Latest / Bengals Booth Podcast / Bengals Booth Podcast: The Climb

Transcript

Bengals Booth Podcast: The Climb · Bengals Booth Podcast

0:03
Speaker 1: Hike and everybody on Dan Horde and thanks for downloading
0:06
Speaker 1: The Bengals Booth podcast. The It's All About It's All
0:11
Speaker 1: About the Climb addition, as the Bengals look to wrap
0:16
Speaker 1: up the AFC North and earn at least one home
0:19
Speaker 1: playoff game as they host the eleven and four Kansas
0:22
Speaker 1: City Chiefs. Coming up, I'll talk to NFL insider Field
0:25
Speaker 1: Yates from ESPN. He's a former scout and will share
0:29
Speaker 1: some thoughts and how the Bengals have gone from first
0:31
Speaker 1: pick in the draft to playoff contender in two years.
0:35
Speaker 1: One on one player interview is with Mike Hilton, who
0:38
Speaker 1: has first hand experience in trying to slow down Patrick
0:41
Speaker 1: Mahomes and Travis Kelsey, and then Dave Lapham joins me
0:45
Speaker 1: to discuss the injury and COVID impacted situation at linebacker
0:50
Speaker 1: and what it's going to take to beat the Chiefs.
0:53
Speaker 1: The Bengals Booth Podcast is presented by Ultimate Bengals, the
0:56
Speaker 1: free to play next level fantasy football game. It now
1:00
Speaker 1: from the App Store and Google Play. And here's a
1:03
Speaker 1: quick reminder that you can have the latest edition of
1:05
Speaker 1: this podcast delivered rite to your phone, tablet, or computer
1:09
Speaker 1: by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's the greatest
1:13
Speaker 1: thing since the Sixth Floor Museum at Daly Plaza. I'm
1:18
Speaker 1: recording this podcast from Dallas, where I'll be broadcasting the
1:21
Speaker 1: Cotton Bowl on Friday, and if you're ever here, I
1:25
Speaker 1: highly recommend visiting the Sixth Floor Museum, which chronicles the life, assassination,
1:30
Speaker 1: and legacy of President John F. Kennedy. It's located in
1:35
Speaker 1: the former Texas school Book Depository building where Lee Harvey
1:38
Speaker 1: Oswald shot and killed the president. The museum covers that
1:43
Speaker 1: as well as the various conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination.
1:48
Speaker 1: As I said, if you're ever in Dallas and haven't
1:51
Speaker 1: been there, it is well worth your time. Now, let's
1:55
Speaker 1: get to Sunday's game between the team that's currently the
1:57
Speaker 1: number one playoff seat in the AFC Kansas City and
2:01
Speaker 1: the team that's currently number three, Cincinnati Bengals. Win would
2:06
Speaker 1: clinch the AFC North, and I discussed that and more
2:10
Speaker 1: with a former NFL scout now working for ESPN. Our
2:15
Speaker 1: guest is ESPN NFL insider Field Yates Field. What did
2:19
Speaker 1: you think of the Bengals going into the season and
2:21
Speaker 1: what do you think of them now? Well, I had
2:24
Speaker 1: some optimism, but I would be lying if I thought
2:26
Speaker 1: they would be nine and six entering Week seventeen of
2:28
Speaker 1: the NFL season, And I'm glad to be wrong in
2:30
Speaker 1: this case. I thought that Joe burrows leap was predictable,
2:34
Speaker 1: but I'm not sure that anybody saw well. I should
2:37
Speaker 1: say not anybody, but there were I think there were
2:39
Speaker 1: more people that would have expected a smaller leap than
2:41
Speaker 1: the one that we have seen from Joe. But I'm
2:44
Speaker 1: so thrilled that not only is the offense playing well,
2:46
Speaker 1: I think perhaps the most surprising part, I think too
2:49
Speaker 1: many has been just how sturdy this defense has been
2:52
Speaker 1: all season long for the most part, and I think
2:54
Speaker 1: with the Bengals offseason will be characterized by in twenty
2:58
Speaker 1: twenty one is that base. Basically every major investment that
3:02
Speaker 1: they made has worked out and worked out at an
3:04
Speaker 1: extremely high level. And I think part of the reason
3:07
Speaker 1: why they played so well defensively is because somebody like
3:10
Speaker 1: Trey Hendrickson or Chidobia Woozy has played as well as
3:13
Speaker 1: each of them has to see that and to see
3:15
Speaker 1: it manifest itself over not just the early portion of
3:18
Speaker 1: the season, when they were a nice story, but to
3:20
Speaker 1: sustain all the way to a likely playoff spot, I
3:23
Speaker 1: think as Bengals fans justifiably extremely excited. Well, I'm glad
3:27
Speaker 1: you mentioned Hendrickson and Woggier because you're from a scouting background,
3:31
Speaker 1: you worked with the Chiefs and the Patriots in the past.
3:34
Speaker 1: Evaluate what the Bengals have done between free agency and
3:37
Speaker 1: the draft over the last couple of years in building
3:39
Speaker 1: this roster. Yeah, so I understand that it's frustrating when
3:43
Speaker 1: you're a team that's picking in the back to back
3:45
Speaker 1: years in the top five, and that was obviously the
3:47
Speaker 1: case with Cincinnati. But the reality is that there is
3:51
Speaker 1: a sliver of hope, and the sliver of hope is
3:53
Speaker 1: that you can turn those premium picks into foundational pieces.
3:57
Speaker 1: We know the NFL draft is much more art than
4:00
Speaker 1: we understand. That they're going to be players taken first
4:02
Speaker 1: or second or third overall that won't work out every
4:05
Speaker 1: single year, but they're also going to be years when
4:08
Speaker 1: you draft a quarterback first and then you follow that
4:10
Speaker 1: up by taking a wide receiver for fifth, and they
4:13
Speaker 1: end up being the kind of pieces that you could
4:15
Speaker 1: vision and vision turning into ten or twelve or fifteen
4:18
Speaker 1: years superstars for your organization and then expands beyond just
4:22
Speaker 1: Joe Burrow and also Jamar Chase te Higgins has been unbelievable.
