October 25, 2024 • 17 mins
Austin talks with Dave Zangaro of NBC Sports Philadelphia about the Eagles/Bengals matchup this weekend, on ESPN 1530!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Follow Frenzy Show brought to you by Hello Windows Indoor,
Hello Now, pay Later, PULLMANGMC dot com, Les Frances on
the planet Skylineshile feeling good in hungry It's Skyline time
on Core Technologies. Visit on Core dot tech and by
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tri State three locations Lenrod, Brookville, and Aurora and at
(00:21):
Zimmertractor dot Com. On the official home of the Bengals, Cincinnatis,
ESPN fifteen thirty.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Hi, Hello, Welcome in hour two of Friday Football Frenzy.
Austin Elmore your host today, going until three o'clock. Big
game coming up this weekend for the Cincinnati Bengals, trying
to get back to five hundred, and they'll do so
against an NFC East foe, the Philadelphia Eagles. Here to
break down the game for us and give us a
scouting report on Philly is Dave Zangaro. He covers Philadelphia
(00:51):
Eagles four NBC Sports Philadelphia, also a part of the
Eagle I Podcast and joins us Now. Hi, Dave, how
are you happy Friday?
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Happy Troday? I'm doing well. How are you?
Speaker 2 (01:02):
I'm doing great? Start with the Eagles as a whole.
For Bengals fans that maybe haven't seen this team play
this year, give us a scouting report. Who are the
Philadelphia Eagles at four and two right now?
Speaker 3 (01:15):
It's been a strange journey to four and two.
Speaker 4 (01:18):
I don't even know if they know who they are
right now, but they have a winning record. They've put
together two wins back to back, which is nice, but
of course they beat the Browns and then they beat
the Giants, so tough to really know exactly what they
are right now. I think they have a really good
running back. We've seen that, say Kwon Barkley has been
tremendous so far this season. I think other than that,
(01:39):
they've struggled to find exactly what they do well on
offense and on defense. I have a lot of young
pieces learning of Vic Fangio defense, which is kind of
a tough defense to pick up, and they're getting better.
I think they're starting to feel a little more confident
as we enter week eight.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
That's kind of been the talking point here. The Bengals
offense have struggled the last couple of weeks. They have
faced Vic Fangio in the past, and it's tough sledding,
as it typically is for teams. What do the Eagles
do well on defense under Fangio.
Speaker 4 (02:11):
I think they have a much improved secondary this year,
which really sets up a fun matchup in this game,
in particular with those two stud receivers the Bengals have
against Darius Slay, who even into his thirties, is playing
really good football, and then Quinion Mitchell, an exciting rookie
from Toledo, the first round pick has been excellent. And
then they have another rookie in their starting lineup at
(02:32):
Cooper Gene who plays a nickel corner spot. So they
were much improved secondary.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
Last week.
Speaker 4 (02:37):
Was fun to watch them in zone coverage, which is
a really big test for them in this defense is
how well they pass off in those zones, and they
were so much better at that last week. So there
are some signs as they're starting to figure it out.
And up front, I don't know. I mean, the last
two weeks they played teams that get sacked an awful
lot and the Eagles got to the quarterback, but I
(02:58):
think it's a different test. I don't know that the
status of Orlando Brown that's something to watch, but they've
kind of feasted on inferior offensive lines and quarterbacks who
look a little lost out there at times the last
couple of weeks, So I'm curious to see how it
goes against a little bit better competition this week.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
Yeah, you mentioned the two young players, Cooper Dejene and
Quinnon Mitchell. Obviously the strength of the Bengals is their
wide receivers. How have those two in particular fared so
far this season? Is this going to be the best
test that they've faced to this point? Oh?
Speaker 4 (03:32):
Yeah, it'll definitely be the best test. Queant Mitchell has
been a starter all year, so he has had some
other difficult tests. Even last week against malite neighbors was
a fun one, but he's held up really well. I've
been so impressed by him. He's exactly what everyone thought
he was going to be. And that doesn't mean that
he's not going to give up a play here or there,
but overall he's been so impressive. It took Cooper Gene
(03:55):
a little longer to crack the lineup, just because he
had an injury in training camp, but had an early
bye week this year, and they came back from the
bye week in week six and put him in the
starting lineup, and he's put together two really good games
since then, So it's fun. It's really encouraging and exciting
here to see two young players in this secondary that,
you know, all things things go well, could be there
(04:16):
for a really long time. The early returns are good
on those guys.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
I'm talking to Dave zan Gero, NBC Sports Philadelphia on
the offensive side of the ball. I don't know that
there's another team in the NFL in which their coordinators
are talked about more than the Eagles. Kellen Moore now
the offensive coordinator. What has been the shift? What exactly
is the identity of the offense for the Eagles.
