WEBVTT - Bengals Booth Podcast: Begin Again 0:00:03.600 --> 0:00:06.519 Hi again everybody. I'm Dan Hord and thanks for downloading 0:00:06.559 --> 0:00:12.639 The Bengals Booth Podcast. The I watched it begin again. Addition, 0:00:13.119 --> 0:00:15.600 as the Bengals emerged from their bye week looking to 0:00:15.640 --> 0:00:18.400 climb over five hundred for the first time this year 0:00:18.440 --> 0:00:22.120 as they face the San Francisco forty nine Ers coming up, 0:00:22.200 --> 0:00:25.160 Dave Lapham joins me to discuss a wide variety of topics, 0:00:25.160 --> 0:00:28.960 including the state of the offensive line, the possibility of 0:00:29.000 --> 0:00:32.919 trading for a tight end, and what he'll say if 0:00:32.920 --> 0:00:37.120 he runs into Joe Montana in San Francisco. I'll talk 0:00:37.159 --> 0:00:40.000 to safety Nick Scott, who faced the forty nine Ers 0:00:40.120 --> 0:00:43.639 nine times in the last four years, and we'll hear 0:00:43.640 --> 0:00:47.920 from Brian Callahan on jump starting the Bengals offense after 0:00:47.960 --> 0:00:50.760 the bye. The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you 0:00:50.800 --> 0:00:53.960 by pay Corps, Proud to be the Bengals official HR 0:00:54.120 --> 0:00:59.320 software provider, by Alta Fiber future proof fiber Internet designed 0:00:59.320 --> 0:01:01.800 to elevate your home, own business, and community to a 0:01:01.840 --> 0:01:05.800 new level, and by Kettering Health the best care for 0:01:05.920 --> 0:01:10.080 the best fans. Kettering Health is the official healthcare provider 0:01:10.319 --> 0:01:13.319 of the Bengals. Now here's a quick reminder that you 0:01:13.360 --> 0:01:16.720 can have the latest edition of this podcast delivered right 0:01:16.760 --> 0:01:20.240 to your phone, tablet, or computer by subscribing wherever you 0:01:20.280 --> 0:01:25.520 get your podcasts. It's the greatest thing since fall golf. 0:01:26.440 --> 0:01:30.400 My golf season basically ends when Bengals training camp begins, 0:01:30.760 --> 0:01:33.280 but I had the opportunity to play this weekend because 0:01:33.319 --> 0:01:36.240 of the bye, and I was reminded of how enjoyable 0:01:36.240 --> 0:01:38.880 it is to play this time of the year. The 0:01:38.959 --> 0:01:42.840 fall foliage was spectacular, as the leaves were various shades 0:01:42.880 --> 0:01:46.920 of yellow, orange, red, green, and brown. The course was 0:01:46.959 --> 0:01:49.200 mostly empty since a lot of people put their clubs 0:01:49.200 --> 0:01:53.120 away after Labor Day, and the temperature was cool but comfortable. 0:01:53.680 --> 0:01:57.720 The only negative was my play from the thirteenth hole on. 0:01:58.560 --> 0:02:01.560 For the first twelve holes, I was a stud. For 0:02:01.640 --> 0:02:06.120 the last six I was a dud. Now let's get 0:02:06.120 --> 0:02:12.000 the football, beginning with my conversation with Dave Lapham. Now 0:02:12.000 --> 0:02:14.680 that Joe Burrow is fully healthy, or at least close 0:02:14.760 --> 0:02:17.960 to it, do you expect the offense to take off? 0:02:18.720 --> 0:02:22.720 I do you know? I think it maybe not right away, 0:02:23.040 --> 0:02:26.640 but I do think that it'll ramp up fairly quickly, 0:02:27.680 --> 0:02:30.360 and it's a ripple effect with Joe being able to 0:02:30.400 --> 0:02:34.079 move around. I mean, the protection will be better, defenses 0:02:34.040 --> 0:02:38.200 will have to honor more things, and honestly, it'll help 0:02:38.240 --> 0:02:41.080 the running game because right now, people are crowding the 0:02:41.080 --> 0:02:43.120 line of scrimmage. You know, they don't feel like the 0:02:43.120 --> 0:02:45.440 Bengals are going to attack the deep cordiners of the 0:02:45.440 --> 0:02:48.359 football field, and every time they take the field it's 0:02:48.360 --> 0:02:50.399 like they're in the red zone, of the low red zone, 0:02:50.440 --> 0:02:55.720 it seems like. So I think a healthy, close to 0:02:55.760 --> 0:02:57.880 one hundred percent Joe Burrow is going to make a 0:02:57.960 --> 0:03:00.000 huge difference, a big ripple effect, I think offense. 