Speaker 1: Happy Thanksgiving everybody. I'm Dan Horde and thanks for downloading
Speaker 1: The Bengals Booth Podcast. The I'm on My Way, I'm
Speaker 1: on My Way Home Suite Home addition. As the Bengals
Speaker 1: begin a stretch of three straight home games on Sunday
Speaker 1: against the Pittsburgh Steelers, coming up, my midweek conversation with
Speaker 1: Dave Lapo as we discuss if there's really such a
Speaker 1: thing as bulletin board material for a professional athlete and
Speaker 1: what it's going to take for the Bengals to beat
Speaker 1: the Steelers for the third time in a row. My
Speaker 1: one on one player interview is with a guy who
Speaker 1: knows all about this rivalry, tight end cju Zama, who
Speaker 1: has played in ten games against the Steelers, including the
Speaker 1: only playoff game of his NFL career, And finally, NFL
Speaker 1: Network reporter add King Kabwalla has great insight on this
Speaker 1: matchup since she is frequently assigned to the AFC North.
Speaker 1: She talks to my Bengals dot Com colleague Marissa Contapelli.
Speaker 1: The Bengals Booth Podcast is presented by Ultimate Bengals, the
Speaker 1: free to play Next Level Fantasy Football game downloaded now
Speaker 1: from the app store and Google Play. And here's a
Speaker 1: quick reminder that you can have the latest edition of
Speaker 1: this podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet, or computer
Speaker 1: by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's the greatest
Speaker 1: thing since gravy. During my conversation you're about to hear
Speaker 1: with Dave Lapham, he asks me about my Thanksgiving meal preferences,
Speaker 1: and among other things, I mentioned that I like my
Speaker 1: stuffing smothered with gravy. That kept me thinking about how
Speaker 1: much I like gravy in general. In fact, one of
Speaker 1: the staples of my diet a is a Syracuse University
Speaker 1: student many years ago, was gravy on French fries, similar
Speaker 1: to poutine, the Canadian delicacy, but without the cheese kords.
Speaker 1: So years to gravy in all of its glory. Now
Speaker 1: let's get to football. After eleven straight losses to the dreaded, hated,
Speaker 1: but grudgingly respected Pittsburgh Steelers, the Bengals have won the
Speaker 1: last two meetings, twenty seven to seventeen last December with
Speaker 1: Ryan Finlay at quarterback and twenty four to ten back
Speaker 1: in September with Joe Burrow throwing three touchdown passes, two
Speaker 1: to Jamar Chase and one to Pittsburgh native Tyler Boyd.
Speaker 1: Boyd made a comment after that game that is undoubtedly
Speaker 1: being mentioned in Pittsburgh this week, and that's where I
Speaker 1: begin my conversation with Dave Lapham Lap. The Bengals beat
Speaker 1: the Steelers by two touchdowns at Hinz Field back in
Speaker 1: Week three, and the day after the game, Tyler Boyd
Speaker 1: made headlines by saying the Steelers gave up at the end.
Speaker 1: Here's my question for you. You played pro football for
Speaker 1: a dozen years. Is bulletin board material a real thing
Speaker 1: you're a professional athlete. It can be as you're getting ready.
Speaker 1: I think it kind of helps you maybe focus, laser
Speaker 1: focus a little bit more. But once the game starts,
Speaker 1: if they're taking it to you, it doesn't matter what
Speaker 1: you're running the bulletin board during the week. If you're
Speaker 1: taking it to them, it kind of, you know, gives
Speaker 1: you a little more juice, a little a little added
Speaker 1: fire as such. So I think the most important thing
Speaker 1: is who gets off to the to the better start,
Speaker 1: because the last time these two teams played, neither team
Speaker 1: had scored a point in the first quarter and they're
Speaker 1: still struggling. I mean, the Bengals have always scored thirty
Speaker 1: four points in the first quarter of Pittsburgh has always
Speaker 1: scored thirty one. So they're you know, they're averaging three
Speaker 1: points a game in the first quarter. They're getting off
Speaker 1: the slow starts. So I think the team that jumps
Speaker 1: out on top of the other one early in this
Speaker 1: one does get that early edge and you forget about
Speaker 1: you know, the bulletin board material a little bit, but
Speaker 1: it can, Honestly, it can juice practices a little bit.
Speaker 1: You know, not that when you're playing a rival, all
Speaker 1: of it is maybe just you know, little a little
Speaker 1: smidgeon of this or that in terms of getting yourself
Speaker 1: in the right mindset for the football game. This game
Speaker 1: is so important to both teams, this team, this is
Speaker 1: such a big rivalry. I think I think bulletin board material,
Speaker 1: I'm not sure how necessary it is, you know, I
Speaker 1: think they're all both teams are going to be playing
Speaker 1: at an extremely high level physically. The Steelers had a
Speaker 1: bunch of key injuries in that first meeting, most notably T. J. Watt,
Speaker 1: and they didn't look very good. But after a one
Speaker 1: in three start, they've gone four one and one since.
Speaker 1: The only loss was last week when they rallied from
Speaker 1: seventeen down in the fourth quarter, took the lead against
Speaker 1: the Chargers, and then gave up a long touchdown pass
Speaker 1: with about two minutes to go. Where do the Steelers
Speaker 1: present the biggest problems on Sunday? And t J. Watt
Speaker 1: didn't play in that game on Sunday, and he didn't
Speaker 1: play against the Bengals, they're owing four When t J.
Speaker 1: Watt doesn't play own four. That's how important he to
Speaker 1: the mix. So I think I think that in my
Speaker 1: mind he presents about as big a problem as anybody
Speaker 1: does because of his ability to just put constant pressure
Speaker 1: on the quarterback. And you know, it makes it makes
Speaker 1: the opposite defensive end pressuring makes him more effective, makes
Speaker 1: Hayward more effective inside. I mean it just it takes
Speaker 1: everybody to another level. I think we saw last week
Speaker 1: that a significant adequate PASSWAH or better than an adequate
Speaker 1: passwash out of four and dropping seven into coverage can
Speaker 1: be a problem. And the Steelers have they're starting to blit.
Speaker 1: They're blitzing less percentagewise, they're blitzing less and less, And
Speaker 1: when t J. Watt plays, I think that makes sense
Speaker 1: when he doesn't, they're probably not blitzing all that much less.
