Bengals Booth Podcast: Last Nite

Hi, get everybody. I'm Dan Horde and thanks for downloading the Bengals Booth Podcast.

The last night she said audition as the Bengals lose a game and their quarterback on a rough night in Baltimore.

Coming up, you'll hear radio replays, locker room comments from players and coaches, and postgame analysis from Dave Lapham. Then, in this week's fun Facts Conversation, you'll get to know a Bengals defensive back who in twenty twenty one gave

Well.

The end finally arrived, and the ending was mediocre at best. As for how I feel about Billions finally being over, I turned for help from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. If there's a sequel, I will not be watching Now. Time for the radio replays from Thursday Night's game in Baltimore. It is prime time in Baltimore, and tonight the national spotlight shines on two bitter rivals led by brilliant quarterbacks

And he tried on the sideline as he was throwing. He is throwing motion. He couldn't finish extending his right arms the motion. So I don't know what it is. I don't know if it's an elbow, a shoulder, what the problem is. But he's struggling for sure.

He was really upset as he had the football in his hand, started to do the throwing motion and grimaced in pain without releasing the ball.

Browning's warming up.

Third dout in six the Ravens at the thirty seven of Cincinnati. Lamar Jackson drops back to pass guns went over the middle, deflected and then caught by a galore of the Ravens, and he's going to run it into the end zone before doing a forward somersault into the end zone for this score. Two receivers out wide to the left, two out wide to the right. Lamar back

Yes, yes he did.

Touchdown Bengals. As Jake Browning throws the first touchdown pass of his NFL career, a two yard back shoulder throw to Jamar Chase. Lamar takes the snap. It's a handoff Edwards trying to turn the right corner. He will not. Sample is there and Jordan Battle is there and that will do it. The coaches are marching toward the fifty as the Baltimore Ravens have taken a big step toward ending Cincinnati's reign as the AFC North champs in back

Yeah, man, I felt like, you know, pretty much we was, you know, hitting on all cylinders in that situation, man.

So you know, we.

Pretty much just got to figure out and try to keep clicking as best as we can and find a way to be successful with where we're working with.

Caught the touchdown, Joe, everything was you know, you guys felt great, you had to lead. How quickly did you even realize that Joe was hurt?

Well, like I said, I didn't know to.

I think we went right back out there right before halftime, and then you know, everybody was like where Joe and then sure enough, uh, he went in there. So you know, that's pretty much when we found out. And then after that it was.

What it was.

Injury wise, things had been pretty good until the last couple of weeks and now Sam t Joe Cam. I mean, it seems like it one after the other. How do you guys deal with that?

Yeah, man, it's definitely tough, especially the the caliber of players, you know, the caliber of player of those guys, and uh, you know, we just gotta figure out a way to you know, pretty much pick up where everybody's leaving off.

And I know we have the guys in this here locker room. They all made of the right things. I mean, that's why they hear.

And I feel like, you know, just gotta figure out a way to get everybody on the same schedule and the same the same wave, and you know, pick up where they left off. You just gotta I guess at this point, next man up. And I know you know, coaches and our players got nothing but confidence in whoever's

It's gonna fall on your shoulders a little bit more now with a backup quarterback.

So how do you build on that?

Well, I don't know where what direction that we're going, but when it comes down to it, I mean when everybody we did some good things today. Obviously there was negatives of uh, you know, in terms of the outcome, but when it come down to it, man, there was some positives out there and we're basically gonna figure out watch the tape, learn from everything that you know went down and everything that went positive. Just keep building on it and just keeping everybody together. And you know, we

So let's just get ready for that.

And yeah, that's pretty much about it, all things consider.

Jake Browning did reasonably well. He completed eight out of fourteen passes for sixty eight yards with a touchdown, no picks at a passer rating of ninety three point eight. He also ran for forty yards on four carries. His touchdown pass to Jamar Chase was the first of his NFL career, and that's where his post game chat with Dave Lapham begins.

Just trying to put together drive at the end of the game, score some points and now we're down. Came games kind of over. But yeah, Jamar ran a good route verse one on one and did what Jamar does and got open and just tried to put it front piling for him. He's a good job catching it.

