November 25, 2025 • 46 mins
Austin talks with Joe Danneman, takes your TalkBacks, and more on ESPN 1530!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is Tony Pike since he three sixty about Cincinnati
from Cincinnati, sponsored in part by Cincy Shirts. Cincy Shirts
all since E all Day. This is ESPN fifteen thirty
Cincinnati Sports Station.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Hi, Hello, welcome in our two of Tony Pikes since
E three sixty. Here on ESPN fifteen thirty. I'm Austin Elmore.
You might be wondering where on God's green Earth is Tony.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
He's still employed.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
He's just a little under the weather today, so it's
just me, hopefully the big fellow back tomorrow. But the
show goes on, and every Tuesday we talk to our guy,
Joey d Joe Daniman from Fox nineteen who joins us. Now, Joe,
have you begun your preparations for Thanksgiving?
Speaker 4 (00:45):
I have, and by my preparations, Austin, that means running
extra miles every single day, so I don't feel guilty
about the crime I'm going to commit on Thursday at
the Thanksgiving table ahead of the Bengals in the Raven Game.
To me, Thanksgiving is the best holiday of the year.
(01:08):
I love Christmas. I love Christmas, but Thanksgiving comes with it.
What I feel are the two best gifts to men,
food and football, and they come with an overflowing amount
on Thursday. I can't wait. What a huge Thursday it
is for Cincinnati. Everybody gets to eat and then everybody
(01:30):
gets to watch Joe Burrow make his return on Thursday
night football. Happy Thanksgiving, Austin. What a night it's going
to be.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
Well, Happy Thanksgiving to you, Joe, and thank you for
being here and we're thankful for your presence on this
show each and every day. Before we get to Joe Burrow,
let me ask you, how, like, how many miles a
day do you normally run? And are you the type
of person that does a turkey trot on Thanksgiving morning?
Speaker 4 (01:56):
Yeah? So I've been training for it because when I
was younger, I was a competitive runner, and I think
when you're a competitive runner, you have a hard time
taking that competition out of your soul. So even when
you're in your forties and you're out running leisurely, you're
always racing against something. I can't turn it off, so
(02:18):
I'm always racing against the clock. So this year I
decided to set a target, and I was preparing for
it and I feel great about it. And then two
nights ago I saw the forecasts for Thursday morning, and
I'm now officially spooked, and I'm on defense. I'm actually
going to do the race. You're talking temperatures in the
twenties with fifteen mile per hour winds and wind guts
(02:42):
even higher. A. That's miserable. B. I think it would
prevent me from running the time I want to run.
So I might be like Ryan Rico, a drop back
about fifteen yards a punt on Thursday morning, even though
I'm ready. Wait, but I'm sure it's going to allow
me to the forecast.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Well, I would share the same advice with you that
I share with Bengals fans who fear the return of
Joe Burrow and getting hurt again, and that is that
you cannot live a life out of fear. You only
have one life and one opportunity. Why Joe Burrow, Why now?
Why is this all happening the way it's happening.
Speaker 4 (03:23):
Well, Number one, I think he's earned it, okay, and
I think it's okay for everybody in this discussion, and
that's everybody listening to this show. I'm sure has had
an opinion on Joe Burrow. Should he come back, should
he not come back? When's the right time for him
to come back. And I'm going to get a lot
(03:44):
of your listeners are a lot like me who have
changed their opinion on this and aren't really sure where
to land. And I think that's all right, because you know,
we grew up in the and the Jim Rome. Have
a take and don't suck up radio. Right, you have
to land on one side, debate it and be strong
(04:04):
in that stance. But I kind of see both sides
of this one, the pros and cons of Joe Burrow's return. Ultimately,
I'll go back to what I said at the start
of your question, which was I believe he's earned it.
When this happened, we were all thinking a mid December
or b the season is going to be so far
(04:24):
gone by then that there's no point. We'll see you
in twenty twenty six. But Joe Burrow has worked maniacally
to give himself a chance to come back and play football.
And if he's given and he has been given a
clean bill to go out and play, that he's fully
healthy one hundred percent. But I think he deserves to
play if he wants to play, and Joe wants to play,
(04:46):
and so I think now is the time and not
Sunday against the Patriots, just because of the short turnaround
from Sunday to Thursday, and the Bengals don't know how
the toe is going to react when you get it
out there, because look, you can do about eighty percent
of everything a quarterback has to do to get ready
to play in a game, but that last twenty percent
(05:07):
you can't simulate in practice. You can't simulate with anything.
That's when he's in the game. The pockets, money bodies
are near him, on the ground, near his arm, how
does he escape, does he take sacks? And he tried
to make plays that kind of instinct. You can't simulate
that until you get into a game. And I'm not
sure they knew how he was going to react from
(05:30):
Sunday to Thursday playing a game. So that's why I
think Thursday night to night and not Sunday against the Patriots.
We all understand the Bengals playoff chances, but I think
most importantly Joe has earned this, and I think his
presence matters. And I think and we can debate this too.
Certainly a coaching staff that needs to be evaluated when
(05:50):
they have their quarterback on the field.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
Yeah, I agree with that.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
Now there's been a lot made of the Flacco offense
compared to the Borough offense.
Speaker 3 (06:00):
Well, Flacco can't move.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
The Bengals probably want to protect Burrow a little bit,
not only from defenders, but from himself. Do you think
there's going to be that big of a difference in
the actual structure of the offense from Joe Flacco to
Joe Burrow.
Speaker 4 (06:16):
I think there will be changes. I think if you
go back and listen to what Zach Taylor said on
Monday when he was asked about that directly. He didn't
come out fully and say yes, but he didn't come
out fully and say no. So I think there are
going to be some slight variations to what Joe Burrow
does on Thursday night. For me, I go back to
(06:38):
think about Peyton Manning and near the end of his career,
and it was something we probably all laughed at, but
when there was any pressure near Peyton Manning at the
end of his career, he would just fall to the ground. Yeah,
like a folded launch carriage to take a stack. And
that's not in Joe Burrow's DNA. I get that. That's
(06:58):
not who he is. That's not how he plays the game.
So for me to sit here and talk about it
might be a waste of time, But I think there's
probably a happy medium where you don't just play dead
in the backfield like Peyton Manning did, but you also
don't try to be who Deany like Joe Burrow has
been for so many years now. I know it's hard
to tell the guy to play the game differently, but
(07:20):
maybe you do have to tell the guy to play
the game just a little bit differently to start to
see what it looks like, until he feels one hundred
percent comfortable that the toe is okay, the mechanism he's
wearing an his shoe is functional, and that he can
go out there and forget about it and start playing
football like we've seen him play. That's a hard thing.
(07:40):
How it looks different. Will it look different? We won't
know until Thursday night, but I do think reading between
the lines a little bit of hearing Zach Taylor talk,
they're aware of that, and I think you might see
some changes, maybe at least in theory, on Thursday night,
before the Live Bullets starts flying and Joe Burrow starts playing.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
The Bengals, Deep has a long way to go, but
they are at least showing signs of improvement, a little
bit of progress over the last couple of weeks. What
stands out to you about the defense and how they've
gotten better against Pittsburgh and New England.
Speaker 4 (08:15):
Yeah, to me, it's about evaluation now of individual players
and seeing which one of those players you can count
on in twenty twenty six. You know, if you start
just in the defensive backfield, I think you can count
on Certainly, DJ Turners had a great year. I know
Dak still got picked on a little bit Sunday, but
I think he's a guy you can count on as
(08:35):
a future player for this team. We'll see what happens
with this contract going forward, but certainly he's played his
way into a guy that I believe the Bengals believe in.
And certainly with Cam Taylor, BRIT's future and how very
much up in the air, I think you like those
two guys at least going forward. But looking in the
front seven, right, you're looking defensive line, you're looking linebackers.
(08:55):
We've talked so much about the linebackers and what they're
trying to do with Demetrius Knight and Barrett Carter Baron
Carter had a good game on Sunday. Yet if you
go look back and look at the statue, see he
had sixteen tackles. I don't know what the mistackle number was,
but it was very small as none zero zero zero.
(09:16):
There you go. So that's the number. So he played
a better game. And the other guy that I think
has started to flash a little bit and it took
a long time, is Miles Murphy. And here's Miles Murphy.
He's had a couple of nice games back to back.
And what you're looking for from Miles Murphy is and
I go back to this, and the guy that comes
to mind with me is is a guy like Peter Warick.
(09:38):
Peter Warck was a good Cincinnati Bengal but was often
in the crosshairs of criticism because of where he was drafted.
You know, if Miles Murphy was a fifth or sixth
round pick, we would see a guy right now and say, Okay,
there's a guy who now has a runway of the
next six weeks to prove he can be a guy
who can produce and be a contributor on this team
and maybe even earn the finals. Six weeks a spot
(10:01):
is a starter next year. But the fact that he
was a first rounder and the fact that first rounders
come with higher expectations. He's played well under expectation his
entire career here in Cincinnati. But you've seen the last
couple of weeks and flashes, and I think that's what
you want to see individually from the defense overall. Now
I know as a whole, the run defense has been better.
(10:23):
We saw them show some guts, show some fight at
the goal line several plays against the New England Patriots.
Now are the New England Patriots just a good fit
for the Bengals defense to look better because they aren't
just an explosive offense. Perhaps, And I think maybe you
get a better test of that the next three weeks
with the Ravens twice in the Bills. But I think
you are seeing signs of individual players showing small bits
(10:47):
of growth, and I think that's what's important in the
second half of the season. Here the final six weeks,
the guys like Miles Murphy, Demetrius Knight, Barrett Carter showing
signs that they can be contributors and counted on. In
twenty twenty six.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
Who plays another snap for the Bengals first, Jermaine Burton
or Trey Henderson.
Speaker 4 (11:08):
Well, boy, that's such a great question. Often I'll go
Trey Hendrickson, even though I'm not sure he's going to
play another snap, because I think the Jermaine Burton story
is just kind of sailed at this point. He can't
be counted on, and the Bengals have made it very
clear what they think of him and his status with
(11:29):
the Bengals going forward. Even when he was asked a
question about him on Monday, Zach Taylor took the question
and basically drove it to a different path of talking
about a completely different player when asked about Jermaine Burton,
the Trey Hendrickson thing is going to be so fascinating
because you know who's winning the Trey Hendrickson air down here, right,
(11:51):
Because I don't want to bury the guy. Because while
there hasn't been a ton of information about his injury
and we haven't seen a lot of them inside the
locker room and around the facility, we are led to
believe the guy is actually injured and can't play. Now
the question is okay if he is that injured, and
(12:12):
that comes out every week at the start of the
week and says he's dealt for or out. Why is
he not on IR And that's a great question for
people to ask, and we don't have a great answer
because it hasn't been given to us. But as this
starts to lead into twenty twenty six and this upcoming offseason,
which is going to be so important on so many
different levels, but most importantly, it's finding personnel on defense
(12:35):
for this defense to take a step in twenty twenty sticks.
