November 13, 2025 • 15 mins
Tony and Austin talk with John Sheeran from A to Z Sports about the Bengals on ESPN 1530!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hike Sincy three sixty about Cincinnati from Cincinnati Sponsorman Park
by Cincy Shirts, Cincy Shirts all sincey all day. This
is ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Welcome back, it's our number two.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
It's Thursday on ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station, which
means we got to thank our friends at Cinty Shirts,
and it means we kick off the hour with our
good friend covering the Bengals from eight hisz E Sports.
John Shearon with us right now, John, what's going on?
Speaker 4 (00:36):
Fellas doing?
Speaker 2 (00:37):
All right?
Speaker 5 (00:38):
Had a nice refreshing weekend of no football of any
kind except very leisurely watching, geting pleasure.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
So good to be back. Wait, you barely watched any
football at all?
Speaker 4 (00:49):
It was it was it was here.
Speaker 5 (00:50):
There, you know. I caught some caught some good moments,
caught some.
Speaker 4 (00:52):
Bad moments that made me like, oh yeah, I remember
what that looks like.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
And now now we're back. What's back? What did you
do with your time? Were you doing yard work? Were
you cramps?
Speaker 4 (01:00):
Like?
Speaker 2 (01:00):
What were you doing? You're hanging out with your family?
What's going on?
Speaker 4 (01:04):
Absolutely nothing beautiful about it?
Speaker 3 (01:09):
H What what do you make? John? Let's get to
the let's dive right into the heart of this right now.
Al Golden was stretching yesterday with the team. Do you
think this is something that they may be self scattered
during the by Do you think this can translate to
better defensive play?
Speaker 5 (01:24):
Hey, any any additional help that they can find on
the ability might as well go for it, right And
that suffs cute to see in August, and it's kind
of annoying to see November a little bit. I said
this yesterday, But yeah, I don't know what they're trying
to do to galvanize this group of players that clearly
there's not a lot of faith in, but they got
to try something. I don't know if that means put
the defense corner out there in paths or anything like that.
(01:45):
But no, like right now, we haven't seen probably as
many adjustments as you would like to see for a
defense that is historically bad. And that's what the Bible
gives aboutand about self reflection. It's about recognizing who you
have who probably needs to play a little bit more,
who needs to play bit less. Injuries are probably going
to force their hand in some regards to then in
terms of swapping guys in and out, But right now
(02:08):
their problems in week ten are very similar to their
problems in week three, and without any new additional answers
coming through the door. Just about self reflection about what
you can do differently and who you can play more
or who can.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
Play less, knowing not knowing no one else is coming
through this door. How can they how can they get
tangibly better? How can this defense coming out of a
bye be better than what they've been through the majority
of this season.
Speaker 5 (02:33):
I think it starts with the linebackers trying to slow
things down a little bit with what's in front of them,
because right now they're taking bad angles, and bad angles
leads to mist tackles, and mistackles lead to these explosive plays.
Just trying to get the situation under control in which
you can have second and longs, third and manageables for
a defense and how bad effects what the play calling
(02:55):
could be from al Gool's perspective, because when you're just
going from first down the second and short to first down,
et cetera, et cetera, it limits you as far as
far as which what you can do schematically.
Speaker 4 (03:05):
So it's just about guys just knowing.
Speaker 5 (03:08):
Where to be and reading their keys and reading their
fits and then actually making the play when it comes
to them, and obviously having a better pass rush can
help with that when you're dealing with dropback situations. I
think the secondary has done okay relative to the rest
of the defense, aside from some obvious miscues from the
safeties and everything like that. But it's just about very simple,
correctible mistakes that need to be hroned out and hopefully
(03:30):
with you know, some reflection and some time off that
can happen.
Speaker 4 (03:32):
Now.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
You wrote about Cedric Johnson, who got his first game
action a week or so ago prior to the bye week.
I've been a big fan of his, especially the way
he ended last season. What did you see from him that,
in your mind warrants more Cedric Johnson on the field
against Pittsburgh.
Speaker 4 (03:50):
I think he just.
Speaker 5 (03:50):
Kind of shows up whenever he's called upon, and there's
not incredibly noticeable production, but there's there's some flashes here
and there, like, Yeah, you would like to see if
a larger sample size can translate into the production that
they need more of. I think from an athletic perspective,
he's a little bit on the shorter and the stockier side,
but there's a lot of explosion and burst that comes
with that, So I think he can get under the
(04:11):
pads of offensive tackles a little bit easier compared to
the likes of Shamar Stewart and Miles Murphy, in which
leverage has always been kind of an issue with those guys.
