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Bengals Booth Podcast: If You're Gonna Play In Texas · Bengals Booth Podcast

0:03
Speaker 1: Hi again, everybody.
0:04
Speaker 2: I'm Dan Horton.
0:05
Speaker 3: Thanks for downloading the Bengals Booth Podcast, the if you're
0:09
Speaker 3: going to play in Texas edition as the Bengals head
0:14
Speaker 3: to Houston to face the Texans. Coming up, Amarius Mims
0:18
Speaker 3: discusses a great start for the Bengals offensive line in
0:21
Speaker 3: week one and a daunting challenge in week two. The
0:25
Speaker 3: great Kevin Harlan will call the game on CBS and
0:28
Speaker 3: shares his thoughts on the matchup. And in this week's
0:31
Speaker 3: Know the Foe segment, we'll check in with Jonathan Alexander,
0:34
Speaker 3: who covers the Texans for the Houston Chronicle. The Bengals
0:38
Speaker 3: Booth Podcast is brought to you by Paycor, proud to
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Speaker 3: healthcare provider of the Bengals. Now, here's a quick reminder.
1:00
Speaker 3: that you can have the latest edition of this podcast
1:03
Speaker 3: delivered right to your phone, tablet, or computer by subscribing,
1:07
Speaker 3: wherever you get your podcasts. It's the greatest thing since
1:12
Speaker 3: the Kevin Harlan booth cam. As I mentioned, Kevin is
1:16
Speaker 3: one of my guests on this episode, and one of
1:18
Speaker 3: the things I ask him about is the video of
1:21
Speaker 3: him in the booth in the NFL season opener between
1:24
Speaker 3: Seattle and New England. The game came down to an
1:27
Speaker 3: end zone interception in the final 30 seconds, and the
1:31
Speaker 3: video of Kevin making the call is priceless. Do a
1:35
Speaker 3: quick search for Kevin Harlan booth cam. I promise you'll
1:39
Speaker 3: be entertained, and you'll enjoy hearing him talk about it
1:42
Speaker 3: later on the pod. Now, let's get you set for
1:45
Speaker 3: the Bengals and Texans this Sunday in Houston. The Bengals
1:50
Speaker 3: offensive line has taken a lot of slings and arrows
1:52
Speaker 3: in recent years, so let's give credit where credit's due.
1:56
Speaker 3: In Week 1 against Tampa Bay, the Bengals' offensive line
1:59
Speaker 3: allowed the lowest pressure rate of any team in the NFL,
2:04
Speaker 3: and that was against a Bucs defense that blitzed on
2:06
Speaker 3: nearly 46% of the Bengals' passing plays. Joe Burrow was
2:11
Speaker 3: only sacked once, and technically it was surrendered by tight
2:15
Speaker 3: end Drew Sample and not a member of the offensive line.
2:19
Speaker 3: Amarius Mims was particularly good as he dominated highly touted
2:23
Speaker 3: rookie Reuben Bain. This week, Amarius will face the highest
2:29
Speaker 3: paid defensive player in the NFL. Here's my conversation with
2:33
Speaker 3: the Bengals' 23-year-old right tackle. Amarius, the metrics say the Bengals'
2:40
Speaker 3: offensive line was the best in the NFL in week one.
2:43
Speaker 3: Lowest pressure percentage allowed, one sack, two hits. When you
2:47
Speaker 3: watch it on tape, is that how you felt?
2:49
Speaker 4: I just felt like we had a plan going into
2:52
Speaker 4: the game to keep nine as healthy as possible. We
2:55
Speaker 4: had a plan to protect on third down, and every
2:58
Speaker 4: other down we passed the ball, and I thought we
3:00
Speaker 4: did a pretty good job.
3:01
Speaker 2: Wish it would have.
3:02
Speaker 4: Been 0-0, but that's just like good old line strive
3:06
Speaker 4: for greatness. That's something we tend to do. It's just
3:10
Speaker 4: like a testament to what we've been doing in practice,
3:12
Speaker 4: what we've been practicing since April, and just the continuity
3:14
Speaker 4: of the old line has gotten better.
3:16
Speaker 2: We brought all five guys back.
3:18
Speaker 4: And I think that's just the main reason why we
3:20
Speaker 4: came out week one, and it's just we had a
3:22
Speaker 4: solid game.
3:24
Speaker 3: It was 0-0 for you against the 15th pick in
3:27
Speaker 3: the draft, Reuben Bain. Did we see the product of
3:31
Speaker 3: all of your hard work in Week 1?
3:34
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, like I said, man, I've just been,
3:36
Speaker 4: like I said, I've been taking pride on just, like,
3:38
Speaker 4: pass protection and runner blocking lately. Even since I came
3:41
Speaker 4: in the league, it just comes more natural now because,
3:44
Speaker 4: like I said, as I get older, I understand it now.
3:46
Speaker 4: I understand what the guys across me are trying to do.
3:48
Speaker 4: I understand my job even more. You know what I'm saying?
3:50
Speaker 2: I can just play faster and more freely.
3:52
Speaker 4: And like I said, that was a testament to my
3:53
Speaker 4: hard work all offseason and having a pretty good training camp,
3:56
Speaker 4: in my opinion. And it's just I just have to
3:58
Speaker 4: keep it up and just keep going, man. Like I said,
4:00
Speaker 4: one game doesn't define me. Like I said, one game
4:02
Speaker 4: doesn't define him. He's a great player. It's just, you know,
4:05
Speaker 4: just the matter of just what happened. You know, just
4:07
Speaker 4: a product, just me working hard and just a product
4:09
Speaker 4: of just, you know, me buying in and what my
4:10
Speaker 4: coach has been telling me.
