12/16/25 - The Mo Egger Radio Show - Mo Egger

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This week, the Bengals and Dolphins meet up in Miami
for a South Beach showdown. Speaking of the beach, my
swimsuit of choice is a speedo European style. I don't
like those Peski caadlines. The Bengals stool the Dolphins get
the call live from Dan Lloyd and Dave Lapham. The

(00:20):
game kicks off at won DM with covered starting at
nine am Sunday. Stream for free are the new and
improved iHeartRadio app or ESPN fifteen thirty, the official home
of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Speaker 2 (00:36):
All right, that's us. Good afternoon on my legg this
is ESPs to thirty. Thank you so much for joining us.
You having an awesome Tuesday. We are because we're at
Oakley Greens in Oakley, where it is FASTI we are
nine days away from Christmas. You could feel it in
the air here at Oakley Greens. And an awesome place
to celebrate the holidays, to have your holiday happy hours,

(01:00):
a great place to watch the college football Playoff, a
great place to watch the Bengals game on Sunday or
other meaningful NFL games involving good teams. And it is
a great place where tonight the NBA Cup Final takes
place between the Knicks and Spurs, and there's gonna be
a lot of people here for that tonight, watching New

(01:21):
York go for its first NBA championship since nineteen seventy three.
That and so much more here at Oakley Greens. We
love the staff here. They're very welcoming. It's a great
place to hang out with your family. It's a great
place to post up with your buddies, cool place to
take a date, great place to sit by yourself if
you want, which I might do. For the NBA Cup tonight,
we will see Paul Danner juniors here.

Speaker 3 (01:42):
What's up?

Speaker 2 (01:43):
The Athletic dot Com is a great knicksbeat writer who
is on the scene in Vegas for Nick Spurs covering
a championship.

Speaker 4 (01:50):
I mean, what do you think should the NFL institute
a meaningless Cup in the early season. Maybe that will
help it for some teams that end up playing not
so important games later in the season.

Speaker 2 (02:02):
Perhaps that's something in season they could do. I don't
know how you would pull that off. Maybe play for
the first overall pick or something I like that.

Speaker 4 (02:11):
Take all the teams that are eliminated, and then they
just play each other at the end, and the winner
of said weird tournament ends up with the number one
overall pick.

Speaker 2 (02:20):
I like it what I watched on Sunday. I don't
want to watch that team play anymore.

Speaker 3 (02:23):
Some good.

Speaker 5 (02:24):
I'm all right, I don't need any more of that.

Speaker 2 (02:27):
I'm trying to convince myself that I should actually watch
these last three games.

Speaker 3 (02:31):
Yeah, there's not. It doesn't feel like.

Speaker 4 (02:33):
There's a ton of reason to do so. But you know,
it is football, It is the team. It is Joe
Burrow playing, which is interesting to see what that will
look like after what we saw and heard last week. Yeah,
so maybe this week will sound and look different.

Speaker 3 (02:52):
That might be reassuring for some people.

Speaker 2 (02:54):
Right now, Paul Danner Junior is here covering the Bengals
for The Athletic and the Growlar podcast. The latest episode
came out just a short while ago. Go watch that
on YouTube or get it where you get your podcasts.
You have been on the Bengals beat for fifteen sixteen years.

Speaker 5 (03:08):
Yep, long time.

Speaker 3 (03:08):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (03:09):
You've covered a lot of really great days, You've covered
a lot of not so great days. You've covered some
some days that brought about some interesting developments. A lot
You've seen and heard and watched and been through a
lot where on the scale of awful days, not on
the beat, but just awful days for the franchise that

(03:30):
you've had a front row seat for, does where does
Sunday rank?

Speaker 3 (03:34):
It's approaching the.

Speaker 4 (03:37):
Twenty ten press conference right, like, which is the one
that I think was the gold standards for a wild
day of just bad day, Like nothing good came of it.

Speaker 3 (03:50):
It's up there because that.

Speaker 4 (03:51):
Was one thing that went wrong, right, This was a
combination of everything kind of from the season and that
was bubbling under the surface, all coming out in one spot.
And so it's certainly one of the worst individual days

(04:11):
I can remember in recent history. And it's got to
be on a top five list in the last fifteen years.

Speaker 2 (04:17):
The season itself is one of the most miserable in
my lifetime.

Speaker 3 (04:21):
Now that's saying something.

Speaker 2 (04:22):
I've watched bad Bengals teams go through bad Bengals seasons
from weeks before a game was played from the Samar
Stewart and Trey Hendricks, And I'm talking about as a fan.
I'm not talking about as like a content guy. I
just like somebody who has rooted for this franchise since
I was eight years old. I liked very little about

(04:43):
the offseason. Yet there were some pretty big expectations. They
get off to a two and zero start, but that's
dampened by the Burrow injury.

Speaker 3 (04:50):
So there's all of that.

Speaker 2 (04:52):
There's the five minutes that Flacco was fun, but there's
how they totally created with Jake Browning. There's how they've
given away games that they should have won. There's been
the just exasperation and exhaustion of patients with Duke Tobin
and Zach Taylor by many people, and understandably so, There's
been these unpleasant storylines like Jamar Chase spitting on a

(05:13):
guy like there's there's Joe Burrow's body language and words
last week, and then there's what that looked like on Sunday,
the final meaningful Stanza looking like a page right out
of nineteen ninety four. This this has been as thoroughly
unenjoyable as an NFL season can be.

Speaker 4 (05:30):
And it's it's exasperating because it comes from a spot of, like.

Speaker 3 (05:37):
You said, high expectations.

Speaker 4 (05:40):
This is the prime of Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase
and t Higgins, right, this is man.

Speaker 3 (05:47):
This is gonna be special.

Speaker 4 (05:48):
Yeah, continuity and all of these things that you liked
and such high hopes for this year, and yeah, the
Burrow injury, those entire seasons for a loose No, that's
it's the obvious part of this. But for it to
feel so disheartening and like such a huge step backward

(06:13):
from any momentum you felt, because it's like it's easy
to forget that there felt like there was momentum. Even
though last year wasn't great. They still were incredible on
offense and went nine to eight, and you felt like, Okay,
there's ways you can fix things.

Speaker 3 (06:27):
And they did.

Speaker 4 (06:28):
They checked the boxes of who Burrow wanted, so it
felt like, Okay, he should be in a good place.
He's got his first full off season to feel ready
to go. They're focused on starting fast. They still have
so many winning pieces, they have so many of the
hard things in the NFL taken care of here, you know,
And so when you had such high expectations and for

(06:50):
it to then between everything that's happened on and off
the field, to feel so disheartening and like such a
aggression of any momentum and giving up and feeling like
so many things where we're referencing the nineties and yeah,
and and historical stats and uh, there's a hopelessness to

(07:12):
that that has this season has just been kind of
caked with. And it's also tapped into like Bengals fans
worst fears of the triggering notion of ruining Joe Burrow
wasting his prime, of reverting to the nineties of his ownership,

(07:33):
gonna ruin this thing that could be so great?

Speaker 3 (07:36):
Will they come back from it?

Speaker 4 (07:37):
Will there be you know, the conversation of continuity that's
that's happening today right like, is that are we just
going to go forward? There's just gonna be a dragging
of your feet and comfortable with the same stuff happening
over and over again. These are the triggers of Bengals fans,
certainly specifically really those that have been around yeah for
a while, and they I feel like every trigger has

(07:59):
beenked right. It's been the fighting over contract stuff that's
felt silly with multiple people, and botching of off season
plans that could have been done so much better and
looking like they're asleep at the wheel. All of that
stuff is very triggering of please don't let that be
the case here and there's been this timeframe where it's

(08:21):
felt like maybe it's not and maybe Burrow was covering
up a lot of that, or there are other things
happening reasons why it didn't feel that way, but this
year has been so full of them, and then Sunday
was kind of all of that coming to a head.

Speaker 3 (08:36):
When you throw in the stuff that.

Speaker 4 (08:38):
Happened with the snow and the fans being frustrated, the cold,
and the worst performance and it just looking bad and
everything about it piled I think all of that stuff
that's felt triggering and terrible all year kind of felt
like it was all part of one bad Sunday.

Speaker 2 (08:55):
Since mid December of twenty nineteen, I have looked at
almost everything that has happened with this franchise through a
pretty optimistic filter, through a very rose colored lens. That's
not to say that everything has gone great, but there's

(09:15):
always been a degree of hope. You know, last year
went poorly, but it's hey, look, Burrow's at the top
of his game, he's healthy. Fix one or two things
on defense, they'll be okay. Maybe not championship caliber, but
not that far away. Two years ago, didn't make the postseason.
You know, what rite it off? Burrow injury, and hey,

(09:36):
look they made it fun down the stretch. They beat
the Jags, beat the Vikings. At least they have their
backup quarterback all right. One year sort of step back,
maybe kind of inevitable after back to back AFC championship games.
They're fine even going back. Burrow's rookie season didn't unfold
the way we would like. But still they got Burrow right,
there's the benefit of experience he gained, and he'll come

(09:57):
back and they'll take off, which they did. I have
for the first time in six years, I've kind of
stopped looking at things through that lens. And Wednesday was
the start of it, admittedly, but you take Wednesday and
then you add to it. Not that they lost. I
said this to you on the Growlery today. I could
look at the box score and tell you they played poorly.

(10:17):
You had to have seen that. You had to have
watched that to see what it looked like. Now, Joe
had help in playing poorly, you know, drops, Jamar Chase, uncharacteristic,
Andrey Yoshabas Mitchell Tinsley had one of the back in
the end zone like he had help. But I watched
that second half. I watched the body language. I watched
the lack of urgency. I watched a quarterback who was

(10:39):
the antithesis of everything I've come to know and love
about this guy. And I add to it the weirdness
of last Wednesday. Add to it just the way the
season is unfolded, the lack of patients with people who
are probably still going to be in place. For me,
and I'm talking about as a fan, this is the
first time in a while that I have felt this way.

(10:59):
Everything else has been pretty positive, pretty forward thinking, relatively upbeat.
Now it's hard to feel that way. Yeah, And we've.

Speaker 3 (11:08):
Seen this as we've done you know, I love doing
our fan survey every year.

Speaker 5 (11:13):
That'll be fun.

Speaker 4 (11:14):
Yeah, Well, because it's really you can because then you
can see this coming.

Speaker 3 (11:18):
Yeah, like you see when you could.

Speaker 4 (11:21):
Go year over year in the same way you've seen
that like tick down. The trust levels have ticked down
each year the last couple of years. And that's not
just connected to winning. It's connected to watching how everything's
going down and you're seeing the seeds being planted of
what you're describing now, which is kind of the blooming

(11:42):
of all of that stuff. That's happening where it's like
this is this is what it feels like when it
falls apart, and that's really it's it's hard, it's hard
to look past.

Speaker 6 (11:52):
Now.

Speaker 4 (11:52):
I think that this is also stuff that is that
changes in a few months of an off season.

Speaker 5 (12:00):
Oh I'm ready for it.

Speaker 4 (12:01):
Yeah, I mean you know, because you'll get it'll get
explained away and it figured out. A few minor moves
will happen. Maybe there'll even be a really good week
of free agency. Maybe there will be a week that
feels like twenty one or twenty two or whatever in
free agency where it's like real defensive pieces show up,
and then you'll get excited about the draft and they'll
have a top ten pick and they'll they'll bring somebody

(12:23):
in that you like, and next thing you know, it's
like you're back.

Speaker 3 (12:26):
You're bought in.

Speaker 4 (12:27):
Burrows saying all the right things like Burrow will make
you feel better, like yes, the season, the last press
conference of the season, yea, Burrow will be like I
believe in everybody here, and you know, I think that
we have the right people in place.

Speaker 3 (12:40):
It was important to me that they're here.

Speaker 4 (12:43):
You can hear this stuff now, making soothing, making people
feel better and keeping people believing in that, having hope
in that, and that it can turn around.

Speaker 2 (12:51):
You can write many of your off season stories now
and just play in names.

Speaker 7 (12:54):
Ye.

Speaker 4 (12:55):
Right, it's just a matter of who it's gonna be
and and that's the way.

Speaker 3 (13:00):
That's the way it can go.

Speaker 4 (13:01):
And that's the way it went honestly around here for
a long time. I mean when there was rough patches
or even in the good times of the March and
the Marvin Lewis era there where where it felt repetitive
the way they would lose in the postseason. But there
was always a reason every year where this next one
would be different, right, and this is there's a reason
that it could be different. And the bottom line is

(13:22):
they did play the vast majority of this season without
Joe Burrow. The bottom line is the defense did get
incrementally better since the buye like these you can you
can like these are the things that are gonna happen.
They are gonna there's gonna be an attempt to build
optimism and hope on it. And why this was an outlier, Well,
convince ourselves of.

Speaker 2 (13:42):
These Oh we will, yeah, I'll you'll take a break
from me in late June, and you'll come back and
late July do your pre cam show with me, and
I'll tell you they're gonna win eleven games. I know,
but but it feels like I'm further away from that
than I've ever Yeah, in this era.

