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Bengals Booth Podcast: Don't Stop · Bengals Booth Podcast

0:01
Speaker 1: Hi again, everybody. I'm Dan Hoard, and thanks for downloading
0:06
Speaker 1: the Bengals Booth podcast, the Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow edition,
0:14
Speaker 1: as the Bengals put a 2-0 start in the rearview
0:17
Speaker 1: mirror and look ahead to Sunday's AFC North showdown in Pittsburgh.
0:22
Speaker 1: Coming up, former NFL offensive lineman Ross Tucker from CBS
0:26
Speaker 1: Sports joins me to discuss Dexter Lawrence and Marius Mims'
0:30
Speaker 1: and much more. I'll go one-on-one with linebacker Demetrius Knight,
0:35
Speaker 1: and in this week's Know the Foe segment, we'll check
0:37
Speaker 1: in with Brooke Pryor, who covers the Steelers for ESPN.
0:41
Speaker 1: The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you by Paycor,
0:44
Speaker 1: proud to be the Bengals' official HR software provider. By AltaFiber,
0:49
Speaker 1: future-proof fiber internet designed to elevate your home, business, and
0:52
Speaker 1: community to a new level. And by Kettering Health, the
0:56
Speaker 1: best care for the best fans. Kettering Health is the
0:59
Speaker 1: official healthcare provider of the Bengals. Now, here's a quick
1:02
Speaker 1: reminder that you can have the latest edition of this
1:05
Speaker 1: podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet, or computer by
1:09
Speaker 1: subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's the greatest thing
1:13
Speaker 1: since The Game. That's the name of a new book
1:17
Speaker 1: about the NFL written by former Sports Illustrated writer Peter
1:21
Speaker 1: King that's due to go on sale on October 13th.
1:25
Speaker 1: I haven't read it yet, but I'm comfortable recommending it
1:28
Speaker 1: based on an excerpt that you can find on SI.com.
1:33
Speaker 1: It describes how Peter got his start as an NFL
1:36
Speaker 1: reporter by covering the Bengals for the Cincinnati Inquirer back
1:40
Speaker 1: in 1984, and includes great anecdotes about Sam Weish, Boomer Esiason,
1:45
Speaker 1: Paul Brown, and others. I've been a fan of Peter
1:48
Speaker 1: King for ages, and when I got the Bengals' play-by-play job,
1:52
Speaker 1: I made it a point to talk to him whenever
1:54
Speaker 1: he was around the team. and what I quickly learned
1:57
Speaker 1: is that he is one of the most curious people
2:00
Speaker 1: I've ever met. We went to lunch once, and instead
2:03
Speaker 1: of me picking his brain, it turned out to be
2:06
Speaker 1: the other way around. Peter is a big baseball fan,
2:09
Speaker 1: and when he learned that I used to be the
2:10
Speaker 1: radio announcer for the Pawtucket Red Sox, Boston's AAA farm
2:14
Speaker 1: team at the time, he began peppering me with questions.
2:19
Speaker 1: How long were the bus rides? What were Dustin Pedroia
2:22
Speaker 1: and John Lester like at that age? The questions kept coming,
2:25
Speaker 1: And I realized that's what makes Peter so great, unquenchable
2:30
Speaker 1: curiosity and attention to detail. I can't wait to read
2:34
Speaker 1: The Game, and I'll be interviewing Peter about his book
2:38
Speaker 1: in a few weeks for this podcast. Now, let's get
2:42
Speaker 1: to my first guest. Former NFL offensive lineman Ross Tucker
2:45
Speaker 1: will call this week's game on CBS with Ian Eagle,
2:48
Speaker 1: and he joined me on Wednesday to share his thoughts
2:51
Speaker 1: on the Bengals and look ahead to Sunday's matchup in Pittsburgh. Ross,
2:57
Speaker 1: when you popped on the Bengals tape of their first
2:59
Speaker 1: two games and watch Dexter Lawrence, how would you describe
3:03
Speaker 1: the impact he's having for Cincinnati?
3:05
Speaker 2: Kind of like Dexter. It's massive.
3:10
Speaker 3: You know, I'll probably say this at some point on Sunday.
3:14
Speaker 3: So I guess you guys are getting a sneak preview.
3:17
Speaker 3: He might be number one ranked in in terms of
3:21
Speaker 3: impact greater than statistics. you know he's like the poster
3:27
Speaker 3: child I mean I'm watching this Texans game and he
3:32
Speaker 3: is denting the defense he's controlling double teams he's knocking
3:36
Speaker 3: the center back and at the end of the day
3:39
Speaker 3: you see it's like three tackles one was for loss
3:42
Speaker 3: I guess that was the fourth down in inches it's
3:44
Speaker 3: kind of a big one to have by the way
3:46
Speaker 3: a big tackle for loss to have and then the
3:49
Speaker 3: one quarterback hit but You know, there's just nowhere to go.
3:54
Speaker 2: He's swallowing the double teams.
3:57
Speaker 3: And on a lot of these runs, he's denting the
4:01
Speaker 3: offensive lineman, meaning knocking him back to the point where
4:05
Speaker 3: the running back has to cut before they want to.
4:08
Speaker 2: And even something I think is.
4:10
Speaker 3: Very, very underappreciated, pushing the pocket, knocking the pocket back
4:18
Speaker 3: so that the quarterback can't step up.
4:20
Speaker 2: You know this, Dan. They hate that.
4:23
Speaker 3: They would rather have an edge rusher come around the
4:25
Speaker 3: edge than have an offensive lineman getting pushed right into
4:29
Speaker 3: their face.
4:30
Speaker 2: They can't step up. They can't see. It's uncomfortable to throw.
4:36
Speaker 3: It's bad all around for the opposition. So Dexter's addition
4:42
Speaker 3: has been huge. And I think all of the other guys,
4:47
Speaker 3: including some of the other guys they brought in, Cassius
4:49
Speaker 3: Howe and Boye Mafe, you know, those guys are really benefiting. Look,
4:54
Speaker 3: they're doing a terrific job in their own right. It's
4:56
Speaker 3: not like Dexter Lawrence can play all four or five
4:59
Speaker 3: D-line positions, whatever it is, but he's certainly helping everyone
5:05
Speaker 3: in this regard.
5:07
Speaker 1: It's only been two games, but how does the Bengals'
5:10
Speaker 1: defense compare to what you expected?
5:13
Speaker 2: Better. Yeah, better than I thought they'd be.
5:15
Speaker 3: You know, I might have said this in that preseason game.
