October 3, 2025 • 38 mins
On this episode of the Twentyman in the Huddle podcast presented by Copilot+ PC, Tim Twentyman is joined by Ben Raven, David Montgomery and Kelsey Conway previewing the Detroit Lions Week 5 matchup vs. the Cincinnati Bengals.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Jared takes the snap, fakes the gift looks right. Bros
out there wo open, I'm in Ross Saint Brown touchdown
Detroit Lions hard runs Bake fourteen snuck out the right side,
golf found him. Put another six on the board for
Detroit and welcome to Week five of the NFL season.
(00:20):
The Lions are back on the road, playing the Cincinnati Bengals,
looking for their fourth straight victory. I am Tim twentyman.
Welcome to the twenty in the Huddle podcast, and I
welcome in first and foremost. Ben Raven does a great
job covering everything Lions with the m Live Network, but
people might not know he is also a professionally trained
wrestler and commentator.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
When did that start?
Speaker 3 (00:42):
I was twenty seventeen. I was in a different role
that I'm live, and you know, I'd always been a
wrestling fan my whole life and I'm six six, two
fifty and a former athlete. So I was like, let's go.
I found this great school in Canada. I trained for
a couple of years, and then the inn ring stuff
kind of it in twenty twenty because I didn't have
a gateway to Cannon anymore. But for the last three
(01:03):
years I've been doing some pro wrestling commentary and play
by play.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
And that's I just loved it.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
That's awesome because you took Justin Rogers, who's been on
the podcast so far, then you took him to kind
of a little bit of an underground wrestling type deal
in Detroit there and Justin was telling me some stories.
It must be fun on the weekends.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Oh it's the best. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
That show I broke Justin Rodgers into was underground, hardcore,
light tubes, pin needles and all that stuff you can't
show on TV. We were a little blown away at Harpos.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
I love it all right, Well, let's get back to football.
Let's take a look back against Cleveland before we move
ahead to Cincinnati. Ben, what was your biggest takeaway from
Sunday's win?
Speaker 3 (01:43):
Just that when the offense stubs its toes that the
defense and the special teams can lift it up. Because
I mean it's not like the offense was terrible or anything,
but you know, they didn't take advantage of some chances
they had. They kind of stubbed their toe at two
long field goals and then they need Khalif to break
it open.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
But yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
I just the biggest takeaway is that Helvin Shepherd is
showing some versatility and flexibility as a defensive coordinator. Like, yeah,
very matchup based. How I mean, he is who he
is in his defense, who it is, what he wants
it to be. But like I mean the QB spy stuff,
he found a way to make it his own, you know.
I mean, you get punched in the mouth on the
opening drive for the Browns and I don't think they
(02:17):
made it back to the red zone outside of one
more time. So it's the endgame. Adjustments are real with Shepherd,
and he's flexible, he's open ideas.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
You know, we talked to him this week and he said, look,
we probably played more different schemes in variations than we had,
you know, in Dan Campbell's tenure here when Aaron Glenn
was here. That speaks to Shep just understanding what he
has in terms of personnel, how he wants to handle
those matchups like you talked about. I love a defensive
(02:44):
coordinator that isn't scared like that. They're playing a ton
of based defense which they think they can hide some
coverages and rush stuff off that. I just love the
way he's calling it and playing it and scheming it
right now, it seems like Dan's got a ton of
trust in him.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
I wrote that in my column this week about Shepherd,
was like Dan fully trust Shepherd. And when Dan Campbell
fully trusts on you, that does a lot of weight
carrying throughout the rest of the building. And Shepherd's presence
and now he carries himself. I don't even think he
needed that boost, Like these guys really gravitate to him.
But yeah, I love it. You shouldn't treat Lamar Jackson
like any other quarterback in the right. You shouldn't chase
or treat Chasing Higgins like any other receiver do in
(03:20):
the league. And I mean they preach versatility, they preached
cross training, they preach getting out of your comfort zone,
and they flashed on it.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
The offensive line zero sacks in three straight weeks. I
think you have to go back to nineteen fifty last
time this franchise done that fourteen sacks. They're trailing only
Denver defensively with fourteen sex Denver's got fifteen their second there,
and can the offense and defensive line continue this display
throughout the season. Look, there's gonna be hiccups here and
that's the NFL. But fundamentally, is this what they are?
(03:51):
Is this what we're seeing, what we're gonna see for six,
seven to eighteen weeks, and if we do, boy, how
good can this football team really be?
Speaker 3 (03:58):
I mean that's the thing. I think both sides can
get better. You know, Starting on offense, Ratleich is only
four year, four games into his career, and it's been
I mean there's blips on the raidar, there's rookie learning
curves and stuff like that, but he's been good. He's
been really good, and it keeps getting better and he's
shown what his best can look like at this stage
of his career, and it's pretty great. Mahogany fits like
a glove. I think both those guys still have a
(04:19):
ton of room to grow. There's still a there's still
new pieces to the operation. I mean, even Mahogany was
here last year, no camp, no preseason, plays in two
games and it feels like he's been a starter here
for two years. So offensive line arrow up because as
Decker continues to get used to his shoulder and recovering
from that, I just think there's there's only room to
grow for the old line on the defensive line. That
(04:41):
guy Alee McNeil's.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
Coming back different too. He's gonna just keep trending up.
So I thought what Shephard said today, once a Leam
gets back, and we don't know when that'll be, he's
obviously chomping at the bit the way he described his
practice yesterday, it might be soon rather than later. The
lines are gonna be careful with him. But boy, Ben,
(05:02):
when you can put ty Leek a Leam, DJ Reader
and Roy Lopez has played pretty well to begin this
season too. I mean that's four starting caliber defensive tackles
that you can throw around and do some different things with.
Chef's gonna really enjoy that, and he's gonna be able
to be creative with, isn't he.
Speaker 4 (05:19):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (05:19):
And it lets Tyler play the downs that he's specialized
for this young of his career. And I mean McNeil,
that's you talk about finding a guy that can unlock
Hutchinson and take away some pressure from Hutchinson double teams
and chips, it's McNeil, Yeah. I mean, he's a lead
against the run and he's one of the best interior
pressure creators in the league. I mean He's a ninety
seven million dollar guy for a reason. I mean, this
is a very high quality, versatile inside outside guy coming
(05:43):
back to the line, and the better positions you can
put Tyleek in and DJ and play around with those fronts,
the better.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
It's gonna be.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
There was no letdown last week after obviously huge road
win in Baltimore. I don't see that being a thing
with this team, do you know? Just the way that
Dan is, the way that they don't take teams lightly,
the way they talk about opponents. Look, Cincinnati hasn't played
well and for good reason. They lost their all pro quarterback,
arguably one of the best quarterbacks in the league. But
(06:08):
Detroit is treating them. They've talked about the weapons on
the outside with te Higgins and Chase and you know,
the running back, and some of the weapons on defense
with obviously you know Trey Hendon Hendrickson, and there's just
no letdown. I don't see that being a thing, do you.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
No, I don't think that. No, there's no trap games
in the NFL. These are NFL teams, and I just
think Dan Campbell led team isn't gonna waste a Sunday.
I mean, this is what they live for. I mean,
his culture is embedded in this team's DNA, and there's
no overlooking anybody because they remember what that felt like
in twenty twenty one and twenty twenty two and what
they started to do to people. I mean, there's you can't.
I mean they got Jamar Chas and t Higgins and
(06:45):
Trey Hendrickson and Logan Wilson. I mean this, they got
some talent on that side of the ball. And if
you fall asleep at the wheel, they'll bite you. Yeah,
And they don't overlook anybody. They're thankful to play every
freaking chance they get. I mean, I mean that you
just so rarely see a head coaches DNA and blueprint
on the culture, on the mentality like you do here
one hundred percent.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
All right, let's look ahead to Cincy a little bit.
You take a look at them. They're two and two.
Get off of the start, lose Joe Burrow. They've lost
their last two. Didn't look particularly good on Monday in
Denver twenty eight to three loss. But when you watch them, Ben,
what gives you maybe the most.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
Worry about that football team, it is chasing Higgins. Yeah,
because it's I mean it's it's the one of the
best all around wide receivers in the game. And Chase
who plays like he's six foot three, and then you
got t Higgins who's literally six four to two twenty.
I mean, they can be two a ton of ways.
I've been shocked that they haven't been able to get
those guys the ball. I mean everything should be going
through those two. I think they only have fourteen catches,
one hundred and twenty yards and no touchdowns over the
(07:39):
last two games.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
It's crazy Chase can do that in one game by himself.
Speaker 3 (07:43):
Yeah, So that's that's the big That's where my eyes
go there because it's like those are they paid that
money to those guys for a reason, and it's like
there's there's belief in Jake Brownie. At least there was
inside that building. I mean, he had started for them before,
but like so far, it's been like they can't get
him the ball. And if they can't get those two
guys the ball, they're gonna put up three points.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
Yeah, and obviously the lines are gonna be without dj
Reed put him on injured reserve. That means he's gonna
miss at least the next three games. With the bye
week coming after that. So to your point, now you
dip into your death a little bit, you expect me
maybe to move outside a little bit. They'll deal with
what they've got to in the nickel. But again, they
play a lot of base defense. But I thought it
was interesting this week. I listened in on Browning's interview
(08:25):
on Wednesday, and he said, boy, when I looked at
that film, I did a terrible job giving my guys
opportunities on fifty to fifty balls. You just threw a
couple where the receivers had no chance under threw one.
He said, That's one thing. When I see one on
one on the outside, I'm gonna give those guys an
opportunity to make a play. I think that'll be an
interesting dynamic Sunday against a secondary that's now dipping into
(08:46):
their numbers a little bit.
