October 8, 2025 • 30 mins
In this episode of “The Bark Tank,” host Andrew Siciliano recaps the Cleveland Browns’ 21-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in London in Week 5 of the NFL season. Hall of Fame offensive tackle Joe Thomas joins the show for the first time to reflect on the weekend’s events across the pond. The episode concludes with a brief AFC North Roundup and a reaction to the Joe Flacco trade.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
What day is it?
Speaker 2 (00:02):
Where are we hi from the home office, back from London.
It is the Bark Tank, presented to you by Sugardale.
My name is ANDREWS Csiliano. We thank you for liking, subscribing, sharing,
however you're consuming this podcast an audio or video form,
loving it as much as we love doing it.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
It was a tough one. I mean, what do you
want me to say?
Speaker 2 (00:25):
It is a long way to go to lose a
game the way the Browns did. Like there's no good
feeling after a loss, whether it's at Huntington bank Field
and you have to jump into your car and drive home,
or whether it's in His Majesty's United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland and you have to hop on
a plane and fly all the way back across the
(00:46):
Atlantic and come back home.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
When you lose like that, it's tough.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
When you give up a touchdown with under thirty seconds
to go and you allow the Vikings to march down
the field when you expect the defense, the number one
defense of the NFL, coming in to get off the field.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
It's tough.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
We felt it as much as you did, and I
know that I've used that line before. We felt it
as much as you did. We meeting Nathan Gerrod, all
of us get a up in the booth because I
was super confident. Now I'm a Sunday morning optimist, said
this a thousand times for years, going back to the
(01:23):
red Zone channel.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Or now I call my old man of the way
to work.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
My mom always picks up the line as well at home,
Hi Mom, and I say, here's how we're going.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
To win today.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
I was beyond confident yesterday with the Vikings dound three
starters on the offensive line. I thought the Browns d
line would force turnovers, and there were two turnovers. You
win the turnover margin and battle to nothing. You get
two different running backs. The fumble well done, and I
knew Dylan Gabriel would play well, new quin Sewn would
(01:58):
run well. In the end, the Browns just could close
out the game. And that is why this one is
as disappointing a loss as I can remember.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
No week one gut punch.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
This one, for a number of reasons, feels a little
bit different because of what it would lead you to.
I want to go back to the Charger game a
year ago. Could you go there mentally, for a second.
Remember the Browns had just come off the huge win
over the Ravens. They were feeling good about themselves. People
still didn't know who and what the Chargers were. To
be honest with you, I wasn't sure that I was
(02:29):
a believer that this was a good enough team, the Chargers,
that is, to make the postseason.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
And I thought, look, if the.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Browns can beat the Chargers, you then go into the
bye and then you head to New Orleans against the
team at that point which was reeling and likely to
fire its head coach, and you're like, there's a path here.
And this game felt the same way. If the Browns
had won this game. Look, Dylan Gabriel played well, quinchn
ran well. If they had won this game, then you
(02:57):
come back home, you feel good about yourselves. Yeah we
have your sleep deprived. Yeah, big deal. You go to
the Steelers next week, look at the rest of the division,
and we'll do that a little bit later in the show.
By the way, the Hall of Famer Joe Thomas said
to join us in a little bit. I should have
said that right at the top. Andrew be a broadcaster,
The Hall of Famer, the Great Joe Thomas joins us
(03:20):
coming up shortly. If you'd won this game, then you
go to Pittsburgh kind of feeling the same way. Look
at the Ravens, look at the Bengals. I mean, look,
win it, get to three and three, find a way
in Pittsburgh and everything is great.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Again three and three is not great. But you hear
me right, Alas it didn't happen, all right.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
So Kevin Stefanski has given his Monday press conference after
getting back home. Full disclosure, The team charter landed shortly
after one am at Hopkins. It's a long way to
get back to the airport from Tottenham about one am.
Players are not in on Monday, back to work coming
up on Wednesday. Kevin Stefanski handed out the flowers to
quinch On Judkins, who had the first one hundred yard
(04:01):
rushing game for a Browns running back. I should have
said the start of the game. I had it on
my boards, I had it ready the note the first
since anybody Jerome Ford in the big comeback victory in
twenty twenty three on the road in Baltimore.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
Remember that one. Greg Newsom had a picked six.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
The Chief had that ridiculous breaking tackles run after the
catch on the final drive in the fourth quarter leading
to the Dustin Hopkins field goal. It was the last
game Deshaun Watson played before he najured his shoulder. Remember
he had the ankle injury in that game as well.
That was the last one hundred yard game. Quinchhn also
had like a fifty yard touchdown called back on a
(04:39):
legitive been holding call Isaiah Bond That was a hold.
But Quincheon, guys, is the real deal. Nathan put him
in the same sentences as Nicholas Jamal Chubb in the broadcast.
We're not there yet. I'm not there yet. But dude,
he runs a power He runs it angry. You get
(05:02):
to that edge, he can turn the corner, he can turn.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
On the jets.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
He already has three rushes of over thirty yards in
four games, and he had the long one callback, So
really it's four. Devon Chand last year had four of
those in his first five games. So that's the most
ever for a rookie. Honestly, Quinn Sewn basically tied it,
(05:28):
but that one was called back. Harold Fannen caught his
first career touchdown for Gabriel. It was his second and
then later his third to David Nijoku.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
MALIEK.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
Collins played his tail off. He had two sacks. He
had five pressures. He has three and a half sacks
in his career. I'm sorry on the season. Basically, he's
guaranteed five every year. Look at him throughout his NFL
career as he's bounced around. He is a veteran inside
pass rusher for hire. He was also disrupted in the
run game as well. Really happy to see David Nijoku
getting the end zone. He always is the loudest man
(06:02):
in the room. He always is a little bit of
a court jester around the building and on the bus.
He enjoyed himself this week, and I mean this in
only the most positive and innocent way. He was blasting
some music when we landed early Thursday morning in London.
He never got jet lag.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
Let's put it that way. Never got jet lag. He
had a lot of.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
People there to watch the game. Thought it was very
very cool that David got in the end zone. He's
always working hard in the run game. It's good to
see him get a little payoff there and a little
taste of the end zone and a celebration. Was absolutely fantastic.
Can We talked about the stadium a little bit, so
this was my first game in London. For years, I
(06:48):
couldn't go. I was always in the studio doing the
Red Zone channel whenever the Rams went, and I worked
for the Rams for a while. Whenever they went, I
couldn't go. So I'd never been to a game in London.
Amazing experience. That stadium. Tottenham Hot Spurs Stadium is unbelievable.
Spoke to the commissioner, Roger Goodell on the pregame show
(07:11):
on the University Hospitals Cleveland Browns Radio network, and he
pointed out and others had pointed out to me earlier
on Sunday about how whether it be the Bills or
the Commanders or the Bears or whomever, a lot of
teams have used that stadium, especially the home locker room.
Brown's with the home team, that locker room unlike anything
you've ever seen as a model as they look to
(07:34):
build their new facilities.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
What a cool stadium.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
It's the first stadium in London, first stadium outside the
NFL that was built specifically.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
With the NFL in mind.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
The Spurs play, They're an EPL team North London but
when they built and designed their new stadium on High Road,
they did so in conjunction with the NFL so that
they can seamless converted to an NFL facility with NFL
sized locker rooms and the such. They did a fantastic job.
