December 11, 2025 • 36 mins
The Bengals look to keep their playoff hopes alive by beating Baltimore for the second time in three weeks. Dan Hoard’s guests include Solomon Wilcots from SiriusXM NFL radio, cornerback DJ Turner, and “Know the Foe” with former Ravens linebacker Brad Jackson.
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
I get everybody. I'm Dan Hord and thanks for downloading
The Bengals Booth Podcast. The Fight, the Good, Fie Every
Moment addition, as the Bengals look to keep their playoff
hopes alive by beating Baltimore for the second time in
three weeks. Coming up, former Bengals safety Solomon Wilcotts joins
(00:24):
me to discuss Joe Burrow's return and how to make
sure the Bengals are not fighting for their playoff lives
at this time next year. My one on one player
interview is with a potential first time pro bowler, DJ Turner,
and in this week's Know the Faux segment, former Ravens
linebacker Brad Jackson explains what's gone wrong in Baltimore. The
(00:46):
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(01:08):
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
since installing a new shower head. I am the world's
least handy person. I can barely fill a gas tank
or change a light bulb. But one of the showers
(01:30):
in our house had an old shower head, so I
replaced it this week. Now, admittedly it's not hard to do.
It required a vice grip to twist off the old one,
and then the new one was easy to screw on
by hand. But the difference after that easy do it
yourself project is a total game changer. Remember the Seinfeld
(01:52):
episode where Kramer bought a black market shower head that
was used to wash off elephants at the zoo. Well,
that's what it's like at our house. So the next
time you see me, if it appears that I have
just had a massage, you'll know why. Now let's get
to football. No team in the NFL has produced more
(02:14):
great broadcasters than Cincinnati Bob Trumpy, Chris Collinsworth, Boomer Asiasin,
and Dave Lapham, to name a few. This week, I
spoke to a former Bengals safety who hosts the opening
Drive show every weekday morning on satellite radio. You can
hear him on Sirius XM NFL Radio and on the
(02:35):
Believe In Bengals podcast. And this week we get to
benefit from Solomon's wisdom as we are joined by former
Bengal Solomon Wilcotts Sally. What has Joe Burrow shown you
over the last couple of weeks, both in terms of
his on the field play and his.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
Leadership, that he is the ultimate competitor, that at the
end of the day, his superpowers in all quarterbacks and
you have them if you're good one right. His superpower
is what Vince Lombardi called is the talent from the
neck up, his cerebral ability to diagnose defenses, to understand
(03:10):
what to do, how to do it, and where to
go with the football at critical moments. And you know,
he's hit the ground running other than you know, maybe
a little rust in that first half of the game
against the Ravens on Thanksgiving Night, it's been clicking. You
saw what he did against Buffalo. He came out, they
scored on three of their first four possessions in the
(03:31):
first half, and then kind of got it going late. Look,
the law of averages is that you're gonna ultimately throw
an interception fourteen that throws it as much as they do,
as many dropbacks as they have, if the ball's gonna
get tipped and it's gonna come down in the opponent's hands.
But I think the Bills are very fortunate they know
that those interceptions were critical.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
To them being able to win.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
But at the end of the day, I'm gonna bet
on Joe and I'm riding with him. He's a competitor
and the guy is very Cerebro gives the Bengals a
chance to win each and every week.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
So in his two games so far, he beat Baltimore
in Baltimore by eighteen. The Bengals obviously went toe to
toe with the Bills. That took a superman effort by
Josh Allen to allow Buffalo to come away with a
home win. If the Bengals could get into the playoffs,
and admittedly the odds are long, would they be a
scary opponent for the rest of the AFC.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
Yeah, I think it's just like last year.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
At the end of last year, no team wants to
see Joe Burrow, Jamar Chase the t. Higgins and particularly
the Bengals offense in the playoffs, because they already know
this is a team that can come in and beat
us even if you're playing at home.
Speaker 3 (04:41):
It was kind of like the twenty twenty one season, and.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
You recall because it didn't matter who they were playing, right,
they could go into anywhere into Tennessee, it gets sacked
nine times and still beat you. They can go into
arrow Hits Stadium and still beat you as long as
they've got Joe Burrow. I mean, they know that that's
a team that's very deadly and there's no team that
wants to face this team in the postseason.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Sally, you're starting safety on the Bengals nineteen eighty eight
Super Bowl team, So, you know, defense, do you see
any signs of progress on that side of the ball
right now?
Speaker 2 (05:16):
You know, what I do see is just the fight
that's in this team. You are seeing some improvement with
guys like Chris Jenkins up front on the you know
you're seeing you know, DJ Turner I think has been
the most significant improvement of any player on the defense
of that young group of players that we all wanted
(05:37):
to see improve right and the way Dj is playing
it makes you proud. They still just so much more
improvement is needed. You know, when our offense score thirty points,
those are games that we should win. That's how I'm
looking at it, because if the defense is doing its job,
they ought to be able to hold a team under
twenty points, right, But so far this season, you know,
(06:03):
when we've scored thirty or more points in the six
games where it's happened, we've only won half of those games.
If you can win the other half, this team is
vying for position in the playoffs. Let mean, just think
about that. So the offense is producing at a high level.
The defense, while there has been some improvement, it needs
to get even better, particularly untackling and pass rushing.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
You've got to be more disciplined.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
You can't allow the quarterback to escape on a consistent
basis and hurt you with his legs like third and fifteen.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
You got to be able to get off the field.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
You can't allow the quarterback to just gut you with
a seventeen yard run and that essentially ended the game.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
The Bengals have really had a hard time covering tight ends.
Help us understand why that's been such a big issue.
Speaker 3 (06:55):
Wow. You know.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
I talked about this at a Big Goes lunch in
just a week ago, and this is very critical, just
understanding how the leverage of how to cover, particularly the
middle of the field, because you have to close off
the middle of the field. Dan any quarterback in this league,
if you give them a direct thro ut right, because
(07:20):
they can see right down the middle of the field,
right down the pipe right, they're gonna throw that every time.
And it's about see if they see their color jersey
and there's no obstruction between themselves and that big tight end,
which is kind of like throwing the ball to a
mac truck because they're bigger.
Speaker 3 (07:39):
They're like a power forward.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Who's boxing out a safety over the middle of the field. Well,
you can't allow them to cross your face. So if
I'm the safety, I can't let that player cross my face.
I've got to cut him off. I can't let It's
like being a good defender in basketball. I cannot let
you cross my face. You're gonna have to go around me,
and I'm not you know, I'm not getting even to
(08:02):
let you do that. So I'm gonna stay in front
of you. Because if that quarterback he's taught that if
you see your big power for it tight end across
the face of the safety, throw it because he's gonna
he's gonna shield you away from the ball.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
He's gonna catch it. They're taught to trust that.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
So if they see my color jersey right, they're not
gonna throw it. In fact, what we used to do
to bait quarterbacks is we try to hide behind that
tight end knowing that we still could get that intercept
angle and forcing the quarterback to throw it anyway.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
But we're not doing that. We're not holding positions.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Even DJ Turner, he allowed the tight end to get
across his face, allow him to get inside. He tried
to come underneath. But a good throw is gonna beat
that position every single time. And Josh Allen soon as
he saw that big tight endcross the face of DJ Turner,
he cut it loose. And they're doing it because they're
seeing it happen week after week. You can go back
to Chicago and you saw it happen. You could go
(09:02):
back game after gaming. Right, it's happening, and so other
teams are saying, hey, we believe we can make these
same plays because they don't defend the middle of the
field very well in the passing game, particularly against the
tight end. So you're going to see it again this
week coming up, because last night I checked, Baltimore has
two pretty good tight ends, and Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
We're visiting with Solomon Wilcott's. As Joe Burrow has said before,
his Super Bowl window is his entire career. So the
Bengals want to be back in contention as soon as possible.
Give us a few off season priorities to get the
Bengals back to where they want to be.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
Number one priority is there's no way that we're going
to have an organization that have Joe Burrow as its
quarterback and be sitting here now three years.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
Of missing the postseas.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
I'm putting the entire building on those I'm putting everyone unnoticed,
even everything is under evaluation because it's just you and
I both know it. You can't have it happen. I mean,
these are the golden years. These should be consistent years
of getting into the playoffs when you have this kind
(10:18):
of player as your quarterback. Now, I know he's gotten
hurt or whatever, but at the end of the day,
those opportunities are still there. You got to say to yourself,
we got to have a backup player that comes in right.
Speaker 3 (10:30):
But more importantly, you have to protect.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
Him to make sure that that you can keep him healthy.