Speaker 3 (08:47):
Yeah, exactly, No, DJ read that's huge. Terryon's banged up
hasn't been the start he's wanted to the season. I
mean that is I mean, if I were the Bengals,
that's what I would be attacking too. Is like this
defense that loves to play man coverage and trust their
guys Like that's see if we canet. Yes, that's how
the Brown scored on that opening drive too. They ate
at the man coverage. But you know, Shepherd was able
to adjust move the rotations around because I'm fascinated by
(09:08):
what they're gonna do. Is it gonna be a day
outside's gonna play the slot?
Speaker 5 (09:12):
Is?
Speaker 3 (09:12):
Yes, sin as Madic, So, I mean they have that
versatility for a reason. Uh, it's obviously a daunting matchup
with those receivers, but yeah, it's a it's a big tust,
it's a big chance. As Shepherd said, for Terry and Arnold,
I mean, if you're gonna play this weekend, two practices
in a row, seems like he's on tracks. Time to
step up, be the guy. Time to see that guy
that we saw the final eight weeks the last season.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
And the guy that we saw in training. He's been
a little surprising to me that he's gotten off to
the start he did, because you probably wrote it to
I know, I did pie a couple of times just
how good he looked against Jamo and Saint Brown, and
he was terrific, and I thought he was really just
gonna take off. And still some of the issues with
the technique the hands, the penalties. I think he cleans
that up. It'll go a long way to to to
(09:52):
play in better football. But can can the Bengals score
enough without Joe Burrow to compete with Detroit? Because offensively,
and I thought John Moreton, the offensive coordiniao, said it
perfect this week when we talked to him, he said,
we can do what we want. Yeah, and he's not lying. No,
you know they can run the football. They're top ten
in the rush, top ten in the past, number one
(10:13):
in scoring, top ten and overall defense. You gotta feel
really good about what this team is doing offensively going
into Sunday.
Speaker 3 (10:22):
Yeah, the Bengals can't keep up. I mean there's I mean,
this was an easy prediction for me this week. And
it's like the Bengals have some weapons, they might score
some points, they might be better than they were last week.
But I don't think like I see thirty five plus
points for this line, like just because like last week,
like jam On and Golf are off, they guess what
they do. They go to Saint Brown, who's getting some
(10:42):
wild praise this week but deservedly so. Yeah, and they've
fed Gibbs MANI didn't have his best day. I mean,
when't they just have so many guys like that. When
somebody's not at their best, somebody else steps up. I mean,
you see Gibbs twenty one garries last week. That's the tone.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
I'm gonna caution you. I'm gonna caution you a little
bit about Monty though. You guys are gonna see him.
You guys are gonna see him on the podcast. He's
my guest next and he is going home, which interesting
is he has never played college or professional football in
his hometown of Cincinnati. He's very motivated. We're gonna hear
from him next. But I wouldn't be surprised if he
(11:15):
gets going to Both these running backs get going. Jamo
has a little bit of a bounce back. They catch
a big play with him too. We know what Saint's
gonna do. Saint's gonna be Saints. It's just it's so
hard as a defensive coordinator. I think when you sit
down and you start to scheme this year, like what
do we have to stop? And the list just keeps
going and going and going and going and going. I'm
(11:36):
with you. I think if Cincinnati's gonna have a chance,
they've got to get those guys in the outside going.
They've got to create some big plays offensively because I
think their only chances to shoot up because you're not
gonna stop Detroit.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
No, not at all. And I just Chase Brown's a
good back. But I would take the Lions run defense,
and it's a lot of teams, especially this one because
that since the ol line has not been the best.
And like you said, Dave Montgomery don't need a lot
of motivation to bounce back. I mean, I'm sure he's
feeling it. Alpha twelve yards on nine carries last week. Anyway,
you go home for the first time. We saw what
that guy did in Baltimore. They don't forget about Montgomery
(12:09):
because the Lions sure have not what he.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
Like about the way Hutch is playing right now, looking
for a four straight with a sack. What is this
stupid number, like nineteen or two? Yeah, the quarterback hitting
row or something like that. I mean, he's back to
be in Hutch and when he's back to being Hutch,
and we already talked about what they're going to get
back in the middle. I think we haven't even talked
about Alcahi Muhammad and what he's looked like, what they've
been able to do with him. Shepherd said, look, we've
(12:32):
found our guy opposite it's him, and then you just, oh, yeah,
you forget about Hutchers. One of the top guys in
the league. Is just he's playing at a really great level.
What do you like the most about his play?
Speaker 3 (12:45):
That he's found ways to fight through the double teams,
the constant chips, the knowing that you are going to
get double teams on basically every single play, and just
finding ways if he's not in the backfield to take
the guys with him open it up like Muhammad has
been great at being in the right at the right
time when you know the quarterback is pushed that way
because Hutchinson is hitting two guys with an inside spin
move and he's bearing down the hatches. But I just
(13:07):
I just like to see that he's maybe he had
an even better form than he was last year. I mean,
the punch outs, the force fumbles, I mean, he's making noise.
I mean, it's a dpo y, man, it really is.
He was gonna it felt like he was on that
track last year, and it feels like he's right back
there this year. I just he's great against the run.
He's a workout horse, a workhorse on the levels that's
(13:28):
only comparable to Max Crosby. He does everything, he's about
the team and it's just if you put him one
on one or just with two offensive linemen, he's gonna win.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
It's such an advantage and he's been so fun to watch.
You expect him to continue it going. This week Lions
hit the road. It should be a fun one Instancinnati
in front of a national audience. This Lions team is
rolling right now looking for four straight. He is. Ben
Raven does a great job with everything. M Live. You
got a podcast too, right yeah, Dungeon the Doom with
Corey Woods. In the Doom with Corey Woods, so you
(14:00):
can follow that, follow him on AM Live and we'll
be right back with David Montgomery. Welcome back to Between
the Huddle podcasts.
Speaker 6 (14:09):
I'm very happy to welcome man David Montgomery, running back
for the Detroit Lions. And David, this is a little
bit of a homecoming weekend for you. I found it
amazing for how long you played obviously college bald Iowa State,
for how long you've been in the NFL, you have
never played in your hometown of Cincinnati. How exciting is
this week going back home for you?
Speaker 4 (14:29):
Yeah?
Speaker 7 (14:29):
I think for me it's very exciting, just because it's
something that I haven't done yet. But I think it's
cool to see, like some of my close friends that
I went to school with and some people that I
had contact with in my city coming out to support
and get to see me kind of play live in
my hometown.
Speaker 4 (14:43):
I think it's really cool.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
So I thought, in honor of you going back home
to Cincinnati, we want to give you a little look
at what you were doing back in the day at Cincinnati.
So for all those people listening on audio, we got
some highlights of David playing high school football in Cincinnati.
So just press play. I want you to take us
through some of this a little bit. You're a dual
threat quarterback, one of the best players to ever come
(15:04):
out of Ohio. What are you seeing here?
Speaker 4 (15:07):
I don't know.
Speaker 7 (15:07):
I think this was a sixth green and I ended
up cutting all the way backside. Oh my god, this
film is so old, bro, Oh my goodness. This was
a little skater I took to the creb. This is
against Talawanda.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
High stepping there at the end, and then look at
you didn't do a lot of throwing as a quarterback.
But look at the little.
Speaker 7 (15:27):
I mean I have to We was winning off with
just me running the ball, but when I had to,
thought I could throw it too.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
So well, when you look at this kid right here,
when did he fall in love with football?
Speaker 4 (15:39):
Man?
Speaker 7 (15:39):
I think for me, probably the first time I like
really fell in love with the game was when I
was probably eight nine.
Speaker 4 (15:47):
I think like when I was younger, I started playing
when I was five.
Speaker 7 (15:52):
You did it because you had to do it. You
didn't really like contact as a kid. But then I realized,
like I could be pretty dominant this how I played
and how I was. I think for me, that's what
I really realized, like, oh man, I really like this
a lot.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
What is it about the team aspect of football that
you that you love? You know, obviously it's a physical game,
it's a tough game, but there's this team aspect and
when you look at this football team that you're on
right now, it kind of embodies.
Speaker 4 (16:17):
It to me. What do you like about that aspect
of it?
Speaker 7 (16:21):
Well, I think that's the unique part about the game
of football. You know, it's a vast majority of people
from all walks of earth, all walks of life. You know,
they come together from different backgrounds and being able to
experience some of the same taxing, you know, things that
you go through on the field and being able to
like have the results together. It feels good knowing that,
you you know, fighting with somebody from a different place,
(16:44):
but the love is unconditional. So I think it's really
cool just being a part of a group or a
team to where like you can come from anywhere but
have the same common goal and you know, kind of
being from it together.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
You know, not all players have that kind of mentality, David,
because look, you signed here in twenty twenty three, right,
you signed a three year eighteen mound deer. You're gonna
be the guy a team draftser bunny back engineer Gibbs.
I've seen it before in my time covering this league
that you know, veteran guys don't take that guy under
their wing. Maybe there's a little bit of resentment there.
(17:17):
You're never like that, and I've never seen that with
really any of the other groups. The offensive lineman when
young guys have come in, why was it important for
you to take jab under your wing and be a
great teammate and not be that other guy.
Speaker 7 (17:31):
Yeah, I think it's easy to kind of fall into
that rabbit hole of like III and you know, ultimately
like you want to win, but like there's things that
you develop relationships with certain people like jo Joe, Like
he's an incredible athlete, but he's a more an incredible
person and people don't really know that. But I've had
(17:52):
an opportunity to experience like him interpersonally and being able
to get to know him, and it's far beyond football
for me, Like I want you to be the best
rid himself, but he also helps me like be a
better person, a better human, and you know, a better
football player at the end of the day. So I
just felt like it was just the right thing to do.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
How do you guys compliment each other on the football
field and in the meeting room and outside.
