WEBVTT - Bengals Booth Podcast: Stayin' Alive 0:00:03.520 --> 0:00:06.279 Hi again, everybody on dan Horde and thanks for downloading 0:00:06.280 --> 0:00:14.440 the Bengals Booth podcast. The Staying Alive Staying Alive addition, 0:00:14.800 --> 0:00:16.960 as the Bengals try to staff a two game losing 0:00:16.960 --> 0:00:19.840 streak and stay alive in the AFC playoff hunt with 0:00:19.880 --> 0:00:23.400 a road win in Denver coming up, Dave Lapham joins 0:00:23.400 --> 0:00:26.799 me to discuss the latest Bengals news involving Trey Hendrickson, 0:00:27.000 --> 0:00:30.440 Riley Reef and others, and look ahead to Sunday's game 0:00:30.640 --> 0:00:33.400 in the Mile High City. My one on one player 0:00:33.400 --> 0:00:37.000 interview is with safety Ricardo Allen, who shares his process 0:00:37.040 --> 0:00:40.480 for dealing with a gut wrenching loss and describes why 0:00:40.479 --> 0:00:44.400 it is so freaking hard to cover. George Kittle with 0:00:44.440 --> 0:00:47.600 two touchdown catches last week, Jamar Chase broke the Bengals 0:00:47.640 --> 0:00:51.240 rookie record for receiving tds with ten and I'll speak 0:00:51.240 --> 0:00:55.440 to the legend whose record he broke, the sensational Isaac Curtis, 0:00:55.720 --> 0:00:58.279 and finally, in our Know the Faux segment, we'll take 0:00:58.320 --> 0:01:01.520 an in depth look at the Broncos with Mike Kliss, 0:01:01.560 --> 0:01:05.039 who covers the team for nine News in Denver. The 0:01:05.080 --> 0:01:08.640 Bengals Booth podcast is presented by Ultimate Bengals. The free 0:01:08.640 --> 0:01:12.640 to play Next Level Fantasy Football game downloaded now from 0:01:12.640 --> 0:01:15.319 the App Store and Google Play. And here's a quick 0:01:15.319 --> 0:01:17.840 reminder that you can have the latest edition of this 0:01:17.920 --> 0:01:21.959 podcast delivered write to your phone, tablet, or computer by 0:01:22.040 --> 0:01:25.959 subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's the greatest thing 0:01:26.040 --> 0:01:31.640 since Dawn Powerwash. I am the primary dishwasher in the 0:01:31.680 --> 0:01:34.679 Horde household, and kudos to the geniuses at Procter and 0:01:34.720 --> 0:01:41.000 Gamble for inventing Dawn Powerwash or technically speaking, Dawn Ultra 0:01:41.160 --> 0:01:45.959 Platinum Powerwash dish spray. It claims to provide five times 0:01:46.000 --> 0:01:48.800 faster grease cleaning, but I'm here to tell you it 0:01:48.840 --> 0:01:53.040 removes anything and everything off of dishes. Shoot, I'm pretty 0:01:53.040 --> 0:01:56.880 sure a couple of sprays would remove fingerprints. And when 0:01:56.920 --> 0:01:59.280 you have a fifteen year old who will occasionally leave 0:01:59.360 --> 0:02:02.720 dirty dishes in the sink, it certainly comes in handy. 0:02:03.080 --> 0:02:08.160 So thank you don Powerwash. You've made spraying, wiping, and 0:02:08.240 --> 0:02:12.760 rinsing much easier. Now let's get to this week's guests, 0:02:12.800 --> 0:02:17.160 beginning with my broadcast partner Dave Lapham Lapp in more 0:02:17.160 --> 0:02:20.280 than forty years in the NFL as a player a broadcaster, 0:02:20.560 --> 0:02:23.680 do you ever remember a year where it seems like 0:02:23.840 --> 0:02:27.560 every team is so close to five hundred? I really don't, Dan, 0:02:27.760 --> 0:02:31.240 I really don't. I mean, it's like by now the 0:02:31.320 --> 0:02:33.320 dust is settled a little bit. You know, people who 0:02:33.320 --> 0:02:37.360 have kind of determined where they are, and I remember 0:02:37.480 --> 0:02:39.920 years where they were like, you know, maybe five or 0:02:39.960 --> 0:02:42.520 six teams still in the hunt with a month ago, 0:02:42.800 --> 0:02:45.240 how is it going to sort out? But you know, 0:02:45.320 --> 0:02:48.520 to have a dozen you know in the AFC alone 0:02:49.080 --> 0:02:51.800 still in the playoff picture. Like we said a few times, 0:02:52.520 --> 0:02:56.080 this is an early Christmas for the National Football League. 0:02:56.280 --> 0:03:00.280 This is what Santa they were hoping Santa might deliver. 