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Speaker 1: Welcome to playmakers. Everyone. It is Week thirteen. Big AFC

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Speaker 1: game on the line this week for the Los Angeles Chargers,

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Speaker 1: they'll travel list Cincinnati to take on the Bengals. And

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Speaker 1: joining me to break down the folse opponent in this

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Speaker 1: one is Kelsey Conway of The Inquirer. Kelsey, thanks for

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Speaker 1: coming on. I can't believe it's week thirteen already. When

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Speaker 1: you said that, I was like, Wow, that's con fast.

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Speaker 1: But I'm so happy to be here and talk about

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Speaker 1: the Spink game with you. It is so crazy, and

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Speaker 1: this is a really, really good matchup. It's probably one

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Speaker 1: that should have been flexed. I think we're all a

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Speaker 1: little salty about that, but you know, we'll get over it.

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Speaker 1: Sunday I'll roll. Honestly, from immedia standpoint, I'm kind of

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Speaker 1: happy in snack because that means I won't be working

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Speaker 1: until three am. But for the fans it would have

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Speaker 1: been exciting exactly. That's the silver lining for Look, we

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Speaker 1: have the Chargers at six and five, the Bengals at

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Speaker 1: seven and four. What are your sort of overall thoughts

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Speaker 1: on this matchup? Well, I remember at the beginning of

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Speaker 1: the season I had to predict what I thought the

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Speaker 1: Bengals would do in terms of record wise, and I

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Speaker 1: remember circling this matchup because even before we knew what

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Speaker 1: the Chargers were going to be, if you simply look

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Speaker 1: at just the amount of talent the Chargers have. I

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Speaker 1: remember this game being one that I was like, this

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Speaker 1: could be one where the Bengals struggle to win, because

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Speaker 1: nobody was really talking about how good the Chargers could be.

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Speaker 1: And then you obviously now a factor in the major

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Speaker 1: storylines of Justin Herbert and Joe Burrow with them being

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Speaker 1: taken in the same draft class, all of those stories,

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Speaker 1: and just like the AFC Wild Card picture here, I

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Speaker 1: think that the winner of this game is gonna make

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Speaker 1: the playoffs because I just think the Chargers could get hot.

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Speaker 1: The Bengals are certainly hot, and that head to head

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Speaker 1: matchup it's going to be critical, So I anticipate this

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Speaker 1: actually being a very close game. I think the Chargers

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Speaker 1: are gonna like I think Brandon Staley is gonna have

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Speaker 1: some things defensively that the Bengals haven't seen yet. And

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Speaker 1: then on the other side of it, the Bengals secondary

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Speaker 1: is going to be really tested with those good wide receivers.

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Speaker 1: The Chargers have, So I think it's going to be

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Speaker 1: a really good game and I'm looking forward to it.

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Speaker 1: Obviously from a work standpoint, but as a football fan

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Speaker 1: at heart, I'm looking forward to a really good matchup absolutely.

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Speaker 1: Now you mentioned you know, maybe not knowing how good

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Speaker 1: the Chargers were going to be this year, but I

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Speaker 1: would say the same about the Bengals. I mean, they

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Speaker 1: were I think last in the AFC North the last

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Speaker 1: three years. I don't believe they've had a winning record

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Speaker 1: for the last few years at least. But what would

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Speaker 1: you attribute to just the turnaround this season. Is it

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Speaker 1: as easy as just a healthy Joe Burrow now or

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Speaker 1: is it more than that. I think it's two things. Obviously,

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Speaker 1: a healthy Joe Burrow and then on the other side

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Speaker 1: of it, a storyline that you know a lot. If

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Speaker 1: you follow the Bengals closely, you know this, but if

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Speaker 1: you don't. The Bengals typically don't spend a lot of

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Speaker 1: money in free agency. They're not a franchise that heavily

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Speaker 1: invests in free agency. This past year because the roster,

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Speaker 1: they looked at it as we need to build around

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Speaker 1: Joe Burrow on this rookie contract while we still Can.

