WEEK 4 PREVIEW: Ben Johnson, Bears Face Aaron Glenn & Jets

0:00No, what's up everyone welcome back to the charter podcast about to see if you're university. I'm Ruthie Flunz, Gabe back with Clay Harbor. We see you in the comments and we're going to keep teasing you and you're going to have to keep coming back every week to see if we bring back the jingle. I think it's coming back. I spoke with my father in law. I spoke with my father in law, Clay, who loves our podcast. He's really maybe one of our biggest fans. He said that if the viewers, listeners want the jingle back, we have his permission to bring back the jingle. Now we're just going to have to debate about it. Not this week. Doesn't feel right this week. Maybe we come up with a new jingle, but I don't know if that's really what the people want. I think they want the old jingle. You never really know what you got till it's gone. Maybe we produce that one. Then we actually get like a sitcom vibe with the jingle, maybe some fake laughter.

1:01That's really what I envision. Some applause. We're going to get some on that one. Yeah, we'll get some. We'll produce it on that one. Clay, great to see you. The Bears are two and one. Case-Keynum Fever. It is quite the time in Chicago. We're taping this on Thursday. The White Sox advancing. Incredible. We're going to be joining the Cubs, not so much, which is sad for Cubs fans, but great things for Chicago Sports Network. I'm going to tell you this, Clay. We got to start the podcast with the quarterback conversation. We have a really great show ahead. We are going to be joined by Jake Asman, who is a Jets podcaster. You may have seen him on social media. He has the Jake Asman show. He also is on ESPN in New York. He is a lot, a lot, a great context and fan perspective of what people are talking about when it comes to this Bears Jets matchup on Sunday at noon on the lake front.

2:05We're going to get to Jake in a little bit here. Before we get to him, I wanted to start, Clay. Let's just what? I was listening to some Jets podcast yesterday. I did locked on Jets. Just see what the other team's saying. I listened to the Jake Asman show. I don't even know he was our guest, Ruthie, until today. And then I just looked at him. He fantastic. I just checked the podcast. He's funny. There's some funny. They're hilarious, but he's got some really good. They're very Jetsy. They're very New York, which is fun. So our sweet little Midwestern selves can join the New York East Coasters here just a minute. A minute. Before we get to Jake, Clay, let's talk about this quarterback situation because you saw what Case Keaton was able to do. I want to get your thoughts on what impressed you the most, maybe, about just that fairy tale night on the lakefront. But also, I think there are two different conversations this week. I think the conversation is, what do you think Ben Johnson is going to do and what do

3:06you want to do at the quarterback position when you look at this Jets team coming in here on Sunday? So let's start with Case Keaton. Keaton fever here in Chicago. What impressed you the most, Clay, about what you saw from the 38 year old quarterback? What impressed me the most was what he was able to do, obviously, in that first half without a run game. I mean, he had 27 yards in the first half of that game. The Eagles really said, hey, we're going to stop this run and we're going to make Case Keaton beat us. I hasn't played football in the thousand and nine days. He've heard it a billion times. He's 38 years old. So apparently he's ancient. I'm older. I'm sorry. But him coming out, the pocket awareness, getting the ball out quick, just competing, just never missing a beat. The trust that Ben Johnson had in him was so impressive. For a guy that hasn't played in that long, usually you think there's going to be some rust. It's not easy to come in even after an injury. You miss a few weeks.

4:06You're like, man, it's taken me a minute to get back. This guy did not skip a beat. That just shows you how locked he's been. When he's obviously mentoring Caleb in Tyson, that was his job. That's what he thought he was going to be doing when Ben Johnson called on. Said he was semi-retired. Didn't know if he was going to play again. Has a convo with Ben realizes, wow, I really want to work with this guy. Comes back and just completely balls out when his number is called. And so impressive for a veteran quarterback of his years to come in and have one of the best games that he's ever had. That was so impressive the way he manipulated the blitz. When they're blitzing, he knew exactly where to go with the ball. His processing was probably the main thing that I saw just how quickly he knew which receiver to go to. It was just one of those games, Ruthie, that I think years from now, me and you, I don't know, I'll see you and go, hey, do you remember four years from now? Do you remember that Case Kingdom game? You really know exactly what I'm talking about. As you know, all bare fans, you beat the Eagles last year's team that was in the playoffs.

5:11Last year they had the fifth scoring defense in the entire NFL. Vic Fangia wanted revenge from the beat down the Bears gave him on Black Friday last year. Just unreal story. No, can't have more respect than I do right now for Case Kingdom, what he was able to do with Ruthie. What was your biggest takeaway and what impressed you the most about cases performance? You know, I don't mean to toot my own horn here, but I think I was on these airwaves about last, this time last week. You called it. Talking about Case Kingdom being an arguably put in the best situation of his 15 year career because of the play collar, the protection, the skill position players, the run game. And I think Clay, I was right. So I did. You were. You picked the Bears to win 2720. This was his best situation. I did not expect Clay and we'll get into this. I did not expect the defense to look as good as they did.

6:13That was what really shocked me. I also didn't expect the Eagles to look as bad as they did. So there's a lot there, but I think you can't take anything away from Case Kingdom and the credit he deserves. You will hear about his preparation and what it took for him to look the way he did. On Monday night, it was very, very clear that he was about as dialed in as you could possibly be. And I think again, you have to give the credit to Ben Johnson for putting him in the positions that he did and designing an offense that worked for Case Kingdom. That wasn't Caleb Williams out there. And Ben Johnson knew it. And that I think is what was so exciting. And like I said, I think there were some parts of, you know, and even Ben, I think admitted to some of this that there are things you can do with Case Kingdom out there that Caleb Williams isn't that kind of player. So Caleb Williams isn't going to do those things. And that's okay. And I think we saw a lot of that, which was really, really fun.