You think back to last year in the comments Mike
Brown made about negotiating with Trey Henderson and how difficult
that is. I just am so fascinated what it's going
to look like this coming off season with the option
to tag him, and it would almost feel like a
tag out of spite for Trey Henderson. So this could
(12:59):
get MESSI again in the offseason with Trey Hendrickson. But
certainly the lesser of the two that have a chance
to play, I would think would be Jermaine Burton. I
just don't see a pack for him being active the
rest of the season, and at least there is a
glimmer that Trey Hendrickson might want to get out there
against some bad teams. In the final couple of weeks
(13:20):
and pat his stats a little bit and look good
in the offseason.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Last Bengals question for you, how do they beat Baltimore
Thanksgiving Night?
Speaker 4 (13:29):
Well, Baltimore just hasn't looked great. And so I go
back to what I said last week against New England,
and I didn't think New England was built to blow
the Bengals out, so I thought they would have a
chance in the fourth quarter, and there they were without
Literally there are four best players, Joe Burrow, jamar j A.
T Higgins, Trey Hendrickson in the final couple of minutes
(13:50):
and they had the ball near the scoring zone to
go ahead and beat the team tied to the best
record in football. Now that's New England, right. I think
we all are smart enough to say, Okay, New England,
great story, great record, certainly deserving of being a playoff team.
I'm not sure we go as far as saying they're
an elite team or a super Bowl team. Baltimore has
(14:11):
that capability, and Baltimore has started to figure it out
with some scheme change defensively since since the middle weeks
of the season, and they've taken off on that side
of the ball. The question is where's the explosion on offense?
Why hasn't Lamar Jackson accounted for a touchdown in two
weeks against the Cleveland Browns and the New York Jets.
(14:33):
You know, teams go through stretches like this and oftentimes
it's predicated on their quarterback and his health. Something's off
with Lamar. What it is, I don't know. I know
he was coming back from the hamstring. Now he's got
a tow problem. He's not playing at Lamar Jackson level.
So you know, the offensive fireworks were used to sing
(14:54):
with Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson on Thursday nights, and
going back to last year, I would I would point
people to go look at that box score and look
what those quarterbacks did last year on Thursday Night did.
Was awesome football to watch, but too just elite quarterbacks.
I'm not sure we're gonna get that because we know Joe. Look,
the Bengals have won seven consecutive games with Joe when
(15:17):
he starts a game. But we know when Joe starts
seasons or comes back from injuries, he often starts slow.
So I don't know what to expect from Burrow on
Thursday night and certainly don't know what to expect from
the Ravens offense. So I think the pass for the
Bengals to win this game is that the Ravens continue
to scuffle and get in their own way on offense
(15:37):
and Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase can find that magic
they've often had against the Baltimore Ravens. And I think
that's that's a plausible thing, that that's not a far
fetched thing to sit here and think that the Bengals
can go challenge the Ravens at offense that just hasn't
looked good for a couple of weeks and try to
get a win on Thanksgiving Night.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
Talking to Joe Danaman Fox nineteen, I know this is
kind of old news now, but I want to ask
you about it. The Saint ex Elder game at pay
Court Stadium. What was that environment?
Speaker 5 (16:08):
Like?
Speaker 2 (16:08):
How much fun was that for you as someone who
you know isn't taking a side, but just kind of
got to soak it all in and cover that event.
Speaker 4 (16:17):
Yeah, as someone who's from here and understands what it
means the high school football that is in the Tri
State area, you know, it's funny because I talk often
you know, to high school kids and college kids about
my job, and and a lot of times kids will
ask me if you ever thought about going to a
different city, And the hardest thing for me to leave
would be the high school football and high school sports
(16:39):
scene in Cincinnati. It means so much to people. The
community is so strong in that in our area. It's
it's a bit unique to our city, to our region,
to our state. So so that that's the one thing
that that I love about Cincinnati and to see it
on display, listen, if you're going to make the commitment
(17:01):
to move a game that felt that big. Look the
two big brands right a Saint Axe and Elder and
the biggest football stadium. It's a great headline. But then
the game has to deliver. And the game delivered, and
the crowd delivered, and the atmosphere delivered. Like I want
you to picture in your mind. It rained all the
way up to kickoff, and it then was misty during
(17:24):
the game and there was a fog in the air.
The lower bowl was almost completely full. And a lot
of times when you put these teams in these huge stadiums,
like when Ohio Stadium was hosting the State championship games.
It felt empty, It felt cavernous, like you would take
shots of these teams playing and you would see nothing
but empty seats. But if you go back and you
(17:45):
look at the highlights of that game, all the seats
behind the players were full, and it just added an
aura to what was a great game. And then the
two teams combined for seventy six points. There are a
listers on the sideline. Know, I got to talk trash
a little bit to Dave Portnoy. That was funny, funny
story if you want to hear it.
Speaker 3 (18:04):
Yeah, that was my next question.
Speaker 4 (18:08):
Portnoy walked in and I had been tipped off that Portnoy,
Brady Quinn, Matt Linert, and urban Meyer were all showing up,
and I said, listen, I mean, what an amazing open
shot to the highlights it would be to see that
quartet walking down the tunnel towards the field. And so
by the time I get there, I'm told, Okay, Portnoy's
(18:28):
showing up early because he's shooting a bit for Big
Noon on Fox, and then the other guys are going
to show up later, and Urban actually never did show up,
But so I get the shot at Portnoy walking in
and then he goes and does his bit, and then
I'm told that Brady Quinn are coming, So I go
back into the hallway and Portnoy's down there was I
guess what was his social media team, and the guy
(18:50):
was showing him the clip that I put on Twitter,
and he had no idea that I was the guy
who shot it and was standing two feet from it,
and he's looking at his phone and he says, gosh,
they made me look like Joe Burrow walking into this place.
And I said, hey, that was a great shot. What
He's like, yeah, it's a great shot. I'm like, well,
it came from this camera right here. And he got
a kick out of that. So we had a good
(19:10):
time with it. And you know, he was talking, you know,
about Michigan and about Ohio state, that kind of thing,
and some guy yelled to him, oh, and he looked
at me. He said, are those the only letters that
people in this state know? And I have the biggest
stick out of that. So he was a good sport
with a lot of fun with it. And to have
(19:31):
those guys on the sideline and be part of it,
I think added to the moment and certainly to the experience.
You think about the high school student sections. All those
kids wanted pictures, wanted a moment with portnoys. So it
was a cool thing.
Speaker 2 (19:44):
Well, before I let you go, you mentioned it Ohio
State Michigan coming up this weekend on Fox Who You Got?
Speaker 4 (19:54):
So I was having some fun yesterday inside the Bengals
locker room, and I'll tell you that you know it's
going to be the eye roll again, but there's a
different energy about the room. When Joe gets back, he
has a presence. Listen, man, that that presence is real.
Like those young players that they see him walk in
that room and they see him back, and guys raise
(20:17):
their game. They understand the standard of Joe Burrow being around.
So there's a different energy, a different vibe in the room.
And I was curious to talk to Chris Jenkins and
DJ Turner about whatever the special secret sauce that Michigan
has had the last four years against Ohio State, because
as I told Chris, and you know, he nodded along
(20:39):
with me, it feels like every time Ohio State plays
this game, they're they're ranked higher, they're they're favored to win,
and then they kind of get on the field with
Michigan and it starts to turn on them, and you
wonder if it's an oh no, here it comes again
kind of feeling. And Chris made a good point, Chris
me and Chris Jenkins. He said, I feel like when
(21:01):
we get on and we, being Michigan, get on the
field with Ohio State, we're the team that isn't afraid
of them, and they sense that that when Ohio State
walks out there and they throw their jersey and their
helmet on the field, teams are afraid. They're they're going
to get run out of the building. And with the
physicality and the confidence that Michigan brings to the game,
(21:23):
he feels like that affects Ohio State, their players, and
their coaches. Has Ryan Day figured it out that that's
the question? Right? Has Ryan Day figured out how to
coach this game? And are his two star wide receivers
at or near one hundred percent or good enough to
be difference makers in this game? Are the two biggest keys.
(21:45):
If those things are figured out, Ohio State wins. If
not Michigan with Jordan Marshall, the pride of moll Or
High School are going to do what they do, and
that's choke Ohio State out with physicality, run game, and
confidence and beat them again at Michigan. So I'm fascinated
to see if Ryan Day has got it figured out.
I'm fascinated to see if Carnel Tate and Jeremiah Smith
(22:06):
and themselves on Saturday in the Big House.
Speaker 3 (22:09):
So you're just not going to make a pick. You're
gonna set the fence on this one.
Speaker 4 (22:13):
Okay, If you want me to make a pick, I'll
pick Michigan until until Ryan Day proves damn it he's
got it figured out and can beat Michigan. He's only
one in four against them, And you know, Michigan, it
feels like to me is built to beat Ohio State
the way they're built offensively, defensively, and the way their
coaches coach. My pick is Michigan to win on Saturday,
(22:37):
because until Ryan Day proves it, I'm gonna stick with Michigan.
Speaker 2 (22:41):
Yeah, I mean, it's it's fair. I regret asking you
the question because sometimes the truth hurts, but it's it's
the truth. Uh, Joe, You've been generous with your time,
really appreciated. Hope you have a great Thanksgiving. We appreciate
you and we'll talk to you again next week.
Speaker 3 (22:55):
Thanks, ma'am.
Speaker 4 (22:57):
Austin happiest of thanksgivings like a champion on Thursday. Get
it done, yeat, yeat.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
Indeed that is Joe Daniman, He's the best. We are
way late talkbacks for next ESPN fifteen thirty.
Speaker 3 (23:11):
It's that time for talkbacks.
Speaker 6 (23:13):
Press the microphone and record your message for Austin and tone.
Speaker 3 (23:18):
Please keep it clean and don't be mean.
Speaker 6 (23:22):
And a sprinkle sprinkle, drip drips. It's that time for talkbacks.
It's our favorite parter since three sixty. Yeah, Austin, buddy,
play those bunkbacks on your screen and please try out
to Cybertaja.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
We welcome back in to Tony Pikes since he three
to sixty. I'm Austin Elmore, big fella out sick today.
Hopefully he is back tomorrow. We've got a light batch
of talkbacks to get to.
