Bengals Game Plan with Dan Hoard and Dave Lapham -- 11/12/25

Dan and Lap are back off the Bye week and get you ready for Bengals Steelers on Sunday. You'll hear from Joe Burrow, Zac Taylor, Orlando Brown, Myles Murphy, and Ben Roethlisberger. They also talk with the voice of the Steelers Rob King and also talk about the legacy of Bob Trumpy.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
And awhere we go on a Wednesday night. This is
the Bengals Game Plan Show presented by bud Light, Easy
to Drink, Easy to Enjoy. I'm Dan Horde along with
Dave Lapham, and we are in the studio on a
Wednesday night. For the first time this year. We are
not going to have people bringing us food and drinks,
which we will miss. We will be back on the
road next week in Mason at the Dorothy Lane Market

(00:22):
with our special guest, Vinnie Ray. But we're in the
studio tonight. We're here until eight o'clock getting you ready
for the return to action for the Cincinnati Bengals after
their bye week and a very important game as it
turns out, against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Bengals are three
and six. They have a slim chance of making the postseason,
but that chance becomes a lot less slim if they

(00:47):
can win this week, they would be three and oh
in the AFC North, they would be two and oh
against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and there's the possibility that in
a matter of weeks they'll have Joe burrowback. So big
game coming up on Sunday at one o'clock.

Speaker 2 (00:59):
Lap Yeah, no question about it, Dan, I mean, you know,
you look at it back on December excuse me, October sixteenth,
they beat Pittsburgh in Cincinnati thirty three thirty one. If
they can pull it off, you know, less than a
month later, or just about a month later, November sixteenth
at Pittsburgh beat the Steelers twice in a month. Everybody

(01:21):
be happy about that. I mean, no easy task. It
took a lot to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers. The first time.
You know, you score thirty three points, you think you
know it's going to be a slam dunk. But Pittsburgh
they right there. It came down to the you know,
just a handful of plays, a big play here, a

(01:42):
big play there. Playing the Pittsburgh Steelers in Pittsburgh, and
they've got blood in their eye after losing a tough battle,
a tough contest thirty three to thirty one in Cincinnati.
They know, like you were saying, Dan, that the Bengals,
if they beat the Pittsburgh Steelers would be three and
zero in the division. Pittsburgh gonna have two losses. The
Bengals will have swept the Pittsburgh Steelers in a month.

(02:04):
I mean, that's that's no, that's no easy task, man.
That's a hell of an accomplishment. I mean, you got
to sit up and take notice of that after the
rest of the league and the opponents that the Bengals
are going to be playing on that schedule. So it is,
it's a it's a big game. It's a very important game.
Pittsburgh's you know, they've got designs on winning the division,
win the AFC North. Their their coach is a is

(02:27):
a machine in that regard. He just cranks out division titles. Uh.
If Mike Tomlin doesn't win a division title, it's almost
an upset, you know. It's like that's a given. How
far that's going to happen. How far into the playoffs
will this team advance? That's what the big question is.

Speaker 1 (02:45):
And not very far for the last decade or so.
But he's obviously had his moments in his long tenure
with the Pittsburgh Steelers. As we mentioned, the Bengals are
back from their bye week, and when they returned on Monday,
we got a big surprise. Joe Burrow back at practice,
admittedly on a limited basis, fifty seven days after the

(03:05):
toe injury, tearing ligaments at the base of his left toe.
We were told at the time the prognosis would be
a three month recovery, maybe could play again after three months.
He was practicing again in less than two months, running,
maybe not at full speed, but running at a fairly
regular clip, throwing the ball as if nothing had happened.

(03:27):
I gotta admit I was stunned when I got that
news that Joe Burrow was going to practice on Monday.

Speaker 2 (03:33):
That's a great word.

Speaker 3 (03:34):
I was too.

Speaker 2 (03:36):
I was absolutely floored. I was stunned. I couldn't believe it.
He has got tremendous recuperating power.

Speaker 1 (03:45):
No doubt. I mean, fortunately he keeps needing.

Speaker 2 (03:47):
Them, no question. That's the thing. Don't don't don't keep
challenging those recuperation powers, you know, I mean, let him
have a break. But you think, like you said, Dan,
tor a ligament in his toe, all right, So your
foot and your toe, your big toe basically takes the
brunt of the force when you're walking, standing anything, I mean,

(04:10):
you're gravity takes everything down to the big toe. And
and for him to be able to come back and
be doing what he's doing, uh, walking without a limp,
running like you said, Dan, without a limp. I mean,
he's he's he is remarkable. He is, he said, you know,
he had to take a couple of weeks to clear
his head. He had some bad thoughts. He had to

(04:30):
he had to get rid of those, and and then
that's that's he's a human being. I mean, he's not
a robot. He's a human being, and he has to
work through some things. And he did. He he had
his time to himself and and he uh, I'm sure
he wasn't pleasant to be around, fighting and fighting through
an injury again. But uh now, I mean to watch

(04:51):
him throw the football as a thing of beauty. It
always has been, always will be, in my opinion, the
best I've ever seen throwing the football. He has such
a beautiful throwing motion, and I mean it's it's poetic,
it's artistic. He just his release point is so consistent,
never deviates. He's like a machine. It's almost like, you know,

(05:13):
you see these pitching machines that release the ball at
the same spot, every point of release, every single time.
It's it's remarkable to watch him throw the football and
to see it come off his hand the exact same
RPMs tight spiral. Wherever he wants to put it, He's
going to put it there. And no matter how many

(05:33):
yards down the field, ten, twenty, thirty, forty, whatever it is.
If he has to put it on your right shoulder,
put it on your right shoulder, if you have to
put it on your left hip, and put it on
your left hip, and put it on your right knee's
going to put it on your right knee. He is
remarkable in his accuracy and the way he can throw
the football.

Speaker 1 (05:51):
The Bengals had a very limited practice on Monday. They
had a more regular practice today.

Speaker 3 (05:55):
Now.

Speaker 1 (05:55):
Joe Flacco is still nursing a sore right shoulder, so
he did not throw much day or today. Jake Browning
has been taking the number one reps at quarterback as
Joe Burrow practices on a limited basis, But Joe is
getting some of those snaps. His teammates are obviously thrilled
to see him back out there. Let's hear from left
tackle Orlando Brown Junior on Joe Burrow's return to practice.

Speaker 4 (06:18):
Really good to see. You know how far he's come
in his recovery and rehab.

Speaker 5 (06:21):
Man.

Speaker 4 (06:22):
You know, everybody knows how much of a competitor he is,
how much.

Speaker 5 (06:25):
He loves it.

Speaker 2 (06:26):
But yeah, man, it's good to see him out there.

Speaker 1 (06:28):
It's been fifty seven days, I mean, not very long
for him to be out there, you know, running around
throwing the football. I guess that speaks to his quick
healing abilities.

Speaker 4 (06:38):
Yeah, he's like wolverine man. I mean, this is a
guy that all he doesn't love football, He's gonna figure
out a way to get healthy. You know, he's been
able to rehab and come back from a lot of
different injuries and crazy freak stuff.

Speaker 2 (06:49):
But he was made for man.

Speaker 4 (06:51):
And you know, it's unfortunate what happened to him earlier
this year in Jacksonville, but I mean I wouldn't be
surprised he'd come back even stronger.

Speaker 1 (06:58):
So after that first practice Monday, Joe Burrow did a
news conference, and maybe the thing that I heard him
say that was most encouraging, at least to my ears,
was that this injury didn't affect him as much as
the previous two. It's much quicker to come back, much
less strenuous. It was easy to you know, keep his
body in good shape as opposed to the knee injury

(07:19):
and the wrist injury.

Speaker 2 (07:21):
And that's the thing that strikes me when I see
Joe Burrow now you know, you don't see him for
a little while, and see how heart he's been lifting,
how hard he's been working out. Oh my gosh, man.
I mean he's got some additional muscle mass on that
body now. I mean his quads, hamstrings, calves are strong.
I mean his legs look bigger and thicker, not in

(07:41):
a negative way, just stronger. I mean it looks like
there's there's much more to them, you know. And then
also he's been working his upper body, you know, and
his chest. You know, you can see some definition to pectorals,
deltoys and shoulders. I mean, his biceps try something. I mean,
he's an anatomy chart. I mean, Joe, he's been working hard,
he really has been. And you know, Joey Boss and

(08:05):
everybody in the strength and strength area for the Cincinnati
Bengals in the weight room, they've done a hell of
a job working with Joe Burrow. And and Joe is,
as we know, uber competitive. And when he sets his
mind to something, you know, if he wants to put
on X number of pounds, he's going to do it
with good diet and good great exercise. I mean, if

(08:28):
he wants to, uh, you know, be able to throw
the football in a certain time frame X number of
days down the road and have full movement, it's going
to allow him to do so to be able to
throw the football, He's going to get it done. He's
going to put the days circle of days on the
calendar how many days it's going to take for him
to do that and cross him off one day at

(08:48):
a time, and uh, you know, I know Joey bo
staying and talking with him, he said he's one of
the most unbelievable players to work with from a rehab standpoint,
because I mean the sky limit. It's like, you know,
Joe's like, don't baby me. Let let's get after this.
And you know, I want to get back sooner rather
than later later. I don't want to be out a month.

(09:10):
I don't want to be out, you know, four or
five weeks. I don't want that. I want to be
back in half that time. And that's kind of where
his mindset is.

Speaker 1 (09:19):
So let's talk about the practicality of a Joe Burrow return.
When he came back to practice on Monday, it opened
a twenty one day window the Bengals essentially have three
weeks to decide bring him back, put him on the roster,
or shut him down for the rest of the year
when he suffered the injury. Just looking at the three
month window, we circled December twenty first as the game

(09:42):
where Joe Burrow theoretically would be able to come back.
That would be the Miami game with three games to go.
Joe made it pretty clear the other day he's thinking
three games sooner than that. So it won't be this
week against the Steelers. We can rule that out, right.
I think we can probably rule next week out against
the Patriots. But the game after that is Thanksgiving Night
against Baltimore. He was asked point blank, is that the

(10:05):
game you have targeted? And he kind of smiled. He
didn't say yes or no, but kind of had the
impus grin as if to say, that's the one I'm
thinking about again. That would be basically a month sooner
than originally conceived.