Speaker 4 (04:38):
Yeah, the word identity is one that's been thrown around
here quite a bit, even this late into the season,
and I think it's going to change from week to week.
But in the two weeks since their early bye week,
it has looked like they have a emphasis on the
run game. And it makes some sense because they do
have some injuries up front on the offensive line, and
(04:58):
they have Seikwon Barkley, who had has been fantastic. I
know there are a lot of people even in this
city who are questioning their decision to put significant money
into that position, but he's just he's been fantastic through
through six games. He's one of the better running backs
in the league and he's been playing like it. So
if that has to be their identity right now, so
(05:19):
be it. But they also have AJ Brown and Devonte Smith,
so you'd like to be able to pass the football too.
Right now, the offense is a little sporadic in terms
of their past game. They haven't quite found that rhythm yet,
but they've also had a ton of big plays. It's
kind of been like easter famine in the past game.
But the last two weeks they you know, Jalen Hurts
(05:40):
over the top, the AJ Brown has worked for them.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
You mentioned kind of the shift to the run game
over the last couple of weeks, and those are two
good defenses, two good defensive lines that it's kind of interesting.
The Bengals last two games have been the Browns and
the Giants and the Eagles last two games, even the
Browns and the Giants. What's been the difference or the
key to success for them on the ground, especially over
the last couple of weeks with Barkley.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
Yeah, well, it's funny.
Speaker 4 (06:06):
They honestly didn't have a ton of success against the Browns,
but it was still notable how much they went to
the run, and even on early downs. I think that
was kind of the shift there. And then they stuck
with it against the Giants and he goes off for
one hundred and seventy six yards and they pulled him
early in the fourth quarter. So in a way, I
actually learned more about their emphasis on the run game
(06:26):
against the Browns when it didn't work, because they stuck
with it. They kept trying to run on early downs,
and I think that's going to be something they're going
to kind of lean on here going forward. And then
against the Giants, I mean it was just it was
off to the races. That's their impressive thing about Sakuon,
and we've seen him here in the NFS for a
long time, but he's just such a complete He can
(06:50):
also run you over or he can break off a
long run. He's gone over twenty one miles an hour
twice already as a ball carrier in this year, so
he kind of has all of those elements and he's
healthy right now.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
He's been fun to watch.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
I know this is probably something you guys talk about
a lot. I don't know how else to say. This
is Jalen Hurts good.
Speaker 3 (07:12):
I think he is good. It's like, how good is he? Ye?
Speaker 4 (07:15):
Can he be e leade? Can he be a guy
that you know when things break down? Can he kind
of lead this offense and take them and win a
football game?
Speaker 3 (07:24):
At times? We've seen that fro him In twenty twenty two.
Speaker 4 (07:26):
Certainly he had games where he kind of took over
and was excellent.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
I mean, his super Bowl performance.
Speaker 4 (07:32):
Was a really good game from him. So he has
it in him. I think that it's taken him a
little while in this new offense and without Jason Kelsey,
he has more on his plate this year too. It's
something that's been talked about a lot in sout out PYO,
but probably not nationally. Is that with Jason Kelsey was
such a veteran and set all the protections for this offense,
and a lot more of that stuff is now falling
(07:53):
on Hurts. So he has all that responsibility. He's learning
a new offense with Kellen Moore.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (07:59):
So I think all those things together kind of led
to this slow start and this offense looking like it
doesn't quite connect just yet. But in terms of talent.
I think he's a talented player. Is he one of
the best quarterbacks in the league. Probably not, But if
he plays like a top ten guy, then all of
a sudden, this offense has the ability to be a lead.
They just haven't put it together yet.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
It's a good point about Kelsey. I hadn't thought about
that overall. I mean, obviously his absence is huge. How
would you assess the player the Eagles offensive line to
this point? And I know you also mentioned they're dealing
with some injuries coming into this game.
