Dan Wiederer is qualified to make a Bears-Panthers prediction

0:00I like I Dan Weederer in the dude is a tone setter and that's undeniable and I don't even think Ryan Polk and anyone in that front office would deny that on air Contributor for 104 3 the score listen, we're not gonna accept this dad is quote we are going to push for more We are gonna strive for more co-host of the take the North podcast We're gonna take the North and never give it back Dan Weederer with ha and pain on 104 3 the score bear down baby Welcome back. It's on Peyton Chicago sports radio 104 3 the score time now She goes to the plumbers 911 hotline plumbing emergency call 1833 plum 911 local 130 plumbers get the job done right the first time Dan Weederer is from the athletic and he joins us now. Good morning, Dan. How are you? I'm terrific fellows. It is game week. We've waited a long time for this to come to our doorstep. It is here Getting ready to go to Charlotte this weekend the locker room open yesterday a lot a lot of good vibes going on right now You're going back home the way Ben Johnson's going back home

1:00You once worked in North Carolina the way he did he attended school there and grew up in the state Dan, I think that when you look at where we are It's exciting today's the first injury report and everything hinges on health in the NFL So how healthy are the bears as they get ready for the Panthers? Yeah, today's the first official injury report even though the bears tell their first practice yesterday So today there will be no workup at house hall So what you'll get is sort of an estimate of what today would have looked like versus what it looked like yesterday I think the one that you're keeping the closest eye on is Roman Dunze who been said on Tuesday was day to day this week with whatever Injury ailment he suffered late last week and the final practice of the preseason Beyond that they seem to be an overall decent shape We don't need to spend much time on the Kyler Gordon saga today That's the he didn't Kobe Bryant or obviously the two big you know July August injuries that we've dealt with But other than that I think that they're they're ready to roll and and it should be fun to get this first testing Carolina

2:02Dan, I think you know talk about the The injuries and guys that are doing say is a big one But I think also in that backfield with Swift and Monunguy both back on the field How big is that going to be for this ball club if they're both healthy ready to go as they go to Carolina Still curious to see what Monunguy looks like coming back from that that knee issue But again as you say JP to have him back practicing is is promising I think you guys have probably heard me for the last month and a half talking about what the Andre Swift looks like and and how Prime he seems to be in Benzonize to have a big year for them Running the football so I think it's it's gonna be fun I think for this Bears offense to get to the starting gate of the season with a better idea of what they want to be As a rushing attack than they had last year remember the month of September last year was a feeling out process And it wasn't very good in the running game until they got beyond that that week five by that they had So I think it's gonna be a really nice test On Sunday to see if they can get that established and start to loosen things up for for both the play action game

3:05For everything else Caleb wants to do speaking of tests on Sunday the Panthers I think a lot of people looked at that schedule release and I'm like all right Well, it's at least it's a Panthers and it's noon and there's not a huge primetime Element to it and all those things Dan this is a playoff team with two defensive lineman that can wreck your game plan in Derek Brown and Jalen Phillips How well equipped you think the Bears are with their offensive line Wasn't the most rousing endorsement for Braxton Jones yesterday from Ben Johnson And I just wonder how you see that match up their defensive line the Panthers and the Bears offensive line going Yeah, and it's more than the defensive front too I think Ben has expressed great respect for what they have on all three levels of the defense you mentioned Phillips and Brown up front. I think Devon Lloyd is a big-time playmaker at linebacker that can do a lot of things whether That's in coverage or or coming as an extra rusher You've got JC Horn who's a pretty good corner around the back end So they've got some things to deal with now whenever you ask me these questions during the Ben Johnson era

4:06I'm going to say I think that they're probably pretty equipped to handle it because Ben is so good At studying in a poning and and finding their vulnerabilities Matching them up with the bear's strengths and trying to put together a game plan that makes this offense one of the best There is in football look they made a jump last year from dead last in the league in total yard is up to six That was a huge jump in a year that was really essentially a feeling out process for everybody involved And so now you put that together with the continuity that they feel like they've got inside the building with the jump that they're going to get from their quarterback And some of their young playmakers and you feel like this bear's offense is set up at full strength to take any test that's thrown at them and succeed And so Sunday will be a good one for sure. I'm going to flip it to the offense of the Panthers Dan, do you think that the bear's defense is going to have to worry about the mobility of a guy like Bryce Young? I Think what you want to do first and foremost is figure out a way to keep that Ground game from getting going. I think Chubu Huber gets going to get a lot of

5:07Volume, you know early and the bears are going to have to try to To stop that and turn it into a game where they can go after Bryce Young a little bit on their terms and so Look, Bryce has got similarities to Caleb in a lot of ways. He's really good Layton games when you give him an opportunity to try and go steal one He can do that improvisational stuff that makes makes him very dangerous. They've got receivers now You know, Tepnik Millen, obviously a huge rookie year a year ago And there's a lot of optimism in Charlotte for where Jaylen coakers going and so Look, I think this secondary particularly if you're if you're leaning in to two rookies is going to need the The veterans the Jalen Johnson some Tyreex Stevenson's of the world to do their job and do it at a high level to make sure that you're not Beat by like you say JP a you know a play where it just becomes an extended play and you don't have the answer And they hit you for a big one and all of a sudden You're looking up the scoreboard and they've got some more points We're talking with Dan Weeder from the athletic here on haunt Peyton on Chicago sports radio 104 three the score

