Bengals Booth Podcast: Two Tribes

Jim Nance from CBS. We'll hear from Jamar Chase on returning from his hip fracture and Ted Harris on why he walked off the field spewing f bombs at Tennessee. And finally, and this week's Know the Faux segment, I'll pick the brain of former Chief's offensive lineman Joe Valerio. The Bengals Booth Podcast is presented by Alta Fiber, future proof fiber Internet capable of delivering multi gigabit speeds designed to take your home, business, and community to a new level.

Elevate your connection with Alta Fiber. Now here's a quick reminder that you can have the latest edition of this podcast delivered rite to your phone, tablet, or computer by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's the greatest thing since My Cause, My Cleats. This Sunday, players all over the league will where custom design shoes as part of the NFL's My Cause, My Cleats campaign. It's become a great tradition giving players the opportunity to support causes that

are important to them. Twenty two Bengals will take part this year, and you can see their shoes and read about their causes on Bengals dot Com. Just scroll down to the latest photos section and you'll see the link to My Cause, My Cleats. Now, let's get to Sunday's game. Last January, in a span of four weeks, the Bengals pulled off two upset wins over the Chiefs that rank

among the most thrilling wins in team history. In Game one, the Bengals trailed fourteen nothing twenty one Evan and twenty eight fourteen before rallying to win at a walk off field goal at the end of regulation by Evan McPherson. In Game two, the Bengals trailed twenty one to three with less than two minutes to go in the half before fighting back again. This time, the game went to overtime before a Von Bell interception led to another game winner by Money Matt four years ago. He was a

senior in high school in tiny Fort Payne, Alabama. Now, the Bengal Super Bowl chances rest on his right foot. The kick is up. Yeah, yeah, good coffin nails. Bam bam. That is unblievable. The Cincinnati Bengals bound from behind on the road. Unbelievable. Dan, it is no fluke. It is a fact. The Cincinnati Bengals are headed to Super Bowl

fifty six. They just redefined the word resilient. The winds stopped Patrick Mahomes from getting to the Super Bowl for the third consecutive year, and one of the biggest reasons why is that Joe Burrow matched him throw for throw in their two meetings. Burrow through for six hundred ninety six yards Mahome through for five thirty four. Joe had more touchdown passes six to five and fewer interceptions two

to one. Here's what Tyler Boyd had to say this week about the matchup between the twenty seven year old Mahomes and the twenty five year old Burrow. I think I kind of looked back of it as like a Manning and Brady you know, because you kind of can't stop him. You know, it's gonna come down to whoever um excel and secondvantage of their opportunities in drives, you know, and score points, you know, with these are the type

of games when we play. We got to care of the football and um, don't don't don't, don't turn it over? Who's manning and who's Brady? I mean, is Burrow in my homes? You know, I wouldn't compare them, but I know those are two guys that you know has records for the fastest two quarterbacks to reach ten thousand yards. So I mean it's kind of hard to stop Burrow. It's kind of hard to stop Mahomes. So I mean at the end of the day, I think Burrow won

up two up teams. So yeah, so whichever one you want to pick, whoever got the most wins and there you go. Sunday's game will have a huge TV audience at four twenty five on CBS, and this week I checked an item off my interviewing bucket list by catching up with a play by play announcer for this week's game. Remember the famous Saturday Night Live bit when Chris Farley is interviewing Paul McCartney, and he's so starstruck that he

can barely get out of question. Well, this interview might go the same way as I have the opportunity to visit with one of my broadcasting heroes, Jim Nance. Jim, You and Tony called both Bengals Chiefs games back in January. Obviously they were thrillers. Have you had this one circled down the schedule since the NFL schedule came out in May? Absolutely? And Dan, thank you for that build up. My gosh, I'm not worthy, but I really truly appreciate you so much.

You're an absolute pros pro and it's an honor to be on here with you. I've been thinking about this game since since before the schedule came out, because it was one of those games I was afraid we might lose. I wanted to make sure that it landed in our inventory. So into April when the league did announce what games are going to go on what date, I was thrilled to see that we had this in the doubleheader window

to open up December. It's big, it's gigantic, and it's pretty amazing to be able to have a matchup technically three times in one calendar year for teams that aren't even in the same division. I'll be in the same conference, but it's a rarity, and they have been down to the wire thrillers the first two and I expect it will be the same thing come Sunday. So earlier this week, Tyler Boyd said that Burrow versus Mahomes is the new version of Brady versus Manning. You called a bunch of

