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Bengals Booth Podcast: Because The Night · Bengals Booth Podcast

0:03
Speaker 1: Hi, get everybody on Dan Hoard and thanks for downloading
0:06
Speaker 1: The Bengals Booth Podcast the because the ninth addition has
0:12
Speaker 1: the Bengals return to prime time for the second straight week,
0:15
Speaker 1: looking to knock off the six and three Chargers on
0:18
Speaker 1: Sunday Night Football coming up, Mike Turrico will be in
0:21
Speaker 1: the Booth for NBC and tells us how he views
0:25
Speaker 1: the importance of this game for Cincinnati. I'll talk to
0:28
Speaker 1: cornerbacks coach Chuck Burks about the loss of Dax Hill,
0:31
Speaker 1: the play of Cam Taylor Britt and the challenge of
0:34
Speaker 1: facing Justin Herbert. And we'll get an in depth look
0:37
Speaker 1: at the Chargers from Daniel Popper, who covers the team
0:40
Speaker 1: for the Athletic. The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to
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Speaker 1: you by pay Corps, Proud to be the Bengals official
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Speaker 1: the best fans. Kettering Health is the official health care
1:00
Speaker 1: provider of the Bengals. Now here's a quick reminder that
1:03
Speaker 1: you can have the latest edition of this podcast delivered
1:06
Speaker 1: right to your phone, tablet, or computer by subscribing wherever
1:10
Speaker 1: you get your podcasts. It's the greatest thing since Jay
1:15
Speaker 1: Morrison getting the picture. On Sunday Night, Zach Taylor will
1:20
Speaker 1: coach against Jim Harbaugh for the first time, but it's
1:23
Speaker 1: not the first time they've met. Their initial meeting happened many,
1:28
Speaker 1: many years ago.
1:30
Speaker 2: I went to my first ever NFL game, I think
1:32
Speaker 2: was ninety two Bear Steelers, and I got to go
1:35
Speaker 2: to a Saturday walkthrough and I have a picture with
1:37
Speaker 2: Jim Harbo, me Press Taylor and Jim Harbo ninety two
1:40
Speaker 2: ninety three. I'm not sure which year it was. It
1:42
Speaker 2: was a Steelers at Bear's Bubby Brister versus Jim Harbo,
1:45
Speaker 2: so I'm sure I think they retired Mike Singletary's jersey
1:49
Speaker 2: at the game. I think very shaky memory as a
1:52
Speaker 2: nine year old, ten year old freezing. I remember just
1:56
Speaker 2: being why are we here? I think was a question
1:59
Speaker 2: I posted a bit so Jim wouldn't know that, But
2:03
Speaker 2: but again that's that was the first ever NFL practice
2:06
Speaker 2: and game I ever went to. It had to have
2:07
Speaker 2: been a Saturday walk through because I remember the fridge
2:09
Speaker 2: driving around a golf cart throwing snowballs at people, and
2:12
Speaker 2: we got a picture with Mike Didka and Jim Harball.
2:14
Speaker 2: The two people got pictures with picture. You have it,
2:18
Speaker 2: I don't know where it is. Yeah, uh, all right,
2:22
Speaker 2: I'll continue the story. When I was in Miami, the
2:27
Speaker 2: picture showed up at my house autographed when I was
2:29
Speaker 2: with the Dolphins, and I remember calling my mom saying,
2:31
Speaker 2: why do I have an autographed Jim Harbaugh picture? Which
2:35
Speaker 2: I don't know if he actually autographed it or not.
2:37
Speaker 2: It might have been somebody at the forty nine ers.
2:38
Speaker 2: My grandfather thought that Jim Harbaugh needed to know that
2:42
Speaker 2: the two kids in the picture are now NFL coaches,
2:44
Speaker 2: and so he kept sending it to the forty nine
2:46
Speaker 2: ers and was getting no response, and I'm sure a
2:49
Speaker 2: secretary somebody eventually just signed it and sent it back.
2:52
Speaker 2: And so he shows up on my doorstep in Miami,
2:54
Speaker 2: and I remember call my mom like what are we doing?
2:57
Speaker 2: And she explained the whole situation, which I understoo. My
3:00
Speaker 2: grandfather's very proud and felt like, you know, Jim Harball
3:04
Speaker 2: needed to know, like he hadn't taken a million other
3:07
Speaker 2: pictures with other kids before so the picture exists. I
3:10
Speaker 2: don't know where it is. Is probably my parents' house.
3:12
Speaker 1: Norman like that Sunday, You'll go, that's really cool. You're
3:16
Speaker 1: probably right. Would you like to see the picture? Of
3:21
Speaker 1: course you would like to see the picture. Our pal,
3:23
Speaker 1: Jay Morrison, contacted Zach's mom to get the pick and
3:27
Speaker 1: some additional details about the meeting. Just search for Jay
3:31
Speaker 1: Morrison Sports Illustrated, then scroll down to the story about
3:35
Speaker 1: Zach meeting Jim Harbaugh for the first time in thirty
3:39
Speaker 1: two years. It is outstanding. Now time to look ahead
3:44
Speaker 1: to Sunday Night with Chris Collinsworth's broadcast partner on NBC.
3:50
Speaker 1: For the fourth time this year, the Bengals are in primetime.
3:53
Speaker 1: It's the second time they are on the most watched
3:55
Speaker 1: show on television, Sunday Night Football, And that means my
3:58
Speaker 1: buddy Mike Tarico be in the booth for NBC. Mike,
4:02
Speaker 1: the Bengals are a game out of the final playoff
4:04
Speaker 1: spot in the AFC. How do you plan to frame
4:07
Speaker 1: the importance of this game for Cincinnati when you sign
4:11
Speaker 1: out on Sunday Night.
4:12
Speaker 3: It's not a must, but it is right.
4:15
Speaker 4: It's not a must because there's no mathematical elimination, any
4:19
Speaker 4: of that stuff. The back half of the AFC is
4:22
Speaker 4: not who we thought they were, to quote Denny Green,
4:26
Speaker 4: but the Bengals have let them off the hook.
4:29
Speaker 3: A couple of times here To continue that thought.
4:31
Speaker 4: They had great chances to win a few of these games,
4:34
Speaker 4: and now they're out of chances pretty much. And Dan,
4:37
Speaker 4: I think it's one of those games that all of
4:39
Speaker 4: a sudden, if you get the Chargers to six and
4:42
Speaker 4: four and then you're sitting at five and six. Let's
4:44
Speaker 4: forget the imbalance of the number of games, but now
4:47
Speaker 4: you're looking at the lost column. Go okay, now we're
4:51
Speaker 4: two within two of these guys and have a head
4:53
Speaker 4: to head against them. It just shortens the deck a
4:55
Speaker 4: little bit so mathematically in the big scope of the
4:59
Speaker 4: AC playoff picture, which I guess we'm starting to see
5:02
Speaker 4: on TV now, right, that's how you know it's getting cold.
