Tuesday, December 23rd, 2025. You know, I was watching Colts Niners last night and I watched every snap of that game. And it occurred to me something I'm always having a hard time putting into words. And that is the hardest thing for an organization to do. And oftentimes the thing that causes the most organizational turmoil in the sport. The hardest thing for an organization to do is to self-assess. It is often very difficult for a team to recognize honestly where they are in a championship calendar. How far they are from actually being a team that can play in the final game of the year. And as I'm watching that game last night with Philip Rivers, who yeah, Troy Aikman was waxing poetic about and Rivers was pretty masterful at the line of scrimmage. But man, every pass he had to throw 15 yards downfield was 10 yards short. And that's the reason is because he's 44 years old. He's my age. But as I'm watching that game, I also started thinking about the fact that Chris Ballard, my old buddy, Chris Ballard gave up two first round picks for a corner. And if you watched that game last night, do you think that team is a corner away from a Super Bowl? And now what? And I was thinking about who traded them that corn. And listen, the Jets have been a terrible franchise for a long time, arguably the worst franchise in professional sports for a long time. But the Jets of all the bad teams in the NFL have had a great, great 2025. Should they have paid fields? No, it was a silly decision when they made it. But Aaron Glenn had watched fields run all over him in Detroit and thought they could get something out of him and they couldn't. And now fields is being temperamental, which he's never been before because he hates what's happened to him in the Jets. It's fine. But the Jets said, they looked at this roster. They looked at the first month of the season and Aaron Glenn and the GM Mushi looked and said, we are awful. And we are not close to not being awful. And they started ditching bodies overboard. And now they're in a position with a boatload of draft picks over the next few years. And they'll dump fields this off season to start to mold and build a roster in their own liking. And that is what self-assessment is key for. The Jets fan hates it. They're tired of losing. But the path to winning was not patching together a bunch of veterans. It was let's hit reset and try to get there in two, three years. And now you have a Colts team that's not even in the conversation for the Super Bowl in the next few years. Not even in the conversation. That's point one. Self-assessment is key. And by the way, on the self-assessment, this is a little, if you listen to the audio, you get a little tidbit. I was told by someone close to the Bears that at the trade deadline, Ryan Poles was very active, but that Ben Johnson basically went to him and said, don't break the bank here. We're not a player away. And they're not a player away. This team, especially on the defensive side, has some serious flaws. And they'll address those flaws in the off season. But I'm glad they just stayed the course and played these guys because I think Ben Johnson is very good at that evaluation stuff. The second point I'll make before I get to a little game preview, I'm kind of perplexed by the response of the Packers fans and Packers people to this game the other night. And I've been trying to think about why they're reacting like such children. It was a football game. It had a great, fun ending for the Bears. It, in the grand scheme of things, didn't matter that much to them. They're still in position to make the playoffs. They're still gonna be a threat in the playoffs. If they have to come to Soldier Field for a playoff game, or we go to them for a playoff game, they're likely to be the favorite in that game. They can still win a championship. Everything's right in front of them. And I kept thinking like, why are they acting like this? And it's occurred to me, and I think I've figured it out. For the last 35 years, they have had the most important symmetry in the sport, the coach and the quarterback alignment. Very good coach with a Hall of Fame quarterback. And when you have that stability, you know you can win every game. You know you're gonna be relevant every season. And they have watched this rivalry dissipate right in front of our eyes because the Bears have not had that in 35 plus years. They had a good coach with Lovey there for a few years, but he never had the chemistry with the quarterback. Different offensive coordinators every year. And I do believe, as I'm watching these reactions, that they are sensing, not that they believe the Bears have in Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams finally solved that. They are reacting to the Bears fans elation because we're vocalizing it. They don't like the celebration of these two guys by the Bears fan, by the Bears media, because it's infringing on their territory. But I think if you get down to the core of what they're reacting to, they are reacting to, they're having an uh-oh moment because it sure as hell looks like the Bears got it right. It took 35 years since the Ditka era ended. 35 years. But the Bears have finally gotten it right. But the Bears have finally gotten it right. And the Packers realize it, and I think the whole division realizes it. I think they're also reacting to these locker room videos because their coach is fucking milquetoast. He's a really good coach. One of the best plate callers in the sport. Guy's wide open every week. But he's a bore. He's a fucking snooze. Their quarterback is a fucking snooze. Accurate, yes. Good player, yes. I like Jordan Love way more than most Bears fans. But they're both bores. Jordan Love is boring. And Caleb is not, and Ben Johnson is not. There's something Hollywood about this Bears core now. Ben Johnson's pulling his fucking shirt off in the locker room. Caleb Williams painting his fingernails. They don't give a fuck what you think about them. And the Bears fan right now doesn't give a fuck what the Packers fan thinks about them because the Bears fan's having fun. And the Bears fan knows that fun ain't leaving town for a long time. I won't be on audio again before the game on Sunday night, so let me just do a game preview here. I think this is a really tough spot for the Bears. And I'm just talking about it sort of theoretically. Ben Johnson set that number of 11 wins. He knew 11 would get them into the postseason. They're in the postseason. I don't think Ben is all that focused on where they're playing the playoff game, who they're playing in the playoffs. I don't think that matters to him in the slightest. And this Niners team is rolling. And this Niners team is banged up. And that one seed could be pivotal to them. I think there'd be a motivational discrepancy on Sunday night. But also remember, if you're betting on this game or you're thinking about this game, if the Packers lose to the Ravens on Saturday, this game means nothing to the Bears. If the Packers lose, and I think the Packers have a chance to lose that game. Because the Ravens are gonna be full kitchen sink. That's their season. They have no choice but to win that game. If the Packers lose to the Ravens, you are looking at a Bears team that has literally almost nothing to play for. The Bears getting the one seed is far-fetched, folks. I would not put my eggs in the Bears' one seed basket. Too much has to happen. And they're gonna lose a game down the stretch. And you'd almost rather them lose this game here on the road against the Niners than lose one a couple weeks later in the postseason. So I think this is a tough spot. I think the Niners will move the ball. I think the Bears will move the ball. I think it's a high-scoring game. But I think this feels like, to me, a 31-27 Niners win. This feels like high-scoring, up and down the field. George Kittle probably doesn't play. Could be a big deal. But that's how I see it. So, audio recap. Self-assessment is everything. Self-assessment is how you are successful in this league. Packers fans sense something has changed in the rivalry. And they don't like it. They don't like it. And games like the other night are the ones they usually win. And they haven't been on the other side of that very often, but now they're starting to sense a trend. This thing is tightened up again. And I would say right now, I think the Bears lose Sunday night in San Francisco. I think it's a tough spot. I think it's a surging team with a lot to play for. And the Bears might be showing off a 10th. They might be division champions when they arrive. So what really is at stake for them? They're just gonna be focused on getting healthy and getting ready for Wild Card weekend. Have a good, safe holiday. Bear down.