But there's first, there's speed around the edge, there's power,
and I think that has translated to some quick wins,
or at least quicker than what we've seen from his contemporaries. Right, So,
Trey Henderson going to be out this week with his
hip injury, Shamar Stewart is now weak to week with
(04:32):
the knee injury.
Speaker 4 (04:33):
He needs three pass rushers that you can rotate it.
Speaker 5 (04:35):
And now at the defensive end spot, we know Miles
Murphy and Joseph Sai are going to be handling the
line share of that. I think it's Cedric Johnson's time
to be number three in that rotation, to see what
he can do with a larger sample size and with
a larger opportunity in a larger role. If he only
played eighty three snaps last year as a rookie, he
played sixteen snaps last week and got three pressures against
the Bearers. I know that another one really noticed that
because of how the game was going from a totality standpoint.
(04:56):
But I think if you give him a little bit
more opportunity just to see what he can do, because
he's the draft pick from last year, you need to
see as many of these guys play as possible to
see who's worth keeping around in twenty twenty six going four,
So I think this is a good week to see
what Sedra Johnson can do.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
The Joe Burrow news I think shocked everyone this week,
thinking there was a remote possibility that late in the season,
maybe Miami, maybe Arizona, that he would be able, but
you wanted at that point in time, would it even
make sense to come back if you're Joe Burrow now
that timeline has been significantly changed, are you in the
(05:31):
camp of when he's ready to go, you're throwing him
out there, or are you waiting to see what happens
this week, maybe next week, and then make a decision
off of that.
Speaker 5 (05:41):
So I don't have a job on the line here,
so naturally my perspective is going to be different than
the people in the building. I would imagine it's as
simple as if your quarterback, one your franchise quarterback is
healthy enough to play, not as healthy enough to play.
If he's as healthy as you could expect him to
be in late November early December, and he's able to play,
then you play the quarterback. It probably doesn't matter too
(06:01):
much what the situation with the playoff scenario is. I
would imagine that they want as many wins as possible
so that as many people in that building can keep
their jobs, and Joe Burrow does a great job of
providing job security to a lot of people in that
building right so, as well as Joe Flacco has played
in recent weeks, I think these next couple leeks are
going to be very important to see if that continues
to be sustainable, especially against a really good defense in
(06:23):
New England, especially on the road, agains the team he
knows well in Baltimore, like, if he has to play
in those games, how he does is obviously not only
going an impact that the Bengals can actually win those games,
but also how much they may need Burrow in case
this does end up being in a situation which they're
alive for the playoffs and they can go down the stretch.
So yes, it was a major surprise. I think to
all of us on the outside, it's very clear that
(06:45):
internally they had this sort of timeline played out and
they weren't necessarily shocked by it. But I think if
Burrow is able to play, it doesn't really matter about
the risk of re injuring him. If he's able to play,
He's Joe Burrow.
Speaker 4 (06:56):
He's gonna play.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
Is there any concern coming out of the ball? I mean,
we're at a point where Joe Flacco is not thrown
the first couple of days. He's expected to throw today.
But is there a concern of you know, Mo has
used the term this week of Joe Flacco of eventually
turning back into a pumpkin. Is there a concern for
you at some point that it's just not going to
be as smooth as what we've seen.
Speaker 5 (07:20):
Yeah, I mean that's possible, right, Like I think because
of just who Joe Flats has always been in his career,
you would naturally expected those tendencies, of the up and
down nature of going through the season with him, it
would eventually catch up to him, especially at this point
in his career. I think it definitely benefits the fact
that he has wide receivers that win so quickly on
the outside that he doesn't have to deal with pressure
(07:43):
and therefore he's taking pure hit. So of course in
this scenario, he still.
Speaker 4 (07:46):
Ends up ends up getting demmed up a little bit.