5:05
Speaker 3: If you live in the Northeast, they are living the North.
5:07
Speaker 4: Rather, the golf courses start to put temporary greens out
5:10
Speaker 4: and play less plentiful, and the playoff picture shows up
5:14
Speaker 4: on TV. You're in that mix. If you get a
5:17
Speaker 4: win in the AFC against one of those other teams
5:20
Speaker 4: in the mix. So I think it's not a must win,
5:23
Speaker 4: but it is for the Bengals.
5:25
Speaker 1: They could easily have two wins over Baltimore. They could
5:27
Speaker 1: easily have a win over Kansas City. How would you
5:30
Speaker 1: describe the Bengals season to date?
5:34
Speaker 4: They're good enough, but they've been disappointing. I mean, the
5:38
Speaker 4: difference is I'd probably say good teams play five or
5:44
Speaker 4: six games in that neighborhood, and the really good ones
5:47
Speaker 4: go five and one, and the okay teams go three, three,
5:52
Speaker 4: two and four. But the teams that aren't good don't
5:55
Speaker 4: win these games. And that's where the Bengals record is
5:58
Speaker 4: right now. And look, Tony one's playing better, I got that,
6:02
Speaker 4: But that one feels like there's one you'll never get back.
6:06
Speaker 3: Right.
6:07
Speaker 4: Sometimes you lose a game, you say, okay, you know what,
6:10
Speaker 4: things will leaven out during the year. That one feels
6:12
Speaker 4: like we're not going to get that game back. There's
6:14
Speaker 4: no makeup for that loss during the season, and now
6:18
Speaker 4: it's it's requiring other people on the team to match
6:23
Speaker 4: the remarkable that have come from the quarterback of the receiver.
6:27
Speaker 4: Burrow and Chase have been truly remarkable. Highlight moments, big
6:32
Speaker 4: plays gotta have it. Everybody in the ballpark knows it's
6:35
Speaker 4: going to him, and he he still ends up opening
6:37
Speaker 4: catching the ball. There have to be other guys, not
6:41
Speaker 4: that everybody's been poor, but other guys have to come
6:44
Speaker 4: up to that level for this team to go on
6:47
Speaker 4: a run that they kind of need. At this point,
6:50
Speaker 4: you're looking at you know, a five and two, a
6:51
Speaker 4: six and one. You need everybody else to be great
6:53
Speaker 4: along with them. I think that's the key to this
6:55
Speaker 4: team right now.
6:56
Speaker 1: Mike, you've been doing NFL games on primetime for about
6:59
Speaker 1: twenty years. Have you seen a better combo than Burrow
7:02
Speaker 1: to Chase.
7:04
Speaker 3: It's a great question.
7:06
Speaker 4: You know, the year of Brady and Moss was ridiculous
7:11
Speaker 4: and the records show it. There are you know, there
7:14
Speaker 4: have been guys along the way at years like this,
7:17
Speaker 4: I mean Kirk Cousins and Justin Jefferson at a couple
7:19
Speaker 4: of months like this. But this is right up there
7:22
Speaker 4: and it's sustained and it's I think Dan. What maybe
7:26
Speaker 4: puts it in a unique place in space is they're
7:31
Speaker 4: both making spectacular plays. The hits that Burrow is taking,
7:36
Speaker 4: the ability to stand in the pocket and deliver on
7:39
Speaker 4: past forty eight and fifty two. We've been beaten up
7:42
Speaker 4: all night. That jumps out to you and Chase on
7:46
Speaker 4: the business and there there is almost nobody. You start
7:49
Speaker 4: going through how good the receiver group is right now
7:52
Speaker 4: in the NFL. I don't think I'd rather a ball
7:55
Speaker 4: be thrown to anybody but Jamar Chase right now. And
7:57
Speaker 4: that's in the Justin Jefferson comversation. We just had him
8:01
Speaker 4: a few weeks ago. I watched all his catches. I
8:03
Speaker 4: watched all the Chase catches from the year earlier today,
8:06
Speaker 4: and you just go, Okay, speed, yes, strong hands, hands, catch,
8:13
Speaker 4: catch on the run, work his way open, physical contact,
8:17
Speaker 4: double teams. It's like every box possible for well the
8:21
Speaker 4: receiver catch against these circumstances, He's checking every single one.
8:26
Speaker 4: And I said it about Joe like his toughness is
8:29
Speaker 4: off the chart, off the charts.
8:30
Speaker 3: He's been so good.
8:31
Speaker 4: So I think it's a long way of saying probably not,
8:35
Speaker 4: but that Brady Maushiere was pretty special. So I don't
8:38
Speaker 4: want to dismiss being a prisoner of the moment right now.
8:41
Speaker 1: You and Chris had the Bengals Giants back in Week six,
8:44
Speaker 1: Cincinnati held New York to seven points in that win.
8:47
Speaker 1: It's their best defensive performance of the year. The Giants
8:50
Speaker 1: offense obviously has something to do with that. But did
8:52
Speaker 1: you see anything that night that makes you think, all right,
8:55
Speaker 1: if the Bengals can do this a little bit better defensively,
8:58
Speaker 1: they've got a chance in the less seven that night.
9:01
Speaker 3: Yes, not as much last week.
9:03
Speaker 4: Cover like the first half last week, they had Lamar Jackson.
9:08
Speaker 3: And the Ravens kind of flummixed a little bit.
9:10
Speaker 4: They had them gasping and grasping for straws, and then
9:15
Speaker 4: all of a sudden, it was like every every pass
9:18
Speaker 4: was accessible and open. They need better corner play, they
9:21
Speaker 4: just do. And I know louis shuffling the deck as
9:24
Speaker 4: much as possible. No, look, the linebackers to take them
9:27
Speaker 4: with everybody with Trey has done up front with eleven sacks.
9:30
Speaker 4: Now that's you can't get better that, especially when there's
9:34
Speaker 4: not an opposite number who's piling up five or six.
9:37
Speaker 4: So Trey is doing it with all the attention on him.
9:41
Speaker 4: So edge rush is there can need some help. That
9:46
Speaker 4: interior push isn't the same as it was. That would help,
9:50
Speaker 4: But the corner places got to be better down the
9:52
Speaker 4: stretch here. And the Chargers are an interesting team because
9:57
Speaker 4: Herbert contest Herbert and Burrow. If the game gets bad,
10:01
Speaker 4: I think we're just stopping at halftime and just let
10:03
Speaker 4: those guys just show off their arms, because it's two
10:06
Speaker 4: of the greatest throwing shows you'll see in the NFL.
10:10
Speaker 4: And there's a ball Herbert threw in a game last
10:12
Speaker 4: year that I still can't believe he completed against Miami.
