WEBVTT - Bengals Booth Podcast: No Surrender 0:00:03.600 --> 0:00:06.840 Hi, everybody on Dan Horde and this is the Bengals 0:00:06.920 --> 0:00:15.880 Booth podcast, the No Retreat, Baby, No Surrender addition, as 0:00:15.880 --> 0:00:18.279 the Bengals keep striving for their first win of the 0:00:18.360 --> 0:00:20.720 year and hope to get it this Sunday in Openend 0:00:21.040 --> 0:00:24.040 against the five and four Raiders. Coming up, I'll be 0:00:24.120 --> 0:00:26.960 joined by my broadcast partner Dave Lapham as we discuss 0:00:27.400 --> 0:00:31.520 the latest Bengals news, including this week's shocker, the release 0:00:31.560 --> 0:00:35.320 a veteran linebacker Preston Brown, less than one year into 0:00:35.400 --> 0:00:39.920 a three year free agent contract. Speaking of linebackers, we'll 0:00:39.960 --> 0:00:43.480 hear from Raiders coach John Gruden, who provides a passionate 0:00:43.520 --> 0:00:47.960 defense a former Bengal Vontes Berficht who was suspended for 0:00:48.000 --> 0:00:51.040 the final twelve games of the season back in September 0:00:51.400 --> 0:00:54.279 for a helmet to helmet hit on Colts tight end 0:00:54.360 --> 0:00:58.279 Jack Doyle. My locker room conversation this week is with 0:00:58.360 --> 0:01:02.000 kick returner Brandon Wilson, who admits he has started thinking 0:01:02.040 --> 0:01:05.479 about the possibility of going to the Pro Bowl thanks 0:01:05.520 --> 0:01:08.840 to his league leading kickoff return average. And in this 0:01:08.880 --> 0:01:11.600 week's Know the Faux segment, we'll get the lowdown on 0:01:11.680 --> 0:01:15.200 the Raiders from their radio analyst former three time Pro 0:01:15.280 --> 0:01:19.480 Bowl offensive lineman Lincoln Kennedy. All of that is straight ahead. 0:01:19.520 --> 0:01:22.000 But first, here's a quick reminder that you can have 0:01:22.120 --> 0:01:26.640 the latest edition of this podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet, 0:01:26.760 --> 0:01:32.200 or computer by subscribing on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, 0:01:32.480 --> 0:01:37.080 or pod Bean. It's the greatest thing since the TV 0:01:37.240 --> 0:01:40.560 screen at the gas pump. So there I am at 0:01:40.600 --> 0:01:42.640 ud F the other day, filling up my tank on 0:01:42.680 --> 0:01:45.600 a frigid morning, when a news and weather update starts 0:01:45.640 --> 0:01:49.000 playing on the TV screen right there on the pump, 0:01:49.600 --> 0:01:53.800 along with several ads for the delicious coffee and doughnuts 0:01:53.840 --> 0:01:58.440 if I walk inside. I didn't this time, but the 0:01:58.520 --> 0:02:01.280 simple fact that somebody figured out how to get a 0:02:01.360 --> 0:02:07.320 local TV news update into a gas pump deserves some recognition. Now, 0:02:07.400 --> 0:02:10.200 let's get to the latest Bengals news with my broadcast 0:02:10.280 --> 0:02:14.399 partner Dave Lapham. Zach Taylor has not been publicly critical 0:02:14.440 --> 0:02:16.320 of the players this year, but I thought that changed 0:02:16.320 --> 0:02:18.680 a bit on Monday when he called out the linebackers 0:02:18.680 --> 0:02:21.519 and his opening statement at a weekly news conference. The 0:02:21.560 --> 0:02:25.120 next day, the Bengals waived Preston Brown in the first 0:02:25.200 --> 0:02:28.960 year of a three year deal. What's your reaction. Yeah, 0:02:28.960 --> 0:02:33.360 it's interesting. I mean what Zach was calling for someone 0:02:33.360 --> 0:02:36.080 to emerge as a leader, you know, at that position group, 0:02:36.680 --> 0:02:40.160 and then the very next day they wave a guy 0:02:40.240 --> 0:02:43.560 who probably had as much NFL experience at linebacker as 0:02:43.600 --> 0:02:46.200 anybody they had, you know, on the football team. So, 0:02:46.760 --> 0:02:49.720 I mean, you can guess and surmise anything I guess 0:02:49.760 --> 0:02:52.720 you want to out of that. Bottom line is I 0:02:52.760 --> 0:02:56.120 think Zach Taylor's just trying to get a better performance 0:02:56.120 --> 0:02:58.680 out of that position group. That position group has