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Bengals Booth Podcast: Build · Bengals Booth Podcast

• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Hi again, everybody.
• 0:04
  Speaker 2: I'm Dan Hoard, and thanks for downloading the Bengals Booth Podcast,
• 0:08
  Speaker 2: the buh-buh-buh-buh build. In addition, as the Bengals look to
• 0:14
  Speaker 2: build on last week's sensational second half in Baltimore as
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: they host the Tennessee Titans. Coming up, I'll talk to
• 0:21
  Speaker 2: Tennessee native T. Higgins about his seven years in Cincinnati
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: and his all-time best Halloween costume.
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: It's a great story.
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: Former NFL running back Robert Turbin will broadcast this week's
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: game on CBS, and he shares his thoughts on the
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: Bengals through six games. And in this week's Know the
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: Foe segment, we'll get the scoop on the Titans from
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: Teron Davenport, who covers the team for ESPN. The Bengals
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: Booth Podcast is brought to you by Paycor, proud to
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: be the Bengals' official HR software provider. By AltaFiber, future-proof
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: fiber internet designed to elevate your home, business, and community
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: to to a new level, and by Kettering Health, the
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: best care for the best fans. Kettering Health is the
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: official health care provider of the Bengals. Now, here's a
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: quick reminder that you can have the latest edition of
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: this podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet, or computer
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's the greatest
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: thing since strands. I have a couple of games I
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: like to play on my phone in the morning, Wordle
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: and Sports Connections. Now, The Athletic has me hooked on
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: a new one called Strands Sports Edition. Here's how it works.
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: Each day, you get a 6x8 grid made up of
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: 48 letters. Within it, you have to find hidden sports-themed
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: words by connecting the letters. For example, today, the theme
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: was Golden Staters. And within the puzzle, you had to
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: find team names from around the state of California. Is
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: it rocket science?
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: No.
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: But if you like sports, it's a fun way to
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: start the day. Now, time for my first guest. T.
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: Higgins is off to the best start of his NFL career.
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: He's averaging 95 receiving yards per game. That's fourth best
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: in the NFL. And he's on a pace to finish
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: the year with more than 1,600 receiving yards. I caught
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: up with T.
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: This week.
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: The Bengals host Tennessee this week, meaning it's the perfect
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: time to visit with one of the Oak Ridge boys.
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: And I'm not talking about the musical act. I'm talking
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: about Tee Higgins from Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Here's my question
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: for you. Before you signed your contract extension last year,
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: how many people from back home were saying, Tee, please
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: come to the Titans. Come home to Tennessee.
• 2:46
  Speaker 3: It was quite a few, especially, you know, like family
• 2:49
  Speaker 3: and stuff like that.
• 2:49
  Speaker 4: But, you know, once I did sign my extension, they understood.
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: For people who don't remember, or maybe even didn't know,
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: even though Oak Ridge is two and a half hours
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: from Nashville, the Titans were not your team, the Bengals were.
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: Tell the origin story for how you became a Bengals fan.
• 3:08
  Speaker 3: Being a tall receiver, you know, back when I was younger,
• 3:10
  Speaker 3: I was a fan of A.J. Green, even when he
• 3:13
  Speaker 3: was at Georgia. You know, once he, you know, got
• 3:15
  Speaker 3: drafted here, you know, I was still a fan of him. So,
• 3:18
  Speaker 3: you know, just kind of carried over and I became
• 3:21
  Speaker 3: a fan of Cincinnati.
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: He's not the only tall receiver. Was it something about
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: his style of play, the great catches? What connected you
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: to A.J.
• 3:29
  Speaker 4: His style of play.
• 3:30
  Speaker 3: You know, he was one of those guys that, you know,
• 3:32
  Speaker 3: liked to high point the ball. You know, and he
• 3:34
  Speaker 3: made some of those.
• 3:36
  Speaker 4: Crazy toe taps. And, you know, it was just like, man,
• 3:39
  Speaker 4: I want to be like that one day.
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: You know what I mean? So, yeah.
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: Before your senior year of high school, you famously tweeted,
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: I will meet A.J. Green one day. And then you
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: got to be teammates again. What was it like to
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: form a relationship with somebody that you admired so much?
• 3:54
  Speaker 4: It's pretty dope.
• 3:55
  Speaker 3: You know, at first, when I first got in the building,
• 3:57
  Speaker 3: you know, I seen him, I kind of was like,
• 3:59
  Speaker 3: I can't fanboy too much. But at the same time,
• 4:01
  Speaker 3: it was like, man, you know, I worked hard to
• 4:03
  Speaker 3: get to this point. I can fanboy a little bit.
• 4:08
  Speaker 3: But at the same time, you know, I always wanted
• 4:10
  Speaker 3: to learn from him. So it was the perfect opportunity
• 4:13
  Speaker 3: for me to ask questions and, you know, learn from him.
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: He's not the most talkative guy.
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: Right.
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: But how did he help you that first year?
• 4:21
  Speaker 4: Yeah, anytime I had questions, you know, he always had
• 4:23
  Speaker 4: an answer for me.
• 4:25
  Speaker 3: I tried not to bother him too much because obviously
• 4:28
  Speaker 3: I realized that he was not a talkative guy like that.
• 4:31
  Speaker 4: But, you know, once questions did come up.
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: I asked. T, you're coming off an awesome game last week,
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: six catches for 148 yards. I want to go back
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: to your first catch of the game because if you
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: watch the play, it honestly looks like Joe Burrow is
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: throwing the ball to Roquan Smith. I mean, you're almost
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: hidden behind him. And then the next thing I know,
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: you like swoop around, snatch the ball away. It looked like,
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: like a bridesmaid stealing, you know, when they toss, uh,
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: into the, into the crowd. Describe making that play.
• 5:05
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 5:05
  Speaker 3: Um, you know, uh, come across the middle. Uh, obviously,
• 5:08
  Speaker 3: you know, me and Joe have that connection. He has
• 5:10
  Speaker 3: the utmost trust in me to make a play on
• 5:12
  Speaker 3: the ball. Um, I'm sure he didn't mean to throw
• 5:15
  Speaker 3: it like that, but he did, and it's my job
• 5:19
  Speaker 3: to go and get the ball. So I was able
• 5:21
  Speaker 3: to find a way to wrap around him and shade
• 5:24
  Speaker 3: back down towards the quarterback and make the grab.
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: The body language of Roquan when he got up after
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: the play, I mean, you could see he's like, how
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: did that happen? This ball was coming right to me.
• 5:35
  Speaker 4: Yeah, man, it's crazy. It's crazy.
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: These are the best stats that you've ever had through
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: seven games. Why do you think that is?
