September 24, 2025 • 16 mins
Tony and Austin sift through the wreckage of Sunday with John Sheeran from A to Z sports and look ahead to Monday night, on ESPN 1530!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is Penn Station East Coat Subs since e three
to sixty about Cincinnati from Cincinnati spontered in part by
Pinstation East CoA subs, handcrafted hot grilled subs, fresh cut fries,
and lemonade. It's all about good taste. Pennstation East Coast
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(00:21):
Sports Station.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
All right, welcome back our number three, thanks to Penn Station.
Thank you for listening on the Home of the Bengals.
ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station. Move the schedule around
a little bit this week. Normally on Thursdays, we talked
to our guy John Scheron from ada Zy Sports because
Zach Taylor speaks on Wednesdays. That's getting flipped this week
because of the Monday night football game. So joining us
here to kick off the third hour is our good
(00:43):
friend John Sharon. John, what's going on?
Speaker 3 (00:46):
You know, Tony, I've had better weeks covering this team.
I'll play that much. From a lot of different angles,
both serious and non serious.
Speaker 4 (00:52):
It's been a yeah, we're better of a couple of days.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
I understand that completely. Let's start with one of the
more startling things about this team, and that is the
inability to run the ball at all. Is it something
in your opinion that is fixable and in your opinion,
what has gone into the lack of running ability right now?
Speaker 3 (01:13):
Yeah, we talked about it last week, Right, it was
my number one concern with this team going forward, and
I didn't think he would actually end up getting worse,
but somehow it did because again, like I mean, we've
all been watching football a long time. I don't think
we've ever seen a game in which the interior of
the offensive line gets moved backwards so consistently when you
(01:33):
first supposed to fire off.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
The ball and displaced guys.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
Right, that was somehow a common talking point with this
team over the past couple of days. And it's like,
how is this a problem for an NFL team? And
the reason why I'm skeptical about the fixes is because
they're not necessarily like Daldon Reisner and Ted Carris, they're
not young players, right, Like, they kind of are who
they are, and there's limitations athletically there, but even still,
(01:58):
like that is the scenario which they need to just
kind of execute the force.
Speaker 4 (02:03):
That they have as athletes.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
And if they can't do that even in obvious running situations.
It's very tough to see how that changes other than
them just buckling down and just locking in in that
phase of the offense. I think there are some ways
in which you can counter this. You can get guys
moving a little bit horizontally on some counters, on some
power plays, things of that nature, right, trying to catch
the defense off guard with some draws and whatnot.
Speaker 4 (02:26):
There's some schematic things you can do.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
But what we saw Sunday was so startling just from
an execution standpoint, where it's like, like, I don't know
if these guys just have what it takes to just
execute the simplest of concepts. So that was really startling
to see against again a pretty well defensive front and
well coach defensive front for the Vikings. But it was
even worse than what I would have thought, and that's
why I'm not feeling too great about it.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
It is the third offensive line coach under Zach Taylor.
They're now on their second offensive coordinator and the first
offensive coordinator. Brian Callahan, the head coach of the Tennessee Titans,
just gave up play calling duties in Tennessee to try
to get something going. We've exhausted. It feels like a
lot of different avenues. And I've had the conversation now
for a couple of years about Zach Taylor as the
(03:11):
play caller. Is this a conversation that needs to be
happening more as it pertains to the Bengals and how
they're operating offensively.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
Yeah, I mean it has been a conversation for a while,
and I think right now is the first time I
think it actually has a good amount of weight because
right at this moment, when you have a backup quarterback
in there, so much is relying on the coaching staff
and the play caller to put him in the best
possible snare because obviously you know Jake Browning who he
is right now. He's not a guy that you can
(03:41):
rely on to win you a game as a dropback pass. Necessarily,
he needs help. And I think what gave Zach a
lot of I think we gave Zach a lot of
credit for how he and Brian Callahan and Dan Pitcher
the brain showst that offense, how they evolved the offense
after Jake Browning's first start the last time in twenty
twenty three, we're at the same time point now where
he just came in for Burrow. He had a terrible
(04:03):
first start, but then things started to get better and
they started to have a more cohesive plan about what
to do moving forward in the second week. We are
at that point right now, and if we don't see
any progress in that regard in terms of them getting
on schedule, then finding a way to just get easy
yards for once in their life, just finding a way
to make it look easy with the with the skill
players that they have. If they can't do that now,
(04:24):
I think the clock really does start for them to
try to find something different in the form of a
different process. I don't know for a fact if it's
going to change significantly if they give it over to
damn Pitcher, but at some point you just can't keep
running into a brick wall, both figuratively and literally.
