Two men, tortured for their entire lives by the Chicago Bears, talk about the NFL, the draft, and conspicuously nothing at all to do with Kyle Orton! Tune in each week for NFL news and the ongoing destruction of their souls at the hands of the Chicago Bears. Email us at startkyleorton@gmail.com or yell at Kyle on X at @startkyIeorton.
It's that time again, and this year the audio is solid! Join Travis, Kyle, and eventually Nick (and Nick's baby!) as they cover the entire first round of the NFL draft. What did we think of the Colston Loveland pick? How about those extremely expensive trade ups? Thanks to everyone who watched live!
Welcome back folks, this week we're talking about every offensive position in the 2025 draft that we haven't hit yet. How good IS this class (not good folks!). But the running back group is deep, for whatever that's worth? How much of a homer can Travis BE for Kaleb Johnson? If the Bears draft a TE at number 10, will Kyle have a stroke live on stream? Join us and find out!
Welcome back folks, we have a doozy of a pod for you this week! Kyle brought in a ringer to talk offensive linemen; Quinten Krzysko (also known as @ButkusStats) of On Tap Sports Net fame and the Bears On Tap podcast is here! Can Kyle hold it down as host? Can Travis stand up to the pressure of this dubious game show Kyle has created? We talk about Will Campbell vs Kelvin Banks, wonder what could have been with Josh Simmons, interrogate the rise of Armand Membou, and discuss sleepers further down the draft board. This episode was a blast to record, hopefully it's as much fun to listen to. Thanks for listening!
This week the guys start looking into the prospects in this trash heap of a draft! What are their thoughts on the top 2 quarterbacks available? Before that though they talk a lot about Jayden Daniels! What did they get right and what did they get wrong? What does it mean for the future of the NFL and quarterback play? As they get back into the draft they discuss Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders and really the overall lack of talent in this draft. Thanks for listening!
This week on the SKOd we talk about how the Bears continued their offseason dominance (back to back to back offseason champs) and solidified both lines in free agency! So what does Drew Dalman bring to the table, and how good IS this line now? Where will Dayo play? Is Grady Jarrett cooked or is that a solid signing? How good is the defensive line and what does this mean for the legendary Zacch Pickens? Thanks for tuning in!
Welcome back! This week we discuss the surprising and extremely welcome moves the Bears made for Jonah Jackson and Joe Thuney, then look at the barren wasteland that is this free agency period and draft. So how the hell did the Bears manage to turn a 4th round pick in NEXT year's draft into one of the best guards in the NFL? Jackson is certainly worth a 6th rounder, but can he return to his form from two seasons ago? And are the Bears done? Thanks for listening!
Hello and welcome back to a seriously boring offseason! The Bears, having already won the offseason with the hire of Ben Johnson (3 time offseason champs, back to back to back babyyyyyy) now stare down one of the most starless free agent classes in recent memory and a draft that stands two tiers below last year's. So, about those free agents: are we getting Trey Smith? And if not... what CAN we spend all this money on? What does a successful FA/Draft look like for the Bears? And what does it look like if they don't get Trey Smith? Thanks for tuning in folks!
The Bears did it, they really did it! For the first time in our lives they made the slam dunk, obvious head coach hire in former Lions OC Ben Johnson. So, how excited are we to have the orchestrator of the best offense in the NFKL over the last two years? (Pretty excited folks). How about his rumored coordinator hires? What does this say about the Bears franchise moving forward? Thanks for listening!
Welcome back folks! With this horrendous death march of a season over we have finally entered BEAR SEASON, the offseason! Hope abounds as the Bears search out a new coach! They've interviewed everyone with a pulse, so who will we end up with? Should there be optimism? Absolutely not, but let's talk about it together!
Welcome back folks! Come on in while we rip on Matt Eberflus one last time, discuss our interim head coach (and why we should not by god hire him as our full time head coach), debate turkeys and how likely it is that Travis will have to extricate one from his bowels, and even discuss classic literature!
Welcome back! After our 4 week sabbatical we have returned to talk Bears! Except this week we recorded on Wednesday, JUUUUUUST before that Thanksgiving game. We made some predictions for that game in here as a sort of guess at how we would feel after, but no folks that was not on our bingo card! So what DID we predict? How do we feel about the current state of the Bears? Where were we for the last month? And CAN Flus actually get fired midseason?
