Bengals Booth Podcast: Not Over Yet

must listen conversation. I'll also chat with Adam Rank from the NFL Network and NFL dot Com, who says the Bengals are still the team to beat in the AFC North and finally, in our Know the Faux segment, we'll get the latest on the Panthers from their radio voice, a Niche Shroth. The Bengals Booth Podcast is presented by Alta Fiber future proof fiber Internet capable of delivering multi gigabit speeds designed to take your home, business and community

to a new level. Elevate your connection with all to fiber 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 leftover Halloween candy. We live at the end of a cul de sac and in recent years haven't received many tricker treaters. Still, you have to be prepared just in case, so I always buy a

healthy supply of Reese's cups and kit kats. I was obviously in Cleveland on Halloween night this year, and when I got home, my wife informed me that only one kid showed up at our door. So if I look extra pudgy in the weeks to come, you'll know why. Now let's get to football. Chitubeya Wouje tore his ACL on Monday night and we'll miss the rest of the season. Pro Football Focus has him graded is the twenty fifth best corner in the league this year, ranking number two

last season behind the Rams Jalen Ramsey. Here's defensive coordinator lou Ana Roumo. You quantify what Cheeto means to your defense on and off the field. Yeah, he's uh one Again. I got a lot of favorites, but he's one of them. Um, great human being to start um. You know, it's just it. Uh. For as much as he cares in today's world about his teammates, you know, he talked to him, you know obviously yesterday, and uh, you know his first thing is,

I want to be involved. I'll still watch tape. I'm gonna still be a leader that you know, he's talking about that as he was gonna go have knee surgery. You know that doesn't happen these days. And he's tells you who he is as a man, and that's what's most important to me. So irreplaceable on the field, irreplaceable in the locker room, that's just who he is. Cheeto's injury occurred late in the second quarter on a night where the Bengals others star corner Eli Apple was out

with a hamstring injury. During the game, Trey Flowers aggravated his hamstring that left the Bengals with rookie cam Taylor Britt starting at one outside cornerback spot and rookie safety Dax Hill pressed into service out of position at the other.

Taylor Britt will almost certainly stay in the starting lineup as a Wouget's replacement and will have to quickly learn from his mistakes, like the one he made on the Browns third offensive play on Monday first in ten Cleveland from the twenty eight, Jacoby Prissette under center, double tight ends in for the Browns. They faked to Nick Chubb.

Prissette flings it down field and it is caught by Donovan People's Jones tries to hurdle a Bengals defender six seeds in going up and over Jesse Bates and gets tackled. At the Cincinnati thirty five Cam Taylor Britt gambelled. He rolled the dice and he came up sneake eyes. He thought he to pick a player on the football. People's Joe, he tried to undercut it, make a play on it,

and he did. And then all of a sudden, people Jones not only has to catch, he's running up the sideline and he hurdles looked like Edward Moses hurtling over Jesse Bates. Taylor Bread gambled by diving in front of the receiver to deflect the ball, and when he missed, it became a thirty seven yard game. Lou Anna Romo was asked about that rookie mistake. Yeah, I had a really clean clear coaching point after that play, don't ever do that again. Fair enough, they did come reasonably close

to getting the ball. Yeah, I know, I almost won the lottery too. The Bengals Booth podcast is brought to you by pay Corps. More than twenty nine thousand customers trust pay Corps to help them recruit, pay, engage, and retain employees. Learn more at paycorps dot com. All kidding aside,

the Bengals have real issues at cornerback. Eli Apple told reporters on Wednesday that he thinks he'll be able to play this week, but somebody will have to come up from the practice squad to add depth, and there are two corners available undrafted rookie Alan George and Marvel Tell, who last played in the NFL in twenty nineteen with Indianapolis. For perspective on the injuries in the secondary, I turned this week to eleven year veteran Michael Thomas, who has

many duties as one of the Bengals captains. Michael had occurred to me when you went out for the coin toss on Monday night in Cleveland that you couldn't lose. If you win, you take the ball. If you lose, the other team almost always defers. That's the way I played out on Monday night. Has the pressure of the coin toss been removed? Oh? Absolutely, And that's crazy. It's not crazy because you're you're such a smart you know, a guy in a suited, his game been aroundis so long,