Speaker 7 (18:15):
Yeah, I think like we're both super competitive, so like
once he sees like if I see him pop one all,
like I gotta do the same thing. Like it's always
about us towns in each other, and I think like
it's a lot harder for people to kind of put
a dot on us just because you know, when you
look at John, you look at me. They try to
like say, Okay, John just does this and Demo just
does that, But like that's not the truth if you
(18:36):
really like break down the film and see it. And
I think that's what makes it so hard to kind
of like stop us together. But I think in the
same degree, it's also like advantage us just being able
to have, you know, two guys who can do a
lot of things and are super selfless. I mean, I
think it's paid huge dividends for us since we've been here.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
Look, I say this all the time when I watch games, like, man,
I would hate to be an NFL running back. The
hits that you guys take, the pounding that you guys
take every week. How beneficial has that been to David?
Just to be the better version of yourself in the
fourth quarter and to have a little bit more kind
of tread on the tires.
Speaker 7 (19:15):
I think it's super important, just because you know, it's
always that late year push that you know where injuries
kind of kick in and you know, the guys who
carried a load it typically split out or don't make it.
But you know, again, it's unique. The system we got
here is Jah he rolls, I roll and we are
able to keep each other fresh. So I think it's
very important that you know, we realize be in it
(19:37):
for the long game. And you know, and I think
everybody upstairs understands that too, of how important it is
to keep both of us fresh.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
How much do you appreciate what Jared's not only done
for the last few years, but just the level that
he's playing with right now. Everybody gives the offensive line
credit for you know, him not being sacked for three weeks,
the running bass get a lot of credit, to the
tight ends for fighting on the edges get a lot
of credit. But JG gets a lot of credit to
you just when you look at how well he's playing
(20:05):
right now. How perfect does he a fit for this
offense and for this team.
Speaker 7 (20:09):
Yeah, I think everything that he's receiving is deservingly so
you know, he comes in here with the mentality to
be the best version of stuff that he can be,
And it's obvious and you kind of feed off of JG.
And JG is a he's a high end competitor, but
he's also a great team guy too. So I think
when you look at somebody who you want leading to charge,
you got to look at JG, you know, and he
(20:31):
embraces that role. He embodies what it is to be
a quarterback. And you know, he he was a cast
out just like a lot of other guys were here.
So I think him embracing being that guy and being
able to relive and recreates a name for himself, I
think is very important. And just to kind of see
like what he's developing into and you know, allowing him
(20:53):
to be the best version of stuff.
Speaker 4 (20:54):
I think it's a beautiful thing to see.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
That's why we talked to him this week. This actually
marks his seventieth game in Detroit. He played sixty nine
brand so now he's kind of he's a Detroit guy. Now.
You know, you mentioned more than in the offense. Just
what have you thought of John? I thought you made
a great point that that you know, there's not stuff
for John, not stuff for you. You guys, it's the
(21:16):
same offense, and you've got two backs that can do
both everything. So it makes it so hard on a defense.
What if you like the most about Johnny Moe in
that role house he may be a little bit different
than Ben.
Speaker 7 (21:27):
I think Johnny Mo, I mean, he's unique in his
own light, super vocal, aggressive man. He's not scared to
like say what's on his mind. So if you are
sensitive or weak minded, you won't make it. But ultimately
it's just him trying to make you the best person
that you can be in the best prayer can be. Also,
but you know, he demands a lot from us, and
(21:47):
there's nothing that he demands that we can't, you know, touch.
So I think that if Johnny Mo's out there talking,
I think it is big and it's important. So I
think you know Johnny understanding the kind.
Speaker 4 (21:58):
Of guy that he has.
Speaker 7 (21:59):
And you know he always says his job is on Sundays,
don't mess it up cause he got enough guys. And
you know the guys are good enough down there in
that locker room to where we should be able to
be anybody if we playing our best brand of ball.
So Johnny, he's super, super vocal, super cool.
Speaker 4 (22:15):
But you know, I love the guy.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
David. You're the number one scoring offensive football. Your offensive
line is playing like a top five unit. You have
to run the ball, you could throw the ball. Are
we seeing the best version of you? Guys? Is there
still more to this that that we haven't seen yet?
Are you guys? Still kind of heading this way.
Speaker 7 (22:31):
Yeah, I think we're definitely still as sending. I think
just the expectations that we have for ourselves. You know,
we could be so much better. It may like seem
like we put up a lot of points, but within
those games, like there's things that we kind of leaved
out there on the bone that we know we can
improve on, and we will. I think it just comes
with like continuing to build chemistry and also like just
(22:51):
being more cleaner, get more repetition on things that we
didn't really you know at the end of the day,
Johnny most of our new offensive coordinator, and we still
learning him every day. So I think repetition and you know,
us still sticking together and realizing that oh, just a
greater you know go for all of us here, and
you know, I think we can definitely read some heights
that a lot of people hadn't been able to touch.
Speaker 1 (23:13):
It a couple more for you before I let you go,
just Cincinnati this week, how much you're looking forward and
how much have you had to kind of dip into
the wall a little bit, get some tickets here and there,
and just what's that what's that pregame atmosphere gonna be
like for you seeing some friends for you know, the
first time again for a while, being able to play
in front of some family. Just uh, what's the lead
(23:34):
up to this to this week?
Speaker 7 (23:35):
Like, yeah, I mean I think of that and set
in it's not just a game, Like it's not just
a normal game for me, just because I grew up
with a lot of guys gonna be in the stand.
There's gonna be a lot of guys that I grew
up with who gonna be big Bengals fans. So I
think it's just gonna be really really cool to see
like a lot of familiar faces and coming to support
me and you know, throughout my entire journey and me
(23:57):
playing ball the same people who rooted for me when
I was in high school and to when I got
to college and even in the NFL now.
Speaker 4 (24:03):
I think it's super cool to have that experience.
Speaker 7 (24:06):
But like I said, like the most important thing that
I'm kind of excited about seeing my sister and seeing
my nephew. So that's probably the most exciting thing I'm
waiting for.
Speaker 1 (24:15):
Speaking of family, you became a father a couple of
years ago. I'm just curious how how was becoming a
dad changed you as a person, maybe changed you as
a football player.
Speaker 4 (24:24):
Definitely softened my heart, you know, just you can't be.
Speaker 7 (24:30):
Ultra aggressive with a child that's learning life every day,
who's curious about the things that they don't know. So
I think a lot of times, you know, be playing
this game the way that I played at a violent level.
I think it enables me to think that, like I
could be that way towards my son, but my son
had like taught me like I'm just a kid, and
(24:51):
you know, just being available and like showing up or
lett him know, like this is how who your dad
is and this is how your dad wants you to
see you. I think that's super super big and important
for me. So it definitely like has changed who I
am and who I'm becoming. Also like giving me more
patience too, So yeah, I love every bit of it.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
Well, it should be fun. You guys are on some
kind of streak offensively, obviously the football team one three straight,
looking for four. David Montgomery's going home looking forward to it.
Go show the home crowd de of what you guys
can do offensively. Appreciate taking the time.
Speaker 4 (25:22):
I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (25:27):
Welcome back to Toy Mohabeo Podcast presented by Microsoft. I'm
very happy about the man, Kelsey Conway. She does a
great job covering everything Cincinnati Bengals for the Cincinnati Inquire. Kels,
thanks for taking the time. I appreciate it.
Speaker 5 (25:38):
Thanks so much for having me on. It feels like
it's a rare matchup that I get to, like talk
about the Bengals and Allions with you. So I'm excited.
Speaker 1 (25:44):
I know, I like these kind of you know, interconference matchups.
You know, the you don't know much about the opponent.
There's a little bit uncertainty. Unfortunately for you guys, you're
coming off a very short week, having been Monday in Denver.
How are you doing sleepwise? You all right?
Speaker 5 (25:59):
You? Uh, Tuesday was a rough travel day back and
it felt like Wednesday. I was like, I don't think
my body really got on the clock until like three o'clock.
So today I feel back to normal. So we're good.
Speaker 2 (26:11):
I hear you.
Speaker 1 (26:12):
We had Baltimore last week. Now Baltimore's not obviously Denver,
so but those short weeks they add up. You know,
when you go those Thursdays and Thursdays that they start
to get crazy. We got one of those coming up
here too. But all right, let's get into this matchup
on Sunday. Kels, you look at three games in a
row now for Cincinnati under two hundred yards of offense,
(26:34):
and you look at all the weapons with Chase and
Higgins and brown and look, I know they don't have
obviously Joe Burrow, but Browning has played in this league.
He's played good football in this league. What is it about?
You know, these last few weeks. What's been the biggest
issue when you watch them offensively?
Speaker 5 (26:54):
So, I mean that's been like the NonStop question here
and Cincinnati, like we peppered the Bengals offensive course Dan
Pitcher with you know, six questions back to back to
back about the offensive production yesterday. And the way that
they look at it is different than the way I
look at it. But the way that they look at
it is that game against Minnesota, which was Browning's first start,
(27:17):
was an uncharacteristic five turnovers. Like under Zach Taylor, they
don't really turn the ball over much and they're not
really a high penalty team, and so against Minnesota they
had five turnovers and it was players like Jamar Chase
fumbling like it was just a weird game, and honestly,
like the game got so out of whack early they
couldn't have their full offensive playbook because once you get down,
(27:41):
you know, three scores on the road, you're just constantly
trying to throw the ball. And the Vikings had an
answer for all of that. So that was the story
of the Minnesota game. So Zach Taylor's like, turnovers, turnovers,
turnovers that killed us. That's the story of why we
can do anything on offense. Then everything was about a rebound,
and we talked to players and they were like, that
is not who we're going to be. We need to
(28:03):
play better. And I honestly thought they were going to
play a lot better against Denver. And then they came
out on Denver. They had a really awesome first drive,
they got a field goal out of it, and then
they just spiraled and they could not get a first down.
