Bengals Booth Podcast: Crazy. But That's How It Goes

Hi again everybody. I'm Dan Horde and thanks for downloading The Bengals Booth Podcast. BA crazy, eh, but that's how it gos. Addition, as the Bengals commit four turnovers in fourteen penalties and still win comfortably at Tennessee, coming up radio replays, locker room comments and postgame analysis from Dave Lappham. Then in this week's fun Facts Conversation, you'll get to

In the half.

The Bengals have gone up by ten points and Levis under center again, turns around, fakes a hand off to Pollard, wants to throw, fires intercepted, Stone running it back. Gino's at the twenty five twenty battle in front to block. He's to the five to the goal line, touchdown Bengals. Geno Stone with a pick six and the Bengals have their fourth takeaway of the day. Rudolph catches the shotguns, hands it off the balls on the ground, but Pollard no I thought he recovered.

He did not.

It's being run back by Jorge down the sideline of the thirty. The twenty gets away from Rudolph, who touchdown. Wow, Bengals. Another defensive touchdown for Cincinnati. Has Pollard fumbled the ball, failed to scoop it up, and Battle ran it back for the score.

McKinley Jackson stripped it. McKinley Jackson got penetration and he stripped the thing and man once that thing was on the ground. Oh, he dropped, lost control of it before he crossed the goal line. He started a celebration. Ooh, he's at the half yard line. I'm not sure he crossed the goal line before that ball came out of his hands.

Ooh.

Seven catches for Oconquo. Rudolph will throw high pass baked off. The Bengals are running it back. This is Josh Newton and he goes down at the twenty eight yard line.

Wow.

Four interceptions for the Bengals today. Ten takeaways for the two defenses combined. Second down and ten at the eighteen of Cincinnati, the Bengals up by seventeen points. Rudolph to throw short pass of the middle, caught on the run. Tajy spears inside the five, spins away from Jordan Battle and runs into the end zone for a Tennessee touchdown. Third down and goal from the five for Row takes the snap, hands it off. Chase Brown lowers the shoulder pads,

Yeah, I was big playing the game. You know, I had faith and Sam to go make that play. He's got good hands and it's a play we've talked about. So I think that was a four down situation. That's why we ended up going with that one, and it felt good. Yeah. I mean I stayed in Sam's dorm on one of my first visits to to Ohio State. He's been part of part of my life for a long time. He's been a great friend, and you know, really a guy that you can look up to when

You know, a lot of it I got from Sam.

And you know, he's just a pros pro, has been for a long time, works really hard at it, plays great when he's in there. You just can't say enough good things about him.

Hubbard left the game shortly after that with a knee injury. He told reporters after the game that he'll get an MRI done to determine the severity. Jabar Chase finished with nine catches for ninety four yards and still leads the Triple Crown categories with one hundred two catches for one four hundred and thirteen yards and fifteen touchdowns. Then there's t Higgins from oak Ridge, Tennessee, about two and a half hours from Nashville. He had five catches for eighty

That's always fun coming back home, you know what I mean. Shoot, the past two times, you know I've been back and i'd have a good game, So you know, man, it's always fun coming to play back home and find the family from in front of friends and man, it's just, you know, I'm grateful for for everything.

Man.

Let's talk about the deep touchdown pass you caught from Joe. I don't know if he's seen a replay or anything yet, but he got flattened. He's on his back, he throws it up to you and the next thing we know, he's on his back giving the touchdown and signal because you made a play for him.

Yeah. Actually just saw that.

Man.

You know, he trusted me. You know, give me a ball. You'll go working on that in all weekend. You know, he trusted me, and you know I just came down and make it play.

Devin Cochrane started at left tackle today. He had one offensive snap in his NFL career prior to this. I thought he and the entire offensive line did.

A nice job.

Oh yeah, they did a hell of a job, you know, you know game and gave room for chasing run and you know, hass Off to down and haus Off to Chase Brown as well.

I never asked you this question. When you're playing on the road, wearing the helmet and all the noise you hear down on the field, can you hear the Bengals fans that travel and say tea every time you make a catch?

Oh yeah, you know, you know Cincinnati fans they travel, will you know what I mean?

Any in every.

Game and you know, and they.

Have that team.

