WEBVTT - Bengals Booth Podcast: Carry On 0:00:03.680 --> 0:00:06.400 Hike and everybody, I'm Dan Horde and this is the 0:00:06.480 --> 0:00:14.440 Bengals Booth Podcast. The Canary addition, as the Bengals look 0:00:14.480 --> 0:00:17.440 to put a lousy performance against the San Francisco forty 0:00:17.520 --> 0:00:20.119 nine ers in the rear view mirror and beat the 0:00:20.160 --> 0:00:23.360 two and oh Buffalo Bills on their home field, and 0:00:23.600 --> 0:00:27.040 my apologies to Crosby Stills in Nash for not being 0:00:27.040 --> 0:00:30.760 able to match their three part harmony. Coming up, you'll 0:00:30.800 --> 0:00:35.200 hear three conversations up. First, my broadcast partner Dave Lapham. 0:00:35.240 --> 0:00:38.239 We'll discuss how the defense could be so strong in 0:00:38.280 --> 0:00:42.680 week one and so week In Week two, we'll also 0:00:42.760 --> 0:00:45.280 look at the latest round of musical chairs on the 0:00:45.360 --> 0:00:49.199 offensive line, and lap will share his keys to knocking 0:00:49.240 --> 0:00:53.800 off the undefeated Bills. My locker room conversation this week 0:00:53.920 --> 0:00:57.959 is with wide receiver Tyler Boyd. According to Pro Football Focus, 0:00:58.200 --> 0:01:01.080 Andy Dalton has thrown twenty asses for Boyd in the 0:01:01.080 --> 0:01:05.000 first two games, and eighteen out of twenty have gone 0:01:05.000 --> 0:01:09.240 for completions. That's ninety percent and tied for first in 0:01:09.240 --> 0:01:13.120 the NFL in receiving percentage. If that's what we should 0:01:13.120 --> 0:01:16.319 call it for anybody who has been targeted ten or 0:01:16.400 --> 0:01:20.720 more times. Oddly enough, Boyd is tied with former Bengal 0:01:20.880 --> 0:01:23.600 Marvin Jones, who is reeled in nine of the ten 0:01:23.680 --> 0:01:27.720 passes thrown to him in Detroit. And in this week's 0:01:27.720 --> 0:01:29.760 Know the Faux segment, we'll get the lowdown on the 0:01:29.800 --> 0:01:34.319 Buffalo Bills from their radio analyst, not only a former 0:01:34.360 --> 0:01:37.959 Pro Bowl center for the Bills, but a former Elder panther, 0:01:38.560 --> 0:01:41.280 Eric Wood. All of that is straight ahead, But first, 0:01:41.319 --> 0:01:43.720 here's a quick reminder that you can have the latest 0:01:43.880 --> 0:01:47.040 edition of this podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet, 0:01:47.120 --> 0:01:52.640 or computer by subscribing on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, 0:01:53.000 --> 0:01:59.240 or pod Bean. It's the greatest invention since Bluetooth. It 0:01:59.480 --> 0:02:01.880 never see is to amaze me that I can hop 0:02:01.920 --> 0:02:04.800 in my car, start playing a podcast or a song 0:02:04.880 --> 0:02:08.640 on my phone and listen to it through my car speakers, 0:02:09.200 --> 0:02:11.880 or do the same thing at home by pairing my 0:02:11.960 --> 0:02:16.800 phone with wireless speakers. The technology was invented by four 0:02:16.880 --> 0:02:20.720 Swedish engineers nearly thirty years ago, and perhaps you are 0:02:20.800 --> 0:02:25.359 using Bluetooth right now to enjoy this podcast. Now let's 0:02:25.400 --> 0:02:28.480 get to football. The Bengals are a six point underdog 0:02:28.520 --> 0:02:30.840 on the road in Buffalo this week against a Bills 0:02:30.880 --> 0:02:34.639 team that opened the season with two road wins. They 0:02:34.760 --> 0:02:37.600 rallied from a sixteen nothing deficit late in the third 0:02:37.680 --> 0:02:41.519 quarter to beat the Jets seventeen sixteen in Week one, 0:02:41.760 --> 0:02:45.320 then beat the Giants twenty eight to fourteen in Week two. 0:02:45.880 --> 0:02:47.919 The Bills are one of nine teams that are off 0:02:47.960 --> 0:02:51.079 to a two and oz start, but Buffalo fans are 0:02:51.160 --> 0:02:54.760 not exactly making a down payment on playoff tickets yet. 0:02:55.360 --> 0:02:58.679 The last five times the Bills started a season two 0:02:58.680 --> 0:03:02.120 and oh, they miss the playoffs, and only one of 0:03:02.160 --> 0:03:05.480 those seasons did the Bills finish with a winning record. 