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Bengals Booth Podcast: It's The Climb · Bengals Booth Podcast

0:03
Speaker 1: Hi, get everybody on Dan Horde and thanks for downloading
0:06
Speaker 1: The Bengals Booth Podcast. The It's the Club addition, as
0:12
Speaker 1: the Bengals look to climb toward the top of the
0:15
Speaker 1: AFC North as they host the Baltimore Ravens. Coming up,
0:19
Speaker 1: I'll talk to a former Bengals wide receiver who is
0:21
Speaker 1: making it big and broadcasting and no it's not Chris
0:25
Speaker 1: collins Worth. We'll hear from Cam Taylor Britt who bows
0:28
Speaker 1: to bounce back from a bad game, and Ryan Rico
0:31
Speaker 1: on winning the punting job. And at our Know the
0:34
Speaker 1: Faux segment, we'll get an in depth look at the
0:37
Speaker 1: Ravens from former Baltimore linebacker Brad Jackson. The Bengals Booth
0:41
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Speaker 1: the official healthcare provider of the Bengals. Now here's a
1:02
Speaker 1: quick reminder that you can have the latest edition of
1:05
Speaker 1: this podcast delivered write to your phone tablet or computer
1:08
Speaker 1: by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's the greatest
1:13
Speaker 1: thing since Pete Rose, the baseball player. The hit King,
1:18
Speaker 1: passed away this week, and he was obviously a flawed person,
1:22
Speaker 1: aren't we all. But in his twenty four years as
1:25
Speaker 1: a Major League baseball player, Pete Rose gave it his
1:28
Speaker 1: all as much as any athlete in any sport. The
1:32
Speaker 1: end result was three batting titles, an MVP Award, seventeen
1:37
Speaker 1: All Star Game appearances, three World Series titles, and a
1:40
Speaker 1: record four thousand, two hundred and fifty six hits. Consider this,
1:46
Speaker 1: Royal shortstop Bobby Witt led Major League Baseball this year
1:50
Speaker 1: with two hundred eleven hits. If he did that for
1:53
Speaker 1: twenty straight seasons, he would come up thirty six hit
1:57
Speaker 1: shy of the hit King, a mind boggling achievement by
2:02
Speaker 1: one of Cincinnati's greatest sports legends. Now let's talk football,
2:07
Speaker 1: beginning with a former Bengal who was at the Carolina
2:10
Speaker 1: game last week as a guest. A former Bengals quarterback
2:15
Speaker 1: Andy Dalton. Our guest is one of the quickest and
2:18
Speaker 1: shiftiest wide receivers in Bengals history. Now crushing it in
2:22
Speaker 1: retirement on ESPN and in Business number sixteen, Andrew Hawkins
2:28
Speaker 1: Hawk great to visit with you last week on ESPN
2:31
Speaker 1: before the Bengals beat Carolina, you said you were not
2:35
Speaker 1: writing off Cincinnati yet explain why.
2:38
Speaker 2: Well, you know, Cincinnati over the Joe Burrow tenure has
2:42
Speaker 2: had slow starts to a season. Right, That's something that
2:44
Speaker 2: we're always going to talk about that needs address. But
2:47
Speaker 2: as you break it down, each game, there was a
2:49
Speaker 2: different reason why they didn't get over the hump and
2:53
Speaker 2: get a W in the column. And you know, the
2:54
Speaker 2: first game, the offense didn't look great. There were moments
2:57
Speaker 2: I felt that Joe could have pushed the ball down field,
3:00
Speaker 2: but there was chemistry things and with Jamar coming back recently,
3:04
Speaker 2: you can see wild can that took a little bit
3:06
Speaker 2: for that to get going. Game two, defense played decent
3:10
Speaker 2: against you know, the best quarterback, but they had faced
3:13
Speaker 2: to this point Patrick Mahomes and the offense had their
3:16
Speaker 2: moments as well, but a call goes differently at the
3:19
Speaker 2: end of the game and they get a W there.
3:21
Speaker 2: And then week three, the defense probably didn't, you know,
3:23
Speaker 2: play the way any of us wanted. But so as
3:25
Speaker 2: I looked at those three the three games, I felt like,
3:29
Speaker 2: because there were all different issues each week, there was
3:31
Speaker 2: an opportunity they would be able to put this together.
3:34
Speaker 2: And it really did just feel like a slow start
3:36
Speaker 2: as opposed to a football team that is not going
3:40
Speaker 2: to be competitive in the latter part of the season.
3:42
Speaker 2: And so I think they played a more complete game
3:45
Speaker 2: versus the Carolina Panthers. There were moments defensively, and there
3:49
Speaker 2: were some some balls that definitely went in Cincinnati's favor,
3:52
Speaker 2: But overall, I still think this is a a is
3:54
Speaker 2: a good team. I think there is great players here
3:57
Speaker 2: and what you're what you're looking at is them trying
3:59
Speaker 2: to find their chemistry. If they can, you know, get
4:02
Speaker 2: over some of the injury bug stuff that's starting to
4:04
Speaker 2: plague them. I still think that they're going to be
4:07
Speaker 2: one of those teams late in season that you don't
4:09
Speaker 2: want to see. Specifically, if Joe Burrow is healthy and
4:12
Speaker 2: doing what Joe Burrow does well.
4:14
Speaker 1: Let me follow up on that one thing we haven't
4:16
Speaker 1: heard on ESPN or any other network in recent weeks
4:19
Speaker 1: as much talk about Joe Burrow's wrist. Does he look
4:23
Speaker 1: basically as good as ever?
4:24
Speaker 3: To you?
4:25
Speaker 2: I think so. I think like you know, look for
4:27
Speaker 2: every athlete that goes through a major injury, and I
4:31
Speaker 2: went through this in my time in Cincinnati, there's like
4:34
Speaker 2: this purgatory period when you get done, like when you
4:36
Speaker 2: get back to full strength and health, that you're still
4:40
Speaker 2: trying to, like, you know, convince yourself to let it go.
4:44
Speaker 2: And I do think early in the season in that
4:46
Speaker 2: game one area, Joe was trying to figure that out
4:50
Speaker 2: right when the live action was out there. But I
4:51
Speaker 2: do think since then, as I've watched him, it looks
4:54
Speaker 2: like he has in a big way, right And the
4:56
Speaker 2: other part of the that is encouraging is I felt
4:59
Speaker 2: like versus Carolina, you know, they looked a little different
5:04
Speaker 2: in their offensive attack, and Joe was okay with that.
5:08
Speaker 2: The running backs were, you know, amazing in that game.
5:10
Speaker 2: And I was at that game. Actually, we went down
5:12
Speaker 2: to go see it because Andy was playing, and me,
5:15
Speaker 2: Mohammed sanu aj Green said pierman, Vinnie Ray, Mike NuGen,
5:20
Speaker 2: We all sat there and watched the game together. So
5:22
Speaker 2: that was a really cool moment for all of us
5:23
Speaker 2: as well.
5:25
Speaker 1: Does it do your heart good to see the red
5:27
Speaker 1: rifle still slinging it fourteen years after you guys were
5:30
Speaker 1: rookies together.
