Hi, get everybody. I'm Dan Horde and thanks for downloading The Bengals Booth Podcast. The If You Just Believe addition, as the Bengals look to stay alive in the playoff hunt as they host the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday at
pay Corps Stadium. Coming up, I'll talk to Drew Sample about his teammate for seven of the last eight years, Jake Browning Hall of Fame wide receiver James Lofton tells us who he thinks is the best wide receiver in Bengals history, and in this week's no The Faux Conversation will take an in depth look at the Colts with
their radio voice Matt Taylor. 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 for the best fans. Kettering Health is the official
healthcare provider of the Bengals. Now 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 wherever you get your podcasts. It's the greatest thing since
the New York Times Playoff Machine. With a six and six record in five games to go, the Bengals are still in playoff contention, and Joe Mixon says Monday's road win over the eight and three Jacksonville Jaguars was a reminder that the Bengals are still capable of beating anybody on their schedule, even without Joe Burrow.
Honestly, I felt like just everybody was like, bro, we could do this, Like we are still the Bengals, you know what I'm saying, and nobody feeling sorry for themselves. And I think that was a huge thing that I've seen. I felt like this past week was nobody hanging their hands.
Everybody like, man.
Like, let's go, like we're still in it, you know what I'm saying. And you know, you can see it from the coach you was here, from the players, and you know, that's a great thing to see because you know, when somebody like Joe goes down, you expect, you know, people would be like, oh, season's over, this, this and that. But we just beat what one of the top season in AOC right now. So I feel like we can play out there. We can play out there with the best of them. I don't care who it is, you
know what I'm saying. So we just got to go out there and do what we do each and every week.
But it's going to take.
All of us.
So what exactly is it going to take for the Bengals to make the playoffs? The New York Times has an interactive online tool called the Playoff Machine that makes it easy to figure out. It allows you to end to the result of any of the remaining games, and then the machine does three hundred and ninety thousand simulations before spitting out their playoff chances. For example, right now, the Bengals have a ten percent chance of getting in. If they beat the Colts on Sunday, it rises to
seventeen percent. I spent some time basically entering all of the possibilities for the bengals remaining games, and here's what I found out. If they win four of their last five to finish ten and seven, they should make it. Depending on the one loss, the playoff probability ranges from
eighty one percent to ninety percent. But if they go three and two even with wins over the three AFC teams in similar shape the Colts, Steelers, and Browns, they've only got a twenty one percent chance of getting in. In other words, nine to eight is probably not going to do the trick. Four of their five remaining games are against teams that currently have injured starting quarterbacks the Colts, Viking, Steelers, and Browns, and three of those four games are at home.
If Jake Browning continues to give them solid play at quarterback, a four to one finish is very possible. For more on Browning, who was named the AFC's Offensive Player of the Week, I spoke to tight end Drew Samp, who first took the field with Jake as a Washington Husky eight years ago. True, Monday's game is going to be remembered as the Jake Browning game for his spectacular performance against the Jags. You played with him for four years
at Washington. He was your starting quarterback for the four years that you played. What stood out to you about that performance on Monday?
I think, same thing that Jake's always been great at. You know, the moment wasn't too big for him. It was Monday night on the road. You know, and he just he studies hard, he does all the right things, and when when it came.
Time for him to perform, he performed.
You know, he put the ball where he did to go, he made the checks, he owned the huddle, and you know, credit to the staff for you know, we had a great game plan and we were able to execute on pretty much, you know, every position group was able to execute and obviously.
A big chunk of that falls in my quarterback and I think he did a great job doing that.
How excited were you for him that he had that moment in primetime?
I mean it's awesome.
Obviously, like you said, I played with him for four years. You know, we we were together, you know, as freshman basically playing college football for the first time, and then to now be a part of his NFL journey is always awesome. You know, to see the work that he's put in and you know the type of guys he is, and you know, I've always known he's been.
A good player and he was able to kind of show the world that. So that's awesome.
He started as a true freshman fresh out of high school nineteen years old, and you guys had a good season together that year. You had a winning record and won a bowl game. To me, that's amazing that a guy can come out of high school and do that at that level. What did he show you then?
