January 3, 2025 • 22 mins
Robert Weintraub writes a weekly Bengals column for Cincinnati Magazine. We talked Tee Higgins, Zac Taylor's game managment, playoff chances, and more.
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Podcasts of The Mo Egger Radio Show are a service of Longnecks Sports Grill.
Listen to the show live weekday afternoons 3:00 - 6:00 on ESPN1530.
Listen Live: ESPN1530.com/listen
Get more: https://linktr.ee/MoEgger
Follow on X: @MoEgger
Instagram too: @MoEgger
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Robert Weintraub, right, say, weekly Bengals column for Cincinnati Magazine.
You can read it at Cincinnati Magazine dot com if
you go there. Now to be a collection of columns
because his weekly column this week not yet published, so
we could all find out tomorrow, maybe later.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Tonight what he has written about.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
But that's not going to preclude us from chatting with him,
because I like talking with Robert, and he's with us.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Now, what's going on? What have I written about?
Speaker 3 (00:27):
I wrote about football in the Natty? What else come on?
Speaker 4 (00:32):
In this case the larger picture of the Bengals, not
just this particular radio hit.
Speaker 5 (00:37):
But yes, I like to think football in the Natty
is a state.
Speaker 4 (00:40):
Of mind, not just you know, a weekly show or
segment during the football season.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
Sure, yeah, we'll go. I've never actually used the Natty
and conversation.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
So maybe that's the next step for this segment. I
we'll find out.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
So you know, we've we've spent the last four or
five weeks, you know, going to different websites that project
playoff odds, whether it's FTN, whether it's Playoff status, and
whether it's ESPN or NFL dot Com. I know you're
partial to FTN and now it's basically a three team parlay.
(01:15):
Three things have to happen. Rank them in order of
least likely to most.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
Likely to actually go our way.
Speaker 4 (01:25):
I would thines the least likely, at least from a
ViBe's perspective.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
From my point of view, is the Bengals winning.
Speaker 5 (01:34):
I mean, how many times do we have to get kicked.
Speaker 4 (01:36):
In the teeth in big games by this particular opponent
before we realize that it's a fool's Errand to be
optimistic about a game against Pittsburgh, Now that's not a
matchup thing, like I say, it's the Vibes thing. If
it was any other opponent, I feel pretty good about
cincin NAT's chances, even with a banged up offensive line,
even with Chase Brown being out, even with a defense
(01:57):
as atrocious as being would to give up forty four
points to Pittsburgh last time they played. You know, obviously
Burrow and Chase and Higgins are playing so incredibly well
you love you love their chances rather against any team
in the league.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
But this is Pittsburgh and they've had the talent.
Speaker 4 (02:16):
And matchup advantage a lot of times before. The parallels
to two thousand and six.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
They're really kind of uncanny.
Speaker 4 (02:22):
Not just that they have to win the game against
Pittsburgh in the last game of the regular season, but
they need things to go their way, including the Chiefs
winning and the Broncos losing and the Jets playing. They
had to lose, I believe in two thousand and six,
and now they have to win.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
But uh, it's just it just lines up.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Why couldn't it.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
Just be the Ravens, you know, even though they're a
better team.
Speaker 4 (02:44):
Why why couldn't it be the Browns for God's sake,
Why it has to be Pittsburgh.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
He's think the I think the.
Speaker 4 (02:51):
Chiefs with their backups have a pretty good chance even
with the superstars on the bench.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
You know, it's a Carson Wentz prove it game.
Speaker 4 (02:59):
He's been kind of getting the Andy Reid tutelage.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
And schooling all season.
Speaker 5 (03:03):
He's gonna want to.
Speaker 4 (03:04):
Play show the league that he maybe deserves a decent
contract next year as a starter somewhere or potential starter.
And the Chiefs are beating the Broncos like seventeen out
of the last eighteen they owned the Broncos, so it
will be just like them to win this game, even
with the backups. And I mean the Jets in Miami
always plays strange games, and they've had a lot of
(03:26):
finale type games where one team has to beat the
other to make the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
And that team loses.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
Aaron Rodgers is a complete wild card. He'll probably go
out there and have his best game of his career
just because and then retire just to show everybody.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
You know, I kind of feel.
Speaker 4 (03:42):
Like those two games will probably go off the way
we want them to, but only after the Bengals lose
to Pittsburgh in heartbreaking fashion. I hate to be such
a pessimist, but I've seen this movie a lot before.
But you know, I've been watching trick shot videos all
week in billiards, and you know those get those parlays,
and he said, those those three ball carams can happen,
(04:05):
and let's hope they do.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
Yeah, they do.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
You know, the game itself on Saturday, and I understand,
like the most Bengal thing ever would be the stuff
that has to happen on Sunday happens in their favor,
and they lay an egg against Pittsburgh and Tomlin is
gonna play his guys no matter what happens with Baltimore
and Cleveland, and he should because they're.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
Seeding to play for.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
And on one hand, it might be hard to imagine
the Steelers losing four straight games heading into the postseason.
At the same time, it feels like if we're doing
the arrow pointed up or down, with Pittsburgh gets pointed down,
and with the Bengals the way they're playing right now,
granted maybe not against great teams altogether, but the.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Arrow is pointed up.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
And so I'm actually marginally optimistic about Saturday.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
Yeah, I can see that.
Speaker 4 (04:52):
And you know, everybody points to the Pittsburgh pass rush
against the Bengals offensive line being a thing.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
But Steve for all their big names and they are
good players, watt in high Smith and they were, etc.
Speaker 4 (05:05):
They have the twenty fifth ranked adjusted sack.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
Ring, which we do at FTN in the league. They
have four more sacks than Cincinnati.