They had more penalties than first downs. They had eleven penalties.
And it just hasn't felt like the team has been
(28:24):
able to even give themselves a chance on offense to
run the ball or do more under center, because they're
constantly playing from behind eight ball, where it's like you
get a penalty and you're now first and fifteen, and
it just feels like they've shot themselves in the foot
too much with things that they can control, where it's
kind of hard to even judge what they are on offense.
Speaker 1 (28:44):
Well, how much do they have they talked about or
how much do they know? Kel said that they have
to fix it this week with a Detroit Lions team
that is maybe the opposite Right now, they are firing
on all cylinders offensively. They can run the football, they
can protect Jared Golf, they allowed to sack in three weeks.
They can you know, they ran for two hundred and
twenty four on Baltimore. They threw for three thirty and
(29:06):
five touchdowns on Chicago. They're number one on offense, their
top ten running and passing. So when an offense sees
that kind of task coming in, obviously don't play on
the field together at the same time. But when an
offense comes in, did you get a sense that they
feel like they've got to kind of figure some of
this out because Detroit's probably going to score some points here,
(29:27):
even on the road, and you got to kind of
you got to keep up with the Jones as if
you're Cincinnati's offense.
Speaker 5 (29:33):
One hundred percent. And we asked Bengals offensive coordinator Dan
Pitcher about statistically, like here's where the Lions rank, and
he said, well, I respect the numbers, he said, my
job is how to beat the tape, like I have
to watch and how to come up with a plan
to beat the tape. But I think that everybody knows
(29:53):
that they haven't been playing winning football and that of
all games for them to play sharp and have no
self inflicted issues, it would be this week because they
know that with Jake Browning, I mean, even if they
had Burrow, this was a game where I didn't have
them winning, just because I think the Detroit Lions are
so good in the trenches. I think, even without Burrow,
(30:15):
like they're going to have to play perfect, and I
still don't think perfect is enough because I think they
could have a great offensive game and then they haven't
been able to play better on defense. And on defense
they'll tell you, well, we've been on the field too
much because the offense hasn't been able to sustain drives.
So overall, it's just been a mess here in Cincinnati.
(30:37):
And I'm not really sure where the easy quick fix
is because I think they just have some deficiencies that
Joe Burrow covered up and right now you're looking.
Speaker 1 (30:47):
At them well. Sometimes coming home too after tough loss
like that, a short week, you don't have time to
reminisce about the week before. It's just about getting forward
in the next Sometimes that can do a team good
and refocus you a little bit too, And so hopefully
the fans in Cincinnati can look toward that maybe as
being something where they will play better football on both
sides of the ball. Kelsy Any injury issues with Cincinnati
(31:10):
coming in this game that might affect it. Are they
pretty healthy for the most part.
Speaker 5 (31:14):
They're pretty healthy. They haven't had Shamar Stewart, and I
think that's that's hurt them because I think they thought
he was going to be able to be a factor
opposite of Trey Hendrickston. And you know how it goes
with rookies if you miss three to four weeks. Coming
on top of the fact that he missed the entire
offseason with his contract drama, I think they're really missing him.
It doesn't look like he's going to play. He didn't
(31:34):
practice today and he is dealing with the low ankle spring,
and he told me it could be a couple of weeks.
So this will be Game three that he would miss,
So I think he'll have more of a chance next week,
So that that's probably the biggest injury. Offensively, they are
in good shape. They have their two receivers, they have Mikeasicki,
their offensive line is in really good shape from a
(31:55):
health standpoint. So other than that, they seem to be
pretty good from injury standpoint, which they need. They need
to be at full strength to try and even compete
with these Lions.
Speaker 1 (32:06):
You mentioned the wide receivers. When I was watching that
game Monday night, I noticed, just from the outside looking
in a little bit of frustration from Jamar Chase. And obviously,
you know, I understand it. You know, he's goes into
the season thinking he's going to have the quarterback where
the kindest season he had last year, and he's going
to be a big part of that. You don't get that.
But is there any worry in Cincinnati about Jamar and
(32:28):
the frustrations and maybe some of that, you know, bubbling
over a little bit and spilling out into other areas well.
Speaker 5 (32:35):
I'll tell you my I believe it was Jamar's rookie
season was my rookie season covering the Bengals, and they
were in Chicago, and he did not like how he
was featured in the game, and he just blasted Zach
Taylor to us post game. And Jamar is very outspoken,
and everybody respects it because he backs up what he says,
(32:57):
but he just is very matter of the fact. And
so all of us in the media, we're wondering after
that game in Denver, you know, how was the post
game going to be was he going to sound off,
like what was that going to be like? And he's
a captain this year, and he was very calm, cool
and collected, and didn't, you know, throw Zach Taylor under
the bus. He didn't throw the offensive game plan under
(33:19):
the bus, but he did say that they lacked a
want to on offense. And you could tell that that
bothered him because he goes out every game. He's one
of the most competitive people I've ever covered. So right now,
it seems like he's understanding the leadership part of his
evolution in the NFL, but he's a competitor at heart.
(33:42):
And I don't know how if in two more games,
if the offense continues to look as bad as it has.
I don't know how that's going to go over for
him and t Higgins. So right now, everybody's playing nice
in the Sandbux, but I'm not sure if there's if
they're there's two more humiliating losses that take place, Because
(34:03):
you know, the Bengals play the Packers next week to
another tough matchup. I don't know if I'll be able
to say the same thing, Kels.
Speaker 1 (34:10):
What's the biggest matchup for you heading into this game?
The Cincinnati Bengals need to do what to come back
home and get a big win against the Detroit Lions
team that's playing really good football right now and looking
to win four straight.
Speaker 5 (34:21):
I think they need to play really well up front
on both sides of the ball, but specifically on the
offensive line. They have not played well at all this year.
And you're talking about players you were counting on, like
Orlando Brown junior. They're starting left tackle, Ted Carris, their
starting center. All of those guys you were expecting to
not be an issue because the Bengals right now are
(34:43):
starting two rookie guards. Those two and Amarus MAM's on
the right side have got to play well because you
cannot afford against this Detroit Lions team with Hutchinson and
DJ Raider, who we all know well here. If they
don't give Jake any semblance of confidence by giving him
some time to get the ball to Jamar and t
I think it's going to be the same old, same old.
(35:05):
So I think the number one matchup for me is
the Bengals offensive line has to play their best game
of the season against Detroit to even give themselves a.
Speaker 1 (35:13):
Chance against the Lion last one forty kels can can
Cincinnati win and win consistently with Jake Browning at quarterback?
Speaker 5 (35:23):
I don't think so. I think that I thought when
Joe went down right, because I was covering the team
in twenty twenty three, when Jake Browning went four and
three as a starter. It just feels different this time
around with this offense. He was doing things more under center.
They had the screen game going like. It felt like
(35:43):
he took over an offense because there's later in the season.
It was November, he took over an offense that had
an identity. The fact that in his press conference on
Monday after they lost to the Broncos, he said we
have to figure out our identity. I don't think that's
a good place for a backup quarterback to enter, and
that's where they are. So I don't currently believe that
(36:04):
they can, you know, string together enough wins to even
make this a conversation in December about if Joe could
come back. But I mean, they could prove me wrong.
But it just it hasn't looked good at all the
last two weeks. And they're about to hit the stretch
where they play the Lions, the Packers and then the
Steelers and it's just gonna be tough sledding. So unfortunately,
I can't say objectively I think that they can be
(36:27):
competitive because it just hasn't looked good the last two weeks.
Speaker 1 (36:30):
Well, it hasn't looked good. But the Toroy Lions certainly
aren't taking them lightly. We talked to the assistant coaches,
the coordinators, and even the players have talked about the
weapons that they have on both sides of the ball.
How Chase and Higgins can be game breakers if you
let them be, how Brown's a good back. Obviously we
know what Trey can do. So look, the Lions aren't
taking them lightly, so there is certainly that out there
(36:50):
they're expecting a ballgame comes Sunday on the road in Cincinnati.
What's the weather looked like in Cincinnati this weekend.
Speaker 5 (36:57):
I think it's supposed to be beautiful like in the eighties.
Speaker 1 (37:00):
There we go, that's what we're talking about.
Speaker 5 (37:02):
It'll be a four pm kickoff, so I think the
sun won't be be down. But just a quick question
for you before we go. House. DJ Reader played but
it's been kind of hard to follow from Afar, but
he was a locker room favorite of mine in the
media here in Cincinnati.
Speaker 1 (37:17):
Dude, he's been great.
Speaker 5 (37:18):
You know.
Speaker 1 (37:19):
DJ Reader is one of the guys and Kelse. You know,
those guys don't always show up on the stat sheet, right,
They don't tear it up, but they take on those
double teams. They allow Jack Campbell to get the double
digit sacks. You know, they pushed the pocket in the
run game. Detroit Lions run defense that's top ten in
the NFL right now. And a big reason why is
because the DJ Reader and ty Leek Williams and they
don't even have a Lee McNeil yet. And he's coming
(37:40):
back off pup. He returned to practice this week. But
I love DJ. He's a great guy. He doesn't have
the Sea on his chest, but he is a CEE
in that defensive line room. You know him. He's one
of those great guys. He's playing a ton of snaps
for them. He's doing what he has to tell Leam
gets back here, and he's a big reason why they're
really really solid up the middle on defense. So he's
(38:01):
been really, really good good.
Speaker 5 (38:03):
Well, I'll be happy to share that update with fans
because I know he's a fan favorite, a media favorite,
so I'm glad that he's doing well in Detroit.
Speaker 1 (38:09):
Well, you do great things in Cincinnati, all you guys
out there, If you need anything on the Bengals, Kelsey
Conway is the person to go. She does a great
job with the Cincinnati Inquirre. Kelse, thanks so much for
taking the time. I appreciate you.
