Bengals Booth Podcast: Hurtin' For Certain

with a bad back. Join the club. All of that is straight ahead, but first, here's a quick reminder that you can have the latest edition of this podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet, or computer by subscribing on iTunes, Stitcher, or pod Bean. It's the greatest invention since the library.

I walked into my neighborhood branch of the public library this weekend with my twelve year old son and said to him, how cool is it that there's a place where we can borrow any book, DVD or magazine that they have for free? His response, da Dad, Like I said, he's twelve. That's an increasingly common response now let's get

to the game. Since the start of the season. Here are some of the Bengals players who have gone on season ending injured reserve tight ends Tyler Eifert, Tyler Croft and Mason Shrek, defensive lineman Carl Lawson, Ryan Glasgow, Josh Tupo and Adolphins Washington, and linebacker Preston Brown. Then there are the guys who don't have season ending injuries but had to miss the Cleveland game, a list that included aj Greene, Drake Kirkpatrick, Nick Vigil, Cordy Glenn, and Josh Malone.

If those thirteen names were a blur, think of it this way. The Bengals didn't have their best wide receiver, their best tight end, two of their three starting linebackers, one of their top two cornerbacks, and their starting left tackle. To say that injuries are just an excuse is silly. The roster has been decimated. Then there are the Browns, who, according to interim head coach Greg Williams, are as healthy

as they have been since training camp. They looked at on their opening drive on Sunday, marching seventy eight yards on ten plays to score. They'll line up in an eye formation backfield, Nick chubbed the deep back, Mayfield gives it to him and Chub scores. The rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield was six for six on that drive. Here's his former Oklahoma teammate, Jordan Evans. Do you think he has given that team a confidence they didn't have before? Yeah,

for sure. I mean, I just know that's what he brings in any lockhoom oh. That's just the kind of player he's always been. That's what he was at Ou and then this is what he brought to the Cleveland And obviously you're seeing. The Bengals answered with a decent drive, but a fifty four yard field goal attempt by Randy Bullock was blocked, giving the Browns great field position. Four plays later, Cleveland was in the end zone again. Shotgun snap.

Mayfield looking scanning the field, moving to his left, throws into the end zone, touchdown Calloway with the catch on the back line of the end zone, and with one thirty seven left in the first quarter, the Browns are up by two touchdowns. Boy, I'll tell you it's a hot knife through butter, There's no question about it. And

that hot knife continued to carve up the Bengals. As the Browns third possession went ninety six yards, Mayfield catches the shotgun snap short drop screen caught at the ten. The Joku to the five goes airborne. He is carried toward the goal line and he scores. Wow. Wow, unbelievable effort buying Joku. He looked like he was crowdsurfing into the end zone. Incredible. It was twenty one nothing Cleveland here again, as Bengals linebacker Jordan Evans, that's when we

knew it was kind of ugly. Obviously we didn't lose, no hope. He saw us coming back to his m but yes, that's when it was a sly dang. We got to do some right and then came in a half Timahow makes my justustments and it came up short. But it got worse before it got better. Third down in three at the Cincinnati fourteen yard line, shotgun snap

blitz coming, Mayfield lobs one down the sideline. It is a catch for a touchdown on a magnificent grab by Nick Chubb as he pulled it off the helmet of the defender on the play, Brandon Wilson, and fell on his back into the end zone for the contested catching the touchdown. Boy, what a tremendous strow. I mean, Wilson never found the football in the first half. Baker Mayfield through for two hundred forty five yards with three touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of one fifty two

point five. Here's the reigning Heisman Trophy winner after the game the first half to you kind of feel like your days at Oklahoma where everything was clicking at all or now a little bit, Yeah, we're everything's even to be working. That's the way we wanted here in Cleveland. The Bengals finally got on the scoreboard with less than a minute to go in the half. Three receivers out

