Bengals Booth Podcast: Oh Yeah!

one playoff seed in the AF Seed. One on one player interview is with Eli Apple as he returns to the place where his NFL career began, MetLife Stadium in the meadow Lands. Dave Lappham joins me to discuss the latest Bengals news and share some keys to beating New York. And finally, it's our no the Faux segment as we discussed the struggling Jets with a guy who has covered the team for more than thirty years, Rich Samine from ESPN.

The Bengals Booth Podcast is presented by Ultimate Goals, the free to play next Level Fantasy Football game downloaded now from the App Store and Google Play. And 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 THEO Salted almond dark chocolate candy bar. This particular candy bar is a big, expensive one that's

not meant to be eaten at one time. It's broken up into eight squares, so if I need a little sugar fix, one square typically does the trick for me. It's the perfect combo, a sweet and salty blend of intense dark chocolate with a few crunchy almonds and just the right amount of Himalayan salt. It's made by THEO Chocolate out of Seattle, and it is candy bar genius. Now time for my first guest. He's one of two quarterbacks so far to take the Bengals to the Super Bowl.

Joe Burrow has tied the Bengals record for most touchdown passes to the first seven games of a season with seventeen, and he now shares it with Boomer Ossias and who did that back in nineteen eighty eight when he was MVP and the Bengals went to the Super Bowl. Boomer. The Bengals are tied for first in the AFC North

after stopping on Baltimore last week. Have they arrived in your opinion, Well, I mean, certainly they have arrived in and I just want to say congratulations to Joe Burrow and thank him for making me relevant in this discussion when it really should be all about them and what they've accomplished us far. But you know, they're the number one seed in the AFC right now as well, so

that is quite an accomplishment. But I think every guy on that team, and every coach and everybody that's associated with the team will tell you that it's nice to be where they are. They probably expected to be here. I think they're there a little bit earlier than I thought they were going to be, But certainly, you know, there's so much more to accomplish, and this week, you know, and what would be considered a complete let down opportunity here for them. You know, really good teams don't lose

the teams that they shouldn't. And they play the Jets this week, and the Jets are an awful football team, a team that is where the Bengals worth three years ago under the first year of Zach Taylor. So they got to come in and they got to stomp the Jets and come away with a big victory, and you know, then they kind of show you that they're mature and that they're understanding about their expectations truly should be, and that is to win every single time that they step

out on the field. Bloom, when you traveled to Cincinnati and spent time with Joe Burrow at the beginning of training camp, did you expect him to play this well, this fast coming back from knee surgery. Well, I wasn't sure, you know, And I did ask him how he felt with the knee, and I remember meeting him in August and he was itching to get back out on the

field and to start playing football again. You know. He spent the entire offseason rehabbing and then spent even more time with his private quarterback coach, Jordan Palmer, working on deep ball throwing and the strength of his arm. So that actually told me then and there that how much he really cared about the position. What I didn't know is just the type of personality that he has. He has. He's a very confident guy, let's put it that way. He may not show it outwardly outside of the Cincinnati

Bengals locker room and their practice facility. But internally and especially on the NFL films clips that I have heard of him this year, you know that he's confident and you can feel it that the rest of the team is confident in him. So it's I guess my answer to you, then, Dan would be no, I'm not surprised because what I didn't know about him is that personality trait that he has, and I think the more success that the Bengals have, the more the outside world will

understand who he is as a personality. He is a very big personality, and I think most of the guys on that team, if not all of them, are feeding off of that. You referred to him on TV recently as the perfect person for this franchise. Why his personality? You have to have a I believe, a dynamic personality to lead them to the next level. You know, Andy Dalton had a really great career there, so did Carson Palmer. I would say that they were more aligned personality wise.

Maybe they were, you know privately, they were very common in their abilities, but they weren't outwardly impactful. I think on the entire team and Carson's time there ended much like my time there the first time, and that was on a sour note. Andy kind of just got pushed aside because they got to a certain point with he and Marvin and it was really more about Marvin than it really was about Andy. This team is about Joe Burrow. This is his team. He probably has the absolute perfect

coach in Zach Taylor. And by the way, I had to remind people this past Sunday that Zach Taylor is actually the head coach at the Bengals, because I'm not sure that anybody outside of Cincinnati knows that. So, you know, this could be a match made in heaven, much like it was for me and Sam Weish. And the similarities between the eighty eight team and this particular team, you know, are significant, but more the eighty five team because that's when we drafted Eddie Brown, and Eddie Brown made our

offense complete. He was the dynamic wide receiver that we need at the game changer, and I think that's exactly what Jamar Chase has brought to the Bengal offense. Well, you interviewed Jamar last week for the NFL Today, and I thought it was really interesting. You brought up the sixth sense that he seems to have with Joe Burrow going back to their days at LSU. And before you would even finished the question, this ear to ear grin appears on Jamar's face. Do you see that sixth sense

when you watch those two guys? I do. There's no question about that. There's a comfort zone that he has that other wide receivers in the league do not have at this young age, and that is that he has his quarterback that he trusts. And there's no question that there is a very significant bond between the two men. And you know, I think I felt that when I talked to Joe Burrow back in August for NFL Network, and I certainly felt that when I spoke to Jamar

