October 7, 2025 • 42 mins
Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic and The Growler Podcast joined us to discuss the Bengals' acquision of Joe Flacco to either be the savior or a 40 year-old piece of chum.
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
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
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
ESPN fifteen thirty.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
Well, this week it will be a four quarter pad
founder when the Bengals try to slice through the bankers.
To be honest, I prefer my cheese shred it, but
eating it does make me Gussie. There will be no
love lost at Lambeo Field, or will there. Sunday coverage
begins at twelve noon stream for free. Are the new
(00:23):
and improved iHeartRadio app or ESPN fifteen thirty the official
home of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
We say all the sports all the time. At Oakley Greens,
which is where we are today, it's a it's a
not so gorgeous Tuesday afternoon. I'm not gonna lie to you.
You know, for weeks we were here, it was hot out.
We had summer weather in September, summer weather in October,
and those folks were like, you know, could really use
some fall weather.
Speaker 4 (00:50):
Hope you're enjoying today.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
We're at Oakley Greens in Oakley, Oakley Station, right by
the movie theater and we're hanging out. You know, you
could still post off outside. We've got an indoor bar
and outdoor bar. You could still play miniature golf. You
could watch the Bengals on Sunday, the Joe Flacco era
beginning against the Green Bay Packers, your favorite college football team.
Speaker 4 (01:11):
This weekend.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
We've got Bengo on Mondays and Thursdays for NFL games
and so much more. A great staff, a great place,
Oakley Greens, and Paul Danner Junior's here to help us
make sense of There are very few things that when
I see them.
Speaker 4 (01:28):
Like knock me back.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
Reading the tweet from Tom Pellisero that the Bengals have
traded for Joe Flacco is one of them.
Speaker 5 (01:36):
Definitely did the check on a darn schefter to make
sure it wasn't the wrong one. You know, I had,
you know, we had been I had a story of
this morning kind of detailing that the view from inside
the building was the answers not in the building, right,
And they had been working the phones for forty eight
hours parsing through what was available and an understanding. And
(01:59):
we had heard Zach Taylor twice now in answering questions saying, hey,
that's the personnel people right like that, like no, you know,
not committing to Jake Brown. So I think the writing
was sort of on the wall that this was the
time the timing had arrived where if you're gonna do
that something, this was the time you have to do it.
(02:19):
For any number of reasons that I'm sure we'll go
through here over the next hour, but that you you
can't just flush the season and what is happening with
Jake Browning was unsustainable, could not go on any longer.
What are the other options? Because it's hard for it
to look worse even if you bring somebody in from
(02:41):
the outside, which is a challenging thing to do. Going
for Joe Flacco, who Willie Anderson blocked for at a
point in time, ah, he was in the Ring of Honor,
it was drafted in nineteen ninety six, is the Joe
Flacco who was just benched in Cleveland for a day.
(03:06):
Three rookie named Dylan Gabriel is the answer. So the
question is like, God, this seems so desperate. Yes, yes,
it's very desperate, incredibly desperate situation. This is a very
bad situation. But this gives them some semblance of well maybe,
(03:30):
and that's it. They'll take well maybe, because I think
you know what the rest of it was gonna be.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
I would be remiss if I didn't mention because I
didn't at the top. Paul Danner Junior at the Athletic
dot Com instant analysis of the Joe Flacco trade which
the Bengals have just made official within the last minute.
Joe Flacco Brett Rippen has been cut loose, so Jake
Brown and goes back to being the backup quarterback. Bengals
with their first ever trade that actually got executed with
the Cleveland Browns. They have also acquired a twenty twenty
(03:58):
six sixth round trap choice, and they have sent to
Cleveland a twenty twenty six fifth round draft choice that
Duke Tobin probably would have screwed up anyway.
Speaker 4 (04:06):
Paul with the Growler podcast as well.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
So I think most of us walked away from Sunday
going this isn't tenable, like this, whatever you do next,
whatever it is fine, because it can't be this. And
frankly I felt that way. At halftime. My thinking is,
all right, man, I'll give them the first drive of
the third quarter and then try the other guy. And
(04:30):
by the other guy, like anybody, literally anybody. It could
have picked anybody out of the stands. He threw some
garbage time touchdowns, made a really nice play on the
one where he throws in the back of the end
zone a Jamar chase, but it was abundantly clear that
this is not it.
Speaker 4 (04:45):
I guess let me start with this.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
In regards to other players that people have talked about,
it's been reported that the Bengals didn't reach out to
the Giants in regards to either Russell Wilson or Jamis Wink.
Speaker 5 (04:57):
Correct, Why well, I don't think that they viewed Russ's
I mean, again, why not. It's probably like I think
it's all kind of the same. But I think that
they didn't view Russ's style as a fit. I don't
think they viewed him coming in and meshing in the
(05:19):
building as a fit. And I think then with Jamis,
I just think the wild interception heavy nature of what
you're gonna get with him is probably but flack out
those interceptions too. It goes back to the I mean,
it's all bad desperation stuff. I think you're you're picking through,
(05:40):
You're you're picking through a you know, a bunch of
awful options essentially. But I think they wanted somebody who
could for sure come in, they knew could quickly learn
the system, they knew could do one thing that that
has stood out to me through all of this. Can
you put the ball where it's supposed to go? This
(06:01):
was the interceptions and some of the stuff that happened
with Jake Browning was a part of the problem. The
biggest problem was the ball was not going where it
was supposed to go, and they need somebody who they
felt best that could walk in the door and Sunday
against screen Bay. Put the ball where it's supposed to go,
(06:22):
whether that's in the first row, whether that's in Chase
Brown's belly, whether that is on a checkdown, whether that
is the deep shot to Jamar when it's time, Can
you put it where it's supposed to go, and the
rest of it they'll deal with. The problem they were
having with Jake was too often the plays that were there,
which as we know, were not enough of them. The
(06:44):
ball wasn't going to the spots where it needed to be,
and it appeared Jake was in his own head about
all of that. So Flacco, I think they look at
his profile. The number one thing you're probably getting from
him over all the other problematic options. He has the
best shot very quickly of putting the ball where it's
(07:05):
supposed to go. And that's why he's the guy over them,
you know, ending up in conversations with the Giants. I
also think that it's a minimal move in terms of
get having to give up anything. It's probably similar in
what you would have had to have given up for Russ.
But I just think they're not really into that whole
(07:25):
Russell Wilson thing that has obviously seen him gotten fired
from four places in five years, and not exactly you know,
been an easy mash anyway.
Speaker 4 (07:34):
I guess for me the more, maybe not the more.
Speaker 3 (07:38):
But as surprising as the trade was was who it
was done with. Are you surprised that the Cleveland Browns
were complicit in helping the Bengals find at least a
temporary solution at quarterback.
Speaker 5 (07:51):
Uh? A little, But I think Cleveland's pretty realistic. Sure,
I mean I think it puts for them. I think
they were looking to get something for Flacco the same
way they were looking to unload can He Pickett. Yeah,
add some draft capital. They give one step closer to Shador,
who's inevitably probably gonna play this this season.
Speaker 4 (08:13):
The Bengals ask about him, I don't think so.
Speaker 5 (08:16):
I don't think that was happening. But I think I
think they're just I think they're willing to say, look,
this is the best opportunity for us to get the
most out of this thing that we're trying to do,
which is unload Joe Flacco. So I'm not totally surprised
by that. And the Bengals, again, it fits the desperate
(08:36):
times theme here, and they'll deal with anybody. At this point,
the belief.
Speaker 4 (08:42):
Is he'll play. He'll start Sunday against Green Bank.
Speaker 5 (08:45):
I think that's the ideal scenario. I think you get
him in and you and you do as much as
you can. But I think, yeah, I think that's the
thought right now before again, the release just came out. Yeah,
he's still got to drive down seventy one or whatever's
happening there and get into town and they got to
get through a practice. But I think, right now, that's
(09:05):
the idea.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
So my very first thought, beyond just the shock about
it being Joe Flacco and then man they did a
deal with the Browns, was this is a guy who's
had to be a quick study before. And it's not
apples to apples, but he was signed to the Browns
practice squad two years ago November eighteenth or nineteenth, and
was playing in the game I think on December third,
so it's not quite the same timeframe. But it's a
(09:28):
guy who's seen everything, done everything. He has done the
learned the offense quickly thing before. By the way, he's
done it without Jamar Chase and t Higgins to throw
to in the past. And so my first thing was,
all right, I want another guy. I'm not I cannot
watch Jake Browning play anymore. Give me the guy who
is most likely to be up to speed with what
they're doing with whatever this offense is as quickly as possible.
Speaker 4 (09:50):
Joe Flacco is at the top of that list.
Speaker 5 (09:52):
Yeah, he's also already played the Packers.
Speaker 4 (09:55):
Just two weeks ago.
Speaker 5 (09:56):
Yeah, and so he knows what's going He's going again,
it's defensively in terms of talking about justice Sunday and
not about the bigger picture. So that's something too. And yeah,
there's nothing he's gonna see on a football field that
he hasn't seen before that he doesn't know how to
deal with. This has kind of been his life, Yeah,
(10:17):
since he had that renaissance with the Browns, I mean,
going back and forth, picking up different systems, having to
just kind of be that lifeboat for people. It's kind
of his current state of things as he looks to,
you know, end his career in the best way possible.
And so and also I'll say this, he's got the
(10:37):
best surrounding sporting cast that he's had in any of
these stops that he's been at lately. And if the
job is get the ball to those guys when you're
supposed to get it to him, those are some guys
that can go make some plays for you.
Speaker 4 (10:51):
Many will said, well, wait a minute, you could not
have found a.
Speaker 5 (10:56):
More immobile option, no doubt.
Speaker 4 (10:59):
And put behind this offensive line. It's just not going
to work. Now.
Speaker 3 (11:03):
My response to that is, I don't care. I don't
give me somebody who, if the protection is there and
Jamar Chase is open, knows I should throw it to him.
