Hi, get everybody.
I'm Dan Hord and thanks for downloading The Bengals Booth Podcast. The Gimmages one more last chance addition, as the Bengals hope that everything falls just right on the final weekend of the season, beginning with a win over Pittsburgh on Saturday night. Coming up, I'll talk to Boomer about Burrow. My one on one player interview is with Ted Krris and in this week's Know the Faux Conversation, we'll get an in depth look at the Steelers from the radio
voice Rob King. The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you by pay Corps, proud to be the Bengals official hr software provider, by Ulta Fiber future proof fiber Internet designed to elevate your home, business, and community to a new level, and by Kettering Health the best care for the best fans. Kettering Health is the official healthcare provider.
Of the Bengals.
Now here's a quick reminder that you can have the latest edition of this podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet, or computer by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's the greatest thing since Second Win. The Boomer and Gunner assiasin story that's the name of a film. The debut on Christmas Eve on ESPN and can now be seen on ESPN Plus. The film is beautiful, moving, joyous, and inspirational, and it's one of the things I discussed with my
first guest on this episode. With all of this Joe Burrow MVP talk, it is the perfect time to catch up with the bengals last most Valuable Player, Boomer Assiasin Boomer, your MVP season was your fifth year in the NFL. This is Joe Burrow's fifth year in the NFL. What do you find remarkable about what he's been doing this year?
Seems like he's been around a hell of a lot longer than five years.
I can tell you that.
He's already jem packed in an entire career into those five years. You know, I think his growth, his leadership. You know, he's kind of an odd duck a little bit, which I like, he's his own person, But you know, you can't deny the historical things that he is doing
and he's accomplishing. I mean, he's on the cusp of doing something only Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers have done, and that's forty five hundred yards forty touchdowns in less than ten interceptions in a season, and I would say to you, in a normal season, that would be the runaway MVP numbers, and nobody would have a problem voting
for them. Unfortunately for them, because they're not in the playoffs, because they're not winning their division, because they have to hang on here at the end, he's probably going to get less votes because of that. I think there will be some people that do vote for him. I no longer have a vote, by the way, I gave that
up this year. I would say that Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen right now have to be one A and one B, and depending on what happens here the last week of the season, maybe Lamar there was something even more historical and throws for over four thousand or uns for over eight hundred yards, which is just insane, and also throws for over forty touchdowns and has less than five the interceptions.
I'm a broadcaster.
I've got a healthy ego, like a lot of people in the business, but they're a handful of broadcasters boom or where. I say, you know what, I'm good, but I'm not that good.
You had a phenomenal fourteen year NFL career.
But is there anything about Joe where you say, man, I could have never done that or I didn't have that.
Well, you know, first of all, they play in a different euro and the rules are different. So the one thing or the three things, I'll say that I didn't really have the benefit of or defensive holding, illegal contact, and protecting the quarterback. So I didn't have those things going for me back in the day. And the game has changed, but nonetheless it's still extremely physical. You've got to be cerebraled, you got to be a leader, you got to stand tall.
You know.
Actually, I wish that Joe had a top ten defense, I really do. I mean, Patrick Mahomes has had that, and you could see that they can win without having to score thirty points or more a game. So the thing that's remarkable to me is this run that Joe is on. It's unprecedented when you think about it, when you're talking about the amount of yards, the amount of touchdowns. Now all of a sudden, the winning is starting to happen.
You know, I just think that there are things that he does on the field that nobody else in the NFL is capable of doing. But you can't match numbers when it comes to just statistics when you're talking about things like that. But he does more than numbers, and you know his ability to spread it around. I know that Jamar is his favorite, but you know he does
not mind getting everybody else involved. And you know you can see on this Hard Knocks AFC North how in control of the team is, how he is the leader, how everybody loves poking fun at him. He pokes fun at everybody else. So you know, those are all the great things that I see. And those are the things, by the way, Dan, that I expected five years ago before they drafted him, And I think you and I probably had a discussion about whether or not he was
going to be the number one overall pick. I remember telling Jeff Hopson, I mean, look, how could he not be the number one overall pick? And he should go on to have a Hall of Fame career, And those were the expectations that I had for him five years ago. I can imagine that Mike Brown and everybody in Bengaledon probably had the same feelings that I did.
