Latest / SCARLET ORANGE BROWN / How Ohio State Dominated Michigan, Why Burrow Changes Bengals Chances, And What The Browns Must Fix

Transcript

How Ohio State Dominated Michigan, Why Burrow Changes Bengals Chances, And What The Browns Must Fix · SCARLET ORANGE BROWN

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: Today on the SLB Scarlet, Orange, and Brown podcast.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Scarlet, Orange, and Brown Podcast, the show that brings you the best of Ohio football every single week.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: From the Ohio State Buckeyees to the Cincinnati Bengals to the Cleveland Browns, we've got every inch of the Buckeye State covered.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: Insight, action, and plenty of bold opinion.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: Because here it's all football, all Ohio, all the time.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: Here's your hosts coming to you live from the Dublin bubble, Chris Husman and Ken Carpenter.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_01: Hello and welcome again to the SOB Scarlet, Orange, and Brown podcast.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_01: I'm Ken Carpenter.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_02: I'm Chris Usman.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_01: And it's a good day to be a Buckeye fan.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_01: The Buckeyes with a complete dominant 27-9 win over a team up north.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_01: Up next, the Big Ten Championship against Kirk Cignetti and the Indiana Hoosiers.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_02: Google them.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_02: Google them, Kenny.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_01: There you go.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_01: And I called it last week.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_01: The return of Joe Burrow was gonna be enough.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_01: And it was 32-14 W over the Ravens.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_01: But it doesn't get any easier.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_01: Up next, the Buffalo Bills.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_01: And finally, your Cleveland Browns.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_01: 26-8.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_01: Beat down by the San Francisco 49ers.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_01: Good news is they got a shot this week.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_01: The Tennessee Titans.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_01: What was your take on the weekend?
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_02: Well, it was uh like I said, I uh the weekend started off uh the week started off great with a Thursday night win uh with the Bengals.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_02: And um, you know, I think you called it, you were dead on on that, Kenny, with Burrow coming back and uh then to top it all off with um uh the Buckeyes total dismantling of that team up north.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_02: And um, yeah, I couldn't have been happier.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_02: I wish uh we could have got a trifecta there because I called the Browns beating um 49ers and they just couldn't get it going.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_01: No, no, not at all.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_01: But you know, we talk Ohio State and uh and what happened there up north, uh to me it came down to two simple things.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_01: Defense was dominant, and uh to me the offensive line was the key.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, there's gonna be a lot of uh people out there.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think they realize it.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_01: I mean Saiyan's just that good.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_01: But when you're able to just stand back there and nobody even touch it to throw to the guys that he has to throw to, he went 19 for 26, 233, three TDs, one pick.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_01: I gotta admit though, that first early pick, I thought, here we go again.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_01: I cannot believe that this is happening.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_01: But he kind of just jogged off the field leg it was no big deal, and that's kind of how the whole team handled it.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I uh you know, I think you're on to something.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_02: I think it was uh definitely uh one of um, you know, we asserted our physical dominance um over Michigan, and it took us a while, you know, after that first quarter, you know, I did, I think we outscored them 27 to 27 to 3, I think, for the rest of the game.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_02: Uh we figured things out.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_02: Matt Patricia made some adjustments.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_02: Uh they were running over the left side of their line, attacking the right side of our defensive line with a couple traps and counters.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_02: And um to me, it was all about Bo Jackson.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_02: Uh the emergence of that run game.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, he put the basically Bo Jackson put the nation on on point and and on notice.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, 22 rushes, 117 yards.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_02: He had four receptions for 49.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_02: You know, he was running at a 5.3 yard per carry clip.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, for the season, that brings him only 48 yards to get a thousand uh on 151 attempts.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_02: So I think the emergence of that running game um basically told us that the you know Michigan's game plan defensively with Wink Martindale was to go out and stop the run or the pass with Smith and Tate.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_02: And um that left gaping holes.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_02: And it just, like you said, Kenny, it gave Saiyan all kinds of time back there uh just to sit back and throw.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_02: Um I think you're on to something there when you said the defense um you know is the standard basically in college football today.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_02: Um they've only allowed 92 points, um, including nine to UM.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_02: Uh it's a 7.7 point per game clip.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_02: Uh Matt Patricia, again, is just a magician.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, and that's after losing.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_02: I don't think people understand this, Kenny, but we lost eight starters on defense to the NFL last year.