10:16
Speaker 4: And we've seen Joe do it like I was talking
10:17
Speaker 4: about before, But the Chargers are playing harball. It's just
10:23
Speaker 4: like kind of rough and tumbling. Here comes a defensive
10:26
Speaker 4: line and we've turned into a full back and we're
10:28
Speaker 4: gonna make him into the same kind of piece that
10:30
Speaker 4: Patrick Ricard is in Baltimore. Jim Harbaugh has a way
10:35
Speaker 4: of kind of making a physical, tough team come together.
10:40
Speaker 4: And that was never ever what you said about the Chargers.
10:43
Speaker 4: But in nine games you do because of harball. But
10:46
Speaker 4: this is to your question, your point, like, if Herbert
10:49
Speaker 4: needs to throw, he can throw. And Quentin Johnston has
10:53
Speaker 4: been good, Joshua Palmer was good with injuries a few
10:55
Speaker 4: years ago. He's good, and Lad McConkie has done a
10:58
Speaker 4: very nice job as coming in. So if they need
11:01
Speaker 4: to sit back and throw, they've got the people to
11:04
Speaker 4: do it, and the quarterbacks got the arm to do it,
11:06
Speaker 4: Which means the Bengals corners might not be tested as
11:09
Speaker 4: much as they will against other people, but they better
11:12
Speaker 4: be ready because this can morph into an explosive offense
11:15
Speaker 4: if they so choose.
11:17
Speaker 1: The Chargers are giving up thirteen points a game. Nobody
11:20
Speaker 1: scored twenty on them yet now they haven't faced the
11:24
Speaker 1: top ten scoring offense to this point of the season.
11:27
Speaker 1: Is that the big story Burrow Chase hopefully Higgins versus
11:32
Speaker 1: that great Chargers d.
11:34
Speaker 4: It is in large part, and I think one of
11:37
Speaker 4: the big stories with that is the edge pressure that
11:41
Speaker 4: the Chargers bring. We'll talk about Cincinnati needing other people
11:45
Speaker 4: that come along here.
11:46
Speaker 3: You know the Chargers.
11:47
Speaker 4: You think of, Oh, it's Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack
11:50
Speaker 4: And we've seen those guys are a lot of years.
11:51
Speaker 4: They're both very good and we know what they can
11:53
Speaker 4: do over the years. But all of a sudden, Twoy
11:56
Speaker 4: two Polo two who played for them last year. He's
11:58
Speaker 4: been an effective pass are and Bud Dupree, who most
12:01
Speaker 4: of the people listening and watching this know from the division.
12:05
Speaker 4: He's come in and given them a factor. So when
12:07
Speaker 4: you can roll four guys in there, now you've got something.
12:10
Speaker 4: And I think that's been the basis for a lot
12:12
Speaker 4: of what they've done. The same defensive coordinator that we saw,
12:16
Speaker 4: Jesse Minter, who the Minter family is very well known
12:18
Speaker 4: to the Cincinnati folk from Rick Stays at EC. Jesse's
12:23
Speaker 4: just a it's a solid defense. It's a solid defense
12:26
Speaker 4: with a piece in Derwin James playing what's become I
12:30
Speaker 4: think dan one of the coolest positions in the NFL's
12:33
Speaker 4: slot corner. They are like seven or I wonder who
12:37
Speaker 4: the best slot corner is in the AFC. I mean,
12:39
Speaker 4: you guys see Mike Hilton on a regular basis. We
12:42
Speaker 4: saw Kenny Moore with the Colts. We've seen Taron Johnson
12:45
Speaker 4: with the Bills, we saw Houston and Petrie last week.
12:49
Speaker 4: That position has become populated with some really good players,
12:53
Speaker 4: and they've got one in Derwin James, who they finally
12:56
Speaker 4: I think it found the right role for on this team.
12:59
Speaker 4: So that's a guy who's gonna be nosing around to
13:02
Speaker 4: try to take away any easy throws for Joe.
13:05
Speaker 3: This is a good defense.
13:06
Speaker 4: But like you said, now you step into the deep
13:09
Speaker 4: end against as dynamic and offense as there is in
13:12
Speaker 4: the league throwing the ball. Can you keep them to
13:15
Speaker 4: thirteen fourteen points? If you do that, then then you
13:18
Speaker 4: probably win a football game.
13:19
Speaker 1: Final thing for my buddy, Mike Tarico. You've hosted the Olympics,
13:23
Speaker 1: the Masters, the Kentucky Derby. You're gonna get to call
13:25
Speaker 1: the super Bowl following next season. So you've done it all.
13:30
Speaker 1: But this past Sunday night, you were part of the
13:33
Speaker 1: greatest timed sideline report in the history of television for
13:39
Speaker 1: people that might not have been watching. Can you explain
13:42
Speaker 1: what happened?
13:43
Speaker 4: Oh, it was crazy. Usually the sideline reports. Here's coach
13:48
Speaker 4: X after halftime. Yeah, you know, we went in there.
13:50
Speaker 4: We told them we've got to stop the running. We
13:52
Speaker 4: got establish the run. If we could stop the run
13:53
Speaker 4: and establish the run, I think we can win the game.
13:55
Speaker 4: Thanks very much. Back to you. So Dan Campbell's interview
13:59
Speaker 4: air coming out at halftime, and here's a backstory. Nobody's
14:02
Speaker 4: heard Dan the time before it. Dan Campbell's good TV. Right,
14:06
Speaker 4: you just put a microphone in front of his face.
14:08
Speaker 4: He's good TV, but with forty five seconds, which is
14:11
Speaker 4: long to squeeze in after a kickoff and before the
14:14
Speaker 4: next play. So we're going back and forth with Rob Highland,
14:17
Speaker 4: our producer, and me like how do we do this?
14:20
Speaker 4: And said, hey, I'll get it to you. I'll get
14:21
Speaker 4: it to it as quick as possible. Let it lead
14:23
Speaker 4: into the first play. He's like, yeah, let's do it.
14:25
Speaker 3: That's fun. Good idea. So he was driving that bus
14:28
Speaker 3: and then of course Dan Campbell's answers.
14:30
Speaker 4: We got to come up with some turnovers and five
14:33
Speaker 4: seconds later, boom, there's a turnover. Actually, if I wasn't
14:37
Speaker 4: fast so fast getting to the interview, it would have
14:39
Speaker 4: timed up right to the second, but it was. It
14:42
Speaker 4: was pretty funny, and then kind of set the tone
14:45
Speaker 4: for the whole half. And it's interesting.
14:47
Speaker 3: Every once in a while, I think they have value
14:49
Speaker 3: because I like to.
14:50
Speaker 4: Hear the voice that the guy we're showing for three
14:52
Speaker 4: hours and more and more coaches say things Brian Dable
14:57
Speaker 4: after the first quarter a couple of weeks ago, at
14:59
Speaker 4: least gave him some sub since on what's bothering him
15:01
Speaker 4: and what's the key? Right?