Boomer, you were never shy about expressing your opinion in your playing days, and Joe has been a little more direct recently, expressing some of the things he would like to see going forward.
Do you like that when you hear.
It, I just be careful about it. I mean, I want him to be the quarterback that he is. You know, they need help, and they need help on defense in the offseason. Regardless of what happens this year, maybe somehow they get in. Maybe the Dolphins lose to the Jets, maybe the Broncos lose to the Chiefs, both probably playing backup quarterback. So the likely scenario is that that's not going to happen. That the Bengals won't make it, unfortunately. But this offseason, when I look at it, it's not
about offense. It's never been about offense since he got there. Maybe about the offensive line early on, and didn't play with a great offensive line in the Super Bowl against the Rams and almost won the game despite that, but then at the end it came to fruition where Aaron Donalds won the game for the Rams late in that game.
But I just think that if they could somehow get in the top ten defensively like the Chiefs are, then Joe may not be putting up these gaudy numbers as much, but he won't be asked to do so much, and maybe he'll last a hell of a lot longer. So I just I hope for him that the team becomes more balanced and somehow, some way he can win a game twenty one to nineteen or seventeen to fourteen, if it ever came down to that.
Does that make you reluctant to extend both wide receivers.
I don't see how you can. Your quarterback's making fifty five million dollars a year, Jamar Chase will be the highest paid wide receiver in football. So he will eclipse Justin Jefferson, and he deserves to. I mean, you know, I see a lot of stuff on X and I see a lot of people posting, and every now and then I'll get involved and people get mad at me because you know, they want T Higgins or Jamar Chase to take less money and try to keep everybody together.
I mean, in this day and age, in the cap and the amount of money that is being spent, you can't do it that way anymore. So you got to be really judicious about who you're paying, how much you're paying them, what you're paying them. In signing bonuses. You know, the Browns are dealing with Deshaun Watson and maybe the dumbest move in the history of the NFL. I think t Higgins deserves to be paid. I think he's a
number one receiver. I think there are a number teams out there that would love to give him a four year, probably thirty to maybe thirty one hundred and twenty million dollar contract with about sixty million guaranteed. And why should he expect less or take less because nobody else is And quite frankly, if if you're a part of the NFLPA, which they all are, their job is to eclipse the guy that's in front of them when they are worthy of it. And that's exactly what Jamar Chase's situation is
right now. So ninety million dollars to a quarterback wide receiver tandem, that's a lot of money when it comes to the salary cap in the NFL these days.
Let's specifically talk about Jamar. He hasn't even turned twenty five yet he's having a historically great season. Of the guys that you threw to and you've watched since, what's unique about Jamar.
His length, first and foremost combined with his speed, so he also has an awareness on the football field. So the closest guy I had was Eddie Brown. Eddie Brown was not nearly as big as Jamar is, but he had an innate ability to understand where he was on the field, and no matter where you threw the ball, there was always the thought that he was going to take it to the house. So those are the little
intangible things that you know. You don't know until you start playing and seeing a guy up close and personal, you know what kind of player they are are. You know, Chris and Tim McGee, Chris Comsworth and Tim McGee, they were straight line runners, great route runners. They could separate at the top of their routes. Jamar can do that. But Jamar is a freak athlete and he's got enormous hands, so he very rarely ever drops the ball. That's why when he drops the ball, you're like, oh my god,
I can't believe he just dropped the ball. So and the combination and you know, the collection of playmakers that they have on the offense being orchestrated by Joe, it's just it's fun to watch.
I mean, Paul.
Brown Stadium, all the orange and black the way it looks, the way the uniforms look, the helmet looks. It's great to watch it up close and personal. It's just a shame that I don't I just unfortunately, I don't think they're going to make the playoffs.
