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Bengals Booth Podcast: Goin' To Kansas City · Bengals Booth Podcast

0:03
Speaker 1: Hi, get everybody on Dan Horde and thanks for downloading
0:06
Speaker 1: The Bengals Booth Podcast the I'm Going to Kansas City
0:11
Speaker 1: Kansas City here dot Com audition as the Bengals look
0:16
Speaker 1: to advance to Super Bowl fifty six by knocking off
0:20
Speaker 1: the Kansas City Chiefs on their home field this Sunday,
0:24
Speaker 1: coming up by broadcast partner Dave Lapham joins me as
0:26
Speaker 1: we discuss what the Bengals must do to cut down
0:30
Speaker 1: on the sacks after surrendering nine last week. My one
0:33
Speaker 1: on one player interview is with defensive back Trey Flowers,
0:36
Speaker 1: who knows what it's like to face Patrick Mahomes. He's
0:39
Speaker 1: done so five times in the past. Evan Washburn will
0:43
Speaker 1: be on the sideline for CBS on Sunday and tells
0:46
Speaker 1: us what the noise is like from field level at
0:49
Speaker 1: Arrowhead Stadium and in our Know the Faux segment, we'll
0:52
Speaker 1: hear from Adam Tisher, who covers the Chiefs for ESPN.
0:56
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1:31
Speaker 1: the greatest thing since everybody in town wearing orange and black.
1:36
Speaker 1: Nothing galvanizes a city like a contending NFL team, men
1:40
Speaker 1: and women, young and old, different races. The popularity of
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Speaker 1: the NFL is truly remarkable, and the excitement level of
1:48
Speaker 1: Bengals fans right now is phenomenal. I didn't live in
1:51
Speaker 1: Cincinnati in eighty one or eighty eight, but Dave Lapham
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Speaker 1: and others have described how important the fans were during
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Speaker 1: those Super Bowl runs, and we are seeing it now.
2:02
Speaker 1: Who Day Nation rocks And speaking of lap he's up
2:06
Speaker 1: first on this edition of the podcast. Lap On the
2:11
Speaker 1: one hand, the Bengals just beat the Kansas City Chiefs
2:13
Speaker 1: three and a half weeks ago. On the other hand,
2:16
Speaker 1: the Chiefs are hosting they Z Championship game for the
2:18
Speaker 1: fourth consecutive year. They're trying to go to the Super
2:20
Speaker 1: Bowl for the third consecutive year. Do you look at
2:23
Speaker 1: the Bengals as a huge underdog this week despite the
2:27
Speaker 1: fact that they have a recent win over this opponent. Yeah,
2:30
Speaker 1: I think going to Arrowhead is tough, you know. I
2:33
Speaker 1: think the Chiefs should be favored because it's such a
2:35
Speaker 1: tough place to play. Like you said, this is the
2:38
Speaker 1: fourth straight AFC game championship game they're hosting to the
2:43
Speaker 1: last three Super Bowls. They they've gone to their seven
2:47
Speaker 1: and one in their last eight playoff games at Arrowhead. So,
2:51
Speaker 1: I mean, if they think they had issues communicating and
2:55
Speaker 1: all that sort of thing in Tennessee, it's going to
2:58
Speaker 1: be even magnify out there in Kansas City and Narrowhood.
3:02
Speaker 1: But the thing is at least having experience that they
3:06
Speaker 1: know what they're looking at, they know what they're getting into.
3:08
Speaker 1: They worked all week in practice with you know, pumping
3:11
Speaker 1: up the music and all that sort of thing, and
3:13
Speaker 1: that's helpful. But boy, when you when you go out
3:16
Speaker 1: there and you actually experience it, and everything starts shaking
3:19
Speaker 1: a little it and I mean it's it's it's quite imposing,
3:23
Speaker 1: there's no question. And whoever's got Chris Jones man feel
3:27
Speaker 1: sorry for him. Because it's tough. You know, it's like
3:30
Speaker 1: you're looking at the football like he is. Because nobody
3:32
Speaker 1: can hear your only advantage is eliminated. You can't hear
3:36
Speaker 1: communication on you know what, assignments based on how they're
3:40
Speaker 1: lining up defensively, So it has to be all hands
3:42
Speaker 1: signal stuff. So you have to look for that. You
3:45
Speaker 1: have to look for the snap of the ball. You
3:46
Speaker 1: have to be aware of where he's lining up. He
3:48
Speaker 1: could change alignments on you, and you got to be
3:50
Speaker 1: aware of all that. Man, you wish you had three eyeballs.
3:53
Speaker 1: You know, two is not quite enough. It's it can
3:56
Speaker 1: be very, very tough on an offensive line. And I
3:59
Speaker 1: think that was part of the reason, not all of it,
4:02
Speaker 1: but it was part of the reason that, you know,
4:03
Speaker 1: nine quarterback sacks were allowed. And I'm sure that the
4:08
Speaker 1: Kansas City Chiefs they're all like, you know, looking at
4:10
Speaker 1: that tape and saying, including Steve Spagnola, what can we
4:13
Speaker 1: do incorporated Narski matic that gives them the same issues
4:18
Speaker 1: that the Tennessee Titans and Mike Rabel did such a
4:20
Speaker 1: good job of incorporating in their defensive game plan. Both
4:24
Speaker 1: at the line of scrimmage. You know all kinds of
4:27
Speaker 1: bodies up there, only four coming, but which four? And
4:30
Speaker 1: then in the back end a bunch of coverages disguising them. Well,
4:34
Speaker 1: I mean, they really did a good job. And how
4:38
Speaker 1: much of that will the Kannassey Chiefs to be able
4:40
Speaker 1: to incorporate into their plan after you went back and
4:43
Speaker 1: looked at it. How much was it just the offensive
4:46
Speaker 1: line not being very good and winning the individual battles,
4:49
Speaker 1: and how much was it the stuff you were just
4:50
Speaker 1: talking about confusing Joe Burrow and not knowing on a
4:54
Speaker 1: snap to snap basis who is coming and where they
4:56
Speaker 1: were coming from. I'd say it was maybe fifty if
5:00
Speaker 1: he maybe sixty forty offensive line and effectiveness, But you know,
5:05
Speaker 1: when you're talking nine sacks, and actually eleven, two of
5:08
Speaker 1: them were eliminated, one by time out, one by penalty.
5:12
Speaker 1: Get guys who were having technique issues, and then particularly
5:15
Speaker 1: on twists, I mean penetrator looper kind of thing. You know,
5:19
Speaker 1: they were doing a good job on their tackle tackles
5:22
Speaker 1: stuff inside their pressure game there and guys were passing
5:26
Speaker 1: penetrators off to air. There was nobody there to pass
5:30
Speaker 1: the penetrator off to and so they have to tighten
5:34
Speaker 1: up the technique part of it. And the one thing
5:37
Speaker 1: that can't happen though, is have a miscommunication where you
5:41
Speaker 1: have a free runner. I mean there's no technique involved
5:43
Speaker 1: or anything. You just did not your rules. You did
5:47
Speaker 1: not apply your rules properly. And you didn't even account
5:50
Speaker 1: for a guy who's between the tackles in the tackle
5:53
Speaker 1: box and he's blitzing, he's coming, or he's at the
5:56
Speaker 1: line of scrimmage. He didn't even account for him. That
5:59
Speaker 1: is in excuse. At this stage of the season. You
6:01
Speaker 1: have to eliminate all of those mental issues and problems
6:05
Speaker 1: that cause those kind of things. You have to be solid.
6:07
Speaker 1: You have to really your rules have to block people
6:09
Speaker 1: from the inside out, you know, not from the outside in,
6:12
Speaker 1: from the inside out pick up because the guy that's
6:15
Speaker 1: closest to the football is going to get to the
6:18
Speaker 1: quarterback fastest. And I don't care if you're talking about
6:21
Speaker 1: Chris Jones inside and Matthew or whoever outside blitzing, that
6:26
Speaker 1: guy is going to get there faster that straight or
6:28
Speaker 1: shorter line than the quarterback. Joe Burrow admitted that there
6:32
Speaker 1: were at least two instances where he could have and
6:35
Speaker 1: should have gotten rid of the ball before he got sacked.
