WEBVTT - Bengals Booth Podcast: Rise Up 0:00:03.520 --> 0:00:06.320 I get everybody on Dan Horde and Banks for downloading 0:00:06.320 --> 0:00:11.840 The Bengals Booth Podcast. The I'll Rise up and I'll 0:00:11.920 --> 0:00:17.920 do it a thousand times again. Addition, as the Bengals 0:00:17.960 --> 0:00:20.680 look to get off the deck after last week's disappointing 0:00:20.720 --> 0:00:24.000 loss to the Chargers and respond with a huge home 0:00:24.040 --> 0:00:27.320 win this Sunday against the forty nine Ers. Coming up, 0:00:27.520 --> 0:00:31.480 I'll talk to NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger, who says 0:00:31.600 --> 0:00:35.040 he expects the Bengals to be a playoff team. My 0:00:35.159 --> 0:00:38.240 one on one player interview is with linebacker Joe Bacchi, 0:00:38.560 --> 0:00:41.720 who could play an important role down the stretch following 0:00:41.720 --> 0:00:45.440 a shoulder injury to Logan Wilson. Dave Lapham joins me 0:00:45.680 --> 0:00:48.640 to discuss the latest Bengals news, including the status of 0:00:48.720 --> 0:00:51.760 Joe Burrow's pinky finger and finally, in our Know the 0:00:51.840 --> 0:00:56.080 faux segment. I guarantee you will be entertained by one 0:00:56.080 --> 0:00:59.720 of the best radio announcers in the NFL, the legendary 0:00:59.720 --> 0:01:03.400 boy to the forty nine Ers, Greg Popa. The Bengals 0:01:03.400 --> 0:01:07.080 Booth Podcast is presented by Ultimate Bengals, the free to 0:01:07.160 --> 0:01:10.920 play next Level Fantasy football game downloaded now from the 0:01:10.959 --> 0:01:14.000 App Store and Google Play. And here's a quick reminder 0:01:14.080 --> 0:01:16.560 that you can have the latest edition of this podcast 0:01:16.640 --> 0:01:20.680 delivered right to your phone, tablet, or computer by subscribing 0:01:20.959 --> 0:01:24.520 wherever you get your podcasts. It's the greatest thing since 0:01:26.120 --> 0:01:30.479 Dana O'Neill's book about the Big East. I graduated from 0:01:30.520 --> 0:01:33.119 Syracuse in the mid eighties and worked there for several 0:01:33.160 --> 0:01:36.479 years after college, meaning I was watching and covering Big 0:01:36.480 --> 0:01:40.440 East basketball when Patrick Ewing played for Georgetown and Chris 0:01:40.520 --> 0:01:44.319 Mullen played for Saint John's and Pearl Washington played for 0:01:44.360 --> 0:01:48.680 the Qus. I could go on and on. I'm obviously biased, 0:01:49.040 --> 0:01:51.120 but I don't think there has ever been a better 0:01:51.200 --> 0:01:54.720 college basketball conference than the Big East from that era, 0:01:55.280 --> 0:01:58.680 and Dana O'Neill has done a wonderful job of describing 0:01:58.760 --> 0:02:02.120 what made it so special in her new book The 0:02:02.280 --> 0:02:06.800 Big East Inside the most entertaining and influential Conference in 0:02:06.880 --> 0:02:10.920 college basketball history. Reading it made me feel like I 0:02:10.960 --> 0:02:14.359 was back in my college dorm room, without the hangover 0:02:14.880 --> 0:02:19.200 or dirty laundry. Now time for this week's guests, beginning 0:02:19.240 --> 0:02:22.720 with an NFL Network analyst who spent eleven years playing 0:02:22.760 --> 0:02:27.320 offensive line for the Cowboys Colts and Eagles. If you 0:02:27.400 --> 0:02:30.040 love the NFL, then I hope you follow Brian Baldinger 0:02:30.080 --> 0:02:34.720 on Twitter because Baldy's breakdowns are fantastic. Brian, this week, 0:02:34.760 --> 0:02:36.919 he took a look at four of Joe Burrows throws 0:02:36.960 --> 0:02:41.280 from the Chargers game that really highlight his pinpoint accuracy. 0:02:41.720 --> 0:02:43.919 Is that the thing that stands out the most when 0:02:43.960 --> 0:02:46.839 you study Joe I think so. I mean, he could 0:02:46.840 --> 0:02:48.840 put the ball where he wants to put it, you know, 0:02:48.880 --> 0:02:52.320 whether it's against his own defense, whether it's you know, man, 0:02:53.160 --> 0:02:56.639 whether it's you know, a difficult out route to Tyler 0:02:56.720 --> 0:02:59.240 Boyd or Jamar Chase. I mean, he can put the 0:02:59.240 --> 0:03:01.080 ball pretty much where he wants to put it, with 0:03:01.280 --> 0:03:04.200 or without a bad finger. You know, it didn't seem 0:03:04.240 --> 0:03:06.520 to really bother him that much, to be honest with you, 0:03:06.600 --> 0:03:10.400 But that's impressive. It's impressive value sees the field. It 0:03:10.480 --> 0:03:12.440 was a good quarterback duel on Sunday with him and 0:03:12.520 --> 0:03:16.040 Justin Herbert. You were an offensive lineman for eleven years 0:03:16.040 --> 0:03:19.119 in the NFL. How is the Bengals offensive line progressing 0:03:19.160 --> 0:03:21.640 in your opinion? Well, you know, they played the rookie 0:03:21.639 --> 0:03:23.959 tray Hill last week. You know, for Hopkins and so 0:03:25.240 --> 0:03:28.600 I think he's got a bright future. But you know, 0:03:28.639 --> 0:03:31.320 they you know, Riley Reef didn't play, and so you 0:03:31.360 --> 0:03:33.919 know they're down two starters. So now you're in your 0:03:33.960 --> 0:03:38.160 depth a little bit. So you know, Isaiah Prince is 0:03:38.160 --> 0:03:40.240 a good player. I mean, he's probably a better third 0:03:40.280 --> 0:03:42.200 tight end than he is a starting tackle right now. 0:03:42.680 --> 0:03:45.040 And you know, the penalties heard him. They overcame some 0:03:45.120 --> 0:03:46.640 of them. But they had a lot of penalties on 0:03:46.680 --> 0:03:49.520 Sunday and that's something they didn't have against Pittsburgh the 0:03:49.560 --> 0:03:54.160 week before, you know, And so I thought they had 0:03:54.200 --> 0:03:56.840 played better than what they did last week. As a group, 0:03:56.840 --> 0:03:59.360 I thought they had played better. It took a while 0:03:59.400 --> 0:04:01.920 to get the running game going. I thought that they 0:04:01.920 --> 0:04:04.520 would be a little bit better against the Chargers with that. 0:04:05.000 --> 0:04:07.920 But credit to Chargers, they played run defense really well 0:04:07.960 --> 0:04:11.400 on Sunday. NFL network analysts, probably in balding Er is 0:04:11.400 --> 0:04:14.600 our guest. Balding, I think you were the first national 0:04:14.640 --> 0:04:17.839 analyst to really point out how well the Bengals wide 0:04:17.880 --> 0:04:20.919 receivers have been blocking. How vital has that been to 0:04:20.960 --> 0:04:25.279 their success? Oh, it's huge. It's a big part, you know, 0:04:25.320 --> 0:04:27.560 because if you know you can get your five or 0:04:27.560 --> 0:04:30.200 six yards between the tackles. But if you want the 0:04:30.240 --> 0:04:32.960 bigger games, the bigger runs, you need your wide receivers. 0:04:33.440 --> 0:04:35.760 You don't have to you know, you really don't have 0:04:35.839 --> 0:04:37.760 to knock guys down and you don't have to hold 0:04:37.800 --> 0:04:40.400 on to them, but you have to get yourself into position. 0:04:40.839 --> 0:04:42.520 And you know, if you're gonna run any kind of 0:04:42.560 --> 0:04:45.280 perimeter game, whether it's the hitch screens or all those 0:04:45.360 --> 0:04:47.359 kind of things, I mean, your wide receivers have to 0:04:47.400 --> 0:04:49.200 block and they have to be good. They have to 0:04:49.240 --> 0:04:51.320 understand how to do it so that you know they're 0:04:51.320 --> 0:04:55.000 not flagged for illegal contact or pass interference. So there's 0:04:55.040 --> 0:04:56.680 a lot to it. It's not more, it's more a 0:04:56.680 --> 0:04:59.800 lot more than just get in front of guys. You know, 0:05:00.000 --> 0:05:01.480 then you've got to be you just gotta be careful. 0:05:01.520 --> 0:05:04.480 I saw Joe Mixon run over Jamar Chase against Pittsburgh, 0:05:04.520 --> 0:05:06.760 and you know, for Jamar you can't get rolled up. 0:05:07.200 --> 0:05:08.839 You know, you gotta do your signment, but you can't 0:05:08.839 --> 0:05:11.640 get rolled up. So there's a lot that goes to it. Dan, 0:05:11.839 --> 0:05:14.360 It's more than just okay, he's your guy, that's your guy. 0:05:14.800 --> 0:05:16.720 You know, it's kind of how you do it. Is 0:05:16.760 --> 0:05:20.360 as much as if you can do it. Trey Hendrickson 0:05:20.440 --> 0:05:23.000 has had a sack in eight consecutive games. That's a 0:05:23.040 --> 0:05:26.000 new franchise record. On one of your recent breakdowns, you 0:05:26.080 --> 0:05:30.600 said everybody should watch him. Why if, first of all, 0:05:30.600 --> 0:05:34.159 he's got a multiple of moves. It's not just one move. 0:05:34.279 --> 0:05:36.760 I mean he's got a good stab and speed to 0:05:36.800 --> 0:05:39.479 power he's got he's got an array of moves, he's 0:05:39.520 --> 0:05:43.560 got a plan. And then he plays with uh, you know, 0:05:44.080 --> 0:05:46.880 really just NonStop energy, you know, and he plays the 0:05:46.920 --> 0:05:49.280 game really hard, plays the game the right way, makes 0:05:49.279 --> 0:05:51.120 plays on the other side of the field. A lot 0:05:51.120 --> 0:05:53.320 of guys don't you know, care to do that, But 0:05:53.480 --> 0:05:55.360 he plays the game really, really hard. He plays a 0:05:55.440 --> 0:05:59.400 high volume of plays. I think he's got twenty five 0:05:59.440 --> 0:06:02.000 sacks in the last twenty seven starts. Dan might be 0:06:02.040 --> 0:06:04.040 off by one or two there, but I mean it's 0:06:04.040 --> 0:06:07.320 it's it's it's a big number. So there's a consistency there, 0:06:07.720 --> 0:06:10.000 you know, I mean sacks or sacks. But you know, 0:06:10.040 --> 0:06:12.560 can you get the ball out, you can you get 0:06:12.640 --> 0:06:15.080 them down on third downs? Can you force a punt? 0:06:15.080 --> 0:06:17.360 Can you force a field goal versus you know, an 0:06:17.360 --> 0:06:19.880 extension of the drive and a touchdown. I mean, those 0:06:19.920 --> 0:06:21.960 things really come into play over the course of a 0:06:22.040 --> 0:06:25.480 game or a course of a season. Brian Baldinger is 0:06:25.480 --> 0:06:28.120 our gast. You can and should follow him on Twitter 0:06:28.200 --> 0:06:32.080 at Baldy NFL. Brian, you did the Bengals preseason game 0:06:32.120 --> 0:06:34.560 at Washington this year, is the TV analyst, and you 0:06:34.640 --> 0:06:37.960 pointed out something that I have never noticed before. The 0:06:38.080 --> 0:06:41.520 behavior of the Bengals on their sideline. Why do you 0:06:41.560 --> 0:06:44.520 find that to be important? Well, yeah, it's it's an 0:06:44.560 --> 0:06:46.960 indicator that the team is pulling for each other, that 0:06:47.040 --> 0:06:50.880 the offense has got the defense excited and vice versa. 