0:03:01.280 --> 0:03:04.919 Are there other significant issues though that haven't been talked 0:03:04.960 --> 0:03:08.639 about much because we've all been so focused on Joe's calf. 0:03:09.520 --> 0:03:13.120 Yeah, I mean, can the running game be better? Heck yeah, 0:03:13.240 --> 0:03:15.800 I mean there's no question. I was looking at it 0:03:15.880 --> 0:03:18.680 during the bye week and they're being out rushed by 0:03:18.680 --> 0:03:21.880 seventy three yards. That's the worst in the league teams 0:03:21.919 --> 0:03:26.639 out rushing an opponent. They're average per care the efficiency 0:03:26.760 --> 0:03:28.640 part of it, they're minus a yard and a half 0:03:28.880 --> 0:03:32.160 worse than the league. So, you know, the numbers don't lie. 0:03:32.200 --> 0:03:35.040 I mean, the running game hasn't been there. The efficiency 0:03:35.040 --> 0:03:37.360 of the running game hasn't been there. They're going to 0:03:37.400 --> 0:03:40.840 have to, you know, make it at least something that 0:03:40.920 --> 0:03:44.240 defenses have to consider. You know, it's it's going to 0:03:44.320 --> 0:03:46.520 have to pick up the pick up the pace there 0:03:46.600 --> 0:03:52.320 as such, and whether it's tweaking a schematic or evaluating 0:03:52.720 --> 0:03:54.640 what you're doing, how you're doing it, with whom you're 0:03:54.680 --> 0:03:58.000 doing it. That's what the bye week was all about. 0:03:58.040 --> 0:04:00.440 That's what you spend time doing the those kind of 0:04:00.480 --> 0:04:05.480 things for. So hopefully they obviously got their due diligence 0:04:05.520 --> 0:04:07.040 done there and we'll see what the outcome is. 0:04:07.520 --> 0:04:10.560 Along those lines, Brian Callahan discussed the possibility of having 0:04:10.640 --> 0:04:13.240 Burrow under center more now that his calf is better. 0:04:13.520 --> 0:04:16.480 Do you think that would significantly help the running game? 0:04:17.040 --> 0:04:20.799 I think yeah, I think that that is a that's 0:04:20.880 --> 0:04:24.240 definitely a factor. I probably they've been under center half 0:04:24.240 --> 0:04:26.800 a dozen times in the first six games. I mean, 0:04:26.839 --> 0:04:31.839 it's crazy. I think that that will at least give 0:04:31.880 --> 0:04:35.080 the defense something else to think about. And plus I 0:04:35.120 --> 0:04:37.760 think the play action game would be much more effective 0:04:37.760 --> 0:04:40.159 that way too, if in fact, you do show that 0:04:40.200 --> 0:04:43.479 you're serious about running the football when Joe's under center, 0:04:43.880 --> 0:04:46.120 can't be an automatic talent can't be like every time 0:04:46.120 --> 0:04:48.720 he's understand to running the football and every time he's 0:04:48.720 --> 0:04:50.320 in the shotgun and he's throwing the football. I mean, 0:04:50.839 --> 0:04:54.240 peebe football coaches would jump on that pretty quickly. So, 0:04:54.920 --> 0:04:58.160 but having a mix and being able to have more 0:04:58.200 --> 0:05:02.320 than one thing for defense to think about and prepare for, 0:05:02.520 --> 0:05:04.159 I think is an advantage. 0:05:04.760 --> 0:05:07.559 I checked out Pro Football focused grades. Through six games 0:05:07.600 --> 0:05:10.680 this season, Four of the five starting offensive linemen have 0:05:10.760 --> 0:05:14.960 grades in the sixties, which is okay, not great, not bad. 0:05:15.400 --> 0:05:17.960 The one exception is Cordell Vohlsen, with a grade of 0:05:18.000 --> 0:05:21.159 forty eight point two. His pass blocking grade is twenty 0:05:21.200 --> 0:05:24.120 three point five. How much of that is due to 0:05:24.120 --> 0:05:26.720 the guys that he's faced and how much of that 0:05:26.800 --> 0:05:27.719 is his level of play. 0:05:28.240 --> 0:05:33.520 I think it starts with who he's faced and a 0:05:33.560 --> 0:05:36.360 young player, and he's still a young player. You know, 0:05:37.600 --> 0:05:41.800 when you're going against guys that are that good, you 0:05:41.880 --> 0:05:44.520 start to question yourself. You know, it's like, man, all 0:05:44.560 --> 0:05:46.400 of a sudden, it's saying, am I doing the right thing? 