And you've got to coach and play in a way
that keeps him healthy. What does that mean, I'm playing
him under center more. And I like that about Zach Taylor.
I think since Joe has come back, we've seen him
under center more in these two games, since he's been back, then,
I think we've seen in his entire career. Now, what
(10:54):
does that do that helps the offensive line? It helps
slow down a pass rush, right, It helps protect your
quarterback because defenders before they can pin their ears back
and come after the quarterback Dan excuse me, they have
to decide is it a round or is it a pass?
Soon as you put the quarterback on the center, you
(11:14):
put more more of a pause into their evaluation. And
it's helping the process and the entire operation of the
offense in the run game and the pass game, play
action pass. It goes a long way into slowing down
the defense and protecting your quarterback. So I'm having those
conversations in the building. I've got to be able to
(11:36):
run the football in multiple ways, not just.
Speaker 3 (11:40):
In our zone blocking scheme. But I want to see
us be more powerful.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
We have big offensive tackles, we have a big offensive line,
by the way, but we're not using that leverage. We're
not pinning and pulling, we don't get a lot of
double teams, and we're not coming down here and using
the power of our offensive line in a much greater way.
That also slows down a pass rush. You want to
slow down Miles Garrett, make him defend the run some Okay,
(12:07):
if everything that we've been doing isn't shotgun zone reads,
our offensive lineman like Orlando Brown and Amaria's men's they're
running backwards more than they're running forwards.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
So I think I think.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
All of those things are under evaluation. I know Zach
Taylor knows these things. In fact, I see them doing
more of those things as of late, when Joe Flacco
came and started playing, they started to do more of
those things. And it's got to be even a higher
volume of that. We need to have a higher run
play percentage. And I know we have this great quarterback,
(12:41):
but if you want to help him be better, that's
what That's what Jim Harbaugh is doing for Justin Herbert.
With the LA charge, their run play percentage has gone up,
so their overall production and efficiency on offense has gone up.
I think Zach Taylor's doing a great job. We've scored
thirty or more points in fourteen games over the last
(13:02):
since the start of last season.
Speaker 3 (13:03):
Problem is we've lost half of those games.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
So that means now we got to get to the
defensive side of the ball and we've got to be
better at the point of attack. We've got to be
able to win the line of scrimmage. Teams can't run
on us with impunity. We've got to be better tacklers
at the second level. That's our linebackers, that's our safety,
that's our cornerbacks. We've got to take better angles to
the to the to the runner, and we've got to
(13:30):
learn that our shoulder pads are for a reason. Man,
you got to put shoulder pads on people. You can't
grab a man and get him on the ground. You
got to hit with the same foot, same shoulder on
the ball carrier, and you got to wrap him up.
Those are the three fundamentals of tackling. Same foot, same shoulder,
wrap him up, get him on the ground and you
(13:51):
gotta be physical.
Speaker 3 (13:52):
I want to see remember when Mike Zimmer was here.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
I remember the first day Mike Zimmer practice as the
defensive coordinator with the big I was blown away.
Speaker 3 (14:03):
I said, thank you.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
I said, we finally have someone around here who's not
afraid to hit a Chant Johnson or TJ. Hushman's out
may are you know, you got to hit those guys
in the defense has to have a priority. And I'm
not saying we got to hurt our receivers. That's not
where I'm going. But physicality is something that's practice. It's
not just mentioned. You've got to practice it every day
(14:27):
you step on the field. It's got to be a
point of emphasis. And I know Al Goden will get
there in his second year, so but those are just
if you're asking me. The point of emphasis is some
of the things that I'm addressing. We haven't even gotten
to personnel yet. But just from a mentality of how
the game ought to be played on both sides of
the ball, that's what I would offer.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
Sally. Let's turn to the Ravens. They come to town
at six and seven. They've lost back to back home
games to Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. What's wrong with Baltimore.
Speaker 3 (14:55):
I don't think Lamar Jackson is completely healthy.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
This goes to show you, you know, just because the
guy's out there now you're playing with some You're playing
with some deficiencies. He's not the quarterback that we had
seen over the over the last several years when we've
played him. He's not as twitchy, he's not as mobile.
He's I think that growing injury is hindering him and
forcing him to be less elusive, even in the pocket.
(15:24):
I don't think their their passing game is as creative
as it once was. They're not scheming guys open as
well as they had in the past.
Speaker 3 (15:33):
They seem to be out of sync in the passing game.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
To be honest with you, he's really good with the
tight ends, but when he has to go to the
receivers further down the field and out on the perimeter,
unless it's off play action, it's just not there and
he's not able to buy as much time as he
used to where there's elusive abilities, where coverage breaks down.
That's what Josh Allen did to us, By the way,
(15:57):
stand there, run around by a little more time, stand
the play coverage can't last forever. That's something that Lamar
has been very good at and as of late, he's
not been able to do it. You know, they I
think they end up having two hundred yards rushing against
Pittsburgh last week, still lost the game. That's surprising, and
(16:18):
so that, you know, I want to see, Like if
you were looking, you know, I'm pulling for the Bengals
in this game, but if you want it, if you
were on their team and saying, Okay, what do they
need to do better?
Speaker 3 (16:28):
I think they've got to begin to lean more into.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
Derek Henry, not less with Lamar aling they should be
giving the opponent a higher dosage of Derek Henry. I
don't want to see that happen in our game once someday,
but that's probably what they will look to do the
last couple of weeks. You know, we our defense could
do a much better job at defending the run. The
(16:52):
Bills had over one hundred and eighty yards rushing in
that game, and I got to believe that the Baltimore
Ravens are gonna see that and lean in to that
more so.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
The Bengals have a chance to beat Baltimore twice in
three weeks sweep the regular season series for the first
time since the Super Bowl year back in twenty twenty one.
Give us a few keys for the Bengals to come
out on top this week.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
I think it's going to be getting defensive stops. You
got to get more turnovers like what happened last time.
I look, I don't expect them to get five turnovers
in the game. But when you fly around and you're
aggressive and your physical on defense, and believe me, the
Bengals defense was that night on Thanksgiving Night at M
and T Banks Stadium, the ball comes out and you
(17:34):
saw what happened with James Cook, and you know the
way that DJ Turner was flying around and flash the
ball comes out. So you have to be able to
do that. More importantly, you've got to cut off these
tight ends over the middle of the field once you
stop the run game. That's what they want to do.
They want to get the ball to Mark Andrews, they
want to get the ball to Isaiah likely force Lamar
(17:55):
to win throwing the ball out on the perimeter, because
I don't think he's as efficient when doing that. And
then offensively, the Ravens defense has.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
Just not been good.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
They're giving up a lot of points, they're giving up
a lot of big plays, and they don't like defending
against Jamar Chase.
Speaker 3 (18:13):
They don't like defending against t Higgins.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
And I hope he is going to be well enough
to play, and if not, Mitchell Tinsley is going to
have to just hit on a higher ratio of the
plays when he is targeted. But look, Goseki's been really good.
So we just got to continue to do what we're
doing on offense. And don't forget about Chase Brown both
in the running and receiving game, because he's a weapon
(18:37):
back there. And so I just think continue to be
balanced on offense, have a considerable run ratio play of
at least forty percent because that goes a long way
into helping the passing game.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
Sally really appreciate your time as always. Keep up the
great work and happy holidays.
Speaker 3 (18:54):
Thank you, Dan, thanks for having me, and happy holidays
to you as well.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
Sally spent four years playing in the Bengals secondary and
my one on one player interview this week is with
the best member of that crew. This year. DJ Turner
leads the NFL and passes defense and is getting high
marks from Pro Football Focus. He's graded twelfth overall among cornerbacks,
and his past coverage grade is fifth best in the NFL.
(19:21):
AL Golden and Zach Taylor say that Turner is playing
at a pro bowl level.
Speaker 4 (19:26):
We've asked him to do a really hard job each week,
take on the go to guy, and he's done it
at and performed at a.
Speaker 5 (19:35):
Really, really high level.
Speaker 4 (19:37):
I think he'll be the first to say, you know,
he doesn't really want to talk about any of that,
just wants to put his head down and go to work.
Certainly he should be in the conversation based on his performance,
his approach and consistency. Everybody forgets that part of it,
just a consistent part of it that separates you when
you get to that level.
Speaker 6 (19:57):
He's earned all this. You know, he's not a guy
that just speaks and doesn't put in the work. I've
told you stories all season about training camp conversations with
him and just really proud of him the way he's
handled everything and the way that he just fights every week.
And you can just feel the I mean, you can
genuinely feel the confidence from him oozing off of him.
