10/21/24 - The Tony & Mo Football Show - Mo Egger

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
This is the Tony and Moo Football Show, Live from
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(00:21):
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Chevrolet Together, Let's drive on the official home of the
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Speaker 2 (00:39):
He is Early Zach Taylor at the podium right now
chatting with the assemble Pro Football Media.

Speaker 3 (00:44):
Good job of making sure they can lend the presence
where we need it. But he's got great awareness on
just how the protection works and how quickly he can
get out. You know, you look at he had two
huge checkdowns force yesterday in the past game. One of
them was is you know we completed it to him
short of the sticks, because that's really where the balls
got to go and he fought for exit yardage, got

(01:05):
us a big first down and then the one that
spit out led to the scoring drive. So overall, he's
got tremendous awareness in the in the past game and
the protection part of things, and that's what we thought
when we signed him, and so he's been a big.

Speaker 4 (01:16):
Piece of that.

Speaker 5 (01:17):
And we asked this yesterday, but after watching him, felt
what does she think of coding Ford's performance?

Speaker 3 (01:23):
Yeah, I thought he did what we needed him to do.
It's one of the toughest matchups you can have in
all football and and he gave us what we needed
to win. And so again really pleased with He's got
a composure about himself. He's a veteran, he's played a
lot of games in this league and so it's not
too big for him. He goes in there and does
his job and it's good to know that we can
count on.

Speaker 6 (01:43):
Was questionable day to day or weeks.

Speaker 3 (01:47):
I'd say that, I just say, well, we'll see where
it gets through every single day this week and.

Speaker 6 (01:54):
From the well as he's played this year, the numbers
suggests it has been really good.

Speaker 3 (01:58):
Among the best stats on the way how this year, Yeah,
I would agree with that. I think he's done a
really good job. I think Allian has done a really
good job. You know, you really I walked out yesterday
and you have the sequencing the second to last drive
before the half, we had two sacks, and you know,
you're on the sidelines on plays and you can't exactly
see what happens, and then you watch the tape and overall,

(02:19):
you know, we had that two play stretch. But I
thought those guys did a really good job. Some of
the times the coverages was pretty tight and so there
was nowhere for Joe to go with the ball and
two of those sacks and so we held it trying
to create something and then eventually a guy got free.
But I was really pleased all together with with the
protection they're giving Joe and face some really good line
defense lines and pressure looks, and those guys do a

(02:41):
great job communicating and and just going back to Orlando,
we've been really pleased with what we've gotten from him
this year.

Speaker 7 (02:47):
Orlando have to this time where any discussion about but
Marius had left or now.

Speaker 3 (02:53):
I think a Marius is doing a really good job
at right tackle. He's comfortable there. Of course, we We
always talked through what are the best options for offensive
line anytime we have something we got to adjust. But
I'm pleased with how he's doing over there.

Speaker 8 (03:06):
How do you view the depth at tackle right now?
You know?

Speaker 9 (03:09):
Or or do you have to consider something movement around
the guys you have in the background, or.

Speaker 3 (03:14):
You always talk through everything you know? And it's the
truth of it is, you know we've that those would
be two guys we've lost with Trent in Orlando if
Orlando is not able to play. But again, that's why
you got Cody for that way. You got some veterans
in there that can fill in at different spots and
not be overwhelmed by it. And you've got confidence in
him and that that's what Cody's given us.

Speaker 5 (03:35):
Because of what happened to Joe last year and and
him admitting that maybe he rushed back a little bit
too quickly with the cap strain. Does that factor in
your decision at all about how you grid manage this
play Orlando?

Speaker 4 (03:46):
No, I I think it's enough when you got Cody.

Speaker 8 (03:50):
I think at the time, at least publicly, it was
portrayed that he would compete for right tackle.

Speaker 2 (03:55):
Oh has his versatility kind of impressed you and then
made him more.

Speaker 3 (03:59):
Than I mean, his first tile goes back to the draft,
you know, when he was coming out of you. The
way we looked at him, it was kind of guard
tackle conversation. To see his career transpire. And Buffalo and Arizona,
he's done both of that. He's come here and done
it all and just whatever position you put him at,
he just approaches it the right way and gives you

(04:19):
a belief that he can do the job. And so
again that's that's a good quality to have in a
backup lineman. You got to be versatile, and he's done
that for us, he said.

Speaker 2 (04:29):
Yesterday, with some more all one stuff in the run game,
and you.

Speaker 10 (04:31):
Fill the show what you were thinking yesterday about maybe
ys and runs.

Speaker 3 (04:35):
There's a couple of times we're just one block away
and it's a different guy, different different point of attack, backside,
front side, and it's challenging when they've got that kind
of speed that they have.

Speaker 4 (04:46):
That's where it presents some issues.

Speaker 3 (04:47):
And so you always say, you know, you can be
a little bit better, but at the same time, you
got to give them credit for their speed and and
they can make it difficult on you. And so again
you just got to keep sticking with certain things and
eventually you get a drive that breaks through at some
points on the board. And I think those are the
opportunities we took advantage of the third quarter yesterday.

Speaker 7 (05:04):
What did the show you yesterday about stopping the run? Obviously,
Nick Shubb has had its days. You guys hit twenty
two yards on eleven carries. What, yeah, did you seem
positive there?

Speaker 4 (05:14):
It's huge.

Speaker 3 (05:15):
I mean, anytime you can do your best to make
a team one dimensional, you know, you play some teams
that you feel like their identity is set around the
run game, and so you do everything you can to
try to take that away. And and so again I
was I was proud of the effort. The quarterback got
out on one, you know, his zone red that he
kept for big play. But aside from that, when you
talk specifical about the running backs, I thought our guys

(05:35):
did a really good job honding in and getting the
ball carriers on the ground. You know, not many mistackles,
one of the fewest we've had all season, and so
that was critical, not getting those explosives out in the
run game and putting them in some tough situations and second,
third down.

Speaker 4 (05:48):
The defensive line who starting to kill right now.

Speaker 3 (05:51):
I think you're just finally seeing us healthy and everybody
back to full speed. And so it's good because now
you got some depth you can roll through there and
have some confidence with. And so I thought that all
the eight of those guys played it, played a good
number of snaps yesterday and and uh, we're able to
help us do the things we need to do to
put pressure on them.

Speaker 8 (06:08):
What's what's like.

Speaker 2 (06:09):
The most out of the defense these last two weeks?

Speaker 4 (06:13):
Not giving up points. That's it's as simple as that.

Speaker 6 (06:17):
There an aspect of how they're playing, or is there
any I think the way that they're operating and that
you think you really like that that's getting able them
not your one.

Speaker 3 (06:25):
I think they're doing a good job communicating. I think
just just making the tackles when they're in space has
been really pleasing to see. I think there's a lot
of good things that stand out. I think the coverage
has been good, the one on one coverage. Guys are
guys are competing, you know, guys are getting pressure on
the quarterback or when they do check the ball down,
you see two or three guys there flying around getting
the ball here on the ground. You know, if they

(06:46):
do have a stretch where they have two or three
positive plays, the guys not not getting discouraged and kind
of bowing up and keeping the points off the board.
And so I think there's been a lot of positives there,
especially the last two weeks.

Speaker 4 (06:57):
See see when you got a.

Speaker 2 (06:59):
Game like that, you know, that type of what everyone
to call it is to really clostly contest.

Speaker 8 (07:03):
The physical game. What do those kind of facts give you,
uh Zach and uh Chase?

Speaker 4 (07:10):
What kind of.

Speaker 7 (07:11):
A lift that they gave you against that type and
that type of game.

Speaker 3 (07:16):
Well, I mean again, it just goes back to when
you can just your defense keeps you in it long
enough where you can keep giving them some carries and
and one or two of them pop and they put
you in scoring range and then it just takes one
explosive pass and you're on the board. And so I
think that's really where to not get frustrated when it's
a when it's a zero, one two, and knowing okay,
well maybe we're we're just we can read it a

(07:39):
little differently. We can we can make more one more block,
that's a little different it. It opens everything up. And
so you just saw Chase this big run to start
the third quarter really open everything up for the offense,
not just the run game, it's it's everything. Then you
hit a play action and then everything starts to get
into sync and it just kind of catapults the offense
and we get some better rhythm and go from there.

Speaker 8 (07:57):
It seems like it online Norman thirty any offer.

Speaker 4 (08:00):
No, they don't, you know, the stuff matters.

Speaker 3 (08:03):
Yeah, they I mean, they're they're willing to help where
we want him to help with the protection. They're available
as the checkdowns. They do a good job when they
when we hand the ball to them. And so again
two guys that unselfish and and they're just willing to
help this oftense move forward.

Speaker 6 (08:18):
Done differently on that on that p I what would
you make the cover and kind of how you did and.

Speaker 8 (08:22):
How that wizards.

Speaker 3 (08:25):
When there was you know, got trying to look for
the ball a little sooner, I think, And and then
when the receiver plays into you sometimes it it can
look worse than it is. I can see what happens.
It's obviously obviously you don't. You want to avoid it
as best you can. It's kind of Unford sometimes where
the ball is thrown creates that look. But I think

(08:45):
just turn around, get your eyes on it sooner will help.
I think it's not a good job. I think dj
I thinks every week. I don't think he's ever lacked confidence,
but I see coming along more and more. The more
reps he gets, the more guys go after him, and
he's able to make some plays. And so again I'm
pleased with the direction that he's headed.

Speaker 8 (09:04):
How important were Eric and Drew is getting in the game.

Speaker 6 (09:07):
Plan you did and you obviously end up playing a
lot of steps together.

Speaker 4 (09:10):
Yeah, I mean, those guys very smart.

Speaker 3 (09:13):
You can count on them to help you in a
lot of different ways, and they do an excellent job
executing their jobs and allow us to be a little
more versatile, just with some of the run scheme. You know,
he saw them both in the backfield at times, he
saw both of the emotion and they got different jobs.
They got to assess the defense oftentimes on the move
and so and in protection. You know, sometimes those guys
were two on one on the defensive ends as well,

(09:33):
to try to take some of the pressure off the
old line. And so I thought they did a nice
job executing their jobs.

Speaker 9 (09:39):
Not to turn it into a referee thing, But last
two weeks Cordell has had pretty critical holy penalties that
looked like he was doing kind of similar type of things,
or they're coaching points to him on those two plays
that he's making, or how do you.

Speaker 3 (09:53):
Approach you want our guys to play physical and sometimes
when you I think they're both all the little different,
a little more different than you might initially think. And
sometimes when you're out in space and and you're vulnerable
there to be opened up, and you know, sometimes it's trills.
Sometimes they can react a certain way to kind of

(10:13):
get the call.

Speaker 4 (10:14):
It was.

Speaker 3 (10:14):
It was a bang bang poy there, you know, and
so I think go either way, and they called it
and and so we just got to be able to
overcome that.

Speaker 7 (10:21):
The topic of the refs, the that they.

Speaker 4 (10:26):
Wiped off against Jamar.

Speaker 8 (10:27):
Did they was that video assisted they determined it was.

Speaker 3 (10:30):
Uncouchable or did another I'm waiting. I'm waiting here on
that one. I'm waiting to hear on that one.

Speaker 8 (10:35):
That a Gino or Orlando did anything else pop up?
Injury wise?

Speaker 3 (10:39):
No, No, I mean guys will be sore defense played
a lot of snaps. But but aside from that, I
think we're relatively clean coming out of that one.

Speaker 7 (10:47):
You see anything on a film about the opening kickoff
that you didn't see why you see that.

Speaker 3 (10:54):
Guys just did their jobs. I mean every really, everybody
did a really nice job. Drew's the one who's in
isolation one on one, and Charlie's got a playoff of him,
and then Charlie finished the run. So I think everybody
did their job. Open up a big void. Drew was
right in the middle of that hole, and again that's
just like walking for a bubble on the perimeter. He
just kind of cover the guy up and let Charlie

(11:15):
go off of that. He did a good job setting
up the kicker, and then just I mean, it's a
dead sprint, did a great job with the strength on
the sideline there at the very end to finish the playoff,
and so just I mean, great, great momentum started there
for our team, especially when we got a nick job
run out of the tunnel, you know, and cool environment
that they got there for us to immediately take back
the moment. I thought that was a critical play in

(11:37):
the game obviously, and we didn't score in the first
half on offense, and so to have the seven to
sixth lead because of a big special teams play and
all I was just to hang in there and finally
find our groove there in the third quarter was really
the play of the game.

Speaker 4 (11:49):
Ultimately, you think that type of possible with the uldest real.

Speaker 3 (11:53):
Foreman, a man that is not quite my expertise. Uh,
I have to go back and watch a lot of
kicker returns to know that one.

Speaker 4 (12:03):
But I don't know was.

Speaker 10 (12:05):
That a return that you that you saw in films
as though that they were lived pretty close to breaking it,
and the breaking yesterday was that's something you had seen
the last couplets.

Speaker 3 (12:16):
I think that's an excellent job by Darren, you know,
just with the scheme of putting guys in a position
even a little different positions than we've been in previously
on all of our returns. And so he did a
really good job, uh, trying to put us in the
best position to win there and the guys believing in
the look and executing it. And so I thought that
was a really good job there by by Darren and

(12:36):
the whole unit kind of taking that look and running
with it. And starting the game the right way.

Speaker 8 (12:43):
The passing game is with.

Speaker 9 (12:44):
Very team Jamar centric the last couples, which obviously that's okay, right.

Speaker 8 (12:49):
A problem with that, but you, you and the guys
were really liking how everybody was kind of contributing for that.
Is that feel like you guys are kind of is that.

Speaker 9 (12:57):
In the way teams have been playing you and you
wish you were going back to getting more people would
involved in the passing game or.

Speaker 8 (13:02):
How do you feel about that?

Speaker 3 (13:03):
Yeah, I mean, really, the truth is it's it's always
we're going to get the ball to whoever's open, especially
can Sometimes when you're a game like that, you get
a little more man coverage. You're trying to find more
ways to get Tea and Jamar. They're your best players,
so you're trying to find ways to get them some
one on ones and and get them the ball to get.

Speaker 4 (13:22):
Us a spark.

Speaker 3 (13:22):
And so again it's it's there's plenty of players in
our playbook, and as you all know, there's always opportunities
for another guy to have five to ten catches in
the game. That's just the way you can go. And
just the last two weeks, the way it's shaken out
hasn't been that way, and we'll just continue to to
scheme it up every week to where you know, whoever's
open is gonna get the ball and just gonna do

(13:42):
a good job finding them. But there's gonna be some
times we're gonna find ways to get Jamar and t
the ball and make sure that they get it, and
make sure, you know, if we're stalling a little bit,
who's gonna give us a spark? Generally those two guys
are gonna get it. I mean through through jamarro Bra bubble.
Then he got eight yards on when pretty much everybody
else in he's gonna get zero yards. And so again
he made the first guy miss and then carried another

(14:04):
six guys another seven yards. And sometimes that is a spark.
The whole sideline feels that, the whole offense feels that,
and and so again, shame on us if if we're
not finding more ways to get them touches.

Speaker 4 (14:15):
How would you describe tease the metal?

Speaker 8 (14:17):
The way these are perches and metally trying to training
into them.