Folks you know what we're talking about this week, strap in as we rub our faces in exasperation and say a lot of swears.
This week on the SKOd we take a momentary break from Bears talk to look around the NFL! What tickled us enough to talk about? Well, how about the Panthers? Are these guys completely cooked as a franchise, and for how long? Is it a cosmically screwed competition between them and the Browns? How about the Commies? The Bears have them this week, with or without Jayden Daniels, so how are they looking? And what of Travis' favorite quarterback Anthony Richardson? All this and more as we wile away the bye., Thanks for listening!
Welcome back! The Bears are 4-2 after two blowouts and 14 straight quarters of strong offensive play. What does it all mean? We lavish deserved praise on the Bears on both side of the ball, the coaching, and of course whatever dark god we sold our souls to for Caleb Williams! Beyond that, we discuss how sustainable this is, how the Bears' first two awful offensive weeks have completely destroyed DVOA, and the good vibes heading into a bye week. Thanks for listening!
Welcome back to the most positive Bears podcast on the internet! Thankfully the Bears have rewarded the SKOd's positivity with two straight wins and 6 quarters (plus one drive) of excellent football defensively AND offensively! So what has been working the last two weeks and why? Is what Caleb is doing sustainable, and how does it compare to what Jayden Daniels is doing in Washington? How about Gervon Dexter's massive season so far? Thanks for listening and welcome to the party!
This week on the SKOd the guys look outside and see a lot of very, very angry Bears fans! After a close loss in Indianapolis the fanbase seems to have lost a lot of hope. While we understand where it comes from... folks we're here to reel you back in! What did we like about Caleb and the offense on Sunday? Who is to blame for the Bears' struggles? And can we convince you to stick it out just one more time for these guys? Let's find out!
This week on the SKOd, the guys dissect a 13-19 loss to Houston. It looked a mess in the second half, so who's to blame? What did we think of Caleb's performance? Can this offensive line be saved? And hey, let's not forget how incredible the Bears defense played! We also get in some Bryce Young talk and preview next week's game against the Buckner-less Colts. Thanks for listening! (P.S. we know Kyle's voice is a bit scratchy, we are attempting to isolate the problem and resolve it.)
Week 1 is in the books, and what a wild week it was! A bears win is a Bears win, but it sure did come in a very Bears way didn't it? What to make of the dominant defensive effort? What to make of Caleb's struggles? And how will this look against Houston? Thanks for listening!
This week on the SKOd we say goodbye to the offseason and hello to regular season NFL football! What did we think about Hard Knocks this year? Were there any interesting cuts or roster decisions, or have the Bears built a roster that lacks the usual preseason drama? And how do we match up against those Titans? Welcome to the regular season, and thanks for listening!
This week on a super sized episode we go division by division and preview the entire 2024/25 NFL season, and we brought someone along for the ride! Formerly of Baseball Prospectus Southside, Nick is back and ready to help us figure out how this season is going to go. We hit every team along the way and make some bold predictions. Thanks for listening!
This week on the SKOdcast, the guys are swamped with Bears news. Hard Knocks has been entertaining, but have we learned anything? The Bears destroyed the Bengals in the joint scrimmage and their preseason game, but what does it mean? And how about that non trade for Matthew Judon? Thanks for listening!
We are truly back in the thick of things! We're talking Hard Knocks, we're talking camp, we're talking Nate Davis and Austin Booker! We go over the full preseason contest against the Bills and do a deep dive into Caleb Williams' fantastic day. After that we go over the other QB debuts and even get in some Free Haason Reddick talk. Thanks for listening!
In the first of two episodes this week the guys are talking the HOF game and training camp! The offensive line is a mess, riddled by injuries and poor play, but what's new? The defense sure looks good, especially these youngsters on the defensive line, though! And Caleb looks like the real deal. We're also breaking down a truly meaningless HOF game and handing out the Dane Sanzenbacher Award for best Mike Hass. Thanks for listening!
This week on the pod the guys talk about the first (padsless) week of camp. How's Caleb doing? How are the Bears beat guys doing? What can we really glean from practicing in t-shirts? Beyond the Bears the guys also discuss the Goff and Lawrence contract extensions, the Bengals and Cowboys botching contract situations, and prepare ourselves for Hard Knocks. Thanks for listening!