Speaker 4 (05:13):
It's not like they're out there wreaking havoc on a
weekly basic.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
Actually, Denver, the team we just.
Speaker 4 (05:19):
Played, took seven sacks and somehow beat and only punted
the one time in overtime.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
They have the best pass rush in the league.
Speaker 4 (05:27):
So you have to think, Wow, Okay, cincinnat He's gonna
have a chance to score points regardless of whether or
not that Pittsburgh can get pressure on Joe Burrow.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
And of course he's done such a great job all
year of.
Speaker 4 (05:39):
Evading the pressure, stepping up, making miraculous plays one after another.
You know, again, like I said before, if it wasn't
the Steelers and the history that they.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
Have, I kind of like the matchup right now.
Speaker 4 (05:54):
Pittsburgh doesn't seem to know exactly what they want to
do on offense. They've hit a crater with George Pickens
being out. He's probably gonna play, but you.
Speaker 3 (06:03):
Know, at what level is he going to be.
Speaker 4 (06:06):
He might not have to be great if he's guarded by,
say Marco Wilson, let's say, in a critical situation.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
But you know, the point being, like we.
Speaker 4 (06:14):
Were talking earlier, the Bengals have a reason to be
caught you, the Bengals have reason to be cautiously optimistic
about the matchup. It's just the fact that it's, you know,
the history between the two teams that gives me pause.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
Yeah, understandably so.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
Robert Weintraub, Cincinnati Magazine dot Com.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
Now, where are.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
You given the fact that Joe Burrow has doubled down
on his desire to see t with the Bengals in
twenty twenty five and beyond. Have you at all recalibrated
what you were hoping for or what you expect the
Bengals to do with number five?
Speaker 4 (06:50):
Yeah, I mean, we're really gonna find out whether or
not Joe Burrow really is the most powerful man in
the organization and.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
Has more power than a player in Cincinnati history. He
has made his preferences clear. That's obvious.
Speaker 4 (07:03):
I think we've talked before where you know, I kind
of felt like this has been trending in this direction
for a few weeks now, and to Higgins firing his
agent was a big sort of underreported or under remarked
upon move, and that Tea might not necessarily want to be,
you know, going someplace to be the number one guy
for the absolute most money.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
He's gonna get a lot of money. He's already rich.
You know, he might just value playing with his with
his buddies as and being part of an.
Speaker 4 (07:33):
Elite passing attack rather than catching passes from you know,
whoever you know pays him the most. With a whole
new system in the quarterback he doesn't know at all.
Speaker 3 (07:43):
It might not be anywhere near as good as Joe Burrow.
Speaker 4 (07:46):
The Bengals can still franchise Tea. That's definitely out there,
and he's running back for one more year if they
can't come to an agreement on a long term deal.
There's also the way Jamar is talking, and that it
seems like he knows something we don't, and that they
have a plan for the two of them to sign
some sort of combination platter package where they both get resigned,
(08:08):
not the same amount of money, but you know, the
details don't really matter. The point is they both be
back in Bengals strife's long term.
Speaker 5 (08:15):
Obviously, we hope that's the case.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
I think you just and we've.
Speaker 5 (08:19):
Been talking about it.
Speaker 4 (08:20):
Yes, it's recalibrated me in the terms of you don't
necessarily think paying big money to a quarterback and two
wide receivers is a great use of your roster dollars,
especially given how many gaping holes the Bengals have elsewhere
throughout the team. But they do this one thing so
incredibly well, and it's such an identity and such a
(08:42):
big part of who they are, and obviously a big
part of Joe Burrow's happiness and keeping him happy is
obviously a very important part of it all. I do
think that it's trending toward resigning team.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
I can't disagree with it.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Are you ready for the Halle Herbert hero turn on Saturday?
Speaker 3 (09:03):
Absolutely? Listen.
Speaker 4 (09:05):
This is a guy who has not gotten any run
in Cincinnata because Chase Brown has been still effective in
all areas this game. But were Herbert not a guy
you're gonna turn to. Is a bell cow back for
your entire season, but when called upon to do it
for a game or three here or there, he's been
very effective. He's had nine times in his career when
he's had eighteen or more carries.
Speaker 5 (09:25):
And he's averaged one hundred and four yards.
Speaker 4 (09:27):
In those games you need him to, you know, carry
the mail in a big spot, he gets the job done.
He's got a lot of favor in Chicago for reasons
that were not necessarily about whether or not he could
play the position well.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
And you know, I think this is.
Speaker 5 (09:43):
His golden opportunities.
Speaker 6 (09:44):
He's going to get here most likely, and boy, what
could really become, as you say, a folk hero with
the A twenty carrier one hundred and twelve yard performance,
pop one in for a touchdown maybe, and really just
get the job done on the ground.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
The key to the last couple of weeks.
Speaker 4 (10:00):
Bengals actually took on the first and third rank defensive
line in terms of giving up run yardage with the
Browns and the Broncos.
Speaker 5 (10:08):
And you know, they didn't dominate the game on the ground. Obviously,
you have Joe Burrow.
Speaker 3 (10:12):
You're never gonna do that.
Speaker 5 (10:13):
But they carved out enough yards. They made the other
team respect and run enough that opened.
Speaker 3 (10:19):
Things up in the passing game. It didn't make them
so unique dimensional.
Speaker 4 (10:22):
I think with Herbert, you have a good chance of
doing it against Pittsburgh, who's a top five run defense themselves,
and you.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
Know that'll be an important part of the game. Even
though we just talked down about.
Speaker 4 (10:33):
Pittsburgh's pass for us this year, if they can pin
their ears back in not respect and running any capacity,
that's obviously not a good thing. I think Herbert is
going to be a big part of the offense and
they're going to work him in without year, even though
he hasn't had much maybe snaps really this year for Cincinnati.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
What will go down as your favorite moment of the
Sheldon Rankins era in Cincinnati.
