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Bengals Booth Podcast: Golden Years · Bengals Booth Podcast

0:03
Speaker 1: Hi, get everybody, I'm Dan Horden. Thanks for downloading the
0:06
Speaker 1: Bengals Booth Podcast. The Golden Years addition, as we get
0:12
Speaker 1: set for a battle between forty something quarterbacks as the
0:15
Speaker 1: Bengals host the Steelers on Thursday Night, football coming up.
0:19
Speaker 1: Much like Joe Flacco and Aaron Rodgers, I'll talk to
0:22
Speaker 1: another guy who played in his forties, former Bengals offensive
0:25
Speaker 1: lineman Andrew Whitworth. Joe Flacco's second half performance was certainly
0:30
Speaker 1: impressive last week. I'll discuss that with his two time
0:33
Speaker 1: teammate Dalton Reisner. And in this week's no The Faux Segment,
0:37
Speaker 1: Pittsburgh writer and broadcaster Tim Benz shares his thoughts on
0:41
Speaker 1: just how good the four and one Steelers really are.
0:45
Speaker 1: The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you by pay Corps,
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Speaker 1: us care for the best Fans. Cattering Health is the
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Speaker 1: official healthcare provider of the Bengals. Now here's a quick
1:06
Speaker 1: reminder that you can have the latest edition of this
1:09
Speaker 1: podcast delivered write to your phone, tablet, or computer by
1:12
Speaker 1: subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's the greatest thing
1:17
Speaker 1: since easy crossword puzzles. About once a year, for no
1:23
Speaker 1: apparent reason, we get a People magazine delivered to our house.
1:27
Speaker 1: I suppose the publisher's hope is that the freebie will
1:30
Speaker 1: get us to subscribe. That ain't going to happen. But
1:34
Speaker 1: when we get our random edition of People. I love
1:37
Speaker 1: doing the crossword puzzle because it is ridiculously easy and
1:42
Speaker 1: therefore makes me feel smart. I'll give you a few
1:45
Speaker 1: examples from the current puzzle, which has a Travis Kelcey theme.
1:50
Speaker 1: Twenty eight across plays for the Blank City Chiefs. Forty
1:56
Speaker 1: across is his fiancee with the at a hint that
2:01
Speaker 1: it's a two word answer. Yes, I was able to
2:04
Speaker 1: complete the puzzle, and now I'll try to get to
2:08
Speaker 1: the bottom of why People magazine has never named me
2:12
Speaker 1: the sexiest man alive. Now let's get to my first guest,
2:16
Speaker 1: who will be the ruler of the jungle. On Thursday
2:19
Speaker 1: night at pay Corse Stadium, the Amazon Prime crew rolls
2:25
Speaker 1: into Cincinnati for Thursday night football, and that includes one
2:28
Speaker 1: of the greatest Bengals of all time, our friend Andrew
2:32
Speaker 1: Whitworth wit it is great to see. What did you
2:35
Speaker 1: think of Joe Flacco's Bengals debut on Sunday?
2:39
Speaker 2: Well, I loved it. It was good to see him.
2:41
Speaker 3: You know, at the first of the part of the game,
2:42
Speaker 3: you can tell he's just feeling it out, trying to
2:44
Speaker 3: get get it used to the guys you're throwing to
2:46
Speaker 3: and just running the whole thing, right. I mean, I
2:48
Speaker 3: don't think we can, any of us can respect how
2:50
Speaker 3: difficult that is of a challenge to come in one
2:52
Speaker 3: week and trying to do something like that. But in
2:55
Speaker 3: the second half, you could see like you started to
2:57
Speaker 3: kind of get some feel and they started moving the
2:59
Speaker 3: football better. And I think this week will only be
3:02
Speaker 3: a more improvement from that. I think that you definitely
3:04
Speaker 3: could feel off the I thought, you know, a veteran
3:07
Speaker 3: quarterback kind of settling the huddle, settling guys down a
3:10
Speaker 3: little bit, you know, not that Jake Browning is doing
3:12
Speaker 3: a bad job, but just having somebody else who's not
3:15
Speaker 3: learning on the fly in the huddle, having somebody who's
3:18
Speaker 3: kind of been there, done that, been through it all.
3:20
Speaker 2: He's not going to overact to things that you could
3:23
Speaker 2: see that.
3:23
Speaker 1: I want you to put the degree of difficulty into perspective.
3:27
Speaker 1: Joins the team on Tuesday, practices for the first time
3:30
Speaker 1: on Wednesday, faces the Packers in Green Bay on Sunday,
3:34
Speaker 1: and it's a six point game late in the fourth quarter.
3:37
Speaker 1: Just how hard was that?
3:39
Speaker 3: I think it's about as difficult as you can imagine.
3:40
Speaker 3: And then think of this that the Packers were even
3:42
Speaker 3: coming off a bout week, So I mean, they've had
3:44
Speaker 3: all this time to prepare for what Cincinnati has been.
3:47
Speaker 3: So you're walking into something where they can't really change
3:49
Speaker 3: the plan with you in there because you've gotten there
3:52
Speaker 3: so late. But they've also been planning for you for
3:54
Speaker 3: two weeks and you're going to Green Bay to try
3:57
Speaker 3: and beat him. So I thought it was an unbelievable
3:59
Speaker 3: challenge to into It felt like people were going to
4:02
Speaker 3: be right that this Wooden game wouldn't even being very
4:04
Speaker 3: close to being a competitive game. But instead, you know,
4:08
Speaker 3: the Bengals and Joe, you know, kind of rose up
4:10
Speaker 3: to the occasion, made it a game late, had an
4:13
Speaker 3: opportunity there in the fourth quarter to do something special.
4:15
Speaker 3: So I mean, I don't think you could really put
4:17
Speaker 3: a level of difficulty any higher than.
4:19
Speaker 2: What that one is.
4:20
Speaker 3: I mean, you know, I think that even you look
4:22
Speaker 3: at years that maybe this has happened before Baker Mayfield
4:24
Speaker 3: the year he came and played for the Rams on
4:26
Speaker 3: Thursday Night Football and a short notice. Even in that sense,
4:29
Speaker 3: he was taken over a team that was pretty much
4:31
Speaker 3: healthy in the centsel offense to where they kind of
4:34
Speaker 3: had a system. They'd done it before. He'd played in
4:36
Speaker 3: some similar systems, you know, and the Raiders weren't as
4:39
Speaker 3: good that year, so you know, it wasn't like it
4:41
Speaker 3: was a challenge that this was. But he did it
4:44
Speaker 3: in two days and that was an unbelievable game. We
4:47
Speaker 3: had it on Thursday Night Football and never forget how
4:48
Speaker 3: electric that moment was at the end. But what Joe
4:51
Speaker 3: did just now is absolutely insane, and so I look
4:54
Speaker 3: forward to seeing where they can take it from here.