The environment was really cool. Jason Sideikis was there and
(08:13):
I'm who plays coach Beard. I'm drawing a blank. They
were both down there on the sideline before the game.
He had like Oasis singalongs, don't look back in Anger,
and that's how I'm kind of viewing the entire game.
I'm looking back, don't look back at Anger, Andrew. That
was going on during the TV breaks.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
It was really cool.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
There are a lot of Vikings fans there, to be fair,
they played there a year ago. It's three out of
four years for them in London. They had been in
Ireland the previous week. So it was a Browns home
game and Jeff Shreve was there doing the public address
announcing as he does at home for us, and you
had the dog Pound Captain the Hoff. Joe Thomas broke
(08:51):
that guitar. We'll ask him about that coming up in
a second, but he had all the dignitaries there and
it really was a cool environment. I don't get a
cut of a ticket sales, but next time we go
over there, you guys really should go. I know it's expensive,
I know it's a once in a lifetime kind of thing.
I know we all have expenses in our life where
maybe this isn't what you want to spend your money on.
(09:13):
But if you have the opportunity, go do it. The
Saturday evening, Brown's backers get together at the Greenwood.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
Just north of the River Thamps.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
I did not get a chance to go, but I
went to a different event the previous night. Browns fans
all over town. It wasn't just Joe that was there.
Hawk was there, Andrew Hawkins, Gary Barnage was there.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
Who else?
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Joe Hayden was there.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
All these great Brown's alumni there to spread the love
and internationally, the Browns backers and all the Browns fans.
It was a coming together kind of reunion weekend. And yeah,
you wish you had a win out of it. You don't,
but at the same time, it really felt good and
it was an overall great experience or the loss notwithstanding
(10:03):
real quick thought here about Dylan Gabriel, he played well.
And if you do a Twitter search here on the
football Cognizanti. As my friend Dan Hansis likes to say,
the people that know ball, let's put it that way,
they all agreed.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
Dylan Gabriel played a really good game. The moment was
not too big for him.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
Now what happened on the final third down, the miscommunication
with Jerry Judy or Isaiah Man.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
That's a tough one.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
Yeah, But watch him hold the safety and hit Najoku
for the touchdown. Watch him march the Browns down the
field and hit Harold Fannin for.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
That first touchdown.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
Watch him step up in the pocket and when the
middle of the field opens up, be able to use
his legs to pick up legitimate yardage. The three for
fifteen on third down is not good after especially considering
how good he was on third down in the preseason.
But you can see it, right, you can see it
(11:03):
something to build on. And with Jack Conklin back, and boy,
it was good to have Jack Conklin back. Yeah, I
see something here to build on. Truly, truly see something
here to build on. You hope to work Cam Robinson
in at left tackle. It was rough listen. He got
to Cleveland late Tuesday night. Yep, you got a passport,
(11:26):
Get on the plane, let's go. He was up and
he was active. He rotated in and out early with
Katie Leviston. Those penalties didn't help. The Shelby Harris personal
foul didn't help. Go back and look at the tape though,
Shelby's legs getting twisted, not making the excuse, but that
fifteen yards didn't help. And yes, I'm with you, and
(11:49):
I called that out during the broadcast. They should have
called taunting on Justin Jefferson. Now both can be true.
And I said this to Nathan during the broadcast. I
don't think that should be taunting. I know, but by
the letter of the law this year, with the increased
emphasis on taunting penalties that in my opinion could have
(12:11):
been should have been called.
Speaker 1 (12:14):
That's just me.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
And you have the left tackle moved. Kevin said that
on Monday, said in the moment, yes, but it didn't matter.
In other words, you can't rely on the flag to
win the game. It didn't matter. It didn't matter, but
you know it did matter. Joe Thomas matters. He too
is back from London, and I have no doubt that
Joe Thomas is feeling. He's feeling just amazing today. Thanks
(12:40):
for joining the Bark Tank, buddy.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
How are you.
Speaker 4 (12:43):
I'm doing well. It's good to see you again here
now that we're back in the States. After being able
to spend a few moments together over in London, breaking
some bread and enjoying some brotherhood.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
It was amazing. Always enjoy the time. It was good
to see it. Always good to be back. I feel
like you're a man of the people, both domestically and internationally,
as I was saying before in the opening part of
the show. And no matter where we went, whether it's
like an official or unofficial Browns function or just dudes
hanging in the street with a pint of Guinness, everybody
(13:15):
recognized the Hoff.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
That was cool.
Speaker 4 (13:19):
It provided a lot of free guinnesses on my trip
in London. And the one thing about Browns fans is
they are loyal, they are passionate, and they want to
hang out and have a beer together. So it was
a match made in having overseas three four days for
me over in London, and I had an amazing time,
and it was also really fun being able to have
(13:40):
a nice dinner with you. I think we had one
of the best steaks I've ever had, a beautiful experience
at Pratt and it was all in all a really
awesome trip, I think, other than the outcome, yeah, which
other than that, it seems that was a big bar
of it.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
By other than that, it was a great trip.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
So because you mentioned it and I mentioned it off
the aor to young Gabriel Puy this fine broadcast here.
You mentioned the steak because you're the cattle man here.
What kind of hunk of meat was it? Because that
thing took up half the table? Could you put it
into proper terms?
Speaker 4 (14:14):
So I'm not sure the breed If I had to guess,
it'd be like some massive Herford or maybe even like
a ki Anina, which is the largest breed of cattle
on earth, famous for the mistake of Florentina. If you
ever go to Italy, they have those big famous ribbis
that are like the size of a manhole cover.
Speaker 3 (14:31):
And this was a similar type steak.
Speaker 4 (14:33):
And I think usually you get a fifteen hundred pounds
steer and that's what your steaks are made of. This
had to be twenty two hundred pounds when it met
its dem eyes, because.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
Between the three of us we barely were.
Speaker 4 (14:44):
Able to eat one ribbi and it was easily double
the size of any ribbi that I think I've ever
eaten before. And they definitely rolled us out of there.
And I don't think I ate the next day after.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
No, I did credibly feast. I didn't have breakfast. I
did not eat the next day until dinner. I hand
hand up, that's the truth. Did not eat the next
day until dinner. And now granted there was also like
we had pigeon skewers and there were like muscles on toast.
I mean, it sounds like we're flexing here in the meal.
We had a great time, and a great time was
had by all up until the game.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
Tottenham was great.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
You and Rondy were great up on up on the
big screen there. The facility is amazing. I was blown
away by Tottenham and the entire experience. There is the
first stadium that was building collaboration with the NFL for
a true NFL experience that checked every box. The Browns
locker room, the entertainment. It was good to have Jeff
(15:38):
Shreeve there, our PA announcer, and that big freighter horn,
that thing on third down and you as the dog
Pound Captain. Man, How was that?
Speaker 3 (15:49):
That was awesome? That was really cool.
Speaker 4 (15:50):
I've got to be a dog Pound captain once here
in Cleveland, and that was really incredibly special. But it
was a bit of a surprise for me because when
we got to London it was not really part of
the plan. I think the Browns had thought, because they're
the home team, that we could do the dog Pound
Captain and the guitar smash, but they didn't let the
cat out of the bag until I was there, and
I think we were able to figure out if it
(16:11):
was going to work within my schedule of doing the
sideline work with Rende Barber and then doing some NFL
Network hits. So I'm really happy that it worked out
because it was definitely one of the highlights for me
of my post playing career.