6:38
Speaker 1: One of them cost the Bengals field goal opportunity. The
6:40
Speaker 1: other one probably should have, but Evan McPherson made one
6:43
Speaker 1: from fifty four yards away. How big of a factor
6:46
Speaker 1: is that? Not just done those two plays, but Joe's,
6:50
Speaker 1: to his credit his willingness to hang in there as
6:52
Speaker 1: long as possible to try to make a play. Yeah,
6:55
Speaker 1: it's he walks that fine line a lot. And uh
7:00
Speaker 1: and in the playoffs that fine line becomes even a
7:03
Speaker 1: bigger line, you know, or I should say it should
7:06
Speaker 1: become a final line to walk. You can't. You can't
7:10
Speaker 1: give more margin freer, you can't make it a bigger line.
7:12
Speaker 1: You're gonna have to be right in your decision in
7:16
Speaker 1: what to do, because if you take a sack in
7:18
Speaker 1: this football game that knocks the team, your team out
7:22
Speaker 1: of field position, field goal range, that's that's going to
7:25
Speaker 1: be hard to recover from because they're so potent offensively.
7:28
Speaker 1: I mean, it's like now now here instead of lining
7:31
Speaker 1: up and kicking, having a field goal opportunity. You're punny,
7:35
Speaker 1: you know that possession ends and a kick. That's all
7:37
Speaker 1: well and good, But I think the team that obviously
7:41
Speaker 1: steals possessions with takeaways, and then if that doesn't happen.
7:45
Speaker 1: In the last time these two teams played, there were
7:47
Speaker 1: no takeaways, no giveaways, no takeaways, no turnovers, and it
7:51
Speaker 1: happened in the championship in the divisional round, I should
7:54
Speaker 1: say with the Buffalo Bills, neither team turned the football over,
7:59
Speaker 1: so they both played perfect games that way. So whoever
8:04
Speaker 1: ends a drive with a kick with the punts or
8:07
Speaker 1: have you know, even a three and out if you had.
8:10
Speaker 1: If somebody goes through a drive and doesn't score, that's
8:14
Speaker 1: a big deal. So if you take if you take
8:16
Speaker 1: a sack like that and knock your team out of
8:18
Speaker 1: a field goal range and you have to settle for
8:21
Speaker 1: a punt, you may be able to put him back.
8:23
Speaker 1: But man, the way that offense is playing, I mean,
8:26
Speaker 1: you almost feel like you have to score every possession,
8:29
Speaker 1: and if you don't, and if you don't because you
8:32
Speaker 1: made a poor decision on him one by taking a
8:35
Speaker 1: sack to eliminate your team from field goal position, that's
8:39
Speaker 1: that's a factor. But he's so competitive. He feels like
8:42
Speaker 1: he can make people miss and manipulate the pocket, and
8:44
Speaker 1: he's done it so many times. But I think I
8:49
Speaker 1: think the bigger the game, the finder of that line,
8:52
Speaker 1: of the fine line becomes no doubt. So in Game one,
8:56
Speaker 1: the Bengals held Tyree killed the forty receiving yards and
8:59
Speaker 1: try us Kelsey to twenty five sixty five combined yards
9:04
Speaker 1: for those two guys. For what it's worth, they had
9:06
Speaker 1: two forty six last week against Buffalo. They're not going
9:09
Speaker 1: to do that again. There's no way if those two
9:12
Speaker 1: guys are healthy, they're going to have a combine sixty
9:15
Speaker 1: five yards. I keep saying, if you hold each of
9:19
Speaker 1: them to sixty five yards, you'd probably take it. Take
9:23
Speaker 1: it right now. I've signed a contract, I do it.
9:26
Speaker 1: I mean, you look at it. Those two guys combine
9:29
Speaker 1: for sixty five yards on eleven catches. Jamar Chase for
9:33
Speaker 1: the Bengals on the same number of catches eleven catches
9:36
Speaker 1: goes for two sixty six, two hundred and one more
9:40
Speaker 1: yards than them combine. You would never ever expect that,
9:45
Speaker 1: think that might happen two more football fields, you know.
9:49
Speaker 1: And he had three touchdowns, so they're combined. One Kelsey
9:52
Speaker 1: had the short touchdown reception. So one rookie receiver dominated
9:58
Speaker 1: the Pro Bowl duel. You know of of the Kansas
10:02
Speaker 1: City Chiefs who Patrick Mahones leans on to win football games,
10:06
Speaker 1: and he leaned on him to win the football game
10:08
Speaker 1: this past football game against the Buffalo Bills. I mean,
10:12
Speaker 1: this football team is a track team. It is a
10:15
Speaker 1: track meet when you play them. Instead of a baton,
10:17
Speaker 1: it's a football. And Tyree kills the anchor man and man,
10:21
Speaker 1: I'll tell you he's scary. Gon Bell made a great
10:23
Speaker 1: play punching the ball out of there. They would have
10:27
Speaker 1: the ball at the you know, inside the twenty yard
10:29
Speaker 1: line and right before the half and you're looking at
10:32
Speaker 1: more points in the board that that was a that
10:34
Speaker 1: was a major play right there. Jesse Bates did the
10:38
Speaker 1: same thing here recently to renf All, you know, punched
10:41
Speaker 1: it out there at the thirty two yard line after
10:43
Speaker 1: we made a catch right on the sideline of the
10:45
Speaker 1: of the Raiders. So those those guys are gonna have
10:48
Speaker 1: to step up and not give up on plays and
10:50
Speaker 1: make those kind of plays again, because I'm telling you
10:54
Speaker 1: this football game is going to be decided. And I
10:56
Speaker 1: agree with a lot of coaches philosophy. Their assessment is
10:59
Speaker 1: great players are going to make great players in these games,
11:02
Speaker 1: Which team, though, is going to avoid the tragic mistake?
11:06
Speaker 1: More games are lost than one when you get to
11:08
Speaker 1: this level. I experienced it in Super Bowl sixty and
11:11
Speaker 1: we did as a team, turned it over four times.
11:15
Speaker 1: We had done a great job at taking care of
11:17
Speaker 1: the football. Get to the Super Bowl, turn it over
11:20
Speaker 1: four times. They only turn it over once plus a
11:22
Speaker 1: goal line stand. So to me, that's five turnovers. We
11:24
Speaker 1: go minus four in the Super Bowl and lose by
11:27
Speaker 1: five points. They beat us, but we beat ourselves. We
11:32
Speaker 1: beat our own butts pretty good too. We really helped,
11:34
Speaker 1: We contributed to the cause. And when you get to
11:36
Speaker 1: this level of a game, can't do that. Just can't
11:40
Speaker 1: do it. How about Bengals offense versus Chiefs defense? Joe
11:44
Speaker 1: Burrow four touchdown passes, four hundred plush yards, Jamar Chase,
11:48
Speaker 1: you gave the numbers best game by a rookie in
11:51
Speaker 1: NFL history. How much different is the Chiefs going to
11:55
Speaker 1: play at this time around? Yeah, I think it's going
11:57
Speaker 1: to be significantly different. I think they're gonna you know,
12:01
Speaker 1: they're gonna take the old Bill Belichick theory of eliminate
12:05
Speaker 1: the weapon that that is most painful and that's going
12:08
Speaker 1: to be chased. I mean, they're he's gonna be doubled
12:12
Speaker 1: when he walks out of the locker room to warm up,
12:14
Speaker 1: They're gonna be doubling him. They're not even gonna let
12:16
Speaker 1: him walk around comfortably on the on the field that
12:18
Speaker 1: arrowhead to do warm ups. I think doubled at the
12:21
Speaker 1: team hotel, doubled at the team hotel, doubled getting off
12:24
Speaker 1: the bus. You know. Um yeah, I think they're they're
12:28
Speaker 1: not gonna let that, let that happen again. But I
12:31
Speaker 1: mean that's when te Higgins, Tyler Boyd, c J zam
12:34
Speaker 1: with it. A lot of guys can step up. They've
12:37
Speaker 1: they've got multiple weapons that can step up, so to
12:39
Speaker 1: the Chiefs. So I mean it's that's gonna be the
12:43
Speaker 1: interesting chess match, you know, um, And and the things
12:48
Speaker 1: that worked well for the Bengals. What you do in
12:51
Speaker 1: a play particularly in a playoff game. The things that
12:53
Speaker 1: worked well, you you look at the scheme, the philosoph
13:00
Speaker 1: the fee of what you did and again make it
13:05
Speaker 1: the same things look different and different things look the same.
