WEBVTT - Bengals Pep Rally -- 11/14/25 0:00:00.520 --> 0:00:00.720 Love. 0:00:00.760 --> 0:00:04.720 This is Bengals pep Rally presented by Just Beared Chicken 0:00:04.920 --> 0:00:08.840 on the Bengals Radio network. Paycore paycor is proud to 0:00:08.840 --> 0:00:13.119 be the official hr software provider of the Cincinnati Bengals. 0:00:13.400 --> 0:00:17.640 Kettering Health best Care for the Best Fans, Carry Health, 0:00:17.800 --> 0:00:23.040 official healthcare provider of the Cincinnati Bengals. This is ESPN 0:00:23.280 --> 0:00:27.440 fifteen thirty, the official home of the Cincinnati Bengals. 0:00:28.160 --> 0:00:31.520 It is a Friday afternoon in Cincinnati, and a big 0:00:31.600 --> 0:00:35.479 football weekend is about to begin. Huge high school games 0:00:35.520 --> 0:00:39.120 coming up tonight, the bear Cats against the Arizona Wildcats 0:00:39.120 --> 0:00:41.760 in an important Big twelve game coming up tomorrow at noon, 0:00:42.040 --> 0:00:43.720 and of course the game we are going to get 0:00:43.720 --> 0:00:46.400 you set for over the next three hours, the Bengals 0:00:46.440 --> 0:00:49.400 against the Pittsburgh Steelers coming up on Sunday at one 0:00:49.440 --> 0:00:52.879 o'clock in the Steel City. I'm Dan Hord with Dave Lapham. 0:00:52.920 --> 0:00:56.280 This is the Bengals pep Rally show presented by Just 0:00:56.360 --> 0:00:59.760 Bear Chicken. Here on ESPN fifteen thirty. We are at 0:00:59.760 --> 0:01:03.120 our Friday afternoon home, the on the Ryan Eatery here 0:01:03.160 --> 0:01:06.040 in downtown Cincinnati. If you have not been here before, 0:01:06.360 --> 0:01:09.440 it is the Food Haul on the second floor above 0:01:09.480 --> 0:01:13.039 the downtown Kroger on Court and Walnut. We are on 0:01:13.200 --> 0:01:17.200 thirty minutes earlier than usual today because of a scheduling conflict, 0:01:17.440 --> 0:01:20.560 So it's a two thirty to five thirty show this afternoon, 0:01:20.800 --> 0:01:22.800 as is always the case, will be joined by a 0:01:23.000 --> 0:01:25.840 very special guest. He'll be here from four thirty to 0:01:25.920 --> 0:01:29.200 five thirty and he is a fan favorite. Dave Lapham, 0:01:29.360 --> 0:01:32.720 the guy known as Money Mack Evan McPherson. 0:01:32.440 --> 0:01:35.120 Money Mac, no question Dan he is. He is a 0:01:35.120 --> 0:01:38.839 fan favorite, and he's because he can be a hero, 0:01:39.040 --> 0:01:42.120 you know, or a goat, I guess, depending on the 0:01:42.160 --> 0:01:46.959 way his kicks go. But he's executed at an extremely 0:01:47.040 --> 0:01:50.400 high level. I mean he makes money Mack. It's almost 0:01:50.400 --> 0:01:53.760 like automatic money Mack. It's you just you just start 0:01:53.760 --> 0:01:55.919 counting the points before they're actually up on the board. 0:01:56.360 --> 0:01:59.800 And he's got a huge leg got He's got such range, 0:02:00.080 --> 0:02:03.240 credible range. I mean he can hit from fifty five 0:02:03.320 --> 0:02:06.280 sixty yards. He shit a fifty seven yarder this year. 0:02:06.440 --> 0:02:09.519 He made a sixty yarder that was nullified by penalty, 0:02:10.520 --> 0:02:15.679 so he can kick it a mile literally and very 0:02:15.680 --> 0:02:19.840 popular with his teammates. Cincinnati Bengals are glad to have 0:02:19.919 --> 0:02:24.400 a player of that caliber. Darren Simmons, a special teams 0:02:24.440 --> 0:02:27.400 coach loves him, loves him to death, and he's a 0:02:27.400 --> 0:02:31.119 weapon on kickoffs as well. He can manipulate the football 0:02:31.680 --> 0:02:34.400 like a very few can. He can do a lot 0:02:34.400 --> 0:02:35.400 of things with that football. 0:02:35.760 --> 0:02:38.680 He's got eight game winning field goals in his Bengals career, 0:02:38.720 --> 0:02:41.160 the most recent against the team the Bengals have played 0:02:41.160 --> 0:02:44.040 this Sunday, to Pittsburgh Steelers. They met on Thursday night, 0:02:44.120 --> 0:02:47.040 almost exactly a month ago. Cincinnati won the game on 0:02:47.080 --> 0:02:49.839 a kick by money back with seven seconds to go. 0:02:50.560 --> 0:02:54.160 And let's face it, if not for that victory over 0:02:54.200 --> 0:02:57.280 the Pittsburgh Steelers, we might be thinking that this game 0:02:57.320 --> 0:03:00.920 on Sunday doesn't mean much. But it does because of 0:03:00.960 --> 0:03:05.679 the state of the AFC North. In a normal year, honestly, 0:03:05.760 --> 0:03:08.400 the Bengals would probably be out of it. Yeah, Normally 0:03:08.440 --> 0:03:11.480 you'd expect Pittsburgh or Baltimore to be seven or two, 0:03:12.000 --> 0:03:15.239 maybe the other team six and three, But not this year. 0:03:15.280 --> 0:03:17.960 Pittsburgh is five and four on top of the division 0:03:18.000 --> 0:03:20.000 and the Steelers are reeling. They've lost three out of 0:03:20.040 --> 0:03:23.360 their last four. Baltimore is coming on. The Ravens have 0:03:23.400 --> 0:03:26.000 won three straight, but that's after a one in five start, 0:03:26.080 --> 0:03:29.400 so they're four and five and who knows, Lamar Jackson's 0:03:29.400 --> 0:03:31.600 already missed a couple of games with a hamstring strain. 0:03:31.720 --> 0:03:33.840 He could tweak it again this week, sure, and the 0:03:33.919 --> 0:03:37.080 Ravens would be in jeopardy if that happens. So the 0:03:37.120 --> 0:03:41.000 Bengals still have a shot. They can climb right back 0:03:41.040 --> 0:03:43.839 into the thick of the race if they can beat 0:03:43.840 --> 0:03:47.560 the Pittsburgh Steelers on the road this Sunday, they would 0:03:47.560 --> 0:03:49.560 be three and oh in the division and two and 0:03:49.600 --> 0:03:53.800 oh head to head against Pittsburgh. Let's hear from Joe 0:03:53.880 --> 0:03:58.400 Burrow and Jamar Chase on the importance of Sunday's game. 0:03:58.840 --> 0:04:01.280 Yeah, you know, our division is why open. I think 0:04:01.480 --> 0:04:03.800 Pittsburgh's five and four at this point. We play them 0:04:03.840 --> 0:04:06.640 this week, so you know, everything is still there in 0:04:06.680 --> 0:04:09.640 front of us. It's very rare that our division looks 0:04:09.680 --> 0:04:13.200 like this, but it does this year, and so you know, 0:04:13.200 --> 0:04:15.320 I think we'll be at least in it until the end. 0:04:15.520 --> 0:04:17.359 Yeah, it's muscling if you want to win AFC. 0:04:18.279 --> 0:04:20.120 Yeah, it's approaching any differently because of. 0:04:20.080 --> 0:04:23.800 The no I mean you can't approach another game differently 0:04:23.800 --> 0:04:26.080 because it's muscling game that approach every game the same. 0:04:26.360 --> 0:04:28.680 You want to win every game, so I approach every 0:04:28.680 --> 0:04:29.120 game the same. 0:04:30.080 --> 0:04:32.960 Lap. We've been working together for fifteen years now, you 0:04:33.040 --> 0:04:37.279 know me. I hate the expression must win. Right when 0:04:37.279 --> 0:04:40.200 people start throwing that out in week three, I want 0:04:40.200 --> 0:04:43.440 to put a fist through a chalkboard. It drives me bananas, 0:04:43.560 --> 0:04:46.200 and it's common for people to do that. Sure, I 0:04:46.240 --> 0:04:48.560 will use that expression this week. If the Bengals have 0:04:48.760 --> 0:04:52.960 any shot of going to the playoffs and winning the division, realistically, 0:04:53.080 --> 0:04:54.000 they need to win this. 0:04:54.040 --> 0:04:57.119 Week, absolutely, Dan, I mean, it's got to have a game. 0:04:57.520 --> 0:05:02.400 You know, the Cincinnati Bengals have really no choice. They 0:05:02.440 --> 0:05:05.320 have to come out and beat the Pittsburgh Steelers. Not 0:05:05.360 --> 0:05:09.479 an easy task, and to beat them in Pittsburgh makes 0:05:09.520 --> 0:05:12.760 it doubly difficult. They play well in front of their 0:05:12.760 --> 0:05:17.960 hometown crowd, The fans respond to Mike Tomlin, they absolutely love. 0:05:18.000 --> 0:05:21.000 It's a love fest with Mike Tomlin the Pittsburgh Steeler 0:05:21.040 --> 0:05:24.159 fan base. So this is not going to be an 0:05:24.200 --> 0:05:27.000 easy task. The Bengal's gonna have to play, in my mind, 0:05:27.080 --> 0:05:30.159 the best game they've played to date. This season in 0:05:30.279 --> 0:05:33.200 order to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in Pittsburgh, and they 0:05:33.320 --> 0:05:36.560 come off the bye week, you know it'd be timely 0:05:36.600 --> 0:05:39.159 to do that. You know, you have a bye week 0:05:39.200 --> 0:05:44.039 to make some adjustments, tweak some things, figure some things out, 0:05:44.160 --> 0:05:47.479 you know, find out what you do well and emphasize 0:05:47.520 --> 0:05:52.359 that and things you're doing poorly, eliminate them or change 0:05:52.400 --> 0:05:57.040 them up somehow. So I know the coaches have been 0:05:57.080 --> 0:05:59.120 grinding during the bye week. They put in a lot 0:05:59.120 --> 0:06:03.600 of time and have been studying tape and trying to 0:06:03.640 --> 0:06:06.359 figure out a way to get on a run. And 0:06:06.440 --> 0:06:07.839 the best way to get on a run is to 0:06:07.839 --> 0:06:10.479 beat the Pittsburgh steel Is at Pittsburgh. That's Game one, 0:06:10.920 --> 0:06:14.320 and then string a few together. And it's a tough 0:06:14.360 --> 0:06:18.560 task though. I mean, you look at that, You look 0:06:18.600 --> 0:06:22.360 at who they've got Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh, New England here 0:06:22.360 --> 0:06:27.080 in Cincinnati, at Baltimore at Buffalo, Baltimore at home, what 0:06:27.760 --> 0:06:31.680 I mean, finish the season at Miami, Arizona, here, Cleveland here. 0:06:31.800 --> 0:06:35.640 But man, the stretch, these one, two, three, four, five 0:06:35.720 --> 0:06:39.280 game stretch, that's as tough a five game stretch as 0:06:39.320 --> 0:06:42.159 anybody in the National Football League has over the next 0:06:42.200 --> 0:06:44.880 five weeks. So the Cincinnati Bengals are going to have 0:06:44.960 --> 0:06:49.160 to play their best football of the season to put 0:06:49.200 --> 0:06:52.080 it together in terms of you know, if you don't 0:06:52.160 --> 0:06:55.159 win them all, win four, four and one. 0:06:55.080 --> 0:06:59.240 Not bad against a schedule like that, or even three, 0:06:59.480 --> 0:07:02.720 and it's the right three Pittsburgh Baltimore, Baltimore. If they 0:07:02.760 --> 0:07:05.760 can win those divisional games, that's the formula this year, 0:07:05.800 --> 0:07:07.600 because they're not going to be the wildcard team at 0:07:07.640 --> 0:07:11.000 three and six. They have to go six and oho 0:07:11.080 --> 0:07:12.920 or five and one in the AFC. 0:07:12.600 --> 0:07:15.120 North, absolutely, and if they do, if they win, they'd 0:07:15.160 --> 0:07:17.720 be five and zero in the division at that point. 0:07:17.840 --> 0:07:20.000 One of those games, I mean that that is that's 0:07:20.080 --> 0:07:22.760 just what the doctor ordered. That would be a must, 0:07:22.800 --> 0:07:25.320 that would be a requirement if you not if your 0:07:25.440 --> 0:07:31.120 overall record is a blow par so, very very important 0:07:31.160 --> 0:07:33.920 football game in Pittsburgh this weekend. 0:07:34.080 --> 0:07:36.400 The Steelers started the year four and one, but they've 0:07:36.440 --> 0:07:38.920 dropped three out of four. That streak began with a 0:07:38.960 --> 0:07:42.400 loss on a Thursday night to Cincinnati at pay Courts Stadium. 0:07:42.440 --> 0:07:45.520 Thirty three to thirty one was the final score. We 0:07:45.640 --> 0:07:48.120 think of the Steelers for great defense, but it's been 0:07:48.200 --> 0:07:50.800 up and down this year. They're near the bottom of 0:07:50.840 --> 0:07:53.920 the NFL in yards allowed, they are dead last and 0:07:54.040 --> 0:07:56.480 passing yards allowed. They had a lot of sacks, They've 0:07:56.480 --> 0:07:59.160 got a lot of takeaways. But if you can preventure 0:07:59.400 --> 0:08:03.200 or protect your quarterback brother and avoid turnovers, you can 0:08:03.200 --> 0:08:06.640 put points on the board against this Pittsburgh team. And 0:08:06.720 --> 0:08:09.520 when we come back, that's what we are going to discuss. 0:08:10.040 --> 0:08:14.520 Are the Steelers still the Steelers on defense? This is 0:08:14.560 --> 0:08:17.280 the Bengals pep Rally Show live from the on the 0:08:17.320 --> 0:08:22.080 Rhine Eatery here in downtown Cincinnati on ESPN fifteen thirty. 0:08:25.680 --> 0:08:27.960 Dan Ord and Dave Lapham back on the Bengals pep 0:08:28.080 --> 0:08:32.200 Rawley Show, presented by Just Their Chicken on thirty minutes 0:08:32.240 --> 0:08:34.880 earlier than usual this week. It's a two thirty to 0:08:34.920 --> 0:08:38.320 five thirty show. That will also be the case again 0:08:38.880 --> 0:08:41.280 next week. So keep that in mind as we come 0:08:41.320 --> 0:08:43.920 to you from the on the Rhine Eatery here in 0:08:43.960 --> 0:08:47.760 downtown Cincinnati, the food hall above the downtown Kroger at 0:08:47.800 --> 0:08:51.280 Court and walnutt. It's the Bengals and Steelers this Sunday 0:08:51.280 --> 0:08:54.080 at one o'clock. When you think of Pittsburgh, we tend 0:08:54.080 --> 0:08:57.120 to think of Blitzburg. Great defenses, and they've got a 0:08:57.160 --> 0:08:59.360 lot of sacks this year as they always seem to 0:08:59.600 --> 0:09:01.840 the time for second in the NFL in sacks with 0:09:01.920 --> 0:09:06.600 thirty two. They've got some tremendous defensive players. Three guys 0:09:06.760 --> 0:09:10.240 on the defense are seven time Pro Bowlers T. J. Watt, 0:09:10.640 --> 0:09:15.400 Cameron Hayward, and Jalen Ramsey. That's incredible. Patrick Queen's also 0:09:15.760 --> 0:09:19.880 a two time Pro Bowler. So naturally when you think 0:09:19.920 --> 0:09:23.880 of Pittsburgh, it's that physicality on defense. Let's hear from 0:09:23.920 --> 0:09:26.080 Bengals linebacker Demetrius Knight. 0:09:27.120 --> 0:09:30.040 We know this is a team that you know they 0:09:30.200 --> 0:09:32.920 like the pounding ground and you know that's that's who 0:09:32.920 --> 0:09:35.800 they are, and that's their identity, identity of their head coach. 0:09:35.840 --> 0:09:39.839 And I believe that that that's there, that organization's motto, 0:09:39.960 --> 0:09:42.880 you know, being being very hard nosed and you know, 0:09:42.960 --> 0:09:44.160 being old fashioned football. 0:09:44.480 --> 0:09:46.320 The run, run, run, run the ball. 0:09:46.440 --> 0:09:51.080 So for us, we're getting back to again mastering the basics. 0:09:51.120 --> 0:09:54.000 After everybody got fresh and everybody got healthy, we're getting 0:09:54.040 --> 0:09:56.480 bast to just giving it back to them, you know, 0:09:57.040 --> 0:10:00.480 making sure that we don't end up being the but 0:10:00.559 --> 0:10:03.320 also you know, for being an enforcer, being the hammer, 0:10:03.800 --> 0:10:06.360 striking first before they can strike strike us. So make 0:10:06.440 --> 0:10:09.000 sure we jump out to it a fast start. It's 0:10:09.040 --> 0:10:12.200 been amount of just since the beginning of the season, 0:10:12.240 --> 0:10:14.920 so it's not going to go away. So just continue 0:10:14.920 --> 0:10:18.080 to start fast in this in this opportunity and bring 0:10:18.080 --> 0:10:19.480 it to him as as as we know. 0:10:19.600 --> 0:10:21.319 As we know how so. 0:10:21.320 --> 0:10:24.319 I focused on the physicality on defense before we heard 0:10:24.320 --> 0:10:27.000 from Demetrius. Let's talk a little bit about the physicality 0:10:27.000 --> 0:10:29.959 on offense because in that first meeting a month ago, 0:10:30.400 --> 0:10:33.199 we saw a lot of a sixth offensive lineman coming 0:10:33.200 --> 0:10:37.400 into the game, double tight ends, including Darnell Washington, who 0:10:37.480 --> 0:10:40.080 is a tight end in name only. He's more than 0:10:40.120 --> 0:10:43.200 three hundred pounds. He's really an extra tackle. It's like 0:10:43.280 --> 0:10:45.720 having seven offensive linemen on the field. 0:10:46.080 --> 0:10:49.360 It is I mean, uh, Darnel Washington, like you say, 0:10:49.480 --> 0:10:53.080 is is definitely you know, a monster. I mean he's 0:10:53.120 --> 0:10:53.840 he's a moose. 0:10:54.320 --> 0:10:54.600 Uh. 0:10:54.640 --> 0:10:57.760 And it's a tackle that has great feet. I mean, 0:10:57.800 --> 0:11:01.040 he's a he's a good athlete. He he's not a 0:11:01.120 --> 0:11:03.480 joke as a tight end. I mean he's a legitimate weapon. 0:11:03.840 --> 0:11:06.440 He can run good routes, he can catch the football, 0:11:06.840 --> 0:11:09.920 he can put the football away protect the football. He's 0:11:09.920 --> 0:11:11.880 a he's a hell of a football player, and he 0:11:11.920 --> 0:11:13.920 does get movement when he's in the football on the 0:11:13.960 --> 0:11:16.400 football field at the end of the line of scrimmage. 0:11:16.559 --> 0:11:20.040 You watch tape of Darnel Washington, he is moving people 0:11:20.520 --> 0:11:25.760 and laterally, and he's if they if they slant, he's 0:11:26.360 --> 0:11:29.120 carrying him way past where they want to be. And 0:11:29.480 --> 0:11:32.040 if they're not, if they're trying to gap them. Again, 0:11:32.200 --> 0:11:35.200 three hundred pound guy gets good low pad level, bends 0:11:35.280 --> 0:11:38.400 his knees well because he can flex his knees being 0:11:38.440 --> 0:11:41.800 the athlete that he is, and and he's got flexibility 0:11:42.120 --> 0:11:43.960 in his ankles as well, and he can move people. 0:11:44.520 --> 0:11:48.040 Staelers value the trenches. They always have the first round 0:11:48.120 --> 0:11:51.800 draft pick this year a defensive tackle Derek Harmon, their 0:11:51.800 --> 0:11:55.680 first round drift draft pick last year an offensive tackle 0:11:55.760 --> 0:11:58.719 Troy Fatanu. There are a first round draft pick the 0:11:58.800 --> 0:12:03.040 year before that, another offensive tackle, Roderick Jones. So their 0:12:03.120 --> 0:12:06.559 last three first round draft picks have been guys in 0:12:06.600 --> 0:12:07.160 the trenches. 0:12:07.360 --> 0:12:10.040 And and that's that's what Mike Tomlins all about, you know. 0:12:10.240 --> 0:12:12.920 And it goes, it goes all the way back to 0:12:13.400 --> 0:12:16.360 in the trenches. In the Pittsburgh Steelers when they had 0:12:16.360 --> 0:12:19.520 the Steel Curtain, and remember playing against those Pittsburgh Steeler 0:12:19.559 --> 0:12:24.960 teams when the steel curtain of Joe Green, Dwight White, 0:12:25.320 --> 0:12:29.800 L C. Green, would Ernie Fatz Holmes. Those guys were amazing, 0:12:30.400 --> 0:12:33.880 very very difficult to try to handle them on a 0:12:34.040 --> 0:12:36.640 on a snap by snap basis when the Pittsburgh Steelers 0:12:36.640 --> 0:12:40.839 were reigning supreme in the National Football League. And then 0:12:40.840 --> 0:12:44.200 their offensive line, you know, anchored by Mike Webster, who 0:12:44.800 --> 0:12:47.800 you know, unfortunately passed away way too young, was a 0:12:47.920 --> 0:12:49.640 pretty good friend who played in a bunch of college 0:12:49.679 --> 0:12:52.440 All Star games with Mike Webby Webster and he was 0:12:52.679 --> 0:12:56.920 he was a great player. But they've moon Mullins. I mean, 0:12:56.960 --> 0:13:02.200 they they've always had very very strong offensive lines physically 0:13:02.280 --> 0:13:05.720 strong and athletic, you know, not just big stiffs. These 0:13:05.720 --> 0:13:07.960 guys are athletic. They can they can go out and 0:13:08.000 --> 0:13:10.679 pull and get get out in front of people. They 0:13:10.720 --> 0:13:13.360 have a nice trap game that they've had for years. 0:13:14.080 --> 0:13:16.600 In their offensive line they've had they always had like 0:13:16.600 --> 0:13:19.559 a big physical back Franco Harris, I mean, Franco's a 0:13:19.559 --> 0:13:20.079 big dude. 0:13:20.080 --> 0:13:20.320 Man. 0:13:20.840 --> 0:13:23.800 Rocky Blier, you know, another guy served in the military. 0:13:23.920 --> 0:13:27.480 You know, it's just a hard nosed dude. The Pittsburgh 0:13:27.520 --> 0:13:31.120 Steelers have always been about physicality. Dan, There's no two 0:13:31.160 --> 0:13:31.839 ways about it. 0:13:31.920 --> 0:13:34.520 The Bengals dead last at stopping the runs so far 0:13:34.600 --> 0:13:36.360 this year. They are going to have to be much 0:13:36.400 --> 0:13:39.480 better than the one hundred and sixty six rushing yards 0:13:39.520 --> 0:13:42.280 per game that they've allowed in the first nine games 0:13:43.080 --> 0:13:45.600 this season. We'll take a time out when we come back. 0:13:46.320 --> 0:13:51.000 Would you sign Joe Flacco to a contract for next year? 0:13:51.840 --> 0:13:54.760 Right now, I'm seeing nodding in the audience. Well, this 0:13:54.880 --> 0:13:57.280 guy's that when we come back. This is the Bengals 0:13:57.280 --> 0:14:01.560 Pepper Rally Show presented by Just Bear Chicken on ESPN 0:14:01.679 --> 0:14:09.000 fifteen thirty. Welcome back to the Bengals pep Rally Show 0:14:09.120 --> 0:14:12.880 presented by Just Fair Chicken, live from the on the 0:14:13.000 --> 0:14:15.800 Rhine eatery here in downtown Cincinnati. It is the food 0:14:15.800 --> 0:14:19.600 hall above the downtown Kroger at Courton Walnut. Plenty of 0:14:19.600 --> 0:14:22.960 parking nearby, including a garage that's attached to this building. 0:14:23.440 --> 0:14:27.280 Lots of seating available inside here, particularly right now. I'm 0:14:27.320 --> 0:14:29.560 sure it'll continue to fill up as we get closer 0:14:29.600 --> 0:14:31.840 to four to thirty. When We will be joined in 0:14:31.840 --> 0:14:35.560 the final hour by our special guest, Bengals kicker Evan 0:14:35.640 --> 0:14:39.360 McPherson Money Mack. We've got round two in the Battle 0:14:39.520 --> 0:14:43.240 of the Aged on Sunday, forty year old Joe Flacco 0:14:43.280 --> 0:14:46.640 against forty one year old Aaron Rodgers. Rogers, by the way, 0:14:46.720 --> 0:14:51.080 turns forty two in about two weeks. Real Flacco one 0:14:51.440 --> 0:14:54.480 round one, thirty three to thirty one about a month ago. 0:14:54.520 --> 0:14:58.240 We'll see if Joe Calm can do it again. Flatco 0:14:58.280 --> 0:15:01.280 has been incredible since joining the Bengals. He's averaging three 0:15:01.400 --> 0:15:05.080 hundred and thirteen passing yards a game, eleven touchdown passes, 0:15:05.120 --> 0:15:09.280 two interceptions, passer rating over one h two. The Bengals 0:15:09.280 --> 0:15:11.880 are averaging more than thirty two points a game in 0:15:11.920 --> 0:15:14.480 the four games that he has started, and he has 0:15:14.520 --> 0:15:18.320 obviously become embraced by his teammates and coaches. 0:15:18.480 --> 0:15:20.640 Here's Joe, Well, I feel like I'm a part of 0:15:20.680 --> 0:15:22.760 the team, you know. I think that's a big thing, 0:15:22.920 --> 0:15:27.080 you know, like developing relationships with the guys and you know, 0:15:27.160 --> 0:15:29.320 proving to them that you belong and that you can play, 0:15:29.360 --> 0:15:32.440 and yeah, it means it means more when you can 0:15:32.480 --> 0:15:35.000 look guys in the eye and like know. 0:15:35.000 --> 0:15:36.320 That you went to battle with each other. 0:15:36.360 --> 0:15:40.800 And I think that's the biggest difference, is just feeling 0:15:40.840 --> 0:15:42.800 like I'm a part of all that, all. 0:15:42.760 --> 0:15:45.640 Right, lap I asked the question before the commercial break, 0:15:46.200 --> 0:15:49.280 if Joe Flacco wants to play and be Joe Burrow's 0:15:49.280 --> 0:15:53.080 backup next year at the age of forty one, would 0:15:53.080 --> 0:15:55.280 you sign him to that deal today? 0:15:56.360 --> 0:16:01.400 I do it yesterday. I mean, like, uh, the ankor 0:16:01.400 --> 0:16:05.280 would be drying, be bone dry today. Yeah. I think 0:16:05.320 --> 0:16:10.760 that Joe Flacco has exceeded. Uh, he's gone above and 0:16:10.840 --> 0:16:15.320 beyond expectations. That the numbers that he's putting up are incredible. 