Speaker 1: Hi everybody. I'm Dan Hord and thanks for downloading the
Speaker 1: Bengals Booth Podcast. The show must go on. Addition, as
Speaker 1: the Bengals fail to gain ground in the AFC playoff race,
Speaker 1: losing a heartbreaker on the road in Baltimore, thirty five
Speaker 1: thirty four, Coming Up Radio replays locker room comments and
Speaker 1: postgame analysis from Dave Lapham. Then, in this week's fun
Speaker 1: Facts Conversation, you'll meet a Bengal who spent his entire
Speaker 1: childhood watching Ben Roethlisberger play quarterback for the Steelers before
Speaker 1: intercepting him in an NFL game. The Bengals Booth Podcast
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Speaker 1: reminder that you can have the latest edition of this
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Speaker 1: subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's the greatest thing
Speaker 1: since PJ Combs. It's appropriate that the Bengals were in
Speaker 1: Baltimore this week because it's the home of one of
Speaker 1: the most famous streaks in sports, cal Ripken's incredible run
Speaker 1: of playing in two thousand, six hundred and thirty two
Speaker 1: consecutive games over a sixteen year period with the Orioles. Well,
Speaker 1: my friend PJ Combs hit a milestone on Thursday night
Speaker 1: working in his six hundredth consecutive game as a member
Speaker 1: of the Bengals media relations staff. Pj's been on the
Speaker 1: job for thirty years and does his job as well
Speaker 1: as anybody in the NFL. Oh and there's another reason
Speaker 1: why Baltimore was an appropriate site for Pj's six hundredth
Speaker 1: consecutive game. Nobody, and I mean nobody loved there's a
Speaker 1: Baltimore crab cake more than PJ. Now, time for the
Speaker 1: radio replays from Thursday's AFC North showdown in Baltimore. On
Speaker 1: a Thursday night, almost exactly one year ago, Joe Burrow's
Speaker 1: fourth NFL season came to an abrupt end when he
Speaker 1: tore a ligament in his right wrist. Tonight, Joe returns
Speaker 1: to the scene of that injury.
Speaker 2: M and T.
Speaker 1: Banks Stadium here in Baltimore, looking to lead the Bengals
Speaker 1: to a season altering win over the Ravens, and it
Speaker 1: is time for the pig skin to fly in prime time.
Speaker 1: First and goal from the one, the Bengals lineup in
Speaker 1: an I formation. Burrow hands it off to Chase Brown.
Speaker 1: Brown runs into the end zone, standing up. Touchdown Bengals
Speaker 1: to begin the game. Four down linemen in the game
Speaker 1: for Cincinnati. First in goal from the sixth Lamar in
Speaker 1: the gun. He runs a design quarterback right now. He
Speaker 1: floats it into the end zone and it is caught
Speaker 1: by Agalore for the Ravens touchdown. Look like it was
Speaker 1: going to be a run all the way, and then
Speaker 1: Lamar pulled up, floated a pass into the end zone
Speaker 1: and there was nobody close to Nelson Agaloa. Three receivers
Speaker 1: go out to the right, Kasiki Hudson and Yosi Boss
Speaker 1: Jamar chase out to the left. Two defenders on Jamar's side.
Speaker 1: Burton Burrow rather rolling right now, he throws caught right
Speaker 1: at the goal line. It is a touchdown. Tanner Hudson
Speaker 1: with an emphatic gronk like spike. As the Bengals have
Speaker 1: taken the lead with thirty seconds left in the half.
Speaker 1: Burrow will look to throw. Moving to his right now
Speaker 1: he throws over the medline. It's coming to run.
Speaker 2: Chase of the forty five, angling toward the farce on
Speaker 2: in a thirty twenty fifteen ten five boo touchdownwn Jamar
Speaker 2: Chase does it again.
Speaker 1: He's dancing in the back of the end zone, turning
Speaker 1: a short pass over the middle into a sixty seven
Speaker 1: yard highlight. Burrow catches the shotgun, snap gives it to Chase.
Speaker 1: Brown again fights his way forward thirty one. The ball
Speaker 1: comes out the Ravens habit. They recovered at the thirty
Speaker 1: one yard line, first and goal inside the one. Jackson,
Speaker 1: under center, hands it off. Derek Henry, trying to bounce
Speaker 1: it wide to.
Speaker 2: The left, lurches.
Speaker 1: Forward and carries the ball over the goal line for
Speaker 1: a touchdown. The Ravens snap it quickly, Lamar Jackson to
Speaker 1: throw his pass caught for the first down. Wallace gets
Speaker 1: away running down the sideline. He's still running thirty twenty ten,
Speaker 1: coasting into the end zone for an incredible eighty four
Speaker 1: yard Baltimore touchdown.
Speaker 3: Damn Taylor Britt doesn't make the tackle. I mean he's
Speaker 3: in good position. Yeah, and Logan Wilson tries to push
Speaker 3: amount of bounds, but he had he was out in
Speaker 3: front of him too far and he couldn't get a
Speaker 3: good enough piece of them.
Speaker 1: Lamar catches the shotgun snap short drop, looking floating it
Speaker 1: for the end zone, Andrews with a catch touchdown. The
Speaker 1: Ravens Burrow back to throw guns it deep down your.
Speaker 2: Chase is open, catches at the thirty for the field
Speaker 2: ten five touchdown, seventy yards as Jamar Chase is putting
Speaker 2: on one of the great shows in Bengals history. And
Speaker 2: on another one play drive, the Bengals have a chance to.
