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Speaker 1: Is Tony Pike Sincy three sixty about Cincinnati from Cincinnati,

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Speaker 1: sponsored in Park by Cincy Shirts. Cincy Shirts, All Cincy,

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Speaker 1: all Day. This is ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station.

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Speaker 2: Welcome back, Thanks again for listening. It's our number two

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Speaker 2: and thanks to Cincy Shirts. Check about Cincy Shirts dot

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Speaker 2: for your spot at Cincy Shirts. We have your talkbacks

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Speaker 2: coming up in just a few moments. Leave your talk

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Speaker 2: back and let us know what your thought is around

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Speaker 2: Joe Burrow or Ellie Daily Cruz or anything else we've

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Speaker 2: talked about today. But for right now, it's Thursday. It's

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Speaker 2: one o'clock. That means our guy John Sheeran standing by

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Speaker 2: to join us from A to Z Sports covering the

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Speaker 2: Cincinnati Bengals. What's going on?

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Speaker 3: John? Hey, guys, I haven't seen the sun this week

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Speaker 3: so far, but I guess Joe Burrow's going to provide

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Speaker 3: that on Sunday. Maybe would be the closest thing.

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Speaker 2: Is this the most interesting three and seventeen we've had

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Speaker 2: in the NFL in quite some time?

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Speaker 4: I would probably say that you never really know what

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Speaker 4: you're gonna get on Sundays, but some things you kind

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Speaker 4: of do know what you're gonna get. Maybe a lot

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Speaker 4: of mistackles, maybe a lot of not knowing how to win,

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Speaker 4: not a lot of complimentary football.

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Speaker 3: Some things kind of remain the same, you know.

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Speaker 2: And yet with all of that, it feels like a

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Speaker 2: boxing match right now where they've been knocked out or

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Speaker 2: seemingly almost knocked out multiple times and they survived the round.

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Speaker 2: I thought last week was the final blow, and then

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Speaker 2: this week happens, and Joe Burrow's back, and Joe Burrow

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Speaker 2: was a full participant yesterday, and everything that I'm leading

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Speaker 2: to see is telling me that Joe Burrow might actually

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Speaker 2: even play on Sunday. The big question is John should

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Speaker 2: he play on Sunday? What are your overall thoughts on

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Speaker 2: Joe Burrow?

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Speaker 4: I think this is one of the very few things

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Speaker 4: where I just have no interest in speculating at all

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Speaker 4: into something that I just don't know about. I think

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Speaker 4: this whole thing has been either correctly reported or just

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Speaker 4: there's just not been any actual concrete information on anyone.

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Speaker 3: Outside of pay Course Stadium.

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Speaker 5: Nos.

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Speaker 4: This is supposed to be a three month at minimum

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Speaker 4: recovery for a very serious injury, that very painful injury,

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Speaker 4: by the way, And somehow, after fifty two days after

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Speaker 4: he had surgery, he's back in practice. So obviously the

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Speaker 4: timeline was accelerated or it was just a lot quicker

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Speaker 4: than anyone on the outside thought. So I went from

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Speaker 4: mid December to Thanksgiving to a week after Thanksgiving, two

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Speaker 4: a week before Thanksgiving. It's been jumping all over the place,

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Speaker 4: and I just I have no idea how healthy he is.

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Speaker 3: And I think the safest thing to assume is.

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Speaker 4: That if he's medically clear to play, and he's able

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Speaker 4: to practice fully, and he's the best quarterback that they

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Speaker 4: have on the roster, especially with Joe Flaco excuse me,

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Speaker 4: dealing with an ac joint spring, then he might as

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Speaker 4: well play. And if that's the case, and that's the case,

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Speaker 4: and if he doesn't play, then if to assume that

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Speaker 4: he's just not ready to play, I don't think I

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Speaker 4: can go any further than that without recklessly speculating on

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Speaker 4: something that frankly, again, like we just don't know. Every

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Speaker 4: injury is different, every recovery. He's different, And clearly this

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Speaker 4: has been an injury that has either been misreported on

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Speaker 4: or this we just do not know. So I think

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Speaker 4: the safest thing to assume is that if he does play,

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Speaker 4: then he's able to play, and he's the best option

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Speaker 4: that they got and for a team that's still technically

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Speaker 4: technically in the playoff race, that's just what they got

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Speaker 4: to do.

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Speaker 2: So if he does play, you're just ready to talk

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Speaker 2: about really reeling off seven in a row.

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Speaker 3: Then yeah, exactly, exactly, Yeah, he's.

