12/24/24 - The Mo Egger Show w/ James Rapien

Merry Christmas Eve! James Rapien from Bengals Talk filling in for Mo Egger

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Bengals battle the Broncos. Coverage starts Saturday at noon
on ESPN fifteen thirty, the official home of the Bengals.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
What's up Well from in Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty. A
Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas Eve, Happy Holidays. Hopefully you're having
a wonderful day with your loved ones. I'm James orpen
Infra Moegar. It's the Moegar Show on ESPN fifteen thirty,
with you till six o'clock, and there's a lot of

(00:31):
Bengals I want to get to and if you're bouncing
around in your car, it's Christmas. We're going to keep
it light. We're going to keep it fun. I'm not
going to discuss coaching futures or this player should be this,
or this player should be that. We're not going to
go here because it's Christmas Eve, and so get ready
for some positivity. You like positivity, This is the show

(00:53):
for you, with you till six o'clock. If you're unaware,
I'm James or pen I used to work with mo
for quite some time and now they let me pinch
hit for him here and there. And if you're looking
for more of my work. Check out Bengalstalk dot com,
the Lockdown Bengals podcast, Cincinnati Bengals Talk on YouTube, and

(01:15):
there's this growing social media press and presence and it
has to do with the Bengals. And honestly, if you
would have told me when the Bengals came off the
field on December first, like James, look, I know that
they just lost to the Steelers forty four to thirty eight.
I know Russell Wilson just cooked them. But on Christmas Eve,

(01:38):
you're going to be filling in for Oegar, Tarren Bland
is going to be your producer, and the Bengals are
still going to be in the playoff hunt. I would
have said, you're a liar. You're a liar. Because they've
lost three straight games. There's no way they could rebound.
And yet the Bengals have a chance of rebounding. Now.
It isn't a great chance, but it is a chance.

(01:58):
And that's what I'm going to focus on here. Because
Joe Burrow is playing like an MVP, not a really
good quarterback, an MVP. He has. He has already set
one Bengals record this year, on pace to set multiple others.
But actually two Bengals records.

Speaker 3 (02:18):
This year.

Speaker 2 (02:19):
He has thirty nine touchdown passes, which is the most
in Bangals history. He's surpassed four thousand passing yards for
the third time in his career, which is the most
by any quarterback in number of seasons. Andy Dalton did
it twice, Carson Palmer did it twice. Joe Burrow has
already done it three times. He's setting all sorts of
NFL records, the latest of which two hundred and fifty

(02:40):
plus passing yards and three touchdowns in seven straight games.
No quarterback in NFL history has done that. The point
is is Joe brow has been a joy to watch
all season long, but over the past seven weeks he
has been amazing. And that's where I'm focused, Like I'm
really focused on the positives. Like I get it. They
played the Cowboys, who are the best of the three

(03:01):
teams they've played over the past three weeks. When the
winning streak started the past two weeks, it's the Titans
and the Browns, And I get that, I understand it.
And yet I look at this Bengals team and I
can't help but think, oh, well, they do have a chance.
And that's not where expectations were coming into the year.
They know that. I know that, everybody knows that. You
know that, certainly, and so a disappointing season, but some hope.

(03:28):
And as we sit here on Christmas Eve, the thing
that I think about when I think of Joe Burrow
is that if he gets into the postseason, if there's
any remote chance that he gets in, the Bengals should
like his chances as much as anyone against anyone. And
that could be Tom Brady coming out of retirement, that

(03:50):
could be modern day Peyton Manning. That could be Patrick Mahomes,
that could be Josh Allen, that could be Lamar Jackson,
that could be insert whatever team that you think is
better than the Bengals. Fine, not gonna debate you on
the teams. What I'm saying is is in a one
and done scenario, the last thing I would want to
do is have to deal with Joe Burrow. I would
not want to deal with that guy. That guy is
a thorn in the side of everyone. Don't believe me?

(04:15):
What you should James Erpenin FROMO today here on Christmas Eve?
Why should you? It's pretty simple. He took this team,
a team that has been bad for most of the year,
and they are suddenly seven to eight and in the
playoff race. On Christmas Eve, they have a must win opportunity,
a game that means a ton five days from now,

(04:38):
five days from now at pay Court Stadium. It's gonna
be Joe Burrow versus bo Nicks. It's gonna be Zach
Taylor versus Sean Payton. It's gonna be the Bengals versus
the Broncos. And that's a heck of a test. Joe
Burrow may have his worst game of the year. That's
a really good defense. But the reason they are here
is because the Bengals have an awesome quarterback and that

(05:00):
is a huge positive. That is something and Zach Taylor
mentioned this last week. That's something that so many franchises
wish they were at. They wish they had that problem
of oh man, we have this really highly paid quarterback
and we got to build around him. It's the best
problem to have. We have this awesome leader that does
everything right and works really really hard, and man, oh man,

(05:20):
when you have him in the building, there's a pressure
to win and there's a standard, and he's going to
get frustrated and he's going to push. Zach Taylor said
that last week, and it's true, and you know what
it is. It is a privilege to have that in
the NFL because there are so many teams, some that
the bank Bengals are banking on to get in the postseason,
banking on winning over the next few weeks, that have

(05:42):
you at quarterback. They have nothing at quarterback. It is
zero And when you go to the building week in
and week out with nothing at quarterback, those teams get lost.
This team didn't get lost. They found themselves in the
middle of December, and the energy in the locker room
has changed. More on that coming up later this hour.

(06:02):
But the point is is when you have Joe Burrow
and you have a puncher's chance, you should feel at
least semi optimistic. At least I do. Maybe I'm in
the minority, but I think about this Bengals team, where
they've been, how ridiculously bad the defense had been, how
bad they were in one game, one score situations, how
bad they were down the stretch of games. No matter

(06:25):
what Joe Burrow did, they're two and seven and one
score games still. So closing has been an issue, but
Joe has been the steadying presence. Joe has been the
one that has just found away to keep them afloat,
found away, and now they look that You look up
and they're seven and eight. I'm not sure if they're

(06:45):
going to beat the Broncos. I'm not sure if they're
going to beat the Steelers. Both of those teams are
playing for a lot sore two tough games. In reality,
the Bengals shouldn't be in this position. They should have
handled business against the Patriots. They should have handled business
in Week three against the Commanders because they couldn't force
a punt. They should have handled business the following the

(07:07):
next home game that they had when they were one
in three playing the Baltimore Ravens. They should have handled
business in Kansas City in Week two when they outplayed
the Chiefs for most of the game. The bottom line
is they've put themselves in this position. No one's saying that,
no one's defending them, and there's plenty of changes that
need to be made this offseason. It isn't the off season,

(07:28):
it's the in season, and the Bengals kept their season alive.
It is alive, and when you have Joe Burrow, there's
reason to believe if you have insert quarterback, random quarterback
that's good but not great. Like if Jared Goff was
the Bengals quarterback, I wouldn't be in. I wouldn't be in.
I'd be like, eh, we know how this ends. I

(07:49):
don't know how this season ends for Joe Burrow and
the Bengals if they get to the playoffs. I don't
because it's a flawed roster. They had their issues, but
they also have Joe Burrow who can overcome said issues.
They also have Jamar Chase who can help overcome said issues.
They also have a game wrecker and Trey Hendrickson who
at times can wreck games. And so when you have
those pieces, T Higgins just name their four best players,

(08:12):
and then you have veterans like Mike Hilton that have
been there, done that, veterans like bj Hill that have
been there, done that. You can talk yourself into it. Now,
the Bengals need to get in the dance to start dancing.
The Bengals need to find a way to win the
next two. They need to get some help. But overall,

(08:34):
do I like where they're at compared to where they
were twenty one days ago, compared to where they were
after three straight losses, three straight one score losses to
the Ravens, Chargers and Steelers. Absolutely, absolutely, I like the
fight I've seen from this defense. Lou Anarroumo in company,
James Rpine, by the way in from Oh Merry Christmas Eve.

(08:58):
It is unbelievable to think that this defense has been
as good as it's been over the past couple of weeks,
even against the crap They've played a quarterback. You force
nine turnovers, you get some confidence. You got Mike Hilton
saying he's the best blitzer in the league. You have
Geno's Stone saying I got my swagger back, and you
could check out his Twitter slash x if you want

(09:22):
to check out that video that he posted. He said,
oh I got my swagger back because he has interceptions
in three straight games. Don't worry, I'm not going to
sing to you. The point is is they've made it interesting.
And Most says this a lot on his show. I'm
familiar with it. Of course, what does he root for?

(09:43):
What do we all root for when it comes to sports,
when it comes to entertainment, But you want to be
interesting and you want to be entertained. The Bengals have
been entertaining all year long, even if it means playing
so poorly that you're like, oh my god, I can't
believe they can play that poorly on defense, or tackle
that poorly or block that poorly, or turning over again

(10:03):
right there in that moment, and yet they have a
lot to play for. Saturday Night football is essentially what
it is, four thirty Saturday, Bengals, Browns. It's going to
be our Bengals Broncos. Excuse me. The Bengals just beat
the Browns to earn this step. And by the way,
what does Saturday mean. Saturday means the Bengals have to

(10:25):
beat the Broncos to earn another meaningful game. That's where
they're at. That's why they put themselves in position to
do for better or worse. So for me, I want
to look at it, I want to analyze it, and
my analysis is they got here somehow. It's an exciting time.
It is, even if today today is disappointing. If you

(10:47):
would have told me in September that they would be
seven and eight going into Christmas, I would say, well,
that's a huge disappointment, and there's no doubt it is.
But context matters. The How Matters. They're seven and eight
after rattling off three straight, and suddenly they're in the
playoff race. Suddenly there's reason to believe. Can they keep
it going? If they do, Joe Burrow's going to be

(11:08):
a big part of that. You know it, I know
we all know it. It's Christmas Eve. We're just getting
started here on ESPN fifteen thirty. I'm James Repine in
for mo. We will keep the Bengals conversation going coming
up next. Stay tuned and be safe out there. I
know you're traveling. Keep it locked right here.

Speaker 4 (11:24):
On ESPN fifty, Bengals wide receiver Jamar Chase continues to
chase greatness. Welcome back into ESPN fifteen thirty. I'm James Rapine,
and this is the Moeger Show. Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas Eve,
and welcome into Cincinnati's sports station. Shout out to Tarren
Bland for producing today's show. Let's continue the Bengals conversation

(11:48):
with the one the only Jamar Chase, whose stats well
are a top of the league in three key categories.
He has one hundred and eight receptions, one five yards
and sixteen touchdowns. He leads every player in the NFL
in all three categories. The fifteen hundred and ten yards
are a Bengals franchise record with two games to go.

(12:11):
So man o man is Jamar Chase just breaking records,
making an impact in any and every.

Speaker 2 (12:17):
Way you could think of. He's just one touchdown away
from tyle tying Carl Pickens for the most receiving touchdowns
in team history. He's just four receptions away from tying TJ.
Hushman Zada for the most receptions and Bengals history. So
he's poised to potentially break all three Bengals franchise records

(12:40):
for a receiver, all the key categories. And Jamar Chase
talked after the Bengals win over the Cleveland Browns and
for more, Let's hear what Jamar had to say following
the win, following the bengals third straight win and following
his record breaking performance when he broke his own record
of receiving yards getting to fifteen hundred for the first

(13:02):
time in his NFL career.

Speaker 5 (13:04):
Yeah, I think we're.

Speaker 6 (13:04):
Doing a good job of just taking one game at
a time and you know, taking a cab taking care
of business that we need to first.

Speaker 5 (13:09):
So we could talk about the next team Joe.

Speaker 7 (13:12):
Joe was saying, you don't even want to go off
there for that ended up being a touchdown.

Speaker 6 (13:16):
Yeah, well to play before I was supposed to go in,
just be like a d call on the store route.

Speaker 3 (13:25):
And then.

Speaker 6 (13:27):
We came back the second player and was running a whiskey.
It was like two minutes left on the clock, and
I was like, Troy, I'm I'm good, you know, getting
main in. Let him get like a little pp and stuff.

Speaker 8 (13:36):
You know.

Speaker 6 (13:36):
I was looking out for Jermaine and he was like,
the second play whiskey. So he was like, you might
want take this play, you know what I'm saying. I
was like, all right, fine, you know what I'm saying.
I went out there and it was just nothing but
god at that.

Speaker 5 (13:49):
Point, you know, got called to be a back shoulder.

Speaker 6 (13:53):
No, he just tried to look the safety off. He
looked the safety off for a long time, and he
just threw it in the air.

Speaker 7 (13:58):
You guys stopped. The guys stopped going cool.

Speaker 5 (14:01):
Uh good because of defender. Yeah, d uh, I don't
think so. I think he's just behind me.

Speaker 9 (14:07):
What's whiskey?

Speaker 10 (14:09):
Uh?

Speaker 5 (14:11):
Did y'all tell you that?

Speaker 11 (14:12):
No?

Speaker 6 (14:12):
You just said, w Whiskey is a play though. Okay, Okay,
it's no play, but it's a play.

Speaker 7 (14:16):
Okay.

Speaker 12 (14:17):
How does it feel to you to break your franchise
record through seeding us?

