Speaker 1: Hike and everybody on Dan Horde and thanks for downloading
Speaker 1: The Bengals Booth podcast. The It's All About It's All
Speaker 1: About the Climb addition, as the Bengals look to wrap
Speaker 1: up the AFC North and earn at least one home
Speaker 1: playoff game as they host the eleven and four Kansas
Speaker 1: City Chiefs. Coming up, I'll talk to NFL insider Field
Speaker 1: Yates from ESPN. He's a former scout and will share
Speaker 1: some thoughts and how the Bengals have gone from first
Speaker 1: pick in the draft to playoff contender in two years.
Speaker 1: One on one player interview is with Mike Hilton, who
Speaker 1: has first hand experience in trying to slow down Patrick
Speaker 1: Mahomes and Travis Kelsey, and then Dave Lapham joins me
Speaker 1: to discuss the injury and COVID impacted situation at linebacker
Speaker 1: and what it's going to take to beat the Chiefs.
Speaker 1: The Bengals Booth Podcast is presented by Ultimate Bengals, the
Speaker 1: free to play next level fantasy football game. It now
Speaker 1: from the App Store and Google Play. And here's a
Speaker 1: quick reminder that you can have the latest edition of
Speaker 1: this podcast delivered rite to your phone, tablet, or computer
Speaker 1: by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's the greatest
Speaker 1: thing since the Sixth Floor Museum at Daly Plaza. I'm
Speaker 1: recording this podcast from Dallas, where I'll be broadcasting the
Speaker 1: Cotton Bowl on Friday, and if you're ever here, I
Speaker 1: highly recommend visiting the Sixth Floor Museum, which chronicles the life, assassination,
Speaker 1: and legacy of President John F. Kennedy. It's located in
Speaker 1: the former Texas school Book Depository building where Lee Harvey
Speaker 1: Oswald shot and killed the president. The museum covers that
Speaker 1: as well as the various conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination.
Speaker 1: As I said, if you're ever in Dallas and haven't
Speaker 1: been there, it is well worth your time. Now, let's
Speaker 1: get to Sunday's game between the team that's currently the
Speaker 1: number one playoff seat in the AFC Kansas City and
Speaker 1: the team that's currently number three, Cincinnati Bengals. Win would
Speaker 1: clinch the AFC North, and I discussed that and more
Speaker 1: with a former NFL scout now working for ESPN. Our
Speaker 1: guest is ESPN NFL insider Field Yates Field. What did
Speaker 1: you think of the Bengals going into the season and
Speaker 1: what do you think of them now? Well, I had
Speaker 1: some optimism, but I would be lying if I thought
Speaker 1: they would be nine and six entering Week seventeen of
Speaker 1: the NFL season, And I'm glad to be wrong in
Speaker 1: this case. I thought that Joe burrows leap was predictable,
Speaker 1: but I'm not sure that anybody saw well. I should
Speaker 1: say not anybody, but there were I think there were
Speaker 1: more people that would have expected a smaller leap than
Speaker 1: the one that we have seen from Joe. But I'm
Speaker 1: so thrilled that not only is the offense playing well,
Speaker 1: I think perhaps the most surprising part, I think too
Speaker 1: many has been just how sturdy this defense has been
Speaker 1: all season long for the most part, and I think
Speaker 1: with the Bengals offseason will be characterized by in twenty
Speaker 1: twenty one is that base. Basically every major investment that
Speaker 1: they made has worked out and worked out at an
Speaker 1: extremely high level. And I think part of the reason
Speaker 1: why they played so well defensively is because somebody like
Speaker 1: Trey Hendrickson or Chidobia Woozy has played as well as
Speaker 1: each of them has to see that and to see
Speaker 1: it manifest itself over not just the early portion of
Speaker 1: the season, when they were a nice story, but to
Speaker 1: sustain all the way to a likely playoff spot, I
Speaker 1: think as Bengals fans justifiably extremely excited. Well, I'm glad
Speaker 1: you mentioned Hendrickson and Woggier because you're from a scouting background,
Speaker 1: you worked with the Chiefs and the Patriots in the past.
Speaker 1: Evaluate what the Bengals have done between free agency and
Speaker 1: the draft over the last couple of years in building
Speaker 1: this roster. Yeah, so I understand that it's frustrating when
Speaker 1: you're a team that's picking in the back to back
Speaker 1: years in the top five, and that was obviously the
Speaker 1: case with Cincinnati. But the reality is that there is
Speaker 1: a sliver of hope, and the sliver of hope is
Speaker 1: that you can turn those premium picks into foundational pieces.
Speaker 1: We know the NFL draft is much more art than
Speaker 1: we understand. That they're going to be players taken first
Speaker 1: or second or third overall that won't work out every
Speaker 1: single year, but they're also going to be years when
Speaker 1: you draft a quarterback first and then you follow that
Speaker 1: up by taking a wide receiver for fifth, and they
Speaker 1: end up being the kind of pieces that you could
Speaker 1: vision and vision turning into ten or twelve or fifteen
Speaker 1: years superstars for your organization and then expands beyond just
Speaker 1: Joe Burrow and also Jamar Chase te Higgins has been unbelievable.
