Speaker 1: Hi, Get everybody. I'm Dan Horde and this is the
Speaker 1: Bengals Booth podcast, the Rock Their World Edition. We discuss
Speaker 1: one of the more tumultuous weeks in Bengals history and
Speaker 1: get to set for Sunday's game in Baltimore. Coming up,
Speaker 1: an in depth conversation with my broadcast partner Dave Lapham,
Speaker 1: including his thoughts on the firing of Terrell Austin, Marvin
Speaker 1: Lewis taking over the defense, and the return of Hugh Jackson.
Speaker 1: Speaking of Hugh, we'll hear what he had to say
Speaker 1: to reporters about coming back to Cincinnati. I often include
Speaker 1: one of my interviews with a player on this podcast,
Speaker 1: but in this episode you'll hear a conversation between lap
Speaker 1: and right tackle Bobby Hart. Bobby's always a thoughtful interview,
Speaker 1: but he really opens up when talking shop with a
Speaker 1: former offensive lineman. And in this week's Know the Faux segment,
Speaker 1: we'll talk to a former Baltimore linebacker who can not
Speaker 1: only discuss what's going on with the current Ravens, but
Speaker 1: can also describe from experience exactly what it's like to
Speaker 1: play for defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis. All of that is
Speaker 1: straight ahead. But first, here's a quick reminder that you
Speaker 1: can have the latest edition of this podcast delivered right
Speaker 1: to your phone, tablet, or computer by subscribing on iTunes, Stitcher,
Speaker 1: or pod Bean. It's the greatest invention since the rear
Speaker 1: window to froster. If you're listening in the Cincinnati area,
Speaker 1: you know we had freezing rain on Wednesday night into
Speaker 1: Thursday morning, and anybody that had to park their car
Speaker 1: outside was undoubtedly happy to press that button on the
Speaker 1: dashboard and have coils melt the ice on their rear window.
Speaker 1: But answer me this, why hasn't somebody invented something similar
Speaker 1: for the windshield. It would have to be see through
Speaker 1: so that your vision wouldn't be impaired. But that doesn't
Speaker 1: seem that far fetched to me. If we can put
Speaker 1: a man on the moon, we can early invent a
Speaker 1: better windshield defroster. Come on, smart people, prove me right.
Speaker 1: All right, let's get to football. As the saying goes,
Speaker 1: desperate times call for desperate measures. After giving up fifty
Speaker 1: one points to the Saints last Sunday and one thirty
Speaker 1: over their last three games, an average of forty three
Speaker 1: points a game, Marvin Lewis pulled the plug on defensive
Speaker 1: coordinator Tarall Austen and announced that he would handle those
Speaker 1: duties himself. There's only one other current head coach who
Speaker 1: serves as his own defensive coordinator in the NFL, and
Speaker 1: that's the Vikings Mike Zimmer. Marvin explained the move on
Speaker 1: Monday by saying, quote, I just felt like we had
Speaker 1: to rock their world, shake things up a bit, end
Speaker 1: of quote. I discussed the move and a crazy week
Speaker 1: with my broadcast partner Dan Hood with Dave Lapham. The
Speaker 1: Bengals have a new defensive coordinator, Marvin Lewis. He's taking
Speaker 1: over after Tarall Austin was fired on Monday. It's interesting,
Speaker 1: lap you made a comment several weeks ago about the
Speaker 1: Bengals defense saying you didn't think there was any cohesion,
Speaker 1: and now they've made this move. And I didn't really
Speaker 1: get the sense when the players were talking about it
Speaker 1: that anybody was too upset that Tara Loston was let go. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it was almost like they're expecting it, you know, particularly
Speaker 1: after the performance against the Saints. And I'm not going
Speaker 1: to say, you know, it's a relief to them. I
Speaker 1: think that might be a little bit strong but I
Speaker 1: think they knew that something had to happen. And you know,
Speaker 1: obviously the performance that that unfolded against the New Orleans
Speaker 1: Saints is not NFL caliber. I mean, when you let
Speaker 1: an offense score nine straight possessions on you, and seven
Speaker 1: of those nine possessions were eight plays or more, three
Speaker 1: first downs or more, I mean, you are You're not
Speaker 1: even putting up any resistance. And I'm not even counting
Speaker 1: you know, that last possession because they took a knee
Speaker 1: and kneel down. But it's just amazing to allow a
Speaker 1: football team to do anything they want. They threw for
Speaker 1: two ramped at two hundred. I mean, they had they
Speaker 1: had over twenty first downs on like forty snaps in
Speaker 1: the first half. It was it was ludicrous. So something
Speaker 1: had to happen. I mean, there's there's too much talent again.
Speaker 1: People that I talked to around the league, they're all like,
Speaker 1: what's going on? Our coaches did love to have some
Speaker 1: of the talent on that defensive football team. We can't
Speaker 1: figure out what has happened and what is it? What
Speaker 1: is it? And I'm like, I wish I could tell you.
Speaker 1: If I could tell you, to make a lot of
Speaker 1: money because it solved the problem. But it it was
Speaker 1: it was the oddest thing, and I don't know, it
Speaker 1: was like, you know, the hand never fit the glove
Speaker 1: or vice versa. Just it just never happened. And Marvin
Speaker 1: Lewis just got tired of seeing what he was seeing
Speaker 1: on the sideline and the defense they weren't even run
Speaker 1: into the ball anymore because they were confused and apprehensive.