4:12
Speaker 3: I feel like when I watch you pass protect, you
4:14
Speaker 3: make it look easy. I know it's not. But is
4:18
Speaker 3: that a compliment?
4:19
Speaker 4: Yeah, it's definitely a compliment. But, man, let me tell you,
4:21
Speaker 4: pass pro is probably the hardest thing that you have
4:22
Speaker 4: to do on the field other than being a quarterback
4:24
Speaker 4: and thinking.
4:25
Speaker 2: I'll tell you that, man.
4:26
Speaker 4: Like I said, it's the position where it's like the
4:28
Speaker 4: most selfless position because you're literally backpedaling while another grown
4:32
Speaker 4: man who's literally your size running at you full speed
4:34
Speaker 4: trying to take your head off and the guy behind you. So,
4:37
Speaker 4: like I said, man, it's fun in my opinion because
4:40
Speaker 4: I've been doing it for so long.
4:41
Speaker 2: But others seem to forget how hard it is.
4:44
Speaker 3: Last week, offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher picked you to be
4:47
Speaker 3: a breakout star for the Bengals this year. And when
4:49
Speaker 3: we discussed this a few days ago, you said, I
4:52
Speaker 3: want him to feature me more.
4:54
Speaker 2: In what way? Just get out on the perimeter a
4:56
Speaker 2: little bit.
4:56
Speaker 4: You know, some of those trick plays where, you know,
4:59
Speaker 4: tackle just get out in space, man.
5:00
Speaker 2: Show everybody I can run a little bit. I can
5:01
Speaker 2: block downfield.
5:03
Speaker 3: There was a play last week where you pulled and
5:05
Speaker 3: there was a corner waiting for you.
5:07
Speaker 2: I got the linebacker.
5:08
Speaker 4: I got Anzalone. I got 34 on that play. If
5:11
Speaker 4: it was a corner, I probably would have sent him
5:12
Speaker 4: flying somewhere. But still, the first down was a good run.
5:15
Speaker 4: Hope we do more of those in the future.
5:17
Speaker 3: We're chatting with Amarius Mims. Let's talk about the challenge
5:20
Speaker 3: this week. Four offensive tackles. Is this as tough as
5:24
Speaker 3: it gets to Neil Hunter and Will Anderson?
5:27
Speaker 4: That's $ 100 million on two DNs over there. So like
5:29
Speaker 4: I said, it's definitely going to be the hardest challenge.
5:31
Speaker 4: The best DN tandem in the NFL, and it's no secret.
5:34
Speaker 4: Everybody knows that. Like I said, we're going on the
5:36
Speaker 4: road in their house. They're going to be pumped up.
5:37
Speaker 4: And like I said, man, it's a great challenge for everybody.
5:40
Speaker 4: It's a great challenge for me and Orlando. But, you know,
5:42
Speaker 4: we're up for it. You know, like as an NFL player,
5:46
Speaker 4: this is what you want, man. You want to get
5:47
Speaker 4: put in those hard, tough situations, you know, because if
5:50
Speaker 4: you didn't, you know, you wouldn't play this game.
5:52
Speaker 3: Am I correct in thinking that Will usually lines up
5:54
Speaker 3: on your side?
5:55
Speaker 1: He does.
5:55
Speaker 4: I'll see him more than anything. So it'll be a
5:57
Speaker 4: great battle, man. I'm looking forward to it. Just going
6:01
Speaker 4: at it, man, I just remember like back in college,
6:03
Speaker 4: I didn't really get to block him, but just thinking
6:05
Speaker 4: about it in college and the national championship when we
6:06
Speaker 4: played my freshman year, his sophomore year, just watch him then.
6:10
Speaker 4: I was like, you know, one day we'll see each
6:11
Speaker 4: other again, and Sunday will be the day we'll see
6:14
Speaker 4: each other.
6:14
Speaker 3: He's not the biggest D end out there, but he
6:16
Speaker 3: might be the twitchiest. Is that what makes it such
6:19
Speaker 3: a challenge?
6:20
Speaker 4: Man, he has a combination of speed, size, and athletic
6:23
Speaker 4: ability and God-given ability. That's why I say I think
6:25
Speaker 4: that's what makes him one of the best, if not
6:27
Speaker 4: the best D.N.
6:28
Speaker 2: In the NFL.
6:28
Speaker 4: And he does a great job. And like I said,
6:30
Speaker 4: he's paid like that too. So, hey, man, like I said,
6:33
Speaker 4: I give credit when it's due. And he's one of
6:35
Speaker 4: those guys, like I said, you got the game.
6:36
Speaker 2: Planned for him.
6:38
Speaker 3: The revamped defense looked good in training camp, and then
6:41
Speaker 3: in week one they went out and got four takeaways,
6:43
Speaker 3: including three in a row. As an offensive player, what's
6:46
Speaker 3: it like when you hear the crowd roar and you
6:48
Speaker 3: realize you're going right back out there three times in
6:51
Speaker 3: a row?
6:51
Speaker 2: It's electric. I don't mind it.
6:52
Speaker 4: If the defense is going to give us the ball
6:53
Speaker 4: back like that, man, hey, man, go defense. Just sitting
6:57
Speaker 4: on that sideline, just seeing that, just seeing how our
7:00
Speaker 4: defense played that first game, it makes me think of
7:02
Speaker 4: how better we can get in week one. Nobody plays
7:05
Speaker 4: a perfect game. So imagine what else we can do.
7:07
Speaker 4: And imagine how much more we have in the tank.
7:11
Speaker 4: That's why I'm so excited. It's like, man, we pray
7:14
Speaker 4: for times like this, and, man, we got a defense
7:16
Speaker 4: over there that's getting us the ball back like that. Man,
7:18
Speaker 4: if we score like I know we can, then it's
7:20
Speaker 4: going to be a great year.