0:16:15.400 --> 0:16:20.360 They really are. And he's he's very humble. He's like 0:16:20.400 --> 0:16:24.280 you said, Dan, and you know, the listening to the 0:16:24.320 --> 0:16:26.720 interview of the tape that you ran of Joe Burrow, 0:16:26.960 --> 0:16:30.600 Joe Borrow, Joe Flacco talking about his teammates, he is 0:16:30.680 --> 0:16:34.680 extremely humble and they love the guy. Uh, you know, 0:16:34.800 --> 0:16:38.320 he's he's not about himself. He's not about you know what. 0:16:38.320 --> 0:16:42.000 What all I'm worried about is how many yards I'm 0:16:42.040 --> 0:16:45.480 throwing for, how many touchdowns I'm throwing. He's all about 0:16:45.480 --> 0:16:48.480 the w's man. He wants to win as many football 0:16:48.520 --> 0:16:51.320 games as he can. And when you have a quarterback 0:16:51.640 --> 0:16:54.600 that has that kind of a mindset, that is that unselfished, 0:16:54.680 --> 0:16:57.000 is that much of a team player. You have a 0:16:57.040 --> 0:16:58.360 diamond in the rough, you have a gym. 0:16:58.720 --> 0:17:01.480 So the Bengals protected him him extremely well. In that 0:17:01.560 --> 0:17:05.240 first game against Pittsburgh. He got sacked a couple of times, 0:17:05.240 --> 0:17:07.720 but obviously that doesn't cost you the game against Pittsburgh 0:17:07.720 --> 0:17:09.720 as long as you hold onto the ball. He didn't 0:17:09.720 --> 0:17:13.439 throw any interceptions in that game. Aaron Rodgers threw a 0:17:13.480 --> 0:17:18.880 couple to me. That's the game. Protect Flaco, don't turn 0:17:18.920 --> 0:17:21.160 it over, and you got a chance. You still might 0:17:21.200 --> 0:17:23.679 not win if your defense struggles the way the Bengals 0:17:23.760 --> 0:17:26.960 defense has struggled, But you got a chance if you 0:17:27.000 --> 0:17:30.439 can keep Flaco on his feet and avoid turnovers. 0:17:30.000 --> 0:17:32.960 Exactly, Dan, I mean, you know, make sure that Joe 0:17:32.960 --> 0:17:37.040 Flacco takes the first nap and the last nap. Make 0:17:37.080 --> 0:17:39.320 sure that he's there performing at a high level for 0:17:39.359 --> 0:17:43.159 the entire football game, and don't let him take any shots. 0:17:43.160 --> 0:17:46.480 Don't let him take hits even after he releases the football. 0:17:46.840 --> 0:17:49.600 Sometimes those those shots that you take right after you 0:17:50.160 --> 0:17:51.000 have let the ball go. 0:17:51.160 --> 0:17:51.360 Man. 0:17:51.520 --> 0:17:54.440 Those things. Those things linger, They stay with you, and 0:17:54.960 --> 0:17:58.800 you know he's you just have to protect them. When 0:17:58.800 --> 0:18:01.680 you're over forty years old, all your body parts start 0:18:01.720 --> 0:18:03.920 to feel it a little bit. You know. You wake 0:18:04.000 --> 0:18:05.600 up in the morning and get out of bed and man, 0:18:05.760 --> 0:18:08.399 and these a little bit stiff. Man, it hifts a 0:18:08.440 --> 0:18:11.440 little bit stiff. And then you start to rotate your 0:18:11.560 --> 0:18:13.640 arms a little bit. Man, the shoulders are a little bit, 0:18:13.800 --> 0:18:16.520 a little bit stiff and sore. Oh flex the arms. Men, 0:18:16.600 --> 0:18:19.359 the elbows a little bit stiff and sore. So when 0:18:19.400 --> 0:18:22.560 you have a commodity that is as valuable as Joe 0:18:22.560 --> 0:18:26.400 Flacco has been to this football team at forty years old, 0:18:26.640 --> 0:18:30.400 you have to do everything you possibly can to protect him. 0:18:30.520 --> 0:18:34.119 Maybe that's putting in another offensive lineman, extra offensive lineman, 0:18:34.520 --> 0:18:36.800 and making sure you can double more than one of 0:18:36.840 --> 0:18:40.359 those great defensive front four members of the Pittsburgh Steelers 0:18:40.400 --> 0:18:43.720 if you have to to keep Joe Flacco clean. With 0:18:43.800 --> 0:18:48.399 that said, the biggest thing is don't give the football away. 0:18:48.880 --> 0:18:53.360 Do not give extra possessions to the Pittsburgh Steelers. If 0:18:53.359 --> 0:18:56.040 you can take them away from him, take at least 0:18:56.080 --> 0:18:58.200 one away. If you could take two or three away. 0:18:58.600 --> 0:19:00.760 You should be in high cotton. You should be in 0:19:00.800 --> 0:19:03.240 good position to win that football game. Close that football 0:19:03.280 --> 0:19:06.000 game out. But you can't be given the football away 0:19:06.359 --> 0:19:08.880 and expect to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers no matter where 0:19:08.880 --> 0:19:10.840 you play him, home, away or in the moon. 0:19:11.080 --> 0:19:13.199 Let's get to the Bengals injury report, brought to you 0:19:13.240 --> 0:19:17.640 by the Kettering Health Network. Joe Flacco has been dealing 0:19:17.720 --> 0:19:20.600 with a sore shoulder. He only practiced once this week. 0:19:20.680 --> 0:19:25.280 Didn't practice Wednesday, did practice yesterday, did not practice today. 0:19:25.480 --> 0:19:27.960 That was the formula in his last game, and he 0:19:28.000 --> 0:19:30.919 threw for four hundred and seventy yards. It sounds like 0:19:30.960 --> 0:19:34.399 his shoulder is feeling better this week after a bye 0:19:34.400 --> 0:19:36.919 week than it did going into the Bears game, So 0:19:37.040 --> 0:19:39.520 I don't think that's a big concern, even though his 0:19:39.640 --> 0:19:43.760 practice has been limited this week. Trey Hendrickson, as expected, 0:19:43.960 --> 0:19:48.119 is out, Shamar Stewart has expected is out. Samaj p 0:19:48.320 --> 0:19:51.199 Ryan as expected, is out. So the Bengals are going 0:19:51.240 --> 0:19:54.240 to be missing two good players on their defensive line 0:19:54.280 --> 0:19:56.080 and a great third down running. 0:19:55.840 --> 0:19:59.000 Back, no question. And let's start at p Ryan first. 0:19:59.040 --> 0:20:01.720 The offense. I mean, he's had a hell of a year. 0:20:02.600 --> 0:20:08.000 He's a special player in my opinion, because he's such 0:20:08.000 --> 0:20:11.440 a special human being. Had a great career at Oklahoma, 0:20:11.600 --> 0:20:14.560 had a great high school career before that, most definitely, 0:20:14.600 --> 0:20:18.720 and goes to Oklahoma, performs at an extremely high level there, 0:20:19.240 --> 0:20:22.280 gets drafted. This is his second go round with the 0:20:22.320 --> 0:20:25.199 Cincinnati Bengals. Drafted by the Bengals coming out of Oklahoma. 0:20:25.760 --> 0:20:28.320 He can do it all. He can run, he can 0:20:28.680 --> 0:20:31.879 run away from you. He can run for power with power, 0:20:33.840 --> 0:20:37.320 he can catch the football out of the backfield, runs 0:20:37.320 --> 0:20:41.359 great routes, soft hands, puts the ball away. And the 0:20:41.359 --> 0:20:43.440 big thing that he does and Joe Flacco and Joe 0:20:43.520 --> 0:20:46.520 Burrow both appreciate this. He will stick his nose right 0:20:46.560 --> 0:20:48.920 in the middle of the chest of a linebacker or 0:20:48.960 --> 0:20:52.119 a defensive end or an outside blitzer safety, whoever it 0:20:52.160 --> 0:20:54.639 may be, and stone him, stop him right in his 0:20:54.720 --> 0:20:57.919 tracks and allow the quarterback time to get the football away. 0:20:58.520 --> 0:21:03.639 That is invaluable, and he is. He's a significant member 0:21:03.760 --> 0:21:07.880 of the Cincinnati Bengals offensive skill position players for sure. 0:21:08.560 --> 0:21:11.000 It's the Bengals and Steelers. This Sunday at one o'clock 0:21:11.040 --> 0:21:13.000 will take a time out. When we come back, we 0:21:13.040 --> 0:21:16.440 will head to Pittsburgh and get the latest on this 0:21:16.520 --> 0:21:22.840 week's opponent, the dreaded, hated but grudgingly respected, very grudgingly 0:21:23.080 --> 0:21:26.520 Pittsburgh Steelers. This is the Bengals pep Ratley Show presented 0:21:26.520 --> 0:21:30.040 by Just Bear Chicken, live from the on the Rhine 0:21:30.160 --> 0:21:39.720 Eatery on ESPN fifteen thirty. I'm Dan Horde, He's Dave Lapham. 0:21:39.800 --> 0:21:42.600 This is the Bengals pep Rally Show presented by Just 0:21:42.760 --> 0:21:46.280 Bear Chicken Live on ESPN fifteen thirty. We are broadcasting 0:21:46.560 --> 0:21:49.480 on this Friday afternoon, as we do every Friday, from 0:21:49.480 --> 0:21:53.120 the on the Rhine Eatery here in downtown Cincinnati. Evan 0:21:53.200 --> 0:21:55.959 McPherson Moneymack will join us in the final hour of 0:21:56.000 --> 0:21:59.840 the show from four thirty to five thirty. Right now, 0:22:00.000 --> 0:22:02.520 it is time for our no the Faux segment. Let's 0:22:02.520 --> 0:22:05.440 get the latest on this week's opponent, the Pittsburgh Steelers, 0:22:05.440 --> 0:22:07.119 and to do that we had to Pittsburgh, and we 0:22:07.119 --> 0:22:09.840 welcome in a buddy of mine. He is a broadcaster, 0:22:10.000 --> 0:22:13.560 a podcaster, and a columnist in Pittsburgh. He is also 0:22:13.720 --> 0:22:18.399 a proud former Syracuse Orange Grass Cord and lapham our 0:22:18.480 --> 0:22:22.000 pal Tim Benz. Tim welcome back to the Bengals Pepperrilly show. 0:22:22.960 --> 0:22:23.560 Yeah, I like it. 0:22:23.600 --> 0:22:26.719 We're deploying the Syracuse line here. I'm actually listening to 0:22:26.760 --> 0:22:29.040 a Penguins game right now at two pm in the 0:22:29.080 --> 0:22:31.920 afternoon from Stockholm, So I got hockey on the brain. 0:22:32.440 --> 0:22:35.320 I'm calling a hockey game tonight. So it's crossover season. 0:22:35.400 --> 0:22:39.600 You know how that goes. We certainly do. Yeah, yes, 0:22:39.680 --> 0:22:42.520 all right, Tim, Let's go back about a month Thursday 0:22:42.600 --> 0:22:45.640 night at pay Course Stadium, Cincinnati beats Pittsburgh thirty three 0:22:45.680 --> 0:22:48.840 to thirty one. Aside from the final score, obviously, what 0:22:48.920 --> 0:22:52.560 was the most disappointing aspect of that game from the 0:22:52.560 --> 0:22:53.639 Steelers perspective. 0:22:55.160 --> 0:22:57.719 I just think it was the overall lack of answers, 0:22:58.520 --> 0:23:02.760 the inability to when they adjusted, come up with anything better. 0:23:02.920 --> 0:23:06.280 I think there's a little bit of a misconception that 0:23:06.320 --> 0:23:10.000 they didn't try to adjust on Jamar Chase and see 0:23:10.040 --> 0:23:13.600 Hagen's particularly Chase. I mean, they did at times go 0:23:13.720 --> 0:23:16.160 from zone demand, but they were playing man so soft 0:23:16.160 --> 0:23:18.679 because they were so concerned about getting burned. It looked 0:23:18.720 --> 0:23:21.680 like zone, you know, and that kind of became apparent 0:23:21.680 --> 0:23:25.480 in the analysis afterwards. But the corollary to that I 0:23:25.480 --> 0:23:28.840 would see the second part beyond just not being able 0:23:28.880 --> 0:23:32.560 to proficiently adjust and get better once you figured out 0:23:32.560 --> 0:23:34.480 what's going on is they never figured out the pass 0:23:34.560 --> 0:23:37.359 rush either. They never applied any pressure on Joe Flacco. 0:23:37.440 --> 0:23:39.520 He dropped back forty seven times. I think he got 0:23:39.520 --> 0:23:42.639 sacked twice. He's in his forties, he can't move. And 0:23:42.680 --> 0:23:45.080 if you can't get to him and you allow him 0:23:45.119 --> 0:23:46.920 to get the ball off as quickly as he did, 0:23:47.280 --> 0:23:50.520 as good as those two wide receivers are and I 0:23:50.520 --> 0:23:53.040 think below the line as the Steelers are on the secondary, 0:23:53.119 --> 0:23:54.840 it's gonna make for a long night. And that was 0:23:54.880 --> 0:23:57.320 exactly the formula that was followed throughout the course of 0:23:57.359 --> 0:23:57.720 that game. 0:23:59.320 --> 0:24:01.560 Yeah, that's that's pretty amazing. I mean, you look at 0:24:01.600 --> 0:24:04.119 the Pittsburgh Steelers and you think about the Pittsburgh Steelers 0:24:04.200 --> 0:24:07.840 pass rush comes to mind immediately. You're just catching up 0:24:08.240 --> 0:24:11.600 talking with Dan earlier about playing against the Pittsburgh Steelers 0:24:12.040 --> 0:24:14.679 back in the seventies and early eighties with the steel 0:24:14.720 --> 0:24:18.400 Curtain defense. Oh my god. And they could bring the heat. 0:24:18.480 --> 0:24:20.840 Any one of them could have a multiple sack game. 0:24:20.920 --> 0:24:24.159 You know, you got Fast Holmes and Joe Green at 0:24:24.200 --> 0:24:33.520 defensive tackle Dwight White on one flank and Ernie yeah 0:24:33.600 --> 0:24:38.919 Else Greenwood, big, big, long, tall, strong Elsie Greenwood on 0:24:38.960 --> 0:24:42.600 the other side. I mean it was those were challenges, 0:24:42.640 --> 0:24:47.280 those those were big time challenges. This Pittsburgh Steeler defensive 0:24:47.280 --> 0:24:50.320 football team. Mike tom has been around a long time 0:24:50.520 --> 0:24:53.080 in Pittsburgh. You've seen a lot of great defenses. What 0:24:53.119 --> 0:24:54.280 does he think about this crew? 0:24:56.160 --> 0:24:58.680 Well, he was really sold at the start of the year, 0:24:59.480 --> 0:25:03.119 these now departed one Thornhill, who they've already gotten rid of. 0:25:04.640 --> 0:25:08.280 They had an interview session with him media members up 0:25:08.320 --> 0:25:11.359 there at training camp, and he talked about how great 0:25:11.440 --> 0:25:13.959 this defense is going to be. He was just gushing 0:25:14.000 --> 0:25:15.879 about how awesome it was and how it was going 0:25:15.920 --> 0:25:19.680 to set records, this, that, and the other thing. Tomlin 0:25:19.720 --> 0:25:22.760 goes on the morning show for the flagship station forty 0:25:22.800 --> 0:25:24.680 hours later and they asked him about that, like, do 0:25:24.720 --> 0:25:26.480 you want to tamp that down at all? They asked 0:25:26.480 --> 0:25:26.920 it that way. 0:25:26.960 --> 0:25:28.080 Is is this a little extreme? 0:25:28.119 --> 0:25:31.280 Do you want to tamp down that conversation all? He goes, No, 0:25:31.400 --> 0:25:34.560 I think we can be historic. So he ratcheted up 0:25:34.600 --> 0:25:37.080 the speculation, and you know, you get out there and 0:25:37.080 --> 0:25:38.880 you play against a team that can throw the ball 0:25:38.920 --> 0:25:42.119 with a smart quarterback and good wide receivers, and you 0:25:42.160 --> 0:25:45.520 get exposed passing the ball after they had been dealing 0:25:45.520 --> 0:25:47.560 with a carryover from the end of last year where 0:25:47.560 --> 0:25:50.359 they couldn't stop the run against the Jets and some 0:25:50.480 --> 0:25:53.280 other teams earlier in the season, and right away he 0:25:53.440 --> 0:25:57.000 kind of looked dumb, and the entire defense looks silly 0:25:57.080 --> 0:25:59.200 for propping up this notion that they were going to 0:25:59.240 --> 0:26:02.040 be to your earlier points akin to what we saw 0:26:02.040 --> 0:26:03.720 in the seventies or the nineties or. 0:26:03.720 --> 0:26:04.760 The early two thousands. 0:26:04.760 --> 0:26:07.960 Around here. They are not that they are not closed, 0:26:07.960 --> 0:26:11.840 and especially in the secondary. I think they just miscalculated 0:26:11.920 --> 0:26:14.000 what they were getting in some of the veterans they 0:26:14.000 --> 0:26:18.000 were requiring. Obviously they swung and missed on Thornhill. They 0:26:18.119 --> 0:26:22.200 thought that Ramsey could be a safety corner hybrid. Clearly 0:26:22.280 --> 0:26:25.639 he's still got the safety instincts and skills. He can't 0:26:25.720 --> 0:26:27.680 run with good wide receivers anymore. 0:26:28.000 --> 0:26:29.479 And Slay was just shot. 0:26:30.160 --> 0:26:33.320 You didn't hear a lot of people complaining in Philadelphia 0:26:33.359 --> 0:26:36.200 down the turnpike going, oh my god, we lost Darius Slay. 0:26:36.920 --> 0:26:39.480 No wonder you saw what happened when he came here, 0:26:39.800 --> 0:26:42.480 and they're trying to puff up Brandon Eckles like he 0:26:42.560 --> 0:26:43.440 can be the answer. 0:26:43.760 --> 0:26:45.320 He was a nice little signing. 0:26:45.560 --> 0:26:47.480 But let's not get carried away and think he's going 0:26:47.560 --> 0:26:49.399 to be mel Blunt if you want to continue with 0:26:49.440 --> 0:26:52.240 the seventies analogies, right, he ain't that. He's not even 0:26:52.320 --> 0:26:55.440 to Shaye Townsend. So like that's the biggest problem. 0:26:56.200 --> 0:26:59.800 Tim Ben's is our guest. This is year nineteen from 0:26:59.840 --> 0:27:02.639 my Tomlin in Pittsburgh. He went to two Super Bowls 0:27:02.680 --> 0:27:05.600 in the first four years of his tenure, winning one. 0:27:06.320 --> 0:27:09.119 That means no Super Bowls in the last fourteen years. 0:27:10.240 --> 0:27:13.320 Hasn't had a losing season, as everybody knows, but there's 0:27:13.359 --> 0:27:16.320 been a lot of a game over five hundred cup 0:27:16.600 --> 0:27:19.840 three seasons where they finished exactly five hundred. I say 0:27:19.920 --> 0:27:23.080 all of that to bring up this. After the Giants 0:27:23.240 --> 0:27:28.120 fired Brian Dabole, some columnists nationally suggested, you know what, 0:27:28.480 --> 0:27:30.680 Mike Tomlin would be the perfect guy in New York. 0:27:30.960 --> 0:27:35.000 Maybe it's time for a change of scenery. Forum. How 0:27:35.000 --> 0:27:38.480 would most Steeler fans react at this point if that 0:27:38.560 --> 0:27:41.480 went down? Did welcome in? 0:27:41.640 --> 0:27:44.199 I think the majority would welcome it. The majority of 0:27:44.280 --> 0:27:47.640 people I think who are Steelers fans are ready for change. 0:27:48.440 --> 0:27:49.520 They don't see an. 0:27:49.440 --> 0:27:54.359 End to the perpetual wow, slightly above mediocre level of 0:27:54.359 --> 0:27:55.280 football that they've. 0:27:55.119 --> 0:27:56.119 Put out there. 0:27:56.520 --> 0:27:58.160 There's been a lot of nine and eights and ten 0:27:58.200 --> 0:28:01.320 and sevens that have been baked up to feel better 0:28:01.359 --> 0:28:04.399 than what they are. It's not just a Tomlins streak. 0:28:04.440 --> 0:28:04.840 By the way. 0:28:04.880 --> 0:28:07.640 That streak of non losing seasons goes back to when 0:28:07.720 --> 0:28:10.320 Roethlisberger was drafted towards the end of the Cower era 0:28:10.400 --> 0:28:13.240 in two thousand and four, so it even pre dates 0:28:13.359 --> 0:28:16.479 Mike it's even longer than his run here. But you know, 0:28:16.680 --> 0:28:19.520 I think it's also I made the hockey reference before. 0:28:20.600 --> 0:28:22.760 There's an analogy that a lot of people are drawing 0:28:22.800 --> 0:28:25.160 that the Penguins just got away from Mike Sullivan after 0:28:25.200 --> 0:28:27.320 he won two Cups and it got very stale and 0:28:27.359 --> 0:28:31.000 they didn't have a playoff round win since twenty eighteen 0:28:31.040 --> 0:28:34.680 and missed the postseason entirely for the last three years, 0:28:34.680 --> 0:28:36.439 and they made a change and the Penguins are off 0:28:36.440 --> 0:28:39.280 to a much better than expected start, And it's pretty 0:28:39.320 --> 0:28:42.040 low hanging fruit. But it also drives on the point 0:28:42.080 --> 0:28:45.360 of maybe you get sedentary and you get afraid of 0:28:45.480 --> 0:28:47.480 change because you're used to what you're getting and it's 0:28:47.480 --> 0:28:51.560 not terrible. It hasn't been terrible around here. It's been okay. 0:28:52.000 --> 0:28:54.960 A lot of our franchises in football would kill per okay. 0:28:55.440 --> 0:28:57.640 But when you know what's gonna go on, Mike Tomlins 0:28:57.640 --> 0:29:00.680 tombstone is the phrase. The standard is the stand and 0:29:00.720 --> 0:29:03.360 it's been substandard to what that standard is supposed to 0:29:03.400 --> 0:29:05.920 be around here. You can't live with that credo and 0:29:06.000 --> 0:29:09.480 live beneath it for the majority of the past eight seasons, 0:29:09.600 --> 0:29:12.080 and that's definitely caught up to him when it comes 0:29:12.080 --> 0:29:14.840 to public perception going on what is almost now a 0:29:14.880 --> 0:29:16.719 decade in the making since the last time they want 0:29:16.760 --> 0:29:17.440 a playoff game. 0:29:18.160 --> 0:29:21.400 Mike Tomlins can definitely coach defense. He can definitely coach football. 0:29:21.400 --> 0:29:24.160 I mean great. We've talked about great head coach on 0:29:24.200 --> 0:29:27.320 twenty five straight non losing seasons. He's responsible for a 0:29:27.400 --> 0:29:30.080 high number of those. A big percentage of those great 0:29:30.120 --> 0:29:34.160 seasons went to Miami of Ohio. Played wide receiver there. 0:29:34.240 --> 0:29:36.720 You know, hell of a football player goes into the 0:29:36.720 --> 0:29:41.560 coaching profession and succeeds at an extremely high level after 0:29:43.040 --> 0:29:46.000 matriculating at the Cradle of Coaches, and I think he 0:29:46.080 --> 0:29:49.960 might have been an assistant coach there after graduation. And 0:29:50.360 --> 0:29:54.000 he's a hell of a football coach. He knows defense 0:29:54.560 --> 0:29:57.200 when he watches the Cincinnati Bengals, and I know, you know, 0:29:57.320 --> 0:30:00.480 you're not in there with him watching tape and getting 0:30:00.480 --> 0:30:03.640 his thoughts and opinions on the Bengals defense. But he 0:30:03.760 --> 0:30:08.640 knows good defensive players, he knows good defensive coaches when 0:30:08.640 --> 0:30:10.320 he sees it and works against it. What does he 0:30:10.360 --> 0:30:15.200 think about the Cincinnati Bengals unit, Well. 0:30:15.000 --> 0:30:19.360 I mean he's kind of avoided spending too much time 0:30:19.440 --> 0:30:22.720 talking about it publicly, honestly. And he was actually the 0:30:22.760 --> 0:30:26.200 defensive back coach at Cincinnati. That's where his relationship developed. 0:30:26.280 --> 0:30:29.600 Rick Minner and Jesse Minner, who's you know, just put 0:30:29.680 --> 0:30:31.640 on a good display from the Chargers the other night. 0:30:32.880 --> 0:30:35.320 But yeah, I mean, I think what he has said 0:30:35.360 --> 0:30:38.160 about the defense of the Bengals is you know, he's 0:30:38.200 --> 0:30:40.440 always kind of he does the Louholtz thing, you know, 0:30:40.600 --> 0:30:42.680 whenever he does his weekly press conference, he spends the 0:30:42.680 --> 0:30:45.120 first fifteen minutes talking about every team like they're the 0:30:45.200 --> 0:30:48.080 nineties Cowboys, the eighty five bears right, And when he 0:30:48.120 --> 0:30:50.280 was talking about the Bengals defense this week, he kept 0:30:50.320 --> 0:30:52.920 talking about the young developing players of what they could be. 0:30:53.560 --> 0:30:54.280 Spent a lot of. 0:30:54.200 --> 0:30:58.680 Time focusing on DJ Turner and you know, like the 0:30:58.760 --> 0:31:02.240 job that he's done, and he played against Metcalf last time. 0:31:02.760 --> 0:31:05.480 And you know, even though it's pretty clear that Trey 0:31:05.520 --> 0:31:08.240 Anderson was gonna play, he was talking about Henderson and 0:31:08.600 --> 0:31:10.360 you know how much he has when he is in there. 0:31:10.440 --> 0:31:12.520 So he had a very depth way to not talk 0:31:12.680 --> 0:31:15.840 about where the Bengals defense has been. But you know, 0:31:15.960 --> 0:31:20.000 people in Pittsburgh, people who analyze this sort of thing, 0:31:20.040 --> 0:31:22.760 have definitely said this is a game that the Steelers 0:31:22.800 --> 0:31:25.840 probably will have to win in the thirties and probably 0:31:25.920 --> 0:31:28.960 can and should win in the thirties. Because that game 0:31:29.000 --> 0:31:31.680 from Aaron Rodgers was his first bag game, I. 0:31:31.640 --> 0:31:35.840 Don't as a Steeler. It was off the Sharks bad, don't. 0:31:35.640 --> 0:31:37.800 Get me wrong, But I don't quite think I'm ready 0:31:37.840 --> 0:31:40.360 to believe that we're getting into Russell Wilson territory like 0:31:40.400 --> 0:31:43.160 we saw the last five weeks of last year. This 0:31:43.280 --> 0:31:46.600 might be the exact elixture that that offense and Aaron 0:31:46.680 --> 0:31:50.400 Rodgers needs to face the Bengals defense, and you know, 0:31:50.480 --> 0:31:52.640 I expect a similar tone to what we saw in. 0:31:52.600 --> 0:31:53.240 The first game. 0:31:53.680 --> 0:31:56.800 I'm not certain the Steelers are gonna win, but I 0:31:56.840 --> 0:31:59.360 would expect to see that overheit. I think it's at 0:31:59.400 --> 0:32:02.560 like fifty and that feels like something that both these teams, 0:32:02.560 --> 0:32:05.200 even to the field has turned sworn off after Notre 0:32:05.280 --> 0:32:08.320 Dame and pitt and the weather's not great, which potentially 0:32:08.360 --> 0:32:11.720 could be the case. I still see an option for 0:32:11.840 --> 0:32:13.560 a lot of offense this weekend. 