4:26
Speaker 1: Logan Wilson prior to his recent injury, has been exceptional
4:29
Speaker 1: as well. They've gotten basically excellent production in each of
4:33
Speaker 1: the first three rounds these past two years, which I
4:35
Speaker 1: think is critical to their success. And then looking at
4:38
Speaker 1: the free agency side of it, we understand the perils
4:40
Speaker 1: of free agency. We have seen many a team overspending
4:43
Speaker 1: free agency and part of the reason why there's some
4:46
Speaker 1: danger involved is that if a player is really good
4:49
Speaker 1: in the NFL, a team might not be motivated to
4:51
Speaker 1: let him reach the point of free agency because they
4:54
Speaker 1: want to invest in that player by retaining him on
4:57
Speaker 1: an extension or a new deal. Prior to the in
5:00
Speaker 1: market with the Bengals found players at different levels this year. Obviously,
5:04
Speaker 1: Trey was the biggest spending free agent pickup this year
5:07
Speaker 1: on defense, and he was a player whose production during
5:11
Speaker 1: his final year in New Orleans obviously was far more
5:15
Speaker 1: significant than what it was during the previous three years,
5:18
Speaker 1: and some people wondered is this an outlier year? Is
5:21
Speaker 1: the contract a year blow up or is this the
5:23
Speaker 1: sign of a guy who's just reaching his apex and
5:26
Speaker 1: could continue from there? And I would say with at
5:28
Speaker 1: least a half sack in eleven straight games, Tree Anderson
5:32
Speaker 1: has provides more than just a one hit wonder. Obviously
5:35
Speaker 1: plays with all out effort at all time, but he's powerful,
5:37
Speaker 1: He's got great explosiveness off the edge. He's been a
5:40
Speaker 1: foundational piece for them, and a guy that I think
5:42
Speaker 1: as a chance to go from a high priced veteran
5:45
Speaker 1: free agent signing to a bargain free agent signing or
5:48
Speaker 1: a value free agent signing by the time it's all
5:50
Speaker 1: said and done. Interesting point. Our guest is field Yates
5:54
Speaker 1: from ESPN. Joe Burrow was incredible last week, five and
5:58
Speaker 1: twenty five yards in four touchdown. He doesn't have the
6:01
Speaker 1: cannon of Josh Allen, he doesn't have the legs of
6:04
Speaker 1: Lamar Jackson. What is Joe Burrow's superpower in your opinion? Well,
6:09
Speaker 1: I think it's confidence is something that cannot be quantified,
6:11
Speaker 1: and I'm sure you see it much more being around him,
6:14
Speaker 1: or at least during normal times, being around him much more.
6:16
Speaker 1: It's pretty clear to me that there's an infectious energy
6:19
Speaker 1: that is involved with playing with Joe Burrow, and this
6:22
Speaker 1: is a league where you can't predict it's going to
6:24
Speaker 1: happen every single week. You might be up big, you
6:26
Speaker 1: might be down big. But my sense is that if
6:28
Speaker 1: the Bengals fall behind, no matter who they're playing, where
6:30
Speaker 1: they're playing, and when they're playing, Joe Burrow's not going
6:33
Speaker 1: to flinch. He has this moxie about him that makes
6:36
Speaker 1: me think he's more like thirty three as opposed to
6:38
Speaker 1: twenty three or twenty four now twenty five years old.
6:41
Speaker 1: In the next few years, he plays certainly well above
6:44
Speaker 1: his age. I think that part is really really clear.
6:46
Speaker 1: And then he's got an unbelievability to distribute the right
6:49
Speaker 1: place at the right time. He's processing things so fast
6:52
Speaker 1: right now that it feels like Joe knows what the
6:54
Speaker 1: defense is going to do as much as the defense
6:56
Speaker 1: knows what it's going to do on a snap in
6:58
Speaker 1: and snap out basis. That's why all of these wide
7:01
Speaker 1: receivers are playing well right now as we know. And
7:03
Speaker 1: I love the stat and I'm going to keep using
7:06
Speaker 1: it until I don't know at least a season is over.
7:08
Speaker 1: That you've got two one thousand yard receivers, you've got
7:12
Speaker 1: a thousand yard runner, you've got a four thousand yard
7:14
Speaker 1: pass or all of them are twenty five or younger.
7:17
Speaker 1: It's never happened ever in the history of the NFL.
7:19
Speaker 1: And Tyler Boy is a little bit above the age
7:21
Speaker 1: of twenty five has a real shot to reach a
7:23
Speaker 1: thousand yards as well. We're talking about and you probably
7:27
Speaker 1: have better perspective than I would, but like I think
7:28
Speaker 1: this has a chance to go down. Is one of
7:30
Speaker 1: the most exciting and best offensive seasons in franchise history.
7:34
Speaker 1: Is that the best young nucleus of skill position talent
7:38
Speaker 1: of any team in the NFL. You've got a darn
7:40
Speaker 1: good case for it, and I'm sure that there are
7:42
Speaker 1: people and their fan bases that would try to make
7:44
Speaker 1: their case for it. But this year, I don't think
7:47
Speaker 1: it's debatable that's been the best sort of one two
7:49
Speaker 1: three punch at wide receiver, number one running back and
7:52
Speaker 1: then also a quarterback as well. They've just been so
7:54
Speaker 1: good and it's kind of been each one of them
7:57
Speaker 1: doing some heavy lifting during different portions of the season.
8:00
Speaker 1: You know, Jamar Chase was incredible. Four of his first
8:03
Speaker 1: sixteen catches find the end zone for a touchdown. Tee
8:06
Speaker 1: Higgins has been on fire the past four or five weeks.