• 6:03
  unknown: Yeah.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, the the the throwing game, uh, to me, and like you said, I mean, it was dominant.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_02: He had all day back there.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_02: You know, Tate caught five for 82, and Smith caught three for 40, and Ennis had a touchdown, and you know, Claire was all over the place.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but I think the important thing was Day ended that UM Jenks.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and now we can just sit back and aim for a repeat of the national championship.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_01: And I, you know, the the thing is the guy that we probably haven't talked about all season long was tight end uh Casimeric.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you transfer.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_01: I saw some highlights where he was just throwing guys around, he's making catches, and his blocks were just critical to their success.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, I I'm one of those people, I don't know why, I that's just how I've been over the years.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_01: I like to listen to what the the national whoever's covering that game has to say.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_01: And if you were to play a drinking game before during that Ohio State game and you had a shot in this hand that said Matt Patricia, and a shot in this hand that said Wink Martindale, you would have been drunk because that's all they did is talk about Wink Martindale.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it it was, and you know, it's just something that you know since he got there from Baltimore, you know, he was supposedly the reason why Michigan uh has had the success that they've had against us the last four or five years.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_02: But um there were some other things, Kenny, in that in that game that really, you know, kind of you know, made you think.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_02: And it was, you know, the headphones and the commun uh the comms went down.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_02: You know, they showed a uh a semi-fight breakout over there uh behind the um uh high state sideline with uh communication guys from Michigan.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_02: Um but here's the thing, uh and I didn't find this out until later, but Day had a backup plan because he kind of knew you know something might happen, and he had a backup plan uh for everything that they threw at him.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_02: He, you know, I mean, how sad is that when you have to have a backup plan about communications um in 2025 in a Big Ten conference?
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, it shouldn't it shouldn't happen.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_01: And the referees did nothing to take away the comms from Michigan.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_02: Not only that, uh, you know, the game was weird because it started out the way it did, you know, six to nothing, but the first play of the game, their their starting running back went down with a shoulder stinger.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, you could tell, I mean, he wasn't the same.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_02: And then uh the physicality of Ohio State, I mean, their players were going down left and right, and they didn't like getting pushed around, and then all you know, and it came down to the end zone there where um you know I thought the ball went over the goal line, nobody replayed it, and you know, we ended up uh going for it and not getting any of it.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_02: But um, you know, the guy headbutted the referee.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, everything that I hear, you know, and have seen, I mean, you make contact with an official like that in such an egregious form.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, that's an automatic ejection.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_02: And then, you know, we Smith went over the goal line and you know, semi-bobbled the ball a little bit and they replayed it, and I mean, I think I counted 17 minutes in between plays.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, it was just like, okay, well, you're gonna review this and dissect it to the nth degree.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_02: Now it went our way, thank goodness, but you know, you're gonna dissect that play uh to the nth degree, and then all of a sudden you're not gonna review the one that we scored, you know, prior that I thought we scored on at the goal line where we broke the plane.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_02: So, you know, the whole flag planting thing, too.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, you know, it sounds to me like they had a they had a plan for losing.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_02: We're not gonna let them plant the flag.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_02: They had a whole you know group there.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_02: You saw the interchange interchange between Sharon Moore and Day.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_02: Hey, we're not here to do any of that stuff, you know.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_02: And um, you know, our guys were celebrating with our fans and you know, doing what they were supposed to do.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_02: And meanwhile, you know, somebody took a picture of you know all those Michigan players standing at the uh middle of the field while we're celebrating with our with our guys.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_02: To me, that was just fitting.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_02: I heard there was um they were wanting to fight in the locker room because for some reason at Michigan you only have one hallway that leads in and out of the locker rooms, and they still haven't figured it out in 2025.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, it it was just there was a lot of things there that was just weird.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, I totally agree.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_01: And and you know, the thing is, is there were several interactions where Ohio State guys were walking either onto the field through the tunnel or off before the game, and guys were bumping them with shoulders and everything.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, give it up to Brian Day and his team.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_01: They they didn't respond.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_01: They played with they played it with class.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_01: They just uh took care of business.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, here's the thing in this world of NIL that we live in, they paid they flipped Bryce Underwood from LSU and he went eight for eighteen with sixty-three yards.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_01: Michigan had a total of one sixty-three.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_01: But I I'm no quarterback guru by no means, but every ball he throws, he throws like he's trying to throw you know, throw it through a wall.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_01: There's zero touch.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_01: And I I just don't I just don't think that's it, that's an answer.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, you just see running backs turn around and look, and it's supposed to be a little flip to him, and it's like a hundred mile an hour fastball going by, and that's how Igbanoson ended up getting the uh interception.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_01: He almost had to because the ball practically went through his his shirt.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and and I agree with you, and and you know, do I think Bryce Underwood's gonna be great uh quarterback?