those games. Does this feel similar to you? Yeah? I think I called somewhere around eleven or twelve of their seventeen matchups. So you know, the thing that's missing here is just time. I mean they're still in their twenties. I mean they're still in their basically in their mid twenties, so it's a little early to go that far with it. I appreciate what Tyler's trying to say. The other thing you have here is you have a lot of really young stars at that position. You can't take anything away

from what Joe's accomplished so far. It's enormous course Patrick as well, But you've got Josh Allen sitting out there, and you know you've got You've got Lamar Jackson and you've got Justin Herbert and there are others, So it's it's a little early, but it's on track, I think, is what he's trying to really say. They're on track because they're playing in super Bowls and they've played now in three between them, so yes, it has a chance

to potentially be there if their teams keep winning. And these guys number nine and number fifteen, they know nothing but how to win. One of the things I admire so much about your work is the ability to say just the right thing in the big moments. And here's what you said when Evan McPherson hit the field goal that sent the Bengals to the Super Bowl. This could be a sentence that a month ago would have sounded incomprehensible. McPherson from thirty one yards out and Cincinnati has headed

to the super Bowl. The word incomprehensible was perfect. Were you and Tony just stunned by what you had witnessed? I think that's fair to say, especially since it was twenty one to three right before the half, and you've got Kansas City at home, so you don't expect anything like that to turn around that quickly. At Arrowhead. I had interestingly, another twenty one to three lead in an AFC championship game, And that gets back to your last question.

That was Brady and Manning, and that was in the first months of two thousand and seven. But in this case, Indianapolis was the team that was down twenty one to three and playing at home, so they were able to come back stitch it together. They kicked the field goal before the half to make it twenty one to six, and Peyton led them back to a thirty eight thirty four victory. So at the time it was the biggest

comeback in championship game history. Only to see the Bengals all these years later come and do the same thing. But the Cincinnati wins even more impressive because it was on the road. It wasn't just any stadium. It was in the most raucous, highest descibel level stadium supposedly in

the entire league. So it was an amazing achievement. But you know, you think about their playoff run and how they beat the Raiders and how they want it Tennessee, and how they worked their way through these games and their late season surge, including that regular season matchup at since against KC. It was. It was a storybook. I mean, it really was. But you know they're that good that there. They stumbled out of the gates this year, but seven out of nine have gone their way since and oh

and two start and they're good. I mean, this team has really come together earlier than it came together last year. Jim, after the game, you interviewed Mike Brown on the stage. And Mike is not Jerry Jones. He's a private person. He doesn't do a lot of interviews. Have you interacted with him much over the years, and what did you think of that moment. I've had some really special times with him, and he probably doesn't remember them, but I do.

And I've met up with him a few times standing on the sideline when we've been able to watch practice, and I've always been intrigued and I've always respect that the man. I don't think he gets any kind of due nationally because you said it. He's not a guy that's going to try to put himself out there and build up his name. He's not seeking any attention. I'm not saying the other guys are seeking attention. It's just he's a background guy. He's a football guy. And I've

always enjoyed him, I really have. And it's just there's something about him that is so basic, so normal, so much like the guy next door. I've just I've admired him. You know, in some ways, I've I tried to model my career in some of those same principles. You know, the game is the thing, and not trying to draw attention on what I'm doing. That's at least what I'm always internalizing. And I think that's what Mike Brown is all about. And he's been successful for a long time.

Every team's had lean years, every franchise has. But you know, the Bengals have had their share of Super Bowl appearances too. And you know there are a lot of a lot of teams that we know that have never even gotten to the game. And anyway, he has put together this organizations put together a pretty darn good nucleus. Right now,

I'll give you one other example. What he did, what he did with was Zach, what he did with his coach to be able to to ride out those first couple of years and when five or six games the first two years total. But they have faith that this was the right guy to lead them and He's impressive until you got an impressive coach there in Cincinnati. So Mike saw it, mister Brown saw it, and here they are and making ready to make another run. We are

visiting with the great Jim Nance. This is not the first Bengals game that you and Tony have called this year. You had Bengals Cowboys back in Week two. Cincinnati obviously fell to oh and two and they lost that game. They're seven and two cents. What do you think of the way the Bengals are playing right now? Well, the big difference I think it's early in the year, Dan, is that the offensive line has stabilized now and they've

figured it out through good coaching. They have figured out how to how to build, how to grow, and how to become a unit in sync in concert with one another. There have been on some other guys that have stepped up. What t Higgins did over the last month was pretty impressive. What Trent Irwin tid stepping in was impressive. What Somaji's done out of the backfield with with mixing out last week and the week before that in the Pittsburgh game, there are a lot of there's a lot of depth there.