4:56
Speaker 1: Which are one of only five offensive linemen and history
4:59
Speaker 1: who played at the the age of forty. Do you
5:01
Speaker 1: identify with a guy playing quarterback at forty with a
5:04
Speaker 1: lot of money in the bank, five kids at home,
5:07
Speaker 1: and yet still out there grinding chasing a ring.
5:10
Speaker 2: Yeah, I do. I mean, I get it. I see
5:12
Speaker 2: both sides of it. I don't know.
5:14
Speaker 3: The part I guess maybe I don't identify with is
5:16
Speaker 3: just the moving around, Like I don't know if I
5:18
Speaker 3: could do that. I don't know, you know, it's different,
5:21
Speaker 3: I guess being the role he's in the last few years,
5:24
Speaker 3: being a backup quarterback, being a starter some places, you've
5:27
Speaker 3: been a little bit in that journeyman mode. I had
5:31
Speaker 3: never really been in that, so maybe I don't understand
5:33
Speaker 3: that part as much like you're kind of used to it.
5:35
Speaker 3: Probably for him bouncing around so it's not as big
5:37
Speaker 3: a deal. But I think for me, once I hit
5:41
Speaker 3: that forty stretch, it was kind of like, man, it's
5:43
Speaker 3: here or nowhere, you know, And so I think that
5:46
Speaker 3: that's kind of how it ended for me, you win
5:48
Speaker 3: a super Bowl, But also for me it was kind
5:50
Speaker 3: of like, man, you know, I don't see myself play
5:52
Speaker 3: anywhere else. They've kind of got a young guy that
5:53
Speaker 3: will move on to so I think this is enough
5:55
Speaker 3: for me. For Joe, though, I think once you're kind
5:58
Speaker 3: of in that mode and you're enjoying it. I love
5:59
Speaker 3: what he said about you know, never taking it for granted.
6:02
Speaker 2: And I think for me.
6:03
Speaker 3: That's one of those things that has always resonated is
6:06
Speaker 3: that you know, people might think you're crazy for playing
6:09
Speaker 3: into your forties in the NFL, but I always thought, man,
6:13
Speaker 3: never take it for granted. I remember running into Wayne
6:15
Speaker 3: Gretzky and having a conversation about playing pro sports. And
6:19
Speaker 3: here I am, like in all meeting the great one
6:22
Speaker 3: and the only thing he left me with. And when
6:24
Speaker 3: we walked away from each other and said, hey man,
6:25
Speaker 3: that's cool story about you playing to this age, he said, listen,
6:28
Speaker 3: just make sure they rip that jersey off your back, Like,
6:31
Speaker 3: don't ever walk away until you're ready to make them
6:34
Speaker 3: rip it off of you, because you'll nothing will ever
6:37
Speaker 3: replicate that moment. And so I think that's kind of
6:39
Speaker 3: what Joe's talking about, is, you know what, he wants
6:41
Speaker 3: to play this thing until they just tell him flat
6:43
Speaker 3: out you can't play anymore because you'll never replicate what
6:47
Speaker 3: it is to be inside an NFL locker room and
6:49
Speaker 3: to be leading the huddle.
6:50
Speaker 1: When I hate the expression must win, especially in week
6:53
Speaker 1: seven of a season. But how pivotal is this game
6:57
Speaker 1: for Cincinnati on Thursday?
6:58
Speaker 3: Well, I think to really legitimize their season and to
7:01
Speaker 3: make it say hey, all right, we're we have a
7:03
Speaker 3: lot to play for, and we think we can take
7:06
Speaker 3: Joe Flacco and make a run here and get ourselves
7:08
Speaker 3: back in the picture.
7:09
Speaker 2: This is the game that you can make the statement
7:11
Speaker 2: with it.
7:12
Speaker 3: You think of Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers and how
7:15
Speaker 3: steady they've kind of been this year. They haven't been
7:16
Speaker 3: just out of this world impressive, but they've been really steady,
7:20
Speaker 3: and they've kind of been, you know, finding ways to
7:21
Speaker 3: win the game and finding what they need to do
7:23
Speaker 3: to be successful. They've been steady and look like, because
7:27
Speaker 3: of injuries to Baltimore and really what Cleveland's been, they
7:30
Speaker 3: look like that team that's just going to take over
7:32
Speaker 3: the AFC North this year and kind of have a
7:34
Speaker 3: smooth run to win in this division. So if you
7:36
Speaker 3: want to mess that up, you want to be the
7:38
Speaker 3: guy who comes in and ruins that whole story, you know,
7:41
Speaker 3: and you want to say there's still a lot of
7:43
Speaker 3: promise left in the season. These are the kind of
7:45
Speaker 3: games you got to rise to the occasion.
7:46
Speaker 2: Last week, you.
7:47
Speaker 3: Rose to the occasion in Green Bay, heck of a challenge,
7:50
Speaker 3: all these things, you almost got it done. But this
7:53
Speaker 3: week it's one of those that you have to get
7:55
Speaker 3: it done. And so, you know what, who can go
7:57
Speaker 3: out and be the best burdens of ourselves?
7:58
Speaker 2: Every gall on our team.
8:00
Speaker 3: Let's go out and give you our absolute best to
8:02
Speaker 3: really change the narrative of the rest of our season.
8:04
Speaker 3: Because you win that one, you will You'll change the
8:06
Speaker 3: way people are talking about you. You'll change the way
8:08
Speaker 3: you believe in yourself, and you'll change the vision you
8:11
Speaker 3: have for the rest of the season and how it's
8:13
Speaker 3: going to go.
8:14
Speaker 1: You and Joe bonded back in twenty twenty when you
8:17
Speaker 1: were both recovering from surgery. How gutted were you when
8:20
Speaker 1: he went down in Week two?
8:22
Speaker 2: Really get it?
8:22
Speaker 3: I mean, I'm gonna spend some time with him again
8:24
Speaker 3: this offseason and just somebody that me and my family
8:27
Speaker 3: and all those around me couldn't, you know, love him
8:30
Speaker 3: more and then think more of him, couldn't be a
8:32
Speaker 3: bigger fan of him. And so all I want for
8:34
Speaker 3: that kid is to be successful because of his mindset
8:36
Speaker 3: and how rare he is as a human being. You know,
8:39
Speaker 3: so it completely get it. I mean it was heartbreaking
8:42
Speaker 3: and you know, reached out to him. It's just it's
8:45
Speaker 3: one of those tough things that. Man, the game you
8:47
Speaker 3: love is the game you hate sometimes. And what makes
8:50
Speaker 3: football so special is that sometimes it can be the
8:53
Speaker 3: greatest joy we've ever had in our life, and sometimes
8:56
Speaker 3: it can literally be the biggest heartbreak ever. And I
8:59
Speaker 3: think Joe, it's been a frustrating few years with some
9:02
Speaker 3: of that stuff, and you just you worry about too
9:05
Speaker 3: as a friend, like man, just continuing to have some
9:07
Speaker 3: of those moments.
