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Bengals Booth Podcast: Substitute · Bengals Booth Podcast

0:03
Speaker 1: Happy Thanksgiving everybody.
0:05
Speaker 2: I'm Dan Horde and thanks for downloading The Bengals Booth Podcast.
0:08
Speaker 2: The I'm a substitute for another Guy addition. As the
0:14
Speaker 2: Bengals get ready to face the Pittsburgh Steelers with Jake
0:17
Speaker 2: Browning making his first NFL start at quarterback, coming up,
0:22
Speaker 2: I'll talk to quarterbacks coach Dan Pitcher, who says this
0:25
Speaker 2: is an opportunity for him to show that he's a
0:28
Speaker 2: good coach. Jason mccordy from Good Morning Football joins me
0:32
Speaker 2: to share his thoughts on how the Bengals need to
0:34
Speaker 2: rally around their new QB Logan Wilson discusses his tackle
0:39
Speaker 2: last week that resulted in an injury to Ravens tight
0:42
Speaker 2: end Mark Andrews, and finally, in this week's No The
0:44
Speaker 2: Faux Conversation, we'll hear from Brook Pryor, who covers the
0:48
Speaker 2: Steelers for ESPN. The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to
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Speaker 2: you by pay Corps, proud to be the Bengals official
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1:10
Speaker 1: Of the Bengals.
1:12
Speaker 2: Now here's a quick reminder that you can have the
1:14
Speaker 2: latest edition of this podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet,
1:18
Speaker 2: or computer by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's
1:22
Speaker 2: the greatest thing since Jim Donovan getting a game ball.
1:28
Speaker 2: Jim is the longtime radio voice of the Cleveland Browns
1:31
Speaker 2: and one of my favorite broadcasters in the NFL. When
1:35
Speaker 2: the Browns were really, really bad several years ago, I
1:38
Speaker 2: told Jim that if I was teaching a college course
1:40
Speaker 2: on sportscasting and had to discuss how to call games
1:44
Speaker 2: for a losing team, I'd have him do a guest
1:47
Speaker 2: lecture because he never lost his enthusiasm even when the
1:51
Speaker 2: team was lousy. His broadcasts were exciting and entertaining. This year,
1:57
Speaker 2: Jim had to step away from the booth for a
1:59
Speaker 2: couple of months for cancer treatments, but he returned last week,
2:03
Speaker 2: served as the honorary Dog Pound captain before the game
2:07
Speaker 2: that's the Brown's equivalent of the ruler of the Jungle,
2:09
Speaker 2: and after Cleveland beat Pittsburgh on a last second field goal,
2:13
Speaker 2: he received a game ball from Brown's head coach Kevin Stefanski.
2:18
Speaker 2: It was a classy gesture for a fantastic announcer. Now
2:23
Speaker 2: let's get to the Bengals. As I just mentioned, Cleveland
2:27
Speaker 2: beat Pittsburgh last week and did so with a backup quarterback,
2:31
Speaker 2: rookie Dorian Thompson Robinson. Now Jake Browning will try to
2:36
Speaker 2: do the same thing as he makes his first start
2:39
Speaker 2: since the twenty nineteen Rose Bowl, when his Washington Huskies
2:43
Speaker 2: lost by five to Ohio State. When Jake takes the
2:47
Speaker 2: field this Sunday, it will be his first start in
2:50
Speaker 2: a game that counts in four years, ten months, and
2:54
Speaker 2: twenty five days. Browning is twenty seven years old and
2:58
Speaker 2: has spent the last four years on NFL practice squads,
3:02
Speaker 2: two years with the Vikings and two years with the Bengals.
3:05
Speaker 2: This week, I discussed him and the challenge of going
3:09
Speaker 2: the rest of the year without Joe Burrow with Bengals
3:12
Speaker 2: quarterbacks coach Dan Pitcher. Dan, I think most people have
3:16
Speaker 2: heard of the seven stages of grief, shock, denial, depression,
3:21
Speaker 2: et cetera. I don't mean to be too flippant about it,
3:24
Speaker 2: but the final stage's acceptance. Did the team go through
3:28
Speaker 2: something similar when Joe suffered his injury.
3:31
Speaker 1: I think so.
3:32
Speaker 3: I think we all did, you know, And I think
3:33
Speaker 3: it's kind of happens on an individual level. You know,
3:37
Speaker 3: everybody walked in this building in April with visions of
3:42
Speaker 3: us winning a Super Bowl and Joe Burrow leading us
3:45
Speaker 3: to that, and so I think it's natural you have
3:48
Speaker 3: to process the reality that that's not going to happen
3:52
Speaker 3: this year with Joe leading us, and so that that
3:55
Speaker 3: hurts and you kind of sort through that.
3:59
Speaker 1: We've done that.
3:59
Speaker 3: I know I've done that, and very quickly you had
4:03
Speaker 3: no other choice but to move forward.
4:04
Speaker 2: Did it help it all that the injury happened on
4:06
Speaker 2: a Thursday and he had a few days to process
4:10
Speaker 2: it before practice really kicked back in again on Monday.
4:13
Speaker 3: No matter when that happened, it was going to stink. So,
4:16
Speaker 3: you know, I don't know if helps the right word.
4:18
Speaker 3: I mean it does. Having a little bit extra time
4:22
Speaker 3: to craft the plan around Jake and for Jake to
4:25
Speaker 3: have that mindset of, you know, is my time I
4:28
Speaker 3: got to go? I think that helps a little.
4:31
Speaker 4: Bit for sure.
4:31
Speaker 2: We're visiting with quarterbacks coach Dan Pitcher. Joe shown up
4:34
Speaker 2: for training camp in the best physical condition of his life.
4:38
Speaker 2: Then suffered the calf injury on day two of camp.
4:41
Speaker 2: What kind of season do you think he was going
4:43
Speaker 2: to have if he was healthy.
4:45
Speaker 3: All I can look at is the progression of his
4:47
Speaker 3: career from rookie season to year two where we go
4:52
Speaker 3: to the Super Bowl to strikes that he made last year,
4:54
Speaker 3: and you can't help but assume that it would have
4:56
Speaker 3: continued on that path. And I think as he got
5:00
Speaker 3: healthier and healthier and felt more and more confident moving
5:03
Speaker 3: around out there, we started to see that and so
5:06
Speaker 3: you know, it's a stepback. It's a disappointment, but it's
5:11
Speaker 3: the reality that we have right now. And I know
5:14
Speaker 3: the way he's wired, he's gonna do everything in his
5:16
Speaker 3: power to get right back to that same spot where
5:18
Speaker 3: he was coming in the best shape of his life,
5:20
Speaker 3: and you know, we'll being a shape.
5:22
Speaker 2: Let's turn to your starting quarterback against the Pittsburgh Steelers
5:25
Speaker 2: on Sunday, Jake Browning. You've spent about two and a
5:27
Speaker 2: half years working with him. What are Jake's biggest strengths.
5:32
Speaker 1: You know, Jake is very.