Speaker 2 (10:21):
That's amazing, and and I think I think that's his target,
that's what he's shooting for, and the networks are behind
him a hundred thousand percent.

Speaker 1 (10:29):
I meant that right Thanksgiving Night. Yeah, the return of
Joe Burrow, if you could do it.

Speaker 2 (10:32):
Thanksgving night on NBC with our buddy Mike Rico and
our good friend Chris Collinsworth. I mean, that would be
that would be an amazing accomplishment. And you know it's
Joe would in typical Joe Borrow fashion. I want the
world to see my comeback. I don't just want it
to be the fans right here in Cincinnati, they're going
to see if they're going to know they've they're they've

(10:53):
They're following it on a day to day basis a
little bit more closely than others are football fans around
the world world. I'm gonna show him and and I'm
gonna play well and uh and I'm gonna I'm gonna
get after it. And Lamar Jackson a great player, Baltimore
Ravens great great defense. Uh, but I'm gonna I'm gonna
get it done. And he has played well against the

(11:15):
Baltimore Ravens. The Baltimore Ravens have unbelievable amount of respect
for Joe Burrow, his talents, his abilities, his competitive nature.
They they think Joe Burrow is is as good as
there is in the National Football League.

Speaker 1 (11:31):
The other question, though, obviously, is should he come back
if the games don't mean much? If the Bengals are
unsuccessful this week and unsuccessful next week against the Patriots,
is it even worth Joe Burrow coming back this year?
I asked him on Monday, Joe, are you determined to
play this year when you're ready? And will the Bengals

(11:51):
record matter?

Speaker 6 (11:53):
Here was his answer, Still sale these next couple of
weeks ago, and there's a lot that goes into it, said,
There's a lot of variables that you have to consider.

Speaker 5 (12:02):
And we're just gonna see how these next couple of
weeks ago. See, it feels we have.

Speaker 6 (12:06):
Twenty one days to to figure that out. Could be early,
could be late in that window. Uh, you know, we're
still we're still pretty early post surgery for this injury.
So we have a couple of weeks of practice to
figure that out and see where it goes.

Speaker 1 (12:22):
I don't know this for a fact, lap but my
guess is, even if the Bengals get crushed this week
and next week, Joe Burrow is going to want to
play this year, regardless of what's at stake.

Speaker 2 (12:36):
Could agree with you more agree with you one hundred
thousand Joe Burrow. You know, like like he has been saying,
I'm a football player. That's what my life is. That's
what I do, That's what I'm all about. That's that's
what makes my world go round. Uh. He thrives in
this kind of competitive environment. He misses it severely. I

(13:01):
don't think he feels, you know, like he's whole right now.
And I agree with you. I think I don't care
how many games there are to play. I guess if
it's one or two, they might think about trying to
talk him into shutting it down for the year and
really get after it. And I will say that in
talking to him, talking to him over to his locker
in the locker room today a little bit after practice,

(13:23):
and he is really looking forward to having a full
off season of being able to work out and work
out like he has been and even increase those workouts,
probably more of them at a higher level of intensity.
And he wants to play for a long time. He
wants to play for as many years as he can

(13:44):
possibly play. He loves the game. He loves his teammates,
he loves his coaches, he loves the Cincinnati Bengals, he
loves the fans. He loves everything about the National Football League.
In my mind, he's going to compete until the Good
Lord or somebody says you can anymore.

Speaker 1 (14:05):
It goes without saying medically, you have to know beyond
a shadow of a doubt that the toe is fine,
that playing is not going to cause you know, significant
risk to the toe, and he's got hardware in the
shoe to protect it more than you know a normal
person would have in their shoe. You've also got to
make it clear to Joe, Listen, you've got to protect

(14:26):
yourself a little bit more than you have. If these
games are not going to determine whether we're in the
postseason or not, then you got to throw it away.
You got to do whatever it takes to avoid not
hurting another body part. My initial thought all along has
been if the games are not important, I don't think
I would bring him back. I'm changing. I mean, if

(14:48):
he's able to come back with six games left, which
would be the case if he played against the Ravens,
even five or four records are at stake, His legacy
is at stake. He wants to show, oh, I'm not
perpetually injured. I'm back, I'm fine, I can build momentum
for next year. I think I'm inclined to letting him play.

Speaker 2 (15:08):
I agree with you, Dan, and you know, records at stake,
like you mentioned, not just his but his compatriot Jamar Chase.
I mean, he wants Joe Burrow throwing them the football.
He won the Triple Crown last year. Catch his yards
and touchdowns he wants to put up. He's putting up
great numbers this year again, but he wants to put
up crazy numbers like he did last year. And and

(15:30):
T Higgins wants Joe Burrow throwing in the football as well.
You know, why wouldn't you if you're if you're those guys.
Mikeasicki at the tight end position wants Joe Burrow throwing
them the football. Chase Brown out of the backfield wants
Joe Burrow throwing in the football again. It's because of
how he throws it, where he throws it. His accuracy

(15:54):
is beyond reproach. I mean, it's it's as good as
I've ever seen. And I'm talking to the history of
the National Football League. You know, I know Joe Montana
had a year we put up he completed over seventy
percent of his passes. You know, other quarterbacks have come
close to that or maybe even done it as well.
I'm not sure off the top of my head, but
I mean, Joe Burrow he wants to. He wants to

(16:18):
put numbers in a in a record book that will
never be approached by any other quarterback in the history
of the Cincinnati Bengals or the National Football League.

Speaker 1 (16:28):
All Right, we're gonna take a time out. One of
the things that I've heard, perhaps you will. You have
as well. Since Joe started practicing on Monday, we're fans saying,
why would you bring him back and put them behind
that offensive Well, well, don't look now, but that offensive
line is playing. Well. We're going to talk about that
when we continue. This is the Bengals Game Plan Show

(16:49):
are presented by bud Light. We're in the studio tonight
here on ESPN fifteen thirty, Dan Alladen, Dave Lap them
back kind The Bengals Game Plan Show, presented by bud Light,
Easy to drink, Easy to enjoy. Our producer tonight, Drew Wester, Heidi,
we appreciate you tuning in on this Wednesday night as
we get you set for the Bengals and Steelers we'll

(17:11):
talk to the voice of the Steelers, Rob King a
little bit later on the show. As I said before
the commercial break, the Bengals offensive line is playing well.
I know that that is shocking to hear for many,
but if you look back over the last four weeks
since Joe Flacco took over as the starting quarterback, he's
being sacked fewer than twice a game. The running game

(17:33):
is averaging five point five yards per carry. They're averaging
more than one hundred rushing yards per game. I asked
head coach Zach Taylor earlier today, is the offensive line
trending up?

Speaker 7 (17:46):
I think that they're trending out. You know, I've had
stability at center, in the two tackle spots, and then
you get the two young guards that are ascending and
learning a lot really fast. This is a huge challenge
for them. You know, this game, in a lot of
ways goes as go. It's a tremendous front group that
Pittsburgh has. They present a challenge every game you watch.

(18:07):
You know it a lot of times comes down to
the trenches. In this one and especially on the road,
silent cadence the advantages that that creates for them, and
so we have to do a great job. This is
they need to continue to trend upwards in a game
like this.

Speaker 1 (18:21):
That's what it's all about. Against the Pittsburgh Steelers with TJ.
Wattcam Heyword, Alex high Smith, Derek Carmon, Keanu Benton, and YadA, YadA, YadA.
You've got to play well up front to have a chance,
especially on the road.

Speaker 2 (18:35):
Right on Dan. I mean, you know, Zach was pretty
effusive in his praise for the offensive line, and that
kind of surprised I think probably a lot of people
listening to the presser and they were probably like, yeah, yeah, whatever, Zach.
You know, you don't know what you're talking about. My eyes,
I know what I'm looking at, and they're not playing
worth a damn. You know, they're terrible. Well, five point

(18:58):
five yards per care I don't care what level of
football you're playing, pee wee football, high school football, college football.
In the NFL, five point five yards of carry is
getting it done. I mean, if you're if you're picking
up half the necessary yards for a first down on
one carry of the football, you're in great shape. You
can run it again, you can play action pass, you

(19:21):
get the defense back on its heels. I mean, you're
you're winning the battle. You're winning what what you need
to do from a down and distance standpoint to win
football games. So, uh, they Joe Flacco feels pretty comfortable
about the way they're protecting him. He feels really good
about him and and uh and like we has said

(19:43):
more than once during the course of the show, he
does know when and how to get rid of the football.
I mean he's as good as there is, as good
as I've ever seen, you know, uh, anticipating pressure and
the ball is gone before any damage is done. He's
his completions percentages is at a very high level. So yeah,

(20:03):
I think as a group, the offensive line is playing
pretty well. I will say that I still think that
the problem area the Bengals old line is the guards.
You know, they need to really they're young, obviously, and
they're trying to work through and work around and work
with that youth and bring them along as quickly as

(20:23):
they possibly can. And they feel like there's going to
be dividends that will pay off for them if in fact,
you know, they stay with it and grind and keeps
on wood and hopefully stay in the playoff hunt and
work their way through it all.

Speaker 1 (20:40):
You've got a twenty two year old second year player
at right tackle. You've got rookies starting at left guard
and right guard. So it's a young group, but they
are getting better. Let's hear from left tackle Orlando Brown Junior.

Speaker 4 (20:53):
You know, our standard has risen is going to continue
to rise. We've only gotten better as time's gone.

Speaker 5 (20:59):
You know.

Speaker 4 (20:59):
I also want to commend the coaches too. I feel
like the way coach Taylor, pitch Scott Man, coach Hills,
coach Casey Hopefully I'm not forgetting you the position coaches, man,
they put us in great position, and the way that
they've they've been calling the game has allowed us to
flourish and allow guys to play with emotion and you know,

(21:20):
pound teams in the run game helped keep you know,
flack o'clean in the past game, man. But a lot
of that is just a collective effort, you know, office
a line play. You know, we could sit here and
talk about talent all day on line coaches, but to me,
it's a collective thing of receivers getting open, which requires
coach to call certain plays, you know what I mean,
and the rhythm of a game to go a certain way.

