Speaker 1: The following takes place between six pm and seven pm.
Speaker 2: You want answers.
Speaker 3: I think I'm entitled. You what answer the truth?
Speaker 1: You can't handle the truth?
Speaker 3: Truth, the truth?
Speaker 1: All right, let's get to it. At six eight seven
Speaker 1: hundred WLW Welcome into RNL Carrier Sports Talk. I'm presented
Speaker 1: by Kelsey Chevrolet. I'm Lance McAlister. I'm excited just to
Speaker 1: say my name. Let's get into it. The news surrounding
Speaker 1: the Bengals over the last thirty hours. Joe Flacco, he
Speaker 1: arrived on the scene today for practice on the scene.
Speaker 1: It was my first guest who covers the Bengals. His
Speaker 1: publisher of Bengals Talk dot com. You should watch and
Speaker 1: listen to the Enter the Jungle and Locked on Bengals podcast.
Speaker 1: We welcome in James Rapine and all right, for those
Speaker 1: getting in their car on the way home tonight, let's
Speaker 1: provide the update. They are preparing to start him on Sunday.
Speaker 1: Is this is this realistic? Is it doable in your eyes?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 3: I mean more than prepared. I mean apparently Zach Taylor.
Speaker 3: The second sentence to Joe after they made the deal was, Hey,
Speaker 3: you're going to start to get ready and so it's cool.
Speaker 3: I was surprised that devolved that.
Speaker 2: I was happy he did, because that gives you.
Speaker 3: An idea of where the Bengals were at with this thing.
Speaker 3: They know the offense needs to be their strength. It
Speaker 3: was built around the offense. They're obviously invested a lot
Speaker 3: in the offense, even without Joe Burrow. When you think
Speaker 3: of the Bengals, you're thinking of those star receivers and
Speaker 3: you're thinking about getting them the ball. And so when
Speaker 3: you look at what they haven't been able to do,
Speaker 3: which is score touchdowns, how do you fix that? And
Speaker 3: I think they are buying into the idea of Joe
Speaker 3: Flacco eighteen years in the NFL, still has the arm talent,
Speaker 3: still has the intelligence and smarts and also the right
Speaker 3: mentality slash leadership to handle starting four days, five days,
Speaker 3: really after being driven down seventy one from Cleveland to
Speaker 3: play for the Bengals.
Speaker 1: And during that drive, if you could detail the what
Speaker 1: sounds like a playbook and game planning discussion as he
Speaker 1: was being driven to Cincinnati.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, it's really It's so cool, honestly to know
Speaker 3: the behind the scenes, because you know Joe Flacco, it
Speaker 3: was a normal Tuesday for him, he was probably getting
Speaker 3: a little rest, relaxing and kind of getting ready for
Speaker 3: the week in Cleveland. Finds out he's getting traded. And
Speaker 3: so the Bengals they have two drivers, one for Joe
Speaker 3: and his wife and the other one for all of
Speaker 3: Joe's belongings and all the essentials. And so you have
Speaker 3: two cars coming down seventy one, and as Zach Taylor
Speaker 3: calls Joe, they go over the playbooks some and start
Speaker 3: to dissect things a little bit and get things put
Speaker 3: in place so they can and so they could hit
Speaker 3: the ground running today. And I think that's the important
Speaker 3: thing is you've got to maximize your practice time. You know,
Speaker 3: they have so many practices, and so for them to
Speaker 3: be able to do that and use that time, I
Speaker 3: do think that that could be valuable. Will it end
Speaker 3: up being successful, We'll see, But I do think that
Speaker 3: every minuteccounts.
Speaker 1: You were out in front of the idea of hey,
Speaker 1: kick the tires, look around, look at look at upgrades
Speaker 1: at quarterback. You were out in front of this weeks ago.
Speaker 1: What was your reaction the moment the news hit.
Speaker 3: I'm I was happy they did something, and I didn't
Speaker 3: really wrap my head around the Joe Flacco move itself
Speaker 3: because of the division part of it, and because of
Speaker 3: Mike Brown and the history with the Browns, like they've
Speaker 3: never traded with the Browns, you know, and it's a
Speaker 3: division rival, and it was just naturally you look at
Speaker 3: it fifty thousand foot view and it it makes sense.
Speaker 2: From what Joe things, what they need.
Speaker 3: But yeah, my first reaction was happy that they did something.
Speaker 3: I thought this was an obvious thing that they needed
Speaker 3: to address, and you're right, a couple of weeks ago
Speaker 3: would have been the time. But when I hear who
Speaker 3: they were looking at, I'm glad they waited because Sam
Speaker 3: Howe wasn't going to help you, you know, Drew Locke
Speaker 3: wasn't going to help you. I'm not sure if Joe
Speaker 3: Flacco is going to help them, but I think he's
Speaker 3: better than those guys. And so maybe it wasn't Jameis
Speaker 3: Winston like people wanted, or it wasn't Russell Wilson, but
Speaker 3: I do think Joe Flacco can give you a lot
Speaker 3: of those same elements. Plus I do think he's going
Speaker 3: to be a better leader than say Russell Wilson.