Speaker 3 (16:24):
We were able to get out there in front.
Speaker 4 (16:25):
Of the fans on foreign so foreign soil, wearing my
little Cabby hat and smashing that guitar and here in
the crowd's response. It gave me those feelings that I
think you only get when you're a player and you're
walking out of that tunnel and you're going on to
the field as a gladiator. So it definitely kind of
(16:46):
scratched some of those emotions and it gave me those
tingles that I used to get when I was going
out on that field with my helmet, with my orange helmet,
to go play a game.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
That's awesome, And I did not know that.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
I didn't well, I knew you would have loved it, yes,
but I didn't know that it it brought that response out,
and to be honest with you, I didn't know you're
going to do it. So Saturday evening, I was in
a long uber ride back out to the grove where
the Browns were staying, as you know, which is like
an hour away from the city, with a we'll call
me a senior Browns official, and he said to me, well,
(17:17):
who do you think's going to be the dog Pound Captain?
I assumed he knew, Maybe he didn't know, or maybe
he did know, maybe he was quizzing me. And I
thought about it for a little bit and I started
going through the list of all the former Browns who
were in town. It was a great list. It was
Joe Hayden, it was our boy Hawk, it was Gary Barnage.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
It was a cool list, and I said.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
You know what, Joe's final game for those who don't know,
your final game where you got hurt was the week
before the twenty seventeen game at Twickenham, And I said,
late at night in that uber, I said, you know,
it would be pretty cool to bring it all back
full circle now that we're here in London again.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
That would be a pretty cool moment.
Speaker 4 (18:02):
You know, I didn't even think about that until you
just mentioned it. Obviously, I knew that I missed that
game in twenty seventeen, but it's pretty neat to think
about it now that it has come full circle, there
being after ten and a half years not missing a
single play. Of course, they got hurt against the Tennessee Titans.
Next week. The team and my whole family, which had
already planned the trip to London, travel over across the
(18:24):
seas that played the Vikings in Twickenham, and I was
in a hospital bed watching the game. But so yeah,
to have a triumphant return with a healthy elbow and
to be able to go out there with the guitar
smash is an awesome moment. And the Browns did a
great job capturing some really cool pictures. So once I
get back to Wisconsin tonight and I get a chance
(18:44):
to see the family and show them that video, I
know they're going to be jazz because I'm not sure
if you get to see that when you watch the
TV broadcast, I doubt it.
Speaker 3 (18:52):
I think it's just within the stadium.
Speaker 4 (18:54):
So I haven't really had a chance to talk with
them because of the time change yet, and so I
don't even know if they know that I was the
dog Pod Captain. But I did keep the smashed guitar.
Speaker 3 (19:04):
I was able to fit it into my bag.
Speaker 4 (19:05):
So I'll be bringing that home and maybe i'd toss
that on the table and that's my welcome moment that Hey,
by the way, guys, I did something pretty cool this weekend.
Speaker 3 (19:12):
You may not have heard about.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
Wait, you got that through customs. Okay, they stopped the.
Speaker 3 (19:16):
Even check my bag. It's still in there, so I'm
not sure what they thought kind of been. But it flew.
It was a weapon, Okay, it could be a weapon.
Speaker 4 (19:26):
I'm glad they didn't pull it from my bag or
pulled me aside for any extra cavity searches.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
Good, all right, we got that, We got we got
that back into the country. The game here, like, are
you a stunned as Nathan and I were upstairs that
the defense couldn't get off the field and the game.
Speaker 3 (19:42):
That was shocked.
Speaker 4 (19:43):
And I mean, if you're the Browns going into that
game saying, hey, Dylan Gabriel's going to play mostly mistake
free football.
Speaker 3 (19:49):
They're going to have the lead.
Speaker 4 (19:50):
In the fourth quarter, which just a couple of minutes
left in the game, and it's all about just getting
the defense to stop Carson Wentz from going the length
of the field and scoring a touchdown. I would say
we're going to be in pretty good shape.
Speaker 3 (20:00):
Yeah, but it is the NFL.
Speaker 4 (20:02):
Things happened Carson Wentz, even though he is erratic he
turns the football over a lot, he can still throw
the ball.
Speaker 3 (20:09):
He still got a big.
Speaker 4 (20:10):
Arm, he's got a lot of experience, and he still
got Justin Jefferson over there. And I think when you
have a weapon like that at receiver and you got
a quarterback that can throw it, and it's a situation where, hey,
if you throw an interception, it doesn't matter, right, the
game's already over.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
What we need is a touchdown.
Speaker 4 (20:25):
You can be a little bit riskier in your decision
making you're going to get the best version of that offense.
And of course Jordan Addison was out there. He's another
great weapon. I think he was the guy that caught
the game winning touchdown on the sideline. And it's disappointing
because if there was one thing that you felt like
you could count on the entire season, it was that defense.
(20:45):
It was the pass rush, and then it was the
coverage with our two great cornerbacks, and it didn't work
out in that last drive.
Speaker 3 (20:51):
And I think that's probably.
Speaker 4 (20:53):
Overwhelmingly the most disappointing moment coming out of London, because
you feel like your rookie quarterback in his very first
experience in the NFL played well enough to win and
your defense wasn't able to close.
Speaker 3 (21:04):
It out for you.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
Yeah, which is stunning.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
And on all weekend I told people pretty confidently like
they're going to win this game, not saying like, you know,
there's no way they're going to lose this game. Of course,
there's always a way, but I thought the Bronze defense
would get to Carson Wentz consistently and that Dylan Gabriel
would meet the moment I figure there might be a turnover.
I mean Brian Flores against a rookie that generally that
(21:27):
would have been okay, but he didn't. He played turnover
free football big picture with the quarterback, because you got
to take the next step, and the next step is
against Pittsburgh. Forget about the atmosphere and Mike Tomlin and
everything that defense brings. Just how the heck do you
get the ball to a wide receiver consistently. That's that's
(21:48):
the most fuddling thing because if you consistently look, Harold
Fan and David Djoko are doing their thing the back
side of the backfield, whether they're in checkdowns, So you
got to be able to stretch the field and the
detection was better. Certainly it helped to have Jack back
in a huge way. But they're still not stretching the field.
Speaker 4 (22:07):
Joe, Yeah, we're still not throwing the ball down the
field at all. So at the very least, just taking
some shots, just getting those safeties to back up a
little bit.
Speaker 3 (22:16):
I mean, we've got a speedster.
Speaker 4 (22:18):
With Isaiah Bond. We feel like Jerry Judy's a good
weapon down the field. Even if you don't complete those passes,
you've got to take a few chances. You've got to
make the defense a little bit nervous, get them to
back up a little bit because they are concerned about
getting balls thrown over their heads. And I think you
have to try to start manufacturing some of these off
of play action. Dylan Gabriel, for as great of a
(22:38):
job that he did in this game, one of the
things that he is is he's.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
A risk averse quarterback.
Speaker 4 (22:44):
He's a little conservative, So if it's not there, he's
not going to try to fit it into a tight window.