5:32
Speaker 2: I can't tell you how good it did my heart.
5:34
Speaker 2: And also I sat there I could not believe that
5:37
Speaker 2: that guy was still playing football. As someone who's knees
5:40
Speaker 2: crack as they walk up the stairs, I'm like, that
5:42
Speaker 2: is ridiculous that you were still out there. We came
5:45
Speaker 2: into the league together.
5:47
Speaker 1: So Bengals fans enjoyed the victory over Carolina last Sunday,
5:51
Speaker 1: and then on Sunday night they watched Baltimore dismantle the
5:54
Speaker 1: Buffalo Bills, and I think everybody felt a little bit
5:57
Speaker 1: queasy just seeing how good the Ravens looked in that game.
6:00
Speaker 1: What are some of your keys for the Bengals to
6:02
Speaker 1: knock off the Ravens at pay Corps on Sunday?
6:05
Speaker 2: Yeah, they cannot let the Ravens bully them, right, And
6:08
Speaker 2: I know that probably feels rudimentary, but if you watch
6:11
Speaker 2: that offense, it is rudimentary. Like NFL football in general
6:15
Speaker 2: is kind of evolving back to the old school. Run
6:18
Speaker 2: games are up. It's not as pass heavy and it's
6:21
Speaker 2: not as highly productive in the air and as it
6:25
Speaker 2: has been in years past. And for someone like Baltimore
6:27
Speaker 2: over the last two games, starting with Dallas and then
6:30
Speaker 2: in the last week versus the Bills. I mean, Derrick
6:33
Speaker 2: Henry is a modern marvel and they are very much
6:37
Speaker 2: going to say, hey, we're going to run the ball
6:40
Speaker 2: down your throat until you prove to us we can't. Right,
6:43
Speaker 2: And so for Cincinnati to get them to play it honest,
6:47
Speaker 2: to get them to like truly dig into their offensive
6:51
Speaker 2: strategy bag, they cannot allow that run game to bully him.
6:55
Speaker 2: And yeah, it starts up front. The Ravens, like the
7:00
Speaker 2: offensive line has started to slowly figure it out. Obviously,
7:03
Speaker 2: we know they replace some pieces, but I think the
7:05
Speaker 2: keys to their running game in the blocking or on
7:08
Speaker 2: the perimeter with Mark Andrews and Racard. The way that
7:12
Speaker 2: they are leading holes for Derrick Henry and almost springing
7:18
Speaker 2: him in that second level, it's special. It's special. So
7:22
Speaker 2: it's going to take a concentrated effort from first level,
7:27
Speaker 2: second level, and third level to show that they are
7:31
Speaker 2: stout early in this game. Otherwise they have the potential
7:35
Speaker 2: to wear down that defense.
7:37
Speaker 1: For the Bengals defense, help is on the way on
7:39
Speaker 1: the defensive line. There are four injured players that should
7:43
Speaker 1: be back soon. Maybe not this Sunday, but soon do
7:46
Speaker 1: you see a defense that's capable of being really good?
7:51
Speaker 2: I do, I do. I think, you know, when I
7:53
Speaker 2: look at defenses in the NFL, it starts with, hey,
7:57
Speaker 2: do you have the personnel right? And for me, if
8:00
Speaker 2: you have the personnel, number two is do you have
8:03
Speaker 2: the coaching to put them in position? And I think
8:05
Speaker 2: they have both of those things, and you know, even
8:08
Speaker 2: on the defensive side. And I know he had a
8:10
Speaker 2: tough game last week, Cam Taylor Britt, but I think
8:14
Speaker 2: he is one of the best young corners. I really
8:17
Speaker 2: do appreciate his game. I appreciate his style. I actually
8:21
Speaker 2: appreciate that he takes the chances when he does, because
8:23
Speaker 2: to me, that shows a level of confidence. Now he understands,
8:26
Speaker 2: and he said it in his you know interviews this
8:29
Speaker 2: week that he has to tighten up and he can't
8:30
Speaker 2: allow that no matter what that situation is. But I
8:32
Speaker 2: do think that their personnel is figuring out how to
8:36
Speaker 2: gel together. And what I'm hoping for versus the Ravens,
8:39
Speaker 2: which is right when it's needed, is that the Bengals
8:42
Speaker 2: are able to put together a complete game and that
8:45
Speaker 2: is both offensively, defensively, and in special teams. And then
8:49
Speaker 2: when you go a little bit more micro on the
8:52
Speaker 2: defensive side. That is, on all three levels of the defense.
8:55
Speaker 2: They have to be able to play as a unit. Right.
8:58
Speaker 2: We know that all these things affect each other, secondary
9:01
Speaker 2: effects the defensive line, the defensive line effects the secondary
9:04
Speaker 2: and the lineback and cores and all of that. And yeah,
9:06
Speaker 2: I think this is a big opportunity, not only because
9:09
Speaker 2: they'll need it. It's one of those games where if
9:12
Speaker 2: they're able to make this the game defensively, they can
9:15
Speaker 2: put it all together, even though they're you know, there's
9:18
Speaker 2: people injured and probably won't be a part of this game.
9:21
Speaker 2: It will give them the confidence for the remainder of
9:24
Speaker 2: the season. This is one of those statement games to show, look,
9:27
Speaker 2: look what we did versus the Baltimore Ravens, and that
9:30
Speaker 2: elevates their game for the rest of the way.
9:33
Speaker 1: We're chatting with ESPN analyst and former Bengals wide receiver
9:37
Speaker 1: Andrew Hawkins. Let's talk about the Bengals offense. The point
9:40
Speaker 1: total has gone up every week. They've topped thirty two
9:43
Speaker 1: weeks in a row, and we're seeing young guys emerge,
9:45
Speaker 1: Chase Brown at running back, Eric All at tight end.
9:49
Speaker 1: Do you see an offense that's finding more ways to attack.
9:52
Speaker 2: I am seeing an offense that's finding more ways to attack,
9:55
Speaker 2: and I think they're also understanding the importance of that
9:59
Speaker 2: of role as well, right, Like, we know what Jamar
10:02
Speaker 2: Chase is, we know that you know T Higgins can
10:04
Speaker 2: step up big and will step up big when necessary,
10:07
Speaker 2: and those big players are going to come. But to
10:08
Speaker 2: your point the role players and saying okay, you know
10:12
Speaker 2: hey versus Carolina, Yes, those moments. But there there's gonna
10:14
Speaker 2: be some some ground and pound opportunities. Is going to
10:17
Speaker 2: be some out of the backfield. We're going to have
10:20
Speaker 2: to make catches and get first downs. We're going to
10:22
Speaker 2: have to break tackles when it looks like we're stuffed
10:25
Speaker 2: on the goal line, because that is what's going to
10:27
Speaker 2: get us over the hump. And I think Joe Burrow
10:29
Speaker 2: has done a very good job of distributing the football
10:33
Speaker 2: right I Go's so easy for quarterbacks to get locked
10:35
Speaker 2: in on certain guys. And the thing I love about
10:38
Speaker 2: Joe is that he understands like, yeah he has Jamar,
10:40
Speaker 2: Yeah he has T. But the number one receiver to
10:44
Speaker 2: him is the guy that's open. And that is a
10:46
Speaker 2: special quality that not a lot of quarterbacks have, especially
10:49
Speaker 2: when things get thick and there's adversity in games. It's
10:53
Speaker 2: so easy just to go to the easy button. But
10:55
Speaker 2: for Joe it's I think he did an incredible job
10:58
Speaker 2: last week. It has, honestly, I think ever since Week one,
11:01
Speaker 2: of distributing the football in confident ways and trusting his
11:06
Speaker 2: guys in other places.