7:13With that being said, Clay, I don't know if it can get better for Case Kingdom than what happened on Monday night. That was about as clean of offensive performance as you could possibly ask for. I think there are certainly some skill position players that probably want some things back, like Roma Dune say, catch the ball in the end zone. You know, there are some, you know, protection things that maybe broke down at times. Obviously, Braxton Jones going out didn't help. But I think what we heard from Ben Johnson after the game on Monday night, reiterating, at a time he did not have to say this. He did not have to. He could have said, we're going to look at it. We're going to talk about it this week and we'll let you know. But he got up there in front of the podium after Case Kingdom has the performance of his life. And he said Tyson Beijing is our backup quarterback for a reason. He won that job in the summer for a reason. And that, to me, tells you everything you need to know. Now, they're going to play games with everyone this weekend or this whole week. And as they should, right?

8:14Like, there's no reason to give the Jets an answer as to who's going to play quarterback no reason. Let them prefer and let them play my, listen, is it going to look a lot different from an offensive scheme perspective from between Tyson Beijing and Case Kingdom? Probably not. But I do think that it still gets in the mind of your opponent when you don't know who the quarterback's going to be. And it's fun for the Bears to kind of have a secret all week and to play this game for us. And Tyson Beijing and Case Kingdom are both going to be speaking to the media this afternoon, which I think is another example of some, you know, mind games they're playing, which is so much fun. I enjoy it. And these are the problems play. These are good problems to have. Like, this is an unbelievable week in Chicago's sports talk because like, to have a backup quarterback controversy is incredible. I will say this. And then I'm going to let you finish this off here. But if Case Kingdom played this way and Caleb Williams was healthy,

9:17you would not be saying, hmm, should we play Case Kingdom again? No. There was a hierarchy that was determined after the spring because of the jobs that were one clay. You were out there. You saw how much better Tyson looked all summer than Case. And of course, Case had a great performance. But Tyson Beijing won that job. The same way Caleb Williams has won the starting job. So when your job, Case Kingdom, he went in there. He did his job as the third string. Tyson's healthy. It's Tyson's job to lose. And having a concussion last week and not being able to practice is out of his control. I think we see Tyson Beijing out there at the beginning. I'm not sure what I would do if I were the head coach. And everyone can have their own opinion of what they would want to do. And that's why we love this game so much. And this and this team. But if I were to be a, if I were to look into my crystal ball, I think Ben Johnson's going to try out Tyson Beijing, regardless of how well Case Kingdom played. Yeah, let me check this real fast.

10:18The Chicago Bears have three good quarterbacks. That's incredible. What is going on here? When's the last time the Bears have struggled to find any quarterback? And now they got a controversy because they got two really good backups. There is no wrong answer here. And I'm convinced with that. I think both these guys can go out and beat the jets. But I'm with you, Ruthie. I think Tyson Beijing won this job for a reason. They gave him a contract extension for a reason. Ben Johnson is on record of saying he thinks he is one of the best 32 quarterbacks in the National Football League. Ben Johnson said, we are made of the right stuff. Me and Tyson, does there get a bigger compliment than that? That we are made of the right stuff. He's serious on the field. He takes his job seriously. He's one of the hardest workers on the team. Tyson deserves this opportunity. Case, everything he did was unbelievable. And it's great to have him there as a backup if you do have Tyson. If Tyson gets hurt, if Tyson even struggles in the first half,

11:18maybe you bring in case for backup. But Tyson is a guy that watching the preseason, the OTA's, the mini camp, deserve to be the number two quarterback. And then you look at the last preseason game he played. Yes, I know it was preseason. He went 16 to 17. And the one incomplete pass was a throw away. So this guy can play some high level football. He's more mobile. He's more, he's more durable was a term I'm looking for. He can do a lot more things. He still can play on rhythm on time. And I know people have talked about the drive he had at the end of the game. I thought he did a really good job. There wasn't much there. You're playing into Vikings in a torrential downpour. There's puddles on the field, on soldier field. And he comes in and gives him a chance to win the football game. Yes, get Tyson this opportunity. He earned it. I think it's time to see what he can do. And I think that that Chicago will be happy when they see what Tyson can do. But this Jets defense, I'll just listen into the St. Brown podcast for some reason.

12:18I don't know. And he would and I'm in Ross St. Brown goes, hey, it's ain't your same old Jets team. He's like, we know we've talked about the Jets in the past. And I'm in Ross St. Brown go, this ain't your same old Jets team. And I watched the game last night against the Lions just because, you know, I wanted to get a little jump start of the Jets team. They look they look good. The defense Aaron Glenn was the CEO head coach. Really good defensive play car. This year he says, I'm calling the plays. And you can tell that that defense has come to play. Geno Smith, complete and a league highs over 75% of his passes. Garrett Wilson, one of the best receivers in league, Ken Nitsidek is becoming one of the most explosive tight ends in the league. Obviously, Breeze Hall is out this week with a quad, but this isn't going to be an easy game. This isn't the same old Jets. Yes, Bears, game you should win. But I'm excited to see it. I think this will be a real test for the Bears. Perfect way to transition into our guest. Who is the one and only Jake Asman. Let's get into this with Jake who really has everything we need to know