Speaker 3 (14:21):
It's not training camp for me, it's just conversations all spring.
It's it's just that this guy has always been about
the right stuff. Always know we can count he He's
shown that every single day he's been in this building.
He has been the same guy, same attitude, just a
winner and trying to do everything he can to move
this offense forward. And when he gets his opportunities, he

(14:41):
makes the most of it.

Speaker 6 (14:43):
In his position position specifically, how good the hold is
that to be that.

Speaker 4 (14:47):
Be that guy?

Speaker 3 (14:49):
You know, I can only speak to him, and he
shows no signs of a guy being in that position.
You know, he's just he's out here loving football and
doing a great job elevating his teammates. And when his
numbers called, he steps up and does a great job
communicating You love being around him. You know, you can't

(15:09):
ask for a better player and team.

Speaker 4 (15:14):
Thank you for all.

Speaker 2 (15:15):
Right there he goes Zach Taylor chatting with the assembled
Pro football media day after the Bengals go to Cleveland
and win twenty one to fourteen, the final score yesterday
the big news there and it's pretty encouraging. Tony and
I were talking about this, by the way, Moeggor with
Tony Pike, TONI and Mo Football show Gino Stone. I
think we all didn't if we didn't fear the worst
we might have been assuming it, and yet he's got

(15:37):
a Shin contusion, Zach Taylor says he is being categorized
as day to day X Ray's negative on his leg
or Orlando Brown's going to be questionable going into the week
of practice.

Speaker 8 (15:48):
Tennis leg on Wednesday.

Speaker 2 (15:50):
But all things considered, this team continues to enjoy remarkably
good health.

Speaker 8 (15:56):
Well, you say enjoy, And that's why I wanted to
start today. Are you good? I'm good because I don't
know I'm good following along social media wise the last
you know day or so, I don't know if you
know how to how do we approach the show today?
Are we excited because they won? Or do we need
to be mad because they won but they didn't play
well enough. I feel like there's a fine line that
a lot of people are angry about out there on
social media, and I just don't know how to approach

(16:17):
this show with my tone, like am I happy today?
I'm happy? My upset? What should I be? I'm happy?

Speaker 2 (16:22):
But look, I put it this way, great when not
a great performance?

Speaker 8 (16:29):
I mean they won for the first time in say,
eight tries in Cleveland.

Speaker 2 (16:33):
I just this was my point on social media if
you can't enjoy your team winning, if you're having such
a hard time with that, do something else, Yeah that
brings you joy. Like I'm a genuine believer, Like I
don't do stuff that doesn't make me happy.

Speaker 8 (16:49):
Yeah, I don't. I don't. I don't.

Speaker 2 (16:51):
I don't go places that I don't like. I don't
do things that don't bring me joy. I wouldn't have
this job if it didn't bring me joy. And so
I found folks on social media who are I'm having
a hard time enjoying the win. Well, if that's you,
go find something that you enjoy.

Speaker 8 (17:05):
Now.

Speaker 2 (17:05):
I enjoyed the win immensely, but I will be the
first to tell you that, specifically offensively, that performance when
they play good teams and they played a terrible one yesterday, yeah,
is not good enough. So what we're going to do, please,
is we're going to successfully thread the needle between enjoying
a victory talking about the fact the Bengals have gone

(17:26):
from one in four to three and four and if
they're not fully back in it, they've certainly taken some steps,
but also try to throw it away for the winning
to continue and for the performances to be good enough
when they played teams that are better than the Cleveland Browns,
like the one they played this Sunday.

Speaker 8 (17:41):
Yeah, they they haven't played their best and they won
two games, right, one and four. Let me tell you
going into too New York, Hey, Mo, offense is going
to disappear the next two weeks. Yeah, but they're gonna
win yeah games. Deal, Yeah, because I trust that the
offense is going to continue to bounce back. I get
that defensive four morm it's back to back weeks. I
know it's Daniel Jones. I know it's the Cleveland Browns.

(18:04):
Kerry car I go back to what we talked about
in Orlando when uc beat UCF. Winning at the highest
levels of football it's extremely hard to do, and winning
on the road at the hardest at the highest levels
of football is extremely hard to do. You need to
celebrate the wins, and if you get to celebrate wins
while also saying, man, it feels like there's a lot
of room for improvement. Yeah, that's a good thing. Because

(18:26):
if you win that game yesterday twenty one to fourteen,
and you feel like, man, they played a complete game,
probably not a good good outlook, you win that game
yesterday the way you did, and you're thinking, man, it
just feels like there's more out there. That's a good sign.
That means there's room for growth for this team going
forward into a crucial stretch where you're going to be
favored in both games at home, with the chance to

(18:47):
do what you talked about when you line it up
at one and four, get to five and four, going
to Baltimore, be a conversation in the trade deadline, Sign
me up for it.

Speaker 2 (18:55):
Good teams win in spite of that team cover on
the road, his favorites.

Speaker 8 (19:01):
Back to back weeks.

Speaker 2 (19:01):
Good teams win in spite of bad teams lose because
of I have said that for write down. Yeah right,
maybe get a T shirt or something. Good teams went
in spite of bad teams lose because of when they
were one and four. I can tell you what I did.
I said, let's apply context at one and four. The
record is awful. The context that you have to apply is, boy, offensively,

(19:25):
they're cooking, and if they continue to cook, this team's
gonna be okay. Context is needed. After consecutive wins, the
offense has slowed down considerably, but they've won those games.
They matter and they're not one in six because of
the offense. They're one in or the three and four
in spite of what the offense hasn't done the last
couple of weeks.

Speaker 8 (19:44):
And so now, how how do you take a.

Speaker 2 (19:47):
Unit that just two weeks ago is one of the
best three in the league and get it going again
in time for a better opponent on.

Speaker 8 (19:53):
Some We'll dive into that more today, but you can't.
You can't continue to just say, well, they played against
a good front, that's what happened. That can't be an
excuse anymore. So there is room for growth on the offense.
But to the folks that are mad or they get
big Man on social media out wins, So were they
happy of the Baltimore game because the offense scored enough
points that they should have won? Like, did you feel
better after that game than you did after actually winning

(20:15):
two football games on the road in the National Football Leagueah?

Speaker 2 (20:18):
Look, I mean to each and their own, if you
wake up every day looking for reasons to be angry
by all means, have have had it. I just I
can't relate too in the immediate aftermath of your team
winning a game in a place where they haven't won
for years, A meaningful game. You know, this isn't December
where they're from four and ten and improved to five

(20:38):
and ten. A meaningful game.

Speaker 8 (20:40):
I can't relate to being angry about that.

Speaker 2 (20:42):
I can't relate to not at least finding a morsel
of enjoyment out of that. And again my whole point was,
look come the first to admit that performance yesterday, from
the van McPherson perspective, to some of the play calling,
to the execution of the offense not good enough when
they played better teams. But I'd rather talk about those
things against the backdrop of, hey, let's enjoy the victory.

(21:05):
And I just I cannot relate to people who can't
do that ten years. If that's you, by all means
you do you as long as you're happy. But if
you can't, in my opinion, at least, if you can't
find some just shred of enjoyment when your team wins
a football game and it causes you that much much
angst and anxiety, find something that makes you happy.

Speaker 8 (21:29):
Ten years ago, you and I set out on this
journey of the Tony and most football. We're celebrating our
ten season together. Ten years. Yeah, together, And I remember
you sat me down before the first season and you said,
I just want this show to be a beacon of
hope for the fans. I want us to be positive.
I want us to celebrate wins, and we'll be critical
when we need to be critical. But gosh darn it,

(21:52):
I want to celebrate wins, and I want to make
victory Mondays a thing. And here we are getting to
celebrate a victory Monday. Bearcats basketball look great, Muskies look great.
FC Cincinnati one. The Bearcats beat Arizona State. They're five
and two in the Bengals one. What is there to
be mad about today? And it's beautiful outside?

Speaker 2 (22:08):
Cats win, Cats cover, Bengals win, Bengals cover. I think
we all have UC going to the final four.

Speaker 8 (22:14):
Yep, you see the final four teams. Avery probably a
lead eight.

Speaker 2 (22:17):
FC Cincinnati turned the Corners. Francona is our manager.

Speaker 8 (22:21):
Was that Cincinnati parlay the two teams in the World
Series the Reds combined to go seven to three against
this year? What is there to complain about? Why are
we mad? Life?

Speaker 2 (22:29):
These are the golden years? What are we right when
we're on our deathbeds? These are the times we're gonna
look back on with such great fudness.

Speaker 8 (22:37):
The twenty first of October twenty four. We have to
get a break in. We're a Twin Peaks. Oh, we
are doing like a no commercial hour today. I thought
that's what we were doing.

Speaker 2 (22:45):
You know which company we work for. Right We're at
Twin Peaks in Westchester. We're here till six o'clock. We'll
get you set up for the Tony Remo Football Show
on ESPN fifteen thirty, Cincinnati Sports Station. Now your chance
to win one thousand dollars entered this nation wide keyword
on our website.

Speaker 8 (23:04):
Shack. That's shack. You enter it now. I want to
save up to eighty percent on your energy bill. You've
got to dig for it.

Speaker 2 (23:11):
Twenty six minutes after three o'clock ESPN fifteen thirty is
the Tony Mo Football Show at Twin Peaks in Westchester.
We are here obviously this afternoon. We're back here a
week from today. We returned to Florence. Excuse me, two
weeks from this afternoon. That'll be after the Bengals.

Speaker 8 (23:28):
Take on the Las Vegas Raiders.

Speaker 2 (23:30):
Bengals and Eagles coming up this Sunday, Cincinnati winning yesterday
twenty one to fourteen. If you have not been to
Twin Peaks. First of all, there are two Monday night
football games tonight. We've got the World Series coming up.
Big College Football weekend. Twin Peaks, by the way, is
open late. Yes, so you've got a bear cat game

(23:51):
kicking off at ten fifteen on Saturday night, so you
name it, you could watch it here. The staff is awesome.
I just had my typical meat ball skillet. Yep, you
had some chicken tenders. I did tons of ice cold beer,
and we've got a gentleman who just brought us some weller.

Speaker 8 (24:06):
It's unbelievable this. We have literally the best listeners, without question,
in the world, and we appreciate them. Listening by no
means do you have to bring us a gift when
you come listen to us, but but we certainly appreciate it,
especially when you bring a gift as nice as what
this gentleman just brought us that and like a bottle
each Yeah, it's one thing to say, here's a poor
here's a drink. Yeah, take your own bottle with a

(24:28):
bottle home with you. Well, thank you very much, sir, Yes,
thank you way way too kind of you.

Speaker 2 (24:33):
It is twenty seven minutes after three o'clock. All right,
we're gonna get back on time. No more press conferences
between now and six o'clock. There's obviously a ton to
get to today, and all you know, joking aside it
is there's no such thing as a bad victory. It
was a great win for the Bengals because of what
it accomplished in the standings. It was a great win
to kind of get the monkey off everybody's back and

(24:54):
not going to Cleveland forever and winning. But it was
kind of a clunky offensive performance, and unfortunately that's not
the first time that I have said that. So I'm
going to dive into what's happened with the team offensively
over the last couple of weeks, because two weeks ago
we were frustrated about the fact that the Bengals were
wasting a great offensive performance against Washington against Baltimore where

(25:16):
they were metrically. The last two weeks have been different
for the offense itself, with a different result for the team.

Speaker 8 (25:23):
So lots to get to.

Speaker 2 (25:24):
We'll do some college football a little bit later on
the Bearcats win. We were watching Texas Georgia on Saturday
night and saw something that I'm not sure is really
great for the sport. We'll spend some time on that,
and I think we have to talk about the story
of the weekend in college football, which is a team
from the general area, the Indiana Hoosiers Man.

Speaker 8 (25:43):
We'll do that.

Speaker 2 (25:43):
We'll take a look at what's happening in the AFC Google.
Pittsburgh wins last night, Baltimore plays tonight. There is so
much to get to come on out and join this.
Twin peaks in Westchester twenty eight after three o'clock on
ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station. Credit approval from there.
Yours for life, Kelsey chev dot com. Zach Taylor a

(26:06):
short while ago announced that Orlando Brown is being called
questionable after coming out of yesterday's game with a knee issue.
That is pretty good news, all things considered. Great news
involving Geno Stone was carted off in an air cast.
They do the x rays after the game, they're negative,
and Taylor said that the safety you at his first

(26:27):
pick as a Bengal yesterday, knee contusion an a shin contoon,
a shin contusion, and they're calling him day to day
now that doesn't necessarily I guess guarantee that he's gonna
play the game on Sunday, but nonetheless remarkable news given
I think what we all feared yesterday afternoon Bengals and Eagles. Remember,

(26:49):
it's been moved to a one o'clock game on Sunday.
You'll hear it live on ESPN fifteen thirty pre game
coverage beginning at nine am Monday night Football Tonight, there
are two games. ESPN fifteen thirty has the Ravens and Bucks.
Fox Sports thirteen to sixty has the Chargers and Cardinals.
ESPN fifteen thirty also has the Marktops radio show at

(27:11):
six o'clock. By the way, Bearcats got a couple of
votes in the coaches poll.

Speaker 8 (27:15):
Huh oh.

Speaker 2 (27:16):
These poles have never meant less in the era of
the college football playoff.

Speaker 8 (27:19):
But nonetheless, the context for the Bearcats we have to
talk about is what if Yeah, I hate that it is?

Speaker 2 (27:24):
It is Xavier Great. Romaine Soda will have his jersey
number retire. The school announced that today well deserved yeah.
FC Cincinnati's playoff matchup is set. We'll take on New
York City on Monday night at the Soccer Venue on
the West end of Cincinnati in the first game of
a best of three MLS Cup Eastern Cup Eastern Conference

(27:45):
playoff series.

Speaker 8 (27:46):
Big win they got they needed.

Speaker 2 (27:47):
That was he for me to say, yeah, yeah, going,
as did the Cincinnati parlay. I the Queen City parlay
came up big Bengals, Bearcats, and FC Cincinnati, and I
think I.

Speaker 8 (27:57):
Could have taken the spread on all of them too,
and it would have boosted even more.

Speaker 2 (28:00):
To parlay with the Bengals and Bearcats. If you laid
the points and took FC Cincinnati was plus seven to twenty.
If you went money line, it was obviously significantly less.

Speaker 8 (28:10):
All Right, So.

Speaker 2 (28:12):
Something over the last couple of weeks has happened to
the offense. They were basically shut out in the first
half yesterday, the only points coming on the Charlie Jones
kickoff return. Not a lot of explosiveness, some good individual
performances T Higgins, I thought, again was terrific Gass day.
But two weeks ago we were talking about how the
Bengals are wasting great offense, and now we're talking about

(28:32):
how they're winning in spite of bad offense.

