WEBVTT - Bengals Booth Podcast: Ready For Some Football 0:00:03.520 --> 0:00:06.359 Hi, get everybody on dan Horde and thanks for downloading 0:00:06.360 --> 0:00:11.520 the Bengals Booth Podcast. Uh ah you ready for some football? 0:00:12.080 --> 0:00:17.320 A Monday Night party addition, as we look ahead to 0:00:17.400 --> 0:00:21.920 the Bengals and Steelers on Monday Night football coming up, 0:00:22.079 --> 0:00:25.040 Dave Lapham joins me to discuss the latest Bengals news, 0:00:25.040 --> 0:00:28.160 including a season ending injury for one of the best 0:00:28.200 --> 0:00:32.480 players in franchise history, Geno Atkins. One on one player 0:00:32.479 --> 0:00:35.800 interview this week is with offensive lineman Fred Johnson, who 0:00:35.840 --> 0:00:39.920 discusses his bout with COVID nineteen and at Our Know 0:00:40.040 --> 0:00:43.559 the Faux segment, former Pittsburgh cornerback Ike Taylor shares his 0:00:43.640 --> 0:00:46.680 thoughts on the Steelers and why he thinks the Bengals 0:00:46.680 --> 0:00:50.800 have found their franchise quarterback in Joe Burrow. The Bengals 0:00:50.800 --> 0:00:55.120 Booth Podcast is presented by bud Light Seltzer Refresh the 0:00:55.240 --> 0:00:57.760 game and here's a quick reminder that you can have 0:00:57.840 --> 0:01:01.920 the latest edition of this podcast livered right to your phone, tablet, 0:01:02.000 --> 0:01:06.400 or computer by subscribing on iTunes, Stitch, your Google Play, Spotify, 0:01:06.720 --> 0:01:11.840 or pod Bean. It's the greatest thing since coffee, vanilla, 0:01:11.920 --> 0:01:15.840 peanut butter. My wife peg is a marathoner and a 0:01:15.920 --> 0:01:18.760 much healthier eater than I am. If left to my 0:01:18.800 --> 0:01:22.680 own devices, I can crush salty snacks like a three 0:01:22.760 --> 0:01:27.280 hundred and fifty pound nose tackle. Well. Recently, Peg started 0:01:27.319 --> 0:01:31.360 making this coffee vanilla peanut butter spread found in the 0:01:31.480 --> 0:01:35.560 Run Fast, Eat Slow Cookbook, and it's a game changer. 0:01:36.080 --> 0:01:39.240 I like to spread some on a banana. PEG typically 0:01:39.319 --> 0:01:42.560 pairs it with chunks of an apple and it's phenomenal. 0:01:43.120 --> 0:01:47.480 So if you don't believe that delicious and nutritious belong 0:01:47.520 --> 0:01:51.040 in the same sentence, I highly recommend giving the coffee 0:01:51.120 --> 0:01:55.200 vanilla peanut butter spread recipe from the Run Fast, Eat 0:01:55.280 --> 0:01:59.880 Slow Cookbook a try. Now, let's get to football, beginning 0:02:00.120 --> 0:02:04.680 the visit with my broadcast partner Dave Lapham Lap. Let's 0:02:04.680 --> 0:02:06.920 start with the news from Wednesday that Geno Atkins has 0:02:06.960 --> 0:02:10.320 done for the year going on season ending ir with 0:02:10.400 --> 0:02:13.239 his shoulder injury. Finishes with no sacks this year in 0:02:13.280 --> 0:02:17.760 eleven games. Earlier in the season, when people were ripping 0:02:17.760 --> 0:02:20.320 the effort of Carlos Dunlap and Gino Atkins, you were 0:02:20.360 --> 0:02:23.959 really the first person to defend Gino and say he 0:02:24.040 --> 0:02:27.840 was trying to fight through a serious injury. What do 0:02:27.919 --> 0:02:32.200 you make of his effort this season? He damaged that shoulder. 0:02:32.240 --> 0:02:35.360 I guess rotator cuff is the part of the shoulder 0:02:35.400 --> 0:02:39.040 that he damaged warming up for the inner squad scrimmage, 0:02:39.240 --> 0:02:41.240 you know, in the end zone, just doing warm ups 0:02:41.240 --> 0:02:45.040 with the offensive and defensive line. And you know, he 0:02:45.120 --> 0:02:46.800 tried to battle through it. He missed a month and 0:02:46.800 --> 0:02:49.160 then tried to battle through it, but he just couldn't 0:02:49.160 --> 0:02:51.640 reach and grab with that right arm. He was literally 0:02:51.680 --> 0:02:55.040 one armed and very very deficient what he was trying 0:02:55.040 --> 0:02:57.359 to get done. I mean, he's his whole thing is 0:02:57.760 --> 0:03:00.960 power football and power foot ball. You have to