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Speaker 1: They went out and spent a ton of money in

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Speaker 1: free agency on the defensive side of the ball, and

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Speaker 1: the acquisitions of Trey Hendrickson, who has double digit zacks

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Speaker 1: as a pass rusher, then Cheeto the cornerback who they

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Speaker 1: signed from Dallas and free agency who spent their cornerback

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Speaker 1: number one, and then a couple of interior guys like

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Speaker 1: Larry Ogan Joby to pair with Trey Hendrickson has really

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Speaker 1: made a difference. And I think the improved play on

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Speaker 1: the defense because of the players that they've signed, and

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Speaker 1: then a healthy Joe Burrow I think has once made

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Speaker 1: overorld of a difference for the Spangles team. So let's

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Speaker 1: get into this quarterback matchup a little bit. Look, it's

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Speaker 1: never really one versus the other because they're not on

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Speaker 1: the field at the same time, But there are storylines

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Speaker 1: to this game in the twenty twenty draft class. Is

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Speaker 1: certainly one of them between Justin Herbert and Joe Burrow.

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Speaker 1: We didn't get this matchup last year when the Chargers

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Speaker 1: came to Cincinnati in Week one. That was Tyrod Taylor

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Speaker 1: who started that game. Obviously, Herbert has taken the reins

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Speaker 1: from there. When it comes to Burrow. He's healthy, like

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Speaker 1: we said, but what have you really made of his

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Speaker 1: performance now in his second season. So it's interesting for

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Speaker 1: me because for those people listening, I am in my

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Speaker 1: first season covering Bengals for the Cincinnati Inquirer. I was

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Speaker 1: previously with the Atlanta Falcons for the last six years,

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Speaker 1: so I didn't really see Joe Burrow play a lot

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Speaker 1: last year before his injury. I obviously watched him at

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Speaker 1: LSU because some huge college football fan, but I didn't

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Speaker 1: really see him play a lot last year, And I'm

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Speaker 1: almost kind of glad I didn't because I walked into

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Speaker 1: this year being able to watch him and assess his

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Speaker 1: performance with like a complete clean slate. I didn't carry

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Speaker 1: anything over from last year. But I think the biggest

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Speaker 1: difference with him is they knew when they drafted him

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Speaker 1: his football IQ. He's the son of a longtime coach

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Speaker 1: in the state of Ohio. The book about Joe Burrow

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Speaker 1: was he's very smart the line of scrimmage. You don't

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Speaker 1: have to worry about him making mistakes. He might not

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Speaker 1: have the arm strength of a Justin Herbert and the

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Speaker 1: like physical upside that Justin Herbert brings to you, but

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Speaker 1: he's gonna be really smart at the line of scrimmage

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Speaker 1: and he's really accurate. He's taken that to a new level.

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Speaker 1: And his relationship with his play caller, who's the head coach,

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Speaker 1: Zack Taylor, has improved. They know exactly kind of what

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Speaker 1: they want to do. Where's Zach Taylor now just gives

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Speaker 1: them two plays and says you pick and there's complete

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Speaker 1: trust there. And you've seen it a number of times

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Speaker 1: where he's literally won games by calling an audible at

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Speaker 1: the line of scrimmage that he chose And that's the

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Speaker 1: maturity of a second year quarterback. So I think that

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Speaker 1: and his offensive line is playing a lot better, So

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Speaker 1: he now has more confidence that he can move around

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Speaker 1: in the pocket and he's not going to get slammed.