5:19
Speaker 3: week three that I called for CBS, but the thought
5:23
Speaker 3: process in my mind, at least was if they were
5:27
Speaker 3: just average and not, not even average, actually, if they
5:31
Speaker 3: just weren't bottom five, you know, or bottom 10, then
5:37
Speaker 3: they had a chance to have a really nice team
5:39
Speaker 3: because of what they.
5:40
Speaker 2: Do on offense.
5:41
Speaker 3: Well, so far they're top 10, you know, they're not
5:45
Speaker 3: only not bottom five anymore, but or average, they're well
5:50
Speaker 3: above average.
5:51
Speaker 2: Now, it's only two games, but I don't know.
5:55
Speaker 3: I mean, the Texans scored 31 points the week before
5:59
Speaker 3: against the Buffalo Bills, so they're able to do some things.
6:02
Speaker 3: No Nico Collins certainly hurt them. And then, you know,
6:06
Speaker 3: I think the Bucs and Baker Mayfield, they're typically able
6:08
Speaker 3: to move the football. So I would say highly encouraging start.
6:14
Speaker 3: And Fortunately for them, I guess, they're going against a
6:17
Speaker 3: Steelers offense that has really struggled through these first two games.
6:21
Speaker 3: Really struggled. So, yeah, I will say this, though. The
6:25
Speaker 3: NFL has a funny way of when one team's really
6:30
Speaker 3: struggling in an area, another team's really excelling. Just when
6:34
Speaker 3: you think you have it figured out, you don't have
6:37
Speaker 3: it figured out. So it just really adds to the
6:40
Speaker 3: intrigue for this game.
6:43
Speaker 1: We're visiting with Ross Tucker from CBS and the Ross
6:45
Speaker 1: Tucker Football Podcast. You're an NFL offensive lineman for five seasons.
6:50
Speaker 1: How good is Amarius Mims?
6:53
Speaker 3: Man, he looks pretty good. He's playing really, really well
6:57
Speaker 3: so far. You know, I'm a little bit intrigued that
7:01
Speaker 3: at times they're giving him help and not Orlando Brown Jr.
7:06
Speaker 3: I think that will probably change a little bit over
7:10
Speaker 3: the course of the season, just based on what I'm
7:12
Speaker 3: seeing from those guys. Some of it might be, you know,
7:16
Speaker 3: matchup dependent. TJ Watt typically, not always, rushes over the
7:22
Speaker 3: right tackle. So perhaps for that reason, they'll continue to
7:26
Speaker 3: give Mims a little bit of help. And I think
7:29
Speaker 3: just to give him a help a couple times, just
7:31
Speaker 3: as a changeup, is a great thing. But Orlando Brown Jr.
7:35
Speaker 3: on the other side has not played very well. And
7:38
Speaker 3: so whether it's Highsmith or Herbig, the Steelers have.
7:44
Speaker 2: Some legit guys.
7:45
Speaker 3: And so, now listen, they're not Daniil Hunter, but they
7:49
Speaker 3: can play. And so that's certainly something I'm going to
7:53
Speaker 3: talk to the Bengals coaches about. I'm curious to see
7:56
Speaker 3: what their strategy is as it relates to both tackles.
8:00
Speaker 3: But the early returns on Mims, highly encouraging so far
8:04
Speaker 3: this year for sure.
8:06
Speaker 1: The offensive line had the lowest rate of pressure allowed
8:09
Speaker 1: in week one and then last week the line allowed
8:12
Speaker 1: five sacks and 10 quarterback hits. How much do you
8:15
Speaker 1: attribute that to how good Houston's front is and what
8:18
Speaker 1: are your concerns where the Bengals offensive line is concerned?
8:23
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean the biggest one by far is Orlando
8:26
Speaker 3: Brown Jr. You know, I know there was something late.
8:29
Speaker 3: I'm trying to remember. if it was a stunt or
8:32
Speaker 3: if Reisner just got beat. But the Orlando Brown Jr. situation,
8:37
Speaker 3: the penalties, the getting beat, that is something to watch.
8:43
Speaker 3: They're paying him a lot of money. They're expecting him
8:46
Speaker 3: to be able to hold it down at a high level.
8:49
Speaker 3: He was not able to do so against the Texans.
8:52
Speaker 3: And so there's two stages to it. There's stage one, okay,
8:57
Speaker 3: You know, he's not able to get done one-on-one. That
9:01
Speaker 3: you can live with. It's not good if you have
9:03
Speaker 3: to put, you know, the tight end over there or
9:06
Speaker 3: the receiver presence or slide to him. But you can
9:10
Speaker 3: live with that. If he's still struggling at that point,
9:12
Speaker 3: then you're really concerned.
9:15
Speaker 1: As you noted, Ross, you called that final preseason game
9:18
Speaker 1: in Philly. The Bengals dominated the Eagles that night, but
9:21
Speaker 1: they did it with both teams playing second and third stringers.
9:24
Speaker 1: Did you come away impressed by the Bengals' depth? And
9:28
Speaker 1: did any individual stand out?
9:30
Speaker 3: Yes, I did come away very impressed, actually, with the Bengals' depth. And,
9:36
Speaker 3: I mean, Dante Myers. You know, it felt like they
9:40
Speaker 3: could just throw him the ball every play. It's the craziest.
9:43
Speaker 3: I mean, you guys have probably talked ad nauseum about
9:45
Speaker 3: the story. I'm not going to rehash the story. But,
9:51
Speaker 3: I mean, he must have really dominated in the CFL
9:55
Speaker 3: last year.
9:55
Speaker 2: I mean... Just watching.
9:57
Speaker 3: Him, the Eagles.
10:00
Speaker 2: could not cover him.
10:01
Speaker 3: And it's nice to see him getting some snaps out
10:04
Speaker 3: there for the Bengals in these regular season games. I
10:08
Speaker 3: saw Colby Young out there a little bit, too.
10:10
Speaker 2: I mean, they have.
10:11
Speaker 3: I think that's probably the thing, is, you know, we
10:15
Speaker 3: know they have the best duo in the NFL.
10:18
Speaker 2: I think.
10:20
Speaker 3: this is the best I can remember their four and
10:23
Speaker 3: five being in a while, you know? And by the way,
10:26
Speaker 3: they're both making like the rookie minimum, which is fantastic.
10:30
Speaker 3: You know, Myers and Colby young and they have, they're
10:34
Speaker 3: totally different types of players. You know, Myers gives them
10:37
Speaker 3: like the speed, quick, dynamic guy, Colby young, gosh, watching some.
10:43
Speaker 2: Of the preseason games.
10:45
Speaker 3: I thought he was T Higgins a couple of times,
10:46
Speaker 3: you know, He's very similar to T in terms of
10:49
Speaker 3: style of play.