5:34
Speaker 3: Intelligent, he loves football, He sees the game at a
5:37
Speaker 3: very high level, and he's done everything in his power
5:43
Speaker 3: during the course of his time here to earn the
5:46
Speaker 3: respect and the trust of his teammates. And so everybody
5:49
Speaker 3: in this building holds Jake in very high regard and
5:51
Speaker 3: that's an important step to now moving.
5:55
Speaker 1: Into this leadership role. And the next step is you
5:58
Speaker 1: got to be able to play.
5:59
Speaker 3: You know, all that stuff's great and it's important, but
6:01
Speaker 3: you got to be able to play. And Jake can play.
6:03
Speaker 3: Jake hasn't had a lot of opportunity to show that
6:05
Speaker 3: he can play, but we've seen it in practice. We've
6:08
Speaker 3: seen how fast he's able to process and make the
6:12
Speaker 3: right decisions. He's not Jel. There's going to be a difference.
6:15
Speaker 3: We all understand that. Everybody in the world understands that.
6:18
Speaker 3: But he has what it takes to go help us
6:20
Speaker 3: win football games, and that's what we expect.
6:22
Speaker 2: What, if anything, do you think he's gained from spending
6:24
Speaker 2: two and a half years of working with Jill.
6:26
Speaker 3: I think really one of the things I pride myself
6:29
Speaker 3: on is just the environment that we have in that
6:32
Speaker 3: room and together on the field on game day, and
6:35
Speaker 3: the openness that exists there and just being able to
6:38
Speaker 3: talk through things and solve problems on the fly, and
6:41
Speaker 3: I think, just you can't help but getting you know
6:46
Speaker 3: you're gonna get better if you spend time in that environment.
6:49
Speaker 3: In my opinion, that's why I want it to be
6:51
Speaker 3: the way that it is. And he's been there now
6:52
Speaker 3: for two and a half years, and so he's asked
6:54
Speaker 3: a lot of great questions. He's answered a lot of
6:56
Speaker 3: good questions. He's seen us have to overcome the hurdles
7:00
Speaker 3: that pop up every now and then that maybe we're unexpected,
7:02
Speaker 3: and he knows how we communicate, and so all those
7:04
Speaker 3: things should put him in position to have success.
7:06
Speaker 2: We're chatting with the quarterbacks coach Dan Pitcher. People joke
7:10
Speaker 2: that the quarterback who holds the clipboard has the greatest
7:12
Speaker 2: gig in the world. One thing I admire about Jake
7:16
Speaker 2: is that when he was the practice squad quarterback, he
7:19
Speaker 2: wasn't content. He would spend his off seasons working on
7:22
Speaker 2: his mechanics trying to improve his arm strength. Was that
7:26
Speaker 2: noticeable from year to year. Yeah, that's why he's here
7:29
Speaker 2: in the role that he's in. He's a better player
7:32
Speaker 2: than he was when we signed him before the start
7:35
Speaker 2: of the twenty twenty one season, and that's due to
7:38
Speaker 2: his work.
7:39
Speaker 3: And that's not always easy because when you exist in
7:43
Speaker 3: that role, especially when you were the third guy, which
7:45
Speaker 3: he was for a considerable amount of time, the reps
7:49
Speaker 3: are even fewer and further between. So to have that
7:53
Speaker 3: dedication to his craft, to put the effort that he's
7:55
Speaker 3: put in to try to be there as an asset
7:58
Speaker 3: to anyone and everyone. I mean, and this guy spent
8:01
Speaker 3: two years meeting with the defensive backs on Tuesdays, watching
8:04
Speaker 3: the opposing offense and giving them the perspective of the
8:06
Speaker 3: quarterback and what he's looking at and why he's looking
8:08
Speaker 3: at it.
8:08
Speaker 1: So he didn't have to do that.
8:10
Speaker 3: He did it because he's a good teammate and he
8:13
Speaker 3: wants the team to have success. And so those are
8:14
Speaker 3: the things that now is these guys are gonna have
8:17
Speaker 3: to rally around him. That's what's earned.
8:19
Speaker 1: That respect and that trust.
8:21
Speaker 2: His backup is now thirty three year old AJ McCarron.
8:24
Speaker 2: You joined the Bengals in twenty sixteen, the year after
8:27
Speaker 2: he almost led Cincinnati to a playoff win up of
8:30
Speaker 2: the Pittsburgh Steelers. What stands out about Aj at this
8:33
Speaker 2: stage of his career.
8:34
Speaker 3: I've been with AJ now two separate stints, and I
8:39
Speaker 3: believe AJ's and he's a better player now than he
8:42
Speaker 3: was then. He's obviously seen a lot more football. He's
8:46
Speaker 3: in as good as shape, or if not better shape,
8:49
Speaker 3: than he was his first time around here. You know,
8:51
Speaker 3: I think even if you ask him, he would tell
8:52
Speaker 3: you that the knee injury that he suffered in Atlanta
8:55
Speaker 3: in the preseason a few years back now and how
8:59
Speaker 3: he kind of just reframed his whole approach towards rehabbing
9:02
Speaker 3: that and get himself ready has put him in a
9:04
Speaker 3: great spot physically. So Aj has been awesome, really just
9:08
Speaker 3: happy with everything he's brought to the table since he's
9:11
Speaker 3: been here this second time around. And he'll be there
9:13
Speaker 3: to support Jake in that role. And you know, hopefully
9:17
Speaker 3: we don't need him, but if we ever did that,
9:18
Speaker 3: I know he'll be ready to step into play.
9:21
Speaker 2: To be successful. Now without Joe Burrow, Do you need
9:24
Speaker 2: more out of Joe Mixon?
9:25
Speaker 3: I think you need more of everyone, Joe Mixon included.
9:28
Speaker 3: Need more out of the coaching staff, You need more
9:30
Speaker 3: out of the line. It's you know, Joe, Joe is
9:35
Speaker 3: the engine, right and and now the rest of us
9:39
Speaker 3: have to compensate when a part of that engine isn't
9:43
Speaker 3: working like you expected it to work. And so it
9:45
Speaker 3: falls on everybody. And I think the nice thing is
9:47
Speaker 3: when you look around and you feel the energy in
9:49
Speaker 3: this building and you people understand that and they're they're
9:52
Speaker 3: embracing it. You know, you could you can mope around
9:56
Speaker 3: and think, well is me or you look at it
9:58
Speaker 3: as an opportunity and if an opportunity for all of
10:00
Speaker 3: us to show that we're good at what we're doing,
10:02
Speaker 3: it's an opportunity for me to show I'm a good coach.
10:04
Speaker 1: I mean, I know that.
10:05
Speaker 3: That's that's I got to prove that now, you know.
10:08
Speaker 3: And I think I've proved that working with Joe, But
10:11
Speaker 3: you know, Joe's Joe. Joe's gonna do a lot of
10:13
Speaker 3: things that I could never teach him to do. And
10:15
Speaker 3: Jay can do some of that stuff too. But everyone's
10:18
Speaker 3: got to be on top of their game.
10:19
Speaker 2: Let's look at the challenge this week, the Pittsburgh Steelers.
10:22
Speaker 2: The names changed, the results don't. On defense, the number
10:25
Speaker 2: seven in the NFL and fewest points allowed. What is
10:28
Speaker 2: the constant, year after year after year of going up
10:32
Speaker 2: against the Pittsburgh Steelers defense.