Speaker 5 (38:22):
Thanks so much. I'll see you in the press box
on Sunday.
Jared takes the snap, fakes the gift looks right. Bros
out there wo open, I'm in Ross Saint Brown touchdown
Detroit Lions hard runs Bake fourteen snuck out the right side,
golf found him. Put another six on the board for
Detroit and welcome to Week five of the NFL season.
(00:20):
The Lions are back on the road, playing the Cincinnati Bengals,
looking for their fourth straight victory. I am Tim twentyman.
Welcome to the twenty in the Huddle podcast, and I
welcome in first and foremost. Ben Raven does a great
job covering everything Lions with the m Live Network, but
people might not know he is also a professionally trained
wrestler and commentator.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
When did that start?
Speaker 3 (00:42):
I was twenty seventeen. I was in a different role
that I'm live, and you know, I'd always been a
wrestling fan my whole life and I'm six six, two
fifty and a former athlete. So I was like, let's go.
I found this great school in Canada. I trained for
a couple of years, and then the inn ring stuff
kind of it in twenty twenty because I didn't have
a gateway to Cannon anymore. But for the last three
(01:03):
years I've been doing some pro wrestling commentary and play
by play.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
And that's I just loved it.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
That's awesome because you took Justin Rogers, who's been on
the podcast so far, then you took him to kind
of a little bit of an underground wrestling type deal
in Detroit there and Justin was telling me some stories.
It must be fun on the weekends.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Oh it's the best. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
That show I broke Justin Rodgers into was underground, hardcore,
light tubes, pin needles and all that stuff you can't
show on TV. We were a little blown away at Harpos.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
I love it all right, Well, let's get back to football.
Let's take a look back against Cleveland before we move
ahead to Cincinnati. Ben, what was your biggest takeaway from
Sunday's win?
Speaker 3 (01:43):
Just that when the offense stubs its toes that the
defense and the special teams can lift it up. Because
I mean it's not like the offense was terrible or anything,
but you know, they didn't take advantage of some chances
they had. They kind of stubbed their toe at two
long field goals and then they need Khalif to break
it open.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
But yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
I just the biggest takeaway is that Helvin Shepherd is
showing some versatility and flexibility as a defensive coordinator. Like, yeah,
very matchup based. How I mean, he is who he
is in his defense, who it is, what he wants
it to be. But like I mean the QB spy stuff,
he found a way to make it his own, you know.
I mean, you get punched in the mouth on the
opening drive for the Browns and I don't think they
(02:17):
made it back to the red zone outside of one
more time. So it's the endgame. Adjustments are real with Shepherd,
and he's flexible, he's open ideas.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
You know, we talked to him this week and he said, look,
we probably played more different schemes in variations than we had,
you know, in Dan Campbell's tenure here when Aaron Glenn
was here. That speaks to Shep just understanding what he
has in terms of personnel, how he wants to handle
those matchups like you talked about. I love a defensive
(02:44):
coordinator that isn't scared like that. They're playing a ton
of based defense which they think they can hide some
coverages and rush stuff off that. I just love the
way he's calling it and playing it and scheming it
right now, it seems like Dan's got a ton of
trust in him.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
I wrote that in my column this week about Shepherd,
was like Dan fully trust Shepherd. And when Dan Campbell
fully trusts on you, that does a lot of weight
carrying throughout the rest of the building. And Shepherd's presence
and now he carries himself. I don't even think he
needed that boost, Like these guys really gravitate to him.
But yeah, I love it. You shouldn't treat Lamar Jackson
like any other quarterback in the right. You shouldn't chase
or treat Chasing Higgins like any other receiver do in
(03:20):
the league. And I mean they preach versatility, they preached
cross training, they preach getting out of your comfort zone,
and they flashed on it.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
The offensive line zero sacks in three straight weeks. I
think you have to go back to nineteen fifty last
time this franchise done that fourteen sacks. They're trailing only
Denver defensively with fourteen sex Denver's got fifteen their second there,
and can the offense and defensive line continue this display
throughout the season. Look, there's gonna be hiccups here and
that's the NFL. But fundamentally, is this what they are?
(03:51):
Is this what we're seeing, what we're gonna see for six,
seven to eighteen weeks, and if we do, boy, how
good can this football team really be?
Speaker 3 (03:58):
I mean that's the thing. I think both sides can
get better. You know, Starting on offense, Ratleich is only
four year, four games into his career, and it's been
I mean there's blips on the raidar, there's rookie learning
curves and stuff like that, but he's been good. He's
been really good, and it keeps getting better and he's
shown what his best can look like at this stage
of his career, and it's pretty great. Mahogany fits like
a glove. I think both those guys still have a
(04:19):
ton of room to grow. There's still a there's still
new pieces to the operation. I mean, even Mahogany was
here last year, no camp, no preseason, plays in two
games and it feels like he's been a starter here
for two years. So offensive line arrow up because as
Decker continues to get used to his shoulder and recovering
from that, I just think there's there's only room to
grow for the old line on the defensive line. That
(04:41):
guy Alee McNeil's.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
Coming back different too. He's gonna just keep trending up.
So I thought what Shephard said today, once a Leam
gets back, and we don't know when that'll be, he's
obviously chomping at the bit the way he described his
practice yesterday, it might be soon rather than later. The
lines are gonna be careful with him. But boy, Ben,
(05:02):
when you can put ty Leek a Leam, DJ Reader
and Roy Lopez has played pretty well to begin this
season too. I mean that's four starting caliber defensive tackles
that you can throw around and do some different things with.
Chef's gonna really enjoy that, and he's gonna be able
to be creative with, isn't he.
Speaker 4 (05:19):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (05:19):
And it lets Tyler play the downs that he's specialized
for this young of his career. And I mean McNeil,
that's you talk about finding a guy that can unlock
Hutchinson and take away some pressure from Hutchinson double teams
and chips, it's McNeil, Yeah. I mean, he's a lead
against the run and he's one of the best interior
pressure creators in the league. I mean He's a ninety
seven million dollar guy for a reason. I mean, this
is a very high quality, versatile inside outside guy coming
(05:43):
back to the line, and the better positions you can
put Tyleek in and DJ and play around with those fronts,
the better.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
It's gonna be.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
There was no letdown last week after obviously huge road
win in Baltimore. I don't see that being a thing
with this team, do you know? Just the way that
Dan is, the way that they don't take teams lightly,
the way they talk about opponents. Look, Cincinnati hasn't played
well and for good reason. They lost their all pro quarterback,
arguably one of the best quarterbacks in the league. But
(06:08):
Detroit is treating them. They've talked about the weapons on
the outside with te Higgins and Chase and you know,
the running back, and some of the weapons on defense
with obviously you know Trey Hendon Hendrickson, and there's just
no letdown. I don't see that being a thing, do you.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
No, I don't think that. No, there's no trap games
in the NFL. These are NFL teams, and I just
think Dan Campbell led team isn't gonna waste a Sunday.
I mean, this is what they live for. I mean,
his culture is embedded in this team's DNA, and there's
no overlooking anybody because they remember what that felt like
in twenty twenty one and twenty twenty two and what
they started to do to people. I mean, there's you can't.
I mean they got Jamar Chas and t Higgins and
(06:45):
Trey Hendrickson and Logan Wilson. I mean this, they got
some talent on that side of the ball. And if
you fall asleep at the wheel, they'll bite you. Yeah,
And they don't overlook anybody. They're thankful to play every
freaking chance they get. I mean, I mean that you
just so rarely see a head coaches DNA and blueprint
on the culture, on the mentality like you do here
one hundred percent.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
All right, let's look ahead to Cincy a little bit.
You take a look at them. They're two and two.
Get off of the start, lose Joe Burrow. They've lost
their last two. Didn't look particularly good on Monday in
Denver twenty eight to three loss. But when you watch them, Ben,
what gives you maybe the most.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
Worry about that football team, it is chasing Higgins. Yeah,
because it's I mean it's it's the one of the
best all around wide receivers in the game. And Chase
who plays like he's six foot three, and then you
got t Higgins who's literally six four to two twenty.
I mean, they can be two a ton of ways.
I've been shocked that they haven't been able to get
those guys the ball. I mean everything should be going
through those two. I think they only have fourteen catches,
one hundred and twenty yards and no touchdowns over the
(07:39):
last two games.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
It's crazy Chase can do that in one game by himself.
Speaker 3 (07:43):
Yeah, So that's that's the big That's where my eyes
go there because it's like those are they paid that
money to those guys for a reason, and it's like
there's there's belief in Jake Brownie. At least there was
inside that building. I mean, he had started for them before,
but like so far, it's been like they can't get
him the ball. And if they can't get those two
guys the ball, they're gonna put up three points.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
Yeah, and obviously the lines are gonna be without dj
Reed put him on injured reserve. That means he's gonna
miss at least the next three games. With the bye
week coming after that. So to your point, now you
dip into your death a little bit, you expect me
maybe to move outside a little bit. They'll deal with
what they've got to in the nickel. But again, they
play a lot of base defense. But I thought it
was interesting this week. I listened in on Browning's interview
(08:25):
on Wednesday, and he said, boy, when I looked at
that film, I did a terrible job giving my guys
opportunities on fifty to fifty balls. You just threw a
couple where the receivers had no chance under threw one.
He said, That's one thing. When I see one on
one on the outside, I'm gonna give those guys an
opportunity to make a play. I think that'll be an
interesting dynamic Sunday against a secondary that's now dipping into
(08:46):
their numbers a little bit.