Chase's past week. So you can see that there's a trust, that there's a respect for one another. There's probably a genuine love for each other too, to be honest with you. They have participated in many big games together. There's going to be a lot of other big games that they're going to continue to play in together, and that bond is only going to get stronger. And you can tell that that bond right there is ignited. Not only the offense, but the whole city, like, this is what the Bengal

fans you know, long for all these years. And when I think about, you know, Carson Palmer and Chado Chosinko or Chad Johnson whatever he's calling himself these days. And on top of that, Andy Dalton with aj Green, this is this is this dynamic partnership that is going to basically fuel the energy for the entire team and guys like Joe Mixon and Higgins and c j Usama, all these guys are going to be feeding off of that. So it was the right draft choice. And I also

found out something else that wasn't in that interview. Dan, and I'm I don't know if you know this, but Jamar told me that Joe Burrow called him the night before the draft and said, pack your bags, you're coming to Cincinnati. Well, the rest of us are out there thinking is a Penny Sewell is the Jamar Chase? What is it? Joe Burrow knew that it was going to

be Jabbar Chase the night before. One more Joe Burrow question for you, does it drive you a little nutty when he doesn't slide or a run out of bounds? You know, he's a he's a real athlete. You know, he's remember he was a point guard in cole In high school, I should say, and I think at Athens High School. And when I when I heard that he was all he was a great basketball player in a

point guard. Then I knew that he had a sixth sense about, you know, playing quarterback and how he could transfer that ability as a point guard into playing quarterback, because ultimately that's what we are. We are the ultimate

point guards. We're the ones that are directing our entire offense and you know, giving players that we play with maybe a tip before a play, or we're talking on the sideline about redesigning a play given what we're seeing on the other side of the ball from the opposing defense. I just think that, you know, he is such a gifted and talented athlete that he has driven to maybe put himself in some bad situations. But you know, he'll learn like the rest of us had to learn the

hard way. Hopefully he doesn't take any more hits to that knee. And it's smart about it, especially when he gets to the sideline. You know, one thing about young players at our position, and myself included, we put ourselves in bad situations because we don't realize just how fast

the opposing defenses are. I think Joe is starting to understand that a little bit more, and that's one of the reasons why I think, like when you see the pirouette in the pocket and then the ball coming out so effortlessly, that means the game is slowing down for him. So hopefully he's smart about, you know, taking the hits when he should. But I also understand the aggressive nature

of the athlete that he is. A few more questions for the great boomeris Scias and the Bengals offense has been dynamic the last couple of weeks, topping thirty points in each of their last two games, but the defense has been great for all seven, currently fifth in the league and fewest points allowed. It's a relatively small sample size, but if we reached the point where you think the Bengals have one of the better defenses in the NFL,

you know, in the NFL today. Last week, prior to play in the Ravens, I got a chance to talk about the offense because I love it and I love what I see there and there's a lot of similarities to what we were able to accomplish. But coach Kauer wanted to talk about the defense. He wanted to talk about a rebuilt defense and the new faces on that defense. And I was thinking back to why did the Bengals let Carl Lawson go? Why did they let the Jets

sign him in the offseason? Well, I know now it's because of injury, not because he wasn't a good player. It's because he couldn't stay on the field. And they felt like they probably needed to redo a lot of things on defense, and they did that and they brought guys, and I thought that defense a plan. By the way, last week against Lamar Jackson was unbelievable. You could see when you go back and watch the tape the All twenty two and fans should do this on game pass

NFL game Pass. They can go back and you could see kind of like the umbrella way that they were trying to rush Lamar, trying to keep him in the pocket, and if he was going to escape, it was going to be up the middle, and it was going to be up the middle he was going to run into somebody.

So whatever the game plan was, it was perfectly executed from a defensive standpoint, and even coach Gauer said last week before the game that the real underlying significant improvement for the Bengals is on the defensive side of the ball. So I think we all see that. And I also think their kicking game has been solid this year. So there's a lot to like, you know, halfway through the season,

and hopefully they can keep it up. As you noted earlier, right now, they're the number one playoff seed in the AFC. They're one of six teams that has two losses. Is the AFC wide open or do you think one of those teams is still the most likely team to advance to the Super Bowl? You know, I do think that Buffalo and Cincinnati right now are playing the best. Their quarterbacks are playing great. You know, Buffalo was off last week, so we'll see him back in action again this week.

Since then, I should win this week against the Jets, so that this should stand. I think through the weekend that the Bills have the Dolphins. You know, it would be great to see a nineteen eighty eight reunion between the Bills and the Bengals and maybe maybe even host the AFC championship game in Cincinnati. Now, I know, I'm getting ahead of myself, but I'm allowed to do that.

