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Bengals Booth Podcast: Starting Over · Bengals Booth Podcast

0:03
Speaker 1: I get everybody on Dan Horde and thanks for downloading
0:06
Speaker 1: the Bengals Booth Podcast. Uh, I can be your lucky penny,
0:11
Speaker 1: you can be my full leaf clover starting over. Addition,
0:19
Speaker 1: as the Bengals returned from a mid season bye week
0:22
Speaker 1: and start over as they opened the second half of
0:24
Speaker 1: the season in Pittsburgh against the NFL's last undefeated team,
0:29
Speaker 1: the eight no Steelers. Coming up, Dave Lapham joins me
0:32
Speaker 1: to discuss the Bengals first in season positive COVID nineteen
0:36
Speaker 1: tests and what it could mean on the offensive line.
0:40
Speaker 1: Speaking of old line by one on one player interview
0:44
Speaker 1: is with Alex Redman, who could in an emergency have
0:48
Speaker 1: to move from guard to tackle. I'll find out the
0:51
Speaker 1: last time he played that position, and in our know
0:54
Speaker 1: the faux segment, we'll find out if there's actually a
0:57
Speaker 1: chance that Ben Roethlisberger won't play on Sunday when we
1:02
Speaker 1: visit with Steelers pregame host Tim Bens. The Bengals Booth
1:06
Speaker 1: Podcast is presented by Bud Light. Seltzer refreshed the game
1:11
Speaker 1: and here's a quick reminder that you can have the
1:13
Speaker 1: latest edition of this podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet,
1:17
Speaker 1: or computer by subscribing on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify,
1:22
Speaker 1: or pod Bean. It's the greatest thing since the leaf blower.
1:29
Speaker 1: I don't have a huge yard, but it does feature
1:31
Speaker 1: a bunch of trees that shed leaves at the same
1:35
Speaker 1: rate that I lost hair between the ages of thirty
1:37
Speaker 1: and thirty five. As a result, raking leaves sucks, but
1:43
Speaker 1: blowing leaves away is great. It saves a ton of time,
1:48
Speaker 1: and it's actually kind of fun. Now, let's get to
1:52
Speaker 1: football before we get to Dave Lapham. The Bengals made
1:55
Speaker 1: a roster move after we recorded our conversation that certainly
1:59
Speaker 1: fits a starting over theme of this episode, as they
2:03
Speaker 1: claimed former first round draft pick Tack McKinley off of
2:07
Speaker 1: waivers following his release early this week by the Atlanta Falcons.
2:11
Speaker 1: The forty nine Ers, Ravens and Browns also reportedly tried
2:15
Speaker 1: to claim the fourth year pro. McKinley is a twenty
2:19
Speaker 1: five year old edge pass rusher who is the twenty
2:22
Speaker 1: sixth overall pick in the twenty seventeen NFL draft out
2:26
Speaker 1: of UCLA. He had six sacks as a rookie and
2:30
Speaker 1: seven in his second season before only having three and
2:33
Speaker 1: a half last year. If you look at his career
2:36
Speaker 1: Pro Football Focus ratings, they are almost identical to Carl
2:40
Speaker 1: Lawson's numbers. This season, Tack reportedly showed up for the
2:45
Speaker 1: start of training camp in tremendous shape, only to suffer
2:48
Speaker 1: a groin injury in Week two, and he hasn't played
2:51
Speaker 1: that much since, but the Bengals are obviously hoping he
2:54
Speaker 1: can boost their pass rush for the second half of
2:57
Speaker 1: the season. Here's Trey Hopkins on the on office, adding
3:01
Speaker 1: Tach McKinley the front office. I mean it's obvious, it's
3:04
Speaker 1: everywhere in the building. Gaysa's just hungry to win. Everyone
3:06
Speaker 1: in the building is bought in and turning this thing
3:10
Speaker 1: around and getting cusin anywhere it needs to be and
3:12
Speaker 1: providing and bringing excitement and fun back to the city
3:16
Speaker 1: and having fun winning games. McKinley will be a free
3:19
Speaker 1: agent at the end of the season, and due to
3:22
Speaker 1: COVID protocols, he won't make his Bengals debut until next
3:26
Speaker 1: week at the earliest. Now time for my midweek visit
3:30
Speaker 1: with Dave Lapham. All Right, we got news to cover.
3:34
Speaker 1: Beginning with the COVID nineteen list, two Bengals players came
3:38
Speaker 1: off the list on Wednesday. McKenzie, Alexander and Jordan Evans
3:42
Speaker 1: they'll be good to go Sunday in Pittsburgh. Fred Johnson,
3:46
Speaker 1: Marcus Hunt, and Trey Wayne's remain on the list. Winston
3:51
Speaker 1: Rose was added to the list on Wednesday. Now, he's
3:54
Speaker 1: a practice squad guy, so I think he's only been
3:57
Speaker 1: active for one game this season. Of those name's lap,
4:00
Speaker 1: I guess Fred Johnson is the one that is potentially
4:04
Speaker 1: the biggest concern since he started at right tackle in
4:07
Speaker 1: the most recent game against Tennessee, and that the guy
4:10
Speaker 1: that he started for, Bobby Hart, still isn't practicing at
4:14
Speaker 1: full speed. Yeah, Bobby Hart's got a strained MCL media
4:17
Speaker 1: collateral ligament of his knee and a sprain strain whatever
4:21
Speaker 1: you want to phrase it. There's first degree, second degree,
4:24
Speaker 1: third degree tear. So what degree how significant is that
4:28
Speaker 1: sprain strain? Everybody heals differently. To think that Bobby would
4:34
Speaker 1: be able to play might be ambitious. You know this
4:37
Speaker 1: soon and if that's the case and Fred can't go,
4:40
Speaker 1: identity gets the opportunity out there at the right tackle position,
4:44
Speaker 1: and I know that they would feel better about that
4:48
Speaker 1: at this point. Haven't seen him play against Tennessee. How
4:51
Speaker 1: would you like to have been in a situation where
4:53
Speaker 1: he's throwing out there against the Pittsburgh Steelers, hadn't taken
4:56
Speaker 1: an NFL snap yet. At least he's got his feet
4:58
Speaker 1: on the ground by going again the Tennessee Titans. And
5:01
Speaker 1: you know, people like Clowney. It was not you know,
5:04
Speaker 1: not chopped liver. So the fact that he showed up
5:07
Speaker 1: on tape and showed up the way they thought he
5:09
Speaker 1: would show up on tape, I think they would have,
5:12
Speaker 1: you know, a little bit more confidence. But man talking
5:14
Speaker 1: about J. J. Watt and that scheme that Keith Butler
5:19
Speaker 1: utilizes so well, and that's been there so long, Dan,
5:22
Speaker 1: I mean, Keith Butler's been there a while. He was
5:24
Speaker 1: dick On Dick Lebo staff as an assistant. I mean
5:27
Speaker 1: he's running Lebo stuff. It's been you know, two plus decades.
5:31
Speaker 1: It's into the third decade almost of what they do there.
5:34
Speaker 1: So they know what they're doing and they know how
5:37
Speaker 1: to do it, and they know when to do things,
5:39
Speaker 1: and the opposition doesn't have all that type of experience
5:43
Speaker 1: necessarily to combat it. So on a on a week
5:47
Speaker 1: by week basis, but ticul If you're not a division opponent.
5:50
Speaker 1: I think division opponents see it over and over twice
5:52
Speaker 1: a year every year. If you're not a division opponent, man,
5:55
Speaker 1: that's that's a tough thing to prepare against Baltimore and
5:57
Speaker 1: Pittsburgh both by rule, there's a chance that Fred Johnson
6:03
Speaker 1: could be back, right, he tested positive last Thursday. You
6:07
Speaker 1: can come back after ten days, so he could return.