0:03:00.600 --> 0:03:04.200 Everybody is in the hunt. The interest is probably in 0:03:04.280 --> 0:03:07.880 an all time high. It's the perfect storm for the 0:03:07.960 --> 0:03:11.160 National Football League. We got quite a bit of injury 0:03:11.200 --> 0:03:14.200 related news this week. Let's start with Trey Hendrickson. So 0:03:14.440 --> 0:03:16.960 last week he's down on the turf, they call for 0:03:17.040 --> 0:03:19.880 a cart. We breathed a sigh of relief when he 0:03:19.880 --> 0:03:22.480 managed to walk off the field. Now it looks like 0:03:22.520 --> 0:03:25.080 he's going to play. How crucial is that for the 0:03:25.120 --> 0:03:27.360 final four weeks? And what do you think that says 0:03:27.400 --> 0:03:32.440 to his teammates. Yeah, I think that initially Trent Williams 0:03:32.480 --> 0:03:34.760 gave him a pretty good shot and he was he 0:03:34.800 --> 0:03:36.760 was torked a little bit. He was twisting to start 0:03:36.800 --> 0:03:39.320 to pursue a play and he got hit in his 0:03:39.440 --> 0:03:42.880 body position was just wrong, particularly what the force that 0:03:42.920 --> 0:03:46.240 Trent Williams can hit you. And I think he felt 0:03:46.280 --> 0:03:49.360 like he had kind of nussed up a disc. You know, 0:03:49.360 --> 0:03:52.760 it was that painful. But you know, when you have 0:03:53.480 --> 0:03:58.560 spasms like that, they can be brutally painful and looks 0:03:58.600 --> 0:04:01.360 like unfortunately be the case where it just had a 0:04:01.440 --> 0:04:04.520 very very severe spasm that he's going to be working 0:04:04.520 --> 0:04:06.760 through and you know, it's gonna have to be smart 0:04:06.840 --> 0:04:09.320 probably about it and make sure that there's all the 0:04:09.400 --> 0:04:12.800 muscles around that that vertebrae and the disc and all 0:04:12.840 --> 0:04:16.200 those kind of things are everything's fine and calm down 0:04:17.800 --> 0:04:19.440 in the early stage. Is a week of practice here 0:04:19.480 --> 0:04:22.159 probably won't do much of anything, but to have him 0:04:22.520 --> 0:04:26.320 as a rush guy off the edge, it's huge. I 0:04:26.360 --> 0:04:29.559 mean twelve and a half sacks. He's so consistent. He gets, 0:04:29.800 --> 0:04:32.039 you know, at least a sack every game, it seems like. 0:04:32.600 --> 0:04:34.920 And this this is a good football team. This is 0:04:34.920 --> 0:04:38.360 a pretty darn good offensive line. I mean, it's it's solid. 0:04:39.680 --> 0:04:41.839 I look at their numbers. I look at the personnel, 0:04:42.279 --> 0:04:44.960 and then I look at them statistically, and I can't 0:04:45.000 --> 0:04:47.960 figure out how they're seven and six the number there's 0:04:48.040 --> 0:04:50.320 there's not any clearing thing. It's like, oh, that's the 0:04:50.360 --> 0:04:52.960 reason they lost, you know, some of these football games. 0:04:53.120 --> 0:04:55.400 But this is a pretty good, pretty good football team. 0:04:55.400 --> 0:04:57.640 And Garrett Bowls is a good left tackle, particularly in 0:04:57.640 --> 0:05:00.200 pass protection, a very good athlete. He's got very good 0:05:00.200 --> 0:05:04.039 movement skills. So having Trey Hendricks out there is a big, 0:05:04.080 --> 0:05:07.040 big plus. There's there's no question about it. And uh 0:05:07.240 --> 0:05:09.960 and it would have been a tough blow, to say 0:05:10.000 --> 0:05:12.640 the least, to not have him for any extended time frame. 0:05:12.880 --> 0:05:15.160 How big is the Mike munshack factor when you talk 0:05:15.200 --> 0:05:19.000 about Denver's offensive line? Huge? I think munchak is uh 0:05:19.800 --> 0:05:22.320 is as good as there is in the National Football League. 0:05:22.680 --> 0:05:26.560 He's a great player, and he's made He's developed a 0:05:26.560 --> 0:05:29.560 lot of players. You know, he'll take good players and 0:05:29.680 --> 0:05:33.280 make them great, great players and make them Hall of famers. 