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Bengals Booth Podcast: Starting Over Again · Bengals Booth Podcast

0:03
Speaker 1: I get everybody.
0:04
Speaker 2: I'm Dan Hord and thanks for downloading The Bengals Booth Podcast.
0:08
Speaker 2: The Starting Over Again audition as Joe Burrow returns to
0:15
Speaker 2: the practice field and the Bengals return from their bye
0:18
Speaker 2: week to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers. Coming up, Former
0:22
Speaker 2: UC and Carolina Panthers quarterback Tony Pike joins me to
0:26
Speaker 2: discuss the return of Joe Burrow, the incredible play of
0:29
Speaker 2: Joe Flacco, and how to fix the Bengals defense. Speaking
0:34
Speaker 2: of defense, I'll go one on one with Miles Murphy,
0:37
Speaker 2: who is getting an ample opportunity to show what he
0:40
Speaker 2: can do. And in this week's Know the Faux segment,
0:43
Speaker 2: we'll hear from the voice of the Steelers, Rob King.
0:47
Speaker 2: The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you by pay Corps,
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1:02
Speaker 2: the best care for the best fans. Kettering Health is
1:05
Speaker 2: the official healthcare provider of the Bengals. Now here's a
1:08
Speaker 2: quick reminder that you can have the latest edition of
1:11
Speaker 2: this podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet, or computer
1:15
Speaker 2: by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's the greatest
1:19
Speaker 2: thing since The Illusionists Table. This past weekend, I had
1:25
Speaker 2: a rare double buy in the football season, as the
1:28
Speaker 2: Bengals and Bearcats had the weekend off. My wife and
1:32
Speaker 2: I took advantage of it. My birthday was in early October,
1:36
Speaker 2: and as a present, my wife got us tickets to
1:39
Speaker 2: something called The Illusionists Table. It's a show that started
1:44
Speaker 2: in New York City before going on the road. We
1:47
Speaker 2: saw it during a one week run in Tampa. Here's
1:50
Speaker 2: the concept. Twenty four to twenty eight people gather around
1:54
Speaker 2: an elegant candlelit table for a gourmet meal with wine
1:58
Speaker 2: pairings and whiskey tastings, and during the feast, a magician
2:03
Speaker 2: slash mentalist named Scott Sylvan performs for the group. Now,
2:09
Speaker 2: I don't want to spoil any of the illusions, but
2:11
Speaker 2: let's just say that my wife and I are still
2:13
Speaker 2: debating how in God's name did he do that. If
2:18
Speaker 2: you would like a taste of the magic, not the meal,
2:22
Speaker 2: go to YouTube and type in Scott Sylvan. That last
2:26
Speaker 2: name is spelled SI l V E N. There are
2:30
Speaker 2: several fun clips of him doing the impossible. When the
2:36
Speaker 2: Bengals return to practice this week, Joe Burrow did something
2:39
Speaker 2: that blew our minds. He returned to practice on a
2:42
Speaker 2: limited basis less than two months after injuring his toe.
2:46
Speaker 2: Here's left tackle Orlando Brown Junior on Burrow's return.
2:50
Speaker 3: Really good to see. You know how far he's come
2:53
Speaker 3: in his recovery and rehab.
2:54
Speaker 4: Man.
2:54
Speaker 3: You know, everybody knows how much of a competitor he is,
2:57
Speaker 3: how much he loves it.
2:58
Speaker 1: But yeah, man, it's good to se him. Mother.
3:01
Speaker 2: It's been fifty seven days, I mean, not very long
3:04
Speaker 2: for him to be out there running around throwing the football.
3:07
Speaker 2: I guess that speaks to his quick healing abilities.
3:10
Speaker 1: Yeah, he's like wolverine man.
3:11
Speaker 3: I mean, this is the guy that not only does
3:14
Speaker 3: he love football, he's gonna figure out a way to
3:15
Speaker 3: get healthy. You know, he's been able to rehab and
3:18
Speaker 3: come back from a lot of different injuries and crazy
3:21
Speaker 3: freak stuff. But he was made for man, and you know,
3:24
Speaker 3: it's unfortunate what happened to him earlier this year in Jacksonville,
3:27
Speaker 3: But I mean I wouldn't be surprised he come back
3:29
Speaker 3: even stronger.
3:30
Speaker 2: Burrow says the returning from this injury wasn't as difficult
3:33
Speaker 2: as coming back from his knee and wrist injuries, and
3:36
Speaker 2: that it doesn't affect his ability to throw the ball.
3:39
Speaker 5: I'm not too concerned about the actual mechanics of the
3:42
Speaker 5: throwing that feels good. The toe, the specifically the front
3:46
Speaker 5: toe isn't very involved in that. It's just the planting
3:50
Speaker 5: and I'm strong enough and we feel good about doing that.
3:54
Speaker 4: At this point.
3:54
Speaker 5: It's just the running, cutting, twitchy shortstops that we're gonna
3:59
Speaker 5: have to see you over these next couple of weeks.
4:01
Speaker 2: The Bengals have three weeks to decide whether to activate
4:04
Speaker 2: Joe or shut him down for the rest of this season.
4:07
Speaker 2: I asked Burrow if he's determined to play again this
4:11
Speaker 2: year and if the Bengals one loss record will matter, You'll.
4:15
Speaker 4: See how these next couple of weeks ago.
4:18
Speaker 5: You know, there's a lot that goes into it. Like
4:20
Speaker 5: you said, there's a lot of variables that you have
4:21
Speaker 5: to consider, and we're just gonna see how these next
4:24
Speaker 5: couple of weeks ago, see what it feels. We have
4:27
Speaker 5: twenty one days to figure that out. Could be early,
4:31
Speaker 5: could be late in that window. Uh, we're still we're
4:34
Speaker 5: still pretty early post surgery for this injury. So we
4:38
Speaker 5: have a couple weeks of practice to figure that out
4:40
Speaker 5: and see where it goes.
4:41
Speaker 2: After two weeks of practice, the Bengals next game would
4:44
Speaker 2: be on Thanksgiving night in Baltimore, and Joe grinned when
4:48
Speaker 2: he was asked if his goal is to return for
4:50
Speaker 2: that game. That remains to be seen, but seeing him
4:55
Speaker 2: back on the practice field was a great sign that
4:58
Speaker 2: the toe injury should not post problems going forward. For
5:03
Speaker 2: more on Burrow, Joe Flacco, and the rest of the team,
5:06
Speaker 2: I spoke to a former NFL quarterback this week, Tony Pike,
5:10
Speaker 2: the University of Cincinnati Hall of Famer and the host
5:13
Speaker 2: of Since He three to sixty every weekday from noon
5:17
Speaker 2: to three on ESPN fifteen thirty in Cincinnati. Tony, what
5:22
Speaker 2: was your reaction on Monday when Joe Burrow took the
5:25
Speaker 2: practice field fifty seven days after tearing ligaments at the
5:29
Speaker 2: base of his left toe.