Speaker 4 (14:02):
They any benefit of the doubt that they lived with
and were bestowed because of all of the goodwill of
twenty one and twenty two is totally gone.

Speaker 3 (14:14):
They still had some before this year.

Speaker 4 (14:16):
Yes, I think you very much had some with everybody
involved in this and this year, calendar year, not season.
This calendar year has taken that away. I think that's
what you're referring to.

Speaker 5 (14:30):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (14:30):
To me, it's it's the hope that, like well with Burrow,
everybody will rise up. Everything has kind of has changed.
There is a new way of doing things, and that
it can feel there. I just think the benefit of
the doubt of it'll be okay with Burrow here Burrow
can help keep this franchise feeling different. It's been clear
that not only maybe he can't, but it could break

(14:53):
him trying.

Speaker 3 (14:53):
To do so.

Speaker 2 (14:54):
The highlight of the last calendar year was the t
and Jamar press conference, and even that came with it
this tinge of not regret, but okay, are they really
going to fix the other stuff? Why did this take
as long as it did? How much are they going
to be in peril because of the length of time

(15:17):
it took to get these two done? Like it the
high point of your calendar year. Can't be a press conference?
Yeah for two players who have been here for a while.
The Steelers game.

Speaker 5 (15:28):
Okay, the Flacco that was fun. Yeah, like I'm a Flacoh.

Speaker 3 (15:31):
Thursday night against the Steelers, I would.

Speaker 5 (15:33):
Say, was I'm a Flaco fan for life.

Speaker 2 (15:35):
Yeah, I'm a Flaco fan for life because of that
that was that was a blast.

Speaker 5 (15:40):
And the days right after that when you were.

Speaker 2 (15:43):
Kind of like convincing yourself, all right, you know, maybe
maybe maybe they can buy just enough time to mid
December and the like the cruel irony of it all
is Burrow came back earlier, earlier than we were into
this is the week we were targeting him coming back, like, oh,
just keep it afloat until the Miami game.

Speaker 5 (15:59):
Well, no one could, including.

Speaker 3 (16:01):
Joe, Yeah, no one could, including Joe.

Speaker 4 (16:03):
And and even Thanksgiving into that into that mix where
it was like rice is fun what a cool, feel
good story and and you know it's it's the week
to week of this league, and you got it. You
do have to come back and and look at it
through the whole picture at the end. And I just
you know, from my angle where I sit, I hope
that however they go forward, that there are real lessons

(16:29):
that enact change in the way that they operate. If
it is going to be the same people doing it,
that there can be change in the understanding what happened
off the field this year and the impact that it
had in the on field product, the airs that it created,
and how much of that lack of weather we're talking

(16:50):
about communication across everybody, which was the you know, the
word that of the of the year back in January,
February and March. Communication and all of that to the
mistakes that it ended up leading to of not having
a team that was built up well enough to handle it,
specifically defensively this year, that all sides learn something, whether

(17:11):
it's clarity, whether it's how to approach things, whether it's
the need to be far more aggressive in what they're doing,
that there can be some kind of lessons. That's where
the hope is going to have to live, because any
hope that you're talking about is not gonna it's not
gonna come from from anybody that's currently here now. It's
gonna have to come from people that are acquired in

(17:33):
free agency, making things feel different or something that sounds
and feels different other than what we've kind of gotten.

Speaker 2 (17:40):
This three fifteen less Sunday, the Bengals are in Buffalo,
leading by ten. Burrow has played great, and I'm like, dude,
like this this may happen. And exactly one week later,
at around three fifteen on Sunday, I'm watching a team
that looks like it's checked out and I barely finish
the game like it was. It was remarkable to me

(18:02):
how quickly I went just me. I went from all right, man,
like get a stop here, and they will have gone
to Buffalo and bad weather and beating the Bills again,
and the Ravens are coming, and boy, here we go
to four and ten, wondering if Burrough should play. There's
a disconnect and I feel nothing but despare.

Speaker 3 (18:21):
Welcome to the margins in the NFL.

Speaker 2 (18:23):
Twenty four minutes after three o'clock. He's Paul Danner Junior.
I'm Moweger. He's here till four. I'm here till six.
We're at Oakley Greens in Oakley on ESPN fifteen thirty
Cincinnati Sports.

Speaker 3 (18:33):
Station twenty nine.

Speaker 2 (18:36):
After three o'clock he ESPN fifteen thirty, we're broadcasting from
Oakley Greens. We went along that segment, so I got
to get back on time. We will talk about Joe Burrow.
We will talk about how the Bengals changed without firing people,
players who have stuff to prove over these last three games,
and what happened with Zach Moss because he called him

(18:57):
the worst franchise in sports, and I want to spend
some time on that. Paul Danner Junior is here from
the Growler podcast and the Athletic dot Com. He wrote
a piece today that it was well written and uh
and insightful and comes from a place of being very
well sourced.

Speaker 3 (19:14):
I'm not sure it's going to be received very well.

Speaker 4 (19:17):
I'm sorry, I don't this is not I don't want
it to be like this, Like I don't want to
be the one that.

Speaker 3 (19:24):
Has to say this stuff. I feel bad.

Speaker 4 (19:28):
I felt like I opened the podcast day and I
just said I'm sorry, like I don't.

Speaker 3 (19:31):
Yeah, it's it's not my fault.

Speaker 8 (19:33):
You.

Speaker 2 (19:34):
The headline of the piece should have been well, actually,
well right, because that's what it was. Yeah, yeah, you're
you're the well actually, Paul Danners.

Speaker 3 (19:42):
Yeah, I'm sorry.

Speaker 4 (19:43):
Well actually I hate I hate to be the bearer
of bad news, which is you know, this is for
some people, very bad news.

Speaker 3 (19:50):
And that's just I'm sorry. That's all I can say.

Speaker 5 (19:54):
Go read that at the Athletic dot com. We'll talk
about it when.

Speaker 2 (19:56):
We come back to Oakley Greens three thirty on ESPN
fifteen three, Cincinnati Sports.

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(21:03):
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Anaheim Ducks Paul Danner Juniors.

Speaker 5 (21:25):
Was any Bengals news anything happened, Not that I enough.

Speaker 3 (21:30):
What is the most responsible way.

Speaker 2 (21:36):
To process and talk about everything that has happened over
the last half week With Joe.

Speaker 3 (21:42):
Burrow, I don't know. I mean, I think.

Speaker 4 (21:51):
I think having some perspective over where he's at in
how hard this year has been for him, I just
think understanding that these the end of long seasons that
are very challenging on multiple fronts, leave you in weird

(22:14):
places that take time to recover from. And he has
been forced to speak to us when he is probably
not fully mentally recovered.

Speaker 3 (22:24):
From what he's had to go through in terms of.

Speaker 4 (22:28):
Obviously his incredible strain to get back from the injury
and then to come back to a team that went
one to eight without him and recognize how steep the
cline was going to be when he's like, man, I
got myself back and playing, and then and then and
then to lose a game in a way that it
felt like they lost every game in twenty twenty four

(22:51):
in Buffalo, and what.

Speaker 3 (22:53):
That does to you. I just feel like the whole thing.

Speaker 4 (22:57):
He could probably have used an off season to come
back in April and be like rejuvenated in a better
head space, but he's had to because he's come back
kind of emote and go through it therapeutically a little
bit in front of us. And I think that's hard.
I think that's hard when you're dealing with a lot
of new feelings a little bit, you know what I mean.

(23:20):
I think he's coming to terms with a lot of
the stuff of where the cape's kind of been ripped
off of him a little bit, and how hard the
rehab must have been. And I just think perspective on
how hard this year has been on him, and some
grace that probably should be given to him because of
that is where I start.

Speaker 2 (23:41):
Obviously a lot of folks have taken this conversation and
advanced it to places where Joe was going to request
to trade this offseason and which team should be, you know,
pushing the other ones out of the way to go
ahead and trade for him. And he's gonna pull a
car Center, He's gonna pull and Andrew Luck. All of
that's seems to me to be premature, right, Yes, you agree, yes,

(24:07):
But but I do understand why people go there.

Speaker 4 (24:10):
Yeah, I mean, there's the reputation here over the law
I hall is earned, there's a history of it, and
people can literally reference another number one overall pick yeah,
who's done. Like I understand why it goes there. I
also understand that this is the NFL entertainment business. This

(24:30):
is how it goes. There is some preconceived notion, some
thing that that will fill airwaves and that has right,
I mean, It's like, why do people talk about Tim
Tebow so much?

Speaker 5 (24:43):
Thing?

Speaker 4 (24:43):
Why do people talk There's just there are certain things.
And since the day that Joe Burrow was potentially going
to become a bangle in twenty twenty, this has been
a thing of Joe Burrow doesn't want to be in Cincinnati.
And there is this idea, idea that at every turn,
whenever it can feel like you can say it, it's

(25:05):
gonna be said loud, and it's by a lot of people.
Is that Joe Burrows never gonna want to be Insincent,
he can't want to be in Cincinnati. I think that's
fueled by a lot of people with agendas across the
league that will help build that up. And whatever if
it's if it's networks, if it's shouty shows, if it's

(25:25):
whatever like that stuff that that does drive attention. He's
a star in a small market that has been forever criticized.
So yes, it's gonna be obvious people are going to
try to plant that seat a little bit. And so
I just think that's that's where so much of this
comes from.

Speaker 2 (25:43):
Yet Joe Burrow knows all that, Yeah, and so when
he offers this demeanor that is different than what we see.
He knows that, he knows where that's gonna go, and
he knows how it's gonna be consumed. So I think
then people go, well, he's he's using that platform to
send a message.

Speaker 4 (26:02):
Maybe, but that message can be misconstrued potentially. But I've said,
I feel like there's some version of smoke here obviously.

Speaker 5 (26:13):
Right after the game.

Speaker 3 (26:14):
Yeah, yeah, I don't. I don't think that there's there's
anything like that.

Speaker 2 (26:18):
But I also something's broken, Yes, like something between Wednesday
and Sunday. Your takeaway doesn't have to be he's going
to demand a trade or he's going to retire. My
takeaway is something's off, which, by the way, they're four
and ten, things are going to be off.

Speaker 5 (26:34):
But there is.

Speaker 2 (26:37):
I think we first suspected it on Wednesday and then
to me that game on Sunday, just how it looked,
not that they lost, how it looked like something's a miss,
something's fractured.

Speaker 3 (26:47):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (26:47):
I think I think it feels that way with with
where he's at and I and I think whatever he
was maybe trying to do on Wednesday maybe didn't come
across how he wanted, or maybe he just wants it
to be clear that.

Speaker 3 (26:59):
He's not happier. Maybe he didn't like how people were.

Speaker 4 (27:03):
Contemplating that he lost his edge because he was happy
to play with his friends and talked about that after
both Thanksgiving and Buffalo Yah, And maybe he wanted to
make it clear that I'm not happy with losing whatever whatever,
like you said, some version of the calculated.

Speaker 3 (27:19):
I don't know.

Speaker 4 (27:20):
I mean, none of us can pretend to be inside
a jumps He's a very unique dude. Yeah, and so
I can't say what his thing was, but you know,
you do get the sense that he probably didn't like
the way that it came out, and I.

Speaker 3 (27:36):
Think it was fitting or at least very notable.

Speaker 4 (27:38):
How he instantly said this was not about Cincinnati on Sunday,
to make it clear that, you know, I don't want
this to be about my teammates or the people in
this building. It's just whatever I'm going through. But yeah,
I do think he wants to make it clear I'm
not happy and that it's it's it's time and this
is what I wrote. It's time for this organization to

(27:59):
build this dude back up. Yeah, like they it is
their responsibility. I'm not putting it on Joe anymore. He
has done enough carrying, okay, and this dude has been
through it. It is time for this organization to finally
really build this dude back up and put a team
around him that can allow him to not feel like
he has to be perfect all the time and not

(28:20):
feel like the weight of the world is on him
all the time. He may still put it on himself
to some degree, but they just have to and if
they can't do it this year, then it's on them.

Speaker 3 (28:29):
Whatever hell happens next.

Speaker 2 (28:31):
You wrote last week about basically Joe Burrow the football genius.

Speaker 5 (28:35):
Good time, good good time.

Speaker 2 (28:37):
I know, I know that one didn't go so I
read that in the fourth quarter on Sunday.

Speaker 5 (28:42):
I read it.

Speaker 3 (28:43):
I know, I know it was bad time up to
this point.

Speaker 4 (28:48):
Up to this point, his ability to set protections and
and like diagnose everything that was going and then he
goes out and has maybe his worst game in that
regard that we've seen.

Speaker 5 (28:57):
I don't know.

Speaker 3 (28:57):
It's my fault. I take this is my fault. I'm sorry.
This is why we just shouldn't write anything.

Speaker 5 (29:02):
Okay.

Speaker 3 (29:04):
It's like you just shouldn't write anything. You know, like
it's immediately gonna be proven wrong.

Speaker 5 (29:07):
Apparently when when you say you stuff on the radio,
it just sort of goes away. For the last part.
You put that on the Athletic that that bad boy
Liz forever.