0:06:51.040 --> 0:06:54.039 And so you constantly see Mike Hilton running up and 0:06:54.040 --> 0:06:56.200 down the sideline when Joe Mixon makes a ron or 0:06:56.279 --> 0:06:59.119 Jamar makes a catch, like they're pulling for each other, 0:06:59.520 --> 0:07:02.720 and it's you know, it's not like that everywhere, and 0:07:02.800 --> 0:07:05.159 it's been like that since preseason. It's still like that, 0:07:05.279 --> 0:07:08.240 even down twenty four nothing, you know, and you get 0:07:08.240 --> 0:07:10.720 the touchdown pass and the end zona T Higgins. I mean, 0:07:10.760 --> 0:07:14.000 you could see the excitement that they weren't down. They weren't, 0:07:14.720 --> 0:07:16.520 they weren't you know, this is the same old Bengals. 0:07:16.560 --> 0:07:20.320 I mean, that's that's that's over anyways. But it's just 0:07:20.400 --> 0:07:23.800 something that you see every week against Pittsburgh the week 0:07:23.840 --> 0:07:27.040 before it was really evident. But even when they come 0:07:27.040 --> 0:07:28.840 back last week with a chance to you know, take 0:07:28.880 --> 0:07:31.680 the lead in in late in the third quarter there, 0:07:31.760 --> 0:07:34.240 I mean, you could see you could see the defense 0:07:34.280 --> 0:07:38.800 pulling for the offense. And I just think that that matters, 0:07:39.120 --> 0:07:41.240 you know. I mean, it's not about just cheer leading. 0:07:41.640 --> 0:07:46.160 It's genuine excitement and pulling for each other. The Bengals 0:07:46.160 --> 0:07:49.040 have mostly had good luck in terms of injuries. I'm 0:07:49.080 --> 0:07:52.040 knocking on wood as I say that, but Logan Wilson 0:07:52.120 --> 0:07:53.480 is going to be out for at least a couple 0:07:53.520 --> 0:07:55.520 of weeks now with a shoulder injury. How does that 0:07:55.600 --> 0:07:59.280 impact the Bengals? D Well, he's really you know, he's 0:07:59.320 --> 0:08:01.600 really emerged, you know, I mean the interceptions of the 0:08:01.600 --> 0:08:04.000 interceptions earlier in the year that he had, but you know, 0:08:04.040 --> 0:08:06.720 I mean he's just an every down player. You know, 0:08:06.760 --> 0:08:09.960 he's a very very instinctive player. He knows where the 0:08:09.960 --> 0:08:11.480 ball is going, he knows how to get there. He 0:08:11.520 --> 0:08:14.120 makes a lot of tackles. Uh. He to me, he's 0:08:14.120 --> 0:08:16.200 been their quarterback of the defense. Now, they've had a 0:08:16.200 --> 0:08:18.520 lot of leaders on that side of the ball. Um, 0:08:18.640 --> 0:08:20.320 you know, Pratt will have to step up, and you know, 0:08:20.320 --> 0:08:23.200 they've got guys that can fill his shoes. But I 0:08:23.320 --> 0:08:26.520 think that you know, he's a guy that has really emerged, 0:08:26.960 --> 0:08:29.000 you know, early in his career right here as a 0:08:29.040 --> 0:08:32.440 guy that can lead a defense. And so there's a 0:08:32.440 --> 0:08:34.120 trick it down effect there. You're not going to be 0:08:34.200 --> 0:08:37.000 as good with him not on the field. But I 0:08:37.040 --> 0:08:40.120 think I think they're they're capable of overcoming the loss, 0:08:40.160 --> 0:08:42.439 but it's it's a big loss because he's a very 0:08:42.559 --> 0:08:45.400 very good player. The forty nine ers are coming to 0:08:45.400 --> 0:08:47.560 town this week. They're six and six after losing in 0:08:47.640 --> 0:08:50.000 Seattle last Sunday. What are a couple of things that 0:08:50.080 --> 0:08:54.880 a team needs to do to beat San Francisco? Well, there, 0:08:54.920 --> 0:08:56.520 they want to run the ball. They've got a rookie 0:08:56.600 --> 0:08:59.920 running back and Elijah Mitchell. Um. You know, prior to 0:09:00.040 --> 0:09:02.240 the last week's lost in Seattle, he carried the ball 0:09:03.040 --> 0:09:06.160 you know against the Rams, uh, you know, twenty seven times. 0:09:06.160 --> 0:09:09.280 I mean he's a volume carrier and don't be fooled 0:09:09.280 --> 0:09:11.880 by his size. He's got real power. I mean, you 0:09:11.920 --> 0:09:14.719 constantly see him pushed the pile and break tackles. He's 0:09:14.800 --> 0:09:18.199 good contact, balanced runner. So and they run a lot 0:09:18.240 --> 0:09:20.600 of stuff off the run game, a lot of play action, 0:09:21.880 --> 0:09:23.280 you know, do you get the ball down the field. 0:09:23.280 --> 0:09:25.320 George Kittle had his best game that I can remember 0:09:25.400 --> 0:09:27.760 the last two years last week in the absence of 0:09:27.840 --> 0:09:30.960 Deebo Samuel. But if Debo plays, and I don't know 0:09:31.000 --> 0:09:34.400 if he's up this week or not, if he plays, 0:09:34.600 --> 0:09:37.080 you got to defend him as a receiver, and you 0:09:37.120 --> 0:09:38.800 have to defend him as a running back. I mean, 0:09:38.840 --> 0:09:43.000 he's uh he's run for four touchdowns in the last 0:09:43.000 --> 0:09:46.240 couple of weeks, and uh, they really they feed him. 0:09:46.280 --> 0:09:48.280 He's he's really a good player. He could he could 0:09:48.280 --> 0:09:50.240 be a starting running back in this league. But as 0:09:50.280 --> 0:09:53.079 a wide receiver prior to last week, I think he 0:09:53.160 --> 0:09:56.720 led the league in yards you know after a reception. 0:09:56.840 --> 0:09:59.800 But uh that that those are things. And then defense, 0:10:00.200 --> 0:10:02.920 they play really hard. It's a lot more than just 0:10:03.040 --> 0:10:06.360 Nick Bosa. Like that group plays the game really hard. 0:10:06.880 --> 0:10:09.960 They're a little beat up in the secondary and Seattle 0:10:10.000 --> 0:10:12.760 made them pay for that. But they're front seven, they're 0:10:12.760 --> 0:10:16.040 eight deep, and they come after you. As it stands, 0:10:16.120 --> 0:10:18.480 right now, the Bengals are the number six playoff seed 0:10:18.559 --> 0:10:21.200 in the AFC. Who do you consider to be the 0:10:21.240 --> 0:10:23.280 team to beat in the AFC right now? And do 0:10:23.320 --> 0:10:27.520 you view the Bengals as a legitimate playoff contender. Well, 0:10:27.520 --> 0:10:29.600 I don't think anybody's better than the Patriots right now. 0:10:29.640 --> 0:10:31.400 I mean, they prove that again on Monday Night against 0:10:31.440 --> 0:10:34.080 Buffalo in the way that they played, in the way 0:10:34.120 --> 0:10:37.360 that they've been playing for the last seven weeks. So 0:10:37.400 --> 0:10:39.679 I think they're the cream the cream in the AFC. 0:10:39.840 --> 0:10:42.000 But it's it's wide open to me. I think the 0:10:42.040 --> 0:10:43.760 Bengals are a playoff team. I said that from the 0:10:43.840 --> 0:10:46.600 very beginning. It won't surprise me if they win the division. 0:10:47.640 --> 0:10:51.320 Obviously it's a very difficult division. Cleveland coming off their 0:10:51.360 --> 0:10:53.960 buy will give it their best shot. So I don't 0:10:53.960 --> 0:10:56.520 know that anybody can lay claim right now. Baltimore certainly 0:10:56.559 --> 0:11:01.319 has their struggles going on, has has Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, 0:11:01.520 --> 0:11:04.280 you know, as you know, they've struggled here. They've been 0:11:04.360 --> 0:11:07.160 up and down, you know, and so it's everybody's division. 0:11:07.200 --> 0:11:09.880 But I expect the Bengals to be a playoff team. 0:11:09.920 --> 0:11:12.480 I think they're built to be a playoff team, and 0:11:12.520 --> 0:11:15.280 I think they're built to win a playoff team. Brian, 0:11:15.360 --> 0:11:17.920 I love bald these breakdowns. It's one of my favorite 0:11:17.920 --> 0:11:20.040 things on Twitter. Thanks so much for your time and 0:11:20.120 --> 0:11:22.520 keep up the great work. I appreciate you, Dan, thank you, 0:11:22.600 --> 0:11:25.840 thanks for having me. Good luck this week. Here's hoping 0:11:25.960 --> 0:11:30.640 Brian's playoff forecast comes true. By and large, the Bengals 0:11:30.640 --> 0:11:32.640 have been one of the healthier teams in the NFL 0:11:32.720 --> 0:11:35.240 this year, but the one position group that's been hit 0:11:35.280 --> 0:11:39.079 hard by injuries is linebacker. Jordan Evans and to king 0:11:39.160 --> 0:11:42.280 Davis Gaither are both on injured reserve, and last week 0:11:42.720 --> 0:11:45.640 Marcus Bailey and Logan Wilson had to leave the game 0:11:45.800 --> 0:11:50.120 with shoulder injuries. Wilson is going to miss at least 0:11:50.360 --> 0:11:54.680 a few weeks. Second year pro Joe Bacchi stepped in 0:11:55.000 --> 0:11:58.160 and did a solid job against the Chargers. I spoke 0:11:58.200 --> 0:12:02.280 to Joe this week. Joe, you took over a linebacker 0:12:02.280 --> 0:12:04.640 when Logan Wilson heard his shoulder last week and did 0:12:04.800 --> 0:12:07.240 very well. You had the third highest grade on defense 0:12:07.280 --> 0:12:09.880 according to Pro Football Focus. Do you feel like you 0:12:09.960 --> 0:12:12.800 showed your teammates and coaches that they can count on you? 0:12:13.000 --> 0:12:16.360 While Logan is out, I hope, So, I mean, obviously, 0:12:16.400 --> 0:12:18.360 Logan has been a great player this year. You know, 0:12:18.400 --> 0:12:20.600 he's been on a role, and I knew if my 0:12:20.640 --> 0:12:22.840 time ever come, you know, you gotta gotta take advantage. 0:12:22.840 --> 0:12:25.080 Actually might not get another one. So you know, my 0:12:25.160 --> 0:12:27.880 opportunity came up, and you know, a tough circumstance with 0:12:27.920 --> 0:12:30.559 how Marcus and Logan both went down, and I just 0:12:30.600 --> 0:12:32.240 had to take advantage of it. So hopefully, you know, 0:12:32.280 --> 0:12:35.280 I gained the trust my teammates. I imagine we will 0:12:35.280 --> 0:12:36.959 see you in there quite a bit against the forty 0:12:37.040 --> 0:12:39.280 nine ers this week. A team that loses uses a 0:12:39.280 --> 0:12:41.760 lot of misdirection, a team that's got a great fullback 0:12:41.800 --> 0:12:43.800 and Kyle use Check, a team that's got a great 0:12:43.800 --> 0:12:47.520 tight end and George Kittle. Is this an especially demanding 0:12:47.559 --> 0:12:50.480 matchup for a linebacker? This one is one of those 0:12:50.480 --> 0:12:52.400 games they try to get your eyes as a linebacker, 0:12:52.440 --> 0:12:55.760 you know, with all the pre snap motion and moving around. 0:12:56.320 --> 0:12:58.480 But you know, it's a good week of preparation. You know, 0:12:58.520 --> 0:13:00.920 we got smart players defensively. You know, I think it's 0:13:00.920 --> 0:13:02.320 gonna be a fun game. I think they're gonna try 0:13:02.360 --> 0:13:04.839 and make it physical, which is right up our alley, 0:13:04.840 --> 0:13:06.679 So I think I think we're ready for it. We're 0:13:06.720 --> 0:13:09.520 talking to linebacker Joe Bacci. Last week, you got your 0:13:09.520 --> 0:13:11.640 most defensive snaps in a game, but you've been a 0:13:11.720 --> 0:13:15.000 key contributor on special teams all year. What's the key 0:13:15.120 --> 0:13:18.160 to earning the trust of special teams coordinator Darren Simmons. 