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Speaker 2: Gonna Is he gonna help the Bengals defense adjust schematically

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Speaker 2: and help them tackle?

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Speaker 3: I doubt it, you know, I doubt it.

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Speaker 4: I think with this matchup, specifically, a quarterback in Drake

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Speaker 4: May that can throw over the yard really all three

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Speaker 4: levels of the field. He's been incredibly accurate in that

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Speaker 4: offense that Josh mcdannals has always run, knows how the

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Speaker 4: scheme guy's open in the underneath areas of the field.

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Speaker 4: So this is just it should be another week in

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Speaker 4: which the Bengals should be prepared to score thirty. And

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Speaker 4: I think that's an interesting variable coming off of this

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Speaker 4: past week, when you know, I don't know if if TJ.

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Speaker 4: Watts hit on Joe Flacco impacted his shoulder. I don't

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Speaker 4: know if it was the weather that he was not

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Speaker 4: able to put to drive the ball through all that win,

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Speaker 4: but wasn't where it needed to be for the rest

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Speaker 4: of the season because you just have to assume that

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Speaker 4: the defense is going to continue giving.

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Speaker 3: Up thirty points every week.

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Speaker 4: So I do think that there is some value in

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Speaker 4: Joe Flacco potentially coming back down to Earth. Whether that's injury,

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Speaker 4: whether the fact that he's forty or not, it doesn't

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Speaker 4: really matter. Like this offense still needs to be reliable

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Speaker 4: every single week, no matter of the matchups. So if

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Speaker 4: you do get better production out of a again, if

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Speaker 4: he's healthy, a healthy Joe Burrow with you know, reunited

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Speaker 4: with his weapons and everything like that, that should allow

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Speaker 4: them to remain at least competitive in these games. And yeah,

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Speaker 4: like obviously, you know, whoever the quarterback is doesn't really

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Speaker 4: impact the defense. But if you still have to play

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Speaker 4: with this defense and you need the best quarterback out

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Speaker 4: there possible.

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Speaker 2: You mentioned getting back with his weapons, they're obviously going

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Speaker 2: to be without Jamar Chase. Does that at all go

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Speaker 2: into this decision making in your opinion that you are shorthanded,

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Speaker 2: it's going to make it a little easier on the

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Speaker 2: New England defense to defend the Cincinnati Bengals. When you

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Speaker 2: take arguably the best receiver in football away from an offense,

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Speaker 2: does that factor in at all you in a game

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Speaker 2: plan or in Joe Burrow getting back out there.

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Speaker 3: Possibly? Possibly.

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Speaker 4: I think they ran into a lot of things that

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Speaker 4: didn't expect last week against the Steelers and how they

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Speaker 4: defended Jamar Chase, and I.

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Speaker 3: Think that I also led into a lot of their issues.

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Speaker 4: Joe is obviously played without Jamar within this offense. I

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Speaker 4: remember the you know, the four game stretch when Chase

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Speaker 4: had the hip injury back in twenty twenty two. Teagans

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Speaker 4: averaged just under one hundred receiving yards a game that

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Speaker 4: that season, and during that stretch, Trent Irwin was obviously

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Speaker 4: a guy that's stepped up big, and maybe that's gonna

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Speaker 4: be Mitchell Tinsley. Now, obviously andre Yo Sabas is going

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Speaker 4: to have more of a mixpended role like this offense

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Speaker 4: still needs, you know, multiple quality receivers outside of the

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Speaker 4: you know, the true X on the field at the time,

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Speaker 4: and that is going to be Tigue. And so Burrow

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Speaker 4: does have that experience and whereas Flacco doesn't. Flaco's really

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Speaker 4: relied on spamming targets to Jamar Chase. He's every fourteen

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Speaker 4: a game with Laco in there, So how they redistribute

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Speaker 4: that is going to be interesting. I would hope that

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Speaker 4: Mike Seki's healthy enough to play, and if he does,

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Speaker 4: like that's just another big body receiver that he can

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Speaker 4: have against the defense you know, like is pretty solid

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Speaker 4: in all three phases or all three levels of that defense.

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Speaker 4: So yeah, I think there is value in Burrow being

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Speaker 4: back out there knowing what it's, knowing how to redistrib

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Speaker 4: to the ball when the true gravitational force of Jamar

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Speaker 4: Chason that out there and does make.

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Speaker 3: It harder for the quarterback.

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Speaker 5: You mentioned the Patriots defense, I mean they're the best

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Speaker 5: run defense in the NFL as far as yards per game,

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Speaker 5: which I'm sure plays a role in the game plan

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Speaker 5: with or without Joe Burrow when it comes to passing

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Speaker 5: it against them. How do you expect that rotation to

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Speaker 5: work with the wide receivers. Do you think it's gonna

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Speaker 5: be Mitch Tinsley time. Do you think Charlie Jones gets involved?