I'm in the media now. I would never do that if I were a player, because that would be considered touching the money, and touching the money it's a form of bad luck that I would not want to get into if I were a player. But you know, do I dare to dream to think that that could be the case? I would think. So, there are a couple of teams that you got off to slow starts that are going to be pretty good teams when we get the December in January, assuming that they stay healthy. The

Cults will be one of those teams. I don't know where Kansas City is going to be in this mix. This is going to be really interesting to see what happen to them. They may I'll make the playoffs. But the Chargers and the Raiders are really good teams. And I do believe if you have to play the New England Patriots later on in the season or in the beginning of the playoffs, that there would be a formidable foe as well. So it is wide open, I guess

to answer your question. But the interesting thing is is that the Bengals are right there and I think most people now, at least on a national level outside of Cincinnati, are taking the Bengal seriously, which is a good thing. Last thing, Boomer, you became a grandfather last year when your daughter Sydney had a baby, and now your son, Gunner is going to be a dad. That would not have been possible if not for the work the Assassin

Foundation has done about assistic fibrosis research. It is remarkable to me that being an NFL MVP and taking a team to the Super Bowl is the second most important thing you have done in your lifetime. Do you feel that your skills athletically and as a communicator were the reason you were it on this earth to try to fight that disease. There's a lot of destin and irony in Gunner's diagnosis back in nineteen ninety three, There's no

question about that. I think the NFL afforded me an amazing platform, and I exploited that platform without any apology. And Gunner is living today at the age of thirty, proving that what we started some twenty seven years ago really has left an indelible mark on the cystic fibrosis community.

So the fact that he's thirty years old. The fact that he's doing better now than he's ever done in his life, the fact that he's gotten his master's degree, he's gotten married, and he's going to be a father himself come this December is nothing short of a miracle. And to me, Dan, whether it was me that was chosen, or Afford that was chosen, or my friend Tommy Hughes, or Jay Crandell, or all the other dads and moms that have been a part of this fight for all

these years, I think much like a quarterback. I feel very satisfied that we all did this together and that Gunner is a living, breathing miracle. And the story really truly hasn't been totally told, and hopefully it will be one of these days, because you know, I prayed to God every night that science would lead us to an answer, and God and science together has delivered me a miracle in so many ways that I can't even really talk

to because that we don't have the time too. But I can just tell you that when Gunner becomes a dad in December, it's going to be one of those amazing moments that I only could have hoped and prayed that would have happened, and it's going to it's tremendous. Congratulations to you, Congratulations to Gunner, and thank you so much for your time. It's always a treat to have Vian. Thanks Dan, thanks for having me. Always great to see you.

Since its inception, the Boomerasiason Foundation has raised more than one hundred and fifteen million dollars to support research towards finding a cure for cystic fibrosis, as well as programs directly benefiting the CF community. If you would like to help, go to a siasin dot org. You'll find some great team Boomer gear up. Next my one on one visit with defensive back Eli Apple, who's played a big role on one of the NFL's most dominant defenses to date.

You know, my last week against Baltimore, you did not allow a catch. Two weeks ago, against Detroit, you did not allow a catch. Three weeks ago against Green Bay, you only allowed one. Are you playing the best football of your NFL career? And if so, why not? I think we're just playing really confident ball as a group right now. Everybody's clicking and communication is great, and for me,

it's just about doing my job. So I'm just doing what I can put myself in position to make plays, and whenever the targets come, I want to make the play. I think this staff might surprise some people. You've played the most snaps of Annie Bengals cornerback this year, more than Chitabea Wouge, more than Mike Hilton. What does it mean to you to play such a prominent role on a defense. It's currently number five in the league and

fewest points allowed. It's great. I mean this is a goal we set before the season and be top five or better, and we just want to keep striving for more. So just gonna continue to grow and get better in practice. That's what it's about. We're visiting the Eli Apple. The Bengals are off to a five and two start. You've been a starter on some really good teams in your NFL career, back to back teams in New Orleans that went thirteen and three. One of those teams made it

to the NFC Championship Game. Do you see any similarities to those great teams that you were a part of and the current one that you're playing for. Yeah, I think so. I think the love and camaraderie across the board from top to bottom from everybody's been great communication and everything which is vibing the right way, communicating great out there on them off the field. So he's got to continue to build on everything we've been doing. Did

you notice that here right away? Oh? Easily, from training camp, really old tiers and meetings and stuff, and then once we got on the field and making plays together. We're chatting with the ely Apple. When you signed here in free agency and March, you were reunited with a couple of people lou Anna Romo, who is your position coach with the Giants, and Von Bell has been your teammate in college and in the NFL previously. They clearly believed in you and wanted you on this team. Was that

important to you? Yeah? It was. I Mean those are guys I respect a lot and played with and have won games with. So definitely respect them and excited to be a part of something great here. This is your sixth year, You've got nearly four thousand snaps under your belt in the NFL. Who are some of the best receivers you've faced. Wow, the best receivers of of course, like the Julios, Odell Beckham and practice Michael Thomas, those guys and Devantay Adams. To me, he's probably the best.

Right now. You referenced Odell in practice. Now you're practicing against some great ones here in Jamar, Chase te Higgins and Tyler Boyd. Give me your thoughts on those three guys. Yeah, the great receivers who as well, especially you know of course with Jamar his breakout has been apparent, but they all have great silence and help us get better in practice. During training camp, you battled a bit of a hamstring issue. Were you concerned about the possible impact of that being

with a new team. Oh, of course, you never know how some teams are with injuries, and it was fortunate. I never got hurt that early in camp, so it was something new for me. And yeah, I'm just glad to be healthy and playing right now. So the Bengals are headed to New York this week to take on the Jets. You weren't with the Jets, but you were with the Giants for two and a half years. It's the same stadium. You're going back to the meadow Lands. Does that add anything to this game for you? Yeah?