15:03
Speaker 3: So I think they're better than other people do. But
15:06
Speaker 3: that one was the al.
15:07
Speaker 4: Timer, and that's one that will gladly be a part
15:10
Speaker 4: of forever.
15:11
Speaker 1: The game was an all timer, two five picks for
15:14
Speaker 1: the team that won. Maybe we'll see something similarly crazy
15:17
Speaker 1: this Sunday night. Looking forward to seeing you, my friend.
15:20
Speaker 1: Thanks so much for your time.
15:21
Speaker 4: Wait a minute, Wait a minute, wait a minute, before
15:23
Speaker 4: you keep going.
15:24
Speaker 3: You knew I was going to get you on this.
15:26
Speaker 4: Cincinnati, your voice of the Bengals and voice of the Bearcats,
15:29
Speaker 4: Dan Hordes, being honored by our album out of Syracuse
15:33
Speaker 4: with the Marty Glickman Award. Marty Glickman was the early
15:35
Speaker 4: great broadcasters of all time. Look them up. He's a
15:38
Speaker 4: great story. Marty's legacy means a lot to the people
15:41
Speaker 4: in Syracuse. And Dan is being honored for his contributions
15:44
Speaker 4: to this industry with that award, and I just want
15:47
Speaker 4: to say congratulations.
15:49
Speaker 3: No one deserves it more.
15:50
Speaker 4: You know what you mean to me in my career,
15:52
Speaker 4: and we are so thrilled that you are joining our
15:54
Speaker 4: club with this award. Sinceres, congratulations, Cincinnati, you have an
15:58
Speaker 4: all time gym on your hands, the last on a
16:00
Speaker 4: quarter century and I hope you just appreciate him as
16:04
Speaker 4: much as we do, so congrats, Budge.
16:06
Speaker 1: I got to know Mike when I was a junior
16:09
Speaker 1: and he was a freshman at Syracuse, and here's what
16:11
Speaker 1: you need to know about him. Despite truly being one
16:14
Speaker 1: of the best sportscasters in the history of TV and radio,
16:18
Speaker 1: Mike is that guy that never forgets his friends. When
16:22
Speaker 1: he comes to town, He'll reach out to grab breakfast
16:25
Speaker 1: if something significant happens for one of our college buddies.
16:29
Speaker 1: He is the guy that makes sure that everybody else
16:32
Speaker 1: knows about it. I am blessed to have wonderful friends,
16:36
Speaker 1: and Mike Tariko truly is one of the kindest and
16:39
Speaker 1: most generous people I have ever met. Now let's get
16:44
Speaker 1: to my second guest. In my conversation with Mike, he
16:47
Speaker 1: mentioned the need for better cornerback play in order for
16:50
Speaker 1: the Bengals defense to take a big step forward in
16:53
Speaker 1: the final seven games of the season. I discussed that
16:56
Speaker 1: position group this week with cornerbacks coach Chuck Burt. Chuck,
17:02
Speaker 1: let's start with the guy that unfortunately you lost back
17:05
Speaker 1: in Week five to a torn acl Dax Hill. How
17:08
Speaker 1: was he playing when he went down?
17:10
Speaker 5: Yeah, I thought Dax was doing a phenomenal job, especially
17:13
Speaker 5: for somebody making a transition. You know, within a year,
17:16
Speaker 5: he was really playing extremely consistent. The game against the Ravens,
17:22
Speaker 5: he was actually starting at corner and starting at nickel
17:25
Speaker 5: because Mike Mike Hillton was gone and he was on
17:27
Speaker 5: his way to have a good game that week. He was,
17:29
Speaker 5: you know, really playing the best out of all the
17:32
Speaker 5: corners to that point of the season.
17:34
Speaker 6: And that was a tremendous loss.
17:36
Speaker 5: You know, I told Lou that when we lost Dax,
17:40
Speaker 5: we really lost three starting positions. We lost the corner,
17:43
Speaker 5: we lost the nickel, and we lost you know, a
17:47
Speaker 5: tight end cover guy on third down. So that was
17:48
Speaker 5: a tremendous loss for the defense.
17:50
Speaker 1: Outside cover corner is one of the most difficult positions
17:54
Speaker 1: to play. It's why the top ones make more than
17:56
Speaker 1: twenty million dollars a year. Did Dak show you that
17:59
Speaker 1: he had the ability to be one of those guys?
18:03
Speaker 5: And you know, I've never doubted that really since he
18:06
Speaker 5: was drafted. You know, I always believe that that Daks
18:08
Speaker 5: could play outside corner. And you know, when he made
18:11
Speaker 5: that transition, you know, he didn't blink. I didn't blink.
18:13
Speaker 5: I actually felt that we had drafted the first round
18:16
Speaker 5: corner this year, you know, when we made the switch.
18:18
Speaker 5: So I definitely see it from an ability standpoint, But
18:22
Speaker 5: more importantly, Dax has the mental makeup of being able
18:27
Speaker 5: to play that position and critical moment of the game.
18:29
Speaker 6: And what makes these guys elite.
18:31
Speaker 5: Me and me and Jase mccordy is actually having this conversation,
18:34
Speaker 5: is what makes elite corners elite is their elite and
18:37
Speaker 5: third down raider and two minute against their best. That's
18:41
Speaker 5: what makes these guys elite. And you have to have
18:43
Speaker 5: the right temperament for it. You have to have a
18:46
Speaker 5: short memory and be able to have a tremendous belief
18:49
Speaker 5: in yourself throughout the game.
18:50
Speaker 6: And that's what Dax has.
18:51
Speaker 1: We're visiting with cornerbacks coach Chuck Berks Cam Taylor. Britt
18:54
Speaker 1: is twenty five years old. He's in his third NFL season.
18:57
Speaker 1: He wants to be great. Play this year has been inconsistent.
19:02
Speaker 5: What stands out to you, you know, it's just that,
19:05
Speaker 5: you know, it's just that it's it's the inconsistency with
19:08
Speaker 5: the with the details and the day to day things
19:11
Speaker 5: that he knows what to do and he just has
19:14
Speaker 5: to do what he knows on a consistent basis. And
19:18
Speaker 5: me and him had a conversation the other day about
19:20
Speaker 5: what makes a pro. A pro is consistency, being able
19:24
Speaker 5: to go out and play at a high level on
19:27
Speaker 5: a consistent basis, not just for one week, not for
19:29
Speaker 5: two weeks, but throughout the season. Now, they are gonna
19:33
Speaker 5: be games where, you know, those guys on the other
19:35
Speaker 5: side get paid as well. But we just want to
19:38
Speaker 5: make sure, you know, whenever those plays are made, it's
19:41
Speaker 5: not because of us, because they're being great, you know,
19:43
Speaker 5: And that's that's what we're getting to. I don't I
19:45
Speaker 5: don't have a lack of confidence or lack of faith
19:48
Speaker 5: and came to the Bride. I've had him since his
19:50
Speaker 5: rookie year. I know that he wants to be great.
