Speaker 1: Hi, get everybody.
Speaker 2: I'm Dan Horde and thanks for downloading The Bengals Booth Podcast.
Speaker 2: The Don't be Surprisedhized addition, as Jake Browning looks to
Speaker 2: lead the Bengals to their fourth straight win as they
Speaker 2: face the dreaded, hated, but grudgingly respected Pittsburgh Steelers on
Speaker 2: Saturday at Akrashuer Stadium, coming up, Boomer Asiasin shares his
Speaker 2: thoughts on The Jake Show. Bj Hill discusses his fly
Speaker 2: paper hands, and in this week's No The Foux Conversation,
Speaker 2: we'll look at the Steelers with former Pittsburgh O lineman
Speaker 2: Max Starts. The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you
Speaker 2: by pay Corps, proud to be the Bengals official HR
Speaker 2: software provider, by Alta Fiber future proof Fiber Internet designed
Speaker 2: to elevate your home, business and community to a new level,
Speaker 2: and by Kettering Health the best care for the best fans.
Speaker 2: Kettering Health is the official healthcare provide of the Bengals.
Speaker 2: Now here's a quick reminder that you can have the
Speaker 2: latest edition of this podcast delivered write to your phone, tablet,
Speaker 2: or computer by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's
Speaker 2: the greatest thing since the medicine ball. As you can
Speaker 2: probably hear, I've been battling a nasty cold and a
Speaker 2: scratchy throat for several days, and my friends Marty Grunder
Speaker 2: and Kelsey Conway, who covers the Bengals for The Inquirer,
Speaker 2: both recommended a Starbucks drink called the Medicine Ball. It's
Speaker 2: officially named Honey Citrus Mint Tea, and it's made with
Speaker 2: half hot water and half steamed lemonade, adding both a
Speaker 2: bag of peach Tranquility tea and jade citrus mint tea,
Speaker 2: and then finishing it off with a touch of honey.
Speaker 2: It isn't a miracle cure, but it is very soothing
Speaker 2: and does relieve some of the symptoms. It tastes good too,
Speaker 2: so if and when you catch a cold this winter,
Speaker 2: try a Medicine Ball from Starbucks. It's like curling up
Speaker 2: in front of the fireplace in a cup. Now, let's
Speaker 2: get to football. Jake Browning is the first quarterback in
Speaker 2: history to throw for more than a thousand yards and
Speaker 2: complete at least seventy five percent of his passes in
Speaker 2: his first four starts. Offensive coordinator Brian Callahan admits that
Speaker 2: Jake has exceeded expectations.
Speaker 3: I mean, he's played historically well, so I think that
Speaker 3: that's that would be that would have been a surprise.
Speaker 3: I thought Jake could was capable of playing well, to
Speaker 3: play as well as he has, again, not surprised, but
Speaker 3: certainly was better than anticipated.
Speaker 1: I thought we could win games with Jake.
Speaker 3: We had confidence in him, and then he's kind of
Speaker 3: shot past whatever I thought he was he was capable of,
Speaker 3: He's obviously capable of whole lot more. But it's been
Speaker 3: it's been a cool journey for him and then hopefully
Speaker 3: it continues. We need it to, you know, we're fighting
Speaker 3: for our playoff lives here in the next three weeks.
Speaker 3: Hopefully he continues to play as good as he's played,
Speaker 3: and I'll put us in good position for.
Speaker 2: More on the Bengals quarterback. I caught up with a
Speaker 2: former Bengals quarterback this week, the NFL MVP in nineteen
Speaker 2: eighty eight, who is inducted into the Bengals Ring of
Speaker 2: Honor back in September, Boomer Asia Sin Boomer. In his
Speaker 2: four starts, Jake Browning is completing seventy six percent of
Speaker 2: his passes. He's averaging two hundred and ninety five passing
Speaker 2: yards a game. His passer rating is one ZHO nine plus.
Speaker 2: Are you in fact amazed by what he's done?
Speaker 4: Look how easy this is, Dan, It's unbelievable. Anybody could
Speaker 4: do it. Of course I'm amazed. I'm as amazed as
Speaker 4: anybody else is. And I don't think he's that amazed.
Speaker 4: I think he seems to be a pretty competent guy,
Speaker 4: and he also seems to be a pretty humble guy,
Speaker 4: unless he's yelling into the camera, this is what you
Speaker 4: get for cutting me. But then again, I can totally
Speaker 4: understand that emotion. That's exactly what you want out of
Speaker 4: your quarterback. I would say he's a very likable guy.