You know, it's just a good filly, you know, I mean, especially back home.

Man.

It's like I feel like even NY fans with saying te just because I know I'm back home.

So it's been an interesting week beginning on Monday night, your quarterback publicly campaigning in hopes that you'll continue to be a Bengal going forward.

What has the week been like for you?

For me, it's just been folks on ball of trying to put my best foot forward to get a win.

Tea recently changed agents and now shares one with his running mate Jamar Chase. On defense, Mike Hilton had an interception and three tackles in the backfield. Tennessee was also the site of his huge playoff interception in the red zone in twenty twenty one. I talked to the Bengals fearless slot corner Mike Hilton. I thought you had one hell of a game today. You were in the backfield

You know, this is one of my better performances of the year. For some reason, when we come to Nashville, I feel like I always have some of my best games, and you know, I was just out there making plays for my team and trying to help us win.

Your timing was so good on some of your blitzes today. Did that have anything to do with Fastinger Brian Callahan coach team and kind of knowing what he likes to do offensively?

Yeah, really, that's just me doing what I do.

Best, you know, getting in the backfield time and know if this is making plays. I know I'm a guy that team's game playing for, so I know they kind of focus on me and I just try to keep my belts.

Four interceptions, six takeaways. The defenses obviously had some games they didn't go very well, but you made the plays today that helped Cincinnati overcome so turnovers and penalties.

Yeah, man, we haven't played to our standard throughout the year, but these last two games we've been playing well, uh, getting off the field, getting turnovers, and you know, we've been able to win a couple of games.

So we just gotta keep stacking.

And keep working. Gino still had a pick six, Jordan Maddele should have had a touchdown. You're shaking your head.

Man, disappointed? Man, that's you know, that was the moment he those type of guys live for, and he just gotta be smart and you know, taking them all through the end zone.

You know, it's easy for me to say, right, I always wonder why guys don't wait and told her like twill yards into the end zone before they start thinking about a celebration.

Yeah, you know, you you those chansus. You just try to take advantage of it and you celebrate a little prematurely and stuff like that happens.

You know.

Uh, he definitely feels bad for it, and everybody's been making them here, but we know next time, you know, he'll he'll take it all the way through.

Two wins down, you hope for three to go to keep her a playoff hopes alive. You got the first two done and now you got a chance with two home games coming up.

Yeah, you know we still we're still alive, you know, still fighting for our playoff lives. Man, he's last two Winston in Big fours. Man, you know we got a deep division games Sunday, so we got to prepare and then make sure we gonna go out.

Next Keu, congrats on the pick and the tackles for loss and most importantly to win.

Yes, sir, thank you.

I keep going.

Then there's Jordan Battle, who had ten tackles and should have had a touchdown, but after picking up a fumble and returning at sixty yards, he lost control of the ball at the one yard line. Battle insists it was not a premature celebration, just you know.

Trying to switch the ball on to my to my left man. Uh no, no, trying to intuitly drop the ball. I know that's what y'all want, oil, But I no, I did not. I did not intendinately drop the ball, just trying to switch it over to my opposite hand, you know.

I just you were not beginning a celebration.

No, never, I was just trying to cross the line and didn't celebrate. I was gonna celebrate regardless. But after I crossed the line, not before.

Did you know right away that you weren't in when it slipt out?

Yeah?

Yeah, if you.

I mean, I don't know if y'all saw, like if they can see it on the TV. But like if you saw like on like the Titans, the Titans big screen, you see me like telling I think Michael's right there, he's trying to celebrate me. I'm like, nah, nah, I think I just dropped the ball. So I'm not celebrating right now. We got the w and that's all I wanted. Man, So I'm excited. It's my birthday or my birthday weekend.

Uh with a W.

We got it.

You might have got a birthday gift, g I f because you lost the ball.

Yeah yeah, I might. I might have got a bunch of gifts.

I already know. I know they're coming at me, but I'm not looking.

I'm not looking.

I'm enjoying the win.

Hey, six takeaways for the defense.

Thank Yeah, Yeah, we love it. That's that's what we love to see, Cities takeaways. You know, obviously you've been selling you know, early season and mid season, but just to see the last two games, how he progress.

Hopefully we keep doing that, you know, these next.