13:08
Speaker 1: I mean, dress it up differently, but it's the same
13:12
Speaker 1: actual way that you took advantage of what you've perceived
13:17
Speaker 1: to be a weakness in their defense and just do
13:19
Speaker 1: it in a different way, but still see if they
13:24
Speaker 1: made an adjustment, See if they took that thing away.
13:27
Speaker 1: I think at this level, the coaches are burning and
13:31
Speaker 1: both staffs are burning midnight oil, and you can become
13:36
Speaker 1: in a situation where you're overthinking it. But what you
13:40
Speaker 1: have to do, in my mind, is you have to
13:42
Speaker 1: start planning way ahead, like you have to plan three
13:46
Speaker 1: chess moves ahead, because there's going to be the initial adjustment,
13:49
Speaker 1: the adjustment to the adjustment after every series. It's going
13:53
Speaker 1: to be like a master chess match, it really is.
13:56
Speaker 1: That part of it's going to be very interesting as well,
13:58
Speaker 1: and a lot of it you can't really see, you know.
14:00
Speaker 1: It's it's so the nuance is so minor, but it's
14:04
Speaker 1: such a big deal and the way the play unfolds
14:07
Speaker 1: that it's very interesting. There's no question. The Chiefs scored
14:12
Speaker 1: forty two last week against Buffalo. They scored forty two
14:15
Speaker 1: the week before against Pittsburgh. Their offense looks unstoppable, but
14:19
Speaker 1: it looked unstoppable going into the Super Bowl last year.
14:22
Speaker 1: They didn't score a touchdown earlier this year, they only
14:25
Speaker 1: scored three points in a loss against Tennessee, So every
14:27
Speaker 1: now and then they have a clunker. Is there a
14:30
Speaker 1: blueprint for teams to have success against Kansas City's attack?
14:34
Speaker 1: You know, I think when they came to Cincinnati, they
14:37
Speaker 1: were on an eight game winning streak and the Bengals
14:39
Speaker 1: knocked him off and they were you know, they had
14:42
Speaker 1: that little adjustment where Mahomes was trying to force a
14:46
Speaker 1: lot of people were playing too deep safeties and making
14:48
Speaker 1: him be patient and check it down and all that,
14:50
Speaker 1: and he was fighting it. You know, he was still
14:52
Speaker 1: trying to force the big plays and all that. I mean,
14:56
Speaker 1: I think that the thing that you're gonna have to
14:59
Speaker 1: do with him, and it's it's difficult to do. I
15:02
Speaker 1: think he's seen a good deal of NFL defensive configuration
15:07
Speaker 1: snaps in the whole nine yards. Try to keep him
15:10
Speaker 1: off balance. You know, I would not give him the
15:12
Speaker 1: same pregame look pre snap look play after play after play.
15:18
Speaker 1: I'd play with him some you know, try to play
15:20
Speaker 1: with his eyes, play with his mind. I think in
15:23
Speaker 1: games like this, the coaches and then players executing what
15:27
Speaker 1: the coaches have come up with that can do the
15:31
Speaker 1: most to make the other make the opponent not trust
15:34
Speaker 1: their eyes. Whether it's the quarterback, whether it's the middle linebacker,
15:37
Speaker 1: whether it's the safety, whatever it is, you just can't
15:40
Speaker 1: trust your eyes because your eyes are given your bad intel.
15:43
Speaker 1: You know, pre snap. It looks for surer this way,
15:46
Speaker 1: but it's not. And that's when it becomes whoa. Now
15:49
Speaker 1: it's now you're thinking, what the heck do I do now?
15:52
Speaker 1: And to me, i'd like the old Paul Brown philosophy,
15:57
Speaker 1: the bigger the game, melt it down and do it
16:01
Speaker 1: a bunch of different ways, but you ended up doing them.
16:03
Speaker 1: Have you have your core value plays offensively, defensively, dress
16:10
Speaker 1: it up, do it different ways, but ultimately you're doing
16:13
Speaker 1: the same thing that is your identity, you feel good about,
16:17
Speaker 1: You've done over and over and over again. And now
16:20
Speaker 1: you're twenty weeks into a season. Why the heck change everything?
16:24
Speaker 1: You know? Just make it look different again. Different things
16:29
Speaker 1: look the same, same things look different. That's what this
16:32
Speaker 1: whole thing is about. The further you get into the playoffs,
16:34
Speaker 1: into the super Bowl, you're ready for my two big keiths.
16:38
Speaker 1: Give me all right, Number one, You've got to score
16:41
Speaker 1: touchdowns on at least seventy five percent of your red
16:44
Speaker 1: zone opportunities. I love money back, but I don't want
16:46
Speaker 1: to see four field goals again this week. That won't
16:48
Speaker 1: cut it against Casey. Secondly, they dropped a couple of
16:52
Speaker 1: interceptions in the first game. If they get a chance
16:55
Speaker 1: at any takeaway, a fumble hits the ground, a bad
16:58
Speaker 1: pass by my home is they have got to come
17:01
Speaker 1: away with those opportunities like they did last week against Tennessee.
17:05
Speaker 1: No question. I think you know they're plus four and
17:08
Speaker 1: the two playoff games five takeaways, one giveaway. That is
17:12
Speaker 1: the biggest reason they've won two close football games, because
17:17
Speaker 1: you know, going plus two last week in that football game,
17:22
Speaker 1: nine sacks. I mean, you don't want nine negative plays
17:26
Speaker 1: between sacks, tackle philocity, nine quarterback sacks. There's way too
17:30
Speaker 1: many negative plays just in that category alone. Forget penalties,
17:35
Speaker 1: taple philocity and running game whatever else. Nine quarterback sacks
17:38
Speaker 1: and eleven and a couple of them nullified. Like we said,
17:42
Speaker 1: the reason they won the football game is but they
17:46
Speaker 1: go one for eight on third down, the turnovers and
17:51
Speaker 1: red zone, you know, I mean they've they've only allowed
17:55
Speaker 1: in eight red zone opportunities two touchdowns to be scored.
17:58
Speaker 1: That's what's that's why they're two and all in the
18:01
Speaker 1: playoffs because the ABC's you know, those basic fundamental keys.
18:07
Speaker 1: Every single week they've done pretty well. A man got
18:11
Speaker 1: to protect your quarterback and uh and you can't afford
18:14
Speaker 1: too many negative plays. I think that's going to be
18:16
Speaker 1: a factor in this football game as well. Um so,
18:21
Speaker 1: but I agree, I agree this. Uh, this football game
18:25
Speaker 1: could be forty two thirty nine game. You know, I
18:31
Speaker 1: watch it, watch it being a watch it be a
18:33
Speaker 1: twenty seventeen football game. But I'd be I'd be really shocked.
