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Bengals Booth Podcast: Home Sweet Home · Bengals Booth Podcast

0:03
Speaker 1: Happy Thanksgiving everybody. I'm Dan Horde and thanks for downloading
0:06
Speaker 1: The Bengals Booth Podcast. The I'm on My Way, I'm
0:12
Speaker 1: on My Way Home Suite Home addition. As the Bengals
0:20
Speaker 1: begin a stretch of three straight home games on Sunday
0:23
Speaker 1: against the Pittsburgh Steelers, coming up, my midweek conversation with
0:26
Speaker 1: Dave Lapo as we discuss if there's really such a
0:29
Speaker 1: thing as bulletin board material for a professional athlete and
0:34
Speaker 1: what it's going to take for the Bengals to beat
0:36
Speaker 1: the Steelers for the third time in a row. My
0:39
Speaker 1: one on one player interview is with a guy who
0:41
Speaker 1: knows all about this rivalry, tight end cju Zama, who
0:45
Speaker 1: has played in ten games against the Steelers, including the
0:49
Speaker 1: only playoff game of his NFL career, And finally, NFL
0:53
Speaker 1: Network reporter add King Kabwalla has great insight on this
0:57
Speaker 1: matchup since she is frequently assigned to the AFC North.
1:01
Speaker 1: She talks to my Bengals dot Com colleague Marissa Contapelli.
1:06
Speaker 1: The Bengals Booth Podcast is presented by Ultimate Bengals, the
1:09
Speaker 1: free to play Next Level Fantasy Football game downloaded now
1:13
Speaker 1: from the app store and Google Play. And here's a
1:16
Speaker 1: quick reminder that you can have the latest edition of
1:19
Speaker 1: this podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet, or computer
1:22
Speaker 1: by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's the greatest
1:27
Speaker 1: thing since gravy. During my conversation you're about to hear
1:32
Speaker 1: with Dave Lapham, he asks me about my Thanksgiving meal preferences,
1:36
Speaker 1: and among other things, I mentioned that I like my
1:39
Speaker 1: stuffing smothered with gravy. That kept me thinking about how
1:43
Speaker 1: much I like gravy in general. In fact, one of
1:46
Speaker 1: the staples of my diet a is a Syracuse University
1:49
Speaker 1: student many years ago, was gravy on French fries, similar
1:54
Speaker 1: to poutine, the Canadian delicacy, but without the cheese kords.
1:59
Speaker 1: So years to gravy in all of its glory. Now
2:04
Speaker 1: let's get to football. After eleven straight losses to the dreaded, hated,
2:09
Speaker 1: but grudgingly respected Pittsburgh Steelers, the Bengals have won the
2:13
Speaker 1: last two meetings, twenty seven to seventeen last December with
2:17
Speaker 1: Ryan Finlay at quarterback and twenty four to ten back
2:21
Speaker 1: in September with Joe Burrow throwing three touchdown passes, two
2:25
Speaker 1: to Jamar Chase and one to Pittsburgh native Tyler Boyd.
2:30
Speaker 1: Boyd made a comment after that game that is undoubtedly
2:34
Speaker 1: being mentioned in Pittsburgh this week, and that's where I
2:37
Speaker 1: begin my conversation with Dave Lapham Lap. The Bengals beat
2:42
Speaker 1: the Steelers by two touchdowns at Hinz Field back in
2:44
Speaker 1: Week three, and the day after the game, Tyler Boyd
2:47
Speaker 1: made headlines by saying the Steelers gave up at the end.
2:51
Speaker 1: Here's my question for you. You played pro football for
2:54
Speaker 1: a dozen years. Is bulletin board material a real thing
3:00
Speaker 1: you're a professional athlete. It can be as you're getting ready.
3:05
Speaker 1: I think it kind of helps you maybe focus, laser
3:08
Speaker 1: focus a little bit more. But once the game starts,
3:12
Speaker 1: if they're taking it to you, it doesn't matter what
3:15
Speaker 1: you're running the bulletin board during the week. If you're
3:17
Speaker 1: taking it to them, it kind of, you know, gives
3:19
Speaker 1: you a little more juice, a little a little added
3:21
Speaker 1: fire as such. So I think the most important thing
3:25
Speaker 1: is who gets off to the to the better start,
3:27
Speaker 1: because the last time these two teams played, neither team
3:31
Speaker 1: had scored a point in the first quarter and they're
3:34
Speaker 1: still struggling. I mean, the Bengals have always scored thirty
3:36
Speaker 1: four points in the first quarter of Pittsburgh has always
3:38
Speaker 1: scored thirty one. So they're you know, they're averaging three
3:40
Speaker 1: points a game in the first quarter. They're getting off
3:43
Speaker 1: the slow starts. So I think the team that jumps
3:46
Speaker 1: out on top of the other one early in this
3:48
Speaker 1: one does get that early edge and you forget about
3:51
Speaker 1: you know, the bulletin board material a little bit, but
3:53
Speaker 1: it can, Honestly, it can juice practices a little bit.
3:58
Speaker 1: You know, not that when you're playing a rival, all
4:02
Speaker 1: of it is maybe just you know, little a little
4:05
Speaker 1: smidgeon of this or that in terms of getting yourself
4:09
Speaker 1: in the right mindset for the football game. This game
4:12
Speaker 1: is so important to both teams, this team, this is
4:14
Speaker 1: such a big rivalry. I think I think bulletin board material,
4:18
Speaker 1: I'm not sure how necessary it is, you know, I
4:20
Speaker 1: think they're all both teams are going to be playing
4:23
Speaker 1: at an extremely high level physically. The Steelers had a
4:27
Speaker 1: bunch of key injuries in that first meeting, most notably T. J. Watt,
4:31
Speaker 1: and they didn't look very good. But after a one
4:33
Speaker 1: in three start, they've gone four one and one since.
4:37
Speaker 1: The only loss was last week when they rallied from
4:39
Speaker 1: seventeen down in the fourth quarter, took the lead against
4:42
Speaker 1: the Chargers, and then gave up a long touchdown pass
4:44
Speaker 1: with about two minutes to go. Where do the Steelers
4:47
Speaker 1: present the biggest problems on Sunday? And t J. Watt
4:51
Speaker 1: didn't play in that game on Sunday, and he didn't
4:54
Speaker 1: play against the Bengals, they're owing four When t J.
4:56
Speaker 1: Watt doesn't play own four. That's how important he to
5:00
Speaker 1: the mix. So I think I think that in my
5:05
Speaker 1: mind he presents about as big a problem as anybody
5:08
Speaker 1: does because of his ability to just put constant pressure
5:12
Speaker 1: on the quarterback. And you know, it makes it makes
5:15
Speaker 1: the opposite defensive end pressuring makes him more effective, makes
5:20
Speaker 1: Hayward more effective inside. I mean it just it takes
5:24
Speaker 1: everybody to another level. I think we saw last week
5:28
Speaker 1: that a significant adequate PASSWAH or better than an adequate
5:31
Speaker 1: passwash out of four and dropping seven into coverage can
5:35
Speaker 1: be a problem. And the Steelers have they're starting to blit.