Speaker 2: James.
Speaker 1: What can the offense look like, now would Joe Flacco,
Speaker 1: what can he help them do?
Speaker 2: One?
Speaker 3: If Zac made this very clear, I was almost surprised
Speaker 3: at how clear it was he could pass the football,
Speaker 3: which it sounds ridiculous. Oh the quarterback passed the football
Speaker 3: dog James, Well, they haven't been.
Speaker 2: Able to pass it.
Speaker 3: When you have Jamar Chas and t Higgins, it really
Speaker 3: shouldn't matter who's on the other side. You should be
Speaker 3: able to throw the ball around the field of it
Speaker 3: make some big plays. And quite frankly, I know people
Speaker 3: are going to bring up the offensive line, but the
Speaker 3: past couple of games, even in Denver, when Jake Browning
Speaker 3: didn't turn the ball over, he left so many plays
Speaker 3: on the field and the offensive line gave them a shot.
Speaker 3: I thought, I'm not saying they're perfect. I'm not saying
Speaker 3: they're flawless. They're not plenty that they need to clean up,
Speaker 3: but you need to take advantage of the plays that
Speaker 3: are there. And so what can this offense look like? Well,
Speaker 3: I do think they're going to be able to push
Speaker 3: the ball downfield in a way that they haven't in
Speaker 3: the past. Obviously, you have to give Flacker some time
Speaker 3: to do that. At the same time, his arm talent
Speaker 3: is extremely unique. This isn't even Joe Burrow arm strength.
Speaker 3: This is on another level. There aren't many guys that
Speaker 3: can spin it like Joe Flacco. So from that element,
Speaker 3: I think you could see the downfield game worked in
Speaker 3: their favor with the Jamar Chase and Ti Higgins and
Speaker 3: then He's was really good. Flacco was at targeting the
Speaker 3: tight ends, targeting the running back. So I think you're
Speaker 3: gonna see plenty of Chase Brown, Mike Kasiki, and Noah
Speaker 3: Fan as well.
Speaker 1: James, what happened to Jake Browning?
Speaker 2: Oh my goodness, you know, I.
Speaker 3: Thought about this last night. I was like, you know,
Speaker 3: in training camp, the Bengals thought they had arguably the
Speaker 3: best quarterback room in the NFL, because you have a
Speaker 3: guy in Joe Burrow who you think is the best
Speaker 3: on the planet if you're the Bengals, and then Jake
Speaker 3: Browning arguably the best backup in the league in their minds,
Speaker 3: I'm sure, and when you consider the contract of what
Speaker 3: he's making versus some of the other backups, I'm sure
Speaker 3: they considered him the best backup in the league. And
Speaker 3: so for him to unravel the way he did, especially
Speaker 3: because he played pretty well when he came in spot
Speaker 3: duty for Joe when Joe got hurt and leads them
Speaker 3: back against Jacksonville like boiler Alert. Joe Flacco is going
Speaker 3: to throw picks, but he's also going to produce big plays.
Speaker 3: And the Bengals could have lived with the interceptions is
Speaker 3: if it was also coming with explosive plays. In the
Speaker 3: explosive plays went away, and I really I don't know
Speaker 3: where when.
Speaker 2: I don't know why.
Speaker 3: He wasn't seeing it better, or maybe maybe it's this lance.
Speaker 3: Maybe he just caught lightning in a bottle a couple
Speaker 3: of years ago and that's what that was.
Speaker 2: And in that in who he is is who he.
Speaker 3: Is, which is an undrafted quarterback that was on practice
Speaker 3: squad for the majority of his career and he's limited physically.
Speaker 3: I don't know, but I do feel feel for him
Speaker 3: because I think the Bengals viewed him as one of
Speaker 3: the top backups in the league and now he's back
Speaker 3: up Joe Flacco. Five days after Flacco gets traded.
Speaker 1: For James, I said Sunday after the loss, this this
Speaker 1: situation feels worse than the reality from the standpoint of
Speaker 1: they're still in the AFC North Race. There's still right now.
Speaker 1: They're the eighth seed the pecking order of the AFC.
Speaker 1: It's not like they're out of this.
Speaker 3: Thing, I know, and I think that was the importance
Speaker 3: of doing what they did by acquiring a quarterback, showing hey,
Speaker 3: we know, we know we have to be better. We're
Speaker 3: going to try to be better. We'll take this step
Speaker 3: and whether or not it works, we'll see. But things
Speaker 3: were starting. It hadn't fully gotten there yet, but one
Speaker 3: more a week and this might have erupted like it
Speaker 3: was starting to, you know, the finger pointing could have
Speaker 3: could have quickly become a thing in the locker room,
Speaker 3: could have started to break a bit. And so you
Speaker 3: and I'm not saying that's all bage's fault, because it's not.
