WEBVTT - Bengals Booth Podcast: Last Dance 0:00:03.480 --> 0:00:06.120 Happy New Year, everybody. I'm Dan Horde and thanks for 0:00:06.160 --> 0:00:13.360 downloading The Bengals Booth Podcast. The Last Dance, Last Chance, 0:00:13.560 --> 0:00:19.960 Full Love addition, as the Bengals play their final game 0:00:20.000 --> 0:00:22.200 of the twenty twenty season and try to end it 0:00:22.239 --> 0:00:25.040 with a three game winning streak as they host the 0:00:25.120 --> 0:00:29.280 Baltimore Ravens. Coming up, Dave Lapham joins me to discuss 0:00:29.360 --> 0:00:32.199 the latest Bengals news and the possibility that A. J. 0:00:32.440 --> 0:00:35.280 Green is about to play his final game in a 0:00:35.360 --> 0:00:38.880 Bengals uniform. One on one player interview this week is 0:00:38.920 --> 0:00:42.440 actually with a former player, Chris Collinsworth, as the Sunday 0:00:42.520 --> 0:00:46.800 Night Football analyst discusses t Higgins, Joe Burrow and what 0:00:46.920 --> 0:00:50.479 the Bengal should prioritize in the off season. And in 0:00:50.560 --> 0:00:53.199 our Know the Faux segment, we'll discuss the Ravens with 0:00:53.280 --> 0:00:57.240 a former Baltimore linebacker who also played football and basketball 0:00:57.680 --> 0:01:02.639 at UC, Brad Jackson. The Bengals Booth Podcast is presented 0:01:02.680 --> 0:01:06.240 by Bud Light Seltzer. Refresh the game and here's a 0:01:06.319 --> 0:01:08.720 quick reminder that you can have the latest edition of 0:01:08.800 --> 0:01:12.800 this podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet, or computer 0:01:12.920 --> 0:01:18.240 by subscribing on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, or pod Bean. 0:01:18.680 --> 0:01:24.480 It's the greatest thing since The Queen's Gambit. Back in 0:01:24.560 --> 0:01:27.280 mid November, after the Bengals bye week, Joe Burrow was 0:01:27.319 --> 0:01:29.479 asked what he did with his time off, and Joe 0:01:29.520 --> 0:01:31.720 said that he relaxed and watched a lot of TV, 0:01:31.880 --> 0:01:36.640 including The Queen's Gambit on Netflix. Well, my wife and 0:01:36.680 --> 0:01:39.520 I started watching it last week, and Joe Burrow has 0:01:39.600 --> 0:01:43.399 good taste. It's excellent. We've seen five of the seven 0:01:43.440 --> 0:01:46.520 episodes and who knew that the story of a female 0:01:46.640 --> 0:01:50.760 chess prodigy could be so suspenseful. But don't take my 0:01:50.840 --> 0:01:54.360 word for it. Trust Joe Burrow and check out The 0:01:54.440 --> 0:01:58.200 Queen's Gambit. Now, let's get to football, beginning with my 0:01:58.240 --> 0:02:02.280 broadcast partner Dave Lapham, as we begin by taking care 0:02:02.280 --> 0:02:04.480 of something that was missing at the end of last 0:02:04.520 --> 0:02:10.240 week's win in Houston. Lap After last week's victory in Houston, 0:02:10.800 --> 0:02:13.920 I realized we forgot something. We need to do it 0:02:14.000 --> 0:02:16.079 right now. Are you ready? Let's do it all right? 0:02:16.120 --> 0:02:21.440 Here it goes. Sam Hubbard forces the fumble, Marcus Hunt recovers, 0:02:21.760 --> 0:02:27.320 and that should be coffin nails. Bam Bam. Courtesy is Sam. 0:02:28.639 --> 0:02:32.160 That's good. You know, Marty Brennaman occasionally forgot to say 0:02:32.160 --> 0:02:34.119 and this one belongs to the Reds over the years, 0:02:34.120 --> 0:02:36.840 so I don't feel too bad about it. Was great 0:02:36.880 --> 0:02:38.880 to see the Bengals finally win a road game for 0:02:38.880 --> 0:02:41.280 the first time in a couple of years. They are 0:02:41.400 --> 0:02:43.919 four ten and one. They're trying to end the season 0:02:43.919 --> 0:02:46.040 with a three game winning streak as they host the 0:02:46.120 --> 0:02:49.840 Ravens this Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium. Let's hear from 0:02:49.960 --> 0:02:53.760 Jesse Bates, te Higgins, and Zach Taylor on the importance 0:02:54.040 --> 0:02:57.480 of finishing strong. It's been really cool to see how 0:02:57.520 --> 0:03:01.519 we all have came together in the last you know, weeks. 