Yeah, I think he came in and you know, he had an amazing high school career. I think he set a bunch of records whatever. So that's kind of really all we kind of knew about him. You know, I had red shirted and then that was going to be my first year playing, and he came in. He came in early, and I mean, honestly, he just worked his ass off and he kind of just won everyone over from like, hey, this guy was, you know, a pretty
big time recruit, set a bunch of records. He came in early, he left high school, and you know, he worked his ass off, and he worked and he learned, and I think he just gained the respect of everyone. And then you know, once he started playing, kind of never looked back from there. And just one of the things he's always been is he's always just you know, he's he's laid his body on the line. He's he's done everything that you know, he was asked to do.
And then I think he's done that in the NFL as well.
We're visiting the Drew sample. You had a touchdown catching his first start, you had a big catch in the red zone last week, and his second start. We often hear about how important trust is between quarterback and receiver, quarterback and tight end. Do you feel like you have that because of the time you've spent together.
Yeah, I mean I think it never hurts. And I think you know, Jake and and our offense, the way it works is, you know, he's he's done a good job of just find the open guys, you know, you know, whether that's you know, in the flat checkdowns, routes, play action, whatever,
I think he's done a good job. And you know, I think, you know, in the tight end room, we've been able to, you know, kind of step up, you know, all of us in the last couple of weeks to try to you know, bring bring the offense for it in whatever way we can.
And I think you're seeing the fruits of that.
So it obviously never hurts to have that, you know, have that background, have that history. But you know, I think Jake is a good job of you know, really just finding where the ball needs to go based on you know, coverage, defense, whatever it may be.
The school that you two guys played at, Washington is undefeated on its way to the College Football Playoff and a matchup against Texas. But at the end of this year, Washington is headed to the Big Ten with Ohio State, Michigan and those schools. Are you happy about it or are you bummed that the Pac twelve is coming to an end?
I mean, I think it's a little bit of both.
I think obviously, you know, the PAC twelve dissolving, you know, growing up in Washington and kind of following that, and then you know, being a part of two pacdal champions and all championships and all that, I think it's kind of sad to be, you know, kind of the end of an era, the end of you know, obviously a huge you know, part of living on the West Coast.
So I think, you know, it's kind of sad in that sense.
But also, you know, I want what's best for Washington, and that's definitely you know, everyone's dissolving, everyone's leaving, and so I think, you know, that's what's right to do for Washington is to go there and play those teams, and you know, there's definitely gonna be a lot more, you know, big games. I think with some of those teams that we haven't you know, played a whole lot of so I think it'll.
Be fun in that sense.
And you know, as far as you know, TV money and all that, it's it's what's best for Washington and University. So I'm glad they did it. But also it's you know, it's kind of sad to think about it would be no more packed.
Twelve Monday Nights game against Jacksonville was really fun to broadcast. There were five ties and six lead changes and all sorts of weird stuff going on. Do you have fun in the moment as a player or does the fun kick in after the game is over and you've won.
I think the fun kicks in, you know, as the game is over. I mean, I think in that game, when you're playing such a good team like that, you know, and a team that's the top of the AFC. You know, it's fun to obviously go out and play on the
big stage. But I think it's when you're in the moment like that, it's you know, it's stressful, you're back and forth, you know, you're in the game, you're you know, it was fun in the sense of, you know, our offense I think played well and we were able to, you know, do a lot of different things and play well against their defense. It was fun in that sense, but I think it was the real fun. Didn't kick it until the field goal went in and we knew
it was over. But those are just the type of games that you know that you have to just stay locked in the whole time because it's up, it's down. You know, there's really good stretches, there's bad stretches, whatever it may be, and you just kind of have to stay locked in and you know, to get to the win and then you can kind of enjoy it after that.
So two weeks ago against Pittsburgh, the team only had twenty five rushing yards. On Monday night against Jacksonville, thirty one carries one hundred and fifty six rushing yards. That's a top five run defense. Was the mindset different for everybody in the unit to get the running game going.
And I think, you know, you always want to have a balanced offense, and for us, I think it was more, you know, we had just been we'd been close on a lot of stuff. When we turned the tape, you know, it was close, whether it was you know, assignment, getting whatever and all in all groups, running backs, tight ends, o line, whatever it may be. So I think it was just the focus to try to hone in on
the details of it, to say, hey, we're close. It's not as bad as you know, everyone makes it out to be, like, we know that we're close, and we just got to clean up a few things. And I think that was kind of the The focus was just making sure that we were on top of our game to put us, you know, in successful spots and then when the runs are called, to be able to execute
them and get positive yards and be efficient. And you know, when we were able to do that, obviously it gives the coaches confidence to call more of those and and kind of control the game that way. So I think it was just the the details and the execution part was what we focused on, not necessarily like, hey, we.