With the offseason tournament complete the guys turn back to current events! But all the current events involve quarterbacks, so Kyle and Travis dive into this year's QB rankings! How have things changed from last year? What do we think about Jared Goff, Kyler Murray, and our annual disagreement regarding Jalen Hurts and Justin Herbert? And what's the deal with Joe Burrow?
This week the guys wrap up the tournament and crown a champion! What is the worst Packers loss of our lives? What is the most unwatchable Bears game we've ever seen? And finally, what is overall the worst Bears game of our lives? Thanks for joining us for this ride folks!
Welcome back! The bracket is set and this week on the SKOd the guys push two horrendous experiences through to the final four (it's lower case, don't sue me!). The Heartbreaking and Just Embarrassing regions will crown their champions. Join us and cheer on your favorite(???) contender, then check back in next week for the stunning conclusion!
Today on a super sized episode of the SKOdcast Travis, Kyle, AND Erik finalize the bracket of 16 awful Bears games! What games make it in from the Just Embarrassing region? And of course, what everyone will want to talk about, what makes it in from the Green Bay region? We also read out a ton of fan submissions and even (TEASER) add one game into the tournament based on a submission! Thanks for listening, and be sure to look out on Twitter this week for the fan polls covering this tournament!
This week kicks off our offseason tournament spectacular, and this year we will be trying to find the worst Bears game of our lives. We have Erik back on the pod for the next... oh boy however long this takes... and we have a LOT to discuss! This week we break down what makes a game bad and what makes a Bears game bad, then we get into filling out our first two regions for the tournament. Thanks for listening!
This week Kyle and Travis finally breathe after all that draft coverage and look around the NFL for a bit! First they preview this year's offseason tournament, The Worst Bears Game of Our Lifetime Tournament. Send us your pick(s) for the worst to startkyleorton@gmail.com or DM Kyle @startkyieorton and look forward to 3 to 4 weeks of cathartic talk about bad Bears games! This week, however, the guys move on and talk about the Raiders, the NFC South, and the Lions. What are the Raiders doing? Will this offseason's NFC South team overpaying an old QB work out? How doomed is Bryce Young? And what have the Lions done in paying everyone?
Wrapping up our coverage of the 2024 draft, we go all in on the Bears draft! There weren't many picks, but there were a lot of good ones. How incredible is it to have Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze? Who is Kiran Amegadjie and what is his role this year? And why was pickling THE punter in the 4th round a great move? Thanks for listening!
The draft is done, and the guys have a lot to say! On this episode we review the full first round (sans the Bears, who get their own episode later this week). What did we think of that Penix pick? How about the absolute steals in the second half of this first round? Who missed and who nailed it? And more importantly, is that damnable cat in a box alive or dead?
This week on the SKOd we're doing a final preview before the draft on Thursday! Kyle is running Travis through different draft scenarios for the Bears at 9. What should Poles do if none of the top 3 receivers are there? What trade down scenario is best? Would the Bears consider trading UP? Then they wrap it up with a final mock draft prediction. ALSO, join us on draft night as we try our best to livestream the entire draft with instant reaction and analysis. Thanks for listening!
This is it! The final week in the courtroom for the SKOdcast. We wrap up our prospect analysis for the 2024 NFL Draft on the defensive line. Who is our DE1? Is DE1 the best defensive lineman in this draft? Would we take any of these guys at 9, or would we want the Bears to trade back a bit? And how important is need vs BPA for the Bears right now? Thanks for listening!
This week we bring a dumptruck full of man meat into the courtroom! That's right it's time to go over the OL prospects in the 2024 draft. Last year the guys were incredibly accurate in their draft predictions for not only where the linemen would go but how good they would be! Can they have a repeat performance this year? How good IS Joe Alt? The guys agree on that at least, but folks we have some spicy takes on this batch of linemen in store for you. Enjoy!
This week on the SKOd! Kyle and Travis get away from QBs and move into the deepest position pool in the 2024 draft (and a potential position the Bears will look at with pick #9), wide receiver! How much do we like these top 3 guys? Would we want the Bears to trade up for any of them? How about the batch of guys after that, and does anyone who might be available at pick 75 look good? Thanks for listening!
