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Speaker 1: This is Football in the Natty.
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Speaker 2: Sure is.
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Speaker 1: Football in the Natty. Brought to you in part by Skyline Chili.
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Speaker 3: Yeah.
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Speaker 1: On ESPN 1530, the official home of the Cincinnati Bengals.
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Speaker 2: Hey, we're going to go to Pittsburgh in 15 minutes and talk with a guy who calls himself Donnie Football. We'll talk about the Steelers because that's who the Bengals play on Sunday. The Bengals are the team that Kelsey Conway covers. For Cincinnati.com and The Enquirer, she's also the host of the Beyond Sunday podcast. Do you want to be called Kelsey Football since we have a guy named Donnie Football on?
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Speaker 3: No, absolutely not. Okay.
00:00:36
Speaker 2: Write that down. Do not call Kelsey Football. How serious is this Andre Yoshua's thumb injury?
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Speaker 3: I think it's noteworthy, but through the first two games, he's really not been a focal point of the offense. So I think if there was ever an injury that the team could withstand... It is at the wide receiver spot. And when you go through the options that they have, whether it be Dante Myers, Tanner Hudson, you know, Colby Young, I think that the Bengals are going to be just fine without Andre Yostavos. And it seems like it's going to be a week by week thing. Obviously, with him going on IR, it will at least be four weeks. But Zach Taylor said it's not a season-ending injury, and I think that they can get by without him for the next month, and I think they'll be completely fine.
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Speaker 2: I'm looking at the injury report. I see did not participate. Jonathan Allen, knee, BJ Hill, Achilles. Should I worry about those guys?
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Speaker 3: No, Zach Taylor said it was a workload type of day for Jonathan Allen. They're going to try and manage him. I would imagine at some point this year he becomes a regular DNP on Wednesday simply just for management. The B.J. Hill one is the one that seems a little bit more serious, and that's really just because he missed so much time during training camp for him to be back on the injury report just a few weeks later. I think that's a little bit of a red flag. But other than wide receiver, the other position that the Bengals are deepest at is defensive line. And through two weeks, you haven't said DJ Hill's name much because they've got so much talent everywhere else. So I think if they don't have DJ for the next couple of weeks, I think they're going to be able to get by. But they need him to get back and get him ramped up. by October and really be able to use him when they need to if Jonathan Allen or Chris Jenkins or one of those players can't go.
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Speaker 2: Do the Bengals have an Orlando Brown problem?
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Speaker 3: They do not have an Orlando Brown problem, according to Joe Burrow. So I asked Joe Burrow, what is Orlando like in terms of how does he respond after a game in which he doesn't think he played his best? And Joe Burrow gave a really... spicy answer and just essentially said, you know, basically relax everyone. It wasn't as bad as you thought it was. And that when you are trying to evaluate offensive line, then, you know, in the media, he said that it's, it's almost impossible because the media doesn't know all of what goes into, you don't know what protection is called. So he really came to the defense of Orlando Brown and said that the offensive lineman, you know, play a thankless position. And so I think that, you know, He, A, is doing that to make sure that Orlando still knows he has a ton of confidence in him and the rest of the team. He's making sure he... lets everyone know I still believe he can play at a really high level. So I think there's an element of that. So it seems like Joe Burrow still believes he can get the job done. And we talked to offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher, and it's just been very blunt that they didn't think that Orlando played his best game, but they fully expect him to rebound in a positive way. And I think that if he struggles against P.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith, and it looks kind of like it did last week, I think Ben, you're maybe starting to think about, okay, is this becoming a reoccurring issue? But at the same time, they don't have an option behind him that would be any better. So I think it's just going to be one of those things where they got to figure out how to give him some more help, got to be able to run the ball more so they're not still relying upon the pass and putting him in those drop-back situations. But it seems like everybody right now expects him to play better against the Steelers. And history will tell you, he knows, he knows what the Steelers are going to try to do to him. It's an AFC North rival when he was in Baltimore. And now he's been a few years here in Pittsburgh. So we'll see if he can play better. And they're certainly hoping that that happens.
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Speaker 2: Yeah, no, I look, I've, I've spent my life listening to people say things to me just to be nice. And I know they don't mean them. So, you know, I took everything Joe Burrow said about Orlando Brown with a grain of salt. That's just me being skeptic. But, you know, like Orlando has a chance to prove people like me wrong on Sunday.