Speaker 3 (29:15):
I believe he will come back and still be good
at this. It was just a one off. It's just
a one off.

Speaker 2 (29:20):
Like, all right, I got more to ask you. It's
quarter to four. Paul Danner, Junior, the Athletic dot Com
on the Growler Podcast. He's here till four at Oakley Greens.
We were here till six on ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports.

Speaker 9 (29:31):
Station Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 7 (29:35):
Traffic from the UC Health Traffic Center u See Cancer
Center offers advanced surgical options for complex liver and pancreas cancers,
and clinical trials you won't find anywhere else. Get a
second opinion now call five one three five eighty five.
UCCC five past four now reopened from an earlier accident

(29:57):
at State Route one twenty nine. However, expect some re
svisual delays on in through there southbound seventy five. It's
an accident on the left shoulder between Union Center Boulevard
in two seventy five and that he's like with traffic
this report Paul Danner.

Speaker 5 (30:11):
Junior for another few minutes. We've reached the point of
the season.

Speaker 2 (30:14):
Why I watched games with my fingers because Joe Burrow
is gonna play. Yeah, anything that can change.

Speaker 3 (30:19):
That, I don't know. It seems like he's going to
do they want him to. He wants to, So I
think he's gonna play. By te Higgins, I don't know.

Speaker 4 (30:27):
I mean, the fact that he was back kind of
even in any capacity in practice, makes you think that
it's it's possible. I don't love the idea of him
going back out there the rest of the year, but.

Speaker 3 (30:42):
You know, we don't. We don't know. It's hard.

Speaker 4 (30:44):
It's hard to know right now with when you get
into concussion protocol stuff. But Sjamar Stewart, Yeah, I think
you're gonna see him soon.

Speaker 3 (30:51):
Yeah. I mean, if there's anything be kind of nice.

Speaker 4 (30:55):
If there's anything to get out of these last three weeks,
it's that dude needs wraps.

Speaker 3 (31:00):
Yeah, and so just put.

Speaker 4 (31:02):
Him out there and let him play a ton and
make mistakes and whatever, and just because the thing that
he's missing is.

Speaker 3 (31:11):
He just doesn't have any experience. He did.

Speaker 4 (31:14):
He didn't get any hardly in the offseason. He you know,
he was limited with it. It really been injured almost
all year. Let him go play and just what who?
The games don't matter anyway, Just get him a bunch
of snaps.

Speaker 2 (31:24):
Ye, speaking of letting guys play so they can make mistakes,
Genostone gonna be unchallenged last.

Speaker 5 (31:29):
Three games.

Speaker 3 (31:32):
At this point? What's the matter? Right?

Speaker 5 (31:33):
I kind of want to watch the last three games.
The Geno Stone plavors.

Speaker 3 (31:36):
That, Yeah, why not?

Speaker 5 (31:37):
No, why not? Just let him?

Speaker 3 (31:38):
Let him play?

Speaker 2 (31:39):
Zack Moss sounded off on the whole seat snow blowing thing.
He says, it's worse franchise and sports. Uh take us
back to how things end it with Zach Mowson. Should
he have an axe to grind?

Speaker 3 (31:52):
Uh? Yeah, I think he.

Speaker 4 (31:55):
I don't think he loved how everything was handled with
his next situation. I remember writing that way, but it
kind of feels like forever. Yeah, it was back in
the beginning of August. Wasn't that long ago? But yeah,
I mean, I don't think he loved the way things
were handled with his injury. And now when he talked

(32:17):
to me, he didn't go as far as to go there.
But you could tell that he wasn't super thrilled with everything.

Speaker 3 (32:25):
But I think he was.

Speaker 4 (32:26):
Also wrestling with like if his career was over or not.
And I also think there was a lot of stuff
going on there. So yeah, I mean when it ends weird,
then yeah, you're gonna have some kind of an extagrind.
But I don't that that one came out of left
field for me. I didn't didn't see I didn't see
the Zach Moss.

Speaker 2 (32:43):
No, from the top, I didn't think Zach Moss would
be somebody I ever talked about again, And nothing against Zach,
but I just figured I'd shove him away forever and that.

Speaker 5 (32:50):
Would be it.

Speaker 3 (32:51):
But back in our lives, back in our lives.

Speaker 5 (32:53):
No snow on the seats in the press box.

Speaker 3 (32:56):
Everything was fine. Yeah, it was great, actually really enjoyable
experience for me. Yeah, yeah, no issues, It must be
must be nice.

Speaker 2 (33:05):
It was nice that the chip ice off the seat
before you sit down and watch the game.

Speaker 4 (33:08):
Yeah, that was a pretty stunning one to walk up to,
like just to just to sit down and just be like, wait, yeah,
everything is covered. Yes, you know, it looked it was
pretty It looked Gorgo actually was and it's very aesthetically pleasing, Uh, misopportunity.

Speaker 2 (33:27):
I drove, I drove downtown. We did our show at
the Grail, you did yours. Next I saw you walking past.
You could not have looked more miserable and that cold,
and we talked about it on the air.

Speaker 3 (33:39):
Oh I didn't. Well, I knew, I knew.

Speaker 4 (33:41):
So I really wanted to go get a shot of
the river steaming because it looks cool.

Speaker 3 (33:45):
And I was like, I'm gonna go get the shot.
I don't care how cold it is.

Speaker 4 (33:48):
And then as soon as I started walking and I
heard your guys voices to the grail we saw you,
I was like, oh, no, they're going to say something. Yeah,
And I was that fine, you know what, say what
they want. I don't care.

Speaker 3 (33:57):
I don't care it is cold, so what.

Speaker 2 (33:59):
But anyway, so as coming down seventy five and turn
on to you know, second Street, you could see the
upper deck of the stadium and it looks like an
arena does when everybody gets a white T shirt at
their seats.

Speaker 5 (34:11):
Yes, it looked cool.

Speaker 3 (34:12):
That was my first thought. I said, Oh, are they
doing like a white T shirt? Playoff game? Truly?

Speaker 4 (34:16):
That was my number one my initial thought. And then
I looked close and I leaned in a little bit,
and I was like, that's all snow. Yeah, how about that?
All snow?

Speaker 3 (34:25):
Snow?

Speaker 4 (34:25):
How about that? Who knew? And then I had the
snarky tweet. Did you get to push back for that?

Speaker 3 (34:32):
No? I don't know. Maybe if there was, what are
you gonna say?

Speaker 5 (34:37):
Yeah, I mean, it's it's a fact. They didn't blow
off the seat.

Speaker 4 (34:39):
It was just it was just a fact. Here it
is welcome welcomings are coming to the game.

Speaker 5 (34:44):
Here it is.

Speaker 3 (34:44):
Here's you're coming in to the game. Here's your your
s sheets covered.

Speaker 2 (34:46):
And see here's the thing though, if you if you
know that that's going to be the case, you bring
in like bourbon, well Bourbon slush with snow on this.

Speaker 5 (34:55):
It's that's clean snow.

Speaker 3 (34:56):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (34:56):
At my house, whenever it snows like this and we're
stuck inside, my kids make snow cream. We go, we
get the ice cream and mix it up with like
the vanilla and the cream and everything, and you.

Speaker 3 (35:05):
Make like, that's what they should have done. They should
have had that.

Speaker 4 (35:08):
Yeah, everybody, we we left it on your seat so
that you could have a free ice cream at your seat.

Speaker 2 (35:12):
We have flavored snow dye. Yeah, problem is we left
the flavored snow dye sit outside, so it also froze, yeah,
and thus was not usable. My daughter was taking one
of the bottles of flavored frozen snow dye and like
like trying to like beat it against the cherry. What
you don't She's like, I'm trying to make it, you know,
liquid again. Yeah, Like that's that's really not how it works.

(35:34):
That's not how it works. Run into some hot water
for you. All right, Well, thank you as always. It
was pleasure, It really was.

Speaker 3 (35:40):
Yeah, thanks for having me. Thanks you for coming.

Speaker 2 (35:43):
Paul Danner Junior the Athletic dot Com covering the Bengals
the Growlar Podcast. Follow him at Paul Danner Junior and
UH eighty one degrees in Miami.

Speaker 4 (35:52):
On side going, I am going, all right, yes, I
have I have a book, Okay, I plan on being
near a pool Okay, I mean, and uh, I'm gonna
enjoy that and I'm gonna try to make the most
out of it.

Speaker 5 (36:04):
Nice.

Speaker 3 (36:04):
That's all I can do. And then you know, obviously
really gonna grind over the tape of this game.

Speaker 2 (36:09):
I will be in Greenville, South Carolina, for UC versus.

Speaker 5 (36:13):
Clemson OH game with major NCAA turn them.

Speaker 3 (36:17):
Absolutely please absolutely. Have you been?

Speaker 5 (36:19):
Have you been to Greenville?

Speaker 3 (36:20):
No? No, Well, I'm sure there'll be a great experience. Yeah,
it's not bad.

Speaker 2 (36:25):
Paul Danner, Junior at the Athletic dot Com. I'm sure
Greenville is lovely.

Speaker 3 (36:28):
It is.

Speaker 2 (36:30):
You talk about a team that has me salty. You
would do another hour? Huh No, No, you want to
do an you want to do a whole other hour.
I don't think it would matter whether I was here.
We would just mention that team and then you would
just go off for an hour.

Speaker 5 (36:43):
So I'll just leave and keep listening in my life
right now?

Speaker 3 (36:45):
Yeah, I know, all right.

Speaker 2 (36:47):
We're at Oakley Greens. Paul's leaving. We're here till six.
This is ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station.

Speaker 9 (36:52):
Ever ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 1 (36:56):
Oh, guess what day it is?

Speaker 3 (36:58):
Guess what day it is? Day? That's that's us.

Speaker 2 (37:11):
It's four minutes after four o'clock and this is ESBN
fifteen thirty. More legger, thank you for joining us. We're
at Oakley Greens. We're hanging out until six o'clock. A
great place to hang out after work, great place for
your holiday parties. And you know it's it's it's you
may have heard it's cold outside and gray and gloomy.

(37:31):
They have an outdoor bar here, but they've kind of
made a pseudo outdoor so you could still go outside
and you feel like you're outside, but you're really not outside.
So it's nice and warm, but you kind of feel like, well,
you feel like you're outside. That's I think maybe the
best way to put it. By the way, Bengals Dolphins
on Sunday, there's an Anthony Muno's meet and greet, which

(37:53):
is terrific and a phenomenal place to watch all the
college football playoff games. You got one on Friday, you
got three on Saturday. There's two NFL games on Saturday.
College basketball you see in Clemson on Sunday. You see
plays tomorrow night Xavier Creighton tomorrow as well in their
Big East opener. You could watch those games and so

(38:13):
much more. Of The TV situation at Oakley Greens is awesome.
Tons of very close by and convenient parking, free parking.
This isn't the sort of place where you have to
park like eight blocks away and shrudge through the snow
or the cold. Oh and by the way, and I
should have mentioned this at the top of the show,

(38:33):
if you come to Oakley Greens, my producer, Drew wester
Heidi will personally wipe off your seat. You know, we
talked about a different establishment the Tony and Moe Football
Show Clean Seat Guarantee. It extends to Oakley Greens. But
you know Drew all year long, he has gone above
and beyond. This is the first show that he has
produced on site, and he's offered a drive people home,

(38:54):
he's offered a park cars and today, if your seat
needs to be wiped off, Drew wester h he will
take care of that for you here at Oakley Green.
So just to ask, he does not want to tip,
He's not going to give you his venmo QR code
anything like that. He'll just wipe off the seat and
thank him and that's all he'll do. So there you
go here at Oakley Greens. He'll take care of that

(39:16):
for you. It will be well received. I maybe have
one half of a segment left in me on the
seat wiping down thing, which we'll.

Speaker 5 (39:26):
Get to a little bit later on.

Speaker 2 (39:27):
Plus we'll talk about Joe Burrow mentioned the Xavier game tomorrow.
Richard Patino was on our show yesterday. If you missed that,
go listen to it on the iHeartRadio app. Xavier is
playing well, five straight wins, creating in town tomorrow, and
you know, the market improvement over the last four or
five weeks from what that team was in early November

(39:49):
to what it's turned out to be here in mid
December and the Big East. There's a lot of wins
there to be had now from a talent perspective, probably
some losses to be had as well. But I think
if you're a Xavier fan, you're feeling like, all right,
the talent's got to get better, but we've got our coach.

Speaker 5 (40:05):
Just because of.