(20:17):
And he's he's been a tremendous asset for us. He's
a really good communicator. It's really important to him. He
understands what it means to cover their best guy. He
understands all that that entails, the good in the bad,
and he's willing to embrace it all and proud of
the season he's having. And he'll just continue to lead us.
And there's some great opportunity here starting with this game
(20:38):
as well, So I'm excited to watch DJ finish out
the year.
Speaker 1 (20:41):
I spoke to the twenty five year old corner back
this week about his breakout season.
Speaker 3 (20:47):
DJ.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
We're about three weeks away from the Pro Bowl rosters
being announced now. Golden said the other day that he
believes you are deserving. Have you given it much thought
and what would it mean to be selected?
Speaker 7 (20:58):
I mean, yeah, I'm definitely. I've never you know, got
it thought for sure. You know, I grew up trying
to make Pro Bowl, all Pro all that. I'm not
gonna let it determine any outcome. Yeah, that's the biggest thing.
Speaker 1 (21:09):
How do you think you've improved this year? And what's
the biggest reason why?
Speaker 7 (21:13):
Honestly, I just improved in every aspect of my game
and It was just from all the preparation I do,
from the hardworking off season and the body right, mental right,
and just a combination and everything.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
Visiting the DJ Turner, I saw a story recently that
described how you've added daily meditation to your routine. How
did that come about?
Speaker 7 (21:33):
Came about from just traveling kind of, Like I said,
I went to like a whole bunch of Southeast countries
and they talk about meditation all the time out there,
so I was like, you know, kind of looked into it,
and then I used the comap a lot. They always
talked about that son and then on the com mapp
Jay Shaddy, so they just keep telling my meditation. I
just kept on hearing it. So I was like, I
(21:53):
got to try it and tried it consistently. I started
meditating last year, so I'm like in a year and
you know, I'm seeing positive results.
Speaker 1 (22:01):
Jay Shetty wrote a book, How to Think Like a Monk?
What does that mean to you?
Speaker 5 (22:06):
How to just get mentally strong?
Speaker 7 (22:08):
It's different ways to get there's a different path for everybody,
and just just really trying to perfect yourself, you know,
just know how to get yourself into, you know, your
best mental state. And it's not the same for everybody.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
Representing with DJ Turner. We are so used to non
stop stimulus, looking at our phones, looking at our tablets,
et cetera. I would think that meditating might be hard.
Did you have to kind of learn how to do it?
Speaker 7 (22:35):
No, for sure, it's definitely hard. Like I tell everybody
else close.
Speaker 5 (22:38):
To me, and now with this platform, I'm trying to
get more people.
Speaker 7 (22:42):
But like my closest friends, my family did my teammates
always say just sitting around for like fifteen minutes with nothing,
you know, and no phone, no nothing, just at the
time instead of fifteen minutes.
Speaker 5 (22:54):
And you realize how long fifteen.
Speaker 7 (22:56):
Minutes can really be, And so that's really it's definitely
hard for or you know, just to start out, you
do like three minutes, four minutes, five minutes, and as
gradual keep going.
Speaker 5 (23:04):
But it's definitely hard to you know, do it first.
Speaker 1 (23:06):
I'd give my nineteen year old son about two minutes.
Speaker 5 (23:08):
Get this point for real.
Speaker 8 (23:10):
For real.
Speaker 5 (23:11):
I was like, that's it. Though, I was like that's
it when I first started.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
We're visiting the DJ Turner. You've been following the other
team's best wide receiver more often than not describe that responsibility.
Speaker 7 (23:23):
Yeah, I mean I wanted that role. I told him
I was gonna get that role.
Speaker 5 (23:29):
That's yes.
Speaker 7 (23:30):
I mean that I just want the best, you know,
like the best versus best. If I think I'm the best,
I'm gonna go against the best. That's really how I
think about it. And I told him that, and I've
earned that role, and that's really how I look about it.
Speaker 1 (23:42):
You're currently leading the NFL and passes defense, pass breakups.
However you want to look at it with seventeen you
had five and one game against Green Bay. Now that
we're this close to the end of this season, is
it a goal of yours to lead the league in
that statistic?
Speaker 5 (23:57):
Yeah, I mean it can be.
Speaker 7 (23:58):
Like I said, I'm not I've gotten away from goal setting.
That's one of the things I gotten away from because
I did it Rooky year, and once numbers or stuff
like that don't go to where you want, you start
trying to make too much happen and you try to
play out your game. So, like I said, I'm I'm
not getting into like goals or anything like that. I'm
just second care of my responsibility and week by weekest
(24:21):
the number one receiver.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
You are approaching the end of your third season with
the Bengals. After this year, you will be eligible for
a second contract. Is it your hope to sign an
extension prior to next year?
Speaker 5 (24:32):
Yeah, I mean that's always a goal.
Speaker 7 (24:34):
But you know, I'm a I'm gonna regather all that
after the season with my agents.
Speaker 5 (24:39):
And everything like that. Like I said, right now, I
got the Ravens.
Speaker 1 (24:43):
Well, let's talk about that. How does Lamar Jackson impact
covering somebody?
Speaker 5 (24:49):
Just mainly extending the plays.
Speaker 7 (24:51):
That's the you know, I'm going against some I don't
even know how many times over the through, you know,
but a lot of times and just extending the plays.
The players will last.
Speaker 5 (25:00):
How long?
Speaker 1 (25:02):
I think you're listed at one hundred and eighty five pounds.
At some point on Sunday you'll have to tackle two
hundred and fifty two pound Derek Henry. How do you
go about doing that?
Speaker 3 (25:10):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (25:10):
I mean that's just numbers. I don't care. You know,
I'm gonna get them down.
Speaker 1 (25:15):
Is it all about the fundamentals? Is it getting your
shoulder into the right spot and having the proper leverage
to get the job done.
Speaker 5 (25:22):
Yeah, that is about will.
Speaker 7 (25:25):
Yeah, I mean, I'll play it him multiple times too,
you know, the responsibility, that's all it come out.
Speaker 5 (25:30):
We all play football.
Speaker 1 (25:31):
A little smile came to your face even when I
brought it up.
Speaker 5 (25:34):
Yeah, I mean because I can actually just make it Taple.
You know, that's just it is what it is football
and football.
Speaker 1 (25:40):
You just got to make it Taple, definitely part of
the gig. Let me wrap it up with this question.
Most of the people in the locker room call you Drago.
Have you ever thought about legally going by that as
opposed to DJ?
Speaker 7 (25:54):
Well, I mean my legal name is one Drago, right,
so I mean that is my legal dame.
Speaker 5 (26:00):
But I don't go by Drago to the public because.
Speaker 7 (26:04):
My dad goes by Okay, so my dad is Drego,
so like everybody will call my dad, you know, that's
my dad's named Drego. So I won't go buy a
DJ That's why, and just a whole bunch of stuff
like that. But if I have a sign, he can
go by whatever, you know, I mean.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
I'll pass it nine and he'll be the next one Drego.
Speaker 5 (26:24):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, we'll do that all right.
Speaker 1 (26:27):
Congratulations on a great season, Todate. I really appreciate your
time and I hope to see your name selected for
the Pro Bowl soon. Nah.
Speaker 5 (26:33):
Yeah, appreciating me so.
Speaker 1 (26:35):
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, it's
(26:57):
time for this week's Know the Faux segment. Last week,
the Ravens celebrated the twenty fifth anniversary of their first
Super Bowl winning team, featuring one of the best defenses
in NFL history. Marvin Lewis was the defensive coordinator and
his linebacking corps included former UC Bearcat Brad Jackson. Brad's
(27:18):
remained in the Baltimore area and he joined Dave Lapham
and me on The Bengals Game Plan Show this week
to explain why the Ravens are a game under five hundred.
Speaker 9 (27:28):
Lamar missed some games, but they were one to three
before you know, He's had his injuries and I mean.
Speaker 8 (27:33):
It's bad all the way around.
Speaker 9 (27:35):
I mean, I'm here, and you know, obviously this this
past week, after losing to the Pittsburgh on Sunday, you know,
and going under five hundred to you know, the you know,
the fish grease has been ratcheted up on everybody one
Coach Harball, you know, to be fired. And you know,
I'm sure if the outcome of Sunday's game would have
been different, in the outcome would be in Pittsburgh, it'd
(27:57):
be fire coach Tomlins. So it's gonna go back and
forth between fans and media and the talking kids. But
there's just a lot Lamar's not playing well. I think
he hasn't had a touchdown in his last three and
a half games, and so like in any capacity of
you know, so obviously they had one that you know
likely kind of should have had, but you know, unlikely
(28:19):
that that would be a call with this the referees
in this day and age. So you know, defensively, they've
had their issue special teams. You know, that was a
big component. Even in Sunday's game. You missed the pat
you miss the field goals. It's just a collective effort
for whatever reason of why the Ravens are six and seven.