Speaker 4 (08:33):
Yeah, I expect him to be down two starters in
this game. Rid of Mylatta he's on IR. He'll be
back at some point this season, but he has a
hamstring injury. He was playing excellent football, maybe one of
the best left tackles in the league for that injury,
so they've missed him. That's something to watch in this game,
especially with Trey Hendrickson on that side. He'll get Fred Johnson,
who's kind of well he was in Cincinnati little Fred
(08:54):
Johnson revenge game, I guess this week, but yeah, that's
a tough matchup for him. And then Ky Beckton, who
everyone knows is a former first round pick. He's been
playing right guard for them. He has a concussion, doesn't
look like he's going to clear in time, so a
former third round pick Tyler.
Speaker 3 (09:10):
Steen in there.
Speaker 4 (09:11):
Overall, I mean, the offensive line has been pretty good.
We saw them run block very effectively last week. They
still have Lane Johnson at right tackle, one of the
best in the in the league.
Speaker 3 (09:20):
And then Cam.
Speaker 4 (09:20):
Jurgen's at center, who has taken over for Kelsey. Kind
of a Kelsey clone physically, at least like he gets
to the next level. He's a undersized guy, can block
down the field. He's been fun to watch, but he
doesn't have the experience that Kelsey had.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Obviously, is the offensive game plan for the Eagles as
simple as run it and get it out quick and
don't let Trey Hendrickson beat you.
Speaker 4 (09:41):
Yeah, I'm curious to see how to handle it. Honestly,
it's the Eagles philosophy is typically not to offer a
lot of help in terms of keeping a tight ending
or tipping with a running back against a premier pass rusher.
And when they have their guys out there, when they
have my Lotta and Lane Johnson out there, that's a
really effective strategy because those guys typically hold up in
(10:03):
a game like this, I think you have to be
a little more creative, whether that's running the ball to
neutralize the pass rush. Sometimes we've seen them do it
with like a Michael Parsons in the past, will leave
in one block and run the play away from him.
So I think they have some options. I don't know,
if anything, they're really good. Anderson is an excellent player
and they have him playing against a guy who's kind
(10:23):
of a journeyman in the NFL. But they'll have to
have some sort of plan because I think they know
that if they let a really good player run free,
he's going to wreck the game.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
So far this week here in Cincinnati, it's been well.
If the defense keeps doing what they've been doing and
the offense looks like it did at the first part
of the season, then the Bengals will win the game.
What has been the conversation in Philadelphia they have to
do this in order to beat the Bengals.
Speaker 4 (10:49):
Yeah, I think it's defensively, can they hold up? We've
seen two really good games back to back, but this
is a much better offense. You know, you're trying not
to like disparage other NFL teams, but the Browns and
Giants right now, offensively, it's not very good, so you
give them credit. They haven't give up a touchdown in
the last few weeks defensively, but those two teams, it's
(11:11):
tough to really know how good they are on defense,
so much bigger test for the defense and now on offense.
It's something that's been talked about a lot here. They've
not scored a single point in the first quarter this year.
They're the only NFL team that hasn't been able to
score a point. And they've had some drives that have
started in the first quarter and they scored in the second,
but they have not scored a single point in the
(11:32):
first quarter, something that dates back to last year. They've
been searching for answers in the game like this. It
could be a big deal because we know that Sengals
offense has firepower and if they get down in this game,
they might not be able to recover, so they desperately
need a faster start.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
Interesting, that's really good stuff. His name is Dave zan Garo,
NBC Sports Philadelphia. You can follow him d zan Garo
INBCS on Twitter. Dave, thanks for making some time for
us today. A great weekend. And are you coming to Cincinnati?
Do you travel?
Speaker 3 (12:02):
Or yeah?
Speaker 4 (12:04):
Yeah, I will be there.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
Are you a skyline chili guy? Are you're gonna try
some skyline?
Speaker 3 (12:09):
You know what?
Speaker 4 (12:10):
I actually I've only been to Cincinnati once and I
have not tried it, So maybe this is the year.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
Any any recommendation, just just try it, get it, get
a cheese coney in a three way and you'll be
good to go. All right, we look forward to your review, Dave,
Thanks so much, man, safe travels.
