12/10/25 - The Mo Egger Radio Show - Mo Egger

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
That is us. Thank you, lap what's up? You'll hear
he and Horne tonight as soon as we're done on
Bengals Game Plan. That's a six on ESPN fifteen thirty.
As for our show, we preview it on Twitter at mullegar.
I actually did an Instagram story as well at Moulegar

(00:21):
on that particular social media app. Show previews of this
show are a service of share Facts Credit Union, the
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extraordinary benefits for their members. Become a member just like me.
Go to share facts dot Org. This hour, Rick Buring
on the Musketeers and the Norse coming up at three

(00:41):
forty five XU post shootout. NKU lost a heartbreaker this
weekend to Purdue fort Wayne bounce back last night with
a blowout win. We'll spend some time with Rick coming
up at three forty five. We are looking forward to that.
We've got some Bengal stuff to get to. Joe Burrow
is going to talk in just a few minutes. We'll
have actually talking right now. This is why we didn't

(01:02):
do it live, because he's supposed to talk at three
point fifteen. He just decided to show up and that's great,
that's awesome. Early is better than late. But we'll have
the highlights of Joe Burrow's gathering with the local professional
football media, and if anything significant does come out of it,
Tarren will let us know and he'll break in. We
will tell you this. T Higgins is doing stuff on
the field, but he's not going to go through team drills.

(01:24):
This in the aftermath of what we saw on Sunday.
He's back in the NFL's concussion protocol, so we'll see. Also,
Shamar Stewart has been clear to practice, a guy who's
rookie season so far has been a wash. More on
that a little bit later on. We talked about Kyle
Schwarber yesterday, and I'm not going to say that I

(01:45):
ever really believed that I would be sitting in this
studio in front of this microphone talking about Kyle Schwarber
coming to Cincinnati, but the possibilities certainly seemed worth entertaining.
As it turns out, he's staying with the film. You'll
hear him in just a few minutes from Philadelphia earlier today.

(02:05):
The Reds may make their team better this offseason. In fact,
I'm going to guess that whether it's a trade, a signing,
something that there is going to be a move that
we feel like has a chance to be a positive
for the Reds in twenty twenty six. It is still
entirely possible that the Reds use this offseason to make

(02:27):
the team better this coming season. It is entirely possible
that moves the Reds still make this offseason end up
helping the Reds win more games in twenty twenty six.
Not signing Kyle Schwarber doesn't mean the Reds have no
chance in twenty twenty six. But what it does do

(02:48):
is it solidifies a brand. And your brand is who
you are until you give people a reason to believe otherwise.
The brand is They're not gonna go to extreme lengths
or the end of the earth to be the very
best in the world at what they do. That's their brand.

(03:14):
They're not gonna go overboard, They're not gonna go all in.
Prove me otherwise, legitimately prove me otherwise. This was a chance.
It was a chance that we talked about this over
the last week or so. This was a chance to
do a lot of things that I'm not sure you

(03:35):
could attach a monetary value tour on. This was a
chance to get your fans really excited. This was a
chance to maybe sell some tickets. This was a chance
to make people look at your team in a different light.
This was a chance to look at your organization in
a different light. This was a chance to send a
message to the rest of the sport that you're to

(03:55):
be taken seriously as bona fide contenders. This was a
chance to prove a lot of people wrong who think
that the Reds are only gonna go halfway when it
comes to trying to win, and instead everybody is saying
the same things about this franchise that we have said
for years. They're not gonna go to the end of

(04:17):
the earth to be the very best in the world
at what they do. Maybe they change that this offseason.
Maybe do you believe they will? Five point three seven
four nine fifteen thirty is our phone number. You know,
we we we we talked. I think it was last

(04:38):
week about the value in just getting people excited again,
getting people excited about not just making the team better,
but the Reds deciding you know what, screw it, We're
going for We're going all in. We're gonna go for
it this year. By the way, going for it doesn't
guarantee success. Going for it doesn't guarantee that you're gonna

(04:58):
be better. Going for doesn't guarantee that you're going to
advance in the postseason for the first time in over
three decades. But I do think there's value, legitimate value
that you maybe can't attach a dollar two or a
dollar figure two. There is value in getting people fired
up about what you're doing. And there is nothing, nothing

(05:19):
this offseason that would have fired people up more than
signing Kyle Schwarber. Now, keep this in mind, and maybe
I'm wrong, the excitement over Kyle Schwarber coming to Cincinnati
would have had a lot more to do with the
fact that the dude is a walking Dinger than where

(05:41):
he's from. That, to me, was the most overplayed part
of this. Now, I certainly do believe that Kyle Schwarber
was likely more interested in listening to the Reds, more
open to listening to what the Reds had to offer
because he's from here. That makes total sense. That's that
that part of it is legit, right. I don't know

(06:02):
if Kyle Schwarber gives the Reds the light of day
or the time of day, if he's from Pennsylvania or
Illinois or Montana or anywhere else. So's it's it's not
a total non factor, but the's that's that's Kyle Schwarber's
part of this, the Reds part of this should be
we need a guy who can hit the ball out
of the ballpark a bunch. And if he's from Middletown

(06:24):
or if he's from Newport, or if he's from Lawrenceburg
or Fairfield or Anderson Township or Taylor Mill or the
West Side, whatever, that's cool. But the part that matters
the most is the home runs, the home run potential,
the home run threat, the long ball production. What is

(06:46):
baffling to me, and I would imagine to you as well.
What is baffling to me is that the Reds looked
at a player like Kyle Schwarber and said we're interested,
but that they would look at comparable players like Peter
de Alonzo and go, we're not interested because he's not

(07:07):
from here. Now, Pete Alonzo, if you don't know, the
former met has signed with the Baltimore Orioles and he
gets a little bit more money over the course of
his contract than Kyle Schwarber got Pee Alonzo signs for
one fifty five, and I guess the Rads weren't going
to go to one fifty five because they weren't going
to go to one fifty for the guy that they
actually wanted. But this is not so much about Kyle

(07:28):
Schwarber and Pete Alonzo in particular, as much as it's
about what seems to be completely and totally misplaced priorities.
What you are reading. What you are reading is ken
Rosenthal writes. The Rads are not expected to pursue other
free agents they're offered to. Kyle Schwarber, a native of Middletown, Ohio,

(07:49):
about thirty five miles north of Cincinnati, was tied to
their belief that his addition would help drive ticket sales.
Now let me ask you a question. My phone lines
are open five point three seven four nine fifteen. If
you have been watching this Kyle Schwarber thing unfold, thinking
if he signs, I'm gonna buy some tickets, would you

(08:10):
then decide, you know what, I'm not gonna sell tickets.
Had they signed Pete Alonzo, now, maybe you wouldn't have
bought any tickets. Maybe being a red ticket holder is
just not something that interests you. You want to see,
you know, how the team starts at whatever. Everybody's decision
about buying tickets or not buying tickets is anecdotal, personal
to themselves. But are there legitimately people in this market

(08:34):
that would have said the moment Kyle Schwerber signs I'm
buying the thirteen game package, that, had it been Pete Alonzo,
would have said, yeah, nam good, just see if I
could score some freebies maybe later on this summer. The
Reds are prioritizing the wrong thing here. It's not just that, well,

(08:55):
Kyle Schwerber's local and so maybe he'll take a hometown discout,
which we have to talk about. But it's what we
think we could sell tickets with this guy, but not
so much this guy who like pretty much has the
exact same skill set and and in fact, you know,
plays an actual position Pete Alonzo. So the part of
the Reds brand is not being willing to go completely

(09:17):
all in. Part of the Reds brand has been for
a while that their priorities are out of whack. This
has been an off season where they could change that brand.
So far, how's it going? Doesn't seem like it's going
very well, does it? So? Yeah? Man, there's there's there's
talking about the roster construction, and there are other guys

(09:38):
who could be had. There are deals the Reds could swing,
there are under the radar players the Reds could acquire.
I mean, they're probably gonna be some things that Nick
Krawl does this offseason, maybe in the coming days, that
help the team's fortunes or at least improve the team's
outlook for twenty twenty six. But even when and if

(09:59):
those moves happen, I don't think anybody's gonna feel any
differently about the organization. The chance to make people feel
differently about the organization and what they prioritize came and
went the moment Kyle Schwarber signed his name on a
new contract with the Philadelphia Phillies. Our lines are open

(10:22):
five point three seven four nine fifteen thirty eight six
six seven oh two three seven seven six. I want
you to put yourself in Kyle Schwarber's shoes when we
come back. Plus, we'll hear from him next on ESPN
fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station, Cincinnati's esp Free after three
guaranteed Human This is ESPN fifteen thirty. If you miss

(10:44):
Jeff Carr yesterday, if you miss Paul Daanner Junior yesterday,
if you missed Sean Sayad yesterday, if you missed Yesterday show,
if you miss Monday's Tony and Mo Football Show, if
you miss anything, well, good news is we we record
everything and put it on the internet. It's the iHeartRadio app.
You could also go to my page at ESPN fifteen
thirty dot com. Jeff Carr yesterday was awesome because I

(11:06):
like getting jeffon, because he does a good podcast, and
he can speak logically and rationally, but he's a fan
and you could hear the frustration in his voice with
mine when we talked about the Reds not getting Schwarber.
So if you missed that, I encourage you to listen
to that in so much more podcasts of this show
or service of a Long Neck Sports Girl. No better

(11:26):
place to post up this time of a year. To
watch college basketball, to watch the college football play if
you know what, just have a cold one after work
or have a like a holiday happy hour with your buddies.
Eera coworkers, Long Neck Sports Girl Wilder hebren Richwood. We
love long Next you're gonna hear Kyle Schwarber in in
just a second. You know, We've many have wondered how serious,

(11:52):
how serious was the Red's pursuit of Kyle Schwarber. To me,
serious pursuit isn't as much have the guy come to
the ballpark and show him around and explain to him
possibly the upside to taking a hometown discount. A serious
pursuit is I'm not gonna give you a good reason

(12:14):
to not come here. I'm not gonna give you a
good reason to say no. You may say no. Ultimately
it's your decision, but I'm gonna do everything I can
to make sure you don't leave, or that you don't
re sign with the Phillies or go to another team.
We're not gonna give you a good reason to say no.
Offering him the offer they made, and look, I get it,

(12:37):
it's it's a ton of money. It's more money than
I can really wrap my brain around. But come on, man,
you had to know. You had to know five for
one twenty five wasn't gonna get it done. And you
had to know that when you said to the dude,
if you did hometown discount, that was gonna be a
reason for him to say no. If you're presenting reasons
for him to say no, then you're not We're not

(13:00):
engaged in a serious pursuit. A serious pursuit is we're
not gonna give him a good reason to not come here.
We're not gonna give him a reason to look at
us and look at the other offers and go, yeah,
that one in Cincinnati not so much. There are hometown
discounts in sports. I think part of the reason why

(13:21):
this year's You See football team was kind of frustrating
is there were some dudes who took hometown discounts to
stay with the Baracats and they ended up winning seven games.
Was supposed to be more hometown discounts do happen. And again,
if Kyle Schwerber was being wooed by a similar type

(13:41):
of club in a market that he's not from, chances
are he's not giving them the time of day. But
if the pursuit of him is serious, you do not
give him a reason to say no. The minute you
lowball him, the minute you offer him something that you
know a lot of other teams can go above, you're
giving him a reason to say no. Even if he

(14:03):
considers the hometown discount that is not a serious pursuit.
Kyle Schwarber today reintroduced I Guess to the Philadelphia media. Uh.
He talked about the impression of the Reds, talked about
his hometown team.