Speaker 3 (23:50):
But that's all right, let's get started. Can we get
Brian Flores or vance Joseph here to be your head coach?
Love that you know.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
I'm not sure about the Brian Flores thing because I
know he has ongoing litigation with the NFL about a
hiring issue previously that I want to say was involved
with the Giants or something, and the stuff that happened
with the Dolphins. I don't know exactly, so I don't
know about his his I don't know. I don't know
(24:20):
if that has an effect on anything. Vance Joseph, who
used to be a coach here and is the defensive
coordinator for the Denver Broncos, I think he would be
one of the top candidates when you look at the
way the Bengals do things and the familiarity and all that,
I think Vance Joseph would be one of those top candidates.
Don't know if that's a good thing, but yeah, it's
(24:42):
the Lord.
Speaker 7 (24:43):
I was reading that Lamar Jackson has another injury. It's
his toe. That's that he that hea't that thing any
truth to this.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
Yeah, we talked about it earlier today, But just about
two two minutes ago, the Ravens practice began and Lamar
Jackson ran out there helmet on and is practicing. So
didn't practice yesterday. He is out there in uniform for
practice today for the Ravens.
Speaker 8 (25:14):
So the season is pretty much over. We know that
anything after this probably just leads to heartache. But I'm
of a mind that until you are officially mathematically eliminated,
you give it all you got, You try everything, and
you play the man. But as soon as you're eliminated,
shutting down. It's too valuable, too much of a risk,
for nothing to play for.
Speaker 3 (25:36):
Okay, I get it.
Speaker 9 (25:38):
Thoughts on Joe Burrow playing tomorrow.
Speaker 10 (25:40):
Night, Okay, thank you, Hey boys, Hey, I may be
(26:07):
full of opium.
Speaker 3 (26:08):
Yeah, I know, I'm.
Speaker 10 (26:09):
The optimistic guy, but as far as I can see,
the Bengals have their destiny in their hands and they
control their playoff outcomes. Assume they win the next six,
we only need six losses between Buffalo or between Baltimore
and Pittsburgh.
Speaker 3 (26:28):
They play each other twice, plus we would have beaten.
Speaker 10 (26:30):
The Ravens twice, and neither of those teams.
Speaker 7 (26:33):
Are gonna win out.
Speaker 3 (26:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:35):
I mean, when you think about it, Baltimore plays Pittsburgh twice.
As you mentioned, Baltimore has to go to Green Bay
and they play New England. It's not crazy to think
that they lose a couple of those games. The Steelers
obviously played Baltimore twice, they play Buffalo, and they play
at Detroit. It's not crazy to think that if the
(26:59):
Bengals were to go on a run similar to what
they've done the last two years, that they could be
right there in the conversation at nine to eight, let's say,
and that be enough to win the AFC North, just
based off the schedule of the other teams. Obviously, the
Bengals have to take care of their own business, but
I don't think it's it's insane to think so. And
the main reason I feel that way is if you
(27:21):
look at the defense the last two weeks, and I
know it is a very small sample size and it's
not against the two best offenses in the NFL. However,
if the Bengals defense can force a turnover a game
and or get three stops, like you feel confident that
you have a chance, you at least give yourself a chance,
(27:42):
and that I think would be if nothing else interesting.
Speaker 11 (27:47):
Hey Addie Joe from Casey here what I love when
you get the chance to host. I totally agree with
you about Burrow. If he's healthy, he should play. In
addition to everything you mentioned, I just want to say,
you know, and you would get into like load management stuff, right,
I mean, in the end, it's the entertainment business. They're
there to entertain people are spending money to buy tickets.
(28:10):
They're not spending money to watch healthy Joe Burrow sit
on the bench.
Speaker 2 (28:15):
Yeah, that's a good point. Now, let's say Thursday happens.
Let's say the Bengals get blown out. Let's say it's
thirty seven to ten in the fourth quarter. Oh, Joe
Burrow doesn't need to be playing in that situation. Like
then you could go back to Flacco, go back to
Jake Browning, somebody else. There there is a balance that
has to be struck by Zach Taylor.
Speaker 12 (28:34):
Here, my golly, if we played a drinking game for
every time then I heard the word compromised in between
the Monday Midday Quarterback and the Tony in Moo Football Show,
I'd have been on the floor by about four thirty
how many times I heard that. But anyways, final thought here,
Walker from the West Side. If Flacco was that compromised,
(28:56):
wouldn't we rather have Joe Burrow compromise? If it was
seventy five percent versus seventy five percent? Last thought, we're
on to Thursday.
Speaker 2 (29:04):
Yeah, that's the argument that I made last week going
into the New England game.
Speaker 9 (29:09):
What's up, Boddy, TJ Burrow in or Burrow out? I'd like,
whatever the hell gets rid of Tobin and Taylor. He's
an OC at best, not a head coach. Marvin went
oh for seven to plass, and Brown kept him on
for years. Marvin turned into a smug Belichick wanted because
he knew he was safe. Dave Shuler went eleven thirty
for thirty seven. Let me repeat, eleven for thirty seven
in his.
Speaker 3 (29:28):
First three years. Brown offered him a contract extension.
Speaker 4 (29:31):
Price is right.
Speaker 9 (29:32):
Bob Zach stinks, Toven sucks. Mike makes me want to hurl.
But go Burrow, go Bangles, Who da get better?
Speaker 3 (29:38):
Tony? There you go? I mean that's how he feels.
Speaker 13 (29:41):
So the one hundred talented BYU fans that had a
knack for recruiting AKA would be in the parking lot
at the UC game trying to convert UC fans to
BYU fans because they Mormons go door to door trying
(30:02):
to convert people and they have a knack for recruiting.
Speaker 14 (30:07):
Oh never mind, Oh okay, repping the city out here,
Sonny hot z on and what upie?
Speaker 3 (30:14):
See you riding the ship solo today? That's okay.
Speaker 14 (30:16):
The show is still on point and fire us always.
The Cats won last night. I mean a good rebound win.
A win is a win. But you know, I want
to see them set up their shots a little bit better.
They just run down the quarter to shoot up too
many threes. I'm starting not to like that. Oh you
know what, the return of JB nine, I'm feeling it.
I was against it, but now I love it. The
(30:37):
heart of a competitor. That's a true beast of a quarterback.
We got go get them all right, thank you one
time for a double oh for the keys to victory
for Thursday night. First of all, we have to run
the ball consistently and stay with the run, especially if
it's working. Second, Burrow, can you manage the offensive line correctly?
I mean, I know this is your first game back,
(30:57):
but can you pick up the rhythm that you had?
Chase is gonna be double in bracketed, so I'm looking
for fat Gooseki to step up and.
Speaker 3 (31:03):
On defense contain Lamar.
Speaker 14 (31:05):
Don't let her rush out the pocket, giving way to
apply pressure and wrap up and tackle.
Speaker 15 (31:12):
There you go, the top three things that Jamar Chase
did last weekend instead of playing football, attended sensitivity and
conflict resolution classes at Madam Fiefee's School of Etiquette, active
as a judge at Cheeks Gentlemen's Club for the Itty
Bitty Gritty Committee, met with architects and designers for plans
(31:36):
on his new sports club.
Speaker 2 (31:38):
Lougis all right, we'll talk a little bit about Jamar later.
He did issue an apology of sorts Hoodah Tom Turkey
chiming in there.
Speaker 16 (31:54):
With regards to the Ohio State game, I think Ohio
State's gonna win by two or more scores. I don't
care that they lost four in a row or whatever
it is. At one point, Ohio State won seventeen of
eighteen or something like that just before the four game
losing streaks, so you know, it's cyclical. I expect them
to fully dominate this game. And you know, the game
(32:14):
it kind of feel like it's lost its louster a
little bit. I mean, Ohio State lost it last year
and still won the national title, so you know whatever.
For regards to the Bengals and Ravens, you know.
Speaker 3 (32:22):
Whatever, Okay, thank you.
Speaker 2 (32:25):
I think the Ohio State Michigan game is just it's
all mental on the Ohio State side, and I think
part of it, like from the Michigan side as well.
And I think Joe Daneman was right, like Michigan does
not fear Ohio State and that's really the only team
they face all year that feels that way, and sometimes
that can make you clinch up a little bit in
(32:46):
certain parts of your body. And I think there is
a mental block with Michigan for Ohio State, and until
they get past it, I don't know. Hopefully last year
and everything that happened afterwards is enough to to kind
of carry through that and then be the release.
Speaker 5 (33:03):
Well, the last time I tuned in and Audie started
the show and said that Tony wasn't here, we heard
the terrible news that he had been let go. Fortunately
Tony's just sick, Yay, of course, I'm just kidding. Get
well soon, Tony, Tony.
Speaker 3 (33:21):
Alstad, what's going on? My man Lean and trunk Harte.
Speaker 4 (33:25):
I love Joey Deep, but he is crazy.
Speaker 15 (33:28):
Ryan Day better get the job done.
Speaker 14 (33:30):
And look, I kind of somewhat agree with him, you know,
because when it comes to this game, if it's close
in the fourth quarter, hey, it's going to get real.
Speaker 5 (33:38):
Spooky for os U's fans.
Speaker 15 (33:41):
But he gotta get it done.
Speaker 17 (33:43):
He gotta get it done.
Speaker 4 (33:45):
He cannot lose the Michigan for the fifth straight year.
Beat Michigan.
Speaker 3 (33:50):
Preach brother.
Speaker 2 (33:52):
I agree with you, hey often Marcos from the groove,
what up?
Speaker 18 (33:56):
I know we don't give this guy a time of
day on the show because of his horrible takes in general.
But I don't know if you saw Chris Canty's uh
oh I did about the Bengals still having a shot
to win the division and make the playoffs. You know me,
you ain't got to give me much to go on
(34:17):
about giving me hope.
Speaker 3 (34:19):
Yeah, I did, you know.
Speaker 2 (34:20):
I actually heard, to his credit, I heard two complimentary
things from Chris Canty today about the Bengals. The first was,
I think Evan Cohen was asking him, do you buy
into these teams? It was a list of teams and
he got to the Bengals, and I think Michelle Smallman
said no, and Chris Canty said, uh, it's it's possible.
(34:43):
With Joe Burrow like it's possible. And then, in a
separate part talking about the future of the AFC North
and who could win that division, Chris Canty doubled down
with Joe Burrow. The Bengals can win that division, So
maybe a changing of the tune there for all Chris Canty.
But you know, if we want to make fun of
him for all this stupid stuff he says, you know,
(35:05):
he at least was complimentary this time.
Speaker 3 (35:07):
Mike and independence here the borough thing. Think of it
this way.