and you understand our philosophy. So that's definitely doesn't exactly my thought process. It's like, all right, doesn't if I win the coin toss? We want the ball anyway, So like, like, it definitely took the pressure off for me. Normally it's like, man, here's a tails. You know, we're trying to defer. But that I'm great that I'm I'm grateful that Zach has told us, you know, we want to try to take the ball. And I don't feel that pressure going into

coin toss anymore. What's that moment like for you to march out there with a teammate or teammates for the coin toss to set the stage for a game. Oh man, Uh, it's a high on a one because you're pretty much elected as a captain, and you know, sometimes we bring extra guys out there if that if that game means a little something more to them. If they've played in that you'll played for that team before there from that city. But it's a lot of it's it's a lot of

weight because you represent your team. You're tell you're sending a message to other team. These are the guys that we're saying represents our team. So whoever you bring out there as your best, you know, like, okay, it's our guys. Rest your guys. And then clearly when it comes to the weight of the coin toss, you know you you'n't ask the TeV sometimes you know, you televise that get a lot of people who sends sends us pictures you know, are on social media, a tweetness and whatnot showing us

of those moments. So I want to make sure one I don't mess it up. You know what I'm saying. I don't stutter, I don't, I don't, I don't my boys don't crack, you know what I'm saying. I gotta make sure I sound confident in whatever I call. But just just knowing that I represent my team and that's a high honor, and you know you command that type

of respect. Or visiting with Captain Michael Thomas, you were very emotional after the game on Monday, regarding the injury to Chittabo Wouje, Why does that loss in particular hit everybody so hard? What Cheeto brings to this organization is more than just his position as a starting corner, a starting,

true number one corner in this league. Probably one of the best to do it in my opinion, regardless of what the rankings say, because of the attention to detail that he brings hisself, that he demands from everybody in our secondary room. It forces everyone to elevate their game, and it's his presence. Man as a natural is organic. He's talking, he's a great teammate, He's open with everyone. He encourages others to, you know, have an opinion. He's

okay and he's very comfortable. We're telling somebody, hey, we need you, We got to pick it up. That ain't right. That ain't it. When you have a guy like that who is authentic and brings that type of energy every day, it makes you want to come in this building and go to work. I gotta be right for him. And to lose something like that, to lose that type of presence and you know he'll be around. But it's different.

As a player when you're out there fighting and competing versus when you're kind of going through an injury, going through your process and you're you know, kind of on the sideline. So to lose that, That's why I was emotional for me and still is. He's in high spirits. Continue to pray for him, and you know, just telling them trust this process. Geetos out Eli Apple this last week's game of a hamstring injury. Trey Flowers aggravated his

hamstring during the game. As an eleven year veteran and a member of the secondary, what will you do this week to try to counsel the younger guys who are going to be pressed into action, I'll let them know, man, in this league, the game and profession that we chose to play. Art ever asked for his opportunity, and when it comes, you have to take advantage of. You don't

know when it's gonna come. I don't know if it'll ever come, but you have to prepare as if you believe the next play it's gonna be the play I get in and it's gonna be my time. And you know, I could give them stories about what it was like my first game in the NFL and my you know, getting my opportunity, and I can just constantly keep telling them why don't need to prepare, why don't need to prepare? Because the perfect example was this past Monday night. It

happens quick. Nobody accounted for that. Nobody accounted for that, and just like that got young decks. I go in there at corner, buddy, you know what's saying like it's it's it happens fast, and they gotta stay ready. Guys on the side like an a g Allen George, Tyson Anderson. Then when one of my chance come, when I'm gonna get a chance to play. That's this league. Man, been around it, seen it a long time. I remember what it was like being at Allen George and praying for

my opportunity. You don't saying just young guys in general, always got to prepare, Always gott to prepare because you never know when it's gonna happen. Monday night's game in Cleveland was rough, but in last year's Super Bowl season you had lost to the Browns. That was more lopsided than that game was. Having said that, is it perplexing when you have a night where everything goes wrong offense is bad, defense is bad. Evan McPherson, miss kicks. I

mean everything that you guys could have done poorly went poorly. Yeah. Uh, not a fan of these Halloween games. I'll just say I'll say that, Yeah, it was one of those when it rains, it poors type Knights. But the beauty and that is we got a very short week, got a very short week, and we get an opportunity very quickly to move on and go prove ourselves against another opponent on Sunday. And that's what I love about this this league.