Speaker 5 (07:48):
And that's why he's not throwing as much during the week,
right So it is very possible that he could turn
back into a Pumpkins as pointly pointed out, which is
why I think they wanted to see what Burrow can
do of these next couple of weeks, just to prepare
for that. I think right now they've just envisioned themselves
as not being out, you know, out of the woods yet,
and like they're very much in this and how the
(08:10):
quarterback plays is going to be so dependent upon if
that continues to be the case. So I think we
can expect, we should expect anything and everything from Joe
Black at this point. It's been amazing to see him
in the past four weeks, but you know, there's a
reason why he was able.
Speaker 4 (08:22):
To be traded in the first place. So we're going
to see this as sustainable.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
Second matchup coming up against the Steelers this weekend, it's
always tricky the second time around. What do you make
of Pittsburgh in the weeks following their loss to the Bengals,
and how do you expect them to try to maybe
play Cincinnati differently this time around.
Speaker 5 (08:42):
They're pretty disjointed for a Mike Tomlin team, like I
would imagine, there's not a lot of positivity going on
to that locker room right now, especially after.
Speaker 4 (08:50):
What they just did against the Chargers.
Speaker 5 (08:52):
Aaron Rodgers his efficiency has dwindled dramatically since playing the
Bengals back in Week seven. He's taking three sacks a
game over the past three weeks. Obviously, his offense and
around him is not what it probably should be to
support a quarterback at that.
Speaker 4 (09:05):
Stage in his career.
Speaker 5 (09:06):
It's just DK Metcalf and a bunch of guys and
the offensive line is not necessarily playing well either, right,
So it's not looking great for them. And I think defensively,
they have put together this group of players that they
managine to play a certain style of defense, and clearly
it's not a style that's, you know, going to work
against the Bengals. So how they adjust with that and
how they make sure they give safety help over the
(09:28):
talage more.
Speaker 4 (09:28):
Chase is going to be imperative there. But you know,
they're the Steelers.
Speaker 5 (09:31):
And somehow they find answers to some of these tough games,
and that's always gonna be something I count on when
whenever Mike Tomlin is coaching that team. But you know,
if they're looking for a bounce back game, I can
find a lot of other teams that wouldn't be as
ad for that than than the Bengals right now.
Speaker 3 (09:46):
The bye week allows for self scout for a team.
It also provides, you know a chance to look at
tendencies and different things like that. When you look back
at where this team is at, how do you evaluate
the offensive line as a whole at this point through
the year.
Speaker 4 (10:04):
It's been a mixed bag.
Speaker 5 (10:05):
I think considering the fact that they just stumbled their
way to the star position, I think it's okay with
where it's at now. I think you have a piece
in Dylan Fairchild that you can go into next year
hoping that he can progress. We haven't really seen that
progression from Mamarus Mimms, but I think he's still been
good enough to be like, Okay, you can keep him
out there and he can continue to grow he just
(10:25):
turned twenty three years old, right, so he's still very young.
Orleana Browns Junior, I think is firmly in the back
half of his career at this point, and there's gonna
be more weeks than you would like where he's just
not really playing well and he's losing the speed. And
then Ted Carris is still holding on at center. So
it's a weird composition of players at different points in
their career. But I think they're all playing okay as
(10:47):
a union, and it's like, yeah, we're in the heart
of the season, we're not really talking about the offensive
line as a major glaring issue for this team, and
I think relative to the history of the recent history
of the Bengals, that's a massive win, right, But there's
always more that they can do. I think they need
to see a little bit more out of Jalen Rivers
to be comfortable with having him in the competition for
next year at right guard.
Speaker 4 (11:05):
So these final leagues are going to be really big
for him.
Speaker 5 (11:08):
So it's very much a mixed bag, I would say,
but it's not definitely not the worst of the world.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
How much more can they unlock with Chase Brown It
just feels so directly tied to Joe Flacco's ability to
go under center. How can they unlock more out of
Chase Brown now going forward with the assumption that a
team like Pittsburgh is going to say, we're not going
to let you throw twenty three passes to Jamar Chase
and complete sixteen of them.
Speaker 5 (11:33):
Man, they really were close to doing that a couple
weeks ago before he dropped that pass.
Speaker 4 (11:38):
That would have been a touchdown, right.
Speaker 5 (11:39):
I think they've had opportunities to feature him more in
the past game. Unfortunately under Zach Taylor, they've never been
a great offense with executing screens, and partly that has
to do the offensive line not being able to get
out in space and things of that nature. But I
think he is a very capable pass catcher, and I
feel like that's just the next step of making sure
that you're utilizing him in that sense where it's not
just you know, it's in garbage time against the Bears
(12:00):
and you're just trying to catch up and you just.