0:05:46.440 --> 0:05:51.720 And then I've been there where you watch tape and 0:05:51.800 --> 0:05:54.440 it's like, did I really do that? You don't even 0:05:54.480 --> 0:05:57.919 realize you're doing it. It's almost like fight or flight time. 0:05:58.200 --> 0:06:01.320 So you're not gonna fly fly, gonna fight. And when 0:06:01.320 --> 0:06:04.159 you get overly aggressive and forget about your techniques and 0:06:04.160 --> 0:06:06.360 it's like, all right, well he whip my, but I'm 0:06:06.360 --> 0:06:08.560 gonna go kick his butt right now. Well, you can't 0:06:08.880 --> 0:06:10.760 throw out you know what you're supposed to be doing 0:06:10.800 --> 0:06:13.200 and how you're supposed to be doing it, and and 0:06:13.440 --> 0:06:17.280 it's it's not it's not super obvious, but all all 0:06:17.720 --> 0:06:19.200 is a little bit more of a lean. When you're 0:06:19.240 --> 0:06:20.760 trying to be a little bit more aggressive or get 0:06:20.800 --> 0:06:23.280 your hands on a guy sooner, you know that that's 0:06:23.279 --> 0:06:26.040 the that's the panic mode I remember, is like all right, 0:06:26.080 --> 0:06:28.200 well I'm gonna get my when I could use my 0:06:28.279 --> 0:06:30.720 hands when they finally liberalize it, I'm gonna get my 0:06:30.800 --> 0:06:33.559 hands on the guy. Sometimes, you know, when you're trying 0:06:33.600 --> 0:06:36.159 too hard to get your hands on a player who's 0:06:36.160 --> 0:06:41.440 that elusive and combine speed with power and uh you know, 0:06:42.720 --> 0:06:45.559 have quickness and short space quickness and all that everything 0:06:45.640 --> 0:06:48.039 goes along with it, those guys are hard to block 0:06:48.160 --> 0:06:52.560 and and so I think I think that's his biggest issue. 0:06:52.839 --> 0:06:55.040 And that's the thing with pro football focus that I've 0:06:55.040 --> 0:06:57.760 said over and over again. They don't factor any of 0:06:57.800 --> 0:07:00.440 that in. You know, there's no learning, there's no grading 0:07:00.440 --> 0:07:05.320 curve on that. You know. So it's like if you 0:07:05.360 --> 0:07:09.320 play against the number one interior defensive lineman and the 0:07:09.400 --> 0:07:12.040 league and Aaron Donald and he's one A and Simmons 0:07:12.040 --> 0:07:13.680 is one being. You get him back to back weeks, 0:07:14.680 --> 0:07:17.160 that's an adventure, and you know that's that's something that 0:07:18.640 --> 0:07:20.640 can be hard to deal with. I think the buy 0:07:21.320 --> 0:07:24.320 will do him good. Get away from it for a while, 0:07:24.800 --> 0:07:28.200 you know, clear your head, come back with an idea 0:07:28.200 --> 0:07:30.440 that I'm going to start. I'm going to start from 0:07:30.520 --> 0:07:32.520 square one again and I'm going to do the building blocks, 0:07:32.520 --> 0:07:36.280 and I'm going to get in my routine of exactly 0:07:36.280 --> 0:07:37.880 what I have to do step by step from a 0:07:37.920 --> 0:07:41.600 fundamentals and technique standpoint, and I'm gonna I'm gonna block 0:07:41.640 --> 0:07:44.040 my ass off for the last living games of the season. 0:07:44.920 --> 0:07:47.760 Orlando Brown Junior heard his growing in the Tennessee game, 0:07:48.000 --> 0:07:51.000 played through it, played the next game against Arizona, and 0:07:51.040 --> 0:07:53.440 then early in the most recent game against Seattle, he 0:07:53.480 --> 0:07:55.800 tweaked it and sat out the rest of the game. 0:07:56.160 --> 0:07:58.320 Were you surprised that Cody Ford was the guy that 0:07:58.360 --> 0:07:59.560 took his place at left tackle. 0:08:00.600 --> 0:08:04.960 You know, I didn't have an idea that that's where 0:08:05.000 --> 0:08:07.320 they were, that's where they were, you know, putting there 0:08:07.360 --> 0:08:12.760 too deeps. But from watching him, remembering how he played 0:08:13.040 --> 0:08:15.360 at the college level, you know, I guess not really. 