10:52
Speaker 1: So the Steelers' offense has one touchdown through two games.
10:56
Speaker 1: What's been the biggest issue for Pittsburgh's offense?
11:01
Speaker 2: Well, they have a bunch.
11:02
Speaker 3: You know, I mean, Michael Pittman didn't play in this
11:05
Speaker 3: last game, and I would say the receiving core has
11:09
Speaker 3: been disappointing, to be kind. You know, the really high-priced
11:14
Speaker 3: guy is DK Metcalf, and For whatever reason, he's really,
11:18
Speaker 3: really struggling. Really struggling. He's got four drops, a couple
11:23
Speaker 3: offensive pass interference penalties. The Steelers, under Mike McCarthy, want
11:28
Speaker 3: to try to drive the ball down the field. They
11:29
Speaker 3: want to try to take shots. They're not really getting
11:32
Speaker 3: open down the field. And then the offensive line, which
11:36
Speaker 3: I thought had been playing pretty well for them towards
11:39
Speaker 3: the end of last year, you know, and it's a
11:41
Speaker 3: lot of the same guys, but they've kind of moved
11:44
Speaker 3: them around in different places. It It has not worked
11:48
Speaker 3: so far. It has not been what they were looking for.
11:52
Speaker 3: I'm not exactly sure. I haven't spoken to anyone there
11:54
Speaker 3: yet to walk me through why they moved the right
11:57
Speaker 3: side of the offensive line to the left side of
11:59
Speaker 3: the offensive line.
12:00
Speaker 2: I'm sure they had.
12:01
Speaker 3: Their reasoning, but whatever it is, it has been ugly
12:05
Speaker 3: so far for the offensive line. So if you have
12:08
Speaker 3: guys not getting open and the offensive line struggling, including
12:12
Speaker 3: guys coming free, that is not a recipe for success
12:16
Speaker 3: at any level.
12:18
Speaker 1: The defense, on the other hand, has given up the
12:20
Speaker 1: exact same number of points as the Bengals' defense, and
12:23
Speaker 1: the Bengals' defense is obviously getting a lot of love.
12:26
Speaker 1: What are the biggest challenges that Cincinnati's offense will face
12:29
Speaker 1: this week?
12:32
Speaker 2: Well, I think as much as anything, it's the D-line.
12:35
Speaker 2: I mean, I was impressed.
12:36
Speaker 3: Even Derek Harmon, when you name Steelers' defenders, it takes
12:43
Speaker 3: a while to get to Derek Harmon.
12:46
Speaker 2: Former first-round pick.
12:47
Speaker 3: I can't remember if this is his second or third year,
12:50
Speaker 3: but he looked really good against the Patriots. He had
12:53
Speaker 3: eight tackles, a tackle for loss, had some good rushes
12:57
Speaker 3: in the backfield.
12:58
Speaker 2: So you know about T.J. Watt. Everybody watching this knows
13:01
Speaker 2: about T.J.
13:01
Speaker 1: Watt.
13:02
Speaker 3: You know about Cam Hayward, Keanu Benton, you know, the
13:06
Speaker 3: former Wisconsin Badgers, a nice player. We already referenced Herbig
13:10
Speaker 3: and Highsmith, but now the other guy, like the only
13:13
Speaker 3: other guy I didn't mention, Harmon, He is stepping up
13:17
Speaker 3: and looking like a legitimately good player.
13:19
Speaker 2: I mean, they took him in the first round for
13:21
Speaker 2: a reason.
13:22
Speaker 3: And so now you've got a situation where the entire
13:26
Speaker 3: defensive line for the Steelers can really play and they
13:30
Speaker 3: have some depth there. It's going to be another major
13:33
Speaker 3: test for this Bengals offensive line.
13:36
Speaker 1: Final question for Ross Tucker. You're calling the game on
13:39
Speaker 1: national TV. You can't show any favoritism. But if Andre
13:44
Speaker 1: Josivas makes a catch, will you be singing the praises
13:49
Speaker 1: of Princeton football?
13:51
Speaker 2: Man, you know it. He's got to get a catch.
13:55
Speaker 3: I mean, when is this going to happen again where
13:58
Speaker 3: I'm calling a game and there's a Princeton guy, you know,
14:01
Speaker 3: there might be a Princeton O-lineman sometimes, but, you know,
14:05
Speaker 3: a receiver, that is a real rarity. So I'm going
14:10
Speaker 3: to reference, I'm going to mention that to Zach Taylor
14:12
Speaker 3: and Burrow. When I talk to him, look, just give
14:15
Speaker 3: him a screen pass early. Just give him something, and
14:19
Speaker 3: then I'll have to get cut off by my producer. Okay, Ross,
14:22
Speaker 3: that's a minute now you've been talking about Princeton football.
14:26
Speaker 2: We've run another play now.
14:27
Speaker 3: Ironically, Dan, my producer, Ken Mack, is very good at
14:32
Speaker 3: what he does.
14:33
Speaker 2: He's a Cincinnati native, but he went to Harvard.
14:37
Speaker 3: So I don't think he'll let me sing Princeton's praises
14:41
Speaker 3: too much.
14:43
Speaker 1: Suddenly you'll find yourself muted and you'll understand why. Ross,
14:48
Speaker 1: I really appreciate your time. Love the Ross Tucker Football Podcast,
14:52
Speaker 1: especially when Greg Cosell joins you on a regular basis.
14:56
Speaker 1: Thanks for joining us and look forward to seeing you
14:58
Speaker 1: in Pittsburgh.
14:59
Speaker 2: My pleasure. Thanks so much for having me, Dan.
15:02
Speaker 1: Shortly after that conversation, we learned that Andre Josivas tore
15:06
Speaker 1: a ligament in his thumb and will be out of
15:08
Speaker 1: action for several weeks. Joe Burrow says the Bengals have
15:12
Speaker 1: the depth to overcome his absence.
15:15
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a big opportunity.
15:16
Speaker 4: Whenever anybody goes down, there's a lot of opportunity to
15:20
Speaker 4: be seized. And I think this is the deepest we've
15:23
Speaker 4: been in that room for a while, and I think
15:25
Speaker 4: we've been deep in years past too. But we have
15:28
Speaker 4: so many guys that we feel good about putting out there. Dante, Colby, Keyshawn.
15:33
Speaker 4: I feel good about all those guys going in there
15:35
Speaker 4: and performing. And then the tight end room will handle
15:40
Speaker 4: some of that as well with Tanner, Eric. Mike, Jack,
15:44
Speaker 4: got a lot of different guys we can put in
15:45
Speaker 4: a lot of different spots.