Speaker 4 (12:02):
Dump off after dump off with him.
Speaker 5 (12:04):
I think there's still a way that you can utilize
him in the past game that compliments what he can
do in the wrung game. I'm very encouraged by what
I've seen from the wrong game. You're right, and I
think part of that is just making sure that the
second level continues to be open so he gets in
space to make guys miss and obviously use that acceilaration
that he has. So we've been progress there, and I
think just making sure that you utilize the full flex
of his abilities as a well rounded player, making sure
(12:26):
that he's still involved in the past.
Speaker 4 (12:27):
Game that can continue to compliment with what they're doing
in the rung geam.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
I wonder you know, we mentioned the path forward and
the Bengals certainly believe in the past. John, as we
sit here today, in your view of this team, do
you view this as a team that still has one
final run left in him that can take the Joe
Burrow news and that adds enough spark to this locker room?
Do you see or feel a run left in this
(12:50):
in this Bengals team this year.
Speaker 5 (12:53):
I'm not going to count him out because I've just
seen him do it a couple you know enough in
recent years under this coaching.
Speaker 4 (12:59):
Staff, so that's always in play.
Speaker 5 (13:01):
You always expect the Bengals to play their best when
October turns to November and the game has become even
more important, And I think that's honestly a really strong
test or a testament to see how together this locker
room remains to be.
Speaker 4 (13:14):
I think it was really notable last week how.
Speaker 5 (13:17):
Offensive and defensively, how those players responded to that win,
and how they're going to come back now and regroup
and try to just work together as a collective locker
room to do what they've tried to do over the
past two years and just take the take the first
two months of the season, throw it in the trash.
Speaker 4 (13:32):
It's the new season.
Speaker 5 (13:33):
Obviously, the opponents are going to be tougher within these
next five weeks, which is why my authorism is not
necessarily great, because let's be honest, like the teams in
front of them for the next five weeks are all better.
Speaker 4 (13:42):
Than the Bengals.
Speaker 5 (13:43):
They're going to be underdogs in every single one of
those games, and then you probably need to win most
of them in order to keep this postseason hope alive.
So this is a really strong test and I'm not
counting them out because I've seen him do it before,
but I've also seen him do it Joe Burrow and
he's not walking through that door just yet.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
Awesome stuff. As always, John, I'm sharing eight is E Sports.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
What are you?
Speaker 3 (14:02):
What are you working on? And what's the easiest way
for folks to follow along with everything you got?
Speaker 5 (14:07):
Well? Like Austin said, there's an article about Cedric Johnson
not right now. There's a couple of other articles about
Joe Flacco, about the importance of this game, things of
that nature, all on eight of the Sports dot Com
back Slash Cincinnati and all your short form content on TikTok,
Instagram YouTube. Eight is the Sports Cincinnati follow us for
the final eight weeks of the season.
Speaker 4 (14:23):
There you don't know, miss it?
Speaker 3 (14:25):
John, We appreciate your time. Do the Bearcats get back
on track as well? Listen, you throw out the tape
for the Utah game. I know last year this team creator,
they got the five and two and then things fell apart.
Was there anything you saw against Utah that worries you're
going forward? Or do you think they use the buy
and they get back on track?
Speaker 5 (14:45):
Listen, I was not a fan of what Utah was
trying to do offensively, I was not a fan of
I was working so well against the Bearcats defense. So yes,
that's tape is being thrown into the into the incinerator.
Regroup against Arizona. See if you get a win, stay
in this college football playoff Rares, We'll see what happens.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
Awesome.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
Thank you so much, man, We appreciate your time. We'll
talk again next week.
Speaker 5 (15:03):
Thanks.
Speaker 4 (15:04):
Hellas.
Speaker 3 (15:04):
There he is John Shearon Height is he sports covering
the Cincinnati Bengali Incinerator.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
He said, I love it. I'd like to put all
the Demetrious Knight and Shamar Stewart tape in the incinerator.
Oh do you think you can? Do you think maybe that?
Speaker 3 (15:17):
Maybe may mean that's what they did during the Bobby,
that was part of their tendencies. There's a lot of
smoke coming from Pakor over the last couple of days.
We'll take a break. When we come back, it's your
Talkbacks Hour number two of ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station.
