WEBVTT - Bengals Booth Podcast: If You Just Believe 0:00:03.600 --> 0:00:06.359 Hi, get everybody. I'm Dan Horde and thanks for downloading 0:00:06.400 --> 0:00:13.520 The Bengals Booth Podcast. The If You Just Believe addition, 0:00:13.880 --> 0:00:16.320 as the Bengals look to stay alive in the playoff 0:00:16.400 --> 0:00:19.560 hunt as they host the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday at 0:00:19.560 --> 0:00:23.320 pay Corps Stadium. Coming up, I'll talk to Drew Sample 0:00:23.560 --> 0:00:26.599 about his teammate for seven of the last eight years, 0:00:26.920 --> 0:00:30.320 Jake Browning Hall of Fame wide receiver James Lofton tells 0:00:30.400 --> 0:00:33.320 us who he thinks is the best wide receiver in 0:00:33.360 --> 0:00:36.600 Bengals history, and in this week's no The Faux Conversation 0:00:37.000 --> 0:00:39.080 will take an in depth look at the Colts with 0:00:39.120 --> 0:00:42.920 their radio voice Matt Taylor. The Bengals Booth Podcast is 0:00:42.920 --> 0:00:44.720 brought to you by pay Corps, proud to be the 0:00:44.760 --> 0:00:49.640 Bengals official HR software provider, by Alta Fiber, future proof 0:00:49.680 --> 0:00:53.080 fiber Internet designed to elevate your home, business, and community 0:00:53.320 --> 0:00:56.520 to a new level, and by Kettering Health the best 0:00:56.520 --> 0:00:59.560 care for the best fans. Kettering Health is the official 0:00:59.600 --> 0:01:03.400 healthcare provider of the Bengals. Now here's a quick reminder 0:01:03.680 --> 0:01:06.319 that you can have the latest edition of this podcast 0:01:06.360 --> 0:01:10.000 delivered right to your phone, tablet, or computer by subscribing 0:01:10.280 --> 0:01:14.000 wherever you get your podcasts. It's the greatest thing since 0:01:14.800 --> 0:01:18.760 the New York Times Playoff Machine. With a six and 0:01:18.840 --> 0:01:21.200 six record in five games to go, the Bengals are 0:01:21.280 --> 0:01:25.800 still in playoff contention, and Joe Mixon says Monday's road 0:01:25.840 --> 0:01:29.800 win over the eight and three Jacksonville Jaguars was a 0:01:29.840 --> 0:01:33.880 reminder that the Bengals are still capable of beating anybody 0:01:33.920 --> 0:01:37.040 on their schedule, even without Joe Burrow. 0:01:37.640 --> 0:01:41.760 Honestly, I felt like just everybody was like, bro, we 0:01:41.760 --> 0:01:44.679 could do this, Like we are still the Bengals, you 0:01:44.720 --> 0:01:47.640 know what I'm saying, and nobody feeling sorry for themselves. 0:01:47.640 --> 0:01:51.000 And I think that was a huge thing that I've seen. 0:01:51.120 --> 0:01:54.560 I felt like this past week was nobody hanging their hands. 0:01:54.880 --> 0:01:55.960 Everybody like, man. 0:01:55.880 --> 0:01:57.560 Like, let's go, like we're still in it, you know 0:01:57.600 --> 0:01:59.440 what I'm saying. And you know, you can see it 0:01:59.480 --> 0:02:01.480 from the coach you was here, from the players, and 0:02:02.040 --> 0:02:04.080 you know, that's a great thing to see because you know, 0:02:04.120 --> 0:02:07.080 when somebody like Joe goes down, you expect, you know, 0:02:07.160 --> 0:02:09.320 people would be like, oh, season's over, this, this and that. 0:02:09.480 --> 0:02:12.280 But we just beat what one of the top season 0:02:12.280 --> 0:02:15.360 in AOC right now. So I feel like we can 0:02:15.440 --> 0:02:17.240 play out there. We can play out there with the 0:02:17.280 --> 0:02:19.120 best of them. I don't care who it is, you 0:02:19.160 --> 0:02:20.679 know what I'm saying. So we just got to go 0:02:20.720 --> 0:02:23.399 out there and do what we do each and every week. 0:02:23.480 --> 0:02:24.280 But it's going to take. 0:02:24.200 --> 0:02:24.760 All of us. 0:02:24.840 --> 0:02:27.520 So what exactly is it going to take for the 0:02:27.560 --> 0:02:30.799 Bengals to make the playoffs? The New York Times has 0:02:30.840 --> 0:02:35.240 an interactive online tool called the Playoff Machine that makes 0:02:35.240 --> 0:02:38.080 it easy to figure out. It allows you to end 0:02:38.120 --> 0:02:41.040 to the result of any of the remaining games, and 0:02:41.080 --> 0:02:44.560 then the machine does three hundred and ninety thousand simulations 0:02:44.960 --> 0:02:48.720 before spitting out their playoff chances. For example, right now, 0:02:48.760 --> 0:02:51.239 the Bengals have a ten percent chance of getting in. 0:02:51.639 --> 0:02:54.800 If they beat the Colts on Sunday, it rises to 0:02:54.840 --> 0:02:58.920 seventeen percent. I spent some time basically entering all of 0:02:58.919 --> 0:03:01.760 the possibilities for the bengals remaining games, and here's what 0:03:01.840 --> 0:03:05.440 I found out. If they win four of their last 0:03:05.480 --> 0:03:08.720 five to finish ten and seven, they should make it. 0:03:09.240 --> 0:03:13.079 Depending on the one loss, the playoff probability ranges from 0:03:13.120 --> 0:03:17.000 eighty one percent to ninety percent. But if they go 0:03:17.120 --> 0:03:21.040 three and two even with wins over the three AFC 0:03:21.080 --> 0:03:25.519 teams in similar shape the Colts, Steelers, and Browns, they've 0:03:25.560 --> 0:03:28.760 only got a twenty one percent chance of getting in. 0:03:28.760 --> 0:03:32.800 In other words, nine to eight is probably not going 0:03:32.840 --> 0:03:36.040 to do the trick. Four of their five remaining games 0:03:36.040 --> 0:03:41.800 are against teams that currently have injured starting quarterbacks the Colts, Viking, Steelers, 0:03:41.800 --> 0:03:45.200 and Browns, and three of those four games are at home. 0:03:45.920 --> 0:03:49.400 If Jake Browning continues to give them solid play at quarterback, 0:03:49.840 --> 0:03:53.920 a four to one finish is very possible. For more 0:03:53.920 --> 0:03:57.040 on Browning, who was named the AFC's Offensive Player of 0:03:57.080 --> 0:04:00.800 the Week, I spoke to tight end Drew Samp, who 0:04:00.920 --> 0:04:04.400 first took the field with Jake as a Washington Husky 0:04:05.120 --> 0:04:09.440 eight years ago. True, Monday's game is going to be 0:04:09.480 --> 0:04:12.920 remembered as the Jake Browning game for his spectacular performance 0:04:12.960 --> 0:04:15.720 against the Jags. You played with him for four years 0:04:15.720 --> 0:04:18.000 at Washington. He was your starting quarterback for the four 0:04:18.040 --> 0:04:20.280 years that you played. What stood out to you about 0:04:20.320 --> 0:04:21.440 that performance on Monday? 0:04:22.360 --> 0:04:24.680 I think, same thing that Jake's always been great at. 0:04:24.680 --> 0:04:26.279 You know, the moment wasn't too big for him. It 0:04:26.320 --> 0:04:29.479 was Monday night on the road. You know, and he 0:04:29.680 --> 0:04:32.839 just he studies hard, he does all the right things, 0:04:32.839 --> 0:04:34.359 and when when it came. 0:04:34.240 --> 0:04:35.839 Time for him to perform, he performed. 0:04:36.040 --> 0:04:37.440 You know, he put the ball where he did to go, 0:04:37.560 --> 0:04:41.240 he made the checks, he owned the huddle, and you know, 0:04:41.320 --> 0:04:43.080 credit to the staff for you know, we had a 0:04:43.080 --> 0:04:45.880 great game plan and we were able to execute on 0:04:45.960 --> 0:04:48.320 pretty much, you know, every position group was able to 0:04:48.400 --> 0:04:49.719 execute and obviously. 0:04:49.440 --> 0:04:51.000 A big chunk of that falls in my quarterback and 0:04:51.000 --> 0:04:52.240 I think he did a great job doing that. 0:04:52.680 --> 0:04:56.160 How excited were you for him that he had that 0:04:56.240 --> 0:04:57.440 moment in primetime? 0:04:57.720 --> 0:04:58.400 I mean it's awesome. 0:04:58.440 --> 0:05:01.200 Obviously, like you said, I played with him for four years. 0:05:01.600 --> 0:05:04.560 You know, we we were together, you know, as freshman 0:05:04.640 --> 0:05:07.160 basically playing college football for the first time, and then 0:05:07.200 --> 0:05:09.000 to now be a part of his NFL journey is 0:05:09.040 --> 0:05:10.840 always awesome. You know, to see the work that he's 0:05:10.839 --> 0:05:13.040 put in and you know the type of guys he is, 0:05:13.080 --> 0:05:14.680 and you know, I've always known he's been. 0:05:14.600 --> 0:05:16.160 A good player and he was able to kind of 0:05:16.160 --> 0:05:17.520 show the world that. So that's awesome. 