11:08
Speaker 1: Your short space quickness was as good as I've ever seen.
11:12
Speaker 1: But Jamar Chase isn't too far off. And he's five
11:15
Speaker 1: inches taller and thirty pounds heavier. What stands out to
11:19
Speaker 1: you when you watch Numero Uno.
11:21
Speaker 2: I'm not gonna lie to you, Jamar Chase is, you know.
11:24
Speaker 2: And I pride myself on my ability to scout receivers
11:27
Speaker 2: scout abilities. I can make comps, and when I watched
11:30
Speaker 2: Jamar Chase, I actually literally just talked about this with
11:33
Speaker 2: AJ Green. It's like he's the kind of receiver who
11:38
Speaker 2: there's no like one thing that you look at and say, oh,
11:41
Speaker 2: he does that great right now, he's the very best.
11:43
Speaker 2: To your point, when you watch me, it's very clear
11:45
Speaker 2: his quickness makes him different. That's why he could be
11:47
Speaker 2: five seven in the NFL. With AJ Green his hand
11:51
Speaker 2: eye coordination is on elite levels that even by NFL standards,
11:57
Speaker 2: you don't see. There's people like most Anew who is
11:59
Speaker 2: a strong he has very great lateral quickness for his size.
12:04
Speaker 2: But then there's Jamar Chase who does pretty much everything
12:07
Speaker 2: well that nothing stands out over the other ones. And
12:10
Speaker 2: sometimes if you're just like if you just pop in
12:13
Speaker 2: and out, it's like, oh, he's just the middle of
12:15
Speaker 2: the pack. But then you see his speed on those plays,
12:19
Speaker 2: like when he breaks out on the sideline, his strength
12:22
Speaker 2: to break that tackle, his hand eye coordination, it's just
12:25
Speaker 2: like everything is good about Jamar Chase. He's like almost
12:31
Speaker 2: And I say this to my son, who is a
12:32
Speaker 2: young receiver that I'm training as well, and I'm like,
12:36
Speaker 2: he's a guy you should watch because it's like a
12:40
Speaker 2: video game if you build a receiver. He has all
12:43
Speaker 2: the attributes like good already that are stocked that you
12:48
Speaker 2: want to put in your wide receiver. I think that's
12:50
Speaker 2: what makes him special is it's not because he does
12:52
Speaker 2: any one thing incredibly better than everybody else. He does
12:56
Speaker 2: everything better than everybody else, and that's a special quest
13:00
Speaker 2: for a receiver his size and his play style.
13:04
Speaker 1: You were a Bengals fan as a kid. Your older
13:06
Speaker 1: brother Artrell played for the team. You were part of
13:09
Speaker 1: three playoff teams in a Bengals uniform. What was it
13:12
Speaker 1: like for you to be sitting in the stands at
13:14
Speaker 1: Sofi Stadium watching the Bengals in Super Bowl fifty six.
13:19
Speaker 2: I cried, I'm not gonna lie. I did. I did.
13:22
Speaker 2: I shed tears as they played the national anthem, and
13:24
Speaker 2: I was sitting there because, yeah, You're not wrong, Dan.
13:27
Speaker 2: I remember being in sixth and seventh grade, and this
13:30
Speaker 2: is when I'm like really getting into NFL football, and
13:34
Speaker 2: I'm in the middle of Steeler Country's country, and I'm
13:36
Speaker 2: wearing Bengals jerseys and T shirts and you know these
13:40
Speaker 2: are one, one, two, three win seasons, right And you
13:44
Speaker 2: know as a sixth grader, as the seventh grader, all
13:47
Speaker 2: you want is for your team to be good. And
13:49
Speaker 2: I'm praying for my team to be good, and I'm
13:51
Speaker 2: praying just to see them in the playoffs. I would
13:55
Speaker 2: love to see a Hawkins jersey in the playoffs, you know.
13:57
Speaker 2: And I remember when we played the Texans in the
14:00
Speaker 2: playoffs in twenty eleven, like I was almost uncontrollably crimed
14:04
Speaker 2: because it was such a full circle moment. And then
14:06
Speaker 2: to be able to sit in the Super Bowl watch
14:09
Speaker 2: the Bengals battle the Los Angeles Rams, I don't know,
14:12
Speaker 2: it was a surreal moment. I consider myself a fan
14:17
Speaker 2: before anything else, and that fandom of sport, that fandom
14:20
Speaker 2: of football started with the Cincinnati Bengals. Man, So it
14:25
Speaker 2: has always meant something more to me to see those
14:28
Speaker 2: stripes out there doing well. And it's been an incredible
14:31
Speaker 2: couple of years watching Joe kind of help take this
14:34
Speaker 2: franchise to the place that we all knew it could
14:36
Speaker 2: be for the last twenty plus years.
14:39
Speaker 1: Andrew, we love seeing you on ESPN. But as I
14:41
Speaker 1: mentioned earlier, you're thriving in the business world. You got
14:44
Speaker 1: your masters at Columbia after your playing career ended. Tell
14:47
Speaker 1: us a little bit about the business you co found
14:50
Speaker 1: in Status Pro.
14:51
Speaker 2: Yeah, I appreciate that. So Status Pro is a virtual
14:54
Speaker 2: reality technology company and we build XR technology around sports
14:59
Speaker 2: for or coaches, fans and players. And so we have
15:02
Speaker 2: a training product that NFL teams use to simulate reps
15:06
Speaker 2: on the field. So you put the VR headset on
15:09
Speaker 2: or we projected on a walk through wall where you're
15:12
Speaker 2: able to see the defense, you're able to manipulate the defense,
15:14
Speaker 2: so everybody gets a real look of that first person
15:17
Speaker 2: perspective they're going to see on Sundays without putting wear
15:20
Speaker 2: and tear in their body. We also have our number
15:22
Speaker 2: one consumer product, which is NFL pro Era, which is
15:26
Speaker 2: the first ever NFL simulation game in virtual reality. So
15:30
Speaker 2: you get to play quarterback, you get to play defense,
15:33
Speaker 2: and feel what it's like to be in the NFL.