13:20about the Jets who are coming to Soldier Field this weekend. We are absolutely thrilled, excited, honored to welcome in Jake Asman of the Jake Asman show and also of ESPN, New York, who is really just the guy who can talk all things Jets. Really all things all New York sports. But it's great to have you, Jake. Obviously you are Mr. Jet. And we're excited to have you. Jake and I have been long lost friends for a long time. You are connected to my brother-in-law, which is hilarious bizarre connection, which we love. And Jake and I met Clay. We were both in Vegas for the circus sports football contest weekend. And we made the connection and we were like, Hey, Jets week, let's talk some Jets and Bears. So that's how this all happened. Jake, thanks for being here. Ruthie, great to be with you. And I kind of do wish we were back in Vegas hanging out at the circuit pool at Stadium Swim,

14:23I was such a fun weekend, but also the junior on the podcast. Thanks so much for having me. We're so excited to have you, Jake. I guess I'm most curious because the quarterback conversation here is so intense. I'm curious what the dialogue is like in New York when you guys are talking about the Bears and who they're going to trot out there on Sunday afternoon. What are you thinking and what is your opinion on the matter? So I think most people looking at this game, especially after Monday night, I think there were a lot of Jets fans and people covering the Jets who just assumed, well, why would they make any change if it looks so good with Keen, I'm just stick with the veteran. But you know, after listening to Ben Johnson speak this week and listening to you guys talk about the quarterback situation. Now I'm not so sure. I think just from a jet perspective, the Jets, they could have any quarterback they're going against. They just need wins no matter what. Geno Smith's played really well. So you could arguably say it's one of the few games on the Jets schedule where they might have the advantage at quarterback going in. And the big question with the Jets is, okay, well, what about the coaching match up here?

15:26Because it's Aaron Glenverse, Ben Johnson. We just went through Aaron Glenverse, Dan Campbell this past week. So it's, you know, the Aaron Glen reunion tour with the Jets playing all these opponents in the NFC North. They played the Packers in week two. So this is like the final stretch of yet another NFC North team for the Jets. So Jets, what's the, so Jake, what's the feel on the Jets up there? Jets, Jake, you said he's Mr. Jets, man, I could call him Jets or Jake. I think he'll answer to both. So what's a key play? Yeah, so what's Jake, Jake, what's the feel out there on the Jets? I know they're one and two, but they have played some competitive games. I just finished the Lions game. I mean, they're driving down the field. If Geno doesn't get sacked and fumbled, there's a chance they tie that game and go to overtime. This doesn't seem like your same old Jets team. And that's what Amin Rousane Brown said on his podcast. He said, this isn't the same old Jets team. You got AG calling the plays. Now I know there's been some people calling for his head saying maybe he's not. The best head coach out there in the league. There's some special teams issues going on.

16:26But what's the feel, the vibe of this team with Geno coming back, playing at a high level, playing some really competitive games so far this year? I would say this, they're clearly an improved team from where they were last year. But people are, I think at times going maybe a little too far with, wow, there's so much better. I mean, at the end of the day, there are a couple of plays away from being two and one or three and oh, but that's the NFL. So while last year they were historically bad in the last five games. They were playing Brady Cook who's not in the NFL quarterbacks. You almost throw those games out. Like last year they started 0 and 7, but people just remember the Jets 2025 season through the lens of the last five games where they broken NFL record for losing by 23 or more in that stretch. The talent level is a lot better this year. That's been obvious. The quarterback play is light years better with Geno Smith than what they had with fields for you guys obviously know well in your city and Tyra Taylor who played through injuries and again, Brady Cook at the end. So like that's been the biggest difference. They look like an actual NFL team. They just haven't been able to actually close out some of these victories.

17:29The packer lost two weeks ago where they blew a 10 point lead in the fourth quarter. And every bare fan was written for the Jets that day. That to me is kind of like the moment where you're thinking man, if they just had that game and then played against the lines this past week and lost the exact same way. Look, if you're two and one you'd be feeling really good about yourself and you can actually understand like the moral victory crowd that's out there in this Jets fan base. But they got to find ways to close. They've been in games. They're a better team. It's just about can they close and that's kind of the big question with this head coach who's no longer in his first year. He's in year two where 20 games in. He's four and 16. So the win's got to start coming. It's one thing to be more competitive. You got to win some of these games. Aaron Glend is not going to be able to afford another four or five win season. If he wants to be the head coach in 2027. It's so interesting, Jake. And I just think about the Jets like long term and what their plan is at quarterback. And I think Gino Smith is probably the definition of a stopgap. Right. And obviously there are a lot of first round picks and things that could turn into a quarterback maybe

18:29at some point down the road. When you look at the quarterback play and the future of the team when it comes to Aaron Glend and the quarterback position when so often the head coach and the quarterback are tied together, what do you think is the trajectory for the team? And I know this is not really getting into the game preview. But since we're talking about Gino, I just think that there's a lot to learn about. How are Jets fans valuing winning football right now when you know that you do need a quarterback in the future? It's very unique, Ruthie, because the Jets have not one, not two. But three first round picks. So I think there's a lot of fans who at least go into the year saying, let's give this team a chance to surprise. Their surprise teams every year in the NFL. Six teams made the playoffs last year that didn't the prior year on average since like 1990s, at least four. And it's never the Jets obviously in the last 15 years with the playoffs drop that they have. But I think you go into the year at least as a fan like, okay, let's see if the Jets could surprise like there's always several teams that do the Raiders this year. I mean, they've already matched their win total for example at 3 and 0.