Speaker 1 (14:21):
Uh?

Speaker 5 (14:22):
I mean it feels good.

Speaker 2 (14:23):
You know.

Speaker 5 (14:23):
That's something I wanted to do, just you know, me
being me, being competitive.

Speaker 6 (14:28):
I wanna compete with myself, So that was a good
thing I did that, just a goal of mine.

Speaker 13 (14:31):
After Drug's first touchdown last week, you called him, who Dan?

Speaker 7 (14:35):
What'd you think of his face lamps? Touchdown?

Speaker 5 (14:38):
Yeah? That that was another Houdini play right there.

Speaker 6 (14:41):
I'm not gonna lie. I just seen him, uh fall
and forth on the bar. I didn't even know who
caught it until it's a celebration.

Speaker 14 (14:48):
Why do you think the scene has a full you know,
you know, four games under others a few weeks ago
down like for particularly still a play off?

Speaker 11 (14:55):
Ope?

Speaker 9 (14:55):
Why do you think y'all were able to bounce back
and give.

Speaker 15 (14:57):
A pro movie of work? Huge?

Speaker 5 (14:58):
So U cause we know what it takes, we know
what we've been through to get here.

Speaker 6 (15:04):
We just got to stay, you know, as a unit
with this team and everybody to make sure we're on
the same page. And community and communicating and you know,
just executing when it's time to execute.

Speaker 5 (15:14):
Uh, when you gotta be in position, you gotta be there.

Speaker 6 (15:16):
So I think everyone's just doing a good job, just
taking that week at a time and taking care of business.

Speaker 9 (15:20):
What's it been like as an offense scene in the
defense kind of play as well? We have watches.

Speaker 5 (15:24):
It's been good seeing them do that. Man.

Speaker 6 (15:26):
You know, we expect them to do that. And when
we see him make turnover and stuff like that, they
give the offense some excitement to be to be a
little more explosive.

Speaker 7 (15:34):
A number of you.

Speaker 16 (15:35):
Telling us about some of the goals that you write
down after the season. I can't remember which ones you
told usbout was fifteen hundred yards one of those?

Speaker 5 (15:41):
Yes you want the rest of 'emp?

Speaker 6 (15:44):
Well, well no, I'm not giving the rest of 'em,
but yeah, I mean, it's it's a blessing, man, Honestly,
it's a blessing. And to sit here and say that
I didn't want to go in on that last play,
that one catch got me at fifteen hundred, so it's
you know, it's nothing but a blessing and Ben be happy.

Speaker 5 (16:00):
But thank God, at that point do.

Speaker 15 (16:01):
You know, do you do anything with the sticky notes
after you accomplished for of those things.

Speaker 6 (16:08):
This might be my first time of of completing it
like for real, So it's probably gonna stay there as
that of all season.

Speaker 9 (16:15):
You Net Pro Bowl was a sicky sit Again, Probo
wasn't sticking up for it.

Speaker 6 (16:19):
That's expected for me now more like all Pro. I
got all Pro up there, right, but like the first
time you like to see, Nah, it wasn't up there.

Speaker 5 (16:27):
It was never up there. Pro was never up there.
It was always all Pro.

Speaker 16 (16:29):
So this is the first time you've accomplished anything that
you've pulled all.

Speaker 5 (16:32):
Your sticky pretty much. Yeah, yeah, break Trucks record was
one of th even know for you for me now
you also yeah, when.

Speaker 14 (16:41):
You I remember when you got drafted, you you said
straight up like I wanna come in and brank gold
records that they have.

Speaker 9 (16:46):
Why what gave you that confidence for when the second
you got here? That is what you wanna do?

Speaker 6 (16:50):
Uh, that's just the person I am. You know what
I'm saying. I I walk with that swag like that.
I just you know, I just let her compete, and
you know, the guys around me know that I love
to compete out work hard to get this way, but
you know it's you know, the guys around me definitely
making me get this way too.

Speaker 15 (17:05):
Do you think there was a art stretch where you
went from ill or the way even second quarter and
then did you get another one for from one time?

Speaker 5 (17:12):
Yeah?

Speaker 7 (17:13):
Did they change you know? You know what did they do?
What did they change? You up?

Speaker 1 (17:17):
Uh?

Speaker 5 (17:17):
They ain't really change nothing.

Speaker 6 (17:18):
Grant just did a good job of just not staying
and he just moving off the middle of the field,
you know, playing help to my side. You know that
scared Ule a little bit, so Uh he being precautious
with the ball and just taking a one on one.

Speaker 5 (17:28):
Receivers was to see him great, I guess y'all correct.

Speaker 6 (17:31):
I didn't see it. He came to me at bruh.
He came to me after play asking me, did I
see the crity?

Speaker 5 (17:36):
I didn't see it.

Speaker 2 (17:37):
Though.

Speaker 12 (17:37):
You just talked about the expectation for yourself into Port Bowl.
Would you say the expectation for this team should be
playing meaningful games in December every year?

Speaker 1 (17:48):
Uh?

Speaker 6 (17:49):
I had expectations for this team. Is is AFC Championship
football At the end of the day, you know, That's
how I'll go every year. We don't really have that
in our hands this year, but that's that's the stand
that we hold ourselves to in the in the in
the beig a flocker room.

Speaker 17 (18:03):
Do you remember at at Super Coloffe you were drafted
when you said you break every record.

Speaker 9 (18:08):
The dand's question who you mentioned Chad and.

Speaker 2 (18:10):
The A J.

Speaker 7 (18:10):
Do you remember, yeah?

Speaker 5 (18:12):
Right, Yeah, you didn't flinch your no, no, no, I
meant that, no, I know, but you just didn't flinch
a lot.

Speaker 6 (18:17):
And just like I mean, I just love football, bruh.
I've been waiting for this my whole life. You know
what I'm saying. I comp I've been competing against the
best of my whole life. It's just what it comes
down to at the end of the day.

Speaker 18 (18:29):
There's a feeling Ben Tomorrow that the last couple of
weeks you haven't had the like completely on you and
Joe to get your job done.

Speaker 7 (18:36):
You kind of Chase Brown starting.

Speaker 18 (18:38):
To really emerge and the defense is starting to create
turnover as you plan more together as a complimentary football team.

Speaker 6 (18:46):
Does it feel that way, Yeah, Yeah, it feels that way,
especially the last three weeks. Man, it's been cause it's
been an awesome rode these last three weeks, having phoned
the guys and winning. You know, as long as we
find a way at the end and find a way
to finish, that's that's the biggest thing, doesn't.

Speaker 18 (18:59):
You take you we should feel like why I wish
we'd you know they able to play a little bit
more like this throughout the season.

Speaker 5 (19:06):
Yeah, I mean that's everyone. Everyone feels that way.

Speaker 6 (19:09):
You know what I'm saying, like, uh, we all, like
I said, the standards AFC Championship, you know what I'm saying,
like we we wanna be there and you know that
didn't happen this year, but that's our standard.

Speaker 7 (19:20):
You said, you've been waiting for.

Speaker 19 (19:21):
This your whole life and this is your first time
hitting that when you were accomplishing, when you're sticking your goals,
do you take time to let it set it in
and just like appreciate, like this is what you've been
working for.

Speaker 6 (19:31):
And you get to feel it. It hit me when
I caught the touchdown, you know what I'm saying. I
didn't know what exactly what was going on, but it
hit me in that moment, so you know it was
that was a real god situation for me right there?

Speaker 20 (19:44):
Where did you said you're not gonna tell us the
whole list, but what's the most most extreme thing on there?

Speaker 7 (19:50):
Or the uh or the most stampicious?

Speaker 5 (19:58):
Well?

Speaker 6 (19:58):
I got all three for the Bengals, like I got
all three stick you knows for catchers, R, touchdowns and
yards up there?

Speaker 7 (20:04):
So you got more than that?

Speaker 5 (20:06):
Yeah, well, I can't give you that, just one bigger one.

Speaker 7 (20:11):
Uh.

Speaker 5 (20:11):
I can't give you a big one.

Speaker 6 (20:12):
I could just now that I could just probably do
like maybe the touchdowns. You know something I really want now.

Speaker 21 (20:18):
That you've accomplished most receiving yards and Bengals history fifteen
hundred yards, first Bangles Caceiver where ever? Do that you
can move on to most every season and retire.

Speaker 16 (20:27):
In fl maybe for next year.

Speaker 6 (20:29):
Yeah, I mean when that happens, I'll get to that.
But you know right now to stay in the moment,
taking one game at a time. But you know, I'm
just like I say, living in the moment, man, just
enjoying this process right now.

Speaker 22 (20:40):
Then you said your yards after contract or after catch,
and you yards you have to contact the physicality of it,
you opponent or say, damn.

Speaker 7 (20:48):
I mean neighbor craft when you were busting them up.

Speaker 6 (20:51):
They usually say, damn you was a strong son of
a bee. You know so, yeah, I've been, I've been.
I've heard that a couple of times this year.

Speaker 16 (20:59):
I said, you know, your team goals AFC Championship.

Speaker 21 (21:02):
If you guys are able to rattle off five straight
get into the playoffs, do you feel like you'll be
the most dangerous.

Speaker 15 (21:08):
Team coming in.

Speaker 6 (21:10):
I feel like we already the most dangerous team, you
know what I'm saying, And people fear us, you know
what I'm saying. But it's gonna come down to just
making it, making that one play on offense and defense,
and just finishing at the end of the game. So
as long as you stay in it as a unit,
you know, we'll be all right.

Speaker 9 (21:25):
They say you're strong, sun of a b What do you.

Speaker 7 (21:27):
Say anything back?

Speaker 6 (21:29):
Not just all laughing. Usually I got my grizz of
my mos to smile at them.

Speaker 2 (21:32):
That is Jamar Chase. That entire video posted on the
YouTube channel Cincinnati Bengals Talk. I'm James Rapine Infra Moo.
Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas Eve on ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati
The Bengals season is still alive. They found a way
to win three straight games in December to put themselves

(21:53):
in position to play meaningful football at the end of December.
And that's quite frankly, ladies and gentlemen, exact where they're at,
James or being inframo Merry Christmas Eve. This is ESPN
fifteen thirty. Let's dive into something I've noticed. And by
the way, if you're looking for more on the Bengals,
I have you covered Bengals Talk dot Com, the Lockdown

(22:14):
Bengals podcast, Cincinnati Bengals Talk on YouTube. But one thing
that I've noticed over the past three weeks, during this
winning streak, during this time where the Bengals were four
and eight and everyone including myself counted them out and yeah,
they may win a few games, but they're not gonna
make the postseason, to now needing a little bit of help,

(22:37):
maybe a lot of help. They need three games to
go their way, and that's a lot to ask considering
the opponents on two of them, in the predicaments that
some of these teams are in. We went over that
earlier in the show. But the energy in the Bengals
locker room has changed. The winning has helped Mike Hilton,
Chris Jenkins, Geno Stone, three guys the Bengals have banked

(22:57):
on during this winning streak. Mike Hilton was awesome the
other day. He was awesome. You combine that with the
rookie and Chris Jenkins, who's been super promising over the
past couple of weeks, had two sacks, Mike Hilton had
two tackles for loss, and Geno Stone has had an
interception in three straight games. This entire video I posted

(23:18):
on the YouTube channel Cincinnati Bengals Talk after the game,
but I thought it was important to hear from Mike Hilton.
Here from Chris Jenkins, Here from Geno Stone. Here are
Mike Hilton, Chris Jenkins, and Gino Stone following the Bengals
win over the Browns on Sunday.

Speaker 3 (23:31):
That's big man.

Speaker 23 (23:32):
Obviously we haven't been playing with where early in the year,
but we gives ourselves a chance getting back to seven
and eight with a pretty much a playoff game coming
up this Saturday, and it is gonna be a lot
on the line. We're excited for the opportunity.

Speaker 2 (23:44):
Obviously, the offense is putting up big numbers, has all
year long, but this defense forcing nine turnovers over the
past two weeks. What's different, what's changing.

Speaker 23 (23:51):
Guys of simplifying things, the coach of simplifying things, and
when guys have the opportunity to make the play, we're
making that play to change the guy.

Speaker 3 (23:58):
Man. We've been doing that. Well.

Speaker 24 (24:00):
Two guys today fell right away you all day, the
two guys who convened the secondary only meetings, right, I mean,
the veterans came.

Speaker 23 (24:09):
Up just making plays when we had the opportunity. Vin's
forest Foheman recovery just set the tone for the whole game,
and guys just made big plays after that.

Speaker 5 (24:20):
Jack Oh, that was big.

Speaker 3 (24:21):
Obviously them getting.

Speaker 23 (24:22):
The first first place what ady r run, Well, that's
a bad situation to be and we bowled up on
the one yard line and kept points off the board.

Speaker 2 (24:30):
So that was big as far as momento, I know
you said it's big, but it felt like, at least
for my bentage front. Here we go another dog fight
against the Browns where it's just gonna you're gonna have
to fight up hills the way Zack set it so
for VN to do that and then the offense to
go ninety nine, it's a huge.

Speaker 3 (24:48):
Yea, it was.

