Speaker 1: Hi, get everybody on dan Horde and thanks for downloading
Speaker 1: the Bengals Booth podcast. The roller Coaster addition, as we
Speaker 1: take an in depth look back at the first game
Speaker 1: of the Zach Taylor era, a wild roller coaster ride
Speaker 1: with extreme peaks and valleys that ultimately ended with a
Speaker 1: one point loss in Seattle. Coming up, you'll hear radio
Speaker 1: replace from the game, locker room comments from players and coaches,
Speaker 1: and Dave Lapham will join me for postgame analysis. Plus
Speaker 1: in this week's fun Facts Conversation, it's a rare one
Speaker 1: on one chat with Bengals President Mike Brown. Mike doesn't
Speaker 1: do many interviews, but once or twice a year he's
Speaker 1: kind enough to sit down and share stories from his
Speaker 1: amazing life in football. I always get great feedback from
Speaker 1: listeners when we record a trip down memory Lane, and
Speaker 1: I think you'll enjoy our latest conversation. All of that
Speaker 1: is straight ahead, but first, here's equipped reminder that you
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Speaker 1: Let's get to football. From the day Zach Taylor was hired,
Speaker 1: Bengals fans have been frothing at the mouth over what
Speaker 1: his offense might mean for Joe Mixon. After all, the
Speaker 1: Rams Todd Gurley averaged nearly two thousand total yards and
Speaker 1: twenty touchdowns in the two seasons that Zach was on
Speaker 1: the LA coaching staff. But on Sunday in Seattle, Mixon
Speaker 1: barely got the ball before leaving the game with a
Speaker 1: twisted ankle in the third quarter. Cincinnati's first seven plays
Speaker 1: of the season were passes, and Andy Dalton threw the
Speaker 1: ball sixteen times in the first quarter. Tyler Eifert says
Speaker 1: Seattle's defense forced them to Yeah, I mean if you
Speaker 1: look at what they were doing, they were, you know,
Speaker 1: doing things to take away the Ronzo. Yeah, you end
Speaker 1: up passing the ball and we did it effectively. So
Speaker 1: we're just playing off what they were doing. So that's
Speaker 1: what the game dictated. By and large. It worked at
Speaker 1: least until the red zone. The Bengals second drive of
Speaker 1: the game lasted thirteen plays in seven and a half minutes,
Speaker 1: but stalled after reaching the sixteen yard line. It'll be
Speaker 1: a thirty nine yard attempt from the left hash mark
Speaker 1: for Randy Bullock Park Harris will snap, Kevin Hubert will
Speaker 1: holl the snap, the put down, the swing of the
Speaker 1: right leg, and Bullocks kick is good. The Bengals took
Speaker 1: a three nothing lead into the second quarter, and in
Speaker 1: the first half. Their defense gave Russell Wilson fitz with
Speaker 1: a variety of looks, including five defensive linemen. Shot Penny
Speaker 1: in at running back for Seattle, Wilson fakes to him
Speaker 1: being chased by Sam Hubbard. Russell Wilson nice sacked right
Speaker 1: back at the forty one yard line. Second sack for
Speaker 1: the Bengals. Carlos Dunlap had the first, Sam Hubbard with
Speaker 1: the second for a nine yard loss. Well he was outstanding.
Speaker 1: Cincinnati's run defense was as impressive as the pass rush
Speaker 1: Seattle averaged an NFL best one hundred and sixty yards
Speaker 1: on the ground last year, but only Mustard seventy two
Speaker 1: in Week one. Here's Hubbard. Yeah, we wanted to stop
Speaker 1: the run, and defensively we're really stout and stop the
Speaker 1: run made him kind of one dimensional number one Russian
Speaker 1: attack in the NFL. Under however, many yards we held
Speaker 1: him too. I think it was just great execution. But
Speaker 1: you know, it comes down to a few plays, and
Speaker 1: that's how it is in the NFL. The bengals first
Speaker 1: big mistake came on special teams, a fumbled punt by
Speaker 1: Alex Ericson that gave Seattle the ball in Bengals territory.
Speaker 1: It didn't immediately lead to a score, but it helped
Speaker 1: flip field position and the Seahawks soon took the lead.
Speaker 1: Wilson in the shotgun at the six hands it off
Speaker 1: to Carson, touchdown Seahawks. The extra point gave Seattle a
Speaker 1: seven three lead. It lasted all of three plays. The
Speaker 1: Bengals have it first and ten at the Seattle thirty
Speaker 1: three yard line, leave a hand at tu Bernardi pitches
Speaker 1: it back to Down, guns it down the far sideline,
Speaker 1: but by John Rouse breaks the tackle. At the five
Speaker 1: and scores a Bengals touchdown, a thirty three yard Fleet
Speaker 1: Flicker touchdown to John Ross. How about that? John Ross
Speaker 1: finished with seven catches for one hundred and fifty eight yards.
