September 25, 2025 • 40 mins
The Bengals head to Colorado for a Monday night matchup with the Denver Broncos. Dan Hoard’s guests include ESPN’s Joe Buck, quarterback Jake Browning and Nick Kosmider who covers the Broncos for The Athletic.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
I get everybody on dan Board and thanks for downloading
The Bengals Booth podcast The Rocky Mountain. We addition as
the Bengals head to Colorado for a Monday Night matchup
with the Denver Broncos. This week's game is on ESPN
and I'll talk to the voice of Monday Night Football,
Joe Buck. My one on one player interview is with
(00:25):
Jake Browning as we discuss the challenging life of a
backup quarterback. And in our nother faux segment, we'll get
the inside scoop on the one in two Broncos from
beat writer Nick Cosmider. The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought
to you by pay Core, proud to be the Bengals
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(00:48):
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 quick reminder that
you can have the late 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 Rudy Johnson,
(01:12):
the former Bengals running back, passed away this week at
the age of forty five. I was working in local
TV when Rudy played for Cincinnati, and I think you
can make a strong case that he is the most
underrated player in team history prior to this week. If
you asked one hundred Bengals fans who holds the team
record for rushing yards in a season, I think the
(01:34):
overwhelming majority would have said Corey Dillon. And if they
were told that was incorrect, and I guess again, I
suspect their next choice would have been Joe Mixon or
James Brooks. The correct answer, of course, is Rudy Johnson,
who set the team record with four hundred and fifty
eight rushing yards in two thousand and five. That was
(01:55):
four yards more than the team record he had set
one year earlier, so Rudy actually has the top two
spots in the record book. He also holds the team
record for carries in a game with a mind boggling
forty three. That's tied for second most in NFL history,
behind Washington's Jamie Morris, who ran the ball forty five
(02:17):
times in a loss to the Bengals in nineteen ninety eight.
In the words of team president Mike Brown, quote, Rudy
was a fine person and an excellent running back. He
was dependable and productive as a player, and very popular
among his teammates. Everyone liked him and saw him as
a dear friend. We are deeply saddened by his passing. Now,
(02:42):
let's get to my first guest. Who will be in
the National TV booth on Monday night in Denver. It's
the Bengals and Broncos on Monday Night Football. And it
is great to catch up with a guy I first
met when we were broadcasting minor league baseball games many
many years ago. ESPN's Joe Buck. Joe, you were behind
(03:03):
the mic two years ago for Jake Browning's second NFL start.
I call it the Jake Browning Game. He completed more
than eighty six percent of his passes in an upset
win in Jacksonville. What do you remember about that night?
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Yeah, I mean, it's like the Michael Jordan game, the
Flu game. It just gets a new name. Troy and I,
I don't know. Halfway through that thing, we're like, damn,
this guy's good. Like he looked fantastic, and there have
been It wasn't just that. I mean there have been
other games and other moments. I know, you guys are
(03:39):
coming off a bad one at Minnesota, but you're two
and one and you want to flush it. But yeah,
I think there's a very basic scale that you can
judge these guys on, and it comes down to can
they play or can they not play? And I think
(03:59):
we both walked out of the booth that night like
this guy can play. He's got something to him. There's
something different about him than the typical guy coming in
who's basically been standing there holding the clipboard and who
I'm sure probably hopes is not going to come in.
I felt like he was confident. He looked like the
team was his. I think that's another scale too, It's like,
(04:22):
does it look like the guys around him are excited
to play with and for him? And I think the
answer was a resounding yes in that game. And I'm
fully expecting he and they to come out and look
a lot different than they did in Minneapolis when we
all get to Denver.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
It was a rough game last week. Did it change
your view of the Bengals at all?
Speaker 2 (04:48):
The current Bengals the Bengals as they are now.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
No, I.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Think this is a team that can definitely hang in there.
They can not only survive punches, but deliver them. Troy
and I are both and I don't want to speak
for him, but I know he would say the same
if he were on here and I wasn't. He and
I are both big Zach Taylor fans. We had you
guys in the preseason that game against the Commanders, and
(05:14):
both when Zach hung up on our zoom call, we're
both like, you know, we've talked to him a bunch
of times, but we had a blast with him. You
can tell he's so smart, he's aware of every facet
of that team, and we both hung up going. We
really liked that guy, and so it's easy to root
for somebody like Zach. The biggest fan of Joe Burrows
(05:40):
in media is Troy because I think, even though he
may or may not admit it, I think Joe reminds
Troy of Troy and the way he played the position
and the kind of you know, take no prisoners gunslinger confident.
(06:01):
I feel that, and so every time we do a
game when Joe's in it and I'm like, there he is, Troy,
there's your favorite player. And and you know, every time
we hang up with Joe Burrow, it's like, well, Joe,
you know, we're big fans of yours. That's kind of
how we end every conference caller zoom call with with
Joe Burrow. So yeah, I feel like there's the shell
(06:24):
there and within that, within that casing, there's room there
for Jake Browning to do some good things. There's obviously
a ton of talent around him, and this team can
win with Jake Browning and hopefully, you know, I'm not
telling you anything you don't hope for every night before
the end of the year Joe Burrow comes back.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
Are you and Troy flabbergasted by just how rotten Joe
Burrow's injury luck has been.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
It's just a as a football fan. For you don't
have to be a Bengals fan or Joe Burrow fan.
As a football fan, it's got a crush you. I mean,
I can't imagine what it's like for Bengals fans. I
can't imagine what it's like for people who have Joe
Burrow on their fantasy team. But beyond that, I just
think he makes the league better. He makes the league
(07:12):
more interesting. Everybody they play, It's like, Okay, Joe Burrow's
on TV tonight or today, I want to watch that game.
Because you don't have to be Troy Aikman. You know,
you can be just a casual fan and go, Okay,
that guy looks different. He's tough, and by the way,
that should never be in question. These these are legitimate,
big time injuries. He doesn't complain about injuries. I don't
(07:36):
feel like he ever gives himself kind of that built
in excuse. And you and I both met many athletes
in the sports that we've covered that kind of always
have that in the back, like, ah, I'm not really
feeling that good. I'm you know, in the case of Burrow,
the wrist is he never does He never does that.
It's it's I'm good enough, I'm ready to go play.
So there's never a question of any of that stuff.
(07:59):
But yeah, I think the casual fan has to be
mildly heartbroken that Joe Burrow is not on the field
on Monday night or any Sunday or any Thursday.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
Joe, you noted it. The Bengals are still two and one.
They're tied for first in the AFC North. What are
some of the things you think they'll need to do
to stay in the hunt until Joe hopefully returns sometime
in December.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Well, I mean, obviously, and then don't fumble five times
and lose three and throw two interceptions and pick sixes
and fumble's return for touch. Don't do any of that.
That would be a good place to start. But I
think find a running game. I mean, the running game
has been frustrating to this point. Chase Brown is a
(08:46):
really talented running back. We left that preseason game I
kind of I drafted on my fantasy team TAJ and
kind of stashed him on the bench, thinking, you know,
maybe by the end of the year, this guy between
the tackles is going to be somebody that I may
want to start. Jury's out on that, But I think
(09:09):
the ground game and figuring out a way to open
up some holes. I don't care if you're Joe Burrow,
Joe Montana, Joe Namath or name him. If you can't
run the ball, good luck. And we just did the
game on Monday night with Jared Goff and with Lamar Jackson.
I mean, yes, those are two dynamic quarterbacks. But Lamar's
(09:33):
got Derrick Henry, it can run it himself. And Jared
Goff's got the best combination in the backfield easily in
the NFL with his two running backs, and that's why
he's so good off play action. So you know, if
you want safeties and linebackers to bite and come up
and leave room behind him so that there's room for
the great Jamar Chase and T Higgins and Mike Kasicki
(09:56):
and everybody else to get behind him, and Browning or
anybody else to find him find a running game and
that can be the cure to what ails you.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
Jill. Let's talk about this week's opponent, the Denver Broncos.
They're one and two, but they've had the lead in
the fourth quarter in all three games. They lost the
last two on walkoff field goals. How do you viewed
Denver and some of their strengths heading into this game
against Cincinnati.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
Well, everybody there, I mean, if you read the clips,
and I read them every day, the Denver Broncos, according
to their sports writers, are the worst team ever assembled.
So their defense is very good. They've got an outstanding
pass rush, they've got the reigning defensive Player of the
Year in Patzertan, you know, as close to a shutdown
(10:42):
corner as you can get in the NFL. But offensively Bononix,
they're calling a sophomore slump now. They're talking about his footwork,
and he's got happy feed and you know, on and
on and on. I think we all over and me included,
we all over act to three weeks of an NFL season.
