Speaker 1: Hi, get everybody on Dan Horde and thanks for downloading
Speaker 1: the Bengals Booth Podcast. The Ain't It Fun Living in
Speaker 1: the real world? Addition, as the three and one Bengals,
Speaker 1: currently tied for first in the AFC North, look to
Speaker 1: add to the fun as they try to upset Aaron
Speaker 1: Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers on Sunday at Paul
Speaker 1: Brown Stadium. Coming up, I'll talk to the host of
Speaker 1: Football Night in America every Sunday night on NBC not
Speaker 1: to mention the Olympics, Triple Crown horse races and well
Speaker 1: you name it, He's done it, the great Mike Tarico.
Speaker 1: My one on one player interview this week is with
Speaker 1: a member of the Bengals who spent seven years playing
Speaker 1: with Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay, Mike Daniels. Dave Lapham
Speaker 1: joins me to discuss the latest Bengals news and share
Speaker 1: some keys to Sunday's game. And finally, it's our no
Speaker 1: the Faux segment, as we find out just how serious
Speaker 1: all of the Packers injuries are as we visit with
Speaker 1: Pete Doherty from the Green Bay Press Gazette. The Bengals
Speaker 1: Booth Podcast is presented by Bud light Seltzer refreshed the game.
Speaker 1: And here's a quick reminder that you can have the
Speaker 1: latest edition of this podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet,
Speaker 1: or computer by subscribing on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify,
Speaker 1: or pod Bean. It's the greatest thing since my incredibly
Speaker 1: good fortune last week. Beginning on the last Sunday in September,
Speaker 1: I called a Bengals road win over the dreaded, hated
Speaker 1: but grudgingly respected Pittsburgh Steelers. Four nights later, it was
Speaker 1: the dramatic come from behind Thursday night victory over Jacksonville,
Speaker 1: ending on a game winning field goal at the gun.
Speaker 1: And two days after that, it was you see's huge
Speaker 1: winted Notre Dame, ending a twenty six game home winning
Speaker 1: streak for the Fighting Irish. To make that even better,
Speaker 1: my fifteen year old son Sam was with me in
Speaker 1: the booth at Notre Dame, making it a great father
Speaker 1: son memory. To paraphrase Lou Garrig, last week I considered
Speaker 1: myself so the luckiest man man man on the face
Speaker 1: of the earth. Earth. Now let's get to this week's guests,
Speaker 1: Beginning with perhaps the most versatile broadcaster in the business.
Speaker 1: He is the host of Football Night in America on
Speaker 1: NBC and one of the most accomplished broadcasters of all time.
Speaker 1: He's also my college buddy from Syracuse University, Mike Tarico. Mike,
Speaker 1: here's my first question. When you and the crew are
Speaker 1: watching a Bengals game on Sunday getting ready for Football
Speaker 1: Night in America and you're observing Joe Burrow, what are
Speaker 1: you and Tony Dungee and Rodney Harrison and Drew Brees
Speaker 1: saying about the Bengals quarterback. Well, first off, it's great
Speaker 1: to be with one of the best. It's great to
Speaker 1: be back with my buddy and talk to you here, Dan.
Speaker 1: So we watched the games, and the Bengals have, as
Speaker 1: you all well know, been in the one o'clock Eastern
Speaker 1: Sunday time slot a lot over the last several years.
Speaker 1: So in that mix, the Bengals game usually isn't the
Speaker 1: most important game, so it has not been in the
Speaker 1: most prominent spot. But that's changing now. So that alone
Speaker 1: tells you what's going on the first month of the season.
Speaker 1: What they say about Burrow is a wow, it really is.
Speaker 1: And I think Drew Brees really kind of caught my
Speaker 1: attention last week and just pointing out that there's just
Speaker 1: something about Burrow. As a matter of fact, we're in
Speaker 1: South Bend on Friday after the Thursday night game and
Speaker 1: talking just about what Joe Burrow brings to the table
Speaker 1: that a guy who's proven himself to get to this
Speaker 1: point plays with that kind of moxie, that kind of poise,
Speaker 1: and we both remarked, and Tony Dungee has said this
Speaker 1: as well, just the way he handles being QB one.
Speaker 1: And that's not just on the field, that's everything. And
Speaker 1: I think you saw it in the postgame Thursday night
Speaker 1: on an NFL network. All the fans are there, Joe's there,
Speaker 1: three and one, the world is great. It's like, hey,
Speaker 1: let's relax. We haven't done anything just yet. And that
Speaker 1: kind of along with the physical talents, are going to
Speaker 1: be what gives Cincinnati another good quarterback for quite some time.
Speaker 1: I think the Bengals had a good one when Andy
Speaker 1: Dalton was there. There was a success. I know people
Speaker 1: don't look back at that the way that they should.
Speaker 1: In my opinion, I think you're set up for another
Speaker 1: run that may even be better with Joe being there. Well, Joe,
Speaker 1: I'll love hearing that compliment from Drew Brees since Drew
Speaker 1: was his favorite NFL quarterback growing up. Aside from Joe,
Speaker 1: what's caught your eye in this three and one start?
Speaker 1: You know, the pieces are there, Zach's done a really
Speaker 1: good job with working the pieces of this offense. You
Speaker 1: know you have run ability that mixed new Zamba coming
Speaker 1: in the game. Obviously Jamar Chase and Boyd the receivers.
Speaker 1: Now you look at the field and you go, there
Speaker 1: are four guys here to get the ball too. So
Speaker 1: it's that and then it's playing with the confidence. You know, Dan,
Speaker 1: I live in the Detroit area. I grew up a
Speaker 1: Jets fan, so I've seen firsthand for generations that the
Speaker 1: inevitability that the anvil hanging over the team is going
Speaker 1: to fall at some point late third quarter, the inability
Speaker 1: to handle prosperity, and I feel this Bengals team has
Speaker 1: a different feel about it, that comfort with being in
Speaker 1: those spots, the ability to take that moment, seize it
Speaker 1: and control the game. There wasn't a panic down fourteen
Speaker 1: nothing at Jacksonville at halftime, and the team methodically came
Speaker 1: back like we're the better team. We're gonna get there.
Speaker 1: When I'm playing our best. That to me is a
Speaker 1: maturity and a growth level and a team, and that's
Speaker 1: what I'm seeing. What I've seen from the Bengals the
Speaker 1: first month of the season. Three and one is great,
Speaker 1: but it's only roughly one quarter into the season. What
Speaker 1: would a successful season looked like in your opinion for
Speaker 1: the Bengals. Yeah, that's the most screwed up thing of
Speaker 1: having seventeen games. We don't know what the quarter pole is.
Speaker 1: We don't know at the halfway pole. Nobody can be
Speaker 1: a five hundred team anymore. You know, what do we say?
Speaker 1: The league is set up for nine and eight or
Speaker 1: eight and nine. I think in this division that's a
Speaker 1: good record because Pittsburgh obviously is on an arc that's
Speaker 1: going down at this point. But certainly Cleveland and Baltimore
Speaker 1: are two elite teams. And when you look at those
Speaker 1: six games in your division, can you scratch four and
Speaker 1: two out of that? If so, that's a good year.
Speaker 1: And I think Cincinnati's relevance and quality makes it just
Speaker 1: that as well. So can you be in the playoff
Speaker 1: mix when we hit December? Because those games being played
Speaker 1: by Joe Burrow by Chase By everybody who's young in
Speaker 1: this organization who has not been through that playoff run.
Speaker 1: Those are the valuable things. And if you can get there,
Speaker 1: and with seven it may be a little bit easier
Speaker 1: to get there than it used to be, that's great.
Speaker 1: I think the AC West is strong, so that's gonna
Speaker 1: be a little bit of the problem. The depth of
Speaker 1: the ACY West, the depth of the AMCY North. A
Speaker 1: key injury one place or the other might see if
Speaker 1: three teams from one division can get in. But overall,
Speaker 1: I think let's get to Thanksgiving December still be very
Speaker 1: much in the playoff mix. That's a successful season to me.