• 5:42
  Speaker 3: I don't think it's nothing... Like, no big, you know,
• 5:45
  Speaker 3: difference from what I've been doing. Me, I just keep playing,
• 5:50
  Speaker 3: you know, just play to the best of my ability,
• 5:53
  Speaker 3: you know, every single game. So, you know, it's just,
• 5:56
  Speaker 3: you know, Joe just gave me those opportunities, and, you know,
• 5:59
  Speaker 3: I've just been able to make a play on the ball.
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: I want to turn back the clock. In your second
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: year at Clemson, you won a national championship. The next year,
• 6:07
  Speaker 2: you were undefeated until the national championship game. Then you
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: guys lost to LSU. In your second NFL season, you
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: go to the Super Bowl. So three times in a
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: four-year period, you played for the overall championship. Did you
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: recognize in real time how incredible that was?
• 6:24
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I did.
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: I thought it was pretty dope.
• 6:27
  Speaker 3: At the time, you know, I was like, you know,
• 6:29
  Speaker 3: I won my, I won a national championship my second
• 6:32
  Speaker 3: year in college. I thought, you know, it would have,
• 6:34
  Speaker 3: you know, came over to the NFL. My second year
• 6:36
  Speaker 3: in the NFL, maybe was going to win the Super Bowl.
• 6:38
  Speaker 3: So that was in my head, you know, that whole, like,
• 6:41
  Speaker 3: week leading up to the game on the Super Bowl,
• 6:43
  Speaker 3: but obviously we fell short. But to think about it, man,
• 6:47
  Speaker 3: it's actually crazy, you know, to be able to play
• 6:49
  Speaker 3: in those big games and to spend the four years
• 6:53
  Speaker 3: is awesome.
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: How hungry are you to get back to playing in
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: a game of that magnitude?
• 6:57
  Speaker 4: Yeah, very hungry.
• 6:58
  Speaker 3: I mean, I feel like if you are, you know,
• 7:01
  Speaker 3: in a position, if you are in the league and
• 7:03
  Speaker 3: you're not hungry, or any sport, and you're not hungry
• 7:05
  Speaker 3: to get to a championship game, then you don't need
• 7:07
  Speaker 3: to be playing that sport.
• 7:09
  Speaker 4: But I'm very hungry to get there.
• 7:11
  Speaker 3: I feel like the team that we have now, we
• 7:15
  Speaker 3: have the pieces.
• 7:18
  Speaker 4: To get there. We just got to put it together,
• 7:21
  Speaker 4: play complimentary football and whatnot.
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: You do have the talent. Does anything else feel similar
• 7:27
  Speaker 2: to those championship level teams?
• 7:30
  Speaker 3: How together we are as a team. That's the main thing.
• 7:34
  Speaker 3: We talk in the locker room. We play You know,
• 7:39
  Speaker 3: once the defense get a stop or something like that,
• 7:40
  Speaker 3: you know, we try to go out there and try
• 7:43
  Speaker 3: to keep them off the field as much as we can,
• 7:45
  Speaker 3: you know, because obviously sometimes they go on long drives
• 7:47
  Speaker 3: and get a stop on fourth down. So we try
• 7:50
  Speaker 3: to keep them guys off the field. Just like I said, man,
• 7:52
  Speaker 3: play complimentary football.
• 7:53
  Speaker 2: You were Dexter Lawrence's teammate for two years in college.
• 7:57
  Speaker 2: What was your reaction when the trade went down?
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: Man, I was excited.
• 8:00
  Speaker 4: I didn't know. I was actually, you know, I was
• 8:03
  Speaker 4: playing video games at the time.
• 8:05
  Speaker 3: And I was talking to me and Dexter, you know,
• 8:08
  Speaker 3: former teammate Isaiah Simmons. He plays with the Panthers now.
• 8:12
  Speaker 3: And he was like, bro, y'all just got Dex.
• 8:14
  Speaker 4: I'm like, what?
• 8:16
  Speaker 3: So I go to X and look, and sure enough, man,
• 8:20
  Speaker 3: we traded for Dex. I was excited, man, because I
• 8:22
  Speaker 3: knew what type of player he was, what type of
• 8:24
  Speaker 3: leader he was. And, you know, just to see him
• 8:27
  Speaker 3: come in, in the building, be the leader that he
• 8:31
  Speaker 3: is today. And it's like we never left, you know,
• 8:34
  Speaker 3: from Clemson.
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: It makes me think of this. When you guys were
• 8:37
  Speaker 2: together at Clemson, you charged down the hill, the famous,
• 8:40
  Speaker 2: most exciting 25 seconds in sports at Clemson home games.
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: Did you ever notice Dexter going down that hill? I
• 8:48
  Speaker 2: would imagine that would be kind of frightening.
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: Uh, nah.
• 8:51
  Speaker 3: Um, yeah, I would imagine it's pretty frightening as well,
• 8:53
  Speaker 3: but no, I think I was on the first bus
• 8:58
  Speaker 3: going around and I was always like one of the
• 8:59
  Speaker 3: first ones getting off. So I was kind of like
• 9:01
  Speaker 3: more up towards the front. Um, and when you going down,
• 9:05
  Speaker 3: You're not looking for nobody else. You're making sure you
• 9:08
  Speaker 3: don't fall. That's the main thing, and that's what they
• 9:11
  Speaker 3: tell you when you first get there. Don't fall down
• 9:13
  Speaker 3: the hill.
• 9:13
  Speaker 4: It's very embarrassing.
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: There's kind of a ramp like three-quarters of the way down.
• 9:16
  Speaker 3: Oh, yeah, and that's that part. It's like you go down,
• 9:19
  Speaker 3: and then you get flat, and then you go back down.
• 9:22
  Speaker 3: But once you get to that flat part, some people jump,
• 9:24
  Speaker 3: some people don't. I jumped a few times. One time
• 9:27
  Speaker 3: I kind of like almost fell when I jumped. I
• 9:30
  Speaker 3: was like, yeah, I'm not jumping no more.
• 9:32
  Speaker 4: But, man, it's a dope experience.
• 9:35
  Speaker 2: The team heads to Spain next week. It'll be your
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: first international game. What are you looking forward to?
• 9:42
  Speaker 3: You know, I'm looking forward to seeing what the culture
• 9:45
  Speaker 3: is out there. I haven't been out the country. You know,
• 9:48
  Speaker 3: I've only been to Mexico and Dominican Republic. So it'd
• 9:53
  Speaker 3: be dope to go across the waters that way and
• 9:56
  Speaker 3: just experience another culture.
• 9:58
  Speaker 4: You know what I mean?
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 10:00
  Speaker 4: Hopefully come out with a W as well.
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: So Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase have had all these
• 10:04
  Speaker 2: international adventures, but you have not joined along so far.
• 10:08
  Speaker 3: No, I'm supposed to go on a few of them, but,
• 10:11
  Speaker 3: you know, life happens. So stuff comes up and we're
• 10:14
  Speaker 3: unable to make the trips.