5:40
Speaker 1: They're blitzing less percentagewise, they're blitzing less and less, And
5:44
Speaker 1: when t J. Watt plays, I think that makes sense
5:47
Speaker 1: when he doesn't, they're probably not blitzing all that much less.
5:50
Speaker 1: But when he's playing and they're getting a significant pass
5:53
Speaker 1: rush pressure out of the four of them, they're thinking
5:56
Speaker 1: rush board drops seven looks pretty good against most most
5:59
Speaker 1: offense is in the league. And I can see why,
6:02
Speaker 1: uh and I wouldn't be surprised if T. J. Watt
6:05
Speaker 1: starts the game and shows that he still has that
6:08
Speaker 1: explosiveness and and I think I think initially they're going
6:13
Speaker 1: to say, Okay, you know, let's let's rush for drop seven.
6:16
Speaker 1: See what happens here a little bit. Now, just because
6:19
Speaker 1: he starts the game with the injuries that he's got,
6:21
Speaker 1: he's got multiple injuries that he's dealing with, doesn't necessarily
6:24
Speaker 1: mean he finishes that. It doesn't necessarily mean he stays
6:27
Speaker 1: as effective as he does maybe at the beginning of
6:29
Speaker 1: the game. But tour it all and a bunch of
6:31
Speaker 1: other stuff in today's pharmacies are very effective. I think
6:37
Speaker 1: that is the biggest key in this football game. When
6:42
Speaker 1: they do rush for drop seven, play a couple of
6:44
Speaker 1: safeties deep play a little bit, you know, deep in coverage.
6:47
Speaker 1: You got to run him out of it. And can
6:49
Speaker 1: they run the football? Can they anchor those guys by
6:52
Speaker 1: running the football and you know, take advantage of the
6:55
Speaker 1: soft box and all that sort of thing and make
6:58
Speaker 1: them change strategy. I think that's going to be a big,
7:00
Speaker 1: big factor, you know, in the football game. And then
7:03
Speaker 1: on the flip side of it, if the Bengals can
7:04
Speaker 1: control the running game like they did, I mean they
7:07
Speaker 1: basically made Nagi Harris a little checkdown receiver out of
7:09
Speaker 1: the backfield. That was their running game, and the Bengals
7:12
Speaker 1: tackled well. I mean, if you can, if you can
7:15
Speaker 1: leverage it properly and tackle it's it's just like a
7:18
Speaker 1: toss pitch, you know. I mean it's it's it's nothing
7:20
Speaker 1: more dangerous than that. So, but it is interesting the philosophy.
7:25
Speaker 1: And I've mentioned this before. I mean Bill Walsh, he
7:29
Speaker 1: always said, yeah, you know, guys, we throw the ball
7:32
Speaker 1: for four yards, they think that they're kicking our butt.
7:37
Speaker 1: When we run it for four yards, they think that
7:39
Speaker 1: we're kicking their butt. I don't care how we get
7:41
Speaker 1: four yards. Second and six. My playsheets wide open to me.
7:45
Speaker 1: I want to be at second and six. I don't
7:47
Speaker 1: care how it happens. I'll take those four yard passes.
7:49
Speaker 1: Three of them. We moved the chains, you know. I
7:51
Speaker 1: mean that was his that was Bill Walsh's whole mindset.
7:54
Speaker 1: And that's kind of the approach that the Steelers took
7:56
Speaker 1: with Nagi Harris a little bit in that first game.
7:58
Speaker 1: And I wouldn't be surprised they do it again, all right,
8:01
Speaker 1: Sticking with trying to run on the Steelers defense. Two
8:05
Speaker 1: weeks ago, the winless Lions ran for two hundred and
8:08
Speaker 1: forty two yards on thirty carries. I read that they
8:12
Speaker 1: had twenty four carries with six offensive linemen on the field,
8:16
Speaker 1: whether they lined up on the line or is a fullback.
8:20
Speaker 1: Is that something the Bengals are likely to try this week?
8:22
Speaker 1: I've read the same thing, Dan, and uh, I wouldn't
8:25
Speaker 1: be surprised. I mean, they've they've done it. I mean
8:27
Speaker 1: they've they've mixed their you know, their big package in there.
8:31
Speaker 1: Um you know, I know a big part of their
8:33
Speaker 1: game plan going into the Steelers game last time was
8:36
Speaker 1: you know, that stretch and then and then the inside
8:39
Speaker 1: zone to compliment it and go along with it. And
8:41
Speaker 1: I could see them using Isaiah Prince like we've seen
8:44
Speaker 1: in the past, but maybe a heavy heavier dose of it.
8:48
Speaker 1: Like the Detroit Lions, did you know, they may they
8:50
Speaker 1: may have cracked the coat a little bit with with
8:53
Speaker 1: that concept. But I do think, honestly, if it's a
8:58
Speaker 1: big offensive lineman or if it's Drew Sample and Cjzama,
9:02
Speaker 1: I mean, I think, I think, you know, twelve and
9:04
Speaker 1: thirteen packages are gonna have to be favorable for the
9:06
Speaker 1: cincinnaive Bengags. They're gonna have to get some mileage out
9:09
Speaker 1: of those those multiple tight end packages. And I think
9:12
Speaker 1: Drew Sample is as good at you know, blocking tight
9:16
Speaker 1: end at the line of spermade you know, with his
9:18
Speaker 1: hand down at the end of the line of spermmage,
9:19
Speaker 1: or lined up as a wingback or a fullback or
9:22
Speaker 1: wherever they want to line them up and motion them
9:23
Speaker 1: and do some things with them. I think he's going
9:26
Speaker 1: to be a big factor in the running game this week,
9:28
Speaker 1: just like he was last week when they had a
9:30
Speaker 1: successful running game. And then the wide receivers are going
9:33
Speaker 1: to have to block like they blocked last week in
9:35
Speaker 1: the running game against the Pittsburgh's deals. Everybody's gonna have
9:38
Speaker 1: to put their big boy pads on, not just the
9:40
Speaker 1: offensive and defensive linemen. If the Bengals win, that would
9:45
Speaker 1: be three straight over Pittsburgh. As Paul Dayner Junior from
9:49
Speaker 1: The Athletic has pointed out, it would be the first
9:51
Speaker 1: time since nineteen ninety If this happens, can we officially
9:56
Speaker 1: say the tide has turned in this right? Well? I mean,
10:02
Speaker 1: I get three in a row, I guess you could
10:04
Speaker 1: say is starting to be a little bit of a trend.
10:06
Speaker 1: You know, But you do play each other twice twice
10:09
Speaker 1: a year, so it's it's it's only a year, year
10:13
Speaker 1: and a half's work of worth work, worth of work,
10:16
Speaker 1: I should say. Um, but to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers
10:20
Speaker 1: three times in a row would be significant looking at
10:23
Speaker 1: the way they've dominated, I mean, seventeen straight non losing seasons.
10:27
Speaker 1: Mike Tomlins never had a losing season. I mean, the
10:29
Speaker 1: history and the tradition and success of that franchise is
10:34
Speaker 1: you know, a second and none in the last couple
10:37
Speaker 1: of decades. I mean, it's it's been. It's been unbelievable.