Speaker 2 (40:06):
How rapidly the Musketeers have improved from what they were
early in the season when they were losing to Santa
Clara and playing games that were closer than they should
have been against Marist and Lemoyne, the UC situation feels
like it's at the exact opposite end of the spectrum.
And Cincinnati has four losses and they have three non

(40:29):
conference games remaining, including one in South Carolina against Clemson.
Clemson last week played BYU in a game that was
I think the highest end college basketball game I have
watched this year. Go back to last season, the Bearcats
last season had one non league loss. They lost to
Villanova on the road. They had beaten Xavier, they had

(40:52):
beaten Dayton on a neutral floor, they had beaten Georgia Tech.
They had won at NKAU. Their only hiccup was a
pretty gnarly looking road loss to villanoven So at the
very least you knew they had losses coming their way
in the Big Twelve, only had one in the non
league portion of the schedule. This year's UC team has four,
and one of them's just bona fide bad loss at

(41:14):
home to Eastern Michigan. One of them's a not great
road loss to Xavier, and their performance on Saturday I
think might have been the most sobering of all of them,
where they had an eleven point lead with seven and
a half to go in the first half. By the
time halftime rolled around, the lead was gone and I
don't know anybody who at that point thought they were
going to win the game. And so it's four league

(41:37):
losses a game on Sunday, they will not be favored
in so they're staring five, staring down the barrel of five.
And if you know anything about how good the top
of the Big twelve has been, I don't know how
this gets better. I don't know how this gets better
to the degree it's going to have to for anybody

(41:58):
to feel good about the season, and for frankly wes
Miller to have a stranglehold on his job for lack
of a better way of putting it, Like I hear
the grumbling and understand the grumbling about wes Miller, that
the reality is like talking about whether or not he
gets let go is going to be almost pointless if

(42:20):
this continues. And I don't know how this doesn't continue,
and I mean the losing. This is a team that offensively,
You've watched him for six seven weeks, and I would
imagine you constantly ask like, what is this, what is
this supposed to be?

Speaker 3 (42:41):
What is this supposed to look like?

Speaker 2 (42:43):
Who are they supposed to throw the ball to in
close games down the stretch? Offensively, what is their identity
supposed to be? What is their rotation supposed to be?
They are metrically good defensively, I think eleventh in the
country in defensive efficiency acc the Kent Bomb, but it's
not like they're scoring off that defense. It's not like

(43:04):
they're turning you know, stops into quick offense. Then there's
the Big Twelve, and like I put this on social media,
on Saturday night, I watch Arizona and just one game,
one team, one example. I watched Arizona play on Saturday
against a good Alabama team. The game is played in Birmingham,
not Alabama's home floor, but still in Birmingham, and Arizona

(43:28):
wiped the floor with them.

Speaker 5 (43:29):
Like that is that is.

Speaker 2 (43:30):
The best seasons obviously very young. That is the best
single game, single team performance I've watched this season. Bearcats
play them, they play Iowa State and Texas Tech and
BYU and Kansas, and like, there's a whole host of

(43:51):
games that if you know anything about those teams and
you've watched the Bearcats so far, you give them almost
no chance of winning. And then a whole bunch of
fifty to fifty games in the Big Twelve where you
know they're not gonna win all of them, and so
then then you just you kind of do the math, right,

(44:13):
like I think most believe coming into the season, best
case UC would finish nine and nine in the Big twelve,
best case five hundred. Well, if they do that, that's
thirteen losses if you add the four they already have,
and then add to that, if they lose to Clemson
in the game, they will not be favored in, and

(44:35):
then whatever other losses that come their way in the
Big twelve. It is, and I hate to say this,
completely conceivable that a year that was gonna be judged
solely by whether or not the Bearcats make the NCAA tournament,
not only will they not come close, but they could

(44:57):
end the season with fifteen, sixteen, seventeen dare I say
eighteen losses? And so there's a ton of disaffection being
aimed at Wes Miller. I would think he would be
the first to understand that, acknowledge it, get it. Like

(45:20):
I'm sure it would be far from a surprise to
him if you said, Wes, there's a lot of people
who are pretty upset at you right now, who believe
that it's time for UC to move on. Unfortunately, it
just it feels like that has a very good chance
of taking care of itself. If you look at the record,
look at who they still have to play, and if

(45:42):
you've watched them play this year, like you could look
at the record and assume that they have a very
uphill battle to make the NCAA tournament watching them play,
though there just hasn't been, you know, the Skyline Chili
Crosstown shootout. You don't have to compare the two schools
constant when you talk about one, you don't have to
necessarily drag the other into the conversation. But what was

(46:05):
most striking about the shootout was over here with Xavier,
you had a team that is showing very visible improvement.
Don't need to be a basketball expert, and Richard talked
about it in on our show yesterday. They've made some changes,
made some lineup changes, made some rotation changes, but it's
a different looking basketball team, and it is a team that
is coalesced nicely. They don't turn the ball over with

(46:27):
the Bearcats. It's it's a team that I don't think
has gotten that much better at all, that's still very
much trying to figure out what their identity is and
who's gonna do what, who's going to slide into what role,
who can be counted on? And it's getting late early now.
I mean if you haven't done that by mid December. Okay,
time is really of the essence. Plus you already have

(46:48):
four losses, decent chance you have a fifth, and then
Big twelve play starts with UH Houston. Like this, it
feels like this could get out of control early, and
it did not do that last year because they took
care of business for the most part in the non

(47:09):
league portion of their schedule.

Speaker 5 (47:12):
I think even.

Speaker 2 (47:13):
By early February last year, we were still trying to
figure out what the pathway to selection Sunday with their.

Speaker 5 (47:19):
Name being on the screen was.

Speaker 2 (47:21):
I don't gather that we're going to be doing that
this year, and so I don't think right now it's
as much a matter of what's gonna happen with the coach.
It's how can with this coach this suddenly and almost
overnight and drastically improve, because for a month and a

(47:45):
half there's been pretty much no improvement to speak of.
And I hate to say that, like I hate to
say that, I looked forward to this season immensely. I
bought into the belief that, you know, even if last
year went awry, this year there's gonna be a little

(48:05):
bit more of a concerted effort to build a roster
where the pieces fit, and they just have yet to
And it's one thing to not have the pieces fit,
but you're still finding out ways to win games something
else entirely when you're losing games and losing the Eastern
Michigan and Xavier fans will be mad at me, but
losing to a not great Xavier team and in a
game that was there for the taking, and then in

(48:27):
the second half on Saturday in Atlanta against Georgia, just
over those final twenty minutes play large stretches where you
just weren't competitive. And so if this continues, that the
coaching thing is is going to take care of itself.
And then you know folks who are mad at John Cunningham,
it certainly makes sense like he's he's hired Wes Miller,

(48:48):
and Wes is just not very popular right now, and
I'm putting it very mildly. And Scott Sanderfield, you could
argue you had a decent year this year, but I'm
not sure there's a ton of faith that he's going
to be the I had to get this program over
the top. And then you're asking, Okay, does this ad
have what it takes to be able to fix problems
that have kind of unfolded on his watch. It's it's

(49:10):
a really tough and hard situation for him right now.
And uh, I wasn't completely as convinced as some word
that this was clearly going to be an NCAA tournament team.
In fact, my prediction for what it's worth was they
would play in Dayton. Can can you even imagine the
kind of improvement they would have to make and the

(49:32):
sort of games they would have to win just to
play in Dayton. It's it's hard to just, for lack
of a better way of putting it, it's it's it's
hard to. So we can spend some time on that.
Five point three, seven, four, nine, fifteen thirty. We have
two guests the rest of the way, including our guy
Sean Saya coming up at five twenty. A little bit

(49:54):
later on this hour, we'll talk about one of the
crown high school basketball jewels in the region that is
come your way at four thirty five.

Speaker 5 (50:02):
We have a lot to get to between now and
six o'clock.

Speaker 2 (50:06):
I'm gonna do one one more segment on the Snow
on the Seats issue on Sunday because.

Speaker 5 (50:16):
I gotta be fair.

Speaker 2 (50:18):
And I want to try to explain where I was
coming from when we talked about it for one segment yesterday.
We'll do that next on ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 10 (50:29):
Since this is Football in the Natti, brought to you
by Modern Office Methods.

Speaker 9 (50:35):
On ESPN fifteen.

Speaker 10 (50:37):
Thirty, the official home of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Speaker 2 (50:41):
Twenty four after four o'clock. This is ESPN fifteen thirty, Moegger.
We're broadcasting from Oakley, Greens We've got Reds news. According
to Ken Rosenthal and confirmed by Gordon Wittenmeyer of The Inquirer,
the Reds have agreed to terms on a one year
contract with lefty reliever Caleb Ferguson. Calen Ferguson has been
pretty well traveled. He was with two teams last year,

(51:03):
Pittsburgh and Seattle. Pitched in three games with the Mariners
in the postseason. Longtime LA Dodger lefty hitters batted just
one eighty four against him last year two twenty across
the course of his career. But he has always been
good at and obviously this matter is pitching a gabp.
He has always been really good at keeping the ball

(51:23):
in the ballpark. He gave up just two home runs
all season in over sixty five innings, and if you
go back, he's given up thirty two bombs in his career.
Eight of them came his first season with the Dodgers,
so he's been good at getting out lefties, been good
at keeping the ball in the ballpark. Obviously, the Reds
brought out Brands Sooners, so they have had a need

(51:45):
for a lefty reliever, needed another one. On top of
Sam Maull, Caleb Ferguson.

Speaker 5 (51:49):
And Ohio native.

Speaker 2 (51:51):
They got an Ohio native and free agency, which is
exactly what everybody wanted. Caleb Ferguson signs with the Reds
one year contract to pitch out of the Since and
Edie Bullpen, he has been used almost exclusively in relief,
made some starts with the Dodgers, but has spent the
last number of years with the Yankees, astros, Pirates and
Mariners used exclusively in relief. Phone calls are coming up

(52:15):
here in just a second. We spent one segment on
the issue on Sunday with the Bengals not wiping the
snow off the seats, and I've watched people fight about
this on social media. I'll just I'll do this. I'll
put it to you this way. Number One, I think
the Bengals have for the most part, and I'm a

(52:36):
season ticket holder. I did not go to the game
on Sunday because my daughter had a basketball game and
I wanted to be there for that, so I didn't go.

Speaker 5 (52:45):
But I love going to Bengals games.

Speaker 2 (52:48):
There are times where things happen at games, and I'll
talk about them, like when the escalator doesn't work. I
think that sucks. But for the most part, I think
when it comes to like fan engagement, the in game experience,
working at the stadium, they're really good, and for years
I thought they weren't. I think that has been a
sharp departure from what the Bengals used to be over

(53:09):
the last I don't know, eight or nine years. I
think going to a Bengals game, it's a good environment.
I think they're really good at policing drunk fans, fans
who are there to ruin everybody's good time. Like I think,
the Bengals game experience is usually really good. So I
know folks who saw what happened with the snow and

(53:31):
it was their excuse to gratuitously wail.

Speaker 5 (53:34):
Away at the Bengals. I don't do that now.

Speaker 2 (53:37):
When I see things that I think are interesting or
relatable to the audience that they deserve criticism for, bring
it up, Bring it up. I thought part of what
happened on Sunday is explainable, maybe to a degree excusable
in terms of not being able to handle the crowd.

(53:57):
Like I think there were some technology issues and staffing
issues there that were a little beyond everybody's control. I
think that's also a scenario where more people show up
at the exact same time than a normal game because
not as many people tailgated because of the weather, or
a lot of folks tailgated and decided screw this, let's
at least go in. And so I think that, on

(54:18):
top of the number of open entrances, was unfortunate. I
don't think anything nefarious went on there. I think that
was just a series of rough circumstances. In terms of
the snow being wiped off the seat, again, I didn't
go to the game. Had I gone to the game,
if the snow is on my seat, I would have
wiped it off.

Speaker 5 (54:35):
No big deal.

Speaker 2 (54:37):
But let me just ask this, isn't it cool when
someone does something nice for you. When my wife and
I moved to the West Side of Cincinnati, we lived
downtown and we had our daughter, and we wanted we
moved to the west side because my wife's a West Sider.
For a few different reasons that are not important now.

(54:58):
When we lived downtown, I didn't have a snowshovel. I
don't have a snow blower. I don't have salt. We
didn't need it. We lived downtown. So we move in
early January, like the first Saturday afternoon year's we move,
and the next day at snows and I remember that morning, like, dude,

(55:19):
I'm totally unprepared. I run to home depot to get
a snowshovel, and I remember the guy like at home
depots laughing at me. U and I come home and
by the time I do, my neighbor had shoveled my driveway.
I was perfectly okay shoveling my driveway, but this guy
was doing his knew we had just moved and thought

(55:41):
I'm gonna do something cool for the neighbor. It took
him ten minutes. He went above and beyond. This is
really nice of him. Didn't need to do it, but
it was much appreciated because it's it feels good when
someone kind of goes above and.

Speaker 5 (55:54):
Beyond to do something nice for you.

Speaker 2 (55:55):
A few weeks ago, my wife or her birthday, we
went to dinner at a place in Hyde Park and
I'm not mentioning their name because I can't remember the
name of the place. But it was a good meal.
The short rib lasagna was amazing. I made a seven
to fifteen reservation. We got there for a reservation. They
were a little bit backed up. And that happens on

(56:16):
a Saturday night. Like I've worked in restaurants, Like sometimes
you show up and you're gonna have to wait a
few minutes because people take longer to eat, they linger
that sort of thing.

Speaker 5 (56:25):
So we wait, No big deal.