15:47
Speaker 1: This will be the first time in two years that
15:48
Speaker 1: Joe has faced the Steelers. He missed both meetings last
15:52
Speaker 1: year with his toe injury. The Bengals are 4-3 in
15:55
Speaker 1: Joe's seven starts against the Steelers, and he's won the
15:59
Speaker 1: last three road games in Pittsburgh. He might not have
16:03
Speaker 1: to produce a bunch of points this week because the Steelers'
16:05
Speaker 1: offense is struggling so far with one touchdown drive through
16:09
Speaker 1: two games. We'll see if the Bengals' defense can continue
16:13
Speaker 1: Pittsburgh's offensive woes. And this week, I caught up with
16:17
Speaker 1: linebacker Demetrius Knight, who scored Cincinnati's first touchdown of the
16:21
Speaker 1: year on that scoop and score against Tampa Bay. Here's
16:25
Speaker 1: the thing about a scoop and score. When you pull
16:28
Speaker 1: it off, it's awesome. But if you accidentally kick it
16:32
Speaker 1: out of bounds or kind of muff it over to
16:35
Speaker 1: the other team, then everybody in attendance yells, why didn't
16:39
Speaker 1: you just fall on the ball? When do you decide
16:42
Speaker 1: to go for the scoop and score?
16:44
Speaker 5: Well, you've got people, if it's a bunch of people
16:48
Speaker 5: near you, we kind of call it city ball because
16:50
Speaker 5: it's a bunch of buildings, a lot of people around.
16:52
Speaker 5: So you jump on top of it. But in this case,
16:55
Speaker 5: Dexter hit a nice, you know, soccer slide to kick
16:57
Speaker 5: it out of there away from the people. Cause at
17:00
Speaker 5: first I'm like, Oh, I'll jump on it. But he
17:02
Speaker 5: kicked it.
17:02
Speaker 1: Out of there.
17:03
Speaker 5: So I'm like, Oh, now nobody's near. So it quickly
17:05
Speaker 5: turned into country ball where there's, Open country and just
17:09
Speaker 5: scoop and score. Believe it or not, we practice it
17:12
Speaker 5: every day, defensive drills before practice. So I know our
17:17
Speaker 5: defensive coaches are like, oh, that's my drill.
17:18
Speaker 2: It worked.
17:19
Speaker 5: So it indeed did work and ended up resulting in
17:22
Speaker 5: a touchdown. So it is definitely much easier said than
17:25
Speaker 5: done because I did get tripped. And the whole time
17:27
Speaker 5: I got tripped, I was like, please don't fall. So
17:30
Speaker 5: I ended up getting in the end zone. So it
17:31
Speaker 5: was pretty awesome.
17:32
Speaker 1: City ball, country ball. I've got my terms. That's good.
17:35
Speaker 2: That's it.
17:36
Speaker 1: As you say, you practice it every day, but the
17:38
Speaker 1: football's got points. It bounces in strange directions.
17:42
Speaker 2: Yes, it does.
17:43
Speaker 1: Do those drills actually help you develop a technique for scooping?
17:47
Speaker 2: They do. They do.
17:48
Speaker 5: They try to teach us, you know, to drag your
17:50
Speaker 5: knuckles to the ground because if you try to go
17:52
Speaker 5: in there like this, like you said, it can take
17:54
Speaker 5: a weird hop and hit you in the helmet and
17:56
Speaker 5: go right back to the offense and then we're all sick.
17:59
Speaker 5: They recover the ball and get another drive. So, you know,
18:03
Speaker 5: you're You're kicking yourself when they get the ball back there.
18:06
Speaker 5: So it's definitely training that was, I would say, didn't
18:09
Speaker 5: come monotonous, but it just became, you know, an everyday thing.
18:14
Speaker 2: Muscle memory.
18:15
Speaker 5: Muscle memory, pretty much. It was like, ball's here. It
18:18
Speaker 5: went from city to country. Let me try to scoop
18:20
Speaker 5: and score this, and sure enough, there you go.
18:23
Speaker 1: You got a game ball after that game when Zach
18:25
Speaker 1: Taylor tossed it to you. He referred to you as
18:28
Speaker 1: former quarterback D. Knight. But as you're running 27 yards
18:33
Speaker 1: into the end zone, did it? Kind of flashback to
18:37
Speaker 1: high school quarterback days?
18:38
Speaker 5: For me, no, just because I was hoping I didn't
18:41
Speaker 5: fall or trip on the way into the end zone.
18:43
Speaker 5: But for my high school friends, they texted me, oh,
18:46
Speaker 5: it looks like high school. So to them, I believe
18:49
Speaker 5: it gave them a little reminder of the old high
18:52
Speaker 5: school me. But for me, it was just trying not
18:55
Speaker 5: to end up on ESPN's not top 10.
18:59
Speaker 1: You tied your career high with 12 tackles last week.
19:02
Speaker 1: You have 19 after two games. Whenever I've asked your
19:05
Speaker 1: teammates and coaches about you and Barrett Carter leading up
19:08
Speaker 1: to this season, the word they always use, and I
19:10
Speaker 1: mean always, is faster. They are playing faster. Explain why.
19:17
Speaker 5: I believe, you know, I've been talking about it since
19:20
Speaker 5: pretty much the beginning, since we've gotten back. Just when
19:22
Speaker 5: you read that book the second time, things are a
19:24
Speaker 5: lot clearer. And you see things that you didn't see
19:27
Speaker 5: the first time around. The first year, you're just trying
19:30
Speaker 5: to do the bare minimum. I'm listening to everything. Logan
19:34
Speaker 5: saying to me, that's a legend here. So I'm just
19:38
Speaker 5: listening to whatever he's saying, whatever he's saying, I'm echoing.
19:41
Speaker 5: This time around, it's both of us out there who
19:43
Speaker 5: were thrown in the fire a little bit. So we
19:45
Speaker 5: forged that brotherhood that you know, we'll have forever. So
19:48
Speaker 5: we're able to go into the offseason and, you know,
19:50
Speaker 5: pretty much, you know, text each other every day. Like,
19:52
Speaker 5: you know, we're not going to have the same outcome.
19:54
Speaker 5: We'll still be the same backers, but we're going to
19:56
Speaker 5: play a lot different this year. We're not going to
19:58
Speaker 5: talk about it. We're just going to let our actions
20:00
Speaker 5: show that. So that's great to hear people saying that. But,
20:04
Speaker 5: you know, me and him, we're always looking for it.
