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Speaker 1: ESPN 1530.
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Speaker 2: You sure have.
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Speaker 3: What's up?
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Speaker 2: Good afternoon. I'm Mo Legger.
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Speaker 3: This is ESPN 1530. Thank you so much for listening. I do appreciate it. I hope you're having an awesome Tuesday afternoon. We are broadcasting from the transept. The transept is under the Delightmore umbrella. Go to delightmore.com. Delightmore Events and Catering, absolutely awesome. Their event venues, absolutely awesome. This is our second consecutive week here at the transept. And you can learn all about some of the Delightmore venues, including Mercantile Immersive, which next weekend will be hosting a Bengals Ravens Watch Band. excuse me, a Bengals Ravens watch party, too much iced tea, Bengals Ravens watch party, uh, a week from Sunday. And, uh, you could be completely immersed in the game. Go to delight more.com to learn more about that in 15 minutes, FC Cincinnati on Saturday night, a middle weekend where a lot of other stuff was happening. Noah Vander, they made some changes, got a badly, badly needed, uh, three points on the road against Atlanta. Um, Pat Noonan talked about making changes and didn't. A lot of coaches talk about making changes and didn't. Pat Noonan did. FC Cincinnati is home tomorrow. Then Columbus on Sunday. Nate Bucati, Apple TV, joins us in 15 minutes. Kentucky football. I think Kentucky football is one of the biggest stories in college football right now. I'm looking at ESPN's CFP Bubble Watch. There's Kentucky being mentioned. They have a game against Oklahoma, resurgent Oklahoma football. On Saturday, our guy Jeff Pecoro is going to join us in 30 minutes. A few more thoughts on the Bearcats as they get set to go to West Virginia this weekend and some baseball postseason stuff as well with game two tonight in St. Petersburg between the Guardians and the Tampa Bay Rays. Eric All had a couple of really bad moments on Sunday. I'm the Eric All guy.
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Speaker 2: Like, I... I own it, man.
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Speaker 3: I think Eric Hall has the physical tools to be really, really good in this league. Now, physical tools only go so far. There's the mental part of it. There's not making mistakes. There's being healthy. There's understanding your responsibilities and your role on the team and Eric Hall got 34 snaps on offense on Sunday, and now with Tanner Hudson, who unfortunately is going to miss the rest of the season with a torn pectoral muscle, you've got to think that Eric Hall is going to get even more opportunities, but you can't commit a stupid penalty on special teams. Ball protection, which he got bailed out by maybe a half an inch. on Sunday, Zach Taylor was upset at Eric Hall. And I don't know if there's something beyond that. I don't know if there's something beyond the mistakes that he made on the field that compelled Zach Taylor to yell and scream at Eric Hall. That's not who Zach is. Let's be honest, man. You watch the NFL every single week. Who are the better coaches?
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Speaker 2: Andy Reid.
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Speaker 3: I think To me, Kyle Shanahan is the best coach in the NFL because I feel like every single week it's like three more 49ers players can't play. And there is his team functioning on offense. Mike Evans looks like he's five years younger. Tony is a huge fan of Kevin O'Connell, who despite an offense that isn't great, is 5-0. Ben Johnson. I'm still a big Ben Johnson guy. Sean McVay, obviously the better coaches in the league, whoever you think they are. John Harbaugh is one of the most accomplished. Look, his, his team does have three wins in five games. I don't know how often I see them losing their minds on their players. So like I see that on Sunday and I see a couple of different things on social media that I think are unfair. One is Zach needs to do that more. I, I don't know that discipline and accountability has to be something that unfolds in public. I think Zach was kind of caught in a moment that he was frustrated with Eric All, and I don't want to say the emotions got the best of him.
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Speaker 2: A coach yells at a player.