5:31
Speaker 1: Shock.
5:32
Speaker 6: All the work it takes to get yourself back in
5:36
Speaker 6: a position not only physically but mentally able to get
5:39
Speaker 6: back out there and play is incredible. I unfortunately had
5:43
Speaker 6: my share of injuries, and I thought the mental side
5:46
Speaker 6: was harder than the physical side to get back, because
5:48
Speaker 6: once you have one major injury, you know how much
5:50
Speaker 6: it takes to get back in it. And when I
5:53
Speaker 6: heard that, you know, you think maybe there's a chance
5:57
Speaker 6: at the end of the year for a game or
5:59
Speaker 6: two he comes back to not only see him Okay,
6:03
Speaker 6: he's going to give it a go, but he's got
6:05
Speaker 6: the cleats on, he's throwing the ball, he's moving around
6:08
Speaker 6: to hear the reports about, you know, the personal challenge
6:11
Speaker 6: he took it as to want to to shatter what
6:15
Speaker 6: the thoughts were about how quick you can get back
6:17
Speaker 6: from an injury like that. I have so much respect
6:20
Speaker 6: as the player that Joe Burrow is, but I have
6:22
Speaker 6: so much respect for what it takes mentally to go
6:26
Speaker 6: through this process. You're alone for so much of it,
6:29
Speaker 6: and to battle through and to come out and just
6:31
Speaker 6: be here and want to be there for your teammates,
6:34
Speaker 6: I think is awesome.
6:36
Speaker 2: Let me follow up on your injuries and your junior
6:39
Speaker 2: and senior years that you see, you broke bones in
6:42
Speaker 2: your left forearm. You came back really quickly with plates
6:46
Speaker 2: and screws in your arm, but a lot was at stake.
6:49
Speaker 2: Cincinnati was playing for the Big East championship. In both
6:51
Speaker 2: of those seasons. Should Joe Burrows come back be tied
6:56
Speaker 2: to Bengals wins and losses?
6:58
Speaker 6: There's an argument to be made for it, But the
7:00
Speaker 6: competitor and the athlete says, no, you want to get
7:03
Speaker 6: back out there with your guys. You know that that's
7:05
Speaker 6: the driving force behind of it. Yes, you want to
7:07
Speaker 6: win a championship, you want to win a title, but
7:10
Speaker 6: you want to be there for the guys that that
7:11
Speaker 6: you've been there throughout everything with and and and that
7:14
Speaker 6: have sacrificed a lot to be in that position. That's
7:18
Speaker 6: what I think drives Joe Burrow. I think it's it's
7:22
Speaker 6: an understanding of where this team is at and where
7:25
Speaker 6: they want to go, but also how important it is
7:27
Speaker 6: for him to be out there with this team. And
7:29
Speaker 6: and you know you asked the question to Joe earlier
7:32
Speaker 6: in the week, Dan of you know, the ongoing the
7:36
Speaker 6: the medal or the the procedure that it takes just
7:40
Speaker 6: to get the equipment right inside that that's it's so true,
7:44
Speaker 6: Like you're you're going back and forth, does this work?
7:46
Speaker 6: Does this work? How does this feel, what is this like?
7:49
Speaker 6: Can you play with this? It's such a process and
7:52
Speaker 6: you know to to have him back out that that
7:54
Speaker 6: was the ultimate goal for for any competitor, for me,
7:57
Speaker 6: for Joe Burrow, for anybody else. How quick can I
8:00
Speaker 6: get back out there and be with the team. You're
8:02
Speaker 6: not thinking about yourself, You're not thinking about your body
8:06
Speaker 6: at the time. You're not really thinking about the win
8:08
Speaker 6: loss record. It's I need to get back out there
8:10
Speaker 6: with my guys.
8:11
Speaker 2: There wasn't a ton of video of him practicing on Monday,
8:15
Speaker 2: but I imagine you studied what was out there frame
8:17
Speaker 2: by frame. Did anything stand out in terms of the
8:21
Speaker 2: throwing motion or the way he was moving around?
8:24
Speaker 6: No, just the smoothness at which he was moving There
8:27
Speaker 6: wasn't you know you think I originally thought when we
8:29
Speaker 6: heard the news that he's gonna be out there in
8:31
Speaker 6: jim shoes going through some stuff. He's got the cleats on,
8:34
Speaker 6: he's got the helmet, He's ready to go. It's interesting
8:37
Speaker 6: to me because it's the left foot, and just from
8:40
Speaker 6: a quarterback mechanic point of view, the right leg and
8:43
Speaker 6: the right foot is really your driving force. That's how
8:46
Speaker 6: you're you're generating power on all your throws. So one,
8:49
Speaker 6: I think it's a good thing that it is the
8:51
Speaker 6: left if there was a better toe for this to
8:54
Speaker 6: happen on because he's not driving with that toe, He's
8:57
Speaker 6: just kind of planting and aiming with toe. What I
9:01
Speaker 6: do think is interesting and we haven't got to see yet.
9:04
Speaker 6: There's been so much made about Joe Flacco and going
9:06
Speaker 6: under center and how this offense operates. That to me
9:09
Speaker 6: is I think the biggest challenge is getting a snap,
9:13
Speaker 6: whether it's under center, in the shotgun and now as
9:15
Speaker 6: a right handed quarterback, I'm rotating and now to get
9:18
Speaker 6: back in my drop now it's opposite, I'm pushing off
9:21
Speaker 6: with my left. That's where I think it can be difficult.
9:24
Speaker 6: Is that push off, whether it's away from center or
9:26
Speaker 6: whether it's getting a shotgun snap and taking a three
9:29
Speaker 6: step drop. I don't think anything in the throw or
9:32
Speaker 6: the motion is going to be the issue. It's just
9:34
Speaker 6: how how can he manage that in pushing away from
9:38
Speaker 6: the line of scrimmage.
9:39
Speaker 2: We're visiting the former UC in Carolina Panthers quarterback Tony Pike.
9:43
Speaker 2: Let's talk about Joe Flacco, what he's done in his
9:46
Speaker 2: first four games with minimal practice time. Seems impossible to
9:51
Speaker 2: me as a former quarterback. What's impressed you most.
9:56
Speaker 6: The composure, the ability to pick up a new system.
10:00
Speaker 6: You could talk all you want about Well, he's been
10:03
Speaker 6: in the league so long, he's seen it all. That's fine,
10:06
Speaker 6: and it's true. It's a completely different set of herbage.
10:09
Speaker 6: It's a completely different routree. It's different concepts.
10:12
Speaker 4: Now.