10:34
Speaker 3: Just toughness, pass rush, aggressiveness. You know, coach Tomlin has
10:41
Speaker 3: done an incredible job there and it's year after year,
10:44
Speaker 3: and you know, the guys changed now they're they're core guys,
10:48
Speaker 3: you know, TJ. Watt, Cam Hayward, Maker, Fitzpatrick who you know,
10:52
Speaker 3: Whether or not make it plays, we'll find out, but
10:55
Speaker 3: you know, those are just there's some of the guys
10:57
Speaker 3: are the best in the world of what they do,
10:59
Speaker 3: and then they're always able to find and craft complimentary
11:03
Speaker 3: guys to just be the kind of unit that they
11:06
Speaker 3: want to be, which is one that puts a ton
11:08
Speaker 3: of pressure on you. But just number one, the pressure
11:11
Speaker 3: a lot from a scheme standpoint, and then just from
11:14
Speaker 3: how aggressive and physical they play. So you gotta come
11:17
Speaker 3: ready for that.
11:18
Speaker 1: And we know it.
11:18
Speaker 3: I mean, that's part of the It's the gift and
11:21
Speaker 3: the curse of being in division with somebody like you
11:23
Speaker 3: understand who they are and what they want to be
11:25
Speaker 3: and what they're trying to do to you better than
11:27
Speaker 3: other teams do.
11:28
Speaker 1: But you also have to face it twice a year.
11:31
Speaker 1: And so we'll be ready.
11:32
Speaker 2: We'll have a great plan and it's going to be
11:34
Speaker 2: a challenge They've been called blitzberg for a reason over
11:37
Speaker 2: the years. They're fifth in the NFL right now and
11:39
Speaker 2: blitz percentage about thirty seven percent. Is that number going
11:42
Speaker 2: to go up against Jake Browning?
11:45
Speaker 5: Who knows.
11:46
Speaker 3: We're expecting a lot of pressure and it. Pittsburgh, in
11:50
Speaker 3: my opinion, is a team everyone obviously is going to
11:54
Speaker 3: have different tweaks to their opponent, but there's a scale
11:58
Speaker 3: on that right. Some teams are very plan oriented. They're
12:01
Speaker 3: gonna craft what they do on a week to week basis,
12:04
Speaker 3: and they could look very different. Other teams on the
12:06
Speaker 3: other end of that spectrum, are a little bit more
12:07
Speaker 3: in the mold of they're gonna do what they do
12:09
Speaker 3: and yeah, they're gonna have a couple of wrinkles for you.
12:12
Speaker 3: I think Pittsburgh fits more of that style. They're gonna
12:15
Speaker 3: do what they do. They like the pressure. They're gonna
12:16
Speaker 3: pressure us. We're gonna have to be ready for it,
12:19
Speaker 3: and I know Jake will be. I'm bummed about Joe's injury.
12:22
Speaker 3: You're bummed about his injury. Everybody's bummed about his injury.
12:24
Speaker 3: But I can hear a little excitement in your voice
12:27
Speaker 3: about the opportunity that Jake is getting well. You're picking
12:30
Speaker 3: up on something that's there because he deserves it. And
12:35
Speaker 3: like I said before, we're wired a certain way, like
12:38
Speaker 3: you have to view these things as opportunities, otherwise you're
12:41
Speaker 3: never gonna have success because they will come up. It's
12:43
Speaker 3: a constant. It's going to happen no matter what team
12:46
Speaker 3: you work for, how many years you've been in the league.
12:49
Speaker 3: These things will happen, and if you let them derail you,
12:53
Speaker 3: you're never gonna get to where you.
12:54
Speaker 2: Want to go.
12:54
Speaker 3: So we just got to look at it that way,
12:56
Speaker 3: and I'm excited for Jake. Appreciate your time. Best of
12:59
Speaker 3: luck against the Seilers. Jake Browning started fifty three games
13:03
Speaker 3: at Washington and the Huskies went thirty nine and fourteen.
13:07
Speaker 3: In those starts. He led the school to the fourteen
13:10
Speaker 3: College Football Playoff as a sophomore, the Fiesta Bowl as
13:14
Speaker 3: a junior, and the Rose Bowl as a senior. Now
13:18
Speaker 3: time for the national perspective on the loss of Joe
13:21
Speaker 3: Burrow and the Bengals prospects moving forward with Jake Browning.
13:26
Speaker 3: You can see Jason mccordy every weekday morning on Good
13:29
Speaker 3: Morning Football, and you can hear him calling NFL games
13:32
Speaker 3: as an analyst for Westwood One. He was in the
13:36
Speaker 3: booth last Thursday night in Baltimore, and I caught up
13:38
Speaker 3: with him this week. Jason, You've played in the NFL
13:42
Speaker 3: for thirteen years, you were a captain in New England.
13:45
Speaker 3: You've seen it all, and you were in the booth
13:47
Speaker 3: last Thursday when Joe Burrow suffered his wrist injury. What
13:50
Speaker 3: would you say to the Bengals going forward as they
13:52
Speaker 3: prepare to play for the first game without Joe.
13:54
Speaker 4: You don't have the rally around the new quarterback in
13:57
Speaker 4: Jake Browning. And it's obviously always tough when a starter
13:59
Speaker 4: goes down. But then for the Bengals, for fans, if
14:02
Speaker 4: you're an NFL fan, seeing Joe Burrow go down, you
14:05
Speaker 4: just absolutely hate it. He's one of our league superstars.
14:09
Speaker 4: He's a guy that when he's out there in the field,
14:10
Speaker 4: you feel like the team can do anything. So watching
14:13
Speaker 4: him go down and then the way he went down,
14:15
Speaker 4: seeing him on the sideline trying to throw the ball,
14:18
Speaker 4: very tough to see. But I will say Jake Browning
14:20
Speaker 4: comes in the game, comes out of halftime, leads him
14:22
Speaker 4: down there, kicks a field goal. He's a guy that
14:24
Speaker 4: got in the game and he played well for them. Obviously,
14:27
Speaker 4: the game was they were behind and you're asking him
14:29
Speaker 4: to come in and mount a comeback. But I will
14:31
Speaker 4: say he was impressive in the snaps that he did
14:34
Speaker 4: get in the game.
14:35
Speaker 2: It was his first extended opportunity to play in an
14:38
Speaker 2: NFL game. Anything particular stand out while he was in
14:41
Speaker 2: there in the second half.
14:43
Speaker 4: I will say, poise, I think you get into a
14:45
Speaker 4: game in a hostile environment on the roll of the
14:47
Speaker 4: division game and you get an opportunity like that one
14:50
Speaker 4: that you're not expecting. Moving forward for him, it will
14:52
Speaker 4: be different. You'll be preparing all week to be the
14:55
Speaker 4: guy offensive be tailored around you. You go into that
14:58
Speaker 4: game and you're expecting Joe Burrow to continue to play
15:00
Speaker 4: as he's done so and then next thing you know,
15:02
Speaker 4: you're thrown into the fire. And there wasn't any huge mistake,
15:06
Speaker 4: no big interceptions. He got in the game. He led
15:08
Speaker 4: their offensive was poys. I would say that's the biggest
15:11
Speaker 4: thing because you want to see that from a young
15:12
Speaker 4: guy that gets in that hasn't seen much NFL action.
