Speaker 1: Hi, Gain everybody. I'm Dan Horde and thanks for downloading
Speaker 1: The Bengals Booth Podcast. The Something in the Way audition
Speaker 1: as the Bengals look to beat the team that's given
Speaker 1: them the most trouble of any in recent years, the
Speaker 1: Cleveland Browns. Coming up, I'll talk to linebacker Logan Wilson
Speaker 1: about the Bengals twenty twenty draft class, led by Joe
Speaker 1: Burrow T. Higgins and himself not a bad draft, right.
Speaker 1: Peter Schreger from Good Morning Football joins me to explain
Speaker 1: why the Bengals are a team that nobody wants to
Speaker 1: face In January, we'll hear from Joe Mixon and Sama J. P. Ryan,
Speaker 1: and finally, in this week's Know the Faux segment, we'll
Speaker 1: spend a few minutes with the voice of the Cleveland Browns,
Speaker 1: Jim Donovan. The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you
Speaker 1: by Bengals Picks and Ultimate Bengals. They're freedom play with
Speaker 1: tickets and signed merchandise up for grabs. Find both inside
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Speaker 1: Once again, it's that Shining Bar dot com. Now let's
Speaker 1: get to Sunday's game. According to the folks at Pro
Speaker 1: Football Focus, there are eighty nine linebackers who have played
Speaker 1: at least twenty percent of their team's defensive snaps this year.
Speaker 1: Jermaine Pratt is great it as the tenth best linebacker
Speaker 1: in the league, and Logan Wilson is twenty sixth despite
Speaker 1: dealing with a shoulder injury. I caught up with Wilson
Speaker 1: this week. Logan, you are having another great season despite
Speaker 1: injuring your shoulder back in Week six in New Orleans.
Speaker 1: How does this compare to what you dealt with in
Speaker 1: the postseason last year? Yeah, it's not nearly His significant.
Speaker 1: I don't even know. I'd kind of just kind of
Speaker 1: retour the post to your capsule, which everything that I
Speaker 1: did in surgery is still They're still doing what it's
Speaker 1: supposed to do. Anchors are good. It's just kind of
Speaker 1: instant that happened, and you know, I think I'll just
Speaker 1: play with the harness to protect it. But it's not.
Speaker 1: It's nothing like last year. Like my shoulder is still healthy.
Speaker 1: I still a full range of motion. Like last year,
Speaker 1: I didn't really have full range of motion. And there
Speaker 1: was a little bit more issues being dealt with after
Speaker 1: that one. There were some nervous looks after that game
Speaker 1: in New Orleans. Were you fearful that this might be
Speaker 1: a big problem? Yeah, I think and anything, and that's
Speaker 1: scared me, you know, just to reinjure something that you
Speaker 1: just you know, rehabbed all the way back, got fixed
Speaker 1: in the offseason, and for it to happen like that,
Speaker 1: it was just more nerve wracking than anything. And um,
Speaker 1: you know, luckily I just needed a week to let
Speaker 1: it simmer down. I'm good. Now. We're chatting with Logan Wilson.
Speaker 1: So hearing you talk about the postseason last year, you
Speaker 1: played great, You had the most tackles in the playoffs
Speaker 1: of anybody in the last ten years in the NFL.
Speaker 1: You obviously had the huge interception in the Tennessee game.
Speaker 1: But what was normal life like? Could you lift your arm?
Speaker 1: Could you sleep where? Things like that difficult? Yeah, it was.
Speaker 1: It wasn't like my life was pretty normal. Um, it's
Speaker 1: just some things like overhead type stuff that would you know,
Speaker 1: get my arm was like more like so I being
Speaker 1: able to come up next to my year was coming
Speaker 1: out about forty five degrees and I just couldn't physically
Speaker 1: get it up because of my labor and being torn. Um,
Speaker 1: it's just not being even when we do like rehab stuff,
Speaker 1: you know. Um, the pts would say that they could
Speaker 1: feel like that. You could feel your feel the humoral
Speaker 1: head kind of slip out, you know when when you're
Speaker 1: doing some of those mobility stuff, and um, you know
Speaker 1: it was there was a long road to recovery. And um,
Speaker 1: there was times during the playoffs where you know, you
Speaker 1: get it hit and it just just shoot through your
Speaker 1: whole arm. I remember one play in the Super Bowl
Speaker 1: did that and I just kind of shake it out.
Speaker 1: Luckily it was a third down. I was able to
Speaker 1: go off the sideline, let it calm back down, and
Speaker 1: we were good. But it was good to get it fixed.
Speaker 1: Very smart. One of the reasons why I wanted to
Speaker 1: talk to you this week was to ask you about
Speaker 1: your tag team partner, Jermaine Pratt, who's having a great year.
Speaker 1: Pro Football Focus ranks him as the tenth best linebacker
Speaker 1: in the NFL so far this year. He made the
Speaker 1: key defensive play last week, ripping the ball away from
Speaker 1: Travis Kelcey. What stands out to you about a guy
Speaker 1: you've been playing with now for three years. I think,
Speaker 1: I mean, he's he is a good leader, whether or
Speaker 1: not he sees himself, is that or not. Um, He's
Speaker 1: he's very very smart schematically. Um, he knows what we're
Speaker 1: gonna get from the from the offense. He knows what
Speaker 1: we're doing on defense and what our weaknesses are. And UM,
Speaker 1: I think he's really just improved as an overall. You know,
Speaker 1: his overall linebacker play, you know, UM, piggyback onund some
Speaker 1: things that he learned from Coach Golden last year and
Speaker 1: now Coach Best this year. Um, you know, some block
Speaker 1: protection things, just being physical, Um, but then always having
Speaker 1: the mindset, like always reiterating like we got to get
Speaker 1: the ball in some form or fashion, and um, you know,
Speaker 1: for him to you know, be miked up and be
Speaker 1: talking about getting the ball and then gets the ball,
Speaker 1: that drive was was huge and just kind of a
Speaker 1: no surprise. You know. It's a credit to the guy
Speaker 1: he is. He works really hard to be where he's
Speaker 1: at and um, you know, very happy to be playing
Speaker 1: alongside him. Is it borderline comical how often he says
Speaker 1: that at practice and you know, in meeting rooms and
Speaker 1: so forth. I mean it is, but it's also good.
