Speaker 1: Happy Thanksgiving everybody.
Speaker 2: I'm Dan Horde and thanks for downloading The Bengals Booth Podcast.
Speaker 2: The I'm a substitute for another Guy addition. As the
Speaker 2: Bengals get ready to face the Pittsburgh Steelers with Jake
Speaker 2: Browning making his first NFL start at quarterback, coming up,
Speaker 2: I'll talk to quarterbacks coach Dan Pitcher, who says this
Speaker 2: is an opportunity for him to show that he's a
Speaker 2: good coach. Jason mccordy from Good Morning Football joins me
Speaker 2: to share his thoughts on how the Bengals need to
Speaker 2: rally around their new QB Logan Wilson discusses his tackle
Speaker 2: last week that resulted in an injury to Ravens tight
Speaker 2: end Mark Andrews, and finally, in this week's No The
Speaker 2: Faux Conversation, we'll hear from Brook Pryor, who covers the
Speaker 2: Steelers for ESPN. The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to
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Speaker 1: Of the Bengals.
Speaker 2: Now here's a quick reminder that you can have the
Speaker 2: latest edition of this podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet,
Speaker 2: or computer by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's
Speaker 2: the greatest thing since Jim Donovan getting a game ball.
Speaker 2: Jim is the longtime radio voice of the Cleveland Browns
Speaker 2: and one of my favorite broadcasters in the NFL. When
Speaker 2: the Browns were really, really bad several years ago, I
Speaker 2: told Jim that if I was teaching a college course
Speaker 2: on sportscasting and had to discuss how to call games
Speaker 2: for a losing team, I'd have him do a guest
Speaker 2: lecture because he never lost his enthusiasm even when the
Speaker 2: team was lousy. His broadcasts were exciting and entertaining. This year,
Speaker 2: Jim had to step away from the booth for a
Speaker 2: couple of months for cancer treatments, but he returned last week,
Speaker 2: served as the honorary Dog Pound captain before the game
Speaker 2: that's the Brown's equivalent of the ruler of the Jungle,
Speaker 2: and after Cleveland beat Pittsburgh on a last second field goal,
Speaker 2: he received a game ball from Brown's head coach Kevin Stefanski.
Speaker 2: It was a classy gesture for a fantastic announcer. Now
Speaker 2: let's get to the Bengals. As I just mentioned, Cleveland
Speaker 2: beat Pittsburgh last week and did so with a backup quarterback,
Speaker 2: rookie Dorian Thompson Robinson. Now Jake Browning will try to
Speaker 2: do the same thing as he makes his first start
Speaker 2: since the twenty nineteen Rose Bowl, when his Washington Huskies
Speaker 2: lost by five to Ohio State. When Jake takes the
Speaker 2: field this Sunday, it will be his first start in
Speaker 2: a game that counts in four years, ten months, and
Speaker 2: twenty five days. Browning is twenty seven years old and
Speaker 2: has spent the last four years on NFL practice squads,
Speaker 2: two years with the Vikings and two years with the Bengals.
Speaker 2: This week, I discussed him and the challenge of going
Speaker 2: the rest of the year without Joe Burrow with Bengals
Speaker 2: quarterbacks coach Dan Pitcher. Dan, I think most people have
Speaker 2: heard of the seven stages of grief, shock, denial, depression,
Speaker 2: et cetera. I don't mean to be too flippant about it,
Speaker 2: but the final stage's acceptance. Did the team go through
Speaker 2: something similar when Joe suffered his injury.
Speaker 1: I think so.
Speaker 3: I think we all did, you know, And I think
Speaker 3: it's kind of happens on an individual level. You know,
Speaker 3: everybody walked in this building in April with visions of
Speaker 3: us winning a Super Bowl and Joe Burrow leading us
Speaker 3: to that, and so I think it's natural you have
Speaker 3: to process the reality that that's not going to happen
Speaker 3: this year with Joe leading us, and so that that
Speaker 3: hurts and you kind of sort through that.
Speaker 1: We've done that.
Speaker 3: I know I've done that, and very quickly you had
Speaker 3: no other choice but to move forward.
Speaker 2: Did it help it all that the injury happened on
Speaker 2: a Thursday and he had a few days to process
Speaker 2: it before practice really kicked back in again on Monday.
Speaker 3: No matter when that happened, it was going to stink. So,
Speaker 3: you know, I don't know if helps the right word.
Speaker 3: I mean it does. Having a little bit extra time
Speaker 3: to craft the plan around Jake and for Jake to
Speaker 3: have that mindset of, you know, is my time I
Speaker 3: got to go? I think that helps a little.
Speaker 4: Bit for sure.
Speaker 2: We're visiting with quarterbacks coach Dan Pitcher. Joe shown up
Speaker 2: for training camp in the best physical condition of his life.
Speaker 2: Then suffered the calf injury on day two of camp.
Speaker 2: What kind of season do you think he was going
Speaker 2: to have if he was healthy.
Speaker 3: All I can look at is the progression of his
Speaker 3: career from rookie season to year two where we go
Speaker 3: to the Super Bowl to strikes that he made last year,
Speaker 3: and you can't help but assume that it would have
Speaker 3: continued on that path. And I think as he got
Speaker 3: healthier and healthier and felt more and more confident moving
Speaker 3: around out there, we started to see that and so
Speaker 3: you know, it's a stepback. It's a disappointment, but it's
Speaker 3: the reality that we have right now. And I know
Speaker 3: the way he's wired, he's gonna do everything in his
Speaker 3: power to get right back to that same spot where
Speaker 3: he was coming in the best shape of his life,
Speaker 3: and you know, we'll being a shape.
Speaker 2: Let's turn to your starting quarterback against the Pittsburgh Steelers
Speaker 2: on Sunday, Jake Browning. You've spent about two and a
Speaker 2: half years working with him. What are Jake's biggest strengths.
Speaker 1: You know, Jake is very.
Speaker 3: Intelligent, he loves football, He sees the game at a
Speaker 3: very high level, and he's done everything in his power
Speaker 3: during the course of his time here to earn the
Speaker 3: respect and the trust of his teammates. And so everybody
Speaker 3: in this building holds Jake in very high regard and
Speaker 3: that's an important step to now moving.