18:37
Speaker 1: I mean, I just think these two quarterbacks are playing
18:40
Speaker 1: too well. They have too many things that they can
18:43
Speaker 1: hurt you with. But the offensive line has to step
18:47
Speaker 1: up because Patrick Mahomes talent wise has a better offensive
18:52
Speaker 1: line than than Joe Burrow does. So Bengals offensive line
18:56
Speaker 1: is gonna have to step up and play at a
18:59
Speaker 1: high are leveled than people anticipating expect they will. Last thing.
19:04
Speaker 1: This city has gone bonkers for this team. Everybody's talking
19:08
Speaker 1: about it, everybody's wearing their Bengals gear. It's fun to see.
19:12
Speaker 1: I wasn't here in eighty one or eighty eight. Is
19:15
Speaker 1: this what it was like it is, but it's different
19:18
Speaker 1: now because there was no social media back then, so
19:22
Speaker 1: there was no way for players to connect directly with fans,
19:25
Speaker 1: you know, and all the ways they connect now. So
19:28
Speaker 1: I think based on what was available to you. I mean,
19:33
Speaker 1: Fountain Square, we had a we had a Pepper rally
19:35
Speaker 1: at Fountain Square after losing the Super Bowl that it
19:38
Speaker 1: seemed like the whole city was at They were hanging
19:40
Speaker 1: out from windows out of buildings. I couldn't believe it.
19:43
Speaker 1: I could not believe it. We just captured the imagination
19:47
Speaker 1: of the entire fan base in eighty one and eighty eight,
19:51
Speaker 1: and it's it's even I don't know what the multiplier is,
19:55
Speaker 1: but there's there's a there's a multiplier for sure, because
19:59
Speaker 1: of social media, because of how the NFL has grown.
20:03
Speaker 1: I mean, the NFL may be the most recognizable you
20:06
Speaker 1: know it used to be IBM. I think NFL might
20:09
Speaker 1: be the most recognizable three letter you know, company, business,
20:15
Speaker 1: whatever that there is in the entire world. When you
20:18
Speaker 1: talk NFL, you're talking success, You're talking dollars, you're talking
20:23
Speaker 1: you know, big stuff. The NFL is humongous. Last week's
20:29
Speaker 1: TV ratings prove that the four NFL games average thirty
20:33
Speaker 1: eight point two million viewers. That's a new record for
20:37
Speaker 1: that round of the playoffs. The Bengals Booth podcast is
20:41
Speaker 1: presented by Ultimate Bengals, the free to play fantasy football game.
20:44
Speaker 1: This year, Ultimate Bengals awarded a weekly winner during the
20:47
Speaker 1: course of the season with tickets, autograph merchandise, and money
20:51
Speaker 1: can't buy experiences all up for grabs. Find Ultimate Bengals
20:55
Speaker 1: in the app Store and Google Play Up. Next, this
20:59
Speaker 1: week's one on one player Conversation, I caught up with
21:02
Speaker 1: defensive back Trey Flowers, who joined the team in late
21:05
Speaker 1: October after being let go by Seattle five games into
21:09
Speaker 1: the season. Trey, this is your fourth NFL season and
21:13
Speaker 1: you've been to the playoffs in all four, but this
21:16
Speaker 1: is your first trip to a conference championship game. What
21:19
Speaker 1: stands out to you about this team and the ride
21:22
Speaker 1: you guys are on right now? Just a togetherness. You know,
21:25
Speaker 1: we're all we're all in it together. We all understand
21:28
Speaker 1: our roles, just in the secondary around a team. Really,
21:31
Speaker 1: I just I feel everybody's together where I won't hearbut
21:34
Speaker 1: right now. Jesse Bates praised you this week, saying that
21:38
Speaker 1: after being a quality starting cornerback in Seattle for the
21:41
Speaker 1: last three years, It's probably not easy to be more
21:44
Speaker 1: of a role player right now in Cincinnati, but you
21:46
Speaker 1: have embraced it. You've made a huge contribution. How have
21:49
Speaker 1: you approached this just, you know, just being where my
21:52
Speaker 1: feet are, really not looking past anything, not putting too
21:56
Speaker 1: much stress on myself. You know, I got here, I
21:58
Speaker 1: just wanted to start over and I got that. You know,
22:01
Speaker 1: they welcome me in open arms, and they gave me
22:04
Speaker 1: a role, so I took it and just trying to
22:06
Speaker 1: make the best of it. Were chatting the trade flowers.
22:09
Speaker 1: One way that you have really helped this team is
22:11
Speaker 1: covering tight ends, and the Bengals have faced most of
22:15
Speaker 1: the best ones in the league in recent weeks. These
22:18
Speaker 1: guys are a size and speed nightmare. What allows you
22:22
Speaker 1: to be able to cover them? Definitely height. You know,
22:25
Speaker 1: I'm sixty three and I pride myself on speed and
22:28
Speaker 1: just being physical, having a safety background my whole life.
22:31
Speaker 1: When I got to Seattle, they finally moved me to corner,
22:34
Speaker 1: so that just gave me more confidence in covering guys
22:37
Speaker 1: in general. So going at it, I always had a
22:40
Speaker 1: mindset that not my man, you know, just whoever I'm covering.
22:43
Speaker 1: So yeah, it just it kind of fell into place
22:47
Speaker 1: and you face one of the very best for the
22:49
Speaker 1: second time this week in Travis Kelsey. He only had
22:52
Speaker 1: five catches for twenty five yards in the first meeting.
22:55
Speaker 1: What makes Travis Kelsey such a unique weapon, a real
23:00
Speaker 1: probably one of the best athletes on the field at
23:03
Speaker 1: whenever he's on the field, you know, just his savvyness.
23:07
Speaker 1: He's in year nine, so he knows how to get open,
23:09
Speaker 1: he knows coverages, he knows that his quarterbacks is gonna
23:12
Speaker 1: get him the ball, so he has to get open.
23:14
Speaker 1: And that's a good thing that he he gets open
23:17
Speaker 1: a lot. And that quarterback, of course, is one of
23:20
Speaker 1: the very best. Patrick Mahomes is trying to get to
23:22
Speaker 1: his third straight Super Bowl this week. What do you
23:25
Speaker 1: respect about Mahomes in his game? I actually played against
23:28
Speaker 1: Mahomes in college all those times. So anything that you
23:33
Speaker 1: see now he's doing on Sundays, I saw it in college,
23:36
Speaker 1: and I applaud him that he brought it to the NFL.
23:39
Speaker 1: You know, a lot of people said he wasn't gonna
23:40
Speaker 1: get away with doing the things that he does, and
23:43
Speaker 1: his franchise did it. Whatever it is you want to
23:47
Speaker 1: call it. He's just a playmaker. He's a ball player.
23:49
Speaker 1: All right, I'll look it up now. But how did
23:51
Speaker 1: Oklahoma State do when you played for the Cowboys and
23:54
Speaker 1: he was with Texas Tech? I could say this for
23:57
Speaker 1: all confidence. Never lost to him still, So yeah, you
24:02
Speaker 1: gotta keep that streak alive. I gotta stay undefeated against him.
24:06
Speaker 1: I like the way you think we're visiting with Trey Flowers.
24:09
Speaker 1: Stanley Morgan has been dealing with a hamstring injury, and
24:12
Speaker 1: last week you replaced him as the gunner in punt
24:14
Speaker 1: coverage and made two great tackles in the second half
24:18
Speaker 1: in that win in Tennessee. This job is not for everybody.
24:22
Speaker 1: What makes a great gunner just the mindset. You gotta
24:25
Speaker 1: prepare yourself. You know you're you're on the field, run
24:27
Speaker 1: as fast as you can. But you're such an impact
24:30
Speaker 1: on the game, you know. It's it's such a splash play.
