Speaker 1: Hi, get everybody on Dan Horde and thanks for downloading
Speaker 1: The Bengals Booth Podcast. The just another Manic Monday addition,
Speaker 1: as we get to set from Monday Night Football in
Speaker 1: Cleveland as the four and three Bengals take on the
Speaker 1: two and five Browns. Coming up, I'll talk to the
Speaker 1: new voice of Monday Night Football on ESPN, Joe Buck
Speaker 1: Dave Lapham ways in on a topic that Bengals fans
Speaker 1: don't seem too concerned about anymore, the offensive line. I'll
Speaker 1: chat with Sam Hubbard and get his reaction to something
Speaker 1: that Chris Collinsworth recently said on this podcast that Sam
Speaker 1: is quote, one of the best football players that I've
Speaker 1: seen on tape. And finally, you know the faux segment,
Speaker 1: we'll get the latest on the Browns from Zack Jackson,
Speaker 1: who covers the team for The Athletic. The Bengals Booth
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Speaker 1: here's a quick reminder that you can have the latest
Speaker 1: edition of this podcast delivered write to your phone tablet
Speaker 1: or computer by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's
Speaker 1: the greatest thing since I An Eagle getting to broadcast
Speaker 1: the Final Four. Jim Nance recently announced that this year's
Speaker 1: Final Four in Houston will be the last one that
Speaker 1: he will broadcast for CBS, and the network immediately named
Speaker 1: Ian Eagle as his replacement. If you've heard Ian before
Speaker 1: as a guest on this podcast, you know that we
Speaker 1: are longtime friends, so I'm happy for him personally, but
Speaker 1: I am also thrilled to see a great broadcaster finally
Speaker 1: get the opportunity to shine on a huge stage. Ian
Speaker 1: will do a tremendous job of calling future Final Fours,
Speaker 1: hopefully a few that include the UC Bearcats or insert
Speaker 1: your school of choice. Now let's get to my first guest,
Speaker 1: a guy who has certainly had opportunities to shine on
Speaker 1: a huge stage, as he's called seven Super Bowls and
Speaker 1: twenty three World Series. I met this guy when we
Speaker 1: were young minor league baseball announcers just getting started, and
Speaker 1: now he's one of the best play by play guys
Speaker 1: to ever do it. My friend Joe Buck, Joe, it
Speaker 1: seems like you and Troy are having a ball doing
Speaker 1: Monday night football. I think sometimes change is good. Has
Speaker 1: change reinvigorated the two of you? It has, But let
Speaker 1: me start by saying, I remember those days in Triple
Speaker 1: A baseball. You had more hair. I had about the
Speaker 1: same amount of hair. I just have gone the hair
Speaker 1: transplant road and here we are in twenty twenty two.
Speaker 1: But thanks for that, and you're you're one of the best.
Speaker 1: I've always loved listening to you, and I appreciate coming on.
Speaker 1: It's been a blast. I didn't know what to expect,
Speaker 1: you know. I think ESPN was always kind of that
Speaker 1: that dark cloud over on the horizon, like do I
Speaker 1: really want to go to ESPN because it Fox? They
Speaker 1: kind of left me alone, and in the best possible way.
Speaker 1: I loved every minute that I was there. But you're right,
Speaker 1: change has been great. I think it's it's given a
Speaker 1: shot of life to Boute, Troy and me. ESPN has
Speaker 1: been great to work for. The games have been fun.
Speaker 1: And this is normally a month where I'm I don't
Speaker 1: know where I am when I wake up, and I
Speaker 1: don't know what sport I'm doing that night, But having
Speaker 1: just one game a week, it feels like stealing so
Speaker 1: it's been great and hopefully that comes through on the air.
Speaker 1: It definitely does so. This past Monday night, during the
Speaker 1: Patriots Bears game, ESPN ran a promo for the upcoming
Speaker 1: game between the Bengals and Browns, and it was obvious
Speaker 1: how excited Troy Aikman was that Joe Burrow was coming
Speaker 1: up next week. He referred to him as an assassin.
Speaker 1: What do you think of Joe on and off the field.
Speaker 1: He's awesome and there are so many organizations that are
Speaker 1: dying to have a Joe Burrow everywhere we go. You know,
Speaker 1: you look at one team after the next, there's a
Speaker 1: handful of guys that you know, the obvious ones, and
Speaker 1: then there's Joe Burrow, who's a stud on and off
Speaker 1: the field. I think he's a leader. I think he
Speaker 1: says all the right things coming off the game they're
Speaker 1: coming off of, which was I mean that that's them
Speaker 1: at their best against Atlanta and showing all those weapons
Speaker 1: on the outside, and Tyler Boyd has a big game.
Speaker 1: Just when you go into a game and you know
Speaker 1: Dan when you're going to see a lot of offense.
