Bengals Booth Podcast: Show Must Go On

Hi everybody. I'm Dan Hord and thanks for downloading the Bengals Booth Podcast. The show must go on. Addition, as the Bengals fail to gain ground in the AFC playoff race, losing a heartbreaker on the road in Baltimore, thirty five thirty four, Coming Up Radio replays locker room comments and postgame analysis from Dave Lapham. Then, in this week's fun Facts Conversation, you'll meet a Bengal who spent his entire childhood watching Ben Roethlisberger play quarterback for the Steelers before

M and T.

Banks Stadium here in Baltimore, looking to lead the Bengals to a season altering win over the Ravens, and it is time for the pig skin to fly in prime time. First and goal from the one, the Bengals lineup in an I formation. Burrow hands it off to Chase Brown. Brown runs into the end zone, standing up. Touchdown Bengals to begin the game. Four down linemen in the game for Cincinnati. First in goal from the sixth Lamar in

Chase of the forty five, angling toward the farce on in a thirty twenty fifteen ten five boo touchdownwn Jamar Chase does it again.

He's dancing in the back of the end zone, turning a short pass over the middle into a sixty seven yard highlight. Burrow catches the shotgun, snap gives it to Chase. Brown again fights his way forward thirty one. The ball comes out the Ravens habit. They recovered at the thirty one yard line, first and goal inside the one. Jackson, under center, hands it off. Derek Henry, trying to bounce it wide to.

The left, lurches.

Forward and carries the ball over the goal line for a touchdown. The Ravens snap it quickly, Lamar Jackson to throw his pass caught for the first down. Wallace gets away running down the sideline. He's still running thirty twenty ten, coasting into the end zone for an incredible eighty four yard Baltimore touchdown.

Damn Taylor Britt doesn't make the tackle. I mean he's in good position. Yeah, and Logan Wilson tries to push amount of bounds, but he had he was out in front of him too far and he couldn't get a good enough piece of them.

Lamar catches the shotgun snap short drop, looking floating it for the end zone, Andrews with a catch touchdown. The Ravens Burrow back to throw guns it deep down your.

Chase is open, catches at the thirty for the field ten five touchdown, seventy yards as Jamar Chase is putting on one of the great shows in Bengals history. And on another one play drive, the Bengals have a chance to.

Tie it with a bad or go for it to try to take the lead. I see Evan McPherson on the field third down and goal from the five. He'll checks in at running back. Lamar catches the shotgun snap looking back pedaling, rolling to the left, throws into the end zone, and he floats it into the hands of her shot bateman for the touchdown. One minute and forty nine seconds to go from the five yard line. Burrow catches the shotgun snap, he throws it into the end zone.

Chase Boom makes the catch on the back line for the touchdown.

And it looks like the Bengals will go for two with thirty eight seconds to go to try to win the game.

Baltimore felt like they had him double coverage and he goes to the back of the end zone that Joe Burrow throws the ball where only he can make a play on the ball.

The game comes down to this play, a two point conversion try with thirty eight seconds left in the fourth quarter. Cincinnati down thirty five to thirty four. Burrow in the shotgun. Two receivers to each side of the formation, sample in the backfield to block. Burrow is ready, extends the hands, catches the shotgun snap looking through incomplete for Tanner Hudson at the goal line. There is no penalty flag down and Cincinnati is going to lose by a point in Baltimore.

Every time we play Baltimore is a high fight. It's always a dog fight with Baltimore, and the game's always close to end.

So we just got to learn how to put it away, man.

Yeah, we just got to make the opportunities that are there, make the plays. You know, we did in spots and we didn't in spots tonight, and that's the story of our season. So I'm going to do everything in my power to continue to be ready for the opportunities that come try to take advantage of them.

I'm pissed off, of course, but you know that's game of football. You know what I'm saying, sometimes we don't get what we want, but we've got to come out next drive and execute it. Hopefully we do better than we did last time.

Everyone's going to talk about the two point play, but we had plenty of other opportunities to on both sides of the ball to put ourselves in better position.