10:12
Speaker 6: Yes, in your mind, you hear something and you pair
10:15
Speaker 6: it with something you've done in the past, but that
10:17
Speaker 6: doesn't mean you get to call it whatever you call
10:19
Speaker 6: it in the past. You still got to learn a
10:20
Speaker 6: whole new playbook. I love how simple he's kept things.
10:24
Speaker 6: You know, it's sometimes in life, sometimes in sports, we
10:28
Speaker 6: overcomplicate a lot of things. And he's the first one
10:31
Speaker 6: to tell you, I know number one and I know
10:33
Speaker 6: number five are really good players, and I'm gonna throw
10:36
Speaker 6: it to them as much as possible. And at times
10:38
Speaker 6: it sounds funny, but that's what he's done. You know,
10:42
Speaker 6: he's fit into this system so well because he's played
10:46
Speaker 6: for so long. Like I thought, one of the coolest
10:48
Speaker 6: things was after one of his first games where he's
10:50
Speaker 6: talking to the media and he's talking about conversations he's
10:53
Speaker 6: had with his family and friends, and I'm just thinking
10:56
Speaker 6: to like a dude, like a guy Joe Flacco, ordinary
10:58
Speaker 6: guy gets done playing in the NFL on Sunday and
11:01
Speaker 6: he's talking to his family like, you guys aren't gonna
11:02
Speaker 6: believe these guys that I get to throw the ball too.
11:05
Speaker 6: Like there's a genuine excitement, and he understands the greatness
11:09
Speaker 6: that's around him on the offensive side of the ball,
11:12
Speaker 6: So him getting incorporated into that. I think he's tried
11:15
Speaker 6: to keep it as simple as possible, and I think
11:18
Speaker 6: there's value to that in football, because the quicker you play,
11:22
Speaker 6: the more confident that you play, the.
11:23
Speaker 1: Better chances success you have.
11:25
Speaker 6: He's not overthinking things, he's not holding onto the ball,
11:28
Speaker 6: and then you're starting to see everything kind of mess together.
11:30
Speaker 6: The run game now gets better, the old line gets better.
11:33
Speaker 6: I mean, there was a point in the last game
11:35
Speaker 6: Mitchell Tinsley had a big catch. Yoshi was huge, Noah Fan.
11:38
Speaker 6: I mean he's now he's spreading the ball out because
11:40
Speaker 6: now he knows he's got oposing defenses kind of in
11:43
Speaker 6: the palm of his hands, because you can't guard everyone
11:46
Speaker 6: on this offense.
11:47
Speaker 1: I think he's been fantastic.
11:49
Speaker 2: Let me follow up on the offensive line. Flacco has
11:52
Speaker 2: been sacked less than twice a game in his four starts.
11:54
Speaker 2: The running game is averaging five and a half yards
11:57
Speaker 2: per carry in those four games. Is it time to
12:00
Speaker 2: start giving some love to the often beligned offensive line.
12:04
Speaker 1: Yes, they deserve it at this point.
12:07
Speaker 6: I think Dylan Fairchild has been awesome as a rookie
12:10
Speaker 6: to come in and be tasked with what he's been
12:13
Speaker 6: tasked with. A Marius Mimes. You know everyone saw year
12:16
Speaker 6: number one. There's a lot of times in year number
12:19
Speaker 6: two you have that sophomore slump. I think he's getting
12:21
Speaker 6: better each in every game. Jalen Rivers another a rookie,
12:26
Speaker 6: a draft pick for this team that's been relied on
12:28
Speaker 6: many different times. Ted Carris is solid up the middle.
12:32
Speaker 6: I think it's also important to recognize they have a
12:34
Speaker 6: new offensive line coach and Scott Peters. You know that
12:36
Speaker 6: just doesn't happen overnight. You got a rookie from a
12:40
Speaker 6: last year, Marius Mims, you got two new rookies this year.
12:43
Speaker 6: They've done stuff their way their whole careers. Now that's changing,
12:46
Speaker 6: and it changed for Orlando Brown junior, and it changed
12:48
Speaker 6: for Ted Carris and everybody else. That just takes time.
12:52
Speaker 6: When you're trying to fit new pieces together, it takes time.
12:56
Speaker 6: I certainly think Joe Flacco has helped with the ability
12:59
Speaker 6: to go under center because it does slow down a
13:02
Speaker 6: pass rush. When there is that fifty to fifty chance
13:05
Speaker 6: that the ball is going to be handed off or
13:07
Speaker 6: the ball is going to be thrown, I think that
13:09
Speaker 6: slows things down. I think it puts more on a
13:11
Speaker 6: plate of a defense of what they have to be
13:13
Speaker 6: asked to do instead of just getting that free start
13:16
Speaker 6: when the quarterback is predominantly in the shotgun. But it's
13:20
Speaker 6: easy in today's day and age, you know, if you're
13:22
Speaker 6: not winning every game you play, and to just find
13:24
Speaker 6: stuff to harp on. On the negative side, but the
13:27
Speaker 6: offensive line over the last couple of weeks has been
13:29
Speaker 6: making very very good improvements.
13:32
Speaker 2: Donny, let's turn to the defense. Where does fixing the
13:35
Speaker 2: defense begin? In terms of position group.
13:39
Speaker 6: You know, the defensive line has to do a better
13:41
Speaker 6: job of getting home. And that's hard because Trey Hendrickson
13:44
Speaker 6: is banged up, Shamar Stewart has been banged up. That's
13:46
Speaker 6: hard for a rookie the linebackers. You're asking two rookie
13:50
Speaker 6: linebackers to read at the highest level. When you think
13:55
Speaker 6: of like Princeton, Harvard Ivy schools, I mean, that's what
13:59
Speaker 6: offense is in the end, and you're asking rookie linebackers
14:03
Speaker 6: to diagnose what they're seeing on the field without really
14:06
Speaker 6: a veteran now around them to say, hey, are you
14:08
Speaker 6: seeing this? Like it's two it's two rookies, so they're
14:11
Speaker 6: going through growing pains as well. I think DJ Turner
14:14
Speaker 6: has been one of the best corners in the NFL
14:16
Speaker 6: all year. But it's just it's the tackling as a whole.
14:20
Speaker 6: We could talk about scheme, you could talk about playmaking.
14:24
Speaker 6: The fact that you see so many players on the
14:27
Speaker 6: list of mistackles. Yes, you want to tackle better, but
14:30
Speaker 6: it also tells me there's a lot of players that
14:33
Speaker 6: are in position to make the tackle. So I don't
14:36
Speaker 6: know that it's much of a scheme. Thing is, hey,
14:38
Speaker 6: guys are in the right spot. It's just about finishing.