• 10:15
  Speaker 2: I assume you have somebody well-prepared to take care of
• 10:19
  Speaker 2: your fish.
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
• 10:21
  Speaker 4: I got all that situated already. You know, every day
• 10:25
  Speaker 4: at a certain time, they'll be there to feed them,
• 10:27
  Speaker 4: make sure they're all right.
• 10:28
  Speaker 2: Describe the jellyfish setup.
• 10:31
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I got a nice 200-gallon tank in the wall.
• 10:36
  Speaker 4: Right now, I got about 10.
• 10:38
  Speaker 3: To 12 jellyfish. Going to add more as time goes on.
• 10:43
  Speaker 3: Probably end up having like, you know, 40 to 50,
• 10:45
  Speaker 3: which is going to be pretty dope. They're pretty big.
• 10:48
  Speaker 3: They're probably like, about this big right now. So they're
• 10:52
  Speaker 3: pretty big. Moon jellyfish right now. I want some different ones,
• 10:55
  Speaker 3: but stick with the moon just to, you know, let
• 10:58
  Speaker 3: the tank get acclimated and things like that.
• 11:00
  Speaker 2: You had this interest in them and then you went
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: ahead and started this collection.
• 11:04
  Speaker 4: I did it big.
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: I did it big.
• 11:06
  Speaker 2: You did it big. Has it been all that you
• 11:08
  Speaker 2: hoped it would be?
• 11:09
  Speaker 4: Honestly, yeah, man.
• 11:11
  Speaker 3: It took a while for it to, you know, the
• 11:13
  Speaker 3: process took a while for it to put in the wall,
• 11:16
  Speaker 3: make the tank, put it in the wall. You know,
• 11:18
  Speaker 3: you got to put the water in, let the water
• 11:20
  Speaker 3: Cycle for two.
• 11:21
  Speaker 4: To three weeks, and then you can finally put the
• 11:22
  Speaker 4: jellyfish in. So it took a minute, but, man, it's here,
• 11:26
  Speaker 4: and it looks amazing.
• 11:27
  Speaker 2: All right, final question for T.
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: Higgins.
• 11:29
  Speaker 2: This is a Halloween weekend game. What was your all-time
• 11:33
  Speaker 2: best costume?
• 11:35
  Speaker 4: Like even going back when I was younger? Absolutely.
• 11:39
  Speaker 3: I think my best one was, you know, it's crazy
• 11:42
  Speaker 3: that I say this. So I didn't have, like, obviously
• 11:46
  Speaker 3: bingo stuff or anything like that. But I had a helmet, right?
• 11:51
  Speaker 3: I had a football helmet from my Oak Ridge team.
• 11:54
  Speaker 3: I had shoulder pads, and I had, like, some Tiger
• 11:57
  Speaker 3: Strike pants, and I had got, like, a tail from
• 11:59
  Speaker 3: a costume store. So I was a Bengal tiger, but
• 12:02
  Speaker 3: I just didn't have, like, the helmet and things like that.
• 12:05
  Speaker 4: So I thought I was.
• 12:06
  Speaker 2: You created your own Bengals costume.
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah.
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: I'm so glad I asked the question. That's awesome. T,
• 12:12
  Speaker 2: congratulations on a fantastic season today. Best of luck this week.
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: Thank you.
• 12:17
  Speaker 2: If by any chance T's mom or sister is listening
• 12:20
  Speaker 2: to this and has a picture of T in his
• 12:23
  Speaker 2: homemade Bengals costume, Bengals Nation would love to see it.
• 12:29
  Speaker 2: The Bengals are home this week for the first time
• 12:31
  Speaker 2: in nearly a month. And halftime will be special because
• 12:35
  Speaker 2: James Brooks and Bob Trumpy will be inducted into the
• 12:39
  Speaker 2: Bengals Ring of Honor. Here's team president Mike Brown on
• 12:42
  Speaker 2: the 13th and 14th inductees.
• 12:47
  Speaker 5: James was a player we acquired from San Diego. We
• 12:52
  Speaker 5: traded Pete Johnson, who was a fine player, and we
• 12:57
  Speaker 5: got in return James Brooks. They were opposites. Pete was
• 13:02
  Speaker 5: a big power back. James was an off-sized, fast, quick scooter.
• 13:10
  Speaker 5: He could catch the ball, had wonderful hands, great receiver.
• 13:16
  Speaker 5: He was excellent running, too. You would have misjudged him
• 13:23
  Speaker 5: if you looked at him and said, well, he's too
• 13:25
  Speaker 5: small to be a great runner. But he was a
• 13:28
  Speaker 5: great runner, not just outside but inside as well. And
• 13:33
  Speaker 5: he did one other thing that was exceptional. He was
• 13:36
  Speaker 5: a terrific pass protector. He was small, but he knew
• 13:41
  Speaker 5: how to go about pass protection correctly. He took these
• 13:45
  Speaker 5: rushers on. They could be big people, defensive linemen. And
• 13:50
  Speaker 5: he would pop right up into them and jolt them.
• 13:55
  Speaker 5: He didn't back down. He wasn't afraid. And he knew
• 14:01
  Speaker 5: which ones to pick up. That, too, takes a little
• 14:05
  Speaker 5: bit of skill. You have to sort them out. And
• 14:09
  Speaker 5: he could and did. So he had everything that a
• 14:12
  Speaker 5: back should have. He could run the ball, he could
• 14:17
  Speaker 5: pass protect, he could catch the ball. And you referred
• 14:23
  Speaker 5: to him as tough. Well, I don't know for sure
• 14:27
  Speaker 5: sometimes exactly what tough is, but if you're talking about it,
• 14:33
  Speaker 5: meaning a football player who did everything asked of him,
• 14:39
  Speaker 5: it James Brooks was that guy. Trumpy had a storied
• 14:47
  Speaker 5: relationship with the Bengals as a player, as an announcer.
• 14:53
  Speaker 5: He became a public figure here locally as a radio
• 14:59
  Speaker 5: call-in show host. He was good at that. But as
• 15:04
  Speaker 5: a player, when he started out here He was probably
• 15:08
  Speaker 5: off-size for where we put him, tight end, but he
• 15:13
  Speaker 5: could really run. And he would take cover, too. That's
• 15:18
  Speaker 5: when they have two safeties in the middle of the
• 15:20
  Speaker 5: field and run right through it. And they couldn't keep
• 15:23
  Speaker 5: up with him. Safeties couldn't keep up with him, let
• 15:26
  Speaker 5: alone the linebackers.
• 15:29
  Speaker 2: He.