You only get so many opportunities. Seventeen is only guaranteeing, so you got to take advantage of every single one. And so we get another one this Sunday. Can't dwell on that, as terrible as it was, can't dwell on it. Let's move forward. Let's go find a way. We'll get this one going into the by. The by, as you mentioned, is a week away. You've gone through training camp, it'll be nine regular season games after Sunday. How much does

everybody look forward to that break? I mean, not looking past this game at all, but clearly that break marks You're a huge mouthstone for a lot of reasons, Mike, get some some cavalry, some reinforcements back right, get a lot of chance for the guys who are still competing, but you know, nursing some things, but you know, giving us everything, get a chance to hell, look a mental break,

just to say, okay, let's reset and refocus. Right. But at the end of the day, we all know, after you know, pretty much getting hit in the mouth Monday night, we gotta go take care of this one before we get to that. By the game is against Carolina this Sunday. PJ. Walker, his replaced Baker Mayfield, is their starting quarterback. I'm sure you saw the footage of his touchdown pass last week

and traveled sixty seven yards in the air. That's the longest since the NFL started measuring this stuff a few years ago. What was your reaction to that. I mean, p J. Walker is a guy who has had to earn everything he's been. You know, he's gotten in this NFL as a testament to who he is as a player, as a person. So we gotta know and understand we're not going against oh a second, you know, a backup quarterback, our third stream quarter We're going against a guy who

has proven he can play in this league. He has some guys that he trusts, he has some chemistry wore. He gonna try to get their balls that they playmaker. And we're gonna have to put out best for four, best ever for it. And it's gonna take all hands, you know, whoever's healthy, whoever's able body. We're gonna have to get out there, and we're going against a guy, like I said, who can play the quarterback position clearly at a high level. He's breaking records, you know what

I say. He's doing some stuff that you haven't seen. So we gotta put our best foot for best ever for Sorry, gonna get this one last thing. Your fellow members of the secondary have chosen you to be that guy who gives the little in the tunnel pump them up speech before you guys take the field, do you think about what you're going to say during the course of the week or does it strictly come from the heart and from the mind. Definitely, everything I say is offending.

It does come from the heart. But I will never go out there unprepared to not having something I thought about and what they're saying, like, what what can I say? To these men to either motivate them. I mean, it's the NFL. You shouldn't have to motivate nobody. But come on, dog, like there's cameras, there's cameras around, Like, this is the moment right here that all the guys are looking to you for something. You know what I'm saying, give us something like O g give us something up. So I

gotta think about what I'm gonna say to him. It's always gonna be something that's real. Is gonna always gonna be something that's relevant into the moment. Play off somebody, if they if they have any history with the team we're playing, play off them, you know, if there's you know, something that happened during the week, or something that happened this past week, if there's something we're looking forward to

trying to do this in the next game. I always trying to use that, use something that's relevant, use something that's current, and just be real with my guys. And I think that's what I appreciated. I always appreciate your time and insight. Thank you so much, help form Dann, thank you. The Bengals Booth podcast just presented by Bengals Picks and Ultimate Bengals. They're free to play with tickets

and sign merchandise up for grabs. Find both inside the Bengals app Way back at the beginning of training camp, I had a chance to appear on the NFL Network to discuss the Bengals, and this week I caught up with one of the guys who was on the show with me that day. Our guess this week is Adam Rank from the NFL Network and NFL dot Com. Adam, you were on the set Monday night after a rough night for the Bengals in Cleveland. What was your takeaway from that game? Just a bad night for the Bengal

Is there something that concerned you a little more than that? Well, I mean I was a little disappointed, because I feel like I am now a friend of the Bengals having been there over the summer. I was disappointed, obviously, because I wanted to see, you know, this offense play the way that we know it can play. You know, less than three hundred yards in that game is not indicative

of what the Bengals are able to do. My first thought was like, well, Jamar Chase must be the most valuable player in the NFL, because you know it is really noticeable when he's not out there. But honestly, you know what, we see this way too much in the NFL. You don't want to get too excited when your team's playing really well, and you don't want to get too bummed out when things are not kind of going their way.