15:15
Speaker 2: We're chatting with Jason mccordy. You played defensive back for
15:18
Speaker 2: more than a decade. The Bengals have a lot of
15:21
Speaker 2: young secondary members right now, Cam Taylor, Britt Dax Hill,
15:26
Speaker 2: DJ Turner, Jordan Battle. What do you think of these
15:29
Speaker 2: guys and what's the toughest thing for them being at
15:32
Speaker 2: this stage of their career.
15:33
Speaker 4: I think it's learning and picking everything up and playing
15:36
Speaker 4: as a cohesive unit. You think about the Bengals and
15:39
Speaker 4: a huge fan of the defensive coordinator, lou Anarroumo, got
15:43
Speaker 4: a chance to talk to him a little bit before
15:44
Speaker 4: the game, and over the past few years you've watched
15:47
Speaker 4: him in the secondary and you've seen Bits and Boon Bell,
15:50
Speaker 4: those guys running it and disguising and moving around and
15:53
Speaker 4: doing all types of different things. And now both of
15:55
Speaker 4: those guys move on in one single season and now
15:58
Speaker 4: you're throwing Dj Turnery, bring me Scot out there. And
16:00
Speaker 4: we saw more of Jordan Battle on Thursday night. So
16:03
Speaker 4: the main thing, especially in lows defense, is getting up
16:06
Speaker 4: to page, being on the same page and their cornerbacks
16:09
Speaker 4: coach there, Charles Burke's I played for in Miami. A
16:12
Speaker 4: tremendous coach in the way he teaches, in a way
16:14
Speaker 4: he just continues to build his guys up and you
16:17
Speaker 4: can see them turning a page. Injury to Cam Taylor
16:20
Speaker 4: Britt was really tough because he's a young guy out
16:22
Speaker 4: there in the year two where he's the lockdown DK,
16:24
Speaker 4: he's been matched up with the other team's best wide
16:27
Speaker 4: receivers and that's one hell of a challenge when you
16:29
Speaker 4: actually due, especially as a young dB.
16:31
Speaker 1: Let's circle back to Joe Burrow.
16:33
Speaker 2: You played with the greatest of all time, Tom Brady
16:35
Speaker 2: and won a Super Bowl ring in New England. What
16:37
Speaker 2: impresses you most about Joe?
16:41
Speaker 4: And I don't know him personally, but from the outside
16:43
Speaker 4: he's just so cool And you say that and it
16:45
Speaker 4: sounds like cliche or something to say about a guy,
16:48
Speaker 4: but whether he was dealing with injuries, whether it's an
16:51
Speaker 4: up or down, when you hear him or see him
16:53
Speaker 4: after a game, or even before a game for that matter,
16:55
Speaker 4: he just always seems calm and confident in himself and
16:59
Speaker 4: the guys around. And that was the one thing for me.
17:02
Speaker 4: I played most of my seasons in Tennessee and one
17:05
Speaker 4: in Cleveland, and we didn't always have a franchise quarterback,
17:08
Speaker 4: and getting a chance to be around Brady, who always
17:11
Speaker 4: stuck out about him was his greatness, was his work ethic,
17:14
Speaker 4: how he prepared, and just the confidence that he exuded
17:16
Speaker 4: when he was out there on the football field. For
17:19
Speaker 4: the guys on offensive us you know, Jamar Chase of Tehiggens,
17:21
Speaker 4: is there any of those guys you always know you
17:23
Speaker 4: have a chance when brows back there quarterback because of
17:26
Speaker 4: his ability. But I think what it does for an
17:28
Speaker 4: entire organization when you're on defense and you're out there,
17:31
Speaker 4: you know, maybe there's three minutes to go, you know, hey,
17:33
Speaker 4: we can get a stop and get the ball back
17:35
Speaker 4: or offensive gun is going to do it. The confidence
17:38
Speaker 4: and the mental that that gives you as a player
17:40
Speaker 4: on that field to believe in somebody in that way
17:43
Speaker 4: because of what they've proven to you that Joe Burrow has,
17:46
Speaker 4: it goes a long way and winning football games.
17:48
Speaker 1: It's been a.
17:48
Speaker 2: Roller coaster ride of a season. Joe's calf injury contributed
17:52
Speaker 2: to a slow start. He got healthy, they won four
17:55
Speaker 2: in a row. Now they've got to go forward without
17:57
Speaker 2: having Joe available. What did you think of the going
18:00
Speaker 2: into the season and is this just life in the NFL?
18:04
Speaker 4: Is definitely life in the NFL And obviously going into
18:07
Speaker 4: the season extremely high hopes for the Bengals, and then,
18:10
Speaker 4: like you just said, Joe goes down with that caf
18:12
Speaker 4: Drey and it's a slow start. And I remember being
18:14
Speaker 4: on the show saying no team has ever gone owing
18:17
Speaker 4: to back to back years and still made the playoffs.
18:20
Speaker 4: And I remember saying that. For a while, I was
18:22
Speaker 4: just like, Oh, my goodness, they're gonna do it because
18:24
Speaker 4: of how hot they got in what Joe Burrow looked like.
18:27
Speaker 4: Now moving forward, you have a new quarterback. You got
18:29
Speaker 4: to figure out a way to get more out of
18:31
Speaker 4: Joe Mixon. He's the guy that when he gets the ball,
18:33
Speaker 4: he seems extremely productive. Their offense was just base more
18:36
Speaker 4: around Joe Burrow with the ball in his hands. I
18:38
Speaker 4: think moving forward, we'll see more of Joe Mixon. You'll
18:41
Speaker 4: see a lot of those plays where they're getting the
18:43
Speaker 4: ball on the outside to whether it's Jamar Chase with
18:45
Speaker 4: blockers in front, and those players kind of gets the
18:48
Speaker 4: ball out of quarterbacks hands quicks and gets the ball
18:50
Speaker 4: in space as well. And it got to Pittsburgh Steelers
18:53
Speaker 4: up next, a division opponent who just lost to a
18:55
Speaker 4: rookie quarterback and Durian Thompson Robinson, so obviously a little
19:00
Speaker 4: right now, but I think they still have a chance
19:02
Speaker 4: with Jake Brown.
19:03
Speaker 2: You played both corner and safety in the NFL. You
19:06
Speaker 2: undoubtedly covered some of the all time great receivers.
19:09
Speaker 1: What do you think of Jamar Chase.
19:12
Speaker 4: Jamar Chase is a guy. I got a chance to
19:13
Speaker 4: see him before the game, and my brother sat down
19:16
Speaker 4: with him, actually before the Sunday night game. And I'll
19:18
Speaker 4: use the phrase my brother said when he first met him.
