Bengals Booth Podcast: Golden Opportunity

Hi, get everybody. I'm Dan Hord and thanks for downloading The Bengals Booth Podcast. The It's a Golden Opportunity addition as the Bengals look to reach five hundred after an zero three start as they host the Philadelphia Eagles on a white Bengal Day in the Jungle. Coming up, I'll talk to CBS sideline reporter Evan Washburn about the matchup and what it's like to be on the field for

Surprise would be putting it lightly. Dan.

I was shocked, and not just because of what I saw in training camp during a one day visit, but just what this team has been over the last few years and what they're bringing back. And I think it only further cements the idea that well, the results matter in Week one for your record and what you're trying to do when the calendar turns to January. It's not at all what a team is, and it is the

They have right of the ship. They've won three out of four. It could be very easily a four game winning streak if they didn't botch the hold of a game winning field goal against Baltimore. What's impressed you in recent weeks? What question marks do you still have about the Bengals.

I think that they've found a way, as we like to say, win ugly where it hasn't. While Joe Burrow is putting up big time numbers and Jamar Chase is on a career pace, it hasn't been winning games in the thirties and the last two weeks. The defense finding some consistency and finding themselves now that they're healthy, especially upfront, has created some balance to this team. I think, well, the numbers don't jump off the page.

In the run game. I like the duo of Brown and Moss, so just how well rounded this group has found themselves and finding a way to win games, to me, is a true testament when you're not at your best of a great team.

Your CBS crew with Iron Eagle and Charles Davis has been assigned to quite a few Bengals games in recent years. What do you enjoy when you get assigned to a Cincinnati game?

Well, I think it starts with the organization and for our purposes, specifically the head coach, the quarterback, and the number of the key players that we meet with. Our production meetings are the lifeblood of what we do.

And if you can have that time be.

Valuable, be enjoyable, and gain context on what's really going on with the team going into a game, you just feel like you're going to be so much more prepared to entertain and inform the fans, because that's the eventual goal.

As you know.

I mean, you have your audience that's listening to you on game days and they're the most passionate. We get a bit more of the broader fan base, but I still feel like we're servicing this weekend the Eagles fans and the Bengals fans. And look, we prepare Monday through Thursday and into Friday, but in those meetings is when we can kind of take things to the next level. And I always feel confident going to a Cincinnati game.

Well, I certainly think that's going to be the case. On Sunday, it's the white Bengal game, so the Bengals will be wearing their white helmets and they're all white unis describe what it is like to be on the field for a game at pay Course Stadium when it is rocking.

It's one of the stadiums and look, I get why the new ones are the shiny new toy, and some of them are incredible feats of architecture more than anything, but I think that becomes more the story or the experience. Whereas the stadiums that were built in the mid to late nineties early two thousands, the star of the show is the field, and they design them where the fans

Kevin Washburnie is our guest. I imagine when you came to visit during training camp, the number one thing you wanted to check out was the status of Joe Burrow's right wrist. What do you think of the way he's played with a pass rating of one ten to this point of the season.

It might be some of his best work, and that can be backed up with some of the statistical evidence. Look the record, we as a crew don't view that as something that's reflected on the quarterback. I don't like this idea of putting wins and losses on quarterbacks. So if you watch one of our games, when we put up Joe Burrow's stats, it won't have his wins and

Let's look a little more specifically at the matchup, beginning with the Bengals defense against Philadelphia's offense. Saquon Barkley's averaging nearly one hundred and ten rushing yards per game. What must the Bengals defense do to hold Philly in check?

Well, I think it starts up front, and it's why it's exciting to see that Cincinnati has gotten healthy across that defensive line, so they now have depth to kind of come at one of the best offensive lines in football in ways. Now they're down Jordan Malatta with that hamstring injury, but Saquon was still effective as we saw last week against the Giants, So stopping the run is

And look, this is where you.

Can get into the Minuti ship scheme. When I watch Philly, it's not overly complex in terms of the run game. It's just that they feel like they could beat you up up front, so that that's kind of one of those things we'll see early Dan, like who's winning that line of scrimmage in terms of success in the run or stopping them run.