And I think that at some point during that contest you were like, all right, this is not going to be the Bengals night. Miles Garrett was playing out of his mind. There were some things happening there in Cleveland, and you're like, you know what, this is one of those things that just happens in the NFL. I did

my homework. I want everybody to know. But because if the Bengals win this week against Carolina, they're five and four, which not coincidentally or coincidentally was their record last year. So let's not get let's not get too bummed up. Words of wisdom to be sure from Adam rank So at four and four, this was a team that you picked to win the AFC North prior to the season. What is your big picture take on the Bengals to date? Well, I still believe that they're going to end up winning

the division. I know that Baltimore is ahead of them right now. But I look at Cleveland, I don't think I think Cleveland had that one little gasp. They played really well on a Monday night. I'm not really convinced that they're all the way back. Pittsburgh already selling off players, so that's a good sign for you. But I really like this Bengals team. I think the pieces are there. I think the most troubling thing is the offensive line. You spend a lot of resources and you're like, let's

not clicking here. You know, Joe Burrow has been sacked the second most in the NFL this season, behind only justin Fields, and we saw it on Monday night, Like, how can they not protect him? Is what is wrong here? And so I really wanted to see, you know, a better utilization of Joe Mixon like that always that he's getting the usage. You know, he's involved, he's there. It's like, why is this not translating? He was so fantastic last season.

It's just not working. And so again I don't want to put too much of it on Jamar Chase, but perhaps that's got something to do with it. Hayden Hurst really needs to get involved. But again Ultimately, and I know there are some injuries on defense, I still think this is a very talented football team. And I think that when you're in a high profile, primetime game, things get kind of overblown. So as long as you can go out this week against the Carolina Panthers re establish yourself,

I think this seems going to be just fine. Adam prior to the Super Bowl last year, you simply put it this way, Joe Burrow is magic. What do you like most about the Bengals quarterback? You know what that is one of the things like and in those losses that you know, if you look at it, it does come down to Joe Burrow and every game that the Bengals have lost this season, his passer rating has been below one hundred. You go over one hundred, you win

the game. There are certain things, though about Joe Burrow that it's hard to describe, Like when you're watching it, sometimes you're there's quarterbacks that you just see that just have an it factor that there's something about them like unafraid to make plays, can make plays, just the command of the team, Like it's you can look around the league and you see quarterbacks who are playing well I'll use Dan. I'm not trying to take shots at Daniel Jones,

but Daniel Jones is playing well this season. But do you ever get the sense that when you're watching a Giant's game, like Daniel Jones is gonna win this sport. Even somebody like Geno Smith, who again is playing very well inside the system, You're like, yeah, he's winning games. And they'll go out there and they'll beat the Falcons in the regular season, they'll go to LA and they'll upset the Chargers. Like, I can see that kind of

stuff happen. But there are times when you watched Joe Burrow and you saw this in the playoffs last year, when you absolutely need something to happen, Joe can make it happen. We have friends in our life who are like that. You're like, somebody's reliable, but somebody's exciting. You know,

somebody's gonna make something happen. That's the one thing about Joe Burrow that I watch and you're just like, you know what, when I'm watching these games, I don't feel like they're really out of it all the time, because like,

what can Joe Burrow do? Like what can happen? And I think a lot of that does go in tandem with Jomar Chase being there, but you know a lot of it is Burrow as well, and so I don't know what it is, you know what happened on Monday night where it escaped, but he has that it factor which is unquantifiable sometimes but he definitely has for visiting with Adam Rank. You can follow him on Twitter at Adam Rank. You have been known to occasionally wear costumes

on the NFL network. So what do you think of Joe Burrow's game day wardrobe choices? I love it, know what, I think a lot of people, you know, appreciate it. I know that when he walked into the Louisiana Superdome and he was wearing Jamar Chase's LSU jersey, You're like, well, game over, just whatever. I don't know, like this it's over,