Speaker 1 (21:42):
The Bengals rushing attack was dreadful early this season. They
were having a hard time getting more than fifty five
rushing yards per game, and my mind instantly started to wonder, well,
I wonder about Scott Peters. Is he a good O
line coach, because so far the results have not been
very good. Good. Now I think it's clear it was

(22:02):
a matter of adjusting. His techniques are different from really
anything these guys have done before. Now we're starting to
see them get more and more comfortable gel and get better.

Speaker 2 (22:12):
And I can speak to how difficult that can be
as a having played the position offensive line position for
a decade in the NFL. When a guy like Scott
Peters comes in with kind of like revolutionary techniques and
fundamentals in terms of you know, arm length, you know, footwork,
everything that goes with the offensive line plays, it takes

(22:36):
you back a little bit. You know, It's like, this
is different than anything I've ever done at any level.
I mean he is. He is definitely teaching some new things,
and there's an adjustment period. I mean, it's going to
take a little while before the cohesion of everybody in
the offensive line takes place, and the more games they play,
the more snaps they get, the quicker that's going to happen.

(22:58):
And I do think that the one thing that I
know having talked to these guys is they believe in
Scott Peters and they believe in his techniques and his fundamentals.
They think in the long run that they're going to
be more productive utilizing what he's talking about. So that's
half the battle right there. If you're going into going

(23:21):
through practice every day and sitting in meetings like, oh,
you know, like this guy who Jez, who does he
think he is? He has no idea what the hell
he's talking about. It's just the opposite of that. These
guys think that this is like no one else is
doing this, no one else in the league is employing
the techniques and fundamentals that we're employing, and we think

(23:43):
that they're good. We think they're going to get a
leg up on people, and in a competitive environment like
the National Football League is that's what you're looking for.

Speaker 1 (23:51):
So the Bengals had a very successful offensive game plan
in the first meeting against Pittsburgh three games ago, four
hundred and seventy yards. They ran it well, threw it well.
And the thing they did more than anything else was
throw it to Jamar Chase. Twenty three pass attempt, sixteen catches,
one hundred and sixty one yards. The sixteen catches is
a Bengals single game record. Can't do that again, can they.

(24:14):
I mean, Pittsburgh, I'd be stunned if they don't double
team them on every snap.

Speaker 2 (24:19):
I was stunned that they've let him get twenty three
during that game. I mean I really was. I was like,
all right, now they're gonna have to adjust something. They're
gonna have to. I mean, twenty three targets, sixteen catches,
one hundred and sixty plus yards. Man, that's that is
carving it up. That's getting it done. So I mean,

(24:40):
in my mind, I've got it. If I'm Dan Pitcher,
I'm gonna say yeah, like you're talking about Dan, Pittsburgh's
gonna handle things differently with Jamar Chase. Come on, T Higgins,
here we go. We've got all of this installed few
this week's game playing against the Pittsburgh Steelers. If they
start paying all the attention again that they he paid

(25:01):
to Jamarch or that they should have paid to Jamar Chase,
we're going to you. You know, you can have yourself
a big day, and he's more than capable of it.
I mean, T Higgins has had big games as well
as we all know as a Cincinnati Bengal. T Higgins
is long, he's strong, tall, he's got leverage, he plays

(25:21):
with physicality, He's a smart football player. He reads coverages exceptionally. Well,
he's on the same page. That's the thing when you
hear Joe Burrow talk about his relationship with Jamar Chase
and T Higgins, they are on the same page every
single snap when they're surveying the football field, specifically coverages.

(25:43):
There's no mistake being made. I mean they're on the
same page executing at the highest level possible.

Speaker 1 (25:49):
And Flaccos seem to develop that pretty quickly as well.

Speaker 2 (25:52):
I agree. I think these guys are you know, they
realize we can we can run around all day long
like fools out there and be wide open and have
our hand up in the air, and you know a
guy can't throw us to football doesn't mean a hell
of beans, man, you know. I mean it's like we're
just wasting our time. We're just whistling in the dark. Well,

(26:14):
the Joe's Joe Burrow and Joe Flacco. The Joe's we're
going to get him the football, and they're going to
get him the football in good spots where they can
do damage after they get that football, and they're going
to be targeted a bunch. I mean, those two are
going to get the most opportunities of any wide receiver
in the game for the Cincinnati Bengals, and maybe of
any wide receiver in the National Football League.

Speaker 1 (26:37):
We're going to take a time out when we come back.
The Bengals won the first meeting this year, they won
the last meeting in Pittsburgh last year, so they've won
two in a row. But a Steelers legend says Flacco
and the Bengals have no chance this week. We'll hear
from him when we continue. This is the Bengals Game
Plan Show presented by bud Light on ESPN fifteen to thirty.

(27:06):
Back to the Bengals Game Plan Show presented by bud
Light to enjoy here on ESPN fifteen thirty, Dan Horde
and Dave Lapham within the studio tonight. We'll be back
on the road next night at the Dorothy Lane Market
in Mason, and we'll be on the Road this Friday
afternoon for the Bengals pep Rally Show from two thirty
to five thirty at the on the Rhine Eatery, the
food hall above the downtown Kroger on Court and Walnut.

(27:28):
Our special guest in the final hour of Friday show
will be Bengals kicker Evan McPherson, who made a game
winning new goal with seven seconds to go in the
first meeting between these two teams this year. So that
game was about a month ago. The Steelers were four
and one at the time. They were a significant favorite
going into the game. A Pittsburgh talk show host was

(27:49):
so confident going into the game that he said, if
the Steelers lose, I will have my nipples pierced with
no numbing agent. Who geez, that is scheduled to happen.
He's not backing down. He is going to apparently have
that done. Well, you would think Pittsburgh folks would learn
their lesson. Well, Big Ben Roethlisberger isn't promising to do

(28:12):
anything crazy, but he is just as confident as that
talk show host was a month ago and thinking that
Pittsburgh is going to win this week. Joe Flacco is
great in the first game, three hundred and forty two yards,
three touchdowns, no picks. But Big Ben says there's no
way that Flacco can do it again. Here is Roethlisberger

(28:32):
on his podcast.

Speaker 8 (28:35):
Zero I'm not I can't say zero.

Speaker 2 (28:36):
That's awful.

Speaker 8 (28:37):
There's a four and a half percent chance that Joe
Flacco goes out and does what he did last week
to us four and a half.

Speaker 2 (28:43):
They think four and a half. That's it.

Speaker 5 (28:45):
I see when you start talking, he starts.

Speaker 8 (28:48):
Not going to happen. After sure, it won't happen here
that our d line is going to jump the count
we're going to get We're gonna be all over it.
There's gonna be some turnovers this week on defense is
gonna get turnovers. It will not happen this week. And
this is going we're gonna I'm marketing now right now.
I actually I have a w on him, sticking with him. WW.

(29:10):
I agree, it's not happened. We might win by we
might win by by fifteen plus.

Speaker 1 (29:18):
I have never wanted to shut up a man more
than big Ben Roethlisberger. Now he makes some good points.
The Steelers are tied for second in the NFL in
sacks their third in takeaways. Their defense does come up
with big plays, but they can't stop the passing game.
Teams are averaging about two hundred and seventy passing yards
per game against Pittsburgh. They're dead last in passing yards allowed.

Speaker 2 (29:41):
That's crazy when you think about it and you look
at it. They have sixteen takeaways on the season. I mean,
that's a significant number. They It is a typical Pittsburgh
Steeler defense in that they do look to take the
ball away. They do want to end possessions without an
and uh and and get short fields and and help

(30:04):
their offense that way. It's their pass rush is is significant.
Cameron Heywood is a man, There's no no question about that.

Speaker 5 (30:14):
T J.

Speaker 2 (30:14):
Watt is a beast. Uh. They they can they can
bring it. And Terah Austin does a good job of
putting together blitz packages and and uh he has every
blitz package known to man. And he'll bring everybody uh
and and test you, test your rules, test your protection schematics.
He is as good as there is in the league

(30:36):
in that regard. So it's not gonna be a walk
in the park. It's not gonna be easy. But the
Bengals they are going to have to protect Joe Flacco.
I'm not saying that Joe Flacco is going to put
up the numbers again that he put up against the
Pittsburgh Steels.

Speaker 1 (30:49):
Probably won't, right.

Speaker 2 (30:50):
I mean, if he does, I mean that would be
to me a major upset.

Speaker 1 (30:54):
But Ben, I'd love it, big Ben.

Speaker 2 (30:58):
But that that would be, uh, that would be pretty
pretty incredible, particularly on the road. You know, to go
to Pittsburgh and do that after it's already happened once
and you give you know, Terry Aston and Mike Tomlin
time to dissect what happened, why it happened, look at
the tape or the game film and and see why

(31:19):
things went on the way they did. So, Uh, it's
gonna be it's gonna be an interesting, interesting battle, interesting matchup,
and I you know, the quarterback play is going to
be huge and determine the outcome of the football game.
That's the most important position in all of sports, not
just in all of football, but all sports. And uh,

(31:39):
usually uh games are won and lost by how the
quarterback performs.

Speaker 1 (31:45):
Zach Taylor has faced the Pittsburgh Steelers thirteen times. It's
basically even Pittsburgh's won seven. Cincinnati's won six, so a
game under five hundred against Pittsburgh. But from facing this
team twice a year, he knows how to attack that defense.
And it begins with getting rid of the ball quickly.
I mean against that front, if you are holding on

(32:06):
to it for a long period of time, they will
get home. There will be force fumbles, there'll be tips
by Cameron Hayward, they get picked off. You've got to
have a plan to get rid of the ball quickly
against that defense.

Speaker 2 (32:17):
You've got to Dan, you're exactly right. I mean, you
know what you're talking about. You've been around football a
long time. You understand the game of football. It would
be good too to get some kind of a running game.

Speaker 1 (32:27):
Going absolutely, and they did in Game one.

Speaker 2 (32:29):
They did, and I think that was the biggest reason
for their success, if I had to pick one reason.
The biggest reason the Bengals won that first game sound
running game, and they hurt the Pittsburgh Steelers. I think
they surprised them. I think they really did, and I
don't think they're going to surprise them this time. There's

(32:50):
no element of surprise to factor in this football game.
I think the Bengals know what the Pittsburgh Steelers are
going to be all about, and the Pittsburgh's feelers know
what the Cincinnati Bengals are going to be all about.
So who is going to be man enough to win
their battles more than they lose them. I mean, it's
going to be an interesting war battle in the trenches,

(33:13):
and this is where games are won and lost, and
this one will be no exception.