0:13:19.559 --> 0:13:22.080 You gotta get on you know, his good side. He's 0:13:22.080 --> 0:13:25.240 gotta trust you because special teams means a lot, which 0:13:25.280 --> 0:13:27.960 is you know, totally right, and you know, just extra 0:13:28.160 --> 0:13:31.280 extra time with him, you know, asking them questions, being multiple, 0:13:31.320 --> 0:13:33.640 being able to do different things. Um, just showing that 0:13:33.679 --> 0:13:36.680 he can trust you out there, because like I said, 0:13:36.760 --> 0:13:38.520 you know, he's been doing this for a long time. 0:13:38.559 --> 0:13:40.280 So if you can gain his trust, that's a good thing. 0:13:41.000 --> 0:13:43.480 This is your second NFL season. You spend time with 0:13:43.520 --> 0:13:45.679 the Saints and the Eagles a year ago as a rookie. 0:13:46.040 --> 0:13:49.200 What was the most eye opening thing about your first 0:13:49.200 --> 0:13:52.920 exposure to the NFL. You know, everyone kind of gets 0:13:52.920 --> 0:13:56.200 that initial you know, a wild moment of all right, yeah, 0:13:56.200 --> 0:13:58.680 this guy's really good at football. You know, it's different 0:13:58.720 --> 0:14:01.240 than the college level. And you know, when I was 0:14:01.240 --> 0:14:02.920 down there with the Saints just going through camp. There 0:14:03.000 --> 0:14:05.480 was so much talent on that team from offensive defense, 0:14:05.520 --> 0:14:08.560 you know, guys like Drew Brees obviously, Cam Jordan, um, 0:14:08.679 --> 0:14:11.080 guys who've been doing it a long time. And they 0:14:11.080 --> 0:14:12.680 had a guy to Mario Davis who was in my 0:14:12.720 --> 0:14:15.560 position linebacker obviously, who's you know, had a hell of 0:14:15.559 --> 0:14:17.319 a career, so you know, he was a good guy 0:14:17.320 --> 0:14:19.840 to look up to. Craig Robertson. It was another older VET, 0:14:20.600 --> 0:14:22.320 but there were just guys down there who have done 0:14:22.360 --> 0:14:24.480 it for a long time and that definitely opened my eye. 0:14:25.560 --> 0:14:28.440 What if anything changes for you this week in terms 0:14:28.440 --> 0:14:32.920 of your preparation with Logan Wilson out, nothing will change. Um. 0:14:33.080 --> 0:14:34.600 You know, like I said, you got to prepare every 0:14:34.600 --> 0:14:36.920 week like you're going to be the guy. And last 0:14:36.960 --> 0:14:38.320 week that happened to me and I had to be 0:14:38.360 --> 0:14:40.520 ready to go. You know, no one's gonna you know, 0:14:40.720 --> 0:14:42.760 feel bad that, you know, I had to get thrown 0:14:42.800 --> 0:14:44.800 out there and didn't know everything. You know, I had 0:14:44.840 --> 0:14:46.200 to go out there. I had to own up to it. 0:14:46.240 --> 0:14:48.640 And you know, play football. You know, once you get 0:14:48.640 --> 0:14:50.440 back out there, it's like riding a bike and you know, 0:14:50.480 --> 0:14:53.360 you start playing football, start having fun with it and 0:14:53.440 --> 0:14:55.280 you know, I enjoyed it last week. You know, obviously 0:14:55.360 --> 0:14:57.800 I hope that Logan and Marcus are able to you know, 0:14:57.960 --> 0:15:00.520 have a speedy recovery. But you know the meantime, I 0:15:00.560 --> 0:15:02.360 gotta go out there and I gotta play well. We're 0:15:02.400 --> 0:15:05.480 chatting with linebacker Joe Bacchi. You played college football at 0:15:05.520 --> 0:15:08.360 Michigan State, but you are an Ohio kid. You're from 0:15:08.360 --> 0:15:11.360 the Cleveland area. Is it exciting for you and your 0:15:11.400 --> 0:15:13.640 family to be playing close to home in the NFL? 0:15:14.520 --> 0:15:17.480 I think it's huge. You know, it's nice to have 0:15:17.600 --> 0:15:19.480 my parents come down for the games on the weekend 0:15:19.560 --> 0:15:21.360 only be a three and a half hour drive or 0:15:21.400 --> 0:15:23.920 whatever it is. You know, it's huge. You know, just 0:15:23.960 --> 0:15:27.000 like college. They enjoyed coming to everything even when I 0:15:27.040 --> 0:15:30.120 was a little kid. You know, they went everywhere AU basketball, travel, baseball, 0:15:30.160 --> 0:15:32.480 whatever it was there and everything, and you know, it's 0:15:32.560 --> 0:15:34.880 nice to see this um, you know, go all the 0:15:34.880 --> 0:15:36.920 way to you know, my job really and you know, 0:15:37.000 --> 0:15:39.000 a professional football player and they're still able to come. 0:15:39.040 --> 0:15:42.240 So it's definitely a benefit. Based on your Twitter feed, 0:15:42.280 --> 0:15:45.800 you are a very proud Spartans grad. What did the 0:15:45.880 --> 0:15:48.840 win over Michigan mean this year? You know that just 0:15:49.000 --> 0:15:52.400 describes Michigan State, you know, never giving up. You know, 0:15:52.440 --> 0:15:54.360 they were down whatever it was, might have been eleven, 0:15:54.400 --> 0:15:57.760 I can't remember exactly, but you know, just constantly staying 0:15:57.800 --> 0:15:59.960 with the staying with it and uh you know eventually 0:16:00.280 --> 0:16:02.440 coming through just being relentless. And that's a you know, 0:16:02.560 --> 0:16:05.200 coach Tucker's thing there right now. So that was a 0:16:05.200 --> 0:16:08.000 great moment. But then Michigan did come back to win 0:16:08.040 --> 0:16:10.160 the Big Ten and now they've qualified for the four 0:16:10.160 --> 0:16:14.000 team playoff. To seeing Michigan in the top four make 0:16:14.040 --> 0:16:18.720 your skin crawl. It's definitely not something that you know, 0:16:18.760 --> 0:16:21.600 my skin enjoys, let's see. But you know that they're 0:16:21.640 --> 0:16:24.120 a hell of a football team if you actually watch them. Um, 0:16:24.280 --> 0:16:25.480 you know, I think they had a great game play 0:16:25.480 --> 0:16:27.480 against Ohio State. You know, like you said, I'm an 0:16:27.520 --> 0:16:29.440 Ohio guy. I had one of my buddies, the G 0:16:29.600 --> 0:16:31.800 eight Ohio State, so I watched that game closely, and 0:16:32.160 --> 0:16:34.000 you know, Michigan was a better football team that day. 0:16:34.000 --> 0:16:36.280 And I still think, you know, they got a chance. 0:16:36.280 --> 0:16:38.840 Obviously they got Georgia, which a tough matchup, so you know, 0:16:38.840 --> 0:16:40.280 we'll see what they're made of. But you know, it's 0:16:40.280 --> 0:16:41.960 good to see the Big ten though, you know, a 0:16:41.960 --> 0:16:45.040 two spot in the playoffs, although you can route for 0:16:45.080 --> 0:16:49.360 the University of Cincinnati because defensive coordinator Mike Tressell had 0:16:49.360 --> 0:16:52.120 the same job when you were playing at Michigan State. Yeah, 0:16:52.640 --> 0:16:55.480 you know, and Tressell was, you know, the best to me. 0:16:56.040 --> 0:16:57.600 You know, he was hard on me like my dad 0:16:57.720 --> 0:17:00.000 was growing up, and you know, I really appreciate it 0:17:00.120 --> 0:17:01.880 that when I was in college. And obviously he's doing 0:17:01.880 --> 0:17:04.640 a hell of a job here at Cincinnati. I also 0:17:04.680 --> 0:17:07.840 have ties with Bama. My girlfriend's older brother who was 0:17:07.840 --> 0:17:11.480 a Spartan under trustle at a point, Max Bola. He 0:17:12.359 --> 0:17:14.159 is the second year here with Bama, so you know, 0:17:14.160 --> 0:17:15.760 I'm kind of tied between the two. I went to 0:17:15.760 --> 0:17:19.240 the national championship last year because of Alabama. You know, 0:17:19.280 --> 0:17:21.760 I got coach Trusts on the Cincinnati sidestyle. Definitely be 0:17:21.760 --> 0:17:24.560 a fun game to watch. You did a fantastic job 0:17:24.680 --> 0:17:26.760 last week. Best of luck this week, and I appreciate 0:17:26.760 --> 0:17:30.000 your time. Yeah, thank you. Joe tied for the team 0:17:30.080 --> 0:17:33.879 lead in tackles last week with nine. The Bengals Booth 0:17:33.880 --> 0:17:37.120 Podcast is presented by Ultimate Bengals. There free to play 0:17:37.240 --> 0:17:40.959 fantasy football game Ultimate Bengals will be awarding a weekly 0:17:41.000 --> 0:17:45.080 winner during the course of the season with tickets, autograph merchandise, 0:17:45.359 --> 0:17:49.240 and money can't Buy experiences all up for grabs. Find 0:17:49.359 --> 0:17:53.440 Ultimate Bengals in the app Store and Google Play. Now 0:17:53.480 --> 0:17:56.520 time to discuss the latest Bengals news and Sunday's matchup 0:17:56.520 --> 0:18:00.879 against the Niners with my broadcast partner Dave Lapham lap 0:18:01.000 --> 0:18:03.359 It sounds like Trey Hopkins and Riley Reef will be 0:18:03.400 --> 0:18:05.760 back this week. That's obviously good news if that's the 0:18:05.800 --> 0:18:09.280 way it plays out, But linebacker Logan Wilson is definitely out. 0:18:09.680 --> 0:18:12.800 We don't know about Marcus Bailey yet. How did Joe 0:18:12.840 --> 0:18:15.840 Bacchi do last week stepping in? And how big of 0:18:15.880 --> 0:18:19.359 a challenge is it to play linebacker against this opponent 0:18:19.680 --> 0:18:22.280 the forty nine ers. Yeah, the forty nine ers. Uh, 0:18:23.160 --> 0:18:25.080 they do a lot of things to try to, you know, 0:18:25.240 --> 0:18:29.080 get you not trusting your eyes as such. Their whole 0:18:29.119 --> 0:18:32.400 thing is, you know, they just they try to ut 0:18:32.480 --> 0:18:36.000 out leverage you, out gap you with formations and motion 0:18:36.119 --> 0:18:38.040 and window dressing, and they try to get you to 0:18:38.080 --> 0:18:41.080 play cat and mouse a little bit and and guess 0:18:41.119 --> 0:18:44.760 you know, and I mean again, the legendary Paul Brown 0:18:45.000 --> 0:18:48.280 would say, we got him guessing. When you have the 0:18:48.320 --> 0:18:51.359 defense guessing, that puts us in a good position. So 0:18:51.640 --> 0:18:55.520 I mean that's that's kind of the mindset there. So yeah, 0:18:55.600 --> 0:18:57.399 it'll be a challenge. I mean, these guys run the 0:18:57.400 --> 0:19:01.840 football very creatively. I think they've got a very big, 0:19:01.960 --> 0:19:05.600 athletic offensive lineman that are built to run the football 0:19:06.640 --> 0:19:09.440 that they utilize the tight end fullback package as well 0:19:09.480 --> 0:19:13.200 as anybody in the National Football League. U use check 0:19:13.480 --> 0:19:18.399 is really really good, can block, can run, can catch. 0:19:18.880 --> 0:19:24.280 Kittle is a dominantly physical specimen, you know, probably the 0:19:24.320 --> 0:19:26.560 best blocking tight end in football. And he's a he's 0:19:26.560 --> 0:19:29.200 a great receiver as well because he's such a great blocker. 