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Bengals Booth Podcast: When I Come Around · Bengals Booth Podcast

0:03
Speaker 1: Hi again, everybody. I'm Dan Hoard, and thanks for downloading
0:06
Speaker 1: the Bengals Booth Podcast, the When I Come Around edition.
0:12
Speaker 1: As the Bengals look to snap their two-game losing streak
0:15
Speaker 1: and get to their bye week with a 3-2 record
0:18
Speaker 1: as they face the 0-4 Miami Dolphins. Coming up, I'll
0:22
Speaker 1: go one-on-one with Mike Gesicki as we discuss why he
0:25
Speaker 1: loves Cincinnati, attending the Travis Kelsey Taylor Swift wedding, and
0:31
Speaker 1: eating chunky soup in a hot tub. NFL analyst Mark
0:35
Speaker 1: Schlereth shares his thoughts on how important it is for
0:39
Speaker 1: the Bengals to get their running game going. And in
0:41
Speaker 1: this week's Know the Foe segment, we'll check in with C.
0:45
Speaker 1: Isaiah Smalls, who covers the Dolphins for the Miami Herald.
0:49
Speaker 1: The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you by Paycor,
0:51
Speaker 1: proud to be the Bengals' official HR software provider. By AltaFiber,
0:56
Speaker 1: future-proof fiber internet designed to elevate your home, business, and
1:00
Speaker 1: community to a new level. And by Kettering Health, the
1:04
Speaker 1: best care for the best fans. Kettering Health is the
1:06
Speaker 1: official health care provider of the Bengals. Now, here's a
1:10
Speaker 1: quick reminder that you can have the latest edition of
1:13
Speaker 1: this podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet, or computer
1:17
Speaker 1: by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's the greatest
1:21
Speaker 1: thing since Peter and Paul. I'm not talking about the
1:26
Speaker 1: Catholic Saints or two-thirds of the 1960s folk trio Peter, Paul,
1:31
Speaker 1: and Mary. I'm talking about former Sports Illustrated football writer
1:35
Speaker 1: Peter King and former Cincinnati Inquirer sports columnist Paul Dougherty.
1:41
Speaker 1: Peter is out with a new book about his 40
1:44
Speaker 1: years covering the NFL titled The Game. He's going on
1:47
Speaker 1: a book tour to promote it, and this Saturday night
1:50
Speaker 1: the tour stops in Cincinnati at Joseph Beth Booksellers in
1:55
Speaker 1: the Rookwood Pavilion. Paul Dougherty will moderate a discussion from
1:58
Speaker 1: 7 to 9, and Peter will sign his book. If
2:02
Speaker 1: you're interested, go to the Joseph Beth website where you
2:05
Speaker 1: can RSVP. And by the way, I recorded an interview
2:10
Speaker 1: with Peter King this week focusing on the many Bengals
2:13
Speaker 1: connections in the book. And I'll share that on this
2:16
Speaker 1: podcast next week. Now, time for my first guest. It
2:22
Speaker 1: is great to be joined on the show this week
2:24
Speaker 1: by the only person, so far at least, to combine
2:28
Speaker 1: the gritty with the sexy-dexy. After catching a touchdown, I'm
2:33
Speaker 1: speaking of Bengals tight end Mike Gasicki. Let the record show, though,
2:37
Speaker 1: that before you combined those two, you held up your
2:40
Speaker 1: hand in the shape of a C.
2:42
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah.
2:43
Speaker 3: Explain why. Yeah, I did that. My son, Cooper, that
2:46
Speaker 3: was his first game.
2:46
Speaker 4: So I made sure I had scored right in front
2:50
Speaker 4: of them, too, which is funny how it all works out.
2:51
Speaker 4: But I was able to give him a little shout-out,
2:54
Speaker 4: which he doesn't appreciate now, but I'm sure when he
2:56
Speaker 4: gets older, he'll think it's cool.
2:58
Speaker 1: That video is not going away.
2:59
Speaker 3: No doubt.
3:00
Speaker 1: Is there a story behind the name, or did you
3:02
Speaker 1: and your wife just like Cooper?
3:03
Speaker 4: Yeah, no, really nothing outside of the fact that we
3:06
Speaker 4: just like the name. You know, there's no, like, family
3:09
Speaker 4: history with that name or anything like that, but we
3:11
Speaker 4: really like the name. And we didn't know if it
3:14
Speaker 4: was going to be a boy or a girl, and
3:16
Speaker 4: we didn't have a name for a girl. So thank
3:18
Speaker 4: goodness it was Cooper. So when we found out it
3:20
Speaker 4: was a boy, we were excited.
3:22
Speaker 1: Well, if Cooper follows in your footsteps someday– you do
3:26
Speaker 1: realize that every time he makes a catch, everybody will say.
3:30
Speaker 4: Oh, I say it to him around the house. I mean,
3:34
Speaker 4: that was one of the selling points for sure. So
3:37
Speaker 4: I'm looking forward to that 15, 20 years.
3:41
Speaker 3: Down the road.
3:42
Speaker 1: This week's game is in Miami. I have just administered
3:45
Speaker 1: some truth serum. That's where you started your NFL career.
3:49
Speaker 3: Correct.
3:49
Speaker 1: Does it feel different when you play the Dolphins in Miami?
3:53
Speaker 5: Um.
3:54
Speaker 4: No, I would say that, you know, I have a
3:56
Speaker 4: lot of, you know, great memories and a lot of, um,
3:59
Speaker 4: you know, great people that are still there that I
4:01
Speaker 4: have phenomenal relationships with. Um, but, uh, you know, I've been,
4:05
Speaker 4: you know, removed from, from there for several seasons now.
4:08
Speaker 3: Um, I love Cincinnati.
4:09
Speaker 4: I love being here with this team, with this, you know, organization,
4:12
Speaker 4: coaching staff, players, all that kind of stuff. So, uh,
4:15
Speaker 4: it will, it will feel different, uh, weather-wise, I'll tell
4:18
Speaker 4: you that much. It's going to be, it's going to
4:19
Speaker 4: be warm playing there in early October, but, uh, Nothing that,
4:22
Speaker 4: you know, that we won't be able to adapt to
4:24
Speaker 4: and looking forward to it.