Speaker 19 (35:13):
Let's say you're working in the warehouse and you break
your wrists at work, so you get back, you're ready
to come back to work, and they're like, no, no, no,
we don't want to risk of the rest of this year.
Numbers are down. Just take the ear off. We'll pay
you come back next year. It's not how it works.
It's good to play.
Speaker 3 (35:31):
Let's play correct a mundo, bro. Why do we do this?
Why do we keep doing this?
Speaker 20 (35:36):
We say every week before the game, all they lose
this one, this is a must win. If they lose
this one, they're done. We've done this for the last
three weeks, they've lost all three of them, and then
by Tuesday or Wednesday we're talking about all they could
be back in it if they do this. If they
do that, they have a less than one percent chance
to make the playoffs. Their minus ten thousand miss playoffs,
like let it go, it's over, Mike Good All.
Speaker 2 (36:00):
Right, man, I don't know what show you're listening to.
But at no point have I on this radio station
said that I believe the Bengals are good enough to
get to the playoffs. I will openly talk about the
possibilities and the facts and like what the probabilities are,
or if this happens, this happens, and this happens and
they get in. But I have said for over a
(36:20):
month now that the season is over and they will
not get to the playoffs. I have said on the
air I expect them to lose every single game the
rest of the way. Now with Joe Burrow, it's a
different team, and you wonder how it will be different
with him on the field. But no one is on
this radio station saying that the Bengals are going to
go win the AFC North and go deep into the playoffs. Technically, mathematically, factually,
(36:46):
it's still a possibility, and that possibility is alive, and
so you can't acknowledge that doesn't mean I believe it
or know that it's gonna do that it's tru or
that I believe that it's gonna happen. Just because you
acknowledge the possible and the realities does not mean that
you are preaching from the mountaintops that these things are
going to happen. But also there are varying members of
(37:09):
this audience that have different beliefs and different views and
different thoughts on the Bengals, on the sports world, on
all of it. Some people are overly optimistic, some people
are overly negative. It's my job to be able to
reach all those people, not just those who have given up.
That's that's kind of how this thing works.
Speaker 21 (37:30):
Hey, Audie, it's Chris and Alexandria. I liked your list
yesterday of all the potential candidates. Thank you and who
you thought fit. But the problem is the Bengals don't
bring in guys who have head coaching experience. True, they
sometimes bring in offensive or defensive coordinators. What qualified Zach
Taylor to be here? I mean he was a quarterbacks coach.
Who knows who they're going to bring in, who knows
(37:52):
who the better option is? I have no idea what
they're going to do. Probably just sit tight.
Speaker 2 (37:57):
Yeah, I think that's fair, Chris in your ex exactly right.
It just doesn't happen very often. All right, we'll take
a break.
Speaker 3 (38:03):
That was it.
Speaker 2 (38:04):
We'll come back with a football in the Natty. This
is ESPN fifteen thirty eight, The.
Speaker 1 (38:10):
Natty, brought to you in part by Bud Light and
by Oakley Greens on ESPN fifteen thirty the official home
of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Speaker 2 (38:21):
Welcome back in Tony Pikes since he three to sixty.
I'm Austin Elmore. We'll talk a little bit more about
the Bengals and the Ravens coming up an hour number three,
including what Zach Taylor had to say about Trey Hendrickson
that I find interesting. But I went and spliced together
all the questions and all the answers from Zach Taylor's
(38:44):
Monday press conference in which he was asked about quarterback
Joe Burrow. I think it's interesting the way he discusses it,
discusses his philosophy ahead of Thursday night's game. Here's the
Bengals head coach in his conversation with the media about
quarterback Joe Burrow in his potential return.
Speaker 22 (39:05):
I anticipate him playing, but we'll continue to work through
the week. I'm not going to declare that definitively work
through the week coming off an injuries, done everything he could.
He put himself in a position to do his best
to play yesterday, and we'll continue with that mindset. But
he looks like he's in good shape right now.
Speaker 8 (39:20):
He'd be ready to go.
Speaker 23 (39:21):
How much did you guys bait that into practice schedule
last week? No one be a limited week this week
to get Joe those reps last week?
Speaker 22 (39:28):
No, I mean really last week he just fell because
of it was it was easy for us to handle
because Joe Flacco has been limited in practice and so
his schedule had been conducive to Burrow coming in there
and taking all the snaps. So it didn't throw anything
off kilter because that had been our ro team previously.
He just took a bunch of reps that Jake Browning
had been taken when when Flaco goes out. So so
(39:49):
from that perspective, it worked out well. We're able to
balance that without disrupting anything. And now you'll go into
just walk through reps, which is really what we're doing
the next two days. So it's nothing physical, walk through
mental reps and gett everybody ready to go play.
Speaker 23 (40:02):
What's energy like around when you Joe is, you know,
when you know what he's going to be playing on Thursday,
and in that kind of game, in the kind of environment,
what does that do for the locker room?
Speaker 22 (40:09):
Well, I mean he's he's a great player, obviously, and
so it's exciting to have a back. I think our
energy has been really good. I don't feel like that's
been an issue for us, you know, and you see
the way the team fought there till the very end,
trying to trying to get stops in all three phases
and and score points on offense, and so these guys
fought tooth and nail, played with really good energy. Obviously,
when you got one of the greatest players in the
(40:29):
world coming back, that's that's another boost on top of that.
And so you know, when we do get Joe back,
it'll be exciting to watch him out there and play,
and I'm sure it's energy for for everybody involved at least.
Speaker 23 (40:40):
Look like first game back hasn't played in a few months.
What do you think that will look like?
Speaker 22 (40:44):
Difficult, difficult to predict. You know, it has been several months,
and so again I'm not going to make any predictions
on what it looks like, but again, he's he's put
himself in great shape. It's good to see him through
the progression that we've had over the last several weeks.
I think was it was a fair progression for him
to do this the on seven, do the eleven on eleven,
get your mind right, try to try to get ready
to play in a game, and then ultimately we'll we'll
(41:05):
wait and see where aliens. But I think it's been
a really good progression. It's been helpful for him and
done everything he can and we can to get him
ready to go playing a game with Burrow.
Speaker 3 (41:16):
He's just so good at off script plays.
Speaker 20 (41:18):
Do you try to whenever he comes back coaching out
of that or do you just have to let him play?
Speaker 22 (41:24):
It's a great question. There's a balance there of obviously
him coming off of injury. You want to be very
mindful of that, and that a lot of that will
be up to him as he as he feels his
pocket movement and his play style. Those are decisions that
that he's going to have to feel out as he
goes forward. And sure i'd love to say, you know,
let's let's be protective and and not put him in
(41:46):
an environment where that's going to happen. But you out
there in a football field, and that's that's the way
it's gonna take shape, especially on third downs, especially in
no in passing situations. That's a good defense. You know,
these guys will do a lot to disrupt you and
throw you off course in the skies and pressure from
different angles, and they got good players, and so you
can't it's the NFL. You can't go out there with
with kid gloves on and say we're never going to
(42:07):
let this happen. It's some things are gonna happen naturally,
and it'll be in his hands to take care of
it if he's out there.
Speaker 24 (42:13):
Over the last few months in the background, have you
made any tweaks kind of the Borough offense and the
idea of how things to live from Burrow comes back?
Speaker 22 (42:19):
Or is it just like yeah, I mean, like we
game plan for the teams we're playing against, and you know,
so a lot of times that's that's the forefront of it,
is how do we utilize our weapons and how do
we game plan against the team you know for all
the things they're showing us to keep them off off kilter.
So that's always what we balance and that's what we'll
(42:41):
continue to do as we move forward.
Speaker 18 (42:43):
As Joe Burrow articulated, why it's so important for him
to come back or is it just understood because it's job.
Speaker 22 (42:50):
Yeah, that is a great question that I'd rather him answer.
You know, I think when you get an opportunity to
talk to him, is he and I have had conversations
on everything leading up to these weeks, and so I'll
leave that to him to better answer.
Speaker 24 (43:04):
Did you guys talk much when he was like out out?
But what were the conversations like when he was still early?
Speaker 22 (43:10):
I mean, there was times I would catch him in
the weight room as he's going through his rehead progression.
So I don't I can to find a lot, but
we've certainly had several conversations throughout the weeks, and then
he started getting back into full blown meetings. You know,
as part of his limited he's in a boot, so
we're not asking to travel stairs all the time. And
then we got out of that. He became full time
back in meeting several weeks ago and he's been back
(43:33):
in the picture ever since. So he and I have
had a lot of dialogue, especially these last probably three weeks,
and a couple more before that when he first come
off the entry.
Speaker 2 (43:41):
Good stuff there from the Bengals head coach Zach Taylor
loved that question from Dan Horde about you know, has
Joe articulated why this is so important to him? And
Zach said, you have to talk to Joe. Well, Joe's
supposed to talk in just under an hour from right now.
We'll cover that for you live right here on ESPN
(44:01):
fifteen thirty. Jamar Chase slated to talk after that. We
will have it all covered for you right here on
the Home of the Bengals. This is ESPN fifteen thirty.
Speaker 1 (44:10):
You've been listening to Football in the NATI on ESPN
fifteen thirty, the official home of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Speaker 17 (44:22):
WCKY Cincinnati and iHeartRadio Station Guaranteed Human ESPN fifteen thirty
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Speaker 3 (44:33):
From the Baker Heating tempst Our Weather Center. Here's your forecast.
This report is sponsored by Taco Bell.
Speaker 17 (44:39):
Three sixty continues on ESPN fifteen thirty, Cincinnati Sports Station.
Speaker 2 (44:46):
Briefly wrapping up our number two here on Tony Pikes
since e three sixty ESPN fifteen thirty. For those of
you that geek out on uniform news like I do.
You might be wondering, well, what are these teams going
to be wearing on Thanksgiving Night? What's Cincinnati going to
be wearing, What's Baltimore going to be wearing. Well, the
(45:10):
Bengals are going to be going with their traditional road
white uniforms, white jerseys, white pants, black socks, and their
orange helmet. I think one of the best looks in football.
Baltimore is going to be going with their alternate purple
rising helmets, which are purple with a gold face mask
(45:32):
and the ugly looking raven bird on the side of
the head there. And they're going to have their purple
jerseys with the gold numerals, purple pants, purple socks, all
with the gold trim for Thanksgiving Night. Now, remember Bengals
have played there in the past. They've gone the darkness
thing where it's all black and blah blah blah blah blah. Well,
all purple up against all white with the Bengals orange
(45:55):
helmet for Thanksgiving Night football coming up, looking forward to it.