I think that's the thing, and they just needed that offensive line to gel on that side. And you know, defensively, I think they're they've also found themselves stabilized. They've had some guys that didn't play earlier in the year that are playing, you know, a lot of snaps now and playing some good football. Typically, the day before the game, the broadcast crew has the opportunity to visit with some

of the coaches and play. Can you describe what a Joe Burrow Tony Romo meeting is like the meeting of number Nine's? Uh, it's it's been good. Joe is a mature guy, you know, for as young as he really is, and he's you know, he's he's confident, but he's not over confident. And Tony is one of these just individuals that likes to build people up. And I love that. It's one of the many things that I admire about my teammate. I love the guy myself, and we have

so much fun together. But when he's when he's in a room with young quarterbacks, he's rooting for him and I think he wants them to know that he's on their side, and he likes to just I'd like to sit back and listen to the two of them talk. Because Tony, as you could tell, sees everything. By the way Joe's he's way beyond his years in terms of like understanding what's going on to field and seeing things in the game slowing down and all of that. Throws

a beautiful football. I know Tony admires that too, but it's it's a it's a good meeting of the minds, it really is. Jimmy famously have a replica of the Part three seventh hole at Pebble Beach at your home in California. I understand that Patrick Mahomes has played it. Did you learn anything about Patrick Mahomes from his visit? Well, Patrick came out like the week before COVID hit in twenty twenty, and he was a wonderful guy. Brittany was with him and we ended up playing two rounds of golf,

real golf, not the golf in my backyard. We played Cypress Point Club and we played Pebble Beach. The first hole at Cypress Point is not easy, and he hit it over the green on a like a severe downhill lie with a back hole location with the green running away from him. So to pitch it and keep it on the green. Already gonna get it on the green. Once it landed the green, pretty good odds it was going to run all the way down to the front off the green, back down the fairway. He pitched it in.

First of all, a home's magic. So thought, oh, that's interesting. Now I've been playing golf that long. And when we were playing back then, he didn't hit a driver. He hit three wood. He did not how to hit his driver, but the three wood would suffice. I mean, hit that three wood about three hundred and thirty yards. I'm not kidding. He could pound it. But then he did come to the house and hit some balls in the backyard. He

trying desperately to make a hole in one. I have a huge boulder there that has the names engrave for those who have made a hole in one guests. I don't put my own name on there. Of course, I've hit thousands of balls. There's out of dumb luck. I've made it a few times. I have been twenty two holes and one by guests. And Patrick, unfortunately is not on the Rock of Fame yet. He came close a couple of times. I've got the video of it. We

had a blast. I will say this is a terrible name dropping on my part, Dan, but I've had some really super NFL quarterbacks who have given it their best shot that just because they love to come out to Pebble and I spend my summers there and you know it's a bucket list place. But whether it would be Patrick or Josh Allen, who's had many a go at, it hasn't made it justin Herbert Ben, Roethlisberger, Joe Montana. I mean there are some serious there's some serious talent

that's been up there. Romo made it. He's the only quarterback that has made it, but there are others too from around the league that have given it their best. We haven't had Joe Burrow there. But if Joe ever hears you know about this, about this little chat, I hope he those divided and I'm there in February, June, and July. All he's got to do is call me and you have my number. He is just starting out as a golfer, so he might be intimidated, but I

will let him know that the invitation has been extended. Jim, this isn't my cause. My cleats weekend and you won't be wearing cleats in the booth, but I know if you were, what your cause would be. You have been really involved in the fight against Alzheimer's disease. Can you describe some of the things that you and your wife have done well. We opened up a research institute in Houston. Thank you for bringing that up, Dan, It's truly my cause.

Fifty two weeks a year and virtually every day of my life, I'm involved with what's going on down at Houston Methodist Hospital, which is the home of the NANCE National Alzheimer Center. By the way, the NANCE is for not the one you're speaking to, but for my dad, my late father. I named it after my dad. I wrote the check. I had a vision of how to open it up, how I wanted this to to have a place in the world of research and building a

gigantic neurological institute. This is not a foundation. This is actual bricks and mortar. And I'm more proud of that, outside of my family goals and wishes, than anything I've ever done in my life. Is being a part of the team. I'm not a scientist, I'm not a neurologist, not a doctor. I can talk it a little bit for sure about what we're going through and what we're researching and what trial programs are going through. But I'm a cheerleader. I try to be a visionary in terms

of bringing people together and helping create funding opportunities. But the Nance Center, which gives my dad a voice that he never had. It's being heard around the world and we have nine trials that are ongoing right now. We have one that we just recently hit on. It was in the Wall Street Journal that this was the first breakthrough discovery in Alzheimer's treatment ever, and we were one of the few places on the planet that was trusted