Speaker 1: And when that happens, you know, now you're not gonna
Speaker 1: If you're ring the wrong place, you're dead from the
Speaker 1: snap before the snap. But if you're in the right
Speaker 1: place and you're still not sure, if you're not confident,
Speaker 1: not you're you're not going to tackle people, you're not
Speaker 1: going to make plays. And that's where they were. That
Speaker 1: had to change. Hugh Jackson is back. What's his role
Speaker 1: going to be and how do you think it'll go
Speaker 1: over with the players and coaches. I think his role
Speaker 1: is going to be, you know, like an administrative assistant
Speaker 1: to the head coach on game day, a game management stuff,
Speaker 1: clock management, deciding on replays when the offense is out
Speaker 1: there to challenge a replay or whatever the case. Maybe
Speaker 1: if Marvin Is is tied up with the defensive football team,
Speaker 1: you know, in a huddle on a a grease pad
Speaker 1: with those guys. I think those kind of things and
Speaker 1: I think I think you will have some input with
Speaker 1: Marvin on the defense. I mean, Marvin, trust Hugh and
Speaker 1: trust his football acumen. And the thing about Hugh Jackson
Speaker 1: every position that he was with you, including the defensive
Speaker 1: side of the football, as assistant in the secondary, assistant
Speaker 1: special teams, everybody get better. Receivers had the best year
Speaker 1: they've ever had. Quarterback Andy Dalton had the best year
Speaker 1: ever had when he was coordinator. Running backs improved. I
Speaker 1: mean he's a good football coach. I mean he's certainly
Speaker 1: proven that here. And the other thing with Hugh dan
Speaker 1: is he's coached on the coaching staff three out of
Speaker 1: the four teams in the division. Cleveland head coach, with
Speaker 1: the with the Baltimore Ravencies quarterback coach Joe Flacco. He
Speaker 1: went and scouted him at Delaware, and of course he
Speaker 1: with the Bengals multiple times. And Marvin Lewis made a
Speaker 1: good point not only his knowledge of the division, because
Speaker 1: he's you know, he tied tied Pittsburgh and beat Baltimore
Speaker 1: already involved those game plans, but all the teams they
Speaker 1: play in the AFC West, he's already game planned and
Speaker 1: against teams like the Oakland Raiders, you know, and teams
Speaker 1: like the Denver Broncos d LA Chargers. Those three they
Speaker 1: played the AFC West three games in a row after
Speaker 1: they after they play Baltimore in Cleveland, they go to
Speaker 1: the AFC West and they come back and finish at
Speaker 1: Cleveland and at Pittsburgh. So he was going to have
Speaker 1: a major, major impact in a voice in the game
Speaker 1: plans for all of those games because he's already done
Speaker 1: it up in Cleveland. Lap. As of December ninth last year,
Speaker 1: the Bengals had the longest streak of any team in
Speaker 1: the NFL of holding opponents under thirty points. They did
Speaker 1: it for twenty two consecutive games. The Bears ended the
Speaker 1: streak by scoring thirty three on December tenth. Since then,
Speaker 1: in thirteen games, teams are averaging thirty point seven points
Speaker 1: against the Bengals. Most of the good players are still here.
Speaker 1: Injuries have been a factor, But shouldn't this defense be
Speaker 1: at least pretty good? No question, Dan, I mean, I
Speaker 1: think it's it's stunning to me when I look at
Speaker 1: when I look at what it looked like in training camp,
Speaker 1: when they were running around like crazy in completions. You know,
Speaker 1: they were told those are like fumbles, go pick them
Speaker 1: up and score. You know, we want to have a
Speaker 1: takeaway mentality. We want to run to the football. We
Speaker 1: want everybody moving football. I thought, wow, man, they're they're
Speaker 1: buying what coach Austin selling here. You know, they look
Speaker 1: pretty good at training camp and look decent, you know,
Speaker 1: during the preseason, and then for whatever reason, it just stopped.
Speaker 1: I mean, it just kind of fell apart. I think
Speaker 1: there was too much gray area. Guys just weren't sure.
Speaker 1: You know, it's like, okay, do I on this? Look
Speaker 1: do I do this? Or I do I do that?
Speaker 1: And when that happens, all of a sudden, you're not
Speaker 1: playing fast anymore. You're apprehensive. You know, you're passive and
Speaker 1: you're not aggressive. And you know, an athlete that's lost
Speaker 1: his confidence is a guy that's not going to win.
Speaker 1: You know, snaps, There's no question about it. And if
Speaker 1: you're not confident in exactly what you're supposed to do,
Speaker 1: how you're supposed to do it, when you're supposed to
Speaker 1: do it, and all that goes along with it. You're
Speaker 1: in trouble. And to me, it looked like everybody was
Speaker 1: starting to get tentative. It was like, ooh, make sure
Speaker 1: before I move too late, it's over. And then everybody
Speaker 1: started there was some unrest about it. You know, look,
Speaker 1: it looked very much like when kenzimpce. He was coaching
Speaker 1: the offense. Too much information, too many what ifs. Just
Speaker 1: line up, just have one thing to look at, trust
Speaker 1: your eyes and go. Don't let your eyes get crossed up.
Speaker 1: Don't go across side and like, oh what am I
Speaker 1: looking at? And you know the other actor is obviously
Speaker 1: you look at the offenses they played, Kansas City, New Orleans,
Speaker 1: Tampa Bay can really throw it. They have faced some
Speaker 1: prolific offenses with some unbelievable speed, and when they motioned
Speaker 1: with all the speed their motion with it's like, oh man,
Speaker 1: the strength of formation was here announced here. What happens
Speaker 1: now when that strength goes away from me? I have
Speaker 1: to do And then they're snapping the football, it's like, oh,
Speaker 1: you know, you're in trouble. So the speed of it,
Speaker 1: and when an offense is playing fast like New Orleans
Speaker 1: and Knasity, you have to play fast, and they weren't,
Speaker 1: and then they missed a bunch of tackles, you know,
Speaker 1: when they were in position. Because of the athleticism and
Speaker 1: the uncertainty I think of the players, it get carries over.
Speaker 1: They weren't tackling, they weren't finishing people, so it just snowballed.
Speaker 1: And I think, you know, Marvin Lewis made a great
Speaker 1: point at training at the press conference that he had
Speaker 1: when he said, guys were coming off the field to
Speaker 1: the sideline and they were looking at me like I
Speaker 1: need help throw me a lifeline. He said, you know, you,
Speaker 1: as a form of player, you're nor what I'm talking about.
Speaker 1: I know exactly what he's talking about. I've been in
Speaker 1: games down thirty nothing from the sideline. Look at the
Speaker 1: coach like, man, what's going on? Help help me? You know.