Speaker 5 (04:39):
Do you think it would change things significantly if they
gave it over to a different quarterback? Tony and I
have been kind of butting heads about this a little bit.
Like Russell Wilson or someone like that, would you go
after him?
Speaker 4 (04:52):
I think russ is interesting.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
Like the Giants, I think made an announcement saying that
he's officially quarterback too, whereas Jameis Winston, on the other hand,
is kind of up and up in limbo. I'm not
necessarily against Russ, considering that his arm is just notably
better than Browning. I think if you were to go
after a different quarterback like Russ, you would have to
make significant changes to the offense, and maybe that's probably
maybe a positive thing.
Speaker 4 (05:14):
Right Maybe everything that they're trying to do.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
Right now has been really stale and clearly it's just
not connecting with the rest of the players. So I'm
not totally against it, obviously. I kind of think in
the sandbox of who the Bengals are, and that's typically
a very anti thing for them to do, even though
they're in this position that right now where they don't
have a stable solution at quarterback, but they've always relied
on the guys in their house. And the only reason
why I would kind of support it is because it
(05:37):
would probably garner more significant changes from a schematic standpoint,
and they could use any sort of changes right now.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
Defensively, a lot was made after the game about the
limited amount of snaps Logan Wilson got, and originally I
just assumed John that it was a blowout. You're getting
a lot of guys in, but hearing from Logan Wilson,
this was something communicated him before the game that they
were going to rotate a lot of guys there. What
are your thoughts on how they're utilizing and rotating some
(06:03):
guys defensively.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
Yeah, I think like oron Burks for example, like he's
been pretty good in these first three few weeks, and
I'm not opposed necessarily beginning him on the field a
little bit more if that means that you're kind of
picking your spots as to when to play Logan Wilson,
who I think is still your best all around linebacker,
but if you're not trying to expose him maybe some
situations where he's maybe not as good as he was
a handful of years ago. I'm not necessarily opposed to that,
(06:27):
but I think that it needs to be you know,
make sure that he's on the same page and he's
comfortable and supportive of the plan.
Speaker 4 (06:33):
And if that is, if there's a disconnect.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
There, then there's probably an issue with this new coaching
staff and everything like that. But I think they really
value the depth that they have at linebacker. I think
they want to give Barry Carter Moore exposure as well.
But Aaron Burks definitely has value to this defense and
as a blitzer, and he's already shown some promise there.
So as long as that they're maximizing who they have,
I think it's fine. But you obviously don't want one
of your actual captains and leaders to be disgruntled about
(06:56):
the plan because obviously we saw that the last time
that there was a new defensive coordator of talent.
Speaker 4 (06:59):
Every that have to Carls delle Up.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
I'm not saying that's going to happen Logan Wilson, but
you don't want to end up going down that road
where you're not making sure that you're putting your guys
in positions where they're comfortable.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
I feel like it's so hard in a game that
gets away from like Sunday did, to evaluate specifically the
defensive side of the ball. But through three weeks, how
do you evaluate the defense as a hole under out golden.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
Yeah, I think that they were the like the only
semblance of a positive thing on Sunday because once after
the first couple of drives, they seem to kind of
settle in and then Obviously, like you said, the game
kind of went away from them and it was hard
to really evaluate that.