19:29So well, yes, if they start terrible, there's going to be people saying just time to lose, get a new head coach, pick as high as possible. I think the fact that the Jets have their own first round pick, the better of the Cowboys or Packers pick, which with the Packers right now could end up being a very high pick. And the Colts pick, I think there's a lot of Jets fans to say, let's just win games. And if we have to move up to get our quarterback, so be it. Let's find out about our roster. Do we have a head coach? So I think most Jets fans are on board with at least at the beginning of the year. Try to win, try and develop some of the young players that are on this team. And then you kind of go from there, but Gino is the very definition of a stopgap. But if he plays like this, you could bring him back and then have a rookie sit behind him. And they're going to issue with that plan. So it's so early, it's tough to kind of prognosticate what their plan is specifically. But I think their end goal is to use at least one of those first round picks of the three on a quarter back and ideally set their team up with the quarterback and coach on the same time line and then go go and try and you'll build a team that could be competitive and a sustainable winner going forward.

20:31Yeah, for right now, you can tell that's working with Kirk O'Chains over there with the Raiders. I mean, that's impressive. I'm surprised. It's tough to bet against them. Can you talk about this defense? I'm looking up the numbers. I'm seeing these guys and total defense of Jets are number two and run defense are number seven and past defense are number three, number 12 and scoring. So obviously in the red zone, they probably need to get a little better but going into lions could do that to you when Jemir Gibbs is just Jemir Gibbs. I mean, when the best running backs in the league. So why is this Jets defense so much better this year than they have been the past couple years? Who are the guys that are standing out? Have they changed anything in scheme? Well, the scheme is different just because Aaron Glenn has taken over the play call in this year. While he obviously was the head coach a year ago, Steve Wilkes was the defensive coordinator and Steve Wilkes did such a poor job that the Jets actually fired him before last season was even over. They made a change. So Glenn taken over the play calling. He's gotten the most out of the talent. Like I don't think if you just look at the Jets talent defensively, you have a bunch of

21:33standouts. I think they've gotten the most from some of their players like Demario Davis, who's an Ageless Wunder still at age 37. David Bailey, the second pick in the draft, he's been up and down but his ups have been very impressive and he's made some plays. And I think they've had the classic kind of bend, don't break mentality. Now some of it is also the schedule. Let's be fair. They played the Titans and Camboard and week one. He has certainly struggled so far this year. And in week two, yes, they played Jordan Love and the Matlethler Packers offense, but it was raining. It was nasty. I met life that day. Packers were banged up on the offensive line. They lost one of their starting receivers and read a couple plays into that one. So it kind of skews the numbers a bit. The Lions game, they were good for probably about the first half defensively. And then when they really needed to make a stop, the Lions go to touchdown on four plays and they left your mere Gibbs completely uncovered, given Detroit, that touchdown that put them up 31, 24. So they clearly have been better. I'm not trying to say that they're not an improved team. They clearly are. But I think three games in when people are like, well, they're the second rated defense

22:35in the league right now. There's definitely got to be some nuance and context applied to it, but they're playing hard for the coach. That's certainly clear. It's just a matter of can they force takeaways? Can they get an interception? I'm sure you guys will talk about this. It's now 20 straight games in the New York Jets. I've had an interception, which is hard to believe considering Aaron Glenn was a phenomenal corner. A 40 career pixel is in his playing days. So that's the big story with the Jets as well. When are they ever going to get another interception? It's just hard to believe it's gone on for this long. We talked about it on our show saying, you don't want to be the team that breaks the streak. You know, like that's the worst thing that could possibly happen. But I'm sure for the players, Jake, it's like in their heads at this point, like, are there opportunities for interceptions and they're just not hauling them in? Or is it just a scheme thing or the players? Like what do you think it is with the interception streak? Right. I think it's a combination of everything, Ruthie. I mean, this year in particular, they have not had a lot of opportunities. There's been past deflections at times. There's been moments where maybe often deflection someone is near the ball.

23:38But last year, it was just, it was everything. It was guys running wide open. Most weeks, they weren't close. And then just like every NFL team, there were moments where it just goes right off a defender's hand or off the receiver's hands, it bats in the air and it's right there for someone to take and they just drop it. I can't that happen a bunch. But I think it's a combination of everything. I think getting takeaways is a mentality. I think the pairs are a great example of this with what they did on Monday and what they had eight games last year where they had at least three takeaways or more. So some of it's coaching, some of it's scheme, some of its players, some of it's just sheer luck. But here we are three games in and while the defense is better, you know, the jets, forget just the interceptions. They actually force five fumbles against the Packers. They only fell on one of them. So they never have any fumble log and they never get any interceptions. So it's like, yes, the defense has improved, but like the great defenses, they come up with the takeaways and that's still missing from the jets to this point. I wanted to ask you, Jake. Oh, sorry, Clay. I guess it's your turn. I was going to ask about Breeze Hall. What's the trajectory of his injury and how much does it hurt the jets if he's not out there on Sunday?

24:39I would be surprised to be placed Sunday. They said it was a quad injury. So I just, I don't see him out there. It sounded pretty bad. I think they got some good news as far as his long term health. It doesn't seem like it's something that will keep him out more than maybe a couple of games. But without him, they struggled to run the ball the last two games, even with Breeze Hall. So, you know, without him, you're going to be relying more on Braylon Allen. Isaiah Davis, who actually flashed a lot last year as a third running back, will get more opportunities. He got hurt and training camp and he really hasn't played it all yet. To this point. So his role is going to be certainly expanded this week. And a big issue for the jets even if Breeze was healthy, the offensive line, which is supposed to be a big strength to this team. Last two games, they've struggled to really run block up front. The interior has been pushed around the jet center. Josh Myers has been a major liability so far. They lost their left guard, Dylan Parme, who actually had been playing pretty well through three games. He went down with an injury against the trade. He's not going to play it this week. So you're starting a backup left guard. You got questions about your center and you also don't have Breeze Hall.