0:03:01.600 --> 0:03:04.040 A lot of teams don't do this. Um, a lot 0:03:04.080 --> 0:03:07.200 of teams, you know, check out at this point and 0:03:07.360 --> 0:03:09.480 we're We're not the team that's that's doing it. No, 0:03:09.560 --> 0:03:11.920 it's important at the end of the day simply because 0:03:11.960 --> 0:03:15.440 you know, he feels good. Nobody wants to lose at 0:03:15.480 --> 0:03:17.520 the end of the day, and you know winning is 0:03:17.520 --> 0:03:20.320 his bills, your confidence. Hopefully we can keep it going 0:03:20.480 --> 0:03:23.160 into the next season. You know, they need that result. 0:03:23.480 --> 0:03:26.880 You feel differently on Sunday evening and Monday morning. Um, 0:03:27.040 --> 0:03:30.200 you need that feeling because that that feeling is kind 0:03:30.200 --> 0:03:33.079 of what U get you through the grind of the season. 0:03:33.200 --> 0:03:35.480 And Okay, we want all the things we did let 0:03:35.520 --> 0:03:37.080 us to a win, and so let's go pay grand 0:03:37.120 --> 0:03:39.680 scheme to things. We want to win the division. We 0:03:39.680 --> 0:03:41.360 want to go to the playoffs and win playoff games 0:03:41.360 --> 0:03:44.600 to play for super Bowls. And when you're a team 0:03:44.640 --> 0:03:46.600 that's in that position, winning two games in a row 0:03:47.120 --> 0:03:48.600 is not going to be a big deal for us. 0:03:48.640 --> 0:03:50.000 You know, you're going to be wanting to win five, 0:03:50.080 --> 0:03:52.440 six games in a row to create that momentum. But 0:03:52.520 --> 0:03:54.040 right now, for where we're at as a team for 0:03:54.080 --> 0:03:56.960 this season, winning two games row is important. And again 0:03:57.000 --> 0:03:58.640 we got to continue to build on the momentum going 0:03:58.680 --> 0:04:03.360 in this weekend. All right, is it really important to 0:04:03.400 --> 0:04:06.200 finish strong when you're having a lousy year. It is, 0:04:06.880 --> 0:04:10.040 There's no doubt about it. I Mean, I remember starting 0:04:10.400 --> 0:04:13.240 eight worst season I or experienced as a player, and 0:04:13.320 --> 0:04:17.000 eight start and when we went four and four, I 0:04:17.160 --> 0:04:21.400 felt like we'd accomplished something. It was like two seasons. 0:04:21.839 --> 0:04:24.599 The first one you just wanted to bury it as 0:04:24.600 --> 0:04:26.679 deep as you could, in the deepest graves you could find. 0:04:27.160 --> 0:04:30.440 And then when you ended up respectable with a four 0:04:30.520 --> 0:04:32.600 and four mark to finish it off, you know you 0:04:32.680 --> 0:04:36.080 felt like at least you didn't quit, You didn't wallow 0:04:36.120 --> 0:04:38.279 in your pity. You know, you did something about it. 0:04:38.320 --> 0:04:40.960 You pulled yourself up by the bootstraps. And you know, 0:04:41.040 --> 0:04:42.960 and I know fans they're all they want to do 0:04:43.040 --> 0:04:45.120 is talk about, you know, as high pick as you 0:04:45.120 --> 0:04:48.400 can get. But players and coaches, you're fighting for your 0:04:48.440 --> 0:04:51.560 professional life. I remember coming home and staying to my 0:04:51.600 --> 0:04:55.360 wife and eight, I got to make sure that I 0:04:55.560 --> 0:04:57.720 put do everything I possibly can to put as good 0:04:57.720 --> 0:05:01.560 a tape as I possibly can. I'll there because I 0:05:01.640 --> 0:05:03.200 want to play longer. I want to stay in this 0:05:03.279 --> 0:05:05.320 league as long as I can. And that's what players 0:05:05.320 --> 0:05:07.919 are doing. You're fighting for your life. One percent of 0:05:07.960 --> 0:05:11.359 the population you know plays in the National Football League. 