Speaker 1: Hi, get everybody. I'm Dan Horde and thanks for downloading
Speaker 1: the Bengals Booth podcast. The Here We Go Again addition,
Speaker 1: as we look ahead to Sunday's season opener in Seattle,
Speaker 1: and yes, I know the White Snake song is Here
Speaker 1: I Go again, But here we Go Again fit the
Speaker 1: opening week theme coming up. Approximately twenty one minutes of
Speaker 1: Dave Lapham Podcast Gold. I am so lucky to work
Speaker 1: with the guy because there's nobody better in the NFL
Speaker 1: at covering a team. Lap is knowledgeable, he is smart,
Speaker 1: he is funny, and he is definitely one of the
Speaker 1: world's great storytellers. Will hit all of the important topics
Speaker 1: going into the season opener every year. In Week one,
Speaker 1: Andy Dalton is kind enough to join me for a
Speaker 1: one on one interview. We'll discuss what it's like to
Speaker 1: play for a head coach who is only four and
Speaker 1: a half years older than he is, and I'll ask
Speaker 1: Andy to do something that he doesn't like to do. No,
Speaker 1: I didn't ask him to cuss. It's something else he
Speaker 1: doesn't like to do. And in this week's No the
Speaker 1: Faux segment, we'll get the scoop on the Seahawks from
Speaker 1: their longtime radio voice former wide receiver Steve Rabel. All
Speaker 1: of that is straight ahead. But first, here's a quick
Speaker 1: reminder that you can have the latest edition of this
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Speaker 1: subscribing on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, or pod Bean.
Speaker 1: It's the greatest invention since Triple A. No, not the
Speaker 1: top level of Minor League Baseball, although that's great too,
Speaker 1: I'm talking about the American Automobile Association. On Wednesday night,
Speaker 1: when I had a billion things to do, including putting
Speaker 1: together this podcast, my car wouldn't start in downtown Cincinnati.
Speaker 1: So I pulled the Triple A card out of my wallet,
Speaker 1: called the Trusty toll free number, and it didn't take
Speaker 1: long for a gentleman named Mark to come to the rescue.
Speaker 1: It turned out I had a dead battery, and Marty
Speaker 1: replaced it in no time. I have been a Triple
Speaker 1: A member forever and I can't even count the number
Speaker 1: of times it's paid off. Now let's get to football.
Speaker 1: For the first time in seventeen years, the Bengals will
Speaker 1: have a new head coach on Sunday, as Zach Taylor
Speaker 1: makes his official debut. He's thirty six years old, making
Speaker 1: Zach the second youngest current head coach in the NFL,
Speaker 1: behind his former boss Sean McVay of the Rams, who
Speaker 1: is still only thirty three. For what it's worth, Paul
Speaker 1: Brown coached his first pro football game in Cleveland at
Speaker 1: the age of thirty seven. It was actually the day
Speaker 1: before his thirty eighth birthday. Dave Lapham played for Paul Brown,
Speaker 1: and this Sunday he begins his thirty fourth year in
Speaker 1: the Bengals broadcast booth. We start this week's discussion by
Speaker 1: looking at the makeup of the Bengals fifty three man
Speaker 1: roster and surprises, in your opinion, not anything huge, Dan.
Speaker 1: I mean, I remember we were talking on a podcast
Speaker 1: and said, you know, based on what I'm seeing, eleven
Speaker 1: defensive linemen deserve to make the team and only four linebackers,
Speaker 1: and that's kind of the way it shook down. I'm
Speaker 1: not shocked by that, particularly as fewer times you have
Speaker 1: three linebackers on the field in today's NFL seventy five
Speaker 1: eighty percent of the time, most teams are in three
Speaker 1: receiver formations are on war So it doesn't really surprise
Speaker 1: me all that much with that configuration. You know, John
Speaker 1: Jerry was the Michael George Johnson of this football team. Agreed,
Speaker 1: you know, to go ahead and get way of come
Speaker 1: back and then they put Duga on the IR, which
Speaker 1: IR recall they can do now after the fifty three months.
Speaker 1: So if they need a guy at tackle later in
Speaker 1: the season, that doesn't surprise me at all. SOMJ. P Ryan,
Speaker 1: I think is a very good pickup. It's the Sooner
Speaker 1: Sooner East, I guess. I mean running back rooms the
Speaker 1: same as when they're in college, mix and Anderson and
Speaker 1: p Ryan. Anderson rehabbing from the knee surgery obviously, but
Speaker 1: Samaj p Ryan played all four special teams for the Redskins,
Speaker 1: So Darren Simmons is happy about that that he's going
Speaker 1: to have, you know, an option there. I'm not sure
Speaker 1: how much of the offense p run will have you know,
Speaker 1: a grasp of, but special teams wise, I think he's
Speaker 1: going to be a factor in that opening day, you know,
Speaker 1: as the third running back for sure. Let's talk about
Speaker 1: the Bengals offense. They hired Zach Taylor in large part
Speaker 1: for his ability to bring the Rams offense to Cincinnati.
Speaker 1: During the preseason, they kept it extremely vanilla. How much
Speaker 1: different is it going to be on Sunday. I think
Speaker 1: it will be a lot different. I think there'll be,
Speaker 1: you know, tweaks to formations, tweaks to blocking patterns. I
Speaker 1: didn't see very sophisticated blocking patterns up front in the
Speaker 1: run game or protection wise, so I think they've kept
Speaker 1: a lot close to the vest, which is really smart
Speaker 1: to do. I remember after the first preseason game, coach
Speaker 1: and Rumo told me that Andy Reid came up and said,
Speaker 1: you guys are a pain in the neck to try
Speaker 1: to prepare for. We didn't know what to look at.
Speaker 1: We look at giants, we look at dolphins. What are
Speaker 1: we look at? And then you didn't do anything. So
Speaker 1: that's their advantage. It's going to be the same thing
Speaker 1: for Pete Carroll offensively, what does he look at With
Speaker 1: Zach he says, you look at the dolphin as you
Speaker 1: look at the Rams. Obviously he's going to be a
Speaker 1: lot of Rams influence, but he's got other influences along
Speaker 1: the way. Same with lou and Rumo. You know, it's
Speaker 1: like I don't know exactly what they're going to do
Speaker 1: until they spring it. And this is the only time
Speaker 1: they'll have that advantage that there's no tape on them,
Speaker 1: So they did a pretty good job of keeping things
Speaker 1: under wraps. The other I guess the flip side to
Speaker 1: that coin is the only time they've been working on
Speaker 1: it so far, and they've got this week of practice,
Speaker 1: but is in walkthroughs when nobody's around to see what's
Speaker 1: going on. So they really haven't gone and you know,
Speaker 1: practiced it against anybody. So will they be insane? Will
Speaker 1: they be you know in cohesion? Will they be meshed up?