I don't know, we didn't have some tough losses this year, all close games. I don't know. I think we just got to find a way to finish.

We've been doing this.

Every loss we had, we didn't finish, So we just got to find some type of way to finish.

You know, your record is what your record is, and you are what your record is. So we're four and six football team right now, and it's gonna be an uphill battle to get back into this thing. But you know, I like what we have in the locker room. I like the coaches that we have up there, and so let's keep plugging along.

When you toss in the Washington game in September, the Bengals now have three losses this year where they have scored thirty three or more or points. I spoke to Ted Karrits about another squandered opportunity ted unfortunately. I think he used the phrase earlier this season, the all most games or something like that, another one of those games where he basically did everything but pull it out.

Yeah, Ravens. Give credit to them. They made one more play than we did. And that's what it comes down to. The National Football League. I thought we left some stuff out there, but overall, I mean, well it it sucks because we're kind of we're at there at the losing end of some all time classics this year, and that's.

That's a shame.

So we're gonna take a take a long weekend and get ready to go to LA still in the mix, obviously losing to our big rivals by you know, last.

Plays in the game two times in a row.

His his heartbreaking. But we hat out of ball, left with seven games left to seven left to try and do something, So we got to go out and beat l A.

How significant was the fumble in terms of momentum, Well, I.

Think that if you boil down the game too, you know what, what is the difference in the game. I believe we had one turnover and they had zero. I think we have you can count the fourth downs as well, or just one fourth.

Down that we miss.

But I mean that's again, in a in a league with such a such a thin margin for victory, you know that that'll cost you, and especially with you know how our defense was playing to give them a short field and let them feel some confidence when really they weren't doing anything all day. So you know, you put that in, you know, one of the big moments of the game.

You know, it is what it is that it happens.

But uh again, those are kind of the things that that cost us in a thirty five thirty four heartbreaker.

It's almost hard to build. You have to score thirty eight in game one and thirty four tonight and not come away with a w either time. Joe passed for four hundred plus Jamar just missed the franchise record for receiving yard. You did so many good things. I can only imagine how exasperating it must be to not walk out of here with a victory.

No, Dan, I never feel exasperated.

Football is.

Such a unique thin line of performance, and one of the great things about it knock on wood until they kick you out. You know, you get up again, and we got it. We got an opponent next week.

So.

Yeah, it sucks, and you know, I feel for the guys, and you know, I think the guys are ready. I think the guys know what we can be and we're sitting at for me and you know that's that's not good enough. But it's been it's been some heartbreaking losses. So I don't think anyone's going to let that affect him.

Appreciate your time. Thanks Thanks Dan As for the defense, Baltimore's first seven drives featured five punts and only one touchdown. Four of those drives were three and out, but after Chase Brown's fumble gave the Ravens a short field and led to a thirty one yard touchdown drive, the Bengals defense simply could not stop Lamar Jackson. He finished with two hundred and ninety passing yards, four touchdowns, and no picks for a passer rating of one forty one point four.

Yeah, tough. When we play tough teams, you know it's gonna be a sixty minute battle four quarters, especially in the AFC northwal against the Ravens. You know, we gotta, you know, we gotta come out of the second half swinging, which we did. We did early on the third quarter. We got up on them, got to stop on defense and then went right down and scored a touch. Now, but we's got to work on work on finishing, closing, closing opponents out and flight. Today we didn't do that.

So you know, we gotta we gotta keep the ball.

We gotta take the ball away as a defense and uh just just be just be playmakers and game changers. As a team.

You held him under one hundred rushing yards. It ended their streak of forty two consecutive games with one hundred or more, so you made them somewhat one dimensional. But when that one dimension is Lamar, I mean he's such an equalizer.

Yeah.

Yeah, he's a very explosive player.

You know.

Obviously when we got him in the backfield, we gotta gotta get him on the ground. And we know as a GBS at as these as dbs, when he gets out of the pocket, we got a plaster. We gotta get on our guys and uh, stay stay connected and stay locked in on him. And when they catch the ball and may tackles, you know, get him on the ground. You know, stay to down, stay to stay the drive.