6:10
Speaker 1: The first day he could possibly be back would be
6:13
Speaker 1: Sunday morning, So it's possible. But for that to be
6:15
Speaker 1: the case, he would have to be asymptomatic. Otherwise that
6:19
Speaker 1: pushes the clock back. They're not going to tell us
6:21
Speaker 1: about that, so we won't know. And then you run
6:24
Speaker 1: into the whole situation where he wouldn't travel with the
6:26
Speaker 1: team to Pittsburgh. I guess he'd have to get there
6:28
Speaker 1: on his own. So it seems unlikely, but if you're
6:32
Speaker 1: desperate enough, it's possible. Again, if he were asymptomatic and
6:39
Speaker 1: got there separately from the team, he could be activated
6:42
Speaker 1: for that game. Yeah. And if if that's the case,
6:44
Speaker 1: if he's asymptomatic, they probably already made all those travel arrangements,
6:48
Speaker 1: you know, and um, you know, but he's gonna he's
6:51
Speaker 1: tested every day. So that's the thing is you can
6:55
Speaker 1: test negative one day, in the very next day test positive.
6:57
Speaker 1: You don't know this what this virus. All we know
7:00
Speaker 1: is what we don't know. I mean, people can couples
7:03
Speaker 1: can share a bed and not get each other infected,
7:05
Speaker 1: but they can go out and see a neighbor for
7:07
Speaker 1: fifteen minutes and neighbors infected. It just you just don't
7:10
Speaker 1: there's no handle on it. Everybody, everybody's metabolism, everybody is
7:14
Speaker 1: different how it responds to and handles the virus and
7:18
Speaker 1: exposure to it. So it's it's crazy, it really is.
7:22
Speaker 1: You know. The Ben Roethlisberger situation. On the flip side
7:25
Speaker 1: of it, Dan in my mind, isn't really that big
7:27
Speaker 1: of a deal because he's contact tracing, so he's five days,
7:32
Speaker 1: he's got two knee injuries supposedly, so he's getting treatment
7:35
Speaker 1: every day. He's going down there to get treatment. That's
7:38
Speaker 1: what he'd be doing anyway, he'd be getting treatment in
7:40
Speaker 1: zoom meetings and chilling. He's assuming he doesn't test positive,
7:43
Speaker 1: Assuming he doesn't test positive. But his locker was right
7:46
Speaker 1: next to McDonald's in the locker room, so obviously the
7:49
Speaker 1: contract contact tracing there was obvious and they obviously had
7:55
Speaker 1: to had to follow through on that. But again, this
7:58
Speaker 1: particular week, with his physical status and thirty eight years
8:02
Speaker 1: old and played as long as he has. You know
8:05
Speaker 1: how Ben Roethlisberger is, he loves the drama. He'll go
8:07
Speaker 1: out there and show up like John Wayne and you know,
8:10
Speaker 1: loop out there and throw for whatever he's gonna throw
8:13
Speaker 1: for and however many touchdowns. That's just kind of the
8:15
Speaker 1: way he is. And his teammates know about it, and
8:17
Speaker 1: they joke about it. The coaches joke about it. That's Ben.
8:20
Speaker 1: Ben's definitely a drama. I'm not saying he's not tough.
8:23
Speaker 1: He's definitely tough, but he wants you to know about it.
8:25
Speaker 1: He wants he wants to be John Wayne. There's no
8:27
Speaker 1: doubt about that. He looked like John Wayne when he
8:30
Speaker 1: was going to the locker room in Dallas before halftime.
8:32
Speaker 1: He had the same kind of strutted limp whatever you
8:35
Speaker 1: want to call it he did. Let's get back to
8:36
Speaker 1: the tackle situation for a minute, because you mentioned the
8:39
Speaker 1: possibility of a Chemodenagy starting at right tackle if Bobby
8:43
Speaker 1: Hart is still out and if Fred Johnson can't play,
8:47
Speaker 1: because of COVID nineteen. That's assuming that Jonah Williams is
8:51
Speaker 1: back at left tackle. He was not back full go
8:55
Speaker 1: at practice on Wednesday, still doing stuff on the side.
8:59
Speaker 1: Zach Taylor sund it optimistic that he would be back,
9:02
Speaker 1: but I guess it's not guaranteed. Then what Yeah, Then
9:06
Speaker 1: then you've got a whole kettle of fish of it
9:08
Speaker 1: you got to fry there. I mean, I think I
9:10
Speaker 1: think Jonah will probably give it an effort. Stingers, though,
9:14
Speaker 1: can be dicey. You know, it might be a deal
9:16
Speaker 1: where we'll see him with a neck brace on, you know,
9:18
Speaker 1: one of those rolls, neck rolls, not a brace as such,
9:21
Speaker 1: but a neck roll over the shoulder pad. But it
9:23
Speaker 1: is to try to limit the snap in the movement
9:26
Speaker 1: in your neck, you know, any kind of whiplash effect
9:28
Speaker 1: and all that sort of thing. That must have been
9:30
Speaker 1: how he got it. Or sometimes you get hit and
9:32
Speaker 1: it just pinches wrong, and that's literally what it does.
9:35
Speaker 1: It pinches nerves, and nerves and nerve endings get agitated
9:39
Speaker 1: and aggravated, and pretty soon you have a burning sensation
9:42
Speaker 1: down your entire arm. Had him before stinger, you know,
9:46
Speaker 1: your whole arm burns and then boot. Everything's numb from
9:49
Speaker 1: from your your neck down to your fingernails is numb.
9:52
Speaker 1: It's weird, and sometimes it comes back really quickly. Sometimes
9:57
Speaker 1: it takes a little bit of time. His seems to
9:59
Speaker 1: be a pretty significant one. So yeah, if he doesn't
10:04
Speaker 1: go now, Idenogy would play left tackle and they'd have
10:08
Speaker 1: to go to another I think right I would keep
10:10
Speaker 1: idenergy at left tackle. That's his natural spot. He's really
10:13
Speaker 1: good at that spot. He's comfortable at that spot. And
10:16
Speaker 1: now you're throwing things up there, you're gonna have to
10:19
Speaker 1: make multiple moves. Potentially, if you move Redmond out, you
10:22
Speaker 1: don't have to move. You know, Xavier Suaphilo is going
10:24
Speaker 1: to be active from the from the injury reserve. Do
10:27
Speaker 1: you plug him in the right guard where he was
10:29
Speaker 1: before the injury? You know, do you go in a
10:31
Speaker 1: different direction. Now you're starting to shuffle, you know, just
10:34
Speaker 1: like a shuffle for Tennessee. You can't do any more
10:36
Speaker 1: of a shuffle than the line that was shuffled for Tennessee.
10:39
Speaker 1: And boy, they they stepped up and exceeded expectations for sure,
10:42
Speaker 1: being part of the performance that they were part of.
10:44
Speaker 1: The first time the Bengals had to win against the
10:47
Speaker 1: team with a winning record since they beat the Miami
10:49
Speaker 1: Dolphins Week five and twenty eighteen. It's kind of crazy,
10:53
Speaker 1: and that and that revamped, restructured offensive line was a big,
10:57
Speaker 1: big reason why it really was as you meant, was
11:00
Speaker 1: activated off the injured list. They've got twenty one days
11:03
Speaker 1: now to decide if they're going to put him on
11:05
Speaker 1: the back on the active roster or if they were
11:08
Speaker 1: to let him go whatever. But they've got twenty one
11:10
Speaker 1: days to make that decision, so he could be back
11:12
Speaker 1: this week. They also added O'Shea Duga to the practice squad.
11:17
Speaker 1: He was a tackle that was in training camp last year,
11:20
Speaker 1: looked okay in camp, then suffered a knee injury, and
11:23
Speaker 1: I'm not sure what he's done since, but at least
11:26
Speaker 1: he is a tackle who is back in the building. Yeah,
11:29
Speaker 1: a tackle that understands the offense. You know, he's been
11:31
Speaker 1: around it and he's had his moments. Sometimes he plays well.
11:35
Speaker 1: Sometimes he looks a little bit like a statue, you know,
11:39
Speaker 1: in terms of his ability to move. But he is
11:40
Speaker 1: a big, powerful kid, There's no question about that. Yeah.
11:45
Speaker 1: So it's it's still definitely a shuffle in terms of
11:50
Speaker 1: offensive line play for sure, able body guys to go
11:53
Speaker 1: out there and man that tackle position. We'll see, we'll
11:58
Speaker 1: see as it unfolds. But uh, and not only not
12:01
Speaker 1: only the physical part of it, but there's a lot
12:04
Speaker 1: of a lot of things that you have to communicate.