Like why are you even bothering to play this? And I think a lot of it too, you know, lends into the aura of Joe Burrow, you know, the swagger, the smoking the cigar after the LSU championship, and I think you know, and rightfully so, some people are on Twitter and they're they're making poignant or making comments about like, well he gets a pass because of you know, the way he holds himself, and I'm like, yeah, but there's

there's something about drift swagging you understand. You know, when you see it, it's kind of like going back to the Rick Flair days of watching the nWo and the WCW when I was growing up, or you're like, oh, that guy just has it, Like yeah, he pulls it off. He's he's wearing a fur coat. It looks awesome. When you see me on the NFL network doing it, You're like, now, this guy doesn't happen, like it doesn't translate. But when you see Joe Burrow do it, You're like, oh, yeah,

he's got it. He's got it going on. So I just say this, you got to protect that resource. He's a national treasure and I don't like seeing him get sacked that much. I don't like seeing him harangued by Miles Garrett. So you need to make sure you're protecting him at all costs. I thought you looked good in the fur coat. By the way, doctor Rankenstein, I'm not so sure, but the fur coat was a good look for you. Thank you so much. I try, I try

we're visiting with Adam Rank. As you mentioned earlier, you were here in Cincinnati for Welcome Back Saturday, that big training camp practice inside of pay Course Stadium, the day that Evan McPherson hit the sixty five yard field goal. What were some of your taking takeaways from being around the team in person that day. Well, first of all,

I want to say that I love the city. When I was Renee Young or Renee she goes by her real name now with aw she had tweeted out one time that Cincinnati was the San Diego of the Midwest, and I'm like, I'll be the judge of this in southern California. And then I went there and I'm like, yeah, I kind of get it. I get the vibe. I understand the weather is obviously different, but I get it. I get where you're coming from. So I was. I

was enthralled with the city. I love the fan base, I love the enthusiasm, and of course, you know, coming off a Super Bowl appearance will do that for you. But then you got around the team. I really like the crew of players that they put together, and you go, you get to bounce around some training camps and you get to spend some time with some of the players, and I really like the core of the players. I love, I love what Zach Taylor's got going on. It felt

like a really good vibe. I really was impressed, you know, with this Bengals team. Again. I felt like, you know, again, when you're coming off a Super Bowl appearance, you know, things change. You know, we've all seen major league Charlie Sheen shows up the next year all corporate, but I didn't get that from the Bengals. And I really do believe that this team is very talented, and I still think that they're slept on. Like that was the one

takeaway too. It's like this Bengals team in training camp was better than the training camp team of last season, and I think the similar thing can happen as well, because there's way too many talented players on that offensive line to be given up this Manny Sacks And I know it looks dire right now and it doesn't look good, but I again, when you look at the talent, you're like, yeah, it's there. And I know that it's disappointing not seeing Jamar Chase play right now, but you still have a

really good receiving Corps. I think that Hayden Hurst was a great pick up during the offseason. Love Tyler Boyd, loved t Higgins, And again, it's just a matter of getting it going. And Joe Mixon can't be held down forever like that's an anomaly the way he's not getting it going. But again, we get paid too much money to go out there and overreact each and every week to these small, little occurrences. But we know that when it comes time to shine that this Bengals team has

proven that they can beat anybody. The Bengals host the Panthers this Sunday at one o'clock. Do you have a key or keys for the Bengals to come away with a win. Well, the one thing that you should note, and this doesn't bode well when you're in you're looking at the division record, but three of the Bengals losses, as you're very aware, come in the NFC North and

or AFC North. Excuse me, you got it. But they've been very good outside of the division, which is cool, but you got to start winning some of those division games. Number one. Number two, though you've got a pretty good handle on the Panthers. I think you're two and oh against this Panthers team recently, and the Panthers have played much better football as of late, ever since they traded away Christian McCaffrey and they elevated PJ. Walker to their