24:33
Speaker 1: If you kick, get and make a tackle, a good tackle,
24:35
Speaker 1: it's just such a splash player. You just it's how
24:38
Speaker 1: you approach it. A lot of people would say in
24:41
Speaker 1: my position, you know, I was a starter and coming
24:43
Speaker 1: to special teams. A lot of people wouldn't want to
24:45
Speaker 1: do it, but like I said, any row you put
24:48
Speaker 1: in front of me, I just I just love playing football,
24:50
Speaker 1: That's all I'm doing. That was actually my first tackle
24:52
Speaker 1: ever as a gunner, so we celebrated that, and Stan
24:57
Speaker 1: was probably way more, way more lit than I was.
25:00
Speaker 1: If you see him on the sideline, he's going crazy.
25:02
Speaker 1: And how was Darren Simmons, Because Darren obviously sets the
25:06
Speaker 1: bar very high, and to have you step in under
25:08
Speaker 1: those circumstances and make two big plays, I'm sure he
25:10
Speaker 1: had to be thrilled. He finally telling me good, not
25:13
Speaker 1: just something good. So we're taking baby steps at that.
25:17
Speaker 1: Hopefully I can get another one this week. We're chatting
25:20
Speaker 1: to trade flowers. It's not easy changing teams mid season.
25:25
Speaker 1: What was the biggest challenge for you? Definitely the terminology.
25:29
Speaker 1: You know, I got here, it's just Seattle. We're kind
25:32
Speaker 1: of like a cover We're really they were really a
25:34
Speaker 1: Cover three team my whole life. So when I got here,
25:36
Speaker 1: it's more quarters and rolling the safeties around and knowing
25:40
Speaker 1: where the front is and being so multiple. You know,
25:42
Speaker 1: you gotta you really gotta study this stuff. Did you
25:45
Speaker 1: know any of your current teammates or coaches, or were
25:48
Speaker 1: you like the new kid at school. I knew Jesse
25:52
Speaker 1: just from the combine. We played safety together. Oh not together,
25:55
Speaker 1: but we came out together. So he was always somebody
25:58
Speaker 1: I kept up with. And I remember Rob Livingston from
26:03
Speaker 1: the combine. That's about it. Other than that, it was
26:08
Speaker 1: all new faces for me. Last thing for Bengals cornerback
26:12
Speaker 1: Trey Flowers. I gotta make a statement. I want you
26:16
Speaker 1: to react. You are one win from going to the
26:19
Speaker 1: Super Bowl. What's your reaction when you hear that final
26:23
Speaker 1: four and it's so doable. We just gotta go bus,
26:26
Speaker 1: It's so doable. Make the plays in front of you, dog, stress, cool,
26:30
Speaker 1: com and collected. We will be in a super Bowl. Trey,
26:34
Speaker 1: You've been an outstanding acquisition. You're playing a great role
26:37
Speaker 1: on this team right now. Congratulations on your success. Thanks
26:40
Speaker 1: for the time, all right, thank you. So I did
26:43
Speaker 1: look up the games where Trey Flowers played for Oklahoma
26:46
Speaker 1: State and Patrick Mahomes played for Texas Tech. Not only
26:49
Speaker 1: did the Cowboys win all three, but Trey is also
26:53
Speaker 1: two and oh in the NFL against Mahomes with one
26:55
Speaker 1: win in Seattle, and this year's win in Cincinnati, Flowers
26:59
Speaker 1: teams haven't dominated on defense. Mahomes has led his team
27:03
Speaker 1: to at least thirty one points in every matchup. But
27:06
Speaker 1: we'll see if Tray can make it six wins in
27:09
Speaker 1: six tries this Sunday. The Bengals Booth Podcast is presented
27:13
Speaker 1: by on Location, the official hospitality partner of the NFL.
27:18
Speaker 1: Visit on location exp dot com for exclusive access to
27:22
Speaker 1: the biggest events all season long, including Super Bowl fifty six.
27:28
Speaker 1: Now time to get an interesting perspective on Sunday's matchup
27:31
Speaker 1: from a guy who will be standing on the field
27:34
Speaker 1: in Kansas City this Sunday. He was on the field
27:38
Speaker 1: interviewing Joe Burrow moments after last week's thrilling victory in Tennessee,
27:42
Speaker 1: and he'll be on the sidelines again this Sunday for CBS.
27:45
Speaker 1: It is great to visit with Evan Washburn. Evan, you've
27:48
Speaker 1: done games at just about every venue in the NFL.
27:51
Speaker 1: I'm sure is Arrowhead the loudest venue in the NFL?
27:56
Speaker 1: And describe what that sound is like from the sideline.
28:00
Speaker 1: That's a great question, Dan, and great to be with
28:02
Speaker 1: you here. And I would say Seattle is the loudest
28:07
Speaker 1: in the sense that there's I think it's the acoustics
28:10
Speaker 1: of the stadium where you feel this ringing in your
28:13
Speaker 1: ear the entire game. But Kansas City and Arrowheads specifically,
28:19
Speaker 1: I would say when it peaks is probably the loudest.
28:23
Speaker 1: It's a it's such a just a large space in
28:28
Speaker 1: the way that it's constructed, kind of that old school
28:31
Speaker 1: field where it's all inclose, where the sound does reverberate
28:35
Speaker 1: all around. I can't imagine trying to call plays in
28:38
Speaker 1: it or get any sense of communication from the sideline verbally.
28:42
Speaker 1: So it's right there with Seattle for sure, and in
28:46
Speaker 1: just an unbelievable atmosphere. But it's more the waves, I
28:49
Speaker 1: would say of noise at Arrowhead and Seattle is just
28:52
Speaker 1: one constant blast into your senses. Well, Tennessee might not
28:57
Speaker 1: have been that noisy last week, but it was certainly loud.
29:00
Speaker 1: The Bengals were able to handle it. You were at
29:02
Speaker 1: field level, which stood out about the Bengals victory for
29:05
Speaker 1: you so much. I mean, it was kind of an
29:08
Speaker 1: odd game. I mean, you were there, you're calling it.
29:10
Speaker 1: It didn't have the feel of what ended up being
29:14
Speaker 1: a last second type game with the obviously the McPherson
29:18
Speaker 1: kick to win it and really thinking, man, we might
29:21
Speaker 1: be heading overtime here at one point. But the way
29:25
Speaker 1: both teams were playing it wasn't the prettiest of games. Obviously,
29:29
Speaker 1: the sacks that the Bengals were allowing and then the
29:33
Speaker 1: turnovers that the Titans were having. Each team was almost
29:37
Speaker 1: trying to find a way to lose the game before
29:39
Speaker 1: they found a way to win it. What struck me though,
29:41
Speaker 1: from the Bengals sideline was just the calm and there
29:45
Speaker 1: was no panic, even when Joe just kept getting hit
29:48
Speaker 1: or they weren't moving the ball the way they liked to,
29:51
Speaker 1: especially through the air. I just was struck by the fact,
29:53
Speaker 1: because you're often over there looking for that moment where
29:56
Speaker 1: it can be a galvanizing one where everyone's come together
29:59
Speaker 1: to sort of figure this thing out, or that moment
30:01
Speaker 1: of panic and frustration. There was neither. It was It
30:05
Speaker 1: was business as usual, and I think that speaks to
30:08
Speaker 1: the poise that this team has. At this point, we're
30:11
Speaker 1: chatting with Evan Washburn from CBS. You've interviewed Joe Burrow
30:14
Speaker 1: after several Bengals victories this year, and I know you've
30:17
Speaker 1: interacted with him before those games as well. What impresses
30:20
Speaker 1: you most about Joe Burrow just how comfortable he is
30:24
Speaker 1: in his own skin. For I mean a relatively young guy.