19:53
Speaker 5: I know that it's important to him.
19:54
Speaker 6: I know this team is important to him.
19:56
Speaker 5: And he's fighting through it and it's it's growing pains.
20:00
Speaker 5: Know he's still a young development player in our league
20:02
Speaker 5: and it is hard to do.
20:03
Speaker 6: It's hard to do, but.
20:06
Speaker 5: The great players do the hard things and if that's
20:08
Speaker 5: what he wants to be, we gotta fight through it.
20:10
Speaker 1: He had one of the greatest interceptions ever in Week
20:13
Speaker 1: two against Kansas City, has he gambled for interceptions since?
20:18
Speaker 6: You know, there's.
20:20
Speaker 5: Definitely been y'all wouldn't say a gamble for a particular play.
20:27
Speaker 5: But it's just honing in on your technique and not
20:30
Speaker 5: necessarily wanting to do everything, wanting to do too much,
20:36
Speaker 5: you know, and just honing in on the things that
20:38
Speaker 5: you know to do. And that's what we're just trying
20:41
Speaker 5: to get back to is just those little things. There's
20:44
Speaker 5: the play is not going to come to you. At
20:45
Speaker 5: times when that play doesn't come to you, your technique
20:47
Speaker 5: needs to be great. Your eyes need to be great,
20:49
Speaker 5: your pad little needs to be great because eventually the
20:52
Speaker 5: ball's gonna find you. And if you do that consistently,
20:54
Speaker 5: when the ball shows up, you're gonna be in position.
20:57
Speaker 5: But when you know, as you kind of alluded to,
20:59
Speaker 5: but when you're you know, when you're looking to make
21:00
Speaker 5: a play on every play, that's what's gonna lead to inconsistency.
21:04
Speaker 1: DJ Turner moved back into the starting lineup after Dax's injury.
21:08
Speaker 1: How has he played through ten games?
21:09
Speaker 6: You know, I've been pleased with Dj.
21:11
Speaker 5: Obviously, there's always things we want to get better at
21:13
Speaker 5: but you know, there's a there was a few penalities
21:16
Speaker 5: I believe in the Cleveland game and the Giant game
21:18
Speaker 5: that you know, we we want to get our head
21:21
Speaker 5: around and those penalities obviously could have went the other way,
21:23
Speaker 5: but we want to take it out of the ref's hands.
21:25
Speaker 5: But other than that, I thought DJ covered extremely well
21:28
Speaker 5: this last game versus tough cover you.
21:30
Speaker 6: Know, Zay Flowers.
21:31
Speaker 5: You know, when you assigned somebody against a Flowers one
21:34
Speaker 5: on one, that's you know, that's that's a tough task.
21:37
Speaker 6: And he did it.
21:39
Speaker 5: He finished well, was on third down, and then one
21:40
Speaker 5: of the last plays that we gave up, he was
21:42
Speaker 5: in great position and he was covering them all over
21:44
Speaker 5: the end zone. So I've been pleased with DJ. He's
21:47
Speaker 5: going to continue to get challenged. Both of those guys
21:49
Speaker 5: are going to continue to get challenged. But I'm looking
21:52
Speaker 5: forward to these guys stepping up and you know, really
21:54
Speaker 5: putting us in a better position towards the end of
21:56
Speaker 5: the season.
21:57
Speaker 1: Mike Helton continues to excel at age thirty. What do
22:00
Speaker 1: you admire and respect about Mike Helton?
22:02
Speaker 5: I really admire Mike's leadership, his willingness to challenge the
22:06
Speaker 5: people around him, his willingness to h you know, he
22:09
Speaker 5: has a unique path to you know, where he's at today.
22:13
Speaker 6: And he's been through adversity.
22:14
Speaker 5: He's played on multiple teams, he's played on you know,
22:17
Speaker 5: obviously playing with the Steelers and you know, making a
22:20
Speaker 5: name for himself there. And he's really been a consistent
22:25
Speaker 5: voice to lean on with the younger guys and just
22:27
Speaker 5: telling these guys and reiterating that, look, the season is long.
22:31
Speaker 5: And you know, he may have played poorly or inconsistent
22:34
Speaker 5: in October a little bit in November, but he's been
22:37
Speaker 5: harping on the guys that, look, we still are in it,
22:40
Speaker 5: just like anybody else throughout the league. And I've really
22:42
Speaker 5: admired that, and then it really shows up in his play.
22:45
Speaker 5: I think when you watch Mike play and make plays
22:48
Speaker 5: and you know the energy that he brings, you really
22:51
Speaker 5: see a guy who's been through the ring of the NFL.
22:54
Speaker 5: You see a guy who's had to fight for everything
22:56
Speaker 5: that he has and everybody respects that. So UH love
23:00
Speaker 5: having Mike as a player and being able. It's really
23:02
Speaker 5: an honor to be his coach and he's doing he's
23:06
Speaker 5: doing well.
23:07
Speaker 1: Josh Newton played a season high nineteen snaps against Baltimore.
23:11
Speaker 1: Do you see his role growing?
23:13
Speaker 6: I do?
23:13
Speaker 3: I do.
23:14
Speaker 6: Josh.
23:14
Speaker 5: Josh is another guy who's he's earned his opportunity, and
23:18
Speaker 5: he's relation to this opportunity.
23:19
Speaker 6: He's went out, he's covered well.
23:21
Speaker 5: He covered well versus the Raiders, and he's covered well
23:25
Speaker 5: this past game versus the Ravens, and you know, he's
23:27
Speaker 5: a guy that I want to put him in there
23:29
Speaker 5: a few snaps at outside corner, you know, just to
23:31
Speaker 5: see how he handles that, and really pushed all these
23:35
Speaker 5: guys because you know, at the end of the day,
23:38
Speaker 5: everybody is always competing with themselves, and whoever's getting better
23:42
Speaker 5: and whoever's getting hot, they're gonna play. So I wouldn't
23:46
Speaker 5: say that Josh is far off because he's getting better
23:49
Speaker 5: each each and every day and we're gonna have to
23:51
Speaker 5: depend on him to get to where we're going.
23:53
Speaker 1: A couple more questions for cornerbacks Coach Chuck Burkes, you
23:55
Speaker 1: face the Chargers this week justin Herbert has as much
23:59
Speaker 1: arm talent does any quarterback in the NFL. What's the
24:02
Speaker 1: big challenge for your group as a result.
