Sports! Mini — A 59lb Burger

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1:00Learn more at Kia.com or visit your Southern California Kia dealer. This January, Bear Nuckle Fighting Championship takes over the ocean. The inaugural Bruce Crew sells for Miami to the Bahamas aboard the Norwegian Jewel, three straight days with pool deck bear nuckle fights in the Caribbean, massive parties, beach events, DJs, cigars, and kilotastings and non-stop action. The light of reveals coming soon. Cabins are disappearing fast, and the prices won't stay this low. Reserve your spot with just $200 down at BKF-SEA.com. Hey everyone, welcome back to RUMAV Sports and Sports adjacent podcast. It says how to disprove the notion that people with lives dedicated to pixels jumping across the screen.

2:01Rob, I don't have time. This is a Bear Special Edition mini-sode. Bear is 59, Panthers 37. Came the Williams 20 and 29 passes for 269 yards passing 64 yards rushing for total touchdowns, two passing and two rushing, 124.1 pass rating. We're not talking about PFF here on this fucking podcast. Bear is past 269 yards and ran for 291 yards, eight total touchdowns, broke a franchise record for the most points scored in a season opener, 45 points in 1948. The third team in the NFL do ever rush for at least two hundred ninety yards and have six touchdowns in the game. And the most points allowed by the Carolina Panthers since that franchise was established in 1995. Rob, are the motherfuckin bears motherfuckin back? Well, this is sort of like a sci-fi situation where there's something wearing their skin is back. But I don't know that it was the Chicago Bears that have returned to us. Rob, there was a moment. This scored 59 points in this game.

3:01This scored a, I think the last touchdown, I can't remember if that was the DeAndre Swift or the goal line or a Camelanon guy, 61 yarder, that he pulled off on a handoff. Take your pick, take your poison. But it was when they were going for that and it occurred to me, the coward would go for the field goal. Then Johnson's to go for two. He should hang the 60 burger. I was out for blood. I have never felt that way before, Rob. I've never experienced emotions like that in a Chicago Bears game where I... arrogance, confidence, a mixture of the two where I wanted to humiliate. I reserve that for the green bay packers who deserve it. And then got it as they imploded. They're not in their self-humiliation era. They are. But I uttered that out loud while I was watching the game with my friends and neighbors, Patrick, what have you done? I'm like, this is what Ben Johnson does to people. You think that you should go for two just to humiliate this team and get to 60.

4:01He didn't do that. Yeah, MK was also like, I don't know, the bear should take the combined score over 100. Keep going, keep going. Yeah, it was a bonkers game and a really like just not used to this. It feels like we were picking up right where last season left off that it is Williams will just extend plays. Extended to the point the past protection just breaks down and something comes open. And then he's he's firing kill shots. You've got occasional like dime accuracy with the the call commit. That was just pass of the day. If he is doing shots like that on a more regular basis, it's there was some there was a third down conversion. He did on like 3 and 11 or 3 and 16 where it was one of those, you know, the receiver has to put their arms out and kind of grab it and like one of the one spots was across the middle of the field. But it was just if he started to do things like that. Well, really the sky is the limit. It's a goofy thing because for me, there's something so strange about Williams, which is that

5:05like you are like I'm trying to think like what a probability table for Caleb Williams looks like because it seems like the most unlikely thing is like the normal you're not going to see a short check down for a few yards. That's probably happening. Oh, beautiful. We skamed up a nice little five, five yard out route. Uh-huh. He didn't see that. That's the thing though. Over and over in this game. Now you don't remember them this way because more often than not, he was throwing to an open running back who was just like in the center there. But that guy would then take it for 11, 15, 16 yards. This is part of why like the whole controversy over his PFF grade. Part of that was like you get punished for taking the check down that is open because you don't get credit for YAC.

6:06You don't get credit for scheme. But over and over, I thought he did a really good job of just taking it was in front of him doing the Caleb magic. When it it was if you wanted a template for like how do you fuse. Uh, Ben Johnson, a guy who wants a joystick, right? Like that's why Jared golf was a perfect quarterback for him. A Brock Pretty sort of guy where it's like, look, just do what I've dialed up. You still got to be good to do it excellently, but if you just do what I dialed up, 90% of the work is done before the ball is snapped. And here you've got the alchemy of Caleb Williams and the science of of Ben Johnson. And they were it was humming. I've never I mean, obviously, historically, we have never seen anything like this. This is nothing that you and I have ever seen as various fans. No, literally I was I was thinking again, I was looking up like what were the most high output J cutler games in history. And nowhere near this like nothing nothing 40s occasionally.