Man, Well, let's talk about the first thing they need to do, and that is beat Pittsburgh on Saturday night. The Steelers won the first meeting forty four to thirty eight. The Bengals haven't lost the game since. What do they have to do to beat them in Pittsburgh on Saturday?
So Joe's throwing fourteen interceptions against this defense. They were a pain in the ass when I played. They're a pain in the ass to Lamar Jackson, and they seem to be a pain in the ass that Joe Burrow. But the last couple of times he's throwing for over three hundred yards against them. I would suspect it's going to be that type of game again. But unfortunately for the Steelers, you know, they've lost three in a row now, or maybe even four in a row. I mean, they
are going off a cliff. I expect another probably twenty seven to twenty four, thirty twenty seven type of game. I would think the team that has the ball last is going to have a chance to kick a game winning field goal. And I would remind Zach Taylor, do not give the other team an opportunity at the end of the first the end of the game regulation to beat your defense because you have to protect them because
they need protecting. So you know, managing the clock will be important once again, as it always is in every game when it's close late in late in the game.
If the Bengals win on Saturday, they can kick back on Sunday afternoon and hope for help from Kansas City and from the Jets. Give me a scenario where those two upsets happen.
I think both maybe playing with backup quarterbacks. Tyler Huntley could be going for Miami. They're saying Tool wants to play, but you know he's got the hip injury, so I don't know if they're going to put him out there in a meaning well, it's not meaningless for that. Of course, the Jets are a basket case. They were awful last week in Buffalo, but this is the NFL. That doesn't mean anything. You know, Aaron Rodgers wants this five hundred
touchdown pass he'd like to throw to Devonte Adams. They would like nothing better than to ruin the Miami Dolphins hopes for a playoff themselves, which I don't think is going to happen because I maybe Carson Wentz beats Denver in Denver, I'm not sure that could happen, I guess, and I know Carson is auditioning for other teams for next year. So I think it would have to take a great performance by Carson Wentz in Kansas City to
beat Denver. And then I think it would also have to take a big performance by Aaron Rodgers thinking maybe this is my last game of my career and I want to while winning a meaningless game. So I think that's what it would take. It reminds me in nineteen eighty six, we won our final game. We got the ten and six, and I think we needed the Dolphins to beat the Patriots or the Patriots to beat the Dolphins.
One of those two teams had to win on Monday Night football, And I remember me and Chris sitting at the waterfront. We were on Monday Night Football sitting there watching this game and unfortunately and ended in disappointment for us. But we did have a good year, and it spring It was a springboard that ultimately got us to the super Bowl in eighty eight.
Boomer on Christmas Eve, ESPN aired a film named Second Wind, the Boomer and Gunner asiasin story. I was floored. I was literally moved to tears. That is your family's life story up on the screen. How did you feel about the way it turned out?
It was amazing. I had a sneak preview, so I was ready for it when they played it. And what I'm glad about is that it really told Gunner's story and how he has grown into a young man who's a bother and a husband himself. He's remarkable, he's got his own job, he's doing exceptionally well, and his whole life turned around with a miracle drug in twenty and eighteen. I have been praying ever since he was diagnosed that somehow, someway, we could be a part of something really, really special.
And in twenty and eighteen it happened. And from twenty and eighteen to twenty twenty four, he's gotten married, he's gotten two MBAs, he's got a job up in Boston, he's got two kids. There are his kids. He's the biological father. They went through IVF. He went through the needle to the testicle's root, because that's the way you have to go if you are a CF father. And I have a grandson and a granddaughter. So it's my miracle, it's my super Bowl. It's everything that I could have
hoped and prayed for. And I think they did such a good job of capturing who Gunner is as a person, and then watching his wife Darcy speak about Gunner aid me chills. So I had the same feelings most people had, but even more impactful. If you can imagine that.
I thought I knew Gunner's story, but honestly, I didn't realize how dire his health had become in his early twenties until the discovery of the drug that you described. How concerned were you during those years that he might not make it much longer?