(11:04):
I think a lot can change between now and the
end of the year. And I believe Denver's a good team.
I believe they've got a really good head coach. I
believe they've got a good young quarterback. He's getting picked
on right now in the Denver media. He missed him
open throws last week and that's going to happen. And
he's still growing and learning. He's in great hands. They're
(11:25):
running games a little bit better than Cincinnati's to this point.
They've got Courtland Sutton, who's a number one receiver. They've
got some good twos and threes behind him. There's a
lot to like, but that's not a team that's playing
well either. And like you said, they're one and two.
You can make an easy case they should be three
(11:45):
and zero. They could be oning three. I mean, they
have not dominated anybody or been dominated by anybody yet,
so I think it's a good matchup. I think it's
a pretty evenly split matchup as far as I'm concerned
going into the game. But they've got a lot of talent.
They've got a coach that'll figure out ways to beat
the Cincinnati defense. That's what he does. Sean Payton sits
(12:07):
up at night figuring out ways to beat defenses, and
I'm sure he'll be doing it for Monday night, so
I'm looking forward to it.
Speaker 1 (12:14):
Joe, what's your Sunday routine? Do you watch the best
game of the day? Do you go red zone? Do
you watch the team that you're going to have the
next week? What do you do on a typical Sunday.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
It's gonna make every football fan sick, but we kind
of create our own little sports bar without the alcohol.
We sit in a conference room in our hotel. We
have multiple TVs that get trucked in and these poor
people that have to put them together and set them
up every week. I watch him at the end of
(12:45):
our Monday morning meeting, just lugging all this junk down
back into the lobby and out of the door. But yeah,
we for lack of a better better way to describe it,
it's our own red zone. We've got, you know, two
big monitors. There's four boxes on each and we can
kind of zoom in on a game we want to watch.
We don't have handsome yelling at us, but we've got
(13:08):
a bunch of people in there. You know, if something catches,
I'm in there looking at my board. I'm doing my work,
I'm putting stuff on my board, I'm getting ready for
the game. And it's like look up, kind of survey it,
look down, do it will work? Look up? And then
when something happens, it's just good for everybody to be
together and to watch it all together to talk about it.
(13:31):
It just takes a little bit of the guess work
on what we're going to talk about with regard to
the rest of the league when Monday night comes, because
we're all there together watching it, and I kind of
know where Troy's head is on Dallas or Green Bay
or you know, right on down the line, and he
knows where mine is. And you know, if I've got
a question something crosses my mind, or I'm doing my work,
(13:54):
and it's you know, when's the last time player X
did this. I've got two stat guys or research people
sitting there and I can just say it out loud.
The answer comes magically to me. It's a pretty darn
good setup.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
That does sound pretty good. Last thing for Joe Buck,
You and Troy have had a great partnership for years
and years, but it just sounds like you're having such
a ball on ESPN. Is it the primetime game? Is
that the standalone game? Is there something about Monday that's
just brought out the best and YouTube guys together?
Speaker 2 (14:28):
You know, I think, without going into it too much
because it's boring for everybody else, but when Fox had
the Thursday game and the Sunday games, and we were
doing Thursday Sunday, then Sunday than Thursday Sunday, so I
think it forced us to be a little bit more
run and gone and not so zeroed in on every
(14:48):
detail of every game, which makes you pull back and
have a bigger view of everything, which I think leads
to more room for personality and fun. And I think
then we tap into what we've built over two twenty
four years, which is, you know, a good relationship a
lot of respect. Knowing where the other person's coming from.
I know what's gonna make him laugh. He knows what's
(15:10):
gonna make me laugh. And if I can get him
to laugh, he's a very intense dude. If I can
get him to laugh during the course of the broadcast,
I think it makes for a better listen. I think
it makes him loosen up and we're in a better spot.
So yeah, I think. I think what happened during those
years we did it for four years, maybe change the
(15:33):
way we prepare and then I think ultimately change the
way we interact when we're on TV.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
Joe, this has been great. Look forward to seeing you
in Denver, and thanks so much for joining us on
this segment.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
All right, buddy, get to see it.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
In the last two times the Bengals played on Monday
Night Football with a backup quarterback starting the game, they won,
there was the Jake Browning game in Jacksonville that I
discussed with Joe Buck And if you go back to
twenty twenty, the two ten and one Bengals beat the
eleven and two Pittsburgh Steelers twenty seven to seventeen with
(16:05):
Ryan Finley at quarterback. The Bengals were a double digit
underdog in both of those games. They are a seven
and a half point underdog this week in Denver as
Jake Browning makes his ninth NFL start. I sat down
with the bengals twenty nine year old QB for an
in depth conversation this week. Jake, I got a chuckle
(16:27):
last week when you were talking about your seven starts
in twenty twenty three and you use the term delusional confidence.
I didn't realize that's actually a scientifically based thing, which
means a level of self confidence despite evidence. Did you
have to have delusional confidence to have the success you
had two years ago? Uh?
Speaker 3 (16:49):
Yeah, I think I don't mean maybe not scientifically delusional,
but uh you know, I'd never really played before and
started a game in like olmost five years, and you know,
I think I was probably the first person to come
off four years on Peace Squad to start some games.
And you know, I think step one to winning the
(17:11):
game on game days, going into it, feel confident that
you're going to perform well. And so you know, when
I say delusional, it's probably from outside perspective. But you know,
I know I'm a good player. I've shown that up
for a long time in practice and training camps and
stuff like that, and so, you know, I think from
the outside looking in, it might be delusionable for myself,
(17:32):
like it's it's rooted in fact that you know, I've
put some really good football. I just that was kind
of my first chance to actually play.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
You've got a Monday night game coming up this week.
Your second NFL start with a Monday night game in Jacksonville.
I call it the Jake Browning Game. You completed more
than eighty six percent of your passes in an overtime
victory over the Jags. Did that game help you have
real confidence at the NFL level?
Speaker 3 (17:59):
Yeah, definitely. I mean I think my first start are
getting even thrown in against the Ravens, I know it
was kind of garbage time, but felt like operated well.
And then the first start, you know, just the chaos
of the week and all that, and then kind of
having that under my belt and knowing you know what
to expect and stuff like that just throughout the week
and you know those feelings on game day that you
kind of have to go through to prepare yourself for
(18:20):
the game. And yeah, I think anytime you actually put
it on tape. You know, it's something to fall back on, like, hey,
I am capable of doing this, and you never really
know until you know.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
We're visiting with Jake Browning, You and Joe Burrow good friends,
you spend a ton of time together. Are you just
flabbergasted by his rotten luck when it comes to injuries?
Speaker 3 (18:42):
Yeah, I mean it's super unfortunate, you know, as far
as outside of that, you know, it's just it's unfortunate.
There's not really any other way to put it.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
What you say to him, what could you say to him?
Speaker 4 (18:55):
Sucks?
Speaker 1 (18:56):
I don't.
Speaker 3 (18:56):
I mean, I think one of the the reason we
get along is, you know, I kind of know when
he wants to be left alone, and I think, you know,
something like that happens and you're in a high profile position,
like think he knows, like I'm there for my favorite
needs anything. But you know, I'm not going to blow
him up trying to make sure that he knows that.
You know, I said, hope you're feeling better and stuff
(19:17):
like that's like, hey, did anything, let me know, but like,
good luck with everything. And you know, I think he's
got obviously a ton of support. But when it comes
to the football side of things. That's kind of where
I fall in. We're visiting with Jake Browning. I want
to go back to your crazy high school career for
a moment. You still hold the national record for most
touchdown passes by a high school quarterback. I got to
(19:38):
know your tight end Josiadaguara when he was at the
University of Cincinnati. He told me once that you didn't
really have running plays on your high school team.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
It was like sometimes you'd scramble or you know, maybe
fourth and inches you'd run, but other than that, you
were basically passing every play.
Speaker 3 (19:53):
Was that the case we did actually run the ball,
you know, like five sweeps and stuff like that a
decent amount. And yeah, I mean we were just think
my hometown that by the time you hit high school,
you know, like the junior program's really good. We're running
the high school's offense. And you know, my senior year,
(20:13):
I graduated with probably like at least eight guys that
I played with since I was eight years old, and
we'd all been playing together for a long time. So
you know, I think he gets so many reps and
then you know, you look at our coach and hit
no business being in high school. We were so much
better coach than everybody, it was ridiculous, and just geared
everything around hitting that ten thousand hours, and I think
(20:34):
we reaped the benefits of that.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
Your current coach, Zach Taylor, is something of a savant
when it comes to highly successful high school quarterbacks. He
seems kind of obsessed with it. When you arrived in
the building. Did he know all about your days at
fulsome high school?