Next three or three or three games? Yeah, next three game.

I hope we keep doing this next three games, you know, keep building and the season the right way.

Battle by the way, turn twenty four on Saturday. The win keeps the Bengals playoff hopes alive, as they pulled even with the Dolphins and Colts, who both lost on Sunday. All three teams are six and eight. Denver one to improve to nine to five, and the Chargers lost to fall to eight and six. So here's what has to happen for the Bengals to make it. They need to win their last three games and hope that Denver loses its last three or that the Chargers lose their last three.

On seven straight possessions after they scored their second touchdown, they went fumble interception, interception, three and out, pick six, fumble interception, seven straight possessions.

Are defense did a great job taking it off of them, you know. So you got to catch the ones that throw to you and find ways to create the fumbles the loose balls, and our guys did that and for the most part finished with them. You know, I know, we had the one that's unacceptable. We can't have the touchback. But my point is returned those for big gains, you know, and put us in really good field possessional offense.

The penalty is uncharacteristic. I think it ended up fourteen for one hundred and fourteen yards for the Bengals, in twelve for at least one hundred might might have been one hundred and twenty or one hundred and ten anyway for a Tennessee. So, I mean it was a strange game. Double digit turnovers and then both teams having double digit penalties with over one hundred yards apiece.

Yeah, a lot of those were embarrassing. You know, we can't have the procedural self that we had happened today that set us back and put you into second fifteen and the next thing, you know, it's the possessions dead. And so we got to be better. We pride ourselves on being great in that area, being best in the league, and today wasn't up to that.

Stow Devin cockran and I caught up with him as well. I mean I took my cap to the kid. I know, the first the first series maybe a little bit goosey, but I mean he settled down and I thought I thought he was very solid out there.

Yeah.

I thought he really calmed down as the game went on, and we tried to help him the best we could. But he did a good job. He's earned that opportunity and we had confidence in him. That's why we elevated him and signed him into the fifty three and trusted him to go out there, and he did a great job for us.

Chase Brown continues to impress. I mean, ninety seven yards on twenty five carries and had it. You know, he's a threat out of the backfield catching the football as well. I mean, when you have the weapons you have in the passing attack and he's part of it, and then him complimenting in the running game, it's tough.

Yeah, just anyway you can get him the ball. You know, he's another weapon we have that has an opportunity to be explosive, and you know, we're happy to have him and we try to find out as many ways as we can to use him.

Okay, everybody, everybody wants to know what you and Kelly talk about when you guys caught up pregame or post game or was it just all football all the time?

Today?

We talking now off to where there's no major conversations. You know, I'm happy for the opportunity he has and pulling form the rest of the way.

I know, you guys not just football friends, but you know, are really close, really really good friends as well. And I know you you mentioned it, you've you've played, had to coach against friends in the past, and I mean that it's interesting I'm having to come up with that kind of focus. And is it tough to do or the more you do it repetition breeds comfort level?

What's it like?

Yeah, no, it's happened so many times for me that it's just another game. You know, it's almost it'd be awkward for a week to go by that I didn't wasn't so close to someone on the other team. You know, at this point the league is very small. Worked for several different teams now and had a lot of people I respect in the industry, and this staff was one of those staffs.

So early in the football game, you you fall behind, but you know you come come roaring back and and and you know when the football game handily, the last possession was kind of crazy how they how they score on that one. But overall, give me your assessment. I mean, Obviously we talked about some things. I know you want to get clean dump to turnovers, the penalties, but how about from an execution standpoint, anything to stand out to you very positively.

I think, aside from the pildies, we executed really well on offense and to create turnovers. I mean, that's the name of the game on defense, and so those guys did that and we're able to give us five extra possessions and that's you can't ask for much more from the defense that way. So there's a lot of positives there to build from, and then there's some things that will clean up as well.

So you won two straight road games. I don't care where you're playing the National Football League.

You went on the road.

That's an accomplishment done two weeks in a row. Now you go back to pay Corps the two straight home games. Crowd better be in full throat because here come to Bengals.

It's good.

You know, it's a divisional game, big one for us, chance to go to and over, it's the divisional rival, chance to win three games in a row, chance to get back on track at home. There's a lot of reasons why this needs to be our best week.