0:05:18.040 --> 0:05:20.560 He started as a true freshman fresh out of high 0:05:20.560 --> 0:05:22.440 school nineteen years old, and you guys had a good 0:05:22.480 --> 0:05:24.880 season together that year. You had a winning record and 0:05:24.920 --> 0:05:27.560 won a bowl game. To me, that's amazing that a 0:05:27.600 --> 0:05:29.760 guy can come out of high school and do that 0:05:29.920 --> 0:05:32.320 at that level. What did he show you then? 0:05:32.680 --> 0:05:34.839 Yeah, I think he came in and you know, he 0:05:34.880 --> 0:05:37.839 had an amazing high school career. I think he set 0:05:37.839 --> 0:05:39.600 a bunch of records whatever. So that's kind of really 0:05:39.680 --> 0:05:42.000 all we kind of knew about him. You know, I 0:05:42.000 --> 0:05:43.560 had red shirted and then that was going to be 0:05:43.560 --> 0:05:45.840 my first year playing, and he came in. He came 0:05:45.880 --> 0:05:48.080 in early, and I mean, honestly, he just worked his 0:05:48.120 --> 0:05:49.680 ass off and he kind of just won everyone over 0:05:49.720 --> 0:05:51.839 from like, hey, this guy was, you know, a pretty 0:05:51.839 --> 0:05:54.560 big time recruit, set a bunch of records. He came 0:05:54.600 --> 0:05:56.520 in early, he left high school, and you know, he 0:05:56.560 --> 0:05:58.760 worked his ass off, and he worked and he learned, 0:05:58.760 --> 0:06:00.560 and I think he just gained the respect of everyone. 0:06:00.600 --> 0:06:03.080 And then you know, once he started playing, kind of 0:06:03.080 --> 0:06:06.039 never looked back from there. And just one of the 0:06:06.040 --> 0:06:08.240 things he's always been is he's always just you know, 0:06:08.279 --> 0:06:10.480 he's he's laid his body on the line. He's he's 0:06:10.520 --> 0:06:12.520 done everything that you know, he was asked to do. 0:06:12.560 --> 0:06:14.080 And then I think he's done that in the NFL 0:06:14.120 --> 0:06:14.440 as well. 0:06:14.800 --> 0:06:17.440 We're visiting the Drew sample. You had a touchdown catching 0:06:17.520 --> 0:06:19.240 his first start, you had a big catch in the 0:06:19.240 --> 0:06:21.919 red zone last week, and his second start. We often 0:06:21.960 --> 0:06:25.440 hear about how important trust is between quarterback and receiver, 0:06:25.600 --> 0:06:27.520 quarterback and tight end. Do you feel like you have 0:06:27.680 --> 0:06:29.200 that because of the time you've spent together. 0:06:29.440 --> 0:06:30.919 Yeah, I mean I think it never hurts. And I 0:06:30.920 --> 0:06:33.600 think you know, Jake and and our offense, the way 0:06:33.600 --> 0:06:35.120 it works is, you know, he's he's done a good 0:06:35.200 --> 0:06:38.359 job of just find the open guys, you know, you know, 0:06:38.400 --> 0:06:42.239 whether that's you know, in the flat checkdowns, routes, play action, whatever, 0:06:42.320 --> 0:06:44.080 I think he's done a good job. And you know, 0:06:44.120 --> 0:06:45.640 I think, you know, in the tight end room, we've 0:06:45.640 --> 0:06:48.080 been able to, you know, kind of step up, you know, 0:06:48.160 --> 0:06:49.599 all of us in the last couple of weeks to 0:06:49.680 --> 0:06:51.680 try to you know, bring bring the offense for it 0:06:51.760 --> 0:06:52.680 in whatever way we can. 0:06:52.720 --> 0:06:53.960 And I think you're seeing the fruits of that. 0:06:54.120 --> 0:06:57.240 So it obviously never hurts to have that, you know, 0:06:57.360 --> 0:06:59.400 have that background, have that history. But you know, I 0:06:59.440 --> 0:07:01.200 think Jake is a good job of you know, really 0:07:01.240 --> 0:07:03.320 just finding where the ball needs to go based on 0:07:03.400 --> 0:07:05.480 you know, coverage, defense, whatever it may be. 0:07:06.279 --> 0:07:09.760 The school that you two guys played at, Washington is 0:07:09.840 --> 0:07:12.840 undefeated on its way to the College Football Playoff and 0:07:12.880 --> 0:07:15.720 a matchup against Texas. But at the end of this year, 0:07:15.880 --> 0:07:19.000 Washington is headed to the Big Ten with Ohio State, 0:07:19.120 --> 0:07:22.280 Michigan and those schools. Are you happy about it or 0:07:22.320 --> 0:07:24.600 are you bummed that the Pac twelve is coming to 0:07:24.680 --> 0:07:25.040 an end? 0:07:25.320 --> 0:07:26.640 I mean, I think it's a little bit of both. 0:07:26.680 --> 0:07:30.320 I think obviously, you know, the PAC twelve dissolving, you know, 0:07:30.360 --> 0:07:32.640 growing up in Washington and kind of following that, and 0:07:32.680 --> 0:07:34.880 then you know, being a part of two pacdal champions 0:07:34.920 --> 0:07:37.240 and all championships and all that, I think it's kind 0:07:37.240 --> 0:07:38.840 of sad to be, you know, kind of the end 0:07:38.880 --> 0:07:41.760 of an era, the end of you know, obviously a 0:07:41.840 --> 0:07:44.960 huge you know, part of living on the West Coast. 0:07:44.960 --> 0:07:46.560 So I think, you know, it's kind of sad in 0:07:46.600 --> 0:07:47.000 that sense. 0:07:47.040 --> 0:07:49.360 But also, you know, I want what's best for Washington, 0:07:49.400 --> 0:07:53.440 and that's definitely you know, everyone's dissolving, everyone's leaving, and 0:07:53.520 --> 0:07:55.600 so I think, you know, that's what's right to do 0:07:55.640 --> 0:07:58.560 for Washington is to go there and play those teams, 0:07:58.600 --> 0:08:00.000 and you know, there's definitely gonna be a lot more, 0:08:00.320 --> 0:08:02.040 you know, big games. I think with some of those 0:08:02.040 --> 0:08:03.880 teams that we haven't you know, played a whole lot 0:08:03.880 --> 0:08:04.920 of so I think it'll. 0:08:04.760 --> 0:08:05.600 Be fun in that sense. 0:08:05.640 --> 0:08:08.120 And you know, as far as you know, TV money 0:08:08.160 --> 0:08:11.520 and all that, it's it's what's best for Washington and University. 0:08:11.600 --> 0:08:13.600 So I'm glad they did it. But also it's you know, 0:08:13.640 --> 0:08:15.080 it's kind of sad to think about it would be 0:08:15.080 --> 0:08:15.520 no more packed. 0:08:15.480 --> 0:08:20.360 Twelve Monday Nights game against Jacksonville was really fun to broadcast. 0:08:20.560 --> 0:08:24.240 There were five ties and six lead changes and all 0:08:24.280 --> 0:08:27.760 sorts of weird stuff going on. Do you have fun 0:08:27.920 --> 0:08:31.200 in the moment as a player or does the fun 0:08:31.320 --> 0:08:33.120 kick in after the game is over and you've won. 0:08:33.679 --> 0:08:35.520 I think the fun kicks in, you know, as the 0:08:35.559 --> 0:08:37.160 game is over. I mean, I think in that game, 0:08:37.200 --> 0:08:38.920 when you're playing such a good team like that, you know, 0:08:38.960 --> 0:08:42.360 and a team that's the top of the AFC. You know, 0:08:42.920 --> 0:08:45.000 it's fun to obviously go out and play on the 0:08:45.000 --> 0:08:46.599 big stage. But I think it's when you're in the 0:08:46.640 --> 0:08:49.240 moment like that, it's you know, it's stressful, you're back 0:08:49.240 --> 0:08:51.720 and forth, you know, you're in the game, you're you know, 0:08:51.760 --> 0:08:53.200 it was fun in the sense of, you know, our 0:08:53.240 --> 0:08:55.240 offense I think played well and we were able to, 0:08:55.280 --> 0:08:57.600 you know, do a lot of different things and play 0:08:57.640 --> 0:08:59.320 well against their defense. It was fun in that sense, 0:08:59.360 --> 0:09:01.439 but I think it was the real fun. Didn't kick 0:09:01.480 --> 0:09:03.560 it until the field goal went in and we knew 0:09:03.559 --> 0:09:05.840 it was over. But those are just the type of 0:09:05.840 --> 0:09:09.080 games that you know that you have to just stay 0:09:09.120 --> 0:09:11.040 locked in the whole time because it's up, it's down. 0:09:11.360 --> 0:09:13.520 You know, there's really good stretches, there's bad stretches, whatever 0:09:13.559 --> 0:09:14.679 it may be, and you just kind of have to 0:09:14.679 --> 0:09:16.640 stay locked in and you know, to get to the 0:09:16.679 --> 0:09:18.640 win and then you can kind of enjoy it after that. 0:09:19.480 --> 0:09:22.079 So two weeks ago against Pittsburgh, the team only had 0:09:22.080 --> 0:09:25.559 twenty five rushing yards. On Monday night against Jacksonville, thirty 0:09:25.600 --> 0:09:28.360 one carries one hundred and fifty six rushing yards. That's 0:09:28.400 --> 0:09:32.440 a top five run defense. Was the mindset different for 0:09:32.600 --> 0:09:36.280 everybody in the unit to get the running game going. 0:09:36.800 --> 0:09:39.320 And I think, you know, you always want to have 0:09:39.360 --> 0:09:41.680 a balanced offense, and for us, I think it was more, 0:09:41.840 --> 0:09:43.800 you know, we had just been we'd been close on 0:09:43.840 --> 0:09:45.800 a lot of stuff. When we turned the tape, you know, 0:09:45.880 --> 0:09:48.240 it was close, whether it was you know, assignment, getting 0:09:48.280 --> 0:09:50.839 whatever and all in all groups, running backs, tight ends, 0:09:50.840 --> 0:09:52.960 o line, whatever it may be. So I think it 0:09:53.000 --> 0:09:54.440 was just the focus to try to hone in on 0:09:54.480 --> 0:09:57.000 the details of it, to say, hey, we're close. It's 0:09:57.000 --> 0:09:59.600 not as bad as you know, everyone makes it out 0:09:59.640 --> 0:10:01.520 to be, like, we know that we're close, and we 0:10:01.559 --> 0:10:02.839 just got to clean up a few things. And I 0:10:02.880 --> 0:10:05.080 think that was kind of the The focus was just 0:10:05.080 --> 0:10:06.800 making sure that we were on top of our game 0:10:06.880 --> 0:10:09.240 to put us, you know, in successful spots and then 0:10:09.320 --> 0:10:11.080 when the runs are called, to be able to execute 0:10:11.120 --> 0:10:14.120 them and get positive yards and be efficient. And you know, 0:10:14.160 --> 0:10:15.680 when we were able to do that, obviously it gives 0:10:15.679 --> 0:10:17.640 the coaches confidence to call more of those and and 0:10:17.720 --> 0:10:19.160 kind of control the game that way. So I think 0:10:19.160 --> 0:10:21.400 it was just the the details and the execution part 0:10:21.480 --> 0:10:23.120 was what we focused on, not necessarily like, hey, we. 0:10:23.120 --> 0:10:24.000 Got to run the ball more. 0:10:24.040 --> 0:10:25.720 It was just being you know, trying to be efficient 0:10:25.720 --> 0:10:27.560 with those runs and letting it kind of handle itself 0:10:27.559 --> 0:10:27.920 from there. 