Speaker 4: Seems like his teammates really respect him. It seems like
Speaker 4: Joe Burrow and he have a great relationship, and I
Speaker 4: think he's mimicking.
Speaker 1: A lot of the stuff that Joe did.
Speaker 4: I will say, going into this week's game against the
Speaker 4: Pittsburgh Steelers, if you think back four weeks ago, you
Speaker 4: were there, you did the game, he struggled against that
Speaker 4: Steeler three four defense, and what coaches don't understand sometimes,
Speaker 4: And I'll never forget this because David Klingler made his
Speaker 4: first start against Bill Kaher and that thirty four defense
Speaker 4: in Riverfront Stadium in nineteen ninety two, I believe it was,
Speaker 4: and he was sacked eleven times. And he was sacked
Speaker 4: eleven times because he wasn't prepared properly. He had too
Speaker 4: many things going on in his brain and our coaching
Speaker 4: staff did not prepare him. I sat on the sidelines
Speaker 4: praying to God that he didn't get hurt, that he
Speaker 4: was going to have to go through it. And I
Speaker 4: think four weeks ago, if you asked Jake, and I've
Speaker 4: seen Jake talk about this, he would tell you that
Speaker 4: his head was spinning because he was worried about the
Speaker 4: pass protections. And I don't want to get into the
Speaker 4: weeds with too many people, but a three to four
Speaker 4: defense much more difficult to pass block against, especially when
Speaker 4: you have a number of pass protections in the game.
Speaker 1: Plan than a four to three defense.
Speaker 4: So he'll be back where he came from, you know,
Speaker 4: four weeks ago, and I'm sure he's gonna be a
Speaker 4: lot better, and I'm sure the coaches are going to
Speaker 4: have a much better game plan for him on Saturday
Speaker 4: than they did four weeks ago.
Speaker 2: I'm glad you referenced his tossing of his helmet and
Speaker 2: screaming at the camera after beating his former team, because
Speaker 2: you were famously fiery in your playing days. Was that
Speaker 2: moment revealing to you in any way?
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 4: I mean he's had a chip on his shoulder and
Speaker 4: it's been there probably for about three and a half
Speaker 4: four years, and this was a moment for him to
Speaker 4: let it go. I mean, any of us who have
Speaker 4: been through the car wash, if you will, can all
Speaker 4: appreciate that emotion. And I think that's exactly what is
Speaker 4: needed in the NFL. I remember doing Tom Brady games
Speaker 4: on radio and television talking about why is tom Brady
Speaker 4: getting so mad on the sideline? Why is he slamming
Speaker 4: the Microsoft Surfa tablet down? Why is he yelling at
Speaker 4: a teammate? You know, that was the mental aspect of
Speaker 4: tom Brady's game. If he felt like he had a
Speaker 4: lull in a game, the way for him to get
Speaker 4: back into it was to create an angor and a.
Speaker 1: Competitive edge that you need to be that.
Speaker 4: You know, competing quarterback for four quarters, it's not easy,
Speaker 4: especially when you're going through a seventeen game season.
Speaker 1: So I love the emotion. I mean, that's that's what
Speaker 1: really truly is great.
Speaker 4: It's it's emotion, but it's not reckless, it's not over
Speaker 4: the top, it's not across the line. It's just a
Speaker 4: competitive outburst that every quarterback should you know, have within them.
Speaker 1: And I'm glad I saw that out of Jake.
Speaker 2: So Zach Taylor, Brian Callahan, and Dan Pitcher have been
Speaker 2: getting a lot of credit for their leadership since Joe
Speaker 2: Burrow went down, and deservedly so do you think people
Speaker 2: are looking at Zach Taylor a little bit differently for
Speaker 2: keeping the Bengals in the hunt?
Speaker 4: You know, you know, everything locally is always different with
Speaker 4: these thirty two NFL teams. You know, I work here
Speaker 4: in New York, and if you look at the Jets
Speaker 4: and the Giants, it maybe we may have a different
Speaker 4: take on things because we see them, we talk about
Speaker 4: them every single day.
Speaker 1: From a national perspective.