Speaker 3 (10:58):
Maybe his tout conference when he first signed here.
Speaker 5 (11:00):
I mean, it's really been all down hill there.
Speaker 4 (11:04):
That's so strange because we really don't even know what's
wrong with the guy. I mean, you know, we sit
here and make jokes and for all we know, the
guys on death's door.
Speaker 5 (11:14):
You know you've been high. We haven't seen hide nor
hair of the guy through a mystery.
Speaker 4 (11:19):
Illness for weeks and weeks. It's I don't know if
it's unprecedented in NFL history, but I can't think of
another example quite like it.
Speaker 3 (11:28):
You know.
Speaker 4 (11:29):
It's it's kind of thing where you would easily point
out to COVID if it was a few.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
Years ago, but who knows. Now it's been tough, you
know it.
Speaker 4 (11:37):
It goes back to the Bengals habit over the years,
and especially in recent years, of signing three agents who
played well against them in the hope that they can
magically have that happen against the entire schedule.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
Sometimes it works.
Speaker 5 (11:50):
Out, Mike Hilton, it definitely didn't work out in.
Speaker 3 (11:53):
This case, and you know it's too bad because.
Speaker 4 (11:56):
They desperately needed a defensive tackle to play up to
the level that rank had displayed.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
It in the past.
Speaker 4 (12:02):
This season, you know, they obviously got rid of a
DJ Reader with the full knowledge that rankings could.
Speaker 3 (12:08):
At least give them eighty to eighty.
Speaker 4 (12:11):
Five percent of what they were getting from Reader, and
they haven't gotten any and it's been a real problem
for their front line.
Speaker 5 (12:18):
And you know, it's just another way they're going to
have to fill.
Speaker 4 (12:21):
They're going to use this money, most likely killing forward
that will help resign to Higgins perhaps, and it'll help
then go get somebody else. But it's just another position
they have to fill going into the off season.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
All right, one more at least from me.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
So the story on Saturday Night, even though they won,
for a lot of folks, was Zach Taylor's game management
at the end of regulations, scoring but allowing time for
the Broncos to complete but still ended up being a
pretty improbable comeback. And you know, I'm watching Sunday night
Raheem Morris of the Falcons, who, for my money, is
(12:56):
an otherwise good coach. Maybe I'm wrong you you're closer
to that than I am. Just totally Butcher not using
his timeouts against the Commanders, and it feels like on
a weekly basis. These really smart football men are screwing
up basics, the basics of game management. Is that the
case or is it just more of a microscope on
(13:17):
what they're doing in more games available? And if it
is the case, why do these smart football men screw this.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Up so often? It's a great question.
Speaker 4 (13:26):
First of all, I'll preface it by saying the Raheem
Morris situation was way worse than exactly you know that
that injury timeout, that that really messed up the whole situation,
and that Broncos would have had some time left to
pull off some sort of miracle anyway, So we'll leave
it there, And yes, Rahem is getting barbecued down here, Yes,
for ruining their season and deserve it the So yeah,
(13:48):
I think it's a combination of things, and it's something
that has quote unquote media like you and I and
fans in general don't really appreciate just you know.
Speaker 5 (13:58):
How chaotic it can be in an NFL sideline.
Speaker 3 (14:01):
How difficult it is to really manage it all.
Speaker 4 (14:03):
Sometimes we look at you know, great coaches and see
how easy they make it. It isn't that easy. It's
easy for us as fans.
Speaker 5 (14:10):
Watching on TV to yell time out or to yell, oh.
Speaker 4 (14:13):
You've got to wait, you know, until the very last second,
and then you score the touchdown.
Speaker 5 (14:17):
But you know, it doesn't always work out that way.
Speaker 4 (14:20):
As they say, everybody's got a plan until you get hit,
you know, with so much else going on inside that headset,
sometimes we we I think, underrate how easy it is
to or overrate how easy it is to be great
game managers, even like a guy like Gamy Reed, who
all of a sudden now is the greatest.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
Coach of all time.
Speaker 4 (14:39):
His entire reputation was based around his failure to manage
the clock well while he was in Philadelphia.
Speaker 5 (14:46):
You know, it helps to have a guy like Patrick
Mahomes get that done.
Speaker 4 (14:49):
For you at you know, and then even there's been
a lot of media that I've known and encountered some
big names, really big names who have had the opportunity
to go and coach, even like their high school kids
or you know, rock and jock celebrity kind of things,
and they say the next day, oh, you know, I
had no idea so much was.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
Going into it.
Speaker 4 (15:09):
It's so hard to you know, manage this and that
while you know the game is going on, and as
a coach of my basketball playing son's team, I can.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
Relate to that.
Speaker 7 (15:21):
You know, I do think that there's a lot to
it goes into football coaching, and really when you get
into it, game management and time situations is way down
on the list after you know, teaching fundamentals and drawing.
Speaker 3 (15:36):
Up schemes and really just being a leader of men.
Speaker 4 (15:39):
And you know, it's the most visible thing that we
can point to as fans afterward, you know, to point blame,
which is what we always want to do.
Speaker 3 (15:49):
But I don't think.
Speaker 4 (15:50):
Coaches get into the profession just to say, oh, I'm
going to call a time out here or not there.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
You know, it's it helps to have.
Speaker 4 (15:57):
Somebody in your heads that devoted to that, and I
think they do, but I don't know how loud those
voices are.
Speaker 5 (16:04):
Necessarily at all times during the game when it.
Speaker 4 (16:07):
Matters the most, and sometimes, you know, things get away
from these guys and we're a little harshuts because of it.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
All Right, you got a question for me?