Speaker 4 (07:32):
But I think that they're.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
Finding out how they can stimulate some pressure and now
again has been my biggest concern with them in terms
of just gaining some consistency and confidence. You saw a
little bit of flashes from Chris Jenkins. I think Dax
Hill has been exactly who I hope that he was
going to be, and now that he's fully healthy and
in that natural position at slock cornerbacker' seing some flashes
from DJ Turner. Jordan battles always around the ball, so
(07:53):
that's that's good as well. So there's there's definitely positives
to take away from that unit. You just want them
to be in a position where again they're not having
to rely on turnovers, but also that the offense actually
helps him out because the zero help from them this
past week. So I think that there's slow but steady
progress being made a lot with individual guys, but I
think the more that you see that, the more that
they will continue to come together as in union, and
(08:14):
as long as that they're getting those flashes from pass
rushers outside of Treanrickson, there should be some more promise there.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
The term business decisions gets thrown around when games like
Sunday happen. And one of the concerns that I have
now John going forward is that culture in the locker room,
which has always been very strong under Zach Taylor. But
it's a little easier to get over a low production
game or not having the output if you're winning games.
(08:40):
If you're losing games and you're losing in the fashion
where the game isn't close, I feel like it's a
lot harder to keep a locker room and a culture together.
How much of that are you now paying attention to
going forward with where this team is at, because they
still are two to one, You're still leading the AFC North,
But it's just not a good taste in your mouth
after Sunday.
Speaker 4 (09:01):
Isn't that crazy?
Speaker 3 (09:02):
They were going through last year and we were still
having these same conversations.
Speaker 4 (09:05):
Now they're two and one, right, so you never really
know how this is going to go.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
But that's why this week is so freaking important, because
getting punched in every part of your body last Sunday,
like you need to respond in some way, shape or form.
You don't necessarily need to win against Denver because I
think there's some things that Denver just does well better
than the Bengals right now. But you need to respond
and showcase some competency and showcase some fight, right. I
(09:27):
don't blame some of the things that we saw when
the game was well out of reach by some of
the stars and everything like that. Like those weeks are rare,
but they do happen, and you just have to move on.
But you can't let it compound, because you're right. The
one thing that Zach has in his back pocket in
terms of why he should remain here is because he's
always cultivated a great culture of guys that just completely
(09:49):
buy in, and once you lose that, it's pretty much
impossible to get back, right, So beyond just him as
the play caller, him as the leader really needs to
exhibit the leadership and the management style that he's been
so accustomed of of really cultivating here. And if that,
if that starts to lose now, then then you're talking
about him really being on the clock. It's more than
just him just as a play call at the backup quarterback.
It's making sure that these guys don't completely lose sight
(10:10):
of what's important here when rolling in September.
Speaker 5 (10:13):
Looking ahead to the Broncos, I don't know that they've
necessarily been who most people have expected them to be
up unto this point. How do you think they match
up with Cincinnati on Monday Night?
Speaker 3 (10:25):
Yeah, this was such an intriguing matchup when Burrow was
healthy because last year you saw how they were able
to kind of pick on the other side of the ball,
the other side of the formation from where Patrick's certain
was when he was going up against Jamar Chase. But
now you're probably trying to feature Jamar Chase as much
as possible with Jake Browning because you're just trying to
utilize your playmakers. So how they move around Chase compared
to Certain, they obviously had more pieces in the second area.
Speaker 4 (10:47):
That defense is still really solid.
Speaker 3 (10:50):
Nick Potonio, the right edge rushery He was shut down
last year by Landa Brown Junion when Alona Brown June
was on one knee. So if they can replicate that,
if they can continue to limit their best pass rusher
and work around Certain, there's a chance that this offense
can can kind of fight back. But you know, giving
up to thirty something points for the Broncos, last year
was an anomaly. That's what the Bengals were able to do.