7:06Um, actually, I'm not sure I could not find. I'm not sure he ever broke like 40 might have like only broken by much like his big games like all in the 30s, I think in terms of overall like point score. Look this for you for those, but you're talking. But I don't know like there's still moments where um, like he had a big completion to Roma, doons. I that Odoons is just waving his arms down field. He's been open for like five seconds before Williams finally sees him. And by the time he hits the throw, the window is closed and that becomes a contested catch moments like that. It's like, yeah, you still see the is the is the is the vision entirely there is the awareness there. But also doesn't matter because he can throw he throws that like high point pass. And then a doons a halls it in. And I think that that for me is the the thing that I like I'm sort of making my peace with is that it's going to be. Like it's kind of a go big or go home type type situation with with Williams and that he's just not.

8:14If if the thing I think that we've talked about this before for years and years it was like I just want a nice. Predict or mayor's offense just like keep drives going, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. I just don't think that's going to be what we get from Caleb. And I think Ben Johnson is making his peace with the fact that like what I have here is a gambler gunslinger. And I can do a lot to scheme things up, but I just got to let this guy. If he's feeling it just let him let it rip and we're just going to live and live and die by that. And right now at this point in his career. And that's going to that's going to treat you well. You're you ride this into a lot of points. And also he's pretty mobile. Did a lot of the like he is not. He's mobile, but again, like he he's talked about like he he viewed Aaron Rogers as a template and you can kind of see it, right.

9:14And when he runs, he's got that like head up looking around like maybe I might still bail out and throw this might still bail out and throw this. And then he and then he takes off and and running, but he's he's always start thinking along those lines. Also interesting choices about when he chooses to get hit and when not there was that one where he tries to sneak in the end zone and got. Look, he got clobbered like and like there was a collision like a head collision like gave me a heart attack. And but it's funny like as much as I feel like Williams and Johnson are on kind of opposite ends of how they sort of view things that that extreme you're talking about. There's a moment early on now part of this most of this is informed by I think if the offense was giving us heart attacks in a bad way last season. The defense is going to give us heart attacks in a bad way this season that seems to be like probably the roadmap. Ben Johnson early in the game when everyone was going boat blow for blow goes for it on fourth and one from the 20 not from the 20 where you're in the red zone from I love him.

10:24I wanted to know what you think of that because obviously it didn't work out and when you take high risk plays when you go for it on fourth and whatever. In zone like areas where analytically it would say probably don't go for it. Your your your cheered when it works and your your jeered when it when it doesn't work. Obviously it kind of that'll be forgotten given how the rest of the game went. But what did you what did you make of that moment because it was a it felt like a game defining moment that end up being forgotten once they ran away with things in the third quarter. The risk reward is all wrong for that decision. The obviously correct thing is to punt it. You know just given that situation and I kind of don't care because I kind of love that the bears offense plays before downs. Like that is just like that is that is the rule. Like if it is if it is fourth and short yardage. The net is just yet another down that we have to go pick up this this first down we're not wasting time. Sitting here biting your nails about do we send the punt unit out we send it now we we just keep the team on the field and we let him go and we're going to live and die by that and if you're comfortable living and die by dying by that.

11:34Then that to me is like that that's fine it is just the we've on balance we are going to gain more from this approach than we're going to lose it's going to blow up like a cigar in your face sometimes. And to your point you're kind of not going to fully remember all the times maybe extends things like you know that drive that ended up like chewing up like six minutes the clock time that started with a fourth and one on your own 10. And you may not remember that but if you're okay living that way and Ben Johnson seems to be then by all means go for it I would rather have a coach who's like I'm willing to do something obviously sort of dangerous maybe even self defeating to just like play according to this principle that I've decided is like a guiding strategy for how to do it. And then you're going to be able to do something that's going to be a guiding strategy for how we approach offensive possessions comparing that to the the timidity that so often characterize Negi or if he just like baffled deer in the headlights I don't know what to do of the Eber Flues era.