Speaker 1: Because sometimes if you put too much in, you know,
Speaker 1: you can hurt yourself. So there's that delicate balance. You know,
Speaker 1: how cute do you want to be? And you know,
Speaker 1: can it hurt us more than it fools them? And
Speaker 1: ultimately you just gotta go out. Like Paul Brown said,
Speaker 1: you know we can trick them. I get tired of
Speaker 1: tricking them. Just go out and block and tackle people.
Speaker 1: Will you go win a football game? That's what it
Speaker 1: boils down to. Lap Over the last two years with
Speaker 1: Zach Taylor on the Rams coaching staff, Todd Gurley averaged
Speaker 1: nearly thirteen hundred yards rushing, seven hundred yards receiving, and
Speaker 1: twenty touchdowns. Those were his averages, not his two year totals.
Speaker 1: Do you expect Joe Mixon to approach those numbers in
Speaker 1: Zach Taylor's offense? I think, more importantly Joe expects it.
Speaker 1: I do, and I think Joe does. I mean the
Speaker 1: thing that he talked about just the other day, not
Speaker 1: only running football, you know zas put an emphasis on
Speaker 1: that obviously, but he likes how Zach utilizes the running
Speaker 1: backs out of the backfield. I mean that's a that's
Speaker 1: a very big characteristic and trade that Joe has. It's
Speaker 1: very favorable. I mean, he catches the ball. You get
Speaker 1: him the ball in space when that big freight train
Speaker 1: gets moving, He's he's gonna make some people miss. He's
Speaker 1: gonna get yards after catch. So it would not shock
Speaker 1: me to have him with a thousand yards rushing in
Speaker 1: two thousand, you know, scrimmage yards when you're throwing the
Speaker 1: yards pass. Would It would not stun me whatsoever. And
Speaker 1: uh you know, I mean he scored a bunch of
Speaker 1: touchdowns last year. I think he had eight rushing touchdowns
Speaker 1: last year. So I mean if he if he fifteen
Speaker 1: to twenty, would be no shock to me whatsoever to
Speaker 1: see Joe mix and put up those kind of numbers
Speaker 1: telling you though the uh, the kind of secret weapon,
Speaker 1: hidden weapon as such, Giovanni Bernard in this offense, watch
Speaker 1: out for Giovanni Bernard. And then there recently acquired Samaj
Speaker 1: p Ryan, all two hundred and forty three pounds of him.
Speaker 1: He's the thunder and now he got a couple of
Speaker 1: lightning strikes in Bernard and Mixing. If I had predicted
Speaker 1: at the start of training camp that Jake Della la
Speaker 1: Gala would make the fifty three man roster, what would
Speaker 1: you have said. I would have said that he's gonna
Speaker 1: have to light it up, you know in the exhibition games.
Speaker 1: We saw him though, you know, right at the end
Speaker 1: of workouts the mandatory mini camp, do a job out
Speaker 1: there and watching him spend the football, it's like, man,
Speaker 1: looking at this guy with his measurables and I'm talking
Speaker 1: about his height at sixty seven and two hundred and
Speaker 1: forty pounds and be able to spin the ball like
Speaker 1: he did. It's like, hey, you've got something to work
Speaker 1: with there, you know, potentially, but you wouldn't think, oh,
Speaker 1: this guy's gonna make such a statement. They're gonna have
Speaker 1: to keep three quarterbacks, he's gonna make the fifty three
Speaker 1: men roster and be deactivated. But he did it, and
Speaker 1: you know, credit to him. The one thing though, that
Speaker 1: that he definitely has to work on, and I think
Speaker 1: it was part of the part of what he was
Speaker 1: doing was trying to impress the coaches and the organization
Speaker 1: that he should make the team because of his arm.
Speaker 1: Everything was going down the field. I mean Charlie checked down.
Speaker 1: He was not. He was the opposite of that. He
Speaker 1: had Ellis a couple of times in that last game
Speaker 1: against the Colts where one of them was a touchdown,
Speaker 1: another one was a big game. He was like five
Speaker 1: yards open, catching yards after catch would have been a
Speaker 1: big game, and he was trying to get it to
Speaker 1: the second and third level down the football field, showing
Speaker 1: off that arm strength time and time again. So that
Speaker 1: was his mindset. So I think now that he's made it,
Speaker 1: he has to work on all the things necessary to
Speaker 1: be a complete quarterback in the National Football League and
Speaker 1: don't try to force things. If you try to force
Speaker 1: things against you know, and the guys that are starting
Speaker 1: in the National Football League as much as you did
Speaker 1: against guys he was playing against in the second half,
Speaker 1: fourth quarter of those football games. That'd be a different story,
Speaker 1: I think. Lap the Bengals have tried to fix the
Speaker 1: offensive line. They've used their number one draft pick each
Speaker 1: of the last two drafts on an offensive lineman, and unfortunately,
Speaker 1: neither one of those guys will be in the starting
Speaker 1: lineup on Sunday. Is the line better or worse than
Speaker 1: a year ago? You know, I think it's I think it's.
Speaker 1: Looking at it, it's pretty much the same. You know.
Speaker 1: I do think Miller is an upgrade at the right
Speaker 1: guard position. I mean, I think that that kid is
Speaker 1: a very very consistent performer. You've got to give Trey
Speaker 1: Hopkins a big tip of the cap, you know, if
Speaker 1: you're winning the job at the center position. And Michael
Speaker 1: Jordan's an unknown, but he has got huge upside potential.