Speaker 3 (12:28):
All right? All right?
Speaker 2 (12:29):
That is Dave zan Gero also co host the Eagle
Eye podcast as well. Believe you can find that on
the iHeartRadio app. Good stuff, there you go. That's that's
what they're saying in Philadelphia about the Bengals. And it's interesting,
you know, I mentioned it earlier. The last two weeks,
these two teams, the Bengals and the Eagles, have played
the same opponents, the Giants and the Browns. I'm gonna
(12:52):
give you a couple of stats here, all right. I'm
not making anything out of this. I don't even know
if this tells you anything, but the Bengals beat the
Giants seventeen to seven in New York. The Bengals had
three hundred and four total yards, one eighty three through
the air, one twenty one on the ground. The Eagles
played the Giants in New York and one twenty eight
(13:15):
to three. They had three hundred and thirty nine total yards,
seventy of which came through the air. They had two
hundred and sixty nine on the ground. That's pretty impressive,
and some of that was garbage time running the clock out.
Saquon took up a big chunk of that with some
big plays. Defensively, they allowed one hundred and nineteen total
(13:40):
yards to the Giants, forty three through the air and
seventy six on the ground. The Bengals allowed three hundred
and nine total yards to New York, one hundred and
ninety pass yards, one hundred and nineteen rush yards. So
there's the stats for the common opponent being the Giants.
Let's go to the Browns game. The fill or the
(14:00):
Eagles hosted the Browns in Philly. They won that game
twenty to sixteen, very similar score to the Bengals Browns game.
In that game, Philadelphia had three hundred and seventy two
total yards two hundred and fifty six came through the air,
one hundred and sixteen on the ground. In the Bengals
(14:21):
win over Cleveland, they had two hundred and twenty three
total yards, one hundred and sixty four pass yards, fifty
nine rush yards. Clearly not very good as far as
Cleveland is concerned. In their game against the Bengals, they
had three hundred and thirty six total yards, two hundred
and fifty nine through the air, seventy seven on the ground. Meanwhile,
(14:46):
against the Eagles, Cleveland had two hundred and forty four
total yards, one hundred and forty four pass, one hundred rush.
Long story short, when you look at this game compared
to the last, and I've said this, I think this
stretch is just a stretch of tough matchups for the Bengals,
teams that specialize in doing what the Bengals aren't great
(15:11):
at defending or attacking. Basically, I think, you know, the
idea of the Eagles having a really young secondary against
T Higgins and Jamar Chase and andre Yoshi Vash that
gives me some excitement. I'm excited about that to see
what those guys can do and if they're able to
win any One on ones, and if they're double teaming Jamar,
(15:35):
you have faith in the other receiver's ability to win
those one on ones. The big part is can the
offensive line play better over the last or over Sunday's
game than they have over the last two This is
not going to be this is the last three games.
This is going to be the worst defensive line they've
played in Philadelphia, and they still have a pretty good
(15:56):
defensive line. So the Bengals get a run game going
and create better matchups, better coverage, more advantageous coverages against Philadelphia.
You're gonna hear Jamar Chase coming up in a little
bit talk about what Philly does well on defense, and
(16:17):
I think it's a little bit of foreshadowing as to
what the game plan is going to be. And on
the other side of the ball, Philly's offense is by
far the best they're going to face over the next
or over the last three games. Guys that can win consistently. Now,
DeVante Smith had one catch for like minus two yards
on Sunday, wasn't much of a factor. But they've got size, speed,
(16:40):
and athleticism at their wide receiver positions. That's gonna be
difficult for DJ Turner and Cam Taylor Britt and maybe
a not one hundred percent Geno Stone and Von Bell.
