And we were just discussing your correct take on that it was a difficult day on which to, because we want to, so I want you to get your confidence back that it was a difficult day on which to play offensive football at soldiers field.

Listen, I don't think I lost confidence, Scrooge.

I don't think you have to worry about that.

And, yeah, man, again, I was saying, I texted with a player on the Bears offense and asked about the conditions.

And I would be able to read it to you, but now I had to call in instead of doing it on the phone.

But basically, and this is a direct quote, he said, the weather was insane.

You know, he said it's not an excuse for why they lost, but it was absolutely a contributing factor to why there wasn't more offensive output there.

Like, overreacting or what? What's going on there, man?

And we were just discussing your correct take on I want you to get your confidence back that it was a difficult day on which to play offensive football at Soldier's Field.

Listen, I don't think I lost confidence, Scrooge.

I don't think you have to worry about that.

And, yeah, man, again, I was saying, I texted with a player on the Bears offense and asked about the conditions.

And I would be able to read it to you, but now I had to call in instead of doing it on the phone.

But basically, and this is a direct quote, he said, the weather was insane.

You know, he said it's not an excuse for why they lost, but it was absolutely a contributing factor to why there wasn't more offensive output there.

Like, overreacting or what? What's going on there, man?

And we were just discussing your correct take on that it was a difficult day on which to, because I want you to get your confidence back, that it was a difficult day on which to play offensive football at Soldier's Field.

Listen, I don't think I lost confidence, Scrooge.

I don't think you have to worry about that.

And, yeah, man, again, I was saying, I texted with a player on the Bears offense and asked about the conditions, and I would be able to read it to you, but now I had to call in instead of doing it on the phone.

But basically, and this is a direct quote, he said, the weather was insane.

You know, he said it's not an excuse for why they lost, but it was absolutely a contributing factor to why there wasn't more offensive output in the game.

Like, I didn't just make it up out of thin air.

like overreacting or what what's going on there man

[laughs]

And this is a direct quote.

He said, "The weather was insane." Uh, you know, he said it's not an excuse for why they lost, but it was absolutely a contributing factor to why there wasn't more offensive output in the game.

Like, I didn't just make it up out of thin air.

Uh, it, it, the winds were crazy, and it had been raining like crazy, so guys were dropping passes and slipping all over the field.

And yeah, DeAndre Swift fumbles at the one.

Uh, you know, they get the field goal blocked.

Who, according to these people, thinks that a quarterback is reacting in a way that is appropriate, then? Like, w- who made them the arbiter of how somebody should feel when they think they're gonna win the damn ballgame?

Mm-hmm.

Like, he's played through a hamstring injury before in college, so, like, abs- I mean, when he screams and it's non-contact and he's crying and he's got the towel and he's getting carted off, every single person in the world, including Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson and his teammates, thought that it was gonna be more serious than it was.

So that is not a criticism.

Like, that is, that is just a statement of fact.

Questioning his toughness or saying that, you know, you can't do that or that you don't understand the emotion or bringing up the nail painting or that Chicago won't embrace him or some of the other idiocy that's been out there that has been, like, laced with homophobia and misogyny and all of that stuff, like, obviously that is cretin-level behavior that I'm not endorsing in any way.

But obviously I'm also tremendously relieved and- thrilled that he's a main character on the internet.

Like, the jokes are good.

And it's like, well, who's really allowed to, uh, who according to these people thinks that a quarterback is reacting in a way that is appropriate then? Like, w- who made them the arbiter of how somebody should feel when they think they're gonna win the damn ballgame?

Yeah.

23 of 29 passing, mostly from the pocket.

Took the hit on the sideline, but it was...

It, it drew a flag.

Slid at another point.

I thought that hit against the Rams was bad luck.

It's two guys coming in on him.

You can see it every Sunday"?

Yeah.

23 of 29 passing, mostly from the pocket, took the hit on the sideline, but it was...

It, it drew a flag, slid at another point.

I thought that hit against the Rams was bad luck.

It's two guys coming in on him.

He's in the pocket.

He elevates.

Yeah.

[laughs]

Um, and listen, and I said before the year, and this is not any sort of rocket science take, that, like, no team needed a fast start more than the Chargers because, as you pointed out, they opened Arizona and Vegas at home, air quotes, and then their next seven, at Buffalo, at Seattle, home against Denver, at Kansas City, at the Rams, home against Houston, at Baltimore.

It is arguably the hardest seven-game stretch I have ever seen on an N- NFL schedule.

The only saving grace is that there's a bye week in there.

Like, it is ridiculous.