I know.

It's a it's a tough dynamic. Not only you know is uh you and Joe have a working relationship. You guys are good friends as well, and when something like that happens to a friend, that's gonna be a tough thing for you.

Yeah, definitely bummed to see him go down. But I'm kind of the one guy in the locker room that's kind of prepare as if he's going to go down, so uh, you know, throughout the week, just getting ready in case he does. And I feel like I didn't really miss a beat. Hopping in bush would have gotten some oilar drives together. But yeah, anytime, anytime anybody goes down and socks. And obviously Joe's a big part of

You u you extended a lot of plays. I mean, you got some rushing yards extended plays, got a bot time for your receivers to make plays for you.

Overall.

I know, I know it's a it's a whirlwind right now, but you probably want to look at tape to evaluate performance. But do you feel pretty good about what you.

Did out there?

Yeah, I think anytime you have. I don't know how many three an ounce we had in a row, but it was too many. But yeah, I mean, I think it's kind of the first time everyone else see me play. But I've felt good about how I was playing, practice stuff like that, and wish you would have won.

According to the New York Times Playoffs simulator, the Bengals five and five record leaves them with a twenty seven percent chance of making the playoffs, and that does not take into account the possibility of Burrow missing time. It's an uphill climb, but the season is far from over. Here's the bengals longest tenured player, Tyler Boyd.

We still believe because we still prepare.

You know, every guy in this locker om still got to prepare to play, you know, whether you're starting or you're not, you know, because we count we count on everybody in this locker room and make plays. You know, it's always the next man up. And this is the league, you know, guys is here for a reason. So I believe in each, each and every one of these guys.

You made it through the stretch early this year where Joe played but wasn't healthy. Now he was playing really well and that happens. How much of an emotional blow is that?

I mean it hurt, you know, like I always praise, you know, Joe give us our best chance to win any football games, you know. But moving forward, Jay got us and we got to rally him up, and we got to rally around him and make even more plays for him, and we just gotta get back in the funeral room, figure out what we needed to get done, and get back out there and execute.

You were up ten to seven when Joe left. I think the team had been moving the ball really well. Did you feel like, you know, things were clicking tonight and you might be on your way to a special night?

Yeah?

Always, you know, every every single night, I feel like it's our night, you know, because we're very well coached, very very well prepared, you know, and we got we got great players on our team, So weekend, week out, I always feel like we're gonna be the most dominant team. But unfortunately it didn't go out this that way this week, but we'll we'll regroup.

How does it change? How did it change you?

Obviously is gonna be different a young guy in his first game, And how did it change for you, which is specifically once.

He came in.

Yeah, for me, it kind of didn't change. I just knew I had to make every single play that came out way. You know, if my number, my numbers call, I can do is go out there and do my job, you know.

Hopefully, Uh he did.

He did a hell of a job when he came in, you know, but it's it's a tough it's a tough boll some more defense, you know, any other team, you know, he might have made more things happen. But with with with him come in, we knew he was gonna get a lot more pressure, and it kind of, uh slowed down some of our possessions.

But at the end of the day, I trust Jake.

You know, he's been here, he'd been in the system, and uh, he's comfortable and and yeah, I'm ready to play with him.

Earlier in the year, you're Jos dealing with the calf and the offense had it struggles with that and now this does this feel like one of those seasons right now?

Like he just can't believe that this stuff keeps happening.

Uh, I mean, things happen. You can't really uh I can't really explain, but you you just gotta move on.

Man.

It hurts us a lot. You know, that's our best player, and man, just all we can do is just keep preparing, man, and keep moving forward, and uh just go out there and making place for Jake in any way.

We can just gonna say, you guys have been pretty healthy this year, but now Sam was out, team was out, Joe went down, Cam went down. It seemed like, you know, when it when it rains, it pours.

I mean, when you got some of your most talented guys injured on both either side of the ball. I mean, it's it's a tough loss, crucial loze, you know, but again, man, it's it's the league, man, And you.