You know, it's the physical part of it was apparent us, you could see it. The mental part is the scary part, because you don't see all the things that he's going through. And you know, as a twenty two year old man graduating from college and watching all of his friends go off and live their lives, get their jobs, of their dreams, and become successful young men themselves. It had to be
weighing on Gunner extremely heavily. And that was the thing that I saw the most of You know, we could deal with the physical stuff, but the mental stuff I was scared about. And then when he met his girlfriend, then his wife, now his whole life changed because she graduated from college in the mental health space and has worked in the mental health space as a psychologist and a psychiatrist. So she was the perfect person. Was like she was
sent from heaven. That's why I described her as the angel that she is, because she got him out of his doldrums, out of his depressed state, and gave him a reason to live. And then when twenty and eighteen came two years after I think it was two years after they met, it was like, Okay, it's a rocket ship blasting off, and we're going to do all of this stuff and so much in such a quick period of time that none of us really had a chance to digest what was happening in front of our eyes.
And then when you sit down and you take stock of all of it, you realize that later on in life, she became the ultimate hero to who he has now become, and they make an unbelievable pair of parents and Gunner as a remarkable young man who is living his life to the fullest.
Now, I don't know a lot of people who have changed the course of history. You have through the Boomer Assiasin Foundation. The money you raise toward research helped the discovery of Trikafta, which has changed the lives of tens of thousands of people. And fortunately it doesn't work for every CF patient. Do you believe now, Boomer, that a cure for CF will be discovered?
I think it's on the horizon for sure. And let me just say this, This journey oft ourge started thirty years ago. I had just become a New York Jet and I think you over their shoulder you could see the Sports Illustrated cover where it all started. And here we are thirty years later. Gunner's thirty three. I'm sixty three. Do you know how many people I asked to be
a part of our foundation? I mean thousands, from my former teammates Chris Collinsworth and Stanford Jennings and my offensive lines over the years, the coaches Sam Weisch, Bruce Cosled, I can go on and on, companies like Cincinnati Bell and my friend Jack Cassidy, Jeff Ruby from Ruby Steakhouse.
All these people gave a little bit, then they gave some more, and then some more added up, and then over the years, it's been about two hundred million dollars of people that believed in the cause that I was trying to sell them. And I felt like like a college football coach dealing with boosters, you know, like, where's the When are we going to win the national championship? All right, we're getting there. We're getting there. Don't worry, but just give me some more money. I need some
more money. And when we finally hit it in twenty and eighteen, you know, I sent out an email plass thanking everybody that I possibly could that has been a part of this incredible journey, including the families that went before us that lost their loved ones assistic bibrosis, whose parents are still involved in raising money from all over the country, and people that still use Cincinnati's Children's Pediatric Center that is named after Gunner, to the adult center
here at Columbia Presbyteria that's also named after Gunner. All these institutions gave us the platform to be able to really expand the patient base and make sure that we had everything that we needed as we were going through the investigated process, the research process, and I can't there's not enough time in one day, or one year or the rest of my life to thank all the people that supported this fight. So I may be the face
of it. Gunner is a patient who has basically benefited from it, but all those other people that were a part of this long running saga that was cystic fibrosis deserve a bow and deserve to take a thank you for me and from all the parents that have had their lives changed.
The film is Second Win.
If you missed it on Christmas Eve, you can check it out on ESPN Plus and I strongly encourage you to do so.
It is an amazing story. Boomer.
We always appreciate your time. Happy New Year, enjoy the grandkids, and we'll keep our fingers crossed that we're all watching Bang playoff football in another week.
Wouldn't it be great if the Bengals had a second win and made it to the playoffs this year. That would be something that I could buy into. That would be great.
Thanks Dan the boomerasiasin Foundation is raised somewhere in the vicinity of two hundred million dollars to help people with cystic fibrosis and to try to find a cure. As Boomer states in the film, money buys Science and science buys life. If you would like to help, go to
asiasin dot Org. The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you by pay Core, Proud to be the Bengals official hr software provider, by Alta Fiber future proof Fiber Internet designed to elevate your home, business, and community to a new level, and by Kettering Health the best Care for the best fans. Kettering Health is the official healthcare provider.