It's gonna be especially difficult on them because Saquon Barkley
and the Eagles rushing offense has been fantastic the last
(17:01):
two weeks, and that's gonna be at the forefront of
what they do, especially when you look at some of
the struggles the Bengals have had at stopping the run
this season. So it's gonna be a lot of that,
and I think these two teams are gonna have almost
identical game plans against one another. It's gonna make it
(17:22):
either a seventeen to ten game or a thirty seven
to thirty five game, but I feel like it's gonna
be really close. This is Friday Football Frenzy. That was
Dave Zangero. I'm Austin know Moore and coming up next
as talkbacks on the Home of the Bengals ESPN fifteen
thirty
Follow Frenzy Show brought to you by Hello Windows Indoor,
Hello Now, pay Later, PULLMANGMC dot com, Les Frances on
the planet Skylineshile feeling good in hungry It's Skyline time
on Core Technologies. Visit on Core dot tech and by
simmer Tractor, form of the largest Komoda inventory on at
tri State three locations Lenrod, Brookville, and Aurora and at
(00:21):
Zimmertractor dot Com. On the official home of the Bengals, Cincinnatis,
ESPN fifteen thirty.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Hi, Hello, Welcome in hour two of Friday Football Frenzy.
Austin Elmore your host today, going until three o'clock. Big
game coming up this weekend for the Cincinnati Bengals, trying
to get back to five hundred, and they'll do so
against an NFC East foe, the Philadelphia Eagles. Here to
break down the game for us and give us a
scouting report on Philly is Dave Zangaro. He covers Philadelphia
(00:51):
Eagles four NBC Sports Philadelphia, also a part of the
Eagle I Podcast and joins us Now. Hi, Dave, how
are you happy Friday?
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Happy Troday? I'm doing well. How are you?
Speaker 2 (01:02):
I'm doing great? Start with the Eagles as a whole.
For Bengals fans that maybe haven't seen this team play
this year, give us a scouting report. Who are the
Philadelphia Eagles at four and two right now?
Speaker 3 (01:15):
It's been a strange journey to four and two.
Speaker 4 (01:18):
I don't even know if they know who they are
right now, but they have a winning record. They've put
together two wins back to back, which is nice, but
of course they beat the Browns and then they beat
the Giants, so tough to really know exactly what they
are right now. I think they have a really good
running back. We've seen that, say Kwon Barkley has been
tremendous so far this season. I think other than that,
(01:39):
they've struggled to find exactly what they do well on
offense and on defense. I have a lot of young
pieces learning of Vic Fangio defense, which is kind of
a tough defense to pick up, and they're getting better.
I think they're starting to feel a little more confident
as we enter week eight.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
That's kind of been the talking point here. The Bengals
offense have struggled the last couple of weeks. They have
faced Vic Fangio in the past, and it's tough sledding,
as it typically is for teams. What do the Eagles
do well on defense under Fangio.
Speaker 4 (02:11):
I think they have a much improved secondary this year,
which really sets up a fun matchup in this game,
in particular with those two stud receivers the Bengals have
against Darius Slay, who even into his thirties, is playing
really good football, and then Quinion Mitchell, an exciting rookie
from Toledo, the first round pick has been excellent. And
then they have another rookie in their starting lineup at
(02:32):
Cooper Gene who plays a nickel corner spot. So they
were much improved secondary.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
Last week.
Speaker 4 (02:37):
Was fun to watch them in zone coverage, which is
a really big test for them in this defense is
how well they pass off in those zones, and they
were so much better at that last week. So there
are some signs as they're starting to figure it out.
And up front, I don't know. I mean, the last
two weeks they played teams that get sacked an awful
lot and the Eagles got to the quarterback, but I
(02:58):
think it's a different test. I don't know that the
status of Orlando Brown that's something to watch, but they've
kind of feasted on inferior offensive lines and quarterbacks who
look a little lost out there at times the last
couple of weeks, So I'm curious to see how it
goes against a little bit better competition this week.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
Yeah, you mentioned the two young players, Cooper Dejene and
Quinnon Mitchell. Obviously the strength of the Bengals is their
wide receivers. How have those two in particular fared so
far this season? Is this going to be the best
test that they've faced to this point? Oh?
Speaker 4 (03:32):
Yeah, it'll definitely be the best test. Queant Mitchell has
been a starter all year, so he has had some
other difficult tests. Even last week against malite neighbors was
a fun one, but he's held up really well. I've
been so impressed by him. He's exactly what everyone thought
he was going to be. And that doesn't mean that
he's not going to give up a play here or there,
but overall he's been so impressive. It took Cooper Gene
(03:55):
a little longer to crack the lineup, just because he
had an injury in training camp, but had an early
bye week this year, and they came back from the
bye week in week six and put him in the
starting lineup, and he's put together two really good games
since then, So it's fun. It's really encouraging and exciting
here to see two young players in this secondary that,
you know, all things things go well, could be there
(04:16):
for a really long time. The early returns are good
on those guys.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
I'm talking to Dave zan Gero, NBC Sports Philadelphia on
the offensive side of the ball. I don't know that
there's another team in the NFL in which their coordinators
are talked about more than the Eagles. Kellen Moore now
the offensive coordinator. What has been the shift? What exactly
is the identity of the offense for the Eagles.