use 0:03:00.960 --> 0:03:02.840 your hands. I mean that's a big part of it. 0:03:03.320 --> 0:03:07.320 And he couldn't. He couldn't, couldn't. Really, his right the 0:03:07.440 --> 0:03:11.440 right side of his upper body was useless. So I 0:03:11.639 --> 0:03:14.440 admire the fact that he tried to give everything he could, 0:03:15.440 --> 0:03:18.560 but he was just basically a shell of himself. And um, 0:03:19.520 --> 0:03:22.560 sounds like in the Dallas game he exacerbated the problem 0:03:22.639 --> 0:03:24.800 and at that point in time, might as well just 0:03:24.800 --> 0:03:27.520 shut it down. You thought he was on his way 0:03:27.520 --> 0:03:30.680 to having a good year in training camp, didn't you. Yeah, 0:03:30.760 --> 0:03:32.440 I mean I remember a couple of times, you know, 0:03:32.480 --> 0:03:34.960 when we were watching pass rush together, I'm like, man, 0:03:35.440 --> 0:03:39.680 you know he's he's really he's got I didn't see, 0:03:39.720 --> 0:03:44.080 you know, that explosion, and I thought, I thought not 0:03:44.160 --> 0:03:47.400 this season, the season before last year that it's like maybe, 0:03:47.480 --> 0:03:50.240 you know, maybe he's kind of round and third and 0:03:50.240 --> 0:03:52.280 heading for home as the lovable left he used to say. 0:03:52.800 --> 0:03:55.520 But and then I saw him at training camp. It's like, man, 0:03:56.240 --> 0:03:59.200 this offseason really did him a lot and did well 0:03:59.360 --> 0:04:04.160 for him. So and then boy gets hurt and it 0:04:04.240 --> 0:04:08.680 all unravels and goes downhill from there. It's amazing when 0:04:08.720 --> 0:04:12.440 you look at it. All four of their defensive tackles 0:04:12.440 --> 0:04:16.240 that they were counting on actually five two opted out. 0:04:16.640 --> 0:04:18.840 But the four that they thought were going to play, 0:04:19.360 --> 0:04:22.240 all of them has spent time on injury reserve, if 0:04:22.279 --> 0:04:25.400 not the whole season on injury reserve. It's crazy. So 0:04:25.600 --> 0:04:28.560 Gina will be thirty three in March. He's got two 0:04:28.600 --> 0:04:32.240 years left on his deal. Fourteen mill between salary and 0:04:32.279 --> 0:04:36.320 bonuses next year, sixteen mill between salary and bonuses the 0:04:36.360 --> 0:04:39.920 following year. If the Bengals cut him, there'd be five 0:04:40.000 --> 0:04:43.200 point two million dollars in dead money. But they would 0:04:43.240 --> 0:04:46.360 save nine point six million dollars. What do you think 0:04:46.400 --> 0:04:49.960 is going to happen? From the organization's perspective, it's like 0:04:51.000 --> 0:04:53.000 he was trying, you know, he's trying to give us 0:04:53.000 --> 0:04:56.640 everything he's got. You know, it's not a situation where 0:04:57.080 --> 0:05:00.680 in Carlos's case, he could play, but he decided he 0:05:00.720 --> 0:05:04.799 wouldn't play, you know, and obviously that whole thing turned 0:05:04.800 --> 0:05:09.320 into a into an ugly situation, an unfortunate ending. I guess, 0:05:09.320 --> 0:05:11.799 maybe not so unfortunate for Carlos. He's out in Seattle 0:05:11.839 --> 0:05:15.520 and playing well, but um, you know, the bad taste 0:05:15.800 --> 0:05:19.800 in everybody's mouth I think is unfortunate because Carlos gave 0:05:19.880 --> 0:05:23.040 him some good years. Gino has given him everything he's got, 0:05:23.160 --> 0:05:26.200 and he continued to try to give him everything he's got. 0:05:26.880 --> 0:05:29.000 That's a that's a that's a tough one, Dan, I mean, 0:05:29.040 --> 0:05:31.960 I don't know. I wonder. I wonder if it's you're 0:05:32.000 --> 0:05:33.560 gonna have to go for a while in the rehab, 0:05:33.800 --> 0:05:36.440 See how the rehab goes, See how he does come 0:05:36.480 --> 0:05:38.920 back from it. See if there's a potential that he 0:05:38.960 --> 0:05:41.680 could get back to you know, a good spot, a 0:05:41.720 --> 0:05:44.960 good place physically and make a decision from there. I 0:05:44.960 --> 0:05:48.720 don't think there'll be any rash decisions made, but it's 0:05:48.760 --> 0:05:51.920 