struggled, 0:02:58.760 --> 0:03:01.720 There's no question about it, and it's been isolated and 0:03:01.760 --> 0:03:06.360 picked on and attacked. So I think he's using every 0:03:06.639 --> 0:03:10.440 measure he can think of as a motivational tool to 0:03:10.560 --> 0:03:14.639 try to get better performance and and shaking it up 0:03:15.800 --> 0:03:18.880 by waving a guy like Preston Brown sends a message, 0:03:18.880 --> 0:03:23.280 you know, And obviously with what he said at his 0:03:23.320 --> 0:03:27.680 press conference yesterday and what took place today this morning, 0:03:28.240 --> 0:03:30.600 that's that's a big statement, a big statement at that 0:03:30.639 --> 0:03:34.840 position group. For sure. The Bengals historically have not liked 0:03:34.880 --> 0:03:41.360 to eat contracts, no, so you wonder, um, you know, 0:03:41.400 --> 0:03:46.760 what was Preston Brown's reaction about maybe his playing time 0:03:46.800 --> 0:03:52.240 being curtailed. Um, maybe Zack's comment the press conference. Maybe 0:03:52.320 --> 0:03:55.600 Zac's comment came after some kind of comment from Preston Brown. 0:03:55.640 --> 0:03:58.240 Who knows. I mean, I guess again you can speculate 0:03:58.240 --> 0:04:01.720 in s fromis all you want Bytom Line is Bengals 0:04:01.760 --> 0:04:05.200 let Preston Brown go for a decade or so? The 0:04:05.280 --> 0:04:08.880 Bengals have always had a big thumper at linebacker, Ray 0:04:08.920 --> 0:04:13.320 Mala Luga, Vontez perfect Preston Brown. Do they need to 0:04:13.360 --> 0:04:16.240 reconsider what they look for at that position? You know, 0:04:16.520 --> 0:04:20.040 everything's cyclical and um. You know, now so many teams 0:04:20.040 --> 0:04:23.160 are spreading you out. Um. But then you have a 0:04:23.200 --> 0:04:26.839 team like the Baltimore Ravens that played the type of 0:04:26.839 --> 0:04:30.040 offense they play, so you feel like you, you know, 0:04:30.279 --> 0:04:34.520 you should have somebody that can can stop the stop 0:04:34.560 --> 0:04:37.839 the run. U there's always going to be an outlier 0:04:38.080 --> 0:04:41.599 like the Baltimore Ravens. They're gonna go. Um contrarian thinking 0:04:42.080 --> 0:04:45.200 in terms of being ahead of the game before the 0:04:45.279 --> 0:04:47.720 offense starts to cycle back a little bit. I mean, 0:04:47.800 --> 0:04:50.960 last year the Patriots decided to go two tight ends 0:04:50.960 --> 0:04:54.200 and a fullback and hammer people m you know, on 0:04:54.240 --> 0:04:57.479 their way to another Super Bowl. Win. So, yeah, the 0:04:57.560 --> 0:05:00.640 one thing that you can't you can't all into the 0:05:00.680 --> 0:05:03.160 trap of those is is just have a thumper that 0:05:03.480 --> 0:05:05.479 you know can only play in a closet. You know, 0:05:05.560 --> 0:05:08.200 he still has to be able to do uh some 0:05:08.240 --> 0:05:11.159 other things for you because that that that guy's going 0:05:11.200 --> 0:05:13.600 to get isolated and picked on. There's no question about it. 0:05:13.640 --> 0:05:18.600 In today's NFL. So, um, the game is getting faster. 0:05:19.000 --> 0:05:21.560 It has gotten faster, so you do have to take 0:05:21.600 --> 0:05:25.159 that into consideration. I mean, the linebackers aren't as big 0:05:25.400 --> 0:05:27.000 as they used to be, in there a lot faster 0:05:27.360 --> 0:05:28.960 than they used to be, So I think, you know, 0:05:29.000 --> 0:05:30.839 that's the that's the way you have to approach it. 0:05:30.880 --> 0:05:33.080 That's what you have to look for. That's what everybody's 0:05:33.120 --> 0:05:35.440 looking for. And there's not enough of them, just like 0:05:35.480 --> 0:05:39.040 they're on enough offensive lineman for the NFL, because there's 0:05:39.040 --> 0:05:42.640 five of them with every football team three linebackers. You know, 0:05:42.680 --> 0:05:47.159 it's that's a significant number at a position. Um, so 0:05:47.800 --> 0:05:51.359 there's the NFL's eating up a lot of numbers. Well, 0:05:51.680 --> 0:05:53.640 you know it's it's for a while it was almost 0:05:53.640 --> 