On the other side of the ball, Philly is seventh in points allowed. They sacked the Giants eight times last week. What must Berwin company do to be successful this Sunday?

I think getting the ball out quick is going to be key, and you mentioned those.

Those sack totals.

Similarly, the Giants were down there left tackle and Andrew Thomas and now it looks like Orlando Brown junior statuses in question. So Cody Ford, a very capable backup, former starter in this league, will step in as you know, but he's gonna have to deal with Josh sweat Huff, Brandon Graham. But it's an interesting Bengals defense because it's one in transition.

They still have some of the old heads.

Whether it's Darius Lay, Graham Blankenship, but they've really infused it with youth.

A lot of those former Georgia Bulldogs are starting.

To really find their their momentum and so this will be a test for them. I'm really excited to see you got Slay matching up. Is it going to be Chase or Tea? Then you've got the rookie and Quinnon Mitchell is Who's he? How's that gonna go? Because Chase is, as you've been able to describe, I'm sure over the last few weeks on the air, is primed as we've seen them. So as much as it is about that line of scrimmage in this game on both sides, I am excited to see some of those matchups too.

And then you throw in.

Like a rookie at Cooper dejene as well with what he does in the nickel so it's a fun it's a fun matchup.

Man.

This one, as you and I talked about before we started taping the show, is that. Man, this was a four to twenty five game for a reason a few weeks ago.

Final thing for Evan Washburn. If they win, the Bengals are back to five hundred after an zero to three start. How significant would that be?

Look, I don't know from a statistical standpoint, and I'm sure we'll have plenty of graphics that will line up. Hey, if you're four and four as you head into we gate or nine of the season or ten, and this is what that means.

This many teams are going to the playoffs, YadA, YadA, YadA.

I think it's a mental hurdle to get over and to not put the pass behind you because you're still sitting at four and four heading in to week nine. But I think it will allow them to then start

We did what we did out of the gate. We have to live with that.

But now we're back to square one and we're playing our best ball and we haven't hit November yet, and that's a good place for a team as talented and as experienced as this one.

I know Bengals fans look forward to it when I and Charles and you are part of the broadcast team for a Bengals game. Best of luck this week, and thanks so much for the time you too.

Dan always enjoy it mentioned.

The game was originally scheduled to kick off at four point fifteen, but with the first two picks in this year's draft, Caleb Williams and Jaden Daniels, off to great starts and their big market teams doing well, the NFL decided to move the Chicago Washington game to the late afternoon window and make the Bengals Eagles game a one o'clock start. It's a move that might not work out as intended. Jaden Daniels is dealing with a rib injury, and his status for Sunday's game is up in the air.

Side Numeros to the twenty twenty five thirty. Only the kicker can tackle.

He failed to do it.

Charlie Jones down the.

Sideline twenty ten hot time from the path on touchdown. Charlie Jones, who had a putt return touchdowns a rookie last year against Baltimore, takes it one hundred yards for a game opening score.

Charlie, the balance that you displayed to stay in bounds at the end of your kick return touchdown last week was unbelievable. Are you thinking about trying to stay in bounds toward the tail end of that play in real time or is that strictly pure instinct.

It's probably a little bit of both.

I mean, I knew as I was getting closer to the end zone on that the space was getting pretty limited over there, and I knew that I didn't want to get pushed out and come up short on this, so I knew I was going to have to do something and try to stay in bounce. So I think maybe a little bit of both.

I'm going to ask you to not be humble. When you saw the replay, Were you amazed that you pulled it off? I?

Yeah, I mean I think.

I mean, it was just like, obviously, the blocking was great, and the beginning of the play was you know, exactly how we drew it up. I remember towards the end of it though, I was like, man, I gotta do something to finish this playoff.

So but no, Washington back was pretty cool.

Well, as you said, it was so well blocked and well designed. I'm not sure that I've ever seen one that looked that clean. Was that unusual for you, because I know you've had a bunch of touchdown returns pro, college, high school, et cetera.

