November 2, 2025 • 37 mins
Dan Hoard recaps Sunday’s 47-42 loss to the Bears with radio replays, locker room comments, and postgame analysis with Dave Lapham. Then, in this week’s “Fun Facts” conversation, we’ll celebrate the life of Bengals legend Bob Trumpy.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Hig and everybody. I'm Dan Hord and thanks for downloading
The Bengals Booth Podcast, The Ain't It Something? How the
Way Things Go? Edition as the Bengals nearly pull off
one of the greatest finishes in teen history before losing
to the Bears forty seven to forty two. Coming up,
radio replays, locker room comments, and postgame analysis from Dave Lapham.
(00:27):
The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you by Paycore,
Proud to be the Bengals official hr software provider, by
Alta Fiber, future proof fiber Internet designed to elevate your home, business,
and community to a new level, and by Kettering Health
the best care for the best fans. Kettering Health is
the official healthcare provider of the Bengals. Now here's a
(00:48):
quick reminder that you can have the latest edition of
this podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet, or computer
by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's the Greatest
thing sent. Bob Trumpy, the all time Cincinnati great as
a player and broadcaster, passed away on Sunday at the
age of eighty. Bob was a twelfth round draft pick
(01:12):
in the bengals first ever draft in nineteen sixty eight,
who became a revolutionary player for his ability to stretch
the field like a wide receiver at the tight end position.
After ten seasons with the Bengals, featuring multiple Pro Bowl appearances,
Bob got into broadcasting and was the grandfather of sports
talk radio in Cincinnati. He eventually moved to NBC Sports,
(01:35):
where he called Super Bowls, the Olympics, the PGA Tour,
and much more. Bob is in the Pro Football Hall
of Fame for his lifetime achievement in broadcasting. My condolences
to his family and wide circle of friends from all
walks of life. And later in this podcast, I'll replay
my fun Facts conversation with Bob where he shares some
(01:58):
incredible stories about his remarkable life. But up first, it's
the radio replays from Sunday's roller coaster ride at pay
Course Stadium. This kick launched high and deep. Charlie Jones
catches at the one and sprints up the middle of
the field. He's to the twenty to thirty. It's him
versus the kicker.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Jones down the sideline thirty twenty ten five touchdown. Charlie
Jones with his second kick return touchdown of his NFL career.
He does a jungle jump into the crowd and the
Bengals have scored eleven seconds into the game.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
That is incredible. Eleven seconds and the Bengals have seven
on the board.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
Fourth down in goal from the two, Caleb Williams will
be in the gun, one receiver out to each side
of the formation. It is a reverse, then a flip
back to DJ Moore. He throws a pass for the
quarterback and it's caught in the end zone by Caleb Williams.
Where here's all by his loathsome Sakias goes in motion.
They toss it forward to him on a jet sweep.
(03:08):
He's inside the ten, lunging for the pylon. Touchdown. Chicago man.
That's clever player. Shotgun snap to Flacco, drops back five steps,
fires a deep ball left side.
Speaker 4 (03:20):
T Higgins comes away with the football, touchdown Bengals. He
just ripped it away from the defensive back in coverage
and the Bengals take the lead with one twelve left
in the half.
Speaker 5 (03:36):
He took it right off the backside of right right.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
Never found the football. Right was wrong.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
Three receivers out to the left went out to the
right Williams back to throw, fires a pass into the
end zone. Loveland with the catch, holds on to the
ball after being smacked by Geno Stone. It's a touchdown
for Chicago. Second down in goal. The balls in between
the two and the threes. Shotgun snap caught by Flacco,
throws into the end zone. T Higgins, you know the
(04:02):
catch knocks over the pilon. They are not giving him
the touchdown really, even though he knocked over the pylon.
It's going to be discussed for now. It has been
spotted just short, and I.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
Think the bigger official on the back of the end zone,
I think he may overrule and say that was a touchdown.
Speaker 6 (04:20):
It is.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
There's the touchdown Singo Bears trying to take the lead back.
They're down by three here in the third quarter. Williams
tosses it. It's a run to the left for Brown
inside the fifteen ten five touchdown one to go at
the twenty three of Chicago. Shotgun snap Flaco throwing up
the field. It is caught by Noah Fans running up
(04:42):
the seam. He catches the touchdown pass and the Bengals
will go for two with one forty three to go.
Flaco drops back, throws it into the end zone and
it is caught for the two point conversion by t Higgins.
He has two touchdown catches and a two point conversion.
So the Bengals are down by six forty one thirty five.
(05:06):
They're gonna try for an on sidekick and if they
recover it, there would be plenty of time left to
try for a game winning touchdown. Five teammates on each
side of Evan McPherson, so it's hard to tell which
way he's going to kick it. He stands about three
yards away from the ball, He approaches it, kicks it left.
(05:26):
It is bouncing short of ten yards, but it hit
a member of the Chicago Bears, giving the Bengals a
chance to recover even though it did not go ten yards.
If the Bears touch it first, that makes it a
live ball, and.
Speaker 5 (05:40):
There's a wrestling match going on for that football.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
Now, Man strong hands win Benindo situations. Man is It's
like you're fighting for your life in that pot.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
The officials are trying to pull players off the pile
as the fight goes on for the ball on the
ground at the forty three yard line.
Speaker 5 (05:59):
One officials yell Bengals ball.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
The Bengals have recovered.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
Bengals ball.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
The Bengals have recovered. With one minute and forty two
seconds to go, Flaco ready for the shotgun snap. He
catches short drop, firing.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
Into the EG zone, caught by Andre Yo Si Bash.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
The Bengals have tied it. Flacco raising both arms triumphantly,
and now an extra point by money Mack could give
Cincinnati a forty two to forty one lead with fifty
four seconds to go, and Joe Flacco.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
Just calmly slapping skin, slapping palms with teammates and coaches
as he works his way to the Bengals bench. I'm
telling you, man, there's ice water in that man's veins.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
Williams in the gun with Manungai to his left, Bengals
creeping up toward the line defensively. Williams drops back to throw.
Here comes a blitz, doesn't get home. Throw down the
middle of the field, caught Loveland at the twenty fifteen
ten five touchdown Chicago with seventeen seconds to go, a
fifty eight yard touchdown pass to tight end Colston Loveland
(07:12):
and the Chicago Bears are going to beat Cincinnati despite
the heroics of Joe Flaco.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
Incredible, incredible and mean you score forty two points and
you're gonna lose' that's incomprehensible. And you have a quarterback
that throws for over four hundred yards and four touchdowns wasted.
Speaker 5 (07:35):
Frustrating. It's a frustrating game.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
The final score Chicago forty seven, Cincinnati forty two. If
not for Chicago's game winning touchdown with seventeen seconds to go,
it could have been, maybe should have been, one of
the most memorable wins in the bengals fifty eight year history.
And what can you say about Joe Flacco Playing at
his two hundred and twentieth NFL game with an injured
(08:00):
shoulder and a graying beard, Flacco threw for a career
high four hundred and seventy yards. His previous high was
three eighty nine, and it was so long ago that
the opponent was Saint Louis. In four starts for Cincinnati,
Flacco is averaging more than three hundred and thirteen passing
yards a game, with eleven touchdowns, two picks, and a
(08:23):
passer rating of one oh two point six. More importantly,
the Bengals are averaging nearly thirty three points a game
with Flacco as the starting quarterback. Here's Joe after another
remarkable performance.
Speaker 5 (08:39):
Oh it's tough, you know.
Speaker 7 (08:40):
I mean, but anytime you're on the losing end, it's tough.
I think when you've when you've played a lot of games,
it's not the way you lose doesn't make it any
worse necessarily, you know. I think you learn that these
these games come down to the last minute, and you
gotta be ready for anything. And you know a win
to win, a loss is lost. If you don't keep
(09:01):
your head down and and and and go to work,
then it's going to be a long, miserable season for you.