Speaker 1: But when he's playing and they're getting a significant pass
Speaker 1: rush pressure out of the four of them, they're thinking
Speaker 1: rush board drops seven looks pretty good against most most
Speaker 1: offense is in the league. And I can see why,
Speaker 1: uh and I wouldn't be surprised if T. J. Watt
Speaker 1: starts the game and shows that he still has that
Speaker 1: explosiveness and and I think I think initially they're going
Speaker 1: to say, Okay, you know, let's let's rush for drop seven.
Speaker 1: See what happens here a little bit. Now, just because
Speaker 1: he starts the game with the injuries that he's got,
Speaker 1: he's got multiple injuries that he's dealing with, doesn't necessarily
Speaker 1: mean he finishes that. It doesn't necessarily mean he stays
Speaker 1: as effective as he does maybe at the beginning of
Speaker 1: the game. But tour it all and a bunch of
Speaker 1: other stuff in today's pharmacies are very effective. I think
Speaker 1: that is the biggest key in this football game. When
Speaker 1: they do rush for drop seven, play a couple of
Speaker 1: safeties deep play a little bit, you know, deep in coverage.
Speaker 1: You got to run him out of it. And can
Speaker 1: they run the football? Can they anchor those guys by
Speaker 1: running the football and you know, take advantage of the
Speaker 1: soft box and all that sort of thing and make
Speaker 1: them change strategy. I think that's going to be a big,
Speaker 1: big factor, you know, in the football game. And then
Speaker 1: on the flip side of it, if the Bengals can
Speaker 1: control the running game like they did, I mean they
Speaker 1: basically made Nagi Harris a little checkdown receiver out of
Speaker 1: the backfield. That was their running game, and the Bengals
Speaker 1: tackled well. I mean, if you can, if you can
Speaker 1: leverage it properly and tackle it's it's just like a
Speaker 1: toss pitch, you know. I mean it's it's it's nothing
Speaker 1: more dangerous than that. So, but it is interesting the philosophy.
Speaker 1: And I've mentioned this before. I mean Bill Walsh, he
Speaker 1: always said, yeah, you know, guys, we throw the ball
Speaker 1: for four yards, they think that they're kicking our butt.
Speaker 1: When we run it for four yards, they think that
Speaker 1: we're kicking their butt. I don't care how we get
Speaker 1: four yards. Second and six. My playsheets wide open to me.
Speaker 1: I want to be at second and six. I don't
Speaker 1: care how it happens. I'll take those four yard passes.
Speaker 1: Three of them. We moved the chains, you know. I
Speaker 1: mean that was his that was Bill Walsh's whole mindset.
Speaker 1: And that's kind of the approach that the Steelers took
Speaker 1: with Nagi Harris a little bit in that first game.
Speaker 1: And I wouldn't be surprised they do it again, all right,
Speaker 1: Sticking with trying to run on the Steelers defense. Two
Speaker 1: weeks ago, the winless Lions ran for two hundred and
Speaker 1: forty two yards on thirty carries. I read that they
Speaker 1: had twenty four carries with six offensive linemen on the field,
Speaker 1: whether they lined up on the line or is a fullback.
Speaker 1: Is that something the Bengals are likely to try this week?
Speaker 1: I've read the same thing, Dan, and uh, I wouldn't
Speaker 1: be surprised. I mean, they've they've done it. I mean
Speaker 1: they've they've mixed their you know, their big package in there.
Speaker 1: Um you know, I know a big part of their
Speaker 1: game plan going into the Steelers game last time was
Speaker 1: you know, that stretch and then and then the inside
Speaker 1: zone to compliment it and go along with it. And
Speaker 1: I could see them using Isaiah Prince like we've seen
Speaker 1: in the past, but maybe a heavy heavier dose of it.
Speaker 1: Like the Detroit Lions, did you know, they may they
Speaker 1: may have cracked the coat a little bit with with
Speaker 1: that concept. But I do think, honestly, if it's a
Speaker 1: big offensive lineman or if it's Drew Sample and Cjzama,
Speaker 1: I mean, I think, I think, you know, twelve and
Speaker 1: thirteen packages are gonna have to be favorable for the
Speaker 1: cincinnaive Bengags. They're gonna have to get some mileage out
Speaker 1: of those those multiple tight end packages. And I think
Speaker 1: Drew Sample is as good at you know, blocking tight
Speaker 1: end at the line of spermade you know, with his
Speaker 1: hand down at the end of the line of spermmage,
Speaker 1: or lined up as a wingback or a fullback or
Speaker 1: wherever they want to line them up and motion them
Speaker 1: and do some things with them. I think he's going
Speaker 1: to be a big factor in the running game this week,
Speaker 1: just like he was last week when they had a
Speaker 1: successful running game. And then the wide receivers are going
Speaker 1: to have to block like they blocked last week in
Speaker 1: the running game against the Pittsburgh's deals. Everybody's gonna have
Speaker 1: to put their big boy pads on, not just the
Speaker 1: offensive and defensive linemen. If the Bengals win, that would
Speaker 1: be three straight over Pittsburgh. As Paul Dayner Junior from
Speaker 1: The Athletic has pointed out, it would be the first
Speaker 1: time since nineteen ninety If this happens, can we officially
Speaker 1: say the tide has turned in this right? Well? I mean,
Speaker 1: I get three in a row, I guess you could
Speaker 1: say is starting to be a little bit of a trend.
Speaker 1: You know, But you do play each other twice twice
Speaker 1: a year, so it's it's it's only a year, year
Speaker 1: and a half's work of worth work, worth of work,
Speaker 1: I should say. Um, but to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers
Speaker 1: three times in a row would be significant looking at
Speaker 1: the way they've dominated, I mean, seventeen straight non losing seasons.
Speaker 1: Mike Tomlins never had a losing season. I mean, the
Speaker 1: history and the tradition and success of that franchise is
Speaker 1: you know, a second and none in the last couple
Speaker 1: of decades. I mean, it's it's been. It's been unbelievable.