0:19:29.640 --> 0:19:33.879 So it's a snootful for any linebacker. And uh for 0:19:34.000 --> 0:19:37.119 Joe Bacchi to be technically his first start as such, 0:19:37.160 --> 0:19:40.760 you know, as a linebacker, it'll it'll be it'll be 0:19:40.800 --> 0:19:44.000 a challenge for sure, whether it's he or Bailey, very 0:19:44.040 --> 0:19:47.840 inexperienced Bailey obviously, and if if Bailey's still kind of 0:19:47.880 --> 0:19:50.240 licking his wound a little bit there, that could be 0:19:50.600 --> 0:19:54.600 a tough deal. Because it's this is gonna um, You're 0:19:54.600 --> 0:19:58.639 gonna have to make quick reads and get downhill and 0:19:58.720 --> 0:20:02.600 be physical and so doing against this offensive football team. 0:20:02.600 --> 0:20:06.119 There's no question. Now time for Joe burrow pinky update. 0:20:06.119 --> 0:20:08.480 I feel like we should have a breaking news sound 0:20:08.480 --> 0:20:13.720 effect here. And Joe hurt his finger on the fifth 0:20:13.760 --> 0:20:17.240 play from scrimmage. Offensively last week before that, he was 0:20:17.280 --> 0:20:20.000 two for two for seventeen yards. After that, twenty two 0:20:20.040 --> 0:20:22.520 for thirty eight. That's fifty eight percent, two hundred and 0:20:22.600 --> 0:20:26.040 eighty three yards, one touchdown, two picks. One of the 0:20:26.080 --> 0:20:29.400 interceptions was a perfectly thrown ball thirty one yards down 0:20:29.520 --> 0:20:31.920 field that could have been a seventy one yard touchdown, 0:20:32.280 --> 0:20:35.359 but Jamar Chase obviously bobbled it and it turned into 0:20:35.359 --> 0:20:39.720 an interception. With all of that in mind, how concerned 0:20:39.760 --> 0:20:43.919 are you about the status of Joe Burrow's pinky finger. Yeah, 0:20:43.960 --> 0:20:47.080 to me, it's sometimes during the heat of the battle 0:20:47.119 --> 0:20:50.720 when you have the injury, and my experiences, adrenaline, you know, 0:20:50.920 --> 0:20:53.240 kind of eases a lot of concerns there. You know, 0:20:53.280 --> 0:20:56.560 you don't really know how badly you're hurt. Now it's 0:20:56.600 --> 0:21:01.280 going to be you know, hours, days, a few days. Uh, 0:21:01.920 --> 0:21:04.320 their injury can change. I mean, there can be a 0:21:04.400 --> 0:21:06.919 lot more swelling at a lot of change in the injury, 0:21:08.000 --> 0:21:10.119 and then you have to decide how you're going to 0:21:10.160 --> 0:21:11.920 address it, you know, will you be able to throw 0:21:11.960 --> 0:21:13.840 I don't think he's going to do much practicing. This 0:21:13.880 --> 0:21:15.879 would got to be surprised. If he doesn't throw a 0:21:15.880 --> 0:21:19.040 football till Friday, that wouldn't surprise me at all, you know. 0:21:19.080 --> 0:21:20.840 I think they want to treat it and get it 0:21:20.880 --> 0:21:23.199 in as good as shape as they possibly can, and 0:21:23.280 --> 0:21:25.280 the best way to do that is to is to 0:21:25.320 --> 0:21:27.439 not you know, exert it over and over and over 0:21:27.480 --> 0:21:31.840 again throwing a football. So yeah, it'll be it'll be 0:21:31.880 --> 0:21:35.840 interesting to see how how the whole thing, uh, how 0:21:35.880 --> 0:21:39.080 the whole thing plays out, how it reacts. But that 0:21:39.240 --> 0:21:43.720 seventy one yard touchdown pass would have made him three 0:21:43.800 --> 0:21:46.480 to seventy one yards passing two touchdowns an interception instead 0:21:46.480 --> 0:21:48.119 of a quarterback grading at seventy, it would have been 0:21:48.160 --> 0:21:50.399 over one hundred, you know, like it's been. So the 0:21:50.480 --> 0:21:53.639 ripple effect that play was huge, obviously not just to 0:21:53.760 --> 0:21:56.040 Joe's stats, but to the outcome of the football game 0:21:56.280 --> 0:21:58.320 as well. Because it was nine nothing at that time. 0:21:58.800 --> 0:22:00.600 That would have made a big If it's a big 0:22:00.640 --> 0:22:03.040 explosive play, get momentum and all that sort of thing. 0:22:03.640 --> 0:22:07.720 But yeah, it's it's going to be interesting that the 0:22:07.840 --> 0:22:12.240 thing that happens on a dislocation because I've dislocated fingers, 0:22:12.240 --> 0:22:16.800 I dislocated my elbow, it wants to Once it's subluxes 0:22:16.880 --> 0:22:20.119 and you have the collateral damage of this stretch or 0:22:20.280 --> 0:22:23.680 tear or partial tear of ligaments, tenants, whatever, it wants 0:22:23.680 --> 0:22:26.320 to continue to sublux it wants to go back out. 0:22:26.560 --> 0:22:28.560 And that's that's the pain that he was feeling. That's 0:22:28.560 --> 0:22:32.160 the problem he was feeling without anything to help kind 0:22:32.160 --> 0:22:36.040 of support that from not happening. So I have a 0:22:36.080 --> 0:22:38.919 feeling that at this from during the course of the 0:22:38.960 --> 0:22:41.600 week here, he'll probably find a glove that will help 0:22:41.640 --> 0:22:44.560 that sum and you know, then you just have to 0:22:44.600 --> 0:22:47.040 get used to throwing, you know, with a glove. I 0:22:47.040 --> 0:22:48.800 don't know how much he's done with that. I don't 0:22:48.840 --> 0:22:50.240 know if he's had to do a whole lot of 0:22:50.280 --> 0:22:53.679 that during the course of his career high school, college, 0:22:53.680 --> 0:22:55.679 when he was at Ohio State. Probably not much at 0:22:55.800 --> 0:22:58.560 LSU obviously, but throwing with a glove can be a 0:22:58.600 --> 0:23:00.879 little different. Although some quarter back swear by it they 0:23:01.200 --> 0:23:03.040 say they get a better grip on the football with 0:23:03.080 --> 0:23:05.640 the gloves. So everybody's you know, teaching their own. Everybody's 0:23:05.680 --> 0:23:08.679 different in that regard. But it's going to be interesting 0:23:08.680 --> 0:23:10.639 to see what Joe Burrow comes up with. But I 0:23:10.680 --> 0:23:14.480 do think, really I think maybe, you know, the only 0:23:14.520 --> 0:23:18.600 guy of the injured players keeping everything crossed I can 0:23:18.680 --> 0:23:22.560 on a woozier. I mean, if Logan Wilson's the only 0:23:22.600 --> 0:23:25.680 guy that doesn't play, I'd be pretty good, you know, 0:23:25.840 --> 0:23:28.120 if they if they get all the walking wounded back. 0:23:28.640 --> 0:23:32.120 But like we've always talked about Dan, you know, being 0:23:32.240 --> 0:23:34.880 available at the start of the game and being available 0:23:35.040 --> 0:23:37.040 after you've taken twenty of thirty snaps in the game. 0:23:37.040 --> 0:23:39.359 When you have an injury of some sort, can you 0:23:39.400 --> 0:23:42.480 exacerbate it? Can you reinjure it? Can all those things happen? Yeah, 0:23:42.480 --> 0:23:45.240 they can happen. So you just never know until you 0:23:45.240 --> 0:23:47.880 get out there and start playing. As I mentioned off 0:23:47.920 --> 0:23:50.520 the top, it looks like Hopkins and Reef will be back. 0:23:50.840 --> 0:23:55.840 Did Trey Hill and Isaiah Prince struggle pretty badly last week? Yeah? 0:23:55.880 --> 0:23:58.200 I think it was. I don't think the offensive line 0:23:58.240 --> 0:24:00.639 as a whole played very well. I thought it was 0:24:00.680 --> 0:24:04.639 one of their least effective efforts efforts of the season. 0:24:05.160 --> 0:24:07.679 And you know, they just so happened to go up 0:24:07.680 --> 0:24:10.399 against a team that gave you a lot of different 0:24:10.400 --> 0:24:15.919 looks and personnel groupings and recognition and communication was a 0:24:15.920 --> 0:24:17.840 big deal. And it starts from that point person that 0:24:17.960 --> 0:24:20.679 center out in the offensive line, and there was some 0:24:20.720 --> 0:24:25.679 communication problems, there were some recognition problems, and obviously the 0:24:25.800 --> 0:24:30.720 Chargers realized that very very rapidly, so they started bringing 0:24:30.760 --> 0:24:34.399 more than they normally do, or not bringing more, but 0:24:34.520 --> 0:24:37.080 blitzing more a higher percentage. They weren't bringing more than 0:24:37.160 --> 0:24:41.000 five people necessarily, but you'd come up in a configuration 0:24:41.080 --> 0:24:44.240 and uh, you know, eight guys could come, which five 0:24:44.280 --> 0:24:46.560 are coming and which ones aren't. And they did a 0:24:46.600 --> 0:24:50.760 good job of changing that up and testing the communication, 0:24:50.880 --> 0:24:55.560 the identification communication and adaptation of rules for a blitz 0:24:55.560 --> 0:24:58.520 pickups and past protections and that sort of thing, and 0:24:58.560 --> 0:25:01.600 they fell short as well as, uh, you know, penalties. 0:25:01.640 --> 0:25:04.479 This team prides itself on lack of penalties. I mean, 0:25:04.480 --> 0:25:07.280 they're still first in the National Football League by by 0:25:07.280 --> 0:25:11.840 a wide margin. I mean, they've only got fifty penalties 0:25:11.880 --> 0:25:15.200 on the season. There's only two other teams that can 0:25:15.320 --> 0:25:21.240 that can make that claim um that have h fifty 0:25:21.720 --> 0:25:24.000 less than sixty penalties, and the Bengals have the fewest 0:25:24.000 --> 0:25:27.359 at fifty. And then they're number one in fewest penalty 0:25:27.400 --> 0:25:30.800 yards generated against them too. And there's only a couple 0:25:30.840 --> 0:25:34.880 of teams that have less than six five hundred yards 0:25:34.880 --> 0:25:36.639 and penalty yards and the Bengals are sitting there at 0:25:36.640 --> 0:25:39.879 four hundred and twenty four. So they've done a good 0:25:39.920 --> 0:25:43.520 job in that regard. But last week, seven penalties, you know, 0:25:43.640 --> 0:25:46.560 two on the center, one on the right tackle, and 0:25:46.800 --> 0:25:49.240 you know, two holding penalties and illegal use of hands 0:25:49.240 --> 0:25:52.439 to the face masks. Those those are brutal. You know, 0:25:52.480 --> 0:25:57.080 they took away good games, they took away significant plays, 0:25:57.119 --> 0:25:59.160 They put you off schedule when you were on schedule. 0:25:59.680 --> 0:26:03.920 So obviously they had their struggles. Let's stick with injuries. 0:26:04.119 --> 0:26:06.680 Trey Wayne's and Deonta Smith have been cleared to practice. 