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Speaker 1: The Bengals offensive line was horrible last year. Anybody that

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Speaker 1: watched them would tell you that. So I think those

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Speaker 1: things are a big reason of why Joe Burrow is

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Speaker 1: kind of ascended into the player that he has this

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Speaker 1: year in the second year. Well, when you talk about

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Speaker 1: that offensive line, you look at the twenty twenty one

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Speaker 1: draft and there was a lot of talk about do

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Speaker 1: they take alignment to protect Joe Burrow cut to Jamar Chase,

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Speaker 1: and let's talk about those Bengals receiving corps. Whether it's

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Speaker 1: the wide receivers or whether it's the tight ends. They're

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Speaker 1: dynamic and what is really making them so dynamic in

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Speaker 1: this offense. I think what's most unique about the Bengals

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Speaker 1: wide receiver group is when I first came in to

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Speaker 1: cover this team, I knew obviously about Tyler Boyd. I

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Speaker 1: didn't know a lot about Tea Higgins, but I knew

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Speaker 1: that the Bengals were pretty loaded at wide receiver. It

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Speaker 1: was just a matter of is there offensive line can

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Speaker 1: be better for Joe Burrow to have enough time to

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Speaker 1: access these wide receivers that they have. They took te

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Speaker 1: Higgins in the second round out of Clemson. Tyler Boyd's

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Speaker 1: been one of the best slot receivers for the last

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Speaker 1: couple of seasons, and they basically added Jamar Chase saying

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Speaker 1: t Higgins is our big, our big receiver who can

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Speaker 1: go up and make catches in the aaron in the

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Speaker 1: red zone. And I mean he's like six four, I

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Speaker 1: don't even know how much he weighs, but he's there,

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Speaker 1: big time, big big guy. Then you got Tyler Boyd,

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Speaker 1: who's in the slot your third down guide. They needed

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Speaker 1: a player who could really stretch a defense, who could

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Speaker 1: be the deep ball threat, and they looked at it

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Speaker 1: with based off of Jamar Chase's history with Joe Burrow,

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Speaker 1: his chemistry there from their time toether at LSD. They

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Speaker 1: really view that as the missing piece of the offense.

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Speaker 1: But the reason it works is because they are three

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Speaker 1: of the most selfless players in terms of there hasn't

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Speaker 1: been a game where all three of them have had

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Speaker 1: over one hundred receiving yards and they really don't care

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Speaker 1: like you'd think. Tyler Boyd, he's been in the league

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Speaker 1: for a couple of years now, he'd be upset if

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Speaker 1: he won a couple of games without you know, a

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Speaker 1: lot of catches or a touchdown. There was like a

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Speaker 1: three game skin where us as reporters were saying, why

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Speaker 1: is Tyler Boyd not a part of this offense? And

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Speaker 1: you just never heard of from him saying I want

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Speaker 1: more targets, this is why we're not winning. When they

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Speaker 1: lost those two games. I think that their selflessness plus

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Speaker 1: their talent just makes it all work. And they truly

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Speaker 1: like you try and take away to Higgins next game,

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Speaker 1: Like the way they try to take Jamar Chase away.

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Speaker 1: It's just really hard and you've got free and as

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Speaker 1: you know, but the chargerspod receivers, it's like pick your poison.

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Speaker 1: And the fact that they're also selfless I think really

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Speaker 1: works out for them. Yeah, I was gonna say these

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Speaker 1: teams are so similar in that sense, like the way

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Speaker 1: you describe that, it's sometimes the same with the Chargers

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Speaker 1: in terms of it might be Keenan's day, it might

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Speaker 1: be Mike's day, it might belong to the tight ends

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Speaker 1: on a certain day. You just kind of don't know

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Speaker 1: because there are so many weapons. But moving to the

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Speaker 1: Bengals ground game, because they got a guy who can

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Speaker 1: definitely get that done in Joe Mixon career high last week.

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Speaker 1: I believe he has multiple touchdowns in like the last

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Speaker 1: four games or something like that. How has he been

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Speaker 1: able to be such a force in that offense? And really,

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Speaker 1: how do you can taine a guy like him? Well,

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Speaker 1: he is the guy that makes this whole thing go

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Speaker 1: for the Bengals offense. He's got such a big personality

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Speaker 1: and he's such an energizer in terms of like he's

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Speaker 1: the guy that said, when the game was being te

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Speaker 1: higgins touchdown play was being reviewed, he knew he was

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Speaker 1: going to get the ball on a handoff, and he

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Speaker 1: was so confident he was going to get it in

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Speaker 1: the hand zone. He started talking to the offensive linement

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Speaker 1: about what touchdown dance they were going to do, and

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Speaker 1: that's how they coordinated that whole temptations like two step dance.