(11:11):
That's why they won that shootout late last year. So
you're probably not expecting that with where this offense is
right now. But fortunately bo Nicks, even without pressure, he's
not the best decision maker right now, but with pressure,
he's the worst quarterback in the NFL. So how this
defense continues to stimulate the pressure that they are with
the blizz packages, with the linebackers up the middle, that's
going to be important to get bo Nicks off schedule
(11:33):
because if you give him time though, like you saw
last year, he's capable of great throws that can definitely
pick apart the secondary.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
What's your biggest concern if things don't go well on
Monday Night and they don't keep it competitive, because that
to me, if you go in, like you said, you
compete your tail off, you're on the wrong side of
a tough game, maybe even find a way to win.
We're not having the conversation. But if things go sideways,
if you see something similar not to the extent of
what Sunday was, but more similar to that, where do
(12:03):
you turn after that? Because the Lions come in, then
you go to Green Bay and then it's the Pittsburgh Steelers.
How concerning does it become if it gets away from
you on Monday night.
Speaker 4 (12:12):
Yeah, I think you can underestimate it.
Speaker 3 (12:14):
I think at that point, you have two weeks of this.
Speaker 4 (12:19):
Team post Joe Burrow injury.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
He's not walking through that door for the next two
months of the absolute earliest, and you probably don't have
a lot of confidence that you can compete with pretty
much anyone, maybe like the absolute bottom of the league.
But at that point, it's harder to look at yourselves
as not being at the bottom of the league if
you continue to get to get your doors bulled off
of you. So it probably isn't good at that point.
(12:40):
And I think what compounds that is that you just
don't expect the decision makers of this team to make
an aggressive move in the middle of the season to
kind of spark anything like a Khalil Herbert trade is
not going to change this team, like like they tried
to think it changed last year, right, So something drastic
would need to change in terms of the philosophy to
try to spark things up. Think they would just try
to rely on the interest that they have in the
(13:02):
building and try and try to hope for the best,
to see if things could turn around. But yeah, it's
a scary scenario in which you just don't have confidence
in who is leading your team to that point and
things can downspoil really quickly. So which is why being
competitive at the very least some Monday night is so important.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
John, you're the best man. I can't thank you enough
for switching things up and joining us today instead of tomorrow.
I know there's a lot of things going on at
a to Z Sports, including I know they put together
their top twenty five is voted on by the stay
of how close were the Bearcats to receiving some top
twenty five votes this week for eight diz Sports.
Speaker 3 (13:36):
You know, I'm not really a part of that, so
my half vote actually didn't count. So I think there's
still I think it's still at a goose at twenty seven.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
I think they're twenty six, twenty seven.
Speaker 4 (13:45):
Thirty seven, forty seven. What's the difference? All right, yeah,
all right, you're the best.
Speaker 2 (13:49):
What is the easiest way to follow along with your
coverage of the Bengals very important coverage of the Bengals
right now?
Speaker 3 (13:55):
Absolutely eight Diza Sports Dot com backs Lesson Snetti, I
ended up writing about, unfortunately, the passing of Ridy Johnson.
I just want to say, amazing player to watch, amazing
person to follow growing up, one of my heroes growing up.
Speaker 4 (14:07):
So rest in peace to Reedy Johnson.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
John Man, thank you so much and look forward to
talking again next week.
Speaker 4 (14:13):
Thank you guys.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
Yes, sir, that is John Sharon and is E Sports
covering the Cincinnati Bengals, kind enough with his time normally
on Thursdays. Moved it around because of Zach Taylor speaking tomorrow.
We have plenty more to go today, including uh, you
will open up the phone lines five, one, three, seven,
fifteen thirty. If we weren't able to get to your
call earlier, we can get it between now and when
(14:34):
we joined Melwager for quick hits on the Home of
the Bengals ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station, thanks to
Penn Station.
Speaker 6 (14:42):
Going to get your business. Peke Browning and his Big
Bed Bengals put it all on the line when they
face Bull Nix and his Denver Devo Jays on Monday
Night Football. Kenny Orange and Black break the Broncos tho.