Got to run the ball more.
It was just being you know, trying to be efficient with those runs and letting it kind of handle itself from there.
Chase Brown is back from a hamstring injury, got his first extended opportunity to play and had an excellent game. What kind of jolt did that bring to the offense.
Yeah, he's awesome.
I mean, he's he's you know, he's been playing some sucial teams before he was got hurt where he had you know, he had shown flashers just with his speed and explosiveness, and so, you know, I think he's been working hard to try to, you know, in practice to kind of show the show the coaches that he can be trusted in some of those spots.
And he was just able to you know, take advantage of those opportunities. It was awesome.
So I think, you know, hopefully he continues to do that. And like I said, we were able to run the ball effectively, and I think when you got multiple guys you know you can come in and run the ball well, that obviously helps the team.
Three. You've come back from the MCL injury that you suffered in Week two last year against the Cowboys, and at the beginning of training camp, I wasn't sure if you were all the way back, were you or did it take some time?
You know, obviously in the beginning, you just don't know where you're gonna you know where you're gonna be. You put in a lot of work, but just to get back into true you know football and and you know, being in camp and hitting and all that.
I think there was just a little bit of you.
Know, not a mental block, but just kind of you're kind of feeling it out a little bit, and then as you continue to go, you you know, you kind of gain confidence and go from there. And so I think each new you know, camp pads, you know, preseason games, ravers uson games, and then kind of going into the season, I think each of those you kind of gain a little bit more of that confidence.
It's not necessary that the knee.
Was you know, feeling bad or hurting, but you're kind of just you know, you're getting your legs back, You're getting your you know, just that that battle hardened you know, body back, and then you know, during the season, I felt good about it. So I think it just it took a little time to kind of really feel like you're back, just with the experience of being out for so long.
But yeah, I was.
I was really happy to be back for camp and into the preseason and to be to be back for the start of the season.
You're known for your blocking ability, but I think people forget sometimes you had forty catches in a season your second year, do you feel like you've been type cast as somebody who is a blocking tight end?
I mean somewhat, But I think for me, like you know, I obviously take pride. That's a huge part of my game. That's what you know, That's what I did in college a lot.
That's what I do here.
That's how I you know, am able to help the team win. But you know, I think as myself is a rounded tight end that I can do everything. And you know, every every offense, every team is different, and so James has done a good job just like hey for our tight ends.
It for me just just be ready for your moment.
And you know there was times and you know years past when I you know where it's hard because you're not getting a ton of opportunities that you do get do get opportunities and you haven't been.
In those positions.
So I think for me, just just making sure that I am ready for those moments, and I've been able to take advantage of those this year. But yeah, I mean, I I see myself and I want to be you know, a well rounded tight end and in our offense, you know, I think I'm able to do things that really helps us open up, whether that's you know, run game path
protecting whatever it may be. But also you know, I'm confident in my abilities to go out and run routes and catch passes and you know, make a guy miss or go through a guy or whatever it may be. So that's always something that I'm working for. And you know, whether I get those opportunities or not, that's you know, depending on the game game plan, a lot of factors
outside of my control. So for me, it's just making sure that I'm ready to go and be able to take advantage of whatever opportunities I get and in all aspects, and I think that's what's important, and that's the fun part about being a tight end.
Final thing, you and your wife are involved in a toy drive for Christmas. It's something you've done before. Share some of the details.
Yeah, it's really cool.
The last couple of years, you know, so you know, my wife and I have a good connection with Children's Hospital. Both our daughters were born here and they spend some time after they were born in Children's and so it was something that you know, holiday season for those families that are at Children's, they're you know, they're going through a lot, whether it's surgeries, long term care, whatever it
may be. So we did a little toy drive or my wife and I just had you know, the first year we'd gone out and bought some toys and we're able to deliver them. And just seeing those those family, those kids, you know, that reaction, you know, being in such a tough spot and just having a little bit of something where the parents didn't have to worry about going out and getting stuff and the kids were able to come out and pick something out.
It was really cool.
So this year is the first year where we're you know, we're trying to get the counit involved. We got some you know, some sponsors helping us out to kind of get some donations to hopefully get more toys and be able to do a much bigger event this year. You know, I've been in Cincinnati for a while and I've seen you know, the fans of the community be able to rally around these types of stuff.
So if you want to, if you guys want to help out, you can go to my.