Speaker 1: And usually teams have their their they cycle ups and
Speaker 1: downs in a shorter time frame than that. That's that's
Speaker 1: a good that's a good, lengthy time frame. You can
Speaker 1: you can say I mean, the Bengals had the best
Speaker 1: of the of the Steelers in the eighties by far,
Speaker 1: you know, but but we're talking nineties, two thousands, thousands
Speaker 1: talking a while here. You know, it's like that's that's
Speaker 1: a pretty good stretch. So it'd be good to get that,
Speaker 1: get that w to get three in a row against them,
Speaker 1: that would that would definitely it would signal that that
Speaker 1: they're on the right track. You know. They they've they've
Speaker 1: got away. They've got a formula that they feel good
Speaker 1: about that's working for sure. And Um, like Zach always says,
Speaker 1: you know, the first thing you have to do is
Speaker 1: take care of your division. And the division is so
Speaker 1: diverse with what they do offensively, you know. I mean
Speaker 1: Baltimore with their their running game in their quarterback run
Speaker 1: game packages is unbelievable. Cleveland's got the best running game
Speaker 1: in the NFL that's more of a tradition to traditional
Speaker 1: running game. It is still ranks number one in the
Speaker 1: NFL and yards and yards per Russi attempt. So um, Pittsburgh,
Speaker 1: you know, has always been a team. That's the biggest
Speaker 1: thing that shocks me about Pittsburgh, Dan as you look
Speaker 1: at you look at their numbers running the football. The
Speaker 1: Pittsburgh Steelers are are not very very good in stopping
Speaker 1: the run either, and they're the last given a four
Speaker 1: point eight yards a run, you know, I mean they're
Speaker 1: they're minus one point one yards per carry average and
Speaker 1: yards generated running the football and stopping the opponent negative
Speaker 1: one point one is tied for second worst in the NFL.
Speaker 1: That is so non Pittsburgh like. Teams about rushed them
Speaker 1: by thirty five point nine yards a game, thirty six
Speaker 1: yards of football game. That's so non Pittsburgh like. So
Speaker 1: I think Pittsburgh is the biggest, the biggest kind of
Speaker 1: puzzle to me right now. It's like they're they're teetering,
Speaker 1: you know, where are they going? They are they're on
Speaker 1: the decline? Are they avoiding the decline? And just they
Speaker 1: just seem to be sputtering at the at the Mendoza line,
Speaker 1: you know, whereas you kind of have a handle on
Speaker 1: what Baltimore and Cleveland are trying to do from an
Speaker 1: identity standpoint and all that sort of thing. It's very
Speaker 1: interesting how the how the division's kind of evolved a
Speaker 1: little bit. Tom Brady seemingly has discovered the fountain of
Speaker 1: youth he leads the NFL and touchdown passes. He seems
Speaker 1: to be as good as ever in his mid forties.
Speaker 1: Ben Roethlisberger, on the other hand, in his late thirties
Speaker 1: looks like quarterbacks used to look when they got into
Speaker 1: the late thirties. He's not terrible. He still has great moments,
Speaker 1: but he's not the player he once was. What is
Speaker 1: he now are? What are Ben Roethlisberger's strength at this
Speaker 1: stage of his career. A savvy kg you know, just
Speaker 1: very experienced veteran quarterback. You know, he just he just
Speaker 1: has ah. He has such a knowledge that he can
Speaker 1: draw upon and and you're right, he's nowhere near the
Speaker 1: athlete that he was. Nowhere near his athletic He was
Speaker 1: never a guy that could, you know, like run like
Speaker 1: well boy Blazons. But Ben Ben could. Ben had power.
Speaker 1: Ben Ben could run the football and hurt you a
Speaker 1: little bit, There's no question about it. And the thing,
Speaker 1: the thing that I found so amazing about him is
Speaker 1: how big and strong it was in the pocket. You'd
Speaker 1: have defensive vents, not just linebackers, defensive events. Put a
Speaker 1: big lick on him, you know, I brown his shoulds
Speaker 1: and slide down his body like a barber pole and
Speaker 1: he just you know, he just stepped up and invade
Speaker 1: him get out of pocket. And the other thing about him,
Speaker 1: when he was in his prime, he would throw from
Speaker 1: the right hashmark to the left sideline and get it there. Now,
Speaker 1: usually when quarterbacks try to do that defensive back slick
Speaker 1: their chops and like ball's going to be in the
Speaker 1: air a while, it's turn over time. He just he
Speaker 1: ripped it in there. And you know, he had that
Speaker 1: that arm talent that could get it to all quardons
Speaker 1: of the field, you know, And he doesn't quite have
Speaker 1: that anymore, you know, and he's turned into a you know,
Speaker 1: more of a mid range you know, short range passing
Speaker 1: attack kind of guy. But but he still has that
Speaker 1: guy all that savvy that, you know, all all that
Speaker 1: experience and all those snaps under his belt. And the
Speaker 1: one thing that he does do well, he gets the
Speaker 1: ball out of his hand. I mean, you know, two
Speaker 1: point three, two point four seconds. That frustrates the heck
Speaker 1: out of a defensive lineman. You know, you beat your
Speaker 1: guy with the first move and still you're within you know,
Speaker 1: usually you're gonna get a sack. You're not even there
Speaker 1: before he gets the ball out of his hand, and
Speaker 1: that that drives guy's crazy. I mean that can that
Speaker 1: can be a something that wears on you. That could
Speaker 1: happen to Trey hendricks And if the ball has gone
Speaker 1: before he can get to Big Ben. This he's trying
Speaker 1: to come up with a sack for the seventh consecutive game.
Speaker 1: He's already tied the team record at six. It's the
Speaker 1: longest active sack streak in the NFL. Is Trey Hendrickson
Speaker 1: what you expected? Or even better? You know? I think
Speaker 1: I think he's even a little bit better than what
Speaker 1: I expected. You know, you're not quite sure what you're
Speaker 1: going to get because he was with other talented defensive
Speaker 1: lineman down there in New Orleans, and it's always like
Speaker 1: is it him? Is he? Is he? You know, benefiting
Speaker 1: from the performance of others and he's with another good
Speaker 1: group of defensive lineman. You know, it's like Hubbard. He
Speaker 1: and Hubbard have what's what's uh the perfect arrangement because
Speaker 1: they're competitive, they don't want to be outdone. But it's friendly,
Speaker 1: you know, it's not like, oh, you know what you have?