Speaker 1: It's a repetitive thing that you're always hearing. You're like, okay,
Speaker 1: well I made the tackles, Like who cares? You don't?
Speaker 1: You know, you don't want to make the tackle you
Speaker 1: want to make. You want to get the ball back
Speaker 1: to our offense because, um, you know, our our offense
Speaker 1: is operating on all cylinders right now, and so the
Speaker 1: more times we can get the ball back to them
Speaker 1: to go score points, you know, the better off we're
Speaker 1: going to be. It sounds like both of you guys
Speaker 1: are football chunkies. Is that accurate? Yeah, you can say that.
Speaker 1: I think we both have different ways that we UM
Speaker 1: learn things, and UM, I think we both teach each
Speaker 1: other some things and help each other on the field
Speaker 1: with you know, certain things. I think that's what you're
Speaker 1: supposed to do as a teammate. And UM, you know,
Speaker 1: we feed off each other's energy. So anytime one of
Speaker 1: us makes a good play, we you know, we hype
Speaker 1: each other up. But UM, you know, I think that
Speaker 1: we just have a really good linebacker room in general. Honestly,
Speaker 1: we're chatting with Logan Wilson. So you've accomplished a lot
Speaker 1: personally and team wise in your three years in Cincinnati,
Speaker 1: But one thing you haven't done yet is beat Cleveland.
Speaker 1: Does it steck under your crop going into the game
Speaker 1: this week? I mean it's always creeped into my head.
Speaker 1: You know, it's the one team since UM, since our draft,
Speaker 1: our draft class Joe t me Um, Akim Hakim Marcus,
Speaker 1: and we know we have never beat Cleveland. That's the
Speaker 1: one team in our division we've never beaten. UM. You know,
Speaker 1: we always say the next game is the biggest game.
Speaker 1: So right now, this is the biggest game, UM, of
Speaker 1: our season, and we need to get these these in
Speaker 1: these divisional wins. You just ran down the guys from
Speaker 1: your draft class who are still here. And I know
Speaker 1: it's early, but it's shaping up to be one of
Speaker 1: the great draft classes in Bengals history. When you came
Speaker 1: into the building and you met Joe and you met
Speaker 1: T and you met the other guys that you just mentioned,
Speaker 1: did you know right off the batman, I'm part of
Speaker 1: something special? Um, you know, I I've I've figured it
Speaker 1: I would be. You know, I think that anytime you
Speaker 1: have the number one overall pick, um, it's about helping
Speaker 1: set him up for success. And you know this organization
Speaker 1: has done a very good job of that, you know,
Speaker 1: getting the guys around it to protect him, and then
Speaker 1: getting weapons outside of him, and then like for Tea
Speaker 1: to be developing into the receiver he's become. Um, it's
Speaker 1: just a credit to the guys they draft, you know,
Speaker 1: I know, I think there was a stat I think
Speaker 1: six of our seven picks that year were all captains.
Speaker 1: I think in college U T would have been had
Speaker 1: he stayed for another year Clemson. Yeah, so I didn't
Speaker 1: know he was the only one that wasn't a captain.
Speaker 1: But um, that's just a credit to the guys that
Speaker 1: they're looking for. The type of character and um, I
Speaker 1: mean you can see it in our locker room from
Speaker 1: when I got here till now. Like it's I mean,
Speaker 1: it's just it really is night and day. The guys
Speaker 1: that we have in the locker room. That's how you
Speaker 1: that's it really is how you win games. And it's
Speaker 1: been a good formula for us. Getting back to Sunday's
Speaker 1: game against the Browns, Nick Chubb his head lot of
Speaker 1: success against the Bengals five one yard games and eight
Speaker 1: tries against Cincinnati. Sam Hubbard says he's the best in
Speaker 1: the NFL. Do you agree? And if so, what I think?
Speaker 1: He's just so hard to bring down and he's um,
Speaker 1: I mean, he's he's good out of the he's good
Speaker 1: out of the backfield because he's you got to have
Speaker 1: more than just one guy trying to tackle him and
Speaker 1: bring him down. He's very um lower heavy, so he
Speaker 1: breaks a lot of tackles. UM and you're not gonna
Speaker 1: arm tackle him or some guys might be able to
Speaker 1: kind of trip him up. He's got very good balance. Um.
Speaker 1: You know, I think he's just a very good all
Speaker 1: around back and there's a reason why he's been at
Speaker 1: the top of the rushing yards list for really price
Speaker 1: since he's been in the league. So one thing that's
Speaker 1: gone viral in recent weeks has been coached Duffner yelling
Speaker 1: in his high pitched voice, Yeah, everyone there, you gonna
Speaker 1: play Auffs. What do you think of that? And what
Speaker 1: do you think of Coach duff I think he's he's
Speaker 1: the man. He's he's awesome. My wife even asked me,
Speaker 1: She's like, is that has is that his voices normally?
Speaker 1: I was like, No, that's his like thing is he
Speaker 1: just gets to hype up and um, that's why coach
Speaker 1: asked him to say that. He's a character. I think
Speaker 1: everyone on this coaching staff and the players love him.