9:08
Speaker 2: You know, you don't want them to lose sight of
9:09
Speaker 2: who they.
9:10
Speaker 3: Are and while they're so special, just because some bad
9:12
Speaker 3: breaks are going against them, you know, stay resilient. I mean,
9:16
Speaker 3: I you know, I think that's part of this game too,
9:18
Speaker 3: is that ability to continue to keep running into that
9:21
Speaker 3: wall regardless of the situation and circumstance. And so for Joe,
9:26
Speaker 3: I just want him know how much he means to
9:28
Speaker 3: to franchise and to everyone else, and how much we
9:31
Speaker 3: think of him, regardless of the football player he is,
9:33
Speaker 3: We love the human being.
9:35
Speaker 1: You played in the Bengals Steelers rivalry when it was
9:37
Speaker 1: probably about its nastiest. What stood out about those games,
9:42
Speaker 1: oh man.
9:42
Speaker 3: I think of you know, probably getting my helmet beat
9:45
Speaker 3: in by James Harrison week in and week out every
9:48
Speaker 3: time we had to play him. I mean, what a
9:50
Speaker 3: physical specimen that dude was. And really some of the
9:52
Speaker 3: greatest Steelers defenses I got a chance to play against, and.
9:56
Speaker 2: You know, it was an unbelievable run.
10:00
Speaker 3: Really to have some of those moments I think got
10:01
Speaker 3: O nine, you know, winning the division in Pittsburgh and
10:05
Speaker 3: having that late drive where we're trying to run the
10:07
Speaker 3: clock out to kind of seal the game, and I
10:09
Speaker 3: was able to draw a personal foul on James coming
10:11
Speaker 3: back after me after a run play. I think of
10:14
Speaker 3: those moments, you know, I think it's some of those
10:16
Speaker 3: big ones. And there's also a heartbreak, like I just said,
10:18
Speaker 3: I mean the heartbreak of fifteen in the playoffs, you know,
10:20
Speaker 3: fumbling the ball when the game's over and all we
10:22
Speaker 3: had to do was basically run the clock out. You know,
10:25
Speaker 3: that one's another heartbreaker. And so there's some really cool
10:28
Speaker 3: moments against them, some heartbreaking moments, but man, it was
10:31
Speaker 3: just felt like what you sign.
10:33
Speaker 2: Up to play football for.
10:35
Speaker 3: Every time we got a chance to go against them,
10:37
Speaker 3: and always playing in pretty meaningful games there in that stretch.
10:40
Speaker 3: So I think that's what you aspire to do. And
10:43
Speaker 3: we got the opportunity to do it. And sometimes you're
10:46
Speaker 3: on the winning edge and sometimes you're not. But that
10:49
Speaker 3: is the games you want to be playing in, the
10:50
Speaker 3: games that mean something.
10:51
Speaker 1: Pittsburgh's four and one so far in this year. They've
10:53
Speaker 1: got a couple of wins over teams with winning records
10:56
Speaker 1: and the Patriots and the Vikings. Did they look like
10:58
Speaker 1: a legit contender to you or is the jury still out?
11:01
Speaker 3: I think it's the jury still out a little bit,
11:03
Speaker 3: only because I think right now they've kind of handled
11:05
Speaker 3: some teams I would expect them to if they want
11:07
Speaker 3: to be a contender. They've kind of adapted a little
11:10
Speaker 3: bit as the season's gone, which I think is impressive.
11:12
Speaker 3: Like I just said, I mean that ability to adapt
11:14
Speaker 3: to what you're best at. They've changed their style a
11:16
Speaker 3: little bit over the last few weeks. I think that
11:19
Speaker 3: it'll be interesting to see where they go from here
11:21
Speaker 3: and as they face some of these better teams that
11:23
Speaker 3: might come in for a plan with a plan to
11:25
Speaker 3: kind of, you know, take away some of these quick throws,
11:28
Speaker 3: take away some of these heavy old line packages and
11:30
Speaker 3: multiple tight end stuff.
11:31
Speaker 2: They want to do. They run the.
11:32
Speaker 3: Football, you know, as teams adapt to them, then what's
11:36
Speaker 3: their answer there? Offensively and then defensively. You know, they've
11:39
Speaker 3: played better, but I wouldn't say they've played against offenses
11:42
Speaker 3: that you start to think, all right, these are the
11:43
Speaker 3: teams that should threaten them. So I think it'll be
11:46
Speaker 3: interesting to see this week, you know, as Joe Flacco
11:48
Speaker 3: gets another week in the offense and they can really
11:50
Speaker 3: throw the ball on them what they can do. And
11:53
Speaker 3: you know, and as they go this year and play
11:55
Speaker 3: some of these better offenses out they're able to adapt
11:57
Speaker 3: defensively because I don't think it was the start they
11:59
Speaker 3: really anticipated on that side of the football, and I
12:02
Speaker 3: think they're going to have to be kind of that
12:04
Speaker 3: group they were last year a little bit more as
12:06
Speaker 3: this run goes.
12:07
Speaker 1: Last thing for our friend Andrew Whitworth, you'll be in
12:10
Speaker 1: the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Someday, you'll be in
12:12
Speaker 1: the Bengals Ring of Honor. What do you look forward
12:15
Speaker 1: to when you come back to Cincinnati?
12:17
Speaker 2: Oh?
12:17
Speaker 3: Man, I think to me, it's just it's always that nostalgic,
12:20
Speaker 3: just feels like home. And you know, for me, every
12:23
Speaker 3: time I get a chance, it's it's you know, stopping
12:26
Speaker 3: by the places I love to go eat the people
12:28
Speaker 3: I still remember there to get a chance to give
12:30
Speaker 3: a hug and give some love to And it's a place,
12:33
Speaker 3: you know, all four of our kids, you know, we
12:36
Speaker 3: had while we were living in Cincinnati, and you know,
12:38
Speaker 3: we think of their childhood, We think of living in
12:40
Speaker 3: Cincinnati and Fort Thomas, Kentucky, and so you know, it
12:43
Speaker 3: will forever be a home to us and a place
12:45
Speaker 3: that's so so special because of the people, and you know,
12:49
Speaker 3: and and the relationships we formed in some of the
12:51
Speaker 3: places that we hold near and dear to our heart.