0:10:28.559 --> 0:10:31.040 Chase Brown is back from a hamstring injury, got his 0:10:31.080 --> 0:10:34.319 first extended opportunity to play and had an excellent game. 0:10:34.760 --> 0:10:37.280 What kind of jolt did that bring to the offense. 0:10:37.520 --> 0:10:38.199 Yeah, he's awesome. 0:10:38.240 --> 0:10:40.040 I mean, he's he's you know, he's been playing some 0:10:40.040 --> 0:10:41.920 sucial teams before he was got hurt where he had 0:10:41.960 --> 0:10:43.800 you know, he had shown flashers just with his speed 0:10:43.800 --> 0:10:46.240 and explosiveness, and so, you know, I think he's been 0:10:46.280 --> 0:10:48.760 working hard to try to, you know, in practice to 0:10:48.800 --> 0:10:50.720 kind of show the show the coaches that he can 0:10:50.760 --> 0:10:52.200 be trusted in some of those spots. 0:10:52.240 --> 0:10:54.160 And he was just able to you know, take advantage 0:10:54.160 --> 0:10:55.320 of those opportunities. It was awesome. 0:10:55.360 --> 0:10:59.440 So I think, you know, hopefully he continues to do that. 0:10:59.480 --> 0:11:00.719 And like I said, we were able to run the 0:11:00.720 --> 0:11:02.720 ball effectively, and I think when you got multiple guys 0:11:03.440 --> 0:11:05.079 you know you can come in and run the ball well, 0:11:05.080 --> 0:11:06.080 that obviously helps the team. 0:11:06.600 --> 0:11:08.640 Three. You've come back from the MCL injury that you 0:11:08.679 --> 0:11:11.000 suffered in Week two last year against the Cowboys, and 0:11:11.040 --> 0:11:13.319 at the beginning of training camp, I wasn't sure if 0:11:13.360 --> 0:11:16.280 you were all the way back, were you or did 0:11:16.280 --> 0:11:17.040 it take some time? 0:11:17.320 --> 0:11:18.840 You know, obviously in the beginning, you just don't know 0:11:18.880 --> 0:11:20.720 where you're gonna you know where you're gonna be. You 0:11:20.720 --> 0:11:22.120 put in a lot of work, but just to get 0:11:22.120 --> 0:11:24.520 back into true you know football and and you know, 0:11:24.559 --> 0:11:26.160 being in camp and hitting and all that. 0:11:26.240 --> 0:11:28.280 I think there was just a little bit of you. 0:11:28.200 --> 0:11:29.960 Know, not a mental block, but just kind of you're 0:11:30.000 --> 0:11:31.280 kind of feeling it out a little bit, and then 0:11:31.320 --> 0:11:33.280 as you continue to go, you you know, you kind 0:11:33.280 --> 0:11:35.040 of gain confidence and go from there. And so I 0:11:35.040 --> 0:11:39.920 think each new you know, camp pads, you know, preseason games, 0:11:40.360 --> 0:11:43.160 ravers uson games, and then kind of going into the season, 0:11:43.200 --> 0:11:44.640 I think each of those you kind of gain a 0:11:44.640 --> 0:11:45.920 little bit more of that confidence. 0:11:45.880 --> 0:11:47.400 It's not necessary that the knee. 0:11:47.160 --> 0:11:49.199 Was you know, feeling bad or hurting, but you're kind 0:11:49.200 --> 0:11:50.640 of just you know, you're getting your legs back, You're 0:11:50.640 --> 0:11:53.920 getting your you know, just that that battle hardened you know, 0:11:54.000 --> 0:11:55.959 body back, and then you know, during the season, I 0:11:56.240 --> 0:11:58.760 felt good about it. So I think it just it 0:11:58.760 --> 0:12:00.439 took a little time to kind of really feel like 0:12:00.480 --> 0:12:02.400 you're back, just with the experience of being out for 0:12:02.400 --> 0:12:02.800 so long. 0:12:04.040 --> 0:12:04.760 But yeah, I was. 0:12:04.840 --> 0:12:06.439 I was really happy to be back for camp and 0:12:06.520 --> 0:12:08.319 into the preseason and to be to be back for 0:12:08.360 --> 0:12:09.040 the start of the season. 0:12:09.679 --> 0:12:12.040 You're known for your blocking ability, but I think people 0:12:12.080 --> 0:12:15.240 forget sometimes you had forty catches in a season your 0:12:15.280 --> 0:12:17.880 second year, do you feel like you've been type cast 0:12:18.320 --> 0:12:20.800 as somebody who is a blocking tight end? 0:12:21.200 --> 0:12:24.120 I mean somewhat, But I think for me, like you know, 0:12:24.120 --> 0:12:26.040 I obviously take pride. That's a huge part of my game. 0:12:26.080 --> 0:12:28.160 That's what you know, That's what I did in college 0:12:28.160 --> 0:12:28.360 a lot. 0:12:28.400 --> 0:12:29.079 That's what I do here. 0:12:29.120 --> 0:12:30.680 That's how I you know, am able to help the 0:12:30.720 --> 0:12:33.280 team win. But you know, I think as myself is 0:12:33.320 --> 0:12:36.080 a rounded tight end that I can do everything. And 0:12:36.160 --> 0:12:39.560 you know, every every offense, every team is different, and 0:12:39.640 --> 0:12:41.600 so James has done a good job just like hey 0:12:41.920 --> 0:12:42.680 for our tight ends. 0:12:42.679 --> 0:12:44.520 It for me just just be ready for your moment. 0:12:44.600 --> 0:12:47.000 And you know there was times and you know years 0:12:47.040 --> 0:12:49.280 past when I you know where it's hard because you're 0:12:49.280 --> 0:12:50.720 not getting a ton of opportunities that you do get 0:12:50.800 --> 0:12:52.240 do get opportunities and you haven't been. 0:12:52.120 --> 0:12:52.880 In those positions. 0:12:52.880 --> 0:12:55.280 So I think for me, just just making sure that 0:12:55.320 --> 0:12:56.880 I am ready for those moments, and I've been able 0:12:56.920 --> 0:12:59.840 to take advantage of those this year. But yeah, I mean, 0:12:59.880 --> 0:13:01.800 I I see myself and I want to be you know, 0:13:01.840 --> 0:13:04.120 a well rounded tight end and in our offense, you know, 0:13:04.840 --> 0:13:07.000 I think I'm able to do things that really helps 0:13:07.040 --> 0:13:09.240 us open up, whether that's you know, run game path 0:13:09.280 --> 0:13:11.640 protecting whatever it may be. But also you know, I'm 0:13:11.640 --> 0:13:13.600 confident in my abilities to go out and run routes 0:13:13.600 --> 0:13:15.560 and catch passes and you know, make a guy miss 0:13:15.600 --> 0:13:17.000 or go through a guy or whatever it may be. 0:13:17.160 --> 0:13:20.600 So that's always something that I'm working for. And you know, 0:13:20.840 --> 0:13:22.840 whether I get those opportunities or not, that's you know, 0:13:22.880 --> 0:13:24.920 depending on the game game plan, a lot of factors 0:13:24.960 --> 0:13:26.719 outside of my control. So for me, it's just making 0:13:26.720 --> 0:13:28.520 sure that I'm ready to go and be able to 0:13:28.520 --> 0:13:32.080 take advantage of whatever opportunities I get and in all aspects, 0:13:32.080 --> 0:13:33.760 and I think that's what's important, and that's the fun 0:13:33.760 --> 0:13:34.720 part about being a tight end. 0:13:35.440 --> 0:13:38.760 Final thing, you and your wife are involved in a 0:13:38.840 --> 0:13:41.880 toy drive for Christmas. It's something you've done before. Share 0:13:41.920 --> 0:13:42.720 some of the details. 0:13:42.840 --> 0:13:43.559 Yeah, it's really cool. 0:13:43.600 --> 0:13:46.440 The last couple of years, you know, so you know, 0:13:46.480 --> 0:13:48.480 my wife and I have a good connection with Children's Hospital. 0:13:48.520 --> 0:13:50.240 Both our daughters were born here and they spend some 0:13:50.320 --> 0:13:53.040 time after they were born in Children's and so it 0:13:53.120 --> 0:13:56.439 was something that you know, holiday season for those families 0:13:56.440 --> 0:13:58.679 that are at Children's, they're you know, they're going through 0:13:58.720 --> 0:14:01.120 a lot, whether it's surgeries, long term care, whatever it 0:14:01.200 --> 0:14:03.560 may be. So we did a little toy drive or 0:14:03.559 --> 0:14:04.920 my wife and I just had you know, the first 0:14:05.000 --> 0:14:06.680 year we'd gone out and bought some toys and we're 0:14:06.679 --> 0:14:09.160 able to deliver them. And just seeing those those family, 0:14:09.280 --> 0:14:11.960 those kids, you know, that reaction, you know, being in 0:14:12.000 --> 0:14:13.679 such a tough spot and just having a little bit 0:14:13.720 --> 0:14:15.760 of something where the parents didn't have to worry about 0:14:15.800 --> 0:14:17.480 going out and getting stuff and the kids were able 0:14:17.520 --> 0:14:18.840 to come out and pick something out. 0:14:18.880 --> 0:14:19.520 It was really cool. 0:14:19.600 --> 0:14:21.960 So this year is the first year where we're you know, 0:14:22.160 --> 0:14:23.880 we're trying to get the counit involved. We got some 0:14:24.040 --> 0:14:27.000 you know, some sponsors helping us out to kind of 0:14:27.040 --> 0:14:29.800 get some donations to hopefully get more toys and be 0:14:29.800 --> 0:14:32.080 able to do a much bigger event this year. You know, 0:14:32.080 --> 0:14:34.000 I've been in Cincinnati for a while and I've seen 0:14:34.080 --> 0:14:35.800 you know, the fans of the community be able to 0:14:35.880 --> 0:14:37.120 rally around these types of stuff. 