10:40
Speaker 1: And usually teams have their their they cycle ups and
10:44
Speaker 1: downs in a shorter time frame than that. That's that's
10:47
Speaker 1: a good that's a good, lengthy time frame. You can
10:51
Speaker 1: you can say I mean, the Bengals had the best
10:53
Speaker 1: of the of the Steelers in the eighties by far,
10:55
Speaker 1: you know, but but we're talking nineties, two thousands, thousands
10:59
Speaker 1: talking a while here. You know, it's like that's that's
11:02
Speaker 1: a pretty good stretch. So it'd be good to get that,
11:06
Speaker 1: get that w to get three in a row against them,
11:08
Speaker 1: that would that would definitely it would signal that that
11:11
Speaker 1: they're on the right track. You know. They they've they've
11:13
Speaker 1: got away. They've got a formula that they feel good
11:16
Speaker 1: about that's working for sure. And Um, like Zach always says,
11:20
Speaker 1: you know, the first thing you have to do is
11:21
Speaker 1: take care of your division. And the division is so
11:24
Speaker 1: diverse with what they do offensively, you know. I mean
11:26
Speaker 1: Baltimore with their their running game in their quarterback run
11:29
Speaker 1: game packages is unbelievable. Cleveland's got the best running game
11:33
Speaker 1: in the NFL that's more of a tradition to traditional
11:35
Speaker 1: running game. It is still ranks number one in the
11:37
Speaker 1: NFL and yards and yards per Russi attempt. So um, Pittsburgh,
11:42
Speaker 1: you know, has always been a team. That's the biggest
11:45
Speaker 1: thing that shocks me about Pittsburgh, Dan as you look
11:47
Speaker 1: at you look at their numbers running the football. The
11:50
Speaker 1: Pittsburgh Steelers are are not very very good in stopping
11:53
Speaker 1: the run either, and they're the last given a four
11:55
Speaker 1: point eight yards a run, you know, I mean they're
11:58
Speaker 1: they're minus one point one yards per carry average and
12:02
Speaker 1: yards generated running the football and stopping the opponent negative
12:05
Speaker 1: one point one is tied for second worst in the NFL.
12:08
Speaker 1: That is so non Pittsburgh like. Teams about rushed them
12:12
Speaker 1: by thirty five point nine yards a game, thirty six
12:14
Speaker 1: yards of football game. That's so non Pittsburgh like. So
12:20
Speaker 1: I think Pittsburgh is the biggest, the biggest kind of
12:23
Speaker 1: puzzle to me right now. It's like they're they're teetering,
12:26
Speaker 1: you know, where are they going? They are they're on
12:28
Speaker 1: the decline? Are they avoiding the decline? And just they
12:31
Speaker 1: just seem to be sputtering at the at the Mendoza line,
12:34
Speaker 1: you know, whereas you kind of have a handle on
12:36
Speaker 1: what Baltimore and Cleveland are trying to do from an
12:38
Speaker 1: identity standpoint and all that sort of thing. It's very
12:42
Speaker 1: interesting how the how the division's kind of evolved a
12:45
Speaker 1: little bit. Tom Brady seemingly has discovered the fountain of
12:49
Speaker 1: youth he leads the NFL and touchdown passes. He seems
12:52
Speaker 1: to be as good as ever in his mid forties.
12:54
Speaker 1: Ben Roethlisberger, on the other hand, in his late thirties
12:57
Speaker 1: looks like quarterbacks used to look when they got into
12:59
Speaker 1: the late thirties. He's not terrible. He still has great moments,
13:03
Speaker 1: but he's not the player he once was. What is
13:07
Speaker 1: he now are? What are Ben Roethlisberger's strength at this
13:11
Speaker 1: stage of his career. A savvy kg you know, just
13:16
Speaker 1: very experienced veteran quarterback. You know, he just he just
13:19
Speaker 1: has ah. He has such a knowledge that he can
13:23
Speaker 1: draw upon and and you're right, he's nowhere near the
13:26
Speaker 1: athlete that he was. Nowhere near his athletic He was
13:29
Speaker 1: never a guy that could, you know, like run like
13:32
Speaker 1: well boy Blazons. But Ben Ben could. Ben had power.
13:35
Speaker 1: Ben Ben could run the football and hurt you a
13:37
Speaker 1: little bit, There's no question about it. And the thing,
13:39
Speaker 1: the thing that I found so amazing about him is
13:42
Speaker 1: how big and strong it was in the pocket. You'd
13:44
Speaker 1: have defensive vents, not just linebackers, defensive events. Put a
13:47
Speaker 1: big lick on him, you know, I brown his shoulds
13:49
Speaker 1: and slide down his body like a barber pole and
13:51
Speaker 1: he just you know, he just stepped up and invade
13:53
Speaker 1: him get out of pocket. And the other thing about him,
13:56
Speaker 1: when he was in his prime, he would throw from
13:58
Speaker 1: the right hashmark to the left sideline and get it there. Now,
14:02
Speaker 1: usually when quarterbacks try to do that defensive back slick
14:05
Speaker 1: their chops and like ball's going to be in the
14:07
Speaker 1: air a while, it's turn over time. He just he
14:10
Speaker 1: ripped it in there. And you know, he had that
14:12
Speaker 1: that arm talent that could get it to all quardons
14:15
Speaker 1: of the field, you know, And he doesn't quite have
14:17
Speaker 1: that anymore, you know, and he's turned into a you know,
14:20
Speaker 1: more of a mid range you know, short range passing
14:23
Speaker 1: attack kind of guy. But but he still has that
14:26
Speaker 1: guy all that savvy that, you know, all all that
14:28
Speaker 1: experience and all those snaps under his belt. And the
14:32
Speaker 1: one thing that he does do well, he gets the
14:34
Speaker 1: ball out of his hand. I mean, you know, two
14:36
Speaker 1: point three, two point four seconds. That frustrates the heck
14:39
Speaker 1: out of a defensive lineman. You know, you beat your
14:41
Speaker 1: guy with the first move and still you're within you know,
14:45
Speaker 1: usually you're gonna get a sack. You're not even there
14:48
Speaker 1: before he gets the ball out of his hand, and
14:50
Speaker 1: that that drives guy's crazy. I mean that can that
14:52
Speaker 1: can be a something that wears on you. That could
14:56
Speaker 1: happen to Trey hendricks And if the ball has gone
14:58
Speaker 1: before he can get to Big Ben. This he's trying
15:00
Speaker 1: to come up with a sack for the seventh consecutive game.
15:03
Speaker 1: He's already tied the team record at six. It's the
15:05
Speaker 1: longest active sack streak in the NFL. Is Trey Hendrickson
15:10
Speaker 1: what you expected? Or even better? You know? I think
15:14
Speaker 1: I think he's even a little bit better than what
15:16
Speaker 1: I expected. You know, you're not quite sure what you're
15:20
Speaker 1: going to get because he was with other talented defensive
15:23
Speaker 1: lineman down there in New Orleans, and it's always like
15:27
Speaker 1: is it him? Is he? Is he? You know, benefiting
15:30
Speaker 1: from the performance of others and he's with another good
15:34
Speaker 1: group of defensive lineman. You know, it's like Hubbard. He
15:38
Speaker 1: and Hubbard have what's what's uh the perfect arrangement because
15:44
Speaker 1: they're competitive, they don't want to be outdone. But it's friendly,
15:48
Speaker 1: you know, it's not like, oh, you know what you have?