Speaker 8 (28:35):
What has happened on that side of the football. For me,
it's been the running game disappearing. You know, they ran
it in the game against the Giants, if you look
at just the stats, they ran it well, but that
was a Joe Burrow touchdown scamper and it was the
late touchdown run by Chase Brown when they were going

(28:55):
cover zero and selling out. Outside of that, they didn't
get anything going in the running game. If you look yesterday,
it was even worse. The Bengals were held to two
point four yards per carry on the ground yesterday. And
I'm not saying they've got to be a four yards
per carry team, but so much of what they were
doing well was complimenting each other run game to the
pass game. And when you're running it, well, sorry, you're

(29:17):
getting second and third manageables. Instead, you're seeing more third
and longs, second longs, which aren't conducive when you're playing
a good defensive front like the Cleveland Browns, and then
the other the defenses are winning with four and so
that's my biggest concern going forward, because everyone that I've
talked to about the offense to this point has been, well,

(29:37):
they'll be all right. They played against really good fronts. Okay, Well,
that can't just be an excuse to say, okay, well,
if you play against a good front, then all is.
It's not just Joe Burrow needs to be a hero.
You know, they didn't get the running game going, and
then I think in the second half they said, okay,
if we can't get the running game going, then we
need to make sure that we find our guys. Jamar Chase,

(30:00):
they found T Higgins. Both of them found the end zone,
both were given opportunities to do so. But it's been
for me the tight end play has dipped and the
running game has significantly dipped, and you don't have that balance,
you don't have the ability to go much play action.
You're not really influencing any the linebackers. It makes you
a little bit easier to guard because teams are able
to make you one to many.

Speaker 2 (30:21):
It just felt to me for stretches of the game yesterday,
like in the passing game, they couldn't get guys open,
which shouldn't be the case when you have Jamar Chase
and T Higgins. And I thought those two players played
well yesterday.

Speaker 8 (30:35):
Even t is not a ton of separation because everyone
talks like last week. I thought it was interesting because
I asked Austin on three sixty, I said, did we
miss something because every reporter is asking about T's physicality,
Like obviously T wanted to work on that, but that's
every reporter is asking about that. And then the outcry
after the game is, man, T Higgins, big physical, That's

(30:57):
how you win AFC North like tough physical games. Can
a guy like T Higgins? Well, are we confident when
he's gone next year that they can win games like
that if you don't have a T Higgins? So yeah,
the separation is alarming, and I know we're gonna get
into a conversation about wide receiver three. Yeah, because that
kind of loops onto the back of that.

Speaker 2 (31:17):
The word clunky, I use it a lot. Our guy
Paul Danner Junior used it in his piece talking about
yesterday's performance in the Athletic and so you know, in
a vacuum you can go well offensively. Yeah, maybe the
Browns are a bad matchup and maybe it is a
great front. But it is interesting to me, and I
think it's frustrating to a lot of people. We love

(31:38):
Joe Burrow, we love the offensive weaponry. The offensive line
this year is the best that he's played behind. It wasn't,
excuse me, terrific yesterday, but certainly better than some of
the offensive lines he played behind before. And yet for
a while now there have been these stretches of I
use the word clunky. You could just talk about not productivity,

(32:00):
whatever word you want to use, however you want to
describe it. There are these laws, these long laws, that
an offense of this caliber, with this quarterback and this
weaponry and with this time together, shouldn't experience. And that's frustrating.
That seems to be a common theme. And then when
I think of common themes, I think of common denominators,

(32:23):
and the common denominator for you and I has often
been to talk about the role of the play calling.

Speaker 8 (32:28):
Correct there has to be more ways to scheme right,
Like everyone knows what the Philadelphi Eagles, who's this week's opponent,
Saquon Barkley is a big part of that. Yeah, Well,
if you look at the common denominator of the teams
that they've played. Last Bengals against the Giants couldn't really
get anything going on the running game. Saquon Barkley ran
it for one to seventy six, and there's a lot
of talk about coaching in Philly. Yeah, they coached him

(32:49):
up for ten point four yards per carry against a
good front, right, because that was the reasoning we got
from everyone after the Giants game. That's a good front
that wreaks a lot of havoc. Yeah, it's a good
front four. Okay, Well, other teams can figure it out.
You know, I think we've we've talked multiple times about
the overtime. We've talked about third down situations. Don't I
don't have confidence right now when this team's in third

(33:11):
and fourth and short. It just doesn't feel like there's
the play designs there to allow these players to succeed.
And there could be an argument is it execution or
is it play calling or is it evaluating from a
scouting department. I don't know which one that falls in.
But more times than not, we've sat in these chairs
on Mondays over the last couple of years and we've
talked about play calling being an issue, and you continue

(33:33):
to go back to that common denominator and then look
at a game like yesterday or on third and long,
we're running the ball after a big turnover and a
chance to go put it away, and next thing, you know,
you're punting because you rent it on third down and
you're not trusting Evan McPherson right now at a fifty
seven yarder. So it just it doesn't feel We continue
to say the same thing, Live and Die with Joe

(33:55):
Burrow going about with Joe just there's too many times
calling wise, they're doing stuff and it just doesn't feel
like how many Mondays have we sat here mo and said,
we watch a full Sunday of football and you just
watch other teams and it's like, man, that's creative, or man,
how'd they get that guy's scheme that open? It's everywhere
except seemingly here where it's like man tease yards after

(34:18):
the catch, he's dragging people jamar elite after the catch,
Like we talk more about the playmakers than we do
the design.

Speaker 2 (34:25):
Is that play call or is it implementation of game plan?

Speaker 8 (34:29):
Or is it design of the offense? Well, see, I
think it starts at the I think at one you
have to have what your scheme and play design wants
to be, and then you've got to to mess your
personnel with it. So is that andre Yoshi Vash right
now or is it more Jermaine Burton who was the
third round pick, not the sixth round pick that Yoshi was.
Is it, you know, trying to like, what does what

(34:52):
does your skill set mess with your play design and
play calling? The best because the best coaches in all
of football they adapt to their personnel. The stubborn ones
say this is the way we're doing it. I don't
care about the personnel or not. Right now, we talked
Andy Reid. Andy Reid's doing it because they've lost wide receivers.
They lost Isaiah Pacheco, Travis Kelcey isn't producing, and Patrick

(35:15):
Mahomes is tied for first in the NFL in interceptions.
But they're winning in different ways. It feels like when
the Bengals win, they win one way right when the offense,
when the offense clicks, it's Jamar. You have to at
some point I want to sit back and say, and
they just they ran circles around that other team.

Speaker 2 (35:34):
For me, that the question is, like two weeks ago,
we were talking about how good this offense is.

Speaker 8 (35:38):
Why did it change in two weeks? I literally I
think the disappearance of the running game is a big reason,
because so much of the first couple of weeks was
what twelve personnel. We used twelve personnel. It's time Eric Hall.
Eric Hall had one target yesterday. Mike Kasicki has disappeared.
Has disappeared. So early in the season it was like Hudson,
Sample all, Kasicki, We're all having these huge games. Against

(36:01):
Kansas City. They were dominant, and now, outside of a
run that was called back for Chase Brown yesterday, not
a ton of explosiveness in the run game. And if
you can't get it going on the run game, you're
not gonna be in twelve personnel as much. So you
lose a lot of what I thought made this offense
more balanced in those two sets. But the problem is, again,
for two weeks now we've said, ah, they just played

(36:22):
a good front. You can't just live and die based
on all okay they're playing a week or front this
week will be good. No, okay, then you need to
do a better job to scheme guys up, to scheme
more opportunities in the run game, to find more cutback lanes,
or use what the defense does well against them, you know,
with a misdirection or a screen game, whatever it is,
to slow them down. You can't just come out of

(36:44):
the game and say, well, it's a tough matchup. It's
a good front. I know, it's a good front. I
know it's a tough matchup. But this is supposed to
be an e lead offense. This is supposed to be
an offense that can go score thirty on anybody. And
for two weeks, yes, the positive of the defense and
how they've played, and I think it gives so much
reason for optimism now because you still think, sure, offense

(37:05):
will get it figured out. Sure, but for two weeks
they've played losing football on the offense five of the ball.

Speaker 2 (37:09):
Yeah, I mean, my money is on them still offensively
being one of the best teams in the league. But
if if this continues just over the course, if this
continues on Sunday, they're gonna lose the.

Speaker 8 (37:22):
Game down philadelph Eagles. Correct.

Speaker 2 (37:23):
I mean, if I think it's fair to say that
if the offensive performance we saw specifically yesterday is what
we see on Sunday, that's a loss.

Speaker 8 (37:33):
And there's this overriding feel of finishing when you, like
against the Giants, you score on your first possession and
you get the ball back and it feels like, yeah,
go drive the stay cam. Yep. We talked about it
last week. Can you imagine in Cleveland, you go up
fourteen early, they're booing the thought, yes, so New York.
The huge borough play offense disappears yesterday, kickoff return, you

(37:57):
get the ball back, you don't convert a first down
in the half, you convert to in the game, you
have eighty six yards of total offense and no points.
Like back to back weeks, You've had a chance to
push it into overdrive and to and to to smash
that and you haven't. And I tweeted it yesterday. You
let bad teams stay in football games, bad things are
gonna happen. Yeah, it happened because things got tight at

(38:18):
than New York. And it happened at the end of
the half when Cleveland scored, because you thought, oh boy, yeah,
now they got life. Now. Granted, the defense came out
and got the job done. We've talked about momentum. We
talked about it now five different times for UC football,
talk about it with the Bengals as well. They cannot
continue to let these teams stick around in the first half.

Speaker 2 (38:37):
We do when we talk about U see, we've got
to talk about the recurring theme of the first half weirdness.
Has come back to hurt this team already, and we'll
continue if the end of first half woes continue. We're
here at Twin Peaks in Westchester, thirteen away from four o'clock.

Speaker 8 (38:53):
He's Tony Pike, moeg or Austin Elmore in the house. Wow,
didn't he didn't get it? Did he bring us in anything? Nope? Nope.
Some of these people they just they take take, take, take, take. Hey,
we won't even let you on quick kits today.

Speaker 2 (39:11):
You know again, it just it some There are days
where it feels like the whole world is mad at you.
And I figured maybe Austin is just getting in line.

Speaker 8 (39:20):
He might be. He might also be in line to
win today's prize. Who knows if they'll all that's right?
There is there is a prize up for grabs. That
there is you never know. I see details on that later.

Speaker 2 (39:28):
Two contenders in the house right now, we'll see what
happens in the clubhouse. Twelve minutes away from four o'clock
on ESPN fifteen thirty, Cincinnati Sports.

Speaker 1 (39:37):
Station, Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 8 (39:42):
We're at Twin Peaks in Westchester.

Speaker 2 (39:44):
It's the Tony and Mo Football Show a day after
the Bengals beat the Cleveland Browns twenty one to fourteen
to improve to three and four. Well, you have a
lot more to get to us or relates to that game.
We haven't really talked about what the defense did yesterday,
the Charlie Jones kickoff return. We'll do some college football
a little bit later on, talking about the AFC North
and so much more.

Speaker 8 (40:04):
Two hours to go Here at.

Speaker 2 (40:05):
Twin Peaks in Westchester on ESPN fifteen thirty, Cincinnati Sports Station.

Speaker 1 (40:10):
We are This is Dave Lappler, and you're listening to
the Home of the Bengals, ESPN fifteen thirty. This is
the Tony and Mo Football Show, Live from the Twin Peaks,
brought to you in part by Encore Technologies. Visit Encore
dot Tech pen Station East Coast Subs Penn Station. It's
all in good taste Honda East Cincinnati's Ultimate Honda Experience.

(40:33):
First State Bank Guilt on Billy Ralph's American Grill in Wilmington, Ohio,
just off I seventy one, Exit fifty inside the Holiday
and at the Roberts Center, and by your Tri State
Chevy Dealers. Chevrolet, the number one selling brand in Cincinnati
for the past eight years, Chevrolet Together. Let's drive on
the official home of the Bengals, Cincinnatis, ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 2 (40:57):
All right, I think we could call the way that unfolded.
We had a Zach Taylor press conference that went a
little bit long, and then we had to get caught
back up. I think we could refer to to the
first hour as a little clunky. We're back on time.
It's the Tony and Mo Football slunky. Clunky that's been
used a lot in the last twenty four hours. It's
a word that has been used a lot as it
relates to the Bengals offense. But nonetheless, we're back on time.

(41:20):
I'm dropping equipment. We have a lot of shout out
to Bob, who brought us a bottle Weller.

Speaker 8 (41:24):
Did we mention that on the air, that Bob, because
we need to shout out to Bob. You know we uh,
I know he's listening right now because you had to leave,
had to get back to work. This is the loyal listener.

Speaker 2 (41:34):
The tenth season of the Tony and Mo Football Show,
and we're certainly appreciative of anybody who comes out here.
But our guy, Bob did what I would imagine the
folks that we work for and work with are gonna
do at some point this year showered us with gifts.

Speaker 8 (41:49):
And your anniversary bottle or you know when you work
certain places, when you do something for so long, they're
milestone gifts. Yeah, that you get. And and then someone
that walked up then saw the bottles was listening on
the way here and they said, wait, he actually brought
you you like, didn't make that up? No, I making
it up.

Speaker 2 (42:05):
I will take a picture during the next brand We'll
send it out there.

Speaker 8 (42:08):
Love our listeners. Man, you don't have to give us anything.

Speaker 2 (42:11):
When in two thousand and thirteen or twelve that twelve,
I hit my fifteenth anniversary working for this company, and someone,
in order to celebrate this took me out for lunch.

Speaker 8 (42:25):
Wow, forgot, They're wolling my bad, I'll be anniversary. But
I like, yeah, And it was like checking savings.

Speaker 2 (42:37):
You know, and it wasn't We didn't go get a burger.
I mean, it was like, man, it had a cool,
nice meal and then a pan for it. Yeah, and
never got burst. And it's crazy and myself a fifteenth
anniversary lunch.

Speaker 8 (42:47):
It's crazy. In ten years we haven't had, you know,
a bourbon step up for the Tony and Moshew.

Speaker 2 (42:53):
Wait, you know, maybe maybe Weller will come up big. Anyway,
in all seriousness, thanks to our friend Bob for setting
us up.

Speaker 8 (42:58):
But we're here till six o'clock.

Speaker 2 (42:59):
If you haven't been, a twin peaks in Westchester, very
close to I seventy five. Get off at the Union
Center Boulevard exit and you could be here in just
about two minutes. We've talked a lot about the offense.
Here's what I would not want to do. Okay, go
back and replay that game, but instead of the Charlie
Jones kickoff return for a touchdown.

Speaker 8 (43:21):
It's a touchback. Yeah, a lot different.

Speaker 2 (43:24):
Like a kickoff return is always significant, they don't happen
that often kickoff return for a touchdown. Charlie watching him
return punts recently, I think has been going a little
bit too much east west. So it was great to
see him make a play. But you know, you talked
about how and I think we all felt like, here
we go take that and run instead. Can you imagine

(43:45):
with the way they played offensively, playing the game without
that happening, and instead it's a touchback?

Speaker 8 (43:52):
Right?

Speaker 2 (43:52):
And the Bengals just start their first drive.