12:06
Speaker 1: And even on the road this with the with the COVID,
12:10
Speaker 1: the communication is going to be light years different. I mean,
12:13
Speaker 1: if they if they were going into Pittsburgh a normal situation,
12:16
Speaker 1: normal circumstances with guys that hadn't played much, and you're
12:20
Speaker 1: gonna have that crowd going nuts and they're playing the
12:22
Speaker 1: you know, playing the music they're blasting all the time,
12:25
Speaker 1: and you can't hear yourself think that would be brutal.
12:28
Speaker 1: But there's not gonna be any of that other than
12:30
Speaker 1: the music playing. But there's not gonna be anything like
12:32
Speaker 1: that from a crowd standpoint that would inhibit any kind
12:35
Speaker 1: of communication. But that's going to have to be on
12:37
Speaker 1: point as part of the problem in Baltimore early on,
12:40
Speaker 1: looking at that at that tape for a second time
12:43
Speaker 1: a while back, to me, there was there were free
12:46
Speaker 1: runners between the tackles that shouldn't have been free runners.
12:49
Speaker 1: So that is a sigment era you got a block
12:52
Speaker 1: from the inside out that would and there were a
12:53
Speaker 1: couple of them that would just flat out blown assignment.
12:56
Speaker 1: And that's what the offensive line, whoever's in there, they
13:00
Speaker 1: to play a clean game in terms of no mental errors,
13:03
Speaker 1: no assignment mistakes, and then of course that they can
13:05
Speaker 1: do what they did against Tennessee, not giving up any sacks,
13:07
Speaker 1: not turning the football over, you know, not being stopped
13:10
Speaker 1: on downs they went for at one time on fourth
13:12
Speaker 1: down they complete a fourth and five of a great
13:16
Speaker 1: improvisational play between Barrow and t Higgins comes from the
13:19
Speaker 1: sideline the middle of the field to keep that drive alive.
13:21
Speaker 1: So if they do those kind of things, you know
13:24
Speaker 1: that that'll be a big, big reason they could win
13:28
Speaker 1: a football game. But against Pittsburgh, man, you're talking about
13:31
Speaker 1: a massive challenge there to get all that done right
13:34
Speaker 1: on the road, at home, on the moon, anywhere, a
13:37
Speaker 1: team the Bengals have not been able to beat in
13:39
Speaker 1: recent years. The Steelers have won the last ten meetings
13:42
Speaker 1: between these two teams, going back to the Andy Dalton
13:44
Speaker 1: broken thumb game back in twenty fifteen, even when the
13:48
Speaker 1: Steelers didn't have Ben Roethlisberger. Last year, they swept the Bengals.
13:51
Speaker 1: Now Ben is back, He's twenty five and seven in
13:54
Speaker 1: his career against Cincinnati, which is disgusting. This will beat
13:58
Speaker 1: Von Bell's ever Bengals Steelers game. Let's hear from the
14:03
Speaker 1: Bengals safety. I don't know much about it. You know,
14:05
Speaker 1: I always watched it, so it's new to me now.
14:08
Speaker 1: You know. I was walking my dog day in the
14:11
Speaker 1: neighbor like saying, you know, it's a big game. I
14:13
Speaker 1: was like, yeah, I know, but he's like, it's different
14:15
Speaker 1: being a thingers. I'm like, what are you talking about.
14:17
Speaker 1: He's like, no, it's different, like hate. I just felt
14:21
Speaker 1: like it from him. I was like, man, this is tense.
14:23
Speaker 1: I love it. It is intense. It is and he's right,
14:28
Speaker 1: we hate the Steelers, but it's a hatred rooted in
14:32
Speaker 1: jealousy because they have what we want. Six Super Bowl
14:36
Speaker 1: rings and a team that's eight no right now and
14:40
Speaker 1: Bengals overall against the Steelers thirty five and sixty six
14:43
Speaker 1: in franchise history, sixteen and thirty four at Pittsburgh lost
14:46
Speaker 1: more than two times as many as they've won. I
14:50
Speaker 1: gotta start turning that around. I gotta start turning that
14:53
Speaker 1: around now and that's the thing. Then Mike Tomlin basically
14:57
Speaker 1: tied Marty Schottenheimer's record fourteen eight years to start a
15:01
Speaker 1: career without a losing season, well sweeping the Bengals last year.
15:05
Speaker 1: With those with that quarterback performance, the Pittsburgh steel A
15:09
Speaker 1: defense basically one football games for them. They were crippled offense,
15:14
Speaker 1: so one of the worst offenses in the National Football League,
15:17
Speaker 1: and the Bengals know all about that, Pittsburgh steel A
15:19
Speaker 1: defense winning a couple of games against Cincinnati last year
15:22
Speaker 1: for sure. Carlos Dunlap is gone, but Sam Hubbard is
15:25
Speaker 1: back this week after missing the last three games with
15:28
Speaker 1: an elbow injury, and Sam says he'll be good to
15:31
Speaker 1: go on Sunday. I'm all in. I'm feeling good. I
15:35
Speaker 1: trust it and felt good at practice yesterday. We got
15:38
Speaker 1: pads on today, participate off, feel good. I'm just getting
15:41
Speaker 1: ready to get the game planned down and go ahead
15:44
Speaker 1: and beat the Steelers. I guess, like when you heard it,
15:47
Speaker 1: you knew right away something was wrong. Was this about
15:50
Speaker 1: the timeline that you had in mind when they first
15:54
Speaker 1: told you what you did? Ah? Yeah, I mean you
15:57
Speaker 1: can see it on film. It was pretty gnarly injury,
16:00
Speaker 1: dislocated my elbow. Lap and I talked. He did the
16:03
Speaker 1: same thing back in the day. It's not very pleasant,
16:06
Speaker 1: but uh, you know, pass back in. But three to
16:10
Speaker 1: four weeks it was kind of the timeline we set
16:13
Speaker 1: and yeah, we stuck to it and worked that well.
16:16
Speaker 1: Carl Lawson leads to the Bengals with three and a
16:18
Speaker 1: half sacks. When Sam Hubbard was out, it was very
16:21
Speaker 1: easy for opposing teams to give a little extra attention
16:25
Speaker 1: to Carl Lawson. That becomes much more difficult with ninety
16:28
Speaker 1: four on the field. It does. I mean, you can
16:31
Speaker 1: slide the line Carl Lawson's way. Well, when you slide
16:34
Speaker 1: the line away from the other tackle, that tackle's got
16:37
Speaker 1: the other defensive end one on one and you have
16:39
Speaker 1: to feel comfortable at that matchup. Well, Sam Hubbard makes
16:42
Speaker 1: that comfort less comfortable. So, you know, I think he
16:48
Speaker 1: won't be in a situation like Gino is. I don't
16:50
Speaker 1: think he'll be a one armed paper hanger out there.
16:52
Speaker 1: I think he'll be in a much much different dynamic
16:55
Speaker 1: in terms of what he's trying to get done, and
16:58
Speaker 1: he'll be wearing a big, you know, contraption to make
17:01
Speaker 1: sure that it doesn't hyper extend again, Barry Bonds elbow
17:05
Speaker 1: contraption that looking that kind of looking it's like a
17:08
Speaker 1: knee brace on your elbow exactly. It's like almost like
17:10
Speaker 1: an alien leg or something on your elbow. Um, but
17:14
Speaker 1: you know he'll have to be wearing something like that,
17:16
Speaker 1: and I'm sure he's got most of his range of
17:19
Speaker 1: motion back and a good good bit of his strength
17:21
Speaker 1: and they wouldn't have him out there, so, um, it'll
17:24
Speaker 1: be good. But you know, if you're pass rushing at
17:27
Speaker 1: particularly a defensive end, you have to grab and pull
17:29
Speaker 1: and rip people, and it's a it's a it's a challenge.
17:33
Speaker 1: So if if your elbow isn't right, it can be
17:35
Speaker 1: a major, major challenge. So I think Sam will be
17:39
Speaker 1: able to get it done and fight through it. And
17:41
Speaker 1: you need all the able bodies you possibly can out there.