Speaker 1: Tie it with a bad or go for it to
Speaker 1: try to take the lead. I see Evan McPherson on
Speaker 1: the field third down and goal from the five. He'll
Speaker 1: checks in at running back. Lamar catches the shotgun snap
Speaker 1: looking back pedaling, rolling to the left, throws into the
Speaker 1: end zone, and he floats it into the hands of
Speaker 1: her shot bateman for the touchdown. One minute and forty
Speaker 1: nine seconds to go from the five yard line. Burrow
Speaker 1: catches the shotgun snap, he throws it into the end zone.
Speaker 2: Chase Boom makes the catch on the back line for
Speaker 2: the touchdown.
Speaker 1: And it looks like the Bengals will go for two
Speaker 1: with thirty eight seconds to go to try to win
Speaker 1: the game.
Speaker 3: Baltimore felt like they had him double coverage and he
Speaker 3: goes to the back of the end zone that Joe
Speaker 3: Burrow throws the ball where only he can make a
Speaker 3: play on the ball.
Speaker 1: The game comes down to this play, a two point
Speaker 1: conversion try with thirty eight seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Speaker 1: Cincinnati down thirty five to thirty four. Burrow in the shotgun.
Speaker 1: Two receivers to each side of the formation, sample in
Speaker 1: the backfield to block. Burrow is ready, extends the hands,
Speaker 1: catches the shotgun snap looking through incomplete for Tanner Hudson
Speaker 1: at the goal line. There is no penalty flag down
Speaker 1: and Cincinnati is going to lose by a point in Baltimore.
Speaker 1: The final score thirty five thirty four. In two games
Speaker 1: against Baltimore this year, the Bengals scored thirty eight and
Speaker 1: thirty four points without a win. In Game one, Joe
Speaker 1: Burrow threw for three hundred and ninety two yards and
Speaker 1: Jamar Chase finished with one ninety three receiving. Incredibly, they
Speaker 1: topped those numbers on Thursday, as Burrow threw for four
Speaker 1: to twenty eight and four touchdowns despite thirteen quarterback hits,
Speaker 1: and Chase came up two yards shy of his franchise
Speaker 1: record for receiving yards in a game with two sixty four,
Speaker 1: including three touchdowns. Add it up and you get eight
Speaker 1: hundred and twenty passing yards for Burrow and four hundred
Speaker 1: and fifty seven receiving yards for Chase and two more
Speaker 1: wins for Lamar. Jackson, who is now ten to one
Speaker 1: is a starter against the Bengals. Here are Jamar and Joe.
Speaker 4: Every time we play Baltimore is a high fight. It's
Speaker 4: always a dog fight with Baltimore, and the game's always
Speaker 4: close to end.
Speaker 5: So we just got to learn how to put it away, man.
Speaker 6: Yeah, we just got to make the opportunities that are there,
Speaker 6: make the plays. You know, we did in spots and
Speaker 6: we didn't in spots tonight, and that's the story of
Speaker 6: our season. So I'm going to do everything in my
Speaker 6: power to continue to be ready for the opportunities that
Speaker 6: come try to take advantage of them.
Speaker 4: I'm pissed off, of course, but you know that's game
Speaker 4: of football. You know what I'm saying, sometimes we don't
Speaker 4: get what we want, but we've got to come out
Speaker 4: next drive and execute it. Hopefully we do better than
Speaker 4: we did last time.
Speaker 6: Everyone's going to talk about the two point play, but
Speaker 6: we had plenty of other opportunities to on both sides
Speaker 6: of the ball to put ourselves in better position.
Speaker 4: I don't know, we didn't have some tough losses this year,
Speaker 4: all close games. I don't know. I think we just
Speaker 4: got to find a way to finish.
Speaker 5: We've been doing this.
Speaker 4: Every loss we had, we didn't finish, So we just
Speaker 4: got to find some type of way to finish.
Speaker 6: You know, your record is what your record is, and
Speaker 6: you are what your record is. So we're four and
Speaker 6: six football team right now, and it's gonna be an
Speaker 6: uphill battle to get back into this thing. But you know,
Speaker 6: I like what we have in the locker room. I
Speaker 6: like the coaches that we have up there, and so
Speaker 6: let's keep plugging along.
Speaker 1: When you toss in the Washington game in September, the
Speaker 1: Bengals now have three losses this year where they have
Speaker 1: scored thirty three or more or points. I spoke to
Speaker 1: Ted Karrits about another squandered opportunity ted unfortunately. I think
Speaker 1: he used the phrase earlier this season, the all most
Speaker 1: games or something like that, another one of those games
Speaker 1: where he basically did everything but pull it out.
Speaker 7: Yeah, Ravens. Give credit to them. They made one more
Speaker 7: play than we did. And that's what it comes down to.
Speaker 7: The National Football League. I thought we left some stuff
Speaker 7: out there, but overall, I mean, well it it sucks
Speaker 7: because we're kind of we're at there at the losing
Speaker 7: end of some all time classics this year, and that's.
Speaker 5: That's a shame.
Speaker 7: So we're gonna take a take a long weekend and
Speaker 7: get ready to go to LA still in the mix,
Speaker 7: obviously losing to our big rivals by you know, last.
Speaker 5: Plays in the game two times in a row.
Speaker 7: His his heartbreaking. But we hat out of ball, left
Speaker 7: with seven games left to seven left to try and
Speaker 7: do something, So we got to go out and beat
Speaker 7: l A.