Speaker 23 (24:48):
Obviously, these are vision games. You never know how they're
gonna go. So every turnover, every third down conversion, anything
that can separate you that that's how you win these
type of games. And for us to hold on the
one yard a offense flip through ninety nine yards, that's
a big momentum shift.

Speaker 3 (25:03):
Then we were able to close it.

Speaker 8 (25:04):
Out, all right, Chris, So first of all, let's just
talk about the score for a second. Because this defense
holds Cleveland to zero points in the first half and
then only allows six.

Speaker 5 (25:16):
What was clicking so well for you guys today?

Speaker 10 (25:18):
Really we were just playing together and you know, we
could all feel it every time we got to turn
over three and out.

Speaker 3 (25:23):
You know, that.

Speaker 10 (25:24):
Infectious energy was just radiating throughout the stadium. So and
then you know office as well. Every time we got
the more opportunities, you know, get the ball and do
what they do best. Because we got the best offense
in the country, you know, great things are going to happen.

Speaker 8 (25:36):
So the last three games, this defense is only allowed
seventeen point six points per game. What does that mean
after just a kind of a tumultuous, difficult season.

Speaker 10 (25:47):
I guess you know it's a great start for us,
but you know, and everybody in the room will tell
you this.

Speaker 3 (25:51):
You know, we feel we got more to do and
we got more to prove.

Speaker 10 (25:53):
You know, we started kind of late, but you know
there's definitely some there's some great stuff there, and you
know all our focuses is getting better every week, and
you know, carrying this energy over to you know, the
next good team we face. You know this week isproncos I.

Speaker 8 (26:06):
Hope that it's coming through through the lens because I
don't know if I would have the same energy that
you do after playing a three hour football game. You
look like you have more energy than anybody else in
this world.

Speaker 10 (26:16):
I mean, I don't know if it's the celsius. I
don't know what to tell you, but you know it's
just and plugged two sacks on the day.

Speaker 3 (26:22):
It's great. It's great feeling. So I can't help it.

Speaker 10 (26:24):
But you know, it's it's an honor to when you
come into facility like this, around gods like this every
single day.

Speaker 3 (26:29):
You can't help us. My you know, have energy. So
you know, I'm an honor to be here and this time.

Speaker 8 (26:34):
You have a great game like you did today, who's
the first person you call?

Speaker 10 (26:37):
First person I call it. Well, I haven't called anybody yet,
but you know, about to either call my mom, my uncle,
or my dad because you know, really probably either my
uncles or my dad because we got a bet going
on with my uncle. He had four and a half
sacks this rookie year, so I'm trying to come close,
so I think I hopefully now we're at three.

Speaker 3 (26:52):
So you got a shy, so we'll see you do.

Speaker 25 (26:55):
Have sew What what's the bet?

Speaker 2 (26:56):
What's on the line?

Speaker 5 (26:57):
Is there anything i'mnna lie?

Speaker 3 (26:58):
Push ups?

Speaker 2 (26:59):
Oh?

Speaker 10 (26:59):
A lot of push okay, a lot of bush ups.

Speaker 3 (27:02):
Yeah, so we'll see. We'll see how it goes.

Speaker 25 (27:06):
But a lot of bush ups.

Speaker 3 (27:09):
Chris.

Speaker 8 (27:09):
The win streak, your first three game win streak of
the season. That is huge, and especially at a time
in December when you guys are playing meaningful football right now,
what does that feel like?

Speaker 10 (27:19):
It feels great? Like you said, you know, our focus
is you know, one and oh each week and getting
better each week. So you know now that it's coming
to fruition and you know we're starting to feel that
energy carry out.

Speaker 3 (27:27):
You know, it's a great feeling. But there's we still
got two more games up.

Speaker 10 (27:30):
You still got more to do for the regular season,
you know, hopefully at the at the end of the road,
you know there's gonna be more for us in store.

Speaker 2 (27:37):
I was watching for you.

Speaker 8 (27:38):
I know you guys have been working your tails off.
What does it feel like to finally see your your
hard work come to fruition in the statue.

Speaker 10 (27:45):
It's a it's a great feeling, you know, just really
all that work you put in from from excuse me,
from what do you call it?

Speaker 3 (27:53):
Not towadays, but.

Speaker 10 (27:56):
Yeah, training camp to what OTAs, That's what I would
taking OTAs. You know, you got a lot of you
putting in a lot of time and energy. So for
that to finally start clicking and that's start coming through,
it's a great feeling. But you know, like we said,
we got way more to do and were playing on
getting better from here.

Speaker 13 (28:10):
Intercepts Sisti on this one from dj Ivy Describe the play.

Speaker 26 (28:15):
Uh No, it was kind of just cover one be
playing the post and uh scramble was got you know,
d tars tart scramble around, joking, went up field and
DJ met a great playing Dale took the ball and
I got it.

Speaker 13 (28:24):
Describe the job you guys did against Jorian Thompson Robinson
basically taking away anything downfield I played.

Speaker 3 (28:31):
We did a great job.

Speaker 26 (28:32):
Russian covered working together, he said ear in the weekday,
even try to use his legs. I feel like the
front did a really good job of pertaining them less
as they can and us in the back end is
you know last year and uh you know had great
colors in that back in the most weekend and decides
the first play the first by the game I played,
we did a pretty job.

Speaker 13 (28:45):
How big was von Bell's play to snuff their opening drive?

Speaker 3 (28:49):
Now, it's huge.

Speaker 2 (28:50):
It was huge, you know, I fight, We got all
the mental back up to that.

Speaker 3 (28:53):
They kind of had of met him.

Speaker 26 (28:53):
Going at first, and then we kind of took away
from there. Everybody played by one.

Speaker 3 (28:57):
Three straight games with the pick.

Speaker 2 (28:59):
Second time your career you've done that.

Speaker 13 (29:01):
How do you feel about your comfort level in this
defense right now?

Speaker 26 (29:05):
Not feel comfortables over Honestly, I feel great. You know,
I'm happy we're winning, So that's always a great thing.

Speaker 13 (29:11):
You've set up a game with huge stakes next week
against Denver.

Speaker 3 (29:15):
Yeah no, you know, yeah, handle next week.

Speaker 26 (29:18):
You know they got a really good team coming in,
so you know, we got have four weeks, so he's
got Ouronni.

Speaker 3 (29:22):
He's ready to get ready on.

Speaker 2 (29:22):
This week with really good stuff. There Again, that was
Mike Hilton, Chris Jenkins and that last voice you heard
was Gino Stone. The video of those interviews is up
on Cincinnati Bengals Talk. I'm James Rpene in Framo Merry Christmas.

Speaker 18 (29:36):
Eve.

Speaker 2 (29:37):
Let's get to a couple more because again, I think
the energy is just different right now in the Bengals
locker room. It has changed with the winning, and the
winning is a big part of that, there's no doubt.
But let's hear from Jordan Battle. Let's hear from Caid York.
Two guys that have played a major role. Caid York
is four or five on his field goal attempts since
joining the Bengals, ten of eleven on extra point attempts,

(29:58):
made a fifty nine yarder which tie Evan McPherson for
the franchise record the other day against the Browns, and
Jordan Battle played really well the other day outside of
the run fit. At the beginning of the game, Jordan
Battle made an interception in the red zone. Was all
over the field was making plays. Certainly has instincts, the
right instincts to make plays. Here's what Jordan Battle had

(30:18):
to say to at least Jesse after the game and
what Kid York Toward told reporters following the bengals twenty
four to six win over the Browns.

Speaker 27 (30:26):
In the building, you can just feel it like every
day every day in practice. You know, it's a level
of energy that you know, it wasn't It wasn't that
beginning half earlier in the season.

Speaker 2 (30:33):
And then I feel like, you know, gods, just having fun.

Speaker 27 (30:35):
That's a big thing. You know, have fun, you know,
celebrate with your guys when they make a play. You know,
so so you know, so excitement. You know, other team
hate other teams hate that because when they see us
have the you know, the motivation and they see us
have the you know, the momentum going into a drive,
it's like kind of scary, you know, because you know,
we all had heels. You know, we want to be
all liven hass to the ball. You know, we're trying
to be more aggressive. So we just so what we're

(30:58):
trying to do create that attimidating a factor as a defense,
it's like Winny.

Speaker 9 (31:02):
Kind of flu.

Speaker 2 (31:06):
So yeah, I just feel like, you know, God stepping
up in the room.

Speaker 27 (31:08):
You know, captains on the defense, you know GP you
know Trey Sam, you know Mike Hilton, you know Vaughn Geno,
guys just you know, the older guys stepping up and
you know, you know, sitting in those season telling us,
having those meetings with the players only you know, telling
us where we are right now and what we have
to do to you know.

Speaker 2 (31:22):
Dig ourselves out this whole.

Speaker 27 (31:24):
So I think just you know, having that level of
focus every day coming in, you know, having the energy
in practice, you know, and keeping each other, keeping each
other together. You know, it's been a good thing, a
big thing as well for us as a defense, you know,
just staying together no matter the circumstances.

Speaker 8 (31:35):
Did you guys plan all those celebrations this week?

Speaker 27 (31:39):
I mean, like surprisingly no, But you know me myself,
I always have something ready, you know, you know, when
I when I get the ball in my hands or
I create a turnover or we get a turnover, I'm
always I'm always ready to celebrate. And then you know,
just seeing other guys you know, you know celebrate, you know,
seeing you know, going there sliding uh, signing the zone
and get a turf burn. It's kind of funny too,
so you know, you know, just seeing all of us

(32:00):
celebrate together is you know a great sight.

Speaker 2 (32:03):
Sorry, yeah I haven't. I haven't made a comment about it.

Speaker 25 (32:11):
I should have. Know, that's a big, huge play.

Speaker 27 (32:13):
You know, obviously come out first player of the game,
they break that big run. Uh, the corners doing a
great job coming coming to make the play and getting
them down and then you know, get on the goal
line and you know, v the peanut puncher himself, you know,
goes in and the guy was running back loose with
the ball going down stumble bumbs what we call it,
and a perfect punch on the ball, uh to to

(32:34):
credit channel was credit some juice for us, you know
as a as a team.

Speaker 25 (32:38):
Were you on the field at that.

Speaker 27 (32:39):
Point, No, no, I was on the Yeah yeah yeah,
yeah it was goal line sad. Yeah, that's off on
the sideline. So it was it was kind of fun
to see.

Speaker 25 (32:46):
I mean, how satisfying it is that to see a
guy like him.

Speaker 2 (32:49):
That has lost Yeah, just you know, his roll going
and make a point like that.

Speaker 27 (32:53):
Yeah, you know, it was very exciting, you know, coming
to the sideline. You can see the excitement on his face,
very happy, you know, the credit Churnal for us the defense.
Uh and it was also fun to see you know,
Geno Curtis turn over and myself.

Speaker 2 (33:04):
So all three Shafty is a big trio. Big trio
got to turn over there kind of fun.

Speaker 9 (33:08):
Were you able to see the throw on the second.

Speaker 27 (33:12):
Oh yeah, the one who's on almost going to the ground. Yeah,
that was Yeah, that was insane. You know, it's crazy
to watch, you know, watch greatness on fold in front
of your eyes and be a be a teammate of
guys like that, you know him t Jamar the whole
receiving court, Like it's just just fun to see.

Speaker 2 (33:29):
It's decided to sit on the mention.

Speaker 27 (33:30):
No, like every time your offense has the ball, this
could be a touchdown, you know, any play like first play,
second play, third play. You know, just the exposiveness of
the offense. Dan Chase Brown playing you know, out of
his out of his mind every week. I think it's
I think we said it was fifth fifth straight game
with one hundred yards, So yeah, you're seeing it, Chase,
you know, Elevate this year has been fun as well, it's.

Speaker 25 (33:50):
A little bit of a house money mindset when right
before half like that where you're trying one that long.

Speaker 24 (33:55):
And I mean sometimes I mean when you miss your
first field goal the game, not really because I definitely
don't want to owe for two stat line, but there's a.

Speaker 3 (34:03):
Little bit of that.

Speaker 24 (34:04):
It's like, you know, what if they if you miss
a fifty nine, is anyone ever gonna really give you
crap for it? And so just swing to the fences.
I don't really think I was singing about that that much.

Speaker 3 (34:14):
It was more just.

Speaker 24 (34:16):
Actually I thought it was I didn't realize I wasn't
looking at the clock. I didn't realize it was over.
Like I saw everybody jogging off the field. Not thought
I was gonna have to kick off because I didn't
realize the clock wound down like that. So so yeah,
it was good.

Speaker 13 (34:31):
Thinking about Miles and that situation you can use a
kick or even think about something like that.

Speaker 25 (34:36):
I did my.

Speaker 24 (34:36):
Best in like the field goal meetings during the week
when he's talking about Miles jumping and we had like
plans for them and stuff like that, I just like
put my head down and not pay attention or watch
because I funny story my rookie year in Cleveland. Miles
was practicing that and we called it in practice. But

(34:58):
usually if you call it in practice, you don't actually
do it. It's just like whatever, literally, like I'm not kidding.
Probably five times that season he would jump the snap
and just block my kick in the middle of practice
like no one's trying to stoppee Miles, and he would
just like eat it, like like four yards away from him,
like hey, like I'm trying to make kicks in practice too,
like get jerk, like, leave me alone. I think he

(35:19):
tried it on a pat. I just saw him end
up on the ground, so I think we handled it
well though.