0:05:33.040 --> 0:05:38.800 He just he elevates guys over time. He just his way, 0:05:38.880 --> 0:05:42.120 the way he teaches it. He simplifies to the point 0:05:42.160 --> 0:05:45.000 where players are it's an easy thing to respond to, 0:05:45.440 --> 0:05:48.080 and I think they respond to him as a former 0:05:48.160 --> 0:05:51.240 player and a great former player, Hall of Fame caliber 0:05:51.279 --> 0:05:55.040 player and um, and he's got a track record from 0:05:55.040 --> 0:05:58.760 a coaching standpoint that is something that you know, I'm 0:05:58.800 --> 0:06:00.400 going to listen to this guy. He knows what he's 0:06:00.400 --> 0:06:04.000 talking about, and he's got a great reputation and uh, 0:06:04.240 --> 0:06:07.240 it's it's a reputation that's well earned, well deserved, and 0:06:07.480 --> 0:06:10.159 I think as players, you know, basically worship the ground 0:06:10.160 --> 0:06:12.760 he walks on it. Getting back to injuries, I'm sure 0:06:12.839 --> 0:06:14.960 Riley Reef would play if he could, but it sounds 0:06:15.000 --> 0:06:16.839 like the ankle injury is bad enough that he'll be 0:06:16.880 --> 0:06:20.600 out this week, so Isaiah Prince goes instead. How big 0:06:20.640 --> 0:06:22.680 of a drop off is there from a guy with 0:06:22.760 --> 0:06:25.000 a decade of snaps in the NFL to a guy 0:06:25.080 --> 0:06:27.839 who's barely started in Isaiah Prince. Yeah, I mean, I 0:06:27.880 --> 0:06:30.039 think I think the big thing is when when you 0:06:30.080 --> 0:06:32.960 start going against defenses that will run, you know, some 0:06:33.040 --> 0:06:37.120 different looks and different things, and defensively they will they'll 0:06:37.120 --> 0:06:39.680 go to a five man look out of their base defense, 0:06:40.120 --> 0:06:42.360 and they'll they'll change it up a little bit. They'll 0:06:42.440 --> 0:06:45.400 run they'll cover the center and the and the and 0:06:45.480 --> 0:06:48.680 the offensive tackles, and then they'll have two edge guys 0:06:48.720 --> 0:06:51.880 outside of those offensive tackles and leave the guards uncovered 0:06:51.960 --> 0:06:54.320 like a three four look. But then they'll run five 0:06:54.400 --> 0:06:58.120 defensive linemen and they'll cover the center, the guard, and 0:06:58.160 --> 0:07:00.400 the tackle away from the tight end. That's called under 0:07:00.920 --> 0:07:03.240 with five defensive lamon and two to the other side, 0:07:03.480 --> 0:07:06.080 and then they'll go over. They'll stack it, you know, 0:07:06.240 --> 0:07:08.520 center guard and tackle to the tight end side and 0:07:08.640 --> 0:07:11.800 leave the opposite guard uncovered. So they do they do 0:07:11.840 --> 0:07:14.560 a few different looks up front, and they'll do different 0:07:14.560 --> 0:07:17.560 things out of it, different twists and different blitz packages. 0:07:17.600 --> 0:07:21.280 So um, I think I think that there is there 0:07:21.360 --> 0:07:24.600 is a little bit of recognition and communication and making 0:07:24.640 --> 0:07:27.000 sure you're you're all on the same page. And I 0:07:27.040 --> 0:07:29.280 think that's the thing where Riley reef a lot of 0:07:29.320 --> 0:07:30.960 this would be like, oh man, this is kind of 0:07:31.000 --> 0:07:34.160 an old hat, second nature, whereas Isaiah princes like this 0:07:34.240 --> 0:07:36.160 might be the first time I've seen some of this stuff. 0:07:36.440 --> 0:07:38.920 So I think that's that's the big thing, is the 0:07:39.120 --> 0:07:41.040 is the mental part of it. I think. I think 0:07:41.040 --> 0:07:46.320 physically he's getting better and better. And like Brian Callahan said, 0:07:46.360 --> 0:07:48.720 he's got two things. He's got length, and he's got 0:07:48.760 --> 0:07:52.200 an athleticism. And if you've got some leverage to you 0:07:52.320 --> 0:07:54.680 and you can move, you have a shot. I mean 0:07:54.720 --> 0:07:56.640 it starts with your feet and ends with the hands. 0:07:56.720 --> 0:08:01.040 If you've got long levels that are manipulating operating those hands, 0:08:01.280 --> 0:08:02.800 and you get a fee to get you in position, 0:08:02.800 --> 0:08:04.760 you get a chance to block people in this league. 