15:34
Speaker 2: It's been an incredible journey. We founded the companies five
15:38
Speaker 2: years ago now, and me and my co founder Troy Jones,
15:40
Speaker 2: who is also a former Division one quarterback, we just
15:43
Speaker 2: felt like there was an opportunity to give fans but
15:46
Speaker 2: they've always wanted, which is to feel what it's like
15:48
Speaker 2: to be their heroes. Like I told you those moments
15:50
Speaker 2: when I came out of the tunnel as a Cincinnati Bengal,
15:54
Speaker 2: having grown up a Bengal with having dreamt of that
15:56
Speaker 2: moment my entire life, it was surreal, and so through
15:59
Speaker 2: technow I wanted to create that experience for everybody, and
16:04
Speaker 2: that's what NFL Pro Era is, and it's something I'm
16:06
Speaker 2: incredibly proud of. And again those roots stem back to
16:10
Speaker 2: you know, my life as a lifelong Bengals fan.
16:14
Speaker 1: We are very excited about your success. We love seeing
16:17
Speaker 1: that Bengals helmet over your shoulder. Continued success to you, Andrew,
16:21
Speaker 1: and thanks for the time.
16:22
Speaker 2: Dan. It was great to see you and thank you
16:24
Speaker 2: for having me.
16:25
Speaker 1: Now let's turn from a former Bengals wide receiver to
16:28
Speaker 1: a current Bengals defensive back, Cam Taylor. Britt has been
16:32
Speaker 1: excellent when healthy in his first two NFL seasons. That's
16:36
Speaker 1: why it was jarring last week to see him get
16:39
Speaker 1: benched in the win over Carolina. The guy he was
16:43
Speaker 1: covering was targeted six times and Cam surrendered five catches
16:47
Speaker 1: for eighty four yards and a touchdown. DJ Turner eventually
16:51
Speaker 1: took his place in the lineup and wound up playing
16:53
Speaker 1: fifteen more snaps here are Zach Taylor and lou Anarumo.
16:58
Speaker 4: That game was not up to his standard, know, and
17:00
Speaker 4: I'm sure he'll talk more about it this week, but
17:02
Speaker 4: you know, just just again, he's a guy that we
17:04
Speaker 4: really lean on to be kind of a foundational piece
17:08
Speaker 4: over there, and that certainly wasn't his best game and
17:12
Speaker 4: expect more from him going on. And that wasn't up
17:13
Speaker 4: to his standard, and I'm excited to watch how he
17:15
Speaker 4: responds to that.
17:16
Speaker 5: Cam will bounce back. I have all the faith in Cam.
17:18
Speaker 5: He's getting a big hug right after the game and
17:20
Speaker 5: like that will never happen again. And and I do
17:23
Speaker 5: trust him. He's played too much good football here for
17:26
Speaker 5: us in order for that. But again, where we're at,
17:29
Speaker 5: we can't allow anything to slip. So he's one of
17:33
Speaker 5: the guys that weren't counting on to play well. He's
17:36
Speaker 5: demonstrated that he can and he has to.
17:38
Speaker 3: Do it consistently, so he knows it.
17:40
Speaker 5: So you know where I'll say it again, I have
17:44
Speaker 5: all the faith in the world and Cam that bounce
17:46
Speaker 5: back and have a good game this week.
17:47
Speaker 1: I spoke to Cam this week about bouncing back, all right.
17:51
Speaker 1: Lu shared the other day that after the game, you
17:54
Speaker 1: approached him even before he like shook the other team's
17:56
Speaker 1: hand and said, this is not gonna happen again. I
17:59
Speaker 1: had a game, I promise you that was that.
18:02
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, most definitely.
18:03
Speaker 2: Man.
18:03
Speaker 3: You have to be a man and own up to
18:06
Speaker 3: your mistakes at the end of the day. And that
18:08
Speaker 3: game player that I put out there on the film
18:10
Speaker 3: and showcasing from the world was not it U and
18:13
Speaker 3: I believe my coaches knew that. I wanted to make
18:15
Speaker 3: sure that he knew that that was the right of
18:17
Speaker 3: me because the team they count on me, and I
18:20
Speaker 3: couldn't be counted on the you know the other game.
18:22
Speaker 1: Can you describe what you think you were doing poorly?
18:26
Speaker 3: Honestly, it was my technique, man, in my eyes, honestly,
18:28
Speaker 3: you know, they both go together. Just trying to play
18:30
Speaker 3: so fast that you're looking for the ball ahead of time. Basically,
18:34
Speaker 3: you see, I got the interception, but I was looking
18:37
Speaker 3: at the ball then, you know. But it's you can't
18:39
Speaker 3: you know, put your hands on the receiver downfield, even
18:41
Speaker 3: though they try to. You won't get those calls. You know,
18:43
Speaker 3: at the end of the day. It is offensive league,
18:44
Speaker 3: and you you have to play the you know, the
18:46
Speaker 3: ball through the air. Can't grap receivers. So that's that's
18:49
Speaker 3: one thing I gotta do better with that.
18:50
Speaker 1: It almost sounds like maybe guessing a little bit, trying
18:53
Speaker 1: to anticipate something instead of just relying on the technique
18:57
Speaker 1: that's got you this far.
18:58
Speaker 3: Anticipating most definitely for a little minute, Like I said,
19:01
Speaker 3: I do watch film Man. Sometimes you know when it's
19:05
Speaker 3: coming at the end of the day. But also you
19:07
Speaker 3: know another we're going into the second half of the season.
19:10
Speaker 3: They're looking at film now and growing against players now.
19:12
Speaker 3: So you guys are bad here the continued teams are
19:15
Speaker 3: going to continue to hit you on the same thing
19:17
Speaker 3: and double move it and you know, switch it up
19:19
Speaker 3: here and there, knowing what you're going into.
19:21
Speaker 1: How eager are you to play again after a game
19:24
Speaker 1: like that?
19:24
Speaker 3: Honestly, man, I'm surprised today. It was a great practice. Man.
19:28
Speaker 3: Just start the week, all right, Uh, you know, just
19:30
Speaker 3: get right for this week and redeem it.
19:32
Speaker 4: Man.
19:33
Speaker 1: Have you ever been taken out of a game for
19:35
Speaker 1: something other than an injury?
19:37
Speaker 3: Not at all, man, And I think that was one
19:39
Speaker 3: thing that just kind of opened my eyes, because I
19:40
Speaker 3: told you was some touch field. I didn't want to
19:42
Speaker 3: come off of it. But in all reality, you know,
19:44
Speaker 3: at the end of the day, we have to win
19:46
Speaker 3: the game, and then I'm the reason for that. You
19:47
Speaker 3: guys to understand, this is a business and it just
19:51
Speaker 3: can't be like that, and it won't be like that.
19:53
Speaker 1: Neither Zach or Lou sounded worried. They more or less
19:57
Speaker 1: said He's one of our best players. We're counting him
20:00
Speaker 1: him to be that guy, and we're confident he will be.
20:02
Speaker 1: I don't know if you heard those comments, but what
20:05
Speaker 1: does that say to you?
20:06
Speaker 3: Honestly, I did not hear any of that, but I
20:09
Speaker 3: do really appreciate them for, you know, thinking that of me.
20:11
Speaker 3: I'll try to come out here every day and put
20:12
Speaker 3: my best foot forward. Yeah. I had a hiccup, but
20:15
Speaker 3: there won't be too many more hiccups.
20:17
Speaker 2: Man.