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Speaker 5: And where does this put Jermaine Burton, everybody's favorite player.

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Speaker 4: I do think that Burton should be excited to actually

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Speaker 4: maybe dress.

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Speaker 3: For once this time. I would highly doubt that he has.

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Speaker 4: Any sort of trust with the coaching staff that it's

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Speaker 4: actually plays significant snaps, But as someone who's going to

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Speaker 4: be in uniform and can come onto the field and

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Speaker 4: maybe very specific situations, that could be a case in

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Speaker 4: which Burton does see the field.

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Speaker 3: But you have to think it's Tinsley right.

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Speaker 4: He's fourth on the death chart because of how much

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Speaker 4: trust that he's earned over the offseason and then the

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Speaker 4: very few opportunities that he's had in actual games. He

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Speaker 4: continues to show like it wasn't just you know, the

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Speaker 4: preseason game against the Commanders which had two touchdowns, that

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Speaker 4: wasn't just a miage. He knows how to track, you know,

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Speaker 4: deep passes, and he knows how to bring it in

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Speaker 4: and knows how.

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Speaker 3: To work against quarterbacks like that. So I think it's.

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Speaker 4: Been a case where you don't want to take Chase

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Speaker 4: and Higgins off the field and put Mitchell Tintley on

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Speaker 4: the boundary, which is where he's had the majority of

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Speaker 4: the success.

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Speaker 3: Success.

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Speaker 4: But now that you have one of those guys who

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Speaker 4: has to sit out this game. That's the perfect opportunity

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Speaker 4: for Tinsley to fill in. Keep Andre Josavash in a

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Speaker 4: role in which he's been practicing now throughout the last

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Speaker 4: couple of years.

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Speaker 3: They don't really change what you do with him, but.

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Speaker 4: You insert Tindsley either into the X or into the flanker,

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Speaker 4: you know, whatever, however you want to adjust with t Higgins,

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Speaker 4: and then you kind of roll with that trio and

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Speaker 4: then Charlie Jones can step in if needed, and then

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Speaker 4: Burton is going to be maybe your emergency backup off

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Speaker 4: the bench.

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Speaker 3: That's how I would expect it.

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Speaker 4: I would be very surprised if Burdon just somehow assended

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Speaker 4: over Tinsley, though, because I think Tinsley has very much

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Speaker 4: earned this opportunity.

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Speaker 2: Do you take anything positive coming out of the buy

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Speaker 2: From what we saw from the defense. They gave up

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Speaker 2: the opening drive touchdown. They allowed Mason Rudolph to essentially

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Speaker 2: do whatever he wanted, especially on third and eleven multiple

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Speaker 2: times third and I believe sixteen. They only went one

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Speaker 2: third down and not converting in the whole second half.

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Speaker 2: But there are some out there that say two defensive

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Speaker 2: touchdowns the defense held Pittsburgh to twenty. Are there positives

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Speaker 2: at all that you took away from the defensive performance

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Speaker 2: in Pittsburgh.

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Speaker 4: I think there was positives in the adjustments that they

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Speaker 4: sought to make, and they rolling out with more of

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Speaker 4: an odd front, which impacted of the roles.

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Speaker 3: For the defensive end.

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Speaker 4: Miles Murphy had definitely his best game of his career,

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Speaker 4: and I think that was probably attributed to some of

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Speaker 4: the differences in what they asked him to do. He

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Speaker 4: saw more planned McKinley Jackson, who was kind of more

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Speaker 4: in the heads of nose role. I think be Ja

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Speaker 4: Hill had a previous game along with Joseph Side, so

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Speaker 4: he saw some promise from the front four of the

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Speaker 4: front five, if you will, in this case, he saw

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Speaker 4: more pressure against the definent Steelers offense line, So that

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Speaker 4: was at least someone.

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Speaker 3: Promising to see. But I think at the end of

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Speaker 3: the day, like if.

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Speaker 4: If you're if your back seven has trouble in space,

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Speaker 4: not only with pursued angles, but wrapping up and just

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Speaker 4: making you know, isolated tackles in space, like that's not

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Speaker 4: that's not necessarily something that you can just fix on

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Speaker 4: the fly.

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Speaker 3: And the middle season.