Speaker 1: How significant was the fumble in terms of momentum, Well, I.
Speaker 7: Think that if you boil down the game too, you
Speaker 7: know what, what is the difference in the game. I
Speaker 7: believe we had one turnover and they had zero. I
Speaker 7: think we have you can count the fourth downs as well,
Speaker 7: or just one fourth.
Speaker 5: Down that we miss.
Speaker 7: But I mean that's again, in a in a league
Speaker 7: with such a such a thin margin for victory, you
Speaker 7: know that that'll cost you, and especially with you know
Speaker 7: how our defense was playing to give them a short
Speaker 7: field and let them feel some confidence when really they
Speaker 7: weren't doing anything all day. So you know, you put
Speaker 7: that in, you know, one of the big moments of
Speaker 7: the game.
Speaker 5: You know, it is what it is that it happens.
Speaker 7: But uh again, those are kind of the things that
Speaker 7: that cost us in a thirty five thirty four heartbreaker.
Speaker 1: It's almost hard to build. You have to score thirty
Speaker 1: eight in game one and thirty four tonight and not
Speaker 1: come away with a w either time. Joe passed for
Speaker 1: four hundred plus Jamar just missed the franchise record for
Speaker 1: receiving yard. You did so many good things. I can
Speaker 1: only imagine how exasperating it must be to not walk
Speaker 1: out of here with a victory.
Speaker 7: No, Dan, I never feel exasperated.
Speaker 5: Football is.
Speaker 7: Such a unique thin line of performance, and one of
Speaker 7: the great things about it knock on wood until they
Speaker 7: kick you out. You know, you get up again, and
Speaker 7: we got it. We got an opponent next week.
Speaker 1: So.
Speaker 7: Yeah, it sucks, and you know, I feel for the guys,
Speaker 7: and you know, I think the guys are ready. I
Speaker 7: think the guys know what we can be and we're
Speaker 7: sitting at for me and you know that's that's not
Speaker 7: good enough. But it's been it's been some heartbreaking losses.
Speaker 7: So I don't think anyone's going to let that affect him.
Speaker 7: You know, it's a clean slate come Monday, So we'll
Speaker 7: watch everyone else on the hot seat this weekend and
Speaker 7: get ready to go and play a play an LA
Speaker 7: team that's kind of vying for the same spot we are,
Speaker 7: so big game.
Speaker 1: Appreciate your time. Thanks Thanks Dan As for the defense,
Speaker 1: Baltimore's first seven drives featured five punts and only one touchdown.
Speaker 1: Four of those drives were three and out, but after
Speaker 1: Chase Brown's fumble gave the Ravens a short field and
Speaker 1: led to a thirty one yard touchdown drive, the Bengals
Speaker 1: defense simply could not stop Lamar Jackson. He finished with
Speaker 1: two hundred and ninety passing yards, four touchdowns, and no
Speaker 1: picks for a passer rating of one forty one point four.
Speaker 1: For the season, He's got twenty four touchdown passes two
Speaker 1: interceptions and an NFL Best Passer rating of one twenty
Speaker 1: three point two. I discussed the defense with safety Jordan Battle,
Speaker 1: who finished the game with seven tackles. Jordan, can you
Speaker 1: describe the emotions you guys are feeling right now after
Speaker 1: a game like that?
Speaker 8: Yeah, tough. When we play tough teams, you know it's
Speaker 8: gonna be a sixty minute battle four quarters, especially in
Speaker 8: the AFC northwal against the Ravens. You know, we gotta,
Speaker 8: you know, we gotta come out of the second half swinging,
Speaker 8: which we did. We did early on the third quarter.
Speaker 8: We got up on them, got to stop on defense
Speaker 8: and then went right down and scored a touch. Now,
Speaker 8: but we's got to work on work on finishing, closing,
Speaker 8: closing opponents out and flight. Today we didn't do that.
Speaker 8: I mean obviously, you know we uh, you know, too
Speaker 8: many exposers in the second half and then turnover.
Speaker 5: So you know, we gotta we gotta keep the ball.
Speaker 8: We gotta take the ball away as a defense and
Speaker 8: uh just just be just be playmakers and game changers.
Speaker 8: As a team.
Speaker 1: You held him under one hundred rushing yards. It ended
Speaker 1: their streak of forty two consecutive games with one hundred
Speaker 1: or more, so you made them somewhat one dimensional. But
Speaker 1: when that one dimension is Lamar, I mean he's such
Speaker 1: an equalizer.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 8: Yeah, he's a very explosive player.
Speaker 5: You know.
Speaker 8: Obviously when we got him in the backfield, we gotta
Speaker 8: gotta get him on the ground. And we know as
Speaker 8: a GBS at as these as dbs, when he gets
Speaker 8: out of the pocket, we got a plaster. We gotta
Speaker 8: get on our guys and uh, stay stay connected and
Speaker 8: stay locked in on him. And when they catch the
Speaker 8: ball and may tackles, you know, get him on the ground.
Speaker 8: You know, stay to down, stay to stay the drive.
Speaker 8: And I feel like it's like, uh, when we all play,
Speaker 8: we play against the quarterbacks like like like Lamar or
Speaker 8: you know any any guy who are doing versatile you know,
Speaker 8: and uh, and you can do both things, can run
Speaker 8: and pass. We gotta stay stay locked in on our keys.
Speaker 8: Rust Lane's uh And like I said, plaster.
Speaker 1: I don't thinkers did that much. But Tylan Wallace of
Speaker 1: all people wind up having a big game, including that
Speaker 1: tightrope job down the sideline for the eighty four yard
Speaker 1: t D.