Speaker 1: That's those are the fun games to call. So for
Speaker 1: a quarterback, like Troy, and the game's changed so much
Speaker 1: since Troy built his Hall of Fame career. You know,
Speaker 1: the statistics are crazy now with three hundred yard games,
Speaker 1: four hundred yard games by quarterbacks. But man, it's I
Speaker 1: can't wait to go there. We've only had him a
Speaker 1: couple of times, and you know we've got him also
Speaker 1: late in the year at Buffalo against Buffalo at home,
Speaker 1: so this will be one of two and I can't
Speaker 1: wait to watch it. We're visiting the Joe Buck TV
Speaker 1: loves star Power. The Bengals have Joe Burrow, Jamar Chase,
Speaker 1: te Higgins, Joe Mix, and Trey Hendrickson, whatever name you
Speaker 1: want to pick out. Do you look at the Bengals
Speaker 1: as one of the quote unquote sexiest teams in the NFL?
Speaker 1: I do you know? I mean, you know, they're the
Speaker 1: AFC champs. I think people will kind of forget that.
Speaker 1: I know they don't dare, but around the NFL and
Speaker 1: everybody's got Buffalo Bills fever and oh my gosh, the
Speaker 1: Buffalo Bills. The Bengals are the reigning AFC champions, and
Speaker 1: you know, had every reason to feel good about that
Speaker 1: Super Bowl. I know they didn't get it done. But
Speaker 1: they were right there with the Rams. So yes they are.
Speaker 1: They are a sexy team. They are a star studded team,
Speaker 1: and that's what these networks latch onto. But I think
Speaker 1: that's what the casual fanland latches onto. Why the NFL
Speaker 1: is so popular. I mean, it doesn't matter who they're playing.
Speaker 1: And I think it's good that it's a it's a
Speaker 1: divisional battle and all that, but you've got players that
Speaker 1: are on everybody's fantasy football team, and everybody salivates to
Speaker 1: coming off a game like they're coming off of. So
Speaker 1: give me star power, give me Burrow. We'll have cameras.
Speaker 1: I know it's ESPN. Well if cameras all over him
Speaker 1: as he's getting dressed, let alone walking into the stadium.
Speaker 1: So yeah, that that stuff sells on TV. After the
Speaker 1: Row and two start, the Bengals have gone four and
Speaker 1: one since. Did you have any doubts early? And if so,
Speaker 1: are they gone? They're gone? Yeah? I think everybody would
Speaker 1: have doubts. You know, when you come back off of
Speaker 1: loss in the Super Bowl, all the changes on the
Speaker 1: offensive line. That line seems to be getting better and
Speaker 1: better as they grow together and kind of mesh so yeah,
Speaker 1: I was like, man, this it wasn't just that they lost,
Speaker 1: it was the way they lost and how the offense looked.
Speaker 1: And then all of a sudden, here they are. So
Speaker 1: the any doubts I had are erased. And you know,
Speaker 1: I see this team as one of the top three
Speaker 1: teams in the AFC, and maybe the top two. I
Speaker 1: think that matchup with Buffalo is going to be like
Speaker 1: a champ game. I'm just hoping to God everybody stays
Speaker 1: healthy between now and the end of the season. So
Speaker 1: the Browns have dropped four in a row. There's still
Speaker 1: four games away from Deshaun Watson coming back from his suspension.
Speaker 1: What do you think are a few of the keys
Speaker 1: on Monday Night? Well, everybody there is screaming for them
Speaker 1: to run the ball more. And when we've had the Browns,
Speaker 1: you know, they've got three running backs that are really talented.
Speaker 1: They are banged up a little bit on their offensive line,
Speaker 1: They've got a good offensive line. When everybody's there, you know, yeah,
Speaker 1: they don't have Deshaun Watson. They do have Jacoby Brissette,
Speaker 1: which to me means you better concentrate on running the football.
Speaker 1: I don't know that he's the quarterback point in his
Speaker 1: career that you hang your hat on go He's gonna
Speaker 1: just take you up and down the field and win games.
Speaker 1: They need to kind of go back to old school football,
Speaker 1: So I expect them to come in running the ball
Speaker 1: and you know, trying to keep Joe Burrow off the field.
Speaker 1: That's the other part of this equation. I think when
Speaker 1: you're playing Cincinnati playing Buffalo, you're playing Kansas City and
Speaker 1: that's the other team of the top three in the AFC.
Speaker 1: You're trying to keep that other guy off the field.
Speaker 1: So if they don't come in and try to pound
Speaker 1: the football, I would be stunned, just because of how
Speaker 1: good Cincinnati is offensively. Joe, You've mentioned that Cincinnati Buffalo
Speaker 1: game a couple of times. That's the final Monday Night
Speaker 1: game of the year January second at pay Course Stadium
Speaker 1: in Cincinnati. When the schedule came out and you saw
Speaker 1: Bengals Bills early January, did you think this could be
Speaker 1: the game of the year on Monday Night football? I did.