0:05:11.839 --> 0:05:14.320 It's it's a it's not a right, it's a it's 0:05:14.320 --> 0:05:16.080 a total privilege. And man, you want to do it 0:05:16.080 --> 0:05:18.799 as long as you can. You're gonna fight with everything 0:05:18.839 --> 0:05:20.800 You've got to do it as long as you possibly can. 0:05:20.960 --> 0:05:23.520 When you're a player in a coach. So this idea 0:05:23.560 --> 0:05:25.960 of tanking, this idea of let's lose to get you 0:05:26.160 --> 0:05:28.640 it is so foreign. I mean, you're gonna be out 0:05:28.680 --> 0:05:30.760 in the street if you're part of that quicker than 0:05:30.800 --> 0:05:36.480 you can say whatever. So surrender for Sewell or putrid 0:05:36.600 --> 0:05:40.159 for Pinay is not do it for you. It's not 0:05:40.200 --> 0:05:42.479 gonna cut it, you know. And and as great as 0:05:42.680 --> 0:05:45.320 that player may be and Sewel may be great, and 0:05:45.360 --> 0:05:47.479 we got a great one in Anthony Muneo's in my opinion, 0:05:47.560 --> 0:05:50.640 the best to play both Super Bowl appearance appearances. He 0:05:50.720 --> 0:05:53.120 was the anchor at left tackle, also had the other 0:05:53.120 --> 0:05:55.080 member of the Mexican connection to and there at guard 0:05:55.080 --> 0:05:57.680 as well though, Max Montoya. So it's not just one 0:05:57.720 --> 0:06:00.880 guy in the offensive line. One guy makes a huge difference. 0:06:01.440 --> 0:06:05.360 But like Mike Brown always you say during contract negotiations, 0:06:06.800 --> 0:06:09.839 we don't have any numbers for you, touchdowns, catches, we 0:06:09.880 --> 0:06:12.960 don't have any stats. You know, We're just evaluating you 0:06:13.000 --> 0:06:15.560 on the overall performance of how you're playing with the 0:06:15.600 --> 0:06:18.400 other guys up front. And that's the that's the reality 0:06:18.440 --> 0:06:20.240 of it, that's the nature of the Beast. And you 0:06:20.360 --> 0:06:24.680 draft accordingly, you know. So, I mean, one one offensive 0:06:24.720 --> 0:06:28.040 tackle does not a team make and honestly, I think 0:06:28.080 --> 0:06:30.800 we're in the same school. I would even if it 0:06:30.880 --> 0:06:33.120 is the third pick in the draft, I would explore 0:06:33.440 --> 0:06:36.000 trading back and seeing you know how far back you 0:06:36.000 --> 0:06:39.920 would have to go, and to accumulate another real strong 0:06:39.960 --> 0:06:43.320 option to make yourself better with multiple choices in the draft. 0:06:43.839 --> 0:06:48.200 If you can increase your odds of pick two tackles, 0:06:48.320 --> 0:06:50.600 if you can increase your odds of finding one, I'm 0:06:50.600 --> 0:06:54.120 all for that, as long as they're not named Oboehean Fisher. Yeah, 0:06:54.120 --> 0:06:56.600 I hear you. I'm glad you brought this up though, 0:06:56.640 --> 0:06:59.160 because I had a thought this week about the draft, 0:06:59.360 --> 0:07:02.040 because right now the Bengals have fallen to the fifth spot. 0:07:02.360 --> 0:07:04.640 They could drop as low as ten if they went 0:07:04.680 --> 0:07:09.240 on Sunday. Think back to last year. If the Bengals 0:07:09.240 --> 0:07:12.920 had won that overtime game in Miami, next to last 0:07:12.920 --> 0:07:15.560 game of the regular season, they would have probably fallen 0:07:15.560 --> 0:07:18.040 out of the top spot and would not have wound 0:07:18.120 --> 0:07:21.600 up with Joe Burrow, and fans would have been marching 0:07:21.600 --> 0:07:24.360 to Paul Brown's stadium with torches and pitchforks, and we 0:07:24.400 --> 0:07:26.360 would have been upset about it. I mean, we had 0:07:26.360 --> 0:07:29.480 our heart set on Joe Burrow. Well, had that happened, 0:07:30.080 --> 0:07:34.360 they would have drafted Justin Herbert. Absolutely, And I prefer 0:07:34.440 --> 0:07:39.040 Burrow partly for his leadership, partly because I think long 0:07:39.160 --> 0:07:41.720 term he will be the better of the two. But 0:07:41.880 --> 0:07:45.200 had they wound up with Justin Herbert, that would have 0:07:45.240 --> 0:07:47.800 been okay. As it turns out, he's been tremendous. He 0:07:47.880 --> 0:07:50.360 has been and you just you know, you just you 0:07:50.480 --> 0:07:53.560 never do, really know. And I mean, you know, when 0:07:53.760 --> 0:07:56.920 the Bengals in twenty eleven, with the fourth pick of 0:07:56.960 --> 0:07:59.960 the draft, they took aj Green, they didn't take any Dalton, 0:08:00.080 --> 0:08:03.000 they took him in the second