to the left for Cincinnati. Now Ross goes in motion to the right, mixing in the backfield at Dalton's right, Andy back to throw his pass right thought by John Ross for a Bengals touchdown with thirty two seconds remaining in the half, the fifth touchdown catch of the year for Ross, twenty eight seven Browns at the break your safety, Jesse Bates on what you have to do when it gets ugly. I think the biggest part is just wearing about your self control, which you can control. I'm mean,

coming together as a team. Unfortunately, it's tough to do that when you're down twenty eight zero. But you know, they just gotta play play by play. At least things couldn't get any worse, right, think again. Dalton, waiting for the shotgun snap play clock had won. The snap goes sailing over his head. Daltons scrambling to pick it up, and the Browns recover it inside the ten. They scoop up the ball and it's going to be marked at

the seven yard line. Dalton injured his thumb on the play, went to the locker room and never returned to the sideline. According to the NFL Network, see Rappaport. X rays were negative and Andy's thumb isn't broken. It's too soon to say how long he'll be out. Two plays after the fumble, Mayfield established a new career high with his fourth touchdown. Pass second in goal from the six, Landry goes in motion, Baker.

Mayfield will drop back to throw, looking left, looks back to the right, runs to the right, throws into the back of the end zone a leaping catch by Darren Fells on the back line for a Cleveland touchdown. That made it thirty five seven. Jeff Driscoll took over at quarterback.

It actually made things interesting. Price snaps it back. Driscoll fakes a hand off to Mix and throws it over the middle, crossing route caught and Tyler Boyd runs into the end zone for a Bengals touchdown, then whips the football into the crowd after hauling in Jeff Driscoll's touchdown pass. With a big lead, Cleveland stopped throwing the ball and

tried to run out the clock. Mayfield only attempted four passes in the second half, and the Bengals pulled within two scores first and goal at the two, Driscoll tries to run a quarterback Snea Mixon shoves him from behind. The Bengals are signaling touchdown and the officials agree a two yard quarterback sneak for the touchdown by Jeff Driscoll, and the Bengals have pulled within two touchdowns with seven

fifty seven to go. Driscoll went seventeen for twenty nine for one hundred and fifty five yards, one touchdown and a passer rating of eighty four point seven. We scored some points there, and you know, got some momentum gone, and you know, I think everybody in our sideline thought that we were going to get it done. The Bengals had two more chances. They drove to the Cleveland twelve yard line before a false start turned third and three

into third and eight. Two plays later, Driscoll threw an incomplete pass to Autumn Tight on fourth down to end the drive. Then, on the Bengals final drive, Driscoll threw a forty six yard pass the Tyler Boyd that would have given the Bengals a first down at the four yard line with a minute and a half to go, but it was wiped out by an illegal shift penalty

that basically ended the threat. Here's Driscoll. We just came up short, and um, you know that was unfortunate there at the end, the way that I finished, but you know it was it was It was good to give our team a chance when when I came in there, and uh, obviously got a lot of things to clean up, and you know that that'll come come down the road, but you know, I'm just happy the way that I

competed out there and gives chance. The final score thirty five to twenty to end two significant losing streaks for the Browns, a seven game head to head losing streak against the Bengals and a twenty five game road losing streak, allowing Cleveland to avoid tying the Detroit Lions all time NFL record. The Bengals, on the other hand, have dropped three straight and five out of six after a four and one start. Here are Tyler Boyd and Jesse Bates

and where they go from here? Hate losing, you know, I'm very competitive guy, and uh, coming back in after a game like that, you know, I'm hurt about, you know, But in theday, I'm gonna continue to play. I'm never gonna stop play. I'm gonna give it all, no matter what the score Births say, and I'm gonna just just continue to try to do whatever I can to to make place. Do you guys see the talent that we have in this room, and you know the injuries that

we have. Hopefully we can get those guys back and get them healthy. So we got five games left and we're gonna see what we're about. The Browns have had ten straight losing seasons and are still below five hundred this year at four six and one, But that didn't stop them from doing some serious trash talking this week. Prior to the game, safety to Marius Randall said the following quote. If they don't have a j green, they're