12:53
Speaker 3: Me and Ryan Fitzpastor just recently went on a bus
12:56
Speaker 3: tour and last week we got a chance to stop
12:57
Speaker 3: at Elis Barbecue and pop in. I was telling him, man,
13:01
Speaker 3: I can remember, you know, bringing my kids out of
13:03
Speaker 3: daycare and everything else and sitting out on the picnic
13:05
Speaker 3: tables and having some lunch with them and just kind
13:09
Speaker 3: of reminiscent on some of those moments, you know.
13:11
Speaker 2: And so we got a chance.
13:12
Speaker 3: I took the bus crew through Greater's ice Cream and
13:14
Speaker 3: got them all ice cream and the drivers and everything else,
13:17
Speaker 3: and so they had they had a blast and loved it,
13:19
Speaker 3: and it was really cool. So for me every time
13:21
Speaker 3: getting to go there, it's just some of the nostalgia
13:23
Speaker 3: of everything that I remember from there, the great memories
13:26
Speaker 3: of football, but more importantly, you know, off the football field,
13:31
Speaker 3: all the great people we got a chance to form
13:32
Speaker 3: relationships with.
13:33
Speaker 1: We will welcome you back with open arms on Thursday night.
13:37
Speaker 1: Appreciate your time as always, thanks so much with.
13:39
Speaker 2: I appreciate d and thank you. Brother.
13:41
Speaker 1: Andrew Wigworth was drafted by the Bengals in two thousand
13:44
Speaker 1: and six. That was actually one year after Aaron Rodgers
13:49
Speaker 1: was selected by the Green Bay Packers. Joe Flacco was
13:52
Speaker 1: part of the two thousand and eight draft, and at
13:55
Speaker 1: age forty, is facing a quarterback who's forty one.
13:59
Speaker 4: Good one thing you guys can't talk about this week
14:01
Speaker 4: in terms of me being older at least, but it's
14:04
Speaker 4: it's pretty neat. I mean, Aaron's been in the league
14:06
Speaker 4: a few years longer than me, but we both started
14:08
Speaker 4: playing in two thousand and eight, so I've been doing
14:11
Speaker 4: it for a long time.
14:11
Speaker 2: It's pretty cool.
14:12
Speaker 5: How you thought about how unique aspect is the fact
14:15
Speaker 5: that the two quarterbacks in the game are combined over
14:18
Speaker 5: eighty years.
14:20
Speaker 4: Has it happened before. I'm sure there's been some old
14:22
Speaker 4: guys Brady and Breeze. Yeah, yeah, you know, when I'm
14:27
Speaker 4: in a lot, I've been in a locker room my
14:29
Speaker 4: whole life, so you know, ages and something that I
14:32
Speaker 4: think about. I just view myself as one of those
14:33
Speaker 4: twenty something year old in the locker room, and so
14:37
Speaker 4: it's not something I really think about, but I think
14:40
Speaker 4: one day when you look back on it, it's just
14:42
Speaker 4: one of those things that'll be pretty cool to be
14:43
Speaker 4: able to, you know, have a matchup like this.
14:46
Speaker 1: Fourth down end goal. The Bengals line up to go
14:48
Speaker 1: for it a little more than two yards away. Higgins
14:51
Speaker 1: and yoc bosh out to the right, Hudson and Chase
14:53
Speaker 1: out to the left, pee Ryan in the backfield. Flacco
14:56
Speaker 1: catches the shotgun snap pub fakes throws into the end
15:00
Speaker 1: Yes Scott in the back of the end zone under
15:03
Speaker 1: the goalpost by Tanner Hudson. Flacco second half performance last
15:07
Speaker 1: week in Green Bay was pretty remarkable. He completed seventy
15:10
Speaker 1: percent of his passes for one hundred and seventy nine
15:12
Speaker 1: yards and two touchdowns with a passer rating of one
15:15
Speaker 1: oh seven point five. And that's despite the fact that
15:19
Speaker 1: he probably didn't know the names of half of his teammates.
15:23
Speaker 1: One guy he did know was Dalton Reisner, a former
15:26
Speaker 1: teammate in Denver who started last week at left guard
15:30
Speaker 1: in place of the injured Dylan Fairchild. Dalton, what did
15:34
Speaker 1: Joe Flacco show you on Sunday at Green Bay.
15:38
Speaker 6: He's poised, he's calm, he's collected, he's a pro.
15:42
Speaker 5: He showed us that he's, you know, near in his forties,
15:45
Speaker 5: near and somewhere in there, and had been playing over
15:47
Speaker 5: fifteen years in this league. Right, That's what he did,
15:50
Speaker 5: and that's what you'd hope to get when you get
15:52
Speaker 5: a guy like that.
15:52
Speaker 6: Played with him. He's my first quarterback ever in the NFL.
15:54
Speaker 6: Call him flat Daddy.
15:55
Speaker 5: So when I get a grin out of him, which
15:57
Speaker 5: is maybe once a day, it means a lot two weeks.
16:00
Speaker 6: It's hard to get him to do that. But super
16:02
Speaker 6: Happy's here.
16:03
Speaker 1: He was just a kid back then. He was only
16:05
Speaker 1: thirty four. When you were a rookie, I'm.
16:06
Speaker 5: Much thirty four or whenever I was twenty three years old.
16:09
Speaker 5: I mean I was only getting my diapers changed. Washington
16:12
Speaker 5: win Super Bowls with the Ravens, So.
16:14
Speaker 1: I mean how much respect do you have for a
16:16
Speaker 1: guy still doing it at age forty.
16:18
Speaker 6: Well, you know he loves the game. It's not for money.
16:20
Speaker 5: Joe Flacco doesn't need the cash. Joe Flacco isn't doing
16:23
Speaker 5: this for fame. Joe Faco's doing this for his legacy
16:26
Speaker 5: and for the love of the game. And you just
16:29
Speaker 5: respect that because you see the work, You see the
16:32
Speaker 5: way the guy's still attacking the game this many years later,
16:34
Speaker 5: and you know he just loves it and you know
16:36
Speaker 5: he wants to win, so it's hard not to get
16:38
Speaker 5: behind him.
16:39
Speaker 1: We're visiting with Dalton Reisner. You got thrown in there
16:41
Speaker 1: in Week one with just a couple of practices under
16:44
Speaker 1: your belt and played well, and I thought that that
16:46
Speaker 1: was a great accomplishment. But can you put into perspective
16:50
Speaker 1: what Flacco did last week as a quarterback?
16:53
Speaker 6: Yeah?
16:53
Speaker 5: I mean from a guy that's had to do this
16:56
Speaker 5: a time or two of my career, I understand how
16:58
Speaker 5: tough it is, but I've never had to do it.