0:08:05.920 --> 0:08:08.640 Darius Phillips went on injured reserve with a shoulder injury 0:08:08.680 --> 0:08:11.480 on Tuesday. He obviously had a lousy game last week. 0:08:11.520 --> 0:08:14.280 I think the piling on was a little excessive. It's 0:08:14.280 --> 0:08:17.080 not like he'd fumbled a million times this year and 0:08:17.120 --> 0:08:19.280 he'd done a reasonably good job as a kickoff and 0:08:19.480 --> 0:08:22.440 put returner. But I digress, who do you think steps 0:08:22.440 --> 0:08:25.160 in as the punt returner and as the kickoff returner. 0:08:25.760 --> 0:08:28.480 That's a good question. I mean I think that you 0:08:28.520 --> 0:08:30.840 know you're gonna think Irwin probably is is a guy 0:08:30.880 --> 0:08:35.079 that they're they're given strong consideration too. Um. The thing 0:08:35.080 --> 0:08:38.440 with Tyler Boyd is you know it's a he's going 0:08:38.520 --> 0:08:41.000 to be running a lot of routes as a as 0:08:41.160 --> 0:08:44.360 you know, the third as in those three receiver packages, 0:08:44.400 --> 0:08:48.760 as a slot receiver, and particularly this week, the thin air. 0:08:49.200 --> 0:08:51.520 Do you run a go route? You know, and then 0:08:51.559 --> 0:08:54.720 you're you know, you're you're running a few of those 0:08:54.800 --> 0:08:57.240 during the course of the game, and there's fatigue kind 0:08:57.240 --> 0:08:58.720 of wears on you more and more, and then you're 0:08:58.720 --> 0:09:01.280 a return guy. You add that responsibility to it, and 0:09:02.080 --> 0:09:04.680 you know, I just I just think that it's uh, 0:09:04.720 --> 0:09:07.200 I don't know, maybe I'm overthinking it, but I think 0:09:07.200 --> 0:09:09.240 that this week it might be a little bit a 0:09:09.280 --> 0:09:11.200 little bit much to ask. And I think in general, 0:09:12.120 --> 0:09:14.920 if you're hoping that the offense is out there for 0:09:15.000 --> 0:09:17.040 the number of snaps that are out there, and he's 0:09:17.120 --> 0:09:20.800 running routes on every single high percentage of those snaps, 0:09:20.800 --> 0:09:23.480 not every single one of them. Some of them is blocking, obviously, 0:09:23.520 --> 0:09:26.520 but to add that to it, I think is a 0:09:26.520 --> 0:09:29.520 pretty pretty good load. I'm not saying he can't do it. 0:09:30.000 --> 0:09:33.080 I'm saying I know guys have done it in the past. 0:09:33.480 --> 0:09:35.360 You know, back in the day when we walked in 0:09:35.440 --> 0:09:37.640 a foot of snow and had to walk five miles 0:09:38.040 --> 0:09:41.240 to school, guys were doing that. Browth ways uphill. Guys 0:09:41.240 --> 0:09:44.719 were uphill both ways. Guys were doing that kind of stuff. Um, 0:09:45.120 --> 0:09:47.680 But the game was so much different, you know, and 0:09:47.920 --> 0:09:50.800 there's so much smarter about a lot of things in 0:09:50.880 --> 0:09:53.160 terms of player overload and player safety and all that 0:09:53.200 --> 0:09:56.960 sort of thing. So there's there's a lot to consider there. 0:09:57.360 --> 0:10:00.520 But I think I think Irwin. The thing that Irwin 0:10:00.960 --> 0:10:04.920 has shown is he'll catch the football. And I don't 0:10:05.000 --> 0:10:08.800 care the very first thing that has to happen. In 0:10:08.920 --> 0:10:11.480 Darren Simmons, I've heard him screaming many many times over 0:10:11.520 --> 0:10:15.480 the years, first thing, catch the football, you know. I mean, 0:10:15.480 --> 0:10:18.040 it doesn't do any good if you're a dynamic return 0:10:18.080 --> 0:10:19.840 guy and the balls rolling around the ground and they're 0:10:19.880 --> 0:10:22.439 falling on top of it. Kuka Williams up from the 0:10:22.480 --> 0:10:26.120 practice glad to return kicks. Yeah, he's really struggled, you know, 0:10:26.240 --> 0:10:27.920 the last game that he that he did it, and 0:10:28.240 --> 0:10:31.079 that's the small sample size you hate to label a guy. 0:10:31.800 --> 0:10:33.400 I don't think he can do it, because he's shown 0:10:33.440 --> 0:10:37.840 he can, UM. So it'll be interesting if that's another option, 0:10:38.400 --> 0:10:41.959 and if Darren Simmons