On this episode of DaBearsPod:

• Jeff discusses the unrest at Halas Hall following the Bears loss to the Packers (based on actual source information) and lays out the stakes for John Fox Sunday against Detroit.
• Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free-Press picks up his daughter and explains why the Lions haven’t been able to run the ball since Barry Sanders retired. He also weighs in on two potential head coaching candidates currently on Lions staff: Jim Bob Cooter and Teryl Austin.
• Reverend Dave has a friend who shot a guy.
• Fox-related tunes! (Both good too.)

On this week’s EARLY episode:

• We skip the monologue and get straight to a State of the Union phone conversation with Adam Jahns of the Sun-Times. He discusses all things Bears but with a major focus on John Fox’s status with the organization moving forward.
• Reverend Dave complains about the broadcast teams assigned to the Bears, from Africa.
• Seinfeld clips are inexplicably mixed in!

On this week’s pod:

• Jeff, battling illness, tries to explain what John Fox is thinking with his offensive approach. (Hint: If he doesn’t win, he doesn’t come back. So he’s trying to do that.)
• Cam Worrell on the Bears approach to Trubisky, whether players pay attention to the coach’s contract, why Eric Mangini was a “fraud” and how he’s coach a player on dealing with concussions.
• Reverend Dave eats dog with “Heroin LeBron” (and somehow gets the story back to the Bears).
• Music from the late Fats Domino!

On this week’s episode:

• I take on the anthem protests for the first time in the opening monologue. If you don’t like it, I don’t care.
• Scott Fowler of the Charlotte Observer talks the Greg Olsen trade, Cam Newton’s “likability”, Chico Rivera’s standing with the organization and why he questioned Mitch Trubisky coming into the draft…and still does. (Scott did the spot from his car so you might wanna turn the volume up a notch or two during this passage of the pod.)
• Reverend Dave has a ghost issue in East Africa.
• Music from Tom Petty & Ray Parker Jr.

On this week’s pod:

• Jeff launches a profanity-laced tirade on the United States men’s national soccer disgrace. They are not a team. They are a disgrace.
• Adam Jahns of Chicago Sun-Times discusses changes in the locker with Trubisky under center, John Fox’s buffoonery, Tanner Gentry’s real debut this coming Sunday, Cody Whitehair’s snap struggles, Adam Shaheen’s whereabouts, Nick Kwiatkoski’s health…and more!
• Reverend Dave attempts to watch Monday Night Football in East Africa…
• Once more unto the Tom Petty breach with You Got Lucky (possibly my favorite Petty song).

ON THIS EPISODE:

• Two beautiful songs from Tom Petty. “Southern Accents” sung by Johnny Cash and “Walls” from the film, She’s the One. (Is the latter a great song? I don’t know. But it reminds me of one of the greatest bars in the history of the planet and makes me happy. RIP Tom. RIP McHale’s.)
• Jeff discusses Mitch Trubisky and…hope.
• Reverend Dave tells you how he almost died once because he’s a fucking idiot.

On this episode of the Weekend Show:

• Jeff breaks down the BS surrounding the Bears not playing Mitch Trubisky, including their “plan”.
• Adam Jahns of the Sun-Times on injuries (“too big, too strong”), Loggains/Fangio (I got him leaning Loggains) and the main event at QB – where he disputes much of what Jeff believes, including arguing for an actual plan based upon the career of Drew Brees.
• Reverend Dave on Patriots fans in London, with a special shoutout to St. Croix and Puerto Rico.
• Music from The Beatles! New opening number! Same closing number!

On the Weekend Show:

• Jeff scares himself by looking deeply at the first 8 games of the schedule and wonders if the Bears will be favored in any of them.
• Cam Worrell talks about the mentality of turnovers and talks passionately about Brian Urlacher, Hall of Fame candidate. (“Lach” is a gracious paintball player but an animal on the field.)
• Reverend Dave sets the new record for Most Mailed-in Sermon.
• MUSIC FROM THE GREAT CYRILLE AIMEE!

On this episode of the Weekend Show:

• Jeff continues his obsession with the Glennon/Trubisky saga (with help from Eric Carmen).
• Sun-Times beat Adam Jahns discusses the Bears plan for Adam Shaheen, the emergence of the rookie class, when Trubisky will be on the field and why he’s still concerned about the secondary.
• The Reverend spends way more time on Newcastle than he should. Bear down!

Woke up this morning with an email from Africa. That’s right, folks, THE Reverend Dave has made his first contribution to DBB in a monkey’s age. Dave, I have to assume, is the only person reading Peter King’s MMQB on The Dark Continent. Here’s what interested him in the lengthy camp column:

a. Chicago led the NFL last year with 155.1 Adjusted Games Lost. That’s a metric that accounts for injuries to starters and important situational players by counting not only games missed but also games where players were at less than 100 percent because of injury. Chicago had the highest total in FO’s entire injury database, dating back to 2000.

Two things I think about this:

• The 2016 Bears simply weren’t as bad as many people think. They were historically injured.
• When you understand that, and understand that the odds of them being historically injured again are not good, you should be able to understand my points about Trubisky. This is the ideal situation to bring a rookie QB into. Improved defense. Strong running game. Good TEs. WRs who will thrive in a short passing attack.