Speaker 3 (08:47):
Yeah, exactly, No, DJ read that's huge. Terryon's banged up
hasn't been the start he's wanted to the season. I
mean that is I mean, if I were the Bengals,
that's what I would be attacking too. Is like this
defense that loves to play man coverage and trust their
guys Like that's see if we canet. Yes, that's how
the Brown scored on that opening drive too. They ate
at the man coverage. But you know, Shepherd was able
to adjust move the rotations around because I'm fascinated by
(09:08):
what they're gonna do. Is it gonna be a day
outside's gonna play the slot?
Speaker 5 (09:12):
Is?
Speaker 3 (09:12):
Yes, sin as Madic, So, I mean they have that
versatility for a reason. Uh, it's obviously a daunting matchup
with those receivers, but yeah, it's a it's a big tust,
it's a big chance. As Shepherd said, for Terry and Arnold,
I mean, if you're gonna play this weekend, two practices
in a row, seems like he's on tracks. Time to
step up, be the guy. Time to see that guy
that we saw the final eight weeks the last season.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
And the guy that we saw in training. He's been
a little surprising to me that he's gotten off to
the start he did, because you probably wrote it to
I know, I did pie a couple of times just
how good he looked against Jamo and Saint Brown, and
he was terrific, and I thought he was really just
gonna take off. And still some of the issues with
the technique the hands, the penalties. I think he cleans
that up. It'll go a long way to to to
(09:52):
play in better football. But can can the Bengals score
enough without Joe Burrow to compete with Detroit? Because offensively,
and I thought John Moreton, the offensive coordiniao, said it
perfect this week when we talked to him, he said,
we can do what we want. Yeah, and he's not lying. No,
you know they can run the football. They're top ten
in the rush, top ten in the past, number one
(10:13):
in scoring, top ten and overall defense. You gotta feel
really good about what this team is doing offensively going
into Sunday.
Speaker 3 (10:22):
Yeah, the Bengals can't keep up. I mean there's I mean,
this was an easy prediction for me this week. And
it's like the Bengals have some weapons, they might score
some points, they might be better than they were last week.
But I don't think like I see thirty five plus
points for this line, like just because like last week,
like jam On and Golf are off, they guess what
they do. They go to Saint Brown, who's getting some
(10:42):
wild praise this week but deservedly so. Yeah, and they've
fed Gibbs MANI didn't have his best day. I mean,
when't they just have so many guys like that. When
somebody's not at their best, somebody else steps up. I mean,
you see Gibbs twenty one garries last week. That's the tone.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
I'm gonna caution you. I'm gonna caution you a little
bit about Monty though. You guys are gonna see him.
You guys are gonna see him on the podcast. He's
my guest next and he is going home, which interesting
is he has never played college or professional football in
his hometown of Cincinnati. He's very motivated. We're gonna hear
from him next. But I wouldn't be surprised if he
(11:15):
gets going to Both these running backs get going. Jamo
has a little bit of a bounce back. They catch
a big play with him too. We know what Saint's
gonna do. Saint's gonna be Saints. It's just it's so
hard as a defensive coordinator. I think when you sit
down and you start to scheme this year, like what
do we have to stop? And the list just keeps
going and going and going and going and going. I'm
(11:36):
with you. I think if Cincinnati's gonna have a chance,
they've got to get those guys in the outside going.
They've got to create some big plays offensively because I
think their only chances to shoot up because you're not
gonna stop Detroit.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
No, not at all. And I just Chase Brown's a
good back. But I would take the Lions run defense,
and it's a lot of teams, especially this one because
that since the ol line has not been the best.
And like you said, Dave Montgomery don't need a lot
of motivation to bounce back. I mean, I'm sure he's
feeling it. Alpha twelve yards on nine carries last week. Anyway,
you go home for the first time. We saw what
that guy did in Baltimore. They don't forget about Montgomery
(12:09):
because the Lions sure have not what he.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
Like about the way Hutch is playing right now, looking
for a four straight with a sack. What is this
stupid number, like nineteen or two? Yeah, the quarterback hitting
row or something like that. I mean, he's back to
be in Hutch and when he's back to being Hutch,
and we already talked about what they're going to get
back in the middle. I think we haven't even talked
about Alcahi Muhammad and what he's looked like, what they've
been able to do with him. Shepherd said, look, we've
(12:32):
found our guy opposite it's him, and then you just, oh, yeah,
you forget about Hutchers. One of the top guys in
the league. Is just he's playing at a really great level.
What do you like the most about his play?
Speaker 3 (12:45):
That he's found ways to fight through the double teams,
the constant chips, the knowing that you are going to
get double teams on basically every single play, and just
finding ways if he's not in the backfield to take
the guys with him open it up like Muhammad has
been great at being in the right at the right
time when you know the quarterback is pushed that way
because Hutchinson is hitting two guys with an inside spin
move and he's bearing down the hatches. But I just
(13:07):
I just like to see that he's maybe he had
an even better form than he was last year. I mean,
the punch outs, the force fumbles, I mean, he's making noise.
I mean, it's a dpo y, man, it really is.
He was gonna it felt like he was on that
track last year, and it feels like he's right back
there this year. I just he's great against the run.
He's a workout horse, a workhorse on the levels that's
(13:28):
only comparable to Max Crosby. He does everything, he's about
the team and it's just if you put him one
on one or just with two offensive linemen, he's gonna win.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
It's such an advantage and he's been so fun to watch.
You expect him to continue it going. This week Lions
hit the road. It should be a fun one Instancinnati
in front of a national audience. This Lions team is
rolling right now looking for four straight. He is. Ben
Raven does a great job with everything. M Live. You
got a podcast too, right yeah, Dungeon the Doom with
Corey Woods. In the Doom with Corey Woods, so you
(14:00):
can follow that, follow him on AM Live and we'll
be right back with David Montgomery. Welcome back to Between
the Huddle podcasts.
Speaker 6 (14:09):
I'm very happy to welcome man David Montgomery, running back
for the Detroit Lions. And David, this is a little
bit of a homecoming weekend for you. I found it
amazing for how long you played obviously college bald Iowa State,
for how long you've been in the NFL, you have
never played in your hometown of Cincinnati. How exciting is
this week going back home for you?
Speaker 4 (14:29):
Yeah?
Speaker 7 (14:29):
I think for me it's very exciting, just because it's
something that I haven't done yet. But I think it's
cool to see, like some of my close friends that
I went to school with and some people that I
had contact with in my city coming out to support
and get to see me kind of play live in
my hometown.
Speaker 4 (14:43):
I think it's really cool.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
So I thought, in honor of you going back home
to Cincinnati, we want to give you a little look
at what you were doing back in the day at Cincinnati.
So for all those people listening on audio, we got
some highlights of David playing high school football in Cincinnati.
So just press play. I want you to take us
through some of this a little bit. You're a dual
threat quarterback, one of the best players to ever come
(15:04):
out of Ohio. What are you seeing here?
Speaker 4 (15:07):
I don't know.
Speaker 7 (15:07):
I think this was a sixth green and I ended
up cutting all the way backside. Oh my god, this
film is so old, bro, Oh my goodness. This was
a little skater I took to the creb. This is
against Talawanda.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
High stepping there at the end, and then look at
you didn't do a lot of throwing as a quarterback.
But look at the little.
Speaker 7 (15:27):
I mean I have to We was winning off with
just me running the ball, but when I had to,
thought I could throw it too.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
So well, when you look at this kid right here,
when did he fall in love with football?
Speaker 4 (15:39):
Man?
Speaker 7 (15:39):
I think for me, probably the first time I like
really fell in love with the game was when I
was probably eight nine.
Speaker 4 (15:47):
I think like when I was younger, I started playing
when I was five.
Speaker 7 (15:52):
You did it because you had to do it. You
didn't really like contact as a kid. But then I realized,
like I could be pretty dominant this how I played
and how I was. I think for me, that's what
I really realized, like, oh man, I really like this
a lot.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
What is it about the team aspect of football that
you that you love? You know, obviously it's a physical game,
it's a tough game, but there's this team aspect and
when you look at this football team that you're on
right now, it kind of embodies.
Speaker 4 (16:17):
It to me. What do you like about that aspect
of it?
Speaker 7 (16:21):
Well, I think that's the unique part about the game
of football. You know, it's a vast majority of people
from all walks of earth, all walks of life. You know,
they come together from different backgrounds and being able to
experience some of the same taxing, you know, things that
you go through on the field and being able to
like have the results together. It feels good knowing that,
you you know, fighting with somebody from a different place,
(16:44):
but the love is unconditional. So I think it's really
cool just being a part of a group or a
team to where like you can come from anywhere but
have the same common goal and you know, kind of
being from it together.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
You know, not all players have that kind of mentality, David,
because look, you signed here in twenty twenty three, right,
you signed a three year eighteen mound deer. You're gonna
be the guy a team draftser bunny back engineer Gibbs.
I've seen it before in my time covering this league
that you know, veteran guys don't take that guy under
their wing. Maybe there's a little bit of resentment there.
(17:17):
You're never like that, and I've never seen that with
really any of the other groups. The offensive lineman when
young guys have come in, why was it important for
you to take jab under your wing and be a
great teammate and not be that other guy.
Speaker 7 (17:31):
Yeah, I think it's easy to kind of fall into
that rabbit hole of like III and you know, ultimately
like you want to win, but like there's things that
you develop relationships with certain people like jo Joe, Like
he's an incredible athlete, but he's a more an incredible
person and people don't really know that. But I've had
(17:52):
an opportunity to experience like him interpersonally and being able
to get to know him, and it's far beyond football
for me, Like I want you to be the best
rid himself, but he also helps me like be a
better person, a better human, and you know, a better
football player at the end of the day. So I
just felt like it was just the right thing to do.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
How do you guys compliment each other on the football
field and in the meeting room and outside.
