9/10/26 -- Mo Egger: A Season-Opening Feeling Like No Other, and Will the Bengals Look Prepared?

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Bengals!

Speaker 2 (00:03):
Bengals fans have waited all offseason for football, and it's
finally here. Can the Orange and Blacks start the season
fast and steal the win? Or will our beloved Bengals
be swashbuckled by the Buccaneers?

Speaker 1 (00:15):
Coverage begins Sunday.

Speaker 3 (00:16):
Morning at 9 a.m.

Speaker 2 (00:18):
Stream for free on the new and improved iHeartRadio app
or on ESPN 1530, the official home of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Speaker 1 (00:26):
It's the Bengals and Buccaneers.

Speaker 4 (00:29):
Can you really.

Speaker 6 (00:32):
Favored by three and a half points, voice guy. Like,
you steal a win when you're not supposed to. The
Bengals are supposed to win this game, right? They're favored.

Speaker 4 (00:42):
They're at home. They're as healthy as you could ever
hope for.

Speaker 7 (00:45):
Them to be.

Speaker 1 (00:45):
Like....

Speaker 6 (00:49):
They obviously have a track record. They're not getting off
to a great start. You'll steal a win when you're
favored at home when you're considered a bona fide title contender.
I think we consider them bona fide title contenders.

Speaker 4 (01:01):
Good afternoon.

Speaker 1 (01:01):
I'm Mo Egger.

Speaker 6 (01:02):
This is ESPN 1530. Thank you for listening. Full show
preview is available. It's available now on the iHeartRadio app. Actually,
the show preview is available. I mixed my messages. Off
to a good start. Show preview is available on Twitter.
And you can go to at Mo Egger on Twitter.
And my promise is by the end of the year,

(01:24):
I'll start calling it X.

Speaker 4 (01:25):
I promise.

Speaker 6 (01:25):
I promise. Never break a promise. At Mo Egger for
today's show preview video. It is a service of Sharefax
Credit Union. We are about two and a half weeks
away from the Sharefax Credit Union golf outing. Go to ShareFacts.org,
sign up. It's at the Heritage Club in Mason, September
the 28th. All proceeds benefiting Cincinnati Children's Charities. It's going

(01:47):
to be a great day. I will see you there
because I don't just live in the city. I participate
in it. uh also you could watch the show it's
on youtube it's on twitter at mo egger or on
youtube the mo egger show it's very exciting to watch
me sit here and talk very quickly a uh a
thank you to the folks with the anthony muñoz foundation

(02:08):
for letting us broadcast from their event yesterday by the
way i had interviewed when he was an active player
sam hubbard Three times.

Speaker 4 (02:17):
And good guy, good player, you know, fun story.

Speaker 6 (02:21):
Local guy played for the Bengals, was a part of
the turnaround, played in the Super Bowl. The interview I
did with him yesterday, and this is a statement about him,
not so much me, was awesome. Like, it's... I don't
want to say it's rare, but, but you know, usually
most interviews we do them. They're eight minutes, 10 minutes,
12 minutes by the time it's like, you know, it ends.

Speaker 4 (02:42):
It's like, yeah, we're good here.

Speaker 6 (02:44):
I could have talked to Sam for another 10 minutes.
If you miss that conversation on top of our chat
with Anthony Munoz and Joe Walter and Max Montoya and
David Fulcher and Ken Anderson, go to the I heart
radio app. Also check out my page at ESPN, 1530.com.
Sam Hubbard was amazing.

Speaker 1 (03:01):
Terrific.

Speaker 6 (03:02):
Show was terrific. And the folks at the Anthony Munoz Foundation, terrific.
They do awesome work. And they did surpass their goal
of raising over a half million dollars over the course
of the nine years of that event. Already looking forward
to next year. In 10 minutes, we go to Tampa. Bengals, Bucs,
Sunday at 1, live on ESPN 1530. Looking forward to that. Obviously,

(03:24):
this is our last show before that game, before the
season begins. I don't know about you, obviously, but you
are welcome to chime in that we don't have a
lot of room for phone calls today. But that being said,
you know, there have been lots of years where I
think we felt like the Bengals were going to be
pretty good. There have been lots of years where I

(03:47):
think we expected the Bengals to be pretty good. There
have been a lot of years where we thought the
Bengals might be good. There have been some years where
we hoped the Bengals would be good, but we weren't sure.
And obviously, there have been a lot of years where
on the doorstep of the season, we either believed or hell,

(04:07):
we knew the Bengals were going to be bad. The
feeling today, with the first game three days away, I
have been rooting for this franchise, following it closely. since
I was eight years old. It's a long damn time ago.
I do not recall feeling anything like I do right

(04:29):
now about the Bengals and their chances. You know, in 2022,
we talked about them being bonafide title contenders and they were,
they brought back all the good players from a team
that had made the Superbowl and we had thought they'd
made their offensive line better.

Speaker 4 (04:45):
And they did.

Speaker 6 (04:46):
And that year, you know, you heard a lot of
folks talk about how the season before, the Bengals, they
were kind of lucky. And I will admit this, and
I was kind of wrong about this, but I will
admit this, that I did wonder if maybe they were
going to take a little bit of a step back
because of... you know, just the nature of which, how
they'd won and, you know, the, the shakiness of the

(05:07):
offensive line still. And I thought they were going to
be good. Thought of Joe Burrow played 17 games.

Speaker 4 (05:12):
They'd be good. And they were good.

Speaker 6 (05:14):
They came this, this close to going to a Superbowl.
And I thought they would be good, but there was
a little apprehension. I, I don't have any apprehension. Now
there's the, and we have discussed this, like You know,
it's like in a relationship when things are going almost
too well, and it's like, I'm scared.

Speaker 4 (05:32):
I've been hurt before.

Speaker 6 (05:34):
And yeah, I think as a sports fan, and I
think specifically as a Bengals fan, we can all relate
to that. But I have no apprehension. I have no
apprehension in saying publicly or privately or just feeling like
this team has an extraordinarily good chance to win the
whole thing. I don't love guarantees about winning Super Bowls

(05:57):
because that doesn't That sort of ignores a lot of
factors that you can't predict. I've also made declarative statements
about the Bengals before that I've, again, I've been wrong.
Two years ago, I said, if Joe Burrow plays 17 games,

(06:18):
the Bengals will at least absolutely be a playoff team.
I'll double down on that. I was wrong two years ago.
Joe played 17 games. The team, frankly, really didn't even
come close. This year, Joe Burrow plays 17 games. They
win the division. And they might win it handily. Like
to the degree that it's already wrapped up when the

(06:40):
Ravens come here on New Year's Eve. I am lucky
that we have a job where we went down and
watched him in training camp. And so my view of
this team is maybe a little bit skewed by that.
I'm willing to admit it. I'm willing to admit that
if I didn't live in Cincinnati, And I didn't follow

(07:00):
this team closely that when folks talked about how good
the Bengals might be, I would bring up, yeah, the defense.

Speaker 4 (07:06):
Come on.

Speaker 6 (07:06):
Is it really going to be that better? Or I
would say, yeah, whatever franchise that can't keep Burrow healthy.

Speaker 1 (07:11):
Uh-huh.

Speaker 6 (07:12):
Or I would express some level of skepticism about Zach Taylor.

Speaker 4 (07:15):
But I live here.

Speaker 6 (07:17):
And I follow it closely. Not an insider by any
stretch of the imagination. I've seen what they've done to
the team. I've listened to what has come out of
the mouths of important people down there. I've noticed the
vibe change. Feels like there's been a real premium on
the right types of people, not just the right types
of players. I've watched them look good in one area,

(07:40):
sometimes multiple areas, every day of training camp. I've watched
them demonstrate their depth during the preseason. I know the
caliber of quarterback they have. I see a side of
the ball that has unprecedented continuity, as it relates to
this franchise at least. I see upgrades made across the defense,
though admittedly, obviously not at linebacker. I feel the sense

(08:03):
of urgency. I feel the sense of, you know, now
or never. I don't see a team that has a
lot of flaws. I don't see a team that has
a ton of glaring holes. There are questions. How will
the defensive pieces fit early in the season? Can a
team with a track record of getting off to slow
offensive starts avoid that beginning on Sunday? Zach Taylor going

(08:27):
to press all the right buttons? Do they really have
as much depth as I believe? What happens when an
offensive lineman gets hurt? How much are we going to
hold our breath when a swing tackle has to play?
I'm curious as to how they're going to overcome adversity.
Adversity will present itself maybe in a game, maybe for
a whole bunch of games, maybe for a large chunk

(08:49):
of the season. How are they going to handle the
pressure week to week that will come with massive expectations
and maybe a loss that they shouldn't have or an
opponent that seems to be a little bit more difficult
than we originally believed? The beauty of a sports season
is you don't know about the stuff that's going to

(09:09):
get in the way.

Speaker 4 (09:10):
But today?

Speaker 6 (09:12):

(09:33):
I believe they will finish with 12 wins. That
may sound light. worth mentioning only three Bengals teams in
franchise history of 112 games. Don't know if that's going
to be good enough to be the one seed. I
did my gambling show back at the Envelope Bets, and
I talked about the reasons to bet on the Bengals
to be the one seed. And part of it has
to do with some of the other contenders and where

(09:53):
they play them and getting tiebreakers. Not here to tell
you that this team is flawless. Not here to tell
you that this team doesn't have questions that are very
fair to ask about it not here to tell you
necessarily that they're guaranteed to win the first game of
the season because we all know week one can be
weird and week one has certainly been weird in recent
years for the Cincinnati Bengals but I don't know that

(10:16):
I've ever felt this way At this stage, right before
the season begins, that if health, if the health of
the team isn't decimated, it's impossible for me to imagine
them not being a playoff team. I believe they have
the best team and yes, the best roster in the division.

(10:36):
I think they have a chance to get the one seed.
They go into the season, and this is remarkable if
you think about it. Coming off a six-win season, coming
off three consecutive years where they didn't even make the playoffs,
they are absolutely a bona fide championship contender. What a
turnaround from nine months ago when we were careening toward

(11:00):
the conclusion of a truly miserable season. And now here
we are talking about the Bengals and the likelihood of
having a special one. This is an awesome place to be.
By the way, I'm not scared of it either. So
your thoughts are welcome. 513-749-1530. We'll throw out a poll

(11:24):
question here in just a few minutes. Meanwhile, they're taking
on a Tampa Bay team. You know, one of the
storylines this offseason around the NFL has been Baker Mayfield
and his contract. But What sort of challenges do the
Bucs present the Bengals? What are the expectations in Tampa
for this team, which missed the postseason last year? We
will head there next on ESPN 1530 Cincinnati Sports Station.

Speaker 8 (11:45):
Cincinnati's ESPN 1530. Traffic.

Speaker 9 (11:50):
From the UCHealth Traffic Center, UCHealth has been helping Cincinnati
thrive for 200 years and not stopping now. Find the
groundbreaking care you need at uchealth.com.

Speaker 6 (12:00):
That means we have the game on Sunday and pregame
coverage from the Holy Grail with Ken Brew, myself, and
Tony Pike. 9 a.m., four hours before kickoff. Cannot wait.
Bengals and Buccaneers, if you want to know about the Buccaneers,
for my money, there's One place to go to go
to pewterreport.com. Comprehensive Tampa Bay Buccaneers coverage. And Scott Reynolds

(12:23):
from that website, kind enough to give us a few
minutes this afternoon to talk about the season opener.

Speaker 4 (12:28):
Scott, good afternoon.

Speaker 10 (12:28):
How are you?

Speaker 11 (12:30):
I'm doing great.

Speaker 10 (12:30):
Thanks for having me on.

Speaker 4 (12:31):
I appreciate you doing this.

Speaker 6 (12:32):
When you saw the Baker Mayfield news, because we were
watching this from afar thinking, okay, Baker, who already plays
and walks around with a chip on his shoulder, is
going to have a bigger one if he doesn't have
his contract done. It kind of felt to me like
a little bit, and I'm watching it from a distance,
like the deal came from out of left field. What
was the reaction to what Baker and the Bucs did?

Speaker 11 (12:53):
Yeah, it wasn't terribly surprising that it got done just
because of the fact they seemed pretty close, closer than
Baker indicated during that kind of fiery press conference at
the start of training camp. But at the same time,
you didn't know, right? You didn't know if they were
going to cross that finish line before the start of
the season. They ultimately did. I don't know that it
really affects Baker. I've kind of talked to resources in

(13:16):
the building players have been out of practice and they're
just like, he's the same guy, whether he would have
got the deal or not. He, he finds a chip
sometimes when there isn't a chip, sometimes there's somebody where
he's been wronged by that. He'll have that chip on
his shoulder and play for, but, but yeah, I think
that he's just raring to go. It probably is a
little bit of an ease heading into this, this regular

(13:40):
season because it's, He doesn't have to worry about his future.
Am I going to get franchise tax next year? Like,
you know, all of those kinds of things. So I
think having a more focused locked in Baker, if that's
even possible, because the dude's locked in all the time,
but it's probably, you know, for the best for him
and the team.