Speaker 1: I mean, I guess that's why it's hard to put
Speaker 1: a mark on it with him in particular, because his
Speaker 1: good is unbelievably good. He's so long and so powerful,
Speaker 1: and his bad can be bothersome though, because he's you know,
Speaker 1: he's young, and hopefully he won't the bad won't continue,
Speaker 1: you know, maybe a one time thing, and he works
Speaker 1: through it. And gets over it. You know, the left
Speaker 1: tackle position is a big question mark. You know, Corty Glenn,
Speaker 1: how much will he be able to play? You can't
Speaker 1: count on it for sixteen games. He hasn't been there
Speaker 1: for sixteen games, even in the opener. If he's able
Speaker 1: to uh to suit up in the opener, I don't
Speaker 1: know if I count on him for sixty minutes. You know,
Speaker 1: I got to get Andre Smith ready to play the
Speaker 1: tackle position, so you know that I get in my opinion,
Speaker 1: hopefully this group the offensive lines that I played on
Speaker 1: that were the better offensive lines, the sum total of
Speaker 1: the offensive line was better than the individual parts except
Speaker 1: for Anthony Munos, but I mean usually the sum total
Speaker 1: was a better component than each guy when you evaluate
Speaker 1: each guy, because you know, the offensive line is the
Speaker 1: only It's like a bunch of three hundre pound June
Speaker 1: Taylor dancers. You have to be in total concert. You
Speaker 1: have to be helping each other, you have to be
Speaker 1: doing the same thing and understand, everybody has to be
Speaker 1: on the exact same page. So we'll see if this
Speaker 1: offensive line is that type of offensive line, and it
Speaker 1: could be. It could be. I don't think Jimmy Turner
Speaker 1: is not doing a whole bunch that is going to
Speaker 1: confuse these guys. Now. They didn't show anything in the preseason,
Speaker 1: and they'll show more, obviously against the Seahawks in terms
Speaker 1: of blocking configurations and all that sort of thing. But
Speaker 1: I don't think it's going to be rocket science. I
Speaker 1: really don't. I think he's going to keep it pretty
Speaker 1: simple and just let guys go out and execute and
Speaker 1: see what they can put together. What new assistant coach
Speaker 1: really cut your eye in training camp? Oh, a bunch
Speaker 1: of them, did. I think? You know, Jim Turnercott and
Speaker 1: eye with this simplistic approach that he was taken to
Speaker 1: it all and he's a rep guy, and you know,
Speaker 1: over and over and over and over again the same things.
Speaker 1: And I remember with Jimmy McNally, it started with our
Speaker 1: stance every access, then we did the duck walk, then
Speaker 1: we did you know, the other other drills, and the
Speaker 1: last practice for the Super Bowl started with our stands.
Speaker 1: You're got to work on your stands every practice, guys.
Speaker 1: You know, shift your weight, don't tip that you're shifting
Speaker 1: your weight, but get get all your weight on the
Speaker 1: left side of your body to your right side. Is
Speaker 1: freed up. Shift it back to the right side of
Speaker 1: your body so your left side is freed up, and
Speaker 1: don't tip it by how much pressure you're putting it
Speaker 1: in your hand. Working on all from the stands all
Speaker 1: the way through, exact same thing every single day. And
Speaker 1: Jimmy Jimmy Turner funny, it's too Jimmy, Jimmy McNally and
Speaker 1: Jimmy Turner. Jimmy Turner is doing the same type of
Speaker 1: thing with these guys. The repetition of it and the
Speaker 1: targets are simple. Everything fits. So I've been impressed with him,
Speaker 1: how he's worked with that offensive line. James Casey, been
Speaker 1: impressed with that guy. I think he's a hell of
Speaker 1: a tight end coach. And in talking to the tight ends,
Speaker 1: they said that he not only tells you what to do,
Speaker 1: he tells you what to avoid because he's been on
Speaker 1: the field. Don't think he can do this, don't think
Speaker 1: he can take this shortcut. Don't don't assume anything here.
Speaker 1: I mean he's he's been there, done that. And so
Speaker 1: the tight ends have had consecutive coaches that have played
Speaker 1: in the National Football League for a duration. There's something
Speaker 1: you know significant there and I mean, I could go
Speaker 1: down the list, and that's I think Zach Taylor took
Speaker 1: his time and put together a staff that is really
Speaker 1: really good teachers, and they can all all get their
Speaker 1: points across, and they do it with enthusiasm, excitement, and
Speaker 1: the guys are buying into it. I think I think
Speaker 1: every player is buying what the coach and staff is selling.
Speaker 1: I really do. Last year, the Bengals allowed nearly four
Speaker 1: hundred and fourteen yards a game, most enfranchise history, ranked
Speaker 1: last in the NFL. They gave up twenty eight point
Speaker 1: four points a game. Only two teams are worse, the
Speaker 1: Raiders and the Buccaneers. Will the defense be significantly better
Speaker 1: in your opinion? And if so, why, Yeah, it's the same.
Speaker 1: It's the same scenario. The strength of the teams. The
Speaker 1: defensive line kept a loving of them. I mean, that's
Speaker 1: that's pretty oppressive. To keep eleven defensive lineman. It was meritocracy,
Speaker 1: just like everything. Um, you know, Damian Willis gets the
Speaker 1: starting exposition because he was the best player. Didn't matter,
Speaker 1: So keep eleven defensive lineman, four linebackers because eleven defensive
Speaker 1: lineman played better than the other linebackers that they let
Speaker 1: go so you know, it's it's like players appreciate if
Speaker 1: you go out there and you put tape a good
Speaker 1: tape on your resume, it should benefit you. And I
Speaker 1: think they respect and appreciate, you know, the fact that
Speaker 1: they've structured the team the way they have. In today's football,
Speaker 1: you know, how many times do you use three linebackers?
Speaker 1: That's the concern defensive line. Unbelievable back end, solid linebacker,
Speaker 1: big question marks. So we've seen it three years now.
Speaker 1: Linebacker has been picked on. They've been isolated and picked
Speaker 1: on over and over and over again. And in today's
Speaker 1: NFL with teams going seventy five three receivers or more,
Speaker 1: you know, you go Nickel and Dine no more than
Speaker 1: two linebackers potentially, So it fits. I mean, and the
Speaker 1: thing that impresses me about the defensive lineman Dan, you
Speaker 1: have multiple guys that can do multiple things. Carl Lawson
Speaker 1: can be like Ah, like Ross Browner with us and
Speaker 1: others over the years, he can rush or drop. Hubbard
Speaker 1: has shown he can rush or drop. Willis has shown
Speaker 1: he can rush or drop. I mean, they have multiple
Speaker 1: guys that they can do multiple things with on their
Speaker 1: defensive line. To try to confuse pass protections, assignments. I
Speaker 1: do I count him as a linebacker? Do I count
Speaker 1: him as a defensive lineman? What do I count him
Speaker 1: as in our protection? You know, all those kind of
Speaker 1: things offensive linemen have to start to think about. So
Speaker 1: I think I think that this group, potentially, you know,
Speaker 1: could hopefully play better. And the biggest reason is lou
Speaker 1: Anna Rumo. His whole scenario has been eliminate grayer, black
Speaker 1: and white. I'm simplifying. It's like too much grayer or
Speaker 1: too much thinking. And I think that he's done a
Speaker 1: good job of that, and I think that's going to
Speaker 1: show up, and I think it's going to be the
Speaker 1: defense is going to be as good as their front
Speaker 1: and their back end allows it to be lap. The
Speaker 1: Bengals open the season at Century Link Field in Seattle,
Speaker 1: which has twice held the Guinness World Record for loudest
Speaker 1: crowd roar at an outdoor stadium. We hear about that
Speaker 1: all the time, but take us to the line of scrimmage.