Speaker 1: Nine and a half said, oh man, you know, I'm
Speaker 1: jealous of that, I'm gonna have to I'm gonna freelance.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna try to do my thing. They stay within
Speaker 1: the scheme, and it was it was unbelievable. Talk to
Speaker 1: Hendrickson in the locker room out of the game when
Speaker 1: Sam got his sack, Hendrickson was like, I gotta get
Speaker 1: mine now. And the next play he does and he
Speaker 1: strips the thing and Sam hubbly recovers it. They're they're
Speaker 1: like Ying and Yang. They are feeding off each other.
Speaker 1: But I'm impressed with how well he's set the edge
Speaker 1: in the run too. He's not a one trick pony.
Speaker 1: I mean he's playing He's playing every down very very
Speaker 1: you know, hard tough, being where he's supposed to be
Speaker 1: when he's supposed to be there. Um, it's it's turned
Speaker 1: into a nice dynamic between the two of them, and
Speaker 1: you know, the entire defensive line. I mean, everybody's doing
Speaker 1: what they're supposed to do, when they're supposed to do it,
Speaker 1: how they're supposed to do it, all those good things.
Speaker 1: So I'm I'm probably about as happy as every Bengals
Speaker 1: fan and everybody in the organization that Hendrickson is is
Speaker 1: the real deal. I mean that was that was money
Speaker 1: that was well spent. Back in the first meeting, Jackson
Speaker 1: Carmen made his first career start at right guard. Now
Speaker 1: Hakimadenagy is in that spot. He'll make his third start
Speaker 1: in a row on Sunday. How's he look? He looks
Speaker 1: pretty good. Um, but but but he's gonna be you
Speaker 1: gonna You're gonna imagine hay was gonna line up right
Speaker 1: over him, just like he did over Jackson Carmen. I mean,
Speaker 1: Jackson Carmen had to had to get ready for Cameron
Speaker 1: Hayward and uh, and Identogy's going to be no different
Speaker 1: than that. He's gonna be tested. He's gonna be tested
Speaker 1: by Cameron Hayward early often in the football game. But
Speaker 1: I do think Identagy is uh, he's legit. I mean
Speaker 1: he his pass protection I thought was really good last week.
Speaker 1: I think his run blocking, his sound. I think he's still,
Speaker 1: you know, evolving in that regard a little bit. But
Speaker 1: when he's not. He's not the big behemoth that a
Speaker 1: lot of these interior you know, guards are at three
Speaker 1: hundred and thirty pounds plus. He's not that kind of guy.
Speaker 1: But he has got explosiveness in hip snap and when
Speaker 1: he when he rolls his hips, he brings a little bit.
Speaker 1: You know, he's got he's got something to him. So
Speaker 1: you know, his footwork is him in position, his hip snap,
Speaker 1: you know, gets you know, gets the movement that he's
Speaker 1: gonna get, and then he finishes well with his hands.
Speaker 1: I think he's got a very bright future. I thought
Speaker 1: that from game one the game too, he improved and
Speaker 1: I expect that graft to go up now depending on
Speaker 1: you know, a great player like Cameron Heyward can can
Speaker 1: humble you, there's no question about it. But he seems
Speaker 1: very poisoned mature to Dan. I think if something does
Speaker 1: go wrong, he's not going to lose his mind, you know,
Speaker 1: I think he'll he'll go back to the All right, well,
Speaker 1: you know I lost that one, but you know, I
Speaker 1: got to get back to my basics. I got to
Speaker 1: make sure my foot works right, all my fundamentals right,
Speaker 1: my hand placement's right. Just get back to what you
Speaker 1: need to do to block the guy, uh and not,
Speaker 1: you know, just start panicking and lose all all concept
Speaker 1: of technique and everything else, and then you're dead. You're
Speaker 1: dead meat. I don't see that happening with the key
Speaker 1: of de energy at all. All right, Thanksgivings coming up.
Speaker 1: You're from the Boston area. Boston is famous for Thanksgiving
Speaker 1: high school football games. Was that the case when you
Speaker 1: were young? Absolutely? Smell Rose it was. It was Melrose
Speaker 1: High School, but they were smell Rose when we when
Speaker 1: we played them. We played them every single Thanksgiving. And
Speaker 1: uh I remember they had they had a great athlete
Speaker 1: by the name of rich Como, Richie Como, and that
Speaker 1: son of a gun man he was. He was the
Speaker 1: first real speed store. I mean this guy ran, you know,
Speaker 1: like a sub ten flat hundred and the track team
Speaker 1: and stuff, and um he was if he hit it
Speaker 1: and he hit the scene was like see you later.
Speaker 1: You're looking at come a across the back of his jersey.
Speaker 1: That's all you're gonna see. And uh I remember we
Speaker 1: We ended up beating them one year in an upset
Speaker 1: and and that was that was a big deal to
Speaker 1: go and beat Melrose in Melrose. But yeah, the Wakefield
Speaker 1: Melrose Thanksgiving Day Turkey game was was always that was
Speaker 1: that was the biggest football game I'd ever played in
Speaker 1: my life as a you know, as a high school
Speaker 1: football player. That was everybody always look forward to that
Speaker 1: that big Thanksgiving Day rival retail. No question. Now you'll
Speaker 1: be watching football, you'll be eating too much like we
Speaker 1: all do, and then it's going to be the perfect
Speaker 1: Thanksgiving weekend When the Bengals win on Sunday by doing
Speaker 1: what it's remarkable Dan. I was looking back at the
Speaker 1: first match out of twenty four ten. The Bengals have
Speaker 1: forty penalties on the year, first in the National Football
Speaker 1: League unless much less than four hundred yards and penalty yards,
Speaker 1: I think like three forty something. I think it is
Speaker 1: first in the league as well. They had ten penalties
Speaker 1: for almost eighty yards in that game. They had a court.
Speaker 1: They had twenty five percent of their penalties and over
Speaker 1: twenty five percent of their penalty yards in that game.
Speaker 1: So what you have to do is like we always
Speaker 1: always talk about that, you know, controlled rage kind of thing.