Speaker 1: And he was seeing that universally amongst the players coming
Speaker 1: to the sideline, and it didn't look like it was
Speaker 1: going well between the coaches and the players, and you know,
Speaker 1: and it fell on the shoulders of the guy calling
Speaker 1: the plays, and everybody suits dirty. But unfortunately coach Austin
Speaker 1: was the one that paid because he was the coordinator
Speaker 1: the Bengals head to Baltimore this week. The Ravens have
Speaker 1: one of the best defenses in the NFL Number two
Speaker 1: and yards allowed, Number two and points allowed. But the
Speaker 1: Bengals scored thirty four when they beat Baltimore back in
Speaker 1: Week two. What do the Bengals do that allows them
Speaker 1: to have more success than most teams against Baltimore? Offensively? Well,
Speaker 1: particularly in that first game, Dan, it was tempo, you know,
Speaker 1: they really went up tempo. They had Baltimore's defensive lineman
Speaker 1: tapping out, tapping their helmets. They had to come out
Speaker 1: of the football game. And when you go up tempo,
Speaker 1: it makes the defense go to fewer defensive looks. You know.
Speaker 1: It's like they have to go more base, more vanilla.
Speaker 1: Maybe a couple of different packages, but not as many
Speaker 1: as they would if they have a lot of time
Speaker 1: to substitute and run personnel on and off the football
Speaker 1: field and get real creative with their blitz packages. They
Speaker 1: did try to blitz though, Andy Dalton still and Wink Martindale.
Speaker 1: It was Blink Martindale. He got out of that blitz
Speaker 1: package and Andy got the ball out of his hand
Speaker 1: and just abused the blitz. I mean it was unbelievable.
Speaker 1: They took a three score lead very only in that
Speaker 1: football game. Aj Green had three touchdown catches with less
Speaker 1: than seventeen minutes gone in the game. You know, less
Speaker 1: than two minutes into the second quarter, he already had
Speaker 1: his third touchdown reception. So they really really came. I
Speaker 1: think they surprised them with their temple. That's why this
Speaker 1: rematch it's going to be interesting to me. Will Martindale
Speaker 1: play coverage or will he play you know, blitz like
Speaker 1: that's their personality, that's who they are. They've had success
Speaker 1: with the numbers that you talked about with their blitz packages.
Speaker 1: So it's like, are we going to be the Baltimore
Speaker 1: Ravens or do we have to be somebody else because
Speaker 1: sinc Natti handed us so well when we were the
Speaker 1: Baltimore raven It's gonna be interesting to see what the
Speaker 1: chess match is going to be like and who's gonna
Speaker 1: blink first again. The Bengals don't know who the Ravens
Speaker 1: starting quarterback is going to be on Sunday. Joe Flacco
Speaker 1: has a sore hip, so it could be him, or
Speaker 1: it could be rookie Lamar Jackson, the former Heisman Trophy
Speaker 1: winner from Louisville. Who would the Bengals rather face. I
Speaker 1: know who. I'd rather face Joe Flacco with the bum
Speaker 1: hip because you know what you're getting with Joe Flacco.
Speaker 1: Like you said, they they've performed well against Joe Flacco.
Speaker 1: Going into the first matchup, he had thrown more interceptions
Speaker 1: against the Bengals than he had against the Browns and
Speaker 1: Steelers combined, and he threw three more in the first
Speaker 1: game against the Bengals, So it still might be the case.
Speaker 1: And you know, I would rather deal with that. I'm
Speaker 1: in that guy's head. Lamar Jackson's so much unknown, you know.
Speaker 1: I mean, he can, he can improvise and create. His
Speaker 1: best plays might be when he's freelancing after the play
Speaker 1: breaks down. And you know, it wasn't necessarily the play
Speaker 1: that was called. It was the play he made after
Speaker 1: the play that was called. And as a coordinator, so
Speaker 1: frustrating because you have everything done, you have all the
Speaker 1: coverage done, and all of a sudden, he breaks a
Speaker 1: tackle against somebody and he's off to the racist for
Speaker 1: twenty five yards with his athletic ability. So I think
Speaker 1: I'd rather go with the thing that I know more
Speaker 1: about than the complete unknown. That's Lamar Jackson twenty five
Speaker 1: interceptions in twenty games for Joe Flacco against the Bengals.
Speaker 1: All right, last thing. People often ask me the following question,
Speaker 1: what's your favorite place to broadcast a game? I typically
Speaker 1: say Baltimore, huge booth, great location, outstanding fans, crab cakes
Speaker 1: in the press box, dining room. Most of the time.
Speaker 1: It's a great atmosphere to do a game. I'm gonna
Speaker 1: ask you the question, same question, what's your favorite place
Speaker 1: ever to call a game? College or pro? Jerry World, Man,
Speaker 1: the network booth for Jerry World is unbelievable. It's like
Speaker 1: a penthouse condo. There are two bathrooms in the two
Speaker 1: bathrooms in a broadcast booth. I've never seen it before.
Speaker 1: I guess it his and hers in case there are
Speaker 1: females in there. I mean, and I literally if they
Speaker 1: the TV screen was already there, you know, I think.
Speaker 1: And man, I could pitch a cotton live here. And
Speaker 1: it was unbelievable, huge, huge, It was two or three
Speaker 1: times bigger than anything I've ever been in, and very
Speaker 1: well done. And it's it's the location is awesome. I mean,
Speaker 1: it's it's a perfect place to watch a watch a
Speaker 1: football game. I was distracted though, by the by the
Speaker 1: big you know, uh screen, the JumboTron up top. I
Speaker 1: mean it was so big your eyes just wandered up there.