15:51
Speaker 1: Nine and a half said, oh man, you know, I'm
15:53
Speaker 1: jealous of that, I'm gonna have to I'm gonna freelance.
15:55
Speaker 1: I'm gonna try to do my thing. They stay within
15:57
Speaker 1: the scheme, and it was it was unbelievable. Talk to
16:00
Speaker 1: Hendrickson in the locker room out of the game when
16:02
Speaker 1: Sam got his sack, Hendrickson was like, I gotta get
16:05
Speaker 1: mine now. And the next play he does and he
16:07
Speaker 1: strips the thing and Sam hubbly recovers it. They're they're
16:10
Speaker 1: like Ying and Yang. They are feeding off each other.
16:12
Speaker 1: But I'm impressed with how well he's set the edge
16:16
Speaker 1: in the run too. He's not a one trick pony.
16:18
Speaker 1: I mean he's playing He's playing every down very very
16:21
Speaker 1: you know, hard tough, being where he's supposed to be
16:24
Speaker 1: when he's supposed to be there. Um, it's it's turned
16:27
Speaker 1: into a nice dynamic between the two of them, and
16:30
Speaker 1: you know, the entire defensive line. I mean, everybody's doing
16:33
Speaker 1: what they're supposed to do, when they're supposed to do it,
16:35
Speaker 1: how they're supposed to do it, all those good things.
16:37
Speaker 1: So I'm I'm probably about as happy as every Bengals
16:41
Speaker 1: fan and everybody in the organization that Hendrickson is is
16:45
Speaker 1: the real deal. I mean that was that was money
16:48
Speaker 1: that was well spent. Back in the first meeting, Jackson
16:51
Speaker 1: Carmen made his first career start at right guard. Now
16:54
Speaker 1: Hakimadenagy is in that spot. He'll make his third start
16:57
Speaker 1: in a row on Sunday. How's he look? He looks
17:00
Speaker 1: pretty good. Um, but but but he's gonna be you
17:04
Speaker 1: gonna You're gonna imagine hay was gonna line up right
17:06
Speaker 1: over him, just like he did over Jackson Carmen. I mean,
17:08
Speaker 1: Jackson Carmen had to had to get ready for Cameron
17:11
Speaker 1: Hayward and uh, and Identogy's going to be no different
17:15
Speaker 1: than that. He's gonna be tested. He's gonna be tested
17:17
Speaker 1: by Cameron Hayward early often in the football game. But
17:20
Speaker 1: I do think Identagy is uh, he's legit. I mean
17:24
Speaker 1: he his pass protection I thought was really good last week.
17:28
Speaker 1: I think his run blocking, his sound. I think he's still,
17:30
Speaker 1: you know, evolving in that regard a little bit. But
17:33
Speaker 1: when he's not. He's not the big behemoth that a
17:36
Speaker 1: lot of these interior you know, guards are at three
17:38
Speaker 1: hundred and thirty pounds plus. He's not that kind of guy.
17:41
Speaker 1: But he has got explosiveness in hip snap and when
17:44
Speaker 1: he when he rolls his hips, he brings a little bit.
17:47
Speaker 1: You know, he's got he's got something to him. So
17:49
Speaker 1: you know, his footwork is him in position, his hip snap,
17:52
Speaker 1: you know, gets you know, gets the movement that he's
17:54
Speaker 1: gonna get, and then he finishes well with his hands.
17:56
Speaker 1: I think he's got a very bright future. I thought
17:58
Speaker 1: that from game one the game too, he improved and
18:02
Speaker 1: I expect that graft to go up now depending on
18:06
Speaker 1: you know, a great player like Cameron Heyward can can
18:09
Speaker 1: humble you, there's no question about it. But he seems
18:13
Speaker 1: very poisoned mature to Dan. I think if something does
18:16
Speaker 1: go wrong, he's not going to lose his mind, you know,
18:18
Speaker 1: I think he'll he'll go back to the All right, well,
18:21
Speaker 1: you know I lost that one, but you know, I
18:23
Speaker 1: got to get back to my basics. I got to
18:25
Speaker 1: make sure my foot works right, all my fundamentals right,
18:27
Speaker 1: my hand placement's right. Just get back to what you
18:30
Speaker 1: need to do to block the guy, uh and not,
18:32
Speaker 1: you know, just start panicking and lose all all concept
18:37
Speaker 1: of technique and everything else, and then you're dead. You're
18:39
Speaker 1: dead meat. I don't see that happening with the key
18:41
Speaker 1: of de energy at all. All right, Thanksgivings coming up.
18:45
Speaker 1: You're from the Boston area. Boston is famous for Thanksgiving
18:49
Speaker 1: high school football games. Was that the case when you
18:53
Speaker 1: were young? Absolutely? Smell Rose it was. It was Melrose
18:57
Speaker 1: High School, but they were smell Rose when we when
19:00
Speaker 1: we played them. We played them every single Thanksgiving. And
19:04
Speaker 1: uh I remember they had they had a great athlete
19:08
Speaker 1: by the name of rich Como, Richie Como, and that
19:10
Speaker 1: son of a gun man he was. He was the
19:13
Speaker 1: first real speed store. I mean this guy ran, you know,
19:16
Speaker 1: like a sub ten flat hundred and the track team
19:18
Speaker 1: and stuff, and um he was if he hit it
19:21
Speaker 1: and he hit the scene was like see you later.
19:23
Speaker 1: You're looking at come a across the back of his jersey.
19:26
Speaker 1: That's all you're gonna see. And uh I remember we
19:29
Speaker 1: We ended up beating them one year in an upset
19:32
Speaker 1: and and that was that was a big deal to
19:35
Speaker 1: go and beat Melrose in Melrose. But yeah, the Wakefield
19:39
Speaker 1: Melrose Thanksgiving Day Turkey game was was always that was
19:44
Speaker 1: that was the biggest football game I'd ever played in
19:46
Speaker 1: my life as a you know, as a high school
19:48
Speaker 1: football player. That was everybody always look forward to that
19:51
Speaker 1: that big Thanksgiving Day rival retail. No question. Now you'll
19:56
Speaker 1: be watching football, you'll be eating too much like we
19:59
Speaker 1: all do, and then it's going to be the perfect
20:01
Speaker 1: Thanksgiving weekend When the Bengals win on Sunday by doing
20:05
Speaker 1: what it's remarkable Dan. I was looking back at the
20:09
Speaker 1: first match out of twenty four ten. The Bengals have
20:12
Speaker 1: forty penalties on the year, first in the National Football
20:15
Speaker 1: League unless much less than four hundred yards and penalty yards,
20:19
Speaker 1: I think like three forty something. I think it is
20:21
Speaker 1: first in the league as well. They had ten penalties
20:24
Speaker 1: for almost eighty yards in that game. They had a court.
20:26
Speaker 1: They had twenty five percent of their penalties and over
20:29
Speaker 1: twenty five percent of their penalty yards in that game.