0:14:37.160 --> 0:14:38.880 So if you want to, if you guys want to 0:14:38.880 --> 0:14:39.800 help out, you can go to my. 0:14:39.760 --> 0:14:41.960 Socials at Drew Kell on Twitter, at Drew Kell Eating 0:14:42.080 --> 0:14:42.680 on Instagram. 0:14:43.120 --> 0:14:44.400 There's a link in my bio to donate. 0:14:44.480 --> 0:14:47.000 We got some tickets and some other stuff raffled off 0:14:47.000 --> 0:14:50.240 for donations. Uh, and then donations will be done December 0:14:50.320 --> 0:14:52.560 fifteenth and then December eighteenth, my wife and I were 0:14:52.560 --> 0:14:54.760 going to go in and hopefully have a ton of 0:14:54.760 --> 0:14:55.960 toys for the kids to come out. 0:14:55.880 --> 0:14:57.360 And pick off. So it's something really cool that we 0:14:57.400 --> 0:14:57.960 do every year. 0:14:58.680 --> 0:15:00.640 It's something close to our heart which will and it's 0:15:00.680 --> 0:15:02.760 something really special that hopefully everyone can get involved in. 0:15:03.480 --> 0:15:06.520 It's awesome, Thank you for that. It's much appreciated by 0:15:06.560 --> 0:15:08.760 the community and best of Fluctu on Sunday and it's Cols. 0:15:08.880 --> 0:15:09.720 Yeah, awesome, thank you. 0:15:11.000 --> 0:15:13.560 The Bengals Booth podcast is brought to you by pay Corps, 0:15:13.600 --> 0:15:17.400 proud to be the Bengals official HR software provider, by 0:15:17.520 --> 0:15:21.840 Alta Fiber future proof Fiber Internet designed to elevate your home, 0:15:22.240 --> 0:15:25.880 business and community to a new level, and by Kettering 0:15:25.920 --> 0:15:29.760 Health the best care for the best fans. Kettering Health 0:15:29.840 --> 0:15:33.160 is the official healthcare provider of the Bengals. If you 0:15:33.160 --> 0:15:36.200 can't make it Topey Corpse Stadium on Sunday, a Hall 0:15:36.280 --> 0:15:40.120 of Fame wide receiver will be the TV analyst and 0:15:40.160 --> 0:15:44.080 I caught up with him this week. One of the 0:15:44.160 --> 0:15:46.720 greatest wide receivers in NFL history will be in the 0:15:46.760 --> 0:15:50.240 booth for CBS this Sunday, James Lofton and James. We've 0:15:50.280 --> 0:15:53.680 got to start with Jake Browning, who is spectacular on 0:15:53.760 --> 0:15:56.560 Monday night in Jacksonville. What stood out to you about 0:15:56.560 --> 0:15:57.320 that performance? 0:15:57.880 --> 0:16:01.440 Well, the great thing about him performed so well. He's 0:16:01.480 --> 0:16:06.320 a California native. We know that from California. He also 0:16:06.360 --> 0:16:08.880 played in the Pac twelve. I played in the Pack 0:16:08.920 --> 0:16:14.040 eight next year for Pack two. I think that he 0:16:14.160 --> 0:16:16.600 never got flustered during the course of the ball game. 0:16:17.560 --> 0:16:20.280 Early on, Bengals through a lot of short passes and 0:16:20.320 --> 0:16:22.160 you're going, okay, let's throw the ball down the field. 0:16:22.640 --> 0:16:24.240 And then when he started to throw the ball down 0:16:24.320 --> 0:16:28.880 the field, he was ultra successful. So it was a 0:16:28.920 --> 0:16:32.520 perfect game for a guy who's stepping in and they'll 0:16:32.560 --> 0:16:34.640 just see what the follow up act will be like. 0:16:34.720 --> 0:16:36.440 It's kind of like one of those movies with a 0:16:36.520 --> 0:16:39.520 bunch of sequels. We know the prequel. A guy who 0:16:39.560 --> 0:16:43.320 gets bounced around, doesn't get signed anywhere, has a good, 0:16:43.520 --> 0:16:46.640 great high school career, good college career, and then can't 0:16:46.680 --> 0:16:49.360 get any traction in the pros, but looks like he 0:16:49.440 --> 0:16:52.800 has his footing pretty well cemented right now. 0:16:53.680 --> 0:16:55.800 James, you're on a Super Bowl team in Buffalo where 0:16:55.840 --> 0:16:59.080 Jim Kelly got hurt in the final regular season game 0:16:59.080 --> 0:17:01.400 and his backup for Reich was able to lead you 0:17:01.480 --> 0:17:04.280 to a couple of playoff wins before Jim got healthy, 0:17:04.320 --> 0:17:06.240 and then you guys went to the Super Bowl. What 0:17:06.320 --> 0:17:08.520 does a team have to do to rally around the 0:17:08.560 --> 0:17:09.480 backup quarterback. 0:17:10.240 --> 0:17:12.800 I think what the team really needs to do is 0:17:12.840 --> 0:17:16.159 not to worry. Uh, it's really in the coach's hands 0:17:16.160 --> 0:17:20.080 at that point to devise a game plan that cater's 0:17:20.200 --> 0:17:22.120 a little more to the skills of the guy who's 0:17:22.160 --> 0:17:24.320 coming in than the guy who's trying to replace. 0:17:25.359 --> 0:17:28.720 The Bengals are six and six with five games to go. 0:17:29.400 --> 0:17:31.920 Four of those five games are against teams that are 0:17:31.960 --> 0:17:35.080 missing their starting quarterback at least right now, what do 0:17:35.119 --> 0:17:37.640 you think of the bengals chances with a month left 0:17:37.640 --> 0:17:38.240 in the season. 0:17:38.840 --> 0:17:42.800 Well, I never hear this phrase uttered during training camp, 0:17:43.040 --> 0:17:46.560 but we control our own destiny, and just think about 0:17:46.600 --> 0:17:49.360 it at the training camp. You control your own destiny. 0:17:49.600 --> 0:17:51.600 If you were to go seventeen to zero, I think 0:17:51.640 --> 0:17:54.760 that's a pretty good record, And even now, at six 0:17:54.840 --> 0:17:57.840 and six, if you can win the last five games, 0:17:57.920 --> 0:18:01.720 and yes you're not going to play them Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, 0:18:02.119 --> 0:18:04.680 but if you can win each game that you play, 0:18:05.160 --> 0:18:07.240 he got a really really good chance of being in 0:18:07.240 --> 0:18:11.440 the playoffs because ten eleven wins almost secures your playoff spot. 0:18:12.320 --> 0:18:14.639 We are visiting with Hall of Fame wide receiver James 0:18:14.680 --> 0:18:17.639 lofton last week, Jamar Chase became the fourth wide receiver 0:18:17.680 --> 0:18:20.680 in history to have eighty plus catches in one thousand 0:18:20.720 --> 0:18:23.520 plus yards in each of his first three seasons. What 0:18:23.640 --> 0:18:26.680 makes you go wow when you watch Jamar Chase. 0:18:27.000 --> 0:18:29.679 Well, it's not so much the numbers that guys are 0:18:29.680 --> 0:18:33.040 putting up now because there's more passing to the game. 0:18:33.800 --> 0:18:36.720 But the thing about Jamar Chase, and normally I use 0:18:36.800 --> 0:18:41.280 this phrase about running backs, it's contact balance. When you 0:18:41.400 --> 0:18:44.920 watch him play. You know, you know, we talk about 0:18:45.000 --> 0:18:47.520 Jalen Hurts and all that he can squat. If he 0:18:47.520 --> 0:18:50.040 can squat seven hundred pounds, I'm pretty sure Jamar Chase 0:18:50.040 --> 0:18:53.240 can squat six hundred and ninety five pounds because his 0:18:53.359 --> 0:18:56.679 lower body just looks so firm. He doesn't get bumped 0:18:56.680 --> 0:18:59.439 off his routes. He goes where he wants to on 0:18:59.480 --> 0:19:02.679 the football, and that's a trait that a lot of 0:19:02.720 --> 0:19:06.040 receivers don't have. They get pushed out where the defensive 0:19:06.040 --> 0:19:08.399 back wants to push them to. That didn't happen to 0:19:08.480 --> 0:19:09.520 Jamar Chase at all. 0:19:10.400 --> 0:19:13.000 Te Higgins was back on Monday night after missing three 0:19:13.040 --> 0:19:15.760 games with a hamstring injury. The Bengals had lost those 0:19:15.760 --> 0:19:17.960 three games. He came back and they won on Monday 0:19:18.000 --> 0:19:21.480 night against the Jaguars. What does team mean to this offense? 0:19:22.119 --> 0:19:26.200 Well, he's a big body, he's a When you take 0:19:26.240 --> 0:19:30.560 the three receivers as a group, you really can't double 0:19:30.600 --> 0:19:34.560 team or shade coverage to anybody. And even though we're 0:19:34.560 --> 0:19:36.480 talking about T Higgins, the guy that I got to 0:19:36.480 --> 0:19:39.639 take my hat off to is Tyler Boyd. And he 0:19:39.720 --> 0:19:43.880 came into the league. He was Robin to AJ Green's batman. 