decides, you know, that's that's something 0:10:42.000 --> 0:10:46.120 to think about. You You do think though, in Denver 0:10:46.520 --> 0:10:50.280 in the rarefied air. I mean the kickers. I remember 0:10:50.880 --> 0:10:53.160 all of our place kickers, punters. Everybody's like, oh my 0:10:53.320 --> 0:10:55.960 gosh if I punted here my whole career. You know, 0:10:56.080 --> 0:10:58.000 how do you not make the Pro Bowl here? With this? 0:10:58.360 --> 0:11:02.120 There's there's absolutely nothing that is is preventing the football 0:11:02.240 --> 0:11:04.600 from from coming back to earth, you know. I mean 0:11:04.920 --> 0:11:08.120 you get a lot of more distance. The higher you're 0:11:08.160 --> 0:11:10.880 talking about in the elevation, the more of a factor 0:11:10.920 --> 0:11:15.479 it is. And for the for the punters and place kickers, 0:11:14.360 --> 0:11:17.920 it's a it's a big plus. Although you know, I 0:11:17.960 --> 0:11:20.720 will say that obviously every year you're going to have 0:11:20.760 --> 0:11:24.480 the place kicker for the Denver Broncos have have big 0:11:24.559 --> 0:11:27.600 range and also have a ton of touchbacks, and this 0:11:27.679 --> 0:11:31.240 year's McManus is no exception. Fifty one touchbacks third the NFL. 0:11:31.679 --> 0:11:34.480 You know, you're you're crushing the football up there in 0:11:34.559 --> 0:11:39.440 that air, but I still I'd hang it high and 0:11:39.559 --> 0:11:41.560 get it up there. I mean, you could probably almost 0:11:41.559 --> 0:11:43.760 feel like it's going to the moon before it comes 0:11:43.800 --> 0:11:46.560 back to Earth. You could pin people inside the twenty 0:11:47.559 --> 0:11:50.040 multiple times. And it's happened to the Bengals this year 0:11:50.120 --> 0:11:53.360 when they've had those high trajectory kickoff returns, they haven't 0:11:53.360 --> 0:11:56.480 gotten bolt past the twenty yard line. The Bengals have 0:11:56.600 --> 0:12:00.560 been wildly unpredictable from week to week. Is that part 0:12:00.600 --> 0:12:03.720 of the learning process for a young team that hasn't 0:12:03.720 --> 0:12:07.400 been in contention for several years. Yeah, I think I 0:12:07.440 --> 0:12:09.600 think it is. I think that that is part of it. 0:12:11.240 --> 0:12:14.400 I just I think that you look around the National 0:12:14.400 --> 0:12:17.160 Football League, like we said, Dan, so many teams are 0:12:17.160 --> 0:12:19.400 in the Huntsdale and one of the reasons that so 0:12:19.440 --> 0:12:21.400 many teams are in the hunt one of the reasons 0:12:21.440 --> 0:12:25.280 for it is the inconsistency of play from one week 0:12:25.320 --> 0:12:28.400 to the next. We've kind of documented on on a 0:12:28.400 --> 0:12:30.920 week to week basis. But you know, the one thing 0:12:30.920 --> 0:12:34.199 that this football team has done, you know, they've they've 0:12:34.880 --> 0:12:38.560 they've had three wins by nineteen points or four wins 0:12:38.559 --> 0:12:41.160 by nineteen points or more, and two losses by nineteen 0:12:41.200 --> 0:12:44.080 points more. So it's been you know, really really good 0:12:44.080 --> 0:12:48.000 and really really bad and everything in between. I would 0:12:48.000 --> 0:12:52.079 like to see here down the playoffs stretch as such, 0:12:52.200 --> 0:12:55.440 the push to the playoffs, that they start to play 0:12:56.160 --> 0:13:03.400 very very good, consistent, complimentary football, complete football games. All 0:13:03.480 --> 0:13:06.320 three phases. It hasn't happened yet this year, and I'd 0:13:06.320 --> 0:13:09.040 like to see it happen, you know, boy, a couple 0:13:09.120 --> 0:13:11.880 of times in the last four games, maybe more if possible, 0:13:11.920 --> 0:13:15.240 But to have one of those games where everything clicked, 0:13:15.800 --> 0:13:19.440 it hasn't hasn't occurred yet. It's come close, but even 0:13:19.480 --> 0:13:21.720 in their wins when they pulled away, it's been a 0:13:21.800 --> 0:13:24.439 game until they've pulled away in the in the third 0:13:24.520 --> 0:13:26.360 or fourth quarter. I