Speaker 1: You know, you want to play aggressively and physically, but
Speaker 1: you don't want to be out of control. You know,
Speaker 1: you don't want to have penalties, you don't want to
Speaker 1: have mistakes. You don't want to But they won the
Speaker 1: turnover battle they had. They had two takeaways, two interceptions,
Speaker 1: gave them two short fields on Ben Roethlisberger. They scored
Speaker 1: two touchdowns on those short fields. That's the formula is
Speaker 1: is getting that kind of thing done. Um so they
Speaker 1: had four Pittsburgh had four kicks. That four possessions that
Speaker 1: ended without a kick. The Bengals only had one. That
Speaker 1: was huge in that football game. I think the Bengals
Speaker 1: won the field position battle, but I mean they Pittsburgh
Speaker 1: ran seventy seven snaps. Bengals ran like forty three and
Speaker 1: scored twenty four points. The efficiency was there because of
Speaker 1: the turnovers, the takeaways. So m but the time of possession.
Speaker 1: If people looked at, you know, the number of snaps,
Speaker 1: time of possession, how did the Bengals end up winning
Speaker 1: by two scores? And you have to you have to
Speaker 1: dive a little deeper, you know. Um but I think
Speaker 1: I think, uh, they have to take care of things
Speaker 1: at the line of scrimmage. I think it starts there,
Speaker 1: as always in these rivalry games and just about every
Speaker 1: game in the National Football League, you have to be
Speaker 1: able to hold your own, you know, at the line
Speaker 1: of scrimmage. There's there's no question about that. I've already
Speaker 1: written down about eighteen things here that you know they're
Speaker 1: going to be a factor in the football game. Yeah,
Speaker 1: but had ten penalties for eighty nine yards. Pittsburgh had
Speaker 1: ten for seventy three Pittsburgh six in the NFL, and
Speaker 1: penalty yards against them Bengals in number one at three
Speaker 1: hundred and forty three yards, so that both teams uncharacteristically
Speaker 1: had had a very rough day from a penalty standpoint.
Speaker 1: But I've got chemodenergy. Jump Cameron Hayward. You know, I
Speaker 1: thought that was going to be a big deal in
Speaker 1: the football game. Don't let Cameron Hayward get started. And
Speaker 1: I thought that, I thought that that was handled pretty
Speaker 1: well by Jackson Carmen, and I think chemodenergy, I'd recommend
Speaker 1: the same thing, jump him. But yeah, coach and play aggressively,
Speaker 1: but not carelessly or recklessly. And that's that's what has
Speaker 1: to happen. I think in these big football games and
Speaker 1: rivalry games, you never know. And like we talked about earlier,
Speaker 1: getting off to that fast start is I think going
Speaker 1: to be a pivotal thing. But the Bengals showed how
Speaker 1: important it is to finish games last week too. A
Speaker 1: quick start and a good finish and Dan good Turkey Day.
Speaker 1: Post Turkey Day weekend celebration could happen. Then enjoy your feast.
Speaker 1: Happy Thanksgiving? You do the same, sir. Do you like
Speaker 1: white or dark meat? Turkey both? But I prefer white?
Speaker 1: Do you only every piece of dark meat there is? Man?
Speaker 1: What's your favorite side dish? I like stuffing, but it
Speaker 1: must have gravy on it to moisten it up. Lynn
Speaker 1: makes his green bean casserole. That's like, really really good stuff.
Speaker 1: I'm a stuffing guy. Over over mashed potatoes too. I
Speaker 1: definitely am. What kind of pie? What's your pumpkin? That's
Speaker 1: a lap bengo Bengal bongo. What it's worth? I don't
Speaker 1: really like sweet potatoes, except for the Thanksgiving casserole version
Speaker 1: that's loaded up with so much butter and nuts that
Speaker 1: it's hard to tell there was ever a vegetable involved.
Speaker 1: Up next, my one on one visit with tight end
Speaker 1: c j Uzama. The first nine times he played in
Speaker 1: a Bengal Steelers game, the Bengals lost. That streak ended
Speaker 1: in week three, and I talked to CJ about the rivalry.
Speaker 1: This week, CJ, it is Steelers week. You are a
Speaker 1: rookie back in twenty fifteen for the infamous playoff game.
Speaker 1: Sorry to bring it up. What do you remember most
Speaker 1: about that night? Nothing? No, Um, Yeah, I just remember
Speaker 1: just distraught, I think in the locker room and amongst
Speaker 1: amongst the guys in the locker room, and and just
Speaker 1: you know, UM, we felt like we we let it,
Speaker 1: we let it slip away, and we did. UM. So
Speaker 1: that's that's the That's the biggest takeaway that I had
Speaker 1: was just you know, when an opportunity like this comes,
Speaker 1: we as player as we can't. We can't let something
Speaker 1: like that slip up and have there be any disconnect UM.
Speaker 1: And that was kind of the biggest thing that I
Speaker 1: think I saw UM throughout, throughout the night and after
Speaker 1: the game. The nast ess in this rivalry I think
Speaker 1: peaked right around then. Some of those games I almost
Speaker 1: felt like they were out of control. Has it gotten better?
Speaker 1: You know? I think with the rules, I think football
Speaker 1: in general has changed a lot. Um, I don't know
Speaker 1: necessarily if it's gotten better. I think, you know, UM,
Speaker 1: you know, there's still that passion, that rivalry, that that
Speaker 1: UM controlled hatred, you know, towards towards someone in your division.
Speaker 1: But UM, I don't, I don't. I wouldn't say it's
Speaker 1: gotten better and lighter. You know, I think the rules
Speaker 1: have changed to kind of prevent some of those, like
Speaker 1: some of the things that have happened, you know, to
Speaker 1: happen again. But now I think, I think that that
Speaker 1: passion is still there. I'm going to quote you on
Speaker 1: controlled hatred during the course of the game. We're chatting
Speaker 1: with c. J Uzama. You won the first meeting against
Speaker 1: the Steelers this year by a couple of touchdowns in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 1: That means two wins in a row for Cincinnati in
Speaker 1: the rivalry. What do you view as a key or
Speaker 1: a couple of keys to making it three in a row? Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think, you know, just just playing our game. Um.