16:59
Speaker 5: Getting here on a Tuesday or Wednesday and playing on
17:03
Speaker 5: a Sunday. I cut it close, but I also haven't
17:06
Speaker 5: done it from getting traded and getting back from London
17:08
Speaker 5: or wherever the heck they were at.
17:10
Speaker 6: So it was a huge feat.
17:12
Speaker 5: Only a guy like Joe Flacco could pull something like
17:14
Speaker 5: that off, in my opinion, only a vets Vet, a
17:16
Speaker 5: pros pro, could do it, and he was the guy
17:17
Speaker 5: for the job.
17:19
Speaker 1: Talking to offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher yesterday, I think he
17:23
Speaker 1: inadvertently came up with a nickname for Joe Flacco, because
17:26
Speaker 1: Joe Burrow is the man of a million nicknames, Joe Cool,
17:29
Speaker 1: Joe Shisty, et cetera. How about Joe Calm for Joe Flacca.
17:32
Speaker 6: Joe COM's great man.
17:33
Speaker 5: You know, I'm always gonna call him flat daddy, But
17:36
Speaker 5: Joe COM's pretty cool too.
17:37
Speaker 2: Man.
17:38
Speaker 1: All right, let's talk offensive line with Dalton Reisner. No sacks,
17:42
Speaker 1: no quarterback hits for Michah Parsons last week. It ended
17:45
Speaker 1: a streak of eleven straight games where he had one
17:47
Speaker 1: or the other. How did the offensive line neutralize arguably
17:52
Speaker 1: the best pass rusher in the league.
17:53
Speaker 5: Oh well, we game plan, We game planned for him.
17:55
Speaker 5: We got amazing coaches. I think Zach Taylor, Pitch our
18:00
Speaker 5: offensive line coaches and Scott and my coming. Those guys
18:03
Speaker 5: do a great job. So and there's so many people
18:05
Speaker 5: behind the scenes too, you know what I mean, Like
18:07
Speaker 5: Justini Scott, he does a great job. And there's just
18:08
Speaker 5: so many people here in this building that make this
18:10
Speaker 5: thing go that I have to give a shout out
18:12
Speaker 5: to because they developed these game plans. Man our jobs
18:14
Speaker 5: players just to come in here and make it happen
18:15
Speaker 5: and and grah them in our brains and go out
18:17
Speaker 5: there and execute.
18:18
Speaker 6: But they're the ones putting them together, and they put
18:20
Speaker 6: together a great game plan to.
18:23
Speaker 5: Keep him at Bay and the players that had to
18:25
Speaker 5: have one on ones while he was getting kept at
18:28
Speaker 5: Bay one, they're one on once and that was important.
18:30
Speaker 1: You started at left guard, I thought you did extremely well.
18:33
Speaker 1: How'd you feel about your play?
18:34
Speaker 5: I felt really good. You know, I hold myself to
18:36
Speaker 5: a super high standard. Of course, Week one, with the
18:38
Speaker 5: Browns being here on short notice, awesome way to start
18:42
Speaker 5: my career here as a Bengal. Week two and three
18:45
Speaker 5: weren't weren't weren't the same, and I lost myself by
18:48
Speaker 5: spot because of it, And you know that's a that's
18:50
Speaker 5: a tough deal.
18:51
Speaker 6: But in the NFL, that's how.
18:53
Speaker 5: It works is you expect to perform at a high
18:55
Speaker 5: level at all times and I didn't perform up to
18:57
Speaker 5: my standard or the standard that I'm sure the Bengals
18:59
Speaker 5: expected as me in Week two and week three. So
19:01
Speaker 5: I've been doing nothing but zero pouting and one hundred
19:04
Speaker 5: percent of getting myself right to be ready when called upon.
19:08
Speaker 6: And I was called upon last.
19:09
Speaker 5: Week, and I'm just so grateful that I had the
19:12
Speaker 5: opportunity to play against the Packers, play at left guard
19:15
Speaker 5: and perform the way I did. And now it's the
19:17
Speaker 5: same mindset every single week, every single day.
19:19
Speaker 6: How can I be better when called upon for this team?
19:22
Speaker 1: Rookies have been starting at those guard spots. I know
19:24
Speaker 1: you obviously want to play, but what do you think
19:27
Speaker 1: of Dylan Fairchild and Jalen Rivers and the way that
19:29
Speaker 1: they are learning on the fly?
19:31
Speaker 5: I think that they're doing a great job. Jalen and
19:32
Speaker 5: Dylan are, first of all, such great young men. I
19:35
Speaker 5: really respect the way that they attack their work, the
19:37
Speaker 5: way that they come in here and want to be great.
19:39
Speaker 5: I think the Bengals found some great dudes in those guys,
19:42
Speaker 5: some guys that can make a living.
19:44
Speaker 6: And in this league for a very long time.
19:47
Speaker 5: So nothing but great things to say about them off
19:49
Speaker 5: the field and when it comes to on the field.
19:51
Speaker 6: Man, these guys are pretty.
19:53
Speaker 5: They love to work hard, they're acceptable to coaching, they
19:56
Speaker 5: want to be better. They come in every single day
19:59
Speaker 5: and they attack their work and they're super talented.
20:01
Speaker 6: So they got nothing. But sky's the limit for them,
20:03
Speaker 6: that's for sure.
20:04
Speaker 1: I hate the expression must win. As Hall of Fame
20:07
Speaker 1: coach Marvel Levy said, World War Two is the last
20:10
Speaker 1: must win. But this is a pivotal game for the Bengals.
20:14
Speaker 1: Do you embrace that and acknowledge it or do you
20:17
Speaker 1: just take the Hey, every game is just a game.
20:20
Speaker 5: For me personally, I would never say every game is
20:22
Speaker 5: just a game. I would say every game is a
20:24
Speaker 5: must win. I go into every game and I'm gonna
20:26
Speaker 5: do everything I can to win that football game.
20:28
Speaker 6: I'm not gonna go into the game and say, oh,
20:29
Speaker 6: this one's not a must win. I can give ninety
20:31
Speaker 6: five percent.
20:31
Speaker 5: So maybe some guys are talented enough to do that,
20:34
Speaker 5: But from my perspective, I go into every single week
20:36
Speaker 5: and I do I scratch and crawl and I gotta
20:38
Speaker 5: do everything I can to perform the best I can
20:40
Speaker 5: for my team to win the football game. So this
20:43
Speaker 5: is a division game, though we know these ones mean more.
20:45
Speaker 5: We know these ones count more. I mean, playing it
20:47
Speaker 5: simple to count more.
20:48
Speaker 6: That's just how it works. And we know they mean
20:50
Speaker 6: more too because of the rivalry and the history.
20:52
Speaker 5: So these guys are tough nosed, you know, big tough
20:56
Speaker 5: football players that pride.