Speaker 2 (35:24):
Good stuff there from Jordan Battle in Kid York. All
of those interviews that you've heard in this segment are
on the YouTube channel Cincinnati Bengals Talk for more. Well,
keep it locked right here because we have plenty of
Bengals coverage coming your way. If you're driving to and
from family house. I get it, it's Christmas time and
all those things, but we appreciate you tuning in right
here on ESPN fifteen thirty. I'm James Orpene Infomo. We'll

(35:47):
keep it rolling on ESPN fifteen thirty. Cincinnati Sports Station
Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 11 (35:54):
Traffic from the UC Health Traffic Center. With UC help
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Visit ucehealth dot com. On Springdale Road, it is an
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(36:17):
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Speaker 2 (36:27):
This report is sponsored by Chacola since nineteen forty four,
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Speaker 1 (36:33):
Bengals Battle of Broncos coverage starts Saturday at noon on
ESPN fifteen thirty, the official home of the Bengals.

Speaker 2 (36:45):
Welcome back to TSPN fifteen thirty. I'm James with pen Inframo.
This is the Malaga Show on Christmas. Team a Christmas
Feve edition and six o'clock. Shout out to Tan Gland
for producing I caught up with Jeff Carr of the
Locked On Reds podcast Cincinnati Reds Talk dot Com when
I was filling in for Lance down the Hall and

(37:07):
asked them a bunch of questions about this offseason. And
I really wanted to play this conversation with you and
for you, because I thought it was interesting the insight
in the ideas, in the mindset that Jeff is in
on how to improve the outfield, what they've done so
far this off season, all of the above, because I
think a lot of Reds fans right now are like,

(37:27):
all right, Nick, make a move, all right, Nick, make
a move. Well, they have made some moves, but we
know that they haven't made enough moves. We know they
need to get the right guys in place, but who
are the right guys? And for that, I asked Jeff Carr,
and let's welcome him in. Jeff Carr of the Locked
On Reds Podcast, Jeff, I appreciate the time. How you doing.

Speaker 25 (37:47):
I'm doing good man. It's the middle of December. Hopefully
we get some moves here soon, and I'm just counting
down the days. We're like less than one hundred days
from opening day. I love that.

Speaker 2 (37:58):
Well, yeah, gosh, I can't believe it. It's that close.
The offseason flies by, and yet I do think to
your point, it has been a slow drip, so to speak.
With no outfield help. That's the focus, especially after the
Brady Singer trade. So Christmas is eight days away. So

(38:18):
if I said, all right, the Reds are going to
put one thing under your Christmas tree, Jeffrey Carr, and
it's going to be the gift, the perfect free agency
gift or trade, the perfect veteran that you want on
this roster. Who would that and realistically, the most realistic

(38:38):
but exciting present, what would that be under your tree?

Speaker 25 (38:43):
I think the perfect gift would be Luise Robert and
I have really come around on this. The Reds desperately
need outfield help, and they need a legitimate outfielder that
they control for multiple years. Luis Robert is that guy.
He's making fifteen million dollars this year. He has two
club options, so he will have three years of control

(39:05):
if you go acquire him. Plus for everybody that's worried about,
like what you would have to give up in a trade,
what the Reds don't have in the outfield in the
minor leagues is really what I'm worried about the outfield
is not a twenty twenty five problem. The outfield is
a all around now and future problem. There's not anybody

(39:25):
that's knocking down the door in Louisville, in Chattanooga. I mean,
you've got to go to the lower ranks of the
minor leagues, and at that point there's so much variance
that that guy could or could not even hear his
name on opening Day in like four or five years.
So I'm not worried about those guys. And so when
you look at the Red system, there is nobody close.

(39:45):
So you need somebody now, and you need somebody that's
gonna be here in a while. There are a couple
of good free agents, free Asian options out there. The
biggest concern I have with Anthony Santander is how long
does he stick in the outfield If the Reds were
able to outbid the numerous team lining up for him,
and then ta Oscar Hernandez is another name that would
be awesome to see the Red but again they've he's

(40:06):
got a long line of suitors, and reports are he
is so into the idea of returning to la that
most people are wondering why anybody else is even trying.
So I want the Reds to go get Luis Robert
because he has five tool all star, perennial all star
level talent and he's a guy that we haven't seen

(40:26):
the total health package from. But he's also been dealing
with the weirdest situation outside of the A's in baseball,
in the Chicago White Sox. So I kind of give
him a little bit of a pass for just trying
to be in a human being in that organization. Bring
him here, bring him to Terry Francona, and let's go
get some playoff with.

Speaker 2 (40:47):
For those that don't know who he is, because you're right,
it's the White Sox and not many of our listeners
right now are watching the White Sox. Fair to say, yeah, right,
what's so age control? What would he bring it to
this team? And by the way, what do you think
he would cost in a trade?

Speaker 25 (41:06):
I think so he is right there in the middle
of his prime, kind of on the beginning part of
his prime as far as age is concerned in baseball,
whereas some of the outfielders that we've talked about are
either on the downslope or right there in the middle
of it. He's just entering it. And with the three
years of control, you could maybe even see them guaranteeing

(41:28):
those two years and adding another club option on top
of that if they're savvy enough, and I think Nick
Krawl is, But when it comes to what he brings
to the table, he is very very fast. He finished
in the top five and MVP voting two years ago,
and he was an All Star two years ago as
well for the American League. And again that's for a

(41:49):
team in the White Sox that has been so they
were horrible in twenty twenty four, but they were disappointing
in twenty twenty two and twenty twenty three when it
kind of felt like they had a little bit of
a better team, But he was the guy that was
leading the charge every step of the way. He's got
great power, great hit ability. He would be the perfect
dude to put into the number three spot in the
Red's lineup and you could then kind of fill out

(42:11):
the rest. We've talked a lot about this offseason on
the podcast that you know, the cleanup spot really needs
some TLC. But if you get yourself an elite number
three hitter that has that pedigree, and we're not hoping
becomes a number three hitter. Then everything else can kind
of fall into place here, and he would man center
field beautifully, great glove, great arm, the kind of guy

(42:33):
that you could anchor the rest of your outfield around.
You take the pressure off of TJ. Friedel staying healthy
by moving him to the corners. You take the pressure
off of Spencer Steer, you turn him into a utility player.
You take the pressure off of Jake Frailey to add
that power Stuart Fairchild, that becomes like your fifth outfielder,
and I think that's the perfect scenario for him. That's
why you've got to go get this elite guy and

(42:55):
not go get like a platoon guy. As I've heard
some of the rumors linking the Reds to this offseason. Yeah,
I totally agree with you there. I totally agree. They
need a dude. They need a dude.

Speaker 2 (43:06):
In Jeffrey car of the Lockdown Reds podcast that's joining us.
They need a dude. And sometimes it is about dudes,
And especially when you're talking about October baseball, which obviously
we're hoping ten months from now that we're talking about
here in the Queen City for the first time at
quite some time. I'm in, I think the only thing,
and we're talking about Luis Robert Junior. The only thing

(43:30):
with me, What do you make of his year last year?
Because obviously the numbers are lower than they were in
twenty twenty three. He was an All Star in twenty three,
gold glover, all those things, silver slugger, What do you
make of last season?

Speaker 25 (43:42):
I give him a pass on the human element side
of things. It's something that you know, the average baseball
fan is going to be able to look up and see, eoh,
that batting average was bad. Well, quite frankly, batting average
was bad across the league, so that's a little bit
hard to evaluate. And everything else wasn't up to his
typical standards. I think he had a down year for himself.

(44:04):
And then he kept looking around the clubhouse and either
guys who were funneling in and out via trade because
they were selling them off for parts or what have you,
and then just the general feeling of the White Sox.
Like I said this the other day to Steve, my
co host on the show, because he's not in on
this idea. He doesn't want the Reds to spend the
prospect capital to go get Luise Robert, And I said,

(44:26):
here's the thing, Steve, if he had a one hundred
points better batting average, if he hit ten more home
runs and got like twenty or thirty more RBIs, the
White Sox would have won fifty one games instead of
forty one games. So I think at some point the
human side of any competitor looks around and says, why

(44:48):
am I trying so hard in this organization? And I
think that a new place is exactly what the doctor
ordered for Luise Robert.

Speaker 2 (44:58):
You sold me on the idea. I haven't. I hadn't
giving it a ton of thought. Not that the Reds
haven't been connected to him. They have. They've been connected
to a bunch of guys. Let's say he gets traded
right now and it's not to the Reds. What are
you doing in the outfield? Is it free agency? Is
that the route you're going?

Speaker 25 (45:14):
Then it's tough because it feels like the top two
free agents are out of their league as much as
they shouldn't be. I think the Reds should be competitive
on bids, but it's based on where those players want
to go. Then you kind of look at a Jerks
and Profar who had a very very good year last year,
a very very bad year in twenty twenty three. He

(45:35):
was so for everything that he did right in twenty
twenty four. He was a negative war player in twenty
twenty three, So there's a little bit of a question
mark around him. Can he repeat what he did? Then
you get into the platoon guys that I mentioned the Reds,
there was some you know, Jim Bowden of the Athletics
said that Jack Peterson would be a good fit. I

(45:55):
don't love that because it feels like he's a DH
He's not an outfielder. That swhere you start to get
into with a lot of the free agents out there
is okay. Either their glove is good, but their bat's
a question. That doesn't help the Reds. And their bats
really good, but they probably can only stand in the outfield.
Don't know if they can run after a ball. That
doesn't help the Reds either. They kind of need somebody

(46:16):
who can do both things because their outfield defense was
abhorrent last year, and a lot of that had to
deal with the injuries of TJ. Friedl hardly being in
the lineup at all last year, and the very inconsistent
play that you got from the right field position. But
they just were bad out there, so you cannot ignore

(46:36):
the glove side of things whenever you make this acquisition.
I think that if they cannot trade for Luis Robert,
they've got to look at a trade with the Angels
for a guy like Taylor Ward, who is a good
corner outfielder. Can't play center field, but he is a
good corner outfielder and he mashes left handed pitching. Or
maybe there is you know, trade X, because Nick Krawl

(46:57):
loves to do that, right He loves to kind of
be like, yes, yes, yes, rumors over here, here's the
trade I actually have for you that nobody talked about,
and you're probably gonna like that, all right. So I
they definitely cannot just throw up their hands and say, well,
we didn't get our outfielder this year and roll back
with what they had last year.

Speaker 2 (47:17):
Terry Francona had to be number one on most people's
list as far as the new Reds manager is concerned.
And it's really not new anymore. It's multiple months in it.
What you've seen from him. He's been on Red's hot
stove multiple times. You've seen him on MLB Network.

Speaker 3 (47:35):
How do you.

Speaker 2 (47:37):
How do you feel about Tito?

Speaker 3 (47:39):
Now?

Speaker 2 (47:39):
Obviously there was a ton of excitement then, but do
you feel like that this was the Grand Slam higher
that it felt like at the time.

Speaker 25 (47:46):
The deeper that we get into the offseason, the more
that I have the question of could the Reds make
a more impactful move today than they did when they
signed him? And I'm starting to wonder if they can't
because everything that he is, everything that he is preaching
really on a lot of different interviews that he has
had is just music to my ears. And it's not

(48:09):
as if that is the reason he's doing He's not
trying to appease Jeff Carr, He's not trying to appease
James Rapine. He's trying to win ball games. But he
knows how to do that because he's done it in
multiple places at the highest of levels, getting as far
in the postseason as you can possibly get. He knows
what that takes. But he said a lot of different
things right. He said, like, you can't just have aggression

(48:30):
without you know, discerning thought or strategic thought. You can't
just have you can't have pictures that are worried about
who's warming up in the bullpen behind them at certain
points of the game. They've got to know that they've
got your trust. And he even said the words, and
I love that he went this specific. He's like, every

(48:52):
starting pitcher on our staff is going to be stretched
out to one hundred pitches by the end of spring training.
And it never felt like that was the case over
the last few years with David Bell. I always felt
like if it were Hunter Green or for Frankie Montas
or whoever started opening day, we always sat, well, they
might go four, they might go five. You know, if
everything goes perfectly, they might pitch five innings because they

(49:12):
just aren't stretched out right. They're not ready for the season.
It's a long season, all and I get that. I
don't want them to pitch a complete game on opening Day,
but don't tell me that six isn't a possibility either.
That's getting into the minutia a bit. But that's what
Terry Francona has done. He has assured us in a
couple of different areas that he's ready to go. Things
will be different and this team will be better.