When you know, I mean if you look at you
(28:40):
know what every publication and you know, the four Letter
Broadcasting Network and you know, Worldwide Leader of Sports and
any other network, everyone would think that the Ravens would
be one of the top.
Speaker 8 (28:51):
Four teams in the AFC, and unfortunately they're on the
outside looking in.
Speaker 9 (28:55):
And uh, it's just been you know, a a collaborative
effort from all three phases as to why they've been
unsuccessful and then that point and unfortunately, there's most people
who thought that this team was gonna win fourteen games
minimum this year.
Speaker 8 (29:13):
When you come into the.
Speaker 9 (29:14):
Season and you look at you know, who they had
on the schedule, they were already circling wins. And so
unfortunately that's not been the case. And here they are
trying to battle with what four weeks I believe it
left to go and having you know, the Bengals, you
know here on Sunday, and then you got the Patriots
and then the Packers and then the Steelers. So you know,
(29:34):
there's some hope, but there's also a realistic opportunity.
Speaker 8 (29:38):
That you could actually go, you know, lose.
Speaker 9 (29:40):
The last six, you know, losing to the Bengals on
Thanksgiving night and then losing to the Steelers on Sunday,
and you know, if they go out to Cincinnati and
and don't get it done, and then you got to
go you know, you got the Patriots and then you
finish on the road in Green Bay and you guys know, Lap,
you've played there.
Speaker 8 (29:55):
You've done it, Hordy, you've done it.
Speaker 1 (29:57):
You know.
Speaker 9 (29:57):
I was fortunate enough that whenever I played the Packers,
it was no later than October. So I can't even
imagine him going to Lambeau and he's December twenty.
Speaker 8 (30:04):
Seventh and trying to figure out what that what that
weather is going to be like, and.
Speaker 9 (30:09):
Then finish up with the Steelers in Pittsburgh. So it's
a daunting task. And like they said, the fat Lady
isn't singing, but she's humming.
Speaker 10 (30:18):
Yeah. You know, you look at the Baltimore Ravens got stars,
I mean, superstar players. Dereck Henry's a stud.
Speaker 3 (30:28):
What a load man.
Speaker 10 (30:29):
You know, he's two hundred and fifty pounds sixty three
plus probably closer to six four. I mean that looked
that's like a big linebacker lining up at the running
back position coming downhill and trying to punish you and
punish people. I do think that it's a challenge. Obviously
the game's left for the Ravens, but it's not an impossibility,
(30:51):
particularly if they get that running game going and take
some pressure off Lamar and let Lamar you know, play
action pass and utilize is tight end one of the
best in the business, maybe the best in the business.
Speaker 5 (31:04):
I think.
Speaker 10 (31:05):
I think that Baltimore is still, you know, some a
football team that people respect and are you know, know
that they have to bring it in order to win
the football game against the Baltimore Ravens. What do you think, Well, I.
Speaker 8 (31:21):
Mean, you're right, you know that. But the problem is
is Baltimore fans.
Speaker 9 (31:24):
And I hear it a lot, you know when I'm
out in public and started Christmas shopping and doing the events,
and you know, I mean, you look at this season
and you got five games, only five games where Derrick
Henry has had more than.
Speaker 8 (31:36):
Twenty touches to than twenty carries, like so they.
Speaker 9 (31:39):
I mean you're talking about games where, for example, against
the Bengals and you guys were there on Thanksgiving night,
he's averaging six yards of carry and he finishes with
ten carries and for ten for sixty with along of
twenty eight. He's it's almost like, you know, you remember
the Michael Jordans and Kobe Bryant and basketball players, and
you know, I remember my Bearcat teammates like Melo Levy
(31:59):
used to always argue with Hugs and Ruben Patterson and
those guys that the more shots they got up, the
more of a rhythm that they got into. We've all
been around the game of football for a long time
that it's no different than running backs. The more opportunities
that they get, the more that they get into rhythm,
the more that that engine gets going. And then, of course,
like you said, Lap, the more that it wears on
the defense when you have a two hundred and sixty
(32:20):
pound guide that's.
Speaker 8 (32:21):
Still running a four or five, and that is a
home run.
Speaker 9 (32:24):
Hitter realistically every time he gets into the secondary, because
we all know this league does not hit anymore of
their a bunch of.
Speaker 8 (32:30):
Armed tackling grab on and hold on.
Speaker 9 (32:33):
And hope for tacklers, and so you have to give
him the volume. And that's been a frustrating thing that
has been in the Baltimore media.
Speaker 8 (32:40):
You know, whether it's social print or television. It's the
fan base. And of course you know Harves.
Speaker 9 (32:46):
Is stood up there and answer the questions, and you
know that they tried to do this thing, but you
know they could kind of skate away from it.
Speaker 8 (32:52):
When you were playing the.
Speaker 9 (32:53):
Bears, who at that time were not hot, and you know,
the Ravens beat him, and then they had Miami and
Minnesota and Cleveland and the Jets, and so when you're
you're kind of it's almost like for yazy, you know,
for the for the young folks out there, that's the
fake gold, you know, where they got into this false
sense of.
Speaker 8 (33:09):
Security where they're like, Okay, we can get.
Speaker 9 (33:11):
There for fifteen and eighteen and eleven and twelve and
still win games.
Speaker 8 (33:16):
And then when you're you know, you're you're running around.
Speaker 9 (33:18):
And even the Buffalo lost early in the year, they
lost forty one to forty. He had eighteen carries for
one hundred and sixty nine yards and they basically put.
Speaker 8 (33:27):
Him in that, you know, put a jacket on him
in the third and fourth quarters of those games.
Speaker 9 (33:31):
So it's frustrating because I know, winning a Super Bowl.
Our team was built because Trent Gill for our quarterback
Tony Banks, our quarterback. They were not the guys that
were going to go out there, and they obviously didn't
have the MVP talent that Lamar Jackson has, and so
we relied on the running game. And so when you're
struggling on offense, as the Ravens have been, with pass protection,
(33:52):
with the offensive line, with Lamar's inaccuracy, with wire receivers
running the wrong routes, with wide receivers dropping the.
Speaker 8 (33:58):
Ball, you know, then get act of what you can
do that.
Speaker 9 (34:01):
You can count on to hang your hat on, and
that's running Derrick Henry and Keaton Mitchell and those type
of players in the running backs, and obviously Justice Hills
be down and then you have a li you know,
the rookie from Marshall. You know, these are all guys
that are all different backs, that are all been explosive
and can make plays. But yet for some reason, the
offensive coordinating to play calling. And I'm not in the
(34:22):
building right now, you know, I don't even what I
am in the building.
Speaker 8 (34:25):
I tend to go to the defensive side and try
to sit and see what's going on there.
Speaker 9 (34:30):
You know, But there is a question and a problem
of why you're just not saying Derrick Henry is December.
We've kind of managed your workload all week, all year
for the most part, whether intentionally or unintentionally.
Speaker 8 (34:43):
So guess what you're gonna get twenty five.
Speaker 9 (34:45):
To thirty carries this Sunday and we're just going to
see what happens. And you know, we did that with
Jamal Lewis, and that's you know, like you said earlier,
that that's why we were world champions. We played to
our defense, we played what was working and what the
other team allowed us to get, and then you were successful.
Speaker 8 (35:01):
And that's that's the whole point of the game.
Speaker 9 (35:03):
You have to find out every week, in every quarter,
in almost every series, as you guys are well aware of,
it's going to be different and you have to make
those adjustments and find out what can we take advantage
of with our weapons.
Speaker 8 (35:13):
And Derek Henry is one of the biggest and best
weapons you could.
Speaker 9 (35:16):
Have in the National Football League, which is why he's
over another thousand yards with four games ago.
Speaker 1 (35:22):
Our thanks to Brad Jackson, and here's a quick invitation
to join Lapp and Wayne box Miller for the Bengals
pep Rally Show this week. They'll be at the on
the Rhine Eatery, the food hall on the second floor
above the downtown Kroger on Friday from two thirty to
five thirty and their scheduled guest in the final hour
will be Bengals legend Sam Hubbard. That's going to do
(35:44):
it for this episode of the Bengals Booth Podcast, brought
to you by pay Corps, 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 haven't done so already,
(36:08):
please subscribe to this podcast and if you have a minute,
give it a rating or share a comment that helps
more Bengals fans find us. I'm Dan Hord and thanks
for listening to The Bengals Booth Podcast.