20:57
Speaker 6: Themselves on defense.
20:58
Speaker 5: And we got a huge task ahead of them and
21:00
Speaker 5: got nothing to do but face it and go right
21:02
Speaker 5: for it.
21:02
Speaker 1: Man, it's your seventh year. You've undoubtedly faced the Steelers
21:06
Speaker 1: several times before the personnel changes, But does the defense change?
21:11
Speaker 2: You know?
21:12
Speaker 5: I mean, I remember I played these guys six years ago,
21:14
Speaker 5: my rookie year with Denver, or maybe my second year.
21:16
Speaker 5: I think it was my second year with Denver, and
21:18
Speaker 5: you watch the tape and you know, these guys look
21:19
Speaker 5: super similar.
21:20
Speaker 6: They're super big and strong, they hold their gaps.
21:23
Speaker 5: There's a guy there that's been there for eighty years,
21:25
Speaker 5: it seems like, in terms of Cam Hayward, and I
21:27
Speaker 5: got so much respect for him. You know, he's probably
21:29
Speaker 5: got kids my age at this point, but you know,
21:31
Speaker 5: he's just such a good football player. He's big and strong.
21:33
Speaker 5: You would think this guy would get less strong from
21:36
Speaker 5: year to year, and you know, look a little worse
21:38
Speaker 5: on tape, but he continues to look really good. So yeah,
21:41
Speaker 5: this front that's what they do in Pittsburgh. They pride
21:43
Speaker 5: themselves on the front seven and they look the same.
21:45
Speaker 1: Final question for Dalton riiseen there, it's your first night
21:48
Speaker 1: game as a Bengal at pay Corpse Stadium. I think
21:51
Speaker 1: this place is as electric as any in the NFL
21:54
Speaker 1: for the primetime games. It's going to be a white
21:56
Speaker 1: Bengal game. Are you excited for Thursday Night?
21:59
Speaker 6: Super excited?
21:59
Speaker 2: Man?
22:00
Speaker 5: Not only did it represent the Cincinnati Bengals, but be
22:03
Speaker 5: here at pay Corps.
22:04
Speaker 6: Be on display for the whole world on.
22:07
Speaker 5: Thursday night football against a division opponent and the Pittsburgh
22:11
Speaker 5: Steelers and Aaron Rodgers coming to town.
22:13
Speaker 6: Gonna ask for more. Man, this is a blessing. There's
22:15
Speaker 6: so many people that would kill to do this.
22:17
Speaker 5: So as you soak it up and try to kick
22:19
Speaker 5: some tail, got to look at it and embrace it
22:21
Speaker 5: a little bit too.
22:22
Speaker 1: Reisner was the Bengals highest graded O lineman last week
22:25
Speaker 1: according to Pro Football Focus, but Dylan Fairchild has been
22:29
Speaker 1: a full participate in practice this week and should have
22:32
Speaker 1: the green light to return at left guard. The Bengals
22:35
Speaker 1: Booth podcast is brought to you by pay Corps, proud
22:38
Speaker 1: to be the Bengals official HR software provider, by Alta
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Speaker 1: Fiber future proof fiber Internet designed to elevate your home, business,
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Speaker 1: and community to a new level, and by Kettering Health,
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Speaker 1: the best care for the best fans. Kettering Health is
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Speaker 1: the official healthcare provider of the Bengals. The Bengals face
22:56
Speaker 1: the four and one Steelers on Thursday, and head coach
22:59
Speaker 1: Mike Tomlin made headlines this week by calling out Cleveland
23:04
Speaker 1: Browns GM Andrew Berry for trading Joe Flacco to Cincinnati.
23:09
Speaker 2: You know, to be honest, it was shocking to me.
23:12
Speaker 7: Andrew Berry must be a lot smarter than me or us,
23:16
Speaker 7: because it doesn't make sense to me to trade a
23:19
Speaker 7: quarterback that you think enough of to make your opening
23:22
Speaker 7: day starter to a division opponent that's hurting in that area.
23:26
Speaker 2: But that's just my personal feelings.
23:28
Speaker 1: Flacco beat the Steelers last year, coming off the bench
23:31
Speaker 1: for an injured Anthony Richardson with five point thirty to
23:34
Speaker 1: go in the first quarter and leading the Colts to
23:37
Speaker 1: a twenty seven to twenty four. When I discussed Tomlin's
23:41
Speaker 1: comment and much more, in Our knowther Faux segment this
23:44
Speaker 1: week with Pittsburgh sportswriter and broadcaster Tim Benns. Tim, let's
23:50
Speaker 1: start with your forty something quarterback. How has Aaron Rodgers
23:54
Speaker 1: played and how has he behaved since joining Pittsburgh.
24:00
Speaker 8: The behavior part has been fine. He's not exactly warm
24:03
Speaker 8: and fuzzy. I think there are other people besides just
24:07
Speaker 8: me that weren't wild about the idea of him coming here,
24:11
Speaker 8: and I feel like he's constantly ready for a fight
24:14
Speaker 8: from the media, But honestly, with just one loss so
24:18
Speaker 8: far and him playing pretty well, there's been no reason
24:22
Speaker 8: to have that fight, And to be frank, there never
24:25
Speaker 8: really was one that developed with Russell Wilson despite the
24:28
Speaker 8: five game losing streak at the end of the year,
24:31
Speaker 8: and everybody really liked justin Fields personally, So I don't
24:35
Speaker 8: know if that's ever going to happen, but Rogers is
24:38
Speaker 8: probably more inclined to look for a reason to make
24:41
Speaker 8: it happen should they have a three or four game
24:43
Speaker 8: losing streak along the way. But the way he's played
24:46
Speaker 8: has also largely been pretty good, if not minimized by
24:51
Speaker 8: what they have to deal with in terms of the
24:53
Speaker 8: pass blocking and the limitations that they have at wide receiver.
24:57
Speaker 8: It's a pretty basic offense right now. The complexities of
25:02
Speaker 8: the offense do not necessarily befit a player of Rogers
25:06
Speaker 8: Hall of Fame reputation. Then again, he doesn't move well
25:10
Speaker 8: enough to have that full scale of an offense behind
25:14
Speaker 8: this line, which can be shoddy at times. Although it
25:17
Speaker 8: will give Rogers credit when he's had to move, he's
25:19
Speaker 8: moved pretty decently.
25:21
Speaker 1: Let me follow up on the offensive line. Pittsburgh has
25:24
Speaker 1: used a lot of draft capital in recent years to
25:27
Speaker 1: try to make it better. Is it showing at all?