Speaker 1: What does that mean? When you're playing, it means it
Speaker 1: means a bunch, There's no question about it. I mean,
Speaker 1: particularly if you're in if you're in a close football game,
Speaker 1: fourth quarter of a close football game, third and seven,
Speaker 1: you have to convert your you're down four points, you
Speaker 1: have to keep a drive going. And it's a din
Speaker 1: I mean, you can't hear a thing. If you look
Speaker 1: at your teammate, you can see his mouth move. You
Speaker 1: can't hear one word in they're screaming, you know, they're
Speaker 1: they're screaming at the top of their lungs and it
Speaker 1: just looks like their minds. I mean, there's nothing happening.
Speaker 1: So it is disconcerting to an offensive lineman. For sure.
Speaker 1: Your only advantage is being able to hear the snap
Speaker 1: count and move on the snap count because the defensive
Speaker 1: lineman doesn't know what the snap count is. When you
Speaker 1: have to give up that advantage and look and kind
Speaker 1: of move on the ball moves that your only advantage
Speaker 1: is taken away. So what the Bengals have done a
Speaker 1: big time job on, and it started even during way
Speaker 1: back in OTAs a silent snap count because they've known
Speaker 1: they've had the Seahawks for an opener for a long
Speaker 1: time and they've been working on in the meeting rooms,
Speaker 1: on the field, in the locker room, this silent snap count.
Speaker 1: And there's a couple of different triggers they can use,
Speaker 1: and it's it's pretty cool what they're what they're going
Speaker 1: to try to do. And I'm thinking they may draw
Speaker 1: Seattle offside. How big would that be? If they draw
Speaker 1: the Seahawks off sides out there utilizing a silent snap
Speaker 1: counts of their advantage, that would be that would be
Speaker 1: bigger than big time. The Seahawks are number one in
Speaker 1: the NFL and running the ball last year they haveage
Speaker 1: one hundred and sixty yards a game. The Bengals are
Speaker 1: twenty eighth. Then stopping the run, they gave up one
Speaker 1: thirty eight. It's that the biggest key on Sunday, it is,
Speaker 1: you know, and Dan, you look at it. Um they're
Speaker 1: only five teams in the NFL that threw the ball
Speaker 1: last year less than five hundred times, and Buffalo is
Speaker 1: one of them, Seattle's another, Miami's another, Arizona is another.
Speaker 1: Bengals play all of them, and then Tennessee is the fifth.
Speaker 1: So all those teams really emphasize the running game, and
Speaker 1: you know, the Bengals play all all those teams. Only
Speaker 1: two teams in the NFL ran the ball more than
Speaker 1: five hundred times and that's a Baltimore and Seattle. So
Speaker 1: you play Baltimore twice, you play Seattle. They both emphasize
Speaker 1: the run. So looking at these opponents Arizona with this
Speaker 1: new quarterback, will they still emphasize the run? I think
Speaker 1: so with a rookie quarterback, you want to make sure
Speaker 1: you get the running game on. He may be a
Speaker 1: weapon in the running game, and I don't know how
Speaker 1: much he's so small, but Miami's going to try to
Speaker 1: still pound it, you know, Seattle's obviously gonna Buffalo is
Speaker 1: obviously the Bengals have to be able to stop the run,
Speaker 1: and they have to be able to run the ball themselves.
Speaker 1: They have to win. They're playing all these teams an
Speaker 1: emphasize the running game to the extent that they had
Speaker 1: last year and probably will this year. You have to
Speaker 1: be able to not get dominated in the running game
Speaker 1: and be one dimensional. You have to be able to
Speaker 1: be balanced and I mean try to outrush some of
Speaker 1: these people, you know, in terms of attempts inefficiency and
Speaker 1: see where it takes you. Russell Wilson is now the
Speaker 1: highest paid player in the NFL, average salary thirty five
Speaker 1: million dollars a year. He's obviously among the best scramblers
Speaker 1: in the league, but Seattle gave up fifty one sacks
Speaker 1: last year. Could this be a big day for the
Speaker 1: Bengals pass rush. Yeah, I think, I think. You know
Speaker 1: Russell Wilson because of his scrambling ability, like you described,
Speaker 1: he thinks that you can't ever get him on the ground,
Speaker 1: So he is deeper in the shotgun and any other
Speaker 1: quarterback in the NFL because he's diminutive with the hype factor,
Speaker 1: so he wants to get separation from the line of
Speaker 1: scrimment so he can see better. So he's got a
Speaker 1: deeper shotgun snap acceptance to the football, and he'll run around,
Speaker 1: he'll run around act there, and he'll he'll create and
Speaker 1: he'll he'll do all of his things that way. Um,
Speaker 1: So he does get trapped. And once once you know,
Speaker 1: once a certain amount of time is taken has taken
Speaker 1: place on the clock. At that point there's an offensive lineman,
Speaker 1: you're okay, okay, man, you're on your own because you
Speaker 1: don't know where he's gonna run, you don't know how
Speaker 1: he's gonna you know, address the rest of the play.
Speaker 1: And you know, the unscripted unscripted plays is where Russell
Speaker 1: Wilson sometimes excels. Sometimes his unscripted plays end up being
Speaker 1: better than the play that was called. But sometimes he's
Speaker 1: gonna get trapped too. So I mean, if he's getting
Speaker 1: sacked in three point five seconds, that's on the old line.
Speaker 1: But if he's running around for ten seconds back there
Speaker 1: and gets gets trapped, that's that's not on the old line.
Speaker 1: Seattle still has the reputation of being great on defense,
Speaker 1: but the legion of boom Era is officially over. It
Speaker 1: ended in Week four last year when Earl Thomas broke
Speaker 1: his leg and then flipped off Pete Carroll as he
Speaker 1: was taken off the field on a cart. Thomas says
Speaker 1: in Baltimore, now, how good is Seattle's defense these days?