Speaker 8 (43:54):
It's the same as the Giants when you say, okay,
what if Burrow just doesn't get a first down on
third and long on the first drive, You're asking the
same question. And you know that's a team yesterday that
comes in completely takes the momentum from Cleveland and then
you get the stops you're looking for and you can
do nothing to build upon it. Not just that, but
it felt at times dangerous in the first half, Like

(44:16):
there were multiple plays where I'm watching the ball get
thrown and I'm holding my breath to flash back to
see Joe Burrow up because he was taking a beating,
he was getting sacked, they were hitting him as he
was throwing. It was some uneasy moments. Again, zero for
six on third downs in the first half, two for
thirteen for the game. Yeah, like that's not gonna win

(44:37):
you a lot of games. You know, it's and I
know talking about the injury. The point of the injury,
Deshaun Watson was fifteen to seventeen now, not a lot
going down, but it felt like he was starting to
find a rhythm, look comfortable. Yeah, and dcr comes in
and they lead the touchdown drive and all of a
sudden it's Nick Chubbs scoring and then they get the

(44:57):
ball coming out and you start to think, here we
go again. Yeah, like back to back weeks, defense stellar
first half. Offense did nothing to create separation. Offense did
nothing to show that that killer instinct that you want
to see out of your football team, that's gonna go
out and put someone away. Instead, you let them hanging around.
You string it along a little further and even until

(45:19):
the end. I mean, you're a on side kick, which
I know isn't a high probability, but you still leave
the door open right for Cleveland late in that game
with Jamis Winston taking him down the field. So there
there's a fine line. A win is a win, like
you can't take it away. Whether you win like the
Washington Commanders did yesterday, you win like the Cincinnati Bengals

(45:39):
did yesterday. You appreciate them, you celebrate them, But one
like Yester, you got a lot to work on from it.

Speaker 2 (45:46):
So I do want to talk about three different sequences
the Bengals had offensively in the second half. I think
we would be remiss if we didn't spend some time
on the defense. You mentioned Nick Chubb scored a touchdown,
but for just the fourth time in his career, and
again where he has over ten carries, he averages fewer
than three yards of pop two per obviously his first
game back, so you might not have been expecting a

(46:07):
huge rushing performance, but overall did a good job on him.

Speaker 8 (46:10):
And that was your concerning I mean, that was if
you're going into the game, you're concerned about Nick Chubb
and to be able to control what he was not able.
I mean, you let a guy like that get going,
you're in trouble and they put a stop to him. Now,
I've talked about this a little earlier, like you have
to kind of pick your poison. Cleveland tight ends did
whatever they wanted, had fourteen catches in a touchdowne hundred

(46:33):
and eighteen yards in the game. But you limit the
outside production from the receiving corps, you limit them in
the backfield. You hold them under three as a team
yards per carry by far and above a winning performance
from the defense yesterday. And when you do that, when
you went on first and second down, Trey Hendrickson continued
to live in the backfield. Sam Hubbard had a sacond
interception yesterday on a ball that Hendrickson hit in the air,

(46:57):
Gino Stone came up with an interception. Sheridan Rankins had
a good show rangsad like when you force teams into
uncomfortable down in distances, good things can happen, and that
was a for back to back weeks. A good step
forward often brought it up. On sinty three sixty Miles
Murphy was covering guys in the end zone. A pass
break up in the end zone. So let's how you're

(47:17):
draw it up. I thought. I thought the D line
as a unit played better. And when the D line
plays better, all of a sudden, ten solo tackles for
Jermaine Pratt, they can do their thirteen total, ten more
tackles for Logan Wilson they combined for twenty three. When
the linebackers have tackle totals like that, that's telling you
that the front four are doing their jobs well.

Speaker 2 (47:35):
Four sacks, eleven hits. And we'll get into Trey Hendrickson
specifically later on nearly nearly, because they did give up
a touchdown in the final two minutes. They came this
close to having back to back performances where the other
team scored fewer than ten points. Again, this is two
weeks ago. We talked about this maybe being the worst
defense in the league. And you can say what you
want about how bad the Giants are offensively, and they

(47:57):
scored three points yesterday, and how bad the Browns are
are across the board. That's fine, you got a feast
on those teams. And I keep coming back to this
health now Geno Stone being as healthy as he appears
to be in the aftermath of I think what we
all feared yesterday feels miraculous. But boy, you look at
the overall quantity on the defensive line of guys who

(48:19):
are contributing and what they could take advantage of in
terms of a rotation, and I think this, I think
the ceiling for the defense is higher than many would
have even believed two weeks ago. And I'll acknowledge the
defenses are the offenses they've played the last couple.

Speaker 8 (48:33):
Of games aren't very good.

Speaker 2 (48:35):
But I do think if they can continue to enjoy health,
which is a huge if, I think the ceiling for
the defense is actually a little bit higher than people
might be willing to admit.

Speaker 8 (48:43):
Cam Taylor Britt made a couple good plays yesterday. How
DJ Turner made a couple of good plays yesterday. For me,
I think when you start to look at Okay upside,
it feels like on the interior part of the D line,
they'll just get better. BJ Hill and Sheldon Rankins. And
then you have two rookies. You're still one more on
mckilly Jackson. But Chris Jenkins is improving every time he
takes the field. Yes, So the longer those guys play,

(49:05):
you were hear it all the time, the longer they
don't really become rookies anymore, all right, So you get
them involved. You got this four man rotation from the
interior defensive line standpoint. And when they've been healthy, I mean,
look what they did against Dereck Henry outside of the
overtime or outside of the end of that game. When
they've been healthy, they have dealt with the run game
very well. The question will remain do they have enough

(49:26):
to consistently get after the passer? Because when you do,
and you sack the quarterback four times and hit him
like you said, that takes the pressure off the secondary.
They don't have to cover as long. Passes aren't as accurate.
So for me, I still circle that defensive end position.
If you're gonna line up and look at somebody at
the deadline or how to make this team better, that

(49:47):
is the position because I feel like it helps every
other position on the defense. Yeah. I could not agree more.
And you tip your cap as well when we talk
about those guys to the draft class of this season,
which at this point is having pretty posits. Yeah. Absolutely.

Speaker 2 (50:01):
I want to spend when we come back up some
time on three different sequences that a lot of us
grumbled about me and one of them less than the others.

Speaker 8 (50:12):
But you don't do it on Twitter. No, it's a
battleground right now. It is.

Speaker 2 (50:18):
But Twitter was angry yesterday. Twitter wasn't angry.

Speaker 8 (50:21):
For as many times as we sit back, like, man,
I love this app, there are days where like I
just need to get away from this app.

Speaker 2 (50:28):
Yeah, well see yesterday I kind of leaned into a
little bit. Yeah, and then do that every now and
then sometimes you do and then I call out the brendle.
And then a buddy of mine texted me and was like, man,
you're on one today online and I'm like, you know what,
I don't think I want to be on one online.
So I'm just gonna watch the football game, hang out
and just do my thing.

Speaker 8 (50:47):
But yeah, it was.

Speaker 2 (50:49):
It was as a contentious space yesterday. I'm becoming more
and more of an Instagram guy.

Speaker 8 (50:54):
I think you should switch everything you have to LinkedIn.
I think you're fantastic on LinkedIn.

Speaker 2 (50:58):
Do you maybe I'll post on linked during the break?
It is sixteen minutes after four o'clock. By the way,
guy know not only didn't bring his wallet, but he
like brought a buddy of his.

Speaker 8 (51:09):
Oh no, yeah, hey, we're gonna take Moat for his
fifteenth come with us, and.

Speaker 2 (51:12):
Then like this, poor dude's looking at me like, well,
I don't want to have to pay, right, So he
paid for himself.

Speaker 8 (51:16):
I paid. You paid on your work anniversary.

Speaker 2 (51:18):
Fifteenth anniversary? God taking a lunch.

Speaker 8 (51:21):
I had to pay U.

Speaker 2 (51:24):
So you're coming up on three l No, well, no,
twenty seven December, right?

Speaker 4 (51:29):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (51:29):
Twenty seven? Twenty seven years working here?

Speaker 8 (51:31):
Man? Kind of sad?

Speaker 2 (51:35):
Are you aiming for fifty I'm aiming for twenty eight, man, Okay,
I just want to be able to come like it, dude,
Small goals, man, I just want to get to tomorrow. Okay,
you work in this business long enough. You just you
don't make long range plans.

Speaker 8 (51:48):
Yeah, you thought that today to start at the end
of the seventy three six you didn't know if you
were even on air anymore. True.

Speaker 2 (51:54):
Sixteen after four o'clock Tony and Mo Football Show, We're
at Twin Peaks in west Chester until six o'clock on
ESPN fifteen thirty, Cincinnati Sports Station.

Speaker 1 (52:05):
In the Natti brought to you in part by modern
office methods on the official home of the Bengals, Cincinnatis,
ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 2 (52:17):
Four o'clock ESPN fifteen thirty The tonym Football Show from
Twin Peaks in Westchester.

Speaker 8 (52:23):
We are here till six o'clock.

Speaker 2 (52:26):
By the way, I just tweeted out the bottles of
Weller that our guy.

Speaker 8 (52:29):
B Weller, does Weller have a Twitter account? You know
what I should attack? You'll talk about do that.

Speaker 2 (52:35):
You can edit tweets now, Yeah, one one might argue,
maybe I should have taken advantage of that function all
times in my life.

Speaker 8 (52:42):
You can edit tweets or you can delete them, whatever
you want to do.

Speaker 2 (52:44):
Sometimes sometimes you delete them, yep. Sometimes you go, you
know what, maybe maybe let's take that one back.

Speaker 8 (52:50):
Yep, happens in life. It's a great thing. Like they
are looking back on it, now, do you regret deleting?
Would you have edited it? Would you have changed nothing?

Speaker 2 (52:59):
That little man on my shoulder, h there's just two
of them, which one that oftentimes says, why don't you
just tell that joke to the friend that you're with?
I wish I wish he would have made the one
o'clock kickoff yesterday. You know, sometimes you need.

Speaker 8 (53:14):
I gotta just again take that that part of your
crowd to LinkedIn. Yeah, maybe you know, I gotta be
a big LinkedIn guy. It's just your LinkedIn updates are
some of my favorite things. Austin turned me on to
him a while ago. You're you're a fantastic follow on.

Speaker 2 (53:27):
There are there are times where like it's like, all right,
I got a buddy of mine here with me. He'll
laugh at this joke, and then it's him and it's
mind and we're good, right. And then there are times
I was like, now, let's share that with everybody.

Speaker 8 (53:38):
Yep, and then luckily you can get those back.

Speaker 2 (53:41):
Usually there's that little voice, no, no, mo, Just share
that with whoever.

Speaker 8 (53:45):
You're with and just take the win. Now, just take
the win. You got to laugh. Okay, I did it.
I did it yesterday.

Speaker 2 (53:53):
Six minutes and two seconds remaining in the game, the
Bengals are up fourteen to six. They have the ball
in a third and eight at the Cleveland forty one
yard line, so they're in Technically, I guess you could
say they're an Evan McPherson field goal range. And that's
an entirely different issue that we have to talk about.
They end up running the ball with Zach Moss instead

(54:15):
of throwing.

Speaker 8 (54:15):
Did you have an issue with that? Yeah, just because
if you take what happened throughout the game, they had
done nothing to give you confidence that they were gonna
be able to continue to throw the ball like that. That,
to me was was my biggest issue in seeing it,
as you were terrible running the ball. Schematically you could
not do it, So why are you doing it in

(54:37):
that instance if you're not running it to try to
set up and take points? Yeah, get to me was
the weird part. I just it was one of those
things that doesn't feel like it at one hundred percent
meshes with where it should, and especially Zach Moss. It's
like Zach Moss isn't like Zach isn't getting the production
right now that he was early in the season. And

(54:59):
I still think he valuable, and I still think there's
a spot here for him, sure, but it wasn't there.

Speaker 2 (55:04):
Brown's better, Chase Brown's a better player. You call it
what it is, it's a better player. Chase Brown is better.

Speaker 8 (55:08):
And Chase Brown gives you something that Zach Moss does
it and it's the ability, yeah, to explode every opportunity
you get. So I I looked at that as again,
I'm either putting the ball in Joe Burrow's hands or
Chase Brown's hands. Well, the Zach Moss thing doesn't make sense.

Speaker 2 (55:25):
In that situation. And Rico had a pun to the
eleven yard line and so okay, but if that play
got stopped, it's a fifty eight yard field goal. They
chose not to kick it, fine, yep, But throw a
pass right like it's Joe Burrow. Throw a pass and
if it's incomplete, it's incomplete.

Speaker 8 (55:44):
You're punning.

Speaker 2 (55:44):
If he gets sacked, Frankly, Rico might have a little
bit more room to work with.

Speaker 8 (55:48):
And you have Joe Burrow, right, how many we've done
that multiple times? This year. Already, third down are important
parts of the game, and you have Joe frickin' Burrow
as your quarterback and you're you're asking him to hand
the ball off. Where again, it's at the point of
the game where if you just go score, you're gonna
drive this day, it's over. Backup quarterback is in, they're

(56:10):
not doing anything. You keep giving them life when you
make those plays, especially when the defense just got the
ball back for you, right all right.

Speaker 2 (56:18):
So midway through the fourth quarter, they get the ball
back deep in their own end after the Dorian Thompson
Robinson intentional grounding, which I thought was gonna be a
bad call, so did I go on Trey Hendrickson for
roughing the passer. Fortunately, and ends up being intentional grounding.
So the Bengals get the ball back at their own
free they get a first down and then four straight

(56:40):
run plays. This one didn't bother me as much. I'm
up multiple scores. Yeah, they're using a backup quarterback, who,
by the way, two plays later would throw an interception. Well,
talk about what happened next in the second but that
sequence right there, they run it on third and seven,
Chase Brown, he actually did gain three yards. They punted

(57:02):
away from their own nineteen yard line fourth and four.
Did you have an issue with that sequence? They bled
three and a half minutes.

Speaker 8 (57:08):
Off at that point. To me, the time coming off
the clock is important, and the score twenty one s well,
you're just talking about it was a one score game
and you're handing the ball off the Zach Moss two
score game. You're backed up a little bit in your
end zone. The worst thing that can happen is what
safety or strip, sack and an easy touchdown to Whereas

(57:29):
on the previous drive we just mentioned, if you take
a sack or a negative play, it's more room for
Rico to punt this one. You're up multiple touchdowns, and
you got a team that's playing with their backup quarterback.
If I'm up multiple scores, I'm good. I'm good kicking
it away. For many reasons, It's similar to what we
talked about Saturday during the UC game. Head Hawks made

(57:50):
the field goal. It's a three score game. You take
the points, and now you're up three scores. You make
the one dimensional with Dorian Thompson Robinson, and you're backed
up a little bit. Take the time off the clock
and say Okay, if you're gonna make this a game,
you're gonna score fifteen points on us in the last
three and a half minutes.

Speaker 2 (58:04):
All right, here's one I didn't like. So Dorian Thompson
Robinson throws the interception, Geno Stone returns it forty nine
yards to the Browns thirty yard line.

Speaker 8 (58:15):
Yep, this is your chance at a kill shot. Yep.

Speaker 2 (58:17):
Now, you granted the chances are, your chances are, you're
still gonna win the football game. But here here's your
chance for a kill shot at the thirty yard line.
And then instead three straight runs and Evan McPherson misses
a fifty yard field goal. There is where I would
have liked to have seen a little bit more aggressiveness
because of who I have, because of where I've got

(58:38):
the football.