Speaker 2 (14:19):
Here's Kyle earlier today.

Speaker 3 (14:22):
I think, first off that I won't go into great detail,
right because I know that there are a lot of
different conversations that I've had with a lot of different people,
and uh, you know, for for them and for me
myself that I felt like, you know, if I met
you know, I met with the red Yes, you know,

(14:44):
I was impressed. You know I was, you know, me
and Paige went down to Cincinnati and we were able
to sit down and have that conversation with them and
hear them out, and I would say that, you know,
they were not this. I would say that they were
not coin chains and that they were you know, wanting

(15:06):
to you know, try to you know, get me the
Cincinnati I guess, right, Like I don't know how to
put it there to get your services whatever it is.
But like I said that there are things that you know,
you have to cover your bases in every aspect of it.
And we had those conversations and I appreciate every conversation

(15:29):
I had with every team, and I appreciate all the
honesty that there was between myself and whoever's there in
those conversations.

Speaker 2 (15:38):
It's Kyle Schwarber.

Speaker 1 (15:39):
Earlier today, he was answering a question from Gordon Wittenmeyer
of The Inquirer and Cincinnati dot Com. Put yourself in
his shoes for just a second. So you're open to
coming to Cincinnati, But at the end of the day,
you have an idea of what you're worth, and you
have an idea of what the market is going to
dictate that you're worth. And you come to Cincinnati, and

(16:00):
part of the pitch for you a guy who can
completely remake this team, a guy who might be the
missing piece. Could be that the guy that takes this
from a decent team to a.

Speaker 2 (16:13):
Really good one.

Speaker 1 (16:15):
And in their efforts to get you to come to Cincinnati,
one of the first things they try to impress upon
you is why you should take a discount, why you
should sign for less than your worth. If you were
Kyle Schwarber, how would that make you feel about that

(16:35):
team's ability and willingness to do everything they can to
help you win? While you're here, take your red's hat off.
You're Kyle Schwarber. You want what you think you're worth.
You also want to go to a situation that's good
from a competitive perspective.

Speaker 2 (16:54):
You want to win.

Speaker 1 (16:58):
And what they try to impress upon you is why
you should sign for less, Why you should sign for
less than the market is probably going to.

Speaker 2 (17:09):
Dictate your worth.

Speaker 1 (17:11):
How would that make you feel about what the team
is going to be willing to do to win while
you're here? Three point thirty five point three seven four
nine fifteen thirty at Moegger on Twitter thanks to Delta Dental,
Delta Dental is building healthy, smart, vibrant communities for all

(17:33):
good at Delta dentaloah dot com. I know what it
would tell me instantly. What it would tell me is
if they're just, if they're part of their pitches, I
should take less. That that maybe they're trying to tell
me I should leave some money so they can go
and get some guys. But you're you're hitting me up
already with I should take less. That means you're going

(17:55):
to do less and you're going to spend less. That's
not the impression I want to have. Sports headlines are
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Speaker 6 (18:43):
Who's Dan Horde joined Dave Lapwoman me for Bengals game
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Speaker 1 (18:53):
Headlines are a service of kelsey Shevline, home of lifetime
powertrain protection and guarantee credit approval from their family to
yours for life kelseyshev dot Com. Schamar Stewart has been
cleared into practice, which is good news. I guess t
Higgins was on the field doing some workouts. Not going

(19:13):
to go in full team drills today, but that is
I think a step in the right direction. He is
back in the NFL's concussion protocol. Bengals and Ravens on
Sunday at one pm. We've got the game on ESPN
fifteen thirty. Pre game coverage from the Holy Grail with
Ken Brew, Tony Pike and myself starts at nine am,
and you just heard Dan Hord. Bengals game plan takes

(19:34):
over as soon as we're done at six pm on
ESPN fifteen thirty. If you were were holding out, hope, Okay,
they didn't get Kyle Schwarber. Maybe Pete Alonzo, Well he's
signing with Baltimore Orioles. And that's pretty much it for
your local sports headlines. Rick Boring on Xavier End NKU

(19:58):
basketball coming up in just a few minutes. Let's take
a phone call or two while we have time. I
believe beyond Rick, we were going to do Rick and
then we're guest free. Amy Wagner is not with this
with us this week. So four o'clock hours just me
and you. Possibilities are endless, so to speak. Uh, Scott.

Speaker 2 (20:20):
You're on ESPN fifteen thirty Scott, good afternoon.

Speaker 1 (20:23):
How are you?

Speaker 7 (20:25):
I'm fine, Moe and yourself.

Speaker 2 (20:27):
I've never been better. What's going on?

Speaker 1 (20:29):
Had a boy?

Speaker 8 (20:30):
So?

Speaker 9 (20:31):
Uh?

Speaker 7 (20:31):
What was the Dodgers payroll last year?

Speaker 2 (20:34):
I could not care less?

Speaker 7 (20:37):
What was the Mets payroll last year?

Speaker 2 (20:39):
Highest in the sport?

Speaker 7 (20:42):
How about the Yankees?

Speaker 2 (20:43):
Do not know?

Speaker 7 (20:46):
My point is he had to come in knowing that
the Reds could not offer what the big market team
is good. Then I get the pushback, right, I understand.

Speaker 1 (21:01):
Got five million dollars a year. I said this last week.
There are certain things that are worth going outside your
budget for.

Speaker 2 (21:08):
I think this was one of them.

Speaker 7 (21:10):
And again I get the pushback.

Speaker 9 (21:11):
I do.

Speaker 7 (21:12):
I understand that they tried to get a hometown discount
and couldn't. What did they bring Ken Griffy Junior in.

Speaker 1 (21:23):
For to try to to try to win with them,
sell some tickets and try to win to sell tickets.

Speaker 7 (21:31):
But that was probably the biggest thing, don't you agree?

Speaker 1 (21:34):
They added him to a ninety six win team. Ken
Griffy Junior did not address that team's biggest glaring issue,
although they had just lost Greg Vaughan, But they added
an all century player.

Speaker 2 (21:44):
Yes, they were going to sell.

Speaker 1 (21:45):
Tickets and did, but the idea was, we have a
team that we we we think Ken.

Speaker 2 (21:51):
Griffy Junior can be the missing piece to.

Speaker 1 (21:55):
Right.

Speaker 7 (21:55):
And honestly, that was the same thing with uh with
Sharber too, is they hoped that he was the missing
piece and they I know everybody hates the word hope.

Speaker 1 (22:10):
They Uh, then go get them if you think, if
you think, if you think he's he is the missing piece,
then go get him. Go get the dude, make make him,
make him an offer that is at least comparable to
the one that he got with the Phillies, which I
think they could have. And then if at that point
he decides to stay with his current team, then fine,
but don't tell me that. Don't tell me that pursue

(22:31):
was serious if it was completely and totally predicated upon
hometown discount and nothing else.

Speaker 7 (22:37):
I I again, I'm not I'm not saying that. I'm
just saying that probably, Uh, the reason he's not here
is because and and Schwarber knew that he knew that
the Reds were probably gonna lowball him because they they
needed to save money to get other players and My

(23:03):
view of this whole thing is the Reds were short sighted.
I don't think they took into account what having a
hometown guy would have meant to ticket sales to Jersey
sales to and it would have been a lot different
if it were were Alonso. Alonso's not going to drive

(23:24):
those things. He's not going to drive.

Speaker 2 (23:27):
So Scott, let me ask you a question.

Speaker 1 (23:29):
Are you are you among the folks that if they
would have signed Kyle Schwarber, would have made a choice
to buy more Reds.

Speaker 2 (23:35):
Tickets this year?

Speaker 1 (23:37):
Yes? Yes, yes, Okay, So if they signed Kyle Schwarber,
you're buying a season ticket package or you're just making
plans to go to more baseball games.

Speaker 7 (23:47):
You know, I live in Centerville, so I'm going to
go to more games than I have in the past.
Maybe a Tuesday package or maybe, you know, whatever the
case might be. I mean, he's of the same age
as my son. I think they played against each other
at one point in time. Not that that's Germaine anything,

(24:07):
but it would have been exciting to know.

Speaker 2 (24:12):
That we have no questions for so no questions.

Speaker 1 (24:16):
So you decided, if they signed Schwarber, I'm going to
buy more tickets. But had they signed Pete Alonzo, who
has averaged thirty nine home runs a season for the
entirety of his big league career, you would have said,
you know what, I'm not going to go to those games.

Speaker 7 (24:33):
Well, it wouldn't have generated the same buzz with me
or the same excitement with me as having So you
know Schber still is in Germantown.

Speaker 2 (24:45):
Plase, Yeah, that's not so.

Speaker 1 (24:46):
Because of where Kyle Schwarber maintains a residence. That would
have been the deal breaker. You're buying more tickets if
Kyle Schwarber is the guy, but not more tickets if
it's Pee Alonzo or a comparable player, of which there
are not many.

Speaker 7 (25:05):
Well, you know, I guess we'll never know. I'm sitting
here telling you that I don't. I don't think I
would have been as driven to get season tickets.

Speaker 1 (25:17):
Okay, for just a guy. I believe you. I believe
you're telling me the truth. And by the way, I
do believe there would have been certainly more interest in
Kyle Schwerber the story because he's from me here than
for the sake of having an example Pete Alonso, who's
from Florida. I understand that I do not believe there

(25:40):
are that many more people who would have said, you
know what, I'll go buy a twenty game package if
it's Kyle Schwarber, who would have said, you know what,
if it's Pete Alonzo. I'm not I just I do
not subscribe to the belief that there is an insane
number of people greater who would have bought in if
Kyle Schwarber is the guy and would have said, you
know what, I'm not spending another time if it's if

(26:02):
it's Pete Alonzo. I just don't think there are that
many folks like yourself.

Speaker 7 (26:07):
Yeah, I can appreciate that. I mean, that's probably accurate.

Speaker 1 (26:12):
And and I guess for me also, if they were
so hell bent on Schwarber's going to be the guy,
Schwarber's the guy.

Speaker 2 (26:18):
Shoreber's the guy.

Speaker 1 (26:19):
Not only does he make our team better and make
our offense better, we can sell more tickets with him,
then even more so, you go to a greater length
to sign the guy, because to me, the hometown discount
thing just gives Kyle Schwarber a reason to say no,
which he obviously did. So don't give him a reason
to say no.

Speaker 7 (26:37):
Right well, let me ask you, because my son and
I were talking about that. Do they get one shot
at it?

Speaker 9 (26:45):
Do you know how that works?

Speaker 2 (26:51):
Yeah?

Speaker 7 (26:51):
Do they get to submit their contract? Is it a
one bid thing?

Speaker 1 (26:56):
Or every every free agency teams off of each other.

Speaker 2 (27:00):
Every free agent is different.

Speaker 1 (27:02):
You know, Kyle may have made it known I want
to have a deal in place, you know, by a
certain date, and so hey, it's it's one offer, I'll
listen to you once it may There are free agents
who I'm sure love to place teams against each other.