Speaker 6 (13:55):
I think the player that I'm going to be watching
most closely, if that's the right way to put it
on Sunday is Ruben Bain, because, you know, before the
Bengals traded for Dexter Lawrence, we spent weeks talking about guys,
the Bengals might take it number 10. And he is
somebody we discussed the possibility of taking a lot. How
is his training camp and preseason gone?

Speaker 11 (14:16):
You know, it's incredible. He is not a rookie. He
is a professional and it just, he just doesn't have
any NFL experience yet, but he, approaches the game like
a professional. I think he has designs on being a
Hall of Fame player. I know that's getting ahead of himself,
but that's the type of mentality he has. It's not

(14:38):
about winning a Super Bowl. It's how many Super Bowls
can I win, right? And it's not cocky. It's just
this self-belief that he can do whatever he puts his
mind to. And let's not forget that it wasn't the
only Miami Hurricane edge rusher that was drafted in the
first round. his running mate, Akeem Mesidor, was as well.
And that's a testament to Jason Taylor, right? When you've

(14:59):
got a position coach at the Hurricanes who is an
NFL Hall of Famer, one of the best sack artists
of all time, teaching you how to rush the passer
at the NFL level and applying that to college, you're
getting great tutelage. And just having that professional mindset, I
think it was something that he was always kind of
intrinsically about him was that kind of professional mindset. But

(15:23):
then the way that he was taught at Miami, it
just kind of like was the best of both worlds.
You're having this this guy that has these intrinsic talents
and then just getting refined by somebody who's been there
and done that at the highest level at Jason Taylor.
So I think he walks into the Tampa Bay Buccaneers organization.

(15:43):
He's a ready to play out of the box rookie.
who is going to, I think, be in contention for
defensive rookie of the year honors, probably with David Bailey.

Speaker 6 (15:51):
Buccaneers make the playoffs five consecutive years. Midway through last season,
they're 6-2. It feels like they're going to be back
to win the NFC South, and then it goes sideways.
What that went wrong in the second half of the
season has to go right this year.

Speaker 11 (16:05):
Well, I think the injuries caught up with them more
so than anything. I've covered this team. This is my
31st year. The common denominator is between the two Super
Bowl victories in 2002 under John Gruden and the 2020
team under Bruce Arians, of course, quarterback by Tom Brady,
wasn't just the talent.

Speaker 10 (16:22):
It was health.

Speaker 11 (16:24):
Those are the two healthiest teams in Bucs history in
terms of not having any starters really outside of maybe
one guy on injured reserve, just being remarkably healthy. And
if you have great talent and it's available to you
on a weekly basis, you're going to win more games
than you're going to lose. And I think last year
was a very talented Buccaneer team. It was coming off
of a 10-win season in 2024. Granted, Liam Cohen left

(16:48):
and went across the state to Jacksonville to create things there, right?
But it was an offensive line that never had all
five starters available for any game, right?

Speaker 3 (16:58):
It was just that.

Speaker 11 (16:59):
It was Mike and Chris, you know, Mike Evans, Chris Gatlin,
the two top receivers being out for weeks at a
stretch here and there.

Speaker 3 (17:07):
It was.

Speaker 11 (17:08):
wide receiver Emeka Buka, the first-round pick out of Ohio State,
and they figured he was going to be a damn
good player, but he was the fourth guy on the
depth chart. The third guy, Jalen McMillan, broke his neck
in the preseason and was out for all but three games.
Then Mike and Chris are gone. All of a sudden,
your fourth wide receiver, your rookie that you love, and

(17:30):
he's going to be the future, but the future is now.
He had to be coming off a season where He
went deep into the playoffs, won a national championship, right?
Didn't have that month of January to rest like other
college players did. He was busy still playing football games.
He had a rookie wall, right? He had a hot
start to the year, six touchdowns in the first, I think,

(17:51):
five or six games. But then he had a rookie wall, right?
And all of a sudden, your fourth receiver on the
depth chart has to lead the team in catches, touchdowns,
and yards. And it just was kind of a snowball effect.
And those injuries caught up to him. And they literally
just ran out of gas towards the end of the season.

Speaker 4 (18:07):
Scott Reynolds, pewterreport.com.

Speaker 6 (18:10):
If I look at any list of NFL head coaches
on the hot seat, I will see Zach Taylor's name.
And in most of them, I'll see Todd Bowles name.
I think with Zach, I understand why, but I think
a lot of his contributions to this team sort of
get glossed over unfairly. What's your assessment of the job
that Todd Bowles has done?

Speaker 11 (18:26):
You know, I think it's time for Todd to kind
of take the step forward a little bit. You know,
I kind of call, the Buccaneers, the Kings of crap Hill,
because the NFC South has been the crappiest division of football.
I mean, look no further than last year and eight
and nine team won the division. That was the Carolina Panthers.
And guess what? There are two other teams that were eight, nine,

(18:48):
also Tampa Bay and Atlanta.

Speaker 3 (18:50):
Right.

Speaker 11 (18:51):
You know, and, and then his first season as head
coach in 2022, even with, with kind of a fading
Tom Brady, they won the division. What was the record?

Speaker 1 (19:01):
Eight, nine.

Speaker 11 (19:01):
So it's, if you want to, to truly be an
elite NFC team, like you got to win double digit games.
And if, if you want to, to, to be a
dominant team within your division, you got to kind of
be like the Patriots. How many years have we seen
a Patriots under Tom Brady and Bill Belichick just run
rough shot over a downtrodden AFC East. Sometimes maybe the

(19:25):
jets were okay. Sometimes the bills were okay.

Speaker 12 (19:27):
Right.

Speaker 11 (19:27):
But, but you know, the dolphins never really were. So
it's just, it's the thing where, where when you're in
a crappy division, like win it, man, get 12, 13 wins,
you know, and, and be the dominant team. And it
seems like even when the Buccaneers have one division titles,
it's always coming down to week 18, you know, and
you got to win this game and then you got
the ninth win and you snuck in the And, and

(19:51):
so I think that's the next step for Todd Bowles
is you have talent on this team. This is a
very talented team, but I think when Vegas looks at
the Bucs and says eight and a half wins, you
look around the national consensus, ESPN, NFL.com, these, these national
media outlets, um, Maybe they've got the Bucs winning the division,
but maybe with nine wins. So I think for Todd,

(20:13):
it's time now to step up and really make some
noise because you've got one playoff win in three years
that you've been to the playoffs. Oh, and by the way,
all three of those years, you had a home playoff
game and you only won.

Speaker 12 (20:28):
One of them.

Speaker 11 (20:29):
So that's where he needs to take the next step
is have the bounce back year, get to 10 wins
or more, but now go further in the postseason.

Speaker 6 (20:38):
It reminds me of how people used to make fun
of Jeff Fisher, like Mr. Seven and nine, and they
play more games now. So maybe Todd Bowles is, is Mr. Eight, nine,
hopefully from his, in your perspective, a little bit better
this year, Scott, I can't thank you.

Speaker 4 (20:51):
Enough, man. Thanks so much.

Speaker 7 (20:53):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (20:53):
Thank you. Appreciate it.

Speaker 6 (20:54):
Scott Reynolds. The website is terrific. Pewter report.com sports headlines.
And our guy Lee Sterling tries to make us some
money this weekend. Next ESPN, 1530 Cincinnati's ESPN, 1530. traffic
from midnight football game tonight from australia rams and niners
find it on fox sports 1360 every week you can

(21:17):
find lee sterling on our show thursdays at this time
paramount sports.com for years he has helped make us money
on college and pro football we have a few games
to discuss lee is here now how we doing sir.

Speaker 7 (21:33):
Great i mean i haven't felt this good I think
it was a couple years ago when Aaron Rodgers got
hurt in the first play of the game. And I
had written that game off, and they somehow came back.
The kid's named Gibson. I can't remember his first name.
He returned that punt for a touchdown. I think I
ran 75 of the 80 yards along with him for

(21:55):
that score. And last night, I literally am like, I
am done. Third quarter, lost Sam Darnold. Came back and
won that one.

Speaker 1 (22:04):
I mean.

Speaker 7 (22:06):
I'm playing with house money now.

Speaker 6 (22:10):
Not a bad place to be with week one of
the NFL season approaching. Let's start in college, though. So
Texas and Ohio State both cover against Cupcakes.

Speaker 4 (22:19):
Big numbers.

Speaker 6 (22:20):
Rematch of a game last year in Columbus, 14-7 in
favor of OSU. This year, Longhorns a slight favorite. Who
do we like on Saturday night?

Speaker 7 (22:30):
That was my alma mater, Mo. So no more jokes
about Texas State the rest of the way.

Speaker 1 (22:35):
Just kidding.

Speaker 7 (22:37):
Actually, believe it or not, they actually have really good offense.
They just turned it over, and they might be a play.
I'm going to give you a free play over Texas
State UTSA over.

Speaker 3 (22:49):
On that total.

Speaker 7 (22:50):
That's going to go well above 66. That's a freebie. Now,
for this game... I went back and watched a film
again of the game last year between Texas and Ohio State,
and Texas was living not only in the red zone,
inside the 10-yard line. They just couldn't score. So they
outstatted Ohio State 336-203. Problem was, Steve Sarkeesian's play calling

(23:16):
was horrendous. The execution was horrible. So what did they do?
They were smart. They added Auburn's stud-wide receiver, 6'3 Cam
Coleman in the portal. They added running back Hollywood Smothers
from NC State. And these two guys in the red
zone are incredible. Hollywood Smothers will make that one cut

(23:37):
and make the first– defender, miss camp Coleman, big, strong, fast,
might be the third best receiver in college football, just
behind Jeremiah Smith and Tony of Miami. And now Ryan Wingo,
who is her best receiver who looks even better this year.
He can operate against the guy in the slot or
the number three cornerback. So I like Texas here. I

(24:00):
think they are better up front in the trenches. And
I think Ohio state was exposed last year against Miami and,
Texas finally wins a big game, 27-21.

Speaker 6 (24:09):
All right, you're not making a lot of friends in
my audience right now, but maybe you'll make them some money.
All right, let's go to Monday night. Patrick Mahomes will play.
Kansas City's starting left tackle will not. The Chiefs, two-and-a-half
point favorites against Denver.

Speaker 7 (24:24):
So Denver last year, everything went right.

Speaker 1 (24:26):
Every close game they won.

Speaker 7 (24:30):
They're going to be a team that I think people
are going to game plan for. Uh, Jim Waddle, I
think might have a big year, but I just don't,
I think eventually they're running back is going to be
Jonah Coleman. So if you're still, if you still haven't
drafted yet, or you can pick up someone or make
a trade. This kid Coleman from Washington, I think eventually

(24:51):
is going to be the guy.

Speaker 12 (24:52):
So I think.

Speaker 7 (24:53):
Kansas City kind of ekes out and is lucky they
played Denver early. People are saying, well, you know, Mahomes
coming off an ACL. Hey, it's not like an Achilles injury.
He knows what he can and can't do here. And
I also think that this Kansas City team, getting Kenneth–
I just think that Kenneth Walker is incredible. I mean,

(25:15):
look what he missed last, Seattle last night. If he's
in that lineup, I think they're much, much better. So
they're going to be better in the red zone. I'm
going to go with Kansas City. I think they win
in cover here, 27-20.

Speaker 6 (25:29):
Paramount sports.com is the website. Lee Sterling is the guy,
the Bengals. I'm bullish on them, but it's week one. We,
we all were all aware of their issues. They've had
in recent years, week one, including on the road last
year against the Browns when they did win, but needed
a gift miss field goal by Cleveland to escape. They're
at home against the bucks three and a half point favorites.

(25:51):
Who do we like on Sunday?

Speaker 7 (25:53):
They're going to have to play better defense and protect
the quarterback, Dexter Lawrence. His arrival from the Giants, I think,
is going to be a big plus here. You know
Todd Bowles is going to bring it. He blitzes left
and right here. But I think, except for Ibuka, there's
not many guys on their offense to scare you here.

Speaker 3 (26:11):
So I think.

Speaker 7 (26:12):
This is a game that goes down to the wire.
It's not going to be easy. I think Cincinnati wins
the game 27-26, but Tampa Bay plus a three-and-a-half cover.
I believe all... Five or four of the last five
last year, games down the stretch, which they lost all
of them, all of them four points. So why not?
Cincinnati wins, Tampa Bay covers.

Speaker 6 (26:33):
All right, hopefully less controversy involving a Michigan game. The
Wolverines will have fallen out of the top 25 after
what happened in Ann Arbor on Saturday. A level up
in competition against Oklahoma, the Sooners, five and a half
point favorites.

Speaker 7 (26:48):
They want to get the game for free. Just call 800-400-9741.
That's right. I'm going to give them the big Michigan-Oklahoma game, 800-400-9741.
And how about this, Mo? I've never done this before.
Tonight's game.