Speaker 1: His previous career highs had been three catches and fifty
Speaker 1: two yards. Tyler Eifford says, it was only a matter
Speaker 1: of time. It wasn't surprising, you know, to the guy's
Speaker 1: locker room, because we watch him every day. Just the
Speaker 1: way he runs. He's extremely talented, Like I mean, you
Speaker 1: can't even really describe it. So it was just a
Speaker 1: matter of time before he put it all together. And
Speaker 1: he did today and he used to continue to do
Speaker 1: that for us to play well. The Bengals had a
Speaker 1: ten seven lead and their defense was dominating. With one
Speaker 1: forty four left and a half, Seattle had not had
Speaker 1: a twenty yard play, but that changed when Russell Wilson
Speaker 1: hit rookie DK Metcalf for forty two yards down to
Speaker 1: the bengals thirteen yard line. Metcalf is the genetic freak
Speaker 1: whose shirtless photo before the draft went viral. As somebody
Speaker 1: put it, his abs have abs. A few plays after
Speaker 1: his catch, Seattle was back in front fifty nine seconds
Speaker 1: left and a half, third down and seven at the
Speaker 1: Bengals ten yard line for the Seahawks, looking for a
Speaker 1: go ahead score. Two receivers to each side of the formation.
Speaker 1: Wilson drops back to throw, checks it down to a
Speaker 1: running back Carson, and he breaks several tackles and runs
Speaker 1: it to the pylon. It's a Seattle touchdown. Dray Kirkpatrick
Speaker 1: and Jesse Bates were in position to stop Carson short
Speaker 1: of a first down, but they failed in Seattle led
Speaker 1: fourteen ten. With fifty two seconds left in the half,
Speaker 1: the Bengals elected to be aggressive on offense and at
Speaker 1: least try to get a field goal, not exactly a
Speaker 1: Marvin Esque approach. With twenty seconds left and a half,
Speaker 1: John Ross dropped a pass that easily would have put
Speaker 1: them in field goal range. In fact, it might have
Speaker 1: gone for a long score since two defenders ran into
Speaker 1: each other and toppled like bowling pins. But on the
Speaker 1: very next play, Ross made up for his drop. Seen
Speaker 1: seconds left and a half, the Bengals still need at
Speaker 1: least twenty yards. Dalton back to throw under pressure. He's
Speaker 1: gonna fling it deep down. Feel ball. It is caught.
Speaker 1: I half. The Tens touchdown Bengals as John Roy reached up,
Speaker 1: made a two handed grab and ran it in for
Speaker 1: a fifty five yard touchdown with seven seconds left in
Speaker 1: the half. And he said, here's how I'm gonna answer.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna drop the easy one, and I'm gonna make
Speaker 1: a great play on the ball where the defenders in
Speaker 1: pretty good shape. I'm gonna make a nice leaping catch
Speaker 1: and then make the last guy miss. It gave the
Speaker 1: Bengals a seventeen fourteen halftime lead, and it gave Ross
Speaker 1: the breakout performance that he and we have been waiting
Speaker 1: for because his coaching staff having confidence in you, given
Speaker 1: you more confidence in yourself without a doubt, without a doubt.
Speaker 1: I think that's what a lot of players lack sometimes,
Speaker 1: you know, And I didn't. I think they like me.
Speaker 1: I can honestly say it now. I lost confidence in
Speaker 1: myself last few years, and you know, now I come
Speaker 1: in with a different mentality, and you know, I just
Speaker 1: kind of go out there and continue to believe in myself.
Speaker 1: It's been last year and you dropped that pass. Would
Speaker 1: you have found the bench instead of being in there
Speaker 1: to catch a touchdown pass? The next play most definitely, honestly,
Speaker 1: I mean I can honestly say that now. Um, you
Speaker 1: know without a doubt. You guys seen it, you know,
Speaker 1: I could you just tell I can run my ROLESE
Speaker 1: is different when I lose confidence myself, you know, it's
Speaker 1: just it was just it's completely different now it might fee.
Speaker 1: After a big play on offense to end the first half,
Speaker 1: the Bengals made a big play on defense to begin
Speaker 1: the second. Seattle begins first and ten, ball on the
Speaker 1: left hash at the twenty five yard line. Russell Wilson
Speaker 1: with a fake handoff, now passes to the running back
Speaker 1: that he faked two that's Carson, and Carson draft bodies forward.
Speaker 1: The ball comes out. The Bengals appear to have it.
Speaker 1: Trey Kirkpatrick has the football and yes it's a cencinive
Speaker 1: recovery at the twenty eight yard line. Huge play right there.
Speaker 1: It was the Bengals only take away of the day
Speaker 1: and they quickly drove to the Seattle twelve. We got
Speaker 1: some light rain falling now here in Seattle. With thirteen
Speaker 1: thirty five left in the third quarter, second down in
Speaker 1: twelve as samaj p Rhine checks in, oh Dalton had
Speaker 1: the ball slip out of his hand trying to throw
Speaker 1: a screen and it's intercepted by defensive tackle Al Woods.