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Speaker 3: Well, and also think of this. Burrow has dealt with everything. so many tackles that have been far worse than Orlando Brown that I truly think he, I think he does like keep that in mind. So like, he's like, I have, I have seen way worse than Orlando Brown at his worst. So I think that he keeps, I think he keeps that perspective in mind. And I really do think that he thinks if he can just get, you know, average play out of Orlando Brown, that they're going to be able to be an offense that can put up a ton of points.
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Speaker 2: Kelsey Conway from The Enquirer and Cincinnati.com. Should I make a wager on Cassius Howell being the NFL's defensive rookie of the year?
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Speaker 3: I don't know. I think you can make a pretty good argument that that would be a smart decision by you. And I'm going to plug myself here at Paul Daner's. podcast before the start of the season we all had to give like one big prediction and my prediction was that I thought that the Bengals were going to have 50 sacks or more and I'm feeling pretty good about my prediction because of a player like Cassius Howell and I thought What was really interesting and what I said on that podcast is I thought it was really telling how high everyone in the locker room thought of Cassius Howell when a player told me when I asked for like a comp, they said Nick Benito in Denver. And when you look at how well he's played for Denver and how much he's made an impact, I thought for him to be drawing that type of comparison and just saying, his first couple of months on the job, I think really, really speaks to what people think he can be. And Jonathan Allen gave me some really great quotes about him just being made of the right stuff and his motor just being something that they think he's going to be able to be a player that can make an impact for a long time. So it really seems like the early returns on that pick are, are going well for the Bengals and it's going to be exciting to see how his role continues to evolve as the games go on because I know heading into week one he kind of thought he'd be playing more of a reserve role not get a ton of snaps and it feels like in the next couple weeks we could really start to see him increase his snaps and really make an impact on.
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Speaker 2: Defense all right now while you're patting yourself on the back for your great predictions I'm going to give you the three predictions I gave Paul on his podcast that same week are you ready because two of them look.
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Speaker 3: Good yeah Okay.
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Speaker 2: All right. One was going to be, one was going to be a Marius Mims will be an all pro so far. So good.
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Speaker 3: I think you're on to something there.
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Speaker 2: I'm on to something, yes. Now, the other was that Evan McPherson will break the NFL's record for longest field goal. Obviously, circumstances have to be right, but he's off to a great start. The other was Chase Brown will set the record for most yards from scrimmage, which the record is 40 years old, set by James Brooks, 1773. Chase is not off to a bad start, but he's got some work to do to get on that pace. What do you think of my predictions? One of them looks good. One of them could happen, and the other, we'll see.
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Speaker 3: Yeah, I think the prediction about Evan McPherson, I think that's a really good one. And I mean, we don't even talk about how good Evan McPherson is. And there's just so many stars on the Bengals. But if you've seen the way he's played since his down year, I mean, he's just really been lights out and has been so consistent for them. So I think that one might actually happen for you. I definitely think that Marius Mims... Prediction is going to happen. He's been excellent through the first two seasons. And if he continues to have that type of production against some of these all pro type edge rushers, like he did against Will Anderson. And if he does so against TJ Watt against this week, I think that that could absolutely happen. I just think the Chase Brown one is, is tough because he, They told us they felt really good about their run game all offseason, and they just really haven't. Zach Taylor said we're this close to being able to hit on more explosive runs. I just don't know if they're going to give Chase Brown enough carries for that to be something that can happen. So we'll see, but I think you're good on two of the three.
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Speaker 2: Okay, I'll take that. We have a guy named Donnie Football on next. Do you have a nickname? No.
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Speaker 3: I do not have a nickname.
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Speaker 2: All right. Well, this season, we're going to come up with one.
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Speaker 3: Okay. We'll see. We'll see what you can do there. You can give me some of the examples you have, and I'll see if I like any of them.
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Speaker 2: We're crossing Kelsey football off the list. So, you know, you have to whittle it down. That's all right. We have a lot of season in front of us to come up with something. Thank you, as always.
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Speaker 3: Thanks for having me on, Bill.
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Speaker 2: You're the best. Kelsey Conway covering the Bengals for the Inquirer and Cincinnati.com and listen to her podcast with the significant others of Bengals players. Beyond Sunday, Donnie football from Pittsburgh next.
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Speaker 1: You've been listening to Football in the Natty on ESPN 1530, the official home of the Cincinnati Bengals. Cincinnati's ESPN 1530. Traffic. From the UC Health Traffic Center, blood cancer patients deserve every option under one roof.
00:10:34
Speaker 2: Find the region's experts at the University of Cincinnati Cancer Center. Call 513-585-UCCC. Traffic God.
Speaker 1: This is Football in the Natty.
00:00:02
Speaker 2: Sure is.
00:00:03
Speaker 1: Football in the Natty. Brought to you in part by Skyline Chili.