0:03:06.160 --> 0:03:09.320 Their chances of finishing above five hundred are looking pretty 0:03:09.360 --> 0:03:12.960 good this year, considering that Buffalo still has two games 0:03:13.040 --> 0:03:16.640 left against the tanking Dolphins and a home game left 0:03:16.960 --> 0:03:19.880 against the Jets, who will start their third quarterback in 0:03:19.919 --> 0:03:23.959 the first three weeks this Sunday. If Buffalo just wins 0:03:24.040 --> 0:03:27.840 those games, that's five wins. They could go five and 0:03:27.919 --> 0:03:30.799 six in their other eleven games and have a ten 0:03:30.840 --> 0:03:35.000 win season. Now, time to discuss this week's matchup and 0:03:35.160 --> 0:03:37.760 get to the bottom of last week's calamity against the 0:03:37.760 --> 0:03:41.760 forty nine ers with my broadcast partner Dave Lapham Lap. 0:03:41.880 --> 0:03:44.280 There are six first time head coaches in the NFL 0:03:44.360 --> 0:03:47.360 this year, and four of them, including Zach Taylor, don't 0:03:47.360 --> 0:03:49.720 have a win in the first two weeks of the season. 0:03:50.080 --> 0:03:52.440 People of crush Mike Brown over the years for sticking 0:03:52.440 --> 0:03:56.920 with coaches for too long. But continuity does have its advantages, 0:03:57.600 --> 0:04:00.560 it does. You know, remember the song all we are 0:04:00.640 --> 0:04:03.000 asking is give piece a chance. All were asking his 0:04:03.040 --> 0:04:06.040 give Zak a chance, you know. And Shanahan is in 0:04:06.080 --> 0:04:09.080 his third year with the forty nine ers. Tons of injuries, 0:04:09.400 --> 0:04:12.800 tons of problems. But I think now that he's got 0:04:12.840 --> 0:04:15.680 the team that he wants with Lynch as a general 0:04:15.720 --> 0:04:18.040 manager of players that they've traded four players, they've signed 0:04:18.040 --> 0:04:21.520 a free agency players, they've drafted, and they were over 0:04:21.560 --> 0:04:23.440 that injury hecks. I mean they had forty one guys 0:04:23.440 --> 0:04:25.719 in IR over the last two years. It's been crazy. 0:04:26.640 --> 0:04:29.240 He's a good coach, he has a good scheme, hell 0:04:29.279 --> 0:04:32.440 of a play caller. That defense is salty, you know. 0:04:32.800 --> 0:04:34.479 Give somebody a chance to get their feet on the 0:04:34.480 --> 0:04:38.280 ground and get their culture established and be a little patient. 0:04:38.839 --> 0:04:42.960 Lap Seattle's offense is night and day different from San Francisco's. 0:04:43.240 --> 0:04:45.479 Did the Bengals face a team in Week one that 0:04:45.600 --> 0:04:50.120 they are uniquely suited to stop? I think they did, 0:04:50.360 --> 0:04:53.800 and I think it was the personnel they had, you know, 0:04:54.040 --> 0:04:59.840 big bulky, brawny, Malling type offensive lineman and they lined up. 0:05:00.040 --> 0:05:03.680 Seattle said this is what we do, no matter what, 0:05:03.800 --> 0:05:06.080 this is what we're gonna do and stop us. And 0:05:06.160 --> 0:05:08.359 the Bengals did give them credit. They came out with 0:05:08.560 --> 0:05:10.840 a bunch of different looks. The Seattle wasn't quite ready 0:05:10.839 --> 0:05:14.400 for the five defensive linemen, you know, six defensive backs 0:05:14.400 --> 0:05:17.800 with three safeties in there handling the running aspect of it. 0:05:18.960 --> 0:05:22.480 They really had Seattle back on their heels. But Seattle 0:05:22.520 --> 0:05:25.760 didn't do anything differently, you know, I mean, their their 0:05:26.400 --> 0:05:30.680 playbook is probably a quarter as thick as Shanahans is. 0:05:30.720 --> 0:05:34.440 With the San Francisco forty nine ers. And the following 0:05:34.480 --> 0:05:37.440 week they come out and the forty niners running a 0:05:37.440 --> 0:05:40.719 two back set, but then they motion the fullback out 0:05:41.160 --> 0:05:43.159 use Check could line up on the slot. He was 0:05:43.160 --> 0:05:44.760 lining up as a tight end. The guy as like 0:05:44.800 --> 0:05:48.360 a you know, a versatile tool. You know, he can 0:05:48.400 --> 0:05:50.320 he can do a lot of things for you. And 0:05:50.600 --> 0:05:53.760 he gives a lot of versatility to the offensive playbook 0:05:53.760 --> 0:05:56.320 without substitute and personnel because of what they can do 0:05:56.400 --> 0:05:59.120 with him. And that's what today's NFL is all about. 