4:25
Speaker 1: You've caught a touchdown pass in three of the first
4:27
Speaker 1: four games. It seems like you and Joe Burrow have
4:30
Speaker 1: this crazy mental telepathy. How would you describe the relationship
4:36
Speaker 1: that you two guys have on the field?
4:38
Speaker 4: Yeah, I just try to pride myself on being detailed
4:40
Speaker 4: and dependable. So, you know, I want to be where
4:43
Speaker 4: I'm supposed to be when I'm supposed to be there.
4:44
Speaker 4: And then when I have the opportunity to make a play,
4:46
Speaker 4: you know, be dependable and reliable and make that play.
4:49
Speaker 3: And I think that the more you do that.
4:51
Speaker 4: With, with, You know, a quarterback like Joe, the more
4:53
Speaker 4: he trusts in you and gives you those opportunities. So,
4:57
Speaker 4: you know, now here in my third year here, I feel,
5:00
Speaker 4: you know, not complacent, but comfortable in the role that
5:04
Speaker 4: I have and in the offense that we're running. And
5:08
Speaker 4: I just try to go out there and execute and
5:09
Speaker 4: make plays when given the opportunity to do it.
5:11
Speaker 1: You have a great ability to alter what you're doing
5:14
Speaker 1: a little bit based on the defense that you see.
5:17
Speaker 1: Do you have to communicate with Joe with body language before,
5:21
Speaker 1: or does he know what you're going to do even
5:23
Speaker 1: before you do it?
5:23
Speaker 4: I would say there's certain concepts and certain plays that
5:27
Speaker 4: allow you to be able to do that. You can't
5:30
Speaker 4: just do it on any given play. You have to
5:33
Speaker 4: understand the entirety of the play and the concept and
5:37
Speaker 4: where guys are going to be and understand the timing
5:40
Speaker 4: and the spacing of the concept of the play. But
5:44
Speaker 4: sometimes the way that it's drawn up, On the paper,
5:48
Speaker 4: it's not always how you're going to go out there
5:49
Speaker 4: and run it and execute the play. You've got to
5:52
Speaker 4: be able to take what the defense gives you. Sometimes
5:55
Speaker 4: that means shutting it down in a zone or throttling
6:00
Speaker 4: rather than, I'm supposed to run this at 18 yards,
6:03
Speaker 4: but I'm open at 14 yards. Let's not make it
6:07
Speaker 4: too complicated. James Casey always says, football is easy. People
6:12
Speaker 4: and their emotions are complicated. It's like, Football is out
6:15
Speaker 4: there easy, man. If you just kind of calm down
6:16
Speaker 4: and you settle down out there and you don't get
6:18
Speaker 4: too emotional and you don't let the game be bigger
6:20
Speaker 4: than itself, it's very simple.
6:22
Speaker 3: You've got to go out there and execute.
6:23
Speaker 1: Sign me up for the wisdom of James Casey.
6:26
Speaker 3: One of a kind, man. I love being in that
6:27
Speaker 3: room every single day. I learn something new every day.
6:29
Speaker 1: I bet. He is an interesting guy.
6:31
Speaker 3: Absolutely.
6:31
Speaker 1: By the end of last week's game, the Bengals were
6:33
Speaker 1: down to two healthy wide receivers, Dante Myers and Mitch Tinsley.
6:37
Speaker 1: Were you basically in the role of T. Higgins for
6:40
Speaker 1: most of the snaps.
6:41
Speaker 3: From there on?
6:42
Speaker 4: No.
6:43
Speaker 3: Dependent on the play.
6:44
Speaker 4: There was a lot of plays where Mitch caught that
6:47
Speaker 4: one deep down the sideline.
6:49
Speaker 3: He was in, whether it was Jamar or T's role,
6:51
Speaker 3: and Dante was in the other's role.
6:54
Speaker 4: So it's not that it was just like, hey, Mike,
6:55
Speaker 4: you're going to go out there. It really was dependent
6:57
Speaker 4: on certain plays and concepts and formations. But shout out
7:03
Speaker 4: to Mitch and to Dante and to Tanner. Everybody kind of,
7:07
Speaker 4: when that kind of situation pops up, You're obviously not
7:10
Speaker 4: expecting it, but everybody's prepared for that situation to go
7:13
Speaker 4: out there and be able to execute.
7:15
Speaker 3: So shout out to the coaches and to.
7:17
Speaker 4: Everybody that was involved to be able to go out
7:20
Speaker 4: there and execute at a high level.
7:22
Speaker 1: It's your third year in Cincinnati. Prior to this, you
7:25
Speaker 1: had a different offensive coordinator every year of your first
7:29
Speaker 1: six NFL seasons. You've had stability here, head coach, offensive coordinator,
7:35
Speaker 1: your quarterback when Joe has been healthy. does that make
7:38
Speaker 1: it less stressful mentally for you?
7:40
Speaker 3: A hundred percent. Yeah, for sure.
7:42
Speaker 4: Um, I would say that earlier in my career, I
7:45
Speaker 4: kind of did get used to the change every year.
7:47
Speaker 4: It was just like, all right, yeah, I'm learning a
7:48
Speaker 4: new playbook because at the end of the day, football
7:50
Speaker 4: is football. There's only so many different plays. It's just,
7:51
Speaker 4: all right, what does this coaching staff call it? What
7:53
Speaker 4: is this, you know, how are we going to call this?
7:55
Speaker 4: You know, what do they call a, a.
7:58
Speaker 3: Five step slant here? Is it a glance? Is it
8:00
Speaker 3: a slant? Is it a deep slant? Like there's just,
8:02
Speaker 3: all right, what's the terminology?
8:03
Speaker 4: Um, So football is football, but the stability here with
8:07
Speaker 4: the coaching staff, with the quarterback play, it is something
8:10
Speaker 4: that I don't take for granted because of the earlier
8:14
Speaker 4: years of my career. And I think that it has
8:19
Speaker 4: allowed me to just play a little bit faster and
8:22
Speaker 4: kind of slow the game down a little bit pre-snap
8:26
Speaker 4: and understand kind of everything else that's.