I don't thinkers did that much. But Tylan Wallace of all people wind up having a big game, including that tightrope job down the sideline for the eighty four yard t D.

Yeah, yeah, that's that's exactly what that's what That's what I'm talking about. Just just get guys on the ground when they when they make a play like that in the flat or anything. But you know, sometimes just the you know, the guy we don't expect. We did a good job to day on They flowers a good job today on you know, all the rest of the guys think Mark Enji's probably have.

One touch down.

Yeah, one touch down. We do too bad on Mark. But uh, you know, as a defense, just gotta you know, they get to start for office that they need just at one stop, you know, because every game has came down to you know, every game that we lost just came down.

On one play.

And you gotta focus on, you know, dominating teams, you know, getting up, getting them up, getting up up out of there early, you know, and keeping off flow in your neck. Coming into the second half.

You're four and six with seven to go. Probably should have beaten Kansas City, could have easily beaten Baltimore both times. Is it agonizing could be in this position when you've shown your capable of beating anybody.

Yeah, yeah for sure. Still got still got what three three division games to go, so hey focus on one of those, you know, and we were right back in the mix on so you know, and then the goal right now is, you know, see Cee Ravens again and the AMC Division. Let's a go, you know, go in the street, win as many games as we can get in the playoffs, you know, go from there him and make sure by that time we're locked in on closing games out, closing opponents out.

Jordan, appreciate your time. The Bengals only managed one quarterback hit on Lamar Jackson and did not have a quarterback sack. Now, let's hear from Zach Taylor, who spent a few minutes with Lap after the game.

Coach, I mean heartbreaking, to say the least. And when you get a good look at that two point conversion, they're holding the hell out of GASICKI. Joe gets hit in the face. I mean, they could have made calls to give you another shot at it. But I mean, and that's water over the bridge or on the bridge or whatever the hell it is right now. But I mean that was just another instant classic football game.

Yeah, you just you know you're gonna win the game, and you go down there just expecting, even down seven, that we're gonna score and get the two point version and go away winners. Sick to your stomach when it doesn't work out that way. We've had a lot of these this year and got time to turn around. It's a good football team that's in that locker room. They believe in each other, They fight to the last second. We got time to turn this thing around.

The two quarterbacks were ridiculous again tonight. I mean the numbers that they put up, it's just it's incredible. I mean, Joe Burrow, I don't think there's a competitor that's more intense than any sport than Joe Burrow is.

There's no doubt, you know. It's or thankful he's our quarterback. He gives this chance to win every game we play. Made some tremendous play tonight, and guys around him stepped up as well and just came up with.

A short Jamar Chase. I mean, he's had big game, big games against the Ravens. This one was as big as any of them, and he was unbelievable tonight.

Yeah, he's an unbelievable player. We got to find every which way we can to get him the ball because every time he gets it, something electron lying happens, and this this game was no different tonight.

We talked about it in the pregame show. You know, turnovers this football game. It's like, man, you can't give away a possession, give them another possession. And that's what happened. I mean, Chase Brown had the unfortunate funnel that was big, wouldn't it.

This game always comes down with the turner battle. You know, it's always a one score game, and whoever won the turner battle wins the game. And fortunately that's the way it turned out.

So, I mean what it was, it was a Charles Dickens special. I mean the Bengals in the first half just every phase, I mean dominated and then in the second half, you know, the script flipped there a little bit. Was it adjustments they made? Was it just mistakes that you guys made or was it a combination? What do you think?

I mean, we gave him the short that the eighty something yard run. You know, we just got to get him on the ground, get Hi out of bounds, get him on the ground. So those two plays gave him life and and unfortunately, you give a good team of life and they're gonna fight you. And then it just went back and forth from there, just weren't able to pull.

Out two to one score drives by Jamar Chase and the same game, two of them. It's like you said, they had they had the big play. So I mean explosives there are always a big deal in this matchup as well, aren't they they are?

And and again that's great protection gave Joe a lot of time on both those plays, and then those two guys were just in great sync.