You can't get distracted, uh and you can't you know
you're going to be emotional after a game, but at
some point you've got to let that go. This is
our profession, you know. We we do this for a
living and we take pride in doing it. And I
(09:22):
hope that you would continue to take pride in doing
what you do for a living, no matter what the
outcome is. And yeah, I mean maybe that's easier said
than done, but that's what you got to do, because
you know this leg will eat.
Speaker 6 (09:36):
You up and.
Speaker 7 (09:38):
It will not be it will not be good. I'm sure.
I'm sure Baltimore isn't sitting there, you know, tucking their
tail between their legs. With the record they have, They're
probably motivated and excited about the opportunity, opportunity that they
have going forward. I don't think we can look at
it any different. Every one of us have enough to
worry about on our own that you can't be wiring
(10:01):
about everybody else, because then all of a sudden, once again,
it's going to be a tough eight weeks for us
if we're worrying about what other people are doing. I know,
team is one, it's one team. In order to have
that one team, you need to focus on yourself and
do your job.
Speaker 8 (10:21):
And I get I get it.
Speaker 7 (10:23):
It can get emotional. But you know, there's times to
be emotional and show people that. And but usually when
those times are good, in good things and towards people
you love. And I think if we're emotional, then we
should come at it with an angle of this is
my brother, as opposed to the opposite of that. I
(10:46):
just think that's what good, hardworking, tough people do. They
don't look at other people. They look inward and it
doesn't matter what the situation is. They look inward at
the tail end there.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
Joe is obviously responding to questions about a potential rift
between the offense and defense after the Bengals scored eighty
points in the last two weeks and did not come
away with a win. Listen, it's human nature to be
frustrated and angry you are, so why wouldn't they be.
But football is the ultimate team sport, and on Monday,
(11:19):
roughly seventy players will be back in that locker room
working together toward a common goal. Here are Ted Carris,
Chase Brown, and Orrin Burks on one of the craziest
games they'll ever play.
Speaker 5 (11:33):
It's a crazy ending.
Speaker 9 (11:36):
You know, hard to denote something as a classic when
you lose, but that was.
Speaker 6 (11:41):
At an all time game.
Speaker 10 (11:42):
Just don't turn on each other, like we we know
how they can play. They played really well at the
start of the season, like they did, and they like
they were carrying us on their back, so, you know,
in other words, stepping up. I think like I think like,
you know, we just got to play complimentary football, like
we put the ball in the end zone and go
up a play at the end finish game like just ended.
Speaker 6 (12:04):
Like that's it.
Speaker 10 (12:04):
Like, that's that's like, that's what we need to do.
Just end game, like make them, make them get us
the ball back, let us go to twenty two victory
and let's end the game. That's how that's like, that's
how I feel. We're taking steps forward so offensively.
Speaker 6 (12:17):
So that's good.
Speaker 8 (12:18):
You know, the offense did a great job driving down
the field, putting this in a position to win, and
we just came up short. And you know, there's no
point in the fingers is again like everybody looking internally
at ourselves, how can I be better? Uh, just being
the best rison ourselves out there on the field and collectively,
that's what we're gonna like the results if we can
continue to do that.
Speaker 9 (12:34):
I don't say anything to anyone right now. I'll let
everyone be raw in their own heads. And you know,
a lot of leadership. There's nothing you can say after
a heartbreaker like that. So you just got to come
to work. I think we're coming in tomorrow and then
when we get back from the break, I mean, you
just got to show up every day with a ferocity
to compete and to try and win ball games. So
(12:57):
I don't have some raw ross speech. It's going to
make anyone feel better today, but you know, excited for
the second half of the season.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
The Bengals are now three and six after the defense
was the key to victory and a seventeen to sixteen
Week one win in Cleveland. The Bengals have allowed twenty
seven or more points in every game since. Here's Zach
Taylor after Sunday's loss to Chicago.
Speaker 11 (13:23):
Can't believe it, can't believe it. Things right there, and
then we just we don't find a way to get
it done and win a game. We just got to
make one play, just one play, and some of these
losses turn into wins. And so again we just got
to his coaches, we're gonna find this week, finding a way,
finding a way to help everybody and get it done.
(13:44):
Because this is it's sick. It's sick to lose like that.
It's sick.
Speaker 6 (13:50):
That's what happened.
Speaker 11 (13:51):
So we got to own it, and we got to
keep finding ways to improve and keep finding ways to
find a win. The last two weeks hasn't happened sick
right now, But all we can do is pick ourselves
up and keep fighting and and That's the beauty of
being in this profession and be in this locker room
is is we see what.
Speaker 3 (14:08):
We're made of.
Speaker 11 (14:09):
We're gonna keep fighting. We we know it was gonna
be pretty loud noise out there, criticism, It's deserved when
when we're the record we are and the results we've had,
We're gonna keep showing our character and keep fighting and
find a way to lead these guys and find a
way to to make some plays and get some wins
and and keep the season alive. That's what we're gonna do.
(14:29):
What Joe Flacco did for us this week, You'll never forget,
you know. And and I mean just knowing what our
quarterback room is working through right now, what Joe Burrow
is doing to and Joe Flacco, and what Jake's all
the things he's done, It's a really mentally tough room
that leads by example. Joe Flacco got the opportunity to
show that this week. That's him. Joe Burrow working like
(14:51):
crazy behind the scenes to do everything he can to
help our team. Flacco, I mean, he couldn't. He could
barely lift his arm this week, you know, and he's
willing to go put himself out there for a bunch
of teammates that he's been with for three weeks. You know,
he's a football player, that's what he's out of here
and said, he said, I play football for a living.
That's what I do. And and oftentimes you need that
(15:11):
throughout the locker room.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
Guys.
Speaker 11 (15:12):
They're just football players and they remember that and they'll
go out there and do whatever it takes to help
their team win a game, no matter what normach of
the circumstances. Got a bye week next week, you get
a chance to get rested up. That's how Joe Flacco
looks at it. And so he went out there and
put himself on the line. I'm sure he's gonna be
in a ton of pain tomorrow, and we'll give him
ten days off and we'll see if you can come
back and do it again. It's frustrating for everybody to
(15:34):
put in the work that's being put in and this
is the result we've had. It's it's frustrating and and uh,
you know, sometimes you got to take a deep breath
and then then come back to work and try to
uplift others. That's I faced a lot of diversity here
and the only thing I know how to do is
keep trying to lift people up. That doesn't mean we
run from corrections, that doesn't mean we don't give criticism.
(15:57):
But at the same time, the easy thing to do
is question and everything and point fingers and and and
uh be negative and and be an energy vampire in
a lot of ways. And I think we got enough
guys that just want to continue to lift people up
and finanswers, find solutions, help where they can make myself better,
make the person next to me better. And that's that's
all I know how to do. That's how we built
(16:18):
the coaching staff that does that too. We built the
locker room full of leaders and great men that are
that are falling suit there and that's what I've seen
from them. And that's just what we're going to continue
to do. And I don't have something I can say
that's going to say we we We're just going to
fix this and things are going to be better. It's
not that simple. I wish it was, but I can
promise you we're gonna fight like kel to to keep
(16:38):
keep finding wins here and get the season turned around.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
The Bengals have a by next Sunday before a road
game in Pittsburgh. The Steelers beat the Colts on Sunday
to improve to five and three, meaning the Bengals are
two and a half games back in the division. Cincinnati
is a half game behind the second place Ravens. So
if the Bengals are going to stay in the hunt
in the a f SEE North, they're going to have
to win their head to head matchups against those two teams.
(17:05):
Now time for the radio guy's recap. Let's start with
the obvious positive, and that is the latest remarkable performance
by Joe Flacco. Four hundred and seventy yards three oh
five in the second half, four touchdowns, what should have
been one of the great miraculous comeback victories in Bengals history.
(17:25):
I'm running out of words to describe the guy. It's incredible.
Speaker 5 (17:28):
Three hundred and five yards in the second half, Are
you kidding me? That's absurd. I mean six and ten
yard passing day, that equates to eight touchdowns, that equates
to as well. Those numbers are incomprehensible, they're unattainable. Yet
he's doing it. You tip the cap to him. Boy,
here's a guy that understands the game of football. It
(17:49):
hasn't passed him by. He knows exactly what he's doing.