17:44
Speaker 1: I mean, Ben Roethlisberg gets the ball out of his
17:47
Speaker 1: hand quickly anyway, So the more guys you can get
17:52
Speaker 1: up the football field in his face that much quicker,
17:55
Speaker 1: the better off you are. Carlsson does have thirteen quarterback
17:58
Speaker 1: hits this year. He's tied for sixth in the NFL
18:02
Speaker 1: in that category. I was on a podcast last week
18:05
Speaker 1: as a guest where I was asked about the biggest
18:07
Speaker 1: priority for next year, and up until recently, I would
18:11
Speaker 1: have said, well, you got to continue to beef up
18:13
Speaker 1: the offensive line, and that remains true. But to me,
18:16
Speaker 1: the bigger need now, whether it's the draft or free agency,
18:19
Speaker 1: is a pass rusher. I agree with you, you know,
18:21
Speaker 1: and I think I think both lines of scrimmage need
18:24
Speaker 1: to be worked on for sure. This game is a
18:27
Speaker 1: great example of it. Right now. The Pittsburgh Steelers have
18:31
Speaker 1: a plus twenty two sack ratio. They've got thirty two
18:35
Speaker 1: quarterback sacks, most in the National Football League. They've allowed ten,
18:39
Speaker 1: tied for second fewest. Plus twenty two is the best
18:41
Speaker 1: in the NFL. That plus twenty two sack ratio, you
18:45
Speaker 1: take away the ten, that ratio is tied for eighth
18:49
Speaker 1: best in the NFL in terms of sacks that other
18:53
Speaker 1: people might have gotten. So I mean, it's it's crazy.
18:56
Speaker 1: And then and then you look at the Bengals. They're
18:58
Speaker 1: minus seventeen ratio, tied with Jacksonville, the worst in the
19:01
Speaker 1: National Football League. They've got eleven quarterback sacks, like you said,
19:05
Speaker 1: tied for twenty fifth, and they they've generated they've gotten
19:08
Speaker 1: allowed twenty eight, tied for second most in the league.
19:12
Speaker 1: So you know, right at the line of scrimmage, both
19:14
Speaker 1: lines of scrimmage, you know, pressuring in the quarterback and
19:16
Speaker 1: protecting the quarterback. We were talking about upgrading the talent
19:20
Speaker 1: level on both sides of that football. There up front
19:24
Speaker 1: where games are won and lost, you know. I mean,
19:27
Speaker 1: you can have great players of skill positions, you can
19:29
Speaker 1: have tremendous linebackers and guys in the back end. If
19:32
Speaker 1: you're deficient up front, you're a hurting unit. I know
19:36
Speaker 1: that the Steelers during the years that we've been doing
19:39
Speaker 1: the games together have almost always had one of the
19:41
Speaker 1: better offensive lines in the NFL, and their former O
19:44
Speaker 1: line coach, Mike Munchak, was a big reason in your opinion,
19:47
Speaker 1: has it dropped off much since he left for Denver?
19:50
Speaker 1: You know, they still have three Pro Bowl you know,
19:53
Speaker 1: talent level players to Castro, Pouncey and Villaneueva. I think
19:58
Speaker 1: though Carl Lawson gives Villain a wave of trouble. He's
20:01
Speaker 1: so long, six foot eight in that low center of
20:04
Speaker 1: gravity that Lawson has. I remember Villain Auaver struggled with
20:07
Speaker 1: him the first time he went up against him, he
20:09
Speaker 1: had that real good body lean and he's able to still,
20:13
Speaker 1: you know, maintain a speed rush with that body lean,
20:16
Speaker 1: and villan Auaver was trying to like push him down
20:18
Speaker 1: on the back and having real problems with him. So
20:21
Speaker 1: I'm going to be interested to see that that matchup
20:24
Speaker 1: a little bit. I don't think villan Auave is playing
20:26
Speaker 1: at the level that he was, but I think the
20:28
Speaker 1: Castro and Pouncy Pouncey had some injury issues last year.
20:32
Speaker 1: I still think they're playing pretty well. But overall, I'd
20:36
Speaker 1: say it's still a top ten offensive line, but at
20:39
Speaker 1: one time it was top five or maybe even better.
20:42
Speaker 1: I think it's maybe a little bit less, but still
20:46
Speaker 1: a pretty darn good unit. Pro Football Focus grades Pittsburgh
20:49
Speaker 1: Z line number nine in the NFL. So far this year.
20:52
Speaker 1: They've got Alejandro villan Auava rated lower than both Jonah
20:57
Speaker 1: Williams and Bobby Hart for his play at tackle. Yeah,
20:59
Speaker 1: I think he has struggled a little bit more this year.
21:02
Speaker 1: And what he's doing is he's turning his shoulder pads
21:06
Speaker 1: to the sideline parallel, you know, and he's given a
21:08
Speaker 1: short corner. You know, he's really he's setting two vertically.
21:14
Speaker 1: You know, he's almost like dropped him back in on
21:16
Speaker 1: his set and then turning his shoulders, and he's so big,
21:18
Speaker 1: he's like a big house to try to run around.
21:20
Speaker 1: But I do think, I do think Carl Lawson's going
21:23
Speaker 1: to give him some some issues to deal with, and
21:26
Speaker 1: hopefully on the other side of the line of scrimmage
21:29
Speaker 1: at the other end, Sam Hubbard will be doing the
21:31
Speaker 1: same thing. The Bengals back in action this week four
21:34
Speaker 1: twenty five, kickoff in Pittsburgh against the Steelers on Sunday.
21:38
Speaker 1: After the bye week. The Bengals hit the halfway point
21:40
Speaker 1: of the season with the record of two five and one.
21:43
Speaker 1: It's the first break of the rookie year for a
21:45
Speaker 1: Joe Burrow and the other members of the Bengals rookie class.
21:48
Speaker 1: I asked Burrow if he is mentally and physically refreshed. Yeah,
21:53
Speaker 1: I am. Well. After about two days of no football
21:57
Speaker 1: last week, I was like, what am I gonna do?
21:59
Speaker 1: What am I gonna do it the next three three
22:02
Speaker 1: days of my life? I didn't know what to do.
22:03
Speaker 1: I'd already watched all the shows I wanted to watch.
22:06
Speaker 1: I was getting super bored, so I don't know what
22:09
Speaker 1: I did kind of It's kind of a blur for me,
22:11
Speaker 1: but I'm glad to be back. Which shows did you
22:13
Speaker 1: watch over the bye week? You didn't specified? So I
22:17
Speaker 1: watched Queen's Gambit. That was pretty good. Um started House.
22:22
Speaker 1: So there's a lot of seasons of House, so I'm
22:24
Speaker 1: gonna continue. I think I'm on season like two right now,
22:29
Speaker 1: maybe maybe the end of season one, I'm not sure.
22:31
Speaker 1: But that's a pretty good one. Pretty good. I was
22:33
Speaker 1: too scared to watch that. My parents watched that show
22:35
Speaker 1: growing up, but I was too scared to watch it,
22:37
Speaker 1: so I was I would go upstairs and watch like
22:40
Speaker 1: my own show. But I'm starting that one now. What
22:43
Speaker 1: about House would have scared you? And I was scared
22:46
Speaker 1: of everything growing I still don't like scary movies. I
22:50
Speaker 1: don't like haunted houses or anything like that. But you know,
22:52
Speaker 1: I couldn't watch Harry Potter, what of the Rings House?
22:57
Speaker 1: I was like, strictly a SpongeBob did channel Nickelodeon kind
23:01
Speaker 1: of guy. Not the Steelers Pass Rush, not the Steelers
23:05
Speaker 1: Pass Rush, and no, scared of everything as a kid,
23:09
Speaker 1: not afraid of anything as an adult. Yeah, hopefully, so
23:12
Speaker 1: hopefully he gets a good night's sleep before that Pittsburgh
23:15
Speaker 1: Steeler game. And he's not. He's not having dreams bad
23:18
Speaker 1: dreams about t. J. Watt and Bud Juprie and to
23:21
Speaker 1: It and Hayward and all those guys up up front,
23:24
Speaker 1: because that Pittsburgh Steeler defensive line is formidable. I never
23:28
Speaker 1: watched House. Was there something scary about House? I don't
23:31
Speaker 1: feel like a doctor, right, he's a doctor. Yeah, that one.