Um, so they are in massive trouble, and the odds are, you know, only 15% of teams that start 0-2 make the playoffs.

Their season's probably over.

... pushing off when it goes down.

[laughs]

Um, so the, the over under in Vegas was 48 and a half, uh, when it opened, and on game day, it plummeted to 46 and a half with juice on the under.

The, there was a little bit of rain in the forecast, but the winds were not supposed to be that terrible.

I was in Chicago for the Brain Up 5K on Saturday, and we almost got lightninged out.

It was, it was terrible weather on Saturday, which was supposed to be the worst of the days, but then the wind really stuck around, uh, for, for Sunday, which obviously can happen in Chicago.

But the oddsmakers had that number plummet on the day of the game because the forecast on, on Sunday was actually worse than could be, than, than was expected.

What else you got, Carm? You think I, you think, you think I, you think I didn't handicap the weather into my takes? And here's the thing about excuses.

So my question to you and, and the headline of this show really is, like, where are we at? Like, uh, are we still Super Bowl standard or is this, all right, we need to survive and hope they can get in the playoffs and then, and then try to chase that Super- Like, where are you at now with your expectations for what this team is now that the quarterback situation's gonna be murky the next few weeks?

I

mean, listen, I think we should talk about it.

Like it, They were in on Max Crosby.

They were reportedly in on Vita Vea before he re-signed in Tampa.

Like, you know, the Bears...

If the Bears' defense is just awful, then they're not going to do anything.

If the Bears' defense is merely bad, and they feel like they're a player or two from it being average and good enough with an elite offense, I think Ryan Poles will go out and do something.

back a little bit

I

mean, listen, I think we should talk about it.

Like it, They were in on Max Crosby.

They were reportedly in on Vita Vea before he re-signed in Tampa.

Like, you know, the Bears – if the Bears' defense is just awful, then they're not going to do anything.

If the Bears' defense is merely bad and they feel like they're a player or two from it being average and, like, good enough with an elite offense, I think Ryan Poles will go out and do something.

Like – is that Joey Porter Jr. from the Steelers? Is that Kayvon Thibodeau from the Giants? Is it Max Crosby? If he has a good first four to eight weeks for the Raiders, there are names that I can point to that would help the Bears, that would help any defense.

back a little bit

Are even you surprised?

No, because I mean, sacks was a huge issue his rookie year, and then it was the f- top priority, eliminate the negative plays, and he went from 68 sacks his rookie year to 24 his second year.

Like this is an elite talent, right? Like ph- physical talent, he is in a conversation with very few human beings on earth at the position, and he has been paired with a special, aggressive, elite offensive mind.

And so it's his third year in the league, his second year in the system, you're seeing it.

We'll talk about this week against the Vikings.

Everyone wants to make this about Brian Flores and his defense against Ben Johnson and his offense.

Fine.

What gave you the confidence? Because Philly's in that division, everybody loved Dallas, and you're like, "No, they're gonna win the division." Why?

Are even you surprised?

No, because, I mean, sacks was a huge issue his rookie year, and then it was the f- top priority, eliminate the negative plays, and he went from 68 sacks his rookie year to 24 his second year.

Like, this is an elite talent, right? Like, ph- physical talent, he is in a conversation with very few human beings on earth at the position, and he has been paired with a special, aggressive, elite offensive mind.

And so it's his third year in the league, his second year in the system, you're seeing it.

Let's talk about this week against the Vikings.

Everyone wants to make this about Brian Flores and his defense against Ben Johnson and his offense.

Fine, all well and good.

What gave you the confidence? Because Philly's in that division, everybody loved Dallas, and you're like, "No, they're gonna win the division." Why?

Which was them [laughs]

... which was them.

Uh, for a top team to, like, actually have the one seed.

But the Lions have this Bills game, the Patriots game, and their division games, and that's, that's it.

It is one of the easier on-paper schedules in the league.

Whereas the Bills, they've already made a statement, scoring 36 on Houston, and two Patriots games, a Rams game, a Ravens game, a Chiefs game.

Like, there's a lot more times for the Bills to show us, like, signature win type moments this year.

[laughs]

I

mean, listen, I think we should talk about it.

Like it, They were in on Max Crosby.

They were reportedly in on Vita Vea before he re-signed in Tampa.

Like, you know, the Bears – if the Bears' defense is just awful, then they're not going to do anything.

If the Bears' defense is merely bad and they feel like they're a player or two from it being average and, like, good enough with an elite offense, I think Ryan Poles will go out and do something.