with administering that trial at our research institute. So a lot of NFL involved mcdan, a lot of former players, coaches, etc. That confidentially reach out to me and want to come down to the Nance Center to be diagnosed or be put on a trial and have a treatment program. And yeah, it's if you want to find out more about it, Nance Friends dot Org is where you can find about it. It is my cause, and I'll tell you why it's my cause. It's it's a it's a it was a

disease that defeated my dad. The most robust personality, life of the party, kind of guy you could ever see, and it brought him down to a guy who couldn't even recognize his own family, stricken at the age of sixty six. So, as a son is an only son who carries his name and was bequeathed his voice. I want his voice to be heard through me, and I want to be able to say that I was a part of the team that helped defeat the opponent that defeated my dad. That is my mission on earth, outside

of my family goals. That's my goal, that's my cause. That is powerful stuff. Jim, this has been a real treat for me. I can't thank you enough for doing it. Have a great game on Sunday. I look forward to it, probably the first of a few appearances at the Jungle before this season is over. It's a big one and this game will dictate how often Tony and I come back come January. But Dan, great admire view you and who you are in your work, and let's do this

again the next time we have a Bengals game. That interview was done via zoom. There are about three people watching on the Bengals end and when Jim Nance appeared on the screen. He said, hello friends. It was like the final round of the Masters was about to begin. The Bengals Booth podcast is brought to you by Bengals Picks Ultimate Bengals. They're free to play with tickets and side merchandise up for grabs. Find both inside the Bengals app.

In the first meeting between the Bengals and Chiefs last year, Jamar Chase had the greatest receiving performance in team history, with eleven catches for two hundred sixty six yards and three touchdowns. That was the most yards in a game by a Bengals receiver and the most ever buy an NFL rookie. Jamara's missed the last four games with a hairline hip fracture, but all signs point to him being back on Sunday. I felt really good last week. I just want to give him myself, you know, the right

amount of time. I don't want another rush anything. So I felt good last week, running straight and you know, making cuts. Yes, last week, you know, I even tried to make cuts on my leg hard as I could. You know, I didn't really feel nothing. So it's just want to be comfortable, you know, you don't want to send somebody on the field that's not comfortable playing yet. And you know what I'm saying, a hundred percent player, you don't want to send them. You know somebody out

there that's not ready to play, that's all. You're not worried about tickets, not worried about that. I'm just worried about being ready to play in ready to provide for what they need me to do. Chase was listed as a limited participant in practice on Wednesday and Thursday, as was Joe Mixon, who was likely to return after missing one game due to a concussion. The Bengals Booth podcast

is brought to you by pay Corps. More than twenty nine thousand customers trust Paycorps to help them recruit, pay, engage, and retain employees. Learn more at paycorps dot com. Following last Sunday's game at Tennessee, a video shot by Mark Slaughter from wl WT in Cincinnati went viral. It showed Ted Carriss viewing fbombs as he walked off the field after the victory. Ted was upset about the Titans behavior on the final few snaps of the game when the

Bengals were in the victory formation. He even took a punch to the face on the final play of the game from Jeffrey Simmons. I spoke to Carris about it this week. Things got a little testy at the end of the game last week when the Bengals were in the victory formation and the Titans kind of tried to jump the snap and blow it up. Is that against the unwritten rules of football to do that? I mean, there's a certain protocol, but they didn't want to concede.

That's their right. So, you know, just glad we got out there of the victory. You were captured on camera fired up walking off the field. They can't repeat exactly what she said, but Zach Taylor was asked about it this week and he said, Ted, carrist is going to be a Cincinnati legend. How did you become aware of the fact that that went viral? My dad? I was talking to my dad for the game and said, ask me if I was all right and if I knew

I was trending on Twitter. So that's kind of It's a weird, vulnerable feeling and everyone's talking about you online. But glad it was overall positive thanks to Cincinnati fans great reaction, but you know, you don't want to always live like that. But you know it was fired up, big physical victory, so glad to get out of there with a win. Now it's all Chiefs. You were miked up way back in Week four for the Miami game. My favorite part was when you were walking off the

field after the clinching touchdown. You've got your arms raised in triumph and you accidentally clock one of the officials. Was the contact pretty good? Well? The only thing I was worried about was it is illegal to touching officials, so it could be potentially been a fifteen year AP penalty. Obviously in that context it wouldn't have been. But uh no, that wasn't. I mean, obviously he dropped the ball, so it was enough to to to cause a fumble by

the ref. So I just want to make sure that you know we didn't do anything dicey at the end there. I want to make sure you knew it was inadverted because you know, I've seen stuff like that. Inadverted shots end up in fifteen year A penalties, and you don't want to live like that. We're chatting with Ted Carris. You're eleven games getting ready for twelve in your first season with the Bengals at this point, you know your teammates. Well, tell me something about Joe Burrow that's really stood out

to you so far. I think his uh, you know, attention to detail is obsession with victory is awesome. He's a great chess player. I think that's pretty admirable, and you know, just a pleasure to be around. Very you know, one of the most successible superstars I've ever been around. Have you competed in chess? No, I'm not going to him and Kappa compete, So they're they're very good. I'm more of a more of a Katan player if you're playing Setlers of Katan. Yeah, we've got that at home.