getting their blanks beat. He threw a log on the fire during the game when he intercepted a pass, ran over to the Bengals sideline and handed the football to Hugh jack said. Then after the game, Baker Mayfield had some interesting things to say about his former head coach. Look like you had a very brief encounter I saw before the game and then again after the game with Hugh Jackson. Didn't have a chance to say anything to you. If so, maybe what did he say and what was

that like? Um, he said, good job, good game. Yeah that was brief. I didn't feel like talking you or him me. I don't left Cleveland, goes down to Cincinnati. I don't know. That's just somebody that was in our locker room asking for us to play for him and then goes to a different team. He played twice a year. Everybody can have their spin on it, but that's how I feel. So you have a little bit of a bad taste in your mouth. I mean, it's just like any rivalry game. That's just how it is. Now, That's

how'm gonna treat it every time we play him. But it's it's nothing, you know, there's no hate. That's just how it is. That's how I'm gonna treat it, and I think that's our team's treat it too. You've always been able to find motivation and put a chip on your shoulder and all kinds of ways. Is that now that it's over. Did the presence of Hugh add any of that for this game a little bit? You know, we have a lot of guys that have history with Cincinnati.

Orson Charles was playing like a maniac today. He kept saying that they're the people that cut him, so, you know, and then our QB coach Kenney's mpez was there for fifteen years, so we have history with Cincinnati. That's what happens when you have a division rival you play him twice a year. There's going to do that. So yeah, but the best thing about that is our guys handled it. Well. That's up for debate, but this isn't. The Browns won the game and the winner gets to do the talking.

The Bengals will see them again two days before Christmas, maybe with a few more healthy bodies. Now time to bring him my broadcast partner Dave Lapham for postgame analysis, and we begin with perhaps the biggest bright spot for the Bengals the play of backup quarterback Jeff Drescoll. He's a pro, you know, he prepares like he's a starter, even though he realizes that he may not get that

many snaps. But due to his preparation when because of injury, and you hate for it to be that way, your starter goes down to injury, you know, you have to step up and you have to be ready, and he was. And his team responded because they knew he was ready once they saw him making some of the throws he made and doing what he was doing and competing as hard as he was competing. They all did the same thing.

He lifted the boat, you know, because it would have been easy for Abay to get their chin on their chest when Andy went down with the thumb injury. But man, he lifted him. He lifted him. I heed he led a comeback, which is significant. Thirteen play drive. I mean, he was doing a great job of keeping the defense off the field that was struggling. The reason their numbers. Was so much better in the second half. Is you know they weren't on the on the field. I mean

Cleveland ran forty snaps in the first half. They went on the field for forty snaps in the second half. I mean Driscoll took him on multiple you know, long extended drives and yeah, I mean got an admire a guy like him, and he's got skills. Dan, he can really throw it. He was accurate with his feet and strength. He can extend and create plays and you know, design quarterback runs. He can do. He can do a lot

of things for you. So you know, now they get some tape on him and it'll be a little bit different. But he had to just execute the game plan. He didn't run much of when Andy Dalton was getting ready for the Cleveland Brown. So I took my cap to the guy because it's easy to you know, talk about, oh yeah, i'm working, I'm preparing, I'm getting ready in case they have to play. He did it, you know, in tough circumstances when they were getting they were getting smoked.

He came in and faced the music and brought him back some Right now, Lap, it feels like the nightmare that you can't wake up from the blowout Laws to Kansas City the Saints. Now this game that turned out to be fairly closed but was twenty eight nothing at one point in the second quarter. Yeah, it's it's really it's not just losing games, it's how you know you're losing games in this one in five stretch. That is the most disturbing and disappointing to you know, fans and players,

obviously in coaches. But there's nothing you can do about it except you know, do everything you can to be positive and try to turn it around. I mean, if you're dwell on negativity, it's just going to take it down the ativity cesspool. And that's the easier said than done, because all there's going to be in the outside is negativity, and you know, you just have to really evaluate yourself.