Speaker 1: Logan Wilson prior to his recent injury, has been exceptional
Speaker 1: as well. They've gotten basically excellent production in each of
Speaker 1: the first three rounds these past two years, which I
Speaker 1: think is critical to their success. And then looking at
Speaker 1: the free agency side of it, we understand the perils
Speaker 1: of free agency. We have seen many a team overspending
Speaker 1: free agency and part of the reason why there's some
Speaker 1: danger involved is that if a player is really good
Speaker 1: in the NFL, a team might not be motivated to
Speaker 1: let him reach the point of free agency because they
Speaker 1: want to invest in that player by retaining him on
Speaker 1: an extension or a new deal. Prior to the in
Speaker 1: market with the Bengals found players at different levels this year. Obviously,
Speaker 1: Trey was the biggest spending free agent pickup this year
Speaker 1: on defense, and he was a player whose production during
Speaker 1: his final year in New Orleans obviously was far more
Speaker 1: significant than what it was during the previous three years,
Speaker 1: and some people wondered is this an outlier year? Is
Speaker 1: the contract a year blow up or is this the
Speaker 1: sign of a guy who's just reaching his apex and
Speaker 1: could continue from there? And I would say with at
Speaker 1: least a half sack in eleven straight games, Tree Anderson
Speaker 1: has provides more than just a one hit wonder. Obviously
Speaker 1: plays with all out effort at all time, but he's powerful,
Speaker 1: He's got great explosiveness off the edge. He's been a
Speaker 1: foundational piece for them, and a guy that I think
Speaker 1: as a chance to go from a high priced veteran
Speaker 1: free agent signing to a bargain free agent signing or
Speaker 1: a value free agent signing by the time it's all
Speaker 1: said and done. Interesting point. Our guest is field Yates
Speaker 1: from ESPN. Joe Burrow was incredible last week, five and
Speaker 1: twenty five yards in four touchdown. He doesn't have the
Speaker 1: cannon of Josh Allen, he doesn't have the legs of
Speaker 1: Lamar Jackson. What is Joe Burrow's superpower in your opinion? Well,
Speaker 1: I think it's confidence is something that cannot be quantified,
Speaker 1: and I'm sure you see it much more being around him,
Speaker 1: or at least during normal times, being around him much more.
Speaker 1: It's pretty clear to me that there's an infectious energy
Speaker 1: that is involved with playing with Joe Burrow, and this
Speaker 1: is a league where you can't predict it's going to
Speaker 1: happen every single week. You might be up big, you
Speaker 1: might be down big. But my sense is that if
Speaker 1: the Bengals fall behind, no matter who they're playing, where
Speaker 1: they're playing, and when they're playing, Joe Burrow's not going
Speaker 1: to flinch. He has this moxie about him that makes
Speaker 1: me think he's more like thirty three as opposed to
Speaker 1: twenty three or twenty four now twenty five years old.
Speaker 1: In the next few years, he plays certainly well above
Speaker 1: his age. I think that part is really really clear.
Speaker 1: And then he's got an unbelievability to distribute the right
Speaker 1: place at the right time. He's processing things so fast
Speaker 1: right now that it feels like Joe knows what the
Speaker 1: defense is going to do as much as the defense
Speaker 1: knows what it's going to do on a snap in
Speaker 1: and snap out basis. That's why all of these wide
Speaker 1: receivers are playing well right now as we know. And
Speaker 1: I love the stat and I'm going to keep using
Speaker 1: it until I don't know at least a season is over.
Speaker 1: That you've got two one thousand yard receivers, you've got
Speaker 1: a thousand yard runner, you've got a four thousand yard
Speaker 1: pass or all of them are twenty five or younger.
Speaker 1: It's never happened ever in the history of the NFL.
Speaker 1: And Tyler Boy is a little bit above the age
Speaker 1: of twenty five has a real shot to reach a
Speaker 1: thousand yards as well. We're talking about and you probably
Speaker 1: have better perspective than I would, but like I think
Speaker 1: this has a chance to go down. Is one of
Speaker 1: the most exciting and best offensive seasons in franchise history.
Speaker 1: Is that the best young nucleus of skill position talent
Speaker 1: of any team in the NFL. You've got a darn
Speaker 1: good case for it, and I'm sure that there are
Speaker 1: people and their fan bases that would try to make
Speaker 1: their case for it. But this year, I don't think
Speaker 1: it's debatable that's been the best sort of one two
Speaker 1: three punch at wide receiver, number one running back and
Speaker 1: then also a quarterback as well. They've just been so
Speaker 1: good and it's kind of been each one of them
Speaker 1: doing some heavy lifting during different portions of the season.
Speaker 1: You know, Jamar Chase was incredible. Four of his first
Speaker 1: sixteen catches find the end zone for a touchdown. Tee
Speaker 1: Higgins has been on fire the past four or five weeks.