Can see around the league.

You see backup guys winning games all all over the place. So I mean it really doesn't matter. We just gotta find a way, you know, we might got to change up what we do a little bit based off of who's playing and who's not, you know, And I still believe because I feel like we have the great coaching staff that can put us in position to still keep us float.

What tells you that this locker room has what it takes to overcome it.

Just just just the people around it. Many everybody have great characters here.

Man.

Everybody is unselfish. Everybody care for one another, and we can always protect each other and.

Just just raft for each other.

That's that's that's I think the most dominant thing that you need to have in the locker room. We're in the team per se, and I think we have that. We got a real special special team and out of been here for a long time, it's the most special team.

Ever been a part of.

But again, man, we'll we'll, we'll find a way.

Now.

Time to hear from head coach Zach Taylor as he spent a few minutes with Lap after the game.

Boy, I'll tell you there's there's one you can't really count on anything in terms of the National Football League, And to lose Joe Burrow like that, I mean that had to be a shock.

Yeah, it's not a fun situation. Was your starting quarterback. That's part of the way Jake went in there. That was his first first NFL ball, you know, and uh, you know, it was probably the way he went in there, completed his first first pass in the first play on a tough, naked play and did a good job, you know, round us to get some points on the board. Two scores there, and and it's a good defense, you know,

Had his first NFL touchdown pass. He'd thrown some in the preseason, but for just won in a regular season and put a good ball in the front pileon to Jamar Chase.

Yeah, there's certainly positives there for Jake, and probably the way that the guy has competed around him and gave us opportunities to try to get back in the game.

It's just too little, too late.

I know it's very early, but I guess it's a risk injury that Joe suffered.

Yes, it is it.

I don't know anything beyond that just the sprain or don't Yeah, I'm not sure.

So in that in that type of situation. How much how much of the game plan is available to Jake. I mean, Jake doesn't rep anywhere near as much as as Joe does. How much do you have to kind of melt things down or is Jake responsible for all of it and able to execute it all?

Yeah, he's responsible for all of it, you know, especially when you're playing a team like that. Everything you got to be able to get certain checks. And I thought Jake did a great job. We've got the confidence in him and how he prepares, and that's what he's done. He's put himself in a position to where when he walks out there, that's that's a.

Big reason why he won the job.

His playmaking ability, his ability to take in the game plan and not even get reps and be able to go execute it. We've got that confidence in him and it was all available. We called all of it, and he did a good job handling that.

Joe Mixon, I thought ran hard. I thought he finished a lot of runs for you tonight.

Yeah.

There was a lot of positive things, you know, and I know the score was what it was, two score game disappointing. There's some things that we can continue to build on and be encouraged by we're going to take this long weekend here and get a chance to get rested and get our bodies back and make the run that we're used to making here down the stretch.

That's a good offensive football team too, with a very talented athletic quarterback. But I think they put up over four hundred yards and over thirty points, and that's not, you know, something that lou would be very pleased about it.

I'm sure no.

And and you know, it's when you're giving them the lead and you're playing from a hide, everything's available to him, you know. And so it's those kind of games where you get to try to get the lead and limit what they're able to do and make them a little bit more uncomfortable. And we weren't able to do that today, and that's that's that's usually what happens when they're out there.

When Joe threw the touchdown pass to put you up ten to seven, I mean, I bet it was like we got ourselves the old slaven, darker man. We got a barnburner going here, and Joe when he was trying to throw the football on the sideline, obviously you know it wasn't working for him. There were you were you surprised at the fact that through the touchdown pass and then just unable to go after that.

Not surprised, I mean, that's that's what he felt, and obviously that's that's something happened there.

So where do you go from here? You have a little little mini buy, hopefully not only Joe. I mean, at one point, gosh, it seemed like every other play a key player was struggling with some sort of an injury. It's good to have the mini bye week.