0:05:57.160 like they've decided, let's just beef up safeties and try 0:05:57.160 --> 0:05:59.920 to you know, play them at linebacker, and you know 0:06:00.160 --> 0:06:04.080 that that's had some mixed results, so you're always looking for, 0:06:04.720 --> 0:06:07.120 you know, a linebacker that can can play the run 0:06:07.839 --> 0:06:11.640 but still is not limited so much athletically that you 0:06:11.640 --> 0:06:13.880 can't leave him on the football field after first down. 0:06:15.000 --> 0:06:17.839 Ryan Finlay will make his second start this week, evaluate 0:06:17.920 --> 0:06:23.719 his first. Some tragedy obviously, and you can't have it 0:06:23.760 --> 0:06:26.200 any worse than a than a pick six. When you're 0:06:26.240 --> 0:06:29.520 going into score. You know you're in the red zone 0:06:29.520 --> 0:06:32.440 and you throw a pick six. That's tough. That's a 0:06:32.520 --> 0:06:36.320 very very tough dynamic. You know, you feel terrible about it, 0:06:36.320 --> 0:06:38.839 You feel terrible about letting your whole team down and 0:06:38.880 --> 0:06:41.400 all that goes along with it. And then compounded by 0:06:41.920 --> 0:06:44.040 you know, spitting the spitting the bid a little bit 0:06:44.120 --> 0:06:46.880 with a fumble in the in the pocket. You know, 0:06:47.000 --> 0:06:50.359 ball security when you're a quarterback is going to be big. 0:06:50.400 --> 0:06:55.400 So he had two touchdowns in two ways that you 0:06:55.400 --> 0:06:57.200 can turn the football over, and they both happened in 0:06:57.240 --> 0:06:59.200 the same game. So he's not going to face any 0:06:59.279 --> 0:07:02.920 more tragedy. He faced and he seemed to rebound from it, 0:07:03.279 --> 0:07:05.159 which was a good sign. I was asking guys in 0:07:05.160 --> 0:07:07.400 the locker room after the game. Did you see any 0:07:07.440 --> 0:07:09.400 deer in the headlights? Did you see anything like, oh, 0:07:09.440 --> 0:07:10.880 this is starting to look a little bit too big 0:07:10.920 --> 0:07:12.760 for him? And they were like new, nothing like that, 0:07:13.080 --> 0:07:15.720 just the opposite. You know, he's a very competitive guy, 0:07:16.160 --> 0:07:18.120 and it seemed to like, you know, even narrow his 0:07:18.200 --> 0:07:20.680 focus even more. And on the good side of it, 0:07:21.720 --> 0:07:26.559 as we expected, don Wick Martindale brought everything. He brought 0:07:26.600 --> 0:07:30.960 the house. So the exposure that Ryan Finlay had to 0:07:31.080 --> 0:07:34.080 everything possibly that you can see in his very first start, 0:07:34.760 --> 0:07:36.800 a lot of people were like more, you know, you'd 0:07:36.800 --> 0:07:39.680 wish for a softer landing than that. But the other 0:07:39.720 --> 0:07:42.200 side of it is he's had exposure to a bunch 0:07:42.520 --> 0:07:44.440 and he got through it, and he handled it and 0:07:44.440 --> 0:07:46.200 he's going to learn from it. And I think Zach 0:07:46.240 --> 0:07:49.440 Taylor's got running the money with this thought of, you know, 0:07:49.520 --> 0:07:52.080 don't make the same mistake twice. But a lot of 0:07:52.080 --> 0:07:55.280 guys were saying, man, he had a big burden responsibility 0:07:55.720 --> 0:07:58.360 of checking out of plays runs that weren't going to 0:07:58.400 --> 0:08:02.040 work against a lot of Martindale's looks protections. He had 0:08:02.080 --> 0:08:04.320 to change places, he had to change to in the 0:08:04.320 --> 0:08:07.520 passing game, he had a lot on his plate, and 0:08:07.600 --> 0:08:10.080 he handled all that with flying colors. You know, the 0:08:10.160 --> 0:08:13.520 pick six was just an execution thing. He just left 0:08:13.520 --> 0:08:17.720 the ball inside. And you know, if you're they're running 0:08:17.760 --> 0:08:20.600 eleven men up at the line of scrimmage, zero coverage, 0:08:21.040 --> 0:08:23.000 you got to make sure if that ball is not 0:08:23.120 --> 0:08:25.360 caught by your receiver, nobody else is getting it. It's 0:08:25.400 --> 0:08:27.880 got to go out of bounds. And he left an 0:08:27.920 --> 0:08:30.720 inside