And so I think as he starts becoming a little
bit more comfortable, you just need to start taking some
shots down the field, even if it means incompletions or
maybe a long turnover, because the offense has not been
able to get the ball down the field and make
any big explosive plays. And it's too hard in the
(23:04):
NFL to go the long hard way all the time
running it and with short dump off type passes. So
if you look at the run game, the duo play,
which is you know, one of everybody's favorite plays, is
just double teams across the front and then let the
running back kind of run downhill at the A gap
and then jump cut and find his way and find
a little hole. That's ben quin John's best play. He
also runs the outside zone very well on the inside zone,
(23:26):
and so those running game combinations fit really well with
some different play action protections to be able to get
those speedsters on the outside time to get down the
field where you're not putting a lot of pressure on
your tackles in traditional drop back pass pro. And so
I think what you're going to see against the Steelers
is them taking a few more of those shots that
are just called shots off of play action, off of
(23:50):
your outside zone play action, off of the duo type
play action, to be able to just threaten the defense
a little bit and then just try to manufacture a
few deep balls to get some of those big home
run plays that this offense has just been clearly missing.
Speaker 1 (24:02):
Yeah, because Quinn Shown's running it. Man.
Speaker 2 (24:04):
That kid is is fun to watch e even on
because some people say, well, maybe he doesn't have the
breakaway finishing speed. Even on the one that got called back,
no one caught him. He got to the pilot and
unfortunately that one did not count. But against the first
this blows me away. The first one hundred yard game
for a Browns running back since Jerome Ford in twenty
(24:25):
twenty three, in that game in Baltimore of all weeks,
all right, real quick, last thirty seconds you ever played
to catch? So Bo evidently gave you the nickname Hoff.
The Hoff Full disclosure. A couple of years ago, and
I first started listening to CBD before I was truly
part of the family as opposed to just day longtime listener,
(24:46):
first time caller, I was like, who.
Speaker 1 (24:48):
The hell are they talking about it?
Speaker 2 (24:50):
I'm like, oh, okay, I got it, I got it,
I got it?
Speaker 1 (24:53):
Makes sense?
Speaker 2 (24:53):
Does anyone else I've never asked you this before?
Speaker 1 (24:55):
Does anyone else call you Hoff?
Speaker 3 (24:57):
So I hear it a lot in Cleveland.
Speaker 1 (24:59):
I was in Z It comes from the show.
Speaker 3 (25:02):
It comes from the show. It comes from Zee and Bow.
They really started that.
Speaker 4 (25:05):
But it's interesting because I've got a group of friends
that I work out with back in Wisconsin that I
played college ball with that I see all the time
there and they don't watch Cleveland Brown's Day. They're not
Browns fans, you know, but they actually have started calling
me the Hoff. And it's interesting as some of my
friends in Wisconsin who call me the Hoff, and then
my friends in Cleveland have started to like meet and
(25:26):
they hear each other calling me that. I think it's
kind of a funny moment because both of them are like,
wait a minute, we didn't know that that belongs to us.
Speaker 3 (25:34):
We were yeah, yeah, no, no, no, you're not allowed to
call them that. That's what we call them.
Speaker 4 (25:39):
But I've obviously I've enjoyed that, you know, with the
conversations and the laughter that we have when we're on
CBD or just hanging out, you know, like when we
were in London, and then obviously with my beef company,
Hall of Fame Beef being haff just it's a perfect
fit and it's something that even in tough times, we
can have some giggle about, which is something that you
(26:01):
need when your football team is not living up to
your hope or your expectations.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
He is the founder and CEO, the purveyor, the cattleman.
He's like Coster and Yellowstone with his arm up on
a fence, staring into the distance with this, you know, this,
this look of deep thought on his face. He is
the hoff from Hall of Fame Beef, like that, this
(26:27):
is your first stop in the bark tank man. I
appreciate you it making time on a jet lagged schedule.
Speaker 3 (26:34):
My pleasure. Thanks for having me on, Andrew.
Speaker 4 (26:36):
It's great to see and we'll see you soon here
I'm sure in Cleveland or somewhere else at a Browns
road game.
Speaker 2 (26:41):
Or a restaurant where we are the whole menu.
Speaker 3 (26:45):
Let's do it to Oh baby, let's do that again.
Speaker 1 (26:48):
Love my man, Joe Thomas. We had a good time there.
Speaker 2 (26:51):
Hey wait a minute, why is Andrew wearing something different
if you're watching the video portion of this show, Because
this is a bark Tank bus. So we're doing what
Sizzlin Now presented by Sugardale The Sugarnow What's Sizzlin Around
the AFC North Full disclosure.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
When we first recorded this episode on.
Speaker 2 (27:11):
Monday, we talked about the possibility of Zach Taylor benching
Jake Browning. But we need to come into the bark
Tank bonus because breaking news, the Browns just traded Joe.
Speaker 1 (27:23):
Flacco to the Bengals. It's this thing on it is.
Speaker 2 (27:29):
Look, I've been surprised before, I've been stunned before.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
This is all of the above. Couple of things. Listen.
Speaker 2 (27:39):
Number one, I'm happy for Joe Flacco that he's going
to get evidently a chance to play again.
Speaker 1 (27:43):
I love Joe Flacco.
Speaker 2 (27:44):
I truly do the person the quarterback. I love him
for twenty twenty three. We'll always have twenty twenty three
near and dear to my heart. So I'm happy for Joe.
Good that the Browns have yet another fifth round pick.
They traded pick it for five. They traded Joe Flack
Go for a five.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
I've got a lot of fives.
Speaker 2 (28:03):
Coming up in the twenty twenty six draft. This one
is interesting. I mean to be candid here because you're
giving the Bengals a new shot at life. It's a
two to three team that is obviously reeling from the
loss of Joe Burrow. I don't know how this one's
gonna play out, Jamar T.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
Higgins.
Speaker 2 (28:25):
They certainly have some weapons there. The Bengals also have
protection issues, and they have for a number of years. Obviously,
it's well documented how much of a beating Joe Burrow
was taking behind that line. Joe Flacco doesn't have the
mobility that he had even in twenty twenty three. We
saw that the first four weeks of the season with
the Browns. Can they protect Joe Flacco in Cincinnati? I
(28:47):
don't know the answer. If they can, they've got some
weapons he can sling it. It could get interesting. Yes,
there's the obvious question, are you helping out a division rival?
Speaker 1 (28:58):
Is that fifth round pick truly worth it? I don't know.
Speaker 2 (29:01):
I don't know. It'll be interesting to see how this
one turns out. I'd always like to push back, by
the way, against the broadcaster cliche it'll be interesting. Well,
but I mean, if it isn't going to be interesting,
then why are we talking about it?
Speaker 1 (29:13):
Right? This one will be fun, you know what?
Speaker 2 (29:16):
Also could be fun? Remember week two, we are in Baltimore,
the big Joe Flacco back in Baltimore thing. Remember that, Well,
if he is still the starting quarterback of the Bengals
on Thanksgiving, Joe Flacco and the Bengals in Baltimore on
Thanksgiving night, or let me phrase it this way, Joe
(29:37):
Flacco's Bengals will visit the Ravens potentially on Thanksgiving night.
Speaker 1 (29:45):
So there's that.