19:21
Speaker 4: He said, watching you play, I'm very happy I don't
19:23
Speaker 4: play in the NFL anymore. And that would be how
19:25
Speaker 4: our characterized Jamar Chase. He's just unbelievable. His ability on
19:29
Speaker 4: the outside to go get the ball, his route running ability,
19:32
Speaker 4: but then you mix that into just his run after
19:34
Speaker 4: the catch. He's a guy thats just as explosive once
19:37
Speaker 4: the ball is in his hands. And I think what
19:39
Speaker 4: makes him so tough as the weapons that's around him
19:41
Speaker 4: as well. When you have a T. Higgins on the
19:43
Speaker 4: other side, makes it a lot harder to double team.
19:45
Speaker 4: I mean, you saw that than missing Tee those last
19:48
Speaker 4: two games. But Jamar Chase unbelievable talent, the way the
19:52
Speaker 4: way he goes about his business. How productive he's been
19:55
Speaker 4: early on in his career has been fun to watch.
19:57
Speaker 2: So, Jason, as you noted, the Steelers are coming up
19:59
Speaker 2: this week at pay Course Stadium. Pittsburgh is six and four,
20:03
Speaker 2: but twenty eighth in points scored, twenty eighth in total yards.
20:07
Speaker 2: Where do you think of Kenny Pickett in the state
20:09
Speaker 2: of the Steelers offense?
20:11
Speaker 4: They've struggled. Watching the Pittsburgh Steelers is almost like an anomaly.
20:15
Speaker 4: You're watching him and it's just like, there's no way
20:16
Speaker 4: this team has a winning record because to your point,
20:20
Speaker 4: they've been out gained yardage wise, I think in every
20:23
Speaker 4: single game except one, and they've still found a way
20:26
Speaker 4: to have a winning record or right there in the
20:28
Speaker 4: playoff race and if at ended today at the end.
20:30
Speaker 4: But they've struggled mightily on offense, and everybody was killing
20:33
Speaker 4: Matt Canada or cheering fire him in the stadiums, and
20:36
Speaker 4: as the seasons continue to progress, Kenny Pickett is really struggled.
20:40
Speaker 4: And obviously you can criticize play calling and different things.
20:43
Speaker 4: He's missed some throws. Whoever you want to place the
20:46
Speaker 4: blame on, the offense just hasn't been good enough, and
20:49
Speaker 4: Tomlin alluded to that a week ago where he said
20:50
Speaker 4: he needed more out of Kenny Pickett in the offense.
20:54
Speaker 4: This past Sunday against the Cleveland Browns, obviously one of
20:56
Speaker 4: the best defenses in the NFL, they weren't able to
20:59
Speaker 4: do that, and they felt to the Browns ten to thirteen,
21:02
Speaker 4: coming off losing Deshaun Watson. So their team that's right
21:05
Speaker 4: in the contention of playoffs, But to me watching it,
21:08
Speaker 4: if they don't find a way to get more out
21:09
Speaker 4: of the offense, they're gonna end up just a little short.
21:12
Speaker 2: So the Bengals are five and five with seven games
21:15
Speaker 2: to go. If they win this week and they get
21:17
Speaker 2: some help from some other teams, they could climb in
21:20
Speaker 2: the seventh into the seventh and final playoff seed in
21:23
Speaker 2: the AFC with six games to go. Give us a
21:25
Speaker 2: couple of keys for what the Bengals will need to
21:27
Speaker 2: do to beat the Steelers this Sunday.
21:29
Speaker 4: Well, one thing I alluded to is they have to
21:31
Speaker 4: find a way to get Joe Mixon going. I think
21:32
Speaker 4: get in the ground game. It'll obviously slow the game down,
21:35
Speaker 4: It'll allow them to possess the ball for a lot
21:38
Speaker 4: longer I think on the defensive side of the ball.
21:40
Speaker 4: You just talked about the way that Pittsburgh has struggled
21:43
Speaker 4: to put points on the ball on the board and
21:45
Speaker 4: be able to move the ball. If Cam Taylor Britt
21:47
Speaker 4: whatever his health situations are, they're going to need to
21:50
Speaker 4: be able to find a way to continue to slow
21:52
Speaker 4: down that offense. And Jayla Warren, he was unbelievable. He
21:56
Speaker 4: was the one spark club when you watch the Pittsburgh
21:58
Speaker 4: Steelers offense. Getting him on the ground and figuring that
22:02
Speaker 4: out for the Bengals is going to be the number
22:03
Speaker 4: one thing because the last two weeks they really struggled
22:06
Speaker 4: against the run game against Houston and Singletary and then
22:09
Speaker 4: against the Baltimore Ravens who got the run game going
22:12
Speaker 4: big time in the second half. I think that's going
22:14
Speaker 4: to be the key to him. And then for Jake
22:16
Speaker 4: Browning let it loose. I think for a backup quarterback
22:19
Speaker 4: sometimes you go in and you're timid, and obviously Zach
22:21
Speaker 4: tail is going to design the offense to make it
22:23
Speaker 4: a little easier for him. But you prepare for such
22:26
Speaker 4: a long time for an opportunity to be a starter
22:28
Speaker 4: in the NFL, go out there and play confidence and
22:30
Speaker 4: just go out there and let it fly.
22:32
Speaker 2: Good Morning Football is the best sports show on TV,
22:36
Speaker 2: and you are a big reason why, Jason.
22:38
Speaker 1: We really appreciate your time.
22:39
Speaker 4: Thank you, oh anytime. Thanks for having me.
22:43
Speaker 2: The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you by Paid Corps,
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23:00
Speaker 2: is the official healthcare provider.
23:03
Speaker 1: Of the Bengals.
23:04
Speaker 2: Joe Burrow was not the only great player who suffered
23:07
Speaker 2: a season ending injury. Last Thursday, The Ravens lost Pro
23:11
Speaker 2: Bowl tight end Mark Andrews with a broken fibula. Mark
23:15
Speaker 2: was injured when Logan Wilson brought him down with what's
23:18
Speaker 2: known as a hip drop tackle.
23:20
Speaker 1: In a nutshell, it.
23:21
Speaker 2: Involves wrapping your arms around a player then allowing your
23:25
Speaker 2: own body weight to drop to the ground. There are
23:29
Speaker 2: studies that suggests that that results in a higher risk
23:32
Speaker 2: of injury, and the NFL is discussing the possibility of
23:36
Speaker 2: banning that technique from Logan. Wilson's perspective, he was doing
23:40
Speaker 2: whatever he could to prevent a fast, two hundred and
23:43
Speaker 2: forty seven pound tight end from getting into the end zone. Nonetheless,
23:48
Speaker 2: many Baltimore fans and some media members ripped Wilson, suggesting
23:53
Speaker 2: that it was a dirty tackle. When word of that
23:56
Speaker 2: got to Zach Taylor, he made a point of defending
23:59
Speaker 2: Wilson at a news conference, even without being asked about it.
24:03
Speaker 2: Wilson discussed the victory all that he's been subjected to
24:07
Speaker 2: on Wednesday.