8:09
Speaker 1: You know, Joe Mixon had that nine straight games in
8:12
Speaker 1: which he scored at least one touchdown, plus the four
8:14
Speaker 1: straight games in which he scored at least two touchdowns,
8:17
Speaker 1: and then Joe has been steady for the most part
8:20
Speaker 1: the entire season because, as we all know, ultimately no
8:22
Speaker 1: matter how great your wide receivers and your running backs are,
8:25
Speaker 1: if your quarterback is not playing at a high level,
8:27
Speaker 1: it's really difficult to function offensively every single week. So
8:30
Speaker 1: Joe has been rock solid. It's been a really fun
8:33
Speaker 1: week to a season, team to watch all season, and
8:36
Speaker 1: I know I keep I don't want to make Tyler
8:38
Speaker 1: just a footnote. Tyler Boyd has been really good for
8:40
Speaker 1: them in critical moments recently. I mean, he had the
8:42
Speaker 1: long touchdown this past week that helped break that game open.
8:44
Speaker 1: He nearly had a second one late then, I've got
8:46
Speaker 1: to be honest with you, I thought that might have
8:48
Speaker 1: been a catch in the end zone, but I understand
8:50
Speaker 1: why the replay review has turned it over. But fun
8:52
Speaker 1: to watch and I feel like this team is sort
8:54
Speaker 1: of just scratching the surface right now. Our guest is
8:57
Speaker 1: Field the Age. You can follow him on Twitter at Field.
9:00
Speaker 1: As we've obviously touched down many of the Bengals strengths,
9:03
Speaker 1: what question marks do you still have about this team
9:05
Speaker 1: with two games to go? I think there's probably and
9:08
Speaker 1: this is something that's out of their control. But until
9:10
Speaker 1: you see a team do it in the playoffs with
9:13
Speaker 1: the current nucleus that they have, you want to see
9:15
Speaker 1: them do it. Joe Burrow, it's not a fault of theirs, right,
9:18
Speaker 1: I mean, it's not Joe Burrow's fault that he doesn't
9:20
Speaker 1: want a playoff game before, because ever lost one either before? Right,
9:22
Speaker 1: So you got to get there first before we can
9:25
Speaker 1: start to judge the merits of you. That's probably the
9:27
Speaker 1: one thing that I think any team it's got relatively
9:30
Speaker 1: fresh blood as some of the key spots, is going
9:32
Speaker 1: to have to answer in the playoffs. So they're one
9:34
Speaker 1: of those teams this year in the AFC. There are
9:36
Speaker 1: a couple of others that might be in that same
9:38
Speaker 1: group if the Chargers wind up in the playoffs. Same
9:41
Speaker 1: question applies to Justin Herbert, Joe's draft classmates. And then
9:45
Speaker 1: you know, I think this year in the AFC for
9:47
Speaker 1: a while, it was looking like maybe it was going
9:49
Speaker 1: to be a defensive conference, as you've got teams like
9:53
Speaker 1: the chief playing really well on defense. The Patriots have
9:55
Speaker 1: been playing really well on defense for much of this year.
9:57
Speaker 1: Buffalo has got great strength on defense, even if I
10:00
Speaker 1: had a couple of games that weren't quite what they
10:02
Speaker 1: were looking for during the middle of the season. But
10:04
Speaker 1: it feels like we're starting to see a much more
10:06
Speaker 1: balanced group in the AFC. And I think that ultimately
10:10
Speaker 1: one team is going to be happy at the end
10:11
Speaker 1: of this year, and NFL is the NFL is different,
10:15
Speaker 1: and it's NBA and MLB and NHL counterparts, and that
10:18
Speaker 1: it's not best of seven, it's best of one and
10:20
Speaker 1: then given Sunday. So playing your best football is going
10:24
Speaker 1: to apply. And I know the Bengals have. They've learned
10:26
Speaker 1: that less than this year with some difficult losses to
10:28
Speaker 1: unexpected opponents. That's going to be the challenge once we
10:31
Speaker 1: get to the postseason, assuming they do make it, which
10:33
Speaker 1: I like their chances very much right now, and they're
10:36
Speaker 1: going to be tested even these next two weeks, right
10:37
Speaker 1: I mean, Kansas City is certainly profiles this I made
10:40
Speaker 1: this comparison. If the NFL since College Game Day, or
10:44
Speaker 1: we had the equivalent of College game Day and they
10:46
Speaker 1: were sending it to a game each week, it would
10:49
Speaker 1: be in Cincinnati this weekend to watch the Chiefs and
10:51
Speaker 1: the Bengals. I like the sound of that. Well, let's
10:53
Speaker 1: talk about the Chiefs. This is a team that started
10:56
Speaker 1: three and four, They had a couple of blowout losses
10:58
Speaker 1: early this year, and now they runoff eight consecutive wins.
11:02
Speaker 1: What are a couple of things the Bengals must do
11:04
Speaker 1: to have a chance to beat Kansas City on Sunday.
11:07
Speaker 1: You know, it's kind of become old news because it's
11:09
Speaker 1: been something teams have been doing for much of this year.
11:11
Speaker 1: But I think it's evident that what you have to
11:13
Speaker 1: do against the Chiefs is you have to make sure
11:16
Speaker 1: that if they're gonna beat you on offense, it's going
11:18
Speaker 1: to be more death by a thousand paper cuts then
11:20
Speaker 1: it will be a quick strike seventy five yard touchdown.
11:23
Speaker 1: The Chiefs played Philly early this season, and that was
11:25
Speaker 1: kind of a one game where Patrick Mahomes really had
11:27
Speaker 1: his way and just threw the ball way behind the
11:30
Speaker 1: deep safeties on too many acages. Tyreek Hill scored three
11:33
Speaker 1: times in that game. If you fast forward to some
11:35
Speaker 1: of the games that Patrick Mahomes played more recently, he's
11:38
Speaker 1: been good. He was good against the Raiders twice. He
11:40
Speaker 1: was good against the Steelers this past week. But he
11:42
Speaker 1: had a couple of games where he was a little
11:45
Speaker 1: bit more, a little bit more mortal, and that felt
11:48
Speaker 1: like what teams were doing were basically, no matter what happens,
11:51
Speaker 1: nothing gets getting behind us. We talked about the two
11:53
Speaker 1: deep safety alignment that so many defenses are relying upon
11:56
Speaker 1: this year to make sure that quarterbacks don't beat them
11:58
Speaker 1: down the field. I think part of what the Chiefs
12:01
Speaker 1: have done really well for a long time as those
12:03
Speaker 1: explosive plays. Bengals can't do that. And then on offense.