Speaker 2 (29:47):
And we thank you for listening and liking and sharing
and subscribing and watching this episode in which we had
a wardrobe change, first ever wardrobe change in the Bark Tank.
My name is Andrew Siciliano. See you next week. After
the win over the steers
What day is it?
Speaker 2 (00:02):
Where are we hi from the home office, back from London.
It is the Bark Tank, presented to you by Sugardale.
My name is ANDREWS Csiliano. We thank you for liking, subscribing, sharing,
however you're consuming this podcast an audio or video form,
loving it as much as we love doing it.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
It was a tough one. I mean, what do you
want me to say?
Speaker 2 (00:25):
It is a long way to go to lose a
game the way the Browns did. Like there's no good
feeling after a loss, whether it's at Huntington bank Field
and you have to jump into your car and drive home,
or whether it's in His Majesty's United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland and you have to hop on
a plane and fly all the way back across the
(00:46):
Atlantic and come back home.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
When you lose like that, it's tough.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
When you give up a touchdown with under thirty seconds
to go and you allow the Vikings to march down
the field when you expect the defense, the number one
defense of the NFL, coming in to get off the field.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
It's tough.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
We felt it as much as you did, and I
know that I've used that line before. We felt it
as much as you did. We meeting Nathan Gerrod, all
of us get a up in the booth because I
was super confident. Now I'm a Sunday morning optimist, said
this a thousand times for years, going back to the
(01:23):
red Zone channel.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Or now I call my old man of the way
to work.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
My mom always picks up the line as well at home,
Hi Mom, and I say, here's how we're going.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
To win today.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
I was beyond confident yesterday with the Vikings dound three
starters on the offensive line. I thought the Browns d
line would force turnovers, and there were two turnovers. You
win the turnover margin and battle to nothing. You get
two different running backs. The fumble well done, and I
knew Dylan Gabriel would play well, new quin Sewn would
(01:58):
run well. In the end, the Browns just could close
out the game. And that is why this one is
as disappointing a loss as I can remember.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
No week one gut punch.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
This one, for a number of reasons, feels a little
bit different because of what it would lead you to.
I want to go back to the Charger game a
year ago. Could you go there mentally, for a second.
Remember the Browns had just come off the huge win
over the Ravens. They were feeling good about themselves. People
still didn't know who and what the Chargers were. To
be honest with you, I wasn't sure that I was
(02:29):
a believer that this was a good enough team, the Chargers,
that is, to make the postseason.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
And I thought, look, if the.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Browns can beat the Chargers, you then go into the
bye and then you head to New Orleans against the
team at that point which was reeling and likely to
fire its head coach, and you're like, there's a path here.
And this game felt the same way. If the Browns
had won this game. Look, Dylan Gabriel played well, quinchn
ran well. If they had won this game, then you
(02:57):
come back home, you feel good about yourselves. Yeah we
have your sleep deprived. Yeah, big deal. You go to
the Steelers next week, look at the rest of the division,
and we'll do that a little bit later in the show.
By the way, the Hall of Famer Joe Thomas said
to join us in a little bit. I should have
said that right at the top. Andrew be a broadcaster,
The Hall of Famer, the Great Joe Thomas joins us
(03:20):
coming up shortly. If you'd won this game, then you
go to Pittsburgh kind of feeling the same way. Look
at the Ravens, look at the Bengals. I mean, look,
win it, get to three and three, find a way
in Pittsburgh and everything is great.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Again three and three is not great. But you hear
me right, Alas it didn't happen, all right.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
So Kevin Stefanski has given his Monday press conference after
getting back home. Full disclosure, The team charter landed shortly
after one am at Hopkins. It's a long way to
get back to the airport from Tottenham about one am.
Players are not in on Monday, back to work coming
up on Wednesday. Kevin Stefanski handed out the flowers to
quinch On Judkins, who had the first one hundred yard
(04:01):
rushing game for a Browns running back. I should have
said the start of the game. I had it on
my boards, I had it ready the note the first
since anybody Jerome Ford in the big comeback victory in
twenty twenty three on the road in Baltimore.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
Remember that one. Greg Newsom had a picked six.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
The Chief had that ridiculous breaking tackles run after the
catch on the final drive in the fourth quarter leading
to the Dustin Hopkins field goal. It was the last
game Deshaun Watson played before he najured his shoulder. Remember
he had the ankle injury in that game as well.
That was the last one hundred yard game. Quinchhn also
had like a fifty yard touchdown called back on a
(04:39):
legitive been holding call Isaiah Bond That was a hold.
But Quincheon, guys, is the real deal. Nathan put him
in the same sentences as Nicholas Jamal Chubb in the broadcast.
We're not there yet. I'm not there yet. But dude,
he runs a power He runs it angry. You get
(05:02):
to that edge, he can turn the corner, he can turn.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
On the jets.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
He already has three rushes of over thirty yards in
four games, and he had the long one callback, So
really it's four. Devon Chand last year had four of
those in his first five games. So that's the most
ever for a rookie. Honestly, Quinn Sewn basically tied it,
(05:28):
but that one was called back. Harold Fannen caught his
first career touchdown for Gabriel. It was his second and
then later his third to David Nijoku.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
MALIEK.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
Collins played his tail off. He had two sacks. He
had five pressures. He has three and a half sacks
in his career. I'm sorry on the season. Basically, he's
guaranteed five every year. Look at him throughout his NFL
career as he's bounced around. He is a veteran inside
pass rusher for hire. He was also disrupted in the
run game as well. Really happy to see David Nijoku
getting the end zone. He always is the loudest man
(06:02):
in the room. He always is a little bit of
a court jester around the building and on the bus.
He enjoyed himself this week, and I mean this in
only the most positive and innocent way. He was blasting
some music when we landed early Thursday morning in London.
He never got jet lag.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
Let's put it that way. Never got jet lag. He
had a lot of.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
People there to watch the game. Thought it was very
very cool that David got in the end zone. He's
always working hard in the run game. It's good to
see him get a little payoff there and a little
taste of the end zone and a celebration. Was absolutely fantastic.
Can We talked about the stadium a little bit, so
this was my first game in London. For years, I
(06:48):
couldn't go. I was always in the studio doing the
Red Zone channel whenever the Rams went, and I worked
for the Rams for a while. Whenever they went, I
couldn't go. So I'd never been to a game in London.
Amazing experience. That stadium. Tottenham Hot Spurs Stadium is unbelievable.
Spoke to the commissioner, Roger Goodell on the pregame show
(07:11):
on the University Hospitals Cleveland Browns Radio network, and he
pointed out and others had pointed out to me earlier
on Sunday about how whether it be the Bills or
the Commanders or the Bears or whomever, a lot of
teams have used that stadium, especially the home locker room.
Brown's with the home team, that locker room unlike anything
you've ever seen as a model as they look to
(07:34):
build their new facilities.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
What a cool stadium.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
It's the first stadium in London, first stadium outside the
NFL that was built specifically.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
With the NFL in mind.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
The Spurs play, They're an EPL team North London but
when they built and designed their new stadium on High Road,
they did so in conjunction with the NFL so that
they can seamless converted to an NFL facility with NFL
sized locker rooms and the such. They did a fantastic job.
The environment was really cool. Jason Sideikis was there and
(08:13):
I'm who plays coach Beard. I'm drawing a blank. They
were both down there on the sideline before the game.