Speaker 4: For me, I mean, Zach Taylor is the perfect coach
Speaker 4: for the Cincinnati Bengals, with Joe Burrow or without Joe Burrow,
Speaker 4: whether they were going to win or they were going
Speaker 4: to lose. All I can tell you is that the
Speaker 4: success that the two of them have had Why would
Speaker 4: you ever want to break that up? And I don't
Speaker 4: think the Brown family would ever even remotely think about that, given.
Speaker 1: The nature of Joe's injury. But now what we see
Speaker 1: is we see, Wow.
Speaker 4: They can do it, and they can do it with
Speaker 4: a backup quarterback, which is not the easiest thing to do.
Speaker 4: I think there's probably seventeen or eighteen other teams kind
Speaker 4: of going through what they're going through.
Speaker 1: Some teams are up to.
Speaker 4: Their fourth quarterback that they have to play with, including
Speaker 4: the Browns with Joe Flacco. So I think it always
Speaker 4: is a telltale sign about a coach and how good
Speaker 4: and how great they can be when they don't have
Speaker 4: everything perfect around them. And when you have one of
Speaker 4: the top three quarterbacks in the league go out for
Speaker 4: the rest of the year, and now you're in this
Speaker 4: three game winning streak and you're right in the middle
Speaker 4: of the playoffs. That speaks volumes of that coaching staff.
Speaker 4: And that also speaks volumes of the defense, because the
Speaker 4: defense has stepped up as well in big spots, especially
Speaker 4: when Jake has made a mistake. So right now they're
Speaker 4: flying high, and you know, I would hope that they
Speaker 4: would think they'd be thinking in the back of their mind,
Speaker 4: exacting a little bit of a revenge.
Speaker 1: Come this Saturday, Boomer.
Speaker 2: You were great at play action in your playing days,
Speaker 2: and during this four week period, Jake Browning has been
Speaker 2: under center more than Joe Burrow was. They've run more
Speaker 2: play action than they had been earlier this season. Would
Speaker 2: you like to see them do more of that when
Speaker 2: Joe is healthy next year?
Speaker 4: I want to see more of that all over the league.
Speaker 4: You know, I consider the forty nine ers the true
Speaker 4: essence of great offensive play calling, play design, and the
Speaker 4: way that they execute their plays. They're players that are
Speaker 4: around rock party. And you know, Brock Purty is a magician.
Speaker 4: He is accurate, he's poised, He's under the center a lot.
Speaker 4: There's a lot of misdirection, there's bootlegs, there's a lot
Speaker 4: of eye candy when it comes to formations, all of
Speaker 4: that kind of stuff. And that's the stuff that Sam
Speaker 4: Weish was known for. That was the stuff that Bill
Speaker 4: Walsh was known for. That's what the West Coast offense
Speaker 4: is all about. That's what Mike Shanahan was all about
Speaker 4: when he was in Denver and in Washington and Kyle's
Speaker 4: kind of mimicking, you know that in San Francisco, And
Speaker 4: I think the Bengals just to take some of the
Speaker 4: pressure off an untested young player who has not had
Speaker 4: a lot of live action. The best thing you can
Speaker 4: do is go back and say, we're going to run
Speaker 4: the ball, we're gonna play action, we're gonna have six
Speaker 4: and seven man protections. We're not gonna do a lot
Speaker 4: of five man protections because that all of a sudden,
Speaker 4: that's where the kid starts thinking too much, and we're
Speaker 4: going to try to keep it simple for him.
Speaker 1: So that's great game planning, but.
Speaker 4: It's also the way that you win football games late
Speaker 4: in the NFL season when the weather turns cold.
Speaker 2: In your MVP season, Boomer, you had a tremendous thunder
Speaker 2: and lightning backfield. Dicky Woods ran for more than a
Speaker 2: thousand yards. James Brooks ran for nine thirty one. Now
Speaker 2: the Bengals have added the lightning element with rookie Chase Brown.
Speaker 2: Do you think he's given this offense something it didn't have.
Speaker 4: Well the last three weeks he saw four weeks he
Speaker 4: certainly has. You know, he wasn't really used that much
Speaker 4: earlier in the season. I can't say enough about Joe Mixon.