Speaker 1 (27:02):
That's right.

Speaker 7 (27:02):
Tonight's game in Australia, Rams and 49ers 1-0. Wow. Never
this cheap.

Speaker 12 (27:12):
$ 1.

Speaker 7 (27:12):
We're 7-2 to start the season. Won 32 of the
last 33 years. And also tomorrow night's game, the border war,
Missouri and Kansas, $ 1. And the UFC card on Saturday,
five selections. It starts at 2 o'clock. UFC Noche from Phoenix,
five selections.

Speaker 12 (27:31):
$ 1.

Speaker 7 (27:32):
$ 3 is all you need to invest for an entire
weekend of action. Just one place, ParamountSports.com.

Speaker 4 (27:42):
800-400-9741, ParamountSports.com. Lee, you're the man. I will talk to
you tomorrow. Thank you very much.

Speaker 12 (27:48):
You too, buddy.

Speaker 6 (27:49):
All right, Lee Sterling. Made us a lot of money
over the years. Chad Brendel on the Bearcats next.

Speaker 8 (27:56):
ESPN 1530.

Speaker 13 (27:59):
Traffic.

Speaker 6 (28:00):
From Ford, this is ESPN 1530.

Speaker 1 (28:01):
Mo Egger.

Speaker 4 (28:04):
Thank you for listening today.

Speaker 6 (28:05):
Every Thursday we talk UC football until it's basketball season.

Speaker 4 (28:10):
Then we'll talk about that sport.

Speaker 6 (28:12):
Or if football's not any good, we'll just start talking
about basketball a lot earlier. But I do have a
basketball question. Chad Brendel, BearcatJournal.com, is with us. UC hosting
Western Carolina, the Catamounts, on Saturday.

Speaker 4 (28:26):
Hi, Chad.

Speaker 5 (28:28):
I know that there is one good thing about this
new exhibition game world of college basketball.

Speaker 4 (28:36):
That we get games in October to actually talk about.

Speaker 5 (28:39):
If football goes south, basketball starts October 7th, not like
November 20th.

Speaker 7 (28:45):
Yeah.

Speaker 6 (28:45):
By the way, there have been years where in September,
I'm badgering you about when the schedule is going to
come out.

Speaker 7 (28:51):
Right.

Speaker 14 (28:51):
We got basketball in less than a month.

Speaker 3 (28:53):
Yes.

Speaker 12 (28:54):
Yes, we do.

Speaker 4 (28:54):
What can you tell me about the dude they got
from Bowling Green?

Speaker 5 (28:58):
Elite defender led the nation in steals last year, 90
plus steals in a season. Like that is hard for
me to get my brain around that. This guy had
over 90 steals last season, uh, gets downhill.

Speaker 14 (29:14):
Gets to the rim, gets to the free throw line.

Speaker 5 (29:16):
Jared Calhoun certainly has a type for his on ball guard,
be a good defender out top, get downhill, uh, get
to the free throw line, have good assist numbers.

Speaker 14 (29:29):
Like he fits those boxes for sure.

Speaker 6 (29:31):
Uh, the football game on Saturday, I thought a pretty
impressive debut for Nate Woody's defense. I thought a very,
good day for the special teams thought a good day
for running the football.

Speaker 7 (29:44):
Not sure.

Speaker 6 (29:44):
And answer my question about whether they're going to be
able to challenge teams deep.

Speaker 3 (29:49):
No.

Speaker 5 (29:49):
And I look, no, I think we know the answer
to that question. We've talked about it all season. This
is not a roster built for, to go over the
top and push the ball down the field 25, 30,
40 yards at a time. Do I wish they would
have gotten a chance to throw it a little bit
more on Saturday?

Speaker 10 (30:09):
Sure.

Speaker 5 (30:09):
But I don't think there's going to ever be a
point from now until the end of November that we're
going to look back and go, man, if they just
would have thrown it six more times against Boston college,
we probably would have won that game. Like I, The
game was what it was. The game played out how
it played out. It called for Cincinnati to run the

(30:31):
ball a lot. I like that they didn't try to
get cute. You're running it right down their throat, and
you're controlling the game. Keep doing what you're doing. I
wish they would have done that last year against Nebraska.

Speaker 4 (30:41):
Yeah, yeah. It's interesting.

Speaker 6 (30:43):
Scott Satterfield was asked yesterday, do you wish you could
have thrown it around a little bit more? And his
answer was no. And I like the answer. Here's what
we're good at. They weren't stopping it, so we're going
to keep doing it. They didn't get too cute.

Speaker 5 (30:55):
Yeah, I asked him the question because I kind of
knew that was going to be the answer. Look, in
a perfect world, they had 23, 22, 23 passes.

Speaker 14 (31:06):
And you found out a little bit more about J.C.

Speaker 1 (31:08):
French.

Speaker 14 (31:09):
But it's not a perfect world.

Speaker 5 (31:10):
And that was, look, man, you had the same feeling
I did at 24-8 and Boston College.

Speaker 1 (31:16):
With the ball.

Speaker 6 (31:17):
Yes.

Speaker 7 (31:18):
Uh-oh.

Speaker 1 (31:19):
Yeah.

Speaker 7 (31:19):
Uh-oh.

Speaker 14 (31:19):
Here we go. And they didn't allow that to happen.

Speaker 6 (31:25):
Defensive coordinators talk all the time about attacking and being aggressive.
It was nice to actually see a defensive coordinator, put
a defense on the field, especially early that was attacking
and was aggressive.

Speaker 5 (31:37):
This is a man that carries a broad ax apparently
just around the building.

Speaker 14 (31:44):
That's new to me.

Speaker 4 (31:45):
Nobody didn't know that.

Speaker 5 (31:47):
I had not seen Nate Woody carrying a broad ax
around the building at any point in time. Uh, but,
This is his defense. It is his baby. The East
Coast 3-4, as they call it. You know what it
reminds me a little bit of? Doesn't he kind of
remind you of John Tanuta?

Speaker 1 (32:05):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (32:06):
Maybe not as much foul language as John Tanuta, but
he's kind of got that Tanuta vibe to him. And
Tanuta was another guy like, I'm just going to blitz
the crap out of you until I can't.

Speaker 14 (32:20):
And I like it. Let's be aggressive.

Speaker 6 (32:22):
So when Nate Woody was introduced, I went to his
press conference and you could tell like this is a
guy that just ball coach and just loves to talk ball.
So just to take the audience inside every Tuesday, I
go down there and I interview a player or two
for the pregame show and an assistant coach. because Nate
Woody is the new guy. What a Nate for week one.

(32:43):
So I, you know, it's go there at 1130. We
always do it in the coach's office. So I go
in there to interview Nate Woody and it's a five
minute recorded interview to air in the pregame show. I
got 22 minutes of him just unfurling all of these
defensive concepts that if I aired it would have gone
over the head of probably 85% of the people listening.

Speaker 4 (33:06):
I even told him afterwards, I'm like, look, I.

Speaker 6 (33:08):
Just kept rolling because I've never heard a coach do
that before. They're very secretive. He's just outlining for me
what Boston College is going to do. Here's how we're
going to play this offense when we get later in
the season.

Speaker 4 (33:21):
And I'm like... I just asked like, Oh, you know,
what is it about Cincinnati?

Speaker 6 (33:24):
Like I, I could listen to him talk for hours.

Speaker 5 (33:29):
He's one of those guys that, that you like, he
lives football.

Speaker 12 (33:34):
Yes.

Speaker 5 (33:35):
Like he, he, he probably I'm guessing Mo he's one
of those guys that wakes up at three in the
morning with a notebook next to his bed because he
dreamed about like a blitz concept and he's, he's got
to write it down. So he doesn't forget it. That's
how Nate Woody strikes me. Like, just thinking football all
the time. And, I mean, the guy's been a really

(33:57):
good defensive coordinator for a long, long time.

Speaker 14 (34:00):
I think we saw that on Saturday.

Speaker 4 (34:02):
Yeah. Did anything on Saturday surprise you?

Speaker 14 (34:09):
Patrick Bauer a little bit. And here's the thing.

Speaker 5 (34:15):
We got some pushback this week when we talked about
Bauer didn't flash during camp. You know why Patrick Bauer
didn't flash during camp? Because you're not allowed to do
the things in practice that Patrick Bauer did during the game.
Hitting a quarterback, chasing a running back down from behind,
down the line of scrimmage to make a play. Like

(34:37):
the defense is restricted in what they can do during camp.
So the plays that he made would have been blown
dead if they happened during camp before he got to
really like make the play. So I think that's what
we meant by he didn't flash a lot during the
camp process because other than, like, interceptions and, you know,

(35:01):
tagging the quarterback with two hands, defenders don't really flash
like that during camp. But he was the guy that
felt like he was always around to play. The other guy, Mo,
that surprised isn't the right word, but I think very
big things are ahead. Remember the name Jonathan Rulo.

Speaker 2 (35:19):
Mm-hmm.

Speaker 5 (35:21):
True freshman, he played 16 snaps and got three tackles
from the defensive tackle position. That is impressive for a
kid playing in his first ever collegiate football game.

Speaker 1 (35:34):
Awesome.

Speaker 4 (35:34):
We'll see you at Nip at Night Saturday night, man.
Thanks so much.

Speaker 5 (35:38):
Can't wait, as Bart Scott once said.

Speaker 15 (35:41):
Yes, he did.

Speaker 6 (35:42):
Much more emphatically, but we'll take your version. Yeah, thank
you very much. Chad Rendell, follow him at ChadRendellBearCatJournal.com, host
of the BCJ podcast as well. UC and Western Carolina
Saturday night on 102.7 WEBN with pregame coverage starting at
6 o'clock.

Speaker 10 (36:01):
Are we?

Speaker 6 (36:03):
We're guest-free for like 30 minutes. We have Wise Money Sports.
We have Dan Klaskin's Fantasy Football. Some good Bengals stuff
in the 5 o'clock hour coming up as well. I've
just thrown out a poll question. We'll get to that too.
Coming up on 4 o'clock, ESPN 1530.

Speaker 4 (36:18):
And you're listening to the Home of the Bengals, ESPN 1530.
Thank you, Lap. What's up?

Speaker 1 (36:25):
Good afternoon.

Speaker 4 (36:26):
I'm Mo Egger.

Speaker 6 (36:26):
This is ESPN 1530.

Speaker 5 (36:29):
Thanks.

Speaker 4 (36:30):
Thanks so much for listening.

Speaker 6 (36:32):
Thanks for making this part of your Thursday. It's kind
of crummy looking outside. Tastes of fall. Wise Money Sports
on a Thursday coming up in about 30 minutes. Week
one for fantasy football owners. I guess it got underway
last night like the rest of the NFL season. Dan

(36:52):
Klaskens with some fantasy football insights and advice coming up
at 445. Brenneman and Jones on baseball as well. Speaking
of baseball, and nobody probably was, the Reds' tragic number
for elimination is now six after getting destroyed in Los
Angeles last night, 14-1. The bottom of the Reds' batting

(37:13):
order last night, is maybe the worst bottom of the
batting order in the history of the franchise. And I, like,
they're done. They've been done for weeks. It's still fun
watching Ellie Dela Cruz, who has been remarkable the last
couple of weeks. But the bottom of the batting order
last night, and I know these guys are at the

(37:35):
bottom of the batting order for a reason. Juan Brito,
Will Banfield, TJ Friedel, Key Brian Hayes. You can tell
me all you want about how batting average is useless.
I simply would say it's not as useful as we
used to make it. But 197, 143, 162, and 153.
Key Brian Hayes, it's low-hanging fruit is awful.

Speaker 1 (37:57):
It is.

Speaker 6 (37:58):
Ellie De La Cruz, Homer last night, they lost 14
to 1. I think the scary thing is, like, they're
still playing all these really good teams. Brewers this weekend,
Dodgers again next week. They're 69 and 77. So they
have 16 games remaining. I don't think they're going to
lose 13 of 16, but it would be unsurprising if

(38:20):
they did. And a year that was defined by they've
got to make the postseason and like matter once they
get there. We're not wondering if things will careen out
of control to the point that they lose 90 games.

Speaker 4 (38:34):
It is criminal crime.

Speaker 6 (38:36):
That in a season where Ellie Dela Cruz is at
his best, where Sal Stewart's going to be the National
League Rookie of the Year, and where Chase Burns has
been awesome, those individual performances have been wasted among a
just muck of dudes who they've got to figure out
a way to improve upon.

Speaker 4 (38:55):
So frustrating.

Speaker 6 (38:56):
The Reds were nearly as non-competitive as FC Cincinnati was
last night in getting just blitzed by Philadelphia.

Speaker 4 (39:04):
And with the whole Matt.