0:32:14.800 --> 0:32:15.040 Right. 0:32:15.560 --> 0:32:17.960 That has certainly been the way it's looked in Bengals 0:32:18.040 --> 0:32:21.840 games since Joe Fleco has been Cincinnati's quarterback. Tim, we 0:32:21.880 --> 0:32:24.760 appreciate your time, enjoy that hockey match, and we will 0:32:24.760 --> 0:32:26.840 see you on Sunday at Akroshore. 0:32:27.760 --> 0:32:29.160 All right, good cashing up with you guys. 0:32:29.200 --> 0:32:29.959 Thanks for having me. 0:32:31.080 --> 0:32:32.240 Safe travels, Tim. 0:32:32.280 --> 0:32:36.280 All right, that is Tim Bens again, a broadcaster, podcaster, 0:32:36.400 --> 0:32:40.520 and columnist covering all things Pittsburgh in the Steel City. 0:32:40.560 --> 0:32:44.000 We'll take a time out when we come back with 0:32:44.120 --> 0:32:49.479 Trey Hendrickson out, Shamar Stewart out. Can Miles Murphy step 0:32:49.560 --> 0:32:51.920 up start to look like a first round draft pick? 0:32:52.320 --> 0:32:54.760 We'll hear from him next. This is The Bengals pep 0:32:54.840 --> 0:33:03.920 Rally Show on ESPN fifteen thirty Dan or Todave laugh 0:33:04.000 --> 0:33:06.280 them back on The Bengals pep Rally Show presented by 0:33:06.680 --> 0:33:09.280 Just Bear Chicken, live from the On the Rhine Eatery 0:33:09.320 --> 0:33:12.480 here in downtown Cincinnati. Mike Mills is our engineer, Drew 0:33:12.520 --> 0:33:15.480 Wester Heidi is back in the studio. We appreciate you 0:33:15.560 --> 0:33:19.960 joining us on this Friday afternoon. Evan McPherson's going to 0:33:20.000 --> 0:33:23.200 be here in the final hour of the show today. 0:33:23.360 --> 0:33:26.040 That's four thirty to five thirty, not the usual five 0:33:26.080 --> 0:33:31.000 to six. So if you're listening, have that time period off. 0:33:32.040 --> 0:33:35.200 Maybe have a kid that would love to meet Money Mack. 0:33:35.640 --> 0:33:38.320 You've got the opportunity to do so. Today from four 0:33:38.440 --> 0:33:42.120 thirty to five thirty. Evan will sign, com sign autographs, 0:33:42.120 --> 0:33:45.120 whether during the commercial breaks, he will pose for pictures. 0:33:45.240 --> 0:33:47.400 All of it's free. Come down and join us here 0:33:47.440 --> 0:33:49.640 at the on the Rhine Eatery. I say all of 0:33:49.680 --> 0:33:52.880 that because we have friends here today that are going 0:33:52.960 --> 0:33:58.360 to get the greatest autographed item from Evan McPherson of 0:33:58.440 --> 0:34:03.480 all time. They've got the leg of a mannequin in 0:34:04.480 --> 0:34:08.560 part of a Bengals uniform with an orange sock and 0:34:08.880 --> 0:34:11.200 like a kicking shoe. Yes, and I assume it is 0:34:11.239 --> 0:34:14.560 here to get signed by Moneymack. That is going to 0:34:14.600 --> 0:34:18.440 be the coolest autographed item by an NFL kicker of 0:34:18.480 --> 0:34:18.919 all time. 0:34:19.000 --> 0:34:20.560 That's a show and tell man, you got to take 0:34:20.600 --> 0:34:23.360 that to school. You know, let everybody, everybody give the 0:34:23.400 --> 0:34:24.560 gander that bad boy. 0:34:24.960 --> 0:34:26.680 So if we get a quarterback to come by, we'll 0:34:26.680 --> 0:34:31.040 you get the arm from the same mannequin. Yes, they will, 0:34:31.760 --> 0:34:34.960 all right. Before the commercial break, we mentioned that Trey 0:34:35.000 --> 0:34:37.440 Hendrickson is out this week dealing with a hip injury. 0:34:37.760 --> 0:34:40.840 Shamar Stewart is out this week dealing with a knee injury. 0:34:41.120 --> 0:34:44.040 Hopefully those guys will be back soon. In the meantime, 0:34:44.160 --> 0:34:46.800 somebody's going to have to step up put some pressure 0:34:46.840 --> 0:34:50.200 on Aaron Rodgers this week. Joseph Osai could be one 0:34:50.200 --> 0:34:53.360 of those guys. Hopefully they'll get a pushed from inside 0:34:53.360 --> 0:34:56.359 from somebody like bj Hill or Chris Jenkins. But let's 0:34:56.400 --> 0:34:59.600 face it, the guy that we keep hoping is going 0:34:59.600 --> 0:35:03.120 to urge is a dependable pass rusher. Is the twenty 0:35:03.200 --> 0:35:06.880 eighth pick in the draft a few years ago, Miles Murphy. 0:35:06.960 --> 0:35:09.040 He's going to get a bunch of playing time this 0:35:09.120 --> 0:35:11.920 week against Pittsburgh, and I talked to him about that 0:35:12.120 --> 0:35:15.800 and much more this week. Miles, You've led the Bengals 0:35:15.840 --> 0:35:19.200 defensive lineman in snaps each of the last two games. 0:35:19.239 --> 0:35:21.399 You were too off the lead in the game before that. 0:35:21.960 --> 0:35:24.839 Is this the opportunity that you've been looking for? 0:35:25.680 --> 0:35:27.160 I mean yeah, I feel like as a player, you 0:35:27.160 --> 0:35:30.319 always look for any opportunity you can get, and really, 0:35:30.320 --> 0:35:32.880 anytime you're on the field, regardless of the snap count, 0:35:33.200 --> 0:35:35.759 you want to take advantage of each and every snap, 0:35:35.760 --> 0:35:38.960 whether it's one or seventy, you want to take advantage 0:35:39.000 --> 0:35:41.440 of each and every one of them. And you know 0:35:41.480 --> 0:35:42.280 he's being the pun. 0:35:42.200 --> 0:35:44.240 To put your best before it. Really, do you feel 0:35:44.280 --> 0:35:47.040 like all of these snaps are paying off? And if so, 0:35:47.239 --> 0:35:48.319 how uh? 0:35:48.440 --> 0:35:51.799 Yeah? I think experience is the best teacher, regardless of 0:35:51.800 --> 0:35:53.920 who your coach is. Like, if you're on the field, 0:35:54.040 --> 0:35:58.440 you're you're gonna learn something coaches helped, So the coaches 0:35:58.520 --> 0:36:02.319 help you progress faster, but experience, I feel is. 0:36:02.320 --> 0:36:02.960 The best teacher. 0:36:04.239 --> 0:36:07.320 Put his dudes that are just year ten, year twelve 0:36:07.320 --> 0:36:10.240 that I've talked to and it's just things that they've 0:36:10.360 --> 0:36:12.720 learned just by playing the game and being on the field, 0:36:13.880 --> 0:36:17.240 like just small, small stuff to give you a little 0:36:17.239 --> 0:36:20.480 bit of an edge on a handful of plays. So yeah, 0:36:20.480 --> 0:36:22.759 I think experience is the best teacher, and I'm learning. 0:36:22.760 --> 0:36:25.960 I'm learning a lot just being just being on the field, anticipating, 0:36:26.560 --> 0:36:30.800 anticipating runs and passes a little bit better, going against 0:36:31.880 --> 0:36:36.480 elite tackles and developing my pass rush and run moves whatever. 0:36:36.600 --> 0:36:39.600 So yeah, I think I'm learning, learning and developing a 0:36:39.600 --> 0:36:40.560 lot just being on the field. 0:36:40.920 --> 0:36:43.320 You were one of the youngest guys in your draft class. 0:36:43.440 --> 0:36:46.160 You're still only twenty three. Do you feel like you're 0:36:46.200 --> 0:36:49.440 still relatively early in the learning process? 0:36:49.640 --> 0:36:49.799 Uh? 0:36:49.880 --> 0:36:50.160 Yeah. 0:36:50.200 --> 0:36:54.000 That was one of coach Taylor's main points coming off 0:36:54.000 --> 0:36:56.840 of last season. I'm stilling my the things that infancy 0:36:56.920 --> 0:37:01.799 of my career. So it's it's okay to continue to 0:37:01.800 --> 0:37:06.759 get better. It's rome wasn't built in the day, regardless 0:37:06.760 --> 0:37:09.520 of what anyone else says. And here I know I've 0:37:09.520 --> 0:37:11.560 gotten a lot better since my rookie year. And the 0:37:11.600 --> 0:37:14.359 biggest thing because that is just being able to being 0:37:14.360 --> 0:37:18.719 able to anticipate, being able to anticipate plays, knowing knowing 0:37:18.760 --> 0:37:20.800 how to watch film, sting, sending in the film with 0:37:20.960 --> 0:37:25.239 h jmo or Jerry, just having him walk me through 0:37:25.680 --> 0:37:28.560 things to look for, how to watch film, what to 0:37:28.800 --> 0:37:31.720 what to study, how to dissect players, how to dissect 0:37:31.920 --> 0:37:36.239 backfield formations, being it. Yeah, just doing things like that, 0:37:36.280 --> 0:37:41.640 and and and anticipating plays, being able to just play fast. 0:37:41.239 --> 0:37:43.840 Visiting with Biles Murphy. You've been teammates with one of 0:37:43.880 --> 0:37:46.080 the better sac artists in the NFL now for three 0:37:46.160 --> 0:37:49.200 years and Trey Hendrickson. Are the things that you pick 0:37:49.320 --> 0:37:51.959 up from him? Or is it easier said than done 0:37:52.000 --> 0:37:54.640 to just say, I play with Trey Hendrickson, therefore I'm 0:37:54.680 --> 0:37:56.640 going to be able to pick up tricks of the 0:37:56.680 --> 0:37:57.359 trade from him. 0:37:57.840 --> 0:37:59.440 Nah, you can't just be here. You can't just show 0:37:59.520 --> 0:38:01.759 up and say, Okay, I'm gonna evolve into trade now. 0:38:01.800 --> 0:38:04.200 You gotta really tap in, like you can ask him. 0:38:04.200 --> 0:38:06.880 I've since I've gotten here, I've been asking him questions. 0:38:06.960 --> 0:38:09.799 And it's not all just football stuff. How do you 0:38:09.800 --> 0:38:10.480 throw your swipe? 0:38:10.560 --> 0:38:10.600 Is? 0:38:10.960 --> 0:38:12.799 Like what do you do when you go home? Or 0:38:12.840 --> 0:38:15.719 something like that, Like how do you recover so? And 0:38:16.000 --> 0:38:19.320 like one of the things, I'm a pretty good observer. 0:38:19.400 --> 0:38:20.920 I've observed a lot of things and people. 0:38:21.680 --> 0:38:22.040 He is. 0:38:22.400 --> 0:38:24.239 He and him and Sam Hubbert when he was here, 0:38:24.280 --> 0:38:29.360 we're very anal about their schedule still are, and it's 0:38:29.400 --> 0:38:32.000 like I can I can show up to the I 0:38:32.000 --> 0:38:33.640 can show up to the facility, and I can expect 0:38:33.680 --> 0:38:36.640 Trade to be in certain spots and he's always in 0:38:36.719 --> 0:38:39.120 certain spots because he is on top of his schedule. 0:38:39.160 --> 0:38:40.719 And I've I tried to do the same thing. I 0:38:40.760 --> 0:38:43.600 tried to create a schedule and be on it every 0:38:43.680 --> 0:38:46.520 single day, especially when it comes to recovery, because that's 0:38:46.560 --> 0:38:50.520 the that's the biggest thing. I didn't really I kind 0:38:50.520 --> 0:38:53.200 of just did what I was recommended in college. Now, 0:38:53.320 --> 0:38:55.120 since it's so much just free time, you can do 0:38:55.160 --> 0:38:57.480 whatever you want me to go home, I had to 0:38:57.480 --> 0:39:01.080 just create a schedule, stick to it, create a diet, 0:39:01.200 --> 0:39:04.880 stick to it, and really hone it on film and 0:39:04.960 --> 0:39:06.920 just use use my use my free time. 0:39:06.960 --> 0:39:11.239 Wisely, Really, you are a smart cerebro guy. I enjoy 0:39:11.360 --> 0:39:14.600 talking to you. I wonder as a pass rusher if 0:39:14.640 --> 0:39:17.120 that works against you, are there times where you find 0:39:17.160 --> 0:39:20.240 yourself thinking and maybe you'd be better off just going 0:39:20.880 --> 0:39:21.640 uh yeah. 0:39:21.680 --> 0:39:23.520 Early on in my career I admitted that I think 0:39:23.560 --> 0:39:25.319 my rookie year and a little bit last year where 0:39:25.360 --> 0:39:28.319 I was just thinking overthinking myself of second guests and 0:39:28.360 --> 0:39:30.400 on some rushes where I should go inside or outside 0:39:30.440 --> 0:39:31.080 or just power. 0:39:30.960 --> 0:39:31.520 Us to the guy. 0:39:31.560 --> 0:39:35.920 But I think now I've kind of develop a mindset 0:39:35.960 --> 0:39:38.799 of pick one and go commit to it. That's that's 0:39:38.800 --> 0:39:40.680 the big thing. That's a big thing. You can portray said, 0:39:40.680 --> 0:39:42.960 you gotta just commit to a rush. You can't if 0:39:43.000 --> 0:39:44.880 you go into a rush. He says it all the time. 0:39:44.920 --> 0:39:45.080 You go. 0:39:45.120 --> 0:39:46.960 If you go into a rust thinking about a counter, 0:39:47.040 --> 0:39:49.359 thinking about a if this doesn't work, go to this, 0:39:49.880 --> 0:39:51.920 You're probably not gonna win. So it just really just 0:39:51.920 --> 0:39:54.680 commit to that one rush, as for already thinking about 0:39:54.840 --> 0:39:59.120 or setting up. So that's a big, big teaching point 0:39:59.160 --> 0:40:00.520 that I kind of took in this year. 0:40:01.640 --> 0:40:05.000 This defense is filled with guys that had tremendous college careers, 0:40:05.040 --> 0:40:08.520 played on great college teams, and unfortunately, in recent weeks 0:40:08.520 --> 0:40:12.000 the Bengals defense has struggled. How hard is it when 0:40:12.040 --> 0:40:14.839 I'm sure you feel like you've let the offense down 0:40:14.920 --> 0:40:15.960 to a certain extent. 0:40:16.440 --> 0:40:20.400 It's a tough phone, a swallow for sure. But like 0:40:20.440 --> 0:40:24.200 you said, us coming from winning programs, successful, successful team 0:40:24.239 --> 0:40:26.880 successful defenses, Like we all know, we all know what 0:40:26.880 --> 0:40:28.200 it looks like, we all know what it feels like. 0:40:28.560 --> 0:40:31.799 Although yes, sharel was at the college level, some of 0:40:31.800 --> 0:40:35.200 the guys that were here during that Super Bowl year, BJ, 0:40:35.600 --> 0:40:38.000 TREYE and some of the other guys, like, they know 0:40:38.040 --> 0:40:41.200 what it looks like on this level. So those are 0:40:41.200 --> 0:40:44.000 the leaders that are stepping up and really just us 0:40:44.360 --> 0:40:48.000 taking what we knew from college, what worked in college, 0:40:48.080 --> 0:40:51.480 bringing it here kind of just adding on, adding on 0:40:51.520 --> 0:40:53.399 to the things that the vests did that Super Bowl 0:40:53.480 --> 0:40:59.239 year and just taking coaching and retaining it and continuing 0:40:59.280 --> 0:41:01.759 to stuff forward. That's the main dame. He can't can't 0:41:01.760 --> 0:41:05.840 step back, can't let the confidence kind of just wither away. 0:41:06.000 --> 0:41:08.759 Like we know, yeah it's a little bit of a 0:41:08.840 --> 0:41:10.799 value right now, but that doesn't mean just the season's over. 0:41:10.840 --> 0:41:12.440 So you got to just keep keep stepping forward. 0:41:12.440 --> 0:41:15.759 Honestly, appreciate your time. Best of luck this week, Thanks 0:41:15.760 --> 0:41:19.040 so much. Appreciate it all right. Laugh. That was Miles Murphy. 0:41:19.080 --> 0:41:21.880 Here's my feeling on Miles in year three of his 0:41:21.920 --> 0:41:26.160 Bengals career. I think he's improving as a run stopper. 0:41:26.239 --> 0:41:29.239 I think he's been decent at that this year, I 0:41:29.360 --> 0:41:32.760 haven't seen enough growth as a pass rusher, and obviously 0:41:32.760 --> 0:41:34.320 the numbers bear that out. He's got one and a 0:41:34.320 --> 0:41:35.279 half sacks this year. 0:41:35.520 --> 0:41:37.600 Yeah, one and a half sacks this year, four and 0:41:37.640 --> 0:41:40.440 a half for his career. I mean a guy that 0:41:40.560 --> 0:41:44.320 was picked where he was twenty eighth and has the ability, 0:41:44.400 --> 0:41:47.759 the physical talents, the physical skills that he's been blessed with. 0:41:48.320 --> 0:41:51.319 You know, you just you expect much more production than yeah, 0:41:51.440 --> 0:41:55.920 you know, and he's a puzzle. He's a quandary for 0:41:56.160 --> 0:41:59.920 coaches to try to figure out because it's not like 0:42:00.239 --> 0:42:05.840 he's loafing or you know, not interested, not paying attention. 0:42:06.560 --> 0:42:09.160 He's not anything like that. He wants to be good. 0:42:09.280 --> 0:42:11.760 He wants to be he wants to be a dominant player. 0:42:11.840 --> 0:42:15.319 He wants to be an upper echelon NFL edge pass 0:42:15.400 --> 0:42:19.160 rusher that offensive tackles in the National Football League are like, 0:42:19.239 --> 0:42:22.160 oh boy, I got Miles Murphy this week. Oh man, 0:42:22.520 --> 0:42:24.279 but he got a lot of sleep better eat right, 0:42:25.719 --> 0:42:28.480 And you know, it's it hasn't hasn't panned out for him, 0:42:28.680 --> 0:42:31.319 hasn't turned out to be the case. So I know 0:42:31.440 --> 0:42:33.319 he's not going to quit on it. I know he's 0:42:33.320 --> 0:42:36.080 going to continue to work and work hard. And uh, 0:42:36.640 --> 0:42:41.040 the organization, the coach's position, coach coordinator, head coach, nobody's 0:42:41.040 --> 0:42:43.879 gonna quit on the guy. They're gonna give them, give 0:42:44.000 --> 0:42:47.880 him their full attention as well. I'd like to see 0:42:48.480 --> 0:42:51.040 Murphy have a you know, eight or nine sacks season. 0:42:51.080 --> 0:42:53.360 That would be That would be great. That would be 0:42:53.360 --> 0:42:55.360 a coming out party, you know, that would be Welcome 0:42:55.400 --> 0:42:57.399 to the National Football League here, I am. 0:42:57.880 --> 0:43:01.120 He's got a year left on his rookie contract prior 0:43:01.239 --> 0:43:04.280 to next season. He'll be eligible for a fifth round option. 0:43:04.680 --> 0:43:07.480 I'm sorry, a fifth year option as a first round 0:43:07.560 --> 0:43:10.080 draft pick right now, there's no way he gets it 0:43:10.280 --> 0:43:13.040 based on how he's played. So he would have to 0:43:13.080 --> 0:43:16.319 really have a surge over these final eight games for 0:43:16.360 --> 0:43:18.520 the Bengals to want to invest beyond next year. 0:43:18.760 --> 0:43:23.120 Yeah, and like we talked about, you know, they're in 0:43:23.600 --> 0:43:29.200 the beginning of a stretch. Okay, Pittsburgh. You got Pittsburgh twice. No, 0:43:29.280 --> 0:43:31.360 you got Pittsburgh once. I already played them once. You 0:43:31.360 --> 0:43:34.239 get them again. Aaron Rodgers, you know upper echelon guy 0:43:34.680 --> 0:43:37.480 new England quarterbacks playing at a high level. Baltimore. We 0:43:37.520 --> 0:43:40.120 know he's playing at a high level. Buffalo, He's playing 0:43:40.160 --> 0:43:43.759 at a high level. You could use somebody on the 0:43:43.880 --> 0:43:48.000 edge that on a snap by snap basis. These quarterbacks 0:43:48.000 --> 0:43:49.600 have to, you know, get their head on a swivel 0:43:49.640 --> 0:43:51.959 and look look for a little bit, get their eyes 0:43:52.000 --> 0:43:55.600 off the downfield coverage. And Miles Murphy is that kind 0:43:55.640 --> 0:43:58.360 of guy. He just have to He has to believe 0:43:58.360 --> 0:43:59.839 it and he has to get there. 0:44:00.320 --> 0:44:04.080 The other team's quarterback this week is Aaron Rodgers. Coming 0:44:04.160 --> 0:44:06.799 up next, what is it like for a twenty three 0:44:06.880 --> 0:44:10.080 year old rookie to face a quarterback in his twenty 0:44:10.200 --> 0:44:14.400 first NFL season. We'll hear from Bengals linebacker Barrett Carter next. 0:44:14.400 --> 0:44:17.319 This is the Bengals pep Rally Show presented by Just 0:44:17.440 --> 0:44:20.279 Bear Chicken live from the on the Rhine Eatery on 0:44:20.600 --> 0:44:21.760 ESPN fifteen thirty. 0:44:29.680 --> 0:44:33.640 This is Bengals pep Rally presented by Just Bared Chicken 0:44:33.880 --> 0:44:37.759 on the Bengals Radio Network. Paycore Paycor is proud to 0:44:37.800 --> 0:44:42.040 be the official HR software provider of the Cincinnati Bengals. 0:44:42.320 --> 0:44:46.600 Kettering Health Best Care for the Best Fans. Kettering Health 0:44:46.800 --> 0:44:52.160 Official healthcare provider of the Cincinnati Bengals. This is ESPN 0:44:52.360 --> 0:44:56.640 fifteen to thirty, the official home of the Cincinnati Bengals. 0:44:57.280 --> 0:44:59.480 One Hour in the Books, two hours to Go on 0:44:59.520 --> 0:45:02.720 the Bengals pep Rowley Show, presented by Just Beared Chicken. 0:45:02.760 --> 0:45:06.280 Here on ESPN fifteen thirty. I'm Dan Horde, He's Dave Lapham. 0:45:06.560 --> 0:45:09.120 Evan McPherson will join us in one hour. He'll be 0:45:09.200 --> 0:45:11.480 here for the final hour of the show. If you 0:45:11.520 --> 0:45:13.719 want to get an autographed for a picture with money Max, 0:45:13.840 --> 0:45:16.440 this is your opportunity to do it. It's absolutely free, 0:45:16.480 --> 0:45:21.759 although we highly encourage you to take advantage of the 0:45:21.800 --> 0:45:24.600 opportunities for food and drink here. Beyond the rhyine eatery, 0:45:25.080 --> 0:45:28.640 plenty of inexpensive food options. There's a great bar here 0:45:28.680 --> 0:45:30.719 as well, So if you want to come out and 0:45:30.840 --> 0:45:33.680 start the happy hour on a Friday afternoon, have something 0:45:33.719 --> 0:45:36.160 to eat, this is a great place to do it. Hoard, 0:45:36.560 --> 0:45:40.799 Lapham and Mills have been sampling the dry rub wings, yes, 0:45:40.960 --> 0:45:44.880 and the potstickers so far today. Both delicious, outstanding. The 0:45:44.920 --> 0:45:46.600 wings in particular tremendous. 0:45:47.080 --> 0:45:51.680 They're cooked to perfection. I mean just enough spice, you know, 0:45:51.920 --> 0:45:52.960 just enough seasoning in. 0:45:53.000 --> 0:45:56.200 Correctly perfect, really really good. Yeah, we tend to bring 0:45:56.239 --> 0:45:59.399 them home as well, have no question. So we got 0:45:59.400 --> 0:46:02.680 the Bengals and Steelers coming up this Sunday at one o'clock, 0:46:03.000 --> 0:46:06.160 second time this year that the Bengals will face forty 0:46:06.200 --> 0:46:09.400 one year old Aaron Rodgers. He will be forty two 0:46:09.520 --> 0:46:12.640 year old Aaron Rodgers in eighteen days. What a career 0:46:12.680 --> 0:46:14.960 he's had. He's a four time MVP, he is a 0:46:15.000 --> 0:46:19.120 Super Bowl MVP. He has passed for so many yards 0:46:19.120 --> 0:46:22.560 in his NFL career we can convert them to miles. 0:46:22.600 --> 0:46:26.120 He has passed for thirty six point eight miles in 0:46:26.160 --> 0:46:28.680 his NFL career. He's thrown for five hundred and twenty 0:46:28.719 --> 0:46:32.640 one touchdowns, including four in the first meeting between these 0:46:32.640 --> 0:46:35.560 two teams about a month ago. Cincinnati did win the 0:46:35.600 --> 0:46:39.520 game thirty three to thirty one. So imagine what it's 0:46:39.600 --> 0:46:43.520 like for the Bengals rookie linebackers Demetrius Knight and Barrett 0:46:43.560 --> 0:46:46.879 Carter to walk up to the line of scrimmage, look 0:46:46.920 --> 0:46:49.680 at the other team's quarterback, stare them in the eyes, 0:46:50.000 --> 0:46:51.880 and see a guy that's been playing in the NFL 0:46:51.920 --> 0:46:55.560 since they were two or three years old. Let's hear 0:46:55.560 --> 0:46:58.880 from Bengals rookie Barrett Carter on what it's like to 0:46:58.960 --> 0:47:01.920 go head to head with a legend in Aaron Rodgers. 0:47:02.560 --> 0:47:04.680 It was so cool planning to get some side note, 0:47:04.719 --> 0:47:07.239 But what I learned is that you can tell he's 0:47:07.239 --> 0:47:09.360 been playing the game for a long time and for 0:47:09.400 --> 0:47:11.319 a long time at a high level. At that just 0:47:11.920 --> 0:47:13.560 you know, he's walking up out of the huddle and 0:47:13.600 --> 0:47:16.280 he's he's viewing the defense and he just looked super 0:47:16.320 --> 0:47:18.520 super like calm out there. So that's really that was 0:47:18.560 --> 0:47:21.759 really that was really cool to see and just being 0:47:21.800 --> 0:47:23.680 able to you know, I was I remember I was 0:47:23.680 --> 0:47:25.440 a kid watching him and I got to play against 0:47:25.440 --> 0:47:27.880 some first hand. So he's a he's a pois player, 0:47:28.160 --> 0:47:30.360 plays with a lot of confidence and uh, you know, 0:47:30.400 --> 0:47:31.000 you got to. 0:47:30.960 --> 0:47:34.200 Be on your piece accus when you play him. The 0:47:34.239 --> 0:47:38.400 Bengals intercepted him twice in that first meeting. Jordan Battle 0:47:38.440 --> 0:47:41.239 got him, DJ Turner got him. Came on back to 0:47:41.320 --> 0:47:45.000 back possessions in the second quarter. More than anything else, 0:47:45.280 --> 0:47:47.680 that was probably the biggest key to the win. Because 0:47:48.320 --> 0:47:52.520 the Bengals defense clearly is not shutting teams down. They've 0:47:52.520 --> 0:47:55.080 got to get some takeaways and they got two in 0:47:55.160 --> 0:47:56.279 that first beating. 