8:28
Speaker 3: Going on around me.
8:29
Speaker 1: You recently turned 31. This is year nine in the NFL.
8:33
Speaker 1: what do you think the biggest reasons are that you
8:35
Speaker 1: are approaching a decade as a pro football player, which
8:39
Speaker 1: is a pretty select group?
8:40
Speaker 4: Yeah, no, it's definitely something that, again, that I don't
8:44
Speaker 4: take for granted. I think, you know, I've been very
8:47
Speaker 4: fortunate throughout my career. Just health-wise, obviously, is the biggest thing, but,
8:53
Speaker 4: you know, also just being surrounded by really good people,
8:55
Speaker 4: whether it's the people in the training room, people in
8:57
Speaker 4: the equipment room, the coaching staffs that– all the different
9:02
Speaker 4: ones that I've been, you know, fortunate enough to work with. Um,
9:05
Speaker 4: but really grateful for this opportunity and for this organization, uh,
9:09
Speaker 4: specifically because, uh, I think that, you know, being here, um, it,
9:14
Speaker 4: it's a, it's a special place to me, you know,
9:16
Speaker 4: and in my heart. Um, so I'll always be grateful
9:19
Speaker 4: for being here. Um, and, you know, I hope I'm
9:21
Speaker 4: here for many, many years to come and looking forward to, uh,
9:25
Speaker 4: looking forward to an exciting, you know, the first quarter
9:28
Speaker 4: of this season is really, really over. I'm looking forward
9:30
Speaker 4: to this exciting second quarter and kind of get things
9:33
Speaker 4: rolling here.
9:34
Speaker 1: Cincinnati has been a good place for you, but it
9:36
Speaker 1: seems like you are in a good place where you
9:39
Speaker 1: are in terms of your career, your family, being a dad,
9:42
Speaker 1: all of it seems to have just put you in
9:44
Speaker 1: a great mental space.
9:45
Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely.
9:47
Speaker 4: I am very fortunate in my life. I have, like
9:49
Speaker 4: I said, phenomenal people that I surround myself with in
9:52
Speaker 4: this building, but also a fantastic support staff outside of
9:55
Speaker 4: this building. My wife, Hallie is my number one. She's
10:00
Speaker 4: really everything to our family and has done a phenomenal
10:03
Speaker 4: job allowing me to kind of come in here and
10:06
Speaker 4: not have to think about external factors and just being
10:08
Speaker 4: able to focus on football.
10:10
Speaker 3: Being a dad and all that kind of stuff, it's
10:12
Speaker 3: been the coolest thing in.
10:12
Speaker 4: The world, that transition, because it's not just You don't
10:16
Speaker 4: just get home and sit on the couch and.
10:17
Speaker 3: Scroll on your phone anymore. It's like, all right, well,
10:20
Speaker 3: the door is open and closed. Now you're walking in,
10:22
Speaker 3: and now you're a dad.
10:24
Speaker 4: So there's a lot of responsibility and things that come
10:26
Speaker 4: with it, but it's the coolest thing in the world,
10:28
Speaker 4: and I wouldn't.
10:29
Speaker 3: Trade any of these moments for anything.
10:32
Speaker 4: So I am in a very good place mentally and physically,
10:37
Speaker 4: whether it be in my career or my family and
10:38
Speaker 4: things like that. But I like to just take everything
10:41
Speaker 4: one day at a time and just focus on, where
10:43
Speaker 4: I'm at, be where my feet are, and that being
10:47
Speaker 4: today with a great practice. And then when I get
10:50
Speaker 4: home tonight, then I'll be dead. So it's definitely a
10:54
Speaker 4: very unique lifestyle, and it's a very cool.
10:57
Speaker 3: Thing that I'm a part of, and I don't take
10:59
Speaker 3: any of it lightly.
11:00
Speaker 1: So you shared this on your Instagram feed, so I'm
11:03
Speaker 1: officially allowed to ask about it. You attended the royal
11:07
Speaker 1: wedding this summer, Travis Kelsey and Taylor Swift. What was
11:10
Speaker 1: it like?
11:11
Speaker 3: Oh, it was super cool.
11:12
Speaker 4: Um, such a really, really unique opportunity, um, with so
11:17
Speaker 4: many different, um, faces and different people there. Uh, it
11:21
Speaker 4: was something that, I mean, at some points I'm just
11:25
Speaker 4: kind of catching myself just like aggressively people watching. Cause
11:27
Speaker 4: it's just, there's just so many different names and different
11:29
Speaker 4: people that are there. Um, so super appreciative of, uh, of,
11:34
Speaker 4: of Travis, you know, sending out that, that invitation and,
11:37
Speaker 4: you know, Howie and I had a fantastic time.
11:40
Speaker 3: You know, just enjoying that night enjoying that.
11:42
Speaker 4: Experience just because you know when you're 10 years old
11:48
Speaker 4: and you're listening to music on the radio you never
11:50
Speaker 4: think oh yeah I'm going to be at that person's
11:51
Speaker 4: wedding it's just it's crazy how it all comes together
11:54
Speaker 4: so it was definitely a really cool experience.
11:56
Speaker 1: I mean was the invitation just like the invitation you
11:58
Speaker 1: get to anybody's wedding it comes in a nice envelope?
12:01
Speaker 4: It was actually it was more like a digital invitation
12:04
Speaker 4: so it was on the phone and Um, honestly, I
12:07
Speaker 4: thought it was, I thought it was fake for the longest.
12:09
Speaker 3: I didn't answer for like six weeks.
12:11
Speaker 4: And then I got a call saying like, Hey, are
12:13
Speaker 4: you going.
12:13
Speaker 3: To answer this?
12:13
Speaker 4: And I was like, Oh, I should probably get back
12:16
Speaker 4: to that. Uh, so it was really, uh, it was
12:18
Speaker 4: a really, really, really cool experience.
12:20
Speaker 1: Your wife was on Kelsey Conway's podcast and said that
12:24
Speaker 1: you are truly a Swifty.