starting quarterback. He was a player that I thought, you know, was kind of overlooked. You talk to anybody who ever played with PJ. Walker who was down in Caroline, and I've had the benefit of working with Steve Smith and Thomas Davis. They love PJ. Walker, So I think that he's a better quarterback than people are given him credit for. They have some quality running backs. I think Deonte Foreman

is a lot better than people think of. Choba Hubbard will return this week, and of course DJ Moore is one of the elite talents and wide receiver who's never really seemed to take off, but has been over the last couple of weeks been playing exceptionally well. So this is going to be a test once again for this Bengals secondary, who last week had a little bit of trouble stopping Amari Cooper. DJ Moore is kind of in that category too. They have to play much better at

stopping Dj Moore. You gotta play better against the run. Deonte Foreman is not Nick Chubb, but still that guy is a good player, and if you allow him to get you into that second level, it's going to be a problem. But I think we'll see a renewed effort from the Bengals this week. And as long as you slow down, Dj Moore, I think you'll be okay. It's not going to be the walkover. I know a lot of Bengals fans probably looked at this game in the preseason.

We're like, well, this is a win. Realize that this is a better people than a better team than people are giving them credit for. But I do believe the Bengals will put it together. And by the way, protect a quarterback. That's the one good thing. You know. The Panthers have some talent on the defensive line too, protect that quarterback, Adam Rank. The Chamber of Commerce appreciates the kind words about our city, and I appreciate you doing this today. Thanks so much for your time, Keep up

the good work. Thanks so much for having me, and hopefully you know I'll be out in Cincinnati soon and if so, we'll have to have to hook up and maybe go catch a ball game or two. The Bengals Booth podcast is brought to you by Kettering Health, the official healthcare provider of the Bengals. With more than one hundred twenty care facilities and fifteen hundred care providers. Kettering Health is committed to guiding you to your best health.

Visit ketteringhealth dot org to learn more. Now time for this week's Know the Faux Segment. The Panthers are two and six. They fired their coach Matt Rule and bench their quarterback Baker Mayfield after five games and replace them with Steve Wilkes and p J. Walker. They should be two and one since those changes, but managed to lose in overtime to the Falcons last week in a game

that Carolina here to have one twice. Panther's radio voice a Niche Shroff, discussed that wild finish and the state of the team when he joined Dave Lapham and me on the Bengals Game Plan Show. There was a point where it looked like the Panthers were in control of the game, and then you know, the Falcons get a pick six before halftime, and then towards the end of the game, Yeah, the Panthers are backed up. It's fourth down, and long. They really had no choice but to go

for it. They don't get it. The game seems all but lost, and then Falcons go three and out. They gotta kick a field goal, so that kept the margin at six and then sixty two yards. P J Walker to DJ Moore ties the game here, you are thick in thirty four thirty four, twelve seconds left. You kick an extra point, you'll win. You're in first place. DJ took his helmet off. Fifteen yard penalty assessed on the pat which is now forty eight yards. It's a missed pat.

You go to overtime, you get an interception, You got another chance at a game winning field goal, you missed that, and then the Falcons go down and score. So there were so many opportunities to win. There were so many opportunities where it looked like the game was lost in a lot of ways. It was a microcosm of the entire Panthers season. Probably within the last four or five minutes of the game. You know, it seems like Steve Wilkes.

The players seem to love this guy. I mean the energy, enthusiasm, the level of play. It's like, okay, they feel like he got a raw deal. It seems like, you know, in Arizona going three and thirteen and getting getting blown up after just one year, and he's obviously been with the Panthers organization for a while. Now he's back, and it just seems like the relationship he must have those players, because man, they're playing hard for this dude, am I

on face? There is a fact. No, there's definitely been a power change. And yeah, this is no slide against Matt Rule, but Steve Wilkes, when he was hired in the offseason to be the defensive backs coach, came to Carolina with significant currency with the fan base, something Matt Rule just did not have. He was the defensive coordinator when the Panthers were winning, when they went to a Super Bowl. He's a Charlotte native. He played his college ball at app State. He played arena football in the