7:22
Speaker 3: Describe your teammate, Dexter Lawrence.
7:25
Speaker 2: How many words can I use? As many as you'd like. Oh, man.
7:29
Speaker 2: One of the best D tackles in the NFL, if
7:31
Speaker 2: not the best. Oh, man.
7:32
Speaker 4: Freak, athletic, big, strong, all pro. The front runner of
7:41
Speaker 4: our defense, man. There's so many words I can use
7:44
Speaker 4: for that, man. But I'm just blessed to have him
7:46
Speaker 4: as a teammate. Like I said, I'd rather have him
7:47
Speaker 4: be on my team than block him. So good luck
7:50
Speaker 4: to everybody else who got to block him. Last thing
7:52
Speaker 4: for Amarius Mims.
7:54
Speaker 3: These two teams are thought to be two of the
7:55
Speaker 3: best in the AFC. What could a win on Sunday...
7:59
Speaker 3: mean even though it's this early.
8:00
Speaker 4: In the season man it'll be it'll mean a lot
8:03
Speaker 4: I feel like people don't realize like I know people
8:04
Speaker 4: worry about like AFC North like with AFC North and
8:08
Speaker 4: they're the AFC whatever they are Man, it's just like
8:11
Speaker 4: any AFC win or any win.
8:12
Speaker 2: Is important, man.
8:13
Speaker 4: You don't realize those games mean something. They stack up, man.
8:15
Speaker 4: You never know what it's going to mean down the road.
8:17
Speaker 4: Week 17, you never know what your record's going to be.
8:19
Speaker 4: You know you hope it's good, but you just, like
8:21
Speaker 4: I said, take advantage of these moments, man, because you
8:24
Speaker 4: only get 17 of them, and you're not guaranteed to
8:25
Speaker 4: make the playoffs. And we're trying to make a long run,
8:28
Speaker 4: so each win is going to.
8:29
Speaker 2: Count up and matter.
8:31
Speaker 3: Congrats on a great first week. Best of luck on Sunday.
8:33
Speaker 2: I appreciate you, my guy.
8:35
Speaker 3: Tampa Bay only had two sacks in Week 1 versus
8:38
Speaker 3: Josh Allen and the Bills. Jadeveon Clowney had one. Will
8:42
Speaker 3: Anderson and Mario Edwards split the other. Sunday's game at
8:46
Speaker 3: Reliant Stadium kicks off at 1, and one of my
8:49
Speaker 3: favorite broadcasters will call it on TV. I talked to
8:52
Speaker 3: him this week. If you watch the game on CBS
8:56
Speaker 3: this week, you will hear my son's favorite broadcaster. Yes,
9:01
Speaker 3: he likes his dad, but he loves Kevin Harlan. So, Kevin,
9:05
Speaker 3: on behalf of Sam Hoard, Thank you for coming inside
9:09
Speaker 3: the jungle with us this week.
9:11
Speaker 1: My honor, uh, tells him thanks. And it is always
9:15
Speaker 1: an honor to be on with you. Uh, I I'm
9:17
Speaker 1: such a fan as you know, and we've become friends
9:20
Speaker 1: over the years and this is a real, real treat
9:22
Speaker 1: for me. Thanks Dan for getting me on.
9:24
Speaker 3: So Kevin, I know you called several Bengals games last year,
9:27
Speaker 3: but I'm not sure that you had any with Joe
9:30
Speaker 3: Burrow playing quarterback. Am I right about that?
9:33
Speaker 2: Not many, one or two.
9:35
Speaker 1: And, um, I loved his feistiness this year in camp
9:40
Speaker 1: when reading what I read, saying, you know, now's the time. Basically,
9:44
Speaker 1: that was paraphrasing. He's saying, why not us? Let's go.
9:49
Speaker 1: We've rebuilt. We're ready to roll. And clearly, that was
9:54
Speaker 1: on display week one. It gets a little tougher week
9:58
Speaker 1: two in Houston.
9:59
Speaker 2: We know.
10:00
Speaker 1: That's going to be a heck of a game, by
10:01
Speaker 1: the way. They're going to be real hungry, and the
10:05
Speaker 1: Bengals are stretching their legs, and I think they feel
10:10
Speaker 1: something special here with the revamped roster. So I cannot
10:13
Speaker 1: wait for that kickoff.
10:15
Speaker 3: The Bengals' offensive line protected well in Week 1. They
10:19
Speaker 3: only gave up one sack and seven pressures. Is Bengals'
10:22
Speaker 3: O-line versus Houston's D-line the key matchup you're looking at
10:26
Speaker 3: this week?
10:27
Speaker 2: Well, yeah, I'm anxious.
10:30
Speaker 1: I guess a couple. The defenses probably interest me as
10:34
Speaker 1: much as anything just because the defense of Houston was
10:37
Speaker 1: supposed to be just, you know, the best in the league,
10:41
Speaker 1: and they struggled. In fact, some of those guys on
10:45
Speaker 1: that line were like they didn't make a ripple. Now, statistically,
10:50
Speaker 1: they may have done their job and taken two or
10:52
Speaker 1: three blockers or whatever and opened the door for others
10:55
Speaker 1: who didn't make the play. So everybody came into this
11:00
Speaker 1: season thinking Houston's defense, Houston's defense. If the quarterback can
11:03
Speaker 1: do the job, Houston will be there at the end.