going to be interesting how it all unfolds. AJ Green's 0:05:51.920 --> 0:05:55.760 contract is up, unlike Geno Atkins. It certainly sounded, based 0:05:55.800 --> 0:05:58.120 on his comments after the game the other day, that 0:05:58.480 --> 0:06:01.640 he's ready to move on on. How do you think 0:06:01.680 --> 0:06:04.479 other teams in the NFL are going to evaluate AJ 0:06:04.640 --> 0:06:08.039 Green after this year? Yeah, It's it's funny. You know, 0:06:08.120 --> 0:06:11.280 you hear all these coaches when AJ Green's name is 0:06:11.279 --> 0:06:14.440 brought up when we're doing zooms and conference calls with 0:06:14.520 --> 0:06:18.000 other head coaches. You know, AJ Green is still He's 0:06:18.000 --> 0:06:20.720 still he's still a good player. You know, we gotta go. 0:06:21.000 --> 0:06:23.120 You gotta take care of AJ Green. You have to 0:06:23.120 --> 0:06:26.479 double AJ Green and he has gotten doubled some. But 0:06:26.920 --> 0:06:30.000 Tyler Boyd's getting doubled a ton and you know it 0:06:30.120 --> 0:06:35.640 is shifted. Um. So I think it is going to 0:06:35.720 --> 0:06:38.400 be interesting to see how they evaluate AJ Green. You 0:06:38.440 --> 0:06:40.720 know what they think that he has has left? Is 0:06:40.760 --> 0:06:43.479 he expo as explosive coming off the line of scrimmage? 0:06:44.279 --> 0:06:47.040 Can he run the routes the way he used to 0:06:47.120 --> 0:06:49.320 run them, you know, sinking his hips, getting in and and 0:06:49.400 --> 0:06:51.960 out of the cuts like he did before, with the 0:06:51.960 --> 0:06:55.240 explosiveness and the fluidity and everything that goes along with it. 0:06:55.839 --> 0:06:58.320 Um but he's certainly not going to be making the 0:06:58.400 --> 0:07:01.080 kind of money they made. As he was tagged this 0:07:01.160 --> 0:07:04.239 year by the Cincinnati Bengals. That's that's by the boards. 0:07:04.800 --> 0:07:07.480 So it'll be interesting to see how many students there 0:07:07.520 --> 0:07:11.040 are out there and what they're talking about. And I 0:07:11.080 --> 0:07:14.600 guess that's probably why he definitely doesn't want to. AJ 0:07:14.760 --> 0:07:16.600 is the type of guy that doesn't want to close 0:07:16.600 --> 0:07:20.480 the door on anything or anybody really, and he doesn't 0:07:20.480 --> 0:07:23.720 want to burn any bridges. So whatever he does, I 0:07:23.760 --> 0:07:26.120 think he's going to do with the class that you'd 0:07:26.160 --> 0:07:28.920 expect out of AJ Green. If it is a departure 0:07:28.960 --> 0:07:31.920 from Cincinnati, I think it'll be a departure that it'll 0:07:31.960 --> 0:07:34.840 be just the opposite of what Carlos Dunlap, you know, 0:07:34.920 --> 0:07:38.920 obviously experienced. It'll be a lot different with AJ. So 0:07:39.040 --> 0:07:42.000 right now, Bengals fans are hurting. They had so much 0:07:42.000 --> 0:07:44.120 hope going into the season with Joe Burrow and the 0:07:44.200 --> 0:07:47.440 great free agent class that the Bengals signed, and really 0:07:47.720 --> 0:07:50.120 very few of those guys are playing right now. I 0:07:50.240 --> 0:07:53.760 had this thought this week. And it sounds overly simple 0:07:54.040 --> 0:07:57.400 and maybe pollyanna ish, but I don't care. I'll say 0:07:57.400 --> 0:08:01.960 it anyway. If they fix the lines on both sides 0:08:01.960 --> 0:08:07.240 of the ball, everything else falls into place. It's so 0:08:07.920 --> 0:08:12.640 blatantly obvious. They've just got to get good again on 0:08:12.680 --> 0:08:15.280 both lines. Now, it's easier said than done to fix 0:08:15.320 --> 0:08:17.520 it and coach it and everything else. But if you 0:08:17.640 --> 0:08:21.760 begin there, fix the lines, you can be back in 0:08:21.880 --> 0:08:24.920 contention in a relatively short period of time. Agree one 0:08:24.960 --> 0:08:30.960 hundred thousand percent. You know it's This season is a 0:08:31.000 --> 0:08:34.520 great example of it. All starts up front. You know 0:08:35.600 --> 0:08:38.240 said many times over the years, you can have Hall 0:08:38.280 --> 0:08:41.840 of famers, a skilled positions. If you've got nothing up 0:08:41.840 --> 0:08:46.320 front to talk about, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. 