0:47:56.600 --> 0:47:59.799 Absolutely and uh, you know, we thought turnovers were going 0:47:59.840 --> 0:48:03.160 to be a big key in game one, and they 0:48:03.200 --> 0:48:08.640 were two interceptions that that Aaron Rodgers threw. Joe Flacco 0:48:08.680 --> 0:48:11.520 didn't throw any, so that that was big. That was 0:48:11.800 --> 0:48:15.080 a deciding factor in the in the victory for the 0:48:15.080 --> 0:48:19.440 Cincinnati Bengals in a hard fought two point win. So yeah, 0:48:19.480 --> 0:48:22.840 it's it is. Uh, you go, You're gonna have to 0:48:22.880 --> 0:48:25.160 take care of the football, There's no doubt about it. 0:48:25.160 --> 0:48:26.839 And Aaron, Aaron Rodgers is going to the Hall of 0:48:26.840 --> 0:48:29.799 Fame that five hundred and twenty one touchdowns in his career, 0:48:30.000 --> 0:48:34.240 kidding me, it's ridiculous. He did throw four touchdown passes, 0:48:34.320 --> 0:48:38.920 like you said, Dan, two interceptions hurt four touchdown passes 0:48:39.440 --> 0:48:43.760 almost overcame those interceptions and almost led his team to victory. 0:48:44.400 --> 0:48:48.960 You do know that Aaron Rodgers will compete. Aaron Rodgers 0:48:49.200 --> 0:48:52.799 wants to make amends for what he feels like a 0:48:52.840 --> 0:48:55.680 game where he cost his team a football game and 0:48:56.040 --> 0:48:58.160 you know, you can definitely say it. You know it's 0:48:58.200 --> 0:49:01.040 a and he realizes that. So he doesn't want to 0:49:01.080 --> 0:49:03.200 be the goat. He doesn't want to wear the goat horns. 0:49:03.200 --> 0:49:07.400 Again in the Pittsburgh steel of locker room when that 0:49:07.520 --> 0:49:08.520 football game ends. 0:49:09.320 --> 0:49:12.239 So we talked about the Bengals injuries earlier in the show. 0:49:12.440 --> 0:49:15.440 Now the Steelers injury report is out and there is 0:49:15.480 --> 0:49:19.680 some good news where the Bengals are concerned. Alex Highsmith 0:49:20.320 --> 0:49:23.120 is out. Wow, one of their best pass rushers, a 0:49:23.160 --> 0:49:27.080 guy who has given Cincinnati fits over the years. Linebacker 0:49:27.160 --> 0:49:30.560 Clay Holcomb is out. That's not quite as significant, although 0:49:30.560 --> 0:49:32.919 he had been playing well when he was healthy. Their 0:49:33.000 --> 0:49:37.560 left guard Isaac Seamalo is questionable. He did not play 0:49:37.840 --> 0:49:41.200 last week in their loss on Sunday Night against the Chargers. 0:49:41.719 --> 0:49:44.120 He might be the best offensive lineman they have. He's 0:49:44.120 --> 0:49:48.400 certainly the most experienced, so questionable means it's fifty to fifty. 0:49:48.560 --> 0:49:50.960 The Bengals can keep their fingers crossed and hope that 0:49:51.000 --> 0:49:51.960 he is out this week. 0:49:52.960 --> 0:49:57.560 He is a beast. He really does a hell of 0:49:57.560 --> 0:50:00.360 a job. He kind of controls an aw owns the 0:50:00.800 --> 0:50:04.120 owns the line of scrimmage. I think that that's an 0:50:04.200 --> 0:50:08.879 underrated group to the Pittsburgh Steelers, their offensive line, how 0:50:08.920 --> 0:50:12.720 well they've played, you know, as a group this season. 0:50:13.480 --> 0:50:16.360 Thought to know at the right tackle position is another horse. 0:50:16.800 --> 0:50:21.320 He's a He's an excellent player. Zach Frasier is a 0:50:21.680 --> 0:50:26.879 grizzled veteran center. McCormick uh plays well at the at 0:50:26.880 --> 0:50:30.319 the right guard position. Roderick Jones a big old, big 0:50:30.320 --> 0:50:33.120 old body at the left tackle spot as well. They've 0:50:33.160 --> 0:50:35.879 got players. I mean, the Pittsburgh Steelers know what they're doing. 0:50:36.280 --> 0:50:40.080 Their stuarding department as a formula, the things they look 0:50:40.160 --> 0:50:44.520 for in offensive lineman that over the years they've monitored, 0:50:44.600 --> 0:50:47.440 and most of the offensive linemen that have been successful 0:50:47.440 --> 0:50:50.640 in the NFL, particularly with the Pittsburgh Steelers, have fit 0:50:50.719 --> 0:50:55.680 the bill and and been in the mold of these 0:50:55.680 --> 0:50:59.640 physical traits. So they know what they're doing. Absolutely, they 0:50:59.640 --> 0:51:01.200 know what they're doing. And I think a big key 0:51:01.280 --> 0:51:03.480 in the football game this time, just like it was 0:51:03.480 --> 0:51:06.319 in the first matchup dan is who runs the football? Well, 0:51:06.760 --> 0:51:09.279 you know who gets their running game going. And you 0:51:09.320 --> 0:51:11.719 get that running game going play action pass falls into 0:51:11.719 --> 0:51:14.760 plays very easily. So you don't get that running game going. 0:51:14.920 --> 0:51:15.480 It does not. 0:51:16.320 --> 0:51:19.239 All right, you just talked about the Steelers offensive line. 0:51:19.239 --> 0:51:21.919 We're going to talk about the Bengals offensive line when 0:51:21.960 --> 0:51:25.680 we come back. Is Joe Flacco making the Bengals offensive 0:51:25.719 --> 0:51:30.040 line look good or is the line actually playing well? 0:51:30.040 --> 0:51:32.040 We'll discuss that when we come back. This is the 0:51:32.080 --> 0:51:35.640 Bengals pep Rally Show presented by Just Bear Chicken, live 0:51:35.680 --> 0:51:43.560 from the on the Ryan Eatery on ESPN fifteen thirty. 0:51:45.320 --> 0:51:47.920 They are broadcasting live this afternoon from the on the 0:51:48.000 --> 0:51:52.040 Ryan Eatery, the food hall above the downtown Kroger at 0:51:52.040 --> 0:51:54.759 the intersection of Court and Walnut. It's the Bengals pep 0:51:54.840 --> 0:51:59.160 Rally Show presented by Just Bear Chicken. Joe Flacco has 0:51:59.160 --> 0:52:02.520 been the Bengals starting quarterback for four games. In those 0:52:02.560 --> 0:52:05.440 four games, the Bengals are averaging more than thirty two points. 0:52:05.840 --> 0:52:09.040 He's being sacked less than two times a game. The 0:52:09.040 --> 0:52:12.360 Bengals running game is averaging five and a half yards 0:52:12.360 --> 0:52:15.879 per carry, which is excellent, and all of that suggests 0:52:16.080 --> 0:52:19.280 that the offensive line is playing well. The Bengals offensive 0:52:19.280 --> 0:52:22.719 line's taking a lot of shots in recent years when 0:52:22.960 --> 0:52:25.799 opposing teams have gotten to Joe Burrow, and some of 0:52:25.800 --> 0:52:28.799 that is obviously deserved. So when they're playing well, they 0:52:28.800 --> 0:52:31.400 deserve some credit. Yep, let's hear from left tackle Orlando 0:52:31.440 --> 0:52:32.040 Brown Junior. 0:52:32.760 --> 0:52:35.480 You know our standard has Risen is going to continue 0:52:35.520 --> 0:52:38.799 to rise. We've only gotten better as time's going. 0:52:39.000 --> 0:52:39.200 You know. 0:52:39.239 --> 0:52:41.520 I also want to come in the coaches too. I 0:52:41.560 --> 0:52:45.520 feel like in the way coach Taylor, pitch Scott Man, 0:52:45.719 --> 0:52:49.440 coach Hills, coach Casey Hopefully, I'm not forget any of 0:52:49.480 --> 0:52:51.880 the position coaches. Man, They've put us in great position 0:52:52.280 --> 0:52:54.839 and the way that they've been calling the game has 0:52:54.880 --> 0:52:57.440 allowed us to flourish and allow guys to play with 0:52:57.480 --> 0:53:01.160 emotion and you know, pund teams in the run game 0:53:01.920 --> 0:53:04.759 help keep you know, flack o'clean in the past game. 0:53:04.800 --> 0:53:07.840 And but a lot of that is just a collective effort. 0:53:07.600 --> 0:53:07.719 You know. 0:53:07.800 --> 0:53:08.680 Offensive line play. 0:53:08.960 --> 0:53:10.640 You know, we could sit here and talk about talent 0:53:10.760 --> 0:53:13.239 all day and o line coaches, but to me, it's 0:53:13.280 --> 0:53:16.879 a collective thing of receivers getting open, which requires coach 0:53:16.960 --> 0:53:18.880 to call certain plays, you know what I mean, in 0:53:18.920 --> 0:53:20.840 the rhythm of a game, to go a certain way. 0:53:21.960 --> 0:53:25.120 Laptist line features a twenty two year old rookie starting 0:53:25.160 --> 0:53:28.600 at left guard, Dylan Fairchild, twenty three year old rookie 0:53:28.640 --> 0:53:31.839 starting at right guard, Jalen Rivers, a twenty three year 0:53:31.880 --> 0:53:35.760 old second year player starting at right tackle, Marius Mims. 0:53:36.200 --> 0:53:39.200 What is your view of the progress of your old 0:53:39.200 --> 0:53:40.880 position group, the offensive line. 0:53:41.000 --> 0:53:44.640 Yeah, I agree with what Orlando Brown was talking about 0:53:45.000 --> 0:53:50.560 in your comments, and everybody's really thoughts about the offensive 0:53:50.600 --> 0:53:53.880 line on a weekly basis. Seems to be improving. You know, 0:53:53.920 --> 0:53:59.400 the performance is definitely better in a lot of areas, 0:54:00.280 --> 0:54:04.160 and I think their understanding of what the expectation is 0:54:04.400 --> 0:54:09.960 at that position is starting to starting to take shape. 0:54:10.840 --> 0:54:12.960 They're young, like you said, I mean twenty two years old. 0:54:12.960 --> 0:54:16.000 That's unbelievable that you're starting in the National Football League 0:54:16.080 --> 0:54:19.600 is a twenty two year old guy, that's truly amazing 0:54:19.600 --> 0:54:25.120 in today's NFL, particularly amazing. So they've got a long 0:54:25.160 --> 0:54:28.560 way to go. They're not there yet, but they are 0:54:28.600 --> 0:54:30.800 starting to climb, you know, the latter of success or 0:54:30.840 --> 0:54:34.240 rung at a time, and they're starting to see some success, 0:54:34.280 --> 0:54:36.640 particularly in that running game. Like we talked about earlier, 0:54:37.120 --> 0:54:39.840 you can run the football. Play action pass is going 0:54:39.920 --> 0:54:42.080 to happen, and you're gonna get some big plays out 0:54:42.120 --> 0:54:43.799 of it. And then all of a sudden, it's going 0:54:43.880 --> 0:54:46.360 to be easier to run the football and one hand 0:54:46.400 --> 0:54:49.319 feeds the other, one hand washes the other, And I 0:54:49.320 --> 0:54:51.120 think they are starting to realize that big time. 0:54:51.880 --> 0:54:54.440 We've arrived at a point that we were at in 0:54:54.480 --> 0:54:57.799 twenty twenty three when Jake Browning played well while Joe 0:54:57.800 --> 0:54:59.960 Burrow was out. One of the things that the Bengal 0:55:00.239 --> 0:55:03.160 did more when Jake Browning was playing well that year 0:55:03.280 --> 0:55:06.399 was half him under center. Yep, they ran the ball 0:55:06.440 --> 0:55:08.680 well with him under center. It opened up more of 0:55:08.880 --> 0:55:13.400 a play action passing game. We are led to believe 0:55:13.480 --> 0:55:16.120 that that is not Joe Burrow's preference. That he likes 0:55:16.120 --> 0:55:18.560 to be in the shotgun scan see what the defense 0:55:18.640 --> 0:55:20.960 is going to do and would prefer to do that 0:55:21.040 --> 0:55:25.080 than be under center. But seeing the effectiveness that they 0:55:25.080 --> 0:55:28.200 had in twenty three with Browning, seeing the effectiveness that 0:55:28.280 --> 0:55:32.000 they're having with Joe Flacco doing that, does Joe Burrow 0:55:32.080 --> 0:55:34.160 have to do that more when he's back and playing. 0:55:34.239 --> 0:55:37.920 It's a great question, million dollar question, and only Burrow 0:55:38.000 --> 0:55:41.319 can answer it. I think the coaches will if Joe 0:55:41.320 --> 0:55:44.319 Burrow says, look, I don't like I'm being under center. 0:55:44.360 --> 0:55:47.319 I'm not comfortable, they won't do it. But Joe's like, 0:55:47.320 --> 0:55:50.359 you know what you know, watching Flacco, watching Jake, I mean, 0:55:51.120 --> 0:55:54.000 there's something to be said for you know, mixing it 0:55:54.080 --> 0:55:56.439 up and getting under center a little bit. I'd still 0:55:56.480 --> 0:55:58.319 want to play out of the shotgun. I don't want 0:55:58.360 --> 0:56:03.480 to give it up totally, but man, there's some reasons, 0:56:03.480 --> 0:56:05.839 good football, sound football reasons to get an under center. 0:56:05.880 --> 0:56:09.600 One of the big ones is when you're under center, 0:56:10.160 --> 0:56:14.200 you know, you you give the look that you know 0:56:14.360 --> 0:56:17.280 you can do either run or pass. You turn your back. 0:56:17.440 --> 0:56:19.319 You turn your back to the defense a little bit, 0:56:19.400 --> 0:56:23.000 and Joe Burrow hates it. A lot of quarterbacks don't 0:56:23.080 --> 0:56:25.640 like turning their back to a defense, so you lose 0:56:25.680 --> 0:56:27.839 track of what's going on with the linebackers. How deep 0:56:27.840 --> 0:56:31.000 they're dropping safeties? Is one rotating up and the other 0:56:31.080 --> 0:56:33.520 one rotating back? Are they you know, doing that at 0:56:33.520 --> 0:56:38.080 the safety position? Did they change their blitz look? Did 0:56:38.120 --> 0:56:41.080 they drop out of it? Or did they come from 0:56:40.280 --> 0:56:44.279 a pass drop look to a blitz look. So a 0:56:44.280 --> 0:56:47.480 lot of quarterbacks like the shotgun staying in the gun 0:56:47.520 --> 0:56:49.960 because they can see all that. They can see the field, 0:56:50.280 --> 0:56:53.319 and they they're not surprised. They're never like, oh my gosh, man, 0:56:53.640 --> 0:56:57.600 I lost track of that one. So it's interesting. There's 0:56:57.600 --> 0:57:00.480 pros and cons to everything, and there's pros and console 0:57:00.520 --> 0:57:02.800 a lot of things in the game of football as well. 0:57:03.360 --> 0:57:06.000 And I guess you know it all. It all boils 0:57:06.000 --> 0:57:08.640 down to what do you like, what do you feel 0:57:08.719 --> 0:57:12.319 best doing, what fits your skill set better? Do you 0:57:12.400 --> 0:57:16.120 think allows you to, you know, make throws you want 0:57:16.120 --> 0:57:20.360 to make read the football field more easily, more comfortably, 0:57:20.680 --> 0:57:23.640 And I think Joe Burrow would vote for a shotgun. 0:57:23.880 --> 0:57:27.880 Has Joe Flacco helped the offensive line and if so, 0:57:28.200 --> 0:57:28.880 in what ways? 0:57:29.240 --> 0:57:32.040 I think he has, dan And the biggest way is 0:57:32.480 --> 0:57:34.840 he gets rid of the damn ball so quickly. I mean, 0:57:34.880 --> 0:57:37.760 it is out two and a half seconds. It's if 0:57:37.800 --> 0:57:41.320 there's nothing there, it's gone. It's either on the ground, 0:57:41.640 --> 0:57:45.040 not intentional grounding, but putting the ball, you know, low 0:57:45.200 --> 0:57:47.360 and on the ground where nobody can make a play 0:57:47.400 --> 0:57:54.120 on it, you know, Or if he sees an opening occurring, 0:57:54.840 --> 0:57:57.560 he'll throw the receiver open. He gets the ball out 0:57:57.760 --> 0:58:01.120 so quickly, and he throws the ball so beautifully well 0:58:01.680 --> 0:58:04.680 that I do think that he's helped the offensive line 0:58:04.680 --> 0:58:07.919 a little bit. I think his fourteen years experience has 0:58:07.960 --> 0:58:10.880 helped the offensive line. I think he wants to help 0:58:11.240 --> 0:58:13.960 the offensive line a little bit, and the offensive lineman 0:58:14.000 --> 0:58:16.840 love him. They love that quick release man. I mean, 0:58:19.160 --> 0:58:22.760 it's a valuable commodity for a quarterback to have that 0:58:22.920 --> 0:58:25.560 feels confident and comfortable enough to get the ball out 0:58:25.560 --> 0:58:27.800 of his hand as quickly as Joe Flacco does. 0:58:28.280 --> 0:58:31.320 Coming up next, the Bengals scored thirty eight against the 0:58:31.400 --> 0:58:34.640 Jets and lost. They scored forty two against the Bears 0:58:35.200 --> 0:58:39.120 and lost. What's a simple thing, just a simple thing 0:58:39.200 --> 0:58:42.600 that they can do on defense to play better this 0:58:42.640 --> 0:58:46.360 week against Pittsburgh. We'll hear from linebacker Demetrius Knight with 0:58:46.440 --> 0:58:48.960 the answer to that when we continue. You're listening to 0:58:49.040 --> 0:58:51.480 the Bengals Pep Brawley Show live from the on the 0:58:51.520 --> 0:59:00.720 Ryan Eatery at ESPN fifteen thirty. Welcome back to the 0:59:00.760 --> 0:59:04.760 Bengals Pep Rally Show, presented by Just Fair Chicken. Here 0:59:04.760 --> 0:59:07.640 on ESPN fifteen thirty, live from the on the Rhine 0:59:07.760 --> 0:59:11.360 Eatery in downtown Cincinnati. It's on the second floor above 0:59:11.400 --> 0:59:14.240 the downtown Kroger at Courton Walnut. Lap and I are 0:59:14.240 --> 0:59:18.120 here until five thirty this afternoon, not six half hour 0:59:18.160 --> 0:59:21.920 earlier than usual. This week, Bengals kicker Evan McPherson will 0:59:21.960 --> 0:59:24.560 be joining us from four thirty to five thirty. He 0:59:24.640 --> 0:59:27.960 will be signing a leg lamp. We look forward to 0:59:27.960 --> 0:59:31.520 seeing his reaction when the person with the leg lamp 0:59:31.800 --> 0:59:36.120 approaches the stage. The Bengals defense is obviously having a 0:59:36.200 --> 0:59:38.439 rough year. They're giving up thirty three points a game 0:59:38.520 --> 0:59:40.720 that is last in the NFL. It would be the 0:59:40.760 --> 0:59:43.880 most in team history. But they've got eight games left 0:59:43.920 --> 0:59:46.160 to improve and hopefully with the young players they have 0:59:46.280 --> 0:59:48.880 out there, they are going to improve. There have been 0:59:49.320 --> 0:59:52.760 some signs of improvement, but obviously they've still got some 0:59:52.880 --> 0:59:55.040 big strides to go to reach the point where they 0:59:55.040 --> 0:59:58.280 can win games with their defense. Let's hear from one 0:59:58.320 --> 1:00:03.040 of their two starting rookie linebackers, Demetrius Knight, on one 1:00:03.800 --> 1:00:08.000 very simple thing that they can do better that would help. 1:00:09.000 --> 1:00:11.280 Yeah, it's just just about doing your win eleven on 1:00:11.320 --> 1:00:15.080 the field. Everybody feeling in those tied and critical moments, 1:00:15.520 --> 1:00:17.680 Oh I got a strain and make the play. It's 1:00:17.760 --> 1:00:19.920 not about making the play. It's about doing your win 1:00:19.960 --> 1:00:21.760 eleven and if the play comes to you, then you 1:00:21.840 --> 1:00:23.800 make the play. Not just going out of your way 1:00:23.920 --> 1:00:26.040 to jump out of your gap in a crucis situation 1:00:26.080 --> 1:00:28.160 where you can get off the field or trying to, 1:00:28.200 --> 1:00:31.320 you know, overrun someone who's already into in the flat. 1:00:31.840 --> 1:00:34.000 Just knowing your job, doing the best of your ability, 1:00:34.080 --> 1:00:36.120 and knowing that the guy to your left, here, right 1:00:36.360 --> 1:00:37.800 in front of you and behind you, he's going to 1:00:37.880 --> 1:00:38.480 do the same thing. 1:00:39.520 --> 1:00:43.040 Lap. It's something you talk about a lot. Harvest your 1:00:43.080 --> 1:00:44.439 own crop. 1:00:44.640 --> 1:00:48.320 No question, And that's a damn smart rookie right there, 1:00:48.640 --> 1:00:51.880 realizing that that's what you gotta do is don't try 1:00:51.920 --> 1:00:55.720 to do too much. Your natural reaction on a football field, 1:00:55.920 --> 1:00:58.720 if you're a football player and a good football player 1:00:59.200 --> 1:01:03.400 is I got to do more. I got to make sure. Man, 1:01:03.520 --> 1:01:06.240 my teammate over here is not having a good day. 1:01:06.720 --> 1:01:08.920 He's made a couple of mistakes, he's hit the wrong gap, 1:01:09.400 --> 1:01:11.400 he's not where he's supposed to be when he's supposed 1:01:11.440 --> 1:01:13.680 to be there. I gotta go make amends for that. 1:01:14.040 --> 1:01:16.360 I got to go make up for it. That's the 1:01:16.400 --> 1:01:19.480 worst thing in the world that can happen, and coaches 1:01:19.600 --> 1:01:22.320 hate it. Coaches tear their hair out by the roots 1:01:22.600 --> 1:01:27.400 when that kind of thing is going on. Coordinators, position coaches, everybody. 1:01:27.920 --> 1:01:30.840 So that's the one thing that you can't do. You 1:01:30.880 --> 1:01:34.400 can't panic. You can't sound the alarm. Just you know, 1:01:34.560 --> 1:01:37.960 line up and in the huddle, make a commitment, commitment 1:01:37.960 --> 1:01:41.720 to yourself. I'm going to do my job. And that 1:01:41.800 --> 1:01:45.840 came from Paul Brown, that that phraseology, that sentence, that saying, 1:01:46.640 --> 1:01:50.000 don't try to harvest somebody else's crop. And it makes 1:01:50.360 --> 1:01:52.520 so much sense. I don't care what era you're talking 1:01:52.520 --> 1:01:54.920 about a football, I don't care what level of football 1:01:54.960 --> 1:02:00.960 you're talking about. Do your job, don't harve someone else's crop. 1:02:01.040 --> 1:02:04.160 Don't try to do someone else's job on top of 1:02:04.200 --> 1:02:04.680 your job. 1:02:05.440 --> 1:02:08.400 So since the Bengals last game and since our last show, 1:02:08.440 --> 1:02:11.440 they have traded away Logan Wilson to the Dallas Cowboys. 1:02:11.480 --> 1:02:16.000 So if the rookie linebackers weren't already you know, the 1:02:16.040 --> 1:02:17.920 leaders of this defense, or at least the guys in 1:02:17.920 --> 1:02:21.280 the middle, they certainly are now Demetrius Knight and Barrett Carter. 1:02:21.560 --> 1:02:24.000 They do have a veteran that can help them in 1:02:24.240 --> 1:02:27.439 Orrin Burke's played on a Super Bowl champion last year, 1:02:27.480 --> 1:02:29.880 played on the Super Bowl loser the year before. He's 1:02:29.880 --> 1:02:31.960 been in the Super Bowl each of the last two years. 1:02:31.960 --> 1:02:35.040 So the guy has some great experience. But man, after that, 1:02:35.200 --> 1:02:37.280 it's a bunch of young guys that don't have a 1:02:37.280 --> 1:02:40.640 ton of experience. So those live backers, they got to 1:02:40.680 --> 1:02:42.600 grow up. They got to grow up fast they do. 1:02:42.680 --> 1:02:44.520 I mean it's sink or swim time. You know, you 1:02:44.840 --> 1:02:47.720 got you gotta show up. You gotta make plays, You 1:02:47.760 --> 1:02:51.680 have to do exactly what you're assigned to do. You 1:02:51.720 --> 1:02:54.680 have to have belief that your coaches are gonna put 1:02:54.720 --> 1:02:58.280 you in a position to help the football team, help 1:02:58.320 --> 1:03:01.280 the football team win games. I I do know that 1:03:01.360 --> 1:03:04.440 these young players have a tremendous amount of respect for 1:03:04.560 --> 1:03:07.120 Al Golden. They saw what he did with Notre Dames defense, 1:03:07.680 --> 1:03:11.520 and they were they played such good team defense. You know, 1:03:11.600 --> 1:03:14.240 guys are talking about one eleventh. You know, I gotta 1:03:14.240 --> 1:03:17.360 I gotta be my one eleventh. Make sure I'm the 1:03:17.360 --> 1:03:20.960 one eleventh that everybody's counting on the coaches, the players, everybody. 1:03:21.200 --> 1:03:24.160 Don't try to be two elevenths yours and another one 1:03:24.240 --> 1:03:27.360 that's not gonna work. That's gonna that's gonna it's gonna be. 1:03:27.400 --> 1:03:30.840 You're gonna negate, You're gonna race. Uh, you're one eleventh, 1:03:30.960 --> 1:03:36.560 so you can go back to ground zero. Do your job. Uh, 1:03:36.680 --> 1:03:41.280 it's it's it's it's it's a given, it's a must, 1:03:41.520 --> 1:03:43.320 and it always will be in the game of football. 