I get everybody. I'm Dan Hord and thanks for downloading
The Bengals Booth Podcast. The Fight, the Good, Fie Every
Moment addition, as the Bengals look to keep their playoff
hopes alive by beating Baltimore for the second time in
three weeks. Coming up, former Bengals safety Solomon Wilcotts joins
(00:24):
me to discuss Joe Burrow's return and how to make
sure the Bengals are not fighting for their playoff lives
at this time next year. My one on one player
interview is with a potential first time pro bowler, DJ Turner,
and in this week's Know the Faux segment, former Ravens
linebacker Brad Jackson explains what's gone wrong in Baltimore. The
(00:46):
Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you by pay Corps,
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 Kettering Health the
best care for the best fans. Kettering Health is the
official healthcare provider of the Bengals. Now here's a quick
(01:08):
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
since installing a new shower head. I am the world's
least handy person. I can barely fill a gas tank
or change a light bulb. But one of the showers
(01:30):
in our house had an old shower head, so I
replaced it this week. Now, admittedly it's not hard to do.
It required a vice grip to twist off the old one,
and then the new one was easy to screw on
by hand. But the difference after that easy do it
yourself project is a total game changer. Remember the Seinfeld
(01:52):
episode where Kramer bought a black market shower head that
was used to wash off elephants at the zoo. Well,
that's what it's like at our house. So the next
time you see me, if it appears that I have
just had a massage, you'll know why. Now let's get
to football. No team in the NFL has produced more
(02:14):
great broadcasters than Cincinnati Bob Trumpy, Chris Collinsworth, Boomer Asiasin,
and Dave Lapham, to name a few. This week, I
spoke to a former Bengals safety who hosts the opening
Drive show every weekday morning on satellite radio. You can
hear him on Sirius XM NFL Radio and on the
(02:35):
Believe In Bengals podcast. And this week we get to
benefit from Solomon's wisdom as we are joined by former
Bengal Solomon Wilcotts Sally. What has Joe Burrow shown you
over the last couple of weeks, both in terms of
his on the field play and his.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
Leadership, that he is the ultimate competitor, that at the
end of the day, his superpowers in all quarterbacks and
you have them if you're good one right. His superpower
is what Vince Lombardi called is the talent from the
neck up, his cerebral ability to diagnose defenses, to understand
(03:10):
what to do, how to do it, and where to
go with the football at critical moments. And you know,
he's hit the ground running other than you know, maybe
a little rust in that first half of the game
against the Ravens on Thanksgiving Night, it's been clicking. You
saw what he did against Buffalo. He came out, they
scored on three of their first four possessions in the
(03:31):
first half, and then kind of got it going late. Look,
the law of averages is that you're gonna ultimately throw
an interception fourteen that throws it as much as they do,
as many dropbacks as they have, if the ball's gonna
get tipped and it's gonna come down in the opponent's hands.
But I think the Bills are very fortunate they know
that those interceptions were critical.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
To them being able to win.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
But at the end of the day, I'm gonna bet
on Joe and I'm riding with him. He's a competitor
and the guy is very Cerebro gives the Bengals a
chance to win each and every week.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
So in his two games so far, he beat Baltimore
in Baltimore by eighteen. The Bengals obviously went toe to
toe with the Bills. That took a superman effort by
Josh Allen to allow Buffalo to come away with a
home win. If the Bengals could get into the playoffs,
and admittedly the odds are long, would they be a
scary opponent for the rest of the AFC.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
Yeah, I think it's just like last year.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
At the end of last year, no team wants to
see Joe Burrow, Jamar Chase the t. Higgins and particularly
the Bengals offense in the playoffs, because they already know
this is a team that can come in and beat
us even if you're playing at home.
Speaker 3 (04:41):
It was kind of like the twenty twenty one season, and.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
You recall because it didn't matter who they were playing, right,
they could go into anywhere into Tennessee, it gets sacked
nine times and still beat you. They can go into
arrow Hits Stadium and still beat you as long as
they've got Joe Burrow. I mean, they know that that's
a team that's very deadly and there's no team that
wants to face this team in the postseason.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Sally, you're starting safety on the Bengals nineteen eighty eight
Super Bowl team, So, you know, defense, do you see
any signs of progress on that side of the ball
right now?
Speaker 2 (05:16):
You know, what I do see is just the fight
that's in this team. You are seeing some improvement with
guys like Chris Jenkins up front on the you know
you're seeing you know, DJ Turner I think has been
the most significant improvement of any player on the defense
of that young group of players that we all wanted
(05:37):
to see improve right and the way Dj is playing
it makes you proud. They still just so much more
improvement is needed. You know, when our offense score thirty points,
those are games that we should win. That's how I'm
looking at it, because if the defense is doing its job,
they ought to be able to hold a team under
twenty points, right, But so far this season, you know,
(06:03):
when we've scored thirty or more points in the six
games where it's happened, we've only won half of those games.
If you can win the other half, this team is
vying for position in the playoffs. Let mean, just think
about that. So the offense is producing at a high level.
The defense, while there has been some improvement, it needs
to get even better, particularly untackling and pass rushing.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
You've got to be more disciplined.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
You can't allow the quarterback to escape on a consistent
basis and hurt you with his legs like third and fifteen.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
You got to be able to get off the field.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
You can't allow the quarterback to just gut you with
a seventeen yard run and that essentially ended the game.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
The Bengals have really had a hard time covering tight ends.
Help us understand why that's been such a big issue.
Speaker 3 (06:55):
Wow. You know.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
I talked about this at a Big Goes lunch in
just a week ago, and this is very critical, just
understanding how the leverage of how to cover, particularly the
middle of the field, because you have to close off
the middle of the field. Dan any quarterback in this league,
if you give them a direct thro ut right, because
(07:20):
they can see right down the middle of the field,
right down the pipe right, they're gonna throw that every time.
And it's about see if they see their color jersey
and there's no obstruction between themselves and that big tight end,
which is kind of like throwing the ball to a
mac truck because they're bigger.
Speaker 3 (07:39):
They're like a power forward.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Who's boxing out a safety over the middle of the field. Well,
you can't allow them to cross your face. So if
I'm the safety, I can't let that player cross my face.
I've got to cut him off. I can't let It's
like being a good defender in basketball. I cannot let
you cross my face. You're gonna have to go around me,
and I'm not you know, I'm not getting even to
(08:02):
let you do that. So I'm gonna stay in front
of you. Because if that quarterback he's taught that if
you see your big power for it tight end across
the face of the safety, throw it because he's gonna
he's gonna shield you away from the ball.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
He's gonna catch it. They're taught to trust that.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
So if they see my color jersey right, they're not
gonna throw it. In fact, what we used to do
to bait quarterbacks is we try to hide behind that
tight end knowing that we still could get that intercept
angle and forcing the quarterback to throw it anyway.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
But we're not doing that. We're not holding positions.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Even DJ Turner, he allowed the tight end to get
across his face, allow him to get inside. He tried
to come underneath. But a good throw is gonna beat
that position every single time. And Josh Allen soon as
he saw that big tight endcross the face of DJ Turner,
he cut it loose. And they're doing it because they're
seeing it happen week after week. You can go back
to Chicago and you saw it happen. You could go
(09:02):
back game after gaming. Right, it's happening, and so other
teams are saying, hey, we believe we can make these
same plays because they don't defend the middle of the
field very well in the passing game, particularly against the
tight end. So you're going to see it again this
week coming up, because last night I checked, Baltimore has
two pretty good tight ends, and Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
We're visiting with Solomon Wilcott's. As Joe Burrow has said before,
his Super Bowl window is his entire career. So the
Bengals want to be back in contention as soon as possible.
Give us a few off season priorities to get the
Bengals back to where they want to be.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
Number one priority is there's no way that we're going
to have an organization that have Joe Burrow as its
quarterback and be sitting here now three years.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
Of missing the postseas.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
I'm putting the entire building on those I'm putting everyone unnoticed,
even everything is under evaluation because it's just you and
I both know it. You can't have it happen. I mean,
these are the golden years. These should be consistent years
of getting into the playoffs when you have this kind
(10:18):
of player as your quarterback. Now, I know he's gotten
hurt or whatever, but at the end of the day,
those opportunities are still there. You got to say to yourself,
we got to have a backup player that comes in right.
Speaker 3 (10:30):
But more importantly, you have to protect.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
Him to make sure that that you can keep him healthy.
And you've got to coach and play in a way
that keeps him healthy. What does that mean, I'm playing
him under center more. And I like that about Zach Taylor.