mean, I'd like to see him 0:13:26.400 --> 0:13:29.320 play with the lead. You know, they really haven't jumped 0:13:29.320 --> 0:13:32.880 out to an early lead in a football game where 0:13:33.120 --> 0:13:36.160 it changes the dynamic of everything, of the play calling 0:13:36.160 --> 0:13:38.840 on both sides of the football, it changes changes the 0:13:38.840 --> 0:13:42.480 whole whole ball of acts. I mean, you know, we 0:13:42.600 --> 0:13:45.280 talked about the two game losing streak at home. They 0:13:45.320 --> 0:13:48.280 never had a lead in eight quarters until overtime. That's 0:13:48.280 --> 0:13:51.400 the first lead they had was by three points in overtime. 0:13:52.400 --> 0:13:55.480 You know, you dig yourself holes like that because now 0:13:55.520 --> 0:13:58.600 they know what it's like. They've had to dig out 0:13:58.600 --> 0:14:02.280 a twenty four point hole, twenty four nothing. They're down 0:14:02.679 --> 0:14:05.400 two scores in the fourth quarter because they've had to 0:14:05.400 --> 0:14:07.760 dig out of a hole. If they start doing that 0:14:07.800 --> 0:14:12.360 to other people a little bit. It's a totally different 0:14:12.400 --> 0:14:14.160 game of football. I can tell you I've been on 0:14:14.200 --> 0:14:17.000 both sides of it, and it is night and day 0:14:17.360 --> 0:14:20.760 for an offensive lineman how difficult it is and how 0:14:20.760 --> 0:14:24.040 easy it is, and how your mental approach is affected 0:14:24.040 --> 0:14:27.320 by that. So three years ago, when teams are looking 0:14:27.320 --> 0:14:31.560 to hire head coaches, the Broncos zigged where everybody else zagged. 0:14:31.760 --> 0:14:33.520 The Bengals were one of the teams and this was 0:14:33.600 --> 0:14:36.480 the norm that went for the hot, young, offensive minded coach, 0:14:36.840 --> 0:14:38.920 and the Broncos went to a sixty year old guy 0:14:38.920 --> 0:14:41.360 who had been an NFL defensive coordinator for a couple 0:14:41.400 --> 0:14:44.800 of decades in Vic Fangio, and obviously he's had tremendous 0:14:44.840 --> 0:14:48.200 success as a defensive coordinator in the NFL. The Broncos 0:14:48.200 --> 0:14:50.280 are number two in the NFL, and FEUs points allowed, 0:14:50.560 --> 0:14:54.800 what stands out about a Vic Fangio coach defense, Yeah, 0:14:54.440 --> 0:15:00.920 it's that everybody, the personnel that they choose, fits his 0:15:01.000 --> 0:15:03.640 scheme very well. He has a real good feel for 0:15:03.800 --> 0:15:07.920 that part of it. And they all are very very disciplined. 0:15:08.200 --> 0:15:10.440 They're all where they're supposed to be when they're supposed 0:15:10.440 --> 0:15:13.160 to be there. They don't necessarily have guys that jump 0:15:13.200 --> 0:15:16.560 off tape like wow, well geez, look at that. But man, 0:15:17.000 --> 0:15:21.560 it's like an amiba. I mean, it's totally in conjunction. 0:15:21.600 --> 0:15:24.800 There's no disjointedness to it anywhere. Watching them on tape, 0:15:24.800 --> 0:15:28.920 it's it's so fluid, it's it is. It's like it's choreographed. 0:15:28.960 --> 0:15:33.240 I mean, it's amazing to watch. And that's you know, 0:15:33.320 --> 0:15:37.080 that's that's the thing about that that defense. I do 0:15:37.160 --> 0:15:40.080 think they do have great players in the secondary. I 0:15:40.120 --> 0:15:43.520 think it's the best back end combined maybe in the 0:15:43.600 --> 0:15:46.200 National Football League. I think it's as good as anybody's. 0:15:46.520 --> 0:15:48.400 And when you look at it, one of the great 0:15:48.440 --> 0:15:51.640 matchups in this game are the three Bengals wide receivers, Chase, 0:15:51.720 --> 0:15:54.840 Higgins and Boyd sixty catches, fifty seven and fifty five. 0:15:55.280 --> 0:15:57.840 No other team has three wide receivers with fifty five 0:15:57.920 --> 0:16:00.720 or more catches. They got three players. But it's running 0:16:00.760 --> 0:16:03.000 backs are tight ends and that sort of thing against 0:16:03.160 --> 0:16:05.520 you know, these two guys in the secondary. Simmons is 0:16:05.560 --> 0:16:08.200 