23:36
Speaker 1: That one's a little a little interesting, little interesting twist.
23:39
Speaker 1: Although I'm trying to think of how old he would
23:41
Speaker 1: have been, you know. I mean, maybe he didn't even
23:43
Speaker 1: understand what what house was, what House was really about play,
23:47
Speaker 1: so he would have been really young. Yeah, maybe he
23:49
Speaker 1: thought it was something about scary an evil doctor, right,
23:53
Speaker 1: an evil doctor to get you in his house, and
23:55
Speaker 1: all kinds of things can happen. I don't know. All right,
23:57
Speaker 1: Let's talk about Joe Burrow. He's completed sixty seven percent
24:00
Speaker 1: of his passes in the first half of his rookie year.
24:02
Speaker 1: He's thrown for two two hundred and seventy two yards
24:05
Speaker 1: on pace to set the all time NFL rookie record
24:08
Speaker 1: for passing yards in a season, as well as the
24:10
Speaker 1: Bengals record eleven touchdown passes, five picks, passer rating of
24:14
Speaker 1: ninety one point four. He's been special and there's no doubt.
24:18
Speaker 1: And Dan, the thing that really impresses me is his
24:20
Speaker 1: fourth quarter numbers. He's completing seventy two percent. The only
24:25
Speaker 1: guy that's got a better completion percentage in the fourth
24:27
Speaker 1: quarter is Ben. Ben's completing eighty percent. But Joe Burrows
24:30
Speaker 1: number two. He's number three in yards one hundred and
24:33
Speaker 1: two yards in the fourth quarter, and he's thrown six
24:36
Speaker 1: touchdown passes, tied with Ben. They both got six touchdown passes.
24:40
Speaker 1: Ben only has one interception, Joe has two in the
24:43
Speaker 1: fourth quarter, but Joe and Ben are both tied for
24:46
Speaker 1: fifth amongst others, tied for fifth in the National Football
24:50
Speaker 1: League with those six touchdown passes. So he's getting it done,
24:53
Speaker 1: you know. I mean, I'm really impressed with one of
24:58
Speaker 1: the games on the line. He's stepping up. And I
25:01
Speaker 1: do think that on a week by week basis, he
25:04
Speaker 1: is one of those guys that compartmentalizes things and he's
25:08
Speaker 1: already making plays that our own even with only an
25:12
Speaker 1: eight game inventory. Well, So and So did this to us,
25:16
Speaker 1: and we were thinking about making this adjustment. So let's
25:19
Speaker 1: do that. I mean, he's already taking experiences that he's
25:23
Speaker 1: learned from games prior in the season and in this
25:25
Speaker 1: short a time frame, so he you know, he has
25:28
Speaker 1: an ability his mind. You know, the mental gymnastics to
25:32
Speaker 1: do that at such a young age is pretty impressive.
25:36
Speaker 1: And that's the thing I think that makes Pittsburgh so
25:38
Speaker 1: good offensively and defensively. You got a guy who's thirty
25:41
Speaker 1: eight year old quarterback, and you got a coordinator's been
25:43
Speaker 1: with him for a while. You have a defensive coordining
25:45
Speaker 1: that's been there forever. A lot of defensive lineman been
25:47
Speaker 1: together a linebacker. So now it's a lot of times
25:51
Speaker 1: I don't even have to come into the sideline. They'll
25:53
Speaker 1: betel stay in the huddle. Remember Denver did this to us,
25:56
Speaker 1: you know, like three years ago. Remember we did this
25:58
Speaker 1: is what we did. They make adjustin's like that, and
26:01
Speaker 1: then if it doesn't happen in the field, what happened
26:03
Speaker 1: in the sideline. The coaches and players will get together. Guys,
26:06
Speaker 1: remember three two years ago, so and so I was
26:09
Speaker 1: doing this to us, and here's what we did. Let's
26:11
Speaker 1: let's get that going. So that's where huge advantages. And
26:15
Speaker 1: you know, Joe Burrow's got eight games to draw from him,
26:18
Speaker 1: he's already drawn thumb from it. But Ben Roethlisberger has
26:21
Speaker 1: seventeen NFL seasons to draw from, you know, And so
26:25
Speaker 1: it's just it pales in comparison from just a pure
26:28
Speaker 1: experience level, and experience breeds comfort level. There's no question
26:32
Speaker 1: about it. Burrow is the number one pick in the draft.
26:35
Speaker 1: He's living up to the hype. He's been fantastic. I
26:38
Speaker 1: don't think any Bengals fan would rather have anybody else.
26:41
Speaker 1: And yet out in Los Angeles, Chargers fans are thinking,
26:44
Speaker 1: we've got maybe the best rookie of them all in
26:47
Speaker 1: Justin Herbert. He's been tremendous fifteen touchdown passes already, and
26:51
Speaker 1: right now in Miami they're going, we've got the best
26:54
Speaker 1: guy to a Tongo Violela has only started two games,
26:57
Speaker 1: but they've won them both and he had a passer
26:59
Speaker 1: rating over one twenty last week. I mean to have
27:02
Speaker 1: three guys coming to the league at the same time
27:05
Speaker 1: and get off too starts like this, it's mind boggling
27:08
Speaker 1: to me. Do you have any theory for why guys
27:11
Speaker 1: are able to do this now when they weren't able
27:14
Speaker 1: to in the past. I think I think that it's
27:17
Speaker 1: the NFL has kind of adapted their schematic to the
27:20
Speaker 1: college game instead of the other way around. And I
27:23
Speaker 1: think because of that, these guys coming to the NFL
27:26
Speaker 1: with a very very you know, um, I already know this.
27:31
Speaker 1: They're very comfortable their mindsets. They're not they're not scared.
27:35
Speaker 1: They're not scared not the right word. They're not confused.
27:38
Speaker 1: You know, they're not intimidated. They come to that into
27:41
Speaker 1: the NFL mini camps and it's like they're probably making
27:43
Speaker 1: recommendations like Joe is with the Bengals coaches, these other
27:47
Speaker 1: quarterbacks are with their coach as well. This is what
27:49
Speaker 1: worked with us in college when we were doing this
27:51
Speaker 1: these formations and trying to attack people this way. So
27:55
Speaker 1: it's it's real interesting. And you know, I guess I
27:58
Speaker 1: guess you go back to you know, el Way and
28:01
Speaker 1: Kelly and guys like that. You know, some some years
28:04
Speaker 1: have been drafts where guys have jumped on it right away,
28:08
Speaker 1: but this is this is really unusual, and justin Herbert
28:13
Speaker 1: now is a freak. Joe Burrow, I remember at the
28:16
Speaker 1: combine asked him about obviously a big part of your
28:20
Speaker 1: game is from the neck up. He goes, Oh yeah,
28:22
Speaker 1: he goes, there are guys in this draft that can
28:25
Speaker 1: make me look like a you know, a child throwing
28:27
Speaker 1: the football. And he's talking about Herbert. I mean that
28:29
Speaker 1: guy riffs the thing, big, strong guy, as fast as Burrow.
28:33
Speaker 1: But he's taller, probably thirty pounds heavier, equally good head
28:38
Speaker 1: of hair, equally good head of hair, and he has
28:41
Speaker 1: a good mind for the game. I think Joe's what
28:43
Speaker 1: separates Joe is that football, you know, intellect, that football IQ,
28:47
Speaker 1: but tongue of Valoa and Herbert. Now those guys, they're
28:51
Speaker 1: all there players as well. The Bengals Booth podcast is
28:55
Speaker 1: presented by Bud Light Seltzer. It's light and refreshing with
28:59
Speaker 1: a hint of fruit flavor. Now time for this week's
29:02
Speaker 1: one on one player interview. On Wednesday, I caught up
29:05
Speaker 1: with the only player on the offensive line in the
29:08
Speaker 1: Tennessee game who had started the week before, right guard
29:12
Speaker 1: Alex Redman. He earned an excellent overall grade of eighty
29:16
Speaker 1: four point eight from Pro Football Focus, the first time
29:20
Speaker 1: he has ever topped eighty in twenty eight career games.