Speaker 8: Yeah, yeah, that's that's exactly what that's what That's what
Speaker 8: I'm talking about. Just just get guys on the ground
Speaker 8: when they when they make a play like that in
Speaker 8: the flat or anything. But you know, sometimes just the
Speaker 8: you know, the guy we don't expect. We did a
Speaker 8: good job to day on They flowers a good job
Speaker 8: today on you know, all the rest of the guys
Speaker 8: think Mark Enji's probably have.
Speaker 5: One touch down.
Speaker 8: Yeah, one touch down. We do too bad on Mark.
Speaker 8: But uh, you know, as a defense, just gotta you know,
Speaker 8: they get to start for office that they need just
Speaker 8: at one stop, you know, because every game has came
Speaker 8: down to you know, every game that we lost just
Speaker 8: came down.
Speaker 3: On one play.
Speaker 8: And you gotta focus on, you know, dominating teams, you know,
Speaker 8: getting up, getting them up, getting up up out of
Speaker 8: there early, you know, and keeping off flow in your neck.
Speaker 8: Coming into the second half.
Speaker 1: You're four and six with seven to go. Probably should
Speaker 1: have beaten Kansas City, could have easily beaten Baltimore both times.
Speaker 1: Is it agonizing could be in this position when you've
Speaker 1: shown your capable of beating anybody.
Speaker 8: Yeah, yeah for sure. Still got still got what three
Speaker 8: three division games to go, so hey focus on one
Speaker 8: of those, you know, and we were right back in
Speaker 8: the mix on so you know, and then the goal
Speaker 8: right now is, you know, see Cee Ravens again and
Speaker 8: the AMC Division. Let's a go, you know, go in
Speaker 8: the street, win as many games as we can get
Speaker 8: in the playoffs, you know, go from there him and
Speaker 8: make sure by that time we're locked in on closing
Speaker 8: games out, closing opponents out.
Speaker 1: Jordan, appreciate your time. The Bengals only managed one quarterback
Speaker 1: hit on Lamar Jackson and did not have a quarterback sack. Now,
Speaker 1: let's hear from Zach Taylor, who spent a few minutes
Speaker 1: with Lap after the game.
Speaker 3: Coach, I mean heartbreaking, to say the least. And when
Speaker 3: you get a good look at that two point conversion,
Speaker 3: they're holding the hell out of GASICKI. Joe gets hit
Speaker 3: in the face. I mean, they could have made calls
Speaker 3: to give you another shot at it. But I mean,
Speaker 3: and that's water over the bridge or on the bridge
Speaker 3: or whatever the hell it is right now. But I
Speaker 3: mean that was just another instant classic football game.
Speaker 9: Yeah, you just you know you're gonna win the game,
Speaker 9: and you go down there just expecting, even down seven,
Speaker 9: that we're gonna score and get the two point version
Speaker 9: and go away winners. Sick to your stomach when it
Speaker 9: doesn't work out that way. We've had a lot of
Speaker 9: these this year and got time to turn around. It's
Speaker 9: a good football team that's in that locker room. They
Speaker 9: believe in each other, They fight to the last second.
Speaker 9: We got time to turn this thing around.
Speaker 3: The two quarterbacks were ridiculous again tonight. I mean the
Speaker 3: numbers that they put up, it's just it's incredible. I mean,
Speaker 3: Joe Burrow, I don't think there's a competitor that's more
Speaker 3: intense than any sport than Joe Burrow is.
Speaker 9: There's no doubt, you know. It's or thankful he's our quarterback.
Speaker 9: He gives this chance to win every game we play.
Speaker 9: Made some tremendous play tonight, and guys around him stepped
Speaker 9: up as well and just came up with.
Speaker 3: A short Jamar Chase. I mean, he's had big game,
Speaker 3: big games against the Ravens. This one was as big
Speaker 3: as any of them, and he was unbelievable tonight.
Speaker 9: Yeah, he's an unbelievable player. We got to find every
Speaker 9: which way we can to get him the ball because
Speaker 9: every time he gets it, something electron lying happens, and
Speaker 9: this this game was no different tonight.
Speaker 3: We talked about it in the pregame show. You know,
Speaker 3: turnovers this football game. It's like, man, you can't give
Speaker 3: away a possession, give them another possession. And that's what happened.
Speaker 3: I mean, Chase Brown had the unfortunate funnel that was big,
Speaker 3: wouldn't it.
Speaker 9: This game always comes down with the turner battle. You know,
Speaker 9: it's always a one score game, and whoever won the
Speaker 9: turner battle wins the game. And fortunately that's the way
Speaker 9: it turned out.
Speaker 3: So, I mean what it was, it was a Charles
Speaker 3: Dickens special. I mean the Bengals in the first half
Speaker 3: just every phase, I mean dominated and then in the
Speaker 3: second half, you know, the script flipped there a little bit.
Speaker 3: Was it adjustments they made? Was it just mistakes that
Speaker 3: you guys made or was it a combination? What do
Speaker 3: you think?
Speaker 9: I mean, we gave him the short that the eighty
Speaker 9: something yard run. You know, we just got to get
Speaker 9: him on the ground, get Hi out of bounds, get
Speaker 9: him on the ground. So those two plays gave him
Speaker 9: life and and unfortunately, you give a good team of
Speaker 9: life and they're gonna fight you. And then it just
Speaker 9: went back and forth from there, just weren't able to pull.