Speaker 3: But when you lose and you're getting your butt kicked
Speaker 3: and you're being outscored one thirteen to thirty seven, and
Speaker 3: all four of those touchdowns, by the way, were garbage
Speaker 3: time touchdowns, it's it's tough sletting. So yeah, it's they
Speaker 3: are in it and in they view it that way
Speaker 3: and they should it that way because the team at
Speaker 3: the head of them in the division, the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Speaker 2: They play them twice starting next week. They play them
Speaker 2: twice in a month. You know, So even if you lose.
Speaker 3: A lambo, if you had no business twice against the
Speaker 3: Steelers in a month span with Joe Flacco, You're probably
Speaker 3: going to be in the asc North.
Speaker 1: Nex you mentioned running backs and tight ends and the
Speaker 1: impact Joe Flacco could have. I look at a guy
Speaker 1: in terms of his targets, in terms of his catch
Speaker 1: right that is I think do for a bounce?
Speaker 3: Is T Higgins? Yeah, No, I agree with you, And
Speaker 3: I think that is the one that I point to.
Speaker 2: Why would you make a move? Why would you do it? Well?
Speaker 3: T Higgins right now?
Speaker 2: And I don't believe he's this to be clear, He's
Speaker 2: just a guy. Yeah, And.
Speaker 3: There's no planet, there's no quarterback. There's no scenario where
Speaker 3: T Higgins in this offense without Joe Burrow can be
Speaker 3: just a guy. Because they're built around he, Jamar Chase Brown,
Speaker 3: their skill talent, and they need a quarterback that is
Speaker 3: going to get as much out of them as they can,
Speaker 3: especially without Joe. And so yeah, I agree with you.
Speaker 3: I think T Higgins unlocking him as such a huge
Speaker 3: part of what they need to do, and it's it's
Speaker 3: got to start. Honestly, it's got to start. Winn, lose,
Speaker 3: a draw, it doesn't matter. Sunday a Lambeau like t
Speaker 3: Higgins should be a problem and we should be talking
Speaker 3: about t Higgins making big plays even if they don't
Speaker 3: win the game.
Speaker 1: Last question for you always appreciate your time. Let me
Speaker 1: flip to the other side of the ball. Do you
Speaker 1: see encouraging signs about this defense?
Speaker 3: The defense is so tough to judge because of how
Speaker 3: weird these games have been.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean they've.
Speaker 3: Been putting in really tough spots. I think I see
Speaker 3: some encouraging signs for sure.
Speaker 2: Is it real or not?
Speaker 3: I have no idea, And that's another element to this.
Speaker 3: And you just you've got to be able to play
Speaker 3: a normal game where you're not looking up in wondering
Speaker 3: what the heck just happened. I mean, Minnesota game is
Speaker 3: such an outlier. And then I just thought Jake was
Speaker 3: fled out bad against Denver and that that game was
Speaker 3: for the taking. And I'll be honest with you. At
Speaker 3: the Land so we spent all off season talking about
Speaker 3: how you know, if they're just mid mid middle of
Speaker 3: the pack.
Speaker 2: On defense, they're gonna be fine.
Speaker 3: I think that's true. I think they would have been
Speaker 3: middle of the pack on defense. I think it would
Speaker 3: have came together. I would bet a significant amount of
Speaker 3: coin that if Joe Burrow hadn't gotten hurt, their four
Speaker 3: and one right now, and maybe that loss was in Minnesota,
Speaker 3: maybe it's a Denver I don't think so. I think
Speaker 3: they would have won in Denver. Maybe it's last week
Speaker 3: against the Lions, but I think they'd be four and one,
Speaker 3: and so to not be in that spot, you'd think, oh, well,
Speaker 3: it's the defense, and it's not. The offense has been
Speaker 3: the worst in the NFL, and and that has to
Speaker 3: change if there's any chance of turning this season around.
Speaker 2: This week at LAMBA, all.
Speaker 1: Right, you were all over all these happen with excellent content.
Speaker 1: Tell listeners how they can read, watch, listen, and follow.
Speaker 3: There's a ton right now at Bengals Talk dot Com.
Speaker 3: From the Drive down seventy one or the ride down
Speaker 3: for Joe down seventy one, Zach's decision, Jake Browning being upset,
Speaker 3: anything and everything in between, a Bengals Talk dot Com,
Speaker 3: a Lock on Bengals podcast, and then of course locker
Speaker 3: room interviews it more at Cincinnati Bengals Talk on YouTube.
Speaker 1: I know things have been turned upside down over the
Speaker 1: last thirty hours. I really appreciate you making time tonight.
Speaker 2: Absolutely thanks for having me Las.
Speaker 1: Thanks James.
Speaker 2: There you go.
Speaker 1: James Arpeene check it in talking to the Bengals situation
Speaker 1: with Joe Flacco. More on that in this hour, get
Speaker 1: to some headlines. By seven o'clock hour has Red's Conversation
Speaker 1: and more. Zarnel Carrier Sports Talk presented by Kelsey Chevalie
Speaker 1: seven hundred WW