Speaker 1: I usually like just watching the game more, but it
Speaker 1: was like a magnet pullm I just have to look
Speaker 1: at the JumboTron. But that that place was amazing, and
Speaker 1: the food was good. Boy, I mean that they had
Speaker 1: some barbecue. They had they had some good, good eat
Speaker 1: So I that was a pleasurable experience. I could have
Speaker 1: stayed there a week. It was awesome. Two bathrooms we
Speaker 1: don't even have one and are both sometimes at halftime
Speaker 1: it's a mad dash to beat the line, no doubt,
Speaker 1: no question. I mean I thought, all I need is
Speaker 1: a shower. I mean there are two jobs. Yeah, I'll
Speaker 1: maybe I'll maybe just cashing one of the John's for
Speaker 1: a shower. I mean, the place was unbelievable, really was
Speaker 1: Thanks Lap. When Hugh Jackson left the Bengals after the
Speaker 1: twenty fifteen season to become head coach of the Cleveland Browns,
Speaker 1: you would have had a hard time finding a single player,
Speaker 1: coach or administrator with the Bengals that didn't think Hugh
Speaker 1: would be successful, you can add my name to the list. Well,
Speaker 1: we were obviously wrong. Hugh's record in Cleveland was three
Speaker 1: thirty six and one. If you throw in his one
Speaker 1: year as the head coach in Oakland, Hugh's career record
Speaker 1: as an NFL head coach is eleven forty four and one.
Speaker 1: That's a winning percentage of point two h five. Of
Speaker 1: all the head coaches in NFL history that have lasted
Speaker 1: for at least forty games, only one had a lower
Speaker 1: winning percentage. That's Bert Bell, who coached the Eagles from
Speaker 1: nineteen thirty six to nineteen forty and Old Burt couldn't
Speaker 1: be fired he was the owner. Now. I don't know
Speaker 1: of Vince Lombardi or Don Shula would have won with
Speaker 1: the talent that Hugh had in Cleveland, but it obviously
Speaker 1: didn't work out, and now he's back with the title
Speaker 1: of special assistant to the head coach. Hugh met with
Speaker 1: Cincinnati reporters on Wednesday, and here are some of his
Speaker 1: most interesting comments, beginning with a description of what he'll
Speaker 1: be doing for the Bengals. Whatever this organization needs me
Speaker 1: to do, whatever Marvin thinks I need to do. They
Speaker 1: help him, to help him be the best version of himself,
Speaker 1: to help rather ths offensively, defensively, special teams, I'll do
Speaker 1: whatever they need me to do. So offensive included, well, no,
Speaker 1: it's not. I mean, I'm not going it's anything's included.
Speaker 1: If Bill wants to bounce an idea for me, no doubt,
Speaker 1: you know. But anything I can do to help and
Speaker 1: assist this organization, I'll do. No it does it does it?
Speaker 1: Just being here feels comfortable with me. These, Like I said,
Speaker 1: these are people that I know in respect, I think
Speaker 1: there are some of the best of what they do.
Speaker 1: I'm talking from top down. Obviously, you know the team.
Speaker 1: They'll be first to tell you they didn't play as
Speaker 1: well as they on it to last week. We got,
Speaker 1: you know, some huge games coming up starting this weekend,
Speaker 1: and now we're looking to get get the football team
Speaker 1: back to where it needs to be. You're an asservative guy,
Speaker 1: and how mind you have to be. I'm not stepping
Speaker 1: on toes here, absolutely. I mean, I'm I'm here to help.
Speaker 1: You know, I'm not here to nobody's job. You know,
Speaker 1: I'm here to help and assist. You know, I'm still
Speaker 1: going to be me and I think everybody respects that.
Speaker 1: You know, I'm gonna bring energy and have fun and
Speaker 1: and have a good time out of practice and do
Speaker 1: everything I can. But at the same time, I'm very
Speaker 1: mindful that you know, I'm a I'm a helper here,
Speaker 1: That's what I am. Do you need this as opposed
Speaker 1: to just like going to a beach. I like beaches,
Speaker 1: but I'm not a beach guy at this time of year,
Speaker 1: you know, I seriously I do. You know. I'm not
Speaker 1: one that um likes to not work. You know, a
Speaker 1: lot of people like to do it that way. Not me.
Speaker 1: I like to be on the grass and coaching players
Speaker 1: and being around players, So why not, and especially when
Speaker 1: it's an opportunity to come back. It's like being home,
Speaker 1: you know. This is like being home with people that
Speaker 1: I no one respect and trust. How do you see Marvin,
Speaker 1: you know, kind of embracing this. He hasn't done this
Speaker 1: in a long time. Tuesday, I bet those meetings with him,
Speaker 1: he's uh, he's getting after it now. He understands what
Speaker 1: needs to be done, he has a plan. He's different.
Speaker 1: I'm not gonna say he's different. You know, he's got
Speaker 1: a little bit more on his plate. Right now. You know,
Speaker 1: he's got to go make those game day calls. So, uh,
Speaker 1: it's gonna be fun for him. It's gonna be fun
Speaker 1: for me watching him do it, you know, because he
Speaker 1: hadn't done it in a while. But at the same time,
Speaker 1: he was one of the best that ever did it.
Speaker 1: So I mean you kind of intrigued with that. You
Speaker 1: haven't really you haven't really been around with you. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I'm excited to watch him do it, you know, because
Speaker 1: it is different. Let's just be honest. Marvin's competitive, just
Speaker 1: like all of us are. So I think he's looking
Speaker 1: forward to Sunday. When you were like going Cleveland, people
Speaker 1: here instantly began speculating, will Hugh be back to Cincinnati?
Speaker 1: Did you wonder if there might be something I want?
Speaker 1: I was hoping that there would be something because again,
Speaker 1: as I said, I would want to be someplace that
Speaker 1: that I you know, respect everybody in the building and
Speaker 1: people who know me know me personally, and again it's
Speaker 1: it's a tremendous opportunity for me, and I'm just thankful,
Speaker 1: you know that they said, Hey, Hugh, come on home.
Speaker 1: Here's an opportunity for you to come and help, and
Speaker 1: let's go as a coach in what ways can a
Speaker 1: new voice or a new voice and a new role
Speaker 1: impact a team. Well, it can be impactful, but it
Speaker 1: can also hurt too, you know, And I get that.