Yeah, I mean on those, it's like it's it's almost so open that it's like, am I missing something? Like someone about to you know, come across the top and you know, but no, I mean it literally couldn't have been more open. And you know that started with Drew on his block and everyone else doing their job.

We're visiting the Charlie Jones. Your touchdown return was the third in the NFL this season. Yours was the longest one so far. Do you think teams are figuring out how to attack the new kickoff format?

I think so.

I think, you know, it's still so new, and there's still like this period of time where we're trying to figure out what's gonna work and what's not gonna work. But I think, you know, as we go on, teams are gonna start really picking up on things and finding ways to really, you know, take advantage of this new rule.

You've been returning punts all year. Now you are returning punts and kickoffs. Do you have a preference?

M that's a good question. I think I don't know.

I mean, I like them both. I think they're different in a couple of ways. I think you know before I liked returning punts more. You know something about it. But you know I do like returning kicks, and I think with this new rule, it's it's in favor I think.

Of the returner if if you get a chance.

So we'll see, I mean, we'll see all keeps playing out, which one Which one I'm to end up liking more.

We're chatting with Charlie Jones. I thought you were having an exceptional training camp as a pass receiver, and then just before the first preseason game you suffered a pretty significant knee injury and missed a few weeks. How did that impact the early portion of your season?

Yeah, I mean, I don't really know. I think obviously in preseason it affected it.

I wasn't able to be out there, you know, that first week, and then the second week it was kind of iffy if I was going to be out there and ended up not being so didn't really get to get a snap till the till the third week, and I think in that sense maybe it affected a little bit. But you know, once I was back out there, I felt great and I was practicing. I think I only missed like a week of practice, so it's not that I missed very much, and once I came back, I felt great.

So I don't know.

The Bengals have been playing a lot of two tight end sets this year. They're right up there among the NFL leaders, which obviously means one fewer wide receiver has been on the field. And when there are two wide receivers on the field, it's almost always going to be Jamar and t for obvious reasons. Do the rest of the guys find themselves reminding themselves to stay patient because sooner or later, an opportunity is bound to come along.

Yeah, definitely.

I mean I think that's what's special about our room. We have guys that you know, understand how this league works, and you know sometimes you know it might take a little bit longer. I mean me specifically, you know, even even in the return game, I see that you're just patience is a big thing in this league, and just continue to come in and work and prepare like you know, you're gonna get that chance, and when you do, you take advantage of it, and you know it helps your situation moving forward.

Do you feel like you're a better wide receiver than you were as a rookie?

Yeah, I think it's night and day.

I think, you know, I'm I'm feeling, you know, the best I've I've felt in a long time as a receiver. And uh, you know, like I said, like I just said, you know that that's just something that I'm gonna continue to work on and continue to show up every week and and and work and and just you know, have that patience.

We're chatting with Charlie Jones. After a slow start, the team has won three out of four. How did you guys weather the storm after starting on three?

Yeah, I just think we really focused on caring about what this building like, inside this building thinks, not really thinking about any of that outside noise or what everyone else is saying, and just really knowing that we have the guys.

And the coaches in this in this building to what we want to do.

Still even getting off to a slow start, I mean we've proven that in the past, and we just you know, stayed together and kept reminding each other that.

You know, it's a long.

Season and you know everything we want is still in front of us.

So the offense was really rolling for a while there. You scored thirty three or more in three straight games. Then over the last couple of weeks you've won, so that's the key. But only two touchdowns for the offense in both of those games. Was it more because the Giants and the Browns have really good defenses, or was the offense just to tick off?

Yeah, I don't know.

I think there's always more for us that we can that we can do.

I think we can always we always have room.

For improvement, and I think we haven't played our best yet. So, you know, whatever it was in the in those couple of games, but you know, we're always looking at it from the standpoint of you know, we aren't at our full potential yet, and you know we're just gonna keep working towards that final thing.