0:05:59.279 --> 0:06:01.120 You know, Belichick loves that type of thing, and a 0:06:01.160 --> 0:06:04.320 defensive player, well, offensive coaches love it too, where they 0:06:04.360 --> 0:06:07.760 you know, can can you know, detach tight ends into 0:06:07.800 --> 0:06:10.760 the receiver position and don't even have to substitute personnel, 0:06:10.800 --> 0:06:13.360 and you have a matchup to your favor running back 0:06:13.360 --> 0:06:15.240 that can run good routes and catch football, get him 0:06:15.240 --> 0:06:17.920 out of the backfield, detach them. I mean, that's that's 0:06:17.960 --> 0:06:19.640 when you have the perfect world as you don't have 0:06:19.680 --> 0:06:23.440 to substitute in creating matchups in your favor. So San 0:06:23.480 --> 0:06:26.600 Francisco did that remarkably well. They didn't just line up 0:06:26.600 --> 0:06:28.560 and say here we are, We're going to pound you. 0:06:28.880 --> 0:06:32.040 Who's going to be the bigger man. And then couple 0:06:32.120 --> 0:06:39.280 that with Shanahan's scheme of you know, motion, second motion, detach, 0:06:39.440 --> 0:06:41.680 bring it back to motion the other way again. I mean, 0:06:41.839 --> 0:06:45.280 he's basically he's not He's trying not to just only 0:06:45.320 --> 0:06:47.520 distract your eyes. He wants to cross your eyes. And 0:06:47.560 --> 0:06:50.560 that's what was happening, guys, were running wide open and 0:06:50.760 --> 0:06:54.279 his play action screen game was phenomenal. Or he'd run 0:06:54.320 --> 0:06:56.760 outside zone with the left side of the offensive line, 0:06:56.760 --> 0:06:59.000 Garoppolo'd roll out away from it to the right. A 0:06:59.120 --> 0:07:02.240 receiver had been most across the backfield. He was the 0:07:02.240 --> 0:07:05.280 receiver of the screen from the Garoppolo throws the ball 0:07:05.320 --> 0:07:07.120 from the right numbers to the left sideline, right in 0:07:07.120 --> 0:07:09.120 front of the forty nine ers bench, and looked like 0:07:09.279 --> 0:07:11.840 every member looked like there were fifty people escorting that 0:07:11.880 --> 0:07:14.720 receiver down the sideline. There were five offensive linemen against 0:07:14.760 --> 0:07:17.760 three three defenders. You know, they just they found ways 0:07:17.800 --> 0:07:20.920 to out leverage, outnumber the defense, and then when the 0:07:21.000 --> 0:07:24.200 defense was in position to make plays, they had a 0:07:24.240 --> 0:07:28.679 poor tackling day. So it was like Murphy's law. Whatever 0:07:28.720 --> 0:07:32.400 could go wrong did go wrong. On steroids, that's a 0:07:32.440 --> 0:07:36.600 bad combo. In their history, the Bengals have given up 0:07:36.640 --> 0:07:40.320 five hundred or more yards twenty four times. Twenty four 0:07:40.360 --> 0:07:43.040 times and more than fifty years of football. It's happened 0:07:43.080 --> 0:07:47.880 four times in the last twelve games. Going forward, what 0:07:47.960 --> 0:07:52.400 would you prioritize in fixing this defense? I do think 0:07:52.560 --> 0:07:55.080 that you know, five hundred yards is going to be 0:07:55.080 --> 0:07:58.280 achievable more readily because of today's style of football. But 0:07:58.360 --> 0:08:00.880 with that said, that's no excuse. I mean, you know, 0:08:01.600 --> 0:08:04.880 four times in twelve games, come on, now, that's a 0:08:05.760 --> 0:08:07.680 trend that you don't want to set. You want to 0:08:07.720 --> 0:08:11.920 break that trend in order to fix things. You know, 0:08:12.640 --> 0:08:16.080 I think that you just almost go back to the fundamentals. 