Speaker 1: You know, Joe Mixon had that nine straight games in
Speaker 1: which he scored at least one touchdown, plus the four
Speaker 1: straight games in which he scored at least two touchdowns,
Speaker 1: and then Joe has been steady for the most part
Speaker 1: the entire season because, as we all know, ultimately no
Speaker 1: matter how great your wide receivers and your running backs are,
Speaker 1: if your quarterback is not playing at a high level,
Speaker 1: it's really difficult to function offensively every single week. So
Speaker 1: Joe has been rock solid. It's been a really fun
Speaker 1: week to a season, team to watch all season, and
Speaker 1: I know I keep I don't want to make Tyler
Speaker 1: just a footnote. Tyler Boyd has been really good for
Speaker 1: them in critical moments recently. I mean, he had the
Speaker 1: long touchdown this past week that helped break that game open.
Speaker 1: He nearly had a second one late then, I've got
Speaker 1: to be honest with you, I thought that might have
Speaker 1: been a catch in the end zone, but I understand
Speaker 1: why the replay review has turned it over. But fun
Speaker 1: to watch and I feel like this team is sort
Speaker 1: of just scratching the surface right now. Our guest is
Speaker 1: Field the Age. You can follow him on Twitter at Field.
Speaker 1: As we've obviously touched down many of the Bengals strengths,
Speaker 1: what question marks do you still have about this team
Speaker 1: with two games to go? I think there's probably and
Speaker 1: this is something that's out of their control. But until
Speaker 1: you see a team do it in the playoffs with
Speaker 1: the current nucleus that they have, you want to see
Speaker 1: them do it. Joe Burrow, it's not a fault of theirs, right,
Speaker 1: I mean, it's not Joe Burrow's fault that he doesn't
Speaker 1: want a playoff game before, because ever lost one either before? Right,
Speaker 1: So you got to get there first before we can
Speaker 1: start to judge the merits of you. That's probably the
Speaker 1: one thing that I think any team it's got relatively
Speaker 1: fresh blood as some of the key spots, is going
Speaker 1: to have to answer in the playoffs. So they're one
Speaker 1: of those teams this year in the AFC. There are
Speaker 1: a couple of others that might be in that same
Speaker 1: group if the Chargers wind up in the playoffs. Same
Speaker 1: question applies to Justin Herbert, Joe's draft classmates. And then
Speaker 1: you know, I think this year in the AFC for
Speaker 1: a while, it was looking like maybe it was going
Speaker 1: to be a defensive conference, as you've got teams like
Speaker 1: the chief playing really well on defense. The Patriots have
Speaker 1: been playing really well on defense for much of this year.
Speaker 1: Buffalo has got great strength on defense, even if I
Speaker 1: had a couple of games that weren't quite what they
Speaker 1: were looking for during the middle of the season. But
Speaker 1: it feels like we're starting to see a much more
Speaker 1: balanced group in the AFC. And I think that ultimately
Speaker 1: one team is going to be happy at the end
Speaker 1: of this year, and NFL is the NFL is different,
Speaker 1: and it's NBA and MLB and NHL counterparts, and that
Speaker 1: it's not best of seven, it's best of one and
Speaker 1: then given Sunday. So playing your best football is going
Speaker 1: to apply. And I know the Bengals have. They've learned
Speaker 1: that less than this year with some difficult losses to
Speaker 1: unexpected opponents. That's going to be the challenge once we
Speaker 1: get to the postseason, assuming they do make it, which
Speaker 1: I like their chances very much right now, and they're
Speaker 1: going to be tested even these next two weeks, right
Speaker 1: I mean, Kansas City is certainly profiles this I made
Speaker 1: this comparison. If the NFL since College Game Day, or
Speaker 1: we had the equivalent of College game Day and they
Speaker 1: were sending it to a game each week, it would
Speaker 1: be in Cincinnati this weekend to watch the Chiefs and
Speaker 1: the Bengals. I like the sound of that. Well, let's
Speaker 1: talk about the Chiefs. This is a team that started
Speaker 1: three and four, They had a couple of blowout losses
Speaker 1: early this year, and now they runoff eight consecutive wins.
Speaker 1: What are a couple of things the Bengals must do
Speaker 1: to have a chance to beat Kansas City on Sunday.
Speaker 1: You know, it's kind of become old news because it's
Speaker 1: been something teams have been doing for much of this year.
Speaker 1: But I think it's evident that what you have to
Speaker 1: do against the Chiefs is you have to make sure
Speaker 1: that if they're gonna beat you on offense, it's going
Speaker 1: to be more death by a thousand paper cuts then
Speaker 1: it will be a quick strike seventy five yard touchdown.
Speaker 1: The Chiefs played Philly early this season, and that was
Speaker 1: kind of a one game where Patrick Mahomes really had
Speaker 1: his way and just threw the ball way behind the
Speaker 1: deep safeties on too many acages. Tyreek Hill scored three
Speaker 1: times in that game. If you fast forward to some
Speaker 1: of the games that Patrick Mahomes played more recently, he's
Speaker 1: been good. He was good against the Raiders twice. He
Speaker 1: was good against the Steelers this past week. But he
Speaker 1: had a couple of games where he was a little
Speaker 1: bit more, a little bit more mortal, and that felt
Speaker 1: like what teams were doing were basically, no matter what happens,
Speaker 1: nothing gets getting behind us. We talked about the two
Speaker 1: deep safety alignment that so many defenses are relying upon
Speaker 1: this year to make sure that quarterbacks don't beat them
Speaker 1: down the field. I think part of what the Chiefs
Speaker 1: have done really well for a long time as those
Speaker 1: explosive plays. Bengals can't do that. And then on offense.