12:35Kind of refreshing like he's going to he's going to give away a couple games doing this shit yes. And I'm okay with that because I feel better about how we give those games away then when the bears would like play not to lose. This January bear knuckle fighting championship takes over the ocean the inaugural Bruce crew sells for Miami to the Bahamas aboard the Norwegian Jewel three straight days with pool deck bear knuckle fights in the Caribbean massive parties beach events DJs cigars to kill the tastings and non stop action the light up reveals coming soon cabins are disappeared fast and the prices won't stay this low reserve your spot with just $200 down at BKF S E A dot com. Well there was a moment where in the Packers Vikings game where they I can't remember the let if I've ever seen this but like they they took points off the board because of a penalty allowed them to go for a short yardage situation where they could convert to a first down potentially get a touchdown as opposed to taking a field goal and only taking three points they went for that.

13:56Didn't get the conversion turn the ball over and downs and was a pivotal moment in which the Packers collapse like continued a pace but one of the criticisms of folks like the floor is they can be kind of risk of a like McVey I can also criticize sometimes I just get more aggressive on four down it will benefit the type of of of of offenses you run and Ben Johnson at least now does not does not have that fear and it is probably a better instinct in totality in the long run. To go for the moments like that and to scare opponents into thinking you might right like in the same way that you set up plays in previous games to set up plays in future games I also manage game management and conversions decisions in theory will play into like mindsets of teams and how they play you on short yardage situations that could be advantageous in the future the other thing I've talked about this on the podcast before. I have had very funny moments many times in recent years where I always pick up my kids and run them around with the bear score touchdown and they come over to me and go why haven't you run us around because the bear seven score to touchdown ha ha we're sad we don't score points.

15:06At a certain point in this game Rob like kids said like we're good like we don't like do we need to do it didn't they just score a touchdown like they did the score to another one. And my six years like okay I guess I'm like wow just do it just to the same maybe I don't have to bring back for sacks and then they get any get around so yeah this incredible game from from from Williams also keeping with last year's theme the we completely fix the Andre Swift. That's that contract which was controversial in my like friend group tax like that man earned every penny of that contract in that game is you compare the Andre Swift footage from like before he came to the bears or the Lies Ben Johnson he got rid of the Andre Swift it's like he's decided to keep a player he got rid of not granted Jemure Gibbs is like a unicorn of a running back prospect but still but like swith and the guy looks so freaking good he's got a similar thing where he's got like anvil and hammer that he's going to and just the if there is for all the attention on the passing game the way the running game was also just gouging them throughout this game and I'm not sure if he's going to be a little bit more difficult to get to the game.

16:24There's an boosting to be put plenty. Another question someone showed by Bob Bryant bought both ties not drop and this. And the first is this one�� then I tried to grab some of her because that's what happens there on the market last year's in the next series at the first height in terms of theragen as well as blogs and also focuses on gamers ハハ after to Count Bong his feet? No, no, absolutely not. He's just going to let that arm do its thing. It doesn't matter what else is happening. So you've got that, you know, so the plays are taking forever. Then you've got a running game with the offensive line blocking looks really, really clean. They're hard to bring down. It is, it looked murderous to play against that all that being said, Patrick, I'm like, I can't pretend I am not deeply concerned about the defense situation. Like, I came out of that being like, oh, it's often so much more fun and awesome. I thought it was going to be, and the Bears might net be worse than

17:24I thought they were going to be because how many teams are going to let themselves get torched the way the Panthers did versus how many teams are going to torch that defense? Well, it'll be really interesting. Next week, as we wrap up this mini so that we're going to do our best to actually maintain it mini so time because hold on, what was the blitz rate of Brian Flores? He, the historic blitz rate against the Packers. It was like, I want to say it was like 80 percent. Brian Flores this week. Like it was, yes, Brian Flores is nearly unreal blitz rate. 78.3 percent of Jordan Loves dropbacks were blitzes by the defensive coordinator of Brian, that's like so absurd. It's like it's absurd. It's absolutely absurd. It's going to be really telling next week when the Bears play the Vikings because the blitz is a high risk high reward play in and of itself because if you can, as they say, punish the blitz, those are big time plays over and over again because blitzing