Or give me somebody who can tell you that's what
the safety is doing on the other or here's where
the blitz is coming from, Like, give me the cerebral
(11:26):
intellectual part of it, some of which is basic stuff. Again,
Jamar Chase is open, probably should look his way. Yeah,
give me that first. Also, I was told when Joe
Burrow got hurt you know, it's hero ball. He's reckless.
Speaker 4 (11:39):
So the offense, now we're back to the offensive line
is no good? What is it?
Speaker 5 (11:44):
Well? No, I think the offensive line hasn't been good. Oh,
it's the general style of play, not just Joe Burrows.
The style of the offense was part of that too.
I think the offensive line has a part of the
problem the whole time. Yeah, and I yeah, this is
(12:05):
the problem. I mean, this is the issue here when
you're laying out all of this stuff. Yeah, this is
gonna be a problem. Like the fact that he won
throws too many picks and two, tends to do them
when he's under pressure, and then the guys that are
currently in front of him. That's the obvious problem with
this plan. That's why it's not a great plan. But
(12:25):
it's the best available plan in the current moment.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
I go to work later then, you know, our office workers,
our sales folks, people in the building.
Speaker 4 (12:36):
You know, I get there late morning.
Speaker 3 (12:38):
Sometimes for the folks who are there at eight thirty
nine o'clock, there will be a big tray of donuts.
Right whenever I get there, there's like two and a
half donuts left. There's one with jelly nobody really ever
wants the jelly donut. Then there's always one with like
it looks like caramel drips on it and stuff. And
then there's like a half eaten like sugar donuts.
Speaker 5 (12:59):
One that somebody put the like they're put their their
hand into when they're trying to grab a different one
and tweed some custard out.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
And then sometimes they'll be like a like a quarter
of a Danish. But when I get there, I'm always
hungry and it's like, these aren't the best options, but
I'm gonna pick one. And I kind of feel like
the Joe Flacca was like the jelly donut of quarterbacks
they could have gotten. All right, let's see, you know
what jelly donuts. It'll fill me up. Like that's what
(13:27):
he is. The litter, not filled with great options.
Speaker 5 (13:32):
No you're not. You're you're not gonna go get a
great quarterback. I mean, the best option when they were
going through the list was Kirk Cousins. For what they're
looking for, what they want for what you would have
to have given up, and how much it would have
cost you, which would have been whatever you negotiated with
Atlanta plus the pick plus ten million dollars on next
(13:53):
year's gap. You are sacrificing a lot for or I
don't know what level of difference of play. Is it
even enough? He's still a flawed player as well, he's
thirty seven versus this, and I you know, I don't
is it wi that have been worth it? Could they
(14:13):
have made room? Could they? Yes? But you're sacrificing. Uh.
It's it's always is a harder deal to do, without question,
and Atlanta is not super interested in budgeting on it
anyway because they're happy with him sitting where he is.
Once you got past that, in my mind, I just
think you ended up in this lamb. That's all Joe Flaccos.
It's it's all Joe Flacco's so your favorite Flacco. It's
(14:36):
kind of I think what.
Speaker 4 (14:37):
This is pick your favorite bad donut.
Speaker 5 (14:39):
Yeah, your favorite bad donut. And here you are here,
you got the jelly, and you're like and then you
take the fight and.
Speaker 4 (14:44):
You're like, oh, it's a little hard.
Speaker 5 (14:46):
It's a little hard. It's been here for a couple hours.
I wasn't anticipating in that part. Yes, but I should
have probably have known that. And then you're like, well,
but do I finish it. That's a couple of weeks, big,
Do I finish the donut?
Speaker 6 (14:58):
Well?
Speaker 3 (14:58):
And there's always there's always like someone who's been there
for hours who sees me approaching the donut tray and
they're like, really, man, I am hungry, And they're kind
of looking at you like you should have been here
three and a half hours ago when we had the
full play to donuts, Like you're really gonna eat one
of those? Man I touched that one three hours ago,
Like they're kind of looking at you and you're looking
at them like I got no choice, man. So that's
(15:21):
he's there's a He's Joe Jelly Donut Flacco.
Speaker 4 (15:26):
That's what he is.
Speaker 3 (15:27):
I hate Jelly donuts, but I will. But if it's
one of the last ones there, go for it.
Speaker 5 (15:31):
Last ones there, you're willing to eat it because it's
better than starving.
Speaker 4 (15:34):
Can they win one of the next two games with him?
Speaker 5 (15:36):
Yes?
Speaker 4 (15:37):
So if they win one of the next two?
Speaker 3 (15:38):
I think it was in your piece prior to the trade,
you point out seven opponents that are combined eight and
twenty six. Yes, okay, so I look at this is
Can I somehow win one of these next two? Many
by recalibrate and then the schedule does soften up, and
can I with Joe Flacco in an AFC that is
wretched right now?
Speaker 4 (15:57):
Can I?
Speaker 3 (15:58):
Can I get this thing to mid late November and
still have a shot and then start talking about Joe
coming to Joe Burrow a jelly donut coming back in
mid December?
Speaker 5 (16:08):
Uh? Once, once you get past Green Bay this week.
Number of opponents left on the Bengals schedule currently in
the top thirteen and DVOA one one Buffalo Bills. That's it,
green Bay. They have two on the rest of their schedule.
Play Jake Browning against the Bills.
Speaker 4 (16:28):
So yeah, Captain.
Speaker 5 (16:29):
But the point being, it's like I think they. I
can tell you a lot of the conversation around the
building looking at this is of course, this is the
year that everything open. It's never been more attainable. They're
looking around the AFC. You see, it's just it's wide open.
(16:51):
It is wide open right now. You are looking around
the AFC North. Nine wins might just be enough. Eight
wins might be enough. Like, let who's out here? Like
Pittsburgh's definitely gonna run away and hide with this. No
one feels that way. And then you talk about their
schedule being what it is. You have a bunch of
teams that they that even with struggling the way that
(17:13):
they are, they should be able to go out there
and play with and beat They have two wins in
their pocket. Like, you can't just sit here and say, ah,
guess we'll ride it out with Jake, right, Guess we
won't take a chance. Guess we won't see if something works.
It's too attainable. Not that you wouldn't try to do
it if it was like last year and and the
(17:35):
Ravens look like one of the best teams in football,
and and and the AFC looks strong and whatever, but
it's even more in your face and there's even more
impetus to make this move because it's right there. And
if you can just take advantage of that through even
(17:55):
a small month or two of Joe Flacco makes an
interesting and Joe can come back in January, you can
have a shot at it. Yeah, that is a million ifs,
and I don't even want to discuss those until we
get closer to it. But that's why you just have to.
It's desperate. The chance of it happening is small, but
(18:16):
you have to try it because it is still right there,
and I think there's enough good things. You have, a
healthy Jamar, a healthy t Higgins, a defense that no
one wants to talk about it, but is doing a
few good things, which is probably more than you could
say the last couple of years.
Speaker 4 (18:31):
There are a lot of bad donuts on that.
Speaker 5 (18:33):
It's a lot of bad donuts that we haven't talked
about that donut trade, and I'm happy to do it,
We'll do it.
Speaker 4 (18:38):
But the coconut donut in there, I feel like you
could maybe see.
Speaker 5 (18:41):
Some good things happening over on that side if they've
done enough where if you would have had any offense,
you'd have at least been in and maybe won a
couple of the last few games. Who knows. You have
to and I think it feels like it's possible, so
give yourself a small chance to do it.
Speaker 3 (18:57):
It's like a blueberry donut in there. Yeah, claw bear
claws are always too filling.
Speaker 5 (19:01):
What you're feeling on fritters, I'm pro friend, I'm pro frinter,
I'm pro fritter. It's actually really in recent years and
I don't know why it's really as sending up my list.
I look good. Become an apple fritter. God, I'm an apple. Yeah,
no Apple, that palty. No Apple fritters on the Bengel
Defense except for number nine twenty.
Speaker 3 (19:18):
Three minutes after three o'clock, Paul Danner Junior, Theathletic dot Com,
and The Growler Podcast all over the news of the
day in the NFL. Joe Flacco can say it without laughing.
Joe Flacco has been traded to the Cincinnati Bengals. That's
where we are. We're at Oakley Greens. Uh, Paul's here
till four, We're here till six. This is ESPN fifteen thirty,
(19:39):
Cincinnati Sports.
Speaker 5 (19:40):
Station, Cincinnati.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
To make us the number one pre set on your
car radio and on the free Knew It improved, iHeartRadio
app Free never sounded so good.
Speaker 5 (19:49):
ESPN fifteen thirty.
Speaker 3 (19:51):
If it's Tuesday, it's Oakley Greens. We are here till
six o'clock. If uh, If you're thinking, man, I want
to go to a place, have a couple of cold
ones after work. It's raining outside. Don't want to be outside,
but I kind of want to be outside.
Speaker 4 (20:06):
Well, we're undercover, we're out.
Speaker 3 (20:08):
We're technically outside right now, but we're bone dry because
the roof and on top of us. There's also an
indoor area, like a genuine indoor area, tons of TVs
and the beer selections unbelievable.
Speaker 4 (20:22):
By the way.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
You can also rent a cabana and you do that
for a bachelor party, a work party. Heck, we watched
one two weeks ago as a kids party. Here one
of those cabanas. You could do what I'm gonna do
later on. I might do it this weekend. Rent a
cabana and sit there by yourself. Sounds awesome.
Speaker 5 (20:41):
It's you know what I as I've talked about many times.
I come up here with my family all the time.
And why I like it is strictly because of days
like today where I don't know if it's gonna rain.
I don't know if they'll be able to go out
to the playground, but if they don't, I want to
have a place to go where there's space. There's so
much space that is both outside and undercover. Like, yeah,
(21:01):
you never have to worry about like the storm or
the weather or the heat or a'll melt down. I can, like,
I can get them away so they're not bothering people
when they inevitable meltdown occurs or the injury, and I
can like just there's plenty of space where I can
get away and find a corner and not bother anybody.