6:08So Dan in the athletic this morning excellent story posted in the headline is have bears Ben Johnson Caleb Williams found the key to unlock a new level of explosion and in The deep dive you referred to a couple things they did over the summer in the offseason to Try to unlock a new level of explosion one of them was showing Caleb Williams studying video of Aaron Rogers Yeah, not just Caleb Williams, but the entire offense and it's you know Peaker and Rogers in Green Bay was as good as it gets in this league at extending plays and and making you pay right and and so we've all lived that in various capacities over the years of watching the Packers be so good at their first plain out working and then Aaron figuring out a way to make something happen And so what Ben was doing there with the entire offense was just showing the purpose That the Packers had on all those plays that you know There's a belief in Aaron Rogers's brain that this could this could be a dagger You know what we call didn't work now watch me okay, and so that requires a buy-in from everybody involved

7:11It's the quarterback understanding what his responsibilities are But then it's also the the the pass catchers out in pattern knowing Quote unquote the guidelines press Taylor likes to call them guidelines rather than rules because there's feel to this And also understanding the stamina involved like you may be involved in a 10-second play You may be involved in a 14-second play so you've got to have your brain ready Even if you're the fourth read on the play that was called to come alive when that play breaks down understanding what Caleb's capable of and Be you know conditioned and mentally sharp to get to where I need you to be and to unlock this new level of offense I think Ben press Caleb everybody involved there feels like this could be a huge huge catalyst to passing game production And hopefully the the first test of it on Sunday in Charlotte comes alive Well, I'm all up for another level to this offense. I I'm waiting for it Dan I'm excited for it. I can't wait to see it see what what Caleb Williams in this offense is can't have the ability to take it to another level But it am I wrong for

8:13Looking there on Sunday just not for the spectacular plays but just to Watch him maybe make the easy plays the check downs all that stuff that Was kind of an issue last year where you saw the hero plays but taking what the defense was giving you Was something that he needed to work on this offseason Well, that's why I love the juggle of this because what we just talked about with scramble drill is something that the bears Feel like is something that is going to lean into Caleb's greatest gifts now In reciprocation they want the quarterback to understand that when we call a play in the first read is open throw the ball to him Right like get that guy the ball in space and let him go do his work if your first reads not there and we've gotten available Safety valve or check down there for you get it to him let the guy get the ball in space and go to work Make sure your ball location is sharp and that he's got an you know a runner's ball to go go get the maximum gain out of that play There's a lot here Jared to what you just said about just doing the simple better and understanding the the routine mundane stuff of the quarterback position that takes good quarterbacks to great and so Caleb's gonna have to do that all season

9:15You should have your lens on that every single game that they play from Sunday through through the you know the early parts of January We get to week 18 So yeah, that's that's a big big box on the checklist for Caleb is to make sure that he's capable of doing the things that they've hammered into his head Since they came back into the building in April Dan it seems that Ben Johnson and even Dennis Allen when he spoke last week Talk about Jalen Johnson differently this Training camp then what we heard last year. Maybe it's just me maybe reading into it, but it does seem like they If not going out of their way to be overly complimentary They have been very complimentary of not only his skill set and what he brings to that defense as a as a lockdown corner But his leadership which is something that I think is a new phase or element of his game in his seventh season Have you noticed the same or how would you describe that dynamic? There's no question particularly as of late that that bold Ben and Dennis have been very complimentary of the way Jalen made his presence felt down the stretch of training camp and there was a moment in practice a few weeks ago

10:21Where the whole team gathered up and it seemed like to be an animated discussion Everybody thought initially that it was Ben getting the group together and we learned after practice that it was Jalen and Jalen Talked about this with us a little bit yesterday. We're saying like I didn't want to wait till practice was over to say guys That wasn't up to our standard we weren't doing it it was it was time In the moment in real time to call it out to bring everybody together and say we're capable of more than this This standards got to be higher and so I think that level of Passion that Jalen brings that competitiveness he brings the coaching staff wants him to to be more outward with that to not be Keeping that to himself and so a guy that has this level of talent that can now have his voice be heard and get people to respond Is a big big deal and and look like the fact that he went through this entire camp without any sort of Concern about where he was health wise is a huge deal again We can contrast that with Kyler Gordon both guys missed a lot of time in 2025 Jalen fought to get back he fought to get back in the season last year He fought to get himself back to 100% this year And I think the coaching staff has respected that investment and that level of competitive tenacity

11:24He has and I think they know they've got something they can work with what about on the other side with Tyreek Stevenson Dan Are they confident in him as well? Yeah, and good conversation with Tyreek in the locker room yesterday and Al Harris said something to me I think it was in the spring about how Some of the things that he teaches you know, which is you know play the system rather than the man You know sometimes takes the second season for that to fully sink in We've seen the ball production the guys that have worked under al-Harris have had I think Tyreek understands that opportunity is there for him if he takes the coaching that's being applied to him We all understand the discussion on focus with him But I think he understands what's at stake for him This year financially and personally and what it means to the team And so I think it's going to be fun to see what kind of jump Tyreek takes in this next stage Dan 30 seconds Can you make a prediction are you qualified to do that yet? I am qualified. Yeah, it's certainly I mean are you prepared to are you willing to I know you're more than qualified to Yeah, I think I can do this. I haven't gotten a score yet. I think I'm probably going to take the bears by four

12:29Then they're gonna stop qualified then give me a score All right, wait I subject to change by the time we get to our official take the North score, but I'm gonna go 27 23 All right, that's good. That's good qualification I love you, Dan. I never doubt it. Thanks Dan Appreciate you guys have a good week Dan Weeder from the athletic. Yes. I you know what I bet. I know what you Melody bet you are always qualified