Speaker 4: You know, he took less money to come back. And
Speaker 4: we always are screaming and yelling about how much money
Speaker 4: guys are making. I mean, I think about the sacrifices
Speaker 4: that some of these guys have made, especially on the
Speaker 4: offensive side, and now all of a sudden, they've become
Speaker 4: front and center and they're the guys that are making
Speaker 4: these incredible plays. And there's no question that Brown is
Speaker 4: a nice add on to Mixon. But don't think for
Speaker 4: one moment that this isn't Joe Mixon's team. And he
Speaker 4: reflects the toughness of that running game. And that's the
Speaker 4: thing that I can appreciate, and I'm sure that coach
Speaker 4: Callahan appreciates it as well.
Speaker 1: Because that's like a page right out of his dad's book.
Speaker 2: So it looks like Jamar Chase is out this week.
Speaker 2: When you're the starting quarterback and your number one target
Speaker 2: is out, is it next man up? Business as usual?
Speaker 2: Or do you do something differently leading up to the game.
Speaker 4: Well, you know what happened to me. It happened with
Speaker 4: Carl Pickens and me in nineteen ninety seven. He missed
Speaker 4: the last four games. He tore a growing muscle against Jacksonville,
Speaker 4: and you know, I walked into that meeting room with
Speaker 4: those wide receivers said, okay, guys, you know our main
Speaker 4: guy is not here. You know, the shaking Blake and
Speaker 4: all that other stuff is no longer going right now.
Speaker 1: It's me and you guys.
Speaker 4: And Darnay Scott was one of those guys. And that's
Speaker 4: who T Higgins is in this offense. You know, he's
Speaker 4: the Darnay Scott in this offense from my perspective. And
Speaker 4: if Jake is as good as I think he is,
Speaker 4: and the way that he talks and the things that
Speaker 4: he says, and I would think that while it is
Speaker 4: going to be a huge missing piece, I don't think
Speaker 4: it's going to inhibit anything that he does on the field.
Speaker 4: Let's put it that way. So, and that's the way
Speaker 4: a team should work. One guy goes down, another guy
Speaker 4: got to step up. Quarterbacks got to raise his game,
Speaker 4: and everybody else has got to raise their game around him.
Speaker 4: And I think thus far, at least in this winning streak,
Speaker 4: that's what the Bengals are doing exactly.
Speaker 2: To face the Steelers on Saturday, a team with a
Speaker 2: three game losing streak, a team that's turning to its
Speaker 2: number three quarterback this week. Should we remind ourselves these
Speaker 2: are still the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Speaker 4: Oh hell yes, I mean it is Steeler a week
Speaker 4: and I'm sure that Zach Taylor walked into that locker
Speaker 4: room said, great win, boys, turn your attentions to the
Speaker 4: Black and Gold, because we're going, you know, up to
Speaker 4: Acasure Stadium and we need to beat them there. We
Speaker 4: need to you know, exact our I guess pound a
Speaker 4: flash if you will. The revenge factor is all there.
Speaker 4: They'll have a much better quarterback playing in this game.
Speaker 4: They'll have a much better game plan going for their
Speaker 4: offense in this game. But you know, all these teams
Speaker 4: have lost significant players to injury, including the Bengals, and
Speaker 4: you look all over the field, there's going to be
Speaker 4: a lot of untested players on the defense for the Steelers,
Speaker 4: and especially in the secondary, especially at the safety position.
Speaker 4: So that means to me, you know, that's a place
Speaker 4: you got to go after. And also what that tells
Speaker 4: me is that they're going to be very careful of
Speaker 4: what they're doing on defense. You know, they don't have
Speaker 4: Minka Fitzpatrick run around back there telling everybody where to go. So,
Speaker 4: if you know, I would imagine they're going to be
Speaker 4: pretty basic and they're not going to want to put
Speaker 4: anybody on an island that you know that can't stand
Speaker 4: on that island with t Higgins, So I would think
Speaker 4: we're going to see a lot of his own defense
Speaker 4: and we're going to see your basic thirty four fronts.
Speaker 4: I don't necessarily know, you'll see a lot of this
Speaker 4: buyer's own stuff that they would do if they were
Speaker 4: totally healthy.
Speaker 1: But they have.
Speaker 4: Problems that their safety positions, which is a very very
Speaker 4: important position in that defense specifically.
Speaker 2: Last thing, the Bengals have climbed to the number six
Speaker 2: playoff seed with three games to go at Pittsburgh at
Speaker 2: Kansas City Home against the Cleveland Browns. What do you
Speaker 2: think of their chances of getting in?
Speaker 1: I mean, now, I don't know what to think, honestly.