So it's that I it's part of our our our reasons.
(21:21):
We love it up here.
Speaker 3 (21:22):
Dog friendly, kid friendly and sitting in a cabana by
yourself right now, I gotta be honest with you.
Speaker 4 (21:29):
Sounds sounds pretty amazing.
Speaker 3 (21:31):
We're at Oakley Greens twenty nine minutes after three o'clock.
Paul Danner Junior from The Athletic and the Growlard Podcast
is here. More on Joe Flacco. The Joe Flacco here
is about to begin. At some point I'll be able
to say this without laughing.
Speaker 5 (21:42):
The Flacco season as it will be forever known.
Speaker 4 (21:44):
That's right.
Speaker 3 (21:45):
I've waited my entire life, Yeah, to watch the Bengals
with a Super Bowl winning quarterback behind Hey, who is
better to sit here and talk about Joe Flacco's arrival
than a couple of forty year old duce me and you?
Sports headlines coming up as well on ESPN fifteen thirty
Cincinnati Sports Stage.
Speaker 1 (22:05):
Hey, this is Austin Elmore since E three sixty comes
to you live every weekday from twelve to three right
here on the home of the Bengals Cincinnatis ESPN fifteen thirty.
Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.
Speaker 6 (22:21):
Traffic from the UC Health Traffic Center Mammogram Saved Lives.
Call five one three five eighty four PINK to schedule
your annual mammogram with UC Help's expert team. That's five
to one, three five eighty four PINK. An accident is
now cleared away on westbound Fort Washington Way that was
after seventy one. However, all lanes blocked off northbound seventy
(22:43):
one seventy five near Mountain Zion Road from an accident.
Traffic right now diverted using the exit and entrance ramps.
Heavy delays as well. Back from Richwood. I'm at ezelic
with traffic.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
This report is sponsored by Mike.
Speaker 3 (22:56):
We have Joe Flacco plays here, promoms Let's Go sports
headlines or service of Kelsey Eachever Light, home of lifetime
power train protection and guarantee credit approval from their family
to yours for life Kelsey.
Speaker 4 (23:09):
Chev dot com. Uh.
Speaker 3 (23:12):
The Bengals have acquired Joe Flacco to be their quarterback.
I guess on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers. They
executed tray with the Cleveland Browns. The Bengals Sunday fifth
round pick next year to Cleveland brown Sunday, sixth round
pick next year to Cincinnati. I can't believe I'm saying this.
Joe Flacco is gonna play quarterback for the bank and
it's an improvement. Yes, without question, you should and you
(23:34):
should be willing to take it on.
Speaker 5 (23:36):
You know I am. I'm curious to see how how
much of the offense, uh they can put in his
lap and uh, I feel like here's one thing I'll say, No,
I don't think we've seen the end of Jake Browning
this year.
Speaker 3 (23:50):
I'm getting guess he hasn't thrown his last interception for
the Bengals this season.
Speaker 5 (23:54):
I don't think so, just because it's the idea that
this is they he's gonna survive. I worry for Joe's
physical well being a little bit.
Speaker 3 (24:05):
He will throw his last NFL pass in a Bengals
uniform one way or the other.
Speaker 5 (24:09):
Yeah, right, I just I for his sake. You know,
there was Damn Pitcher. We were talking with him yesterday
and he said, you know, I thought that some of
the things the offensive line was doing were good, and
that they weren't you know, the reason that things went
so poorly on Sunday, which was pointing out. I think
(24:30):
maybe it's like there were a bigger fish to fry
in this conversation. Quarterback stunk. Yeah, wash was part of it.
But I think they feel like there's some good things
happening up there. Marius Mimms played, well, there's one Okay.
I don't know what's happening with Orlando Brown getting old.
(24:51):
He looks old. That injury, You know, you have to
start to ask questions about what happened with that injured.
I was back today looking at because he changed his
stance last year into this like kind of tucked in thing,
and and it really he credited to helping him play
really well. He's playing an extremely high level for that
that injury last year, it was just significant injury. And
(25:13):
it's it's even more pronounced of way it's tucked in.
I was doing the side by side of it, he's
like tucked even deeper, and the like the push out
of it isn't quite the same. And now that could
be any number of things, strike technique, It could be
a dink. Maybe it's the strike technique, which is really
going well and then uh and so maybe that's part.
(25:35):
But it looks it looks like it's more painful. He's
looking for something comfortable. It just it looks different enough.
I want to talk to Orlando more about it, because
that's that's clear. And you see you see that in
his play right now. And I don't know if it's
something that's new or it's something residual from last year,
(25:57):
or like you said, maybe age or whatever, but he
hasn't looked like the same guy. And that's tough because
that was one of those where it's like the one
thing you could count on this year was your You
felt great about your tackles in a group that you
already you know, had concerns about. So that has that
certainly has not helped matters.
Speaker 3 (26:17):
Brett Rippen has been let go, Mike White has been
let go, Howard Cross has been signed to the practice squad.
Speaker 4 (26:24):
So those are your other Bengals items.
Speaker 3 (26:26):
A couple of other things really quick, the Baseball playoffs,
American League Division Series, Tigers and Mariners that are having
rain in Detroit, so that game is not getting underway
on time. Series tied at a game apiece and the
Yankees trying to extend their season. Game three American League
Division Series eight o'clock tonight Toronto leads to Zip, obviously
trying to close out the series Tonight. One programming note,
(26:48):
the Scott Saderfield Radio Show is at eight o'clock from
the original Montgomery in on seven hundred w wel WD.
The Bearcats looking for a win at home against UCF
on Saturday. The Jake Browning thing from twenty twenty three
to twenty twenty five. It's entirely different watching him like
he played at a competent level. What is the number
(27:10):
one reason why it didn't work this time?
Speaker 5 (27:14):
It's a great question, and I don't know that Jake
has that answer for you right now. You know, I
think he lost confidence and got in his own head
over the course of these games. I mean you could
hear him in his own head after these games. Okay,
this week, I'm really focused on on knowing when to
(27:35):
check it down and throw it away and not make
the dumb play down the field. And it felt like
he was so then he was hindering himself, and then
he realized he was doing that, and then he wanted
to give his guys a chance down the field, So
I gotta find my opportunity to do that. And then
so he's thinking about that. It just felt like, rather
than going out there and playing football and playing free
(27:55):
and knowing, being comfortable in who he was and the
confidence he had and what he was, he was doubting himself,
doubting what he was seeing, thinking too much about what
he's supposed to be doing rather than just doing it.
And I think that's a nature of the circumstance he
was thrown into. Look, he didn't have time to think
about anything against Jacksonville, right, he had to go out
there and be thrown into the moment and go play football,
(28:17):
like you know how to play football. And he played
like twenty twenty three Jake Browning, and you're like when
he leads that drive at the.
Speaker 4 (28:24):
End, you're like, you know what I felt? Okay?
Speaker 5 (28:26):
You feel okay? Yeah? And then I think the whether
it's him thinking about ways he needs to play after that,
or whatever happened there, the entire debacle in Minnesota getting
in his head, whether it was too thinking about too
much and what was put into his head, whatever happened there,
it just killed his confidence and his freedom, it felt
(28:49):
like as a player, and he looked like that. He
looked like he wasn't playing quarterback. He was thinking about
playing quarterback. They had a run game with him two
years ago. Yeah, that didn't help.
Speaker 3 (29:06):
I mean, that's like when I think of two years ago,
I think of how often we talked about meshing the
way they're playing with Jake with what Joe does well.
Speaker 4 (29:15):
And that started with their ability to run the ball
and throw screen passage.
Speaker 5 (29:18):
Yes, he mentioned it multiple times when we talk about
twenty twenty three. He'd say, yeah, you know, it was great.
I feel like I could get in a rhythm. I
got runs, I got screens going. That was that whole thing.
I I just I get tired of hearing myself say it.
I don't understand the reluctance to go under center, run,
play action, throw screens. Do more of that stuff that
(29:42):
we have seen literally every opponent they've played the last
three weeks. Do add nauseum to avoid true passets, to
avoid being able to pinpoint exactly what they're doing and
not just sit back there and do more of what
Jake this. You know, we every time we've seen them
actually do it, which has been few and far between.
Guys are open. Jake's not being harassed. He's trying to
(30:05):
make throws naturally on the run, and it's there's things
there and it just never happens. That is the one
that the one piece. There's a bunch of them, but
the one at the top of my I just don't
understand why that was not a part of the last
three weeks to a much higher degree than it has
been used. I mean, he's hardly at all and that
maybe could have helped. That's probably some of the stuff
(30:27):
that Jake's referring to, but unfortunately they move on.
Speaker 3 (30:32):
If I take the Bengals roster and I remove the
rookies and put them over here, Shamar Stewart, who may
play soon, I don't know, Demitrius Knight, Dylan Fairchild, Barrett Carter,
those guys TOAs Brooks, Jalen Rivers. If I put those
guys over here and I look at the rest of
the roster, I can't find five guys I'm excited about
(30:55):
being on the team next year.
Speaker 4 (30:56):
Is that unfair?
Speaker 5 (31:01):
No, it's not unfair. I don't think that you you
haven't seen you hope with so many of these guys.
You hope that you see the immediate leap, like you
just it. Look, you had a whole off season to
be told you're a part of the plan, needs you
to grow, need you to evolve. We're getting after it
in camp and preseason, and and so you're ready to go.
(31:25):
We want to we want to see that step taken,
and it has. There has been very little of that,
you know what I mean? And and you know that
you could name them on one hand, right, Dax Hill
or is probably one, Mims maybe, Yeah, but that's been
up and down. Yeah, the guys that are already signed.
(31:47):
I assume you're talking about the younger guys, non rookie Borrow,
Chase Seconds cool, yeah, beyond that, yeah, a Marius Mems.
I still believe Dax Hill. Okay, I don't.