Speaker 2 (56:27):
We hang out, wait for like ten minutes, get our table,
and the host says, hey, manager wants to give you
guys around the drinks for waiting, and it's like, Nah,
don't dude, stop and it's like, no, what we want
to do. Didn't have to do it, did it? Because
it's nice to do things for people, and it's nice
when you're the recipient of something where the people who

(56:48):
give it to you go above and beyond. The Bengals
on Sunday did not put anybody in physical harm. I
don't believe anybody was put in physical harm. I don't
think anybody ud safety was compromised. Most people who went
to the game probably had no major issue wiping the
snow off their seats or chipping ice off their seats,

(57:09):
even if it was a minor inconvenience. But would you
rather walk up to a seat where the snow is
cleared for you, or where you have to clear the snow?
I thought it was pretty damn cool when my new
neighbors shovel my driveway for me. Deep down inside, I'd
rather somebody shovel my driveway for me than me have
to do it myself, even though I'm perfectly okay doing

(57:30):
it myself. It was an opportunity missed during a period
of time where the weather stinks, team's not very good.
People are still showing up, and you had a chance
to go above and beyond for them, and you didn't.
I think to a degree, that's taking your customers for granted.
It doesn't mean the Bengals don't care about their customers.
It doesn't mean that the Bengals are an awful organization

(57:52):
you may feel they are. I say this as a
consistent customer. I'm going back next year, and I've hated
this season because I like going to football games and
I typically have a good experience. All that was on
Sunday was a chance to show some effort and go
slightly above and beyond to help ensure to the best
that you could the comfort of your fans.

Speaker 3 (58:13):
That's it.

Speaker 5 (58:14):
So like I've had people say to me, like, dude,
I had no problem brushing off the snow.

Speaker 2 (58:17):
Cool, but wouldn't have been kind of nice had you thought, Man,
somebody showed up early this morning brushed off the snow
for me. That for me, it's nice when people do
nice things for you. It's nice when people do nice
things for you that you could have done yourself, but
that they did for you. Or it's nice when someone
does something nice for you to show you some degree

(58:38):
of appreciation or just show some degree of kindness. On Sunday,
Bengals had a chance to go above and beyond, demonstrate
some kindness, make people feel good about the experience going to.

Speaker 3 (58:51):
The football game. That's it, that's all.

Speaker 2 (58:54):
And honestly, I don't know how you could disagree with
what I just said. We're gonna preview one of the
premier high school basketball events in the country. It's going
to be in Cincinnati and will take some phone calls
coming up as well on ESPN fifteen thirty, Cincinnati Sports Station.

Speaker 10 (59:08):
You've been listening to football in the NATI on ESPN
fifteen thirty, the official home of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Speaker 9 (59:20):
Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 7 (59:24):
second opinion now called five one three five eighty five UCCC.
On westbound State Route thirty two, there's an accident between
Harold and Bauer Road that has got the right lane

(59:46):
blocked off southbound seventy five. An accident on the left
shoulder in Ohio between Union Center Boulevard and two seventy
five expec delays on at Ezelak with traffic.

Speaker 9 (59:56):
This report is sponsored by super Sure Do You Thin So.

Speaker 5 (01:00:02):
Quickly?

Speaker 2 (01:00:02):
Sports Headlines and service to Kelsey Chevrolet, home of lifetime
powertrain protection and guaranteed credit approval from their family to
yours for life Kelsey chev dot com. Reds have reportedly
agreed to terms with free agent lefty reliever Caleb Ferguson,
who pitched last season with the Pirates and Mariners. Caleb

(01:00:25):
is thirty years going to be thirty years old during
the season next year. Spent most of his career with
the LA Dodgers. Lefty batters betted one to eighty four
against him last year. Cincinnati also announcing today their Hall
of Fame class of twenty twenty six Brandon Phillips, Aaron Harang,
Reggie Sanders, and Lou Panela induction ceremonies the weekend of
April twenty fourth, twenty fifth, and twenty six. College hoops

(01:00:48):
Tonight Miami is taking on Right State Tonight, Dayton battles
Florida State Hockey. The Blue Jackets skate against the Ducks.
We'll talk some high school hoops next on ESPN fifteen
to thirty.

Speaker 10 (01:01:00):

Speaker 7 (01:01:04):
Traffic from the UC Health Traffic Center. U See Cancer
Center offers advanced surgical options for complex liver and pancreas
cancers and clinical trials. You won't find anywhere else get
a second opinion now called five one three five eighty
five UCCCE On westbound State Route thirty two, there's an
accident between Harold and Bauer Road that has got the

(01:01:25):
right lane blocked off southbound seventy five. An accident on
the left shoulder in Ohio between Union Center Boulevard and
two seventy five expec delays. I'm at Ezelach with trap.

Speaker 2 (01:01:36):
Of the best high school basketball events in the country
is going to be happening again shortly after Christmas, the
twenty seventh and twenty eighth of December. It's going to
be at the Centa Center on Xavier's campus. Twenty two
elite teams taking part in the fourth annual Beacon Orthopedics
and Sports Medicine Holiday Hardwood Classic.

Speaker 5 (01:01:58):
This is a great event.

Speaker 2 (01:02:00):
We talk about it every single year and Rich Newman
helps put on this event. He joins us as he
does every year. It's like a rite of passage. It's
like an annual tradition. Rich, that's the verbage I'm looking for.
Good afternoon, Rich. Awesome to have you as always.

Speaker 3 (01:02:14):
How are you.

Speaker 11 (01:02:16):
Good, afternoon, I'm doing great, and thanks again for having
me on it. Seems like these years keep rolling more
quickly into each other. And I guess that's when you're
running out a runway like I am. I guess that's
what it seems like.

Speaker 2 (01:02:32):
Well, I guess so's it's a great event. It happens
every year two days twenty two teams at the Centa
Center tell folks what will be happening December twenty seventh
to twenty eight.

Speaker 11 (01:02:43):
Well, really excited about the field this year.

Speaker 6 (01:02:47):
I tally it up this.

Speaker 11 (01:02:49):
Year we're going to go over now for the four years,
we will have over fifty schools having participated in this
event since its inception, and the line up is strong.
Who's got Mount under Dame versus Belbrook from Dayton on
Saturday to kick things off or tip things off, and
then Boy Sycamore versus the sal Newport versus Lebanon Princeton

(01:03:15):
versus Cathedral coming over from Indianapolis.

Speaker 6 (01:03:18):
That's going to be a huge game.

Speaker 11 (01:03:19):
And we'll circle back to why it's become even huger,
if that's a word. Anderson versus now Healthy Taylor versus
Holy Cross from Comington, two really good small school programs.
And then on Sunday we start with another girl's game,
Milford versus Lakota East. We have Milford Boys versus Cincinnati
Hill's Christian Academy. Probably the best game in the field

(01:03:46):
is next Princeton versus Wittonwood's Girls. So we've got the
returning undefeated D two state champs playing the D one
runner up last year in a state tornament.

Speaker 6 (01:04:00):
So that's going to be.

Speaker 11 (01:04:01):
A real, a real great game for people to see.
Best two matchups Wyoming Small School versus Centerville always a
perennial power in the Dayton area.

Speaker 6 (01:04:14):
And across the state.

Speaker 11 (01:04:15):
And then Mason versus McNicholas is the night cap on Sunday.
As I said, we're really pleased with the caliber of
a play we're going to have again this year.

Speaker 2 (01:04:27):
So it's two days. It's at the Cintas Center. Daily
tickets are thirteen dollars in advance. Got a holiday Hardwood
Classic dot com. You can get day of event daily
passes at the Cintas Center box office. Those are sixteen dollars.
You also have for this year. First time this year,
the participating schools are engaged in a friendly sales competition.

Speaker 5 (01:04:51):
Ticket sales competition. Tell us about that, Well, we.

Speaker 11 (01:04:54):
Decided that we want to do what we can to
give back to the community as part of this event,
and we are having what is a friendly competition and
all the schools are going to participate and the school
each day that sells the most advanced tickets minium of

(01:05:15):
one hundred and fifty will have a five hundred dollars
donation made on behalf of the Holiday Hardwood Classic to
either their booster club or the.

Speaker 6 (01:05:23):
Charity of their choice.

Speaker 11 (01:05:25):
And another wrinkle in that is also Jay your season
ticket holders if they purchase through the specific ticket link
on our website for Xavier season ticket holders, fifty percent
of the revenue generated from those ticket sales is going to.

Speaker 6 (01:05:43):
The All for One fund.

Speaker 11 (01:05:45):
So we're trying those two things not only to gym
up ticket sales, but also to be able to get
back to the community.

Speaker 2 (01:05:53):
All right, tons of games all weekend long, all day
and night on Saturday, all day and night on Sunday,
the Beacon Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Holiday Hardwood Classic at
the Centa Center the weekend after Christmas. This is an
awesome event. Is there anything else we need to know?

Speaker 11 (01:06:12):
Well, I obviously have to give a shout out to
our presenting sponsors the Rosa's Skyline show at Home City.
I's back again for year four, and our immediate partner
is Fox nineteen, the Cincinnati Enquirer and you guys ESPN
fifteen thirty and everybody at iHeart the only other thing.
I always wind up our interview with or.

Speaker 6 (01:06:33):
At least inserted somewhere.

Speaker 3 (01:06:34):
MO.

Speaker 11 (01:06:35):
I saw Bruce three times, I just saw. I saw
Bruce three times in twenty twenty five.

Speaker 6 (01:06:39):
How about you?

Speaker 2 (01:06:41):
I saw him zero times in twenty twenty five because
I did not go overseas need him to play Stateside.

Speaker 11 (01:06:47):
I saw him in May and Philly at citizens Benang
Park and a rescheduled show.

Speaker 6 (01:06:52):
And again, I.

Speaker 11 (01:06:53):
Could be I could be wrong, but I think I
smiled probably last.

Speaker 6 (01:06:57):
Year I saw him a Pittsburgh trying the rescheduled show. Anyway, right,
Bruce is the Boss, and you and I share that love.

Speaker 2 (01:07:05):
We share an affinity for the Boss. I saw the movie,
I've watched the doc. I need to see a show
in person in twenty twenty six. He's got to make
that happen. And if so, Rich, I'm sure we'll touch
base and be there together.

Speaker 11 (01:07:18):
Sounds great, Mo, You know, listen you have a great
holiday season, and thanks again for having me on.

Speaker 6 (01:07:22):
Really appreciate it.

Speaker 5 (01:07:23):
You got it.

Speaker 2 (01:07:24):
The Beacon Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Holiday Hardwood Classic December
twenty seventh and twenty eighth at the Cintas Center. You
can get tickets now daily passes thirteen dollars in advance
at Holiday Hardwood Classic dot com. You can get him
a day of game sixteen bucks at the Cintas Center
Box Office. Twenty two elite teams playing across two days

(01:07:45):
twenty seventh and twenty eighth at the Cintas Center. It's
eleven away from five o'clock. One more guest between now
and six, and you and I in between on ESPN
fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station.

Speaker 9 (01:08:01):
Out here, every holiday gift should.

Speaker 2 (01:08:03):
Be won, though you as the NBA Cup Tonight rematch
with the nineteen ninety nine NBA.

Speaker 5 (01:08:10):
Finals the Knicks and Spurs, and.

Speaker 2 (01:08:16):
Chance to bring a championship home to New York for
the Bakers, first since seventy three, but maybe not their
lastest basketball season. The NBA Cup prestigious, prestigious event. And hey, look,
I'm just answering a question, Okay, is the only game
going on the night is some college games a Dayton
Florida State, really good Miami team Travis Steals team got

(01:08:37):
four votes in the AP Top twenty five Pole. RedHawks
take on Wright State tonight Louisville and Tennessee Battle, which
should be a great one.

Speaker 5 (01:08:45):
But you could really feel the entire country.

Speaker 2 (01:08:48):
I think they're expecting like football playoff game type ratings
on Amazon Prime Time for the NBA Cup Title game,
and you could certainly understand why we got a few
minutes seven fifteen thirty. Mike, go ahead, you're on ESPN
fifteen thirty.

Speaker 8 (01:09:06):
Thank you, Mom, You're welcome, Thank you, Thank you.

Speaker 12 (01:09:10):
Mo.

Speaker 6 (01:09:11):
Yeah, you were.

Speaker 8 (01:09:11):
Talking about earlier about oh yeah, guy, that doubled your driveway.
It was such a nice Well, that's how I feel
about you, because you let me on your radio show
all the time, and I really appreciate it.

Speaker 3 (01:09:24):
Very very kind of you to say, well, it's true.

Speaker 8 (01:09:27):
Hey, Drew, I hope you're doing well.

Speaker 6 (01:09:29):
I love Drew.

Speaker 3 (01:09:30):
Drew's a good dude.

Speaker 2 (01:09:31):
Mah, Drew, Drew, Drew's doing great right now. He's wiping
seats off for people.

Speaker 3 (01:09:36):
Thanks Mike.

Speaker 8 (01:09:36):
Yeah, that's when you know your football team's in trouble
when you start talking about wiper.

Speaker 2 (01:09:42):
Truth, Mike, do you think anybody would care about the
seats having snow on him if they were.