So, like you said, it's it's it's obviously painful, but it's not fatal. I mean this football team, the number of yards that have been put up in these two matchups and the number of points and the differential to only be four points total, I mean, it just speaks to how close these two football teams are. I know, you didn't win either football game, but could be two and all against these guys.

Yeah, we're not, though, So we got to figure out a way to make up for these wins, you know, and get back in the thick things, which which I fully believe you are. There's unwavering confidence amongst these coaches and players that we're going to be there in the end. Might look a little sticky, but what We're going to get there, and we got plenty of time to do it.

A lot of division games, I mean this was one of the four in the last eight games, three in the last six, two in the last three. I mean a lot of your division games are toward the toward the back half of the season, and those are all going to be important, aren't they.

Yeah, they're They're always important. We got to even a back up next opportunity get but next on the docket is the Chargers and we got to find a way to get that win.

Well. I mean, it was a heck of a performance once again, the in front of the whole nation. Nothing to be ashamed about with what took place out there tonight and your football team battle to the very end. I mean, I appreciate your time as always. Thanks.

Up next a Sunday night game in Los Angeles against the Chargers, meaning the Bengals will face a Harbaugh for the second game in a row. Jim Harbaugh has the Charger sitting at five and three and giving up the fewest points of any team in the league at a meager twelve point six. They haven't allowed more than sixteen in a game this year, and they aren't likely to surrender a bunch this week as they host Tennessee on Sunday.

I mean, you know they've got a they've got an explosive offensive football team as well. I mean, both of these football games have been instant classics, and the quarterback play is just ridiculously good. But the one thing that is unfortunate, lose the turnover battle in this football game, usually lose the football game. And that fumble is huge. Short field fumble get stopped on fourth down a couple of times, so you know it wasn't just minus one.

I didn't like going for two. I loved going for two in the final minute. Agree they weren't stopping Lamar at that point, give Joe Burrow a chance to win you the game from two yards away.

Agreed, you know, and they you know, they tried to get edge of a little closer. You know. I thought it was it was very theatrical what they were doing, trying to draw them off sides. But I agree with you try to win the football game. You know, at that point, you know, Joe felt like he maybe, in hindsight, maybe extend and create and go to the next read in the progression. You know, Ravens had a good coverage for that particular play, but he and Jamar Chase in

I thought that the Ravens were the best team in the AFC going into this game. I don't think I feel that way anymore because of their secondary. And Jamaar had eleven catches for two hundred and sixty four yards. He had more than one ninety in game one. The offense is incredible, but I think the secondary could very well prevent Baltimore from having a long postseason run.

They're dead last in the NFL against the pass, and what Joe Borrow did to tonight is not going to help that. Cause, you know, they were number one in the NFL against a run coming in. But man, they get ripped up and to be the best team and to advance in the playoffs, you have to play defense, and right now that is problematic to say the least. I mean, at some point, you can't continue to outscore people time after time after time. At some point is going to come back and bite you.

We've been doing the games together for fourteen years. This is the first season where I've really felt like the Bengals record is not indicative of the team. Fourth and sixteen against Kansas City two games that they could ever should have won against Baltimore. This is a much better team than four and six. Unfortunately, their chances of making the playoffs are slimmed.

I mean, they've lost three games to those two football teams by five points. What three games by five points? That's that's crazy. And the odds would say, if you're that close, you're gonna win at least one of them, and they have not. The football gods have not been kind to them. You know, they've got three stars Joe Burrow, Jamar Chase Trey Hendrickson, three of the best players at their respective positions there is in the National Football League. Other guys have to step up and start doing a

The defense couldn't have been much better for two and a half quarters and then could not stop the Ravens to save their life in the final four possessions.

Yeah, and it was a matter of you know, angles tackling football geometry was suspect. I mean, I mean there were there were big plays that turned into big plays because of sloppy and shoddy played by the defense. So but that is life in the National Football League. And you know, in this in this game, like I said earlier, the turnover battle usually does decide it. When Chase Brown had that fumble, you're up, you're up two scores, you're up fourteen. He has that fumble short field and they

We've been saying it's probably gonna take ten wins to make it into the playoffs. That might not be the case. Nine was enough for Green Bay last year. Maybe nine will do it in the AFC if teams knock each other off. I still think they're capable of winning the majority of the games they have left. They've got seven games to go, minimum of five. You'd feel better if it.