Speaker 1: Big test coming up on Sunday with Aaron Rodgers and
Speaker 1: the Packers rolling into Paul Brown Stadium. Any early thoughts
Speaker 1: on that match shot. You know, Green Bay was a
Speaker 1: mess after Week one, and then after a couple of
Speaker 1: weeks you start to see, okay, they're not going to
Speaker 1: be that bad, but they're not at the level where
Speaker 1: they were the last two years where they went to
Speaker 1: the NFC Championship Game. They're searching for that. On the
Speaker 1: defensive side of the ball. With Joe Barry, their new
Speaker 1: defensive coordinator, I think they figured out who they want
Speaker 1: to be and what they can be over the last
Speaker 1: couple of weeks, and Aaron Rodgers and DeVante Adams are
Speaker 1: just ridiculous, along with Aaron Jones. Those three together are
Speaker 1: so hard to handle. And I really think of Rogers.
Speaker 1: You know, we have this category Breeze now retired, sitting
Speaker 1: with us. You've got Brady and Roethlisberger and the quarterbacks
Speaker 1: who've been around for so long. You've got the guys
Speaker 1: in their prime like Russell Wilson and Matthew Stafford. And
Speaker 1: then you got all this young, great talent on Joe
Speaker 1: Burrows at the head of that list. But Aaron Rodgers
Speaker 1: isn't in that veteran group yet that he's just kind
Speaker 1: of managed. He still does magical things. There are two
Speaker 1: or three throws a game where whether it's Dungee or
Speaker 1: Breeze sitting to them, where us as fans were like, gosh,
Speaker 1: he's still unbelievable. And it's armed talent. It's the mental acuity.
Speaker 1: It's the ability to still scramble when you need to scramble.
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers will make four or five plays that the
Speaker 1: Bengals cannot be prepared to defend because nobody knows that's coming.
Speaker 1: Those are the plays that win games. Consincinnati get on
Speaker 1: them early, create an atmosphere where it's tough to communicate
Speaker 1: because they love to communicate. That would be, to me,
Speaker 1: the seeds of getting a win. A win that would
Speaker 1: open up a lot of eyes around the NFL to
Speaker 1: how real the Bengals are. Our guest is Mike Dariko
Speaker 1: from NBC Sports. You've called a lot of Bengals games
Speaker 1: over the years. Do you have a moment or a
Speaker 1: game that immediately comes to mind? There are a bunch.
Speaker 1: There was actually a Thursday night where we shot saw
Speaker 1: Deshaun Watson as a visitor breakout of the fifty yard
Speaker 1: touchdown right like whoa really? And we saw how good
Speaker 1: he was the last couple of years he played after that.
Speaker 1: But a Bengal centric moment has to be Monday Night
Speaker 1: Football Week one, two thousand and seven against the Ravens
Speaker 1: when Palmer to Johnson touchdown and chad Ocho Cinco Johnson
Speaker 1: of course goes for the Hall of Fame jacket with
Speaker 1: the back saying hof class two zero, question mark, question
Speaker 1: mark nothing better. That was the epic moment of celebrations
Speaker 1: for the Bengals and Chad taking to a high level.
Speaker 1: My personal favorite wasn't a Monday Night was using the
Speaker 1: pylon as a putter and making the play. I thought
Speaker 1: that was the all time best for me. But to
Speaker 1: come over, have the jacket place ready wide enough to
Speaker 1: get over the shoulder pads, go to the back, show
Speaker 1: that what was on the back of the gold jacket.
Speaker 1: Think about all the planning that had to happen, and
Speaker 1: he still had to catch a touchdown for that to
Speaker 1: do it on Monday night football week one. Absurd, Yes, memorable.
Speaker 1: Obviously it's fourteen years later and I feel like it
Speaker 1: was yesterday looking down at the field and saying, my gosh,
Speaker 1: what is he doing? That's pretty funny. So you don't
Speaker 1: have to think back very far for the next question.
Speaker 1: You called this Cincinnati Notre Dame game last week in
Speaker 1: South Band. Are the Bearcats worthy of legitimate consideration for
Speaker 1: a four team playoff if they keep this up? It
Speaker 1: was my honor to be the second best play by
Speaker 1: play guy on that game after you calling it for
Speaker 1: the UC fans on the radio. But yeah, I think
Speaker 1: they are. I think they are. There are enough people
Speaker 1: on that defense at every level. What do you look
Speaker 1: at for a good defense? Every level of players right
Speaker 1: and from Sanders to Beavers just sauce. There are players
Speaker 1: at every level for you see on the defense and side,
Speaker 1: and a bunch of other guys to go with them too.
Speaker 1: It's not just one or two stars. And you got
Speaker 1: a quarterback who's got it? You know what is it?
Speaker 1: It's it's that whole thing that I can't really describe it.
Speaker 1: When you see it, you know it. Ritter has it
Speaker 1: as a quarterback. You know, is he going to throw
Speaker 1: the ball through the through the door, you know, and
Speaker 1: just break through the plywood of the door because he
Speaker 1: has such a huge arm. No, is he going to
Speaker 1: outrun everybody on the field A lot of guys, but
Speaker 1: maybe not everybody. But he's also got that intangible and
Speaker 1: I think when you see a team that knows what's
Speaker 1: at stake and on the road, they blow up big
Speaker 1: lead and now it's at got to have a drive
Speaker 1: and he leads you to a got to have a drive.
Speaker 1: That to me showed me these guys can do it
Speaker 1: on this stage. I think they can. Hopefully they can
Speaker 1: handle the prosperity. They'll move up to number four if
Speaker 1: they win. This week because of the matchups and the
Speaker 1: polls and all that. And now they're there. Now everybody's
Speaker 1: gonna be watching them much closer. It's on their plate.
Speaker 1: Can they finish the meal? If so, I'd love to
Speaker 1: see them in the playoff. I took my usual shot
Speaker 1: at the college football Playoff, Dan. If five of us
Speaker 1: were investing in a company, would we say let's share
Speaker 1: the profits four ways? Of course? Not so. Right At
Speaker 1: the very core of it, the College Football Playoff was
Speaker 1: set up in the most stupid fashion possible. The conference
Speaker 1: stakeholders didn't give themselves a seat at the table. Guarantee.
Speaker 1: That doesn't say anything for any of the group of
Speaker 1: five schools. Cincinnati, by their play last year, started out
Speaker 1: high enough this year to get a chance. Everything of
Speaker 1: that program, the way it's a run, the organization, the administration,
Speaker 1: the support, the fans at home, the coaching staff, the
Speaker 1: radio play by play guy, everything is worthy of national
Speaker 1: championship contender level. Let's see somebody take a swing, and
Speaker 1: you see the perfect school to do that. So I
Speaker 1: think absolutely they're in it for the run here and
Speaker 1: I can't wait to watch. I'm pretty sure they don't
Speaker 1: consider the radio play by play guy, but I appreciate
Speaker 1: the thought. Last thing for Mike Tarico. How much fun
Speaker 1: was it last Sunday night to be in New England
Speaker 1: for Tom Brady's return. It was incredible playing and simple.
Speaker 1: Then you know, we do a lot of build up
Speaker 1: when you do pregame shows and you're just like, man,
Speaker 1: this is this is a little over the top. It
Speaker 1: felt really different. We opened the show. I got to
Speaker 1: do the walk that Brady was going to do for
Speaker 1: the visitor's tunnel out and down onto the field and
Speaker 1: doing it at seven o'clock. It was really cool. I've
Speaker 1: got the chance of a bunch of cool things. That
Speaker 1: was one of the cooler things to take people behind
Speaker 1: the scenes, to see Robert Craft waiting to talk to Brady,
Speaker 1: to see the people as he walked in, the fist bumps,
Speaker 1: the hugs. It was an emotional night for the greatest
Speaker 1: quarterback we've ever seen, going up against the greatest head
Speaker 1: coach we've ever seen, and the game came down to
Speaker 1: this much. I was on the field to watch the
Speaker 1: fifty six yard field goal. It had a thud to
Speaker 1: it in the wet conditions. It was hit hard. If
Speaker 1: that ball is this much further to the right, the
Speaker 1: Patriots win the game on a last minute drive led
Speaker 1: by the guy who's supposed to be the next big
Speaker 1: quarterback in New England. Like you write the whole deal
Speaker 1: up and if you submit that one, you're like, nah,
Speaker 1: that that's not going to happen. It was one of
Speaker 1: the special nights in the NFL. I'm so glad that
Speaker 1: the ratings showed that people were invested in it and
Speaker 1: care in it, and I think I care about it,
Speaker 1: and I think there'll be a halo effect too, because
Speaker 1: I think people are so into the emotional stories and
Speaker 1: the exciting stories of the NFL this year, not just
Speaker 1: in New England and Tampa with Brady and Belichick and
Speaker 1: where they go, but around the league. Two that had
Speaker 1: one of those magnet moments that make you feel like
Speaker 1: you know on a campus what's going on in the NFL.
