Dan Wiederer previews Bears-Ravens game, believes Chicago should ‘stand pat’ at NFL trade deadline

Dan Wiederer previews Bears-Ravens game, believes Chicago should ‘stand pat’ at NFL trade deadline

Good morning, Dan. How are you, gentlemen? Day 38 since the Bears last lost a football game. Wow, that’s uh that’s something that’s something in these parts and we’ll see how how they can keep it going. Yeah, you know, it’s been uh pretty phenomenal. uh the the four-game winning streak. And then of course you look at uh the the record and you look around the uh NFL and certainly in the NFC and the division, they’re they’re still uh in contention, but they got an awful tough football game going on the road again going to Baltimore. And um we’ll see if it’s that difficult a game. Right now they’re getting six and a half points, but if Lamar Jackson can’t play, obviously it changes everything. So, we’re going to be watching that like a hawk today. I’m just curious when you when you look at the way the offense played in particular, have they discovered something? Have defenses attempted to stop something? Will there be any sort of shift in the way they are defended after what happened uh with uh with the most recent victory coming through the run when you were almost daring them to throw? I went through the entire rewatch yesterday and it was almost startling how efficient the running game was and how out of sorts the passing game was. There was just it was night and day between one element of your offense that was in in complete rhythm and the other one that wasn’t. And so I I think Ben realizes that. I think he understands that these three days of practice are are instrumental into getting them um a little bit more synced up particularly in the passing game and and we’ll see where they go. What I love about the emergence of the running game is they haven’t had to reinvent the wheel. They they went into the by-week um believing that they could get this unlocked, believing it could be unlocked with with very little uh details that that were tended to with with more attention and they’ve come out uh and run the ball with authority and run the ball the way that they they’ve always wanted to. So Dan, when you look at this possibility of Lamar Jackson playing or Lamar Jackson not playing, how different is your perspective on this game depending on that very thing? And how does it affect the Bears preparation? This isn’t just Sunday. This is the Ravens whole season kind of hinging on whether Lamar is healthy enough to go this weekend. And it’s crazy, David. He hasn’t played since the end of the Chiefs game. And they have scored one touchdown in their last 22 possessions with Cooper Rush running the show. We know how explosive this Ravens offense is with Lamar Jackson and then it goes to completely constipated when you switch to the other guy. So much so that I think that there’s a little bit of buzz that they would consider potentially a practice squad elevation of Tyler Huntley to be their starting quarterback in the event that Lamar is not healthy enough to go. Uh I woke up Monday morning thinking that this was going to be a you know a hungry healthier Ravens team at home coming off the buy that that was going to find itself and be the you know the Super Bowl front runner that they we thought they were going into September. And I’m here on Wednesday morning thinking that this team is sort of one push away from falling off the edge of the cliff. And so if the Bears can get that shove early. Uh and certainly it would help if Lamar wasn’t out there on the field, this could be a a very interesting football game on on Sunday. Dan, um you know, we kind of talk a lot about different aspects of uh of the Bears and and kind of the the only thing that gave me a lot of solace was when we talked to Olden Croos. talked about the idea that, you know, they they were aware and and afraid and anticipating some of those, you know, big play possibilities coming from Ben Johnson, coming from Caleb Williams, and they they did not load up the box. They they decided to play deeper. they were kind of in a prevent defense almost just in terms of uh being aware of of the passing game. Uh and and maybe that aided the improvement in the run game and the 222 yards and all the good things. I just wonder if if now against a team that is a a higher quality of opponent, you believe that Caleb can somehow pass with more accuracy or convert some of those plays. You know, we had complained about this idea that all he does is try to run and he gets outside and he and that’s when he’s at his best. Well, he’s not at his best like that anymore. So, I I just wonder what that means. If that if he’s too used to setting his feet and moving his eyes and attacking things differently that he no longer is is good throwing on the run. There’s a couple layers to this and and I had a similar thought yesterday re-watching it because you know Caleb’s superpower allegedly has been his ability and not allegedly it’s it’s been documented that that when he can get out and use his legs and be a scramble and throw guys, he can he can make some explosive plays, but he