taylor talked about the Bears' offense in the middle of it. Deandre Swift will talk about him next. It's the pick six. Ruthie is in for Jarrett. It is Han Payton Chicago Sports Radio 104 3 the score. Welcome back to pick six with Han Payton on 104 3 the score. Yeah that's a good question. Here's another good question. Bears' offensive quarter

46:24press Taylor talked about using two different running backs due to two different styles. Maybe you set the defense up a little bit. You know we're running the same schemes with it but maybe one guy gets to the spot a little bit quicker. One guy's looking to cut up a little bit more. One guy's going to make you miss at the second level. One guy's going to run you over. I mean there's there's certain things where now a linebacker has to be aware of which backs in the game. They're running. We tend to not change schemes based on backs. You know you've had some that's the thunder lightning. This guy runs inside this guy runs outside. Every back we put in the game we're going to run the same schemes with. So I think you as a linebacker I don't know that that's I don't know how aware you are of who's in the game but now all of a sudden this guy comes out out of the first level and it's a different presentation. This guy can run away from me. This guy's going to lower his shoulder on me and I think that just kind of wears on backers throughout the course of the game. Well while that sounds really good if DeAndre Swift has the kind of season so many expect how important is it really to have a second running back? Well common on guy is a ideal complimentary back because he offers a contrast and style certainly from DeAndre Swift.

47:30He's a seventh rounder who has overachieved but I think that based on what we saw last year speaking for myself now and what we have heard about this offseason and preseason if DeAndre Swift doesn't even take on an even greater role in this offense I would be surprised. They may or they may not be enough carries to share equally or even the distribution that we saw last year with Minungai and Swift. DeAndre Swift is ready for his close-up. He is a guy that may be I don't even want to diminish what he contributed last year by saying this could be a breakthrough season but I do think that he is on the verge of ascending to a different level. I don't know what you call that level. Is it elite? Is it top tier? It is next tier because everything that you have seen in him and now that you have another year in the Ben Johnson offense different city, same coach calling all the plays in the right ones. DeAndre Swift not only is a guy ready to go to

48:36the next tier in terms of running backs that we have seen around the league be rewarded handsomely in this offseason where the league is remembered how valuable the running back position really can be. There have been backs who have been rewarded from Gibbs. Do you go around the league and you look at Robinson and Atlanta and all these guys getting big new deals that DeAndre Swift also should feel like he deserves and the Bears also could justify doing something like that. DeAndre Swift is going to be the focus of this offense. DJ Moore is gone. The receivers are fighting for the ways to get open to become that guy but the one thing that will be steady each and every game plan each and every Sunday is that DeAndre Swift is at the center of your offense as he should be. So the two back offense, the two back approach you have to say that if you're press tailor you want to implement it if you're the Bears but it's going to be more about Swift this year than ever. It's the DeAndre Swift show. There's no doubt about that but it's very important and it's a good

49:40thing that Kyle Menungai is not showing up on this week's injury report. I mean we went from he was another guy that was not day to day. He was another guy that was week to week and all the sudden here he is ready to go. Now it was Ben Johnson lying to us with the Bears telling us bibs. They didn't have to. Wednesday they gave us this imaginary if we had practice today but we didn't practice and we made such a big deal about getting that injury report but it was a if we had had a practice this what would have happened. Yes DeAndre Swift is extremely important. I'm going to go for round of course here. I mean how many different tight ends are going to play on Sunday? It will all four be active and how many times David and Ruthie will be in 13 personnel. Hey, the largest on I.I. right? I think you did. Yeah but I still think they're they'd still think they've got four tight ends potentially plain on you know active. Okay interesting we're going to find out. Stephen Carlson. Stephen Carlson.

50:42I like him too. I think he's another Ivy League guy like that room is ridiculous. Okay. I love DeAndre Swift. Standing on a platform he's screaming it from the rooftops. I love DeAndre Swift and I think he is primed as you said David for an incredible season. Everything you hear from the coaches whether they're in front of a microphone or whether they're behind closed doors. They love DeAndre Swift and they are expecting huge things from him this year which is I think is so exciting coming off of the awesome season that we saw from him last year and sort of the gel and chemistry that's building between Ben Johnson who designs this offense and a guy like DeAndre Swift. With that being said what press Taylor said there in the clip that we played I think is so it changes my perspective a little bit on the value of having the two running backs that have different skill sets because of the pressure that puts on the defense