20:32
Speaker 1: So what you have to do is like we always
20:34
Speaker 1: always talk about that, you know, controlled rage kind of thing.
20:38
Speaker 1: You know, you want to play aggressively and physically, but
20:42
Speaker 1: you don't want to be out of control. You know,
20:44
Speaker 1: you don't want to have penalties, you don't want to
20:45
Speaker 1: have mistakes. You don't want to But they won the
20:49
Speaker 1: turnover battle they had. They had two takeaways, two interceptions,
20:53
Speaker 1: gave them two short fields on Ben Roethlisberger. They scored
20:56
Speaker 1: two touchdowns on those short fields. That's the formula is
21:00
Speaker 1: is getting that kind of thing done. Um so they
21:03
Speaker 1: had four Pittsburgh had four kicks. That four possessions that
21:07
Speaker 1: ended without a kick. The Bengals only had one. That
21:10
Speaker 1: was huge in that football game. I think the Bengals
21:13
Speaker 1: won the field position battle, but I mean they Pittsburgh
21:17
Speaker 1: ran seventy seven snaps. Bengals ran like forty three and
21:21
Speaker 1: scored twenty four points. The efficiency was there because of
21:24
Speaker 1: the turnovers, the takeaways. So m but the time of possession.
21:29
Speaker 1: If people looked at, you know, the number of snaps,
21:31
Speaker 1: time of possession, how did the Bengals end up winning
21:33
Speaker 1: by two scores? And you have to you have to
21:35
Speaker 1: dive a little deeper, you know. Um but I think
21:39
Speaker 1: I think, uh, they have to take care of things
21:42
Speaker 1: at the line of scrimmage. I think it starts there,
21:44
Speaker 1: as always in these rivalry games and just about every
21:47
Speaker 1: game in the National Football League, you have to be
21:49
Speaker 1: able to hold your own, you know, at the line
21:51
Speaker 1: of scrimmage. There's there's no question about that. I've already
21:54
Speaker 1: written down about eighteen things here that you know they're
21:57
Speaker 1: going to be a factor in the football game. Yeah,
21:59
Speaker 1: but had ten penalties for eighty nine yards. Pittsburgh had
22:02
Speaker 1: ten for seventy three Pittsburgh six in the NFL, and
22:05
Speaker 1: penalty yards against them Bengals in number one at three
22:08
Speaker 1: hundred and forty three yards, so that both teams uncharacteristically
22:11
Speaker 1: had had a very rough day from a penalty standpoint.
22:16
Speaker 1: But I've got chemodenergy. Jump Cameron Hayward. You know, I
22:20
Speaker 1: thought that was going to be a big deal in
22:22
Speaker 1: the football game. Don't let Cameron Hayward get started. And
22:25
Speaker 1: I thought that, I thought that that was handled pretty
22:28
Speaker 1: well by Jackson Carmen, and I think chemodenergy, I'd recommend
22:33
Speaker 1: the same thing, jump him. But yeah, coach and play aggressively,
22:38
Speaker 1: but not carelessly or recklessly. And that's that's what has
22:41
Speaker 1: to happen. I think in these big football games and
22:45
Speaker 1: rivalry games, you never know. And like we talked about earlier,
22:47
Speaker 1: getting off to that fast start is I think going
22:50
Speaker 1: to be a pivotal thing. But the Bengals showed how
22:53
Speaker 1: important it is to finish games last week too. A
22:56
Speaker 1: quick start and a good finish and Dan good Turkey Day.
23:02
Speaker 1: Post Turkey Day weekend celebration could happen. Then enjoy your feast.
23:06
Speaker 1: Happy Thanksgiving? You do the same, sir. Do you like
23:09
Speaker 1: white or dark meat? Turkey both? But I prefer white?
23:12
Speaker 1: Do you only every piece of dark meat there is? Man?
23:16
Speaker 1: What's your favorite side dish? I like stuffing, but it
23:21
Speaker 1: must have gravy on it to moisten it up. Lynn
23:25
Speaker 1: makes his green bean casserole. That's like, really really good stuff.
23:29
Speaker 1: I'm a stuffing guy. Over over mashed potatoes too. I
23:33
Speaker 1: definitely am. What kind of pie? What's your pumpkin? That's
23:35
Speaker 1: a lap bengo Bengal bongo. What it's worth? I don't
23:41
Speaker 1: really like sweet potatoes, except for the Thanksgiving casserole version
23:46
Speaker 1: that's loaded up with so much butter and nuts that
23:48
Speaker 1: it's hard to tell there was ever a vegetable involved.
23:52
Speaker 1: Up next, my one on one visit with tight end
23:55
Speaker 1: c j Uzama. The first nine times he played in
23:58
Speaker 1: a Bengal Steelers game, the Bengals lost. That streak ended
24:03
Speaker 1: in week three, and I talked to CJ about the rivalry.
24:06
Speaker 1: This week, CJ, it is Steelers week. You are a
24:11
Speaker 1: rookie back in twenty fifteen for the infamous playoff game.
24:14
Speaker 1: Sorry to bring it up. What do you remember most
24:17
Speaker 1: about that night? Nothing? No, Um, Yeah, I just remember
24:24
Speaker 1: just distraught, I think in the locker room and amongst
24:27
Speaker 1: amongst the guys in the locker room, and and just
24:31
Speaker 1: you know, UM, we felt like we we let it,
24:35
Speaker 1: we let it slip away, and we did. UM. So
24:39
Speaker 1: that's that's the That's the biggest takeaway that I had
24:42
Speaker 1: was just you know, when an opportunity like this comes,
24:45
Speaker 1: we as player as we can't. We can't let something
24:47
Speaker 1: like that slip up and have there be any disconnect UM.
24:51
Speaker 1: And that was kind of the biggest thing that I
24:53
Speaker 1: think I saw UM throughout, throughout the night and after
24:58
Speaker 1: the game. The nast ess in this rivalry I think
25:01
Speaker 1: peaked right around then. Some of those games I almost
25:04
Speaker 1: felt like they were out of control. Has it gotten better?
25:07
Speaker 1: You know? I think with the rules, I think football
25:10
Speaker 1: in general has changed a lot. Um, I don't know
25:13
Speaker 1: necessarily if it's gotten better. I think, you know, UM,
25:17
Speaker 1: you know, there's still that passion, that rivalry, that that
25:20
Speaker 1: UM controlled hatred, you know, towards towards someone in your division.
25:24
Speaker 1: But UM, I don't, I don't. I wouldn't say it's
25:26
Speaker 1: gotten better and lighter. You know, I think the rules
25:29
Speaker 1: have changed to kind of prevent some of those, like
25:33
Speaker 1: some of the things that have happened, you know, to
25:35
Speaker 1: happen again. But now I think, I think that that
25:37
Speaker 1: passion is still there. I'm going to quote you on
25:40
Speaker 1: controlled hatred during the course of the game. We're chatting
25:43
Speaker 1: with c. J Uzama. You won the first meeting against
25:45
Speaker 1: the Steelers this year by a couple of touchdowns in Pittsburgh.
25:48
Speaker 1: That means two wins in a row for Cincinnati in
25:50
Speaker 1: the rivalry. What do you view as a key or
25:52
Speaker 1: a couple of keys to making it three in a row? Yeah,
25:55
Speaker 1: I think, you know, just just playing our game. Um.