Speaker 1: I don't know if this light rains had anything to
Speaker 1: do with it, but the Bengals turn it over in
Speaker 1: the red zone. Unbelievable. Unbelievable. That was ruled a fumble,
Speaker 1: not an interception. And it was the first of three
Speaker 1: straight drives in the third quarter where the Bengals could
Speaker 1: have scored and didn't. On their next drive, Randy Bullock
Speaker 1: missed a forty five yard field goal, and on the
Speaker 1: drive after that, the Bengals went for it on fourth
Speaker 1: and one in Seattle territory and got stuffed on a
Speaker 1: running play. They were piling up yards but not points.
Speaker 1: Here's Tyler Eiffort throughout the game. You know, I felt
Speaker 1: like we were we were doing a lot of really
Speaker 1: good things. But you know, when the game's over, it's
Speaker 1: not how many yards you gained, it's how many points
Speaker 1: are on the board. The Bengals led seventeen fourteen going
Speaker 1: to the final quarter. To that point, Russell Wilson had
Speaker 1: not thrown a single pass to his top target, Tyler Lockett.
Speaker 1: That changed on the first play of the fourth quarter,
Speaker 1: tight end Bannett goes in motion four Seattle shotgun snap
Speaker 1: in a high one caught by Wilson, rolls out to
Speaker 1: the right, looks back to the left. Was it deep
Speaker 1: down the middle of the field that has caught at
Speaker 1: the seven? No one, I'm running it in for the score?
Speaker 1: Is Tyler Lockett? How many times have we seen now?
Speaker 1: Tyler Lockett? First in twenty That forty four yard grab
Speaker 1: was Lockett's only catch and gave Seattle at twenty one
Speaker 1: seventeen lead. The Bengals answered with a thirteen play drive
Speaker 1: that chewed up nearly eight minutes, but after having first
Speaker 1: in goal at the four yard line, holding penalty in
Speaker 1: a sack forced the Bengals to settle for a Bullock
Speaker 1: field goal that pulled Cincinnati within one. It was the
Speaker 1: third time in three tries that the Bengals drove into
Speaker 1: the red zone and failed to score a touchdown. Here's
Speaker 1: Andy Dalton, A couple opportunities we were down there and
Speaker 1: we weren't able to get done on the unfortunate fumble
Speaker 1: on them, ball slipping out of my hand. You know,
Speaker 1: we had an opportunity there. And then you know in
Speaker 1: the fourth quarter when we were down there, we had
Speaker 1: to settle for the field goal. So you can look
Speaker 1: at those things right there and say, man, if we
Speaker 1: can just get one touchdown, that changes the game. The
Speaker 1: Bengals defense forced to three and out. There's sixth of
Speaker 1: the game to get the offense the ball back, and
Speaker 1: with three and a half minutes to go, Zach Taylor
Speaker 1: faced a tough decision go for it on fourth and
Speaker 1: seven at his own forty four or punt pin the
Speaker 1: Seahawks deep in their own territory and try to get
Speaker 1: one more three and out on defense. Zach chose to punt,
Speaker 1: and Seattle was able to pick up a fir down
Speaker 1: with three straight running plays to basically put the game away.
Speaker 1: The final score twenty one twenty Seattle. Here are Tyler Eiffert,
Speaker 1: Sam Hubbard, and Andy Dalton on dominating the stats but
Speaker 1: losing on the scoreboard. I thought we went out there
Speaker 1: and executed the game, playing pretty well, and we, you know,
Speaker 1: both sides of the ball played extremely hard. U defense
Speaker 1: came up with a lot of big plays, and you know,
Speaker 1: just down there in the in the red zone, we
Speaker 1: just got to find a way to to punch it in.
Speaker 1: But um, you know, there's a lot of good things
Speaker 1: to take away from the game. Obviously disappointed that we
Speaker 1: didn't find a way to get it done. That's that's
Speaker 1: what good teams need to do, is find a way
Speaker 1: in the end to find a way to win. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I was really proud of the way we fought on
Speaker 1: both sides of the ball. And that's just life in
Speaker 1: the NFL, you know, comes down to one or two
Speaker 1: big plays, one or two points, one or two stops,
Speaker 1: and uh, I just think this is a right, you know,
Speaker 1: place to build from. You know, you know, if we
Speaker 1: fight like that for sixteen games, we're gonna win a
Speaker 1: lot of football games. And uh, all I could say
Speaker 1: it's probably way we fought, but that's obviously disappointed loss.
Speaker 1: You know, there's a lot of things that we that
Speaker 1: we did well to day. You know, it's one of
Speaker 1: those it's unfortunate to leave this game with a loss
Speaker 1: because we you know, we fought till the very end.