This week on the SKOdcast Travis and Kyle finally wrap up discussions around the 2024 QB draft class! Before all that we say our final goodbyes to Justin Fields (check out our episodes 'Justin Fields' and 'The Case Against Justin Fields' for what you might call the long goodbye?) and Travis gives his condensed take on Jayden Daniels. Then its on to quarterback of mystery JJ McCarthy (not to be confused with Spooky Ghost Quarterback). Also discussed are Michael Penix Jr and Bo Nix, then final prospect grades! Thanks for listening!
This week the guys talk about the astounding number of free agency moves (and trades!) the Bears made already, the surprising move they have not yet made (Justin Fields is still here for now!), a bunch of things they've talked about, spooky ghosts, and maybe, just maybe, Fleetwood Mac. Enjoy!
This week on the SKOdcast we celebrate the start of season 2! To do so we talk about Jaylon Johnson and Ryan Bates, do we like these guys and do we like what we gave up for them? We talk about Caleb Williams and Justin Fields, can we verify the Bears have set their plans in stone? We also get into the combine and a bit of inside baseball on the first 10 picks in the upcoming draft. Welcome to season 2!
Welcome back to the courtroom! This week Kyle is doing it solo (giving himself, g-giving himself the best shot) and talking Jayden Daniels! There has been a lot of hype around the Heisman trophy winner, but can his college magic translate to the NFL? Kyle shakes his magic 8 ball and says... signs point to no! Tune in for a detailed breakdown of exactly why!
Welcome back! This week we're hitting the next QB up after Justin and Caleb, Drake Maye! Do we still like him as much as we did mid season? What makes him a great NFL prospect and what drawbacks does he have? And what does The Spreadsheet have to say about all this?
Welcome back to court! This week on the SKOdcast we turn to the likely #1 pick and likely (?) next Bears quarterback, Caleb Williams! What do we like, what do we hate, and what is The Spreadsheet looking like this year? This is 68 minutes of everything you could possibly want to know about the top prospect in this year's draft!
As promised, the guys are back one day later to wrap the Bears up by talking through the defense! We have some unmitigated successes, some unmitigated disasters, and some interesting guys in between to talk about! Who do we love, who do we want to keep but think needs some improvement, and who is on the firing line? Let's find out!
This week on the SKOdcast we try to review the 2023 Bears and slowly realize to our great horror that this will be a two part episode! Performance reviews are difficult and often more timely than you might expect, especially when we have top defend Braxton Jones so vigorously, and hate on our centers so viciously. And what of everyone else? How did the rookies do this year, and what the heck happened to Mooney? Tune in to find out, and look forward to part 2 tomorrow!
This week the guys briefly discuss how pleased they are that the Bears hired Shane Waldron and what, if anything, it means for the situation at QB. After that, as promised, court is in session! The guys start this offseason's QB proceedings with Justin Fields and, as you may have guessed, this is why it's time to move on! Whether you like and want to keep Justin or hate him and want him gone, we attempt to give you all the information we have on Justin at present (and, as you might have guessed, none of it is very good). Enjoy!
This week on the pod, MEGA POWERS EXPLODE as Kyle and Travis have a heated debate over the decision to keep Matt Eberflus! We also take the time to give a retrospective on Luke Getsy, rank the Bears offensive coordinators of our lifetimes (it's so sad, you guys) and talk about the OC candidates the Bears have spoken to. Happy listening!
This week we talk about the final game of the season against Green Bay. Where does Justin stand, and how about Flus? Will a decisive result against our eternal tormentors change anything? Let's find out!
So you're saying we have a chance! This week we talk about that amazing win over the Lions and how good this Bears team is right now. It's all good vibes this week, thanks for listening!
This week Travis finally gets to talk about the Panthers because Kyle is otherwise occupied! The inmate runs the asylum and goes in depth on Carolina, our boy Mitch Trubisky almost guaranteeing us the #1 pick, the Bears upcoming game against Detroit, and anything else that pops into his mind.
Back from Thanksgiving Break, the guys are here to talk about the progress of the Bears on defense, Justin Fields and his progress(?) on offense, finally getting an NFC North win over the Vikings, and the looming specter of Jim Harbaugh.
This week Justin Fields is back and we have seven games to go, so as we move into this final stage of the season we have to ask some questions. What does Justin have to do to keep his job? How about Eberflus? And even if they perform well, SHOULD they be able to save themselves, given what is behind doors number 2 and 3?