Speaker 1: I mean, there are a couple that jumped out of me,
Speaker 1: but they were AFE West games, and I think the
Speaker 1: AFC West has been a dud so far. Compared to
Speaker 1: what everybody thought it would be rams at Green Bay
Speaker 1: Christmas Week the Monday before Christmas, it was like, man,
Speaker 1: that's that's typically a game. I was doing a Fox
Speaker 1: and now we're doing it on Monday Night Football at ESPN.
Speaker 1: But that was the one. It's like, we're gonna build
Speaker 1: all season long, both on the field and in the
Speaker 1: booth to see what should be a hell of a
Speaker 1: game on that last Monday Night. So yes, that was
Speaker 1: the one that I circled. I'm glad it's at the end.
Speaker 1: It's kind of that carrot at the end of the
Speaker 1: race that keeps you going all year. So you know,
Speaker 1: we got a long way to go between now and then,
Speaker 1: and again it's injuries that that's the only thing that
Speaker 1: scares me. But that's gonna be a great night. Final
Speaker 1: question for Joe Buck. Your dad was one of the
Speaker 1: great baseball broadcasters of all time, but he was also
Speaker 1: the voice of Monday Night Football on national radio for decades.
Speaker 1: How did that impact your love of the NFL and
Speaker 1: your love for now doing Monday Night football? Dan I
Speaker 1: grew up in the back of the broadcast booth for
Speaker 1: baseball down in Saint Louis, a bush stadium. That's that
Speaker 1: was my playground as a little boy. But my dad
Speaker 1: took me on a lot of road trips and I
Speaker 1: was in the back of the booth and Monday Night
Speaker 1: Football when he was doing the games with Hank Stram.
Speaker 1: But I've told this a couple of times. When I
Speaker 1: was a little kid, I was my dad was my hero. Was'
Speaker 1: until the day he died, still is to this day.
Speaker 1: But I used to go to those games, like my
Speaker 1: dad is the coolest guy going on the planet. He's
Speaker 1: doing Monday Night Football on the radio. And then they
Speaker 1: basically made a broom closet into the radio booth and
Speaker 1: I'm looking two booths down at Howard Cosell and Frank
Speaker 1: Gifford and Don Meredith and bright lights and yellow jackets
Speaker 1: and all that. It just like, man, I thought what
Speaker 1: my dad did was cool. So he's been gone for
Speaker 1: twenty years now, he'd be over the moon that I
Speaker 1: was doing this and kind of made a family decision
Speaker 1: to change up my work life. So it's it's it's true.
Speaker 1: He was the voice of Monday Night Football for over
Speaker 1: ten years, just on the radio side. And there was
Speaker 1: an article that somebody sent me a while ago where
Speaker 1: he was talking about the phenomenon that at the time
Speaker 1: people either loved or hated Howard Cosell, and everybody was
Speaker 1: turning down the volume on TV and listening to my
Speaker 1: dad and Hank do the game on the radio. You know,
Speaker 1: maybe they're still doing that. I don't know with me
Speaker 1: doing the TV with Troy, but hopefully not. We're having
Speaker 1: a blast and I know my dad would be really proud.
Speaker 1: High lied. I have one more question. Monday night is Halloween.
Speaker 1: Will we see the yellow jackets on Halloween Night? Yeah?
Speaker 1: The problem is that that's kind of been that was
Speaker 1: our plan to the last couple of weeks. They gave
Speaker 1: us like kind of joke Monday night yellow blazers that
Speaker 1: look awful. I mean they are so cheap and so
Speaker 1: the stitching in it, the fabrics pulling it doesn't really
Speaker 1: fit well. The Troy's like, I don't know if we
Speaker 1: should wear those, you know, he's mister straight list. I'm like,
Speaker 1: I'm wearing it. I don't care if you wear it
Speaker 1: or not. I may go to a thrift shop here
Speaker 1: in Saint Louis and by the nastiest seventies dress shirt
Speaker 1: with a fat wide maroon tie and just leaded rip.
Speaker 1: But I am wearing it. Troy can do whatever he wants.
Speaker 1: It'll be on me. I love it. Can't wait to
Speaker 1: see it on Monday night and I get to see
Speaker 1: it in person, which is going to be fun. Joe,
Speaker 1: I appreciate your time, keep up the great work, and
Speaker 1: thanks so much for joining us. Yeah, you keep up
Speaker 1: the great work. I'll see him Monday. The Bengals Booth
Speaker 1: Podcast is presented by Alta Fiber, future proof fiber Internet
Speaker 1: capable of delivering multi gigabit speeds designed to take your home, business,
Speaker 1: and community to a new level. Elevate your connection with
Speaker 1: Alta Fiber. Over the last two weeks, the Bengals have
Speaker 1: scored thirty and thirty five points and Joe Burrow has
Speaker 1: put up insane numbers. Six touchdown passes, two touchdown runs,
Speaker 1: no interceptions, seven hundred one passing yards and a passer
Speaker 1: rating of one thirty three has appendeck to me and
Speaker 1: resulting weight loss is clearly no longer an issue and
Speaker 1: you don't hear much griping these days about the Bengals
Speaker 1: offensive line from fans and media. According to Pro Football Focus,
Speaker 1: over the past three weeks. The Bengals O line has
Speaker 1: graded as the fourth best in the NFL in pass blocking.