0:08:46.480 --> 0:08:49.040 You have to give You have to give that group 0:08:49.559 --> 0:08:53.040 time to operate, in time to be an opportunity to 0:08:53.080 --> 0:08:56.439 be efficient and do what they need to do. Obviously 0:08:57.520 --> 0:09:00.080 that it has not been up to par on the 0:09:00.120 --> 0:09:02.280 side of the line of scrimmage. Part of it is injury, 0:09:02.960 --> 0:09:06.360 part of it is due to ineffective play. And that's 0:09:06.400 --> 0:09:10.720 a you talk about a terrible cocktail to swallow man, 0:09:11.240 --> 0:09:14.920 that's a that's a bad, bad, bad, bad thing that takes. 0:09:15.160 --> 0:09:18.840 You know, when you have injury and inefficient play on 0:09:18.920 --> 0:09:21.120 both sides of the line of scrimmage, you don't you 0:09:21.160 --> 0:09:24.319 don't really stand a chance. And when you look at it, 0:09:25.720 --> 0:09:27.800 you know, the money that was spent in free agency 0:09:28.480 --> 0:09:30.959 and the draft picks that were spent in an effort 0:09:30.960 --> 0:09:35.120 to try to fix the offensive line, you know, it's 0:09:35.160 --> 0:09:38.840 just it hasn't panned out for whatever reasons. And the 0:09:38.880 --> 0:09:41.760 reasons vary, but the bottom line is it just has 0:09:41.800 --> 0:09:44.920 not panned out. It's not like they haven't tried to 0:09:44.960 --> 0:09:48.640 fix it, but the fix is not done. It's so 0:09:48.720 --> 0:09:51.320 far from done. It's like you're just in the beginning 0:09:51.320 --> 0:09:53.760 stages of doing the fix again. And that's got to 0:09:53.800 --> 0:09:57.160 be frustrating because there have been assets spent in terms 0:09:57.200 --> 0:10:00.320 of draft picks and dollars to try to fix try 0:10:00.320 --> 0:10:03.880 to fix it. It's it's it's nowhere near where it 0:10:03.920 --> 0:10:05.920 needs to be right now. Yeah, at least on the 0:10:05.920 --> 0:10:09.280 offensive line. I mean, an unbelievable amount of resources have 0:10:09.360 --> 0:10:11.400 been devoted to trying to fix that over the past 0:10:11.440 --> 0:10:15.080 several years, and unfortunately, by and large, they haven't worked. 0:10:16.120 --> 0:10:19.360 And you know, the defensive line it's injury is the 0:10:19.360 --> 0:10:22.320 biggest thing. You know. You look at Geno Daniels, I 0:10:22.320 --> 0:10:27.880 mean DJ Reader, it's it's just unbelievable. Wren, DJ Reader 0:10:27.920 --> 0:10:29.800 and Wren had the same thing happened, and it's a 0:10:29.920 --> 0:10:33.400 rare quad injury where an attachment to her quad, you know, 0:10:33.520 --> 0:10:37.400 snaps it. It didn't happen once, it happened twice. So 0:10:37.679 --> 0:10:40.120 sometimes you sit back and shake your head and you say, wow, 0:10:40.840 --> 0:10:43.079 is there a black cloud? You know, how big is 0:10:43.120 --> 0:10:46.000 that black cloud? One's that black cloud cloud going to 0:10:46.080 --> 0:10:49.520 pass over us and go somewhere else, And you know 0:10:49.800 --> 0:10:53.320 it is. Every team has injury, there's no question, but 0:10:54.040 --> 0:10:58.679 this one, this one really had injury to people that 0:10:59.800 --> 0:11:01.720 you look at the quarterback. I mean all the hope 0:11:01.760 --> 0:11:04.400 is on Joe Burrow and he was delivering. He goes down. 0:11:05.120 --> 0:11:10.040 Sometimes it's not the it's not injury, it's who is injured. 