25:58
Speaker 1: I think you know, when it comes to a rivalry
26:00
Speaker 1: game like this, you know that you know a play
26:02
Speaker 1: is going to be made by the other side, and
26:03
Speaker 1: it's how you respond to that. And obviously we want,
26:06
Speaker 1: we want to play a perfect game and we want
26:07
Speaker 1: to come out hot and and you know that's that's
26:09
Speaker 1: our plan. Um. But you know, things change throughout the
26:12
Speaker 1: throughout the course of the game, and it's just it's
26:14
Speaker 1: staying the course. It's staying you know, with with within
26:17
Speaker 1: the parameters of our game plan and and and how
26:19
Speaker 1: we play enough on Pittsburgh, the team in general and
26:24
Speaker 1: you in particular seem to be having a ball this year.
26:28
Speaker 1: Are you having as much fun as it looks? I'm
26:31
Speaker 1: having more fun than it looks for sure. Um, it
26:35
Speaker 1: really is. It's it, man, It is so fun. Just
26:38
Speaker 1: I mean, even in the walkthrough that you know, we
26:40
Speaker 1: just had to walk through and we're having fun out there.
26:43
Speaker 1: And you know, it's not saying that we're not focused
26:46
Speaker 1: and because we're executing, you know, even in walk through
26:49
Speaker 1: in practice where we're um, we're executing, you know, at
26:52
Speaker 1: a high level. But it's just, man, football is supposed
26:56
Speaker 1: to be fun, and I think some of that gets taken,
26:59
Speaker 1: you know, taken away with um, certain guys wanting contracts
27:04
Speaker 1: and certain guys wanting you know, their numbers and this
27:07
Speaker 1: and that. But when you watch this team and when
27:09
Speaker 1: I mean, you can't one hundred percent fully grasp it.
27:12
Speaker 1: But man, we're happy when everyone scores. Everyone's like, man,
27:15
Speaker 1: all right, let's let's get in the en zone. Let's
27:16
Speaker 1: do something like what are we doing? Like I'm excited
27:18
Speaker 1: to see what Jamar is gonna do and the enzone
27:21
Speaker 1: or Joe or you know, I don't know what they do.
27:23
Speaker 1: I run over and I'm just like, I don't know
27:25
Speaker 1: this dance. I don't know this move. I can't help
27:27
Speaker 1: in any way. But I'm like, man, this is cool.
27:29
Speaker 1: Like it's cool to see that and celebrate your teammates.
27:32
Speaker 1: And you know, if we know, if as long as
27:34
Speaker 1: we're putting points on the board, we're we're gonna win.
27:36
Speaker 1: And where we have that confidence in our defense, and
27:40
Speaker 1: so yeah, it's it's it's just different, man, it really is.
27:43
Speaker 1: And you can tell, not only myself, but just everyone's
27:47
Speaker 1: having a really really fun time. Are you having fun
27:50
Speaker 1: because you're in the playoff hunt or are you in
27:53
Speaker 1: the playoff hunt because you're having fun. We're in the
27:56
Speaker 1: playoff hunt because we're having fun. I think, you know,
27:58
Speaker 1: the culture and of this locker room, the culture of
28:01
Speaker 1: this organization and um things that we've been instilling and
28:05
Speaker 1: the younger guys, you know, the older guys have been
28:08
Speaker 1: you know kind of you know, bringing them along, and
28:10
Speaker 1: the and the free agents that we had signed, and
28:12
Speaker 1: you know, it's just it's a complete buying and we're
28:15
Speaker 1: we're just we're loving on each other. This is a
28:17
Speaker 1: family I spend I mean Thanksgivings coming up, but I'm
28:20
Speaker 1: spending more time with these guys and I'll be spending
28:21
Speaker 1: with my family. And so these are my brothers and
28:24
Speaker 1: we're really treating each other as such. And so I
28:27
Speaker 1: think that's that's kind of why we're having this success
28:29
Speaker 1: that we're having. You have dubbed your quarterback Joey franchise,
28:33
Speaker 1: and you often refer to Joe Burrow as the smartest
28:35
Speaker 1: player on the field at all times. Of his many
28:38
Speaker 1: great attributes, is that the thing that stands out the
28:41
Speaker 1: most one hundred percent, you know, I think you know,
28:44
Speaker 1: if you can I mean there's that infamous line of
28:48
Speaker 1: him in Jacksonville you can't zero me and things like that,
28:50
Speaker 1: because he's gonna he's gonna get us on the best
28:52
Speaker 1: possible play and make you pay for it. So, um, yeah,
28:57
Speaker 1: I think that's you know, he's I think a close
29:00
Speaker 1: second would be his tough toughness because he's he's an
29:03
Speaker 1: incredibly tough kid. And I say kid, he's not actually
29:07
Speaker 1: that young, but um, he's extremely tough and he's a competitor.
29:12
Speaker 1: But his mind and the way he can analyze the
29:15
Speaker 1: defense and you know, get us in the best possible play. Um,
29:19
Speaker 1: that's that's very unique. You're having an excellent year. Do
29:23
Speaker 1: you have any lingering issues left from the torn achilles? Now?
29:27
Speaker 1: I'm very blessed with you know, kind of how I
29:30
Speaker 1: was able to approach it, and mentality was of mannaright,
29:34
Speaker 1: I tore my achilles. I can't expedite anything. I can't
29:37
Speaker 1: do anything right now. And then once the doctor said
29:39
Speaker 1: I was cleared, I was like, Okay, I'm one hundred percent.
29:41
Speaker 1: There's no excuse of anything. I'm not gonna, you know,
29:44
Speaker 1: let anything weigh in my mind. It's just go out
29:47
Speaker 1: there and have fun. And it took a little bit
29:49
Speaker 1: just to get back into the swing of things with
29:50
Speaker 1: with not you know, being in pads and things like that.
29:52
Speaker 1: But other than that, I feel I feel great. A
29:57
Speaker 1: couple more questions for c j Uzama. The Bengals are
30:00
Speaker 1: having a great year. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are having
30:02
Speaker 1: a great year. Have you stayed in frequent contact with
30:05
Speaker 1: your buddy Giovanni Bernard? I have. Actually I texted on
30:09
Speaker 1: Elis's birthday, um so, so I ended up texting him
30:12
Speaker 1: and wishing him a happy birthday, and um checking around
30:16
Speaker 1: him and Chloe and you know the baby that they're
30:18
Speaker 1: gonna have, and um, that's my brother for life, for share.
30:21
Speaker 1: So um, yeah, we stay in touch and I always,
30:24
Speaker 1: you know, make sure he's doing well and vice versa.