12:06
Speaker 1: This is gonna sound so boring and so simple, but
12:09
Speaker 1: as much as I watch the NFL this year, and
12:12
Speaker 1: the more and more I watch it, the more and
12:14
Speaker 1: more that I see games where teams that we don't
12:16
Speaker 1: expect to lose do lose, it becomes clear to me
12:19
Speaker 1: you have to win the turnover battle and you have
12:21
Speaker 1: to be good on third down. I think about a
12:23
Speaker 1: game last week, the Texans hosting the Chargers, The Texans
12:26
Speaker 1: are a team that we know they got a lot
12:28
Speaker 1: of roster reparations they need to make at some point,
12:31
Speaker 1: but ultimately they were the better team in the turnover
12:33
Speaker 1: department than the Chargers, and they were the better team
12:36
Speaker 1: on third down as well. That's the difference between winning
12:39
Speaker 1: and losing in the NFL. The Chiefs, if they have
12:41
Speaker 1: a third and twelve situation, not only is a conversion
12:44
Speaker 1: on third and twelve, not only is it a fresh
12:48
Speaker 1: set of downs, that's just demoralizing to a defense. Right
12:51
Speaker 1: third and twelve, you're thinking to yourself, eight or nine
12:54
Speaker 1: in the ten times we're forcing a punt or a
12:57
Speaker 1: field goal that when the defense it allows a big
13:00
Speaker 1: conversion that to me, I think can change the confidence
13:04
Speaker 1: level that they're playing with. So I know it sounds
13:06
Speaker 1: like the least spicy analysis that I could ever give.
13:09
Speaker 1: But you've got to be good in the turnover department,
13:11
Speaker 1: you've got to be really good on third down. If
13:14
Speaker 1: you're not, then the Chiefs they are just too talented
13:16
Speaker 1: against most opponents that they're just going to end up
13:18
Speaker 1: finding a way to win. That might be simple. It
13:22
Speaker 1: certainly didn't sound boring to me. Field. Yeah, it's great stuff.
13:26
Speaker 1: We appreciate your time, keep up the great work, and
13:28
Speaker 1: thanks for joining us now. Thank you, Dan, and happy
13:30
Speaker 1: for all the Bengals fans out there that should really
13:32
Speaker 1: be soaking up all this excitement right now. It's a
13:34
Speaker 1: good time to be a Cincinnati fan. And no matter
13:37
Speaker 1: how much fun we're having this year, I think there's
13:39
Speaker 1: even more good stuff ahead as well. So field Yates says,
13:43
Speaker 1: the Bengals secondary can't give up the deep ball. They've
13:46
Speaker 1: got to try to force Patrick Mahomes to methodically march
13:49
Speaker 1: up the field and hope he makes a couple of mistakes.
13:53
Speaker 1: One member the Bengal secondary who has faced Mahomes before
13:57
Speaker 1: is Mike Hilton, and he joined me this week for
14:00
Speaker 1: my one on one player conversation. Like, you signed a
14:04
Speaker 1: four year contract with the Bengals, and I know you
14:06
Speaker 1: expected Cincinnati to become a contender, but did you expect
14:10
Speaker 1: it to happen this fast? I had an idea, um,
14:14
Speaker 1: you know, the one just playing these guys. I always
14:16
Speaker 1: knew the type of talent that they had over here,
14:18
Speaker 1: and well, once I signed and see who we drafted
14:21
Speaker 1: and other free agents we brought in, I was just like, yeah,
14:24
Speaker 1: we have all the ingredients to be a Super Bowl contender.
14:28
Speaker 1: You know, we've been playing well this year and you
14:30
Speaker 1: know we got a big one Sunday, so we're all
14:33
Speaker 1: excited for for what this opportunity. This team appears to
14:37
Speaker 1: have great chemistry and camaraderie. Is that true? And this
14:42
Speaker 1: isn't a big reason why you're in the first place? Absolutely?
14:46
Speaker 1: Number one, you got to be a tight group. These
14:48
Speaker 1: are guys that you're with twenty four seven. You know,
14:50
Speaker 1: guys that you're with more than your family sometimes. So
14:53
Speaker 1: you know, you got to be able to connect owning
14:56
Speaker 1: off the field, and you know it does nothing but
14:58
Speaker 1: just bring you together and just build that confidence and
15:02
Speaker 1: that chemistry that can lead to wins. And we've been
15:06
Speaker 1: doing that well this year. We're chatting with Mike Hilton.
15:08
Speaker 1: This might be hard for you to answer, but in
15:11
Speaker 1: addition to your play on the field, what impact do
15:14
Speaker 1: you think you've had on the secondary as a group,
15:17
Speaker 1: just being a bit of a presence, being being that
15:19
Speaker 1: calmon effect. You can't ask any of the guys, you know,
15:22
Speaker 1: I just try to be the one in the ear
15:24
Speaker 1: that's keeping us calm even if we give up big
15:26
Speaker 1: play or give up a penalty or something like that.
15:29
Speaker 1: You know, I'm always the guy to all right, guys,
15:31
Speaker 1: you know, let's focus in, let's lock in, let's do
15:33
Speaker 1: our job and get off the field. So I just
15:35
Speaker 1: feel like just being that voice in the room and
15:38
Speaker 1: keeping keeping guys calm and ready to play. You've got
15:40
Speaker 1: a one game lead with two games to go. But
15:43
Speaker 1: it's been a bit of a roller coaster ride of
15:45
Speaker 1: a season. You've got four wins over the Steelers and
15:48
Speaker 1: the Ravens, and all of those games are by two
15:50
Speaker 1: touchdowns or more. But there were losses to the Jets
15:52
Speaker 1: and the Pairs. There was a lopsided loss to the Browns.