Speaker 2 (27:15):
I mean, it varies.

Speaker 1 (27:18):
I just my understanding of this is if you offer
the dude what the Reds offered Kyle Schwarber, that's that's
that's going to be a deal that another team is
going to go above and beyond.

Speaker 2 (27:29):
And look, there's a difference.

Speaker 1 (27:30):
Between another team went above and beyond it by ten
million dollars a year and another team went above and
beyond it by five million dollars a year. I think
it's a massive difference. And so like if you're if
you're a hell bet on it would be one thing.
If it's like, all right, if it's not Kyle Schwarber,
we'll take a shot at a Cody Bellinger. We'll take
a shot at Pete Alonzo. But this myopic, narrow minded.

(27:52):
It's just going to be Kyle Schwerber. If it's just
Kyle Schwarber, then go get the guy. If it's beyond
Kyle Schwarber, like they're trying to do it both ways.
We're only going to offer this limited deal to him,
asking to take a hometown discount, and if he says no,
we're not going to go after anybody else who's comparable
in free agency. At least, that doesn't make a lot
of sense. Scott, I haven't heard from me in a while.

(28:13):
It's always going to hear your voice. Thank you as always,
Thanks so thank you. Rick Brooring on the Musketeers and Norse.

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Also northbound on Reading Road, a crash over at Tennessee

(28:46):
Avenue traffic Stomp and go southbound seventy five between Shepherd
Lane and Paddock Road up to a ten minute delay.
I'm at Ezelich with traffic the World's.

Speaker 2 (28:57):
Bran Cincinnati for a battle with our Bengals.

Speaker 10 (29:00):
Will sach Taylor's Orange and Black bust Baltimore in the
beak and whip up a win. Find dot when you
get the call live from Dan Hord and Dave Leven.
The game kicks off at one VM with coverage starting
at nine am Sunday. Stream for free on the new
and improved I Hunt Radio app or ESPN fifteen thirty,
the official home of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Speaker 1 (29:23):
On Wednesdays, we chat with our friend Rick Boring from
Musketeer Report dot Com and the NKU radio broadcast. The
Nurse beat the Bearcats last night, the Brescia Bearcats ninety
two to fifty three. NKU was on the road on
Saturday for a tilt against Bellermin. Meanwhile, Xavier as the

(29:43):
school erects the Trey Carroll Statue outside the Cintas Center.

Speaker 2 (29:47):
The Musketeers have.

Speaker 1 (29:47):
One more non conference game against Missouri State before beginning
league play against Creighton a week from tonight, Rick is
with us.

Speaker 2 (29:55):
How's it going.

Speaker 11 (29:57):
Well.

Speaker 8 (29:57):
I just want to tell you, I can't say how
fun it was to hang out with you at the
Crosstown shootout.

Speaker 2 (30:02):
We had a really good time together. It was fun.
It was fun.

Speaker 1 (30:04):
I'm glad we got the chance for fellowship, a chance
to get caught up, chance to get to know each
other on a more personal level.

Speaker 2 (30:12):
It was great.

Speaker 11 (30:13):
Yes, so thank you for that.

Speaker 1 (30:15):
That was the only part of the Crosstown shootout that
I enjoyed.

Speaker 8 (30:20):
Understandably. So I think about the only way it could
have been more embarrassing for Wes Miller. And we talked
about last week. You said that you felt like Wes
Miller was kind of a central figure going into the shootout, which.

Speaker 11 (30:33):
I agreed with.

Speaker 8 (30:34):
I think the only way it could have been more
embarrassing for him was if Richard Patino had gone up
in Panston before the pregame panshitt.

Speaker 1 (30:41):
Uh, what is the is the worst take you've ever
had in your podcast mine where I said Bobba Miller
was going to be the best player.

Speaker 2 (30:48):
On the floor.

Speaker 9 (30:51):
You know, here's the thing.

Speaker 1 (30:52):
He wasn't that bad.

Speaker 8 (30:54):
He put up pretty good numbers I mean he had
a double double, right, But like the thing is, the
shootout is about who makes the plays when the games
on the lot. Why as they're going head up, Trey
Carroll from Florida Atlantic, Like, Trey Carroll just got the
best of them. He didn't score in the final seven minutes,

(31:14):
and Trey Carroll made big shot after big shot with
the game on the line. And yet you know that's
really what the shootout is about.

Speaker 1 (31:22):
It is I thought the stories of the game from
a Xavior perspective, number one Tray Carroll without saying right,
thirty points, he was awesome. If he makes his free throws,
it's an even bigger game. But to me, it was
just sort of the juxtaposition that Xavior team and the
Xavior team of the last couple of weeks versus the
Xavior team we watched play the first three games, I

(31:42):
think culminating with how badly they got beaten against Santa Clara.
The improvement over the last number of weeks has been striking.
Has has that rapid has that rapid accelerated growth and
improvement caused you to recalibrate your expectation for this year's.

Speaker 8 (31:58):
Team without question, I just got done talking about that
on the Most Catear Report podcast, where you know, if
you're trying to do like the Vegas win total of
they always have that changing throughout the years as the
team goes on. It's like I had them at eleven
to start the season. I think you'd have to give
them a pretty significant bump all the way up into
like that fourteen or fifteen total wins range at this

(32:20):
point at least. The one thing that stands out to
me about the West Virginia and Cincinnati wins are both
of those teams are ranked right around seventy five in
ken Pom. Right now. There are five teams if you
include Creighton. Creighton sixty eighth currently in ken Pom. So
if you say they're pretty similar to that level of team,
there are five teams at that level or below right

(32:41):
now in the Big East.

Speaker 1 (32:42):
I mean ten games bigger.

Speaker 8 (32:45):
Where they can finally go five and five or even
have a winning record six and four against those teams
that are similar to West Virginia and Cincinnati, two teams
they all beat.

Speaker 2 (32:55):
Then Yeah, I mean the.

Speaker 8 (32:56):
Conference late looks way different than we originally expected for
the Musketuers when we were thinking they're going to struggle
to win a couple of biggest games this season.

Speaker 1 (33:05):
What has been the most striking or surprising thing about
the way they've played since that Santa Clara game.

Speaker 8 (33:12):
Well, I think the most striking part is how Richard
Patina was so willing to flip his starting lineup, which
meant completely changing the way his team looked and operated.
Going from a lineup with big, athletic front court and
shop Locker and Anthony Robinson at the center spot to
a team that's like a small ball approach and really

(33:33):
spacing the floor and utilizing its skill on the perimeter.
That has changed everything for this team. They are causing
real matchup problems, and not just for the old dominions
of the world. But we saw it against West Virginia.
I think we saw it even more for real against Cincinnati.
It's hard to guard two front court players who play

(33:53):
on the perimeter and have legitimate skill and passing and
shooting abilities. I think that's the the biggest thing to me,
without question, is is that switchover and style of play
and leaning more on their skill and their passing ability
and their ability to not turn the ball over while
doing so.

Speaker 9 (34:12):
That's really been so impressive to me.

Speaker 1 (34:14):
Last Saturday, I was driving with my daughter and we're
in the car and we're going to Newport to go
visit Santa Claus. Santa Claus was in town and I
was taken my daughter to go see him, go and
find out, you know, for him what she wants for Christmas.
And we're listening to your call of NKU versus Purdue
Fort Wayne, and you sounded like you were having a blast.

(34:34):
And I think when we got to the to Newport
on the levee, I believe it was forty to twenty
five or forty to twenty seven. It was right before halftime.
And we go and see Santa Claus and we have
a hot chocolate and I had a libation, and then
we get back in the car and you sounded like
you wanted to kill yourself.

Speaker 2 (34:50):
They lose the game by two points. What happened?

Speaker 8 (34:53):
Yeah, you want to see a mood flip quickly. That's
that's about as quick as.

Speaker 1 (34:57):
It can happen there.

Speaker 8 (35:00):
NKU had a fantastic performance through twenty minutes of that game,
and then they let up a twenty zero run in
the second half there against Prdue Fort Wayne, where you know,
Darren Horne has been telling us throughout this they were
on a six game winning streak. He'd been telling us
after each game that, like, you know, you know, happy
to get the win, happy to play well in certain areas,
but we have to get better defensively. And we finally

(35:23):
saw what he was talking about in this road game
at Purdue Fort Wayne, where all of a sudden, the
shots didn't go in for them on the offensive end.
It got a little bit hard on that end. They
lost a little bit of confidence, and then they didn't
play the same way defensively. The energy was gone. They
weren't pressure on for due Fort Wayne's perimeter players like
they have been, and prdue Fort Wayne has three guys

(35:44):
that can really score, and all of a sudden it
just became an avalanche effect on them in the second half. Now,
they still could have come up with a road win
there had they been able to not fumble the ball
away multiple times and have some silly turnovers. It was
just kind of an all system failure there in the
second half as they collapse. But either way, there's no
doubt that the focus. Ever since that loss on Saturday,

(36:06):
I produe Fort Wayne has been fixing the defense, and
that's something that Darren Horn's been trying to get across
to this group for weeks now.

Speaker 1 (36:12):
All Right, but you're okay. You sounded like I felt
on Friday night.

Speaker 8 (36:18):
Well, you know, it's just like you drive out there
at that three in the morning. I think I got
to the hotel around four am. You play that well
in the first half and it's like, Wow, this was
really worth it, and all of a sudden it slips,
and as it's flipping and they're losing, all that was
going on in my mind is and then I'm gonna
watch the Bengals do the same thing tomorrow and the
build you get that feeling as a Cincinnati sportsman where

(36:39):
you're like, you know what's coming next mo, and it
just it's so defeating.

Speaker 1 (36:43):
Sometimes. I at least had Saturday between the shootout and
the Bengals game, and Santa Claus brightened my mood until
Josh Allen picked up a first down on third and fifteen.

Speaker 2 (36:52):
Rick, thank you as always.

Speaker 1 (36:54):
All right, Thanks bo Rick Brooring. Follow him at Rick
Brooring NKU and Bellerman on US Saturday. Get his coverage
to the Musketeers at Musketeer Report Dot com It's four
o'clock on ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 10 (37:06):
Let's fly into Cincinnati for a battle with our Bengals.
Will sack Taylor's Orange and Black, bust Baltimore in the
beak and whip up a win. Find dot when you
get the call live from Dan Hoyd and Dave Lapp.
The game kicks off at one pm, with coverage starting
at nine am Sunday. Stream for free on the new
and improved iHeartRadio app or ESPN fifteen thirty, the official

(37:30):
home of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Speaker 1 (37:35):
What's sorry, what I'm laughing at is complete and totally nonsensical.
We're late for the start of the hour because I've
just decided to totally bastardize the clock.

Speaker 2 (37:46):
Mog or ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 1 (37:48):
What's that? Two days in a row? Two days in
a row? Sorry, Tarin doing yeoman's work keeping us on time.
We have a Western Joe Burrow audio.

Speaker 2 (37:57):
Later on he was fining to good move today.

Speaker 1 (37:59):
I guess he was grumpy. Yeah, today's Joe Burrow's birthday.
Yeah he was grumpy. Yep, all right, so can we
play some Joe Burrow being grumpy audio?