Of the Bengals.
Over the years, I have frequently referred to this week's opponent as the dreaded, hated, but grudgingly respected Pittsburgh Steelers. Let's face it, we wouldn't hate them if not for their historical success with six Super Bowl titles and their head to head success against the Bengals. Pittsburgh has won nearly sixty five percent of the one hundred and ten
previous meetings, including the last three. I caught up with Ted Karras this week to discuss the game how Joe Burrows season compares to another MVP he blocked for and what he plans to do with the Samurai sword he got from his quarterback for Christmas? Ted, how has the last month and this four game winning streak impacted how you feel about this season as a whole.
Well, I think we have a chance to get in the dance.
Play Saturday night and so you know, no fates are sealed until Sunday, but that's going in that game.
Everyone's gonna be fired up.
Since you play on Saturday, and Denver and Miami don't play until day there's no point in scoreboard watching or anything like that.
Those other teams won't be an action. Is that helpful to lock in on Pittsburgh?
I think so. I think it just kind of takes some of that anxiety away. Or are we done or are we not? We don't know. We have one goal in this to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Let's talk o line.
Last week against Denver, the Broncos had seven sacks and fifteen quarterback hits. When asked about it earlier this week, Dan Pitcher said, as often as we throw it and as long as Joe holds the ball. I thought that the offensive line protected. Well, how do you guys evaluate it?
I mean, obviously you never want to see that those numbers, but you know, I think it was a good front out there.
You know we are a pass first offense and didn 'ten have to win the game.
One of the film study guys I respect. Joe Goodberry tweeted recently, Ted Karris deserves Pro Bowl consideration.
Pro Football Focus has you.
Graded as the fourth best pass protecting center in the NFL. Do you feel this is as well as you played?
I think we've had, you know, a lot of good games. I think we have a solid unit up front. Thanks Joe for the shout out, But you know, the ultimate stat that matters is are what are you doing to help the team win? And we've strung four in a row. Let's make it a fifth and make it interesting on Sunday for everybody.
I want to mention something else that Dan Pitcher said recently. He was talking about Joe Burrow's ability to draw teams off side with the cadence this year, and Dan said, it's Joe and Ted Karras who have worked on that a lot. Explain your role in getting teams to jump.
Well, there's a lot of posturing, I guess of you know, making real calls and making it se micro about to run a real play. And then there's certain mechanisms that if they jump on snapping and certain that they jump that we're just touching them. So we got to be locked in on that and deliver a good ball and then block the play. I think that's what a lot of guys, you know, it's a big emphasis here is once the ball stats, we're live, so we got to go so we don't get unobated to the quarterback.
In twenty seventeen, you played with an MVP Tom Brady. How does Joe Burrow in twenty twenty four compare to that MVP season.
In twenty seventeen.
I mean, I think the biggest I mean, they're throwing a lot of a lot of good balls, throwing a lot of touchdowns, obviously the best player on their respective teams.
I think the biggest difference, you know, it would be that we were.
Fourteen to two and we're eight and eight right now. So you know, I think that kind of holds Joe back from getting the MVP. But you know, I think he should win it. I understand why he might not, because usually you know that goes to someone who's a higher seed. But if you're really looking at who's the most valuable for their team, I think there's no doubt it's Joe Burrow.
You're gonna be trying to block a future Hall of Famer on Saturday night in Cam Hayward. What qualities does he have that other great interior guys in the NFL don't.
He's stronger. He's one of the strongest guys you'll ever match up with. I have a ton of respect for Cam Hayward. You're fourteen putting together some of the film that he has, the effort that he plays with.
I mean that whole front seven can't say.
Enough good about him. You know, we're going into Pittsburgh in a night game. It's gonna be a battle.
From a communic cation standpoint, How hard is a primetime road game in Pittsburgh.
It's hard, i'd put it. I don't know.