0:08:15.520 --> 0:08:18.840 I mean, he came out of Oklahoma as a pretty 0:08:19.200 --> 0:08:23.080 highly graded tackle, his second round pick, higher pick than 0:08:23.200 --> 0:08:26.320 Orlando Brown was coming out of Oklahoma. So Orlando didn't 0:08:26.360 --> 0:08:30.560 have the greatest Pro day. But yeah, Cody Ford, he 0:08:30.640 --> 0:08:34.440 has he has some abilities, he has some natural power. 0:08:34.640 --> 0:08:38.040 I mean, he's a very physical dude. I thought he 0:08:38.320 --> 0:08:40.720 acquitted himself pretty well. I thought he did a darn 0:08:40.800 --> 0:08:42.680 good job in there when he when he went in 0:08:42.720 --> 0:08:49.320 there for Orlando Brown. So it's the National Football League. 0:08:49.360 --> 0:08:51.600 If you show up and you show that you're the 0:08:51.640 --> 0:08:55.200 guy on on a more consistent snap by snap basis 0:08:55.640 --> 0:08:57.880 and the coaches start to gain some confidence in what 0:08:57.920 --> 0:09:00.880 they're seeing, you're gonna get your shot. He got a shot, 0:09:01.000 --> 0:09:04.079 and he was ready to take advantage of his opportunity. 0:09:04.120 --> 0:09:06.040 And that's you know, that's a credit to him as well. 0:09:06.080 --> 0:09:08.480 You never know what's gonna happen, and you don't think 0:09:08.520 --> 0:09:12.920 it's gonna be with Orlando Brown necessarily, and he went 0:09:12.920 --> 0:09:16.200 out there and just kept his composure, kept his poise 0:09:16.280 --> 0:09:18.240 and executed his assignments. 0:09:18.760 --> 0:09:21.160 Orlando Brown Junior, by the way, says he will play 0:09:21.440 --> 0:09:24.280 this week at San Francisco. Let's turn the tight end. 0:09:24.400 --> 0:09:27.200 Irv Smith Junior has been dealing with a hamstring injury. 0:09:27.240 --> 0:09:29.400 He's only played in four out of the six games. 0:09:29.920 --> 0:09:34.720 It's unfair to make a determination on his status in 0:09:34.840 --> 0:09:36.760 terms of, you know, whether it's a good signing or 0:09:36.760 --> 0:09:40.000 a bad signing, whatever, but it is fair to say 0:09:40.000 --> 0:09:42.840 he has not produced much in the four games that 0:09:42.880 --> 0:09:45.720 he's played in. Are you wondering if he is a 0:09:45.760 --> 0:09:47.080 good fit in this offense? 0:09:48.679 --> 0:09:51.320 From what I saw, you know, in the early stages 0:09:51.360 --> 0:09:56.720 of OTAs in training camp, it was almost like, yeah, 0:09:56.760 --> 0:09:59.559 this will be good now, this this looks like it's 0:09:59.559 --> 0:10:02.800 gonna it's going to be a good fit because I 0:10:02.800 --> 0:10:05.840 mean this is a pass offense. It's a pass first offense, 0:10:05.840 --> 0:10:09.320 and he's a receiving tight end more so than a 0:10:09.520 --> 0:10:13.080 You don't think of HERR Smith Jr. As man. He's 0:10:13.080 --> 0:10:15.200 a He's a dominant guy in the edge, you know, 0:10:15.240 --> 0:10:17.680 as a blocker. You think of him is almost like 0:10:17.800 --> 0:10:21.680 he's another wide receiver, big body, wide out at the 0:10:21.720 --> 0:10:24.480 tight end position, and that's what I was looking for 0:10:25.000 --> 0:10:27.120 with him. I thought he was gonna, you know, have 0:10:27.480 --> 0:10:30.760 a very big season with Joe Burrow and get on 0:10:30.800 --> 0:10:33.959 the same page pretty quickly. But you know, hamstring issues 0:10:33.960 --> 0:10:38.120 and injuries and whatever have curtailed that. Hopefully he's in 0:10:38.160 --> 0:10:41.560 a situation where he has the bye week is the 0:10:41.720 --> 0:10:45.280 is the final piece of allowing him to get totally healthy, 0:10:45.320 --> 0:10:48.360 because you know, hamstrings can be tricky too, depending on 0:10:48.360 --> 0:10:50.720 where his pull is. If it's up high by his buttocks, 0:10:50.760 --> 0:10:53.320 those are a pain in the box. If it's in 0:10:53.320 --> 0:10:57.880 the middle of his hamstring, you know, that's another less issue. 