Speaker 1 (33:18):
The Bengals traded away a good player during the bye week,
sending Logan Wilson to the Dallas Cowboys. That means that
linebacker position is all about the rookies Demetrius Knight and
Barrett Carter. Now we'll hear from Zach Taylor on that
topic when we continue. This is the Bengals Game Plan
Show presented by bud Light on ESPN fifteen thirty. We

(33:41):
are back in the Bengals Game Plan Show presented by
bud Light. Easy to drink, Easy to enjoy. The Bengals
getting set to travel to Pittsburgh on Saturday. They'll meet
the Steelers on Sunday at one o'clock and they will
not have Logan Wilson in uniform. The six year pro
traded to the Dallas Cowboys during the bye week. He
had requested a trade after being benched, and the Bengals

(34:01):
granted him his wish in exchange for a late draft pick.
So it's the rookies gig now they had been starting anyway,
Demetrius Knight and Barret Carter. Here's Zach Taylor on those
two guys having all that responsibility now that Logan Wilson
is no longer around.

Speaker 7 (34:18):
Well, just keep keep gaining experience from the reps they're getting.
I don't think that the trade has anything to do
with that. You know their position and where they're at.
Just keep learning. They're going to make mistakes the times
they're sole to react to something. Let that be the
one time it happens, you know, and learn from that one,
put them behind you, and continue to grow. And I
expect both those guys continue to do that.

Speaker 1 (34:39):
Some positions are harder than others to play as a rookie.
How hard is linebacker?

Speaker 2 (34:44):
It can be difficult, you know. I mean, I think
in terms of overall defensive schematic, it's much tougher pass
coverage than it is stopping the run. You know, you
come downhill, you fill in a gap, you know, your
alignment is pretty standard, but a lot of coverages take linebacks,

(35:05):
particularly inside linebackers, and multiple drops, multiple different angles to
the drops, different responsibilities in coverage. And these NFL tight
ends are unbelievable receivers of the football. I mean, every
team in the NFL has at least one. Seems like
every team in the NFL has two tight ends that
are just really really gifted in terms of running good routes,

(35:31):
working findance openings and seams in the zones, beating linebackers
in man coverage with their foot speed. I mean, these linebacker,
these tight ends can run, and you have to be
able to run as a linebacker and be able to
change direction because the routes that they run are based
on being able to change direction quickly and create separation,

(35:54):
and you don't want to be left in the dust
if you're in coverage at the linebacker spot.

Speaker 1 (36:00):
Sure for the season, neither of these teams has run
the ball very well, but in the first meeting both did.
Cincinnati ran for one hundred and forty two yards, Pittsburgh
ran for one forty seven. The Bengals run defense hasn't
been very good this year. They're going to have to
play well to have a chance on Sunday.

Speaker 2 (36:20):
No doubt about it. I mean, you know, that's an incredible,
incredible stat right there. You don't find very many games
in today's National Football League where both teams rushed the
ball for over one hundred and forty yards in the
same game. It just doesn't happen. And both both teams

(36:40):
really really did a hell of a job controlling the
line of scrimmage, capturing the line of scrimmage, and the
backs ran hard. Running backs really took it to the
opposition defense as they loaded their pad level finished runs,
get yards after contact. It was just a job well
done by both offensive lines, tight ends, running backs or

(37:02):
blocking for other running backs. And they just the run
game was a big deal. And then once they get
that running game established, play action pass became an issue.
And we've talked about it already. I mean, Joe Flacco
made some big plays off of play action and Pittsburgh
did the same.

Speaker 1 (37:20):
Let's talk about some guys the Bengals aren't likely to
have on defense this week. Trey Hendrickson hasn't practiced. It
doesn't sound like there's much of a chance that he's
going to play. Shamar Stewart didn't practice today. He hurt
his knee in that Chicago game. I don't expect him
to play this week. So your best pass rusher and

(37:40):
the guy who has the potential to be the next
best pass rusher are both like to but likely to
be missing on Sunday.

Speaker 2 (37:47):
Yeah, that's a that's a blow. I mean, when you
when you're missing your edge pass rushers, that's where you
normally have the most damage is done on the edge.
Those are where your most gifted, allented athletes are. And uh,
it's t J. Slayton and b J Hill gonna have
to pick up the slack inside. You're gonna have to

(38:08):
get a better pass rush, a big push inside. Chris
Jenkins Junior is another one. McKinley Jackson is gonna have to,
you know, get get some snaps and be accountable. It's
it's gonna be, you know, an entire group. The pass
rush isn't gonna be just an individual, particularly with Trey
Hendrickson out of the mix. Trey Hendrickson is a is

(38:31):
a gifted and talented pass rusher. I mean, Trey Hendrickson
has six quarterbacks four quarterback sacks on the season. Osai
has three, b J Hill has two. You know you're
not gonna have Trey Hendrickson out there rushing the rushing
the quarterback. That's not including you know, hits and disruptions

(38:51):
of the football, tip passes, all that sort of thing.
You're gonna have to figure out a way as a
group to pressure the quarterback. And you know, not give
the Pittsburgh Steelers all day long to survey the field
and throw the football. If you do that with Aaron
Rodgers pulling the trigger, the future Hall of Famer, I mean,
he's the first ballot Hall of Famer. This guy is

(39:12):
the real deal. He's legit and he can hurt you,
and he can hurt you quickly. You can't let it happen.

Speaker 1 (39:18):
With Trey Hendrickson out. Miles Murphy has been getting a
much bigger opportunity. He's led the team in snaps among
defensive linemen each of the last two weeks. He was
just a couple of snaps away from leading three weeks
in a row for snaps among the d line. We'll
hear from him next and trying to get to the
quarterback more. This is the Bengals Game Plan Show presented

(39:39):
by Bud Light here on ESPN fifteen thirty Slapping the
ball Man back on the Bengals Game Plan show presented
by bud Light. Easy to Drink, Easy to Enjoy. It's
the Bengals against the first place Pittsburgh Steelers coming up
this Sunday at one o'clock. Pittsburgh's hold on first place

(39:59):
is drinking. Baltimore, with a three game winning streak, is
just a game behind the Pittsburgh Steelers. As we mentioned
prior to the commercial break, it doesn't look like Trey
Hendrickson will be able to play this week due to
a hip injury. Somebody's got to put some pressure on
the quarterback, and the Bengals would love for that somebody
to be former first round draft pick Miles Murphy. He's

(40:21):
got one and a half sacks this season. He's got
four and a half so far in his NFL career.
He's got the physical traits to be able to do it.
No big, long, strong, fast. That's why he was the
twenty eighth pick in the NFL draft in twenty twenty three.
But he obviously has not accumulated many sacks so far

(40:44):
in his NFL career. When you talk to Miles he's
a smart, cerebral guy. It's enjoyable to talk to him.
But I asked him this question earlier today. Would you
be better off thinking less, thinking less, excuse me, and
just pinning your ears back and going after the quarterback.

(41:04):
Here's what Miles had to say.

Speaker 9 (41:05):
Yeah, early on in my career, I admitted that I
think my rookie year in a little bit last year
where I was just thinking overthinking myself of second guests
and on some rushes, whether I should go inside or
outside or just power rush to the guy. But I
think now I've kind of develop a mindset of pick
one and go commit to it. That's the biggest thing.
That's a big thing. Tray said, you gotta just commit
to a rush. You can't if you go into a rush.

(41:28):
He says it all the time, you go. If you
go into a rust thinking about a counter, thinking about
a if this doesn't work, go to this, You're probably
not gonna win. So it just really just commit to
that one rush that for already thinking about or setting up.
So that's a big, big teaching point that I kind
of took into this year.

Speaker 1 (41:46):
All Right, Miles, let's see it. He played more than
fifty snaps last week. He played more than fifty snaps
the week before. He's probably going to be out there
for at least forty this week against the Steelers, maybe
more than fifty, again depending on how many offensive plays
to pitch Burg Steelers run. How about a couple of
sacks of Aaron Rodgers and start to look like the

(42:06):
guy that the Bengals thought was a top ten talent
in that twenty twenty three draft.

Speaker 2 (42:11):
Yeah, I mean, I remember when they got him at
twenty eight. They were like celebrating and you know, they
were popping champagne bottles. I mean, they thought he was
going to go in the top ten. And when you
look at him, he's a genetic marvel. I mean, he's
a phenomenon, really, but it has not translated into production
on the football field. Like you know, how many how

(42:35):
many snaps one hundred snaps, hundred pass rush opportunities in
the last couple of years, one and a half quarterback
sacks this year and fifty fifty chances to get after
the quarterback. I mean, that's that's a ratio. That's the
percentage that is sick. It's not it does not compute.
He's going to have to figure out what it is.

(42:58):
And I know the coaches have to be frustrated, the
organizations frustrated, the scouts are frustrated because it's not like
he's a guy that doesn't work hard and he doesn't care.
He's a guy that wants to do it. He wants
to be good. I mean, he's he's been raised right,
you know, he's a good family, and he's he's got

(43:19):
just about everything that you that you'd want. He's kind
of like the all American guy, you know, as a
football player, but it just has not has not panned
out on the football field. And sometimes, you know, I've
seen I've seen guys that don't look like football players
genetically body type. They look they look more like you know,

(43:42):
I don't know, snowmen or whatever, built built a little
bit bottom heavy instead of top heavy, but that they
can play football. And and uh, right now, Miles Murphy
has not shown that he's got the mentality to play football.

Speaker 1 (44:00):
My thought on Miles coming into the season was he
was one of the youngest guys in his draft class.
He's still only twenty three, and I was hoping, Okay,
maybe that's the reason he really hasn't you know, his
NFL career hasn't taken off to this point. But I
think halfway into his third NFL season, you're able to

(44:21):
make a pretty good judgment on who somebody is. Yeah,
he's still got half a season to change our minds,
but to this point, through two and a half years,
he does not look like a guy that they're going
to be able to rely on to consistently get after
the QB.