25:39So again, Gino Smith, who played great against the trade, you're probably going to be asking a lot of him again to drop back and try and make plays to his playmakers like Garrett Wilson and Ken Yonsei. Yeah. And now speaking of Garrett Wilson and Ken Yonsei, watching that game, it seems like they finally decided to get Ken Yonsei to ball. And he's showing that he is the guy that you picked number one for a reason. Obviously, you see the athleticism. And then just speak on Garrett Wilson. I mean, he's one of the best receivers in the league. The route running, the target share, the ball skills is very impressive. And then any other weapons they have in that wide receiver core that have done a good job with Gino being in quarterback now. Yeah. Clay, you nailed it. Garrett Wilson is the guy. I mean, Jeff fans have known this for a while, but he's finally getting the consistent quarterback play to this point. I mean, he had one of his best games of his career against the Lions. It wasn't just the stats. It was like the type of catches he was making while he was being harassed or held on a bunch of plays that they didn't throw penalty flags on his contested catch rate. I think his number one in the league going into this one.

26:40So he's played great and you brought up to Deek. I mean, the jets of very rarely in their history had a more talented tight end or maybe they'd never had a player as talented as to Deek of that position. He could do everything and what's amazing about him. So he's played three games. He didn't practice the summer in training camp. He was coming back from a sports hernia injury. He did not have one training camp practice. He missed midi camp. So here's the guy that has barely practiced. And in three games, he scored two touchdowns and already has a 100 yard receiving game in game three. Mason Taylor didn't play this past week with a summer. Mark Rucker though. Mark Rucker. Who's this guy? I mean, I'm Mark Rucker. This guy is catching the ball. He's blocking. He's catching a touchdown. I go, Mark Rucker. Who is this guy? Jeremy Rucker, third round. Jeremy Rucker. Mark Rucker. Mark Rucker's a guy that used to play at Missouri back when I was playing. He was a former teammate of mine. Jeremy Rucker. Sorry about that. But you love tight ends on this show in case you couldn't figure that one out. You'd love the jet offensive times, Clay, because they actually ran, you know, 05 personnel for a couple of plays in week one and week two.

27:42But Mason Taylor is one of those tight ends I brought up. He's probably not playing again this week. So Jeremy Rucker got a lot of his reps, but you know, even still Sadeek's going to continue to be featured in the offense. They've lined them up in line. They've lined them up in the slot. There's been a couple of plays where we've seen them lined up as actually the running back on plays to maybe try and get them matched up against a linebacker. You know, Frank Reich's got a really tough job because of the injuries to AD Mitchell and the Omar Cooper Jr. Their first round pick. And Mason Taylor, you got Garrett. You got Sadeek. Find ways to get them the football. So Sadeek's going to be a major focal point. You'll see Rucker. You might see Jalani Woods, but the offense is likely to again run through Garrett Wilson and Ken Janssadeek. Jake Ben talked yesterday about the Jet Special Teams unit and how that's been, you know, one of certainly what they hung their hats on last year, I would say. What is it looked like so far this year and how can that impact the game on Sunday? No question, Ruth. Yeah, it's been bad. I was going to let Jake say it. Well, it's funny because last year the jets were three and 14 and they probably, if

28:44you just look at like every metric point differential DVOA, they probably were closer to a one win team than even a three win team. The reason why they won three games, their special teams was actually the best in the NFL. Jake Faulk didn't miss any kicks. Their coverage units were outstanding and they actually won games with returns. They beat the Brown 17, 14 last year. They had a kickoff return and a pump return in the first quarter. Justin Fields had negative net passing guards that day and they actually won 17, 14 and 14 of the points came on return. So that gives you an idea on just how bad the jet for the last year, but how good their special teams was. So that was supposed to be a strength again this year and they played well week one the last two weeks though. I don't know if it's some of the injuries or some of their debt players that are affecting things. Their coverage units have been really bad on kickoffs and returns. They have not gotten anything from Isaiah Williams who was actually voted their team MVP last year. He's their kickoff and punt returner. Doesn't feel like he's playing with the same confidence he had a year ago, maybe because he's being asked to play more receiver this year because of the injuries. He's not as fresh on some of these kickoffs and punt returns is the theory that some have

29:47had. Either way, what was a huge strength last year has not been a strength through three games and that's something the jets need to clean up. If they want any chance to upset better teams on the road where they're an underdog. Just question about this defensive line. I was a real big fan of Tavondri Sweat a few years ago when he came on the draft. Will McDonald think like might be his fourth year. Those guys were guys I loved coming on the draft. Haven't heard a ton of bottom sense, but what's the take on this defensive line and what do you think of Sweat and McDonald as players out there in New York? It's tough to really say with Sweat without going back and watching him specifically on like the all 22 because of the position he plays. The jet run defense at times has been pretty good this year. For what I could tell Sweat has played well. I don't know if he's been exactly what they thought they were getting that said. They traded Jermaine Johnson to get him. It wasn't a scheme fit and Sweat and Aaron Cleans three, four base defense fit a lot better what they tried to do. So I think it's been a plus overall so far. Will McDonald's a tricky one because he's a guy that had a 10 and a half sack season.