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I really do.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but uh, you know, I think the last true freshman uh to win the game uh was Terrell Pryor.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_02: Back in the day.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_02: And um, you know, I think he'll be there, but uh, you know, people forget we still we still got Julian Saying uh for two more years.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_02: And um, you know, so you know, I I I think we put that whole Michigan thing behind us, to be honest with you.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_02: We we outclassed them, we outphysicled them.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, we we did what we needed to do uh for that game.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, just looking at the schedules for next year, Kenny, I mean, I don't even know if we played Michigan on the last game of the year, uh, to be honest with you.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_02: So, and um, you know, we have a very challenging schedule next year, as so does Michigan.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_02: Um but um, you know, it's gonna be one of those things.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I don't think we have to worry about Penn State as much anymore as we used to.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_02: Now it's Indiana.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_02: So, you know, um we got Heartline leaving, uh going to uh South Florida.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_02: Um you know, that'll that'll definitely, I think, hurt us when it comes to wide receiver recruiting.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_02: But we did secure Chris Henry Jr.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_02: Um coming in.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_02: He there was a little debate about him going to Oregon at the end of the uh in the past couple weeks here, but he stayed true and went to Ohio State.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_02: Um we flipped a kid from Olin Tangy Orange, a local school here, uh safety that was going to Clemson, and now he's coming in.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_02: So, yeah, I mean things are looking up for the Buckeyes.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_02: Uh they always have, and I think Ryan Day's doing it the right way.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_01: Well, let's let's just keep moving forward here with the Buckeyes and Big Ten Championship.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_01: High State's a four and a half point favorite.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um they're uh basically the games for the number one seed in the college football playoffs, in my opinion.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_01: Top two defenses in the country.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um the common opponents they've have allowed 50 points each team.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_01: Games in my opinion, it's gonna come down to simple.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_01: Shutting down Mendoza on the passing game.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_01: If he doesn't have a great game passing, I think the Buckeyes should be fine.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_02: Well, and Signati's not he I mean Signati's a good coach.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, he that you know he sees what we see.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, you know, I I guarantee you that they're gonna go after Iggy uh a corner.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_02: Um they're gonna try to get tons of pass interferences, you know, uh calls on him uh as well.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_02: Um if we can stop Mendoza from running uh and continue to spy just like we did um uh Underwood, um, you know, we'll be fine.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I think Michigan at one point had negative eight yards in the second half, and that was late in the fourth quarter.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_02: I mean uh that's tough to win a football game.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_02: And I have them, yeah, I have Ohio State winning this game 34 to 20.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_02: Um and I I just think you know their offense is decent.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_02: They I think they will score, you know, a touchdown, um, you know, maybe get a bunch of field goals in there.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, but um yeah, I mean, I I just think we have way too many weapons uh for them to cover.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_02: And um the thing I don't like about it is it's in an Indian Indianapolis.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but the thing I do like about it, it's inside on turf.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_02: Um we're pretty healthy at this point.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_02: Um I can't say that about Indiana.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_02: Um but uh you know I like I like our chances.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_02: I I just love where we're sitting right now.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, definitely.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, staying with that pick and the score there, you know, I like the buck guys to uh to win on 28-17, but let's just stay with the uh the power conferencers.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_01: Uh the Big 12 conference, number four Texas Tech plays number 11 BYU.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_01: What do you got for a score there?