Speaker 2 (49:34):
Yeah. I think that's a really good point. They being
able to pitch deeper into games. Is It's something everyone
was asking about Hunter Green a year ago and asking
for with Hunter for sure, and so now you go
get Brady Singer, who you're hoping is an innings leater.
You're hoping that this rotation is stabilized with Nick Martinez. Obviously,

(49:55):
Green took a big step forward this past year. He
had referenced it and we're talking about Terry Francone here
James are pen in for Lance talking with Jeff carv
locked on Reds. He's referenced it, though, He's like, Oh,
I see the talent. We got to try to get
more out of it. And I like that he used
it that way. And at the same time, I'm sure
he knows they need to add an outfit or we

(50:16):
talked about that last segment. But I think he sees
the talent and he's got He's like, all right, how
do I get more juice out of these guys?

Speaker 25 (50:25):
I think the perfect example and we'll see it early
on in spring training. I don't think this is something
that's going to take long to notice. But the perfect
example is what is his effect going to be on
noelvi Marte? Because the scouting reports love noelvi Marte. Scout
scouting grades love noelvi Marte. But our productive what we
have seen as fans, what we have seen him do

(50:46):
in his short career so far, we don't love noelvi
Marte because of what the numbers tell us, and then
the numbers tell us he doesn't hit very well. It
doesn't get on base very well, and he's not slugging
the ball very well. And when you don't do any
one of those things, it's kind of hard to defend
your major league status. But I think Terry Francona understands
how to get the best out of anybody. And it's

(51:09):
not to say that Jose Ramirez wasn't a super talented
player whenever Terry Francona got a hold of him in Cleveland.
But he is now one of the top five players
in the major leagues. And I firmly believe he could
do that with Ellie. I think he can do that
with a lot of different guys on this team. But
if you can elevate what he did in Cleveland and
you can take that down here in Cincinnati, he understands

(51:32):
how to manage these guys. I'm really interested too. And
this is a guy that a lot of people, including myself,
to be honest with you, have already written off and
setting these is start the year in triple A. What's
he gonna do with Will Benson? Because I think that
Will Benson has a lot of good tools. I mean,
we've seen the arm, we've seen the fielding. He needs
to take better outs in the outfield, seeing the bat

(51:52):
as well. He can hit the ball of country mile.
It just seems like nothing worked for him last year.
Could that just be a little bit of a sophomore slump,
a little bit of a Hey, things really came at
me fast and I wasn't processing him well. Can Terry
Francona help him process all of that? Because we know
that when he faces right handed pitching, he's gonna mashing
and they need to get that out of him more consistently.

Speaker 2 (52:15):
What do you make of in Jeff Carr as our guest,
what do you make of jam Or Candelarrio going into
year two with the Reds?

Speaker 25 (52:22):
Well? I was I was hopeful?

Speaker 2 (52:25):
Not was?

Speaker 25 (52:26):
I still am hopeful? Then he bounces back. I didn't
love the highlight in the Dominican Winter League the other
night where he was trying to leg out a single
and kind of came up limping a little bit after that.
I don't there's been no reporting as to what that
injury could be. They took him out of the game
after that play, and I think in the Winter League

(52:47):
they treated a lot like we see in the Arizona
Fall League or spring training, where it's like, if there's
any semblance of some sort of physical injury, you're coming
out of the game. There's no reason to play through it.
So we'll wait and see exactly what that means. But
the Reds are going to rely on him a lot more,
I think, this year, and they need him to be better.

(53:09):
Closer to the back of his baseball cardt the back
of his baseball card says he's a two fifty hitter
against right handed or left handed pitching, and he wasn't
that last year. He had the slugging, he had the homers,
but he didn't have any sort of consistency. You weren't
worried if you were an opposing pitcher and jam mc
candelario Candell played, you really weren't that worried about that
at back. He needs to get that back a little bit.

(53:31):
We saw that the year before in Chicago and Washington,
but he kind of lost that. Another guy that Terry
Francona should be able to rain in a little bit.
I think that he had a lot more swing and
miss in his game in twenty twenty four than he
has the rest of his career. So how does he
hone that?

Speaker 21 (53:47):
In?

Speaker 25 (53:47):
Does he swing less? And I think that there's going
to be a lot of guys that you could make
the claim that as long as they swing less will
be all right. Jake Frailey is a perfect example of
that swing less, take more, be a better on base guy.
Jake Freiley could be a potential leadoff guy. But Jamier
Candelaria was brought in here to be maybe not necessarily

(54:08):
the clean up hitter, but definitely the the like the
five or six hitter in this lineup, and for much
of the season he wasn't that guy. But I think
that he's got a good chance to bounce back in
twenty twenty five.

Speaker 2 (54:21):
Really good stuff there from Jeff Carr caught up with him.
Like I said when I was filling in for Lance
down the hall, I'm James Rapine, Infomo, Merry Christmas, eve Man,
oh Man the year has flown by. I have some
thoughts on the Reds. I have plenty of thoughts on
the Bengals ahead of Saturdays must win game against the
Denver Broncos. Will continue with both of those things coming

(54:45):
up next.

Speaker 1 (54:47):
This is Football in the Natti, brought to you in
part by Modern Opus Methods on the official home of
the Bengals, Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 2 (54:58):
Welcome back to ESPN fifteen thirty. I'm James erpen in Formo.

Speaker 4 (55:02):
Merry Christmas, even happy Holidays, hopefulee.

Speaker 2 (55:06):
You're having a wonderful afternoon, headed to a family member's house.
Maybe you're hanging out, maybe you're putting on watching a
lot of football on Christmas Day. Football football, football, But
we're gonna talk baseball. Really good stuff there from Jeff
car from the Lockdown Reds podcast, and I appreciate him
and everything he does for Lockdown Reds and Cincinnati Bengals

(55:26):
Talk dot com. But as we continue the sports conversation
here on ESPN fifteen thirty, Cincinnati Sports Station, I have
some thoughts on the Reds and we'll get to the Bengals,
but I want to dive into the Reds here for
a little bit. We'll get into the Bengals coming up

(55:47):
in just a few minutes. What has to happen if
the Bengals are going to make the playoffs, It is possible.
A lot needs to happen. It involves winning football games.
But I want to gigiback what we just discussed with
Jeff Carr from Locked on Reds, and it was really
good stuff. The podcast will go up in a bit,

(56:08):
but the overall and we spent basically ten minutes on
the outfield, and then we talked about Terry frank Cone
and when I think of overall philosophy of how the
Reds have attacked this offseason to this point, and you
go get Terry Francona, the number one manager on your

(56:29):
list and probably the number one manager on anyone's list
from an available manager standpoint, that wasn't managing a team
last year or that was available this offseason. And then
you go and you trade Brady Trade for Brady Singer,
You give up Jonathan India, you give up a prospect.

(56:51):
The only thing you can do now is make sure
that you complete this outfield, like the only there's no
way you can go all right, Well, We're going to
just get some part time outfielder and have Terry Francona
piece it together. Because when you go get Francona and

(57:12):
then when you make a trade like you did for Singer,
you're saying, we plan on winning now, we plan on
winning now. And it's sort of like like the Bengals
a few years ago before the Super Bowl run in
twenty twenty one, we talked about the offensive line as
Joe Burrow is getting healthy, and it's like offensive line,
offensive line, offensive line. I'm not sure they realized they

(57:35):
were going to be contenders right away because they should
have gotten more offensive line help that offseason. They didn't.
It costs them. Kevin's was available, they didn't go get him.
If you're the Reds, you know you plan on being
a playoff team, you plan on playing in October. And
so if that's the plan and you know you have
this deficiency in the outfield, you know you need someone

(57:59):
that can be a really solid defender and give you
some power, well, then go get it. Whether it's trade,
whether it's free agency, go get it. And so that's
my expectation, that's not the hope, that's my expectation for
the Reds this offseason is get the outfield, help complete

(58:19):
that part of it, and then say, all right, Terry Francona,
one of the best managers in baseball, lead this team.
If you're going to be aggressive, continue to be aggressive.
Don't go halfway. And I'm not saying they are. These
things take time, and I think they are planning to

(58:40):
address the outfield in a pretty significant way, but that
isn't my hope. Just to be very very clear, it's
my expectation for the Reds. It's my expectation for Nick
carl it's my expectation for ownership. Find the money if
it's a free agent, find the resources and the assets.
If it's the right trade, don't make a trade because

(59:02):
it's cheaper from a financial standpoint, do what's best for winning,
and maybe do both. What if you make the trade
for Luis Robert, which he mentioned and then and he
wrote for Cincinnati Reds Talk the other day that he
likes Anthony Santander and it's like, what if you do both,

(59:26):
And it's a corner outfielder Santander and Robert is a
center fielder, and it's like, well, how about you just
do both? And I know I get that to a
little pie in the sky. But that's just how I
naturally approach a lot of this stuff. When you're talking
about team building, Go get it, go do it, and

(59:47):
it doesn't just have to be one. It's why when
they were mentioned in the Garrett Crochet rumors and trade possibilities,
and apparently they were in on him all the way
to the end. But I was like, oh, well, this
could work if you do this, and then you look
at the gymnastics, You're like, if it makes the rotation better,
do it. Even after signing Nick Martinez with that qualifying offer,

(01:00:12):
even after the Brady Singer trade. I can stand to
add another starting pitcher if you do it right. If
it means maybe losing Nick the dolo or swapping the
dolo for an outfielder, and then going to get Garrettkruschet, like,
you can sell me on that. And so to me,
my expectation for the Reds is that they get significantly

(01:00:33):
better in the outfield, because they should be ten months
from now being discussed. October Baseball Opening Day is one
hundred days away from today. By the way, just kind
of wild. The Reds put that out there today and
I was like, what, yeah, one hundred days away, I

(01:00:55):
expect there to be a change up, a significant change
in the outfield for the best. Maybe it's Luis Robert,
maybe it's another trade, Maybe it's Intander, maybe it's both. Again,
not against it. What I'm against is doing the minimum.
Everyone knows you need an outfielder. Don't do the minimum.

(01:01:15):
Go out there and get a real guy. Get a
real dude. You get a real dude. You know why,
because when the game is on the line, you're going
to have to rely on that dude to make a play.
And the more guys you have, the more likely it
is that you're going to have someone that makes a play.
And so aggressively addressing the needs, aggressively finding a way

(01:01:37):
to improve this roster, aggressively finding a way to improve
in the dugout. Well, they've done these things right, They've
improved the rotation, they've improved with Terry Francono. Now it's
time to address the outfield. I expect the Reds to
address it in a major, major way. We'll see if
they do it via trade, via free agency, or my

(01:02:01):
extremely aggressive idea of both. It's time to make a move.
Hopefully the Reds do. In the meantime, let's talk Bengals.
We have a lot of Bengals coming your way. We
will talk Bengals. We will talk playoff predicament that they're
in in what they need to make the playoffs. We
will do that coming up next.

Speaker 1 (01:02:22):
You've been listening to football in Thennetti on the official
home of the Bengals, Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 2 (01:02:32):
Welcome back to Cincinnati, ESPN fifteen thirty. I'm James Eupine.
Merry Christmas eve in from oeger. By the way you
think most of them, I'm guessing Taran and shout out
to today's producer Tarreen, but I'm guessing that he is
feed up, definitely feed up. His daughter might have dropped

(01:02:53):
an elbow or two on him in the middle of
a bourbon or two, but I'm guessing his feet are
up right now. He's relaxing. I hope you are to
and from or wherever you're going, that you're on your
way to relaxing as well. Certainly, thank you for listening
to us this holiday season and making us a part
of your busy holiday schedule. We need to talk a

(01:03:16):
little Bengals because Saturday is a big game. Saturday is
a big game for a bunch of reasons. And when
I think of the twenty twenty four Cincinnati Bengals, it's
felt multiple times like the story had been written. It's
felt multiple times like, all right, well, this is it.

(01:03:36):
This is what they are. They're a good offense, bad defense,
questionable offensive line at times, questionable coaching at times, high
end quarterback, high end receiver, another high end receiver when
he can play, but has dealt with injuries. And that's it.
And maybe instead of high end quarterback, it's all world

(01:03:56):
quarterback and all world receiver for Jamar Chase. But you
get my point and what I'm pleased to say at
this point because I that story is kind of boring.
Like I think back in my time covering the Bengals,
and they haven't really had a year like this just

(01:04:19):
covering them, where you have the all world quarterback and
he's healthy and you underachieve. But the Bengals have had that,
and I've seen that Carson Palmer two thousand and seven,
where the offense was good, the defense just could not
figure it out and could not figure it out and
had some young guys that were promising, but they weren't
ready yet and they could not. Like Jonathan Joseph was

(01:04:39):
on that team, I could not figure it out. And
after what happened in five and then six, they get
so close to the playoffs again, and then in seven,
you're like, all right, well, this has got to happen.
And it was the exact opposite. They regressed. Chad had
a career year, Chad Johnson did, Carson Palmer played well,
wasn't enough and yet there were turnovers in there. And yes,
you know it's not apple and apples apples to apples completely,

(01:05:01):
but the comparisons are fair and it's reasonable. And so
I look at it now and I'm like, all right, well,
the story seems to be written. And for multiple times
this year it just felt like the story was written,
maybe not, maybe not. Maybe this story is going to continue.