30:28
Speaker 1: All right, final thing, the Bengal Steelers is not the
30:31
Speaker 1: only rivalry this weekend. The Iron Bowl is coming up
30:33
Speaker 1: on Saturday, your beloved Auburn Tigers trying to upset the
30:37
Speaker 1: Alabama Crimson Tide. Is there a friendly wager or any
30:41
Speaker 1: trash talk with Jonah Williams, the only Alabama player right
30:44
Speaker 1: now in the roster. Um, he's got it easy on
30:48
Speaker 1: me right now. I think, I think, I think what's
30:51
Speaker 1: gonna happen is Friday and Saturday roll along and he's
30:54
Speaker 1: just gonna stare at me. You know, John is a
30:56
Speaker 1: man of few words, so he's not gonna he's not
30:58
Speaker 1: gonna he's not gonna say too much. He's just gonna
31:00
Speaker 1: look at me. Um. So I'm really hoping that we
31:04
Speaker 1: pull this one out because he will just stare at
31:06
Speaker 1: me and smile, and I'll be like johna, please just
31:08
Speaker 1: stop with me, please feel love. So um, but that's
31:12
Speaker 1: a rivalry, so maybe I'll be I'll trash talk him
31:14
Speaker 1: a little bit if I need to, um and hope
31:16
Speaker 1: we hope we pull that one out. If Auburn pulls
31:19
Speaker 1: off the upset, you will not limit it to just
31:21
Speaker 1: staring on your part. Oh no, no, no no, no, I'm
31:23
Speaker 1: gonna there's gonna be a look. His locker is gonna
31:26
Speaker 1: be decked out orange and blue, and oh yeah, I'm gonna.
31:29
Speaker 1: I'm gonna. I'm gonna get after him pretty good. So
31:32
Speaker 1: um yeah, let's let's get that win. Where you go,
31:36
Speaker 1: continued success, Thanks for the time, best of luck against
31:39
Speaker 1: the dreaded, hated, despised, but grudgingly respected Pittsburghs Daily Thank you.
31:44
Speaker 1: I appreciate it. As an Auburn junior, in twenty thirteen,
31:48
Speaker 1: c J played and perhaps the most memorable Iron Bowl
31:52
Speaker 1: of them all, as Auburn beat Alabama on a one
31:55
Speaker 1: hundred nine yard return of a missfield goal on the
31:58
Speaker 1: final play of the game, the so called kick six.
32:03
Speaker 1: The Bengals Booth podcast is presented by Ultimate Bengals, the
32:06
Speaker 1: free to play fantasy football game. Ultimate Bengals will be
32:09
Speaker 1: awarding a weekly winner during the course of the season
32:12
Speaker 1: with tickets, autograph merchandise, and money can't buy experiences all
32:17
Speaker 1: up for grabs. Find Ultimate Bengals in the app stores.
32:20
Speaker 1: Now finally it's time for our no the faux segment.
32:24
Speaker 1: Add King Kabwala from the NFL Network is frequently assigned
32:28
Speaker 1: to matchups in the AFC North, and she spoke this
32:31
Speaker 1: week to my Bengals dot Com colleague Marissa Contapelli. The
32:36
Speaker 1: Bengals return to Paul Brown Stadium this Sunday, where they'll
32:40
Speaker 1: be for the next three games, and as we get
32:42
Speaker 1: set for Round two against the Steelers, we welcome in
32:45
Speaker 1: NFL Networks, add King Kabwala, who covers the AFC North
32:49
Speaker 1: extensively for the network, add this is the only division
32:53
Speaker 1: where each team is currently above five hundred. What does
32:56
Speaker 1: that say just about the caliber of competition that's currently
32:59
Speaker 1: the AS North. Well, it sort of creates a sense
33:03
Speaker 1: of anxiety for me, Marisa, because I feel like everybody's
33:07
Speaker 1: beating each other up. But again, this hasn't happened since
33:12
Speaker 1: I mean, this hasn't happened in ten years. And when
33:14
Speaker 1: it happened ten years ago, three of the AFC North
33:17
Speaker 1: teams went to the playoffs, and I feel like we're
33:19
Speaker 1: in position for the exact same thing. To happen. How
33:23
Speaker 1: do you see this division playing out? I know there's
33:25
Speaker 1: still a long way to go, but with the Bengals
33:27
Speaker 1: at six and four, is that put them in a
33:30
Speaker 1: good spot to possibly make a run for it late
33:32
Speaker 1: in the season. You know what's so interesting about this
33:36
Speaker 1: mrsays that nobody has really put together a run in
33:40
Speaker 1: any sort of way that you feel like, Okay, this
33:42
Speaker 1: is a team that has established exactly who it is
33:45
Speaker 1: and they're about to go off in some particular way.
33:49
Speaker 1: So I still feel really, really really good about the
33:54
Speaker 1: Ravens simply because they have one of the three most
33:56
Speaker 1: dynamic players in the NFL and Lamar Jackson, and I'm very,
34:00
Speaker 1: very eager to see what everybody else can put together.
34:03
Speaker 1: Right now, when you take a look at the Bengals offense,
34:07
Speaker 1: they put up thirty points on the scoreboard, fourth time
34:10
Speaker 1: in the last five games they've done that. What catches
34:12
Speaker 1: your eye when it comes to the offense? Mersa, I
34:16
Speaker 1: am this is almost embarrassing how much I pound the
34:20
Speaker 1: table for Joe Mixon. I am such an old school
34:24
Speaker 1: football person where I believe every single thing starts with
34:29
Speaker 1: the run game, and so to me, when you look
34:32
Speaker 1: at that Raiders game. What's the best way to keep
34:35
Speaker 1: Max Crosby and Yannick and Gakway off of Joe Barrow
34:38
Speaker 1: by running the ball? And so I loved the way
34:43
Speaker 1: that the Bengal said, we don't care that you know
34:45
Speaker 1: we're running the ball. We are going to keep running
34:48
Speaker 1: the ball. And those one and three and five yard
34:51
Speaker 1: games in the first and second year, in the first
34:53
Speaker 1: and second chord quarter in the first and second quarter
34:56
Speaker 1: are going to turn into eleven and eighteen yards in
35:00
Speaker 1: the third quarter. And I just you know, one of
35:04
Speaker 1: my greatest frustrations with the Steelers is that they're not
35:08
Speaker 1: running the ball. You know, they had twelve possessions within
35:12
Speaker 1: five yards of the goal line on Sunday night, and
35:15
Speaker 1: eight of those twelve possessions they threw the ball, like
35:17
Speaker 1: just say, I'm going to beat you up, Like that's it.
35:20
Speaker 1: I don't care that you know I'm going to run
35:22
Speaker 1: the ball. I'm still going to run it all over you.
35:24
Speaker 1: One of my greatest frustrations with the Browns is that
35:27
Speaker 1: two weeks ago, when they fell behind to the Patriots
35:30
Speaker 1: and they were still within a running climate, they got
35:33
Speaker 1: all nervous and scared and worried and started throwing the ball.
35:36
Speaker 1: That's not where the Browns are at their best. That's
35:39
Speaker 1: not where their Steelers are at their best, and it's
35:41
Speaker 1: not where the Bengals are at their best. Everything should
35:44
Speaker 1: start with the run game, especially when you have one
35:48
Speaker 1: of the most exceptional running backs in the NFL. You know,
35:52
Speaker 1: I was following along on Twitter with you over the
35:54
Speaker 1: weekend and I loved the I told you so tweet
35:56
Speaker 1: when it came to running the ball and feeding Joe Mixon. Awful, Messa,
36:01
Speaker 1: Is that terrible that? I just was like, I told
36:03
Speaker 1: you so? Or is that okay? It's absolutely okay? It does?