Speaker 4 (15:30):
Now your chat
Hike Sincy three sixty about Cincinnati from Cincinnati Sponsorman Park
by Cincy Shirts, Cincy Shirts all sincey all day. This
is ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Welcome back, it's our number two.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
It's Thursday on ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station, which
means we got to thank our friends at Cinty Shirts,
and it means we kick off the hour with our
good friend covering the Bengals from eight hisz E Sports.
John Shearon with us right now, John, what's going on?
Speaker 4 (00:36):
Fellas doing?
Speaker 2 (00:37):
All right?
Speaker 5 (00:38):
Had a nice refreshing weekend of no football of any
kind except very leisurely watching, geting pleasure.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
So good to be back. Wait, you barely watched any
football at all?
Speaker 4 (00:49):
It was it was it was here.
Speaker 5 (00:50):
There, you know. I caught some caught some good moments,
caught some.
Speaker 4 (00:52):
Bad moments that made me like, oh yeah, I remember
what that looks like.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
And now now we're back. What's back? What did you
do with your time? Were you doing yard work? Were
you cramps?
Speaker 4 (01:00):
Like?
Speaker 2 (01:00):
What were you doing? You're hanging out with your family?
What's going on?
Speaker 4 (01:04):
Absolutely nothing beautiful about it?
Speaker 3 (01:09):
H What what do you make? John? Let's get to
the let's dive right into the heart of this right now.
Al Golden was stretching yesterday with the team. Do you
think this is something that they may be self scattered
during the by Do you think this can translate to
better defensive play?
Speaker 5 (01:24):
Hey, any any additional help that they can find on
the ability might as well go for it, right And
that suffs cute to see in August, and it's kind
of annoying to see November a little bit. I said
this yesterday, But yeah, I don't know what they're trying
to do to galvanize this group of players that clearly
there's not a lot of faith in, but they got
to try something. I don't know if that means put
the defense corner out there in paths or anything like that.
(01:45):
But no, like right now, we haven't seen probably as
many adjustments as you would like to see for a
defense that is historically bad. And that's what the Bible
gives aboutand about self reflection. It's about recognizing who you
have who probably needs to play a little bit more,
who needs to play bit less. Injuries are probably going
to force their hand in some regards to then in
terms of swapping guys in and out, But right now
(02:08):
their problems in week ten are very similar to their
problems in week three, and without any new additional answers
coming through the door. Just about self reflection about what
you can do differently and who you can play more
or who can.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
Play less, knowing not knowing no one else is coming
through this door. How can they how can they get
tangibly better? How can this defense coming out of a
bye be better than what they've been through the majority
of this season.
Speaker 5 (02:33):
I think it starts with the linebackers trying to slow
things down a little bit with what's in front of them,
because right now they're taking bad angles, and bad angles
leads to mist tackles, and mistackles lead to these explosive plays.
Just trying to get the situation under control in which
you can have second and longs, third and manageables for
a defense and how bad effects what the play calling
(02:55):
could be from al Gool's perspective, because when you're just
going from first down the second and short to first down,
et cetera, et cetera, it limits you as far as
far as which what you can do schematically.
Speaker 4 (03:05):
So it's just about guys just knowing.
Speaker 5 (03:08):
Where to be and reading their keys and reading their
fits and then actually making the play when it comes
to them, and obviously having a better pass rush can
help with that when you're dealing with dropback situations. I
think the secondary has done okay relative to the rest
of the defense, aside from some obvious miscues from the
safeties and everything like that. But it's just about very simple,
correctible mistakes that need to be hroned out and hopefully
(03:30):
with you know, some reflection and some time off that
can happen.
Speaker 4 (03:32):
Now.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
You wrote about Cedric Johnson, who got his first game
action a week or so ago prior to the bye week.
I've been a big fan of his, especially the way
he ended last season. What did you see from him that,
in your mind warrants more Cedric Johnson on the field
against Pittsburgh.
Speaker 4 (03:50):
I think he just.
Speaker 5 (03:50):
Kind of shows up whenever he's called upon, and there's
not incredibly noticeable production, but there's there's some flashes here
and there, like, Yeah, you would like to see if
a larger sample size can translate into the production that
they need more of. I think from an athletic perspective,
he's a little bit on the shorter and the stockier side,
but there's a lot of explosion and burst that comes
with that, So I think he can get under the
(04:11):
pads of offensive tackles a little bit easier compared to
the likes of Shamar Stewart and Miles Murphy, in which
leverage has always been kind of an issue with those guys.