He had like Oasis singalongs, don't look back in Anger,
and that's how I'm kind of viewing the entire game.
I'm looking back, don't look back at Anger, Andrew. That
was going on during the TV breaks.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
It was really cool.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
There are a lot of Vikings fans there, to be fair,
they played there a year ago. It's three out of
four years for them in London. They had been in
Ireland the previous week. So it was a Browns home
game and Jeff Shreve was there doing the public address
announcing as he does at home for us, and you
had the dog Pound Captain the Hoff. Joe Thomas broke
(08:51):
that guitar. We'll ask him about that coming up in
a second, but he had all the dignitaries there and
it really was a cool environment. I don't get a
cut of a ticket sales, but next time we go
over there, you guys really should go. I know it's expensive,
I know it's a once in a lifetime kind of thing.
I know we all have expenses in our life where
maybe this isn't what you want to spend your money on.
(09:13):
But if you have the opportunity, go do it. The
Saturday evening, Brown's backers get together at the Greenwood.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
Just north of the River Thamps.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
I did not get a chance to go, but I
went to a different event the previous night. Browns fans
all over town. It wasn't just Joe that was there.
Hawk was there, Andrew Hawkins, Gary Barnage was there.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
Who else?
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Joe Hayden was there.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
All these great Brown's alumni there to spread the love
and internationally, the Browns backers and all the Browns fans.
It was a coming together kind of reunion weekend. And yeah,
you wish you had a win out of it. You don't,
but at the same time, it really felt good and
it was an overall great experience or the loss notwithstanding
(10:03):
real quick thought here about Dylan Gabriel, he played well.
And if you do a Twitter search here on the
football Cognizanti. As my friend Dan Hansis likes to say,
the people that know ball, let's put it that way,
they all agreed.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
Dylan Gabriel played a really good game. The moment was
not too big for him.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
Now what happened on the final third down, the miscommunication
with Jerry Judy or Isaiah Man.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
That's a tough one.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
Yeah, But watch him hold the safety and hit Najoku
for the touchdown. Watch him march the Browns down the
field and hit Harold Fannin for.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
That first touchdown.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
Watch him step up in the pocket and when the
middle of the field opens up, be able to use
his legs to pick up legitimate yardage. The three for
fifteen on third down is not good after especially considering
how good he was on third down in the preseason.
But you can see it, right, you can see it
(11:03):
something to build on. And with Jack Conklin back, and boy,
it was good to have Jack Conklin back. Yeah, I
see something here to build on. Truly, truly see something
here to build on. You hope to work Cam Robinson
in at left tackle. It was rough listen. He got
to Cleveland late Tuesday night. Yep, you got a passport,
(11:26):
Get on the plane, let's go. He was up and
he was active. He rotated in and out early with
Katie Leviston. Those penalties didn't help. The Shelby Harris personal
foul didn't help. Go back and look at the tape though,
Shelby's legs getting twisted, not making the excuse, but that
fifteen yards didn't help. And yes, I'm with you, and
(11:49):
I called that out during the broadcast. They should have
called taunting on Justin Jefferson. Now both can be true.
And I said this to Nathan during the broadcast. I
don't think that should be taunting. I know, but by
the letter of the law this year, with the increased
emphasis on taunting penalties that in my opinion could have
(12:11):
been should have been called.
Speaker 1 (12:14):
That's just me.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
And you have the left tackle moved. Kevin said that
on Monday, said in the moment, yes, but it didn't matter.
In other words, you can't rely on the flag to
win the game. It didn't matter. It didn't matter, but
you know it did matter. Joe Thomas matters. He too
is back from London, and I have no doubt that
Joe Thomas is feeling. He's feeling just amazing today. Thanks
(12:40):
for joining the Bark Tank, buddy.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
How are you.
Speaker 4 (12:43):
I'm doing well. It's good to see you again here
now that we're back in the States. After being able
to spend a few moments together over in London, breaking
some bread and enjoying some brotherhood.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
It was amazing. Always enjoy the time. It was good
to see it. Always good to be back. I feel
like you're a man of the people, both domestically and internationally,
as I was saying before in the opening part of
the show. And no matter where we went, whether it's
like an official or unofficial Browns function or just dudes
hanging in the street with a pint of Guinness, everybody
(13:15):
recognized the Hoff.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
That was cool.
Speaker 4 (13:19):
It provided a lot of free guinnesses on my trip
in London. And the one thing about Browns fans is
they are loyal, they are passionate, and they want to
hang out and have a beer together. So it was
a match made in having overseas three four days for
me over in London, and I had an amazing time,
and it was also really fun being able to have
(13:40):
a nice dinner with you. I think we had one
of the best steaks I've ever had, a beautiful experience
at Pratt and it was all in all a really
awesome trip, I think, other than the outcome, yeah, which
other than that, it seems that was a big bar
of it.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
By other than that, it was a great trip.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
So because you mentioned it and I mentioned it off
the aor to young Gabriel Puy this fine broadcast here.
You mentioned the steak because you're the cattle man here.
What kind of hunk of meat was it? Because that
thing took up half the table? Could you put it
into proper terms?
Speaker 4 (14:14):
So I'm not sure the breed If I had to guess,
it'd be like some massive Herford or maybe even like
a ki Anina, which is the largest breed of cattle
on earth, famous for the mistake of Florentina. If you
ever go to Italy, they have those big famous ribbis
that are like the size of a manhole cover.
Speaker 3 (14:31):
And this was a similar type steak.
Speaker 4 (14:33):
And I think usually you get a fifteen hundred pounds
steer and that's what your steaks are made of. This
had to be twenty two hundred pounds when it met
its dem eyes, because.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
Between the three of us we barely were.
Speaker 4 (14:44):
Able to eat one ribbi and it was easily double
the size of any ribbi that I think I've ever
eaten before. And they definitely rolled us out of there.
And I don't think I ate the next day after.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
No, I did credibly feast. I didn't have breakfast. I
did not eat the next day until dinner. I hand
hand up, that's the truth. Did not eat the next
day until dinner. And now granted there was also like
we had pigeon skewers and there were like muscles on toast.
I mean, it sounds like we're flexing here in the meal.
We had a great time, and a great time was
had by all up until the game.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
Tottenham was great.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
You and Rondy were great up on up on the
big screen there. The facility is amazing. I was blown
away by Tottenham and the entire experience. There is the
first stadium that was building collaboration with the NFL for
a true NFL experience that checked every box. The Browns
locker room, the entertainment. It was good to have Jeff
(15:38):
Shreeve there, our PA announcer, and that big freighter horn,
that thing on third down and you as the dog
Pound Captain. Man, How was that?
Speaker 3 (15:49):
That was awesome? That was really cool.
Speaker 4 (15:50):
I've got to be a dog Pound captain once here
in Cleveland, and that was really incredibly special. But it
was a bit of a surprise for me because when
we got to London it was not really part of
the plan. I think the Browns had thought, because they're
the home team, that we could do the dog Pound
Captain and the guitar smash, but they didn't let the
cat out of the bag until I was there, and
I think we were able to figure out if it
(16:11):
was going to work within my schedule of doing the
sideline work with Rende Barber and then doing some NFL
Network hits. So I'm really happy that it worked out
because it was definitely one of the highlights for me
of my post playing career.