I think since Joe has come back, we've seen him
under center more in these two games, since he's been back, then,
I think we've seen in his entire career. Now, what
(10:54):
does that do that helps the offensive line? It helps
slow down a pass rush, right, It helps protect your
quarterback because defenders before they can pin their ears back
and come after the quarterback Dan excuse me, they have
to decide is it a round or is it a pass?
Soon as you put the quarterback on the center, you
(11:14):
put more more of a pause into their evaluation. And
it's helping the process and the entire operation of the
offense in the run game and the pass game, play
action pass. It goes a long way into slowing down
the defense and protecting your quarterback. So I'm having those
conversations in the building. I've got to be able to
(11:36):
run the football in multiple ways, not just.
Speaker 3 (11:40):
In our zone blocking scheme. But I want to see
us be more powerful.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
We have big offensive tackles, we have a big offensive line,
by the way, but we're not using that leverage. We're
not pinning and pulling, we don't get a lot of
double teams, and we're not coming down here and using
the power of our offensive line in a much greater way.
That also slows down a pass rush. You want to
slow down Miles Garrett, make him defend the run some Okay,
(12:07):
if everything that we've been doing isn't shotgun zone reads,
our offensive lineman like Orlando Brown and Amaria's men's they're
running backwards more than they're running forwards.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
So I think I think.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
All of those things are under evaluation. I know Zach
Taylor knows these things. In fact, I see them doing
more of those things as of late, when Joe Flacco
came and started playing, they started to do more of
those things. And it's got to be even a higher
volume of that. We need to have a higher run
play percentage. And I know we have this great quarterback,
(12:41):
but if you want to help him be better, that's
what That's what Jim Harbaugh is doing for Justin Herbert.
With the LA charge, their run play percentage has gone up,
so their overall production and efficiency on offense has gone up.
I think Zach Taylor's doing a great job. We've scored
thirty or more points in fourteen games over the last
(13:02):
since the start of last season.
Speaker 3 (13:03):
Problem is we've lost half of those games.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
So that means now we got to get to the
defensive side of the ball and we've got to be
better at the point of attack. We've got to be
able to win the line of scrimmage. Teams can't run
on us with impunity. We've got to be better tacklers
at the second level. That's our linebackers, that's our safety,
that's our cornerbacks. We've got to take better angles to
the to the to the runner, and we've got to
(13:30):
learn that our shoulder pads are for a reason. Man,
you got to put shoulder pads on people. You can't
grab a man and get him on the ground. You
got to hit with the same foot, same shoulder on
the ball carrier, and you got to wrap him up.
Those are the three fundamentals of tackling. Same foot, same shoulder,
wrap him up, get him on the ground and you
(13:51):
gotta be physical.
Speaker 3 (13:52):
I want to see remember when Mike Zimmer was here.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
I remember the first day Mike Zimmer practice as the
defensive coordinator with the big I was blown away.
Speaker 3 (14:03):
I said, thank you.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
I said, we finally have someone around here who's not
afraid to hit a Chant Johnson or TJ. Hushman's out
may are you know, you got to hit those guys
in the defense has to have a priority. And I'm
not saying we got to hurt our receivers. That's not
where I'm going. But physicality is something that's practice. It's
not just mentioned. You've got to practice it every day
(14:27):
you step on the field. It's got to be a
point of emphasis. And I know Al Goden will get
there in his second year, so but those are just
if you're asking me. The point of emphasis is some
of the things that I'm addressing. We haven't even gotten
to personnel yet. But just from a mentality of how
the game ought to be played on both sides of
the ball, that's what I would offer.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
Sally. Let's turn to the Ravens. They come to town
at six and seven. They've lost back to back home
games to Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. What's wrong with Baltimore.
Speaker 3 (14:55):
I don't think Lamar Jackson is completely healthy.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
This goes to show you, you know, just because the
guy's out there now you're playing with some You're playing
with some deficiencies. He's not the quarterback that we had
seen over the over the last several years when we've
played him. He's not as twitchy, he's not as mobile.
He's I think that growing injury is hindering him and
forcing him to be less elusive, even in the pocket.
(15:24):
I don't think their their passing game is as creative
as it once was. They're not scheming guys open as
well as they had in the past.
Speaker 3 (15:33):
They seem to be out of sync in the passing game.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
To be honest with you, he's really good with the
tight ends, but when he has to go to the
receivers further down the field and out on the perimeter,
unless it's off play action, it's just not there and
he's not able to buy as much time as he
used to where there's elusive abilities, where coverage breaks down.
That's what Josh Allen did to us, By the way,
(15:57):
stand there, run around by a little more time, stand
the play coverage can't last forever. That's something that Lamar
has been very good at and as of late, he's
not been able to do it. You know, they I
think they end up having two hundred yards rushing against
Pittsburgh last week, still lost the game. That's surprising, and
(16:18):
so that, you know, I want to see, Like if
you were looking, you know, I'm pulling for the Bengals
in this game, but if you want it, if you
were on their team and saying, Okay, what do they
need to do better?
Speaker 3 (16:28):
I think they've got to begin to lean more into.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
Derek Henry, not less with Lamar aling they should be
giving the opponent a higher dosage of Derek Henry. I
don't want to see that happen in our game once someday,
but that's probably what they will look to do the
last couple of weeks. You know, we our defense could
do a much better job at defending the run. The
(16:52):
Bills had over one hundred and eighty yards rushing in
that game, and I got to believe that the Baltimore
Ravens are gonna see that and lean in to that
more so.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
The Bengals have a chance to beat Baltimore twice in
three weeks sweep the regular season series for the first
time since the Super Bowl year back in twenty twenty one.
Give us a few keys for the Bengals to come
out on top this week.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
I think it's going to be getting defensive stops. You
got to get more turnovers like what happened last time.
I look, I don't expect them to get five turnovers
in the game. But when you fly around and you're
aggressive and your physical on defense, and believe me, the
Bengals defense was that night on Thanksgiving Night at M
and T Banks Stadium, the ball comes out and you
(17:34):
saw what happened with James Cook, and you know the
way that DJ Turner was flying around and flash the
ball comes out. So you have to be able to
do that. More importantly, you've got to cut off these
tight ends over the middle of the field once you
stop the run game. That's what they want to do.
They want to get the ball to Mark Andrews, they
want to get the ball to Isaiah likely force Lamar
(17:55):
to win throwing the ball out on the perimeter, because
I don't think he's as efficient when doing that. And
then offensively, the Ravens defense has.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
Just not been good.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
They're giving up a lot of points, they're giving up
a lot of big plays, and they don't like defending
against Jamar Chase.
Speaker 3 (18:13):
They don't like defending against t Higgins.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
And I hope he is going to be well enough
to play, and if not, Mitchell Tinsley is going to
have to just hit on a higher ratio of the
plays when he is targeted. But look, Goseki's been really good.
So we just got to continue to do what we're
doing on offense. And don't forget about Chase Brown both
in the running and receiving game, because he's a weapon
(18:37):
back there. And so I just think continue to be
balanced on offense, have a considerable run ratio play of
at least forty percent because that goes a long way
into helping the passing game.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
Sally really appreciate your time as always. Keep up the
great work and happy holidays.
Speaker 3 (18:54):
Thank you, Dan, thanks for having me, and happy holidays
to you as well.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
Sally spent four years playing in the Bengals secondary and
my one on one player interview this week is with
the best member of that crew. This year. DJ Turner
leads the NFL and passes defense and is getting high
marks from Pro Football Focus. He's graded twelfth overall among cornerbacks,
and his past coverage grade is fifth best in the NFL.
(19:21):
AL Golden and Zach Taylor say that Turner is playing
at a pro bowl level.
Speaker 4 (19:26):
We've asked him to do a really hard job each week,
take on the go to guy, and he's done it
at and performed at a.
Speaker 5 (19:35):
Really, really high level.
Speaker 4 (19:37):
I think he'll be the first to say, you know,
he doesn't really want to talk about any of that,
just wants to put his head down and go to work.
Certainly he should be in the conversation based on his performance,
his approach and consistency. Everybody forgets that part of it,
just a consistent part of it that separates you when
you get to that level.
Speaker 6 (19:57):
He's earned all this. You know, he's not a guy
that just speaks and doesn't put in the work. I've
told you stories all season about training camp conversations with
him and just really proud of him the way he's
handled everything and the way that he just fights every week.
And you can just feel the I mean, you can
genuinely feel the confidence from him oozing off of him.
(20:17):
And he's he's been a tremendous asset for us. He's
a really good communicator. It's really important to him. He
understands what it means to cover their best guy. He
understands all that that entails, the good in the bad,
and he's willing to embrace it all and proud of
the season he's having. And he'll just continue to lead us.