Cincinnati's aerial assault will leave the Stallions stunned. Find out
when you get the call from Dangerous Dan Lord and
(15:03):
Mighty Dave Laplan Coverage starts Monday at three pm. Let
scream for free on the new and improved iHeartRadio app
for ESPN fifteen thirty, the official home of US Cincinnati Bengals.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
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Crome's disease
This is Penn Station East Coat Subs since e three
to sixty about Cincinnati from Cincinnati spontered in part by
Pinstation East CoA subs, handcrafted hot grilled subs, fresh cut fries,
and lemonade. It's all about good taste. Pennstation East Coast
Subs order online today. This is ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati
(00:21):
Sports Station.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
All right, welcome back our number three, thanks to Penn Station.
Thank you for listening on the Home of the Bengals.
ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station. Move the schedule around
a little bit this week. Normally on Thursdays, we talked
to our guy John Scheron from ada Zy Sports because
Zach Taylor speaks on Wednesdays. That's getting flipped this week
because of the Monday night football game. So joining us
here to kick off the third hour is our good
(00:43):
friend John Sharon. John, what's going on?
Speaker 3 (00:46):
You know, Tony, I've had better weeks covering this team.
I'll play that much. From a lot of different angles,
both serious and non serious.
Speaker 4 (00:52):
It's been a yeah, we're better of a couple of days.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
I understand that completely. Let's start with one of the
more startling things about this team, and that is the
inability to run the ball at all. Is it something
in your opinion that is fixable and in your opinion,
what has gone into the lack of running ability right now?
Speaker 3 (01:13):
Yeah, we talked about it last week, Right, it was
my number one concern with this team going forward, and
I didn't think he would actually end up getting worse,
but somehow it did because again, like I mean, we've
all been watching football a long time. I don't think
we've ever seen a game in which the interior of
the offensive line gets moved backwards so consistently when you
(01:33):
first supposed to fire off.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
The ball and displaced guys.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
Right, that was somehow a common talking point with this
team over the past couple of days. And it's like,
how is this a problem for an NFL team? And
the reason why I'm skeptical about the fixes is because
they're not necessarily like Daldon Reisner and Ted Carris, they're
not young players, right, Like, they kind of are who
they are, and there's limitations athletically there, but even still,
(01:58):
like that is the scenario which they need to just
kind of execute the force.
Speaker 4 (02:03):
That they have as athletes.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
And if they can't do that even in obvious running situations.
It's very tough to see how that changes other than
them just buckling down and just locking in in that
phase of the offense. I think there are some ways
in which you can counter this. You can get guys
moving a little bit horizontally on some counters, on some
power plays, things of that nature, right, trying to catch
the defense off guard with some draws and whatnot.
Speaker 4 (02:26):
There's some schematic things you can do.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
But what we saw Sunday was so startling just from
an execution standpoint, where it's like, like, I don't know
if these guys just have what it takes to just
execute the simplest of concepts. So that was really startling
to see against again a pretty well defensive front and
well coach defensive front for the Vikings. But it was
even worse than what I would have thought, and that's
why I'm not feeling too great about it.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
It is the third offensive line coach under Zach Taylor.
They're now on their second offensive coordinator and the first
offensive coordinator. Brian Callahan, the head coach of the Tennessee Titans,
just gave up play calling duties in Tennessee to try
to get something going. We've exhausted. It feels like a
lot of different avenues. And I've had the conversation now
for a couple of years about Zach Taylor as the
(03:11):
play caller. Is this a conversation that needs to be
happening more as it pertains to the Bengals and how
they're operating offensively.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
Yeah, I mean it has been a conversation for a while,
and I think right now is the first time I
think it actually has a good amount of weight because
right at this moment, when you have a backup quarterback
in there, so much is relying on the coaching staff
and the play caller to put him in the best
possible snare because obviously you know Jake Browning who he
is right now. He's not a guy that you can
(03:41):
rely on to win you a game as a dropback pass. Necessarily,
he needs help. And I think what gave Zach a
lot of I think we gave Zach a lot of
credit for how he and Brian Callahan and Dan Pitcher
the brain showst that offense, how they evolved the offense
after Jake Browning's first start the last time in twenty
twenty three, we're at the same time point now where
he just came in for Burrow. He had a terrible
(04:03):
first start, but then things started to get better and
they started to have a more cohesive plan about what
to do moving forward in the second week. We are
at that point right now, and if we don't see
any progress in that regard in terms of them getting
on schedule, then finding a way to just get easy
yards for once in their life, just finding a way
to make it look easy with the with the skill
players that they have. If they can't do that now,
(04:24):
I think the clock really does start for them to
try to find something different in the form of a
different process. I don't know for a fact if it's
going to change significantly if they give it over to
damn Pitcher, but at some point you just can't keep
running into a brick wall, both figuratively and literally.