Speaker 8 (58:39):
And we just got over a similar scenario when McPherson
missed the kick against the Baltimore Ravens. It felt so
similar to the drive after the Lamar Jackson fumble, where
they just said, hey, we're good where we are. We
don't need to get any yards. And as you mentioned,
it's not opportunity to finish an opponent, right, it's the
opportunity to take away any life that they have. Yes,

(59:02):
and you just leave that door opened and you leave
it cracked. That to me that that was probably my
biggest issue outside the third and seven run because it
was one position bothered me. That situation bothered me because again,
now you're up the two scores, so you have a
little bit more of leeway. Let Joe Burrow go finish it,

(59:22):
or let Joe Burrow just get eight more yards on
the pitch and catch. When they have two receivers who
we've we've spent time and we'll spend more time talking
about yards after the catch. Yeah, give them a touch
and space.

Speaker 2 (59:32):
So here's the thing Evan McPherson. Now, the kick he
attempted yesterday was barely fifty yards, but it was no
good wide.

Speaker 8 (59:40):
Right.

Speaker 2 (59:41):
What makes Evan McPherson special is supposed to be his
ability from distance, Yeah, and how that shapes your play calling.
So in twenty twenty one, in twenty twenty two from
fifty yards and more including playoffs, yes.

Speaker 8 (59:57):
Seventeen of nineteen, didn't Danny mac didn't it feel like
when he was in that room that that zone that
like fifty five and under was automatic.

Speaker 2 (01:00:05):
Yeah, since two thousand the start of the twenty twenty
three season last year ten of seventeen. Now, that might
be fine, and he's you know, still pretty reliable when
it comes to kicks inside fifty yards and pats. But
what makes him special is his ability from distance. And
I would also say his ability in clutch moments because

(01:00:27):
he's made some of the biggest kicks in in franchise history.
But when they drafted him and we knew about how
big his leg was, you and I talked about this
can change how you call a game. You don't have
to be quite as aggressive in situations that don't merit it.
But the key is he's got to make the kicks
on a frequent on a basis.

Speaker 8 (01:00:43):
He's not doing that.

Speaker 2 (01:00:45):
So what they did there is they said, look, we're
going to take the three with Evan McPherson, who's automatic,
but he's not automatic anymore.

Speaker 8 (01:00:52):
Yeah. I follow an account on social media gridiron grading.
He tweeted out yesterday. Right now mc fierce in his
bottom five in the NFL and field goal percentage. Yeah,
So if that's reverse, if he's top five, then the
conversation we're having right now is different, right, because if
he's money from fifty, Go get the points. When you

(01:01:13):
have a field goal kicker that's not making kicks and
he's struggling, and you're also paying him six million dollars
a year, well then the play calling doesn't match right.
If your guy's struggling, you know what you could do
to help him? Make it a forty yard field goal.
Give the ball to Joe Burrow, let him go get
eight to ten more yards and let him Macpherson kick

(01:01:33):
a forty two yarder or a thirty eight yarder or
better yet, go score and put the stake through the
opposing team. That killer instinct, that mentality of we are
going to bury this team. We're not going to give
them a chance. We're not going to give them any
light of day. They just leave that door open too much,
in my opinion.

Speaker 2 (01:01:53):
So he's ten of thirteen on the season, which is
a shade under seventy seven percent. Now, one of those
misses was the Ryan Rico lay the all down flat
against the ground. I don't really put that on Evan,
But look, I'm still happy with him as the kicker.
But what makes him different, what's supposed to make him different,
is that justin Tucker. You know what, we can settle
for three year because it's twenty one six. If you

(01:02:15):
get three, you go up three scores. But you got
to make the kick outside of fifty Justin Tucker makes
that kick twenty one and twenty two. Evan McPherson makes
that kick. Evan McPherson since hasn't made that kick enough
for me to not be a little bit more aggressive
that even.

Speaker 8 (01:02:29):
On the go back to the first scenario you brought
up with Zach Moss, even if you do run it,
you're saying right now, you're not comfortable in McPherson from
fifty seven. And I didn't think we'd be there a
year ago or two years ago. I thought fifty five
to fifty, like, you feel good about that, especially when
it's to make it a two score game. So granted again,

(01:02:49):
did you? And this is why I think it comes
down to play calling versus execution as well. Maybe the
right play was called, it was executed poorly, but still yeah,
by calling that play and taking the ball out of
Joe burrow hands, you allow for the possibility of the
poor execution, which again keeps the door open for the
Cleveland Browns. I just in that situation.

Speaker 2 (01:03:08):
It's not unlike overtime in the game against Baltimore. Take
your shot and if you don't convert on first down, okay,
now let's run it, make him use some timeouts, get
the clock moving. But let's use our quarterback, our MVP
caliber quarterback, the face of our franchise, to end the game.
And instead they lean on Evan McPherson. And again, two

(01:03:29):
years ago, it made sense to do that. I don't
think he has been good enough from distance for you
to say, you know what, We're gonna hand the ball off,
take the ball out of Burrow's hands and see if
Evan can make a kick that. Frankly, he hasn't made
nearly enough recently.

Speaker 8 (01:03:41):
And you see it at every level, every weekend and
every sport. When you let a bad team hang around, yeah,
bad things happen to you. And right now this Bengals
team is flirting with disaster. Yes, they've already flirted with
it because they let the Patriots hang around, right And
week by week, the more I watch the Patriots, the
more I'm dumbfounded by that. But New York Cleveland back

(01:04:03):
to back weeks, That's why I say take the win.
And go because you've stolen two wins because you have
not played well enough offensively or special teams wise to
win those games. And louin a rumo on the defensive,
got it done. You take that and run and you
figure it out on the other end.

Speaker 2 (01:04:17):
All right, we need to make the distinction between uncatchable
and not likely to be caught.

Speaker 8 (01:04:23):
That is coming up when we come back.

Speaker 2 (01:04:24):
We'll also talk about Trey Hendrickson and I've got a
question about tight ends and an unused resource coming up.
Tony and Mo Football Show twin Peaks, Westchester, ESPN fifteen thirty,
Cincinnati Sports Station.

Speaker 1 (01:04:38):
You've been listening to football in Thenetti on the official
home of the Bengals, Cincinnatis, ESPN fifteen thirty. Cincinnati Sports Station.

Speaker 4 (01:04:49):

Speaker 2 (01:04:52):
Said Lions are a service of Kelsey Chevrolet, home of
lifetime powertrain protection and guaranteed credit approval from their family
to yours for live. Kelsey sh X rays negative on
Geno's stone. Zach Taylor today said the safety has a
shin contusion and is being ruled day to day. Orlando
Brown will be designated as questionable this week after he

(01:05:12):
came out of yesterday's game. Bengals getting set to take
on the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday at the venue originally known
as Paul Brown Stadium. Kickoff at one o'clock. Pregame cover
it starts at nine am on ESPN fifteen thirty. We
have two Monday night football games.

Speaker 8 (01:05:26):
Tonight.

Speaker 2 (01:05:27):
Radio coverage of Ravens v. Bucks is on ESPN fifteen thirty.
You can hear the Chargers and Cardinals, which airs on
ESPN plus.

Speaker 8 (01:05:37):
Oh whoa wait, it also airs on Fox Sports thirteen sixty. Yeah,
fly by nine man, that's embarrassing. Not ready for big time.
It's embarrassing that something like the NFL has to resort
to streaming services, right, I guess they joined the Big twelve.

Speaker 2 (01:05:55):
Just embarrassing, not serious. It's not big time. No Chargers, Cardinal.

Speaker 8 (01:06:00):
They don't take themselves seriously. Uh.

Speaker 2 (01:06:02):
College football and the Marks Doube Show tonight at six
on ESPN fifteen thirty FC Cincinnati.

Speaker 8 (01:06:06):
He knows who they.

Speaker 2 (01:06:08):
Will play and when they will play NYC on Monday night,
Best two out of three, Game one in Cincinnati at
six forty five a week from tonight. And of course,
the World Series is at Yankees Dodgers Game one on
Friday night.

Speaker 8 (01:06:22):
That was a bad loss for Kentucky. It was it's
a bad loss, bad loss against floor back to back
weeks of Yeah, letdown after they Old Miss win, which
was awesome. But like, I have a lot of Kentucky
fans in my life who when they beat All Miss
sort of said in jest but not really.

Speaker 2 (01:06:38):
Watch now they'll lose the next couple And yes, exactly
what's happened. Yeah, that's exactly what's happened. What has happened
to the tight end position?

Speaker 8 (01:06:48):
Cool? It's a great question. Let me ask you this.

Speaker 2 (01:06:52):
Mike KASICKI played all of sixteen snaps yesterday. Yeah, what
haes hack happened to? Mike's a miss man.

Speaker 8 (01:06:57):
I I was one at the start of try camp.
I thought he was gonna have a monster year. I
thought he'd be the third leading receiver on the team.
I thought he would be able to win one on
one matchups. I thought he would get easy one on
one matchups, mostly because of the attention that T Higgins
and Jamar Chase draw and because he seemed to be
meshing well with Joe Burrow early in camp. I'm dumbfounded.

(01:07:20):
I cannot figure out why he is struggling the way
he is. And when he's struggling, he said, okay, well
then run more twelve personnel and all of a sudden,
Eric Hall is not a factor of the passing game.
Drew sample is not a the Kansas City game, they
were all fact and blockers, but you're just not getting anything.

(01:07:42):
But they haven't ran the ball extremely well the last
two games. Sure, so you know last game you asked MIKEA.
Sicky to make a block on Brian Burns, which I
don't know why they're doing. It's just been a it's
a weird because the offense, and you figure the offense
is going to evolve, it feels like it's deal a
little bit on the run game in the tight end position.

Speaker 2 (01:08:04):
What about the third wide receiver andre Josavasha on the
field for seventy percent of their offensive snaps yesterday and
I didn't even notice him.

Speaker 8 (01:08:11):
I think that right now offensively should be the biggest
concern and the biggest question, because one you have this,
you have this dynamic where it should be a position
to thrive in because you do have good tight end play,
you have Jamar Chase, you have t Higgins. You should
be winning one on one matchups. You should be able

(01:08:32):
to get separation. Also give them that today, Yoshiva, he's
not getting any separation. Yeah, just minimal, not even a
half yard of separation, so he's not separating. Trent Irwin's
really not there. No, Jermaine Burton seems to not be
able to take everything in yet. I just think it's
it's a unique position because it should be one you
can slide into and have these easy success and right

(01:08:55):
now they're sliding in and no one is able to
create and he wins in that. And again that's the
frustrating part because as a quarterback, I would view that
as my matchup. All right, Jamar is getting bracketed. T's
got their best cover guy. Here's a one to one
matchup with my wide receiver three, which should be able
to beat their third best cover guy. And he's not winning.

(01:09:17):
And it just feels like it feels like they're kind
of running in mud. A little bit of Okay, what
do we do now? All right? Stain Norwin was not active,
Burton was, so.

Speaker 2 (01:09:29):
Let me bring that up. Burton was active. I think
he was only on the field for the kneel downs. Yeah,
why for an offense that is it still feels like
it's in a bit of.

Speaker 8 (01:09:39):
A phone booth.

Speaker 2 (01:09:40):
Yeah, why not a handful of times a game? Go
screw it, right? I know they love to have two
tight ends on the field, but say Jamar t Jermaine,
defenses are gonna do what they do with T and
Jamar Jermaine. You're gonna run four or five times a
game a streak route and if your open, Joe's gonna
get a T.

Speaker 8 (01:09:58):
Why can't you do that? I know if you're gonna.
I know with Yoshi, he made good strides last year
and it felt like Burrow trusted him in the red zone.
He's been good in the red zone this year. Outside
of the scramble on the third down last week. He
wasn't a factor and created no separation yesterday. I guess
what's what's the one drawback you here with Burton when
you hear about it, just the mental side of it. Okay, Well,

(01:10:21):
how about I'm not asking him to go out there
and run a whole route run at line, man, I'm
asking him to say, hey, here are five plays, or
give me the five plays that you are one confident
in that that play is called, We're gonna run it,
and we're gonna get you eight to ten snaps a
game because just the thread of him. There's a reason. Again,
it's not there's a reason Yoshi was a six round
pick and Jermaine Burton was taken in the third. The

(01:10:43):
talent is there, the skill set is there. We've seen
the ball skills are there. So get him comfortable. Don't
ask him to run sixty plays, don't ask him to
read what the defense is doing the block. We're gonna
call this play. You're gonna run this route no matter
what happens, and if it's there, you're gonna get an opportunity.
I think I would put more fear in me as
a decordinator right than what I'm seeing right now from

(01:11:04):
the current threat.

Speaker 2 (01:11:05):
I would think at the very least, it would open
up traffic a little bit for the other two guys, yep.

Speaker 8 (01:11:10):
Which is altermately what you're trying to do with that. Yeah,
that is, that's what you're trying to open. You're trying
to open the window so the t Higgins coming across
the middle doesn't have to catch a ball in space
and make three guys miss or that Jamar Chase can't
be bracketed every play because much like we talked about
We talked about this on UC sidelines a lot. When

(01:11:30):
teams blitz a lot, you know, I get him out
of the blitz. You beat the blitz one or two times. Wow,
when you're bracketing all these guys, you don't have to
have Jermaine Burton catch nine passes. If he catches one
or two meaningful ones, it changes how a defense operates
in that game. You got to get him more opportunities
right now, because I've seen seven weeks of players have
their opportunity wide receiver three. He should get an opportunity.

(01:11:53):
I just it's not apples to apples.

Speaker 2 (01:11:55):
But back in the day, I listened to Carson Palmer
talk about how explosive are offense could be when we
had the late Chris Henry on the field, and how
say what you want about him, he was an elite
athlete running straight line downfield, and so you have to
account for that. And then meanwhile you have you know,

(01:12:15):
back in the day, TJ could be a great possession guy,
great hands, physical, and then because of how teams defended
those two areas, Chad could almost improvise, and I remember
him talking like that's when we're at our most difficult
to defend, forget even the other options. I'm not saying
that Jermaine Burton is anywhere close to as productive as
as Chris was, and we obviously never get a chance

(01:12:36):
to see how really good Chris could be. But I
watched the offense seem constricted, and I go, Okay, can
I just get a guy on the field that you
go screw it. He's gonna run right down the field.
I know I'm overly simplifying this, but he's gonna run
right down the field. You've got to account for it
because he is an elite athlete.

Speaker 8 (01:12:51):
The hard part about transitioning to me from rookie rookie
wide receiver the NFL is when you have to know
protections and when to alter your route, when you got
to check hot. If you're not asking him to do that,
then he should be able to gout and perform like, no,
you can't. I don't care. Mental capacity, what's not. You
can't convince me that Amari Cooper can get the Buffalo midweek,
can catch a touchdown pass. You can't convince me that

(01:13:12):
Davante Adams can get into a new system and run
the whole system and play every new every snap. Yeah,
but there can't be ten snaps a game for Jermaine
Burton like that, right, Yeah, that doesn't make sense to me.

Speaker 2 (01:13:22):
When the other players at that position aren't productive. If
Andre Yosa, we're not saving this conversation. If he's not disappearing,
he's catching three passes a game, We're not having this conversation.
When you don't catch any and you're not getting separation
and you're not running the twelve personnel you're getting in
that sense, that's the next conversation point. Like there's no
other point around it. This is a football based show,

(01:13:44):
Tony and Moe football show.

Speaker 8 (01:13:46):
I know where you're going with this.