Speaker 3: Out two to one score drives by Jamar Chase and
Speaker 3: the same game, two of them. It's like you said,
Speaker 3: they had they had the big play. So I mean
Speaker 3: explosives there are always a big deal in this matchup
Speaker 3: as well, aren't they they are?
Speaker 9: And and again that's great protection gave Joe a lot
Speaker 9: of time on both those plays, and then those two
Speaker 9: guys were just in great sync.
Speaker 3: So, like you said, it's it's it's obviously painful, but
Speaker 3: it's not fatal. I mean this football team, the number
Speaker 3: of yards that have been put up in these two
Speaker 3: matchups and the number of points and the differential to
Speaker 3: only be four points total, I mean, it just speaks
Speaker 3: to how close these two football teams are. I know,
Speaker 3: you didn't win either football game, but could be two
Speaker 3: and all against these guys.
Speaker 9: Yeah, we're not, though, So we got to figure out
Speaker 9: a way to make up for these wins, you know,
Speaker 9: and get back in the thick things, which which I
Speaker 9: fully believe you are. There's unwavering confidence amongst these coaches
Speaker 9: and players that we're going to be there in the end.
Speaker 9: Might look a little sticky, but what We're going to
Speaker 9: get there, and we got plenty of time to do it.
Speaker 3: A lot of division games, I mean this was one
Speaker 3: of the four in the last eight games, three in
Speaker 3: the last six, two in the last three. I mean
Speaker 3: a lot of your division games are toward the toward
Speaker 3: the back half of the season, and those are all
Speaker 3: going to be important, aren't they.
Speaker 9: Yeah, they're They're always important. We got to even a
Speaker 9: back up next opportunity get but next on the docket
Speaker 9: is the Chargers and we got to find a way
Speaker 9: to get that win.
Speaker 3: Well. I mean, it was a heck of a performance
Speaker 3: once again, the in front of the whole nation. Nothing
Speaker 3: to be ashamed about with what took place out there
Speaker 3: tonight and your football team battle to the very end.
Speaker 3: I mean, I appreciate your time as always. Thanks.
Speaker 1: Up next a Sunday night game in Los Angeles against
Speaker 1: the Chargers, meaning the Bengals will face a Harbaugh for
Speaker 1: the second game in a row. Jim Harbaugh has the
Speaker 1: Charger sitting at five and three and giving up the
Speaker 1: fewest points of any team in the league at a
Speaker 1: meager twelve point six. They haven't allowed more than sixteen
Speaker 1: in a game this year, and they aren't likely to
Speaker 1: surrender a bunch this week as they host Tennessee on Sunday.
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Speaker 1: is the official healthcare provider of the Bengals. Now time
Speaker 1: for the radio guys. Recap lapped seventy two points in
Speaker 1: two games against the Baltimore Ravens without a win. That
Speaker 1: is mind boggling, it really is.
Speaker 3: I mean, you know they've got a they've got an
Speaker 3: explosive offensive football team as well. I mean, both of
Speaker 3: these football games have been instant classics, and the quarterback
Speaker 3: play is just ridiculously good. But the one thing that
Speaker 3: is unfortunate, lose the turnover battle in this football game,
Speaker 3: usually lose the football game. And that fumble is huge.
Speaker 3: Short field fumble get stopped on fourth down a couple
Speaker 3: of times, so you know it wasn't just minus one.
Speaker 3: I think it was minus more than that. And uh,
Speaker 3: ultimately I think that was the deciding factor in the
Speaker 3: football game. And on the fourth down play, I meant,
Speaker 3: Sticky get get held, and uh, excuse me, the two
Speaker 3: point conversion gasick you get held. And I said to
Speaker 3: him in the locker room afterwards, I said, what did
Speaker 3: he say to you? He said that the ball had
Speaker 3: already been thrown, you got hold of hold you got
Speaker 3: you got to make the call, and Joe get hit
Speaker 3: in the face. So you know, no call on any
Speaker 3: of it. And asked you about it in this post game,
Speaker 3: and you said, you're not going to get those kind
Speaker 3: of calls. Well, I guess, particularly if you're the visiting team,
Speaker 3: you're not going to get those kind of calls. But
Speaker 3: you just can't. Bottom line is, you can't rely on
Speaker 3: Zebras to win you a football game or give you
Speaker 3: an opportunity to win a football game. But it's it's
Speaker 3: unfortunate and things like that occur. It's hard enough playing
Speaker 3: a team like the Ravens anyway, you don't you don't
Speaker 3: feel like you need additional burdens to overcome.
Speaker 1: I didn't like going for two. I loved going for
Speaker 1: two in the final minute. Agree they weren't stopping Lamar
Speaker 1: at that point, give Joe Burrow a chance to win
Speaker 1: you the game from two yards away.
Speaker 3: Agreed, you know, and they you know, they tried to
Speaker 3: get edge of a little closer. You know. I thought
Speaker 3: it was it was very theatrical what they were doing,
Speaker 3: trying to draw them off sides. But I agree with
Speaker 3: you try to win the football game. You know, at
Speaker 3: that point, you know, Joe felt like he maybe, in hindsight,
Speaker 3: maybe extend and create and go to the next read
Speaker 3: in the progression. You know, Ravens had a good coverage
Speaker 3: for that particular play, but he and Jamar Chase in
Speaker 3: this football game, we're just in another world. I mean,
Speaker 3: the report that they have the sixth cent, the sense
Speaker 3: that they have is just rare. It's extraordinary.