He knows how he's supposed to do it, what he's
supposed to do, and how he's supposed to get there
to get it done. And his teammates love him. They
worshiped the ground he walks on. Really, I mean, they're
waiting to hear his next words with baited breath. You know,
(18:11):
it's a remarkable thing to watch, and they're responding to him,
and you know he's got weapons to throw to. Jamar
Chase t. Higgins had big days. You'll see made some
big plays as well, But three hundred and five yards
is you know, you don't dream. I guess you do
dream about it when you're a young player, high school,
(18:33):
college or NFL player, but to actually achieve it is
yet another.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
Thing in a half, just amazing, ridiculous. Let's discuss something
that we briefly discussed on the air late in the game.
Joe Flacco is forty years old. There have been a
couple of instances within the last few years where it
looked like his career was over. We both agreed late
in the broadcast that if he's interested in coming back
next year as Joe Burrows back up at age forty one.
(19:02):
I'd sign them to that deal right now.
Speaker 5 (19:04):
I agree one hundred thousand percent. I think that would
be the best one to two punch, the best tandem
to quarterback tandem the National Football League has ever had.
I'm not talking about it just this year. I mean,
these two guys, they know how to play football. They
love the game. They're all about the game. The game
(19:24):
is a big part of their life. They're football players.
They're proud to be football players, loud and proud to
be football players. You know. And Joe Burrow is on
the field today supporting the efforts to Joe Flacco. That
was good to see. I think they've got a good relationship.
I think they've bonded. You know, they probably have spent
(19:44):
quite a bit of time together talking football, talking other things,
you know, in life about life. Blacko's that kind of guy.
Blacko's you know, he's he's a stage veteran football player,
eighteen seasons in the National Football League. That alone would
be something for Joe Burrow to into and find out
how the hell he's accomplished that. And being able to
stay out of harm's way and avoid injury for as
(20:07):
many snaps, as many hits as he's taken out there.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
I think there are x'es and o's factors that could
be helpful for Joe Burrow of Flacco is still around.
But I think even more than that, he's just such
a normal guy. Joe has this crazy life that none
of us Joe Burrow, that is crazy life that none
of us can identify with. You know, every move that
he makes is scrutinized and seen by millions of people.
(20:33):
But maybe just being around a guy who's a father
of five nothing phases him. That part of it I
think would be good for Joe Burrow.
Speaker 5 (20:41):
I think Joe Flacco is normal. I mean, he's a
normal dude that just happens to be able to play
football at the highest level it can be played, you know,
I mean he is. I mean, I don't know in
Bengals history if there's been another game where a quarterbacks
is frowing four with three hundred yards and a half.
I mean, that's like stratospheric stuff. That's Hall of Fame stuff.
(21:04):
I mean that football should go you right up to
right up to the Hall of Fame, you know. I
know Joe probably wouldn't want it to because he didn't
win the football game. And that's the reason you play,
as has been said many times, you play to win
the game. Period. That's end of sentence. That's what it's
(21:26):
all about. And Joe Flako is going to win a
lot more games for the Cincinnati Bengals this year. I
think it's only just begun.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
All right, enough of the positive should we get to
the other side of the coin. Let's talk about the
defensive issues, and there are many up First, stopping the run,
the Bears top two running backs were out. Kyle m Nungai,
seventh round draft pick out of Rutgers, goes up and
down the field for most of the game. The Bengals
wind up allowing more than two hundred and fifty rushing yards. Again,
(21:57):
the problems begin up front.
Speaker 5 (21:59):
Right absolutely. I mean when you give up two hundred
and fifty rushing yards, what what I mean more than
once in the same season. I don't think that's happened
in Bengal history either. So, I mean there's a lot
of things going on here, positively and negatively, and it's
a three and six football team trying to figure things out. Man,
(22:23):
there are It starts with the with the defensive line.
I agree with you. You know, they're they're getting beaten,
they're getting handled at the line of scrimmage. Too many times,
they get consumed, they're you know, covered up by blockers
and don't get off, don't get off the block, and
don't make plays, and there's too many yards after contact
(22:44):
that you know that that they allow, and it just
it's starting to get old. I bet Al Golden is
tearing his hair out by the roots. I bet he's
not pleasant to live with. I'm sure his wife could
attest to that. These kind of these kind of stretches
where your side of the football is not holding up
its center of the bargain, it's costume the football team wins.
(23:05):
Is very, very difficult to deal with because you know,
you have a lot of pride in what you do
as well, and you've risen to a very high level
of the highest level of football, and you know you're
embarrassed by what they're doing.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
Al Golden's a good coach in my opinion. Lou Anarromo
is obviously a good coach too. The Bengals tried to
switch things up and see if maybe l could develop
the younger guys a little bit better than Lou had done.
The bottom line is this is a personnel issue. The
Bengals are going to need to continue to add defensive
talent in a big way in the next year.
Speaker 5 (23:39):
There's no doubt. I mean, Duke Tobin, I know, we
know him very well. We understand and appreciate the fact
that he is a guy, is a football lifer, and
he understands the game of football. Social media is not
being kind to Duke Tobin right now. It's a very
difficult time for him. You know, he's he's been on
(24:00):
the game forever, played the game and then went to
work as a scout with his dad and Bill Tobin
legendary one of the best personnel guys to ever work
in the National Football They put together super Bowl winning
football teams. Duke Tobin was the guy who the architect
of the team went to the Super Bowl for the
Cincinnati Bengals as well. Did they win the Super Bowl? No,
(24:23):
That's what I would love to see. Somehow it can happen.
I'd love to see the Cincinnati Bengals win the division
to go to the win the playoff game, go to
the ANFC Championship, win that and go to the Super Bowl.
I mean, I'd like to see it before I'm done,
and they better do it sooner out and later, because
I ain't gonna be around forever.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
The trade deadline is upon us. The Bengals historically have
not liked to trade away their best players, but in
light of the circumstances, their record, Joe Burrow's injury, the
need to upgrade their defensive personnel, do you think they're
more open to trading somebody like Trey Hendrickson or Logan
Wilson than they typically would have been in the past.
Speaker 5 (25:07):
You know, you got to think, so, you got to
think that they would be in that mindset, particularly the
difficulty they're having getting a contract done, you know, and normally,
and that's the case, when Mike Brown has come to
a stalemate or you know, a roadblock or a difficult
situation in contract negotiations, that's when you start to think
(25:27):
about trading people. So, I mean, I'd hate to see
him trade Tray because I mean, they're having trouble pressure
in the quarterback. They just can't get any anything done,
and he is their best pass rusher by far. He's
probably one of the three best pass rushers the NFL
has to offer. So I would hate to see Trey
(25:47):
Henderson go elsewhere and be what that football team needed
to get over the top and you know, start winning
their division, winning the conference championship and going to the
super Bowl.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
Else Yeah, nobody wants to see Tray go. On the
other hand, at this point, it's a if the price
is right type of situation really with all of those
guys that are being rumored as potential trade candidates.
Speaker 5 (26:12):
Yeah, you're right, and if you get some kind of
an offer you can't refuse for anybody. I remember Paul
Brown telling us all, you know, standing up in front
of the entire football team, If you think you're going
to be here forever, if you think you're above being
let go or traded or whatever, think again, young man,
that's not the case. If we get an offer for
(26:33):
you that we can't refuse, we won't refuse it. You'll
be gone in a heartbeat.
Speaker 1 (26:38):
Well, we almost had a chance to call arguably the
wackiest come from behind victory in Bengals history. We just
needed to eliminate the last fifty four seconds.
Speaker 5 (26:49):
Yeah, that's right, one minute of our lives, one minute
of the Bengals football lives in this twenty twenty five season.
It has been a crazy, wacky year for sure, but
as we said Dan, far from over. There's a lot
of season left. Eight football games. It a lot can
happen in those eight games.