hasn’t done that this year. And so you have to have success with that element uh of of your game for it to to kind of ride forward. So I’m going to be very interested to see how he finds that balance between tuck and run and scramble and throw. Um, this Ravens defense is not very good right now. They don’t have any pass rush. Uh, the the back end has been, uh, affected by that and not very good themselves. And so, uh, you know, a couple weeks ago, CJ Stout, who hasn’t had a great season, threw four touchdown passes and a 34-point win. And so, there should be opportunities here to find your openings, to make plays in a lot of different ways. And so, now it’s up to to your coaches to to put the quarterback in a good position. And then when your quarterback’s in a good position, he’s gota got to make those plays. And I just I thought on on Sunday against New Orleans that that Caleb was never really comfortable inside of that football game and that’s going to have to change on the road in Baltimore. Dennis Allen received a lot of praise for the game plan against the Saints and got the game ball. We all saw and enjoyed that. Dan, how difficult does his task become if Tyreek Stevenson isn’t available and what is the personnel plan if he’s not? It’s a great question. you know, you’re you’re toying with the idea of bumping Kyler Gordon outside more, and that kind of takes away a little bit of what what Kyler can be as a chess piece for you, but sometimes that’s necessary, which would put either, you know, Nick Mloud or or Josh Blackwell in there to to play in the slot. And um look, like I didn’t get an optimistic vibe from Ben Johnson on Monday about Tyreek Stevenson. We’ll see what it looks like at practice today. But if you’re down Tyreek, you’re down Jaylen, and you’re you’re kind of piecing that secondary together again, you got to find answers in other ways. And uh DA’s been very good. I I I think for me, like when we left Detroit and we were so stunned at how poor that defense was both in the fourth quarter of week one and and the whole day at Ford Field, it was so out of character with what we had seen during training camp. I think they’ve been back these last few games to to what we were used to seeing through August. and and now with with some attrition, they’re going to have to figure out how to how to keep that role going. I I just wonder when you went back and looked, did uh did the left tackle have a worse game than he seemed to have initially? And and I’m curious with Theo Benedict, if you if you think about one of the things that Ben Johnson say, he didn’t he didn’t deny that he didn’t have a good game. Uh but he he talked about when all the takeaways stop, then the offense has to be able to take over, etc. That was almost kind of It just makes you wonder what the long-term future is. Is this going to be a seasonl long problem? uh just in terms of trying to um figure out that left tackle spot, especially when you get to maybe division opponents, maybe Green Bay, maybe the Lions, maybe when you get to teams with the very strong pass rusher. Well, look, these next six games are going to be more difficult than the first six were. And uh it may not have seemed like that all along, but I I I think that’s what they’re facing here. Uh first on the takeaway front, like they had trouble in Las Vegas of taking advantage of premier field position that the defense had given them and not being able to capitalize on it. And it happened again Sunday. And so that’s uh you know that’s that’s that’s worrisome and you have to figure out as an offense how to take advantage of what you’re getting. As it relates to Theo, I don’t think anyone in that building is naive enough to think that he was just going to be steady from, you know, week five through the end of the season given his his lack of experience and what they’re trying to do in developing him. The biggest question I have is, do you believe he can be your starter three years from now, or is he a placeholder until you find somebody that’s better? And and as as fun as his story has been for him taking advantage of opportunity and earning a role under this staff and getting himself a a starting job, there are bigger picture questions this team has to answer to become a contender. And they’re in the process of kind of doing that. And and and the sample size will grow here, but he’s certainly got to be played better than he did against New Orleans. Dan, how surprised were you that Ben Johnson offered the idea that Roma Dunse could have caught one or two of the throws from Caleb Williams uh before the end of the half or in just during the game because this is a guy that uh a lot of people have been saying the same thing that Ben Johnson expressed. Yeah, not surprised. Uh I think this is Ben’s direct nature. Um I’m always a fan of that. I believe that you’re playing in a league that requires a a really high level of of mental toughness. And I’ve always been sort of averse to coaches who feel like they can’t say out loud what they say privately to players. Like if you need to catch a ball, you need to catch a ball. And if I tell you directly to your face, then I