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Speaker 3: It's not exactly like some crazy concept. I think if you're hoping to see more of that from Zach Taylor, one, It's well established that's not who he is, too. That's the sort of thing that just doesn't happen with a ton of frequency. It does happen, but with a ton of frequency in the NFL. And then I saw criticism for him doing it because he was being disingenuous or stuff like, I don't know, man. In a moment of deep frustration with a guy who he's giving opportunities to, who I think could be vital to this team, that guy keeps making mistakes and kind of a natural reaction, and a natural reaction even for a mild-mannered guy. I don't know really what the expectation there is for that. I don't need public demonstrations of anger or frustration. I need the mistakes to get cleaned up. And if there's public yelling and screaming and the mistakes don't get cleaned up, then who cares about the public yelling and screaming? If the mistakes get cleaned up, and these issues get resolved behind closed doors, then that's fine by me. There were a lot of folks on social media, and the more I do this, the more I believe social media is not real life. That we're laughing at Zach, or criticizing Zach, or wanting more of that from Zach. I have no problem with Zach Taylor's sidelined demeanor. Certainly no problem with him getting angry occasionally. I want the mistakes to get cleaned up. I don't think the mistakes getting cleaned up is necessarily going to be a direct byproduct of Zach Taylor publicly yelling and screaming at people. I do think accountability matters. Like, I think it's encouraging. And not that Chase Brown was, he did make a huge mistake, the red zone fumble, but like in a season defined by urgency, Zach Taylor said like, all right, cool. We're going to involve Samaj AP Ryan Moore and maybe Chase Brown a little bit less. Like that's, that's what I want to see. You want to see more opportunities given to the guys who are reliable? Samaj AP Ryan is reliable. I don't need public yelling and screaming. I need the mistakes to get cleaned up or them to play the players more who aren't as likely to make mistakes. I do think this, though, and in the years that I've been doing this show, I don't want to say I'm proud of this, but I probably spend the least amount of time, compared to others, and this is not a knock on anybody else, talking about the nuts and bolts of play calling. Tony Pike does play calling talk because Tony's qualified to do play calling talk. I'll spend a lot of time on clock management and knowing when to throw a challenge flag or burn your timeouts because I don't think that stuff is that difficult to figure out. And we had some coaches this weekend that just seemingly couldn't wrap their brain around the basic math of clock management or making common sense decisions. But like play calling, let's be real. How many of us know what goes into calling a play?
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Speaker 2: Most of us don't.
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Speaker 3: I can go like, hey, don't run the ball on second and 12th. let's call some more plays for our better players let's get the ball in the hands of playmakers like Jamar Chase and T. Higgins I don't do a lot of play calling talk not qualified to don't pretend to be qualified to I'll get folks on who are good at doing play calling talk Tony Pike on Mondays I'll ask him play calling questions because I think he's qualified Rocky Boyman down the hall I'll talk play calling with him A dude has had plays called on the defensive side.
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Speaker 2: I don't do that.
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Speaker 3: But I love this sport, and I've watched it my entire life, and I have working eyes. They don't work as well as maybe they did 15 years ago. I know what it looks like when an offense is kind of disjointed. I also know what it looks like when an offense seems to function more smoothly. I watch teams, and it took a while last night for both offenses to get going. And granted, the Rams lost the game, but there were times last night, and Tony and I were texting about this with each other, there were times last night where I just.
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Speaker 3: I see how they say, screw it, we're getting the ball to Puka Nakua no matter what. He had 17 targets last night. I see Matthew Stafford throwing very quick passes to his wide receivers when they're at the line of scrimmage, and the defender is... Five six seven yards away and it turns into a 10-yard running play I see how they could expose holes in the field with their tight ends and the rams have like a thousand tight ends just like the bangles When their deep threats take defenders downfield with them. I see the ease with which the 49ers operate on offense I see the physical nature of how the ravens play when derrick henry is in the game And derrick henry is a major reason for that. Like I I see these things whether they're schematic or or creative that just, it feels like those teams can hang their hats on certain things, or they don't care if you take away something that they try to feature. Like I'm sure teams decide we're going to try to take away Pook and the Kua. I'm sure the Buffalo Bills tried last night. They threw him the ball 17 times. I just, I, I, when I, when I think of Zach and I'm usually like the guy who's quick to defend a lot of different things, I think of the overall function of the offense, and there's the productivity part of it. There's the statistical part of it. Bengals aren't very good at getting yak. I think in large part because they throw a lot of passes to guys who have two or three guys who are near them.