Was six, no doubt. If it does come down to point differential, though, they got to you sitting early high Cotton, I don't know if I don't know if there's any team in the NFL that's played as many close games as this football team has played and lost them. I mean again, it's like, you know, the odds saying you're gonna pick up one or two of them. It's it's

That puts a rap on the Baltimore game. Now it's time for this week's fun Fact segment, where you get to know the person under the pads. Time for some fun facts with safety Gino Stone from Newcastle, PA, about forty three miles from Pittsburgh. This is a safe space, we won't judge you. Where you raised a fan of the dreaded, hated, but grudgingly respected Pittsburgh Steelers.

No, I actually wasn't.

I was actually a big fan of Michael Vick and Ladani and Thompson growing up, so that's kind of who I followed. And rude, I never really had a favorite football team in like NFL, so that's kind of different with.

Me, so more of a fan of players than teams.

Always. Yeah, that's how it always happened.

So high school football playoff games in the state of Pennsylvania are played in the Steelers Stadium. Did you get to do that as a kid, and if so, is it a big deal?

Yeah? It was actually my last ever high school football game.

There was a district championship we played there and actually got to be pretty bad. But I enjoyed the experience a lot, because you know, I always want to steal their games and pit football games and watching guys and watching it's actually crazy ice to watch Tyler Boyd and when he played it like every year in the championships there, So being able to play and play on that stage in front of them, in front of everybody, was you know, a dream come true.

For me visiting with Gino Stone. One more Pittsburgh question and I'll move on. The first interception of your NFL career was off Ben Roethlisberger.

He was the.

Steelers quarterback for your entire childhood from age five age twenty two. Was it surreal to get your first NFL pick up Big Ben?

Yeah, it definitely was, just because you know, another thing is so he married someone from my hometown, so he would always be around people from my hometown and like my one my my actually head football coach, so be able to talk about stories like that with them guys, and it's actually pretty crazy, so you know, and it's his last ever, his last ever pick ever through so it's kind of kind of crazy.

That was my first one.

Ever, your first his last. You were a quarterback in high school in addition to being a defensive back. What kind of offense did you run?

It was a mixture.

We ran like a spread and then we would run like a bunch of heavy part personnels.

I really didn't. It's crazy, I really didn't run as much in the high school.

As a quarterback, I actually threw or hand the ball off because we had a really good receivers.

But for the most part, out is back there.

You know.

It's kind of like my my off break on defense because I literally didn't come out the game. It Also that's kind of how I took it on office side.

You know, when did you know your long term future would be as a defensive back.

I would say my junior year. That's kind of when I made the switch to safety. At my first couple of years, I was always playing corner and then my dB coach suggested me to move to safety. And then my first year, my junior year playing safety, I had six picks. So that's when I was kind of like, all right, maybe I could do something with this. And then that's why start getting offers from schools and stuff.

I found an old newspaper headline that said Stone can't wait to get started at Kent State. You never played there you wound up in Iowa instead. How did that go down?

Yeah, so I was actually committed to Kent for at least a month or two and then it was like the last weekend of recruiting and I was and at that point, I was kind of over all the like the Big ten schools and the like ACC schools, you know, playing me kind of sealmen able to offer me and they never have. So I was saying I was just gonna stick with Ken, and then I well came in

Certainly worked out well. You were with the Hotkeys for three straight winning seasons, including a ten and three record your final year. What did you enjoy most about your time in Iowa City?

The friends I made, the friends I made there, to all the brothers I met, you know, the coaches I were able to cross paths with, you know, lifetime, you know, memories I always have there.

It was a great time.

You know.

Coach Fernson made it great for me, you know, Coach Parker, Coach Doyle, you know, he developed me in a way I never thought I could develop.