29:24
Speaker 1: Alex Dave Lapham said you were outstanding in the Tennessee
29:28
Speaker 1: game and his words, really knocking people around. Did you
29:32
Speaker 1: feel like it was the best of your five starts
29:34
Speaker 1: this year. I feel like it was. I feel like
29:36
Speaker 1: I came, you know, with the right attitude for this
29:39
Speaker 1: game and just yeah, settled in nice. You were the
29:43
Speaker 1: only offensive line starter in that game that had been
29:46
Speaker 1: in the previous week. How concerned were you about the
29:49
Speaker 1: makeup of the group going into that game. I'm not
29:52
Speaker 1: gonna lie. When I heard that Mike was going down
29:56
Speaker 1: before the game, it was kind of like, oh, gosh, shilling.
29:59
Speaker 1: But you know, the just a testament to the to
30:04
Speaker 1: the guys that came in. It stepped up their hunger
30:07
Speaker 1: and their passion for this game. You know, they wanted it.
30:10
Speaker 1: They wanted it so bad, and I felt like it
30:12
Speaker 1: showed when we played at the Titans. We're chatting with
30:15
Speaker 1: Alex Redmond. Beating a five and one team with four
30:19
Speaker 1: new starters and the offensive line is pretty much unheard of.
30:23
Speaker 1: Was that one of your most memorable experiences in football?
30:26
Speaker 1: I would say that was that was probably like the
30:30
Speaker 1: most anxious I've been probably before a game, Um, just
30:34
Speaker 1: because you know, the communication is so big with other
30:36
Speaker 1: offensive linemen just that Caromadie is huge. So the fact
30:40
Speaker 1: that we were able to do that on very little
30:43
Speaker 1: reps was I thought was pretty good. Mike Daniels was
30:46
Speaker 1: asked about the offensive line after the game and he
30:49
Speaker 1: singled out you and Quentin Spain for your physical play.
30:53
Speaker 1: Spain's only been here for about a week. But do
30:56
Speaker 1: you like what you see? Oh yeah, Quintin is a
30:59
Speaker 1: is a dollar. I mean he was, He was super
31:02
Speaker 1: stout in that game. He came in and people I
31:06
Speaker 1: don't think people understand how incredibly hard it is to
31:09
Speaker 1: play in the NFL, and then second of all, to
31:13
Speaker 1: to not be in the building for longer than forty
31:17
Speaker 1: eight hours and then starting and then play very very
31:20
Speaker 1: well in the game. I mean, I feel like that
31:23
Speaker 1: was incredible. Getting back to Mike Daniels, it sounds like
31:27
Speaker 1: he sees a little of himself in you. Is it reciprocal?
31:31
Speaker 1: Do you do feel the same way when you line
31:33
Speaker 1: up against Mike in practice? Going against Mike is like
31:37
Speaker 1: hitting a school bus. It is is incredible his leverage
31:40
Speaker 1: and his power that he plays with. So I mean,
31:43
Speaker 1: I feel like me and him bring a certain Uh,
31:46
Speaker 1: I don't know, just we we just love playing football,
31:49
Speaker 1: I feel like so, you know, I feel like other
31:51
Speaker 1: other people kind of see that in us. We just
31:53
Speaker 1: love the game. We love to be around each other,
31:56
Speaker 1: you know, hitting on each other. And I feel like
31:57
Speaker 1: so me and him kind of had that same kind
31:59
Speaker 1: of attitude. We just want to be roughed and tumble
32:01
Speaker 1: and you know, have fun and mess people up. We're
32:04
Speaker 1: visiting with Alex Redman. You face the Steelers this week.
32:07
Speaker 1: They're number one in sacks, they're number one in quarterback
32:10
Speaker 1: hits about ten per game. How much of it is
32:13
Speaker 1: their scheme and how much of it is great individual talent? Well, obviously,
32:17
Speaker 1: you know they have great coaches. Then obviously those coaches
32:21
Speaker 1: put them in the right positions and make plays. You
32:24
Speaker 1: get those same guys and then you not put them
32:26
Speaker 1: in the right positions and they're not going to make
32:28
Speaker 1: as many plays as they do. But you know, I
32:30
Speaker 1: feel like they do a good job just across the board,
32:33
Speaker 1: just you know, just doing a good job at their assignments.
32:36
Speaker 1: They're really they're Yeah, they're super good front. The tackle
32:40
Speaker 1: situation is interesting this week. Jonah Williams and Bobby Hart
32:44
Speaker 1: didn't play against Tennessee. Fred Johnson tested positive for COVID nineteen.
32:48
Speaker 1: As we do this interview, we don't know their status
32:52
Speaker 1: for Sunday. If there's a need for somebody to switch
32:55
Speaker 1: from interior to tackle, are you that guy? Yeah? I mean,
33:00
Speaker 1: if it needs to go there, I feel like I could.
33:02
Speaker 1: I could play some tackle. But well, that's just, you know,
33:05
Speaker 1: a decision that the coaches are gonna make, and I'm
33:07
Speaker 1: gonna just have to follow through with How much tackle
33:10
Speaker 1: have you played in your lifetime? I haven't played much tackle,
33:14
Speaker 1: but I feel like I feel like I could do
33:17
Speaker 1: a decent job. When was the last time. The last
33:20
Speaker 1: time I've played tackle was last year during practice? How
33:25
Speaker 1: about any game I probably played tackle? Maybe my sophomore
33:31
Speaker 1: year in high school. Well, I hope that streak doesn't end.
33:36
Speaker 1: I hope you're settled in at your usual guard spot.
33:39
Speaker 1: For everybody concerned, Let's wrap up with a thought on
33:42
Speaker 1: Joe Burrow halfway into his rookie year. Describe him in
33:47
Speaker 1: a few words. He's poised, he's tough, and he's just
33:52
Speaker 1: an outstanding leader. He's steadfast. I feel like he just
33:58
Speaker 1: commands everyone to be there best because He's out there
34:01
Speaker 1: doing his best, so you don't want to let him down,
34:03
Speaker 1: all the people around you down. He kept him clean
34:06
Speaker 1: against Tennessee, no sacks. It's gonna be hard against Pittsburgh,
34:09
Speaker 1: but we know you're gonna give it your absolute best
34:12
Speaker 1: to try to do that again. Best of luck against
34:14
Speaker 1: the Steelers and thanks for the time. Thanks. Redmond is
34:17
Speaker 1: currently graded as the forty second best guard in the
34:20
Speaker 1: NFL by Pro Football Focus, only one spot behind the
34:24
Speaker 1: Steelers five time Pro bowler David DeCastro and ten spots
34:29
Speaker 1: ahead of former Bengal Kevin Zeitler. DeCastro and Zeitler are
34:34
Speaker 1: both thirty years old, Redmond is still only twenty five.
34:38
Speaker 1: Now time for our Know the Faux segment and our
34:41
Speaker 1: expert this week is Tim Bens, a Pittsburgh sports columnist
34:44
Speaker 1: and the host of the Steelers pregame show. He joined
34:47
Speaker 1: Lapping Me this week. I'm the Bengals Game Plan Show. Tim.
34:52
Speaker 1: I read a story I think this came out yesterday
34:54
Speaker 1: in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette suggesting that the Steelers should
34:58
Speaker 1: hold out Ben roth Burger this week. I am all
35:01
Speaker 1: for it. Is there any chance on God's green Earth
35:07
Speaker 1: that that happens. See, you're reading the wrong paper, Dan problem,
35:11
Speaker 1: that's not going to happen correctly. Tell you that would
35:14
Speaker 1: never happen, Well, I mean they I doubt that they
35:18
Speaker 1: would ever hold him out just because he didn't practice.
35:22
Speaker 1: I would doubt that they would ever hold him out
35:25
Speaker 1: just for the NFL version of load management. Certainly not
35:29
Speaker 1: in a division game. Certainly not with the Ravens dipping
35:32
Speaker 1: at their heels and a Raven game right around the corner.
