WEBVTT - Bengals Booth Podcast: Waiting On The World To Change 0:00:03.640 --> 0:00:06.440 Hi, get everybody on Dan Horde and this is the 0:00:06.480 --> 0:00:12.480 Bengals Booth podcast Waiting on the world to change. Addition, 0:00:12.920 --> 0:00:15.200 as the Bengals try to get over the hump after 0:00:15.240 --> 0:00:18.120 another nail biting loss and pick up their first win 0:00:18.200 --> 0:00:21.600 of the season on Monday Night in Pittsburgh. Coming up, 0:00:21.640 --> 0:00:24.920 I'll spend about twenty minutes with my broadcast partner Dave Lapham, 0:00:25.079 --> 0:00:28.560 as we discussed the emergence of Autumn Tate at wide receiver, 0:00:28.960 --> 0:00:31.760 how Billy Price did and his first started left guard, 0:00:32.159 --> 0:00:34.800 why the Steelers are off to an Owen three start, 0:00:35.200 --> 0:00:38.080 and since we're heading to Pittsburgh, we'll find out what 0:00:38.240 --> 0:00:43.160 lap thinks of the steel Cities legendary Fromante Brothers Sandwich. 0:00:43.800 --> 0:00:46.879 We'll also hear from Sports Illustrated's Andy Benoit on this 0:00:46.920 --> 0:00:49.560 episode of the pod of the many things written about 0:00:49.640 --> 0:00:52.640 Zach Taylor after the Bengals hired him, I thought Andy 0:00:52.720 --> 0:00:55.960 wrote the best story. He spent time at Zach's house 0:00:56.520 --> 0:00:59.279 office and in the meeting rooms at Paul Brown Stadium, 0:00:59.520 --> 0:01:02.600 and you'll hear what Andy thinks of Zach Taylor and 0:01:02.760 --> 0:01:06.280 his chances of being a successful NFL head coach. And 0:01:06.440 --> 0:01:08.440 in this week's no the faux segment. We'll get the 0:01:08.480 --> 0:01:12.039 lowdown on the Steelers from pregame radio host and local 0:01:12.080 --> 0:01:15.959 columnist Tim Bens. All of that is straight ahead, But first, 0:01:16.240 --> 0:01:18.319 here's a quick reminder that you can have the latest 0:01:18.440 --> 0:01:22.160 edition of this podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet, 0:01:22.280 --> 0:01:27.960 or computer by subscribing on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, 0:01:28.240 --> 0:01:33.120 or pod Bean. It's the greatest thing since Marty Brenneman. 0:01:33.880 --> 0:01:36.319 What do you consider to be the greatest streak in 0:01:36.400 --> 0:01:40.800 baseball history? Joe Tomaggio's fifty six game hitting streak, Cal 0:01:40.959 --> 0:01:43.760 Ripken streak of playing in two thousand, six hundred and 0:01:43.800 --> 0:01:47.480 thirty two consecutive games, or maybe it's Derek Jeter's streak 0:01:47.520 --> 0:01:50.800 of dating nothing but perfect tens in his twenty seasons 0:01:50.840 --> 0:01:54.840 as shortstop for the New York Yankees. All impressive streaks, 0:01:54.960 --> 0:01:58.720 especially Jeters, but none of them is the correct answer. 0:01:59.480 --> 0:02:02.640 The greatest streak in baseball history is forty six years 0:02:02.920 --> 0:02:07.680 and approximately seven thousand games old. It is Marty Brenneman's 0:02:07.680 --> 0:02:11.600 streak of never blowing a big call as the voice 0:02:11.600 --> 0:02:14.920 of the Reds. Take it from somebody who got completely 0:02:15.040 --> 0:02:18.200 fooled by Andy Dalton Zone read fake to Joe Mixon 0:02:18.320 --> 0:02:23.200 last Sunday, that streak is nothing short of miraculous. As 0:02:23.200 --> 0:02:25.800 a play by play announcer of live sporting events, you 0:02:25.840 --> 0:02:28.800 work without an e racer or a backspace key. You 0:02:28.960 --> 0:02:33.200 get one chance to get the moment right. For Marty Brenneman, 0:02:33.400 --> 0:02:35.520 whether it was the final out of the World Series, 0:02:35.880 --> 0:02:39.120 a perfect game by Tom Browning, or the Jay Bruce 0:02:39.240 --> 0:02:41.880 walk off homer that clinched a division title back in 0:02:41.960 --> 0:02:46.800 two ten, there was never a stumble, never an incorrect name, 0:02:47.440 --> 0:02:51.080 never a botch detail. The words and the tone have 0:02:51.280 --> 0:02:54.679 always been perfect. Marty Brenneman is one of the most 0:02:54.720 --> 0:02:57.760 important people in Red's history, as he has provided the 0:02:57.840 --> 0:03:01.880 soundtrack to summer throughout the state for more than four decades. 