0:10:57.880 --> 0:11:00.880 If it's down by his knee, then that's even less 0:11:00.920 --> 0:11:04.160 of an issue. Mild hamstring. I think his is one 0:11:04.200 --> 0:11:06.680 of the other two. I think his at least mid, 0:11:06.760 --> 0:11:11.559 maybe high. But with the bye week, hopefully that's the 0:11:12.200 --> 0:11:15.960 final necessary time that he needs to get back to 0:11:16.000 --> 0:11:18.120 not having to be an issue whatsoever when he's out 0:11:18.120 --> 0:11:19.520 there trying to run full till. 0:11:20.000 --> 0:11:23.200 The Bengals historically have not given up draft picks to 0:11:23.280 --> 0:11:26.800 get players at the trade deadline, but history doesn't really 0:11:26.800 --> 0:11:29.080 seem to apply in the Joe Burrow era. They've done 0:11:29.120 --> 0:11:30.880 a lot of things that they did not do in 0:11:30.920 --> 0:11:34.439 the past. If you could add a tight end without 0:11:34.520 --> 0:11:39.880 giving up, say a first three rounds draft pick, so four, five, six, 0:11:40.000 --> 0:11:41.440 or seven, would you do it? 0:11:42.400 --> 0:11:45.000 I'd have to think about it, you know, I'd have 0:11:45.040 --> 0:11:48.040 to consider it depends you know what tight end the 0:11:48.080 --> 0:11:52.080 tight end that is available, and you know, if it's 0:11:52.400 --> 0:11:55.040 not given up a first, second, or third round er, 0:11:55.600 --> 0:11:58.360 you know what's the talent level of that tight end. 0:11:59.520 --> 0:12:03.880 I at this point, I would explore every option from 0:12:03.920 --> 0:12:06.960 a personnel standpoint that there is to explore. And I 0:12:07.000 --> 0:12:10.120 know they do that, and you know, I mean a 0:12:10.160 --> 0:12:12.080 lot of fans, Oh, that's just a waste of time, 0:12:12.120 --> 0:12:15.960 that's an exercise of futility. Well, there's always going to 0:12:15.960 --> 0:12:18.880 be the occasion where somebody becomes available that you didn't 0:12:18.880 --> 0:12:20.840 think was going to be available, and you didn't do 0:12:20.880 --> 0:12:24.120 your due diligence, you didn't do your homework, and other 0:12:24.160 --> 0:12:26.839 people took advantage of it because they did. And you're 0:12:26.880 --> 0:12:30.719 sitting there saying, only if you know I had done 0:12:30.720 --> 0:12:33.720 a little bit more so, I think at this point 0:12:34.880 --> 0:12:39.240 and burning the midnight oil going through every possible scenario 0:12:39.280 --> 0:12:43.120 that they can think of. And now are they making 0:12:43.160 --> 0:12:45.600 phone calls and trying to initiate things? I don't think so, 0:12:46.480 --> 0:12:50.000 But I think if they they're preparing themselves, if in 0:12:50.000 --> 0:12:53.000 fact they were to get a phone call and not 0:12:53.040 --> 0:12:56.680 get caught totally by surprise by that phone call and 0:12:56.720 --> 0:12:58.640 what that phone call was going to be talked about, 0:12:59.040 --> 0:13:01.480 I mean, I think I think you got to get 0:13:01.480 --> 0:13:03.160 that done for the organization the least. 0:13:03.720 --> 0:13:06.000 Here are some tight end names that have been mentioned 0:13:06.000 --> 0:13:08.760 as possibly being available on the internet, and as we know, 0:13:08.840 --> 0:13:13.079 the Internet is never wrong. Zach Ertz former Bengal c 0:13:13.280 --> 0:13:17.400 j Uzama, Hunter, Henry, Mike Kasicki. Henry and Gasicki are 0:13:17.400 --> 0:13:20.360 both of the Patriots, and Darren Waller has been mentioned. 0:13:20.400 --> 0:13:22.720 I think that one's a pipe dream personally. But how 0:13:22.720 --> 0:13:26.040 about those other names? And I have no idea what 0:13:26.160 --> 0:13:28.760 the other team would want they might want to pick 0:13:28.760 --> 0:13:31.520 in the first three rounds. But of those other names, 0:13:31.559 --> 0:13:33.280 does anybody really pique your interest? 