25:31
Speaker 8: It did this week and maybe it started the week
25:34
Speaker 8: before that in Ireland against Minnesota, but Miles Garrett was
25:38
Speaker 8: a ghost in this game against Cleveland. They gave Roder
25:42
Speaker 8: Jones a lot of help, admittedly on the left side,
25:46
Speaker 8: but then again, you know, watch the Steelers game sometime
25:49
Speaker 8: how much help does whoever's block and TJ. Watt always get.
25:52
Speaker 8: So sometimes that just needs to happen. The draft CAPITALI
25:56
Speaker 8: you talk about, well, it was delayed because they messed
25:59
Speaker 8: around with rod Rick Jones just to have Dan Moreby
26:02
Speaker 8: out there for some reason. We're still trying to figure
26:04
Speaker 8: out why there was such an agenda there. I still
26:06
Speaker 8: don't get it. Jones is a left tackle who they
26:10
Speaker 8: put on the.
26:10
Speaker 2: Right side, so he had to get used to that.
26:12
Speaker 8: Now he's got to get used to going back over
26:13
Speaker 8: the left. Troy Fautano was delayed a year because he
26:17
Speaker 8: barely played with his knee injury a season ago, so
26:20
Speaker 8: he's just getting up to speed. Zach Frazier's pretty good
26:24
Speaker 8: as a center from West Virginia, maybe not as good
26:27
Speaker 8: as we are willing him to be. Mason McCormick has
26:30
Speaker 8: gotten a lot of time for a fourth round pick
26:33
Speaker 8: from the FCS, but he's decent, and they're getting whatever's
26:36
Speaker 8: left out of Isaacs Camalu that they can. That's basically
26:39
Speaker 8: the offensive line, and it was rather shoddy for the
26:43
Speaker 8: first three games. It's been better for the last two
26:48
Speaker 8: and now we'll see what happens against the Bengals. And
26:51
Speaker 8: at the time that you and I are speaking anyway,
26:54
Speaker 8: with however injured Trey Hendrickson truly is Pittsburgh.
26:58
Speaker 1: Writer and broadcaster Tim Bens our guests. The Steelers acquired
27:01
Speaker 1: DK Metcalf in the offseason. They parted ways with George Pickens.
27:05
Speaker 1: Both guys are having good years for their current team.
27:09
Speaker 1: But how has the impact been in Pittsburgh in the
27:12
Speaker 1: locker room from getting rid of George a.
27:15
Speaker 8: Lot calmer, And maybe it's not even so much in
27:18
Speaker 8: the locker room as it is calmer on game day.
27:20
Speaker 8: You're not constantly having to manage George's emotions and reactions.
27:26
Speaker 8: That was the bigger deal. It was game day and
27:29
Speaker 8: how Pickens would react to things more than it was practice,
27:32
Speaker 8: or if you would show up on time, as was
27:34
Speaker 8: the case on Christmas against the Kansas City Chiefs. But
27:39
Speaker 8: no such issues as the Metcalf He's a yes sir,
27:42
Speaker 8: no sir guy, or at least he has been here.
27:45
Speaker 8: Maybe not so much at the end with the Seahawks
27:47
Speaker 8: when he wanted out, but you know he has benefited
27:50
Speaker 8: by being the only wide receiver here. I think Pickens
27:53
Speaker 8: has benefited by being the number one guy with cdee
27:57
Speaker 8: lamb Out. I don't know if the Pickens Metcalf combination
28:02
Speaker 8: was ever gonna work here like that could have been
28:04
Speaker 8: too combustible, especially on Pickens end, because Metcalf would have
28:08
Speaker 8: gotten paid to come here and George still would not
28:12
Speaker 8: have Not only that, but other guys have gotten paid
28:14
Speaker 8: since Metcalf, and they weren't gonna pay Pickens, which is
28:18
Speaker 8: the big reason why he's a Dallas cowboy right now.
28:20
Speaker 8: So it would have been a wonderful vision to have
28:24
Speaker 8: Kickens on one side and Metcalf on the other running
28:27
Speaker 8: streak routes to open everything up underneath, and then having
28:31
Speaker 8: you know, Rogers pick whichever guy wasn't double to bombit downfield.
28:34
Speaker 8: That sounds fantastic. But anytime that Pickens didn't get the
28:38
Speaker 8: ball and Metcalf did, I think we would have had problems.
28:42
Speaker 1: Tim What did you make of Mike Tomlin criticizing Cleveland
28:46
Speaker 1: for its willingness to trade Joe Flacco to Cincinnati.
28:50
Speaker 8: It was a little weird, Like he is usually so
28:54
Speaker 8: careful to never do anything like that. I mean, I
28:57
Speaker 8: can count on one hand in eighteen years the number
29:00
Speaker 8: of times that tom wins ever said anything that was
29:02
Speaker 8: incendiary in the week of a game for an opponent
29:06
Speaker 8: coming up, you know, like he had that weird shot
29:09
Speaker 8: at Anthony Richardson a couple of weeks ago, again with
29:12
Speaker 8: Flacco as sort of the crux of the conversation, ironically enough,
29:15
Speaker 8: but you know, they weren't playing the Colts that week.
29:18
Speaker 8: They will in a couple of weeks. I'm sure it
29:19
Speaker 8: will come up, whether he's playing or not. I'm sure
29:21
Speaker 8: he'll be brought up. It just it was weird for
29:25
Speaker 8: he's treating Joe Flacco like he's Joe Montana here, you know,
29:29
Speaker 8: like you know, they're seeing an elder version of Joe Flacco.
29:33
Speaker 8: They're not seeing the guy who was going bombs away
29:36
Speaker 8: down the sideline when he was getting the Ravens to
29:38
Speaker 8: the Super Bowl and beating the Steelers eleven times and
29:41
Speaker 8: twenty two tries. I don't think that's the same version
29:44
Speaker 8: of the guy that they're seeing. And look, I don't
29:46
Speaker 8: think that was just about the Flacco thing, Dan, I don't.
29:49
Speaker 8: I think that was because this is the same general
29:52
Speaker 8: manager in the same organization that acquired and paid Deshaun
29:56
Speaker 8: Watson an outrageous contract. As the Steelers are going in
30:00
Speaker 8: to the post Ben Roethlisberger era and reset the QB market.
30:03
Speaker 8: This is the same organization that paid and reset the
30:06
Speaker 8: market on edge rushers and files Garrett's contract three months
30:09
Speaker 8: before they had to give TJ. Watt a new deal.
30:12
Speaker 8: I think there are other things to put here than
30:14
Speaker 8: just the trade that got under Tomlin's skin.
30:17
Speaker 1: Pittsburgh's four and one. The best team the Steelers have
30:20
Speaker 1: beaten so far as New England at four and two.
30:22
Speaker 1: The Patriots lost four fumbles in that game. How good
30:26
Speaker 1: are the Steelers?