0:03:02.280 --> 0:03:04.680 He was the voice of the Big Red Machine and 0:03:04.919 --> 0:03:08.720 the Wire to Wire World Series champs, and has helped 0:03:08.880 --> 0:03:13.240 entertain us through the inevitable lousy seasons as well. Perhaps 0:03:13.320 --> 0:03:15.800 the biggest thing that makes Marty unique is that he 0:03:15.919 --> 0:03:19.040 is the most candid home team announcer in the history 0:03:19.040 --> 0:03:23.000 of broadcasting. If the Reds are screwing up, Marty isn't 0:03:23.000 --> 0:03:25.600 afraid to say so. But that's not the only thing 0:03:25.639 --> 0:03:31.880 that makes him an all time great. He is effortlessly entertaining, funny, opinionated, 0:03:32.200 --> 0:03:35.800 quick to poke, funded himself, and an absolute masterd making 0:03:35.840 --> 0:03:39.840 his broadcasting partners sound good. And I speak from experience, 0:03:39.920 --> 0:03:43.240 having had the privilege of calling games with both Marty 0:03:43.600 --> 0:03:47.440 and the late Joe Knoxhall. This podcast is being posted 0:03:47.440 --> 0:03:49.760 on the same day that Marty concludes his Hall of 0:03:49.800 --> 0:03:54.680 Fame broadcasting career. So here's to a friend, mentor, and 0:03:54.880 --> 0:03:59.760 broadcasting hero, the truly one of a kind, Marty Brennaman. 0:04:00.840 --> 0:04:02.760 Now let's get to football. Is I bring in my 0:04:02.800 --> 0:04:06.080 broadcast partner Dave Lapham to look back at last week's 0:04:06.120 --> 0:04:09.400 four point lost to Buffalo and look ahead the Monday 0:04:09.520 --> 0:04:13.440 night football between two teams still looking for their first win. 0:04:13.680 --> 0:04:16.400 The O and three start is obviously disappointing, but there 0:04:16.400 --> 0:04:18.920 are some guys that have been playing well. Give me 0:04:18.960 --> 0:04:21.560 a guy on each side of the ball that stands 0:04:21.560 --> 0:04:25.560 out to you, I think for the exact same reasons 0:04:26.400 --> 0:04:30.240 in terms of no matter of the situation, haven't had 0:04:30.279 --> 0:04:32.680 many leads, but when they're in the lead, they play hard, 0:04:32.720 --> 0:04:36.400 and when they're trailing by you know, twenty four thirty 0:04:36.400 --> 0:04:40.240 one points, they're still playing hard. Tyler Boyd for the offense, 0:04:40.920 --> 0:04:45.160 Andy Dalton can count on him. The guy competes no 0:04:45.200 --> 0:04:48.159 matter what the situation. He's gonna he's gonna work hard 0:04:48.200 --> 0:04:50.880 to get open. He's tough as there is, tough as nails, 0:04:51.360 --> 0:04:55.280 catches everything. Andy Dalton knows that Tyler Boyd's gonna give 0:04:55.320 --> 0:04:57.279 him every ounce of effort. And on the defensive side 0:04:57.279 --> 0:04:59.480 of it, Sam Harvard the same way, you know when 0:04:59.480 --> 0:05:02.359 you watch Hubbard play, can't tell if the teams ahead 0:05:02.440 --> 0:05:04.960 or behind. Playing with his hair on fire, running every 0:05:04.960 --> 0:05:08.880 play down, his pursuit angles are really good and his 0:05:08.960 --> 0:05:11.800 effort to get there unbelievably good and leads the team 0:05:11.839 --> 0:05:16.960 in sacks. Disruptive player, and I think every single game 0:05:17.640 --> 0:05:20.320 after the football game, even though all three of them 0:05:20.360 --> 0:05:22.360 been defeats, two of them pretty close defeats, they can 0:05:22.360 --> 0:05:25.120 look in the mirror and say, Yep, gave everything I 0:05:25.160 --> 0:05:28.839 had emptied. The tank couldn't have done more physically out there, 0:05:29.240 --> 0:05:32.039 just didn't work out for us. At halftime of last 0:05:32.080 --> 0:05:34.000 week's game in Buffalo, I think both of us were 0:05:34.000 --> 0:05:38.560 thinking the same thing, along with probably every Bengals fan watching. Yikes, 0:05:39.000 --> 0:05:41.200 this team's not very good, but they managed to turn 0:05:41.240 --> 0:05:43.960 around in the second half and at least come away 0:05:43.960 --> 0:05:47.760 with something positive from that game. I don't think I've 0:05:47.800 --> 0:05:51.279 seen in quite a while, particularly in the Bengals organizations. 