0:26:06.720 --> 0:26:09.240 The Bengals have three weeks to either activate them or 0:26:09.320 --> 0:26:11.440 rule them out for the rest of the year. Let's 0:26:11.440 --> 0:26:14.040 talk about Trey Wayne specifically. He missed the first three 0:26:14.080 --> 0:26:16.560 games of the year due to a hamstring injury that 0:26:16.560 --> 0:26:18.840 he suffered in training camp. He played pretty well in 0:26:18.920 --> 0:26:21.640 his first game back against Jacksonville, and then he hurt 0:26:21.680 --> 0:26:25.280 the other hamstring in his second game back against Green Bay. 0:26:25.400 --> 0:26:27.520 So now he's missed seven in a row. Do you 0:26:27.560 --> 0:26:32.280 expect him back this week? And can he help? That's 0:26:32.320 --> 0:26:35.440 a puzzling situation there, because he hasn't had a history 0:26:35.480 --> 0:26:39.840 of injuries, hamstring injuries in particular, and now he's got 0:26:39.880 --> 0:26:43.160 hamstring injuries in both areas, and it makes you wonder 0:26:43.160 --> 0:26:47.879 a little bit when you pectoral hamstring, other hamstring. I 0:26:47.920 --> 0:26:50.200 don't know if you're taking whatever supplement you're taking, or 0:26:50.320 --> 0:26:52.360 maybe you should rethink what you're doing if there's been 0:26:52.440 --> 0:26:55.160 some sort of a change in that regards that's maybe 0:26:55.200 --> 0:26:58.080 altered the way your body's reacting to whatever it is. 0:26:58.320 --> 0:27:00.440 And I'm not saying he's doing anything at least, I'm 0:27:00.480 --> 0:27:04.040 just saying that sometimes bodies don't respond well to certain 0:27:04.480 --> 0:27:07.880 diet changes or additives or whatever supplements whatever guys do. 0:27:09.320 --> 0:27:12.760 But with that said, if he's healthy, I think he 0:27:12.800 --> 0:27:14.520 can help, you know, I really do. I mean, I 0:27:14.600 --> 0:27:19.879 think the guy can help. And honestly, if he's been 0:27:19.920 --> 0:27:22.680 a pro, a pros pro, he's taken mental rep after 0:27:22.760 --> 0:27:24.840 mental rep, and he's kept up with everything they've done 0:27:24.840 --> 0:27:27.480 in terms of adjustments and problems they've had and how 0:27:27.480 --> 0:27:29.600 those problems have been rectified and all those sort of things. 0:27:29.640 --> 0:27:32.600 So hopefully, you know, it won't be like he's been 0:27:32.640 --> 0:27:35.480 in a closet somewhere and locked up and not understood 0:27:35.680 --> 0:27:39.840 what's been going on through this whole process. So if 0:27:39.840 --> 0:27:41.920 he can go out there and get it done physically, 0:27:42.000 --> 0:27:44.800 he's a he's a talented guy. I mean, he can run, 0:27:44.880 --> 0:27:47.040 he's long, he's got I mean, they paid him a 0:27:47.040 --> 0:27:49.640 ton of money for a reason. And if he can, 0:27:49.800 --> 0:27:53.000 if he can get out there and remain healthy, that 0:27:53.040 --> 0:27:56.280 would that would be a big plus. Can particularly if 0:27:56.480 --> 0:27:59.040 if it was he is not injured. Is that foot 0:27:59.080 --> 0:28:01.760 injury isn't so severe that you know he might even 0:28:01.760 --> 0:28:04.320 be able to suit up and help some um, that 0:28:04.359 --> 0:28:07.480 would be that would be a very big addition. I 0:28:07.480 --> 0:28:12.280 don't know. I don't know that they'd necessarily activate him. 0:28:12.320 --> 0:28:15.000 If a Woozier is showing signs of being totally ready, 0:28:15.000 --> 0:28:17.440 they may give him a little more practice time to adapt. 0:28:17.800 --> 0:28:21.240 But in a quote emergency situation, be good to have 0:28:21.240 --> 0:28:22.719 a guy that you paid a ton of money too, 0:28:22.760 --> 0:28:25.200 that you had a lot of confidence in if, in fact, 0:28:25.680 --> 0:28:28.399 you know, he's healthy, and I would think seven weeks, 0:28:28.560 --> 0:28:31.440 I mean, that's a good stretch to get your get 0:28:31.480 --> 0:28:34.679 your hamstring right. So hopefully that's that wouldn't be an 0:28:34.680 --> 0:28:37.359 issue anymore. But as we know, though, the weather is 0:28:37.400 --> 0:28:39.800 going to start to change. It's as it's not supposed 0:28:39.840 --> 0:28:41.920 to be as cold on Sunday as it's been you know, 0:28:42.000 --> 0:28:44.760 in the early stages of the week here. But sometimes 0:28:45.040 --> 0:28:47.880 in that that cold, damp weather, it's tough for some 0:28:47.960 --> 0:28:50.960 of these you know, tightly muscled guys to get themselves loose. 0:28:51.880 --> 0:28:54.200 Here's a good stat courtesy of our friend Paul Dayner 0:28:54.280 --> 0:28:58.120 Junior from the Athletic in the Bengals seven wins, they 0:28:58.160 --> 0:29:03.440 have five turnovers and they're five losses. They have fourteen turnovers. 0:29:03.520 --> 0:29:06.520 So for all the analysis that we do and everybody 0:29:06.560 --> 0:29:09.640 else does, is it as simple as when they take 0:29:09.680 --> 0:29:12.160 care of the ball, they win and when they don't 0:29:12.240 --> 0:29:15.239 they lose. Yeah, although they had you know, they had 0:29:15.280 --> 0:29:19.080 a minus turnover ratio in Baltimore and won by forty 0:29:19.120 --> 0:29:22.640 one twenty. There's always something that's like what there's there's 0:29:22.720 --> 0:29:25.040 you're always going to find, you know, an exception to 0:29:25.080 --> 0:29:27.360 the rule. But in general, I mean in their last 0:29:27.360 --> 0:29:31.320 two losses they've had seven giveaways, seven turnovers, and two 0:29:31.360 --> 0:29:33.480 game stretch. It's going to be hard to beat anybody, 0:29:33.800 --> 0:29:37.840 and they didn't. They didn't beat them, So it is 0:29:38.160 --> 0:29:40.400 holding one of the football. Ball security is a big deal. 0:29:40.880 --> 0:29:43.160 And the thing that you know, I took notice of 0:29:43.200 --> 0:29:45.320 as I was looking through numbers in the early stages 0:29:45.320 --> 0:29:49.440 of preparation, forty nine ers have forced twenty five fumbles 0:29:50.000 --> 0:29:52.600 number one in the National Football League. Twenty five fumbles 0:29:52.640 --> 0:29:55.560 in twelve games over to a game on an average basis. 0:29:56.000 --> 0:29:59.600 I mean, that's that's like, that's being aggressive in that area. Obviously, 0:29:59.640 --> 0:30:01.959 I mean some luck involved with all of that are 0:30:02.000 --> 0:30:05.160 bad luck for the players that are losing those footballs, 0:30:05.160 --> 0:30:09.080 but man, that's obviously a focus of attention. And have 0:30:09.360 --> 0:30:12.680 twenty five of them. They've only recovered eight, but you know, 0:30:12.760 --> 0:30:16.320 that's still a significant, significant number, and it puts them 0:30:16.400 --> 0:30:19.560 in amongst the league leaders. In the league, they're tied 0:30:19.560 --> 0:30:22.880 for six with eight fumble recoveries. But man, twenty five 0:30:23.080 --> 0:30:27.640 fit the ground. Man that's better secure the pig because 0:30:27.720 --> 0:30:29.840 you know, lost a couple last week and both of 0:30:29.880 --> 0:30:33.600 them were very, very painful. So you're gonna have to 0:30:34.880 --> 0:30:38.160 don't anything worse than even Stephen in the turnover ratio. 0:30:38.200 --> 0:30:41.000 You're starting to play with fire a little bit. The 0:30:41.080 --> 0:30:43.440 forty nine ers were a super Bowl team two years ago. 0:30:43.960 --> 0:30:46.600 Then they were injury plagued. Last year, three different guys 0:30:46.640 --> 0:30:49.240 started at quarterback. They went six and ten. I think 0:30:49.280 --> 0:30:51.840 people expected them to bounce back with a big year 0:30:51.920 --> 0:30:54.840 this year. They've had some more injury problems. They're six 0:30:54.840 --> 0:30:58.480 and six. How good are the forty nine ers this year? 0:30:59.000 --> 0:31:02.240 That's a that's a great You know, they on paper 0:31:02.680 --> 0:31:05.680 and they look like and when you watch you watch 0:31:05.760 --> 0:31:10.280 their scheme, their schemes offensively and defensively, you think this 0:31:10.760 --> 0:31:12.680 is a football team that has some talent. It's pretty 0:31:12.720 --> 0:31:16.160 well put together. But man, it just hasn't like you said, Man, 0:31:16.160 --> 0:31:19.000 it hasn't parlayed. You know, they've four their six losses 0:31:19.080 --> 0:31:22.479 or by uh seven points or less, so they've been 0:31:22.520 --> 0:31:24.840 in a bunch of close games and haven't haven't really 0:31:25.240 --> 0:31:28.960 taken full advantage of it. I think I think Jimmy 0:31:28.960 --> 0:31:33.240 Garoppolo is a quandary. I mean, that guy, to me, 0:31:33.720 --> 0:31:37.760 he'll he'll he'll make some plays and then he'll play 0:31:37.800 --> 0:31:40.120 some games where it's like, yeah, Jimmy gi man, he 0:31:40.200 --> 0:31:42.680 can he can get it done. And then he'll just 0:31:42.720 --> 0:31:46.920 look he'll look terrible. I mean you'll see him stare 0:31:47.080 --> 0:31:50.600 his target down. I mean just stare it down. And 0:31:51.000 --> 0:31:54.600 he tries to looks to me like sometimes he tries 0:31:54.640 --> 0:31:56.760 to keep everything between the numbers because I don't think 0:31:56.760 --> 0:31:59.600 he trusts his arm strength. To me, he doesn't like 0:31:59.720 --> 0:32:02.080 to go outside as much as most quarter about now. 0:32:02.080 --> 0:32:04.160 You we had a guy that we saw last week 0:32:04.240 --> 0:32:06.680 justin Herbert. I mean, he'd fired the heck out of 0:32:06.680 --> 0:32:08.600 it from the right sideline to the left side line 0:32:08.720 --> 0:32:11.240 and not worry about it. But I think Jimmy g 0:32:11.400 --> 0:32:15.120 feels more comfortable, Uh look, looking in the middle of 0:32:15.120 --> 0:32:17.680 the football field between the numbers and making reads there 0:32:18.120 --> 0:32:20.040 and the ball's not in the air, you know, as much. 0:32:20.040 --> 0:32:22.360 And I think he has a pretty good understanding of 0:32:22.400 --> 0:32:24.560 the depth, perception and touch to put on the ball 0:32:24.560 --> 0:32:26.360 over the linebackers in front of the state. He seems 0:32:26.400 --> 0:32:29.840 to want to throw the football in those u in 0:32:29.920 --> 0:32:34.320 those particular areas and uh, you know, I mean he's 0:32:34.360 --> 0:32:37.120 thrown into uh, he's thrown into coverage some you know. 0:32:37.160 --> 0:32:40.800 I mean he'll he hasn't. He hasn't been totally clean 0:32:40.840 --> 0:32:43.120 in that regard. So I think I think he's the 0:32:43.200 --> 0:32:46.120 key to the football game, particularly if the Bengals can, Uh, 0:32:46.560 --> 0:32:49.760 if the Bengals can can get a lead and and 0:32:50.000 --> 0:32:53.240 uh impact the middle of the football field, and and 0:32:53.760 --> 0:32:56.240 uh make make Jimmy g throw the ball to the 0:32:56.240 --> 0:32:59.640 outside where he's not real comfortable. And and then if 0:32:59.640 --> 0:33:01.040 he does throw the ball in the middle of the 0:33:01.080 --> 0:33:05.520 football field into crowds, which he has done some, then 0:33:05.560 --> 0:33:07.800 I think that's a that's a recipe for success. But 0:33:07.840 --> 0:33:10.640 the first thing they have to do is control the 0:33:10.720 --> 0:33:14.720 running game, or they may see Shanahan do what Belichick did, 0:33:14.840 --> 0:33:17.320 only throw it three times in a game. I mean, 0:33:17.360 --> 0:33:20.880 it would not shock me that it's happened before. I mean, 0:33:20.920 --> 0:33:23.000 the forty nine ers have won games where Jimmy Geeson 0:33:23.040 --> 0:33:25.400 owned the ball less than twenty times, you know, like 0:33:25.480 --> 0:33:28.160 seventeen times or something like that. If they get that 0:33:28.240 --> 0:33:30.280 running game going, that wouldn't have stunned me at all. 0:33:30.280 --> 0:33:32.400 If they if they just keep trying to keep the 0:33:32.400 --> 0:33:34.360 Bengals in the meat grinder and keep Joe Burrow and 0:33:34.400 --> 0:33:37.800 all his explosive weapons on the Bengal sideline. Is Kyle 0:33:37.880 --> 0:33:41.960 Shanahan the best play designer slash play caller in the NFL. 0:33:42.320 --> 0:33:44.640 I think he's I think he's right there. I've heard 0:33:44.680 --> 0:33:47.680 too many people given that kind of praise that too 0:33:47.680 --> 0:33:51.000 many people that I respect have a pretty good knowledge 0:33:51.000 --> 0:33:54.320 and understanding of what's going on. I do think that 0:33:54.440 --> 0:34:00.800 his running attack is very, very creative. It's very very multiple, 0:34:00.880 --> 0:34:05.320 it's very very diverse. There's physicality to it, there's a 0:34:05.360 --> 0:34:07.440 little deception to it, you know, there's a lot of 0:34:07.440 --> 0:34:10.080 a lot of window dressing to it. But the bottom 0:34:10.080 --> 0:34:12.160 line is he still wants to thump you, you know, 0:34:12.200 --> 0:34:14.240 he still wants to put it to you that way. 0:34:14.560 --> 0:34:16.400 And then I do think that that he does a 0:34:16.440 --> 0:34:19.160 great job. And you know, I've heard this for years 0:34:19.160 --> 0:34:26.120 about him that as far as creating plays that run 0:34:26.239 --> 0:34:29.160 his receivers open, he's as good as the resident the league. 