20:06
Speaker 5: Different ways to skin a cat. There's always more meat
20:09
Speaker 5: left on the bones. The past two games, they went
20:13
Speaker 5: okay from our standards. We always want to be better,
20:16
Speaker 5: so we're always looking for different ways that we can
20:18
Speaker 5: continue to get our offense, the ball, as many times
20:22
Speaker 5: as possible. So we're going to continue to stress that.
20:25
Speaker 1: Here's what Al Golden said before the season about you
20:28
Speaker 1: two guys going through that fire together. Quote, I think
20:31
Speaker 1: a lot of defensive coordinators would love to have them.
20:34
Speaker 1: We threw them in the deep end, and they fought
20:37
Speaker 1: through it. What's that praise from Al mean to you?
20:41
Speaker 5: That means everything to us, just to knowing that we
20:45
Speaker 5: were thrown into the deep end, and we're just trying
20:49
Speaker 5: to learn to swim for your first time, coming from
20:51
Speaker 5: a different background. Him, a Clemson playbook, me, a South
20:55
Speaker 5: Carolina playbook, and trying to come here and learn the playbook,
20:58
Speaker 5: and completely different. Dismiss everything you learned in college to
21:02
Speaker 5: adapt to the NFL game and the speed of the
21:04
Speaker 5: NFL game and things like that. So it's a learning
21:08
Speaker 5: curve for sure. It's not anything that anyone should take lightly,
21:11
Speaker 5: but I would say it was necessary for the growth
21:14
Speaker 5: that we've been able to put on display through OTAs
21:18
Speaker 5: and through two games already, of course. Like I said,
21:21
Speaker 5: we're our biggest critics, so we're always looking for ways
21:24
Speaker 5: that we can get better. Always looking for, you know,
21:27
Speaker 5: giving each other cues while we're on the field to
21:30
Speaker 5: give hinge to here. We play off each other. The
21:33
Speaker 5: past game, we played off each other where maybe he's
21:35
Speaker 5: supposed to blitz and he'll look at me because I
21:37
Speaker 5: may have a better angle. He'll be like, no, you go.
21:40
Speaker 5: It's the twin telepathy we always talk about that we
21:42
Speaker 5: have together. Definitely going through the fire created a great
21:47
Speaker 5: relationship where we just push each other every day to
21:50
Speaker 5: be the best duo that we can be and truly
21:53
Speaker 5: be the best linebacker duo that this league has seen
21:57
Speaker 5: at such a young age that we are right now.
22:00
Speaker 1: You had my favorite quote after last week's win in Houston.
22:04
Speaker 1: You were asked about playing behind Dexter Lawrence. You said,
22:08
Speaker 1: it's like a minivan in front of you. Describe that
22:12
Speaker 1: vantage point, being a linebacker behind that guy when he's
22:15
Speaker 1: doing his thing.
22:16
Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean, there are gaps that you have to
22:18
Speaker 5: account for as a linebacker. You know, you are taught
22:22
Speaker 5: and told to finish on the ball, and Dexter and
22:25
Speaker 5: Jonathan Allen make that pretty clear. pretty much elementary for
22:28
Speaker 5: you because if, you know, coaches are talking about, oh,
22:31
Speaker 5: the A gap can be open or your B gap
22:33
Speaker 5: can be open. Well, I mean, if you happen to
22:35
Speaker 5: have Dexter in front of you, both gaps can be
22:37
Speaker 5: closed and, you know, you can play in the opposite
22:40
Speaker 5: A gap or opposite B gap because, you know, he's
22:42
Speaker 5: going to handle both of those. If he ends up
22:44
Speaker 5: getting double team, we can pull off a double team by,
22:47
Speaker 5: you know, stepping down into the gap and give him
22:49
Speaker 5: a one-on-one, which is always going to be a bad
22:51
Speaker 5: time for an offensive lineman where he can just shrug
22:53
Speaker 5: him off and make the tackle or sometimes, you know,
22:55
Speaker 5: he'll tell us, Hey, I'll hold on to these two.
22:58
Speaker 5: I'll grab these two guys, and you can go run
23:00
Speaker 5: through and make the play. So we play off of
23:02
Speaker 5: each other, but, man, it's great when you've got a
23:06
Speaker 5: human being like that that has to be game-playing for,
23:08
Speaker 5: where linebackers can just flow and play fast and make plays.
23:13
Speaker 5: Jay is the same way.
23:14
Speaker 1: You faced the Steelers this week. Their offense is off
23:17
Speaker 1: to a slow start. Their guys are probably a little
23:19
Speaker 1: bit embarrassed by how it's gone so far this year.
23:23
Speaker 1: that says to me that they are going to try
23:25
Speaker 1: to come out and be physical.
23:26
Speaker 5: Yeah.
23:27
Speaker 1: Is that how you feel about it this week?
23:29
Speaker 2: Absolutely.
23:30
Speaker 5: That's probably, you know, why I say we, we haven't
23:32
Speaker 5: put anything on display yet until we go play another
23:35
Speaker 5: physical team that not to say that Texas weren't physical.
23:38
Speaker 5: They're definitely physical teams. So is Tampa, you know, respect
23:41
Speaker 5: to those teams and their coaches. But this is a,
23:43
Speaker 5: you know, it's a division game where it's always, you know,
23:47
Speaker 5: it's always yucky. It's always grimy. And that, That's what
23:51
Speaker 5: this game is going to be about. Who can, you know,
23:53
Speaker 5: who can hold onto the ball, who can not give
23:56
Speaker 5: up turnovers, who can create turnovers, who can have a
23:59
Speaker 5: great field position and who can put the ball in
24:01
Speaker 5: the end zone. So it's all about shutting one side
24:04
Speaker 5: down and making it one side, one dimensional and, you know, truly,
24:09
Speaker 5: truly dominance. That's truly, I mean, Joe broke it down
24:12
Speaker 5: on dominance today. So I believe that's, that shows where
24:14
Speaker 5: our mindset is right now. We can determine the, The
24:19
Speaker 5: whole path of this season with this one right here
24:22
Speaker 5: to show people that we're not here just to compete,
24:25
Speaker 5: but we're here to win it all.
24:28
Speaker 1: You were a high school quarterback. You went to Georgia Tech,
24:31
Speaker 1: initially thinking you would play quarterback there. If my math
24:34
Speaker 1: is right, when you were a senior in high school,
24:37
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers was in his 14th NFL season. So basically,
24:42
Speaker 1: he's been playing pro football for as long as you
24:44
Speaker 1: can remember watching NFL games. How surreal is it? to
24:49
Speaker 1: look across the line a few feet away and see
24:52
Speaker 1: that guy staring back at you?