Speaker 2 (38:10):
At four thirty five. Sure, get it ready.

Speaker 1 (38:13):
We'll listen to Joe b by the way, is on
a four and nine team that demands him do everything.
I would be grumpy too, despite my salary, despite my birthday.
If I was Joe Burrow and I was having to
carry the weight of an entire franchise on my back
and I was not allowed to throw an occasional bad pass,
I would be grumpy as well. So I don't blame Joe.

(38:34):
That might be the poll question. Joe Burrow is grumpy today?
Do you blame him? We'll find out more phone calls
coming up here in in just a second. I am
you know, I'm looking at social media. Kyle Schwerber might
not have been the end all and be all as
it relates to the Reds. There's a lot of offseasons

(38:55):
still in front of him. We'll see how creative Nick
Kral can be. We'll see if there's a trade that
make sense. Though it is interesting, like you're not willing
to dip your toe in some of the deeper free
agency waters, but you understandably so don't want to part
with starting pitching, and I don't want them to like
to me, that's that's why free agency is fun.

Speaker 2 (39:17):
All you gotta do is pay money. You don't have
to give up players.

Speaker 1 (39:20):
You don't have to trade Nicolodolo or Chase Burns or
Chase Petty or Graham Ashcraft or Andrew Abbott or Hunter Green.
You don't have to tradeat free agencies better than trades,
because trades I got to give up, like, you know, players,
good players. So they're unwilling to give up good starting pitching,
and understandably so, unwilling to dip their toes in free

(39:41):
agent waters that don't include players from Middletown.

Speaker 8 (39:45):
Kay.

Speaker 2 (39:45):
That sort of limits the pools. So to speak of.

Speaker 1 (39:48):
The guys they might be able to get to make
this team even better. Think though, of what they've chosen
to do here, Kyle Schwerber signs with the Phillies five
for one point fifty. Reds offered five for one to
twenty five. Now maybe the Reds could have matched that
offer and it would not have mattered. Ultimately, this was

(40:11):
Kyle's decision. Kyle and I are on first name basis,
so that's why I'm calling him by his first name.
But basically, the difference was five million dollars per year.
Now that is a lot of money, more money than
I can wrap my brain around. But it's still it's
five million dollars a year. It's five million dollars a

(40:31):
year for five years. Say you kind of think about
like inflation and economics, it's kind of probably more like
closer to twenty million dollars over those five years. Here's
what they chose to do. Here's what they chose to do.
And you may excuse them for it, but here's what

(40:51):
they chose to do. They chose to lose out on
a guy that they wanted. They would not have tried
to pursue him. And I say, try to pursue They
wouldn't have tried to pursue him had they not wanted him.
Let him get away. Over five million dollars per year.
Number One, it's a one point two billion dollar entity.

(41:13):
Now I know what I'm gonna hear and return MO.
Because they're worth one point two billion dollars doesn't mean
they have that in a drawer in Phil Castellini's desk.
I get it. It's still a one point two billion
dollar entity. That's the valuation of the franchise. A one

(41:34):
point two billion dollar entity chose to not increase its
offer to Kyle Schwarber by five million dollars a year.
Say that out loud, an entity worth one point two

(41:54):
billion dollars that has, by the way, tons of other
owners and investors.

Speaker 2 (42:00):
The Castellini's.

Speaker 1 (42:02):
Chose to not increase its offer by five million dollars
a year. I could be dead wrong about this. I've
never owned a major League baseball team, I've never run
a major League baseball team. But I'm led to believe

(42:23):
that that money five million dollars a year could have
been made up, especially if you genuinely believe this guy
is gonna sell tickets. And again an entirely jibe with
the idea that he would have sold more tickets with
Kyle Schwarber that they wouldn't have sold with a guy
like pet Alonzo or Cody Bellinger. But fine, they saw

(42:48):
the monetary value, the ticket sale value in Kyle Schwerber
that combined with surge of goodwill, maybe more sponsorship, perhaps
more merchandise sales, whatever it is. I just I feel
like a creative organization from a business perspective could have gone, yeah,

(43:11):
you know what, we get that extra, that five million
dollar difference, We'll figure it out. Like well, I don't
know redo our Jersey Patch deal come up with something
if the pursuit was serious. If the pursuit was serious,
an entity worth one point two billion dollars would have said, Okay,

(43:35):
we're gonna have to go outside our budget here, this
is worth it. Can we make up the extra five
mil per year, which by the end of the deal
is probably given inflation like three mil per year? Can
we make that up? I do understand again, One, because

(43:58):
a franchise is worth a certain amount out of money,
that doesn't exactly mean that that's what they have to spend.
Nobody's asking the Reds to spend one point two billion
dollars on players, though it would be cool. I get that.
I also understand we're talking about like running a business
and running a billion dollar business and dealing with the
financial inequities that are kind of baked into the sport.

Speaker 2 (44:19):
And also there's going to be a lockout.

Speaker 1 (44:21):
There's going to be some sort of work stoppage in
all likelihood, and maybe that sort of comes up the works.
But to me, that would have amplified the importance on
winning this year before the lockout. I just that's that's
hard for me at face value to accept. Kyle Schwarber
still may have ended up a Philadelphia Philly. Kyle Schwarber

(44:42):
may have gotten the Red's latest offer, gone to the Phillies,
and they would have said, well, we'll go we'll go up,
we'll go higher, we'll go higher. And then there's a
point that the Reds are just simply not going to
go to. But if it's five million dollars a year,
like a one point two billion dollar entity, should be
able to with other owners, should be able to absorb

(45:03):
that financial blow. It is rare that I take anybody
to task for how they handle their finances. Not really
comfortable doing it, but just on a baseline level, that's
what happened here. So, and this is not the first

(45:26):
time we've said this, the distinction has to be outlined,
right like you hear it all the time of the
you know, they just couldn't afford the one hundred and
fifty MILI. There's a difference, I believe, Like I've talked
with enough people who kind of go along with this,
who are much smarter about these things than me. There's
a difference between you can afford something and you're not

(45:50):
willing to pay for something there are lots of things
I cannot afford. There's also lots of things I could afford,
But I'm just I'm not gonna pay that much for
I'm not gonna pay for a luxury automobile, as cool
as I think some of them are, just that's not
that worth it to me. But I can look at

(46:12):
some of those cars that go man to be cool,
to drive one of those one day, I'm just not
willing to do it. There's also cars I simply cannot afford.
There's a difference. Maybe not the best example you had
to ask was this worth expanding your budget for, and
to the tune of five million dollars a year, I
think the answer is yes.

Speaker 2 (46:36):
Didn't happen seventeen after four o'clock.

Speaker 1 (46:40):
I am. I can't speak for anybody else, so I
never tried to. But I absolutely believe there's a world
where the Reds put a better team on the field
in twenty twenty six than the one they had in
twenty twenty five, which means if they do that, they
should win more games and be even more likely to
qualify for the postseason. And Kyle Schwarber in and of

(47:02):
himself doesn't solve all their issues, like, got some dudes
who have to be better this coming season, right, got
some guys who're got to answer the bell in ways
they didn't last year. And roster depth has been an
issue for a while. And Nick Krawl, regardless of whether
he brings Kyle Schwarber to town or not, which obviously
he clearly isn't, they've got to fix the team in
the margins.

Speaker 2 (47:20):
There's a lot that has to happen.

Speaker 1 (47:23):
But I think this was their shot to really get
people to feel dramatically better about their willingness to go
all in their seriousness about winning. And I know people
at GABP who get mad when this is brought up,
and sometimes it's there are some unfair things said about
the Reds, but the consensus is they would like to win.

Speaker 2 (47:46):
They're not going to go to the end of the
earth to win.

Speaker 1 (47:48):
They're not going to do everything they can to win,
and what's happened with Kyle Schwarber has only cemented that perception.
That is I think a pretty commonly held one nineteen
at four o'clock. I don't love the Bengals, just need

(48:09):
a league average defense thing.

Speaker 2 (48:10):
And I'll get into why.

Speaker 4 (48:11):
Next Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty traffic.

Speaker 5 (48:17):
From the UC Health Traffic Center. At uc Health, you'll
at echealth dot com. Two right lanes are blocked from
an accident on eastbound two seventy five that's before Loveland
Madeira rode about a twenty five to thirty minute delay

(48:37):
back from Princeton Pike. Also a disabled vehicle southbound seventy
one seventy five at two seventy five and Erlanger off
on the right shoulder. I'm at ezelic with traffic this report.

Speaker 2 (48:49):
He is sponsored Bout.

Speaker 12 (48:51):
Football Manatties Football Queen Minati, brought to you by Modern
Office Methods on ESPN fifteen thirty, the official home of
the Cincinnati Bengals.

Speaker 1 (49:02):
I guess we're gonna hear some audio of a grumpy
I have not heard any of this of a grumpy
Joe Burrow. I just I stepped down into the hallway
and I was told Joe was grumpy. We'll have some
grumpy Joe for you. Grumpy Joe, I was told yesterday
I gave Joe Burrow too much of a pass for
Sunday is Is there anybody who thought, oh, no, big deal.

(49:25):
He threw a fourth quarter pick six and then another
pick and I don't know that the second one was
that much on him, But okay, he threw a couple
of picks. They happened, and they happened at the worst
possible moment. It is not good if your quarterback throws
pick sixes. But they're going to happen. They don't happen
with any frequency with Joe Burrow to the degree that

(49:46):
you're like, man, the Bengals have a quarterback problem. The
defense fails to get off the field in big situations
with enough frequency that we've identified as have everybody else.
Maybe Duke Tobin has it. We'll find out they have
a defense problem. I I've made a show of kind
of rolling my eyes, if you will, at the suggestion

(50:07):
that the Bengals simply need a league average defense. And
it's not that I don't understand that. In twenty twenty one,
the Bengals had, by basic math, the sixteenth rad toed
defense in the NFL. That is league average in a
thirty two team league. Now, for what it's worth in
twenty twenty two they have the number six defense in
the NFL and DVA. But sure, yes, I get the

(50:29):
basic premise most of us do. You've got an elite
offense with one of the very best quarterbacks in the sport.
On a general level, the offense is going to be fine.
If the defense is merely okay, they'll win a lot
of games. I'm not interested in league average defense. I
don't think you should be either. If you're a Bengals fan,

(50:50):
I think what you're looking for is a defense that
can win you games. Now, a defense that can win
you games, you're more likely to have that. I guess
if you're a defense statistically is the pack as opposed
to bottom of their barrel. But what I'm interested in
might question this offseason once most of it played out

(51:11):
and we're clinging to the idea that just got to
have a league average defense. My question was, and I
asked it on this show on a number of occasions,
can this defense win games for you consistently? There's lots
of different answers to that. If the answer is yes,
it could mean you know what, this particular week, the
offense doesn't have it and the defense helps grind out

(51:35):
a sixteen thirteen win. It's Indiana versus Ohio State this
past Saturday, a game where you thought there was gonna
be a lot of fireworks, and Indiana's defense help win
the game against a terrific Ohio State offense. It's not
apples to apples, but still can the defense win games
for you? Can the defense win games in the fourth quarter?

(51:56):
Most NFL games, god knows, most Bengals games over the
la last number of years have been at least somewhat
in doubt in the fourth quarter. So my question back
in July and August was, okay, fine league average statistically,
can it win games for him? If there's a couple
of weeks where, for whatever reason, the offense just isn't working.