0:34:29.160 --> 0:34:32.480 Instead of the receiver having to make a great move 0:34:32.560 --> 0:34:37.760 on a route to create separation, he creates separation by formation, configuration, 0:34:38.480 --> 0:34:40.520 patterns of the routes and all that sort of thing, 0:34:40.560 --> 0:34:44.680 and guys just you know, will bust open. So yeah, 0:34:44.719 --> 0:34:50.120 he's he's obviously very very smart, football minded guy. He's 0:34:50.120 --> 0:34:52.239 got a beautiful mind for the game of football. As 0:34:52.280 --> 0:34:55.840 they say, on defense, they have Nick Bosa twelve sacks, 0:34:55.880 --> 0:34:58.960 they got linebacker Fred Warner, first team All Pro last year, 0:34:59.040 --> 0:35:02.279 highest paid a linebacker in the NFL now, but their 0:35:02.320 --> 0:35:06.600 twentieth in points allowed. How good is their defense? Yeah, 0:35:06.640 --> 0:35:09.040 I know, it's like you look at it and Bosa 0:35:09.719 --> 0:35:15.600 Bosa is. It's interesting because to my recollection, Joe Burrow 0:35:15.920 --> 0:35:19.560 went west with Bosa to rehab Nick and Joey, you 0:35:19.560 --> 0:35:22.880 know Nick in particulars Nick just had his surgery as well, 0:35:23.120 --> 0:35:26.680 so they're very they're very close. And Joey Bosa didn't 0:35:26.719 --> 0:35:28.319 play much in that football game at all. I mean, 0:35:28.320 --> 0:35:30.279 he went out with the concussion protocol and get cleared, 0:35:30.320 --> 0:35:33.640 but they just kept him out, you know, as a 0:35:33.640 --> 0:35:36.239 as a precaution more than anything that ended up didn't 0:35:36.280 --> 0:35:39.319 really need him. But yeah, Nick Bosa is a guy 0:35:39.360 --> 0:35:42.600 that is talented. They rush him from both edges. He's 0:35:42.640 --> 0:35:46.120 got some athletic versatility to him in that regard. I 0:35:46.120 --> 0:35:49.800 think Armstead can be a dangerous guy. You know. Warner 0:35:50.000 --> 0:35:53.200 is a very, very athletic linebacker who seemed a lot 0:35:53.400 --> 0:35:56.719 you know, during the course of his career. It's it 0:35:56.920 --> 0:35:59.560 is all very interesting. You know. The thing about the 0:35:59.600 --> 0:36:02.680 forty niners, like we talked about earlier Dan the Bengals 0:36:02.680 --> 0:36:07.120 turnover issues. The Bengals are minus two, forty nine are 0:36:07.239 --> 0:36:10.080 minus four. I mean, they've only got one fewer giveaway 0:36:10.120 --> 0:36:14.359 than the Bengals, and they've got three fewer takeaways than 0:36:14.400 --> 0:36:17.800 the Bengals. So that's been their problem in football games 0:36:17.800 --> 0:36:20.959 as well, is that turnover ratio. And they've they've gotten 0:36:21.000 --> 0:36:23.320 themselves penalized quite a bit. I mean, seventy three for 0:36:23.440 --> 0:36:25.960 seven hundred and eighty three yards as opposed to fifty 0:36:26.000 --> 0:36:29.040 for four and twenty four yards against the bengalsul mistakes 0:36:29.640 --> 0:36:32.680 in turn in the form of turnovers, penalties, mental areas, 0:36:32.680 --> 0:36:36.080 things of that nature have hurt the San Francisco forty 0:36:36.120 --> 0:36:37.880 nine ers is probably as much as any team in 0:36:37.880 --> 0:36:41.080 the National Football League as well. I mean, you look 0:36:41.080 --> 0:36:44.439 at them defensively, their numbers say, I mean they're eighth 0:36:44.440 --> 0:36:47.719 in the NFL defensively, and first downs allowed ninth and 0:36:47.800 --> 0:36:52.560 third down conversion percentage allowed. They're sixth in yards allowed 0:36:52.600 --> 0:36:57.160 per game, tenth in yards allowed per play. They're tied 0:36:57.200 --> 0:37:02.000 for fourth in fewest passing yards allowed, they're eight and 0:37:02.080 --> 0:37:05.520 sacks per pass attempt. You know, like I said, they 0:37:05.600 --> 0:37:08.640 forced twenty five fumbles and recovered eight of them. But 0:37:08.719 --> 0:37:11.040 then you look at it's all about points, and you know, 0:37:11.400 --> 0:37:14.360 maybe their offense has put them in bad field position. 0:37:14.480 --> 0:37:17.480 Special teams has put them in bad field position. So 0:37:18.040 --> 0:37:20.439 sometimes when you're just looking at paper and you don't 0:37:20.440 --> 0:37:22.520 have an understanding of the flow of you know, on 0:37:22.560 --> 0:37:25.360 a play by play basis of the team, some things 0:37:25.400 --> 0:37:28.480 just don't add up, you know. And I will say 0:37:28.520 --> 0:37:32.399 though that the other thing is you have Bosa with 0:37:32.480 --> 0:37:34.799 twelve sacks and then you drop off the face of 0:37:34.800 --> 0:37:36.239 the earth to like three and a half I think 0:37:36.360 --> 0:37:38.719 is the next one. Yeah, Keys got three and a 0:37:38.760 --> 0:37:41.480 half and Armstead has got three. I mean, you know, 0:37:41.520 --> 0:37:43.480 you look at look at the Bengals. They've they've got 0:37:43.520 --> 0:37:46.320 Hendrickson with eleven and a half, Hubbard with seven and 0:37:46.320 --> 0:37:48.879 a half, Hill has four four and a half, Ogan 0:37:48.960 --> 0:37:50.879 Joby has four and a half. I mean, they've got 0:37:51.200 --> 0:37:53.080 they've got a little bit more balanced in their pass 0:37:53.160 --> 0:37:56.719 rush instead of just you know, totally dependent on one guy. 0:37:56.800 --> 0:38:00.160 So yeah, it's all I can say is on a 0:38:00.200 --> 0:38:03.319 week to week basis in the NFL, though, it's all 0:38:03.320 --> 0:38:07.960 about matchups and that and that specific game and the 0:38:08.000 --> 0:38:09.920 early flow of the football game is going to have 0:38:09.960 --> 0:38:12.600 a big bearing on how this thing transpires, There's no 0:38:12.680 --> 0:38:16.600 question about it. Last thing, the Bengals announced down Wednesday 0:38:16.640 --> 0:38:19.680 that Kay Adams from Good Morning Football and the NFL 0:38:19.800 --> 0:38:22.240 Network will be the ruler of the jungle this Sunday 0:38:22.280 --> 0:38:25.799 at Paul Brown Stadium. I love Good Morning Football. I 0:38:25.800 --> 0:38:28.359 think if you could bottle the chemistry between the host, 0:38:28.440 --> 0:38:30.600 you'd be a very wealthy person. Are you a good 0:38:30.600 --> 0:38:35.480 morning football guy? Absolutely every single morning? And so's my 0:38:35.520 --> 0:38:38.279 wife Lynn. I mean we get up early, you know, 0:38:38.280 --> 0:38:40.920 we're early risals anyway, but we'll put that on, you know, 0:38:41.000 --> 0:38:43.879 right away as we're doing whatever we're doing and check 0:38:43.920 --> 0:38:46.920 it out. And she's become a huge Good Morning Football 0:38:46.960 --> 0:38:49.440 fan as survive from the from the start of it. 0:38:49.640 --> 0:38:56.080 I think that they're they're able to mix entertainment and 0:38:56.160 --> 0:38:59.560 information about as well as anybody. I mean, it is 0:38:59.600 --> 0:39:03.120 just when you you really have to, you know, pay 0:39:03.200 --> 0:39:06.680 full attention and don't get two swept away with sometimes 0:39:06.880 --> 0:39:09.040 the way they delivered, because there is some good information 0:39:09.080 --> 0:39:11.319 in there. But boy, if you want to if you 0:39:11.320 --> 0:39:13.600 want to start smiling in the morning. That's a good 0:39:13.600 --> 0:39:16.520 show to watch too, because they feed off each other 0:39:16.560 --> 0:39:20.800 exceptionally well. And I do think that there is there's great, 0:39:21.160 --> 0:39:24.640 great chemistry amongst amongst all of them. And even when 0:39:24.680 --> 0:39:27.840 they they'll you know, they'll bring in if they got 0:39:27.840 --> 0:39:31.080 ones off and they bring one in the other two 0:39:31.160 --> 0:39:33.680 or three will pick it up. And it just works. 0:39:33.680 --> 0:39:37.160 It just works no matter what three or four people 0:39:37.160 --> 0:39:38.879 are on the set for them, they do a heck 0:39:38.920 --> 0:39:40.920 of a job. I'm very impressed with what they do 0:39:41.000 --> 0:39:44.719 every day. It's okay if you're listening open invitation. The 0:39:44.800 --> 0:39:47.840 home Radio Booth would welcome you on Sunday after you 0:39:47.920 --> 0:39:50.480 lead the Hooday chant prior to the game, come join 0:39:50.560 --> 0:39:53.680 your friends and fans, Dan and Dave and the Bengals 0:39:53.760 --> 0:39:58.640 Radio Booth, no question about it. K is Okay, more 0:39:58.680 --> 0:40:05.840 than okay, K is special. K. Last, but not least, 0:40:06.040 --> 0:40:08.600 it's time for this week's No the Faux segment as 0:40:08.640 --> 0:40:11.560 we check in with Greg Poppa, who joined Lapping Me 0:40:11.640 --> 0:40:14.960 on the Bengals Game Plan Show. Greg graduated from Syracuse 0:40:14.960 --> 0:40:17.720 one year after I did and has become a legend 0:40:17.760 --> 0:40:21.440 in the San Francisco area At various points. He's called 0:40:21.480 --> 0:40:26.360 games for the Golden State Warriors, San Francisco Giants, Oakland A's, 0:40:26.680 --> 0:40:30.200 and Oakland Raiders before becoming the play by play voice 0:40:30.480 --> 0:40:34.680 of the San Francisco forty nine Ers. I've been fired. 