0:08:16.160 --> 0:08:19.120 You go back to football one oh one. And I 0:08:19.200 --> 0:08:21.880 know I know what Paul Brown would have done, and 0:08:22.240 --> 0:08:24.880 he would he would have told his defensive coaches, I 0:08:25.000 --> 0:08:29.840 want tackling drills. I want drills, guys getting off blocks, 0:08:30.200 --> 0:08:33.600 and you know, I want to make sure that everybody 0:08:33.640 --> 0:08:35.440 is hitting the right gap. If you have to do 0:08:35.559 --> 0:08:39.240 mental reps in the classroom on the football field, you 0:08:39.200 --> 0:08:41.040 have or if you have to do it, make sure 0:08:41.160 --> 0:08:43.719 guys are aware they're supposed to be. They're hitting the 0:08:43.760 --> 0:08:46.520 gap they're supposed to hit, and they're not getting halfway there, 0:08:46.679 --> 0:08:49.440 they're getting all the way there, and they're not defending 0:08:49.520 --> 0:08:50.960 half of that gap. And then trying to help a 0:08:51.000 --> 0:08:53.679 teammate who they think is having a problem because now 0:08:53.679 --> 0:08:56.160 you're trying to do too much and you're not doing anything. 0:08:56.240 --> 0:08:59.440 You're not helping yourself or your teammate, So do what 0:08:59.440 --> 0:09:01.760 you're supposed to do. And I think that's what happened 0:09:01.760 --> 0:09:04.440 a little bit. And I'm not saying panics setting necessarily, 0:09:04.640 --> 0:09:07.440 but when they started to get gashed, your natural human 0:09:07.480 --> 0:09:11.040 reaction is what can I do to help? The only 0:09:11.160 --> 0:09:14.720 thing that you have to go contrary to human reaction. 0:09:14.920 --> 0:09:17.400 You have to just be disciplined and do what you're 0:09:17.400 --> 0:09:19.760 supposed to do. And it's hard to do. It's really 0:09:19.760 --> 0:09:23.000 hard to do to maintain that self discipline. But if 0:09:23.040 --> 0:09:26.280 all eleven guys do what they're supposed to do, you know, 0:09:26.679 --> 0:09:29.880 you'll have a much better success than eight guys doing 0:09:29.920 --> 0:09:32.520 what they're supposed to do and three guys freelancing, you know, 0:09:32.640 --> 0:09:34.840 or ten guys doing they're supposed doing, one guy freelancing 0:09:34.840 --> 0:09:38.520 because they always seem to find the freelancer. It's unbelievable. 0:09:38.720 --> 0:09:41.160 And then that that whole thing starts to snowball. So 0:09:41.720 --> 0:09:44.199 I mean, I would go back to almost training camp 0:09:44.320 --> 0:09:49.120 fundamentals like a wise man. And why is this football guy? 0:09:49.160 --> 0:09:51.880 I knew Paul Brown? He said, you know I can 0:09:51.920 --> 0:09:54.040 trick you, I can fool you, but I get tired 0:09:54.040 --> 0:09:56.360 of trying to do that. Will you go block somebody, 0:09:56.360 --> 0:09:59.600 will you go tackle somebody. Football is blocking and tackling. 0:10:00.040 --> 0:10:03.160 Just do that, we'll win some games. That's what That's 0:10:03.160 --> 0:10:08.840 what it boils down to. Scheme is great, it's helpful. 0:10:09.160 --> 0:10:11.040 But if you don't block anybody, I don't give a 0:10:11.120 --> 0:10:13.480 damn what your scheme is, You're not gonna beat anybody. 0:10:13.520 --> 0:10:16.439 You know, and you can have you know, eleven defensive 0:10:16.440 --> 0:10:19.679 lineman and no linebackers, no defensive backs. You don't hit 0:10:19.720 --> 0:10:22.200 the right gaps and tackle people, you're not gonna beat anybody. 0:10:22.480 --> 0:10:25.640 So scheme is helpful, but man, you gotta you gotta 0:10:25.800 --> 0:10:30.160 execute fundamentals of football, snap in, snap out. Not be 0:10:30.520 --> 0:10:34.080 one play wonder, one series, wonder, one week wonder. You 0:10:34.120 --> 0:10:37.320 have to do it game after game, season after season, 0:10:37.440 --> 0:10:40.280 year after year. Before I get to my next question, 0:10:40.320 --> 0:10:42.360 I'm gonna put the microphone close to the desk. Give 0:10:42.400 --> 0:10:45.200 me one more of those hits. All right? That was good? 0:10:46.640 --> 0:10:48.840 All right? Is the game coming up? Here? We are 0:10:48.880 --> 0:10:51.240 week three of his tenure. Is this already a big 0:10:51.280 --> 0:10:54.880 test of Zach Taylor's leadership. I think it is. I 0:10:54.880 --> 0:10:59.640 think it's a it's a test of Zach's culture he's 0:10:59.640 --> 0:11:02.360 