24:54
Speaker 5: Man, it is great. I'd say it's an honor, truly,
24:59
Speaker 5: just because I know I'll get to tell my kids
25:02
Speaker 5: that I played against a Hall of Fame quarterback. Not
25:05
Speaker 5: many people can say that. But I'll have not just
25:10
Speaker 5: the honor to be able to say that, just like
25:12
Speaker 5: he played in my division. So it's great to be
25:16
Speaker 5: able to play against a guy that's Once he's done,
25:20
Speaker 5: he'll be set for life. He's the Aaron Rodgers. But, man,
25:24
Speaker 5: this is a legend truly to the game. And what
25:28
Speaker 5: he's done for the game and changed the quarterback position
25:30
Speaker 5: the way he has, it's.
25:32
Speaker 2: Going to be.
25:34
Speaker 5: Definitely– and then knowing that this is his last season,
25:37
Speaker 5: it's definitely going to be– Maybe.
25:39
Speaker 2: Yeah, you're right, maybe. That's what he says, but we'll see.
25:41
Speaker 2: He could change his mind.
25:42
Speaker 5: Definitely, I've already told Barrett that I'm probably going to
25:47
Speaker 5: pester him You know, before the game, if I see him,
25:49
Speaker 5: after the game, in the middle of the game, maybe
25:51
Speaker 5: TV timeout, if I can grab that jersey off of him,
25:55
Speaker 5: it may– not that my wife would like it, but
25:58
Speaker 5: I might be like, hey, if I give you my
26:01
Speaker 5: whole game check, if you let me get that, that's
26:03
Speaker 5: a priceless artifact, a jersey from Aaron Rodgers. But, yeah,
26:07
Speaker 5: that's something that I'll probably– I'll cherish for sure, getting
26:11
Speaker 5: to play against Aaron Rodgers twice.
26:14
Speaker 1: You've got young kids. Don't part with a game check.
26:17
Speaker 2: That's true.
26:17
Speaker 5: That's true.
26:18
Speaker 1: You'll come back. They'll understand it when they see it later.
26:22
Speaker 1: Actually years from now, who knows? It might be worth
26:25
Speaker 1: more than a game check.
26:25
Speaker 5: That's very true. Very true.
26:27
Speaker 2: I believe it will.
26:28
Speaker 1: Last thing you, uh, came ready dressed for style in Houston,
26:34
Speaker 1: cowboy hat, cowboy boots. Is there anything appropriate to, to
26:39
Speaker 1: wear into a game in Pittsburgh?
26:42
Speaker 5: I've actually been looking at this, um, It's not much. Probably,
26:47
Speaker 5: probably Bengals gear is probably the right, the correct answer.
26:50
Speaker 5: So I'm still, still looking it up. I do go
26:53
Speaker 5: to Google and search these things. What do Pittsburgh fans
26:56
Speaker 5: hate to see people wear in Pittsburgh?
26:59
Speaker 1: Bengals gear would do it.
27:00
Speaker 5: Bengals gear would definitely do it, but I don't want
27:03
Speaker 5: to just wear Bengals gear. I want to make them
27:04
Speaker 5: truly upset. So kind of, kind of trying to troll
27:08
Speaker 5: them a little bit. We're, we're early in the year and,
27:10
Speaker 5: We're going into hostile territory. Why not, you know, they're
27:13
Speaker 5: all going to be upset to see us roll into town,
27:14
Speaker 5: so why not make it, you know, more worth their.
27:18
Speaker 2: While, I guess.
27:19
Speaker 1: Score another touchdown and you'll realize.
27:20
Speaker 5: That'll definitely do it. Maybe grab a yellow towel for them.
27:24
Speaker 2: That might do it.
27:26
Speaker 1: Congratulations on a great start. We appreciate your time.
27:28
Speaker 2: Absolutely. Thank you.
27:30
Speaker 1: We'll take an in-depth look at the Steelers next, but first,
27:33
Speaker 1: here's a quick reminder that the Bengals Booth Podcast is
27:36
Speaker 1: brought to you by Paycor. Proud to be the Bengals'
27:38
Speaker 1: official HR software provider. By AltaFiber, future-proof fiber internet designed
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Speaker 1: to elevate your home, business, and community to a new level.
27:48
Speaker 1: And by Kettering Health, the best care for the best fans.
27:52
Speaker 1: Kettering Health is the official health care provider of the Bengals. Finally,
27:57
Speaker 1: it's time for this week's Know the Foe segment, as
27:59
Speaker 1: we get the lowdown on the Steelers from Brooke Pryor,
28:02
Speaker 1: who covers the team for ESPN. She joined Wayne Box
28:06
Speaker 1: Miller and me on the Bengals game plan show this week,
28:09
Speaker 1: And I started our conversation by asking Brooke, what's wrong
28:12
Speaker 1: with the Steelers' offense?
28:14
Speaker 6: Gosh, I don't know if the segment is long enough
28:17
Speaker 6: to go over all of the issues that have come
28:20
Speaker 6: up with the Steelers' offense. I think it all boils
28:23
Speaker 6: down to this offensive line has not been good enough.
28:27
Speaker 6: And Mike McCarthy owned it starting Monday where he pointed
28:30
Speaker 6: out that some of that is because of a lack
28:33
Speaker 6: of continuity during training camp that he and the staff
28:36
Speaker 6: were so focused on. making sure that this line was
28:39
Speaker 6: versatile and interchangeable and trying to play all these different combinations.
28:45
Speaker 6: The starting five didn't get all that much work together
28:48
Speaker 6: in the preseason games and training camp, OTAs, all of
28:51
Speaker 6: those things. So now they're kind of behind the eight
28:54
Speaker 6: ball on that. I also would not be surprised if
28:57
Speaker 6: there are some changes on the offensive line. I could
29:00
Speaker 6: see them putting Brock Hoffman at guard, at right guard
29:04
Speaker 6: instead of Spencer Anderson, and perhaps even starting off Rookie
29:07
Speaker 6: tackle Maxi Honachor, who was their first-round pick, a very
29:11
Speaker 6: raw player in a sense because he's played organized football
29:14
Speaker 6: less than five years. But Aaron Rodgers said it today
29:17
Speaker 6: that he has a, quote, beautiful set and pointed out
29:21
Speaker 6: that guys that he played with, like David Bakhtiari at
29:23
Speaker 6: left tackle, also had a really nice pass set. Pretty
29:28
Speaker 6: high praise for Maxi Haunted Shore. But I think that
29:31
Speaker 6: this line has got to be better at protecting Aaron
29:34
Speaker 6: Rodgers and getting some push in the run game because
29:37
Speaker 6: this run game has also not really gone anywhere. So
29:40
Speaker 6: it's been a clunky start to the season.
29:43
Speaker 7: Hey, Brooke, thanks for joining us.