15:56
Speaker 1: Is that just the sign of a young team that's
15:59
Speaker 1: learning to can end? Absolutely. You can point to a
16:03
Speaker 1: couple of plays here and there throughout those losses that
16:05
Speaker 1: if we make that play, you know, it's it's pretty
16:08
Speaker 1: much a win. You know, Green Bay, we make one
16:09
Speaker 1: the field goals, Jets, you know, if they don't call
16:14
Speaker 1: it the penalty on me, you know who who knows
16:15
Speaker 1: where where we could be now. But it's just a
16:18
Speaker 1: part of the learning and growing process of it. And
16:20
Speaker 1: you know, it's good that we're getting that experience. This year.
16:24
Speaker 1: Let's talk about Sunday's game against the Chiefs. You faced
16:27
Speaker 1: Patrick Mahomes before in your years with the Steelers. It
16:30
Speaker 1: was actually one of his signature games in his MVP season.
16:33
Speaker 1: He threw six touchdown passes. Shoot out forty two to
16:37
Speaker 1: thirty seven was the final score. It's one thing for us,
16:40
Speaker 1: but watching that guy on TV, it's another thing to
16:43
Speaker 1: compete against him. What stood out to you, man is
16:47
Speaker 1: what everybody sees. His arm strength and the way he
16:50
Speaker 1: can get outside the pocket and just make make throws
16:53
Speaker 1: that not many quarterbacks can mate. He's confidence guys, of course,
16:57
Speaker 1: starting with Kelsey and Hill. You know those are go
16:59
Speaker 1: to guys and they're they're supposed to playmakers. So we
17:03
Speaker 1: know as a defense we got to do our best
17:05
Speaker 1: to contain them. And what we've been saying is contained
17:08
Speaker 1: the second half of the play because he's gonna extend
17:11
Speaker 1: plays and get outside the pocket and look for those
17:14
Speaker 1: shots down field. So we know defensively and especially as
17:17
Speaker 1: the second day, we got to be smart and play
17:20
Speaker 1: top down. Let's talk specifically about Kelsey. In their last game,
17:24
Speaker 1: he had ten catches for one hundred and ninety one yards.
17:27
Speaker 1: This is the sixth consecutive year he's had more than
17:29
Speaker 1: a thousand yards, a record for a tight end. Of
17:33
Speaker 1: the many great tight ends in the league that you face,
17:36
Speaker 1: what makes Kelsey unique. He's probably the best run after
17:41
Speaker 1: catch tight end that I personally played against. Um. He's
17:44
Speaker 1: obviously a big dude six four six five two fifty,
17:47
Speaker 1: but he can run like a receiver. He makes cuts
17:50
Speaker 1: like a receiver. He's he's just real athletic, and it
17:52
Speaker 1: presents problem the defenses because he could be a mismatch.
17:55
Speaker 1: Too athletic for linebackers, too big for safety. So he's
17:59
Speaker 1: the guy that definitely gonna key on on on Sunday,
18:02
Speaker 1: and you know, do do our best to contain them.
18:04
Speaker 1: What's a week like this like for you to build
18:08
Speaker 1: up to a huge game at the end of the
18:10
Speaker 1: year with so much at stake. Oh, it's everything. UM.
18:14
Speaker 1: A lot of guys have actually asked me, like, just
18:16
Speaker 1: how does this feel. I'm just like, guys, this's what
18:18
Speaker 1: we've been fighting for, you know. I be I told
18:21
Speaker 1: him I've been down this road before, playing meaningful games
18:23
Speaker 1: in late December, and I just told him, like, don't
18:26
Speaker 1: change up anything, Just treat us another week, you know.
18:28
Speaker 1: We of course, we know a lot more as a state.
18:31
Speaker 1: But if we if we do everything that we did
18:33
Speaker 1: to get us here, you know, the outcome could be
18:35
Speaker 1: the same for us on Sunday. So guys are excited
18:37
Speaker 1: about the challenge and we were ready ready to play.
18:40
Speaker 1: You can clinch the division with a win over the Chiefs,
18:43
Speaker 1: but beyond that, people are wondering now if Cincinnati is
18:46
Speaker 1: a legitimate contender to advance in the postseason. Make the
18:50
Speaker 1: case for why you think the Bengals are. I believe
18:53
Speaker 1: we got all the ingredients. Um it starts. We have
18:56
Speaker 1: a honestly, I think a top five quarterback already. H
18:59
Speaker 1: he's a guy that he's a general. He keeps the
19:01
Speaker 1: offense calm and no just gets them moving. And we
19:04
Speaker 1: feel like on the defensive man, we're able to go
19:06
Speaker 1: on and get after the quarterback up front, you know,
19:08
Speaker 1: and on the back end where we get our get
19:10
Speaker 1: takeaways and find ways to put our offense on a
19:13
Speaker 1: short field. So we know if we do those things
19:15
Speaker 1: consistently and just just play our game, you know, we'll
19:19
Speaker 1: have a real good shot of making a deep run.
19:21
Speaker 1: It's been a great season so far, and you've been
19:23
Speaker 1: a huge part of it. I appreciate your time. Best
19:25
Speaker 1: of luck against the Chiefs. Thanks there. The Bengals Booth
19:29
Speaker 1: podcast is presented by Ultimate Bengals, the free to play
19:32
Speaker 1: next level fantasy football game. Ultimate Bengals will be awarding
19:36
Speaker 1: a weekly winner during the course of the season, with tickets,
19:39
Speaker 1: autograph merchandise, and money can't buy experiences all up for grabs.
19:44
Speaker 1: Find Ultimate Bengals in the App Store and Google Play Now.
19:48
Speaker 1: Tie for my weekly chat with my broadcast partner Dave Lapham.
19:52
Speaker 1: But the Bengals have some great wins, most notably four
19:56
Speaker 1: wins over the Ravens and Steelers by at least two touchdowns.