Socials at Drew Kell on Twitter, at Drew Kell Eating on Instagram.
There's a link in my bio to donate.
We got some tickets and some other stuff raffled off for donations. Uh, and then donations will be done December fifteenth and then December eighteenth, my wife and I were going to go in and hopefully have a ton of toys for the kids to come out.
And pick off. So it's something really cool that we do every year.
It's something close to our heart which will and it's something really special that hopefully everyone can get involved in.
It's awesome, Thank you for that. It's much appreciated by the community and best of Fluctu on Sunday and it's Cols.
Yeah, awesome, thank you.
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 for the best fans. Kettering Health is the official healthcare provider of the Bengals. If you can't make it Topey Corpse Stadium on Sunday, a Hall of Fame wide receiver will be the TV analyst and
I caught up with him this week. One of the greatest wide receivers in NFL history will be in the booth for CBS this Sunday, James Lofton and James. We've got to start with Jake Browning, who is spectacular on Monday night in Jacksonville. What stood out to you about that performance?
Well, the great thing about him performed so well. He's a California native. We know that from California. He also played in the Pac twelve. I played in the Pack eight next year for Pack two. I think that he never got flustered during the course of the ball game. Early on, Bengals through a lot of short passes and you're going, okay, let's throw the ball down the field. And then when he started to throw the ball down
the field, he was ultra successful. So it was a perfect game for a guy who's stepping in and they'll just see what the follow up act will be like. It's kind of like one of those movies with a bunch of sequels. We know the prequel. A guy who gets bounced around, doesn't get signed anywhere, has a good, great high school career, good college career, and then can't get any traction in the pros, but looks like he has his footing pretty well cemented right now.
James, you're on a Super Bowl team in Buffalo where Jim Kelly got hurt in the final regular season game and his backup for Reich was able to lead you to a couple of playoff wins before Jim got healthy, and then you guys went to the Super Bowl. What does a team have to do to rally around the backup quarterback.
I think what the team really needs to do is not to worry. Uh, it's really in the coach's hands at that point to devise a game plan that cater's a little more to the skills of the guy who's coming in than the guy who's trying to replace.
The Bengals are six and six with five games to go. Four of those five games are against teams that are missing their starting quarterback at least right now, what do you think of the bengals chances with a month left in the season.
Well, I never hear this phrase uttered during training camp, but we control our own destiny, and just think about it at the training camp. You control your own destiny.
If you were to go seventeen to zero, I think that's a pretty good record, And even now, at six and six, if you can win the last five games, and yes you're not going to play them Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, but if you can win each game that you play, he got a really really good chance of being in the playoffs because ten eleven wins almost secures your playoff spot.
We are visiting with Hall of Fame wide receiver James lofton last week, Jamar Chase became the fourth wide receiver in history to have eighty plus catches in one thousand plus yards in each of his first three seasons. What makes you go wow when you watch Jamar Chase.
Well, it's not so much the numbers that guys are putting up now because there's more passing to the game. But the thing about Jamar Chase, and normally I use this phrase about running backs, it's contact balance. When you watch him play. You know, you know, we talk about Jalen Hurts and all that he can squat. If he can squat seven hundred pounds, I'm pretty sure Jamar Chase can squat six hundred and ninety five pounds because his lower body just looks so firm. He doesn't get bumped
off his routes. He goes where he wants to on the football, and that's a trait that a lot of receivers don't have. They get pushed out where the defensive back wants to push them to. That didn't happen to Jamar Chase at all.
Te Higgins was back on Monday night after missing three games with a hamstring injury. The Bengals had lost those three games. He came back and they won on Monday night against the Jaguars. What does team mean to this offense?
Well, he's a big body, he's a When you take the three receivers as a group, you really can't double team or shade coverage to anybody. And even though we're talking about T Higgins, the guy that I got to take my hat off to is Tyler Boyd. And he came into the league. He was Robin to AJ Green's batman. Then he turned into Batman. Then somebody else shows up, he turns back into Robin. Now he's Alfred, the trusted
guy who gets everybody where they're supposed to be. And I just love his spirit and the way that he plays the game and the unselfishness all three receivers. I think really that the attitude that they have that I see from them because they could all be stars in their own right, but collectively together they're awesome.
James, I'm glad you mentioned Aj Green because the Bengals have had some great wide receivers in their history, Isaac Kurtis, Chad Johnson, AJ Green, Jamar Chase and others. Do you have a guy at the top of your totem pole from the Bengals all time list?