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_01: And who do you have winning that one?
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_02: Well, I I I have B I have BYU in a spread.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_02: Um BYU's tough.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, you know, their coach just stayed.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_02: So that's a big jolt in the arm.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, he wasn't uh I know Penn State was trying to pluck him, um, and he ended up staying.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I know the CEO of Crumble Cookies is out there and he threw a bunch of money in IL-wise and things like that um, you know, to them to make sure that they were, you know, he was happy where he was at.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_02: But um he's a good coach.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, Texas Tech, I mean, they're you know, again, they're run and gun uh type offense.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_02: So if you can be, if you're if you can have a good disciplined defense, um, you know, I think that's gonna be a close game, to be honest with you.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, I uh I think Texas Texas is gonna end up winning the game.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_01: You know, they had a former player who became a landman, I believe, and just said, I got billions of dollars, let's go out and buy the best team we can get, and it's paid off for them.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_01: Moving on to the SEC.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_01: Your typical SEC championship.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_01: Georgia versus Alabama.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_01: Georgia's number three, and Alabama's number nine.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_01: Who do you got there?
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I think it's gonna be tough for Alabama to beat Georgia twice.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_02: I think it's gonna be tough for Georgia to lose to the same team twice in one year.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_02: Um, Georgia's a good team, you know.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_02: Um I think you know, we're on a collision course with Georgia at some point uh in the college football playoffs, but um man, that's just gonna be it's it's a that's gonna be an epic battle um right there.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_02: I do like Georgia in this game, not by much.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, Kirby Smart has a way of just keep getting his teams to hang around and somehow he pulls it off in the end.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm gonna stick with uh you on that one.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_01: I'll say Georgia would that one.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_01: Moving on to the ACC Duke at 8-4, I believe, playing Virginia.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_01: Who's ranked?
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_02: That's another game that you're just like, man, I you know, that'd be nice to play whoever the winner of that game is.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_02: But um, you know, uh, I mean, Duke Duke's played well down the end, but Virginia supposedly is the favorite on that.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_02: I've seen several publications that have picked Duke.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but again, you never know what you're gonna get in the ACC.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_02: You know, uh same thing.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I was disappointed in Georgia Tech, uh not beating Georgia, uh, but it was a good game.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_02: Excuse me.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_02: And um, you know, that whole ACC man was just uh crazy, crazy conference.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_02: So it'd be interesting to see who comes out of there.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_01: Well, just imagine the college football playoff committee, if Duke wins this game.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_01: You talk about the the Vanderbilts in Texas who are gonna lose their mind because this could really, really throw a wrench into the whole college.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_01: football playoffs.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_02: Well, I I agree with you.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_02: And Texas is uh, you know, at least in the social media outlets, Texas is just being like, how can you keep us out of this?
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, and how can we be penalized for playing at Ohio State the first game?
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_02: Um, yeah, but they had a they had a bad loss in there.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, it you know I get it.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_02: Um you know uh the one year um Notre Dame lost to northern Illinois and um you know we had a bad loss in there one year and uh where we lost to Michigan 1310 and you know I mean there was just a lot of things that could happen.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_02: I mean if you want to put the true top 12 teams in there um but everybody knew the rules of the game coming in Kenny I mean we had spots for that was the reason we went to the 12 team playoff was we have spots for these particular conferences and what their champions are going to be and you know playing a playing a conference championship has to mean something.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_02: It really does let me yeah I heard Urban Meyer talk about this on uh one of the shows he was on and if you were in charge of college football what route would you take the way the keep the committee do it the way they're doing it now or just say hey look guys here are the true top 12 teams let's put them in there that's a great question and you know then you're gonna get into a beta debate about okay well are we just gonna do this on strictly on strength of schedule and if that's the case then that's what they should have said but they didn't say it.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah by the rules and what they said and what they built earlier and everybody was fine with everybody going with a 12 team playoff and they thought they would alleviate everything I mean what's the next step?