0:05:51.279 --> 0:05:54.400 They've probably been cases of it around the National Football League, 0:05:54.400 --> 0:05:58.440 but a team that was so subpar in the first half, 0:05:58.800 --> 0:06:01.480 I mean, couldn't get out of their own way. Uh 0:06:01.800 --> 0:06:04.600 didn't generate a first down until less than two minutes 0:06:04.640 --> 0:06:06.400 to go in the first half, oh for five on 0:06:06.560 --> 0:06:10.360 third down. Andy Dalton's first completion at the end of 0:06:10.400 --> 0:06:12.720 the play was a fumble. I mean, that's the exercise 0:06:12.760 --> 0:06:15.440 and futility if you'd ever seen or heard a one 0:06:15.960 --> 0:06:18.880 and and to regroup a little bit like they did 0:06:18.920 --> 0:06:23.920 at halftime and realize that, you know, we're our biggest problem. 0:06:24.080 --> 0:06:26.200 Buffalo's defense is good, and they are They're very good. 0:06:26.240 --> 0:06:28.719 I mean they're they're well put together, and the players 0:06:28.800 --> 0:06:31.880 understand every nuance of it, and they understand how to 0:06:31.880 --> 0:06:34.800 take things away from the opposition offense. You know, they're 0:06:34.880 --> 0:06:38.160 right in line mentally with with what the coaches are 0:06:38.160 --> 0:06:40.160 trying to ask them to do. So that's a good 0:06:40.200 --> 0:06:43.560 defensive unit. But when they came out and in the 0:06:43.600 --> 0:06:46.920 second half and and put three straight scores on the board, 0:06:48.080 --> 0:06:51.800 three straight possessions and run a seventeen point total up 0:06:51.800 --> 0:06:54.839 there and take a lead. It was it was not stunning, 0:06:54.839 --> 0:06:57.000 but it was surprising. You know that what we're were 0:06:57.120 --> 0:07:01.120 these guys to go from to go from the outhouse, 0:07:01.200 --> 0:07:03.800 not to the penthouse, but closer to the penthouse than 0:07:03.839 --> 0:07:06.240 you were. I mean, you were definitely in the outhouse, 0:07:06.279 --> 0:07:08.840 there's no question about that. For them to you know, 0:07:08.880 --> 0:07:11.920 pull themselves up individually and collectively by the bootstraps like 0:07:12.000 --> 0:07:15.800 they did, I thought, I thought was pretty impressive. You know. Unfortunately, 0:07:16.080 --> 0:07:20.360 the defense, I honestly think that the number of snaps 0:07:20.400 --> 0:07:23.040 they took in the first half had a cumulative effect 0:07:23.080 --> 0:07:25.200 on them. They took forty six snaps in the first half. 0:07:25.200 --> 0:07:28.520 In the fourth quarter, you know, that's that's when you're tired. 0:07:28.600 --> 0:07:30.640 You're not only physically tired, your mind is a little 0:07:30.640 --> 0:07:33.440 bit tired. And you know, they made made a big 0:07:33.440 --> 0:07:35.840 assignment error on a forty nine yard completion to the 0:07:35.840 --> 0:07:38.760 tight end Knox that killed them. Lap. Let's talk about 0:07:38.760 --> 0:07:40.880 wide receiver autumn Tate, who had the best game of 0:07:40.920 --> 0:07:43.520 his young career last week. Six catches for eighty eight 0:07:43.600 --> 0:07:46.440 yards against the Bills in the first two games, Damian 0:07:46.520 --> 0:07:49.040 Willis was getting those snaps. Last week they went to 0:07:49.080 --> 0:07:52.000 Autumn Tate. What I think you get healthy. You know, 0:07:52.040 --> 0:07:56.440 Autumn Tate had been fighting that foot ankle injury that 0:07:56.440 --> 0:07:59.240 that he sustained or nagasus was a knee injury that 0:07:59.240 --> 0:08:02.600 he sustained during training camp. And you know he's rehabbing, 0:08:03.160 --> 0:08:06.160 you know, real aggressively, but he just wasn't able to 0:08:06.200 --> 0:08:08.440 make the dance, you know, in the first first couple 0:08:08.440 --> 0:08:11.080 of weeks. So I think that, you know, he just 0:08:11.160 --> 0:08:13.680 keeps working hard. I mean, I'd like everything about his 0:08:13.720 --> 0:08:17.320 work ethic and he's got he brings a lot to 0:08:17.360 --> 0:08:20.640 the