October 30, 2025 • 9 mins
Robert Weintraub writes a weekly Bengals column for Cincinnati Magazine. He joined us to discuss this week's column, the Bengals, and the tapestry of life.
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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):
In the NATI brought to you by bell Terra Casino
and Belterra Park on ESPN fifteen thirty, the official home
of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Robert Windrob joins us Every Thursday. He writes some weekly
Bengals column for Cincinnati Magazine. You can read this week's
right now at Cincinnati Magazine dot com. Robert was in
town last week and he was at the Bengals game.
He was also at the Bearcats game, and they won
and the Bengals lost, and so you know, we could
talk about the Bearcats.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
Well, you know, it's funny. I feel like when I'm
watching the Bengals, I'm watching Big twelve football defense, easy
scoring drive and a ton of points. So between the
Bengals and the Bearcats, there was no shortage of fireworks. Unfortunately,
we came up just a little bit short in the
pro aspect of that particular combo.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Yes, yes we did. You wrote about Al Golden, so
I you know, amid all the different discussions about the
Bengals defense and how it might be fixed and what
they should do moving forward and who to blame, I
think the general consensus is, look, they asked Al to
do a lot but they didn't give him much to
work with, and so we'll sort of absolve him. In
(01:15):
writing about the game last week, which you were at,
you kind of point the finger at him a little bit,
and I want folks to read it, but walk me
through is specifically as it relates to Sunday, how Al
kind of got worked over by his counterpart on the
other team.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
Yeah, and I don't think Al Golden would absolve himself.
Let me just say that person foremost, I think he
pointed the finger right squarely in the mirror. But yeah,
I mean, he's never called plays at the NFL before,
as much as we take as us or granted, you know,
he obviously did it in college, but pro and college
ball are not the same thing. He doesn't have the
talent advantage obviously that he had a Notre Dame. And
(01:55):
I think you're seeing it a lot now, especially when
I was in the press box watching on Sunday, you
see things little bit differently than to do on TV.
And you know, you could just see a lot of
times where the Jets were doing things that they had
done earlier in the game, and we're setting up sort
of zigging off of those zags. The Bengals stopped them early,
you know, helped them to I think it was just
eight yards rushing in the first quarter. By the fourth
(02:16):
quarter it was over alle hundred yards just in the
fifteen minutes. You know, if you could see it coming,
they were getting out flanked or they were throwing passes
that we're going to have guys having to pick their
way through, you know, through a messi of receivers and
the you know, bunch formations and things like that. And
you know, so much of the chess game, if you will,
between coordinators is you know, kind of punch counter punch,
(02:39):
zigging when you are expecting a zag and you know,
being non rhythmic in a certain way. And you know,
al Going's a rookie at that too, unless as we
talk about the rookies who are playing for the Bengals
on the field, he's kind of learning on the job
as he goes too, and he's going to make mistakes,
and you know, there's certain times where you know it's
sort of almost too late. He probably sees it coming too.
If I can see it coming and I'm not, you know,
(03:01):
Amos Alonso's stag up in the booth there, and I
can see certain things happening, but I'm sure he does too,
and it's just a little lady. You know, he has
to go with what he's called already. But you know,
the Jets have a first year play caller two and
I just thought that their guy, Tanner eg Engstrand is
his name. Not that anybody would know who who he is, necessarily,
(03:21):
but he's a rookie offensive coordinator and he was just
seemed like he was getting a step ahead, especially in
the second half of Golden And you know, it's it's
just the kind of thing he's gonna have to work
through and get more comfortable with this sort of cut
and thrust of the way plays are called and what
teams want to do and want to make you think
they're doing, you know, And I just think he's a
(03:42):
step behind right now. And you know, like the rookies
who are playing on the field, that can only get
better with the reps, and I'm sure he will too.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Robert Appeal appeal appealing to the younger generation with the
Amos Alonso Stag reference. There you go, Robert.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
Him or Walter Camp. I wasn't sure which one to
go with.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Are very good. They draft players on defense, and the
idea is they make an immediate impact that is not
happening with Shamar Stewart or Dimitrius Knight or Barrett Carter.
Should I start to lose hope when it comes to
these rookies or should should I give them time? Should
I give them time to make an impact?
Speaker 3 (04:22):
Well? I mean, if you're going to take the rookie
class as a hole, the guards or the guys we
thought would be the problem, right, and they've actually both
played fairly well. Certainly on Sunday they played really well,
and they're getting thrown into the fire. I mean, you know,
you look around the league and there's plenty of rookies
who are making more instant impacts than the guys we have.
Over in Baltimore. Teddy Buchanan, a fourth round the rookie
(04:44):
linebacker named Rookie of the Month for October. So he's
doing something right. I mean, you certainly don't give up hope.