round and he turned 0:08:03.040 --> 0:08:07.480 out fine. It's certainly not an exact science. It's not like, 0:08:07.560 --> 0:08:11.080 you know, where you're dealing with computers and this computer 0:08:11.160 --> 0:08:13.320 has more gigabytes or whatever, and you're gonna, you know, 0:08:13.880 --> 0:08:18.360 rank them accordingly. There's all kinds of variables. It's the 0:08:18.480 --> 0:08:22.200 it's human beings, it's the brain, it's the it's the 0:08:22.280 --> 0:08:25.600 human body. I mean, there's all kinds of variables. So 0:08:25.760 --> 0:08:29.480 the draft is the most inexact science there is in 0:08:29.520 --> 0:08:33.280 the world. And then when a guy gets drafted, the 0:08:33.400 --> 0:08:36.640 development of him, what's the mix, Like, Okay, is it 0:08:36.720 --> 0:08:39.920 a good is it a good situation? I mean, Kenny 0:08:39.920 --> 0:08:43.600 Anderson often says, if I've been drafted by the Atlanta Falcons, 0:08:43.840 --> 0:08:46.160 I may not have made it. Ever, I may not 0:08:46.200 --> 0:08:48.680 have made it coming out of Augustana. I get drafted 0:08:48.679 --> 0:08:51.560 by the Cincinnati Bengals that have Paul Brown as the 0:08:51.559 --> 0:08:54.080 head coach and Bill Walsh is my position coach. You 0:08:54.200 --> 0:08:57.959 kidding me? Two Hall of Fame guys that are brilliant. 0:08:58.520 --> 0:09:00.559 So that gave me more than a layer leg up. 0:09:00.640 --> 0:09:04.600 And so it is. It's all about the whole circumstance, 0:09:04.880 --> 0:09:09.000 you know, getting the right guy to fit your system properly. 0:09:09.720 --> 0:09:12.040 Is he going to be developed properly. There's a million 0:09:12.160 --> 0:09:15.680 things to go into it, but having talent obviously his 0:09:15.720 --> 0:09:18.880 first and foremost. With his first catch on Sunday, t 0:09:19.240 --> 0:09:23.120 Higgins will set a new Bengals rookie record with sixty 0:09:23.200 --> 0:09:27.160 eight receptions, breaking the mark he shares with Chris Collinsworth. 0:09:27.520 --> 0:09:30.480 And if he has ninety two receiving yards against the Ravens, 0:09:30.480 --> 0:09:33.480 he will join Chris and Aj Green as the only 0:09:33.559 --> 0:09:37.839 Bengals rookies to reach one thousand yards. Here's offensive coordinator 0:09:38.080 --> 0:09:41.080 Brian Callahan. He's run some really good routes against some 0:09:41.120 --> 0:09:44.520 really good corners, and that's really that's an encouraging thing 0:09:45.120 --> 0:09:47.640 for a young player. He's had a success against good 0:09:47.640 --> 0:09:50.560 corners too. There's some things he's got to keep continue 0:09:50.600 --> 0:09:53.160 to get better at. He's got to continue to get stronger. 0:09:53.800 --> 0:09:55.480 But he's going to be a fortunate This league going 0:09:55.679 --> 0:09:58.719 to be reckoned with and and I never viewed him 0:09:58.720 --> 0:10:00.680 as a rookie. Has strange us. It was never a 0:10:00.720 --> 0:10:03.160 moment where he felt like a rookie to me. You know, 0:10:03.320 --> 0:10:05.440 after we got to training camp, I was like, all right, guys, 0:10:05.480 --> 0:10:07.000 ready to go, and he's going to play a lot 0:10:07.040 --> 0:10:10.480 for us. And you know, hopefully he gets a handful 0:10:10.559 --> 0:10:12.559 more catches in yards and he can be up there 0:10:12.559 --> 0:10:15.319 as the best rook receiver the Bangles have had. That'd 0:10:15.360 --> 0:10:18.160 be pretty cool, pretty cool honor for him to come 0:10:18.160 --> 0:10:20.240 out of the gates as a rookie like that. Ninety 0:10:20.280 --> 0:10:22.840 two receiving yards might be tough against Baltimore to get 0:10:22.880 --> 0:10:25.200 to a thousand, but you know, knock on wood unless 0:10:25.240 --> 0:10:28.400 something awful happens, and it won't, he will get the 0:10:28.440 --> 0:10:32.040 catch to break the receptions record he shares with Chris Collinsworth. 