Speaker 1: Into this leadership role. And the next step is you
Speaker 1: got to be able to play.
Speaker 3: You know, all that stuff's great and it's important, but
Speaker 3: you got to be able to play. And Jake can play.
Speaker 3: Jake hasn't had a lot of opportunity to show that
Speaker 3: he can play, but we've seen it in practice. We've
Speaker 3: seen how fast he's able to process and make the
Speaker 3: right decisions. He's not Jel. There's going to be a difference.
Speaker 3: We all understand that. Everybody in the world understands that.
Speaker 3: But he has what it takes to go help us
Speaker 3: win football games, and that's what we expect.
Speaker 2: What, if anything, do you think he's gained from spending
Speaker 2: two and a half years of working with Jill.
Speaker 3: I think really one of the things I pride myself
Speaker 3: on is just the environment that we have in that
Speaker 3: room and together on the field on game day, and
Speaker 3: the openness that exists there and just being able to
Speaker 3: talk through things and solve problems on the fly, and
Speaker 3: I think, just you can't help but getting you know
Speaker 3: you're gonna get better if you spend time in that environment.
Speaker 3: In my opinion, that's why I want it to be
Speaker 3: the way that it is. And he's been there now
Speaker 3: for two and a half years, and so he's asked
Speaker 3: a lot of great questions. He's answered a lot of
Speaker 3: good questions. He's seen us have to overcome the hurdles
Speaker 3: that pop up every now and then that maybe we're unexpected,
Speaker 3: and he knows how we communicate, and so all those
Speaker 3: things should put him in position to have success.
Speaker 2: We're chatting with the quarterbacks coach Dan Pitcher. People joke
Speaker 2: that the quarterback who holds the clipboard has the greatest
Speaker 2: gig in the world. One thing I admire about Jake
Speaker 2: is that when he was the practice squad quarterback, he
Speaker 2: wasn't content. He would spend his off seasons working on
Speaker 2: his mechanics trying to improve his arm strength. Was that
Speaker 2: noticeable from year to year. Yeah, that's why he's here
Speaker 2: in the role that he's in. He's a better player
Speaker 2: than he was when we signed him before the start
Speaker 2: of the twenty twenty one season, and that's due to
Speaker 2: his work.
Speaker 3: And that's not always easy because when you exist in
Speaker 3: that role, especially when you were the third guy, which
Speaker 3: he was for a considerable amount of time, the reps
Speaker 3: are even fewer and further between. So to have that
Speaker 3: dedication to his craft, to put the effort that he's
Speaker 3: put in to try to be there as an asset
Speaker 3: to anyone and everyone. I mean, and this guy spent
Speaker 3: two years meeting with the defensive backs on Tuesdays, watching
Speaker 3: the opposing offense and giving them the perspective of the
Speaker 3: quarterback and what he's looking at and why he's looking
Speaker 3: at it.
Speaker 1: So he didn't have to do that.
Speaker 3: He did it because he's a good teammate and he
Speaker 3: wants the team to have success. And so those are
Speaker 3: the things that now is these guys are gonna have
Speaker 3: to rally around him. That's what's earned.
Speaker 1: That respect and that trust.
Speaker 2: His backup is now thirty three year old AJ McCarron.
Speaker 2: You joined the Bengals in twenty sixteen, the year after
Speaker 2: he almost led Cincinnati to a playoff win up of
Speaker 2: the Pittsburgh Steelers. What stands out about Aj at this
Speaker 2: stage of his career.
Speaker 3: I've been with AJ now two separate stints, and I
Speaker 3: believe AJ's and he's a better player now than he
Speaker 3: was then. He's obviously seen a lot more football. He's
Speaker 3: in as good as shape, or if not better shape,
Speaker 3: than he was his first time around here. You know,
Speaker 3: I think even if you ask him, he would tell
Speaker 3: you that the knee injury that he suffered in Atlanta
Speaker 3: in the preseason a few years back now and how
Speaker 3: he kind of just reframed his whole approach towards rehabbing
Speaker 3: that and get himself ready has put him in a
Speaker 3: great spot physically. So Aj has been awesome, really just
Speaker 3: happy with everything he's brought to the table since he's
Speaker 3: been here this second time around. And he'll be there
Speaker 3: to support Jake in that role. And you know, hopefully
Speaker 3: we don't need him, but if we ever did that,
Speaker 3: I know he'll be ready to step into play.
Speaker 2: To be successful. Now without Joe Burrow, Do you need
Speaker 2: more out of Joe Mixon?
Speaker 3: I think you need more of everyone, Joe Mixon included.
Speaker 3: Need more out of the coaching staff, You need more
Speaker 3: out of the line. It's you know, Joe, Joe is
Speaker 3: the engine, right and and now the rest of us
Speaker 3: have to compensate when a part of that engine isn't
Speaker 3: working like you expected it to work. And so it
Speaker 3: falls on everybody. And I think the nice thing is
Speaker 3: when you look around and you feel the energy in
Speaker 3: this building and you people understand that and they're they're
Speaker 3: embracing it. You know, you could you can mope around
Speaker 3: and think, well is me or you look at it
Speaker 3: as an opportunity and if an opportunity for all of
Speaker 3: us to show that we're good at what we're doing,
Speaker 3: it's an opportunity for me to show I'm a good coach.
Speaker 1: I mean, I know that.
Speaker 3: That's that's I got to prove that now, you know.
Speaker 3: And I think I've proved that working with Joe, But
Speaker 3: you know, Joe's Joe. Joe's gonna do a lot of
Speaker 3: things that I could never teach him to do. And
Speaker 3: Jay can do some of that stuff too. But everyone's
Speaker 3: got to be on top of their game.
Speaker 2: Let's look at the challenge this week, the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Speaker 2: The names changed, the results don't. On defense, the number
Speaker 2: seven in the NFL and fewest points allowed. What is
Speaker 2: the constant, year after year after year of going up
Speaker 2: against the Pittsburgh Steelers defense.