(52:17):
Maybe it's a bad matchup, or maybe it's weather. Maybe
Joe goes into the protocol and he doesn't come back,
or there's other injuries, whatever it is, Joe throws the
occasional pick. Can the defense win a game for you?
I don't know that there is enough time this offseason

(52:38):
for Duke Tobin to take a defense that has been
historically bad and turn it into one where the answer
is yes. It can win games for you. Bengals defense
in twenty twenty one was league average, which is great.
I didn't know that until today. What I did know
is it could win games for them bird and score

(53:00):
forty five points against everybody. They had slogs that season,
including a couple in the playoffs. When the defense won
games for him. On Sunday in Buffalo, there were multiple
opportunities for the Bengals defense to help them win the game,
or at least give them a chance to win the game.
They failed every single time. And that's been the mo
to the season, time and again, whether it's against Justin

(53:22):
Fields or Caleb Williams or Jared Goff, whether they've been
ahead and trying to salt the game away or behind
and trying to give get a stop, to give Joe
Burrow or Joe Flacco or Jake Browning a chance to
win the game, whatever it's been, they have failed almost
every single time. So that like so much. Showed that

(53:45):
on Sunday when they failed on fourth and goal at
the three, on third and fifteen on the drive after
they took the ten point lead. Time and again, when
they failed, you kind of shrugged your shoulders and said,
that's what you expect as defense can win games for them.
When that changes is when they're a legitimate Super Bowl contender.

(54:07):
I don't measure that in where they are in terms
of yards per game given up or even necessarily points
per game given up. I look at third and fourth
down conversion rate, stop rate, success rate in the fourth quarter,
and they've been abysmal at that this year. So like,

(54:28):
I don't get mad at it, but I kind of
roll my eyela. It's just got to be league average.
First of all, that's an extraordinarily low ceiling, and when
you have a low ceiling, you have a low floor.
This year, right, that was kind of the goal have
a league average defense. Well, when it didn't work, guess
what happened? Historically bad defense fourth quarter? Are you getting stops?

(54:48):
Are you giving your quarterback a chance? And are you
winning games where your QB may not be at his best? Now,
for most of Sunday, Joe Burrow was awesome. Was not
in the fourth quarter. Nothing you can do about that, Right,
He's Joe Burrow. They're not replacing them, but they got
to replace like all the dudes on defense. So they're like,

(55:10):
I we maybe you will I won't have that answer
before opening day next year.

Speaker 2 (55:15):
I need to see it in practice, need to see
it work out in games.

Speaker 1 (55:20):
But can Duke Tobin and Al Golden and the defensive
staff in the front office figure out a way to
build a defense that can win games for you, can
close games for you can give your offense a chance.
This season, the answered time and again has been no, No,
and no. Twenty seven from five o'clock, tarn are we

(55:40):
ready for? Do we have Grumpy Joe Burrow standing by?
We'lly Joe. I have it ready after the break? All right?

Speaker 2 (55:48):
Grumpy Joe Burrow is next on ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 12 (55:51):
You've been listening to Football in the Natti on ESPN
fifteen thirty, the official home of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Speaker 4 (56:02):
Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 5 (56:06):
Traffic on eastbound two seventy five before Loveland Madeira Road
to right lanes are blocked from an accident about an
hour delay back from Mastellar Road in Ohio westbound two
seventy five accident on the off ramp to northbound seventy five,
and an accident Seymour Avenue west of Renting Road at
Ezelic with tread lines, our.

Speaker 1 (56:27):
Service of Kelsey Chevrolet Home of Lifetime, poward train protection
and guaranteed credit approval from their family to Yours for
life kelseyshef dot Com, t Higgins Limited. Today did some
individual work, didn't go through a full team workouts. Bengals
prepping for Sunday's tilt against the Baltimore Ravens. No go

(56:50):
for PJ Jewles, who came out of the game on
Sunday in Buffalo as well. Joseph Osiah full Go had
that shin and Shamar Stewart has been cleared to practice.
He was a full go today. Bengals and Ravens on
Sunday one. The game is live on ESPN fifteen thirty.
Pre game coverage from the Holy Grail starts at nine
to oh five. Lots more tonight on Bengals Game Plan
with Dan Horde and Dave Laphama on ESPN fifteen thirty.

(57:14):
Uh Pete Alonzo signs with the Baltimore Orioles. He's not
going to be a Red in large part because the
Reds didn't try to make him a Red. Joe Burrow
talks every Wednesday. Sometimes we carry it live. We did
not do that today but I was told that Joe
today sounded grumpy. And look, he's on a four and
nineteen Bengals are very very very unlikely to make the postseason.

(57:39):
It's prime years. Another one being wasted. He had a
game on Sunday where he was complicit in his team's demise.
You could understand him being grumpy. Let's see how grumpy
he sounded. Here is Joe Burrow? Is this a like
a chunk? What are we about to listen to?

Speaker 13 (57:57):
Here?

Speaker 2 (57:58):
Tarry? Describe it for me? With's a chunk of chunk?

Speaker 14 (58:00):
Audio and audio? Besides the last question, you can't really
tail is more in his body language?

Speaker 1 (58:06):
Oh gotch All right, so you have to imagine Joe
Burrow's body language theater of the minder. Here's Joe Burrow,
according to many, looking and maybe sounding grumpy with the
assembled pro football media. Earlier today, I reviewed the film
from Buffalo.

Speaker 8 (58:21):
Obviously made a lot of good throws, But what's that
out the most good man?

Speaker 11 (58:29):
Yeah, I've played pretty close to perfect. You know, obviously
would like to have the one that that they intercepted back,
But other than that, I think pretty good.

Speaker 15 (58:42):
Do you have an idea of like after the game
so that you expressed an awareness of both defenders that
were in here.

Speaker 11 (58:50):
Obviously, having looked back at it now, is there anything
you could have done differently to get out of that play?

Speaker 16 (58:59):
Yeah, you know, throw it higher or realize something wrong
is going on and try to eat it.

Speaker 1 (59:08):
I think after the game you said, you know one
on our show the first few years, Why is that
such a big deal to you?

Speaker 9 (59:13):
Or why do you put so much episodes like going
out and like truly performing.

Speaker 11 (59:18):
Number one, I work hard for it. Number two. This
is at the end of the day entertainment industry, and
now I want to go out and play well.

Speaker 16 (59:30):
And if you're playing well and it's going points and
win games and it's usually fun to watch.

Speaker 11 (59:36):
Is this a loss?

Speaker 8 (59:37):
It was tougher to get over that, maybe some other
losses in your career just because of everything that happened.

Speaker 11 (59:42):
I wouldn't say that. See if you've seen like there's
something on your mind.

Speaker 1 (59:47):
Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but seemed frustrated.

Speaker 11 (59:51):
There's a lot of things going on right now. A
lot of things going on right now, all related personally,
all the above.

Speaker 1 (59:58):
Hmm, all right, not going on Joe Burrow, I didn't
think he sounded grumpy, sounded he sounded like that's something
he didn't want to do, which you know what that'
your obligation as quarterback.

Speaker 14 (01:00:11):
But uh, you know, because it was weird because the
press conference started off, they asked him two or three questions.

Speaker 2 (01:00:18):
He got up, walked away, and then came back.

Speaker 1 (01:00:22):
He got up and walked away because like he thought
they were done asking questions. Yes, okay, so like what
he like, got up and walked away, Like you ever
had one of those difficult conversations with your boss and
you hope they're done, so you get up and start
to walk away, but it turns out like they're they're
not done, so you have to sit back down, like
one of those deals.

Speaker 14 (01:00:40):
Yeah, but he got upset, Thanks guys and everything, and
then he got through the music. Then about three minutes
later he came back.

Speaker 1 (01:00:48):
Because he knew there were more probe being questions from
the assembled pro football media, gotcha, all right, well there's
a there's I'm I'm I'm kind.

Speaker 2 (01:00:56):
Of glad we didn't carry that live.

Speaker 1 (01:00:58):
Hey. He showed up early today though, right, he did,
all right, so it was like I'll show up, get
this over with and move on, and Joe says, there's
a lot going on. Your guess is as good as
mine as to what it isn't Frankly, Frankly, much of
it is probably none of our business. According to ESPN's
Pete Damil and Adam Schefter and Dan Wetzel, Michigan has

(01:01:21):
fired Sharon Moore.

Speaker 2 (01:01:24):
So he's gone.

Speaker 1 (01:01:25):
Sharon Moore, boy, you talk about something that could kick
the coaching carousel, if you will. In the hyperdrive, Michigan
is playing correct me if I'm wrong, tear and they're
playing Texas in the Citrus Bowl. Yes, they just hired
Carrie Colmes to be the special teams coaches. Is Carrie
Colmes going to be the interim coach as he was

(01:01:46):
for UC in the Fenway Bowl?

Speaker 14 (01:01:48):
No, No, they are announced it, Pope, Biff, Pogey, dude,
it was a Charlotte.

Speaker 1 (01:01:53):
Yes.

Speaker 14 (01:01:55):
Well, Athletic directors release a statement on it.

Speaker 1 (01:01:57):
Oh really.

Speaker 14 (01:01:59):
Charon Moore has been terminated with calls effective immediately. Following
a university investigation. Incredible evidence was found that coach More
engaged in an inappropriate relationship.

Speaker 2 (01:02:09):
OH staff member Oh Sharone.

Speaker 14 (01:02:12):
This conduct constitutes a clear violation of university policy and
you standard and maintains zero tolerance for such behavior.

Speaker 1 (01:02:21):
Wow. Wow, engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a staff member.
Oh well, the Michigan job is open. Iikes. All right,
there you go. Sharon More bounced to Michigan for cause
after it. So they did this has Let's be clear

(01:02:43):
about this has nothing to do with the Connor Stallion
sign stealing thing.

Speaker 2 (01:02:48):
This is something entirely different, all right.

Speaker 14 (01:02:52):
Huh, John Harball, take take the job, John Harball, John
go take his brother's old gig.

Speaker 1 (01:02:58):
Right?

Speaker 2 (01:03:00):
Perhaps?

Speaker 1 (01:03:02):
Perhaps are they gonna make like a big deal. It's
got to be a Michigan man. Are they gonna do
that whole thing? Are they got to be a Michigan man?
Who are the Michigan men? That would be Maybe you're
Brady off TV. Maybe Brady go and coach.

Speaker 2 (01:03:15):
Tom Brady go be the coach of Michigan. That would
be interesting. That would be weird.

Speaker 1 (01:03:23):
Hey, Charon Moore, there you have bombshell drop taught us
on a Wednesday afternoon. There you go. Charon Moore out
at Michigan because of a university investigation into an inappropriate
relationship with maybe Joe Burrow and Sharon Moore friends, and
he knew what was coming down the pike, and he's
grumpy about that. I have no idea, So there you go.

(01:03:43):
We'll monitor that story as the afternoon unfolds. It's twelve
away from five o'clock. We'll take some phone calls. We
will Richard Skinner at five twenty. We're gonna go to
Baltimore at five thirty, and you and I in between
everything else on ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati.