trying to build because I think he feels like he's 0:11:02.400 --> 0:11:04.160 got the right kind of guy in the locker room. 0:11:04.480 --> 0:11:06.720 And I feel like he feels like he's got that 0:11:06.800 --> 0:11:11.000 at almost every position. Group He's got like a you know, 0:11:11.120 --> 0:11:14.199 a committee of guys. I think that he could draw 0:11:14.240 --> 0:11:17.560 on if he wanted to and sit down and here's 0:11:17.600 --> 0:11:19.640 what I'm thinking, here's my message. What do you guys 0:11:19.679 --> 0:11:24.439 think you know? And can you sell this to the 0:11:24.440 --> 0:11:26.360 locker room with guys buy into this kind of thing. 0:11:26.559 --> 0:11:29.320 I'm not sure he has that leadership committee yet, but 0:11:29.360 --> 0:11:31.280 he has a bunch of guys that he could form, 0:11:31.320 --> 0:11:33.000 you know, if and when he starts to do that 0:11:33.040 --> 0:11:35.680 type of thing. So I think it's a it's a 0:11:35.760 --> 0:11:40.080 it's a test of Zach what he's done in terms 0:11:40.120 --> 0:11:43.880 of instilling a culture, how the guys have bought into 0:11:43.920 --> 0:11:47.040 that culture. And I do think a lot of times 0:11:47.040 --> 0:11:50.760 you'll see after a performance like that that is embarrassing. 0:11:51.200 --> 0:11:53.120 I know guys didn't want to use that word, but man, 0:11:53.200 --> 0:11:56.160 that's embarrassing. You know. It's like if you have a 0:11:56.160 --> 0:11:58.280 bad week at work and you're a salesman, you don't 0:11:58.280 --> 0:12:01.320 make any sales. Nobody knows about it except your wife, 0:12:01.320 --> 0:12:03.440 and you know, maybe some others. If you have a 0:12:03.480 --> 0:12:06.240 bad day, that's on you know, regional and national television. 0:12:06.280 --> 0:12:09.160 The whole world knows about it, and that's embarrassing. So 0:12:09.720 --> 0:12:13.079 normally guys really respond to that and you know, bounce 0:12:13.160 --> 0:12:15.680 back and have a big time effort. So I think 0:12:15.679 --> 0:12:17.920 it's going to be, uh, hopefully that's going to be 0:12:17.960 --> 0:12:20.040 the case in Buffalo. Not saying they're gonna win the 0:12:20.040 --> 0:12:22.160 football game, but I think they'll play more like they 0:12:22.240 --> 0:12:25.080 played in Seattle than they did at home against San Francisco. 0:12:26.040 --> 0:12:29.400 Through two weeks, the Bengals are averaging one point eight 0:12:29.480 --> 0:12:34.280 yards per rushing attack. Yikes, what are teams doing to 0:12:34.440 --> 0:12:39.720 stuff the run? To that extent. Teams are are doing 0:12:39.720 --> 0:12:42.960 a good job of staying in their gaps and not 0:12:43.040 --> 0:12:45.600 allowing any push, you know, at the line of scrimmage. 0:12:45.600 --> 0:12:47.800 They're winning at the line of scrimmage. And then there's 0:12:47.880 --> 0:12:52.120 a guy that is not not just doing the right thing, 0:12:53.040 --> 0:12:57.200 you know, blocking the right guy and not getting pushed. 0:12:57.240 --> 0:12:59.720 He's not blocking the right guy, or he's using wrong 0:12:59.760 --> 0:13:01.800 tech nique in trying to block the guy, or whatever 0:13:01.840 --> 0:13:04.320 the case may be. Somebody's breaking down and it's not 0:13:04.360 --> 0:13:06.120 the same guy every time. Because it was that it'd 0:13:06.160 --> 0:13:08.880 be easy, easy solution, bench him, put another guy in. 0:13:09.200 --> 0:13:11.959 So different guys are breaking down, and it's not just 0:13:12.120 --> 0:13:15.079 in the offensive line, you know, in talking to Alex 0:13:15.120 --> 0:13:19.439 Erickson earlier this week, it's it's like the receivers are 0:13:19.480 --> 0:13:21.440 a big part of the running game because they're running 0:13:21.440 --> 0:13:24.240 a lot of bunch tight, cluster formations and those guys 0:13:24.280 --> 0:13:28.320 have to go dig people out, and so it's it's 0:13:28.360 --> 0:13:32.720 interesting everybody's mindset. Even though the Bengals are throwing the 0:13:32.720 --> 0:13:35.320 ball pretty well, you know, seven hundred plush yards, I mean, 0:13:35.360 --> 