We'll have it for you right here on ESPN fifteen
thirty hour three. Coming up next on the Home of
the Bengals Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty
This is Tony Pike since he three sixty about Cincinnati
from Cincinnati, sponsored in part by Cincy Shirts. Cincy Shirts
all since E all Day. This is ESPN fifteen thirty
Cincinnati Sports Station.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Hi, Hello, welcome in our two of Tony Pikes since
E three sixty. Here on ESPN fifteen thirty. I'm Austin Elmore.
You might be wondering where on God's green Earth is Tony.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
He's still employed.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
He's just a little under the weather today, so it's
just me, hopefully the big fellow back tomorrow. But the
show goes on, and every Tuesday we talk to our guy,
Joey d Joe Daniman from Fox nineteen who joins us. Now, Joe,
have you begun your preparations for Thanksgiving?
Speaker 4 (00:45):
I have, and by my preparations, Austin, that means running
extra miles every single day, so I don't feel guilty
about the crime I'm going to commit on Thursday at
the Thanksgiving table ahead of the Bengals in the Raven Game.
To me, Thanksgiving is the best holiday of the year.
(01:08):
I love Christmas. I love Christmas, but Thanksgiving comes with it.
What I feel are the two best gifts to men,
food and football, and they come with an overflowing amount
on Thursday. I can't wait. What a huge Thursday it
is for Cincinnati. Everybody gets to eat and then everybody
(01:30):
gets to watch Joe Burrow make his return on Thursday
night football. Happy Thanksgiving, Austin. What a night it's going
to be.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
Well, Happy Thanksgiving to you, Joe, and thank you for
being here and we're thankful for your presence on this
show each and every day. Before we get to Joe Burrow,
let me ask you, how, like, how many miles a
day do you normally run? And are you the type
of person that does a turkey trot on Thanksgiving morning?
Speaker 4 (01:56):
Yeah? So I've been training for it because when I
was younger, I was a competitive runner, and I think
when you're a competitive runner, you have a hard time
taking that competition out of your soul. So even when
you're in your forties and you're out running leisurely, you're
always racing against something. I can't turn it off, so
(02:18):
I'm always racing against the clock. So this year I
decided to set a target, and I was preparing for
it and I feel great about it. And then two
nights ago I saw the forecasts for Thursday morning, and
I'm now officially spooked, and I'm on defense. I'm actually
going to do the race. You're talking temperatures in the
twenties with fifteen mile per hour winds and wind guts
(02:42):
even higher. A. That's miserable. B. I think it would
prevent me from running the time I want to run.
So I might be like Ryan Rico, a drop back
about fifteen yards a punt on Thursday morning, even though
I'm ready. Wait, but I'm sure it's going to allow
me to the forecast.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Well, I would share the same advice with you that
I share with Bengals fans who fear the return of
Joe Burrow and getting hurt again, and that is that
you cannot live a life out of fear. You only
have one life and one opportunity. Why Joe Burrow, Why now?
Why is this all happening the way it's happening.
Speaker 4 (03:23):
Well, Number one, I think he's earned it, okay, and
I think it's okay for everybody in this discussion, and
that's everybody listening to this show. I'm sure has had
an opinion on Joe Burrow. Should he come back, should
he not come back? When's the right time for him
to come back. And I'm going to get a lot
(03:44):
of your listeners are a lot like me who have
changed their opinion on this and aren't really sure where
to land. And I think that's all right, because you know,
we grew up in the and the Jim Rome. Have
a take and don't suck up radio. Right, you have
to land on one side, debate it and be strong
(04:04):
in that stance. But I kind of see both sides
of this one, the pros and cons of Joe Burrow's return. Ultimately,
I'll go back to what I said at the start
of your question, which was I believe he's earned it.
When this happened, we were all thinking a mid December
or b the season is going to be so far
(04:24):
gone by then that there's no point. We'll see you
in twenty twenty six. But Joe Burrow has worked maniacally
to give himself a chance to come back and play football.
And if he's given and he has been given a
clean bill to go out and play, that he's fully
healthy one hundred percent. But I think he deserves to
play if he wants to play, and Joe wants to play,
(04:46):
and so I think now is the time and not
Sunday against the Patriots, just because of the short turnaround
from Sunday to Thursday, and the Bengals don't know how
the toe is going to react when you get it
out there, because look, you can do about eighty percent
of everything a quarterback has to do to get ready
to play in a game, but that last twenty percent
(05:07):
you can't simulate in practice. You can't simulate with anything.
That's when he's in the game. The pockets, money bodies
are near him, on the ground, near his arm, how
does he escape, does he take sacks? And he tried
to make plays that kind of instinct. You can't simulate
that until you get into a game. And I'm not
sure they knew how he was going to react from
(05:30):
Sunday to Thursday playing a game. So that's why I
think Thursday night to night and not Sunday against the Patriots.
We all understand the Bengals playoff chances, but I think
most importantly Joe has earned this, and I think his
presence matters. And I think and we can debate this too.
Certainly a coaching staff that needs to be evaluated when
(05:50):
they have their quarterback on the field.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
Yeah, I agree with that.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
Now there's been a lot made of the Flacco offense
compared to the Borough offense.
Speaker 3 (06:00):
Well, Flacco can't move.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
The Bengals probably want to protect Burrow a little bit,
not only from defenders, but from himself. Do you think
there's going to be that big of a difference in
the actual structure of the offense from Joe Flacco to
Joe Burrow.
Speaker 4 (06:16):
I think there will be changes. I think if you
go back and listen to what Zach Taylor said on
Monday when he was asked about that directly. He didn't
come out fully and say yes, but he didn't come
out fully and say no. So I think there are
going to be some slight variations to what Joe Burrow
does on Thursday night. For me, I go back to
(06:38):
think about Peyton Manning and near the end of his career,
and it was something we probably all laughed at, but
when there was any pressure near Peyton Manning at the
end of his career, he would just fall to the ground. Yeah,
like a folded launch carriage to take a stack. And
that's not in Joe Burrow's DNA. I get that. That's
(06:58):
not who he is. That's not how he plays the game.
So for me to sit here and talk about it
might be a waste of time, But I think there's
probably a happy medium where you don't just play dead
in the backfield like Peyton Manning did, but you also
don't try to be who Deany like Joe Burrow has
been for so many years now. I know it's hard
to tell the guy to play the game differently, but
(07:20):
maybe you do have to tell the guy to play
the game just a little bit differently to start to
see what it looks like, until he feels one hundred
percent comfortable that the toe is okay, the mechanism he's
wearing an his shoe is functional, and that he can
go out there and forget about it and start playing
football like we've seen him play. That's a hard thing.
(07:40):
How it looks different. Will it look different? We won't
know until Thursday night, but I do think reading between
the lines a little bit of hearing Zach Taylor talk,
they're aware of that, and I think you might see
some changes, maybe at least in theory, on Thursday night,
before the Live Bullets starts flying and Joe Burrow starts playing.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
The Bengals, Deep has a long way to go, but
they are at least showing signs of improvement, a little
bit of progress over the last couple of weeks. What
stands out to you about the defense and how they've
gotten better against Pittsburgh and New England.
Speaker 4 (08:15):
Yeah, to me, it's about evaluation now of individual players
and seeing which one of those players you can count
on in twenty twenty six. You know, if you start
just in the defensive backfield, I think you can count
on Certainly, DJ Turners had a great year. I know
Dak still got picked on a little bit Sunday, but
I think he's a guy you can count on as
(08:35):
a future player for this team. We'll see what happens
with this contract going forward, but certainly he's played his
way into a guy that I believe the Bengals believe in.
And certainly with Cam Taylor, BRIT's future and how very
much up in the air, I think you like those
two guys at least going forward. But looking in the
front seven, right, you're looking defensive line, you're looking linebackers.
(08:55):
We've talked so much about the linebackers and what they're
trying to do with Demetrius Knight and Barrett Carter Baron
Carter had a good game on Sunday. Yet if you
go look back and look at the statue, see he
had sixteen tackles. I don't know what the mistackle number was,
but it was very small as none zero zero zero.
(09:16):
There you go. So that's the number. So he played
a better game. And the other guy that I think
has started to flash a little bit and it took
a long time, is Miles Murphy. And here's Miles Murphy.
He's had a couple of nice games back to back.
And what you're looking for from Miles Murphy is and
I go back to this, and the guy that comes
to mind with me is is a guy like Peter Warick.
(09:38):
Peter Warck was a good Cincinnati Bengal but was often
in the crosshairs of criticism because of where he was drafted.
You know, if Miles Murphy was a fifth or sixth
round pick, we would see a guy right now and say, Okay,
there's a guy who now has a runway of the
next six weeks to prove he can be a guy
who can produce and be a contributor on this team
and maybe even earn the finals. Six weeks a spot
(10:01):
is a starter next year. But the fact that he
was a first rounder and the fact that first rounders
come with higher expectations. He's played well under expectation his
entire career here in Cincinnati. But you've seen the last
couple of weeks and flashes, and I think that's what
you want to see individually from the defense overall. Now
I know as a whole, the run defense has been better.
(10:23):
We saw them show some guts, show some fight at
the goal line several plays against the New England Patriots.
Now are the New England Patriots just a good fit
for the Bengals defense to look better because they aren't
just an explosive offense. Perhaps, And I think maybe you
get a better test of that the next three weeks
with the Ravens twice in the Bills. But I think
you are seeing signs of individual players showing small bits
(10:47):
of growth, and I think that's what's important in the
second half of the season. Here the final six weeks,
the guys like Miles Murphy, Demetrius Knight, Barrett Carter showing
signs that they can be contributors and counted on. In
twenty twenty six.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
Who plays another snap for the Bengals first, Jermaine Burton
or Trey Henderson.
Speaker 4 (11:08):
Well, boy, that's such a great question. Often I'll go
Trey Hendrickson, even though I'm not sure he's going to
play another snap, because I think the Jermaine Burton story
is just kind of sailed at this point. He can't
be counted on, and the Bengals have made it very
clear what they think of him and his status with
(11:29):
the Bengals going forward. Even when he was asked a
question about him on Monday, Zach Taylor took the question
and basically drove it to a different path of talking
about a completely different player when asked about Jermaine Burton,
the Trey Hendrickson thing is going to be so fascinating
because you know who's winning the Trey Hendrickson air down here, right,
(11:51):
Because I don't want to bury the guy. Because while
there hasn't been a ton of information about his injury
and we haven't seen a lot of them inside the
locker room and around the facility, we are led to
believe the guy is actually injured and can't play. Now
the question is okay if he is that injured, and
(12:12):
that comes out every week at the start of the
week and says he's dealt for or out. Why is
he not on IR And that's a great question for
people to ask, and we don't have a great answer
because it hasn't been given to us. But as this
starts to lead into twenty twenty six and this upcoming offseason,
which is going to be so important on so many
different levels, but most importantly, it's finding personnel on defense
(12:35):
for this defense to take a step in twenty twenty sticks.