Speaker 1: So I just have to, you know, like I said,
Speaker 1: play my role to the best of my ability. I
Speaker 1: don't want to do anything to upset anything that they
Speaker 1: have going on here. But at the same time, if
Speaker 1: I can help, I do want to help do I
Speaker 1: wish I never left, Nah, I don't. I think the
Speaker 1: experience in Cleveland was good, you know, regardless of what
Speaker 1: the record was. I mean, it was an opportunity and
Speaker 1: an experience and I can you know, you can't get
Speaker 1: those back, and I think I'm a better coach for it,
Speaker 1: you know, having gone through it. But at the same time,
Speaker 1: you know, nobody wants to have that kind of record,
Speaker 1: you know. But I'm looking forward to being here helping
Speaker 1: this organization win and getting this organization back to where
Speaker 1: it needs to be. The last time Hugh was part
Speaker 1: of the staff in Cincinnati, the Bengals tied the franchise
Speaker 1: record with twelve regular season wins and might have finished
Speaker 1: with more if Andy Dalton didn't break his thumb. With
Speaker 1: four games to go. That season, with Hugh serving as
Speaker 1: offensive coordinator, the Bengals average twenty six point two points
Speaker 1: a game. This year, they're averaging twenty six point one
Speaker 1: under Bill Laser. That's despite an offensive line that is
Speaker 1: much improved from last year, but it's still a work
Speaker 1: in progress. One of the newcomers up front is right
Speaker 1: tackle Bobby Hart, and this week he talks shop with
Speaker 1: Dave Lapham. All Right, Bobby, offensive line Baltimore Ravens always
Speaker 1: a big challenge. I mean, their mentality is pressure, their
Speaker 1: mentality is blitz. You guys cooked them, yeah, I mean
Speaker 1: you you threw them out of the blitz. You guys
Speaker 1: made a lot of plays, big plays against that blitz
Speaker 1: and they and they blinked, they flinched. Gonna try to
Speaker 1: do that again. The main thing that we do and
Speaker 1: the first game was communicating. I feel like that's the
Speaker 1: biggest thing, you know. Just like you say, they like
Speaker 1: to throw a lot of things that show a lot
Speaker 1: of pressure, a lot of blitzes. So to me, communication
Speaker 1: is just the best the most important thing that we,
Speaker 1: you know, do from the receivers to the quarterback, though
Speaker 1: entire old line, making sure the old line the backs
Speaker 1: on the same page, so we can pick up those
Speaker 1: blitzes and pick up those pressures, and you have a
Speaker 1: quarterback that can recognize. I mean, he sees a lot
Speaker 1: of things. He sees some things pre snap that usually
Speaker 1: are true. Sometimes you know, everybody's gonna get pooled from
Speaker 1: pre snap to post snap. At his percentage of recognizing
Speaker 1: pretty early and making them play as higher than the
Speaker 1: smart guy. Yeah, definitely. You know, in New York, I
Speaker 1: had the opportunity to be with Eli and he's you know,
Speaker 1: he does a great job of doing that. So you're
Speaker 1: coming here and see Andy doing the same, the same
Speaker 1: things that Eli does, just recognizing things to get you
Speaker 1: out of things, get you into things. It's just they're
Speaker 1: definitely on the same level. So I've had something to
Speaker 1: compare it to. Andy does a great job. You're you're
Speaker 1: a young man, but you got a lot of NFL experiencement,
Speaker 1: You get a lot of NFL reps under your belt
Speaker 1: for a guy your age. In fact, I don't think
Speaker 1: I know anybody that's got as many reps at this
Speaker 1: stage of their career as you do. How advantageous is
Speaker 1: it when you're going into a stretch run you know,
Speaker 1: seven games four him against division on his division rivals.
Speaker 1: Every game is a big game, pressure weeks. How big
Speaker 1: an advantage of all the all the experience you Gardner, Yes,
Speaker 1: it's definitely advantage. Man. It's it's like anything goes. You know,
Speaker 1: you can talk about doing it, and you know you
Speaker 1: can be on the board and be in practice and
Speaker 1: you know, do all the other things. But until you
Speaker 1: get in the game actually get those jups, there's nothing
Speaker 1: like it, man, Like you just alluded to, I have
Speaker 1: a lot of them over my four years, and I
Speaker 1: definitely you know, watch film of you know where I
Speaker 1: was and where I am now and just how I
Speaker 1: can learn, always trying to get better. So it's just
Speaker 1: always something that you can go off of. They get
Speaker 1: the couple of guys. Their last name starts with s
Speaker 1: the es boys. You know, they got Sugs and Smith
Speaker 1: and they're tied for the team lead with five and
Speaker 1: a half sacks. They come off the edge, they're the
Speaker 1: edge guys and Sucks He'll come off of both edges.
Speaker 1: So you've played against them. How good a player is Sugs?
Speaker 1: And can you compare them to anybody that you played
Speaker 1: against before? H Yeah, I mean I feel like Sugs
Speaker 1: is carn name his own class. I kind of kind
Speaker 1: of grouping with a guy, kind of like Nick Perry
Speaker 1: and Green Bayer I play with. You know, they have
Speaker 1: they have good speed and stuff. But you can't just,
Speaker 1: you know, just think that it's just all speed because
Speaker 1: that's what they want you to do, so they can
Speaker 1: use their power and things like that. So you have to,
Speaker 1: you know, you play the game with them, and it's
Speaker 1: give and take game. You know, those guys chess match
Speaker 1: and things like that. But they're great rushers, uh smith
Speaker 1: and subs, you know, coming off the edge, giving great moves,
Speaker 1: you know, working counter moves and things like that. You
Speaker 1: definitely have to have your head on and just be
Speaker 1: on your game going as you get Joe Mixon, even
Speaker 1: though he's missed two games, is tenth in the NFL
Speaker 1: and rushing Joe's talent. Man, how important is it to
Speaker 1: get to get Joe off against his Ravens and stay balanced.
Speaker 1: You gotta run it someing right, Feed them man, Feed
Speaker 1: Joe man. I'm definitely on the feed Joe training hundred
Speaker 1: saying that's my guy. May He's a great talent man.
Speaker 1: He missed two games in the bye weekend. He's taught
Speaker 1: still top ten in the in the league. Man, it
Speaker 1: just goes to show you and then you know what
Speaker 1: he can do out of the backfield and things like that.
Speaker 1: He's works in pass protection. He's definitely am just you
Speaker 1: know all around back that can just do it all.