Speaker 7 (18:15):
Yeah, I think like we're both super competitive, so like
once he sees like if I see him pop one all,
like I gotta do the same thing. Like it's always
about us towns in each other, and I think like
it's a lot harder for people to kind of put
a dot on us just because you know, when you
look at John, you look at me. They try to
like say, Okay, John just does this and Demo just
does that, But like that's not the truth if you
(18:36):
really like break down the film and see it. And
I think that's what makes it so hard to kind
of like stop us together. But I think in the
same degree, it's also like advantage us just being able
to have, you know, two guys who can do a
lot of things and are super selfless. I mean, I
think it's paid huge dividends for us since we've been here.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
Look, I say this all the time when I watch games, like, man,
I would hate to be an NFL running back. The
hits that you guys take, the pounding that you guys
take every week. How beneficial has that been to David?
Just to be the better version of yourself in the
fourth quarter and to have a little bit more kind
of tread on the tires.
Speaker 7 (19:15):
I think it's super important, just because you know, it's
always that late year push that you know where injuries
kind of kick in and you know, the guys who
carried a load it typically split out or don't make it.
But you know, again, it's unique. The system we got
here is Jah he rolls, I roll and we are
able to keep each other fresh. So I think it's
very important that you know, we realize be in it
(19:37):
for the long game. And you know, and I think
everybody upstairs understands that too, of how important it is
to keep both of us fresh.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
How much do you appreciate what Jared's not only done
for the last few years, but just the level that
he's playing with right now. Everybody gives the offensive line
credit for you know, him not being sacked for three weeks,
the running bass get a lot of credit, to the
tight ends for fighting on the edges get a lot
of credit. But JG gets a lot of credit to
you just when you look at how well he's playing
(20:05):
right now. How perfect does he a fit for this
offense and for this team.
Speaker 7 (20:09):
Yeah, I think everything that he's receiving is deservingly so
you know, he comes in here with the mentality to
be the best version of stuff that he can be,
And it's obvious and you kind of feed off of JG.
And JG is a he's a high end competitor, but
he's also a great team guy too. So I think
when you look at somebody who you want leading to charge,
you got to look at JG, you know, and he
(20:31):
embraces that role. He embodies what it is to be
a quarterback. And you know, he he was a cast
out just like a lot of other guys were here.
So I think him embracing being that guy and being
able to relive and recreates a name for himself, I
think is very important. And just to kind of see
like what he's developing into and you know, allowing him
(20:53):
to be the best version of stuff.
Speaker 4 (20:54):
I think it's a beautiful thing to see.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
That's why we talked to him this week. This actually
marks his seventieth game in Detroit. He played sixty nine
brand so now he's kind of he's a Detroit guy. Now.
You know, you mentioned more than in the offense. Just
what have you thought of John? I thought you made
a great point that that you know, there's not stuff
for John, not stuff for you. You guys, it's the
(21:16):
same offense, and you've got two backs that can do
both everything. So it makes it so hard on a defense.
What if you like the most about Johnny Moe in
that role house he may be a little bit different
than Ben.
Speaker 7 (21:27):
I think Johnny Mo, I mean, he's unique in his
own light, super vocal, aggressive man. He's not scared to
like say what's on his mind. So if you are
sensitive or weak minded, you won't make it. But ultimately
it's just him trying to make you the best person
that you can be in the best prayer can be. Also,
but you know, he demands a lot from us, and
(21:47):
there's nothing that he demands that we can't, you know, touch.
So I think that if Johnny Mo's out there talking,
I think it is big and it's important. So I
think you know Johnny understanding the kind.
Speaker 4 (21:58):
Of guy that he has.
Speaker 7 (21:59):
And you know he always says his job is on Sundays,
don't mess it up cause he got enough guys. And
you know the guys are good enough down there in
that locker room to where we should be able to
be anybody if we playing our best brand of ball.
So Johnny, he's super, super vocal, super cool.
Speaker 4 (22:15):
But you know, I love the guy.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
David. You're the number one scoring offensive football. Your offensive
line is playing like a top five unit. You have
to run the ball, you could throw the ball. Are
we seeing the best version of you? Guys? Is there
still more to this that that we haven't seen yet?
Are you guys? Still kind of heading this way.
Speaker 7 (22:31):
Yeah, I think we're definitely still as sending. I think
just the expectations that we have for ourselves. You know,
we could be so much better. It may like seem
like we put up a lot of points, but within
those games, like there's things that we kind of leaved
out there on the bone that we know we can
improve on, and we will. I think it just comes
with like continuing to build chemistry and also like just
(22:51):
being more cleaner, get more repetition on things that we
didn't really you know at the end of the day,
Johnny most of our new offensive coordinator, and we still
learning him every day. So I think repetition and you know,
us still sticking together and realizing that oh, just a
greater you know go for all of us here, and
you know, I think we can definitely read some heights
that a lot of people hadn't been able to touch.
Speaker 1 (23:13):
It a couple more for you before I let you go,
just Cincinnati this week, how much you're looking forward and
how much have you had to kind of dip into
the wall a little bit, get some tickets here and there,
and just what's that what's that pregame atmosphere gonna be
like for you seeing some friends for you know, the
first time again for a while, being able to play
in front of some family. Just uh, what's the lead
(23:34):
up to this to this week?
Speaker 7 (23:35):
Like, yeah, I mean I think of that and set
in it's not just a game, Like it's not just
a normal game for me, just because I grew up
with a lot of guys gonna be in the stand.
There's gonna be a lot of guys that I grew
up with who gonna be big Bengals fans. So I
think it's just gonna be really really cool to see
like a lot of familiar faces and coming to support
me and you know, throughout my entire journey and me
(23:57):
playing ball the same people who rooted for me when
I was in high school and to when I got
to college and even in the NFL now.
Speaker 4 (24:03):
I think it's super cool to have that experience.
Speaker 7 (24:06):
But like I said, like the most important thing that
I'm kind of excited about seeing my sister and seeing
my nephew. So that's probably the most exciting thing I'm
waiting for.
Speaker 1 (24:15):
Speaking of family, you became a father a couple of
years ago. I'm just curious how how was becoming a
dad changed you as a person, maybe changed you as
a football player.
Speaker 4 (24:24):
Definitely softened my heart, you know, just you can't be.
Speaker 7 (24:30):
Ultra aggressive with a child that's learning life every day,
who's curious about the things that they don't know. So
I think a lot of times, you know, be playing
this game the way that I played at a violent level.
I think it enables me to think that, like I
could be that way towards my son, but my son
had like taught me like I'm just a kid, and
(24:51):
you know, just being available and like showing up or
lett him know, like this is how who your dad
is and this is how your dad wants you to
see you. I think that's super super big and important
for me. So it definitely like has changed who I
am and who I'm becoming. Also like giving me more
patience too, So yeah, I love every bit of it.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
Well, it should be fun. You guys are on some
kind of streak offensively, obviously the football team one three straight,
looking for four. David Montgomery's going home looking forward to it.
Go show the home crowd de of what you guys
can do offensively. Appreciate taking the time.
Speaker 4 (25:22):
I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (25:27):
Welcome back to Toy Mohabeo Podcast presented by Microsoft. I'm
very happy about the man, Kelsey Conway. She does a
great job covering everything Cincinnati Bengals for the Cincinnati Inquire. Kels,
thanks for taking the time. I appreciate it.
Speaker 5 (25:38):
Thanks so much for having me on. It feels like
it's a rare matchup that I get to, like talk
about the Bengals and Allions with you. So I'm excited.
Speaker 1 (25:44):
I know, I like these kind of you know, interconference matchups.
You know, the you don't know much about the opponent.
There's a little bit uncertainty. Unfortunately for you guys, you're
coming off a very short week, having been Monday in Denver.
How are you doing sleepwise? You all right?
Speaker 5 (25:59):
You? Uh, Tuesday was a rough travel day back and
it felt like Wednesday. I was like, I don't think
my body really got on the clock until like three o'clock.
So today I feel back to normal. So we're good.
Speaker 2 (26:11):
I hear you.
Speaker 1 (26:12):
We had Baltimore last week. Now Baltimore's not obviously Denver,
so but those short weeks they add up. You know,
when you go those Thursdays and Thursdays that they start
to get crazy. We got one of those coming up
here too. But all right, let's get into this matchup
on Sunday. Kels, you look at three games in a
row now for Cincinnati under two hundred yards of offense,
(26:34):
and you look at all the weapons with Chase and
Higgins and brown and look, I know they don't have
obviously Joe Burrow, but Browning has played in this league.
He's played good football in this league. What is it about?
You know, these last few weeks. What's been the biggest
issue when you watch them offensively?
Speaker 5 (26:54):
So, I mean that's been like the NonStop question here
and Cincinnati, like we peppered the Bengals offensive course Dan
Pitcher with you know, six questions back to back to
back about the offensive production yesterday. And the way that
they look at it is different than the way I
look at it. But the way that they look at
it is that game against Minnesota, which was Browning's first start,
(27:17):
was an uncharacteristic five turnovers. Like under Zach Taylor, they
don't really turn the ball over much and they're not
really a high penalty team, and so against Minnesota they
had five turnovers and it was players like Jamar Chase
fumbling like it was just a weird game, and honestly,
like the game got so out of whack early they
couldn't have their full offensive playbook because once you get down,
(27:41):
you know, three scores on the road, you're just constantly
trying to throw the ball. And the Vikings had an
answer for all of that. So that was the story
of the Minnesota game. So Zach Taylor's like, turnovers, turnovers,
turnovers that killed us. That's the story of why we
can do anything on offense. Then everything was about a rebound,
and we talked to players and they were like, that
is not who we're going to be. We need to
(28:03):
play better. And I honestly thought they were going to
play a lot better against Denver. And then they came
out on Denver. They had a really awesome first drive,
they got a field goal out of it, and then
they just spiraled and they could not get a first down.
They had more penalties than first downs. They had eleven penalties.