I guess it's a physical game, you know, when you come on the road on a short week, and and uh, you know what I told the team was, let's let's not forget we had a good rhythm there, four wins in a row. We lost in a last second field goal. We lost a tough game and a short week on the road to a really good football team. So let's let's reset this weekend, focus on Pittsburgh, put her best foot forward, and do the things that we know we're

The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you by 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 time for the radio guys recap the Bengals loss. But more importantly, Joe Burrow exited with five minutes to go in the

Yeah, there's no doubt. And the sad thing is when he left, the game was a ten to seven Bengals advantage. So if he was able to play at the Joe Burrow level and finish that football game, who knows. We may be talking about a totally different story right now, but that injury is obviously the story of the game, and it's a It was one of many both teams

On the second day of training camp, Joe Burrow strained his calf. The Bengals probably don't start one in three if not for that injury. Now here we are with seven games to go and we don't know his status with a wrist injury is. It's starting to feel like, unfortunately, it might just be one of those years.

Boy Tonight tonight was was an indicator that the football guys aren't going to make it easy. They're going to make it very, very difficult. And when you lose your quarterback, I mean, it's just it's the most important position in football, in sports really, and you can make a good argument for that obviously, but I remember losing you know, like Kenny Anderson to injury and Turk Schooner stepping in at the backup position, and our mindset was every individual win.

Joe Burrow apparently addressed the team after the game. He didn't want to share what he said to his teammates, but I imagine it was something along the lines of, listen, fellas, we got seven games to go. We don't know what the status of some of these injured guys, but we can't pack it in yet.

If I'm a teammate of Jake Browning, though, I say, hey, dude, I'm proud of you, man. I mean talk about adverse conditions. I mean, that's the life of the backup. You never know when you're going to be called into the mix. But he was ready, and I asked, Zach, I said, did you have to pare anything down. Nope, He's responsible for learning the whole thing. We called the whole play sheet. And he went out there and had his first career touchdown pass in the regular season, made plays with his

Would think that final touchdown drive is helpful if he has to make a start in their next game.

And you know, it's like a big deal. You know they're already down. It went from a three score game to a two score game. But I'm with you.

It showed.

It showed all of his teammates. I'm going to compete every snap. I'm never going to quit on a game. I'm never going to quote on you. You're not going to quit on me. Let's go get something done. It's big. I think it made a big statement.

Let's talk about a big negative on defense once again. A ton of big passing plays after eight of them in the Houston game. I don't know how many twenty yard passes they gave up in this one, but it was definitely north of five.

Man.

You're looking at against two opponents, the Houston Texans and now the Baltimore Ravens, almost a thousand yards of defense given up and you know, over thirty points and you know thirty points and weren't in two football games. That's that is very uncharacteristic of this football team. And they got to lick their wounds. They got to get I think Sam will be back for the Pittsburgh Steeler game. Hopefully some of the other injuries will heal up on

Their chances of winning the AFC North are very slim. That's just the gods honest truth. There's no way around. Their chances of making the playoffs are far from over. They're five and five, They've got seven games to go. If they could find a way to win five out of those seven and get the ten wins, there are a lot of teams right now in the AFC that are in that range of like four to six losses, but that's probably what it's going to take going forward.

And everybody they play is nobody's got a losing record. So, I mean, it's the toughest remaining schedule in the National Football League, and they are They've got their backs firmly up against the wall. Now they've dug themselves a hole, whatever cliche you want to say. They got to come out swinging, and they got to get it figured out and get it figured out quickly. And I agree with you, Dan,

For many years, the Bengals couldn't beat Ben Roethlisberger. Lamar Jackson now eight and one in nine starts against Cincinnati, and.

That's the only guy that Joe Borrow seems to struggle against. I mean, everybody else he you know, he's going he's winning football games against.

He left with the lead tonight.

He did he did, you know, And so this one's incomplete, this one doesn't really Unfortunately, he's going to take the l because he was starting quarterback. But your point is well taken. He he left with the lead. But Lamar Jackson is man. His athletic instincts are way off the charge that guy is a freak.