Speaker 1: This is gonna sound so boring and so simple, but
Speaker 1: as much as I watch the NFL this year, and
Speaker 1: the more and more I watch it, the more and
Speaker 1: more that I see games where teams that we don't
Speaker 1: expect to lose do lose, it becomes clear to me
Speaker 1: you have to win the turnover battle and you have
Speaker 1: to be good on third down. I think about a
Speaker 1: game last week, the Texans hosting the Chargers, The Texans
Speaker 1: are a team that we know they got a lot
Speaker 1: of roster reparations they need to make at some point,
Speaker 1: but ultimately they were the better team in the turnover
Speaker 1: department than the Chargers, and they were the better team
Speaker 1: on third down as well. That's the difference between winning
Speaker 1: and losing in the NFL. The Chiefs, if they have
Speaker 1: a third and twelve situation, not only is a conversion
Speaker 1: on third and twelve, not only is it a fresh
Speaker 1: set of downs, that's just demoralizing to a defense. Right
Speaker 1: third and twelve, you're thinking to yourself, eight or nine
Speaker 1: in the ten times we're forcing a punt or a
Speaker 1: field goal that when the defense it allows a big
Speaker 1: conversion that to me, I think can change the confidence
Speaker 1: level that they're playing with. So I know it sounds
Speaker 1: like the least spicy analysis that I could ever give.
Speaker 1: But you've got to be good in the turnover department,
Speaker 1: you've got to be really good on third down. If
Speaker 1: you're not, then the Chiefs they are just too talented
Speaker 1: against most opponents that they're just going to end up
Speaker 1: finding a way to win. That might be simple. It
Speaker 1: certainly didn't sound boring to me. Field. Yeah, it's great stuff.
Speaker 1: We appreciate your time, keep up the great work, and
Speaker 1: thanks for joining us now. Thank you, Dan, and happy
Speaker 1: for all the Bengals fans out there that should really
Speaker 1: be soaking up all this excitement right now. It's a
Speaker 1: good time to be a Cincinnati fan. And no matter
Speaker 1: how much fun we're having this year, I think there's
Speaker 1: even more good stuff ahead as well. So field Yates says,
Speaker 1: the Bengals secondary can't give up the deep ball. They've
Speaker 1: got to try to force Patrick Mahomes to methodically march
Speaker 1: up the field and hope he makes a couple of mistakes.
Speaker 1: One member the Bengal secondary who has faced Mahomes before
Speaker 1: is Mike Hilton, and he joined me this week for
Speaker 1: my one on one player conversation. Like, you signed a
Speaker 1: four year contract with the Bengals, and I know you
Speaker 1: expected Cincinnati to become a contender, but did you expect
Speaker 1: it to happen this fast? I had an idea, um,
Speaker 1: you know, the one just playing these guys. I always
Speaker 1: knew the type of talent that they had over here,
Speaker 1: and well, once I signed and see who we drafted
Speaker 1: and other free agents we brought in, I was just like, yeah,
Speaker 1: we have all the ingredients to be a Super Bowl contender.
Speaker 1: You know, we've been playing well this year and you
Speaker 1: know we got a big one Sunday, so we're all
Speaker 1: excited for for what this opportunity. This team appears to
Speaker 1: have great chemistry and camaraderie. Is that true? And this
Speaker 1: isn't a big reason why you're in the first place? Absolutely?
Speaker 1: Number one, you got to be a tight group. These
Speaker 1: are guys that you're with twenty four seven. You know,
Speaker 1: guys that you're with more than your family sometimes. So
Speaker 1: you know, you got to be able to connect owning
Speaker 1: off the field, and you know it does nothing but
Speaker 1: just bring you together and just build that confidence and
Speaker 1: that chemistry that can lead to wins. And we've been
Speaker 1: doing that well this year. We're chatting with Mike Hilton.
Speaker 1: This might be hard for you to answer, but in
Speaker 1: addition to your play on the field, what impact do
Speaker 1: you think you've had on the secondary as a group,
Speaker 1: just being a bit of a presence, being being that
Speaker 1: calmon effect. You can't ask any of the guys, you know,
Speaker 1: I just try to be the one in the ear
Speaker 1: that's keeping us calm even if we give up big
Speaker 1: play or give up a penalty or something like that.
Speaker 1: You know, I'm always the guy to all right, guys,
Speaker 1: you know, let's focus in, let's lock in, let's do
Speaker 1: our job and get off the field. So I just
Speaker 1: feel like just being that voice in the room and
Speaker 1: keeping keeping guys calm and ready to play. You've got
Speaker 1: a one game lead with two games to go. But
Speaker 1: it's been a bit of a roller coaster ride of
Speaker 1: a season. You've got four wins over the Steelers and
Speaker 1: the Ravens, and all of those games are by two
Speaker 1: touchdowns or more. But there were losses to the Jets
Speaker 1: and the Pairs. There was a lopsided loss to the Browns.