Speaker 1: And how will it challenge the Bengals on Sunday. I
Speaker 1: think it's good. You know, Seattle runs their stuff. You
Speaker 1: know Seattle, Pete Carroll and the defensive coaches aren't saying,
Speaker 1: you know, they are to an extent, but it's like,
Speaker 1: you know, you know what, no matter what the Bengals
Speaker 1: end up deciding to do, We're going to play Seattle
Speaker 1: Seahawk defense. We are going to do our stuff. And
Speaker 1: they do that as well as anybody. No matter what
Speaker 1: you're trying to do against them, they're going to do
Speaker 1: their thing. And the other thing they do is retool
Speaker 1: as well as anybody. And Jadavian Clowney is the most
Speaker 1: recent example of it. This guy, when you add tackles,
Speaker 1: philoss and sacks together, he's number one in the NFL
Speaker 1: the last few years. His tackle floss is off the charts.
Speaker 1: So everybody talks about him as an edge pass rusher
Speaker 1: and he's good, but man, nobody talks about how good
Speaker 1: he is disrupting the run and those We've talked about
Speaker 1: it all the time. You know, the quarterback sacks are
Speaker 1: so sexy. You know it's like quarterback steps up in
Speaker 1: the pocket and he's sack for a two yard loss
Speaker 1: and everybody goes, oh, that's great, a running backs hit
Speaker 1: for two yard loss. And he's like, yeah, you know,
Speaker 1: second and twelve. I mean it's the same deal. It's
Speaker 1: the same situation that you're stressing the offense with and
Speaker 1: the defense performing. So Jadeveon Clowney is disruptor and you
Speaker 1: know he's going back to a four three defense, which
Speaker 1: he was in college. He was a four three defensive end. Well,
Speaker 1: he was in a three man package down there in Houston,
Speaker 1: and Romeo Cornell did a great job of putting him
Speaker 1: in a two point stands, putting him in the A gap,
Speaker 1: and he'd get a lot of a lot of disruption
Speaker 1: in the A gap from two point two point outside.
Speaker 1: He'd line him up, say find the fish, find the
Speaker 1: weakest spot in the offensively, and go take advantage of
Speaker 1: it out of a two point stanch, you know. And
Speaker 1: so I don't think, I don't know if Seattle's going
Speaker 1: to do that. That's not Seattle sting Seattle. I think
Speaker 1: we'll have him as a as a right defensive end
Speaker 1: going against whoever our left tackle is in that football game,
Speaker 1: and that's a matchup that you're gonna have to watch.
Speaker 1: The other thing that is a factor in that defense
Speaker 1: higher than the average bear, Bobby Wagner's a stud. Bobby Wagner,
Speaker 1: in my opinion, is the best linebacker in the NFL,
Speaker 1: because I mean, he's equally effective against the runner of
Speaker 1: the past. He can run laterally, he'll come downhill and
Speaker 1: hit you. He had one hundred and thirty eight tackles
Speaker 1: for him last year, led them in tackles. He had
Speaker 1: a ninety eight yard interception return for a touchdown. I mean,
Speaker 1: the dude's a playmaker, so you know, and Nake try
Speaker 1: to keep him clean with those four down linemen. So yeah,
Speaker 1: there's still there's still plenty to worry about. I don't
Speaker 1: think the back end is anywhere near as good as
Speaker 1: it was in the Legion of Boom and Doom. But there,
Speaker 1: you know, I think the front seven is still so
Speaker 1: good that it kind of uh, you know, puts some
Speaker 1: makeup on the on the blemish of the back end
Speaker 1: of that defense a little bit. When you say go
Speaker 1: find the fish, that's an expression for finding the weak
Speaker 1: link on the other team's line. We got to do
Speaker 1: that literally this weekend, going to see that. I got
Speaker 1: to go find some good fish, no question, I mean
Speaker 1: I want to. Last time I was up there, I
Speaker 1: was watching him throw the I mean the guy that
Speaker 1: catches the fish, she's strong man, because those fish are sliming. Now,
Speaker 1: this dude is good. He must have more stick him
Speaker 1: on than Daniel Brentwood's head. You know, for him to
Speaker 1: just pluck the fish like he does, that's pretty impressive.
Speaker 1: I'm that guy. He knows what He's doing our broadcast
Speaker 1: on the Bengals Radio Network this Sunday begins at two
Speaker 1: thirty Eastern, and my fun Facts interview on the pregame
Speaker 1: show will be with Bengals President Mike Brown. It is
Speaker 1: always a great conversation. The Bengals have not played in
Speaker 1: Seattle since two eleven, the seventh game of Andy Dalton's
Speaker 1: rookie year. That day, the Red Rifle led the Bengals
Speaker 1: to a thirty four to twelve win, part of a
Speaker 1: five game winning streak that season that helps Cincinnati make
Speaker 1: the playoffs. And He's only other game against the Seahawks
Speaker 1: was a twenty seven, twenty four overtime win in two
Speaker 1: fifteen that saw the Bengals rally from a seventeen point
Speaker 1: deficit in the fourth quarter. Dalton will try to make
Speaker 1: it three and oh against Seattle on Sunday as he
Speaker 1: plays his first NFL game for a head coach other
Speaker 1: than Marvin Lewis. I talked to Andy about Zach Taylor
Speaker 1: and much more. Do you remember your initial reaction when
Speaker 1: you learned that the Rams young quarterbacks coach was going
Speaker 1: to be your new head coach? I do. I was excited,
Speaker 1: you know, you've seen rumors a different thing that's going
Speaker 1: to happen. But you know, for me to it's my
Speaker 1: first time on our career to have an offensive coach
Speaker 1: and to know the background of Zach where he's been,
Speaker 1: and you know, just to have him that played the
Speaker 1: quarterback position everything, I was really excited about it. It
Speaker 1: seems to me you two guys have a lot in common.
Speaker 1: You're only four and a half years apart in age.
Speaker 1: He was a highly successful quarterback although his career ended
Speaker 1: at Nebraska, your devoted family men. You both have kind
Speaker 1: of even keeled personalities. Did all of that stuff help
Speaker 1: you guys connect right off the bat? Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1: I think we are similar in the way we just
Speaker 1: kind of carry ourselves and the way we live our life,
Speaker 1: and so it makes it easy to connect with people
Speaker 1: like that. And so yeah, I mean it's been great.