20:18
Speaker 3: I try to do this trying to win. Man, as
20:20
Speaker 3: a team, and like I said, the team counts on
20:22
Speaker 3: me to be that number one guy, and I have
20:23
Speaker 3: to do that.
20:24
Speaker 1: Looking at the Ravens, I heard Bill Belichick say this
20:27
Speaker 1: week the challenge with them is if you go big
20:30
Speaker 1: to stop the run game, they got fast guys. If
20:33
Speaker 1: you go small to be fast, they've obviously got big guys.
20:36
Speaker 1: Is that a good description of what makes them so unique?
20:39
Speaker 3: Yeah, you can most definitely say that. Like he basically said, Man,
20:42
Speaker 3: it's total opposites on each end. You know, there's a
20:44
Speaker 3: woe win situation. They're a great team and they have
20:47
Speaker 3: the best of both worlds in the backfield. The two
20:50
Speaker 3: two greatest duos in the backfield and now I'm on
20:52
Speaker 3: the outside. You of course they have the speed, you know,
20:54
Speaker 3: the run downfield, you know, take the shots off your head.
20:56
Speaker 3: So you got to be very prepared for that. You know,
20:58
Speaker 3: stop the run when it's that time, you know, take
21:00
Speaker 3: the shots off.
21:01
Speaker 1: When they added Derrick Henry, did you say, of course
21:04
Speaker 1: they added Derrick Henry.
21:07
Speaker 3: Yeah, kind of you know, we played against so before.
21:09
Speaker 3: But you know, man, that this, you know that is
21:11
Speaker 3: intimidating to a lot of teams. That you see that
21:13
Speaker 3: in the backfield. You gotta garb both of those guys.
21:16
Speaker 3: You know, you never know. Lamar Will, you know, put
21:18
Speaker 3: his magic on and he made something happen. But down
21:21
Speaker 3: here running game with Derek here is dangerous.
21:22
Speaker 4: Will.
21:23
Speaker 1: What's the mindset of this team in terms of the
21:25
Speaker 1: importance of this game.
21:27
Speaker 3: Is his playoff game? Simple? Is that we have to win.
21:29
Speaker 3: There's no offense or us about it.
21:31
Speaker 1: Well, Cam's looking to bounce back this week. Hunter Ryan
21:34
Speaker 1: Rico aka robo leg is looking to continue the remarkable
21:39
Speaker 1: start to his NFL career. Ryan Rico's first punt today
21:43
Speaker 1: went fifty seven yards. He came into the game averaging
21:46
Speaker 1: more than fifty nine yards of punt when he launches
21:49
Speaker 1: this one way way up in the air, Blacks year
21:53
Speaker 1: going back back back. Wow, catching it at the fifteen,
21:56
Speaker 1: tackled right away by Tyson Anderson.
21:59
Speaker 6: Man in the Bengals bench, Mike Hilton and others come
22:04
Speaker 6: to congratulate Rico.
22:06
Speaker 1: He crutched that roboleg is averaging fifty eight point four
22:10
Speaker 1: yards of punt with a net average of forty nine
22:13
Speaker 1: point seven. Both numbers would be NFL single season records,
22:18
Speaker 1: and with the release of the now healthy Brad Robbins
22:20
Speaker 1: this week, Rico has officially won the full time job.
22:26
Speaker 7: I hate the way that it happened with Brad being injured,
22:29
Speaker 7: just because like it can happen to anybody, and so
22:31
Speaker 7: that's never you never feel great about that, but definitely
22:36
Speaker 7: grateful for the opportunity. I feel like I've been able
22:39
Speaker 7: to showcase what I can do. But I feel like
22:42
Speaker 7: it's like the game's not four seasons, or the season
22:45
Speaker 7: isn't four games. Just need to continue every single week
22:49
Speaker 7: proving exactly why I think they made the right decision.
22:52
Speaker 1: Your numbers through four games are pretty crazy. I mean,
22:55
Speaker 1: both your net average and your gross average would be
22:58
Speaker 1: NFL records. That's probably hard to keep up. But do
23:02
Speaker 1: you feel like you've been unusually good to this point
23:07
Speaker 1: or just good?
23:09
Speaker 7: I don't feel like it's been unusual. I feel like
23:11
Speaker 7: in practices it's pretty pretty indicative of what's been able
23:18
Speaker 7: to transfer to the field. Obviously, we haven't had a
23:21
Speaker 7: whole lot of punts, so I mean, I wish I
23:24
Speaker 7: could sit here and just say like, yeah, every ball
23:26
Speaker 7: is gonna be be perfect. But I'm sure everybody goes
23:30
Speaker 7: through a little bit ups and downs. But as as
23:33
Speaker 7: for myself right now, I feel like I can really
23:35
Speaker 7: stay the course and continue to just try and put
23:38
Speaker 7: our team in really great positions. And I feel like
23:41
Speaker 7: the net especially speaks volumes of the coverage guys. I mean,
23:45
Speaker 7: our gunners are hustling, They're setting speed records every single week.
23:48
Speaker 7: It seems like snaps are great, and I've really had
23:53
Speaker 7: not a whole lot of pressure, which has been great
23:55
Speaker 7: because our protection has been really good. So I feel
23:57
Speaker 7: like it's it's been a great couple weeks as a unit.
24:01
Speaker 1: For sure, You've hit some really good ones from deep
24:03
Speaker 1: in your own end. Do you think that that's something
24:06
Speaker 1: that maybe you are, you know, exceptionally good at Yeah.
24:11
Speaker 7: I love I love being able to have that open field.
24:14
Speaker 7: So then you're not kind of in the gray area.
24:16
Speaker 7: Do I need to take a little bit off it?
24:18
Speaker 7: You can kind of just swing away. And I feel
24:20
Speaker 7: like Coach Simmons has really instilled a lot of that confidence,
24:23
Speaker 7: just like go out and hit whatever you want, like
24:25
Speaker 7: we're gonna cover it. And so I'm just really really
24:29
Speaker 7: grateful that they've allowed me to play to my strengths
24:32
Speaker 7: and just looking forward to hopefully continuing it.
24:35
Speaker 1: Karon Simmons says that Rico has the most powerful leg
24:39
Speaker 1: of anyone he's ever coached. The Bengals Booth Podcast is
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Speaker 1: healthcare provider of the Bengals. Now time for this week's
25:04
Speaker 1: Know the Faux Segment. Former UC football and basketball player
25:07
Speaker 1: Brad Jackson won a Super Bowl ring as a Baltimore
25:11
Speaker 1: Ravens linebacker. He's covered the team since his playing days
25:14
Speaker 1: ended and joined Dave Lapham and me this week on
25:17
Speaker 1: the Bengals Game Plan Show. Let's talk about the team
25:21
Speaker 1: in your neck of the woods. The Baltimore Ravens liked
25:24
Speaker 1: the Bengals. They started the season zero to two, lost
25:27
Speaker 1: at home to the Raiders in the second week of
25:29
Speaker 1: the season, and they've been good since. Went on the
25:32
Speaker 1: road and beat Dallas, played great on Monday Night to
25:34
Speaker 1: beat Buffalo. What changed? Why did the Ravens begin turning
25:38
Speaker 1: it up in week three?