24:09
Speaker 6: It is what it is. It's kind of the world
24:10
Speaker 6: we live in right now, and some of it was
24:12
Speaker 6: obviously very unnecessary and coming at me and my family
24:16
Speaker 6: for really for no reason. You know, I wasn't playing
24:19
Speaker 6: the game dirty. I never wished anymore when any player
24:21
Speaker 6: I ever go against, I play the game at a
24:24
Speaker 6: I play my birth part out every game, play.
24:26
Speaker 5: My butt off, and sometimes those injuries happen.
24:28
Speaker 6: It is what it is, But you know I was
24:30
Speaker 6: People would notice that I was one of the first
24:32
Speaker 6: people on a knee when Mark went down, because we
24:34
Speaker 6: never wanted that to happen to their guy, especially of him.
24:37
Speaker 5: He's a good dude. I'd never wish anything.
24:38
Speaker 4: A part of way, But what was it like to me?
24:40
Speaker 4: Zach went out of his way to make sure he
24:42
Speaker 4: spoke up on happening.
24:43
Speaker 6: Yeah, when I saw him say that, that was I
24:46
Speaker 6: really appreciated that. And I think that just speaks volumes
24:48
Speaker 6: of the guy and the coach that he is and
24:50
Speaker 6: why guys loved him so much and loved playing for him,
24:52
Speaker 6: because sometimes coaches would really wouldn't go out of their
24:56
Speaker 6: way because it wasn't like he was asked about it. It
24:57
Speaker 6: was like I think it was at the end of
24:58
Speaker 6: the conference, So he kind of went out of his
25:00
Speaker 6: way to say that, And I think that, like I said,
25:02
Speaker 6: that speaks volumes and that's why I love playing for him.
25:05
Speaker 4: How hard is that?
25:06
Speaker 3: I know there's a lot of conversation about the hip
25:07
Speaker 3: drop and what am I.
25:09
Speaker 4: Look like moving forward? How hard is that is a
25:10
Speaker 4: defender in real time to go.
25:12
Speaker 6: About I honestly wasn't even sure of what a hip
25:15
Speaker 6: drop tackle was prior to that bring being brought to
25:17
Speaker 6: my attention after the game, and so.
25:20
Speaker 5: You know, obviously it's something I guess it's.
25:22
Speaker 6: Something that they're they're looking at doing, but it's it's
25:24
Speaker 6: hard in the position when you're trying to come from
25:26
Speaker 6: behind and trying to just find a way to bring
25:28
Speaker 6: him down. And it's not like it's not like Marc
25:30
Speaker 6: Andre's just a small human, you know what I mean.
25:32
Speaker 6: So you're just trying to find a way to bring
25:34
Speaker 6: the guy down, and unfortunately that's what happened. And like
25:37
Speaker 6: I said, I'd never wished upon him, And obviously whenever
25:40
Speaker 6: whatever they just had to do with the hip drop
25:41
Speaker 6: tackle going forward, we'll have to adjust, but it would
25:44
Speaker 6: make it a lot harder if that's what they decided
25:46
Speaker 6: to do.
25:47
Speaker 2: The Ravens full back Patrick Ricard had this to say
25:50
Speaker 2: about Logan Wilson quote, everybody respects him. I don't think
25:56
Speaker 2: it was intentional or dirty. I think he's a great
25:59
Speaker 2: play I have respect for him and think he plays
26:03
Speaker 2: the right way.
26:05
Speaker 1: Now time for.
26:06
Speaker 2: This week's Know the Faux segment as we take a
26:08
Speaker 2: closer look at the Pittsburgh Steelers, a team that's currently
26:12
Speaker 2: six and four and holding down the seventh and final
26:15
Speaker 2: playoff spot in the AFC. But after a thirteen to
26:18
Speaker 2: ten loss to Cleveland last week, the Steelers made a
26:21
Speaker 2: coaching change, firing offensive coordinator Matt Canada. Running backs coach
26:26
Speaker 2: Eddie Faulkner takes over as OC, but quarterbacks coach Mike
26:30
Speaker 2: Sullivan will be the primary play caller. Brooke Pryor covers
26:34
Speaker 2: the Steelers for ESPN and discuss that and much more
26:38
Speaker 2: on the Bengals Game Plan Show this week with Wayne
26:41
Speaker 2: box Miller and Dave Lapham.
26:44
Speaker 7: Let me tell you, it has been chaotic, to say
26:48
Speaker 7: the least. And my favorite part about all of this
26:52
Speaker 7: is it's such an unprecedented move that the Steelers fired
26:56
Speaker 7: at Canada. They haven't famously have not fired a head
27:00
Speaker 7: coach or a coordinator in season since nineteen forty one.
27:05
Speaker 7: The news came out via the Steelers social media Tuesday morning,
27:10
Speaker 7: and Kenny Pickett was still at home asleep because Tuesday's
27:14
Speaker 7: the only day he can sleep in. And I very
27:17
Speaker 7: deeply relate to that because I too, was kind of
27:21
Speaker 7: dozing that morning until the news came out and suddenly
27:24
Speaker 7: I jumped out of bed and just you know away,
27:26
Speaker 7: I went Brook.
27:28
Speaker 8: Did you have an inkling? You know, there's been rumblings
27:31
Speaker 8: in the last couple of years, no seeker, But was
27:33
Speaker 8: there any inkling that this was imminent?
27:37
Speaker 7: No, there wasn't. I mean, you're right. There have been
27:40
Speaker 7: rumbling from the last couple of years, but most of
27:42
Speaker 7: that has been external noise. It's been from inside the
27:47
Speaker 7: building that this team had confidence in Matt Canada, that
27:50
Speaker 7: they thought that his schemes and his plays would work.
27:54
Speaker 7: It was just taking some time. And the message from
27:57
Speaker 7: the locker room early in the season was this is
27:59
Speaker 7: not a place this is a lack of execution issue.
28:03
Speaker 7: But I think that the way that Kenny Pickett has
28:06
Speaker 7: regressed over the last couple of weeks, he would not
28:09
Speaker 7: have broken or he didn't break one hundred passing yards
28:12
Speaker 7: until the last desperation throw of the loss to the Browns.
28:17
Speaker 7: I think that that was kind of the last straw
28:21
Speaker 7: for the Steelers saying, you know, we've got to kind
28:24
Speaker 7: of choose here between our quarterback and our offensive coordinator.
28:28
Speaker 7: It's a lot easier to move on from a coordinator
28:31
Speaker 7: that's going to be whose contract expires at the end
28:34
Speaker 7: of the season than it is a first round quarterback
28:36
Speaker 7: you drafted less than two years ago. And so I
28:39
Speaker 7: think that that's kind of what put things over the edge,
28:41
Speaker 7: you know, looking.
28:42
Speaker 5: At tape and now after the fact, you know it's like, okay, well,
28:46
Speaker 5: well the body language, I mean Picket's body language, Pickens
28:50
Speaker 5: body language. Najee Harris comes out, you know with what
28:53
Speaker 5: he had to say. I mean, it just looked like
28:56
Speaker 5: it was time. It looked like the frustration level from
28:59
Speaker 5: a player standpoint, and I hit the boiling point. Was
29:01
Speaker 5: that pretty much it?