Speaker 1: And I'm definitely on the feed roal train. So you
Speaker 1: and Redmond, we've had a few games now. You missed
Speaker 1: a player next to him last week with the hamstring
Speaker 1: issue that he had. But looks like all sings green
Speaker 1: light go for this one. But working against with each
Speaker 1: other and against you know, looks that you've seen. Now
Speaker 1: you have a little repertoire of experience against certain looks.
Speaker 1: How much better are you guys getting on a week
Speaker 1: by week basis? We were watching film I want to
Speaker 1: say it was actually the first Baltimore Ravens game, and
Speaker 1: just some of the stuff that we were just doing
Speaker 1: that you know a player could have went for five
Speaker 1: when when it did go for five yards, but you know,
Speaker 1: just things that we know now how to get that
Speaker 1: play to go for ten twelve, hopefully break the big one.
Speaker 1: It's just uh, you know, it means, it means the
Speaker 1: most like we talked about earlier. It's just you know,
Speaker 1: that game experience, knowing that you know, we're sitting by
Speaker 1: each other in the meet and we see that look.
Speaker 1: We're just like, we know what's do now, So it's
Speaker 1: it's awesome. So we talked about you know, Frank and
Speaker 1: your thoughts are Frank earlier in the season when we
Speaker 1: when we chatted. But now Frank's rules. You know, Rank,
Speaker 1: Frank's got rules that one rule covers a lot of things,
Speaker 1: a lot of different looks, a lot of different configurations
Speaker 1: they can do defensively. How how pleasurable is it to
Speaker 1: play in a system like that now that you're you know,
Speaker 1: nine games in coming up on game number ten. Man,
Speaker 1: it's it's awesome. It means the world to everybody on
Speaker 1: the offense a line. I've been in systems where you know,
Speaker 1: it's uh, you know, playing and you've got forty different
Speaker 1: looks that the defense can give you, and it's like, uh,
Speaker 1: you know, Frank big things that he wants us to
Speaker 1: play fast. So I feel like that's why he simplifies it.
Speaker 1: You know, we got rules, We got base rules that
Speaker 1: cover you know, pretty much everything. Like you just said,
Speaker 1: we note in the season. It's you know, the things
Speaker 1: that we started in the season, it's not about to change.
Speaker 1: So I really appreciate that. And it means a lot
Speaker 1: as an offensive linement when you can you know and
Speaker 1: you know, you know because this is your rule, you're
Speaker 1: not guessing and you could just play fast and that
Speaker 1: split second is you know, that's eternity in football. So
Speaker 1: it's definitely good final thought. And appreciate your carving so
Speaker 1: much time for me on the road. You've been on
Speaker 1: the road in loud places. Man. You've been in the
Speaker 1: in the NFC East, now here you are in the
Speaker 1: nc North. I mean it's crazy. It's crazy in Baltimore now.
Speaker 1: You know they love their football. How important is it
Speaker 1: to try to make that crowd sitting on their hands,
Speaker 1: get off to good start and quiet them down? Man? Man, uh,
Speaker 1: it's you know, it's you don't even really pay attention
Speaker 1: to the crowd. Man. Where you're in a groove of things. Man,
Speaker 1: you're going on silent snap, you're communicating and stuff like that. Man.
Speaker 1: Honestly me, I love being in those environments. Man. I
Speaker 1: remember when you used to be at Florida State where
Speaker 1: you go to Death Valley, and you know that's be
Speaker 1: some of the funnest games, you know, because it's like
Speaker 1: you gotta you have a you know, a test. Can
Speaker 1: you quiet the crowd? You know? And I kind of
Speaker 1: look at it like that, can we get this take
Speaker 1: this crowd out of it? And you know they might
Speaker 1: start off, you know, rocking and things like that, but
Speaker 1: as the game goes, if you do what you're supposed do,
Speaker 1: you know, you nullify us. So it would definitely be
Speaker 1: a challenge that you know, I feel like we're all
Speaker 1: looking forward to and I can't wait to get into Baltimore.
Speaker 1: Thanks Bobby, good luck, all right, thank you. I appreciate it.
Speaker 1: Lap mentioned how young Bobby is. He's in his fourth
Speaker 1: NFL season and he is less than two months older
Speaker 1: than rookie center Billy Price. Hart started training camp at
Speaker 1: Florida State when he was only sixteen years old. Now
Speaker 1: time for this week's No The Fox segment. Former University
Speaker 1: of Cincinnati football and basketball player Brad Jackson is the
Speaker 1: ideal expert this week. He's a member of the Baltimore
Speaker 1: media covering the Ravens, but in his playing days, he
Speaker 1: was a linebacker on perhaps the greatest defense in NFL history.