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Speaker 2: But I do watch other teams. Tony and I talk about this a lot. He talks about this more than I do.
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Speaker 3: But I watch other teams, and I see the ease with which their best players get the football. And I see the ease with which their guys, the other team's players, get the ball in space and have room to operate once they make the catch. I see the ease with which quarterbacks will make passes to guys at the line of scrimmage and take a free five or six yards because by the time the receiver catches the ball, the defender is still a few yards away. That's stuff that I wonder about when it comes to Zach and the play calling. That's stuff that I wonder about when it comes to the overall just function of the offense. Why are there things that I watch, and again, I'm not the play-calling guy. Why are there things that I watch when I watch other teams that just make me feel like the Bengals' offense, for all of the talent they have, and for as great as Joe Burrow is, and frankly, for as well as their offensive line, for the most part, has played, why do things seem to come.
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Speaker 3: Things are more difficult for the Bengals than... For some of the other teams that I watch on a regular basis, and I'm not comparing them to the Titans or the Dolphins or, you know, dregs like that, the Jets. But I see teams that have established offensive minded coaches and head coaches. And I don't know, man, I just I see the ease with which those offenses function sometimes. And I watch them. like I did with the Rams last night, even in a game that they lost. Josh Allen is superhuman. As a borough guy, I'm willing to say right now, Allen's the best player in the NFL, in my opinion.
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Speaker 2: But the ease with which.
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Speaker 3: Some of these teams do things, San Francisco, no matter who they have on the field, and it feels like there are things that they just operate more smoothly than the Bengals, who's so far on offense, and it's still early in the year, there's a level of disjointedness and unevenness that even early in the season, I don't see some of the other teams play with. And a lot of those teams either don't have the Bengals talent or the talent they have is maybe on par with the Bengals, but not better. Those are fair criticisms of Zach. If you're going to get mad at him for yelling at a player and not yelling at a player, I don't know. I think discipline and accountability, those things don't have to necessarily be enforced in public. It's cool that Pat Murphy of the Brewers will pull players out of a game And we can make a big stink out of that.
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Speaker 2: And it's good to see. It's good to see a manager who's willing to do that. Trust me.
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Speaker 3: I wish the guy here was willing to do that. But for the most part, I think corrections and accountability take place behind the scenes. I think how your offense runs and how your schemes work and how your philosophies are translated into how you're playing, I think that stuff unfolds very, very publicly.
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Speaker 2: And I just see other teams doing it better.
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Speaker 3: And I watch with a degree of envy and a degree of curiosity as to why when I watch some offenses, things seem to run smoothly and here things still, and again, I, the rest of the season could change this, but things still seem clunky 17 minutes after five o'clock. And by the way, clunky, despite all the continuity, um, More on that coming up a little bit later on. Poll questions on Twitter, at Mo Egger. How is this season going to end in the regular season for the Bengals? Vote now, thanks to United Heartland Insurance. FC Cincinnati is home tomorrow. New England's in town. Evander, we hope, will play. He's been in training the last two days. Nate Bucati calls that match for Apple TV. He joins us next. We're broadcasting from the transept on ESPN 1530 Cincinnati Sports Station.
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Speaker 1: Cincinnati's ESPN 1530.
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Speaker 2: Traffic. From the UC Health traffic.
00:14:00
Speaker 1: All in the natty. Brought to you in part by Skyline Chili on ESPN 1530. The official home of the Cincinnati Bengals.