30:27
Speaker 1: I know he's been on a big stage here, whether
30:29
Speaker 1: it was in his time at LSU winning the Heisman
30:32
Speaker 1: and all that comes with that, and then being the
30:34
Speaker 1: number one pick. But it's been a unique couple of
30:36
Speaker 1: years in terms of coverage. I mean, we're doing most
30:39
Speaker 1: things on Zoom. There hasn't been as much face to
30:43
Speaker 1: face when it comes to the media and the players,
30:46
Speaker 1: and I think that that's for some rookies, given him,
30:48
Speaker 1: you know, an insulated feel, So it's almost been easier
30:51
Speaker 1: than maybe rookies in the past or young guys in
30:53
Speaker 1: the past, and whatever scenario it's been with Joe, whether
30:57
Speaker 1: it's like this on Zoom or in person we're doing
30:59
Speaker 1: a interview for the NFL today or in those postgame moments,
31:03
Speaker 1: I've always been struck by just his comfort to be
31:05
Speaker 1: himself and be authentic and look, he's thinking about what
31:08
Speaker 1: he's saying, because he knows he carries a lot of weight,
31:11
Speaker 1: not just in that city and in that locker room,
31:13
Speaker 1: but nationally. But he handles it well, and I just
31:16
Speaker 1: appreciate what appears to be a really genuine guy. All right,
31:20
Speaker 1: let's get to Sunday's matchup, beginning with Bengals defense versus
31:24
Speaker 1: Chiefs offense. Patrick Mahomes and company. They've scored forty two
31:28
Speaker 1: points in each of their two playoff games. How on
31:31
Speaker 1: God's Green earths does the Bengals defense slow down Kansas
31:35
Speaker 1: City offense? Well, I think slow down Dan's probably the
31:39
Speaker 1: proper term. We're just kind of relatively keep in check
31:42
Speaker 1: and it's really key moments, and I think that's what
31:44
Speaker 1: we saw Sunday night against Buffalo. Buffalo's defense has been
31:48
Speaker 1: fantastic all year long. Statistically, we know the best in
31:51
Speaker 1: the league, and they played well over the course of
31:54
Speaker 1: much of the first three quarters and a half, and
31:57
Speaker 1: then down the stretch is when they got exposed a bit.
32:01
Speaker 1: And I think that that's really where if you're a
32:04
Speaker 1: Bengals defense and Lui and Rumo and just that the
32:07
Speaker 1: leaders on that side of the ball, it's it's recognizing
32:09
Speaker 1: time and situation and when it's a pivotal third down
32:14
Speaker 1: or a fourth down or the red zone, finding those
32:18
Speaker 1: moments and making sure that that's where they're matching what
32:22
Speaker 1: Kansas City's bringing in terms of their explosive nature, and
32:26
Speaker 1: it starts with Travis Kelsey and Tyree Hill. But to
32:30
Speaker 1: think you're going to completely neutralize them at this point
32:34
Speaker 1: it is probably a fool's errand, but matching them in
32:38
Speaker 1: those key moments, I think it is one place to start,
32:42
Speaker 1: but it's going to be an immense challenge, and I
32:44
Speaker 1: think there's so many ways to approach it. We've seen
32:48
Speaker 1: different defenses, and I do think that if you force
32:52
Speaker 1: Kansas City to be patient over the course of four quarters,
32:55
Speaker 1: it's not necessarily going to mean you hold them in check,
32:58
Speaker 1: but at least it's death by a thousand papercuts and
33:02
Speaker 1: not just gashing you left and right. Let's flip to
33:05
Speaker 1: the other side of the ball. The Bengals scored thirty
33:08
Speaker 1: four on the Chase back on January second, Burrow through
33:11
Speaker 1: four touch passes, three of them to Jamar Chase. What
33:14
Speaker 1: do you see is some of the keys for the
33:16
Speaker 1: Bengals offense in the rematch. Well, the thing I've been
33:18
Speaker 1: really impressed with when it comes to Cincinnati and their
33:21
Speaker 1: approach offensively is their ability to one have a plan
33:24
Speaker 1: but then be quick to pivot if they feel like
33:28
Speaker 1: that's not being effective. We even saw that Saturday where
33:30
Speaker 1: to start that third quarter, it was clear, Okay, let's
33:33
Speaker 1: commit to the run game. Let's give Joe Mixon a
33:35
Speaker 1: real taste here because we're just not seeing success through
33:39
Speaker 1: the air because we can't keep these defenders off Joe Burrow.
33:42
Speaker 1: So look, if you can have the same type of
33:45
Speaker 1: success with Jamar Chase, then absolutely, I would think that
33:49
Speaker 1: that would be priority number one. But it's going to
33:51
Speaker 1: be priority number one defensively for Kansas City. So to me,
33:55
Speaker 1: it's not so much what the initial plan is, it's
33:57
Speaker 1: what's planned B and c. And that's what's really impressed
34:00
Speaker 1: me about Brian Callahan, Zach Taylor, and Joe coming together
34:04
Speaker 1: and never sensing to have any sort of panic when
34:07
Speaker 1: they're forced to adjust, whether it be in the first
34:10
Speaker 1: quarter or in the second half. I'm not sure anybody
34:15
Speaker 1: honestly expected the Bengals this year to be one win
34:18
Speaker 1: away from the Super Bowl. Do you see this as
34:21
Speaker 1: the start of something special in Cincinnati? Absolutely. I don't
34:24
Speaker 1: see why you wouldn't because it's not necessarily I mean,
34:28
Speaker 1: we're seeing it a little bit right now with Tampa Bay.
34:31
Speaker 1: I mean, what they did last year was unbelievable. It
34:34
Speaker 1: was Hollywood. Like, you bring in Tom Brady, you bring
34:37
Speaker 1: in a bunch of pieces that he wants that fit in,
34:39
Speaker 1: the defense does what it does, and you win a
34:43
Speaker 1: super Bowl and anyone would take that. But those are
34:47
Speaker 1: not sustainable, whether it be due to contract age, where
34:50
Speaker 1: a player is in their career. When you look at
34:53
Speaker 1: what Cincinnati has, I mean, it's an incredibly young team. Defensively,
34:57
Speaker 1: you've already locked up, whether it be contract actually or otherwise,
35:01
Speaker 1: some of your anchors. And then offensively you've got all
35:03
Speaker 1: these young guys on rookie deals. So there's no reason why,
35:06
Speaker 1: at least for the next let's say three to four years,
35:10
Speaker 1: you can't keep this group together. And then the staff
35:13
Speaker 1: has some real continuity. I know, the assistance and coordinators
35:16
Speaker 1: starting to get some head coaching looks, but Zach Taylor,
35:19
Speaker 1: to me, has complete command on what he wants on
35:22
Speaker 1: that staff. So absolutely, this to me is that the
35:26
Speaker 1: picture of sustainability at least in that I would say
35:29
Speaker 1: three to five year window, because anything beyond that in
35:31
Speaker 1: the NFL is probably not achievable. Just the way that
35:36
Speaker 1: the rules are constructed As I mentioned off the top,
35:40
Speaker 1: you interviewed Joe moments after the victory last week. I
35:43
Speaker 1: hope you are doing the same thing this coming Sunday. Even.
35:47
Speaker 1: We appreciate your time. Have a great game this weekend. Yeah,
35:50
Speaker 1: you too, and congrats on the run. I've really enjoyed
35:53
Speaker 1: covering this team and look forward to doing again on Sunday.
35:57
Speaker 1: Even will be one of three sideline reporters for EBS
36:00
Speaker 1: on Sunday with Jim Nanson Tony Romo in the broadcast booth. Finally,
36:05
Speaker 1: it's time for this week's No the Faux segment. Adam Tisher,
36:08
Speaker 1: who covers the Chiefs or ESPN, joined lapping me this
36:12
Speaker 1: week on the Bengals Game Plan Show. One of the
36:15
Speaker 1: things that interests me about this matchup is what the
36:19
Speaker 1: Chiefs will do after having so much trouble defending Jamar
36:23
Speaker 1: Chase in the first meeting back on January second. Obviously
36:26
Speaker 1: they're going to make changes. Do you think it'll be
36:29
Speaker 1: major changes or will the Chiefs basically do what they
36:33
Speaker 1: do with some minor adjustments. I think they'll they'll change
36:37
Speaker 1: significantly what they did because obviously it didn't work. You know,
36:43
Speaker 1: that was one of the best wide receiver games in
36:45
Speaker 1: the history of the NFL, So they got to do
36:48
Speaker 1: something different. I suspect it will be different. You know,
36:51
Speaker 1: maybe it's instructive to look at what happened the Chiefs
36:56
Speaker 1: did against the Bills the other day. They they really
37:00
Speaker 1: shut down Stefan Diggs. He was not productive at all
37:04
Speaker 1: in the game. And yet you know, the Bills had
37:07
Speaker 1: just too much for the Chiefs to to keep down.