0:13:33.920 --> 0:13:34.080 You know? 0:13:34.240 --> 0:13:36.400 I mean all of them would be somebody that I'd 0:13:36.440 --> 0:13:38.600 want to take a look at and see how they're playing. Now, 0:13:38.880 --> 0:13:43.800 see how they're playing. You know, currently, some guys may 0:13:43.840 --> 0:13:46.480 not have as big a role. That's why they might 0:13:46.520 --> 0:13:51.319 be available for whatever reason. I don't know. There's many 0:13:51.520 --> 0:13:54.320 reasons that guys fall out of favor. Some of it 0:13:54.360 --> 0:14:00.319 is obviously physical they're aging or slowing down or whatever 0:14:00.360 --> 0:14:05.040 the case may be. Sometimes it's just personality conflicts or 0:14:05.440 --> 0:14:09.000 issues that happen around the league. I mean, everybody's human 0:14:09.320 --> 0:14:12.520 and human beings don't all get along all the time, 0:14:12.880 --> 0:14:16.040 and that occurs as well. But yeah, I mean you'd 0:14:16.080 --> 0:14:19.200 have to look at what those guys are doing, what 0:14:19.240 --> 0:14:21.280 they're capable of doing when you look at them on tape, 0:14:21.600 --> 0:14:23.560 and see if it fits what you're going to be 0:14:23.560 --> 0:14:26.600 asking you're tight end to do. And like you said, 0:14:27.080 --> 0:14:29.400 it takes two to tango. I mean, you may have 0:14:29.520 --> 0:14:32.440 one value in mind and the team that you're trying 0:14:32.480 --> 0:14:34.960 to pull the deal with, Like you're kidding me. I 0:14:35.000 --> 0:14:37.840 was thinking more along these lines, and it's like you're 0:14:38.320 --> 0:14:40.440 light years apart and can't work a deal out. 0:14:40.800 --> 0:14:43.120 All three teams in the AFC North won this week, 0:14:43.160 --> 0:14:44.760 So the Bengals are a game and a half behind 0:14:44.760 --> 0:14:47.680 Baltimore and a game behind Pittsburgh and Cleveland. Want to 0:14:47.720 --> 0:14:51.720 start with Pittsburgh. The Steelers are twenty eighth in rushing yards, 0:14:52.000 --> 0:14:55.560 twenty fifth in passing yards. They're ravaging seventeen points a game. 0:14:55.840 --> 0:14:58.880 It must be a great defense, right. They're twenty eighth 0:14:58.920 --> 0:15:01.640 in rushing yards given U they're twenty fifth in passing 0:15:01.720 --> 0:15:04.960 yards allowed, exactly the same as their offense. They're giving 0:15:05.040 --> 0:15:07.360 up even more points than they're scoring twenty one points 0:15:07.360 --> 0:15:09.360 a game. How are they foreign too? 0:15:11.240 --> 0:15:15.480 Mike Tomlin the Magician, I mean, I don't. That's a 0:15:15.480 --> 0:15:17.720 hell of a question. I mean, I look at them. 0:15:17.960 --> 0:15:21.160 They're being out rushed. The efficiency of the running game 0:15:21.240 --> 0:15:23.480 is not in their favor in terms of yards per carry. 0:15:23.800 --> 0:15:27.080 I mean, it's like they're being outscored. The Bengals have 0:15:27.160 --> 0:15:30.200 been outscored by twenty seven points. They've been outscored, you 0:15:30.240 --> 0:15:34.040 know as well. You know Bengals have a plus five 0:15:34.080 --> 0:15:36.600 turnover ratio. Off the top of my head, I can't 0:15:36.640 --> 0:15:39.800 remember what Pittsburgh's is. I know it's plus, but I mean, 0:15:41.160 --> 0:15:46.280 they don't they must be winning field position battles, what 0:15:47.280 --> 0:15:50.120 is it? I mean, it is amazing that they're pulling 0:15:50.200 --> 0:15:53.880 victories out, like they pull out every single close game 0:15:53.920 --> 0:15:56.840 though seems to go their way. They seem to have 0:15:56.880 --> 0:16:01.720 an unbelievable confidence that they can finish that football game. 0:16:01.840 --> 0:16:04.280 They're going to make plays down the stretch. They're going 0:16:04.360 --> 0:16:06.800 to ultimately win them a football game. You know, when 0:16:06.800 --> 0:16:09.120 the rubber meets the road and a play has to 0:16:09.160 --> 0:16:12.600 be executed, they figure out a way to get it done. 0:16:12.720 --> 0:16:17.720 It It is mind boggling. Mike Tomlin and his never 0:16:17.920 --> 0:16:21.560 having a losing season record. I guess the football gods 0:16:21.560 --> 0:16:25.000 are buying it, man. I mean, it's it really is. 0:16:25.640 --> 0:16:28.880 It's a tribute to him, really attribute to the way 0:16:29.520 --> 0:16:33.720 he gets his players to think and