Speaker 3 (20:49):
I think when I arrived in the building, he knew
that I had just come from the Minnesota Vikings facility
and they were our week one opponent. I'm not sure
how much he really knew outside of that.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
There. It was out to the University of Washington. You
had a great four year career there. You started your
first game as a freshman. How nerve racking is that
when you're a teenager right out of high school.
Speaker 3 (21:13):
Yeah, it was my first time on a sideline for
a college game and I was starting, and you know,
my college coach was Chris Peterson. It was his first
time going back to Boise and so it was a
primetime game and all that. But yeah, I think you
just go into like, I have no idea what this
is going to be like, and I don't really know
what to expect, but here we go, and yeah, we
(21:34):
lost a close game at the end. Ironically, Brett Rippon
was on the other team.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
In some ways, is that more nerve wracking than what
you're going to do on Monday Night against the Broncos.
Speaker 3 (21:45):
I mean, I would say, so, I've played a decent
amount of football. Now, I've been in not a crazy
amount of stars, but a decent amount of stars. But
I've been on the at least I've been on the
sideline and kind of know like the rhythm of everything.
I mean, I remember I didn't know what a TV
time out was because I had never played in college
or anything. So I remember the first time I run
out there and there's like TV time I'm like, I
(22:07):
don't even know what that was. And so, yeah, I
would say nerve wracking, probably more so in college just
having no experience.
Speaker 1 (22:18):
During the time you spent on the Vikings practice squad,
what did you learn about yourself in terms of where
you needed to improve?
Speaker 3 (22:24):
Yeah, I recreated my entire throwing motion after college. My
throwing motion was I was always accurate, but I couldn't
really push it down the field. Very far was it
was inconsistent a little bit, and so I changed the
whole thing. Changed my footwork, I changed my throwing motion,
changed my body comp and just now I'm a completely
(22:47):
different person in year four in the NFL than I
was coming in. And uh, you know, I think that
was kind of what revitalized my career a little bit
and allowed me to cotinue to stay in the NFL,
stick around until I got an opportunity. And when that
opportunity came, it was kind of when I could show
some of the things that improved on and that people
(23:08):
inside the building knew, but nobody outside the building ever
really knew.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
Was it expensive going to these high profile quarterback gurus
in the off season and try to remake your throwing motion.
I mean, yeah, it's not cheap. I would say.
Speaker 3 (23:22):
The more nerve wracking part is that you're doing in
the off season not knowing if you're gonna have a
job the following year. You know, if you do have
the job, then ad I mean, it's the best investment
you could ever make, but you don't really know, and
you don't know, Like, I'm gonna work hard all of
February March and then April comes and they draft a
quarterback and you're like, ah, there kind of goes my chance.
(23:44):
They're going to put that guy out there. And so
I think that's what something you're always kind of battling.
But I think for me it was you know, I
couldn't imagine being in a situation where I didn't do
it and then had the regret of like, I should
have done that, and you know, whether I continued to
play or if I just you know, if I was
done after the Vikings cut me, then you know, at
least I would have the peace of mind. I like, hey,
(24:05):
I gave it everything I had.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
How close were you to starting a coaching career before
the Bengals called twenty four hours?
Speaker 3 (24:14):
I had it all, I had it lined up. I
was getting ready to leave to uh volunteer coach out
of college, just because I didn't want to sit around
waiting for you know, I'd lived my first three years
of my life in the NFL just was so much uncertainty.
I didn't want to sit around waiting for somebody to call,
not knowing if they're going to call, and just get Nancy.
So figured i'd keep myself busy with something. Fortunately, you know,
(24:38):
saved up some money where I could figure out by
myself a little bit of a runway and uh and
then yeah, I got the call. I think Sunday night,
But if I made it to Tuesday, I was probably
gonna drive down to Corvallis and start helping out with
my college coach.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
People joke that backup quarterback is the greatest gig in
the world world. You're well compensated, you don't take the hits.
But as a competitor, when people say that, does it
tick you off?
Speaker 3 (25:07):
Yeah, I mean I think that both can be true.
Like it's it's obviously it's like you said, it's a
high paying job. You're not really doing a whole lot
until you're thrown in there, and it's like no one
is checking in to make sure you're dialed and that
you know everything that's going on. Like you kind of
just have to self manage yourself and make sure that
you know what's going on because everything else is gear everything,
(25:28):
practice meetings, everything is geared towards the starter, and so
it's on you to know. And you know, like last year,
I was, I was ready every single game, but nobody,
nobody knows, So that's the part that's frustrating as a competitor.
You feel like you're working really hard and doing all
these different things without the opportunity to play. And so
I think I think both can be true. But I
think it's throughout my whole career, like having both perspectives
(25:50):
of like, hey, I'm I'm in. I'm in the NFL,
whether it's practice, squad active like you know, I'm not.
I'm not starving, I'm not. There's a lot worst jobs
out there, But am I where I want to be? No,
Like in the same thing as a backup, like it's
a good gig, like I'm we're I'm not going to
deny that, but it's not where I want to be.
(26:12):
And so I think having both those perspectives can help
you continue to drive towards what you want without becoming
bitter in an objectively good position.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
After last week's loss, you said, I think you've got
to sit in it. What did that look like for
you in the next twenty four or forty eight hours misery?
Speaker 3 (26:30):
Yeah, I think anytime you know, you take it on
the chin like that, it sucks. You put a ton
of work into it, and you go into it with
every intention of it going well and then it just
nothing goes well. And you know, I think that is
probably the biggest adjustment. Like, you know, I've been the
(26:51):
backup for games that didn't go away, that were super lobsided,
and it just doesn't feel, it doesn't doesn't hit the same.
Like I think in those situations, you know, I'd feel
for Joe or like want to be helpful, but you know,
I'd go home and I'd go to bed because I
don't really play, and like when you do play, you
go home, it's hard to sleep, you feel miserable, and
like you got to go through the highs and lows
(27:13):
of being the starter. And I think that's you know,
the position that obviously I wanted to find myself in
and I want to continue to find myself in going forward.
So having you know, a routine, whatever it takes you
to mentally get over it, take obviously, take the the
takeaways that you need to to improve, but then getting
yourself in the back in the fight and continuing to
(27:36):
get ready for the next game and put yourself in
position to bounce back.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
Best of luck on Monday night. Thank you. While the
quarterbacks in NFL history who have thrown at least three
hundred passes, which admittedly isn't a huge sample size. Jake
Browning has the highest completion percentage at sixty nine point nine.
Oddly enough, Joe Burrow ranks second on the list at
sixty eight point five. The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought
(28:03):
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. Now time for this week's Know
(28:23):
the Faux segment. The Denver Broncos went to the playoffs
last year, edging Cincinnati for the seventh and final spot
in the AFC with a ten and seven record, but
the Broncos are one and two this year. They opened
with an eight point win over Tennessee before losing back
to back games on walk off field goals to the
(28:43):
Colts and Chargers. Nick Cosmider covers the team for The
Athletic and discussed what's gone wrong in the last two
weeks when he joined Dave Lapham and me on the
Bengals Game Plan Show.
Speaker 4 (28:57):
They just have not been able to finish they have had.
If you combine those two games, they had seven opportunities
in the fourth quarter to either create a two score
cushion or.
Speaker 2 (29:08):
To go on a drive that won the game, and.
Speaker 4 (29:11):
They have not been able to do enough in any
of those situations to get that two score lead. And
you know, obviously, when you look at the root causes
of that, there's been there's been different issues that they've
been kind of uncharacteristically penalized. If you compare it to
last year, you know that they've they've had a few
injuries that they've dealt with. But by and large, I
think that's the biggest takeaway from where they're at. They
(29:31):
could easily be three and zero. Particularly defensively, they've they've
created one of the league's best pass rushes and that's
been dynamic. They've had some sporadic success in the run
game from JK. Dobbins, who's been off to a really
nice start, but in the moments that matter against good teams,
they just have not been able to close the deal.
Speaker 5 (29:52):
The Denver Broncos, I mean, when I play you know,
back in the seventies and early eighties, the Denver Broncos
defense was as good as there was in the National
Football League. I mean it was that was when when
you were going up against the Broncos, you knew that
you had to you had to be on your toes.
(30:12):
I mean, you were going to see a lot You're
going to see a lot of different things, and they
were going to play hard, and like you talk about, uh,
they were going to finish plays and they they weren't
going to make a whole lot of mistakes. They they
weren't going to beat themselves. They were going to you.