Speaker 1: Is that just the sign of a young team that's
Speaker 1: learning to can end? Absolutely. You can point to a
Speaker 1: couple of plays here and there throughout those losses that
Speaker 1: if we make that play, you know, it's it's pretty
Speaker 1: much a win. You know, Green Bay, we make one
Speaker 1: the field goals, Jets, you know, if they don't call
Speaker 1: it the penalty on me, you know who who knows
Speaker 1: where where we could be now. But it's just a
Speaker 1: part of the learning and growing process of it. And
Speaker 1: you know, it's good that we're getting that experience. This year.
Speaker 1: Let's talk about Sunday's game against the Chiefs. You faced
Speaker 1: Patrick Mahomes before in your years with the Steelers. It
Speaker 1: was actually one of his signature games in his MVP season.
Speaker 1: He threw six touchdown passes. Shoot out forty two to
Speaker 1: thirty seven was the final score. It's one thing for us,
Speaker 1: but watching that guy on TV, it's another thing to
Speaker 1: compete against him. What stood out to you, man is
Speaker 1: what everybody sees. His arm strength and the way he
Speaker 1: can get outside the pocket and just make make throws
Speaker 1: that not many quarterbacks can mate. He's confidence guys, of course,
Speaker 1: starting with Kelsey and Hill. You know those are go
Speaker 1: to guys and they're they're supposed to playmakers. So we
Speaker 1: know as a defense we got to do our best
Speaker 1: to contain them. And what we've been saying is contained
Speaker 1: the second half of the play because he's gonna extend
Speaker 1: plays and get outside the pocket and look for those
Speaker 1: shots down field. So we know defensively and especially as
Speaker 1: the second day, we got to be smart and play
Speaker 1: top down. Let's talk specifically about Kelsey. In their last game,
Speaker 1: he had ten catches for one hundred and ninety one yards.
Speaker 1: This is the sixth consecutive year he's had more than
Speaker 1: a thousand yards, a record for a tight end. Of
Speaker 1: the many great tight ends in the league that you face,
Speaker 1: what makes Kelsey unique. He's probably the best run after
Speaker 1: catch tight end that I personally played against. Um. He's
Speaker 1: obviously a big dude six four six five two fifty,
Speaker 1: but he can run like a receiver. He makes cuts
Speaker 1: like a receiver. He's he's just real athletic, and it
Speaker 1: presents problem the defenses because he could be a mismatch.
Speaker 1: Too athletic for linebackers, too big for safety. So he's
Speaker 1: the guy that definitely gonna key on on on Sunday,
Speaker 1: and you know, do do our best to contain them.
Speaker 1: What's a week like this like for you to build
Speaker 1: up to a huge game at the end of the
Speaker 1: year with so much at stake. Oh, it's everything. UM.
Speaker 1: A lot of guys have actually asked me, like, just
Speaker 1: how does this feel. I'm just like, guys, this's what
Speaker 1: we've been fighting for, you know. I be I told
Speaker 1: him I've been down this road before, playing meaningful games
Speaker 1: in late December, and I just told him, like, don't
Speaker 1: change up anything, Just treat us another week, you know.
Speaker 1: We of course, we know a lot more as a state.
Speaker 1: But if we if we do everything that we did
Speaker 1: to get us here, you know, the outcome could be
Speaker 1: the same for us on Sunday. So guys are excited
Speaker 1: about the challenge and we were ready ready to play.
Speaker 1: You can clinch the division with a win over the Chiefs,
Speaker 1: but beyond that, people are wondering now if Cincinnati is
Speaker 1: a legitimate contender to advance in the postseason. Make the
Speaker 1: case for why you think the Bengals are. I believe
Speaker 1: we got all the ingredients. Um it starts. We have
Speaker 1: a honestly, I think a top five quarterback already. H
Speaker 1: he's a guy that he's a general. He keeps the
Speaker 1: offense calm and no just gets them moving. And we
Speaker 1: feel like on the defensive man, we're able to go
Speaker 1: on and get after the quarterback up front, you know,
Speaker 1: and on the back end where we get our get
Speaker 1: takeaways and find ways to put our offense on a
Speaker 1: short field. So we know if we do those things
Speaker 1: consistently and just just play our game, you know, we'll
Speaker 1: have a real good shot of making a deep run.
Speaker 1: It's been a great season so far, and you've been
Speaker 1: a huge part of it. I appreciate your time. Best
Speaker 1: of luck against the Chiefs. Thanks there. The Bengals Booth
Speaker 1: podcast is presented by Ultimate Bengals, the free to play
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Speaker 1: a weekly winner during the course of the season, with tickets,
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Speaker 1: Tie for my weekly chat with my broadcast partner Dave Lapham.
Speaker 1: But the Bengals have some great wins, most notably four
Speaker 1: wins over the Ravens and Steelers by at least two touchdowns.