believe. Every player 0:16:33.760 --> 0:16:36.840 that has come here from Pittsburgh they can't say enough 0:16:36.920 --> 0:16:40.760 good things about Mike Tomlin. I mean, it's it's unbelievable 0:16:41.160 --> 0:16:45.960 how his players. You have to have respect, and if 0:16:46.000 --> 0:16:48.560 you don't have that, you know you have problems. But 0:16:48.680 --> 0:16:53.040 when you have love and respect, that's a that's a 0:16:53.080 --> 0:16:56.000 combination that's hard to beat. And his players love them 0:16:56.200 --> 0:16:59.080 and they totally respect them. And I don't think that 0:16:59.240 --> 0:17:02.160 there's a coach in league that can claim a better 0:17:02.200 --> 0:17:04.720 relationship between himself and his players. 0:17:05.560 --> 0:17:07.760 The Browns are also foreign too. They got a big 0:17:07.760 --> 0:17:11.280 assist from the officials in Sunday's win over the Colts. 0:17:11.880 --> 0:17:14.040 They're four and two. To me is easier to understand 0:17:14.040 --> 0:17:16.480 because at least until the Colts game, their defense had 0:17:16.480 --> 0:17:20.240 been unbelievably good. But now they've got these questions with 0:17:20.320 --> 0:17:24.680 Deshaun Watson. He was checked for a concussion against the Colts. 0:17:25.080 --> 0:17:27.679 The doctors ruled him fine and said he could have 0:17:27.720 --> 0:17:29.480 gone back into the game, and they did not put 0:17:29.560 --> 0:17:32.840 him back into the game. Is that strictly because of 0:17:32.840 --> 0:17:35.600 the shoulder injury that he's been dealing with. Was it 0:17:35.640 --> 0:17:37.920 because of how poorly he was playing? Do you think 0:17:37.920 --> 0:17:39.200 they've got a major problem there. 0:17:40.080 --> 0:17:42.239 That's the biggest mystery in the league right now. I 0:17:42.280 --> 0:17:45.119 think was he one for five? I think in that game. 0:17:45.000 --> 0:17:48.000 One for five with an interception and another should have 0:17:48.080 --> 0:17:50.760 been interception that was thrown right to a guy in 0:17:50.800 --> 0:17:52.439 the Colts and he let the ball hit the ground. 0:17:52.600 --> 0:17:58.720 Yeah, and it wasn't he was cleared medically. Was it 0:17:58.760 --> 0:18:02.320 his call? Was that the organization and coaches call not 0:18:02.359 --> 0:18:05.840 to put them back in? Was there collaborative call? It is? 0:18:05.920 --> 0:18:09.400 It's a There hasn't been any definitive word. It's a mystery. 0:18:09.480 --> 0:18:12.359 It really is a mystery. I wonder if you know, 0:18:12.920 --> 0:18:15.480 when they watched him go one for five with the interception, 0:18:15.560 --> 0:18:18.760 it's like his throwing motion just doesn't look right. Yet, 0:18:18.800 --> 0:18:21.480 you know, maybe we need to even if you did 0:18:21.760 --> 0:18:26.760 pass the concussion protocol test, he did get dinged, you know, 0:18:26.840 --> 0:18:29.879 maybe it's better that we we go with Walker. But 0:18:29.960 --> 0:18:33.400 that is that's a that's a very interesting one right there, 0:18:33.440 --> 0:18:39.000 because if they if they get consistently good quarterback play, 0:18:40.480 --> 0:18:43.720 a football team will be something serious to deal with. 0:18:44.640 --> 0:18:47.200 So it's off to San Francisco this week. The forty 0:18:47.280 --> 0:18:49.119 nine ers are five and one. They play on Monday 0:18:49.160 --> 0:18:53.280 night against Minnesota. Before they lost last week in the 0:18:53.359 --> 0:18:56.280 rain in Cleveland, I thought the forty nine ers were 0:18:56.280 --> 0:18:58.400 the best team in the NFL, did you two? 0:18:58.840 --> 0:19:02.000 I did? I mean, just looking at you know, before 0:19:02.040 --> 0:19:06.160 this game tonight, the game has decided on the scoreboard, 0:19:06.720 --> 0:19:08.840 their second in the NFL and scoring their second in 0:19:08.880 --> 0:19:11.679 the NFL in points without They've outscored the opponent by 0:19:11.760 --> 0:19:15.440 ninety seven points in their first six football games, including 0:19:15.720 --> 0:19:18.640 you know that lost to Cleveland. But I mean they 0:19:18.640 --> 0:19:22.040 were putting up the lowest point total that they had 0:19:22.040 --> 0:19:25.879 scored before the Cleveland debacle was thirty I mean they 0:19:26.040 --> 0:19:29.360 had scored thirty three times, scored thirty five against Arizona 0:19:29.359 --> 0:19:32.240 and forty two against Dallas, and then Cleveland holds into 0:19:32.240 --> 0:19:35.359 seventeen points and Rock Purty comes down to earth a 0:19:35.400 --> 0:19:38.240 little bit. But I mean his numbers are still staggering. 