Speaker 1: We you know, we played really hard on um, you know,
Speaker 1: in all phases of the game. But um definitely something
Speaker 1: to build on this close one and uh you know,
Speaker 1: for us, we weren't able to make the one play
Speaker 1: that was going to get us over the tough for today.
Speaker 1: Zach Taylor's team is Zoe and One. The Bengals new
Speaker 1: head coach spend three minutes with Dave Lapham in the
Speaker 1: locker room after the game. I'm disappointed that we lost.
Speaker 1: I'm not disappointed with where guys played. They fought their
Speaker 1: tails off and really in all three phases, probably the
Speaker 1: way they fought on the road, that kind of environment, adversity,
Speaker 1: it's raining, it's filed, and really thought they responded well.
Speaker 1: But you're right in the red zone. We didn't come
Speaker 1: in there. We have enough points and um, when you're
Speaker 1: on the road against a great team like this, who's
Speaker 1: been one of the premier organizations over the last decade,
Speaker 1: you gotta score the points that you got a chance
Speaker 1: with and didn't get it done. The handling of the noise,
Speaker 1: your silent count unbelievable. The poison you got them to
Speaker 1: jump one time, never did it ever affect you, guys
Speaker 1: in terms of lost yards and penalty. It was incredible
Speaker 1: to watch that whole thing unfold. Proud of those guys.
Speaker 1: I really thought both sides up front, offensive defensive lines
Speaker 1: play their tails off. That was a good front we
Speaker 1: played against on offense, dave Ard Connie is a maniac,
Speaker 1: and our guys just fought their tails off in defensive
Speaker 1: We put pressure on the quarterback all night, came up
Speaker 1: before sacks, secondaries, covering their tails off. Linebackers are playing great.
Speaker 1: It's one of the games you expect. It's gonna be
Speaker 1: a dirty game. You just gotta make a play to
Speaker 1: win it. Unfortunately, we didn't get it done. I think
Speaker 1: Tyler Lockett only made one play. It was a big play,
Speaker 1: but I mean did a good job of minimizing him
Speaker 1: other than that one big long ball. Yeah, when you
Speaker 1: faced Russell Wilson and Tyler Lockett, they're gonna make a
Speaker 1: big play at some point. I haven't seen many teams
Speaker 1: shut that out yet, and so you just gonna be
Speaker 1: able to weather that storm. And our guys did we
Speaker 1: know there's gonna be diverseiting this game. They give up
Speaker 1: a play, we were still in a position to win
Speaker 1: the game at the end, and proud of the way
Speaker 1: that our guys responded. In the second quarter, they scored twice.
Speaker 1: You come back and you scored two touchdowns in les
Speaker 1: than two minutes. I mean, you score one time with
Speaker 1: forty seven seconds another time, like a minute and a half.
Speaker 1: I mean, boom boom the answer, and then when you
Speaker 1: had to struggle, the defense would shut him down. No
Speaker 1: points a lot, I'm thinking, man, both sides have each
Speaker 1: other's back here. Yeah, I mean it was it was
Speaker 1: just a well fought game and our guys never got down.
Speaker 1: They would score and we'd go make a big play offense,
Speaker 1: we get stopped, and our defense we go out there
Speaker 1: and respond with a great play. And again that's just
Speaker 1: that's what we expect all year from these guys. So
Speaker 1: something to obviously a lot of things to build on here.
Speaker 1: I mean, what was what was your message to the
Speaker 1: team in the locker room? Obviously you probably had some
Speaker 1: despondent guys laying it on the line like they did.
Speaker 1: We're gonna win a lot of games if we fight
Speaker 1: like that every week and to come on the road
Speaker 1: and overcome adversity like we did. Couldn't be prouder of them,
Speaker 1: and we're gonna win a lot of games playing football
Speaker 1: like this. Honestly, I haven't seen Russell Wilson be as
Speaker 1: kind of I'm not I'm not saying he was gunjab
Speaker 1: but I'm saying disconcerted you know what I mean, he
Speaker 1: was a little bit on his heels and you don't
Speaker 1: usually see Russell Wilson like that. I you know, it's
Speaker 1: I just thought our defensive a great job applying pressure.
Speaker 1: And that's all we can ask of him. Five down lineman, coach,
Speaker 1: that had him a little bit buffalo for a while.
Speaker 1: You guys, game plan wise, you put it together big time.
Speaker 1: I thought the five down lineman, I thought your screen
Speaker 1: package offensive it was a big time. I'm really proud
Speaker 1: of our coaching staff. They got these guys ready to
Speaker 1: play and and we knew it was going to come
Speaker 1: down to the last drive. Like I said, we didn't
Speaker 1: get it done, but couldn't be prouder of the coaches
Speaker 1: in all three phases of the plans they put together.