And there's some great opportunity here starting with this game
(20:38):
as well, So I'm excited to watch DJ finish out
the year.
Speaker 1 (20:41):
I spoke to the twenty five year old corner back
this week about his breakout season.
Speaker 3 (20:47):
DJ.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
We're about three weeks away from the Pro Bowl rosters
being announced now. Golden said the other day that he
believes you are deserving. Have you given it much thought
and what would it mean to be selected?
Speaker 7 (20:58):
I mean, yeah, I'm definitely. I've never you know, got
it thought for sure. You know, I grew up trying
to make Pro Bowl, all Pro all that. I'm not
gonna let it determine any outcome. Yeah, that's the biggest thing.
Speaker 1 (21:09):
How do you think you've improved this year? And what's
the biggest reason why?
Speaker 7 (21:13):
Honestly, I just improved in every aspect of my game
and It was just from all the preparation I do,
from the hardworking off season and the body right, mental right,
and just a combination and everything.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
Visiting the DJ Turner, I saw a story recently that
described how you've added daily meditation to your routine. How
did that come about?
Speaker 7 (21:33):
Came about from just traveling kind of, Like I said,
I went to like a whole bunch of Southeast countries
and they talk about meditation all the time out there,
so I was like, you know, kind of looked into it,
and then I used the comap a lot. They always
talked about that son and then on the com mapp
Jay Shaddy, so they just keep telling my meditation. I
just kept on hearing it. So I was like, I
(21:53):
got to try it and tried it consistently. I started
meditating last year, so I'm like in a year and
you know, I'm seeing positive results.
Speaker 1 (22:01):
Jay Shetty wrote a book, How to Think Like a Monk?
What does that mean to you?
Speaker 5 (22:06):
How to just get mentally strong?
Speaker 7 (22:08):
It's different ways to get there's a different path for everybody,
and just just really trying to perfect yourself, you know,
just know how to get yourself into, you know, your
best mental state. And it's not the same for everybody.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
Representing with DJ Turner. We are so used to non
stop stimulus, looking at our phones, looking at our tablets,
et cetera. I would think that meditating might be hard.
Did you have to kind of learn how to do it?
Speaker 7 (22:35):
No, for sure, it's definitely hard. Like I tell everybody
else close.
Speaker 5 (22:38):
To me, and now with this platform, I'm trying to
get more people.
Speaker 7 (22:42):
But like my closest friends, my family did my teammates
always say just sitting around for like fifteen minutes with nothing,
you know, and no phone, no nothing, just at the
time instead of fifteen minutes.
Speaker 5 (22:54):
And you realize how long fifteen.
Speaker 7 (22:56):
Minutes can really be, And so that's really it's definitely
hard for or you know, just to start out, you
do like three minutes, four minutes, five minutes, and as
gradual keep going.
Speaker 5 (23:04):
But it's definitely hard to you know, do it first.
Speaker 1 (23:06):
I'd give my nineteen year old son about two minutes.
Speaker 5 (23:08):
Get this point for real.
Speaker 8 (23:10):
For real.
Speaker 5 (23:11):
I was like, that's it. Though, I was like that's
it when I first started.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
We're visiting the DJ Turner. You've been following the other
team's best wide receiver more often than not describe that responsibility.
Speaker 7 (23:23):
Yeah, I mean I wanted that role. I told him
I was gonna get that role.
Speaker 5 (23:29):
That's yes.
Speaker 7 (23:30):
I mean that I just want the best, you know,
like the best versus best. If I think I'm the best,
I'm gonna go against the best. That's really how I
think about it. And I told him that, and I've
earned that role, and that's really how I look about it.
Speaker 1 (23:42):
You're currently leading the NFL and passes defense, pass breakups.
However you want to look at it with seventeen you
had five and one game against Green Bay. Now that
we're this close to the end of this season, is
it a goal of yours to lead the league in
that statistic?
Speaker 5 (23:57):
Yeah, I mean it can be.
Speaker 7 (23:58):
Like I said, I'm not I've gotten away from goal setting.
That's one of the things I gotten away from because
I did it Rooky year, and once numbers or stuff
like that don't go to where you want, you start
trying to make too much happen and you try to
play out your game. So, like I said, I'm I'm
not getting into like goals or anything like that. I'm
just second care of my responsibility and week by weekest
(24:21):
the number one receiver.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
You are approaching the end of your third season with
the Bengals. After this year, you will be eligible for
a second contract. Is it your hope to sign an
extension prior to next year?
Speaker 5 (24:32):
Yeah, I mean that's always a goal.
Speaker 7 (24:34):
But you know, I'm a I'm gonna regather all that
after the season with my agents.
Speaker 5 (24:39):
And everything like that. Like I said, right now, I
got the Ravens.
Speaker 1 (24:43):
Well, let's talk about that. How does Lamar Jackson impact
covering somebody?
Speaker 5 (24:49):
Just mainly extending the plays.
Speaker 7 (24:51):
That's the you know, I'm going against some I don't
even know how many times over the through, you know,
but a lot of times and just extending the plays.
The players will last.
Speaker 5 (25:00):
How long?
Speaker 1 (25:02):
I think you're listed at one hundred and eighty five pounds.
At some point on Sunday you'll have to tackle two
hundred and fifty two pound Derek Henry. How do you
go about doing that?
Speaker 3 (25:10):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (25:10):
I mean that's just numbers. I don't care. You know,
I'm gonna get them down.
Speaker 1 (25:15):
Is it all about the fundamentals? Is it getting your
shoulder into the right spot and having the proper leverage
to get the job done.
Speaker 5 (25:22):
Yeah, that is about will.
Speaker 7 (25:25):
Yeah, I mean, I'll play it him multiple times too,
you know, the responsibility, that's all it come out.
Speaker 5 (25:30):
We all play football.
Speaker 1 (25:31):
A little smile came to your face even when I
brought it up.
Speaker 5 (25:34):
Yeah, I mean because I can actually just make it Taple.
You know, that's just it is what it is football
and football.
Speaker 1 (25:40):
You just got to make it Taple, definitely part of
the gig. Let me wrap it up with this question.
Most of the people in the locker room call you Drago.
Have you ever thought about legally going by that as
opposed to DJ?
Speaker 7 (25:54):
Well, I mean my legal name is one Drago, right,
so I mean that is my legal dame.
Speaker 5 (26:00):
But I don't go by Drago to the public because.
Speaker 7 (26:04):
My dad goes by Okay, so my dad is Drego,
so like everybody will call my dad, you know, that's
my dad's named Drego. So I won't go buy a
DJ That's why, and just a whole bunch of stuff
like that. But if I have a sign, he can
go by whatever, you know, I mean.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
I'll pass it nine and he'll be the next one Drego.
Speaker 5 (26:24):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, we'll do that all right.
Speaker 1 (26:27):
Congratulations on a great season, Todate. I really appreciate your
time and I hope to see your name selected for
the Pro Bowl soon. Nah.
Speaker 5 (26:33):
Yeah, appreciating me so.
Speaker 1 (26:35):
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,
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Health the best care for the best fans. Kettering Health
is the official healthcare provider of the Bengals. Finally, it's
(26:57):
time for this week's Know the Faux segment. Last week,
the Ravens celebrated the twenty fifth anniversary of their first
Super Bowl winning team, featuring one of the best defenses
in NFL history. Marvin Lewis was the defensive coordinator and
his linebacking corps included former UC Bearcat Brad Jackson. Brad's
(27:18):
remained in the Baltimore area and he joined Dave Lapham
and me on The Bengals Game Plan Show this week
to explain why the Ravens are a game under five hundred.
Speaker 9 (27:28):
Lamar missed some games, but they were one to three
before you know, He's had his injuries and I mean.
Speaker 8 (27:33):
It's bad all the way around.
Speaker 9 (27:35):
I mean, I'm here, and you know, obviously this this
past week, after losing to the Pittsburgh on Sunday, you know,
and going under five hundred to you know, the you know,
the fish grease has been ratcheted up on everybody one
Coach Harball, you know, to be fired. And you know,
I'm sure if the outcome of Sunday's game would have
been different, in the outcome would be in Pittsburgh, it'd
(27:57):
be fire coach Tomlins. So it's gonna go back and
forth between fans and media and the talking kids. But
there's just a lot Lamar's not playing well. I think
he hasn't had a touchdown in his last three and
a half games, and so like in any capacity of
you know, so obviously they had one that you know
likely kind of should have had, but you know, unlikely
(28:19):
that that would be a call with this the referees
in this day and age. So you know, defensively, they've
had their issue special teams. You know, that was a
big component. Even in Sunday's game. You missed the pat
you miss the field goals. It's just a collective effort
for whatever reason of why the Ravens are six and seven.