table. I mean six to five between two twenty 0:08:20.640 --> 0:08:23.560 five and two hundred and thirty pounds, long arms, big, 0:08:23.640 --> 0:08:27.520 huge catching radius, broad shoulders, huge frame, easy target to 0:08:27.560 --> 0:08:29.040 see in the middle of field, and he looks like 0:08:29.040 --> 0:08:31.520 a tight end to a quarterback when he's running routes 0:08:31.520 --> 0:08:34.040 in the middle of the football field. And he's not 0:08:34.200 --> 0:08:36.520 he's not going to run by you necessarily, you know, 0:08:36.600 --> 0:08:39.720 straight line speed, but he has way above average short 0:08:39.760 --> 0:08:42.560 space quickness for a guy his size, so he gets 0:08:42.559 --> 0:08:44.959 in and out of cuts well. He can make people miss, 0:08:45.080 --> 0:08:47.800 you know, initially when they're trying to contact him after 0:08:47.840 --> 0:08:51.120 the catch, and because of his length and his size, 0:08:51.559 --> 0:08:54.640 he's a contested catch, you know, maniac. I mean, it's 0:08:54.679 --> 0:08:56.920 not a fifty fifty ball in his mind. It's one 0:08:56.960 --> 0:08:59.320 hundred zero ball in his mind. Every time it's up 0:08:59.360 --> 0:09:02.000 for grabs, he's going to get the thing. Big vice, 0:09:02.040 --> 0:09:06.560 grip hands. You know two things you want in a receiver. 0:09:06.640 --> 0:09:09.079 We've talked about a Lockdan Tyler Boyd gives it and 0:09:09.320 --> 0:09:13.360 this kid does too. Is toughness and you know, good hands. 0:09:13.679 --> 0:09:16.000 The thing that impressed me most is he got screwed. 0:09:16.120 --> 0:09:17.960 No other way to put it. He got shafted on 0:09:18.000 --> 0:09:20.400 a holding call that nullified at ninety two yard touchdown 0:09:20.600 --> 0:09:23.679 return on a kickoff. He could have gone in the tank. 0:09:23.679 --> 0:09:26.720 A lot of guys would you know, man let that linger. 0:09:27.120 --> 0:09:29.520 You know, because of that play, you know, the next 0:09:29.559 --> 0:09:32.480 half dozen times you're targeted, it doesn't work out because 0:09:32.480 --> 0:09:34.600 your mind's messed up. He didn't do any of that 0:09:34.600 --> 0:09:37.120 that impressed me as a young player. Put it aside. 0:09:37.480 --> 0:09:38.960 You know, I know I didn't do what he said 0:09:39.000 --> 0:09:41.000 I did. I'm going to put it aside and see 0:09:41.000 --> 0:09:42.720 if I can make plays other ways to help the 0:09:42.720 --> 0:09:44.920 team win the football game, because that play would have 0:09:44.920 --> 0:09:47.959 been a huge spark and it could have taken away unnecessarily, 0:09:48.240 --> 0:09:50.280 and he was the guy that was, you know, pointed 0:09:50.679 --> 0:09:52.760 the finger at and so doing it. Didn't do anything 0:09:52.760 --> 0:09:55.719 wrong really, So sometimes that's life in the NFL with 0:09:55.800 --> 0:09:59.160 the Zebras. After three weeks, John Ross is third in 0:09:59.160 --> 0:10:01.800 the NFL and heaving yards, but number one in drops 0:10:01.800 --> 0:10:04.560 according to Pro Football Focus, five of them so far. 0:10:04.640 --> 0:10:07.360 He had a fumble last week against Buffalo. Is this 0:10:07.559 --> 0:10:10.440 just the John Ross experience, as we have kind of 0:10:10.520 --> 0:10:12.360 jokingly referred to it, You got to live with a 0:10:12.360 --> 0:10:14.679 few drops in order to get the big plays. I mean, 0:10:14.720 --> 0:10:17.800 his good has been exceptionally good, and as bad has 0:10:17.800 --> 0:10:20.440 been frustratingly bad as it always is, you know. I 0:10:20.440 --> 0:10:23.319 mean it's like easy throws or boom right there in 0:10:23.360 --> 0:10:26.960 the hands and you know, not drop him. And yeah, 0:10:27.320 --> 0:10:31.760 I was on the overthrow from Andy Dalton to John Ross. 0:10:32.240 --> 0:10:35.760 My first reaction was, why don't you dive, you know, 0:10:36.080 --> 0:10:38.880 full extension, go for the football. Now I watched the 0:10:38.920 --> 0:10:42.400 trajectory of the throw from Andy and that you can't dive. 0:10:42.760 --> 0:10:44.600 You gotta put some marunder it and let him run 0:10:44.679 --> 0:10:48.200 