(01:05:23):
And that's what the past three weeks have shown. That's it.
And so when I look at what needs to happen
for this Cincinnati Bengals team, they need to go beat
the Denver Broncos on Saturday, and then need to travel
to Pittsburgh and go beat the Pittsburgh Steelers. They need

(01:05:45):
to do those things and even if that does happen.
It's not like they're in if those things happen, because
I would who doesn't love that scenario if you control
your own destiny. They need a bunch of stuff to happen.
They need the Broncos to lose in Week eighteen to
the chief So ideally that Chiefs game would matter, which
means tomorrow's game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Kansas

(01:06:06):
City Chiefs does matter because you would want the Chiefs
to lose tomorrow, which means you're kind of rooting for Pittsburgh.
How does that feel, Cincinnati, Merry Christmas Eve? You're rooting
for the Steelers tomorrow. It only makes sense, as weird
as it sounds. And so those are the type of
things that they need. They need the Browns to win
this weekend like that would be huge for them. If

(01:06:29):
the Browns beat the Dolphins, highly unlikely, but it would
be huge for them. They need the Giants, who currently
hold the number one overall pick in the twenty twenty
five NFL Draft with two weeks to go, to somehow win.
I'll say it again, they need the Giants, the New
York Football Giants, to win on Sunday, even though they
hold the number one overall pick with two weeks to go.

(01:06:52):
That's a tough ask and I'm not sure the Colts,
I'm not sure that's gonna happen, but that's what they need.
And so if the Colts lose, Dolphins lose one of
their next two games, and the Broncos lose in Week
eighteen plus the Bengals went out, the Bengals are in.
And I didn't get into all the other tentacles, all
the things that need to happen or could happen, Like

(01:07:14):
you need the Bills to win, so the Chiefs don't
clinch this week. You need the Chiefs to lose, so
they don't clinch this week. So that way, that Week
eighteen game matters and they are battling and playing the
Broncos for home field advantage because then you're gonna get
the absolute best out of those Kansas City Chiefs, which,

(01:07:35):
by the way, you're rooting for the Steelers this week,
just to root for the Chiefs next week, assuming you
handle business against the Broncos. Like that's where the Bengals
are and it's wild, it's exciting. I think it's entertaining,
it's certainly better than being even last year at this
time it felt like it was over. And the reason

(01:07:57):
to me it doesn't feel like it's over is because
of who. You have a quarterback, you have a stud quarterback.
You have a guy that can go in to any place,
go anywhere and you can win. That's rare. There's like
five guys in the league like that. Detroit doesn't have it,
and they're considered the favorites in the NFC. They don't
have that guy. I'm not sure the Eagles have that guy.

(01:08:21):
I think a lot of teams are lacking that guy
playoff time. Are we sure Lamar is that guy? I
think he's a dude in an MVP. Are we sure?
Though I know Mahomes is that guy. I'm not sure
Josh Allen is that guy. I think he's awesome and
had big playoff games. I'm not saying that, and I'm
not discrediting Lamar either. Like those guys are awesome, but

(01:08:42):
there aren't many guys like that where you're like, eh,
roll the ball out there, let's see, like ah.

Speaker 21 (01:08:51):
Like.

Speaker 2 (01:08:53):
Tom Brady, Peyton Manning. Those guys are rare, Like even
Aaron Rodgers hasn't been that way in his career, and
I know it's weird now, but I mean, like peek
Aaron Rodgers. It wasn't like, oh, well, you know, they
may just go on to run. And I know his
super Bowl run was that the think about it. He
he's been one super Bowl. Like they got hot at

(01:09:14):
the right time in that Super Bowl year. But then
it was kind of it. It was kind of like,
all right, well, yeah, we're gonna choke down the stretch
of these games and that's gonna be it. And that's
like he never that guy. Anyway, This isn't an Aaron
Rodgers segment, but the point is it's like, you just
don't have that many dudes that can just carry you.

(01:09:35):
And I do think that that part is intriguing to me,
Like could this like if the Bengals somehow sneak in
and the odds are against them, and it's probably not
gonna happen. We'll probably sit here in a few weeks
and they'll be on the outside looking in. But if
it does happen, then what happens. And that's what I
want to see. And by the way, you know who
else should want to see that? James are pen in

(01:09:55):
from O Today. By the way, on ESPN fifteen thirty,
you know who else should want to see that? The NFL.
I'll say it again, the NFL should want to see it.
They absolutely should want to see it. Why because Joe
Burrow and Jamar Chase are box office. Joe Burrow and
Jamar Chase going into to Buffalo is much better than

(01:10:17):
bow Necks going into Buffalo. Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase
going into Kansas City is much better than Boecks going
into Kansas City. So if there was ever a time
for Roger Goodell to have a meeting with the official,
you know how all this NFL rigged? I get this
a lot. By the way, Oh hey, James, do you
think the NFL is rigged? Come on? Heck do you

(01:10:40):
do you think the NFL is rigged? Like, come on,
how do you explain it? How do you explain it? Then, James,
how do you explain it? And I'm like, well, no,
the NFL isn't rigged, but how do you explain? Come on?
If it was rigged, it damn sure better be rigged
for the Bengals because they're way more fun than the Broncos.
They're way more fun than that the Dolphins who can't travel.

(01:11:01):
If the Dolphins have to go to Buffalo, they will
lose by four hundred and fifty two points. They will
lose by two thousand points. That Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelcey.
I think Taylor Swift might score a touchdown. They have
no business being a road playoff team. They just don't.
In the Indianapolis Colts have a quarterback that can't throw
it and hit the kenwood mall ten feet from it.

(01:11:26):
He's so inaccurate, will throw it over the building if
he was at our station right there, right now, Tarren,
There's no way Anthony Richardson could hit the door that
I'm looking at right now. There's no way.

Speaker 7 (01:11:39):
And So.

Speaker 2 (01:11:41):
When I think of the idea from an NFL standpoint
of Joe Burrow Jamar Chase in the playoffs versus Anthony Richardson,
who he's a freak. He's a freaky. I saw him
hug Joe Burrow during their joint practice during training camp
here at pay Court at the practice fields, and I
was like, oh my god, he is a giant. And

(01:12:03):
then the Bengals defense made fun of him. Yes, this
Bengals defense, they said he can't throw it like that
feels like ages ago. This Bengals defense did that. This
Bengals defense was talking about and it's like, oh, my goodness,
and so to me, I just look at the entire
situation here and it's like, well, yeah, the Bengals getting

(01:12:26):
in would be the best for everybody. Well, continue the
Bengals conversation coming up next plenty to get to. We
will also get into the and hear from the Bengals
defensive players, key players. There's a difference. There's been a change,
I would say in the locker room. You'll find out
what that is next hour as well. I'm James arpene INFROMO.

(01:12:50):
Thank you so much for listening here on ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 5 (01:12:55):
Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 11 (01:12:59):
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(01:13:21):
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Speaker 1 (01:13:35):
Start Saturday at noon on ESPN fifteen thirty, the official
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Speaker 2 (01:13:43):
Welcoming to Cincinnati, ESPN to teen thirty.

Speaker 4 (01:13:47):
Merry Christmas, Christmas.

Speaker 2 (01:13:50):
Steve, Happy holidays. Hopefully you're having a wonderful day with
your loved ones. I'm James Erpene Infra Mooager. It's The
Moiger Show on ESPN fifteen thirty with you till six o'clock.
And there's a lot of Bengals I want to get
to And if you're bouncing around in your car, it's Christmas.
We're going to keep it light, We're going to keep

(01:14:11):
it fun. I'm not going to discuss coaching futures or
this player should be this, or this player should be that.
We're not going to go here because it's Christmas Eve,
and so get ready for some positivity. You like positivity,
This is the show for you, with you till six o'clock.
If you're unaware, I'm James Orpen. I used to work

(01:14:32):
with mo for for quite some time and now they
let me pinch hit form here and there. And if
you're looking for more of my work, check out Bengalstalk
dot com, the Lockdown Bengals podcast, Cincinnati Bengals Talk on YouTube.
And there's this growing social media press and presence and

(01:14:55):
it has to do with the Bengals. And honestly, if
you would have told me when the Bengals came off
field on December first, like James, look, I know that
they just lost to the Steelers forty four to thirty eight.
I know Russell Wilson just cooked them. But on Christmas Eve,
you're going to be filling in for Moegar, Tarren Bland
is going to be your producer, and the Bengals are

(01:15:16):
still going to be in the playoff hunt. I would
have said, you're a liar. You're a liar, because they've
lost three straight games. There's no way they could rebound.
And yet the Bengals have a chance of rebounding. Now.
It isn't a great chance, but it is a chance,
and that's what I'm going to focus on. Here because

(01:15:36):
Joe Burrow is playing like an MVP, not a really
good quarterback, an MVP he has. He has already set
one Bengals record this year, on pace to set multiple others,
but actually two Bengals records this year. He has thirty
nine touchdown passes, which is the most in Bengals history.
He surpassed four thousand passing yards for the third time

(01:15:59):
in his career, which is the most by any quarterback
in number of seasons. Andy Dalton did it twice, Carson
Palmer did it twice. Joe Brow has already done it
three times. He's setting all sorts of NFL records, the
latest of which two hundred and fifty plus passing yards
and three touchdowns in seven straight games. No quarterback in
NFL history has done that. The point is is Joe

(01:16:19):
Brow has been a joy to watch all season long,
but over the past seven weeks he has been amazing.
And that's where I'm focused, Like I'm really focused on
the positives, Like I get it. They played the Cowboys,
who are the best of the three teams they've played
over the past three weeks. When the winning streak started
the past two weeks, it's the Titans and the Browns,

(01:16:40):
and I get that, I understand it, and yet I
look at this Bengals team and I can't help but think, oh, well,
they do have a chance. And that's not where expectations
were coming into the year. They know that, I know that,
everybody knows that. You know that, certainly, and so a
disappointing season, some hope. And as we sit here on

(01:17:04):
Christmas Eve, the thing that I think about when I
think of Joe Burrow is that if he gets into
the postseason, if there's any remote chance that he gets in,
the Bengal should like his chances as much as anyone
against anyone. And that could be Tom Brady coming out
of retirement, that could be modern day Peyton Maning. That

(01:17:26):
could be Patrick Mahomes, that could be Josh Allen, that
could be Lamar Jackson, that could be insert whatever team
that you think is better than the Bengals. Fine, I'm
not going to debate you on the teams. What I'm
saying is is in a one and done scenario, the
last thing I would want to do is have to
deal with Joe Burrow. I would not want to deal
with that guy. That guy is a thorn in the
side of everyone, don't believe me? What you should James

(01:17:51):
ropin in from today here on Christmas Eve? Why should you?
It's pretty simple. He took this team, a team that
has been bad for most of the year, and they
are suddenly seven to eight and in the playoff race.
On Christmas Eve, they have a must win opportunity, a
game that means a ton five days from now, five

(01:18:12):
days from not Paid Course Stadium. It's gonna be Joe
Burrow versus bo Nicks. It's going to be Zach Taylor
versus Sean Payton. It's going to be the Bengals versus
the Broncos. And that's a heck of a test. Joe
Burrow may have his worst game of the year. That's
a really good defense. But the reason they are here
is because the Bengals have an awesome quarterback and that

(01:18:33):
is a huge positive. That is something and Zach Taylor
mentioned this last week. That's something that so many franchises
wish they were at. They wish they had that problem
of oh man, we have this really highly paid quarterback
and we got to build around him. It's the best
problem to have. We have this awesome leader that does
everything right and works really really hard, and man, oh man,

(01:18:54):
when you have him in the building, there's a pressure
to win and there's a standard, and he's going to
get frustrated and he's going to push. Zach Taylor said
that last week, and it's true, and you know what
it is. It is a privilege to have that in
the NFL because there are so many teams, some that
the Bengals are banking on to get in the postseason,
banking on winning over the next few weeks, that have

(01:19:15):
you at quarterback. They have nothing at quarterback. It is zero.
And when you go to the building week in and
week out with nothing at quarterback, those teams get lost.
This team didn't get lost. They found themselves in the
middle of December, and the energy in the locker room
has changed. More on that coming up later this hour.