Speaker 4 (01:03:59):
Sports Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 5 (01:04:04):
Traffic from the UC Health Traffic Center. At uc Health,
you'll find comprehensive care that's so personal it makes your
best tomorrow possible. That's boundles care for better outcomes. Expect
more at UCHealth dot com. Eastbound two seventy five. Still
got that crash before Loveland Madeira Road. Two right lanes
are blocked off in Ohio. Westbound two seventy five accident

(01:04:27):
on the off ramped at northbound seventy five. That's in
Ohio and fallen Power cable southbound US forty two north
of Dimmick Road. I'm at Eazelic with traffic.

Speaker 2 (01:04:37):
Hey, Alexa, what's going on in baseball?

Speaker 6 (01:04:39):
Getting east from iheartrate.

Speaker 2 (01:04:42):
The Red's my trade for catel Marte at the Diamonds Wall.

Speaker 1 (01:04:45):
See, I have like ninety seconds here and I don't
want to cut people short, so thank tit. We do
have folks waiting, but I Tarren has already had to
juggle the clock, if you will, and so I'm going
to be on time here. Year We're going to hit
her a break. We'll come back and then we'll we'll
we'll open things up and folks can talk about whatever

(01:05:06):
the hell they wanted. Five point three seven four nine,
fifteen thirty Charon Moore, if you missed it, the Michigan
coach is no longer the Michigan coach because the university
has done an investigation into an apparent inappropriate relationship with
a staff member. Biff Pogey, who used to be at

(01:05:26):
Charlotte is the interim coach. Has the Notre Dame athletic
director weighed in on this, Pete Bavakua look athletic directors
of programs that get snubbed in the College Football Playoff
are supposed to go on public crusades on behalf of
their programs. I think he's been a little bit overboard.

(01:05:49):
I get it. He's he's supposed to be aggrieved. He's
supposed to be out there making the case that his
his program got jobbed, and to a large degree, I
sort of.

Speaker 2 (01:05:59):
Think it did. But I'm kind of good.

Speaker 1 (01:06:02):
I do want to talk about the like the most
robust industry in the United States of America is college
football outrage. We'll spend some time on that in a
bit coming up on five o'clock on ESPN fifteen thirty
or it is sponsored by attacker.

Speaker 6 (01:06:19):
Dave Lapham and me for Bengals game plan tonight starting
at six on the official home of the Bengals, Cincinnati's
ESPN fifteen thirty ago.

Speaker 1 (01:06:28):
All right, it is five oh six. This is ESPN
fifteen thirty Mowager. Thanks so much for listening today. Hoping
we're having like the greatest Wednesday of all time for
a snow good. Yes, I'm I'm getting Sharon more text
that make me last. I can't read them on the air.

(01:06:52):
Twitter is having to blast right now. Oh, we're having fun.
Sharon Moore, the Michigan coach is not the Michigan coach anymore.
The school has bounced with cause because of an internal
investigation into an inappropriate relationship with a staff member.

Speaker 2 (01:07:08):
That's as far.

Speaker 1 (01:07:09):
I'm just gonna go with what is being reported because
I am a responsible broadcaster. It is the bud Light
five o'clock Happy Hour on ESPN fifteen thirty thanks to
bud Light, which I could badly use right now, and
I'm guessing Sharon Moore could use right now. Bud Light
easy to drink, easy to and we've got some leftover

(01:07:29):
bud Light from the Christmas party in the fridge. We
do well, Tarin, right now, you have one job unless
you want me to way to the break and I'll
go fetch them. Your call, it's up to you. Sounds
like he's already off to go retrieve us in bud Light.

(01:07:49):
What do we have? Richard Skinner's gonna join us in
about fifteen minutes, and we're gonna got to Baltimore talking
about the Ravens with a terrific writer by the name
of Jonah Schaeffer with the Baltimore Banner. Don't forget one
hour from right now, it's Bengals game plan. Bengals game
plan with Dan Horde and Dave lapham Uh. In the meantime,
let's try to get to some folks because I have

(01:08:09):
babbled long enough. Ron and Milford. Ron and Milford sees
whatever conversation you're engaged with right now and talk to me.

Speaker 2 (01:08:16):
You're on ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 13 (01:08:20):
No, could tell Marte. I mean, really, is this where
those deals again, where the Reds are going to try
to throw money just to throw money after they've struck
out on who they really want.

Speaker 1 (01:08:32):
Well, can tell Marte is a good player. I mean
he's he has been an All Star in the last
couple of years. He was terrific two years ago. There
is merit to add and can tell Marte, But can
tell Marte means you have to give up players, means
you have to give up assets that aren't necessarily just

(01:08:52):
pure dollars and cents. Since I'm not opposed to can
tell Marte, but I would prefer the guy that doesn't
require you to trade away Asse to get him.

Speaker 13 (01:09:02):
Well, yeah, And I mean, does that mean we've given
up on Matt McClain. He were done with them, he's
no longer of used to us.

Speaker 1 (01:09:10):
I don't know that it means they're giving up on him,
But I do think you have to have a plan
in place. I think you either have to have a
plan in place in case Matt mclan can't recapture his
old form. And I don't know that Matt McClain's season
in twenty twenty three means that he is not replaceable.

(01:09:30):
I mean there's really nowhere on this team where you're
not looking for upgrades. And so coutel Marte is a
better player than Matt McLain, I would have no problem
that whatsoever.

Speaker 13 (01:09:42):
Well, I'm only worried though, because we've seen when they
got these guys in their thirties, Mustakis.

Speaker 17 (01:09:50):
The candy man.

Speaker 9 (01:09:51):
I mean, we've.

Speaker 13 (01:09:53):
Really not done so well lately with these transactions when
we're just spending money at I like to say, hey,
guess what fans, we're spending money on guys.

Speaker 1 (01:10:05):
Yeah, I mean I think there's a to me. Kad
tell Marte is not that. I mean, if you look
at kateel Marte's numbers last year, you would you would
put him in the middle of the order. You'd rather
have Kyle Schwarber. I would too if you look at
Coud tell Marte was like thirty the MVP voting two
seasons ago. Like he's a really good player. Silver Slugger
Awarded his position the last two years. Like, don't be

(01:10:28):
opposed to that. He's a year younger than Kyle Schwarber,
so don't be opposed to ka tell Marte wonder what
it would take to get him, and wonder if they
would be opening up one hole in the process of
plugging another.

Speaker 13 (01:10:44):
Yeah, I'm just I just feel like, I'm like, I
don't know how that really helps solve the problem. I mean,
he's not that big of a thumper to help us,
you know, power wise. So I mean, if we're looking
for a thumper, I don't know that he's the answer
for the thumping.

Speaker 2 (01:11:01):
It's better than what they got.

Speaker 1 (01:11:02):
I mean again, I'd rather have Schwarber, but the dude
has average thirty home runs a year in the last
three years. Like, you can't that that wouldn't help.

Speaker 13 (01:11:12):
Yeah, I mean, yes, it's just like I said, I mean,
I don't know. I think i'd rather I don't know
what else is out there, but I don't know. I mean,
like I said, we've seen the candy Man. We've seen Ustakas.

Speaker 1 (01:11:27):
Could tell Marte, could tell Marte is a better player
than the candy Man. Well, that's right, but even even
at his best, could tell Marte I understand any frustration
with the Reds. I share it, I've expressed it. Do

(01:11:48):
not be opposed to tell Marte being a Red now again,
prefer other options, prefer free agents. I always prefer free
agents because I don't want to trade starting pitching. Yeah,
and could tell Marte I think would cost a lot
if you're the Arizona Diamondbacks and look to tell Marte
has years left on his contract. If you're the Arizona Diamondbacks,
you're not just giving him away. And you know, you

(01:12:08):
look at him, and it's fair to wonder by the
end of the decade, what kind of player are we
gonna be talking about. But could tell Marte would be
a massive upgrade from from Matt McClain, anybody else you
would have put in the middle of the batting order.
Don't be opposed to could tell Marte.

Speaker 9 (01:12:24):
Yeah, I think.

Speaker 13 (01:12:25):
I think mainly, I just feel like you said, Like
you said, maybe it's me thinking of the assets as well.
We're getting up assets as well, which to me I
may be opposed to. I'm not sure what else is
left in free agency, but I just feel like, as
we know, the Reds choices lately have not been so
good when they've spent money.

Speaker 1 (01:12:47):
So but would you have but now, would you have
held that against him had they signed Kyle Schwarber?

Speaker 13 (01:12:54):
Uh? Actually, I feel like yes too, because that goes
back to like the whole Oh, let's bring Griffy to
town because you know what, that'd be great. And we
saw all that work out. He was hurting more than
he could play, and we gave Barry Larkin that contract
just because the fans cheered him and they didn't want
him to leave town. So I mean Schwarber, I mean, sure,

(01:13:15):
great American Ballpark. He probably might hit sixty home runs
this year, but by the end of the contract he
might be falling apart.

Speaker 2 (01:13:23):
Ron Who cares about the end of the contract. I'm
trying to win now?

Speaker 1 (01:13:28):
Who cares? Who cares? Ron Ron? They haven't. They have
not advanced in the postseason in thirty years, and I'm
gonna care about twenty twenty nine. No. Number one. Number one.
If you could go back and do the Ken Griffey
Junior trade again, you would do it ten times out

(01:13:49):
of ten. The fact that it didn't work out twenty
five years ago doesn't mean you don't go after Kyle Schwarber.
You can say the Kotel Marte doesn't solve their biggest
issue and then have reservations about adding a guy who
hit fifty six home runs last year.

Speaker 13 (01:14:07):
Well, I've just seen too much.

Speaker 1 (01:14:09):
I think that's fine, but like, all right, so cross
Kyle Schwarber off the list. Cross could tell Marte off
the list because that doesn't do it for you. Who
do you want that gives them pop in the middle
of the order.

Speaker 13 (01:14:26):
That's the thing I don't really know.

Speaker 9 (01:14:28):
I don't have any answer.

Speaker 2 (01:14:29):
But then like, that's the thing.

Speaker 1 (01:14:31):
You can't say I don't like this option and then
not present another one. And look, I share whatever amount
of frustration you or everybody else has with how the
Reds go about building their team. And I think they
allowed Kyle Schwerber to say no, and they did it willingly,
which frustrates me into a degree baffles me. But I'm

(01:14:51):
not going to balk at adding a guy and can
tell Marte who is an upgrade from what they have
and like on the on the list of for lack
of pop, you could do a lot worse. Now again,
I would prefer to go after a free agent because
I don't want to give up assets, and I think
can Tell Marte would cost a lot, and I think
he would cost so much that it would be basically

(01:15:12):
a wash because you'd really be making your team worse elsewhere.
But if you're not on board with Kyle Schwarber, which
by the way, he's off the list, and it's not
gonna be Pede Alonzo because I guess you could say
the same thing about Peede Alonzo that you would say
about Kyle Schwarber. And if you're not interested in Kittel Marte,
like we're kind of running out of options here.

Speaker 9 (01:15:30):
Yeah, No, what is the deal? Have you heard anything?

Speaker 13 (01:15:33):
What is the deal?

Speaker 1 (01:15:34):
Where it says the Reds.

Speaker 13 (01:15:35):
Are working on a blockbuster? Is that the could tell Marte?
Because to me, one guy being involved coming back.