• 15:31
  Speaker 5: made big plays for us it helped that Greg Cook
• 15:34
  Speaker 5: was the quarterback for him one year when Greg was
• 15:38
  Speaker 5: our quarterback before he got hurt and then Kenny Anderson
• 15:43
  Speaker 5: came along Bob caught the attention of other teams that
• 15:49
  Speaker 5: we played Kansas City for example at that time was
• 15:52
  Speaker 5: the top team in the league and they wanted to
• 15:58
  Speaker 5: trade for him right away after we played them. And
• 16:00
  Speaker 5: I always remembered how insistent they were. And that was
• 16:06
  Speaker 5: a no-go with us. We had Bob for a long
• 16:10
  Speaker 5: career here as a tight end, and he was a
• 16:15
  Speaker 5: receiving tight end. But a willing blocker, he would face
• 16:21
  Speaker 5: up on guys, and he wasn't afraid to do it.
• 16:25
  Speaker 5: But as a receiver, he was as good as they
• 16:28
  Speaker 5: came at his position.
• 16:30
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• 16:50
  Speaker 4: Of the Bengals.
• 16:51
  Speaker 2: Sunday's game will be televised by CBS, and the analyst
• 16:56
  Speaker 2: will be former NFL running back Robert Turboturban. I spoke
• 17:00
  Speaker 2: to him about the Bengals and Sunday's matchup this week. Robert,
• 17:04
  Speaker 2: last week in the second half, the Bengals played a
• 17:07
  Speaker 2: near-perfect half against Baltimore, outscoring the Ravens 35-0. What did
• 17:12
  Speaker 2: you think when you watched that second-half performance?
• 17:15
  Speaker 6: Well, just dominating. You know, it started with defense. The
• 17:17
  Speaker 6: defense really took over that game. I think Snoop Huntley.
• 17:22
  Speaker 6: Really got in his own head and you got to
• 17:23
  Speaker 6: give credit to the defense for really causing that. And
• 17:26
  Speaker 6: then the offense with good field position and everything else,
• 17:29
  Speaker 6: we're able to kind of capitalize on it and catch
• 17:32
  Speaker 6: a strong rhythm. And the Bengals are the type of
• 17:34
  Speaker 6: team when you look at, you know, the guys on
• 17:37
  Speaker 6: their roster, they catch a strong rhythm, they're going to
• 17:39
  Speaker 6: be hard to stop. So pretty dominating performance there.
• 17:43
  Speaker 2: You called the Bengals game against Jacksonville several weeks ago,
• 17:46
  Speaker 2: and unfortunately, that was the game where Jamar left in
• 17:49
  Speaker 2: the second quarter with a concussion, and T. Higgins injured
• 17:52
  Speaker 2: his groin later in the game. Did you almost feel
• 17:55
  Speaker 2: gypped to call a Bengals game and have those two
• 17:58
  Speaker 2: guys go out?
• 18:00
  Speaker 7: Not at all. I never feel gypped calling a game.
• 18:03
  Speaker 6: You know, this is my first season at the NFL level,
• 18:06
  Speaker 6: and so every game is just a big blessing, you know,
• 18:09
  Speaker 6: but Obviously, you want to see the guys out there.
• 18:12
  Speaker 6: It was unfortunate for the Bengals to lose their top
• 18:15
  Speaker 6: two players at the wide receiver spot on offense. I
• 18:19
  Speaker 6: thought the hit on Jamar Chase actually should have been flagged,
• 18:23
  Speaker 6: and I was surprised that it wasn't.
• 18:25
  Speaker 7: But T. Higgins, I mean, he really took over.
• 18:27
  Speaker 6: That game even after his groin started to hurt him
• 18:32
  Speaker 6: a little bit, but they just fell short. Obviously, the
• 18:35
  Speaker 6: Jacksonville Jaguars was a pretty good team in their own right.
• 18:39
  Speaker 2: We're visiting with Robert Turbin. Some people question the wisdom
• 18:42
  Speaker 2: of signing both Jamar and T prior to last season,
• 18:46
  Speaker 2: knowing how much that was going to count against the
• 18:48
  Speaker 2: salary cap. What did you think at the time, and
• 18:50
  Speaker 2: what do you think now?
• 18:52
  Speaker 6: Well, at the time, I thought that, if I'm being honest,
• 18:57
  Speaker 6: maybe they could have gotten a different wide receiver at
• 19:01
  Speaker 6: a smaller dollar amount and been able to allocate some
• 19:06
  Speaker 6: of the funding elsewhere. But now when I think about it,
• 19:10
  Speaker 6: it's worked out perfectly. And I think the important thing, too,
• 19:14
  Speaker 6: is that the Bengals did a good job this offseason
• 19:18
  Speaker 6: listening to their players, listening to what the players wanted.
• 19:21
  Speaker 6: Joe Burrow wanted both his wide receivers. Jamar Chase wanted
• 19:25
  Speaker 6: Tee Higgins. And they're really able to play off each other.
• 19:28
  Speaker 6: And then when you think about a guy like Mike Gusecki,
• 19:31
  Speaker 6: who benefits as well from having both wide receivers in
• 19:35
  Speaker 6: the room together. And so When you look at the
• 19:38
  Speaker 6: roster and you look at what they've done this year,
• 19:42
  Speaker 6: Bengals fans want their team to be undefeated, but they're
• 19:44
  Speaker 6: a better team than they were last year all the
• 19:46
  Speaker 6: way around on both sides of the football. At the
• 19:49
  Speaker 6: end of the day, that's what you want. want and
• 19:51
  Speaker 6: so they've positioned themselves to go after the Lombardi trophy
• 19:55
  Speaker 6: again this.
• 19:55
  Speaker 2: Year let's discuss the offensive line because that's been a
• 19:59
  Speaker 2: topic of conversation in recent years where the Bengals are concerned.
• 20:03
  Speaker 2: Over the last four games, they've given up a total
• 20:06
  Speaker 2: of four sacks, and they've played some good defenses. Amarius
• 20:10
  Speaker 2: Mims is playing at an elite level. What do you
• 20:12
  Speaker 2: think of that O-line?
• 20:14
  Speaker 6: They've developed, especially Amarius Mims. You know, I think when
• 20:18
  Speaker 6: he first came into the league, he was actually a
• 20:19
  Speaker 6: really raw player. And so, so raw, you almost question, like, gosh,
• 20:26
  Speaker 6: you know, did we make the right decision here at
• 20:28
  Speaker 6: right tackle?
• 20:30
  Speaker 7: But I think you have to give a credit.
• 20:31
  Speaker 6: To the coaching staff for the Bengals. I think Scott
• 20:36
  Speaker 6: Peters is their offensive line coach. And there's a lot
• 20:40
  Speaker 6: of drills during individual period that go on, a lot
• 20:44
  Speaker 6: of film study. And so when you look at the
• 20:46
  Speaker 6: development of Amarius Mims and just the cohesiveness along that
• 20:51
  Speaker 6: offensive line in totality, you've got to give credit where
• 20:54
  Speaker 6: credit is due.