So Lap's nickname for Alex Kappa's Phi Beta Kappa. It sounds like if he's a good chess player, that might be accurate. Yeah, I think that's well, that's more of a nod to uh animal house, I think. But yeah, No, Caps extraordinary been a huge part of our line success. We would not be in the same position without Ox Kappa. So, speaking of the line success, I interviewed Charles Davis from CBS last week. He had the game He also called the season opener against the Steelers. So I asked him

about the lines improvement and what he's seen. He said, the Bengals are now a top third offensive line in the NFL. So thirty two teams, that's roughly top ten. What do you think, you know, it's a great compliment. I think that you know, the team is playing, you know, the unit's playing well, obviously well enough to win in November, but we got to keep it going. Uh, there's no you know, magic pill that's just going to transfer over

good performance. Besides, you know, good practice, attention to detail, and everyone being prepared, ready to go. So it's Kansas City this week. A former roommate is on the other roster. Correct, Yeah, Joe Tuoney stood up in my wedding, one of my best friends. Uh Dayton Archbishop alter Alum. So excited to see him. We'll see his family after the game. I'm excited. They're great family friends, amazing people. You know, it'll be

nice to shake his hand with a victory. Hygi two hit it off so well, and we came in together. We were drafted together. He was basically the first guy I met. We're very similar, you know, Midwest o lineman have a lot of similar interests, but you know I had a good, you know, back and forth, good dichotomy of interest. So it was amazing live with them for four years and you know, always rooting for the best.

Glad he got to, you know, cash in with that big deal and he's still playing, you know, as good as anyone in the league. Are you a jersey swap kind of guy? Well, that happened this week. I have about sixty jerseys Dan in my collection. Mostly I just buy him and have my teammates signed him, so they'll all go open my bar. At some point I'm gonna open a bar up. So that's what I can't. Can't put it that many of my house. I would look like an idiot. Yeah, it'll be wall to wall in

the bar. It'll look great. A couple more questions for Ted Carris. According to Pro Football Focus, the top ranked interior defensive lineman in the NFL isn't Aaron Donald. It isn't Jeffrey Simmons, who you faced last week. It isn't Cam Hayward. It is the guy you're going to face this week. Chris Jones is a brute strength? Is it quickness. What is it about this guy that makes him so tough premiere player? I think you know, one thing people estimate is how big he is. He has six six

very long, very very long and strong. So we're gonna have to bring our best. You know, he has a good array of moves, he has a good toolbox, very savvy player, played a long time at a high level, so it's gonna be another test for us to you know, perform absolutely very best. You've been making the media rounds recently to promote a worthy cause, the sins He hat and what it raises money for, or give us the backstory of the sinc He hat. Since he hat is

you've probably seen it on a couple of guys. It's the you know, black wider orange hats that'd say since and it benefits the village of Mariachi, Indianapolis, which provides independent living and social connections and employment opportunities for adults with developmental disabilities. So autism downstoner mean the most common. And that will be on your shoes this week for my cause, my cleats is that correct? That will be that will be on my shoes. They'll be up for

auction two this spring. Off the casino night in Indianapolis, so hopefully a couple of since A residents make their way out there because last year's also will be up for auction. We didn't have one last year obviously, had to cancel that a few times due to COVID protocol. I appreciate your time, best of luck this week, and you were great as a TV weather man. Thank you so much. Dan. Let's go who Day. Yes. While making an appearance to discuss the sinci hat on Local twelve

news and Cincinnati, Ted helped give the weather forecast. If you would like to check it out, just do a search for Ted Carriss weather Man. The Bengals Booth podcast is brought to you by Kettering Health, the official healthcare provider of the Bengals. With more than one hundred twenty care facilities and fifteen hundred care providers, Kettering Health is committed to guiding you to your best health. Visit Kettering health dot org to learn more. Now time for this

week's Know the Faux segment. Joe Valerio spent four years as an offensive lineman in Kansas City and currently covers the Chiefs as one of the hosts of the Believe in Chiefs podcast Joe and the Chiefs traded Tyree Hill. I think a lot of people wondered that the Kansas City offense was going to dip a little bit. Well, let's see their number one in yards, they're number one in points, just under thirty a game. How are they doing it? Well? I gotta give them a lot of credit.