Speaker 4 (16:15):
Now, I do have a question for you, and it
involves T Higgins and it involved the game that we
just saw against Denver. And remember a year ago at
this time, roughly when Jake Browning was playing quarterback the
Bengals eat the Minnesota Vikings in an instant classic overtime game.
Speaker 5 (16:33):
Te Higgins was awesome in that game.
Speaker 4 (16:35):
Afterward, I believe you Moegger declared that as your favorite game,
either that you ever attended or that took place.
Speaker 5 (16:44):
In the regular season in Cincinnati.
Speaker 4 (16:46):
I was just wondering how this previous game against Denver
stacked up against that one a year ago against Minnesota.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
It's a good question, and it's one that I've Excuse me,
I've actually thought about a lot.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
To me, this is better because I think.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
It it solidified T higgins status for good, not with
the franchise, but I think with the fans. My immediate reaction,
and I put this on social media after the game,
I don't know that there are many more players I've
been rooting for this team now for a long damn time.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
I can't name.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
For you that many players who seem to be as
or more beloved.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
Than T Higgins.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
And that was maybe already the case going in, but
I think coming out like that was the story.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
You know, it was possibly his last home game.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
There's the redemption arc where he fumbles in the fourth quarter,
and it even felt like, God, that is that going
to be his last act.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
In this stadium as a member of this team.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
He was other than that terrific on a night where
Jamar Chase was reasonably quiet. The game against Minnesota last
year still felt like, you know, it had a real
kind of reds pirates September field to it, and they won,
but it really wasn't viewed as a big game going
in Saturday was hyped as the de facto playoff game.
(18:17):
The game itself had all these twists and turns where boy,
it felt like they're gonna win, and then boy, if
Denver goes for two at the end of regulation, they lose,
and they get two possessions in overtime and don't score
on either. In Kate York bangs like there was so
much stuff in that game that for it to end
the way it did in the backdrop of team maybe
(18:39):
playing his last game at home in the Bengals uniform
Saturday night was awfully, awfully special. I'll always love that
game against the Vikings last year and to play the
teammate I think your dogs agree with me, though. That
game on Saturday night is one that I'm gonna cherish
for a very long time.
Speaker 5 (18:57):
Who's a bigger T Higgins fan than my Doug.
Speaker 4 (18:59):
It was like, well, I would agree with that, and
I would also just point out that it's that game
underscored one reason why he is still beloved.
Speaker 3 (19:07):
He is so clutch in the biggest moment.
Speaker 5 (19:10):
He makes the biggest plays.
Speaker 3 (19:11):
I mean, go back to the Super Bowl.
Speaker 5 (19:13):
I mean, you know he was the man in that
game too, and he listen.
Speaker 3 (19:17):
You know, that's all the more.
Speaker 4 (19:18):
Reason why I think Joe said what he said and
why we've all been talking about this off.
Speaker 3 (19:22):
Season and that it really would.
Speaker 5 (19:24):
Be fitting and he had a shame at the same time.
Speaker 4 (19:27):
If so, Saturday was his final home game as a Bengal,
and I think we can all agree we'd like to
have more games, maybe not quite so stressful, but more
games that he shows out like he did on Saturday
and last year against Minnesota and get a revel in them,
because it would be a shame if you know, this
time next year he's a new Patriot or whatever.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
Yeah, you know, I've tried to make this point a
bunch of different times. I can look at his numbers
and conclude he's a good player. I think though, just
the way he's handled this whole con track saga, the
way he has willingly taken a back seat at times
to Jamar you know him, it was really impressive to me,
(20:09):
and maybe he shouldn't have been. He gets tagged, he
signs the tag tender in June, comes to training camp
practices every day, is pretty dismissive about boy, you got
a plan to the franchise tag and it instead says like.
Speaker 2 (20:24):
Did I'm gonna make twenty two million dollars playing football?
Like I'm good? Like the way he's handled all that.
Speaker 1 (20:29):
He did request a trade, but it didn't turn into
a spectacle. He's dragging himself on the field last year
Week seventeen against Kansas City.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
He's tried to play through injury this year.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
Like that's a dude to root for, But it's there's
there's some of that stuff that you just can't necessarily
attach a monetary value on or a statistical value on that.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
I don't know, man, that's the kind of guy you
want on your team.
Speaker 4 (20:53):
Moving phone, Yeah, and that goes back to what I
what we were talking about earlier, which is that.
Speaker 3 (20:59):
You know he doesn't seem like the kind of guy
who just wants to go wherever.
Speaker 5 (21:03):
Yeah, for every last dollar and be oh, I.
Speaker 3 (21:06):
Got to be the number one receiver.
Speaker 4 (21:07):
You know.
Speaker 3 (21:08):
I think he's very appreciative of the situation that he
has in Cincinnati. You know, it's one.
Speaker 5 (21:14):
Thing to play second fiddle to a guy.
Speaker 3 (21:17):
Like Jamar Chase. It's another thing to be great friends
with the guy at the same time, you.
Speaker 4 (21:22):
Know, and obviously get to play with Joe Burrow and
the fact that they've established what they've established here.
Speaker 5 (21:28):
I think it is a unique situation. It's not the
kind of thing that we've seen a lot.
Speaker 4 (21:33):
Throughout the history of the NFL, where it's an automatic
number two is just dying to be number one.
Speaker 3 (21:39):
I think t is a different case. He's a different guy.
Speaker 5 (21:42):
He's a different catt as you like to say, as
a Bengal.
Speaker 4 (21:46):
And you know, that's why I think there's whereas before
the season I gave very little chance that he'd be back,
I think there's a better than fifty to fifty and
maybe even stronger than that chance he's back next year
and since then former another.