Speaker 1: It was a night I'll remember for a long time
Speaker 1: and an honor and a pleasure to be on the
Speaker 1: field as Brady kind of ran out for the first
Speaker 1: time as a visitor. Mike, you're the best. I appreciate
Speaker 1: your time and your friendship. Keep up the great work.
Speaker 1: Same here. It's great to see a pal's great death,
Speaker 1: Breakfast with you and your awesome sun, and to look
Speaker 1: forward to a lot of Bengals and Bearcats wins the
Speaker 1: rest of the fall. So be good, budd. I got
Speaker 1: to know Mike when he was a freshman and I
Speaker 1: was an upperclassman at Syracuse, and I knew right away
Speaker 1: that he was going to be a star. He certainly is,
Speaker 1: and yet he truly hasn't changed a bit. He's one
Speaker 1: of the most generous, thoughtful people I have ever met.
Speaker 1: Up next, Bengals defensive tackle Mike Daniels, who is currently
Speaker 1: on the Bengals practice squad. He was a fourth round
Speaker 1: draft pick by the Green Bay Packers in twenty twelve
Speaker 1: and brings a unique perspective to this week's game. If
Speaker 1: anybody knows about Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers,
Speaker 1: it's Bengals defensive lineman Mike Daniels. You spend seven grade
Speaker 1: eight years in Green Bay, were selected to the Pro
Speaker 1: Bowl three times, chosen by your peers as one of
Speaker 1: the top one hundred players in the league, made it
Speaker 1: to two NFC Championship games. When you look back at
Speaker 1: those great years in Green Bay, what do you cherish
Speaker 1: the most what I really cherish is just my development,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean, as a player and as
Speaker 1: a man. Anybody can tell you that the time he's
Speaker 1: been in NFL is definitely gonna help you grow and mature.
Speaker 1: And I definitely left a much better pro than I
Speaker 1: did when I walked in. And I definitely have like
Speaker 1: the similar feeling while I'm here. You know, just that development,
Speaker 1: constant growth, continue to be a better pro, better leader.
Speaker 1: You know, that's a just thankful you know what I mean,
Speaker 1: from my development there. I'm sure there were more number
Speaker 1: twelve jerseys in the stands, but there was a love
Speaker 1: affair between Packers fans and yourself. There were a lot
Speaker 1: of number seventy six jerseys at Lambeau. Most of us
Speaker 1: will never know what that's like. What is that relationship
Speaker 1: when you have a fan base that really admires you
Speaker 1: like that. Well, I've been going for years now. This
Speaker 1: will be the third and the last two season they've
Speaker 1: been asking me for me to come back, So I
Speaker 1: mean that tells you everything. Even now I post something
Speaker 1: I get at least you know, five or six different
Speaker 1: um Packers fans saying bring him back, Aaron GM, Aaron
Speaker 1: bring him back, you know. I mean, so that's definitely
Speaker 1: a wonderful feeling. And to have that type of love
Speaker 1: and appreciation and acceptance from the fans, that's that's everything.
Speaker 1: And once again, it's it's I feel the same stuff
Speaker 1: that I feel with Judae nation Man, the way I've
Speaker 1: been embraced, the way I've been accepted. Once again, there's
Speaker 1: arrows like we can't wait to see you back out
Speaker 1: there playing. We're looking forward to see you rolling again.
Speaker 1: So like it's really cool to have that type of
Speaker 1: really great relationship with your fan based who supports you
Speaker 1: so much. We're chatting with Mike Daniels. Aaron Rodgers or
Speaker 1: as your teammate the entire time you were there, you
Speaker 1: were there for one of his MVP seasons in twenty fourteen.
Speaker 1: What did you respect most about Aaron Rodgers? Just as
Speaker 1: the way he carried himself. He's a great teammate. He
Speaker 1: treats everybody the same, doesn't matter if you're Davanta Adams
Speaker 1: Is go to Target or you're a you know, rookie
Speaker 1: practice squad guy who they just sign. He's going to
Speaker 1: treat you the exact same way. And it's just that
Speaker 1: respect that he walks around the building with that I
Speaker 1: greatly appreciate. When he was contemplating his future in the
Speaker 1: off season, did you think there was a chance he
Speaker 1: would retire. I know there was no chance that he's retired.
Speaker 1: He ain't retire no time soon. He's too much of
Speaker 1: a competitor. He's very smart. He knows what he's doing. Man, Aaron,
Speaker 1: he loves the game. He didn't return no time soon.
Speaker 1: Earlier this year on NFL Network, he said that Joe
Speaker 1: Burrow is a lot like Aaron Rodgers. You said that
Speaker 1: Joe is baby Aaron. Those are the words that you used.
Speaker 1: What similarities do you see? Joe definitely. Once again, it's
Speaker 1: just the respect he has for everybody in the locker room,
Speaker 1: right And I've been around long enough and a lot
Speaker 1: of rookies aren't like that. And for or you have
Speaker 1: a number one overall pick to come in and you
Speaker 1: know understand what he has to do the importance of
Speaker 1: his job. That's ah. He definitely takes everything seriously. Aaron
Speaker 1: the same way. He knows when the he knows when
Speaker 1: the lightning to move. Aaron the same way. And he's
Speaker 1: a leader. Aaron's the same way he definitely will make
Speaker 1: sure he brings the best out of the guys who
Speaker 1: are blocking for him, who he's throwing too, and who's
Speaker 1: who's running the ball. And likewise, the defense, you know,
Speaker 1: our job is to get the ball back for him,
Speaker 1: and he makes you want to do that. We're talking
Speaker 1: to Mike Daniels. Aaron Rodgers is obviously not the only
Speaker 1: former teammate that's still in Green Bay. Aaron Jones, Defante Adams,
Speaker 1: Randall Cobb, the list goes on and on. Is your
Speaker 1: knowledge of those guys helpful it all this week? Absolutely? Absolutely.
Speaker 1: I don't think David is playing, you know, and haven't
Speaker 1: going to be against him. That definitely would have helped.
Speaker 1: But the other guy absolutely. I know how those guys run,
Speaker 1: catch the guys playing on defense, so you you always
Speaker 1: want to help be able to give you guys an edge.
Speaker 1: That's just how it goes in the NFL. And just
Speaker 1: I've been inside those walls, so I know the guys.
Speaker 1: I know the player and the person and that that
Speaker 1: that definitely definitely helps being able to help my teammates.
Speaker 1: Oll here, you haven't been on the active roster yet
Speaker 1: this year, but it's football. Injuries happen. You're gonna be
Speaker 1: needed at some point. How are you staying sharp and
Speaker 1: how are you contributing right now? Well, so staying sharps,
Speaker 1: just being a professional. I'm training, definitely putting a lot
Speaker 1: of working on the off days, putting extra working while
Speaker 1: I'm here and practicing heart preparing for when my number
Speaker 1: is called because we'll be called, and really being attentive
Speaker 1: in the meetings right staying on top of the game, playing,
Speaker 1: preparing every week like as if I'm going to play,
Speaker 1: I guess if I'm going to start. And I've been
Speaker 1: traveling every week. You know, I've been on the silent
Speaker 1: every game, you know the guys and they've they've really
Speaker 1: been wanting me to give the pregame speech every week.