11:07
Speaker 1: And then, of course, the great interest in how the
11:09
Speaker 1: Bengals restructure their defense is added to their roster, and
11:15
Speaker 1: now you could see signs that those moves really paid off. Listen,
11:22
Speaker 1: Tampa Bay, and that quarterback, that's a solid team. So
11:28
Speaker 1: what they did, how they did it, and where they're
11:30
Speaker 1: going this weekend, I think these are all parts of
11:33
Speaker 1: our investigation, just where these two teams are, because in
11:36
Speaker 1: back of maybe Denver and Buffalo, And I didn't want
11:40
Speaker 1: to see him back because I kind of see them
11:42
Speaker 1: all on the same line. This game, again, is another
11:47
Speaker 1: big indication of how these two teams may progress the
11:51
Speaker 1: rest of the year.
11:52
Speaker 3: We're visiting with Kevin Harlan. What did you think when
11:56
Speaker 3: the Bengals gave up the 10th pick in the draft
11:58
Speaker 3: to get Dexter Lawrence?
12:00
Speaker 1: You know, I think so much is, it's not undifferent,
12:06
Speaker 1: not totally different, out of whack to align that with
12:09
Speaker 1: what the Packers did last year, you know, with Parsons.
12:13
Speaker 1: You know, we need to make it, and they're kind
12:16
Speaker 1: of mirror franchises. They've got the quarterback, Burrow being more accomplished,
12:20
Speaker 1: but they've got kind of the offensive thing in place.
12:23
Speaker 1: It's been the defense for both those teams that are
12:26
Speaker 1: kind of looking to improve. And so the Packers last
12:31
Speaker 1: year upgrade with the Parsons deal with Dallas. That was
12:34
Speaker 1: right before the season. Bengals a little bit earlier, they
12:37
Speaker 1: had their eye on, And sure enough, here comes a
12:42
Speaker 1: playmaking respected guy with a lot to offer. And I
12:48
Speaker 1: think guys like that on any side of the ball
12:52
Speaker 1: always get followers and guys that want to match what
12:55
Speaker 1: he's doing. We saw it in Green Bay for a
12:57
Speaker 1: while until Parsons was knocked out after their 9-3-1 start.
13:02
Speaker 1: We're starting to see it with the Bengals and just
13:04
Speaker 1: what he brings to that side of the ball. It's exciting.
13:08
Speaker 1: And I'm thinking, here's a team that knows they're set
13:10
Speaker 1: at quarterback. Time to win. Time to act now. Let's
13:14
Speaker 1: not waste these great years with the most difficult position
13:18
Speaker 1: in sports to fill, quarterback. We've got that. Let's make
13:21
Speaker 1: sure that we're all in and get a guy that
13:23
Speaker 1: we know is going to perform. And sure enough, they
13:25
Speaker 1: got him. And we saw that. We saw some of
13:28
Speaker 1: that on Sunday. We're going to see more of it
13:30
Speaker 1: this Sunday, I think, and for the rest of the season.
13:33
Speaker 3: You referenced some of Joe Burrow's comments earlier. He made
13:36
Speaker 3: a reference in June. to this team, reminding him of
13:40
Speaker 3: the 2019 LSU team that went undefeated, won the national championship,
13:45
Speaker 3: averaged 48 points a game. I imagine you saw that.
13:48
Speaker 3: If you didn't hear it, did it perk your ears
13:51
Speaker 3: up that Joe feels similarly about this team as he
13:54
Speaker 3: felt about that one?
13:56
Speaker 1: I love when athletes say, you know, why not us?
13:58
Speaker 1: We've got everything here, and if they can draw on
14:01
Speaker 1: some personal experience, as Joe did, even more credence to
14:05
Speaker 1: that comment.
14:06
Speaker 2: So, Absolutely.
14:07
Speaker 1: I love the fact that, you know, he's not a
14:11
Speaker 1: he's not the most outspoken guy. And when he does
14:15
Speaker 1: talk and say stuff, you know, we listen. And I
14:19
Speaker 1: think he I think he knows exactly what he's saying.
14:22
Speaker 1: I think he knows exactly what he wants that message
14:25
Speaker 1: to be to not only Bengal fans, but clearly that
14:29
Speaker 1: team and the organization has heard. And I just think
14:33
Speaker 1: everybody tightens the screws a little bit when your guy,
14:36
Speaker 1: the face of the franchise, comes out with a statement
14:39
Speaker 1: like that. Not putting pressure on people, but saying, now's
14:42
Speaker 1: the time. What I see is great and workable and
14:48
Speaker 1: something that we can really cash in on. And so
14:52
Speaker 1: those comments to me, that's a sign of leadership. It's
14:56
Speaker 1: the sign of progress. You know, checking that, I agree
14:58
Speaker 1: with what the organization did, and I love how they've
15:01
Speaker 1: been so proactive and aggressive in building that side of
15:04
Speaker 1: the ball.
15:06
Speaker 2: All of it is good.
15:07
Speaker 1: I mean, he sold me that day with those words
15:10
Speaker 1: and just the way they came out of the gate
15:12
Speaker 1: this year.
15:14
Speaker 3: Let's talk about the other quarterback, C.J.
15:16
Speaker 2: Stroud.
15:17
Speaker 3: Amazing as a rookie, good but not as good since.
15:21
Speaker 3: Do you think year four is big for C.J.
15:23
Speaker 5: Stroud?