1:03:43.800 --> 1:03:47.160 The Bengals lead the NFL in missed tackles. I did 1:03:47.160 --> 1:03:49.920 an interview with Tony Pike earlier this week, and he 1:03:49.960 --> 1:03:53.440 did point out something that I hadn't considered. Part of 1:03:53.480 --> 1:03:56.560 the reason why they lead the NFL in miss tackles 1:03:56.640 --> 1:04:00.440 is that they're in position to make them, which in 1:04:00.480 --> 1:04:02.360 a way is a good thing. At least, you know, 1:04:03.000 --> 1:04:06.560 guys are not running down the field untouched, right, it's 1:04:06.960 --> 1:04:10.680 being in a slightly better position to make them. 1:04:10.760 --> 1:04:11.120 It is. 1:04:11.240 --> 1:04:15.240 It's like you have to go back to your techniques 1:04:15.240 --> 1:04:20.440 and fundamentals, and when you are in position, get your 1:04:20.480 --> 1:04:23.120 head across the bow, get your helmet in front of 1:04:23.200 --> 1:04:27.320 the offensive player. That will curtail his momentum, that will 1:04:27.640 --> 1:04:32.280 stop him from moving the football down the football field anymore. 1:04:32.680 --> 1:04:35.800 And then the thing that they do not do, and 1:04:36.800 --> 1:04:40.120 they've done, they've missed so many tackles because wrap your 1:04:40.240 --> 1:04:44.040 arms around the ball carrier and take them to the ground. 1:04:44.520 --> 1:04:47.640 Wrap them up and take him to the ground. And 1:04:47.920 --> 1:04:52.280 we used to do a drill every day before practice 1:04:52.320 --> 1:04:55.480 with Paul Brown called the routine tackling drill, and that 1:04:55.720 --> 1:04:59.560 was actually doing exactly what I just said. You know, 1:04:59.560 --> 1:05:02.480 you to guys lineup against each other. The guy goes 1:05:02.520 --> 1:05:04.600 on a forty five degree angle carrying a football, and 1:05:04.640 --> 1:05:07.640 you put your helmet across the head and helmet across 1:05:07.680 --> 1:05:09.720 the bow, wrap your arms up and take him to 1:05:09.720 --> 1:05:15.280 the ground. Basic fundamental football Blocking and tackling wins you 1:05:15.320 --> 1:05:16.160 football games. 1:05:16.560 --> 1:05:19.360 This week's fun Fact segment coming up next, It's The 1:05:19.400 --> 1:05:30.000 Bengals pep Rally Show on ESPN fifteen thirty. Thanks for 1:05:30.080 --> 1:05:32.400 turning into the Bengals pep Rally Show live from the 1:05:32.520 --> 1:05:35.840 on the Rhine Eatery here in downtown Cincinnati, Money Mac 1:05:35.960 --> 1:05:39.000 Kevin McPherson, we'll be here in about twenty five minutes. 1:05:39.040 --> 1:05:41.840 He will join us for the final hour of our 1:05:41.920 --> 1:05:46.760 three hour Friday afternoon extravagan Money Mack, It's the Bengals 1:05:46.800 --> 1:05:50.200 Steelers this Sunday at one o'clock. Right now, Time for 1:05:50.280 --> 1:05:54.840 this week's fun Fact segment, presented by Skyline Chili. Time 1:05:54.840 --> 1:05:58.400 for some fun facts with tight end Noah fan from Omaha, Nebraska, 1:05:58.480 --> 1:06:01.120 the biggest city in Nebraska, give the home of the 1:06:01.160 --> 1:06:04.560 College World Series Noah. Based on what I've read you're 1:06:04.600 --> 1:06:07.760 the youngest of six kids. Is that accurate and what 1:06:07.840 --> 1:06:08.360 was that like? 1:06:08.640 --> 1:06:11.760 Yeah, I'm definitely definitely the youngest of six, three brothers 1:06:11.760 --> 1:06:17.360 and two sisters, and it was a great, great upbringing. Definitely. 1:06:17.360 --> 1:06:19.640 My my siblings thought I was a little bit spoiled, 1:06:20.120 --> 1:06:22.920 but it was great. I have great relationships with all 1:06:22.920 --> 1:06:24.880 of them, so couldn't complain. 1:06:25.160 --> 1:06:27.320 It's funny you say that because I'm the fourth of five, 1:06:27.360 --> 1:06:31.880 and my older siblings always said, You've got it so easy. 1:06:32.040 --> 1:06:34.080 Mom and dad have just kind of given up. They're 1:06:34.160 --> 1:06:35.240 letting you do whatever you want. 1:06:35.360 --> 1:06:35.560 Yeah. 1:06:35.640 --> 1:06:37.919 No, I definitely definitely think there's some of the same. 1:06:38.000 --> 1:06:40.200 But my parents were tough on me growing up, but 1:06:41.280 --> 1:06:43.920 in a good way, so I was blessed to have them. 1:06:44.280 --> 1:06:46.680 One of your older brothers was your high school coach. 1:06:47.000 --> 1:06:47.960 Was he tough on you? 1:06:48.720 --> 1:06:49.480 Uh? Yeah, I think so. 1:06:49.680 --> 1:06:51.280 I think my brother just wanted the best for me, 1:06:51.360 --> 1:06:56.200 wanted me to achieve greatness, and yeah, he was a 1:06:56.200 --> 1:06:59.080 big part of my development early on growing up, as 1:06:59.120 --> 1:07:01.560 with my dad and my mom, but yeah, he was. 1:07:01.880 --> 1:07:02.880 He was a big part of that. 1:07:03.440 --> 1:07:07.160 You attended Almaha South High School but also took classes 1:07:07.280 --> 1:07:10.400 at the University of Nebraska Medical Center while you were 1:07:10.400 --> 1:07:11.840 in high school. Tell me about that. 1:07:12.480 --> 1:07:15.560 Yeah, the un m C High School Alliance was kind 1:07:15.560 --> 1:07:18.520 of a program for high school students to kind of 1:07:18.560 --> 1:07:23.120 get a fast track to any any medical profession that 1:07:23.160 --> 1:07:25.720 they wanted to get into going into college. So it 1:07:25.840 --> 1:07:29.280 was taking college classes out of college at a college 1:07:29.280 --> 1:07:32.520 campus and uh, you know, kind of working in and 1:07:32.560 --> 1:07:34.240 seeing what path we wanted to take. 1:07:34.120 --> 1:07:36.640 When we got into college. So it was a great experience. 1:07:36.680 --> 1:07:38.520 And I still keep in touch with some of the 1:07:38.560 --> 1:07:41.280 people that run that program and have gone back to 1:07:41.360 --> 1:07:44.400 visit before, and yeah, I'm just super fortunate to be 1:07:44.440 --> 1:07:45.800 able to partake in that. 1:07:46.440 --> 1:07:49.280 You dealt with Kidavers, Yeah, what was that like? 1:07:50.000 --> 1:07:51.760 You know, it's definitely a unique experience. 1:07:52.880 --> 1:07:56.000 Not something that I thought that I would have been 1:07:56.120 --> 1:07:59.200 doing that young but uh man, what a cool like 1:07:59.200 --> 1:08:02.640 a like cool experis't a blessing for me to be 1:08:02.720 --> 1:08:04.360 able to do that at such a young age and 1:08:04.440 --> 1:08:07.440 really learn I learned so much in that program and 1:08:07.480 --> 1:08:10.440 the classes that I took, So I was super fortunate 1:08:10.480 --> 1:08:11.760 to be able to be a part of that. 1:08:12.600 --> 1:08:15.480 In your scouting report coming out of college on NFL 1:08:15.560 --> 1:08:19.280 dot com, it said you had an idea of possibly 1:08:19.320 --> 1:08:23.000 being a surgeon after playing football. Is that still a 1:08:23.040 --> 1:08:24.360 remote possibility in your mind? 1:08:24.640 --> 1:08:26.040 I'm not so sure yet. 1:08:26.439 --> 1:08:27.880 It's a lot of schooling that I don't have to 1:08:27.920 --> 1:08:32.680 go through after playing football in year seven, So we'll 1:08:32.720 --> 1:08:33.599 see how it plays out. 1:08:33.600 --> 1:08:35.320 But not shutting in any doors. 1:08:35.880 --> 1:08:38.160 We're visiting with Noah Fat. When it came time to 1:08:38.160 --> 1:08:40.960 pick a college, you chose the school with the reputation 1:08:41.040 --> 1:08:45.479 of being tight end you Iowa, Dallas Clark, George kittle, 1:08:45.520 --> 1:08:49.120 TJ Howkinson, Sam Laporta, Ralf from the Bengals, and others. 1:08:49.479 --> 1:08:52.240 How do you explain that lineage of great tight ends? 1:08:52.560 --> 1:08:54.799 Yeah, I think that just like when I was going 1:08:55.320 --> 1:08:59.679 to Iowa, the guys that were kind of there before 1:08:59.720 --> 1:09:04.240 me were like Dallas car Tony Mulaki, I think, Scott Chandler, 1:09:05.680 --> 1:09:09.519 guys of that nature that had been there before and 1:09:09.880 --> 1:09:12.200 had made it to the NFL, and it was just 1:09:12.280 --> 1:09:14.200 kind of one of those things that was that was 1:09:14.200 --> 1:09:16.040 a selling point that if I wanted to play tight 1:09:16.120 --> 1:09:18.080 end in a in an offense that used the tight 1:09:18.160 --> 1:09:21.760 end quite often, that I wanted to be able to 1:09:21.760 --> 1:09:24.640 do that and go and go there. And obviously my 1:09:24.760 --> 1:09:27.400 freshman year was Georgia's senior year and then after that 1:09:27.439 --> 1:09:30.439 it's just been pumping out tight ends, uh, definitely more 1:09:30.439 --> 1:09:33.200 frequently ever since. So it's been It's been a really 1:09:33.240 --> 1:09:34.920 cool experience to be a part of, for sure. 1:09:35.400 --> 1:09:38.160 Is it almost like a self fulfilling prophecy where the 1:09:38.160 --> 1:09:41.360 best high school tight ends in the country gravitate to 1:09:41.439 --> 1:09:44.439 Iowa and then it's almost destiny that they're going to 1:09:44.439 --> 1:09:45.360 turn out to be pros. 1:09:45.479 --> 1:09:48.280 You know, honestly, I think that I wouldn't necessarily say 1:09:48.280 --> 1:09:50.680 the best, like the best top recruits that tight end 1:09:50.800 --> 1:09:53.000 really go to Iowa. I think Iowa does a really 1:09:53.040 --> 1:09:56.720 good job of identifying guys that have the trades and 1:09:56.720 --> 1:09:58.600 then developing them. Like when I was coming out of 1:09:58.720 --> 1:10:00.880 high school, I was a three star atta fleet out 1:10:00.920 --> 1:10:04.639 of Nebraska. I had like fifteen offers from different schools, 1:10:04.640 --> 1:10:08.120 but wasn't like a top recruited five star tight end 1:10:08.160 --> 1:10:11.120 coming out of out of high school. So they do 1:10:11.200 --> 1:10:14.160 a great job of identifying guys with those traits and 1:10:14.320 --> 1:10:18.760 developing them into a all around tight end. So that 1:10:18.880 --> 1:10:21.639 was something I was I was really proud of going 1:10:21.680 --> 1:10:22.599 there and being a part of. 1:10:23.240 --> 1:10:25.759 After three years with the Hawkeyes, you entered the draft 1:10:25.800 --> 1:10:28.840 and were selected in the first round twentieth overall by Denver. 1:10:28.960 --> 1:10:30.600 Describe your draft night experience. 1:10:30.960 --> 1:10:32.560 Yeah, it was a great experience. 1:10:32.600 --> 1:10:35.280 I mean, obviously it was waiting a little bit twenty 1:10:35.360 --> 1:10:37.720 picks in, but it wasn't complaining at all. It was 1:10:37.800 --> 1:10:41.040 just like a very stressful situation. But what a cool 1:10:41.400 --> 1:10:44.400 experience for me and my family being there all together 1:10:44.439 --> 1:10:46.559 in the green room and getting that call from Denver 1:10:47.360 --> 1:10:50.360 at the time, and it was it was a surreal moment, 1:10:50.439 --> 1:10:53.120 So really cool experience for me and my family. 1:10:53.560 --> 1:10:56.400 You had three good years in Denver, you probably expected 1:10:56.400 --> 1:10:58.240 to be there for a long long time, and then 1:10:58.280 --> 1:11:01.599 the Broncos pulled off a blockbuster trade for Russell Wilson, 1:11:01.640 --> 1:11:05.479 giving up multiple high draft picks and yourself in that deal. 1:11:06.080 --> 1:11:09.160 Did you have any inkling that you might be traded 1:11:09.280 --> 1:11:10.320 or was it a total shock? 1:11:10.560 --> 1:11:11.040 No, I was. 1:11:11.160 --> 1:11:14.360 I was pretty shocked, to be honest with you. Hindsight 1:11:14.400 --> 1:11:17.240 twenty twenty. Obviously, I'll understand, right, it's like you get 1:11:17.280 --> 1:11:20.439 your shot at a franchise quarterback at the time that 1:11:20.479 --> 1:11:22.920 you think it is your franchise quarterback and you're gonna 1:11:23.280 --> 1:11:25.200 do whatever. You know you're not going to hold back 1:11:25.240 --> 1:11:27.680 a tight end to for that deal, you know what 1:11:27.680 --> 1:11:30.000 I'm saying. So I understood, I understood it. I was 1:11:30.040 --> 1:11:33.840 definitely shocked and taken it back by it. Some would 1:11:33.840 --> 1:11:37.320 say blindsided, but like, man, it was such crazy experience, 1:11:37.360 --> 1:11:42.439 and obviously was traded to Seattle and had some good 1:11:42.520 --> 1:11:44.439 years there, but uh, yeah, it was. 1:11:44.680 --> 1:11:46.599 It was definitely wild, a wild experience for sure. 1:11:46.960 --> 1:11:49.280 So three years in Denver, three years in Seattle, and 1:11:49.320 --> 1:11:52.080 then earlier this year they let you go kind of 1:11:52.080 --> 1:11:55.120 in a salary cap dump type situation. But it did 1:11:55.120 --> 1:12:00.240 give you the opportunity affinity to choose for the first 1:12:00.240 --> 1:12:02.320 time since you were in high school. Did you enjoy that? 1:12:03.960 --> 1:12:08.040 It was a very interesting experience because it was I 1:12:08.320 --> 1:12:12.080 supposed to choosing thing, but at a time that was 1:12:12.200 --> 1:12:16.280 very late in the process, and you know, people had 1:12:16.280 --> 1:12:19.200 already really had the roster set and things of that nature. 1:12:19.200 --> 1:12:22.559 So yeah, it was nice to choose, I suppose, but like, 1:12:23.120 --> 1:12:26.479 wasn't an ideal situation that late in the game, which 1:12:26.520 --> 1:12:30.800 is kind of a little frustrating. But yes, I was 1:12:30.800 --> 1:12:33.600 happy to be able to land in Cincinnati. What a 1:12:33.600 --> 1:12:37.000 great place for me to land that with coach Taylor 1:12:37.080 --> 1:12:41.679 and and pitch and and James Casey is a great, 1:12:41.800 --> 1:12:45.200 great Titans coach. I've been really really fortunate to be 1:12:45.240 --> 1:12:47.680 able to work with them and be in a good 1:12:47.720 --> 1:12:51.120 situation here. So it ended up working out, but obviously 1:12:51.200 --> 1:12:54.280 it was definitely a process to get there for sure. 1:12:54.840 --> 1:12:57.000 All Right, a few wild card topics now for Bengals 1:12:57.080 --> 1:13:00.400 tight end Noah Fan Who is your all time favorite 1:13:00.439 --> 1:13:02.639 athlete in any sport? 1:13:03.680 --> 1:13:06.000 I would say Michael Jordan. I wasn't old enough to 1:13:06.120 --> 1:13:08.599 like see him in his prime, but just like the 1:13:08.640 --> 1:13:11.600 greatness of him and the championships that he's won that 1:13:11.760 --> 1:13:12.840 is all of his highlights. 1:13:12.880 --> 1:13:14.080 He's just an iconic player. 1:13:15.120 --> 1:13:18.439 Whenever someone mentions like a goat of a sport, it's 1:13:18.479 --> 1:13:21.880 like he automatically comes up. He's definitely a polarizing player 1:13:22.280 --> 1:13:25.280 that not only changed the game, but changed really just 1:13:25.320 --> 1:13:28.519 like the world kind of honestly, He's like he was 1:13:28.560 --> 1:13:31.120 a world known athlete. So it was like, what a 1:13:31.160 --> 1:13:34.519 cool what a cool experience, like experience to be able 1:13:34.560 --> 1:13:36.600 to see but unfortunately I wasn't able to see it, 1:13:36.640 --> 1:13:38.840 But what a cool experience to like be able to 1:13:38.840 --> 1:13:41.800 go back and watch those highlights and experience that greatness so, 1:13:42.400 --> 1:13:43.040 and he made. 1:13:42.880 --> 1:13:46.360 It okay for people like me to be bald. Yeah, 1:13:46.439 --> 1:13:49.760 you've spent seven years in the NFL, You've done well financially. 1:13:49.880 --> 1:13:52.920 What do you like to splur John, Food? 1:13:53.600 --> 1:13:55.840 That's like, that's one of the things that I'll like 1:13:56.040 --> 1:13:58.280 pay a good a good dollar for. Is like a 1:13:58.400 --> 1:14:01.799 just a really good meal, especially like with friends and families, 1:14:01.920 --> 1:14:03.880 which is which is one of the things that I 1:14:03.960 --> 1:14:04.800 value very much. 1:14:04.840 --> 1:14:06.400 So food is definitely one of those things. 1:14:06.880 --> 1:14:11.960 Big fancy steakhouse are something more eclectic and foodie either one. 1:14:12.120 --> 1:14:15.200 I'm I'm a pretty wide range guy that'll that'll like 1:14:15.360 --> 1:14:19.200 have anything to eat, And honestly, it's a it's just 1:14:19.280 --> 1:14:21.400 a what's the choice of the day, honestly. 1:14:21.479 --> 1:14:25.400 So other than sports, do you have any hidden talents? 1:14:27.400 --> 1:14:28.839 I don't know about hidden talents. 1:14:28.880 --> 1:14:31.439 I just kind of I try to view myself as 1:14:31.479 --> 1:14:34.760 like a like a pretty multifaceted guy, Like I just 1:14:34.840 --> 1:14:37.439 like a lot of different things. I do a lot 1:14:37.439 --> 1:14:39.840 of different things, and I don't think there's just one 1:14:40.160 --> 1:14:42.920 one singular thing that I'm like super talented at though. 1:14:43.520 --> 1:14:46.360 All right, final fun fact for Noah, this one's kind 1:14:46.360 --> 1:14:51.040 of deep. If you could meet anybody in history living 1:14:51.240 --> 1:14:53.680 or deceased. Who would that person be. 1:14:56.600 --> 1:15:01.160 I would want to meet my my dad, my dad's dad. 1:15:01.200 --> 1:15:04.320 He passed away when my dad was very young, so 1:15:04.320 --> 1:15:06.160 it had been my grandpa, but I never got to 1:15:06.200 --> 1:15:08.880 meet him. But I definitely wouldn't want to met him 1:15:08.920 --> 1:15:12.760 and just kind of talk to him and see what 1:15:12.880 --> 1:15:15.960 he see how he viewed life, see how he viewed everything. 1:15:16.000 --> 1:15:21.200 Obviously my dad didn't wasn't able to have those those 1:15:21.200 --> 1:15:25.120 moments with him very long, But yeah, I think those 1:15:25.160 --> 1:15:28.320 would be some really cool conversations to see what he thought. 1:15:27.960 --> 1:15:30.040 No doubt about it. No, I appreciate your time, best 1:15:30.080 --> 1:15:30.920 of luck the rest of the year. 1:15:31.000 --> 1:15:33.040 Thank you. Appreciate it all right? 1:15:33.080 --> 1:15:35.800 That was fun Facts with tight end Noah Fan, great 1:15:35.880 --> 1:15:38.000 job Dan, now, thank you. When the Bengals signed him, 1:15:38.040 --> 1:15:40.040 we thought there was going to be the opportunity for 1:15:40.120 --> 1:15:42.800 some great two tight end packages with no and Mike 1:15:42.920 --> 1:15:45.880 is Sicky. Fortunately, Mike got hurt early this year with 1:15:45.920 --> 1:15:49.559 a pectoral injury, but his four week window for where 1:15:49.600 --> 1:15:52.040 he has to be out is about to run out 1:15:52.120 --> 1:15:54.800 and he could be back soon. It sounds like he's 1:15:54.840 --> 1:15:56.719 recovering well from that pectoral injury. 1:15:56.840 --> 1:16:00.000 That's good, and he is a He is a weapon. 1:16:00.080 --> 1:16:00.200 You know. 1:16:00.840 --> 1:16:03.840 I think back in the day, teams that could run 1:16:04.040 --> 1:16:08.160 two tight end package were formidable because it just balances 1:16:08.200 --> 1:16:11.599 everything out, you know. I mean, the defense can't really 1:16:11.640 --> 1:16:13.920 have a pre snap read in terms of where's the 1:16:13.920 --> 1:16:16.599 strength of the formation, where might they go, Where's strong 1:16:16.640 --> 1:16:20.400 side weak side? Kind of distorts all of that. So 1:16:20.920 --> 1:16:23.799 having multiple tight ends on your roster that are capable 1:16:23.840 --> 1:16:25.840 and can go out there and play at a high 1:16:25.880 --> 1:16:28.599 level and help you win football games is a great 1:16:28.680 --> 1:16:30.040 luxury in today's NFL. 1:16:30.520 --> 1:16:32.880 All right, Coming up next, we know that Joe Burrow 1:16:33.120 --> 1:16:36.599 is back at practice. The question is should he play 1:16:36.680 --> 1:16:40.880 this year regardless of the Bengals record. We'll discuss that 1:16:40.960 --> 1:16:43.800 when we come back. You're listening to the Bengals pep 1:16:43.920 --> 1:16:46.280 Rally Show live for the on the Ride Eatery here 1:16:46.280 --> 1:16:48.920 and down town Viincinnati. Who da is here? 1:16:48.960 --> 1:16:50.000 Who is in the house? 1:16:50.120 --> 1:16:57.280 At ESPN? In fifteen thirty, Dan and Dave lap them 1:16:57.280 --> 1:17:01.599 back on the Bengals pep Rally Show presented Just Bear Chicken. 1:17:01.680 --> 1:17:04.559 We are broadcasting live from the on the Rhine Eatery. 1:17:04.560 --> 1:17:07.120 If you're getting out on a Friday afternoon, come join us. 1:17:07.400 --> 1:17:09.719 Evan McPherson will be here in just a few minutes. 1:17:09.960 --> 1:17:12.439 He will join us for the final hour of the show. 1:17:12.479 --> 1:17:14.679 If you've never been to the On the Rhine Eatery, 1:17:14.880 --> 1:17:17.920 it's a great spot for our Friday afternoon show. It's 1:17:17.920 --> 1:17:21.560 a food haul above the downtown Kroger at Court and Walnut, 1:17:21.760 --> 1:17:27.240 with plenty of great inexpensive food options, great wings, great burgers, 1:17:27.680 --> 1:17:31.960 great podstickers, which we've enjoyed today. There's a bar if 1:17:32.000 --> 1:17:33.599 you want to come out and have a beer or two. 1:17:33.920 --> 1:17:36.920 It's a great spot for our show. Plenty of available seating. 1:17:37.280 --> 1:17:40.240 Who Day is here. Love seeing who Day in the 1:17:40.280 --> 1:17:43.000 house and again. Money Back will be here shortly. He'll 1:17:43.040 --> 1:17:46.479 sign autographs, he'll pause for pictures. It's all for free, unless, 1:17:46.479 --> 1:17:48.840 of course, you want to spend a few of your 1:17:48.880 --> 1:17:52.040 hard to earn dollars having something to eat or drink 1:17:52.439 --> 1:17:55.599 here at the On the Rhine Eatery. Well, we got 1:17:55.600 --> 1:17:58.920 a very pleasant surprise at the beginning of this week 1:17:58.960 --> 1:18:03.320 on Monday, when we saw Joe Burrow back at practice, 1:18:03.680 --> 1:18:06.839 albeit on a limited basis, which is to be expected 1:18:06.880 --> 1:18:10.320 coming back from his toe injury. But the prognosis when 1:18:10.360 --> 1:18:12.559 he suffered the injury was that it was a three 1:18:12.600 --> 1:18:16.120 month recovery. He was practicing again in less than two months. 1:18:16.479 --> 1:18:19.280 And that's that's Joe Burrow. That's what he's all about. 1:18:19.320 --> 1:18:23.439 He's all about, you know, if somebody says you can't 1:18:23.479 --> 1:18:25.640 do it, and I'll show you. I'll show you I 1:18:25.640 --> 1:18:27.599 can do it, and I'm gonna go do it. Uber 1:18:28.000 --> 1:18:34.200 competitive man, he really is. I mean if if if 1:18:34.680 --> 1:18:37.479 people say it's unreachable, he's going to reach for it 1:18:37.479 --> 1:18:39.720 and he's gonna get get grab it, He's going to 1:18:39.760 --> 1:18:43.040 get it. I think that he plays this this week 1:18:43.040 --> 1:18:47.320 coming up. I think there's a strong chance anyway, not. 1:18:47.439 --> 1:18:52.680 This week, not Sunday against Pittsburgh, the following, Okay, the 1:18:53.040 --> 1:18:55.080 home game against New England. You think that's passed. 1:18:55.080 --> 1:18:59.680 The Patriots game, I think is possible. I'd love to 1:18:59.680 --> 1:19:02.080 see you play this Sunday, But I don't. 1:19:02.160 --> 1:19:04.000 Know he's out for this week because of the. 1:19:04.000 --> 1:19:06.439 Number of days. You've got twenty one days and he 1:19:06.479 --> 1:19:13.639 hasn't served that sentence. Hyeit, but I mean he is 1:19:13.680 --> 1:19:17.559 a guy that is I'm gonna do it on my schedule. 1:19:17.800 --> 1:19:20.599 I don't care what you think. Your opinion is your opinion. 1:19:21.040 --> 1:19:22.400 I know what I can do I know what my 1:19:22.439 --> 1:19:27.000 body can do. And you know he takes care of himself. 1:19:27.200 --> 1:19:30.840 I mean the guys in unbelievable shape, the conditioning that 1:19:30.920 --> 1:19:34.719 he goes through, and unfortunately he's been doing a rehab 1:19:34.760 --> 1:19:38.080 and conditioning way too much the last few years. But 1:19:38.160 --> 1:19:42.120 I mean this guy, he works hard. He works in 1:19:42.120 --> 1:19:46.080 the weight room hard overall body. I mean his quads, 1:19:46.120 --> 1:19:51.160 his hamstrings, his calves, his pectoral, his delta, everything is 1:19:51.240 --> 1:19:54.360 strong on him and he's put on about i'd say 1:19:54.400 --> 1:19:56.280 a good fifteen pounds of muscle. 1:19:56.360 --> 1:19:56.519 Dan. 1:19:56.600 --> 1:19:59.360 When you look at him walk into a room, it's like, man, 1:20:00.400 --> 1:20:04.160 this guy's substantial. Now you know he's put together and 1:20:05.040 --> 1:20:08.760 he certainly hasn't affected him negatively in terms of how 1:20:08.800 --> 1:20:12.960 he's throwing the football. He is a beautiful thrower of the. 1:20:12.880 --> 1:20:16.439 Football, no doubt. As I said earlier, I was surprised 1:20:16.439 --> 1:20:19.040 to see him on the practice field on Monday. I 1:20:19.200 --> 1:20:22.920 was not alone. Let's hear from Jamar Chase and T Higgins. 