Speaker 3: Just toughness, pass rush, aggressiveness. You know, coach Tomlin has
Speaker 3: done an incredible job there and it's year after year,
Speaker 3: and you know, the guys changed now they're they're core guys,
Speaker 3: you know, TJ. Watt, Cam Hayward, Maker, Fitzpatrick who you know,
Speaker 3: Whether or not make it plays, we'll find out, but
Speaker 3: you know, those are just there's some of the guys
Speaker 3: are the best in the world of what they do,
Speaker 3: and then they're always able to find and craft complimentary
Speaker 3: guys to just be the kind of unit that they
Speaker 3: want to be, which is one that puts a ton
Speaker 3: of pressure on you. But just number one, the pressure
Speaker 3: a lot from a scheme standpoint, and then just from
Speaker 3: how aggressive and physical they play. So you gotta come
Speaker 3: ready for that.
Speaker 1: And we know it.
Speaker 3: I mean, that's part of the It's the gift and
Speaker 3: the curse of being in division with somebody like you
Speaker 3: understand who they are and what they want to be
Speaker 3: and what they're trying to do to you better than
Speaker 3: other teams do.
Speaker 1: But you also have to face it twice a year.
Speaker 1: And so we'll be ready.
Speaker 2: We'll have a great plan and it's going to be
Speaker 2: a challenge They've been called blitzberg for a reason over
Speaker 2: the years. They're fifth in the NFL right now and
Speaker 2: blitz percentage about thirty seven percent. Is that number going
Speaker 2: to go up against Jake Browning?
Speaker 5: Who knows.
Speaker 3: We're expecting a lot of pressure and it. Pittsburgh, in
Speaker 3: my opinion, is a team everyone obviously is going to
Speaker 3: have different tweaks to their opponent, but there's a scale
Speaker 3: on that right. Some teams are very plan oriented. They're
Speaker 3: gonna craft what they do on a week to week basis,
Speaker 3: and they could look very different. Other teams on the
Speaker 3: other end of that spectrum, are a little bit more
Speaker 3: in the mold of they're gonna do what they do
Speaker 3: and yeah, they're gonna have a couple of wrinkles for you.
Speaker 3: I think Pittsburgh fits more of that style. They're gonna
Speaker 3: do what they do. They like the pressure. They're gonna
Speaker 3: pressure us. We're gonna have to be ready for it,
Speaker 3: and I know Jake will be. I'm bummed about Joe's injury.
Speaker 3: You're bummed about his injury. Everybody's bummed about his injury.
Speaker 3: But I can hear a little excitement in your voice
Speaker 3: about the opportunity that Jake is getting well. You're picking
Speaker 3: up on something that's there because he deserves it. And
Speaker 3: like I said before, we're wired a certain way, like
Speaker 3: you have to view these things as opportunities, otherwise you're
Speaker 3: never gonna have success because they will come up. It's
Speaker 3: a constant. It's going to happen no matter what team
Speaker 3: you work for, how many years you've been in the league.
Speaker 3: These things will happen, and if you let them derail you,
Speaker 3: you're never gonna get to where you.
Speaker 2: Want to go.
Speaker 3: So we just got to look at it that way,
Speaker 3: and I'm excited for Jake. Appreciate your time. Best of
Speaker 3: luck against the Seilers. Jake Browning started fifty three games
Speaker 3: at Washington and the Huskies went thirty nine and fourteen.
Speaker 3: In those starts. He led the school to the fourteen
Speaker 3: College Football Playoff as a sophomore, the Fiesta Bowl as
Speaker 3: a junior, and the Rose Bowl as a senior. Now
Speaker 3: time for the national perspective on the loss of Joe
Speaker 3: Burrow and the Bengals prospects moving forward with Jake Browning.
Speaker 3: You can see Jason mccordy every weekday morning on Good
Speaker 3: Morning Football, and you can hear him calling NFL games
Speaker 3: as an analyst for Westwood One. He was in the
Speaker 3: booth last Thursday night in Baltimore, and I caught up
Speaker 3: with him this week. Jason, You've played in the NFL
Speaker 3: for thirteen years, you were a captain in New England.
Speaker 3: You've seen it all, and you were in the booth
Speaker 3: last Thursday when Joe Burrow suffered his wrist injury. What
Speaker 3: would you say to the Bengals going forward as they
Speaker 3: prepare to play for the first game without Joe.
Speaker 4: You don't have the rally around the new quarterback in
Speaker 4: Jake Browning. And it's obviously always tough when a starter
Speaker 4: goes down. But then for the Bengals, for fans, if
Speaker 4: you're an NFL fan, seeing Joe Burrow go down, you
Speaker 4: just absolutely hate it. He's one of our league superstars.
Speaker 4: He's a guy that when he's out there in the field,
Speaker 4: you feel like the team can do anything. So watching
Speaker 4: him go down and then the way he went down,
Speaker 4: seeing him on the sideline trying to throw the ball,
Speaker 4: very tough to see. But I will say Jake Browning
Speaker 4: comes in the game, comes out of halftime, leads him
Speaker 4: down there, kicks a field goal. He's a guy that
Speaker 4: got in the game and he played well for them. Obviously,
Speaker 4: the game was they were behind and you're asking him
Speaker 4: to come in and mount a comeback. But I will
Speaker 4: say he was impressive in the snaps that he did
Speaker 4: get in the game.
Speaker 2: It was his first extended opportunity to play in an
Speaker 2: NFL game. Anything particular stand out while he was in
Speaker 2: there in the second half.
Speaker 4: I will say, poise, I think you get into a
Speaker 4: game in a hostile environment on the roll of the
Speaker 4: division game and you get an opportunity like that one
Speaker 4: that you're not expecting. Moving forward for him, it will
Speaker 4: be different. You'll be preparing all week to be the
Speaker 4: guy offensive be tailored around you. You go into that
Speaker 4: game and you're expecting Joe Burrow to continue to play
Speaker 4: as he's done so and then next thing you know,
Speaker 4: you're thrown into the fire. And there wasn't any huge mistake,
Speaker 4: no big interceptions. He got in the game. He led
Speaker 4: their offensive was poys. I would say that's the biggest
Speaker 4: thing because you want to see that from a young
Speaker 4: guy that gets in that hasn't seen much NFL action.