15:24
Speaker 1: Huge contract-wise and just where he stands. There are sure
15:28
Speaker 1: people that are in his corner. I like him. I
15:31
Speaker 1: like him as a kid. I've had a chance to
15:33
Speaker 1: meet him a few times during the NBA season. He's
15:36
Speaker 1: a big NBA fan. And we've had meetings at CBS
15:41
Speaker 1: with him. And Dan, I'd tell you that he doesn't
15:45
Speaker 1: lack for confidence, but not in a way that makes
15:48
Speaker 1: you just kind of cringe. He has a great connection
15:53
Speaker 1: with his offense. But there's no doubt that he needs
15:57
Speaker 1: to be the quarterback we saw, as you say, his
16:01
Speaker 1: rookie year when the accuracy was there, the great decision-making
16:05
Speaker 1: was on display, and his total command of the offense. Now,
16:10
Speaker 1: they've had some attrition with that staff, and that, I think,
16:13
Speaker 1: has probably taken him in some other directions. All that
16:16
Speaker 1: being said, they've got the right voice in the locker room, his,
16:21
Speaker 1: and certainly the right leadership in D'Amico Ryan, their head coach. But, yeah,
16:27
Speaker 1: like all of us, watching the teams that we root
16:29
Speaker 1: for or like or cover, you lose one big guy, man.
16:34
Speaker 1: It just makes a difference. And so they've had an
16:36
Speaker 1: injury already on offense they're trying to deal with. I
16:39
Speaker 1: think they've improved their running game with Montgomery. I mean, yeah,
16:44
Speaker 1: I'm still in on Stroud, but this is clearly, in
16:48
Speaker 1: so many ways, financially for a lot of people to
16:51
Speaker 1: cover that team, a big year for him.
16:54
Speaker 3: You've called the last 16 Super Bowls on the radio
16:57
Speaker 3: for Westwood one, so that obviously includes Super Bowl 56
17:01
Speaker 3: between the Bengals and the Rams. Had the Bengals pulled
17:05
Speaker 3: off the win that day, would you have regarded that
17:08
Speaker 3: as one of the best underdog stories in Super Bowl history?
17:12
Speaker 1: Well, I think you'd have to, sure. I mean, just
17:16
Speaker 1: where they had come from and how they had built
17:19
Speaker 1: and At that time, you know, the coach was relatively,
17:22
Speaker 1: you know, new. He'd been there a couple years, clearly,
17:25
Speaker 1: but they were, you know, that was, and the fact
17:28
Speaker 1: that Burrow had won the national championship just a couple
17:31
Speaker 1: years prior, it would have been one of the great
17:33
Speaker 1: stories in the NFL. And listen, that's the great thing
17:38
Speaker 1: about this league, as you know, the many years you've
17:41
Speaker 1: been calling games, you can be a three or four
17:45
Speaker 1: or five win team one year and the very next
17:48
Speaker 1: be up in the, you know, 10, 11, 12, 13
17:50
Speaker 1: win realm. And we've seen too many instances of that.
17:54
Speaker 1: And so these, these guys that are making these moves
17:58
Speaker 1: and building teams and figuring out, you know, who to
18:01
Speaker 1: pay and who not to pay and who to draft
18:03
Speaker 1: and who not to, who to sign off the street
18:05
Speaker 1: and who not to like, like it's so the synchronicity of, of,
18:11
Speaker 1: of how a team becomes what they've become is, involves
18:16
Speaker 1: so many parts answering that call, right? The guys that scout,
18:20
Speaker 1: the guys that sign, the guys that teach, the guys
18:22
Speaker 1: that play, and just the total embodiment of everybody kind
18:26
Speaker 1: of holding onto the rope and pulling in the right direction.
18:28
Speaker 1: You know, those are things. And that's why when you
18:31
Speaker 1: see it with that Bengals team we're talking about in
18:33
Speaker 1: that Super Bowl year, or even how they come into
18:36
Speaker 1: this season, you get the sense that no one's letting
18:39
Speaker 1: go of the rope, right? Like they're all pulling. And again,
18:43
Speaker 1: back to Burrow's comment in June, why not us? Like,
18:46
Speaker 1: why can't we be that team this year? Why can't we,
18:49
Speaker 1: with the moves we've made, become the team we want
18:51
Speaker 1: to be and that we saw not a long time
18:53
Speaker 1: ago in the Super Bowl? So I'm all in on
18:57
Speaker 1: teams like that and underdog stories. And with Burrow, you know,
19:02
Speaker 1: staying upright is everything for that team. And history shows
19:05
Speaker 1: us that, right? So I'm hopeful that he stays healthy
19:09
Speaker 1: and we get the full feel of what this rebuild
19:12
Speaker 1: defensively and just kind of regrouping as an offense. like
19:15
Speaker 1: what that looks like for a team that has had,
19:18
Speaker 1: you know, has been in the focus of so many
19:20
Speaker 1: football fans for this handful of years since Joe has
19:23
Speaker 1: been the quarterback.
19:25
Speaker 3: Final thing for my friend, Kevin Harlan, this NFL season
19:28
Speaker 3: began with a thrilling Superbowl rematch between Seattle and new England.
19:32
Speaker 3: It came down to an end zone interception with 21
19:35
Speaker 3: seconds to go. Your call was amazing. And so was
19:40
Speaker 3: the video of you making that call and, What did
19:44
Speaker 3: you think when that went viral?
19:45
Speaker 1: Third down five, Patriots down by three, 26 seconds.
19:50
Speaker 2: To go.
19:50
Speaker 1: Shotgun snap to May. Moved down to the pocket.
19:53
Speaker 2: Throws a pass. End zone. Intercepted! In the end zone!
19:58
Speaker 5: Was he inbounds?
20:00
Speaker 2: Intercepted by Jobe!
20:04
Speaker 4: Seattle has picked off May!
20:08
Speaker 2: They've done it again!
20:11
Speaker 1: I'm not a social media person. I don't look at it.
20:14
Speaker 1: My kids or my wife will say, hey, they just
20:17
Speaker 1: put this out. My friends and partners at CBS let
20:23
Speaker 1: me know that that was out there. I am not
20:25
Speaker 1: a fan of that camera, but it's there and it's
20:29
Speaker 1: part of the way they're selling these broadcasts. And I
20:32
Speaker 1: don't think about the camera being there as you are.