I'm not gonna rank it, but it's it's hard up there. You know one of my it's one of my favorite stadiums, Hinesfield. I don't know it's akature now, but you know one of my favorite stadiums. You know, with all the history of the NFL that's been there, I wish to catch a bottle is still there. But I think Renegade's also an awesome tradition, So we need to go up and get a win. Hopefully we're up when Renegade place.
A couple more questions for Ted Karras. At one of our radio shows recently, a guy was wearing the Christmas edition of the Sincy Hat, the green hat with the Santa cap over the first sea. I was very jealous. Who comes up with this stuff? Who is the designer of the Sincy hat gear?
I came up with that one. There's one right behind you, right there. But Imperial has a great art department, so we kind of just tell them my ideas and then they put it into practice.
I didn't draw it or anything. I just requested a Santa hat over the sea.
You nailed it.
What are some of the things that the Sinsi Hat Foundation has in store for twenty twenty five.
Well, we have a big, uh big project coming in Harrison, Ohio for building with adults with intellectual disabilities.
We do the scholarships that you.
See we have, We're gonna have a lot of things. It's gonna be kind of the year of the non hat. So we're gonna come out with all sorts of new cool gear and golf stuff and all that sort, and really, you know, gonna fulfill our mission of housing these people with intellectual disabilities. So we got a big twenty twenty five ahead.
Final question, I appreciate your time. What are you going to do with a samurai sort?
I'm gonna get a customed glass box and put it on the wall. Everyone keeps asking me to pull it out. I don't want to pull it out. It's serious. Oh he'll chop your arm off.
Make sure that that thing can't be open. Yeah, I will that best of a lot. I appreciate your time.
Thanks man.
The Steelers are two and a half point favorites, and we'll have to keep our fingers crossed on some Bengals injuries as Chase Brown, T Higgins, a Marius Drew, Sample and Cam Taylor Britt are all listed as questionable, although I would expect most of those guys to play. Pittsburgh's best cover corner, Joey Porter, will be back after missing last week's game with a knee injury. For more on the Steelers. The radio voice Rob King joined Dave Lapham and me for this week's Know the Faux segment. Rob
Let's talk about the stakes for the Steelers. It sounds like Mike Tomlin has pretty much squelched any thought that the Steelers are going to be resting key players on Saturday Night.
Yeah.
I wouldn't expect him to do that, especially in light of how the team's played over the last three games. You know, they just did not put their best foot forward. I don't think anybody wants to go into the playoffs. You know, if you don't put your best foot forward against Cincinnati, it's going to be hard to beat Joe Burrow and company, even with everybody healthy and everybody going.
You don't want to enter the playoffs on a four game losing streak. So I think you want to go in.
You want to play good football and you know, hopefully win the game and hopefully get that feeling back that you had when you were ten and three and not the feeling that you've gotten the last three games and you've dropped the ten and six.
The thing that is unbelievable jumped out at me and hit me right in the face. Again, I remember when the first game looking at the scoring by quarter and Pittsburgh had only given up sixteen points at that point in the season. Well, here it is a month later. The don't give up twenty nine one point eight points per game in the third quarter, one hundred and two in the first quarter, eighty one in the second quarter, one hundred and sixteen in the fourth quarter, and only
twenty nine in the third quarter. It's such a huge disparity. What is it just coincidental or is there anything to it?
Well, I think there's a couple of things.
I mean, certainly the Steelers, you know, they always, like you almost always liked to defer, and so that means they're getting the ball to begin the third quarter. I think there's probably a little something in that. I I don't know Dave specifically how many times they've been on defense and beginning the third quarter, how many times they've been on offense. Right, I think when you talk about the team, you know what they want to do. They want to run the football. Generally, you begin to.
See that take shape in the third and fourth quarter.
You know a lot of times fans will wonder, hey, why are you running the ball? And you know, those are body blows, to use a boxing analogy, you know, those are things that wear down your opponent and are more effective as you move on in the game. So I think that those are those are some of the reasons. And I think you know, a good coaching staff making halftime adjustment. So I think those three things are probably the leading factors as to why that's the case.