city of Charlotte. So people within this city, the fan base, they were rooting for Steve Wilkes. And really the unsaid, unspoken thought within the building when he was hired was if the Panthers get off to a bad start, you might see Steve Wilkes as the interim head coach. That's

what transpired. And David Tepper, the owner of the Panthers, the day before Steve Wilkes had his introductory press conference, said if Steve Wilkes does an incredible job, he's going to have every opportunity to be the next head coach

of this football team. Well, what you saw against Camp Bay a couple of weeks ago, where they've got Brady and I know their offensive line isn't the same, and I know Brady maybe not, you know, it might not be the same quarterback, and he's going through his own thing, and the offense has added struggles. But that was a couple of days after they traded Christian McCaffrey. They had

traded Robbie Anderson earlier in the week. They were down JC Horn and Jeremy Chin, their top two defensive backs, and they dominated Tampa Bay to the tune of twenty one to three, and did so with a fourth string quarterback. In my book, that counts is incredible given where the Panthers were going into that game, and then even against Atlanta they showed fight, they came back. There's a different feeling, there's a different temperature right now around this team. And

Steve Wilkes has a lot to do with it. We are chatting with a nice Shroff, the voice of the Carolina Panthers. P J. Walker's going to start at quarterback on Sunday afternoon. I saw this guy against the University of Cincinnati on a couple of occasions while he was the quarterback at Temple, and he was great. So I can't say I'm shocked by how well he's been playing for Carolina, But how has he kept the starting job and has he been a legitimate upgrade from how Baker

Mayfield was playing early in the year. Yeah, the reality, Dan, is this the Panthers quarterback play for the first five six weeks. The season wasn't just bad, it had been historically bad. You look at Baker's QBR, it's sub twenty. It's one of the lowest, if not the lowest, since ESPN had been charting QBR. PJ. Walker was not supposed to be on this team. If guys didn't get hurt. You go back to the preseason, Matt Corral their third round pick out of old Miss liszt Frank injury out

for the season. They were going to take three quarterbacks, Baker, Sam Darnold and Matt Correll. Well, when Carrel got hurt, PJ was still the odd man out. They were just going to take two guys, Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold. Then Sam Darnold gets hurt and PJ makes the roster. Baker was not very good when he started. PJ came in and in the second start at the Bucks game, they really unleashed him. They let him throw the ball

down the field. They didn't do that in the first game against the Rams, and he made some plays with his arm. He's got the ability to make some plays with his feet. Long term, who knows, there's still a lot of season left, but by far PJ Walker deserves to be the starter, at least for the foreseeable future, given his play compared to what quarterback play was before he took the reins. Defensively, this football team is solid

and sound. And I'll tell you watch you watch some tape ninety five, Derek Brown just jumps off the screen. I mean, this dude like he's making every play. And then I start looking at stats. Forty total tackles, tied for second most in the league amongst defensive lineman, six passes broken up, He's deflected six balls, that leads the team. It's number one in the NFL amongst defensive linemen. This

dude makes play after play after play unbelievable. You know, I'm glad you brought up Derek Brown because he does not get talked about nationally. And having watched him through these first seven eight games, the biggest differences. He's been consistently good. He showed flashes his first two years with the Panthers. Remember it's not like he's some undrafted free agent.

This guy was a legitimate, bonafide top ten pick out of Auburn, and they had been waiting for him and waiting for him, and there were questions even going into this season. Is Derek Brown a real star? Is he just a guy, you know, a starter on maybe a second division team? Do they know what Derek Brown is? He's been a bonafide all Pro up until this point. He's been their best player offense, defense, special teams. He's

reaked havoc. Even some of the turnovers that the Panthers forced earlier this season, Derek Brown was the reason they happened. If you go back to the Saints game, there was a scoop and score for a touchdown. The guy that blew the play up was Derek Brown. So he has had a hand in just creating chaos. He's been an agent of chaos. Yeah, I've called him a human tempest on the air. And the guy again can move in a way that guys at his size should not be