20:35
Speaker 1: You're so into the game, right? You're lost in the game.
20:37
Speaker 1: You're You're trying to think about how I'm going to
20:41
Speaker 1: call this play. What's the situation? Down distance, time, score,
20:44
Speaker 1: like all these things. And so the last thing you're
20:47
Speaker 1: thinking about is that goofy camera that's in the corner.
20:51
Speaker 1: But if it helps the company, I'm all in. But personally,
20:55
Speaker 1: I don't like it. I've not liked it. I just
20:57
Speaker 1: don't think people really care. And I don't want them
20:59
Speaker 1: to ever think either that like we're rooting for one
21:03
Speaker 1: team because we're not. I mean, you are because you're
21:05
Speaker 1: the voice of that team. But when we're doing network stuff,
21:08
Speaker 1: I don't care who wins. I really don't. I like
21:11
Speaker 1: a good game and I want a good win for
21:13
Speaker 1: a broadcast, whether it's CBS or Westwood. So I don't
21:17
Speaker 1: care who wins. I like big plays, good plays, great plays,
21:20
Speaker 1: game-changing plays like you do. But I really don't care.
21:24
Speaker 1: And I would never want people to think that I'm
21:25
Speaker 1: rooting for one team with a call that may have
21:28
Speaker 1: a little bit of oomph in the back of it.
21:30
Speaker 1: When I was doing the Chiefs on radio, like you're
21:31
Speaker 1: doing the Bengals, I mean, that was a blast. I mean,
21:34
Speaker 1: you're like invested. But on a network level, you're not,
21:38
Speaker 1: you're just, you're invested in your own work and the
21:40
Speaker 1: broadcast quality and just want a good game. When I
21:44
Speaker 1: was doing the Chiefs, like you were the Bengals, like
21:46
Speaker 1: I want, I wanted the Chiefs to win. And I
21:48
Speaker 1: know I was broadcasting to a Chiefs audience. You're broadcasting
21:51
Speaker 1: to a Bengal audience and you, you know, you've got
21:53
Speaker 1: Bengal fans listening. And, and so anyway, I, I'm not
21:59
Speaker 1: a fan.
22:00
Speaker 3: If it makes you feel any better, I think more
22:03
Speaker 3: than anything else, it showed somebody who loves his job.
22:07
Speaker 1: Well, we both love our job, right? We love our job.
22:10
Speaker 1: We feel lucky to be in this position. We don't
22:13
Speaker 1: take it for granted. You and I have talked often
22:15
Speaker 1: about this subject and just feel lucky at this stage.
22:18
Speaker 1: Like if you would have gotten a 22-year-old version of
22:22
Speaker 1: you or me and said, hey, this is going to
22:25
Speaker 1: be your path. You're going to be doing the Bearcats,
22:27
Speaker 1: and you're going to be doing the Bengals. You're going
22:29
Speaker 1: to live in a city. You're going to raise your
22:30
Speaker 1: family there. You're going to be part of that organization
22:33
Speaker 1: and that broadcast team. And I would have said the
22:36
Speaker 1: same thing. I'd have taken it in a heartbeat and
22:38
Speaker 1: thank God every day that I'm in this position. I
22:40
Speaker 1: know you do too. So we're lucky. And one of
22:44
Speaker 1: the side benefits, clearly, are the friends you make like yourself.
22:47
Speaker 3: Kevin Harlan and Trent Green have the TV call on Sunday.
22:51
Speaker 3: We'll take an in-depth look at the Texans next, but first,
22:54
Speaker 3: a quick reminder that the Bengals Booth Podcast is brought
22:57
Speaker 3: to you by Paycor, proud to be the Bengals' official
23:00
Speaker 3: HR software provider. By AltaFiber, future-proof fiber internet designed to
23:05
Speaker 3: elevate your home, business, and community to a new level.
23:08
Speaker 3: And by Kettering Health, the best care for the best fans.
23:11
Speaker 3: Kettering Health is the official health care provider of the Bengals. Finally,
23:16
Speaker 3: it's time for this week's Know the Foe segment, as
23:18
Speaker 3: we get the lowdown on the Texans' from Jonathan Alexander,
23:21
Speaker 3: who covers the team for the Houston Chronicle. He joined
23:24
Speaker 3: Wayne Box Miller and me on the Bengals game plan
23:26
Speaker 3: show this week, and I started our conversation by asking
23:30
Speaker 3: Jonathan how Buffalo scored 36 points in week one against
23:35
Speaker 3: Houston's highly touted defense.
23:38
Speaker 5: I really thought the Bills had a great game plan.
23:42
Speaker 6: They figured out how to neutralize the Texans' edge rushers,
23:45
Speaker 6: and obviously that's the engine behind the Texans' defense.
23:47
Speaker 5: They like to get to the quarterbacks.
23:50
Speaker 6: You know, they did a lot of play action, a
23:51
Speaker 6: lot of chips on those guys, and Josh Allen just.
23:54
Speaker 5: Kind of went nuclear.
23:55
Speaker 6: You know, he's arguably the best quarterback in the league
23:59
Speaker 6: right now for a reason. And I just thought that
24:03
Speaker 6: they had a much better game plan and they knew
24:06
Speaker 6: where to attack the Texans.
24:09
Speaker 7: You know, Jonathan, one of the things that the Bengals'
24:11
Speaker 7: defense last year was, you know, trying to keep teams
24:15
Speaker 7: under 30 points. You guys put up 31 points, but
24:18
Speaker 7: you give up 36. I know you started, Stroud started
24:21
Speaker 7: off the game with a fumble. We ended the game
24:22
Speaker 7: with a fumble. Is the confidence still where it needs
24:26
Speaker 7: to be with Stroud?