• 20:54
  Speaker 7: And I think Scott Peters has done a magnificent job.
• 20:57
  Speaker 6: They're winning. the, you know, the sack battle by Maya,
• 21:01
  Speaker 6: I think they're like plus 11 when it comes to
• 21:04
  Speaker 6: their defense generating sacks, as opposed to, you know, sacks
• 21:09
  Speaker 6: being counted against them. And so that's a big improvement,
• 21:12
  Speaker 6: you know, from the Cincinnati Bengals over a handful of years.
• 21:16
  Speaker 6: And so again, I mean, that kind of goes back
• 21:18
  Speaker 6: to your last question in terms of signing T Higgins, right?
• 21:21
  Speaker 6: A lot of folks would have said, man, you could
• 21:23
  Speaker 6: have went and spent money on a, you know, a
• 21:27
  Speaker 6: high-priced offensive lineman.
• 21:28
  Speaker 7: Instead, they decided to develop, and they've developed well up front.
• 21:31
  Speaker 2: We're chatting with Robert Turbin, who will be in the
• 21:34
  Speaker 2: booth for CBS this week. You were an NFL running
• 21:36
  Speaker 2: back for eight years. Going back to that Jacksonville game
• 21:40
  Speaker 2: that you called several weeks ago, that was the one
• 21:42
  Speaker 2: where the Bengals couldn't get anything going in the running game.
• 21:45
  Speaker 2: It's been better since. What do you think Cincinnati needs
• 21:49
  Speaker 2: to get out of its running game?
• 21:52
  Speaker 7: Well, just efficiency.
• 21:53
  Speaker 6: You know, I think sometimes you get bored with four yards.
• 21:58
  Speaker 6: It's hard to, you know, accept the fact that sometimes
• 22:04
  Speaker 6: the explosive runs aren't going to be there. Those 10 plus,
• 22:07
  Speaker 6: 12 plus yard runs, you know, on a consistent basis.
• 22:12
  Speaker 6: But as long as you're being efficient in the run
• 22:14
  Speaker 6: game and you're able to get four or five yards
• 22:17
  Speaker 6: when you carry the ball and you put yourself in
• 22:19
  Speaker 6: position to be in like those third and threes, and
• 22:23
  Speaker 6: third and fours, I think that's a positive outlook when
• 22:26
  Speaker 6: you look at the overall run game. And then, you know,
• 22:29
  Speaker 6: for Chase Brown, he has such a balanced game where
• 22:32
  Speaker 6: you can really use him and Samaj P. Ryan really
• 22:35
  Speaker 6: in terms of their catching ability. So you can do
• 22:38
  Speaker 6: some of those extended runs with the screens and things
• 22:41
  Speaker 6: of that nature that it really sort of helps balance
• 22:44
  Speaker 6: your offense out. But I think for the Bengals, the
• 22:46
  Speaker 6: thing that's really important is just to stay committed to it.
• 22:51
  Speaker 7: Even when it's not working.
• 22:52
  Speaker 6: I've been a part of some of the best run
• 22:56
  Speaker 6: offenses the NFL has seen.
• 22:58
  Speaker 7: I've played with Marshawn Lynch. I've played with Frank Gore.
• 23:01
  Speaker 6: And oftentimes, both of those guys didn't start getting going
• 23:06
  Speaker 6: until the second half of the game. But you have
• 23:09
  Speaker 6: to be able to stay committed in order for that
• 23:11
  Speaker 6: to happen. So you just can't get bored with some
• 23:13
  Speaker 6: of those two and three yarders in the first half
• 23:16
  Speaker 6: and say, well, Our run game's not working. We're not
• 23:18
  Speaker 6: going to do it anymore. I think if they continue
• 23:20
  Speaker 6: to stick with it, it'll continue to open itself up.
• 23:25
  Speaker 2: How good has Dexter Lawrence been, and what impact has
• 23:28
  Speaker 2: that had on the entire team, not just the defense?
• 23:32
  Speaker 6: Well, he's a difference maker because he brings a certain
• 23:35
  Speaker 6: attitude and a certain dependability to the team, a certain
• 23:40
  Speaker 6: discipline to the defense that maybe it hasn't had over
• 23:43
  Speaker 6: the last couple years.
• 23:45
  Speaker 7: And so everybody.
• 23:46
  Speaker 6: is held to a higher standard and held to a
• 23:49
  Speaker 6: higher standard of accountability as well. And so when you
• 23:52
  Speaker 6: have guys that you know are just going to be
• 23:55
  Speaker 6: able to make plays on a consistent basis, it elevates
• 23:58
  Speaker 6: the game around everybody because, you know, you got that
• 24:01
  Speaker 6: one guy that's.
• 24:03
  Speaker 7: Always the trustworthy piece that's going to be there.
• 24:06
  Speaker 6: And so you look at yourself in the mirror and say, man,
• 24:09
  Speaker 6: we know Dexter Lawrence is going to show up. I
• 24:12
  Speaker 6: got to make sure I show up too. And the
• 24:14
  Speaker 6: defense is, has done a much better job this year
• 24:18
  Speaker 6: than they did last year.
• 24:20
  Speaker 2: You've got the Bengals against the 1-6 Titans this week.
• 24:23
  Speaker 2: Cincinnati is obviously favored. What must the Bengals do against
• 24:27
  Speaker 2: Tennessee to avoid a letdown?
• 24:29
  Speaker 6: Well, just impose their will. Tennessee is going to play desperate.
• 24:34
  Speaker 6: The Bengals have a little bit of a bullseye on
• 24:35
  Speaker 6: their back just because they're the better team right now.
• 24:39
  Speaker 6: And I think that if you are a superior team
• 24:42
  Speaker 6: in the NFL doesn't happen often because most teams are
• 24:45
  Speaker 6: usually pretty good. But if you're superior, you got to
• 24:49
  Speaker 6: play superior and you can't go into the game, you know,
• 24:54
  Speaker 6: lethargic because you're playing against the Titans. You want to
• 24:58
  Speaker 6: get in there, get out to a fast start and
• 25:00
  Speaker 6: get these guys out of the way as quickly as possible.
• 25:03
  Speaker 6: Because at the end of the day, you know, it
• 25:06
  Speaker 6: is the NFL. And even when, and when the Titans
• 25:09
  Speaker 6: being one in six, you know, You know, if you
• 25:12
  Speaker 6: keep them in the game in the fourth quarter, you
• 25:15
  Speaker 6: can lose. I mean, that's just a fact of the
• 25:17
  Speaker 6: matter when it comes to, like, pro football in the NFL.
• 25:22
  Speaker 6: So it's important for the Bengals to get off to
• 25:23
  Speaker 6: a fast start, be the superior team, and keep their
• 25:27
  Speaker 6: foot on the gas throughout.