0:11:10.800 --> 0:11:13.480 And once that you you can't afford to lose. You 0:11:13.520 --> 0:11:15.640 start to lose and all of a sudden, man, you're 0:11:15.640 --> 0:11:18.880 in a real struggle. So looking at the two lines, 0:11:19.480 --> 0:11:22.960 who are the building blocks that you really feel good 0:11:23.000 --> 0:11:26.480 about on each side of the ball. On the offensive line, 0:11:26.600 --> 0:11:31.000 Jonah Trey Hopkins, anybody else that you know, You're like, okay, 0:11:31.120 --> 0:11:34.360 sooner or later, these guys are going to be part 0:11:34.360 --> 0:11:37.360 of a really good offensive line. Yeah, I mean every 0:11:37.400 --> 0:11:40.560 everybody else. Really it's it's like you can poke holes him, 0:11:40.640 --> 0:11:45.520 you know. Um So if I'm if I'm an offensive 0:11:45.559 --> 0:11:49.079 lineman on this group of linemen that are finishing out 0:11:49.120 --> 0:11:55.160 the season, I have in my mind I have to 0:11:55.200 --> 0:11:59.080 put as many unbelievably solid reps on tape as I 0:11:59.120 --> 0:12:02.240 possibly can be because right now there's no way that 0:12:02.320 --> 0:12:04.520 I feel like, man, I'm going to come back and 0:12:04.559 --> 0:12:07.680 have a job next year. Really, I mean, you have 0:12:07.720 --> 0:12:11.000 to approach you with a mindset like, all right, this 0:12:11.720 --> 0:12:13.920 we're not in the playoffs. We can't make the playoffs. 0:12:14.280 --> 0:12:17.240 This is my personal playoffs. For the last three games 0:12:17.240 --> 0:12:20.200 of the season, I have to go against good competition. 0:12:20.520 --> 0:12:23.120 I'm going against you know, two of the three opponents 0:12:23.120 --> 0:12:27.319 that are left our playoff potential teams. Pittsburgh's in already. 0:12:27.559 --> 0:12:30.360 Baltimore is not that they could be. So put it 0:12:30.400 --> 0:12:32.720 in your mind that you're going to try to compete 0:12:32.720 --> 0:12:35.640 at the highest level you possibly can against pretty good 0:12:35.640 --> 0:12:40.280 competition obviously, and if you can do that, you know, 0:12:40.400 --> 0:12:43.439 finish strong and then give yourself an opportunity to compete 0:12:43.440 --> 0:12:48.120 next year. But there's nobody, nobody that should think that 0:12:48.160 --> 0:12:51.040 they're locked in and they've got a job available to 0:12:51.080 --> 0:12:53.640 them and it's a it's a done deal. There's nobody 0:12:53.640 --> 0:12:55.480 that should feel that way. In the offensive line and 0:12:55.600 --> 0:13:00.120 my estimation defensive line. DJ Reader will be back. I'm 0:13:00.160 --> 0:13:03.760 Hubbard's under contract. I assume they'll try hard to resign 0:13:04.160 --> 0:13:07.680 Carl Lawson based on the season that he's had. Those 0:13:07.679 --> 0:13:10.679 are your three solid building blocks that you feel really 0:13:10.720 --> 0:13:14.680 good about on the defensive line if you keep Karl Lawson. Yeah, 0:13:14.720 --> 0:13:17.720 I mean, I think Carl Lawson. The thing about him 0:13:17.920 --> 0:13:23.240 is h he works really hard to be good. It's 0:13:23.280 --> 0:13:25.920 important to him and he wants to be good and 0:13:25.960 --> 0:13:28.720 that and that's the first thing is the work ethic. 0:13:28.760 --> 0:13:31.240 And I see a strong work ethic with that kid. 0:13:31.280 --> 0:13:34.320 I really do. UM and I do a DJ Reader 0:13:34.440 --> 0:13:38.040 was given I thought he was given the Bengals as advertised. 0:13:38.400 --> 0:13:41.520 You know, he's a hard working guy. He's an effort guy. Um, 0:13:41.720 --> 0:13:44.560 he's got some athletic ability in a big body. I 0:13:44.600 --> 0:13:47.640 think DJ Reader, you know, is a is a nice 0:13:47.880 --> 0:13:51.000 is a nice piece as well, um, you know, Daniels 0:13:51.040 --> 0:13:53.320 is an interesting situation. What do you do with Daniels? 0:13:53.320 --> 0:13:55.760 He's on the back nine. But he's a guy that 0:13:55.800 --> 0:13:58.200 gives you effort out there too. I mean, he plays, 0:13:58.480 --> 0:14:01.839 he plays hard, you know. I do think, I do 0:14:01.880 --> 0:14:05.520 think potentially you do have a few components on the 0:14:05.600 --> 0:14:07.640 on the defensive line, but you've got to address the 0:14:07.640 --> 0:14:11.040 pass rush. I mean, it's just you have to have 0:14:11.080 --> 0:14:15.679 somebody that, you know, besides Carl Lawson, who will give 0:14:15.720 --> 0:14:19.480 you consistent pressure off the edge. Sam Hubbard is a 0:14:19.520 --> 0:14:21.840 guy that will do the same. And you know he 0:14:21.920 --> 0:14:24.680 battled injury this year as well. And when you have 0:14:24.720 --> 0:14:27.440 an elbow injury