Speaker 5 (04:39):
Do you think it would change things significantly if they
gave it over to a different quarterback? Tony and I
have been kind of butting heads about this a little bit.
Like Russell Wilson or someone like that, would you go
after him?
Speaker 4 (04:52):
I think russ is interesting.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
Like the Giants, I think made an announcement saying that
he's officially quarterback too, whereas Jameis Winston, on the other hand,
is kind of up and up in limbo. I'm not
necessarily against Russ, considering that his arm is just notably
better than Browning. I think if you were to go
after a different quarterback like Russ, you would have to
make significant changes to the offense, and maybe that's probably
maybe a positive thing.
Speaker 4 (05:14):
Right Maybe everything that they're trying to do.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
Right now has been really stale and clearly it's just
not connecting with the rest of the players. So I'm
not totally against it, obviously. I kind of think in
the sandbox of who the Bengals are, and that's typically
a very anti thing for them to do, even though
they're in this position that right now where they don't
have a stable solution at quarterback, but they've always relied
on the guys in their house. And the only reason
why I would kind of support it is because it
(05:37):
would probably garner more significant changes from a schematic standpoint,
and they could use any sort of changes right now.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
Defensively, a lot was made after the game about the
limited amount of snaps Logan Wilson got, and originally I
just assumed John that it was a blowout. You're getting
a lot of guys in, but hearing from Logan Wilson,
this was something communicated him before the game that they
were going to rotate a lot of guys there. What
are your thoughts on how they're utilizing and rotating some
(06:03):
guys defensively.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
Yeah, I think like oron Burks for example, like he's
been pretty good in these first three few weeks, and
I'm not opposed necessarily beginning him on the field a
little bit more if that means that you're kind of
picking your spots as to when to play Logan Wilson,
who I think is still your best all around linebacker,
but if you're not trying to expose him maybe some
situations where he's maybe not as good as he was
a handful of years ago. I'm not necessarily opposed to that,
(06:27):
but I think that it needs to be you know,
make sure that he's on the same page and he's
comfortable and supportive of the plan.
Speaker 4 (06:33):
And if that is, if there's a disconnect.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
There, then there's probably an issue with this new coaching
staff and everything like that. But I think they really
value the depth that they have at linebacker. I think
they want to give Barry Carter Moore exposure as well.
But Aaron Burks definitely has value to this defense and
as a blitzer, and he's already shown some promise there.
So as long as that they're maximizing who they have,
I think it's fine. But you obviously don't want one
of your actual captains and leaders to be disgruntled about
(06:56):
the plan because obviously we saw that the last time
that there was a new defensive coordator of talent.
Speaker 4 (06:59):
Every that have to Carls delle Up.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
I'm not saying that's going to happen Logan Wilson, but
you don't want to end up going down that road
where you're not making sure that you're putting your guys
in positions where they're comfortable.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
I feel like it's so hard in a game that
gets away from like Sunday did, to evaluate specifically the
defensive side of the ball. But through three weeks, how
do you evaluate the defense as a hole under out golden.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
Yeah, I think that they were the like the only
semblance of a positive thing on Sunday because once after
the first couple of drives, they seem to kind of
settle in and then Obviously, like you said, the game
kind of went away from them and it was hard
to really evaluate that.