• 25:30
  Speaker 2: Every team in the AFC North has a winning record.
• 25:33
  Speaker 2: Pittsburgh and Cleveland are tied for first. The Bengals are
• 25:35
  Speaker 2: a half game back. Baltimore is one game back. We're
• 25:38
  Speaker 2: getting close to the halfway point of the season. Has
• 25:41
  Speaker 2: a favorite emerged in your mind?
• 25:43
  Speaker 7: Absolutely not.
• 25:46
  Speaker 6: It's so difficult with this division to iron out who's
• 25:50
  Speaker 6: the top team right now. I think a lot of
• 25:52
  Speaker 6: folks are kind of waiting for the Cleveland Browns to
• 25:56
  Speaker 6: have the big fall off. I don't know if it's
• 26:00
  Speaker 6: going to happen. They're playing good ball right now. I
• 26:04
  Speaker 6: think one of the bigger questions is in Baltimore. because
• 26:08
  Speaker 6: of Lamar Jackson missing the last three games. So you
• 26:12
  Speaker 6: get concerned about that continuity and that identity of what
• 26:17
  Speaker 6: kind of team they're going to be the second half
• 26:19
  Speaker 6: of the year. But that division, man, the AFC North,
• 26:23
  Speaker 6: it's a wild one right now.
• 26:26
  Speaker 2: Final question for Robert Turbin, and I appreciate your time.
• 26:29
  Speaker 2: You were known for your Hulk-like physique in your playing days.
• 26:33
  Speaker 2: and you haven't slacked off because several weeks ago you
• 26:36
  Speaker 2: busted through your dress shirt up around the shoulder. Have
• 26:39
  Speaker 2: you taken a lot of good-natured ribbing for that incident?
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: I have. I have, you know.
• 26:46
  Speaker 6: Be on the lookout for some dress sleeveless shirts coming
• 26:51
  Speaker 6: out here pretty soon for anybody else.
• 26:54
  Speaker 7: Who might be dealing with the same issues there.
• 26:59
  Speaker 2: Not an issue for this physique, I can promise you that. Robert,
• 27:02
  Speaker 2: I appreciate your time. Have a great call this week,
• 27:05
  Speaker 2: and I hope to run into you in the press
• 27:07
  Speaker 2: box on Sunday.
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: All right.
• 27:09
  Speaker 7: Appreciate you.
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: Thank you.
• 27:11
  Speaker 2: Finally, it's time for this week's Know the Foe segment
• 27:13
  Speaker 2: as we get the lowdown on the 1-6 Tennessee Titans
• 27:17
  Speaker 2: from Teron Davenport, who covers the team for ESPN. Teron
• 27:21
  Speaker 2: joined Wayne Box, Miller, and me on the Bengals game
• 27:23
  Speaker 2: plan show on Wednesday, one day before the Titans traded
• 27:28
  Speaker 2: Jeffrey Simmons to the Bears. I brought up that possibility
• 27:32
  Speaker 2: on Wednesday night, but we started our conversation by discussing
• 27:37
  Speaker 2: Tennessee's offense coming off a season-high 24 points in a
• 27:42
  Speaker 2: last-second loss to Cleveland.
• 27:44
  Speaker 8: They are starting to find a way to put points
• 27:47
  Speaker 8: on the board. It really, it all flows through the
• 27:49
  Speaker 8: offensive line.
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: J.C. Latham is having an all-pro type of year and.
• 27:54
  Speaker 8: They're doing a lot of more pinning pools, working some
• 27:57
  Speaker 8: of that gap scheme, and it really showed against the
• 28:00
  Speaker 8: Browns last week. Tony Pollard, he ran the ball really well.
• 28:03
  Speaker 8: So once that starts going, everything else just kind of
• 28:05
  Speaker 8: falls into place, you know, the play action, opening up windows,
• 28:08
  Speaker 8: making it easier for the young quarterback.
• 28:11
  Speaker 2: Well, let's talk about that young quarterback. Teron Cam Ward
• 28:14
  Speaker 2: has made 20 NFL starts. He's had his moments, certainly.
• 28:18
  Speaker 2: There have been some struggles as well. What's he doing well,
• 28:21
  Speaker 2: and where is he still learning?
• 28:24
  Speaker 8: Well, I think when you look at Ken Ward, one
• 28:26
  Speaker 8: thing he does well, when it goes off schedule and
• 28:28
  Speaker 8: it's time to freelance, he's really good from that perspective.
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: I think he's just doing a good job of.
• 28:34
  Speaker 8: Just not losing his confidence also because it's been bad,
• 28:38
  Speaker 8: just to put it lightly. Some of the things that
• 28:41
  Speaker 8: he has to get better at, his footwork, his mechanics,
• 28:44
  Speaker 8: he's not stepping into his throws as much. He's relying
• 28:47
  Speaker 8: too much on his arm strength. It's almost like he
• 28:49
  Speaker 8: has that arm arrogance to where he's always been able
• 28:52
  Speaker 8: to get away without using proper technique. And now in
• 28:55
  Speaker 8: the league, it's starting to catch up to him. And
• 28:58
  Speaker 8: that's kind of a gift and a curse with him.
• 28:59
  Speaker 8: But you also look at just working through the progressions,
• 29:03
  Speaker 8: missing layups. There's some of those types of things. But
• 29:05
  Speaker 8: it's just like when it hits, it hits. And this guy,
• 29:08
  Speaker 8: like you guys.
• 29:09
  Speaker 1: Will see on Sunday, he'll make two or three throws.
• 29:12
  Speaker 8: And you're just like, man, that's why that guy's the
• 29:15
  Speaker 8: number one pick. But then it just kind of is
• 29:17
  Speaker 8: offset by the other ones that are just like mind-boggling
• 29:20
  Speaker 8: types of mistakes.
• 29:23
  Speaker 9: You know, Tony Pollard, the running back, is really coming on, man.
• 29:27
  Speaker 9: I mean, just against the Cleveland Browns coming out of
• 29:29
  Speaker 9: the gate with 60 yards, I think, in the first series.
• 29:32
  Speaker 9: And later in the game, he had a big run.
• 29:35
  Speaker 9: But just talk about his value to this team.
• 29:38
  Speaker 1: Yeah, see, Pollard is one of those guys.
• 29:40
  Speaker 8: Guys where he's not the biggest back, but he runs
• 29:43
  Speaker 8: behind his pads.
• 29:44
  Speaker 1: And you'd be surprised how tough he is.