Speaker 1: I mean, you know, when Jake Browning took over, who
Speaker 1: would have thought that they would be where.
Speaker 4: They are right now. I thought that the Broncos were
Speaker 4: going to go in there and smoke the Lions, and
Speaker 4: the Lions came out just absolutely drilling the Broncos. I mean,
Speaker 4: this is one of the most unpredictable seasons that I
Speaker 4: could ever remember, except maybe for the top four teams
Speaker 4: in the league. I think we all felt like San
Speaker 4: Francisco was going to be there. We all felt like,
Speaker 4: you know, Philadelphia and Baltimore were going to be there.
Speaker 4: We all thought Cincinnati and Buffalo would be here too,
Speaker 4: but they've all dealt with certain issues along the way.
Speaker 1: I think Buffalo is going to make it. This is
Speaker 1: going to be a tough run for the Bengals.
Speaker 4: If they get this one this week, they need one
Speaker 4: of the next two, I think to get in. Let's
Speaker 4: put it that way, so that last home game could
Speaker 4: be really, really interesting against the Browns.
Speaker 1: That would be something.
Speaker 2: Boomer, you are the best. Can't thank you enough for
Speaker 2: your time. Happy Holidays to you and your kids and
Speaker 2: your grandkids, and look forward to talking to you again
Speaker 2: sometime soon.
Speaker 1: Thanks Dan, I have a great weekend. I'll talk to
Speaker 1: you soon.
Speaker 2: Bengals are currently a two point favorite for Saturday's game
Speaker 2: in Pittsburgh. The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you
Speaker 2: by pay Corps, proud to be the Bengals official HR
Speaker 2: software provider by Alta Fiber future Proof fiber Internet designed
Speaker 2: elevate your home, business, and community to a new level,
Speaker 2: and by Kettering Health the best care for the best fans.
Speaker 2: Kettering Health is the official healthcare provider of the Bengals.
Speaker 2: Unless you are an NFL historian, the following three names
Speaker 2: probably don't mean anything to you. Jason Wilts, Scott Mercerow,
Speaker 2: and Billy Newsome. Until last week, they were the only
Speaker 2: three defensive tackles in NFL history to have interceptions in
Speaker 2: back to back games. Well, now BJ Hill is on
Speaker 2: that list, and who knows, maybe he'll pick off Mason
Speaker 2: Rudolph on Saturday and become the first defensive tackle to
Speaker 2: do it three weeks in a row. I caught up
Speaker 2: with Hill this week. Bj. The franchise record for interceptions
Speaker 2: is sixty five by Hall of Famer Ken Riley. So
Speaker 2: you were gaining on him one game at a time.
Speaker 2: But all kidding aside, you've displayed incredible hands on those
Speaker 2: interceptions the last couple of weeks. Let's start two weeks ago.
Speaker 2: Describe the diving interception against Gardner Minshew.
Speaker 5: Oh cha may big player on the quarterback helped knock
Speaker 5: the ball up off the guy and I just came
Speaker 5: around the corner. I've seen it in there. I just
Speaker 5: I knew I had to dive and catch it. And
Speaker 5: you know, I got some ath ability to me, I
Speaker 5: got some good hands just from you know, play a
Speaker 5: different sports and playing you know, different positions in football
Speaker 5: growing up. So I'm a good ath week.
Speaker 2: And then last week you're in the process of sacking
Speaker 2: Nick Mullins. He decides he's just going to get rid
Speaker 2: of the ball. It looked like it hits you in
Speaker 2: the face mask. Was that the case, Yeah, it did.
Speaker 5: I was surprised that he was throwing it, and when
Speaker 5: I see him throwing it, hit me, Oh shoot, I
Speaker 5: can catch this And it was just right there in
Speaker 5: front of me. I was there to make a big play.
Speaker 2: So did you in fact go into the defensive back
Speaker 2: room recently to tell them that you have better hands
Speaker 2: than any of them?
Speaker 1: No comment on that.
Speaker 5: I'm gonna leave that one like that. They know who
Speaker 5: got the best hands. I don't need to say no more.
Speaker 2: So we're chatting with bj Hill. Interceptions are great, but
Speaker 2: the biggest play last week was stopping the Vikings on
Speaker 2: fourth and inches in overtime. And you were right at
Speaker 2: the point of attack on that play. How do you
Speaker 2: stop a team from gaining a couple of inches?