00:00:08
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:00:08
Speaker 1: On ESPN 1530, the official home of the Cincinnati Bengals.
00:00:11
Speaker 2: Hey, we're going to go to Pittsburgh in 15 minutes and talk with a guy who calls himself Donnie Football. We'll talk about the Steelers because that's who the Bengals play on Sunday. The Bengals are the team that Kelsey Conway covers. For Cincinnati.com and The Enquirer, she's also the host of the Beyond Sunday podcast. Do you want to be called Kelsey Football since we have a guy named Donnie Football on?
00:00:34
Speaker 3: No, absolutely not. Okay.
00:00:36
Speaker 2: Write that down. Do not call Kelsey Football. How serious is this Andre Yoshua's thumb injury?
00:00:44
Speaker 3: I think it's noteworthy, but through the first two games, he's really not been a focal point of the offense. So I think if there was ever an injury that the team could withstand... It is at the wide receiver spot. And when you go through the options that they have, whether it be Dante Myers, Tanner Hudson, you know, Colby Young, I think that the Bengals are going to be just fine without Andre Yostavos. And it seems like it's going to be a week by week thing. Obviously, with him going on IR, it will at least be four weeks. But Zach Taylor said it's not a season-ending injury, and I think that they can get by without him for the next month, and I think they'll be completely fine.
00:01:32
Speaker 2: I'm looking at the injury report. I see did not participate. Jonathan Allen, knee, BJ Hill, Achilles. Should I worry about those guys?
00:01:40
Speaker 3: No, Zach Taylor said it was a workload type of day for Jonathan Allen. They're going to try and manage him. I would imagine at some point this year he becomes a regular DNP on Wednesday simply just for management. The B.J. Hill one is the one that seems a little bit more serious, and that's really just because he missed so much time during training camp for him to be back on the injury report just a few weeks later. I think that's a little bit of a red flag. But other than wide receiver, the other position that the Bengals are deepest at is defensive line. And through two weeks, you haven't said DJ Hill's name much because they've got so much talent everywhere else. So I think if they don't have DJ for the next couple of weeks, I think they're going to be able to get by. But they need him to get back and get him ramped up. by October and really be able to use him when they need to if Jonathan Allen or Chris Jenkins or one of those players can't go.
00:02:41
Speaker 2: Do the Bengals have an Orlando Brown problem?
00:02:46
Speaker 3: They do not have an Orlando Brown problem, according to Joe Burrow. So I asked Joe Burrow, what is Orlando like in terms of how does he respond after a game in which he doesn't think he played his best? And Joe Burrow gave a really... spicy answer and just essentially said, you know, basically relax everyone. It wasn't as bad as you thought it was. And that when you are trying to evaluate offensive line, then, you know, in the media, he said that it's, it's almost impossible because the media doesn't know all of what goes into, you don't know what protection is called. So he really came to the defense of Orlando Brown and said that the offensive lineman, you know, play a thankless position. And so I think that, you know, He, A, is doing that to make sure that Orlando still knows he has a ton of confidence in him and the rest of the team. He's making sure he... lets everyone know I still believe he can play at a really high level. So I think there's an element of that. So it seems like Joe Burrow still believes he can get the job done. And we talked to offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher, and it's just been very blunt that they didn't think that Orlando played his best game, but they fully expect him to rebound in a positive way. And I think that if he struggles against P.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith, and it looks kind of like it did last week, I think Ben, you're maybe starting to think about, okay, is this becoming a reoccurring issue? But at the same time, they don't have an option behind him that would be any better. So I think it's just going to be one of those things where they got to figure out how to give him some more help, got to be able to run the ball more so they're not still relying upon the pass and putting him in those drop-back situations. But it seems like everybody right now expects him to play better against the Steelers. And history will tell you, he knows, he knows what the Steelers are going to try to do to him. It's an AFC North rival when he was in Baltimore. And now he's been a few years here in Pittsburgh. So we'll see if he can play better. And they're certainly hoping that that happens.
00:04:56
Speaker 2: Yeah, no, I look, I've, I've spent my life listening to people say things to me just to be nice. And I know they don't mean them. So, you know, I took everything Joe Burrow said about Orlando Brown with a grain of salt. That's just me being skeptic. But, you know, like Orlando has a chance to prove people like me wrong on Sunday.
00:05:15
Speaker 3: Well, and also think of this. Burrow has dealt with everything. so many tackles that have been far worse than Orlando Brown that I truly think he, I think he does like keep that in mind. So like, he's like, I have, I have seen way worse than Orlando Brown at his worst. So I think that he keeps, I think he keeps that perspective in mind. And I really do think that he thinks if he can just get, you know, average play out of Orlando Brown, that they're going to be able to be an offense that can put up a ton of points.