1:20:23.200 --> 1:20:25.680 I didn't know he was practicing. I was surprised. I 1:20:25.800 --> 1:20:27.720 just seen him putting stuff on. I didn't know what's 1:20:27.760 --> 1:20:28.080 going on. 1:20:28.200 --> 1:20:31.400 Yeah, he caught. I came in the locker room and 1:20:31.479 --> 1:20:34.000 he was like, you see now. I was like, well 1:20:34.000 --> 1:20:36.040 he doing He was like, he's practicing. I was like, oh, 1:20:36.040 --> 1:20:37.760 it's not so. He caught me off guard too. 1:20:38.080 --> 1:20:41.600 I think his personality makes him unique. The way he 1:20:41.640 --> 1:20:44.679 approaches the game makes him crazy. How much he loves 1:20:44.720 --> 1:20:47.080 the game makes him crazy. That's how much passion he 1:20:47.120 --> 1:20:48.920 has behind it. And nothing's wrong with that. 1:20:49.000 --> 1:20:50.640 He just wants to win. And you know you need 1:20:50.640 --> 1:20:51.519 people around you like that. 1:20:53.000 --> 1:20:55.840 All right, lap, Let's get to the big debate that's 1:20:55.880 --> 1:20:59.240 going on right now among Bengals fans. The Bengals are 1:20:59.240 --> 1:21:03.200 three and six. Yeah, if they win in Pittsburgh this week, 1:21:03.479 --> 1:21:05.599 they are still in the hunt right to win the 1:21:05.640 --> 1:21:10.759 AFC North. If they don't, it is a real long shot. 1:21:10.920 --> 1:21:15.360 Although I guess if Baltimore loses this week, maybe they've 1:21:15.360 --> 1:21:19.600 still got a pulse. But anyway, should wins and losses 1:21:20.160 --> 1:21:24.080 matter or should Joe Burrow come back at some point 1:21:24.080 --> 1:21:27.000 this year regardless of what the Bengals record is? 1:21:27.200 --> 1:21:31.519 Yeah, I mean that's a matter of opinion. I'm sure 1:21:31.560 --> 1:21:35.479 Bengal fans would be Look, if don't win this week, 1:21:35.520 --> 1:21:38.720 three and seven, the odds of turning it around and 1:21:38.760 --> 1:21:44.760 having a potential playoff season are almost nil. But Joe 1:21:44.840 --> 1:21:48.440 doesn't look at it that way. Joe looks at he 1:21:48.520 --> 1:21:52.040 lives to play football. I mean, he eats, sleeps, and 1:21:52.160 --> 1:21:56.760 drinks football. He's football twenty four to seven, seven days 1:21:56.800 --> 1:21:58.599 a week, three undred and sixty five days a year, 1:21:58.760 --> 1:22:01.479 and twelve months a year. It's just the way he's built, 1:22:01.800 --> 1:22:05.519 the way he's uh, he's put together. You know. I 1:22:06.360 --> 1:22:08.600 think he wants to see where he is, and I 1:22:08.600 --> 1:22:12.200 think he wants to evaluate physical He'll want to play 1:22:12.360 --> 1:22:16.320 absolutely and you know, and compete against the best at 1:22:16.360 --> 1:22:19.439 the highest level for as many games as you possibly can. 1:22:19.560 --> 1:22:22.600 It's uh, it's it's what makes him get up in 1:22:22.640 --> 1:22:25.160 the morning, man. It's what makes him tick, makes us 1:22:25.160 --> 1:22:27.000 heart kicking, makes everything tick. 1:22:27.960 --> 1:22:31.960 I'll be honest. My feelings on this subjective changed. So 1:22:32.320 --> 1:22:36.120 during the early stages of his recovery, I thought, all right, 1:22:36.160 --> 1:22:38.640 if he can come back and the Bengals still have 1:22:38.680 --> 1:22:41.920 a chance to make the playoffs, you'd certainly want him 1:22:41.920 --> 1:22:44.360 in the playoffs if he was healthy. So I was 1:22:44.439 --> 1:22:46.439 kind of thinking, it's going to depend on the record. 1:22:47.160 --> 1:22:52.200 Now that he's practicing and could conceivably come back with 1:22:53.080 --> 1:22:56.960 four games left, right, five games left something like that. 1:22:58.080 --> 1:23:02.479 I'd play him because A it's his belief that you 1:23:02.520 --> 1:23:06.920 can always gain something from playing. You can learn something, 1:23:07.200 --> 1:23:10.479 you can develop timing and you know, chemistry with your 1:23:10.520 --> 1:23:13.840 receiving targets. It means something to him to show that 1:23:13.880 --> 1:23:16.519 he can come back this year. It means something to 1:23:16.600 --> 1:23:19.560 him to show that his teammates, show to his teammates 1:23:19.760 --> 1:23:22.719 that it's important enough for him to come back this year. 1:23:23.080 --> 1:23:26.479 So my feeling has changed from only bring him back 1:23:26.520 --> 1:23:30.400 if it's important too. If the doctors say the toe 1:23:30.439 --> 1:23:33.439 is not at risk and he wants to play, let 1:23:33.479 --> 1:23:33.840 him play. 1:23:33.920 --> 1:23:37.680 I agree. And I mean everybody in the division has 1:23:37.680 --> 1:23:41.080 four losses, you know, I mean four losses or more? Yeah, 1:23:41.280 --> 1:23:45.360 four losses and more so. I mean, if the Bengals 1:23:45.479 --> 1:23:51.759 knock off the Pittsburgh Steelers again and they fall, they're closer, 1:23:52.400 --> 1:23:55.920 They're closer to where the Cincinnati Bengals are. And I 1:23:56.560 --> 1:24:01.800 just I feel like, no matter what if the if 1:24:01.840 --> 1:24:05.200 the division is within grasp and there's a month of 1:24:05.439 --> 1:24:08.000 playing the season, he's gonna want to go after it 1:24:08.200 --> 1:24:10.280 tooth and nail. He's gonna go want to go after 1:24:10.320 --> 1:24:15.759 it one hundred and I think the more snaps he gets. 1:24:16.000 --> 1:24:18.639 The more reps he gets under his belt, the more 1:24:18.720 --> 1:24:21.320 confident he's going to be, the more comfortable he's going 1:24:21.400 --> 1:24:23.960 to feel, and the better he's gonna play. 1:24:25.160 --> 1:24:28.800 Naturally, if the Bengals are out of it and he plays, 1:24:29.000 --> 1:24:32.400 you open yourself up to the biggest second gesh of 1:24:32.439 --> 1:24:35.600 all time. Should another injury happen. Yep, that would be 1:24:35.640 --> 1:24:39.240 the risk. But that's football. So are you gonna put 1:24:39.280 --> 1:24:40.879 him in bubble wrap forever? 1:24:41.720 --> 1:24:42.040 Uh? 1:24:42.080 --> 1:24:44.200 You know, when he feels healthy and ready to go, 1:24:44.479 --> 1:24:46.800 I don't think he can do that. This is what 1:24:46.880 --> 1:24:50.600 he does. If he feels healthy and back in a 1:24:50.640 --> 1:24:53.599 good practice groove, wants to play, and feels like he's 1:24:53.640 --> 1:24:56.320 ready to play, then he's a guy. 1:24:56.280 --> 1:24:58.720 You got to play. Yeah. This is who he is, 1:24:58.920 --> 1:25:01.320 This is what he wants to be. This is what 1:25:01.400 --> 1:25:04.840 he's chosen as a profession in his adult life, and 1:25:04.960 --> 1:25:09.720 he's great at it. And uh, you know he he's 1:25:09.760 --> 1:25:11.720 going to be able to put up significant numbers. He 1:25:11.760 --> 1:25:15.280 always does. I mean, when Joe Burrow plays, he rings 1:25:15.320 --> 1:25:18.120 him up, He rings up numbers, and he's not playing 1:25:18.160 --> 1:25:20.800 to pat his stats. That's not what I'm saying, and 1:25:20.840 --> 1:25:23.519 that's not what is in his mind, he's playing to 1:25:23.560 --> 1:25:27.280 win football games for the Cincinnati Bengals. Uh, there's no 1:25:27.360 --> 1:25:30.080 question about it. That's what his mo is. But man, 1:25:31.720 --> 1:25:34.000 I think, I think when he when all said and done, 1:25:34.200 --> 1:25:36.920 when he's done playing the game of football, he's going 1:25:36.960 --> 1:25:45.160 to have numbers at the quarterback position, yards, touchdowns, uist, interceptions. 1:25:45.520 --> 1:25:47.400 He's going to be the leader across the board. I 1:25:47.400 --> 1:25:48.080 think he's got that. 1:25:48.120 --> 1:25:50.559 Kind of ability, kind of like those Aaron Rodgers numbers 1:25:50.560 --> 1:25:53.880 who have given earlier sixty four thousand yards crazy five 1:25:54.240 --> 1:25:56.760 and twenty one touchdown passes and twenty. 1:25:56.600 --> 1:26:01.559 One touchdown passes. That's absurd, man, that's crazy, it really is. 1:26:01.600 --> 1:26:04.200 I mean, mind buggling. 1:26:05.000 --> 1:26:07.840 Aaron Rodgers will take on the Bengals for the sixth 1:26:07.880 --> 1:26:10.600 time in his career this Sunday at one o'clock. The 1:26:10.600 --> 1:26:13.680 Bengals do have a winning record against him. They're three 1:26:13.760 --> 1:26:16.720 and two in the previous five games. They've come up 1:26:16.760 --> 1:26:19.839 with quite a few interceptions in those games. Aaron Rodgers 1:26:19.880 --> 1:26:22.559 historically has not thrown many in his NFL career, but 1:26:23.080 --> 1:26:27.160 in five career games against Cincinnati, he's thrown six interceptions, 1:26:27.160 --> 1:26:30.360 including two in Game one earlier this year. Won by 1:26:30.439 --> 1:26:35.519 Jordan Battle and one by DJ Turner. All Right, two 1:26:35.560 --> 1:26:38.800 hours just about in the books. One hour to go. 1:26:39.320 --> 1:26:42.559 Our special guest is here. Will take a time out, 1:26:42.800 --> 1:26:47.920 We'll come back and we will introduce Bengals kicker Kevin McPherson. 1:26:48.479 --> 1:26:51.439 This is the Bengals pep Rally Show presented byy Just 1:26:51.520 --> 1:26:54.679 Bear Chicken on ESPN fifteen thirty. 1:26:57.160 --> 1:27:01.120 This is Bengals FeH Rally presented by Just Beared Chicken 1:27:01.320 --> 1:27:05.240 on the Bengals Radio Network. Paycore Paycor is proud to 1:27:05.240 --> 1:27:09.479 be the official hr software provider of the Cincinnati Bengals. 1:27:09.800 --> 1:27:14.040 Kettering Health, best Care for the best Fans. Kettering Health, 1:27:14.280 --> 1:27:19.600 Official healthcare provider of the Cincinnati Bengals. This is ESPN 1:27:19.840 --> 1:27:24.120 fifteen to thirty, the official home of the Cincinnati Bengals. 1:27:25.200 --> 1:27:28.360 Money Mack is ready. He takes a deep breath, waits 1:27:28.360 --> 1:27:30.960 for the long snap back to Rico. Rico puts it 1:27:31.000 --> 1:27:32.479 down to kick his up. 1:27:32.760 --> 1:27:37.719 It is good, gosh, and the Bengals have a two 1:27:37.760 --> 1:27:41.599 point lead with seven seconds left on the clock. 1:27:42.080 --> 1:27:47.920 Nice gotta love it. Joe Flacco, Welcome to Cincinnati, my man. 1:27:49.000 --> 1:27:52.200 All right, that's how it sounded almost exactly a month ago. 1:27:52.280 --> 1:27:55.480 The last time the Bengals beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati 1:27:55.520 --> 1:27:57.599 winning on a field goal with seven seconds to go 1:27:57.680 --> 1:28:00.800 by Evan McPherson thirty three to thirty one. And that 1:28:00.880 --> 1:28:03.880 makes our special guest this afternoon here at the on 1:28:04.120 --> 1:28:07.360 the Ryan Eatery very appropriate. We are joined by the 1:28:07.400 --> 1:28:10.160 guy that made that kick, one of eight game winners 1:28:10.200 --> 1:28:13.800 in his Bengals career. Money back, Evan McPherson, Welcome to 1:28:13.840 --> 1:28:15.519 the show. Thanks for being here. 1:28:15.600 --> 1:28:17.960 Yeah, it's always fun to get to do a show 1:28:17.960 --> 1:28:21.960 with y'all. We appreciate time very much, much self time 1:28:22.000 --> 1:28:22.360 worth it. 1:28:22.640 --> 1:28:24.920 Thank you. Let's turn the clock back to that game. 1:28:24.960 --> 1:28:28.439 It was an interesting one because with less than a 1:28:28.479 --> 1:28:30.840 minute to go, that was the game that featured this 1:28:31.120 --> 1:28:34.960 unselfish t Higgins slide when he could have run in 1:28:35.000 --> 1:28:38.200 for the go ahead touchdown, but given the Steelers more 1:28:38.240 --> 1:28:41.639 time to potentially come back. Instead, he goes into the slide. 1:28:41.880 --> 1:28:45.040 But once he did that, then all the pressure shifts 1:28:45.040 --> 1:28:45.240 to you. 1:28:46.000 --> 1:28:48.080 Yeah, you know, that was a really unselfish play by 1:28:48.120 --> 1:28:50.479 team because he definitely could have easily walked into the 1:28:50.600 --> 1:28:52.559 end zone. But I mean, you got to realize who's 1:28:52.560 --> 1:28:54.439 on the other side. Of the field. One of the 1:28:54.439 --> 1:28:56.479 best to ever do it out of Aaron Rodgers. And 1:28:56.479 --> 1:28:59.639 he's got a good receiving core and group there and 1:29:00.160 --> 1:29:04.040 really dangerous team. And so you're taught, and we're taught 1:29:04.080 --> 1:29:07.400 as a team to be unselfish in times like that 1:29:07.520 --> 1:29:10.960 and set the team up for success. And this really 1:29:11.040 --> 1:29:13.559 unselfish play by Tea And as soon as he did it, 1:29:13.600 --> 1:29:16.439 I knew kind of what we were going to do. 1:29:16.800 --> 1:29:18.439 Set up for the last second field goal. It's a 1:29:18.680 --> 1:29:21.040 it's a make or break and win a loss, and 1:29:21.280 --> 1:29:22.360 those are always a lot of fun. 1:29:23.439 --> 1:29:26.960 Darren Simmons, Yes, it has been your special teams coach your 1:29:27.080 --> 1:29:30.320 entire career in the National Football League. In my opinion, 1:29:30.400 --> 1:29:33.680 he's the best in the business, the best at any level. Yeah, 1:29:33.760 --> 1:29:37.120 of football. You're with him basically every day. 1:29:37.439 --> 1:29:37.599 Huh. 1:29:38.240 --> 1:29:40.960 What makes Darren Simmons special? What separates him from the 1:29:41.000 --> 1:29:41.760 pack man? 1:29:41.880 --> 1:29:48.120 He he's a nitpicker. He'll yep, if I'm not making 1:29:48.160 --> 1:29:51.559 field goals down the center of the uprights, he'll give 1:29:51.560 --> 1:29:53.719 it to me. Even if they're going in, he'll say 1:29:54.320 --> 1:29:56.679 it's not good enough. Then you go down the center. 1:29:57.400 --> 1:30:00.439 And he's like that with everybody on the team. If 1:30:00.439 --> 1:30:03.200 you're doing your job correctly, he's gonna find a weak 1:30:03.240 --> 1:30:05.280 point that you have and he's gonna tell you that 1:30:05.360 --> 1:30:07.000 you need to work on it. So I think just 1:30:07.320 --> 1:30:12.120 his attention to detail is probably above the rest, I 1:30:12.160 --> 1:30:14.240 would say. So, I feel like his attention to detail 1:30:14.240 --> 1:30:17.640 and his willingness to not just kind of tell you 1:30:17.640 --> 1:30:18.840 what you want to hear, but tell you what you 1:30:18.880 --> 1:30:21.479 need to hear is kind of what sets him apart. 1:30:22.600 --> 1:30:25.120 In that Pittsburgh game where you hit the game winner, 1:30:25.360 --> 1:30:28.559 I remember looking down toward the field before the game. 1:30:28.680 --> 1:30:31.599 So it's a Thursday night game against the Steelers, and 1:30:31.720 --> 1:30:36.320 there had to be twenty guys, thirty guys, like thirty 1:30:36.439 --> 1:30:42.679 grown men wearing yeah McPherson jerseys. Who was that group? 1:30:42.920 --> 1:30:45.240 Yeah, So there's a small group I'm part of, been 1:30:45.280 --> 1:30:46.880 a part of for about three and a half years. 1:30:46.880 --> 1:30:48.679 And it's a group of twelve guys that we got 1:30:48.680 --> 1:30:52.479 together through crossroads, you know, just kind of a group 1:30:52.560 --> 1:30:57.200 that I was thrust it into, invited into, and they've 1:30:57.200 --> 1:30:59.519 been great for I feel like development off the field, 1:31:00.000 --> 1:31:03.680 em just in my relationship with God and just my 1:31:03.800 --> 1:31:07.479 relationship outside of football. I can go to them with 1:31:07.560 --> 1:31:11.840 any issues anything I'm feeling struggling with. And they've been 1:31:11.880 --> 1:31:15.800 a real important part of this journey in Cincinnati. 1:31:15.920 --> 1:31:18.040 So there, it wasn't quite as big as I thought 1:31:18.040 --> 1:31:21.000 from looking down there. But twelve guys yep, wearing your 1:31:21.080 --> 1:31:24.080 jerseys that you befriended through the Crossrooms church. 1:31:24.160 --> 1:31:28.040 Yeah, it's been great. We meet every Monday night. Well 1:31:28.080 --> 1:31:32.640 I say every Monday night, Monday nights every whenever we 1:31:32.720 --> 1:31:36.479 all can, but it's usually every Monday night, if not 1:31:36.560 --> 1:31:39.400 every other. But yeah, we just get together, talk about life, 1:31:39.479 --> 1:31:44.479 talk about the Bible, just kind of bounced off off 1:31:44.520 --> 1:31:47.599 each other, and any struggles that we have in our life, 1:31:47.600 --> 1:31:49.880 we talk about it. And there's a lot of wise 1:31:49.920 --> 1:31:52.240 men in that in that room that are older than 1:31:52.320 --> 1:31:54.519 us and have been through a lot of situations, so 1:31:54.960 --> 1:31:58.120 they're good to kind of learn from. And had breakfast 1:31:58.160 --> 1:31:59.639 with the Leader this morning, so. 1:32:00.120 --> 1:32:01.920 That ye great that they could be there for that 1:32:02.000 --> 1:32:03.639 particular night. The way it ended. 1:32:03.880 --> 1:32:07.080 We always me and the Leader will always talk like strategy, 1:32:07.120 --> 1:32:09.519 What game should the guys come to? And I always 1:32:09.520 --> 1:32:11.439 tell people you need to come to a night game 1:32:11.560 --> 1:32:14.559 at Paykor Stadium because I think the fans show up 1:32:14.560 --> 1:32:17.479 and show out for those for those games, and I 1:32:17.560 --> 1:32:19.519 always enjoy night games, so I always tell people to 1:32:19.520 --> 1:32:20.000 come to those. 1:32:20.080 --> 1:32:20.599 I'm with you. 1:32:21.960 --> 1:32:25.320 So, what's the longest field goal you've made? Sixty one 1:32:25.600 --> 1:32:26.320 for the Bengals? 1:32:26.439 --> 1:32:31.320 Sixty on unofficial? Yeah, yeah, yeah, in a game when 1:32:31.320 --> 1:32:33.000 the unofficial didn't count. 1:32:34.000 --> 1:32:35.200 Yeah, give us stat first. 1:32:35.479 --> 1:32:38.519 Yeah, the sixty seven in Green Bay obviously went in, 1:32:38.680 --> 1:32:39.439 didn't count. 1:32:40.320 --> 1:32:42.680 The time out actually the timeout was yeah right. 1:32:42.680 --> 1:32:44.519 Yeah, yeah, all the time out to nullify it. 1:32:44.880 --> 1:32:48.320 But yeah, I think the longest field going franchise history, 1:32:48.400 --> 1:32:49.240 right is fifty nine? 1:32:49.400 --> 1:32:53.160 Correct? Somebody won a gift card for eventually guessing that 1:32:53.200 --> 1:32:56.479 events earlier that we went through every number in the 1:32:56.520 --> 1:32:59.800 spectrum from about fifty five to seventy before we have 1:33:00.000 --> 1:33:01.840 actually got the correct fifty nine. 1:33:02.000 --> 1:33:02.280 Yep. 1:33:02.760 --> 1:33:07.120 Yeah, I remember that one vividly right Week one against Pittsburgh. 1:33:07.200 --> 1:33:09.400 I think it was. Was it my first field goal 1:33:09.439 --> 1:33:13.000 to open the season the second year, right, first field 1:33:13.040 --> 1:33:16.519 goal my second year? Yeah, I hit it really well, 1:33:16.720 --> 1:33:18.600 game didn't and how how i'd like it to. 1:33:19.400 --> 1:33:21.879 That's the one where you lost your long snapper, correct, 1:33:21.960 --> 1:33:26.639 Harris yep, and poor Mitchell Wilcott tight end gets thrussed 1:33:26.680 --> 1:33:31.599 in there trying to long snap and actually did. Yeah, 1:33:31.640 --> 1:33:34.080 but you know that's a hard thing to do when 1:33:34.160 --> 1:33:35.000 that's not your job. 1:33:35.080 --> 1:33:39.080 It is, yeah, because we have guys that we also 1:33:39.600 --> 1:33:42.960 like obviously prepare for the worst of the situations and 1:33:43.000 --> 1:33:45.599 so like we have backup holders. Charlie Jones is our 1:33:45.600 --> 1:33:49.000 backup holder, and once a week he'll get a rep 1:33:49.400 --> 1:33:51.519 and he's like, if I get into a game, I'm 1:33:51.520 --> 1:33:54.639 gonna be He's like, I don't care about kickoff, kickoff return, 1:33:54.680 --> 1:33:58.160 punt return. My sole focus is going to be on holding, 1:33:58.200 --> 1:34:01.559 and I'm gonna be terrified for my life. He's like, 1:34:01.640 --> 1:34:03.639 that is the most stressful thing that I've ever. 1:34:03.520 --> 1:34:04.120 Done in my life. 1:34:04.280 --> 1:34:06.559 Is Tanner Hudson your emergency long snamp? 1:34:06.640 --> 1:34:09.400 Yep? Yeah, yeah, Tanner. So they both get a wrap 1:34:09.840 --> 1:34:12.960 once a week just to make sure that you know, 1:34:13.040 --> 1:34:15.840 you brush up on it and you're never surprised whenever 1:34:15.920 --> 1:34:17.680 that kind of comes up. 1:34:18.120 --> 1:34:22.120 So is what what is when you when you make 1:34:22.160 --> 1:34:25.719 a try attempting these long field goals a game winner. 1:34:25.840 --> 1:34:28.559 You know you're down a point or two points and 1:34:28.600 --> 1:34:31.920 you have to make this this long, monstrous field goal 1:34:31.960 --> 1:34:35.320 to win the game. What what goes through your head 1:34:35.560 --> 1:34:39.200 is it. Is it the mental part of the techniques 1:34:39.200 --> 1:34:42.080 fundamentals that you've worked throughout the entire week, your legs swing, 1:34:42.120 --> 1:34:44.320 all the mechanics and all that, or is it like 1:34:44.800 --> 1:34:47.519 all right, deep breath, calm down, let me just get 1:34:47.520 --> 1:34:50.120 myself composed. What do you what do you think about? More? 1:34:51.280 --> 1:34:53.400 I just try to kind of keep myself calm and 1:34:53.479 --> 1:35:00.479 keep myself from having negative thoughts as you've probably experience, 1:35:00.800 --> 1:35:04.400 Like the mind is is your biggest enemy. Yeah, and 1:35:04.720 --> 1:35:07.439 for whatever reason, in those big spots, like your mind 1:35:07.479 --> 1:35:10.559 just wants to flip to like, oh, well, what happens 1:35:10.600 --> 1:35:14.320 if I don't make this? Like and you just kind 1:35:14.320 --> 1:35:16.479 of have that run through your head. So for me recently, 1:35:16.479 --> 1:35:19.800 it's just running through my head the scenario of what 1:35:19.880 --> 1:35:23.160 happens when I make it and seeing that ball go 1:35:23.200 --> 1:35:25.599 through the uprights before I even step out on the field, 1:35:25.680 --> 1:35:27.760 and I'm just telling myself, you know, you got this, 1:35:27.880 --> 1:35:29.400 You've done it in a million times, to just go 1:35:29.400 --> 1:35:31.559 out there and do it one more. And just the 1:35:31.600 --> 1:35:34.200 whole visualization of just seeing that ball go through the 1:35:34.280 --> 1:35:36.360 uprights in my head and then just kind of reacting 1:35:36.400 --> 1:35:38.160 to that right to what I see. 1:35:38.320 --> 1:35:40.800 So in your rookie year when you made five lockoff 1:35:40.840 --> 1:35:43.680 game winners for very first NFL game, you made one 1:35:43.800 --> 1:35:46.479 Amsy Championship game, you made one. We'll hear that later 1:35:46.600 --> 1:35:50.000 on the show. Were you like too young and naive 1:35:50.080 --> 1:35:52.439 at that point to even have any negative thoughts? 1:35:52.640 --> 1:35:55.719 I guess so, because I go back and think about 1:35:55.760 --> 1:36:00.000 that year. I definitely struggled mentally there for a little bit, 1:36:00.200 --> 1:36:03.040 like middle of the season, and then for whatever reason, 1:36:03.120 --> 1:36:05.360 I came out of it on the other side and 1:36:05.439 --> 1:36:09.680 later in the season, and it's kind of expresses like 1:36:09.720 --> 1:36:11.840 you just kind of blacked out and don't remember much 1:36:11.880 --> 1:36:14.080 and don't remember what I was thinking in those moments. 1:36:14.160 --> 1:36:15.879 I was just kind of going out there and reacting 1:36:15.920 --> 1:36:18.519 and just kind of letting letting loose and just swinging, 1:36:18.920 --> 1:36:19.559 swinging away. 1:36:20.479 --> 1:36:25.160 You know, people, I think a lot of times don't 1:36:25.520 --> 1:36:29.080 give kickers the credit for the athlete that they are, 1:36:29.720 --> 1:36:33.720 because in Bengals history, the kickers, I mean, I had 1:36:33.720 --> 1:36:37.640 a teammate, Jim Breach, unbelievable athlete. Jim Breach was like 1:36:37.960 --> 1:36:41.360 All City, All State in football, basketball, and baseball. You know, 1:36:41.439 --> 1:36:45.320 I mean, point guard in basketball, shortstop baseball, hell of 1:36:45.360 --> 1:36:47.559 a golfer. He has the hell out of the golf ball. 1:36:48.600 --> 1:36:51.720 He's amazing and a lot of Doug Pelfy in the 1:36:51.720 --> 1:36:55.800 same way. Pelsa hell of an athlete. And how about you, 1:36:55.840 --> 1:36:59.920 what's sports would you excel at besides just kicking the football? 