0:10:32.240 --> 0:10:34.760 What's impressed you most about Tea his rookie year. You know, 0:10:35.120 --> 0:10:37.679 quickly on some of his numbers, he leads the AFC 0:10:38.200 --> 0:10:40.480 as a rookie receiver and catches in yards and his 0:10:40.600 --> 0:10:45.560 six touchdowns are are up there as well, but overall 0:10:45.679 --> 0:10:49.320 third and catches second in yards amongst rookies, which is 0:10:49.360 --> 0:10:52.840 pretty impressive. The thing that impresses me overall Dan is 0:10:53.800 --> 0:10:56.320 the thing that Brian Callahan talks about. She's looking at 0:10:56.400 --> 0:10:59.439 me six four two fifteen plus. You think a big 0:10:59.480 --> 0:11:01.160 guy like that not going to really be a good 0:11:01.240 --> 0:11:03.840 route runner. Man. He sinks his hips, gets in and 0:11:03.880 --> 0:11:06.560 out of cuts, gets separation, he's got a little wiggle. 0:11:06.760 --> 0:11:09.960 I mean, he turned a couple of good cornerbacks around 0:11:10.000 --> 0:11:11.839 when he's in the slot and he's running down the field. 0:11:12.080 --> 0:11:13.920 They don't know if he's going to run a post 0:11:14.280 --> 0:11:17.040 or a flag route, and he just he's turned hips. 0:11:17.080 --> 0:11:19.760 He's turned those guys around, and they're good cornerbacks. So 0:11:19.800 --> 0:11:23.200 I'm thinking, man, this dude, he's got some physical ability. 0:11:23.200 --> 0:11:26.520 And then he's so big at six four two fifteen plus, 0:11:26.559 --> 0:11:29.160 broad shoulders, long arms, so he's got you know, the 0:11:29.160 --> 0:11:33.840 contested catch, the big catch radius where he'll go up 0:11:33.840 --> 0:11:36.480 and battle people's strong hands. He's got a lot going on. 0:11:36.679 --> 0:11:39.199 And the other big thing that impresses me is his 0:11:39.280 --> 0:11:43.120 football IQ because, like we talked about, three different quarterbacks 0:11:43.160 --> 0:11:44.959 have won games for the Bengals, So he's had three 0:11:44.960 --> 0:11:47.640 different guys thrown to him as rookie, and every one 0:11:47.679 --> 0:11:49.839 of them he's gotten on the same page with very 0:11:49.880 --> 0:11:54.199 quickly because they all know that he is a stickler 0:11:54.240 --> 0:11:57.320 for detail on his assignments. He knows him cold, he 0:11:57.440 --> 0:12:00.240 understands why he's doing what he's doing in the big 0:12:00.280 --> 0:12:03.320 picture of everything else. And they know where he's supposed 0:12:03.320 --> 0:12:05.280 to be. They know he'll be where you're supposed to 0:12:05.320 --> 0:12:06.760 be when he's supposed to be there, and how he 0:12:07.000 --> 0:12:09.720 gets there's going to be right. And they have trust 0:12:09.800 --> 0:12:11.720 and confidence, and those are the two big things between 0:12:11.800 --> 0:12:14.960 quarterback and receiver. Like any relationship, you have to have 0:12:15.000 --> 0:12:17.839 confidence the other person and primarily you have to trust 0:12:17.840 --> 0:12:19.920 the other person. And that's what's going on with T 0:12:20.080 --> 0:12:22.840 Higgins and his quarterbacks. His favorite athlete as a kid 0:12:23.040 --> 0:12:26.200 was Aj Green. Chances are this will be AJ's final 0:12:26.280 --> 0:12:30.160 game in a Bengals uniform, which saddens me greatly. I'm 0:12:30.240 --> 0:12:33.679 surprised that AJ did not have a big year too. 0:12:33.720 --> 0:12:35.880 I thought for sure he was going to be healthy 0:12:36.040 --> 0:12:38.560 and he was going to be the AJ Green that 0:12:38.600 --> 0:12:42.000 we were accustomed to see prior to two years ago. Yeah, 0:12:42.000 --> 0:12:45.400 me too, I really, I really am. And I think 0:12:45.480 --> 0:12:46.719 I don't know. I mean, I don't know if he 0:12:46.800 --> 0:12:48.720 got in his own head. I don't know if physically, 0:12:49.360 --> 0:12:53.080 you know, it just he never could, you know, just 0:12:53.760 --> 0:12:57.839 turn the engine over quite the same. It just it 0:12:57.880 --> 0:13:00.000 looked like he lost some of his quickness and explode. 