Speaker 1: Back in two thousand in Baltimore when Marvin Lewis was
Speaker 1: the coordinator and the Ravens won the Super Bowl, Brad
Speaker 1: joined us on the Bengals Game Plan Show. You can
Speaker 1: speak to Marvin Lewis's ability to be a play caller
Speaker 1: as a defensive coordinator better than anybody because you know
Speaker 1: you played for Marvin Lewis. What do you expect how
Speaker 1: to Marvin Lewis when he h rolls into Baltimore on
Speaker 1: Sunday as a play caller on the defensive side of things. Well, well,
Speaker 1: first and foremost, you know, obviously you talked about my
Speaker 1: relationship with Marvin. You know, he changed my career. We
Speaker 1: did great things, We set records on defense that still remain,
Speaker 1: and obviously won the Super Bowl in two thousand and
Speaker 1: thirty five. But a lot of what's going to happen
Speaker 1: now And to Marvin, I know, throughout the years and Cincinnati,
Speaker 1: a lot of people were complaining he was actually excellent
Speaker 1: as a leader to to not get involved in defense,
Speaker 1: probably as much as I would have liked and probably
Speaker 1: as much as he probably would have liked. But that's
Speaker 1: that's what leaders do. That's what real great leaders do,
Speaker 1: they don't meddle with things. And you know he would
Speaker 1: have his suggestions, but he would leave you know, the
Speaker 1: defense up to them or you know who or PAULI
Speaker 1: or whoever was out there. And now that he's a coordinator,
Speaker 1: his name is on this. And we heard Hugh Jackson,
Speaker 1: who obviously you know, was fired in a former Bengers coach,
Speaker 1: but fired from the Browns, and you know he's going
Speaker 1: to be back helping out. You heard him say, you
Speaker 1: know obviously after he was fired that if he's going
Speaker 1: to go down, he'd rather go down with what he
Speaker 1: did best. And he probably should have, you know, had
Speaker 1: more involvement in the offense, and maybe he would still
Speaker 1: be in Cleveland. I don't know, you know, but what
Speaker 1: I can tell you is that there will be a
Speaker 1: greater intention from the defense, there will be a greater
Speaker 1: sense of urgency, and there will be a tremendous amount
Speaker 1: of increasing focus from the players, because that's what Marvin
Speaker 1: Lewis demands from your players to do your job. I
Speaker 1: know Bill Belichick gets a lot of credit for it,
Speaker 1: but Marvin Lewis started that, you know, far way back
Speaker 1: in nineteen ninety eight. For me, when I got to
Speaker 1: Baltimore after leaving Universe Cincinnati of doing your job and
Speaker 1: paying attention to the detail and then going out there
Speaker 1: and playing your butt off. So I fully expect that
Speaker 1: the way the defense is going to come out this
Speaker 1: Sunday out here in Baltimore at the M ANDT Bank Stadium,
Speaker 1: you're going to see an increase of intensity and increase
Speaker 1: in urgency and a greater attention to detail. Yeah, that's
Speaker 1: I couldn't agree with you more. In conversation with John
Speaker 1: Harbaugh today on a conference call, you know, I said, boy,
Speaker 1: there's a lot of intrigue, a lot of unknown in
Speaker 1: this football game. What kind of adjustments will Marvin Lewis
Speaker 1: make from a defensive standpoint? And then on the other
Speaker 1: side of things, who's going to be your quarterback? And
Speaker 1: coach Habbud just kind of chuckled and it's like, yeah,
Speaker 1: that's that is interesting. Who is going to be our quarterback?
Speaker 1: You know, he's not going to about to he's not
Speaker 1: about to divulge anything, but what do you think do
Speaker 1: you think it's Joe Flacco with that bum right hip?
Speaker 1: Do you think it's Lamar Jackson? And who will will
Speaker 1: RG three be up? If Joe Flacco has that hip issue,
Speaker 1: and I guess I look at it, if Lamar Jackson
Speaker 1: RG three or both the quarterbacks, your game plan is
Speaker 1: going to be similar than if Joe Flacco is a quarterback,
Speaker 1: and then Lamar Jackson has to go in for Joe.
Speaker 1: For Joe Flacco, that's two different kinds of schematics. I mean,
Speaker 1: it's kind of an interesting dynamic at quarterback. How do
Speaker 1: you think an unfolds man? Well, well, first and foremost,
Speaker 1: you're right. And Marvel Lewis said a great today in
Speaker 1: the conference call out here that we heard, which what
Speaker 1: he said, he's not really worried about who John Harball
Speaker 1: is going to put out at quarterback. He has to
Speaker 1: worry about the Cincinnati Bengals. And that goes to what
Speaker 1: I just said last where you have to take care
Speaker 1: of your business. You have to handle your job. I
Speaker 1: don't care because throughout the course of a game, say
Speaker 1: Joe Flacco does start, well, guess what in every game
Speaker 1: this year, the Baltimore Ravens have planned maybe eight to
Speaker 1: twelve to fifteen plays of this new little kind of
Speaker 1: quote unquote wildcat whatever you want to call it, where
Speaker 1: Lamar and Joe Flacker were on the field at the
Speaker 1: same time, right, so you still had to prepare for that,
Speaker 1: and you're one hundred percent correct. Lab Where if it's
Speaker 1: RG three, who hasn't even been active all year for
Speaker 1: the fans out in Cincinnati that you know obviously don't
Speaker 1: follow the Ravens as closely as I. He hasn't even
Speaker 1: had on hilmet and shoulder pads dog since the preseason,
Speaker 1: So I highly doubt that you're going to start him.
Speaker 1: Is it possible, Yeah, but he hasn't had any of
Speaker 1: those rests because behind the closed doors, Lamar Jackson has
Speaker 1: been getting all the rests with the number two, and
Speaker 1: he's been you know, they've been pushing him along little
Speaker 1: by little. So I don't expect Joe Flaker to play Sunday.
Speaker 1: I think it's going to be Lamar. They just don't
Speaker 1: want to tell Marvin because they know Marvin as great
Speaker 1: as a designer of blisses and schemes that he has
Speaker 1: been as a coordinator in this league, that he is
Speaker 1: going to dial with some things. And trust me, no
Speaker 1: matter who's playing quarterback, they're going to have to change
Speaker 1: some things from what occurred when the Bang was beat
Speaker 1: the Ravens in Cincinnati early in the season. So you know,
Speaker 1: they just have to take care of the salves, no
Speaker 1: matter if it's Lamar, no matter if it's RG three,
Speaker 1: or no matter if it's Joe. So you know, hardball
Speaker 1: is not gonna give it away. He kind of costs
Speaker 1: the flak out here because you know, last Friday on
Speaker 1: the ninth, at five TIM, they did a Washington, DC
Speaker 1: style kind of like media drop at five PM on
Speaker 1: a Friday during a buy a week when the players
Speaker 1: were already gone out of town that Joe Flacco's next
Speaker 1: start would be in Jeopardy, which was nine days later.
Speaker 1: So and then today he comes out and he says,
Speaker 1: I'm going to address this right now. I'm not answering
Speaker 1: one question or any questions, and we don't feel we
Speaker 1: have to answer to anyone. Well, unfortunately, there's a lot
Speaker 1: of PSL owner and sweetholders and fans that are kind
Speaker 1: of like, well, you told us last Friday Joe Flacco's hurt,
Speaker 1: but against the game against the Steelers, he didn't miss
Speaker 1: a play and he finished the entire game in that
Speaker 1: lost a week and a half ago here at Baltimore
Speaker 1: before they went on to buy, so, I honestly think
Speaker 1: it will be Lamar Jackson. He has struggled obviously since
Speaker 1: the preseason that he talked about it himself where he
Speaker 1: was throwing a lot of ducks his exact words, because
Speaker 1: he was having to adjust to the NFL football is
Speaker 1: different than the NCAA football. So he was having struggles
Speaker 1: adjesting with the grip and the throw. He's worked some
Speaker 1: of those things, but you best believe that no matter
Speaker 1: what happens, no matter whose quarterback the Cincinnati Bengals, whether
Speaker 1: you're a linebacker, you got to stay in your gap.