Speaker 1: Ever since he's been here, it's been fun to get
Speaker 1: to know him more. And yeah, I'm just really looking
Speaker 1: forward to him being here for a long time. For
Speaker 1: visiting with Andy Dalton. You've had four offensive coordinators in
Speaker 1: your first eight seasons. Brian Callahan makes it five, and
Speaker 1: we just assume as fans that it's Andy. He'll be
Speaker 1: able to handle that. He's got such a great grasp
Speaker 1: of the xs and ohs. But how difficult is it
Speaker 1: and what's the most challenging part? Yeah, I mean it's
Speaker 1: you're doing similar stuff. I mean the offense. It's like
Speaker 1: I said, it's a copycat league, and so there's similar
Speaker 1: things that I've done throughout my career. It's gonna be
Speaker 1: called completely different and to have three different terminologies in
Speaker 1: three years, I mean, it's just okay, you're interpreting. Okay,
Speaker 1: this is what I used to call it, this is
Speaker 1: what I'm calling it now, and just getting ready for it.
Speaker 1: But yeah, it's it's fun to learn a new offense. Obviously,
Speaker 1: I'd like to be an assistant longer than just one year.
Speaker 1: But now it's been good. No sane person would suggest
Speaker 1: that AJ Green's injury was a good thing for the team.
Speaker 1: But did it accelerate the progress of some of the
Speaker 1: other receivers. Yeah, obviously, if you know, you never wanted
Speaker 1: an injury to happen, But it allowed other guys to
Speaker 1: get reps that they wouldn't have gotten. So when AJ
Speaker 1: comes back, it'll be you know, we'll be that much
Speaker 1: farther ahead, because these guys will have played a lot,
Speaker 1: and so I definitely think that it's helped the development
Speaker 1: of some of these guys. You were drafted one year
Speaker 1: before Andrew Luck. What was your reaction to him retiring
Speaker 1: at the age of twenty nine. You know, it's Andrew's
Speaker 1: obviously been through a lot with all the injuries that
Speaker 1: he's had, and at the end of the day, if
Speaker 1: you're not finding joy in the game of football, which
Speaker 1: I think is what he was saying, it's like he
Speaker 1: wasn't able to be himself. He wasn't able to live
Speaker 1: the life that he wanted to live. And so, you know,
Speaker 1: I'm happy for him that he's had that clarity and
Speaker 1: he's had that peace with the decision. Obviously, it's going
Speaker 1: to be different having him as the quarterback for the
Speaker 1: for the Colts played against each other for a long time.
Speaker 1: Obviously every preseason we would end against each other and
Speaker 1: then played against him throughout the years. But um, you know,
Speaker 1: I'm just happy for him that he's got that piece
Speaker 1: with everything. I'm going to ask you to do something
Speaker 1: you don't like to do. Brag about yourself. You've been
Speaker 1: a starting quarterback in the NFL for eight years, three
Speaker 1: time Pro Bowler. By the end of this year, you'll
Speaker 1: probably have the franchise record for completions. What are you
Speaker 1: proudest of so far? Yeah, I think anytime you can
Speaker 1: stay in one place for a long time, I think
Speaker 1: that's that's one thing. We've really established ourselves in Cincinnati
Speaker 1: from the time that we got here, and so this
Speaker 1: is a place that we wanted to be and we
Speaker 1: wanted to be here for a long time. So I
Speaker 1: think the first and foremost to be able to, you know,
Speaker 1: have success enough to where you know you're going to
Speaker 1: be in the city of Cincinnati. I think that's that's
Speaker 1: one thing. There's been a lot of accomplishments that have
Speaker 1: gone on since I've been here. Obviously, like you said,
Speaker 1: the three the three Pro Bowls and different things. But
Speaker 1: now I think just a lunge of a career. I mean,
Speaker 1: going into year nine now, you know, I want to
Speaker 1: keep playing for a while, so you know, hopefully we're
Speaker 1: kind in the middle stages of my career. A couple
Speaker 1: of questions about Seattle. They had two double digit sack
Speaker 1: guys last year. They traded front Frank Clark, Jaron Reid,
Speaker 1: is suspended. I thought, maybe you catch him in a
Speaker 1: good time when their pass rush isn't going to be great,
Speaker 1: and then last weekend they get Jadvan Clowney. How does
Speaker 1: that impact you going into Week one. Yeah, he's a
Speaker 1: disruptive player, and you know, he had seen rumors about
Speaker 1: maybe Seattle trying to go after him, and then obviously
Speaker 1: it actually happened. It's just a guy that we had
Speaker 1: to prepare for. We have to know where he's at.
Speaker 1: He's so good. He's able to do things and and
Speaker 1: make plays that not a lot of guys can make.
Speaker 1: So for us, we just got to know where he's at.
Speaker 1: What makes Bobby Wagner so unique. He's got instincts. He
Speaker 1: understands their defense really well. He's obviously been in that
Speaker 1: system for a long time. He is athletic. He really
Speaker 1: can do it all. He can play the run, he
Speaker 1: can recover, you know, getting the past lanes and all
Speaker 1: that kind of stuff. But I think it's just his
Speaker 1: knowledge of the game and knowledge of their system make
Speaker 1: him the player that he is. Last question, do you
Speaker 1: like being an underdog? You know, I feel like I've
Speaker 1: been donna dog from a lot of my career and
Speaker 1: so now it's one of those things you you want
Speaker 1: to prove people wrong when you're not getting any attention
Speaker 1: any of that stuff. But frous, we're just worried about,
Speaker 1: you know, this one, getting getting a win for Seattle
Speaker 1: and we'll put ourselves in good position moving forward. My
Speaker 1: first year as the announcer was your first year as
Speaker 1: the quarterback. Best of luck in year number nine, and
Speaker 1: thank you for all you and JJ have done for
Speaker 1: needy families in our community. Yeah, I appreciate it. And
Speaker 1: he could be going into Sunday's game without Cordy Glenn
Speaker 1: had left tackle. Glenn is still in concussion protocol, although
Speaker 1: Cordy was on the rehab field on Wednesday, which is
Speaker 1: the first step toward we turn into action. If he
Speaker 1: can't play in Seattle, Andre Smith will take his place.
Speaker 1: Now time for this week's No the Faux segment, and
Speaker 1: this week Lap and I had the chance to visit
Speaker 1: with Seahawks radio voice Steve Rabel, a former wide receiver
Speaker 1: for the team. We started by asking Steve to discuss
Speaker 1: the Seahawks biggest storylines during training camp leading up to
Speaker 1: Game one. The biggest one, of course, is the one
Speaker 1: on just the other day, the trade for Jadevian Clowney.
Speaker 1: You know a few of us kind of speculated on
Speaker 1: and there were people talking about it, but we just
Speaker 1: we we didn't believe that it would really come to pass,
Speaker 1: only because you know, the cost was going to be
Speaker 1: fairly high, and you know that late were you were
Speaker 1: you ready prepared to take on somebody like Clowney at
Speaker 1: that point in season. Well, now we find out that
Speaker 1: that John Schneider actually started to make contact back before
Speaker 1: the draft, just to touch base on it. So what
Speaker 1: they did in one fell swoop is you know, I've
Speaker 1: been saying all through training camp, how are they going
Speaker 1: to replace the production of Frank Clark fourteen sacks counting
Speaker 1: the playoff last year, how are you going to replace that?