0:13:00.200 --> 0:13:02.280 And this is in a suddenness, and that's going to 0:13:02.320 --> 0:13:05.400 come with age. And you compound the age with the 0:13:05.440 --> 0:13:08.200 fact that a lot he sat out so long at 0:13:08.200 --> 0:13:11.800 a late stage of his career. I think that you 0:13:11.840 --> 0:13:14.440 know that that compounded the problems in the issue there 0:13:14.440 --> 0:13:17.600 a little bit, and I think, you know, frustration started 0:13:17.600 --> 0:13:20.760 to set in for him some and his body language 0:13:20.760 --> 0:13:25.079 showed that, you know, quite a bit. Yeah. It's the 0:13:25.080 --> 0:13:27.600 thing is, though, when you talk to any of the 0:13:27.600 --> 0:13:30.679 teammates or of his coach, is still the first thing 0:13:30.720 --> 0:13:32.360 to ell say is, man, he works so hard and 0:13:32.400 --> 0:13:35.560 he done every single practice. AJ empties the effort bucket, 0:13:35.600 --> 0:13:39.160 never mind games. So it is it's sad, sad to 0:13:39.200 --> 0:13:42.880 see that it's maybe unfolding, you know, the way that 0:13:42.960 --> 0:13:45.960 it is to the conclusion of his career here in Cincinnati, 0:13:46.000 --> 0:13:49.559 because it was brilliant, not just good, it was brilliant. 0:13:50.120 --> 0:13:53.240 In last week's game at Houston, Texans quarterback Deshan Watson 0:13:53.520 --> 0:13:57.360 was incredible, but SOA's Bengals quarterback Brandon Allen. He completed 0:13:57.480 --> 0:14:00.800 seventy eight percent of his passes, room for three hundred 0:14:00.800 --> 0:14:03.319 and seventy one yards and had a passer rating of 0:14:03.480 --> 0:14:06.839 one twenty six point five. The Bengals also scored a 0:14:06.920 --> 0:14:10.840 season high thirty seven points. Here are Jesse Bates and 0:14:10.960 --> 0:14:15.439 offensive coordinator Brian Callahan on the Bengals current starting quarterback. 0:14:16.040 --> 0:14:20.160 Very impressed just the way how poised he always is, 0:14:20.320 --> 0:14:23.000 you know, throughout the locker room. I don't think I've 0:14:23.040 --> 0:14:26.480 ever seen him say a word until he became the 0:14:26.520 --> 0:14:29.080 starting quarterback. So, you know, I just I just kind 0:14:29.080 --> 0:14:31.120 of like the way he goes about his work. Doesn't 0:14:31.160 --> 0:14:34.240 really say much, but you can count on him to 0:14:34.280 --> 0:14:37.480 make a play. He's very tough. Then he's playing with 0:14:37.520 --> 0:14:40.200 the hurt leg or something like that right now. And 0:14:40.360 --> 0:14:42.760 then he took a shot in the game. But he 0:14:42.800 --> 0:14:45.400 continues to fight and put you know, his front foot 0:14:45.520 --> 0:14:48.760 for um, you know, always giving us. I'm a Vanders 0:14:48.840 --> 0:14:50.920 to win a football game. He's just gotten his way 0:14:50.920 --> 0:14:54.200 about him. He's a football player. He understands it. He 0:14:54.240 --> 0:14:56.680 knows what it's supposed to look like. He knows how 0:14:56.720 --> 0:14:58.600 to prepare. He knows how to take things from the 0:14:58.640 --> 0:15:01.800 meeting room to the field. He knows his weaknesses as well, 0:15:01.840 --> 0:15:03.640 and he knows how to how to account for those. 0:15:03.760 --> 0:15:06.320 And the more he's gotten to play, the more that 0:15:06.400 --> 0:15:09.600 those those skills have been sharpened. I think every week 0:15:09.640 --> 0:15:11.520 he goes out there, he's got better, just like most 0:15:11.520 --> 0:15:14.960 players do that haven't played a lot, but in particular 0:15:15.040 --> 0:15:17.200 for a quarterback, you don't get a lot of opportunities, 0:15:17.200 --> 0:15:19.840 and so when you do, you usually get better in 0:15:19.920 --> 0:15:23.600 a hurry. And I think that he's done that. Brandon 0:15:23.640 --> 0:15:26.320 Allen made himself some money last week, I would think, 0:15:26.440 --> 0:15:29.800 And if he plays well on Sunday against Baltimore, you 0:15:29.960 --> 0:15:33.040 gotta think that he'll be welcome back as Joe Burrow's 0:15:33.040 --> 0:15:36.360 backup quarterback next year. You think he'd be in high consideration. 0:15:36.440 --> 0:15:41.120 I mean, he had a remarkable game. There's no question 0:15:41.120 --> 0:15:42.760 about it. Like we said earlier, I mean he was 0:15:42.840 --> 0:15:47.240 a straight a quarterback. It was anticipatory and he was accurate. 