We are chatting with the voice of the Steelers, Rob King after Pittsburgh's most recent loss to Kansas City.
Rob.
We all saw some comments coming out of the locker room the kind of suggested that maybe ten guys are on one page and and one guy wasn't. Can you shed some light on what's going on there with the defense?
You know, it's a great question, Dan, because you know a lot of times you'll hear that as an explanation, and it's a different person every time, right, you know, like, well, ten of us did their job and one didn't, and if we could just all get on the same page. It doesn't it's usually not a finger pointed at one guy. I feel like, I don't know whether this is different or not. It feels like maybe some guys in the secondary are maybe trying to do more than they should,
or maybe there's some communication issues. Mike Tommlin was asked about that, and he said, look over the last three weeks, you know, and you know, he didn't use this as an excuse because it can't be a total excuse. But again, if you're looking for a partial reason, you know, for a couple of weeks you're without Deshaun Elliotto has been a terrific player and kind of really captains what happens in the secondary. He was out for two or three games.
Dante Jackson, one of your starting corners, is out for two or three games. And then Joey Porter Junior, the starting corner, missed this last game after the other two guys came back. So how much of it is just communication out there? I think that could be part of it. Are guys trying to do too much, you know, quote unquote hero ball, trying to be the guy that makes the play.
I mean, on the one hand, you want guys that want to make the play. On the other hand, you have to do that within the structure of what you're doing as a team.
Because you know, Kansas City found that and they're so good man, they're so good it has is Joe Burrow. You make that one mistake, Mahomes or Burrow's gonna find it. You cannot live that way when you're going against elite quarterbacks.
So the old turnover scenario, it's important in football robs, you know, at any level. Obviously in Pittsburgh, I remember in the first game. Going into the game, Pittsburgh was plus thirteen. They went plus two and Cincinnati against Cincinnati, so they were plus fifteen. Here it is a month later, there's still plus fifteen. So they've been even on the turnover ratio in their stretch where they struggled the Bengals just the opposite. They were minus one going to the game.
Now they're minus three after the Pittsburgh game, and here they are plus four, So they're plus seven in the turnover ratio since that Pittsburgh game. I mean, turnovers are always a big deal. Do you think it's that simple.
I think it's a big part of it, Dave, I really do you know. And there were four footballs on the ground, three of them in Baltimore and one at the beginning of the game in Kansas City, any of which could have turned the momentum. Now I don't think you can exclusively say that. You know, as a as a fan, as a broadcaster, I'd have felt more comfortable in Philadelphia, for example, if you made a stop, you
know what I mean. So they're they're marching in late in the third quarter, down a touchdown, and they pitched to Naji Harris, who never never fumbles, took his.
Eye off the pitch. You lose the ball deep in Philadelphia territory.
You lose a chance to tie. And I understand you had five to three and outs to begin the game. You talk about body blows, right, that was they run the receiving end of those body blows. The defenses exhausted. It goes out there. But boy, you know, make one stop, get one more opportunity for your offense, and they just couldn't do it. So and then you know Baltimore is very similar. It's a seven to seven game. Russell Wilson is trying.
To make a play. He gets it, you know, a twenty.
Yard scramble, gets inside the five fumbles the ball. Very uncharacteristic of him. Baltimore recovers. Prior to that, there's been two footballs on the ground in Steelers territory right in the cusp of field goal range, so good field position.
If you recover the fumbles.
The Steelers don't recover those fumbles, then there's a special teams play that gives you the ball deep in Kansas City territory. You don't recover that fumble. So a little bit of it has been some bad luck. On the other hand, I think if you so, if you want to look at it as a glass half full, you say, okay, yeah, they just haven't gotten any breaks in the turnover department. I mean, you know, if there's four footballs on the ground and you recover two of them, do you win one of those games?
I don't know.
I don't know the answer to that, but I think you know, you would have also liked to have seen that. You know, if you want to go glass half empty, you didn't like to have seen the team rise up and make a stop here or there. Understandable why you didn't, you know, as you you know, look game by game.