Speaker 2 (44:34):
I agree, Dan, I mean Dick Lebou had a term
of phraseology. You are what your numbers say you are,
and you know it doesn't matter how much potential, as
he would say potential that you may have. If you're
not putting the numbers up, you're you're not helping the
football team. It's I know it's it's going to be frustrating.

(44:57):
It's going to be frustrating to him because I know
it's fro frustrating to the coaches, to the general manager,
to the owner, to the entire organization. You know, when
you look at Miles Murphy in his locker in the
locker room, it's like that is what a football player
is supposed to look like. I mean, he is put
together and it's like man, how how the heck are

(45:20):
his numbers so paltry?

Speaker 1 (45:23):
The Bengals are looking for pass rush help anywhere they
can find it. They claimed the guy off waivers early
this week who had been drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles
this year, Antwine Powell Ryland. He's currently on the practice squad.
He led the NCAAA and sacks last year at Virginia Tech.
He had sixteen. He had nine and a half the
year before, sod twenty five and a half sacks. Over

(45:45):
the last two years. Good athlete ran a four six
nine fort He's got a thirty eight vertical leap. So
I couldn't wait to see this guy, thinking, all right,
maybe this is somebody. I'm not expecting a pro bowler,
but maybe this is somebody who can put a little
pressure on the quarterback down the road. Then I saw
him at practice last few days. He is really undersized.

(46:07):
I can see why he was not a high draft pick.
He's listed at six three, two fifty eight. I'm not
even sure he's that big.

Speaker 2 (46:14):
Yeah, yeah, he's probably closer to two fifty if that
six two, you know, maybe, I mean, yeah, it's you know,
you look at him and it's it's it's like I
remember Brad Kuzeno, Miam of Ohio had a million tackles, uh,

(46:35):
and he played nose tackle, and I mean he was unblockable.
The guy was so quick and so determined and tough
as nails, and you know, the double team on triple team,
and he fight like hell to make plays. But you know,
too small, too small to play in the defensive line
at all in the National Football League. And they tried

(46:56):
playing at linebacker, and he's a fish out of water.

Speaker 5 (46:58):
You know.

Speaker 2 (46:59):
So I guess this young man is in danger of
being a fish out of water as well.

Speaker 1 (47:05):
Yeah, there have been guys six three, two fifty eight
who have been good pass rushers. It's not impossible, right,
but it is unlikely, let's say at the NFL level. Yeah, yeah,
so you know, maybe Antoine Powell Island will prove me wrong.
But by initial impression just from eyeballing him, is that
I wish he were a couple of inches taller, about

(47:25):
twenty pounds heavier.

Speaker 2 (47:26):
Right, Yeah, I don't want to go yet, but yeah,
you know, give give him a chance.

Speaker 1 (47:33):
He'll get a chance.

Speaker 2 (47:34):
We'll get a chance.

Speaker 3 (47:34):
Yep.

Speaker 1 (47:35):
All right, We're going to take a time out, one
hour in the books, one hour to go. When we
come back, we'll get the skinny from Pittsburgh as we
will talk to the voice of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Rob King.
This is the Bengals Game Plan Show. We're presented by
bud Light here on ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 10 (47:54):
This is Bengals Game Plan presented by bud Light on
the first Star Logistics Bengals Radio Network. Brought to you
by bud Light, bud Light, Easy to Drink, Easy to Enjoy,
pay Corps. Pay cor is proud to be the official
HR software provider of US Cincinnati Bengals. Kettleing Health Best
Care for the Best Fans. Kettleing Health, Official healthcare provider

(48:16):
of the Cincinnati Bengals. Cincinnatis ESDN fifteen thirty, the official
home of the Bengals.

Speaker 1 (48:25):
HAP I'm in the studio tonight, getting you said for
the one hundred and thirteenth meeting between the Bengals and
the Steelers coming up on Sunday at one o'clock in Pittsburgh, Cincinnati,
looking for the sweep After winning Game one thirty three
thirty one. The Steelers, currently in first in the AFC North,
are five and a half point favorite. This Sunday time
for this week's Know the Faux segment as we get

(48:45):
the skinny on the Pittsburgh Steelers, and to do that
this week, we are delighted to be joined by the
voice of the Pittsburgh Steelers, my fellow alum of WTVHTV
in Syracuse, New York. We welcome in Rob king. How
you doing, Bud?

Speaker 5 (49:00):
I'm doing well.

Speaker 11 (49:01):
Every once in a while would get a piece of
mail addressed to you or Mike Turrico at the BA
and Syracuse even Steve Cipher's on a rare occasion.

Speaker 1 (49:11):
Now that is a who's who. Yeah, well, if you
got me checks, if you got any of my checks
and cash them, shame on you. But in any case,
let's get to this week's matchup between these two teams
that played a little less than a month ago, Cincinnati
winning a thriller at home. Going into that game at
the time, Rob, the Steelers were four and one. They

(49:32):
were riding a high at that point. They've gone one
in three since, mostly due to a tougher schedule, or
have there been other reasons why the Steelers have dropped
through out of the last four.

Speaker 5 (49:45):
Well, that's a great question. I think everyone is sort
of scratching their heads here.

Speaker 3 (49:49):
You know.

Speaker 5 (49:50):
It's it's one thing to say, hey, Thursday.

Speaker 11 (49:53):
Night AFC North opponent on the road. No AFC North
opponent is good Thursday night on the road in the division.

Speaker 5 (50:01):
It's just not every team's got a terrible record. Okay.

Speaker 11 (50:04):
So the Bengals were due for one day, their backs
to the wall. Fine, you come back, and you know,
there were times in the Bengals game early on, and
there were times in the Packers game the following game
for the Steelers when they were up sixteen to seven
at the half, when I thought that the Steelers.

Speaker 5 (50:22):
Might blow the opponent out.

Speaker 11 (50:24):
There was early on in that game I thought, man,
they've got the Bengals on the ropes. You know, a
knockout blow, you know, could be delivered here. Perhaps kind
of an odd thing to say now.

Speaker 5 (50:33):
That you know that.

Speaker 11 (50:34):
They put up thirty three points in that game. But
it was the same way with the Packers, and then
they just really so I don't know what to make
of it day, and they really played a poor game
in La no.

Speaker 5 (50:44):
Doubt about it.

Speaker 11 (50:45):
That was the worst game they played all year, without
any questions, you know, there were moments in the Bengals
game where I thought they were gonna win, and there
were moments, you know, they were leading the Packers game
going into the fourth quarter, and it just disintegrated in
the fourth quarter. So and they got to find a
way to possess the ball for longer and I think
can give their defense a rest. And I think that's

(51:06):
got to be the formula they try to follow against
the Bengals.

Speaker 5 (51:10):
Run the ball, control the clock.

Speaker 11 (51:11):
They ran the ball well against the Bengals first game,
didn't control the clock and ultimately didn't control the outcome.

Speaker 1 (51:18):
So Rob, just so you know, my broadcast partner Dave
Lapham is having a little bit of trouble with the
headphones here in the studios, so there may be a
little bit of overlap on the question. But I know
you have some questions in mind for Rob last.

Speaker 2 (51:31):
Yes I do, Rob. How you doing, sir, I'm glad
good dad. Are you timing your schedule to join us?
My man? Nobody knows as much about the Pittsburgh Steelers
as you do. What about the defensive side of the football.
I can vouch for how difficult that is to play
against the Pittsburgh Steelers because I did it for ten

(51:51):
years playing with the Cincinnati Bengals, and I mean that
defensive football team, the steel Curtain, Joe Green, Ernie Holmes,
I'll see Greenwood, I mean Dwight White, Jack Ham, Jack Lambert,
Andy Russell. I mean, my goodness, it was a lot
of work playing against the Pittsburgh Steels. You have to

(52:13):
bring your lunch pail. As they say, what about this
year's edition of the Pittsburgh Steelers defensive football team. Terrell
Austin is a highly acclaimed defensive coordinator. Are they playing
well for him?

Speaker 5 (52:27):
Oh, that's a good question.

Speaker 11 (52:28):
I mean, you know, they they have, and there's been
moments where they haven't. I mean clearly last week against
the Chargers, they didn't look great. Fourth quarter, actually the
second half against the Packers, they didn't look great. They
didn't look great against Cincinnati. I really think, Dave, I
really think more and more that the biggest issue is
that the Steelers are they just have too many three

(52:50):
and outs on defense. It has become much much harder
to be the kind of dominating defense the Steelers were
in the seventies. The NFL is constantly trying to change
was to favor the offense. Now we're seeing more running,
you know, more effective running games over the last couple
of years. Prior to that, it seemed like it had
become a passing lead regardless.

Speaker 5 (53:10):
You know, I think the NFL.

Speaker 11 (53:11):
Wants scoring, they want action, They legislate for that. Teams
are built to score points. The Bengals are built to
score points. You're not going to hold a lot of
teams down if you're out there again and again and again.
And the Steelers they just, you know, they didn't. They
were zero for nine on third down until they picked

(53:32):
up one late in the game.

Speaker 5 (53:33):
When the game was already out of hand. You can't
have that. You can't go oh for nine on third down.

Speaker 11 (53:38):
You can't go three and out, three and out, three
and out, three and out, as the Steelers did at
the end of last year.

Speaker 5 (53:44):
Remember they were ten and three last year, they won.

Speaker 11 (53:46):
That great shootout in Cincinnati, an exciting game, and then
they just started going three and out, and they've been
going three and out a lot lately, and it's just
it's very difficult. You're obviously giving the ball back to
the other team, you're not scoring points. You're asking a
lot of your defense I thought last week against the Chargers, the.

Speaker 5 (54:04):
Defense played pretty well for the most part. They really did.
I mean, you look up and you see twenty five points.

Speaker 11 (54:10):
I just think they began to run out of gas
as the game progressed. I think the Steelers that's why
I started talking about the running game with Dan. They
need to possess the football, they need to get first downs,
they need to maintain drives, and they need to have
that defense out less. When I think when the defense
is out less, the defense will be much much better

(54:32):
as it was for the four game stretch prior to
the loss in Cincinnati.

Speaker 1 (54:36):
Rob King, the voice of the Steelers, is our guest
looking at the injury report today. Darius Slay, one of
their starting corners, dealing with the concussion. Alex high Smith
has a pictorial injury. He didn't practice today. What are
the biggest injury concerns in your mind going into the
game and is there anybody that might be coming back
that we're not aware of.