and he paid for it. So lesson learned. You know, 0:08:30.760 --> 0:08:32.559 it's not the end, it's just the NFL. It's not 0:08:32.600 --> 0:08:34.440 college football. You might have been able to get away 0:08:34.480 --> 0:08:37.959 with that throw in college, but not at this level. Um, 0:08:38.520 --> 0:08:41.680 they're faster and his arms not a howitzer. You know, 0:08:41.720 --> 0:08:43.720 he has to he has to. I thought he waited 0:08:43.720 --> 0:08:45.200 a little too long to throw it. He has He 0:08:45.240 --> 0:08:48.120 does throw with the anticipation. Actually he's accuracy. He's shown 0:08:48.160 --> 0:08:50.920 that and I think he's going to grow with that. 0:08:51.040 --> 0:08:54.960 But overall, from the mental part of it, the preparation 0:08:55.480 --> 0:08:58.679 for that week against Wink Martindale is intense as he's 0:08:58.720 --> 0:09:03.720 going to have and he passed the test. So was 0:09:03.760 --> 0:09:06.040 it something that you say, oh my gosh, what a 0:09:06.120 --> 0:09:10.240 great beginning. No, But there are a lot of a 0:09:10.280 --> 0:09:12.839 lot of bricks to you know, start to lay a foundation. 0:09:14.280 --> 0:09:16.320 Paul Gunt, to let's face it, he and Mike Zimmer 0:09:16.960 --> 0:09:19.480 they basically took the double A gap, putting the linebackers 0:09:19.520 --> 0:09:21.880 up on either side of the center and either bringing 0:09:21.920 --> 0:09:23.520 one of them or both of them, or none of 0:09:23.520 --> 0:09:25.280 them and dropping them to coverage. And you can run 0:09:25.640 --> 0:09:27.760 probably sixty percent of your coverages out of that double 0:09:27.760 --> 0:09:30.800 A gap looks still so it presents a lot of 0:09:30.800 --> 0:09:34.800 problems for quarterbacks. Joe Flacco never figured it out, and 0:09:35.200 --> 0:09:38.839 I'm sure Ryan Finley will be closing his eyes in 0:09:38.920 --> 0:09:43.360 Oakland pre game night before the game with double A 0:09:43.440 --> 0:09:46.840 gap dancing through his head and ways to ways to 0:09:46.880 --> 0:09:48.800 handle it because they're going to be bringing a lot 0:09:48.840 --> 0:09:52.040 of it, I'm sure. So you know, it's going to 0:09:52.080 --> 0:09:54.560 be interesting how he goes from week one to week two. 0:09:55.000 --> 0:09:57.920 And the best thing that can happen is they continue 0:09:57.920 --> 0:09:59.960 to run the ball effectively. With Joe Mixon, that'll be 0:10:00.160 --> 0:10:04.160 Ryan Finley's best friend. And that's our next topic. Two 0:10:04.200 --> 0:10:06.760 games ago in London, the Bengals ran for one hundred 0:10:06.760 --> 0:10:10.199 and four yards against the Rams. Last week against Baltimore, 0:10:10.559 --> 0:10:13.280 the team ran for one fifty seven. That's forty nine 0:10:13.320 --> 0:10:15.040 more than their next best game this year, and Joe 0:10:15.080 --> 0:10:18.120 Mixon ran for one fourteen. The Bengals are the only 0:10:18.240 --> 0:10:20.920 team all year to run it well against the Ravens 0:10:21.000 --> 0:10:24.439 when Brandon Williams has been on the field. Previous teams 0:10:24.440 --> 0:10:27.000 that succeeded in the ground game face the Ravens when 0:10:27.040 --> 0:10:31.000 he was out. What was different last week? What allowed 0:10:31.040 --> 0:10:33.040 the Bengals to run it that well? Yeah? I think 0:10:33.080 --> 0:10:37.160 they made a nice adjustment during the bye week with 0:10:37.240 --> 0:10:40.839 the blocking scheme. They ran more you know what people 0:10:40.880 --> 0:10:44.920 call gap where you'll you'll block down seal somebody and 0:10:45.000 --> 0:10:48.280 pull people, you know, instead of inside outside zone. Is 0:10:48.800 --> 0:10:51.800 like two guys going laterally and double teaming a down 0:10:51.840 --> 0:10:54.240 lineman somebody coming off to the linebacker level. It's just 0:10:54.360 --> 0:10:57.480 kind of like a horizontal push. You know, you're you're 0:10:57.520 --> 0:10:59.760 trying to capture the line of scrimmage and push that 0:11:00.320 --> 0:11:02.960 up the football field and then somebody have a cut 0:11:03.000 --> 0:11:05.880 off block or even take them off their feet and 0:11:05.920 --> 0:11:09.640 have a lane, a cutback lane, um that can be utilized. 