Speaker 1: You can make the case that they've lost to the
Speaker 1: three best teams that they've faced, Green Bay, San Francisco
Speaker 1: and the Chargers. Do you view this game as a
Speaker 1: litmus test for just how good the Bengals are? I do,
Speaker 1: Dan in a lot of ways. I mean, I think
Speaker 1: it's an opportunity, you know, to show that they've come
Speaker 1: even further than people think they've come. And I think
Speaker 1: that's that's important. You know, you look at the season,
Speaker 1: like you say that the teams they've beaten and the
Speaker 1: teams that they haven't you know. It's it's like, all right, well,
Speaker 1: who are they? What are they? They've never lost more
Speaker 1: than two in a row, They've never won more than
Speaker 1: two in a row. This would be their first time
Speaker 1: to have a three game winning streak all season long,
Speaker 1: in my mind, against the best football team on their schedule.
Speaker 1: So this is a big opportunity for them to show
Speaker 1: the world they belong. I think as we were calling
Speaker 1: the game in real time last week, I never really
Speaker 1: felt like the Bengals were trying to make a statement,
Speaker 1: for lack of a better expression, for how they were
Speaker 1: throwing the ball in the fourth quarter. I just thought
Speaker 1: that they were trying to keep doing what was working
Speaker 1: against the Ravens. But clearly I am in the minority,
Speaker 1: because most of our colleagues in the media certainly felt
Speaker 1: like they were making a statement with a few days
Speaker 1: to reflect. What do you think of that whole notion?
Speaker 1: You know, I think they were doing what they needed
Speaker 1: to do to win a football game in that you know,
Speaker 1: Joe Joe. Basically, the big throw, the big controversial throw
Speaker 1: to Joe Mixon was just a football player reacting on
Speaker 1: instincts to an opportunity to make a play, you know,
Speaker 1: and he did it. He did it on his own.
Speaker 1: I mean he said it, Zach said it that it
Speaker 1: wasn't necessarily scripted to be that way, but he made
Speaker 1: a play. And you've got to make a first down,
Speaker 1: you know, I mean make a first down. And in
Speaker 1: games like that, as a as a former player, you
Speaker 1: want to end the game if you can by taking
Speaker 1: a knee. I mean, you want to end the football
Speaker 1: game on your terms. So if that's a statement, I
Speaker 1: guess it's a statement. But I mean every every football team,
Speaker 1: every football player, every football coach wants to win football
Speaker 1: games and end football games on their terms. So the
Speaker 1: big news this week is your main prac going on
Speaker 1: the COVID list. I guess there's a chance he'll be
Speaker 1: back if he passes a couple of negative tests. But
Speaker 1: at this point, let's say he is not back. What
Speaker 1: do the Bengals do. Boy, that's a that's that's a
Speaker 1: tough one. You know. Um, you got a linebacker trying
Speaker 1: like hell to come back as quickly as he can.
Speaker 1: Logan Wilson working this tailoff in terms of you know,
Speaker 1: rehabilitating that shoulder and um. But as everybody knows, practice
Speaker 1: and the way practices are these days in the National
Speaker 1: Football League is one thing game condition. Taking a hit
Speaker 1: taken on a block, or separate any from a block,
Speaker 1: making a tackle. That's a lot different animal right there
Speaker 1: than what Logan Wilson is doing right now. I guess
Speaker 1: this week in practice will be a barometer, but he
Speaker 1: won't know until he actually plays whenever, that is, if
Speaker 1: that's this week or whatever it is, how that shoulder
Speaker 1: is going to hold up um. But you know, there's
Speaker 1: no way that the medical team is going to put
Speaker 1: him out there if they feel like he's not able
Speaker 1: to handle it physically. But you know, when you're talking
Speaker 1: about injuries like that, you just never know. So let's
Speaker 1: say that neither one of those guys is able to play,
Speaker 1: No Pratt, no Logan Wilson. Does that mean an Austro
Speaker 1: or a Clay Johnston or somebody like that winds up
Speaker 1: playing a lot or do you think it's more likely
Speaker 1: that they change the rules of the secondary and that
Speaker 1: John Bell becomes more of a linebacker in this team. Yeah?
Speaker 1: I mean the options, that's the thing is is that
Speaker 1: lou and Rumo, you know, has options. And honestly, this
Speaker 1: football team the Kansas City Chiefs or a throw first
Speaker 1: football team. So if you were to pick, you know,
Speaker 1: maybe an offense where you might be a little bit
Speaker 1: thin at the linebacker position in terms of defending, this
Speaker 1: might be, you know, one that you might choose because
Speaker 1: you do have a safety and Von Bell that's very
Speaker 1: physical and can play that hybrid type linebacker safety role
Speaker 1: that the Bengals would need. But yeah, there are options there.
Speaker 1: And like you said, you know Marcus Bailey, Clay Johnson,
Speaker 1: Austin coletro KeAndre Jones, They're all on the roster for
Speaker 1: a reason, you know, I mean, they belong in the
Speaker 1: National Football League. So I'm sure, I'm sure Louis and
Speaker 1: Rumo will be changing up his personnel packages, changing up
Speaker 1: how he lines them up, changing up his coverages. I
Speaker 1: think he's I don't I don't think he's going to
Speaker 1: show the same thing to a quarterback like Patrick Mahomes
Speaker 1: two time in a row very often. I think it's
Speaker 1: going to be a lot of different looks. Let's talk
Speaker 1: about Travis Kelsey. It's my understanding that he has purchased
Speaker 1: a luxury box for the Cotton Bowl, so he is
Speaker 1: going to watch his beloved Bearcats take on Alabama. Here's
Speaker 1: hoping Cincinnati wins and Travis really parties hard. Yeah, But
Speaker 1: in any case, when it comes to defending tight end.