Can appreciate you, coach, all right, thanks sav Up.

Next the one o'clock home game next Sunday against the three and eleven Cleveland Browns. Jamis Winston threw three interceptions and was sacked five times in fourteen point loss to the Chiefs. On Sunday, The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you by pay Corps, proud to be the Bengals official HR software provider, by Alta Fiber future proof Fiber Internet designed to elevate your home, business and community to a new level, and by Kettering Health the best care

No question.

I think it came down to a seven possession sequence. After the Titans scored their second touchdown, they went fumble interception, interception, three and out. Punt the football away, pick six, bumble interception. I don't care if you're playing a pee wee football team, You're not gonna win in the NFL doing that.

But the Bengals had their share of blunders as well.

And you know, we mentioned during the broadcast, you have four turnovers in a game as a player and your plus two. It's like, what I mean, that's that's the sign of a crazy day, and it certainly was.

That Tennessee had one sack and six quarterback hits and the Bengals had their third team left tackle out there, Devin Cochrane. He had played one offensive snap in his NFL career prior to today. How much credit does he deserve for this win?

I think a ton and Frank Pollock two.

I tried to get Frank to the three of Us talk, and Frank's like, I appreciate that, he said, but the kid deserves to to.

Get the love.

Go talk to to Cochran and and I totally agree respect Coach Pollock's sentiments there. You know, I think he was a little bit jumpy, you know, at first, but gonna into a groove and settled down a little bit, and he was very effusive in his praise of how Frank has developed him, and you know, he feels like he knows the offense, and that part of wasn't going

We got off the bus about the same time and walked out out of the field before the game, and it just so happened. We were walking out behind Joe Burrow as he went out to warm up, and he looked like a basketball guard who was doing kind of like a crossover dribble where he would shift his late weight to one side then go back to the other side, and he was clearly testing how his left knee was going to feel. Had a brace on that knee. But man, watching him play, you really wouldn't know it much.

He played great, he really did. I mean he uh, you know, he got out of pocket when he had to. He didn't do it as much as he normally does, but when he did, you know, he's putting in a pretty good gear and he's still he has that you know, elusiveness to climb the pocket and just the uh he has the eyes and the sides in the back of his helmet and when to step up and slidestepping those kinds of things.

But uh, yeah, a guy.

Like him, I can't tell you the inspiration that gives you in a huddle. You know, it's everybody this time of year. We've talked about it before them. Everybody's kind of beating up. Everybody's kind of you know, man, these are the dog days. Man, you gotta get through it. It's like, suck it up, get get loose, get going, and you get your quarterback who's hurt, I mean legitimately hurt and just doing everything he can to get out

And with his sore knee, the Bengals have to feel great that they're not playing on Thursday night this week is originally scheduled against Cleveland. The game got moved to Sunday, and Joe gets a few extra days for that need to feel better.

Great point.

Great point, you know, because he's at a stage now where, all right, he injured, it, went through some rehab, now went out and tested it again, and it doesn't sound like or seem like, you know, it got worse. So now he'll be able to rehab from a higher recovery point and even be better for Sunday. Thursday might have been a little doubtful in terms of how much better it was going to be with those extra days.

Every day in an injury like this, every day is significant.

I spoke to Mike Hilton after the game. He said he thought this is one of his best games and a Bengals unicorn.

I can't dispute that.

I mean, Louis an Roumo to him remarkably well, like he always does. I mean, once once he starts getting on a roll with Mike Kilton, Mike Hilton responds Blue response to Mike. Mike responds to Lou And it's like synergistic, you know, one plus one equals three. They're going to be making a lot of plays together, beautiful music together. And I think, you know, he gets to a point where in the huddle just call him a number again.

Tennessee's a bad team. That's eleven losses, but it's the NFL. They went on the road and beat Houston a few weeks ago, a very good team. So you'll happily take a road win anytime you can get one. With back to back road wins, now at Dallas and at Tennessee, the Bengals have put themselves in a position to go home win a couple of games if they can, and be five hundred to the one game to go.

Yeah, and you know that's they dug a hole, there's no question. But now you can at least see light, you know, you know, it's so deep in the whole that the light's hard to find. And keep prowling, keep working your way up the sides of that hole, and pretty soon you know, you stick your head out over the top. I mean, if they could run the table and finish with a winning record, who would have thunked at better?