safety with five picks is tied for third in the league, 0:16:08.400 --> 0:16:10.720 and Sir Tan with four is tied for eighth in 0:16:10.760 --> 0:16:14.720 the National Football League. Nobody else has a duo, a 0:16:14.800 --> 0:16:19.240 dynamic duel with nine interceptions, and nobody else has a 0:16:19.360 --> 0:16:22.400 terrific trio of wide receivers that are as balanced is 0:16:22.400 --> 0:16:24.240 what the Banks have. So it's gonna be a it's 0:16:24.240 --> 0:16:27.000 going to be a very interesting, interesting battle, I think 0:16:27.760 --> 0:16:31.640 in that way. But it's put together well, it's constructed 0:16:31.680 --> 0:16:35.040 as schematic is so is so sound. They're they're very, 0:16:35.120 --> 0:16:38.080 very stout defensively. And I have to give credit to 0:16:38.120 --> 0:16:41.880 my former first roommate I ever had with the Cincinnati Bengals, 0:16:41.880 --> 0:16:44.240 Billy Kohlar. He was the first pick of the draft 0:16:44.280 --> 0:16:46.760 in my draft in nineteen seventy four, first round pick 0:16:47.000 --> 0:16:49.880 for the Bengals out of Montana State, and I played 0:16:49.880 --> 0:16:51.280 with him in the Senior Bowl and he won the 0:16:51.280 --> 0:16:53.600 Dodge Charger. He was player of the game, he won, 0:16:53.760 --> 0:16:55.320 he won the new car. He was driving around in 0:16:55.320 --> 0:16:58.600 a baby blue Dodge Charger convertible, so he was he 0:16:58.640 --> 0:17:02.440 was pimping all over the place. Man. But just a 0:17:02.560 --> 0:17:07.639 great player in terms of I mean first step quickness, relentless, 0:17:07.680 --> 0:17:11.320 just effort guy. That's how his defensive lineman all play, 0:17:11.560 --> 0:17:14.199 they penetrate. He was. He was unbelievable that way, he 0:17:14.200 --> 0:17:17.399 would penetrate, disrupt. That's that's what he believes in. He 0:17:17.480 --> 0:17:19.600 doesn't like this two gap stuff. He wants to get 0:17:19.600 --> 0:17:21.960 an edge. He wants to trade, he wants to disrupt. 0:17:22.280 --> 0:17:24.440 And all of his defensive lineman are you know, want 0:17:24.440 --> 0:17:26.160 to take a look at it. And it's like, oh, 0:17:26.200 --> 0:17:29.440 that's Billy Kohler's influence right there. Boy, I think Chub 0:17:29.520 --> 0:17:31.960 is their best guy, you know now on the edges 0:17:32.280 --> 0:17:35.520 from a rusher standpoint. But this this kid, Jones ninety three, 0:17:36.359 --> 0:17:38.520 he's a disruptive guy. I can. I can just hear 0:17:38.600 --> 0:17:41.000 Billy right now standing right behind him in practice in 0:17:41.040 --> 0:17:43.760 his ear. Come on, Jones, come on, give me something, 0:17:44.000 --> 0:17:45.600 give me all you got. I mean, that's just the 0:17:45.640 --> 0:17:48.639 way he He was a son of a gun in 0:17:48.720 --> 0:17:51.480 pass rushtral I mean he would he would bring he 0:17:51.480 --> 0:17:53.920 would bring it in in one on one pass rushtrol 0:17:54.200 --> 0:17:56.240 like it was the you know, the last quarter of 0:17:56.240 --> 0:17:59.160 the Super Bowl. He was just a great effort guy. 0:18:00.280 --> 0:18:02.800 So that's what they have up front. Then they have 0:18:02.880 --> 0:18:05.639 linebackers that can run behind those guys, and then they 0:18:05.680 --> 0:18:09.600 have that that secondary. So it's well conceived, it's well 0:18:09.640 --> 0:18:12.639 put together, and like you said Dan their second in 0:18:12.680 --> 0:18:16.000 the NFL h in points aloud, They're only given up 0:18:16.640 --> 0:18:20.240 like seventeen point eight points per game in their wins. 0:18:20.880 --> 0:18:25.120 In their wins, it's it's crazy. They've they've allowed ten 0:18:25.160 --> 0:18:28.520 point seven points per game in their victories. In the 0:18:28.600 --> 0:18:31.320 seven wins, they've only given up seventy five points. The 0:18:31.400 --> 0:18:33.920 most that anybody scored against them as sixteen points by 0:18:33.920 --> 0:18:37.080 the Cowboys down in Dallas. The Chargers they held to 0:18:37.200 --> 0:18:41.080 thirteen points. I mean, that's that's getting it done. So 0:18:42.800 --> 0:18:45.560 this defense, it bends, but it doesn't break. I mean 0:18:45.560 --> 0:18:47.680 they do. They do a lot of things well. Their 0:18:47.720 --> 0:18:50.359 second in the NFL and first downs allowed as well. 0:18:50.560 --> 0:18:52.560 I mean they keep you out of the end zone. 0:18:53.240 --> 0:18:55.760 They don't allow you to move the chains all that easily. 