0:19:44.400 --> 0:19:47.399 Then he turned into Batman. Then somebody else shows up, 0:19:47.480 --> 0:19:50.600 he turns back into Robin. Now he's Alfred, the trusted 0:19:50.720 --> 0:19:54.560 guy who gets everybody where they're supposed to be. And 0:19:54.640 --> 0:19:57.320 I just love his spirit and the way that he 0:19:57.400 --> 0:20:01.760 plays the game and the unselfishness all three receivers. I 0:20:01.800 --> 0:20:04.159 think really that the attitude that they have that I 0:20:04.200 --> 0:20:06.119 see from them because they could all be stars in 0:20:06.160 --> 0:20:09.240 their own right, but collectively together they're awesome. 0:20:09.800 --> 0:20:12.800 James, I'm glad you mentioned Aj Green because the Bengals 0:20:12.840 --> 0:20:16.919 have had some great wide receivers in their history, Isaac Kurtis, 0:20:17.040 --> 0:20:21.240 Chad Johnson, AJ Green, Jamar Chase and others. Do you 0:20:21.400 --> 0:20:23.520 have a guy at the top of your totem pole 0:20:23.600 --> 0:20:25.000 from the Bengals all time list? 0:20:25.480 --> 0:20:29.000 Well, you named him first. When I was a going 0:20:29.080 --> 0:20:32.200 into my senior year at Stanford, Bill Walsh came in 0:20:33.040 --> 0:20:35.159 and he came down to the track where I was 0:20:35.280 --> 0:20:38.520 and he said, he said, who did you piss off? 0:20:38.840 --> 0:20:40.840 And I said, so, what do you mean? He said, 0:20:40.880 --> 0:20:44.200 why haven't you been playing on the football team. I said, well, 0:20:44.880 --> 0:20:46.960 you know, they told me I could run track, so 0:20:47.160 --> 0:20:49.080 when the football season was over, I might be second 0:20:49.080 --> 0:20:50.720 string and then i'd come back in the fall and 0:20:50.800 --> 0:20:53.040 I was third string. And he said, well that's not 0:20:53.080 --> 0:20:55.399 going to happen. He said, I got some tape I 0:20:55.440 --> 0:20:57.720 want you to watch, and I had never watched tape 0:20:57.720 --> 0:21:00.960 of a professional receiver. And he showed film on Isaac 0:21:01.000 --> 0:21:03.560 Curtis and he said, this is the guy that you 0:21:03.600 --> 0:21:06.600 could be like. And I never had anybody tell me 0:21:06.680 --> 0:21:08.919 that I could be a professional, that I could be 0:21:09.080 --> 0:21:11.960 like somebody who was in the pros. And so Isaac 0:21:11.960 --> 0:21:14.159 Curtis has always stood out to me. And I was 0:21:14.240 --> 0:21:17.320 fortunate to relay that story to him about three or 0:21:17.359 --> 0:21:20.639 four years ago. And you know, Bill Watsh was special 0:21:20.680 --> 0:21:23.240 to a lot of people, really special to me, And 0:21:23.280 --> 0:21:27.399 that association with Isaac Curtis, even though Isaac didn't know 0:21:27.440 --> 0:21:29.399 it for years, always stood out to me. 0:21:30.880 --> 0:21:34.240 When I picture your playing days and picture Isaac's playing days, 0:21:34.240 --> 0:21:36.399 you two guys remind me of each other in a 0:21:36.400 --> 0:21:39.320 lot of ways. You had the tremendous speed. Obviously you 0:21:39.400 --> 0:21:41.960 had several seasons where you averaged more than twenty yards 0:21:41.960 --> 0:21:44.480 of catch, But it was more than that. It was 0:21:44.560 --> 0:21:48.479 the style with which you played. Did you try to 0:21:48.520 --> 0:21:51.240 emulate Isaac in that way? Or is that just a 0:21:51.280 --> 0:21:53.080 similar personality with you two guys. 0:21:53.520 --> 0:21:56.479 It might just be similar personalities. I know this, I 0:21:56.520 --> 0:21:58.440 know about Isaac Curtis when he was in high school 0:21:58.520 --> 0:22:01.080 was a great running back. I was a bad high 0:22:01.080 --> 0:22:04.280 school quarterback and I didn't have the running skills that 0:22:04.320 --> 0:22:06.399 he had. When I saw some of his highlights and 0:22:06.440 --> 0:22:08.920 I go back and I google him. Now, I go, man, 0:22:08.960 --> 0:22:13.240 he was really awesome, and you know, sometimes you get 0:22:13.280 --> 0:22:15.080 a lot of credit for when you're playing. And then 0:22:15.400 --> 0:22:19.760 he merges with Chris Collinsworth, he beats out David Verser. Again. 0:22:19.880 --> 0:22:23.280 You haven't heard that name in a while. So Isaac 0:22:23.359 --> 0:22:26.280 Curtis was special in his era and probably a guy 0:22:26.320 --> 0:22:28.919 along with Ken Anderson, who didn't get the credit that 0:22:28.960 --> 0:22:30.400 he deserved a lot of times. 0:22:30.960 --> 0:22:32.960 James, you played in three straight Super Bowls with the 0:22:32.960 --> 0:22:35.080 Buffalo Bills and played for one of the great leaders 0:22:35.080 --> 0:22:37.400 of all time in Marv Levy. What do you think 0:22:37.440 --> 0:22:40.280 of Zach Taylor and does he have any Marv Levy 0:22:40.359 --> 0:22:42.720 qualities when you watch the way he coaches this team. 0:22:43.560 --> 0:22:46.720 I remember meeting Zach Taylor in his first year when 0:22:46.720 --> 0:22:49.439 this team was not where it is now. We'll just 0:22:49.640 --> 0:22:53.360 put it like that mildly, and I said, man, he's 0:22:53.359 --> 0:22:56.800 got a tough road in front of him. It's interesting 0:22:56.800 --> 0:22:59.360 when I watched the young coaches come in now, they 0:22:59.359 --> 0:23:02.560 have a pass for the game. They have the energy 0:23:02.600 --> 0:23:05.280 to pursue it twenty four hours a day, and they 0:23:05.320 --> 0:23:09.280 do that and if given the right elements to the 0:23:09.480 --> 0:23:11.520 systems that they want to play, to the things that 0:23:11.560 --> 0:23:15.320 they see dancing in their head at night. They can 0:23:15.320 --> 0:23:17.159 get it done. And he's been able to do that. 0:23:17.240 --> 0:23:19.600 And you know, you look no further than the stability 0:23:19.640 --> 0:23:22.920 that they've had along the offensive line, mixing the skilled players, 0:23:22.960 --> 0:23:26.159 get the quarterback, get a fine guy to tutor to 0:23:26.200 --> 0:23:29.679 everybody on defense. So there's a lot that goes into it, 0:23:29.800 --> 0:23:34.840 not just the calm demeanor, but Zach It's interesting he 0:23:34.920 --> 0:23:36.639 had a big grin on his face in one of 0:23:36.640 --> 0:23:39.480 the passes that Brown And completed, and so you could 0:23:39.480 --> 0:23:41.639 just see the joy that he had and the happiness 0:23:41.640 --> 0:23:43.280 that he has for his players. And I think that 0:23:43.280 --> 0:23:47.240 that infectious quality just goes throughout the whole organization. 0:23:48.520 --> 0:23:52.280 James, You've got the Bengals and Colts. This Sunday, Indianapolis 0:23:52.320 --> 0:23:54.440 is seven and five. The Colts have a four game 0:23:54.520 --> 0:23:57.680 winning streak. They only won four games all of last year. 0:23:57.760 --> 0:23:59.399 What's impressed you about Indy. 0:24:00.119 --> 0:24:03.240 Well, I was there in Jacksonville when we had Minshew 0:24:03.320 --> 0:24:08.959 Mania and Gardner. Minshew is a guy who you know, 0:24:09.240 --> 0:24:11.919 against all odds, yes he was drafted, but he's not 0:24:11.960 --> 0:24:14.399 supposed to be a starting quarterback. And he started thirty 0:24:14.400 --> 0:24:17.040 two games in the NFL already, so what used to 0:24:17.040 --> 0:24:20.280 be two full seasons, he's already had that under his belt, 0:24:20.640 --> 0:24:24.320 and he just kind of creates. Sometimes you might not 0:24:24.359 --> 0:24:27.480 see a lot there. He creates. He doesn't make a 0:24:27.560 --> 0:24:31.080 ton of errors, and but he does take risks, so 0:24:31.480 --> 0:24:36.000 that's impressive. Quintin Nelson, the left guard, is so much 0:24:36.000 --> 0:24:39.080 fun to watch. It's like having a refrigerator out there, 0:24:39.240 --> 0:24:42.240 just pushing the refrigerator for because he may not be agile, 0:24:42.520 --> 0:24:46.120 but you shouldn't be in front of him. 0:24:46.320 --> 0:24:48.720 It's an important game for both of these teams. As 0:24:48.760 --> 0:24:50.959 I mentioned the culture seven and five, the Bengals are 0:24:51.000 --> 0:24:53.640 six and six. What are a few things Cincinnati must 0:24:53.720 --> 0:24:55.480 do on Sunday to come away with a win. 0:24:56.240 --> 0:24:59.000 Well, they have to have the right attitude. And by 0:24:59.040 --> 0:25:02.080 that I mean take the things that we do well 0:25:02.440 --> 0:25:05.880 the Cincinnati Bengals and continue to do them. And that's 0:25:05.920 --> 0:25:09.199 what the coaching staff is geared for, because you just 0:25:09.240 --> 0:25:11.119 don't go in and say, Okay, let's see what's going 0:25:11.160 --> 0:25:13.920 to happen. When we looked last week and you saw 0:25:14.040 --> 0:25:16.920 Chase Brown run the ball really well, there were a 0:25:16.960 --> 0:25:19.320 couple of plays that they ran, and they ran them 0:25:19.359 --> 0:25:22.320 over and over again about five or six times because 0:25:22.359 --> 0:25:24.880 what they saw is they saw a defense that wasn't 0:25:24.920 --> 0:25:27.840 adapting to the way that they were blocking. So sometimes 0:25:27.840 --> 0:25:30.800 you get lucky on something like that. But I think 0:25:30.840 --> 0:25:34.280 in this ballgame, you gotta go with with the stars 0:25:34.280 --> 0:25:36.760 that you have. We talked about the receivers already, and 0:25:36.800 --> 0:25:39.280 I'd be remiss if I didn't talk about Joe Mixon, 0:25:39.600 --> 0:25:43.119 who I think is a top five running back. You 0:25:43.200 --> 0:25:45.520 may not have all the yards that everybody has, but 0:25:45.640 --> 0:25:49.199 when you watch him play every ounce of energy, I 0:25:49.240 --> 0:25:51.360 don't believe in one hundred and ten percent. I don't 0:25:51.400 --> 0:25:53.600 believe in second effort. I believe in one hundred percent 0:25:53.600 --> 0:25:56.800 and effort throughout the play. And you see that every 0:25:56.920 --> 0:26:00.159 time Joe Mixon touches the ball. I mean it's I 0:26:00.200 --> 0:26:01.680 would not want to be in his way trying to 0:26:01.840 --> 0:26:02.119 tack me. 0:26:03.280 --> 0:26:05.879 Final question for the great James Lofton. He never played 0:26:05.880 --> 0:26:08.879 in Cincinnati in your NFL career, but you did play 0:26:08.880 --> 0:26:11.840 for Forrest Greg in Green Bay. What was your experience 0:26:11.920 --> 0:26:12.920 like playing for Forrest. 