again, man, when you when you have 0:14:27.480 --> 0:14:30.000 to as a lineman, when you have to use your 0:14:30.000 --> 0:14:33.440 hands and your you know, your your hands, your elbow, 0:14:33.520 --> 0:14:37.160 your shoulder, anything in your arms is messed up, It's 0:14:37.280 --> 0:14:39.720 it's hard to play, it's hard to be effective. You know, 0:14:40.200 --> 0:14:42.400 you just can't do it one arm, There's no doubt 0:14:42.400 --> 0:14:45.000 about it. So I think I think Sam Hubbard's a 0:14:45.280 --> 0:14:48.120 you know, a piece to work with for sure. I 0:14:48.160 --> 0:14:50.520 think he gives you everything he's got. He empties the uh, 0:14:50.960 --> 0:14:54.000 he empties the bucket big time. There's there's absolutely no 0:14:54.120 --> 0:14:57.800 question about it. I think that what this football team, 0:14:57.960 --> 0:15:00.400 particularly in the in the defense of an offense line, 0:15:00.800 --> 0:15:03.680 has to realize. I had a very good high school 0:15:03.720 --> 0:15:07.040 coach one time that uses this term to me that 0:15:07.320 --> 0:15:10.600 stuck with me for a long time, competitive endurance. And 0:15:10.640 --> 0:15:12.200 he said, you know what, he said, the good Lord 0:15:12.240 --> 0:15:16.000 blessed you son with some physical ability. Now it's going 0:15:16.040 --> 0:15:19.400 to be your mental part of it. Where is your 0:15:19.440 --> 0:15:22.920 competitive endurance? Is your competitive endurance going to be where 0:15:23.160 --> 0:15:27.400 no matter what the situation, you're going to give maximum effort. 0:15:27.520 --> 0:15:29.400 You're going to max out with what you're trying to 0:15:29.400 --> 0:15:33.080 get done every single snap, no matter what, no matter 0:15:33.120 --> 0:15:35.360 what other people around you are doing, no matter what 0:15:35.360 --> 0:15:38.000 the score of the game is. You have to be 0:15:38.440 --> 0:15:41.240 as consistent as players you can be. And the way 0:15:41.280 --> 0:15:44.120 you get to that level is competitive endurance, and you 0:15:44.200 --> 0:15:46.160 have to start to learn how to deal with that. 0:15:46.560 --> 0:15:49.320 And I thought, to this day I remember it, and 0:15:49.360 --> 0:15:53.800 that's something I think that it's a very simple concept, 0:15:53.840 --> 0:15:57.040 but it's a very true concept. Competitive endurance is what 0:15:57.120 --> 0:16:00.360 it's all about. That's what makes great players great. They 0:16:00.360 --> 0:16:04.320 have these unbelievable physical skills, but their competitive endurance is 0:16:04.360 --> 0:16:08.040 off the charts, off the charts. Anthony Munels did not 0:16:08.160 --> 0:16:12.440 want to lose one rep. Not one. I mean, he 0:16:12.800 --> 0:16:15.680 was infuriated. If a guy got a good pressure against 0:16:15.760 --> 0:16:18.600 the never mind the sack, and that's what it takes, 0:16:18.720 --> 0:16:21.720 That's what it takes to be great. So Monday night 0:16:21.720 --> 0:16:24.520 against Pittsburgh will be Zach Taylor's thirtieth game as an 0:16:24.640 --> 0:16:27.560 NFL head coach. He's only won four so far, so 0:16:27.600 --> 0:16:29.680 the record is not good. What are some of the 0:16:29.720 --> 0:16:32.520 things you think Mike Brown's going to consider as he 0:16:32.560 --> 0:16:36.960 evaluates Zach's future after the season. I think that obviously 0:16:37.280 --> 0:16:40.400 he'll evaluate the fact that, you know, this year was 0:16:40.440 --> 0:16:43.560 such an odd year in terms of the coronavirus, but 0:16:43.600 --> 0:16:47.200 everybody dealt with that and the injuries that we're talking about. 