Speaker 2 (22:01):
Yeah, certainly feels that way. Appreciate it, my man. Thanks
so much, Thank.
Speaker 5 (22:05):
You, MO, Happy Newton, everybody out there.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
There you go, Happy New Year, Robert Wintrump.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
Check out his Bengals column at Cincinnati Magazine dot com
Robert Weintraub, right, say, weekly Bengals column for Cincinnati Magazine.
You can read it at Cincinnati Magazine dot com if
you go there. Now to be a collection of columns
because his weekly column this week not yet published, so
we could all find out tomorrow, maybe later.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Tonight what he has written about.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
But that's not going to preclude us from chatting with him,
because I like talking with Robert, and he's with us.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Now, what's going on? What have I written about?
Speaker 3 (00:27):
I wrote about football in the Natty? What else come on?
Speaker 4 (00:32):
In this case the larger picture of the Bengals, not
just this particular radio hit.
Speaker 5 (00:37):
But yes, I like to think football in the Natty
is a state.
Speaker 4 (00:40):
Of mind, not just you know, a weekly show or
segment during the football season.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
Sure, yeah, we'll go. I've never actually used the Natty
and conversation.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
So maybe that's the next step for this segment. I
we'll find out.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
So you know, we've we've spent the last four or
five weeks, you know, going to different websites that project
playoff odds, whether it's FTN, whether it's Playoff status, and
whether it's ESPN or NFL dot Com. I know you're
partial to FTN and now it's basically a three team parlay.
(01:15):
Three things have to happen. Rank them in order of
least likely to most.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
Likely to actually go our way.
Speaker 4 (01:25):
I would thines the least likely, at least from a
ViBe's perspective.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
From my point of view, is the Bengals winning.
Speaker 5 (01:34):
I mean, how many times do we have to get kicked.
Speaker 4 (01:36):
In the teeth in big games by this particular opponent
before we realize that it's a fool's Errand to be
optimistic about a game against Pittsburgh, Now that's not a
matchup thing, like I say, it's the Vibes thing. If
it was any other opponent, I feel pretty good about
cincin NAT's chances, even with a banged up offensive line,
even with Chase Brown being out, even with a defense
(01:57):
as atrocious as being would to give up forty four
points to Pittsburgh last time they played. You know, obviously
Burrow and Chase and Higgins are playing so incredibly well
you love you love their chances rather against any team
in the league.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
But this is Pittsburgh and they've had the talent.
Speaker 4 (02:16):
And matchup advantage a lot of times before. The parallels
to two thousand and six.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
They're really kind of uncanny.
Speaker 4 (02:22):
Not just that they have to win the game against
Pittsburgh in the last game of the regular season, but
they need things to go their way, including the Chiefs
winning and the Broncos losing and the Jets playing. They
had to lose, I believe in two thousand and six,
and now they have to win.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
But uh, it's just it just lines up.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Why couldn't it.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
Just be the Ravens, you know, even though they're a
better team.
Speaker 4 (02:44):
Why why couldn't it be the Browns for God's sake,
Why it has to be Pittsburgh.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
He's think the I think the.
Speaker 4 (02:51):
Chiefs with their backups have a pretty good chance even
with the superstars on the bench.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
You know, it's a Carson Wentz prove it game.
Speaker 4 (02:59):
He's been kind of getting the Andy Reid tutelage.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
And schooling all season.
Speaker 5 (03:03):
He's gonna want to.
Speaker 4 (03:04):
Play show the league that he maybe deserves a decent
contract next year as a starter somewhere or potential starter.
And the Chiefs are beating the Broncos like seventeen out
of the last eighteen they owned the Broncos, so it
will be just like them to win this game, even
with the backups. And I mean the Jets in Miami
always plays strange games, and they've had a lot of
(03:26):
finale type games where one team has to beat the
other to make the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
And that team loses.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
Aaron Rodgers is a complete wild card. He'll probably go
out there and have his best game of his career
just because and then retire just to show everybody.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
You know, I kind of feel.
Speaker 4 (03:42):
Like those two games will probably go off the way
we want them to, but only after the Bengals lose
to Pittsburgh in heartbreaking fashion. I hate to be such
a pessimist, but I've seen this movie a lot before.
But you know, I've been watching trick shot videos all
week in billiards, and you know those get those parlays,
and he said, those those three ball carams can happen,
(04:05):
and let's hope they do.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
Yeah, they do.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
You know, the game itself on Saturday, and I understand,
like the most Bengal thing ever would be the stuff
that has to happen on Sunday happens in their favor,
and they lay an egg against Pittsburgh and Tomlin is
gonna play his guys no matter what happens with Baltimore
and Cleveland, and he should because they're.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
Seeding to play for.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
And on one hand, it might be hard to imagine
the Steelers losing four straight games heading into the postseason.
At the same time, it feels like if we're doing
the arrow pointed up or down, with Pittsburgh gets pointed down,
and with the Bengals the way they're playing right now,
granted maybe not against great teams altogether, but the.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Arrow is pointed up.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
And so I'm actually marginally optimistic about Saturday.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
Yeah, I can see that.
Speaker 4 (04:52):
And you know, everybody points to the Pittsburgh pass rush
against the Bengals offensive line being a thing.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
But Steve for all their big names and they are
good players, watt in high Smith and they were, etc.
Speaker 4 (05:05):
They have the twenty fifth ranked adjusted sack.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
Ring, which we do at FTN in the league. They
have four more sacks than Cincinnati.
Speaker 4 (05:13):
It's not like they're out there wreaking havoc on a
weekly basic.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
Actually, Denver, the team we just.
Speaker 4 (05:19):
Played, took seven sacks and somehow beat and only punted
the one time in overtime.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
They have the best pass rush in the league.