Speaker 2: We're chatting with Jason mccordy. You played defensive back for
Speaker 2: more than a decade. The Bengals have a lot of
Speaker 2: young secondary members right now, Cam Taylor, Britt Dax Hill,
Speaker 2: DJ Turner, Jordan Battle. What do you think of these
Speaker 2: guys and what's the toughest thing for them being at
Speaker 2: this stage of their career.
Speaker 4: I think it's learning and picking everything up and playing
Speaker 4: as a cohesive unit. You think about the Bengals and
Speaker 4: a huge fan of the defensive coordinator, lou Anarroumo, got
Speaker 4: a chance to talk to him a little bit before
Speaker 4: the game, and over the past few years you've watched
Speaker 4: him in the secondary and you've seen Bits and Boon Bell,
Speaker 4: those guys running it and disguising and moving around and
Speaker 4: doing all types of different things. And now both of
Speaker 4: those guys move on in one single season and now
Speaker 4: you're throwing Dj Turnery, bring me Scot out there. And
Speaker 4: we saw more of Jordan Battle on Thursday night. So
Speaker 4: the main thing, especially in lows defense, is getting up
Speaker 4: to page, being on the same page and their cornerbacks
Speaker 4: coach there, Charles Burke's I played for in Miami. A
Speaker 4: tremendous coach in the way he teaches, in a way
Speaker 4: he just continues to build his guys up and you
Speaker 4: can see them turning a page. Injury to Cam Taylor
Speaker 4: Britt was really tough because he's a young guy out
Speaker 4: there in the year two where he's the lockdown DK,
Speaker 4: he's been matched up with the other team's best wide
Speaker 4: receivers and that's one hell of a challenge when you
Speaker 4: actually due, especially as a young dB.
Speaker 1: Let's circle back to Joe Burrow.
Speaker 2: You played with the greatest of all time, Tom Brady
Speaker 2: and won a Super Bowl ring in New England. What
Speaker 2: impresses you most about Joe?
Speaker 4: And I don't know him personally, but from the outside
Speaker 4: he's just so cool And you say that and it
Speaker 4: sounds like cliche or something to say about a guy,
Speaker 4: but whether he was dealing with injuries, whether it's an
Speaker 4: up or down, when you hear him or see him
Speaker 4: after a game, or even before a game for that matter,
Speaker 4: he just always seems calm and confident in himself and
Speaker 4: the guys around. And that was the one thing for me.
Speaker 4: I played most of my seasons in Tennessee and one
Speaker 4: in Cleveland, and we didn't always have a franchise quarterback,
Speaker 4: and getting a chance to be around Brady, who always
Speaker 4: stuck out about him was his greatness, was his work ethic,
Speaker 4: how he prepared, and just the confidence that he exuded
Speaker 4: when he was out there on the football field. For
Speaker 4: the guys on offensive us you know, Jamar Chase of Tehiggens,
Speaker 4: is there any of those guys you always know you
Speaker 4: have a chance when brows back there quarterback because of
Speaker 4: his ability. But I think what it does for an
Speaker 4: entire organization when you're on defense and you're out there,
Speaker 4: you know, maybe there's three minutes to go, you know, hey,
Speaker 4: we can get a stop and get the ball back
Speaker 4: or offensive gun is going to do it. The confidence
Speaker 4: and the mental that that gives you as a player
Speaker 4: on that field to believe in somebody in that way
Speaker 4: because of what they've proven to you that Joe Burrow has,
Speaker 4: it goes a long way and winning football games.
Speaker 1: It's been a.
Speaker 2: Roller coaster ride of a season. Joe's calf injury contributed
Speaker 2: to a slow start. He got healthy, they won four
Speaker 2: in a row. Now they've got to go forward without
Speaker 2: having Joe available. What did you think of the going
Speaker 2: into the season and is this just life in the NFL?
Speaker 4: Is definitely life in the NFL And obviously going into
Speaker 4: the season extremely high hopes for the Bengals, and then,
Speaker 4: like you just said, Joe goes down with that caf
Speaker 4: Drey and it's a slow start. And I remember being
Speaker 4: on the show saying no team has ever gone owing
Speaker 4: to back to back years and still made the playoffs.
Speaker 4: And I remember saying that. For a while, I was
Speaker 4: just like, Oh, my goodness, they're gonna do it because
Speaker 4: of how hot they got in what Joe Burrow looked like.
Speaker 4: Now moving forward, you have a new quarterback. You got
Speaker 4: to figure out a way to get more out of
Speaker 4: Joe Mixon. He's the guy that when he gets the ball,
Speaker 4: he seems extremely productive. Their offense was just base more
Speaker 4: around Joe Burrow with the ball in his hands. I
Speaker 4: think moving forward, we'll see more of Joe Mixon. You'll
Speaker 4: see a lot of those plays where they're getting the
Speaker 4: ball on the outside to whether it's Jamar Chase with
Speaker 4: blockers in front, and those players kind of gets the
Speaker 4: ball out of quarterbacks hands quicks and gets the ball
Speaker 4: in space as well. And it got to Pittsburgh Steelers
Speaker 4: up next, a division opponent who just lost to a
Speaker 4: rookie quarterback and Durian Thompson Robinson, so obviously a little
Speaker 4: right now, but I think they still have a chance
Speaker 4: with Jake Brown.
Speaker 2: You played both corner and safety in the NFL. You
Speaker 2: undoubtedly covered some of the all time great receivers.
Speaker 1: What do you think of Jamar Chase.
Speaker 4: Jamar Chase is a guy. I got a chance to
Speaker 4: see him before the game, and my brother sat down
Speaker 4: with him, actually before the Sunday night game. And I'll
Speaker 4: use the phrase my brother said when he first met him.
Speaker 4: He said, watching you play, I'm very happy I don't
Speaker 4: play in the NFL anymore. And that would be how
Speaker 4: our characterized Jamar Chase. He's just unbelievable. His ability on
Speaker 4: the outside to go get the ball, his route running ability,
Speaker 4: but then you mix that into just his run after
Speaker 4: the catch. He's a guy thats just as explosive once
Speaker 4: the ball is in his hands. And I think what
Speaker 4: makes him so tough as the weapons that's around him
Speaker 4: as well. When you have a T. Higgins on the
Speaker 4: other side, makes it a lot harder to double team.