20:00
Speaker 1: You can make the case that they've lost to the
20:02
Speaker 1: three best teams that they've faced, Green Bay, San Francisco
20:05
Speaker 1: and the Chargers. Do you view this game as a
20:08
Speaker 1: litmus test for just how good the Bengals are? I do,
20:14
Speaker 1: Dan in a lot of ways. I mean, I think
20:16
Speaker 1: it's an opportunity, you know, to show that they've come
20:21
Speaker 1: even further than people think they've come. And I think
20:24
Speaker 1: that's that's important. You know, you look at the season,
20:28
Speaker 1: like you say that the teams they've beaten and the
20:31
Speaker 1: teams that they haven't you know. It's it's like, all right, well,
20:34
Speaker 1: who are they? What are they? They've never lost more
20:38
Speaker 1: than two in a row, They've never won more than
20:39
Speaker 1: two in a row. This would be their first time
20:42
Speaker 1: to have a three game winning streak all season long,
20:45
Speaker 1: in my mind, against the best football team on their schedule.
20:50
Speaker 1: So this is a big opportunity for them to show
20:53
Speaker 1: the world they belong. I think as we were calling
20:56
Speaker 1: the game in real time last week, I never really
20:59
Speaker 1: felt like the Bengals were trying to make a statement,
21:02
Speaker 1: for lack of a better expression, for how they were
21:04
Speaker 1: throwing the ball in the fourth quarter. I just thought
21:06
Speaker 1: that they were trying to keep doing what was working
21:09
Speaker 1: against the Ravens. But clearly I am in the minority,
21:12
Speaker 1: because most of our colleagues in the media certainly felt
21:15
Speaker 1: like they were making a statement with a few days
21:17
Speaker 1: to reflect. What do you think of that whole notion?
21:22
Speaker 1: You know, I think they were doing what they needed
21:24
Speaker 1: to do to win a football game in that you know,
21:27
Speaker 1: Joe Joe. Basically, the big throw, the big controversial throw
21:31
Speaker 1: to Joe Mixon was just a football player reacting on
21:35
Speaker 1: instincts to an opportunity to make a play, you know,
21:38
Speaker 1: and he did it. He did it on his own.
21:42
Speaker 1: I mean he said it, Zach said it that it
21:44
Speaker 1: wasn't necessarily scripted to be that way, but he made
21:49
Speaker 1: a play. And you've got to make a first down,
21:51
Speaker 1: you know, I mean make a first down. And in
21:54
Speaker 1: games like that, as a as a former player, you
21:57
Speaker 1: want to end the game if you can by taking
22:00
Speaker 1: a knee. I mean, you want to end the football
22:02
Speaker 1: game on your terms. So if that's a statement, I
22:06
Speaker 1: guess it's a statement. But I mean every every football team,
22:10
Speaker 1: every football player, every football coach wants to win football
22:13
Speaker 1: games and end football games on their terms. So the
22:18
Speaker 1: big news this week is your main prac going on
22:20
Speaker 1: the COVID list. I guess there's a chance he'll be
22:22
Speaker 1: back if he passes a couple of negative tests. But
22:25
Speaker 1: at this point, let's say he is not back. What
22:28
Speaker 1: do the Bengals do. Boy, that's a that's that's a
22:33
Speaker 1: tough one. You know. Um, you got a linebacker trying
22:37
Speaker 1: like hell to come back as quickly as he can.
22:39
Speaker 1: Logan Wilson working this tailoff in terms of you know,
22:43
Speaker 1: rehabilitating that shoulder and um. But as everybody knows, practice
22:49
Speaker 1: and the way practices are these days in the National
22:52
Speaker 1: Football League is one thing game condition. Taking a hit
22:58
Speaker 1: taken on a block, or separate any from a block,
23:01
Speaker 1: making a tackle. That's a lot different animal right there
23:05
Speaker 1: than what Logan Wilson is doing right now. I guess
23:08
Speaker 1: this week in practice will be a barometer, but he
23:11
Speaker 1: won't know until he actually plays whenever, that is, if
23:15
Speaker 1: that's this week or whatever it is, how that shoulder
23:17
Speaker 1: is going to hold up um. But you know, there's
23:21
Speaker 1: no way that the medical team is going to put
23:24
Speaker 1: him out there if they feel like he's not able
23:28
Speaker 1: to handle it physically. But you know, when you're talking
23:31
Speaker 1: about injuries like that, you just never know. So let's
23:35
Speaker 1: say that neither one of those guys is able to play,
23:38
Speaker 1: No Pratt, no Logan Wilson. Does that mean an Austro
23:43
Speaker 1: or a Clay Johnston or somebody like that winds up
23:45
Speaker 1: playing a lot or do you think it's more likely
23:47
Speaker 1: that they change the rules of the secondary and that
23:50
Speaker 1: John Bell becomes more of a linebacker in this team. Yeah?
23:54
Speaker 1: I mean the options, that's the thing is is that
23:57
Speaker 1: lou and Rumo, you know, has options. And honestly, this
24:02
Speaker 1: football team the Kansas City Chiefs or a throw first
24:05
Speaker 1: football team. So if you were to pick, you know,
24:08
Speaker 1: maybe an offense where you might be a little bit
24:11
Speaker 1: thin at the linebacker position in terms of defending, this
24:15
Speaker 1: might be, you know, one that you might choose because
24:20
Speaker 1: you do have a safety and Von Bell that's very
24:23
Speaker 1: physical and can play that hybrid type linebacker safety role
24:28
Speaker 1: that the Bengals would need. But yeah, there are options there.
24:32
Speaker 1: And like you said, you know Marcus Bailey, Clay Johnson,
24:35
Speaker 1: Austin coletro KeAndre Jones, They're all on the roster for
24:38
Speaker 1: a reason, you know, I mean, they belong in the
24:41
Speaker 1: National Football League. So I'm sure, I'm sure Louis and
24:44
Speaker 1: Rumo will be changing up his personnel packages, changing up
24:48
Speaker 1: how he lines them up, changing up his coverages. I
24:53
Speaker 1: think he's I don't I don't think he's going to
24:55
Speaker 1: show the same thing to a quarterback like Patrick Mahomes
24:59
Speaker 1: two time in a row very often. I think it's
25:01
Speaker 1: going to be a lot of different looks. Let's talk
25:04
Speaker 1: about Travis Kelsey. It's my understanding that he has purchased
25:08
Speaker 1: a luxury box for the Cotton Bowl, so he is
25:11
Speaker 1: going to watch his beloved Bearcats take on Alabama. Here's
25:14
Speaker 1: hoping Cincinnati wins and Travis really parties hard. Yeah, But
25:20
Speaker 1: in any case, when it comes to defending tight end.