Well, you named him first. When I was a going into my senior year at Stanford, Bill Walsh came in and he came down to the track where I was and he said, he said, who did you piss off? And I said, so, what do you mean? He said, why haven't you been playing on the football team. I said, well, you know, they told me I could run track, so when the football season was over, I might be second string and then i'd come back in the fall and I was third string. And he said, well that's not
going to happen. He said, I got some tape I want you to watch, and I had never watched tape of a professional receiver. And he showed film on Isaac Curtis and he said, this is the guy that you could be like. And I never had anybody tell me that I could be a professional, that I could be like somebody who was in the pros. And so Isaac Curtis has always stood out to me. And I was fortunate to relay that story to him about three or
four years ago. And you know, Bill Watsh was special to a lot of people, really special to me, And that association with Isaac Curtis, even though Isaac didn't know it for years, always stood out to me.
When I picture your playing days and picture Isaac's playing days, you two guys remind me of each other in a lot of ways. You had the tremendous speed. Obviously you had several seasons where you averaged more than twenty yards of catch, But it was more than that. It was the style with which you played. Did you try to emulate Isaac in that way? Or is that just a similar personality with you two guys.
It might just be similar personalities. I know this, I know about Isaac Curtis when he was in high school was a great running back. I was a bad high school quarterback and I didn't have the running skills that he had. When I saw some of his highlights and I go back and I google him. Now, I go, man, he was really awesome, and you know, sometimes you get a lot of credit for when you're playing. And then he merges with Chris Collinsworth, he beats out David Verser. Again.
You haven't heard that name in a while. So Isaac Curtis was special in his era and probably a guy along with Ken Anderson, who didn't get the credit that he deserved a lot of times.
James, you played in three straight Super Bowls with the Buffalo Bills and played for one of the great leaders of all time in Marv Levy. What do you think of Zach Taylor and does he have any Marv Levy qualities when you watch the way he coaches this team.
I remember meeting Zach Taylor in his first year when this team was not where it is now. We'll just put it like that mildly, and I said, man, he's got a tough road in front of him. It's interesting when I watched the young coaches come in now, they have a pass for the game. They have the energy to pursue it twenty four hours a day, and they do that and if given the right elements to the systems that they want to play, to the things that they see dancing in their head at night. They can
get it done. And he's been able to do that. And you know, you look no further than the stability that they've had along the offensive line, mixing the skilled players, get the quarterback, get a fine guy to tutor to everybody on defense. So there's a lot that goes into it, not just the calm demeanor, but Zach It's interesting he had a big grin on his face in one of the passes that Brown And completed, and so you could just see the joy that he had and the happiness
that he has for his players. And I think that that infectious quality just goes throughout the whole organization.
James, You've got the Bengals and Colts. This Sunday, Indianapolis is seven and five. The Colts have a four game winning streak. They only won four games all of last year. What's impressed you about Indy.
Well, I was there in Jacksonville when we had Minshew Mania and Gardner. Minshew is a guy who you know, against all odds, yes he was drafted, but he's not supposed to be a starting quarterback. And he started thirty two games in the NFL already, so what used to be two full seasons, he's already had that under his belt, and he just kind of creates. Sometimes you might not see a lot there. He creates. He doesn't make a ton of errors, and but he does take risks, so
that's impressive. Quintin Nelson, the left guard, is so much fun to watch. It's like having a refrigerator out there, just pushing the refrigerator for because he may not be agile, but you shouldn't be in front of him.
It's an important game for both of these teams. As I mentioned the culture seven and five, the Bengals are six and six. What are a few things Cincinnati must do on Sunday to come away with a win.
Well, they have to have the right attitude. And by that I mean take the things that we do well the Cincinnati Bengals and continue to do them. And that's what the coaching staff is geared for, because you just don't go in and say, Okay, let's see what's going
to happen. When we looked last week and you saw Chase Brown run the ball really well, there were a couple of plays that they ran, and they ran them over and over again about five or six times because what they saw is they saw a defense that wasn't adapting to the way that they were blocking. So sometimes you get lucky on something like that. But I think in this ballgame, you gotta go with with the stars
that you have. We talked about the receivers already, and I'd be remiss if I didn't talk about Joe Mixon, who I think is a top five running back. You may not have all the yards that everybody has, but when you watch him play every ounce of energy, I don't believe in one hundred and ten percent. I don't believe in second effort. I believe in one hundred percent and effort throughout the play. And you see that every
time Joe Mixon touches the ball. I mean it's I would not want to be in his way trying to tack me.