Speaker 1: And that's one of the biggest that's the biggest comment
Speaker 1: I've ever received as a player ten years and for
Speaker 1: my teammates is still you know, view me as a leader,
Speaker 1: put me in a leadership role. And I really take
Speaker 1: that seriously and I appreciate all my brothers here in
Speaker 1: his locker room for doing so. I'm on the sidelines
Speaker 1: definitely coaching guys up, helping out and all the ways
Speaker 1: I possibly can those brothers you referred to have been
Speaker 1: playing great. The defense is off to a tremendous start.
Speaker 1: When did you start to think it might be this good? Well,
Speaker 1: I knew that from the beginning, and I was saying
Speaker 1: that on all season, where I could look at the
Speaker 1: guys we brought it, and the guys who were coming back,
Speaker 1: and the guys who were healthy. So I'm just looking
Speaker 1: forward for the opportunity to be able to get out
Speaker 1: there and physically contribute, you know, to that process. Because
Speaker 1: the guys are playing really well right now. They're doing
Speaker 1: awesome and it's very fun to watch. Zach Taylor keeps
Speaker 1: mentioning your leadership. I know that's real. I appreciate you'd
Speaker 1: spending some time with us today and look forward to
Speaker 1: seeing you back out in the field. Absolutely. Thanks. I
Speaker 1: haven't mean I'm looking forward get me back out there
Speaker 1: as well. At the age of thirty two, I think
Speaker 1: Mike Daniel still has some good football left in him.
Speaker 1: But when he decides he's finished, he'll make a great
Speaker 1: broadcaster if that interests him. The Bengals Booth podcast is
Speaker 1: presented by Bud light Seltzer. It's light and refreshing with
Speaker 1: a hint of fruit flavor. Now, time to discuss some
Speaker 1: of the key storylines heading into Sunday's game with my
Speaker 1: broadcast partner Dave lapham So Lap. On Wednesday, while talking
Speaker 1: to Cincinnati reporters, offensive line coach Frank Pollock said that
Speaker 1: Joe Burrow has an aura that reminds him of a
Speaker 1: quarterback he played with in San Francisco, four time Super
Speaker 1: Bowl champion, Joe Montana. What was your reaction when you
Speaker 1: heard that? That was like high cotton right there, man,
Speaker 1: I mean, that's about as higher praise as you can get.
Speaker 1: And you know the original Joe Cool, you know Joe Montana.
Speaker 1: I can see it. I can see it in a
Speaker 1: lot of things. Body type, demeanor, not a Howitzer, but
Speaker 1: extremely accurate, just intelligent, saw the whole field, diagnosed things
Speaker 1: great pre snap, great post snap. I can I can
Speaker 1: see the I can see the comparisons big time. And
Speaker 1: when you he just threw it out there that you know,
Speaker 1: the or the the presence kind of thing um self
Speaker 1: confidence and exuding all of that. It's it's very interesting.
Speaker 1: And Frank Pollock, I trust him as an evaluator of talent,
Speaker 1: as an evaluator of human beings. I mean, he played
Speaker 1: with them, so he knows him intimately. And now he's
Speaker 1: been around Joe Burrow enough to get a pretty good
Speaker 1: handle on him. If Frank Pollock says there are similarities there,
Speaker 1: who that's stronger than new Rope because that's a that's
Speaker 1: a great thing to have a guy of that caliber
Speaker 1: around here for who knows how much longer, hopefully the
Speaker 1: move a decade or more. That's the thing that was
Speaker 1: striking to me because we're not talking about an ESPN
Speaker 1: talk show. This isn't a hot take from Stephen A.
Speaker 1: Smith or Max Kellerman or Skip Bayliss on Fox. This
Speaker 1: is Frank Pollock, who isn't generally effusive with his praise,
Speaker 1: talking about a guy that he spent nearly a decade
Speaker 1: with as a teammate in the NFL, in the locker room,
Speaker 1: in the in the meeting room, on the football field,
Speaker 1: in the huddle, you know, everywhere, and to be able
Speaker 1: to draw, to draw that that type of comparison, that
Speaker 1: that's the name that you that you pull out of
Speaker 1: your head when you're trying to find somebody to compare
Speaker 1: Joe Burrow's demeanor. Two Extremely high praise, Extremely high praise
Speaker 1: coming from, like you said, a very trustworthy source. You
Speaker 1: know it's not it's not anybody looking for shock value,
Speaker 1: looking for ratings, looking for whatever. Just telling it like
Speaker 1: it is, you know, right from his right, from his
Speaker 1: heart in his head. Let's stick with Frank Pollock. He
Speaker 1: was asked a bunch of questions about Jackson Carmen and
Speaker 1: had positive things to say about Jackson. In the first
Speaker 1: two games, he started a right guard, but he saved
Speaker 1: his highest praise for the guy starting at left guard,
Speaker 1: Quentin Spain. For what it's worth, Pro Football Focus has
Speaker 1: him graded higher than Kevin Zeitler so far this year.
Speaker 1: Does Quentin Spain deserve more praise than he typically gets? Yeah,
Speaker 1: he loves being under the radar. But I'll tell you
Speaker 1: he is one big, strong individual. I mean he's everywhere
Speaker 1: you can be, big, broad, thick, wide, I mean he
Speaker 1: is just he's a massive man. And when you you know,
Speaker 1: pat him on the shoulder, pat him on the back,
Speaker 1: shake his hand. Everything solid as a rock. I mean
Speaker 1: there's nothing loose there. You know, he's not fleshy. He
Speaker 1: is just thick and he is. Frank Pollock described it perfectly.
Speaker 1: I mean he's got some meat hook hands. He gets
Speaker 1: his hands on people. He's got so much strength in
Speaker 1: his hands. When he locks on boy, you're done. I mean,
Speaker 1: you're you're grabbed, you're you're You're basically in control of
Speaker 1: Quentin Spain at that point in time. And he doesn't
Speaker 1: get bull rushed. You know, you don't see him, you know,
Speaker 1: getting walked back to the quarterback immediately. He is one
Speaker 1: big human being that can anchor himself. And and uh
Speaker 1: and yet people, you know when when teammates and opponents,
Speaker 1: even more specifically opponents, when they say, oh, I mean
Speaker 1: when you hit that guy, you've been hit. And when
Speaker 1: he locks on you, you can't get away. He's strong,
Speaker 1: he's this he's at when when you keep getting all
Speaker 1: the people with the same evaluation, it's a it's a
Speaker 1: it's a real deal. At that point in time, this
Speaker 1: guy is definitely a beast. There's no question about it. Now,
Speaker 1: you know, is he the most graceful athlete in the world.
Speaker 1: Not necessarily, but is he athletic enough? Hell? Yeah, you know.
Speaker 1: And and he's a big, strong, powerful human being. What
Speaker 1: I liked about what Frank mentioned about him as well,
Speaker 1: was in the classroom, he'll ask questions he knows the
Speaker 1: answer to, but he thought maybe Frank didn't quite get
Speaker 1: as deep into his explanation as he thought the younger
Speaker 1: guys might need. So he asked a follow up question,
Speaker 1: and he knows what the subject matter is going to be,
Speaker 1: what the answer is, And Frank said, I love that
Speaker 1: about him. You know, he's he's like he's helping me coach.
Speaker 1: Basically he's a fun guy to coach. And that's that's
Speaker 1: a big plus. So it's it's an unique room and
Speaker 1: that you've got some young guys, but you've got some
Speaker 1: you know, Wiley kg veteran intelligent guys like Quentin Spain,
Speaker 1: Trey Hopkins, Riley Reef. I mean it's a it's a
Speaker 1: good mix. It's a good blend both, you know, mentally, experienced, wise, physically,
Speaker 1: all kinds of ways. You see's offensive line coach Ron
Speaker 1: Crook coach Quintin Spain at West Virginia says, strongest human
Speaker 1: being I have ever met. I think he can bench
Speaker 1: push the stadium. That would be impressive. So Jenna Williams
Speaker 1: also spoke to reporters on Wednesday. He said something that
Speaker 1: made me think of you. He said, the offensive line
Speaker 1: is like an opera or a dance where everybody has
Speaker 1: to be in sync. And he felt that was much
Speaker 1: better in the second half of the Jacksonville game than
Speaker 1: it had been previously. How much progress do you see
Speaker 1: along those lines? I see quite a bit. And you know,
Speaker 1: I remember just back in the day when Jim McNally
Speaker 1: was coaching us and he wanted everybody stepping with the
Speaker 1: same foot, and you don't have to do that to
Speaker 1: be a great offensive line. When you looked at end
Speaker 1: zone tape of the Oakland Raiders, Art Shell, gene Up Shell,
Speaker 1: they were doing stuff a lot differently. I mean, they
Speaker 1: were just they were just big brutes to beat up.