Al Golden himself made the point, like, you know, if
you looked at the guys he worked with back in
the early twenties when they were on the Super Bowl
runs and Logan Wilson and Jermaine Pratt when they were youngsters,
young pups. They made plenty of mistakes too, and they
turned into key elements of the defense. So you know,
(05:07):
you certainly don't write them off, and you know, for
better or worse. I mean, think about how many rookie
classes the Bengals have had where the guys never even
saw the field, you know, and whether that was because
of injury or because they were you know, behind veterans
or just weren't any good. And then you get to
year three and you're like, well, now it's time to
see what we have in ex player. But then it's
almost too late. Nobody's could be saying that about Barrett
(05:29):
Cutter or Demetrius Knight or even Jalen Rivers. You know,
it's like, by year three, we'll know one way or
the other what we have in them and whether it's
you know, time to move on or whether they're players
you can build around. So you know, in that sense,
it's good that they're getting a lot of reps, but
not so good that they haven't performed anywhere close to
their capabilities as yet. And you know it's not just
(05:50):
because they can't play. It's a variety of factors and
it's almost compounding on itself every week. They have to
just pull out of this kind of nose that that
they're in and get things stab up off before they
can really start to play well.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
Robert Wan Trob with a Cincinnatimagazine dot Com Rita's weekly
Bengals column. In your opinion, since that Super Bowl year,
which is feeling like it was decades ago, what is
the single biggest front office misstep since?
Speaker 3 (06:16):
Well, let me say this first. I mean, listen, I
know Duke Tobin is beginning a lot of bullets this week,
and I fired a few too, And you know he's
the face. He's there to take that, to take the heat.
So you no, I'm not making any excuses or anything
for him. I don't have any sympathy, but you know,
I think we've also memory hold the idea that it
was only three weeks ago where he sort of saved
(06:37):
the season by getting Joe fleckowing. I mean, the team
would be completely off a cliff if if we didn't
have the offense going. I mean, you know, think about
not just how they were losing games, but we're totally
unwatchable from the quarterback position, and that's where all the
money is on the offensive side of the Paul. So
at least they're on track thanks to Joe in that sense,
and give Toven credit for bringing them in here and
getting him for basically nothing. But to get back to
(07:00):
your point, I mean, there's been a lot of obviously
issues over the last several draft class since that Super Bowl,
But to me, the biggest thing it's not just one misstep,
it's the failure as a whole to get another pass
rusher in here to go along with Troy Hendrickson. You know,
I think Sam Hubbard at six six and a half
sacks back in twenty two, that's still the most sacks
(07:22):
any player not wearing number ninety one his hat in
the last years, three years since the Super Bowl. And
it's not going to get any better this year either.
So you know, you can't. As much as we just
talked about Al Golden and the rookies and everything else,
you're playing defense with one hand tied behind your back
if you can't get any pass rush at all, and
they just can't do it when Hendrickson's not the guy
(07:42):
making it happen single handedly and he just can't go forward,
it's just hard, almost impossible to sustain any kind of
you know, defensive momentum or win you know, consistently in
this league without any kind of regular pass rush for
multiple angles. So it's been that. You know, they've tried, obviously,
they drafted Miles Murphy, they drafted Stewart, but they haven't
(08:03):
tried hard enough, and uh, you know they It's almost
like you got to go all out at this point
to get somebody in with Hendrickson's and Penn departure at
some point, whether it's in a couple of weeks, I
don't think so, but possible, or you know, next year
or even the year after, you got to get somebody
else in here to rush the pastor it's just it's
beyond a joke at this point.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
No question about it. Thank you as always. Well we'll
talk next week, thanks so much.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
Okay, hopefully off a win this time. We'll do it.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
Give me like what next week, Give me like a
like a like a sid Gilman or a web U
Bank like GI mean, I just I cannot. You got
to drop one one of those in once per week now, Okay, it's.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
Bears week, so it'll be George's house.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
That's right, Yes, that's right. There you go Robert win Troup,
Cincinnati Magazine dot com. We're gonna get a Breeders Cup preview.
Speaker 4 (08:50):
Next, you've been listening to football in the Natti on
ESPN fifteen, the official home of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.
Speaker 5 (09:10):
Traffic from the UC Health Traffic Center with a stroke
Every second counts, and so does your team. Home to
rapid life saving treatment and clinical trials. You see health
is the clear choice for strokecare. Learn more at ucehealth
dot com. River Road blocked off completely in both directions
from fallen power cables between Fort Thomas Avenue and Mary
(09:33):
Ingles Highway northbound seventy five. It is an accident over
at Western Avenue. Traffic backed up from Freeman Avenue. I
at Ezelic with traffic.