Speaker 9 (01:15:42):
Isn't really a blockbuster.

Speaker 13 (01:15:44):
A blockbuster would be us getting maybe two guys coming
back in return for whatever we're doing.

Speaker 10 (01:15:50):
Uh.

Speaker 1 (01:15:51):
The reporting that I have seen says, and this verbiage
is funny, the front office is considering looking into a
trade for Kidtel mart So they're thinking about thinking about
a trade.

Speaker 2 (01:16:05):
That's again, that's a really good player.

Speaker 1 (01:16:08):
It's a player who you know, you're not exactly nuts
about paying the freight for the rest of the decade.
But ron I couldn't care less about who the Reds
are paying in twenty twenty nine. I would have advanced
in the postseason this year. So Kyle Schwarber, you would
have been paying for past prime years. Pete Alonzo, you'd
be paying for past prime years. It's baseball free agency.

(01:16:31):
If you want the top end guys, you're probably going
to have to do that. So yeah, there's a time
to do that. And I think the time to do
that is when you have a chance to win in
the short term. Run.

Speaker 2 (01:16:39):
I gotta run, man, Thanks so much.

Speaker 13 (01:16:41):
Alrighty Mo, take care.

Speaker 1 (01:16:43):
I mean I I think there's The preference was Kyle Schwarber.
It didn't happen, and the Reds gave him a reason
to say no. The reason to say no was we're
not going to give you what you think you're worth
on the open market. But he's off the list, Like
hate it, he's off the list. I don't know how

(01:17:06):
serious their pursuit of Katel Marte is going to be.
I don't know what the Arizona Diamondbacks want in return,
but he would help this team. Matt McClain should not
have any spot on this team, locked down, unchallenged. If
I could have kateel Marte or Matt mclan, I'll take

(01:17:26):
kateel Marte. What's it gonna cost me? Hudo have to trade?
And if it's not him, then what Richard Skinner on
the Bengals.

Speaker 4 (01:17:35):
Next Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty traffic.

Speaker 5 (01:17:43):
Two lanes are blocked from an accident east found Ronald
Rake in Highway. That's at seventy one. Traffic backed up
the Plainfield Road over a ten minute delay. Two left
lanes also blocked from a crash northbound seventy five. That's
before nor would lateral expect to find some delays? I
might zelic with traffic.

Speaker 12 (01:18:01):
This report is sponsored by This is Football in the Natti,
brought to you in part by Postman Law and by
Skyline Chile. On ESPN fifteen thirty to the official home
of the Cincinnati Bengal.

Speaker 1 (01:18:15):
Richard Skinner joins us on Wednesdays from Local twelve and
Local twelve dot Com to talk about the Bengals.

Speaker 2 (01:18:22):
And he's here now.

Speaker 1 (01:18:23):
Hi, Skinny mo, I'm in the land of the scott
Eagles tonight.

Speaker 9 (01:18:28):
I mean your character you play to Scott tonight.

Speaker 2 (01:18:30):
Taylor mell very good. How are the Eagles doing this year?

Speaker 9 (01:18:35):
They are two and zero and we'll see what they
do with us tonight. We're want to know.

Speaker 2 (01:18:39):
So wow, very good.

Speaker 1 (01:18:40):
So a very early season battle of Titans in northern Kentucky.
This is going to be if you if you walk
down that hallway and you look at the class of
ninety five, you could see what I look like with
a like a spike flat top.

Speaker 9 (01:18:53):
I already did that, mo, I did take a gage.

Speaker 2 (01:18:57):
Very good, very good.

Speaker 1 (01:18:59):
I frankly think that game tonight might be a little
bit more interesting than Bengals and Ravens on Sunday.

Speaker 9 (01:19:05):
Oh, I don't know. I mean you got the Ravens
fighting for their lives, the Bengals fighting for their last
breath if you will.

Speaker 7 (01:19:11):
Their last gas.

Speaker 9 (01:19:14):
No, I think it is. I will say this. I
have a feeling because of the weather and where things
are going, you'll have a lot of empty seats.

Speaker 1 (01:19:21):
Yeah, probably probably have a lot of lot of empty seats. Uh,
where do we go from here with this defense? Because
you know on Sunday, all right, Burrow throws the pick six,
then there's another pick. Fine, right, But They're still in
the game, and multiple times in the fourth quarter with
a ten point lead, down by three, down by five,

(01:19:41):
chances to get off the field, chances to salt the
game away, chances to give Joe Burrow a shot, yet
again they failed. Did that undo the positive gains of
the previous couple of weeks.

Speaker 9 (01:19:51):
I think so. I mean, I think you're gonna have
to show something over the four final four weeks to
give you some hope of what are your core pieces
for next year? I mean, do you totally have to
remake the life backer room again? That's a big ask.
I mean, after you decided you were going to roll
the dice with two rookie linebackers and start this thing
all over, you know, safety position kind of the same
way up front on the edges, you know, with Trey
Hendrickson probably gone and just as the side possibly gone

(01:20:15):
and Shamar Stewart unproved, and I mean, there's a lot
of holes. And that was the disappointing part about Sunday.
You know, at twenty eight eighteen, I thought that was
a more pivotal series than the one after that that
the Borough Picks in Borough Fix six was just a
fluky great play by a dude. I mean, I mean,
if you watch that over and over and over again,
samar Chase is wide open. If that ball gets over

(01:20:37):
his head, he's one on one with a corner down
the sideline for at least fifteen yards if not maybe
bowling them over side stepping him going in for a touchdown.
And instead it goes the other way. I mean, you
gave up a touchdown drive in a minute one seconds
up ten that that can't happen. You know, if they
use four minutes, which is a fairly quick drive in
the NFL, then then you're into four minute offense where

(01:20:59):
you're trying to grind out some first downs and use
their timeouts and get yourself down to maybe a clinching
score or at least to the point where when you
whenever you get the football up, there's little time left
and they have no timeouts remaining. Instead of minute one second,
stood back within three. And that's the thing that was
really frustrating is I thought that'd drive more than anything else.

Speaker 1 (01:21:19):
If I would have said to you back in August
that DJ Turner would have a legitimate case to be
a pro bowler, you would have said, what I.

Speaker 9 (01:21:27):
Have said, you're crazy, man. I would have thought he
might get his starting job back at some point. But
that's a story. Actually, I'm trying to bank for probably
next week. We got a bunch of quotes from Al
Golden earlier this week. You know, Zach talked about it
a little bit today. I didn't get a chance to
talk to DJ today, and I'd like to talk to
him about it. But and usually you know how this works,

(01:21:47):
like you're a Pro Bowl caliber player and then it's
probably one more year where you're just not quite on
the radar, but now you are on the radar, so
people are thinking of you in those terms. So I
don't think DJ makes it. I think he deserves it.
I think he's not just been good, man, he's been great.
Now he's taking the best receiver on the other team
and usually locking that player up. I go back to

(01:22:07):
the romadonesday is probably not the best receiver the Bears had,
but he gave up nothing to Roma Doomsday. It's been
week to week to week where you know, it was
a couple of games ago where somebody made a catch
on DJ and it ended up being a passing offensiveassi
interferer of some of min like, yeah, there's nobody to
plats passes on DJ turn that had to be a penalist.
And so I think that's where we're at with this guy.

(01:22:28):
You just expect him to shut down the best receiver
on the other team. And that's a luxury. I mean,
it's wanting to have a guy who's your number one corner.
It's another to have a shutdown corner, and then you
can't get the rest of the defense right despite having
that guy. That's a big problem.

Speaker 1 (01:22:41):
So this is year three for DJ Turner, and so
it feels like it's taken a while for the light
bulb to come on, but the light is on very bright.

Speaker 8 (01:22:49):
Yep.

Speaker 1 (01:22:50):
Can I cling to something similar for Miles Murphy?

Speaker 9 (01:22:55):
Not quite to that standard. I think Miles has at
least played himself into a case a little locational end
on a perfect team. On this team, he has to start.
I do think he has benefited, though, Mo, from getting
consistent reps. I think that's helped him a lot to
where he's not looking over his shoulder and playing two
snaps coming off the field. I'm playing a snap coming

(01:23:15):
off the field. That it's more Hey, when I'm tired,
I can come off the field, and I think that
has helped him, and I do think he's played better.
But he also does some crazy things like he was
a fourth down play where he decides to rush inside
and gets pinned inside and there's nobody contain on the
outside of Josh Allen's able to roll out clean. That
can't happen.

Speaker 17 (01:23:33):
I just can't.

Speaker 9 (01:23:34):
They can't do that kind of stuff.

Speaker 1 (01:23:36):
So what do you gotta knucking fuds after the game,
get postgame beers?

Speaker 2 (01:23:39):
That how that works?

Speaker 9 (01:23:39):
I gotta be honest with Now. We're usually a dickman's group,
but knucking fudds is really good. It's one of my favorites.
Went out this way back the last time I was
out Hers for a coaches meeting, and then another coach
from another school went to knucking futs and had some
wings and some beverages and just can't go wrong.

Speaker 1 (01:23:54):
They got They got well priced large beers. There are
knucking flights right there on on Taylor Mill Road. But
that's okay. I gave him a plug day.

Speaker 2 (01:24:02):
They didn't you endorse it?

Speaker 9 (01:24:04):
No, I appreciate you endorsing it because I do really
like that.

Speaker 1 (01:24:07):
Please as do I. All right, we'll get best of
luck tonight and we'll talk next week.

Speaker 9 (01:24:12):
Thank you.

Speaker 1 (01:24:12):
Thanks our guy Richard Skinner from Local twelve and Local
twelve dot com. We'll go to Baltimore next.

Speaker 12 (01:24:17):
You've been listening to football in the NATI, brought to
you by Cincinnati Tax Resolution powered by Tope Sheldon on
ESPN fifteen thirty, the official home of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty to traffic.

Speaker 5 (01:24:36):
From the UC Health Traffic Center. At UC Health, you'll
tomorrow possible. That's found this care for better outcomes. Expect
more at UCHealth dot com. He's found two seventy five
before Loveland Madeira Road to right lanes are blocked off
from an accident. The traffic is backed up from seventy

(01:24:56):
five in Ohio over an hour's worth of delays bound
seventy five or four door with lateral leap. Two lanes
are blocked from an accident. I'm at Ezelic with traffic
from the U site.

Speaker 10 (01:25:08):
This week, the Ravens fly into Cincinnati for a battle
with our Bengals, will sack Taylor's Orange and Black bust
Baltimore on the beak and whip up a win. Find
out when you get the call live from Dan Horde
and Dave Lappe. The game kicks off at one VM
with coverage starting at nine am Sunday. Stream for free
on the new and improved iHeart Radio app or ESPN

(01:25:31):
fifteen thirty, the official home of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Speaker 1 (01:25:36):
Go Don't forget. Bengals. Game plan is thirty minutes from
right now with Dan Horde and Dave Lapham twenty six
from six. This is ESPN fifteen thirty on Oeger. Bengals
just played the Ravens on Thanksgiving Night, which means we
just talked with our next guest does an awesome job
covering the Baltimore Ravens for the Baltimore Banner. You could

(01:25:56):
read his work at the Banner dot com. Jonah Schaeffer
is with us. It's good to have you again, Jonas.
How are you well?