Speaker 6 (39:06):
Miosga situation, with the weirdness of the postponement, with the
way they lost four zip to Nashville, with them having
to play shorthanded again, it, it feels like that team
is unraveling a little bit. And I think that acknowledgement
was made after the game last night, Tony husband, Apple
TV later on in the show. I got a poll question.
It's on Twitter at Mo Egger poll questions on this show.

Speaker 4 (39:29):
Come your way.

Speaker 6 (39:30):
Thanks to you United Heartland insurance. And I don't know
what you're paying for insurance, but I do know this
United Heartland insurance helps people pay a lot less and
they get good coverage. So do yourself a favor, see
what you're paying and then go to you H I
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some money. Thanks to my friends at United Heartland Insurance.

(39:50):
Optimism abounds for the Bengals.

Speaker 4 (39:55):
Certainly here.

Speaker 6 (39:56):
By the way, if you're one of those folks who
loves to just get mad at the national media whenever
they aren't as big on the Bengals as we might
be here, they have been a trendy AFC championship pick.

Speaker 4 (40:09):
Not everybody has. Most won't.

Speaker 6 (40:12):
But many have. Optimism abounds. But if there's one reason
for skepticism, what is it? And I list three along
with other. Burrow always hurt. Because you'll hear that a lot.
Burrow always hurt. Defense always bad. Because there are a
lot of folks who want to see that the defense

(40:34):
is significantly better before they believe that it will be.

Speaker 4 (40:37):
Or Zach Taylor no good. Vote now at Mo Egger.
The Zach Taylor thing.

Speaker 6 (40:44):
I think at times, I think it'd be a stretch
to say that Zach Taylor gets a bum rap, but
I do believe that he at times is not given
enough credit for things he deserves credit for. And I
know this is a road I've gone down before. I
think there have been times where you've seen Zach Taylor's
fingerprints on things that are good. Like Joe Flacco showed

(41:06):
up last year, gets here on Tuesday night and then
plays at a competent level. on Sunday against the Green
Bay Packers. Is that mainly a function of Joe Flacco's
professionalism and his experience?

Speaker 7 (41:17):
Sure.

Speaker 6 (41:19):
Is there something to be said, though, about the role
of coaching?

Speaker 10 (41:22):
Yes.

Speaker 6 (41:23):
I believe there was when Jake Browning got up to
speed after having never played and could play at a
functional level. Coaching had a role in that. Coaching had
a role in getting Joe Burrow ready for week one
of his rookie season. No preseason that year because of COVID.
Weird training camp. learning the offense from his parents' couch.
Coaching had a role in getting the Bengals to the

(41:44):
Super Bowl when they had to design offensive game plans
around an atrocious offensive line.

Speaker 4 (41:50):
There's been good coaching.

Speaker 6 (41:52):
I think for the most part, Zach Taylor's teams have
stayed together. They've played hard. You've never gotten the sense
that any of the off-field issues are causing the locker
room to completely unravel. I think there are times where
Zach Taylor's attributes or his contributions get willfully ignored. But
I do think there's been two valid criticisms. One is,

(42:15):
as the play caller, it at times has felt like,
despite all the great personnel, like the offense doesn't function
as effectively or as efficiently as it should.

Speaker 4 (42:26):
Lulz. This is a topic that goes back years.

Speaker 6 (42:29):
Why, despite all the weaponry, why, despite having Joe Burrow
at times in the middle of MVP caliber seasons, why
does the offense go through these just stretches where it
feels like they're stuck in the mud? And would it
make sense to have somebody calling plays? Not because I
want to do a deep dive into specific play calls,

(42:49):
but you can't help but wonder, like, we love the players, right?
Love the quarterback. Why does this not work as efficiently
as it should? Maybe it is the fact that Joe
Burrow hasn't been under center, but perhaps there's something in
the overall chain that if we had somebody else call plays,
it would function better. I'm always going to wonder that.
At least until we stop talking about the Bengals having

(43:10):
offensive lulls. The other criticism that I think has been
valid We always talk about the Bengals early in the
year and the slow starts. And there have been mitigating factors.
It's often been Joe Burrow, either not entirely healthy or
coming off wrist surgery or some sort of injury and
not totally looking like himself, an appendectomy, a calf issue,

(43:33):
whatever it's been. Plus, you know, there have been years where,
you know, 2022, when they got beaten by the Steelers,
four new starting offensive linemen, maybe it takes a while.
But it has been a criticism of mine, and I
think a fair one, that when you've watched the Bengals
early in the season, the team as a whole simply

(43:56):
doesn't look prepared. And they've tried. They've tried during the
summertime and the preseason and during training camp to maybe
do some things a little bit different aimed at better
performances early in the year. Last year, they beat the
Browns week one. A game they nearly lost. They benefited
from a Cleveland missed field goal. But offensively, they looked uneven.

(44:22):
There was difficulty in getting the play in. Looked a
little clunky. They looked a little ill-prepared. So Sunday, that's
to me like, all right, they've got to get off
to a fast start. They're playing a team that many
believe is going to win the NFC South. the offensive

(44:46):
continuity they have and the defensive improvements they've made should
lend themselves to the Bengals getting off to a faster start.

Speaker 4 (44:54):
They've had a good preseason. They're very, very healthy. But
Zach Taylor teams early in the season. Not November when
they've made runs. Not December when they've made runs. Not
January when they've won five playoff games with him as
a head coach. But oftentimes in September, Zach Taylor's teams

(45:15):
have looked ill-prepared. Want to change the conversation about Zach Taylor?
Then have him field teams that not only win, but
look a little bit better prepared. I know that's a
default criticism to go to when a team is sluggish
or when a team loses, right?

Speaker 6 (45:34):
Like we talk about this in baseball sometimes. Well, they're
not interested. Well, it looks like a team is not
interested when it's not hitting. But I don't know, man,
like maybe you disagree. We've talked about these slow starts.
We've talked about these uneven starts for years. And I
feel like there's been a consensus over that time that
in these early season games, the team as a whole

(45:56):
just doesn't feel like it's that prepared to play. Maybe
from a physical perspective, maybe from a mental or emotional perspective.
So again, I'm the guy that believes that Zach Taylor
doesn't at time get credit for the things he deserves
credit for. I think sometimes we're too quick to point
the finger at the head coach. But I do think

(46:17):
it's been fair to point the finger at the head
coach when it comes to his team's early season performances.
They don't have to run the table in September. They
don't have to beat everybody 56-3. But it would be awesome,
and they will get off to a fast start, if
on top of putting a talented team on the field,

(46:37):
they put a prepared one on the field. And in
recent years, you could tell me if you think I'm wrong.
In recent years, it has felt like Zach Taylor has
failed to put a completely and totally prepared team on
the field. If this team is really different, truly and
uniquely different, we're not talking about level of preparation on Monday.

(46:58):
16 minutes after four o'clock.

Speaker 4 (47:02):
My name is Mo Egger.

Speaker 6 (47:03):
By the way, speaking of Monday, don't forget, don't forget
the first episode Tony and Mo football show of the
2026 season. We're going to be a twin peaks in
Westchester year 12 of the Tony and Mo football show.

Speaker 4 (47:18):
Our seventh season. at twin peaks.

Speaker 6 (47:21):
The first two weeks will be at the Westchester location.
Then we'll move to the Florence location. And we would
love to see you there. Three to six twin peaks, Westchester,
Tony and Mo football show. Uh, five, one, three, seven, four, nine,
1530 is our phone number. Eight, six, six, seven, Oh two, three, seven, seven, six.
You are welcome to, uh, to chime in. Could the

(47:42):
reds be sold? There's a quick pivot. Could the Reds
be sold? How much would they fetch if they were sold?
Wise Money Sports coming up in about 20 minutes, plus
Dan Klaskens with some fantasy football help and Brenneman and
Jones on baseball coming up this hour on ESPN 1530
Cincinnati Sports Station.

Speaker 13 (48:02):
Cincinnati's ESPN 1530.

Speaker 7 (48:05):
Traffic.

Speaker 9 (48:06):
From the UC Health of Traffic.

Speaker 8 (48:08):
It's football in the natty.

Speaker 16 (48:10):
Brought to you by Modern Office Methods on ESPN 1530.
The official home of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Speaker 6 (48:19):
Our guy Robert Weintraub, whose Dexter Lawrence feature is excellent.
CincinnatiMagazine.com is going to join us at 5.05.

Speaker 4 (48:27):
Looking forward to that. By the way, you can watch
this show now.

Speaker 6 (48:30):
On Twitter and the YouTube channel is it's growing slowly
and which is fine slowly, but steadily. And we put
social media clips on it and we, we put the
show on YouTube and it's, I've been.

Speaker 4 (48:45):
Told like, you, you've got to mention it more. You've
got to tell more people, you've got to make a
bigger deal of.

Speaker 6 (48:49):
So, uh, we're, we're closing in on, on a thousand subscribers,
which for something that we just started, I guess is
an awful. So subscribe to the YouTube channel, the Moe
Eggers show on YouTube. Looking at myself right now, A
lot of red on that screen between my hat, my shirt,
and the on-screen graphic.

Speaker 4 (49:09):
Or you could just watch on Twitter if you want.

Speaker 17 (49:10):
I don't know.

Speaker 6 (49:11):
The other Bengals thing this week, Joe Burrow says he's
here for the long haul, which is nice to hear.
Joe sounds like you and I do, re-energized, reinvigorated, optimistic.
I think it is great that he has talked about
the need to win now. I think you can, and

(49:31):
Joe did this this week, you can mesh, hey, I'm
happy here, but we have to accomplish something big right now.
Because if you look at the team, and it's not
to say that they're guaranteed to win by any stretch.

Speaker 4 (49:45):
If so, why play the games?

Speaker 6 (49:48):
But are we going to be talking about the same
level of offensive consistency and continuity in a year?

Speaker 3 (49:52):
No.

Speaker 6 (49:52):
Are we going to be talking about a team that
we feel like has a roster that's as good? Are
we going to be talking about a controversy-free offseason, a
healthy team, any.

Speaker 4 (50:00):
Of that stuff? You don't know.

Speaker 6 (50:01):
Chances are, in some respects, no. So you can, you can,
you can be both. You can feel the need to
win now, but also kind of be happy with where
you are and think, you know what? I want to
keep this relationship going long-term. And so a lot of
folks took what Joe said and see that, see, look,
all those people on those hot takey shows are always

(50:23):
talking about Joe, not wanting to be here. See, like,
I get it. I did that a little bit. But
like you being somewhere for the long haul is always
subject to change. The fact that Joe said what he
said doesn't erase that we don't want to get to
the end of the season and have the Bengals on
the outside looking in and have Joe either hurt again

(50:46):
or have Joe having his best performances wasted again. We
don't want to get there because, you know, a lot
of folks, people get into relationships for the long haul
and then stuff happens. Get married to somebody, you're in
it forever, right? But then stuff happens. Suddenly, I'm good,
I'm out. When people take jobs, they're there for the

(51:07):
long haul and then things happen. Suddenly, got to go.

Speaker 4 (51:12):
Don't want to be in there.

Speaker 6 (51:14):
So I think the fair way to talk about this is,
not default to Joe doesn't want to be here. And
if they don't win him expressing the need to win
right now means he's going to bolt. If, if they
don't like, you don't know that. I don't, none of
us know that by the way he is under contract.
And I don't know that it makes a ton of

(51:35):
sense to just assume that no matter what happens this year,
Joe is so smitten with playing for the Cincinnati Bengals.

Speaker 12 (51:40):
He's good.

Speaker 6 (51:40):
I think the right way to talk about this is Hey,
it's great that Joe is re-energized and reinvigorated and is
thinking right now about nothing more than winning this year.
And if you press him on a big picture topic,
he's going to say he's here for the long haul
because why would he not be? But he reserves the
right to change his mind and we will revisit this

(52:03):
if things do go sideways. Look, there's going to be
a time and probably in the not so distant future
where the Bengals come to Joe Burrow and go, let's
get something done long term that keeps you here beyond 2029.
The real long haul commitment is going to be when
he goes, cool, let's sign another contract. So I'm here
for every single one of my prime years. We're all

(52:28):
like Joe is right now, in a better place than
we were with the Bengals back in November, December, and
January last year. You heard the things he had to say.
You read his body language. So things have changed. And
he's gone from looking mopey to being re-energized. Things change.
The hope here is things don't change between now and November, December,

(52:49):
and January because then... when we start the next round
of Joe Burrow's psychoanalysis, you're going to almost have to wonder, like,
what's he thinking?

Speaker 4 (53:00):
What's he doing?

Speaker 6 (53:01):
Where's his head right now? The good news is right
now it feels like his head's in a really good place.
I think as it relates to the Bengals, your head
is in a really good place. That will change if
they shoot themselves in the foot time and again. It'll
change for you, which means.
It's not that far-fetched to suggest it would change with Joe.

Speaker 4 (53:24):
Now, you and I aren't under contract. Joe is.