Speaker 11 (54:56):
Well, I think the biggest one is Isaciamalo didn't play
last week and this year is at the same starting
line combination for the first eight games of the season.
They didn't have it in San Diego and Mike tom
Win assessed the guys who backed up, and that's Pete Anders,
Pete the veteran that left guard, and also Spencer Anderson.

(55:17):
But they really want he regarded them as a but
he called him above the line their performances. What they
really want to do, though, is Simalo is an excellent
player in his own right, made a Pro Bowl. But
last year, I believe and you know, they want to
be able to use the jumbo package with Spencer Anderson,
and so they've brought the run, that sixth offensive lineman

(55:37):
out there along with Darnett Washington, who forget what.

Speaker 5 (55:41):
He's listed at. I think he's listed to sixty five.

Speaker 11 (55:44):
Believe me when I tell you, when he steps on
a scale, the first number that's gonna pop up is
a three.

Speaker 5 (55:50):
He is a large, large man.

Speaker 11 (55:53):
So they you know, I think Samalo coming back will
be the biggest thing for them. Now again, if you're
out there defending all game long. Cole Holcomb has been
a fine piece at linebacker. If you're out there defending
as they did in the first game, I think they
lost the time in possession by eight and a half minutes.

Speaker 5 (56:10):
If you're out there that long again.

Speaker 11 (56:11):
Yeah, the loss of Cole Holcomb, possibly Darius Slay, those
are going to hurt the team. They did sign a
Sante Samuel to the practice squad. He was, as you know,
a very well regarded free agent, but then he needed,
you know, a fusion surgery on his neck.

Speaker 5 (56:26):
He's been cleared to.

Speaker 11 (56:27):
Play, clear to return, so I don't know whether he'll
be activated or whether he needs to get into football shape.
He's a possible guy, Dan that could be coming back
for him, But I think the biggest guy is Ciamalow.
But of course, any kind of you know, if you're
playing thirty five minutes on defense, any good solid players
for you that either are good depth pieces or starters

(56:48):
who aren't available, that would be a big blaw.

Speaker 2 (56:52):
Having played against the Pittsburgh Steelers for a decade as
a Cincinnati Bengal, I can tell you that usually these
games come down to line of scrimmage. You know, who
who is who is controlling and handling the temple of
the game, the flow of the game. Who's who's uh
capturing and controlling the line of scrimmage. You mentioned Cimalo already,

(57:16):
you know, questionable as a player in this football game.
How has the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive and defensive lines played
as of late. Are they doing a pretty good job
of getting after it and controlling the line of scrimmage
or they having issues?

Speaker 11 (57:33):
I think in particular day, the right side of the
offensive line has been singled after praise and seemalow. I
think Roderick Jones was you as a guy that was
playing pretty well, But keep up a couple of sacks
against San Diego. That's a good That's a very san.

Speaker 5 (57:47):
Diego right La La Chargers. Yeah, that is a very
good pass rushing charge.

Speaker 2 (57:53):
Yah.

Speaker 5 (57:54):
They have a lot of really good edge guys.

Speaker 11 (57:56):
The Steelers the first time around didn't outstanding job against
Trey Hendrickson. Trey Henderson single handedly wrecked the game at
Akracher Stadium last year. We have three sacks in that game.

Speaker 3 (58:06):
Yep.

Speaker 5 (58:07):
He's a dominant, dominant force.

Speaker 11 (58:09):
So the fact that they kept him off the board
was a positive. I think that we saw in the
last game Keanum Benton had a sack. He already has
four and a half when they've got Benton out there.
Hayward obviously, you guys know plenty about Cam Hayward and
Derek Harmon.

Speaker 5 (58:24):
The rookie first rounder.

Speaker 11 (58:26):
I think that defensive line has been quite good for
this Steelers and I think it's it's an arrow, pointing
upward kind of group. I mean, Cam Hayward continues to
defy father time. But those two young guys, Benton now
in his third year and Harmon in his first year,
have solidified the defensive line that was really an issue
last year. Now having said that, they cannot allow Chase

(58:48):
Brown to run wild, and I know that. You know,
the last game, Chase Brown was held in check and
he wasn't the only reason that they're scoring.

Speaker 5 (58:56):
A bunch of points with Cincinnati.

Speaker 11 (58:57):
But you guys, know, if the offense can dick take
to you what they want to do, if you can't
take something away, you know, it's hard enough to try
to take Higgins or Chase away, you've got your hands
full there. But now if the Bengals are running the
ball too, you got big problem. And we saw that
on a Thursday night when the students came in there.
They'd done a great job stopping to run in the
previous three games prior to that, and then Chase Brown,

(59:20):
you know, runs for one hundred and ten yards or
thereabouts against you and and.

Speaker 5 (59:25):
You know, that was a huge factor to me.

Speaker 11 (59:27):
So the students, I think the lines have have they've
largely been solid, and I think they will need to
be solid with Hendrickson and company. And they've got to
find a way to get more pressure on Joe Flacco
as well.

Speaker 1 (59:40):
You probably won't have to deal with Trey Hendrickson. I
think he's doubtful to play this week, So that will
be uh news that will be well received in the
offensive line, row will.

Speaker 11 (59:49):
Be yes, that will be huge. And then you know,
again with you guys right your way, you know, a sigh.
I've always thought he's a good player.

Speaker 5 (59:58):
And then you're waiting for you know, our.

Speaker 11 (59:59):
Miles Murphy and Stuart ready to make a name for
themselves because they'll have opportunities.

Speaker 5 (01:00:04):
It sounds like.

Speaker 1 (01:00:05):
Shamar Stewart might be out as well. But but hopefully
Miles Murphy has a great game. We're just talking about
that a little bit earlier.

Speaker 2 (01:00:14):
Yeah, we were hoping for his big breakout game coming
up for sure.

Speaker 1 (01:00:21):
Rob appreciate your time Palsee on Sunday in Pittsburgh.

Speaker 5 (01:00:23):
Hey look forward you guys, Thank you very much for
having me on Thanks Rob.

Speaker 1 (01:00:27):
That is Rob King, the voice of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
We'll take a time out when we come back. The
Bengals are obviously having their defensive struggles. It's a work
in progress. We're all hoping that it can get significantly better,
not only this year, but next year when they'll have
the opportunity for draft picks, free agents, et cetera. Just
how much better can it get in one year? We're

(01:00:49):
going to talk about that next. This is the Bengals
Game Plan Show presented by bud Light. Easy to drink,
easy to enjoy Here on ESPN fifteen thirty. Dan Horde,
Dave Lapham, and producer Drew Western Heidi with you tonight
on the Bengals Game Plan Show presented by bud Light.
At the Bengals and Steelers in Pittsburgh this Sunday had

(01:01:12):
won Pittsburgh favored by five and a half. So the
Bengals offense has been rolling of late. They're averaging more
than thirty two points a game since Joe Flacco took
over his starting quarterback four games ago. And really, if
you look at the offense, there aren't any glaring holes,
especially if you believe in the rookie guards who have
been playing pretty well of late. All of the key

(01:01:34):
players are signed beyond next year, so the Bengals should
be good on offense, especially knowing that Joe Burrow will
be back next season, so that means they should be
able to devote most of their resources to fixing the defense,
draft picks, free agent dollars, etc. I spoke to ESPN

(01:01:55):
fifteen thirty talk show host Tony Pike, former UC quarterbacker,
earlier today and ask Tony how much better the Bengals
defense can get in one offseason.

Speaker 12 (01:02:06):
If you look at the jump from twenty twenty to
twenty twenty one, it can get a lot better. You know,
this team is going to have money to spend, They're
gonna have resources, and you know who you.

Speaker 1 (01:02:15):
Are on offense, and that's the biggest thing.

Speaker 12 (01:02:17):
It's one thing to say, well, we got to attack all
these different positions and his old line still a question.
Right now? You feel great about the offense, you know,
going back to the second half of the Green Bay game,
I've felt great about the offense since then. What they
did against Pittsburgh, the game against the Jets, the Bears, offensively,
they're there. Number nine is going to be the quarterback
in the future. Number one is going to be here.

(01:02:39):
Number five is going to be here. And Chase Brown,
who got to take in a nice UC basketball game
against the Dayton Flyers. Chase Brown's going to be here.
And there are offensive coordinators and offenses around the NFL
that would line up around the block to have a
chance to have those playmakers as the root of their team.

(01:02:59):
As long as they're there, this team has a chance
to win a Super Bowl. The defense doesn't have to
be a top ten defense. Can you get him to
the top fifteen or twenty in the NFL? And if so,
I think you're talking about a team that's right back
in contention.

Speaker 1 (01:03:12):
Well, let's hope Tony's right. As he mentioned, the Bengals
defense did take a significant jump from twenty twenty to
twenty twenty one. They signed one big ticket free agent,
Trey Hendrickson, right, best free agent signing in franchise history.
They signed Mike Hilton, They signed shabe O Woujie so
in addition to getting the one big stud, they signed

(01:03:34):
a couple of other players, and there are other players
as well who played very important roles in that team
getting to the Super Bowl.

Speaker 2 (01:03:41):
Yeah, I think that's the way they have to attack
it again, you know, not just the draft, but get
some quality free agents that can help you. And you
get Trey Henderson, and you get a couple of defensive
backs that end up starting, you know, at corner or
in nickel corner, and now you're your defense is much different.

(01:04:02):
I mean it's a different ballgame out there. So I think, yeah,
it'll be interesting to see how they how they do
attack the defensive football team. And you know they'll they'll
draft defensively as well, There's no question about that. They're
they're gonna, you know, have multiple draft picks competing at
the the in the defensive side of the football. I

(01:04:25):
still think that they will probably draft defensive lineman. That's
going to be their big their big focus, i'd.

Speaker 1 (01:04:32):
Like, but it doesn't have to be. I mean, they
need it badly, right, but there are needs pretty much
everywhere but linebacker. You see, the rookie linebackers are going
to be starting next year as well. So if there's
a great corner, a tremendous safety, yeah, obviously a great
defensive lineman, take the best guy, yeah, because you need
help at all of those spots.