Speaker 4: I mean, you saw that than missing Tee those last
Speaker 4: two games. But Jamar Chase unbelievable talent, the way the
Speaker 4: way he goes about his business. How productive he's been
Speaker 4: early on in his career has been fun to watch.
Speaker 2: So, Jason, as you noted, the Steelers are coming up
Speaker 2: this week at pay Course Stadium. Pittsburgh is six and four,
Speaker 2: but twenty eighth in points scored, twenty eighth in total yards.
Speaker 2: Where do you think of Kenny Pickett in the state
Speaker 2: of the Steelers offense?
Speaker 4: They've struggled. Watching the Pittsburgh Steelers is almost like an anomaly.
Speaker 4: You're watching him and it's just like, there's no way
Speaker 4: this team has a winning record because to your point,
Speaker 4: they've been out gained yardage wise, I think in every
Speaker 4: single game except one, and they've still found a way
Speaker 4: to have a winning record or right there in the
Speaker 4: playoff race and if at ended today at the end.
Speaker 4: But they've struggled mightily on offense, and everybody was killing
Speaker 4: Matt Canada or cheering fire him in the stadiums, and
Speaker 4: as the seasons continue to progress, Kenny Pickett is really struggled.
Speaker 4: And obviously you can criticize play calling and different things.
Speaker 4: He's missed some throws. Whoever you want to place the
Speaker 4: blame on, the offense just hasn't been good enough, and
Speaker 4: Tomlin alluded to that a week ago where he said
Speaker 4: he needed more out of Kenny Pickett in the offense.
Speaker 4: This past Sunday against the Cleveland Browns, obviously one of
Speaker 4: the best defenses in the NFL, they weren't able to
Speaker 4: do that, and they felt to the Browns ten to thirteen,
Speaker 4: coming off losing Deshaun Watson. So their team that's right
Speaker 4: in the contention of playoffs, But to me watching it,
Speaker 4: if they don't find a way to get more out
Speaker 4: of the offense, they're gonna end up just a little short.
Speaker 2: So the Bengals are five and five with seven games
Speaker 2: to go. If they win this week and they get
Speaker 2: some help from some other teams, they could climb in
Speaker 2: the seventh into the seventh and final playoff seed in
Speaker 2: the AFC with six games to go. Give us a
Speaker 2: couple of keys for what the Bengals will need to
Speaker 2: do to beat the Steelers this Sunday.
Speaker 4: Well, one thing I alluded to is they have to
Speaker 4: find a way to get Joe Mixon going. I think
Speaker 4: get in the ground game. It'll obviously slow the game down,
Speaker 4: It'll allow them to possess the ball for a lot
Speaker 4: longer I think on the defensive side of the ball.
Speaker 4: You just talked about the way that Pittsburgh has struggled
Speaker 4: to put points on the ball on the board and
Speaker 4: be able to move the ball. If Cam Taylor Britt
Speaker 4: whatever his health situations are, they're going to need to
Speaker 4: be able to find a way to continue to slow
Speaker 4: down that offense. And Jayla Warren, he was unbelievable. He
Speaker 4: was the one spark club when you watch the Pittsburgh
Speaker 4: Steelers offense. Getting him on the ground and figuring that
Speaker 4: out for the Bengals is going to be the number
Speaker 4: one thing because the last two weeks they really struggled
Speaker 4: against the run game against Houston and Singletary and then
Speaker 4: against the Baltimore Ravens who got the run game going
Speaker 4: big time in the second half. I think that's going
Speaker 4: to be the key to him. And then for Jake
Speaker 4: Browning let it loose. I think for a backup quarterback
Speaker 4: sometimes you go in and you're timid, and obviously Zach
Speaker 4: tail is going to design the offense to make it
Speaker 4: a little easier for him. But you prepare for such
Speaker 4: a long time for an opportunity to be a starter
Speaker 4: in the NFL, go out there and play confidence and
Speaker 4: just go out there and let it fly.
Speaker 2: Good Morning Football is the best sports show on TV,
Speaker 2: and you are a big reason why, Jason.
Speaker 1: We really appreciate your time.
Speaker 4: Thank you, oh anytime. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2: The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you by Paid Corps,
Speaker 2: Proud to be the Bengals official HR software provider, by
Speaker 2: Alta Fiber future proof fiber Internet design to elevate your home,
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Speaker 2: is the official healthcare provider.
Speaker 1: Of the Bengals.
Speaker 2: Joe Burrow was not the only great player who suffered
Speaker 2: a season ending injury. Last Thursday, The Ravens lost Pro
Speaker 2: Bowl tight end Mark Andrews with a broken fibula. Mark
Speaker 2: was injured when Logan Wilson brought him down with what's
Speaker 2: known as a hip drop tackle.
Speaker 1: In a nutshell, it.
Speaker 2: Involves wrapping your arms around a player then allowing your
Speaker 2: own body weight to drop to the ground. There are
Speaker 2: studies that suggests that that results in a higher risk
Speaker 2: of injury, and the NFL is discussing the possibility of
Speaker 2: banning that technique from Logan. Wilson's perspective, he was doing
Speaker 2: whatever he could to prevent a fast, two hundred and
Speaker 2: forty seven pound tight end from getting into the end zone. Nonetheless,
Speaker 2: many Baltimore fans and some media members ripped Wilson, suggesting
Speaker 2: that it was a dirty tackle. When word of that
Speaker 2: got to Zach Taylor, he made a point of defending
Speaker 2: Wilson at a news conference, even without being asked about it.
Speaker 2: Wilson discussed the victory all that he's been subjected to
Speaker 2: on Wednesday.
Speaker 6: It is what it is. It's kind of the world
Speaker 6: we live in right now, and some of it was
Speaker 6: obviously very unnecessary and coming at me and my family
Speaker 6: for really for no reason. You know, I wasn't playing
Speaker 6: the game dirty. I never wished anymore when any player
Speaker 6: I ever go against, I play the game at a
Speaker 6: I play my birth part out every game, play.