29:03
Speaker 7: You know? I think so. And I think that it's
29:05
Speaker 7: tough because I think the frustration was pointed in a
29:09
Speaker 7: lot of different directions. Yes, there's absolutely frustration toward Matt
29:12
Speaker 7: Canada because this offense wasn't able to fluidly move the ball,
29:16
Speaker 7: they weren't able to score points. I think there's also
29:19
Speaker 7: some frustration that they were having with themselves for not
29:22
Speaker 7: playing better, and also with Kenny Pickett because he was
29:26
Speaker 7: not on the same page with some of his receivers
29:29
Speaker 7: like Deontay Johnson. He had several overthrows, underthrows. It's just
29:33
Speaker 7: been so off target. And so I think that there
29:35
Speaker 7: were just a lot of bad vibes in general. And
29:38
Speaker 7: I actually talked with Mason Cole the Center about that
29:42
Speaker 7: today and he said, you know, I didn't get the
29:44
Speaker 7: sense that there was necessarily division within the locker room,
29:48
Speaker 7: but a move like this does pull everybody together and
29:52
Speaker 7: it does become in Us against the world kind of thing.
29:56
Speaker 7: And so I think that that's something that can kind
29:59
Speaker 7: of jolt an offense and get them maybe back on
30:03
Speaker 7: some kind of track.
30:04
Speaker 8: You Brooke prior ESPN is our guests in Brooke. If
30:08
Speaker 8: you had to look at one thing maybe that Kenny
30:11
Speaker 8: Pikett needs to improve upon maybe to get this offense
30:15
Speaker 8: in a better place to be more productive. Is there
30:18
Speaker 8: anything that you're looking at or that seems to be
30:21
Speaker 8: something that's challenging him a little bit more than maybe people.
30:24
Speaker 7: Thought, you know, I think to me, his pocket presence
30:27
Speaker 7: and pocket awareness has been really disappointing this season because
30:31
Speaker 7: it was something that was so heavily emphasized in the
30:34
Speaker 7: off season and in training camp. I mean, I look
30:38
Speaker 7: at the way that he responds to pressure. He bails
30:41
Speaker 7: out of the pocket so fast, he gets rid of
30:45
Speaker 7: the ball really fast. And granted, he was playing Cleveland
30:48
Speaker 7: last week in Miles Garrett and we saw on the
30:50
Speaker 7: very first play of the game he got absolutely destroyed.
30:53
Speaker 7: So I don't blame him for being a little gun
30:55
Speaker 7: shy in the pocket there, right, But this offensive line
30:58
Speaker 7: is better than it has been in years past. They
31:01
Speaker 7: are buying pickt time, but he just doesn't have the
31:05
Speaker 7: awareness or the ability to read the field correctly to
31:09
Speaker 7: make the right decisions. And as soon as he starts
31:13
Speaker 7: to get a little antsy, he bails out. Is usually
31:16
Speaker 7: rolling to his left, and he's rolled right into pressure before.
31:19
Speaker 7: That's how he got hurt in Houston. He ran right
31:22
Speaker 7: into the defender. And so I think that that's the
31:25
Speaker 7: biggest thing that I want to see. I want to
31:27
Speaker 7: see just better decisions both in the pocket and when
31:31
Speaker 7: he's making his reads because maybe, you know, he lacks
31:35
Speaker 7: the arm talent to do some of the the you know,
31:38
Speaker 7: deep throws some things that can make quarterbacking really exciting.
31:42
Speaker 7: But something that he can improve on in the you know,
31:45
Speaker 7: immediate is just make better decisions. The play calls are there,
31:49
Speaker 7: he just has got to move through his progressions and
31:51
Speaker 7: decision making more fluidly, you know when I.
31:55
Speaker 5: Hear you say, and it was obvious on tape with
31:58
Speaker 5: the incompletion by a wide margin, how quarterback and receiver
32:03
Speaker 5: aren't on the same page. And it's going to be
32:06
Speaker 5: interesting how this dual coach filling one position. Eddie Faultono,
32:10
Speaker 5: the running back coach, will be game planning, and Mike
32:12
Speaker 5: Sullivan will be the play caller, but he's got the
32:15
Speaker 5: relationship with Pickett. I would think, I remember the legendary
32:19
Speaker 5: Paul Brown. We were struggling one year offensively, and he
32:22
Speaker 5: gets up in front of the offensive team in the meeting.
32:24
Speaker 5: He says, here's our runs this week, and there were three.
32:27
Speaker 5: Here's our passes this week there were five, And he goes, well,
32:31
Speaker 5: we'll run them out of different formations, but damn it,
32:33
Speaker 5: we're going to do these right until you guys can
32:35
Speaker 5: get them right. Then I'll start adding more plays. I
32:38
Speaker 5: would think that maybe Sullivan and Faulkner may melt it down.
32:43
Speaker 5: Maybe maybe there was a little too much on the
32:46
Speaker 5: mind to pick it and you've got to simplify it
32:48
Speaker 5: a little bit, and you know, wrap it over and
32:50
Speaker 5: over and over again, and run it out of different
32:53
Speaker 5: looks and get the ball to Pickens, you know, in
32:57
Speaker 5: a manner where both parties are on the same And
33:01
Speaker 5: I don't think that that's out of the question.
33:04
Speaker 7: Right absolutely. I mean I think they need to run
33:06
Speaker 7: the kiss offense, keep it simple, stupid. Yeah, let's don't
33:10
Speaker 7: over complicate it. We don't need all the jet motion,
33:13
Speaker 7: all of the movement before the SAT just there is
33:16
Speaker 7: a way to do it that is not the way
33:19
Speaker 7: that Matt Canada is running it. Where it was, it
33:21
Speaker 7: was both very predictable and elementary, while also over complicating
33:27
Speaker 7: some things and just trying to have him do too much.
33:30
Speaker 7: And so I think that they really need to run
33:33
Speaker 7: the ball more. That's something that they've shown the last
33:36
Speaker 7: three weeks has gotten significantly better. Jalen Warren is a
33:39
Speaker 7: great back. He's a slippery guy, He's really dynamic. I
33:43
Speaker 7: think that now he Harris, he knows he needs to
33:46
Speaker 7: be better. He's not playing like a first round pick
33:48
Speaker 7: right now. But I think if they can lean on
33:51
Speaker 7: the run game to get things going and open things
33:53
Speaker 7: up shoot, then let's move on to the play action
33:56
Speaker 7: some RPO game because Pikett has proven to be much
34:00
Speaker 7: better when he's throwing out of play action, and for
34:03
Speaker 7: some reason, the Steelers just weren't going to it. So
34:06
Speaker 7: I think if they can do those things, they'll be better.
34:11
Speaker 7: But you're right, it is going to be interesting to
34:13
Speaker 7: see how these kind of shared OC duties end up
34:17
Speaker 7: playing out the rest of the year. But you're right.
34:20
Speaker 7: The relationship between Mike Sullivan and Kenny Pickett has got
34:24
Speaker 7: to be a big factor here in having Sullivan be
34:28
Speaker 7: the voice in Picket's ear on Sundays.
34:30
Speaker 8: Right, Yeah, looking on the defensive side of the ball,
34:33
Speaker 8: is Minca Fitzpatrick close to returning? What's the status or
34:36
Speaker 8: what are you hearing about him?