Speaker 2 (01:04:51):
The one, the falls, the one, depending on where you
end up, because right now the Bengals are you know,
not going to be you know, we'll see, we'll see
where they are picking. But I do think, I do
think that the right at the gut, defensive line, linebacker, safety, Yep,

(01:05:13):
if you can address make sure that you're strong up
the interior of the defense. Uh, at any level of football,
you're gonna have a chance to compete and be successful
in the In the AFC North, that's very very much
the case. You have to be strong up the gut
and able to for your for you to be able

(01:05:33):
to take on these defenses and compete at a high level.

Speaker 1 (01:05:38):
After the money they've spent on Burrow, Chase, and Higgins,
there's only so much left for the next wave of
free agency. But fortunately, to their credit, they're still in
relatively good shape when it comes to the salary cap
and their ability to go out and add players on defense. Now,
that might prevent them from going out and getting another

(01:05:58):
Trey Hendrickson like play, but they're certainly going to be
add be able to add reasonably priced free agents with
a proven track record that can help this defense right away.

Speaker 2 (01:06:10):
Right and I remember Dick Lebo, the great defensive coordinator
for the Cincinnati Bengals and others in the National Football League,
talking about, Look, you know, every team needs a star,
and you know, we got a star, but we need
a bunch of pedestrians. We need a bunch of other
guys that are gonna go out there and do everything
they possibly can to help this football team win. They

(01:06:33):
have to be proud of the organization, proud to be
part of the organization. They have to listen to the coaches.
They have to listen to their teammates, their veteran teammates
that they are trying to help them get better. Listen
to the coaches the techniques and fundamentals that they're trying
to get across and teach, you know, these young football players.
And it's not impossible, you know, I remember him saying,

(01:06:55):
it's not impossible for the thirtieth ranked defensive football team
to move up to fifteen. It's going to be a challenge,
it's going to be a lot of work, but it's
not impossible. Well, you know, maybe from twenty five, twenty
twenty five to twenty twenty six, the Bengals can perform
that particular task.

Speaker 1 (01:07:13):
And let's hope some of the young guys that are
taking their lumps right now get much better over the
final eight games of this season. First and foremost Demetrius
Knight and Barrett Carter, but others Chris Jenkins, Miles Murphy, etc. Thankfully,
DJ Turner seems to have emerged as one of the
best cover corners in the NFL. If he can stay healthy,

(01:07:34):
you have your number one quote unquote shut down corner
under contract for the next few years.

Speaker 2 (01:07:39):
I agree. I think he's he's really good. I mean,
I think he's got a lot of ability. I think
he wants to be great. I think he takes coaching
exceptionally well. He's gifted. He's a very talented football player,
you know. I just like to see them get get
some more. The biggest the biggest problem that they're having.

(01:08:01):
It is not his biggest problem, because he's a hell
of a tackler, but the tackling, my god, the tackling
is embarrassing. It really is. I mean, that back end
has to be embarrassed. And I remember going to tape
and didn't have a good game, thinking, oh man, I'd
like to wear a bag over my head. I don't
want to face my teammates. You know the way Geno,

(01:08:23):
Stone and Jordan battle, and these guys are not tackling.
Take a page out of the book a DJ Turner.
I mean, he sticks, he sticks, gets his helmet across
the bow, you know, across the front of the defense
of the offensive player, slams his shoulder in there and
wraps his arms around them, wraps them up and takes
them to the ground.

Speaker 1 (01:08:43):
That's legal, I know.

Speaker 2 (01:08:45):
Yeah, thought is that rule be changed in the national
foot You can't actually wrap people up and take them
to the ground. I mean the tackling has been abysmal.
I mean for long stretch, long periods of time, and
you know, I know it's being worked on. I know

(01:09:06):
that the coaches and everybody in your organization knows it's
an issue that has to be addressed and hopefully it.

Speaker 1 (01:09:11):
Is all right. We are about ninety minutes into the show.
We really have not discussed Joe Flacco will do so next.
This is the Bengals Game Plan Show presented by bud
Light on the ESPN fifteen thirty. Welcome back to the
Bengals Game Plan Show presented by bud Light. Easy to

(01:09:32):
drink easy to enjoy. Joe Flacco did not practice today,
but I don't think there's any doubt that he's going
to be able to play on Sunday in Pittsburgh. If
you go back to the Bears game a couple of
weeks ago, is much more doubtful whether he would be
able to play in that game after he heard his
shoulder the game before. All he did was throw for
four hundred and seventy yards, four touchdowns and helped the

(01:09:53):
Bengals put forty two points on the board. The stuff
this guy is doing defies description. He's averaging more than
three under thirteen passing yards a game, eleven touchdown passes,
two interceptions. Here's what the Bengals have done in terms
of point totals since he's been their starting quarterback. Only
eighteen in the first game at Green Bay, but he

(01:10:13):
barely knew the offense at that point. Then thirty three
against Pittsburgh, then thirty eight against the Jets, then forty
two against the Bears, so it's gone up every game.
He's got a top forty two to keep that streak
alive this week, but that's one hundred and thirty one
points in four games, they're averaging thirty two point three
with Joe as the starting quarterback, and yet they've only
won one.

Speaker 2 (01:10:35):
That's almost inexcusable. I mean, it's mind boggling. It is
that you win one football game when you're scoring thirty three,
thirty eight, forty two points? What you only win one
of those football games? You beat Pittsburgh after when scoring
thirty three points, but then you go up to thirty
eight and loose to the Jets forty two and loose
to Chicago.

Speaker 1 (01:10:55):
Come on, six losses in the last year and a
half where they've scored thirty three or more.

Speaker 2 (01:11:01):
And that's nuts. Yeah, it is. It's it's symptomatic of
a problem. There's no question about that. I mean, it's
you have a defensive issue. You have multiple defensive issues,
and it it's been around for a while. I mean
it's like a it's like a virus that will not
go away. They can't find the proper medication to alleviate

(01:11:22):
the problem. Uh and and uh get that Uh get
that bug out of the system of of the Cincinnati Bengals. Man,
it's the defensive football team when when you look at
what the quarterbacks are doing. Uh, it's almost like and
I've seen this where defensive players feel like they have

(01:11:45):
to go apologize, Like we need to apologize to Boomer. Man,
I can't believe that we you know, we played like that.
We gotta go apologize to Carson Palmer. I mean, I
can't believe this guy's a gunslinger and we're just crapping
our britches out there. I mean we can you can't
get anything.

Speaker 1 (01:12:01):
You don't do it, but you feel it, right, you
feel like we have let those guys down because you
have That's just the.

Speaker 2 (01:12:08):
Absolutely, I mean, it's uh as uh as Dick Labo said.
You know, the eye and the sky don't lie when
you're when you put on the film. That's uh, that's
that's what you've done. That's that's your imprint for that
particular week on the National Football League. And right now, men,

(01:12:31):
we don't have many of you that are doing doing
a good enough job. You know, we can't. We can't
cut all of you. I'd be tempted to if we could,
but we can't. But man, we have to do something. Men,
this is unacceptable. I can remember Dick Labou having those, uh,
those type of conversations because you know, when you have
quarterbacks like Kenny Anderson, Boomers Ice and Carson Palmer. I mean,

(01:12:55):
you know, and now you're talking about you. You have
Joe Burrow and Joe Flacckel a one two punchs like that,
and you can't support their performances with solid enough defensive
efforts to win football games. Man, that's discouraging to say
the least of the fan base.

Speaker 1 (01:13:11):
It's the second matchup between the two forty something quarterbacks
Joe Flacco at forty years old Aaron Rodgers at forty one.
They both played well in the first meeting. Flacco three
hundred forty two passing yards, three tds, no picks. Rogers
only threw for two forty nine but four touchdowns. He
did throw a pair of interceptions in that game. The
Bengals got great offensive performances from just about everybody. Jamar

(01:13:34):
Cha sixteen catches, a team record one hundred and sixty
one yards, t Higgins six catches ninety six yards, and
the unselfish slide late in that game that led to
the game winning field goal by Money Mack. Chase Brown
had his only one hundred yard rushing performance so far
this season. We'll see if those guys can come through
in a big way again this Sunday at Akroschure Stadium.

(01:13:58):
We're going to take a time out. When we come back.
We are going to pay tribute to a Bengals legend
who passed away about a week and a half ago.
One of the greatest tight ends in franchise history, one
of the greatest broadcasters in NFL history, Bob Trumpy. That's
next on ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 5 (01:14:17):
Welcome back to Bengals game Play.

Speaker 1 (01:14:18):
The show was ented by Bud Light. On the morning
of the bengals last game against the Chicago Bears, we
learned that one of the Bengals all time greatest players
had passed away at the age of eighty Bob Trumpy. Lap.
You were Bob's teammate for four seasons at the beginning
of your NFL career. You've been his friend for more
than fifty years, and you followed his path by getting
into broadcasting after your playing career was finished. Describe Bob

(01:14:42):
Trumpy as a player, broadcaster, and friend.

Speaker 2 (01:14:47):
That's first of all, very saddened by the loss of
Bob Trumpy's When Trump passed away, I immediately thought of Pat,
his wife and his You know his sons. You know,
to lose lose your dad is always tough. So my
thoughts and prayers with the Trumpy family, no question about that.

(01:15:09):
But Trump was one of one man. You know, they
broke the mold. The Good Lord said, you know, we'll
have one Bob Trumpy and uh it will bless the
world with that, and then that'll be the end of that.
But but he he was unbelievably athletic for a big person.
I mean he had a huge frame on him. He
was at least six y five I think closer to

(01:15:32):
six six, broad shoulders, I mean big coat hanger shoulders
on him. It was it was amazing and you know,
just finally tuned athlete. He could run. For a guy
his size, he was probably i'd say four or five
worst case scenario, maybe sub four or five high four
fource and uh man, he could change direction. He wasn't

(01:15:55):
just a straight line speed guy. He could he could
change direction, and that let to him being able to
run really good routes. You know, he was an outstanding
route runner. And he'd get open for his quarterbacks. There's
no question. I mean they would look for Bob Trumpy.
He would. He would no matter where he was in
the progression, somehow they would look to find him if
they got in any kind of trouble or they feel

(01:16:17):
like the time was running out for them to deliver
the football accurately, and and he'd catch it. Man, he
had unbelievably, he had good size hands. He was went
to Illinois, one of the Illinois Utah I think with
the two schools he went to and played basketball while
I was Illinois, and I mean a really good basketball player,
good good, big hands on him. And you know he'd uh,

(01:16:41):
he'd squeeze the pig, put it away, couldn't knock it
out of there, and couldn't separate him from the football
once he got possession of it. Uh and uh and
you get everything he possibly could, and he would because
of that speed that he had. He'd fool defensive players
that hadn't played against him before. First time that any

(01:17:01):
the safeties worked against Bob Trump, he'd be like the
first thing they'd say. You'd remember reading about it and
hearing it after games. I can't believe that fast. I
mean a big man like that to have that kind
of speed, it really surprised me. I mean, he could
stretch the field like, you know, a good wide receiver.
And when when Isaac Curtis was with the team, with
his ability to stretch the football field and take coverage

(01:17:23):
with him, take more than one person with him, Trump
had a lot of field to work with and he
worked with it very well and he made made a
lot of big plays and had a lot of big
games for Cincinnati.