You had to go out and you had to beat
the Denver Broncos. And playing them in Denver, well, that
(30:33):
crowd noise was, I mean just an unbelievable chore. How
close is this defensive football team to being that type
of unit where the opposing you know, teams are fearful
or apprehensive about playing against them.
Speaker 4 (30:51):
Well, I think there's been slashes of them doing that
pretty consistently this year. And it starts with the pass rush.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
Right now.
Speaker 4 (30:58):
If you're an opposing quarter you know, particularly in Cincinnati's case,
one like Jake Browning, who is you know, filling in
for Joe Burrow there, I think probably is a healthy
fear about that pass rush and just how many different
ways you know they can beat you. Nick Bonito right now,
it was a second team All Pro last year he
was he kind of came out of nowhere to get that,
(31:18):
but he now looks like he has taken another level up.
He looks early in the season like one of the
league's very best pass rushers. He is incredible speed off
the edge, and then you just have so many other
really solid players, whether it's Zach Allen and John Franklin
Myers creating that that interior pressure. Jonathan Cooper I think
is one of the more underrated outside edge rushers in
this league. Then they even have a guy like Jonah
(31:40):
Ellis who's in his second season, who's, you know, come
off the bench and done a really good job. They've
they've done a really nice job with with those things
that The thing that they've struggled with quite a lot
actually is is covering running backs out of the backfield.
That's been a major achilles heel. In each of the
first three games, they have given up big plays in
the passing game to running backs who are either you know,
(32:01):
completely unaccounted for or who were able to just win
a one on one battle, and the result of those
plays has always led to scoring drives and in close
games that they've been in, you know that that's something
that they have they have to clean up there. There's
some detail oriented mistakes that I think I have kept
them from being, you know, kind of that that elite,
elite unit that they want to turn themselves into. I
(32:21):
think it's in there and it's possible for them, but
they still have a little waste to go in terms
of bringing it all together.
Speaker 1 (32:28):
Nick Cosmidori is our guest. He covers the Broncos for
the Athletic Let's talk bow Nicks. We saw him late
in the regular season last year. Looked good, had a
really good rookie year. Looks like he's been so so,
at least statistically this year. Five touchdowns, three picks, passer
rating in the low eighties. How has bo Nicks performed?
Speaker 4 (32:47):
Yeah, I think that's probably a fair characterization. It's been
kind of so so, a little bit up and down.
Probably not ultimately the start to the season that he
wanted to have. And again, it kind of goes back to,
you know, the defensive side. It's not all just on uh,
it's not all just on what he's what he's not doing.
I think they've had a lot of offensive penalties that
(33:09):
have kind of slow drives. They've just had you know,
negative plays in really up inopportune times, and that's left
them in a lot of tough situations. Like, for example,
their average distance to gain on third down in Week
three against the Chargers was eleven yards. You're not gonna
you're not gonna get any kind of offensive rhythm going
when you're constantly staring at third and long. So that's
(33:30):
a thing that they have to really figure out a
way to to be ahead of the chains on first
and second down, to put themselves in more manageable third
down situations. Because he's a guy right now in his
career bo Nicks, who you know, he's not gonna he's
not gonna paper over all your problems. He can definitely
be part of a solution and part of creating, you know,
a really efficient offense. But but he is, he's not
(33:52):
and shouldn't be asked to be this kind of guy
that lifts all boats, and right now they just need
to do I think a better job around him so
that they're not in those situations where you know, opposing
teams can really kind of get to all their different
pressure looks and give him problems.
Speaker 5 (34:11):
When they Broncos have had their biggest problems. What what
what type of offensive attack has been the toughest for
this Denver Bronco defense to handle?
Speaker 1 (34:23):
What?
Speaker 5 (34:23):
What type of personnel formations motion, you know, change the
strength or all that kind of thing. What what what
has been the biggest problem for the Denver Broncos to
try to solve.
Speaker 4 (34:37):
Yeah, you know, I think there's a couple of things.
They've they've been mostly good against the ground, but they've
had their lapses there. They gave up a sixty eight
yard run in the second half to Jonathan Taylor that
led to a scoring drive for the Colts. You know,
running backs just for whatever reason, whether they're coming out
of the backfield, whether they're you know taking you know,
(34:58):
whether they're being handed off the whether they're lined up
in the slot, they've just been able to create some problems.
And part of that is because the Broncos, you know,
they went out and signed Drake Greenlaw in free agency
thinking that he was going to be you know, part
of the solution for a middle of their defense that
struggled at times last year. He has not made his
Broncos debut. He's currently on IR with a quad injury.
(35:20):
You know, so certainly they want to get him healthy
and see what the defense looks like with him being
able to do that. But I would say that would
really be kind of the thing right now. Again, they
do a really good job rushing the passer. There's been
some discipline issues again that kind of the breakdowns that
have led to some of these easy passes to running
backs in the flat. You know that they've had some
(35:41):
some penalties that have extended drives that they could have
otherwise and did so. I think just kind of the
sharper focus on the details is what they really have
to be after as they welcome Cincinnati on Monday night.
Speaker 1 (35:54):
We're chatting with Nick Cosmider from The Athletic. My final
question has to do with the injuries. You met Drake Greenlaw,
who's on IR. Broncos have seven guys on IR. Are
any of the other guys especially impactful or were these
guys that were not likely to play big roles?
Speaker 4 (36:13):
Yeah, I think really when you look at it, green
Laws is probably the number one guy, and another inside
linebacker Drew Sanders, entering his third year with somebody. I
think they were really looking to kind of take a
next step. He's very athletic player and could give him
some of that sideline the sideline ability that they could
certainly use in a number of different sub packages. He
(36:34):
injured his foot in training camp, so he's not eligible
to come off i R until after this week. Don't know,
you know just how how quickly he will return. He's
a guy I'd say that they could certainly benefit from
having right now and then. And then another player who's
not on IR but miss last week would be Evan
Ingram again, the tight end that they signed this offseason
(36:55):
to give them more of a presence in the middle
of the field. That's that's one area where the Bronco
offensively have not got enough production in between the numbers,
and he's a guy that is supposed to bring that
through the first two games when he was available only
four catches for thirty three yards, and then, like I said,
miss the game against the Chargers. They need him healthy,
(37:15):
you know, as soon as possible. We of course have
not yet been out there this week. Well, we'll get
a better idea tomorrow as to whether Ingram is going
to be a guy who can contribute to them this week.
Speaker 5 (37:25):
The one thing that I remember about Denver as a
former player when I in the seventies and eighties playing
with the Bengals when he traveled out there again was
the crowd noise. I mean, it was ridiculous, loudest outdoor
stadium I've ever been to. Couldn't hear yourself think. I
mean when you get on the bus after the game
and after you clean yourself up. He had a headache.
(37:48):
I mean, it was. It was a brutal experience, it
really was. Has it been like that for the opposition
teams coming to Denver so far this season?
Speaker 4 (37:59):
Yeah? I would say that the the op the energy
and the opener against the Titans that was probably, you know,
like probably the best like season opening crowd that that
I've seen here in quite a long time. I Mean,
this Broncos team entered this season with with a lot
of expectations. Sean Payton has not been afraid to say
that he thinks this is a team that can compete
for the Super Bowl, so so certainly, having lost these
(38:22):
last two games in kind of excruciating fashion. You know,
the fan base is a little bit antsy right now,
but I would say there's no doubt that, especially in
a primetime situation on a on a Monday night, that
the crowd is definitely going to be a factor, and
I think they're going to believe that they can that
they can impact the game. Again for a guy who
obviously Browning's got experience, but it is the backup and
(38:44):
having to go against that defense in that scenario that
that's obviously one area where the Broncos hope that they
can have an advantage. But I'm excited to see it.
I'm I'm bumm that we don't necessarily get the same
you know, complexion that we got for that great game
in Cincinnati back in December, but you never know, Monday
nights things get weird. So I'm really eager to see
how it all shakes out.
Speaker 1 (39:06):
Roncos have a six game home winning streak and have
won those games by an average of nineteen point eight points.
Our thanks to Nick Cosmider, 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 on the second floor above the downtown
Kroger on Friday from three to six. If you can't
(39:29):
make it, you can listen on ESPN fifteen thirty or
by searching for ESPN fifteen thirty on the iHeartMedia app.
That's going to do it for this episode of the
Bengals Booth Podcast brought to you by pay Core, Proud
to be the Bengals Official HR software provider, by Alta
Fiber future proof fiber Internet designed to elevate your home,
(39:50):
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, 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 Horde and thanks for listening to The Bengals
(40:12):
Booth Podcast.