(01:19:35):
But the point is is when you have Joe Burrow
and you have a puncher's chance, you should feel at
least semi optimistic. At least I do. Maybe I'm in
the minority, but I think about this Bengals team where
they've been, how ridiculously bad the defense had been, how
bad they were in one game, one score situations, how
bad they were down the stretch of games. No matter

(01:19:58):
what Joe Burrow did, they're two in seven and one
score games still, so closing has been an issue, but
Joe has been the steadying presence. Joe has been the
one that has just found away to keep them afloat,
found away, and now they look that You look up
and they're seven and eight. I'm not sure if they're

(01:20:18):
going to beat the Broncos. I'm not sure if they're
going to beat the Steelers. Both of those teams are
playing for a lot, so're two tough games. In reality,
the Bengals shouldn't be in this position. They should have
handled business against the Patriots. They should have handled business
in Week three against the Commanders because they couldn't force
a punt. They should have handled business the following the

(01:20:40):
next home game that they had when they were one
in three playing the Baltimore Ravens. They should have handled
business in Kansas City in Week two when they outplayed
the Chiefs for most of the game. The bottom line
is is they've put themselves in this position. No one's
saying that, no one's defending them, and there's plenty of
changes that need to be made. This offseason. It isn't

(01:21:01):
the offseason, it's the in season. And the Bengals kept
their season alive. It is alive. And when you have
Joe Burrow, there's reasona believe if you have insert quarterback,
random quarterback that's good but not great. Like if Jared
Golf was the Bengals quarterback, I wouldn't be in. I
wouldn't be in. I'd be like, eh, we know how

(01:21:21):
this ends. I don't know how this season ends for
Joe Burrow and the Bengals if they get to the playoffs.
I don't because it's a flawed roster. They have their issues,
but they also have Joe Burrow who can overcome set issues.
They also have Jamar Chase who can help overcome set issues.
They also have a game wrecker and Trey Hendrickson who
at times can wreck games. And so when you have

(01:21:42):
those pieces, t Higgins just name the four best players
and then you have veterans like Mike Hilton that have
been there, done that, veterans like bj Hill that have
been there, done that. You can talk yourself into it. Now,
the Bengals need to get in the dance. To start dancing.
The Bengals need to find a way to win the
next two. They need to get some help. But overall,

(01:22:07):
do I like where they're at compared to where they
were twenty one days ago, compared to where they were
after three straight losses, three straight one score losses to
the Ravens, Chargers and Steelers. Absolutely. Absolutely, I like the
fight I've seen from this defense. Lou Ana Roumo in company,
James Rpine, by the way in from Oh Merry Christmas Eve.

(01:22:32):
It is unbelievable to think that this defense has been
as good as it's been over the past couple of weeks,
even against the crap they've played a quarterback. You force
nine turnovers, you get some confidence. You got Mike Hilton
saying he's the best blitzer in the league. You have
Geno's Stone saying I got my swagger back, and you
could check out his Twitter slash x if you want

(01:22:55):
to check out that that video that he posted he said,
oh I got my swag a b because he has
interceptions in three straight games. Don't worry, I'm not going
to sing to you. The point is is they've made
it interesting, and Most says this a lot on his show.
I'm familiar with it, of course, what does he root for?

(01:23:16):
What do we all root for? When it comes to sports,
When it comes to entertainment, you want to be interesting
and you want to be entertained. The Bengals have been
entertaining all year long, even if it means playing so
poorly that you're like, oh my god, I can't believe
they can play that poorly on defense, or tackle that poorly,
or block that poorly, or turn it over again right

(01:23:37):
there in that moment, and yet they have a lot
to play for. Saturday Night football is essentially what it is,
four thirty Saturday, Bengals Browns. It's going to be our
Bengals Broncos. Excuse me. The Bengals just beat the Browns
to earn this step. And by the way, what does
Saturday mean? Saturday means the Bengals have to beat the

(01:23:59):
Broncos to earn another meaningful game. That's where they're at.
That's why they put themselves in position to do for
better or worse. So for me, I want to look
at it, I want to analyze it, and my analysis
is they got here somehow. It's an exciting time. It is,
even if today today is disappointing. If you would have

(01:24:21):
told me in September that they would be seven and
eight going into Christmas. I would say, well, that's a
huge disappointment, and there's no doubt it is. But context matters,
the how matters. They're seven and eight after rattling off
three straight, and suddenly they're in the playoff race. Suddenly
there's reason to believe. Can they keep it going? If
they do, Joe Brow's going to be a big part

(01:24:42):
of that. You know what, I know what, we all
know it. It's Christmas Eve. We're just getting started here.
On ESPN fifteen thirty, I'm James Ropen in for mo.
We will keep the Bengals conversation going coming up next.
Stay tuned and be safe out there. I know you're traveling.
Keep it locked right here. On ESPN fifteen.

Speaker 1 (01:24:58):
Thirty, This is Football in the NATI, brought to you
in part by Blood Light and by Skyline Shilly. On
the official home of the Bengals, Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 4 (01:25:14):
Bengals wide receiver Jamar Chase continues to chase greatness.

Speaker 2 (01:25:20):
Welcome back into ESPN fifteen thirty. I'm James Murky and
this is the Moegger Show. Happy holidays, Merry Christmas Eve,
and welcome into Cincinnati's sports station. Shout out to Terarren
Bland for producing today's show. Let's continue the Bengals conversation
with the one the only, Jamar Chase, whose stats well

(01:25:41):
are a top of the league in three key categories.
He has one hundred and eight receptions, one five and
ten yards and sixteen touchdowns. He leads every player in
the NFL in all three categories. The fifteen hundred and
ten yards are a Bengals franchise record with two games
to go. So man Man, is Jamar Chase just breaking records,

(01:26:02):
making an impact in any and every way you could
think of. He's just one touchdown away from tyle Tyan
Carl Pickens for the most receiving touchdowns in team history.
He's just four receptions away from tying TJ. Hushman Zada
for the most receptions in Bengals history. So he's poised
to potentially break all three Bengals franchise records for a

(01:26:27):
receiver all the key categories. And Jamar Chase talked after
the Bengals win over the Cleveland Browns and for more,
Let's hear what Jamar had to say following the win.
Following the bengals third straight win and following his record
breaking performance when he broke his own record of receiving yards,
getting to fifteen hundred for the first time in his

(01:26:50):
NFL career.

Speaker 6 (01:26:51):
Yeah, I think we're doing a good job of just
taking one game at a time and you know, taking
a taking care of business that we need to first,
so we could talk about the next team.

Speaker 15 (01:26:59):
Joe was wanna go out there for that end up
being a touchdown?

Speaker 5 (01:27:03):
Yeah?

Speaker 25 (01:27:04):
What what?

Speaker 7 (01:27:04):
What?

Speaker 8 (01:27:04):
How did he that?

Speaker 25 (01:27:06):
Uh?

Speaker 6 (01:27:06):
Well, the play before, Uh, I was supposed to go
in just be like a d call on the store route.
And then we came back the second play and was
running a whiskey. It was like two minutes left on
the clock, and I was like, Troy, I'm I'm good,
you know, get main in.

Speaker 5 (01:27:22):
Let him get like a little pep and stuff.

Speaker 6 (01:27:23):
You know.

Speaker 5 (01:27:24):
I was looking out for.

Speaker 6 (01:27:24):
Jermaine and he was like, the second play whiskey. So
he was like, you might want take this play, you
know what I'm saying. I was like, alright, fine, you
know what I'm saying. I went out there and uh.

Speaker 5 (01:27:36):
It was just nothing but God at that point, you know, God.

Speaker 7 (01:27:37):
Called to be a back shoulder or what? Who was
your bis?

Speaker 14 (01:27:40):
Uh?

Speaker 6 (01:27:41):
Nah, he just tried to look the safety off. He
looked the safety off for a long time, and he
just threw it in the air.

Speaker 7 (01:27:45):
Did you guys stop the Uh? The guy stopped going cool?

Speaker 2 (01:27:49):
Uh?

Speaker 5 (01:27:49):
The because of defender?

Speaker 21 (01:27:51):
Yeah?

Speaker 5 (01:27:51):
Uh, I don't think so. I think he's just behind me.

Speaker 9 (01:27:54):
What's whiskey?

Speaker 16 (01:27:56):
Uh?

Speaker 5 (01:27:58):
Did y'all tell you that? No?

Speaker 6 (01:27:59):
You just w whiskey is a play though? Okay, yeah
it's no play, but it's a play.

Speaker 2 (01:28:03):
Okay.

Speaker 12 (01:28:04):
How does it feel to you to break your fan
trans record for receiving us?

Speaker 2 (01:28:09):
Uh?

Speaker 5 (01:28:09):
I mean it feels good.

Speaker 3 (01:28:10):
You know.

Speaker 5 (01:28:10):
That's something I wanted to do, just.

Speaker 6 (01:28:13):
Know me being me, being competitive, I wanna compete with myself,
So that was a good thing. I did that just
a goal of mine.

Speaker 13 (01:28:19):
After Drug's first touchdown last week, you called him who D?

Speaker 7 (01:28:23):
What'd you think of his face lamps?

Speaker 5 (01:28:25):
Touchdown? Yeah? That that was another hoo D play right there.

Speaker 6 (01:28:28):
I'm not gonna lie. I just seen him uh falling
forth on the bar. I didn't even know who caught
it until it's a celebration.

Speaker 9 (01:28:36):
Why do you think the scene as reporting. You know,
you know, four hims on you just go down like
for was partially still a quay. Who Why do you
think y'all were able to bounce back?

Speaker 6 (01:28:44):
Give a cut of movie over a huge so, uh,
cause we know what it takes. We know what we've
been through to get here. We just got stayed, you
know as a unit, uh, with this team and everybody
to make sure we're on the same page and commun
and communicating and you know, just executing when it's time
to execute.

Speaker 5 (01:29:01):
Uh, when you gotta be in position, you gotta be there.

Speaker 6 (01:29:03):
So uh, I think we everyone's just doing a good job,
just taking that week at a time and taking care
of business.

Speaker 9 (01:29:08):
What's it been like as an offense seeing the defense
kind of play as well play half loast years.

Speaker 5 (01:29:11):
It's been good seeing them do that.

Speaker 6 (01:29:12):
Man, you know, we expect them to do that, and
when we see 'em make turnover and stuff like that,
they give the the offense some excitement to be to
be a little more explosive.

Speaker 21 (01:29:21):
I remember you telling us about some of the goals
that you write down after the season.

Speaker 16 (01:29:25):
I can't remember which ones you told us about. Was
fifteen hundred yards.

Speaker 6 (01:29:27):
One of those, Yes, you want the rest of 'em.
M yp Well, well no, I'm not getting the rest
of 'em. But I mean, yeah, I mean it's it's
a blessing, man, Honestly, it's a blessing. And to sit
here and say that I didn't want to go in
on that last play, that one catch got me at
fifteen hundred, so it's you know, it's nothing but a blessing.

Speaker 5 (01:29:46):
And no, I could be n be happy, but thank God.
At that point, do you.

Speaker 20 (01:29:49):
Know, do you do anything with the sticky notes after
you accomplished one of those things?

Speaker 6 (01:29:55):
This might be my first time of a completing it,
like for real, So it's probably gonna stay.

Speaker 5 (01:30:01):
There to that off season you met Pro Bowl. It
was a city sit again.

Speaker 9 (01:30:05):
Probo wasn't sticking up for it.

Speaker 6 (01:30:07):
That's expected for me now more like all pro. I
got all Pro up there, right.

Speaker 9 (01:30:11):
It was the first time the citizen.

Speaker 5 (01:30:13):
Nah, it wasn't up there. It was never up there.
Pro was never up there. It was always all Pro.

Speaker 15 (01:30:17):
So it was the first time you could accomplished anything
that you put it on your sticking the pretty much.

Speaker 5 (01:30:21):
Yeah, yeah, freakchise record was my boy. Either help for
you for me? Now you also help. Yeah when you
I remember.

Speaker 14 (01:30:28):
When you got drafted, you you said straight up like
I wanna come in and break all the records that
they have.

Speaker 9 (01:30:34):
Why what gave you that confidence for you second you
got here that this is what you wanted to do.

Speaker 5 (01:30:37):
Uh, that's just the person I am. You know what
I'm saying.

Speaker 6 (01:30:39):
I I walk with that swag like that. I just
you know, I just let to compete. And you know,
the guys around me know that I love to compete
out work hard to get this way. But you know
it's you know, the guys around me definitely making me
get this way too.

Speaker 15 (01:30:52):
Do you think there was a mort stretch when you
went from a hit yeah, or the way in the
second quarter and then didn't get another one for from
one time?

Speaker 3 (01:31:00):
Yeah?

Speaker 7 (01:31:00):
Did they change you know?

Speaker 3 (01:31:01):
I you know what did they do?

Speaker 7 (01:31:02):
What did they change?

Speaker 18 (01:31:03):
You up?

Speaker 11 (01:31:04):
Uh?

Speaker 6 (01:31:04):
They ain't really change nothing. Grant just did a good
job of just not staying and he just moving out the.

Speaker 5 (01:31:08):
Middle of the field, you know, playing help to my side.

Speaker 6 (01:31:11):
You know that scharedule a little bit so Uh he
being precautious with the ball and just taking a one
on one receivers.

Speaker 9 (01:31:16):
What was why seeing the great.

Speaker 2 (01:31:17):
I guess y'all.

Speaker 6 (01:31:18):
Grant, I didn't see it. He came to me at Bruh.
He came to me after player asking me, did I
see the crity. I didn't see it, though.

Speaker 2 (01:31:24):
You just talked about the expectation for yourself in the
Pro Bowl.

Speaker 12 (01:31:28):
Would you say the expectation for this team should be
playing meaningful games in December every year?

Speaker 1 (01:31:35):
Uh?

Speaker 6 (01:31:36):
I had expectations for this team is is AFC Championship football.
At the end of the day, you know, That's how
I'll go every year. We don't really have that in
our hands this year, but that's that's the stand that
we hold ourselves to in the in the in the
big flocker room.

Speaker 17 (01:31:50):
Do you remember at at the zoom call if you
were drafted, when you said the great every record the
stands question was mentioned Chad and AJM remember yeah, yeah.

Speaker 5 (01:31:59):
Yeah, you didn't flinch your pa all No, no, no,
I meant that.