Speaker 5: Takes a lot, man. I mean Zach was what it
Speaker 5: was in the middle and just got out the ball
Speaker 5: really good get off and got some knock back on
Speaker 5: the center and he kind of fumbled the ball a
Speaker 5: little bit out of times that had a hard time
Speaker 5: trying to get control of the ball, so had knock
Speaker 5: back of hit in the center had the effect on them.
Speaker 6: Man.
Speaker 5: I think we just did a great job as a unit, really,
Speaker 5: because it took more than just two people would take
Speaker 5: it the whole eleven to gets off the field right there.
Speaker 2: When you're at the bottom of the pile on a
Speaker 2: play like that, when do you know they didn't get it?
Speaker 5: You don't know. You just keep on moving your no
Speaker 5: matter what. If you watch a film or something you
Speaker 5: see me just keep on moving my feet on the
Speaker 5: night the guy back, So you just never know.
Speaker 2: So unfortunately last week you lost DJ Reader for the
Speaker 2: rest of the season. Can you describe what he means
Speaker 2: to your group, both on the field and in the
Speaker 2: locker room.
Speaker 5: He means a lot. It sucks not having him here,
Speaker 5: but we got some guys who's gonna end up stepping up.
Speaker 5: And he's the type of guy who when he gets done,
Speaker 5: you know, feeling better from surgery or whatever, he'll come
Speaker 5: back and help us out. He's he's that type of
Speaker 5: leader who who's not selfish at all, who's who's here
Speaker 5: for the team, who loves the team, his teammates and
Speaker 5: wants to win and make big plays.
Speaker 2: Does your role change at all when he's out?
Speaker 5: I wouldn't say it changed, because I mean, like I said,
Speaker 5: we got other guys that's still good enough to feel
Speaker 5: that position. It's hard to field that position from DJ
Speaker 5: because he's a really great player. But I think those
Speaker 5: guys don't come in and fit very well. I just
Speaker 5: got to be to may be more of a leader
Speaker 5: that I have been, you know what I'm saying, to
Speaker 5: step in in that way and just push my guys
Speaker 5: inside to make sure that were on point with everything
Speaker 5: this week and the rest of the season.
Speaker 2: BJ, you faced the Steelers this week. They've dropped three straight,
Speaker 2: they're turning to their third string quarterback. Do you guys
Speaker 2: have to remind yourselves you are still facing the Pittsburgh
Speaker 2: Steelers for sure.
Speaker 5: They're still a good team, man, no matter what, No
Speaker 5: matter the last three games they went through. They're still
Speaker 5: a good team. They got some playmakers on this side
Speaker 5: offense and defensive side of the balls. So we got
Speaker 5: to come and do our job.
Speaker 2: You just faced them four weeks ago. In that game
Speaker 2: they ran for one hundred and fifty three yards, and
Speaker 2: now you don't have DJ Reider. Are you expecting them
Speaker 2: to try to run it down your throat this week?
Speaker 5: I believe so. I mean, especially give another milli yards
Speaker 5: the first time. Why wouldn't they right? But I think
Speaker 5: we got a different kind of mindset this game, and
Speaker 5: just not to hurt usselves at the end of the day,
Speaker 5: you just had to fix the little things that come
Speaker 5: in this game and help us win.
Speaker 2: Final thing for bj Hill. You were micd for sound
Speaker 2: for the Colts game, and at the end of the
Speaker 2: game we heard you singing the Bengals growl song. Do
Speaker 2: you want to give us a little rendition?
Speaker 5: No, I'm good on Delwa.
Speaker 1: I'll pass on.
Speaker 2: Hear them Bengals growl it?
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'll pass on Delwy.
Speaker 2: All right, We'll let you out of singing. Just keep
Speaker 2: making interceptions, all right?
Speaker 1: For sure?
Speaker 5: I get my son the same for you next time.
Speaker 2: All right? We'll take you up on that. That's bj Hill.
Speaker 2: In the last three weeks, the Steelers have lost to
Speaker 2: a team that was two in ten at the time
Speaker 2: in Arizona, lost to another team that was too intent
Speaker 2: at the time, New England, and then after taking a
Speaker 2: thirteen to nothing lead at Indianapolis last week, gave up
Speaker 2: thirty straight in a loss to the Colts. There's nothing
Speaker 2: to worry about for the Bengals this week, right, Luann
Speaker 2: Arumo says, get those thoughts out of your head.