18:26means players are uncovered. And so I am fascinated to see what happens next week. Our plan kind of going forward is we're going to do our best on non sports weeks to do like a sports mini sod. A little check in, kind of week to week with how the Bears are doing, how we're feeling about. But we're going to truly try and keep it to like a mini sod format. And then we'll unleash ourselves on actual like sports episodes. But if they're going to be good, we're going to want to talk about them all the time. And I feel like this is maybe a decent exhaust valve to get some of that out week to week as the season goes on. That will do it for any other short. Does it change last thing? Does it change anything about how you feel about the season or like what do you any proclamation? You ever picks from before the season. I was trying to look them up. My document erased them. I have, I can probably find a older version of it, but not by the time I finish wrapping up here. So I guess I'll say this. Some of what I some of what I predicted was based on my expectation

19:32that the Bears would come in kind of tepid. Like that there would be a bit of a slug you start to the season. Then coming in sort of where we left them last winter is unexpected. That maybe changes my expectations a little bit. But on the other hand, I had concerns about the defense. They were believe it or not. Like they were still not as they may not have been concerned enough. They may not have been of appropriate magnitude for for that defense is at. So I'm still okay with my picks because on the one hand, it was like, oh man, they look they look like killers. This is going to be fantastic. And then on the other hand, it's like they're going to have to score record numbers of points because we are basically putting like a JV squad out there. Yes, I think that is still the case, but the case for them being okay was the kind scoring 59 points is not a fluke. You won't score 59 points every game,

20:34but it's proof of concept. And the Panther's defense was supposed to be pretty good. That's where they invested in the off season. It was signing a lot of big free agents in order to make that team better. And so, okay, if this now, if the Apple podcast automatic transcript is correct, and I reserve the right to blame this transcript for being wrong as I was pulling it up, you were saying they were going to go 10 and 7. I said they were going to go 12 and 5. Do you feel that is still in play? Are you still comfortable with that? I think I'll know more next week. I agree. That's going to that's going to feel like it's it's going to be telling things are already weird in Minnesota with with Morgan cussed like immediately. Yes. And so the entire thing was like can Kyla Murray kind of be rebooted and rehabilitated over in Minnesota who just had a disastrous quarterback situation. Now it's their reliant Carson Wentz, right? So that's a very strange situation over there hoping that the

21:38Murray makes a quick recovery, but at the same time the concussion protocol can like can extend for a long time. So it's a weird thing. So things are kind of in a in a strange place over there. I wouldn't that was the all week one. It's like every team like nothing feels entirely normal. It's kind of why I'm glad we're waiting. I wanted to do like this idea came to me when I realized yeah, people were asking like what do you think about sports? Like what happened with the bears? I'm like, what if we did this because week two two weeks give you some some sample size. Like remember last year the Patriots lost to the Raiders. The Raiders were one of the worst teams in football. The Patriots may have fraudently gone to the Super Bowl, but they were good enough to like get into the dance and then anything can happen and like anything did happen, including getting their asses kicked at the Super Bowl. So I think like two weeks gives us a better sample size of the bears, a better sample size with the NFL. So that's like a decent place to start with getting into sports more generally after you know a couple of weeks of of the action. So we'll be back with a much more. One last thought. Please. You know who really hopes that bears defense can buckle.

22:44It can tighten up. It feels like Ryan Poles. I will say that as in Malik Muhammad, the quarterback they got in this draft look pretty good. I don't know how to pronounce the safety that they they got in the first round. The Deneman, I believe his name. He looked pretty good. There are promising flashes, but the bet the highest possible outcome for the bears absent a trade like that was to happen mid season, which I would not rule out like if somehow they're scoring 30 to 40 points and like losing some games like at some point your hand is going to be forced and they'll have to try and find some help along the edge most likely in order to help them. But again, if you're going to score 30 to 40 points, you only need like the 18th best defense in the league to get along. And so it's the the Flores is shockingly low. Many ways to win. Many ways to win. So we will see we will pour it back soon. Thanks for listening. Thanks to two mellow for the remap

23:47radio theme this episode was produced by Chia Contreras. You can follow me on to mellowswork at tomel.net and you can support everything we do by extension the bears by heading to remap radio.com. Until next time, fuck capitalism and bear fuck down.