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Speaker 2: Your football news of the day.
00:14:12
Speaker 3: Tanner Hudson, unfortunately, out for the season with a torn pectoral muscle. That news was first revealed by his agent. I think Charlie Clifford at News 5 was the.
00:14:22
Speaker 2: First to report it.
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Speaker 3: Bummer for Tanner Hudson, who is a reliable part of this offense, part of a loaded tight end room. The good news is they have a loaded tight end room. The schedule is going to be loaded for FC Cincinnati here because of the makeup game from the postponement earlier this year. They're about to play three games within a week of each other, each one of them at home, starting tomorrow night against New England. That game will start at 7.30 on Apple TV. The orange and blue, a badly needed and I thought impressive A three-point pickup on Saturday. 3-1 victory over Atlanta without Evander. Nate Bucati called that match. He's going to have the match tomorrow. It's like the TV voice of FC Cincinnati. What's going on?
00:15:05
Speaker 4: What's up, Moe? How you doing, man?
00:15:06
Speaker 2: Good to talk to you again. Good to have you. You know, I'm not going to doubt Pat Noonan anymore.
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Speaker 3: And look, this has been a disjointed season, and they have at times played very much like.
00:15:18
Speaker 3: A non Pat Noonan team for lack of a better way of putting it, but he said he was going to make changes.
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Speaker 2: He made changes. And on Saturday night, they paid off.
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Speaker 4: They did. And, um, look, I think it's a huge win for the team.
00:15:31
Speaker 6: As you said, gets them above the playoff line for now, which is massive and just, you know, stops that winless streak.
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Speaker 4: Uh, they were better defensively.
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Speaker 6: I would also point out though, they went up against an Atlanta United side that had been shut out nine times this year.
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Speaker 4: Um, And so, you know, there's still work to be done.
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Speaker 6: And we've got some bad injury news for Cincinnati with Miles Robinson going out for a couple of weeks after this game. So, you know, I think that the challenges stay there for Cincinnati. They're certainly not out of the woods yet, but it was a big step in the right direction.
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Speaker 2: You're not going to pour cold water on this for me, are you? Come on.
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Speaker 6: Hey, I was trying to talk you into being in a better mind frame last time I was on with you.
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Speaker 2: You were. You were.
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Speaker 4: It's a big step in the right direction, but that's what it is.
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Speaker 5: Yes.
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Speaker 3: No, it's a small step, but an important one. I did feel like, and whether it was the change of goalkeeper, whether it was the changes they made in the back line, like, They've had an issue all year long preventing goals. It felt to me like, though, and you could speak to this more than I, it did feel to me, though, that defensively, saying what you want about the opponent they played, that they were more organized defensively.
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Speaker 6: They were, and I thought the two wingbacks that came in that were summer acquisitions for the team showed why that was a big priority for them to give them a little more balance and responsibility. on the wings, uh, defensively, we've got see Molotini coming in the second half as well. Now you got the injury to miles Robinson, which it just seems to be a trend sometimes when he comes back from international duty, unfortunately, but yeah, like I said, look, they were better defensively. They were more responsible and they still found some of the attack and they did it without Evander.
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Speaker 4: I think we should point that.
00:17:21
Speaker 2: Out as well.
00:17:23
Speaker 5: Yeah.
00:17:23
Speaker 7: Yeah.
00:17:24
Speaker 3: And hopefully, I know he's been at training each of the last couple of days. Would love to see him give it a go tomorrow. I felt like there were moments on Saturday night where you could feel them playing tight. And it's easy when you get a goal late in the game, but you could feel it. And I know fans felt it. I know I felt it. It just, it felt like there was a sigh of relief when Tom Barlow gave him a 2-1 lead. And I just, I wonder if like, You know, the streak without getting three points, having not won a game since August the 19th, had kind of taken on a life of its own, and I wonder if they do play. Look, they still have a lot of work to do between now and the end of the year. I wonder if there's a little bit more of a loose effort tomorrow night.