Speaker 4 (32:03):
I'm trying so well.
Speaker 5 (32:05):
Yes, brown maybe, but again that has been bad. It
hasn't gone well.
Speaker 3 (32:08):
So Okay, Sunday everybody weals away at Jake Browning. It
is they just replaced him with Joe Flacker. But I
guess what's happened over the last couple of weeks for
a lot of his has it's been exposed how shaky.
The roster is It was a shaky roster last year.
(32:30):
They had a quarterback who was unbelievable. They won nine games.
So you take away the foundational piece, everything collapses. And
when it collapses, I sort through the roster and I
just it's not a good roster.
Speaker 5 (32:45):
It just so.
Speaker 3 (32:46):
Okay, quarterback play is a problem, but quarterback play wasn't
a problem last year, and your team couldn't get to
the postseason. Why with the minimal amount of work they
did the roster this past offseason, why should I feel
surprised that remove the quarterbacks from the equation. Even if
Jake was slightly better, This team's just all over the place,
not good enough.
Speaker 5 (33:07):
You shouldn't be surprised. This was the bet that they made.
They made the bet because most of this is about defense.
Yeah right, I mean we know what bet they made.
They they scapegoat to lou Anarumo and said, a new
voice will make these young players better.
Speaker 3 (33:24):
And even like the scenario on Sunday, which we outlined
before the season started, Okay, all you gotta be is
league average cool ten minutes to go down by eleven.
You've played yourself kind of back into it. Can you
get your offense the ball and instead eight plays without
a third down right down the field. Yeah, the moment
(33:45):
that they needed, the moment where you're like, all right,
al with last year's guys, can you do it? Last
year's team couldn't and get a fourth quarter stop and
at least give the ball back to Jake Brown and.
Speaker 4 (33:57):
Give your team a shot.
Speaker 5 (33:58):
I understand that. I will say they have made more stops.
I mean, I feel like the fact that they were
able to keep some of these games close, that the
offense was paying them behind the eight ball over and
over again in some of these in some of these
first hats. Yeah you fourteen to three was a minor
miracle on Sunday, and a lot of that was because, hey,
the defense was stiffening up. They were getting some stops
(34:20):
against Detroit after that first drive, and seemed to make
a few plays. Again, We're not the bar is so
low that we're not talking about looking great and making
plays and going and winning you a game. But they
were doing enough that if the offense had some level
of competency that should have been they should have been
right there, neck and neck to the end.
Speaker 3 (34:39):
So the roster's not good when the roster's not good,
you need to rebuild. How long is a rebuild take?
And is Joe Burrow going to be excited about being
there for a rebuild when you can't rebuild it the
way you did in twenty twenty by just throwing a
whole bunch of money at a bunch of guys in
free agency.
Speaker 5 (34:57):
I'm sure he's not. I'm sure he's but I mean,
you know.
Speaker 3 (35:01):
Tell my my my outlook isn't overly optimistic at this point.
Speaker 5 (35:05):
I don't disagree with you. I mean, we just spent
the whole beginning part talking about how it's so desperate
that you're just reaching for the Joe Flaccos Jelly donuts.
So I mean, I'm saying I understand that that's the case.
No one would be excited about that, But it's it's
the NFL, like it's at a certain point, you're always
(35:26):
figuring it's just a matter of how much of it's
gonna change year to year. If that's part of it,
that's they have to that's a whole other off season
of questions m hm that they're gonna have to figure out.
And who's leading such the said rebuild is probably you know,
the first one that they'll have to come to terms
with once they get through whatever this season looks like,
(35:46):
which it feels like it's kind of hitting a small
reset button right now, I guess, and.
Speaker 3 (35:52):
A good reset button. Yeah, like what they've done today,
let's go, let's see if it can work. But boy,
that right again, like the roster. For me, what's what's
so frustrating is many of us spent all offseason going,
are we sure like we're really doing this?
Speaker 4 (36:08):
We're really doing this with the deep Joe, we did
that segment.
Speaker 3 (36:10):
We're really doing this, really doing this on the offensive line,
really doing this with the defense, really doing this?
Speaker 4 (36:16):
And they are and and and again, like.
Speaker 3 (36:19):
Maybe league average quarterback play hasn't been a better place
than they have been. But boy, just feels like what
they didn't do to the team this offseason has has
badly exposed what the front office didn't.
Speaker 5 (36:29):
To drafting, signing, everything that we talked about with these
young players, like this was gonna define the Borough era,
right this, this portion of it, this prime the Burrow
Chase Higgins portion. You just have they have to draft, well,
they had to hit on draft picks. They bet on
(36:52):
those draft picks. At every single turn when those draft
picks fail you. It is a deep It is is
a steep, steep climb out and that's why it was
such a big bet, and that's why it was the
biggest part coming into this season that we kept talking about.
It's like, this is gonna this is it. We can
(37:13):
talk about all the little the addition here and the
big money spent and Trey Hendrickson's fight. These young players
are gonna define what happens next and how realistic it
is that this team in this current way can win anything.
And thus far they haven't been good enough. And maybe
(37:35):
that's maybe it's okay. A full season with Al Golden
to work through it and you start seeing less of
the problems and more and more leaning into the better
parts and getting more of people is where they're at
in the conversation right now, and hope that they're seeing
some signs of it. But yeah, it hasn't been where
it needs to be to this point.
Speaker 3 (37:54):
I am a loyal reader of the Athletic. Thank you,
read your work, see what you guys do locally. I
also enjoyed the work of Mike Jones, who today has
written about what is my current favorite topic, which is
a brief recent history of players, including Jordan Battle, who
have decided to let the ball go before they cross
the ball line. Yeah, and I am of the belief
(38:16):
that there should be an added punishment if you do this,
beyond lose possession touch back for the other team.
Speaker 4 (38:21):
Are you with me on this?
Speaker 5 (38:22):
Yeah? The other team gets seven points.
Speaker 3 (38:24):
Yeah if they get to if you are deemed to
have intentionally dropped the ball before you cross the goal line,
the other team should get fourteen points, not.
Speaker 5 (38:35):
Even automatic out. Just the game ends right there. I mean,
you lose your team, Your team loses. Yeah, how do you.
Speaker 4 (38:46):
Feel about this?
Speaker 5 (38:48):
Maybe a little strong? No, maybe maybe a little strong.
How about if that ever happens. Jonathan Gannon gets flown
to your house and gets to verbally assault you the.
Speaker 3 (38:59):
Way I apologized yesterday. And I'm like, buddy, you have
no reason to apologize, really, you're come on.
Speaker 5 (39:07):
He did he didn't make.
Speaker 4 (39:08):
Contact with him. He did, and it was like, I mean,
the contact was what do I mean?
Speaker 5 (39:14):
I look, I don't know, that's not my he shouldn't
make contact with him. The dude was literally getting They're
getting consoled like it was the way he was being
consoled and I know it's professional. Yeah, okay, tough enough,
but they'll like it was like a running attack in
his face with a push and scright in his face.
John Guy was in tears. Jonathan Gannon was every Cardinals fan. Yeah,
(39:37):
I get it, Okay, so okay, so he shouldn't yell
at his player. I believe that there should be something
that happens to your team and you. If you do that,
game check gets.
Speaker 3 (39:47):
Taken away fourteen points on the scoreboard, forced to book his.
Speaker 4 (39:51):
Own travel if they're on the road, like whatever it is, Yeah, you.
Speaker 5 (39:54):
Fly commercial the next week. Yes, I like that.
Speaker 3 (39:57):
I read that today over lunch and I'm like, they're
they're mean to be with the next competition meetings, the committee,
the owners, however that works, get together and go here's
how we're gonna nip this in the bud. Harsh penalties
if you decide on purpose to drop the ball before
you cross the goal line.
Speaker 5 (40:12):
Okay, that's fair. I like, I like either, maybe you
actually have to drive to wherever the next game is that. Yeah,
just you have to drive yourself alone and think about
what you've done. That's that's that's what you did. You
know that we have a caravan going to uh Green
Bay because the flights are just like it's it's.
Speaker 4 (40:30):
A little hard to get there.
Speaker 5 (40:31):
It's hard to get there, there's no directs, it's expensive,
and so we've all we've got a crew of us.
Really skinny, wow, James, Jay, we've got a crew of us.
What kind of car you guys got A got a
three row guy? Okay, three row s u V All right,
we're driving it. We're doing the full round, but eight
hours to green Back seven and a half, seven and
(40:53):
a half and then Jay will be driving, so we'll
probably get it on six. That sounds that sounds like,
will you guys have microphones, cameras, bring the podcast equipment.
We were talking about how long we should go live,
not if we should go live. On the way there
and back. I think back will be a little bit.
I don't I don't care about the way back. The
(41:14):
way there will be okay, Well, the way back could
be stopping in Milwaukee. We're stopping. We're staying in Milwaukee,
so it's not that bad on the way up. On
the way up, that'd be pretty good. Yeah, yeah, it's
gonna be great.
Speaker 4 (41:24):
Milwaukee's a good town.
Speaker 5 (41:24):
Milwaukee's a great town. Thank you for you want to
go within us. Kind of good. We have what's on
you guys leaving Saturday morning, bright and early. Let's go.
Speaker 3 (41:34):
Bear Cats play at noon, so I probably should go
to that, Okay, but uh, you know, maybe I'll fly
up and ride back with you.
Speaker 5 (41:43):
Yes, let's do it.
Speaker 4 (41:44):
Come on down, Paul Danner Jr.
Speaker 3 (41:46):
And the Caravan, The Athletic dot Com, the Growlar Podcast.
Speaker 5 (41:50):
Thank you as always read all your Joe Flacco coverage.
Speaker 4 (41:54):
Lots of it, lots of it in two cities. That's
what's great about it.
Speaker 5 (41:57):
Zach Jackson and I about to do a pot here
about fifteen minutes. Very good.
Speaker 3 (42:01):
It's six away from four o'clock. We're at Oakley Greens.