Speaker 1 (01:17:34):
How about it's a broadcaster, he was.

Speaker 2 (01:17:39):
Had the voice of God, man. I mean, that's the
first thing that you know comes to mind about Trump.
And uh, you know, he wasn't afraid to speak his mind,
you know. I mean he'd call a spade a spade,
and he felt like that was his his obligation in
the profession is to be you know, brutally honest and

(01:17:59):
and if feelings were hurt, he'd deal with that, you know.
And he dealt with that a lot during the course
of his of his career. But the thing I think
that people aren't is aware of about Trumpy. That dude, man,
he was a workaholic. He prepared, He watched unbelievable amounts

(01:18:19):
of tape, well back then sixteen millimeter film in the
big tins with a real to real projector that we
would watch watch game film on but he would watch
every single game. I mean if it was the third
game of the year. Not all that much tape although film,
although you know he'd watch pre season as well and
see the progression, the installation and the development of young

(01:18:41):
players and all that sort of thing. I think I
think Trump he would have been a hell of a
good coach. Honestly, I think he had a great mind
for football. He understood x's and o's as well or
better than anybody. But broadcasting Hall of Famer man can't
ask more than that.

Speaker 1 (01:19:00):
Each week on the pregame show, I do a fun
facts interview where we get to know the person under
the pads. Here's my conversation with the Bengals tight end
who helped change the game. Time for some fun facts
with one of the great players in Bengals history, a
four time Pro Bowl tight end and went on to
have a great career in broadcasting, the legendary Bob Trumpy,

(01:19:21):
greatest twelfth round draft pick in NFL history. I would say,
how did you learn that you were selected by the Bengals?
I remember was something bizarre.

Speaker 3 (01:19:31):
I was working as a bill collector for a beneficial
finance the address is six seven Hill Street. Don't tell
me how I remember that. It was in downtown Los
Angeles and my wife called me and said, you just
got drafted And I said that's impossible. I just got

(01:19:51):
out of the Navy. She said, no, no, no, by
some team in Cincinnati. Is that Ohio? And I said yeah.
She said it's the Cincinnati Beagles And I said, are
you kidding? She said no, I'm not kidding And I said,
how do you know that? He said, there's a telegram

(01:20:12):
here from Paul Brown the congratulations You've been drafted in
the twelfth round by the Cincinnati Bengals. And I said,
you're sure you're not kidding me. This is no joke.
She said yes, yes, aren't you excited? And I said
absolutely I am. And I walked into the boss of
beneficial finance at six oh seven Hill Street in downtown

(01:20:34):
Los Angeles and said I quit. I might mention. I
had no clue how they knew about me or what
the connection was between the Cincinnati Bengals and one kid
named Trumpy. And when I made the team, my wife
and I moved in an apartment on Dalworth Road, and
another person there was al Locasel with his wife, and

(01:20:56):
he was a director of player personnel. And we're sitting
down on the front stoop one night having a beer
and I said, hel, who's responsible for me being drafted?
He said me? And I said, what did you know
about me? Said? I saw you twice, once on the
beach in Daytona and once played for the University of

(01:21:17):
Utah against Houston, and I just wrote your name down
and kept tracking the draft twelfth round. Paul Brown says,
offense receiver, somebody with some speed. And he said, I'm
flipping through a spiral notebook and I get to the
t's and there's your name. Some total of the research
they did on me. That was it.

Speaker 1 (01:21:39):
When he said on the beach in Daytona, what was
he referring to?

Speaker 3 (01:21:42):
He was a scout for the San Diego Chargers. The
guy that owned the motel were four fraternity brothers and
I were staying for spring break. Was owned by a
guy named bud Asher. Bud Asher ran owned and coached
a minor league football team in Daytona Beach. We didn't
know that, just pure coincidence that we stopped there. A

(01:22:05):
guy comes up to me, some kid I had in
NOLAOI hooded sweatshirt on. He said, I understand your receiver
at the University of Illinois. I said yeah. This was
between my freshman and sophomore year. He said, I'm trying
to make this team. Would you mind catching some passes?

Speaker 1 (01:22:21):
Format?

Speaker 3 (01:22:22):
Oh, I don't mind at all, big wide, beach, beautiful shirt.
Get done. Go back up by the pool. And one
of my paternity brothers said, some guy was asking about you,
and I said, what do you mean asking about me? Well,
the quarterback was trying out, not me. He said, no,
he was asking who you were. And he had a

(01:22:42):
big ring on. It was al locusl.

Speaker 1 (01:22:46):
We're doing fun facts with Bob Trumpy. You used the
expression big receiver, tall and fast but not heavy. What
did you weigh when you first showed up at camp.

Speaker 3 (01:22:55):
To O eight legitimately, But I weighed in with a
ten pound weight towel on a shoe string underneath, so
I thought the first meeting. We had a meeting first,
as was always the case with Paul, and everybody was listening.
I was counting. I'm not joking. I was counting the

(01:23:15):
number of tight ends and the number of wide receivers.
And he went through the numbers as to what numbers
they were going to keep at what positions, and who
might that be? And I thought she was you know,
if I can be in both those lines, I got
a better chance to make the ball club. So the

(01:23:37):
first night I lost a roommate Wally's got he was
cut before the first practice. But I gained an idea
as to how I could be in both lines. And
the first year I weighed with that ten pound weight.
Now make the team. Last game of the season, we

(01:23:58):
played the New York Jets.

Speaker 5 (01:24:00):
Uh.

Speaker 3 (01:24:00):
They played what we referred to as an over defense.
The defensive end was on me. If we were left,
it was Verlin Biggs. If we were to the right, UH,
it was Jerry Philman. Biggs was too eighty. Philman was
two sixty five. And I weighed in that week at

(01:24:22):
one ninety six to myself. So game ends, we get
beat and Bill Walsh walks out to me on the
plane after the game. He said, man, you had a
tough day. I said, I can't block those guys, and
he said, well, is a technique And I said no,
I weigh one hundred ninety six pounds and he just
goes crazy.

Speaker 2 (01:24:39):
What why didn't you tell me you.

Speaker 3 (01:24:41):
Go no no, no, no, no no. And I said, you're
not listed at one ninety six, You're listed at to eighteen.
I said, well, I weighed in with a ten pound weight,
so for the next two years I had no weight naked,
but I made the team.

Speaker 1 (01:24:56):
We're doing fun Facts with Bob Trumpy. Describe your relationship
with Paul Brown.

Speaker 3 (01:25:02):
I think he treated us all exactly the same. Uh.
He was the boss. Uh. I don't ever remember him
give us a giving us a one one for the
gift or speech. I don't ever remember him out of
wearing a cussword. Uh. He treated me like everybody else.

(01:25:24):
I I was thankful for that. That's all I wanted.
Uh and uh. But he did invite me once to
a golf tournament up in Dayton, put on by a
friend of his. And when he called me, uh he
called my house. My wife answers, and I'm at work

(01:25:44):
at Pogues and Kenwood off season job, and my wife
calls me and says, uh, Paul Brown just called me.
He wants to talk to you. My first thought was Buffalo.
I'm going to Buffalo, And I quickly uh called and Mary,

(01:26:07):
who was going to turn out to be his future wife.
Answered the phone. She said, hold on just a minute.
Coach does want to talk to you. And he gets
on the phone and he says, my friend up in Dayton,
sy Lauder, has a golf tournament. I'd like to invite you.
It's called the Bogie Busters. And what it Bogie Busters?

(01:26:30):
You mean? No, no, Buffalo. I'm not going to Buffalo,
he said, no, just play GoF Okay, fine? So yeah, yeah.
As a player, I enjoyed the relationship uh Trump.

Speaker 1 (01:26:44):
As I mentioned at the beginning of the interview, after
your career, you went on to have a tremendous career
in broadcasting, got the opportunity to call Super Bowls and
so many other big events. What was more nerve wracking
for you? Playing in a big game or being behind
the mic at a Super Bowl.

Speaker 3 (01:27:00):
I never got the adrenaline rush broadcasting that I got playing,
and I've never found anything that matches that adrenaline rush.
I mean, I don't care if you're fifteen and one
or for US thirteen and one or one and thirteen.
The adrenaline rush you get before a football game, it's
just it's unmatched. So I was probably more nervous before

(01:27:26):
football games. You don't get the sense when you're broadcasting
that you might be talking to tens or hundreds of
millions of people. You got the guy sitting next to
you and I had some good ones. You're in this together.
You don't have to be perfect. Neither there that guy.
We help each other. But in football, I got a

(01:27:50):
job and if I don't do it, the play doesn't work.
It's not quite that way of broadcasting. It was much
easier to deal with the nervousness in broadcasting.

Speaker 1 (01:28:01):
That's going to do it For tonight's show. Join lapping
me on Friday from two thirty to five thirty for
the Bengals pep Rally Show live from the on the
Rhine Eatery in downtown Cincinnati. Now for Dave Lapham and
our producer Drew Wester Heidi, I'm Dan Hord. Thanks so
much for listening to the Bengals Game Plan Show presented
by bud Light here on ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 10 (01:28:24):
This was Bengals Game Plan presented by bud Light on
the Bengals Radio Network. Brought to you boy bud Light.
Bud Light, easy to drink, easy to enjoy, pay Corps.
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(01:28:47):
is ESPN fifteen thirty, the official home of the Cincinnati Bengals,