Speaker 4 (04:38):
Yeah, the word identity is one that's been thrown around
here quite a bit, even this late into the season,
and I think it's going to change from week to week.
But in the two weeks since their early bye week,
it has looked like they have a emphasis on the
run game. And it makes some sense because they do
have some injuries up front on the offensive line, and
(04:58):
they have Seikwon Barkley, who had has been fantastic. I
know there are a lot of people even in this
city who are questioning their decision to put significant money
into that position, but he's just he's been fantastic through
through six games. He's one of the better running backs
in the league and he's been playing like it. So
if that has to be their identity right now, so
(05:19):
be it. But they also have AJ Brown and Devonte Smith,
so you'd like to be able to pass the football too.
Right now, the offense is a little sporadic in terms
of their past game. They haven't quite found that rhythm yet,
but they've also had a ton of big plays. It's
kind of been like easter famine in the past game.
But the last two weeks they you know, Jalen Hurts
(05:40):
over the top, the AJ Brown has worked for them.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
You mentioned kind of the shift to the run game
over the last couple of weeks, and those are two
good defenses, two good defensive lines that it's kind of interesting.
The Bengals last two games have been the Browns and
the Giants and the Eagles last two games, even the
Browns and the Giants. What's been the difference or the
key to success for them on the ground, especially over
the last couple of weeks with Barkley.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
Yeah, well, it's funny.
Speaker 4 (06:06):
They honestly didn't have a ton of success against the Browns,
but it was still notable how much they went to
the run, and even on early downs. I think that
was kind of the shift there. And then they stuck
with it against the Giants and he goes off for
one hundred and seventy six yards and they pulled him
early in the fourth quarter. So in a way, I
actually learned more about their emphasis on the run game
(06:26):
against the Browns when it didn't work, because they stuck
with it. They kept trying to run on early downs,
and I think that's going to be something they're going
to kind of lean on here going forward. And then
against the Giants, I mean it was just it was
off to the races. That's their impressive thing about Sakuon,
and we've seen him here in the NFS for a
long time, but he's just such a complete He can
(06:50):
also run you over or he can break off a
long run. He's gone over twenty one miles an hour
twice already as a ball carrier in this year, so
he kind of has all of those elements and he's
healthy right now.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
He's been fun to watch.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
I know this is probably something you guys talk about
a lot. I don't know how else to say. This
is Jalen Hurts good.
Speaker 3 (07:12):
I think he is good. It's like, how good is he? Ye?
Speaker 4 (07:15):
Can he be e leade? Can he be a guy
that you know when things break down? Can he kind
of lead this offense and take them and win a
football game?
Speaker 3 (07:24):
At times? We've seen that fro him In twenty twenty two.
Speaker 4 (07:26):
Certainly he had games where he kind of took over
and was excellent.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
I mean, his super Bowl performance.
Speaker 4 (07:32):
Was a really good game from him. So he has
it in him. I think that it's taken him a
little while in this new offense and without Jason Kelsey,
he has more on his plate this year too. It's
something that's been talked about a lot in sout out PYO,
but probably not nationally. Is that with Jason Kelsey was
such a veteran and set all the protections for this offense,
and a lot more of that stuff is now falling
(07:53):
on Hurts. So he has all that responsibility. He's learning
a new offense with Kellen Moore.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (07:59):
So I think all those things together kind of led
to this slow start and this offense looking like it
doesn't quite connect just yet. But in terms of talent.
I think he's a talented player. Is he one of
the best quarterbacks in the league. Probably not, But if
he plays like a top ten guy, then all of
a sudden, this offense has the ability to be a lead.
They just haven't put it together yet.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
It's a good point about Kelsey. I hadn't thought about
that overall. I mean, obviously his absence is huge. How
would you assess the player the Eagles offensive line to
this point? And I know you also mentioned they're dealing
with some injuries coming into this game.