It's white Bengal week, white helmets, all white unis. Are you a fan, You've you're already starting to smile a little bit?

Yeah, No, I love it. I love it.

I was surprised we we did it during for a day game.

I thought we were gonna save it for a night game.

But you know it's it's still exciting to wear the white uniforms, white helmets and and see everyone in the stands wearing white. So no, it's it's always. It was cool last year when we did it, and I'm excited for this year.

No Olympic gymnast showed better balance than you did at the end of that touchdown run. Congratulations, thanks for.

The time, Thank you. I appreciate it.

The atmosphere there should be electric on Sunday, and Zach Taylor is hoping for a big home field advantage.

I expect the joint to be jumping, and I do. We rely so much on our fans. They really the energy when our players get introduced and come out right out the gate and never fails. It's always good when we can get a team at home and make it really hard with the cadence. And the thing I always you want to stress to the fans is as difficult as everything. It's when the play clock starts at forty and the quarterbacks trying to hear the call from the

The Bengals are three and one on the road this year, and would be four and oh if not for the fourth and sixteen penalty in Kansas City. But they're inexplicably zero to three at home. It's time to hear the players do a hooday chant in the home locker room after the game. It won't be easy against Philadelphia, a team that's four and two despite being minus six in the turnover ratio with two takeaways and eight giveaways. The Eagles have not come out on top in that stat

Well, it happened early in the season where Jalen Hurts was fumbling some footballs and then throwing some interceptions. But keep in mind that they had not turned over the football once in the last two games, not once. Unfortunately from an Eagles standpoint, they also haven't taken it away although they're Rookie defensive back Quinnyon Mitchell out of the University of Toledo, by the way, is an outstanding ballhawk.

So What do you like most about this this edition of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Well, there's a lot to like and there's a lot to be concerned about.

Now.

I think I think the offense has some real talent. And if I didn't say Saquon Barkley, I'd be out of my mind because he has just been sensational. He's averaging over six yards of carry. He almost had a career day against the Giants for one hundred and seventy six yards rushing. He's just a great player and he's a great teammate. He's just been outstanding. And then you have to like the wide receivers. Now, you guys have

The Voice of the Eagles, Meryl Reeve is our guest. I want to ask you about Nick Sirianni. His father, Fran was the football coach and track coach at my high school. He was one of my high school science teachers, so I know the Sirianni family well. Has the quote unquote controversy died down from a couple of weeks ago, and Nick got a little bit heated in his response to the fans after a Philly win.

All that has to happen to quell that is just to win. So they won last week and Nick didn't go anywhere near the crowd, and he gets a little bit emotional from time to time, but I think he learned a lesson. It wasn't as if he was hurling for fanities at the crowd. He just interacted with him a little bit. That became, in my opinion, much ado about nothing, But I don't think you'll see him do that anymore.

The Philadelphia Eagles are very aggressive on fourth down, Sirianni will definitely definitely roll the dice and the trust push is it?

Is it changed at all?

I mean, you know, one of the one of the key members of the of the tush push, Kelsey is no longer the center of the tension, no pun intended on that. On that tush push. Are they still pretty effective with it? And do you anticipate them continue continuing to be aggressive on fourth down?

Absolutely? Because when you talk about that tusch pusher, talking about a quarterback who is incredibly strong, and then Jason Kelsey was replaced by Cam Jurgens, who's bigger than Kelsey, and then from behind, now you have sa Kuon Barkley pushing Jalen Hurtz. That's that's that's like a locomotive. So it's it's still tough to stop Merril.

The last time these two teams played was Game three of Joe Burrow's rookie year. I maintain that is the hardest he has ever been hit. He got sacked eight times, he got hit eighteen times. Several of those hits we were worried about his ability to get up, but he kept getting up. Do you think that that is going to be one of the biggest keys to the game this Sunday, The Bengals ability to protect Shoe against an Eagles pass rush that had eight sacks last week.