I get everybody on dan Board and thanks for downloading
The Bengals Booth podcast The Rocky Mountain. We addition as
the Bengals head to Colorado for a Monday Night matchup
with the Denver Broncos. This week's game is on ESPN
and I'll talk to the voice of Monday Night Football,
Joe Buck. My one on one player interview is with
(00:25):
Jake Browning as we discuss the challenging life of a
backup quarterback. And in our nother faux segment, we'll get
the inside scoop on the one in two Broncos from
beat writer Nick Cosmider. The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought
to you by pay 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
(00:48):
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 quick reminder that
you can have the late 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 Rudy Johnson,
(01:12):
the former Bengals running back, passed away this week at
the age of forty five. I was working in local
TV when Rudy played for Cincinnati, and I think you
can make a strong case that he is the most
underrated player in team history prior to this week. If
you asked one hundred Bengals fans who holds the team
record for rushing yards in a season, I think the
(01:34):
overwhelming majority would have said Corey Dillon. And if they
were told that was incorrect, and I guess again, I
suspect their next choice would have been Joe Mixon or
James Brooks. The correct answer, of course, is Rudy Johnson,
who set the team record with four hundred and fifty
eight rushing yards in two thousand and five. That was
(01:55):
four yards more than the team record he had set
one year earlier, so Rudy actually has the top two
spots in the record book. He also holds the team
record for carries in a game with a mind boggling
forty three. That's tied for second most in NFL history,
behind Washington's Jamie Morris, who ran the ball forty five
(02:17):
times in a loss to the Bengals in nineteen ninety eight.
In the words of team president Mike Brown, quote, Rudy
was a fine person and an excellent running back. He
was dependable and productive as a player, and very popular
among his teammates. Everyone liked him and saw him as
a dear friend. We are deeply saddened by his passing. Now,
(02:42):
let's get to my first guest. Who will be in
the National TV booth on Monday night in Denver. It's
the Bengals and Broncos on Monday Night Football. And it
is great to catch up with a guy I first
met when we were broadcasting minor league baseball games many
many years ago. ESPN's Joe Buck. Joe, you were behind
(03:03):
the mic two years ago for Jake Browning's second NFL start.
I call it the Jake Browning Game. He completed more
than eighty six percent of his passes in an upset
win in Jacksonville. What do you remember about that night?
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Yeah, I mean, it's like the Michael Jordan game, the
Flu game. It just gets a new name. Troy and I,
I don't know. Halfway through that thing, we're like, damn,
this guy's good. Like he looked fantastic, and there have
been It wasn't just that. I mean there have been
other games and other moments. I know, you guys are
(03:39):
coming off a bad one at Minnesota, but you're two
and one and you want to flush it. But yeah,
I think there's a very basic scale that you can
judge these guys on, and it comes down to can
they play or can they not play? And I think
(03:59):
we both walked out of the booth that night like
this guy can play. He's got something to him. There's
something different about him than the typical guy coming in
who's basically been standing there holding the clipboard and who
I'm sure probably hopes is not going to come in.
I felt like he was confident. He looked like the
team was his. I think that's another scale too, It's like,
(04:22):
does it look like the guys around him are excited
to play with and for him? And I think the
answer was a resounding yes in that game. And I'm
fully expecting he and they to come out and look
a lot different than they did in Minneapolis when we
all get to Denver.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
It was a rough game last week. Did it change
your view of the Bengals at all?
Speaker 2 (04:48):
The current Bengals the Bengals as they are now.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
No, I.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Think this is a team that can definitely hang in there.
They can not only survive punches, but deliver them. Troy
and I are both and I don't want to speak
for him, but I know he would say the same
if he were on here and I wasn't. He and
I are both big Zach Taylor fans. We had you
guys in the preseason that game against the Commanders, and
(05:14):
both when Zach hung up on our zoom call, we're
both like, you know, we've talked to him a bunch
of times, but we had a blast with him. You
can tell he's so smart, he's aware of every facet
of that team, and we both hung up going. We
really liked that guy, and so it's easy to root
for somebody like Zach. The biggest fan of Joe Burrows
(05:40):
in media is Troy because I think, even though he
may or may not admit it, I think Joe reminds
Troy of Troy and the way he played the position
and the kind of you know, take no prisoners gunslinger confident.
(06:01):
I feel that, and so every time we do a
game when Joe's in it and I'm like, there he is, Troy,
there's your favorite player. And and you know, every time
we hang up with Joe Burrow, it's like, well, Joe,
you know, we're big fans of yours. That's kind of
how we end every conference caller zoom call with with
Joe Burrow. So yeah, I feel like there's the shell
(06:24):
there and within that, within that casing, there's room there
for Jake Browning to do some good things. There's obviously
a ton of talent around him, and this team can
win with Jake Browning and hopefully, you know, I'm not
telling you anything you don't hope for every night before
the end of the year Joe Burrow comes back.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
Are you and Troy flabbergasted by just how rotten Joe
Burrow's injury luck has been.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
It's just a as a football fan. For you don't
have to be a Bengals fan or Joe Burrow fan.
As a football fan, it's got a crush you. I mean,
I can't imagine what it's like for Bengals fans. I
can't imagine what it's like for people who have Joe
Burrow on their fantasy team. But beyond that, I just
think he makes the league better. He makes the league
(07:12):
more interesting. Everybody they play, It's like, Okay, Joe Burrow's
on TV tonight or today, I want to watch that game.
Because you don't have to be Troy Aikman. You know,
you can be just a casual fan and go, Okay,
that guy looks different. He's tough, and by the way,
that should never be in question. These these are legitimate,
big time injuries. He doesn't complain about injuries. I don't
(07:36):
feel like he ever gives himself kind of that built
in excuse. And you and I both met many athletes
in the sports that we've covered that kind of always
have that in the back, like, ah, I'm not really
feeling that good. I'm you know, in the case of Burrow,
the wrist is he never does He never does that.
It's it's I'm good enough, I'm ready to go play.
So there's never a question of any of that stuff.
(07:59):
But yeah, I think the casual fan has to be
mildly heartbroken that Joe Burrow is not on the field
on Monday night or any Sunday or any Thursday.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
Joe, you noted it. The Bengals are still two and one.
They're tied for first in the AFC North. What are
some of the things you think they'll need to do
to stay in the hunt until Joe hopefully returns sometime
in December.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Well, I mean, obviously, and then don't fumble five times
and lose three and throw two interceptions and pick sixes
and fumble's return for touch. Don't do any of that.
That would be a good place to start. But I
think find a running game. I mean, the running game
has been frustrating to this point. Chase Brown is a
(08:46):
really talented running back. We left that preseason game I
kind of I drafted on my fantasy team TAJ and
kind of stashed him on the bench, thinking, you know,
maybe by the end of the year, this guy between
the tackles is going to be somebody that I may
want to start. Jury's out on that, But I think
(09:09):
the ground game and figuring out a way to open
up some holes. I don't care if you're Joe Burrow,
Joe Montana, Joe Namath or name him. If you can't
run the ball, good luck. And we just did the
game on Monday night with Jared Goff and with Lamar Jackson.
I mean, yes, those are two dynamic quarterbacks. But Lamar's
(09:33):
got Derrick Henry, it can run it himself. And Jared
Goff's got the best combination in the backfield easily in
the NFL with his two running backs, and that's why
he's so good off play action. So you know, if
you want safeties and linebackers to bite and come up
and leave room behind him so that there's room for
the great Jamar Chase and T Higgins and Mike Kasicki
(09:56):
and everybody else to get behind him, and Browning or
anybody else to find him find a running game and
that can be the cure to what ails you.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
Jill. Let's talk about this week's opponent, the Denver Broncos.
They're one and two, but they've had the lead in
the fourth quarter in all three games. They lost the
last two on walkoff field goals. How do you viewed
Denver and some of their strengths heading into this game
against Cincinnati.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
Well, everybody there, I mean, if you read the clips,
and I read them every day, the Denver Broncos, according
to their sports writers, are the worst team ever assembled.
So their defense is very good. They've got an outstanding
pass rush, they've got the reigning defensive Player of the
Year in Patzertan, you know, as close to a shutdown
(10:42):
corner as you can get in the NFL. But offensively Bononix,
they're calling a sophomore slump now. They're talking about his footwork,
and he's got happy feed and you know, on and
on and on. I think we all over and me included,
we all over act to three weeks of an NFL season.