24:05
Speaker 5: The big challenge for us is simply everybody's open with
24:09
Speaker 5: a guy like Justin Herbert, no matter where he's at
24:12
Speaker 5: on the field, he can get the ball there. He
24:14
Speaker 5: has tremendous arm talent, he has tremendous confidence in his
24:18
Speaker 5: arm talent, and he's gonna make the tough throws. So
24:21
Speaker 5: we have to definitely be on top of the positioning
24:24
Speaker 5: that we are in relation to the receivers. We have
24:27
Speaker 5: to you know, be in great position on our zones.
24:29
Speaker 5: And one thing that I think that he's doing, you know,
24:32
Speaker 5: better this year is he's taking care of the football.
24:35
Speaker 5: And that's a really kudo to you know, Harball, Greg Roman.
24:38
Speaker 5: That they're protecting him with the run game, you know,
24:41
Speaker 5: putting the receivers and advantation's positions with high percentage throws,
24:45
Speaker 5: knowing that this guy can make any throw in the field.
24:47
Speaker 6: But they're.
24:50
Speaker 5: Really making the game more efficient for him, which you know,
24:55
Speaker 5: I know he is excited about, but he's he's talented.
25:00
Speaker 6: Is any quarterback in the NFL.
25:03
Speaker 1: You're four and six with seven to go. You could
25:05
Speaker 1: easily have two wins over Baltimore. You probably should have
25:08
Speaker 1: had a win at Kansas City. Have you ever been
25:11
Speaker 1: in a season like this where at least to this point,
25:13
Speaker 1: it seems like all of those close games are just
25:16
Speaker 1: slipping through your fingers.
25:19
Speaker 5: I wouldn't quite say this kind of season where you
25:23
Speaker 5: know you're in these games and it's like one play away,
25:26
Speaker 5: you know you can ease a lady if you know
25:28
Speaker 5: one player here or one player here, that our season
25:31
Speaker 5: will be a lot differently but different. But I really
25:34
Speaker 5: believe that you know, everything happens for a reason. I
25:37
Speaker 5: think that you know that all of these guys are
25:40
Speaker 5: learning lessons from this, and I think at the end
25:43
Speaker 5: of the day, it comes down to us winning as
25:45
Speaker 5: a team, winning on offense, defense and the kicking game
25:48
Speaker 5: and playing, you know, playing off of each other. And
25:52
Speaker 5: when one side of the ball creates momentum, the other
25:55
Speaker 5: side of the ball needs to continue to maintain that momentum.
25:58
Speaker 5: And I think ultimately the Ravens did that last week.
26:02
Speaker 5: You know, the Ravens created their momentum and they carried
26:05
Speaker 5: the momentum through the fourth quarter and they finished. And
26:08
Speaker 5: that's we can learn a lesson as a team through that,
26:11
Speaker 5: because this is a game of momentum. This game versus
26:14
Speaker 5: the Chargers, at the end of the day will come
26:15
Speaker 5: down to the fourth quarter and what we do in
26:18
Speaker 5: the fourth quarter as a team will dictate the outcome
26:20
Speaker 5: of the game.
26:21
Speaker 1: I always appreciate your time. Best of luck this week, all.
26:23
Speaker 6: Right, thank you.
26:25
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26:42
Speaker 1: the official healthcare provider of the Bengals. If you've listened
26:46
Speaker 1: to our radio postgame shows over the years, you know
26:49
Speaker 1: that after a Bengals win, you can usually hear loud
26:52
Speaker 1: music pumping in the background. Well, last week, after the
26:56
Speaker 1: Chargers beat the Titans, when reporters walked into the locker room,
27:00
Speaker 1: the song they heard playing was Gordon Lightfoot's nineteen seventy
27:05
Speaker 1: six folk song The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. It
27:09
Speaker 1: tells the tragic story of a shipwreck that took the
27:12
Speaker 1: lives of all twenty nine people on board. You know
27:15
Speaker 1: the song The Legend Lives On from the Chippewa on
27:19
Speaker 1: down of the Big Lake. Nicole get Chigumi. It's one
27:24
Speaker 1: of the most unlikely hit songs of all time, and
27:27
Speaker 1: coach Harbaugh has frequently used it over the years to
27:29
Speaker 1: motivate his teams, the message being that they're going to
27:33
Speaker 1: have to try to make it through choppy waters at
27:36
Speaker 1: various times during the year. Well, he used it with
27:39
Speaker 1: the Chargers last week, and whatever he's doing seems to
27:43
Speaker 1: be working. LA is six and three after winning a
27:47
Speaker 1: total of five games last year. Daniel Popper covers the
27:51
Speaker 1: team for the Athletic and he joined Dave Lapham and
27:54
Speaker 1: me this week on the Bengals Game Plan Show. Let's
27:58
Speaker 1: start with the appius head. Oh, Jim Harbaugh. What are
28:01
Speaker 1: some of the biggest things that he's done to turn
28:04
Speaker 1: this Chargers team around?
28:07
Speaker 7: Yeah. I think it starts with sort of the buzzword
28:09
Speaker 7: that everybody uses, which is culture. I think what he's
28:13
Speaker 7: done is really created a level of togetherness, a unity
28:18
Speaker 7: in the locker room that had been missing for this
28:21
Speaker 7: team in recent seasons. And you know, when you have
28:24
Speaker 7: a schedule like the Chargers have had this season, where
28:27
Speaker 7: it's quite a few middling teams on the schedule, you know,
28:31
Speaker 7: if you can get a certain amount of togetherness, a
28:33
Speaker 7: certain amount of unity. You play hard, and you obviously
28:37
Speaker 7: improve the coaching and the preparation and the consistency in that.
28:41
Speaker 3: Phase, you you're gonna get some wins.
28:44
Speaker 7: And so I think that's a big reason why there's
28:45
Speaker 7: six and three. There's a real culture being built here
28:49
Speaker 7: by Jim Harbaugh. Obviously, he's done that everywhere he's been
28:53
Speaker 7: at both the college and pro level.
28:56
Speaker 8: As a former offensive lineman. Let me ask you about
28:59
Speaker 8: the two edge players for the Chargers defensive football team.
29:03
Speaker 8: Khalil Mack only played two snaps battling that groin issue
29:06
Speaker 8: last week, didn't practice today. Joey Bosa on a pits count.
29:11
Speaker 8: He got his seventieth sack. That's that's huge, number two
29:15
Speaker 8: in Charger history now, but he's on a pitch count.
29:18
Speaker 8: What do you forecast for the two edge players in
29:22
Speaker 8: terms of playing time?