0:15:47.280 --> 0:15:50.080 And there's a three play sequence Dan actually a four 0:15:50.120 --> 0:15:55.600 play sequence. The Bengals are it's it's seventeen seventeen football game. 0:15:55.720 --> 0:15:58.960 In the third quarter and at the seven forty seven 0:15:59.000 --> 0:16:01.880 mark third and one, he goes thirty one yards to 0:16:02.040 --> 0:16:07.160 Higgins on the deep left sideline and it's nullified with 0:16:07.280 --> 0:16:12.160 an offensive pass interference. Perfect perfect leading him just right. 0:16:12.320 --> 0:16:15.800 If that counts, he's over forty yards passing. They took 0:16:15.840 --> 0:16:17.720 that away with the penalty. I mean, he's over forty 0:16:17.800 --> 0:16:20.960 yards passing right there. So they come back and their penalizes, 0:16:21.000 --> 0:16:22.800 so they're at their twenty four yard line after the 0:16:22.800 --> 0:16:26.080 penalty on sampled the OPI third and eleven, he hits 0:16:26.120 --> 0:16:31.280 Aj Green fourteen yards to the right sideline. They get it. Yeah, 0:16:31.640 --> 0:16:33.480 but he had the height advantage. He did the contested 0:16:33.520 --> 0:16:36.960 catch thing and looking at the tape, they ran four 0:16:37.640 --> 0:16:41.400 curl routes spread the field, distributed him equally across the field. 0:16:41.440 --> 0:16:44.040 All of them go twelve thirteen yards and hook up, 0:16:44.200 --> 0:16:46.160 so he had four options to look at goes to 0:16:46.200 --> 0:16:49.720 Aj likes that mismatch with the size advantage, and it's 0:16:49.720 --> 0:16:53.000 the fourteen yard completion. Now it's first and ten. He 0:16:53.080 --> 0:16:55.400 goes covered two forty two yards down the middle field 0:16:55.400 --> 0:16:58.880 to Alex Ericson outruns the linebacker safety split Boom forty 0:16:58.880 --> 0:17:01.320 two yards down the middle. So now it's first and ten. 0:17:01.400 --> 0:17:03.680 At the twentieth the red zone. You're gonna get man 0:17:03.680 --> 0:17:06.879 coverage in the red zone. They haven't call for man covers. 0:17:06.880 --> 0:17:09.440 A little crossing route. Higgins goes to the back corner 0:17:09.480 --> 0:17:11.719 of the end zone. He makes another drops another perfect 0:17:11.760 --> 0:17:14.679 dime that they have to Initially, officials blow it and 0:17:14.720 --> 0:17:17.919 they look at it again and it's a touchdown. And 0:17:18.440 --> 0:17:21.320 four straight throws right there. One of them didn't count 0:17:21.400 --> 0:17:24.919 because of the OPI, but he had three plays seventy 0:17:24.920 --> 0:17:27.359 six yards in a touchdown on three straight throws. You 0:17:27.440 --> 0:17:30.520 add the thirty one yard or four straight throws he 0:17:30.640 --> 0:17:33.399 threw for one hundred and seven yards and every single 0:17:33.440 --> 0:17:35.879 one of them as a dime. That's a microcosm of 0:17:35.920 --> 0:17:39.600 the game. The guy played that drive was phenomenal. The answer, 0:17:39.760 --> 0:17:42.080 the response that they had after the OPI. Instead of 0:17:42.119 --> 0:17:45.119 third and eleven hour drivers down, I mean boom and 0:17:45.160 --> 0:17:48.240 then attack, boom boom. It was impressed as the way 0:17:48.280 --> 0:17:51.640 he drove the football team big plays, chunks. They had 0:17:51.840 --> 0:17:54.240 eight plays of over twenty yards. That's the most they've 0:17:54.240 --> 0:17:56.879 had in a game this year, having come close to 0:17:56.880 --> 0:17:59.959 having eight chunk plays in one game. What stood out 0:18:00.080 --> 0:18:03.000 to me was his touch. I mean, he remember early 0:18:03.119 --> 0:18:04.760 this year when they blew the big lead against the 0:18:04.800 --> 0:18:06.879 Colts and we were talking about, Man, that just the 0:18:06.920 --> 0:18:09.800 touch that Philip Rivers has. It's not always a fastball. 0:18:09.920 --> 0:18:14.160 Sometimes he's just kind of letting the guy run under it. Yeah, 0:18:14.200 --> 0:18:17.560 exactly to me, That's what Brandon Allen showed last Sunday. 