1:37:00.200 --> 1:37:02.599 I mean, I grew up playing I feel like all 1:37:02.640 --> 1:37:05.920 the sports I stopped, soccer was my main sport. I 1:37:05.920 --> 1:37:09.000 stopped playing baseball when I was twelve, and then basketball 1:37:09.040 --> 1:37:11.200 in eighth grade, but I stuck with soccer for the 1:37:11.200 --> 1:37:14.479 most part, and we won a state championship my freshman 1:37:14.520 --> 1:37:17.760 year of high school. So that's kind of my My 1:37:17.880 --> 1:37:21.200 big success in high school is the state championship in 1:37:21.240 --> 1:37:24.400 soccer and then one I feel like state titles, like 1:37:24.439 --> 1:37:28.200 in travel soccer. Uh, it was like Division two, so 1:37:28.280 --> 1:37:30.439 it was like redbind Division one. We went to Division 1:37:30.479 --> 1:37:33.360 one for like one year and it was just a 1:37:33.400 --> 1:37:35.760 whole different level. Yeah, so, but we wanted a few 1:37:36.439 --> 1:37:40.920 state titles in Division two soccer and travel years from 1:37:41.000 --> 1:37:47.120 like seven to i'd say thirteen to fourteen. Yeah, but yeah, 1:37:47.120 --> 1:37:49.719 so soccer. I was pretty good at golf. I'm getting 1:37:49.760 --> 1:37:53.320 better at every year, you know, trying to do yeah, 1:37:53.560 --> 1:37:54.280 trying to get better. 1:37:54.400 --> 1:37:57.920 Yeah, so am I it's only been fifty years trying. 1:37:59.360 --> 1:38:03.080 Let me ask you out watching you, uh, in practice 1:38:03.479 --> 1:38:05.720 on the on the foot, on the field in warm 1:38:05.840 --> 1:38:09.040 ups before games, you'll have like a bottle or a 1:38:09.080 --> 1:38:11.799 can of some sort of beverage or whatever. Yeah, that 1:38:11.800 --> 1:38:14.599 that your your leg swing is like right in front 1:38:14.600 --> 1:38:17.120 of it by like the centimeters, you know, half an 1:38:17.160 --> 1:38:19.679 inch or an inch. Yeah, what what are you doing there? 1:38:19.720 --> 1:38:21.679 You're just trying to groove your swing or your leg. 1:38:22.160 --> 1:38:24.559 Yeah. You know a lot of people picked out uh 1:38:25.160 --> 1:38:27.000 kind of that drill that I'm doing. And it's a 1:38:27.040 --> 1:38:29.200 simple one that I started, like back whenever I was 1:38:29.240 --> 1:38:32.280 going through the draft process. So with my plant foot, 1:38:32.320 --> 1:38:35.120 my left foot, I'll get into a situation where it 1:38:35.160 --> 1:38:36.880 can get a little too close to the ball and 1:38:36.960 --> 1:38:38.920 I'm a little pigeon toed, so to be kind of 1:38:38.960 --> 1:38:42.920 pointing right and then it'll make me like swing around 1:38:42.960 --> 1:38:45.040 it and go get around the ball and pull it. 1:38:45.400 --> 1:38:49.040 And it's just super inconsistent. And so I kind of 1:38:49.360 --> 1:38:51.240 hurt my ankle a little bit back in May, and 1:38:51.280 --> 1:38:54.880 then it was forcing me to protect it kind of 1:38:54.920 --> 1:38:57.559 be a little more pigeon toed. And so throughout the 1:38:57.600 --> 1:39:00.479 summer and the more my ankle got stronger and felt 1:39:00.479 --> 1:39:02.920 better about it. I started using this ball. I remember 1:39:03.320 --> 1:39:06.000 what the drills that I did through the draft process 1:39:06.040 --> 1:39:10.479 and what helped my plant foot kind of stay straight 1:39:10.520 --> 1:39:12.639 down the field and wide enough away from the ball 1:39:12.680 --> 1:39:15.040 so I can have consistent ball contact. And so that's 1:39:15.080 --> 1:39:17.679 what it is. It's just kind of like a drill 1:39:18.720 --> 1:39:21.120 that I'll use to kind of get my plant foot 1:39:21.120 --> 1:39:23.559 in the right spot. And so whenever I'm out in 1:39:23.600 --> 1:39:27.040 the field, it's kind of the same thing. Like I 1:39:27.040 --> 1:39:30.479 don't really think about it with all that training that 1:39:30.520 --> 1:39:33.080 I'm doing. My body just kind of reacts and. 1:39:33.040 --> 1:39:35.280 Does it all right, We need to take a time out. 1:39:35.400 --> 1:39:38.120 Evan McPherson is our special guest. He'll be here until 1:39:38.160 --> 1:39:41.280 five thirty today. We're live at the On the Rhine Eatery, 1:39:41.360 --> 1:39:44.479 the food hall above the downtown Kroger at Court and Walnut. 1:39:44.680 --> 1:39:52.120 At ESPN fifteen thirty, we are back on the Bengals 1:39:52.120 --> 1:39:55.400 pep Rally Show presented by Just Bear Chicken. We're live 1:39:55.439 --> 1:39:58.800 at the On the Rhine Eatery here in downtown Cincinnati. 1:39:58.880 --> 1:39:59.040 Now. 1:39:59.080 --> 1:40:03.240 Normally our special guests signed during the commercial breaks, but 1:40:03.360 --> 1:40:06.000 we are extending that a little bit right now because 1:40:06.479 --> 1:40:10.040 money Mack Evin McPherson is signing a leg, not an 1:40:10.080 --> 1:40:15.440 actual leg like a leg lamp. It is a mannequin's 1:40:15.520 --> 1:40:18.240 leg with a light bulb attachment on the top and 1:40:18.320 --> 1:40:21.479 a white kicking shoe. Is that the first one of 1:40:21.479 --> 1:40:22.400 those you've signed? 1:40:24.000 --> 1:40:25.599 I don't know if it's to your surprise, but it's 1:40:25.800 --> 1:40:31.960 it's not about that. Yeah, I probably, I don't know, 1:40:32.320 --> 1:40:35.800 maybe around ten ten. A lot of people have those. 1:40:36.160 --> 1:40:37.480 That is hysterical. 1:40:37.640 --> 1:40:40.240 It is funny because the first one I saw is 1:40:40.280 --> 1:40:42.320 like somebody's like, do you know what this is? You 1:40:42.400 --> 1:40:43.200 know it's from? 1:40:43.680 --> 1:40:46.280 Is it Chrischristmas Story? Christmas Story? 1:40:46.360 --> 1:40:46.639 Yeah? 1:40:46.680 --> 1:40:48.519 So I had a lamp before, but I. 1:40:48.520 --> 1:40:51.480 Don't think I really watched the movie, so I understood 1:40:51.520 --> 1:40:53.360 what it was and I think it's great. 1:40:53.720 --> 1:40:57.479 Yeah, that is That is definitely the best autograph item 1:40:57.840 --> 1:41:00.760 we have seen on this show so far. Here, what 1:41:00.920 --> 1:41:03.280 is the most unusual thing you've signed? Have you signed 1:41:03.320 --> 1:41:04.799 like baby's heads or anything? 1:41:04.960 --> 1:41:07.519 Or I mean I've signed a few babies like clothes 1:41:09.760 --> 1:41:12.040 signed while they were wearing it's a Yeah, it was 1:41:12.120 --> 1:41:14.759 kind of strange, and I feel like if you guys 1:41:15.080 --> 1:41:18.200 have done this as well, like there's somebody at training 1:41:18.200 --> 1:41:21.320 camp that's a prosthetic leg that they will take. 1:41:21.200 --> 1:41:23.679 Off okay and give it to you to sign. 1:41:24.479 --> 1:41:26.760 And then I know there's one lady that has like 1:41:26.800 --> 1:41:32.519 a little orange car car. Yeah, everybody signs, so it's 1:41:32.560 --> 1:41:35.640 pretty strange. But yeah, I say, a prosthetic leg is 1:41:35.640 --> 1:41:37.479 probably the strangest thing that I've signed. 1:41:38.760 --> 1:41:46.760 Strangest thing I've signed. Yeah, where it's panties. Well it 1:41:46.880 --> 1:41:47.559 was at a show. 1:41:48.360 --> 1:41:51.120 Hopefully they were not No, no, she didn't take. 1:41:51.000 --> 1:41:54.800 Them off for anything. Sign. Yeah, they didn't go through 1:41:54.840 --> 1:42:00.880 the washers, dryer. But another parent it's like these they're 1:42:00.960 --> 1:42:02.439 very nice. I'm so glad. 1:42:02.520 --> 1:42:05.599 I asked, all right, we need to take another quick 1:42:05.640 --> 1:42:08.360 time out more with money Mack Kevin McPherson in Just 1:42:08.400 --> 1:42:17.040 a Moment here at ESPN in fifteen thirty, Dan Orden, 1:42:17.120 --> 1:42:19.479 Dave Lap I'm back at the on the Ryan Eatery 1:42:19.560 --> 1:42:22.559 here at downtown Cincinnati. It's the Bengals pep Rawley Show 1:42:22.640 --> 1:42:26.240 presented by just Paar Chicken. Our engineer is Mike Mills. 1:42:26.640 --> 1:42:29.559 Drew Wester. Heidi is back in the studio. Nicky Growl 1:42:29.680 --> 1:42:32.440 is helping us out with the autographs. Today we appreciate 1:42:32.520 --> 1:42:35.920 everybody involved with this show, and we obviously appreciate our 1:42:35.920 --> 1:42:38.920 special guest Evin McPherson with us for the final hour. Today, 1:42:39.200 --> 1:42:44.120 Let's hear from Special Teams coordinator Darren Simmons on Money Mack. 1:42:45.040 --> 1:42:50.080 I've learned to not worry a lot about things with 1:42:50.200 --> 1:42:51.320 him that he'll. 1:42:51.080 --> 1:42:51.880 Get it figured out. 1:42:52.400 --> 1:42:55.559 He's very, very very strong mentally. He's really really mature 1:42:55.680 --> 1:42:59.320 and understands a great deal about being a kicker and 1:43:00.040 --> 1:43:02.479 what it means to be an effective kicker in crunch time. 1:43:03.040 --> 1:43:06.679 So I never ever worry about him in critical spots. 1:43:07.920 --> 1:43:10.640 He thrives in situations like that because he's so competitive. 1:43:11.880 --> 1:43:14.479 I agree, we never worry about you and those critical 1:43:14.520 --> 1:43:18.200 spots almost every time you were able to deliver. Here's 1:43:18.200 --> 1:43:21.040 my question for you. Darren Simmons was a college punter, 1:43:21.240 --> 1:43:24.080 so he's got some experience kind of in the kicking world. 1:43:24.479 --> 1:43:28.360 But who taught you? Were you self taught largely? Did 1:43:28.360 --> 1:43:31.000 you have a kicking guru from an early age? How 1:43:31.000 --> 1:43:31.840 did you learn to do this? 1:43:32.280 --> 1:43:35.080 I feel like early on it was a lot of 1:43:35.080 --> 1:43:39.160 self taught YouTube Definitely. My older brother was the one 1:43:39.200 --> 1:43:41.880 that tried it out first, and so whenever he tried 1:43:41.920 --> 1:43:44.679 out for the football team and made it and started 1:43:44.760 --> 1:43:47.200 kicking as me and my younger brother were just in 1:43:47.240 --> 1:43:51.120 the front yard just kicking footballs. Didn't really know how 1:43:51.160 --> 1:43:53.160 we knew how to kick a soccer ball, so we 1:43:53.240 --> 1:43:55.600 just kind of implemented that and watched a lot of 1:43:55.640 --> 1:43:58.680 YouTube videos to start, and then we started going to 1:44:00.120 --> 1:44:03.360 bi weekly. This guy like an hour and a half away, 1:44:04.280 --> 1:44:06.840 his name is Mike McCabe. One on one kicking. That's 1:44:06.880 --> 1:44:09.240 where we started, Uh, just kind of like one on 1:44:09.240 --> 1:44:12.080 one training and then with the camp series and trying 1:44:12.080 --> 1:44:14.600 to get exposure and rankings, like we would go to 1:44:14.640 --> 1:44:17.599 Cole's Kicking and that's kind of who I stick to now. 1:44:18.160 --> 1:44:23.200 Jamie Cole is the head of that and he's just 1:44:23.320 --> 1:44:27.559 fantastic human being, a great person personally for me to 1:44:27.600 --> 1:44:29.400 just kind of reach out to and talk to every 1:44:29.400 --> 1:44:32.040 now and then. And we get together once a year, 1:44:32.320 --> 1:44:36.559 uh probably about twenty of us like kickers, punters, long snappers, 1:44:36.560 --> 1:44:38.320 and Gatlinburg once a year and we just kind of 1:44:38.360 --> 1:44:39.360 get together kick. 1:44:40.920 --> 1:44:41.759 College people. 1:44:42.040 --> 1:44:45.439 Yeah, so they have like a huge weekend NFL will 1:44:45.479 --> 1:44:51.720 be I think it's Wednesday Thursday. NFL guys will come 1:44:51.720 --> 1:44:55.479 and kick and then call it or now Tuesday, Wednesday 1:44:55.479 --> 1:44:59.200 will be NFL Thursday, Friday's College and then Saturday Sunday 1:44:59.240 --> 1:45:01.640 is there big high school camp. And so they just 1:45:01.680 --> 1:45:04.080 make a big week out of it in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. 1:45:04.160 --> 1:45:07.880 And so you have your slots, but it's always fun 1:45:07.960 --> 1:45:11.400 just together like with other NFL guys, with Jamie and 1:45:11.439 --> 1:45:14.400 his staff, they've they've got a great staff. They don't 1:45:14.760 --> 1:45:17.679 they care about you as a player, but more important, 1:45:17.760 --> 1:45:19.479 they care about you as a person. And that's kind 1:45:19.479 --> 1:45:24.040 of why I graduate kind of favored them more than 1:45:24.080 --> 1:45:26.960 the others, is just because the way they had treated 1:45:27.000 --> 1:45:30.120 me off the field, and they were They've always been 1:45:30.160 --> 1:45:33.160 great to me, great to my family, and I will 1:45:33.479 --> 1:45:36.280 forever be in debt for for the work that they 1:45:36.320 --> 1:45:38.160 put in to get me recruited and get me looked at. 1:45:39.120 --> 1:45:43.240 So Kickers are great athletes. You know, we talked about 1:45:43.240 --> 1:45:49.160 it a little bit. Preach. Preach was unbelievable athlete in 1:45:49.240 --> 1:45:53.519 high school, All state, All City, all state basketball player, 1:45:53.640 --> 1:45:55.799 football player, baseball player. 1:45:56.080 --> 1:45:56.280 Yeah. 1:45:56.280 --> 1:45:57.960 I'm not sure if you played soccer or not, but 1:45:58.320 --> 1:46:01.080 I mean he played as many sports as you could play. 1:46:01.280 --> 1:46:04.080 Were you of that same mindset? Did you probably everything 1:46:04.120 --> 1:46:04.840 when you were younger. 1:46:05.000 --> 1:46:08.160 Yeah, definitely tried everything whenever I was younger, but in 1:46:08.240 --> 1:46:11.160 high school, mainly for me, it was just soccer, football, 1:46:12.360 --> 1:46:13.960 you know. It didn't really golf as much as I 1:46:14.000 --> 1:46:18.720 do now. You man, I've got a core group of friends. 1:46:19.160 --> 1:46:22.080 It's probably make up of a like five to seven 1:46:22.160 --> 1:46:24.880 guys that will come up to one one game of year. 1:46:24.920 --> 1:46:27.160 And I started playing soccer with them whenever I was 1:46:27.280 --> 1:46:30.559 like seven, and we played all the way through throughout 1:46:30.640 --> 1:46:32.760 high school with and so you know, I still talk 1:46:32.840 --> 1:46:35.160 to them on a daily basis, and they're some of 1:46:35.160 --> 1:46:38.240 my biggest fans, and so I love just keeping that 1:46:38.280 --> 1:46:40.960 relate those relationships, those those are big for me and 1:46:41.320 --> 1:46:44.280 just being back from home. It's always good to see 1:46:44.360 --> 1:46:45.320 him whever they get to come up. 1:46:45.400 --> 1:46:45.920 That's awesome. 1:46:46.120 --> 1:46:48.960 Who are your closest buddies in the kicking fraternity? 1:46:49.400 --> 1:46:51.880 Closest buddies in the kids like that? That's a good one. 1:46:51.800 --> 1:46:52.400 Yeah. 1:46:52.600 --> 1:46:56.240 So my best friend I met him. It was eighth grade. 1:46:56.640 --> 1:46:59.680 I think it was eighth grade camp. One of the 1:46:59.680 --> 1:47:02.840 first I met him, name is Jake Kmarta. He's a 1:47:02.880 --> 1:47:08.799 punter from Norcross, Georgia, and I got injured at this camp, 1:47:09.120 --> 1:47:10.960 and I was pretty upset that I didn't perform the 1:47:10.960 --> 1:47:13.120 way I wanted to. And he was the only guy 1:47:13.160 --> 1:47:15.240 that came up to me after the camp when I 1:47:15.280 --> 1:47:17.439 was visibly upset and asked me how I was doing. 1:47:17.520 --> 1:47:19.679 And from that point on, we just kind of started 1:47:19.680 --> 1:47:21.960 following each other on Instagram. And he had a girlfriend 1:47:22.000 --> 1:47:25.519 at the time, I had my wife. We were dating 1:47:25.560 --> 1:47:27.720 at the time, and we would just take turns kind 1:47:27.720 --> 1:47:30.559 of visiting each other, double dating at top golf and 1:47:30.600 --> 1:47:33.080 going out to dinner together. And that's just kind of 1:47:33.080 --> 1:47:37.160 blossomed into where I mean, I facetimed him today, so 1:47:37.520 --> 1:47:41.240 we talked daily. You could ask both of our wives 1:47:41.240 --> 1:47:45.439 if they're annoyed by it, So I would say he's 1:47:45.479 --> 1:47:49.040 my closest friend. He was with the Bucks for two 1:47:49.040 --> 1:47:52.240 and a half years and then short stint with the Bills, 1:47:52.320 --> 1:47:54.720 and now he's he's on the streets right now but 1:47:55.040 --> 1:47:58.840 looking to get another opportunity. But other kickers, I mean 1:47:59.120 --> 1:48:02.880 Cam Little, that's a record holder, Yeah, new record holder. 1:48:02.920 --> 1:48:05.080 So you know, if if the record would account, it 1:48:05.160 --> 1:48:06.080 wouldn't stood. 1:48:05.800 --> 1:48:09.040 For long, that's right. So just to explain for people 1:48:09.080 --> 1:48:12.360 wondering what I'm talking about you attempted a sixty seven 1:48:12.439 --> 1:48:15.679 yarder against Green Bay. First try was good, the coach 1:48:15.720 --> 1:48:18.120 called the time out. Yep, second try was a little 1:48:18.120 --> 1:48:20.800 bit short. That would have been the NFL record. But 1:48:20.840 --> 1:48:23.320 then a couple of weeks later, your friend cam Little 1:48:23.360 --> 1:48:26.000 made a sixty eight yarder for Jacksonville and that's now 1:48:26.040 --> 1:48:27.360 the new NFL record. It is. 1:48:27.600 --> 1:48:29.479 So we'll see if he gets broken, but yeah, him, 1:48:30.040 --> 1:48:32.960 they're punter. Logan Cook. He was at Missippi State whenever 1:48:32.960 --> 1:48:35.640 I was getting recruited there, so I built a relationship 1:48:35.640 --> 1:48:39.760 with him, and I mean from there, I feel like 1:48:40.360 --> 1:48:42.679 a lot of the guys in the NFL were good 1:48:42.680 --> 1:48:45.280 friends with Obviously Eddie Pinero, he was at Florida right 1:48:45.320 --> 1:48:48.559 before I got there. Thomas Morestead at San Francisco. He's 1:48:48.560 --> 1:48:52.000 always at the Coles camps in Gallinburg. He's a great mentor. 1:48:52.720 --> 1:48:56.799 He got Austin McNamara in with the Jets. 1:48:56.920 --> 1:48:58.799 He was here a brief teammate. 1:48:59.000 --> 1:48:59.320 Yep. 1:48:59.640 --> 1:49:04.479 He's really good dude. And I'm sure I could name 1:49:04.560 --> 1:49:07.640 play somebody from each team. I feel like I have 1:49:07.640 --> 1:49:09.439 a pretty good relationship with all. 1:49:09.439 --> 1:49:11.280 Right, we're gonna take a time out when we come 1:49:11.280 --> 1:49:14.400 back we'll turn the clock back to perhaps the most 1:49:14.439 --> 1:49:18.360 important kick in Cincinnati Bengals history. This is the Bengals 1:49:18.360 --> 1:49:22.200 pep Rally Show presented by Just Fair Chicken. We're live 1:49:22.200 --> 1:49:32.479 at the on the Rhyin Eatery here on ESPN fifteen thirty, 1:49:34.360 --> 1:49:37.360 final half hour The Bengals pep Rally Show presented by 1:49:37.760 --> 1:49:40.120 Just Faired Chicken. We are live at the on the 1:49:40.200 --> 1:49:43.679 Rhine Eatery. It is our Friday afternoon home for this show. 1:49:43.720 --> 1:49:45.960 It's been great this year. If you haven't been down 1:49:46.000 --> 1:49:47.960 to join us, what are you waiting for? We're here 1:49:47.960 --> 1:49:51.280 every Friday, usually three to six. This week two thirty 1:49:51.280 --> 1:49:53.840 to five thirty. Next week again it'll be two thirty 1:49:53.920 --> 1:49:57.040 to five thirty. Great food options here. There's a bar, 1:49:57.120 --> 1:49:59.800 there's a ton of seating. It's all free unless you 1:49:59.880 --> 1:50:02.839 just to get something to eat or drink. Bengals players 1:50:02.920 --> 1:50:05.240 join us every week. They're kind enough to sign autographs 1:50:05.240 --> 1:50:08.679 and take pictures. Just has Moneymack has been doing today 1:50:08.960 --> 1:50:12.559 our friend Bengals kicker Evan McPherson. Prior to the commercial break, 1:50:12.560 --> 1:50:16.120 I promised we would listen in to perhaps the most 1:50:16.160 --> 1:50:20.080 significant kick in Cincinnati Bengals history. So let's turn the 1:50:20.120 --> 1:50:24.160 clock back. It is the AFC Championship game against Kansas 1:50:24.200 --> 1:50:27.559 City in the twenty twenty one season. After falling behind 1:50:27.960 --> 1:50:31.040 twenty one to three, the Bengals come roaring back and 1:50:31.160 --> 1:50:35.719 the game in overtime came down to this. Four years ago, 1:50:35.840 --> 1:50:39.600 he was a senior in high school in tiny Fort Payne, Alabama. 1:50:40.000 --> 1:50:43.439 Now the Bengals Super Bowl chances rest on his right foot. 1:50:43.640 --> 1:50:45.760 The kick is up, yeh ye. 1:50:46.280 --> 1:50:53.200 Good coffin nows bam, bam bam. 1:50:53.400 --> 1:50:59.519 That is unba believable. The Cincinnati Bengals come from behind 1:50:59.560 --> 1:51:02.160 on the road. Unbelievable. 1:51:02.280 --> 1:51:06.479 Dan, It is no fluke, it is a fact. 1:51:07.120 --> 1:51:12.320 The Cincinnati Bengals are headed to Super Bowl fifty six. 1:51:14.080 --> 1:51:18.960 Gives me chills. Yeah, thinking back to that moment. Yeah yeah, 1:51:19.200 --> 1:51:22.080 hair is raising on my arm. Thank you for that memory. 1:51:22.439 --> 1:51:24.800 We appreciate shit. You know what it fit really well 1:51:25.120 --> 1:51:26.919 right there is it wasn't an upset. 1:51:28.160 --> 1:51:33.160 You like that line so earlier this year, you see, 1:51:33.240 --> 1:51:35.960 had a big victory when they were an underdog, and 1:51:36.040 --> 1:51:40.400 I said, it's not an upset, it's an uprising. And 1:51:40.439 --> 1:51:42.680 he found me like two days later. That was a 1:51:42.720 --> 1:51:46.040 great line. So thank you, Thank you for listening. Appreciate it, 1:51:46.160 --> 1:51:46.840 of course. 1:51:46.840 --> 1:51:51.960 But yeah, that one that day special. I definitely remember 1:51:52.000 --> 1:51:57.200 it for the rest of my life. My parents are there, 1:51:58.040 --> 1:52:00.360 my family was there. I feel like just the only 1:52:00.400 --> 1:52:02.240 person I wish would have been there was my wife. 1:52:02.560 --> 1:52:05.320 We were dating at the time, and she was unable 1:52:05.360 --> 1:52:07.360 to make it. She was still in college. 1:52:07.439 --> 1:52:09.000 But she go to the Super Bowl. 1:52:09.280 --> 1:52:13.320 She did Okay, Yeah, at the Super Bowl is where 1:52:13.400 --> 1:52:16.200 she decided that she was going to graduate early and 1:52:16.200 --> 1:52:19.360 we were going to get married. So well, we were engaged. 1:52:19.720 --> 1:52:22.800 I shall say that we moved our wedding date up 1:52:23.520 --> 1:52:25.679 because she decided to leave so early. 1:52:25.760 --> 1:52:28.080 So and you were both able to watch the halftime show. 1:52:28.120 --> 1:52:31.439 We both were goe. I reminded Darren of that. Not 1:52:31.840 --> 1:52:33.559 a couple of days ago. I think there was like 1:52:33.600 --> 1:52:36.920 a Doctor Dre's song on and I was like, I 1:52:36.960 --> 1:52:39.840 got to see him in concert. He was like, oh, yeah, 1:52:40.960 --> 1:52:41.719 when was that. 1:52:43.640 --> 1:52:48.280 So you're coming off your bye week and basically during 1:52:48.280 --> 1:52:50.759 this time period you lost one of your closest friends 1:52:50.800 --> 1:52:52.840 off the roster. You haven't lost him as a friend, 1:52:52.880 --> 1:52:56.160 but you and Logan Wilson were tight, Your wives were tight, 1:52:56.479 --> 1:52:59.599 Your daughters were born at basically the same time. 1:53:00.600 --> 1:53:03.000 Was that tough for you, Yeah, you know, it's tough 1:53:03.000 --> 1:53:06.320 to seeing a good friend like Logan go. But I 1:53:06.320 --> 1:53:09.960 feel like, like I've said, I feel like we're still 1:53:10.000 --> 1:53:13.160 gonna stay in touch obviously, because I feel like of 1:53:13.240 --> 1:53:15.760 how close our friendship is. You know, it sucks that 1:53:15.840 --> 1:53:17.479 I'm not gonna get to see him day to day, 1:53:17.520 --> 1:53:19.360 but you know, I can always keep in touch with him. 1:53:19.400 --> 1:53:22.320 I know our wives will more than likely text every 1:53:22.320 --> 1:53:25.320 single day just to keep up and see how each 1:53:25.360 --> 1:53:27.400 other are doing. But I feel like I'm more sad 1:53:27.479 --> 1:53:32.320 for our daughters. They really did enjoy spending time together, 1:53:32.360 --> 1:53:35.439 and Morgan and Cambry, their daughter, actually spent the night 1:53:35.479 --> 1:53:40.439 with us last week before they flew out because their 1:53:40.600 --> 1:53:43.240 home was gutted into they needed a bed to sleep 1:53:43.280 --> 1:53:45.240 in one last night, and so we had them over 1:53:45.320 --> 1:53:49.040 and the girls got to play together and fight for 1:53:49.160 --> 1:53:51.920 a few hours, and they fight like sisters and they're 1:53:51.960 --> 1:53:52.799 hilarious together. 