So I'm always appreciated for them.

Guys, you were drafted in the seventh throwned by the Baltimore Ravens. Describe your draft weekend hectic.

You know, I was actually, I mean disappointed a lot. I mean it was it was a great disappointment at the end, but you know I kind of thought I was gonna go a little higher. But you know, once it hit like the fifth or sixth round, I actually didn't even watch the draft no more. I kind of just took a drive, you know, try to clear my mind. And then I remember Baltimore actually hit me up before. There was like a few picks before in the sixth round. They were like, we got one more pick left. We

So what are you guys doing?

Like, because you know later at that point, at that point, you know, you're trying to figure out where you're trying to go and UDFA and stuff like that. So I was grateful putting off that Eric to cross the call me and I got drafted. So that was, you know, dream come true.

Gino. In high school, you had seventeen interceptions. You set your high school's record. At Iowa, you had six. In three years. With Baltimore, you had eight, including an AFC leading seven. Last year, you've got one so far in Cincinnati. That's thirty two interceptions. In all seriousness, what is it about you that allows you to pick off so many throws?

I always revert back to me saying because I was a big baseball player growing up, so I always play center field. So I always say, you meet my tracking ability to be able to track the ball out the quarterbacks hand. I take it like as tracking the ball off the baseball player's back. That's kind of how I always look at it. So that's kind of how I always get to jump on the ball or jump on something.

All Right, I'll recognize a gold gloffer in the outfield the next time you pick one off. Time for some wild card questions. Now for Bengal safety Gino Stelle. Who is your all time favorite athlete in any sport? And why?

Oh?

Lebron James, Lebron James. I've been Lebron. I mean I've been Lebron jameson since forever. I would say him just because for him to be able to come to to a league at eighteen years old and do and do and has done what he's done for such a long.

Time, you know, it's unbelievab.

You know, he's always been doubted since he was fourteen fifteen years old, and it'd be able to overcome everything. He never had a bad rap for anything off the field. So he's a great role model look.

After and still getting it done, still getting done, definitely still getting done. So Michael Vick and Ladani and Tomlinson in football, but overall, Lebron James. What do you like to spend your money on?

Uh, I've been buying a lot of clo clothes lately. I'll say closed right now, your closed horse, right now? I am yeah, right now.

Aside from sports, what are you good at?

Besides playing football? I golf every day, so and that's a sport. So I don't know if I can say that, But besides football, I literally golf every day. It's kind of a hobby I picked up since my rookie year and I actually got really good at it, you know the past few years. You know, I broke parr a couple of times. So uh yeah, that's what I'm saying. I broke part like two or three times, so I should I should around, you know, seventy eight seventy nine every time I play for the most part.

Now, so I'll say that, all.

Right, I played my whole life and you're ticking me off as I struggle to break eighty. Your hometown, Newcastle, Pennsylvania, has been called the fireworks capital of the world. What do you know if anything about fireworks in Newcastle?

No, it definitely is. So I actually tell people that all the time. If you look out one because they were like, what's a Newcastle? I said, look it up. We're a firework capital world. But usually every year we have a big old celebration downtown for July where everyone goes like sky King.

Or like somewhere like that, and I do it every year. I go to sky King.

They helped discount me as much as they can. I bought my fireworks and I put on a show, usually from my neighborhood.

So I love it.

I don't like them off no more after what happened. I saw what happened with Jason Pierre Paul, so I don't like them no more. But I make sure I buy enough and make sure everyone has a good show.

Good have somebody else handle the lighting them a part. Final question, This one's kind of deep. If you could meet anybody in history, living or deceased, who would that person be?

D that's a deep one.

I'd probably say my grandmother's father, That's what I'll say, just because I heard so many stories of about him, and how I was so much alike him in that our mind. I remind him of my family all the time. So I'd probably say him just because I heard. I heard how great of you know father he was, how how hard of a work he was, you know what he did this? I'm pretty sure he working to still know stuff. I death so I would see him.

This has been great. Appreciate your time, best of luck the rest of the earth Ship.

Thank you, thank you.

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