Bear Download — A Chicago Bears podcast

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Dissecting the Bears' dismal offense after a 36-25 loss to the Saints Oct 21, 2019

Show notes

That awful sound you hear is the Bears’ season going off the rails with a 36-25 home loss to the Saints that wasn’t as close as the score indicated. Rich and Dan break it all down, starting with Mitch Trubisky’s ineptitude, and they go so far as to issue their verdicts on the third-year quarterback after his latest dreadful performance. Coach Matt Nagy’s play selection and inability to elevate Trubisky go under the microscope next. Even the defense and special teams take some heat before the duo circle back to where the Bears and their underperforming quarterback go from here. Finally, Rich and Dan pass the mic to the listeners in the form of three-word reviews.

Breaking down the Bears-Saints matchup, which should include Mitch Trubisky's return Oct 18, 2019

Show notes

Rich and Dan literally talk into a wall — that’s actually a good thing — as they preview the Bears-Saints game from Halas Hall. They start with the week’s two big roster moves: Kyle Long and Akiem Hicks going on injured reserve. Rich and Dan covered every season Long has played, and they explore the human side of discarding a well-respected veteran as well as read between the lines on what the decision implies about his skills. Hicks, meanwhile, will continue to be a huge (literally and figuratively) smiling presence in the locker room. In That’s Just Stupid, the guys rip the league’s officiating in the wake of two penalties that marred the Packers' win over the Lions on Monday. Switching to Dan’s three keys to beating the Saints, they focus on Mitch Trubisky’s comfort level, jump-starting the running game and slowing down the Saints’ top playmakers. To wrap up, Rich makes a prediction, and he and Dan conclude with a different sort of Crown ‘Em: Picking a wild card of a player to reset the Bears’ path (looking at you, Leonard Floyd and Tarik Cohen).

Looking at the Bears' struggles on offense Oct 15, 2019

Show notes

As the Bears come out of their bye week, Rich Campbell and Dan Wiederer look at the offense by going all the way back through the 2019 offseason and examine how the Bears assessed their offense and quarterback Mitch Trubisky's evolution. They look at what coach Matt Nagy, offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich and general manager Ryan Pace said about their vision for the offense and what their target is as they proceed from an underwhelming first five games. The discussion includes a look at Trubisky's accuracy, his command of the scheme and how the Bears plan to accelerate his development. They finish the show with a crown for Mrs. Wiederer, who is more athletic than the two of them put together.

The Bears defense finally hits a wall: Breaking down the loss to the Raiders Oct 07, 2019

Show notes

The Bears' 24-21 loss to the Raiders on Sunday in London featured the worst half they've played in coach Matt Nagy's 22-game tenure. Rich and Dan — one of whom is in his pajamas — convene to break it down just before heading back to the States. They discuss whether the Bears' relatively late arrival in London affected their terrible start as they fell behind 17-0 (2:33). They examine what happened to the Bears’ run defense (6:29), which had been excellent the first four games. Switching to the offense, is there anything the Bears can do to improve significantly this season, even if Mitch Trubisky returns (13:34)? Finally, Rich and Dan run a hurry-up version of the best three-word game reviews, even breaking out their (iffy) British accents (20:45).

Cheerio! Setting the stage for Bears-Raiders in London Oct 04, 2019

Show notes

Cheerio! The Bears are in London — and so are Rich and Dan for the first international episode of Bear Download. In this preview of Sunday's game against the Raiders, Rich and Dan share details of the first 24 hours of their London experience, hack British accents and all. They discuss Roquan Smith's status amid personal issues that kept him out of the Week 4 win over the Vikings. Dan overreacts to some turbulence on his trans-Atlantic flight before detailing his 3 keys to a Bears victory. The latter includes a discussion on the Bears' sensational first-half defense, the Raiders' return in the Khalil Mack trade and backup quarterback Chase Daniel’s temporary management of the offense. They finish with a deeper re-examination of the Mack trade 13 months later, including the direction it sent the Raiders and how the trade is still being processed from the Bay Area all the way to Lakeview.