When you know, I mean if you look at you
(28:40):
know what every publication and you know, the four Letter
Broadcasting Network and you know, Worldwide Leader of Sports and
any other network, everyone would think that the Ravens would
be one of the top.
Speaker 8 (28:51):
Four teams in the AFC, and unfortunately they're on the
outside looking in.
Speaker 9 (28:55):
And uh, it's just been you know, a a collaborative
effort from all three phases as to why they've been
unsuccessful and then that point and unfortunately, there's most people
who thought that this team was gonna win fourteen games
minimum this year.
Speaker 8 (29:13):
When you come into the.
Speaker 9 (29:14):
Season and you look at you know, who they had
on the schedule, they were already circling wins. And so
unfortunately that's not been the case. And here they are
trying to battle with what four weeks I believe it
left to go and having you know, the Bengals, you
know here on Sunday, and then you got the Patriots
and then the Packers and then the Steelers. So you know,
(29:34):
there's some hope, but there's also a realistic opportunity.
Speaker 8 (29:38):
That you could actually go, you know, lose.
Speaker 9 (29:40):
The last six, you know, losing to the Bengals on
Thanksgiving night and then losing to the Steelers on Sunday,
and you know, if they go out to Cincinnati and
and don't get it done, and then you got to
go you know, you got the Patriots and then you
finish on the road in Green Bay and you guys know, Lap,
you've played there.
Speaker 8 (29:55):
You've done it, Hordy, you've done it.
Speaker 1 (29:57):
You know.
Speaker 9 (29:57):
I was fortunate enough that whenever I played the Packers,
it was no later than October. So I can't even
imagine him going to Lambeau and he's December twenty.
Speaker 8 (30:04):
Seventh and trying to figure out what that what that
weather is going to be like, and.
Speaker 9 (30:09):
Then finish up with the Steelers in Pittsburgh. So it's
a daunting task. And like they said, the fat Lady
isn't singing, but she's humming.
Speaker 10 (30:18):
Yeah. You know, you look at the Baltimore Ravens got stars,
I mean, superstar players. Dereck Henry's a stud.
Speaker 3 (30:28):
What a load man.
Speaker 10 (30:29):
You know, he's two hundred and fifty pounds sixty three
plus probably closer to six four. I mean that looked
that's like a big linebacker lining up at the running
back position coming downhill and trying to punish you and
punish people. I do think that it's a challenge. Obviously
the game's left for the Ravens, but it's not an impossibility,
(30:51):
particularly if they get that running game going and take
some pressure off Lamar and let Lamar you know, play
action pass and utilize is tight end one of the
best in the business, maybe the best in the business.
Speaker 5 (31:04):
I think.
Speaker 10 (31:05):
I think that Baltimore is still, you know, some a
football team that people respect and are you know, know
that they have to bring it in order to win
the football game against the Baltimore Ravens. What do you think, Well, I.
Speaker 8 (31:21):
Mean, you're right, you know that. But the problem is
is Baltimore fans.
Speaker 9 (31:24):
And I hear it a lot, you know when I'm
out in public and started Christmas shopping and doing the events,
and you know, I mean, you look at this season
and you got five games, only five games where Derrick
Henry has had more than.
Speaker 8 (31:36):
Twenty touches to than twenty carries, like so they.
Speaker 9 (31:39):
I mean you're talking about games where, for example, against
the Bengals and you guys were there on Thanksgiving night,
he's averaging six yards of carry and he finishes with
ten carries and for ten for sixty with along of
twenty eight. He's it's almost like, you know, you remember
the Michael Jordans and Kobe Bryant and basketball players, and
you know, I remember my Bearcat teammates like Melo Levy
(31:59):
used to always argue with Hugs and Ruben Patterson and
those guys that the more shots they got up, the
more of a rhythm that they got into. We've all
been around the game of football for a long time
that it's no different than running backs. The more opportunities
that they get, the more that they get into rhythm,
the more that that engine gets going. And then, of course,
like you said, Lap, the more that it wears on
the defense when you have a two hundred and sixty
(32:20):
pound guide that's.
Speaker 8 (32:21):
Still running a four or five, and that is a
home run.
Speaker 9 (32:24):
Hitter realistically every time he gets into the secondary, because
we all know this league does not hit anymore of
their a bunch of.
Speaker 8 (32:30):
Armed tackling grab on and hold on.
Speaker 9 (32:33):
And hope for tacklers, and so you have to give
him the volume. And that's been a frustrating thing that
has been in the Baltimore media.
Speaker 8 (32:40):
You know, whether it's social print or television. It's the
fan base. And of course you know Harves.
Speaker 9 (32:46):
Is stood up there and answer the questions, and you
know that they tried to do this thing, but you
know they could kind of skate away from it.
Speaker 8 (32:52):
When you were playing the.
Speaker 9 (32:53):
Bears, who at that time were not hot, and you know,
the Ravens beat him, and then they had Miami and
Minnesota and Cleveland and the Jets, and so when you're
you're kind of it's almost like for yazy, you know,
for the for the young folks out there, that's the
fake gold, you know, where they got into this false
sense of.
Speaker 8 (33:09):
Security where they're like, Okay, we can get.
Speaker 9 (33:11):
There for fifteen and eighteen and eleven and twelve and
still win games.
Speaker 8 (33:16):
And then when you're you know, you're you're running around.
Speaker 9 (33:18):
And even the Buffalo lost early in the year, they
lost forty one to forty. He had eighteen carries for
one hundred and sixty nine yards and they basically put.
Speaker 8 (33:27):
Him in that, you know, put a jacket on him
in the third and fourth quarters of those games.
Speaker 9 (33:31):
So it's frustrating because I know, winning a Super Bowl.
Our team was built because Trent Gill for our quarterback
Tony Banks, our quarterback. They were not the guys that
were going to go out there, and they obviously didn't
have the MVP talent that Lamar Jackson has, and so
we relied on the running game. And so when you're
struggling on offense, as the Ravens have been, with pass protection,
(33:52):
with the offensive line, with Lamar's inaccuracy, with wire receivers
running the wrong routes, with wide receivers dropping the.
Speaker 8 (33:58):
Ball, you know, then get act of what you can
do that.
Speaker 9 (34:01):
You can count on to hang your hat on, and
that's running Derrick Henry and Keaton Mitchell and those type
of players in the running backs, and obviously Justice Hills
be down and then you have a li you know,
the rookie from Marshall. You know, these are all guys
that are all different backs, that are all been explosive
and can make plays. But yet for some reason, the
offensive coordinating to play calling. And I'm not in the
(34:22):
building right now, you know, I don't even what I
am in the building.
Speaker 8 (34:25):
I tend to go to the defensive side and try
to sit and see what's going on there.
Speaker 9 (34:30):
You know, But there is a question and a problem
of why you're just not saying Derrick Henry is December.
We've kind of managed your workload all week, all year
for the most part, whether intentionally or unintentionally.
Speaker 8 (34:43):
So guess what you're gonna get twenty five.
Speaker 9 (34:45):
To thirty carries this Sunday and we're just going to
see what happens. And you know, we did that with
Jamal Lewis, and that's you know, like you said earlier,
that that's why we were world champions. We played to
our defense, we played what was working and what the
other team allowed us to get, and then you were successful.
Speaker 8 (35:01):
And that's that's the whole point of the game.
Speaker 9 (35:03):
You have to find out every week, in every quarter,
in almost every series, as you guys are well aware of,
it's going to be different and you have to make
those adjustments and find out what can we take advantage
of with our weapons.
Speaker 8 (35:13):
And Derek Henry is one of the biggest and best
weapons you could.
Speaker 9 (35:16):
Have in the National Football League, which is why he's
over another thousand yards with four games ago.
Speaker 1 (35:22):
Our thanks to Brad Jackson, and here's a quick invitation
to join Lapp and Wayne box Miller for the Bengals
pep Rally Show this week. They'll be at the on
the Rhine Eatery, the food hall on the second floor
above the downtown Kroger on Friday from two thirty to
five thirty and their scheduled guest in the final hour
will be Bengals legend Sam Hubbard. That's going to do
(35:44):
it for this episode of the Bengals Booth Podcast, brought
to you by pay Corps, 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 haven't done so already,
(36:08):
please subscribe to this podcast and if you have a minute,
give it a rating or share a comment that helps
more Bengals fans find us. I'm Dan Hord and thanks
for listening to The Bengals Booth Podcast.
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