Speaker 1: He's a great guy to have around. He's very knowledgeable
Speaker 1: and he's been around this game for a very long time,
Speaker 1: so he's a good guy to know. Final question for
Speaker 1: Logan Wilson. I appreciate your time. We are four weeks
Speaker 1: away from Bengals Bills and your opportunity to compete against
Speaker 1: your friend and former college teammate at Wyoming Josh Allen.
Speaker 1: How frequently are you guys in touch, whether it's calls
Speaker 1: or texts and is this a game you've had in
Speaker 1: the back of your mind all year. We don't really
Speaker 1: stay in touch that much. I mean, he's he's pretty
Speaker 1: busy and he's he's a very focused type kind of guy.
Speaker 1: So I know he's trying to take care of what
Speaker 1: they need to do over there in Buffalo, and you
Speaker 1: know it will be a great opportunity, you know, to
Speaker 1: be able to go against him when that time comes.
Speaker 1: But I'm a big living the present guys. From the meantime,
Speaker 1: I'll be worried about the Browns. The class of twenty
Speaker 1: twenty has helped change this franchise. You're a big reason why.
Speaker 1: Congratulations on your success. Thanks for the time today. Thanks Dan.
Speaker 1: There's six linebackers taken before Logan Wilson in the twenty
Speaker 1: twenty Laft, Isaiah Simmons, Kenneth Murray, Jordan Brooks and Patrick
Speaker 1: Queen went in the first round, and Josh Ouch and
Speaker 1: Willie Gay went in the second round before the Bengals
Speaker 1: took Wilson with the first pick of the third. I
Speaker 1: don't know about you, but I wouldn't trade Logan for
Speaker 1: any of them. The Bengals Booth podcast is brought to
Speaker 1: you by pay Corps. More than twenty nine thousand customers
Speaker 1: trust Paycorps to help them recruit, pay engage, and retain employees.
Speaker 1: Learn more at paycorps dot com. There's nothing worse in
Speaker 1: sports television than fake laughter. You know what I mean.
Speaker 1: There are three or four people on the set, One
Speaker 1: of them says something that isn't close to being funny,
Speaker 1: and the rest of the cast laughs like hyenas. That's
Speaker 1: not the case on Good Morning Football on the NFL network.
Speaker 1: The hosts are legitimately funny and the laughs are real.
Speaker 1: Plus they know their stuff and have great chemistry as
Speaker 1: a group. I caught up with one of the stars
Speaker 1: of the show this week. But my money, Good Morning
Speaker 1: Football is the best sports show on TV, and my
Speaker 1: wife Peg agrees. And we are joined by one of
Speaker 1: the hosts this week, Peter Schreger. Peter, you have been
Speaker 1: binging on Bengals content of late. Earlier this week, you
Speaker 1: said after the win over the Chiefs, I wouldn't want
Speaker 1: to face the Bengals in January. What was it about
Speaker 1: that win that maybe took the Bengals to another level.
Speaker 1: It wasn't just this win. I think they're on quite
Speaker 1: a run right now. And and Dan I look back
Speaker 1: at the Tennessee win, going into that hostile environment, doing
Speaker 1: that without Jamar and doing it without Joe Mixon and
Speaker 1: then quickly turning around and then being the Chiefs for
Speaker 1: the third straight time. I mean it. I think this
Speaker 1: team has got a you know, ice in their veins.
Speaker 1: And I know that sounds like it's a cliche, but
Speaker 1: does Joe Burrow ever ever Waiver? Is this guy? Just
Speaker 1: so I said on our show, I'm like he's like
Speaker 1: a robot watching him. There's there's a motion, but there's
Speaker 1: never this up and down that you get to see.
Speaker 1: You never see him yelling at teammates. You never see him,
Speaker 1: you know, spiking up ball and celebrating in a way
Speaker 1: that might rub someone wrong. This guy is just so
Speaker 1: dialed in. And I feel like this team is so
Speaker 1: young and yet it's been there for the most part.
Speaker 1: All these guys were on this ride last year and
Speaker 1: it's nothing's too big for them. So I would not
Speaker 1: want to face them in January, whether it be in
Speaker 1: Cincinnati or be on the road. That is a team
Speaker 1: with that quarterback on the other sideline. I would not
Speaker 1: want to see and I would not want to have
Speaker 1: the game plan for I heard you called Joe a robot,
Speaker 1: and I knew what you meant. It was a good
Speaker 1: way RoboCop determinator something along those lines. Is Joe what
Speaker 1: you thought he would be as the number one pick
Speaker 1: coming out of LSU or even better at this point? Oh,
Speaker 1: he succeeded expectations. And I remember talking to I guess
Speaker 1: it was it was Zach probably around the combine before
Speaker 1: it was even out there that they were taking him.
Speaker 1: And if the story at the time was Joe Purrow
Speaker 1: might hold out and doesn't want to be a Bengal
Speaker 1: and that he might want to just you know, play
Speaker 1: his cards close to the chess and all this stuff.
Speaker 1: And Zach Taylor at the combine kind of gave me
Speaker 1: the heads up and said, no, don't put us out
Speaker 1: there everything but like of the quarterbacks, this is the guy. Like,
Speaker 1: this is the guy, and he's unbelievable and it's it's
Speaker 1: been everything, everything and that and more. And what I
Speaker 1: like about Burrow is, you know, it's not just number
Speaker 1: one pick, great success. You know, you know Peyton Manning
Speaker 1: and we've seen all you know, Terry Bradsch, all these guys.