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Speaker 1: And he has evolved into a team captain for the Bengals,

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Speaker 1: and like he's totally embraced his leadership role. Plus he's

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Speaker 1: like a physical freak. I mean he can. He's thick,

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Speaker 1: and he's quick, and he's just a really hard player

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Speaker 1: to bring down. And he totally embraces the AFC North

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Speaker 1: mentality as a running back, where it's like this is

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Speaker 1: big boy football. It's there's no thing as a soft

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Speaker 1: running back in the AFC North. And he's to the

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Speaker 1: point where he said, now that he's had these last

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Speaker 1: couple of games where the offense is really running through him,

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Speaker 1: he says he feels like he's hitting his prime, which

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Speaker 1: is scary because if he's hitting his prime and their

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Speaker 1: receiver groups is as young as they are, I mean,

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Speaker 1: I told you T Higgins in the second year, Jamarch

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Speaker 1: haitesis in his first year. Tyler Boyd I was drafted

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Speaker 1: in twenty sixteen, so they're super young. But Joe Mixon

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Speaker 1: in terms of he wants the ball in his hands,

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Speaker 1: he's totally embraced being the Bengals back that just runs

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Speaker 1: through defenses. And I'm really looking forward to seeing this

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Speaker 1: matchup this weekend because I know the Chargers haven't been

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Speaker 1: particularly good against the run, but you know that can

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Speaker 1: change from week to week, and I think it'll be

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Speaker 1: interesting to see what Brandon Staley dials up for this

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Speaker 1: because if you load the box and really try and

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Speaker 1: take away Mixon, you're leaving a lot of opportunity for

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Speaker 1: the Bengals in terms of their wide receivers. Nailed that

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Speaker 1: they have such a dynamic offense, and again, it's just

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Speaker 1: so similar. These two teams are just very, very similar,

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Speaker 1: and also you know, young quarterbacks too, but but just

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Speaker 1: being able to get it done in a variety of

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Speaker 1: ways on offense. Flipping to the defense, Eli Apple has

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Speaker 1: two picks in two weeks. There was a pick six

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Speaker 1: of Ben Roethlisberger last week courtesy a former Pittsburgh Steeler,

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Speaker 1: Mike Hilton. Why should the Chargers be weary of those guys?

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Speaker 1: Who else might be an X factor on defense for

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Speaker 1: the Bengals in this game. So I was actually going

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Speaker 1: to pick Eli Apple to be my X factor in

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Speaker 1: this game because coming into the season, Eli Apple was

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Speaker 1: not expected to be a starter for the Bengals. He

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Speaker 1: was supposed to be there like number three emergency starting

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Speaker 1: cornerback if someone were to get hurt. Because another free

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Speaker 1: agent signing that I forgot to mention early on was

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Speaker 1: Mike Hilton, their slot corner and Trey Wayne has not

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Speaker 1: really worked out for the Bengals. They signed him in

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Speaker 1: free agency last year to three year deal with worth

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Speaker 1: a lot of money, and he's spent the ry injured

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Speaker 1: and hasn't been on the field. They plug Eli Applin,

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Speaker 1: who's a former first round pick, and for whatever reason,

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Speaker 1: he's just had a target on his back. I think

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Speaker 1: it's because maybe he went to Ohio State then played

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Speaker 1: from the Giants where it's in New York. But people

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Speaker 1: have been very critical of Eli Apple, and early on

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Speaker 1: in the year there were two plays where he got

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Speaker 1: beat pretty bad. But he's really settled into his own

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Speaker 1: and you mentioned those two picks I think a lot

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Speaker 1: of angles fans were very surprised at the level he's

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Speaker 1: playing at, and I think it was just a case

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Speaker 1: of he needed to go to a place where he

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Speaker 1: felt welcomed and he felt comfortable and he felt believed in.