Speaker 1 (27:08):
The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you by Pai Core,
Proud to be the Bengals official HR software provider, by
Alta Fiber, future proof Fiber Internet designed to elevate your home,
business and community to a new level, and by Kettering Health,
the best care for the best fans. Kettering Health is
the official healthcare provider of the Bengals. Finally, my latest
(27:30):
fun facts conversation this week was with tight end Noah Fan,
but we're going to save that for a future podcast
because I want to conclude this episode by replaying the
conversation I had a few years ago with Bob Trumpy,
who passed away on Sunday at the age of eighty.
Time for some fun facts with one of the great
players in Bengals history, a four time Pro Bowl tight
(27:52):
end who went on to have a great career in broadcasting,
the legendary Bob Trumpy, greatest twelfth round draft pick in
an NFL history. I would say, how did you learn
that you were selected by the Bengals? I remember was
something bizarre.
Speaker 6 (28:07):
I was working as a bill collector for a beneficial finance.
The address is six oh seven Hill Street. Don't tell
me how I remember that. It was in downtown Los
Angeles and my wife called me and said, you just
got drafted. And I said that's impossible. I just got
(28:28):
out of the Navy. She said, no, no, no, by
some team in Cincinnati. Is that Ohio? And I said yeah.
She said it's the Cincinnati Beagles And I said, are
you kidding? She said no, I'm not kidding. And I said,
how do you know that? He said, there's a telegram
(28:49):
here from Paul Brown the congratulations you've been drafted in
the twelfth round by the Cincinnati Bengals. And I said,
you're sure you're not kidding me. This is no joke.
She said, yes, yes, aren't you excited? And I said
absolutely I am. And I walked into the boss of
beneficial finance at six oh seven Hill Street in downtown
(29:10):
Los Angeles and said I quit. I might mention I
had no clue how they knew about me or what
the connection was between the Cincinnati Bengals and one kid
named Trumpy. And when I made the team, my wife
and I moved in an apartment on Galworth Road. And
another person there was Al Locasel with his wife and
(29:32):
he was a director of player personnel. And we're sitting
down on the front stoop one night having a beer
and I said, Al, who's responsible for me being drafted?
He said me? And I said, what did you know
about me? Said? I saw you twice, once on the
beach in Daytona and once planned for the University of
(29:54):
Utah against Houston. And I just wrote your name down
and kept track, and the draft twelve around. Paul Brown says,
offense receiver, somebody with some speed. And he said, I'm
flipping through a spiral notebook and I get to the
t's and there's your name. Some total of the research
they did on me. That was it.
Speaker 1 (30:15):
When he said on the beach in Daytona, what was
he referring to?
Speaker 6 (30:18):
He was a scout for the San Diego Chargers. The
guy that owned the motel were four fraternity brothers and
I were staying for spring break was owned by a
guy named bud Asher. Bud Asher ran owned and coached
a minor league football team in Daytona Beach. We didn't
know that, just pure coincidence that we stopped there. A
(30:42):
guy comes up to me, some kid I had in
Illinois hooded sweatshirt on. He said, I understand you're a
receiver at the University of Illinois. Said yeah. This was
between my freshman and sophomore year. He said, I'm trying
to make this team. Would you mind catching some passes?
Format Oh, I don't mind at all, big beach, beautiful shirt.
Get done. Go back up by the pool. And one
(31:05):
of my paternity brothers said, some guy was asking about you,
and I said, what do you mean asking about me? Well,
the quarterback was trying out, not me, he said, no,
he was asking who you were. And he had a
big ring on. It was al locusl.
Speaker 1 (31:22):
We're doing fun facts with Bob Trumpy. You used the
expression big receiver, tall and fast but not heavy. What
did you weigh when you first showed up at camp.
Speaker 6 (31:31):
To eight legitimately, But I weighed in with a ten
pound weight in a towel on a shoe string underneath,
So I thought the first meeting. We had a meeting first,
as was always the case with Paul, and everybody was listening.
I was counting. I'm not joking. I was counting the
(31:52):
number of tight ends and the number of wide receivers.
And he went through the numbers as to what numbers
they were going to keep at what positions and who
might that be? And I thought, she was you know,
if I can be in both those lines, I got
a better chance to make the ball club. So the
(32:14):
first night I lost a roommate, Wally Scott. He was
cut before the first practice. But I gained an idea
as to how I could be in both lines, and
I the first year I weighed with that ten pound weight.
Now make the team. Last game of the season, we
(32:35):
played the New York Jets. They played what we referred
to as an over defense. The defensive end was on me.
If we were left, it was Erlin Biggs. If we
were to the right, it was Jerry Philban. Biggs was
two eighty Philman was two sixty five. And I weighed
(32:57):
in that week at one ninety six to myself. So
game ends, we get beat and Bill Walsh walks up
to me on the plane after the game. He said, man,
you had a tough day. I said, I can't block
those guys. And he said, well, is a technique, And
I said, no, I weigh one hundred and ninety six pounds.
And he just goes crazy, What why didn't you tell me?
(33:18):
You go no, no, no, no, no no. And I said,
you're not listed at one ninety six, You're listed at
to eighteen. I said, well, I weighed in with a
ten pound weight. So for the next two years I
had no weight naked, but I made the team.
Speaker 1 (33:33):
We're doing fun Facts with Bob Trumpy. Describe your relationship
with Paul Brown.
Speaker 6 (33:39):
I think he treated us all exactly the same.
Speaker 1 (33:43):
Uh.
Speaker 6 (33:43):
He was the boss. I don't ever remember him give
us a giving us a one one for the gip
or speech. I don't ever remember him. I don't ring
a cuss word.
Speaker 10 (33:56):
Uh.
Speaker 6 (33:57):
He treated me like everybody else. I was thankful for that.
That's all I wanted. Uh and uh. But he did
invite me wants to a golf tournament up in Dayton,
put on by a friend of his. And when he
called me, uh, he called my house. My wife answers,
(34:20):
and I'm at work at Pogues and Kenwood off season
job and my wife calls me and says Paul Brown
just called me. He wants to talk to you. My
first thought was Buffalo. I'm going to Buffalo, and I
quickly h called and Mary, who was going to turn
(34:45):
out to be his future wife, answered the phone. She said,
hold on just a minute. Coach does want to talk
to you. And he gets on the phone and he says,
my friend up in Dayton, Si Lauter has a golf
tournament I'd like to invite you, called the Bogie Busters.
And what bogie Busters? You mean? No, Buffalo, I'm not
(35:08):
going to Buffalo and he said, no, just play all okay? Fine.
So as a player, I enjoy the relationship.
Speaker 1 (35:18):
Trump. As I mentioned at the beginning of the interview,
after your career, you went on to have a tremendous
career in broadcasting, got the opportunity to call Super Bowls
and so many other big events. What was more nerve
racking for you playing in a big game or being
behind the mic at a Super Bowl.
Speaker 6 (35:34):
I never got the adrenaline rush broadcasting that I got playing,
and I've never found anything that matches that adrenaline rush.
I mean, I don't care if you're fifteen and one
or for US thirteen and one or one and thirteen.
The adrenaline rush you get before a football game, it's
just it's unmatched. So I was probably more nervous before
(36:00):
football games. You don't get the sense when you're broadcasting
that you might be talking to tens or hundreds and
millions of people. You got the guy sitting next to you,
and I had some good ones to it. You're in
this together. You don't have to be perfect neither. There's
that guy. We help each other. But in football, I
(36:23):
got a job, and if I don't do it, the
play doesn't work. It's not quite that way in broadcasting.
It was much easier to deal with the nervousness in broadcasting.
Speaker 1 (36:34):
That's going to do it for this episode of the
Bengals Booth podcast, brought to you by Pai Core, Proud
to be the Bengals official HR software provider, by Alta
Fiber future proof fiber Internet designed to elevate your home,
business and community to a new level, and by Kettering
Health the best care for the best fans. Kettering Health
is the official healthcare provider of the Bengals. If you
(36:56):
haven't done so already, please subscribe to this podcast and
if you half a minute give it a rating, or
share a comment that helps more Bengals fans find us.