0:11:10.040 --> 0:11:12.640 That hadn't that wasn't working as well as you know, 0:11:12.679 --> 0:11:15.199 the Bengals obviously hoped it was going to work. So 0:11:15.280 --> 0:11:18.040 they went to the more of the uh, the gap 0:11:18.200 --> 0:11:21.959 power type game, blocking down and pulling people. And they 0:11:22.000 --> 0:11:24.800 made an adjustment double team and the three technique on 0:11:24.840 --> 0:11:26.760 the outside shoulder of the guard, with the guard and 0:11:26.800 --> 0:11:29.640 the tackle in the center pulling around for the linebacker 0:11:29.679 --> 0:11:32.640 instead of you know, the center and guard, uh you know, 0:11:33.240 --> 0:11:35.440 double teaming and one of them rubbing off the linebacker. 0:11:35.440 --> 0:11:38.440 They're being very more, much more definitive and trying to 0:11:38.480 --> 0:11:41.360 move people and and and get get somebody up the 0:11:41.360 --> 0:11:44.800 football field. So Joe Mixon read it out well, I thought, 0:11:45.280 --> 0:11:49.240 and made some very very good cuts and ran hard. 0:11:49.440 --> 0:11:53.040 He ran very hard the entire football game, and I think, um, 0:11:53.080 --> 0:11:57.560 you know, he basically realized that they were getting a 0:11:57.559 --> 0:12:00.840 lot better push up front, or the execution was a 0:12:00.840 --> 0:12:04.440 lot more sound. He wasn't having people leaking into his backfield. 0:12:04.480 --> 0:12:06.880 We'd have to make his first cut. So you can 0:12:06.920 --> 0:12:09.400 see his confidence, you know, start to increase in the 0:12:09.400 --> 0:12:12.880 confidence to the guys up front increase as well. So hopefully, 0:12:13.120 --> 0:12:17.320 you know, everybody's prideful in their job and they'll take 0:12:17.360 --> 0:12:20.560 pride in a little bit of improvement and look to 0:12:20.600 --> 0:12:23.960 even take it even further against Oakland. The Bengals faced 0:12:24.000 --> 0:12:27.280 the Raiders on Sunday under head coach John Gruden in 0:12:27.320 --> 0:12:30.040 the second year of that ten year, one hundred million 0:12:30.080 --> 0:12:32.880 dollar contract. After going four and twelve last year, the 0:12:32.960 --> 0:12:35.559 Raiders are five and four this year, despite playing five 0:12:35.679 --> 0:12:38.480 straight games away from home, four road games in a 0:12:38.559 --> 0:12:43.320 London game. Where have the Raiders improved this year? They've 0:12:43.360 --> 0:12:47.280 improved closing close games. They've won five their five wins 0:12:47.320 --> 0:12:50.520 or by a total of twenty seven points, so they've 0:12:50.520 --> 0:12:54.880 had six games decided by a touchdown or less. They've 0:12:54.880 --> 0:12:57.400 won five of them. You know, that's that's what's going 0:12:57.440 --> 0:13:00.120 to happen for you. And the biggest reason is in 0:13:00.120 --> 0:13:03.080 the West Coast offense that John Gruden runs, you have 0:13:03.160 --> 0:13:05.200 to be able to run the football, and they've got 0:13:05.200 --> 0:13:08.160 a rookie out of Alabama, Jacobs, who's running the football 0:13:08.200 --> 0:13:10.920 well behind a behemoth offensive line. You get a pair 0:13:10.960 --> 0:13:14.120 of offensive tackles six foot eight and one of them 0:13:14.160 --> 0:13:16.720 six eight two three eighty six foot eight, three hundred 0:13:16.720 --> 0:13:21.360 and eighty pounds. My goodness, Jacobs eight hundred eleven yards rushing, 0:13:21.440 --> 0:13:24.200 sixth best in the league, seven rushing touchdowns, six best 0:13:24.200 --> 0:13:25.960 in the league. Got to have a running game to 0:13:26.480 --> 0:13:28.720 operate out of that for that West Coast offense, and 0:13:28.760 --> 0:13:30.439 you have to have a tight end, and they found 0:13:30.440 --> 0:13:34.520 a tight end. This young kid, Waller who's been cleaned 0:13:34.520 --> 0:13:37.000 for two years now, had drug issue that he's cleaned 0:13:37.040 --> 0:13:39.360 himself up from. You get a respected kid fifty one 0:13:39.440 --> 0:13:43.280 catches five eighty eight yards, three touchdowns. It's a very 0:13:43.280 --> 0:13:47.240 tight end friendly offense. West Coast offense cars playing at 0:13:47.240 --> 0:13:49.960 a very high level, completing over seventy percent of his passes. 