Speaker 5: My butt off, and sometimes those injuries happen.
Speaker 6: It is what it is, But you know I was
Speaker 6: People would notice that I was one of the first
Speaker 6: people on a knee when Mark went down, because we
Speaker 6: never wanted that to happen to their guy, especially of him.
Speaker 5: He's a good dude. I'd never wish anything.
Speaker 4: A part of way, But what was it like to me?
Speaker 4: Zach went out of his way to make sure he
Speaker 4: spoke up on happening.
Speaker 6: Yeah, when I saw him say that, that was I
Speaker 6: really appreciated that. And I think that just speaks volumes
Speaker 6: of the guy and the coach that he is and
Speaker 6: why guys loved him so much and loved playing for him,
Speaker 6: because sometimes coaches would really wouldn't go out of their
Speaker 6: way because it wasn't like he was asked about it. It
Speaker 6: was like I think it was at the end of
Speaker 6: the conference, So he kind of went out of his
Speaker 6: way to say that, And I think that, like I said,
Speaker 6: that speaks volumes and that's why I love playing for him.
Speaker 4: How hard is that?
Speaker 3: I know there's a lot of conversation about the hip
Speaker 3: drop and what am I.
Speaker 4: Look like moving forward? How hard is that is a
Speaker 4: defender in real time to go.
Speaker 6: About I honestly wasn't even sure of what a hip
Speaker 6: drop tackle was prior to that bring being brought to
Speaker 6: my attention after the game, and so.
Speaker 5: You know, obviously it's something I guess it's.
Speaker 6: Something that they're they're looking at doing, but it's it's
Speaker 6: hard in the position when you're trying to come from
Speaker 6: behind and trying to just find a way to bring
Speaker 6: him down. And it's not like it's not like Marc
Speaker 6: Andre's just a small human, you know what I mean.
Speaker 6: So you're just trying to find a way to bring
Speaker 6: the guy down, and unfortunately that's what happened. And like
Speaker 6: I said, I'd never wished upon him, And obviously whenever
Speaker 6: whatever they just had to do with the hip drop
Speaker 6: tackle going forward, we'll have to adjust, but it would
Speaker 6: make it a lot harder if that's what they decided
Speaker 6: to do.
Speaker 2: The Ravens full back Patrick Ricard had this to say
Speaker 2: about Logan Wilson quote, everybody respects him. I don't think
Speaker 2: it was intentional or dirty. I think he's a great
Speaker 2: play I have respect for him and think he plays
Speaker 2: the right way.
Speaker 1: Now time for.
Speaker 2: This week's Know the Faux segment as we take a
Speaker 2: closer look at the Pittsburgh Steelers, a team that's currently
Speaker 2: six and four and holding down the seventh and final
Speaker 2: playoff spot in the AFC. But after a thirteen to
Speaker 2: ten loss to Cleveland last week, the Steelers made a
Speaker 2: coaching change, firing offensive coordinator Matt Canada. Running backs coach
Speaker 2: Eddie Faulkner takes over as OC, but quarterbacks coach Mike
Speaker 2: Sullivan will be the primary play caller. Brooke Pryor covers
Speaker 2: the Steelers for ESPN and discuss that and much more
Speaker 2: on the Bengals Game Plan Show this week with Wayne
Speaker 2: box Miller and Dave Lapham.
Speaker 7: Let me tell you, it has been chaotic, to say
Speaker 7: the least. And my favorite part about all of this
Speaker 7: is it's such an unprecedented move that the Steelers fired
Speaker 7: at Canada. They haven't famously have not fired a head
Speaker 7: coach or a coordinator in season since nineteen forty one.
Speaker 7: The news came out via the Steelers social media Tuesday morning,
Speaker 7: and Kenny Pickett was still at home asleep because Tuesday's
Speaker 7: the only day he can sleep in. And I very
Speaker 7: deeply relate to that because I too, was kind of
Speaker 7: dozing that morning until the news came out and suddenly
Speaker 7: I jumped out of bed and just you know away,
Speaker 7: I went Brook.
Speaker 8: Did you have an inkling? You know, there's been rumblings
Speaker 8: in the last couple of years, no seeker, But was
Speaker 8: there any inkling that this was imminent?
Speaker 7: No, there wasn't. I mean, you're right. There have been
Speaker 7: rumbling from the last couple of years, but most of
Speaker 7: that has been external noise. It's been from inside the
Speaker 7: building that this team had confidence in Matt Canada, that
Speaker 7: they thought that his schemes and his plays would work.
Speaker 7: It was just taking some time. And the message from
Speaker 7: the locker room early in the season was this is
Speaker 7: not a place this is a lack of execution issue.
Speaker 7: But I think that the way that Kenny Pickett has
Speaker 7: regressed over the last couple of weeks, he would not
Speaker 7: have broken or he didn't break one hundred passing yards
Speaker 7: until the last desperation throw of the loss to the Browns.
Speaker 7: I think that that was kind of the last straw
Speaker 7: for the Steelers saying, you know, we've got to kind
Speaker 7: of choose here between our quarterback and our offensive coordinator.
Speaker 7: It's a lot easier to move on from a coordinator
Speaker 7: that's going to be whose contract expires at the end
Speaker 7: of the season than it is a first round quarterback
Speaker 7: you drafted less than two years ago. And so I
Speaker 7: think that that's kind of what put things over the edge,
Speaker 7: you know, looking.
Speaker 5: At tape and now after the fact, you know it's like, okay, well,
Speaker 5: well the body language, I mean Picket's body language, Pickens
Speaker 5: body language. Najee Harris comes out, you know with what
Speaker 5: he had to say. I mean, it just looked like
Speaker 5: it was time. It looked like the frustration level from
Speaker 5: a player standpoint, and I hit the boiling point. Was
Speaker 5: that pretty much it?