Speaker 1: Coach came literally within one play of you know, shutting
Speaker 1: some people up and shocking a lot of people. And
Speaker 1: I know that, and that's not the reason you play
Speaker 1: the football games. You play the football games to win
Speaker 1: football game. But man, like you said, the effort can't
Speaker 1: be questioned. That's a great sign. That is, that's that's Unfortunately,
Speaker 1: we wanted to be one of no and said I
Speaker 1: win one, but we got a chance to come back
Speaker 1: next we can redeem ourselves. The Bengals finished with four
Speaker 1: hundred and twenty nine yards of offense only two thirty
Speaker 1: three four Seattle. That means they outgained the Seahawks by
Speaker 1: one hundred ninety six yards and lost. The stat doctor
Speaker 1: Doctor Richard Winer tells me there have only been two
Speaker 1: games in Bengals history where they outgained the opponent by
Speaker 1: more than one hundred ninety six yards and lost. In
Speaker 1: eighty seven, they outgained Houston by two seventy seven and lost,
Speaker 1: and in seventy eight they outgained Oakland by two forty
Speaker 1: seven and dropped one to the Raiders. Now time for
Speaker 1: postgame analysis, and I started by conversation with lap by
Speaker 1: talking about the statistical dominance in an l the NFL
Speaker 1: can be heartbreaking, and this one was exactly that. You know,
Speaker 1: if the games are decided by yards, it's a bloog,
Speaker 1: but it's sided by points unfortunately, and the Bengals just
Speaker 1: didn't make enough plays in the red zone. I mean,
Speaker 1: they got there a few times and get stopped on
Speaker 1: Down's no points fumble ball because out of Andy Dalton's hands,
Speaker 1: no points. You know, mister forty five yard field goal.
Speaker 1: Those those are the kind of things that in a
Speaker 1: one point game you just can't give opportunities away like that.
Speaker 1: And you know, Wilson and Lockett, they're big play wall
Speaker 1: Over them only made one play, but it was a
Speaker 1: huge play. I mean it's a touchdown pass to put
Speaker 1: them in the lead for good. And you know, unfortunately
Speaker 1: a mistakes made and they capitalize. So there are a
Speaker 1: lot of things to build on though. You know, I
Speaker 1: like the way that the resiliency has showed. Offense defense
Speaker 1: had each other's back. You know, the offense defense would
Speaker 1: would allow Seattle score. Offense come right back in the
Speaker 1: second sport and score twice, once in forty five seconds,
Speaker 1: once in a little over a minute. I mean, it
Speaker 1: was crazy, come right down the field with big plays
Speaker 1: and score. And even when they scored the Locket's test
Speaker 1: and they went right down the field again and settled
Speaker 1: for field goal in the red zone, but they did
Speaker 1: score points. So they would always respond. I liked that response.
Speaker 1: When the offense had problems or special teams had problems
Speaker 1: in the defense on a short field, they held it
Speaker 1: to nothing. So you know, each unit's kind of supporting
Speaker 1: each other and you can build something from that. But obviously,
Speaker 1: you know, bitterly just pointing they had a really good
Speaker 1: game plan. The five defensive lineman package cost some issues
Speaker 1: to the Seattle Seahawks, There's no question about it, and
Speaker 1: you know, you just wish that could have held on
Speaker 1: and when a game would have shocked the NFL, that
Speaker 1: would have shocked the NFL world for sure. Andy Dalton
Speaker 1: completed thirty five passes. That's a career high. He threw
Speaker 1: for more than four hundred yards for the first time
Speaker 1: in his NFL career. But the running game wasn't there,
Speaker 1: averaging about two yards per carry. Was that strictly Seattle's
Speaker 1: defensive approach, I think, I think that's a big part
Speaker 1: of it. And as a result of that, they really
Speaker 1: took advantage from the screen game. You know, of the
Speaker 1: four hundred yards, I'd say one hundred plus was probably
Speaker 1: in the screen game, somewhere in that range. I'd say
Speaker 1: at least one hundred. No GEO had thirty five or
Speaker 1: whatever was on one screen, and I know there were
Speaker 1: tight end screens or other screens. I feel pretty confidently
Speaker 1: at least one hundred yards, so to me, you know,
Speaker 1: it's a short pass, you get offensive lineman out in
Speaker 1: front blocking. It's kind of a hybrid, you know, run
Speaker 1: slash pass kind of thing. And I think it was
Speaker 1: what they were doing to stop the run. They were
Speaker 1: vulnerable the screen in the Bengals took big advantage of
Speaker 1: him in that screen pass package. So that's something that
Speaker 1: other teams are going to look at and Seattle's gonna
Speaker 1: have to make adjustments on. But Seattle's gonna do what
Speaker 1: they do. I don't think they're gonna worry about it.
Speaker 1: They're still gonna play defense the way they play it.
Speaker 1: But I was really impressed with Zach's game plan. I
Speaker 1: was really impressed with a loose game plan on the
Speaker 1: defensive side of things. And you know, guys played so hard.
Speaker 1: Carlos played hard. Sam Hubbard was a meniac out there.