Speaker 3 (16:24):
We were able to get out there in front.
Speaker 4 (16:25):
Of the fans on foreign so foreign soil, wearing my
little Cabby hat and smashing that guitar and here in
the crowd's response. It gave me those feelings that I
think you only get when you're a player and you're
walking out of that tunnel and you're going on to
the field as a gladiator. So it definitely kind of
(16:46):
scratched some of those emotions and it gave me those
tingles that I used to get when I was going
out on that field with my helmet, with my orange helmet,
to go play a game.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
That's awesome, And I did not know that.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
I didn't well, I knew you would have loved it, yes,
but I didn't know that it it brought that response out,
and to be honest with you, I didn't know you're
going to do it. So Saturday evening, I was in
a long uber ride back out to the grove where
the Browns were staying, as you know, which is like
an hour away from the city, with a we'll call
me a senior Browns official, and he said to me, well,
(17:17):
who do you think's going to be the dog Pound Captain?
I assumed he knew, Maybe he didn't know, or maybe
he did know, maybe he was quizzing me. And I
thought about it for a little bit and I started
going through the list of all the former Browns who
were in town. It was a great list. It was
Joe Hayden, it was our boy Hawk, it was Gary Barnage.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
It was a cool list, and I said.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
You know what, Joe's final game for those who don't know,
your final game where you got hurt was the week
before the twenty seventeen game at Twickenham, And I said,
late at night in that uber, I said, you know,
it would be pretty cool to bring it all back
full circle now that we're here in London again.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
That would be a pretty cool moment.
Speaker 4 (18:02):
You know, I didn't even think about that until you
just mentioned it. Obviously, I knew that I missed that
game in twenty seventeen, but it's pretty neat to think
about it now that it has come full circle, there
being after ten and a half years not missing a
single play. Of course, they got hurt against the Tennessee Titans.
Next week. The team and my whole family, which had
already planned the trip to London, travel over across the
(18:24):
seas that played the Vikings in Twickenham, and I was
in a hospital bed watching the game. But so yeah,
to have a triumphant return with a healthy elbow and
to be able to go out there with the guitar
smash is an awesome moment. And the Browns did a
great job capturing some really cool pictures. So once I
get back to Wisconsin tonight and I get a chance
(18:44):
to see the family and show them that video, I
know they're going to be jazz because I'm not sure
if you get to see that when you watch the
TV broadcast, I doubt it.
Speaker 3 (18:52):
I think it's just within the stadium.
Speaker 4 (18:54):
So I haven't really had a chance to talk with
them because of the time change yet, and so I
don't even know if they know that I was the
dog Pod Captain. But I did keep the smashed guitar.
Speaker 3 (19:04):
I was able to fit it into my bag.
Speaker 4 (19:05):
So I'll be bringing that home and maybe i'd toss
that on the table and that's my welcome moment that Hey,
by the way, guys, I did something pretty cool this weekend.
Speaker 3 (19:12):
You may not have heard about.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
Wait, you got that through customs. Okay, they stopped the.
Speaker 3 (19:16):
Even check my bag. It's still in there, so I'm
not sure what they thought kind of been. But it flew.
It was a weapon, Okay, it could be a weapon.
Speaker 4 (19:26):
I'm glad they didn't pull it from my bag or
pulled me aside for any extra cavity searches.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
Good, all right, we got that, We got we got
that back into the country. The game here, like, are
you a stunned as Nathan and I were upstairs that
the defense couldn't get off the field and the game.
Speaker 3 (19:42):
That was shocked.
Speaker 4 (19:43):
And I mean, if you're the Browns going into that
game saying, hey, Dylan Gabriel's going to play mostly mistake
free football.
Speaker 3 (19:49):
They're going to have the lead.
Speaker 4 (19:50):
In the fourth quarter, which just a couple of minutes
left in the game, and it's all about just getting
the defense to stop Carson Wentz from going the length
of the field and scoring a touchdown. I would say
we're going to be in pretty good shape.
Speaker 3 (20:00):
Yeah, but it is the NFL.
Speaker 4 (20:02):
Things happened Carson Wentz, even though he is erratic he
turns the football over a lot, he can still throw
the ball.
Speaker 3 (20:09):
He still got a big.
Speaker 4 (20:10):
Arm, he's got a lot of experience, and he still
got Justin Jefferson over there. And I think when you
have a weapon like that at receiver and you got
a quarterback that can throw it, and it's a situation where, hey,
if you throw an interception, it doesn't matter, right, the
game's already over.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
What we need is a touchdown.
Speaker 4 (20:25):
You can be a little bit riskier in your decision
making you're going to get the best version of that offense.
And of course Jordan Addison was out there. He's another
great weapon. I think he was the guy that caught
the game winning touchdown on the sideline. And it's disappointing
because if there was one thing that you felt like
you could count on the entire season, it was that defense.
(20:45):
It was the pass rush, and then it was the
coverage with our two great cornerbacks, and it didn't work
out in that last drive.
Speaker 3 (20:51):
And I think that's probably.
Speaker 4 (20:53):
Overwhelmingly the most disappointing moment coming out of London, because
you feel like your rookie quarterback in his very first
experience in the NFL played well enough to win and
your defense wasn't able to close.
Speaker 3 (21:04):
It out for you.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
Yeah, which is stunning.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
And on all weekend I told people pretty confidently like
they're going to win this game, not saying like, you know,
there's no way they're going to lose this game. Of course,
there's always a way, but I thought the Bronze defense
would get to Carson Wentz consistently and that Dylan Gabriel
would meet the moment I figure there might be a turnover.
I mean Brian Flores against a rookie that generally that
(21:27):
would have been okay, but he didn't. He played turnover
free football big picture with the quarterback, because you got
to take the next step, and the next step is
against Pittsburgh. Forget about the atmosphere and Mike Tomlin and
everything that defense brings. Just how the heck do you
get the ball to a wide receiver consistently. That's that's
(21:48):
the most fuddling thing because if you consistently look, Harold
Fan and David Djoko are doing their thing the back
side of the backfield, whether they're in checkdowns, So you
got to be able to stretch the field and the
detection was better. Certainly it helped to have Jack back
in a huge way. But they're still not stretching the field.
Speaker 4 (22:07):
Joe, Yeah, we're still not throwing the ball down the
field at all. So at the very least, just taking
some shots, just getting those safeties to back up a
little bit.
Speaker 3 (22:16):
I mean, we've got a speedster.
Speaker 4 (22:18):
With Isaiah Bond. We feel like Jerry Judy's a good
weapon down the field. Even if you don't complete those passes,
you've got to take a few chances. You've got to
make the defense a little bit nervous, get them to
back up a little bit because they are concerned about
getting balls thrown over their heads. And I think you
have to try to start manufacturing some of these off
of play action. Dylan Gabriel, for as great of a
(22:38):
job that he did in this game, one of the
things that he is is he's.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
A risk averse quarterback.
Speaker 4 (22:44):
He's a little conservative, So if it's not there, he's
not going to try to fit it into a tight window.