Speaker 4 (07:32):
But I think that they're.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
Finding out how they can stimulate some pressure and now
again has been my biggest concern with them in terms
of just gaining some consistency and confidence. You saw a
little bit of flashes from Chris Jenkins. I think Dax
Hill has been exactly who I hope that he was
going to be, and now that he's fully healthy and
in that natural position at slock cornerbacker' seing some flashes
from DJ Turner. Jordan battles always around the ball, so
(07:53):
that's that's good as well. So there's there's definitely positives
to take away from that unit. You just want them
to be in a position where again they're not having
to rely on turnovers, but also that the offense actually
helps him out because the zero help from them this
past week. So I think that there's slow but steady
progress being made a lot with individual guys, but I
think the more that you see that, the more that
they will continue to come together as in union, and
(08:14):
as long as that they're getting those flashes from pass
rushers outside of Treanrickson, there should be some more promise there.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
The term business decisions gets thrown around when games like
Sunday happen. And one of the concerns that I have
now John going forward is that culture in the locker room,
which has always been very strong under Zach Taylor. But
it's a little easier to get over a low production
game or not having the output if you're winning games.
(08:40):
If you're losing games and you're losing in the fashion
where the game isn't close, I feel like it's a
lot harder to keep a locker room and a culture together.
How much of that are you now paying attention to
going forward with where this team is at, because they
still are two to one, You're still leading the AFC North,
But it's just not a good taste in your mouth
after Sunday.
Speaker 4 (09:01):
Isn't that crazy?
Speaker 3 (09:02):
They were going through last year and we were still
having these same conversations.
Speaker 4 (09:05):
Now they're two and one, right, so you never really
know how this is going to go.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
But that's why this week is so freaking important, because
getting punched in every part of your body last Sunday,
like you need to respond in some way, shape or form.
You don't necessarily need to win against Denver because I
think there's some things that Denver just does well better
than the Bengals right now. But you need to respond
and showcase some competency and showcase some fight, right. I
(09:27):
don't blame some of the things that we saw when
the game was well out of reach by some of
the stars and everything like that. Like those weeks are rare,
but they do happen, and you just have to move on.
But you can't let it compound, because you're right. The
one thing that Zach has in his back pocket in
terms of why he should remain here is because he's
always cultivated a great culture of guys that just completely
(09:49):
buy in, and once you lose that, it's pretty much
impossible to get back, right, So beyond just him as
the play caller, him as the leader really needs to
exhibit the leadership and the management style that he's been
so accustomed of of really cultivating here. And if that,
if that starts to lose now, then then you're talking
about him really being on the clock. It's more than
just him just as a play call at the backup quarterback.
It's making sure that these guys don't completely lose sight
(10:10):
of what's important here when rolling in September.
Speaker 5 (10:13):
Looking ahead to the Broncos, I don't know that they've
necessarily been who most people have expected them to be
up unto this point. How do you think they match
up with Cincinnati on Monday Night?
Speaker 3 (10:25):
Yeah, this was such an intriguing matchup when Burrow was
healthy because last year you saw how they were able
to kind of pick on the other side of the ball,
the other side of the formation from where Patrick's certain
was when he was going up against Jamar Chase. But
now you're probably trying to feature Jamar Chase as much
as possible with Jake Browning because you're just trying to
utilize your playmakers. So how they move around Chase compared
to Certain, they obviously had more pieces in the second area.
Speaker 4 (10:47):
That defense is still really solid.
Speaker 3 (10:50):
Nick Potonio, the right edge rushery He was shut down
last year by Landa Brown Junion when Alona Brown June
was on one knee. So if they can replicate that,
if they can continue to limit their best pass rusher
and work around Certain, there's a chance that this offense
can can kind of fight back. But you know, giving
up to thirty something points for the Broncos, last year
was an anomaly. That's what the Bengals were able to do.
(11:11):
That's why they won that shootout late last year. So
you're probably not expecting that with where this offense is
right now. But fortunately bo Nicks, even without pressure, he's
not the best decision maker right now, but with pressure,
he's the worst quarterback in the NFL. So how this
defense continues to stimulate the pressure that they are with
the blizz packages, with the linebackers up the middle, that's
going to be important to get bo Nicks off schedule
(11:33):
because if you give him time though, like you saw
last year, he's capable of great throws that can definitely
pick apart the secondary.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
What's your biggest concern if things don't go well on
Monday Night and they don't keep it competitive, because that
to me, if you go in, like you said, you
compete your tail off, you're on the wrong side of
a tough game, maybe even find a way to win.