• 29:46
  Speaker 8: And he's also an option out of the backfield. Again,
• 29:49
  Speaker 8: like I said, you know, running that gap stuff, you know,
• 29:51
  Speaker 8: pin and pull, getting J.C. Latham and Peter Skowronski, you know,
• 29:55
  Speaker 8: moving those guys around. and allowing them making blocks to
• 29:59
  Speaker 8: clear the way. That's really helped. Pollard is another one
• 30:02
  Speaker 8: of those, you know, like I said, tough backs. He
• 30:04
  Speaker 8: can catch the ball out of the backfield too. So
• 30:07
  Speaker 8: that's been a good thing for them. I know he's
• 30:08
  Speaker 8: kind of on the trade block, but to me it
• 30:11
  Speaker 8: would be wild to trade him because you need what
• 30:15
  Speaker 8: he brings to offset, you know, Cam Ward.
• 30:17
  Speaker 1: Like I said, it makes it easier.
• 30:19
  Speaker 8: For the younger quarterback when they can rely on the
• 30:21
  Speaker 8: run and work play action off it.
• 30:25
  Speaker 2: Is Jeffrey Simmons on the trade block?
• 30:28
  Speaker 8: You know, he's a guy that continues to get talked about.
• 30:32
  Speaker 8: The Titans, from what I understand, don't have any plans
• 30:35
  Speaker 8: to move him. I talked to him today and asked
• 30:37
  Speaker 8: him just that question. You know, how is he focusing
• 30:40
  Speaker 8: despite the trade rumors? And he said he doesn't want
• 30:42
  Speaker 8: to go anywhere. He told me his agent hasn't told
• 30:44
  Speaker 8: him anything. The organization hasn't told him anything.
• 30:47
  Speaker 1: And he's one of those core players. And, you know,
• 30:49
  Speaker 1: there are days where you watch him.
• 30:52
  Speaker 8: And as a coach, you could point to that and
• 30:54
  Speaker 8: you say, look, you saw the hustle that he had
• 30:56
  Speaker 8: on that play.
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: That's a $ 100 million player.
• 30:59
  Speaker 8: Don't you dare even think about taking a playoff because
• 31:02
  Speaker 8: you look at him. And then Robert Sala, with his
• 31:04
  Speaker 8: rotation up front, he always talks about D. Lyman playing 60%
• 31:09
  Speaker 8: to 70% of the snaps. Jeffrey Simmons, he just played 90%
• 31:13
  Speaker 8: against the Browns. And he's coming in around like 86%, 87%
• 31:18
  Speaker 8: per game.
• 31:19
  Speaker 1: So there's just too much value that he brings.
• 31:22
  Speaker 8: And it would be a mistake to trade him, and
• 31:26
  Speaker 8: I think this organization understands that.
• 31:29
  Speaker 9: Yeah, to Ron Davenport, I guess. I wanted to talk
• 31:31
  Speaker 9: about the defense as a whole because the two of
• 31:33
  Speaker 9: the top three tacklers on this team are your safeties,
• 31:35
  Speaker 9: and usually you don't want them to be in the
• 31:38
  Speaker 9: top of your tackling because they're getting past that first level.
• 31:41
  Speaker 9: But do you see the defense getting better, or is
• 31:44
  Speaker 9: this something that is still a cause for concern?
• 31:47
  Speaker 8: Yeah, their defense is improving in certain aspects.
• 31:52
  Speaker 1: But last week, the Browns, they ran.
• 31:54
  Speaker 8: The ball 188 yards, and you can't say a defense
• 31:58
  Speaker 8: is improving if they give up nearly 200 yards on
• 32:01
  Speaker 8: the ground, and that's a big problem. You'll see, like,
• 32:04
  Speaker 8: when they run that 4-3, they don't have a true
• 32:07
  Speaker 8: sandbacker to come down and be able to take on
• 32:09
  Speaker 8: those blocks, you know, from the big tight ends or
• 32:13
  Speaker 8: the tackles, and that's where the Browns, or Judkins, rather,
• 32:18
  Speaker 8: they were able to take advantage of that, so It's
• 32:20
  Speaker 8: improving in certain aspects.
• 32:22
  Speaker 1: Josh Williams, you know, on the outside, Cordell Flott has
• 32:24
  Speaker 1: come around.
• 32:25
  Speaker 8: Melante Taylor, their high-priced free agent, he didn't get any snaps.
• 32:30
  Speaker 8: He was inactive the week before. So that's something to
• 32:34
  Speaker 8: look at. They're talking about playing him more at nickel
• 32:37
  Speaker 8: than outside.
• 32:38
  Speaker 1: So that could help. But I think when you look overall.
• 32:41
  Speaker 8: The defense has to get better against the run. At
• 32:44
  Speaker 8: least they have to bounce back after last week's performance.
• 32:49
  Speaker 2: Teron, we're not too far from Columbus. There are a
• 32:51
  Speaker 2: lot of Ohio State fans in the Cincinnati area. Carnell
• 32:55
  Speaker 2: Tate was the fourth pick in the draft by Tennessee
• 32:58
  Speaker 2: this year. How is he doing as a rookie, and
• 33:00
  Speaker 2: is he the number one target for Cam Ward?
• 33:04
  Speaker 8: He's clearly the number one target, that's for sure. As
• 33:07
  Speaker 8: far as ranking against other receivers, he has more yards
• 33:13
  Speaker 8: than any other rookie receiver.
• 33:14
  Speaker 1: He passed.
• 33:16
  Speaker 8: Denzel Boston last week, he was a yard behind him entering,
• 33:19
  Speaker 8: and what's wild is there's so many yards left on
• 33:22
  Speaker 8: the field.
• 33:22
  Speaker 1: He's had some drops.
• 33:24
  Speaker 8: He's had some times where he was wide open and
• 33:26
  Speaker 8: Ken Ward missed him, so there's more to be gotten
• 33:29
  Speaker 8: from him, but I tell you, he catches the ball
• 33:32
  Speaker 8: with his hands all the time. He's getting the yards
• 33:35
  Speaker 8: after catch. He's had some fumbles, so he just has
• 33:37
  Speaker 8: to learn to protect the ball a little bit better
• 33:39
  Speaker 8: once he gets the ball in his hands. You don't
• 33:42
  Speaker 8: have to make any catch, but when it comes to routes,
• 33:44
  Speaker 8: when it comes to getting open and all that, he
• 33:47
  Speaker 8: is top shelf.
• 33:49
  Speaker 1: I mean, that guy is a consistent pro.
• 33:51
  Speaker 8: And the thing I love about him the most when
• 33:53
  Speaker 8: watching him is just his even-keeled behavior. You never see
• 33:57
  Speaker 8: him get too up or too down, and that's something
• 34:01
  Speaker 8: that's impressive.
• 34:02
  Speaker 1: He's polished. I talked to Calvin Ridley about him.
• 34:04
  Speaker 8: They said, you know, that kid is going to be
• 34:06
  Speaker 8: a really, really good one once he develops even more.
• 34:11
  Speaker 9: Yeah, talk about the kicking game and Joey Sly. I mean,
• 34:14
  Speaker 9: he's got a big foot, and he seems to be
• 34:17
  Speaker 9: doing well this year.