37:10
Speaker 1: And so Gabriel Davis had the two hundred yard game
37:13
Speaker 1: and a bunch of four touchdowns. So, um, you know, hey,
37:17
Speaker 1: if the Chiefs shut down Chase, you know Stee Higgins
37:19
Speaker 1: going to go off or Boyd or you know, Joe Mixon.
37:22
Speaker 1: I mean, you know, maybe you know, the Chiefs are
37:25
Speaker 1: just not capable of keeping it all down and the
37:27
Speaker 1: way they like. So I'm gonna be interesting to see
37:31
Speaker 1: what they do. But I gotta believe they're gonna change
37:34
Speaker 1: tactics quite a bit. On the flip side of it,
37:38
Speaker 1: um Hill and Kelsey combined for eleven catches, which is
37:42
Speaker 1: a number that Chase had at him, but they had
37:45
Speaker 1: two hundred and one fewer yards when they only combined
37:48
Speaker 1: for sixty five yards and Chase had two sixty six.
37:52
Speaker 1: So the Bengals were able to hold down both of
37:54
Speaker 1: those guys, which surprised me. I thought, maybe, you know,
37:57
Speaker 1: control one, but control both. And they had no receiver
38:01
Speaker 1: game more than the fifty three yards that Harteman had
38:04
Speaker 1: on that one big play that he had had a
38:05
Speaker 1: fifty three yards reception. What are the coaches? What was
38:08
Speaker 1: their comment or what was their reaction to the way
38:12
Speaker 1: the Bengals handled that passing attack in the first matchup. Yeah,
38:16
Speaker 1: it was kind of an interesting game that the Chiefs
38:18
Speaker 1: had that day, So particularly in the second half, Bengals
38:21
Speaker 1: did a really nice job not shutting down just those
38:24
Speaker 1: two guys, but everybody. Really. The Chiefs really had nothing
38:28
Speaker 1: going offensively in the second half, So you know, I
38:32
Speaker 1: did do The Chiefs will make their adjustments and do
38:34
Speaker 1: what they're going to try to do. Hard to predict,
38:38
Speaker 1: you know what the Chiefs soil will do differently. I mean,
38:40
Speaker 1: I'm not in on their coaching meetings, but they'll they'll
38:43
Speaker 1: try to figure some things out for sure. Yeah. Adam
38:46
Speaker 1: TiSER from ESPN is our guest. Not much as being
38:50
Speaker 1: made of this here in Cincinnati for obvious reasons, but
38:53
Speaker 1: penalties were a major factor in the bengals favor in
38:56
Speaker 1: that first meeting. They were the pass interference penalties. At
38:59
Speaker 1: the end of the game in the end zone, there
39:00
Speaker 1: was a penalty on a kickoff return touchdown that got
39:03
Speaker 1: wiped out. Is it the Chiefs feeling and I'm not
39:06
Speaker 1: saying that they thought the calls were bad calls or
39:08
Speaker 1: anything like that, but is it their feeling that if
39:11
Speaker 1: they eliminate the mistakes, they're the better team and they
39:14
Speaker 1: win the game. Well, I mean, yeah, they were. They
39:17
Speaker 1: were certainly weren't happy with the refereeing. Andy Reid was
39:20
Speaker 1: pretty clear about that after the game. He was pretty
39:24
Speaker 1: clear that he thought some of those calls, at least
39:28
Speaker 1: on their defensive backs were not very good ones. So, um,
39:32
Speaker 1: but I know the Bengals were unhappy with some things
39:34
Speaker 1: that day in terms of the refereeing as well. So
39:36
Speaker 1: that thing, that stuff tends to even out. But you know, hey,
39:39
Speaker 1: you know the one play that you know really kind
39:43
Speaker 1: of well, there were there were a few of them,
39:45
Speaker 1: but one of the players that really seemed to determine
39:48
Speaker 1: that game was that when the Chiefs had that kickoff
39:50
Speaker 1: return called back, and they were not happy with that
39:53
Speaker 1: um penalty as well. So hey. But you know the Chiefs,
39:58
Speaker 1: particularly on defense, they use their hands a lot. I mean,
40:01
Speaker 1: maybe that's kind of what they do. They're um, you know,
40:04
Speaker 1: they they get penalty. They have games like that at
40:07
Speaker 1: from time to time because, uh, you know, the type
40:10
Speaker 1: of coverage they have. They play a lot of press
40:12
Speaker 1: and guys need to use their hands and they get
40:15
Speaker 1: caught in the cookie jars sometimes. So who's to say
40:18
Speaker 1: that won't be it, there won't be a game for them,
40:20
Speaker 1: uh like that this weekend. I mean, they avoided those
40:23
Speaker 1: kinds of penalties for the most part against the Bills,
40:25
Speaker 1: but maybe they're due. You know when you when you
40:29
Speaker 1: look at it, the uh the Chiefs, they've run the
40:33
Speaker 1: ball decently. I mean people kind of sleep on their
40:35
Speaker 1: running game, and that that's what they got untracked against
40:38
Speaker 1: the Bengals. The Bengks that you have to give up
40:40
Speaker 1: something if you're gonna play coverage like they did against
40:42
Speaker 1: all those great receivers. And the Chiefs rush for one
40:45
Speaker 1: hundred and fifty five yards averaging six point seven per
40:48
Speaker 1: and rush for a couple of touchdowns. In the playoffs,
40:51
Speaker 1: they're killing people, you know. In the two games they've
40:54
Speaker 1: got one hundred and forty four yards, rushing to the
40:55
Speaker 1: opposition eighty two and a half plus sixty one and
40:59
Speaker 1: a half yards, and they're averaging five point nine and
41:01
Speaker 1: rush to the opponents three point eight plus two point one.
41:04
Speaker 1: So you can't fall asleep on their running game as well, right, Well, yeah,
41:09
Speaker 1: I mean, you know, particularly if teams are going to
41:12
Speaker 1: play two deep safeties, just insist on that, and she's
41:15
Speaker 1: going to run the ball some and probably have some success.
41:17
Speaker 1: And that's what certainly what the Bills did. And the
41:20
Speaker 1: other thing you can't ignore is that Pat Mahomes role
41:23
Speaker 1: in all this. I mean, he did a nice job,
41:25
Speaker 1: particularly last week against the Bills, but he does it
41:28
Speaker 1: generally a nice job of picking and choosing his spots
41:31
Speaker 1: to run the ball. I mean, none of these called runs,
41:34
Speaker 1: but he'll scramble out and get your big play and
41:37
Speaker 1: did that number of times against the Bills, So you know,
41:41
Speaker 1: that's part of their rushing stats obviously as well. So
41:45
Speaker 1: that's something that the Bengals have to look for this
41:47
Speaker 1: time around. We're visiting with Adam Tisher from ESPN, who
41:51
Speaker 1: covers the Chiefs. I'm always interested in kind of a
41:53
Speaker 1: big storyline in the opposing city before a game of
41:56
Speaker 1: this magnitude. What are a couple of kind of the
41:59
Speaker 1: big themes that that you are looking at and Chiefs
42:02
Speaker 1: fans are talking about with the Bengals coming to town
42:04
Speaker 1: on Sunday, Well, maybe to me, it's maybe more than
42:07
Speaker 1: some of the intangible stuff. You know, the Chiefs had
42:10
Speaker 1: to dig real deep. They had to dig very deep,
42:13
Speaker 1: um to beat the Bills. I mean that game was
42:16
Speaker 1: intense from start. It wasn't just intense at the end.