12:26
Speaker 4: Yeah. I'm definitely a big Taylor Swift fan. Uh, grew
12:29
Speaker 4: up with two older sisters and they were big, you know,
12:31
Speaker 4: Taylor Swift fans. And, uh, so that's how I kind
12:34
Speaker 4: of got into it. So it was, Definitely a surreal moment.
12:37
Speaker 4: I tried not to, you know, show that in the moment.
12:39
Speaker 4: I tried to just, you know, be a normal person,
12:42
Speaker 4: but it was cool.
12:43
Speaker 1: Which of your Bengals teammates were most jealous that you
12:45
Speaker 1: got to go?
12:47
Speaker 3: I think it was, I don't even know if it
12:49
Speaker 3: was jealousy. I think it was just, like, shock. Like,
12:51
Speaker 3: Mike was, like, you know. So it was cool.
12:56
Speaker 4: You know, getting to, you know, experience that. And then,
12:59
Speaker 4: you know, it was a really fun experience.
13:01
Speaker 5: All right.
13:02
Speaker 1: I'm changing subject. You are a spokesperson for Campbell's Chunky Soup.
13:06
Speaker 1: We've seen these videos of you eating Campbell's Chunky Soup
13:10
Speaker 1: in the hot tub.
13:11
Speaker 6: Yes.
13:11
Speaker 1: Like in the facility hot tub.
13:13
Speaker 4: Yeah.
13:14
Speaker 1: Does anybody take offense?
13:15
Speaker 4: So that is, uh, I, I don't, I don't write
13:19
Speaker 4: the scripts, you know, I'm just, I'm just, you know,
13:22
Speaker 4: out there playing my part. Uh, you know, kind of like,
13:25
Speaker 4: you know, during the games, I don't, I don't call
13:26
Speaker 4: the plays. I just go out and do my part. So, uh,
13:29
Speaker 4: If they want me to eat the hot soup in
13:31
Speaker 4: the cold tub or the hot tub, whatever the heck
13:33
Speaker 4: they want, all right, sign me up.
13:35
Speaker 3: Let's do it.
13:36
Speaker 1: Congratulations on a great start. I appreciate your time. Catch
13:40
Speaker 1: another touchdown.
13:40
Speaker 2: Pass this week.
13:41
Speaker 3: I love it. Let's do it. Back to work.
13:43
Speaker 1: Mike is tied for second in the NFL among tight
13:46
Speaker 1: ends in touchdown catches with three. Former Bengal Noah Fant
13:51
Speaker 1: also has three for the New Orleans Saints. The leader
13:55
Speaker 1: among tight ends is San Francisco's George Kittle with four.
13:59
Speaker 1: The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you by Paycor,
14:02
Speaker 1: proud to be the Bengals' official HR software provider. By AltaFiber,
14:07
Speaker 1: future-proof fiber internet designed to elevate your home, business, and
14:11
Speaker 1: community to a new level. And by Kettering Health, the
14:15
Speaker 1: best care for the best fans. Kettering Health is the
14:18
Speaker 1: official healthcare provider of the Bengals. Sunday's game in Miami
14:22
Speaker 1: will be televised by Fox, and former NFL offensive lineman
14:26
Speaker 1: Mark Schlereth will be the analyst. he has strong feelings
14:30
Speaker 1: about the importance of the Bengals leaning on the running
14:33
Speaker 1: game more. And he shared those feelings with me this week. Mark,
14:38
Speaker 1: you are an NFL offensive lineman for 12 years. You
14:42
Speaker 1: went to a couple of Pro Bowls. You won three
14:44
Speaker 1: Super Bowls. So I'm interested to get your perspective on
14:47
Speaker 1: the Bengals running game. It obviously wasn't there last week.
14:51
Speaker 6: What do you see?
14:52
Speaker 5: Part of that is when you're not having production or
14:56
Speaker 5: the production you would like, and you've got what I
14:59
Speaker 5: think is the best drop back quarterback in football and
15:02
Speaker 5: the best decision maker in football. I understand why, why
15:06
Speaker 5: it's hard to understand the value of two yard gains, right?
15:10
Speaker 2: You, you look at that and you're like, why are.
15:12
Speaker 5: We taking those when we can push the ball down
15:15
Speaker 5: the field? Joe Burrow is fantastic. He is one of
15:18
Speaker 5: my favorite guys to watch. I did an intensive study
15:21
Speaker 5: with my, my offensive coordinator slash QB coach that, uh,
15:26
Speaker 5: that I kind of employed during the off season. So
15:28
Speaker 5: we went through a lot of Joe Burrow stuff this
15:31
Speaker 5: off season and he is phenomenal, just absolutely phenomenal. But
15:36
Speaker 5: I don't believe you win in this league if you
15:38
Speaker 5: don't know.
15:38
Speaker 6: How to run the ball.
15:39
Speaker 5: And one thing about the Cincinnati Bengals, because of their quarterback,
15:42
Speaker 5: because of their wide receivers, because of the weapons that
15:45
Speaker 5: they have outside the numbers, so to speak, you're going
15:48
Speaker 5: to get a lot of favorable number counts. You're going
15:50
Speaker 5: to get a lot of favorable opportunities to.
15:52
Speaker 6: Run the football.
15:53
Speaker 5: And, um, And until you understand the value of two-
15:57
Speaker 5: and three-yard gains that are nasty physical gains and what
16:02
Speaker 5: that does to a defense and the way that affects
16:05
Speaker 5: your play action, until you fall in love with that
16:07
Speaker 5: and start to understand the value of that, then you'll
16:12
Speaker 5: never truly be good at running the ball. The other
16:15
Speaker 5: thing that I hear all the time from coordinators all
16:18
Speaker 5: over the world, and I think it's such a bunch
16:21
Speaker 5: of baloney is this swing pass or this bubble screen
16:25
Speaker 5: or the quick game is just an extension of our
16:27
Speaker 5: running game.
16:28
Speaker 6: Baloney. It's not.
16:30
Speaker 5: It's not an extension of your running game because it
16:33
Speaker 5: doesn't wear anybody's ass out.