Speaker 1: And they weren't a whole lot of technique there. They
Speaker 1: just mauled you. And footwork and all that wasn't you know,
Speaker 1: it wasn't It wasn't synchronized. You know, like uh, you
Speaker 1: know I said earlier, three hundred pound June tailor dances.
Speaker 1: You know, you look, everybody stepped on the same foot initially,
Speaker 1: and then the hand placed it with the left hand
Speaker 1: in the same spot. You know, unless there are different
Speaker 1: shades of the defensive line and all that, that will
Speaker 1: alter some things. But when they do their a wide
Speaker 1: zone or their stretch play, it looks like everybody's you know,
Speaker 1: went to dance class, and they're taking the same steps
Speaker 1: and doing the same type of things and trying to
Speaker 1: get the same aiming point the target to widen the
Speaker 1: defensive line. And um, so so every everybody's on the
Speaker 1: on the same page in that regard. And uh, like
Speaker 1: you said, you know, my big thing is when an
Speaker 1: offensive line is playing like a fist, you know, you
Speaker 1: don't have to think about wrapping the four fingers and
Speaker 1: curling the thumb around it. You just you just do it.
Speaker 1: And and they're mastering the mundane as Frank Pollock talks
Speaker 1: about and and Jonah talked about, you know, you don't
Speaker 1: when the when the play is called, you don't go
Speaker 1: to line of stagram and you have to think about
Speaker 1: the first step. It's just they do it so much,
Speaker 1: it just happens, you know, you just that you're just
Speaker 1: going right to that you can you can get to
Speaker 1: something else during the course of the play that you
Speaker 1: might get your mind advanced to instead of having to
Speaker 1: worry about that first step or making an adjustment on
Speaker 1: that first step. So all that is is really good
Speaker 1: um and he I remember this with with Bill Johnson,
Speaker 1: with Tiger Johnson. When I first started trying to do
Speaker 1: some of the techniques, he was teaching me that you
Speaker 1: had to unlearn and relearn techniques. In the heat of battle,
Speaker 1: you go back to the old technique that you did
Speaker 1: in college and it'd be like you didn't even know
Speaker 1: you did it. You'd watch the tape the next day
Speaker 1: you go, oh, my gosh, I can't believe I did
Speaker 1: that footwork. But in the heat of battle, that's what
Speaker 1: you go back to. Until you've gone through mastering the
Speaker 1: mundane and doing all the reps, you know, day after
Speaker 1: day after day after day with the new techniques, and
Speaker 1: then they become, you know, the thing that you automatically
Speaker 1: go to in your in your muscle memory. So it's
Speaker 1: it's very interesting to watch the development of that. And
Speaker 1: as every day goes by, it's another you know, a
Speaker 1: bunch of reps added to the mix of mastering the mundane,
Speaker 1: and they become more and more more cohesive and more
Speaker 1: and more like a fist, you know, instead of like
Speaker 1: you know, two or three fingers being wrapped or up
Speaker 1: from four closer to five, having pretty four and then
Speaker 1: pretty soon that thumb's going to wrap over the other
Speaker 1: powerful fifth. Let's move to the Bengals defense. Eighth and
Speaker 1: points allowed, eighth and yards per running play tied for fifth,
Speaker 1: and yards per passing play tied for eighth. And sacks
Speaker 1: with eleven. They had seventeen all of last year. I
Speaker 1: can't believe I'm about to ask this question. Do the
Speaker 1: Bengals have a glaring weakness on defense? Boy? You know,
Speaker 1: I when all hands are on deck, they're pretty darn good.
Speaker 1: And you know, you like the fact that last week
Speaker 1: they were down a starting corner and starting safety and
Speaker 1: they had enough depth in the roster to, you know,
Speaker 1: to make necessary adjustments and hang in there and win
Speaker 1: a football game on a nationally televised broadcast of the NFL. So,
Speaker 1: you know, I think I think that they've got they've
Speaker 1: addressed a lot of their last week. Excuse me. Last year,
Speaker 1: I think there were more glaring weaknesses than there were
Speaker 1: things that you could count on. Now it's now, it's
Speaker 1: like everything's been addressed, everything's been taken care of. You know,
Speaker 1: they've they've got they've got quality depth at just about
Speaker 1: every position group. And that's that's a that's a real
Speaker 1: tribute to the organization. Um, you know, the scouting department,
Speaker 1: the organization for for drafting them, and now the coaches
Speaker 1: for developing it and uh and the players for you know,
Speaker 1: becoming cohesive and are very timely fashion. I think not
Speaker 1: only did they get players that that can play, but
Speaker 1: they get players that know what it's supposed to look like,
Speaker 1: and players that came from winning cultures, winning traditions, and
Speaker 1: players that are you know, from a personality standpoint, leaders
Speaker 1: rather than followers. They had too many players that didn't
Speaker 1: know what it was supposed to look like, and you know,
Speaker 1: uh didn't know who to follow, never mind where to go.
Speaker 1: Last year it was it was a real problem. All right,
Speaker 1: Let's move on to the Green Bay Pack several years ago.
Speaker 1: The Bengals are getting ready to play a team that
Speaker 1: had one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. I
Speaker 1: don't remember if it was Drew Brees or Russell Wilson
Speaker 1: or Brady or who exactly it was, but I distinctly
Speaker 1: remember being in the locker room. Were gathered around Adam
Speaker 1: Jones locker. Somebody asks him if this great quarterback was
Speaker 1: the best quarterback in the NFL. And like this disgusted
Speaker 1: look on his face happens and he goes, bro it's
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers. It ain't even close. What is it about
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers of all these great guys that it seems
Speaker 1: like people in the know, the people in the game
Speaker 1: point to that guy as the guy. You know, you
Speaker 1: look at all the attributes and all the boxes that
Speaker 1: Joe Burrow checks, Aaron Rodgers checks them, and a lot
Speaker 1: of them are check plus. You know, it's like checks
Speaker 1: them like at the highest level. You can check him
Speaker 1: at I just you know, with him, his intelligence, his
Speaker 1: raw intelligence is on question is unquestioned. I mean, he's
Speaker 1: doing things like, you know, as he's getting a call
Speaker 1: from his sideline, he's looking at their sideline. If they're
Speaker 1: trying to sub lady, he's gonna quick snap and you know,
Speaker 1: pick up a penalty. Um, little things like the hard count.