42:18
Speaker 1: It was just intense all game long. And uh so
42:22
Speaker 1: what kind of can they come back with that, you know,
42:24
Speaker 1: a similar energy this week? You know, I wonder about that.
42:28
Speaker 1: You know, they they've been pretty good under Andy Reid
42:30
Speaker 1: generally speaking, and you know, having their mind on the
42:33
Speaker 1: task at hand each week and and and coming out
42:36
Speaker 1: and giving an honest effort every week. Um, but they've
42:39
Speaker 1: never had to dig this deep. I don't think, you know,
42:42
Speaker 1: to win a game. So you know, hey, hey, can
42:44
Speaker 1: they can they muster up what it's going to take
42:47
Speaker 1: for another game like that again this week? And with
42:51
Speaker 1: the Bengals, I sort of wonder a little bit about,
42:54
Speaker 1: you know, what the stage is going to be like
42:56
Speaker 1: for them? You know, the Chiefs are the veterans in
42:59
Speaker 1: this scenario, and they've done it before and they've been
43:02
Speaker 1: there and know what this is all about, and the
43:04
Speaker 1: Bengals don't. And um so I wonder about that a
43:09
Speaker 1: little bit. Although it looks like to me Joe Burrow
43:11
Speaker 1: is kind of one of those guys who has it
43:14
Speaker 1: figured out, you know that he u the rest of
43:18
Speaker 1: the team's going to follow him and and follow his lead.
43:21
Speaker 1: And he's not the guy I'm necessarily worried about for
43:24
Speaker 1: the Bengals in that regard. So, just just a couple
43:27
Speaker 1: of intangible things that may or may not have a
43:30
Speaker 1: fact a role in Sunday Sunday's game. Yeah, I guess
43:35
Speaker 1: the old adage sometimes it's good that guys don't know
43:40
Speaker 1: what they don't know. We'll find out because I'll tell
43:42
Speaker 1: you what experience. I think playoff experience counts. You know,
43:46
Speaker 1: I remember the first playoff game I played in and
43:48
Speaker 1: not knowing what I you know, you don't know what
43:50
Speaker 1: you don't know, and I know it was a lot
43:52
Speaker 1: better in the second and third playoff game I played
43:54
Speaker 1: in after after experiencing it the first time. But what
43:57
Speaker 1: about Matthew, do you think Tyron Matthew, you didn't practice
44:00
Speaker 1: today with the concussion. Have you heard anything about you know,
44:02
Speaker 1: every every player tolerates concussions differently. Have you heard anything
44:06
Speaker 1: about the severity of the concussion and how Tyron Matthew
44:10
Speaker 1: is tolerating that concussion. Yeah, the Chiefs seem to be
44:15
Speaker 1: encouraged that he's going to be able to play on Sunday,
44:19
Speaker 1: So we'll see. I mean they sometimes you hear these
44:22
Speaker 1: things that it turned out to be wrong, but they
44:24
Speaker 1: seem to be encouraged that he's going to play on Sunday,
44:26
Speaker 1: so we'll see. I mean, you know, he's a guy
44:29
Speaker 1: who keeps his head in the playbook no matter whether
44:32
Speaker 1: he's practicing or not. So I feel like he would
44:36
Speaker 1: be okay if there's going to be a case where
44:39
Speaker 1: the Chiefs would be okay playing a guy who didn't
44:41
Speaker 1: practice all week as long as he's cleared by Sunday.
44:44
Speaker 1: I think the Chiefs would play him on Sunday again
44:47
Speaker 1: as long as he's cleared, even if he doesn't practice.
44:50
Speaker 1: But yeah, they still have a couple of practice days
44:52
Speaker 1: left this week, so we'll we'll see. But my sense
44:56
Speaker 1: is right now that he's going to be ready to go, Adam.
44:59
Speaker 1: My final question is a simple one about Patrick Mahomes.
45:02
Speaker 1: You've been watching him and covering him for a few
45:04
Speaker 1: years now. What impresses you most about Patrick MAHOMESH just
45:12
Speaker 1: there's no um, there's no situation that seems to get
45:16
Speaker 1: him flustered. You know. He he just seems to um
45:21
Speaker 1: find a way out of a tough situation, no matter what,
45:24
Speaker 1: whether it's with a no look throw or or a
45:28
Speaker 1: sidearm throw, or or a jump pass that he had
45:31
Speaker 1: to throw a touchdown pass and a jump pass the
45:33
Speaker 1: other night. Um, you know it just his resourcefulness. I
45:38
Speaker 1: guess to answer the question, he just seems to have
45:40
Speaker 1: a almost always have a h an answer for everything,
45:46
Speaker 1: and that that's kind of it's you don't see that
45:48
Speaker 1: with guys who are as young as he is. It's
45:51
Speaker 1: really been remarkable. He's it's like he came into the
45:53
Speaker 1: league like a ten year veteran. It really is. I mean,
45:56
Speaker 1: it's just just uh there there really hasn't been to
46:00
Speaker 1: wasn't any growing or learning curve for him. He just
46:03
Speaker 1: came out first gamey three three touchdown passes, his second
46:06
Speaker 1: game in three six touchdown passes, and you know, while
46:09
Speaker 1: the numbers haven't been quite like that for the most
46:11
Speaker 1: part lately, he still he still got it for sure.
46:17
Speaker 1: My final question is always on the all important and
46:21
Speaker 1: third phase of things that des get mentioned, special teams.
46:24
Speaker 1: Dave Tobb like the Bengals Darren Simmons, same title, Uh,
46:29
Speaker 1: special teams coordinator, assistant head coach. These guys are valuable guys,
46:33
Speaker 1: top special teams. His punt return team third in the
46:37
Speaker 1: NFL IS punt coverage team, first in the NFL IS
46:40
Speaker 1: kickoff return team, ninth in the nfl IS kickoff coverage team,
46:43
Speaker 1: fifth in the NFL all of them, top ten, three
46:46
Speaker 1: of them, top five the hidden yards. How big a deal?
46:49
Speaker 1: I mean, it's it's something to talk about, isn't it. Yeah? Yeah,
46:53
Speaker 1: I know. The Chiefs, dude, generally speaking, a nice job
46:56
Speaker 1: on special teams. You know, they pretty solid from week
47:00
Speaker 1: to week. It's it's really remarkable how they've they've they've
47:04
Speaker 1: managed that over the years since any Reids been their coach.
47:08
Speaker 1: And Dave Tobe does a nice job, you know, coaching
47:11
Speaker 1: the guys. So yeah, it is, Uh, it could be
47:14
Speaker 1: a factor because you know, the Chiefs do a nice
47:17
Speaker 1: job on special teams. And and I'm not just talking
47:20
Speaker 1: about necessarily big plays. I'm just talking about just just
47:24
Speaker 1: being solid across the board and so, but it's something
47:28
Speaker 1: to look for on Sunday for sure. Thanks to Adam
47:32
Speaker 1: Tisher and for much more on Sunday's game, Join Lapindi
47:35
Speaker 1: for the Bengals pep Rally Show this Friday afternoon from
47:38
Speaker 1: three to six on ESPN fifteen thirty or on the
47:42
Speaker 1: iHeartMedia app by searching for ESPN fifteen thirty. That's going
47:47
Speaker 1: to do it for this episode of the Bengals Booth Podcast,
47:50
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48:01
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48:03
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48:06
Speaker 1: more Bengals fans find us. I'm Dan Horde, and thanks
48:10
Speaker 1: for listening to The Bengals Booth Podcast