I give Brett Veach and Andy Reid and on the offense and defensive coordinators, and also you got to throw special teams in there as well. You know, they're really good at diversifying when folks leave, and if you take the Tyreek example that you you know that you brought up Dan, they diversified their wide receiving core and I thought that was a real positive for them. I felt like, we'll call it a two trick pony because you always

got to throw Travis Kelsey in the mix, right. They were getting to the point where I think defensive coordinators were starting to get on track with what they were doing and what the playbook looked like. And I think this was you know the magic of Andy Reid and what Brett Feach has been able to do. And I guess the best term not to overuse the term was. I think they diversified in a way that caused a lot of defensive coordinators to take a step back and

rewrite what they were going to do. Because I look at that receiving core that's been able to withstand injury. Right when somebody gets hurt, another guy steps up. You know they've got finally, you know, in like an MVS, they've got the back shoulder throw that Patrick can make. You know, I call those the Randy Moss types, you know,

the Terrell Owens types. You know they've got you know, they've got the sort of the possession received in like a Justin Watson, who's you know, kind of he's gonna get open, He's gonna find an open spot, he's gonna you know, he's gonna be able to get in an area where you know he needs to be. Juju is in that same camp where Juju is more of a smaller possession type receiver, very short handed, and you know, and I think that's what they were able to do.

And of course you always will have Rcole Hardman as as sort of the speed guy. And I think it's given them enough, it's given them more pages in the playbook. So anyway, long answer to a short question, Dan, that's what I think about Tyreek Hill leaving. It's what they've been able to do offensively. Has settled a lot of those questions and demonstrated that they could do it without him, although, hey, he was a big piece of the puzzle to miss and I'm sure there are times when Andy Reid Eric

the enemy aren't missing him a ton. Joe, you played offensive line in the NFL. My broadcast partner Dave Lappam played offensive line in the NFL. He says, in a normal game, you try to stop the run and then you defend the pass. He's says against the Chiefs, it's the reverse. You have to stop the pass, so you almost dare them to run. Do you agree? I totally agree, And it's something I've been talking with, you know, my

podcast partner Jeff Fidoton about for years. I have felt over the last several years, we'll just call it several, we'll bucket it in a big term, I felt like they have been somebody who hasn't really been committed and I'm going to use that in air quotes right, committed to the run game. And I think with Isaiah Pacheco now coming on. I think they may have found somebody. You know, there's those terms out there. When he runs, he's trying to hurt the ground. You know, he gets

up and runs faster after the play is over. He's just got that level of energy. I think they may have found somebody that you can pull back and say, I mean, could he be the next Priest Holmes Kareem Hunt. I don't know, but that's a big stretch for a rookie. But I think that's the piece that this offense has been missing. And I feel like whenever the Chiefs have committed to the run again, I'm going to overuse this term.

It allows them to open up the playbook and it gives Patrick Moore options more things to do when you've got eight guys kind of crowding the box a little bit, wondering if they're gonna run, are they going to play action? You know, what are they gonna do? And I just feel like I'm super excited about what they're doing with Isaiah now and I think it's going to help them

down the stretch. But it's always been I feel the Achilles heel of the offense at least Patrick Mahomes's offense, maybe not a Trent Green or Alex Smith in the past when they've had those kind of big Derrek Henry type running backs or a Sequon Barkley somebody like that, that's going to get you five and a half yards of carry. I feel like it's always been their achilles heel. Former Chiefs offensive lineman Joe Valerio is our guest. He is the host of the Belief in Chiefs podcast on

the Belief Podcast Network. In the second half of the AFC Championship Game last year, Joe, the Bengals rushed three and covered with eight on about half of Patrick mahomes drop back and it worked. Have teams been trying that much this year? And if so, is it's still working. I mean, it obviously worked for the Bengals, and I think they figured it out right, might as well take a shot. If, like you said, you're gonna stop, you're

gonna stop the pass first. And that's what they did in that second half, and I think it was marvelous call by the Bengals coaching staff to do that. Um. I think with some of the things they have been able to do in the run game, while it has been limited. It definitely is better than it was last year. So I don't see as many teams falling back that many. You know, they're generally rushing for you know, you have to have a very discipline pass rush against Patrick Mahomes.