0:13:37.840 Andy's you know, number one and number two in a 0:13:37.840 --> 0:13:42.000 few categories in throwing the football, teams are still daring 0:13:42.080 --> 0:13:43.920 him to throw it. You know, they're they're saying, we're 0:13:43.920 --> 0:13:45.400 not going to allow you to We're gonna make you 0:13:45.400 --> 0:13:47.760 one dimensional. We're gonna try to make you play left 0:13:47.760 --> 0:13:49.920 handed as such, or tie one hand behind your back. 0:13:50.480 --> 0:13:53.560 They have to get that running game somehow, unlock though, Dan. 0:13:54.080 --> 0:13:57.080 They have to, I mean, just you can't be that 0:13:57.160 --> 0:14:00.280 one dimensional. It's like it's like one phase if it's 0:14:00.280 --> 0:14:03.600 non existent. And the passing game numbers are really pretty good, 0:14:03.720 --> 0:14:05.640 how good could they be if they had a modicum 0:14:05.679 --> 0:14:08.400 of a running game. I mean, just some semblance of one. 0:14:08.720 --> 0:14:11.199 My god, the numbers they could put up pickle when 0:14:11.240 --> 0:14:13.120 number eighteen comes back and they have a little bit 0:14:13.120 --> 0:14:17.000 of a running game. Could be who knows, left guard 0:14:17.000 --> 0:14:19.400 Michael Jordan is out this week, so Billy Price is 0:14:19.400 --> 0:14:22.200 back into the starting lineup on the offensive line. If 0:14:22.240 --> 0:14:24.720 it's up to you, do you put Billy at center 0:14:24.840 --> 0:14:27.480 and move Trey Hopkins to guard, or do you leave 0:14:27.560 --> 0:14:30.600 Tray at guard and put or leave Tray at center 0:14:30.680 --> 0:14:32.960 rather and put Billy in a guard. Yeah, that's a 0:14:33.080 --> 0:14:36.120 that's a nice conundrum, Dan, It's it's it's it's interesting 0:14:36.560 --> 0:14:39.160 because you know, part of you says you don't want 0:14:39.160 --> 0:14:41.840 to make two moves for one position, in which you 0:14:41.840 --> 0:14:43.680 would if you move in Tray to left guard and 0:14:43.720 --> 0:14:47.760 Billy to center. But you have to say, okay, Trey 0:14:47.880 --> 0:14:53.000 is playing very well at center, but wouldn't really you know, 0:14:54.160 --> 0:14:56.760 downgrade the left guard position if if Trey went to 0:14:56.840 --> 0:14:59.480 left guard rather than Billy. Trey has played more left guard, 0:14:59.520 --> 0:15:02.800 Trays more comfortable at left guard, Billy's more comfortable at center. 0:15:03.080 --> 0:15:06.080 Billy would probably you know, play better at center. So 0:15:06.240 --> 0:15:09.440 maybe that old philosophy of two moves for one position 0:15:10.000 --> 0:15:14.440 may not trays. Versatility can be a blessing and a curse, 0:15:14.480 --> 0:15:17.000 I guess, you know. But here's the guy that was 0:15:17.080 --> 0:15:19.120 rated the best center in the league a week one 0:15:19.160 --> 0:15:22.640 by Pro Football Focus. You know, I mean, so it's like, cheez, 0:15:22.680 --> 0:15:24.840 do you do you move him out of that position 0:15:24.880 --> 0:15:28.280 if he's functioned in operating so well. I do know 0:15:28.360 --> 0:15:31.440 one thing, no matter which which they do, the pressure 0:15:31.480 --> 0:15:34.640 is on Billy to play well because the trays trays 0:15:34.680 --> 0:15:37.480 playing consistently, and that's that's what you're the biggest thing 0:15:37.480 --> 0:15:40.760 you want to have as a coach is consistency of performance, 0:15:40.760 --> 0:15:45.040 consistency of effort, you know, no mental mistakes and trays. 0:15:45.520 --> 0:15:48.080 He's just he's handling everything, all the calls, you know, 0:15:49.080 --> 0:15:51.960 directing the line. And Billy's a smart enough guy obviously 0:15:51.960 --> 0:15:53.440 to do all that too. So I'm not you know, 0:15:53.480 --> 0:15:57.120 they wouldn't necessarily, um, you know, struggle in that regard. 