Try to cut down on those penalties next week though, at home against the Browns.

No doubt.

I mean you're to have four turnovers and I think it's I think they ended up with twelve penalties. Yeah, twelve penalties for one hundred and ten yards. That doesn't computer victory very often. Not only did a computer victory a computer to two score victory a ten point win because the opponent was worse. I mean they had six turnovers, they had fourteen penalties.

For more yards. I mean that was crazy with the capital C.

That puts a rap on the Tennessee game. Now it's time for this week's fun facts segment, where you get to know the person under the pads. Time for some fun facts with wide receiver Jermaine Burton. You were born in Georgia, but played high school football for a while in California. What do you consider to be home now.

Atlanta, Georgia.

You know, I did my last years of high school out in California, my last junior year and senior year out there. You know, I've made a lot of great connects, network with a lot of great people.

But yeah, you know, Atlanta's still home to me.

I just you know, football kind of brent and branched me away from it, but you know it's where my family is resides and you know still list to this day.

Those are both warm weather destinations. How do you deal with cold?

I deal with it accordingly, you know, however cold it is. You know, I dress accordingly. You know, I might do the most some times even if it's not that cold. But overall, I think it's kind of dope. I think it's kind of fun when you kind of get your blood for on and you know, you realize you're out there playing in some really cool weather.

So it's a mind thing.

It sounds like you're really close with your mom and your sister. Tell us what you love and respect about those two women.

No matter what that they let me grow up and be a man on my own and let me make my own decisions and trusted me in every decision I made and was right there with me to support me every step of the way.

We're visiting the Jermaine Burton. You were one of the highest rated recruits in the country. Do you remember your first college offer and how you felt when you received it.

Yeah, that's from the University of Florida. It was dope. It was actually a crazy feeling.

I was a freshman in high school and I went on a seven on seventh trip and on that trip, we were touring around like UCF Florida, even though we went.

To FIU were FAU one of those.

At the time, Florida was my dream school because just because like my cousin played there.

He also played for the Steelers as well.

So my family is big fans of you know, Florida and the Pittsburgh and.

So yeah, I thought that was kind of a dope feeling.

So if that started in ninth grade, it had to be be crazy. Did you enjoy the recruiting process or did you find it to be stressful?

Maybe towards the end. Overall, I enjoyed the entire process.

But maybe towards the end it probably was stressful because there were so.

Many coaches texting and calling my phone.

And I didn't kind of know what I I didn't know where I was at.

Mentally, I was like, I don't know where else would go.

So so in twenty nineteen, you went on a visit to LSU and that was their undefeated national championship year, Joe Burrow at quarterback, Justin Jefferson and Jamar Chase among the wide receivers. What do you remember about that visit and seeing those guys at that stage of their life.

It was dope. You know.

I spent a lot of time with Jamar and Justin on those visits. Yeah, that on my visit there, Jamar had hosted me, and yeah, it was vibes.

It was a great time. We were chilling. Yeah, a lot of fun memories.

We're hanging out with Jermaine Burton. You wound up spending two years at Georgia and two years at Alabama. You were part of a national championship team at Georgia. How did playing for Kirby Smart and Nick Saban and playing with so many great players prepare you for the NFL?

I would say a lot of.

A lot of IVE seen a lot of players go through a lot of different things. You know, whether if I was on Georgia or Bama, I've seen a lot of players go through so many things and have to make kind of decisions that you know, young grown men usually don't make, but you know, they have to make for their family.

So I've I've had a lot of.

Talks and advice from into this day from those guys from from the Georgia and Bama team. So it helps me a lot because I feel like I have a lot of more resources than people think I pretty much. And you know, I have players on every team like that. I've teammates on every team in the NFL, and you know, I'm close with a lot of them, and so yeah, I think it's.

A dope feeling to me.

More importantly, I feel like I've networked in and connected with a lot of those guys, So I have a lot of resources, you know, from those guys, I can reach out to them anytime if I need anything or you know, have a question or this or anything, you know. So I think that's pretty dope. I think that's a big plus side to my career.