Speaker 6 (53:26):
That's the difference. But right now, yes, in for the
long haul. The idea is for him to still be
in it for the long haul when the season ends.
However it ends, whenever it ends, and wherever it ends.
28 after 4. Normally on Wednesdays, we do Wise Money
Sports with one of the experts from Omega Wealth Private Capital.

(53:49):
We talk sports and business. There's always sports business topics
out there. Normally, we do it on Wednesday, but because
of yesterday's show from the Munoz Foundation Golf Outing, we're
doing it today, and we're doing it next on ESPN 1530.

Speaker 16 (54:04):
You've been listening to Football in the Natty, brought to
you by Red Key Express on ESPN 1530, the official
home of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Speaker 8 (54:16):

Speaker 1 (54:18):
Traffic.

Speaker 6 (54:21):
Sports headlines are a service of Kelsey Chevrolet, home of
Lifetime Powertrain Protection and guaranteed credit approval from their family
to yours for life. KelseyChev.com. Bengals practicing today, getting set
for Sunday's tilt. Season opening tilt against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Surprise appearance on.

Speaker 4 (54:39):
The injury report.

Speaker 6 (54:41):
DJ Turner limited because of a hamstring issue. He was
not on the report yesterday. Jonathan Allen got a rest
day today, limited for BJ Hill and Shamar Stewart full
go for Jamar chase and T Higgins, but we'll keep
an eye on the DJ Turner thing. Nine o'clock Sunday morning,
one place to be on game day. It's at the

(55:04):
Holy grail. Ken brew, Tony Pike and me. We will
see you there because, because we don't just live in
the city. We don't just talk about the city. We
were a part of it or something. Uh, Thursday night
football tonight in, uh, Melbourne, Australia, NFC West showdown, 49ers
Rams here at on Fox sports, 1360 off day for

(55:25):
the Reds.

Speaker 4 (55:25):
They're Milwaukee tomorrow.

Speaker 6 (55:26):
Florence y'all's off day, uh, after losing game one of
their best of three series against Washington. Uh, game two is, uh,
tomorrow in Washington. That's Washington PA. It's time for Wise
Money Sports. We normally do this on Wednesdays, but now
it's on Thursdays. We talk about sports and business. And
if you just think on a daily basis of how

(55:47):
many sports topics that we care so much about, there's
a business component. Oftentimes, there's the ability to learn something
about investing or learn something about business based on a
sports business topic or something happening. So we'll check in
with Brad Johansson today. in just a few minutes as
he gets to join us in studio. In fact, what

(56:09):
we will do is we'll talk to Brad. We'll take
a quick timeout, talk to Brad. Then Dan Klaskin's next.

Speaker 8 (56:17):

Speaker 18 (56:18):
Traffic.

Speaker 4 (56:30):
Hey, we're back. Yes, that's us.

Speaker 6 (56:32):
This is ESPN 1530. We're going to do Wise Money Sports.
I don't know.

Speaker 4 (56:39):
We'll figure it out. The beauty of this show is
it's live.

Speaker 6 (56:44):
We are recording it, but if something's not working, we
don't know.

Speaker 4 (56:50):
We do this live.

Speaker 6 (56:51):
Brendan and Jones on baseball is coming up in just
a few minutes. And the fun thing is if you
watch this show on YouTube or something, you get to
see all the warts. And today there have been many.
On Thursday, something we do is we chat with Dan Klaskens.
Dan Klaskens has been doing fantasy football segments on our

(57:12):
show for years. And we're always so happy to have him.
He's helped out fantasy owners on this show previously. And
we did a couple of segments leading up to the season.
The season has started, obviously, with a game last night.
But it really begins in earnest on Sunday. And yes,
there is a game tonight in Australia. Rams and San
Francisco 49ers. Dan Klaskens, he is the host of Fantistics

(57:36):
Insider Football on SiriusXM Fantasy. You can check out insiderfootball.com.
And he's with us now to talk about week one.

Speaker 4 (57:46):
Hi, Dan.

Speaker 3 (57:48):
What's up, Moe?

Speaker 19 (57:49):
And, man, we are here. We finally got some football.
I'm sure you're as pumped up as me, brother.

Speaker 1 (57:55):
I am.

Speaker 4 (57:55):
I'm stoked.

Speaker 6 (57:56):
Let's talk about some fantasy storylines specifically for tonight's game.

Speaker 19 (58:02):
Yeah, I mean, we had a great one last night
on paper.

Speaker 3 (58:05):
It was a little boring of a snoozefest from fantasy-wise, but.

Speaker 19 (58:09):
I expect some more scoring at tonight's game. I'm really
interested in to see what.

Speaker 3 (58:14):
This new-look 49ers offense is going to look like.

Speaker 19 (58:17):
I mean, a lot of new faces here.

Speaker 1 (58:19):
Mike Evans, the veteran.

Speaker 19 (58:21):
On the team is the biggest one of the bunch,
but they got a young rookie, Deshaun Stribling, in wide
out in there. Obviously, Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle, some
guys that have been battling injuries. I said another in
the track there with Kittle and his Achilles issue, a
late season injury, did.

Speaker 3 (58:38):
Make the trip.

Speaker 19 (58:38):
He could be limited this week, Mo. So, I did
draft Kittle in some spots in those places. I actually
have him on the bench tonight. So, it depends on
your options there. I would temper some expectations, but Same
thing with the rookie, Stripling. I'm really excited about him,
but this is the Rams.

Speaker 3 (58:55):
This is week one.

Speaker 19 (58:56):
And from the Rams' side, it's that backfield split. Kyron Williams,
the guy that was going in the third round, there's
some talk about Blake Horn taking on a bigger role
there in his second year. I think both have some
fantasy values, watching how they work it out of the backfield.
And really, I mean, maybe it's not from a fantasy perspective,
but how spicing is this L.A.

Speaker 12 (59:14):
's defense?

Speaker 19 (59:15):
We know Aaron Donald's not going to play tonight, but
Miles Garrett is.

Speaker 3 (59:18):
They look huge.

Speaker 19 (59:19):
They're a big reason the Rams are the Super Bowl
favorite right now. So, I think it's going to be
a great game tonight, one I'm very much looking forward
to watching.

Speaker 4 (59:26):
Yeah, you and me both.

Speaker 6 (59:28):
And this has nothing to do with fantasy, although I
guess it can have something to do with fantasy. The
way the two teams have approached the travel entirely different,
I think, is it's going to be worth watching how
that's a factor in this game. Let's talk about some
week one injuries worth paying attention to.

Speaker 19 (59:43):
Yeah, well, we had a couple last night right out
of the gate.

Speaker 3 (59:46):
Those were a big blow.

Speaker 19 (59:47):
But the biggest injury of the day could have came
in the injury news we got before the game.

Speaker 3 (59:51):
Brock Bowers with.

Speaker 19 (59:53):
His knee issue. They're cleaning up the meniscus in here.
It seems like they were holding on to this information.
They're talking a week or two. It could be more
three or four. Hopefully he doesn't miss too much time
after going in the second round of most fantasy drafts.
Better news for Raiders running back and Bowers' teammate, Ashton Gentry,
who just a couple weeks ago was looking like he

(01:00:13):
sustained a serious injury. He's been participating mostly in a
full capacity this week. He's expected to go. It's a
nice matchup at home versus the Dolphins. I'm firing him
up with confidence. It's also encouraging news with a couple
other running backs. Jeremiah Love, the rookie. First-round pick of
the Arizona Cardinals. He looks as if he's going to
be good to go through that ankle injury. Brees Hall,
expected to carry a full workload despite being sidelined with

(01:00:35):
a groin injury during the back end of camp. Shuba Hubbard,
DeAndre Swift, also with their hamstring and abdomen issues. Look
like they're good to go. Like both of them as
back-end RB2s. Swift's teammate, Kyle Menungai, whether he goes or not,
he's sitting out. He's not practiced in several weeks here.
I don't even think he's going to play in week one.
We'll see what Friday's report brings. And then at the
receiver and tight end positions, Malik Navers. He's on track

(01:00:57):
to play with this knee issue that he's come off
that major surgery. He could be limited early in the season.
If he's on your team, if he's on the Giants'
active lineup, I think he has to be in yours.
Amiki Okabuka, as much as Penguins fans might not want
to see it, looks like his turf day is going
to be fine. I expect him to have a very
nice day here in Cincinnati on Sunday. Remember, Tuesday, we'll
see if he practices again on Friday. He's dealing with

(01:01:20):
a leg issue there. And a couple good news on
some tight ends. Tyler Warren and Sam Laporte are good
to go for week one after missing some time with
a groin and hip issue, respectively.

Speaker 4 (01:01:28):
Dan Klaskens is with us.

Speaker 6 (01:01:29):
He is the host of Fantistics Insider Football on SiriusXM Fantasy.
Check out insiderfootball.com. I need your week one studs, duds,
and sleepers.

Speaker 19 (01:01:40):
Yeah, let's start with those studs, Mo. We are firing
up Justin Herbert. Mike McDaniel coming in there. McDaniel's coming
in there as the new offensive coordinator. He's got a
lot of buzz on this Chargers passing game. But I'm
mostly playing this because of the matchup. They're going against
one of the worst defenses in the league in Arizona
at home. I expect Herbert to be a top three
or four quarterback on the week. And a guy that

(01:02:01):
could be the top running back this week, certainly a
player that has that playmaking ability, Devon Achan. The Dolphins
running back, a lot of people shying away from the
Miami Star in round one. He fell to round two,
even late round two in some late August drafts. But, man,
week one at the Raiders, I think he's going to
be a big part of the game, regardless if the

(01:02:22):
Dolphins are trailing or ahead. He's going to get his action.
I think he could be RB1 this week, certainly in.

Speaker 3 (01:02:28):
My top five.

Speaker 19 (01:02:29):
From the studs to duds, I'm a little more reluctant.

Speaker 3 (01:02:32):
Bo Nix. A great player, a guy I'm enamored with.

Speaker 19 (01:02:35):
Him and Patrick Mahomes, really, in this matchup in Kansas
City on Monday night. I think it's low scoring. I
don't think either quarterback has a big game.

Speaker 3 (01:02:44):
DJ Moore. I like Buffalo adding in the number one wideout.

Speaker 19 (01:02:47):
I think big things are ahead this season, but he's
going to start off slow.

Speaker 3 (01:02:50):
They're at Houston.

Speaker 19 (01:02:52):
Josh Allen has struggled in his last two outings there.
I'm certainly not sitting him, but I think I could
do better at DJ more as my wide receiver three
or flex play perhaps. And then my sleeper picks of
the week. We'll start with Kenneth Gainwell.

Speaker 3 (01:03:03):
He's here against the Bengals. He was one of my
favorite sleepers at running back during the draft season. No surprise.
I like him in week one. I think the Bengals
are going to win and be ahead.

Speaker 19 (01:03:12):
So why not like the opposing teams passing down running back?
He also could get some game well, get some goal
line work with Sean Tucker, looking like he could maybe.

Speaker 12 (01:03:22):
Miss some action.

Speaker 19 (01:03:23):
And then Josh Downs, probably one of the most underrated
receivers during the draft season.

Speaker 3 (01:03:28):
But Alec Pierce.

Speaker 19 (01:03:29):
Just coming back from injury, and I mentioned Warren a
little binged up. I think he's the healthiest option, and
I think he has a decent day versus Baltimore. He's
inside my top 20, or excuse me, top 30 at
the position, though.

Speaker 6 (01:03:40):
I've got Kenneth Gainwell on my team, and you've talked
me into it.

Speaker 1 (01:03:43):
All right. Sign up for that.

Speaker 19 (01:03:45):
Yeah, well, the Bengals are going to be out.

Speaker 3 (01:03:47):
A little PPR running back.

Speaker 4 (01:03:48):
Yeah.

Speaker 19 (01:03:48):
Four or five catches.

Speaker 17 (01:03:49):
Yeah.

Speaker 12 (01:03:50):
I think he's a flex play, Mel.

Speaker 1 (01:03:51):
He's a flex play.

Speaker 3 (01:03:52):
He's really a flex play every week.

Speaker 4 (01:03:53):
Yeah.

Speaker 19 (01:03:54):
I really like Kenny Gainwell.

Speaker 4 (01:03:55):
Good call.

Speaker 14 (01:03:56):
All right.

Speaker 6 (01:03:57):
We're getting set for another year of fantasy football to
help veterans with the return of the Do Good Fantasy
Salary Cab Challenge.

Speaker 4 (01:04:03):
You've done this for years. Let's talk about it.

Speaker 19 (01:04:06):
Yeah, Mo, the NFL season is here, so it's a
great time to join. It's our second year of doing
the Do Good Fantasy Salary Cap Challenge.

Speaker 3 (01:04:13):
It's real simple.

Speaker 19 (01:04:14):
$ 30 donation goes all to DAV, Disabled American Veterans. We
help over a million veterans every single year through our
programs and services. And by donating, you get invited to
the game. You can play every week of the season.
You get a fresh salary cap lineup every week. You
compete for prizes. I have over $ 6, 000 in prizes donated
from all across the fantasy industry.