Speaker 2 (01:13:47):
In the radio game though, we do take requests, yep,
and we got one. I think the guy left about
forty five minutes ago who came up to the table
didn't bring any bourbon.

Speaker 8 (01:13:56):
But that's okay. No, you don't have to bring bourbon,
but if you want to bring it, it's it's not.

Speaker 2 (01:13:59):
For kind of a nice of our friends over here
would buy us a beer.

Speaker 8 (01:14:02):
But that's all right. No, necessarily just listened to the show,
we'd be no comment there.

Speaker 2 (01:14:08):
Came up to the table and said, I know it's
a football show, but are you going to talk any
college basketball?

Speaker 8 (01:14:14):
Man? I thought you'd never asked. You and I were
both there on Friday night. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:14:18):
My takeaway was if you went into this season with
massive expectations for the Bearcats, and you and I both did,
then that game on Friday mainly served to amplify those expectations.

Speaker 8 (01:14:30):
I don't know if, if from an exhibition standpoint, if
I could be more excited going into a season than
what I am after leaving that game Friday night. Yeah.
They weren't perfect.

Speaker 2 (01:14:40):
They turned it over twenty one times I've watched, and
obviously less so in recent years because of how college basketball.

Speaker 8 (01:14:46):
Has changed the preseason.

Speaker 2 (01:14:48):
I've watched a lot of November basketball, and I've watched
some exhibition games, and they're often, to use the word
of the day, clunky clunky.

Speaker 8 (01:14:55):
Right, this is a team with guys who were not
in this program a year ago.

Speaker 2 (01:15:00):
They got down and defended, and I think they showed
their multitude of offensive options. I am not overreacting because
my expectations were already massive. What I saw on Friday
will only fuel my expectations and my excitement.

Speaker 8 (01:15:15):
So between Asease, Dylan Mitchell, and Page, they have three
athletic bigs that all have different skill sets, but none
of them require post touches to get their points. You
have guards that can break you down off the dribble
whenever they want. You have a guy, and Daniel Skilling
two is amazing at the rim athletically, he just looks

(01:15:37):
so much bigger and he's stronger. And then you have
Hickman and Reid and Lukotius and all of these guys
that can space and with Simont, like if you get
Lakosias that played in the Big twelve tournament last year,
because that's now a guy and the Bearcats haven't hit
this in a while. You need a bucket. Give it
to him, yes, and let him go get one off

(01:15:58):
the trouble because he can do that as Well's not
just to catch and shoot guy. So they're so well
balanced offensively. But I was blown away by two main things.
One getting there and watching them warm up, like this
physically looks like a Big twelve team. It physically looks
like a team that like Houston years passed for that

(01:16:18):
just looks like a big team that looks like a
bona fide stud It looked like a bearcat basketball that
looked like a bearcat basketball team. And what makes me
even more excited like play the high school level. I
hated going into games knowing that that team on defense
was gonna get after you the whole game. And what
I watched, especially in the first half from UC, whether

(01:16:39):
it was their first unit or second unit, those dudes defend,
they can switch. I'm watching both sides of the ball.
U see comes down. They run offensive sets, they get
guys off screens. Ohio State could not get into a
set in the first half. And it's not because they
weren't trying right. They were not allowed to get into
a set. It was from an exhibition standpoint. I was

(01:17:01):
blown away and how intense they were defensively and how
well they can match up. Dylan Mitchell can board and
push it in transition, which has a big to get
the board and go. It opens up so many things
just in defenses can't get set.

Speaker 2 (01:17:16):
We were talking about the last time they've had a
guy who could do that. They've had good rebounders, they've
had good post players, but they haven't had a guy
who athletically could get it off.

Speaker 8 (01:17:25):
The rim and then put it on the deck and
go and run the break himself.

Speaker 2 (01:17:29):
I watched Bruce Thornton, who runs Ohio State's offense, and
I watched his body language as the game unfolded. In
the game that didn't count, that was a player who
was very frustrated.

Speaker 8 (01:17:40):
It was.

Speaker 2 (01:17:41):
My expectations for exhibition games are low. My expectation for
the season is high, and it's because of how good
they were in the exhibition game. Admittedly, I only got
a chance to watch the last sixteen to seventeen minutes
of Xavier's cool game against Dayton yesterday December fourteenth. December fourteenth,
that's gonna go of fun and look outside. Shooting was
a problem for the Musketeers last year. By the way,

(01:18:03):
congratulations to Quincy OLIVERI yeah, it's gonna be an La Laker. Yeah,
which is awesome. Romain Sodo yep gets his jersey, never retired.
They made twelve threes. Seven different shooters made threes. I
don't know how good Dayton is, to be honest with you,
but from what I saw from the Musketeers, and again,
the game tipped off at five o'clock yesterday. There was
a lot going on with football and other stuff, but

(01:18:25):
from what I saw and encouraging performance in sawn Millers.

Speaker 8 (01:18:28):
Teon, my wife and I we decided this year to
get season tickets for basketball. And I grew up piggybacking
with my grandpa and my aunts and uncles because they
had season Like since I can remember, my grandparents have
had season tickets to basketball, and I would just always
piggyback and go to the games. And we would literally
always leave with like five minutes left because my grandpa

(01:18:49):
wanted to walk to the car to hear the post
game show, and I was walking out with Mayor on
Friday night, I'm like, I'm so glad we have season tickets. Yeah, Like,
I'm so excited for this basketball see, and like growing
up going to basketball games and knowing the teams that
I went to cheer for and watching how that team
played Friday night, there's a lot of resemblance to those years.

(01:19:10):
I'm excited. I'm so excited for their season.

Speaker 2 (01:19:12):
And by the way, the thing with Quincy, it's a
two way contract, but nonetheless had a great preseason with
the LA Lakers, eight away from five o'clock.

Speaker 8 (01:19:20):
We haven't done college football yet. I hope the guy
that requested the basketball segments at least listening in his car.

Speaker 2 (01:19:25):
I would like to think that he is. Maybe he's
running to the liquor store. That's a good any point,
and he's like, you know, that guy that was here,
brought him some bourbon.

Speaker 8 (01:19:32):
And he's gotten a ton of mentions.

Speaker 2 (01:19:36):
It's eight away from five o'clock Tony and Mo Football
Show Twin Peaks in Westchester on ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati
Sports Station.

Speaker 8 (01:19:45):
Just like your Bengals, Ready for some football?

Speaker 7 (01:19:48):
Hi, This is Dan Horne, joined Dave Lapham and me
for every play of every game on the official home
of the Bengals, ESPN fifteen to.

Speaker 1 (01:19:55):
Thirty Football Show, Live from the Twin Peaks, brought to
you in part by Encore Technlochies visit OnCore Dot Tech
and Station East Coast subs Penn Station. It's all in
good taste Honda East Cincinnati's Ultimate Honda Experience, First State
Banklilton Billy Ralph's American Grill in Wilmington, Ohio, just off

(01:20:18):
I seventy one X and fifty inside the Holiday and
at the Roberts Center and by your tri State Chevy Dealers, Chevrolet,
the number one selling brand in Cincinnati for.

Speaker 8 (01:20:27):
The past eight years.

Speaker 1 (01:20:28):
Chevrolet Together, Let's drive on the official home of the Bengals, Cincinnatis,

Speaker 2 (01:20:37):
It's the final hour, the Power Hour of the Tony
and Mo Football Show on ESPN fifteen thirty. Hope you
had an awesome Monday so far. We're at Twin Peaks
in Westchester, day after the Bengals pick up a victory
in the Battle of Ohio twenty one to fourteen over
the Cleveland Browns to improve to three and four. We're
here till six o'clock at Twin Peaks in Westchester, which

(01:20:58):
is very easy to get to, and we're we have
just been served beers. Wow, thanks to our friend Paower.
Thanks for our friend Perry hooking us up this.

Speaker 8 (01:21:06):
It's fun.

Speaker 2 (01:21:06):
The Bengals win and crazy folks were bringing bourbon to us. Yeah,
we're getting beers served. Our friend Carrie gave me a
Habitat for Humanity T shirt.

Speaker 8 (01:21:15):
Believe she brought one from me and a little bit
too small for yep, but the thought was there. The
thought was there from Carrie, which is nice today This
is the type of stuff you expect for your ten
year anniversary year. It is ten years of the Tony
and Mo football Show, right, And this isn't even getting
into what the folks we work with are waiting to
add to that.

Speaker 2 (01:21:34):
I've heard rumors, but I whenever I hear the mic,
I'm like, I don't want to know, right, I don't
want to be surprised.

Speaker 8 (01:21:39):
And I was surprised today.

Speaker 2 (01:21:40):
Yeah, I was surprised with the Weller and Perry with
the beer.

Speaker 8 (01:21:43):
Pretty good. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:21:45):
Anyway, we're here till six o'clock. If you're looking ahead,
we're back in Westchester a week from today. We'll be
in Florence two weeks from today, and uh then the
week after that. But first things first, Bengals beat the Browns.
There's something we have not had a chance to get
to yesterday, and that was the call at the end
of the first half, which our buddy Dan Horde at

(01:22:06):
about seven o'clock last night was still tweeting about happy
with the win but still perturbed. If you will, ye
at the flag being picked up on the ball that
Joe Burrow threw toward Jamar Chase. He was covered by
Martin Emerson Junior. Emerson makes contact, a flag is thrown,
but then it's picked up, and the explanation is, quote,

(01:22:29):
the ball was uncatchable. Here's my issue with that. There
is a difference between unketchable and not.

Speaker 8 (01:22:37):
Likely to be caught.

Speaker 2 (01:22:38):
Right, Chase, Right, I don't think that ball was likely
to be caught, but it wasn't uncatchable.

Speaker 8 (01:22:44):
Right. I've seen the burst that Jamar Chase has. Right,
I've seen him react when the ball is in the air. Right,
That has a chance to be caught. You can't judge
if a ball is going to be caught or catchable
if a receiver is interfered with because their full explosion
and acceleration is thrown off. So how can you be

(01:23:04):
the judge of how fast he's gonna get to a ball,
especially one that's in the air when he visually sees
that and kicks it into a different gear.

Speaker 2 (01:23:11):
Yeah, I'll acknowledge the ball was overthrown relative to where
Jamar was supposed to be, But there was a non
zero chance that ball was going to be caught.

Speaker 8 (01:23:18):
Correct, And there was a significant hindrance to him getting
to that pan. Right. Picking up flags, man, and I
hate picking up flags between that and I know we'll
get into what happened at the Texas game. Yeah, it's
a it's an interesting it's an interesting slope when you
start getting into that.

Speaker 2 (01:23:36):
But the thing is that's at a stage in the
game it's seven to six, Bengals are trying to get
some points before halftime. He do win the game, but
it's magnified if they don't, And like you know, maybe
it's some annex but I there is a difference between
because I hear sometimes his fans, well, that wasn't catchable. Yeah,
there's a difference between it wasn't likely to be caught

(01:23:58):
and it can't be caught.

Speaker 8 (01:23:59):
I know, a ball that can't be caught, Right, didn't
land five yards out of bounds, right, didn't land fifty
yards ahead of him.

Speaker 2 (01:24:05):
Uncatchable means zero percent chance of that ball being caught.
Uncatchable doesn't mean fifty to fifty or it wasn't.

Speaker 8 (01:24:12):
Leg right, Yeah, clear cut. Al anytime Dan's tweeting about
something that's irking him, you know, it's where people manned
at him. Oh, we should check his mention.

Speaker 2 (01:24:23):
The one guy that like nobody ever gets mad at
where people manned him.

Speaker 8 (01:24:26):
We should check his mentions. Why couldn't you just enjoy
the win.

Speaker 2 (01:24:32):
I'm sure he was. I'm sure he was all right,
Bengals win. The offense was clunky.

Speaker 8 (01:24:38):
Fix it. Put your offensive coordinator hat on.

Speaker 2 (01:24:42):
Let's just talk specifically about the Philadelphia Eagles, or if
you want to talk about the rest of the season,
how do you unearth and rediscover what we were talking
about the offense doing just two weeks ago.

Speaker 8 (01:24:53):
Yeah, I thought earlier in the year the balance was
was so much better. I thought they ran the ball
much better. I thought their personnel group matched. They used
the tight ends more. We keep referencing the Kansas City game.
They had so much success moving the ball against Kansas
City because the tight ends were elite. And that was
without t Higgins. But that was a defense that was
trying to take away Jamar Chase and allowing the tight

(01:25:15):
ends to one. And we were so excited after that
game because they were winning their matchups and Zach Moss
and Chase Brown brought a different element to the running game. Well,
outside of Chase Brown the gas for the touchdown at
the end of the game against the Giants and Cover
zero and Burrows run. They didn't run the ball much
at all against the Giants. They were terrible running the

(01:25:36):
ball last night. And when you can't run the ball,
we've talked about some maage. You can't run against the
front four that's seven dropping into coverage. The numbers are
harder to navigate, and so I think the lack of
run game, the lack of twelve personnel, the lack of
being able to affect anybody with play action all plays
a role. And then you add in the third wide receiver.

(01:25:58):
So if you're not going to go twelve personnel, you
better have a wide receiver on the field that's gonna
get separation, and right now andre Yoshivash is not getting
separate separation. So wide receiver number three, mixed with their
inability to get anything going on the run game is
my biggest reason for the struggles in the last two weeks,
outside of just the excuse of oh, they just played

(01:26:20):
against the good front, because that's not to me. Every
front in the NFL is gonna be good more often
than not. The Steelers have a really good front. The
Eagles a lot of people talk about their front. You're
gonna have to navigate and be able to play calls
around what may be a deficiency against some teams and
still find ways to succeed, especially when you have arguably

(01:26:42):
two of the top ten players at their position in
the NFL in a top two or three quarterback in
the NFL.

Speaker 2 (01:26:48):
The Bengals are middle of the pack in yards per
attempts and we could dive into some more advanced metrics
if you would. Like the Bengals in the Borough era,
they haven't often needed to be any elite running team,
which is fine because they have not been an.

Speaker 8 (01:27:04):
Elite running team. Now, they've upgraded the offensive line.

Speaker 2 (01:27:08):
They've moved on from Joe Mixon, who at a when
he's on the field for the Houston Texans has been terrific.

Speaker 8 (01:27:14):
He's missed some games.

Speaker 2 (01:27:16):
They've changed running backs, changed coordinators, they've upgraded the offensive line.

Speaker 8 (01:27:23):
The running game is still yeah yeah, Why to me,
it would resort back to scheme then, and the struggle
to scheme anything open because it's hard because we oftentimes
go back and we reference Andy Reid and it's hard
to do that because he's gonna go down as one
of the greatest, if not the greatest coach ever. But

(01:27:45):
Kareem Hunt had two rushing touchdowns yesterday. They brought an
undrafted was it Carson Steel to start? Isaiah Pacheco has
been out. All their receivers are hurt, Kelsey's not being dominant.
They're still finding ways to run the ball. There are schemes,
there are are personnel groupings, there are formations, there are
motions that allow you to create yourself advantages in the

(01:28:06):
run game based on your personnel. And as a head coach,
if you want to be successful, you can't be a
head coach that says this is the way we're going
to run our stuff. I don't care what the personnel is.
You have to be a head coach that can say
I'm going to evolve. I'm going to adjust based on
what our personnel is, based on guys that get hurt,
based on who we add, based on who we take away.