Speaker 4 (05:27):
So you have to think, Wow, Okay, cincinnat He's gonna
have a chance to score points regardless of whether or
not that Pittsburgh can get pressure on Joe Burrow.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
And of course he's done such a great job all
year of.
Speaker 4 (05:39):
Evading the pressure, stepping up, making miraculous plays one after another.
You know, again, like I said before, if it wasn't
the Steelers and the history that they.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
Have, I kind of like the matchup right now.
Speaker 4 (05:54):
Pittsburgh doesn't seem to know exactly what they want to
do on offense. They've hit a crater with George Pickens
being out. He's probably gonna play, but you.
Speaker 3 (06:03):
Know, at what level is he going to be.
Speaker 4 (06:06):
He might not have to be great if he's guarded by,
say Marco Wilson, let's say, in a critical situation.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
But you know, the point being, like we.
Speaker 4 (06:14):
Were talking earlier, the Bengals have a reason to be
caught you, the Bengals have reason to be cautiously optimistic
about the matchup. It's just the fact that it's, you know,
the history between the two teams that gives me pause.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
Yeah, understandably so.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
Robert Weintraub, Cincinnati Magazine dot Com.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
Now, where are.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
You given the fact that Joe Burrow has doubled down
on his desire to see t with the Bengals in
twenty twenty five and beyond. Have you at all recalibrated
what you were hoping for or what you expect the
Bengals to do with number five?
Speaker 4 (06:50):
Yeah, I mean, we're really gonna find out whether or
not Joe Burrow really is the most powerful man in
the organization and.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
Has more power than a player in Cincinnati history. He
has made his preferences clear. That's obvious.
Speaker 4 (07:03):
I think we've talked before where you know, I kind
of felt like this has been trending in this direction
for a few weeks now, and to Higgins firing his
agent was a big sort of underreported or under remarked
upon move, and that Tea might not necessarily want to be,
you know, going someplace to be the number one guy
for the absolute most money.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
He's gonna get a lot of money. He's already rich.
You know, he might just value playing with his with
his buddies as and being part of an.
Speaker 4 (07:33):
Elite passing attack rather than catching passes from you know,
whoever you know pays him the most. With a whole
new system in the quarterback he doesn't know at all.
Speaker 3 (07:43):
It might not be anywhere near as good as Joe Burrow.
Speaker 4 (07:46):
The Bengals can still franchise Tea. That's definitely out there,
and he's running back for one more year if they
can't come to an agreement on a long term deal.
There's also the way Jamar is talking, and that it
seems like he knows something we don't, and that they
have a plan for the two of them to sign
some sort of combination platter package where they both get resigned,
(08:08):
not the same amount of money, but you know, the
details don't really matter. The point is they both be
back in Bengals strife's long term.
Speaker 5 (08:15):
Obviously, we hope that's the case.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
I think you just and we've.
Speaker 5 (08:19):
Been talking about it.
Speaker 4 (08:20):
Yes, it's recalibrated me in the terms of you don't
necessarily think paying big money to a quarterback and two
wide receivers is a great use of your roster dollars,
especially given how many gaping holes the Bengals have elsewhere
throughout the team. But they do this one thing so
incredibly well, and it's such an identity and such a
(08:42):
big part of who they are, and obviously a big
part of Joe Burrow's happiness and keeping him happy is
obviously a very important part of it all. I do
think that it's trending toward resigning team.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
I can't disagree with it.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Are you ready for the Halle Herbert hero turn on Saturday?
Speaker 3 (09:03):
Absolutely? Listen.
Speaker 4 (09:05):
This is a guy who has not gotten any run
in Cincinnata because Chase Brown has been still effective in
all areas this game. But were Herbert not a guy
you're gonna turn to. Is a bell cow back for
your entire season, but when called upon to do it
for a game or three here or there, he's been
very effective. He's had nine times in his career when
he's had eighteen or more carries.
Speaker 5 (09:25):
And he's averaged one hundred and four yards.
Speaker 4 (09:27):
In those games you need him to, you know, carry
the mail in a big spot, he gets the job done.
He's got a lot of favor in Chicago for reasons
that were not necessarily about whether or not he could
play the position well.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
And you know, I think this is.
Speaker 5 (09:43):
His golden opportunities.
Speaker 6 (09:44):
He's going to get here most likely, and boy, what
could really become, as you say, a folk hero with
the A twenty carrier one hundred and twelve yard performance,
pop one in for a touchdown maybe, and really just
get the job done on the ground.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
The key to the last couple of weeks.
Speaker 4 (10:00):
Bengals actually took on the first and third rank defensive
line in terms of giving up run yardage with the
Browns and the Broncos.
Speaker 5 (10:08):
And you know, they didn't dominate the game on the ground. Obviously,
you have Joe Burrow.
Speaker 3 (10:12):
You're never gonna do that.
Speaker 5 (10:13):
But they carved out enough yards. They made the other
team respect and run enough that opened.
Speaker 3 (10:19):
Things up in the passing game. It didn't make them
so unique dimensional.
Speaker 4 (10:22):
I think with Herbert, you have a good chance of
doing it against Pittsburgh, who's a top five run defense themselves,
and you.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
Know that'll be an important part of the game. Even
though we just talked down about.
Speaker 4 (10:33):
Pittsburgh's pass for us this year, if they can pin
their ears back in not respect and running any capacity,
that's obviously not a good thing. I think Herbert is
going to be a big part of the offense and
they're going to work him in without year, even though
he hasn't had much maybe snaps really this year for Cincinnati.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
What will go down as your favorite moment of the
Sheldon Rankins era in Cincinnati.
Speaker 3 (10:58):
Maybe his tout conference when he first signed here.
Speaker 5 (11:00):
I mean, it's really been all down hill there.