underneath it. And you know, if he did dive, he 0:10:48.200 --> 0:10:49.800 wouldn't have been able to get his hands up high 0:10:49.880 --> 0:10:51.760 enough to catch in anyway, because it was more of 0:10:51.800 --> 0:10:53.560 a direct line show. I mean, Andy was trying to 0:10:53.600 --> 0:10:56.720 just put it on him from that distance and the 0:10:56.840 --> 0:10:59.400 margin Farr is minimal at that point, and the overthrow 0:10:59.480 --> 0:11:01.600 him by yard if he just puts a little air 0:11:01.640 --> 0:11:03.760 in it, because you can't overthrow John Ross. It's like, 0:11:03.800 --> 0:11:06.560 how do you overthrow John Ross? Put a little more error, 0:11:06.640 --> 0:11:07.880 and I think he would have been able to run 0:11:07.920 --> 0:11:10.240 underneath that thing, and that that's a you know, that's 0:11:10.240 --> 0:11:13.439 a touchdown right there, that that the Bengals didn't take 0:11:13.480 --> 0:11:17.480 full advantage of. So U you know, those kind of 0:11:17.480 --> 0:11:22.160 things can can be frustrating. And you know, five five 0:11:22.240 --> 0:11:25.120 drops a drop at least one drop every game. So 0:11:25.160 --> 0:11:27.920 it's not you know, something that is coming and going. 0:11:27.960 --> 0:11:32.240 I mean, it's it's there. And you know, if I 0:11:32.320 --> 0:11:35.000 know the fans are crossing their fingers hoping every time 0:11:35.160 --> 0:11:37.320 it's thrown to him, he's gonna make a play. If 0:11:37.320 --> 0:11:40.079 his quarterback starts thinking that and the coaches start thinking that, 0:11:40.480 --> 0:11:42.360 you know, pretty soon as like man, do I throw 0:11:42.400 --> 0:11:44.040 it to him or not? You can't have those kind 0:11:44.080 --> 0:11:46.000 of thoughts. You just have to gun it and cut 0:11:46.000 --> 0:11:48.839 it loose. He just needs to uh. And I thought 0:11:48.880 --> 0:11:51.920 that the opposite of Odd and Tate one aud and 0:11:52.000 --> 0:11:55.880 Tate faced the adversity of the holding call. He never wavered. 0:11:56.360 --> 0:11:58.160 I thought John Ross kind of checked out for a 0:11:58.200 --> 0:12:01.040 little while. I mean, he just wasn't, you know, he 0:12:01.440 --> 0:12:03.720 let it bother him for too long a period of time. 0:12:04.160 --> 0:12:06.960 You just have to have, you know, selective amnesia. Put 0:12:06.960 --> 0:12:10.000 it aside, move on. You can't let one mistake turn 0:12:10.040 --> 0:12:14.120 into not even being available for a period of time. 0:12:14.120 --> 0:12:16.080 You got to get yourself right back into the game. 0:12:16.559 --> 0:12:19.120 You can't mentally say, oh, man, I can't believe I 0:12:19.160 --> 0:12:21.680 did that, and you know, pout and whine about it. 0:12:21.800 --> 0:12:24.400 You know, internally just can't do it. You just have 0:12:24.440 --> 0:12:27.480 to be the mental toughness that you know that Zach's 0:12:27.480 --> 0:12:29.520 talking about. You gotta come right back, you know, like 0:12:29.640 --> 0:12:33.360 he did when when he dropped the ball and then 0:12:33.520 --> 0:12:36.480 has a fifty yard touchdown pass the very next play 0:12:36.920 --> 0:12:38.560 and it makes a big play to make up for 0:12:38.600 --> 0:12:40.280 the drop. I mean, that's what you have to do. 0:12:40.800 --> 0:12:43.520 And in this case. I thought he'd let it linger 0:12:43.559 --> 0:12:46.760 too long. I'm going to save this recording the next 0:12:46.800 --> 0:12:49.839 time I play golf, because nobody goes into the tank 0:12:49.880 --> 0:12:52.400 after a double bogie like Dan or what I'm telling you. 0:12:52.679 --> 0:12:55.360 My recovery skills are not great on the course. Let's 0:12:55.400 --> 0:12:57.640 talk about the offensive line. How did they do as 0:12:57.640 --> 0:12:59.760 a whole, and how did Billy Price do, in particular 0:12:59.760 --> 0:13:02.439 get his first studied left guard. Yeah, I respect the 0:13:02.520 --> 0:13:04.800 job that Billy Price did. I'll start with that one. 0:13:06.240 --> 0:13:10.800 You know, the thing when something happens to a you know, 0:13:11.040 --> 0:13:14.360 a highly decorated player coming