00:05:48
Speaker 2: Kelsey Conway from The Enquirer and Cincinnati.com. Should I make a wager on Cassius Howell being the NFL's defensive rookie of the year?
00:05:58
Speaker 3: I don't know. I think you can make a pretty good argument that that would be a smart decision by you. And I'm going to plug myself here at Paul Daner's. podcast before the start of the season we all had to give like one big prediction and my prediction was that I thought that the Bengals were going to have 50 sacks or more and I'm feeling pretty good about my prediction because of a player like Cassius Howell and I thought What was really interesting and what I said on that podcast is I thought it was really telling how high everyone in the locker room thought of Cassius Howell when a player told me when I asked for like a comp, they said Nick Benito in Denver. And when you look at how well he's played for Denver and how much he's made an impact, I thought for him to be drawing that type of comparison and just saying, his first couple of months on the job, I think really, really speaks to what people think he can be. And Jonathan Allen gave me some really great quotes about him just being made of the right stuff and his motor just being something that they think he's going to be able to be a player that can make an impact for a long time. So it really seems like the early returns on that pick are, are going well for the Bengals and it's going to be exciting to see how his role continues to evolve as the games go on because I know heading into week one he kind of thought he'd be playing more of a reserve role not get a ton of snaps and it feels like in the next couple weeks we could really start to see him increase his snaps and really make an impact on.
00:07:34
Speaker 2: Defense all right now while you're patting yourself on the back for your great predictions I'm going to give you the three predictions I gave Paul on his podcast that same week are you ready because two of them look.
00:07:43
Speaker 3: Good yeah Okay.
00:07:44
Speaker 2: All right. One was going to be, one was going to be a Marius Mims will be an all pro so far. So good.
00:07:51
Speaker 3: I think you're on to something there.
00:07:53
Speaker 2: I'm on to something, yes. Now, the other was that Evan McPherson will break the NFL's record for longest field goal. Obviously, circumstances have to be right, but he's off to a great start. The other was Chase Brown will set the record for most yards from scrimmage, which the record is 40 years old, set by James Brooks, 1773. Chase is not off to a bad start, but he's got some work to do to get on that pace. What do you think of my predictions? One of them looks good. One of them could happen, and the other, we'll see.
00:08:22
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think the prediction about Evan McPherson, I think that's a really good one. And I mean, we don't even talk about how good Evan McPherson is. And there's just so many stars on the Bengals. But if you've seen the way he's played since his down year, I mean, he's just really been lights out and has been so consistent for them. So I think that one might actually happen for you. I definitely think that Marius Mims... Prediction is going to happen. He's been excellent through the first two seasons. And if he continues to have that type of production against some of these all pro type edge rushers, like he did against Will Anderson. And if he does so against TJ Watt against this week, I think that that could absolutely happen. I just think the Chase Brown one is, is tough because he, They told us they felt really good about their run game all offseason, and they just really haven't. Zach Taylor said we're this close to being able to hit on more explosive runs. I just don't know if they're going to give Chase Brown enough carries for that to be something that can happen. So we'll see, but I think you're good on two of the three.
00:09:31
Speaker 2: Okay, I'll take that. We have a guy named Donnie Football on next. Do you have a nickname? No.
00:09:37
Speaker 3: I do not have a nickname.
00:09:38
Speaker 2: All right. Well, this season, we're going to come up with one.
00:09:41
Speaker 3: Okay. We'll see. We'll see what you can do there. You can give me some of the examples you have, and I'll see if I like any of them.
00:09:50
Speaker 2: We're crossing Kelsey football off the list. So, you know, you have to whittle it down. That's all right. We have a lot of season in front of us to come up with something. Thank you, as always.
00:10:00
Speaker 3: Thanks for having me on, Bill.
00:10:01
Speaker 2: You're the best. Kelsey Conway covering the Bengals for the Inquirer and Cincinnati.com and listen to her podcast with the significant others of Bengals players. Beyond Sunday, Donnie football from Pittsburgh next.
00:10:15
Speaker 1: You've been listening to Football in the Natty on ESPN 1530, the official home of the Cincinnati Bengals. Cincinnati's ESPN 1530. Traffic. From the UC Health Traffic Center, blood cancer patients deserve every option under one roof.
00:10:34
Speaker 2: Find the region's experts at the University of Cincinnati Cancer Center. Call 513-585-UCCC. Traffic God.