Speaker 1: In Week eleven, Darren Waller had seven catches for one
Speaker 1: hundred and sixteen yards against Cincinnati. Three weeks ago, George
Speaker 1: Kennel thirteen catches for one hundred and fifty one yards
Speaker 1: against Cincinnati. Last week, Mark Andrews eight catches for one
Speaker 1: hundred and twenty five yards against Cincinnati. How do the
Speaker 1: Bengals or anybody in the NFL slow down Travis Kelsey? Yeah,
Speaker 1: And Travis Kelsey has, you know, haven't played the quarterback position,
Speaker 1: and that's what do you see out of high school
Speaker 1: as a quarterback. They have an understanding of how to
Speaker 1: read coverages better than anybody because they've been reading him
Speaker 1: on the other end. So the mental telepathy beyond the
Speaker 1: same page between Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelsey is unbelievable.
Speaker 1: When he runs routes, he'll make adjustments on the way
Speaker 1: he sees the coverage unfolding, and Mahomes is on the
Speaker 1: exact same page as him. You know, it's they'll they'll
Speaker 1: they'll change the actual route from from the snap of
Speaker 1: the football to when they're in the in the process
Speaker 1: of executing the play, and they'll both be right there
Speaker 1: with each other in terms of what they're seeing. They
Speaker 1: see it through the same eyes. So I think that's
Speaker 1: what makes Kelsey even tougher to defend, is that, you know,
Speaker 1: he has such a feel for his route running, finding
Speaker 1: holes in zone defenses. He's he's very slippery. Uh, He's
Speaker 1: he's a great run after catch guy. His mentality is, honestly,
Speaker 1: it is, every time I get my hands in the football,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna score. He has that kind of mindset. So
Speaker 1: it's gonna be it's gonna be a real, real challenge.
Speaker 1: And you talk about not given the same look to
Speaker 1: Patrick Mahomes, can't do it to Kelsey either. I think
Speaker 1: you gotta run a myriad of people. They're gonna be
Speaker 1: doubling him different ways, different try to give him different
Speaker 1: things to read. Make it tougher on him. Don't make
Speaker 1: it easier for Kelsey to come off the line of
Speaker 1: scrimmage and see exactly what he wants to see, and
Speaker 1: make it easier for him to see it in for
Speaker 1: a long day. If you do that lap early this year,
Speaker 1: it looked like the Chiefs might be vulnerable. They started
Speaker 1: the season three and four, They lost to Buffalo by eighteen,
Speaker 1: they lost to Tennessee by twenty four, and they haven't
Speaker 1: lost since. They've won eight in a row. When you
Speaker 1: watch this team, do you see an area at this
Speaker 1: point where you think they're vulnerable? Boy? You know, I really,
Speaker 1: I really don't, you know. I mean you look at
Speaker 1: offense defense. The offense is playing at a very high level.
Speaker 1: There's no question about the offensive line I think is
Speaker 1: really gel. They're playing very very well. Now. The protection
Speaker 1: that they gave Mahomes in the recent games here is unbelievable.
Speaker 1: I mean literally, you can count to five, six, seven seconds.
Speaker 1: Mahomes is in the pocket, you know, patting the football.
Speaker 1: It's unbelievable how that offensive line is geled defensively in
Speaker 1: the in their eight game winning streak, they're only giving
Speaker 1: up thirteen points a game. And then special teams, uh,
Speaker 1: you know, they're they're great in that area. They're number
Speaker 1: one in the NFL covering punts, fourth returning punts, sixth
Speaker 1: returning kickoffs, and fifth covering kickoffs. So this is this
Speaker 1: is a complete football team. Ban There is no doubt
Speaker 1: about it. But you know, I'm I'm basically thinking that
Speaker 1: my strength of my football team al those three wides.
Speaker 1: So I'm gonna try to do everything I possibly can
Speaker 1: to uh to accentuate my strength and and and you know,
Speaker 1: force force the Kansas City Chiefs and on the back
Speaker 1: end to play at a very very high level. And
Speaker 1: I'm not saying that they're of the weak spot by
Speaker 1: any stretch, but you know, I think, uh, I think
Speaker 1: that that that is going to be the interesting thing
Speaker 1: to me. And I do think that it's interesting both quarterbacks.
Speaker 1: They will create an extend and and they cause controlled
Speaker 1: chaos as a result of creating extending plays. I think
Speaker 1: the quarterback that handles the controlled chaos better and doesn't
Speaker 1: make it chaotic, you know, in other words, make plays
Speaker 1: and don't force it and make an error or make
Speaker 1: a mistake. It's going to be big in this football
Speaker 1: game as well. And that was the weakness of Mahomes.