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_02: Go to 16 teams you know I mean what at when at what point do we stop?
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_02: And at what point are these kids going to stop playing football from August all the way up until mid-January?
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_02: And you know it you got to draw a line somewhere.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_02: The system that we have now is the system uh the best system that we have and we're gonna have to live with it.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_01: Well let's uh let's uh just take a complete U-turn.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_01: Let's move on to your Cincinnati Bengals.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_01: Joe Burrow 24 for 46 261 two TDs I told you I thought he would get it done for him and he was the big lift I thought but we're getting towards the latter end of the season and there's not a whole lot of room for letdowns they are sitting at uh 4 and 8 and the Steeling and Steelers and Ravens are 6 and 6.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_01: Steelers are going the the wrong direction Ravens I don't know what they're doing but it it's it's gonna be fun coming down the stretch.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_02: No and that's why I wish you know we could have picked off the Jets the Bears the way we should have done earlier and you know you you're sitting there with the Browns you know wishing that they should have beat Cincinnati and you know a couple other teams that they had and you know it'd be a true it'd be a true mix right now it really would because I'm telling you the road to the playoffs is going to go through Cleveland and you know Cleveland has you know they still have a game with Pittsburgh they still have a game with Cincinnati um and you know I mean um it's one of those things uh where you know I think you know the last two games for Cleveland are are Pittsburgh and Cincinnati and those two games are going to matter.
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_02: So Cincinnati's used to playing good December football.
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_02: It's a shame that we have to play Buffalo at Buffalo.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah um but it is what it is the last time we played him there we handled him pretty good um and we do really well against Buffalo but you know I just Buffalo has a tough schedule I mean coming up they really do um I just I don't know and you know I don't think Buffalo's too healthy right now I think uh Josh Allen is you know he's taking a beaten running um you know his receivers aren't getting open um they do have a decent run game you know it's gonna be a tough game I you know you were right Kenny you were dead on on this last week but Burrow was unreal and you know to me he just makes everybody around him better and it's that expectation I mean here's a guy that came back from the you know probably what should have been a season ending foot injury and here he is out here playing yeah there was rust there in the first um but uh you know he was methodical on what he did I mean 40's 46 pass attempts um you know he ran his record to 3-0 this season uh the defense have gotten a lot better they had five turnovers uh last week uh the hustle plays uh from guys that were you know running down the field on a on a three and eight team um you know like bat Jordan battle and Murphy where he knocked that ball loose uh right before the end zone and got a touchback um you know the aggressiveness and the blitzing from Al Golden now uh being three and one sitting right now in this division um you know uh really brings back that playoff talk and you're right as bad as Pittsburgh and Baltimore are playing right now um I hate to say it but we you know we kind of control our own destiny the thing I'm really upset about is Trey Hendrickson still out um you know T did practice this week limit same with Tos Brooks um but Joseph Osai really has stepped up um man he was a force on defense last week um and if you look at our schedule I mean at Buffalo we got Baltimore at home uh we could pin another loss on them um we're at Miami um and then we have Arizona and Cleveland at home so you know there's a couple things there I mean if you look at Pittsburgh's schedule I mean it's not easy I mean they're at Baltimore they got Miami at home they're at Detroit they're at Cleveland and that's not gonna be an easy game and who knows what the weather's going to be like then and then you know they're home against uh Baltimore again so that's tough and then you look at Baltimore I mean they got Pittsburgh they're at Cincinnati they're home against New England the number one team in the AFC they got to go to Green Bay and then they're at Pittsburgh so to me it's still wide open.
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_01: You know and the thing I that to me the the biggest advantage down this stretch run and going through the playoffs is Cincinnati has the one team that no other team in the NFL has.
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_01: They have a legit backup quarterback Joe Flacco cold turf the weather the potential for injuries if Joe were to go down again Flacco steps right back in and he's been running that offense.