Speaker 1: I think you know, when it comes to a rivalry
Speaker 1: game like this, you know that you know a play
Speaker 1: is going to be made by the other side, and
Speaker 1: it's how you respond to that. And obviously we want,
Speaker 1: we want to play a perfect game and we want
Speaker 1: to come out hot and and you know that's that's
Speaker 1: our plan. Um. But you know, things change throughout the
Speaker 1: throughout the course of the game, and it's just it's
Speaker 1: staying the course. It's staying you know, with with within
Speaker 1: the parameters of our game plan and and and how
Speaker 1: we play enough on Pittsburgh, the team in general and
Speaker 1: you in particular seem to be having a ball this year.
Speaker 1: Are you having as much fun as it looks? I'm
Speaker 1: having more fun than it looks for sure. Um, it
Speaker 1: really is. It's it, man, It is so fun. Just
Speaker 1: I mean, even in the walkthrough that you know, we
Speaker 1: just had to walk through and we're having fun out there.
Speaker 1: And you know, it's not saying that we're not focused
Speaker 1: and because we're executing, you know, even in walk through
Speaker 1: in practice where we're um, we're executing, you know, at
Speaker 1: a high level. But it's just, man, football is supposed
Speaker 1: to be fun, and I think some of that gets taken,
Speaker 1: you know, taken away with um, certain guys wanting contracts
Speaker 1: and certain guys wanting you know, their numbers and this
Speaker 1: and that. But when you watch this team and when
Speaker 1: I mean, you can't one hundred percent fully grasp it.
Speaker 1: But man, we're happy when everyone scores. Everyone's like, man,
Speaker 1: all right, let's let's get in the en zone. Let's
Speaker 1: do something like what are we doing? Like I'm excited
Speaker 1: to see what Jamar is gonna do and the enzone
Speaker 1: or Joe or you know, I don't know what they do.
Speaker 1: I run over and I'm just like, I don't know
Speaker 1: this dance. I don't know this move. I can't help
Speaker 1: in any way. But I'm like, man, this is cool.
Speaker 1: Like it's cool to see that and celebrate your teammates.
Speaker 1: And you know, if we know, if as long as
Speaker 1: we're putting points on the board, we're we're gonna win.
Speaker 1: And where we have that confidence in our defense, and
Speaker 1: so yeah, it's it's it's just different, man, it really is.
Speaker 1: And you can tell, not only myself, but just everyone's
Speaker 1: having a really really fun time. Are you having fun
Speaker 1: because you're in the playoff hunt or are you in
Speaker 1: the playoff hunt because you're having fun. We're in the
Speaker 1: playoff hunt because we're having fun. I think, you know,
Speaker 1: the culture and of this locker room, the culture of
Speaker 1: this organization and um things that we've been instilling and
Speaker 1: the younger guys, you know, the older guys have been
Speaker 1: you know kind of you know, bringing them along, and
Speaker 1: the and the free agents that we had signed, and
Speaker 1: you know, it's just it's a complete buying and we're
Speaker 1: we're just we're loving on each other. This is a
Speaker 1: family I spend I mean Thanksgivings coming up, but I'm
Speaker 1: spending more time with these guys and I'll be spending
Speaker 1: with my family. And so these are my brothers and
Speaker 1: we're really treating each other as such. And so I
Speaker 1: think that's that's kind of why we're having this success
Speaker 1: that we're having. You have dubbed your quarterback Joey franchise,
Speaker 1: and you often refer to Joe Burrow as the smartest
Speaker 1: player on the field at all times. Of his many
Speaker 1: great attributes, is that the thing that stands out the
Speaker 1: most one hundred percent, you know, I think you know,
Speaker 1: if you can I mean there's that infamous line of
Speaker 1: him in Jacksonville you can't zero me and things like that,
Speaker 1: because he's gonna he's gonna get us on the best
Speaker 1: possible play and make you pay for it. So, um, yeah,
Speaker 1: I think that's you know, he's I think a close
Speaker 1: second would be his tough toughness because he's he's an
Speaker 1: incredibly tough kid. And I say kid, he's not actually
Speaker 1: that young, but um, he's extremely tough and he's a competitor.
Speaker 1: But his mind and the way he can analyze the
Speaker 1: defense and you know, get us in the best possible play. Um,
Speaker 1: that's that's very unique. You're having an excellent year. Do
Speaker 1: you have any lingering issues left from the torn achilles? Now?
Speaker 1: I'm very blessed with you know, kind of how I
Speaker 1: was able to approach it, and mentality was of mannaright,
Speaker 1: I tore my achilles. I can't expedite anything. I can't
Speaker 1: do anything right now. And then once the doctor said
Speaker 1: I was cleared, I was like, Okay, I'm one hundred percent.
Speaker 1: There's no excuse of anything. I'm not gonna, you know,
Speaker 1: let anything weigh in my mind. It's just go out
Speaker 1: there and have fun. And it took a little bit
Speaker 1: just to get back into the swing of things with
Speaker 1: with not you know, being in pads and things like that.
Speaker 1: But other than that, I feel I feel great. A
Speaker 1: couple more questions for c j Uzama. The Bengals are
Speaker 1: having a great year. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are having
Speaker 1: a great year. Have you stayed in frequent contact with
Speaker 1: your buddy Giovanni Bernard? I have. Actually I texted on
Speaker 1: Elis's birthday, um so, so I ended up texting him
Speaker 1: and wishing him a happy birthday, and um checking around
Speaker 1: him and Chloe and you know the baby that they're
Speaker 1: gonna have, and um, that's my brother for life, for share.
Speaker 1: So um, yeah, we stay in touch and I always,
Speaker 1: you know, make sure he's doing well and vice versa.