I'm Dan Horde and thanks for listening to the Bengals
Booth podcast
Hig and everybody. I'm Dan Hord and thanks for downloading
The Bengals Booth Podcast, The Ain't It Something? How the
Way Things Go? Edition as the Bengals nearly pull off
one of the greatest finishes in teen history before losing
to the Bears forty seven to forty two. Coming up,
radio replays, locker room comments, and postgame analysis from Dave Lapham.
(00:27):
The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you by Paycore,
Proud to be the Bengals official hr software provider, by
Alta Fiber, future proof fiber Internet designed to elevate your home, business,
and community to a new level, and by Kettering Health
the best care for the best fans. Kettering Health is
the official healthcare provider of the Bengals. Now here's a
(00:48):
quick reminder that you can have the latest edition of
this podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet, or computer
by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's the Greatest
thing sent. Bob Trumpy, the all time Cincinnati great as
a player and broadcaster, passed away on Sunday at the
age of eighty. Bob was a twelfth round draft pick
(01:12):
in the bengals first ever draft in nineteen sixty eight,
who became a revolutionary player for his ability to stretch
the field like a wide receiver at the tight end position.
After ten seasons with the Bengals, featuring multiple Pro Bowl appearances,
Bob got into broadcasting and was the grandfather of sports
talk radio in Cincinnati. He eventually moved to NBC Sports,
(01:35):
where he called Super Bowls, the Olympics, the PGA Tour,
and much more. Bob is in the Pro Football Hall
of Fame for his lifetime achievement in broadcasting. My condolences
to his family and wide circle of friends from all
walks of life. And later in this podcast, I'll replay
my fun Facts conversation with Bob where he shares some
(01:58):
incredible stories about his remarkable life. But up first, it's
the radio replays from Sunday's roller coaster ride at pay
Course Stadium. This kick launched high and deep. Charlie Jones
catches at the one and sprints up the middle of
the field. He's to the twenty to thirty. It's him
versus the kicker.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Jones down the sideline thirty twenty ten five touchdown. Charlie
Jones with his second kick return touchdown of his NFL career.
He does a jungle jump into the crowd and the
Bengals have scored eleven seconds into the game.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
That is incredible. Eleven seconds and the Bengals have seven
on the board.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
Fourth down in goal from the two, Caleb Williams will
be in the gun, one receiver out to each side
of the formation. It is a reverse, then a flip
back to DJ Moore. He throws a pass for the
quarterback and it's caught in the end zone by Caleb Williams.
Where here's all by his loathsome Sakias goes in motion.
They toss it forward to him on a jet sweep.
(03:08):
He's inside the ten, lunging for the pylon. Touchdown. Chicago man.
That's clever player. Shotgun snap to Flacco, drops back five steps,
fires a deep ball left side.
Speaker 4 (03:20):
T Higgins comes away with the football, touchdown Bengals. He
just ripped it away from the defensive back in coverage
and the Bengals take the lead with one twelve left
in the half.
Speaker 5 (03:36):
He took it right off the backside of right right.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
Never found the football. Right was wrong.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
Three receivers out to the left went out to the
right Williams back to throw, fires a pass into the
end zone. Loveland with the catch, holds on to the
ball after being smacked by Geno Stone. It's a touchdown
for Chicago. Second down in goal. The balls in between
the two and the threes. Shotgun snap caught by Flacco,
throws into the end zone. T Higgins, you know the
(04:02):
catch knocks over the pilon. They are not giving him
the touchdown really, even though he knocked over the pylon.
It's going to be discussed for now. It has been
spotted just short, and I.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
Think the bigger official on the back of the end zone,
I think he may overrule and say that was a touchdown.
Speaker 6 (04:20):
It is.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
There's the touchdown Singo Bears trying to take the lead back.
They're down by three here in the third quarter. Williams
tosses it. It's a run to the left for Brown
inside the fifteen ten five touchdown one to go at
the twenty three of Chicago. Shotgun snap Flaco throwing up
the field. It is caught by Noah Fans running up
(04:42):
the seam. He catches the touchdown pass and the Bengals
will go for two with one forty three to go.
Flaco drops back, throws it into the end zone and
it is caught for the two point conversion by t Higgins.
He has two touchdown catches and a two point conversion.
So the Bengals are down by six forty one thirty five.
(05:06):
They're gonna try for an on sidekick and if they
recover it, there would be plenty of time left to
try for a game winning touchdown. Five teammates on each
side of Evan McPherson, so it's hard to tell which
way he's going to kick it. He stands about three
yards away from the ball, He approaches it, kicks it left.
(05:26):
It is bouncing short of ten yards, but it hit
a member of the Chicago Bears, giving the Bengals a
chance to recover even though it did not go ten yards.
If the Bears touch it first, that makes it a
live ball, and.
Speaker 5 (05:40):
There's a wrestling match going on for that football.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
Now, Man strong hands win Benindo situations. Man is It's
like you're fighting for your life in that pot.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
The officials are trying to pull players off the pile
as the fight goes on for the ball on the
ground at the forty three yard line.
Speaker 5 (05:59):
One officials yell Bengals ball.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
The Bengals have recovered.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
Bengals ball.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
The Bengals have recovered. With one minute and forty two
seconds to go, Flaco ready for the shotgun snap. He
catches short drop, firing.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
Into the EG zone, caught by Andre Yo Si Bash.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
The Bengals have tied it. Flacco raising both arms triumphantly,
and now an extra point by money Mack could give
Cincinnati a forty two to forty one lead with fifty
four seconds to go, and Joe Flacco.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
Just calmly slapping skin, slapping palms with teammates and coaches
as he works his way to the Bengals bench. I'm
telling you, man, there's ice water in that man's veins.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
Williams in the gun with Manungai to his left, Bengals
creeping up toward the line defensively. Williams drops back to throw.
Here comes a blitz, doesn't get home. Throw down the
middle of the field, caught Loveland at the twenty fifteen
ten five touchdown Chicago with seventeen seconds to go, a
fifty eight yard touchdown pass to tight end Colston Loveland
(07:12):
and the Chicago Bears are going to beat Cincinnati despite
the heroics of Joe Flaco.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
Incredible, incredible and mean you score forty two points and
you're gonna lose' that's incomprehensible. And you have a quarterback
that throws for over four hundred yards and four touchdowns wasted.
Speaker 5 (07:35):
Frustrating. It's a frustrating game.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
The final score Chicago forty seven, Cincinnati forty two. If
not for Chicago's game winning touchdown with seventeen seconds to go,
it could have been, maybe should have been, one of
the most memorable wins in the bengals fifty eight year history.
And what can you say about Joe Flacco Playing at
his two hundred and twentieth NFL game with an injured
(08:00):
shoulder and a graying beard, Flacco threw for a career
high four hundred and seventy yards. His previous high was
three eighty nine, and it was so long ago that
the opponent was Saint Louis. In four starts for Cincinnati,
Flacco is averaging more than three hundred and thirteen passing
yards a game, with eleven touchdowns, two picks, and a
(08:23):
passer rating of one oh two point six. More importantly,
the Bengals are averaging nearly thirty three points a game
with Flacco as the starting quarterback. Here's Joe after another
remarkable performance.
Speaker 5 (08:39):
Oh it's tough, you know.
Speaker 7 (08:40):
I mean, but anytime you're on the losing end, it's tough.
I think when you've when you've played a lot of games,
it's not the way you lose doesn't make it any
worse necessarily, you know. I think you learn that these
these games come down to the last minute, and you
gotta be ready for anything. And you know a win
to win, a loss is lost. If you don't keep
(09:01):
your head down and and and and go to work,
then it's going to be a long, miserable season for you.
You can't get distracted, uh and you can't you know
you're going to be emotional after a game, but at
some point you've got to let that go. This is
our profession, you know. We we do this for a
living and we take pride in doing it. And I
(09:22):
hope that you would continue to take pride in doing
what you do for a living, no matter what the
outcome is. And yeah, I mean maybe that's easier said
than done, but that's what you got to do, because
you know this leg will eat.