And it is Dan, It's I've never seen I've seen injuries, but I've never seen a team that has suffered more injuries, multiple injuries at multiple positions. I mean, you can survive an injury at positions two, three, four or whatever, but multiple injuries to multiple positions. I mean one of the positions to head and suffered an injuries quarterback that's not anymore, Andy Dalton. You know, we don't know the extent of that thumb injuries we speak right now, but man, it

could be extensive. I mean it could be the end of the season potentially if you broke it. So, I mean the quarterback position, running backs have you know, miss games. I mean there's there's not offensive line has has had you know, minor injury. You know, Billy Price missed a

lot of games. But I mean when you only have like four guys in a position group and three of them an injury reserve, like the tight ends, and you've been hit as hard as the linebackers has been hit, and your sign you know, three defensive linemen basically off the street and practice squads so you can practice. I mean you can't even give a good look. It's not just during the games. All these injuries. The trickle down effect is as you're prepared during the week, you don't

have enough bodies to prepare properly. So you know, it all, it all causes issues. And you know, people can say excuses, and yeah, you're right, I mean you can't make excuses, but man, these are hard, cold facts of life in the National Football League and the Bengals run, you know, an injury hecks like I've never seen Baker Mayfield through four touchdown passes for the first time in his NFL career. He's got two or more in five consecutive games. He

only threw four passes in the second half. Otherwise he could have had monster statistics in this game. I mean his six quarter quarterback rating. The Atlanta Falcon game, he was one fifty one point three. In the first half of this game, he was on one hundred and fifty, So, I mean, you know, six quarters of play at the quarterback position by rookie to have a quarterback rating of over one hundred and fIF is extraordinary, It really is.

I mean, but there were a lot of wide open vacations or vacated areas in the in the Bengal secretary, I mean, it was linebacker level, deep level. There were things for him to take advantage of, and he did. Yeah, he's he's a smart football player. He gets the ball out of his hand quickly, he throws it straight, he puts some velocity on it. He's gonna be around for a long time. Cincinnati Bengals are looking at a Cleveland Brown team that's ascending because of the play of the quarterback.

When you have a quarterback like that that can play at that level in this league, you know you have a chance. And they have a lot of other players, and I mean, Chubb's the real deal. In the first half, two of the four touchdowns that they made were incredible. Chubb's catch was unbelievable, and Joeku made an unbelievable play when he hurtled and then pushed forward and his team, yeah, just pushed everything, pushed into the end zone. I mean, that was a football team that wanted to end that

streak of losing on the road, and they did. They The only thing I didn't like about the football game was multiple times it turned a little bit nasty, and Peppers and randall those guys. You know, hey, to the victor goes to spoils. But you don't have to be a jerk in being a victor. You know, be a victor with class, don't be a victor with jerk. You

don't have to take be a jerk in victor. You don't have to take you know, laps around the football field and taunting the Bengals and taunting coaches on the sideline. You know Randall gets his interception and gives it to Hugh Jackson. You know, what are you supposed to do something like that? I thought Huge showed a lot of class. I would have fired it right back in his face mask. But you know, I mean those kinds of things I

think are unnecessary. You know, I understand that you had a long dry spell, but um, bottom line is show class and to me, not gonna be very hard to get it up in the bit to play up in Cleveland because some of the things that some of these guys did during the course of that football game I thought didn't show enough class. Last thing, you've played on teams where for whatever reason, things spiraled. Maybe it's injuries, which is a big factor with this team, maybe it's

something else. How do you keep grinding for the rest of the season. You have to realize you're a professional. You know, it's your job. You're being paid to do it, um, and you're being paid handsomely to do it, and there's a million millions of people that would love to have that job, and you have to look at it. It's not a right, it's a privilege and just go out and do the best you can. I mean, I thought, uh,

you know, Jeff Driscoll showed it. He got thrown into the fire and in a situation where he wasn't really expecting and stepped up and performed. And and you just can't. You can't. You just can't succumb to the to the all the all the negativity. You know, you have to basically block it all out. It's going to be hard, though, you know, because if you look yourself in the mirror, you know, if you were involved in any of those penalties, you know, you may cost the football team a game,

you know, and any mistakes that were made. You just basically have to take care of your own business, you know. Rally, your teammates. Try to be a positive impact, and your teammates make sure you're not a negative impact. Don't accelerate or continue the spiral downward. Try to be don't be a reason for the spiral downward. Be a reason for the turnaround and bringing it back up, you know. And that's what that's what real pros have made out of.