25:23
Speaker 1: In Week eleven, Darren Waller had seven catches for one
25:26
Speaker 1: hundred and sixteen yards against Cincinnati. Three weeks ago, George
25:29
Speaker 1: Kennel thirteen catches for one hundred and fifty one yards
25:32
Speaker 1: against Cincinnati. Last week, Mark Andrews eight catches for one
25:35
Speaker 1: hundred and twenty five yards against Cincinnati. How do the
25:38
Speaker 1: Bengals or anybody in the NFL slow down Travis Kelsey? Yeah,
25:43
Speaker 1: And Travis Kelsey has, you know, haven't played the quarterback position,
25:48
Speaker 1: and that's what do you see out of high school
25:51
Speaker 1: as a quarterback. They have an understanding of how to
25:58
Speaker 1: read coverages better than anybody because they've been reading him
26:02
Speaker 1: on the other end. So the mental telepathy beyond the
26:07
Speaker 1: same page between Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelsey is unbelievable.
26:12
Speaker 1: When he runs routes, he'll make adjustments on the way
26:16
Speaker 1: he sees the coverage unfolding, and Mahomes is on the
26:19
Speaker 1: exact same page as him. You know, it's they'll they'll
26:22
Speaker 1: they'll change the actual route from from the snap of
26:28
Speaker 1: the football to when they're in the in the process
26:31
Speaker 1: of executing the play, and they'll both be right there
26:35
Speaker 1: with each other in terms of what they're seeing. They
26:37
Speaker 1: see it through the same eyes. So I think that's
26:39
Speaker 1: what makes Kelsey even tougher to defend, is that, you know,
26:44
Speaker 1: he has such a feel for his route running, finding
26:49
Speaker 1: holes in zone defenses. He's he's very slippery. Uh, He's
26:54
Speaker 1: he's a great run after catch guy. His mentality is, honestly,
27:00
Speaker 1: it is, every time I get my hands in the football,
27:03
Speaker 1: I'm gonna score. He has that kind of mindset. So
27:06
Speaker 1: it's gonna be it's gonna be a real, real challenge.
27:09
Speaker 1: And you talk about not given the same look to
27:12
Speaker 1: Patrick Mahomes, can't do it to Kelsey either. I think
27:16
Speaker 1: you gotta run a myriad of people. They're gonna be
27:20
Speaker 1: doubling him different ways, different try to give him different
27:24
Speaker 1: things to read. Make it tougher on him. Don't make
27:27
Speaker 1: it easier for Kelsey to come off the line of
27:29
Speaker 1: scrimmage and see exactly what he wants to see, and
27:33
Speaker 1: make it easier for him to see it in for
27:35
Speaker 1: a long day. If you do that lap early this year,
27:38
Speaker 1: it looked like the Chiefs might be vulnerable. They started
27:41
Speaker 1: the season three and four, They lost to Buffalo by eighteen,
27:45
Speaker 1: they lost to Tennessee by twenty four, and they haven't
27:48
Speaker 1: lost since. They've won eight in a row. When you
27:50
Speaker 1: watch this team, do you see an area at this
27:53
Speaker 1: point where you think they're vulnerable? Boy? You know, I really,
28:00
Speaker 1: I really don't, you know. I mean you look at
28:01
Speaker 1: offense defense. The offense is playing at a very high level.
28:06
Speaker 1: There's no question about the offensive line I think is
28:09
Speaker 1: really gel. They're playing very very well. Now. The protection
28:12
Speaker 1: that they gave Mahomes in the recent games here is unbelievable.
28:19
Speaker 1: I mean literally, you can count to five, six, seven seconds.
28:22
Speaker 1: Mahomes is in the pocket, you know, patting the football.
28:26
Speaker 1: It's unbelievable how that offensive line is geled defensively in
28:30
Speaker 1: the in their eight game winning streak, they're only giving
28:32
Speaker 1: up thirteen points a game. And then special teams, uh,
28:37
Speaker 1: you know, they're they're great in that area. They're number
28:39
Speaker 1: one in the NFL covering punts, fourth returning punts, sixth
28:44
Speaker 1: returning kickoffs, and fifth covering kickoffs. So this is this
28:48
Speaker 1: is a complete football team. Ban There is no doubt
28:51
Speaker 1: about it. But you know, I'm I'm basically thinking that
28:57
Speaker 1: my strength of my football team al those three wides.
29:01
Speaker 1: So I'm gonna try to do everything I possibly can
29:04
Speaker 1: to uh to accentuate my strength and and and you know,
29:09
Speaker 1: force force the Kansas City Chiefs and on the back
29:14
Speaker 1: end to play at a very very high level. And
29:16
Speaker 1: I'm not saying that they're of the weak spot by
29:19
Speaker 1: any stretch, but you know, I think, uh, I think
29:22
Speaker 1: that that that is going to be the interesting thing
29:26
Speaker 1: to me. And I do think that it's interesting both quarterbacks.
29:30
Speaker 1: They will create an extend and and they cause controlled
29:35
Speaker 1: chaos as a result of creating extending plays. I think
29:39
Speaker 1: the quarterback that handles the controlled chaos better and doesn't
29:43
Speaker 1: make it chaotic, you know, in other words, make plays
29:47
Speaker 1: and don't force it and make an error or make
29:50
Speaker 1: a mistake. It's going to be big in this football
29:52
Speaker 1: game as well. And that was the weakness of Mahomes.
29:56
Speaker 1: But he's he's settled down in that regard. He's not
29:59
Speaker 1: trying to hit the home run every single play. Now,
30:02
Speaker 1: he's taking what the defense has given him more. But
30:05
Speaker 1: in a tight football game, I think maybe you know,
30:09
Speaker 1: I gotta go and make a play. My teammate needs
30:11
Speaker 1: me to go make a play. Joe Burrow would probably
30:14
Speaker 1: be thinking along those same lines. Which quarterback is going
30:18
Speaker 1: to handle the controlled chaos better? It's going to be big.