34:38
Speaker 7: You know, Minka hasn't practiced for several weeks. He seemed
34:43
Speaker 7: like he was close to coming back against Green Bay
34:46
Speaker 7: and then didn't, and he hasn't practiced since then. He
34:50
Speaker 7: didn't practice today, and I think that it's you know,
34:55
Speaker 7: Mike Tomlin wouldn't answer clearly if there had been a
34:59
Speaker 7: setback in this hand amstring injury that he sustained, I
35:02
Speaker 7: mean four weeks ago, it's going on a month ago.
35:05
Speaker 7: But it would seem to suggest that something had happened
35:10
Speaker 7: because they clearly didn't anticipate it taking potentially four games,
35:15
Speaker 7: otherwise they would have put him on IR. I kind
35:19
Speaker 7: of read into the way that Mike Tomlin delivers his
35:21
Speaker 7: press conferences and the way that he the order in
35:24
Speaker 7: which he announces the injuries or details the injuries. Last
35:29
Speaker 7: wing Binko was towards the end of that list, which
35:32
Speaker 7: made me think, Okay, he's an afterthought. He's probably not
35:34
Speaker 7: going to end up being able to play this week.
35:36
Speaker 7: He was the first guy listed in terms of he's
35:40
Speaker 7: fighting to come back. He wants to be available. So
35:43
Speaker 7: I last week I felt like there was maybe a
35:45
Speaker 7: thirty percent chance he plays. This week, I feel like
35:48
Speaker 7: it's fifty to fifty and it's something somebody that they
35:51
Speaker 7: would definitely like to have back. Because they just put
35:53
Speaker 7: Elijah Riley on IR along with Kean O'Neal. It's they
35:57
Speaker 7: are really the cupboard is really bare in the safety group.
36:01
Speaker 5: Boy, it's not bear upfront and it never owns. It
36:04
Speaker 5: seems like with the Pittsburgh Steelers, I mean by Cameron Haywood, TJ. Watt,
36:10
Speaker 5: Alex high Smith, I mean, these guys are all still
36:13
Speaker 5: in others upfront are playing at an exceptionally high level,
36:16
Speaker 5: and it seems like the Pittsburgh Steelers have had that
36:19
Speaker 5: going on defensively for forever. I mean Mike Tomlin and
36:23
Speaker 5: prior to Mike Tomlin. I mean it's amazing how year
36:26
Speaker 5: in and year out, that is a staple that you
36:28
Speaker 5: can always count on. The Pittsburgh Steelers defensive front will
36:32
Speaker 5: be a handful every single snap.
36:35
Speaker 7: Oh absolutely and Keanus Benton, the rookie has played really
36:39
Speaker 7: really well. He was really helped out because he got
36:42
Speaker 7: a lot of playing time early in his career this
36:44
Speaker 7: year when Cam Hayward was out with the groin injury.
36:47
Speaker 7: But I think that one thing to note is that
36:49
Speaker 7: against the Bengals in or against the Browns in the
36:52
Speaker 7: first half, they weren't getting any pressure on Dorian Thompson Robinson,
36:56
Speaker 7: which is concerning. I mean, the Browns have a decent
37:00
Speaker 7: an offensive line. I wouldn't say that it's an you know,
37:03
Speaker 7: I wouldn't say it's a top five unit, but especially
37:07
Speaker 7: playing against a rookie quarterback, I mean, you'd think that
37:09
Speaker 7: they would really just get after the quarterback. And yes,
37:12
Speaker 7: the Browns had a good run game, but at the
37:15
Speaker 7: same time, it was a little bit concerning that they
37:18
Speaker 7: just weren't getting any pressure on him. They did make
37:21
Speaker 7: second half adjustments. TJ. Watt had a much better second half.
37:24
Speaker 7: He had a sack, how to believe, three quarterback hits.
37:27
Speaker 7: But I think that that is an area where they
37:31
Speaker 7: know they have to kind of that's going to be
37:33
Speaker 7: their bread and butter, especially because the inside linebackers are down.
37:38
Speaker 7: Several guys with Coleholsome and Kawan Alexander having season ending injuries,
37:42
Speaker 7: this is now all Aland and Roberts. He played great
37:45
Speaker 7: last week. He had fifteen tackles, and they've also added
37:49
Speaker 7: Michael Walker was brought up. They just signed Miles Jack
37:53
Speaker 7: to the practice squad Blake Martinez to the active roster.
37:56
Speaker 7: So they're trying to fortify that group. But while they
37:58
Speaker 7: figure themselves out, it's got an all start up front.
38:02
Speaker 5: You think Miles Jack will be brought up right away.
38:05
Speaker 5: And I'll tell you what, roberts Man, that dude's a thumper.
38:07
Speaker 5: That guy as a hitter.
38:10
Speaker 7: Yeah, he is a hitter. And I think it was
38:12
Speaker 7: also encouraging for him, like he knows that he can
38:15
Speaker 7: play in coverage, although that has not been one of
38:19
Speaker 7: his strong suits. And he played well in every aspect,
38:23
Speaker 7: every sub package, in coverage, you name it. He did
38:26
Speaker 7: it all last week. And you could tell him in
38:28
Speaker 7: the locker room after a game that you guys know,
38:30
Speaker 7: is a very interesting place, especially after a loss, because
38:34
Speaker 7: the group that's the most responsible for it is really upset.
38:38
Speaker 7: But then you have guys like a Landon Roberts who
38:41
Speaker 7: like he kind of had a spring in his step.
38:43
Speaker 7: He just played a great game. But as far as
38:46
Speaker 7: Miles Jack, I don't think it's going to be right away,
38:49
Speaker 7: especially when considered he was retired. He was telling us
38:53
Speaker 7: today that he was working on getting his pilot's license.
38:56
Speaker 7: He bought a hockey team. He was really surprised to
38:59
Speaker 7: can the call, and he ended last year. My lasting
39:04
Speaker 7: memory of him at the end of the season was
39:07
Speaker 7: he had to sit down in the locker room when
39:09
Speaker 7: he was getting dressed to put on a pair of
39:11
Speaker 7: pants because he was so injured and so banged up.
39:15
Speaker 7: Obviously that's not the case now, but he is a
39:18
Speaker 7: guy that has a lot of wear and tear that
39:20
Speaker 7: they would like him to be able to play. But
39:22
Speaker 7: I think it's going to take a couple of weeks
39:24
Speaker 7: before he's up to speed. This feels like an insurance
39:27
Speaker 7: signing more than anything.
39:28
Speaker 1: Right.
39:29
Speaker 2: The Steelers are a one and a half point favorite
39:32
Speaker 2: on Sunday. Here's an invitation to join Dave Lapham and
39:35
Speaker 2: me for the Bengals pep Rally show this week. We'll
39:38
Speaker 2: be at the Wings and Rings Monroe location from two
39:42
Speaker 2: thirty to five thirty on Friday, and our special guest
39:45
Speaker 2: in the final hour of the show will be rookie
39:48
Speaker 2: safety Jordan Battle. That's going to do it for this
39:51
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