Speaker 1: Whatever it is with Joe Burrow it's he had to
Speaker 1: overcome a massive setback with the knee injury and then
Speaker 1: had to overcome the appendicitist, has to do it with
Speaker 1: a team that hadn't won a playoff game, and how
Speaker 1: many years like he has had to overcome real hurdles
Speaker 1: and yet never makes it about him, makes it about
Speaker 1: everybody else and is this incredible leader. We all saw
Speaker 1: the final season in college we all saw the college
Speaker 1: football playoff. But I've seen a lot of great college quarterbacks.
Speaker 1: I a I was a huge Colt McCoy fan. I
Speaker 1: was a huge Tim Tebow fan. I've seen a lot
Speaker 1: of college quarterbacks win a lot of college games. Joe
Speaker 1: Burrow is doing something that Cult McCoy, who I love
Speaker 1: and Tim Tibo, who I love, have not done at
Speaker 1: the pro level, and that's take a franchise on his
Speaker 1: back and not only made them relevant, made them one
Speaker 1: of the best in the NFL. Tell me about your
Speaker 1: relationship with Zach Taylor, because you're close to Sean McVeigh.
Speaker 1: You did a podcast with him, I know you attended
Speaker 1: his wedding over the summer. What do you think of
Speaker 1: Zach Taylor. I love Zach Taylor. I've known Zach Taylor
Speaker 1: since he was in Miami Dolphin. He was with the
Speaker 1: Dolphins back in the Joe philbin era and I built
Speaker 1: a relationship with him then. And then he went back
Speaker 1: to the college game, obviously at Cincinnati, and you know,
Speaker 1: stayed on the radar, and I know Sean McVeigh really
Speaker 1: really trusted Zach once he brought him on his staff
Speaker 1: and would give me heads up and be like, I
Speaker 1: know I'm the young hot thing here, but I've got
Speaker 1: a bunch of guys in my staff that you should
Speaker 1: meet and speak with. And I went out of my way.
Speaker 1: I did the Rams preseason games that twenty eighteen season,
Speaker 1: I think, and I went out of my way before
Speaker 1: those games to get on the field and talk to
Speaker 1: a Zach Taylor and get to know him, and talk
Speaker 1: to an Eric Yarber, who's the wide receivers coach, and
Speaker 1: really get to know the assistant coaches on that Rams team,
Speaker 1: because I thought what they were building was really cool,
Speaker 1: and I thought Zach was always so smart. And so
Speaker 1: you know, I guess humbles the word, but it's he's
Speaker 1: not the loudest guy in the room. He's not gonna
Speaker 1: necessarily be the one that says, hey, look at me.
Speaker 1: He's not gonna necessarily have a Campbell Souper commercial like
Speaker 1: mcvay's got that's running at all ads and all times.
Speaker 1: Zach Taylor's the guy wearing the Triple Xcel sweatshirt and
Speaker 1: kind of hanging in the back and has the plane,
Speaker 1: you know, room when they're doing the draft during COVID,
Speaker 1: while Kingsbury's got the mansion and the sunny locale behind him.
Speaker 1: Like that's Zach family guy, lifer. Obviously, his brother's a coach.
Speaker 1: Obviously he's got a great playing career at Nebraska, but
Speaker 1: a world of knowledge and a wealth, a wealth of
Speaker 1: respect around the league. And I know Bengals fans sometimes
Speaker 1: come out and they question play calls. And I remember
Speaker 1: last year even when they were hot, and it was
Speaker 1: what Zack Taylor doing. Asked the players, don't judge from
Speaker 1: the outside, Asked the players, ask the staff. He treats
Speaker 1: people right, and I think if everyone respects him in
Speaker 1: the building. You host a podcast the season with Peter Schrager,
Speaker 1: and this week you had current offensive coordinator Brian Callahan
Speaker 1: on with you. What were some of your biggest takeaways
Speaker 1: from visiting the Brian well, Brian's got a lot of
Speaker 1: the same characteristics that Zach has and it's not a
Speaker 1: lot to look at me, and there's not a lot
Speaker 1: of puff your chest, and his voice is pretty level.
Speaker 1: He's going to tell you like it is. But what
Speaker 1: I love about Brian's story is the amount of quarterbacks
Speaker 1: that he's coached. And I wanted to go through that
Speaker 1: because he came in and it was Tebow and then
Speaker 1: it was Peyton Hanning. Couldn't go from one, you know,
Speaker 1: inexperienced NFL quarterback to a guy who's got all the
Speaker 1: answers in Peyton, and then Stafford, and then Derek Carr
Speaker 1: and then of course now you know Joe Burrow. And
Speaker 1: I wanted to know all about what he's learned from
Speaker 1: each one of those quarterbacks. That was interesting, But what
Speaker 1: I really liked hearing about was his lifestyle and his
Speaker 1: choice to go into this because his father, of course,
Speaker 1: his Brown's offensive line coach, Bill Callahan. And you know,
Speaker 1: you grow up in a coaching family can go one
Speaker 1: of two ways. One you can resent the profession. You
Speaker 1: could say, hey, my dad wasn't around on that offense.
Speaker 1: We had to move twenty different places all that stuff,
Speaker 1: or you can look at your father as a hero
Speaker 1: and say, hey, that's something I want to do. And
Speaker 1: Brian followed in his father's footsteps. What I really like
Speaker 1: about him is he's gone out of his way to
Speaker 1: never work with or on his father's staff, and I
Speaker 1: think that says a lot about him. He's like, I
Speaker 1: love football, I love coaching, but I never want to
Speaker 1: go that route. I want to do it on my own.