out of college, you know, 0:13:14.400 --> 0:13:17.680 everybody's all American in first round pick to play a 0:13:17.679 --> 0:13:21.240 center for the Bengals, and you lose that job, and then, 0:13:21.520 --> 0:13:24.439 you know, instead of moaning and pouting and grousing about 0:13:24.440 --> 0:13:27.160 it and putting your chin on your chest, he basically 0:13:27.200 --> 0:13:29.440 handled it pretty darn well. You know, he said all 0:13:29.440 --> 0:13:31.640 the right things. That's one thing, But then do all 0:13:31.679 --> 0:13:34.360 the right things. Make sure you're working hard, make sure 0:13:34.400 --> 0:13:38.920 you're trying to overcome the deficiencies that cost you, you know, 0:13:39.000 --> 0:13:42.559 that starting position. And I do think that he's still 0:13:43.440 --> 0:13:47.440 not right physically. I still think he's got a little 0:13:47.440 --> 0:13:51.440 bit of a foot problem. I truly believe that. And 0:13:51.640 --> 0:13:54.080 you know it's it's not the Liz Frank, it's the 0:13:54.080 --> 0:13:56.680 planet face Siatis stuff. Liz Frank was last year, Planet 0:13:56.679 --> 0:13:59.760 face Siatis this year, and those things can hang on. 0:14:00.120 --> 0:14:02.440 I mean, I've had it, you know, not because the 0:14:02.480 --> 0:14:04.439 distance running. I know you've had it from distance running, 0:14:04.520 --> 0:14:06.760 not me, but I've had but I've had plant of 0:14:06.800 --> 0:14:10.520 facey itis and man, it's nasty. Depending on the severity 0:14:10.559 --> 0:14:14.040 of it, it can be very nasty. So you know 0:14:14.720 --> 0:14:18.839 the fact that Billy worked hard physically and mentally even 0:14:18.920 --> 0:14:21.520 more so to be ready for an opportunity because it's 0:14:21.520 --> 0:14:23.640 some time. At some point, you know it's going to come. 0:14:24.120 --> 0:14:26.040 Somebody's gonna get nicked up in the interior of the 0:14:26.120 --> 0:14:28.880 offensive line and he's gonna have to step in and 0:14:29.160 --> 0:14:32.480 them not miss a beat. And unfortunately it was Michael 0:14:32.520 --> 0:14:35.000 Jordan that went down with the knee injury. Not severe. 0:14:35.200 --> 0:14:36.920 You know, I think he'll be able to play this week. 0:14:36.960 --> 0:14:39.400 But Billy went in there and acquitted himself. Well. I 0:14:39.440 --> 0:14:42.400 thought he did. Thought he played played a solid football game. 0:14:42.400 --> 0:14:44.200 And I think up and down the line of scrimmage, 0:14:44.200 --> 0:14:46.320 I thought they all did you know, there was one 0:14:46.360 --> 0:14:49.560 false start. Andre had a false start. So in two loud, 0:14:50.400 --> 0:14:54.480 boisterous stadium's toughest, you know, amongst the toughest in the NFL. 0:14:55.280 --> 0:14:59.240 There a silent staff count system that they installed was impeccable, 0:14:59.480 --> 0:15:03.240 you know. And and in the communication again, Trey Hopkins 0:15:03.240 --> 0:15:06.760 communicating calls really well. They picked up things from Andy 0:15:06.840 --> 0:15:09.040 Dalton they needed to pick up. So I thought the 0:15:09.400 --> 0:15:13.760 operation was, you know, pretty pretty darn efficient. And I 0:15:14.080 --> 0:15:17.320 didn't think that that the offensive line was the big 0:15:17.360 --> 0:15:19.680 reason that they weren't in SYNK, you know. I thought 0:15:19.720 --> 0:15:22.600 it was other reasons that they weren't in SYNK. And 0:15:23.200 --> 0:15:25.480 I thought the offensive line pretty much from the entire 0:15:25.520 --> 0:15:28.280 game played at the same level of consistency. And that's 0:15:28.560 --> 0:15:30.680 that's what you want. Like we're talking with John Ross, 0:15:31.200 --> 0:15:35.040 you know, man to be impeccable one snap and putrid another. 0:15:35.960 --> 0:15:38.080 You just can't have that rise and fall. Your graft 0:15:38.120 --> 0:15:40.200 can't be North Pole South Pole. You know, it's going 0:15:40.280 --> 0:15:42.920 to be a steady The coaches have to know what 0:15:42.960 --> 0:15:45.760 they can expect every single snap from he's a football player. 