(01:28:26):
You have to build an offense around that. People talked
about Joe Mixon when he left, right, Houston is evolving
their offense around Joe Mixon. He carried the ball twenty
five times for two touchdowns yesterday, and all I heard was, well,
that would have never worked in Cincinnati because that's not
their offense. Yeah, okay, yeah, Well why is it that
he can go somewhere else and succeed. Why can others
succeed with injuries and guys that get hurt and still

(01:28:48):
find that success. To me, that goes back to scheme
matching the personnel.

Speaker 2 (01:28:52):
Yeah, Joe Mixon is one hundred and four yards from scrimmage. Yesterday,
one thirty two in their win over No.

Speaker 8 (01:28:59):
Vat strab was terrible.

Speaker 2 (01:29:01):
Yeah, and then one seventy eight in their season opener,
and again he missed time in between. But he has
been really good. And you know, we like Chase Brown
right twenty fifth in the NFL in rushing success rate.
We like ish Zach Moss forty sixth in the NFL
in rushing success rate. Yeah, So I don't need top

(01:29:21):
ten top five. Could I get in the top twenty
with one of those guys?

Speaker 8 (01:29:25):
Correct? Should be able to the same thing. We talked
about the defense as a whole. Can you be in
the middle of the pack defense? You don't have to
be the top ten? Can you not be the bottom ten?
They need more out of the running game because it
creates a balance in your offense, especially under center. We
talked about under center all the time. We talk about
twelve personnel all the time. It's hard to do those

(01:29:46):
things when you can't run the ball. It's hard to
do those things, you know, when when four guys are
stopping six blockers. And what makes it even more frustrating
mo as we talked about Zach Taylor's play calling isn't
matching that still calling plays on third and short that
they're gonna go pick up three yards on a run
and they're not. Or he's calling plays to say, okay,

(01:30:07):
we're setting up Evan McPherson, who's not hitting kick. I
am I'm good at this point knowing that you have
a running back in Chase Brown who can break at
any point. I'm good getting him ball in the ball
in different ways. But I'm also at this point good
in saying you're our quarterback, you're one of the best
in the league, and key situations, go win the game.
And I don't feel like they've done that all this year.

(01:30:29):
I feel like they've taken the ball away from him
a couple of times this year to go back to
the running game that schematically is not there. That's that
sun bright. This is the true victory Monday here, this
is the power Hour. But really I'm soaking it in
mo because a month or so from now, by the
time this hour gets here, it'll be dark Wednesday, least
favorite day of the someone's got next week someone, Yeah,

(01:30:52):
everyone's see you're lucky, you do. It's it's some weekend
at their Halloween. So that's next weekend. It's Saturday.

Speaker 2 (01:31:00):
So when we're in Florence on the third or fourth,
whenever that is, it's gonna be dark.

Speaker 8 (01:31:05):
It's gonna be dark. See you do noon to three,
so you leave and you still have daylight? Yeah you don't.
I get off like it's not get off work.

Speaker 2 (01:31:14):
Like I go take a walk sometimes at five o'clock.

Speaker 8 (01:31:16):
Yeah, and I look outside. It's pitch black. Yep, it's tough.
It's I will admit to you that.

Speaker 2 (01:31:21):
There's there's there's like for like two or three days,
it billy affects my mind.

Speaker 8 (01:31:25):
This is something that I haven't had to deal with forever.
For a Tony in Moschell What the sun is setting
out right now? Our location has moved a little bit
right in your face. It's a good fifteen degrees hotter
than it was about a half hour ago.

Speaker 2 (01:31:37):
The Steelers make a change your quarterback and it pays off.
The Ravens played tonight and the Deshaun Watson situation takes
a turn yesterday, and we'll talk about the AFC North
and still ahead the weekend that was in college football,
It's the Tony and Mo Football Show twin Peaks in
Westchester on ESPN fifteen thirty, Cincinnati Sports Station.

Speaker 1 (01:31:57):
This is Football in the Nattie to you in part
by Blood Light and by Skyline Shiley on the official
home of the Bengals, Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty twenty two.

Speaker 2 (01:32:10):
After five o'clock ESPN fifteen thirty, molleggor with Tony Pi Kids,
The Tony and Moll Football Show on ESPN fifteen thirty.
We are here till six o'clock when the Mark Stoops
Radio Show comes your way. It is time we do
this every single week. It's the sweet Life HVAC stat
of the Game. It is brought to you by sweet
Life Heating and Air serving Greater Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky in

(01:32:33):
Southeast Indiana, where service always comes with a cherry on
top and they've got the coolest trucks ever. Gonna call
Sweetlife dot Com. That's call Sweetlife dot Com. Trey Hendrickson.
I got this from our buddy Jay Morrison of Bengals
Talk dot Com. Trey Hendrickson yesterday recorded a pair of
sacks for the tenth time in fifty five games with

(01:32:55):
the Bengals. The only Cincinnati players with more games or
two or more sacks or Carlos Dunlap, he had twelve
such games in one hundred and fifty five, one hundred
more games than Trey Hendrickson. Geno Atkins had eleven such
games in one hundred and sixty one games, And since
twenty twenty one, there are only three players who have

(01:33:16):
had two sacks or more in a game more often
than Hendrickson, TJ. Watt, Max Crosby and Micah Parsons. Trey
Hendrickson two sacks for the tenth time in fifty five games.
He was terrific yesterday. There's also this, for the first
time since after Week one, the Bengals DVOA playoff odds

(01:33:36):
are above fifty percent fifty point seven here we go
to make the postseason, only seven point seven percent to
win the AFC North. But this is the first time
since after Week one, when they lost Week two, their
playoff odds plummeted, they have steadily crept up.

Speaker 8 (01:33:57):
Well, actually they plummeted at one.

Speaker 2 (01:33:58):
And four, they crept back up to beating the Giants
and now slightly above fifty percent according to an FTN
fantasy fifty point seven.

Speaker 8 (01:34:06):
Trey Hendrickson statu meant that's good for fourth in the NFL.
Seven sacks fourth in the NFL, behind Aidon Hutchinson, who
won't be having anymore, Will McDonald of the Jets and
Dexter Lawrence of the Giants. So that gives you an idea.
But it's not just the sacks. It's the uncomfortable nature
in which he is just always around. The quarterback, gets
his hands on the ball, bats a ball up that

(01:34:27):
gets intercepted. Yesterday. The word relentless is used a lot,
but it applies. He is. He's absolutely unbelievable. And you know,
if you just take the box score from yesterday without
those turnovers, I mean, everything else points to Cleveland winning
that game. They outgained the Bengals three thirty six to
two twenty three. They converted eight to nineteen third downs
as opposed to just two for thirteen for the Cincinnati Bengals.

(01:34:49):
They beat him in pretty much every category, which again
is why you should run with that victory. Take it
and move on and get to the next one.

Speaker 2 (01:34:57):
Well, a team that's running with a victory because it
was the fifth the Pittsburgh Steelers, so kind of a
tail of two games. They turned to Russell Wilson, and
for the better part of a quarter and a half
it looked like Mike Tomlin made the right call. They
score late in the first half, and then Russell Wilson
looks much like vintage Seattle Russell Wilson. They end up

(01:35:18):
hammering the New York Jets thirty seven to fifteen. Pittsburgh
is now five and two. There has been a reluctance
to take them seriously up until this point. I take
them seriously on a game to game basis because they're
never easy to play. I take them seriously as a
playoff team. I'm not yet there in terms of factoring

(01:35:38):
them in as a team that can win the AFC
as a whole. They took a big step last night.

Speaker 8 (01:35:43):
They did. They did because everyone keeps talking about the
Steelers in the sense of, well, the second half schedule, well,
they're doing pretty good to build themselves a little cushion
right now. They're winning games. We've talked about here what
we needed to do. They're winning the games that they're
supposed to win. And last night that's a Jets team
that came in backs against the wall, just got Davante
Adams and they started great fift team to six. Yeah,

(01:36:04):
at one point, it's fifteen to six. Pittsburgh scores the
next thirty one points. Nagee Harris is running the ball. Well, yeah,
Pickens is a guy you can do it up to
and let him go get it. We talked about catch
radius all the time. That guy's unbelievable. I thought they
played to Russell Wilson's strengths. That's still with Cam Hayward
coming back healthy, TJ. Watt, they're finding success in the secondary.
Patrick Queen's all over the field last night. That's still

(01:36:27):
a scary Pittsburgh team. They're gonna go beat New York
this week. They're gonna go to a bye. That's gonna
be a six and two team coming out of the bye.
They'll take on the Commanders.

Speaker 2 (01:36:35):
M hm.

Speaker 8 (01:36:35):
We know what his track record. Their track record is
against rookie quarterbacks. They're gonna make it hard on jayde Daniels.
But the thing with Pittsburgh, if Russell plays well, it
lights such a fire because then the defense feels like
they have a legit chance, because like Cleveland, it's like
defense can play well for so long and they're we're

(01:36:56):
out of it. Right. The more Pittsburgh gets offensively, the
more it feels like they can play. And I thought
last night was a good step in the right direction
the Jets. And he was announced today a Son Reddick
is expected now to rejoin the Jets. Yeah, I don't
know it's two late or not, but he's going to
rejoin the tem that Pittsburgh team.

Speaker 2 (01:37:12):
You know, we talk about with UC football all the time.
They're four points away from being undefeated. Pittsburgh has lost
two games by three points.

Speaker 8 (01:37:18):
Now.

Speaker 2 (01:37:18):
They staged a bit of a comeback in that game
against Indy, but it was fourth and goal for Dallas
at the end of that game a couple of weeks
ago on Sunday night, and the Cowboys scored. But yeah,
I'm reluctant. I'll see how Russell Wilson performs over the
next few weeks and our sovidual does get a little
bit more difficult. But hey, five and two is five
and two. Baltimore plays tonight. In the game, I'm excited

(01:37:40):
for Tampa. Bay just scored fifty one points. The Ravens
are terrific offensively, still leave a lot to be desired
on defense. As a Bengals fan, it'd be kind of
cool if the Ravens could lose a game between now
and when Cincinnati goes down on Thursday night in two weeks.

Speaker 8 (01:37:54):
Would be nice. They're playing extremely well right now. People
talk about the Chiefs and then a lot of people
talk about the Ravens right under them. Tampa's an interesting situation.
I know Mike Evans is like a game time decision
that's gonna make a big difference. They put fitting fifty
one up last last week without him, But uh man,
it just feels like we talking about identity on offense
all the time and scheme. It feels like Baltimore gets
their scheme. Now, they know what their identity is. They're

(01:38:16):
gonna throw more two and three tight end sets at
you than anybody else. I think they're still searching on
defense for it, though. I don't think they're where they
need to be defensively, which makes them more vulnerable. I
think it's gonna be a fantastic Monday night game. Where
do the Browns go from here? Couldn't care less to
a new stadium. Eventually, they're gonna leave Downtown, probably Jamis

(01:38:40):
Winston see if they can revive anything there. I'm not
even talking about this season. I don't know they're so
I don't know what the future Deshaun Watson is.

Speaker 2 (01:38:48):
Deshaun Watson is apparently going to have the same procedure
that Aaron Rodgers had last year. That means his season
is over. We'll see what remains of his NFL career. Obviously,
the Browns are on the hook for a lot of money.
I think the part of that trade, or that the
part of the hoole de Shaun Watson thing that doesn't
get talked about enough is the draft capitol. Yeah, that

(01:39:10):
Cleveland sent to Houston. Yeah, it's one thing, all right,
we acquired a player. He's not good and he's got
a bad contract. And you know, the good news is
the picks are in the rear view mirror.

Speaker 8 (01:39:19):
They were all twenty two, twenty three, and twenty four picks.

Speaker 2 (01:39:23):
But that's a lot of draft capital that would be
players who would be playing for that team right now.

Speaker 8 (01:39:29):
Does Cleveland now become a team that you find every
year that's clearly out of it, clearly rebuilding and gives
you an opportunity. I know it's not the case inside
the own division much, but that's a team that could
become sellers and there would be a ton of players
on that roster. Sure, that would be very attractive for
a lot of teams in the NFL to give up
draft picks for. I don't know that they won't do

(01:39:51):
that with the Bengals obviously because of how that's built.
But we talked about in a sense with the Chiefs,
would you do it if you're the Bangal If it
makes your team better, then you do it to make
your team better.

Speaker 2 (01:40:01):
There's a part of me that you know, look that
that owner, Jimmy Haslum's terrible, but let's stay behind the scenes.
Kevin Stefanski has been banging on the table to play
Jameis Winston or dtr Well and the owner has said no.
If I'm the owner, I go, okay, Well, now you're
getting a chance. Now you're getting what you wanted. Let's
see if you can go get better results.

Speaker 8 (01:40:20):
Yeah. I just I feel like it's gonna get worse
before it ever gets better.

Speaker 2 (01:40:24):
In Cleveland twenty nine away from six o'clock, it has
gotten better for the Bearcats who had on Saturday night.
We'll talk about what went down at Nippert's Stadium on
what may unfold in Colorado as Scott Saderfield gets a
chance to coach against the guy that many people wanted
instead of him.

Speaker 8 (01:40:43):
Well, I know you and I will be on our game.
We're gonna be in our game.

Speaker 2 (01:40:46):
You're gonna be an our game on Friday, yesday.

Speaker 8 (01:40:52):
It is.

Speaker 2 (01:40:53):
It's a late game, yep. You know when we're gonna
be in our game one week from today.

Speaker 8 (01:40:58):
This this is gonna be the point next week where
it becomes a struggle. Right, We'll talk about that when
we come back.

Speaker 2 (01:41:03):
Tony and Mo Football Show twin peaks in Westchester on
ESPN fifteen thirty, Cincinnati Sports Station.

Speaker 1 (01:41:10):
You've been listening to football in Thenetti on the official
home of the Bengals Cincinnatis, ESPN fifteen.

Speaker 2 (01:41:17):
Thirty, Cincinnati's ESPN fifteenth.

Speaker 1 (01:41:21):
ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati's sports stations.

Speaker 2 (01:41:26):
Sports Headlines are a service of Kelsey Chevrolet, Home of
Lifetime Powertrain protection and guaranteed credit approval from their family
to Yours Life, kelseyschev dot Com. Good news for Gino
Stone and for the Bengals. Shin contusion. If I would
have said to you yesterday when that cart was hauling
him off and he had his legging an air cast,

(01:41:47):
this is going to be okay. It's a shin contusion.
Your Chance laughed at me, O Chance. His status right
now day to day Orlando Brown will be referred to
as questionable.

Speaker 8 (01:41:57):
He came out of yesterday's game with an e issue.

Speaker 2 (01:41:59):
Bengals, I'll play the Eagles at one o'clock on Sunday.
Pregame coverage on ESPN fifteen thirty starts at nine am
Sunday morning.

Speaker 8 (01:42:07):
Tony, Oh, you excited? Nine am? You say nine am.
Our pregame coverage will start well before that.

Speaker 2 (01:42:15):
Monday Night football Tonight Ravens Bucks, ESPN fifteen thirty. Later on,
it's Chargers Cardinals on Fox Sports thirteen sixty. Tony Pike
is with me. It's The Tony and Mo Football Show
on ESPN fifteen thirty. We're here for another twenty minutes
at Twin Peaks in Westchester, where.