0:18:56.320 --> 0:18:58.440 It's uh. The Bengals are seventh in the NFL and 0:18:58.520 --> 0:19:01.080 scoring their second in the NFL and points allowed. The 0:19:01.240 --> 0:19:04.960 red zone. Defense is good. Defensively, they're eighth in the NFL, 0:19:05.320 --> 0:19:07.879 allowing a touchdown only fifty one point seven percent of 0:19:07.920 --> 0:19:10.760 the time seven times. They haven't allowed a point. That's 0:19:10.800 --> 0:19:12.959 in the top ten in the league. So it's going 0:19:13.000 --> 0:19:16.720 to be it'll definitely be a big, big battle between 0:19:17.280 --> 0:19:21.080 between the Bengals offense in that Denver Broncos defense. It's 0:19:21.080 --> 0:19:23.639 going to be a stirring battle and the Jones. You 0:19:23.720 --> 0:19:26.840 mentioned Draymond Jones as a former Buckeye who was from 0:19:26.840 --> 0:19:30.399 Cleveland Saint Ignatious High School. The Broncos, like the Bengals, 0:19:30.400 --> 0:19:34.000 are seven and six. Denverse started three and zero, but 0:19:34.080 --> 0:19:36.040 then you look at the teams they beat. The Giants 0:19:36.040 --> 0:19:38.040 are four and nine, the Jags are two and eleven, 0:19:38.119 --> 0:19:40.440 the Jets are three and ten, so that's combined nine 0:19:40.480 --> 0:19:43.439 and thirty. Then they lost four in a row, including 0:19:43.480 --> 0:19:46.360 the other three teams in the AFC North, the Ravens, Steelers, 0:19:46.359 --> 0:19:48.720 and Browns all beat them. They've gone four and two. 0:19:48.760 --> 0:19:51.200 Since you referenced the Dallas game, that was a great win, 0:19:51.280 --> 0:19:54.359 thirty to sixteen in Dallas. They won by four touchdowns 0:19:54.440 --> 0:19:58.800 last week against Detroit. If the Bengals play their a game, 0:19:59.200 --> 0:20:03.680 they're low turnover a game, which we've seen on obviously 0:20:03.760 --> 0:20:08.120 several occasions this year. Did the Bengals win I think? 0:20:08.200 --> 0:20:09.840 I think that's what they're going to have to do 0:20:09.880 --> 0:20:12.919 to win the football game, because that's one thing that 0:20:13.040 --> 0:20:15.760 Denver doesn't do. They don't give the ball away. You know, 0:20:15.760 --> 0:20:20.280 they're turnovers are They've only got fifteen giveaways, tied for 0:20:20.359 --> 0:20:24.040 seventh in the National Football League. So you mentioned Vic Fangio. 0:20:24.240 --> 0:20:26.560 He wants to run the football. I mean in the 0:20:26.920 --> 0:20:30.840 games that they've run the ball thirty in their last 0:20:30.840 --> 0:20:33.720 five games, they've won three and lost two. And the 0:20:33.760 --> 0:20:35.840 games they've won them, they've run the ball thirty or 0:20:35.880 --> 0:20:38.800 more times. In the games they've lost, they've thrown it 0:20:38.920 --> 0:20:42.640 thirty more times. So their formula is run the football. 0:20:42.840 --> 0:20:45.320 Against Detroit they ran the ball twenty eighth straight times, 0:20:45.640 --> 0:20:48.080 So they want to he wants to pound the ball. 0:20:48.440 --> 0:20:50.639 He wants to control the clock, and they've done a 0:20:50.680 --> 0:20:52.880 great job of that. They're fifth in the NFL thirty 0:20:52.960 --> 0:20:55.919 one minutes and thirty seven seconds a game. Because on 0:20:56.040 --> 0:20:57.920 fourth down, Dan, that's the other thing on this game. 0:20:58.359 --> 0:21:02.000 Fourth down, they've gone fourteen for twenty two. That's a 0:21:02.000 --> 0:21:03.880 lot of attempts and a lot of success. That's tied 0:21:03.920 --> 0:21:06.400 for second best in league. It's sixty three point six percent. 0:21:07.240 --> 0:21:10.000 Team's gone at board against them too, twenty three times. 0:21:10.040 --> 0:21:13.520