16:35
Speaker 6: It doesn't. It doesn't.
16:37
Speaker 2: It doesn't.
16:38
Speaker 5: I mean, it's one of those situations where you want
16:41
Speaker 5: to grind on people. You want to make people get
16:44
Speaker 5: off the ground and have.
16:45
Speaker 6: To chase the run. You know, I always say this
16:47
Speaker 6: as an offensive lineman.
16:48
Speaker 5: If I'm on the backside and we're running 19 handoff
16:51
Speaker 5: or 18 handoff to the opposite side and I get
16:55
Speaker 5: cut on you on the ground, I just lay there
16:57
Speaker 5: on my big fat stomach and watch the play develop.
17:00
Speaker 5: You have to jump up and run and go get it.
17:03
Speaker 5: And what it does for you in pass pro, what
17:05
Speaker 5: it does for you in the game, You know, I
17:08
Speaker 5: was just digging through the Pittsburgh tape. The very last
17:11
Speaker 5: play of that game, offensively, you give up a sack.
17:13
Speaker 5: But what happens is you don't take the starch out
17:16
Speaker 5: of a defense. So at the end of the game,
17:17
Speaker 5: you know what they can still do? They can still
17:19
Speaker 5: pass rush. If they're limping and tripping over their tongues,
17:23
Speaker 5: it makes it much harder to rush the passer. And
17:26
Speaker 5: now all of a sudden in a 30-27 game where
17:29
Speaker 5: you're driving down to score and you already picked up
17:31
Speaker 5: a big play right off the bat, to chase, you know,
17:36
Speaker 5: and you're moving down the football field.
17:39
Speaker 6: Well, all of a sudden, you give up a sack, fumble, strip, sack, fumble,
17:41
Speaker 6: ball's turned over, game is over.
17:44
Speaker 1: Fox analyst Mark Schlereth is our guest. There's been a
17:46
Speaker 1: lot of attention paid here to the split between having
17:51
Speaker 1: Joe Burrow in the shotgun and Joe Burrow under center.
17:54
Speaker 1: They worked a lot at this in training camp. Do
17:57
Speaker 1: you have strong feelings about trying to operate more frequently
18:02
Speaker 1: under center?
18:03
Speaker 2: Oh, yeah.
18:04
Speaker 5: I mean, you go back, and I did a study
18:06
Speaker 5: this offseason looking at being under center. The top ten
18:10
Speaker 5: teams under center last year, the Rams being number one,
18:14
Speaker 5: the Seahawks being number two. I think New England was
18:16
Speaker 5: number three. The top ten teams of being under center,
18:21
Speaker 5: eight of them went to the playoffs. Two of them
18:24
Speaker 5: were in the Super Bowl. What it does for you,
18:28
Speaker 5: being under center, one, it opens up both sides of
18:31
Speaker 5: the run game. So you truly can't run to each
18:36
Speaker 5: side of the formation when you are side-saddled to your quarterback.
18:41
Speaker 6: You can only truly run one way.
18:43
Speaker 5: You can have some hokey pitches on toss and a
18:46
Speaker 5: few of those things, but the bottom line is it
18:49
Speaker 5: probably eliminates 30%, 35% of your run game. The other
18:53
Speaker 5: thing it does, it cuts off your running back. It
18:55
Speaker 5: cuts your running back off on any wide zone. So
18:58
Speaker 5: now wide zone automatically converts... to mid zone. So you
19:02
Speaker 5: don't get the stretch on a defense that you would
19:04
Speaker 5: get being under center. And then the other thing that
19:08
Speaker 5: happens is your play action game. You don't really get any,
19:11
Speaker 5: any real, like real, uh, just suck up from the
19:16
Speaker 5: linebackers and the safeties because the quarterback never turns his back.
19:20
Speaker 6: It doesn't hide the football.
19:22
Speaker 5: So, so all of a sudden your run action, play action,
19:25
Speaker 5: there's two types of play action, right?
19:27
Speaker 6: There's run action and You know, the bootkeep.
19:30
Speaker 5: Game, the stuff that really looks to waggle stuff out
19:32
Speaker 5: the front side that really you're coming off the ball
19:34
Speaker 5: and you just should be run blocking. And then there's
19:37
Speaker 5: the play play play pass, excuse me, play action, which
19:41
Speaker 5: is different than that. That's six, seven man, eight man
19:43
Speaker 5: protections where you're really trying to run two man routes.
19:47
Speaker 5: And it really doesn't sell your run action play. action
19:50
Speaker 5: out of gun. You'll pull somebody and try to influence
19:54
Speaker 5: the linebackers a little bit, but it just is completely,
19:57
Speaker 5: it truly is completely different.
19:59
Speaker 6: And so you.
20:01
Speaker 5: Really eliminate a lot of your run game and you
20:04
Speaker 5: truly eliminate a ton of, of your good hardcore play
20:09
Speaker 5: action stuff.
20:11
Speaker 1: Mark, let's discuss Amarius Mims. Through four games, he ranks
20:16
Speaker 1: number one among NFL tackles and lowest pressure rate allowed.
20:20
Speaker 1: What jumps out to you when you watch that 23-year-old
20:23
Speaker 1: right tackle for the Bengals?
20:25
Speaker 6: Yeah, I think he's a really good player. You know,
20:27
Speaker 6: it's interesting.
20:28
Speaker 5: The first thing is his stance. Like, it's a little
20:31
Speaker 5: bit quirky stance. Both your guys' tackles have some quirky-looking stances, right?
20:35
Speaker 5: Brown on the other side with his knee all cocked
20:38
Speaker 5: in and stuff I don't I don't I don't necessarily
20:40
Speaker 5: care for it but he he gets really low and
20:43
Speaker 5: he has great like great initial takeoff I used to
20:46
Speaker 5: say you know first contact wins and and you want
20:50
Speaker 5: to you want to set up before the defensive lineman
20:53
Speaker 5: gets out of his stance and he's a guy that
20:56
Speaker 5: just explodes out of his stance and puts himself in
20:58
Speaker 5: a great position plus he looks like a ginormous man
21:01
Speaker 5: on film I don't know how big he is I
21:03
Speaker 5: haven't looked at his statistics, but he's a big looking man.