(11:04):
I think a lot can change between now and the
end of the year. And I believe Denver's a good team.
I believe they've got a really good head coach. I
believe they've got a good young quarterback. He's getting picked
on right now in the Denver media. He missed him
open throws last week and that's going to happen. And
he's still growing and learning. He's in great hands. They're
(11:25):
running games a little bit better than Cincinnati's to this point.
They've got Courtland Sutton, who's a number one receiver. They've
got some good twos and threes behind him. There's a
lot to like, but that's not a team that's playing
well either. And like you said, they're one and two.
You can make an easy case they should be three
(11:45):
and zero. They could be oning three. I mean, they
have not dominated anybody or been dominated by anybody yet,
so I think it's a good matchup. I think it's
a pretty evenly split matchup as far as I'm concerned
going into the game. But they've got a lot of talent.
They've got a coach that'll figure out ways to beat
the Cincinnati defense. That's what he does. Sean Payton sits
(12:07):
up at night figuring out ways to beat defenses, and
I'm sure he'll be doing it for Monday night, so
I'm looking forward to it.
Speaker 1 (12:14):
Joe, what's your Sunday routine? Do you watch the best
game of the day? Do you go red zone? Do
you watch the team that you're going to have the
next week? What do you do on a typical Sunday.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
It's gonna make every football fan sick, but we kind
of create our own little sports bar without the alcohol.
We sit in a conference room in our hotel. We
have multiple TVs that get trucked in and these poor
people that have to put them together and set them
up every week. I watch him at the end of
(12:45):
our Monday morning meeting, just lugging all this junk down
back into the lobby and out of the door. But yeah,
we for lack of a better better way to describe it,
it's our own red zone. We've got, you know, two
big monitors. There's four boxes on each and we can
kind of zoom in on a game we want to watch.
We don't have handsome yelling at us, but we've got
(13:08):
a bunch of people in there. You know, if something catches,
I'm in there looking at my board. I'm doing my work,
I'm putting stuff on my board, I'm getting ready for
the game. And it's like look up, kind of survey it,
look down, do it will work? Look up? And then
when something happens, it's just good for everybody to be
together and to watch it all together to talk about it.
(13:31):
It just takes a little bit of the guess work
on what we're going to talk about with regard to
the rest of the league when Monday night comes, because
we're all there together watching it, and I kind of
know where Troy's head is on Dallas or Green Bay
or you know, right on down the line, and he
knows where mine is. And you know, if I've got
a question something crosses my mind, or I'm doing my work,
(13:54):
and it's you know, when's the last time player X
did this. I've got two stat guys or research people
sitting there and I can just say it out loud.
The answer comes magically to me. It's a pretty darn
good setup.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
That does sound pretty good. Last thing for Joe Buck,
You and Troy have had a great partnership for years
and years, but it just sounds like you're having such
a ball on ESPN. Is it the primetime game? Is
that the standalone game? Is there something about Monday that's
just brought out the best and YouTube guys together?
Speaker 2 (14:28):
You know, I think, without going into it too much
because it's boring for everybody else, but when Fox had
the Thursday game and the Sunday games, and we were
doing Thursday Sunday, then Sunday than Thursday Sunday, so I
think it forced us to be a little bit more
run and gone and not so zeroed in on every
(14:48):
detail of every game, which makes you pull back and
have a bigger view of everything, which I think leads
to more room for personality and fun. And I think
then we tap into what we've built over two twenty
four years, which is, you know, a good relationship a
lot of respect. Knowing where the other person's coming from.
I know what's gonna make him laugh. He knows what's
(15:10):
gonna make me laugh. And if I can get him
to laugh, he's a very intense dude. If I can
get him to laugh during the course of the broadcast,
I think it makes for a better listen. I think
it makes him loosen up and we're in a better spot.
So yeah, I think. I think what happened during those
years we did it for four years, maybe change the
(15:33):
way we prepare and then I think ultimately change the
way we interact when we're on TV.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
Joe, this has been great. Look forward to seeing you
in Denver, and thanks so much for joining us on
this segment.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
All right, buddy, get to see it.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
In the last two times the Bengals played on Monday
Night Football with a backup quarterback starting the game, they won,
there was the Jake Browning game in Jacksonville that I
discussed with Joe Buck And if you go back to
twenty twenty, the two ten and one Bengals beat the
eleven and two Pittsburgh Steelers twenty seven to seventeen with
(16:05):
Ryan Finley at quarterback. The Bengals were a double digit
underdog in both of those games. They are a seven
and a half point underdog this week in Denver as
Jake Browning makes his ninth NFL start. I sat down
with the bengals twenty nine year old QB for an
in depth conversation this week. Jake, I got a chuckle
(16:27):
last week when you were talking about your seven starts
in twenty twenty three and you use the term delusional confidence.
I didn't realize that's actually a scientifically based thing, which
means a level of self confidence despite evidence. Did you
have to have delusional confidence to have the success you
had two years ago? Uh?
Speaker 3 (16:49):
Yeah, I think I don't mean maybe not scientifically delusional,
but uh you know, I'd never really played before and
started a game in like olmost five years, and you know,
I think I was probably the first person to come
off four years on Peace Squad to start some games.
And you know, I think step one to winning the
(17:11):
game on game days, going into it, feel confident that
you're going to perform well. And so you know, when
I say delusional, it's probably from outside perspective. But you know,
I know I'm a good player. I've shown that up
for a long time in practice and training camps and
stuff like that, and so, you know, I think from
the outside looking in, it might be delusionable for myself,
(17:32):
like it's it's rooted in fact that you know, I've
put some really good football. I just that was kind
of my first chance to actually play.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
You've got a Monday night game coming up this week.
Your second NFL start with a Monday night game in Jacksonville.
I call it the Jake Browning Game. You completed more
than eighty six percent of your passes in an overtime
victory over the Jags. Did that game help you have
real confidence at the NFL level?
Speaker 3 (17:59):
Yeah, definitely. I mean I think my first start are
getting even thrown in against the Ravens, I know it
was kind of garbage time, but felt like operated well.
And then the first start, you know, just the chaos
of the week and all that, and then kind of
having that under my belt and knowing you know what
to expect and stuff like that just throughout the week
and you know those feelings on game day that you
kind of have to go through to prepare yourself for
(18:20):
the game. And yeah, I think anytime you actually put
it on tape. You know, it's something to fall back on, like, hey,
I am capable of doing this, and you never really
know until you know.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
We're visiting with Jake Browning, You and Joe Burrow good friends,
you spend a ton of time together. Are you just
flabbergasted by his rotten luck when it comes to injuries?
Speaker 3 (18:42):
Yeah, I mean it's super unfortunate, you know, as far
as outside of that, you know, it's just it's unfortunate.
There's not really any other way to put it.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
What you say to him, what could you say to him?
Speaker 4 (18:55):
Sucks?
Speaker 1 (18:56):
I don't.
Speaker 3 (18:56):
I mean, I think one of the the reason we
get along is, you know, I kind of know when
he wants to be left alone, and I think, you know,
something like that happens and you're in a high profile position,
like think he knows, like I'm there for my favorite
needs anything. But you know, I'm not going to blow
him up trying to make sure that he knows that.
You know, I said, hope you're feeling better and stuff
(19:17):
like that's like, hey, did anything, let me know, but like,
good luck with everything. And you know, I think he's
got obviously a ton of support. But when it comes
to the football side of things. That's kind of where
I fall in. We're visiting with Jake Browning. I want
to go back to your crazy high school career for
a moment. You still hold the national record for most
touchdown passes by a high school quarterback. I got to
(19:38):
know your tight end Josiadaguara when he was at the
University of Cincinnati. He told me once that you didn't
really have running plays on your high school team.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
It was like sometimes you'd scramble or you know, maybe
fourth and inches you'd run, but other than that, you
were basically passing every play.
Speaker 3 (19:53):
Was that the case we did actually run the ball,
you know, like five sweeps and stuff like that a
decent amount. And yeah, I mean we were just think
my hometown that by the time you hit high school,
you know, like the junior program's really good. We're running
the high school's offense. And you know, my senior year,
(20:13):
I graduated with probably like at least eight guys that
I played with since I was eight years old, and
we'd all been playing together for a long time. So
you know, I think he gets so many reps and
then you know, you look at our coach and hit
no business being in high school. We were so much
better coach than everybody, it was ridiculous, and just geared
everything around hitting that ten thousand hours, and I think
(20:34):
we reaped the benefits of that.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
Your current coach, Zach Taylor, is something of a savant
when it comes to highly successful high school quarterbacks. He
seems kind of obsessed with it. When you arrived in
the building. Did he know all about your days at
fulsome high school?