Speaker 4 (08:33):
Yeah, I expect him to be down two starters in
this game. Rid of Mylatta he's on IR. He'll be
back at some point this season, but he has a
hamstring injury. He was playing excellent football, maybe one of
the best left tackles in the league for that injury,
so they've missed him. That's something to watch in this game,
especially with Trey Hendrickson on that side. He'll get Fred Johnson,
who's kind of well he was in Cincinnati little Fred
(08:54):
Johnson revenge game, I guess this week, but yeah, that's
a tough matchup for him. And then Ky Beckton, who
everyone knows is a former first round pick. He's been
playing right guard for them. He has a concussion, doesn't
look like he's going to clear in time, so a
former third round pick Tyler.
Speaker 3 (09:10):
Steen in there.
Speaker 4 (09:11):
Overall, I mean, the offensive line has been pretty good.
We saw them run block very effectively last week. They
still have Lane Johnson at right tackle, one of the
best in the in the league.
Speaker 3 (09:20):
And then Cam.
Speaker 4 (09:20):
Jurgen's at center, who has taken over for Kelsey. Kind
of a Kelsey clone physically, at least like he gets
to the next level. He's a undersized guy, can block
down the field. He's been fun to watch, but he
doesn't have the experience that Kelsey had.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Obviously, is the offensive game plan for the Eagles as
simple as run it and get it out quick and
don't let Trey Hendrickson beat you.
Speaker 4 (09:41):
Yeah, I'm curious to see how to handle it. Honestly,
it's the Eagles philosophy is typically not to offer a
lot of help in terms of keeping a tight ending
or tipping with a running back against a premier pass rusher.
And when they have their guys out there, when they
have my Lotta and Lane Johnson out there, that's a
really effective strategy because those guys typically hold up in
(10:03):
a game like this, I think you have to be
a little more creative, whether that's running the ball to
neutralize the pass rush. Sometimes we've seen them do it
with like a Michael Parsons in the past, will leave
in one block and run the play away from him.
So I think they have some options. I don't know,
if anything, they're really good. Anderson is an excellent player
and they have him playing against a guy who's kind
(10:23):
of a journeyman in the NFL. But they'll have to
have some sort of plan because I think they know
that if they let a really good player run free,
he's going to wreck the game.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
So far this week here in Cincinnati, it's been well.
If the defense keeps doing what they've been doing and
the offense looks like it did at the first part
of the season, then the Bengals will win the game.
What has been the conversation in Philadelphia they have to
do this in order to beat the Bengals.
Speaker 4 (10:49):
Yeah, I think it's defensively, can they hold up? We've
seen two really good games back to back, but this
is a much better offense. You know, you're trying not
to like disparage other NFL teams, but the Browns and
Giants right now, offensively, it's not very good, so you
give them credit. They haven't give up a touchdown in
the last few weeks defensively, but those two teams, it's
(11:11):
tough to really know how good they are on defense,
so much bigger test for the defense and now on offense.
It's something that's been talked about a lot here. They've
not scored a single point in the first quarter this year.
They're the only NFL team that hasn't been able to
score a point. And they've had some drives that have
started in the first quarter and they scored in the second,
but they have not scored a single point in the
(11:32):
first quarter, something that dates back to last year. They've
been searching for answers in the game like this. It
could be a big deal because we know that Sengals
offense has firepower and if they get down in this game,
they might not be able to recover, so they desperately
need a faster start.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
Interesting, that's really good stuff. His name is Dave zan Garo,
NBC Sports Philadelphia. You can follow him d zan Garo
INBCS on Twitter. Dave, thanks for making some time for
us today. A great weekend. And are you coming to Cincinnati?
Do you travel?
Speaker 3 (12:02):
Or yeah?
Speaker 4 (12:04):
Yeah, I will be there.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
Are you a skyline chili guy? Are you're gonna try
some skyline?
Speaker 3 (12:09):
You know what?
Speaker 4 (12:10):
I actually I've only been to Cincinnati once and I
have not tried it, So maybe this is the year.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
Any any recommendation, just just try it, get it, get
a cheese coney in a three way and you'll be
good to go. All right, we look forward to your review, Dave,
Thanks so much, man, safe travels.
Speaker 3 (12:28):
All right? All right?