Speaker 1: Here's my broadcast partner, Dave Lapham. The offensive line improvement
Speaker 1: is significant and it's obvious, and I think it's health
Speaker 1: related as well. Elsie had back issues, didn't do much
Speaker 1: at training camp at all. You know, when you're in
Speaker 1: a situation where you can't take reps next to each
Speaker 1: other for all a training camp, which is what the
Speaker 1: situation was that they were facing there. You have Elsie
Speaker 1: had had the back issue, Alex Kappa had the core problem.
Speaker 1: So the right side of the offensive line really didn't
Speaker 1: do much at all, you know, working with each other
Speaker 1: at training camp. So and then Joe Burrow's injury, you know,
Speaker 1: with the appendix appendeck to mey appendicitis that caused the surgery,
Speaker 1: the appendectomy. He didn't play too much at training camp.
Speaker 1: So you have those three components are major that it
Speaker 1: took him a while time on task, a few reps.
Speaker 1: Joe Burrow and the opener against Pittsburgh was not the
Speaker 1: Joe Burrow that we've we've come to love Joe Burrow
Speaker 1: here in the last month. Is the Joe Borrow that
Speaker 1: we know and love. Same thing with LC, same thing
Speaker 1: with Alex Kappa. They've gotten healthier, they've taken reps, time
Speaker 1: on task, everybody's working together. I think I think that
Speaker 1: the health of Joe Burrow, the health of the offensive line,
Speaker 1: the number of reps that they've taken. I can remember
Speaker 1: talking about the fact that I thought in later September
Speaker 1: they'd be better than they were in the beginning of September,
Speaker 1: and I think that was the case. Now that we're
Speaker 1: closing in on the end to October, they're playing. I'll
Speaker 1: tell you, Alex Kappa, he's playing good football at right guard.
Speaker 1: I'm telling his past protection is very, very good. And
Speaker 1: Elc cam Jordan is a is a great football player.
Speaker 1: He went down there against the Saints and just locked
Speaker 1: him up. I mean that was his best game. So
Speaker 1: he showed what he still can do. And Kappa, now
Speaker 1: that he's healthy, he is he's playing good football. Alex
Speaker 1: ted Carris at the center position is showing, you know,
Speaker 1: the leadership and the ability that the Bengals holts when
Speaker 1: they signed him. So those three signings people were concerned
Speaker 1: about at the beginning of the season. Now that they're
Speaker 1: healthy and they've got some time on task and they've
Speaker 1: established a little bit of rhythm. They're playing well. That
Speaker 1: group's playing pretty darn well, and I think it's going
Speaker 1: to continue. After being sacked thirteen times in the first
Speaker 1: two games, Joe Burrow, He's only been sacked eleven times
Speaker 1: over the past five The Bengals Booth podcast just presented
Speaker 1: by Bengals Picks and Ultimate Bengals. They're free to play
Speaker 1: with tickets and sign merchandise up for grabs. Find both
Speaker 1: inside the Bengals App. And last week's win over Atlanta,
Speaker 1: the Bengals allowed one hundred seven rushing yards on twenty
Speaker 1: nine attempts. That's three point seven yards per carry to
Speaker 1: one of the best running teams in the league. They'll
Speaker 1: need a similar performance on Monday night against the Cleveland
Speaker 1: team that features NFL rushing leader Nick Chubb. He's on
Speaker 1: a pace to run for nearly eighteen hundred yards this
Speaker 1: year and averages five point nine yards per carry. Sam
Speaker 1: Hubbard is one of the NFL's best run stopping defensive ends,
Speaker 1: and I caught up with him this week. Sam, it
Speaker 1: seems like you are always doing something to get your
Speaker 1: body ready for game day. Can you give us a
Speaker 1: sense of all the things you'd do to get ready
Speaker 1: for the riggers of this job. I think going through
Speaker 1: my routine on a week to week basis to get
Speaker 1: myself to Sunday, to walk through it day by day
Speaker 1: would take too long. But I try and utilize every
Speaker 1: every minute an opportunity I can. I think five years,
Speaker 1: I've had some time to just get my routine a
Speaker 1: little better every year, and that's what it's all about.
Speaker 1: James Harrison was here back in twenty thirteen. He estimated
Speaker 1: to us that he spent between four hundred thousand and
Speaker 1: five hundred thousand dollars a year. I'm therapists, acupuncturists, etc.