But there's first, there's speed around the edge, there's power,
and I think that has translated to some quick wins,
or at least quicker than what we've seen from his contemporaries. Right, So,
Trey Henderson going to be out this week with his
hip injury, Shamar Stewart is now weak to week with
(04:32):
the knee injury.
Speaker 4 (04:33):
He needs three pass rushers that you can rotate it.
Speaker 5 (04:35):
And now at the defensive end spot, we know Miles
Murphy and Joseph Sai are going to be handling the
line share of that. I think it's Cedric Johnson's time
to be number three in that rotation, to see what
he can do with a larger sample size and with
a larger opportunity in a larger role. If he only
played eighty three snaps last year as a rookie, he
played sixteen snaps last week and got three pressures against
the Bearers. I know that another one really noticed that
because of how the game was going from a totality standpoint.
(04:56):
But I think if you give him a little bit
more opportunity just to see what he can do, because
he's the draft pick from last year, you need to
see as many of these guys play as possible to
see who's worth keeping around in twenty twenty six going four,
So I think this is a good week to see
what Sedra Johnson can do.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
The Joe Burrow news I think shocked everyone this week,
thinking there was a remote possibility that late in the season,
maybe Miami, maybe Arizona, that he would be able, but
you wanted at that point in time, would it even
make sense to come back if you're Joe Burrow now
that timeline has been significantly changed, are you in the
(05:31):
camp of when he's ready to go, you're throwing him
out there, or are you waiting to see what happens
this week, maybe next week, and then make a decision
off of that.
Speaker 5 (05:41):
So I don't have a job on the line here,
so naturally my perspective is going to be different than
the people in the building. I would imagine it's as
simple as if your quarterback, one your franchise quarterback is
healthy enough to play, not as healthy enough to play.
If he's as healthy as you could expect him to
be in late November early December, and he's able to play,
then you play the quarterback. It probably doesn't matter too
(06:01):
much what the situation with the playoff scenario is. I
would imagine that they want as many wins as possible
so that as many people in that building can keep
their jobs, and Joe Burrow does a great job of
providing job security to a lot of people in that
building right so, as well as Joe Flacco has played
in recent weeks, I think these next couple leeks are
going to be very important to see if that continues
to be sustainable, especially against a really good defense in
(06:23):
New England, especially on the road, agains the team he
knows well in Baltimore, like, if he has to play
in those games, how he does is obviously not only
going an impact that the Bengals can actually win those games,
but also how much they may need Burrow in case
this does end up being in a situation which they're
alive for the playoffs and they can go down the stretch.
So yes, it was a major surprise. I think to
all of us on the outside, it's very clear that
(06:45):
internally they had this sort of timeline played out and
they weren't necessarily shocked by it. But I think if
Burrow is able to play, it doesn't really matter about
the risk of re injuring him. If he's able to play,
He's Joe Burrow.
Speaker 4 (06:56):
He's gonna play.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
Is there any concern coming out of the ball? I mean,
we're at a point where Joe Flacco is not thrown
the first couple of days. He's expected to throw today.
But is there a concern of you know, Mo has
used the term this week of Joe Flacco of eventually
turning back into a pumpkin. Is there a concern for
you at some point that it's just not going to
be as smooth as what we've seen.
Speaker 5 (07:20):
Yeah, I mean that's possible, right, Like I think because
of just who Joe Flats has always been in his career,
you would naturally expected those tendencies, of the up and
down nature of going through the season with him, it
would eventually catch up to him, especially at this point
in his career. I think it definitely benefits the fact
that he has wide receivers that win so quickly on
the outside that he doesn't have to deal with pressure
(07:43):
and therefore he's taking pure hit. So of course in
this scenario, he still.
Speaker 4 (07:46):
Ends up ends up getting demmed up a little bit.
Speaker 5 (07:48):
And that's why he's not throwing as much during the week,
right So it is very possible that he could turn
back into a Pumpkins as pointly pointed out, which is
why I think they wanted to see what Burrow can
do of these next couple of weeks, just to prepare
for that. I think right now they've just envisioned themselves
as not being out, you know, out of the woods yet,
and like they're very much in this and how the
(08:10):
quarterback plays is going to be so dependent upon if
that continues to be the case. So I think we
can expect, we should expect anything and everything from Joe
Black at this point. It's been amazing to see him
in the past four weeks, but you know, there's a
reason why he was able.
