The Charter: A Chicago Bears Podcast

The Bears had a rough season on many levels this year and it's all culminated to what's being called the Ryan Pace Bowl of the 2 quarterbacks he chose Mitchell Trubisky over in Deshaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes. Host Laurence Holmes is joined by Brad Evans, host of the Fantasy Football Hour, to discuss this game, the fantasy aspect of all the playoff games, and the failings of the Bears in fantas...

After a rough year the Bears are now reviewing their season to discuss what went wrong in 2019. The Football Aftershow of Laurence Holmes, Olin Kruetz, Lance Briggs, Matt Forte, and Alex Brown does it for them. Now how do we get them to listen? (2:00) - Biggest problem with the 2019 Bears (6:50) - The problems with the offense (10:40) - Bears aren't built to power run (12:30) - Blame game within t...

After a long and disappointing season for the Bears, General Manager Ryan Pace addressed the media along with head coach Matt Nagy. Host Laurence Holmes dissects what they said and discusses where the Bears must improve going into next season. (1:27) - Bears make coaching changes (5:01) - Main concerns with 2019 Bears (9:44) - Trubisky's issues this season (14:11) - Dissecting Trubisky's season (1...

Laurence Holmes and the Football Aftershow of Lance Briggs, Olin Kruetz, Alex Brown, and Matt Forte discuss the Bears win vs the backups of the Minnesota Vikings, their thoughts on the job Nagy and Mitch Trubisky did this year, and the problems that plagued the Bears all year this season. (2:01) - Bears struggling against the Vikings backups (5:44) - Bears biggest problem is Mitch not fitting Nagy...

NBC Sports Chicago's Eric Strobel is in for host Laurence Holmes and he is joined by NBC Sports Chicago writer Bryan Perez as they discuss the changes that need to be made for the Bears and if the Bears will even acknowledge them. (2:10) - A fitting end to the season for the Bears (6:14) - Chiefs game felt like the final straw (9:36) - Mitch Trubisky is just a guy (11:30) - Quarterback options for...

Host Laurence Holmes and the Football Aftershow crew of Lance Briggs, Alex Brown, Olin Kreutz, and Matt Forte discuss the embarrassing loss the Bears took to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football. (1:14) - You have to laugh to keep from crying (4:14) - The Bears looked awful all game (8:15) - The Bears have issues scoring touchdowns (12:29) - Mitch Trubisky is not the QB for the future (...

Host Laurence Holmes is joined by Terez Paylor of Yahoo sports to discuss the Chiefs and Bears matchup on Sunday Night Football. They discuss how the Chiefs help grow Patrick Mahomes, the differences between Mahomes and Trubisky, and the way the Bears have or have not helped Trubisky. (1:57) - What Kansas City plans to do vs the Bears (3:46) - How the Chiefs planned to take Mahomes in the 2017 dra...

Host Laurence Holmes is joined by NBCS Chicago's Cam Ellis to discuss the biggest topic of the week, the obvious comparisons between Mitch Trubisky and the reigning NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes. (2:03) - How did Mitch Trubisky respond to comparisons with Mahomes (2:49) - Is Mitch looking forward to this matchup or is he dreading it? (4:00) - Does Matt Nagy want to impress Andy Reid? (7:51) - Is Danny T...

Laurence Holmes and the Football Aftershow crew of Lance Briggs, Matt Forte, and Alex Brown discuss the 21-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers. (5:21) - Expectations have significantly dropped for Mitch Trubisky this season. (9:36) - Ryan Pace needs to build a better roster for his coach. (15:19) - Bears need to draft another quarterback immediately! (22:53) - How should the Bears prepare with little...

Host Laurence Holmes is joined by the Journal Sentinel's Jim Owczarski from Milwaukee as they discuss have the Packers over achieved in head coach Matt LaFleur's first season (3:45), is Aaron Rodgers already looking toward the end of his career (9:50), and will the Packers use the same game plan they used against Mitch Trubisky and let him "play quarterback" (12:35). All that and more on this epis...

Laurence Holmes is joined by Cam Ellis to discuss the impact Akiem Hicks will make in his return (3:49). They go on to debate the differences between the Bears and Packers the second go around this season (6:58) and they talk about the resurgence of Bears WR Anthony Miller (10:42). See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sel...

Laurence Holmes is joined by the Football Aftershow crew of Lance Briggs, Matt Forte, Alex Brown, and Olin Kreutz to break down the Bears' huge win over the Cowboys. The guys give their initial thoughts on the victory (1:05) before discussing what impressed them most about Mitch Trubisky's performance (5:00), what the possible return of Akiem Hicks and his leadership could mean (15:30), and how th...