Speaker 3 (01:04:36):
With more being added every day.

Speaker 19 (01:04:38):
So have some fun. Test your fantasy skills. Help our
veterans at the same time. Tomorrow is 9-11, the 25th anniversary.
I think we all can think back to what patriotism
means and what a better way to support the brave
men and women that fight for it every day. DoGoodFantasy.com.
I'm two players shy from my goal of 100 players

(01:04:58):
before the start of this weekend, so I'd love it
for at least a couple of your listeners to jump
in and help us help veterans.

Speaker 4 (01:05:05):
No better cause. Let's make it happen. Dan, you're the best.
We'll talk next week.

Speaker 3 (01:05:10):
All right, Mo.

Speaker 19 (01:05:10):
Good luck in all your games in week one.

Speaker 1 (01:05:12):
Hootay, baby.

Speaker 7 (01:05:12):
Hootay.

Speaker 4 (01:05:13):
There we go. Dan Klaskens.

Speaker 6 (01:05:15):
You'll hear him on Fantistics Insider Football on SiriusXM Fantasy.
Check out InsiderFootball.com. Brenneman and Jones on baseball are next.

Speaker 4 (01:05:32):
Damn straight. What's up?

Speaker 7 (01:05:33):
Good afternoon.

Speaker 4 (01:05:34):
I'm Mo Eggers.

Speaker 6 (01:05:34):
This is ESPN 1530. Thank you for listening today. Hope
we're having like the greatest Thursday afternoon ever. It has
been been wet and cloudy and I miss I miss
the sun already. I'm ready for football. We're all ready
for football. Ready for pro football. Wouldn't kill me if

(01:05:55):
we had a few more weeks of summer. But talking
about the weather is stupid because you can't do anything
about it. Jay Morrison is going to be on this
show in about 10 minutes, 15 minutes. We are looking
forward to that. We also Tony Husband from Apple TV
on reeling. FC Cincinnati. They are a mess right now.
There is also a very cool volleyball event happening this

(01:06:18):
weekend in the tri-state, and it benefits the Joe Burrow Foundation.
We'll have what you need to know about that coming
up in about 30 minutes. And in just a few,
we've got one poll question out there already on Twitter,
at Mo Egger. We have to get to a second,
and I'll throw it out here in just a few minutes.

(01:06:38):
Last couple of years on Thursdays, we've been joined on
a weekly basis by our friend Robert Weintraub of Cincinnati Magazine,
who writes not just a weekly Bengals column, but sometimes
writes Bengals features like the one he has on Dexter Lawrence,
which is awesome.

Speaker 4 (01:06:53):
Uh, fantastic.

Speaker 6 (01:06:54):
You can read it at Cincinnati magazine.com and Robert is
with us now. And, uh, he shares our optimism and
enthusiasm and excitement.

Speaker 4 (01:07:03):
So it's great to have him here. How are we doing, sir?

Speaker 17 (01:07:05):
I just, uh, all I ask for this season, Mo,
as we embark on yet another weekly adventure is that, uh,
you refer to me as sexy Robbie Weintraub for this season.

Speaker 4 (01:07:16):
How much money, how much money you got?

Speaker 17 (01:07:19):
Not nearly enough in this case.

Speaker 12 (01:07:21):
It's made for radio, and.

Speaker 17 (01:07:23):
It's perfect that we're doing it in an audio medium.
We'll proceed as such.

Speaker 6 (01:07:27):
Rob the heartthrob. I mean, you know, we either need
alliteration or something to rhyme.

Speaker 4 (01:07:33):
Very well done.

Speaker 17 (01:07:33):
I'll pass that along to my significant other.

Speaker 6 (01:07:36):
The Dexter Lawrence piece is terrific, and I encourage folks
listening to go check that out at CincinnatiMagazine.com. I think
there's two different Dexter Lawrence effects. One we'll see starting
on Sunday as it relates to what his impact is
going to be on this defense from an X's and
O's perspective. But his impact on this team from an

(01:07:58):
emotional standpoint, a mental standpoint, what he's done for the
fan base, the dude hasn't played a meaningful snap yet,
and I feel like he's been here for years.

Speaker 17 (01:08:06):
It's really amazing, isn't it? And you refer to the piece.
Thank you so much. And that's sort of what I
was trying to uncover when I spent some time with
him over the summer.

Speaker 20 (01:08:15):
Uh, just his background.

Speaker 17 (01:08:16):
I met up with Dexter in his hometown, Wake.

Speaker 12 (01:08:19):
Forest, North Carolina.

Speaker 17 (01:08:22):
And, you know, he had a little football camp there
going in, but mainly it was just, just to see
him in his natural element. And, uh, you know, all
his friends and family were there and everybody was really positive.
And I can't begin to tell you how, you know,
how overjoyed everybody was that he was getting out of
New York and going to play with what they would
term a real quarterback in Cincinnati. And he was so

(01:08:44):
devoted to it just from day one. I mean, I
think we know, you know, he came there to sign
his contract and he basically didn't.

Speaker 12 (01:08:50):
Leave for weeks after that.

Speaker 17 (01:08:52):
And he's bringing that same sort of you know, what
I saw in him over the summer, which was not
just a really humble, approachable, friendly guy, but somebody who's
really looking forward to, I think, the second act of
his career, who wants to show people that, you know,
as great a person and player that he's been in
New York, you know, the team's there. I think his

(01:09:12):
overall record was something like 36 and.

Speaker 20 (01:09:14):
80 at one time.

Speaker 7 (01:09:16):
I mean, it's a team game, but.

Speaker 17 (01:09:17):
He wants to show that He still got it, you know,
and I think as we've seen all summer, as you mentioned,
he hasn't played a.

Speaker 12 (01:09:25):
Meaningful snap yet.

Speaker 17 (01:09:26):
We'll see how it really shakes out come the actual games,
but he's just had a salutary effect on everybody on
both sides of the ball. He's made the offense sharper because.

Speaker 7 (01:09:36):
Of the defense.

Speaker 17 (01:09:37):
Incredible energy and destructive force that he brings as a player.
He's brought the locker room together. Everybody kind of wants
to not only be around him, but I just think
he's so huge that the natural orbit effect comes into play,
you know, and it's really going to be fascinating to
see just what an impact he has. Not just in

(01:09:57):
terms of wins and losses, but just as a leader
on the team and as a player, everybody looks to
really set the standard along with Joe Burrow.

Speaker 4 (01:10:04):
Amid all the optimism, if there's one reason for hesitancy,
what is it?

Speaker 17 (01:10:10):
Well, you know, I guess we have to separate out
the fact that just as a Bengal fan, you're naturally pessimistic, right?
Especially guys like you and I have seen a lot
of things.

Speaker 12 (01:10:20):
It's like we've been in battle together. We don't want
to talk about the PTSD.

Speaker 17 (01:10:25):
But leaving that aside, certainly anything can happen.

Speaker 12 (01:10:29):
You know, I think the Bengals.

Speaker 17 (01:10:31):
If there's one thing I take away from the last
three years is that they're a little overdue for some
good luck, finally. I mean, you know, we've seen a
lot of bad tackling and bad play and bad things happen,
but a lot of bad luck, too, over the last
few years.

Speaker 12 (01:10:43):
And I think they're due for some good stuff. Now,
certainly there's.

Speaker 17 (01:10:46):
Some hesitation, some skepticism about various aspects of the roster.
And you look at the linebackers, are they really going
to both in their second year, Barrett Carter and Demetrius Knight,
become good players or take a step forward? Is their
depth really cornerback and the offensive line really not going
to come into play at some point this season? We

(01:11:08):
saw the first game last night and already you've got
a quarterback and a great wide receiver go down for
varying lengths of time. It's inevitable it's going to happen,
hopefully not to Joe Burrow, but you're going to wind
up testing your reserves, no question about it.

Speaker 12 (01:11:23):
Can the Bengals' reserves stand up to it? I think overall,
my main thing is, as you.

Speaker 17 (01:11:29):
Mentioned a little bit earlier, the intangibles this offseason have
been so good for once, and the vibes have been
so high. And the schedule overall plays out and looks
to be very easy at.

Speaker 12 (01:11:43):
FTN Almanac.

Speaker 17 (01:11:44):
We mentioned it was the easiest perhaps in the league,
but that's on paper.

Speaker 12 (01:11:50):
And it's front-loaded.

Speaker 17 (01:11:51):
And what happens to the Bengals if they trip up,
as they want to do? We've sort of put that
talking point on the back burner after they won a
couple of September games last year, finally. But they have
Houston and Pittsburgh, and Tampa won't be easy. And the
Ravens looming right.

Speaker 12 (01:12:06):
After an early bye.

Speaker 17 (01:12:08):
What happens if they go 2-4? And are the veterans
that they added strong enough to offset what could be
You know, a shake in the foundation of those great vibes.
I guess that's where I'm most leery about heading into
the season.

Speaker 12 (01:12:21):
And we'll just have to see how it plays out.

Speaker 17 (01:12:23):
But, you know, it's obviously better than in years past
when they've, you know, been coming into seasons with all
kinds of bad vibes.

Speaker 12 (01:12:30):
And you're just.

Speaker 17 (01:12:30):
Shaking your head wondering, yeah, we're going to spend the ball.

Speaker 12 (01:12:35):
And it turned out to be the case.

Speaker 6 (01:12:37):
Robert Weintraub is with us. Mentioned FTN Fantasy, their annual almanac.
If you haven't gotten it yet, Robert wrote the Bengals
chapter on top of some other things.

Speaker 4 (01:12:46):
So get that as well.

Speaker 6 (01:12:47):
Read his weekly Bengals column and his Dexter Lawrence feature
at CincinnatiMagazine.com. You look at things through an advanced analytics lens.
And so the whole Joe Burrow going under center thing,
we get it. They want to be more explosive. They
want more play action. They want to run the ball
more effectively. From your perspective, is this going to work?

(01:13:10):
And if it doesn't at the beginning, are they really
going to commit to it?

Speaker 17 (01:13:14):
Yeah, that's really the $ 64, 000.

Speaker 1 (01:13:15):
Question, isn't it?

Speaker 12 (01:13:16):
I mean, whether it's going to work.

Speaker 17 (01:13:18):
Is hard to say. It's been such a small sample size.
it hasn't worked at all, but they've, they haven't really
tried it enough to really make any determination one way
or the other. Joe Burrow is who he is because
of how he plays out of the shotgun. And, you know,
the real question going forward is they spent the whole

(01:13:38):
summer working on it.

Speaker 12 (01:13:40):
What's going to happen.

Speaker 17 (01:13:41):
As I mentioned, you know, that what happens if they
get off to a slow start, a lot of that
could result in, or stem from the fact that the
office doesn't play that great. And the under center is,
is a little clunky early, and they're going to be
relying on players who are either young and haven't done
it before or veterans who are kind of prized for
their pass blocking and not necessarily their play action, excuse me,

(01:14:03):
under center kind of way that their scheme is going
to play out.

Speaker 12 (01:14:08):
We'll see.

Speaker 17 (01:14:09):
And it's really easy to envision a scenario where they–
don't really love what they're seeing and just kind of
default back into what's worked in the past. And, you know,
that isn't necessarily a bad thing because they've been so
good in the under burrow in, in shotgun formations, but
they spent so much time and there's been such talk about,

(01:14:30):
you know, getting more multiple, getting more explosive and trying
to finally get them play action into this offense, which
they'd never really had before. That in and of itself
would feel like a bit of a defeat if they
backtrack from it after a few games. And the only
way that playing under center really works is if you
fully commit to it, right? You can't just tiptoe into it.
You've got to kind of cannonball into the deep end

(01:14:51):
of the pool. And it's really going to be sort
of a major thing to watch this season, along with
how that newly built defense comes together, is do they
fully commit to this game?

Speaker 12 (01:15:03):
New style playing. Will they go with a lot of
multiple tight ends at once?

Speaker 17 (01:15:07):
Will they really be under center for large sections of
the game? And if bad things start to happen, will
they go away from it and just go back to
their comfort zone?

Speaker 12 (01:15:15):
Be very interesting to watch.

Speaker 6 (01:15:17):
The fun thing about the preseason was watching the rookies,
watching players in this draft class make a case to
be on the teams, certainly for the guys picked later,
but You know, show some indication that they might be
able to help. Can this collection of rookies actually help
this team?

Speaker 17 (01:15:35):
Yeah, I mean, you know, they're definitely going to have to.
I think at some point, in terms of just becoming
a better depth than they've had in the past, the
Bengals a lot of times kind of dip into the
practice squad and sign guys off the street when... Uh,
frontline players go down.

Speaker 12 (01:15:53):
And hopefully that won't be the case. And I think
we've seen, at least in.

Speaker 17 (01:15:57):
The preseason and in training camp, a lot of these
backend players like a Landon Robinson or Jack Andrews might
have some things to offer. If they're called upon, you
hope they don't get up called about too much. I think,
you know, certainly not having, you know, like. Dexter Lawrence
is sort of your number one.