29:24
Speaker 7: Yeah, So, Joey Bosa has been dealing with this hit problem,
29:27
Speaker 7: missed several games with it. It was initially a groin strain,
29:31
Speaker 7: it ended up moving into a psiatic nerve, but he's
29:34
Speaker 7: been improving the last few weeks. He played a season
29:37
Speaker 7: high twenty two snaps on Sunday, against the Titans. Obviously
29:41
Speaker 7: got that sack as you mentioned, So I think he's
29:43
Speaker 7: steadily improving, figuring out how to sort of play through
29:46
Speaker 7: the pain and discomfort that he's been dealing with. And
29:49
Speaker 7: I think we'll start to see a version of Joey
29:51
Speaker 7: Bosa closer to his fully healthy self here, you know,
29:54
Speaker 7: starting Sunday and moving forward. Khalil Mack obviously, like you said,
29:58
Speaker 7: was injured. He's been playing at an extremely high level
30:01
Speaker 7: all season. He's been playing at an extremely high level
30:03
Speaker 7: ever since the Charge Is traded for him in twenty
30:05
Speaker 7: twenty two, both as a as a rusher, you know,
30:09
Speaker 7: a pass rusher and in the run, in the run
30:12
Speaker 7: game as a run defender. He's been a very elite player.
30:14
Speaker 7: But they have a lot of depth at the position
30:17
Speaker 7: Tooey twoy Polo Tu who was a second round pick
30:19
Speaker 7: last year. He's playing at a really high level. He
30:22
Speaker 7: brings a level of physicality to the edge as a
30:24
Speaker 7: pass rusher and as a run defender. And then they
30:26
Speaker 7: signed Bud Dupree in free agency. He had a couple
30:29
Speaker 7: of sacks against the Titans on Sunday as well. So
30:33
Speaker 7: we'll see what happens with Clion Mack. He's gonna work
30:35
Speaker 7: through it, see where he's at. But if Clill Mack
30:37
Speaker 7: is still sort of limited, Joey Bosa is still sort
30:39
Speaker 7: of limited. They do have a second line of edge
30:42
Speaker 7: rushers there in Bud Dupree and Tuy two Polo two,
30:45
Speaker 7: who would frankly be starting for quite a number of
30:48
Speaker 7: teams in the NFL.
30:49
Speaker 1: Our guest is Daniel Popper, who covers the Chargers for
30:51
Speaker 1: the Athletic. Let's talk about this defense as a whole.
30:55
Speaker 1: It's been incredible through ten games. They played a couple
30:59
Speaker 1: of good offensive teams Kansas City and Arizona. Most of
31:04
Speaker 1: the teams they've played have been on the lower end
31:07
Speaker 1: of the NFL's offensive statistics. Is that the big story
31:11
Speaker 1: this week, Daniel Burrow, Chase hopefully Higgins against that great Chargers.
31:16
Speaker 7: D Yeah, I know, I just left the locker room
31:19
Speaker 7: about a half hour ago, and I get the sense that,
31:21
Speaker 7: you know, these guys, especially on the back end, really
31:24
Speaker 7: want to prove themselves and what better tests than than
31:27
Speaker 7: this offense, and especially the way that Joe Burrow and
31:29
Speaker 7: Jamar Chains have been playing this season. You know, you know,
31:33
Speaker 7: there is a sense, you know within the locker room
31:35
Speaker 7: that this is sort of a litmus test for this group.
31:38
Speaker 7: As you mentioned, they haven't really played high level offense
31:41
Speaker 7: of this season. You mentioned the Cardinals. I thought that
31:44
Speaker 7: was one of the Chargers' worst defensive performances of the season.
31:48
Speaker 7: They didn't tackle well against James Connor. They let Kyler
31:51
Speaker 7: Murray get outside the pocket and score on a forty
31:53
Speaker 7: four yard scramble touchdown. So when they've had to go
31:57
Speaker 7: up against better offenses, and there's been a few opportunities
31:59
Speaker 7: to season, I think we've seen a different version of
32:02
Speaker 7: the defense. But the way I'm looking at it is,
32:04
Speaker 7: you know, I think Jim Harbaugh has raised the floor.
32:06
Speaker 7: Defensive coordinator Jesse Minter has raised the floor for this unit,
32:09
Speaker 7: which is better coaching, more cohesive coaching. But this is
32:14
Speaker 7: a real test here about what the stealing of this
32:16
Speaker 7: defense can really be. Are they what the statistics say,
32:19
Speaker 7: are they really a top five unit or are they
32:21
Speaker 7: not quite there yet with the talent that they have
32:23
Speaker 7: on the roster. I think that's really the question that
32:25
Speaker 7: we're going to see answered on Sunday against the Bengals.
32:28
Speaker 8: For the Chargers, jesse Minner, the defensive coordinator it seems
32:34
Speaker 8: like he's got an allergy with regard to explosives. I
32:39
Speaker 8: mean he's not going to give any up. I mean
32:41
Speaker 8: he keeps everything inside and in front of him. Defensively,
32:46
Speaker 8: you know, it's like, try to make the offense take
32:49
Speaker 8: multiple snaps, you know, ten twelve play drives increase the
32:53
Speaker 8: chance for mistakes. If you can execute for that long
32:56
Speaker 8: a timeframe, you know, God bless you, We're going to
32:58
Speaker 8: make a play at some point in time. They're playing
33:02
Speaker 8: very fast. It looks like in very free and very
33:06
Speaker 8: very confidently. Is that pretty much the case. He doesn't
33:10
Speaker 8: over complicate anything. It seems to be fairly simple concepts.
33:15
Speaker 7: Yeah, you're seeing it exactly right. I think talking to
33:18
Speaker 7: players starting in training camp and then through the season,
33:22
Speaker 7: the big thing that guys have talked about is that
33:24
Speaker 7: jesse Minter has really simplified things. Now they do a
33:27
Speaker 7: lot of disguise, there's a lot of posts, snap rotations.
33:30
Speaker 7: But I think the big thing with jesse Minter is
33:32
Speaker 7: that he's going at the speed at which his guys
33:34
Speaker 7: can can execute the defense. He's not trying to do
33:38
Speaker 7: complex stuff in the name of complexity. He wants his
33:41
Speaker 7: players to be able to play fast, and I think
33:44
Speaker 7: that's what you see in the field. You see a
33:45
Speaker 7: level of physicality, You see how fast these guys are playing.
33:48
Speaker 7: You see a lack of coverage bus. Now, there was
33:51
Speaker 7: one on Sunday against the Titans that was probably their
33:54
Speaker 7: worst coverage bus of the season where it looked like
33:56
Speaker 7: where they were trying to rotate to a Cover two
33:58
Speaker 7: look and there wasn't a safety to that side of
34:00
Speaker 7: the field. But those have been few and far between.
34:03
Speaker 7: I think you just have a scheme and a system
34:05
Speaker 7: where the players really understand the ins and outs of it,
34:08
Speaker 7: and the way that jesse Mentor has explained it is
34:11
Speaker 7: when he simplified things in that way, then your players
34:13
Speaker 7: can be can become problem solvers on the field. I
34:17
Speaker 7: think that's what you're seeing. It's there's a level of
34:21
Speaker 7: connectivity with the defense that just wasn't there under the
34:24
Speaker 7: previous regime. He has these guys playing fast, and I
34:27
Speaker 7: think they're able to limit mistakes because they really understand
34:30
Speaker 7: it because he's not making it more complex than it
34:32
Speaker 7: has to be.