Speaker 8 (01:42:32):
We are back a week from today. The UC Bearcats
are five and two.

Speaker 2 (01:42:37):
Hello, they beat they beat an Arizona State team that
first of all, do we know did they have their
kicker tryouts on campus today?

Speaker 8 (01:42:47):
I think they're doing it tomorrow and Wednesday. Okay, I
think they actually are.

Speaker 2 (01:42:50):
Kenny Dillingham, the coach at Arizona State, and his postgame
press conference, went off on his kicking situation and said
we're gonna have open tryouts for him, and then he
later on apologized kicking game is a troy.

Speaker 8 (01:43:01):
But they're still having the tryouts.

Speaker 2 (01:43:02):
Yes, very good. Bearcats are five and two. We can
dwell on the fact that they're four points away from
being seven and oh, but they're not seven and oh.

Speaker 8 (01:43:11):
They're five and two.

Speaker 2 (01:43:13):
They have I guess first, let's let's talk about the
the game itself. Cincinnati outplayed the Arizona State I never
totally felt like they were gonna lose the football game.
They did a good job on Cam Skataboo, who had

(01:43:34):
put up one hundred and ninety two yards from scrimmage
on average previous three games, had almost three hundred yards
against Mississippi State. They held him to barely over one
hundred yards. He made some playing seventy but seventy five rushing.
I guess what concerns me is Cincinnati had an issue
four times where they have missed a kick at the

(01:43:56):
end of the half. And then you add to that
the issues they had at the end of the half Miami.
Against Miami, it's caught up to him. It did catch
up to him against Pitt, it did catch up to
him against Texas Tech.

Speaker 8 (01:44:10):
Almost did against UCF when UCF tied it in the
third quarter.

Speaker 2 (01:44:12):
I don't want to be that guy because they won
and their five and two, and we're gonna talk about
what's ahead on Saturday and the job that Scott Saderfield
is doing.

Speaker 8 (01:44:19):
That's got to get better. Though. Yeah, I I can't
even repeat. I have to stuck because I walk back
to the locker room with the team at halftime. I
don't want to repeat half the stuff that said. But look,
this it's a problem. And it's not just been one guy.
It's been two kickers that have caused a problem. It's
been it's been two guys that have let this team

(01:44:42):
down and momentum football. You could feel it, and I
can feel it on the sidelines from the other sideline
in the UC sideline, and I'll credit UC's defense because
they got the stop they needed this time around after
the offense went three and out after the half. But
you cannot keep living dangerously like that. You can't keep
like we talked about the Bengals. You can't keep leaving
that door open when you should be shutting the door.

(01:45:04):
And the Bearcats have done that too much. That's why
they're five and two and not six and one or
even seven to zero going to Boulder, Colorado. I will
say this as well, camscottabu is in a fantastic back.
He wasn't the best running back on the field Saturday. No,
Corey Conor's the best running back on the field easily
that guy. He will be one of the most underappreciated

(01:45:24):
Bearcats when his time's done, and even I think a
lot of people already appreciate him. What he does to
negative plays or plays that should be dead at the
line of scrimmage to get the yards he does should
be studied. It should be studied by people that watch
the game of football because it's unbelievable. And I love
the thunder lightning they have with Kiner and then Pryor

(01:45:45):
can come in and beat them for the fifty five yarder.
Soresby used his legs. They run it for three touchdowns.
But Corey Kinner was the best running back on the field,
not Cam Scottibully.

Speaker 2 (01:45:54):
I was thinking about that on Saturday night. Corey Kiner.
You know, the twenty one team had Jerome Ford, and
Jerome was terrific and he's in the NFL now. Bengals
did not get a chance to play against him yesterday.
But when I think of him, I think of he
runs for a yard, he runs for zero yards, he
runs for a yard, and then he runs one.

Speaker 8 (01:46:12):
For eighty yep.

Speaker 2 (01:46:13):
And I would have loved to have seen Corey on
that team because I think he'd be appreciated a little
bit more. And I think some of those runs where
Jerome got stopped, Corey would have made.

Speaker 8 (01:46:23):
Something out of he is. He does more with less
a terrific running back. Yeah, And that's not a shot
When I say he does more with less, that's not
a shot up the ol line because the right teams
have to load the box to try to stop them,
and he still finds ways to succeed Swordsby through the
early pick. He completed twelve of his next thirteen. I
know it doesn't jump at the stat sheet. I feel
like every run of every one of Royer's catches is

(01:46:44):
a big one. M what he's able to do for
for forty one, Xavier Henderson got back to more of
what he does, but just all in all, outside of
the kicking, another positive performance from the defense. Another instance
where the offense was good, not great. They weren't the sharpest.
They found a way to win bow And here they
are three and one, going to Boulder, Colorado, and this

(01:47:06):
is the game that everyone circled because it's primetime, it's
Deon Sanders's, it's in Boulder, Colorado. And now to get
to this game and both teams at five and two
is pretty cool. Yeah, and both teams, like uc is
not backed into five and two, Colorado's not backed into
five and two. They three points away from a Kansas
State win. They got beat by Nebraska, they got bailed
out a little bit against Baylor. But what they did

(01:47:27):
to Arizona and Arizona this past weekend, what they did
as fourteen point dogs at home against UCF, it's a good,
good Colorado team.

Speaker 2 (01:47:34):
Well, it is a good Colorado team and it's a
Colorado team that you know isn't nearly being talked about
as much. And like I get it, there's a lot
of really.

Speaker 8 (01:47:42):
Cool stories in college football.

Speaker 2 (01:47:43):
There are teams that you know, really feel like they're
bonafied college football playoff contenders. Maybe Colorado's not quite there,
but I think Colorado quietly if you watched him against
Nebraska when they were just man handled up front, that
really hasn't as much been the case. Dan Horde said
this in the postgame show on Saturday. Scott Saderfield was

(01:48:04):
hired during a period of time where there was a
lot of.

Speaker 8 (01:48:06):
Hype about Deon Sanders.

Speaker 2 (01:48:08):
Yep, Deon Sanders is a guy that a lot of
people realistically or not wanted Cincinnati to reach out to.
He goes to Colorado. Deon Sanders won four games last season.
Scott Saderfield won three.

Speaker 8 (01:48:21):
It just for him. I think it's an opportunity.

Speaker 2 (01:48:24):
Look, you and I both know there are fans, not all,
maybe not most, but there are fans who haven't totally
wrapped their arms around Scott Saderfield or embraced him being
the head coach.

Speaker 8 (01:48:35):
At U SEE.

Speaker 2 (01:48:36):
I think because of what this could do from a
record perspective, which would be six and two Bowl eligibility
hit the over for the season put him at four
and one in the conference, but also who he would
beat now at four point dogs, This is going to
be a monumental task for you.

Speaker 8 (01:48:50):
See, if he could get a head to head.

Speaker 2 (01:48:52):
Win over Deon Sanders put this team at six and two,
maybe it wins some of those folks over.

Speaker 8 (01:48:58):
And at the same time, like what he's been able
to do now that he's had a stamp on the
program because you and I I think there's us talking
like people are going to comment and talk about in
game moves. What you can't talk about with this staff
right now is what they've done in the portal and
in high school recruiting, because the guys they've brought in
and the guys that are playing on Saturdays are contributing

(01:49:21):
significantly to this team. Now. In game stuff, you can
have gripes, that's fine. You can't argue with the fact
that he's got guys to buy into UC and he's
got that locker room to buy in. There was parts
last year where things felt like they were fracturing. Some
of those guys. They might have been good players, they
were asked to move on. And I will tell you
this from being on the sideline game in and game

(01:49:43):
out and being in the locker room. The players love them.
Like these players we talked about after they gave him
the Gatoray bath after the Miami win, these players love
playing for Scott Saderfield, and I think that that can
get overlooked a little bit. I also think is as
much as we talk about the offenses right now, you're
going in, this is a team and you see that

(01:50:06):
gives up under twenty points a game defensively nineteen points
a game. Colorado gives up twenty one points per game.
So lot's going to be made about Soresby and Sanders
and all of this offensive firepower. These are too much
improved defenses going out as well.

Speaker 2 (01:50:18):
It's interesting you mentioned the Gatorade bath, and you know,
I'd go down there and talk to guys for the
pregame show, and because you know a lot of transfers,
you would invariably.

Speaker 8 (01:50:29):
Ask why did you come here? Yep?

Speaker 2 (01:50:31):
And you know, all right, maybe they're getting more nil
money here than anywhere else, but they will talk openly
about Scott Sadderfield and the coaching staff and Look, they
were kind of laughed at for the gatorade bath after Miami,
but my take on that was all right, kind of silly.
At the same time, it was the week after the
Pit game when it felt like the walls were closing in.
Those players know what's being said, they know what's at

(01:50:53):
there on social media. Yep, to me, that was we
got our coaches back. We got our coaches back. Now,
it's easy to do that, after all, but they've lost
two gut punch games. They've bounced back both times. After
Texas Tech it was posed by They've bounced back both times.
And look, they're gonna have their hands full with Shadora Sanders.

(01:51:14):
Travis Hunter is, for my money, the most interesting and
most fun to watch player in all the college football
and so I know how hard this game.

Speaker 8 (01:51:24):
Is going to be. But if you get it, oh man,
you're six and two.

Speaker 2 (01:51:29):
And Scott Sanderfield said it for the first time to
you after the game on Saturday. It was the first
time I've heard him talk about Big twelve championship. Yep,
you get this one, you can start to talk about it.
The teams on their schedule. I always want to buy
I State Shuttle off lost to UCF. That game is winnable.
Old the State's beatable, Kansas State's beatable. And the two
home games, the two home games they have are beatable.

(01:51:50):
This is a monstrous game. And at the very least,
there were a lot of folks who came into the
season saying six and two is best case, or six
six wins are best case. You could have six wins
before the calendar flips to November. If you get this
one on Saturday.

Speaker 8 (01:52:07):
And if you've paid attention to college football, you know
games in Boulder, Colorado have become a big deal. You
talk about star power on the sidelines. Eight fifteen out there,
ESPN Primetime. They're gonna bring all the stars out like
this is. You know, Dion at Big twelve Media Day
one out of his way to talk about the UC
game and his love for Cincinnati and looking forward to that.
This is a game that everyone has circled and I'm

(01:52:29):
sure he'll be asked about it this week his time
in Cincinnati. I remember a cool story he told at
Big Toe med today. He used to leave tickets to fans. Yeah,
when he's playing for the Reds, to just say come
up and get him. Come see the game. He speaks
very highly of Cincinnati, and I know that now at
both five and two, this is a This is a
huge game on the college football slate, and I'm excited

(01:52:50):
that you see has put themselves in a position for
this to be as big of a game as it
will be.

Speaker 2 (01:52:54):
Yeah, you talked about it before the UCF game. Swing game, right, Yeah,
swing game? And then all right, get this one. Going
to be favored in all likelihood at home the following game,
get that one, and then maybe they can make something
of the season again. I Shador Sanders is terrific. Travis Hunter,
I can't watch enough. I'm looking forward to seeing those
two players in person. I'm looking forward to the Boulder experience.

Speaker 8 (01:53:17):
And then a bye afterwards. But so they do get
a chance to regroup.

Speaker 2 (01:53:20):
I'm going to get laughed at for saying this, Colorado
probably has the best two players on the field. Sure
would Cincinnati have the next four five?

Speaker 8 (01:53:31):
Yeah? I mean I'm not dove outside of the two.
You know I'm not dove in, but right, and I'm
asking ye would be hard pressed. I know I've watched
enough to know that they don't have a Joe Royer.
I've watched enough that I know they don't have a
Luke Candra on their offensive line. I've watched enough to
know that Brendan Sorosby statistically is right there at the

(01:53:53):
top of the Big twelve with what he's doing. Now
he can't go there and turn the ball over. I've
been a little turnover happy in the last couple of weeks.
But I feel like they have and they know they have.
That's a thing like watching this team go off the
field after wins and I stand right there at the
door of the locker room walking past. They know, they

(01:54:13):
know that they're a good football team, and now the
confidence is growing. And I know they lost, but I
think they can grow a lot from that Texas Tech,
because that was a crazy environment in a game where
it felt like it was slipping away a couple times,
and they answered the bell over and over and over again. Yeah,
and I feel like you can take a lot from that.

Speaker 2 (01:54:31):
Spend a few minutes on what are the cooler stories
in college football? The Indiana Hoosiers. Yeah, so they go
into the Nebraska game. They had beaten Charlotte and UCLA
and Maryland. They've done so handily. They were six and
a half point favorites against Nebraska, so logic would dictate
they should have won the game. Yeah, I don't think
anybody saw fifty six to seven.

Speaker 8 (01:54:51):
No, And I feel like there was a lot of
people in me included, like, all right, the schedule just
hasn't been impressive. Yeah, here comes Nebraska, a physical team
up front on both sides. Well, that finesse style work
against Nebraska. I would say it worked. I would say
they passed the test. Now a quarterback got hurt late
in the game, what does that look like going forward
for them? But I look now at that matchup at
Ohio State is much more interesting now than what it was.

(01:55:13):
And I also think a little bit disappointing for for
everything that was built for Dylan Ryola and this Nebraska team,
because that was a bad That's that's you don't take
a lot of losses like that, right, And that's one
you got to go look yourself in the mirror and
try to rebound from as well. And it don't get
it easier because they got to go to Ohio State.

Speaker 2 (01:55:29):
Now, I you get the college game day experience. Yeah,
and so so it's cool, it's it's it's neat to
see in the Big Twelve with Oregon and Ohio State
in Washington Indiana.

Speaker 8 (01:55:40):
Not necessarily does Does getting the game day treatment mean
that you could throw stuff on the field and have
extra time to review a penalty?

Speaker 2 (01:55:46):
All right, Terren's playing the music, so we don't have
a lot of time. Texas fans throw a crap on
the field by time for a review after a pass
interference call was made.

Speaker 8 (01:55:57):
Not a good president to set, No, it's not a
good president.

Speaker 2 (01:56:00):
Kirby Smart was really upset after the game even though
his team won, and actually so very good reason to
be upset.

Speaker 8 (01:56:05):
So the lesson there is throw crap on the field,
you get your way. Yep. Awful, awful. It's not a
lesson that we want to teach the kids. No, kids
are watching, kids are listening.

Speaker 2 (01:56:17):
We're back here. I can't wait a week from today.
As the weekend folds, we'll discuss why next week might
be a special show.

Speaker 8 (01:56:27):
Every show is special, MO. Thank you.

Speaker 2 (01:56:29):
I thank the folks who came on out. Our guy
Bob who bought us well, bought us beer. A favorite
pro golfer, Will Grimmers and.

Speaker 8 (01:56:36):
Those in the house with his fresh new haircut, fresh
new due.

Speaker 2 (01:56:39):
It's pretty good, and I want to thank Mike Mills
for producing on site, the staff here at Twin Peaks,
thank our guy tearing Back and Kenwood. We're done. The
Mark's Tube Show is coming up next to a great evening.
Thank you for listening. This has been the Tony and
Moo Football Show on ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station,

(01:57:04):
earning twenty five dollars now

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