Speaker 7 (01:16:12):
Pick, right?

Speaker 12 (01:16:13):
So that doesn't really factor in.

Speaker 17 (01:16:15):
He's going to contribute.

Speaker 12 (01:16:16):
There's no doubt about that.

Speaker 17 (01:16:17):
Cash is how I don't think there's any question they're
going to use him as much possible. They're going to
try and find reasons to get him on the field.
And certainly Takario Davis is going to play regardless of,
you know, what the health looks like in front of him.

Speaker 12 (01:16:29):
They're going to have packages for him.

Speaker 17 (01:16:30):
The good news is they're not going to rely on
these guys quite as much as they had. I mean,
remember last year they started two rookies.

Speaker 12 (01:16:36):
An opening day.

Speaker 17 (01:16:37):
And the third Barry Carter obviously came in and played
quite a bit for better or worse. You know, you
never want to be in that particular scenario.

Speaker 12 (01:16:44):
You want to have like.

Speaker 17 (01:16:45):
Hey, these guys can add something in a limited role
in certain packages and things that we've designed.

Speaker 12 (01:16:51):
To exploit what they do best.

Speaker 17 (01:16:52):
And not just like they did last year with night
and Carter and to a certain extent, their child, just.

Speaker 12 (01:16:58):
Throw them in there.

Speaker 17 (01:16:58):
And it's like, okay, guys, it's up to you now,
sink or swim. You know, and that's really the key
element is the how they contribute, and how little they're
really asked to do outside of their comfort zone. I
think they're poised in this particular scenario to do well.

Speaker 12 (01:17:15):
Of course, we haven't even played a game yet.

Speaker 17 (01:17:18):
We'll see how that plays out, and we'll see how
the frontline starters play in terms of keeping their health.

Speaker 12 (01:17:24):
That's really the key element, as it is for every team.

Speaker 4 (01:17:27):
Looking forward to talking next week already. Thank you so much,
as always.

Speaker 12 (01:17:31):
Excellent. Thank you, Mo. And let's, let's do it for what?
20 plus weeks.

Speaker 6 (01:17:36):
And then we'll be talking about Rob, the heartthrob or
whatever we refer to, but around Valentine's day, it's going
to be great.

Speaker 12 (01:17:42):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:17:42):
Right.

Speaker 7 (01:17:43):
And Valentine's day would be nice.

Speaker 17 (01:17:44):
And my birthday is the week after I can think
of no better birthday present than to tell you to
talk in Superbowl with you, Mo.

Speaker 7 (01:17:49):
That's my dream.

Speaker 4 (01:17:50):
Terrific.

Speaker 6 (01:17:50):
Sign me up for that. Robert Weintraub, Cincinnati magazine.com. Read
his Dexter Lawrence feature. You will love it, Rob.

Speaker 4 (01:17:56):
Thank you as always.

Speaker 12 (01:17:57):
Thank you, Mo. Take care.

Speaker 4 (01:17:58):
We also love our guy, Jay Morrison. He'll join us next.

Speaker 8 (01:18:02):

Speaker 1 (01:18:04):
Traffic.

Speaker 9 (01:18:07):
From the UCHealth Traffic Center, UCHealth has been helping Cincinnati
thrive for 200 years and not stopping now. Find the
groundbreaking care you need at uchealth.com.

Speaker 16 (01:18:17):
This is Football in the Natty, brought to you in
part by Postman Law and by Skyline Chili on ESPN 1530,
the official home of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Speaker 6 (01:18:30):
24 after 5, this is ESPN 1530.

Speaker 4 (01:18:33):
Mo Egger, Jay Morrison.

Speaker 6 (01:18:36):
Always kind enough to join us on Thursdays. For years, BengalsTalk.com,
also part of the Growler podcast, which, by the way,
their live show tonight at 50 West Deerfield Township starts
at seven o'clock. There's a game tonight. You can hang
around and watch 49ers and Rams. You can win some
club seats to the Jacksonville game. And most importantly, you

(01:18:56):
could you can meet Jay.

Speaker 4 (01:18:58):
So go see him tonight. Hi, Jay.

Speaker 1 (01:19:01):
Hey, Mo, as soon as we hang up here, I'm
driving up there, so I'll be there early if anybody
wants to have a beer and talk before the show.

Speaker 4 (01:19:08):
There you go. Go have a beer with Jay.

Speaker 6 (01:19:11):
So, like, there's been nothing but positive news, and then
I look at the injury report today, and there's DJ Turner.

Speaker 4 (01:19:17):
Should I be worried?

Speaker 1 (01:19:20):
Um, yeah, I don't know. I would say probably usually
a surprise limited on a Thursday is not a good thing. It,
you know, a guy could tweak something and miss a
portion of practice in return. Um, but that rarely happens
if there's some sort of soft tissue tweak in practice,
they usually don't finish practice. Um, and hamstrings are so tricky. Anyhow,

(01:19:42):
even if he felt a little grab, there's, um, It
could not be serious, but you just don't know, and
there's no guarantee that they feel comfortable on Sunday. So
we'll find out more tomorrow when we talk to Zach,
but never a good thing when they show up on
a Thursday unexpected.

Speaker 6 (01:19:59):
Okay, then let's go down the road of him maybe
not playing. Takario Davis looks like he might be a dude,
but that's throwing him to the wolves. How do they
handle not having DJ Turner if they don't have DJ Turner?

Speaker 1 (01:20:13):
Yeah, I mean, it would be Takario. I... you know,
for a while there, DJ Ivy was kind of the
star of training camp and, and, and, and Takario or,
you know, he goes by Bobo kind of went past them.
And he was clearly the number three at the end
of camp. And he looked really good. It looked like
at some point in camp, something clicked. And, and, You say, yeah,

(01:20:35):
but it's practice, but you look at the dudes that
he's practicing against, and it's never good if you're going
to throw a rookie out there in week one, but
I don't think it would be a guaranteed disaster, let's
say that. I think he could hold up pretty well.
The thing is, last year they were traveling DJ, and

(01:20:57):
he wasn't just playing sides. He was going with the
best player, and now... is Dak Phil the guy that
you're traveling with their best player? Do they deem it
to be Abuka or is it Godwin? It's going to
put a pretty big stress on Al Golden on how
he wants to handle that, but I do think most
of the reps would fall to Takario.

Speaker 6 (01:21:19):
What do you expect to see from the two starting
linebackers on Sunday?

Speaker 1 (01:21:26):
Big growth. We kind of saw it incrementally last year
at the at the end of the season, you know,
it's funny, there's so much talk about, you know, how
bad they were last year and how they didn't do
anything to add to that room. And then you get
into camp and, you know, it could be a good
thing or a bad thing. You didn't really notice them.
Like there weren't a ton of splash plays, but there

(01:21:48):
weren't the gaps that we saw last year, you know,
the missed assignments and the false steps. And they really
do seem like they've come a long way. And you
put that kind of D-line in front of them, just
Dexter Lawrence alone, you put them in.

Speaker 21 (01:22:03):
Front of them, it's going to help them immensely.

Speaker 1 (01:22:05):
And they are guys that it means something to them.
I think they are really bugged about how they played
last year. And I expect to see a big leap
from those guys. Maybe again, maybe not splash plays, but
I think you're just going to see solid performances in
the run game and just a totally different look for

(01:22:27):
that defense overall.

Speaker 6 (01:22:28):
My standard is I don't want to go to Getty
Images the next day and see a bunch of pictures
of those guys laying on the ground as a guy
in another uniform carrying the ball runs away. If I
have none of those, successful season from those two.

Speaker 1 (01:22:42):
You know, a couple years ago, we call it the
Nick Vigil reach. Every picture that was on the wire
was Nick Vigil just reaching haplessly for a player that
was running away from him.

Speaker 6 (01:22:52):
Optimism is everywhere. If there's one reason for hesitancy, what
is it?

Speaker 1 (01:22:59):
I mean, I would say the emotional angle where if
there's one reason to kind of temper excitement and optimism,
it's the past. And Bengals fans, Cincinnati sports fans in
general are so scarred that they just, they're always looking
around the corner for something to happen and to ruin

(01:23:20):
it all.

Speaker 21 (01:23:21):
And it's just, it's like when a team.

Speaker 1 (01:23:24):
Is lost to another team five straight times and you
It just seems like it's going to happen when, in reality,
it doesn't matter. What happened last year doesn't have any
effect on what's about to happen, and I just think
that's the way Bengo fans, you need to enjoy this,
and you can't You can't have that pessimism, although I
expressed some pessimism on the podcast yesterday, but just enjoy

(01:23:47):
how good everything's been and enjoy the excitement and just
look forward to what this season can be. I don't
see anything on paper. It's one of the reasons I
picked him on the podcast yesterday to win the Super Bowl.
It's way out of my comfort zone to make that
kind of declaration, but everything feels lined up. With Joe Burrow,

(01:24:08):
keep him healthy. get in the playoffs. If they're a
seven seed, you feel good about them in the playoffs.
I really think they can.

Speaker 21 (01:24:13):
Be a one or a two seed, get in the
playoffs and make this a special year.

Speaker 4 (01:24:17):
I hope so.

Speaker 3 (01:24:18):
All right.

Speaker 6 (01:24:18):
So go see Jay tonight, 50 West Deerfield Township. Did
you say you're buying people beers or go tell people
to go have one with you?

Speaker 1 (01:24:27):
The podcast will buy people beers, which means it's.

Speaker 21 (01:24:29):
Coming out of Paul's pocket.

Speaker 12 (01:24:30):
Perfect.

Speaker 6 (01:24:31):
Now that's something we can agree on. Have fun tonight, Jay.
Thank you as always.

Speaker 1 (01:24:36):
Okay, thanks, bro.

Speaker 6 (01:24:37):
Jay, a part of the Growler podcast and also BengalsTalk.com. 5.30,
sports headlines and a very cool event. If you want
to help out the Joe Burrow Foundation and high school
sports are the best. Unique high school sports event is
coming up on Saturday night. We'll learn all about it next.

Speaker 16 (01:24:58):
You've been listening to Football in the Natty on ESPN 1530,
the official home of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Speaker 18 (01:25:08):
Smoke Justice is just a block and a bridge from
the stadium in Covington. Video walls bring your favorite team
to life on game days. Smoked meats and the largest
selection of bourbons make Smoke Justice your football headquarters. Trust us,
your senses will thank you. Smoke Justice at Roebling Point
in Covington.

Speaker 13 (01:25:25):
Cincinnati's ESPN 1530. traffic from the ucl cincinnati's espn 1530.

Speaker 6 (01:25:33):
Don't forget sunday morning nine o'clock holy grail ken brew
tony pike and me getting you set for bengal's box
kickoff at one on espn 1530 this is a really
really cool event happening at fenwick high school they call
it Volley under the lights. Second year they've done this.

(01:25:54):
They play a volleyball game this time against Mason high
school on the football field. They're putting down a volleyball
court on the football field and it's a huge community
event and everything benefits the Joe Burrow foundation. It's Saturday night.
The head volleyball coach, the varsity volleyball coach at Fenwick
high school is Tyler Conley.

Speaker 4 (01:26:12):
Tyler, this is awesome. Tell me how this came about.

Speaker 3 (01:26:16):
Yeah.

Speaker 10 (01:26:16):
Thanks for having me on Mo.

Speaker 15 (01:26:19):
So this is, Nebraska did an outdoor event at their stadium. Had,
I think, over 90,000 people. And my assistant coach came
to me in 2024, about two weeks before the season,
and said, hey, we should really try and do this
this year. And I'm like, man, you're crazy. We can't
get an event like this together in two weeks. And late,

(01:26:40):
early 2025, we got the go-ahead to give it a go.
And we started looking at courts. We ended up purchasing
our courts. with the intent of doing it every single year.
And then we didn't quite know how it was going
to go. And we hosted Lakota East last year, had
almost 2,500 people there. The tailgating was amazing. The volleyball

(01:27:01):
was really, really cool.

Speaker 10 (01:27:01):
It was just a neat event at our community.

Speaker 15 (01:27:06):
So, you know, fast forwarding to this year, we thought,
how can we make it bigger? We proved the concept
in year one. And one of our big things at
Fenwick is service. And so naturally, you're like, what can
we attach ourselves to? And there's no bigger name in
the city of Cincinnati than Joe Burrow. And so we
got hooked up with the Joe Burrow Foundation through a

(01:27:27):
contact in our school. And we've run with that, I think,
since about January.

Speaker 4 (01:27:33):
It's pretty awesome. I have some logistical questions.

Speaker 1 (01:27:36):
Are you ready?

Speaker 4 (01:27:38):
I am.

Speaker 6 (01:27:38):
So you're playing volleyball under the lights. To hit a volleyball,
you've got to look up. So how do you practice
and prepare for having lights?