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_01: So to me that's going to be a huge advantage in the event another injury were to happen to Joe Burrow.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_02: Well I think you're right again Kenny and I I um I I see them throwing a nice deal at Joe Flacco you know I know Joe Flacco wants to and he's said this past couple weeks he wants to have his own team he thinks he can do it again um but I think they're gonna try to throw a lot of money at Joe Flacco uh and try to keep him as backup this year.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yes definitely uh you know you you mentioned the Steelers struggling and for the first time in I don't know I can't even think of I've ever even heard it in all my years of watching NFL football but the Steelers fans booing the head coach and you know fire Mike Tomlin that type of thing and there's a part of me that says hey let's fire him bring him on over to the Cleveland Browns I'd be more than happy to have a guy like Mike Tomlin running the show and you know but it it's the NFL and they want everybody to be eight and eight and people just can't be happy with what they have so it's just another another day in the world of the NFL.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_02: Well you know and it's uh Pittsburgh fans are are you know really fickle when it comes to you know fire the coach fire the offense coordinator fire the defense coordinator fire this fire that you know now they're even you know uh picking at uh the ownership the Rooney ownership and yeah I did see a couple of those websites uh talking about you know if Tomlin is let go uh coming to Cleveland and you know I've seen all those things um this week but you know again the NFL stands for not for long for a reason.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_01: I gotta fill one more thing out about the Cincinnati Bengals here.
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_01: Ken Anderson going into the Hall of Fame this year.
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_02: I I don't know the number or the date what has taken them so long um again I I I'm right there with you I um you know it it again to me it's a mid-market quarterback team uh you know quarterback of a team that you know from you know not a not a large market and you know I um I just sit back and look at the days that you know we had um you know he had a his only Super Bowl was a loss to Joe Montana you know and them at uh at Detroit and uh you know uh it's one of those things that they were always decent and and good under Kenny Anderson.
• 30:19
  SPEAKER_02: I mean you talk about a guy that came out of uh a small school in Indiana a small college Augustana in Indiana and man this kid was you know he was good and he was just so consistent and that's back Kenny when you know he he'd had to play twice against the you know Mean Joe Green and and all those guys and I mean it was just that time in NFL was just fun to watch.
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah and I always look back and you know I remember as a little kid they had that just basic orange helmet with bangles written on it and he had that little thin face mask.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm like dude you you just had to be a bad dude to play back in those days.
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_01: I don't care who you are.
• 31:01
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah 100% you know I mean back when they had big old Anthony Munoz and and uh you know some of those guys that played back then Max Montoya Dave Remington and you talk about an offensive line oh man those guys were you know they were something else they were they were men's men back then I mean they they could that was something to watch no doubt well hey let's move on to the most exciting part of today's podcast Cleveland Browns three and a half point favorites against the Titans they they lost 26 eight to San Francisco had a little drama with Shador and uh their star receiver Jerry Judy but uh you know the thing that Cleveland if they if they couldn't use just a little bit more controversy with between Dylan Gabriel Shador Sanders let's throw in getting Deshaun Watson on the uh off of the pup list and now he's able to practice so why not let's uh let's have Shadur have this game maybe next week let's throw Deshaun out there and just turn it into just a classic I don't know we could put instead of putting up a dome they could just put up a tent and call it a circus.
• 32:23
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah it's it's um a lot of these things Kenny are s unfortunately they're self-inflicted and I mean the mistakes that they've made uh special teams last week was horrible um you know you they couldn't finish drives on offense um there was no takeaways on defense um you know the offense had good field position uh at times and they just couldn't finish failed fourth down attempts um the D struggled you know sandal Sanders had a mixed uh performance uh but made you know a ton of mistakes and the special teams like I said was just a backbreaker.
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_01: Yes and uh you know I'm gonna give the Browns credit.
• 33:12
  SPEAKER_01: They probably made three of the best draft picks of any team in the NFL when they took Swashinger at linebacker Quinshawn Johnson's at running back and when you pick a rookie tight end and you already have a tight end on your team and he leads your team and receiving with 505 yards and uh Harold Fannon the you know outside of those three Miles Garrett that's that's the highlight of Cleveland Browns football.
• 33:42
  SPEAKER_02: Well we mentioned it on this on this podcast on the SOB several times and it's like why aren't you going more to Fannin?