24:29
Speaker 3: Yes.
24:29
Speaker 6: I mean, if you look at both of those fumbles,
24:32
Speaker 6: I mean, it wasn't like it was anything crazy.
24:34
Speaker 5: It was just Phil's defenders making good plays.
24:38
Speaker 6: You know, he tried to take off and get scrambled
24:40
Speaker 6: for some yards and extend one play. And Rosso just
24:45
Speaker 6: hit the ball out of his hand. So, you know,
24:47
Speaker 6: I think I actually think last week's game showed that C.J.
24:51
Speaker 6: Stroud's confidence is still high. He had two touchdowns, 276 yards,
25:00
Speaker 6: I believe, or 274. He had a good game with
25:04
Speaker 6: the exception of those sacks and strip fumbles, which really
25:07
Speaker 6: weren't his fault.
25:08
Speaker 5: To be honest.
25:10
Speaker 3: Jonathan Alexander from the Houston Chronicle is our guest. Let
25:13
Speaker 3: me follow up on C.J.
25:14
Speaker 2: Stroud.
25:15
Speaker 3: He was spectacular yesterday. As a rookie, he came into
25:18
Speaker 3: Paycourse Stadium and beat the Bengals when they were on
25:20
Speaker 3: a roll, and he played great that day. He's been
25:23
Speaker 3: good since, but maybe not quite as good. How big
25:27
Speaker 3: is year four for C.J.
25:29
Speaker 2: Stroud?
25:31
Speaker 6: Yeah, I think that would be the perfect way to
25:33
Speaker 6: describe it. I think people really kind of mischaracterized his
25:38
Speaker 6: season last year.
25:41
Speaker 5: You know, this is a huge year for him.
25:43
Speaker 6: The Texans view him as a quarterback of the future,
25:48
Speaker 6: but it's a matter of how much he'll be paid, right?
25:51
Speaker 5: And he's got to produce in the playoffs. That's going
25:54
Speaker 5: to be key.
25:55
Speaker 6: He's got to win them games for them to give
25:57
Speaker 6: him the contract that he probably feels he deserves. And
26:02
Speaker 6: I think that's the biggest thing. They have the talent
26:05
Speaker 6: all around now. I think they lacked a little bit
26:08
Speaker 6: of talent on offense last year with their offensive line
26:11
Speaker 6: in particular and some of the young receivers outside of
26:14
Speaker 6: Nico Collins. But they've improved.
26:18
Speaker 5: In those areas.
26:19
Speaker 6: And so now the expectation is for CJ Stroud to
26:22
Speaker 6: perform at a high level in.
26:23
Speaker 5: What they hope will help get.
26:25
Speaker 6: Them to the Super Bowl combined with the talented defense
26:28
Speaker 6: that they have.
26:30
Speaker 7: You know, the team was good on third down. I
26:33
Speaker 7: think they were 33% is what Buffalo had third down-wise,
26:36
Speaker 7: but there was not a lot of pressure on the quarterback.
26:38
Speaker 7: I know Buffalo's defense got nine quarterback pressures, and Houston
26:42
Speaker 7: only got four. I would expect to see that defense
26:45
Speaker 7: a little bit more amped up this week.
26:48
Speaker 6: Yeah, and like I mentioned, I think it was all
26:52
Speaker 6: the Bills. I mean, obviously the Bills have a great
26:55
Speaker 6: offensive line, but.
26:58
Speaker 6: The bills paid increased attention on will anderson jr and
27:02
Speaker 6: to deal hunter they sent double teams at both of
27:04
Speaker 6: those guys they sent chips to slow down their pass
27:07
Speaker 6: rest they use a lot of play action to uh
27:11
Speaker 6: to make them hesitate they their game plan was to
27:14
Speaker 6: make sure that that that defensive line was slowed and
27:18
Speaker 6: so it's going to be accompanied by the texans if
27:20
Speaker 6: they want to you know, prevent teams from doing that
27:23
Speaker 6: to them is to figure out counters. How can you
27:26
Speaker 6: get to the quarterback?
27:27
Speaker 5: And maybe that means sending a little bit of blitz.
27:31
Speaker 6: So that you can't get chipped as well. They're going
27:35
Speaker 6: to be fired up like they are every game, but
27:37
Speaker 6: it's a matter of can you combat what other teams
27:40
Speaker 6: are going to try to do to slow you down?
27:42
Speaker 3: We're visiting with Jonathan Alexander, who covers the Texans for
27:45
Speaker 3: the Houston Chronicle. Houston traded for a Cincinnati guy in
27:48
Speaker 3: the offseason, running back David Montgomery out of Mount Healthy
27:51
Speaker 3: High School. He's obviously been a great NFL player for
27:54
Speaker 3: the Bears and the Lions. He scored three touchdowns in
27:57
Speaker 3: week one for Houston. Has the offensive approach changed because
28:02
Speaker 3: of the acquisition of David Montgomery?
28:06
Speaker 2: Oh, absolutely.
28:08
Speaker 6: You know, I even think that that would have been
28:10
Speaker 6: their offensive approach last year.
28:12
Speaker 5: Had Joe Mixon not gotten hurt before the season.
28:15
Speaker 6: Like that kind of destroyed all of their plans. But
28:18
Speaker 6: the acquisition of David Montgomery absolutely changed the approach to
28:24
Speaker 6: this team and this offense. I mean, you even look
28:26
Speaker 6: at some of their offensive line additions, some of their
28:30
Speaker 6: tight end additions.
28:31
Speaker 5: They want to run the football.
28:33
Speaker 6: They want that to be the core of their offense.