0:15:57.160 --> 0:15:58.920 Plus you have a guy that's been doing it at 0:15:59.000 --> 0:16:02.440 left guard can help the center, you know, if Billy's struggling, 0:16:02.440 --> 0:16:04.720 and if Ty, if Tracy's that's not right, Tray can 0:16:04.720 --> 0:16:07.840 say Billy that, you know, correct it. So you know 0:16:07.880 --> 0:16:11.840 there there were a lot of pluses. Um, I would 0:16:11.840 --> 0:16:15.280 probably probably I'd end up putting Tray at left guard 0:16:15.280 --> 0:16:18.680 and Billy at center. You know, I think watching Billy, 0:16:18.880 --> 0:16:21.000 he's not I don't think he's comfortable. He had a guard. 0:16:21.040 --> 0:16:23.200 But what Billy has to do is he has to 0:16:23.200 --> 0:16:25.560 get off his toes. Man, he has to plant those 0:16:25.560 --> 0:16:28.680 feet firmly in the ground and establish a base in 0:16:28.720 --> 0:16:32.800 the foundation and you know, handle those big bull guys. 0:16:33.800 --> 0:16:36.400 By the way, the highest graded center in the NFL 0:16:36.440 --> 0:16:40.160 in Week two, according to Pro Football Focus, Frank Ragnow 0:16:40.360 --> 0:16:42.880 of the Detroit Lions, a player you love going into 0:16:42.920 --> 0:16:46.200 that draft. Through two weeks, Lap John Ross leads the 0:16:46.280 --> 0:16:48.960 NFL and receiving yards with two hundred and seventy that's 0:16:48.960 --> 0:16:51.920 twenty three more than Sammy Watkins of KC. Is that 0:16:52.000 --> 0:16:55.560 the biggest bright spot through two weeks? I think, I think, 0:16:55.680 --> 0:16:59.720 um it is. But I'm going to give a like 0:16:59.800 --> 0:17:03.160 a one and a one a Tyler Boyd. He's been 0:17:03.200 --> 0:17:05.760 every time he's been targeted, he's caught the ball. That's 0:17:05.760 --> 0:17:09.200 hard to do, particularly when there's no ground game and 0:17:09.240 --> 0:17:13.560 he's running routes that are more you know, physically challenging 0:17:13.720 --> 0:17:15.840 you know, than than John. I'm not I'm not diminishing 0:17:15.880 --> 0:17:18.719 John's accomplishments. I mean, shoot, it's been it's been crazy. 0:17:18.720 --> 0:17:22.960 It's been ridiculously effective for John. I mean, he's the 0:17:23.000 --> 0:17:24.840 two hundred seventy yards he is every He's twenty four 0:17:24.840 --> 0:17:27.000 and a half yards a catch, you know, both lead 0:17:27.040 --> 0:17:29.199 the league. He's got three touchdown catches tied for the 0:17:29.240 --> 0:17:33.639 league lead. Extraordinary stuff. But Tyler Boyd eighteen catches for 0:17:33.800 --> 0:17:35.960 ten point one. You know, he has a forty seven 0:17:36.000 --> 0:17:38.199 yard but a lot of them have been you know, 0:17:38.520 --> 0:17:40.359 third and three and it's a five yard catch and 0:17:40.400 --> 0:17:43.320 get pounded to move the chains and time after time 0:17:43.359 --> 0:17:46.840 after time, you know, and he's going to him, and 0:17:47.040 --> 0:17:50.440 you know, everybody knows it, you know, John, Tyler Boyd 0:17:50.440 --> 0:17:53.200 knows it, the defense knows it, everybody knows it. He's 0:17:53.200 --> 0:17:56.199 got five third down catches tied for six in the NFL. 0:17:56.880 --> 0:18:00.359 Um So, I think I think that that end him 0:18:00.960 --> 0:18:03.800 is probably as good a story as there is in 0:18:03.840 --> 0:18:06.440 the first two games, particularly with the absence of AJ Green, 0:18:06.600 --> 0:18:09.760 because other guys stepped up, you know, in AJ Green's absence, 0:18:09.760 --> 0:18:12.639 and like we said earlier, man he can get some 0:18:12.720 --> 0:18:15.560 kind of running game going lord of Mercy when eighteen 0:18:15.640 --> 0:18:18.960 comes back. The Bengals are in Buffalo this week to 0:18:19.000 --> 0:18:21.360 take on the two and oh Bills behind second year 0:18:21.440 --> 0:18:24.520 quarterback Josh Allen, the seventh pick in last year's draft. 