Following up on the big plays allowed stat the Bengals gave up passes of twenty one, twenty nine, thirty three, thirty seven, and fifty one yards and allowed runs of twenty one and twenty six. That's seven plays of more than twenty yards. The Bengals return to action a week from Sunday at home against Pittsburgh. The Steelers are in Cleveland this Sunday to face the Brown without quarterback Deshaun Watson. Now time for this week's fun facts conversation, where you

I grew up technically in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Now I say technically because I think it depends on your definition of growing up. So I was in Lancaster, PA from birth until I was about ten, so birth till kindergarten or till fourth grade, so there's.

Not much going on.

The reason I consider myself from Boston is because I was there from fifth grade to tenth grade. That's where I made some really strong friendships and relationships. That's where my formative years were. Got my first kiss there or all that stuff. So anything that makes you like a young man or anything like that, that's where I was.

I was in Boston for that.

Were you moving around for your father's jobs.

Yeah, I was moving around for my father's jobs. Obviously. He started out in Pennsylvania.

Then he got a job out and uh or actually started going to school in Massachusetts first, then started working there and then eventually moved to d C where he was working. So that's why I got the two years of high school in Fairfax, Virginia.

You have a son named Jack. You told me earlier that your father used to call you Jack Rabbits. Did you have a hard time staying still as a kid.

I did have a little bit of hard time staying still. I just like to be active. I was the youngest, and you know, the world was my playhouse, and you know, I used to go out in the in the backyard and chase rabbits. We had a family of rabbits, so I go out there to get my energy out, go chasing rabbits in the yard, which is where the name stemmed from. But yeah, I always been a little bit of an energizer bunny. I think the guys can tell you, you know, rarely sitting still.

I like to be active and have fun.

So after a great junior year of high school in Fairfax, Virginia, the recruitment process kicked in. I know you visited Alabama. I'm sure there are other spots as well. You ultimately went to Penn State. Did you enjoy the process or was it stressful?

I enjoyed the process. I mean high school football is you know, it was just fun. You know, when you're in high school, you're just the guy, and so that process was a lot of fun. I got the luxury of watching my oldest brother go through that process of being recruited and everything like that. He ended up playing football at Holy Cross College in Worcestern, Massachusetts. So I was enjoying the process. And you know, having a god

It made it.

Easy for me to make that decision. So it wasn't a lot of stress that went into it. It's just, you know, a kid that you know had an opportunity to go play at his dream school, and so I just, you know, took that opportunity wholeheartedly.

I've been to Happy Valley, Pennsylvania where Penn State is located. Beautiful campus, but kind of in the middle of nowhere. Was it culture shock at all.

It was a little bit of a culture shock, just from like an actual like education standpoint, like getting to college and being kind of on your own. You're like, hold on, like my mom's not emailing the teachers like making sure I'm getting my homework done or anything. Like I'm free, I can do whatever. I don't have to go to class to day all that stuff. So got through that phase, learned the hard way that you got to take that stuff serious. But no, it was a

In Ne'spenn State.

You certainly chose the right place down at Penn State. So you started out as a running back before switching to defensive back. In your college career, you rushed for a touchdown, You threw a touchdown pass, You had three interceptions, you had a sack. Do you have a favorite highlight from your time with the Nipney Lions.

Favorite highlight?

I had a game winning interception against Iowa on the goal line.

It was a rainy, sloppy day.

Usually usually that's how those games go up in Happy Valley in mid October and November. You know, slow game. It wasn't really something that was going our way. But yeah, they were driving on us with maybe a minute left and they had an opportunity to punch the end zone. They ended up making an errant throw that I can't ever got tipped or whatever, But I intercepted on the goal line and I saw nothing but green. I got

But I didn't get it done. But that's all right.

We're doing fun facts with Nick Scott. So after graduating from Penn State, you were drafted in the seventh round by the Rams. Describe your draft experience.

Oh, it was a real quiet experience. You know.

It was just myself, my mom, my dad, and my aunt Alisha. She's been like my my biggest fan since I don't know when.

She's always she's everywhere.

She makes, travels travel, she travels a long way to see my games and everything like that. She was a cheerleader in high school, so that should tell you everything about her personality.

So it was special to have her there.