0:13:50.200 --> 0:13:53.600 And that's the West Coast offense. You know, throws that 0:13:53.760 --> 0:13:57.880 you can anticipate and throw with accuracy and in attack 0:13:58.040 --> 0:14:00.880 required in the football field. They're playing very good offense 0:14:00.880 --> 0:14:03.440 and playing good enough defense under Paul Gunter to win 0:14:03.520 --> 0:14:07.360 some close games. Did you say? Six eight three eighty 0:14:07.800 --> 0:14:10.560 six eight three eighty depending what he has for pregame meal. 0:14:11.360 --> 0:14:13.719 Sunday will mark the last time the Bengals will play 0:14:13.760 --> 0:14:17.559 at Oakland, Alameda County Coliseum, the so called black Hole. 0:14:18.080 --> 0:14:20.360 You played there four times, including a playoff game in 0:14:20.440 --> 0:14:24.160 seventy five. What stands out about the black Hole? A 0:14:24.200 --> 0:14:29.240 lot of things, you know, John Madden, Al Davis, great players. 0:14:29.360 --> 0:14:31.240 You know, a bunch of characters, I mean the cast 0:14:31.280 --> 0:14:35.920 of characters. That place was the wildest place I think ever. 0:14:36.520 --> 0:14:40.560 And I was pretty good friends with Dave Casper, and 0:14:40.600 --> 0:14:43.080 he was telling me stories our rookie year about what 0:14:43.120 --> 0:14:46.840 it was like playing there in Oaklands. It's almost unbelievable stuff. 0:14:46.880 --> 0:14:49.360 I mean, you can't you can't comprehend it. But the 0:14:49.360 --> 0:14:52.320 biggest thing is those crazy fans. I mean, those people 0:14:52.440 --> 0:14:56.800 are nuts, the way they dress up, and I mean 0:14:57.760 --> 0:15:01.560 the vulgarity of the language. They don't there's not two 0:15:01.640 --> 0:15:04.000 words in a sentence that doesn't have one of them 0:15:04.000 --> 0:15:06.600 being vulgar. I mean, it's just I mean they'll spit 0:15:06.640 --> 0:15:08.920 on you, They'll they'll do everything and anything to you. 0:15:09.360 --> 0:15:12.280 And uh, you know, it's almost like you're you're in 0:15:12.320 --> 0:15:15.800 the middle of Hell's Angels, um, you know, international meeting 0:15:15.840 --> 0:15:18.000 or something. The way they're all dressed looks like they 0:15:18.080 --> 0:15:20.520 just get off their bikes and and and they're ready 0:15:20.520 --> 0:15:23.440 to roll um. But they're they're passionate and they were 0:15:23.520 --> 0:15:25.920 rabid fans. And man, that was a huge home field 0:15:25.920 --> 0:15:28.640 advantage for the Raiders. And the other thing I remember 0:15:28.680 --> 0:15:31.640 is how long the grass was because Al Davis had 0:15:31.760 --> 0:15:35.080 big backs. Mark van egu and Marv Hubbard not real speed, 0:15:35.520 --> 0:15:38.480 so he would grow and you know his his Danny 0:15:38.480 --> 0:15:41.720 of Bramm and people like that, Fred Bullittencoffe. I should 0:15:41.720 --> 0:15:45.560 say they didn't run well. He let that grass grow 0:15:46.040 --> 0:15:49.520 because you know, didn't affect their team speed. They didn't 0:15:49.520 --> 0:15:51.880 have it. He wanted to affect your team speed. Our 0:15:51.920 --> 0:15:55.280 boy from Syracuse, man, he didn't miss any trick. Al Davis, 0:15:55.360 --> 0:15:58.640 proud Syracuse grad. Normally we wear Bengals gear to the 0:15:58.680 --> 0:16:01.720 stadium on Sunday. I might seek a one game exemption 0:16:01.800 --> 0:16:03.920 just to not have those people get all over me. 0:16:03.960 --> 0:16:05.560 What do you think, I'll tell you they are They 0:16:05.600 --> 0:16:09.800 are something else and they will challenge it. They are challenging, 0:16:10.880 --> 0:16:14.200 and I do remember we want a game out there, 0:16:14.240 --> 0:16:17.960 and they literally started pounding on the buses. I mean 0:16:18.000 --> 0:16:20.720 they were trying to tip our buses