Speaker 1: Do you spend like a crazy amount of money just
Speaker 1: maintaining your physique. I wouldn't say more money, it's it's
Speaker 1: I would say it's time and energy. I you know,
Speaker 1: I have a great massaas person his name is Jim
Speaker 1: Nabby that I work with, who is you know, my
Speaker 1: secret weapon? And also Chef Kim on my food. Those
Speaker 1: are some expenses, but a lot of us just spending
Speaker 1: time in the weight room, doing a rehab, prehab, recovering, sleep,
Speaker 1: going to bed early. A lot of this stuff that
Speaker 1: over time can get pretty tedious, but it's necessary as
Speaker 1: that evolved a lot in your NFL career. Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 1: Each year I just try and get a little bit better,
Speaker 1: and I think now I'm feeling as healthy, strong, and
Speaker 1: as good as I can as I've ever felt going
Speaker 1: into later part of the season in my career or
Speaker 1: visiting with Sam Hubbard. I interviewed Chris Collinsworth before the
Speaker 1: Sunday night game in Baltimore. He said, I have not
Speaker 1: seen a better player on tape this year than Sam Hubbard.
Speaker 1: I'm going to ask you not to be too modest.
Speaker 1: Do you feel like you're all around game is as
Speaker 1: good it's just about any defensive lineman in the NFL. H. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I don't want to be, you know, talking myself up
Speaker 1: too much, but I take a lot of pride in,
Speaker 1: you know, doing things that not everyone does all the
Speaker 1: time at a very high level. You know, whether it's
Speaker 1: playing the run, you know, running screens down or being
Speaker 1: disciplined backside, or you know, just communication on defense. I
Speaker 1: just think that every part of it makes you what
Speaker 1: you are as a football player, and I just, you know,
Speaker 1: want that for from the respect to my teammates and
Speaker 1: the players that I play, and I think just over time,
Speaker 1: you got to earn your respect in this league and
Speaker 1: being consistent and doing things to play and play out.
Speaker 1: I think is my past to earn in my respect
Speaker 1: in this league. Let me follow up, I'm playing the run.
Speaker 1: Sacks equal recognition, sacks equal huge money doesn't annoy you
Speaker 1: at all. That's stopping the run doesn't get the attention
Speaker 1: that sacking the quarterback does. Attention is great and all that,
Speaker 1: but I like winning games. I think, you know, part
Speaker 1: of stopping the run and stuff took us to a
Speaker 1: super Bowl and it's gonna be a huge part to
Speaker 1: getting us back there in the future. You know. Obviously,
Speaker 1: I'm you know, happy with winning games, and I think
Speaker 1: we got a lot of great players that deserve recommend recognition,
Speaker 1: and my time will come. You and Trey Hendrickson have
Speaker 1: an interesting dynamic as the primary defense it ends for
Speaker 1: the Bengals. He seems a little nutty, especially on game day.
Speaker 1: You are as consistent, as level and as level headed
Speaker 1: as they come. Do you guys feed off each other? Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 1: I think we push each other day and day out,
Speaker 1: not just on game day. On game day. We kind
Speaker 1: of know how each other operates, and I have a
Speaker 1: really good relationship in that sense. But day and day out,
Speaker 1: it's we always say great, yin and yang on. You know,
Speaker 1: things we do well and the other person does not
Speaker 1: so well or they do even better. It's a great relationship.
Speaker 1: We're chatting with Sam Hubbard. There's an old saying, without
Speaker 1: the bitter, the sweet isn't as sweet. The Bengal struggled
Speaker 1: your first three years. Now Cincinnati's one of the best
Speaker 1: teams in the NFL. Is it sweeter? Definitely? I think
Speaker 1: it's just more so. I've been through some dark days
Speaker 1: and dark times, and I enjoy these wins and all
Speaker 1: the success, but I hate losing more than anything in
Speaker 1: the world. So I don't want to go back there,
Speaker 1: and I do everything in my power to make sure
Speaker 1: that we have put that in the past and we
Speaker 1: just keep moving forward in this direction. We're on. Let's
Speaker 1: talk about the Browns. This is one of the best
Speaker 1: running teams in the NFL. But it's not complicated, right,
Speaker 1: it's not too complicated. But what they are, they are,
Speaker 1: you know, the best in the league. Got the best
Speaker 1: running back in the NFL, probably the best offensive line
Speaker 1: in the NFL. Great coaches, great scheme, you really just
Speaker 1: have to be better than them, and that's what it
Speaker 1: comes down to in the run game. And that's no
Speaker 1: easy task, but we're gonna give it our best shot.