Speaker 1: But he's he's settled down in that regard. He's not
Speaker 1: trying to hit the home run every single play. Now,
Speaker 1: he's taking what the defense has given him more. But
Speaker 1: in a tight football game, I think maybe you know,
Speaker 1: I gotta go and make a play. My teammate needs
Speaker 1: me to go make a play. Joe Burrow would probably
Speaker 1: be thinking along those same lines. Which quarterback is going
Speaker 1: to handle the controlled chaos better? It's going to be big.
Speaker 1: I think Andy Reid like you as a former offensive lineman.
Speaker 1: He didn't make it as far as the NFL like
Speaker 1: you did, but he played at a high college level
Speaker 1: at BYU and Jim McMahon, who's quarterback. He became an
Speaker 1: offensive line coach, rank among the players that he coached,
Speaker 1: then an offensive line coach in the NFL, and then
Speaker 1: obviously a great NFL head coach. What do you think
Speaker 1: stands out the most about Andy Reid and his teams?
Speaker 1: You know, it's interesting. The first time I met Andy
Speaker 1: Reid was I was doing Big twelve games and I
Speaker 1: was doing a Missouri game. Bob Stole was the head coach,
Speaker 1: and he had Andy Reid coming right out of by
Speaker 1: you um, and he didn't make it in the NFL,
Speaker 1: so he wanted to get into coaching, and he hired
Speaker 1: him as a graduate assistant type deal and got to
Speaker 1: meet him talk to him a little bits. Smart as
Speaker 1: a whip, I mean, very very smart guy. You know,
Speaker 1: not just football, but overall intelligence. And I think I
Speaker 1: think he's he's so creative with what he does, and
Speaker 1: he'll he'll, uh, he'll attack the sixth hole eight different ways,
Speaker 1: you know. I mean, he's he's one of those kind
Speaker 1: of guys. I think that he is always striving to
Speaker 1: be better, always trying to figure out another way to
Speaker 1: you know, to to for crack you know, to crack
Speaker 1: the code and and make life miserable for defensive coordinators.
Speaker 1: I think that he is as as good a play
Speaker 1: caller as there is in the history of the National
Speaker 1: Football League. I really believe that this guy, this guy
Speaker 1: is very, very sharp. All right, last thing, we are
Speaker 1: not speaking face to face this week. We are speaking
Speaker 1: via zoom. Since you are in Cincinnati and I am
Speaker 1: in Dallas for the cotton Ball. You have called the
Speaker 1: cotton Ball several times on National TV. What do you
Speaker 1: think about you See's chances against Alabama? You know, I
Speaker 1: think that it's all going to come down to how
Speaker 1: you see competes in the trenches. I have full confidence
Speaker 1: that you see can can stack up with anybody at
Speaker 1: the skill spots. And I'm talking offense and defense, you know,
Speaker 1: and I'm not saying that they're not good upfront offensively
Speaker 1: and defensively, but the SEC is really good as a
Speaker 1: conference in that area. I mean, they have multiple studs,
Speaker 1: you know, on their offensive and defensive lines. That's the
Speaker 1: one thing I noticed, you know, doing games college games,
Speaker 1: when the Big twelve would go play an SEC team,
Speaker 1: be like, wow they are They do have meat on
Speaker 1: the Hoofman, they got some big boys in their offensive
Speaker 1: and defensive lines. And if you see can compete, you know,
Speaker 1: I'm not saying dominate, I think that'd be tough to do.
Speaker 1: But if they can compete, they can hold their own
Speaker 1: in the trenches. They have a hell of a chance
Speaker 1: of winning the football game because if they if they
Speaker 1: if the offensive line allows you see, skill players to perform,
Speaker 1: and the defensive line doesn't make it like, you know,
Speaker 1: too easy for Alabama scale people. I think that's what
Speaker 1: it boils down to it. It's all about what's going
Speaker 1: on up front. That's what I will be looking for
Speaker 1: here in Dallas. And if you see wins and qualifies
Speaker 1: for the National Championship Game, I promise you I will
Speaker 1: let Travis Kelsey do the partying here in Dallas, and
Speaker 1: I will remain in tip top shape for our game
Speaker 1: on Sunday. There you go. I appreciate that, and I
Speaker 1: have full confidence in that. And I'll tell you what.
Speaker 1: I hope Kelsey's hung over like a big dog. That
Speaker 1: would be great. I hear Patrick Mahomes might be coming
Speaker 1: with him seriously, so hopefully that's the case. They have
Speaker 1: a good old time and they're a little bit slow
Speaker 1: to answer the bell on Sunday. Yeah, really, how about that?
Speaker 1: That would that would be awesome. Patrick Mahomes and Travis
Speaker 1: Kelsey in the luxury suite at the Cotton Bowl. That's
Speaker 1: big stuff, all right. Appreciate you time. See a Sunday
Speaker 1: all right, Dan, have a great call, Good luck and
Speaker 1: go Bearcats. Sunday's game kicks off at one o'clock and
Speaker 1: the Bengals are a five point underdog. That's going to
Speaker 1: do it for this episode of the Bengals Booth podcast
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Speaker 1: more Bengals fans find us. I'm and Horde and thank
Speaker 1: you for listening to the Bengals Booth podcast. H