Speaker 3 (09:43):
This report is
In the NATI brought to you by bell Terra Casino
and Belterra Park on ESPN fifteen thirty, the official home
of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Robert Windrob joins us Every Thursday. He writes some weekly
Bengals column for Cincinnati Magazine. You can read this week's
right now at Cincinnati Magazine dot com. Robert was in
town last week and he was at the Bengals game.
He was also at the Bearcats game, and they won
and the Bengals lost, and so you know, we could
talk about the Bearcats.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
Well, you know, it's funny. I feel like when I'm
watching the Bengals, I'm watching Big twelve football defense, easy
scoring drive and a ton of points. So between the
Bengals and the Bearcats, there was no shortage of fireworks. Unfortunately,
we came up just a little bit short in the
pro aspect of that particular combo.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Yes, yes we did. You wrote about Al Golden, so
I you know, amid all the different discussions about the
Bengals defense and how it might be fixed and what
they should do moving forward and who to blame, I
think the general consensus is, look, they asked Al to
do a lot but they didn't give him much to
work with, and so we'll sort of absolve him. In
(01:15):
writing about the game last week, which you were at,
you kind of point the finger at him a little bit,
and I want folks to read it, but walk me
through is specifically as it relates to Sunday, how Al
kind of got worked over by his counterpart on the
other team.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
Yeah, and I don't think Al Golden would absolve himself.
Let me just say that person foremost, I think he
pointed the finger right squarely in the mirror. But yeah,
I mean, he's never called plays at the NFL before,
as much as we take as us or granted, you know,
he obviously did it in college, but pro and college
ball are not the same thing. He doesn't have the
talent advantage obviously that he had a Notre Dame. And
(01:55):
I think you're seeing it a lot now, especially when
I was in the press box watching on Sunday, you
see things little bit differently than to do on TV.
And you know, you could just see a lot of
times where the Jets were doing things that they had
done earlier in the game, and we're setting up sort
of zigging off of those zags. The Bengals stopped them early,
you know, helped them to I think it was just
eight yards rushing in the first quarter. By the fourth
(02:16):
quarter it was over alle hundred yards just in the
fifteen minutes. You know, if you could see it coming,
they were getting out flanked or they were throwing passes
that we're going to have guys having to pick their
way through, you know, through a messi of receivers and
the you know, bunch formations and things like that. And
you know, so much of the chess game, if you will,
between coordinators is you know, kind of punch counter punch,
(02:39):
zigging when you are expecting a zag and you know,
being non rhythmic in a certain way. And you know,
al Going's a rookie at that too, unless as we
talk about the rookies who are playing for the Bengals
on the field, he's kind of learning on the job
as he goes too, and he's going to make mistakes,
and you know, there's certain times where you know it's
sort of almost too late. He probably sees it coming too.
If I can see it coming and I'm not, you know,
(03:01):
Amos Alonso's stag up in the booth there, and I
can see certain things happening, but I'm sure he does too,
and it's just a little lady. You know, he has
to go with what he's called already. But you know,
the Jets have a first year play caller two and
I just thought that their guy, Tanner eg Engstrand is
his name. Not that anybody would know who who he is, necessarily,
(03:21):
but he's a rookie offensive coordinator and he was just
seemed like he was getting a step ahead, especially in
the second half of Golden And you know, it's it's
just the kind of thing he's gonna have to work
through and get more comfortable with this sort of cut
and thrust of the way plays are called and what
teams want to do and want to make you think
they're doing, you know, And I just think he's a
(03:42):
step behind right now. And you know, like the rookies
who are playing on the field, that can only get
better with the reps, and I'm sure he will too.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Robert Appeal appeal appealing to the younger generation with the
Amos Alonso Stag reference. There you go, Robert.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
Him or Walter Camp. I wasn't sure which one to
go with.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Are very good. They draft players on defense, and the
idea is they make an immediate impact that is not
happening with Shamar Stewart or Dimitrius Knight or Barrett Carter.
Should I start to lose hope when it comes to
these rookies or should should I give them time? Should
I give them time to make an impact?
Speaker 3 (04:22):
Well? I mean, if you're going to take the rookie
class as a hole, the guards or the guys we
thought would be the problem, right, and they've actually both
played fairly well. Certainly on Sunday they played really well,
and they're getting thrown into the fire. I mean, you know,
you look around the league and there's plenty of rookies
who are making more instant impacts than the guys we have.
Over in Baltimore. Teddy Buchanan, a fourth round the rookie
(04:44):
linebacker named Rookie of the Month for October. So he's
doing something right. I mean, you certainly don't give up hope.