Speaker 5 (01:09:47):
Ten and four?

Speaker 8 (01:09:49):
Oh no, I don't disagree, not even clothes. But god,
I got so many things I wanted to talk to
you about. I'd like you to get this college basketball
real quick. Okay, Uh, UC's got to quit drafting guys
named Baba and Jizzle and Drizzle and Boo boo and haha,
and they got guys. I'm trying to be funny. Obviously

(01:10:14):
it's not, but they.

Speaker 2 (01:10:16):
Don't draft at college and I couldn't care what their
names are. They need guys who could play. They need
big twelve caliber guys. They need NBA guys like dude,
call it what it is. Need NBA players, eight guys
who have like a legitimate NBA future, And like Mustapha
cham came over from UCF and I've seen him on
NBA mock draft boards. He's not played like an NBA player.
Maybe Baba Miller would be Baba Miller I think has

(01:10:38):
been for the most part, a bright spot. I'm not
sure what they're supposed to be offensively, Mike, Uh and
I think the frustrating. The frustrating thing is a lot
of us have been saying that now for a while.

Speaker 8 (01:10:51):
I'm lost because I know you and Tony were very
high on this team preseason. You were high on this team.

Speaker 2 (01:10:58):
Yeah, I was high.

Speaker 5 (01:10:59):
I was high on him.

Speaker 2 (01:10:59):
From perspective, I thought last year they attempted to just
accumulate talent and they couldn't make the pieces fit. I
felt like this offseason there was more of an effort
to build a roster, and maybe there was, but it
hasn't resulted in a team that looks appreciably better than
the pieces than a team of pieces that didn't fit
last year.

Speaker 8 (01:11:19):
No, and as I said, that's how I felt before
the season started. I really think Patinos team will have
a better record than you see by the end of
the year. Even with what he doesn't have anything to work.
This guy is one heck of a basketball coach.

Speaker 2 (01:11:35):
Yeah, what I think, let's call it what it is.
I think there's more winnable games in the Big East,
in the Big Twelve.

Speaker 5 (01:11:42):
That's it.

Speaker 2 (01:11:44):
Get mo U season the Big Twelve and so yeah,
I think Xavier is going to win more games because
I think there's more winnable games in the Big Twelve.
I would have a hard time believing that Xavier is
good enough to beat Yukon. I don't think they're good
enough to beat Saint John's. I could be dead wrong
about that, but there's a whole lot of games in
that conference where you're like, yes, Zavier could beat them.

(01:12:05):
There's a lot of games in the Big Twelve where
it's frankly hard to imagine the Bearcats pulling off a victory.
And you couple that with the rate of improvement. If
that continues for the Musketeers, then I think it's fun
to think about where that team might be in a month.
I don't think it's far fetched that aught to suggest
the Musketeers are going to end up with more wins
than the Bearcats.

Speaker 8 (01:12:25):
I think the future looks bright for Xavier with him,
and I'm happy about that Coach cow down there, Razor
back Heaven has got one hell of an energetic, great basket.
They have played the most brutal schedule I've ever seen
a team play, other than Denny Crumb back in the

(01:12:45):
eighties pre conference. This is a dangerous basketball team, though, and.

Speaker 2 (01:12:52):
They are no I can't disagree. I would have to
hold their schedule up. I know Arkansas has played, beat
a really good Texas Tech team, beat a good Louisville team,
they played Duke yukon schedule has been insane. Kentucky's schedule
has been murderous.

Speaker 5 (01:13:11):
I believe Arkansas played in Michigan.

Speaker 2 (01:13:15):
State and they lost that game, if I'm not mistaken
by five or six points.

Speaker 3 (01:13:22):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:13:22):
Look, I've not seen Arkansas play beyond a few minutes
of the Louisville game and a few minutes of the
Duke game. But John Calipari seems to I don't want
to say reborn, but the staleness that was very evident
towards the end of the UK does not appear to
be an issue in Fayetteville.

Speaker 3 (01:13:41):
No.

Speaker 8 (01:13:42):
In Texas, texa really good club. In the first half,
Texas Tech dominated and they came out in the second
half Arkansas and just smoked them.

Speaker 6 (01:13:51):
It was crazy.

Speaker 8 (01:13:53):
Can I get to a quit Joe comment if you
don't mind.

Speaker 5 (01:13:56):
Very quickly up against the top, go ahead.

Speaker 8 (01:13:59):
Okay. Austin made a comment today that he didn't really
care if we had He didn't think it made a
big difference some draft time. If we had between a
nine and a fifteen pick. I beg the differ because
I think there'll be so many quarterbacks going early in
the in the first round that and we need defenders.

(01:14:19):
So I think I'd read much rather be at nine
than fifteen. But what worries me about Joe is I
think this is the worst season that he's had to
encounter since he's been here. And I have no idea
if that's getting to him. It could be, but it
is the worst season since Joe's been here, and I

(01:14:40):
just worry about history repeating him itself, which is negative.
Back to Carson, I don't want this to happen, but
I'm worried. I'm worried about the whole deal.

Speaker 2 (01:14:50):
Yeah, I think there's always a level of concern about
where your franchise is headed when it's going through a
season like this, and then you add two history, and
you add to it what messages were being sent intentional
or otherwise by the quarterback to it, and yeah, it
creates concern. I'll address more of that when we come back. Mike,

(01:15:11):
good to talk to you, as always.

Speaker 8 (01:15:13):
Thank you, Moll.

Speaker 5 (01:15:14):
All right, Top of the Hour, five o'clock ESPN, fifteen thirty.

Speaker 10 (01:15:17):
This is fifteen thirty wcqby the fifty thousand lot orange
and black home of the Cincinnati Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 9 (01:15:27):

Speaker 7 (01:15:31):
second opinion now called five one three five eighty five
UCCC westbound State Route thirty two. There's an accident between
Harold and Bauer Road that has got the right lane

(01:15:53):
blocked off right now a three minutes the laid back
from Batavia Road northbound seventy five after Liberty Way, another
accident and cheby At Road accident and you're jess up.
I'm at ezelak with traffic.

Speaker 1 (01:16:04):
This week, the Bengals and Dolphins meet up in Miami
for a South Beach showdown. Speaking of the beach, my
swimsuit of choice is a speedo European style. I don't
like those ESCI cadlves. The Bengals stool the Dolphins get
the call live from Dan Lloyd and Dave Lapham. The

(01:16:24):
game picks up at won DM with covered starting at
nine am Sunday. Stream for free are the new and
improved iHeartRadio app or ESPN fifteen thirty. The official home
of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Speaker 3 (01:16:39):
Is that is ho Yes five All five, ESPN fifteen thirty.
Good afternoon on my legs.

Speaker 8 (01:16:45):
Thank you so.

Speaker 5 (01:16:45):
Much for listening today. We are broadcasting from Oakley Leeans.

Speaker 2 (01:16:49):
And it is the bud Light five o'clock Happy Hour
on ESPN fifteen thirty one. Bud Light Sounds. If you're
a Bengals fan, you're a Cincinnati sports fan. Lots of
folks have wallowed in the pity of being a Cincinnati
sports fan over the last.

Speaker 5 (01:17:02):
Week, and like I get it.

Speaker 2 (01:17:04):
There are exceptions, Like you know, for instance, if you're
an NKU basketball fan, NK, you's playing really well right now.
In fact, tomorrow night they've got a Teddy Bear toss
event their game against Oakland. Darren Horn's team is really
fun to watch, pretty good time. If you're an NKU fan,
a Xavier basketball is playing really well right now. But
if you're a if you're a Bengals fan, you're you're

(01:17:25):
dealing with the muck of Sunday, the uncertainty about Joe Burrow,
a season that has just been frankly miserable. The Bengals
or the Reds didn't get Kyle Schwarbert. They did get
Caleb Ferguson, a free agent from Ohio, a lefty, but
bad like good good pickup, good signing they needed a lefty.
I think he's an upgrade from brent Souter, and we

(01:17:45):
all like brent Souter. You see football petered out, you
see basketball's not going roll right now. So you're a
fan of those teams like me, You can use a
nice cold bud light right now, easy to drink, easy
to enjoy, even when your sports teams aren't doing well.
So enjoy an ice cold bud light, and better yet,
enjoy it. At Oakley Greens. We are here till six o'clock.

(01:18:07):
We love the staff and the vibe at Oakley Greens,
the bar and the food, and.

Speaker 3 (01:18:15):
It's awesome here.

Speaker 2 (01:18:16):
And I was gonna say, get outside to play some
mini golf, but I'm not sure I want to do
that right now. We love Oakley Greens. A lot of
ground to cover between now and six o'clock. Our guy
Sean Sayad is going to join us. A few things
let's start with Joe Burrow and then we'll get to
what Dana wrote about today for The Athletic about the
changes the Bengals will not be making. I certainly think

(01:18:41):
there's been a lot of sort of silly conversations about
Joe Burrow in the aftermath of last week and Sunday.
I was listening to Bill Simmons podcast this morning, and
they were talking about Joe Burrow playing for the Giants
next year. Joe Burrow is probably not going to play
for the New York Giants next year or anybody else,
and he's probably not gonna retire. If you had to

(01:19:03):
wager an amount of money that matters to you on
what Joe Burrow is gonna be doing in September of
twenty twenty six, you would put it on him playing
for the Cincinnati Bengals. And you would put it on
him playing well for the Cincinnati Bengals, because that's been
his track record. And so I am like most in
that I roll my eyes when I see Ah he's

(01:19:25):
gonna pull a Carson or he's he's gonna pull an
Andrew Luck, Like, stop short of that, stop short of that,
we don't know. We don't you don't know that. I
stopped short of imagining which teams could overwhelm the Bengals
for a trade, because I I just don't think, and
I could be dead wrong. None of us are qualified

(01:19:46):
to get in Joe Burrow's head, But I don't know
that we have to take the conversation there quite yet.
I do think it is completely reasonable to wonder what's up.
I do think it is completely reasonable to wonder, if
the losing continues, how is this gonna play out? If

(01:20:09):
this keeps going the way it has been this season,
how's this gonna go?

Speaker 5 (01:20:15):
I know there are some among.

Speaker 2 (01:20:17):
Us for whom these conversations are difficult. You love Joe Burrow.
I love Joe Burrow. You're a Bengals fan. I'm a
Bengals fan, and it may make you uncomfortable to even
think that there's a level of dissent or dissatisfaction that
could eventually rise to the level of maybe Joe one

(01:20:40):
day deciding that I don't want to play for the
Bengals anymore. And by the way, maybe that comes at
the end of his current contract.

Speaker 5 (01:20:48):
Who knows.

Speaker 2 (01:20:51):
Joe tried to ease people's concerns on Sunday, and I
think I don't think did a very good job, quite frankly,
because we solemn heard what he said on Wednesday of
last week. We saw the body language. We also saw
how he played, So we'll say, we'll see how it
looks and how he plays over these last three games.
I would just ask this if if you think that

(01:21:13):
Joe Burrow conversation is too silly to even have, and
you know this is not worth talking about because everything's
going to be fine, Okay, I hope it is, trust me,
I hope it is. But what would make Joe Burrow
different from any number of players who have come before him? Like,

(01:21:34):
I don't know that I have to recite all the names. Frankly,
I probably don't have time to recite all the names.
But there's a very long list of Bengals players who
have at some point, and sometimes even after the fact,
but at some point, expressed frustration or unhappiness with the franchise,

(01:21:55):
a long list of players who have asked to be traded,
who have tried to engineer an exit in one particular
noteworthy instance, threatened to retire, or have held out or
have held in like player discontent. The Bengals are far
from the only team. But player discontent, player unhappiness, player exhaustion, exasperation,

(01:22:25):
player reaching a mental point of no return. Those are
all things that, unfortunately, are part of this franchise's history.
I've been following this team since I was eight years old.
That was a long damn time ago. I spent a
lot of time as a kid listening to my dad
talk with his friends about the latest player who didn't

(01:22:45):
want to be here. We have been having these conversations
for quite a while, so of course, his frustration and
possible reasons for frustration, those are gonna be fair game.
Those are gonna be up for discussion. You have a
quarterback who, for the most part, has been everything the

(01:23:08):
Bengals ever could have asked for, who plays a position
where he's judged almost entirely by how much does he win,
Who has more at stake when it comes to this
team's on field fortunes than anybody else, who doesn't have
forever to play, doesn't have decades of a career in

(01:23:28):
front of him, probably has maybe at best a decade
in front of him.

Speaker 5 (01:23:34):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:23:35):
Yes, if the losing continues, if things behind the scenes
are unfolding in a way that he finds off putting
for lack of a better way of putting it, What
would make him different from anybody else that he wouldn't
reach a point where he goes, I don't want to
do this anymore. By the way, you can decide I
don't want to do this anymore and simply let your

(01:23:57):
contract go, let your contract expire, Like that's possible.

Speaker 5 (01:24:01):
You know.