0:16:47.280 --> 0:16:52.160 I think Mike Brown is very sensitive to what you 0:16:52.200 --> 0:16:54.040 thought you were going to have coming out of training 0:16:54.080 --> 0:16:56.800 camp and what you ended up having as being two 0:16:56.800 --> 0:16:59.560 different things. I think he's very sensitive to that as 0:16:59.560 --> 0:17:03.360 he'd go who is evaluation process all the time. But 0:17:03.440 --> 0:17:05.680 I think the biggest thing that has to be evaluated 0:17:06.200 --> 0:17:09.359 does he have the locker room still? And if he 0:17:09.440 --> 0:17:11.439 doesn't have the locker room still. If he doesn't have 0:17:11.480 --> 0:17:14.120 the respect of the players, and the and the players, 0:17:14.520 --> 0:17:18.600 the oars aren't in the water and growing the same way. 0:17:18.880 --> 0:17:22.199 If that's not the case, then then you have to 0:17:22.240 --> 0:17:25.919 make a hard decision. But if he feels like that 0:17:26.040 --> 0:17:28.960 he does have the football team still and he has 0:17:29.000 --> 0:17:32.400 the respect of the football team still and his coaches 0:17:32.480 --> 0:17:34.880 and and that that's the other part of it, not 0:17:34.920 --> 0:17:38.800 only Zach, but who stays as assistance and who goes. 0:17:39.280 --> 0:17:43.040 I mean that that's a that's a big process. And 0:17:43.119 --> 0:17:46.440 I think obviously the thing that Mike Brown has shown 0:17:46.480 --> 0:17:50.360 over the years with coaches, his patients obviously, so that's 0:17:50.359 --> 0:17:52.119 going to be a factor. But it's going to be 0:17:52.240 --> 0:17:53.680 it's going to be a process. It's going to be 0:17:53.720 --> 0:17:58.160 a arduous process, for sure. So the Steelers are here 0:17:58.200 --> 0:18:00.560 on Monday night looking to beat the Angles for the 0:18:00.560 --> 0:18:03.879 twelfth consecutive time. They're favored by anywhere from eleven and 0:18:03.920 --> 0:18:06.159 a half to thirteen points based on the lines that 0:18:06.280 --> 0:18:09.480 I've seen. They can clinch the AFC North with a 0:18:09.560 --> 0:18:13.360 victory against the Bengals, And at this point at least, 0:18:13.400 --> 0:18:16.080 we don't know who Cincinnati's starting quarterback is going to be, 0:18:16.160 --> 0:18:18.440 since Brandon Allen heard his knee last Sunday and the 0:18:18.520 --> 0:18:21.639 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. It doesn't add up to 0:18:21.680 --> 0:18:24.840 a great scenario, unfortunately for the Bengals going into this 0:18:24.960 --> 0:18:28.680 National League televised game. No, it doesn't. They've played the 0:18:28.720 --> 0:18:31.439 Pittsburgh Stealers eleven times on Monday Night Football on or 0:18:31.480 --> 0:18:34.280 three and eight. Mike Tomlin was twenty two and five 0:18:34.320 --> 0:18:37.639 against the Cincinnati Bengals. Ben Roethlisberger better than that. I 0:18:37.680 --> 0:18:42.040 mean it, it doesn't add up to a very promising, 0:18:42.400 --> 0:18:46.560 promising evening for sure. You know the defense that this 0:18:46.760 --> 0:18:50.760 offense that's missing key components, particularly at the quarterback position, 0:18:50.920 --> 0:18:53.399 is going against a team that's led up the fewest 0:18:53.400 --> 0:18:56.480 points in the National Football League and is a takeaway 0:18:56.520 --> 0:18:58.840 machine tied for most takeaways in the league, has the 0:18:58.840 --> 0:19:02.119 most interceptional league. I mean, you know, it's it's staggering. 0:19:02.160 --> 0:19:06.080 The odds are staggering going into this football game. So 0:19:06.720 --> 0:19:09.040 the bottom line is the Bengals have to bring their 0:19:09.400 --> 0:19:11.680 at least a game. Hopefully they have an eight plus game, 0:19:12.080 --> 0:19:14.360 and you got to hope that the Pittsburgh Steelers are 0:19:14.840 --> 0:19:17.159 continuing to play at the level they've played at the 0:19:17.240 --> 0:19:19.679 last the last couple of weeks, which is closer to 0:19:19.720 --> 0:19:22.120 a sea, you know, for them, a lot of drops 0:19:23.200 --> 0:19:25.879 that that's the kind of thing that you you need. 0:19:25.920 --> 0:19:28.040 You need some help from Pittsburgh, to be quite honest, 0:19:28.080 --> 0:19:30.639 To be quite frank, if Pittsburgh comes out and plays 0:19:30.640 --> 0:19:33.600 a clean game and Ben operates like he did the 0:19:33.640 --> 0:19:36.680 first time they played, he had a season high three 0:19:36.720 --> 0:19:38.960 hundred and thirty three yards passing, the season high four 0:19:39.000 --> 0:19:42.359 touchdowns