Speaker 1: His hair was on fire, he was all over the
Speaker 1: football field. A lot of guys played tremendous effort. And
Speaker 1: I think that's the thing as you look forward, the
Speaker 1: effort that they gave today is gonna lead to a
Speaker 1: lot of a lot of wins for him. I mean,
Speaker 1: if they go out there and play as hard as
Speaker 1: they played on this football field today, they're gonna win games.
Speaker 1: Ten tackles, two sacks for Sam Hubbard. Let's talk about
Speaker 1: John Ross back in the city where he played his
Speaker 1: college football. Seven catches, one hundred and fifty eight yards,
Speaker 1: more than a hundred better than his previous career high
Speaker 1: for yardage. It was the full John Ross experience rience.
Speaker 1: He had a couple of drops, including one that would
Speaker 1: have been a huge game, but he gives that. They
Speaker 1: gives the Bengals that big play weapon that they were
Speaker 1: seeking when they drafted him number nine overall. He ran
Speaker 1: that shallow cross and a couple of Seahawks picked each
Speaker 1: other off, and if he catches it, he may turn
Speaker 1: it up field and score, if not definitely in field
Speaker 1: goal range. But the very next play he comes back
Speaker 1: and Indy Ross goes deep to him and he beats
Speaker 1: the safety in a safety place at Portly, but John
Speaker 1: Ross takes advantage of it they score a touchdown. So
Speaker 1: I remember distinctly saying asking Zach Taylor at the end
Speaker 1: of last week, you know what's the one thing that's
Speaker 1: that's there's unconditionally you have to have in a football
Speaker 1: player to play for Zach Taylor, He said, mental toughness.
Speaker 1: So you know, John Ross shields some mental toughness. He
Speaker 1: could have mult powdered, you know, groused about dropping that pass.
Speaker 1: He didn't even came right back and scored. And then
Speaker 1: from that drop pass on he just continued to show
Speaker 1: confidence and build his game. So hopefully that's a good
Speaker 1: sign of things to comb. It's pro football, they're getting paid.
Speaker 1: There are no moral victories. But to come to Seattle
Speaker 1: the first game of Zach Taylor's coaching tenure, I would
Speaker 1: play the Seahawks for the most part and play them
Speaker 1: to a one point game. I think the Bengals had
Speaker 1: to come back with a lot of confidence from this.
Speaker 1: Do you agree, I really do agree, And I was
Speaker 1: duly impressed with how the offense and offensive line in
Speaker 1: particular handled the silent snapcount. You know, when we were
Speaker 1: doing radio together this week, I said, you know, I
Speaker 1: think that Seattle they're gonna get Seattle once, and I
Speaker 1: don't think they're gonna jump. They're not gonna have any
Speaker 1: penalties out. They had none. They were clean, and they
Speaker 1: did get Clowney to jump, although I think Tyler Boyd
Speaker 1: it was a little bit a bit debatable, but I
Speaker 1: was unbelievably impressed because it was a din in here.
Speaker 1: You could look a look next to your teammate and
Speaker 1: just see mine, you know, a mouth moving, no sound,
Speaker 1: and guys handled it and handled it unbelievably well. So
Speaker 1: I think that's another thing. They're not going to go
Speaker 1: into loud a stadium than this on the road, and
Speaker 1: they've got this under their belt. They worked on it
Speaker 1: so hard, beginning a training camp and started in meeting rooms,
Speaker 1: in the cafeteria, on the football field. That's all they
Speaker 1: were doing because they know they were playing the Seattle
Speaker 1: Seahawks and the crowd noise out here, and it was
Speaker 1: amazing what they got done. Up Next to the Bengals
Speaker 1: the home opener as they host the forty nine ers
Speaker 1: on Sunday at one o'clock, we want to remind you
Speaker 1: that you can hang out with lappin me and meet
Speaker 1: Bengals players at our radio shows this week. On Wednesday
Speaker 1: night from six to eight, we'll be at game on
Speaker 1: a sports tavern on Chevy at Road for the Bengals
Speaker 1: Game Plan Show, and we expect to have Sam Hubbard
Speaker 1: joining us for one hour. Then on Friday afternoon from
Speaker 1: three to six, we'll be at Buffalo Wings and Rings
Speaker 1: in Mason, just down the road from King's Island for
Speaker 1: the Bengals pep Rally show. A player will join us
Speaker 1: in the final hour and we usually know who it
Speaker 1: is by Wednesday. Hope to see you on Wednesday or
Speaker 1: Friday or both. Now time for this week's fun fact segment.
Speaker 1: I've done several over the years with Bengals President Mike
Speaker 1: Brown and always find our conversations really enjoyable. I think
Speaker 1: you will too. Time for another round of fun facts
Speaker 1: with Bengals President Mike Brown. Your father loved golf. As
Speaker 1: far as I know, you never have really played. Why not?