Speaker 6 (09:36):
You up and.
Speaker 7 (09:38):
It will not be it will not be good. I'm sure.
I'm sure Baltimore isn't sitting there, you know, tucking their
tail between their legs. With the record they have, They're
probably motivated and excited about the opportunity, opportunity that they
have going forward. I don't think we can look at
it any different. Every one of us have enough to
worry about on our own that you can't be wiring
(10:01):
about everybody else, because then all of a sudden, once again,
it's going to be a tough eight weeks for us
if we're worrying about what other people are doing. I know,
team is one, it's one team. In order to have
that one team, you need to focus on yourself and
do your job.
Speaker 8 (10:21):
And I get I get it.
Speaker 7 (10:23):
It can get emotional. But you know, there's times to
be emotional and show people that. And but usually when
those times are good, in good things and towards people
you love. And I think if we're emotional, then we
should come at it with an angle of this is
my brother, as opposed to the opposite of that. I
(10:46):
just think that's what good, hardworking, tough people do. They
don't look at other people. They look inward and it
doesn't matter what the situation is. They look inward at
the tail end there.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
Joe is obviously responding to questions about a potential rift
between the offense and defense after the Bengals scored eighty
points in the last two weeks and did not come
away with a win. Listen, it's human nature to be
frustrated and angry you are, so why wouldn't they be.
But football is the ultimate team sport, and on Monday,
(11:19):
roughly seventy players will be back in that locker room
working together toward a common goal. Here are Ted Carris,
Chase Brown, and Orrin Burks on one of the craziest
games they'll ever play.
Speaker 5 (11:33):
It's a crazy ending.
Speaker 9 (11:36):
You know, hard to denote something as a classic when
you lose, but that was.
Speaker 6 (11:41):
At an all time game.
Speaker 10 (11:42):
Just don't turn on each other, like we we know
how they can play. They played really well at the
start of the season, like they did, and they like
they were carrying us on their back, so, you know,
in other words, stepping up. I think like I think like,
you know, we just got to play complimentary football, like
we put the ball in the end zone and go
up a play at the end finish game like just ended.
Speaker 6 (12:04):
Like that's it.
Speaker 10 (12:04):
Like, that's that's like, that's what we need to do.
Just end game, like make them, make them get us
the ball back, let us go to twenty two victory
and let's end the game. That's how that's like, that's
how I feel. We're taking steps forward so offensively.
Speaker 6 (12:17):
So that's good.
Speaker 8 (12:18):
You know, the offense did a great job driving down
the field, putting this in a position to win, and
we just came up short. And you know, there's no
point in the fingers is again like everybody looking internally
at ourselves, how can I be better? Uh, just being
the best rison ourselves out there on the field and collectively,
that's what we're gonna like the results if we can
continue to do that.
Speaker 9 (12:34):
I don't say anything to anyone right now. I'll let
everyone be raw in their own heads. And you know,
a lot of leadership. There's nothing you can say after
a heartbreaker like that. So you just got to come
to work. I think we're coming in tomorrow and then
when we get back from the break, I mean, you
just got to show up every day with a ferocity
to compete and to try and win ball games. So
(12:57):
I don't have some raw ross speech. It's going to
make anyone feel better today, but you know, excited for
the second half of the season.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
The Bengals are now three and six after the defense
was the key to victory and a seventeen to sixteen
Week one win in Cleveland. The Bengals have allowed twenty
seven or more points in every game since. Here's Zach
Taylor after Sunday's loss to Chicago.
Speaker 11 (13:23):
Can't believe it, can't believe it. Things right there, and
then we just we don't find a way to get
it done and win a game. We just got to
make one play, just one play, and some of these
losses turn into wins. And so again we just got
to his coaches, we're gonna find this week, finding a way,
finding a way to help everybody and get it done.
(13:44):
Because this is it's sick. It's sick to lose like that.
It's sick.
Speaker 6 (13:50):
That's what happened.
Speaker 11 (13:51):
So we got to own it, and we got to
keep finding ways to improve and keep finding ways to
find a win. The last two weeks hasn't happened sick
right now, But all we can do is pick ourselves
up and keep fighting and and That's the beauty of
being in this profession and be in this locker room
is is we see what.
Speaker 3 (14:08):
We're made of.
Speaker 11 (14:09):
We're gonna keep fighting. We we know it was gonna
be pretty loud noise out there, criticism, It's deserved when
when we're the record we are and the results we've had,
We're gonna keep showing our character and keep fighting and
find a way to lead these guys and find a
way to to make some plays and get some wins
and and keep the season alive. That's what we're gonna do.
(14:29):
What Joe Flacco did for us this week, You'll never forget,
you know. And and I mean just knowing what our
quarterback room is working through right now, what Joe Burrow
is doing to and Joe Flacco, and what Jake's all
the things he's done, It's a really mentally tough room
that leads by example. Joe Flacco got the opportunity to
show that this week. That's him. Joe Burrow working like
(14:51):
crazy behind the scenes to do everything he can to
help our team. Flacco, I mean, he couldn't. He could
barely lift his arm this week, you know, and he's
willing to go put himself out there for a bunch
of teammates that he's been with for three weeks. You know,
he's a football player, that's what he's out of here
and said, he said, I play football for a living.
That's what I do. And and oftentimes you need that
(15:11):
throughout the locker room.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
Guys.
Speaker 11 (15:12):
They're just football players and they remember that and they'll
go out there and do whatever it takes to help
their team win a game, no matter what normach of
the circumstances. Got a bye week next week, you get
a chance to get rested up. That's how Joe Flacco
looks at it. And so he went out there and
put himself on the line. I'm sure he's gonna be
in a ton of pain tomorrow, and we'll give him
ten days off and we'll see if you can come
back and do it again. It's frustrating for everybody to
(15:34):
put in the work that's being put in and this
is the result we've had. It's it's frustrating and and uh,
you know, sometimes you got to take a deep breath
and then then come back to work and try to
uplift others. That's I faced a lot of diversity here
and the only thing I know how to do is
keep trying to lift people up. That doesn't mean we
run from corrections, that doesn't mean we don't give criticism.
(15:57):
But at the same time, the easy thing to do
is question and everything and point fingers and and and
uh be negative and and be an energy vampire in
a lot of ways. And I think we got enough
guys that just want to continue to lift people up
and finanswers, find solutions, help where they can make myself better,
make the person next to me better. And that's that's
all I know how to do. That's how we built
(16:18):
the coaching staff that does that too. We built the
locker room full of leaders and great men that are
that are falling suit there and that's what I've seen
from them. And that's just what we're going to continue
to do. And I don't have something I can say
that's going to say we we We're just going to
fix this and things are going to be better. It's
not that simple. I wish it was, but I can
promise you we're gonna fight like kel to to keep
(16:38):
keep finding wins here and get the season turned around.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
The Bengals have a by next Sunday before a road
game in Pittsburgh. The Steelers beat the Colts on Sunday
to improve to five and three, meaning the Bengals are
two and a half games back in the division. Cincinnati
is a half game behind the second place Ravens. So
if the Bengals are going to stay in the hunt
in the a f SEE North, they're going to have
to win their head to head matchups against those two teams.
(17:05):
Now time for the radio guy's recap. Let's start with
the obvious positive, and that is the latest remarkable performance
by Joe Flacco. Four hundred and seventy yards three oh
five in the second half, four touchdowns, what should have
been one of the great miraculous comeback victories in Bengals history.
(17:25):
I'm running out of words to describe the guy. It's incredible.
Speaker 5 (17:28):
Three hundred and five yards in the second half, Are
you kidding me? That's absurd. I mean six and ten
yard passing day, that equates to eight touchdowns, that equates
to as well. Those numbers are incomprehensible, they're unattainable. Yet
he's doing it. You tip the cap to him. Boy,
here's a guy that understands the game of football. It
(17:49):
hasn't passed him by. He knows exactly what he's doing.