It does. I mean it's gonna be great going back to Jersey, so you know, to ties their are known for being. It would be great just to see some like familiar faces round facility out there that worked there and stuff little things like that. But it's of course going in there number one to get to win. You were the defensive MVP on a national championship team not too far away from here at Ohio State, and we're the tenth pick in the NFL draft for a reason.

How do you describe your NFL journey to this point. It's been wild. It's been a lot, you know, going from a lot of different teams in the last few years. Actually, it's been It's been fun, and I'm enjoying the ride, and especially the Sharon has been great and had a lot of great moments, and we just want to continue to finish. The Bengals have kind of been basking in the glow of last week's victory at Baltimore, getting a

lot of positive national publicity as a result. So obviously people are wondering, all right, how do they avoid getting big headed after that game and take care of business against the Jets. How would you answer that question. We're hungry, we want more than what we already have, right now. So, yeah, we already know an Engal and we just gotta contee to work towards every day. That's the fuck this week.

I appreciate your time. Thank you. Juli was not treated kindly by the New York media when he struggled early in his NFL career, so I'm sure he would love nothing more than to have a great game and a Bengals win this Sunday in the Meadowlands. The Bengals Booth podcast is presented by Ultimate Bengals, the free to play fantasy football game. Ultimate Bengals will be awarding a weekly winner during the course of the season, with tickets, autograph merchandise,

and money can't buy experiences all up for grabs. Find Ultimate Bengals in the app stores. Now now time to bring him a broadcast partner Dave Lapham to discuss the latest Bengals news and look ahead to Sunday's game against the Jets. Lap In your second NFL season nineteen seventy five, the Bengals got off to an eight and one start before losing to the O and nine Cleveland Browns. The only other games you lost that year were two losses

to the Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers. So this week the Bengals are going to say all the right things about being up for the one in five jets, But how hard is it to be sufficiently motivated in a game like this. I remember that loss probably as well as almost any win. You know, when you have something like that happened to you that you shouldn't happen, but it does happen. So yeah, you have to you have to buckle down. I mean, there's no question about it.

As the old saying goes, it's seventeen one and all seasons is what you're trying to get done. And it's hard to do, there's no doubt about it. But we had three division losses. We were eleven and three, but we had three division losses and lost twice to Pittsburgh and they went twelve and two and won the division. We went as a wild card. But you can never

take anything for granted in this league. That's one thing that I found out pretty early on as a player that it just sometimes a plus beat doesn't always equals See, there's no question about that. Does it have to come from the players this week, because we know the coaches since the invention of sports have sent the right messages in a game like this, but doesn't have to come within the locker room. Absolutely, Dan, because the coaches, I

mean they can. They can give you all the verbal warnings and throw all the stats and all the stories they can tell until they're blue in the face. Sometimes it doesn't register until it's too late. You get out there and all of a sudden, Man, these guys and they don't look like they looked on film. You know, it's like, these guys are pretty good. So if you're not, if you're not ready to go and you get out there and I think you can kick it into gear,

that's that's that's tough to accomplish. That's tough to get done. Um So, And when you look at the Jets on tape defensive line, they play like a wide nine technique with their defensive ends and they crash. I mean, it's it's gonna be a challenge. They're two inside defensive tackles are good. They're solid players. So it's not going to be any day off, any kind of picnic. I think the area they're struggling a little bit is at the

linebacker level. They're not playing great at linebacker They've got a couple of young guys in the secondary, but I think they're solid back there. But the way the Bengals wide receiver corps is playing, I think they should be

you know, should be okay. I think that in a situation like this, the constant that you're looking for in the constant they've had all year long as the defense coming out and shutting down the opponent and maybe let the offense kind of, you know, get themselves into into gear a little bit, because you know, offensively, it's it's so much more timing and coordination, defense, read and react more kind of that that scenario sou And then offensively,

I mean they get speed at wide receiver, they're they're they're pretty good there. I think the offensive line it's not it's not great by any stretch, but it's it's solid enough. Of Course, you don't know what's going to happen. I mean, Mike White will be the quarterback I would think for this game, and you know it's sure exactly how he's going to play, but that's that's the thing.

Then the unknown sometimes you don't know exactly if they'll game plan the same way they're they've been game planner for Zach Wilson at the quarterback position or not. So there's a lot of things you just can't take for granted in a football game like this. And New York hasn't been friendly to the Bengals. They had a nine game losing streak going to New York the last time they were there in twenty sixteen, one by a point twenty three twenty two to snap that nine game losing streak.

So and again coach is going to talk all about that. That doesn't mean a hill of beans to these two teams. I mean the two it's a totally different situation. You can go into a historical perspective and speel on all you want pontificate, but like you said, the players are going to determine and decide how they come out and how they play in this football game. Period. Here's my concern, and it's not a fear, but it is a concern. They picked up Joe Flacca this week. He's not going

to get there in time to play. I guess he's not even expected to report until Friday. So they're going to elevate Josh Johnson from the practice squad. We know Josh, he was the Bengals back up in twenty thirteen. He's thirty five years old. He's been with fourteen different NFL teams, if you include training camp and practice squad, etc. I could see Mike White getting off to a terrible start.