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Speaker 4: Outside of personnel changes, and they just haven't really been

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Speaker 4: any personnel changes, right, there's still guys on the bench

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Speaker 4: right now who probably could do a little bit better

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Speaker 4: job than the likes of Geno Stone and Barck Carter

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Speaker 4: and things like that, things of that nature.

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Speaker 3: Right. So there's just so many, so much that you can.

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Speaker 4: Do schematically to fixed problems that you're just gonna have

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Speaker 4: issues with no matter who you play. And I think

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Speaker 4: that was just that's just something that they're gonna have

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Speaker 4: to live with if they want to keep with this

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Speaker 4: group of guys. So it was promising to see the

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Speaker 4: schematic changes up front, but when they weren't able to

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Speaker 4: rally to the ball at the line of screamage, when

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Speaker 4: when you had those opportunities in space, like, those problems

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Speaker 4: are just going to persist. And that's I wasn't necessarily

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Speaker 4: surprised about that. That's just going to be what the

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Speaker 4: defense is.

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Speaker 5: Why do you think they've been so hesitant to move

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Speaker 5: off of Geno Stone? And if Dejon Anthony is able

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Speaker 5: to go, do you expect to see him on Sunday?

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Speaker 4: You'd have to assume the leash is just as short

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Speaker 4: as possible, right, And I like I don't think it

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Speaker 4: was the coach's decision obviously to cut his pay in

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Speaker 4: the off season.

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Speaker 3: I think that was more of a personnel thing in

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Speaker 3: regards to this.

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Speaker 4: Guy's as not worth as much money as we're paying him,

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Speaker 4: so we're gonna give him a pay cut because he

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Speaker 4: has to accept that, And that's just how the personnel.

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Speaker 3: Department saw him. But for whatever reason, the coaching staff.

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Speaker 4: Continues to see him as a guy that needs to

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Speaker 4: be out there for one hundred percent of snaps, and

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Speaker 4: that's just it just doesn't seem like it's it's worth

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Speaker 4: at this point to not see what Tyson Anderson or

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Speaker 4: what dies On Anthony can do in that role instead,

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Speaker 4: even if it's on a rotational basis, which we've seen

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Speaker 4: over the past handful of years, ever since Jesse Bates left,

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Speaker 4: like Nick Scott and Jordan Battle rotated quite often like he.

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Speaker 3: Had von Belle rotated in now last year.

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Speaker 4: Right, I don't know how Gino Stone is any better

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Speaker 4: or worse than some of the unfortunate liabilities that we've

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Speaker 4: had at that position in the past couple of years.

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Speaker 4: And the fact that Tyson Anderson is now interned a

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Speaker 4: contract year and you still have no idea what he

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Speaker 4: can do on defense.

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Speaker 3: I don't know if he's just not.

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Speaker 4: As good in practice, they just don't trust him, whatever

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Speaker 4: the case may be. It's just embarrassing scene out there,

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Speaker 4: just completely with on tackles and allowing to all these

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Speaker 4: explosive plays. Like at some point something has to change

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Speaker 4: with him or with the people making these decisions.

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Speaker 2: John, I'm fascinated. Weekend and week out, we hear Zach

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Speaker 2: Taylor at the podium, and normally he's pretty close to

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Speaker 2: the vest when it comes to discussing injuries or player availability,

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Speaker 2: and yet for back to back weeks when asked about

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Speaker 2: Trey Hendrickson, it's been very abbreviating to the point that

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Speaker 2: he's doubtful. Normally, this is something I feel like we

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Speaker 2: hear from Zach Taylor of well, we're going to give

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Speaker 2: it a go this week and let the week play

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Speaker 2: out and we'll make a decision. He's been very to

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Speaker 2: the point, very adamant. Both mondays Trey Hendrickson is doubtful

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Speaker 2: in the grand scheme of things. Do you think we

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Speaker 2: see Trey Hendrickson again this year or not?

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Speaker 4: I think it's right up there with Burrow and the

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Speaker 4: fact that we just don't know. Obviously, with Hendrickson in

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Speaker 4: his contract situation, that's a very that he kind of

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Speaker 4: can go down that rabbit hole and say, does he

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Speaker 4: is he really pushing to play right now? Is he

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Speaker 4: just trying to get right And that's just what's been

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Speaker 4: communicated to Zach and the training staff and how he's

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Speaker 4: just not quite there and it's just it's just too

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Speaker 4: early to make any sort of of a well see

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Speaker 4: type of statement. It was the fact that he suffered

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Speaker 4: this injury in week six and he was able to

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Speaker 4: play in week eight obviously wasn't gonna play a week

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Speaker 4: seven because it was just a hndful of days rest

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Speaker 4: on Thursday football. So the reaggravation or the aggravation of

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Speaker 4: set injury has been apparently worse than the actual injury before,

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Speaker 4: or he just doesn't feel like he can play through

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Speaker 4: because of how quickly he was re injured again.