51:45and not knowing you know necessarily what each guy is going to be doing in what situation and so it's just not only physically exhausting when you have a common unguy in there is going to lower his shoulder and get you get you the one yard but also the mental sort of exhaustion of trying to figure out who's in the game what's running back is it's not just the personal grouping it's like oh wait we're in this personal grouping but which guys in there not to mention the sort of dual threat possibilities that you have with both guys right they can both catch the football as well so that I think is really exciting and I love the idea of having both of them out there but like you said Dustin when Kyle Menungai was hurt then all of a sudden you're sitting there being like who's RB2 you know like just in case and I think what we've seen in the first two days of football on Wednesday and Thursday is the very very harsh reminder that injuries change everything every year so you just never know and depth is so important so I think to be able to

52:50have a swifty swift and a rough and tough Menungai like that's really exciting for just sort of and I've used this word a little bit and I'll say it on the air but like I just think that the Bears offense is going to be sexy this year like I think it's going to be so fun to watch and we're going to sort of see those creative juices start to grow and flourish now the Ben Johnson has his guys in there and I think Deandre Swift and Kyle Menungai are going to be both big parts of that oh my god what a question what a question oh there he is pencil and paper people get it sharpened Joe Fort Moss 744 what college football game or games are you most looking forward to well I can tell you what I'm not looking forward to as a university of Michigan alumni I was born at the Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor

53:55Mason blue was in my blood I was raised on Zingermans and I will not watch Michigan this week I'm I'm protesting I'm not watching I'm scared I'm scared and I'm upset and I'm embarrassed and I think that Oklahoma team is pretty good wow and I'll check the score and if it's going okay maybe I'll watch I mean western Michigan did what Connor Stallions and oh come on that's what it do they call you gotta kick a horse when it's down I can say you're gonna protest I'm not gonna listen well I to me this was just sort of the final straw of like and it wasn't I know the one second controversy is a thing but I was embarrassed before I was embarrassed before the one second thing the way that that team came out and played at the big house against western Michigan who I hope has a wonderful season and I hope that they can make some noise and do something special

54:57this year for for their program because they deserve it and they played their tails off against Michigan but the way that Michigan looked the way the quarterback played the amount of money he's getting the new coaching staff looking like a deer in the headlights I have a lot of problems and what's going on over there and something needs to change before I turn them back on I know this didn't answer the question but I just needed to get that off my chest I'm glad you did I'm sorry I can't nervous that's okay that's okay but um that western Michigan you're like near this is coming instant classic right there that's that's that was instant classic well it's it's obviously it's obviously number one Ohio State at number four Texas 630 kick over on the three letter network um but my second most favorite game this weekend is the game that

56:03Ruthie's not going to watch and it's also I love when there's a good game in like for our times the 11 o'clock window the 230 window and the 630 window I like to have that trifecta of games to watch and I'm really curious to see how Michigan responds to what happened how that quarterback responds to the coach saying that he's not guaranteed a job oh I'll tell you what he said he said oh he said that cool that's cool cool that's cool right that's cool that's cool come on now I'm interested I'm interested in in that game as tell me this Ruthie I've never been to the big house I'm like you know it's kind of it's kind of my bucket list but it's seat for Oklahoma and it's big noon kickoff foxes there with their whole song and dance that they do on Saturday mornings you can get in you can get in the building I know it's a hundred thousand people but you can get in for fifty dollars that's interesting that seems very cheap 115 20 that seems very cheap for

57:08Oklahoma Michigan at on you know the first game of the day also keep an eye on if you want another game in that second window the middle window I'm curious about Duke Illinois yeah I'm curious about Duke Illinois Duke is typically tough typically a tough team I'm curious about Duke Illinois I like to see what Illinois does week number two after a opener yeah it felt pretty good about it it was okay how did good tech exchange with the friend of the program but Brett Beelam of this week gosh I like that he's ready to go we should have a month show we had a lot going on this week though so we'll talk to him soon enough but he's ready the aligner ready I think they're gonna beat Duke and I think the game the game with due respect to Michigan and Bryce underthroen I think that when you look at the best game of the weekend is Ohio State in Texas oh yeah number one versus number four this is a college football playoff matchup this is one that's gonna have implications

58:12on the national championship this is one where you think archmaning has a lot to prove still so Ohio State coming off that really rugged test against ball state in the opener the only one by 53 and I think they have the best receiver in the in college football against a team that arguably has the best quarterback in college football or the most the highest rated professional prospect among quarterbacks but I think that's the marquee matchup there are a lot of other things college football it's in a mess right now college football is in a state of disrepair it's hard to look at certain games it's hard to hear from certain coaches but games like Ohio State Texas reminds you it still can be very fun to watch all right we got to get to a break because when we come back it's time for our game predictions who wins Sunday and we will start this year having a celebrity picker every Friday so surprise we'll see what that is when we come back it's