Speaker 7: You know? I think so. And I think that it's
Speaker 7: tough because I think the frustration was pointed in a
Speaker 7: lot of different directions. Yes, there's absolutely frustration toward Matt
Speaker 7: Canada because this offense wasn't able to fluidly move the ball,
Speaker 7: they weren't able to score points. I think there's also
Speaker 7: some frustration that they were having with themselves for not
Speaker 7: playing better, and also with Kenny Pickett because he was
Speaker 7: not on the same page with some of his receivers
Speaker 7: like Deontay Johnson. He had several overthrows, underthrows. It's just
Speaker 7: been so off target. And so I think that there
Speaker 7: were just a lot of bad vibes in general. And
Speaker 7: I actually talked with Mason Cole the Center about that
Speaker 7: today and he said, you know, I didn't get the
Speaker 7: sense that there was necessarily division within the locker room,
Speaker 7: but a move like this does pull everybody together and
Speaker 7: it does become in Us against the world kind of thing.
Speaker 7: And so I think that that's something that can kind
Speaker 7: of jolt an offense and get them maybe back on
Speaker 7: some kind of track.
Speaker 8: You Brooke prior ESPN is our guests in Brooke. If
Speaker 8: you had to look at one thing maybe that Kenny
Speaker 8: Pikett needs to improve upon maybe to get this offense
Speaker 8: in a better place to be more productive. Is there
Speaker 8: anything that you're looking at or that seems to be
Speaker 8: something that's challenging him a little bit more than maybe people.
Speaker 7: Thought, you know, I think to me, his pocket presence
Speaker 7: and pocket awareness has been really disappointing this season because
Speaker 7: it was something that was so heavily emphasized in the
Speaker 7: off season and in training camp. I mean, I look
Speaker 7: at the way that he responds to pressure. He bails
Speaker 7: out of the pocket so fast, he gets rid of
Speaker 7: the ball really fast. And granted, he was playing Cleveland
Speaker 7: last week in Miles Garrett and we saw on the
Speaker 7: very first play of the game he got absolutely destroyed.
Speaker 7: So I don't blame him for being a little gun
Speaker 7: shy in the pocket there, right, But this offensive line
Speaker 7: is better than it has been in years past. They
Speaker 7: are buying pickt time, but he just doesn't have the
Speaker 7: awareness or the ability to read the field correctly to
Speaker 7: make the right decisions. And as soon as he starts
Speaker 7: to get a little antsy, he bails out. Is usually
Speaker 7: rolling to his left, and he's rolled right into pressure before.
Speaker 7: That's how he got hurt in Houston. He ran right
Speaker 7: into the defender. And so I think that that's the
Speaker 7: biggest thing that I want to see. I want to
Speaker 7: see just better decisions both in the pocket and when
Speaker 7: he's making his reads because maybe, you know, he lacks
Speaker 7: the arm talent to do some of the the you know,
Speaker 7: deep throws some things that can make quarterbacking really exciting.
Speaker 7: But something that he can improve on in the you know,
Speaker 7: immediate is just make better decisions. The play calls are there,
Speaker 7: he just has got to move through his progressions and
Speaker 7: decision making more fluidly, you know when I.
Speaker 5: Hear you say, and it was obvious on tape with
Speaker 5: the incompletion by a wide margin, how quarterback and receiver
Speaker 5: aren't on the same page. And it's going to be
Speaker 5: interesting how this dual coach filling one position. Eddie Faultono,
Speaker 5: the running back coach, will be game planning, and Mike
Speaker 5: Sullivan will be the play caller, but he's got the
Speaker 5: relationship with Pickett. I would think, I remember the legendary
Speaker 5: Paul Brown. We were struggling one year offensively, and he
Speaker 5: gets up in front of the offensive team in the meeting.
Speaker 5: He says, here's our runs this week, and there were three.
Speaker 5: Here's our passes this week there were five, And he goes, well,
Speaker 5: we'll run them out of different formations, but damn it,
Speaker 5: we're going to do these right until you guys can
Speaker 5: get them right. Then I'll start adding more plays. I
Speaker 5: would think that maybe Sullivan and Faulkner may melt it down.
Speaker 5: Maybe maybe there was a little too much on the
Speaker 5: mind to pick it and you've got to simplify it
Speaker 5: a little bit, and you know, wrap it over and
Speaker 5: over and over again, and run it out of different
Speaker 5: looks and get the ball to Pickens, you know, in
Speaker 5: a manner where both parties are on the same And
Speaker 5: I don't think that that's out of the question.
Speaker 7: Right absolutely. I mean I think they need to run
Speaker 7: the kiss offense, keep it simple, stupid. Yeah, let's don't
Speaker 7: over complicate it. We don't need all the jet motion,
Speaker 7: all of the movement before the SAT just there is
Speaker 7: a way to do it that is not the way
Speaker 7: that Matt Canada is running it. Where it was, it
Speaker 7: was both very predictable and elementary, while also over complicating
Speaker 7: some things and just trying to have him do too much.
Speaker 7: And so I think that they really need to run
Speaker 7: the ball more. That's something that they've shown the last
Speaker 7: three weeks has gotten significantly better. Jalen Warren is a
Speaker 7: great back. He's a slippery guy, He's really dynamic. I
Speaker 7: think that now he Harris, he knows he needs to
Speaker 7: be better. He's not playing like a first round pick
Speaker 7: right now. But I think if they can lean on
Speaker 7: the run game to get things going and open things
Speaker 7: up shoot, then let's move on to the play action
Speaker 7: some RPO game because Pikett has proven to be much
Speaker 7: better when he's throwing out of play action, and for
Speaker 7: some reason, the Steelers just weren't going to it. So
Speaker 7: I think if they can do those things, they'll be better.
Speaker 7: But you're right, it is going to be interesting to
Speaker 7: see how these kind of shared OC duties end up
Speaker 7: playing out the rest of the year. But you're right.
Speaker 7: The relationship between Mike Sullivan and Kenny Pickett has got
Speaker 7: to be a big factor here in having Sullivan be
Speaker 7: the voice in Picket's ear on Sundays.
Speaker 8: Right, Yeah, looking on the defensive side of the ball,
Speaker 8: is Minca Fitzpatrick close to returning? What's the status or
Speaker 8: what are you hearing about him?