0:18:25.000 --> 0:18:27.439 Lap He's got the size of Roethlisberger, he might have 0:18:27.480 --> 0:18:30.679 the strongest arm in the NFL. But he's not a 0:18:30.720 --> 0:18:34.200 finished product. He's not by a long stretch. In fact, 0:18:34.280 --> 0:18:37.360 he had it took him the longest time to get 0:18:37.400 --> 0:18:39.359 the ball out of his hand from snap to throw 0:18:39.480 --> 0:18:41.280 of anybody in the NFL last year. That's not a 0:18:41.320 --> 0:18:44.400 good sign. You know. Some of it may be him 0:18:44.440 --> 0:18:46.760 not seeing the field well enough. Some of it may 0:18:46.760 --> 0:18:49.240 be quick pressure and he's running around holding none of 0:18:49.280 --> 0:18:51.560 the football. When he does that, a lot of times 0:18:51.600 --> 0:18:53.880 he's not looking the throw necessarily, he's looking to tuck 0:18:53.880 --> 0:18:56.600 it and go. I mean, I think I think initially 0:18:56.640 --> 0:18:58.840 Buffalo has given him two reads and then tuck it 0:18:58.920 --> 0:19:02.160 and run, trying to simplify it. Now, I think they've 0:19:02.200 --> 0:19:04.359 expanded that a little bit. He'd led him in rushing 0:19:04.440 --> 0:19:06.879 last year. It was crazy and he rushed for eight touchdowns. 0:19:06.880 --> 0:19:09.320 I mean, he was a big, big component on the 0:19:09.359 --> 0:19:12.320 ground and you still have to respect his legs. He 0:19:12.400 --> 0:19:14.879 only completed like fifty two point eight percent last year. 0:19:14.920 --> 0:19:17.840 He's a good ten percentage points higher than that this year. 0:19:18.200 --> 0:19:20.280 So he is seeing the field. I think he's got 0:19:20.320 --> 0:19:23.440 more weapons around him, and he's advancing year one to 0:19:23.560 --> 0:19:25.760 year or two. For any player is an eye opener. 0:19:25.800 --> 0:19:27.679 I think his eyes have been opened a lot wider. 0:19:29.080 --> 0:19:32.359 Lap Bill's defense is in the top ten versus the 0:19:32.520 --> 0:19:36.040 run and versus the past. Is there an obvious weakness? 0:19:36.720 --> 0:19:39.560 I really don't think there is. I think their secondary 0:19:39.640 --> 0:19:42.000 might be the best in the league. I mean, combined 0:19:42.080 --> 0:19:45.919 White is an unbelievable corner players of tremendous safety. I mean, 0:19:46.080 --> 0:19:49.200 and they've got complimentary pieces. And when you have a 0:19:49.240 --> 0:19:54.800 Sean McDermott and Leslie Frasier combining and collaborating defense, will 0:19:54.840 --> 0:19:57.040 you have two really good defensive minds. They are putting 0:19:57.080 --> 0:19:59.479 together good game plans for these guys. And I mean 0:19:59.520 --> 0:20:02.040 they have round picks up front at Oliver. You know 0:20:02.119 --> 0:20:03.800 this year as a first round a ninth pick of 0:20:03.840 --> 0:20:05.439 the draft. Jerry Hugh was ten years ago. It came 0:20:05.440 --> 0:20:07.800 into the league's first round out of TCU, a very 0:20:07.800 --> 0:20:11.320 consistent pass rusher, I mean, there's they're solid and sound 0:20:11.359 --> 0:20:14.680 at the linebacker level. They they don't have a defensive weakness. 0:20:14.680 --> 0:20:17.560 And then they're they're only allowing four point nine four 0:20:17.680 --> 0:20:21.520 yards per pass attempt this year. What that's best in 0:20:21.560 --> 0:20:23.440 the league. That's that's better than a lot of teams 0:20:23.440 --> 0:20:25.639 are allowing on the ground, you know. I mean the 0:20:25.680 --> 0:20:28.440 Bengals are are you know, are up there allowing h 0:20:28.760 --> 0:20:31.240 four point nine on the ground. They're allowing four point 0:20:31.320 --> 0:20:35.439 nine four per pass attempt. That's that's crazy. They were 0:20:35.520 --> 0:20:37.920 number one defensively in the NFL and yards allowed last 0:20:37.960 --> 0:20:40.160 year one hundred and seventy nine, and this year they're 0:20:40.160 --> 0:20:42.560 giving one ninety eight, which is fifth best in the league. 0:20:43.040 --> 0:20:45.199 It's it's a it's a good defensive football team. The 0:20:45.200 --> 0:20:47.560 Bengals are gonna have to be on their on their 0:20:47.880 --> 0:20:51.320 best behavior in terms of assignments and execution out there. 0:20:52.200 --> 0:20:54.680 The Buffalo Bills have a rookie running back named Devin 0:20:55.080 --> 0:20:58.960 single Terry. He's five to seven, his nickname is Motor, 0:20:59.280 --> 0:21:02.040 and he's averaging nearly thirteen yards a carry and he 0:21:02.080 --> 0:21:04.119 doesn't have an eighty yard or He just keeps getting 0:21:04.200 --> 0:21:08.320