Speaker 4 (08:22):
To be traded in the first place. So we're going
to see this as sustainable.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
Second matchup coming up against the Steelers this weekend, it's
always tricky the second time around. What do you make
of Pittsburgh in the weeks following their loss to the Bengals,
and how do you expect them to try to maybe
play Cincinnati differently this time around.
Speaker 5 (08:42):
They're pretty disjointed for a Mike Tomlin team, like I
would imagine, there's not a lot of positivity going on
to that locker room right now, especially after.
Speaker 4 (08:50):
What they just did against the Chargers.
Speaker 5 (08:52):
Aaron Rodgers his efficiency has dwindled dramatically since playing the
Bengals back in Week seven. He's taking three sacks a
game over the past three weeks. Obviously, his offense and
around him is not what it probably should be to
support a quarterback at that.
Speaker 4 (09:05):
Stage in his career.
Speaker 5 (09:06):
It's just DK Metcalf and a bunch of guys and
the offensive line is not necessarily playing well either, right,
So it's not looking great for them. And I think defensively,
they have put together this group of players that they
managine to play a certain style of defense, and clearly
it's not a style that's, you know, going to work
against the Bengals. So how they adjust with that and
how they make sure they give safety help over the
(09:28):
talage more.
Speaker 4 (09:28):
Chase is going to be imperative there. But you know,
they're the Steelers.
Speaker 5 (09:31):
And somehow they find answers to some of these tough games,
and that's always gonna be something I count on when
whenever Mike Tomlin is coaching that team. But you know,
if they're looking for a bounce back game, I can
find a lot of other teams that wouldn't be as
ad for that than than the Bengals right now.
Speaker 3 (09:46):
The bye week allows for self scout for a team.
It also provides, you know a chance to look at
tendencies and different things like that. When you look back
at where this team is at, how do you evaluate
the offensive line as a whole at this point through
the year.
Speaker 4 (10:04):
It's been a mixed bag.
Speaker 5 (10:05):
I think considering the fact that they just stumbled their
way to the star position, I think it's okay with
where it's at now. I think you have a piece
in Dylan Fairchild that you can go into next year
hoping that he can progress. We haven't really seen that
progression from Mamarus Mimms, but I think he's still been
good enough to be like, Okay, you can keep him
out there and he can continue to grow he just
(10:25):
turned twenty three years old, right, so he's still very young.
Orleana Browns Junior, I think is firmly in the back
half of his career at this point, and there's gonna
be more weeks than you would like where he's just
not really playing well and he's losing the speed. And
then Ted Carris is still holding on at center. So
it's a weird composition of players at different points in
their career. But I think they're all playing okay as
(10:47):
a union, and it's like, yeah, we're in the heart
of the season, we're not really talking about the offensive
line as a major glaring issue for this team, and
I think relative to the history of the recent history
of the Bengals, that's a massive win, right, But there's
always more that they can do. I think they need
to see a little bit more out of Jalen Rivers
to be comfortable with having him in the competition for
next year at right guard.
Speaker 4 (11:05):
So these final leagues are going to be really big
for him.
Speaker 5 (11:08):
So it's very much a mixed bag, I would say,
but it's not definitely not the worst of the world.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
How much more can they unlock with Chase Brown It
just feels so directly tied to Joe Flacco's ability to
go under center. How can they unlock more out of
Chase Brown now going forward with the assumption that a
team like Pittsburgh is going to say, we're not going
to let you throw twenty three passes to Jamar Chase
and complete sixteen of them.
Speaker 5 (11:33):
Man, they really were close to doing that a couple
weeks ago before he dropped that pass.
Speaker 4 (11:38):
That would have been a touchdown, right.
Speaker 5 (11:39):
I think they've had opportunities to feature him more in
the past game. Unfortunately under Zach Taylor, they've never been
a great offense with executing screens, and partly that has
to do the offensive line not being able to get
out in space and things of that nature. But I
think he is a very capable pass catcher, and I
feel like that's just the next step of making sure
that you're utilizing him in that sense where it's not
just you know, it's in garbage time against the Bears
(12:00):
and you're just trying to catch up and you just.