Follow Paul on Twitter. By the way, I Paul Daneer Junior.
This is ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station.
ESPN fifteen thirty.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
Well, this week it will be a four quarter pad
founder when the Bengals try to slice through the bankers.
To be honest, I prefer my cheese shred it, but
eating it does make me Gussie. There will be no
love lost at Lambeo Field, or will there. Sunday coverage
begins at twelve noon stream for free. Are the new
(00:23):
and improved iHeartRadio app or ESPN fifteen thirty the official
home of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
We say all the sports all the time. At Oakley Greens,
which is where we are today, it's a it's a
not so gorgeous Tuesday afternoon. I'm not gonna lie to you.
You know, for weeks we were here, it was hot out.
We had summer weather in September, summer weather in October,
and those folks were like, you know, could really use
some fall weather.
Speaker 4 (00:50):
Hope you're enjoying today.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
We're at Oakley Greens in Oakley, Oakley Station, right by
the movie theater and we're hanging out. You know, you
could still post off outside. We've got an indoor bar
and outdoor bar. You could still play miniature golf. You
could watch the Bengals on Sunday, the Joe Flacco era
beginning against the Green Bay Packers, your favorite college football team.
Speaker 4 (01:11):
This weekend.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
We've got Bengo on Mondays and Thursdays for NFL games
and so much more. A great staff, a great place,
Oakley Greens, and Paul Danner Junior's here to help us
make sense of There are very few things that when
I see them.
Speaker 4 (01:28):
Like knock me back.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
Reading the tweet from Tom Pellisero that the Bengals have
traded for Joe Flacco is one of them.
Speaker 5 (01:36):
Definitely did the check on a darn schefter to make
sure it wasn't the wrong one. You know, I had,
you know, we had been I had a story of
this morning kind of detailing that the view from inside
the building was the answers not in the building, right,
And they had been working the phones for forty eight
hours parsing through what was available and an understanding. And
(01:59):
we had heard Zach Taylor twice now in answering questions saying, hey,
that's the personnel people right like that, like no, you know,
not committing to Jake Brown. So I think the writing
was sort of on the wall that this was the
time the timing had arrived where if you're gonna do
that something, this was the time you have to do it.
(02:19):
For any number of reasons that I'm sure we'll go
through here over the next hour, but that you you
can't just flush the season and what is happening with
Jake Browning was unsustainable, could not go on any longer.
What are the other options? Because it's hard for it
to look worse even if you bring somebody in from
(02:41):
the outside, which is a challenging thing to do. Going
for Joe Flacco, who Willie Anderson blocked for at a
point in time, ah, he was in the Ring of Honor,
it was drafted in nineteen ninety six, is the Joe
Flacco who was just benched in Cleveland for a day.
(03:06):
Three rookie named Dylan Gabriel is the answer. So the
question is like, God, this seems so desperate. Yes, yes,
it's very desperate, incredibly desperate situation. This is a very
bad situation. But this gives them some semblance of well maybe,
(03:30):
and that's it. They'll take well maybe, because I think
you know what the rest of it was gonna be.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
I would be remiss if I didn't mention because I
didn't at the top. Paul Danner Junior at the Athletic
dot Com instant analysis of the Joe Flacco trade which
the Bengals have just made official within the last minute.
Joe Flacco Brett Rippen has been cut loose, so Jake
Brown and goes back to being the backup quarterback. Bengals
with their first ever trade that actually got executed with
the Cleveland Browns. They have also acquired a twenty twenty
(03:58):
six sixth round trap choice, and they have sent to
Cleveland a twenty twenty six fifth round draft choice that
Duke Tobin probably would have screwed up anyway.
Speaker 4 (04:06):
Paul with the Growler podcast as well.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
So I think most of us walked away from Sunday
going this isn't tenable, like this, whatever you do next,
whatever it is fine, because it can't be this. And
frankly I felt that way. At halftime. My thinking is,
all right, man, I'll give them the first drive of
the third quarter and then try the other guy. And
(04:30):
by the other guy, like anybody, literally anybody. It could
have picked anybody out of the stands. He threw some
garbage time touchdowns, made a really nice play on the
one where he throws in the back of the end
zone a Jamar chase, but it was abundantly clear that
this is not it.
Speaker 4 (04:45):
I guess let me start with this.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
In regards to other players that people have talked about,
it's been reported that the Bengals didn't reach out to
the Giants in regards to either Russell Wilson or Jamis Wink.
Speaker 5 (04:57):
Correct, Why well, I don't think that they viewed Russ's
I mean, again, why not. It's probably like I think
it's all kind of the same. But I think that
they didn't view Russ's style as a fit. I don't
think they viewed him coming in and meshing in the
(05:19):
building as a fit. And I think then with Jamis,
I just think the wild interception heavy nature of what
you're gonna get with him is probably but flack out
those interceptions too. It goes back to the I mean,
it's all bad desperation stuff. I think you're you're picking through,
(05:40):
You're you're picking through a you know, a bunch of
awful options essentially. But I think they wanted somebody who
could for sure come in, they knew could quickly learn
the system, they knew could do one thing that that
has stood out to me through all of this. Can
you put the ball where it's supposed to go? This
(06:01):
was the interceptions and some of the stuff that happened
with Jake Browning was a part of the problem. The
biggest problem was the ball was not going where it
was supposed to go, and they need somebody who they
felt best that could walk in the door and Sunday
against screen Bay. Put the ball where it's supposed to go,
(06:22):
whether that's in the first row, whether that's in Chase
Brown's belly, whether that is on a checkdown, whether that
is the deep shot to Jamar when it's time, Can
you put it where it's supposed to go, and the
rest of it they'll deal with. The problem they were
having with Jake was too often the plays that were there,
which as we know, were not enough of them. The
(06:44):
ball wasn't going to the spots where it needed to be,
and it appeared Jake was in his own head about
all of that. So Flacco, I think they look at
his profile. The number one thing you're probably getting from
him over all the other problematic options. He has the
best shot very quickly of putting the ball where it's
(07:05):
supposed to go. And that's why he's the guy over them,
you know, ending up in conversations with the Giants. I
also think that it's a minimal move in terms of
get having to give up anything. It's probably similar in
what you would have had to have given up for Russ.
But I just think they're not really into that whole
(07:25):
Russell Wilson thing that has obviously seen him gotten fired
from four places in five years, and not exactly you know,
been an easy mash anyway.
Speaker 4 (07:34):
I guess for me the more, maybe not the more.
Speaker 3 (07:38):
But as surprising as the trade was was who it
was done with. Are you surprised that the Cleveland Browns
were complicit in helping the Bengals find at least a
temporary solution at quarterback.
Speaker 5 (07:51):
Uh? A little, But I think Cleveland's pretty realistic. Sure,
I mean I think it puts for them. I think
they were looking to get something for Flacco the same
way they were looking to unload can He Pickett. Yeah,
add some draft capital. They give one step closer to Shador,
who's inevitably probably gonna play this this season.
Speaker 4 (08:13):
The Bengals ask about him, I don't think so.
Speaker 5 (08:16):
I don't think that was happening. But I think I
think they're just I think they're willing to say, look,
this is the best opportunity for us to get the
most out of this thing that we're trying to do,
which is unload Joe Flacco. So I'm not totally surprised
by that. And the Bengals, again, it fits the desperate
(08:36):
times theme here, and they'll deal with anybody. At this point,
the belief.
Speaker 4 (08:42):
Is he'll play. He'll start Sunday against Green Bank.
Speaker 5 (08:45):
I think that's the ideal scenario. I think you get
him in and you and you do as much as
you can. But I think, yeah, I think that's the
thought right now before again, the release just came out. Yeah,
he's still got to drive down seventy one or whatever's
happening there and get into town and they got to
get through a practice. But I think, right now, that's
(09:05):
the idea.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
So my very first thought, beyond just the shock about
it being Joe Flacco and then man they did a
deal with the Browns, was this is a guy who's
had to be a quick study before. And it's not
apples to apples, but he was signed to the Browns
practice squad two years ago November eighteenth or nineteenth, and
was playing in the game I think on December third,
so it's not quite the same timeframe. But it's a
(09:28):
guy who's seen everything, done everything. He has done the
learned the offense quickly thing before. By the way, he's
done it without Jamar Chase and t Higgins to throw
to in the past. And so my first thing was,
all right, I want another guy. I'm not I cannot
watch Jake Browning play anymore. Give me the guy who
is most likely to be up to speed with what
they're doing with whatever this offense is as quickly as possible.
Speaker 4 (09:50):
Joe Flacco is at the top of that list.
Speaker 5 (09:52):
Yeah, he's also already played the Packers.
Speaker 4 (09:55):
Just two weeks ago.
Speaker 5 (09:56):
Yeah, and so he knows what's going He's going again,
it's defensively in terms of talking about justice Sunday and
not about the bigger picture. So that's something too. And yeah,
there's nothing he's gonna see on a football field that
he hasn't seen before that he doesn't know how to
deal with. This has kind of been his life, Yeah,
(10:17):
since he had that renaissance with the Browns, I mean,
going back and forth, picking up different systems, having to
just kind of be that lifeboat for people. It's kind
of his current state of things as he looks to,
you know, end his career in the best way possible.
And so and also I'll say this, he's got the
(10:37):
best surrounding sporting cast that he's had in any of
these stops that he's been at lately. And if the
job is get the ball to those guys when you're
supposed to get it to him, those are some guys
that can go make some plays for you.
Speaker 4 (10:51):
Many will said, well, wait a minute, you could not
have found a.
Speaker 5 (10:56):
More immobile option, no doubt.
Speaker 4 (10:59):
And put behind this offensive line. It's just not going
to work. Now.
Speaker 3 (11:03):
My response to that is, I don't care. I don't
give me somebody who, if the protection is there and
Jamar Chase is open, knows I should throw it to him.