Speaker 1: All right, final thing, the Bengal Steelers is not the
Speaker 1: only rivalry this weekend. The Iron Bowl is coming up
Speaker 1: on Saturday, your beloved Auburn Tigers trying to upset the
Speaker 1: Alabama Crimson Tide. Is there a friendly wager or any
Speaker 1: trash talk with Jonah Williams, the only Alabama player right
Speaker 1: now in the roster. Um, he's got it easy on
Speaker 1: me right now. I think, I think, I think what's
Speaker 1: gonna happen is Friday and Saturday roll along and he's
Speaker 1: just gonna stare at me. You know, John is a
Speaker 1: man of few words, so he's not gonna he's not
Speaker 1: gonna he's not gonna say too much. He's just gonna
Speaker 1: look at me. Um. So I'm really hoping that we
Speaker 1: pull this one out because he will just stare at
Speaker 1: me and smile, and I'll be like johna, please just
Speaker 1: stop with me, please feel love. So um, but that's
Speaker 1: a rivalry, so maybe I'll be I'll trash talk him
Speaker 1: a little bit if I need to, um and hope
Speaker 1: we hope we pull that one out. If Auburn pulls
Speaker 1: off the upset, you will not limit it to just
Speaker 1: staring on your part. Oh no, no, no no, no, I'm
Speaker 1: gonna there's gonna be a look. His locker is gonna
Speaker 1: be decked out orange and blue, and oh yeah, I'm gonna.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna. I'm gonna get after him pretty good. So
Speaker 1: um yeah, let's let's get that win. Where you go,
Speaker 1: continued success, Thanks for the time, best of luck against
Speaker 1: the dreaded, hated, despised, but grudgingly respected Pittsburghs Daily Thank you.
Speaker 1: I appreciate it. As an Auburn junior, in twenty thirteen,
Speaker 1: c J played and perhaps the most memorable Iron Bowl
Speaker 1: of them all, as Auburn beat Alabama on a one
Speaker 1: hundred nine yard return of a missfield goal on the
Speaker 1: final play of the game, the so called kick six.
Speaker 1: The Bengals Booth podcast is presented by Ultimate Bengals, the
Speaker 1: free to play fantasy football game. Ultimate Bengals will be
Speaker 1: awarding a weekly winner during the course of the season
Speaker 1: with tickets, autograph merchandise, and money can't buy experiences all
Speaker 1: up for grabs. Find Ultimate Bengals in the app stores.
Speaker 1: Now finally it's time for our no the faux segment.
Speaker 1: Add King Kabwala from the NFL Network is frequently assigned
Speaker 1: to matchups in the AFC North, and she spoke this
Speaker 1: week to my Bengals dot Com colleague Marissa Contapelli. The
Speaker 1: Bengals return to Paul Brown Stadium this Sunday, where they'll
Speaker 1: be for the next three games, and as we get
Speaker 1: set for Round two against the Steelers, we welcome in
Speaker 1: NFL Networks, add King Kabwala, who covers the AFC North
Speaker 1: extensively for the network, add this is the only division
Speaker 1: where each team is currently above five hundred. What does
Speaker 1: that say just about the caliber of competition that's currently
Speaker 1: the AS North. Well, it sort of creates a sense
Speaker 1: of anxiety for me, Marisa, because I feel like everybody's
Speaker 1: beating each other up. But again, this hasn't happened since
Speaker 1: I mean, this hasn't happened in ten years. And when
Speaker 1: it happened ten years ago, three of the AFC North
Speaker 1: teams went to the playoffs, and I feel like we're
Speaker 1: in position for the exact same thing. To happen. How
Speaker 1: do you see this division playing out? I know there's
Speaker 1: still a long way to go, but with the Bengals
Speaker 1: at six and four, is that put them in a
Speaker 1: good spot to possibly make a run for it late
Speaker 1: in the season. You know what's so interesting about this
Speaker 1: mrsays that nobody has really put together a run in
Speaker 1: any sort of way that you feel like, Okay, this
Speaker 1: is a team that has established exactly who it is
Speaker 1: and they're about to go off in some particular way.
Speaker 1: So I still feel really, really really good about the
Speaker 1: Ravens simply because they have one of the three most
Speaker 1: dynamic players in the NFL and Lamar Jackson, and I'm very,
Speaker 1: very eager to see what everybody else can put together.
Speaker 1: Right now, when you take a look at the Bengals offense,
Speaker 1: they put up thirty points on the scoreboard, fourth time
Speaker 1: in the last five games they've done that. What catches
Speaker 1: your eye when it comes to the offense? Mersa, I
Speaker 1: am this is almost embarrassing how much I pound the
Speaker 1: table for Joe Mixon. I am such an old school
Speaker 1: football person where I believe every single thing starts with
Speaker 1: the run game, and so to me, when you look
Speaker 1: at that Raiders game. What's the best way to keep
Speaker 1: Max Crosby and Yannick and Gakway off of Joe Barrow
Speaker 1: by running the ball? And so I loved the way
Speaker 1: that the Bengal said, we don't care that you know
Speaker 1: we're running the ball. We are going to keep running
Speaker 1: the ball. And those one and three and five yard
Speaker 1: games in the first and second year, in the first
Speaker 1: and second chord quarter in the first and second quarter
Speaker 1: are going to turn into eleven and eighteen yards in
Speaker 1: the third quarter. And I just you know, one of
Speaker 1: my greatest frustrations with the Steelers is that they're not
Speaker 1: running the ball. You know, they had twelve possessions within
Speaker 1: five yards of the goal line on Sunday night, and
Speaker 1: eight of those twelve possessions they threw the ball, like
Speaker 1: just say, I'm going to beat you up, Like that's it.
Speaker 1: I don't care that you know I'm going to run
Speaker 1: the ball. I'm still going to run it all over you.
Speaker 1: One of my greatest frustrations with the Browns is that
Speaker 1: two weeks ago, when they fell behind to the Patriots
Speaker 1: and they were still within a running climate, they got
Speaker 1: all nervous and scared and worried and started throwing the ball.
Speaker 1: That's not where the Browns are at their best. That's
Speaker 1: not where their Steelers are at their best, and it's
Speaker 1: not where the Bengals are at their best. Everything should
Speaker 1: start with the run game, especially when you have one
Speaker 1: of the most exceptional running backs in the NFL. You know,
Speaker 1: I was following along on Twitter with you over the
Speaker 1: weekend and I loved the I told you so tweet
Speaker 1: when it came to running the ball and feeding Joe Mixon. Awful, Messa,
Speaker 1: Is that terrible that? I just was like, I told
Speaker 1: you so? Or is that okay? It's absolutely okay? It does?