Speaker 1: Well they just did. Zicknions is healthy and he a
Speaker 1: career nine, ten eleven fact guy every year every season
Speaker 1: he's healthy. And now you get Clowney who's gotten what
Speaker 1: career twenty nine or thirty sacks in just three four seasons.
Speaker 1: So I think I think we've taken care of that
Speaker 1: part of the equation and that now frees us up
Speaker 1: to do other things on defense instead of trying to
Speaker 1: trying to game plan how you're going to put pressure
Speaker 1: with guys that you know are just are just guys.
Speaker 1: They're not Pro bowlers like these two. And the thing
Speaker 1: about Clowney that a lot of people don't realize is
Speaker 1: his tackles. Philoss. I mean, when he sets the edge,
Speaker 1: it's it's a tackle forloss a lot of times. He's
Speaker 1: one of four guys in the NFL that have over
Speaker 1: fifty tackles for loss in over twenty sacks since two sixteen.
Speaker 1: So this guy sets the edge in the in the
Speaker 1: running game and will be leebell edge rusher. And you
Speaker 1: couple him with Anzo, who's you know, going to have
Speaker 1: his first appearance. That's a that's a pretty good book end.
Speaker 1: And then in the middle you put Bobby wagner Man.
Speaker 1: That's a Bermuter triangle potentially defense. Yeah, it's really interesting,
Speaker 1: laugh how this defense has changed from the Legion of
Speaker 1: Boom just a couple of years ago, focused so much
Speaker 1: as it was on the secondary and rightly so, you know,
Speaker 1: three out of four of the guys were Pro bowlers
Speaker 1: back there. Two of them almost certainly maybe three are
Speaker 1: going to end up in the Ring of Honor. Earl
Speaker 1: Kind of might have fingered his way out of a
Speaker 1: out of that list, but that's story. But you know,
Speaker 1: the move now is back toward the middle of the field,
Speaker 1: and we've got this great trio of linebackers veteran guys
Speaker 1: and Bobby Wagner and kJ Wright and Michael Kendricks and
Speaker 1: some young guys behind them. They went specifically in the
Speaker 1: draft looking for who are the next guys who are
Speaker 1: going to step up when these guys are finally done playing,
Speaker 1: and they went and found those guys too. So the
Speaker 1: defense has really kind of shifted a little bit. But
Speaker 1: the real key now is those Let's not forget the
Speaker 1: best down defensive line had all last season and then
Speaker 1: back the last couple of years. Jaren Reid is not
Speaker 1: going to play the first six weeks. He's been suspended
Speaker 1: right by the league. Very questionable, but he is a
Speaker 1: guy who really he had ten sacks last year from
Speaker 1: He's like Geno Atkins, I mean, he can make things
Speaker 1: happen from that inside position. So when he comes back,
Speaker 1: and then poor A Ford, the guy who everybody was
Speaker 1: talking about at the end of training camp last year,
Speaker 1: has solidified himself at maybe five eleven and three hundred
Speaker 1: pounds and he's like trying to move a buick in
Speaker 1: the middle of the line. He is a good one too,
Speaker 1: so I'm really excited about our defense. We are talking
Speaker 1: to the voice of the Seahawks, Steve Rabel. Let's turn
Speaker 1: to offense for a second. How does rookie receiver dk
Speaker 1: Metcalf looking I don't mean with his shirt off. Well, yeah,
Speaker 1: those guys when I was playing were defensive ends, and
Speaker 1: now he's a wide receiver. For heaven's sake, He's an
Speaker 1: unbelievable physical specimen. He's also a really smart, humble kid,
Speaker 1: and all he wants to do is get better and learn,
Speaker 1: and that's what he's done all during training camp until
Speaker 1: he kind of injured his knee a little bit and
Speaker 1: had to undergo a procedure. Nobody's really said what it was,
Speaker 1: but kind of a cleanout procedure in his knee about
Speaker 1: fourteen days ago, two weeks ago, and Pete says he's
Speaker 1: very likely going to be ready to play on Sunday,
Speaker 1: which is a big deal. Now he might he won't
Speaker 1: play every snap on offense, and that's probably a good thing.
Speaker 1: But slowly get him in there, get him some playing time.
Speaker 1: He's listed as a starter on the depth chart, but
Speaker 1: I got a feeling that Jeron Brown will probably start
Speaker 1: opposite Tyler Lockett, or if they start three wide receivers,
Speaker 1: then you might put DK in there. But he's been,
Speaker 1: he's been something, and he can get down field. He
Speaker 1: actually runs routes better than anybody expected. You know, he
Speaker 1: worked with Jerry Sullivan out of the former coach at
Speaker 1: Arizona on running pass routes, you know, breaking down, getting
Speaker 1: out of his routes, but getting his head around, and
Speaker 1: he's much better at that than I think any of
Speaker 1: us thought he was going to be. And we all
Speaker 1: know he can run. He's a four three guy downfield
Speaker 1: at six to four and two hundred and twenty pounds
Speaker 1: and one and a half percent body fat. Oh my god,
Speaker 1: I mean I can't even imagine I get one percent
Speaker 1: body fighting a little finger. But I mean, that's that's unbelievable. Really,
Speaker 1: it really is. Well, so the thing that I realized
Speaker 1: that the Seahawks, you know, were established that ground game. Obviously,
Speaker 1: one hundred and sixty yards a game last year led
Speaker 1: the league fifth in the league four point and to carry.
Speaker 1: But when I looked at numbers. They ran the ball
Speaker 1: second most in the NFL behind Baltimore, who when they
Speaker 1: put Jackson at quarterback, they were pounding the ball. But
Speaker 1: those are the only two teams in the NFL that
Speaker 1: ran it over five hundred times. You know, for the season,
Speaker 1: they're dead last in past attempts, the second in the
Speaker 1: league in Rushes, dead last in past attempts. And with
Speaker 1: that said, Russell Wilson had the best year he's ever had.
Speaker 1: I guess I guess less was more for him with
Speaker 1: that running game so established him. Yeah, exactly what it
Speaker 1: meant was he was so effective thirty five touchdown, seven interceptions.
Speaker 1: That ratio himself is great. If you're throwing the ball,
Speaker 1: you know, three four or five times, he's not right.