passing. Supposedly coming off, you know, a knee injury 0:19:42.400 --> 0:19:44.280 that they were worried about. He wasn't gonna play it 0:19:44.359 --> 0:19:49.120 in practice all week. So Pittsburgh's Pittsburgh, There's no doubt 0:19:49.119 --> 0:19:54.400 about it. And I think that they're you think Dan, 0:19:54.520 --> 0:19:57.280 at some point they're gonna start to try to commit 0:19:57.320 --> 0:20:01.040 to running the ball again. Eighty eight percent of their 0:20:01.280 --> 0:20:03.960 yards the last two in the two game losing stream 0:20:04.040 --> 0:20:07.240 has come from the passing game, eighty eight percent of 0:20:07.280 --> 0:20:11.399 their yards generated. And I thought, honestly that in the 0:20:11.840 --> 0:20:14.159 last game when they went to Buffalo, thought they're going 0:20:14.200 --> 0:20:16.240 to have to commit to the running game, and I'll 0:20:16.280 --> 0:20:17.760 be a son of a gun, they sure it didn't. 0:20:18.200 --> 0:20:21.359 They didn't even try. So I'm thinking Monday and Night 0:20:21.400 --> 0:20:26.359 football against the Bengals in December. Pittsburgh has to commit 0:20:26.400 --> 0:20:29.920 to the running game, don't they. But maybe the coaches 0:20:29.960 --> 0:20:32.480 feel like with the running backs they have and the 0:20:32.520 --> 0:20:34.840 offensive line they have, and the quarterback they have and 0:20:34.880 --> 0:20:37.600 the receivers they have the best thing to do spread 0:20:37.640 --> 0:20:39.120 them out and throw the football and do the quick 0:20:39.160 --> 0:20:42.720 passing game. And I mean Ben leads the NFL in 0:20:43.320 --> 0:20:47.240 yards in attempts in completions, but his yards per attempt 0:20:47.440 --> 0:20:50.200 are way down in the twenties. I mean, he's dinking 0:20:50.240 --> 0:20:53.280 and duncan. I mean, I don't even recognize the Pittsburgh 0:20:53.320 --> 0:20:55.280 offense has played in the last couple of games. And 0:20:55.480 --> 0:20:57.240 I think it might be different on Monday Night. We'll 0:20:57.280 --> 0:21:00.760 see you. Gotta think they'll try it there. Vaging fifty 0:21:00.760 --> 0:21:03.760 four rushing yards in their last seven games. That is 0:21:04.000 --> 0:21:08.080 unbelievable for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Yeah, I mean the first 0:21:08.080 --> 0:21:13.920 time that the Bengals and Steelers played, Pittsburgh only ran 0:21:14.000 --> 0:21:16.960 for like two point two yards per play. The Bengals 0:21:17.040 --> 0:21:19.760 ran for six. Now you take the thirty nine yard 0:21:20.160 --> 0:21:23.400 fake punt out of there, they still ran for five. 0:21:23.440 --> 0:21:25.640 They had twenty carries, one hundred yards, right than those 0:21:26.119 --> 0:21:29.000 five yards of carry. Pittsburgh was at two point two 0:21:29.400 --> 0:21:32.720 onlike twenty carries, twenty carries for like, you know, eighty 0:21:32.760 --> 0:21:37.320 yards whatever it was, and no one like twenty carries 0:21:37.359 --> 0:21:40.080 forty forty four yards. I think it was something crazy 0:21:40.160 --> 0:21:45.040 like that. So that's that's not that's not the Pittsburgh Steelers. 0:21:45.440 --> 0:21:47.199 You know that that you know And then Ben, of 0:21:47.240 --> 0:21:49.120 course there in the thirty three yards, like we talked 0:21:49.119 --> 0:21:52.160 about that at some point in time, I think they're 0:21:52.160 --> 0:21:57.000 going to commit to more balance. As the playoffs get closer, 0:21:57.040 --> 0:21:58.959 they're going to have to have more balance than that. 0:21:59.000 --> 0:22:04.320 They cannot rely on a passing game that multiple receivers 0:22:04.320 --> 0:22:09.200 are having drops tight end receiver, they're all dropping the football. 0:22:09.760 --> 0:22:15.240 Christmas shopping done, No, not yet. In that case, I'll 0:22:15.240 --> 0:22:18.679 wrap up this conversation. You can get to it. Have 0:22:18.800 --> 0:22:22.480 a good one, Dan, I appreciate it. Thanks obviously, wrap 0:22:22.600 --> 0:22:26.880 that up because I need to do my Christmas shopping now. 0:22:26.920 --> 0:22:29.720