Speaker 1: He's the he might be the best hard count by that,
Speaker 1: I mean, you know, um, a non rhythmic cadence where
Speaker 1: he tries to draw the defensive lineman off side and
Speaker 1: instead of a hut hud hut. He's good, you know,
Speaker 1: he's and he's so good at it. And I mean
Speaker 1: to me. It's it's repetition again, mastering the mundane. If
Speaker 1: I'm an offensive lineman, that's hard to hold your water
Speaker 1: when he's doing that. And you've got a defensive lineman
Speaker 1: who's got always waiting on his hand and he's trying to,
Speaker 1: you know, sprint off the football, and it's like, man,
Speaker 1: you know you want to make sure that you get
Speaker 1: a good jump too, but you can't. You don't want
Speaker 1: to blow the hard count opportunity. You may get a
Speaker 1: free five yards. I don't know how many first downs
Speaker 1: he's generated by penalty on a third and five or
Speaker 1: less with that hardcount stuff, or making it you know,
Speaker 1: third and eight, a third and three, which is taking
Speaker 1: the free shot or taking the free shot. No question,
Speaker 1: how many touchdowns he's thrown, touchdown bombs he's thrown on
Speaker 1: the free shot, because he knows, no matter what happens,
Speaker 1: i've got five yards. You know, a worst case scenario,
Speaker 1: I'm getting a replay of the Donald. I'm picking up
Speaker 1: five yards. So that's a good starting point. I'll take
Speaker 1: whatever shot I can take. So he is he's masterful
Speaker 1: with that stuff. And then his physical attributes are I've
Speaker 1: said it before, he is a guy that Usually when
Speaker 1: you watching most quarterbacks, they're feet and legs and arm
Speaker 1: and everything has to follow through in a perfect rhythm
Speaker 1: and a perfect sequence. This guy can be running towards
Speaker 1: the sideline and be facing the sideline with his legs
Speaker 1: and upper torso and look down the football field. I
Speaker 1: saw him do it the first year we played up
Speaker 1: in Green Bay, and he just he's running to the
Speaker 1: left to the Green Bay sideline, sprinting, and he looks
Speaker 1: and he sees the see he breaking. It's put like
Speaker 1: thirty five forty yards down the field, out toward their
Speaker 1: towards their bench, and he snaps his shoulders around and
Speaker 1: squares him up and doesn't even do anything with his legs,
Speaker 1: continues to run towards the stiglite and throws his seed
Speaker 1: in a very tight hole. They make the catch and
Speaker 1: tap tapping out of bounds. I was like, what did
Speaker 1: I just see? What I just saw? I mean that
Speaker 1: I've never seen anybody make a throw like that. I
Speaker 1: don't care who the guy was, how strong his arm was,
Speaker 1: the arm strength, the accuracy, all of it. And then
Speaker 1: he can he can change the velocity and feathery touch it.
Speaker 1: He's just so gifted. And the thing is he's not
Speaker 1: a stiff either. He can run around back there, he
Speaker 1: extends creates. I mean he is the goat. I mean
Speaker 1: Tom Brady's the goat because of the number of years
Speaker 1: on all. But I'm talking about from a physical standpoint.
Speaker 1: If the Good Lord said I'm creating this the specimen
Speaker 1: here to show people how a quarterback should be able
Speaker 1: to throw a football, oh, Aaron Rodgers would be the guy.
Speaker 1: I thought it was amusing when I asked Zach Taylor
Speaker 1: today during that time period where it was unclear whether
Speaker 1: he's going to come back to Green Bay or not,
Speaker 1: did you allow yourself to hope? And he was like, yeah,
Speaker 1: he was honest, he was hoping that a week five,
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers was no longer Remember the Green Bay Packers. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and Dan, I think the only thing I can attribute
Speaker 1: green Bay losing thirty eight to three to New Orleans
Speaker 1: is because of all that stuff that went on with
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers. I mean it was it was all too disheveled. Still,
Speaker 1: you know, there were too many uneven feelings about things,
Speaker 1: and you know, amongst even teammates, you know, Aaron in
Speaker 1: the front office. I'm not sure about the coaching stuff.
Speaker 1: I'm not sure about how the players all, but the
Speaker 1: whole atmosphere was, you know, there was there was too
Speaker 1: much poison that needed to be spit out. It too,
Speaker 1: it was too toxic. But they got through it, and
Speaker 1: he knew it. I mean, La Fleur obviously was disgusted.
Speaker 1: You know, I'm disgusted, and Aaron Rodgers, I'm not gonna
Speaker 1: throw everybody under the bus. We had a bad game.
Speaker 1: I'm not I'm not giving up in this group. I
Speaker 1: think he knew, based on everything that he was observing
Speaker 1: body language and interaction between teammates and stuff, that they
Speaker 1: weren't quite ready yet to take anybody on. But boy,
Speaker 1: they've they've gotten there quickly, and he certainly has, having
Speaker 1: lost since they've been averaging thirty points a game since.
Speaker 1: So they're thirteen and three each of the last two years,
Speaker 1: made it to the NFC Championship Game and lost each
Speaker 1: of the last two years, once at home, once on
Speaker 1: the road. It's not just Aaron Rodgers, obviously. What are
Speaker 1: the other key strengths of this Green Bay team? Well,
Speaker 1: in my mind, Dan, they have two two tremendous workhorses.
Speaker 1: As such, Davante Adams leads the NFL and catches with
Speaker 1: thirty one and he's fifth in yards generated. And he
Speaker 1: is he's special. I mean, he's a he's a gifted receiver.
Speaker 1: And the way he beats press coverage, the way he
Speaker 1: breaks routes at the top of the route, he's just
Speaker 1: he's a phenomenal route runner, just an extremely gifted player.
Speaker 1: And the other guy is Aaron Jones, not only running
Speaker 1: the football, but Aaron Jones. It goes in terms of
Speaker 1: overall targets, the wide receiver group is first running backs
Speaker 1: or second tight ends or third, and the running back
Speaker 1: that gets targeted the most and is the most productive
Speaker 1: is Jones. I mean he's second to Adams with thirteen
Speaker 1: catches and he's got three touchdown catches. And Jones is
Speaker 1: also rushed for two touchdowns, so he's a touchdown maker
Speaker 1: for him. And I think that's going to be a
Speaker 1: big factor in this football game. Is the yak and rack,
Speaker 1: you know, yards after catch, run after catch. If Aaron Rodgers,
Speaker 1: if he can get Jones on a linebacker, and we've
Speaker 1: seen Joe Burrow hit people in stride and not make
Speaker 1: him have to work for the football, you know, stop
Speaker 1: reach back or whatever, and they have to start up again.
Speaker 1: Just hit him in full stride. Aaron Rodgers can do
Speaker 1: that in spades. He hits Aaron Jones on the go
Speaker 1: in space. I think who's going to be the best tacklers?
Speaker 1: Which linebacker group? We have a young core of linebackers
Speaker 1: that have upgraded that position. When they get matched up
Speaker 1: on Aaron Jones, it's gonna be big. It's an extension
Speaker 1: of the running game. You're getting the ball out, it's
Speaker 1: like a long lateral to a great back in space.
Speaker 1: And who's going to be able to tackle and make place?
Speaker 1: I think that's going to be a big factor in
Speaker 1: the football game. And on the flip side too, I
Speaker 1: think that you know, Bengals running backs can do the
Speaker 1: same thing on linebackers. Who's gonna who's gonna win that
Speaker 1: particular matchup Aaron Aaron Jones is He's very, very talented though.
Speaker 1: He's about as good at it as as you can
Speaker 1: as you can get really so I think that's going
Speaker 1: to be a massive factor in the football game. And yeah,
Speaker 1: who's going to make Who's going to minimize the explosive
Speaker 1: and part And that's a big part of the explosive
Speaker 1: because you know, a fifty yard play doesn't always have
Speaker 1: to be forty eight yards in the air. It could
Speaker 1: be a you know, seven yard checkdown, make a guy
Speaker 1: missing off to the races for another forty So those
Speaker 1: are those are equally explosive. I think tackling in space
Speaker 1: when you get matchups that the offense feels are favorable,
Speaker 1: you know, a fleet, elusive running back in space on
Speaker 1: a linebacker, how much damage will be done? I am
Speaker 1: really excited about this game. If the Bengals can go
Speaker 1: to go toe to toe with the Packers, even if
Speaker 1: they don't win, I think they can show that they're
Speaker 1: a team that can remain in the hunt until the
Speaker 1: latter portion of the season. Yeah. And it's interesting, you
Speaker 1: know this is these numbers don't mean anything because none
Speaker 1: of the very few of these players were involved in
Speaker 1: any of these. But the last three matchups here in
Speaker 1: Cincinnati when Green Bay has come to Cincinnati has been
Speaker 1: a multiple years between each one of them, but it's been,
Speaker 1: you know, a touchdown or less scenario, and Rodgers was
Speaker 1: the quarterback the last time, and then Terence Newman something
Speaker 1: like that. An unscripted score, a defensive score off fumble recovery.