Josh Johnson comes in, he's running around, he's got no fear, he makes a few plays, and they're in the game. That is my concern again, not my fear, but that is my concern. It's plausible, you know, I mean, and he's he's that kind of player. I agree, Um, you know, you know, it's it's like, wow, if he's that great, why didn't he Why isn't even a player all those years? And why is it with all those football teams? But we're talking about one specific game, one specific day, one

specific day in time. I mean, it's not it's it's like, it's it can happen. Will it happen? You know, don't don't hope, hope not, don't think so. But you know, I guess the maybe the uh, the elixir for that. Maybe look at how well they played the week before against a Pro Bowl guy that has those kind of skills, you know, so hopefully there'd be some very over into how they mush rushed and all those kind of things.

You know, they could make some adjustments on the fly, hopefully going back to you know, maybe some things that they implemented in a game plan to handle the most mobile and athletic guy in the league. Excellent point, all right, Jamar Chase is off to the best seven game start by a rookie receiver in NFL history. In their wildest dreams, do you think the Bengals anticipated he would have this big of an immediate impact. I can't imagine it, you know.

I mean I think they realized, you know, right away, when this guy runs routes, you know, it's like you see power in so many different ways. I mean, he's got so much lower body power, and when he sinks his hips and gets in and out of cots man, it's like it's explosive, you know. And he's got the shortest space quickness. A lot of guys have short space quickness. Just like unbelievable how strong and powerfully is making his moves.

He is that he'll run down the football field and jump jump at the cornerback and then go one way or the other like a like a running back will jump cut but the running back has one point on the ground when he's jumping. This guy airborne and lands and can go either way explosively, and he's, uh, he's you know, he's a strong body. Guy's well over two

hundred pounds, you know. So in the end of the thing that just in my mind separates him is how calm his upper body is when he's running like I mean fast and he's tracking the ball because he's not really exerting his upper body and bob in his head. He can just track a ball like crazy when he's going full speed and he's you know, he's got that acceleration, he's top speed and he's just his upper body is so calm um. He's he is a special, special player.

There's there's no doubt. And he just wonder when they're going to start tilting covers that way a little bit more. They put their best cornerback on him, but it's a rare bird indeed has the best cornerback trailing him and then puts another guy on him. I mean that that's that doesn't happen. So you wonder are they going to stay with the same formula of putting their best cornerback on him, or where they put the best cornerback on the number two receiver and double him and see how

that works. So are they going to make adjustments to Jamar Chase? But he and Joe Burrow they seem to have an answer for every test man. It's there, and they started together. I mean, they're they're study partners. They're on the same page. It's unbelievable. You're common about how still his head is is interesting because your buddy Brian Baldanger I said this week you could put a Starbucks on top of his head and you wouldn't spell a drop. Yeah.

Mine was you could put an egg on there and it wouldn't roll off, you know, I mean the same type of thing. That was a comment I made about watching him run. It's it's it's incredible how you know and you know how it is, Dan. I mean, you got a helmet and face mask and if you're if your head's bobbing around and you know, now the ball looks like it's uh, it's on it's in a wind tunnel. You know, it's moving around now, and you he's just smooth and his head still and he's tracking that thing

and plucking it. How did he drop those passes in the preseason. I have no idea what you're talking about. All right, In their first five games this year, the Bengals did not score more than twenty four points in regulation and any in any of them in the last two thirty four points in Detroit, forty one in Baltimore. What stood out in the last couple of games to you, Yeah, I just the explosive plays, you know. I think they had eleven plays of twenty one yards and more, you know,

runs then passes and uh. And when you start chunking like that boy Dutches, you get you get all kinds of confidence going and that helps the defense and the offense obviously feels a little bit more invincible and defensively when you know the offense is going out there and scoring in those big shots, boy, that gives you a jolt of energy. There's there's no question about it. But I do think that the constant has been the defense.

Like we know, they're the only defense in the league that hasn't given up more than twenty five points all season and not more than twenty two in regulation all season. You know, the Green Bay game, they get three in overtime to win it. So that's been a they've been very, very consistent and constant. Offensively, it's been kind of you know,

they've been lulls. They've been you know, three straight three an ounce one game, two straight, another game and the three out of four possessions and another and then and then they'll get going. The biggest constant for them offensive there's been two minutes to go on the second quarter and to start the third quarter. I mean, that's where they've they've been as dynamic as anybody in the NFL.