Final question for the great James Lofton. He never played in Cincinnati in your NFL career, but you did play for Forrest Greg in Green Bay. What was your experience like playing for Forrest.
Force had a ton of respect for the game, and I remember there was one Saturday we were getting ready to play the Rams. And so we're, you know, a loose practice on Saturday, a little bit of a walk through, and there's some jokes and stuff like that, and so he said, oh, here comes Deacon Jones, and Force went into attack mode and he goes Deacon Jones never got around me. And what you realized at that moment is how much pride he had for that area that was right in front of him and a yard or two
to the side of him in each direction. That's what he owned on the football field, and he took so much pride in it, and that was special about Forest Grade.
James, this is great. I always appreciate your time, travel safe to Cincinnati and look forward to seeing you on Sunday.
I'm looking should be a great game, great atmosphere well.
James Lofton has Isaac Curtis ranked as the Bengals greatest receiver of all time. Jamar Chase is closing in on becoming the third receiver in team history to have one hundred or more catches in a single season. Carl Pickens had exactly one hundred in nineteen ninety six, and TJ. Hushman Zada holds the team record with one hundred and twelve. In two thousand and seven, Chase has eighty six receptions with five games to go.
Yeah, I mean that's a goal to mine too. I mean I'm many in my weight. Wasn't a seventy last game? Fourteen away from one hundred?
Swear?
Oh yeah, I'm about to get this.
That's easy. Oh yeah, that's a gold. Oh yeah, I got it.
Team records, one twelve, I got it, don't even where about it. Let me wear about it.
The team records?
How many games you got left?
Why?
I got it?
I got it.
We're good.
I'm trying to get one to seventeen. Baby, you're on pace for one twenty two. Let's let's let's kill it, shatter it.
Did you ever write that down a one of your goals?
I do have it actually written. That's funny you said this year.
Yeah, I just don't want to be close to what he has, so we want to make it a hard for somebody else.
Next, on.
The night the Bengals drafted Jamar, I brought up some of the greatest wide receivers in team history, and he said, then I'm going to break every record they've got if Jamar stays healthy. It seems like a safe bet. Finally, time for this week's Know the Faux segment. Matt Taylor is the radio voice of the Colts, a team that's seven and five this year after winning four games all
of last year. When Matt joined Dave Lapham and me on the Bengals Game Plan Show this week, I asked him if the Colts' success has been a big surprise.
I mean, yeah, obviously, I mean anything after last year, you know, in terms of the win total being up from a year ago is going to be better. But I got to tell you, I mean that the four to twelve and one season last year was really it just got out of control so fast. And you know, you are what your record says you are. I mean, there's no excuses for you know, the poor ending to last season when they lost their last seven games, But there
was just too much talent. There was just too much you know, holdovers and guys in quality positions for that team to be that poor record wise. I mean, if you look back on it, you had you know, on defense, you had a pro bowler at every level of that defense.
Right, we got.
Zaire Franklin coming back, you got the Forrest Buckner back, and you know, Kenny Moore and then some guys that are taking a nice couple of steps here from year two to three and Quitty pay and dieing with Dingbo and then you basically return your entire offensive line from from last year. So it's kind of a long winded answer of way of saying that it was really disappointing. The Colts were just two good roster wise to be
four twelve and one. And like I said, once the Colts got swept by Tennessee last year and it looked like there was kind of low hopes to win the AFC South, and you started firing offensive coordinators and Frank Reich was fired, Jeff Saturday came in. It was just kind of a kind of a free for all and
kind of a tail spin. So it's certainly been an eventful you know, I would say, you know, twelve thirteen months for the Colts, certainly when you throw in the draft and the off season with Shane Stiken coming in, drafting Anthony Richardson in the hope that he brings long term to the Colts at the quarterback position, just like Joe Burrow a couple of years ago in Cincinnati. So it's definitely a pleasant surprise right now in that sense that last year was so hard to follow and make
sense of it. This year it's you're on a four game winning streak, you're seven and five, five games to go, you got your playoff destiny in your own hand. That part of it is certainly much better or this December compared to last December.