• 33:49
  SPEAKER_02: I mean this guy you know this guy is um he's a game changer when it comes to this stuff and defensively you know that that I think this kid's having an all-pro season that's Lesinger I mean he's that linebacker's just God I'd love to have him on the Bengals.
• 34:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah you know and out of just out of curiosity I said how many yards does Jamar Chase have this season and he's almost double debt as far as fannons at 505 name me an NFL team that's going to win football games when your leading receiver this late in the season's only got 505 yards receiving tight end.
• 34:31
  SPEAKER_02: They have no wide receivers no I mean again that's something we said on the SOB earlier it's the wide receiver room in Cleveland is not you know you're just Jerry Judy's it and um when you can put your best corner shutdown corner on Jerry Judy um I mean that that's gonna you know that's gonna change the game I mean you know that's your options right there.
• 34:55
  SPEAKER_02: So what's that leave?
• 34:56
  SPEAKER_02: It leaves your tight end.
• 34:58
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah and um you know I uh Njoku I mean where's he been I mean this is a guy who Joe Flacco if he could pick any tight end out there I mean Joe Flacco would pick Njoku in a heartbeat so you know it's it's tough.
• 35:13
  SPEAKER_02: I mean they got they got the Titans coming up at home like you said they got the Bears away it'll be a tough game.
• 35:20
  SPEAKER_02: They got the Bills at home and they got the Steelers at home.
• 35:26
  SPEAKER_02: They got Cincinnati away so three of their last five games are at home.
• 35:30
  SPEAKER_01: They do play very well at home albeit last week they laid an egg but um you know this is a must-win this week for the Browns yeah and you know and let's just be honest everybody's figuring who's going to be our number one draft pick that's that's all they're looking forward to now and I don't I don't see an answer.
• 35:53
  SPEAKER_02: I really don't but uh let's move on to the upsets and locks of the week here who you got for your upset and who you got for your lock well my lock is Tampa Bay over New Orleans uh Tampa Bay you know and that they need a and they need another win to solidify their spot they need to get that done and you know what what not a better way to play at home over New Orleans.
• 36:17
  SPEAKER_02: My upset is going to be Jacksonville over Indy I think Indy's won one time in Jacksonville.
• 36:24
  SPEAKER_02: So um that's gonna be my upset special of the week.
• 36:30
  SPEAKER_01: Okay well I have uh my lockdown is uh the Broncos giving the Las Vegas Raiders seven and a half I just think Las Vegas is terrible and the Broncos are pretty good and I got the Jags getting a point and a half against the Colts is my um upset so I'm gonna take the Jaguars in that one.
• 36:51
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah I agree.
• 36:53
  SPEAKER_02: Well that puts a wrap on this week anything going into the Buckeyes going into this week what is one key for the Buckeyes to be Big 10 champs after this weekend I think continually playing good style defense and not allowing the big play and I think we haven't really allowed the big play all year long Kenny I think with the personnel that we have back there just having a spy and keeping these quarterbacks from running on us is the key.
• 37:26
  SPEAKER_02: And you know I I I think Julian Saiyan is going to have a great game and he's gonna put this whole Heisman thing to bet um this weekend.
• 37:37
  SPEAKER_01: Speaking of that so you're saying after it's over hot Joyansein's the Heisman for the 2025 season.
• 37:45
  SPEAKER_02: 100% I mean you get the top two guys in my opinion now you know who's to say um that the quarterback from Alabama doesn't go out and have a tremendous game and beats Georgia I mean yeah that could throw a wrench in that whole thing but hey we got number one versus number two this is this is what it's all about right here.
• 38:05
  SPEAKER_02: And um you know you're either going to roll in the the college football playoff with a lot of momentum or you're gonna have to go back to the drawing board and people are going to see a lot of weaknesses.
• 38:16
  SPEAKER_02: And that's where you know that's where we're gonna be at the Saturday.
• 38:20
  SPEAKER_01: Well I hope I'm hoping you're right well I'm Ken Carpenter.
• 38:25
  SPEAKER_02: I'm Chris Schusman.
• 38:26
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks for listening to the SOB Scarlet Orange and Brown Podcast.
• 38:30
  SPEAKER_02: SO BRUCKER