14:41
Speaker 6: And now you get a chance during the bye week
14:43
Speaker 6: to really self scout, to look at what you're doing,
14:46
Speaker 6: to look at tendencies that you've shown, or is there
14:50
Speaker 6: a way for a linebacker that you can fill in
14:52
Speaker 6: that gap a half second quicker and then make the
14:56
Speaker 6: tackle instead of being put more on an island. I
14:58
Speaker 6: think self scout, and I think just the basics. They're
15:02
Speaker 6: in position, bring down the ball carrier, and you got
15:05
Speaker 6: a chance to get off the field and get the
15:06
Speaker 6: ball back. To a really good offense.
15:09
Speaker 2: There aren't many glaring weaknesses on offense, especially if you
15:12
Speaker 2: believe in the rookie guards and the key players are
15:15
Speaker 2: under contract. So having said that, if the Bengals devote
15:18
Speaker 2: most of their resources draft picks, free agency, etc. Toward
15:22
Speaker 2: fixing the defense, how much better can it get in
15:25
Speaker 2: a year?
15:27
Speaker 6: If you look at the jump from twenty twenty to
15:29
Speaker 6: twenty twenty one, it can get a lot better. You know,
15:32
Speaker 6: this team is going to have money to spend, They're
15:34
Speaker 6: going to have resources, and you know who you are
15:36
Speaker 6: on offense, and that's the biggest thing. It's one thing
15:39
Speaker 6: to say, well, we got to attack all these different
15:40
Speaker 6: positions and his oh line still a question.
15:43
Speaker 1: Right now?
15:43
Speaker 6: You feel great about the offense, you know, going back
15:45
Speaker 6: to the second half of the Green Bay game, I've
15:48
Speaker 6: felt great about the offense since then. What they did
15:50
Speaker 6: against Pittsburgh, the game against the Jets. The Bears offensively,
15:54
Speaker 6: they're there. Number nine is going to be the quarterback
15:57
Speaker 6: in the future. Number one is going to be here,
16:00
Speaker 6: is gonna be here. And Chase Brown, who got to
16:04
Speaker 6: take in a nice UC basketball game against the Dayton Flyers.
16:07
Speaker 6: Chase Brown's gonna be here. And there are offensive coordinators
16:12
Speaker 6: and offenses around the NFL that would line up around
16:15
Speaker 6: the block. They have a chance to have those playmakers
16:17
Speaker 6: as the root of their team. As long as they're there,
16:21
Speaker 6: this team has a chance to win a Super Bowl.
16:24
Speaker 6: The defense doesn't have to be a top ten defense.
16:26
Speaker 6: Can you get them to the top fifteen or twenty
16:28
Speaker 6: in the NFL? And if so, I think you're talking
16:31
Speaker 6: about a team that's right back in contention.
16:33
Speaker 2: The Bengals beat the Steelers thirty three to thirty one
16:36
Speaker 2: a bottom month ago. What are the biggest keys to
16:38
Speaker 2: beating Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh the second time around?
16:42
Speaker 6: You know a Mike Tomlin coach team coming off a
16:44
Speaker 6: loss is going to come out swinging early. It's a
16:48
Speaker 6: Steelers team that has been up and down. They beat
16:50
Speaker 6: one of the best teams in the AFC. The Indianapolis
16:52
Speaker 6: Colts and then just essentially no showed against the Chargers
16:56
Speaker 6: on Sunday Night football. You're gonna get a focused team.
16:59
Speaker 6: You're gonna a team that's understanding with what's going on
17:02
Speaker 6: in the AFC North that they have to put their
17:04
Speaker 6: best foot forward. Aaron Rodgers was not good on Sunday Night.
17:07
Speaker 6: I would expect him to be much better. But that
17:10
Speaker 6: first go around with the Bengals, they re lied on
17:12
Speaker 6: those heavy sets, they were lied on the run game,
17:14
Speaker 6: they were lied on play action with the tight ends,
17:16
Speaker 6: and then they'll take their shots to DK Metcalf. But
17:19
Speaker 6: it's not a game that I foresee Pittsburgh beating themselves.
17:23
Speaker 6: It's a game you've got to go. You've got to
17:24
Speaker 6: be fundamentally sound. I would expect that first go round.
17:29
Speaker 6: I was shocked in the second half that Pittsburgh did
17:32
Speaker 6: not play more zone defense. I know it's their strength.
17:35
Speaker 6: I know they want to be man to man. I
17:36
Speaker 6: know they want to be physical. They've moved Jalen Ramsey
17:39
Speaker 6: to safety, which I think is significant in how they
17:41
Speaker 6: want to operate on defense. It's still a good defensive line.
17:44
Speaker 6: Jack Sawyer is one of the best grated rookies out there.
17:47
Speaker 1: TJ.
17:48
Speaker 6: Watt is still a member, Cam Heyward. You can't let
17:50
Speaker 6: those guys start to feel comfortable. You can't let them
17:54
Speaker 6: start to feel okay, here we go. Keep them off balance,
17:57
Speaker 6: keep pushing the ball. I like the tempo at which
17:59
Speaker 6: the Bengals are playing with offensively and defensively. I know
18:02
Speaker 6: it's cliche. Tackle in space, and I think make Aaron
18:06
Speaker 6: Rodgers uncomfortable.
18:08
Speaker 1: All right.
18:09
Speaker 6: He's over forty years old. He's not moving as well
18:12
Speaker 6: as he once was. He had way too much time
18:14
Speaker 6: in the pocket that first go around to identify where
18:17
Speaker 6: he wanted to attack. Make life a little bit harder
18:19
Speaker 6: on Aaron Rodgers. Get some pressure up the middle, get
18:22
Speaker 6: some pressure around his feet, and I think you got
18:25
Speaker 6: a great chance to pick up what would be a
18:27
Speaker 6: huge win with the Borough News looming, to get this
18:30
Speaker 6: season right back on track for the Bengals, no.
18:33
Speaker 2: Doubt about it.
18:34
Speaker 1: Tony.
18:34
Speaker 2: Keep up the great work on ESPN fifteen thirty. Thanks
18:37
Speaker 2: so much for your time, always always, thank you, Dan.
18:40
Speaker 2: The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you by pay Corps,
18:43
Speaker 2: proud to be the Bengals official HR software provider by
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Speaker 2: Alta fiber future proof fiber Internet designed to elevate your home, business,
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Speaker 2: and community to a new level, and by Kettering Health
18:55
Speaker 2: the best care for the best fans. Kettering Health is
18:57
Speaker 2: the official healthcare provider of the Bengals. It doesn't look
19:01
Speaker 2: like the Bengals will have Trey hendrickson this week due
19:04
Speaker 2: to a hip injury, and Shamar Stewart's status is up
19:07
Speaker 2: in the air as well due to a knee injury.