Or give me somebody who can tell you that's what
the safety is doing on the other or here's where
the blitz is coming from, Like, give me the cerebral
(11:26):
intellectual part of it, some of which is basic stuff. Again,
Jamar Chase is open, probably should look his way. Yeah,
give me that first. Also, I was told when Joe
Burrow got hurt you know, it's hero ball. He's reckless.
Speaker 4 (11:39):
So the offense, now we're back to the offensive line
is no good? What is it?
Speaker 5 (11:44):
Well? No, I think the offensive line hasn't been good. Oh,
it's the general style of play, not just Joe Burrows.
The style of the offense was part of that too.
I think the offensive line has a part of the
problem the whole time. Yeah, and I yeah, this is
(12:05):
the problem. I mean, this is the issue here when
you're laying out all of this stuff. Yeah, this is
gonna be a problem. Like the fact that he won
throws too many picks and two, tends to do them
when he's under pressure, and then the guys that are
currently in front of him. That's the obvious problem with
this plan. That's why it's not a great plan. But
(12:25):
it's the best available plan in the current moment.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
I go to work later then, you know, our office workers,
our sales folks, people in the building.
Speaker 4 (12:36):
You know, I get there late morning.
Speaker 3 (12:38):
Sometimes for the folks who are there at eight thirty
nine o'clock, there will be a big tray of donuts.
Right whenever I get there, there's like two and a
half donuts left. There's one with jelly nobody really ever
wants the jelly donut. Then there's always one with like
it looks like caramel drips on it and stuff. And
then there's like a half eaten like sugar donuts.
Speaker 5 (12:59):
One that somebody put the like they're put their their
hand into when they're trying to grab a different one
and tweed some custard out.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
And then sometimes they'll be like a like a quarter
of a Danish. But when I get there, I'm always
hungry and it's like, these aren't the best options, but
I'm gonna pick one. And I kind of feel like
the Joe Flacca was like the jelly donut of quarterbacks
they could have gotten. All right, let's see, you know
what jelly donuts. It'll fill me up. Like that's what
(13:27):
he is. The litter, not filled with great options.
Speaker 5 (13:32):
No you're not. You're you're not gonna go get a
great quarterback. I mean, the best option when they were
going through the list was Kirk Cousins. For what they're
looking for, what they want for what you would have
to have given up, and how much it would have
cost you, which would have been whatever you negotiated with
Atlanta plus the pick plus ten million dollars on next
(13:53):
year's gap. You are sacrificing a lot for or I
don't know what level of difference of play. Is it
even enough? He's still a flawed player as well, he's
thirty seven versus this, and I you know, I don't
is it wi that have been worth it? Could they
(14:13):
have made room? Could they? Yes? But you're sacrificing. Uh.
It's it's always is a harder deal to do, without question,
and Atlanta is not super interested in budgeting on it
anyway because they're happy with him sitting where he is.
Once you got past that, in my mind, I just
think you ended up in this lamb. That's all Joe Flaccos.
It's it's all Joe Flacco's so your favorite Flacco. It's
(14:36):
kind of I think what.
Speaker 4 (14:37):
This is pick your favorite bad donut.
Speaker 5 (14:39):
Yeah, your favorite bad donut. And here you are here,
you got the jelly, and you're like and then you
take the fight and.
Speaker 4 (14:44):
You're like, oh, it's a little hard.
Speaker 5 (14:46):
It's a little hard. It's been here for a couple hours.
I wasn't anticipating in that part. Yes, but I should
have probably have known that. And then you're like, well,
but do I finish it. That's a couple of weeks, big,
Do I finish the donut?
Speaker 6 (14:58):
Well?
Speaker 3 (14:58):
And there's always there's always like someone who's been there
for hours who sees me approaching the donut tray and
they're like, really, man, I am hungry, And they're kind
of looking at you like you should have been here
three and a half hours ago when we had the
full play to donuts, Like you're really gonna eat one
of those? Man I touched that one three hours ago,
Like they're kind of looking at you and you're looking
at them like I got no choice, man. So that's
(15:21):
he's there's a He's Joe Jelly Donut Flacco.
Speaker 4 (15:26):
That's what he is.
Speaker 3 (15:27):
I hate Jelly donuts, but I will. But if it's
one of the last ones there, go for it.
Speaker 5 (15:31):
Last ones there, you're willing to eat it because it's
better than starving.
Speaker 4 (15:34):
Can they win one of the next two games with him?
Speaker 5 (15:36):
Yes?
Speaker 4 (15:37):
So if they win one of the next two?
Speaker 3 (15:38):
I think it was in your piece prior to the trade,
you point out seven opponents that are combined eight and
twenty six. Yes, okay, so I look at this is
Can I somehow win one of these next two? Many
by recalibrate and then the schedule does soften up, and
can I with Joe Flacco in an AFC that is
wretched right now?
Speaker 4 (15:57):
Can I?
Speaker 3 (15:58):
Can I get this thing to mid late November and
still have a shot and then start talking about Joe
coming to Joe Burrow a jelly donut coming back in
mid December?
Speaker 5 (16:08):
Uh? Once, once you get past Green Bay this week.
Number of opponents left on the Bengals schedule currently in
the top thirteen and DVOA one one Buffalo Bills. That's it,
green Bay. They have two on the rest of their schedule.
Play Jake Browning against the Bills.
Speaker 4 (16:28):
So yeah, Captain.
Speaker 5 (16:29):
But the point being, it's like I think they. I
can tell you a lot of the conversation around the
building looking at this is of course, this is the
year that everything open. It's never been more attainable. They're
looking around the AFC. You see, it's just it's wide open.
(16:51):
It is wide open right now. You are looking around
the AFC North. Nine wins might just be enough. Eight
wins might be enough. Like, let who's out here? Like
Pittsburgh's definitely gonna run away and hide with this. No
one feels that way. And then you talk about their
schedule being what it is. You have a bunch of
teams that they that even with struggling the way that
(17:13):
they are, they should be able to go out there
and play with and beat They have two wins in
their pocket. Like, you can't just sit here and say, ah,
guess we'll ride it out with Jake, right, Guess we
won't take a chance. Guess we won't see if something works.
It's too attainable. Not that you wouldn't try to do
it if it was like last year and and the
(17:35):
Ravens look like one of the best teams in football,
and and and the AFC looks strong and whatever, but
it's even more in your face and there's even more
impetus to make this move because it's right there. And
if you can just take advantage of that through even
(17:55):
a small month or two of Joe Flacco makes an
interesting and Joe can come back in January, you can
have a shot at it. Yeah, that is a million ifs,
and I don't even want to discuss those until we
get closer to it. But that's why you just have to.
It's desperate. The chance of it happening is small, but
(18:16):
you have to try it because it is still right there,
and I think there's enough good things. You have, a
healthy Jamar, a healthy t Higgins, a defense that no
one wants to talk about it, but is doing a
few good things, which is probably more than you could
say the last couple of years.
Speaker 4 (18:31):
There are a lot of bad donuts on that.
Speaker 5 (18:33):
It's a lot of bad donuts that we haven't talked
about that donut trade, and I'm happy to do it,
We'll do it.
Speaker 4 (18:38):
But the coconut donut in there, I feel like you
could maybe see.
Speaker 5 (18:41):
Some good things happening over on that side if they've
done enough where if you would have had any offense,
you'd have at least been in and maybe won a
couple of the last few games. Who knows. You have
to and I think it feels like it's possible, so
give yourself a small chance to do it.
Speaker 3 (18:57):
It's like a blueberry donut in there. Yeah, claw bear
claws are always too filling.
Speaker 5 (19:01):
What you're feeling on fritters, I'm pro friend, I'm pro frinter,
I'm pro fritter. It's actually really in recent years and
I don't know why it's really as sending up my list.
I look good. Become an apple fritter. God, I'm an apple. Yeah,
no Apple, that palty. No Apple fritters on the Bengel
Defense except for number nine twenty.
Speaker 3 (19:18):
Three minutes after three o'clock, Paul Danner Junior, Theathletic dot Com,
and The Growler Podcast all over the news of the
day in the NFL. Joe Flacco can say it without laughing.
Joe Flacco has been traded to the Cincinnati Bengals. That's
where we are. We're at Oakley Greens. Uh, Paul's here
till four, We're here till six. This is ESPN fifteen thirty,
(19:39):
Cincinnati Sports.
Speaker 5 (19:40):
Station, Cincinnati.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
To make us the number one pre set on your
car radio and on the free Knew It improved, iHeartRadio
app Free never sounded so good.
Speaker 5 (19:49):
ESPN fifteen thirty.
Speaker 3 (19:51):
If it's Tuesday, it's Oakley Greens. We are here till
six o'clock. If uh, If you're thinking, man, I want
to go to a place, have a couple of cold
ones after work. It's raining outside. Don't want to be outside,
but I kind of want to be outside.
Speaker 4 (20:06):
Well, we're undercover, we're out.
Speaker 3 (20:08):
We're technically outside right now, but we're bone dry because
the roof and on top of us. There's also an
indoor area, like a genuine indoor area, tons of TVs
and the beer selections unbelievable.
Speaker 4 (20:22):
By the way.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
You can also rent a cabana and you do that
for a bachelor party, a work party. Heck, we watched
one two weeks ago as a kids party. Here one
of those cabanas. You could do what I'm gonna do
later on. I might do it this weekend. Rent a
cabana and sit there by yourself. Sounds awesome.
Speaker 5 (20:41):
It's you know what I as I've talked about many times.
I come up here with my family all the time.
And why I like it is strictly because of days
like today where I don't know if it's gonna rain.
I don't know if they'll be able to go out
to the playground, but if they don't, I want to
have a place to go where there's space. There's so
much space that is both outside and undercover. Like, yeah,
(21:01):
you never have to worry about like the storm or
the weather or the heat or a'll melt down. I can, like,
I can get them away so they're not bothering people
when they inevitable meltdown occurs or the injury, and I
can like just there's plenty of space where I can
get away and find a corner and not bother anybody.
So it's that I it's part of our our our reasons.