0:26:13.880 --> 0:26:17.479 Force had a ton of respect for the game, and 0:26:17.560 --> 0:26:19.800 I remember there was one Saturday we were getting ready 0:26:19.800 --> 0:26:22.439 to play the Rams. And so we're, you know, a 0:26:22.440 --> 0:26:24.520 loose practice on Saturday, a little bit of a walk through, 0:26:24.560 --> 0:26:26.879 and there's some jokes and stuff like that, and so 0:26:26.920 --> 0:26:30.920 he said, oh, here comes Deacon Jones, and Force went 0:26:30.960 --> 0:26:35.320 into attack mode and he goes Deacon Jones never got 0:26:35.359 --> 0:26:39.040 around me. And what you realized at that moment is 0:26:39.119 --> 0:26:42.280 how much pride he had for that area that was 0:26:42.359 --> 0:26:44.800 right in front of him and a yard or two 0:26:45.040 --> 0:26:47.560 to the side of him in each direction. That's what 0:26:47.680 --> 0:26:50.000 he owned on the football field, and he took so 0:26:50.080 --> 0:26:52.520 much pride in it, and that was special about Forest Grade. 0:26:53.720 --> 0:26:56.879 James, this is great. I always appreciate your time, travel 0:26:56.920 --> 0:26:59.280 safe to Cincinnati and look forward to seeing you on Sunday. 0:26:59.520 --> 0:27:03.440 I'm looking should be a great game, great atmosphere well. 0:27:03.520 --> 0:27:07.040 James Lofton has Isaac Curtis ranked as the Bengals greatest 0:27:07.080 --> 0:27:10.840 receiver of all time. Jamar Chase is closing in on 0:27:11.000 --> 0:27:14.440 becoming the third receiver in team history to have one 0:27:14.480 --> 0:27:18.480 hundred or more catches in a single season. Carl Pickens 0:27:18.520 --> 0:27:22.280 had exactly one hundred in nineteen ninety six, and TJ. 0:27:22.400 --> 0:27:25.880 Hushman Zada holds the team record with one hundred and twelve. 0:27:26.160 --> 0:27:30.480 In two thousand and seven, Chase has eighty six receptions 0:27:30.800 --> 0:27:32.000 with five games to go. 0:27:32.400 --> 0:27:35.399 Yeah, I mean that's a goal to mine too. I 0:27:35.480 --> 0:27:38.480 mean I'm many in my weight. Wasn't a seventy last game? 0:27:39.520 --> 0:27:41.040 Fourteen away from one hundred? 0:27:41.400 --> 0:27:41.680 Swear? 0:27:42.200 --> 0:27:43.199 Oh yeah, I'm about to get this. 0:27:43.200 --> 0:27:45.960 That's easy. Oh yeah, that's a gold. Oh yeah, I 0:27:46.000 --> 0:27:46.400 got it. 0:27:47.000 --> 0:27:49.400 Team records, one twelve, I got it, don't even where 0:27:49.440 --> 0:27:50.840 about it. Let me wear about it. 0:27:51.080 --> 0:27:51.680 The team records? 0:27:51.880 --> 0:27:52.840 How many games you got left? 0:27:53.560 --> 0:27:53.720 Why? 0:27:54.119 --> 0:27:54.720 I got it? 0:27:54.800 --> 0:27:55.280 I got it. 0:27:55.359 --> 0:27:55.840 We're good. 0:27:56.200 --> 0:27:58.919 I'm trying to get one to seventeen. Baby, you're on 0:27:58.960 --> 0:28:01.439 pace for one twenty two. Let's let's let's kill it, 0:28:01.840 --> 0:28:02.280 shatter it. 0:28:02.480 --> 0:28:04.200 Did you ever write that down a one of your goals? 0:28:04.200 --> 0:28:07.920 I do have it actually written. That's funny you said 0:28:08.760 --> 0:28:09.160 this year. 0:28:09.480 --> 0:28:12.119 Yeah, I just don't want to be close to what 0:28:12.240 --> 0:28:13.920 he has, so we want to make it a hard 0:28:14.000 --> 0:28:14.479 for somebody else. 0:28:14.560 --> 0:28:14.800 Next, on. 0:28:17.160 --> 0:28:20.199 The night the Bengals drafted Jamar, I brought up some 0:28:20.280 --> 0:28:23.560 of the greatest wide receivers in team history, and he said, 0:28:23.640 --> 0:28:27.959 then I'm going to break every record they've got if 0:28:28.040 --> 0:28:32.600 Jamar stays healthy. It seems like a safe bet. Finally, 0:28:32.840 --> 0:28:35.920 time for this week's Know the Faux segment. Matt Taylor 0:28:36.200 --> 0:28:39.040 is the radio voice of the Colts, a team that's 0:28:39.080 --> 0:28:43.000 seven and five this year after winning four games all 0:28:43.160 --> 0:28:46.120 of last year. When Matt joined Dave Lapham and me 0:28:46.200 --> 0:28:48.800 on the Bengals Game Plan Show this week, I asked 0:28:48.880 --> 0:28:52.200 him if the Colts' success has been a big surprise. 0:28:53.640 --> 0:28:56.200 I mean, yeah, obviously, I mean anything after last year, 0:28:56.280 --> 0:28:58.280 you know, in terms of the win total being up 0:28:58.320 --> 0:29:01.160 from a year ago is going to be better. But I 0:29:01.200 --> 0:29:02.560 got to tell you, I mean that the four to 0:29:02.640 --> 0:29:05.920 twelve and one season last year was really it just 0:29:05.960 --> 0:29:08.959 got out of control so fast. And you know, you 0:29:09.000 --> 0:29:10.880 are what your record says you are. I mean, there's 0:29:10.880 --> 0:29:14.280 no excuses for you know, the poor ending to last 0:29:14.280 --> 0:29:18.800 season when they lost their last seven games, But there 0:29:18.840 --> 0:29:20.880 was just too much talent. There was just too much 0:29:21.720 --> 0:29:27.000 you know, holdovers and guys in quality positions for that 0:29:27.120 --> 0:29:29.560 team to be that poor record wise. I mean, if 0:29:29.600 --> 0:29:33.000 you look back on it, you had you know, on defense, 0:29:33.040 --> 0:29:35.800 you had a pro bowler at every level of that defense. 0:29:35.880 --> 0:29:37.600 Right, we got. 0:29:37.280 --> 0:29:40.120 Zaire Franklin coming back, you got the Forrest Buckner back, 0:29:40.200 --> 0:29:43.400 and you know, Kenny Moore and then some guys that 0:29:43.480 --> 0:29:45.800 are taking a nice couple of steps here from year 0:29:45.800 --> 0:29:48.400 two to three and Quitty pay and dieing with Dingbo 0:29:48.520 --> 0:29:52.280 and then you basically return your entire offensive line from 0:29:52.600 --> 0:29:55.400 from last year. So it's kind of a long winded 0:29:55.480 --> 0:29:59.120 answer of way of saying that it was really disappointing. 0:29:59.360 --> 0:30:02.360 The Colts were just two good roster wise to be 0:30:02.400 --> 0:30:05.240 four twelve and one. And like I said, once the 0:30:05.280 --> 0:30:08.080 Colts got swept by Tennessee last year and it looked 0:30:08.080 --> 0:30:10.880 like there was kind of low hopes to win the 0:30:10.920 --> 0:30:15.280 AFC South, and you started firing offensive coordinators and Frank 0:30:15.320 --> 0:30:18.960 Reich was fired, Jeff Saturday came in. It was just 0:30:19.120 --> 0:30:22.000 kind of a kind of a free for all and 0:30:22.400 --> 0:30:25.080 kind of a tail spin. So it's certainly been an 0:30:25.080 --> 0:30:28.480 eventful you know, I would say, you know, twelve thirteen 0:30:28.560 --> 0:30:30.960 months for the Colts, certainly when you throw in the 0:30:31.040 --> 0:30:34.400 draft and the off season with Shane Stiken coming in, 0:30:34.520 --> 0:30:37.280 drafting Anthony Richardson in the hope that he brings long 0:30:37.360 --> 0:30:40.440 term to the Colts at the quarterback position, just like 0:30:40.520 --> 0:30:43.920 Joe Burrow a couple of years ago in Cincinnati. So 0:30:45.320 --> 0:30:47.960 it's definitely a pleasant surprise right now in that sense 0:30:48.000 --> 0:30:50.760 that last year was so hard to follow and make 0:30:50.840 --> 0:30:52.960 sense of it. This year it's you're on a four 0:30:53.000 --> 0:30:55.880 game winning streak, you're seven and five, five games to go, 0:30:56.040 --> 0:30:58.160 you got your playoff destiny in your own hand. That 0:30:58.240 --> 0:31:00.960 part of it is certainly much better or this December 0:31:00.960 --> 0:31:02.160 compared to last December. 0:31:02.800 --> 0:31:05.680 Yeah, I just watching the offensive line. I know it 0:31:05.760 --> 0:31:08.560 was the disappointment last year, but man, when you've got 0:31:08.680 --> 0:31:13.040 Quentin Nelson, Ryan Kelly, you know Smith, I'm Braden Smith. 