Speaker 1: I thought that the Ravens were the best team in
Speaker 1: the AFC going into this game. I don't think I
Speaker 1: feel that way anymore because of their secondary. And Jamaar
Speaker 1: had eleven catches for two hundred and sixty four yards.
Speaker 1: He had more than one ninety in game one. The
Speaker 1: offense is incredible, but I think the secondary could very
Speaker 1: well prevent Baltimore from having a long postseason run.
Speaker 3: They're dead last in the NFL against the pass, and
Speaker 3: what Joe Borrow did to tonight is not going to
Speaker 3: help that. Cause, you know, they were number one in
Speaker 3: the NFL against a run coming in. But man, they
Speaker 3: get ripped up and to be the best team and
Speaker 3: to advance in the playoffs, you have to play defense,
Speaker 3: and right now that is problematic to say the least.
Speaker 3: I mean, at some point, you can't continue to outscore
Speaker 3: people time after time after time. At some point is
Speaker 3: going to come back and bite you.
Speaker 1: We've been doing the games together for fourteen years. This
Speaker 1: is the first season where I've really felt like the
Speaker 1: Bengals record is not indicative of the team. Fourth and
Speaker 1: sixteen against Kansas City two games that they could ever
Speaker 1: should have won against Baltimore. This is a much better
Speaker 1: team than four and six. Unfortunately, their chances of making
Speaker 1: the playoffs are slimmed.
Speaker 3: I mean, they've lost three games to those two football
Speaker 3: teams by five points. What three games by five points?
Speaker 3: That's that's crazy. And the odds would say, if you're
Speaker 3: that close, you're gonna win at least one of them,
Speaker 3: and they have not. The football gods have not been
Speaker 3: kind to them. You know, they've got three stars Joe Burrow,
Speaker 3: Jamar Chase Trey Hendrickson, three of the best players at
Speaker 3: their respective positions there is in the National Football League.
Speaker 3: Other guys have to step up and start doing a
Speaker 3: little bit more to support those guys. I mean, they
Speaker 3: need to get some help, and they need it quickly.
Speaker 1: The defense couldn't have been much better for two and
Speaker 1: a half quarters and then could not stop the Ravens
Speaker 1: to save their life in the final four possessions.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and it was a matter of you know, angles
Speaker 3: tackling football geometry was suspect. I mean, I mean there
Speaker 3: were there were big plays that turned into big plays
Speaker 3: because of sloppy and shoddy played by the defense. So
Speaker 3: but that is life in the National Football League. And
Speaker 3: you know, in this in this game, like I said earlier,
Speaker 3: the turnover battle usually does decide it. When Chase Brown
Speaker 3: had that fumble, you're up, you're up two scores, you're
Speaker 3: up fourteen. He has that fumble short field and they
Speaker 3: score quickly. I mean, the momentum shift was palatable. I
Speaker 3: mean you could taste it, you could feel it, you
Speaker 3: could smell it, you could see it. It was everywhere.
Speaker 3: All your sensors were telling you that wasn't good. That
Speaker 3: wasn't good, and you know that it turned out to
Speaker 3: be the case.
Speaker 1: We've been saying it's probably gonna take ten wins to
Speaker 1: make it into the playoffs. That might not be the case.
Speaker 1: Nine was enough for Green Bay last year. Maybe nine
Speaker 1: will do it in the AFC if teams knock each
Speaker 1: other off. I still think they're capable of winning the
Speaker 1: majority of the games they have left. They've got seven
Speaker 1: games to go, minimum of five. You'd feel better if it.
Speaker 3: Was six, no doubt. If it does come down to
Speaker 3: point differential, though, they got to you sitting early high Cotton,
Speaker 3: I don't know if I don't know if there's any
Speaker 3: team in the NFL that's played as many close games
Speaker 3: as this football team has played and lost them. I
Speaker 3: mean again, it's like, you know, the odds saying you're
Speaker 3: gonna pick up one or two of them. It's it's
Speaker 3: just one of those years. I think. Good. It's safe
Speaker 3: to say that Joe Borrow, Jamar Chase, Trey Henderson have
Speaker 3: never played football to the level that they're playing it
Speaker 3: and yet have so little to show for it.
Speaker 1: That puts a rap on the Baltimore game. Now it's
Speaker 1: time for this week's fun Fact segment, where you get
Speaker 1: to know the person under the pads. Time for some
Speaker 1: fun facts with safety Gino Stone from Newcastle, PA, about
Speaker 1: forty three miles from Pittsburgh. This is a safe space,
Speaker 1: we won't judge you. Where you raised a fan of
Speaker 1: the dreaded, hated, but grudgingly respected Pittsburgh Steelers.
Speaker 5: No, I actually wasn't.
Speaker 10: I was actually a big fan of Michael Vick and
Speaker 10: Ladani and Thompson growing up, so that's kind of who
Speaker 10: I followed. And rude, I never really had a favorite
Speaker 10: football team in like NFL, so that's kind of different with.
Speaker 1: Me, so more of a fan of players than teams.
Speaker 5: Always. Yeah, that's how it always happened.
Speaker 1: So high school football playoff games in the state of
Speaker 1: Pennsylvania are played in the Steelers Stadium. Did you get
Speaker 1: to do that as a kid, and if so, is
Speaker 1: it a big deal?
Speaker 5: Yeah? It was actually my last ever high school football game.