before we rolled 0:16:20.760 --> 0:16:22.760 out there to get to the airport. I'm like, we're 0:16:22.760 --> 0:16:24.040 gonna be able to make it out of here or 0:16:24.080 --> 0:16:26.880 what I mean those folks they're serious is a heart 0:16:26.880 --> 0:16:30.400 attack about their raiders. Man. The big story in the 0:16:30.520 --> 0:16:33.640 NFL on Friday morning was the shocking end to the 0:16:33.720 --> 0:16:37.120 Thursday night football game as Cleveland Brown's defensive end Miles 0:16:37.120 --> 0:16:41.280 Garrett ripped the helmet off of Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph 0:16:41.320 --> 0:16:44.640 and then swung it hard at Rudolph's head. It was 0:16:44.640 --> 0:16:47.840 a violent act that is certain to lead to a 0:16:47.920 --> 0:16:52.440 lengthy suspension. The longest suspension for an on field incident 0:16:52.520 --> 0:16:55.840 in NFL history was handed out earlier this year the 0:16:55.960 --> 0:17:00.320 former Bengals linebacker von tz Perfect. He got twelve games 0:17:00.680 --> 0:17:03.520 for a helmet to helmet hit to Colts tight end 0:17:03.640 --> 0:17:07.520 Jack Doyle. In Berfick's case, the league cited his history 0:17:07.920 --> 0:17:13.080 of violating unnecessary roughness rules despite his checkered passed. The 0:17:13.160 --> 0:17:16.400 Raiders signed Vontez as a free agent in the off season, 0:17:16.800 --> 0:17:20.600 and head coach John Gruden defended that move this week. 0:17:20.880 --> 0:17:23.560 He was a good addition. I mean, we have Liptoncott here, 0:17:23.560 --> 0:17:25.879 He's a linebacker coach who coached him as Cincinnati, and 0:17:25.960 --> 0:17:28.439 Gunther was a coordinator. So I don't know how much 0:17:28.480 --> 0:17:31.280 more intelligence I could have. I'm not happy about what 0:17:31.320 --> 0:17:34.080 the league did to him, I'm not at all. I'm 0:17:34.119 --> 0:17:38.520 really appalled by it, ticked off by it, But what 0:17:38.560 --> 0:17:40.240 can I do? You know, I got a lot of 0:17:40.600 --> 0:17:42.760 respects for what Burfick did. Coming in here. He was 0:17:42.800 --> 0:17:45.960 elected team captain by every man on our team. He 0:17:46.080 --> 0:17:48.760 played very very well, He had a helmet the helmet 0:17:48.800 --> 0:17:50.520 contact play, and he was thrown out of the league 0:17:50.560 --> 0:17:53.199 for twelve games, unprecedented in NFL history, and I'm not 0:17:53.240 --> 0:17:55.640 happy about it, given the way that his tenure kind 0:17:55.640 --> 0:17:57.719 of wrapped up in Cincinnati. Did you have any concerns 0:17:57.720 --> 0:17:59.639 about bringing him on the roster and how much did 0:17:59.680 --> 0:18:02.520 you everything that happened here before you brought him in. 0:18:03.480 --> 0:18:05.320 I don't want to vet any more than what I've 0:18:05.320 --> 0:18:09.000 already said. You know, Like I said, I have two 0:18:09.040 --> 0:18:13.000 coaches that coached him that have a lot more contact 0:18:13.000 --> 0:18:15.920 with him than I had, And he came in here 0:18:15.960 --> 0:18:18.679 did exactly what we asked him to do, and what 0:18:18.760 --> 0:18:21.560 has happened to him is unprecedented in the history of football, 0:18:22.040 --> 0:18:23.760 and I hope someday we can get a chance to 0:18:23.760 --> 0:18:27.600 coach him again. Test is twenty nine years old and 0:18:27.680 --> 0:18:30.240 has been suspended for a total of twenty two games 0:18:30.280 --> 0:18:35.960 in his career for illegal hits or peed violations. Now 0:18:36.000 --> 0:18:38.879 time for this week's locker room conversation as I visit 0:18:38.960 --> 0:18:42.320 with one of the bengals most pleasant surprises This season. 0:18:42.760 --> 0:18:45.159 We're in the locker room with Brandon Wilson, the NFL 0:18:45.320 --> 0:18:49.359 leader and kickoff return average at thirty six yards per return. 0:18:49.960 --> 0:18:53.359 Has leading the NFL in that category become a personal goal, 0:18:54.160 --> 0:18:56.480 you know, it's a blessing. I mean, the guys of France, 0:18:56.560 --> 0:18:58.960 they really they really just do a good job. And 0:18:59.520 --> 0:19:01.919 I mean they just make it so easy for me 0:19:01.960 --> 0:19:05.720 to return the ball there far, So I mean just 0:19:05.960 --> 0:19:09.000 props uping down. Honestly, you've been in that role before. 