Speaker 7: We're playing one of the storied franchises in the NFL.
Speaker 7: It's a playoff game. They need it, We needed.
Speaker 1: The sense.
Speaker 7: We just had one of our best walk throughs you
Speaker 7: had all year in terms of guys locked in, communication, everything,
Speaker 7: And that was my message this morning.
Speaker 1: Very firmly.
Speaker 7: I think there's a person in this building that would
Speaker 7: ever take the Pittsburgh stealing slightly.
Speaker 2: In addition to their three game losing streak, the Steelers
Speaker 2: have had some drama lately, involving wide receivers Deontay Johnson
Speaker 2: and George Pickens. Former Steelers offensive lineman Max Starks, who
Speaker 2: is part of the radio broadcast team, now join Dave
Speaker 2: Lapham and Me on the Bengals Game Plan Show this
Speaker 2: week to share his thoughts on the current state of
Speaker 2: the Steelers.
Speaker 6: This is kind of some of the issues that I
Speaker 6: think you have to deal with when you're trying to
Speaker 6: turn over a roster and you have a lot of
Speaker 6: youth on one side of the ball and not a
Speaker 6: lot of leadership and experience on it, and that's the
Speaker 6: offensive side of the ball. I think you kind of
Speaker 6: get into these moments where you kind of get stuck
Speaker 6: in second gear and you forget how to shift and
Speaker 6: how to use you know, that left foot, and you know,
Speaker 6: when you're trying to drive a manual car.
Speaker 1: And I think right now with.
Speaker 6: The Steelers, they've kind of got stuck in second gear,
Speaker 6: and you know, the defense has kind of held and
Speaker 6: staved off and covered up you know, boo boos earlier
Speaker 6: in the year, but you know, it just has been
Speaker 6: too much for them and they're trying to learn how
Speaker 6: to win again, and so it's it's frustrating from a perspective,
Speaker 6: but I also, you know, look at we've also gone
Speaker 6: almost two decades without really you know, having to go
Speaker 6: through these types of struggles. So I think, you know,
Speaker 6: some of it is necessary for growth, right, you have
Speaker 6: to be able to shed some of the bad stuff
Speaker 6: and go through it to understand what it takes to
Speaker 6: push through adversity in the future. So it's a frustrating thing,
Speaker 6: but it's a necessity. I feel like in every football
Speaker 6: organization life cycle.
Speaker 8: The thing that has been surprising to me is is
Speaker 8: losing to Arizona and New England in Pittsburgh. I mean
Speaker 8: that that just that, just that blows my mind a
Speaker 8: little bit. And then lose through the Colts in Indianapolis.
Speaker 8: But now the Bengals come to Pittsburgh. When's the last
Speaker 8: time that Mike Tomlin has lost foreigner row? And three
Speaker 8: of them at home? I mean three straight home games
Speaker 8: to lose, and then lose four football games in a row,
Speaker 8: and then you got to go to Seattle and go
Speaker 8: to Baltimore. Is this been talked about as you know,
Speaker 8: backs against the wall kind of thing? In my mind,
Speaker 8: this is going to be one of those sloby knockers.
Speaker 5: Man.
Speaker 8: I think this is going to be probably the most
Speaker 8: physical game the Bengals have been in all season long.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 6: So even and you know this as a former offensive lineman, right,
Speaker 6: you know it's you're you're frustrated. And for Mike Tomlin,
Speaker 6: you know, this hasn't happened for him under these type
Speaker 6: of circumstances. I mean, we looked last year, but not
Speaker 6: in back to back fashion like this. I mean, you
Speaker 6: know when they started a season pretty terribly one and
Speaker 6: six starts right. But you know, I look at this
Speaker 6: and I say, it's not to be a physical bank.
Speaker 6: It has to mean something to you, and especially when it's.
Speaker 1: A divisional game.
Speaker 6: Yeah, you know, you know, when it's the divisional ga,
Speaker 6: it just brings a little something extra out of you.
Speaker 6: Even if you're newer, you owe to you go to it.
Speaker 6: When you see that familiar team, a team that you
Speaker 6: have to see for a second time a year, it
Speaker 6: brings out a little.
Speaker 1: Something in you.
Speaker 6: And I think for them it has to be physical.
Speaker 6: I mean, you think about both the Bengals and the Steelers.