(21:21):
We love it up here.
Speaker 3 (21:22):
Dog friendly, kid friendly and sitting in a cabana by
yourself right now, I gotta be honest with you.
Speaker 4 (21:29):
Sounds sounds pretty amazing.
Speaker 3 (21:31):
We're at Oakley Greens twenty nine minutes after three o'clock.
Paul Danner Junior from The Athletic and the Growlard Podcast
is here. More on Joe Flacco. The Joe Flacco here
is about to begin. At some point I'll be able
to say this without laughing.
Speaker 5 (21:42):
The Flacco season as it will be forever known.
Speaker 4 (21:44):
That's right.
Speaker 3 (21:45):
I've waited my entire life, Yeah, to watch the Bengals
with a Super Bowl winning quarterback behind Hey, who is
better to sit here and talk about Joe Flacco's arrival
than a couple of forty year old duce me and you?
Sports headlines coming up as well on ESPN fifteen thirty
Cincinnati Sports Stage.
Speaker 1 (22:05):
Hey, this is Austin Elmore since E three sixty comes
to you live every weekday from twelve to three right
here on the home of the Bengals Cincinnatis ESPN fifteen thirty.
Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.
Speaker 6 (22:21):
Traffic from the UC Health Traffic Center Mammogram Saved Lives.
Call five one three five eighty four PINK to schedule
your annual mammogram with UC Help's expert team. That's five
to one, three five eighty four PINK. An accident is
now cleared away on westbound Fort Washington Way that was
after seventy one. However, all lanes blocked off northbound seventy
(22:43):
one seventy five near Mountain Zion Road from an accident.
Traffic right now diverted using the exit and entrance ramps.
Heavy delays as well. Back from Richwood. I'm at ezelic
with traffic.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
This report is sponsored by Mike.
Speaker 3 (22:56):
We have Joe Flacco plays here, promoms Let's Go sports
headlines or service of Kelsey Eachever Light, home of lifetime
power train protection and guarantee credit approval from their family
to yours for life Kelsey.
Speaker 4 (23:09):
Chev dot com. Uh.
Speaker 3 (23:12):
The Bengals have acquired Joe Flacco to be their quarterback.
I guess on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers. They
executed tray with the Cleveland Browns. The Bengals Sunday fifth
round pick next year to Cleveland brown Sunday, sixth round
pick next year to Cincinnati. I can't believe I'm saying this.
Joe Flacco is gonna play quarterback for the bank and
it's an improvement. Yes, without question, you should and you
(23:34):
should be willing to take it on.
Speaker 5 (23:36):
You know I am. I'm curious to see how how
much of the offense, uh they can put in his
lap and uh, I feel like here's one thing I'll say, No,
I don't think we've seen the end of Jake Browning
this year.
Speaker 3 (23:50):
I'm getting guess he hasn't thrown his last interception for
the Bengals this season.
Speaker 5 (23:54):
I don't think so, just because it's the idea that
this is they he's gonna survive. I worry for Joe's
physical well being a little bit.
Speaker 3 (24:05):
He will throw his last NFL pass in a Bengals
uniform one way or the other.
Speaker 5 (24:09):
Yeah, right, I just I for his sake. You know,
there was Damn Pitcher. We were talking with him yesterday
and he said, you know, I thought that some of
the things the offensive line was doing were good, and
that they weren't you know, the reason that things went
so poorly on Sunday, which was pointing out. I think
(24:30):
maybe it's like there were a bigger fish to fry
in this conversation. Quarterback stunk. Yeah, wash was part of it.
But I think they feel like there's some good things
happening up there. Marius Mimms played, well, there's one Okay.
I don't know what's happening with Orlando Brown getting old.
(24:51):
He looks old. That injury, You know, you have to
start to ask questions about what happened with that injured.
I was back today looking at because he changed his
stance last year into this like kind of tucked in thing,
and and it really he credited to helping him play
really well. He's playing an extremely high level for that
that injury last year, it was just significant injury. And
(25:13):
it's it's even more pronounced of way it's tucked in.
I was doing the side by side of it, he's
like tucked even deeper, and the like the push out
of it isn't quite the same. And now that could
be any number of things, strike technique, It could be
a dink. Maybe it's the strike technique, which is really
going well and then uh and so maybe that's part.
(25:35):
But it looks it looks like it's more painful. He's
looking for something comfortable. It just it looks different enough.
I want to talk to Orlando more about it, because
that's that's clear. And you see you see that in
his play right now. And I don't know if it's
something that's new or it's something residual from last year,
(25:57):
or like you said, maybe age or whatever, but he
hasn't looked like the same guy. And that's tough because
that was one of those where it's like the one
thing you could count on this year was your You
felt great about your tackles in a group that you
already you know, had concerns about. So that has that
certainly has not helped matters.
Speaker 3 (26:17):
Brett Rippen has been let go, Mike White has been
let go, Howard Cross has been signed to the practice squad.
Speaker 4 (26:24):
So those are your other Bengals items.
Speaker 3 (26:26):
A couple of other things really quick, the Baseball playoffs,
American League Division Series, Tigers and Mariners that are having
rain in Detroit, so that game is not getting underway
on time. Series tied at a game apiece and the
Yankees trying to extend their season. Game three American League
Division Series eight o'clock tonight Toronto leads to Zip, obviously
trying to close out the series Tonight. One programming note,
(26:48):
the Scott Saderfield Radio Show is at eight o'clock from
the original Montgomery in on seven hundred w wel WD.
The Bearcats looking for a win at home against UCF
on Saturday. The Jake Browning thing from twenty twenty three
to twenty twenty five. It's entirely different watching him like
he played at a competent level. What is the number
(27:10):
one reason why it didn't work this time?
Speaker 5 (27:14):
It's a great question, and I don't know that Jake
has that answer for you right now. You know, I
think he lost confidence and got in his own head
over the course of these games. I mean you could
hear him in his own head after these games. Okay,
this week, I'm really focused on on knowing when to
(27:35):
check it down and throw it away and not make
the dumb play down the field. And it felt like
he was so then he was hindering himself, and then
he realized he was doing that, and then he wanted
to give his guys a chance down the field, So
I gotta find my opportunity to do that. And then
so he's thinking about that. It just felt like, rather
than going out there and playing football and playing free
(27:55):
and knowing, being comfortable in who he was and the
confidence he had and what he was, he was doubting himself,
doubting what he was seeing, thinking too much about what
he's supposed to be doing rather than just doing it.
And I think that's a nature of the circumstance he
was thrown into. Look, he didn't have time to think
about anything against Jacksonville, right, he had to go out
there and be thrown into the moment and go play football,
(28:17):
like you know how to play football. And he played
like twenty twenty three Jake Browning, and you're like when
he leads that drive at the.
Speaker 4 (28:24):
End, you're like, you know what I felt? Okay?
Speaker 5 (28:26):
You feel okay? Yeah? And then I think the whether
it's him thinking about ways he needs to play after that,
or whatever happened there, the entire debacle in Minnesota getting
in his head, whether it was too thinking about too
much and what was put into his head, whatever happened there,
it just killed his confidence and his freedom, it felt
(28:49):
like as a player, and he looked like that. He
looked like he wasn't playing quarterback. He was thinking about
playing quarterback. They had a run game with him two
years ago. Yeah, that didn't help.
Speaker 3 (29:06):
I mean, that's like when I think of two years ago,
I think of how often we talked about meshing the
way they're playing with Jake with what Joe does well.
Speaker 4 (29:15):
And that started with their ability to run the ball
and throw screen passage.
Speaker 5 (29:18):
Yes, he mentioned it multiple times when we talk about
twenty twenty three. He'd say, yeah, you know, it was great.
I feel like I could get in a rhythm. I
got runs, I got screens going. That was that whole thing.
I I just I get tired of hearing myself say it.
I don't understand the reluctance to go under center, run,
play action, throw screens. Do more of that stuff that
(29:42):
we have seen literally every opponent they've played the last
three weeks. Do add nauseum to avoid true passets, to
avoid being able to pinpoint exactly what they're doing and
not just sit back there and do more of what
Jake this. You know, we every time we've seen them
actually do it, which has been few and far between.
Guys are open. Jake's not being harassed. He's trying to
(30:05):
make throws naturally on the run, and it's there's things
there and it just never happens. That is the one
that the one piece. There's a bunch of them, but
the one at the top of my I just don't
understand why that was not a part of the last
three weeks to a much higher degree than it has
been used. I mean, he's hardly at all and that
maybe could have helped. That's probably some of the stuff
(30:27):
that Jake's referring to, but unfortunately they move on.
Speaker 3 (30:32):
If I take the Bengals roster and I remove the
rookies and put them over here, Shamar Stewart, who may
play soon, I don't know, Demitrius Knight, Dylan Fairchild, Barrett Carter,
those guys TOAs Brooks, Jalen Rivers. If I put those
guys over here and I look at the rest of
the roster, I can't find five guys I'm excited about
(30:55):
being on the team next year.
Speaker 4 (30:56):
Is that unfair?
Speaker 5 (31:01):
No, it's not unfair. I don't think that you you
haven't seen you hope with so many of these guys.
You hope that you see the immediate leap, like you
just it. Look, you had a whole off season to
be told you're a part of the plan, needs you
to grow, need you to evolve. We're getting after it
in camp and preseason, and and so you're ready to go.
(31:25):
We want to we want to see that step taken,
and it has. There has been very little of that,
you know what I mean? And and you know that
you could name them on one hand, right, Dax Hill
or is probably one, Mims maybe, Yeah, but that's been
up and down. Yeah, the guys that are already signed.
(31:47):
I assume you're talking about the younger guys, non rookie Borrow,
Chase Seconds cool, yeah, beyond that, yeah, a Marius Mems.
I still believe Dax Hill. Okay, I don't.
Speaker 4 (32:03):
I'm trying so well.
Speaker 5 (32:05):
Yes, brown maybe, but again that has been bad. It
hasn't gone well.