Speaker 7: You know, Minka hasn't practiced for several weeks. He seemed
Speaker 7: like he was close to coming back against Green Bay
Speaker 7: and then didn't, and he hasn't practiced since then. He
Speaker 7: didn't practice today, and I think that it's you know,
Speaker 7: Mike Tomlin wouldn't answer clearly if there had been a
Speaker 7: setback in this hand amstring injury that he sustained, I
Speaker 7: mean four weeks ago, it's going on a month ago.
Speaker 7: But it would seem to suggest that something had happened
Speaker 7: because they clearly didn't anticipate it taking potentially four games,
Speaker 7: otherwise they would have put him on IR. I kind
Speaker 7: of read into the way that Mike Tomlin delivers his
Speaker 7: press conferences and the way that he the order in
Speaker 7: which he announces the injuries or details the injuries. Last
Speaker 7: wing Binko was towards the end of that list, which
Speaker 7: made me think, Okay, he's an afterthought. He's probably not
Speaker 7: going to end up being able to play this week.
Speaker 7: He was the first guy listed in terms of he's
Speaker 7: fighting to come back. He wants to be available. So
Speaker 7: I last week I felt like there was maybe a
Speaker 7: thirty percent chance he plays. This week, I feel like
Speaker 7: it's fifty to fifty and it's something somebody that they
Speaker 7: would definitely like to have back. Because they just put
Speaker 7: Elijah Riley on IR along with Kean O'Neal. It's they
Speaker 7: are really the cupboard is really bare in the safety group.
Speaker 5: Boy, it's not bear upfront and it never owns. It
Speaker 5: seems like with the Pittsburgh Steelers, I mean by Cameron Haywood, TJ. Watt,
Speaker 5: Alex high Smith, I mean, these guys are all still
Speaker 5: in others upfront are playing at an exceptionally high level,
Speaker 5: and it seems like the Pittsburgh Steelers have had that
Speaker 5: going on defensively for forever. I mean Mike Tomlin and
Speaker 5: prior to Mike Tomlin. I mean it's amazing how year
Speaker 5: in and year out, that is a staple that you
Speaker 5: can always count on. The Pittsburgh Steelers defensive front will
Speaker 5: be a handful every single snap.
Speaker 7: Oh absolutely and Keanus Benton, the rookie has played really
Speaker 7: really well. He was really helped out because he got
Speaker 7: a lot of playing time early in his career this
Speaker 7: year when Cam Hayward was out with the groin injury.
Speaker 7: But I think that one thing to note is that
Speaker 7: against the Bengals in or against the Browns in the
Speaker 7: first half, they weren't getting any pressure on Dorian Thompson Robinson,
Speaker 7: which is concerning. I mean, the Browns have a decent
Speaker 7: an offensive line. I wouldn't say that it's an you know,
Speaker 7: I wouldn't say it's a top five unit, but especially
Speaker 7: playing against a rookie quarterback, I mean, you'd think that
Speaker 7: they would really just get after the quarterback. And yes,
Speaker 7: the Browns had a good run game, but at the
Speaker 7: same time, it was a little bit concerning that they
Speaker 7: just weren't getting any pressure on him. They did make
Speaker 7: second half adjustments. TJ. Watt had a much better second half.
Speaker 7: He had a sack, how to believe, three quarterback hits.
Speaker 7: But I think that that is an area where they
Speaker 7: know they have to kind of that's going to be
Speaker 7: their bread and butter, especially because the inside linebackers are down.
Speaker 7: Several guys with Coleholsome and Kawan Alexander having season ending injuries,
Speaker 7: this is now all Aland and Roberts. He played great
Speaker 7: last week. He had fifteen tackles, and they've also added
Speaker 7: Michael Walker was brought up. They just signed Miles Jack
Speaker 7: to the practice squad Blake Martinez to the active roster.
Speaker 7: So they're trying to fortify that group. But while they
Speaker 7: figure themselves out, it's got an all start up front.
Speaker 5: You think Miles Jack will be brought up right away.
Speaker 5: And I'll tell you what, roberts Man, that dude's a thumper.
Speaker 5: That guy as a hitter.
Speaker 7: Yeah, he is a hitter. And I think it was
Speaker 7: also encouraging for him, like he knows that he can
Speaker 7: play in coverage, although that has not been one of
Speaker 7: his strong suits. And he played well in every aspect,
Speaker 7: every sub package, in coverage, you name it. He did
Speaker 7: it all last week. And you could tell him in
Speaker 7: the locker room after a game that you guys know,
Speaker 7: is a very interesting place, especially after a loss, because
Speaker 7: the group that's the most responsible for it is really upset.
Speaker 7: But then you have guys like a Landon Roberts who
Speaker 7: like he kind of had a spring in his step.
Speaker 7: He just played a great game. But as far as
Speaker 7: Miles Jack, I don't think it's going to be right away,
Speaker 7: especially when considered he was retired. He was telling us
Speaker 7: today that he was working on getting his pilot's license.
Speaker 7: He bought a hockey team. He was really surprised to
Speaker 7: can the call, and he ended last year. My lasting
Speaker 7: memory of him at the end of the season was
Speaker 7: he had to sit down in the locker room when
Speaker 7: he was getting dressed to put on a pair of
Speaker 7: pants because he was so injured and so banged up.
Speaker 7: Obviously that's not the case now, but he is a
Speaker 7: guy that has a lot of wear and tear that
Speaker 7: they would like him to be able to play. But
Speaker 7: I think it's going to take a couple of weeks
Speaker 7: before he's up to speed. This feels like an insurance
Speaker 7: signing more than anything.
Speaker 1: Right.
Speaker 2: The Steelers are a one and a half point favorite
Speaker 2: on Sunday. Here's an invitation to join Dave Lapham and
Speaker 2: me for the Bengals pep Rally show this week. We'll
Speaker 2: be at the Wings and Rings Monroe location from two
Speaker 2: thirty to five thirty on Friday, and our special guest
Speaker 2: in the final hour of the show will be rookie
Speaker 2: safety Jordan Battle. That's going to do it for this
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Speaker 2: The Bengals Booth Podcast.