Speaker 4 (11:04):
That's so strange because we really don't even know what's
wrong with the guy. I mean, you know, we sit
here and make jokes and for all we know, the
guys on death's door.
Speaker 5 (11:14):
You know you've been high. We haven't seen hide nor
hair of the guy through a mystery.
Speaker 4 (11:19):
Illness for weeks and weeks. It's I don't know if
it's unprecedented in NFL history, but I can't think of
another example quite like it.
Speaker 3 (11:28):
You know.
Speaker 4 (11:29):
It's it's kind of thing where you would easily point
out to COVID if it was a few.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
Years ago, but who knows. Now it's been tough, you
know it.
Speaker 4 (11:37):
It goes back to the Bengals habit over the years,
and especially in recent years, of signing three agents who
played well against them in the hope that they can
magically have that happen against the entire schedule.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
Sometimes it works.
Speaker 5 (11:50):
Out, Mike Hilton, it definitely didn't work out in.
Speaker 3 (11:53):
This case, and you know it's too bad because.
Speaker 4 (11:56):
They desperately needed a defensive tackle to play up to
the level that rank had displayed.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
It in the past.
Speaker 4 (12:02):
This season, you know, they obviously got rid of a
DJ Reader with the full knowledge that rankings could.
Speaker 3 (12:08):
At least give them eighty to eighty.
Speaker 4 (12:11):
Five percent of what they were getting from Reader, and
they haven't gotten any and it's been a real problem
for their front line.
Speaker 5 (12:18):
And you know, it's just another way they're going to
have to fill.
Speaker 4 (12:21):
They're going to use this money, most likely killing forward
that will help resign to Higgins perhaps, and it'll help
then go get somebody else. But it's just another position
they have to fill going into the off season.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
All right, one more at least from me.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
So the story on Saturday Night, even though they won,
for a lot of folks, was Zach Taylor's game management
at the end of regulations, scoring but allowing time for
the Broncos to complete but still ended up being a
pretty improbable comeback. And you know, I'm watching Sunday night
Raheem Morris of the Falcons, who, for my money, is
(12:56):
an otherwise good coach. Maybe I'm wrong you you're closer
to that than I am. Just totally Butcher not using
his timeouts against the Commanders, and it feels like on
a weekly basis. These really smart football men are screwing
up basics, the basics of game management. Is that the
case or is it just more of a microscope on
(13:17):
what they're doing in more games available? And if it
is the case, why do these smart football men screw this.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Up so often? It's a great question.
Speaker 4 (13:26):
First of all, I'll preface it by saying the Raheem
Morris situation was way worse than exactly you know that
that injury timeout, that that really messed up the whole situation,
and that Broncos would have had some time left to
pull off some sort of miracle anyway, So we'll leave
it there, And yes, Rahem is getting barbecued down here, Yes,
for ruining their season and deserve it the So yeah,
(13:48):
I think it's a combination of things, and it's something
that has quote unquote media like you and I and
fans in general don't really appreciate just you know.
Speaker 5 (13:58):
How chaotic it can be in an NFL sideline.
Speaker 3 (14:01):
How difficult it is to really manage it all.
Speaker 4 (14:03):
Sometimes we look at you know, great coaches and see
how easy they make it. It isn't that easy. It's
easy for us as fans.
Speaker 5 (14:10):
Watching on TV to yell time out or to yell, oh.
Speaker 4 (14:13):
You've got to wait, you know, until the very last second,
and then you score the touchdown.
Speaker 5 (14:17):
But you know, it doesn't always work out that way.
Speaker 4 (14:20):
As they say, everybody's got a plan until you get hit,
you know, with so much else going on inside that headset,
sometimes we we I think, underrate how easy it is
to or overrate how easy it is to be great
game managers, even like a guy like Gamy Reed, who
all of a sudden now is the greatest.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
Coach of all time.
Speaker 4 (14:39):
His entire reputation was based around his failure to manage
the clock well while he was in Philadelphia.
Speaker 5 (14:46):
You know, it helps to have a guy like Patrick
Mahomes get that done.
Speaker 4 (14:49):
For you at you know, and then even there's been
a lot of media that I've known and encountered some
big names, really big names who have had the opportunity
to go and coach, even like their high school kids
or you know, rock and jock celebrity kind of things,
and they say the next day, oh, you know, I
had no idea so much was.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
Going into it.
Speaker 4 (15:09):
It's so hard to you know, manage this and that
while you know the game is going on, and as
a coach of my basketball playing son's team, I can.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
Relate to that.
Speaker 7 (15:21):
You know, I do think that there's a lot to
it goes into football coaching, and really when you get
into it, game management and time situations is way down
on the list after you know, teaching fundamentals and drawing.
Speaker 3 (15:36):
Up schemes and really just being a leader of men.
Speaker 4 (15:39):
And you know, it's the most visible thing that we
can point to as fans afterward, you know, to point blame,
which is what we always want to do.
Speaker 3 (15:49):
But I don't think.
Speaker 4 (15:50):
Coaches get into the profession just to say, oh, I'm
going to call a time out here or not there.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
You know, it's it helps to have.
Speaker 4 (15:57):
Somebody in your heads that devoted to that, and I
think they do, but I don't know how loud those
voices are.
Speaker 5 (16:04):
Necessarily at all times during the game when it.
Speaker 4 (16:07):
Matters the most, and sometimes, you know, things get away
from these guys and we're a little harshuts because of it.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
All Right, you got a question for me?
Speaker 4 (16:15):
Now, I do have a question for you, and it
involves T Higgins and it involved the game that we
just saw against Denver. And remember a year ago at
this time, roughly when Jake Browning was playing quarterback the
Bengals eat the Minnesota Vikings in an instant classic overtime game.