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Speaker 3: That could be something that plays into it.

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Speaker 4: And how he just wants to be fully right before

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Speaker 4: he goes back out there. But you know, if there's

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Speaker 4: only seven games left and if we're at a point

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Speaker 4: where it's not even remotely close to him being playing

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Speaker 4: when he's making these announcements on Monday, he does start

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Speaker 4: to feel like maybe that's just the case of he's

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Speaker 4: just trying to play as safe as possible and maybe

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Speaker 4: if they're maybe they do somehow make the playoffs, Like

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Speaker 4: maybe he could be able for the postseason at that point,

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Speaker 4: but obviously that's a long way away, as a fairy

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Speaker 4: tale way if they actually do make the playoffs of

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Speaker 4: this race. So yeah, I think there's something to be

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Speaker 4: said about where he is with his contract and his

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Speaker 4: future and the fact that he's dealing with injury that

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Speaker 4: unfortunately he reinjured and apparently is not worse than what

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Speaker 4: it was.

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Speaker 3: In the beginning.

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Speaker 2: It's hard to discuss it against a team who's nine

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Speaker 2: and two and has been on a tear since a

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Speaker 2: loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. But during their winning streak

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Speaker 2: wins against the Panthers, Saints, Titans, Browns, Falcons, and the Jets,

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Speaker 2: they have impressive wins against Tampa and Buffalo, both on

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Speaker 2: the road. Is there a pass Is there an avenue

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Speaker 2: on how they could beat and maybe knock off this

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Speaker 2: Patriots team, And if so, how do you believe that

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Speaker 2: can happen?

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Speaker 3: The offense just has to produce. Like at the end

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Speaker 3: of the day, I don't expect.

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Speaker 4: Drake May to walk in here and not be the

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Speaker 4: quarterback that he's been this entire season. I think it's

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Speaker 4: been incredibly impressive, the accuracy and the deep ball ability

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Speaker 4: that he's had with his receivers, with Stefan Diggs, with

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Speaker 4: Kaishawn Boudi, with Connor Henry, like, all those guys are producing.

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Speaker 3: They're all on the same page, and it's just a

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Speaker 3: very cohesive offense.

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Speaker 4: And now it's a run game with trade Von Henderson

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Speaker 4: that is really starting to explode. So I just have

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Speaker 4: to assume that the Bengals are going to allow points

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Speaker 4: in this game and that.

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Speaker 3: The Bengals need to respond. You could have some.

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Speaker 4: Very flutey turnovers here and there that can kind of

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Speaker 4: even the game a little bit out, But after last

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Speaker 4: week in which they only scored twelve points, like it

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Speaker 4: just has to be better than that. They're just not capable.

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Speaker 4: I don't think they're capable of beating the Patriots and

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Speaker 4: the kind of an ugly, low scoring type of situation,

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Speaker 4: and I don't think that's what the Bengals defense is

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Speaker 4: capable of doing against an offense that has a quarterback

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Speaker 4: playing at elite level right now. So the path is

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Speaker 4: to win another high scoring shootout game with some flute turnovers.

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Speaker 4: So I think that's the only way that they can

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Speaker 4: beat any of these good teams on the schedule.

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Speaker 2: With a defense that is currently the worst scoring defense

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Speaker 2: of any team in the NFL in the last fifty years,

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Speaker 2: you would have to expect it's got to be how

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Speaker 2: the offense goes. It's certainly a busy time around the

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Speaker 2: Cincinnati Bengals, never a dull moment. It's the easiest way

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Speaker 2: to follow along with everything you got going on. As

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Speaker 2: your coverage of the Bengals continues.

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Speaker 4: We are locked and loaded. We are firing on all cylinders.

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Speaker 4: On agenc sports dot com, back Slash, Cincinnati, az Sports Cincinnati,

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Speaker 4: on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, wherever you get your short from content.

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Speaker 4: We are there every single day keeping you up to date.

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Speaker 4: We'll see a Burrow actually plays in there own.

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Speaker 2: Let's go, John, appreciate you man. We'll talk again next week.

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Speaker 2: Have a good weekend.

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Speaker 3: Thanks fellas.

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Speaker 2: There he is, John Sharon a Toza Sports covering the

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Speaker 2: Cincinnati Bengals. Your talkbacks come up next. ESBN fifteen thirty

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Speaker 2: Cincinnati sports station,