He knows how he's supposed to do it, what he's
supposed to do, and how he's supposed to get there
to get it done. And his teammates love him. They
worshiped the ground he walks on. Really, I mean, they're
waiting to hear his next words with baited breath. You know,
(18:11):
it's a remarkable thing to watch, and they're responding to him,
and you know he's got weapons to throw to. Jamar
Chase t. Higgins had big days. You'll see made some
big plays as well, But three hundred and five yards
is you know, you don't dream. I guess you do
dream about it when you're a young player, high school,
(18:33):
college or NFL player, but to actually achieve it is
yet another.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
Thing in a half, just amazing, ridiculous. Let's discuss something
that we briefly discussed on the air late in the game.
Joe Flacco is forty years old. There have been a
couple of instances within the last few years where it
looked like his career was over. We both agreed late
in the broadcast that if he's interested in coming back
next year as Joe Burrows back up at age forty one.
(19:02):
I'd sign them to that deal right now.
Speaker 5 (19:04):
I agree one hundred thousand percent. I think that would
be the best one to two punch, the best tandem
to quarterback tandem the National Football League has ever had.
I'm not talking about it just this year. I mean,
these two guys, they know how to play football. They
love the game. They're all about the game. The game
(19:24):
is a big part of their life. They're football players.
They're proud to be football players, loud and proud to
be football players. You know. And Joe Burrow is on
the field today supporting the efforts to Joe Flacco. That
was good to see. I think they've got a good relationship.
I think they've bonded. You know, they probably have spent
(19:44):
quite a bit of time together talking football, talking other things,
you know, in life about life. Blacko's that kind of guy.
Blacko's you know, he's he's a stage veteran football player,
eighteen seasons in the National Football League. That alone would
be something for Joe Burrow to into and find out
how the hell he's accomplished that. And being able to
stay out of harm's way and avoid injury for as
(20:07):
many snaps, as many hits as he's taken out there.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
I think there are x'es and o's factors that could
be helpful for Joe Burrow of Flacco is still around.
But I think even more than that, he's just such
a normal guy. Joe has this crazy life that none
of us Joe Burrow, that is crazy life that none
of us can identify with. You know, every move that
he makes is scrutinized and seen by millions of people.
(20:33):
But maybe just being around a guy who's a father
of five nothing phases him. That part of it I
think would be good for Joe Burrow.
Speaker 5 (20:41):
I think Joe Flacco is normal. I mean, he's a
normal dude that just happens to be able to play
football at the highest level it can be played, you know,
I mean he is. I mean, I don't know in
Bengals history if there's been another game where a quarterbacks
is frowing four with three hundred yards and a half.
I mean, that's like stratospheric stuff. That's Hall of Fame stuff.
(21:04):
I mean that football should go you right up to
right up to the Hall of Fame, you know. I
know Joe probably wouldn't want it to because he didn't
win the football game. And that's the reason you play,
as has been said many times, you play to win
the game. Period. That's end of sentence. That's what it's
(21:26):
all about. And Joe Flako is going to win a
lot more games for the Cincinnati Bengals this year. I
think it's only just begun.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
All right, enough of the positive should we get to
the other side of the coin. Let's talk about the
defensive issues, and there are many up First, stopping the run,
the Bears top two running backs were out. Kyle m Nungai,
seventh round draft pick out of Rutgers, goes up and
down the field for most of the game. The Bengals
wind up allowing more than two hundred and fifty rushing yards. Again,
(21:57):
the problems begin up front.
Speaker 5 (21:59):
Right absolutely. I mean when you give up two hundred
and fifty rushing yards, what what I mean more than
once in the same season. I don't think that's happened
in Bengal history either. So, I mean there's a lot
of things going on here, positively and negatively, and it's
a three and six football team trying to figure things out. Man,
(22:23):
there are It starts with the with the defensive line.
I agree with you. You know, they're they're getting beaten,
they're getting handled at the line of scrimmage. Too many times,
they get consumed, they're you know, covered up by blockers
and don't get off, don't get off the block, and
don't make plays, and there's too many yards after contact
(22:44):
that you know that that they allow, and it just
it's starting to get old. I bet Al Golden is
tearing his hair out by the roots. I bet he's
not pleasant to live with. I'm sure his wife could
attest to that. These kind of these kind of stretches
where your side of the football is not holding up
its center of the bargain, it's costume the football team wins.
(23:05):
Is very, very difficult to deal with because you know,
you have a lot of pride in what you do
as well, and you've risen to a very high level
of the highest level of football, and you know you're
embarrassed by what they're doing.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
Al Golden's a good coach in my opinion. Lou Anarromo
is obviously a good coach too. The Bengals tried to
switch things up and see if maybe l could develop
the younger guys a little bit better than Lou had done.
The bottom line is this is a personnel issue. The
Bengals are going to need to continue to add defensive
talent in a big way in the next year.
Speaker 5 (23:39):
There's no doubt. I mean, Duke Tobin, I know, we
know him very well. We understand and appreciate the fact
that he is a guy, is a football lifer, and
he understands the game of football. Social media is not
being kind to Duke Tobin right now. It's a very
difficult time for him. You know, he's he's been on
(24:00):
the game forever, played the game and then went to
work as a scout with his dad and Bill Tobin
legendary one of the best personnel guys to ever work
in the National Football They put together super Bowl winning
football teams. Duke Tobin was the guy who the architect
of the team went to the Super Bowl for the
Cincinnati Bengals as well. Did they win the Super Bowl? No,
(24:23):
That's what I would love to see. Somehow it can happen.
I'd love to see the Cincinnati Bengals win the division
to go to the win the playoff game, go to
the ANFC Championship, win that and go to the Super Bowl.
I mean, I'd like to see it before I'm done,
and they better do it sooner out and later, because
I ain't gonna be around forever.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
The trade deadline is upon us. The Bengals historically have
not liked to trade away their best players, but in
light of the circumstances, their record, Joe Burrow's injury, the
need to upgrade their defensive personnel, do you think they're
more open to trading somebody like Trey Hendrickson or Logan
Wilson than they typically would have been in the past.
Speaker 5 (25:07):
You know, you got to think, so, you got to
think that they would be in that mindset, particularly the
difficulty they're having getting a contract done, you know, and normally,
and that's the case, when Mike Brown has come to
a stalemate or you know, a roadblock or a difficult
situation in contract negotiations, that's when you start to think
(25:27):
about trading people. So, I mean, I'd hate to see
him trade Tray because I mean, they're having trouble pressure
in the quarterback. They just can't get any anything done,
and he is their best pass rusher by far. He's
probably one of the three best pass rushers the NFL
has to offer. So I would hate to see Trey
(25:47):
Henderson go elsewhere and be what that football team needed
to get over the top and you know, start winning
their division, winning the conference championship and going to the
super Bowl.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
Else Yeah, nobody wants to see Tray go. On the
other hand, at this point, it's a if the price
is right type of situation really with all of those
guys that are being rumored as potential trade candidates.
Speaker 5 (26:12):
Yeah, you're right, and if you get some kind of
an offer you can't refuse for anybody. I remember Paul
Brown telling us all, you know, standing up in front
of the entire football team, If you think you're going
to be here forever, if you think you're above being
let go or traded or whatever, think again, young man,
that's not the case. If we get an offer for
(26:33):
you that we can't refuse, we won't refuse it. You'll
be gone in a heartbeat.
Speaker 1 (26:38):
Well, we almost had a chance to call arguably the
wackiest come from behind victory in Bengals history. We just
needed to eliminate the last fifty four seconds.
Speaker 5 (26:49):
Yeah, that's right, one minute of our lives, one minute
of the Bengals football lives in this twenty twenty five season.
It has been a crazy, wacky year for sure, but
as we said Dan, far from over. There's a lot
of season left. Eight football games. It a lot can
happen in those eight games.