Speaker 3 (01:27:46):
Yeah, that is tough.

Speaker 10 (01:27:47):
But, you know, you think about it in a gym.
We're going to have the lighting issues there, too.

Speaker 15 (01:27:52):
I think of it more of where, you know, in
the NCAA basketball Final Four, you've got that, like, infinite
background in the arenas.

Speaker 10 (01:28:00):
That's where it's going to be tough. It's tougher to
serve and pass.

Speaker 15 (01:28:04):
We probably have more issues with a little bit of
wind than we do with the lights. The ball moves
kind of funny where it's moving late on you and
you'll see some girls swing and miss. And that's not
a typical thing. But yeah, in terms of that, it's
not too different. The girls are really locked in and
they're focused. I guess it can happen there, but but

(01:28:25):
not too bad.

Speaker 10 (01:28:26):
All right.

Speaker 6 (01:28:26):
Well, you answered my question about the lights and the wind.
So we're good there. Here's like this is what I
think is interesting. Volleyball is growing in popularity. A couple
of years ago, I never thought I'd be in an
establishment and the final four is on network television and
everybody's watching it it's got to be a really cool
time to be involved in the sport at the at
the prep level.

Speaker 15 (01:28:49):
It is it's it's really awesome um to turn on
fox on i think what was it sunday night and
watch watch two games on at wrigley field like yeah
It's on Fox.

Speaker 10 (01:28:58):
Like this is nationally televised. Unbelievable. So cool.

Speaker 15 (01:29:03):
And I remember a few years ago going to the
American Volleyball Coaches Association convention and they're like, hey, if
we get enough viewers on this night, they're going to
move us from ESPN 2 to ESPN. And now it's
on network television, nationally televised, and it's just so cool.

Speaker 6 (01:29:20):
Yeah, and the players are getting paid a lot of
money in some cases as well. So a volleyball court
on a football field, when you reach out to other
programs at the beginning of this, when you started this
last year, were coaches like, what are you talking about?

Speaker 4 (01:29:34):
Were they skeptical? What was their reaction?

Speaker 15 (01:29:37):
They were definitely hesitant last year, and it actually took...
just me having a relationship with the Lakota East coach
and saying, come on, man, we will pull this off.

Speaker 10 (01:29:45):
We can do it. And, and we had a line
this year.

Speaker 15 (01:29:48):
People saw what we pulled off and Hey, we would
love to be a part of it. We're already getting
inquiries for, for next year. Like we, we'd love to
be your, your opponent for the outdoor game. So, Yeah,
there was definitely some convincing. There was some convincing on
our part because safety is a priority for us. So we,
you know, we tested out a few different products. We

(01:30:08):
tested out how we wanted to lay it on the field.
And ultimately we came up to, we're just going to
throw this underlayment down. It's a rubber underlayment, put the,
put the floor on top of it and it's, it's solid,
it's sturdy and it works great.

Speaker 6 (01:30:21):
All right, volley under the lights, Saturday night, Fenwick versus Mason,
volleyball on a football field with a volleyball court down.
It supports the Joe Burrow Foundation. Do folks just show up?
Do they buy tickets? How does this work?

Speaker 15 (01:30:38):
Yeah, either way, we're going to be tailgating there probably
about 3 o'clock all the way through the night. So
you can purchase tickets at the gate, or you can
purchase tickets at fenwickathletics.org. I said this to Lance last night,
even if you're not a volleyball fan, even if you're
not planning on attending, we'd love to have the donation

(01:30:59):
because every dollar spent on tickets goes directly to the
Joe Burrow Foundation. So even if you're not planning on
being in attendance, head over to FenwickAthletics.org and purchase some
tickets and benefit the Joe Burrell Foundation.

Speaker 6 (01:31:12):
FenwickAthletics.org, Saturday night, Fenwick versus Mason, volley under the lights,
outdoor volleyball.

Speaker 4 (01:31:20):
Should be awesome. Congratulations on another year of doing this, Tyler.
Thanks so much.

Speaker 10 (01:31:25):
Thank you.

Speaker 6 (01:31:27):
Varsity volleyball coach at Fenwick high school. It's a great event.
And again, everything benefits the Joe Burrow foundation and who
could say no to the Joe Burrow foundation. So say
yes to Fenwick versus Mason high school on the football
field with the volleyball court lined up on Saturday.

Speaker 4 (01:31:48):
Meanwhile, FC Cincinnati is getting.

Speaker 6 (01:31:51):
Set for a game on Saturday, obviously short turnaround after
what happened last night, the orange and blue team, Needless
to say, reeling. The FC Cincinnati will take on Charlotte
on Saturday at 7.30. The soccer venue on the west
end of Cincinnati licking its wounds and dealing with a
lot of issues that.

(01:32:11):
You know, Pat Noonan referred to there being bigger issues
in play there. The Matt Miazga situation is hovering over
all of this and all of this in the middle
of a stretch of time where we're used to FC
Cincinnati making a push for the top of the table
in the Eastern Conference. Apple TV's Tony Husband, kind enough
to join us. Tony, is this team broken?

Speaker 22 (01:32:30):
Well, I think we might find out, you know, Mo,
in the next couple of games, maybe as soon as
this weekend. This is definitely a junction in the season.
And it's a moment from which you either move forward
or you crash out. And I think everybody knows that.
It's a big moment. It's an unusual moment considering how
successful FC Cincinnati have been over the last couple of years. Um,

(01:32:54):
but certainly right now, this is, this is, uh, a
real decision, pivotal kind of time, uh, in this season's
destiny for them.

Speaker 20 (01:33:03):
You feel you don't want to get too.

Speaker 22 (01:33:04):
Hyperbolic about it because ultimately there's still quite a few
games to go. And if you get into the playoffs,
anything can happen, but you know, you, you get a
feeling and a vibe about these things and they need
to correct this pretty quickly.

Speaker 6 (01:33:17):
I think what's weird about where they are and how
they've played and how the season has unfolded is it
has felt very un-Pat Noonan-y, right?

Speaker 4 (01:33:26):
Like, I'm used to cohesion.

Speaker 6 (01:33:29):
I'm used to them having answers for whatever comes their way.
And by the way, they're not having an awful season,
but maybe not to the standard... that we expect is,
is that kind of a fair way of looking at it?
And should I assume that, you know what, Pat Noonan
has fixed stuff on the fly before Chris Albright has
fixed some stuff on the fly before, and they will
get this figured out at least enough for this team to,
to stay in the playoff hunt.

Speaker 20 (01:33:50):
Yeah, I think that's a really good way of describing it.

Speaker 22 (01:33:52):
I think, on the one hand, the fact that we're
sitting here now and I'm agreeing with you in a
sense that we're at a pivotal point of the season,
things could go either way. It's a kind of testament
to how well Pat Noonan and Chris Albright have done
with this club. We all know where Cincinnati were when
they came in and picked up the reins.

Speaker 20 (01:34:13):
So if we compare this with the early seasons.

Speaker 12 (01:34:17):
You know, this.

Speaker 22 (01:34:18):
Is still good times, but of course, they've achieved so
much in their time at Cincinnati. Now this is the
first really difficult, really tough bump in the road. And,
you know, things to figure out, a little bit of
introspection going on, I think, in the camp probably from
all sides at the moment as to how they get

(01:34:39):
this figured out. And, you know, this has been an
un-Cincinnati-like year. I mean, for two years in particular, we
looked at Cincinnati as the team that always got the
job done. They would win so many games by just
that one goal because they knew how to close matches out.
They knew how to get three points.

Speaker 20 (01:34:54):
This year, the floodgates have opened. They conceded so many goals.
Another five last night, admittedly down to 10 men for
most of the game.

Speaker 22 (01:35:02):
But, you know, this is not the Cincinnati we know
of recent times. And therefore, in comparison with those recent times,
it's a difficult, very, very difficult period.

Speaker 6 (01:35:14):
What do you make of what they've done during the
transfer window, including reportedly, apparently saying goodbye to Matt Miosga?

Speaker 22 (01:35:23):
Yeah, well, I mean, it clearly an era has come
to an end there one way or the other. You know,
I think hopefully we'll get some more clarity at some
stage and fairly soon as to exactly how that will
play out. But, you know, this inactivity in the transfer market, unfortunately,
is how.

Speaker 20 (01:35:40):
It will probably be remembered by by critics looking at it.

Speaker 22 (01:35:45):
I'm one person who said you should never just bring
footballers in for the sake of it. You know, you
have to bring players in who are going to improve
what you've got. And no one can underestimate, you know,
I've seen this not just at Cincinnati, but across the
league in this last transfer window, which has been pretty
busy for Major League Soccer clubs. And by the way,
it's a taste of what's to come when the schedule changes,

(01:36:06):
because this is just the start of this. But, you know,
you can work very, very hard on deals and they
just don't happen. And then you find yourself saying, well,
you know, what are the alternatives? And I've never been
a great believer in you just bring in bodies just
for body's sake. You know, you've got to bring in
people who are going to actively change the team and
improve the team. So, you know, they've struggled a little

(01:36:29):
bit on that front this summer. They have got a
couple of new faces waiting for obviously visa commitments and
things to come through, you know, but they'll need them
sooner rather than later because obviously some fresh faces and
fresh voices can help. But, you know, obviously at the
moment it's all being overshadowed by the potential departure of,
you know, someone who's been a very big player.

Speaker 4 (01:36:49):
No question about that.

Speaker 6 (01:36:50):
It's Cincinnati versus Charlotte, and it feels like FC Cincinnati's
biggest opponent right now is itself, but they are going
to play another team on Saturday night. What about Charlotte
presents issues for Pat Noonan's team?

Speaker 22 (01:37:04):
Yeah, well, I mean, I think I could make a
case for any team right now giving Pat Noonan a
headache because, you know, and when you look at Charlotte,
you think.

Speaker 20 (01:37:16):
Very, very well-organized team.

Speaker 22 (01:37:18):
They play a very, very good system that is structured,
that is shape-based, that is, again, difficult to break down.
I mean, to be fair, what we've always talked about
with Cincinnati in the last couple of years. But, you know,
they've got some explosive players and players who have really
found some form as well. They brought in Alan St-Maximin,
who people may remember, particularly from his time playing in

(01:37:40):
the English Premier League at Newcastle.

Speaker 20 (01:37:42):
He lit that up for a while there.

Speaker 22 (01:37:44):
Leo Labada, the Israeli winger, has kind of had a
second win this summer. Looked like he might move on.
He stayed and he found his form. And then they've
got the Spanish magician floating around in there behind the
striker in Pep Biel, who's outstanding. You know, he's a kind,
you know, he's their Evander, if you like, to a

(01:38:05):
certain extent. So they present dangers. They won last night
in Montreal on the road. They're the kind of team that,
you know, with the experience they've got, gets stronger as
the year goes on. Very difficult opponent, not an opponent
really Cincinnati would want to meet at the moment. But,
you know, again, this sets the challenge to Pat and
his group, you know, to really now dig deep without

(01:38:27):
Evander to try.

Speaker 12 (01:38:29):
And get a result.

Speaker 4 (01:38:30):
Well said have a great call tony i appreciate the
time as always man thank you all the best cheers the.

Speaker 6 (01:38:36):
Great tony husband uh apple tv mls action saturday night
fc cincinnati hosting charlotte uh that was a loaded show
Not a loaded host, but a loaded show. A couple
of things very quickly. Don't forget tomorrow, our show is
not on because Bengals Pep Rally starts tomorrow, three to six.

(01:38:56):
So wall-to-wall Bengals, three big hours hosted by Dan Horjo.
Dannemann is a part of that show as well. That
follows Friday Football Frenzy with Tony and Austin.

Speaker 4 (01:39:08):
But I am working tomorrow.

Speaker 6 (01:39:11):
I will be on at the exact same time as
I normally am, but instead down the hall working with
my buddy Eddie Fingers. So not that I would expect
anybody to forgo Dan Hoard and Joe Dannemann for me,
but I will be down the hall three to six.

Speaker 4 (01:39:31):
Not doing non-sports. No, no, that's not going to happen.
Talking football, talking Bengals. Can't wait.

Speaker 1 (01:39:35):
You're leaving me.

Speaker 4 (01:39:37):
I'm for a day. But you know what, Taryn? Makers
and Coke Friday.

Speaker 1 (01:39:43):
Sound like a plan.

Speaker 4 (01:39:44):
Book it. Sunday morning, Holy Grail. We'll see you there.

Speaker 6 (01:39:48):
Tony and Moe football show Monday at Twin Peaks in Westchester.
Cannot wait for that.

Speaker 4 (01:39:53):
We're done.

Speaker 6 (01:39:54):
Have an awesome night. Thank you to Taryn Bland for producing.
Thanks to you for listening. Have a great night. If
I don't talk to you, have a great weekend. This
is ESPN 1530 Cincinnati Sports Station.

Speaker 13 (01:40:11):

Speaker 8 (01:40:13):
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