19:10
Speaker 2: So it's going to be up to guys like Joseph
19:12
Speaker 2: Osai and Miles Murphy to put pressure on Aaron Rodgers.
19:17
Speaker 2: This is Murphy's third NFL season after being the twenty
19:20
Speaker 2: eighth overall pick in the twenty twenty three draft, and
19:24
Speaker 2: the Bengals remain hopeful that he can turn his potential
19:27
Speaker 2: into production. I spoke to Miles about that this week. Miles,
19:33
Speaker 2: you've led the Bengals defensive linemen in snaps each of
19:36
Speaker 2: the last two games. You were too off the lead
19:38
Speaker 2: in the game before that. Is this the opportunity that
19:42
Speaker 2: you've been looking for?
19:43
Speaker 7: I mean yeah, I feel like as a player you
19:45
Speaker 7: always look for any opportunity you can get, really anytime
19:48
Speaker 7: you're on the field, regardless of the snap count. You
19:51
Speaker 7: want to take advantage of each and every snap, whether
19:54
Speaker 7: there's one or seventy, you want to take advantage of
19:57
Speaker 7: each and every one of them, and in the film
20:00
Speaker 7: to put your best feet for it.
20:01
Speaker 2: Really, do you feel like all of these snaps are
20:03
Speaker 2: paying off? And if so? How?
20:06
Speaker 7: Uh?
20:06
Speaker 1: Yeah?
20:07
Speaker 7: I think I think experience is the best teacher, regardless
20:09
Speaker 7: of who your coach is. Like, if you're on the field,
20:12
Speaker 7: you're you're gonna learn something. Coaches help, So the coaches
20:16
Speaker 7: help you progress faster, but experience, I feel is the
20:20
Speaker 7: best teacher. Might say his dudes that are just year ten,
20:25
Speaker 7: year twelve that I've talked to, and it's just things
20:27
Speaker 7: that they've learned just by playing the game and being
20:30
Speaker 7: on the field, like just small small stuff to give
20:34
Speaker 7: you a little bit of an edge on a handful
20:37
Speaker 7: of plays. So yeah, I think experience is the best teacher.
20:40
Speaker 7: And I'm learning. I'm learning a lot just being just
20:42
Speaker 7: being on the field, anticipating, anticipating runs and passes a
20:46
Speaker 7: little bit better going against elite tackles and developing my
20:52
Speaker 7: pass rush and run moves. Whatever. So yeah, I think
20:56
Speaker 7: I'm learning, learning and developing a lot just being on
20:58
Speaker 7: the field.
20:59
Speaker 2: You were one of the young dis guys in your
21:00
Speaker 2: draft class. You're still only twenty three. Do you feel
21:04
Speaker 2: like you're still relatively early in the learning process? Uh?
21:08
Speaker 1: Yeah.
21:08
Speaker 7: That was one of coach Taylor's uh main points coming
21:12
Speaker 7: off of last season. I'm stilling my the things the
21:14
Speaker 7: infancy of my career. So it's it's it's okay to
21:19
Speaker 7: continue to get better. It's rome wasn't built in the day,
21:24
Speaker 7: regardless of what anyone else says. And here I know
21:27
Speaker 7: I've gotten a lot better since my rookie year. And
21:29
Speaker 7: the biggest thing because that is just being able to
21:32
Speaker 7: being able to anticipate, being able to anticipate plays, knowing
21:36
Speaker 7: knowing how to watch film, sitting sending the film with
21:39
Speaker 7: h JM or Jerry, just having him walk me through
21:44
Speaker 7: things to look for, how to watch film, what to
21:47
Speaker 7: what to study, how to dissect players, how to dissect
21:50
Speaker 7: backfield formations, being it, Yeah, just doing things like that
21:54
Speaker 7: and and and anticipating plays, being able to just play fast.
21:59
Speaker 2: He's a hard knows, no nonsense coach. I'm speaking of
22:02
Speaker 2: Jerry Montgomery. Has that gelled well with you?
22:06
Speaker 7: Uh yeah? By to say any coach that believes in you.
22:10
Speaker 7: But you got to take advantage of it. Because I said, Jail,
22:12
Speaker 7: he's a very knowledgeable coach. I think, what thirty years
22:14
Speaker 7: in the business. So but see he's he knows, he
22:17
Speaker 7: knows what he's doing. Like I said it, experience is
22:19
Speaker 7: the best teacher. And you do something for thirty years,
22:22
Speaker 7: you're you're doing something right. So by I said, I'm
22:24
Speaker 7: putting all my trust in him right now and really
22:26
Speaker 7: just taking the coach and taking the teaching and really
22:29
Speaker 7: just applying it to my game right now.
22:31
Speaker 2: But also at your position, fairly or unfairly. One stat
22:35
Speaker 2: often determines how guys are judged, and that is sacks.
22:38
Speaker 2: What do you think you need to do to get more?
22:41
Speaker 2: You've got one and a half so far this year.
22:43
Speaker 7: Man emphasis, defensive emphasis. To stop the run. You can't
22:47
Speaker 7: you're not gonna be able to rust the pass or
22:48
Speaker 7: if you're not stopping the runs, that's the that's the
22:51
Speaker 7: first thing right there where we've just moved, just moved.
22:55
Speaker 7: Really just move us one to get him in those
22:57
Speaker 7: second and longs and third downs. Just get him off
22:59
Speaker 7: schedule so we can animates de passer give more opportunities
23:01
Speaker 7: to rust the passer. That's that's the that's the main
23:04
Speaker 7: thing right there. That's the start.
23:05
Speaker 2: So in your in your view, obvious passing situations down
23:09
Speaker 2: in distance is the real key to being able to
23:13
Speaker 2: increase that sack total, just to.
23:14
Speaker 7: Be able to create more opportunities for yourself. We stopped.
23:17
Speaker 7: You saw them on first second down, and you put
23:19
Speaker 7: them in those cing alongs, second alongs. That's you know,
23:22
Speaker 7: that's that's what creates those opportunities or more opportunities. That's
23:25
Speaker 7: just a.
23:26
Speaker 2: Visiting with Biles Murphy. You've been teammates with one of
23:29
Speaker 2: the better sack artists in the NFL now for three
23:31
Speaker 2: years and Trey Hendrickson are the things that you pick
23:34
Speaker 2: up from him? Or is it easier said than done
23:37
Speaker 2: to just say, I play with Trey Hendrickson, therefore I'm
23:39
Speaker 2: going to be able to pick up tricks in the
23:41
Speaker 2: trade from him.
23:43
Speaker 7: Nah, you can't just be here. You can't just show
23:44
Speaker 7: up and say, Okay, I'm gonna evolve into trade now.
23:46
Speaker 7: You got to really tap in, like you can ask him.