Well, you know, I think that's a key to almost any game. Get to the quarterback, and Burrow is one of the best quarterbacks in the National Football League. It's interesting that game ended up in a tie, I believe, and at the time Doug Peterson was criticized for not being more aggressive at the end of that game. And in Cincinnati, the Eagles have the Eagles have never won in Cincinnati, and they have one game that they tied and in that game, but the reason they tied was

You know, the one thing that I think is going to be interesting in this football game. Games are decided by turnovers and are also decided by explosive plays. And the Philadelphia Eagles number one in the NFL ten plays of forty yards or more. Barkley has four runs of forty yards or more and in six runs of thirty yards or more.

That's unbelievable.

I mean, this football team at any point in time can just I mean have a one play drive.

It's crazy.

Well, they can, but that's what happens when you have a back like Saquon Barkley. He reminds me in a sense like it back like you remember Emmitt Smith when the Cowboys sees to pick him in then and Emma Smith would carry the football and you'd see nothing spectacular, and he'd pick up two yards and maybe four yards and maybe two yards and then all of a sudden, zing he's going for sixty yards. That's the kind of

I mean, what do you attribute that to? Have they have?

They lost a coin toss every week? I mean are they are they not getting possessions or are they just just off to slow start?

Off the slow start?

Well, when they when they win the coin tost, they always defer. A lot of teams do that now, so they always defer and I'm always rooting for them to take the football, go try to score. Then there have been other instances like the Atlanta game where they moved the ball very well and they had a fourth and four from inside the ten and the three points. Nick

It's not.

You know, when you look at this team and you look at all of the teams, how much are the how much of the slow starts attributed to the fact that they don't play regular in the preseason. They don't tackle to the ground in the preseason. I really think September September football is the way preseason football used to be, where you would play the regulars for a half and get them into the games. Now they're just acclimating themselves

How big a deal is it that my Latta won't be playing the left tackle position and Fred Johnson, who Cincinnati's very aware of, he'd form a Bengal How is Fred Johnson playing?

How big of a dropoff might that be?

If any Well, it certainly is a big drop off because you're talking about Jordan Malata, who is an amazing guy. I mean, he was an All Pro last year. He's six eight and three hundred sixty pounds and he's just just a great player and a great leader. So when you lose an All Pro, certainly there is a drop off. But Fred Johnson has not done badly. He's done pretty well,

Mere Ill want to wrap this up by asking you about winning the Pete Roselle Award. Only three NFL radio announcers have won it. My childhood hero Van Miller, longtime voice of Buffalo Bills, Myron Cope, a legend in Pittsburgh, and now yourself. Can you articulate what winning the Pete rosell Award means to you?

Well, I was on my way to a day of golf and I got a call and I saw the thought it's at Canton, Ohio, And I thought, gee, I don't really know anyone in Canton, Ohio. And then I answered, the president of the Hall of Fame said it's this Merril Reece. I said, yes it is. He said, are you driving? I said, yes, I am. He said you might want to pull over to the side, which I did. And when he told me, and I'm not somebody who cries at basketball games like that for me or one

Man.

I was so emotional because you have different goals when you are in this business. And I think then after I was doing the games for forty years now this is forty eight. I had hoped that someday I would be included in the Eagles Hall of Fame because for no other reason on longevity, and that happened in twenty sixteen. That was the end of my bucket list because this was something that never happens, or, as you said, rarely happens. And it was way out of my mind, nothing I

Put both honors richly deserved and you're still doing it incredibly well. Meryl. Thank you so much for your time. Look forward to seeing you on Sunday.

Thank you guys always to speak with you. And I'll see it at the what is it. It's called Paymore Stadium.

Now pay Course Stadium, and I'm looking forward to seeing a living legend.

I mean that wholeheartedly. You are a legend.

As long as I'm living. That's the important half of it.

Here's quick reminder to join lapp in Wayne box Miller for the Bengals pep Rally Show on Friday from three to six on ESPN fifteen thirty. If you're not in the Cincinnati area, just search for ESPN fifteen thirty on the free iHeartMedia app. That's going to do it for this episode of the Bengals Booth podcast, brought to you