25:40
Speaker 8: Well, I think a lot of it had to do.
25:42
Speaker 8: You know, guys is with you know, when you're back
25:44
Speaker 8: as against the wall. You guys know John Harball, he
25:47
Speaker 8: obviously has bloodlines to the University of Cincinnati as our
25:51
Speaker 8: former running back coach or recruiting coordinator. So he just
25:54
Speaker 8: kind of went back to, you know, what's the hardball
25:57
Speaker 8: way of just going back in and focusing on the
25:59
Speaker 8: base and simplifying things. And so, you know, the lost
26:05
Speaker 8: of Kansas City on the roads is a tough one.
26:06
Speaker 8: We know how good Kansas City is. Opening week, like
26:09
Speaker 8: you said, it was an opening day hearing Baltimore versus
26:12
Speaker 8: the Raiders, and the Raiders have traditionally played awful every
26:15
Speaker 8: time they came east, and they kind of got shell
26:18
Speaker 8: shocked in that game.
26:19
Speaker 2: Uh.
26:20
Speaker 8: And then when you're zero and two and you go
26:21
Speaker 8: on the road to Dallas that everyone was expecting to
26:26
Speaker 8: play better considering they had just got she lacked by
26:28
Speaker 8: the Saints at home the previous week. It was it
26:33
Speaker 8: was a team that had a sense of urgency and
26:36
Speaker 8: had a lot of focus, and then they kind of
26:38
Speaker 8: got back to as you guys know and see of
26:41
Speaker 8: running the football. They kind of got away from some
26:43
Speaker 8: of the little fun dipsy do types of stuff that
26:46
Speaker 8: we all see throughout the NFL early in the season
26:49
Speaker 8: with teams and then teams ultimately find you find out
26:52
Speaker 8: who they are. And I think for the Ravens in
26:55
Speaker 8: Week three, having their backs against the wall, it was,
26:58
Speaker 8: let's go out there and just get back to handing
27:00
Speaker 8: the ball off to Derrick Henry and let's really try
27:03
Speaker 8: to ride this and take advantage of Lamar's legs and
27:07
Speaker 8: his ability to and RPOs and that type of thing,
27:10
Speaker 8: and then throw the plays downfield. And they had to
27:13
Speaker 8: so and then they carried it over into, you know,
27:16
Speaker 8: obviously last week against the Buffalo Bills, where you know,
27:20
Speaker 8: they basically opening play, you know, Derrick Henry, you know,
27:24
Speaker 8: goes all the way to the house eighty some yards
27:26
Speaker 8: or whatever it was, and then it was over from
27:30
Speaker 8: there because they just kept pounding the ball out of
27:32
Speaker 8: the Buffalo Bills, who I think were kind of shell
27:35
Speaker 8: shocked and there was really no answer for So that's
27:38
Speaker 8: probably the two biggest things. I think. Defensively, the same thing.
27:43
Speaker 2: You have a new.
27:43
Speaker 8: Defensive coordinator in Zach Korr, who was a former player obviously,
27:47
Speaker 8: Chris Hewett, you know, my bear cast teammate, is the
27:50
Speaker 8: assistant head coach and the passing game coordinator. And they
27:53
Speaker 8: finally have a healthy secondary. And then they lost a
27:56
Speaker 8: corner this week that's going to go on ir for
27:59
Speaker 8: a hamstring. So they're finding their way defensively with a
28:04
Speaker 8: new defensive coordinator, even though the system is the same.
28:07
Speaker 8: You've lost a couple of players, They've plugging in a
28:09
Speaker 8: couple of new players. They basically and all that being said,
28:13
Speaker 8: got back to playing Ravens football, which is, you know what,
28:15
Speaker 8: We're going to run the football, be physical, and play
28:17
Speaker 8: good defense and try to get back to five hundred,
28:19
Speaker 8: which is what they were able to do.
28:22
Speaker 6: Man, I'll tell you. Running the football is an understatement,
28:25
Speaker 6: you know. I mean back to back games twodred and
28:28
Speaker 6: seventy yards rushing or more. I mean they've done it
28:32
Speaker 6: three times children seventy yards rushing or more in a
28:35
Speaker 6: game since the start of last season. The rest of
28:38
Speaker 6: the NFL zero, the rest of the NFL haven't done it.
28:42
Speaker 6: They've done it three times two weeks in a row. Now,
28:44
Speaker 6: I mean you talk about committing to a running game,
28:47
Speaker 6: these two Henry and Jackson seven hundred and eighty eight
28:51
Speaker 6: yards rushing, six point nine yards per carry, and they've
28:55
Speaker 6: combined for seven touchdowns. I mean, they just they just
28:58
Speaker 6: pounded submission. I mean, is ground and pounds best, didn't it?
29:03
Speaker 8: Yeah? I mean I mean, hey, lad, you and me
29:05
Speaker 8: could come back and play for this team right here,
29:07
Speaker 8: right now, because here you know all about being physical
29:10
Speaker 8: as an offensive lineman and the offensive line if you
29:13
Speaker 8: go back and you got and I know you guys do.
29:15
Speaker 8: So I'm speaking more to the to the Bengals fans
29:17
Speaker 8: out there and Washington film or watching the game. The
29:20
Speaker 8: offensive line was getting torched, like out here in the media.
29:22
Speaker 8: They were putting moving signs, you know, in front of
29:25
Speaker 8: some of these guys' houses because they were playing so bad.
29:28
Speaker 8: And part of that had to do with it, because
29:30
Speaker 8: they were throwing the football and the right side of
29:33
Speaker 8: the offensive line was getting you know, was getting tore up.
29:35
Speaker 8: I mean, we all saw the Thursday night opener. You know,
29:38
Speaker 8: Chris Jones, who's probably you know, top five best defensive
29:41
Speaker 8: players in the entire league, was having his way and
29:43
Speaker 8: made impactful plays. The same thing happened the falling week.
29:47
Speaker 8: Max Crosby comes in here and he, I mean, he
29:49
Speaker 8: looked like he was a defensive player of the year,
29:52
Speaker 8: you know, dominating the offensive line. And I think what
29:55
Speaker 8: happened is they got back to, like you said, ground
29:58
Speaker 8: and pound, run the football. They're still going to the
30:00
Speaker 8: running game, but they're pulling guards, they're pulling tackles, they're
30:03
Speaker 8: they're trapping guys on the interior. And we know in
30:06
Speaker 8: this passing league. And then the way the game is
30:08
Speaker 8: in college as much as there's not a lot of
30:11
Speaker 8: guys that linebackers and d Liman are just not used
30:15
Speaker 8: to seeing the old school running you know, plays of
30:18
Speaker 8: you know, guards pullings and guys getting trapped. And so
30:21
Speaker 8: once you're doing that, and then you got Henry you
30:23
Speaker 8: let him go downhill, and we all know, you guys
30:26
Speaker 8: remember him from the Titans. Once he's going downhill like
30:29
Speaker 8: he's a problem. And then if you can get him
30:32
Speaker 8: to go sideways, which is what the teams the first
30:34
Speaker 8: two weeks did, then obviously you haven't advantaged there defensively,
30:38
Speaker 8: which is what I'm sure the Bengals coaches, you know,
30:41
Speaker 8: in the coordinator them, are going to have tell their
30:44
Speaker 8: guys all week, we got to get him going sideways.