Speaker 6: You know, onto backup quarterbacks leading the way, that's that's
Speaker 6: the easiest way to help that quarterback out is to
Speaker 6: be able to run the ball effectively, yep, and to
Speaker 6: try and impose your will on the other on the
Speaker 6: other side first.
Speaker 1: And it comes like that.
Speaker 6: Actually, whoever gets to one hundred yards first.
Speaker 1: Should win this game.
Speaker 6: Throw technique out the window. Get the guy in front
Speaker 6: of you blocked.
Speaker 8: However you're gonna do it, get the guy blocked, because.
Speaker 6: I think that's really what the essence of December Football
Speaker 6: Division rival football is. It's about a mentality and the
Speaker 6: want to versus the x'es and the o's.
Speaker 1: It comes down to the jimmies and the joe's.
Speaker 2: We're visiting with former Steelers, oh lineman Max Starks. You
Speaker 2: only have a few minutes left with you. Max. What
Speaker 2: are the Steelers home four out of Mason Rudolph this week?
Speaker 2: And is there any chance that Kenny Pikett plays.
Speaker 6: I don't know if it's necessarily feasible to put Kenny
Speaker 6: in this soon coming off of ankle surgery, but I am,
Speaker 6: you know, and you know, happy about the fact that
Speaker 6: he is at least getting practice in some form. I
Speaker 6: don't think we can expect him. I think it'd be
Speaker 6: probably a week too soon. I believe next week would
Speaker 6: probably be a better time to really test that ankle out.
Speaker 6: But you know, I think for Mason, it's a guy
Speaker 6: who's been in the system the longest, Like he's the
Speaker 6: most ten year quarterback on this roster, and he's he's
Speaker 6: been in the system the entire time he's he's had
Speaker 6: to perform in it, and sparing roles over the in
Speaker 6: the last year and a half only once.
Speaker 1: But he knows football.
Speaker 6: He's started in this league, He's played games. He's also
Speaker 6: played the Visional Game. So I think he understands the
Speaker 6: power of the moment. But I don't expect him to
Speaker 6: be the guy that they're gonna ask. Last time out,
Speaker 6: he threw the ball fifty times. That's not feasible.
Speaker 8: Both teams have a dominant pass rusher, I mean TJ
Speaker 8: Watt sixteen sacks, Trey Hendrickson fifteen sacks. But I agree
Speaker 8: with you, the team that runs the football and maybe anchors,
Speaker 8: you know, those two guys, it's gonna be you know, protection, pressure,
Speaker 8: who can protect you know, who can pressure the quarterback.
Speaker 8: It's going to be based on how strong is the
Speaker 8: running game.
Speaker 6: Yeah. Absolutely, the best way to take out a great
Speaker 6: pass rusher.
Speaker 1: Don't pass right, o man.
Speaker 6: And so you know, like you said, if you can
Speaker 6: establish that run and force that guy to have to
Speaker 6: hold the point, run at run at both of those
Speaker 6: premier pass rushers and see who does better in the
Speaker 6: run defense, you know, is what you're gonna try and
Speaker 6: do you know you're not gonna run away from either
Speaker 6: one of them because that's what they love. They love
Speaker 6: when things run away from them. You know, they are
Speaker 6: the apex predators when it comes to that of hunting
Speaker 6: down guys trying to get away from them. So the
Speaker 6: best thing to do is to run straight at them
Speaker 6: and force them with double teams, chip blocks and really
Speaker 6: try and take something off of those pass rushes. And
Speaker 6: that's one of the keys. You know, how do I
Speaker 6: eliminate a guy from continuing to try and push for
Speaker 6: the sack crown this season, Well, don't give him opportunities
Speaker 6: to where he can get sacked, or at least don't
Speaker 6: give him an easy route to it. Make him earn
Speaker 6: it every single step of the way. So the run
Speaker 6: game is key in that fundamental.
Speaker 2: Don't forget the Bengals pep Rally show on Friday. I
Speaker 2: can't be there because of a UC basketball game and
Speaker 2: lap We'll be traveling with the Bengals to Pittsburgh. Wayne
Speaker 2: box Miller will host and will be joined by former
Speaker 2: Bengals Eric Thomas and Doug Pelfrey. They'll be at the
Speaker 2: Wings and Rings in Union, Kentucky on Friday from three
Speaker 2: to six. That's going to do it for this episode
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Speaker 2: I'm Dan Horde and thanks for listening to The Bengals
Speaker 2: Booth Podcast.