Speaker 1: And sure, his father's opened millions of doors, but Brian's
Speaker 1: kind of charted his own path and I think that's
Speaker 1: pretty cool. He's thirty eight years old, he's really bright,
Speaker 1: he's really well respected around the league, and I think
Speaker 1: his demeanor is the right demeanor. It's one that's you've
Speaker 1: got big personalities. In that Cincinnati locker room, you guys
Speaker 1: be you do your thing. I'll be here, I'll coach,
Speaker 1: and I'll do everything I can't to support you, both
Speaker 1: Hee and Zach. For the Bengals fans listening, both Hee
Speaker 1: and Zach their main mission is to serve the players,
Speaker 1: to make the players the best players they can be,
Speaker 1: and Brian said it in the podcast A Day with Me.
Speaker 1: My goal is to get these guys paid as much
Speaker 1: money as they possibly can and have the most fulfilled
Speaker 1: lives that they can. And if we win some football
Speaker 1: games along the way, that's great. But I'm about the
Speaker 1: players and the team. It's not about me. And I
Speaker 1: love that Brian and defensive coordinator lou Anna Rumo are
Speaker 1: both being mentioned as future NFL head coaches. Do you
Speaker 1: see that happening for either or both soon? Well, they've
Speaker 1: both interviewed last year, right So, Brian had an interview
Speaker 1: at Denver and that job went to Nathaniel Hackett. Then
Speaker 1: lou Ana Rumo, who was with the Giants are employee
Speaker 1: and it's from Staten Island. There is a lot of
Speaker 1: local New York City buzz for lou They all wanted
Speaker 1: to see him maybe get considered their He interviewed for
Speaker 1: the Giants job and that went to Brian Dable. One
Speaker 1: of those decisions, Denver one is being questioned right now.
Speaker 1: The other one, the Giants one, everyone seems to be
Speaker 1: in full support of in the local market. But I
Speaker 1: think both of those guys are gonna be very high
Speaker 1: up on the list. I do if we're a lot
Speaker 1: of the stuff with the coaching hirings come around the
Speaker 1: week seventeen eighteen everything, and the name I'm hearing a
Speaker 1: lot about is Damiko. Ryan's rightfully so in San Francisco.
Speaker 1: But on the offensive side of the ball, everyone's looking
Speaker 1: for that next young offensive mind. And Ben Johnson, who's
Speaker 1: in Detroit is getting a lot of buzz thirty six
Speaker 1: years old. And Ryan Callahan, the offensive coordinat of the Bengals,
Speaker 1: is being mentioned there too. But gosh, if if LU
Speaker 1: doesn't get a slew of interviews and really get considered,
Speaker 1: something's up with the system. Because the second half adjustments
Speaker 1: that LU and a remote pulls off every single week.
Speaker 1: It's in the numbers. You see that the Bengals are
Speaker 1: the best second half team across the board and just
Speaker 1: about every category, and their defense comes to play in
Speaker 1: the biggest of moments, as we saw in the Super
Speaker 1: Bowl run last year. We are visiting with Peter Schreeger
Speaker 1: last week, Elizabeth Blackburn wrote a letter to Bengals fans
Speaker 1: and you brought it up on Good Morning Football, and
Speaker 1: your words it fired you up. Why you know you
Speaker 1: do that kind of thing? And they can go one
Speaker 1: of two ways. The fans can read this and say,
Speaker 1: don't you tell me what to do. Won't you tell
Speaker 1: me anything? You go and you buy me a new
Speaker 1: free agent. You go and you lower prices on tickets.
Speaker 1: Why are you worried about me. I'll show up. I'm
Speaker 1: a fan. I pay my ticket, don't you. Or it
Speaker 1: can be like wow, everyone in that building is really
Speaker 1: all in. And it starts from the top down, and
Speaker 1: it starts from mister Brown and goes all the way through,
Speaker 1: you know, obviously to Katie and Elizabeth Blackburn, and then
Speaker 1: you feel it through the pearlding and it's the coaches
Speaker 1: and then the players, and then I'm part of the
Speaker 1: team if I'm a player, if I'm a fan, and
Speaker 1: I'm being asked to play my part. And I think
Speaker 1: it was the perfect letter. It wasn't saying anything negative
Speaker 1: about the Chiefs, who was saying we need you over
Speaker 1: this final stretch. Because I think Elizabeth knows what a
Speaker 1: great fan base, the Bengals fan it's are, and also
Speaker 1: what a great home field advantage that is. When that
Speaker 1: place is rocking. It's really hard to play in cold weather,
Speaker 1: especially under the lights late on a Sunday, and especially
Speaker 1: when the crowd is absolutely rocking in that environment. I
Speaker 1: was not there for shame. I wasn't there. I was
Speaker 1: in LA for the studio show for Fox. But anyone
Speaker 1: that I know who's in that building was like, that
Speaker 1: place was lit. It was electric. And I think it's
Speaker 1: going to be the same way this Sunday, and I
Speaker 1: think it'll be the same way the remainder of the
Speaker 1: home games, and hopefully you guys get a whole playoff
Speaker 1: home game if you can finish the job and win
Speaker 1: this division. Peter, you've been hosting Good Morning Football since
Speaker 1: twenty sixteen. You've obviously followed the NFL and been a
Speaker 1: fan much longer than that. Have your feelings or viewpoint
Speaker 1: about the Bengals changed over the years. It has, It has.
Speaker 1: You know, when I got there, it was in it
Speaker 1: was in a Marvin Lewis era which had been very
Speaker 1: successful and then kind of trailed off at the end,
Speaker 1: and then it was the first couple of years of
Speaker 1: Zach and then last year comes around and it's like
Speaker 1: this full swing thing. But you know, it's funny. The
Speaker 1: Bengals franchise, I feel like has changed a bit. And
Speaker 1: that might be the influence of Elizabeth Blackman. It might
Speaker 1: be the fact that they're winning games. It might be
Speaker 1: the Joe Burrow, Jamar Chase see Higgins effect, whatever it is.