Speaker 2 (12:29):
That is Dave zan Gero also co host the Eagle
Eye podcast as well. Believe you can find that on
the iHeartRadio app. Good stuff, there you go. That's that's
what they're saying in Philadelphia about the Bengals. And it's interesting,
you know, I mentioned it earlier. The last two weeks,
these two teams, the Bengals and the Eagles, have played
the same opponents, the Giants and the Browns. I'm gonna
(12:52):
give you a couple of stats here, all right. I'm
not making anything out of this. I don't even know
if this tells you anything, but the Bengals beat the
Giants seventeen to seven in New York. The Bengals had
three hundred and four total yards, one eighty three through
the air, one twenty one on the ground. The Eagles
played the Giants in New York and one twenty eight
(13:15):
to three. They had three hundred and thirty nine total yards,
seventy of which came through the air. They had two
hundred and sixty nine on the ground. That's pretty impressive,
and some of that was garbage time running the clock out.
Saquon took up a big chunk of that with some
big plays. Defensively, they allowed one hundred and nineteen total
(13:40):
yards to the Giants, forty three through the air and
seventy six on the ground. The Bengals allowed three hundred
and nine total yards to New York, one hundred and
ninety pass yards, one hundred and nineteen rush yards. So
there's the stats for the common opponent being the Giants.
Let's go to the Browns game. The fill or the
(14:00):
Eagles hosted the Browns in Philly. They won that game
twenty to sixteen, very similar score to the Bengals Browns game.
In that game, Philadelphia had three hundred and seventy two
total yards two hundred and fifty six came through the air,
one hundred and sixteen on the ground. In the Bengals
(14:21):
win over Cleveland, they had two hundred and twenty three
total yards, one hundred and sixty four pass yards, fifty
nine rush yards. Clearly not very good as far as
Cleveland is concerned. In their game against the Bengals, they
had three hundred and thirty six total yards, two hundred
and fifty nine through the air, seventy seven on the ground. Meanwhile,
(14:46):
against the Eagles, Cleveland had two hundred and forty four
total yards, one hundred and forty four pass, one hundred rush.
Long story short, when you look at this game compared
to the last, and I've said this, I think this
stretch is just a stretch of tough matchups for the Bengals,
teams that specialize in doing what the Bengals aren't great
(15:11):
at defending or attacking. Basically, I think, you know, the
idea of the Eagles having a really young secondary against
T Higgins and Jamar Chase and andre Yoshi Vash that
gives me some excitement. I'm excited about that to see
what those guys can do and if they're able to
win any One on ones, and if they're double teaming Jamar,
(15:35):
you have faith in the other receiver's ability to win
those one on ones. The big part is can the
offensive line play better over the last or over Sunday's
game than they have over the last two This is
not going to be this is the last three games.
This is going to be the worst defensive line they've
played in Philadelphia, and they still have a pretty good
(15:56):
defensive line. So the Bengals get a run game going
and create better matchups, better coverage, more advantageous coverages against Philadelphia.
You're gonna hear Jamar Chase coming up in a little
bit talk about what Philly does well on defense, and
(16:17):
I think it's a little bit of foreshadowing as to
what the game plan is going to be. And on
the other side of the ball, Philly's offense is by
far the best they're going to face over the next
or over the last three games. Guys that can win consistently. Now,
DeVante Smith had one catch for like minus two yards
on Sunday, wasn't much of a factor. But they've got size, speed,
(16:40):
and athleticism at their wide receiver positions. That's gonna be
difficult for DJ Turner and Cam Taylor Britt and maybe
a not one hundred percent Geno Stone and Von Bell.
It's gonna be especially difficult on them because Saquon Barkley
and the Eagles rushing offense has been fantastic the last
(17:01):
two weeks, and that's gonna be at the forefront of
what they do, especially when you look at some of
the struggles the Bengals have had at stopping the run
this season. So it's gonna be a lot of that,
and I think these two teams are gonna have almost
identical game plans against one another. It's gonna make it
(17:22):
either a seventeen to ten game or a thirty seven
to thirty five game, but I feel like it's gonna
be really close. This is Friday Football Frenzy. That was
Dave Zangero. I'm Austin know Moore and coming up next
as talkbacks on the Home of the Bengals ESPN fifteen
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