And it just hasn't felt like the team has been
(28:24):
able to even give themselves a chance on offense to
run the ball or do more under center, because they're
constantly playing from behind eight ball, where it's like you
get a penalty and you're now first and fifteen, and
it just feels like they've shot themselves in the foot
too much with things that they can control, where it's
kind of hard to even judge what they are on offense.
Speaker 1 (28:44):
Well, how much do they have they talked about or
how much do they know? Kel said that they have
to fix it this week with a Detroit Lions team
that is maybe the opposite Right now, they are firing
on all cylinders offensively. They can run the football, they
can protect Jared Golf, they allowed to sack in three weeks.
They can you know, they ran for two hundred and
twenty four on Baltimore. They threw for three thirty and
(29:06):
five touchdowns on Chicago. They're number one on offense, their
top ten running and passing. So when an offense sees
that kind of task coming in, obviously don't play on
the field together at the same time. But when an
offense comes in, did you get a sense that they
feel like they've got to kind of figure some of
this out because Detroit's probably going to score some points here,
(29:27):
even on the road, and you got to kind of
you got to keep up with the Jones as if
you're Cincinnati's offense.
Speaker 5 (29:33):
One hundred percent. And we asked Bengals offensive coordinator Dan
Pitcher about statistically, like here's where the Lions rank, and
he said, well, I respect the numbers, he said, my
job is how to beat the tape, like I have
to watch and how to come up with a plan
to beat the tape. But I think that everybody knows
(29:53):
that they haven't been playing winning football and that of
all games for them to play sharp and have no
self inflicted issues, it would be this week because they
know that with Jake Browning, I mean, even if they
had Burrow, this was a game where I didn't have
them winning, just because I think the Detroit Lions are
so good in the trenches. I think, even without Burrow,
(30:15):
like they're going to have to play perfect, and I
still don't think perfect is enough because I think they
could have a great offensive game and then they haven't
been able to play better on defense. And on defense
they'll tell you, well, we've been on the field too
much because the offense hasn't been able to sustain drives.
So overall, it's just been a mess here in Cincinnati.
(30:37):
And I'm not really sure where the easy quick fix
is because I think they just have some deficiencies that
Joe Burrow covered up and right now you're looking.
Speaker 1 (30:47):
At them well. Sometimes coming home too after tough loss
like that, a short week, you don't have time to
reminisce about the week before. It's just about getting forward
in the next Sometimes that can do a team good
and refocus you a little bit too, And so hopefully
the fans in Cincinnati can look toward that maybe as
being something where they will play better football on both
sides of the ball. Kelsy Any injury issues with Cincinnati
(31:10):
coming in this game that might affect it. Are they
pretty healthy for the most part.
Speaker 5 (31:14):
They're pretty healthy. They haven't had Shamar Stewart, and I
think that's that's hurt them because I think they thought
he was going to be able to be a factor
opposite of Trey Hendrickston. And you know how it goes
with rookies if you miss three to four weeks. Coming
on top of the fact that he missed the entire
offseason with his contract drama, I think they're really missing him.
It doesn't look like he's going to play. He didn't
(31:34):
practice today and he is dealing with the low ankle spring,
and he told me it could be a couple of weeks.
So this will be Game three that he would miss,
So I think he'll have more of a chance next week,
So that that's probably the biggest injury. Offensively, they are
in good shape. They have their two receivers, they have Mikeasicki,
their offensive line is in really good shape from a
(31:55):
health standpoint. So other than that, they seem to be
pretty good from injury standpoint, which they need. They need
to be at full strength to try and even compete
with these Lions.
Speaker 1 (32:06):
You mentioned the wide receivers. When I was watching that
game Monday night, I noticed, just from the outside looking
in a little bit of frustration from Jamar Chase. And obviously,
you know, I understand it. You know, he's goes into
the season thinking he's going to have the quarterback where
the kindest season he had last year, and he's going
to be a big part of that. You don't get that.
But is there any worry in Cincinnati about Jamar and
(32:28):
the frustrations and maybe some of that, you know, bubbling
over a little bit and spilling out into other areas well.
Speaker 5 (32:35):
I'll tell you my I believe it was Jamar's rookie
season was my rookie season covering the Bengals, and they
were in Chicago, and he did not like how he
was featured in the game, and he just blasted Zach
Taylor to us post game. And Jamar is very outspoken,
and everybody respects it because he backs up what he says,
(32:57):
but he just is very matter of the fact. And
so all of us in the media, we're wondering after
that game in Denver, you know, how was the post
game going to be was he going to sound off,
like what was that going to be like? And he's
a captain this year, and he was very calm, cool
and collected, and didn't, you know, throw Zach Taylor under
the bus. He didn't throw the offensive game plan under
(33:19):
the bus, but he did say that they lacked a
want to on offense. And you could tell that that
bothered him because he goes out every game. He's one
of the most competitive people I've ever covered. So right now,
it seems like he's understanding the leadership part of his
evolution in the NFL, but he's a competitor at heart.
(33:42):
And I don't know how if in two more games,
if the offense continues to look as bad as it has.
I don't know how that's going to go over for
him and t Higgins. So right now, everybody's playing nice
in the Sandbux, but I'm not sure if there's if
they're there's two more humiliating losses that take place, Because
(34:03):
you know, the Bengals play the Packers next week to
another tough matchup. I don't know if I'll be able
to say the same thing, Kels.
Speaker 1 (34:10):
What's the biggest matchup for you heading into this game?
The Cincinnati Bengals need to do what to come back
home and get a big win against the Detroit Lions
team that's playing really good football right now and looking
to win four straight.
Speaker 5 (34:21):
I think they need to play really well up front
on both sides of the ball, but specifically on the
offensive line. They have not played well at all this year.
And you're talking about players you were counting on, like
Orlando Brown junior. They're starting left tackle, Ted Carris, their
starting center. All of those guys you were expecting to
not be an issue because the Bengals right now are
(34:43):
starting two rookie guards. Those two and Amarus MAM's on
the right side have got to play well because you
cannot afford against this Detroit Lions team with Hutchinson and
DJ Raider, who we all know well here. If they
don't give Jake any semblance of confidence by giving him
some time to get the ball to Jamar and t
I think it's going to be the same old, same old.
(35:05):
So I think the number one matchup for me is
the Bengals offensive line has to play their best game
of the season against Detroit to even give themselves a.
Speaker 1 (35:13):
Chance against the Lion last one forty kels can can
Cincinnati win and win consistently with Jake Browning at quarterback?
Speaker 5 (35:23):
I don't think so. I think that I thought when
Joe went down right, because I was covering the team
in twenty twenty three, when Jake Browning went four and
three as a starter. It just feels different this time
around with this offense. He was doing things more under center.
They had the screen game going like. It felt like
(35:43):
he took over an offense because there's later in the season.
It was November, he took over an offense that had
an identity. The fact that in his press conference on
Monday after they lost to the Broncos, he said we
have to figure out our identity. I don't think that's
a good place for a backup quarterback to enter, and
that's where they are. So I don't currently believe that
(36:04):
they can, you know, string together enough wins to even
make this a conversation in December about if Joe could
come back. But I mean, they could prove me wrong.
But it just it hasn't looked good at all the
last two weeks. And they're about to hit the stretch
where they play the Lions, the Packers and then the
Steelers and it's just gonna be tough sledding. So unfortunately,
I can't say objectively I think that they can be
(36:27):
competitive because it just hasn't looked good the last two weeks.
Speaker 1 (36:30):
Well, it hasn't looked good. But the Toroy Lions certainly
aren't taking them lightly. We talked to the assistant coaches,
the coordinators, and even the players have talked about the
weapons that they have on both sides of the ball.
How Chase and Higgins can be game breakers if you
let them be, how Brown's a good back. Obviously we
know what Trey can do. So look, the Lions aren't
taking them lightly, so there is certainly that out there
(36:50):
they're expecting a ballgame comes Sunday on the road in Cincinnati.
What's the weather looked like in Cincinnati this weekend.
Speaker 5 (36:57):
I think it's supposed to be beautiful like in the eighties.
Speaker 1 (37:00):
There we go, that's what we're talking about.
Speaker 5 (37:02):
It'll be a four pm kickoff, so I think the
sun won't be be down. But just a quick question
for you before we go. House. DJ Reader played but
it's been kind of hard to follow from Afar, but
he was a locker room favorite of mine in the
media here in Cincinnati.
Speaker 1 (37:17):
Dude, he's been great.
Speaker 5 (37:18):
You know.
Speaker 1 (37:19):
DJ Reader is one of the guys and Kelse. You know,
those guys don't always show up on the stat sheet, right,
They don't tear it up, but they take on those
double teams. They allow Jack Campbell to get the double
digit sacks. You know, they pushed the pocket in the
run game. Detroit Lions run defense that's top ten in
the NFL right now. And a big reason why is
because the DJ Reader and ty Leek Williams and they
don't even have a Lee McNeil yet. And he's coming
(37:40):
back off pup. He returned to practice this week. But
I love DJ. He's a great guy. He doesn't have
the Sea on his chest, but he is a CEE
in that defensive line room. You know him. He's one
of those great guys. He's playing a ton of snaps
for them. He's doing what he has to tell Leam
gets back here, and he's a big reason why they're
really really solid up the middle on defense. So he's
(38:01):
been really, really good good.
Speaker 5 (38:03):
Well, I'll be happy to share that update with fans
because I know he's a fan favorite, a media favorite,
so I'm glad that he's doing well in Detroit.
Speaker 1 (38:09):
Well, you do great things in Cincinnati, all you guys
out there, If you need anything on the Bengals, Kelsey
Conway is the person to go. She does a great
job with the Cincinnati Inquirre. Kelse, thanks so much for
taking the time. I appreciate you.
Speaker 5 (38:22):
Thanks so much. I'll see you in the press box
on Sunday.
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