You know, you can't if you give him what I call a pocket within the pocket, he's gonna he's gonna beat you. Um not with his legs all the time. He's not like Josh Allen will what he does run. I'm not saying he can't run, but he's gonna find that extra second or two to find a receiver who you can get into, you know, either in man you know, get get away from somebody or sit down in his

zone and find that open spot. Um So, more teams, I think this year because of this better stable of running backs i'll call it, and the way they've been performing, I think more teams have been bringing you know, seven up into the box on first down, and you know, and Patrick's been able to make some plays you know, on first down with the past when he sees more players coming up into that you know, tackle box. So I think I think this year it's been a learning lesson.

That game was a learning lesson for Andy Reid and Eric the enemy is that you know, we're going to have to do something and not just allow you know, three guys to rush and eight guys dropped back. I mean, that's that was a fantastic formula for the Bengals and hats off to them for for thinking of that. Yo, if my math is correct, the Chiefs are twenty and four in their last twenty four games, and half of the four losses where to Cincinnati in a four week

span last January. What impact do those losses have on this week's game? Well, you know, players always have thoughts and count they have they have games circled on the calendar as much as as much as you know, I lived under the Marty Schottenheimer era, right, and you being in Ohio obviously have you know probably at least some of those memories of those Cleveland Browns Marty teams. And you know, Marty was the kind of coach that always

said the most important game is your next game. And I get that, and I totally live by a philosophy not just with football, but also you know things in life. You know, the next thing you're doing is the most important thing. But but the big butt. You know that players circle games on their calendars that you can't help it, right, just they're just humans and they're thinking about the things that are sitting in their crawl or the things that stung them. And I know this game has stung a

lot of Chiefs. And whether the Bengals were coming in here on the role that they're coming in on, which is very exciting, right, the seven and four role that they're on, because I'm not sure early mid season, you know, until they had these three three wins in a row, if I'm not mistaken right, that maybe people were doubting

this team a little bit. And I think Joe Burrow and the rest of the team are putting that behind them a little bit and they're seeing the team that they are and that they were and that they can be. And I think, you know, every team goes through those rough patches, So this is going to be an amazing

game for a lot of reasons. I think there's going to be a lot of players on the Kansas City side that are going to have a little bit of a chip on their shoulder about this game, and they probably had it circled regardless of whether you know, you don't want to look past the Raiders and the Broncos in the AFC West. This that game stung a lot

of a lot of players, a lot of fans. So I think, I think the Chiefs are going to pull out, you know, all the stops that they can, and I think the players are going to be, you know, pretty mentally prepared for this game. Valerio played for the Chiefs in the nineteen nineties. He as the host of the Believe in Chiefs podcast. Let's turn to the Kansas City defense. What's the strength, what's the biggest weakness? Well, I couldn't.

You can't. You can't say anything without bringing up Chris Jones, right, you can't. You can't have a defensive conversation without him. Um. I thought at the beginning of this season, and the reason why you know they went after karloftas early in the first round was the pass rush. You know, what, what is Frank Clark going to be able to bring to the table in his you know, advanced age. Um, you know, are we going to be able to get

after the quarterback? And you know I would have said six weeks ago, eight weeks ago, early on that that pass rush was going to be their weak link, and it's turning out to be one of their better facets of their team. I think a lot of it has to do with game planning and positioning that Steve Spagnolan's the defense coordinator, is doing. He's taking not a really

well known group of guys. I mean, you know, George Carloftas got his first sack um, you know, full sack against the Rams, so he has been a lot of pressures, but definitely not getting after the quarterback um. I think they were worried about, you know, whether or not, you know, obviously we're playing without Frank Clark right now because of the of the of the suspension, whether he was going to be able to hold up. He came back in

fantastic shape and has been making an impact. And even guys like you know, Mike Dana, Carlos Dunlap there, they're they're Steve spagnol is finding a way to make make it work for them. And that's what this defensive staff always does, and an offense they do it. I think even more. Steve Spagnola never takes a square peg and tries to jam it into a round hole. He doesn't say this is my defensive philosophy, you're going to fit.

It's my way or the highway. He constantly is evolving the player's skills and their attributes to meet the needs of the defense. I really respect that about him. I love that about coaches. His playbook is very let's call it flexible, variable and one that is in you know, there's lots of iterations of it. So that would have been the weak link. I think right now, you know Nick Bolton's playing well, I would have said it was

the linebacking corp. But with Willie gayback and Nick Bolton's having a Pro Bowl type season, Leo Channel as a rookie came on. I mean I would have said that maybe the whole defense was a week you know, six months ago as we were heading into the off season. But the drafting of Trent McDuffie, Justin Reid, Legarius Snead coming into their own, I have to say I can't really find as strong of a week link on defense as I do on the Chiefs offense, which I think

is still the running game, the overall running game. On defense, I think they've shored up all those things where they might not be a plus in any one of those attributes D backs, middle of the field, linebacking and then up front on the D line. But you know, they're solid B B plus across the board, and I think it's it's giving them some success right now, Joe, you