Like – you know, is that Joey Porter Jr. from the Steelers? Is that Kayvon Thibodeau from the Giants? Is it Max Crosby? If he has a good first four to eight weeks for the Raiders, like there are names that, you know, I can point to that would help the Bears, that would help any defense.

back a little bit yesterday.

I

mean, listen, I think we should talk about it.

Like it, They were in on Max Crosby.

They were reportedly in on Vita Vea before he re-signed in Tampa.

Like, you know, the Bears...

If the Bears' defense is just awful, then they're not going to do anything.

If the Bears' defense is merely bad, and they feel like they're a player or two from it being average and good enough with an elite offense, I think Ryan Poles will go out and do something.

back a little bit yesterday

What's been the most fun story for you since you've done national?

Well, I mean, listen, repping for your hometown on a national level is very cool.

Like, it's just a very cool thing.

And so, you know, Caleb becoming what he's becoming in front of our eyes and being, like, one of the people that, you know, like, Fox turns to to like give his takes on that and like well we gotta get you in the A block doing Caleb and you know we'll get you on with Cowherd doing Caleb and it's like that that's just really cool and personally satisfying um you know the Bears have You know, had never had a 4000 yard passer, never had a 30 touchdown passer, the best quarterback of my lifetime.

It was a big debate between Jay Cutler and Eric Kramer, you know, so like it's that that is like a very special thing.

And football is my number one.

So for me personally, like any time that I can rep Chicago on a national level, that that is definitely the thing that I get the most satisfaction out of.

What was it about the Giants that you liked going into the regular season?

Mm-hmm.

And Aikman comes back on, and he goes, "I've known Sean Payton a long time.

He is clearly biting his tongue." And that was the part that was the most shocking to me.

It's like, okay, if you're gonna give up the play calling, you gotta give up the play calling.

You have to be committed to it.

It can't just be because you don't want Davis Webb to get a head coaching job.

You have to actually be committed to it.

It was rough.

Fair.

Yeah, I think everyone would sign up for that in Chicago right now.

I don't know if Ben Johnson would, though.

Listen...

The defense is going to be bad, but what if Jalen Johnson is back to being a top six cornerback in football? That's not nothing.

I think that they're going to be worse, obviously, in the takeaway department.

There's no way they'll lead in takeaways again.

Fair.

How was that experience?

The US Open's a great event.

It really is a spectacular New York event.

Yeah, I went Thursday, Friday, Saturday, got to see Venus and Serena doubles, which was very, very cool.

Saw Coco Gauff two different times.

Saw the Fritz upset match, which was a five-setter, which was spectacular.

And The Honey Deuce is the signature cocktail of the U.S. Open, and I had many of them.

Fair.

That's where you and I are on different

pages.

Yeah, we disagree there.

Listen, Denver won 11-1 score games last year, which is tied with the Chiefs and the Vikings.

for the most one-score wins in NFL history.

So it's just very, very difficult to replicate that.

And their one-score wins were not against impressive teams.

Oh

Maybe they end up being neutrals, but we're not used to the chiefs who are a very national, a very public team, just having so many unanswered questions going into a season.

Oh man.

And like, it's just, I don't know.

Man, sir.

Delaney is right.

It's Delaney, right? It's Delaney.

Okay.

I just don't understand why we talk about Josh Allen so much differently than how we talk about everybody else.

Yeah

...

I agree with you.

The point I would make on Seattle before I kinda pile onto the Patriots side of it is, like, I do think that there is more fluctuation year to year on the defensive side of the ball.

So the fact that Seattle could lose Koby Bryant in free agency, lose Boye Mafe in free agency, not have Emman Wuori in this game, and come out against a team that has A.J. Brown, Romeo Doubs, the runner-up for MVP, one of the best offensive coordinators in football, and not pitch a shutout, but play an unbelievably clean game and a dominant fourth quarter.

And I think that those interceptions by Maye were bad, but I do think a lot of it was confusion.

Like, I, I, I think that they are one of the best-coached defenses.

Yeah, the, the-

That's where you and I are on different pages.

Yeah, we disagree there.

Listen, Denver won 11 one-score games last year, which is tied with the Chiefs and the Vikings for the most one-score wins in NFL history.

So it's just very, very difficult to replicate that.

And their one-score wins were not against impressive teams.

They were against...

You know, the Giants, the Raiders, the Jets, like they played down to their opponents consistently.

Oh

How was that experience?

The U S opens a great event.

It really, it really is a spectacular New York event.

Yeah.

I went Thursday, Friday, Saturday, got to see Venus and Serena doubles, which was very, very cool.

Uh, saw Coco golf two different, two different times.

Um, Saw the Fritz upset match, which was a five-setter, which was spectacular.

Fair.