Dan Wiederer sets somber scene at Halas Hall after Bears were eliminated (Hour 4)
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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Dan Wiederer, Bears reporter and senior writer for The Athletic.
You're going to be relying on a lot of young players, guys that have to materialize into who they thought they were. The Bears are who we thought they were.
On-air contributor for 670 The Score. We'll mention this mainly because Dan Wiederer said we would mention this nugget. Host of the Take the North podcast. We're going to take the North and never give it back. Dan Wiederer.
Thanks, Coach.
We'll go first to Dan Wiederer. On Chicago Sports Radio, 670 The Score. Weezy!
So Dan Wiederer is not online with us yet because you know what he's doing. It's Locker Cleanout Day at Hollis Hall. They're trying to get the very latest. Oh, he's here now? He's done cleaning out lockers. Dan, whose locker did you clean out? As many as I could find. Honestly, guys, it's a heavy day out here, and it always is. And you can feel the suddenness, I think, for all the guys in there that are a little bit in shock that they don't have practice this weekend in an NFC championship to prepare for. Dan joins us via the Circa Resort and Casino hotline, CircaLasVegas.com. So, yeah, I mean, we're trying to go through it and parse through it here on the show, obviously. This is a collective activity of the city today.
But to go from accepting the fact that the comeback didn't happen last night to also talking about it, I feel like there was a little bit more somber and pointed quotes from Hallis Hall today. You know, what can you tell us about just the extension of last night into today? Yeah, somber is a word, right? Like, that is a feeling here today. And you can just tell that it's just, it's difficult, no matter how many times somebody's been through it, a guy like Kevin Byard, who's done this many, many times in his life, there's an understanding that it just, it just ends so quickly. And that next season is No matter what team you're on or what you're trying to pursue, you've got to start all the way back at the start again.
And so I think that's a really sharp realization that pops in on a day like today. You're still trying to unpack a game that ended like, you know, what, 16 hours ago and had so much involved in it. And then you're trying to process the entire season and then you're trying to process the future. And so there's just a lot of things swirling at once. And you could feel that in the locker room today. I will say the one thing that sort of struck me the most out of anything is the word disbelief came up. a handful of times, particularly as it related to the last kick that ended the game. And for a team that basically spent four months providing a joyride based on belief, the disbelief feels really, really powerful.
Yeah, I think that's a great point, Dan, just because of how we got here, how they got to the fact that they were playing a second playoff game in Ben Johnson's first season, Caleb Williams' second season. I'm curious, because we were just speculating here about DJ Moore. Is his availability, from what you understand, health-related, or he just wasn't in the locker room when open locker room was happening? Can't give you any clarity on that whatsoever. But yeah, we did not get a chance to talk to DJ. We did not get a chance to talk to him last night.
What were the emotions in the Bears locker room after the loss?
It's a little disappointing that for something like this, you would like to kind of close the book on it and neatly clean it up as soon as you possibly can and then get on to the next thing. And this will linger for a little while. I don't know the next time we'll have a chance to talk to DJ more in this building. It may be You know, in May, honestly, that's a long time from now to let something like this sit around. But clearly that last offensive play of the season is one that people are going to talk about for a little while because, you know, like this is not being dramatic. That's history changing, right? Like you are on the doorstep of field goal range.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–3:06
2
What were the emotions in the Bears locker room after the loss?
3:06–6:12
3
How did players reflect on their season during locker cleanout?
6:12–12:45
4
What is DJ Moore's status after the season-ending loss?
12:45–17:01
5
What are the implications of the last play that ended the Bears' season?
17:01–30:32
6
What were the major decisions facing the Bears' management?
30:32–35:55
7
How did the team bond impact their performance this season?
35:55–42:18
Speakers
5 identifiedMore from Rahimi & Grote Show
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