Speaker 3 (20:49):
I think when I arrived in the building, he knew
that I had just come from the Minnesota Vikings facility
and they were our week one opponent. I'm not sure
how much he really knew outside of that.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
There. It was out to the University of Washington. You
had a great four year career there. You started your
first game as a freshman. How nerve racking is that
when you're a teenager right out of high school.
Speaker 3 (21:13):
Yeah, it was my first time on a sideline for
a college game and I was starting, and you know,
my college coach was Chris Peterson. It was his first
time going back to Boise and so it was a
primetime game and all that. But yeah, I think you
just go into like, I have no idea what this
is going to be like, and I don't really know
what to expect, but here we go, and yeah, we
(21:34):
lost a close game at the end. Ironically, Brett Rippon
was on the other team.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
In some ways, is that more nerve wracking than what
you're going to do on Monday Night against the Broncos.
Speaker 3 (21:45):
I mean, I would say, so, I've played a decent
amount of football. Now, I've been in not a crazy
amount of stars, but a decent amount of stars. But
I've been on the at least I've been on the
sideline and kind of know like the rhythm of everything.
I mean, I remember I didn't know what a TV
time out was because I had never played in college
or anything. So I remember the first time I run
out there and there's like TV time I'm like, I
(22:07):
don't even know what that was. And so, yeah, I
would say nerve wracking, probably more so in college just
having no experience.
Speaker 1 (22:18):
During the time you spent on the Vikings practice squad,
what did you learn about yourself in terms of where
you needed to improve?
Speaker 3 (22:24):
Yeah, I recreated my entire throwing motion after college. My
throwing motion was I was always accurate, but I couldn't
really push it down the field. Very far was it
was inconsistent a little bit, and so I changed the
whole thing. Changed my footwork, I changed my throwing motion,
changed my body comp and just now I'm a completely
(22:47):
different person in year four in the NFL than I
was coming in. And uh, you know, I think that
was kind of what revitalized my career a little bit
and allowed me to cotinue to stay in the NFL,
stick around until I got an opportunity. And when that
opportunity came, it was kind of when I could show
some of the things that improved on and that people
(23:08):
inside the building knew, but nobody outside the building ever
really knew.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
Was it expensive going to these high profile quarterback gurus
in the off season and try to remake your throwing motion.
I mean, yeah, it's not cheap. I would say.
Speaker 3 (23:22):
The more nerve wracking part is that you're doing in
the off season not knowing if you're gonna have a
job the following year. You know, if you do have
the job, then ad I mean, it's the best investment
you could ever make, but you don't really know, and
you don't know, Like, I'm gonna work hard all of
February March and then April comes and they draft a
quarterback and you're like, ah, there kind of goes my chance.
(23:44):
They're going to put that guy out there. And so
I think that's what something you're always kind of battling.
But I think for me it was you know, I
couldn't imagine being in a situation where I didn't do
it and then had the regret of like, I should
have done that, and you know, whether I continued to
play or if I just you know, if I was
done after the Vikings cut me, then you know, at
least I would have the peace of mind. I like, hey,
(24:05):
I gave it everything I had.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
How close were you to starting a coaching career before
the Bengals called twenty four hours?
Speaker 3 (24:14):
I had it all, I had it lined up. I
was getting ready to leave to uh volunteer coach out
of college, just because I didn't want to sit around
waiting for you know, I'd lived my first three years
of my life in the NFL just was so much uncertainty.
I didn't want to sit around waiting for somebody to call,
not knowing if they're going to call, and just get Nancy.
So figured i'd keep myself busy with something. Fortunately, you know,
(24:38):
saved up some money where I could figure out by
myself a little bit of a runway and uh and
then yeah, I got the call. I think Sunday night,
But if I made it to Tuesday, I was probably
gonna drive down to Corvallis and start helping out with
my college coach.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
People joke that backup quarterback is the greatest gig in
the world world. You're well compensated, you don't take the hits.
But as a competitor, when people say that, does it
tick you off?
Speaker 3 (25:07):
Yeah, I mean I think that both can be true.
Like it's it's obviously it's like you said, it's a
high paying job. You're not really doing a whole lot
until you're thrown in there, and it's like no one
is checking in to make sure you're dialed and that
you know everything that's going on. Like you kind of
just have to self manage yourself and make sure that
you know what's going on because everything else is gear everything,
(25:28):
practice meetings, everything is geared towards the starter, and so
it's on you to know. And you know, like last year,
I was, I was ready every single game, but nobody,
nobody knows, So that's the part that's frustrating as a competitor.
You feel like you're working really hard and doing all
these different things without the opportunity to play. And so
I think I think both can be true. But I
think it's throughout my whole career, like having both perspectives
(25:50):
of like, hey, I'm I'm in. I'm in the NFL,
whether it's practice, squad active like you know, I'm not.
I'm not starving, I'm not. There's a lot worst jobs
out there, But am I where I want to be? No,
Like in the same thing as a backup, like it's
a good gig, like I'm we're I'm not going to
deny that, but it's not where I want to be.
(26:12):
And so I think having both those perspectives can help
you continue to drive towards what you want without becoming
bitter in an objectively good position.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
After last week's loss, you said, I think you've got
to sit in it. What did that look like for
you in the next twenty four or forty eight hours misery?
Speaker 3 (26:30):
Yeah, I think anytime you know, you take it on
the chin like that, it sucks. You put a ton
of work into it, and you go into it with
every intention of it going well and then it just
nothing goes well. And you know, I think that is
probably the biggest adjustment. Like, you know, I've been the
(26:51):
backup for games that didn't go away, that were super lobsided,
and it just doesn't feel, it doesn't doesn't hit the same.
Like I think in those situations, you know, I'd feel
for Joe or like want to be helpful, but you know,
I'd go home and I'd go to bed because I
don't really play, and like when you do play, you
go home, it's hard to sleep, you feel miserable, and
like you got to go through the highs and lows
(27:13):
of being the starter. And I think that's you know,
the position that obviously I wanted to find myself in
and I want to continue to find myself in going forward.
So having you know, a routine, whatever it takes you
to mentally get over it, take obviously, take the the
takeaways that you need to to improve, but then getting
yourself in the back in the fight and continuing to
(27:36):
get ready for the next game and put yourself in
position to bounce back.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
Best of luck on Monday night. Thank you. While the
quarterbacks in NFL history who have thrown at least three
hundred passes, which admittedly isn't a huge sample size. Jake
Browning has the highest completion percentage at sixty nine point nine.
Oddly enough, Joe Burrow ranks second on the list at
sixty eight point five. The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought
(28:03):
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. Now time for this week's Know
(28:23):
the Faux segment. The Denver Broncos went to the playoffs
last year, edging Cincinnati for the seventh and final spot
in the AFC with a ten and seven record, but
the Broncos are one and two this year. They opened
with an eight point win over Tennessee before losing back
to back games on walk off field goals to the
(28:43):
Colts and Chargers. Nick Cosmider covers the team for The
Athletic and discussed what's gone wrong in the last two
weeks when he joined Dave Lapham and me on the
Bengals Game Plan Show.
Speaker 4 (28:57):
They just have not been able to finish they have had.
If you combine those two games, they had seven opportunities
in the fourth quarter to either create a two score
cushion or.
Speaker 2 (29:08):
To go on a drive that won the game, and.
Speaker 4 (29:11):
They have not been able to do enough in any
of those situations to get that two score lead. And
you know, obviously, when you look at the root causes
of that, there's been there's been different issues that they've
been kind of uncharacteristically penalized. If you compare it to
last year, you know that they've they've had a few
injuries that they've dealt with. But by and large, I
think that's the biggest takeaway from where they're at. They
(29:31):
could easily be three and zero. Particularly defensively, they've they've
created one of the league's best pass rushes and that's
been dynamic. They've had some sporadic success in the run
game from JK. Dobbins, who's been off to a really
nice start, but in the moments that matter against good teams,
they just have not been able to close the deal.
Speaker 5 (29:52):
The Denver Broncos, I mean, when I play you know,
back in the seventies and early eighties, the Denver Broncos
defense was as good as there was in the National
Football League. I mean it was that was when when
you were going up against the Broncos, you knew that
you had to you had to be on your toes.
(30:12):
I mean, you were going to see a lot You're
going to see a lot of different things, and they
were going to play hard, and like you talk about, uh,
they were going to finish plays and they they weren't
going to make a whole lot of mistakes. They they
weren't going to beat themselves. They were going to you.