0:19:39.280 --> 0:19:43.240 He's got a plus nine ratio touchdown interception, ten touchdowns 0:19:43.400 --> 0:19:45.000 in the top ten. I think it's tied for eighth 0:19:45.080 --> 0:19:47.920 right now before the game only one interception, tied for 0:19:48.000 --> 0:19:50.240 the fewest. That plus nine ratio is the best in 0:19:50.240 --> 0:19:53.080 the league. So he's taking care of the football. And 0:19:53.240 --> 0:19:55.560 you know they're plus eight number one in the NFL. 0:19:55.600 --> 0:19:59.840 And turnover ratio, I mean there's not a category, whether 0:20:00.080 --> 0:20:03.600 not top five, never mind top ten. I mean they 0:20:04.080 --> 0:20:08.520 to me, it was crazy how dominant they've been. Now, 0:20:08.560 --> 0:20:11.560 their rookie third round draft picked kicker let them down 0:20:11.560 --> 0:20:14.960 with a forty two yard miss. They could have won 0:20:15.000 --> 0:20:17.240 that football game against Cleveland. Man, I wish he had 0:20:17.240 --> 0:20:21.840 made that bad boy. But yeah, they're they're they're playing. 0:20:22.359 --> 0:20:26.119 They're playing at an extremely high level. I just think 0:20:26.680 --> 0:20:32.919 Shanahan's running game is unbelievable, unbelievable. It's so creative, and 0:20:33.080 --> 0:20:35.840 you know they're there, they're second in the league. And 0:20:35.960 --> 0:20:39.320 yards per play, they're second in the NFL. And rushing, 0:20:41.119 --> 0:20:43.960 they're averaging four and a half yards on like over 0:20:44.000 --> 0:20:46.720 one hundred and forty yards rushing per game. And he 0:20:46.800 --> 0:20:50.080 does it in such a creative way. I do think 0:20:50.600 --> 0:20:54.720 that Fortunately for the Bengals, they saw Seattle, whose run 0:20:54.760 --> 0:20:58.040 game is kind of similar to what Shanahan's doing in 0:20:58.080 --> 0:21:00.840 San Francisco. But there's, man, there's a lot of misdirection, 0:21:00.960 --> 0:21:02.680 there's a lot of motion, there's a lot of a 0:21:02.760 --> 0:21:05.520 lot of things that his whole thing is try to 0:21:05.520 --> 0:21:09.400 get linebackers and safe, these eyes distracted, you know, and 0:21:09.400 --> 0:21:11.920 and make them think a little bit too much. He's 0:21:12.000 --> 0:21:15.000 he's a hell of a coach and he's got He's 0:21:15.000 --> 0:21:19.560 got seven players, four on offense, three on defense that 0:21:19.640 --> 0:21:22.600 are All Pro. Seven of them not just Pro Bowlers. 0:21:22.800 --> 0:21:25.240 The Pro Bowl you make you're the best in your conference. 0:21:25.320 --> 0:21:28.600 Then to the other level is they select an All 0:21:28.640 --> 0:21:33.920 Pro from those all conference teams. They have seven guys 0:21:33.960 --> 0:21:37.280 that have made have made All Pro. From my count, 0:21:37.320 --> 0:21:40.800 it was Trent Williams at left tackle, George Kittle at 0:21:40.800 --> 0:21:44.119 tight end, Deebo Samuel and some of these guys Williams 0:21:44.160 --> 0:21:47.720 has the ankle issue, Deebo Samuel's shoulder issue, and McCaffrey 0:21:47.720 --> 0:21:51.480 with the oblique. But that's all three of those. All 0:21:51.520 --> 0:21:56.640 four of those guys, McCaffrey, Samuel, Kittle, and Williams all 0:21:56.680 --> 0:22:00.400 been All Pro offensively defensively, one at each level. Nickosa, 0:22:00.440 --> 0:22:03.119 who is Defensive Player of the Year last year, Fred 0:22:03.119 --> 0:22:09.040 Warner at linebacker, and Yufanga at the safety position second 0:22:09.080 --> 0:22:15.760