0:15:46.320 --> 0:15:49.160 Speaking of Trey Hopkins, he remains the highest graded player 0:15:49.200 --> 0:15:51.920 on the team. According to Pro Football Focus, he's no 0:15:52.000 --> 0:15:54.880 longer number one among centers, but he is still number four, 0:15:54.960 --> 0:15:58.440 which is obviously very good. On defense. Their highest graded 0:15:58.440 --> 0:16:02.640 player after three weeks is Andrew Billings, number eleven among 0:16:02.920 --> 0:16:06.120 interior defensive lineman. It's telling they don't have anybody in 0:16:06.120 --> 0:16:09.120 the top ten after three weeks. But he had a 0:16:09.120 --> 0:16:12.120 good game against Buffalo. Five tackles, including two for losses. 0:16:12.320 --> 0:16:16.840 He did. I thought that he his penetration was you know, 0:16:17.600 --> 0:16:20.120 was consistent. You know. Yeah, I thought he was winning 0:16:20.240 --> 0:16:23.800 at a very high level. There's no question about it. Um. 0:16:23.880 --> 0:16:26.960 And I think the big thing is now he's healthy. 0:16:27.360 --> 0:16:30.400 When he had that knee injury, such a big body, 0:16:30.880 --> 0:16:33.600 you know, and he's not a real tall guy, so 0:16:34.000 --> 0:16:35.920 he's got he's got a lot of weight packed on 0:16:36.000 --> 0:16:39.280 a you know, not a real long frame, and when 0:16:39.320 --> 0:16:41.800 you have a knee injury in that regard, I thought 0:16:41.800 --> 0:16:44.080 it really hurt his lateral movement, you know. I thought 0:16:44.280 --> 0:16:47.640 I thought he could still go ahead and pet you know, 0:16:47.680 --> 0:16:49.720 straight ahead and penetrate kind of thing, but then to 0:16:49.800 --> 0:16:52.720 stop and redirect it, that's where he was having difficulty. 0:16:52.840 --> 0:16:55.520 Now he's got all that back where he can penetrate, 0:16:55.560 --> 0:16:59.280 he can move laterally, he's staying on his feet better. Um. 0:16:59.320 --> 0:17:01.360 You know, I think that now they're starting to see 0:17:01.360 --> 0:17:03.840 the Andrew Billions that when they draft him in the 0:17:03.840 --> 0:17:05.640 fourth round, they said, well, you know, we had him. 0:17:05.840 --> 0:17:07.920 He's great as a first round talent. You know, coming 0:17:07.920 --> 0:17:10.159 out of Baylor, he was a co defensive player of 0:17:10.200 --> 0:17:11.840 the Year in the Big Twelve. I mean, this guy 0:17:11.920 --> 0:17:14.560 was a player. And I think now they're starting to see, 0:17:14.680 --> 0:17:17.720 you know, that type of player. You often talk about 0:17:17.720 --> 0:17:20.719 how the offensive line, you want the sum to be, 0:17:21.320 --> 0:17:24.399 you know, greater than the individual parts. How about the 0:17:24.480 --> 0:17:27.360 secondary Because I look at those guys individual and I'm thinking, 0:17:27.359 --> 0:17:29.160 all right, he's a decent player, he's a good player, 0:17:29.200 --> 0:17:31.760 he was an igh draft pick, etc. But that group 0:17:32.400 --> 0:17:35.119 as a whole has not played well, at least to 0:17:35.240 --> 0:17:37.400 my eyes, in the first three games. Yeah, I don't. 0:17:37.440 --> 0:17:40.040 I don't think it's been up to up to standard 0:17:40.119 --> 0:17:43.600 that they the expectations they have of themselves, or their 0:17:43.600 --> 0:17:47.280 coaches have of them, or defensive coordinator Luana Rumo has 0:17:47.320 --> 0:17:50.159 of them. Um. I think that one of the bigger 0:17:50.160 --> 0:17:53.400 areas is inconsistent tackling, you know, I mean the when 0:17:53.440 --> 0:17:56.320 the edge when the edge is being captured, like it's 0:17:56.359 --> 0:17:58.760 being captured a lot of times the run support the 0:17:58.840 --> 0:18:02.640 run forces to be coming from that cornerback spot and uh, 0:18:02.680 --> 0:18:04.920 and it's not. It's not being you know, it's being 0:18:04.960 --> 0:18:10.199 fulfilled from an assignment responsibility. So and when I know 0:18:10.240 --> 0:18:13.000 in the first in the first two games, I think 0:18:13.040 --> 0:18:17.240 it was eleven and eight tackles missed, nineteen tackles missed 0:18:17.280 --> 0:18:20.320 eight and the opener eleven in the second game or 0:18:20.359 --> 0:18:23.520 something like that, I know, I know against San Francisco 0:18:23.720 --> 0:18:26.240 there are eleven tackles missed Seattle, it wasn't that bad, 0:18:26.480 --> 0:18:29.600 but there are eleven tackles missed against against the San 0:18:29.600 --> 0:18:32.080 Francisco forty nine ers and a lot of them were 0:18:32.080 --> 0:18:36.400 on that in that level, you know. So I think, yeah, 0:18:36.440 --> 0:18:39.560 it's in a perfect world, you have to have the 0:18:39.600 --> 0:18:43.320 two components. You have to have the pressure and in coverage. 