30:28
Speaker 8: The offense is still very flawed for some of the
30:30
Speaker 8: reasons we pointed out. Statistically, I think they're like twenty
30:35
Speaker 8: fifth in passing, twenty ninth and rushing, and twenty ninth
30:39
Speaker 8: overall or something like that. And they've gotten the points
30:43
Speaker 8: that they've gotten because they got a great kicker who
30:45
Speaker 8: never misses unless the field slips out from underneath them.
30:48
Speaker 8: And they've got a really good red zone percentage, at
30:50
Speaker 8: least they did until they played Cleveland. That's why their
30:53
Speaker 8: points per game isn't so bad. The defense has been very,
30:59
Speaker 8: very opportunity stick. I think it's best two games have
31:03
Speaker 8: been the last that they have played. I do think
31:06
Speaker 8: they deserve some credit for ball hunting and getting the
31:10
Speaker 8: ball free in New England more than they've gotten. That
31:12
Speaker 8: game was largely just characterized as the Patriots handing the
31:16
Speaker 8: ball over to the Steelers five times. They are to
31:19
Speaker 8: be faulted, but I think the Steelers are to be
31:21
Speaker 8: credited for creating those turnovers. They run, they hit, they
31:24
Speaker 8: get to the ball, they search the ball, They're good
31:26
Speaker 8: at it. So the defense is the biggest reason why
31:30
Speaker 8: they are where they are, even though the defense was
31:32
Speaker 8: really lousy in terms of yards allowed for the first
31:35
Speaker 8: three weeks. So, you know, I think they are a
31:38
Speaker 8: byproduct of a lowering tide in the AFC. North has
31:43
Speaker 8: really risen their boats. That might be the case for
31:47
Speaker 8: the entire conference, in the entire league because they've only
31:49
Speaker 8: played one divisional game, but where they sit in the
31:52
Speaker 8: division is because where everybody else is, they're pretty mediocre.
31:56
Speaker 8: But you know what, so is the rest of the
31:58
Speaker 8: NFL right now.
32:00
Speaker 1: Cam Hayward's thirty six, TJ Watt is thirty one. They
32:03
Speaker 1: traded for a thirty one year old Jalen Ramsey. Are
32:06
Speaker 1: those guys still among the NFL's best at their positions?
32:11
Speaker 8: You know, Cam hasn't had a great year, not to
32:14
Speaker 8: the level that he had two years ago, not to
32:16
Speaker 8: the level that he was playing in the first three
32:17
Speaker 8: quarters of last year. What's been good, if not statistically dominant,
32:22
Speaker 8: he's been very good. And Ramsey, when he's been healthy,
32:26
Speaker 8: he's a real X factor. You know, like if you
32:28
Speaker 8: just have Jalen Ramsey go out there and try to
32:30
Speaker 8: cover a guy. It's not as pretty as it used
32:33
Speaker 8: to be. But when they deploy him in different ways,
32:35
Speaker 8: when they bring him on a blitz, when they have
32:37
Speaker 8: him sort of roam and be a rover, he's really impressive.
32:43
Speaker 8: And he's just a tough one to eleventh to figure
32:47
Speaker 8: out for the opposing offensive coordinator and the opposing quarterback.
32:51
Speaker 8: I think that was part of the problem for Dylan Gabriel.
32:54
Speaker 8: Baby Joe Flacco has an easier time diagnosing what they
32:57
Speaker 8: do with him. Sam Darnold sure did when the Seahawks
33:01
Speaker 8: were here. So the shorter answer your question, or any
33:05
Speaker 8: of those guys that they used to be when they
33:07
Speaker 8: were at their peak, No, they're not, but the collective
33:10
Speaker 8: of them and some of the rising young players like
33:13
Speaker 8: Herbig Peyton Wilson, Patrick Queen is much better than he
33:17
Speaker 8: was here a year ago. Harmon has made a big
33:20
Speaker 8: difference in the middle of the defensive line since he
33:22
Speaker 8: got healthy three games in. I think that's been an
33:24
Speaker 8: underdiscussed part of why the defense has gotten better. All
33:28
Speaker 8: those guys, I think have improved and they have more
33:31
Speaker 8: usable pieces in this secondary. If guys should get hurt.
33:36
Speaker 1: Final question for my guy Tim Benz in Cincinnati. This
33:40
Speaker 1: is a pivotal game. Win it and you're in it.
33:43
Speaker 1: Lose it and the path to the playoffs looks very difficult.
33:47
Speaker 1: How are the stakes being viewed in Pittsburgh.
33:50
Speaker 8: Significant because they're usually lousy and road divisional Thursday night games.
33:56
Speaker 8: You know, everybody remembers when Ryan Finley beat them. You know,
34:00
Speaker 8: regardless of what day of the week it was. They
34:02
Speaker 8: can lose any quarterback in the division at any time.
34:04
Speaker 8: They've lost to Anthony Brown, they've lost to Tyler Huntley,
34:06
Speaker 8: they've lost a DTR in Cleveland. So you know, regardless
34:10
Speaker 8: of Cincinnati's quarterback position, everybody in Pittsburgh is acutely aware
34:14
Speaker 8: of what could happen in a game like this. They
34:17
Speaker 8: see this, fans do the landscape of the league right now.
34:22
Speaker 8: Five and one would almost equate to the best stretch
34:26
Speaker 8: they had last year when Russ won six of seven
34:28
Speaker 8: to start the year and that was good enough to
34:30
Speaker 8: get them to ten and seven in the playoffs. And
34:32
Speaker 8: everybody knows what's coming after the long weekend following this
34:36
Speaker 8: Thursday game. It's Green Bay, Indy and the Chargers granted
34:40
Speaker 8: to are at home, but that might be their toughest
34:43
Speaker 8: stretch of the season, and you don't want to give
34:46
Speaker 8: Cincinnati or Baltimore any reason for life to think that
34:50
Speaker 8: they can still chase the division. It's viewed as a
34:53
Speaker 8: huge game because you get to five and one. That's
34:56
Speaker 8: five and one where the best team of the conference
34:58
Speaker 8: is five and one right now and it's the colt
35:00
Speaker 8: And then you also have what in a four game
35:04
Speaker 8: lead on anybody else who three game lead on anybody
35:06
Speaker 8: else in division with Baltimore still trying to figure out
35:09
Speaker 8: if they can get healthy.
35:10
Speaker 2: When Lamar comes back.
35:11
Speaker 8: So its being viewed as a huge game here in
35:13
Speaker 8: Pittsburgh as well.
35:15
Speaker 1: Tim great stuff is always appreciate your time.
35:17
Speaker 8: Man, you got Dan, Thanks for having me.
35:19
Speaker 1: That's going to do it for this episode of the
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