23:49
Speaker 7: I've I've since I've gotten here, I've been asking him
23:51
Speaker 7: questions and it's not all just football stuff. How do
23:54
Speaker 7: you throw your swipe is like what are you doing
23:57
Speaker 7: when you go home or something like that, like how
23:58
Speaker 7: do you recover so? And like one of the things.
24:02
Speaker 7: I'm a pretty good observer. I've observed a lot of
24:05
Speaker 7: things and people. He is, He and him and Sam
24:08
Speaker 7: Hubbard when he was here, we're very anal about their schedule,
24:11
Speaker 7: still are and it's like I can I can show
24:16
Speaker 7: up to the I can show up to the facility,
24:18
Speaker 7: and I can expect Trey to be in certain spots
24:19
Speaker 7: and he's always in certain spots because he is on
24:23
Speaker 7: top of his schedule. And I've I tried to do
24:25
Speaker 7: the same thing. I tried to create a schedule and
24:27
Speaker 7: be on it every single day, especially when it comes
24:30
Speaker 7: to recovery, because that's the that's the biggest thing. I
24:33
Speaker 7: didn't really I kind of just did what I was
24:36
Speaker 7: recommended in college. Now since it's so much just free time,
24:40
Speaker 7: you can do whatever you want me to go home,
24:42
Speaker 7: I had to just create a schedule, stick to it,
24:45
Speaker 7: create a diet, stick to it, and really on it
24:49
Speaker 7: on film and just use use my use my free time.
24:52
Speaker 2: Wisely, Really, you are a smart cerebro guy. I enjoy
24:56
Speaker 2: talking to you. I wonder as a past rusher if
24:59
Speaker 2: that works against you, are there times where you find
25:02
Speaker 2: yourself thinking and maybe you'd be better off just going Yeah.
25:06
Speaker 7: Early on in my career I admitted that I think
25:08
Speaker 7: my rookie year and a little bit last year where
25:10
Speaker 7: I was just thinking overthinking myself of second guests and
25:13
Speaker 7: on some rushes whether I should go inside or outside
25:15
Speaker 7: or just power us through the guy. But I think
25:17
Speaker 7: now I've kind of develop a mindset of pick one
25:22
Speaker 7: and go commit to it. That's that's the big thing.
25:24
Speaker 7: That's a big thing. Even Tray said, you got to
25:26
Speaker 7: just commit to a rush. You can't if you go
25:28
Speaker 7: into a rush. He says it all the time.
25:30
Speaker 1: You go.
25:30
Speaker 7: If you go into a rust thinking about a counter,
25:32
Speaker 7: thinking about a if this doesn't work, go to this,
25:35
Speaker 7: You're probably not gonna win. So it just really just
25:37
Speaker 7: commit to that one rush that for all you thinking
25:39
Speaker 7: about or setting up. So that's a big, big teaching
25:44
Speaker 7: point that I kind of took into this year.
25:46
Speaker 2: This defense is filled with guys that had tremendous college careers,
25:50
Speaker 2: played on great college teams, and unfortunately, in recent weeks,
25:53
Speaker 2: the Bengals defense has struggled. How hard is it when
25:57
Speaker 2: I'm sure, you feel like you've let the offense down,
26:00
Speaker 2: and to a certain extent.
26:01
Speaker 7: It's a tough phone, a swallow for sure. But like
26:05
Speaker 7: you said, us coming from winning programs, successful successful team,
26:09
Speaker 7: successful defenses, like we all know, we all know what
26:12
Speaker 7: it looks like, we all know what it feels like.
26:13
Speaker 7: Although yes, sure was at the college level. Some of
26:17
Speaker 7: the guys that were here during that Super Bowl year,
26:20
Speaker 7: BJ Trey and some of the other guys, like, they
26:23
Speaker 7: know what it looks like on this level. So those
26:26
Speaker 7: are the leaders that are stepping up and really just
26:28
Speaker 7: us taking what we knew from college, what worked in college,
26:33
Speaker 7: bringing it here kind of just adding onto, adding on
26:36
Speaker 7: to the things that the Vets did that Super Bowl year,
26:39
Speaker 7: and just taking coaching and retaining it and continuing to
26:44
Speaker 7: step forward. That's the main thing. We can't can't step back,
26:47
Speaker 7: can't let the confidence kind of just wither away. Like
26:51
Speaker 7: we know, yeah, it's a it's a little bit of
26:53
Speaker 7: a value right now, but that doesn't mean just the
26:55
Speaker 7: season's over. So you got to just keep keep stepping forward. Honestly,
26:58
Speaker 7: it's a.
26:58
Speaker 2: Big game this week. You take the Steelers. If you
27:01
Speaker 2: can beat them, you'd be three and oh in the division,
27:03
Speaker 2: you'd be two and oh. Against them, they would drop
27:05
Speaker 2: back to five hundred. What did you learn in the
27:08
Speaker 2: first meeting about a month ago when you beat them
27:10
Speaker 2: by two?
27:12
Speaker 7: Very very physical team like it. I mean for every
27:15
Speaker 7: year we play toss a year, tho will be my
27:19
Speaker 7: sixth time playing them. Every single time. It's a physical game.
27:22
Speaker 7: That's just AFC football is always physical, especially going against them.
27:27
Speaker 7: We got to be physical on all three levels, whether
27:30
Speaker 7: it's oline d lin linebackers and running backs or DB's
27:33
Speaker 7: and receivers. We have to be physical. Put our hands
27:36
Speaker 7: on them, stop them early, make them go lateral'. That's
27:39
Speaker 7: the That's the main thing that's my mindset going into
27:43
Speaker 7: this game.
27:44
Speaker 2: Sounds good to me. Appreciate your time. Best of luck
27:47
Speaker 2: this week, Thanks so.
27:48
Speaker 7: Much, appreciate it.
27:49
Speaker 2: Miles Murphy and his defensive teammates will be looking to
27:52
Speaker 2: shut down a Pittsburgh offense that's been so so this
27:55
Speaker 2: year with forty one year old Aaron Rodgers head quarterback.
27:58
Speaker 2: Pittsburgh is twenty ninth and yards per game and was
28:02
Speaker 2: held to ten points last week in a Sunday night
28:05
Speaker 2: loss to the Chargers. The Steelers are still in first place,
28:08
Speaker 2: in the AFC Norths with a five and four record,
28:11
Speaker 2: one game ahead of the Ravens and two games ahead
28:14
Speaker 2: of the Bengals, but Pittsburgh has lost three out of
28:17
Speaker 2: its last four, beginning with that Thursday night loss in
28:21
Speaker 2: Cincinnati about a month ago. The voice of the Steelers,
28:25
Speaker 2: Rob King, joined Dave Lapham and me on the Bengals
28:28
Speaker 2: Game Plan Show this week and discussed what's gone wrong
28:32
Speaker 2: after starting the season four and one.