0:19:09.119 --> 0:19:11.720 Is the guy trying to block for somebody else? Is 0:19:11.720 --> 0:19:15.119 there anybody on that unit in particular that's just known 0:19:15.359 --> 0:19:19.160 as being great at crushing people in the blocking role 0:19:19.240 --> 0:19:25.000 on kick returns? I mean Clayton, Shoot, try Vaughn, you 0:19:25.080 --> 0:19:28.080 know all those really, all those guys they always make 0:19:28.240 --> 0:19:31.840 great blocks, honestly. So, I mean they just they just 0:19:31.880 --> 0:19:34.720 really do their job out there. We're talking to Brandon Wilson, 0:19:34.800 --> 0:19:37.280 the NFL leader and kickoff return average. You had the 0:19:37.400 --> 0:19:40.720 ninety two yard touchdown return against Baltimore, but your average 0:19:41.160 --> 0:19:45.560 isn't the result of like one or two really long returns. 0:19:45.640 --> 0:19:48.800 You've had a big one in all four games where 0:19:48.840 --> 0:19:50.879 you've been the kick returner. You've had one of at 0:19:50.960 --> 0:19:54.480 least forty nine yards in every game. How close have 0:19:54.600 --> 0:19:58.919 you been to multiple touchdowns? I mean, I know the 0:19:59.000 --> 0:20:03.160 jackson I know the Jacksonville game almost had another one. 0:20:03.240 --> 0:20:04.600 I mean, as soon as I came out of the 0:20:04.800 --> 0:20:06.480 out of the scene, I was like, oh, I'm gone, 0:20:07.040 --> 0:20:10.840 but guy, he kind of tripped me up. And you know, 0:20:11.080 --> 0:20:13.880 I had a I had a couple couple more. That's 0:20:14.040 --> 0:20:17.520 that's been really close to just a few little steps 0:20:17.640 --> 0:20:20.720 or just almost did. Really people might have heard in 0:20:20.760 --> 0:20:24.520 the background Brandon Combs, assistant Special teams coach Justin said 0:20:24.720 --> 0:20:27.840 to me, are you driving the Pro Bowl bus or what? 0:20:28.080 --> 0:20:30.159 So I'll ask you the question. Have you started to 0:20:30.200 --> 0:20:31.879 wonder if you might be able to go to the 0:20:31.880 --> 0:20:34.399 Pro Bowl this year as a special teamer? Yeah, I 0:20:34.480 --> 0:20:37.200 kind of have, you know, I mean, it'll be it'll 0:20:37.240 --> 0:20:38.919 be good if I'm if I'm able to do that. 0:20:39.000 --> 0:20:41.959 But at the same time, you know, it's just shows 0:20:41.960 --> 0:20:45.280 you how good our our kickoff return team is. And 0:20:45.359 --> 0:20:48.680 that's props so that you know, the guys, the guys 0:20:48.680 --> 0:20:51.159 in front just making them blocks and just making it 0:20:51.200 --> 0:20:54.119 so easy for me to just re read blocks and 0:20:54.440 --> 0:20:58.600 you know, make cuts. What kickoff returners, present or former. 0:20:58.800 --> 0:21:03.520 Do you admire Devin Hester the man, that's the man. Yeah, 0:21:03.520 --> 0:21:06.760 he's one of the legends, and you know he's one 0:21:06.760 --> 0:21:11.439 of the greatest, honestly in my opinion kickoff returns. So 0:21:11.560 --> 0:21:14.639 on your kickoff return touchdown against the Ravens, you were 0:21:14.760 --> 0:21:17.840 timed at twenty two point zero three miles an hour. 0:21:18.200 --> 0:21:20.600 You are one of three people in the NFL while 0:21:20.640 --> 0:21:23.440 carrying the ball to top twenty two miles an hour 0:21:23.640 --> 0:21:28.680 this year. Do you know the other two? Matt Breda 0:21:28.920 --> 0:21:33.960 and I can't remember Cordeol Patters Pisen, Yeah, Cordell Patterson. 0:21:34.000 --> 0:21:36.399 That's what I was thinking. It was so inquiring minds 0:21:36.440 --> 0:21:38.720 want to know if you can run twenty two miles 0:21:38.760 --> 0:21:41.240 an hour, are you the fastest guy on this team? 0:21:46.000 --> 0:21:48.200 I don't think I am. I know John Ross he's 0:21:48.280 --> 0:21:51.920 real fast. William Jackson's fast, So I mean it's it's 0:21:51.920 --> 0:21:55.120