Speaker 1: Describe trying to tackle Nick Chubb. It's hard. He is
Speaker 1: strong and you just bounce off him. It's kind of
Speaker 1: unlike anything I've ever played against. You really got to
Speaker 1: wrap up and you need more than one guy to
Speaker 1: bring him down. Don't even try and think about getting
Speaker 1: the ball out and until you've got him secured, it's
Speaker 1: it's a challenge, and he is the best back in
Speaker 1: the NFL in my opinion. Last thing when I was
Speaker 1: a kid, Monday night football was it. There wasn't Sunday
Speaker 1: night football. There wasn't Thursday night football. This was the
Speaker 1: primetime show. Is it still a big deal for you
Speaker 1: guys to play at Monday night? Oh? Yeah, it's Monday
Speaker 1: night football. This is a one of the biggest stages
Speaker 1: in the game. It's an honor. It's a rare opportunity
Speaker 1: to get once a year if that, and a lot
Speaker 1: of people are gonna be watching. It's gonna be fun.
Speaker 1: You've been awesome this year on and off the field.
Speaker 1: We greatly appreciate it. Thanks for your time and best
Speaker 1: of luck. Yeah, thanks for having me appreciate it. In
Speaker 1: seven previous games against the Bengals, Nick Chubb has average
Speaker 1: ninety four point six rushing yards and it's no coincidence
Speaker 1: that the Browns are six and one in those games.
Speaker 1: The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you by Cattering Health,
Speaker 1: the official healthcare provider of the Bengals. With more than
Speaker 1: one hundred twenty care facilities and fifteen hundred care providers,
Speaker 1: Kettering Health is committed to guiding you to your best health.
Speaker 1: Visit Kettering health dot org to learn more. Are now
Speaker 1: time for this week's No The Faux Segment. Zach Jackson
Speaker 1: covers the Browns for the Athletic and joined Lapping Me
Speaker 1: this week on the Bengals Game Plan Show. The Browns
Speaker 1: are seven games into Deshaun Watson's eleven game suspension. How
Speaker 1: has Jacoby Brissette been? He's played better than anybody gave
Speaker 1: him a credit for or a chance to. That starts
Speaker 1: with me when I say everybody, I think that bringing
Speaker 1: for the organization too. Now, he's not been great in
Speaker 1: the fourth quarter in one in particular, killed them. And
Speaker 1: that's kind of been the story. Is They've been really
Speaker 1: in every game but one to the end, and it's
Speaker 1: been different things that have sumped them and a lack
Speaker 1: of connectivity. But you know, they knew what they were
Speaker 1: signing up for, right, and it's really been more the
Speaker 1: defense letting them die. I think Jacoby Brissette is what
Speaker 1: they want in the meeting room, on the practice field
Speaker 1: and all that leads up to Monday or Sunday or
Speaker 1: Monday in this case, right, And I think they're coaching
Speaker 1: around some of his limitations. I think he's been pretty good.
Speaker 1: I think he'll be a starter next year for some
Speaker 1: team that's trying to nurture a young guy along now
Speaker 1: with three of the Bengals, you want to be up
Speaker 1: ten or fourteen and make him beat you, right. But
Speaker 1: I think Jacoby Brissett, on the long, long list of
Speaker 1: Brown's problems that would take us this whole show to
Speaker 1: go over, is not real high on that list. The
Speaker 1: offensive line, that's that's my question. I have tremendous amount
Speaker 1: of respect for Bill Callahan. I think he's one of
Speaker 1: the best offensive line coaches that has ever done it
Speaker 1: in the National Football League, And I have a big
Speaker 1: had a big ghost and still do have a big
Speaker 1: dost of respect for the Cleveland Browns offensive line. I
Speaker 1: thought beginning of the season top three, top five in
Speaker 1: the National Football League. Have they played that way? They've
Speaker 1: played that way some of the time, Dave, not all
Speaker 1: the time. And they're probably going to be without Pro
Speaker 1: Bowl guard Wyatt Teller. Again, they're not going to completely
Speaker 1: rule him out with the extra day, but with the
Speaker 1: bye week behind, they're probably going to sit him. The
Speaker 1: left Chael Wills, the young guys been up and down.
Speaker 1: It's a good line. It's part of a good offense,
Speaker 1: and they run it and they disguise the run well.
Speaker 1: Joel Beatonio is as good as it gives him. He
Speaker 1: might be a Hall of Famer someday as a guard.
Speaker 1: They've plugged in Ethan Pochick as a center who's been
Speaker 1: a veteran and been solid, and Jack Halkins come back
Speaker 1: from injury. So yeah, I mean, when you look at
Speaker 1: this game and the Bengals still not having DJ Reader,
Speaker 1: this is the Browns offensive line and Nick Chubb and
Speaker 1: then Kareem Hunt, you know, to give the Browns a chance.
Speaker 1: That to me is one of the key areas, and
Speaker 1: the Browns line will have to play like a top
Speaker 1: three or five unit I think for the Browns to
Speaker 1: have a chance. In the stand. Zack Jackson does a
Speaker 1: great job of covering the Browns for the athletic Let's
Speaker 1: talk about that defense. The Browns agoin up one hundred
Speaker 1: and eighty six points. That's fifty four more than the Bengals.