0:18:17.600 --> 0:18:20.840 And you know, shoot, the guy through seven touchdown passes 0:18:20.840 --> 0:18:25.400 in an SEC game for Arkansas. He's still the all 0:18:25.440 --> 0:18:28.600 time leading record holder for touchdown passes and they had 0:18:28.600 --> 0:18:32.120 some good quarterbacks at Arkansas. He throws a nice ball, 0:18:32.320 --> 0:18:37.560 he does, and like everybody's saying, the anticipation, I mean, 0:18:37.600 --> 0:18:41.240 he's throwing it to spots that the receivers eventually get to. 0:18:41.480 --> 0:18:43.800 And that's the key in the national football You basically 0:18:43.800 --> 0:18:46.879 have to quote throw guys open with the anticipatory stuff. 0:18:47.200 --> 0:18:49.399 And he's got a great feel for that. And the 0:18:49.440 --> 0:18:51.879 other thing the more I see him on zoom calls, 0:18:51.920 --> 0:18:54.320 and the more I see him on the field, his 0:18:54.560 --> 0:18:59.320 pulse is always even killed. He never ever gets upset 0:18:59.440 --> 0:19:02.920 or distraught or whatever. I mean, whether he's hurt, whether 0:19:02.960 --> 0:19:07.960 he's got three straight completions, two straight incompletions, two straight interceptions, 0:19:07.960 --> 0:19:10.920 the dude is the same. I mean, his his emotional 0:19:10.960 --> 0:19:13.639 approach to the game and his poise in his presence. 0:19:13.680 --> 0:19:15.560 It is pretty darned strong. It really is. Yeah. The 0:19:15.560 --> 0:19:18.600 first thing Jesse Bates mentioned poise, the first thing Trey 0:19:18.600 --> 0:19:21.720 Hopkins mentioned poise. That's what stands out to the teammates. 0:19:21.800 --> 0:19:24.800 Yepan and he is. I mean, he's a he's a 0:19:24.800 --> 0:19:29.320 flatliner guy. Man, there's there's there's no uh. Well you 0:19:29.440 --> 0:19:32.440 take do an ekg a him in a two minute drill. 0:19:32.560 --> 0:19:34.439 It's the exact same as if he's sleeping at night. 0:19:34.480 --> 0:19:38.399 It's unbelievable. Joe Burrow doesn't tweet often, but when he 0:19:38.480 --> 0:19:42.080 does it has an impact. And on the day after Christmas, 0:19:42.119 --> 0:19:46.480 he posted footage of himself slowly walking across the room 0:19:46.960 --> 0:19:51.120 with no assistance following knee surgery. I asked T Higgins 0:19:51.119 --> 0:19:54.720 and Brian Callahan for their reaction I was ready for 0:19:54.800 --> 0:19:57.360 him to come back right down and there. But yeah, man, 0:19:57.720 --> 0:19:59.879 it's great to see that his progress is coming along, 0:20:00.200 --> 0:20:02.280 coming along good, And no, I can't wait for him 0:20:02.320 --> 0:20:04.760 to get back to here and you know, get things 0:20:04.760 --> 0:20:06.639 started back up. Yeah, I did see it, uh, and 0:20:06.720 --> 0:20:11.080 it doesn't It wasn't just sounds like Joe looks like Joe, 0:20:11.200 --> 0:20:14.120 you know. Um, everything that he's done since since he's 0:20:14.119 --> 0:20:18.000 since he's arrived here has been had an accelerated face. 0:20:18.359 --> 0:20:22.480 And it's no surprise to me that that's he's on 0:20:22.600 --> 0:20:26.080 the schedule that he is for his return and I 0:20:26.119 --> 0:20:29.280 know he's gonna attack that just like he's attacked every 0:20:29.320 --> 0:20:32.160 minute that he's been here for the football portion. So 0:20:32.760 --> 0:20:36.359 Joe is wired a particular way and that's kind of 0:20:36.359 --> 0:20:39.000 just how he lives in his life. And that's that 0:20:39.000 --> 0:20:43.080 that doesn't surprise me one bit. Well, at LSU, they 0:20:43.119 --> 0:20:45.720 think he can walk on water, and he came close 0:20:45.920 --> 0:20:48.040 last year and this wasn't on water, but it was 0:20:48.080 --> 0:20:51.439 across the room with no assistance, no k no walker, 0:20:51.480 --> 0:20:53.720 no anything like that. It's great to see it was. 0:20:53.920 --> 0:20:55.720 I wish he'd just had a red suit and a 0:20:55.720 --> 0:20:57.000 white beard, you know what I mean. Because it was 0:20:57.040 --> 0:21:01.840 a Christmas present extraordinary. But yeah, he and really he 0:21:01.960 --> 0:21:04.720