Speaker 1: And he also didn't run as much as he has
Speaker 1: in the past two straight weeks. He almost got his
Speaker 1: life taken off. Some guys would have been on ir
Speaker 1: and yet he's amazingly tossed. He really operates well in
Speaker 1: this offense. He operates well. He loves handing the ball
Speaker 1: to Chris in the backfield. You got um pro Sites
Speaker 1: who was just coming back kind of really starting to
Speaker 1: look like he's he's the player we thought he was
Speaker 1: when they drafted him in the third round. But this
Speaker 1: is this is a good offense. And you know where
Speaker 1: it starts, slap and everybody will say this, who's ever
Speaker 1: been a part of football? It starts up front. And finally,
Speaker 1: we have an experienced veteran, a group of guys returning,
Speaker 1: and they all understand the system. They're led by Dwayne
Speaker 1: Brown on the left end, left tackle side, and I
Speaker 1: think they're just as good as any offensive line in
Speaker 1: the game right now. A couple more questions for Seahawks
Speaker 1: voice Steve Rabel. I've got a thirteen year old son,
Speaker 1: Steve Russell Wilson is his favorite player in the NFL.
Speaker 1: Even though his dad works for the Bengals. He's not
Speaker 1: allowed to wear his number three Seahawks jersey this weekend.
Speaker 1: So what I'm going to say will be heresy to
Speaker 1: my own son. But I want to ask this question.
Speaker 1: He was sacked fifty one times last year. We see
Speaker 1: him run around and make big plays when he buys
Speaker 1: extra time. But are there not just times, but numerous
Speaker 1: times where Russell Wilson holds onto it too long? Yeah,
Speaker 1: there are some of those times, and it's and it
Speaker 1: comes strictly from a guy trying to make a play.
Speaker 1: I mean, he comes from a guy who's so confident
Speaker 1: in his own ability. It also came at times when
Speaker 1: it was a jail a jailbreak pass rush. And you
Speaker 1: know there are times when our rights coach Germaine Fetti
Speaker 1: can be had. Fast pass rushers, tough guys outside make
Speaker 1: it difficult on him. He's not got the best feat
Speaker 1: in the world. So at times Russ had to just
Speaker 1: as soon as he got the ball, turn and pull away.
Speaker 1: And it also came when guys miss blocks. Running backs
Speaker 1: miss blocks. You know, we the tight end maybe stay
Speaker 1: in for max protection and miss the block on a
Speaker 1: blitzing linebacker. You know, those kind of things happen too.
Speaker 1: But Russ will tell you that probably seven or eight
Speaker 1: times out of ten, when he makes that wheel route
Speaker 1: out of the backfield, something good is going to happen.
Speaker 1: His receivers know where he's going. They practice it every
Speaker 1: single day. That okay, he's wheeling out. Here is where
Speaker 1: I need to be, There's where you need to be.
Speaker 1: Here's how we need to get separation. So Russ has
Speaker 1: people to throw too, and then you also have that
Speaker 1: option is a great ability to run this preseason needed
Speaker 1: a great job getting out of bounds protecting himself. He
Speaker 1: slid down a couple of times and guys went flying
Speaker 1: or rented. Was preseason, after all, and they might take
Speaker 1: more shots obviously as the season starts. But most of
Speaker 1: the time he didn't wheel out and get us in trouble.
Speaker 1: In third and long situations, it was always you know,
Speaker 1: it might have been first or second down, third down
Speaker 1: when they knew they had to convert. You didn't see
Speaker 1: nearly as much of that, you know. I think when
Speaker 1: I watch him on tape, he more than any quarterback
Speaker 1: that I think in the league does the greatest job
Speaker 1: of putting players between the rock and a hard place.
Speaker 1: They can't guess right he's on the edge, linebacker, do
Speaker 1: I drop coverage come after him? Do I stay back
Speaker 1: and coverage is going to tuck it and go. He
Speaker 1: seems to leverage defensive backs with receivers the same way.
Speaker 1: He has them so many times between the rock and
Speaker 1: a hard place, and a receiver that he does that
Speaker 1: with as well as any is lock it. I mean
Speaker 1: lock it last year almost seventeen yards to catch and
Speaker 1: over nineteen yards to catch on third down. Four touchdown
Speaker 1: catches on third down. He is definitely his deep ball guy,
Speaker 1: isn't he? He really is, And you know it is
Speaker 1: one of the big keys of this team. You know,
Speaker 1: we talked about how much they run the ball, and
Speaker 1: then they're going to run it again this time. Carson
Speaker 1: is going to get the ball twenty five times a game.
Speaker 1: Penny is going to get his share of runs. But
Speaker 1: what makes this offense really go? And then you know
Speaker 1: teams are not done. They can see film, they understand it.
Speaker 1: But you keep pounding the football and guys keep coming
Speaker 1: up and playing a little bit closer to the line,
Speaker 1: a little bit closer, and then you have the run
Speaker 1: pass option and Russell rolls out and you watch Tyler
Speaker 1: Lockett and he has the greatest ability to cross the
Speaker 1: field and get into the olden area on the far
Speaker 1: side of the field on a deep sale route and
Speaker 1: Russell can put that ball on the money. Did it
Speaker 1: several times in preseason. We saw in a bunch last year.
Speaker 1: We are one of the best teams in the league.
Speaker 1: Get explosive plays and they come specifically off of what
Speaker 1: was perhaps a short pass route or a run pass option,
Speaker 1: and Russell is able to find his guy downfield, because
Speaker 1: exactly what you said, you put the defense in such
Speaker 1: a bond should they come up as they drop back,
Speaker 1: and if they're all not on the same page, there's
Speaker 1: generally a big open spot in there someplace, and Russell
Speaker 1: has the vision to find it. Here in Cincinnati, we're
Speaker 1: morning the final month of Marty Brenneman's broadcasting career. And
Speaker 1: of course Marty's signature call is and this one belongs
Speaker 1: to the reds Well. Steve Rabel's signature call when the
Speaker 1: Seahawks do something spectacular is holy Cutfish. Hopefully you'll have
Speaker 1: to save that for week two. That's going to do
Speaker 1: it for this edition of the podcast. If you haven't
Speaker 1: done so already, please subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, google Play, Spotify,
Speaker 1: or pod Bean and if you have a minute, give
Speaker 1: it a rating or leave a comment. Your feedback has
Speaker 1: been great in five star ratings. Help more Bengals fans
Speaker 1: find this podcast. I'm Dan Horde. Thanks for listening to
Speaker 1: The Bengals Booth podcast.