Al Golden himself made the point, like, you know, if
you looked at the guys he worked with back in
the early twenties when they were on the Super Bowl
runs and Logan Wilson and Jermaine Pratt when they were youngsters,
young pups. They made plenty of mistakes too, and they
turned into key elements of the defense. So you know,
(05:07):
you certainly don't write them off, and you know, for
better or worse. I mean, think about how many rookie
classes the Bengals have had where the guys never even
saw the field, you know, and whether that was because
of injury or because they were you know, behind veterans
or just weren't any good. And then you get to
year three and you're like, well, now it's time to
see what we have in ex player. But then it's
almost too late. Nobody's could be saying that about Barrett
(05:29):
Cutter or Demetrius Knight or even Jalen Rivers. You know,
it's like, by year three, we'll know one way or
the other what we have in them and whether it's
you know, time to move on or whether they're players
you can build around. So you know, in that sense,
it's good that they're getting a lot of reps, but
not so good that they haven't performed anywhere close to
their capabilities as yet. And you know it's not just
(05:50):
because they can't play. It's a variety of factors and
it's almost compounding on itself every week. They have to
just pull out of this kind of nose that that
they're in and get things stab up off before they
can really start to play well.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
Robert Wan Trob with a Cincinnatimagazine dot Com Rita's weekly
Bengals column. In your opinion, since that Super Bowl year,
which is feeling like it was decades ago, what is
the single biggest front office misstep since?
Speaker 3 (06:16):
Well, let me say this first. I mean, listen, I
know Duke Tobin is beginning a lot of bullets this week,
and I fired a few too, And you know he's
the face. He's there to take that, to take the heat.
So you no, I'm not making any excuses or anything
for him. I don't have any sympathy, but you know,
I think we've also memory hold the idea that it
was only three weeks ago where he sort of saved
(06:37):
the season by getting Joe fleckowing. I mean, the team
would be completely off a cliff if if we didn't
have the offense going. I mean, you know, think about
not just how they were losing games, but we're totally
unwatchable from the quarterback position, and that's where all the
money is on the offensive side of the Paul. So
at least they're on track thanks to Joe in that sense,
and give Toven credit for bringing them in here and
getting him for basically nothing. But to get back to
(07:00):
your point, I mean, there's been a lot of obviously
issues over the last several draft class since that Super Bowl,
But to me, the biggest thing it's not just one misstep,
it's the failure as a whole to get another pass
rusher in here to go along with Troy Hendrickson. You know,
I think Sam Hubbard at six six and a half
sacks back in twenty two, that's still the most sacks
(07:22):
any player not wearing number ninety one his hat in
the last years, three years since the Super Bowl. And
it's not going to get any better this year either.
So you know, you can't. As much as we just
talked about Al Golden and the rookies and everything else,
you're playing defense with one hand tied behind your back
if you can't get any pass rush at all, and
they just can't do it when Hendrickson's not the guy
(07:42):
making it happen single handedly and he just can't go forward,
it's just hard, almost impossible to sustain any kind of
you know, defensive momentum or win you know, consistently in
this league without any kind of regular pass rush for
multiple angles. So it's been that. You know, they've tried, obviously,
they drafted Miles Murphy, they drafted Stewart, but they haven't
(08:03):
tried hard enough, and uh, you know they It's almost
like you got to go all out at this point
to get somebody in with Hendrickson's and Penn departure at
some point, whether it's in a couple of weeks, I
don't think so, but possible, or you know, next year
or even the year after, you got to get somebody
else in here to rush the pastor it's just it's
beyond a joke at this point.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
No question about it. Thank you as always. Well we'll
talk next week, thanks so much.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
Okay, hopefully off a win this time. We'll do it.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
Give me like what next week, Give me like a
like a like a sid Gilman or a web U
Bank like GI mean, I just I cannot. You got
to drop one one of those in once per week now, Okay, it's.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
Bears week, so it'll be George's house.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
That's right, Yes, that's right. There you go Robert win Troup,
Cincinnati Magazine dot com. We're gonna get a Breeders Cup preview.
Speaker 4 (08:50):
Next, you've been listening to football in the Natti on
ESPN fifteen, the official home of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.
Speaker 5 (09:10):
Traffic from the UC Health Traffic Center with a stroke
Every second counts, and so does your team. Home to
rapid life saving treatment and clinical trials. You see health
is the clear choice for strokecare. Learn more at ucehealth
dot com. River Road blocked off completely in both directions
from fallen power cables between Fort Thomas Avenue and Mary
(09:33):
Ingles Highway northbound seventy five. It is an accident over
at Western Avenue. Traffic backed up from Freeman Avenue. I
at Ezelic with traffic.
Speaker 3 (09:43):
This report is
Mo Egger News
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