That's what true pros have made out of. And you know people are gonna say, oh, injuries, man, everybody has injuries. That's very true. But twelve guys an injury, reserve, multiple guys injured. You know this week, in practice, this game. It's a reason. It's a fact. I mean, you can't run and hide from facts, but it is. You know, it's You can say it's an excuse all you want,

but they don't have near the football team. When there were four and one, the team that they were running out in that football field is not the team that they're running out there now in this one in five stretch. But everybody's got a roster spot for a reason. You're a professional football player. Suck it up. Players do what the coaches say. Coaches put together game plans. Players play coaches, coach,

do your job turning around thanks. Lap Up next a home game against the five and six Denver Broncos, who ended the Steelers six game winning streak this week after ending the Chargers six game winning streak last week. Now time for this week's fun facts segment, where you get to know the person under the pads, in this case, the biggest man on the current roster at six six,

three hundred forty five pounds. Time for some fun facts at Bengals left tackle Corty Glenn from river Dale Georgia, not too far from the Atlanta airport from what I understand. Tell me a little bit about Riverdale. I mean that's where I'm from. It's about fifteen minutes from an airport. Grew up there, I mean that's where we're It all started for me. I guess what kind of stuff were you into as a kid. Oh, I was always into sports in a neighborhoods uh y mca AAU. Just playing sports,

hanging out my friends, regular kids. Though. Your dad, Cordy Senior, was a big time college basketball player and All Conference college basketball player Louisiana Lafayette. What has he told you about his hoops career? Uh? Well, I was younger, he used his no do the whole you can't beat me. Uh but uh now he's on me. He had a good career. Man, It's really talented. I mean that's probably

where I get some of my athleticism from him. And my mom's pretty athletic too, who was a good basketball player. So I started playing basketball, uh first, and then I later started playing football after that. Basketball is like my first real sport. I read that he really wanted you to play basketball to help your footwork for football is that true. I guess so I don't know. I played basketball, played soccer, and I play all of them. So good footwork, um,

good footwork sports. I guess you play aid soccer. A long, long, long time ago, Clint Clint Bowling is looking over and saying you were the goalie? Were you, in fact the goalie? I was a four man. I was skilled athletic moving squil We're doing fun facts with Cordy Glenn. Were you always the big kid in class? Yeah? Definitely, definitely always

been a big kid. One of those guys who are like the parents from the opposing team would say, hey, I want to see his birth certificate, or he can't be as young as my kid, all right, Yeah, definitely just playing rolling up playing basketball. It always is like that. It's always to be towering over woman. I'd be watered in him too. You went from Riverdale to the University of Georgia. Was that a slam dunk decision for you being at Georgia kid or where? Did you seriously consider

some other schools? Yeah? I like Georgia. Um, I was kind of um Jordan, Alabama and man, I just took a visit to Georgia. I don't know, just felt like homes I just made a decision like right then and there just felt like kind of connected with everybody just naturally and it was organic. So the best decision from a lot of bulldogs in this Bengals locker room. Did you room with A. J. Green at George J for We're with AJ for a little bit? Yeah, describe what

that was like. It was cool man, were with some young freshman whatever. So it wasn't too long. I mean we had some good times too, quiet guys, so it wasn't it wasn't too much talking of going on. We're doing fun facts with Cordy Glenn from Georgia. It was onto the NFL as a second round draft pick by the Buffalo Bills. You were widely projected to go in the first round. It didn't work out that way. How tough was that first night for you? I think it