0:18:43.320 --> 0:18:45.119 If you have both, you know you're in great shape. 0:18:45.119 --> 0:18:48.760 And good pressure will you know, lessen the burden on 0:18:48.760 --> 0:18:51.679 the back end. Great coverage can sometimes create sacks that 0:18:51.720 --> 0:18:54.680 you normally wouldn't expect to be there if a quarterback 0:18:54.720 --> 0:18:56.840 has to pull it down and start running around unless 0:18:56.840 --> 0:19:00.240 you're Josh Allen who fakes everybody out and throws them 0:19:00.240 --> 0:19:04.120 all down the field. But I think I think there's room. 0:19:04.640 --> 0:19:07.480 There's room for growth, for sure, there's room for improvement 0:19:07.880 --> 0:19:09.800 on the back end. I think they can tighten things 0:19:09.880 --> 0:19:13.000 up big time. The Bengals head to Pittsburgh on Monday 0:19:13.119 --> 0:19:15.639 night and lap somebody sprayed a big old can of 0:19:15.760 --> 0:19:20.040 raid on the Killer Bees. Bell is gone, Brown is gone, 0:19:20.520 --> 0:19:23.679 Big Ben is injured. How good is the Steelers offense 0:19:23.680 --> 0:19:26.919 without those guys? Time for the Bengals defense to sting 0:19:26.960 --> 0:19:32.560 the Steelers offense. Man, their numbers aren't very good. You know, 0:19:32.560 --> 0:19:35.000 who would have thought that they'd be thirtieth in the 0:19:35.119 --> 0:19:39.040 NFL and yards per game twenty sixth in yards per 0:19:39.080 --> 0:19:42.840 pass twenty ninth and rushing yards per game twenty fourth 0:19:42.840 --> 0:19:46.080 and rushing average twenty fifth and passing yards twenty seventh 0:19:46.080 --> 0:19:50.439 and passing average that is unsteelerlike, tied for twenty seventh 0:19:50.440 --> 0:19:54.080 and points scored. That's a different a different football team. 0:19:54.480 --> 0:19:58.000 The thing is, though, Dan, as we know, you're as 0:19:58.000 --> 0:19:59.679 good as your guys up front in a lot of 0:19:59.680 --> 0:20:02.680 instant and the guys up front are still pretty good 0:20:02.680 --> 0:20:05.200 for the Pittsburgh Steels. They have three Pro bowlers. Pouncey 0:20:05.359 --> 0:20:08.359 has been a Pro Bowler, to Castro and Villaneueva. Sixty 0:20:08.400 --> 0:20:11.880 percent of their offensive line has been Pro Bowl participants, 0:20:11.880 --> 0:20:15.360 so you know that's something to work with. Um, they're 0:20:15.400 --> 0:20:18.800 all back. They signed Ramon Foster even though he's advanced 0:20:18.800 --> 0:20:20.600 in years. They didn't want to break up the break 0:20:20.680 --> 0:20:24.760 up the band as such, and they're still operating, you know, 0:20:25.240 --> 0:20:28.040 I think pretty effective. They've only allowed four quarterback sacks, 0:20:28.040 --> 0:20:30.960 which is amongst the fewest in the National Football League. 0:20:31.000 --> 0:20:36.520 But their offensive line coaches in Denver and Mike Munchak, 0:20:36.720 --> 0:20:39.280 is as good as there is in the National Football League, 0:20:39.280 --> 0:20:42.520 And in my mind that's that's a big difference. But 0:20:42.600 --> 0:20:45.720 when when those Killer Bees all lost their stingers or 0:20:45.760 --> 0:20:48.359 flew away, there's a ripple effects as a defense hasn't 0:20:48.359 --> 0:20:50.960 playing as well either. You know, the offense isn't holding 0:20:51.040 --> 0:20:53.640 up there under the bargain, so the defense has more 0:20:53.640 --> 0:20:56.359 pressure on them. They're more snaps out in the field, 0:20:56.560 --> 0:21:00.680 more exposure. So when the Killer Bees either died or 0:21:00.760 --> 0:21:04.000