You think back to last year in the comments Mike
Brown made about negotiating with Trey Henderson and how difficult
that is. I just am so fascinated what it's going
to look like this coming off season with the option
to tag him, and it would almost feel like a
tag out of spite for Trey Henderson. So this could
(12:59):
get MESSI again in the offseason with Trey Hendrickson. But
certainly the lesser of the two that have a chance
to play, I would think would be Jermaine Burton. I
just don't see a pack for him being active the
rest of the season, and at least there is a
glimmer that Trey Hendrickson might want to get out there
against some bad teams. In the final couple of weeks
(13:20):
and pat his stats a little bit and look good
in the offseason.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Last Bengals question for you, how do they beat Baltimore
Thanksgiving Night?
Speaker 4 (13:29):
Well, Baltimore just hasn't looked great. And so I go
back to what I said last week against New England,
and I didn't think New England was built to blow
the Bengals out, so I thought they would have a
chance in the fourth quarter, and there they were without
Literally there are four best players, Joe Burrow, jamar j A.
T Higgins, Trey Hendrickson in the final couple of minutes
(13:50):
and they had the ball near the scoring zone to
go ahead and beat the team tied to the best
record in football. Now that's New England, right. I think
we all are smart enough to say, Okay, New England,
great story, great record, certainly deserving of being a playoff team.
I'm not sure we go as far as saying they're
an elite team or a super Bowl team. Baltimore has
(14:11):
that capability, and Baltimore has started to figure it out
with some scheme change defensively since since the middle weeks
of the season, and they've taken off on that side
of the ball. The question is where's the explosion on offense?
Why hasn't Lamar Jackson accounted for a touchdown in two
weeks against the Cleveland Browns and the New York Jets.
(14:33):
You know, teams go through stretches like this and oftentimes
it's predicated on their quarterback and his health. Something's off
with Lamar. What it is, I don't know. I know
he was coming back from the hamstring. Now he's got
a tow problem. He's not playing at Lamar Jackson level.
So you know, the offensive fireworks were used to sing
(14:54):
with Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson on Thursday nights, and
going back to last year, I would I would point
people to go look at that box score and look
what those quarterbacks did last year on Thursday Night did.
Was awesome football to watch, but too just elite quarterbacks.
I'm not sure we're gonna get that because we know Joe. Look,
the Bengals have won seven consecutive games with Joe when
(15:17):
he starts a game. But we know when Joe starts
seasons or comes back from injuries, he often starts slow.
So I don't know what to expect from Burrow on
Thursday night and certainly don't know what to expect from
the Ravens offense. So I think the pass for the
Bengals to win this game is that the Ravens continue
to scuffle and get in their own way on offense
(15:37):
and Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase can find that magic
they've often had against the Baltimore Ravens. And I think
that's that's a plausible thing, that that's not a far
fetched thing to sit here and think that the Bengals
can go challenge the Ravens at offense that just hasn't
looked good for a couple of weeks and try to
get a win on Thanksgiving Night.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
Talking to Joe Danaman Fox nineteen, I know this is
kind of old news now, but I want to ask
you about it. The Saint ex Elder game at pay
Court Stadium. What was that environment?
Speaker 5 (16:08):
Like?
Speaker 2 (16:08):
How much fun was that for you as someone who
you know isn't taking a side, but just kind of
got to soak it all in and cover that event.
Speaker 4 (16:17):
Yeah, as someone who's from here and understands what it
means the high school football that is in the Tri
State area, you know, it's funny because I talk often
you know, to high school kids and college kids about
my job, and and a lot of times kids will
ask me if you ever thought about going to a
different city, And the hardest thing for me to leave
would be the high school football and high school sports
(16:39):
scene in Cincinnati. It means so much to people. The
community is so strong in that in our area. It's
it's a bit unique to our city, to our region,
to our state. So so that that's the one thing
that that I love about Cincinnati and to see it
on display, listen, if you're going to make the commitment
(17:01):
to move a game that felt that big. Look the
two big brands right a Saint Axe and Elder and
the biggest football stadium. It's a great headline. But then
the game has to deliver. And the game delivered, and
the crowd delivered, and the atmosphere delivered. Like I want
you to picture in your mind. It rained all the
way up to kickoff, and it then was misty during
(17:24):
the game and there was a fog in the air.
The lower bowl was almost completely full. And a lot
of times when you put these teams in these huge stadiums,
like when Ohio Stadium was hosting the State championship games.
It felt empty, It felt cavernous, like you would take
shots of these teams playing and you would see nothing
but empty seats. But if you go back and you
(17:45):
look at the highlights of that game, all the seats
behind the players were full, and it just added an
aura to what was a great game. And then the
two teams combined for seventy six points. There are a
listers on the sideline. Know, I got to talk trash
a little bit to Dave Portnoy. That was funny, funny
story if you want to hear it.
Speaker 3 (18:04):
Yeah, that was my next question.
Speaker 4 (18:08):
Portnoy walked in and I had been tipped off that Portnoy,
Brady Quinn, Matt Linert, and urban Meyer were all showing up,
and I said, listen, I mean, what an amazing open
shot to the highlights it would be to see that
quartet walking down the tunnel towards the field. And so
by the time I get there, I'm told, Okay, Portnoy's
(18:28):
showing up early because he's shooting a bit for Big
Noon on Fox, and then the other guys are going
to show up later, and Urban actually never did show up,
But so I get the shot at Portnoy walking in
and then he goes and does his bit, and then
I'm told that Brady Quinn are coming, So I go
back into the hallway and Portnoy's down there was I
guess what was his social media team, and the guy
(18:50):
was showing him the clip that I put on Twitter,
and he had no idea that I was the guy
who shot it and was standing two feet from it,
and he's looking at his phone and he says, gosh,
they made me look like Joe Burrow walking into this place.
And I said, hey, that was a great shot. What
He's like, yeah, it's a great shot. I'm like, well,
it came from this camera right here. And he got
a kick out of that. So we had a good
(19:10):
time with it. And you know, he was talking, you know,
about Michigan and about Ohio state, that kind of thing,
and some guy yelled to him, oh, and he looked
at me. He said, are those the only letters that
people in this state know? And I have the biggest
stick out of that. So he was a good sport
with a lot of fun with it. And to have
(19:31):
those guys on the sideline and be part of it,
I think added to the moment and certainly to the experience.
You think about the high school student sections. All those
kids wanted pictures, wanted a moment with portnoys. So it
was a cool thing.
Speaker 2 (19:44):
Well, before I let you go, you mentioned it Ohio
State Michigan coming up this weekend on Fox Who You Got?
Speaker 4 (19:54):
So I was having some fun yesterday inside the Bengals
locker room, and I'll tell you that you know it's
going to be the eye roll again, but there's a
different energy about the room. When Joe gets back, he
has a presence. Listen, man, that that presence is real.
Like those young players that they see him walk in
that room and they see him back, and guys raise
(20:17):
their game. They understand the standard of Joe Burrow being around.
So there's a different energy, a different vibe in the room.
And I was curious to talk to Chris Jenkins and
DJ Turner about whatever the special secret sauce that Michigan
has had the last four years against Ohio State, because
as I told Chris, and you know, he nodded along
(20:39):
with me, it feels like every time Ohio State plays
this game, they're they're ranked higher, they're they're favored to win,
and then they kind of get on the field with
Michigan and it starts to turn on them, and you
wonder if it's an oh no, here it comes again
kind of feeling. And Chris made a good point, Chris
me and Chris Jenkins. He said, I feel like when
(21:01):
we get on and we, being Michigan, get on the
field with Ohio State, we're the team that isn't afraid
of them, and they sense that that when Ohio State
walks out there and they throw their jersey and their
helmet on the field, teams are afraid. They're they're going
to get run out of the building. And with the
physicality and the confidence that Michigan brings to the game,
(21:23):
he feels like that affects Ohio State, their players, and
their coaches. Has Ryan Day figured it out that that's
the question? Right? Has Ryan Day figured out how to
coach this game? And are his two star wide receivers
at or near one hundred percent or good enough to
be difference makers in this game? Are the two biggest keys.
(21:45):
If those things are figured out, Ohio State wins. If
not Michigan with Jordan Marshall, the pride of moll Or
High School are going to do what they do, and
that's choke Ohio State out with physicality, run game, and
confidence and beat them again at Michigan. So I'm fascinated
to see if Ryan Day has got it figured out.
I'm fascinated to see if Carnel Tate and Jeremiah Smith
(22:06):
and themselves on Saturday in the Big House.
Speaker 3 (22:09):
So you're just not going to make a pick. You're
gonna set the fence on this one.
Speaker 4 (22:13):
Okay, If you want me to make a pick, I'll
pick Michigan until until Ryan Day proves damn it he's
got it figured out and can beat Michigan. He's only
one in four against them, And you know, Michigan, it
feels like to me is built to beat Ohio State
the way they're built offensively, defensively, and the way their
coaches coach. My pick is Michigan to win on Saturday,
(22:37):
because until Ryan Day proves it, I'm gonna stick with Michigan.
Speaker 2 (22:41):
Yeah, I mean, it's it's fair. I regret asking you
the question because sometimes the truth hurts, but it's it's
the truth. Uh, Joe, You've been generous with your time,
really appreciated. Hope you have a great Thanksgiving. We appreciate
you and we'll talk to you again next week.
Speaker 3 (22:55):
Thanks, ma'am.
Speaker 4 (22:57):
Austin happiest of thanksgivings like a champion on Thursday. Get
it done, yeat, yeat.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
Indeed that is Joe Daniman, He's the best. We are
way late talkbacks for next ESPN fifteen thirty.
Speaker 3 (23:11):
It's that time for talkbacks.
Speaker 6 (23:13):
Press the microphone and record your message for Austin and tone.
Speaker 3 (23:18):
Please keep it clean and don't be mean.
Speaker 6 (23:22):
And a sprinkle sprinkle, drip drips. It's that time for talkbacks.
It's our favorite parter since three sixty. Yeah, Austin, buddy,
play those bunkbacks on your screen and please try out
to Cybertaja.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
We welcome back in to Tony Pikes since he three
to sixty. I'm Austin Elmore, big fella out sick today.
Hopefully he is back tomorrow. We've got a light batch
of talkbacks to get to.
Speaker 3 (23:50):
But that's all right, let's get started. Can we get
Brian Flores or vance Joseph here to be your head coach?