Speaker 9 (01:32:03):
No, I know, but you just didn't flinch it all.

Speaker 7 (01:32:05):
I just think that.

Speaker 5 (01:32:06):
I mean, I just love football, bruh. I've been waiting
for this my whole life. You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 6 (01:32:10):
I comp I've been competing against the best of my
whole life. It's just what it comes down to at
the end of the day.

Speaker 18 (01:32:16):
Does it feel bet tomorrow that the last couple of
weeks you haven't had to like completely.

Speaker 7 (01:32:21):
On you and Joe, you get your job done.

Speaker 18 (01:32:24):
You've had Chase Brown starting to really emerge, and the
defense is starting to create turnovers. You playing more together
as a complimentary football team. Does it feel that way?

Speaker 5 (01:32:34):
Yeah?

Speaker 6 (01:32:35):
Yeah, it feels that way, especially the last three weeks. Man,
it's been it's been an awesome rode these last three weeks,
having phoned the guys and winning. You know, as long
as we find a way at the end and find
a way to finish, that's that's the biggest.

Speaker 18 (01:32:45):
Thing, doesn't you take You wish or feel like where
I wish we you know, I able to play a
little bit more like this throughout the season.

Speaker 6 (01:32:54):
Yeah, I mean that's everyone. Everyone feels that way. You
know what I'm saying, Like, uh, we all, like I said,
the stamp, there is AFC Championship, you know what I'm saying,
Like we we wanna be there and you know that
didn't happen this year, but that's our standard.

Speaker 5 (01:33:07):
You said, you've been waiting for this.

Speaker 19 (01:33:08):
Your whole life and this is your first time hitting that.
When you work accomplishing wanted you sticky no goals, do
you take time to let it set in and just
like appreciate, like this is what you've been working for
enough you get to feel it.

Speaker 6 (01:33:22):
It hit me when I caught the touchdown, you know
what I'm saying. I didn't know what exactly what was
going on, but it hit me in that moment, so
you know it was that was a real god situation
for me right there.

Speaker 20 (01:33:32):
So you said, you're gonna tell us the whole list,
but what's the most most extreme thing on there?

Speaker 7 (01:33:38):
Are the uh or the most stampicious?

Speaker 11 (01:33:45):
Well?

Speaker 6 (01:33:45):
I got all three for the Bengals, Like I got
all three sticky knows for catchers, R, touchdowns and yards
up there, so we got more than that.

Speaker 5 (01:33:53):
Yeah, boy, I can't give you that brothering.

Speaker 9 (01:33:56):
Getka just one bigger one.

Speaker 5 (01:33:58):
Uh, I can't give you a big one. I guess
now that I could just probably do like maybe the touchdowns.
You know something I really want.

Speaker 21 (01:34:05):
Now that you've accomplished most receiving yards and Bengals history
fifteen hundred yards, first Bangles receiver ever to do that,
you can move on to most ever in the season
and retire.

Speaker 16 (01:34:15):
And felt maybe for next year.

Speaker 6 (01:34:16):
Yeah, I mean when that happens, I'll get to that.
But you know, right now to stay in a moment,
taking one game at a time. But you know, I'm
just like, I gotta stay living in the moment, man,
just enjoying this process right now.

Speaker 22 (01:34:27):
And you said you your yards to have contract or
a catch, and you yards to have to contract the
physicality of it.

Speaker 7 (01:34:34):
You pointed or say damn, I mean they were grafted
when you were busted them up.

Speaker 6 (01:34:39):
Uh, they usually say damn, you was a strong son
of a bee. You know, so I've been, I've been.
I've heard that a couple of times this year.

Speaker 16 (01:34:46):
You said, Uh, you know, your team goals eighty championship if.

Speaker 21 (01:34:50):
You guys are able to rattle off five street get
into the playoffs, do you feel like you'll be the
most dangerous.

Speaker 27 (01:34:55):
Team coming in.

Speaker 2 (01:34:57):
Uh?

Speaker 6 (01:34:57):
I feel like we already the most dangerous team, you
know what I'm saying. And people fear us, you know
what I'm saying. But it's gonna come down to just
making it, making that one play on offense and defense
and just finishing at the end of the game. So
as long as who stay in it as a unit,
you know, will be all right.

Speaker 7 (01:35:12):
They say you're a strong son of a beat. What
do you do you say any of that?

Speaker 5 (01:35:16):
Not just at laughing. Usually I got my grizz of
my moss to smile at him.

Speaker 2 (01:35:19):
That is Jamar Chase. That entire video posted on the
YouTube channel Cincinnati Bengals Talk. I'm James Everpene in for
mo Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas Eve on ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 1 (01:35:32):
You've been listening to football in the NATI brought to
you by Cincinnati Tax Resolution powered by Top Sheldon. On
the official home of the Bengals Cincinnati is ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 2 (01:35:44):
Since Welcome back into Cincinnati, ESPN fifteen thirty. I'm James
Rapine in formo Merry Christmas Eve. Shout out to Today's
producer Tarren Bland on Boy oh boy, I can't believe
the twenty twenty four where a calendar year is almost
in the books, the twenty twenty four Cincinnati Bengals appear

(01:36:06):
to be in the books, and they've found a way
to scratch and claw their way to December relevancy. The
Cincinnati Bengals still have a shot at the playoffs. They do,
and we just heard from Jamar Chase. We heard the
locker room and what was in the locker room this
hour as well. But it's time to discuss the elephant

(01:36:29):
in the room. What needs to happen for the Cincinnati
Bengals to make the postseason? What do they need to do,
what do teams around them need to do? How will
they get there? Will they get there?

Speaker 3 (01:36:44):
Who knows?

Speaker 2 (01:36:44):
Maybe I'll even be bold enough to make a prediction.
I'm just kidding, not there yet, even though I do
think that they have a good shot against the Broncos.
That's going to be an ugly, tough game, though I
just think the Bengals are playing better. But what needs
to happen, Well, the Bengals have to beat the Broncos
on Saturday. It starts there game you can hear right
here on the ESPN fifteen thirty. So it starts there.
You gotta beat the Broncos. And then after that, guess

(01:37:04):
what you gotta do. You gotta go to Pittsburgh and
win and get to three and three in the division.
And as I rattle all of the things off that
needs to happen for the Bengals to get into the playoffs.
I always think and I keep thinking like, oh my god,
if they had just won this game, or if they
had just done that, or if that had happened, or
if this had happened, or if that had happened. And well,
it's the position they put themselves in at seven and

(01:37:27):
eight on the year. So the Bengals need to win out.
They need to win their final two games. They also
need the Denver Broncos, who they play Saturday, to also
lose next week against the Kansas City Chiefs. Easy enough, right,
Well it's not that simple.

Speaker 7 (01:37:45):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:37:45):
They also need the Miami Dolphins to lose one of
their final two games, and they also need the Indianapolis
Colts to lose one of their final two games. The
problem with that is is the Colts they play the
Giants this week and then they close their season at
home against the Jaguars. The Giants are the worst team

(01:38:05):
in football by record, They're set to have the number
one overall pick. They would be foolish to lose or
to not lose, both of these final two games. And
I know football can be unpredictable, but it's hard to believe,
and hard to see a scenario where the Giants lose
another or win another game this year and lose out
on the number one pick. But that's what the Bengals
are hoping for, Giants upsetting the Colts this week, or

(01:38:27):
the Jaguars in Week eighteen upsetting the Colts. And then
they also need the Dolphins to somehow stub their tail
against the Cleveland Browns. And I thought when Jamis Winston
was the Browns starting quarterback, there'd be a shot. But
that's not going to be the case. That isn't the case,
and so it's like, ah, that's rough.

Speaker 25 (01:38:44):
So not there.

Speaker 2 (01:38:45):
I was like, Okay, well, what about what about the
following week? Well, the following week it's the New York
Jets and maybe maybe Aaron Rodgers s hays a vintage
Rodgers performance and spoils the Dolphins plans. But it's just
it's an unpeull climb. It's a lot of things that
the Bengals need because you need the Broncos to lose

(01:39:07):
that Week eighteen game against the Chiefs, which means, in
all likelihood, you want the game to matter to the Chiefs,
which means the Chiefs need to lose tomorrow to the Steelers,
which means, you see, it's just a ripple effect. It's
a ripple effect. But the cheat sheet, and I'm gonna
do this because I know it's a lot of things
when you go into holiday party and you want to
make sure you know exactly what you say is correct.

(01:39:29):
The cheat sheet is simple. The Bengals need to beat
the Broncos and the Steelers. The Bengals need the Broncos
to lose in Week eighteen. The Bengals need the Dolphins
and the Colts to lose one of their final two games.
So that's the cheat sheet. Colts Dolphins lose one of
their final two games, Broncos lose Week eighteen, Bengals went out,

(01:39:50):
so they control their destiny outside of three games. They
need three results to go their way over the next
two weeks. See, it sounds really simple then when you
say it that way and then you look at the
games and you're like, oh, that's tough. Like yeah, to
a tongue of iolois stinks in the cold, does he
stink worse than Dorian Thompson Robinson. We saw that yesterday

(01:40:12):
and the answer is no. The answer is no. It
just makes it like, oh boy, but I'll give the
Bengals credit. They've made it interesting. They're hanging around, they're
staying in it, and it feels like they're dangerous. It
feels like they're dangerous, like they're jelling at the right time,
and so can they Will they somehow find a way

(01:40:35):
to sneak into the playoffs. I think that's a question
that a lot of people are going to ask, and
it honestly begins and ends with Saturday. I said it
a few days ago before the Browns game. Everyone after
the Broncos lost to the Chargers on Thursday Night Football,
so it was probably last Friday, people are like, hey, James,
what do you think about the Broncos? What do you

(01:40:55):
think about this? And I'm like, honestly, I need to
need to see them sweep the Browns first. I need
them to beat the Browns. And it sounds silly now
because they beat the crap out of the Browns, but
in all in reality, that's how my head works. I
was like, oh, well, you got to beat the Browns
first for it to matter, Otherwise it's irrelevant. And they
hadn't swept the brown since twenty seventeen, so It's not

(01:41:16):
like I was going out on a limb there. The
Browns with bad quarterbacks have always found ways to be
a thorn in the side of Joe Burrow and Zach
Taylor until this year and the Bengals I have gotten
over that hump and I don't think it really mattered
to them, but it was something of note to me
just watching a Miles Garrett and that defensive front would
get after Joe Burrow would disrupt the Bengals offense. And honestly,

(01:41:47):
doing that and being that singular focused is I think
the only way they can do it. It's a very honestly,
it's similar to doing it three hour radio show, and
it's really any like challenging thing you could compare it to.
But if you need all of these things to happen,

(01:42:08):
right and you're like, all right, well, I need to
do a three hour radio show, and then this radio
station needs this to happen, and this needs to happen,
and this needs to happen because it's the radio playoffs, right, Well,
what can you control? Well, you could control every segment
you do from three to six, which is what I'm
doing right now in form and that's how Zach Taylor.
That's how Joe Burrow view it, and that sets the

(01:42:30):
tone for the rest of the team because it would
be real easy for one of these rookies to be like,
oh my god, how are the Dolphins going to lose?
And I get it because they might not lose, or
oh my goodness, the Colts are the Broncos. The Broncos
aren't gonna lose to Carson wentz If, Patrick Mahomes and
Nick Clinton. But it doesn't matter. You can't control that stuff.
And so I think what's really interesting is seeing the

(01:42:52):
mindset and it's consistent in like whether it's Joe Burrow,
Zach Taylor, anyone else, Like you could give them truths
here them and they would still tell you that answer
that is not a canned answer. It's just the only
answer it is, and it's it's like, Okay, you shrug, like, oh,
it sounds like generic one on one, But you gotta

(01:43:16):
take the first step to anything. If you're gonna get
to the last step, you're gonna climb Mount Everest. Well,
where do you start. You start by beating the Cowboys.
Then you find a way to beat the Titans on
the road, and then you find a way to beat
the Cleveland Browns, and now you look up and it's like,
all right, well it's still a steep climb, but now
you gotta find a way to beat the Broncos. And
if you beat the Broncos, then you earn Week eighteen

(01:43:39):
with something on the line. You enter Week eighteen with
a chance to qualify for the postseason, and you put
pressure on these other teams. And so that's what I
think is interesting, is the Bengals putting pressure on these
other teams and emerging now after a very disappointing season.
Let's not sugarcoat it. And so we'll see if they

(01:43:59):
can get it on Saturday at pay Course Stadium. I'm
gonna have you covered. By the way, I'm infom O today,
I'm gonna have you covered. I think I'm in next
week to on New Year's Eve, New year' Day, something
like that, Arren. I'll have to check the schedule. Shout
out today to today's producer, by the way, Terren Bland
crushing it on Christmas Eve, but I'm gonna have you
covered on Saturday. Bengals Talk dot Com, Cincinnati Bengals Talk

(01:44:21):
on YouTube, The Lockdown Bengals podcast. So just in case
you're looking for more Bengals coverage, we certainly have you
covered there. I'm James Rapine Infomo. Merry Christmas, Eve, Happy holidays,
Stay safe out there. You're listening to ESPN fifteen thirty