30:51He had eight last year before of his sacks game in one game. It's tough with him because he's basically a designated pass rusher. Might not be the best scheme fit, but what he does gets you paid in the league. But to do that, you got to have leads. You got to be in more games and so much of his stats comes down to I think the game script. He didn't get a ton of past rushing opportunities in this game last week and against the packers. The field conditions were so bad. A speed rusher guy like him. I don't think he was able to really kind of show what he could do. He's dangerous when he gets the opportunity, also very inconsistent. He's a guy that can make plays. They picked up his fifth year option. He's in his fourth year as you brought up clay. They need more from him opposite David Bailey. That's certainly for sure. Jake, I'm curious what you think would be in order for the jets to leave Chicago with a win. What's it going to take? Well, I think they got to do something they haven't done in 20 games, right? I think if they're going to win the interception streak has to come to an end. If you cannot get a pick against a backup quarterback, whether it's a kingdom or a agent,

31:54whoever the bear is end up starting, like when are you going to get this interception, right? And if it's not an interception, can you get at least one if not two takeaways? I think the turnover differential is huge in this. You know, so much is being made of Aaron Glenn in his second year and he said the jets are this close to finding ways to win some of these close games. Well, you got to find a way to win a game when you're facing a backup quarterback. I know the bears have been Johnson. I know the bears are home. The line of this game is three or three and a half. It's not like the expectation is the jets have no chance and they're just going to get blown out. You probably have the edge at quarterback based on how Geno's played. I think it comes down to can the jets be opportunistic for once and actually get some takeaways, set their offense up with short fields, better field position. That's how they're going to close out a team. I expect this game to be close, but the better coach team Chicago. So until I see the jets actually go in and win a close game against a well coached team, it's just tough to sit here and pick them. By the way, Clay, didn't Geno throw three picks against the bears last year when they played the Raiders? Wasn't it three?

32:55Different times, different players. Different times, different teams. I'm just saying. I'm just saying. No, you're right. The last one I got for you, Jake, is just illistically, I like to get people's take from this that aren't Chicago bears, truthers fans. What is the perception of Ben Johnson in New York or Caleb Williams in this entire bears team? What is the feel about this squad, Ben, Caleb and everything else? There's a lot of the envious and jealous jet fans, I would say, is the feel, right? We hired the other coordinator from the Lions. The bears, they were able to get the top offensive mind to help develop their young quarterback and they're immediately winning a playoff game. They win 11 games last year. I used to joke with a lot of people that the jets and the bears, very similar histories. The jets only had one player in 1967. Joe, name it, throw for 4,000 yards. Your audience knows the stat about the bears and the whole 4,000 yard thing.

33:55There were a lot of similarities with the jets and the bears. I've always liked the bears because I see the similarities as a jet fan. I think there's just a lot of people who are just jealous. The bears are a great example of, man, you get the right coach with the right quarterback. This could turn around quick. It doesn't need to take forever to rebuild in the NFL. Jet fans get sold routinely by different GMs and coaches and even the owner about a rebuild and doing it the right way. I just think that's such nonsense. You could flip it so quickly in today's NFL with the right coach. I think there's a ton of jet fans just jealous at how good Ben Johnson appears to already be as the head coach of the bears. It's so funny because I think a lot of Ben Johnson's not out here trying to make friends. I do find it so interesting the way Dan Campbell and Aaron Glendt talk about Ben because it's very different from the way the Matlow floors and the Sean McBase and the Kyle Shannon's. They don't want to take these really offensive minds. I feel like Ben Johnson's not out here part of any tree really necessarily. The Lions core is like, those are their guys, which I think is so funny.

34:58It's interesting to hear that New York perspective obviously with the Dan Campbell tree. I guess if we want to call it, you know, the other coordinator for a good. He's just like a great guy, like a great guy and a great human being. He was a great player. There's some credibility that just like went with him to New York. Now he's just got a win. That's it. I mean, he's four and 16 as the coach, right? I mean, last year you could say, oh, well, they were tanking. Yeah, not at first. They started on seven when they were trying to win and then they traded Quinn and Williams and saw a scarred. The jets have players again. If you just, I always make this joke with people. If you remove jets from the helmet and just look at the talent, they have legitimate playmakers on their team. They have some good offensive linemen. They have a good running back. They have an elite number one wide receiver. Sadeek looks like a legit weapon at tight end. It's just about finding ways to win. Again, there's like this notion. It takes forever to learn how to win. I look at the Raiders. They've already matched their win total from last year and they were the worst team in football last year. Time with the jets. So it's put up or shut up time. Obviously, the jets are an underdog. We see upsets in the league every single week and the jets are going to have to finally

35:59come through. And when one of these games soon, if the head coach wants to prove that they're actually this close to winning some of these games. Okay, Jake, let's get your game pick. I know it's early. It's early in the week, only Thursday, but do you have a game pick or a score prediction? Oh, this is tough. I'm going to say 23, 20, the Bears win. I expect it to be close. I just, I can't pick the jets that go on the road and win when I just think there's such a sizable disadvantage they have between the two coaches in this one. So I think it will be competitive. The jets have played competitive football for what it's worth. Hang the moral victory banner, I guess, through the first three games. But until I see them actually break through, it's tough to sit here and say, yep, Aaron Glenn's going to go into Chicago and get a win against Ben Johnson. It's tough to see it. Okay. Jake Aftman, we so appreciate you joining us. Just we needed a little New York like fire, you know? We just needed a little like spice. We're two, we're so nice. We're like this Midwesterners. We have, well, now we only have one baseball team in the playoffs. But we're like, things are good here. You know, case kingdom has the game of his life. Like everything's great.