Love that you know.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
I'm not sure about the Brian Flores thing because I
know he has ongoing litigation with the NFL about a
hiring issue previously that I want to say was involved
with the Giants or something, and the stuff that happened
with the Dolphins. I don't know exactly, so I don't
know about his his I don't know. I don't know
(24:20):
if that has an effect on anything. Vance Joseph, who
used to be a coach here and is the defensive
coordinator for the Denver Broncos, I think he would be
one of the top candidates when you look at the
way the Bengals do things and the familiarity and all that,
I think Vance Joseph would be one of those top candidates.
Don't know if that's a good thing, but yeah, it's
(24:42):
the Lord.
Speaker 7 (24:43):
I was reading that Lamar Jackson has another injury. It's
his toe. That's that he that hea't that thing any
truth to this.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
Yeah, we talked about it earlier today, But just about
two two minutes ago, the Ravens practice began and Lamar
Jackson ran out there helmet on and is practicing. So
didn't practice yesterday. He is out there in uniform for
practice today for the Ravens.
Speaker 8 (25:14):
So the season is pretty much over. We know that
anything after this probably just leads to heartache. But I'm
of a mind that until you are officially mathematically eliminated,
you give it all you got, You try everything, and
you play the man. But as soon as you're eliminated,
shutting down. It's too valuable, too much of a risk,
for nothing to play for.
Speaker 3 (25:36):
Okay, I get it.
Speaker 9 (25:38):
Thoughts on Joe Burrow playing tomorrow.
Speaker 10 (25:40):
Night, Okay, thank you, Hey boys, Hey, I may be
(26:07):
full of opium.
Speaker 3 (26:08):
Yeah, I know, I'm.
Speaker 10 (26:09):
The optimistic guy, but as far as I can see,
the Bengals have their destiny in their hands and they
control their playoff outcomes. Assume they win the next six,
we only need six losses between Buffalo or between Baltimore
and Pittsburgh.
Speaker 3 (26:28):
They play each other twice, plus we would have beaten.
Speaker 10 (26:30):
The Ravens twice, and neither of those teams.
Speaker 7 (26:33):
Are gonna win out.
Speaker 3 (26:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:35):
I mean, when you think about it, Baltimore plays Pittsburgh twice.
As you mentioned, Baltimore has to go to Green Bay
and they play New England. It's not crazy to think
that they lose a couple of those games. The Steelers
obviously played Baltimore twice, they play Buffalo, and they play
at Detroit. It's not crazy to think that if the
(26:59):
Bengals were to go on a run similar to what
they've done the last two years, that they could be
right there in the conversation at nine to eight, let's say,
and that be enough to win the AFC North, just
based off the schedule of the other teams. Obviously, the
Bengals have to take care of their own business, but
I don't think it's it's insane to think so. And
the main reason I feel that way is if you
(27:21):
look at the defense the last two weeks, and I
know it is a very small sample size and it's
not against the two best offenses in the NFL. However,
if the Bengals defense can force a turnover a game
and or get three stops, like you feel confident that
you have a chance, you at least give yourself a chance,
(27:42):
and that I think would be if nothing else interesting.
Speaker 11 (27:47):
Hey Addie Joe from Casey here what I love when
you get the chance to host. I totally agree with
you about Burrow. If he's healthy, he should play. In
addition to everything you mentioned, I just want to say,
you know, and you would get into like load management stuff, right,
I mean, in the end, it's the entertainment business. They're
there to entertain people are spending money to buy tickets.
(28:10):
They're not spending money to watch healthy Joe Burrow sit
on the bench.
Speaker 2 (28:15):
Yeah, that's a good point. Now, let's say Thursday happens.
Let's say the Bengals get blown out. Let's say it's
thirty seven to ten in the fourth quarter. Oh, Joe
Burrow doesn't need to be playing in that situation. Like
then you could go back to Flacco, go back to
Jake Browning, somebody else. There there is a balance that
has to be struck by Zach Taylor.
Speaker 12 (28:34):
Here, my golly, if we played a drinking game for
every time then I heard the word compromised in between
the Monday Midday Quarterback and the Tony in Moo Football Show,
I'd have been on the floor by about four thirty
how many times I heard that. But anyways, final thought here,
Walker from the West Side. If Flacco was that compromised,
(28:56):
wouldn't we rather have Joe Burrow compromise? If it was
seventy five percent versus seventy five percent? Last thought, we're
on to Thursday.
Speaker 2 (29:04):
Yeah, that's the argument that I made last week going
into the New England game.
Speaker 9 (29:09):
What's up, Boddy, TJ Burrow in or Burrow out? I'd like,
whatever the hell gets rid of Tobin and Taylor. He's
an OC at best, not a head coach. Marvin went
oh for seven to plass, and Brown kept him on
for years. Marvin turned into a smug Belichick wanted because
he knew he was safe. Dave Shuler went eleven thirty
for thirty seven. Let me repeat, eleven for thirty seven
in his.
Speaker 3 (29:28):
First three years. Brown offered him a contract extension.
Speaker 4 (29:31):
Price is right.
Speaker 9 (29:32):
Bob Zach stinks, Toven sucks. Mike makes me want to hurl.
But go Burrow, go Bangles, Who da get better?
Speaker 3 (29:38):
Tony? There you go? I mean that's how he feels.
Speaker 13 (29:41):
So the one hundred talented BYU fans that had a
knack for recruiting AKA would be in the parking lot
at the UC game trying to convert UC fans to
BYU fans because they Mormons go door to door trying
(30:02):
to convert people and they have a knack for recruiting.
Speaker 14 (30:07):
Oh never mind, Oh okay, repping the city out here,
Sonny hot z on and what upie?
Speaker 3 (30:14):
See you riding the ship solo today? That's okay.
Speaker 14 (30:16):
The show is still on point and fire us always.
The Cats won last night. I mean a good rebound win.
A win is a win. But you know, I want
to see them set up their shots a little bit better.
They just run down the quarter to shoot up too
many threes. I'm starting not to like that. Oh you
know what, the return of JB nine, I'm feeling it.
I was against it, but now I love it. The
(30:37):
heart of a competitor. That's a true beast of a quarterback.
We got go get them all right, thank you one
time for a double oh for the keys to victory
for Thursday night. First of all, we have to run
the ball consistently and stay with the run, especially if
it's working. Second, Burrow, can you manage the offensive line correctly?
I mean, I know this is your first game back,
(30:57):
but can you pick up the rhythm that you had?
Chase is gonna be double in bracketed, so I'm looking
for fat Gooseki to step up and.
Speaker 3 (31:03):
On defense contain Lamar.
Speaker 14 (31:05):
Don't let her rush out the pocket, giving way to
apply pressure and wrap up and tackle.
Speaker 15 (31:12):
There you go, the top three things that Jamar Chase
did last weekend instead of playing football, attended sensitivity and
conflict resolution classes at Madam Fiefee's School of Etiquette, active
as a judge at Cheeks Gentlemen's Club for the Itty
Bitty Gritty Committee, met with architects and designers for plans
(31:36):
on his new sports club.
Speaker 2 (31:38):
Lougis all right, we'll talk a little bit about Jamar later.
He did issue an apology of sorts Hoodah Tom Turkey
chiming in there.
Speaker 16 (31:54):
With regards to the Ohio State game, I think Ohio
State's gonna win by two or more scores. I don't
care that they lost four in a row or whatever
it is. At one point, Ohio State won seventeen of
eighteen or something like that just before the four game
losing streaks, so you know, it's cyclical. I expect them
to fully dominate this game. And you know, the game
(32:14):
it kind of feel like it's lost its louster a
little bit. I mean, Ohio State lost it last year
and still won the national title, so you know whatever.
For regards to the Bengals and Ravens, you know.
Speaker 3 (32:22):
Whatever, Okay, thank you.
Speaker 2 (32:25):
I think the Ohio State Michigan game is just it's
all mental on the Ohio State side, and I think
part of it, like from the Michigan side as well.
And I think Joe Daneman was right, like Michigan does
not fear Ohio State and that's really the only team
they face all year that feels that way, and sometimes
that can make you clinch up a little bit in
(32:46):
certain parts of your body. And I think there is
a mental block with Michigan for Ohio State, and until
they get past it, I don't know. Hopefully last year
and everything that happened afterwards is enough to to kind
of carry through that and then be the release.
Speaker 5 (33:03):
Well, the last time I tuned in and Audie started
the show and said that Tony wasn't here, we heard
the terrible news that he had been let go. Fortunately
Tony's just sick, Yay, of course, I'm just kidding. Get
well soon, Tony, Tony.
Speaker 3 (33:21):
Alstad, what's going on? My man Lean and trunk Harte.
Speaker 4 (33:25):
I love Joey Deep, but he is crazy.
Speaker 15 (33:28):
Ryan Day better get the job done.
Speaker 14 (33:30):
And look, I kind of somewhat agree with him, you know,
because when it comes to this game, if it's close
in the fourth quarter, hey, it's going to get real.
Speaker 5 (33:38):
Spooky for os U's fans.
Speaker 15 (33:41):
But he gotta get it done.
Speaker 17 (33:43):
He gotta get it done.
Speaker 4 (33:45):
He cannot lose the Michigan for the fifth straight year.
Beat Michigan.
Speaker 3 (33:50):
Preach brother.
Speaker 2 (33:52):
I agree with you, hey often Marcos from the groove,
what up?
Speaker 18 (33:56):
I know we don't give this guy a time of
day on the show because of his horrible takes in general.
But I don't know if you saw Chris Canty's uh
oh I did about the Bengals still having a shot
to win the division and make the playoffs. You know me,
you ain't got to give me much to go on
(34:17):
about giving me hope.
Speaker 3 (34:19):
Yeah, I did, you know.
Speaker 2 (34:20):
I actually heard, to his credit, I heard two complimentary
things from Chris Canty today about the Bengals. The first was,
I think Evan Cohen was asking him, do you buy
into these teams? It was a list of teams and
he got to the Bengals, and I think Michelle Smallman
said no, and Chris Canty said, uh, it's it's possible.
(34:43):
With Joe Burrow like it's possible. And then, in a
separate part talking about the future of the AFC North
and who could win that division, Chris Canty doubled down
with Joe Burrow. The Bengals can win that division, So
maybe a changing of the tune there for all Chris Canty.
But you know, if we want to make fun of
him for all this stupid stuff he says, you know,
(35:05):
he at least was complimentary this time.
Speaker 3 (35:07):
Mike and independence here the borough thing. Think of it
this way.