Speaker 2 (01:24:02):
My guess is that if Joe Burrow plays at a
high level over the next couple of years, they will
come to him and say like, Hey, we've got a deal,
but how can we extend it? How can we keep
it going? How can we pay you past the age
of thirty three? And Joe may go, hell, yeah, let's
do it. Want to be a Bengal for life. Joe
may also go, e, I'm good. And if he does that,

(01:24:23):
you're going to start to wonder about, well, is Joe
Burrow going to leave here when he can now?

Speaker 5 (01:24:27):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (01:24:28):
There are mechanisms like franchise tags and things like that.
We've seen a lot of cherished and beloved players passed
and present who have had issues with the Bengals, like
those long drawn out contract negotiations. Those are issues a
result of issues players have had with the Bengals, and
they have been resolved. Usually money resolves issues like that,

(01:24:51):
or winning can resolve issues like that. But I guess
my question would be for those who feel like this
conversation and the speculation about Joe Burrow overblown. Number one, Yeah,
some people have had overblown takes. Some people have inflated,
uh this story to the degree that they have Joe
Burrow playing for another team next year. Again, I don't

(01:25:13):
think that's gonna happen. But when you have a franchise
that has a history of players who have expressed unhappiness,
why would we discount the possibility that Joe Burrow could
eventually be one of them? Five point three seven, four nine,
fifteen thirty. Why would anybody and and not just Carson

(01:25:36):
Palmer like at various points, whether it's Chad Johnson, whether
it's Joe Mixon, whether it's Trey Hendrick, Zim Carl Pickens.
If you want to go back a long time boomera size,
I remember how things ended in Cincinnati Boomer size and
nineteen ninety seven, and a whole lot of other players

(01:25:56):
who maybe aren't as well known Corey Dylan, like this
franchise where there has been a track record of players
just going, dude, I don't want to be here anymore.
And some have staged very acrimonious standoffs with the team,
and some have been very public in their frustration. Some
have been I don't know, public, but they've they've kind

(01:26:18):
of made people read between the lines, like dude. There's
a long line of players who at some point have
decided like I'm done here. Maybe it's financial, maybe they
don't like the coach, whatever it is. So of course
it's on the table with Joe while the losing continues

(01:26:39):
until then, until they're winning again, and until Joe Burrow
is a major reason why they're winning, and until his
seasons results in the team having a legitimate chance to
play for a championship, and until his best games aren't
being wasted. I don't know how you don't consider the
possibility that it's point Joe Burrow decides I don't want

(01:27:01):
to play for the Cincinnati Bengals anymore. I'm not, And
I don't think anybody should jump to any conclusions about
where he's gonna go or what he's gonna do in
the short term, but like, why you know, folks saw
his demeanor and body language last week and made a

(01:27:22):
big deal about the fact that he says, well, this
has got to be fun. Like, wouldn't you be more
surprised if he said he was having fun? Wouldn't you
be more surprised if he's like, hey, he's gonna having
a blast, Like you're having a blast being the face
of a team that this year is going nowhere. You're
having a blast in the year another year where you
had to have surgery.

Speaker 5 (01:27:42):
So I just.

Speaker 2 (01:27:45):
We folks can be irresponsible with this, and god knows,
I've seen it, and I've seen headlines and I've seen
shouty show segments where people are saying crazy things about
where Joe is going to be and what he's gonna do.
All I know is this, the team team isn't winning.
He has the most to gain and lose by not winning,

(01:28:05):
or the most to gain by winning and the most
to lose by not winning. I guess I should say
he plays for a team where there's a long list
of players who have been like dude, this is There
have been coaches who have done that, like folks who
have expressed frustration if there's frustration. Some may decide to
live with it. I know a lot of folks who
are frustrated with their job but don't leave. Joe may
get frustrated channel it into great performances. Joe may get

(01:28:27):
frustrated and make compromise his performances. But when you have
a franchise with a history of players who have been
you know, I don't know if I want to do
this anymore. I don't know that you should ever exempt
Joe from considering that possibility. See Sean sayat Stats and
Scheme newsletter coming up. Paul Danner Junior joined us in
the first hour of the show and wrote a piece

(01:28:47):
today for The Athletic about the likelihood of their being changes,
which spoiler alert, I want you.

Speaker 5 (01:28:55):
To go read it. You're not going to walk away
from it.

Speaker 2 (01:28:57):
Feeling like the Bengals are going to make any wholesale
changes in terms of firings people losing their job. So
the question becomes, how do you change if you're not
firing people. I'll try to come up with an answer.
Coming up in twenty minutes on ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports.

Speaker 10 (01:29:14):
Station Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty traffic.

Speaker 7 (01:29:20):
From the UC Health Traffic Center. U See Cancer Center
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I'm at ezelic with traffic.

Speaker 9 (01:29:52):
This report is.

Speaker 10 (01:29:53):
This is Football in the NATI, brought to you in
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fifteen point thirty is the official home of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Speaker 2 (01:30:06):
I either touched in or said something very interesting, or
folks just want to hear themselves talk instead of me,
And you cannot blame them for that because our lines
blew up during the break. We will get to everybody,
but first our guys. Sean sayat he of the Stats
and Scheme newsletter from sumer Sports dot Com, Sean, how

(01:30:27):
are we doing well?

Speaker 8 (01:30:29):
I'm doing all right.

Speaker 13 (01:30:30):
You know, unfortunately we got another another time. I'm talking
with a Bangals team not going to be in the playoffs,
but you know, I'm finding a way to get through.

Speaker 5 (01:30:39):
Can you give me any advice on how to get through?

Speaker 13 (01:30:43):
You know, hopefully whatever music Jo Brow's listening to maybe
not that music. I know he's not a field the
best right now, and I don't blame him kind of
considering what happened on the field this weekend.

Speaker 8 (01:30:52):
But you know, I think you come look forward to some.

Speaker 13 (01:30:55):
Small improvements on defense. Maybe it'd be hard to get worse,
I think next season, and then you're hoping an offense
that comes back fully.

Speaker 3 (01:31:02):
Healthy and ready to go.

Speaker 2 (01:31:03):
Can I ask a stupid question, Oh, the Bengals this
season have been historically bad at covering the.

Speaker 3 (01:31:13):
Middle of the field.

Speaker 2 (01:31:14):
When you watch the teams that are good at covering
the middle of the field, what do they do that
the Bengals don't.

Speaker 13 (01:31:19):
I think a lot of teams are any more resources
to it. So if you're having like four players underneath
since the three, that's going to be one difference. Also,
playing linebacker in the NFL is so sub hard. So
the best offenses are finding the exact ways to make
it too hard for that player to cover the rock
and cover the pass. So I do think there is
a little bit at the player evaluation level where you

(01:31:41):
know you're hoping for I think, just better players at
those spots. But it really does feel like all of
these things combined, where the linebackers, you know, not feeling
to play out correctly, where they're really really biting in
the wrong direction, something is going the other way. So
I do think there's a combination of play field, maybe
a little bit of the design. But yeah, I don't
have to have to show you too much film to

(01:32:03):
know and to tell you that it's been a little
bit tough watching the Bengals linebacker as at time this season.

Speaker 2 (01:32:07):
When you watched the Bengals offense this weekend, critically, what
was missing?

Speaker 13 (01:32:13):
No, I think the high pressure situation that's really tough.
You go three or for fifteen on third downs. You
missed that fourth down as well. Of course that high
ball in that third and five interception, that's a really
really tough situation. You have the pick six where cool
play on defense, but you just have miscommunications for the
offensive lot. So it did feel like the Bengals were
moving the ball like decently at times. Right you have

(01:32:35):
the fourth down myths and that interception that are happening
in Raven's territory overall, So it just felt like every
single high leverage moment was going against you. Where you're
now on offense that is totally funneled through one receiver
obviously when t Higgins is out, So.

Speaker 8 (01:32:50):
Just felt like your margin for error was.

Speaker 13 (01:32:51):
So soaked in and you just didn't get the lights
out hundreds percentile Borough performance that you know sometimes has
carried the Bengals to win so far.

Speaker 2 (01:33:00):
You like nerd out on film watching the NFL? Which
are the offenses do you love watching the most?

Speaker 13 (01:33:07):
The Bears offenses is super super fun. Watching what Ben
Johnson's doing there is I think it's getting to the
special level where it's like him morphing his identity and
changing things. And this is like the most offense are
not always just the best here just asking me the
most fun, Like what I see from them is has
been really really cool. I think the way the Packers
have changed things a little bit up over the last

(01:33:28):
few weeks has been a lot of fun. Sean mckday
with the Rams and just being like they dictate the
terms of engagement to defenses. They say, we're gonna make
you play exactly the way we want you to play,
and we know exactly how to beat it. So those
offenses are really really fun. The last one, just because
I mentioned the Jacksonville Jaguars, I think over the last
few weeks have been pretty pretty cool just from a
design perspective, like they are making things crystal clear and

(01:33:51):
easy for Trevor Lawrence and it just happens. You know,
is the ball gonna end in the wide open guy's
hands or not?

Speaker 2 (01:33:57):
When you nerd out and watch other teams defenses, which
one do you like watching the most?

Speaker 5 (01:34:02):
Is the answer?

Speaker 3 (01:34:02):
Not to Houston Texans, I mean.

Speaker 13 (01:34:05):
The Texas is that's not a nerd out. That's like
a visceral, like the core of my human spirit. Like
those guys are big, they're fat, and they are they
are really fun. I do think from this comatic perspect
that absolutely you have things like the Minnesota Vikings where
guys are rotating in different directions, just like at the
weirdest of weirdest ways. I think the Sea Offs are
a really good example of a team who you're gonna

(01:34:27):
play on their terms like we're gonna play with our
five defensive backs no matter what you do. I actually
think the Rams have been pretty fun on defense. Then
you have the Eagles defense of the cander just really
really well coached. So you know, I can imagine if
only watched the Bengals games, it might be a little
bit less fun. But a lot of good things out
there in the NFL.

Speaker 2 (01:34:45):
There are, and we get to pay attention to them
even more closely since the Bengals and I'll be paying
playing out the string.

Speaker 5 (01:34:52):
Shawn. Awesome to have you as always. We'll talk next week.

Speaker 3 (01:34:55):
Thanks so much.

Speaker 8 (01:34:56):
I appreciate it.

Speaker 2 (01:34:57):
Subscribe to Shawn's newsletter these Stats Ands Newsletter. Get it
at suomer sports dot com and check out sumer Brain
while you're added. Sean is the absolute best, all right,
we have Ron and John Dave in that order. Next
on ESPN fifteen.

Speaker 10 (01:35:14):
Thirty, 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 Traffic.

Speaker 7 (01:35:33):
From the UC Health Traffic Center u SE Cancer center
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Another accident westbound US fifty that's between Cooper Avenue and
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Speaker 3 (01:36:05):
This report is sponsored Bison Lyser's.

Speaker 2 (01:36:07):
Service, Kelsey Chevrol home of lifetime power train protection and
guarantee left approval from their family to Georgshire Lights, Kelsey
chef dot com. Lefty Caleb Ferguson reportedly a one year
contract with the Reds, originally reported by Ken Rosenthal. Pitched
with the Pirates and Mariners last season. Left He's batted

(01:36:27):
one to eighty eight against him. He keeps the ball
in the ballpark. I'm not sure if you think the
Reds are gonna win like eighty one games next year,
you think they're gonna win ninety one because they got
Caleb Ferguson, but they did need a left the end
of the bullpen. He's not all that bad. Reds Hall
of Fame class in twenty twenty six announced today Brandon Phillips,
Aaron Harang, Reggie Sanders, and Loopanela Hall of Fame Induction
weekend April twenty four, twenty five and twenty six. College

(01:36:50):
hoops tonight locally Miami takes on Wright State, Dayton host
Florida State. Also tonight hockey Jackets and Ducks on the
ice because they play hockey on ice really quick. I'm
gonna I'm gonna devote more time to this tomorrow because
I think it's a good question. So Paul Dayner Junior

(01:37:10):
wrote a piece The Athletic and it's the base. The
basic crux of it is there are three games to go,
and so things could change, but as of right now,
you should probably not expect massive changes. And I think
the one takeaway for me is that if they fire
Al Golden, maybe Zach Taylor is gonna be willing to

(01:37:30):
go along with him because he doesn't want to escape
go to his defensive coordinator. So but right now, I
think most of us just understanding how this franchise operates
expects Duke to come back, Zach to come back, Al
Golden to come back, most of the main particulars to
come back.

Speaker 5 (01:37:44):
We'll see.

Speaker 3 (01:37:45):
We'll see if the next three games influence that at all.

Speaker 2 (01:37:47):
Austin asked today, if the people aren't gonna change, how
the process change now? I'm gonna outline really quick and
we'll do more of this tomorrow because I want to
get to folks who have been waiting. There are things
that can happen, but that doesn't necessarily mean those things
will happen. You can change your process. The Bengals have

(01:38:08):
done this, like they embraced free agency in ways that, frankly,
for this franchise were unprecedented in twenty twenty.

Speaker 5 (01:38:17):
Now.