Speaker 1: I think golf skips generations. He used to did in
Speaker 1: our family, my kids, Katie, he loves playing golf. Troy's
Speaker 1: a good golfer. Paul. He played for a while and said,
Speaker 1: no Moss. They used to torture him, Troy and Katie,
Speaker 1: because I guess his swing was just right. He went
Speaker 1: on to other things. But it's a wonderful activity for
Speaker 1: people in old age or middle age. It's especially good.
Speaker 1: I wish for that reason that I had stayed with it.
Speaker 1: I played when I was very young, but I'm probably
Speaker 1: one of those guys who never broke a hundred or whatever,
Speaker 1: and so I went onto other things. Mike, if my
Speaker 1: math is correct, you were ten years old when your
Speaker 1: father became the head coach of the Cleveland Browns, and
Speaker 1: for the next ten years, the Browns advanced to the
Speaker 1: championship game of their league every single year. So between
Speaker 1: the ages of ten and twenty, basically your team was
Speaker 1: playing for a championship. Can you describe those years from
Speaker 1: the perspective of somebody who was ten to twenty years old?
Speaker 1: For me, it got to be the expected thing. Our
Speaker 1: team was good, it was at the cutting edge. The
Speaker 1: team had great players, ran off a wonderful record when
Speaker 1: that I'm proud of to this day. And I think
Speaker 1: back in those days and when the day came that
Speaker 1: we lost in the championship game, I remember my high
Speaker 1: school basketball coach telling me the next day that the
Speaker 1: sun would come up and I should just bear up
Speaker 1: under the disappointment. But those were great teams, great times,
Speaker 1: great memories in your mind, And this is a difficult question.
Speaker 1: What were your father's greatest qualities as a head coach? Oh,
Speaker 1: he was one of those guys who could cut to
Speaker 1: the core of an issue faster than other people. He
Speaker 1: just had a mind that worked that way, and he
Speaker 1: was imaginative. It wasn't something that he wore you out with,
Speaker 1: just why shouldn't we do it this way? And so
Speaker 1: they did. And there are all sorts of examples, from
Speaker 1: the face mask to the radio and the helmet to
Speaker 1: well the draw play. That was always a favorite story
Speaker 1: of mine. The Browns played a game and Donald Graham,
Speaker 1: the quarterback, ran into Marion Motley as he came back
Speaker 1: to throw the ball. I think Motley ran the wrong
Speaker 1: play and the ball popped out of Otto's hands and
Speaker 1: Marion looked up and snatched it, and then he looked
Speaker 1: and saw an opening, and he ran through the opening.
Speaker 1: And the next day my father with his coaching staff
Speaker 1: looked at the play on the movies. That's how they
Speaker 1: did it then and said, you know, I think this
Speaker 1: might work as a regular play, and so they modified
Speaker 1: at some and that's how the draw play came into
Speaker 1: pro football. He could see things, make something out of it,
Speaker 1: and organize it so it worked. It was just a
Speaker 1: gift he had. You have never pulled the plug quickly
Speaker 1: on your coaches. Does that have anything to do with
Speaker 1: the way things ended in Cleveland. Well, it does. I
Speaker 1: experienced what that means to my father, and I'm sensitive
Speaker 1: to it. These are human beings that put their lives
Speaker 1: into this endeavor, and then when you go tell them
Speaker 1: that it isn't working, that's hard on them. It's hard
Speaker 1: on their families. It can be cruel. And if you
Speaker 1: have to do it, fine, but don't do it anymore
Speaker 1: often than necessary. One of the many things I enjoyed
Speaker 1: during the season is Sunday morning breakfast on the day
Speaker 1: of a road game. It's you, your good friend Jack Schiff,
Speaker 1: usually Katie and Troy are there, and Dave Lapham, and
Speaker 1: it has evolved into the Dave Lapham story hour. Do
Speaker 1: you marvel at his storytelling as much as I do?
Speaker 1: Why else do I go to breakfast at Dave? Is
Speaker 1: wonderful and you're pretty good too. Don't down grade yourself,
Speaker 1: but we go there and have a delightful time. It
Speaker 1: is too bad they don't have a radio program. I
Speaker 1: thought the same thing, because the conversation just flows. I'm
Speaker 1: not sure all that would be suitable for the air,
Speaker 1: but it's good times and I've always looked forward to that.
Speaker 1: We're doing fun facts with Mike Brown. Over the years,
Speaker 1: I've asked you about some pivotal games in Bengal's history,
Speaker 1: the Freezer Bowl, the two Super Bowl appearances, etc. I'd
Speaker 1: like you to reminisce about a few other games today.
Speaker 1: December nineteen eighty nine Bengal sixty one, Oilers seven, the
Speaker 1: day that Sam Weish ran up the score on Jerry Glanville,
Speaker 1: including a field goal with twenty one seconds to go.