59:18hard Peyton Ruthie Polinsky in for Jarrett on Chicago sports radio 104 3 the score have the extra point try coming up in with the extra point painting it's time for the extra point with Ha and Peyton come out for the extra point on 104 3 the score set up this extra point here we go week one for the Bears what is your prediction for Sunday what's the score and what will be the main focus of the conversation the reaction on Monday morning when we get back together all right I think we should start with our celebrity guest picker like we're going to have on Fridays except for this isn't necessarily a guest he's still a celebrity and he's the guy with the day off today because he's attending Matt Sui's funeral let's bring in Jarrett Peyton Jarrett on the hot Peyton show your show good morning how are you wearing his Miami look good looking good JP you know I'm wearing this Miami gear you guys after 77 laid down on the fam you last night you know your boys smiling shout out to Ruthie thank you for filling in and

1:00:21holding down the fort for your boy and I would be remiss if I did not start first with my two boys what up Brandon what up Dustin all right guys listen here we go I'm going with the Bears here man I don't care what anybody says bears are going to win this game 27 to 23 I'm going to go down I'm going to go down with the Ben Johnson in this offense is going to figure it out he's going to have a plan but I think what we're going to be talking about on Monday is how the run game was established early on okay that's how you're going to win this game established the running game early on I think with the play action pass off of that it's going to give opportunities for them to take shots down the field some explosive plays and the bears just have more ways to score than the Panthers do but as you look at this on on on your betting sites you're getting they're getting they're favored by three so we're talking about the field go here so people think it's going to be close so maybe we're also talking about that this game comes down to the fourth quarter and the

1:01:27bears just have a little bit more in the tank Jared great stuff great prediction before we let you go just want to express our condolences again and I know it's a tough day for your family for the Sui family I know you're close and you're attending the funeral for for Matt and the Wake was last night just what our thoughts are going to be with you all day today buddy hey man I really appreciate it yesterday was was very tough but when you're around people who loved him as much as I did man just the stories and and just the the smiles and the hugs the tears yesterday was was made it all worth it for me just to have my heartfelt so today will be another tough day but I appreciate you and Ruthie thank you for holding it down someone's got to keep David in line man it's not easy but at least least at least I know you got you got experience yeah we're you'll learn you'll learn soon all the best JP have a great weekend love you JP I love you guys man I'll see you soon all right so Jared's got the bears win 27 23 I have the bears winning too 31 27 no way Ben Johnson goes

1:02:32back home 31 points no way he goes back home to North Carolina and has an offense that's a dud I know I know the Ramscaught 7 I know the Seahawks score 13 I know that you think the offense is not going to be functioning at a high level this early in the season and I don't know what I was thinking but I do have 31 27 Panthers are going to lose bears are going to win and I'm sticking to it Dustin bet the over if you're with Jared and David lots of points while 24 13 bears the theme the theme on Monday I'm going to go with Jared I think it's the bears running game the time of possession and the use of wait for it David 13 personnel I have the bears winning and I initially had 23 20 I almost want to go 23 19 just so they like officially cover you know like cover handily the the total is 46 and a half points this is not going to be

1:03:40high scoring affair and I think what the Rams showed you what the Patriots showed you what the Seahawks showed you is that week one is a warm up and I think on Monday we're going to be sitting here not me but Jared and you will be sitting here and you will say it wasn't pretty there's a lot to clean up but they got the job done in a game they should win on the road and it's a lot to build on I think Colson loved one has a touchdown I think Dandry Swift has a touchdown and I think everyone's really excited about the possibilities I think there's going to be some holes on defense and that's what we're going to talk about it's going to come down to the end and Caleb William says it again Raven real quick I'll say bears 24 panthers 16 we're going to be talking on Monday about Caleb Williams on the road to the MVP and Colson loved him being the best one of the best or the best tight end in the NFL he's on the road for that too all right I like it those are our predictions

1:04:41you got them all on the record now and you are listening two way four seasons heating air conditioning plumbing sewer and electric football Friday presented by your local four dealers and advent you know what time it is check your watches it's appointment radio it's big time it's next unhawned paid with Lucy Polinsky and for Jared Chicago sports radio 104 3 this score yeah whatever