21:07
Speaker 6: Um, yeah, he, he looks the part.
21:09
Speaker 5: Now, of course, the other thing I always tell you
21:11
Speaker 5: when I start hearing people rank PFF, uh, rankings, I
21:15
Speaker 5: just kind of roll my eyes because every week I
21:18
Speaker 5: hear that the Broncos are ranked as one of the
21:20
Speaker 5: top offensive lines and PFF rankings.
21:22
Speaker 6: And I'm like, not by the film I watched or not.
21:25
Speaker 5: So, you know, you, you can take some of that
21:27
Speaker 5: stuff and, uh, and, and flush it as far as
21:29
Speaker 5: I'm concerned, but, uh, just watching him on film, I
21:32
Speaker 5: think he's an outstanding young player.
21:35
Speaker 1: Six, eight, three 50 with seven, two wingspan, just so
21:39
Speaker 1: confirming he is a gigantic man.
21:41
Speaker 6: You know what? It's just not fair.
21:42
Speaker 5: Sometimes I walk on the field on Sundays, you know,
21:46
Speaker 5: and I played guard in this league at about two 90,
21:49
Speaker 5: you know, and I was obviously undersized, but I was
21:51
Speaker 5: always just as strong as an ox and, you know,
21:54
Speaker 5: weight room wise and everything else. But, uh, But, you know,
21:58
Speaker 5: I was 6'3, 290, and I walk on the field
22:01
Speaker 5: now at about 240, and the receivers in today's game
22:04
Speaker 5: are bigger than I am. Like, they're 6'5, just dwarfing
22:08
Speaker 5: me at 225, 230, like looking down on me, and
22:11
Speaker 5: I'm just like, Lord have mercy, this game has changed
22:15
Speaker 5: to some degree.
22:16
Speaker 1: Mark, you famously overcame a ton of injuries in your
22:20
Speaker 1: 12-year NFL career, 15 surgeries on your left knee alone.
22:24
Speaker 1: What do you think of Joe Burrow's toughness in coming
22:27
Speaker 1: back from some of the injuries he's had to endure
22:29
Speaker 1: in his first six years?
22:30
Speaker 5: Yeah, I think obviously, I mean, I can't speak any
22:35
Speaker 5: more highly of Joe Burrow than I already have.
22:37
Speaker 6: I think he's tough.
22:39
Speaker 5: I just think he is, as a processor, I think
22:41
Speaker 5: he's the number one processor in football. Him in the
22:45
Speaker 5: AFC and Brock Purdy in the NFC, from the standpoint
22:48
Speaker 5: of dropping back and instantly eliminating players something based on
22:53
Speaker 5: coverage or instantly chucking a ball out to the edge
22:57
Speaker 5: because you've got access from a corner. You know, I mean,
23:00
Speaker 5: immediately what they're in. I just think the kid is
23:05
Speaker 5: is remarkable and he has shown incredible toughness. And and
23:09
Speaker 5: then he has such an unbelievable commitment to Cincinnati.
23:14
Speaker 1: So you were an interior offensive lineman. If you were
23:17
Speaker 1: playing against the Bengals this week, you would be blocking
23:19
Speaker 1: Dexter Lawrence and Jonathan Allen and some others. But what
23:23
Speaker 1: do you think of those two guys?
23:25
Speaker 6: Oh, I think they're beasts.
23:27
Speaker 5: And that's why, you know, as I'm watching film from Jacksonville,
23:30
Speaker 5: I'm watching film from Pittsburgh. I'm watching film for the
23:33
Speaker 5: last couple of games. Most most teams don't even try to.
23:37
Speaker 5: At least not early. They'll wait until they're seasoned a
23:41
Speaker 5: little bit, until they're a little bit tired before they
23:43
Speaker 5: even try to run it inside. A lot of outside toss,
23:47
Speaker 5: which is to me weak, like toss, crack, some strong
23:51
Speaker 5: side pitch. Let's get to the edge and see if
23:54
Speaker 5: we can attack the edges of this defense with some
23:56
Speaker 5: of the young players you have on the edge. There
23:59
Speaker 5: hasn't been great in several games. There hasn't been great
24:03
Speaker 5: edge integrity there. as far as setting edges and concern
24:06
Speaker 5: with some of the young players you.
24:07
Speaker 6: Guys have out there.
24:08
Speaker 5: So that's what I would expect, and that's what I
24:11
Speaker 5: would kind of think about if I was playing against
24:14
Speaker 5: your players because they are stout on the inside with
24:19
Speaker 5: Jonathan Allen and Sexy Dexy.
24:22
Speaker 1: The Dolphins are obviously in rebuilding mode. They are swallowing
24:25
Speaker 1: a ton of salary cap space this year, but they've
24:29
Speaker 1: got some talented young guys. Every NFL team does. Where
24:32
Speaker 1: are the Dolphins dangerous this weekend?
24:35
Speaker 5: Listen, I think that the Dolphins, if they adhere to
24:39
Speaker 5: just running the ball, play action, they've got Malik Washington
24:45
Speaker 5: is a really fine young player. Gadget guy is the
24:50
Speaker 5: really only receiver they have that truly is kind of
24:53
Speaker 5: an experienced guy. Chris Bell coming off that ACL that
24:57
Speaker 5: he had his last year at Louisville. worked his butt
25:01
Speaker 5: off to come back in like nine or ten months,
25:03
Speaker 5: and he has made some big plays for them, but
25:07
Speaker 5: inconsistent at the receiver position in general, no production at
25:11
Speaker 5: all from the tight end position. They lost A-Chan, which
25:15
Speaker 5: was their whole offense. He tore his ACL a couple
25:17
Speaker 5: weeks ago, but their whole offense was predicated on him
25:21
Speaker 5: not only running the ball but catching the ball out
25:23
Speaker 5: of the backfield. But I will tell you that Ollie
25:25
Speaker 5: Gordon was a guy last week that really flashed in
25:29
Speaker 5: the run game. And I also tell you, man, they're stout.