Speaker 1: What are their biggest problems so far this year defensively? Well, late,
Speaker 1: it's been the run game and one of them, Garrett
Speaker 1: and Clowney were both out and the Falcons just said
Speaker 1: here we come and they ran. Actually, they lost middle
Speaker 1: linebacker Anthony Walker, who you know, it was not a
Speaker 1: Pro Bowl player, but he meant so much to this team.
Speaker 1: We're finding out he meant more to this team than
Speaker 1: we saw just with his smarts and with his leadership.
Speaker 1: You know, they've got a lot invested in the safetys
Speaker 1: and grand elpat and John Johnson, and either one of
Speaker 1: those guys has played well. So early in the season,
Speaker 1: it was the big secondary breakdowns, including losing to the
Speaker 1: Jets and just unspeakable fashion. And lately it's been the
Speaker 1: run games. So Clowney is not healthy twenty three snaps.
Speaker 1: I think last weeks, missed three in the last four games.
Speaker 1: I expect him to play. I don't think he'll be
Speaker 1: one hundred percent. Miles is getting back to one percent
Speaker 1: after his auto accident. And again, just like you look
Speaker 1: at the offensive line and Chub, I mean, if the
Speaker 1: Browns are going to have any shot to win this team,
Speaker 1: it's gonna have to be Miles just making it miserable
Speaker 1: for Joe Burrow because if Burrow has time to throw,
Speaker 1: the Browns are introls. Do you anticipate Denzel Ward will
Speaker 1: be out of concussion protocol and be able to go
Speaker 1: in this football game? The Bengals Jamar Chase in particular,
Speaker 1: was effusive in his praise of Denzel Ward. He thinks
Speaker 1: that he's, you know, in the top level in the
Speaker 1: National Football League as far as cornerback plays. Is he
Speaker 1: going to make the dance they're hoping? So? Um, You know,
Speaker 1: you can't put a timetable on concussions like you can
Speaker 1: on sprained ankles or sore knees sometimes, right, but last
Speaker 1: he's missed two games. Last week he was around the team.
Speaker 1: He was in meetings. He was feeling better. But until
Speaker 1: he passes that next step and can get back on
Speaker 1: the practice field, he can't say yes. So with the
Speaker 1: Monday night game, everything's pushed back a day. The Browns
Speaker 1: are hopeful, but it's going to be at least tomorrow
Speaker 1: and maybe Saturday before we know that. Let me hit
Speaker 1: you on a couple of other injury related matters. Jacob Phillips,
Speaker 1: who leads the team and tackles, he just went on
Speaker 1: ir You mentioned Anthony Walker, the linebacker earlier. He's out.
Speaker 1: David Najoku has an ankle injury. It sounds like he's out.
Speaker 1: How significant are injuries in general for the Browns four
Speaker 1: game losing stream, then a Joku lost is a significant one.
Speaker 1: He's he's having his st year and he's a blocker. Um,
Speaker 1: he's a runner after the catch and he's been never
Speaker 1: in his career before. Now have you thought that he's
Speaker 1: going to catch the ball when he throw it his way?
Speaker 1: Jacob Phillips has been was going to be benched anyway.
Speaker 1: He's been part of the disastrous run defense. But you know,
Speaker 1: they just don't have any depths in the middle of
Speaker 1: the defense. And I think to an extent intentionally, they said,
Speaker 1: we're gonna go top to heavy, right, We're gonna bring
Speaker 1: Clowney back. We're gonna pay Myles Garrett, pay Denzel Award
Speaker 1: and they're saying at linebacker and defensive tackle and shown
Speaker 1: up in the results. So they'll miss the Joku. Now,
Speaker 1: Harrison Bryant is a tight end. They would play for
Speaker 1: every team in this league. And he will catch passes
Speaker 1: and he will get to the right place. But he's
Speaker 1: not a threat, you know, to catch a six yarder
Speaker 1: and turn it into a fifty yarder like Ninjoe who
Speaker 1: is What about at the at the linebacker position, Dion
Speaker 1: Jones has been nicked up. Is he going to be
Speaker 1: able to go? Yeah? He made his Brown's debut last week.
Speaker 1: He should be ready to go. You know, they have
Speaker 1: Tony Takikaki, who's in his fourth year. They're just they're
Speaker 1: just short there. You know. They wanted Phillips to be
Speaker 1: a thing. He's big, he's fast, he's smart. They drafted
Speaker 1: him young. They knew it wasn't going to happen right away.