• 34:19
  Speaker 1: Yeah, you know what?
• 34:20
  Speaker 8: Tommy Townsend went down, the punter, and he had to
• 34:23
  Speaker 8: punt for the first time since.
• 34:25
  Speaker 1: High school, and he boomed one.
• 34:27
  Speaker 8: But, yeah, I mean, when it comes to kickers and
• 34:30
  Speaker 8: the weight room, he's one of those rare kickers that
• 34:34
  Speaker 8: you could tell that he knows your season.
• 34:36
  Speaker 1: You can tell he knows where the weight room is.
• 34:38
  Speaker 1: In fact, they have a bicep challenge that they do.
• 34:40
  Speaker 8: He typically comes up first, you know, in that.
• 34:44
  Speaker 1: So, yeah, I mean, Sly's a solid kicker. He's consistent.
• 34:49
  Speaker 1: He has a big leg, as you mentioned.
• 34:51
  Speaker 8: Kickoffs are stuff that he's got to get better at that,
• 34:54
  Speaker 8: you know, get that ball in the landings on instead
• 34:56
  Speaker 8: of touchbacks all the time.
• 34:57
  Speaker 1: So that's something that can improve.
• 35:02
  Speaker 2: You see these guys every week. What's the formula from
• 35:07
  Speaker 2: a Tennessee perspective for pulling off an upset in Cincinnati?
• 35:12
  Speaker 1: You know, it's the turnovers.
• 35:13
  Speaker 8: You've got to generate some turnovers. And I think run
• 35:16
  Speaker 8: the football. That's the main thing. Run the football and
• 35:19
  Speaker 8: play off of it offensively. You know, on defense, like
• 35:22
  Speaker 8: I said, you generate turnovers.
• 35:23
  Speaker 1: Jeffrey Simmons is a one-man wrecking crew.
• 35:26
  Speaker 8: I mean, you'll see times where there's, yeah, two sets
• 35:30
  Speaker 8: of hands on him consistently, but sometimes two. Three sets,
• 35:33
  Speaker 8: and this guy will still have the nerve to beat that. And,
• 35:36
  Speaker 8: you know, the one-on-ones on the outside that he's causing
• 35:39
  Speaker 8: because of so much attention.
• 35:40
  Speaker 1: On him, they got to be able to impact the
• 35:43
  Speaker 1: quarterback that way.
• 35:44
  Speaker 8: But, you know, with Joe Burrow and how quickly he
• 35:46
  Speaker 8: throws the ball, it's all about realizing that you're not.
• 35:48
  Speaker 1: Going to get home and match hands. Maybe you can
• 35:49
  Speaker 1: get a tip pass at the line of scrimmage.
• 35:53
  Speaker 2: Teron, were you covering the team in 21 when the
• 35:55
  Speaker 2: Bengals won the playoff game there when the Titans.
• 35:57
  Speaker 1: Were the number one seed? Absolutely. Absolutely.
• 36:00
  Speaker 8: I've been covering the Titans since 2018, man.
• 36:02
  Speaker 1: I was there.
• 36:04
  Speaker 8: Simmons actually talked about that and he praised Joe Burrow again.
• 36:07
  Speaker 8: you know, for the toughness to be able to– because
• 36:10
  Speaker 8: there were nine sacks in that game, but there were
• 36:12
  Speaker 8: two more that were called back due to questionable penalties,
• 36:15
  Speaker 8: you know. So Burrow, he just kept getting back up
• 36:18
  Speaker 8: and going. That's a testament to his toughness. You know,
• 36:21
  Speaker 8: Burrow is one of the– he's one of those quarterbacks,
• 36:23
  Speaker 8: you know. I say he always gets an invite to
• 36:25
  Speaker 8: the cookout, you know what I mean. He's the one
• 36:27
  Speaker 8: you can bring around the block, and he's always going
• 36:29
  Speaker 8: to be all right because he's just a real cool dude,
• 36:32
  Speaker 8: at least from outside looking in.
• 36:33
  Speaker 1: That's how it seems.
• 36:35
  Speaker 2: Was that game something of a turning point for the franchise?
• 36:39
  Speaker 2: Because it seems ever since, the Titans haven't quite been
• 36:42
  Speaker 2: able to get their traction back.
• 36:45
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that was somewhat.
• 36:47
  Speaker 8: I remember the next day, like locker cleanup, and everybody
• 36:52
  Speaker 8: was just... It was like the walking dead, because everybody
• 36:55
  Speaker 8: was just like, I can't believe we just lost.
• 36:59
  Speaker 1: You know, and then you had the A.J. Brown trade,
• 37:02
  Speaker 1: and then, you know, A.J. put belt to... A.S.S.
• 37:06
  Speaker 8: When they played against the Eagles and John Robinson got fired.
• 37:10
  Speaker 8: And that really, to me, was when it all started
• 37:13
  Speaker 8: tumbling down. But it could be traced back to that
• 37:16
  Speaker 8: twenty twenty one game in which, you know, they were
• 37:19
  Speaker 8: the number one seed.
• 37:20
  Speaker 1: The Bengals came in there and took their lunch money.
• 37:24
  Speaker 9: You know, one of the things I was going to
• 37:25
  Speaker 9: ask you before you go and thanks again for joining us.
• 37:29
  Speaker 9: I know the owner wasn't happy with the way this
• 37:31
  Speaker 9: team was progressing. Do you sense that maybe there may
• 37:34
  Speaker 9: be a short leash with him or they're going to
• 37:37
  Speaker 9: give him some time to get this team up and running?
• 37:40
  Speaker 1: I think they're going to give him some time.
• 37:43
  Speaker 8: But what I've learned from this organization is whatever they say,
• 37:48
  Speaker 8: you know, you take it in the moment, but it
• 37:49
  Speaker 8: could change quickly because, you know, I was told Mike
• 37:52
  Speaker 8: Grable wasn't going to get fired.
• 37:54
  Speaker 1: And then a month later, guess what happened?
• 37:55
  Speaker 8: You know, I was told in the summertime that Brian
• 37:59
  Speaker 8: Callahan was going to get time.
• 38:00
  Speaker 1: To see it through. Well, six games in. He's gone.
• 38:03
  Speaker 1: You know what I mean?
• 38:04
  Speaker 8: I talked to the team president, or rather the CEO,
• 38:08
  Speaker 8: and he said that they see stability in Robert Sala.
• 38:12
  Speaker 1: So we'll see. But, you know, again, with this organization,
• 38:16
  Speaker 1: you never, ever know.
• 38:19
  Speaker 2: Our thanks to Teron Davenport, and that's going to do
• 38:21
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  Speaker 2: Dan Hoard, and thanks for listening to the Bengals Booth Podcast.