Speaker 19 (35:13):
Let's say you're working in the warehouse and you break
your wrists at work, so you get back, you're ready
to come back to work, and they're like, no, no, no,
we don't want to risk of the rest of this year.
Numbers are down. Just take the ear off. We'll pay
you come back next year. It's not how it works.
It's good to play.
Speaker 3 (35:31):
Let's play correct a mundo, bro. Why do we do this?
Why do we keep doing this?
Speaker 20 (35:36):
We say every week before the game, all they lose
this one, this is a must win. If they lose
this one, they're done. We've done this for the last
three weeks, they've lost all three of them, and then
by Tuesday or Wednesday we're talking about all they could
be back in it if they do this. If they
do that, they have a less than one percent chance
to make the playoffs. Their minus ten thousand miss playoffs,
like let it go, it's over, Mike Good All.
Speaker 2 (36:00):
Right, man, I don't know what show you're listening to.
But at no point have I on this radio station
said that I believe the Bengals are good enough to
get to the playoffs. I will openly talk about the
possibilities and the facts and like what the probabilities are,
or if this happens, this happens, and this happens and
they get in. But I have said for over a
(36:20):
month now that the season is over and they will
not get to the playoffs. I have said on the
air I expect them to lose every single game the
rest of the way. Now with Joe Burrow, it's a
different team, and you wonder how it will be different
with him on the field. But no one is on
this radio station saying that the Bengals are going to
go win the AFC North and go deep into the playoffs. Technically, mathematically, factually,
(36:46):
it's still a possibility, and that possibility is alive, and
so you can't acknowledge that doesn't mean I believe it
or know that it's gonna do that it's tru or
that I believe that it's gonna happen. Just because you
acknowledge the possible and the realities does not mean that
you are preaching from the mountaintops that these things are
going to happen. But also there are varying members of
(37:09):
this audience that have different beliefs and different views and
different thoughts on the Bengals, on the sports world, on
all of it. Some people are overly optimistic, some people
are overly negative. It's my job to be able to
reach all those people, not just those who have given up.
That's that's kind of how this thing works.
Speaker 21 (37:30):
Hey, Audie, it's Chris and Alexandria. I liked your list
yesterday of all the potential candidates. Thank you and who
you thought fit. But the problem is the Bengals don't
bring in guys who have head coaching experience. True, they
sometimes bring in offensive or defensive coordinators. What qualified Zach
Taylor to be here? I mean he was a quarterbacks coach.
Who knows who they're going to bring in, who knows
(37:52):
who the better option is? I have no idea what
they're going to do. Probably just sit tight.
Speaker 2 (37:57):
Yeah, I think that's fair, Chris in your ex exactly right.
It just doesn't happen very often. All right, we'll take
a break.
Speaker 3 (38:03):
That was it.
Speaker 2 (38:04):
We'll come back with a football in the Natty. This
is ESPN fifteen thirty eight, The.
Speaker 1 (38:10):
Natty, brought to you in part by Bud Light and
by Oakley Greens on ESPN fifteen thirty the official home
of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Speaker 2 (38:21):
Welcome back in Tony Pikes since he three to sixty.
I'm Austin Elmore. We'll talk a little bit more about
the Bengals and the Ravens coming up an hour number three,
including what Zach Taylor had to say about Trey Hendrickson
that I find interesting. But I went and spliced together
all the questions and all the answers from Zach Taylor's
(38:44):
Monday press conference in which he was asked about quarterback
Joe Burrow. I think it's interesting the way he discusses it,
discusses his philosophy ahead of Thursday night's game. Here's the
Bengals head coach in his conversation with the media about
quarterback Joe Burrow in his potential return.
Speaker 22 (39:05):
I anticipate him playing, but we'll continue to work through
the week. I'm not going to declare that definitively work
through the week coming off an injuries, done everything he could.
He put himself in a position to do his best
to play yesterday, and we'll continue with that mindset. But
he looks like he's in good shape right now.
Speaker 8 (39:20):
He'd be ready to go.
Speaker 23 (39:21):
How much did you guys bait that into practice schedule
last week? No one be a limited week this week
to get Joe those reps last week?
Speaker 22 (39:28):
No, I mean really last week he just fell because
of it was it was easy for us to handle
because Joe Flacco has been limited in practice and so
his schedule had been conducive to Burrow coming in there
and taking all the snaps. So it didn't throw anything
off kilter because that had been our ro team previously.
He just took a bunch of reps that Jake Browning
had been taken when when Flaco goes out. So so
(39:49):
from that perspective, it worked out well. We're able to
balance that without disrupting anything. And now you'll go into
just walk through reps, which is really what we're doing
the next two days. So it's nothing physical, walk through
mental reps and gett everybody ready to go play.
Speaker 23 (40:02):
What's energy like around when you Joe is, you know,
when you know what he's going to be playing on Thursday,
and in that kind of game, in the kind of environment,
what does that do for the locker room?
Speaker 22 (40:09):
Well, I mean he's he's a great player, obviously, and
so it's exciting to have a back. I think our
energy has been really good. I don't feel like that's
been an issue for us, you know, and you see
the way the team fought there till the very end,
trying to trying to get stops in all three phases
and and score points on offense, and so these guys
fought tooth and nail, played with really good energy. Obviously,
when you got one of the greatest players in the
(40:29):
world coming back, that's that's another boost on top of that.
And so you know, when we do get Joe back,
it'll be exciting to watch him out there and play,
and I'm sure it's energy for for everybody involved at least.
Speaker 23 (40:40):
Look like first game back hasn't played in a few months.
What do you think that will look like?
Speaker 22 (40:44):
Difficult, difficult to predict. You know, it has been several months,
and so again I'm not going to make any predictions
on what it looks like, but again, he's he's put
himself in great shape. It's good to see him through
the progression that we've had over the last several weeks.
I think was it was a fair progression for him
to do this the on seven, do the eleven on eleven,
get your mind right, try to try to get ready
to play in a game, and then ultimately we'll we'll
(41:05):
wait and see where aliens. But I think it's been
a really good progression. It's been helpful for him and
done everything he can and we can to get him
ready to go playing a game with Burrow.
Speaker 3 (41:16):
He's just so good at off script plays.
Speaker 20 (41:18):
Do you try to whenever he comes back coaching out
of that or do you just have to let him play?
Speaker 22 (41:24):
It's a great question. There's a balance there of obviously
him coming off of injury. You want to be very
mindful of that, and that a lot of that will
be up to him as he as he feels his
pocket movement and his play style. Those are decisions that
that he's going to have to feel out as he
goes forward. And sure i'd love to say, you know,
let's let's be protective and and not put him in
(41:46):
an environment where that's going to happen. But you out
there in a football field, and that's that's the way
it's gonna take shape, especially on third downs, especially in
no in passing situations. That's a good defense. You know,
these guys will do a lot to disrupt you and
throw you off course in the skies and pressure from
different angles, and they got good players, and so you
can't it's the NFL. You can't go out there with
with kid gloves on and say we're never going to
(42:07):
let this happen. It's some things are gonna happen naturally,
and it'll be in his hands to take care of
it if he's out there.
Speaker 24 (42:13):
Over the last few months in the background, have you
made any tweaks kind of the Borough offense and the
idea of how things to live from Burrow comes back?
Speaker 22 (42:19):
Or is it just like yeah, I mean, like we
game plan for the teams we're playing against, and you know,
so a lot of times that's that's the forefront of it,
is how do we utilize our weapons and how do
we game plan against the team you know for all
the things they're showing us to keep them off off kilter.
So that's always what we balance and that's what we'll
(42:41):
continue to do as we move forward.
Speaker 18 (42:43):
As Joe Burrow articulated, why it's so important for him
to come back or is it just understood because it's job.
Speaker 22 (42:50):
Yeah, that is a great question that I'd rather him answer.
You know, I think when you get an opportunity to
talk to him, is he and I have had conversations
on everything leading up to these weeks, and so I'll
leave that to him to better answer.
Speaker 24 (43:04):
Did you guys talk much when he was like out out?
But what were the conversations like when he was still early?
Speaker 22 (43:10):
I mean, there was times I would catch him in
the weight room as he's going through his rehead progression.
So I don't I can to find a lot, but
we've certainly had several conversations throughout the weeks, and then
he started getting back into full blown meetings. You know,
as part of his limited he's in a boot, so
we're not asking to travel stairs all the time. And
then we got out of that. He became full time
back in meeting several weeks ago and he's been back
(43:33):
in the picture ever since. So he and I have
had a lot of dialogue, especially these last probably three weeks,
and a couple more before that when he first come
off the entry.
Speaker 2 (43:41):
Good stuff there from the Bengals head coach Zach Taylor
loved that question from Dan Horde about you know, has
Joe articulated why this is so important to him? And
Zach said, you have to talk to Joe. Well, Joe's
supposed to talk in just under an hour from right now.
We'll cover that for you live right here on ESPN
(44:01):
fifteen thirty. Jamar Chase slated to talk after that. We
will have it all covered for you right here on
the Home of the Bengals. This is ESPN fifteen thirty.
Speaker 1 (44:10):
You've been listening to Football in the NATI on ESPN
fifteen thirty, the official home of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Speaker 17 (44:22):
WCKY Cincinnati and iHeartRadio Station Guaranteed Human ESPN fifteen thirty
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Speaker 3 (44:33):
From the Baker Heating tempst Our Weather Center. Here's your forecast.
This report is sponsored by Taco Bell.
Speaker 17 (44:39):
Three sixty continues on ESPN fifteen thirty, Cincinnati Sports Station.
Speaker 2 (44:46):
Briefly wrapping up our number two here on Tony Pikes
since e three sixty ESPN fifteen thirty. For those of
you that geek out on uniform news like I do.
You might be wondering, well, what are these teams going
to be wearing on Thanksgiving Night? What's Cincinnati going to
be wearing, What's Baltimore going to be wearing. Well, the
(45:10):
Bengals are going to be going with their traditional road
white uniforms, white jerseys, white pants, black socks, and their
orange helmet. I think one of the best looks in football.
Baltimore is going to be going with their alternate purple
rising helmets, which are purple with a gold face mask
(45:32):
and the ugly looking raven bird on the side of
the head there. And they're going to have their purple
jerseys with the gold numerals, purple pants, purple socks, all
with the gold trim for Thanksgiving Night. Now, remember Bengals
have played there in the past. They've gone the darkness
thing where it's all black and blah blah blah blah blah. Well,
all purple up against all white with the Bengals orange
(45:55):
helmet for Thanksgiving Night football coming up, looking forward to it.
We'll have it for you right here on ESPN fifteen
thirty hour three. Coming up next on the Home of
the Bengals Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty
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