Speaker 15 (01:26:04):
I just felt like I was talking to yesterday.

Speaker 1 (01:26:06):
How you doing that? I'm well. I think a lot
of folks have you know, went into that Baltimore Bengals
game on Thanksgiving night and thought, this is the Ravens
chance to put the Bengals away, that didn't happen, and
then they lose at home to the Pittsburgh Steelers, and
I think folks have walked away from that going Okay,
this team that it felt like they had a chance
to run away with the division is now cooked.

Speaker 2 (01:26:28):
Is that an overreaction?

Speaker 7 (01:26:32):
Man?

Speaker 11 (01:26:33):
I don't know.

Speaker 15 (01:26:34):
I just every time I try to get my finger
on the pult of this Ravens team, I wildly disjudge
what exactly the situation is. I was looking at my
record and picking games straight up, not even against the spread,
and I'm five and six this year. So you know,
you expect a normal you know, predictor to probably pair

(01:26:54):
a little bit better than five hundred, and I'm a
game under five hundred, just just like the Ravens. Sorry
if you got to get them sick with sevens, just
like the Ravens are.

Speaker 1 (01:27:03):
So it's it's tough.

Speaker 15 (01:27:05):
I mean, like, you know, you look at this back
half or this back month of the season, the final
four games that they have, and it's a brutal stretch.
But then you consider, well, Pittsburgh is kind of hanging
on by it thread too, Like you know, it's going
against Miami and Detroit and Cleveland and then Baltimore that
much difficult for them than what the Ravens have coming up,

(01:27:25):
considering all their deficiencies on offense and defense. So you know,
you could look at this, this next game in Cincinnati
for the Ravens as a potential must win game, and
I think, I do think it's probably the most winnable
of the ravens next four games. But you know, this,
this Pittsburgh season could spiral out of control just as
easily as the Ravens has over these past two weeks.

(01:27:46):
So I really don't know how to you know, kind
of what to give you for the mortality of this
of this Ravens team.

Speaker 1 (01:27:51):
Go back to Thanksgiving Night? Was it as striking to
you how little they used Derick Henry in the first
half and really across the entire game. But really, in
the have that night against Cincinnati, you.

Speaker 15 (01:28:04):
Know, it didn't really bother me. I know, you know,
Ravens fans were all up in arms about it because
they look at the box score and they see just
how limited his touches were, and his efficiency when he
actually got those touches was so high. But you know,
that second quarter was weird because they should have had
a touchdown on one, they moved into field goal range

(01:28:24):
on another only to get knocked out by that you know,
third down stack. And then I think the next two
drives were one of them I believe ended up with
with the fumble, and the other one was a two
minute drive or a four minute drive where either Derek
Henry wasn't on the field that often because they liked
to have some of their more pass inclined backs on
the field, or just they knew that he wasn't just

(01:28:44):
because they had to move up the field, up and
down the field quickly. So it didn't really bothered me
that much. But Ravens fans had a very different story,
and they were very much up in arms, and I
do think that the Ravens kind of addressed those concerns
just with the volume of work that that Henry got
on Sunday against Pittsburgh. You know, they went over two

(01:29:04):
hundred yards of the team for the first time since
Week one, which is unbelievable considering how much of a
course they were last year. So you know, obviously this
this Bengals rushing as you think, this Bengals rushing defense
is still not much the rite home about. I don't
miss the Ravens run blocking is anything to write home
about either. But if Lamar's healthier, and you know this

(01:29:25):
Ton Mounkett, heeals like he has some counter punches for
what you know, since Nati shows the first time, then
I do think that it's fair to expect Derek Henry
to get more of a even get more homework than
he did in the thirteen.

Speaker 1 (01:29:36):
Jonah Schaeffer from the Baltimore Banners with us for another
couple of minutes watching that Thanksgiving night game and even
bits and pieces of the game against Pittsburgh, and I
think you could apply this to his performances since he
rejoined the team after missing a couple of games. You
watch Lamar Jackson and it just doesn't look like Lamar Jackson.
You mentioned his health obviously that has been the story.
Are his Are his issues solely attributed to the fact

(01:29:59):
that he's not quite one hundred percent?

Speaker 15 (01:30:04):
I mean, I think like that's the Olkham Raisers, uh
the Oucom's Razor conclusion to this. Honestly, you know, it's
just he looked like the best player in the world
in the Week one and he got kind of lit
up at the end of that game, and was okay
for the next couple of weeks, but not really able
to accelerate as easily as he once had. And then
he gets the hamstring injury, and you know, he's knocked

(01:30:26):
out for a month, and now he's dealing with one
thing after another. Notable that today he missed practice, but
it was not with an injury designation. It was just
arrest day, which is kind of sort of the covera
they've been using for other practices that he's missed in
a week's past. But you know, I think you kind
of are starting to see some divisions in Rais fan
base because I think Lamar for the most part, you know,

(01:30:49):
other than that one bad interception Sunday against Pittsburgh, played
pretty well against the Steelers defense. And then you consider
just how we ended that game with the two minutes
that barely gets in a field goal range, and it
looked like, you know, he barely got to practice, you know,
that two minute drill. And maybe that's because he barely
got to practice that two minute drill because he was
limited last Wednesday and then and he missed Thursday's practice,

(01:31:12):
and here he is again missing today's practice, not even
getting the mental reps in with the team. So it's
it's a bit of a dicey time to be a
Lamar Jackson fan in Baltimore because of everything that's happened,
and you know the relative instability that the kind of
his contract situation has has engendered within the fan base
and within the front office. You know, he's under contract

(01:31:34):
for two more years after this, but they really need
to get that that cap hit down. So you know,
even though he looks better physically, he's still is flagging
accuracy wise. I think it's five straight games now under
sixty percent, which is by far the longest stretch of
his career. So, you know, the fields like a good
time for defenses to kind of get a hunk of
flash from Lamar, especially when you're a Bengals defense that's

(01:31:56):
really never been able.

Speaker 1 (01:31:57):
To do with that like that.

Speaker 2 (01:31:58):
No question one more.

Speaker 1 (01:32:00):
You mentioned the fan base, and I know I asked
you John Harball related question two weeks ago. They have
since lost those games against Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. What is
the fan base temperature as it relates to Baltimore's head coach?

Speaker 15 (01:32:14):
I mean, obviously, the loudest people in the crowd are
going to be the ones calling for John Arva's job.
And you know, I think it was notable that you know,
you see on NFL Twitter on Sunday some people saying, well,
we spent all this time talking to how maybe Mike
Tomlin had reached the end of his tenure at Pittsburgh. Well,
should we actually have been talking about the coach on
the other sideline in this game? So I still think

(01:32:37):
that's a little bit premature. I still think there's too
much equity that he's built up with character Casa GM,
with Steve Bashatti, the owner. You know, these are guys
who he's worked side by side with for close to
two close to two decades at this point, I think
it would take a just a colossal bottoming now and
it's a real embarrassment for the franchise. But perhaps they,

(01:32:57):
you know, a mismanagement of Lamar as he goes through
whatever injury he's dealing with for John Harvor to be
on any kind of shaky ground, like, you know, what
kind of precedent would you be setting for the next coach.
If you're saying that two division titles in three years
is not enough, that's just a you know, a kind
of Alabama football level of expectation, and I don't think

(01:33:17):
the Ravens are in that kind of verified air.

Speaker 10 (01:33:21):
Uh.

Speaker 1 (01:33:21):
It's a good way to put it. Jonah Schaeffer from
the Baltimore Banner. You could read his work which is
outstanding at the Banner dot com. I appreciate the time, man,
thanks so much.

Speaker 15 (01:33:32):
Thanks, appreciate you having me on.

Speaker 2 (01:33:33):
You got it anytime. Thank you.

Speaker 1 (01:33:34):
Eighteen away from six o'clock. All right, we will talk
to other folks the rest of the way until Bengals
game plan moves us out of the way. On ESPN
fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports.

Speaker 4 (01:33:44):
Station Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 5 (01:33:49):
Traffic growth bound seventy five before Norwood Lateral. Two left
lanes are blocked off from an accident a twenty minute
to lay back from Ezra Charles Tribe Ronaldraken Highway. Right
lane is also blocked from a crash over at seventy one.
Traffic backed up to Ridge Road ten minutes the way
I met Ezelic with traffic.

Speaker 2 (01:34:09):
Hey, it's Tony Pike here, did someone We.

Speaker 1 (01:34:11):
Only got a couple of minutes, so let's be quick here.
Try to see if we can get to as many
folks as we can. I do appreciate everybody's patience. Don
and Western Hills. Go ahead, you're on ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 17 (01:34:23):
Yes, sir, Happy holidays, buddy.

Speaker 1 (01:34:25):
How are you right back at Yeah? I'm doing well yourself.

Speaker 17 (01:34:28):
Hey, not too bad. I had Denver on the money line,
so it's not about who I had or what I had.
Have you ever seen now because my wife and my
wife is all the time, it's like, well, why does
the team take a field goal? Then that way you
would win your card? Blah blah blah. You know what
I mean? Like you, I okay, I'll just make it quick.

(01:34:48):
I said that before. But anyway, have you ever seen
any team do that in your entire life, betting or otherwise?

Speaker 9 (01:34:55):
Yes or now?

Speaker 1 (01:34:56):
I'm not sure. I'm sure I've seen a team kick
a meaningless field goal in the fine seconds. I'm sure
i've seen it. I don't know that i've seen it.
When the number is seven and a half, they're down
by ten, they get the penalty, there's five seconds to go,
and they put the kicker on the field. What I
loved about it is the two announcers and off the
top of my head. I don't know who they are,

(01:35:16):
but the two announcers knew exactly what was happening. They
knew it was ten, it was going to cut it
to seven. The Raiders were getting seven and a half,
and so if Carlson's field goal was good, the Raiders
were going to cover. They knew the back door was
about to fly open. I don't know that I have
seen something like that where the kicking team comes out
onto the field, the clock is going to expire, so

(01:35:37):
the game is going to end. It's not going to
have any impact on the outcome, but the kicking team
ends up covering the spread because of the field goal.

Speaker 17 (01:35:46):
Right, say the over as well, you know, just to
say that.

Speaker 1 (01:35:49):
Right, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's all.

Speaker 17 (01:35:52):
I just I've been asking everybody that I know, and
I've been watching it for fifty years. I've never seen
anything like it.

Speaker 2 (01:35:59):
Never not.

Speaker 1 (01:36:00):
I do believe don Thanks very much, Pete Carroll, who
might be a Hall of Fame coach. I believe very much,
for lack of a better way of putting it, that
he knew exactly what the point spread was and thought,
at the very least we'll cover the number. Tarren harrowy
on time. Do we have any time whatsoever? No, my

(01:36:21):
apologies to those who are waiting on hold. Terrence says,
we have no time, but the good news is a
we're back tomorrow at three five, and we'll we'll carve.

Speaker 2 (01:36:30):
Out room for you.

Speaker 1 (01:36:31):
If you ended the show on hold, we will take
your This is my guarantee you. We'll take your phone call.
In the first thirty minutes of tomorrow's program. We have
to go. Bengals game plan is next. Have a great night.
Thanks Dan for producing. This is the ESPN fifteen thirty

Speaker 8 (01:36:49):
The U

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