1:53:53.120 --> 1:53:58.000 Refresh my memory. Were your wives like an adjacent hospital 1:53:58.080 --> 1:53:59.400 rooms or something like that. 1:53:59.680 --> 1:54:02.720 Yeah, the thing was me and my wife got there 1:54:04.200 --> 1:54:07.320 March fourteenth, and we had our daughter at like four 1:54:07.360 --> 1:54:11.840 point thirty seven on the fifteenth am and then Logan 1:54:11.880 --> 1:54:16.080 and his wife came in that afternoon and had their 1:54:16.160 --> 1:54:19.240 daughter and so on the recovery floor we shared a wall. 1:54:19.479 --> 1:54:21.880 That's crazy and that was kind of wild. And then 1:54:21.920 --> 1:54:24.519 they came in a few days I think the next 1:54:24.640 --> 1:54:28.080 day and introduced everybody. Everybody got to see each other 1:54:28.200 --> 1:54:30.240 and it was a fun experience. 1:54:31.160 --> 1:54:34.920 Yeah, you're gonna have fun when you guys have your reunions. 1:54:34.960 --> 1:54:38.800 And yeah, ten or fifteen years down the road, it's like, oh, yeah, gee, 1:54:38.880 --> 1:54:42.720 what's so Oh he got into uh investment world and 1:54:42.760 --> 1:54:46.760 he's a multi gazillionaire now. And you know, I think 1:54:46.800 --> 1:54:49.760 that this football team has a bunch of guys that 1:54:49.760 --> 1:54:53.160 are really smart, you know, I mean, yeah, very smart 1:54:53.760 --> 1:54:56.920 raw football raw IQ and then football IQ as well. 1:54:57.040 --> 1:54:59.120 It's gonna be really interesting with some of these guys 1:54:59.160 --> 1:54:59.800 do down the road. 1:55:00.160 --> 1:55:02.080 Yeah, you know, that's always the fun thing is like 1:55:02.120 --> 1:55:05.320 what to do after football? Right, everybody's got their their 1:55:05.480 --> 1:55:08.640 thing that they're interested in. And we've got a few 1:55:09.720 --> 1:55:11.800 different ones that you wouldn't even think about, like with 1:55:11.840 --> 1:55:15.560 Marco Wilson in his fashion he's got his own clothing brand, 1:55:15.640 --> 1:55:21.640 and yeah, long snapper Will Wagner, he majored in he's 1:55:21.720 --> 1:55:26.839 a it's an engineering guy, isn't Yeah, what is it mechanical? 1:55:26.840 --> 1:55:29.160 I don't know if he's a mechanical engineer, but yeah, 1:55:29.160 --> 1:55:31.120 he got his engineering degree. And if you maybe, if 1:55:31.120 --> 1:55:34.480 you talk to him, wouldn't even believe it. I get 1:55:34.600 --> 1:55:37.280 a hard time, but yeah, you know, we got a 1:55:37.280 --> 1:55:42.080 lot of unique guys on this team, a lot of 1:55:42.080 --> 1:55:46.520 good guys, and we all have our little special skills, 1:55:46.800 --> 1:55:47.640 right right. 1:55:48.000 --> 1:55:50.240 So the big news of this week was Joe Burrow's 1:55:50.240 --> 1:55:53.280 return to practice on a limited basis on Monday. We 1:55:53.360 --> 1:55:57.520 heard earlier on this show that Jamar Chase and t Higgins, 1:55:57.600 --> 1:55:59.680 two of his closest buddies, didn't even know he was 1:55:59.760 --> 1:56:01.240 kind of back. What about you? 1:56:02.040 --> 1:56:07.720 Uh, you know, you can't can't reveal too many, too 1:56:07.760 --> 1:56:10.240 many sources, But I mean I had an idea of 1:56:10.320 --> 1:56:13.400 what he was looking at to kind of get back to. 1:56:14.000 --> 1:56:16.680 But I can tell you if you didn't ask, you 1:56:16.760 --> 1:56:19.160 were not gonna know, because you know, Joe's not the 1:56:19.200 --> 1:56:21.960 guy that's going to tell you face to face like 1:56:22.040 --> 1:56:24.920 what he's thinking about. But fiig, you're gonna have to 1:56:24.960 --> 1:56:27.520 go out and ask. And so I had an idea 1:56:27.520 --> 1:56:29.680 of whenever he wanted to return. But I can definitely 1:56:29.720 --> 1:56:32.040 see where some guys are like, oh. 1:56:32.000 --> 1:56:33.720 What's your practice today. 1:56:34.600 --> 1:56:37.120 But it's impressive to see his rehab and how hard 1:56:37.160 --> 1:56:39.640 he's going at it and how much effort he's putting 1:56:39.680 --> 1:56:41.600 into it. You can really tell that he didn't want 1:56:41.600 --> 1:56:44.960 to let it be a season ending injury after a 1:56:44.960 --> 1:56:45.760 couple of years ago. 1:56:46.560 --> 1:56:50.560 Yeah, that's that's the thing with this everybody as a 1:56:50.600 --> 1:56:52.920 group on this football team, we talked about the makeup 1:56:52.960 --> 1:56:55.960 of the character of the football team, not only the 1:56:56.000 --> 1:57:01.280 intellectual abilities of a lot of the player, but the 1:57:02.120 --> 1:57:06.160 you know, the football toughness, the mentality, gonna go get 1:57:06.240 --> 1:57:08.920 get it, gonna get after it, not gonna miss. They're 1:57:08.920 --> 1:57:10.800 saying I'm gonna miss. The three minds say I'm gonna 1:57:10.800 --> 1:57:12.680 be back in a month and a half, two months. Yeah, 1:57:12.760 --> 1:57:15.000 And Joe Borrow kind of leads the charge there, you know, 1:57:15.120 --> 1:57:17.720 I mean, he he knows that guys are looking at him, 1:57:17.720 --> 1:57:19.920 looking up to him, and the bottom line is he 1:57:19.960 --> 1:57:22.000 wants to play. I mean, then this is this is 1:57:22.000 --> 1:57:26.560 what he's a football player and he uh yeah, he's 1:57:26.600 --> 1:57:29.160 at his happiest and his best when he's not leading 1:57:29.160 --> 1:57:29.840 the football team. 1:57:29.880 --> 1:57:30.520 Right for sure. 1:57:30.720 --> 1:57:34.400 Yeah, he's a really tough guy, and I think he's 1:57:32.680 --> 1:57:37.080 uh shown that over the whatever six years that he's 1:57:37.120 --> 1:57:41.120 been here, willing to play through injury and put the 1:57:41.160 --> 1:57:43.840 team kind of first. And he's been really good about 1:57:43.960 --> 1:57:50.480 being a leader vocally just showing out on the field. 1:57:50.560 --> 1:57:53.080 And you know, I think a lot of guys would 1:57:53.080 --> 1:57:55.080 be excited to get him back, and I think a 1:57:55.120 --> 1:57:56.760 lot of guys are excited to see him back out 1:57:56.800 --> 1:58:00.080 there just kind of going through all of what he 1:58:00.120 --> 1:58:01.840 needs to get back on the field. 1:58:02.720 --> 1:58:07.240 And in the meantime, Joe Flatto has done an incredible. 1:58:06.520 --> 1:58:07.320 Amazing job. 1:58:07.920 --> 1:58:11.720 I find it impossible to imagine how he's pulled this 1:58:11.880 --> 1:58:14.560 off with a limited number of reps he's had with 1:58:14.640 --> 1:58:17.360 the team, and Bengals have averaged more than thirty two 1:58:17.360 --> 1:58:19.360 points a game in the four games that he started. 1:58:19.520 --> 1:58:22.360 Would have been your biggest impressions of your your forty 1:58:22.440 --> 1:58:23.760 year old quarterback? 1:58:24.200 --> 1:58:29.320 Yeah, the guy that could probably be my father, you know, 1:58:29.400 --> 1:58:32.640 Joseh Yeah, he started you. You know, he's a really 1:58:32.640 --> 1:58:37.560 cool guy. You can tell, you know that he's been 1:58:37.560 --> 1:58:41.280 doing it for a long time. It doesn't take a lot, 1:58:41.720 --> 1:58:43.560 I feel like for him to be prepared for the 1:58:43.600 --> 1:58:47.440 moment because he's been in that moment for so many years. 1:58:47.480 --> 1:58:51.080 And you can tell that he's NFL MVP, super Bowl Champion, 1:58:51.160 --> 1:58:54.720 super Bowl MVP just by the way he carries himself, 1:58:54.760 --> 1:59:00.400 like throughout the locker room and just keep in his 1:59:00.440 --> 1:59:03.320 body in check and keeping it healthy. And there's the 1:59:03.360 --> 1:59:07.360 way he carries himself is really impressive. And you know, 1:59:07.560 --> 1:59:10.640 he is a really personable guy and he likes to 1:59:11.480 --> 1:59:16.080 chat it up and just kind of talk about anything. 1:59:16.360 --> 1:59:18.680 And that's kind of what's been cool for me is 1:59:18.800 --> 1:59:21.560 you know, not that I watched a lot in NFL football, 1:59:21.600 --> 1:59:25.360 but I knew who Joe Flacco was growing up. So 1:59:25.400 --> 1:59:29.800 it's really cool just to put like a human perspective 1:59:29.880 --> 1:59:32.440 on Joe Flacco and not just like the football version. 1:59:32.680 --> 1:59:34.280 How old were you in twenty twelve? 1:59:35.200 --> 1:59:38.240 I was twelve depending on the year thirteen. 1:59:38.280 --> 1:59:39.760 So that's when he won the Super Bowl. You're a 1:59:39.760 --> 1:59:41.800 twelve year old kid when he was leading the Ravens 1:59:42.360 --> 1:59:45.480 Super Bowl title. Yeah, amazing, yep, Now your teammates. 1:59:45.280 --> 1:59:47.360 Exactly he is. 1:59:47.600 --> 1:59:50.280 He is a kind of a one of a kind, 1:59:50.480 --> 1:59:53.080 yeah sort of guy. I mean, I hear you know 1:59:53.080 --> 1:59:56.080 a lot of players saying how much of an impact 1:59:56.120 --> 1:59:58.720 he made in such a short period, It's that's tough 1:59:58.720 --> 2:00:01.600 to do. Yeah, but joined the team, you know, after 2:00:02.280 --> 2:00:06.040 you know, an x period of time. Everybody's going from together. 2:00:06.880 --> 2:00:09.960 Different guys have different friends, different yonds, and for him 2:00:10.000 --> 2:00:12.640 to be uh, to be part of that as quickly 2:00:12.640 --> 2:00:15.480 as he has forget the football part of it just 2:00:15.480 --> 2:00:19.680 to become part of the the the organization, and a 2:00:19.760 --> 2:00:22.800 lot of it is his character, right, I mean he's 2:00:22.800 --> 2:00:26.760 a high character guy. That's uh uh Yeah, He's all 2:00:26.760 --> 2:00:27.520 about success. 2:00:27.560 --> 2:00:30.640 He's driven for sure, and I think he's a great 2:00:30.640 --> 2:00:34.000 locker room guy. And I feel like coming into this 2:00:34.120 --> 2:00:37.920 organization and this team, I feel like he probably had 2:00:37.920 --> 2:00:40.480 to feel pretty good with with five and one r 2:00:40.480 --> 2:00:44.240 out there running outs for him, no doubt, he's probably 2:00:45.000 --> 2:00:47.040 all I gotta do is back and just throw it 2:00:47.120 --> 2:00:49.320 up and they're gonna come down with it. 2:00:49.400 --> 2:00:50.320 Yeah, definitely works. 2:00:50.440 --> 2:00:53.600 So but no, he's been a great addition, uh, great 2:00:53.600 --> 2:00:55.280 guy to having the locker room, great guy to have 2:00:55.320 --> 2:00:57.880 on the field obviously, and I feel like he's going 2:00:57.920 --> 2:01:00.760 to continue to lead this team, uh where we need 2:01:00.760 --> 2:01:00.880 to go. 2:01:01.240 --> 2:01:03.120 All right, We're going to take our final time out 2:01:03.200 --> 2:01:07.520 when we come back we will play America's favorite game show, 2:01:08.320 --> 2:01:11.760 Know Your School. Five questions about the University of Florida 2:01:12.240 --> 2:01:16.200 for former Gator Evan McPherson. This is the Bengals pep 2:01:16.280 --> 2:01:18.600 Rally Show Live from the on the Rhine Eatery on 2:01:18.880 --> 2:01:29.640 ESPN fifteen thirty. Final segment of the Bengals pep Rally Show, 2:01:29.680 --> 2:01:33.080 presented by Just Fair Chicken, Live from the on the 2:01:33.160 --> 2:01:38.160 Rhine Eatery here in downtown Cincinnati. We are getting ready 2:01:38.200 --> 2:01:41.600 for the Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers coming up on Sunday 2:01:42.120 --> 2:01:46.480 at one o'clock at Akroshuer Stadium. Our special guest today 2:01:46.600 --> 2:01:49.160 and we really appreciate him joining us. He does it 2:01:49.200 --> 2:01:52.800 every year, Bengals kicker Evan McPherson. We've reached the final 2:01:52.840 --> 2:01:55.200 segment of the show, and that means it is time 2:01:55.840 --> 2:02:00.000 for America's favorite game show. We call it No Your School. 2:02:00.000 --> 2:02:02.520 Oh yeah, we've done this with you before, so I 2:02:02.560 --> 2:02:05.440 hope I came up with different questions. We've got five 2:02:05.520 --> 2:02:09.760 questions about the University of Florida for a former Gator, 2:02:10.080 --> 2:02:12.400 Money Matt, Are you ready need to get at least 2:02:12.400 --> 2:02:13.000 three rights? 2:02:13.200 --> 2:02:13.560 All right? 2:02:13.600 --> 2:02:19.120 To be declared a winner? Let's start easy. Florida has 2:02:19.120 --> 2:02:23.720 had three Heisman Trophy winners, the most recent in two 2:02:23.760 --> 2:02:27.880 thousand and seven, named the Gator lefty who won the 2:02:27.960 --> 2:02:29.280 Heisman that year. 2:02:31.200 --> 2:02:34.320 That's tough, Tim Tebow. 2:02:34.440 --> 2:02:35.640 Tim Tebow is correct? 2:02:36.920 --> 2:02:38.200 Can I name the other two? 2:02:38.360 --> 2:02:39.480 Sure? Go ahead? 2:02:39.760 --> 2:02:44.480 I mean Steve Spurrier, correct, Steve Superior, Danny Warfore, you. 2:02:44.440 --> 2:02:48.000 Are right here we go now he's showing off. Bus 2:02:48.160 --> 2:02:50.680 questions are gonna have to be harder next time. And 2:02:50.720 --> 2:02:55.839 by the way, I heard audience participation. No, I frown 2:02:56.640 --> 2:02:58.880 at audience participation. Question number two. 2:02:59.040 --> 2:03:00.960 I can't hear who da is here? 2:03:01.000 --> 2:03:05.280 So this is a good question. Florida has two alligator 2:03:05.360 --> 2:03:07.360 mascow Albert and alberta. 2:03:07.080 --> 2:03:10.680 Ooohh boy, how about that boom? 2:03:10.760 --> 2:03:12.040 How about that boom? 2:03:12.080 --> 2:03:16.840 He's two for two. The most famous building on campus, 2:03:17.120 --> 2:03:20.080 Oh I think we is one hundred and fifty seven 2:03:20.120 --> 2:03:25.360 feet tall and features sixty one bells. What is the name? 2:03:25.640 --> 2:03:27.680 This was a question last time and I didn't know it, 2:03:28.040 --> 2:03:29.000 and I still don't know it. 2:03:29.080 --> 2:03:32.800 I don't remember it. It's going to keep being the 2:03:33.080 --> 2:03:37.080 question until you get this right. Century Tower, Centry Tower, 2:03:37.160 --> 2:03:41.720 Cree Tower. Two questions left you need to get at 2:03:41.800 --> 2:03:44.520 least win, right, all right, to be a winner. You're 2:03:44.560 --> 2:03:48.240 Alma Mater won the NCAA basketball championship last year. Okay, 2:03:49.120 --> 2:03:54.040 four players averaged ten or more points scoring. Boy, can 2:03:54.040 --> 2:03:54.640 you name one? 2:03:57.320 --> 2:03:58.960 I know one was like number one. 2:03:59.000 --> 2:03:59.920 I think. 2:04:01.640 --> 2:04:06.200 That was probably Walter Clayton. It was really good. Elijah Martin, 2:04:06.560 --> 2:04:09.480 not gonna Will Richard and Alex Condon. 2:04:09.600 --> 2:04:10.880 I didn't watch one game. 2:04:11.080 --> 2:04:11.240 Oh. 2:04:11.320 --> 2:04:13.360 I watched the National championship game, and then I threw 2:04:13.400 --> 2:04:17.200 up a post like I watched every game. After they won, they. 2:04:17.200 --> 2:04:21.560 Tried to claim was the biggest by that I've done worse. 2:04:21.880 --> 2:04:23.960 All Right, It all comes down to this question. Dave 2:04:24.040 --> 2:04:26.000 Lapham is going to know the answer to this question. 2:04:26.520 --> 2:04:30.480 We'll see if you do name the former Gator played 2:04:30.640 --> 2:04:35.480 with Dave Lapham in Super Bowl sixteen who can now 2:04:35.560 --> 2:04:38.560 be heard every week on Sunday Night football. 2:04:38.600 --> 2:04:41.320 You know, he's a neighbor of mine, so I didn't know. No, 2:04:41.360 --> 2:04:43.040 he's not. He's not actually my neighbor. We just live 2:04:43.080 --> 2:04:49.440 in the same like city because his wife drug him 2:04:49.440 --> 2:04:55.680 there Thomas. Yep, she's born and raised Fort Thomas. And 2:04:55.840 --> 2:04:59.480 she said, we're not leaving. And the answer is Chris Collins. 2:04:59.560 --> 2:05:01.640 Chris Collin correct number. 2:05:01.480 --> 2:05:07.880 Eight, Chris, his wife and few kids. They were at 2:05:08.040 --> 2:05:11.520 the we go to Tower Park a lot and him 2:05:11.560 --> 2:05:13.400 and his grandkids were there one day when we were 2:05:13.480 --> 2:05:15.440 and it was cool to see him, you know, just 2:05:15.480 --> 2:05:18.400 being a granddad and a father, and he was running 2:05:18.440 --> 2:05:23.120 around going down slides, swinging. Uh So it's just fun 2:05:23.120 --> 2:05:25.560 to see him out about like that. Yeah, he's a 2:05:25.560 --> 2:05:25.960 great dude. 2:05:25.960 --> 2:05:28.440 Do you remember a linebacker that played at Florida by 2:05:28.440 --> 2:05:30.360 the name of Glenn Cameron. Do you remember that name? 2:05:30.960 --> 2:05:33.880 He was a first round pick of the Bengals back 2:05:33.920 --> 2:05:37.480 in the late seventies. We were good friends and his 2:05:37.520 --> 2:05:40.160 wife Liz and my wife Limb good buddies. And we 2:05:40.200 --> 2:05:42.600 started a T shirt company called Pro t Shirts that 2:05:42.800 --> 2:05:44.800 was around for a little bit. 2:05:45.080 --> 2:05:46.920 Your a T shirt guy, left shirt man. 2:05:47.280 --> 2:05:50.400 We had this one. It was like the excellon Tiger 2:05:51.400 --> 2:05:53.920 and it was yipe stripes we put on there and 2:05:53.920 --> 2:05:56.640 then every player signed it. And it was like, right 2:05:56.680 --> 2:05:58.680 after the Super Bowl sixteen. 2:05:58.560 --> 2:06:00.360 Do you make some bank? 2:06:02.120 --> 2:06:03.320 Got the kids from school? 2:06:03.400 --> 2:06:03.680 You know. 2:06:06.520 --> 2:06:10.160 The table. I didn't realize you were the entrepreneur of 2:06:10.240 --> 2:06:13.560 this group. Suppressed my man cranking out T shirts back 2:06:13.600 --> 2:06:17.160 in the day. All right, You're heading to Pittsburgh Sunday 2:06:17.320 --> 2:06:21.920 one o'clock game against the Steelers. Yep, that's notoriously a 2:06:22.000 --> 2:06:24.840 tough place to kick, between the wind and the field. 2:06:25.480 --> 2:06:28.880 Pitt plays Notre Dame there tomorrow, so the field's going 2:06:28.920 --> 2:06:31.680 to get chewed up, of course. Is it the toughest 2:06:31.680 --> 2:06:32.280 place to kick? 2:06:33.160 --> 2:06:38.200 Toughest, Uh, it's up there, up there, up there. I've 2:06:38.240 --> 2:06:41.000 always struggled in Cleveland for whatever reason. Uh, you know, 2:06:41.040 --> 2:06:44.720 put a complete game together this past year, which felt good. 2:06:44.920 --> 2:06:48.160 So we'll put the struggles behind us in Cleveland. And 2:06:48.240 --> 2:06:49.920 I feel like, for the most part, I've always had 2:06:49.920 --> 2:06:53.480 pretty good games in Pittsburgh. The wind hasn't ever been 2:06:53.520 --> 2:06:55.480 really too crazy there. I remember my rookie year, I 2:06:55.520 --> 2:06:57.520 got a little breezy and the field was kind of 2:06:57.560 --> 2:06:59.920 chewed up. But the other two times we played at nine, 2:07:00.840 --> 2:07:05.560 we're kind of midday, and I think they resided like 2:07:05.760 --> 2:07:08.280 right before we came. So grass was great when wasn't 2:07:08.320 --> 2:07:11.280 too bad as it has been freezing when I've played there. 2:07:12.360 --> 2:07:13.960 But you know, I've put it. I've put together a 2:07:13.960 --> 2:07:16.360 few good games in Pittsburgh, so I've always enjoyed it. 2:07:16.360 --> 2:07:19.760 It's a fun stadium, fun environment to play in. Crowd 2:07:19.800 --> 2:07:22.839 really gets into it and the towels waving and whatnot. 2:07:22.960 --> 2:07:25.240 They got good traditions there, So I always enjoy going 2:07:25.280 --> 2:07:25.880 to UH. 2:07:26.240 --> 2:07:29.720 To Pittsburgh Renegade at some point in the second half 2:07:29.840 --> 2:07:30.600 get the defense. 2:07:33.400 --> 2:07:36.480 Yeah, I mean, I always love a good tradition and 2:07:36.960 --> 2:07:40.600 just getting to watch other teams kind of traditions and 2:07:40.760 --> 2:07:44.400 like the Vikings had a really cool like intro video 2:07:44.600 --> 2:07:47.800 that I get to watch, and like Pittsburgh with the 2:07:47.800 --> 2:07:51.280 the Renegade. It's you know, I'm just big on like traditions, 2:07:51.320 --> 2:07:56.040 and I won't not enjoy somebody's traditions just because I'm 2:07:56.080 --> 2:07:57.800 playing against them. You know, I'm gonna sit there, I'm 2:07:57.800 --> 2:08:01.000 gonna be like, oh, it's cool, let's just go beat 2:08:01.040 --> 2:08:03.360 them and send everybody home upset. 2:08:03.440 --> 2:08:06.720 Now, see, you're more mature than I am. Because I 2:08:06.760 --> 2:08:09.600 can't like anything about the Pittsburgh Steelers, I can't blame you. 2:08:10.200 --> 2:08:12.560 I always refer to them as the dreaded, hated, but 2:08:12.640 --> 2:08:17.200 grudgingly respected Pittsburgh Steeling. So like the fact that you 2:08:17.320 --> 2:08:21.400 can enjoy their traditions even as you try to beat them. 2:08:21.480 --> 2:08:23.960 Yeah, you know, it's really cool something. 2:08:24.400 --> 2:08:28.120 If a kicker is struggling in the league, do the 2:08:28.520 --> 2:08:30.960 is it a big fraternity to the other kickers kind 2:08:30.960 --> 2:08:33.880 of everybody take somebody to reach out to them and say, hey, 2:08:34.040 --> 2:08:36.320 look we're thinking about you. We noticed it. You might 2:08:36.360 --> 2:08:38.120 be doing this, or you might want to try this. 2:08:38.400 --> 2:08:39.640 You guys do any of that. 2:08:39.960 --> 2:08:40.160 You know? 2:08:40.120 --> 2:08:42.560 Not really? 2:08:42.720 --> 2:08:43.760 Yeah. 2:08:43.840 --> 2:08:45.880 I feel like if anybody is struggling or anybody has 2:08:45.920 --> 2:08:47.240 any questions, they'll reach out. 2:08:47.400 --> 2:08:47.600 Yeah. 2:08:48.040 --> 2:08:49.880 But I will say, if I have a really close 2:08:49.920 --> 2:08:56.880 friend that I'm like in speaking terms with like regularly, yeah, 2:08:56.880 --> 2:08:58.840 I'll reach out to him, see how he's feeling, what 2:08:59.040 --> 2:09:01.480 what he's thinking about, and kind of what's going through 2:09:01.480 --> 2:09:04.800 his head. So I feel like in certain instances, yeah, 2:09:04.880 --> 2:09:05.920 that would be the case. 2:09:06.720 --> 2:09:08.720 All Right, we are just about out of time. A 2:09:08.760 --> 2:09:11.240 few thank yous are in order. Thank you to our engineer, 2:09:11.280 --> 2:09:13.960 Mike Mills pipe man came down early and set everything 2:09:14.040 --> 2:09:16.600 up even though he didn't know the show started two 2:09:16.640 --> 2:09:20.160 thirty today, so we appreciate how early Mike comes. Thanks 2:09:20.160 --> 2:09:23.240 to Drew Wester Heidi back in the studio. Thanks to 2:09:23.360 --> 2:09:25.760 Nicky Growl who helped us out with the autographs today. 2:09:25.920 --> 2:09:29.080 Thank you to the manager here Nick. Thanks to George, 2:09:29.120 --> 2:09:31.680 you're bringing us food. Most of all, thank you to 2:09:31.800 --> 2:09:35.040 our special guest, Evan mcphersource and thank you to the 2:09:35.120 --> 2:09:37.720 Bengals fans who came out to be part of the show. 2:09:37.840 --> 2:09:40.280 If you bear listening too, the Bengals pep Rally Show 2:09:40.520 --> 2:09:42.080 on ESPN fifteen thirty. 2:09:45.560 --> 2:09:49.360 This was Bengals pep Rally presented by Just Baird Chicken 2:09:49.560 --> 2:09:52.640 on the Bengals Radio Network. Pay Corps. Pay Corp is 2:09:52.680 --> 2:09:55.680 proud to be the official HR software provider of the 2:09:55.840 --> 2:10:00.200 Cincinnati Bengals. Ulti Viber Alta Viber the official wife Fi 2:10:00.320 --> 2:10:05.000 and Internet provider of the Cincinnati Bengals. This is ESPN 2:10:05.200 --> 2:10:09.480 fifteen thirty, the official home of the Cincinnati Bengals,