Speaker 1: I mean, that's what you have to have to beat
Speaker 1: the Green Bay Packers, you know, and you know, I
Speaker 1: think turnovers are going to be massive in this football game.
Speaker 1: You can't give Aaron Rodgers extra possessions. You have to
Speaker 1: take possessions away from him if you possibly can, and
Speaker 1: give more to Joe Burrow. You don't want to go
Speaker 1: out in that game saying Joe Burrow and the Bengals
Speaker 1: offense only had eight opportunities and Aaron Rodgers and the
Speaker 1: Packers offense had ten. No can do And maybe it's
Speaker 1: fourth down again, I mean the Bengals. To me, it's
Speaker 1: it's it's equivalent if the drive that doesn't end with
Speaker 1: the kick click. We keep talking about a drive that
Speaker 1: doesn't end with an extra point field goal, U punt.
Speaker 1: That's that's big. That's almost equivalent to a turnover. It is.
Speaker 1: It's like fumbling at the line of scrimmage and the
Speaker 1: other team recovers it. It's just like a turnover. So
Speaker 1: the Bengals have done a pretty good job in that
Speaker 1: area too, obviously, that was a huge factor in their
Speaker 1: last victory. But fourth down the opponent they've had four
Speaker 1: possessions that have ended without a kick. The opponents three
Speaker 1: for seven on fourth down. So the Bengals don't have
Speaker 1: a ton of takeaways. I mean, they've only taken it
Speaker 1: away four times, but they have four additional stops of
Speaker 1: possessions end of possessions without a kick. So in my mind,
Speaker 1: you know, that's closer to you're talking about eight times.
Speaker 1: You know you've put your offense in better position and
Speaker 1: with the momentum, I think I think it's a big factor.
Speaker 1: Final thing, we did a show the day after the
Speaker 1: Jacksonville game and we discussed urban Meyer's decision to go
Speaker 1: for it on fourth and one or fourth and goal
Speaker 1: from the one obviously didn't work late in the second
Speaker 1: quarter of that game. You came down on the side
Speaker 1: of bad decision by urban Meyer. I said, I still
Speaker 1: think it was a good decision, even though the result
Speaker 1: was bad. Here's my question. You thought it was a
Speaker 1: bad decision. Was that urban Meyer's worst decision that weekend?
Speaker 1: I think one might have led to the other. I
Speaker 1: think it was Oh my gosh, I blew that. I'm
Speaker 1: gonna have to go. I'm gonna have to go chill
Speaker 1: a little bit. I'm gonna let my hair down and
Speaker 1: let everything down. My yeah, I mean I can see
Speaker 1: I can see why he did it because the defense
Speaker 1: is pitching a shout out. You know, It's like, okay,
Speaker 1: you know, my defense is playing so well. You know,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna put them. I can
Speaker 1: see why he went for it. But the defense is
Speaker 1: playing so well, I'd go up by three scores, you know,
Speaker 1: I don't know. The bottom line is what he did
Speaker 1: after that decision, the decision, after the decision, that's they
Speaker 1: should do. ESPN should do a documentary on that decision,
Speaker 1: not the Lebron James decision. Should do a documentary on
Speaker 1: the urban Meyer decision that led to the decision that
Speaker 1: led to dead man walking, that led to when is
Speaker 1: he going to get fired? There's odds on where he's
Speaker 1: going to have his next coaching job, odds on who's
Speaker 1: going to be the next head coach with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Speaker 1: What a mess down there. And I do know that
Speaker 1: Bengals defensive coach Mark Duffner had an opportunity. He lives
Speaker 1: in Jacksonville, head coached in Jacksonville prior could have been
Speaker 1: the linebacker coach at Jacksonville. Thank goodness, Mark Dufter came
Speaker 1: to Cincinnati. It is not part of that knifemare down there,
Speaker 1: because that's exactly what it is right now. It is
Speaker 1: a nightmare down there. It is a cess pool. Right now,
Speaker 1: things appear to be trending up for the Bengals where
Speaker 1: injuries are concerned. Three guys that miss the Jacksonville game,
Speaker 1: Jesse Bates, Te Higgins and chitabe O Wooje all practiced
Speaker 1: on Wednesday, and Ricardo Allen was also cleared to practice
Speaker 1: after missing three games with a hand injury. Joe Mixon
Speaker 1: didn't practice after twisting his ankle versus the Jags, but
Speaker 1: he's considered day to day and hasn't been ruled out
Speaker 1: for Sunday. The picture is not as rosie for the
Speaker 1: Packers who have significant injury problems. That's where we begin
Speaker 1: our know the faux segment. But Pete Doherty from the
Speaker 1: Green Bay Press Gazette, he joined lapping Me this week
Speaker 1: on the Bengals Game Plan show. Yeah, there's they've been
Speaker 1: hit really hard the last two years. They have had
Speaker 1: great injury luck. I mean that's one of the things
Speaker 1: that has helped them get to these two championship games.
Speaker 1: Was and put up those thirteen and three records. Was
Speaker 1: they were really healthy. And they did lose Box Try
Speaker 1: right at the end of last year. And he's still
Speaker 1: on pupie, so they don't have him, but they hit
Speaker 1: they Darius Smith missed, you know, he's our best rusher
Speaker 1: by fire, and he missed all but one day at camp.
Speaker 1: He played like eighteen snaps or so in the first game,
Speaker 1: and then the headback surgery last week. He's probably done
Speaker 1: for the year. He's a really important player. M basically
Speaker 1: the guy that can't afford to loses Rodgers. After that,
Speaker 1: it's Zadarius Smith and Alexander And I just can't imagine
Speaker 1: Alexander is going to play this week and they're still
Speaker 1: the side and what to do when they're trying to
Speaker 1: avoid surgery, which tells you because he's a shoulder injury,
Speaker 1: which tells you that this isn't just going to be
Speaker 1: a couple of weeks thing. He's probably gonna be out
Speaker 1: for a little while even if he doesn't have the surgery.
Speaker 1: So um, they're gonna have to learn to play without
Speaker 1: their two most important and win without their two most
Speaker 1: important defensive players for a while here. Yeah, that's a
Speaker 1: that's a significant blow offensively. I guess my first question is,
Speaker 1: you know the effect the Aaron Rodgers effect when you
Speaker 1: know all that went on, Willy come to camp? Will
Speaker 1: he not? Willy? Is he going to retire? Well? And
Speaker 1: that certainly's not going to happen. But the whole thing
Speaker 1: is that the reason a thirty eight to three football
Speaker 1: game against the New Orleans Saints took place. I mean,
Speaker 1: were the guy's heads just in bad spots and Aaron Rodgers,
Speaker 1: you know, he basically coached. Laflor said that was embarrassing,
Speaker 1: and Aaron Rodgers like, not embarrassing. We just didn't play well.
Speaker 1: We're gonna be fine, you know, just like the R. E. L.
Speaker 1: A X deal. And he comes out and they went
Speaker 1: three football games, averaging over thirty points a game. Was
Speaker 1: it the Aaron Rodgers hangover the reason for the New
Speaker 1: Orleans debacle or what do you think the reason was?
Speaker 1: You know, I wouldn't be surprised if that were part
Speaker 1: of it. I personally think the bigger thing was, you know,
Speaker 1: he had a really good camp. They brought back, they
Speaker 1: did all these contract restructures to bring everybody back, you know,
Speaker 1: They came into this feeling like they've got as good
Speaker 1: a shout at the Super Bowl as anybody, And I
Speaker 1: think they went into that New Orleans game thinking they're
Speaker 1: just going to show up and do what they do,
Speaker 1: and you know, New Orleans is just you know, New
Speaker 1: Orleans was playing in Jacksonville, they were training in Houston.