Speaker 1: Whether you're a defensively end, you gotta stay you know,
Speaker 1: keep contained if your tackle, if you're spy corners got
Speaker 1: to keep their eyes that have good eyes. You have
Speaker 1: to do those things defensively, whether it's Joe Flacco or
Speaker 1: whether it's Lamar Jackson or RG three, no doubt talking
Speaker 1: about the Ravens defense, which you know a lot about
Speaker 1: you you're a participant in your career with the Ravens defense,
Speaker 1: very very historically proud, a lot of tradition. I mean,
Speaker 1: blue collar is going to smack you around it very physical.
Speaker 1: Second in the NFL in yards allowed, second in the
Speaker 1: NFL and points allowed big difference this year. Though thirty
Speaker 1: four takeaways last year led the league, twenty two interceptions
Speaker 1: led the league this year seven takeaways third few US
Speaker 1: at this stage of the season, just five interceptions. Is
Speaker 1: it just that's how it is in the league, you
Speaker 1: know they come in bunch of or is there a
Speaker 1: reason for your estimation? Well, I think you're right. I
Speaker 1: think it's a combination of boats. You know, two years
Speaker 1: ago here in Baltimore, that was a big complaint that
Speaker 1: the Baltimore was near the bottom of the National Football
Speaker 1: League and turnovers, and then last year they turned it around.
Speaker 1: This year. Talking to Martindale, who obviously was a linebacker
Speaker 1: coach when I was at the Universe Cincinnati on Rex
Speaker 1: Ryan's staff when we were in college and is now
Speaker 1: the defensive coordinator here in Baltimore, you know, talking to
Speaker 1: him weekly. They're they're working hard, they're doing all the
Speaker 1: things in practice. They just haven't had an opportunity to
Speaker 1: get their hands on the footballs. And part of that
Speaker 1: is they're not getting the pressure that they were getting
Speaker 1: early in the season with the front seven. So they're
Speaker 1: still you know, when they went to Tennessee and they
Speaker 1: had ten eleven sacks in the game. You know, quarterbacks
Speaker 1: just aren't turning to football over, they're not throwing it
Speaker 1: up there. So unfortunately they haven't had an opportunity to
Speaker 1: make as many turnovers as they would like. But I
Speaker 1: agree with you, he's talked about it. We've talked about it.
Speaker 1: I talked about it with Chris Hewitt, former air kat
Speaker 1: who was the secondary coach here in Baltimore, and he,
Speaker 1: you know, flat out said, they firmly believe that, you know,
Speaker 1: they come in bunches and they just have to continue
Speaker 1: to work at it. So by them not getting to
Speaker 1: the quarterback as much and not putting as much pressure
Speaker 1: to force those you know, turnovers in the secondary, you know,
Speaker 1: they've played solid, but they still haven't had their chance
Speaker 1: an opportunity to get many interceptions because the balls quite
Speaker 1: frankly haven't been thrown down a field as much deep
Speaker 1: against the Ravens. And the other side of it is,
Speaker 1: you know, the people that they played Pittsburgh a couple
Speaker 1: of weeks ago, they just took advantage of the linebackers,
Speaker 1: which to me, and you know, pains me to say
Speaker 1: as a former linebacker here, the linebackers have kind of
Speaker 1: been lacking in coverage here in Baltimore. See Jay Moseley
Speaker 1: is a great pro bowler. We all know that he's
Speaker 1: got to get a huge extension, but the last couple
Speaker 1: of years, his coverage, which is kind of what he
Speaker 1: was known for, hasn't been what it's been. I know
Speaker 1: he's been fighting through some injuries and that sort of thing,
Speaker 1: but everybody's injured and you got to go out there
Speaker 1: and do your job. So it's one of those things
Speaker 1: that I'm sure the Bengals hope that they don't get
Speaker 1: on get on track with getting turnovers this Sunday here
Speaker 1: at the Big Crab Cake downtown. I'm sure the Ravens
Speaker 1: hope that they find a way to get some of
Speaker 1: those turnovers to take the pressure off Lamar Smith and
Speaker 1: try to give the offense as many opportunities and try
Speaker 1: to put points him as possible. One final question. Appreciate
Speaker 1: your time. I'm kind of up against the clock, but
Speaker 1: I need to ask you, besides Flacco, any significant injuries
Speaker 1: that might be a concern for the Ravens in this one. Well,
Speaker 1: both tackles you have. Orlando Brown Junior obviously is at
Speaker 1: right tackle. He was kind of nicked up. Ronnie Stanley
Speaker 1: was out last week. They're not sure. He was limited
Speaker 1: in practice today. So for the Bengals that's been that
Speaker 1: could be an advantage, and it's been a disadvantage for
Speaker 1: the Ravens in the last couple of weeks because the
Speaker 1: injuries on the offensive line. They haven't been able to
Speaker 1: protect Joe Flacco and they haven't been able to consistently
Speaker 1: get any type of running game going. All right, thanks,
Speaker 1: do you see Athletics Hall of Famer Brad Jackson one
Speaker 1: of the most passionate former Bearcat you will ever find.
Speaker 1: He recently traveled to Cincinnati for the Bearcat basketball game
Speaker 1: against Ohio State in order to be there for the
Speaker 1: reopening of Fifth Third Arena. And I would love to
Speaker 1: see Brad Jackson's name. I'm the Ring of honor at
Speaker 1: NIPPERD Stadium. That's going to do it for this episode
Speaker 1: of the podcast. If you haven't done so already, don't
Speaker 1: forget to subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, or pod Bean. And
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Speaker 1: I'm Dan Horde and thanks for listening to the Bengals
Speaker 1: Booth podcast.