28:36
Speaker 4: You know, there were times in the Bengals game early on,
28:39
Speaker 4: and there were times in the Packers game the following
28:43
Speaker 4: game for the Steelers when they were up sixteen to
28:45
Speaker 4: seven at the half, when I thought that the Steelers
28:48
Speaker 4: might blow the opponent out. There was early on in
28:51
Speaker 4: that game I thought, Man, they've got the Bengals on
28:53
Speaker 4: the ropes. You know, a knockout blow, you know, could
28:56
Speaker 4: be delivered here. Perhaps kind of an odd thing to
28:59
Speaker 4: say now that you know that. They put up thirty
29:01
Speaker 4: three points in that game, But it was the same
29:03
Speaker 4: way with the Packers, and then they just really so
29:06
Speaker 4: I don't know what to make of it day and
29:07
Speaker 4: they really played a poor game in La no doubt
29:11
Speaker 4: about it. That was the worst game they played all
29:14
Speaker 4: year without any questions. You know, there were moments in
29:17
Speaker 4: the Bengals game or I thought they were going to
29:18
Speaker 4: win in their moments. You know, they were leading the
29:21
Speaker 4: Packers game going into the fourth quarter, and it just
29:24
Speaker 4: disintegrated in the fourth quarter. So they got to find
29:27
Speaker 4: a way to possess the ball for longer, and I
29:30
Speaker 4: think and give their defense a rest. And I think
29:33
Speaker 4: that's got to be the formula they try to follow
29:35
Speaker 4: against the Bengals. Run the ball, control the clock. They
29:38
Speaker 4: ran the ball well against the Bengals first game, didn't
29:40
Speaker 4: control the clock and ultimately didn't control the outcome.
29:44
Speaker 8: What about the defensive side of the football. I can
29:47
Speaker 8: vouch for how difficult that is to play against the
29:50
Speaker 8: Pittsburgh Steelers because I did it for ten years playing
29:54
Speaker 8: with the Cincinnati Bengals. And what about this year's edition
29:58
Speaker 8: of the Pittsburgh Steelers defense football team?
30:01
Speaker 4: TERRYL.
30:01
Speaker 8: Austin is a highly acclaimed defensive coordinator. Are they playing
30:05
Speaker 8: well for him?
30:08
Speaker 4: They have, and there's been moments where they haven't. I mean,
30:11
Speaker 4: clearly last week against the Chargers, they didn't look great.
30:14
Speaker 4: Fourth quarter, actually the second half against the Packers, they
30:16
Speaker 4: didn't look great. They didn't look great against Cincinnati. I
30:19
Speaker 4: really think, Dave, I really think more and more that
30:23
Speaker 4: the biggest issue is that the Steelers are they just
30:27
Speaker 4: have too many three and outs on defense. It has
30:29
Speaker 4: become much much harder to be the kind of dominating
30:33
Speaker 4: defense the Steelers were in the seventies. The NFL is
30:36
Speaker 4: constantly trying to change rules to favor the offense. Now
30:39
Speaker 4: we're seeing more running, you know, more effective running games
30:43
Speaker 4: over the last couple of years. Prior to that, it
30:45
Speaker 4: seemed like it had become a passing lead regardless. You know,
30:49
Speaker 4: I think the NFL wants scoring, they want action. They
30:52
Speaker 4: legislate for that. Teams are built to score points. The
30:56
Speaker 4: Bengals are built to score points. You're not going to
30:59
Speaker 4: hold a lot of teams down if you're out there
31:02
Speaker 4: again and again and again. And the Steelers they just,
31:06
Speaker 4: you know, they didn't. They were zero for nine on
31:08
Speaker 4: third down until they picked up one late in the
31:11
Speaker 4: game when the game was already out of hand. You
31:14
Speaker 4: can't have that. You can't go oh for nine on
31:16
Speaker 4: third down. You can't go three and out, three and out,
31:19
Speaker 4: three and out, three and out, as the Steelers did
31:21
Speaker 4: at the end of last year. Remember they were ten
31:23
Speaker 4: and three last year. They won that great shootout in Cincinnati,
31:26
Speaker 4: an exciting game, and then they just started going three
31:29
Speaker 4: and out, and they've been going three and out a
31:31
Speaker 4: lot lately, and it's just it's very difficult. You're obviously
31:35
Speaker 4: giving the ball back to the other team, you're not
31:37
Speaker 4: scoring points, You're asking a lot of your defense. I
31:40
Speaker 4: thought last week against the Chargers, the defense played pretty
31:44
Speaker 4: well for the most part. They really did. I mean,
31:46
Speaker 4: you look up and you see twenty five points. I
31:48
Speaker 4: just think they began to run out of gas as
31:51
Speaker 4: the as the game progressed. I think the Steelers, and
31:54
Speaker 4: that's why I started talking about the running game with Dan.
31:57
Speaker 4: They need to possess the football. They need get first downs,
32:01
Speaker 4: they need to maintain drives, and they need to have
32:04
Speaker 4: that defense out less when I think, I think when
32:06
Speaker 4: the defense is out less, the defense will be much
32:09
Speaker 4: much better as it was for the four game stretch
32:12
Speaker 4: prior to the loss in Cincinnati.
32:14
Speaker 2: Rob King, the voice of the Steelers, is our guest.
32:16
Speaker 2: Looking at the injury report today, Darius Slay, one of
32:19
Speaker 2: their starting corners, dealing with the concussion. Alex high Smith
32:23
Speaker 2: has a pictorial injury. He didn't practice today. What are
32:26
Speaker 2: the biggest injury concerns in your mind going into the
32:29
Speaker 2: game and is there anybody that might be coming back
32:32
Speaker 2: that we're not aware of.
32:34
Speaker 4: Well, I think the biggest one is isad Ciamalo, who
32:38
Speaker 4: didn't play last week. And this Jids had the same
32:41
Speaker 4: starting line combination for the first eight games of the season.
32:44
Speaker 4: They didn't have it in San Diego and Mike tom
32:46
Speaker 4: Win assessed the guys who backed up, and that's Pete Anders,
32:51
Speaker 4: Pete the veteran that left guard, and also Spencer Anderson.
32:55
Speaker 4: But they really want he regarded them as a butt.
32:58
Speaker 4: He called him above the line. They're performance is what
33:00
Speaker 4: they really want to do though, is Simalo is an
33:02
Speaker 4: excellent player in his own right, made a Pro Bowl.
33:05
Speaker 4: But last year, I believe and you know, they want
33:10
Speaker 4: to be able to use the jumbo package with Spencer Anderson,
33:13
Speaker 4: and so they brought the run that sixth offensive lineman
33:16
Speaker 4: out there along with Darnett Washington, who forget what he's
33:19
Speaker 4: listed at. I think he's listened to sixty five. Believe
33:22
Speaker 4: me when I tell you, when he steps on a scale,
33:24
Speaker 4: the first number that's gonna pop up is a three.