Before the draft, he trained with former Bengals wide receiver TJ. Hushman Zada, and the three of us did a podcast together earlier this year. TJ was a seventh round pick by the Bengals. He could name every wide receiver taken before him in the draft that year. I'm guessing he probably still can do that. You were a third round pick.

Oh?

Yeah, And you know, everybody's story is different. Everybody, everybody's legacy is different, and it's so special to them and unique to the to them and each and everybody individually. But yeah, one I felt that there was definitely a fire in my heart. And you know, regardless of what anything happens, you know, I'm still working and working and working and working and working.

And that's one thing that's not going to change.

And one thing I learned about that when I was younger, the more I kept working and working and working, I might not have seen the results as quickly as I wanted to, but they eventually came. And that's one thing I truly believe in because there's nothing else you can do. It's one thing that you can control of. You know how much better you are getting. So yeah, I feel like I felt like my story is going to be amazing.

Some wild card topics now for Jermaine Burton. Your Twitter handle is NASA main three, a reference to your interest in space. When did that start?

When I was a kid? I don't know what.

It was, probably right before I kind of hit my teenage years, probably, I don't know, Probably when I was like nine, ten eleven. I just used to be on YouTube watching a bunch of random stuff and looking up a bunch of different random stuff. So I got into like a bunch of space like videos and it turned into that, and something was about it just had a certain kind of interest to me, like I wanted to know more about like space and all kinds of stuff and what's going on out there.

And it was just.

Something that was kind of like became a hobby to me of like, uh, looking up all that kind of stuff. Like like that's why when like space ex became a thing with Elon Musk and stuff like that, I was so I was so heavily invested into that because I thought, I truly believe that Elon Musk is like gonna take our technology and our and what we can do until further, like further. So I'm excited to see what he'll do

You know, you told me during during training camp that you believe in aliens. Let me be more specific, do you think there's intelligent life on another planet?

Yeah?

For sure percent.

Though, you know, I feel like there's just so many things that has happened in different scenarios, especially that has even come out with like.

That the government has released.

That's like there's just some things that you just don't like, you know, some things are like yeah, it's one thing to be like, oh yeah, it's just UFOs or alien It's like yeah, bull crap. But it's like some stuff that actually happens, and like some stuff that actually happens in our world and it's kind of unexplainable. So it's like it leaves me for a room of belief that there is I read.

An old interview with a youth football coach of yours who said your nickname was Lemonade.

It came from Uh, it was just because like I was light skinned and I was like sweet on my feet because I got that nickname that Hatevielle Charter out of school in Atlanta.

You had a signed Chad Johnson jersey in your locker during training camp. Technically it was the Ocho Cinco version. How did you get it? And describe meeting Chad once you got here.

I got it at the NFL Rookie Premiere and I told myself, I'm gonna get as signed when I get whenever I catch him. And it was when he was back in town for training camp. He had like a soccer tournament. He was in the he was in the locker room, and well, actually I met him at the hotel that we were staying at. He was downstairs at one time, and I talked with him and that stuff like that, and I told him whenever he come by the facility, I gotta get him a sign my jersey.

So I thought that was dope.

Where do you like to spend your money on?

Like my hot I like to buy clothes different kind of like what I'm styling in. I like to Yeah, I like to spend my time on fashion. Sometimes if a new game comes out or something like to play the game.

Food bills, that's something we don't like to spend our money on, but we have to all right.

Final fun fact for Jermaine Burton. This one's kind of deep. If you could meet anybody in history, living or deceased, who would that person be?

Probably President Eisentower.

Because apparently he was the one that had the meeting with the aliens so back in like nineteen sixty seven or something, So I need to see if that's true or not.

You could get to the bottom of it once and for all.

Yeah, I would rather have a conversation with him because there was something that went down with him and like some crazy thing with alien, like some crazy conspiracy aliens, and I just want to ask him about it.

So if I had to choose right there as of right now, yeah, him, right now.

That's a fun answer. I appreciate your time. Best of luck the rest of the year.

Thank you, I appreciate you.

That's going to do it for this episode of the Bengals Booth Podcast, brought to you by pay Core, Proud to be the Bengals official HR software provider by Alta Fiber future proof fiber Internet designed to elevate your home, business and community to a new level, and by Kettering Health the best care for the best fans. Kettering Health

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