Speaker 3 (32:08):
So Okay, Sunday everybody weals away at Jake Browning. It
is they just replaced him with Joe Flacker. But I
guess what's happened over the last couple of weeks for
a lot of his has it's been exposed how shaky.
The roster is It was a shaky roster last year.
(32:30):
They had a quarterback who was unbelievable. They won nine games.
So you take away the foundational piece, everything collapses. And
when it collapses, I sort through the roster and I
just it's not a good roster.
Speaker 5 (32:45):
It just so.
Speaker 3 (32:46):
Okay, quarterback play is a problem, but quarterback play wasn't
a problem last year, and your team couldn't get to
the postseason. Why with the minimal amount of work they
did the roster this past offseason, why should I feel
surprised that remove the quarterbacks from the equation. Even if
Jake was slightly better, This team's just all over the place,
not good enough.
Speaker 5 (33:07):
You shouldn't be surprised. This was the bet that they made.
They made the bet because most of this is about defense.
Yeah right, I mean we know what bet they made.
They they scapegoat to lou Anarumo and said, a new
voice will make these young players better.
Speaker 3 (33:24):
And even like the scenario on Sunday, which we outlined
before the season started, Okay, all you gotta be is
league average cool ten minutes to go down by eleven.
You've played yourself kind of back into it. Can you
get your offense the ball and instead eight plays without
a third down right down the field. Yeah, the moment
(33:45):
that they needed, the moment where you're like, all right,
al with last year's guys, can you do it? Last
year's team couldn't and get a fourth quarter stop and
at least give the ball back to Jake Brown and.
Speaker 4 (33:57):
Give your team a shot.
Speaker 5 (33:58):
I understand that. I will say they have made more stops.
I mean, I feel like the fact that they were
able to keep some of these games close, that the
offense was paying them behind the eight ball over and
over again in some of these in some of these
first hats. Yeah you fourteen to three was a minor
miracle on Sunday, and a lot of that was because, hey,
the defense was stiffening up. They were getting some stops
(34:20):
against Detroit after that first drive, and seemed to make
a few plays. Again, We're not the bar is so
low that we're not talking about looking great and making
plays and going and winning you a game. But they
were doing enough that if the offense had some level
of competency that should have been they should have been
right there, neck and neck to the end.
Speaker 3 (34:39):
So the roster's not good when the roster's not good,
you need to rebuild. How long is a rebuild take?
And is Joe Burrow going to be excited about being
there for a rebuild when you can't rebuild it the
way you did in twenty twenty by just throwing a
whole bunch of money at a bunch of guys in
free agency.
Speaker 5 (34:57):
I'm sure he's not. I'm sure he's but I mean,
you know.
Speaker 3 (35:01):
Tell my my my outlook isn't overly optimistic at this point.
Speaker 5 (35:05):
I don't disagree with you. I mean, we just spent
the whole beginning part talking about how it's so desperate
that you're just reaching for the Joe Flaccos Jelly donuts.
So I mean, I'm saying I understand that that's the case.
No one would be excited about that, But it's it's
the NFL, like it's at a certain point, you're always
(35:26):
figuring it's just a matter of how much of it's
gonna change year to year. If that's part of it,
that's they have to that's a whole other off season
of questions m hm that they're gonna have to figure out.
And who's leading such the said rebuild is probably you know,
the first one that they'll have to come to terms
with once they get through whatever this season looks like,
(35:46):
which it feels like it's kind of hitting a small
reset button right now, I guess, and.
Speaker 3 (35:52):
A good reset button. Yeah, like what they've done today,
let's go, let's see if it can work. But boy,
that right again, like the roster. For me, what's what's
so frustrating is many of us spent all offseason going,
are we sure like we're really doing this?
Speaker 4 (36:08):
We're really doing this with the deep Joe, we did
that segment.
Speaker 3 (36:10):
We're really doing this, really doing this on the offensive line,
really doing this with the defense, really doing this?
Speaker 4 (36:16):
And they are and and and again, like.
Speaker 3 (36:19):
Maybe league average quarterback play hasn't been a better place
than they have been. But boy, just feels like what
they didn't do to the team this offseason has has
badly exposed what the front office didn't.
Speaker 5 (36:29):
To drafting, signing, everything that we talked about with these
young players, like this was gonna define the Borough era,
right this, this portion of it, this prime the Burrow
Chase Higgins portion. You just have they have to draft, well,
they had to hit on draft picks. They bet on
(36:52):
those draft picks. At every single turn when those draft
picks fail you. It is a deep It is is
a steep, steep climb out and that's why it was
such a big bet, and that's why it was the
biggest part coming into this season that we kept talking about.
It's like, this is gonna this is it. We can
(37:13):
talk about all the little the addition here and the
big money spent and Trey Hendrickson's fight. These young players
are gonna define what happens next and how realistic it
is that this team in this current way can win anything.
And thus far they haven't been good enough. And maybe
(37:35):
that's maybe it's okay. A full season with Al Golden
to work through it and you start seeing less of
the problems and more and more leaning into the better
parts and getting more of people is where they're at
in the conversation right now, and hope that they're seeing
some signs of it. But yeah, it hasn't been where
it needs to be to this point.
Speaker 3 (37:54):
I am a loyal reader of the Athletic. Thank you,
read your work, see what you guys do locally. I
also enjoyed the work of Mike Jones, who today has
written about what is my current favorite topic, which is
a brief recent history of players, including Jordan Battle, who
have decided to let the ball go before they cross
the ball line. Yeah, and I am of the belief
(38:16):
that there should be an added punishment if you do this,
beyond lose possession touch back for the other team.
Speaker 4 (38:21):
Are you with me on this?
Speaker 5 (38:22):
Yeah? The other team gets seven points.
Speaker 3 (38:24):
Yeah if they get to if you are deemed to
have intentionally dropped the ball before you cross the goal line,
the other team should get fourteen points, not.
Speaker 5 (38:35):
Even automatic out. Just the game ends right there. I mean,
you lose your team, Your team loses. Yeah, how do you.
Speaker 4 (38:46):
Feel about this?
Speaker 5 (38:48):
Maybe a little strong? No, maybe maybe a little strong.
How about if that ever happens. Jonathan Gannon gets flown
to your house and gets to verbally assault you the.
Speaker 3 (38:59):
Way I apologized yesterday. And I'm like, buddy, you have
no reason to apologize, really, you're come on.
Speaker 5 (39:07):
He did he didn't make.
Speaker 4 (39:08):
Contact with him. He did, and it was like, I mean,
the contact was what do I mean?
Speaker 5 (39:14):
I look, I don't know, that's not my he shouldn't
make contact with him. The dude was literally getting They're
getting consoled like it was the way he was being
consoled and I know it's professional. Yeah, okay, tough enough,
but they'll like it was like a running attack in
his face with a push and scright in his face.
John Guy was in tears. Jonathan Gannon was every Cardinals fan. Yeah,
(39:37):
I get it, Okay, so okay, so he shouldn't yell
at his player. I believe that there should be something
that happens to your team and you. If you do that,
game check gets.
Speaker 3 (39:47):
Taken away fourteen points on the scoreboard, forced to book his.
Speaker 4 (39:51):
Own travel if they're on the road, like whatever it is, Yeah, you.
Speaker 5 (39:54):
Fly commercial the next week. Yes, I like that.
Speaker 3 (39:57):
I read that today over lunch and I'm like, they're
they're mean to be with the next competition meetings, the committee,
the owners, however that works, get together and go here's
how we're gonna nip this in the bud. Harsh penalties
if you decide on purpose to drop the ball before
you cross the goal line.
Speaker 5 (40:12):
Okay, that's fair. I like, I like either, maybe you
actually have to drive to wherever the next game is that. Yeah,
just you have to drive yourself alone and think about
what you've done. That's that's that's what you did. You
know that we have a caravan going to uh Green
Bay because the flights are just like it's it's.
Speaker 4 (40:30):
A little hard to get there.
Speaker 5 (40:31):
It's hard to get there, there's no directs, it's expensive,
and so we've all we've got a crew of us.
Really skinny, wow, James, Jay, we've got a crew of us.
What kind of car you guys got A got a
three row guy? Okay, three row s u V All right,
we're driving it. We're doing the full round, but eight
hours to green Back seven and a half, seven and
(40:53):
a half and then Jay will be driving, so we'll
probably get it on six. That sounds that sounds like,
will you guys have microphones, cameras, bring the podcast equipment.
We were talking about how long we should go live,
not if we should go live. On the way there
and back. I think back will be a little bit.
I don't I don't care about the way back. The
(41:14):
way there will be okay, Well, the way back could
be stopping in Milwaukee. We're stopping. We're staying in Milwaukee,
so it's not that bad on the way up. On
the way up, that'd be pretty good. Yeah, yeah, it's
gonna be great.
Speaker 4 (41:24):
Milwaukee's a good town.
Speaker 5 (41:24):
Milwaukee's a great town. Thank you for you want to
go within us. Kind of good. We have what's on
you guys leaving Saturday morning, bright and early. Let's go.
Speaker 3 (41:34):
Bear Cats play at noon, so I probably should go
to that, Okay, but uh, you know, maybe I'll fly
up and ride back with you.
Speaker 5 (41:43):
Yes, let's do it.
Speaker 4 (41:44):
Come on down, Paul Danner Jr.
Speaker 3 (41:46):
And the Caravan, The Athletic dot Com, the Growlar Podcast.
Speaker 5 (41:50):
Thank you as always read all your Joe Flacco coverage.
Speaker 4 (41:54):
Lots of it, lots of it in two cities. That's
what's great about it.
Speaker 5 (41:57):
Zach Jackson and I about to do a pot here
about fifteen minutes. Very good.
Speaker 3 (42:01):
It's six away from four o'clock. We're at Oakley Greens.
Follow Paul on Twitter. By the way, I Paul Daneer Junior.
This is ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station.
Mo Egger News
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.