Speaker 1 (27:08):
The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you by Pai Core,
Proud to be the Bengals official HR software provider, by
Alta Fiber, future proof Fiber Internet designed to elevate your home,
business and community to a new level, and by Kettering Health,
the best care for the best fans. Kettering Health is
the official healthcare provider of the Bengals. Finally, my latest
(27:30):
fun facts conversation this week was with tight end Noah Fan,
but we're going to save that for a future podcast
because I want to conclude this episode by replaying the
conversation I had a few years ago with Bob Trumpy,
who passed away on Sunday at the age of eighty.
Time for some fun facts with one of the great
players in Bengals history, a four time Pro Bowl tight
(27:52):
end who went on to have a great career in broadcasting,
the legendary Bob Trumpy, greatest twelfth round draft pick in
an NFL history. I would say, how did you learn
that you were selected by the Bengals? I remember was
something bizarre.
Speaker 6 (28:07):
I was working as a bill collector for a beneficial finance.
The address is six oh seven Hill Street. Don't tell
me how I remember that. It was in downtown Los
Angeles and my wife called me and said, you just
got drafted. And I said that's impossible. I just got
(28:28):
out of the Navy. She said, no, no, no, by
some team in Cincinnati. Is that Ohio? And I said yeah.
She said it's the Cincinnati Beagles And I said, are
you kidding? She said no, I'm not kidding. And I said,
how do you know that? He said, there's a telegram
(28:49):
here from Paul Brown the congratulations you've been drafted in
the twelfth round by the Cincinnati Bengals. And I said,
you're sure you're not kidding me. This is no joke.
She said, yes, yes, aren't you excited? And I said
absolutely I am. And I walked into the boss of
beneficial finance at six oh seven Hill Street in downtown
(29:10):
Los Angeles and said I quit. I might mention I
had no clue how they knew about me or what
the connection was between the Cincinnati Bengals and one kid
named Trumpy. And when I made the team, my wife
and I moved in an apartment on Galworth Road. And
another person there was Al Locasel with his wife and
(29:32):
he was a director of player personnel. And we're sitting
down on the front stoop one night having a beer
and I said, Al, who's responsible for me being drafted?
He said me? And I said, what did you know
about me? Said? I saw you twice, once on the
beach in Daytona and once planned for the University of
(29:54):
Utah against Houston. And I just wrote your name down
and kept track, and the draft twelve around. Paul Brown says,
offense receiver, somebody with some speed. And he said, I'm
flipping through a spiral notebook and I get to the
t's and there's your name. Some total of the research
they did on me. That was it.
Speaker 1 (30:15):
When he said on the beach in Daytona, what was
he referring to?
Speaker 6 (30:18):
He was a scout for the San Diego Chargers. The
guy that owned the motel were four fraternity brothers and
I were staying for spring break was owned by a
guy named bud Asher. Bud Asher ran owned and coached
a minor league football team in Daytona Beach. We didn't
know that, just pure coincidence that we stopped there. A
(30:42):
guy comes up to me, some kid I had in
Illinois hooded sweatshirt on. He said, I understand you're a
receiver at the University of Illinois. Said yeah. This was
between my freshman and sophomore year. He said, I'm trying
to make this team. Would you mind catching some passes?
Format Oh, I don't mind at all, big beach, beautiful shirt.
Get done. Go back up by the pool. And one
(31:05):
of my paternity brothers said, some guy was asking about you,
and I said, what do you mean asking about me? Well,
the quarterback was trying out, not me, he said, no,
he was asking who you were. And he had a
big ring on. It was al locusl.
Speaker 1 (31:22):
We're doing fun facts with Bob Trumpy. You used the
expression big receiver, tall and fast but not heavy. What
did you weigh when you first showed up at camp.
Speaker 6 (31:31):
To eight legitimately, But I weighed in with a ten
pound weight in a towel on a shoe string underneath,
So I thought the first meeting. We had a meeting first,
as was always the case with Paul, and everybody was listening.
I was counting. I'm not joking. I was counting the
(31:52):
number of tight ends and the number of wide receivers.
And he went through the numbers as to what numbers
they were going to keep at what positions and who
might that be? And I thought, she was you know,
if I can be in both those lines, I got
a better chance to make the ball club. So the
(32:14):
first night I lost a roommate, Wally Scott. He was
cut before the first practice. But I gained an idea
as to how I could be in both lines, and
I the first year I weighed with that ten pound weight.
Now make the team. Last game of the season, we
(32:35):
played the New York Jets. They played what we referred
to as an over defense. The defensive end was on me.
If we were left, it was Erlin Biggs. If we
were to the right, it was Jerry Philban. Biggs was
two eighty Philman was two sixty five. And I weighed
(32:57):
in that week at one ninety six to myself. So
game ends, we get beat and Bill Walsh walks up
to me on the plane after the game. He said, man,
you had a tough day. I said, I can't block
those guys. And he said, well, is a technique, And
I said, no, I weigh one hundred and ninety six pounds.
And he just goes crazy, What why didn't you tell me?
(33:18):
You go no, no, no, no, no no. And I said,
you're not listed at one ninety six, You're listed at
to eighteen. I said, well, I weighed in with a
ten pound weight. So for the next two years I
had no weight naked, but I made the team.
Speaker 1 (33:33):
We're doing fun Facts with Bob Trumpy. Describe your relationship
with Paul Brown.
Speaker 6 (33:39):
I think he treated us all exactly the same.
Speaker 1 (33:43):
Uh.
Speaker 6 (33:43):
He was the boss. I don't ever remember him give
us a giving us a one one for the gip
or speech. I don't ever remember him. I don't ring
a cuss word.
Speaker 10 (33:56):
Uh.
Speaker 6 (33:57):
He treated me like everybody else. I was thankful for that.
That's all I wanted. Uh and uh. But he did
invite me wants to a golf tournament up in Dayton,
put on by a friend of his. And when he
called me, uh, he called my house. My wife answers,
(34:20):
and I'm at work at Pogues and Kenwood off season
job and my wife calls me and says Paul Brown
just called me. He wants to talk to you. My
first thought was Buffalo. I'm going to Buffalo, and I
quickly h called and Mary, who was going to turn
(34:45):
out to be his future wife, answered the phone. She said,
hold on just a minute. Coach does want to talk
to you. And he gets on the phone and he says,
my friend up in Dayton, Si Lauter has a golf
tournament I'd like to invite you, called the Bogie Busters.
And what bogie Busters? You mean? No, Buffalo, I'm not
(35:08):
going to Buffalo and he said, no, just play all okay? Fine.
So as a player, I enjoy the relationship.
Speaker 1 (35:18):
Trump. As I mentioned at the beginning of the interview,
after your career, you went on to have a tremendous
career in broadcasting, got the opportunity to call Super Bowls
and so many other big events. What was more nerve
racking for you playing in a big game or being
behind the mic at a Super Bowl.
Speaker 6 (35:34):
I never got the adrenaline rush broadcasting that I got playing,
and I've never found anything that matches that adrenaline rush.
I mean, I don't care if you're fifteen and one
or for US thirteen and one or one and thirteen.
The adrenaline rush you get before a football game, it's
just it's unmatched. So I was probably more nervous before
(36:00):
football games. You don't get the sense when you're broadcasting
that you might be talking to tens or hundreds and
millions of people. You got the guy sitting next to you,
and I had some good ones to it. You're in
this together. You don't have to be perfect neither. There's
that guy. We help each other. But in football, I
(36:23):
got a job, and if I don't do it, the
play doesn't work. It's not quite that way in broadcasting.
It was much easier to deal with the nervousness in broadcasting.
Speaker 1 (36:34):
That's going to do it for this episode of the
Bengals Booth podcast, brought to you by Pai Core, Proud
to be the Bengals official HR software provider, by Alta
Fiber future proof fiber Internet designed to elevate your home,
business and community to a new level, and by Kettering
Health the best care for the best fans. Kettering Health
is the official healthcare provider of the Bengals. If you
(36:56):
haven't done so already, please subscribe to this podcast and
if you half a minute give it a rating, or
share a comment that helps more Bengals fans find us.
I'm Dan Horde and thanks for listening to the Bengals
Booth podcast
Popular Podcasts
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.