30:46
Speaker 8: You have to get penetration. So, like you said, they
30:50
Speaker 8: went back to running the football the raven way because
30:52
Speaker 8: it was an opportunity and a way for them to
30:56
Speaker 8: try to get this get this ship back right after
30:59
Speaker 8: start zer and two because because guess what if you
31:01
Speaker 8: go down to Dallas and lose in your oh and
31:03
Speaker 8: three and then you got to come home and play
31:05
Speaker 8: you know, the Bills, who obviously want to, you know,
31:07
Speaker 8: be a playoff team. You know, at the end of
31:09
Speaker 8: when all this is said and done, you know that's
31:12
Speaker 8: going to be a situation of going oh and three
31:14
Speaker 8: with the chance going.
31:15
Speaker 2: Oh and four.
31:16
Speaker 8: We all know, now, all of a sudden, it gets
31:18
Speaker 8: real sticky around here. When a quarter of the season
31:20
Speaker 8: has been lost. So they went back to the roots
31:22
Speaker 8: of raven football. They went back to said, you know what,
31:25
Speaker 8: let's help these offensive lineman out because we're getting torchs
31:29
Speaker 8: trying to do all the nice things in the passing game,
31:32
Speaker 8: and right now they're just not that good enough to
31:35
Speaker 8: hold up. And they their offensive line took a beating.
31:37
Speaker 8: They took it personal. And then what you do, laugh
31:40
Speaker 8: is you know, when your offensive line is struggling, every
31:43
Speaker 8: offensive line to play with Job and Hogen the Hall
31:45
Speaker 8: of Famer and play with a lot of very good
31:47
Speaker 8: Hall of you know, played against Tony Mancelli friends with lead.
31:50
Speaker 8: I'm seriously all these guys that we know. You know
31:53
Speaker 8: that Alan Fannico is my draft here. You know, guys
31:56
Speaker 8: that I've warned to talk to, and like, what, what
31:58
Speaker 8: do they love the most? You guys love to get
32:01
Speaker 8: down and dirty and pound on people versus retreating and
32:04
Speaker 8: pass blocking and pass blocking the whole game. You want
32:07
Speaker 8: to match people in the face and impose your will.
32:09
Speaker 8: And when you're able to impose your will, You've seen
32:12
Speaker 8: what's able to happen in the last two weeks here
32:14
Speaker 8: in Baltimore, which is then getting a ground game going
32:18
Speaker 8: and now the offensive line has gotten their conference back
32:20
Speaker 8: because now they're almost likely they're the bullies on the block,
32:23
Speaker 8: you know, down there in the trenches.
32:26
Speaker 1: A couple more questions for former Bearcat great and former
32:28
Speaker 1: Raven Super Bowl winning linebacker Brad Jackson. Baltimore had a
32:33
Speaker 1: historically good defense last year, number one in the league
32:36
Speaker 1: and fewest points allowed, number one in sacks, number one
32:38
Speaker 1: in turnovers generated. No team had ever done that before
32:43
Speaker 1: in those three categories, but they lost a ton of
32:45
Speaker 1: good players. Patrick Queen has gone, Gino Stone went to
32:48
Speaker 1: the Bengals. Todevian Clowney is now with Carolina. The Bengals
32:51
Speaker 1: saw him last week. Is there a drop off? Is
32:54
Speaker 1: there a full area on this defense?
32:59
Speaker 8: Well, I think if there's a vulnerable area, you got
33:02
Speaker 8: Trent Simpsons, who obviously was a very good linebacker at
33:04
Speaker 8: Clemson University. It's his first time starting because, like you said,
33:08
Speaker 8: Pete Queen is off the Pittsburgh right now, and so
33:12
Speaker 8: the vulnerability I think is probably up front. There hasn't
33:16
Speaker 8: been a lot of pass rush. You have O Way,
33:17
Speaker 8: who had a couple of big games, but right now,
33:20
Speaker 8: Michael Pierce, the defensive tackle, he's probably gonna miss the
33:23
Speaker 8: game this week. He was down last week shoulder surge.
33:27
Speaker 8: I mean, he's a huge piece on the interior. Mama Buke,
33:31
Speaker 8: as we know, was a you know, franchise and got
33:33
Speaker 8: a huge contract.
33:34
Speaker 6: Uh.
33:35
Speaker 8: You know, one of the highest contracts were in tier
33:37
Speaker 8: defensive linemen in the NFL. He's kind of been held
33:40
Speaker 8: at bay.
33:41
Speaker 2: Uh.
33:41
Speaker 8: They went out and brought back a couple of defensive
33:44
Speaker 8: ends that they had, you know in years past, on
33:46
Speaker 8: one year deal. It's just a couple of days ago,
33:49
Speaker 8: uh to sign into the practice squad. So you know,
33:51
Speaker 8: when you look at the defense, you know the vulnerability.
33:54
Speaker 8: I would probably say there's still some area because you
33:57
Speaker 8: have a couple of guys nicked up in the second
34:01
Speaker 8: Kyle Hamilton has played well, but he hasn't played to
34:03
Speaker 8: the elite level yet. And you know, he's kind of
34:06
Speaker 8: been getting some plays here and there that people are targeting,
34:09
Speaker 8: which is what's gonna happen when you're a great player
34:11
Speaker 8: like he is. They have to find him out. So
34:13
Speaker 8: you know, the pass rus hasn't been what they wanted.
34:16
Speaker 8: Linebacker players pretty well, so they're just solid right now.
34:19
Speaker 8: They're not doing anything great, and I think a lot
34:21
Speaker 8: of that has to do with the fact that it
34:23
Speaker 8: is a new defensive coordinator. You're still trying to figure
34:26
Speaker 8: things out, like coordinators are trying to figure out what
34:29
Speaker 8: is his goal to what is he like to do?
34:30
Speaker 8: And I think that's where Chris Wit, you know, it's
34:33
Speaker 8: been extremely helpful because, like you said, you mentioned all
34:35
Speaker 8: the players that were gone, well, you also lost, like
34:38
Speaker 8: you said, the defensive coordinator, Mike McDonald, the head coach
34:40
Speaker 8: of Seattle. You lost Dennard Wilson, who was the assistant
34:44
Speaker 8: DV coach. He went down to beat the defensive coordinator
34:46
Speaker 8: in Tennessee. Anthony Weaver, the D line coach and run
34:49
Speaker 8: game coordinator. He's down in Miami Dolphins as a defensive
34:52
Speaker 8: coordinator there. So not only did you lose an abundance
34:55
Speaker 8: of players, you lost three very important coaches and the
34:58
Speaker 8: only coach that was holdover was obviously Zach or and
35:00
Speaker 8: Chris Hewitt as well.
35:02
Speaker 2: So there there's.