36:06
Speaker 1: It all starts with the run game? Well, it does
36:09
Speaker 1: in general. And it feels like when you're right and
36:12
Speaker 1: you're sitting here and you're saying, look, this is somebody
36:15
Speaker 1: that's had an immense amount of success against this particular
36:18
Speaker 1: team and this has bode well for your team in general,
36:23
Speaker 1: Go ahead and do it, and then when it actually happened,
36:26
Speaker 1: shouldn't you be allowed to get some credit for that? Exactly? Exactly? Well,
36:31
Speaker 1: add I'm glad you also brought up the fact that
36:34
Speaker 1: the Steelers have struggled in the run game as well,
36:37
Speaker 1: when you look at each of their losses a season,
36:39
Speaker 1: they failed to get over sixty two run yards as
36:41
Speaker 1: a team in each of those games, including Week three
36:43
Speaker 1: when they did play the Bengals the first time around.
36:46
Speaker 1: What's been going on in Pittsburgh and is that an
36:49
Speaker 1: area that the Bengals defense should focus on again, is
36:51
Speaker 1: really trying to limit that run game? Well one, but
36:55
Speaker 1: I also feel that part of the run game is
36:58
Speaker 1: whether you are committed to the or not. And let's
37:01
Speaker 1: go back to the Bengals for just a minute, Marissa.
37:03
Speaker 1: In the first half against the Raiders, the runs weren't
37:06
Speaker 1: particularly pretty, you weren't netting that much, but then those
37:10
Speaker 1: same exact runs broke for more in the third and
37:14
Speaker 1: fourth quarters. And that's the way that a run game works.
37:17
Speaker 1: And it just feels like over the course of the
37:19
Speaker 1: last four years, the Steelers haven't been particularly committed to
37:24
Speaker 1: the run, even as they sit here and say, we
37:27
Speaker 1: want to run the ball, we want our run game
37:29
Speaker 1: to be better, we are focused on this. Well, they
37:32
Speaker 1: haven't spent any money on their offensive line, and they've
37:34
Speaker 1: hired an offensive coordinator who, you know, wonderful person, wonderful human,
37:40
Speaker 1: but in certain moments, it's do you want to outthink
37:45
Speaker 1: somebody or do you want to just run all over them?
37:48
Speaker 1: And when we go back to Sunday night against the Chargers,
37:51
Speaker 1: with the Steelers again, they're down by the goal line,
37:54
Speaker 1: they're throwing extensively, they're not necessarily connecting, and then at
37:58
Speaker 1: some point the Steelers just throw in their fullback. There.
38:02
Speaker 1: They threw in their first round running back and they
38:04
Speaker 1: ran up the gut and they scored a touchdown finally,
38:07
Speaker 1: and it felt like, Okay, that's maybe not so sexy,
38:12
Speaker 1: that's maybe not what you know is generating attention at
38:17
Speaker 1: this moment, but that's what works. So why can't you
38:20
Speaker 1: just stick with what works? Easier said than done sometimes
38:25
Speaker 1: but absolutely well. Add the Steelers have been without t J.
38:29
Speaker 1: Watt for a handful of games this season, most notably
38:33
Speaker 1: when they did play in Week three. He was out
38:35
Speaker 1: last week against the Chargers. Is he someone that has
38:39
Speaker 1: a good chance of going on Sunday? What are the
38:40
Speaker 1: odds that he suits up against the Bengals, Marissa, We
38:44
Speaker 1: totally expect him back. In fact, mcdomlin today said that
38:47
Speaker 1: he anticipates him being back and he of course changes
38:49
Speaker 1: the entire defense and it's not just the attention he
38:52
Speaker 1: draws at the position that he's at, but it's what
38:56
Speaker 1: is infectious about the way that he plays and how
38:58
Speaker 1: that affects everybody else. So obviously the Steelers defense is
39:02
Speaker 1: significantly different if t J. Watt is back, and as
39:06
Speaker 1: I said, Mike Tomlin said, the expectation is that he
39:09
Speaker 1: will indeed be back against the Bengals. Seems like there's
39:12
Speaker 1: a lot on the line Sunday between the Bengals and
39:15
Speaker 1: the Steelers for the Bengals to come out victorious. What
39:18
Speaker 1: do they need to do right against Pittsburgh? Run the ball,
39:23
Speaker 1: run the ball, control the clock, keep possession, and it
39:29
Speaker 1: just feels like that'll do it. You know, sometimes, Marissa,
39:33
Speaker 1: the best offense or the best defense is a really
39:36
Speaker 1: really good offense that prevents the other offense from getting
39:40
Speaker 1: the ball. And we know that the Bengals can be
39:43
Speaker 1: a very quick strike offense. We saw that the last
39:47
Speaker 1: time the Bengals and the Steelers played with Jamar Chase
39:49
Speaker 1: and Joe Burrow. But if you control the clock, if
39:52
Speaker 1: you keep possession, if you keep the ball away from
39:55
Speaker 1: the Steelers, then you're in great shape. Well, Aditi, the
39:58
Speaker 1: last one I have for you today. I've seen an
40:01
Speaker 1: adorable photo of your daughter posted from over the weekend
40:04
Speaker 1: watching the Browns game. And I know your kids have
40:06
Speaker 1: roots in Cleveland and Pittsburgh, but I really think they
40:10
Speaker 1: would look pretty cute and some maybe tiger stripes we
40:12
Speaker 1: can get some. Maybe we could throw some orange of
40:14
Speaker 1: black apparel into the mix here every now and then,
40:18
Speaker 1: if you want to send me that, I have no
40:22
Speaker 1: problem throwing that on my children. In fact, what's really
40:25
Speaker 1: funny is you used to have a running back coach
40:27
Speaker 1: who sent us a lot of Bengals gear, and we
40:30
Speaker 1: still do wear a lot of those hats, a lot
40:33
Speaker 1: of those I don't even know what to call them,
40:36
Speaker 1: but our mormers in cold weather, so we will wear
40:40
Speaker 1: whenever is sent to us. But my poor daughter was
40:43
Speaker 1: born in Cleveland and the Browns treated her tremendously well,
40:47
Speaker 1: and she is just buying into that, and I can't
40:51
Speaker 1: you know, isn't part of parenting letting your kids be
40:55
Speaker 1: exactly And it's just this an asc North family, it
40:58
Speaker 1: seems maybe. I mean, I didn't growl up here, so
41:02
Speaker 1: it's easy for me to let everybody go there one way. Well,
41:06
Speaker 1: add thank you so much for joining us. Love your
41:09
Speaker 1: coverage at NFL Network. Thanks for spending time with us today, Marissa.
41:13
Speaker 1: It's been an absolute pleasure. And thank you so so
41:16
Speaker 1: so much for having me and run the ball. That's
41:20
Speaker 1: all I'm gonna say. Run the ball. Hi. Thanks to
41:23
Speaker 1: Marissa and add and that's going to do it for
41:25
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41:28
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41:32
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41:36
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Speaker 1: find us. I'm Dan Horde, Happy Thanksgiving and thanks for
41:48
Speaker 1: listening to The Bengals Booth Podcast