0:40:39.600 --> 0:40:45.480 That's part of the deal, right, It's gonna beat we think, 0:40:45.520 --> 0:40:48.920 so too. Looking forward to seeing you as well. So 0:40:49.120 --> 0:40:51.560 Greggy called the Super Bowl a couple of years ago 0:40:51.600 --> 0:40:54.040 as the voice of the forty nine Ers. Then San 0:40:54.120 --> 0:40:56.719 fran had a bunch of injuries last year, including one 0:40:56.800 --> 0:40:59.160 to quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, and the team went to went 0:40:59.320 --> 0:41:02.879 fell to six ten. I expected the forty nine Ers 0:41:03.160 --> 0:41:05.160 to bounce back in a big way this year and 0:41:05.239 --> 0:41:08.120 be one of the NFL's best teams. But that hasn't 0:41:08.160 --> 0:41:11.680 been the case. The six and six Why aren't they better? 0:41:13.040 --> 0:41:15.120 I agree with you. I thought the roster actually was 0:41:15.160 --> 0:41:19.800 deeper Dan starting this season, that it was leaving Miami 0:41:19.880 --> 0:41:23.480 on ground. Talks day night in twenty twenty after the 0:41:23.560 --> 0:41:28.440 twenty nineteen year, injuries not quite as dramatic as the 0:41:28.680 --> 0:41:32.280 twenty twenty year, and the main injury obviously, losing Jimmy 0:41:32.360 --> 0:41:36.360 was bad, but you know, George Kittle and Nick Bosa, 0:41:36.440 --> 0:41:39.160 who's an absolute game wrecker, went out in Week two. 0:41:39.200 --> 0:41:42.160 But this year they lost Jason Burrett in the first 0:41:42.200 --> 0:41:44.840 game in Detroit. They lost for he mosted in that game. 0:41:45.760 --> 0:41:47.520 They still got off to a two and oh start. 0:41:48.280 --> 0:41:50.440 They lost a home game against Green Bay that they 0:41:50.480 --> 0:41:53.200 probably should have won, a Seattle game. I think this 0:41:53.320 --> 0:41:55.399 is kind of the tipping point of the year. They 0:41:55.480 --> 0:41:58.759 controlled the Seattle home game in early October, and then 0:41:58.800 --> 0:42:03.480 Garoppolo got got hurt late at the first half of 0:42:03.520 --> 0:42:07.160 that game, couldn't play the second half and Trey Lance 0:42:07.280 --> 0:42:10.080 had to come in and they had some special teams mistakes. 0:42:10.120 --> 0:42:12.600 They lost that game, and then Trey had to start 0:42:12.640 --> 0:42:15.760 the next game, and they lost that game in Arizona. 0:42:15.920 --> 0:42:18.440 And then they came out of the bye and they 0:42:18.480 --> 0:42:21.920 had a game against Indianapolis at home and it was 0:42:21.960 --> 0:42:25.040 just an absolutely we don't get rain at this time 0:42:25.040 --> 0:42:27.360 of the year in October, but it was one of 0:42:27.400 --> 0:42:33.000 those ridiculous rain storms we had. It adversely affected Jimmy. 0:42:33.320 --> 0:42:35.080 He didn't play well in that game. We lost that 0:42:35.120 --> 0:42:37.759 game on Sunday Night Football, And the next season was 0:42:37.840 --> 0:42:39.799 kind at the crossroads. We were two and three going 0:42:39.800 --> 0:42:43.759 to Chicago and Jimmy played a great game, especially in 0:42:43.800 --> 0:42:46.640 the second half. We won that game. Deebo Samuel had 0:42:46.640 --> 0:42:49.240 a big game at a real bad game in Arizona 0:42:49.280 --> 0:42:51.480 the following week, and then they got hot. They won 0:42:51.520 --> 0:42:54.000 three in a row and they really re established the 0:42:54.040 --> 0:42:56.920 identity of the Super Bowl team day, which is heavy 0:42:57.000 --> 0:43:01.080 run game. We're talking forty four runs, two runs, thirty 0:43:01.160 --> 0:43:04.319 nine runs in three straight games. And when you run 0:43:04.320 --> 0:43:06.960 the ball like that and pick up third downs at 0:43:06.960 --> 0:43:09.120 the clip, they were picking them up at about half. 0:43:09.640 --> 0:43:12.080 They were keeping the balls damn near forty minutes of 0:43:12.080 --> 0:43:14.920 the game, and the defense wasn't on the field much. 0:43:15.000 --> 0:43:17.680 They were fresh. They had three quality wins this game 0:43:17.719 --> 0:43:21.160 in Seattle. They were sloppy. They didn't have Deebo Samuel 0:43:21.160 --> 0:43:23.319 and they have Fred Warner. They turned the boat over 0:43:23.360 --> 0:43:27.160 too much. But they're kind of wildly inconsistent. But I 0:43:27.160 --> 0:43:31.360 would say they are extremely capable. They are capable, maybe 0:43:31.360 --> 0:43:33.080 not quite to be at the level of that twenty 0:43:33.160 --> 0:43:36.920 nineteen team because they haven't had the bookend to rick 0:43:37.080 --> 0:43:40.600 this year with d Ford hardly playing, but they're still 0:43:41.200 --> 0:43:43.680 They're still capable and on any given Sunday they can 0:43:43.719 --> 0:43:46.279 beat anybody. If the NFL, But I think at any 0:43:46.280 --> 0:43:49.560 given Sunday they could lose any team in the NFL. Well, 0:43:49.600 --> 0:43:51.480 that sounds like a lot of teams in the NFL 0:43:51.560 --> 0:43:53.640 this year. It's crazy, isn't it. It It really is. I 0:43:53.680 --> 0:43:57.120 mean in the AFC, twelve of the sixteen teams in 0:43:57.160 --> 0:43:59.799 the conference have a five hundred record or better. It is. 0:44:00.040 --> 0:44:04.799 It's just all bunched up. It's nuts. Kyle Shanahan, is 0:44:04.880 --> 0:44:08.719 he an offensive guru? Is he an offensive wizard? I mean, 0:44:08.960 --> 0:44:14.160 everybody talks about his running game, how he out leverages people, 0:44:14.320 --> 0:44:18.799 out gaps people with formations, motions, window dressing, all that 0:44:18.880 --> 0:44:22.120 sort of thing, and how he schemes wide receivers open 0:44:22.520 --> 0:44:26.680 in his passing game. Is he a guru? A lot 0:44:26.719 --> 0:44:30.759 of question. He's Mike Shanahan's son, Dave, so he grew up. 0:44:30.760 --> 0:44:33.839 He was in diapers learning this stuff. And Mike who 0:44:33.920 --> 0:44:36.520 I called the Raiders games for twenty one years. So 0:44:36.560 --> 0:44:38.800 I saw a lot of him in the AFC West obviously, 0:44:39.360 --> 0:44:43.160 and he was a coach. When you were broadcasting against 0:44:43.239 --> 0:44:45.759 him or playing against him or coaching against him, you 0:44:45.880 --> 0:44:48.200 feared him. Mike was that good of a play designer 0:44:48.200 --> 0:44:51.799 and play caller Kyle has taken the Shanahan system, which 0:44:51.840 --> 0:44:55.120 is that outside zone. Alex Gibs the on line coach 0:44:55.200 --> 0:44:58.440 going back years ago, and he's taken up to another 0:44:58.520 --> 0:45:01.560 level with free staff motion and the way they get 0:45:01.600 --> 0:45:05.200 the edge. They have a blocking scheme called eighteen zoro 0:45:05.280 --> 0:45:08.799 and nineteen zoro eighteen to the right, nineteen to the left, 0:45:08.800 --> 0:45:12.440 which was a toss sweep action. But they do it 0:45:12.480 --> 0:45:16.279 with two special players at fullback and tight end and 0:45:16.320 --> 0:45:18.680 they're the highest paid players at their positions in the 0:45:18.760 --> 0:45:21.680 history of the NFL. And use Check is now on 0:45:21.719 --> 0:45:25.520 a second contract. You guys know him obviously well from Baltimore. 0:45:26.280 --> 0:45:28.960 Just a great player. He played so many different positions, 0:45:29.320 --> 0:45:31.680 and then he got George Kittle as well. The tight 0:45:31.800 --> 0:45:34.759 ends all block They get to the edge as well 0:45:34.800 --> 0:45:37.680 as any team in football, whether it's the pin and 0:45:37.760 --> 0:45:40.319 pull game, which a lot of teams are doing. But 0:45:40.400 --> 0:45:43.360 I'll tell you what they're doing, Dave. They're doing what 0:45:43.440 --> 0:45:47.759 I call positionless football. And we kind of saw this 0:45:47.840 --> 0:45:51.520 in basketball years ago with Miami and the Miami Heat. 0:45:52.080 --> 0:45:54.560 And you know, Dan mentioned my association with the Golden 0:45:54.560 --> 0:45:58.279 State Warriors. The Warriors took it to another level where 0:45:58.280 --> 0:46:00.480 you have like players of all the same size, and 0:46:00.520 --> 0:46:03.680 you can switch it all the forty nine ers when 0:46:03.719 --> 0:46:06.879 you take the five offensive linemen and the quarterback out 0:46:06.920 --> 0:46:09.759 of the equation. In some systems, the quarterbacks live in 0:46:09.800 --> 0:46:13.600 the run game, but take those six stationary players and 0:46:13.640 --> 0:46:16.680 you go to the five eligibles. What Kyle has done 0:46:16.800 --> 0:46:21.799 is cross train running backs, tight ends, wide receivers where 0:46:21.800 --> 0:46:25.800 they're all capable of lining up at any position, whether 0:46:25.800 --> 0:46:28.800 it's the X, the Z. He calls the slot position 0:46:28.880 --> 0:46:31.800 the F, but that F could be a wide receiver 0:46:31.840 --> 0:46:34.520 when they go eleven person out free wide receivers, or 0:46:34.520 --> 0:46:36.480 it could be a fullback, or it could be a 0:46:36.520 --> 0:46:39.720 tight end, or it could be anybody. So they cross 0:46:39.760 --> 0:46:43.759 train their players to play a multitude of position, so 0:46:43.800 --> 0:46:46.200 it's not just scheming like we're going to get to 0:46:46.239 --> 0:46:48.640 the edge and we're going to block this differently. But 0:46:48.760 --> 0:46:52.040 they also get especially in man teams. And then you're 0:46:52.040 --> 0:46:54.120 gonna see what DBO, Samuel, I think we'll come back 0:46:54.120 --> 0:46:56.960 and play. They have this package called the dead Pool 0:46:57.280 --> 0:47:00.560 because DBO sounds like deadpool and this cool. And they 0:47:00.640 --> 0:47:03.800 motioned the Z wide receiver, which is what DEVO is, 0:47:03.840 --> 0:47:06.400 the flanker, the move guy, the jet sweeper, and all 0:47:06.440 --> 0:47:08.719 of a sudden he comes in the offensive backfield and 0:47:08.840 --> 0:47:11.239 he lines up as a running back and they run him. 0:47:11.280 --> 0:47:14.040 And sometimes he's a lead blocker. Sometimes he says the 0:47:14.080 --> 0:47:17.240 half back and he follows a lead blocker. Could be anybody. 0:47:17.520 --> 0:47:20.640 So yeah, Kyle has just gotten so sophisticated. And they 0:47:20.680 --> 0:47:23.520 do it with tempo, they do it with blocking schemes, 0:47:23.840 --> 0:47:25.600 they do it all. But right now, what I think 0:47:25.640 --> 0:47:28.399 he's doing more than ever and Devo is the kind 0:47:28.440 --> 0:47:31.040 of a centerpiece of it all. Laugh is they've gone 0:47:31.080 --> 0:47:35.720 positionless football right now. Interesting. Yeah, our guest is Greg Papa, 0:47:35.800 --> 0:47:38.279 the voice of the forty nine ers. So San Francisco 0:47:38.320 --> 0:47:40.400 paid a hefty price in the offseason and move up 0:47:40.400 --> 0:47:43.880 in the draft to select Trey Lance. Did they do 0:47:43.920 --> 0:47:47.319 it because Jimmy g can't stay healthy or because of 0:47:47.400 --> 0:47:54.120 his limitations as a player, Yes, and yes I mean they, 0:47:54.360 --> 0:47:56.800 I mean the Jimmy's the greatest guy in the world. 