They leave the league with thirty four points coming out of out of the locker room in the first drive of the third quarter, and with the in the final two minutes they've they're in the they're they're tied for third with thirty four points in that time frame two. So sixty eight of their eighty nine points have come in those two in those two period of time frames, which is great. But you know this thing about this team, Dan, that that is exciting me. They haven't put together four

quarters of football yet. It's been they have defensively, they haven't yet quite yet offensively and defensively there's still more to get. I mean, they've played four good quarters, but they can play even better for four quarters, So they haven't they even You're not going to ever play a perfect game, There's that's impossible. But I still think there is more for them to them to generate, you know, in terms of being a complete team and uh, you know,

and one unit supporting the other complimentary football. When it comes to the defense, I'm about to put you on the spot. Their fifth in the league in points allowed, sixth, in rushing yards per attempt sixth, and passing yards per pass they're tied for fifth and sacks. Here comes the question who deserves the bulk of the credit, Duke Tobin for the free agent acquisitions or defensive coordinator lou and Romo for how he's scheming these guys up. You know,

that's like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Peanut butter sandwich is good, the jelly sandwich is good. Peanut butter and jelly is better to get. So it's like I think last year watching the Baltimore game again, I mean, Louke was trying to do a lot of the same things schematically to Baltimore and just didn't have the horses to do it. So, um, you know, it's it's it is. It's one of those things where if you you can, you can scheme till your heart's content. If you don't

have the players, it won't really matter that much. You know, if one team has better football players, they're high percentage of the time going to win the football game. So I think that you know, Duke and his staff getting the players that they got and signing them in free agency and hitting on the ones they hit on in the draft, and trading for b J. Hill, and I mean a lot of things that they've done. Man, they

put their bat on the ball. So I do think it's a you know, it is a it is a combination. I'd i'd give them. I'd give them co MVPs of that, you know, I'd give them both the same award and just cut it right in half, or him an award and let one keeping an office Monday Wednesday Friday about the other one Tuesday Thursday. We turn to the offensive line. Pro Football Focus has the offensive line pass Blocking Efficiency Rating. That's what they go with. They've got the Bengals number ten,

one spot ahead of the Cleveland Browns. ESPN has its pass block Win Rate Metric. They've got the Bengals down at number twenty two, they have Cleveland number one. So this stuff is very subjective. What do you like about what you're seeing from the offensive line right now? You know what I like is again the quarterback meshing with

the offensive line. The offensive line knows and I've been there that if you give Joe Burrow half a second war, it's going to be instead of an incompletion, could be a massive big play because you know that there are skill players everywhere, and it's like, man, I just gotta guy. They can do it. We have a guy that can can pitch it anywhere. So let's let's give him time

to operate. And so I think that that motivates you to, you know, be a little bit more focused and tighter with everything you're doing, and then you start to feed off each other up front a little bit. Plus it with Joe when you do have a little bit of an issue. He is so good at manipulating the pocket. And he's coming back to that. He was talking about that today at his pressor that he feels like he's getting close to where he was before the tragic acl

injury and the reconstruction. But that is that's gold for an offensive line. Man, when you have a quarterback that you know, it's like, here, can a little slidesteps, step up, eyes in the back of the head, you know, know exactly when to that. There they are closed in on him for the final time. After he has manipulated the pocket with slidesteps and climb steps and all that sort of thing, and then gets it down the football field,

It's like, oh, man, Joe saved my butt. Man, I gotta go save his A few times that kind of stuff everybody. It gets contagious, you know, and guys start to feed off each other and you start to feel like, man, nobody can beat us. Man, you know we got we got it going out here. So I think, you know,

it's interesting. Maybe maybe one of these statistical companies decide that if Joe Burrow has to climb the pocket and those kind of things, you know, that they may they may grade harsher on the offensive line when those things occur than others. I mean, like you said, it is all subjective pressure, is okay? Well, did pressure mean that he had to climb the pocket? Well, not really. If the center and guards did a good job and the tackles kept the pocket wide. It's okay if he climbs

the pocket and throws the football. Some people may think anytime the quarterback moves that was pressure, you know, the defensive ends. If they're just you know, blowing up the football field, it doesn't necessarily mean that they're you know, there's jeopardy or a quarterback getting smashed. So it is. It is all very subjective, but I do think that they have a guy who can, you know, find little

spaces to take advantage. Not to say that he can't get out of pocket and succeed, you know, I compare compare his skill set to Aaron Rodgers, because Aaron Rodgers is great at manipulating the pocket and then he can get out and run and people, you know, don't really give him. They underestimate his ability to pick him up and put him down. I think Joe's a little bit like that with people. I'm not saying he's Lamar Jackson or anything like that, but he's He's pretty good the

way he can extend plays. Some quarterbacks can extend him out of pocket, some can extend in pocket. Very few can do both. And he's one of those guys that can can do both and that's a big That's like I said, that's solid gold for an offensive line. All right, last thing, we are off to the Meadowlands this weekend. It's obviously the home of the Jets and the Giants. When you played the Jets early in your career, those

games were at Chase Stadium. I grew up a New York Mets fan, so going to Chase Sam for me as a kid was a huge thrill. But it didn't look like the best place to play NFL football? Am I correct? You are? There's a lot of dirt out there, There's no question. Yeah, it wasn't. It wasn't the greatest place in the world. But the first time that I did go to Shay Stadium, Joe Namath was playing, and man, I was like, I was like a little kid at Christmas. I'm like, I cannot believe I'm on the same football