Speaker 1: You know, I think they just thought they were going
Speaker 1: to walk all over those guys and they ran into
Speaker 1: a really really good coach and just got crushed. And
Speaker 1: I think that was a real eye opener for him
Speaker 1: that they can't just show up and win games. So
Speaker 1: I think that was the bigger factor. But I don't
Speaker 1: doubt that some of the Rodgers stuff. Who knows what
Speaker 1: effects that has guys on guy's mentality. Like I said,
Speaker 1: Rogers looked really good in camp. I mean, he played
Speaker 1: well as well in this camp as he's had in
Speaker 1: any camp. Not same with his best, but it was
Speaker 1: as good as any So, you know, I think the
Speaker 1: biggest part of it was they just got really really
Speaker 1: full of themselves. And they still haven't played great, but
Speaker 1: they've improved each week and they're winning without Zadarius Smith
Speaker 1: and now they have a real tough test against them
Speaker 1: against you know, a Cincinnati team with a good young
Speaker 1: quarterback that's put up a lot of points and yards
Speaker 1: early in the season. Pete Doherty is our guest from
Speaker 1: the Green Bay Press Gazette. I feel like I've got
Speaker 1: a pretty good grasp, Pete on the strengths of the
Speaker 1: Green Bay Packers. Obviously Aaron Rodgers first and foremost, but
Speaker 1: Davante Adams and Aaron Jones, etc. What do you consider
Speaker 1: to be their biggest question mark right now? Well, there's
Speaker 1: a couple of them. Even you know, before all the injuries.
Speaker 1: Their d line is not real talented. Kenny Clark is
Speaker 1: a very good player, but after him, they just don't
Speaker 1: have a lot of talent there. So I think that
Speaker 1: could be that was an issue early and they played
Speaker 1: really well against the forty nine ers and not bad
Speaker 1: last week. But I still think it's going to be
Speaker 1: an issue as the season goes on and they may
Speaker 1: need to go get help there. Their linebacker inside linebacker
Speaker 1: position to Andre Campbell's pretty good, but after that, if
Speaker 1: they go with two of the two inside guys like
Speaker 1: in their nickel, it's not so hot. And then Alexander
Speaker 1: injury is just devastating for their defense because he's a
Speaker 1: really good corner and you know, those guys are just
Speaker 1: like it, just as important as pass rushers. And behind him,
Speaker 1: you know, they're not so great either. Their first round pick,
Speaker 1: Eric Stokes has really improved a lot and since the
Speaker 1: started camp, and he's their next best corner. And then
Speaker 1: there there's just not a ton of ability after that either.
Speaker 1: So there's the domino effect of a losing Alexander is
Speaker 1: big two. So they they've got a lot of weak,
Speaker 1: weakish points on their on defense. What about the offensive line, Pete,
Speaker 1: You've got a couple of rookies, you know at center
Speaker 1: and right guard. Billy Turner, I think is you know,
Speaker 1: I mean, the Miami Dolphins waived him, but he's he's
Speaker 1: a battler and he's he's had a very good NFL
Speaker 1: career in terms of years service. Jenkins with the ankle injury,
Speaker 1: how about Jenkins? Will he be able to go? And
Speaker 1: looking at initially looking at some tape, I thought Runyon
Speaker 1: looked like maybe he was playing at the best level.
Speaker 1: I don't know, maybe I didn't see enough tape. But
Speaker 1: what's the offensive line looking like? So Jenkins, he's missed
Speaker 1: the last two games with the ankle, and he did
Speaker 1: not practice today. He's a vet, so they'll give him
Speaker 1: all week, but the smart money says he won't play
Speaker 1: again this week either. Um, they're young line. They got
Speaker 1: a rookiet center, Josh Meyers. They got a rookie at guard,
Speaker 1: right guard, Roy s Newman. Both of those guys have
Speaker 1: been fine. Their line has played fine. It's it's not
Speaker 1: an issue at all. I'm sure those guys are making
Speaker 1: mistakes as rookies that they won't make two years from now,
Speaker 1: but they both have ability and they're both doing just fine.
Speaker 1: So their their line has been okay. It hasn't been
Speaker 1: a big issue. It'll get better when Bak comes back
Speaker 1: and Jenkins can move to left guard. And you know,
Speaker 1: if if Jenkins doesn't play, Yosh Niman will be their
Speaker 1: left tackle. And I'm sure you've never heard of them,
Speaker 1: and he's They got to help him some, but he's
Speaker 1: done okay the last two weeks. In Turner, you know,
Speaker 1: they paid him a lot of money. He's averaging seven
Speaker 1: million bucks a year. They signed him as a free
Speaker 1: agent a couple of years ago, and they hible were
Speaker 1: paid to get him. But you know, he's he's improved
Speaker 1: even in his time here, and he played a good game.
Speaker 1: You know, he basically you know, Watt had two sacks,
Speaker 1: but they were both garbage sacks. One was where he
Speaker 1: tripped Rogers with his foot and the other one where
Speaker 1: Rodgers ran around and slid and Watt was the nearest guy,
Speaker 1: so he got he got the sack. But but you know,
Speaker 1: Turner went against him almost the entire game and did
Speaker 1: a really nice job against him. So their lines fine,
Speaker 1: it's probably not quite as good as last year, but
Speaker 1: maybe by the end of the year will be. They
Speaker 1: got ability there, and it's fine. Um, it's you know,
Speaker 1: it's not the reason for any struggles they're having. That's
Speaker 1: not the reason. A couple more questions for Pete Doherty
Speaker 1: from the Green Bay Press Gazette. I'm amazed by Davante Adams.
Speaker 1: He's not that big, he's six one, not that fast
Speaker 1: rant of four or five six at the combine. But
Speaker 1: he might be the best wide receiver in the NFL.
Speaker 1: Why is he so incredibly good? Yeah, and all that
Speaker 1: stuff is true and made you wonder, But he's guess,
Speaker 1: got ridiculous body control. He's really strong, he's really good
Speaker 1: at His cuts are so sharp and he can stop
Speaker 1: and cut just on a dime, like like nobody else
Speaker 1: in the league maybe except for the really small guys.
Speaker 1: So he's got a little bit of size and he
Speaker 1: plays like a little guy that way. He can sky,
Speaker 1: he can jump, and he's um. He wants to be great,
Speaker 1: and he's really dedicated to his craft and his chemistry
Speaker 1: with with Rogers has is just you know, there was
Speaker 1: a couple of throws the other day last week against
Speaker 1: the Steelers where it was just like, you know, they're
Speaker 1: back shoulder throws and it's like there's no defending that.
Speaker 1: You know, I don't care who's out there on him.
Speaker 1: So that the timing playing with a great quarterback helps too.
Speaker 1: But he's just he's just got a great mix of
Speaker 1: talent and want to and intelligence and all that stuff.
Speaker 1: Zach Taylor and Matt Lafleur were on the same coaching staff.
Speaker 1: Zach Taylor was effusive in his praise of Matt Lafleur.
Speaker 1: Has Matt Lafleur had any comments about Zach Taylor during
Speaker 1: the course of the week at this stage, you know,
Speaker 1: I don't know that he was asked about him on Monday,
Speaker 1: and I did not see today's press conference, so I'm
Speaker 1: not sure if he was asked, but they do go
Speaker 1: back and I know there it sounds like I know
Speaker 1: I saw a quote from him somewhere, so that must
Speaker 1: have been today where you know he's still he considers
Speaker 1: Taylor a very good friend of his, and a lot
Speaker 1: of that in this league right now with Nick Bay
Speaker 1: and Shanahan and him and the guy down at White
Speaker 1: down in Tennessee. So we're not Tennessee Atlanta, so there's
Speaker 1: a lot of guys off of that, you know, all
Speaker 1: that staffs that work together and they're all running the
Speaker 1: same system and it's spreading like wildfire that the league
Speaker 1: seems like every week they're playing somebody that La Floor
Speaker 1: used to coach with. Thanks to Pete Doherty. And here's
Speaker 1: a quick reminder to tune into the Bengals pep Rally
Speaker 1: Show this Friday from three to six on ESPN fifteen thirty.
Speaker 1: I'll be broadcasting U see football game on Friday, so
Speaker 1: Lap We'll be joined by Wayne box Miller. That's going
Speaker 1: to do it for this episode of the Bengals Booth podcast,
Speaker 1: brought to you by bud Light Seltzer refreshed the game.
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Speaker 1: I'm Dan Horde and thanks for listening to the Bengals
Speaker 1: Booth podcast