00:00But expectations coming into the season, at least for the Chicago Bears, was let's see what they have.
00:05We know we have a quarterback that's talented.
00:07It didn't work out because we had Eberflus as a head coach.
00:09Let's bring in a real offensive wizard mind in Ben Johnson.
00:12We'll steal him from Detroit.
00:13It's worked out in spades.
00:14They got the number two seed.
00:15But, Joe, not getting a lot of respect here.
00:18No, not at all.
00:19Now, again, if you watch this game play out in the regular season, it was a game that Green Bay had dominated for basically three and a half quarters.
00:27And Caleb and the Bears tie it up in regulation.
00:30They get the big overtime touchdown pass to D.J. Moore.
00:33They steal it.
00:34But just on, I guess, perception, it's that Chicago didn't seize the opportunity.
00:41They lost down the stretch to Detroit, a team that, you know, they got dominated earlier in the year, 52 to 21 in that matchup,
00:51and then lost to, obviously, San Francisco in the primetime matchup.
00:54But I think when you look at this offense and you look at the personnel, for me, Donnie, I really like the identity that Ben Johnson and this team have now.
01:05I know they haven't put it together basically in the last couple of games of the regular season.
01:10But for me, I believe in Caleb Williams.
01:12I believe in this team.
01:13If they were on the road in Lambeau, I think it would be a little bit different atmosphere,
01:17and I'd have a little bit different feel to go into a road environment.
01:21But in Soldier Field, with now their hot play caller, I think they're playing with a little bit more momentum.
01:28And when you look at Green Bay, it's like a team that we're hoping gets back into form.
01:33I haven't seen Jordan Love and this team perform at the end of the regular season.
01:37He's been banged up.
01:38Here's the issue I have with the Chicago Bears.
01:40That Amazon, what, Black Friday game they had against the Philadelphia Eagles was really good.
01:45They came out and said, we're going to run the football.
01:47We're going to stick with the run.
01:47They dominated the Eagles.
01:48That game ended up 24-15, even though the Eagles did some stupid things in that game.
01:51But no discredit to the Bears.
01:53They were the better team that day.
01:54Then you see them move on, Joe.
01:56They lose to the Packers 28-21.
01:58You beat the Browns, they're bad.
01:59You beat the Packers 22-16.
02:01You might say that was a great win.
02:02That was also the game where Jordan Love got a concussion early in that game.
02:05You had an onside kick at the end, winning.
02:06It's sort of a crazy finish.
02:08They probably should have lost that, which means then they lost to the Niners,
02:10and then they lost to the Lions with a lot on the line to end the season.
02:14When I look at the Green Bay Packers also, Joe, coming into the season, was like,
02:17okay, maybe it's going to be Super Bowl or buzz.
02:19Can LaFleur have a good season with them?
02:21They lose Micah Parsons, which took a lot of the wind out of the sails
02:24on people that thought they couldn't get over the hump.
02:26Then you had the injuries to Jacobs during the season,
02:28playing with a bad knee at this point.
02:29Then you have, obviously, the concussion at the end of the season for Love.
02:32They're all healthy now, Joe.
02:33So looking at the Green Bay Packers coming into this game, what are your thoughts?
02:37Well, that's the concern, though.
02:39Yes, they're healthy, right?
02:41And we understand that they want to utilize Josh Jacobs in the ground attack.
02:45But Jordan Love hasn't played since that game against the Bears on December 20th.
02:49Are we not concerned about any ring rust or quarterback-to-wide receiver relationship?
02:55How's he going to look?
02:56They still don't.
02:57We believe it's Christian Watson as the pure number one,
03:00and the way he's emerged in that offense.
03:02But again, who knows?
03:04I don't know what to expect.
03:05They're a one-and-a-half-point road favorite based off of how the floor
03:09and how this team have played in the playoffs in the past.
03:13But I'm going to go right now to the offense that I believe is a little bit more consistent,
03:18a little bit more complete, with a play caller that has a quarterback in Caleb Williams
03:22that potentially could take the game over, not just with his arm, but with his legs.
03:27I think Caleb's legs could be a factor with the wet track today.
03:31And I like the way Loveland's been involved in the offense.
03:34Monungi and obviously DeAndre Swift are a dominant 1-2 attack.
03:38Again, if this game was on the road, I would probably lean more to the Packers.
03:43And when I saw the one-and-a-half-point number, I said,
03:45oh, wow, the books really believe in the Packers.
03:48But the more I broke it down, the more I'm buying into Ben Johnson to pick up his first playoff win.
03:54And take a look, too, at the way the season ended here for the Green Bay Packers.
03:57They didn't play anybody in their final game, but they still lost 16-3.
04:00The three previous games, they were absolutely destroyed by the Baltimore Ravens.
04:03And, oh, yeah, that wasn't Lamar Jackson for the Ravens either.
04:06Before that, the Bears game, they probably should have won that,
04:08but they lost a tough game also to the Broncos on the road.
04:11A lot of road games down the stretch, which they took the point of, Joe.
04:14And I want to ask you this question, too,
04:16because this is going to come up in a couple of these games we're going to look at.
04:18The Rams played their starters last week, but so did the Carolina Panthers.
04:21Even Keel, Saturday Night Football game, Joe, one team sat and rested all their players.
04:26One team played all their starters in the Chicago Bears and lost that game.
04:29How does that factor in where one team took it to facto by,
04:31the other team tried to win and didn't against a team that didn't even need to win?
04:35Yeah, but I still like it, though, Donnie.
04:38I mean, again, they were down what?
04:40They're 16-0 in that game?
04:42Yeah, came back.
04:42They always come back, though.
04:44But that's the thing.
04:45That's what you want to see, and I don't have a problem with it.
04:48They went right down to the wire.
04:49They lose the game 19-16, and again, you have a team.
04:54Like, Josh Jacobs hasn't really played since, what, the Giant game?
04:57That was the game that he got hurt.
04:59That was, like, late November.
05:00He said he feels great, Joe.
05:01That's what he's felt in six weeks.
05:04Okay, great.
05:05Zach Tom may come back at right tackle for this one.
05:07I mean, it's like you're hoping that everything bounces back into form.
05:12I'm hoping that Jordan Love and this offense just cook.
05:16But if he comes out and he struggles or the timing isn't there and we don't know where he wants to go with the football, I'm going to say I should have saw this coming like a mile away.
05:26I'd much rather go into Caleb Williams.
05:29I call him Streetball Williams.
05:31When he improvises, he's his best.
05:33In this type of situation, hey, there's a lot of pressure on Chicago.
05:38Big playoff game.
05:39They couldn't get there with Eberflus.
05:41They're there with Ben Johnson.
05:42But, Donnie, this is why you got Ben Johnson, specifically for this type of game to out-game play on the floor.
05:50I'll take a shot.
05:51You want to give me plus money or plus one and a half with the home dog?
05:55I'm going to take it.
05:56I think they win it.
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