Laurence Holmes is joined by JJ Stankevitz and Cam Ellis from Halas Hall to discuss Akiem Hicks' return to practice and much more. The trio debates whether Hicks is the most important member of the Bears' defense (5:15) before discussing the team's mindset going into Thursday's game against Dallas (9:15) and how important it is for the team to finish the season strong (12:15). Finally, the guys ma...

In this Thanksgiving Week special edition, we flash back to the Bears/Lions game on Nov. 27, 1980. A furious 4th-quarter rally led to overtime, where Dave Williams returned the opening kickoff for the fastest-ever OT win at the time. A huge cast of characters takes you through the game and everything that led up to it, including QB Vince Evans, LB Otis Wilson, Lions RB Billy Sims, and many more. T...

The Football Aftershow crew reacts to the Bears comeback win over the Lions on Thanksgiving. They talk playoffs? Playoffs? Trubisky's big game, why did Blough do so well and what they took away from Matt Nagy and Mitch Trubisky's press conferences. 0:30 - Instant game reax....At 6-6, do the Bears have a chance at the playoffs? 5:40 - Trubisky performance reax - ball placement, late drives, levelin...

Laurence Holmes is joined by Jeff Riger from 97.1 The Ticket in Detroit to preview the holiday clash between the Bears and Lions. Topics include the Lions' tenuous QB situation (2:45), a Matt Stafford update and a comparison to Jay Cutler (5:00), the Lions' inability to win big games in recent years (9:00), and the struggles of head coach Matt Patricia that have the Lions fan base so upset (13:45)...

Laurence Holmes is joined by former Bears head coach Dave Wannstedt to discuss what he liked in the team's win over the Giants (:15), how the offense can be tailored a little more toward Mitch Trubisky's strengths (2:30), the lack of a run game so far this season for the Bears (5:00), and how a team gets ready on a very short week for a familiar opponent (9:00). See Privacy Policy at https://art19...

Once again, the Bears come out with an uneven performance but earn a win against the New York Giants. Laurence Holmes is joined by Lance Briggs, Matt Forte and Alex Brown to debate whether or not the Bears offense took an actual step forward, whether Mitchell Trubisky actually had a decent game and whether they are actually a poorly coached team that makes the same mistakes week in and week out. 1...

Hall of Fame defensive lineman Dan Hampton joins NBC Sports Chicago Bears producer Eric Strobel to discuss a variety of topics, including the significance of playing on Thanksgiving and an epic Bears/Lions holiday game in 1980 (1:45), his broken nose in the celebratory aftermath of that game (5:00), how Walter Payton's legacy has endured and grown in the 20 years since his passing (9:00), and his...

Laurence Holmes catches up with JJ Stankevitz from Halas Hall, and the guys discuss Mitch Trubisky's status and his progression (1:30), before wondering whether Anthony Miller is playing for his job (8:00) and finally running down some things to watch down the stretch, including the offensive line, Roquan Smith's finish, and Leonard Floyd (16:45). See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy an...

Laurence Holmes, Matt Forte, Alex Brown, Lance Briggs, and Olin Kreutz dissect all the major storylines following the Bears’ 17-7 loss to the Rams in Los Angeles. The guys try to figure out whether QB Mitch Trubisky actually injured his hip or if it was a stealth benching (1:30) before getting into Eddy Pineiro’s tough day (13:00) and whether the team’s culture has taken a hit this season (17:00)....

JJ Stankevitz catches up with NBC NFL analyst Tony Dungy about how important this game is for both teams, the degree to which the Bears miss Jordan Howard, and Lovie Smith's revival of the Fighting Illini (1:00). Then, producer Eric Strobel and NBC's Chris Simms discuss how teams are game-planning for Khalil Mack, how and why both the Bears and Rams have disappointed this season, and which franchi...

JJ Stankevitz, Cam Ellis, and John "Moon" Mullin convene at Halas Hall to discuss how to balance Mitch Trubisky's special moments against the rest of his play, including a comparison to Jay Cutler (2:35). Then the trio breaks down Trubisky's trust - or lack thereof - in his receivers (7:50), and debates whether you'd rather be the Bears or the Rams moving forward (19:20) before finishing up by won...

The Bears pulled out an ugly win vs. the Detroit Lions, but should Club Dub have re-opened for such a lackluster performance? Matt Forte, Lance Briggs and Alex Brown join Laurence Holmes to break down how the Bears might have saved their season, even if only for another week. Plus, the guys discuss how this defense might look going forward with some major injuries up the middle. 1:33 - The season...

Former NFL quarterback and sharp football analyst Sage Rosenfels joins JJ Stankevitz to explain why the Bears' offense has crashed and burned in 2019, starting with why Matt Nagy needs to run the "exact opposite offense" to make Mitch Trubisky successful (1:20) and how realistic it is for Nagy to significantly change his offense this far into the season (5:10). Then, JJ gets Sage's take on the Bea...