But yeah, it was a it was a quiet experience because I knew there was a high likelihood that I was gonna go undrafted, so I didn't want to deal with a whole bunch of people in the house and everything with expectations. So yeah, when I got the call, you know, my family was obviously excited. It's nothing like seeing my my name at the bottom of the ticker. I don't even know if I think it might have been on commercial when I saw when I saw my name go across drafted seventh round, fix two.

But it was still special as it gets on.

So late in your third NFL season, rams safety started dropping like flies with injuries. You moved into the starting lineup, and then you wound up starting every playoff game on the road to the super Bowl and obviously the Super Bowl win over the Bengals. He had an interception in the playoffs off Tom Brady. When you look at back at that now, does it almost seem a little unreal how that all transpired?

Yeah, I mean it's I was just talking to somebody today, and you know, I always say, like, my journey and story into the NFL, you know, hasn't ever been flashy, but I think, you know, when you get down to the nitty gritty, you know a majority of the guys who make up this league stories are more similar to

If you close your eyes and remember that Super Bowl, do you remember running out of the tunnel. Do you remember the confetti falling after you guys won. What's the most vivid memory of that day.

I would say just the post game, the confetti, being with my family and my wife and holding the trophy and just like just bouncing from guy to guy, looking them in their eyes. And we all know what we went through that season, and what we talked about that season and how hard we worked and seeing everything that we talked about. Coming to fruition is like the most surreal experience that you could share with somebody. Ever, aside from getting married, shout out my wife, Holly, that was

But yeah, that was right up after that.

So a few months after winning the Super Bowl, you were the commencement speaker at your high school. How do you prepare to write a commencement speech? And what was the core of your message?

Yeah, so there's a lot of preparation that goes into it. I was fortunate because I watched my dad give a numerous amount of commencement speeches. I watched him, you know, I grew up watching him speak in public on people's behalf, different events and everything like that. So it was always something that's something that seemed normal to me, something that I might have to do one day. So I was confiding him in him a lot and sending my draft back and forth with him. He was helping me out,

Role and embrace that.

But at the same time, you know, behind the scenes, I was always working to get better because I wasn't gonna settle for that role.

A few wild card topics. Now for Nick Scott, who is your all time favorite athlete in any sport? And why?

Oh, that's a tough question.

I'm thinking like every sport, but I would I would say Tiger Woods. Yeah, Tiger Woods, just because he's a guy who I feel like I resonate with, just because the amount of doubt he had coming into his run and becoming a tour member. You know, he was a really young kid, so people didn't believe in him. There's one interview I can't remember who he was sitting down with, but I think he was maybe nineteen or and he said something like, I don't ever come into a tournament,

You know.

I feel like, you know, I got the world against me, and I'm just constantly trying to prove other people wrong and prove myself right.

Tell me something about you that very few people know.

I can sing pretty well. I don't sing four people.

I don't sing in public or sing often, but people I'm comfortable with they think I can sing pretty well. Of course that's like my mom and my wife. So who knows how how genuine they're being, but they're making me feel good at least.

All right, well, I already know you won't sing for me that. What do you like to splur?

John oh Man? Shoes and golf shoes have slowed down a little bit.

When I first got in the league and there was all this money coming in from game checks, after coming from like a two hundred dollars a month stipend, shoes were just getting ridiculous. But now it's like golf rounds, golf equipment, bags, balls, all that stuff. I just there's no limit.

I share your passion.

There.

Last thing for Nick Scott. This one's kind of deep. If you could meet anybody in history living or deceased, could be an athlete, an entertainer, a statesman, a relative you never had the chance to meet, who would that person be?

I met this individual before, unfortunately I didn't get to grow up with him. And that would be my great grandfather on my mother's side. Just because of how close I was to my Grandma Mary, and she lived into her nineties, and that she was such a beautiful person and you know, had such a such an impact on our family. Yeah, I wish I could have met the man that she was married to, or at least been able to recollect a little bit more what he was like and had that relationship.

A heartfelt answer, I appreciate that. I appreciate your time. Thank you so much, Nick Scott.

Thank you. I appreciate it.

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