Yeah, I just watching the offensive line. I know it was the disappointment last year, but man, when you've got Quentin Nelson, Ryan Kelly, you know Smith, I'm Braden Smith. You've invested you know, Raymison as well, or excuse me, Raymond as well at the left tackle position. You've invested some significant draft capital in an offensive line. That's damn good. I mean, that's a good group. My question is no, go ahead.
No, I was. I was agreeing with you with you laugh. I mean, that's you're exactly right. There was no excuse for that group to give up sixty sacks last year instead of franchise record, right, And like I said, it's basically all back this year, and it's kind of a one eighty with the same players, the same core players not that long ago in twenty eighteen when they led the NFL and a few sacks allowed, So I kind
of think they changed some things. Again, Shane Steiken's offense has certainly changed some things, but they got a new leader now, new position coach there, and Tony Sperano junior. All of that has added up to much better success.
So how about the battle of backup quarterbacks in this football game? Because of injury to starters that are you know, franchise quarterbacks for many years to come, hopefully with both franchises. But Gardner Minshew and Jake Browning back in twenty eighteen, they competed in the Apple Cup Washington, Washington State, Washington. Jake Browning's Washington team beat the Minshew's Washington State football team.
How similar? How different do you think these guys are in terms of what they're doing for their football team.
Well, it's tough to say. I got to go back and pull up the YouTube highlights I guess of that game from five years ago, right around Thanksgiving, I suppose. But you know, as far as Minshew with the Colts is concerned, you know, he's kind of this enigma because if you look at his stats and you just look at you know, the box scorers from the last couple of games, you'd say, well, he's really not having that
grade of a season. I mean he ranks bottom. He ranks in the twenties or you know, twentieth or or below, and in all the major quarterback stats, right, you know, right, yards per attempt, quarterback rating, passer rating, completion percentage, yards, all of that stuff. But the Colts they're winning and that's all that matters. And Minshew is he's making like five or six plays a game that make you say wow, and he kind of like putting the team on his
back in clutch situations. You know, a couple of weeks ago in Germany against New England, he had that twenty eight yard er kind of that flick of the wrist down by his own goal lines, you know, flips it out to Josh Downs for a diving catch that was like the game stealing chunk play for the Colts in
that game. And then in this pass game and overtime against Tennessee, puts one right and the money drops it in the bucket for a fifty five yard you know, deep shot down the near side line to Alec Pierce to set up the Colts goal.
To go.
Then he's got the clutch touchdown pass to Michael Pittman Junior for the game winner and overtime. So he's just kind of like he's like Minshew MANI or Minshew Magic, Like he doesn't play well consistently throughout the course of the game, but he's just sort of like stone cold when he has to be. And the Colts are kind of riding that with him and Pittman and Josh Downs,
who's a rookie wide receiver at a North Carolina. It's kind of those three guys in the passing game on offense, and it's been enough the last couple of games for the Colts to score twenty points. I mean, I know the Colts are going to blow you away with you know their personnel, and you know their their you know their their their size and the stature and with some of their weapons and things like that, but they are one of two teams in the NFL that has scored
twenty points in eleven out of twelve games. They're an alliance, so they're finding ways to put points on the board because of Minshew's efficiency and the overall efficiency with big plays and certainly getting it done inside the Red Zone.
Our guest is the voice of the Colts, Matt Taylor Man. I was surprised a few weeks ago when the Colts released former Pro Bowl linebacker Shaq Lenard. He has since signed on with Philly. What was the story there?
It was really kind of an unfortunate thing for Shack. I mean, the long story, the short story is that he's had He's battled so many different injuries and so many and has had so many different surgeries. You go back to twenty twenty one, he had and battled through an ankle injury that entire season and still play it at an all pro level. And then the next offseason had this nagging ankle injury. Tried to get to it it addressed with the surgery, thought they had it figured out,
it still wasn't eradicated. His injury was still there. Had another surgery in twenty twenty two in June with it, and then they figured out that he had a back problem as well, had some some pinch nerves and some disc issues in his back that was causing the lower body not to be able to fire. And listen, anytime you're talking about out backs and nerves and discs like that.
I mean, that's that's a tricky proposition, and it's really kind of complicated, and so those things, I mean, I think he had four different procedures done in a span of about two years trying to figure those things out, and they just never could. And you know, last year
he came back too early. You know, he was chopping at the bit to get out there, and obviously he's a great competitor, wanted to help his team, so he would admit to you now that he rushed it a little bit, you know, came back too soon, just wasn't the same guy, so he shut it down. I mean last year in twenty two, I think he only appeared in three games and played a combined seventy four snaps before they shut him down in November and had another surgery.