Speaker 5 (16:33):
Te Higgins was awesome in that game.
Speaker 4 (16:35):
Afterward, I believe you Moegger declared that as your favorite game,
either that you ever attended or that took place.
Speaker 5 (16:44):
In the regular season in Cincinnati.
Speaker 4 (16:46):
I was just wondering how this previous game against Denver
stacked up against that one a year ago against Minnesota.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
It's a good question, and it's one that I've Excuse me,
I've actually thought about a lot.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
To me, this is better because I think.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
It it solidified T higgins status for good, not with
the franchise, but I think with the fans. My immediate reaction,
and I put this on social media after the game,
I don't know that there are many more players I've
been rooting for this team now for a long damn time.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
I can't name.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
For you that many players who seem to be as
or more beloved.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
Than T Higgins.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
And that was maybe already the case going in, but
I think coming out like that was the story.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
You know, it was possibly his last home game.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
There's the redemption arc where he fumbles in the fourth quarter,
and it even felt like, God, that is that going
to be his last act.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
In this stadium as a member of this team.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
He was other than that terrific on a night where
Jamar Chase was reasonably quiet. The game against Minnesota last
year still felt like, you know, it had a real
kind of reds pirates September field to it, and they won,
but it really wasn't viewed as a big game going
in Saturday was hyped as the de facto playoff game.
(18:17):
The game itself had all these twists and turns where boy,
it felt like they're gonna win, and then boy, if
Denver goes for two at the end of regulation, they lose,
and they get two possessions in overtime and don't score
on either. In Kate York bangs like there was so
much stuff in that game that for it to end
the way it did in the backdrop of team maybe
(18:39):
playing his last game at home in the Bengals uniform
Saturday night was awfully, awfully special. I'll always love that
game against the Vikings last year and to play the
teammate I think your dogs agree with me, though. That
game on Saturday night is one that I'm gonna cherish
for a very long time.
Speaker 5 (18:57):
Who's a bigger T Higgins fan than my Doug.
Speaker 4 (18:59):
It was like, well, I would agree with that, and
I would also just point out that it's that game
underscored one reason why he is still beloved.
Speaker 3 (19:07):
He is so clutch in the biggest moment.
Speaker 5 (19:10):
He makes the biggest plays.
Speaker 3 (19:11):
I mean, go back to the Super Bowl.
Speaker 5 (19:13):
I mean, you know he was the man in that
game too, and he listen.
Speaker 3 (19:17):
You know, that's all the more.
Speaker 4 (19:18):
Reason why I think Joe said what he said and
why we've all been talking about this off.
Speaker 3 (19:22):
Season and that it really would.
Speaker 5 (19:24):
Be fitting and he had a shame at the same time.
Speaker 4 (19:27):
If so, Saturday was his final home game as a Bengal,
and I think we can all agree we'd like to
have more games, maybe not quite so stressful, but more
games that he shows out like he did on Saturday
and last year against Minnesota and get a revel in them,
because it would be a shame if you know, this
time next year he's a new Patriot or whatever.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
Yeah, you know, I've tried to make this point a
bunch of different times. I can look at his numbers
and conclude he's a good player. I think though, just
the way he's handled this whole con track saga, the
way he has willingly taken a back seat at times
to Jamar you know him, it was really impressive to me,
(20:09):
and maybe he shouldn't have been. He gets tagged, he
signs the tag tender in June, comes to training camp
practices every day, is pretty dismissive about boy, you got
a plan to the franchise tag and it instead says like.
Speaker 2 (20:24):
Did I'm gonna make twenty two million dollars playing football?
Like I'm good? Like the way he's handled all that.
Speaker 1 (20:29):
He did request a trade, but it didn't turn into
a spectacle. He's dragging himself on the field last year
Week seventeen against Kansas City.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
He's tried to play through injury this year.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
Like that's a dude to root for, But it's there's
there's some of that stuff that you just can't necessarily
attach a monetary value on or a statistical value on that.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
I don't know, man, that's the kind of guy you
want on your team.
Speaker 4 (20:53):
Moving phone, Yeah, and that goes back to what I
what we were talking about earlier, which is that.
Speaker 3 (20:59):
You know he doesn't seem like the kind of guy
who just wants to go wherever.
Speaker 5 (21:03):
Yeah, for every last dollar and be oh, I.
Speaker 3 (21:06):
Got to be the number one receiver.
Speaker 4 (21:07):
You know.
Speaker 3 (21:08):
I think he's very appreciative of the situation that he
has in Cincinnati. You know, it's one.
Speaker 5 (21:14):
Thing to play second fiddle to a guy.
Speaker 3 (21:17):
Like Jamar Chase. It's another thing to be great friends
with the guy at the same time, you.
Speaker 4 (21:22):
Know, and obviously get to play with Joe Burrow and
the fact that they've established what they've established here.
Speaker 5 (21:28):
I think it is a unique situation. It's not the
kind of thing that we've seen a lot.
Speaker 4 (21:33):
Throughout the history of the NFL, where it's an automatic
number two is just dying to be number one.
Speaker 3 (21:39):
I think t is a different case. He's a different guy.
Speaker 5 (21:42):
He's a different catt as you like to say, as
a Bengal.
Speaker 4 (21:46):
And you know, that's why I think there's whereas before
the season I gave very little chance that he'd be back,
I think there's a better than fifty to fifty and
maybe even stronger than that chance he's back next year
and since then former another.
Speaker 2 (22:01):
Yeah, certainly feels that way. Appreciate it, my man. Thanks
so much, Thank.
Speaker 5 (22:05):
You, MO, Happy Newton, everybody out there.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
There you go, Happy New Year, Robert Wintrump.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
Check out his Bengals column at Cincinnati Magazine dot com
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