25:34
Speaker 5: Their offensive line is stout. The Proctor kid from Alabama
25:37
Speaker 5: can play. Paul at the left tackle is a player. Jackson,
25:43
Speaker 5: they're stout on the inside.
25:45
Speaker 6: Brewer is big.
25:46
Speaker 5: Like for me, if I was coaching that team, it
25:49
Speaker 5: would all be, like it would all be run.
25:52
Speaker 6: The ball with Ollie Gordon.
25:53
Speaker 5: It'd be the quarterback runs and RPOs off of that
25:56
Speaker 5: stuff and the hard run action, play action. Because Malik
26:02
Speaker 5: Willis is an athletic guy that can run the ball.
26:05
Speaker 5: I would really try to live in that realm. I
26:08
Speaker 5: just don't think you're going to beat people by going, okay,
26:10
Speaker 5: we're going to throw the ball down the football field
26:13
Speaker 5: with a bunch of rookie and first year wide receivers
26:15
Speaker 5: and think that we're going to get that done.
26:17
Speaker 6: They don't have that same connection.
26:19
Speaker 5: Like when I watch, when I watched Jamar Chase and
26:23
Speaker 5: Joe Burrow or T Higgins and Joe Burrow, I mean,
26:26
Speaker 5: it's like those guys went to Hogwarts together. Like it
26:29
Speaker 5: just expecto patronus, you know, they, it's like, they read
26:32
Speaker 5: each other's mind. There was a fourth down and two
26:35
Speaker 5: against Pittsburgh, a back shoulder fade, which might've been the
26:39
Speaker 5: best throw I've ever seen. And the great, like the
26:41
Speaker 5: greatest adjustment as a wide receiver, they knew that that's
26:45
Speaker 5: what they were doing.
26:46
Speaker 6: And it just came out.
26:48
Speaker 5: And I mean, Chase, He wasn't even out like he
26:51
Speaker 5: didn't even stop his break. He just all of a
26:53
Speaker 5: sudden knew, OK, whatever it was, 18, man, I'm just
26:56
Speaker 5: going to stop and turn around. And the ball is there.
26:59
Speaker 5: And that was I don't know. I probably would have
27:03
Speaker 5: made a bigger deal of that throw. I know it
27:05
Speaker 5: was incredible, but it was that was like that was
27:09
Speaker 5: like I said, it was magical. It was it was
27:12
Speaker 5: Narnia type stuff like you just don't see that from
27:14
Speaker 5: anybody else.
27:16
Speaker 1: Mark, you're crazy busy. I appreciate you giving us some
27:19
Speaker 1: of your time. Have a great call this Sunday.
27:21
Speaker 6: I appreciate it.
27:22
Speaker 5: Hey, make sure you guys check me out on the
27:23
Speaker 5: Sing a Truth podcast as well, and I'll do a
27:26
Speaker 5: whole breakdown of this game, all the meetings I have
27:28
Speaker 5: with all you guys in Cincinnati. So I'll do a whole–
27:32
Speaker 5: we call it the Leftovers podcast. And so all the
27:35
Speaker 5: coaches that I meet with, the players I meet with
27:37
Speaker 5: on the field, all the different players I meet with,
27:39
Speaker 5: the meetings that we have, and all the things we
27:43
Speaker 5: talk about going into the game that maybe don't make
27:45
Speaker 5: the broadcast– I will break it all down on Monday
27:48
Speaker 5: for you guys after this game between the Miami Dolphins
27:51
Speaker 5: and the Bengals.
27:52
Speaker 6: So make sure you check that out as well.
27:55
Speaker 1: In case you missed it, Mark's podcast is called the Stinkin'
27:58
Speaker 1: Truth Podcast. Finally, it's time for this week's Know the
28:02
Speaker 1: Foe segment as we get the lowdown on the 0-4 Dolphins.
28:06
Speaker 1: Miami is rebuilding under a new coach and a new
28:09
Speaker 1: GM and trying to escape salary cap jail. The Dolphins
28:14
Speaker 1: have nearly... $ 180 million in dead cap money this year.
28:19
Speaker 1: That's nearly 60% of the salary cap. See Isaiah Smalls
28:25
Speaker 1: covers the team for the Miami Herald, and he joined
28:28
Speaker 1: Wayne Box Miller and me on the Bengals game plan
28:31
Speaker 1: show this week.
28:33
Speaker 2: The fans, they obviously knew it was about time for
28:36
Speaker 2: it to start over, but look, they bring in Jeff Hathaway,
28:40
Speaker 2: bring in John Eric Sullivan, and what they have now
28:42
Speaker 2: is a team that obviously very, very young, very, very inexperienced,
28:46
Speaker 2: but a team that is growing week by week. They
28:49
Speaker 2: play very hard. They have a defense that's pretty solid
28:52
Speaker 2: against the run, had some issues covering the tight end
28:56
Speaker 2: as of lately, but they play very hard. And offensively,
29:01
Speaker 2: they obviously know Devon Aitken, but the offensive line is strong,
29:05
Speaker 2: and they believe in Ollie Gordon and Jalen Wright, and
29:09
Speaker 2: they'll still try to run the ball. But again, it's
29:11
Speaker 2: a team that is very young, but very hungry and
29:15
Speaker 2: still searching for that first win, and I guess they're
29:17
Speaker 2: hoping it'll be Sunday against the Bengals.
29:20
Speaker 7: You know, they were two of nine on third down
29:22
Speaker 7: against Minnesota. Talk about maybe what you've seen as a
29:26
Speaker 7: problem there and what they need to work on to
29:28
Speaker 7: get over the hump in terms of having a respectable
29:30
Speaker 7: number in that third down category.
29:33
Speaker 2: Yeah, the third down has been really a pain in
29:38
Speaker 2: the butt for the Dolphins. all year. And to me,
29:41
Speaker 2: it just comes down to inexperience, right? You have a
29:45
Speaker 2: very young wide receiver core. You have two to three
29:49
Speaker 2: rookies starting out there on the field on a day-to-day basis.
29:55
Speaker 2: But to me, it's a little bit of the inexperience.