field as Joe Names. I literally honestly wished I could take an autograph book out there and get Joe name as autograph. He didn't play well that day. That was his last might have been his last gam or close to it. We had four interceptions on him that day. Kenny Riley had three of them. And I think he took one back to the house if I'm not mistaken, and it was I kind of felt bad for my hero, you know, It's like, Wow, I'm glad we were kicking their butt, but I wish Joe Joe wasn't so a big,

such a big factor in it, but he was. He was definitely a guy that that I'm like, I can't believe that I'm actually in the National Football Are you go on the same fields as Joe Namath? But yeah, that was not It was not the greatest, uh the greatest field in the world. And you know, you had home plate, the pitchers mound, you had infield, you had, you had little dirt piles everywhere. You know, you had

to it. I imagine it was probably a pretty good advantage for the home team, you know, to know where the pitfalls were as such. So, um, yeah, it was. It was interesting playing at Shay Stadium. I'm pretty sure Joe Namath had a zero point zero passer rating in that game. And while you may have felt bad for him, think of it this way. There's probably a pretty good chance that after that game he was in the company of a gorgeous date. Based on his track record at

least one. It may have been multiple, multiple of voluptuos. Joe was the man key. Quarterback Zach Wilson isn't exactly the next Joe Namath off the field. He's a Mormon who attended BYU, but the Jets took Wilson with a second pick in this year's draft with the hope that he will eventually play like Broadway Joe. He's got a long way to go. Wilson ranks next to last and passer rating and completion percentage, and has more than twice

as many interceptions nine as touchdown passes with four. Wilson won't play for the next few weeks due to a knee injury, so former Western Kentucky star Mike White gets the start lap and I discussed that and more on the Bengals Game Plan Show with Rich Sumini, who covers the Jets for ESPN. I started our conversation by asking Rich where the Jets are strongest, Partly looking at it from the Cincinnati perspective, I think the things you would have to look out for are their front four. That

is the strength of their defense. They have some pretty good players of the front four, mostly Quinned Williams, John Franklins. They had a game three games ago where they actually had seven sacks in one game. So that's one area I would be concerned with. And they do have some wide receivers and they don't have a Jamar Chase, but they have some confident wide receivers. You know, Corey Davis as a proven pro team with Jamison Crowders. So they do have some players on the perimeter. But I'd say

that's about it right now. You know, they're they're very devoid of talent right now. You know, I look at a little tape in that front four that you're talking about, Rich they don't play those defensive ends on a wide nine technique kind of thing, you know, really and then just angle them and just crash them inside. And I agree, I think the defensive tackle pair is strong. I mean, that's a good duo that that's that's about as good as anybody. It seems to me, though, watching Are the

linebackers struggling as much as it looks on tape? Are they really having issues there? Yeah, that's a great point. They're linebacker. They will get some good news though this week because C. J. Mosley is going to play their middle linebacker. He did not play last week against New England and it was basically chaos on defense. They tried a rookie in that spot to call the defensive signals and it went just as you would expect with a rookie in there, and the players didn't even know how

to get lined up. So they'll get CJ back in there and that will help them. And there's also they're fairly optimistic that Jared Davis, the former number one pick of the Detroit Lions a few years ago, will be back this week. He has not played since the preseason. He's coming off an ankle injury. He was designated for return today and he did practice, so I think there's a reasonably good chance that he will play on Sunday. So their linebacking corps will be much better than it

was last week. Our guest is Rich Somini. He covers the Jets for ESPN. Let's talk about the guy that's expected to start at quarterback this week, Mike White out of Western Kentucky. I actually saw him start against the UC bearcad when he was playing for the University of South Florida. Got in last week when Zach Wilson went down. How do you think he looked? The numbers were okay, how did he look? Yeah, I mean he did okay considering it was his first NFL appearance, I mean, his

first NFL froze a touchdown past to Corey Davis. So that's a pretty good way to start your career. He is a guy who you know, quite frankly, we haven't seen a lot of Dad. You've probably seen more of them than I have. He played a little bit in the preseason. He made the team as their number two quarterback. It was a kind of a big controversy in the preseason they decided not to go with a veteran backup.

I was I think I wrote several columns on that, how they were making a big mistake, and I think that is going to come back to bite him right now. I think Mike White is probably a practice squad player, a third string type player. He's got a good arm, there's no doubt about that. He's got no mobility though, and of course he's you know, the inexperience is obvious. So it's going to be really tough for them on Sunday with Mike Waited quarterback, Well, it doesn't look like

Joe Flacco will be much of a factor. He's not even there yet, right, he hasn't reported yet, but right the fact that he was there and he's got some kind of familiarity with you know, teammates, different system and all that, but he's been around a long time. Is he the emergency quarterback? Are they going to go in a different direction while they go with Johnson? What are they going to do? Yeah? I think Johnson, Josh Johnson

will probably be the number two on Sunday. As you mentioned, Dave, you know, Flacco for some reason, they're saying it's personal reasons. He's not actually reporting to a Friday, although he did virtual meetings with them today, but he won't actually be on the practice field till Friday. So I would think, coming into a new system that it would be kind of a stretch to say he'll be their number two.