And so I think as he starts becoming a little
bit more comfortable, you just need to start taking some
shots down the field, even if it means incompletions or
maybe a long turnover, because the offense has not been
able to get the ball down the field and make
any big explosive plays. And it's too hard in the
(23:04):
NFL to go the long hard way all the time
running it and with short dump off type passes. So
if you look at the run game, the duo play,
which is you know, one of everybody's favorite plays, is
just double teams across the front and then let the
running back kind of run downhill at the A gap
and then jump cut and find his way and find
a little hole. That's ben quin John's best play. He
also runs the outside zone very well on the inside zone,
(23:26):
and so those running game combinations fit really well with
some different play action protections to be able to get
those speedsters on the outside time to get down the
field where you're not putting a lot of pressure on
your tackles in traditional drop back pass pro. And so
I think what you're going to see against the Steelers
is them taking a few more of those shots that
are just called shots off of play action, off of
(23:50):
your outside zone play action, off of the duo type
play action, to be able to just threaten the defense
a little bit and then just try to manufacture a
few deep balls to get some of those big home
run plays that this offense has just been clearly missing.
Speaker 1 (24:02):
Yeah, because Quinn Shown's running it. Man.
Speaker 2 (24:04):
That kid is is fun to watch e even on
because some people say, well, maybe he doesn't have the
breakaway finishing speed. Even on the one that got called back,
no one caught him. He got to the pilot and
unfortunately that one did not count. But against the first
this blows me away. The first one hundred yard game
for a Browns running back since Jerome Ford in twenty
(24:25):
twenty three, in that game in Baltimore of all weeks,
all right, real quick, last thirty seconds you ever played
to catch? So Bo evidently gave you the nickname Hoff.
The Hoff Full disclosure. A couple of years ago, and
I first started listening to CBD before I was truly
part of the family as opposed to just day longtime listener,
(24:46):
first time caller, I was like, who.
Speaker 1 (24:48):
The hell are they talking about it?
Speaker 2 (24:50):
I'm like, oh, okay, I got it, I got it,
I got it?
Speaker 1 (24:53):
Makes sense?
Speaker 2 (24:53):
Does anyone else I've never asked you this before?
Speaker 1 (24:55):
Does anyone else call you Hoff?
Speaker 3 (24:57):
So I hear it a lot in Cleveland.
Speaker 1 (24:59):
I was in Z It comes from the show.
Speaker 3 (25:02):
It comes from the show. It comes from Zee and Bow.
They really started that.
Speaker 4 (25:05):
But it's interesting because I've got a group of friends
that I work out with back in Wisconsin that I
played college ball with that I see all the time
there and they don't watch Cleveland Brown's Day. They're not
Browns fans, you know, but they actually have started calling
me the Hoff. And it's interesting as some of my
friends in Wisconsin who call me the Hoff, and then
my friends in Cleveland have started to like meet and
(25:26):
they hear each other calling me that. I think it's
kind of a funny moment because both of them are like,
wait a minute, we didn't know that that belongs to us.
Speaker 3 (25:34):
We were yeah, yeah, no, no, no, you're not allowed to
call them that. That's what we call them.
Speaker 4 (25:39):
But I've obviously I've enjoyed that, you know, with the
conversations and the laughter that we have when we're on
CBD or just hanging out, you know, like when we
were in London, and then obviously with my beef company,
Hall of Fame Beef being haff just it's a perfect
fit and it's something that even in tough times, we
can have some giggle about, which is something that you
(26:01):
need when your football team is not living up to
your hope or your expectations.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
He is the founder and CEO, the purveyor, the cattleman.
He's like Coster and Yellowstone with his arm up on
a fence, staring into the distance with this, you know, this,
this look of deep thought on his face. He is
the hoff from Hall of Fame Beef, like that, this
(26:27):
is your first stop in the bark tank man. I
appreciate you it making time on a jet lagged schedule.
Speaker 3 (26:34):
My pleasure. Thanks for having me on, Andrew.
Speaker 4 (26:36):
It's great to see and we'll see you soon here
I'm sure in Cleveland or somewhere else at a Browns
road game.
Speaker 2 (26:41):
Or a restaurant where we are the whole menu.
Speaker 3 (26:45):
Let's do it to Oh baby, let's do that again.
Speaker 1 (26:48):
Love my man, Joe Thomas. We had a good time there.
Speaker 2 (26:51):
Hey wait a minute, why is Andrew wearing something different
if you're watching the video portion of this show, Because
this is a bark Tank bus. So we're doing what
Sizzlin Now presented by Sugardale The Sugarnow What's Sizzlin Around
the AFC North Full disclosure.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
When we first recorded this episode on.
Speaker 2 (27:11):
Monday, we talked about the possibility of Zach Taylor benching
Jake Browning. But we need to come into the bark
Tank bonus because breaking news, the Browns just traded Joe.
Speaker 1 (27:23):
Flacco to the Bengals. It's this thing on it is.
Speaker 2 (27:29):
Look, I've been surprised before, I've been stunned before.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
This is all of the above. Couple of things. Listen.
Speaker 2 (27:39):
Number one, I'm happy for Joe Flacco that he's going
to get evidently a chance to play again.
Speaker 1 (27:43):
I love Joe Flacco.
Speaker 2 (27:44):
I truly do the person the quarterback. I love him
for twenty twenty three. We'll always have twenty twenty three
near and dear to my heart. So I'm happy for Joe.
Good that the Browns have yet another fifth round pick.
They traded pick it for five. They traded Joe Flack
Go for a five.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
I've got a lot of fives.
Speaker 2 (28:03):
Coming up in the twenty twenty six draft. This one
is interesting. I mean to be candid here because you're
giving the Bengals a new shot at life. It's a
two to three team that is obviously reeling from the
loss of Joe Burrow. I don't know how this one's
gonna play out, Jamar T.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
Higgins.
Speaker 2 (28:25):
They certainly have some weapons there. The Bengals also have
protection issues, and they have for a number of years. Obviously,
it's well documented how much of a beating Joe Burrow
was taking behind that line. Joe Flacco doesn't have the
mobility that he had even in twenty twenty three. We
saw that the first four weeks of the season with
the Browns. Can they protect Joe Flacco in Cincinnati? I
(28:47):
don't know the answer. If they can, they've got some
weapons he can sling it. It could get interesting. Yes,
there's the obvious question, are you helping out a division rival?
Speaker 1 (28:58):
Is that fifth round pick truly worth it? I don't know.
Speaker 2 (29:01):
I don't know. It'll be interesting to see how this
one turns out. I'd always like to push back, by
the way, against the broadcaster cliche it'll be interesting. Well,
but I mean, if it isn't going to be interesting,
then why are we talking about it?
Speaker 1 (29:13):
Right? This one will be fun, you know what?
Speaker 2 (29:16):
Also could be fun? Remember week two, we are in Baltimore,
the big Joe Flacco back in Baltimore thing. Remember that, Well,
if he is still the starting quarterback of the Bengals
on Thanksgiving, Joe Flacco and the Bengals in Baltimore on
Thanksgiving night, or let me phrase it this way, Joe
(29:37):
Flacco's Bengals will visit the Ravens potentially on Thanksgiving night.
Speaker 1 (29:45):
So there's that.
Speaker 2 (29:47):
And we thank you for listening and liking and sharing
and subscribing and watching this episode in which we had
a wardrobe change, first ever wardrobe change in the Bark Tank.
My name is Andrew Siciliano. See you next week. After
the win over the steers
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