able to move. But he's been winning the point of attack consistently for the Panthers all season, and he's here's my final question for you, Caroline, is two and six. So you look at that record and you think, well, they're they're probably looking at a top ten draft pick next year. But nobody in the NFC South has a winning record. You've got a winning record in your division. You're two and one, You've got wins over Tampa Bay and the Saints. Ye, so is the feeling. Yeah, our

records two and six? So what seven men? Seven wins might get you into the playoffs this year? In the South, somebody has to win the division. And I'm gonna quote Homer Simpson default the two greatest words in the English language. There's a there's a classic Simpsons episode where they're vying to go to space and any Gumble gets drunk the night before and they say mister Simpson, by default, you're the guy that's going to go on this NASA trip.

And he starts screaming default, default, the two greatest words in the English language. Well, somebody, by default is gonna win the NFC South and go to the postseason. And right now, the Bucks have not been inspiring. I know, the Panthers have had their struggles. Obviously, the Saints haven't been inspiring. The Falcons don't trust their passing game at all. It's a run heavy team and they're really beat up in the secondary. They've got the worst pass defense in

the NFL. So nobody in this division has shown that they've got any staying power right now. Nobody really made any notable moves, you know, in the last day or so with the trade deadline there, so it's wide open. And if you look at the Panthers remaining schedule, I think the Cincinnati games an interesting barometer because at the outset of the season, and at least early on you say,

whoa AFC champions on the road? I don't know. And now you look at Jamar Chase being out, the injuries, you guys have had a specially on defense, especially in the secondary. That game probably looks a lot more winnable than did it just a few weeks ago. You know, U Foreman has had back to back hundred yard rushing days. He's played well. PJ Walker's played well. DJ Moore has played well. And I think you know, as a former lineman, I like to look up front at the offensive line

and what you guys have done. Sixth pick of the draft, first round, six pick of the draft, and the Shears draft to left tackle. The left guard was drafting the third round to potentially play left tackle. He's kicked into guard. You got a free agent from the Ravens at center. You have a free agent from the Rams at right guard, and then your right tackle as a third rounder back in twenty seventeen. It's a solid offensive line. And I'm

telling you what it looks like. When you need yards, you have to have it run to that left side. It looks like that left side is pretty athletic and fairly dominant. In my off base there, no, it's funny. The old line a season ago was bad. It was awful at times. It was a sieve. They weren't great in pass bro they weren't great in the run game. Obviously,

Christian McCaffrey being out exposes you even more. They had a priority this year in the offseason to upgrade that unit, bringing in Bozeman from the Ravens, who's actually just been starting the last two games, which coincidentally have been their two best rushing performances of the season. By the way, without Christian McCaffrey, Corbett solidified right guard. You guys saw him with Cleveland Ikey Aquan who's the left tackle out of NC State. They feel he could be a franchise

cornerstone and a ten year starter at left tackle. This is a really good unit. The old line right now is the strength of the offense. And even without McCaffrey, in Deonta Foreman, it's a little bit of a different element. He's not going to give you the pass catching the Christian Gabia, but he is a bulldozer and he can move people and he can run between the tackle. You

have three touchdowns on Sunday against the Falcons. Put the play to me, which really justified this staff's faith in the old line was a two point conversion where they just saiday, we're going to run it to Foreman right up the middle, and he got the two yards when everybody in the building knew it was coming to Foreman and it was going up the middle our thanks to

a niche. And here's an invitation to join Lapping me at the Wings and Rings location in Beckett Ridge for the Bengals Pepper Rally show this Friday from three to six. That's going to do it. For this episode of the Bengals Booth Podcast, presented by Kettering Health, the official healthcare provider of the Bengals, by Bengals Picks and Ultimate Bengals.

They're free to play with tickets and signed merchandise up for grabs by pay Corps, the official HR software provider of the Bengals, and by Alta Fiber future Proof Fiber Internet elevate your connection with Alta Fiber. If you haven't done so already, please subscribe to this podcast and if you have a minute, give it a rating or share a comment that helps more Bengals fans find us. I'm Dan Horde and thank you for listening to The Bengals Booth Podcast