The Bears' Week 4 win was an impressive flex. Up next: London. Sep 30, 2019

Show notes

The Bears' 16-6 win over the Vikings was an impressive top-to-bottom flex by a dominant defense and a handful of backups on both sides of the ball. So how does the Bears' 3-game winning streak coexist with all the questions that surfaced in the victory? Rich and Dan break it down from the press level at Soldier Field. They discuss Mitch Trubisky's left shoulder injury, the uncertainty surrounding his status and why Chase Daniel is a capable place holder for a limited time. Next, they spotlight the latest outstanding defensive performance, including how Khalil Mack and the two Nicks helped bottle up the Vikings and running back Dalvin Cook. Lastly, they read Rich's favorite 3-word game reviews submitted on Twitter, give out their game balls and quickly look at the unusual week ahead involving the London game.

A big NFC North game awaits the 2-1 Bears at Soldier Field Sep 27, 2019

Show notes

Rich And Dan preview the Bears' pivotal NFC North matchup before Sunday’s game vs. the Vikings at Soldier Field. They start by sharing the audience's best 3-word reviews of Monday’s win over the Redskins. Then, they introduce a new game to the podcast called "Big Deal or Not A Big Deal" to discuss Mitch Trubisky's third-down production, his interception inside the red zone, this week’s lengthy injury report and the ramifications of a second home loss to a divisional opponent. Next, they get out their magnifying glasses to examine Tarik Cohen's NSFW live video, go over Dan's 3 keys to a Bears win in Week 4, share their score predictions and crown the receiver who finally added a touchdown (or three) next to his name in the season box score.

1-1 Bears hit the road for Monday Night Football Sep 20, 2019

Show notes

Rich and Dan are at Halas Hall on Friday afternoon as the Bears prepare for Monday night’s road game against the Redskins. First, Dan's attempt to sing one of Cher's greatest hits nearly ruins an otherwise insightful segment about the offense’s opportunity to get untracked against one of the NFL’s worst defenses. Next, they sift through Mitch Trubisky's belief that the offense will soon get rolling, discuss the bogus roughing the passer penalties from the Week 2 victory over the Broncos, detail Dan’s 3 keys to a Bears victory. Lastly, they share their Week 3 predictions and finish up by spotlighting Matt Nagy's timely lesson to his players involving the Week 1 Saints-Texans game.

Week 2: Bears win in dramatic fashion in Denver Sep 16, 2019

Show notes

Rich and Dan, from the 25-yard line at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, recap those 9 crazy seconds that was the ending of the Bears' Week 2 win over the Broncos. Plus: Eddy Pineiro's 53-yard field goal, your 3-word reviews and an overall critic of the offense and defense.

Previewing the Bears' matchup against Vic Fangio's Broncos Sep 13, 2019

Show notes

It won’t be long before the Bears take on Denver to try and put their Week 1 loss behind them. But before that happens, Rich and Dan dissect what went wrong against the Packers (3:05) and how the Bears — coach Matt Nagy and quarterback Mitch Trubisky in particular — can move forward. They zero in on Nagy’s game management (12:22) and put a few questions out there, including: How long before the coach trusts kicker Eddy Pineiro? And how does a team determine which field goals to attempt? Next, the upcoming chess match between Nagy and Broncos coach Vic Fangio takes center stage (22:40). Short version: Trubisky will have his hands full. In That’s Just Stupid (26:11), the guys tackle Trubisky’s odd press conference in which he refused to offer details from the Packers game. In breaking down Sunday’s matchup, Dan’s Three Keys (46:37) shine a spotlight on David Montgomery, taking a page out of Aaron Rodgers’ playbook (yes, really) and setting up Khalil Mack and Leonard Floyd to do some damage. Score predictions are up next (56:37) before the duo crown the Bears’ best offensive player (1:00:29).

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