35:36
Speaker 1: The only reason that I could see them holding him
35:39
Speaker 1: out would be if they got to Friday, maybe even
35:42
Speaker 1: to Saturday, and he said, you know what, I haven't
35:45
Speaker 1: gotten the right kind of treatment all week because of
35:47
Speaker 1: the COVID situations. But limited my knees are still bothering me,
35:51
Speaker 1: or my one knee or both knees, whichever report you
35:54
Speaker 1: want to believe, still bothering me from Dallas. That that's
35:57
Speaker 1: me would be the only reason why they would hold
35:59
Speaker 1: him out. And I also don't think they were thrilled
36:02
Speaker 1: they saw on the limited exposure from Mason rutol Up
36:05
Speaker 1: in that one drive. And you know they try to
36:07
Speaker 1: get rid of Josh Dobbs once before and then decided
36:10
Speaker 1: they had to bring him back. It was better to
36:11
Speaker 1: bring him back, so I doubt it. I don't think
36:14
Speaker 1: they'd ever willingly play without Roethlisberger. I hear that, and
36:18
Speaker 1: Roethlisberger will be John Wayne. He'll be you know, he
36:21
Speaker 1: loves the drama. He'll be got a couple of creaky knees,
36:24
Speaker 1: go out and throw for four hundred and four touchdown passes.
36:27
Speaker 1: That has been Ben Roethlisberger. He's got a new weapon.
36:30
Speaker 1: Claypool freakazoid six to four almost two hundred and forty pounds,
36:35
Speaker 1: runs four to four forty. I mean, tell us about
36:38
Speaker 1: this guy. What makes Claypool tick? Yeah, He's what I
36:43
Speaker 1: thought the Ravens were gonna get in Boykon, you know
36:46
Speaker 1: when they take him out of Notre Dame. But just
36:49
Speaker 1: he's kind of better in every category, you know that bigger, faster, stronger,
36:53
Speaker 1: And he's also bigger, faster, stronger than anybody else the
36:56
Speaker 1: Steelers have. And he was really really good through the
37:00
Speaker 1: Browns game. Not quite as good the last couple weeks,
37:05
Speaker 1: and you've seen Juju start to emerge again. And that's
37:09
Speaker 1: not an accident. You know, Ben has been really good.
37:14
Speaker 1: I think the best part of Roethlisberger's game so far
37:17
Speaker 1: this year is what he's doing pre snap. I mean,
37:21
Speaker 1: you can see him get up to the line of
37:22
Speaker 1: scrimmage and he's doing the Russell Crowe a beautiful mind thing.
37:26
Speaker 1: You know. He's got the tack board in front of
37:29
Speaker 1: him and he's seeing where the strings are going to connect,
37:31
Speaker 1: and he knows who's got what coverage. And I tell you,
37:34
Speaker 1: he's been really good pre snap and he's just been
37:37
Speaker 1: really good at diagnosed to where the tough recoverage is
37:39
Speaker 1: going to be and then he just goes somewhere else.
37:42
Speaker 1: The Titans were the first team to really try to
37:44
Speaker 1: take away Claypool. First. They put Malcolm Butler and sometimes
37:48
Speaker 1: help over there wherever Claypool was, and that opened things
37:51
Speaker 1: up for Juju and he's kind of been rolling ever since.
37:55
Speaker 1: I'll be honest with the next step I think is
37:57
Speaker 1: him getting in sync more often with the Kay Johnson,
38:00
Speaker 1: who was very good as a rookie last year, and
38:02
Speaker 1: the two of them, they've tried to get in a
38:06
Speaker 1: vibe and it just hasn't happened yet. They've been a
38:09
Speaker 1: step out of sink a lot and there have been
38:11
Speaker 1: some wasted throws between those two, if they ever hook
38:15
Speaker 1: up consistently, I think that's going to really open things
38:18
Speaker 1: up for two two because it's going to scare the
38:20
Speaker 1: other side and it's gonna relieve some of the pressure
38:22
Speaker 1: in Claypool too, who's going through some grown plains last
38:25
Speaker 1: couple of weeks. Sure, Steeler's pregame host Tim Benz is
38:28
Speaker 1: our guest. Did. Last year's eight and eight season with
38:32
Speaker 1: Duck Hodges and Mason Rudolph at quarterback changed the way
38:36
Speaker 1: that Steelers fans feel about Mike Tomlin. Yeah, for a
38:40
Speaker 1: while until he last he lost his last three games,
38:44
Speaker 1: and then it was back to this guy, I'll never
38:45
Speaker 1: get back to the super Bowl again. You know, I
38:49
Speaker 1: think he deserved and got a lot of credit for
38:52
Speaker 1: doing whatever he could coaching wise, scheme wise, the six
38:56
Speaker 1: days leading up to Sunday and then even on Sundays
38:59
Speaker 1: themselves to get them to eight and five. And then,
39:02
Speaker 1: you know what, one thing has been an issue I've
39:04
Speaker 1: found and then Tomlin era is he's had a tough
39:08
Speaker 1: time in seasons getting the team back on track. Like
39:12
Speaker 1: those last three weeks are pretty bad. It's a fifty
39:15
Speaker 1: fifty game against the Bills. They kind of had to win,
39:17
Speaker 1: and they didn't, and they were coaching things along the
39:20
Speaker 1: way in that game I didn't like. And then they
39:22
Speaker 1: looked really bad against the Jets too, even for the
39:25
Speaker 1: Steelers beat where they were they should have beaten that
39:27
Speaker 1: Jets team last year, and then they got housed by
39:29
Speaker 1: the Ravens backups the last week. So it just didn't
39:33
Speaker 1: look great for Tomlin, even though he was fantastic and
39:36
Speaker 1: how he was a steward for the team for the
39:38
Speaker 1: first thirteen weeks. And you know, we saw that when
39:40
Speaker 1: the season fell apart at seven two and one and
39:43
Speaker 1: they missed the playoffs. And you know, there was a
39:46
Speaker 1: season between two Super Bowl years where they went nine
39:49
Speaker 1: and seven and lost a four some five hundred teams
39:52
Speaker 1: and had a five game losing streak. They kept him
39:54
Speaker 1: out of the playoffs like that. There have been times
39:56
Speaker 1: where Mike's had a hard time getting back on the rails,
39:59
Speaker 1: and so far this year it's been anything possible to
40:03
Speaker 1: keep it on the rails. He has in game management,
40:08
Speaker 1: in game adjustments or just weeked a week or something
40:11
Speaker 1: needs to be tweaked. He's pressed a lot of the
40:12
Speaker 1: right buttons, and he's got my coach near Boone so
40:15
Speaker 1: far this year three weeks. One of the really great trades,
40:19
Speaker 1: recent trades, make off Fitzpatrick. I mean it ends up
40:21
Speaker 1: costing the Pittsburgh steel is the eighteenth pick in the
40:25
Speaker 1: first round. Do that all day, every day. Make off Fitzpatrick.
40:28
Speaker 1: Is just such an unbelievable playmaker. What do the coaches
40:32
Speaker 1: say about make of Fitzpatrick? What makes him so great? Instincts, athleticism, smarts,
40:41
Speaker 1: That's what they talk about. I also think there's a
40:44
Speaker 1: bit of a fear present. It's not and read, but it's,
40:48
Speaker 1: you know, a watered down and read of there's a
40:50
Speaker 1: really good player in the middle of the field. I
40:52
Speaker 1: better make sure this is really really open before I
40:55
Speaker 1: uncourt this ball into the post. Like I think that exists.
40:58
Speaker 1: In fact, I was so furious to say for all
41:01
Speaker 1: the splash plays he made last year, what Minka did
41:05
Speaker 1: that was more important than anything else for Steelers was
41:08
Speaker 1: that exact presence of being in the middle of the field.
41:11
Speaker 1: That not the plays that just making when the ball
41:14
Speaker 1: is coming in his direction. It's the plays that aren't
41:17
Speaker 1: tried because he's there. I think that's been a that's
41:22
Speaker 1: been more noticeable to Steelers defense than anything, because like
41:25
Speaker 1: the last year, had five receptions, three of them were
41:27
Speaker 1: balls that bounced off of other players, targeted at other
41:31
Speaker 1: defensive backs, and he just sniffed it out once the
41:34
Speaker 1: play was botched by the receiver. You know, there's a
41:36
Speaker 1: fumble that they took back the other way where everybody
41:39
Speaker 1: stopped after Javon Hargrave hit Jared Goff. You guys remember
41:43
Speaker 1: the play last year where Devin Bush did all the
41:45
Speaker 1: dirty work, made that great play to track down boyd
41:47
Speaker 1: stripped the ball was just sitting there and Minka picked
41:49
Speaker 1: it up and ran a back thirty five yards. Like
41:52
Speaker 1: those are the flukey plays that he made last year
41:55
Speaker 1: that he hasn't had as many of this year. But
41:58
Speaker 1: the presence still to be in the middle of the
41:59
Speaker 1: field and discourage quarterbacks from attack in the deep middle.