Why those things didn't happen.
But as a whole, if you step back, it would have been more encouraging for fans. I think if somewhere along the stretch of those three games, you would have done something to stem the tide of momentum.
Rob, here's my final question. During this three game losing streak.
They've lost at Philly, at Baltimore home to the fifteen and one Chiefs. No shame there, right, but the margins have been fourteen, seventeen, and nineteen.
Is that a big concern?
Well?
I think it all wraps up to this conversation Dan, and I think it's it's what makes Saturday's game, I think really important for the Steelers.
So again, if.
You're in Philadelphia, you get off to that sluggish start. You know, Dave talked about the third quarter points. Now maybe you take that drive in and you tie the game. Maybe there's forty five seconds left in the third quarter. Now your defense has gotten a break, right because you've run five more plays to get it into the end zone.
Is that fourth quarter different? I don't know. If Russell Wilson goes in.
For a touchdown and you go up fourteen to seven, is that a different outcome?
I don't know.
In Kansas City, against Kansas City, you had a touchdown call back on a rather dubious holding call that gives you the lead.
In that game.
You go into the halftime, probably with the lead in that game instead of a deficit, so things unraveled. Then you can't do that against good teams. So that's again part of what you know, what we've been talking about with Dave asked about. That's part of the explanation of what's been going on. Quality opponents, mistakes that you can't make. But then again, you still have to look at the scoreboard and say, just what you said, Dan, those have
been big figures that you wound up losing by. So to me, this is a Cincinnati team that's beginning to resemble the team everybody thought they could be going into the end of the season, which is a legitimate playoff content, maybe more than that. So I think, you know, to quell the nerves a little bit, this feels like an important game. Hey, let's get out there and play a good, solid football game and get.
Ourselves ready for the playoffs.
So you know, I hope I've answered your question, but that again, to me, that's why Saturday.
Nights game is important because of what you just mentioned.
Final question. And certainly do appreciate your carving the time you always do. Rob, You're outstanding. Terol Austin the excellent defensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Jamar Chase has had cornerbacks, outstanding cornerbacks the last couple of weeks, you know, shadowing him some. Joey Porter Junior. I know he's a little beaten up. I'm sure he'll make the dance in this one. It's so important. But people were like, Okay, it'll be
Joey Porter Junior shadowing Jamar Chase. Well, in the last game, Joey Porter Junior shadow t Higgins and then Ta committed resources to Jamar Chase, you know, doubling him in different ways and all that sort of thing. So he has had him trail Jamarrow. Now he's had him trail Higgins. Any feel for he might do or will he come up with something totally different?
Yeah, that's a great question, Dave.
You know, I think that you know, if you looked at it on paper, So I think that the Stevens coach matchups a lot, you know, and they and they gain coach a lot. So what do you need what is required to win this game? As opposed to saying, oh, this is what we do and so this is our style of football and we're blindly going to do this. I think there's some adjustability that's commendable within the coaching staff. And I think that if you look at you know, T Higgins is a big man Chase, isn't I had
Jamar Chase. I love, I mean, I love watching the guy plays unbelievable. T Higgins is a huge, physical guy. Joey Porter is by far the bigger of the two corners that they have that they're starting, and so that makes sense to have because you to have your bigger guy on the bigger guy, they can both kill you.
I mean, I think it's an interesting question. I was asked on a.
Pittsburgh show, you know yesterday, you know, T Higgins, I guess said something like, Hey, if this is my last game in Cincinnati, you know, someone's probably gonna pay him like a one.
I think it's an intriguing question. Is he a one?
Do you have two ones there? Well, if you have two ones, you know, then you've got to go match up. You know, Joey Porter Junior has shadowed number one receivers throughout the course of the season. But I think that the view is that Cincinnati's got two number ones, Let's match up the best way physically, that we can with those guys and hope we can do. Listen, I think Steelers fans would sign up for what happened in Cincinnati
for those guys with their receiving yards. Very respectable days, but it wasn't two hundred and fifty yards and three touchdowns we've seen from both of these guys.
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