30:20
Speaker 1: I think Andy Reid like you as a former offensive lineman.
30:25
Speaker 1: He didn't make it as far as the NFL like
30:27
Speaker 1: you did, but he played at a high college level
30:29
Speaker 1: at BYU and Jim McMahon, who's quarterback. He became an
30:32
Speaker 1: offensive line coach, rank among the players that he coached,
30:37
Speaker 1: then an offensive line coach in the NFL, and then
30:39
Speaker 1: obviously a great NFL head coach. What do you think
30:42
Speaker 1: stands out the most about Andy Reid and his teams?
30:47
Speaker 1: You know, it's interesting. The first time I met Andy
30:49
Speaker 1: Reid was I was doing Big twelve games and I
30:53
Speaker 1: was doing a Missouri game. Bob Stole was the head coach,
30:56
Speaker 1: and he had Andy Reid coming right out of by
31:00
Speaker 1: you um, and he didn't make it in the NFL,
31:03
Speaker 1: so he wanted to get into coaching, and he hired
31:06
Speaker 1: him as a graduate assistant type deal and got to
31:09
Speaker 1: meet him talk to him a little bits. Smart as
31:13
Speaker 1: a whip, I mean, very very smart guy. You know,
31:16
Speaker 1: not just football, but overall intelligence. And I think I
31:22
Speaker 1: think he's he's so creative with what he does, and
31:26
Speaker 1: he'll he'll, uh, he'll attack the sixth hole eight different ways,
31:30
Speaker 1: you know. I mean, he's he's one of those kind
31:33
Speaker 1: of guys. I think that he is always striving to
31:36
Speaker 1: be better, always trying to figure out another way to
31:41
Speaker 1: you know, to to for crack you know, to crack
31:45
Speaker 1: the code and and make life miserable for defensive coordinators.
31:50
Speaker 1: I think that he is as as good a play
31:54
Speaker 1: caller as there is in the history of the National
31:57
Speaker 1: Football League. I really believe that this guy, this guy
32:00
Speaker 1: is very, very sharp. All right, last thing, we are
32:04
Speaker 1: not speaking face to face this week. We are speaking
32:07
Speaker 1: via zoom. Since you are in Cincinnati and I am
32:10
Speaker 1: in Dallas for the cotton Ball. You have called the
32:12
Speaker 1: cotton Ball several times on National TV. What do you
32:16
Speaker 1: think about you See's chances against Alabama? You know, I
32:20
Speaker 1: think that it's all going to come down to how
32:23
Speaker 1: you see competes in the trenches. I have full confidence
32:27
Speaker 1: that you see can can stack up with anybody at
32:32
Speaker 1: the skill spots. And I'm talking offense and defense, you know,
32:36
Speaker 1: and I'm not saying that they're not good upfront offensively
32:41
Speaker 1: and defensively, but the SEC is really good as a
32:46
Speaker 1: conference in that area. I mean, they have multiple studs,
32:50
Speaker 1: you know, on their offensive and defensive lines. That's the
32:52
Speaker 1: one thing I noticed, you know, doing games college games,
32:56
Speaker 1: when the Big twelve would go play an SEC team,
32:58
Speaker 1: be like, wow they are They do have meat on
33:01
Speaker 1: the Hoofman, they got some big boys in their offensive
33:04
Speaker 1: and defensive lines. And if you see can compete, you know,
33:09
Speaker 1: I'm not saying dominate, I think that'd be tough to do.
33:13
Speaker 1: But if they can compete, they can hold their own
33:15
Speaker 1: in the trenches. They have a hell of a chance
33:17
Speaker 1: of winning the football game because if they if they
33:21
Speaker 1: if the offensive line allows you see, skill players to perform,
33:25
Speaker 1: and the defensive line doesn't make it like, you know,
33:29
Speaker 1: too easy for Alabama scale people. I think that's what
33:33
Speaker 1: it boils down to it. It's all about what's going
33:36
Speaker 1: on up front. That's what I will be looking for
33:40
Speaker 1: here in Dallas. And if you see wins and qualifies
33:43
Speaker 1: for the National Championship Game, I promise you I will
33:46
Speaker 1: let Travis Kelsey do the partying here in Dallas, and
33:49
Speaker 1: I will remain in tip top shape for our game
33:52
Speaker 1: on Sunday. There you go. I appreciate that, and I
33:56
Speaker 1: have full confidence in that. And I'll tell you what.
34:01
Speaker 1: I hope Kelsey's hung over like a big dog. That
34:04
Speaker 1: would be great. I hear Patrick Mahomes might be coming
34:08
Speaker 1: with him seriously, so hopefully that's the case. They have
34:11
Speaker 1: a good old time and they're a little bit slow
34:13
Speaker 1: to answer the bell on Sunday. Yeah, really, how about that?
34:17
Speaker 1: That would that would be awesome. Patrick Mahomes and Travis
34:21
Speaker 1: Kelsey in the luxury suite at the Cotton Bowl. That's
34:25
Speaker 1: big stuff, all right. Appreciate you time. See a Sunday
34:29
Speaker 1: all right, Dan, have a great call, Good luck and
34:32
Speaker 1: go Bearcats. Sunday's game kicks off at one o'clock and
34:36
Speaker 1: the Bengals are a five point underdog. That's going to
34:39
Speaker 1: do it for this episode of the Bengals Booth podcast
34:42
Speaker 1: brought to you by Ultimate Bengals, the free to play
34:45
Speaker 1: Next Level Fantasy Football game downloaded now from the App
34:48
Speaker 1: Store and Google Play. And if you haven't done so already,
34:52
Speaker 1: please subscribe to this podcast and if you have a minute,
34:54
Speaker 1: give it a rating or share a comment that helps
34:57
Speaker 1: more Bengals fans find us. I'm and Horde and thank
35:00
Speaker 1: you for listening to the Bengals Booth podcast. H