Speaker 10: There was a district championship we played there and actually
Speaker 10: got to be pretty bad. But I enjoyed the experience
Speaker 10: a lot, because you know, I always want to steal
Speaker 10: their games and pit football games and watching guys and
Speaker 10: watching it's actually crazy ice to watch Tyler Boyd and
Speaker 10: when he played it like every year in the championships there,
Speaker 10: So being able to play and play on that stage
Speaker 10: in front of them, in front of everybody, was you know,
Speaker 10: a dream come true.
Speaker 1: For me visiting with Gino Stone. One more Pittsburgh question
Speaker 1: and I'll move on. The first interception of your NFL
Speaker 1: career was off Ben Roethlisberger.
Speaker 5: He was the.
Speaker 1: Steelers quarterback for your entire childhood from age five age
Speaker 1: twenty two. Was it surreal to get your first NFL
Speaker 1: pick up Big Ben?
Speaker 10: Yeah, it definitely was, just because you know, another thing
Speaker 10: is so he married someone from my hometown, so he
Speaker 10: would always be around people from my hometown and like
Speaker 10: my one my my actually head football coach, so be
Speaker 10: able to talk about stories like that with them guys,
Speaker 10: and it's actually pretty crazy, so you know, and it's
Speaker 10: his last ever, his last ever pick ever through so
Speaker 10: it's kind of kind of crazy.
Speaker 5: That was my first one.
Speaker 1: Ever, your first his last. You were a quarterback in
Speaker 1: high school in addition to being a defensive back. What
Speaker 1: kind of offense did you run?
Speaker 5: It was a mixture.
Speaker 10: We ran like a spread and then we would run
Speaker 10: like a bunch of heavy part personnels.
Speaker 5: I really didn't. It's crazy, I really didn't run as
Speaker 5: much in the high school.
Speaker 10: As a quarterback, I actually threw or hand the ball
Speaker 10: off because we had a really good receivers.
Speaker 5: But for the most part, out is back there.
Speaker 1: You know.
Speaker 10: It's kind of like my my off break on defense
Speaker 10: because I literally didn't come out the game. It Also
Speaker 10: that's kind of how I took it on office side.
Speaker 1: You know, when did you know your long term future
Speaker 1: would be as a defensive back.
Speaker 10: I would say my junior year. That's kind of when
Speaker 10: I made the switch to safety. At my first couple
Speaker 10: of years, I was always playing corner and then my
Speaker 10: dB coach suggested me to move to safety. And then
Speaker 10: my first year, my junior year playing safety, I had
Speaker 10: six picks. So that's when I was kind of like,
Speaker 10: all right, maybe I could do something with this. And
Speaker 10: then that's why start getting offers from schools and stuff.
Speaker 10: So that's when I kind of was like, all right,
Speaker 10: maybe football is gonna be what I want to do
Speaker 10: after high school.
Speaker 1: I found an old newspaper headline that said Stone can't
Speaker 1: wait to get started at Kent State. You never played
Speaker 1: there you wound up in Iowa instead. How did that
Speaker 1: go down?
Speaker 10: Yeah, so I was actually committed to Kent for at
Speaker 10: least a month or two and then it was like
Speaker 10: the last weekend of recruiting and I was and at
Speaker 10: that point, I was kind of over all the like
Speaker 10: the Big ten schools and the like ACC schools, you know,
Speaker 10: playing me kind of sealmen able to offer me and
Speaker 10: they never have. So I was saying I was just
Speaker 10: gonna stick with Ken, and then I well came in
Speaker 10: late and they were like really interested. Coach Parker came
Speaker 10: out to see me, and my mom kind of forced
Speaker 10: me to go on a visit because I really didn't
Speaker 10: want to because if you at that point, if you
Speaker 10: had told me where Iowa was and point on the map,
Speaker 10: I couldn't find it. But but uh yeah, my mom
Speaker 10: kind of forced me to go out there. And you know,
Speaker 10: I'm always forever grateful for because I was probably the
Speaker 10: greatest decision I made in my life.
Speaker 1: Certainly worked out well. You were with the Hotkeys for
Speaker 1: three straight winning seasons, including a ten and three record
Speaker 1: your final year. What did you enjoy most about your
Speaker 1: time in Iowa City?
Speaker 10: The friends I made, the friends I made there, to
Speaker 10: all the brothers I met, you know, the coaches I
Speaker 10: were able to cross paths with, you know, lifetime, you know,
Speaker 10: memories I always have there.
Speaker 5: It was a great time.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 10: Coach Fernson made it great for me, you know, Coach Parker,
Speaker 10: Coach Doyle, you know, he developed me in a way
Speaker 10: I never thought I could develop.
Speaker 5: So I'm always appreciated for them.
Speaker 1: Guys, you were drafted in the seventh throwned by the
Speaker 1: Baltimore Ravens. Describe your draft weekend hectic.
Speaker 10: You know, I was actually, I mean disappointed a lot.
Speaker 10: I mean it was it was a great disappointment at
Speaker 10: the end, but you know I kind of thought I
Speaker 10: was gonna go a little higher. But you know, once
Speaker 10: it hit like the fifth or sixth round, I actually
Speaker 10: didn't even watch the draft no more. I kind of
Speaker 10: just took a drive, you know, try to clear my mind.
Speaker 10: And then I remember Baltimore actually hit me up before.
Speaker 10: There was like a few picks before in the sixth round.
Speaker 10: They were like, we got one more pick left. We
Speaker 10: we we're either going with you or someone else. And
Speaker 10: then like literally it was like a couple picks your
Speaker 10: head and I called, I'm like trying to call him back, like.