29:57
Speaker 2: I think that's what is at the root of the
30:01
Speaker 2: issues on third down, whether it's receivers not necessarily running
30:04
Speaker 2: the right routes or running it with poor timing with
30:09
Speaker 2: the quarterback. I think that's been the biggest issue for
30:11
Speaker 2: me that I've seen on third down. And obviously, there's
30:14
Speaker 2: been a little bit of issue on that right side
30:16
Speaker 2: with the tackle, Austin Jackson. And he's getting up there
30:19
Speaker 2: in age, and it just hasn't looked super positive. But
30:25
Speaker 2: to me, it's a combination of Austin Jackson getting a
30:28
Speaker 2: little bit older and needing a little bit more help.
30:30
Speaker 2: But then also, they also have these third and eight,
30:33
Speaker 2: third and sevens. And when you have those third and longs,
30:36
Speaker 2: it's a little bit difficult to be able to convert.
30:39
Speaker 2: And that's when you need, you know, a go-to guy
30:41
Speaker 2: at the receiver position. And I think they're still searching
30:43
Speaker 2: for that.
30:45
Speaker 1: See, Isaiah Smalls from the Miami Herald is our guest.
30:47
Speaker 1: Let's talk about quarterback Malik Willis. What's he done well
30:50
Speaker 1: and where has he struggled?
30:53
Speaker 2: To me, Malik Willis has rare arm talent, and I
30:57
Speaker 2: think that is something that really intrigued this new regime
31:00
Speaker 2: in bringing him in. The issue that I've found with
31:04
Speaker 2: Malik so far is that he sometimes needs to take
31:07
Speaker 2: the easier throw. He's a guy that kind of wants
31:10
Speaker 2: the big money and he'll go long, where sometimes, look, man,
31:15
Speaker 2: take the check down and let the guy— run for
31:17
Speaker 2: the first down. I think that's been the biggest issue,
31:19
Speaker 2: but look, the talent is there. He's a guy that
31:23
Speaker 2: can move very well in the pocket, can maneuver, definitely
31:26
Speaker 2: can use his legs, great arm strength, but I think
31:29
Speaker 2: sometimes the biggest issue that I've seen is he needs
31:32
Speaker 2: to take the check down.
31:35
Speaker 7: Talk about the run game, and Gordon, I mean, he
31:37
Speaker 7: had a really impressive game against Minnesota. Is he going
31:42
Speaker 7: to take over that running back spot now, or are
31:44
Speaker 7: they still going to do it by committee?
31:46
Speaker 2: I think they're still going to do it by committee
31:49
Speaker 2: for the time being, unless Gordon has another monster game
31:54
Speaker 2: this week against the Bengals, and then I think you're
31:56
Speaker 2: going to have to start to lean towards Ali a
32:00
Speaker 2: little bit more, but I think they want to go
32:02
Speaker 2: by committee. Coach has not abandoned using Jalen Wright as
32:06
Speaker 2: much as he wants to, so I think they're still
32:08
Speaker 2: going to go by committee for the time being, and
32:12
Speaker 2: if Ali has another game, though, a good game, I
32:14
Speaker 2: think that's going to force their hand to really, really
32:17
Speaker 2: play him more and just have him be the lead guy.
32:21
Speaker 1: Isaiah, last week they lost to the undefeated Vikings by
32:23
Speaker 1: five points. Two weeks ago, they trailed the undefeated Chiefs
32:28
Speaker 1: by four points going to the fourth quarter before Kansas
32:31
Speaker 1: City was able to put it away. Paint the picture
32:35
Speaker 1: for us for what the Bengals should be most concerned
32:38
Speaker 1: about this Sunday.
32:41
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, to me, just looking at the injury report,
32:43
Speaker 2: I think the biggest concern is that they don't have
32:46
Speaker 2: Jamar and T. That is probably one of the best,
32:50
Speaker 2: if not the best, receiving tandem in the league. And
32:54
Speaker 2: without those guys, I'm concerned with how the offense is
32:58
Speaker 2: going to go. But I think on the plus side,
33:01
Speaker 2: Mike Gusecki, obviously he has roots down in Miami with
33:05
Speaker 2: the Dolphins, but they're going to have to rely on
33:07
Speaker 2: him a lot more because he's As I've said, the
33:10
Speaker 2: Dolphins have kind of struggled against the tight end. So
33:12
Speaker 2: if they don't have Jamar and T, definitely will be
33:16
Speaker 2: a concern. But they might be okay with Mike Jacecki.
33:21
Speaker 7: You know, Dan talked about the last two games where,
33:24
Speaker 7: you know, they were in the game. Was it simply
33:27
Speaker 7: just their inexperience that cost them as the game got long?
33:31
Speaker 7: Or was there something else that you looked at that
33:33
Speaker 7: is more of an emphasis that they need to correct
33:36
Speaker 7: if they're going to win those type of close games?
33:39
Speaker 2: It's definitely an experience like you have a rookie Green
33:43
Speaker 2: Dot guy and Jake Jacob Rodriguez, who's definitely shown promise.
33:48
Speaker 2: And he just set the franchise rookie record for tackles,
33:51
Speaker 2: breaking Zach Thomas's 30 year record. But I think they're
33:55
Speaker 2: just really an experience.
33:57
Speaker 5: Right.
33:57
Speaker 2: Like when when it's. you have these one possession games
34:00
Speaker 2: and it's going to the fourth, like you need expert execution.
34:04
Speaker 2: And I think that's where it begins to fall apart
34:06
Speaker 2: a little bit. I think the execution sometimes can be
34:08
Speaker 2: a bit sloppy. It can be a penalty here, a
34:12
Speaker 2: false start there. Like it, to me, it's the execution.
34:15
Speaker 2: And that's something that should improve over time because to
34:19
Speaker 2: your point, they're in these games. They just don't know
34:22
Speaker 2: how to finish.
34:23
Speaker 1: Our thanks to C.
34:24
Speaker 6: Isaiah Smalls.
34:25
Speaker 1: And that's going to do it for this episode of
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34:58
Speaker 2: I'm Dan Hoard.
34:59
Speaker 1: And thanks for listening to the Bengals Booth Podcast.