Speaker 1: I feel like there's an exuberance. There is a a
Speaker 1: fresh feel. You know, I'm not a branding expert, but
Speaker 1: that logo it means something. Right now in the NFL,
Speaker 1: it means, oh, those boys are fun. Those boys, those
Speaker 1: boys are good. That organization is fun. Like the Bengals
Speaker 1: are on TV on a Thursday night. It used to
Speaker 1: be like, oh wow, the NFL purring the Bengals on
Speaker 1: a Thursday night game and they're playing the Browns and
Speaker 1: it's let's get done early in the season and never
Speaker 1: see this team again. Now it's hey, why aren't the
Speaker 1: Bengals being flex to Sunday night? You know, why aren't
Speaker 1: we getting more Bengals? Why why can't Chris collins Worth,
Speaker 1: the local guy, doing more Bengals games. I think they're
Speaker 1: they're worthy of that. And again, credit goes to a
Speaker 1: lot of different places. Sometimes it can't put your finger
Speaker 1: on it. But yeah, you know, I'm not trying to,
Speaker 1: you know, give the ownership group anymore credit than it deserves.
Speaker 1: But this Bengals team, especially with the new indoor facility
Speaker 1: and all things like it does feel fresh, new, and
Speaker 1: it feels like the fans are really engaged, and I
Speaker 1: think that's really cool. Well, you are absolutely right. The
Speaker 1: jungle is going to be rocking Sunday at one o'clock
Speaker 1: for the ninety ninth Battle of Ohio Bengals and Browns.
Speaker 1: The Bengals trying to end this streak of five straight
Speaker 1: losses to Cleveland. What are some of your keys for
Speaker 1: Sunday's game? Okay, so here are the keys to this game.
Speaker 1: You gotta beat the Browns. This thing can't keep going
Speaker 1: on this as much as a is for a week?
Speaker 1: Who said, does does Burrow have? You know? Mahomes number?
Speaker 1: What is up with the brown thing? You guys have
Speaker 1: to get up early and do what you do, and
Speaker 1: you have to establish that. I think the Monday night
Speaker 1: lost on Halloween, there was a lot of things going
Speaker 1: on in the building. As we know that. There was
Speaker 1: a great tragedy that happened earlier in the day that
Speaker 1: the team found out about, the coaches found out about,
Speaker 1: and you know Adam Zimmer's passing. I'm I'm not saying
Speaker 1: that's why that game went that way, but this is
Speaker 1: a new game. This is a different thing, and all
Speaker 1: the positive momentum is going in for the Bengals. So
Speaker 1: to me, the biggest key to the game is get
Speaker 1: out early and don't let that guy Chubb run all
Speaker 1: over the defense yet again, because that guy Chub is
Speaker 1: no joke. And if they get up early, they can
Speaker 1: win that way. Kareem Hunt and Nick Chubb all day long,
Speaker 1: and to shove it down your throats how they play football.
Speaker 1: But I'm not sure with a quarterback who's playing in
Speaker 1: a second game with the organization and with a team
Speaker 1: that's kind of, you know, fizzling out after the last
Speaker 1: few months, not necessarily being in the playoff. Hunt, you
Speaker 1: don't want the Browns to get up early and then
Speaker 1: have to play comeback football on them. Peter, I said it,
Speaker 1: and I meant it. My wife and I love Good
Speaker 1: morning football. Thank you so much for your time and
Speaker 1: keep up the great work. Who Day The Bengals Booth
Speaker 1: podcast is brought to you by Cattering Health, the official
Speaker 1: healthcare provider of the Bengals. With more than one hundred
Speaker 1: twenty care facilities and fifteen hundred care providers. Kettering Health
Speaker 1: is committed to guiding you to your best health. Visit
Speaker 1: Kettering Health dot Org to learn more. Going back to
Speaker 1: that first Cleveland game on Halloween Night, the Bengals fell
Speaker 1: behind twenty five nothing and abandoned the running game. They
Speaker 1: finished with ten carries for thirty six yards. In their
Speaker 1: four game winning streaks, since, the Bengals have averaged thirty
Speaker 1: one carries for one hundred forty one yards. Joe Mixon
Speaker 1: got it started against Carolina with two hundred eleven combined
Speaker 1: rushing and receiving yards and a team record five touchdowns. Then,
Speaker 1: after Joe suffered a concussion against Pittsburgh, Samaj p Rhyne
Speaker 1: took over and he's been spectacular. Samaji had three touchdown
Speaker 1: catches against the Steelers, ninety three yards of total offense
Speaker 1: against the Titans, and one hundred and fifty five rushing
Speaker 1: and receiving yards last week against Kansas City. And it
Speaker 1: hasn't just been the numbers. Samaj has been burying defenders
Speaker 1: with stiff arms and constantly getting extra yards with his
Speaker 1: brute strength. Here's p Ryan on his punishing running style.
Speaker 1: There's just how elect to run the ball. Then you're
Speaker 1: not gonna get too much flashy stuff from me. Is
Speaker 1: just if I can't run around you, I'll run through
Speaker 1: you and is what it is. I mean, you can
Speaker 1: you stand up to it if you want to, but
Speaker 1: it's gonna wear on you. Samaj's production has come as
Speaker 1: no surprise to Joe Mixon. They were in the same
Speaker 1: recruiting class at Oklahoma, shared the workload for a couple
Speaker 1: of seasons, and then we're members of the same draft class.
Speaker 1: After p Ryan started his NFL career in Washington, they've
Speaker 1: been back together for four seasons in Cincinnati. Isn't that
Speaker 1: the new to me to be And it's like it's
Speaker 1: new to everybody else, but always knowing he's capable before.