Speaker 4 (12:02):
Dump off after dump off with him.
Speaker 5 (12:04):
I think there's still a way that you can utilize
him in the past game that compliments what he can
do in the wrung game. I'm very encouraged by what
I've seen from the wrong game. You're right, and I
think part of that is just making sure that the
second level continues to be open so he gets in
space to make guys miss and obviously use that acceilaration
that he has. So we've been progress there, and I
think just making sure that you utilize the full flex
of his abilities as a well rounded player, making sure
(12:26):
that he's still involved in the past.
Speaker 4 (12:27):
Game that can continue to compliment with what they're doing
in the rung geam.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
I wonder you know, we mentioned the path forward and
the Bengals certainly believe in the past. John, as we
sit here today, in your view of this team, do
you view this as a team that still has one
final run left in him that can take the Joe
Burrow news and that adds enough spark to this locker room?
Do you see or feel a run left in this
(12:50):
in this Bengals team this year.
Speaker 5 (12:53):
I'm not going to count him out because I've just
seen him do it a couple you know enough in
recent years under this coaching.
Speaker 4 (12:59):
Staff, so that's always in play.
Speaker 5 (13:01):
You always expect the Bengals to play their best when
October turns to November and the game has become even
more important, And I think that's honestly a really strong
test or a testament to see how together this locker
room remains to be.
Speaker 4 (13:14):
I think it was really notable last week how.
Speaker 5 (13:17):
Offensive and defensively, how those players responded to that win,
and how they're going to come back now and regroup
and try to just work together as a collective locker
room to do what they've tried to do over the
past two years and just take the take the first
two months of the season, throw it in the trash.
Speaker 4 (13:32):
It's the new season.
Speaker 5 (13:33):
Obviously, the opponents are going to be tougher within these
next five weeks, which is why my authorism is not
necessarily great, because let's be honest, like the teams in
front of them for the next five weeks are all better.
Speaker 4 (13:42):
Than the Bengals.
Speaker 5 (13:43):
They're going to be underdogs in every single one of
those games, and then you probably need to win most
of them in order to keep this postseason hope alive.
So this is a really strong test and I'm not
counting them out because I've seen him do it before,
but I've also seen him do it Joe Burrow and
he's not walking through that door just yet.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
Awesome stuff. As always, John, I'm sharing eight is E Sports.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
What are you?
Speaker 3 (14:02):
What are you working on? And what's the easiest way
for folks to follow along with everything you got?
Speaker 5 (14:07):
Well? Like Austin said, there's an article about Cedric Johnson
not right now. There's a couple of other articles about
Joe Flacco, about the importance of this game, things of
that nature, all on eight of the Sports dot Com
back Slash Cincinnati and all your short form content on TikTok,
Instagram YouTube. Eight is the Sports Cincinnati follow us for
the final eight weeks of the season.
Speaker 4 (14:23):
There you don't know, miss it?
Speaker 3 (14:25):
John, We appreciate your time. Do the Bearcats get back
on track as well? Listen, you throw out the tape
for the Utah game. I know last year this team creator,
they got the five and two and then things fell apart.
Was there anything you saw against Utah that worries you're
going forward? Or do you think they use the buy
and they get back on track?
Speaker 5 (14:45):
Listen, I was not a fan of what Utah was
trying to do offensively, I was not a fan of
I was working so well against the Bearcats defense. So yes,
that's tape is being thrown into the into the incinerator.
Regroup against Arizona. See if you get a win, stay
in this college football playoff Rares, We'll see what happens.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
Awesome.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
Thank you so much, man, We appreciate your time. We'll
talk again next week.
Speaker 5 (15:03):
Thanks.
Speaker 4 (15:04):
Hellas.
Speaker 3 (15:04):
There he is John Shearon Height is he sports covering
the Cincinnati Bengali Incinerator.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
He said, I love it. I'd like to put all
the Demetrious Knight and Shamar Stewart tape in the incinerator.
Oh do you think you can? Do you think maybe that?
Speaker 3 (15:17):
Maybe may mean that's what they did during the Bobby,
that was part of their tendencies. There's a lot of
smoke coming from Pakor over the last couple of days.
We'll take a break. When we come back, it's your
Talkbacks Hour number two of ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station.
Speaker 4 (15:30):
Now your chat
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