42:04
Speaker 1: I think he can't put a price tag on that.
42:06
Speaker 1: A couple more questions for Steelers pregame host Tim Ben's.
42:09
Speaker 1: You mentioned Devin Bush. How badly do the Steelers miss him?
42:14
Speaker 1: They missed him. It's a little difficult to quantify how
42:19
Speaker 1: much better they would be if he were been playing,
42:21
Speaker 1: but it's it's easy to identify the teams seem more
42:25
Speaker 1: willing to run and the middle of the field has
42:28
Speaker 1: been very open. I don't know how much of that
42:30
Speaker 1: is just because Devin has gone or what I mean.
42:32
Speaker 1: He has not been what Devin Waite has been for Tampa.
42:35
Speaker 1: He hasn't been Ryan tres here yet. But he's been
42:38
Speaker 1: good and he's athletic. And the exact play that hurt
42:43
Speaker 1: himself on against Cleveland, where he was streaking across the
42:47
Speaker 1: field to get to a running back who was open
42:50
Speaker 1: along the sidelines and a little flare out pattern it
42:52
Speaker 1: was going to go for twenty five yards. If he
42:54
Speaker 1: didn't get there, he totally scaring the running back for
42:57
Speaker 1: the Browns's got a right in his field division because
43:00
Speaker 1: he closed so much ground so quickly that he dropped
43:03
Speaker 1: the ball. And when he dropped the ball, Demn sort
43:05
Speaker 1: of adjusted and that's how his view went out. But
43:07
Speaker 1: he's going a million miles an hour and he saw
43:09
Speaker 1: the athleticism coming to play, and that's the thing. Mass
43:11
Speaker 1: Man Spillane is more athletic than he gets credit for.
43:14
Speaker 1: And he's been good. He's been better than what you
43:16
Speaker 1: had a right to expect. I'll be real interested to
43:18
Speaker 1: see how much Avery Williamson gets worked in this week
43:21
Speaker 1: and at least in the run game. How much he
43:24
Speaker 1: can help the Baltimore situation in Baltimore, you know, that's
43:27
Speaker 1: what they do. They're a funky kind of team to defend.
43:30
Speaker 1: That probably happens if Avery Williamson is in there. Anyway,
43:33
Speaker 1: I think that Avery Williamson might have helped more last week.
43:36
Speaker 1: If this has been a non COVID environment, they could
43:38
Speaker 1: have gotten him up to speed and got him in
43:40
Speaker 1: grain to the defense against the Cowboys more often. The
43:44
Speaker 1: final question, and appreciate your carving all the time you
43:47
Speaker 1: have for us. Danny Smith. I have a lot of
43:49
Speaker 1: respect for him. He has to be going nuts. That
43:51
Speaker 1: had to be one of the worst special teams performances
43:53
Speaker 1: against Dallas that Steelers have had in quite a while. Yeah,
43:58
Speaker 1: and they've been good. I mean, there's a special team
44:00
Speaker 1: to have been nice this year. Um Boswell has been
44:03
Speaker 1: fairly efficient, not as great as last year, but certainly
44:06
Speaker 1: way better than two years ago. The punting itself hadn't
44:11
Speaker 1: been good, but getting Jordan Barry back for coal Quit
44:14
Speaker 1: was an upgrade. I guess they kind of made a
44:16
Speaker 1: mistake there, but they revisited and I think I have
44:19
Speaker 1: the better puncher back now, But you're right. I mean
44:22
Speaker 1: they gave up a trick play on a punt. They
44:26
Speaker 1: had a perfect angle pooch kick after the Cowboys got
44:30
Speaker 1: a penalty following a touchdown, so they tried to pin
44:33
Speaker 1: him deep and the kicker did everything he needed to do,
44:35
Speaker 1: and then the return guys fell all over the place,
44:38
Speaker 1: not to mention all the blocks that nearly happened, you know,
44:41
Speaker 1: and the pressure on the one extra point and I
44:43
Speaker 1: think made Boswell miss it, but like every place kick
44:46
Speaker 1: was almost blocked. And what was going on there they
44:50
Speaker 1: was They've got two rookies with very minimal experience on
44:55
Speaker 1: either side of a long snapper, and DeMarcus Lawrence and
44:58
Speaker 1: Torone Crawford of the Cowboys just had a field day
45:02
Speaker 1: with it. And if you look at the film, you
45:04
Speaker 1: can see that it's more about Lawrence really than it
45:07
Speaker 1: is Crawford. He's pulling Dotson down and thrusting down on
45:12
Speaker 1: half an hour, and he's creating an alley for Crawford
45:16
Speaker 1: to get through without making the leaping penalty. He probably
45:21
Speaker 1: leaped a little bit, but he without it making it's
45:24
Speaker 1: so obvious that the rest would call it so they've
45:27
Speaker 1: definitely you know, the Bengals are looking at that all
45:29
Speaker 1: day on their special teams real so if they can
45:32
Speaker 1: emulate that at all, it couldn't become an issue again
45:35
Speaker 1: for the Steelers this week. I was not surprised Tom
45:38
Speaker 1: Wood didn't kick the field goal. I mean, I thought
45:40
Speaker 1: he probably is thinking Crawford may get this one. Yeah. Well,
45:44
Speaker 1: the reason I didn't like it though, is, well, at
45:47
Speaker 1: least one thing I would have done differently is if
45:49
Speaker 1: you're telling me that you don't have faith in your
45:52
Speaker 1: kicking game to execute the kick, I don't know how
45:54
Speaker 1: on God's green Earth, then you have confidence to run
45:57
Speaker 1: the ball in a fourth and one, who they haven't
45:59
Speaker 1: been able to do that all day. You know, at
46:01
Speaker 1: that point you might as will just throw with Roethlisberger
46:03
Speaker 1: right and have five options running around the field because
46:06
Speaker 1: the clock's going to stop anywhere in the fourth down
46:08
Speaker 1: turn of possession, So why not throw it there? If
46:11
Speaker 1: that's what you're thinking? Is and I don't know, I
46:14
Speaker 1: just I think the way the math would have worked out,
46:16
Speaker 1: And you know, the only thing that could have really
46:18
Speaker 1: killed him in that situation is that a bot text
46:20
Speaker 1: kind of thing where they've walked it and run it
46:22
Speaker 1: back the whole way, which I guess could have been
46:24
Speaker 1: the case, but boy, you're counting on a funky bounce
46:26
Speaker 1: to football that way. True. Mike Tomlin will not hesitate
46:30
Speaker 1: to use Chris Boswell this week because he is perfect
46:33
Speaker 1: for life against the Bengals forty eight for forty eight
46:36
Speaker 1: between field goals and pats. Every week I watch him
46:39
Speaker 1: miss one until he plays the Bengals, and then he
46:42
Speaker 1: is the greatest kicker in the history of mankind. Not
46:45
Speaker 1: that I'm better. Tim Benz appreciate jazz always, but hey,
46:49
Speaker 1: great being on with you guys again. Anytime he ded
46:52
Speaker 1: me him just a phone call away. Don't forget to
46:54
Speaker 1: tune into the Bengals pep Rally Show on Friday from
46:57
Speaker 1: three to six on ESPN fifteen third. I'll be broadcasting
47:01
Speaker 1: you see football on Friday night, so Lap will be
47:04
Speaker 1: joined by Wayne box Miller on Friday show. That's going
47:08
Speaker 1: to do it. For this episode of the Bengals Booth podcast,
47:11
Speaker 1: brought to you by Bud Light, Seltzer refreshed the game.
47:14
Speaker 1: If you haven't done so already, please subscribe and if
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Speaker 1: you have a minute, give it a rating or share.
47:19
Speaker 1: A comment that helps more Bengals fans find this podcast.
47:24
Speaker 1: I'm Dan Horde and thank you for listening to the
47:26
Speaker 1: Bengals Booth podcast.