Speaker 5: So what are you guys doing?
Speaker 10: Like, because you know later at that point, at that point,
Speaker 10: you know, you're trying to figure out where you're trying
Speaker 10: to go and UDFA and stuff like that. So I
Speaker 10: was grateful putting off that Eric to cross the call
Speaker 10: me and I got drafted. So that was, you know,
Speaker 10: dream come true.
Speaker 1: Gino. In high school, you had seventeen interceptions. You set
Speaker 1: your high school's record. At Iowa, you had six. In
Speaker 1: three years. With Baltimore, you had eight, including an AFC
Speaker 1: leading seven. Last year, you've got one so far in Cincinnati.
Speaker 1: That's thirty two interceptions. In all seriousness, what is it
Speaker 1: about you that allows you to pick off so many throws?
Speaker 10: I always revert back to me saying because I was
Speaker 10: a big baseball player growing up, so I always play
Speaker 10: center field. So I always say, you meet my tracking
Speaker 10: ability to be able to track the ball out the
Speaker 10: quarterbacks hand. I take it like as tracking the ball
Speaker 10: off the baseball player's back. That's kind of how I
Speaker 10: always look at it. So that's kind of how I
Speaker 10: always get to jump on the ball or jump on something.
Speaker 10: The quarterbacks going somewhere I always feel like I have
Speaker 10: that extra step on them and I just let my
Speaker 10: ability take over after that.
Speaker 1: All Right, I'll recognize a gold gloffer in the outfield
Speaker 1: the next time you pick one off. Time for some
Speaker 1: wild card questions. Now for Bengal safety Gino Stelle. Who
Speaker 1: is your all time favorite athlete in any sport? And why?
Speaker 3: Oh?
Speaker 10: Lebron James, Lebron James. I've been Lebron. I mean I've
Speaker 10: been Lebron jameson since forever. I would say him just
Speaker 10: because for him to be able to come to to
Speaker 10: a league at eighteen years old and do and do
Speaker 10: and has done what he's done for such a long.
Speaker 5: Time, you know, it's unbelievab.
Speaker 10: You know, he's always been doubted since he was fourteen
Speaker 10: fifteen years old, and it'd be able to overcome everything.
Speaker 10: He never had a bad rap for anything off the field.
Speaker 10: So he's a great role model look.
Speaker 1: After and still getting it done, still getting done, definitely
Speaker 1: still getting done. So Michael Vick and Ladani and Tomlinson
Speaker 1: in football, but overall, Lebron James. What do you like
Speaker 1: to spend your money on?
Speaker 10: Uh, I've been buying a lot of clo clothes lately.
Speaker 10: I'll say closed right now, your closed horse, right now?
Speaker 10: I am yeah, right now.
Speaker 1: Aside from sports, what are you good at?
Speaker 10: Besides playing football? I golf every day, so and that's
Speaker 10: a sport. So I don't know if I can say that,
Speaker 10: But besides football, I literally golf every day. It's kind
Speaker 10: of a hobby I picked up since my rookie year
Speaker 10: and I actually got really good at it, you know
Speaker 10: the past few years. You know, I broke parr a
Speaker 10: couple of times. So uh yeah, that's what I'm saying.
Speaker 10: I broke part like two or three times, so I
Speaker 10: should I should around, you know, seventy eight seventy nine
Speaker 10: every time I play for the most part.
Speaker 5: Now, so I'll say that, all.
Speaker 1: Right, I played my whole life and you're ticking me
Speaker 1: off as I struggle to break eighty. Your hometown, Newcastle, Pennsylvania,
Speaker 1: has been called the fireworks capital of the world. What
Speaker 1: do you know if anything about fireworks in Newcastle?
Speaker 10: No, it definitely is. So I actually tell people that
Speaker 10: all the time. If you look out one because they
Speaker 10: were like, what's a Newcastle? I said, look it up.
Speaker 10: We're a firework capital world. But usually every year we
Speaker 10: have a big old celebration downtown for July where everyone
Speaker 10: goes like sky King.
Speaker 5: Or like somewhere like that, and I do it every year.
Speaker 5: I go to sky King.
Speaker 10: They helped discount me as much as they can. I
Speaker 10: bought my fireworks and I put on a show, usually
Speaker 10: from my neighborhood.
Speaker 5: So I love it.
Speaker 10: I don't like them off no more after what happened.
Speaker 10: I saw what happened with Jason Pierre Paul, so I
Speaker 10: don't like them no more. But I make sure I
Speaker 10: buy enough and make sure everyone has a good show.
Speaker 1: Good have somebody else handle the lighting them a part.
Speaker 1: Final question, This one's kind of deep. If you could
Speaker 1: meet anybody in history, living or deceased, who would that
Speaker 1: person be?
Speaker 5: D that's a deep one.
Speaker 10: I'd probably say my grandmother's father, That's what I'll say,
Speaker 10: just because I heard so many stories of about him,
Speaker 10: and how I was so much alike him in that
Speaker 10: our mind. I remind him of my family all the time.
Speaker 10: So I'd probably say him just because I heard. I
Speaker 10: heard how great of you know father he was, how
Speaker 10: how hard of a work he was, you know what
Speaker 10: he did this? I'm pretty sure he working to still
Speaker 10: know stuff. I death so I would see him.
Speaker 1: This has been great. Appreciate your time, best of luck
Speaker 1: the rest of the earth Ship.
Speaker 5: Thank you, thank you.
Speaker 1: That's going to do it for this episode of the
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