Speaker 1: But this was his third year. This was his first
Speaker 1: chance to really be full time and he had three
Speaker 1: bag games and got hurt. So that leaves a big
Speaker 1: hole because part of the reason they're saying is because
Speaker 1: they thought, hey, we're waiting on Silas and as soon
Speaker 1: as we need him, he's going to step in. I mean,
Speaker 1: when they trade for Dion Jones on a Sunday night
Speaker 1: four hours after the game, that tells you it's crisis
Speaker 1: mode as the linebacker spot, right, And it's been crisis
Speaker 1: mode all over the defense for most of the season,
Speaker 1: but last week was the second best in sensive effort
Speaker 1: of the year. We know the Browns know the Bengals well,
Speaker 1: and we know what the Browns are good at, which
Speaker 1: is getting to the passers. So I'm not calling for
Speaker 1: a Bengals beat down here. I think the bank the
Speaker 1: Browns really have a chance. But between the injuries and
Speaker 1: the way they've played and failed in the big moments, yeah,
Speaker 1: you know, you see why one team's training positively and
Speaker 1: the other team's not. A couple more questions for our buddy,
Speaker 1: Zach Jackson. You apparently heard yelling coming out of postgame
Speaker 1: locker room last week. Is tension mounting? Yes, tensions mounting?
Speaker 1: You know whatever happened in there then, I think is
Speaker 1: something that would happen in a lot of locker rooms,
Speaker 1: would have lost four straight games, you know. So to
Speaker 1: go way to the top way of this, I mean,
Speaker 1: this is not the first time or the third time
Speaker 1: in the last ten years that the Browns have had
Speaker 1: a little bit of hope, a little bit of expectations,
Speaker 1: and it's crashed. And it's just been in so many
Speaker 1: different ways. You know. They they didn't coach really well
Speaker 1: against Atlanta and New England. They didn't defend against the
Speaker 1: Jets or even the Panthers. They won that on a miracle.
Speaker 1: They thought they drafted the next Devin McPherson and he
Speaker 1: makes a bomb in Week one and he's cost him
Speaker 1: a couple of games since. So you know, I didn't
Speaker 1: think a ton ton of that outside of normal stuff.
Speaker 1: But yeah, I mean, this is when the Browns made
Speaker 1: the Watton trade, they were saying to the to the
Speaker 1: NFL world, we were work quarterback away, we're ready to win,
Speaker 1: and a lot of us look up this team and
Speaker 1: you see guys that are proven. I mean, the Browns
Speaker 1: in their twenty five years back. I have not had
Speaker 1: this much talent, this much proven production at any one time.
Speaker 1: But it's just not clicking, and it's been a variety
Speaker 1: of different things. And when you've lost four row and
Speaker 1: now'll have this game in front of you, I mean,
Speaker 1: their playoff chances are already about up as plane, but
Speaker 1: I mean this could this could really take the train
Speaker 1: slide off the track. So with that said, do they
Speaker 1: have enough leadership? Do they have guys that are going
Speaker 1: to step up and make sure the ship doesn't sink?
Speaker 1: I mean, do they have people that will you know,
Speaker 1: grab this problem by the throat and uh, you know,
Speaker 1: shake it away or shake the problem away. Are there
Speaker 1: players that will step up in your estimation or are
Speaker 1: they avoid in that area a little bit? Well, whenever
Speaker 1: what happened in that locker room got broken up, the
Speaker 1: one thing we heard was somebody yell, there's no belief
Speaker 1: in leadership here. So it's a great question that doesn't
Speaker 1: have an answer. And that's I think then part of
Speaker 1: the issue. You know, Miles got in an auto accident
Speaker 1: and missed a game. They need him. He makes everything
Speaker 1: go on defense. Clowney has missed more than he's played.
Speaker 1: Denzel's missed two games. You know, they changed quarterbacks in
Speaker 1: the summer, and they're going to change quarterbacks again. So
Speaker 1: this is the first time in fifteen years they've had
Speaker 1: continuity in terms of thirty year coach, third year GM coach,
Speaker 1: keeping his coordinators. That's supposed to be a plus for leadership,
Speaker 1: for the little things, for guys figuring things out right.
Speaker 1: And everybody has a tough thing or two go wrong
Speaker 1: at the start of the season, but it's it's not
Speaker 1: only snowball the times on the Browns, It's been different
Speaker 1: things and that makes it both puzzling and then obviously
Speaker 1: frustrating for a team that didn't expect to go nine
Speaker 1: and two or eight and three without the Shawn Watson,
Speaker 1: but they thought they'd be right in it and they're
Speaker 1: just they're just not playing well. Our thanks to Zach Jackson.
Speaker 1: And here's an invitation to join Lap and Wayne box
Speaker 1: Miller at the Wings and Rings location and Liberty Township
Speaker 1: for the Bengals pep Rowley Show this Friday from three
Speaker 1: to six. Their special guest in the final hour will
Speaker 1: be the g at the Goat, Anthony Moonyo's That's going
Speaker 1: to do It for this episode of the Bengals Booth podcast,
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Speaker 1: Bengals fans find us. I'm Dan Horde and thanks for
Speaker 1: listening to the Bengals Booth podcast