Speaker 1: I mean, my guy, he stepped in and did what
Speaker 1: he's supposed to do. He'd been silent every game and
Speaker 1: U he definitely picked up where I left off. And
Speaker 1: I'm glad seeing him do his name. I hadn't been
Speaker 1: his teammate for eight years now. Ain't nothing changed from
Speaker 1: you know, the day he stepped foot in ou with
Speaker 1: both of us, you know what I'm saying. So we
Speaker 1: came in together and we left together. So and we
Speaker 1: had the same spot together, which is ironic, but yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean, it's a it's a great thing to see
Speaker 1: and like I said, man, this has been a great thing.
Speaker 1: Mixon cleared concussion protocol this week and should be back
Speaker 1: in action. So, Zach Taylor, who's your starter? Joe Mixons
Speaker 1: are starting running back and he's done a great this
Speaker 1: last game he played. He in five touchdowns, tremendous effort
Speaker 1: um and Somebodi's done a really good job filling in.
Speaker 1: And so to have those two guys that you've got
Speaker 1: a lot of confidence in whatever the moment calls for,
Speaker 1: we think that's very valuable to have, especially going into
Speaker 1: this this late season stretch and hopefully be on that.
Speaker 1: Joe Mixon is a Pro Bowler last year and was
Speaker 1: chosen by his peers, is one of the top one
Speaker 1: hundred players in the NFL. But p Ryan has certainly
Speaker 1: played well enough to get a bigger slice of the
Speaker 1: pie going forward. My broadcast partner Dave Lapham has this suggestion,
Speaker 1: why not put both them on the field at the
Speaker 1: same time. Somaj p Ryan blocks his tail off he
Speaker 1: blocked for Joe Mixon. I mean we do not have
Speaker 1: both running backs in the field. Why doesn't have to
Speaker 1: be one or the other, but both. I mean, you
Speaker 1: have two backs like that, why not to figure out offensively.
Speaker 1: I mean, you can run twenty personnel, you know, two backs,
Speaker 1: no tight ends, three wide receivers. Still have you three
Speaker 1: wide receiver studs. You can run twenty one personnel, two backs,
Speaker 1: one tight end, you know, and receivers. I'm not saying
Speaker 1: every snap, I'm saying mix it in that. Then it's
Speaker 1: not like, Okay, well man, Somaji has taken snaps from Joe.
Speaker 1: Joe's taking snaps from Somaj. Put them both out there.
Speaker 1: Make the Cleveland Browns have to worry about defending the
Speaker 1: two backs. Put him in split backs in the backfield,
Speaker 1: and it's like, wow, you know what, what the hell?
Speaker 1: Why not? Why not add that to the repertoire. You
Speaker 1: got two guys that are both guys can run it,
Speaker 1: both guys can catch it. Somaj p Ryan may be
Speaker 1: one of the best, if not the best, blitz pickup
Speaker 1: guy in the NFL. You can have him in there
Speaker 1: as as a past protector with blitzes, or put him
Speaker 1: up at the line of scrimmage and let him chip
Speaker 1: with a tackle like a tight end does. I mean,
Speaker 1: there's a million things you can do. It'll give it'll
Speaker 1: give matchup problems to the defense. Having both those guys
Speaker 1: in the field at the same time. What the hell
Speaker 1: why not. I'm not again, I'm not saying the entire game.
Speaker 1: I'm not saying, you know, fifty percent of the snaps.
Speaker 1: I'm saying, have it in the arsenal. You can roll
Speaker 1: it out there and change it up a rewards somaji
Speaker 1: a little bit. And I think those two buddies, and
Speaker 1: they are best buds, those two Oklahoma Stooners would thrive
Speaker 1: on the field at the same time. It's an interesting idea.
Speaker 1: We'll see if the Bengals try it. The Bengals Booth
Speaker 1: by Cast is presented by Alta Fiber future proof fiber
Speaker 1: Internet capable of delivering multi gigabit speeds designed to take
Speaker 1: your home, business, and community to a new level. Elevate
Speaker 1: your connection with Alta Fiber. Now time for this week's
Speaker 1: No the Faux segment. The Voice of the Browns, Jim Donovan,
Speaker 1: joined Lapping Me for a few minutes on the Bengals
Speaker 1: Game Plan Show this week, and I asked him the
Speaker 1: following question. With five straight wins over the Bengals and
Speaker 1: eight in the last nine meetings, do the Browns think
Speaker 1: they're in the Bengals heads, you know, I don't guys.
Speaker 1: First of all, it's great to be with you, and
Speaker 1: it would be great to see you on Sunday's good
Speaker 1: to be in a game like that. I don't think so.
Speaker 1: I think that they just go into this game realizing
Speaker 1: that they have to play very, very well. And they
Speaker 1: have played very well in these games. I mean, some
Speaker 1: up their best performances. The win last year in Cincinnati,
Speaker 1: the win on Halloween Night here have been against the Bengals.
Speaker 1: I mean they really have. Unfortunately, they play so well
Speaker 1: against them that the games after that they can't stack
Speaker 1: wins after that. But I don't think that they believe
Speaker 1: that they're in their head. I just think that they
Speaker 1: realize that they have to go out and come up
Speaker 1: with their A game. And for them, they have a
Speaker 1: couple of times. What's going on with Watson? I mean,
Speaker 1: one game in seven hundred days, it's hard for anybody
Speaker 1: to be close to peak form missing all that time.