mentioned the name Carlos Dunlap. I'm guessing there are Bengals fans listening to this that didn't even realize he's wound up with the Kansas City Chiefs this year and is wearing the number eight. He had some great years in Cincinnati before an ugly exit. What's his role with the Chiefs right now? And how is he doing? I mean, he's got he's got four sacks, so he's he's making

an impact. He's, you know, definitely a great rotation player who gets you know, he gets a lot of starts um uh and and and he's you know, he's really jumped in there. And it's very uh, it's very easy to find him on the field because you see a number eight lining up at defensive end and you're like, wait a minute, that that a wide receiver, but fall out onto the defense. But he's very very recognizable out there, and you know he's been he's been they've been rotating

him in when he you know, when he starts. But that's what this defense has been doing. They've been trying to build depth where where they can get, you know, folks to rotate through. So they're not playing you know, sixty seventy plays on defense. Maybe they're playing you know, the starters are playing the forty five or fifty critical defensive plays because defense is a rotation position, and that's

what he's been doing. And he's you know, he's made a really nice role play impact, especially with Frank clark suspension and uh, you know, with bringing helping to bring guys like George Carl Aftis, you know, an untested rookie along. So I think he's been been a great addition. He seems to have found his niche with the Chiefs and he's found his role. So I think the fans are really happy to have him. Are there any injury questions that we should be keeping our eye on this week

from Cincinnati? They have to keep an eye on whether, you know, what Andy's gonna do besides just the injuries, you know, what are they gonna do? Uh, you know with Clyde Edwards, Hilaire right, is he going to play again and is Isaiah Pacheco and Ronald Jones going to be Are they going to be the guys rotating in with Jack McKinnon. The other one is Joe Tuoney. Joe has been banged up a lot, you know. Nick Alagretti

is the he's my number, sake, number seventy three. Plus he got a lot of vows in his name, so you know, we kind of any caught a touchdown last year, so he's a tackle eligible too. Like we've we've we've bonded uh dramatically. Um. But yeah, they'll have to keep keep an eye on the line and to see, uh, you know, if they can try to puncture that weakness of of you know, if Joe Thuney's not going to be able to go and Nick Alagretti steps and he's

done an admirable job filling in. Um. You know, he's not the type of backup that's you know, you're going to miss a beat when he gets in there. So they've done a really good job inside of of of you know, managing depth. I'm a little I get a little concerned on the outside. We've got some untested tackles backing up Orlando Brown and Andrew Wiley in, Darien Kinnard

and Jared Christian. They haven't really played a whole lot this season, and uh, you know they're they're kind of you know, as the season goes on and you haven't been playing, it can get at it gets a little worse each day. So you know, just got to make sure that old line stays healthy because that was you know, that was their downfall several years ago. In the Super Bowl.

You had a big man touchdown back in the day. Yeah, I had four actually, so well, well, I just you know, listen, here's one of my greatest uh you know, uh, the greatest honors is that I share that record with Anthony Munio's who also had four tackle eligible touchdowns. So we share the record along with another player. There's four four offensive linemen who have scored four touchdowns, so you know, I will always of course, of course, Anthony Munos was

one of my idols growing up. I loved watching him play. My college strength coach was very good friends with the Bengal strength coach back then, who you know, used to train guys like Anthony and Tim crumb Ry and so I got to know Reggie Williams and so I knew a lot about the Bengals even though I was a Philly NFC kid growing up in Philadelphia with my Eagles. I knew a lot about the Bengals through my college strength coach who was friendly with the Bengal strength coach,

so we used to follow their seam strength regimen. So really cool connection there with Anthony Joe Valerio, host of the Believe in Chiefs podcast, and a guy that chairs an NFL record with Anthony Munios. So I doesn't get any better than I Just wish I could have played as long as he did or had as many Pro Bowls. I just you don't have any fingers that face sideways like Anthony does. Just one, Joe, this has been terrific. I really appreciate your time. Thank you so much. Awesome Dan,

glad to join you. Good luck this week. That's going to do it for this episode of the Bengals Booth Podcast, presented by Kettering Health, the official healthcare provider of the Bengals. Buy Bengals picks and Ultimate Bengals They're free to play with tickets and signed merchandise up for grabs by paycre, the official HR software provider of the Bengals and by Alta Fiber future Proof Fiber Internet elevate your connection with

Alta Fiber. If you haven't done so already, please subscribe to this podcast and if you have a minute, give it a rating or share a comment that helps more Bengals fans find us. I'm Dan Horde and thanks for listening to the Bengals Booth podcast