0:31:13.280 --> 0:31:17.440 You've invested you know, Raymison as well, or excuse me, 0:31:17.520 --> 0:31:20.440 Raymond as well at the left tackle position. You've invested 0:31:20.480 --> 0:31:25.040 some significant draft capital in an offensive line. That's damn good. 0:31:25.120 --> 0:31:28.440 I mean, that's a good group. My question is no, 0:31:29.000 --> 0:31:31.440 go ahead. 0:31:30.520 --> 0:31:32.640 No, I was. I was agreeing with you with you laugh. 0:31:32.680 --> 0:31:34.880 I mean, that's you're exactly right. There was no excuse 0:31:34.920 --> 0:31:37.720 for that group to give up sixty sacks last year 0:31:37.760 --> 0:31:40.600 instead of franchise record, right, And like I said, it's 0:31:40.680 --> 0:31:43.080 basically all back this year, and it's kind of a 0:31:43.120 --> 0:31:46.440 one eighty with the same players, the same core players 0:31:46.480 --> 0:31:48.880 not that long ago in twenty eighteen when they led 0:31:48.920 --> 0:31:51.440 the NFL and a few sacks allowed, So I kind 0:31:51.440 --> 0:31:55.000 of think they changed some things. Again, Shane Steiken's offense 0:31:55.040 --> 0:31:57.239 has certainly changed some things, but they got a new 0:31:57.280 --> 0:32:00.360 leader now, new position coach there, and Tony Sperano junior. 0:32:00.640 --> 0:32:03.200 All of that has added up to much better success. 0:32:03.600 --> 0:32:06.480 So how about the battle of backup quarterbacks in this 0:32:06.560 --> 0:32:09.960 football game? Because of injury to starters that are you know, 0:32:10.040 --> 0:32:14.800 franchise quarterbacks for many years to come, hopefully with both franchises. 0:32:14.800 --> 0:32:20.040 But Gardner Minshew and Jake Browning back in twenty eighteen, 0:32:20.400 --> 0:32:25.520 they competed in the Apple Cup Washington, Washington State, Washington. 0:32:25.600 --> 0:32:29.880 Jake Browning's Washington team beat the Minshew's Washington State football team. 0:32:30.680 --> 0:32:33.720 How similar? How different do you think these guys are 0:32:33.760 --> 0:32:35.680 in terms of what they're doing for their football team. 0:32:37.280 --> 0:32:39.600 Well, it's tough to say. I got to go back 0:32:39.720 --> 0:32:42.200 and pull up the YouTube highlights I guess of that 0:32:42.280 --> 0:32:46.480 game from five years ago, right around Thanksgiving, I suppose. 0:32:47.640 --> 0:32:49.800 But you know, as far as Minshew with the Colts 0:32:49.840 --> 0:32:53.520 is concerned, you know, he's kind of this enigma because 0:32:53.800 --> 0:32:55.680 if you look at his stats and you just look 0:32:55.720 --> 0:32:57.680 at you know, the box scorers from the last couple 0:32:57.680 --> 0:33:00.959 of games, you'd say, well, he's really not having that 0:33:01.040 --> 0:33:03.760 grade of a season. I mean he ranks bottom. He 0:33:03.840 --> 0:33:07.000 ranks in the twenties or you know, twentieth or or below, 0:33:07.560 --> 0:33:10.640 and in all the major quarterback stats, right, you know, right, 0:33:10.840 --> 0:33:15.360 yards per attempt, quarterback rating, passer rating, completion percentage, yards, 0:33:15.440 --> 0:33:18.600 all of that stuff. But the Colts they're winning and 0:33:18.680 --> 0:33:22.080 that's all that matters. And Minshew is he's making like 0:33:22.240 --> 0:33:25.720 five or six plays a game that make you say wow, 0:33:25.920 --> 0:33:28.160 and he kind of like putting the team on his 0:33:28.280 --> 0:33:30.520 back in clutch situations. You know, a couple of weeks 0:33:30.560 --> 0:33:33.520 ago in Germany against New England, he had that twenty 0:33:33.560 --> 0:33:35.760 eight yard er kind of that flick of the wrist 0:33:35.880 --> 0:33:38.000 down by his own goal lines, you know, flips it 0:33:38.000 --> 0:33:40.800 out to Josh Downs for a diving catch that was 0:33:41.000 --> 0:33:43.640 like the game stealing chunk play for the Colts in 0:33:43.680 --> 0:33:47.160 that game. And then in this pass game and overtime 0:33:47.200 --> 0:33:49.960 against Tennessee, puts one right and the money drops it 0:33:50.040 --> 0:33:52.760 in the bucket for a fifty five yard you know, 0:33:52.840 --> 0:33:55.120 deep shot down the near side line to Alec Pierce 0:33:55.160 --> 0:33:56.240 to set up the Colts goal. 0:33:56.280 --> 0:33:56.560 To go. 0:33:56.920 --> 0:33:59.560 Then he's got the clutch touchdown pass to Michael Pittman 0:33:59.640 --> 0:34:02.480 Junior for the game winner and overtime. So he's just 0:34:02.560 --> 0:34:06.400 kind of like he's like Minshew MANI or Minshew Magic, 0:34:06.480 --> 0:34:08.880 Like he doesn't play well consistently throughout the course of 0:34:08.920 --> 0:34:11.960 the game, but he's just sort of like stone cold 0:34:12.440 --> 0:34:14.960 when he has to be. And the Colts are kind 0:34:15.000 --> 0:34:19.040 of riding that with him and Pittman and Josh Downs, 0:34:19.040 --> 0:34:21.839 who's a rookie wide receiver at a North Carolina. It's 0:34:21.880 --> 0:34:24.320 kind of those three guys in the passing game on offense, 0:34:24.719 --> 0:34:26.880 and it's been enough the last couple of games for 0:34:26.960 --> 0:34:30.480 the Colts to score twenty points. I mean, I know 0:34:30.520 --> 0:34:32.520 the Colts are going to blow you away with you 0:34:32.560 --> 0:34:35.680 know their personnel, and you know their their you know 0:34:35.719 --> 0:34:38.080 their their their size and the stature and with some 0:34:38.120 --> 0:34:40.920 of their weapons and things like that, but they are 0:34:40.960 --> 0:34:43.040 one of two teams in the NFL that has scored 0:34:43.040 --> 0:34:46.040 twenty points in eleven out of twelve games. They're an alliance, 0:34:46.160 --> 0:34:49.080 so they're finding ways to put points on the board 0:34:49.400 --> 0:34:53.080 because of Minshew's efficiency and the overall efficiency with big 0:34:53.080 --> 0:34:56.000 plays and certainly getting it done inside the Red Zone. 0:34:56.560 --> 0:34:59.399 Our guest is the voice of the Colts, Matt Taylor Man. 0:34:59.440 --> 0:35:01.960 I was surprised a few weeks ago when the Colts 0:35:02.000 --> 0:35:05.600 released former Pro Bowl linebacker Shaq Lenard. He has since 0:35:05.600 --> 0:35:08.319 signed on with Philly. What was the story there? 0:35:10.560 --> 0:35:12.800 It was really kind of an unfortunate thing for Shack. 0:35:12.840 --> 0:35:15.040 I mean, the long story, the short story is that 0:35:15.480 --> 0:35:18.279 he's had He's battled so many different injuries and so 0:35:18.320 --> 0:35:21.279 many and has had so many different surgeries. You go 0:35:21.320 --> 0:35:25.719 back to twenty twenty one, he had and battled through 0:35:25.760 --> 0:35:29.680 an ankle injury that entire season and still play it 0:35:29.719 --> 0:35:32.759 at an all pro level. And then the next offseason 0:35:33.640 --> 0:35:36.600 had this nagging ankle injury. Tried to get to it 0:35:36.600 --> 0:35:39.839 it addressed with the surgery, thought they had it figured out, 0:35:40.120 --> 0:35:44.319 it still wasn't eradicated. His injury was still there. Had 0:35:44.320 --> 0:35:47.359 another surgery in twenty twenty two in June with it, 0:35:48.080 --> 0:35:50.200 and then they figured out that he had a back 0:35:50.280 --> 0:35:53.759 problem as well, had some some pinch nerves and some 0:35:53.840 --> 0:35:56.560 disc issues in his back that was causing the lower 0:35:56.560 --> 0:35:59.400 body not to be able to fire. And listen, anytime 0:35:59.440 --> 0:36:02.120 you're talking about out backs and nerves and discs like that. 0:36:02.160 --> 0:36:05.759 I mean, that's that's a tricky proposition, and it's really 0:36:05.880 --> 0:36:08.440 kind of complicated, and so those things, I mean, I 0:36:08.480 --> 0:36:11.520 think he had four different procedures done in a span 0:36:11.560 --> 0:36:14.200 of about two years trying to figure those things out, 0:36:14.320 --> 0:36:17.879 and they just never could. And you know, last year 0:36:17.880 --> 0:36:20.240 he came back too early. You know, he was chopping 0:36:20.320 --> 0:36:22.640 at the bit to get out there, and obviously he's 0:36:22.640 --> 0:36:25.840 a great competitor, wanted to help his team, so he 0:36:25.880 --> 0:36:27.799 would admit to you now that he rushed it a 0:36:27.800 --> 0:36:30.480 little bit, you know, came back too soon, just wasn't 0:36:30.480 --> 0:36:32.359 the same guy, so he shut it down. I mean 0:36:32.440 --> 0:36:35.000 last year in twenty two, I think he only appeared 0:36:35.000 --> 0:36:38.120 in three games and played a combined seventy four snaps 0:36:38.520 --> 0:36:41.640 before they shut him down in November and had another surgery. 