You had to go out and you had to beat
the Denver Broncos. And playing them in Denver, well, that
(30:33):
crowd noise was, I mean just an unbelievable chore. How
close is this defensive football team to being that type
of unit where the opposing you know, teams are fearful
or apprehensive about playing against them.
Speaker 4 (30:51):
Well, I think there's been slashes of them doing that
pretty consistently this year. And it starts with the pass rush.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
Right now.
Speaker 4 (30:58):
If you're an opposing quarter you know, particularly in Cincinnati's case,
one like Jake Browning, who is you know, filling in
for Joe Burrow there, I think probably is a healthy
fear about that pass rush and just how many different
ways you know they can beat you. Nick Bonito right now,
it was a second team All Pro last year he
was he kind of came out of nowhere to get that,
(31:18):
but he now looks like he has taken another level up.
He looks early in the season like one of the
league's very best pass rushers. He is incredible speed off
the edge, and then you just have so many other
really solid players, whether it's Zach Allen and John Franklin
Myers creating that that interior pressure. Jonathan Cooper I think
is one of the more underrated outside edge rushers in
this league. Then they even have a guy like Jonah
(31:40):
Ellis who's in his second season, who's, you know, come
off the bench and done a really good job. They've
they've done a really nice job with with those things
that The thing that they've struggled with quite a lot
actually is is covering running backs out of the backfield.
That's been a major achilles heel. In each of the
first three games, they have given up big plays in
the passing game to running backs who are either you know,
(32:01):
completely unaccounted for or who were able to just win
a one on one battle, and the result of those
plays has always led to scoring drives and in close
games that they've been in, you know that that's something
that they have they have to clean up there. There's
some detail oriented mistakes that I think I have kept
them from being, you know, kind of that that elite,
elite unit that they want to turn themselves into. I
(32:21):
think it's in there and it's possible for them, but
they still have a little waste to go in terms
of bringing it all together.
Speaker 1 (32:28):
Nick Cosmidori is our guest. He covers the Broncos for
the Athletic Let's talk bow Nicks. We saw him late
in the regular season last year. Looked good, had a
really good rookie year. Looks like he's been so so,
at least statistically this year. Five touchdowns, three picks, passer
rating in the low eighties. How has bo Nicks performed?
Speaker 4 (32:47):
Yeah, I think that's probably a fair characterization. It's been
kind of so so, a little bit up and down.
Probably not ultimately the start to the season that he
wanted to have. And again, it kind of goes back to,
you know, the defensive side. It's not all just on uh,
it's not all just on what he's what he's not doing.
I think they've had a lot of offensive penalties that
(33:09):
have kind of slow drives. They've just had you know,
negative plays in really up inopportune times, and that's left
them in a lot of tough situations. Like, for example,
their average distance to gain on third down in Week
three against the Chargers was eleven yards. You're not gonna
you're not gonna get any kind of offensive rhythm going
when you're constantly staring at third and long. So that's
(33:30):
a thing that they have to really figure out a
way to to be ahead of the chains on first
and second down, to put themselves in more manageable third
down situations. Because he's a guy right now in his
career bo Nicks, who you know, he's not gonna he's
not gonna paper over all your problems. He can definitely
be part of a solution and part of creating, you know,
a really efficient offense. But but he is, he's not
(33:52):
and shouldn't be asked to be this kind of guy
that lifts all boats, and right now they just need
to do I think a better job around him so
that they're not in those situations where you know, opposing
teams can really kind of get to all their different
pressure looks and give him problems.
Speaker 5 (34:11):
When they Broncos have had their biggest problems. What what
what type of offensive attack has been the toughest for
this Denver Bronco defense to handle?
Speaker 1 (34:23):
What?
Speaker 5 (34:23):
What type of personnel formations motion, you know, change the
strength or all that kind of thing. What what what
has been the biggest problem for the Denver Broncos to
try to solve.
Speaker 4 (34:37):
Yeah, you know, I think there's a couple of things.
They've they've been mostly good against the ground, but they've
had their lapses there. They gave up a sixty eight
yard run in the second half to Jonathan Taylor that
led to a scoring drive for the Colts. You know,
running backs just for whatever reason, whether they're coming out
of the backfield, whether they're you know taking you know,
(34:58):
whether they're being handed off the whether they're lined up
in the slot, they've just been able to create some problems.
And part of that is because the Broncos, you know,
they went out and signed Drake Greenlaw in free agency
thinking that he was going to be you know, part
of the solution for a middle of their defense that
struggled at times last year. He has not made his
Broncos debut. He's currently on IR with a quad injury.
(35:20):
You know, so certainly they want to get him healthy
and see what the defense looks like with him being
able to do that. But I would say that would
really be kind of the thing right now. Again, they
do a really good job rushing the passer. There's been
some discipline issues again that kind of the breakdowns that
have led to some of these easy passes to running
backs in the flat. You know that they've had some
(35:41):
some penalties that have extended drives that they could have
otherwise and did so. I think just kind of the
sharper focus on the details is what they really have
to be after as they welcome Cincinnati on Monday night.
Speaker 1 (35:54):
We're chatting with Nick Cosmider from The Athletic. My final
question has to do with the injuries. You met Drake Greenlaw,
who's on IR. Broncos have seven guys on IR. Are
any of the other guys especially impactful or were these
guys that were not likely to play big roles?
Speaker 4 (36:13):
Yeah, I think really when you look at it, green
Laws is probably the number one guy, and another inside
linebacker Drew Sanders, entering his third year with somebody. I
think they were really looking to kind of take a
next step. He's very athletic player and could give him
some of that sideline the sideline ability that they could
certainly use in a number of different sub packages. He
(36:34):
injured his foot in training camp, so he's not eligible
to come off i R until after this week. Don't know,
you know just how how quickly he will return. He's
a guy I'd say that they could certainly benefit from
having right now and then. And then another player who's
not on IR but miss last week would be Evan
Ingram again, the tight end that they signed this offseason
(36:55):
to give them more of a presence in the middle
of the field. That's that's one area where the Bronco
offensively have not got enough production in between the numbers,
and he's a guy that is supposed to bring that
through the first two games when he was available only
four catches for thirty three yards, and then, like I said,
miss the game against the Chargers. They need him healthy,
(37:15):
you know, as soon as possible. We of course have
not yet been out there this week. Well, we'll get
a better idea tomorrow as to whether Ingram is going
to be a guy who can contribute to them this week.
Speaker 5 (37:25):
The one thing that I remember about Denver as a
former player when I in the seventies and eighties playing
with the Bengals when he traveled out there again was
the crowd noise. I mean, it was ridiculous, loudest outdoor
stadium I've ever been to. Couldn't hear yourself think. I
mean when you get on the bus after the game
and after you clean yourself up. He had a headache.
(37:48):
I mean, it was. It was a brutal experience, it
really was. Has it been like that for the opposition
teams coming to Denver so far this season?
Speaker 4 (37:59):
Yeah? I would say that the the op the energy
and the opener against the Titans that was probably, you know,
like probably the best like season opening crowd that that
I've seen here in quite a long time. I Mean,
this Broncos team entered this season with with a lot
of expectations. Sean Payton has not been afraid to say
that he thinks this is a team that can compete
for the Super Bowl, so so certainly, having lost these
(38:22):
last two games in kind of excruciating fashion. You know,
the fan base is a little bit antsy right now,
but I would say there's no doubt that, especially in
a primetime situation on a on a Monday night, that
the crowd is definitely going to be a factor, and
I think they're going to believe that they can that
they can impact the game. Again for a guy who
obviously Browning's got experience, but it is the backup and
(38:44):
having to go against that defense in that scenario that
that's obviously one area where the Broncos hope that they
can have an advantage. But I'm excited to see it.
I'm I'm bumm that we don't necessarily get the same
you know, complexion that we got for that great game
in Cincinnati back in December, but you never know, Monday
nights things get weird. So I'm really eager to see
how it all shakes out.
Speaker 1 (39:06):
Roncos have a six game home winning streak and have
won those games by an average of nineteen point eight points.
Our thanks to Nick Cosmider, 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 on the second floor above the downtown
Kroger on Friday from three to six. If you can't
(39:29):
make it, you can listen on ESPN fifteen thirty or
by searching for ESPN fifteen thirty on the iHeartMedia app.
That's going to do it for this episode of the
Bengals Booth Podcast brought to you by pay Core, Proud
to be the Bengals Official HR software provider, by Alta
Fiber future proof fiber Internet designed to elevate your home,
(39:50):
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, 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 Horde and thanks for listening to The Bengals
(40:12):
Booth Podcast.
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