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Speaker 1: And that's what he has in the Bengals defensive coordinator

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Speaker 1: lou Anna Rumo, who actually coached him when he was

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Speaker 1: with the Giants, so he knew him well and that's

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Speaker 1: why he brought him here. And I think he's the

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Speaker 1: type of player that might have lost some confidence kind

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Speaker 1: of shuffling around from team to teams, and now that

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Speaker 1: he's had these two picks and he's really made a

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Speaker 1: name for himself in this defense, I think he's only

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Speaker 1: going to ascend up. And the reason I think he's

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Speaker 1: an X factor in this game is because I'm not

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Speaker 1: worried about Cheetah Wuzier and what he's going to do

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Speaker 1: in terms of shutting down, whether it's Keenan Allen if

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Speaker 1: he's asked to follow him around, or if Mike Williams.

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Speaker 1: The Bengals don't typically like result to having to follow someone.

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Speaker 1: Sometimes they play the right and the left, but this

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Speaker 1: is a game where I don't really think that Bengals

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Speaker 1: have faced a team that's got as good of a

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Speaker 1: number two wide receiver that the Chargers have. So I

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Speaker 1: think he's an X factor only because we've seen him

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Speaker 1: step up to the challenge. But this is the type

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Speaker 1: of game where you'll really be able to tell because

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Speaker 1: if the Chargers are able to expose him, are the

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Speaker 1: Bengals going to be right back at square one where

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Speaker 1: their cornerback two is the weakness of the defense. And then, lastly, Kelsey,

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Speaker 1: you kind of just touched on something a little bit there,

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Speaker 1: But in terms of maybe how this game pans out,

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Speaker 1: what do you think might be another deciding factor as

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Speaker 1: to how we end this game? In week thirteen, I

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Speaker 1: think the scene is going to come down to turnovers. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: I think I haven't seen enough of justin Herbert's play

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Speaker 1: in terms of right now, I'm kind of wondering, and

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Speaker 1: you'd know a lot better than me, But like, what

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Speaker 1: is going on with the Chargers in terms that they

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Speaker 1: have that hot start and then it kind of fizzled out?

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Speaker 1: I know, from the Bengals standpoint, a lot of it

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Speaker 1: how to do with For a couple of games, Joe

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Speaker 1: Burrow was turning the ball over too much. So I

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Speaker 1: don't know if that's been an issue for Justin Herbert,

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Speaker 1: but I just have a feeling this game is going

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Speaker 1: to come down too because the cornerbacks are so good

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Speaker 1: whoever has the ball last, and I think if either

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Speaker 1: team gives the offense of the opposing team one more

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Speaker 1: opportunity to take the feel like these offenses are so good,

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Speaker 1: I envisioned this game being a shootout in the forty

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Speaker 1: points for both teams. So I think it's going to

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Speaker 1: come down to turnovers and whoever turns the ball over

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Speaker 1: the least, I think it's going to win this game.

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Speaker 1: But I'm anticipating it being a pretty good game. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: I am too, And some of these Chargers games have

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Speaker 1: certainly come down to who has the ball last or

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Speaker 1: who maybe can make that last kind of game breaking play,

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Speaker 1: So it should be a good one. A very hot

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Speaker 1: AFC West team against a very hot AFC North game

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Speaker 1: in the cold though, because it is going to be December,

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Speaker 1: they're going to be in the fifties though, so I think,

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Speaker 1: I mean, that's that's warm here for all of us

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Speaker 1: that live in Cincinnati. And you know what, the Chargers

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Speaker 1: left out on that because this is really the last

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Speaker 1: kind of cold weather game they'll have of the regular season,

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Speaker 1: so they'll take that. Kelsey, thank you so much for

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Speaker 1: joining me and sharing your insight. We really appreciate it,

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Speaker 1: really and enjoyed being on CU