37:00Like we needed some like New York jets negativity on the show. Yeah. And I got to say go check out Jake's podcast. I was doing some jet research, you know, last night I met the gym pump and some iron. And I go, let me listen to what some of these jets guys were saying. And somehow randomly, I didn't even know it was Jake's podcast. I turned on the podcast and I listened to it. I'm listening to my jet stuff and it was, it's good stuff. If you want to get a little listen to the jets, see what the bears were facing. Go and give jet, Jake jets. I almost call them jets again. Jake's podcast, listen, it's good, really good stuff. Jake jets synonymous. Synonymous. We'll take it. Yeah. Jake, thank you so much. We appreciate you. Thank you guys for having me. This was awesome. So much fun having Jake Aftman on the show. Like Clay said, make sure you go check him out. He is all things jets. And it's a perfect week to go take a listen to everything he does. He's fantastic. Clay, I wanted to get your thoughts on anything that stood out to you about what Jake said when we look at this jet spares matchup.

38:01And then we'll get into some more of our own preview topics. I think firstly that the really cool thing is when you get outside perspective from a fan base like Jake, get you guys locked on the jet. So he's like, I'm just so jealous of Ben Johnson. And what he's been able to do when you get the right play collar, the right head coach to really change that culture and realize that it doesn't have to take as long as a lot of people think it does to get a team turn around. The Bears really want to play off game last year when you get Ben Johnson. And obviously you see the success Ben is able to even have this year. To me, that's the big takeaway. It's funny being the team that people envy now. The Bears have always been the lovable losers. All the Bears are no good at now. Ben Johnson has come in and he has changed that. And to me, that's the biggest story to where we are. If you want to look at this thing holistically, people are now seeing the quarterback. They're seeing the head coach. They're seeing what you can do with those guys, Ruthie. How about you? What was your biggest takeaway? Yeah, I think, you know, we're all sitting here being like same old jets.

39:03We're saying it's not the same old jets, whereas like maybe in New York, they're like, it's the same old jets until it's not. You know what I mean? Until they start to win. So I think that's totally valid. And I don't know if there was maybe, and he was talking about the similarities between the jets and the Bears like over the years. And I don't know if like maybe we ever felt that way with Fluce in terms of like, they're playing better, but the results aren't there. Like they're not winning games. And they were playing hard and they were disciplined at times. And there were certain things that were going well, but they just weren't winning games. They weren't winning close games, which eventually is what was Maddie Refluce's, you know, why he was fired essentially. So I don't know. We think it's so fascinating. And you wonder sort of what the trajectory looks like because you think about that head coach and quarterback combo. It's also a offensive head coach and quarterback combo where your head coach is your offensive play collar. That's just like a stud. And you know, you're not going to lose offensive coordinators year after year, which the

40:05more we see it around the league play, the more it feels like that's the route to go in terms of sustainability and and sustain success when you have a head coach that calls your plays on offense with your star quarterback. There's just more room for consistency year after year. So you just sort of do wonder what it looks like for Aaron Glatt moving forward. If they do want to get a quarterback in like that move feels like get him a really good play collar that's going to be there for years, years and years. And I don't know if Aaron Glatton can really ever truly be in a CEO head coach. If you're going to have play callers in there that then become head coaches so quickly after. You know what I'm saying? And that's the that's the problem with defensive head coaches anywhere. They all have to deal with it. But you know, you see. It happened across the league of the turnover and the changes that come with not having your head coach calling offensive plays.

41:05So that's that's what I felt there. I don't think this is going to be as close as maybe the delusional jets people want to be. And I don't think that's any indictment on that the jets aren't playing better and aren't a better football team. But on the road, like Jake said, on the road, when you're already an underdog, maybe you have the edge at quarterback, but would you rather have Tyson Bayesian or Case Keenum over Gino? Because I would and I should have said that to Jake. I just didn't get that in there. But the way Case Keenum looked last week, I would have had him over Gino. The way Tyson Bayesian has looked in preseason, I'd rather have him over Gino. So in terms of, you know, especially when it comes to Tyson's age. But I also am so curious to sort of, we don't know who the quarterback is going to be, which is fun. But I still think that Ben Johnson's going to be able to scheme it up and take advantage of all the holes on that jet-steafens. I wouldn't say that I would have Case or Tyson over Gino.

42:06I would say I would have Case or Tyson over Gino with Ben Johnson calling the game plan. That's fair. Yeah, he is so in touch with what his guys do well. He is just going to put him in a position to be successful. He's not going to ask for Ben might be fire. You know, Ben might trick it. He's guys completing 75% of his passes. You just see how Ben's able to shift his game plan, shift his mentality to whoever is at the quarterback. You know, and it's really impressive how he's able to do that. And I think with him, you never doubt whoever is going to be behind quarterback, whoever's going to be behind the center. And even if it's Miller Moss, no, that's a step too far. But I think either way, there's no wrong answer to who plays quarterback for the Bears because you got Ben. And he's going to set up a good game plan. He's going to run the ball. I think they have more success running the ball this week. And you won't even have to depend on the quarterback as much. Obviously, they're going to be asked to make some big plays and do their job.

43:06But overall, I think this week will be a big week for the offensive line and our two-headed monster at running back. The one thing we haven't talked about, Clay, is this Bears defense. And I think it's interesting with Kyler Gordon's 21-day window being activated yesterday. And the conversation around the Bears secondary when Malik Muhammad and Dylan Thiniman are the two stars of this Bears defense right now. It feels. And it just to me, the Kyler Gordon thing, the timing of that is just so interesting because when things are good and you're winning games and oh no, there's a rookie who's playing well in my position. And listen, I also look at the depth in that secondary and I say, man, they could use another DB, right? So you're not going to ever sit there and say they're on enough DBs or we don't need you, Kyler Gordon. But you wonder how quickly they're going to insert him into that starting role if that is in fact what Denizalin wants to do.