28:37
Speaker 2: And then C.J.
28:38
Speaker 6: Stroud can operate well in play action, and they hope
28:44
Speaker 6: that the running game will open up things for the
28:46
Speaker 6: passing game.
28:47
Speaker 5: But it starts with that running game because there.
28:50
Speaker 6: Were a lot of situations last year where they got
28:52
Speaker 6: in the goal line and they weren't able to punch
28:54
Speaker 6: it in. And David Montgomery told early on that he
28:58
Speaker 6: provides that. He scored three touchdowns, and he was hard
29:01
Speaker 6: to be brought down.
29:02
Speaker 7: No question about that. You know, you always hear coaches
29:06
Speaker 7: and players after a game say, well, there's a lot
29:08
Speaker 7: of things we need to clean up, things we need
29:09
Speaker 7: to clean up. I would say 106 yards and penalties
29:13
Speaker 7: would be at the top of that list because that's
29:14
Speaker 7: just over a football field's worth of penalties.
29:18
Speaker 5: You know, there was a key sequence for the Texans.
29:21
Speaker 6: They got within three points of the Bills at halftime by.
29:29
Speaker 5: Scoring a touchdown, and then they come out in the
29:32
Speaker 5: second half with the ball. and there's a illegal.
29:35
Speaker 6: Chop block block and it and it prevented and nullified
29:39
Speaker 6: a first down that they would have so the Texans
29:42
Speaker 6: end up going three and out and they stall and
29:46
Speaker 6: you know you can't have penalties like that penalties are
29:48
Speaker 6: the quickest way to shut down an offensive drive or
29:52
Speaker 6: the quickest way to extend a defensive drive and that
29:55
Speaker 6: happened on defense as well it was equally bad on
29:57
Speaker 6: offense as it was defense And that's one way to
30:00
Speaker 6: lose a game.
30:03
Speaker 3: Jonathan, Houston lost a starter in week one. Linebacker Henry
30:06
Speaker 3: To'o To'o has gone on the injured list. Who takes
30:11
Speaker 3: his place and how significant of a loss is that
30:13
Speaker 3: for Houston's defense?
30:16
Speaker 5: I actually do think it's a pretty significant injury. I mean,
30:20
Speaker 5: To'o To'o has been a.
30:21
Speaker 6: Starter for the past two years, two and a half years.
30:24
Speaker 5: He's one of their better run stoppers.
30:29
Speaker 6: He was really doing his thing in training camp and
30:33
Speaker 6: being able to get running backs behind the line of scrimmage.
30:37
Speaker 6: He does struggle a little bit in pass defense, but
30:40
Speaker 6: they'll likely replace him with Jake Hansen, who has been
30:43
Speaker 6: with the Texans since 2022. He's a veteran, mostly a
30:47
Speaker 6: special teams player, but Hansen also does have experience starting.
30:52
Speaker 5: He started two games in 2024 under D'Amico Ryans. He
30:55
Speaker 5: started another game before Ryans had got there. So, He
30:58
Speaker 5: has starter experience, and he played.
30:59
Speaker 6: Well as a starter in a couple of those games.
31:03
Speaker 6: So they trust him.
31:04
Speaker 5: They believe that he has the ability to pick up
31:07
Speaker 5: those pieces.
31:07
Speaker 6: But, boy, you definitely would rather have Toto starting as
31:12
Speaker 6: opposed to having to fill his spot.
31:16
Speaker 7: Houston obviously doesn't want to go 0-2 to start the season. Sunday,
31:20
Speaker 7: what do you look for? Because you're someone that has
31:23
Speaker 7: eyes on the teams. What do you look for Sunday
31:25
Speaker 7: to give you the confidence that they've kind of corrected
31:28
Speaker 7: the things that put them in a one zero and
31:31
Speaker 7: one deficit?
31:33
Speaker 5: I mean, you know, the talent is there.
31:35
Speaker 6: They have arguably top three most talent on defense in
31:40
Speaker 6: the league. So, you know, they're they're good players. They
31:44
Speaker 6: have a great defensive minded coach, a great defensive coordinator.
31:47
Speaker 6: D'Amico Ryans doesn't often lose two times in a row. So,
31:50
Speaker 6: you know, they know how to figure it out. They
31:52
Speaker 6: know how to diagnose their weaknesses, and I'm sure that
31:55
Speaker 6: they'll correct it. Now, you know, they're going up against
31:58
Speaker 6: an elite passing attack, and Chase Brown is a really
32:02
Speaker 6: good running back. So it's not going to be easy
32:05
Speaker 6: by any stretch of the imagination. They respect Joe Burrow.
32:08
Speaker 6: They respect Jamar Chase and T. Higgins and Chase Brown. Um,
32:13
Speaker 6: but you know, they've got to get back to how
32:15
Speaker 6: they feel like they play defense and they feel like
32:18
Speaker 6: they're an elite unit.
32:20
Speaker 3: Our thanks to Jonathan Alexander. And that's going to do
32:23
Speaker 3: it for this episode of the Bengals booth podcast brought
32:25
Speaker 3: to you by pay core, proud to be the Bengals
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Speaker 3: official HR software provider by Alta fiber, future proof fiber
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Speaker 3: a new level and by Kettering health. The best care
32:39
Speaker 3: for the best fans. Kettering Health is the official health
32:41
Speaker 3: care provider of the Bengals. If you haven't done so already,
32:45
Speaker 3: please subscribe to this podcast. And if you have a minute,
32:48
Speaker 3: give it a rating or share a comment. That helps
32:51
Speaker 3: more Bengals fans find us. I'm Dan Hoard, and thanks
32:55
Speaker 3: for listening to the Bengals Booth Podcast.