And I give him a ton of credit. He just battled his tailoff, and I mean people behind the scenes really don't know how much work, how much sacrifice, and you know, just quite honestly, like a ton of his own money to hire specialists and fly people in all over the world trying to get his nerve issue fait're out. And you know he came back this year, they had him on a pitch count. He was playing, but it certainly wasn't the level in terms of participation snap count
wise that he was used to. He wasn't playing on third down, and that's you know, he he he made a name for himself with all those splash plays and the takeaways and those traditionally come on third down, and when he's not out there to get those on the money down, it's just going to be hard to kind of make an impact. And so you know, they kind of told him, like, just the snap count's going to
go down. You're just not the same guy. And then I think both parties come to, you know, needed to come to the realization that, you know, we we've got EJ. Speed here now playing linebacker and it's it's hard to keep him off the field considering where he's at and
where Leonard was, and so they released him. And it's just a really unfortunate situation because of you know, the great player that he turned into and you know, all the special moments and the takeaways and the big moments on defense that he had when he was healthy from twenty eighteen to twenty twenty one. But you know, he's now continuing his NFL life somewhere else, and it's just unfortunate that he couldn't continue his upward trajectory with the Colts.
And I'm rooting for him. I hope he has another chance to get back on the field and turn himself into the player that he used to be. But it was just sort of clear with the Colts that it was going to be hard for him to be that guy the rest of this season.
Gus Bradley has the reputation around the league of you know, players believing in him and playing hard for Gus Bradley. And seems like this group is forty two sacks, second most in the NFL. You got four different players with five and a half sacks or more. It's led to twelve interceptions, tied for fifth in the NFL. More has taken two of his three interceptions back for touchdowns.
He is.
How good is Gus Bradley.
Gus is awesome.
He is.
He's a great coach. Obviously, he brings the former head coach pedigree with the to the Colts. He's seen just about everything in the NFL. I mean, he had those great, you know seasons and uh, you know that that great you know personnel lineup with them in Seattle, that lesion of boom. But you're right that the Colts are just a very disruptive defense right now. I mean they're not
gonna have right now. They don't have great stats that blow you away in terms of rush and pass and total yards, but they just make plays and they're disruptive, like like a chronicle, Dave.
I mean, like.
Number number two in sacks right now, during this four game winning streak for the Colts, they've got twenty one sacks and they're they're like five sacks away from setting the franchise record, the Indianapolis franchise record for sacks in a single season. It's really diverse right now. I think
that's the most encouraging thing about this pass rush. In the past, it used to be, you know, DeForest Buckner fighting through double teams just to get after the quarterback and there really wasn't a whole lot going on off the edge. Well right now you can't say that. And I think Sampson Abacom, who's a nice addition in free agency. He leads the team in sacks. He's got a career high this year. He's been a great addition off the edge.
He's having a tremendous season. And also, I go back to what I said earlier with Quitty pay and dioa Dangbo, those guys getting more playing time. The light bulb is sort of going off for those guys. You know, they're part of that that four player group that has at
least five and a half sacks as well. So that that's the most encouraging thing about this defense right now with five games to go, is they're offsetting some of the bad, the bad rushing defense numbers by just getting after the quarterback and pushing teams, you know, getting teams behind the eight ball in terms of down and distance.
The one good thing about the Colts right now is they're giving getting Grover Stewart back and Dave, I know you watched a lot of film on the Colts, and he just means so much to their interior rush defense. He's coming back after serving a six game suspension, right and the rushing defense it really fell off a cliff without them, I mean, that's there's no way to put it.
I mean, without him in the lineup, the Colts gave up on average one hundred and fifty three rushing yards a game during his six game suspension, and those were to some teams that weren't great rushing teams like you know, Carolina and New England and Tampa Bay. Those are teams that want to throw the ball and they sort of
gashed the Colts up front. So that's going to be an interesting storyline to me in this game is how much Mixing and Zach Taylor and Browning want to run the football with Grover Stewart backs because they they said today that he's full go. There's no ramp up time for him, there's no pitch count. He's ready to go. He didn't have an injury, he just had to sit out six games. So he's going to be fresh and his body's going to be feeling good.
Bengals opened as an underdog for Sunday's game, but the line has changed. Cincinnati is currently a two point favorite. That's going to do it for this episode of the Bengals Booth Podcast, 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 for the best fans. Kettering Health
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