Speaker 1: It all starts with the run game? Well, it does
Speaker 1: in general. And it feels like when you're right and
Speaker 1: you're sitting here and you're saying, look, this is somebody
Speaker 1: that's had an immense amount of success against this particular
Speaker 1: team and this has bode well for your team in general,
Speaker 1: Go ahead and do it, and then when it actually happened,
Speaker 1: shouldn't you be allowed to get some credit for that? Exactly? Exactly? Well,
Speaker 1: add I'm glad you also brought up the fact that
Speaker 1: the Steelers have struggled in the run game as well,
Speaker 1: when you look at each of their losses a season,
Speaker 1: they failed to get over sixty two run yards as
Speaker 1: a team in each of those games, including Week three
Speaker 1: when they did play the Bengals the first time around.
Speaker 1: What's been going on in Pittsburgh and is that an
Speaker 1: area that the Bengals defense should focus on again, is
Speaker 1: really trying to limit that run game? Well one, but
Speaker 1: I also feel that part of the run game is
Speaker 1: whether you are committed to the or not. And let's
Speaker 1: go back to the Bengals for just a minute, Marissa.
Speaker 1: In the first half against the Raiders, the runs weren't
Speaker 1: particularly pretty, you weren't netting that much, but then those
Speaker 1: same exact runs broke for more in the third and
Speaker 1: fourth quarters. And that's the way that a run game works.
Speaker 1: And it just feels like over the course of the
Speaker 1: last four years, the Steelers haven't been particularly committed to
Speaker 1: the run, even as they sit here and say, we
Speaker 1: want to run the ball, we want our run game
Speaker 1: to be better, we are focused on this. Well, they
Speaker 1: haven't spent any money on their offensive line, and they've
Speaker 1: hired an offensive coordinator who, you know, wonderful person, wonderful human,
Speaker 1: but in certain moments, it's do you want to outthink
Speaker 1: somebody or do you want to just run all over them?
Speaker 1: And when we go back to Sunday night against the Chargers,
Speaker 1: with the Steelers again, they're down by the goal line,
Speaker 1: they're throwing extensively, they're not necessarily connecting, and then at
Speaker 1: some point the Steelers just throw in their fullback. There.
Speaker 1: They threw in their first round running back and they
Speaker 1: ran up the gut and they scored a touchdown finally,
Speaker 1: and it felt like, Okay, that's maybe not so sexy,
Speaker 1: that's maybe not what you know is generating attention at
Speaker 1: this moment, but that's what works. So why can't you
Speaker 1: just stick with what works? Easier said than done sometimes
Speaker 1: but absolutely well. Add the Steelers have been without t J.
Speaker 1: Watt for a handful of games this season, most notably
Speaker 1: when they did play in Week three. He was out
Speaker 1: last week against the Chargers. Is he someone that has
Speaker 1: a good chance of going on Sunday? What are the
Speaker 1: odds that he suits up against the Bengals, Marissa, We
Speaker 1: totally expect him back. In fact, mcdomlin today said that
Speaker 1: he anticipates him being back and he of course changes
Speaker 1: the entire defense and it's not just the attention he
Speaker 1: draws at the position that he's at, but it's what
Speaker 1: is infectious about the way that he plays and how
Speaker 1: that affects everybody else. So obviously the Steelers defense is
Speaker 1: significantly different if t J. Watt is back, and as
Speaker 1: I said, Mike Tomlin said, the expectation is that he
Speaker 1: will indeed be back against the Bengals. Seems like there's
Speaker 1: a lot on the line Sunday between the Bengals and
Speaker 1: the Steelers for the Bengals to come out victorious. What
Speaker 1: do they need to do right against Pittsburgh? Run the ball,
Speaker 1: run the ball, control the clock, keep possession, and it
Speaker 1: just feels like that'll do it. You know, sometimes, Marissa,
Speaker 1: the best offense or the best defense is a really
Speaker 1: really good offense that prevents the other offense from getting
Speaker 1: the ball. And we know that the Bengals can be
Speaker 1: a very quick strike offense. We saw that the last
Speaker 1: time the Bengals and the Steelers played with Jamar Chase
Speaker 1: and Joe Burrow. But if you control the clock, if
Speaker 1: you keep possession, if you keep the ball away from
Speaker 1: the Steelers, then you're in great shape. Well, Aditi, the
Speaker 1: last one I have for you today. I've seen an
Speaker 1: adorable photo of your daughter posted from over the weekend
Speaker 1: watching the Browns game. And I know your kids have
Speaker 1: roots in Cleveland and Pittsburgh, but I really think they
Speaker 1: would look pretty cute and some maybe tiger stripes we
Speaker 1: can get some. Maybe we could throw some orange of
Speaker 1: black apparel into the mix here every now and then,
Speaker 1: if you want to send me that, I have no
Speaker 1: problem throwing that on my children. In fact, what's really
Speaker 1: funny is you used to have a running back coach
Speaker 1: who sent us a lot of Bengals gear, and we
Speaker 1: still do wear a lot of those hats, a lot
Speaker 1: of those I don't even know what to call them,
Speaker 1: but our mormers in cold weather, so we will wear
Speaker 1: whenever is sent to us. But my poor daughter was
Speaker 1: born in Cleveland and the Browns treated her tremendously well,
Speaker 1: and she is just buying into that, and I can't
Speaker 1: you know, isn't part of parenting letting your kids be
Speaker 1: exactly And it's just this an asc North family, it
Speaker 1: seems maybe. I mean, I didn't growl up here, so
Speaker 1: it's easy for me to let everybody go there one way. Well,
Speaker 1: add thank you so much for joining us. Love your
Speaker 1: coverage at NFL Network. Thanks for spending time with us today, Marissa.
Speaker 1: It's been an absolute pleasure. And thank you so so
Speaker 1: so much for having me and run the ball. That's
Speaker 1: all I'm gonna say. Run the ball. Hi. Thanks to
Speaker 1: Marissa and add and that's going to do it for
Speaker 1: this episode of The Bengals Booth Podcast, brought to you
Speaker 1: by Ultimate Bengals, the free to play Next Level Fantasy
Speaker 1: Football game, downloaded now from the App Store and Google Play.
Speaker 1: If you haven't done so already, please subscribe to this
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Speaker 1: find us. I'm Dan Horde, Happy Thanksgiving and thanks for
Speaker 1: listening to The Bengals Booth Podcast