33:27
Speaker 4: Believe he is a large, large man, so they you know,
33:32
Speaker 4: I think Samalo coming back will be the biggest thing
33:36
Speaker 4: for them. Now again, if you're out there defending all
33:39
Speaker 4: game long. Cole Holcomb has been a fine piece at linebacker.
33:42
Speaker 4: If you're out there defending as they did in the
33:44
Speaker 4: first game, I think they lost the time in possession
33:46
Speaker 4: by eight and a half minutes. If you're out there
33:48
Speaker 4: that long. Again, Yeah, the loss of Cole Holcomb, possibly
33:52
Speaker 4: Darius Slay, those are going to hurt the team. They
33:55
Speaker 4: did sign a Sante Samuel to the practice squad. He was,
33:58
Speaker 4: as you know, a very well regarded free agent, but
34:01
Speaker 4: then he needed, you know, a fusion surgery on his neck.
34:04
Speaker 4: He's been cleared to play, clear to return, so I
34:07
Speaker 4: don't know whether he'll be activated or whether he needs
34:09
Speaker 4: to get into football shape. He's a possible guy Dan
34:13
Speaker 4: that could be coming back for him, But I think
34:15
Speaker 4: the biggest guy is Ciamalow. But of course, any kind
34:19
Speaker 4: of you know, if you're playing thirty five minutes on defense,
34:21
Speaker 4: any any good solid players for you that either are
34:25
Speaker 4: good depth pieces or starters who aren't available, that would
34:28
Speaker 4: be a big ball.
34:30
Speaker 8: Usually these games come down to line of scrimmage. You
34:34
Speaker 8: know who who is who is controlling and handling the
34:39
Speaker 8: temple of the game, the flow of the game. Who's
34:42
Speaker 8: who's capturing and controlling the line of scrimmage. You mentioned
34:46
Speaker 8: Ciamalo already, you know, questionable as a player in this
34:50
Speaker 8: football game. How has the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive and defensive
34:56
Speaker 8: lines played as of late. Are they doing a pretty
34:59
Speaker 8: good job of getting after it and controlling the line
35:02
Speaker 8: of scrimmage or they have an issues?
35:04
Speaker 4: I think in particular day, the right side of the
35:07
Speaker 4: offensive line has been singled out for praise and Seeamalo.
35:10
Speaker 4: I think Roderick Jones was viewed as a guy that
35:12
Speaker 4: was playing pretty well but gave up a couple of
35:14
Speaker 4: sacks against San Diego and that's a good That's a
35:17
Speaker 4: very san Diego La La Chargers. Yeah, that is a
35:22
Speaker 4: very good pass rushing charger. They have a lot of
35:26
Speaker 4: really good edge guys. The Steelers the first time around
35:28
Speaker 4: did an outstanding job against Trey Hendrickson. Trey Henderson single
35:32
Speaker 4: handedly wrecked the game at at Akrasher Stadium last year.
35:36
Speaker 4: We have three sacks in that game. Yep, he's a dominant,
35:39
Speaker 4: dominant Fource, so the fact that they kept him off
35:42
Speaker 4: the board was a positive. I think that we saw
35:44
Speaker 4: in the last game Keanu Benton had a sack. He
35:47
Speaker 4: already has four and a half. When they've got Benton
35:50
Speaker 4: out there, Hayward obviously, you guys know plenty about Cam
35:54
Speaker 4: Hayward and Derek Harmon, the rookie first rounder. I think
35:57
Speaker 4: that defensive line has been quite good for the Steelers,
36:01
Speaker 4: and I think it's it's an arrow pointing upward kind
36:04
Speaker 4: of group. I mean, Cam Hayward continues to defy father time.
36:07
Speaker 4: But those two young guys, Benton now in his third
36:09
Speaker 4: year and Harmon in his first year, have solidified the
36:12
Speaker 4: defensive line that was really an issue last year. Now
36:17
Speaker 4: having said that, they cannot allow Chase Brown to run wild,
36:21
Speaker 4: and I know that, you know the last game, Chase
36:23
Speaker 4: Brown was held in check and he wasn't the only
36:26
Speaker 4: reason that they're scoring a bunch of points with Cincinnati.
36:29
Speaker 4: But you guys know, if the offense can dictate to
36:31
Speaker 4: you what they want to do, if you can't take
36:34
Speaker 4: something away, you know, it's hard enough to try to
36:37
Speaker 4: take Higgins or Chase away. You got your hands full there.
36:40
Speaker 4: But now if the Bengals are running the ball. Two,
36:43
Speaker 4: you got big problems and we saw that on a
36:44
Speaker 4: Thursday night when the Steelers came in there. They'd done
36:47
Speaker 4: a great job stopping to run in the previous three
36:49
Speaker 4: games prior to that. And then Chase Brown, you know,
36:52
Speaker 4: runs for one hundred and ten yards or thereabouts against
36:54
Speaker 4: you and and you know that was a huge factor
36:57
Speaker 4: to me. So the student, I think the lines have
37:02
Speaker 4: they've largely been solid, and I think they will need
37:05
Speaker 4: to be solid with Hendrickson and company. And they've got
37:08
Speaker 4: to find a way to get more pressure on Joe
37:10
Speaker 4: Flacco as well.
37:11
Speaker 2: You probably won't have to deal with Trey Hendrickson. I
37:14
Speaker 2: think he's doubtful to play this week, So that will
37:16
Speaker 2: be a news that will be well received in the
37:19
Speaker 2: offensive line room.
37:20
Speaker 4: Will be yes, that will be huge. And then you know,
37:24
Speaker 4: again with you guys right, you know a SI, I've
37:28
Speaker 4: always thought he's a good player. And then you're waiting,
37:30
Speaker 4: you know, our Miles, Murphy and Stuart ready to make
37:33
Speaker 4: a name for themselves because they'll have opportunities. It sounds
37:35
Speaker 4: like all.
37:36
Speaker 2: Right, thanks to Rob King, And here's a quick invitation
37:39
Speaker 2: to join Lapp and me for the Bengals pep Rally
37:41
Speaker 2: show this week will be at the on the Rhine
37:44
Speaker 2: eatery the Food Haul on the second floor above the
37:47
Speaker 2: downtown Kroger on Friday from two thirty to five thirty.
37:52
Speaker 2: That's a half hour earlier than usual and our special
37:55
Speaker 2: guest in the final hour will be Kicker Evan McPherson.
38:00
Speaker 2: That's going to do it for this episode of the
38:01
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38:32
Speaker 2: I'm Dan Horden and thanks for listening to The Bengals
38:35
Speaker 2: Booth Podcast.