should be able to tell the outside world, too, that you need to catch that football. Um, and so that’s that’s something that Rome’s got to continue working on. And and listen, like I I I love sitting in that room with Ben on Monday, Wednesday, Friday up there and and getting his thoughts on things because it’s educational, it’s direct, it’s sincere, and and and you usually learn a lot. He’s uh he’s the truth teller, right? Isn’t that what they do on uh on Mondays, Tuesday? That’s right. I love that. I honestly I really you love hearing what the guy has to say. And uh the other thing that we’ve kind of noticed is you know that you hear sensible answers to most of the questions. In other words, you don’t have someone telling you something that is kind of like what? I didn’t see that at all. What are you talking about? You he has the same sort of ideas and explanations of what you saw as as if you actually saw what he’s talking about. And and far too often there’s it’s been like confuse a cat. Someone up there just telling you things where you’re like what did he say? Right. Well, and the other part is 98% of the time he answers the question that was asked as opposed to you ask a question then you get an answer to something else and just sitting there staring at the guy and you’re going that wasn’t at all what I asked and you’re you’re just talking around this question because you don’t want to answer it. And so like that part’s been refreshing as well. Um, look, like this is a this is a cool part in their season now, you know, where you do get to go play a team that on paper, you know, entered the season believing they were every bit as good as anybody in the league, but now is struggling and and and so like you should go in there with full confidence with with with full emotion and and be ready to go try to try to pull this upset. Seven NFC teams have two losses. The Bears are one of them, Dan. And I think you talk about this truthtelling. When the Bears are honest with themselves, is this a team that you think in a season in which they can make a run at a playoff spot or is it more developmental? You you talked about the situation at left tackle. The answer to that question could affect how you treat personnel situations like that one. I David, I think it’s both. I mean, I think you you’re realistic to understand that you’re not going to be the team that’s that’s showering in confetti in February, but like if you can continue your growth as a program and and your growth with individual players while trying to play as much meaningful football as you possibly can through the end of December, then you go ahead and attack this every single week with the belief that you can go beat the opponent that you’re playing. And so I don’t think they’re in a state here where where you can afford to just do do, you know, trial and error and experiment with guys and and try to to prioritize that end of things over trying to actually compete. And so you’ve got to balance both those things. And I think they’re going to try to do so successfully. And uh I think their ability to to squeeze out some some wins here over the last month give them a little bit more fun uh attached to this climb. We talked about the idea of, you know, the the trade deadline coming up in early November and here you are looking at this team and I don’t know if they feel and you know maybe the next couple weeks will tell the tale if they feel like they are in contention and can do something provided they improve in some fashion. How aggressive do you expect them to be? Or do you think this is more a wait and see type of thing? Do you expect any particular move? And if you were given a move, what would you take? Well, I’ll say this. You know, three and a half weeks ago, everyone was saying they got to go get a running back. They got to go get a running back. And and Ben and the coaches inside that building said, “Stop it. We’ve got guys that we can run the football with.” In the last two games, they’ve shown you that they’ve got guys that they can run the football with when they take care of details and uh scheme it up right and get everything moving in the right direction. I think this is a Stan Pat year for this team as it relates to the trade deadline. I just think that, you know, again, you have to be realistic about what you’re actually trying to do. You’re not trying to make a bigger splash in 2025 at the expense of the future, which you’re trying to build sustained success for. And so, um, look, like, go window shop, go browse, go see if you can find a sale somewhere that that might help you. But but I wouldn’t be ultra aggressive in in trying to to make a move that that gives you a small boost this year at the expense of having things that you can build with in the future. Great stuff, Dan. Appreciate your time, buddy. Thanks, Dan. All right, guys. Let’s touch him.

On the Mully & Haugh Show, Dan Wiederer of The Athletic discussed the latest Bears storylines, including their upcoming game against the Ravens and what the organization’s mindset is as the NFL trade deadline looms on Nov. 4.

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