was tough. I mean, but I think a few of me also just you know, especially to do something that they're not doing it and uh, just being disappointed. I mean, I think that's that was a great motivation for me to just like you know, saying coming to the NFL with a certain anger and a certain light Instra drive. You already have a drive to see how you proved. You proved yourself that you can be in the NFL, but didn't have something on the top of that that was that was good for them, and I think they

helped me out a lot. So I'm from the Buffalo area. You worked there and lived there for six years. Weather's brutal. How did you cope with that? Being at Georgia kid, I think I think it was a lot like initially when I first got there, like just being in the South all the time, and just like, oh, I'm it's like snow everywhere. All you see a snow. But then once I when I was once I was there later in my career, it's kind of it was cool. I was all kind of get more used to that than

like being in Georgia. It's kind of crazy to shovel. Did you get a snowplow? Did you hire somebody? I used to shovel and then uh, I guess I got a little spoiled and I hired somebody a snowplow my driveway area other day. There's nothing wrong with that in Buffalo, trust me. How about chicken wings? Did you develop an affinity for true Buffalo chicken wings. Oh yeah, definitely. Um like dust Ankle Bar they have, they have some of the best wings by far. I think Ankle Bar is

like famous wings spot, that's where they're supposedly in. Yeah, but I know, like a lot of guys lately in Buffalo went the Doves. It's like the new spot, kind of like new flavor. That's where a real Buffalonian goes, as opposed to the anchor bar where the tourists go. Absolutely so, Cordy got traded to the Bengals in March. Did that come as a shock because here there really hadn't been a lot of rumors that that might happen. Yeah, I don't know how to explain it. It was a shock.

I mean, it's just a lot going on when it kind of when it hits you initially. But will say I was happy. I was welcome with open arms from day one here and I really appreciate that. Just, you know, just feeling one is It's definitely like as a player or something you always want is to feel one in and feel like you belong somewhere. A few more fun facts for Cordy Gladden, who is the funniest coach you've ever played for? And what made him so funny? Head

coach of old line coach? Either one funniest coach. Oh, it has to be rich Ryan. It has to be rich Ryan, definitely. You want to know why? Yeah, I don't want to see why. I don't want to say white Cat May the radio. Fair enough? All right? You have a connection to basketball, start Dwight Howard. Correct. I met him like a long, long, long long time ago, Like I was like fifteen or sixteen. Yeah, did you have any inkling that? Jeez, this giant guy is going

to be a multi millionaire some day. No idea was telling me about it, but I just was like just being a kid, like yeah, okay, whatever, But no, it was cool to meet him, especially before he was famous and stuff like that. What do you like to splurge on? H? What I like to splurge on? I don't know if I have something I just love a splurge. One might like watching movies. I like to just do normal everyday things, really go on walks, stuff like that. Do you have

any talents that most people don't know about? Signing autographs while doing interviews is actually one that's happening, right, now I'm good at being quiet. That is quite a skill. Doesn't come into handy for people in my profession. All right, Final one, I saw an old video where you said you loved the nineteen ninety eight Atlanta Falcons, a team that went to the Super Bowl lost to John Elway's Broncos. I was there for that game. Actually you were nine

years old. How devastating was it when your beloved Falcons lost in the Super Bowl. I don't know, Well, I think what was a quarterback? Chandler? Chris Chandler, Chris Chandler. I don't know if I was ever just like a that hard by Falcons fan. I was kind of more of a Michael Big fan. Well, I mean I remember, I think I remember the game. I don't know if I was. I don't know. I probably probably do hate it, don't I can't even remember. Seemed like so long ago.

All Right, I appreciate the time, best of like the rest of the year thing. And that's going to do it for this episode of the podcast. If you haven't done so already, don't forget to subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, or pod Bean and give it a rating or leave a comment your feedback has been awesome and five star ratings help more Bengals fans find this podcast. I'm Dan Horde and thank you for listening to the Bengals Booth podcast. H