29:46
Speaker 2: Good to hear your voice again.
29:47
Speaker 7: I wanted to talk about Friar Muth and Metcalf. They
29:51
Speaker 7: only got five touches, four for Metcalf, and both of
29:54
Speaker 7: these weeks they're not getting a lot of touches. Is
29:57
Speaker 7: that something McCarthy talked about trying to get more balls
30:01
Speaker 7: to these guys?
30:03
Speaker 6: Well, it's definitely something that Aaron Rogers talked about. In fact,
30:05
Speaker 6: that was one of the things that he said today
30:07
Speaker 6: was that they've got to come up with more ways
30:09
Speaker 6: to get Pat Friermuth the ball because he is such
30:11
Speaker 6: a reliable target. And I kind of felt like that
30:14
Speaker 6: this was going to be a Pat Friermuth breakout season.
30:17
Speaker 6: He's been a very steady player since he's been in Pittsburgh,
30:21
Speaker 6: but kind of goes under the radar because the squeaky
30:24
Speaker 6: wheel doesn't get the grease, you know, or the squeaky
30:26
Speaker 6: wheel gets the grease and he is not the squeaky
30:29
Speaker 6: wheel there. So it's I think a lot of times
30:31
Speaker 6: he kind of flies under the radar, but he had
30:33
Speaker 6: the first catch of the season in week one. I
30:37
Speaker 6: think that he's absolutely someone that they need to get
30:39
Speaker 6: involved more. Same thing with Darnell Washington and Mike McCarthy
30:44
Speaker 6: and Aaron Rogers both said that Darnell Washington, one thing
30:47
Speaker 6: holding them back from using him more is that they're
30:49
Speaker 6: just not converting on third downs and that's made it
30:51
Speaker 6: difficult to involve him. And then as far as DK
30:55
Speaker 6: Metcalf goes, The touches are not for lack of targets,
30:58
Speaker 6: but the lack of touches is because he touches the
31:01
Speaker 6: ball and then it falls onto the ground. So he's
31:03
Speaker 6: had a problem with drops the first two games and
31:06
Speaker 6: just not making the combat catches that a guy getting
31:09
Speaker 6: paid worth of $ 30 million a year should be getting.
31:12
Speaker 6: So Aaron Rogers and Mike McCarthy have both said that
31:16
Speaker 6: they believe in DK Metcalf. They're not worried about him,
31:18
Speaker 6: but I think that at this point they need to
31:20
Speaker 6: see that on the field to see him start building
31:23
Speaker 6: that confidence back.
31:25
Speaker 1: Brooke Pryor covers the Steelers for ESPN. Let's talk about
31:29
Speaker 1: Joey Porter. He was listed as limited at practice today.
31:33
Speaker 1: What do you think? Do the Bengals face him this week,
31:37
Speaker 1: or is this week three where he doesn't play?
31:41
Speaker 6: You know, I think the Steelers really need him to
31:44
Speaker 6: play because not only did Joey Porter not practice today,
31:47
Speaker 6: but Jamel Dean, their other starting corner, did not practice today.
31:51
Speaker 6: He popped up on the injury report, did not have
31:55
Speaker 6: any kind of idea that he was injured coming out
31:57
Speaker 6: of last weekend's game. So if he doesn't play, then
32:02
Speaker 6: it would be Asante Samuel Jr. and Daylon Everett, the rookies, starting.
32:05
Speaker 6: And that's not the tandem that you necessarily want going
32:08
Speaker 6: against T. Higgins and Jamar Chase. I think that Joey
32:13
Speaker 6: Porter Jr. is listed as not injury-related conditioning as why
32:18
Speaker 6: he was limited today. The Steelers, I think, would like
32:22
Speaker 6: to see him on the field sooner rather than later,
32:24
Speaker 6: but this is a situation where the ball's in Joey's court.
32:27
Speaker 6: If he's obviously disappointed and frustrated that the steal did
32:31
Speaker 6: not get done, he can either continue to play hardball
32:35
Speaker 6: and try to force his way out of Pittsburgh. The
32:37
Speaker 6: Steelers are not going to negotiate this contract in the season,
32:40
Speaker 6: so his best hope is a trade. Or he can
32:42
Speaker 6: suck it up and understand this didn't go the way
32:45
Speaker 6: he wanted to, but, you know, get on the field
32:47
Speaker 6: and prove that you are worth the contract that you
32:50
Speaker 6: think you deserve. And maybe the Steelers pay that. Maybe
32:54
Speaker 6: another team pays that. But I think that this is
32:57
Speaker 6: a game where they absolutely need him. I know he's
32:59
Speaker 6: been handsy against T and Jamar in the past, but
33:03
Speaker 6: they need a guy like him on the field against
33:05
Speaker 6: this passing game.
33:07
Speaker 7: So if I'm hearing you correctly, you may say, why
33:09
Speaker 7: don't you just be TJ Watt and go out and play?
33:12
Speaker 7: Speaking of TJ Watt, I mean, he just continues to
33:16
Speaker 7: turn numbers in week in and week out. This guy
33:18
Speaker 7: just doesn't seem to age. He just seems to keep coming, coming,
33:22
Speaker 7: and coming.
33:24
Speaker 6: Yes, he absolutely does. And the thing about TJ Watt
33:28
Speaker 6: that I think should be really scary for opposing offenses
33:31
Speaker 6: is that He's unpredictable now because Patrick Graham is rushing
33:34
Speaker 6: him from all different places. I believe last week there
33:37
Speaker 6: was a time when he lined up on the interior
33:40
Speaker 6: and got after the quarterback. He has a sacks on
33:42
Speaker 6: the left side and the right side, and he's playing
33:45
Speaker 6: fewer snaps. I believe he's playing about 60% of the
33:48
Speaker 6: defensive snaps, which is a decrease from past years. And
33:51
Speaker 6: that's because Patrick Graham has been really intentional about rotating
33:54
Speaker 6: this pass rush. And Watt even said, you know, because
33:58
Speaker 6: he's playing fewer snaps, he feels like, okay, well, when
34:00
Speaker 6: I'm out here, I'm really going to make these reps count.
34:03
Speaker 6: And if I'm an opposing offensive coordinator, I'm thinking, oh, gosh,
34:07
Speaker 6: if he wasn't as worried about making every rep count before,
34:10
Speaker 6: what is this going to look like? Um, so yeah,
34:13
Speaker 6: I think that TJ Watt is certainly playing like the
34:17
Speaker 6: form that we saw from him a couple of years ago.
34:19
Speaker 6: He's had a couple of down seasons, but this feels
34:21
Speaker 6: like a really, really promising start to his season.