0:36:42.120 --> 0:36:44.200 And I give him a ton of credit. He just 0:36:44.239 --> 0:36:47.360 battled his tailoff, and I mean people behind the scenes 0:36:47.400 --> 0:36:50.879 really don't know how much work, how much sacrifice, and 0:36:51.480 --> 0:36:53.799 you know, just quite honestly, like a ton of his 0:36:53.840 --> 0:36:57.440 own money to hire specialists and fly people in all 0:36:57.480 --> 0:37:00.520 over the world trying to get his nerve issue fait're out. 0:37:00.719 --> 0:37:03.440 And you know he came back this year, they had 0:37:03.480 --> 0:37:05.640 him on a pitch count. He was playing, but it 0:37:05.680 --> 0:37:09.000 certainly wasn't the level in terms of participation snap count 0:37:09.040 --> 0:37:11.960 wise that he was used to. He wasn't playing on 0:37:12.080 --> 0:37:14.960 third down, and that's you know, he he he made 0:37:15.320 --> 0:37:17.759 a name for himself with all those splash plays and 0:37:17.760 --> 0:37:21.360 the takeaways and those traditionally come on third down, and 0:37:22.080 --> 0:37:23.880 when he's not out there to get those on the 0:37:23.920 --> 0:37:26.080 money down, it's just going to be hard to kind 0:37:26.120 --> 0:37:28.399 of make an impact. And so you know, they kind 0:37:28.400 --> 0:37:30.520 of told him, like, just the snap count's going to 0:37:30.600 --> 0:37:33.520 go down. You're just not the same guy. And then 0:37:33.560 --> 0:37:35.480 I think both parties come to, you know, needed to 0:37:35.480 --> 0:37:38.319 come to the realization that, you know, we we've got EJ. 0:37:38.520 --> 0:37:42.719 Speed here now playing linebacker and it's it's hard to 0:37:42.800 --> 0:37:45.600 keep him off the field considering where he's at and 0:37:45.640 --> 0:37:49.279 where Leonard was, and so they released him. And it's 0:37:49.280 --> 0:37:52.000 just a really unfortunate situation because of you know, the 0:37:52.040 --> 0:37:55.520 great player that he turned into and you know, all 0:37:55.560 --> 0:37:58.160 the special moments and the takeaways and the big moments 0:37:58.160 --> 0:38:00.279 on defense that he had when he was healthy from 0:38:00.640 --> 0:38:04.359 twenty eighteen to twenty twenty one. But you know, he's 0:38:04.480 --> 0:38:08.040 now continuing his NFL life somewhere else, and it's just 0:38:08.120 --> 0:38:12.560 unfortunate that he couldn't continue his upward trajectory with the Colts. 0:38:12.560 --> 0:38:14.800 And I'm rooting for him. I hope he has another 0:38:14.880 --> 0:38:17.600 chance to get back on the field and turn himself 0:38:17.600 --> 0:38:19.640 into the player that he used to be. But it 0:38:19.719 --> 0:38:21.600 was just sort of clear with the Colts that it 0:38:21.680 --> 0:38:23.200 was going to be hard for him to be that 0:38:23.280 --> 0:38:24.520 guy the rest of this season. 0:38:25.680 --> 0:38:29.200 Gus Bradley has the reputation around the league of you know, 0:38:29.280 --> 0:38:33.640 players believing in him and playing hard for Gus Bradley. 0:38:33.680 --> 0:38:36.760 And seems like this group is forty two sacks, second 0:38:36.800 --> 0:38:39.840 most in the NFL. You got four different players with 0:38:40.360 --> 0:38:42.840 five and a half sacks or more. It's led to 0:38:42.880 --> 0:38:46.799 twelve interceptions, tied for fifth in the NFL. More has 0:38:46.880 --> 0:38:49.680 taken two of his three interceptions back for touchdowns. 0:38:50.520 --> 0:38:50.920 He is. 0:38:51.920 --> 0:38:53.200 How good is Gus Bradley. 0:38:54.719 --> 0:38:55.560 Gus is awesome. 0:38:55.600 --> 0:38:56.200 He is. 0:38:55.920 --> 0:38:58.919 He's a great coach. Obviously, he brings the former head 0:38:58.960 --> 0:39:02.080 coach pedigree with the to the Colts. He's seen just 0:39:02.120 --> 0:39:04.480 about everything in the NFL. I mean, he had those great, 0:39:04.640 --> 0:39:07.080 you know seasons and uh, you know that that great 0:39:07.120 --> 0:39:10.120 you know personnel lineup with them in Seattle, that lesion 0:39:10.160 --> 0:39:12.920 of boom. But you're right that the Colts are just 0:39:12.960 --> 0:39:16.160 a very disruptive defense right now. I mean they're not 0:39:16.200 --> 0:39:18.719 gonna have right now. They don't have great stats that 0:39:18.800 --> 0:39:21.520 blow you away in terms of rush and pass and 0:39:21.560 --> 0:39:25.279 total yards, but they just make plays and they're disruptive, 0:39:25.360 --> 0:39:26.719 like like a chronicle, Dave. 0:39:26.760 --> 0:39:27.879 I mean, like. 0:39:27.960 --> 0:39:30.520 Number number two in sacks right now, during this four 0:39:30.560 --> 0:39:33.120 game winning streak for the Colts, they've got twenty one 0:39:33.200 --> 0:39:36.800 sacks and they're they're like five sacks away from setting 0:39:36.840 --> 0:39:40.600 the franchise record, the Indianapolis franchise record for sacks in 0:39:40.640 --> 0:39:43.640 a single season. It's really diverse right now. I think 0:39:43.640 --> 0:39:46.759 that's the most encouraging thing about this pass rush. In 0:39:46.800 --> 0:39:49.400 the past, it used to be, you know, DeForest Buckner 0:39:49.400 --> 0:39:52.040 fighting through double teams just to get after the quarterback 0:39:52.480 --> 0:39:54.560 and there really wasn't a whole lot going on off 0:39:54.600 --> 0:39:56.560 the edge. Well right now you can't say that. And 0:39:56.600 --> 0:40:00.000 I think Sampson Abacom, who's a nice addition in free agency. 0:40:00.080 --> 0:40:02.480 He leads the team in sacks. He's got a career 0:40:02.520 --> 0:40:05.680 high this year. He's been a great addition off the edge. 0:40:05.719 --> 0:40:08.359 He's having a tremendous season. And also, I go back 0:40:08.360 --> 0:40:10.920 to what I said earlier with Quitty pay and dioa Dangbo, 0:40:11.360 --> 0:40:14.640 those guys getting more playing time. The light bulb is 0:40:14.680 --> 0:40:17.160 sort of going off for those guys. You know, they're 0:40:17.200 --> 0:40:20.799 part of that that four player group that has at 0:40:20.880 --> 0:40:23.600 least five and a half sacks as well. So that 0:40:23.680 --> 0:40:26.600 that's the most encouraging thing about this defense right now 0:40:26.640 --> 0:40:30.160 with five games to go, is they're offsetting some of 0:40:30.200 --> 0:40:34.200 the bad, the bad rushing defense numbers by just getting 0:40:34.239 --> 0:40:37.160 after the quarterback and pushing teams, you know, getting teams 0:40:37.200 --> 0:40:39.400 behind the eight ball in terms of down and distance. 0:40:39.719 --> 0:40:42.279 The one good thing about the Colts right now is 0:40:42.320 --> 0:40:44.920 they're giving getting Grover Stewart back and Dave, I know 0:40:45.000 --> 0:40:47.400 you watched a lot of film on the Colts, and 0:40:47.480 --> 0:40:50.920 he just means so much to their interior rush defense. 0:40:50.960 --> 0:40:54.200 He's coming back after serving a six game suspension, right 0:40:54.280 --> 0:40:57.640 and the rushing defense it really fell off a cliff 0:40:57.680 --> 0:41:00.719 without them, I mean, that's there's no way to put it. 0:41:00.719 --> 0:41:03.440 I mean, without him in the lineup, the Colts gave 0:41:03.560 --> 0:41:06.480 up on average one hundred and fifty three rushing yards 0:41:06.480 --> 0:41:09.799 a game during his six game suspension, and those were 0:41:09.800 --> 0:41:13.200 to some teams that weren't great rushing teams like you know, 0:41:13.280 --> 0:41:16.879 Carolina and New England and Tampa Bay. Those are teams 0:41:16.920 --> 0:41:19.000 that want to throw the ball and they sort of 0:41:19.040 --> 0:41:21.520 gashed the Colts up front. So that's going to be 0:41:21.520 --> 0:41:24.120 an interesting storyline to me in this game is how 0:41:24.200 --> 0:41:29.000 much Mixing and Zach Taylor and Browning want to run 0:41:29.040 --> 0:41:32.439 the football with Grover Stewart backs because they they said 0:41:32.480 --> 0:41:35.359 today that he's full go. There's no ramp up time 0:41:35.400 --> 0:41:37.839 for him, there's no pitch count. He's ready to go. 0:41:37.960 --> 0:41:39.640 He didn't have an injury, he just had to sit 0:41:39.680 --> 0:41:42.120 out six games. So he's going to be fresh and 0:41:42.160 --> 0:41:43.520 his body's going to be feeling good. 0:41:44.480 --> 0:41:47.560 Bengals opened as an underdog for Sunday's game, but the 0:41:47.600 --> 0:41:51.879 line has changed. Cincinnati is currently a two point favorite. 0:41:52.239 --> 0:41:53.920 That's going to do it for this episode of the 0:41:53.920 --> 0:41:56.760 Bengals Booth Podcast, brought to you by pay Corps, Proud 0:41:56.800 --> 0:42:01.040 to be the Bengals official HR software provider by Alta 0:42:01.160 --> 0:42:04.640 Fiber future Proof Fiber Internet designed to elevate your home, 0:42:04.719 --> 0:42:08.200 business and community to a new level, and by kettering 0:42:08.239 --> 0:42:12.400 health the best care for the best fans. Kettering Health 0:42:12.760 --> 0:42:16.200 is the official healthcare provider of the Bengals. If you 0:42:16.200 --> 0:42:19.480 haven't done so already, please subscribe to this podcast and 0:42:19.560 --> 0:42:21.680 if you have a minute, give it a rating or 0:42:21.719 --> 0:42:26.040 share a comment that helps more Bengals fans find us. 0:42:26.560 --> 0:42:29.880 I'm Dan Hord, and thanks for listening to the Bengals 0:42:29.960 --> 0:42:31.319 Booth podcast