We're not having the conversation. But if things go sideways,
if you see something similar not to the extent of
what Sunday was, but more similar to that, where do
(12:03):
you turn after that? Because the Lions come in, then
you go to Green Bay and then it's the Pittsburgh Steelers.
How concerning does it become if it gets away from
you on Monday night.
Speaker 4 (12:12):
Yeah, I think you can underestimate it.
Speaker 3 (12:14):
I think at that point, you have two weeks of this.
Speaker 4 (12:19):
Team post Joe Burrow injury.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
He's not walking through that door for the next two
months of the absolute earliest, and you probably don't have
a lot of confidence that you can compete with pretty
much anyone, maybe like the absolute bottom of the league.
But at that point, it's harder to look at yourselves
as not being at the bottom of the league if
you continue to get to get your doors bulled off
of you. So it probably isn't good at that point.
(12:40):
And I think what compounds that is that you just
don't expect the decision makers of this team to make
an aggressive move in the middle of the season to
kind of spark anything like a Khalil Herbert trade is
not going to change this team, like like they tried
to think it changed last year, right, So something drastic
would need to change in terms of the philosophy to
try to spark things up. Think they would just try
to rely on the interest that they have in the
(13:02):
building and try and try to hope for the best,
to see if things could turn around. But yeah, it's
a scary scenario in which you just don't have confidence
in who is leading your team to that point and
things can downspoil really quickly. So which is why being
competitive at the very least some Monday night is so important.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
John, you're the best man. I can't thank you enough
for switching things up and joining us today instead of tomorrow.
I know there's a lot of things going on at
a to Z Sports, including I know they put together
their top twenty five is voted on by the stay
of how close were the Bearcats to receiving some top
twenty five votes this week for eight diz Sports.
Speaker 3 (13:36):
You know, I'm not really a part of that, so
my half vote actually didn't count. So I think there's
still I think it's still at a goose at twenty seven.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
I think they're twenty six, twenty seven.
Speaker 4 (13:45):
Thirty seven, forty seven. What's the difference? All right, yeah,
all right, you're the best.
Speaker 2 (13:49):
What is the easiest way to follow along with your
coverage of the Bengals very important coverage of the Bengals
right now?
Speaker 3 (13:55):
Absolutely eight Diza Sports Dot com backs Lesson Snetti, I
ended up writing about, unfortunately, the passing of Ridy Johnson.
I just want to say, amazing player to watch, amazing
person to follow growing up, one of my heroes growing up.
Speaker 4 (14:07):
So rest in peace to Reedy Johnson.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
John Man, thank you so much and look forward to
talking again next week.
Speaker 4 (14:13):
Thank you guys.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
Yes, sir, that is John Sharon and is E Sports
covering the Cincinnati Bengals, kind enough with his time normally
on Thursdays. Moved it around because of Zach Taylor speaking tomorrow.
We have plenty more to go today, including uh, you
will open up the phone lines five, one, three, seven,
fifteen thirty. If we weren't able to get to your
call earlier, we can get it between now and when
(14:34):
we joined Melwager for quick hits on the Home of
the Bengals ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station, thanks to
Penn Station.
Speaker 6 (14:42):
Going to get your business. Peke Browning and his Big
Bed Bengals put it all on the line when they
face Bull Nix and his Denver Devo Jays on Monday
Night Football. Kenny Orange and Black break the Broncos tho.
Cincinnati's aerial assault will leave the Stallions stunned. Find out
when you get the call from Dangerous Dan Lord and
(15:03):
Mighty Dave Laplan Coverage starts Monday at three pm. Let
scream for free on the new and improved iHeartRadio app
for ESPN fifteen thirty, the official home of US Cincinnati Bengals.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
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