Speaker 1: He looked one of his Big four tays. He's got
Speaker 1: a tremendous skill set athletically, physically, you know, mentally, and
Speaker 1: he's accurate in the football, but he wasn't very accurate
Speaker 1: in that game against the Texans, and it was a
Speaker 1: two to one run to pass ratio. The way he
Speaker 1: can contribute with a quarterback run package. Do you anticipate
Speaker 1: them to feature that running game with Chubb Watson, you know,
Speaker 1: the offensive line hunt all that. I do, Dave, but
Speaker 1: I have to tell you that, you know, he's gonna
Speaker 1: have to make play throwing the football because then they
Speaker 1: become so one dimensional. H that they really was a
Speaker 1: good thing. They were playing a team that was one
Speaker 1: nine and one going into the game last week in
Speaker 1: the Texas. He really struggled, and I think it was
Speaker 1: I think it took people, and I even think people
Speaker 1: within the Bronze. I think it took them by surprise realizing,
Speaker 1: like you said, it's been seven hundred days since he played.
Speaker 1: But I mean, my gosh, he had no you know, mechanics,
Speaker 1: the balls, you know, he was bouncing balls in front
Speaker 1: of receivers. He looked very uncomfortable in the in the pocket,
Speaker 1: and he looked very indecisive as to whether or not
Speaker 1: he wanted a run or throw. So it's gonna take
Speaker 1: a big week of kind of settling down to go into,
Speaker 1: you know, the game against the Bengals. This Sunday and really,
Speaker 1: you know, put to you know, it won't be hard
Speaker 1: to play better than he did last Sunday. That's how
Speaker 1: That's how rough it was. But he's gonna have to
Speaker 1: play better and he's gonna have to really hit some
Speaker 1: passes to really make their offense click. I mean, their
Speaker 1: running game is great, but they do need you know,
Speaker 1: they do need throws to open that up for them
Speaker 1: or they just become so one dimensional like they did
Speaker 1: in the in the second half last week. Right Bronze
Speaker 1: radio voice Jim Donovan is our guest. I think a
Speaker 1: lot of us, Jim, were wondering if last week was
Speaker 1: going to be a zoo with Deshawn's first game bad,
Speaker 1: especially coming in Houston. What was the atmosphere like, you know, Dan,
Speaker 1: I have to tell you I expected it too. I
Speaker 1: expected it from the time we rolled up in the
Speaker 1: buses to the hotel. I thought that they would be protests,
Speaker 1: you know, people kind of being there and you know,
Speaker 1: voicing their displeasure with him. That didn't happen at all.
Speaker 1: When we got into the stadium. I mean, when he
Speaker 1: came out for his first series and when he came
Speaker 1: out to start the game, there was really loud booing.
Speaker 1: But as the afternoon played along, the football part of
Speaker 1: things took over. And I really think that, you know,
Speaker 1: the fans, though not great in number because there's you know,
Speaker 1: they're not having a good season down there, I think
Speaker 1: they just kind of got involved in the game more
Speaker 1: than you know, letting him have it and becoming a
Speaker 1: real problem for him. I mean, he was having his
Speaker 1: own problems as far as getting into the game, But
Speaker 1: I don't think it was because of excessive booing or
Speaker 1: anything like that or any kind of you know, protesting.
Speaker 1: It wasn't that visible and really audible wise, it really
Speaker 1: wasn't that loud. That's that's interesting. You know, you look
Speaker 1: at at the at the rematch here, Wyatteller didn't play
Speaker 1: in game one. The Banker's two defensive tackles didn't play
Speaker 1: in game one, Reader and two Paul. That's going to
Speaker 1: be interesting to see that war inside between you know,
Speaker 1: amongst those three guys. Another guy that didn't play is
Speaker 1: huge in my estimation, Denzel Ward. I mean Ward, he's
Speaker 1: got two fumble recovery touchdowns this year. This team has
Speaker 1: four unconventional non offensive touchdowns seventy six yard punt return
Speaker 1: of sixteen yard pick six, two fumble recoveries by Denzel Ward.
Speaker 1: Award Ward went, you know, coast to coast against the
Speaker 1: Bengals last year with a pick six, I mean Denzel Ward.
Speaker 1: Jamar Chase, who doesn't really speak about opponents so glowingly,
Speaker 1: knows Denzel Ward obviously and says he's the best cover
Speaker 1: corner in football. Do you agree? Yeah? I think you know.
Speaker 1: I have to tell you, Dave, when the only thing
Speaker 1: that has held him back has been whether or not
Speaker 1: he's going to be able to play. Unfortunately, he runs
Speaker 1: into injuries each year since he's been picked by the
Speaker 1: Brons to come out of Ohio State. He has lost
Speaker 1: time sometimes like three or four games, and that's a
Speaker 1: big loss for them in the secondary. When he's playing though,
Speaker 1: there is no doubt about it. It is a very
Speaker 1: very good secondary and he is a terrific player that
Speaker 1: can come up with big plays. Allah the ninety nine
Speaker 1: yard pick last year down in Cincinnati that really so
Speaker 1: early in that game, really kind of turned that game.
Speaker 1: He has the ability to do that. He really does,
Speaker 1: so when he's on the field, I'm right there with
Speaker 1: you and Jamar Chase. I guess as saying he is
Speaker 1: right up there is one of the best cover corners
Speaker 1: in the NFL. He is tough to really beat. That's
Speaker 1: going to do it. For this episode of the Bengals
Speaker 1: Booth Podcast, presented by Kettering Health, the official healthcare provider
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Speaker 1: the Bengals, and by Alta Fiber future Proof Fiber Internet
Speaker 1: elevate your connection with Alta Fiber. If you haven't done
Speaker 1: so already, please subscribe to this podcast and if you
Speaker 1: have a minute, give it a rating or share a
Speaker 1: comment that helps more Bengals fans find us. I'm Dan
Speaker 1: Horde and thanks for listening to The Bengals Booth Podcast.