I think maybe the following week he'd move into that role, But this week, I think he's probably going to be inactive. We're chatting two. We're chatting with rich to Menia covers the New York Jets for e ESPN. What are your impressions of Robert Sala to this point, well, you know, I was very much in favor of that higher. I

thought it was a good hire by the Jets. I mean, he had a good resume with San Francisco, was a Super Bowl coordinator on defense, and the kind of personality, upbeat, passionate guy, leader of men that you needed in the aftermass of the Adam gayst debacle, which just really sapped all the energy out of the organization. They needed someone with some life and some energy to come in, and I think he fit that bill. Now, obviously there's there's

some questions that have come up. You know, in recent weeks, the team is regressing, it's not getting better, and so that's a concern. They had a bye week to figure out how to play against the Patriots, and they went out and suffered one of their worst defeats and franchise history. They give up fifty four points. That was the most in a game in forty nine years for the Jets, so actually forty two years, but still so yeah, there's been some questions. The fan base is getting restless right now.

They thought this was going to be a new era. We haven't seen the results yet, but I think you have to remember and you pointed it out right at the top game. This is an extremely young team. It's the youngest team in the league. They're playing anywhere from six to seven to eight rookies on a weekly basis. So rich in your interactions with the organization. What is the feeling that the Jets have with respect to the

Cincinnati Bengals in their start this season? Well, you know, I think the Jets are I think this is going to be a tough game. I mean, they're confident. They claim that they've you know, put away last week's miserable loss. I don't know. I mean that's like a loss like that sticks with you for a while. I don't think you walk away from fifty four to thirteen that easily. I think it stays with you a little bit, especially when you're a young team and you know you're confidence

is more fragile. So I think the first quarter will be very key for this Jet team on Sunday, because if they get off to another bad start, I could just see it snowballing out of control. I can't believe they haven't scored a point yet in the first quarter. I mean, that's that's remarkable. Yeah, it's quite right. I was gonna slip that at some point. Uh yeah, I mean it's historic. I mean I have I have a ton of stats on it, but I mean it's something

you don't see every day. They have not literally they've been outscores forty four to nothing in the first quarter of games. And I think some of that is having a rookie quarterback. You know, it takes it took Wilson, you know, a you know, a little a few series to get and settled into the game and pick up the rhythm. I think some of that goes to the young quarterback, but some of it is just, you know, just poor communication among the offensive line. You know, they

have a new offensive coordinator, Michael Floor. He's the younger brother of Matt and this is his first time as an offensive coordinator, and I think his inexperience is showing as well. Rich you've covered this team for a long time for several different outlets. What do you consider to be rock bottom? Well, last week was right there. I mean, Dan, I've covered the team. There's only the second time in thirty years covering the Jets that they allowed more than

fifty points. So you know, that's something you don't see every day. And you know, there's been so many rock bottoms. We were talking about it in the press room today. I mean the butt fumble game in twenty and twelve against New England where they lost by thirty or forty points was just embarrassing from a laughing stock kind of perspective. So, Dan, I know your show is limited, and we could go on forever. There's been so many roots, there's so many

rock bottom points I could pick up. I mean, look, I covered the code tight years. You know that's enough said. What more do I have to say? I guess on a more positive note, Brand boy Er, is he doing a pretty good job special teams. They're return games pretty good. I mean they're third in the NFL and punter returns fourth and kickoff returns burials. Must be the real deal. Huh. Yeah,

he's a good coach. Brand Boyers a guy who's been been here through three different coaching resume, Todd Bulls, out of Gaze and now with Robert Sala. Yeah, he knows his stuff. You know they've had they had to change punters because the brad Man got injured. But they've brought in Morestead from New Orleans and he's done Okay, you're right about the return games. You know, they are pretty

solid across the board. They're probably their most dangerous returners Kevin Coleman, and I don't think he's gonna play this week because of a hamstring injury, but special teams. Let's put it this way, guys, it's an area that hasn't killed him yet. So it's the only area that probably hadn't killed him yet, which probably was just like I just put the jinks on him. Something bad will happen

on Sunday. Final question, Rich and appreciate your time. You carved a lot for us, and we really appreciate that. As a former offensive line and I guess I'm looking at the offensive line and I mean, is it Are they playing pretty solidly? How's the old line doing? Yeah, that's it's kind of a mixed bag back there because their pass protection is actually improved. Over the first three

games they had allowed fifteen sacks. And I'm thinking about you know, I'm like, I don't think Zach Will's going to make it much longer because you're getting hit so much. But they actually improved that pass protection. But they can't run block, you know, for whatever reason. I don't. I don't know if it's a new scheme. You know, they're doing the outside zone scheme. This is basically the forty nine ers offense, and they just haven't adjusted to that yet.

There's just a lack of communication that they'll be unblocked players, three runners, you know, just just breakdowns that should not be happening at this stage. And their right guard is this really struggling Greg van Rote. I imagine Sunday won't be much better for him. So their offensive line is getting a little better, but not really nearly where it

should be. Thanks to Rich Samini. And here's a quick reminder to join Lap and Wayne box Miller for the Bengals pep Rally Show this Friday from three to six on ESPN fifteen thirty. That's going to do it for this episode of the Bengals Booth podcast, brought to you by Ultimate Bengals, the free to play Next Level Fantasy Football game downloaded now from the App Store and Google Play.

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 thanks for listening to the Bengals Booth podcast.