0:47:57.320 --> 0:47:58.920 You know he would fit in write with us on 0:47:58.960 --> 0:48:01.319 the quad in Syracuse. SE's Assault to the Earth guy 0:48:01.960 --> 0:48:05.719 from Chicago Land love the guy and he has one. 0:48:05.800 --> 0:48:08.759 When this team has had a healthy Jimmy Garoppolo they've 0:48:08.760 --> 0:48:10.560 wanted the very high percentage you could win the Super 0:48:10.560 --> 0:48:14.640 Bowl with Jimmy Garoppolo. But Jimmy makes an air or 0:48:14.719 --> 0:48:18.520 to a game that is befuddling, and he did it 0:48:18.600 --> 0:48:22.600 twice this last game. Threw an interception to Bobby Wagner 0:48:23.280 --> 0:48:25.560 that was just hard to understand. It was a second 0:48:25.560 --> 0:48:28.560 window throw. He was supposed to wait till George Kittle 0:48:28.600 --> 0:48:31.200 passed Bobby Wagner, and he didn't, and he threw Bobby 0:48:31.239 --> 0:48:33.040 Wagoner the ball. Then he threw one later in the 0:48:33.080 --> 0:48:36.080 game that was even worse, where George Kittle was completely 0:48:36.120 --> 0:48:41.120 covered with a thicket of Seattle defenders and he overthrew them. 0:48:41.239 --> 0:48:43.080 He did it the week before when he threw one 0:48:43.160 --> 0:48:45.920 right to Harrison Smith. He turns the ball over a 0:48:45.960 --> 0:48:51.200 little bit too much and he frustrates Kyle in that regard. Now, 0:48:51.200 --> 0:48:54.760 all that being said, I would not anticipate Trey playing 0:48:54.760 --> 0:48:57.080 in this game, Dan, I mean maybe if they get 0:48:57.120 --> 0:49:00.200 into a down and distance goal line. I'm telling an 0:49:00.200 --> 0:49:04.160 extreme red zone, you know, third, fourth down, short yardage. 0:49:04.360 --> 0:49:06.560 You could see them jump into what they called Bison 0:49:06.719 --> 0:49:10.080 personnel because he's North Dakota State, which is the Bisons, 0:49:10.120 --> 0:49:13.279 the program there, but they haven't done that really since 0:49:13.360 --> 0:49:16.720 he started the game in Arizona back got October the tenth, 0:49:16.760 --> 0:49:20.680 so I don't anticipate that. But they wanted to upgrade 0:49:20.680 --> 0:49:23.560 at that position. They really wanted to get Matthew Stafford. 0:49:23.560 --> 0:49:25.200 They were they were all in on Stafford. It's just 0:49:25.239 --> 0:49:28.960 Stafford wanted to go play and in LA he wanted 0:49:29.000 --> 0:49:32.600 that lifestyle down there. So once they lost out on him, 0:49:33.600 --> 0:49:35.640 they were into Deshaun Watson a little bit, but that 0:49:35.800 --> 0:49:38.600 obviously went sideways in the offseason pretty quickly after that, 0:49:38.960 --> 0:49:43.000 so they moved on. But I they they felt like 0:49:43.040 --> 0:49:45.759 they had to upgrade to keep up with the rest 0:49:45.760 --> 0:49:47.960 of the league and in the quality of play. Now 0:49:48.040 --> 0:49:51.680 all that being said, you know, to make another basketball analogy, 0:49:51.840 --> 0:49:54.759 Trey is a one and done guy. He played one 0:49:54.840 --> 0:49:58.040 year of college football in one other game. He's a 0:49:58.120 --> 0:50:00.680 long way away. He only had three hundred eighteen pass 0:50:00.680 --> 0:50:04.120 attempts last year at a lower level of college football. 0:50:04.320 --> 0:50:06.879 He's a smart guy, or work his ass off. He's 0:50:06.920 --> 0:50:10.319 in his iPad constantly, but he's not ready right now 0:50:10.360 --> 0:50:13.839 to take this team over. In my my concern would 0:50:13.880 --> 0:50:17.600 be if he's ready next year to do it, because 0:50:17.600 --> 0:50:19.120 he's got a lot to learn. And this is a 0:50:19.160 --> 0:50:22.320 ready may team to be a playoff team and to 0:50:22.440 --> 0:50:25.000 turn it over to a young quarterback. Now, your guy's different. 0:50:25.440 --> 0:50:28.480 He's just so skilled and so ready. And you know 0:50:28.520 --> 0:50:30.840 he didn't play a lot either. But Trey's got some 0:50:31.239 --> 0:50:33.960 room to grow. So to answer your question, Jimmy gets 0:50:34.040 --> 0:50:36.600 hurt a lot, But Jimmy also hurts the team a 0:50:36.600 --> 0:50:38.239 little bit too much by throwing the ball to the 0:50:38.239 --> 0:50:42.920 wrong colored jerseys. Let's talk about the defensive side of 0:50:42.960 --> 0:50:44.759 things a little bit. You look, you look at some 0:50:44.800 --> 0:50:48.080 of the numbers. Eighth in the NFL and first downs aloud, 0:50:49.400 --> 0:50:54.520 their ninth and third down conversion percentage defensively sixth, and 0:50:55.280 --> 0:50:59.200 total yards per game tenth and yards per play tied 0:50:59.239 --> 0:51:03.240 for fourth and fewest passing yards allowed eighth, and sacks 0:51:03.320 --> 0:51:07.640 per play. They forced twenty five fumbles. That's the stunning number. 0:51:07.640 --> 0:51:11.200 Twenty five fumbles force leads the NFL. Eight recoveries tied 0:51:11.200 --> 0:51:15.280 for six. Are the numbers are they? Are they true? 0:51:15.520 --> 0:51:18.560 Or is the defense playing like the numbers say? Or 0:51:18.600 --> 0:51:22.600 how is the defense playing? They have some categories they're good, 0:51:22.600 --> 0:51:24.680 so they're not the twenty five forced fumble they they 0:51:24.719 --> 0:51:27.080 forced four fumbles. The other game is Day the Day 0:51:27.080 --> 0:51:29.520 in Seattle Day, but then they recovered two of them, 0:51:29.600 --> 0:51:32.880 so they've got twenty five force just eight recovered, so 0:51:32.920 --> 0:51:34.839 they they've had a lot of bad bounces on that. 0:51:35.719 --> 0:51:37.960 The one guy who's forced I think seven of them 0:51:38.760 --> 0:51:42.080 is Josh Norman, right, and in Chicago they have what 0:51:42.120 --> 0:51:45.520 they call the peanut punch and Charles Tillman punching the 0:51:45.520 --> 0:51:49.000 ball out. I call it the Norman knockout is what 0:51:49.080 --> 0:51:51.960 he does here, and he's a deept at it, but 0:51:52.120 --> 0:51:55.160 really that's the one thing he does well. He has struggled. 0:51:55.480 --> 0:51:57.360 So one thing you have to factor in, Dave is 0:51:57.400 --> 0:52:01.920 the number of defensive pills defensive pass interference calls is 0:52:01.920 --> 0:52:07.719 alarmingly high and the reason that their offense and the 0:52:07.800 --> 0:52:10.239 running game has been able to cover for them. This 0:52:10.360 --> 0:52:13.840 is not the twenty nineteen forty nine Ers defensively. I 0:52:13.880 --> 0:52:16.480 think this is the twenty nineteen forty nine or running 0:52:16.520 --> 0:52:19.560 game at some point. The pass he gave is a 0:52:19.560 --> 0:52:22.880 little bit inconsistent. They do miss Emmanuel Sanders off that 0:52:22.960 --> 0:52:26.160 Super Bowl team, but this is not a sledgehammer defense. 0:52:26.239 --> 0:52:29.960 That defense in twenty nineteen. That's what I called their 0:52:30.440 --> 0:52:33.840 pass rush group is what I call the gold Rush, 0:52:33.880 --> 0:52:36.440 which is when I first remembered forty nine or football, 0:52:36.440 --> 0:52:38.360 going back to the early seventies and John Brody and 0:52:38.360 --> 0:52:40.840 all those guys. There was a guy named Cedric Hardman 0:52:40.920 --> 0:52:42.839 on their defensive line. You may have known him Dave 0:52:44.000 --> 0:52:47.200 Ye Greek player, and their pass rush the backdown was 0:52:47.200 --> 0:52:51.279 called the gold Rush. So I immediately dugged Nick Bos. 0:52:51.560 --> 0:52:54.640 D Ford is the two ends DeForrest Buckner who's now 0:52:54.680 --> 0:52:58.640 at Indianapolis Colts and Eric Armstead, the modern day version 0:52:58.680 --> 0:53:01.160 of the gold Rush. They don't have that gold rush 0:53:01.239 --> 0:53:04.319 right now. D Ford doesn't get on the field. He's 0:53:04.360 --> 0:53:07.720 hurt with a bad slow to heel persistent back problem. 0:53:08.200 --> 0:53:11.400 The Forrest bunk their place for the Colts. They have gotten. 0:53:11.440 --> 0:53:15.040 They've moved Derek Armstead inside exclusively, and they've got DJ 0:53:15.200 --> 0:53:18.160 Jones number ninety three is a really good three technake 0:53:18.239 --> 0:53:21.040 up field penetrator, kind of plays more of a two eye, 0:53:21.560 --> 0:53:23.600 and then you've got the other end, whoever that may 0:53:23.680 --> 0:53:26.680 the hard and Key or Samson Abacam or Charles and 0:53:26.760 --> 0:53:30.319 Menehu or whoever. But it's not the same. Bos says 0:53:30.400 --> 0:53:33.200 better than he was at nineteen. Bosa is the best player. 0:53:33.239 --> 0:53:35.839 The two best players on the team, or Nick Bo said, 0:53:35.880 --> 0:53:38.920 Trent Williams on offense, the left tackle and then George. 0:53:39.360 --> 0:53:41.239 But George Kettle's been hurt a lot this year, so 0:53:41.840 --> 0:53:45.479 it's not been a great defense. Fred Warner's not playing 0:53:45.560 --> 0:53:47.320 nearly as well as he played last year when he 0:53:47.360 --> 0:53:50.279 was All Pro Fred and they've had injuries in the 0:53:50.320 --> 0:53:53.880 second day, losing Jason Barrett George rn acl first game 0:53:53.920 --> 0:53:56.680 of the year was something they still have not overcome. 0:53:57.120 --> 0:53:59.720 And in this game, we're not going to have Emmanuel Moseley. 0:54:00.480 --> 0:54:03.760 He's out several weeks with a high ankle. So Dante 0:54:03.920 --> 0:54:06.680 Johnson I think will start at one corner, Josh Norman 0:54:06.719 --> 0:54:09.320 at the other. Josh is a guy they attacked. The 0:54:09.600 --> 0:54:13.680 best guy clearly in that cornerback room is the slot guy, 0:54:13.760 --> 0:54:18.160 the nickelback, Kawan Williams. The safeties play well, Chakua's guitar 0:54:18.360 --> 0:54:21.080 Jimmy Ward and the new young guy telling who founda 0:54:21.160 --> 0:54:22.320 is a good player. And they play a lot of 0:54:22.400 --> 0:54:26.400 dime three safety three corner defenses day. But some of 0:54:26.440 --> 0:54:28.640 the numbers that tell the story, some of them miss 0:54:28.719 --> 0:54:31.880 leading because how much the offense has played keepaway with 0:54:31.960 --> 0:54:35.080 the ball. This is not It's not the forty nine 0:54:35.160 --> 0:54:37.799 or defense at twenty nineteen, and I would say it's 0:54:37.840 --> 0:54:42.040 not a championship caliber defense, but it is capable where 0:54:42.040 --> 0:54:45.239 if the offense is staying true to their formula to 0:54:45.400 --> 0:54:48.439 being a good enough defense you can win with. That's 0:54:48.480 --> 0:54:50.160 going to do it for This episode of the Bengals 0:54:50.200 --> 0:54:53.239 Booth Podcast brought to you by Ultimate Bengals, the free 0:54:53.280 --> 0:54:57.239 to play Next Level Fantasy Football game, downloaded now from 0:54:57.239 --> 0:55:00.200 the App Store and Google Play. If you haven't done 0:55:00.239 --> 0:55:02.680 so already, please subscribe to this podcast and if you 0:55:02.760 --> 0:55:04.880 have a minute, give it a rating or share a 0:55:05.000 --> 0:55:09.600 comment that helps more Bengals fans find us. I'm Dan Horde, 0:55:09.680 --> 0:55:13.279 and thanks for listening to The Bengals Booth Podcast