44:07That being said, we talk about takeaways not being transferable year-to-year. Hello, Bears defense takeaways, turnovers, interceptions. It's been very, very, very, very fun to watch and maybe it is when Al Harris is your DB coach, right? And he's the one preaching, go get the football. So that's been really, really fun to see. Hopefully it's sustainable. I know we talked about it probably in week four last year. Like is this sustainable? Sure enough, the team leads the league and takeaways all season long. So or pretty much all season long. So I'm very excited to see what this Bears defense continues to look like. And Clay, this Bears team could go on a run. You look at a schedule and I don't like to get ahead of myself here, but Jets, Packers, Falcons, Patriots, they can win all those games. And if the defense continues to play, well, your offense is going to be able to sustain whatever your backup or third stringer or Caleb, as he gets his legs back under him,

45:08whatever that looks like if your defense plays well, you can really make some noise here early in the season. Absolutely. I was one of those guys saying, hey, I don't know. If this defense is sustainable, the Bears were 29th in the arts precarious, like 28th in your rushing yards per game. Like they got to start stopping some people, but I don't know if the turnovers are sustainable, but what I do know is sustainable is the way they're forcing them. Like these aren't lucky turnovers. You got Austin Booker hustling to the football, a lot of effort, peanut punch. Got TJ Edwards, like great call by Dennis Allen going into engage the guard quarterback when he sees the linebacker engage the guard thinks, okay, this guy's a rusher. Next thing you know, TJ pops out in the passing lane. He got one interception. I should have had two. For all those people saying, case kingdom should have thrown all those interceptions. What about that interception that TJ Edwards kind of came down with, that second one? And then obviously Dylan Thiniman in the back of the end zone, I thought that was more of Andy Dalton, you know, forgetting he didn't play for the Bears anymore.

46:09You know, he had that breached it with the Bears and he just saw the blown orange. He threw it right to Dylan Thiniman, but Thiniman was in the right spot. Give him credit for that. He's been, he's a playmaker. He's not going to drop that ball. But the defense has been really impressive. Just give a couple of guys a shout out. I think Brady Jarrett is playing at a high level right now. He's showing why the Bears brought him here. He's a guy they thought they were getting. I love watching his tape. TJ Edwards had another big game, not just the interception, but stopping the run and in past coverage, which has been a weakness of his. And then you already talked about Ruthie, those two rookies. Dean of Man and Malik Muhammad have been playing excellent. And you know, one of the things that give you worries is Jalen Johnson. Really isn't looking like the Jalen Johnson that we were hoping we're getting this year. But I think when it's a guy like him, I'm not worried in the long haul. He's a competitor. He's going to get better. He's going to start playing better football in this week. He's got another big test and Garrett Wilson. Mm hmm. That's going to be fun play. What's your game pick? All right. We got the game pick right now. Oh. Oh. But it's shaking.

47:09It's on. I'm going to put the shades on here for those of you listening on the pod. I'm going to go bears 27. Jets 20 bears cover the three and a half if you're a better. Take the take the bears plus the spread. I might go with the over people aren't going to think this rookie quarterback, you know, young quarterback to Tyson Bajant is going to produce that much. But I think you can. So bears win 27 20 bear down in soldier field. Jets missing breeze hall. Jets missing 80 Mitchell. Jets missing Mason Taylor. They're left guards out. The center's been struggling. Bear down, baby. Claire, I love it. I think that was my score prediction last week, 27 20 and it wasn't that close. I think the Jets are better. I don't think they're better than the Eagles. I don't think they are. I think there's opportunity for them to.

48:13Put up more points than maybe the Eagles did, but I also think that the bears defense is going to do a solid job against them. I have the bears winning, whether it's Tyson, whether it's case, I have the bears winning 30 to 10. I think that the bears are going to continue to show the Ben Johnson effect and his ability to scheme it up and to expose defenses and put up points. And I also think that this bears defense is going to continue to play. Well, you're at home. This should be. You should feel very good if you're a bear's fan heading into this game. Now, I don't think there's an opportunity. I don't see Ben Johnson. And we got to wrap this up. But I don't see Ben Johnson ever allowing anything like a hangover game. Like obviously what happened Monday night was a really, really emotional like. Sure week. Great. Next week. Yeah. Ben Johnson's back in the afternoon. Yeah. Quick week. Turn the page. We're on to the next. We're all business.

49:13I'm not telling anyone who the quarterback is. You guys are all going to go out there and do your job. And we're going to do our business in here. And we're going to beat the Jets. And you don't think Ben Johnson wants to stick it to Aaron Glenn? Come on. No. Come on. Like in a friendly, lovable way. Yeah, right. Ben Johnson's not a lovable, lovable character anymore. I think he's pretty solidified himself as the villain, you know, like he wants to. Yeah. I'll take the answer and start. Even if he does a stanky leg in the locker room. Yeah. I love it. You didn't take a shirt off this time. No, no shirt. But a stanky leg. Not sure which one I prefer. They were both fantastic. Clay Harbor. Great stuff. As always. We appreciate you. I appreciate you. The listener, we appreciate Saul Rodriguez, our producer. And we appreciate everyone who is cheering on the bears and cheering them on with us for Clay Harbor. Our brandy Polinsky. Go White Sox. Am I right? Clay Harbor, Ruthie Polinsky. Thanks so much for listening to the Charter Podcast brought to you by St. Xavier University. Have a fantastic weekend.

50:14Everyone will see you next week.