35:02
Speaker 8: Gonna be that learning curve, and so I think the
35:05
Speaker 8: vulnerabilities there to some would be that they just don't
35:09
Speaker 8: have the experience and then trying they're still trying to
35:11
Speaker 8: figure out what this defense can do. Well, great, but
35:14
Speaker 8: we all know the Raven defense. They're gonna they're gonna
35:16
Speaker 8: line up, they're gonna knock you in the mouth, they're
35:18
Speaker 8: gonna come after you on in blitter quarterback. Now there's
35:21
Speaker 8: gonna be no no difference this week for Burrow. You
35:24
Speaker 8: know they're gonna they're gonna dolla some blitzers and get
35:26
Speaker 8: after it when they need to. And then they're gonna
35:28
Speaker 8: try to figure out a way to show a ton
35:30
Speaker 8: of blitzes and show you crazy odd looks and then
35:32
Speaker 8: dropping the zone and have a couple of fire zones
35:35
Speaker 8: where it's gonna look crazy, and then all of a sudden,
35:36
Speaker 8: you're gonna see the defensive live and drop out to
35:39
Speaker 8: take the middle hooks in the flat. So it's still
35:42
Speaker 8: the same defense, it's just early in the season and
35:44
Speaker 8: I think they're also uh and you guys know this,
35:48
Speaker 8: and then finding their footing on defense. The best defense
35:51
Speaker 8: in the one sitting over on sideline stiffer and gatorade.
35:53
Speaker 8: So when the offense is taking care of business and
35:55
Speaker 8: running the football, controlling and time of possession that they're
35:59
Speaker 8: able to do you and you also are able to
36:02
Speaker 8: help your defense out because now the defense one isn't
36:04
Speaker 8: out there, it's not getting exposed as much. The defense
36:07
Speaker 8: is freshure physically, which is important early in the season
36:10
Speaker 8: as guys because training camp is pretty much, you know,
36:13
Speaker 8: a Christian around the league right now, so guys are
36:16
Speaker 8: still getting their game legs under them, as we all
36:18
Speaker 8: know this first month of the season. And then the
36:21
Speaker 8: other part of it is now you help to make
36:23
Speaker 8: the defense better because now the defensive goal every week
36:27
Speaker 8: is one stop to one to create win third down,
36:29
Speaker 8: to create turnovers and make a team one dimensional. Well,
36:32
Speaker 8: guess what, when you're grounding and pounding and putting points
36:35
Speaker 8: on the board, that clock is shrinking. Now all of
36:37
Speaker 8: a sudden, you help your defense out because now teams
36:40
Speaker 8: are starting to have to go one dimensional and throw
36:43
Speaker 8: the football, which goes right into what the Ravens want
36:45
Speaker 8: you to do.
36:48
Speaker 6: Final question, and really appreciate your expertise. Thanks for giving
36:52
Speaker 6: us some of your time. Tight end likely had nine
36:56
Speaker 6: catches for one hundred eleven yards in the opener. He's
36:58
Speaker 6: had four receptions in the last three games. Andrews, I
37:02
Speaker 6: mean this this guy to me, I mean his uh,
37:06
Speaker 6: his his toughness, his body control had been second to none.
37:10
Speaker 6: Looks like he's struggling a little bit. What is going on?
37:13
Speaker 6: I mean, obviously they're running the football, so you know
37:16
Speaker 6: you can't you can't do both. You got to do
37:18
Speaker 6: one of the other. And numbers are gonna suffer a
37:21
Speaker 6: little bit in that passing attack. But in particular is Andrews.
37:26
Speaker 6: Is he still struggling physically or is he up to snuff?
37:29
Speaker 8: Yeah, that's a great question, lab. I mean, they're keeping
37:31
Speaker 8: everything tight to the vest. I've been to the building,
37:34
Speaker 8: been you know, been out there, and I kind of
37:36
Speaker 8: noticed the same thing. He he doesn't seem like he's
37:39
Speaker 8: running with the same as he did prior to obviously
37:42
Speaker 8: him breaking his leg last year. I gave you guys
37:45
Speaker 8: the Bengals in that game here, I believe it was Thursday.
37:47
Speaker 2: Night football, and so.
37:51
Speaker 8: Yeah, it is. I think there's still some lingering effects
37:55
Speaker 8: that that we all know that Heat rushed to come back,
37:57
Speaker 8: and I shouldn't say rushed, but he was a to
38:00
Speaker 8: come back in time for the playoffs because he really
38:02
Speaker 8: wanted to play. And I know you've had you know,
38:05
Speaker 8: six seven months since then. But I also look at it,
38:08
Speaker 8: as you know, is it a situation that he's just
38:10
Speaker 8: not one hundred percent. The other part of the teams
38:13
Speaker 8: understand that, you know, in order to beat Lamar, you
38:17
Speaker 8: have to take away his security blak. There's no there's
38:19
Speaker 8: no question obviously that Mark Andrews is one of the
38:22
Speaker 8: best tight ends of football and that's been a huge
38:24
Speaker 8: part of Lamar's comfortability is having him to throw to.
38:28
Speaker 8: So teams are also taking him away when you watch
38:31
Speaker 8: him of the film, which is smart for them. And
38:33
Speaker 8: then you know, it's obviously turned into a situation that
38:36
Speaker 8: was part of the reason why the passing game was
38:38
Speaker 8: struggling in the first couple of weeks when the Ravens
38:39
Speaker 8: lost a couple of games, because like you said, you know,
38:42
Speaker 8: he's sitting here with six catches on the season. He
38:44
Speaker 8: usually does that in a half, you know, in the
38:46
Speaker 8: normal game, and he had no touchdowns this year, and
38:50
Speaker 8: he doesn't seem to be running the same So I
38:53
Speaker 8: think there is probably something there. I think a lot
38:55
Speaker 8: of it has to do with him being doubled and
38:58
Speaker 8: taken out of the mix right now. And then obviously
39:00
Speaker 8: the last couple of weeks being down you know, er
39:02
Speaker 8: to two, it was it was a big push to
39:05
Speaker 8: try to get this this shit back righted and they
39:07
Speaker 8: really committed to the run game, and then Likely has
39:10
Speaker 8: been a benefactor obviously the first couple of weeks of
39:13
Speaker 8: the season because of the fact that Mark was pretty
39:16
Speaker 8: much taken out the game plan by the defenses, because
39:18
Speaker 8: they were like, if somebody's going to beat this, it's
39:21
Speaker 8: not going to be Andrews, it's not going to be
39:23
Speaker 8: eighty nine. And then you know, Likely stepped up, you know,
39:26
Speaker 8: a couple of weeks, and then now they've been focused
39:29
Speaker 8: on the run. So I think that I think it
39:31
Speaker 8: all opened backed up for him. Obviously for you guys,
39:34
Speaker 8: you hope it's not this week, but I think I
39:36
Speaker 8: think down the road, once you get to that running
39:38
Speaker 8: game and start to play action, I think that you
39:40
Speaker 8: could see. I think you could see the old Mark
39:43
Speaker 8: Andrews re emerged, all right.
39:46
Speaker 1: Thanks to Brad Jackson ED. Here's a quick reminder to
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