Speaker 1: That was Sam. Sam and Jerry had sort of an
Speaker 1: aversion for each other and it came to be that
Speaker 1: we had the dominant team and Sam chose to rub
Speaker 1: it in. That was his way of giving it to Jerry. Personally,
Speaker 1: I'm not for that kind of thing. I think it
Speaker 1: was wrong, but it was so long ago that I
Speaker 1: had forgotten it, and I'm sorry that you had. November
Speaker 1: nineteen seventy five, Monday Night Football's first visit to Cincinnati,
Speaker 1: a showdown between Ken Anderson and O. J. Simpson. Ken
Speaker 1: pass for four hundred and forty seven yards. OJ ran
Speaker 1: for one ninety seven on seventeen carries. The Bengals win
Speaker 1: the game thirty three to twenty four. It really was
Speaker 1: a great game. Kenny Anderson's arm lasted longer than OJ's legs.
Speaker 1: But they just ran one play sixteen eighteen. It was
Speaker 1: an outside play. If you gave him the inside, they
Speaker 1: took it. If you gave him the outside, they took it.
Speaker 1: And they knew how to block it no matter what
Speaker 1: you did, and they were good at it. But he
Speaker 1: was a great runner. Yes, there's all this history. It
Speaker 1: is enough to fill volumes about O. J. Simpson. But
Speaker 1: during the day when he was a player, he was
Speaker 1: a great player, and that game went back and forth.
Speaker 1: We couldn't stop them. They couldn't stop us. OJ woredown.
Speaker 1: We could keep going and we managed to win barely.
Speaker 1: What do you think of Howard cose Hell. I have
Speaker 1: a strange thing to say about Howard Coachell. At one
Speaker 1: time there was a conference of newspaper editors in Cincinnati,
Speaker 1: and Howard Coachell was the speaker, And somehow I wonder
Speaker 1: why I got on the program two for a modest
Speaker 1: comment or two before he did the main talk. And
Speaker 1: I remember I was probably sweating through my shirt in anxiety,
Speaker 1: and I went up and I did my bit, and
Speaker 1: he was very kind after I had stumbled through whatever
Speaker 1: it was that I was talking about. He just said
Speaker 1: something kind to me, and that wasn't the Howard Cosell
Speaker 1: the world remembers when they talk about Howard Cosell. But
Speaker 1: that's my memory of Howard Cosell, and it has always
Speaker 1: been part of how I think about him. September nineteen
Speaker 1: sixty eight, first home games in Bengal's history and first
Speaker 1: win in Bengal's history twenty four ten over Denver in
Speaker 1: front of twenty five thousand fans at Nippert Stadium. We
Speaker 1: started out in Knippert Stadium and it was really quite exciting.
Speaker 1: I would have to tell you some of those games
Speaker 1: have mel together over the years, but I have fond
Speaker 1: memories of the games we played out there. The way
Speaker 1: they handled new teams back then was to make it
Speaker 1: as difficult on them as possible. We didn't have the players.
Speaker 1: We would go out and fight and scrap, and occasionally
Speaker 1: we would run into a team that we could manage
Speaker 1: to hold our own. We came on quickly as a team.
Speaker 1: We were in the playoffs in our third year, which
Speaker 1: at that time was a world's record. Again, you had
Speaker 1: to start without the allocation of players. That subsequent expansion
Speaker 1: teams received, and I've always remembered those years fondly. I
Speaker 1: think we were a well coached team. We just had
Speaker 1: players that had to get up to it, and by
Speaker 1: our third year we had enough that we could manage.
Speaker 1: It was fun. Final thing, You're getting ready to start
Speaker 1: a new season with a new head coach. What about
Speaker 1: Zach Taylor impresses you. He's a bright young guy. He's
Speaker 1: dedicated coaching. He is offensive oriented. I like that. I
Speaker 1: think my father was that way. I have never been
Speaker 1: a coach, but I like to think in those terms,
Speaker 1: and I focus on the offense first and foremost too.
Speaker 1: It'll be interesting to see if we can get things
Speaker 1: together and be the kind of team we want to be.
Speaker 1: We'll see how quickly that can come about. But I
Speaker 1: think Zach has write ingredients. Always enjoyed these conversations. Thank
Speaker 1: you so much for your time. Well, it reminds me
Speaker 1: of Sunday breakfast. I'm glad to be here too. We
Speaker 1: need Lap him. Mike is absolutely right. If we could
Speaker 1: turn those Sunday breakfasts where he and Lap share stories
Speaker 1: about Bengals history into a radio show, it would be
Speaker 1: a huge hit. That's going to do it for this
Speaker 1: episode of the podcast. If you haven't done so already,
Speaker 1: don't forget to subscribe on iTunes, stitch, your Google Play,
Speaker 1: Spotify or pod Bean, and if you have a minute,
Speaker 1: please give it a rating or leave a comment. Those
Speaker 1: five star ratings help more Bengals fans find this podcast.
Speaker 1: I'm Dan Horde. Thanks for listening to The Bengals Booth podcast.