34:33
Speaker 1: Daniel, the Chargers let Tenan Allen and Mike Williams go
34:36
Speaker 1: after last year. I think a lot of people wondered
34:38
Speaker 1: how good would the weapons be for Justin Herbert. Well,
34:42
Speaker 1: they've got a rookie wide receiver, h Luke McCaskey or McConkie,
34:46
Speaker 1: rather Ladd McConkie. Excuse me, who's played well? He's their
34:48
Speaker 1: leading receiver, got a former first round draft pick in
34:51
Speaker 1: Quenton Johnston. How good is McConkie, How good is the group?
34:56
Speaker 7: Yeah? I think Ladd McConkie is a real, really good
35:00
Speaker 7: route runner. Now. The way they use him is a
35:03
Speaker 7: lot in the slot, a lot of option routes, whip routes,
35:07
Speaker 7: and he's very shifty. He has a really good understanding
35:10
Speaker 7: of leverages. He can beat don't coverage, he can beat
35:13
Speaker 7: man coverage, and he's really been a depth at operating
35:16
Speaker 7: over the middle of the field. And I think his
35:18
Speaker 7: knowledge and his ability to field defenders is a big
35:21
Speaker 7: reason why Justin Herbert trust him, particularly in third down situation.
35:25
Speaker 7: So he's a real dynamic player. You know, against the
35:28
Speaker 7: Saints in Week eight, he was able to get down
35:31
Speaker 7: the field on the slot fade and actually attack vertically.
35:34
Speaker 7: He has the speed to do that. He's a four
35:36
Speaker 7: to three to nine guy. We haven't seen a ton
35:39
Speaker 7: of it. But you know, that's another thing that he's
35:41
Speaker 7: potentially adding to his game sphere as he moves through
35:44
Speaker 7: his rookie season, is potentially being able to attack vertically.
35:48
Speaker 7: You know, Quinn Johnson has really developed. I think the
35:51
Speaker 7: coaching staff deserves a ton of credit here, starting with
35:54
Speaker 7: Jim Harbaugh, but especially wide receivers coach Sanjay Law, who
35:57
Speaker 7: came over from Seattle where he worked with a good
36:01
Speaker 7: group of receivers there and with the Seahawks, and he's
36:05
Speaker 7: really gotten a ton out of Quinton Johnson. He looks
36:08
Speaker 7: like a completely different player. His route running has really improved,
36:11
Speaker 7: his hands have improved, how deceptive he is when facing cornerbacks,
36:16
Speaker 7: is setting them up, all of that has really improved,
36:18
Speaker 7: and he's really become a legitimate weapon now. The other
36:21
Speaker 7: guy to keep an eye on his DJ Shark. He's
36:24
Speaker 7: only played one stat ball season. He was on IR.
36:27
Speaker 7: Last week was his first week he was active in
36:29
Speaker 7: a game. They haven't really used him that much, but
36:32
Speaker 7: obviously he's an experienced player and he could be a
36:35
Speaker 7: factor here. So I think, like it's not an elite group,
36:39
Speaker 7: but they have enough to get the job done. And
36:43
Speaker 7: obviously they have a quarterback in Justin Herbert, who's going
36:45
Speaker 7: to elevate the receiver? And I think that was the
36:47
Speaker 7: vision going into it, and I think we're seeing that
36:48
Speaker 7: materialize with how some of these guys are playing right now.
36:51
Speaker 8: Not just a quarterback that's elevating receivers, but I mean
36:54
Speaker 8: a guy that's taking care of the football man one
36:56
Speaker 8: interception all year Long's he's pubbled at four times but
37:01
Speaker 8: only lost one. And the knock on him, he was
37:04
Speaker 8: a little bit of a turnover machine. I mean he
37:05
Speaker 8: would average, like, you know, ten giveaways a season. Now
37:09
Speaker 8: with Harrorball, he's got seven straight starts now without an interception.
37:12
Speaker 8: That's the longest streak in the National Football League and
37:15
Speaker 8: it's a Charger record. I mean, how big is that
37:18
Speaker 8: fall security is that Herbert's showing.
37:22
Speaker 7: Yeah, it's absolutely massive. And I think over the course
37:25
Speaker 7: of his career, Justin Herbert has been very good at
37:29
Speaker 7: avoiding turnovers. Some of those higher interception seasons, there were
37:32
Speaker 7: some slooky stuff that happened with deflected passes and wrong
37:36
Speaker 7: routes run and that sort of stuff. I think overall,
37:39
Speaker 7: he's been very good at protecting football. He's been very
37:41
Speaker 7: good at avoiding sacks and avoiding negative plays. I think
37:44
Speaker 7: it's been one of the best parts of his game
37:46
Speaker 7: through his career. But that has been a point of emphasis.
37:48
Speaker 7: I mean, Jim Harbaugh, when I asked him about the
37:50
Speaker 7: identity of the offense a couple of weeks ago, you know,
37:53
Speaker 7: the third thing he mentioned was protecting the football. So
37:55
Speaker 7: they've made it a big point of emphasis, and I
37:58
Speaker 7: think Justin Herbert explain well when he said, like the
38:02
Speaker 7: statement is that you know, sacs aren't the worst thing
38:04
Speaker 7: in the world. Turnovers are the worst thing in the world.
38:07
Speaker 7: And so what I think we've seen this season is
38:09
Speaker 7: maybe he's been a bit more willing to take a
38:12
Speaker 7: sack here or there as opposed to trying to make
38:14
Speaker 7: some sort of heroic play. And obviously in a lot
38:16
Speaker 7: of those situations when you're escaping pressure, you're outside the pocket,
38:20
Speaker 7: and you're in those types of situations, that's and you're
38:22
Speaker 7: throwing late in the down, that's where times where where
38:25
Speaker 7: fluky things can happen, you get deflected passes, you can
38:27
Speaker 7: make a poor decision. So they've emphasized it, and I
38:30
Speaker 7: think Justin Herbert has really done a great job of
38:33
Speaker 7: executing that. Taking facts when that is the better alternative,
38:37
Speaker 7: not throwing late over the middle, and really being smart
38:41
Speaker 7: about where he puts the football in certain situations, especially
38:45
Speaker 7: when he's throwing into single coverage, putting the ball into
38:48
Speaker 7: windows where it's either his guy makes a play or
38:51
Speaker 7: it's it's incomplete. And obviously like his talent allows him
38:55
Speaker 7: to do that because he's so accurate. But that's been
38:57
Speaker 7: a huge part of their ability to build these leads
39:00
Speaker 7: and games and really avoid having those catastrophic negative plays offensively.
39:05
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