Speaker 2 (01:38:17):
They kind of had to because the team was so bad.
They finally were gonna have a franchise quarterback in Burrow
who was really worth building around, like that money to spend.
They didn't have a lot of good players. It kind
of had to embrace free agency, but they did. There
was a little bit of a shift there, and you know,
they changed their policies. It relates to long term contracts
and negotiating with players before they have more than before.

(01:38:39):
They have only one year left on there did Like
people do evolve, organizations do evolve. I do this show
differently than I did when it first started. I'll do
this show differently five years from now that I do
it today. People do evolve in processes can change, and
so I think one thing that's interesting to think about
and talk about is is there true alignment between the
coaching staff and the person department. Because I'm gonna guess

(01:39:01):
the answer is no, that's got a change. Can that
change without firings?

Speaker 5 (01:39:06):
It can? Will?

Speaker 2 (01:39:07):
It completely reasonable to not sure it will. They can
they shift in how they in what they prioritize when
they evaluate college prospects, Whereas next year it's Shamar Stewart
type versus a guy who's put a lot on tape
but might not have the measurables last year and in
the past the Bengals have like the measurables. Now, maybe

(01:39:30):
they value what's actually put on tape, right like, maybe
they do change how they negotiate contracts with players and
get out in front of dudes like DJ Turner. You
can change by not firing, by hiring, Trust me, Nobody
expects this to happen. But what if they added more
analytics people, what if they added more scouts? Like, there's

(01:39:50):
ways for it to happen. And so I think Austin
hits on something that's really important, and I will spend
some more time on this tomorrow. All Right, everybody's gonna
come back. How is everybody gonna do their job differently
in a way that's better and yields better results. I
do think if you press Zach Taylor, honestly, he would
tell you he was not on board with the approach

(01:40:11):
that Duke Tobin in the front office took with this
team this past offseason, Like, wait a minute, we're not
gonna address our defense.

Speaker 5 (01:40:18):
I would be willing to bet that.

Speaker 2 (01:40:19):
Zach Taylor was not a fan of the protracted contract
situations with Trey Hendrickson, with t Higgins, with Jamar Chase.
Those things have to change. You've got to decide, like
we're not gonna do these long drawn out contract negotiations anymore.
We're gonna get out in front of things and we
trade Trey Hendrickson, Right, I think there are ways to

(01:40:40):
change without firings. I am as skeptical as anybody that
those changes will happen to the degree they need to.
But yeah, I think it's possible, and I think it's
the central question facing this organization. Austin put this on
Twitter and he's dead He's dead on how do the
same people change, and with that change, how do they

(01:41:04):
yield better results? I think there are ways that can't happen.
Like you, I'm sure, I'm skeptical that it will. More
on that tomorrow. I hope I did a good job
of getting through that because I said I would on Twitter.
Thanks to those of you who have decided to chime
in and are waiting. I will try to get to everybody.
Ron you're on ESPN fifteen thirty wrong, go ahead, you're

(01:41:27):
on the radio now talk.

Speaker 14 (01:41:31):
Hey, mo.

Speaker 15 (01:41:33):
I'll be tuning in because I have to hear what's
going on with how they how you can fix things,
because after all, as we know, the definition of insanity
is doing the same thing over and over again. And
that's as we know as Bengals fans, that's how the
Bengals operate.

Speaker 2 (01:41:51):
Yeah, I mean, look, it's it's not unprecedented for the
Bengals to keep people in place and then see those
people change how they do things.

Speaker 5 (01:42:01):
I mean it is.

Speaker 2 (01:42:02):
It is possible. It's possible in any workplace. I don't
have a ton of faith that it will happen. But
that becomes the central question of the off season, which is,
all right, everybody's gonna come back. How do they do
their jobs differently in a way that yields better results?

Speaker 12 (01:42:19):
Yeah?

Speaker 6 (01:42:20):
I just don't know.

Speaker 15 (01:42:21):
And mo I asked Santa for a new front office
and a new coach, and I guess he's gonna let
me down.

Speaker 8 (01:42:28):
It sounds like.

Speaker 15 (01:42:28):
But I have something else that could be a miracle
that as Karen's a Buckeye fan, he might appreciate this.
I laughed when I thought of this thought. The Wolverines,
let's say they don't get any of their coaching and
prospects that they want. They definitely would pay Zach Taylor
more than the Bengals they're paying. What about Zach Taylor

(01:42:50):
and Al Golden packing up ship and heading to ann
Arbor to take over that sinking ship.

Speaker 5 (01:42:58):
Why would you want to take over a sinking ship?

Speaker 15 (01:43:02):
Well, low expectations.

Speaker 5 (01:43:06):
Yeah, can I take Joe Burrow with me?

Speaker 15 (01:43:10):
Well, you know, Zach Taylor supposed to be a quarterback whisper,
so he might be able to Keith Bryce Underwood under
contract there with the Wolverines and get them back on track. Hey,
I'm just trying anything I can to get rid of
these folks.

Speaker 5 (01:43:23):
Now.

Speaker 2 (01:43:26):
Well, the last time I saw the last time I
saw Zach Taylor on a college coaching staff, he was
leading the Bearcats to thirteen consecutive scoreless quarters as offensive
coordinator in twenty sixteen. So I think the AD or
whoever the hell is going to be hiring the coach
would have to ask about that. It's an interesting thought.
I would I would not count on Zach Taylor's talking

(01:43:47):
the sidelines in ann Arbor, but I do appreciate the effort.

Speaker 5 (01:43:50):
Ron. Thanks so much.

Speaker 7 (01:43:52):
Mo.

Speaker 15 (01:43:53):
Are you going to be gone for Christmas management next
week or what should I expect?

Speaker 2 (01:43:58):
All right, I'll give you this schedule ready. I'm off
Thursday and Friday of this week. I will be with
Tony on Monday. I'll be here at Oakley Greens on Tuesday.
I'm off on the twenty fourth. We have the Sports
Talk Year in Review show that airs on Christmas even
Christmas morning. I'm off on the twenty sixth, but working
for Lance at night. I will work on the twenty

(01:44:19):
ninth and the thirtieth, and then I'm off to Memphis
for the Bowl game.

Speaker 15 (01:44:24):
All right, sounds good, MO, appreciate it. I want to
wish you a happy Holidays in case I don't talk
to you.

Speaker 5 (01:44:29):
Merry Christmas, okay, Ron you too.

Speaker 2 (01:44:32):
Thank you for listening and calling in In twenty twenty five, Ian,
you're on ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 14 (01:44:37):
Good afternoon, Hey brother, Hey man. I called Tony and
Austin and you know I said this sentiment, but when
you're talking, it just strikes the cord where I just
want to reiterate, like we all were talking, like I've
talked to you a couple of weeks ago. The whole

(01:44:58):
template is there from like before the draft and how
they just get and don't react.

Speaker 8 (01:45:09):
And you could go through in numerative things.

Speaker 14 (01:45:11):
From our perspective, we're not in the room, so we
don't know exactly what they could attack to change like
you're speaking of, and but there's a couple of things
that we can look at and it's like very obvious.

Speaker 9 (01:45:26):
But what I think has to.

Speaker 14 (01:45:28):
Happen is they need to be honest with themselves and
throw the ego out the window and say like, look,
how we just you know, sat on our hands when
we were negotiating these kinds.

Speaker 3 (01:45:42):
You can't do that.

Speaker 14 (01:45:43):
It's like granual, it's glacial movement.

Speaker 8 (01:45:47):
It's too slow.

Speaker 6 (01:45:48):
It's out of touch.

Speaker 14 (01:45:50):
They need to look at this template from all the
things that went wrong and you pay these these the
money for these contracts, and you don't want to pay
that much, but then you end up spending more money.

Speaker 8 (01:46:04):
Right anyway, they were.

Speaker 14 (01:46:06):
More preemptive and start looking at the key core issues
with is it like not having the correct people at
looking at the draft process the addition of the couple
so six now is that even enough? You know what
I'm saying, Are those the right people?

Speaker 6 (01:46:27):
Two?

Speaker 15 (01:46:29):
How do you hit on offensive guys?

Speaker 14 (01:46:32):
But you have such a huge problem with defensive pickups?

Speaker 8 (01:46:37):
We need to.

Speaker 14 (01:46:38):
Get at minimum three key guys.

Speaker 8 (01:46:41):
We talked about this last early in the spring.

Speaker 14 (01:46:46):
They need to actually do that or you are gonna
piss Joe off Man. He's did Mike Brown tell him
to tank the season and that's why he's all a mess.
I wonder that's it and I want go on and on.

Speaker 2 (01:47:01):
I would imagine the answer to that is no, Ian,
Thank you so much. A small example would be, all right, duke,
with your personnel people in the draft this year if
and I just used this example a few minutes ago,
but it's it's it's one that can apply to the
answer to this question. If that makes sense, We're gonna

(01:47:22):
draft Chamar Stewart or Donovan Azraku. He was a kid
from Boston College. Now where he was on their draft board.

Speaker 5 (01:47:30):
I don't know.

Speaker 2 (01:47:30):
Shamar Stewart insane traits, right, but didn't put a lot
on tape. By the way, Shamar Stewart may still end
up being a really good player, but okay, they drafted
him because of his traits and they were willing to
overlook what some of the things he didn't do on tape,
versus a player like Donovan Azraku who might not have
had all the measurables, but you watch the tape and

(01:47:52):
the dude got to the quarterback.

Speaker 5 (01:47:53):
So there's a philosophy here.

Speaker 2 (01:47:56):
We're gonna we're gonna prioritize the measurables, or we're gonna
draft based on you know, things that don't necessarily show
up when you watch football. Now, you know what we're gonna,
We're gonna, We're gonna change. We're gonna evolve. Now, we're
gonna side with or we're gonna draft based on what
we see on tape. I don't know that I'm putting
this in the most articulate way, but we're gonna prioritize production,

(01:48:18):
and if that means we're gonna take a guy who's
a half inch smaller, a tick slower, maybe doesn't put
up the same combined numbers at work. Okay, but when
we watch football, when we watch tape, we pop the
tape one.

Speaker 5 (01:48:30):
Of the guys making plays. Maybe maybe that's what they do.
I don't know.

Speaker 2 (01:48:34):
But if you're asking like, how can you change if
you keep the same people, that is a small example,
but it's not an insignificant one. John, thank you for
your patience. You're on ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 12 (01:48:46):
Hey Mo, thanks for taking my call. I do agree
with Ron as far as comparing the Bengals to insanity.
They're smart people. They know what they're doing. They're not
going to change. They don't have to change. They're happy
with the outcome, and that's fine. It's their their franchise.

(01:49:07):
I want to change subjects a little bit. I think
a better comparison for Joe Burrow is the career of
Matthew Stafford. Stafford really struggled big time for years in Detroit,
and he goes to the Rams finally and he gets
his ring. He might get another ring this year. I
think after a few years more of this, Joe will

(01:49:30):
feel the same way that Matthew Stafford felt. So can't
blame him. Who wants to be another Dan Marino.

Speaker 2 (01:49:39):
It's a great question. If I was Joe Burrow, I
would be looking at Matthew Stafford. I think it's a
it's a very good point. I would be looking at
Matthew Stafford and going, you know what, Matthew went to
a place where he's getting elite coaching. Coaching in this
league matters. Trevor Lawrence. Trevor Lawrence is getting it. Daniel
Jones got it before you know, he got hurt like you.

(01:50:00):
Trevor Lawrence had always been working amid this really unstable environment.
Now he's got Liam Cohen good offensive mind, like it
feels like coaching is bringing out the best of him.
I think Daniel Jones you can apply the same Baker
Mayfield to a large degree in Tampa. Your circumstances matter,
Your coaching matters. If I was if I was Joe Burrow,
in the back of my mind would be am I
getting the best possible coaching? Or is there a situation

(01:50:24):
like the one Matthew Stafford is in Los Angeles?

Speaker 5 (01:50:27):
Help?

Speaker 2 (01:50:27):
Maybe it's replacing Matthew Stafford in Los Angeles if you
want to really want to get crazy. But I think
it's all encompassing. Is this the best environment for me
to win? And that includes coaching and includes the front office,
It includes player acquisition, it includes player development, and includes
a lot of different things. I think for a guy
like Joe, everything's on the table. I appreciate the call man,
thanks so much.

Speaker 12 (01:50:47):
Thank you, Taren.

Speaker 5 (01:50:49):
How are we on time? We're out of it.

Speaker 3 (01:50:53):
You have to go.

Speaker 5 (01:50:55):
Well.

Speaker 2 (01:50:56):
We want to thank the staff here at Oakley Greens
one of the things Drew wester Heidi for producing on side.
I want to thank our guy Taran for producing in Kenwood.
We're done shows over, gotta go have a great night.
This has been the butt light five o'clock happy hour
and the end of a sterling performance by me on
ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports.

Speaker 10 (01:51:13):
Station, Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty traffic.

Speaker 7 (01:51:27):
On eastbound two seventy five. An accident has got the
right lane blocked off. That's between four to seventy one
and the Combs hail Bridge. Southbound seventy five at Shepherd Lane.
It's a hit skip accident and Montana Avenue accident at
Westwood Northern Boulevard. I'm at Ezelic with traffic this report

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