34:24
Speaker 1: So you may have just answered by next question somewhat,
34:28
Speaker 1: but the Steelers have had a defensive identity for decades.
34:32
Speaker 1: Does it look and feel different with this new coaching staff?
34:36
Speaker 6: You know, it doesn't, it doesn't, it feels different because
34:40
Speaker 6: it's a different guy that's calling the defense. This is
34:43
Speaker 6: not Mike Tomlin's defense. I think that there's some fresh
34:46
Speaker 6: ideas in there, but I think at its core, it
34:49
Speaker 6: is still incredibly physical. It's a violent defense. It is,
34:53
Speaker 6: I think just modernized. And I think that, you know,
34:57
Speaker 6: that is really important. That's what the Steelers have needed,
35:00
Speaker 6: that they are a team that, obviously is rooted in
35:03
Speaker 6: history and past and tradition. And Patrick Graham has been
35:07
Speaker 6: very transparent and candid about that saying, look, I know
35:11
Speaker 6: that this is Blitzburg. Like in week one, they barely
35:14
Speaker 6: blitz maybe one or two times. And in his press conference,
35:17
Speaker 6: he was asked about it. And he's like, no, I
35:18
Speaker 6: promise we're going to blitz. But he, he understands how
35:24
Speaker 6: much of this team is and franchise is rooted in
35:27
Speaker 6: the defensive identity, and so he wants to continue to
35:31
Speaker 6: foster that, but it looks a little bit different. I
35:35
Speaker 6: think the biggest thing right now is their run defense
35:37
Speaker 6: has got to be better, but I think overall the
35:39
Speaker 6: defense has, I would say, exceeded expectations early on.
35:43
Speaker 7: Brooke, what is the climate in the stadium? Tomlin was
35:48
Speaker 7: there a long time. He carried on the culture of
35:50
Speaker 7: the Steelers. This new regime with McCarthy, I know he's
35:53
Speaker 7: a hometown guy, but Do you still feel the same
35:56
Speaker 7: energy in the Akershore Stadium that has.
35:58
Speaker 2: Always been there?
36:00
Speaker 6: You know, in week one, yes, I would say so.
36:04
Speaker 6: I am very interested to see what week three feels
36:07
Speaker 6: like because if everybody on Twitter is in the stadium
36:12
Speaker 6: on Sunday, I think it's going to be very restless
36:15
Speaker 6: because that is how it felt watching the Patriots game
36:19
Speaker 6: and seeing it unfold on Twitter. I think that people
36:23
Speaker 6: here have been– kind of waiting for the other shoe
36:26
Speaker 6: to drop with the mike mccarthy aaron rogers recoupling knowing
36:31
Speaker 6: that they had a rocky past knowing that aaron rogers
36:34
Speaker 6: is 42 years old i think that there's been a
36:36
Speaker 6: lack of buy-in by some fans and yeah this is
36:39
Speaker 6: a really great story but is this the guy he's
36:43
Speaker 6: a retread coach and they're used to having these up-and-coming
36:46
Speaker 6: coaches and infusing new energy so it's It is a
36:49
Speaker 6: different feel. It would not shock me if this offense
36:53
Speaker 6: comes out with a bunch of 3-0s. There will be
36:56
Speaker 6: boos at Accreture Stadium. If I have learned anything about
37:00
Speaker 6: this fan base is that they are quick to let
37:02
Speaker 6: you know if they are not happy.
37:03
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers is 42. He said this is his final season.
37:10
Speaker 1: Is the Steelers' next quarterback on the roster? Was Drew
37:14
Speaker 1: Aller impressive?
37:16
Speaker 2: What do you think?
37:18
Speaker 6: You know, I think the Steelers would like their next
37:21
Speaker 6: quarterback to be on the roster, but that's why you
37:24
Speaker 6: hire Mike McCarthy to develop those guys. Drew Aller, I thought,
37:28
Speaker 6: had some flashes, but I didn't see enough to feel
37:31
Speaker 6: like he is the guy. I think that if they
37:35
Speaker 6: get a draft pick that is, you know, a later
37:38
Speaker 6: first round pick, then they would probably try to see
37:41
Speaker 6: if Drew Aller is that guy next year. But that's
37:44
Speaker 6: also part of the problem is that, yes, you saw
37:47
Speaker 6: him in the preseason some, but having Aaron Rodgers as
37:50
Speaker 6: your quarterback this year, how much do you really get
37:53
Speaker 6: to evaluate Drew Aller when practice reps are being divided
37:56
Speaker 6: four ways? I think that that is going to be
38:01
Speaker 6: a question that persists the rest of this season and
38:03
Speaker 6: into next year. But if, you know, this season bottoms
38:07
Speaker 6: out and they're in a position to have a top
38:09
Speaker 6: five draft pick, knowing that this should be a strong
38:13
Speaker 6: quarterback class, I would not be surprised to see them
38:15
Speaker 6: draft another quarterback.
38:18
Speaker 7: You know, Brooke, I ask you, At the linebacker position,
38:23
Speaker 7: Patrick Queen back again. Is there some continuity developing there?
38:28
Speaker 2: Is he playing well?
38:29
Speaker 7: Are they playing well? Is there a bright spot in
38:32
Speaker 7: that area this year?
38:34
Speaker 6: Yeah, I think so. I think Patrick Queen has played
38:37
Speaker 6: really well, but it has been a little bit uneven.
38:40
Speaker 6: Peyton Wilson looked incredible in week one against the Atlanta Falcons.
38:45
Speaker 6: He was flying all over the field. And then week two,
38:48
Speaker 6: he was overmatched by the Patriots. He just got absolutely
38:53
Speaker 6: obliterated on some blocks and just could not make the
38:55
Speaker 6: physical tackles the way that a guy like Landon Roberts,
38:59
Speaker 6: who's a real thumper, would have been able to. I
39:02
Speaker 6: think that Peyton Wilson is growing into his own, but
39:05
Speaker 6: he has some shortcomings in his game because of his size.
39:10
Speaker 6: The math doesn't math sometimes. He's getting taken out by
39:13
Speaker 6: guys that are much bigger than him. And so I
39:16
Speaker 6: think that that is... um, part of the issue. But
39:18
Speaker 6: to me, Patrick queen has been playing really well. Um, he's,
39:23
Speaker 6: you know, he'll be the first one to tell you
39:24
Speaker 6: that he's not happy with the way he played the
39:26
Speaker 6: last two years. but he's a green dot guy, and
39:29
Speaker 6: I think that he's had a good start to the season.
39:33
Speaker 1: Our thanks to Brooke Pryor, and that's going to do
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