00:18:03
Speaker 4: You would think so.
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Speaker 6: I mean, look, a lot of times when you're on a winless streak like that, everybody knows about it.
00:18:08
Speaker 4: Guys start pressing.
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Speaker 6: Sometimes guys try to do more than their own responsibility because they want to be a big part of the reason that things turned back around and you know i i will admit that when atlanta scored the equalizer to make it 1-1 i thought to myself oh no um this is gonna be another one of those games for cincinnati but they got the goal from barlow they added another one which i thought was really big too to salt the game away so yeah we'll see if they come out maybe a little more confidence but you know what things you got to give you know you got to give cincinnati credit for They've been scoring late goals all year long, and they've been fighting back to get results.
00:18:45
Speaker 4: Sometimes they've been draws.
00:18:47
Speaker 6: But I think it's, you know, they have more stoppage time equalizers than any team in.
00:18:51
Speaker 2: The league this year.
00:18:52
Speaker 6: So while they don't look like a Pat Noonan side from their defensive record on the year, they do look like a Pat Noonan side from the standpoint that they keep fighting and they don't give up. And so, you know, there's still much to play for for the team this year.
00:19:05
Speaker 3: They last played New England, which feels like two and a half years ago in mid-March. That did not go well. They lost 6-1. How much does the current version of New England reflect what we saw back on March 15th?
00:19:24
Speaker 6: New England's an interesting one because all of a sudden they did a little bit of a hiccup the last couple of games. Some of that could be due to the fact that They lost some of their most important players to the international window. I was on the call for their game two games ago when they lost in Salt Lake City, which Salt Lake haven't exactly been on fire here lately either. So might be catching New England at a good time. But look, they're they're a team that at times this year's look like one of the top four teams in the eastern conference and they got carlos heel one of the best number tens be gonna have two of the best number tens in the league if evander plays in this game between heel and evander so yeah it's gonna be a tough game but uh i'll bet you there's a little revenge on the mind of uh fc cincinnati as well in this game.
00:20:08
Speaker 3: You get to call tomorrow night. Any chance you get to call Sunday? The game that we care about the most?
00:20:16
Speaker 4: Not unless something changes on the schedule.
00:20:18
Speaker 6: They got me going to Orlando on Sunday.
00:20:22
Speaker 3: I'm in and out tomorrow, buddy. Hell is real when Columbus isn't very good this year. It's a chance to get three points. We're coming down the stretch. I don't think there's going to be a look ahead But I can tell you a lot of fans are already looking ahead, and maybe we shouldn't. But Sunday is going to be a lot of fun. First things first, tomorrow, 7.30 against New England. First of three consecutive home games for the Orange and Blue. 7.30 tomorrow night on Apple TV. The great Nate Bucati on the call. The TV voice of FC Cincinnati. I appreciate the time, man. Thanks so much.
00:20:56
Speaker 4: Always good to come to the Queen City, Mo. Thanks for having me, buddy.
00:20:59
Speaker 2: You got it. You're the best.
00:21:00
Speaker 3: Nate Bucati, Apple TV, FC Cincinnati wins on Saturday night. Yes, Miles Robinson's going to miss some time. Evander went through training today and yesterday, hopefully plays tomorrow. The FC Cincinnati is currently tied for eighth in the Eastern Conference with Red Bull New York, one game behind Orlando City, who has 37 points. FC Cincinnati has 36. Speaking of Saturday night, Kentucky's win over LSU, an amazing scene, a great game, history. They've won back-to-back games, 35-34, scoring the winning point in overtime. Jeff Pecoro from the Kentucky Sports Network will join us next on ESPN 1530 Cincinnati Sports Station.
00:21:49
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.
00:22:03
Speaker 2: Traffic. From the UC Health.
00:22:05
Speaker 3: From 6 o'clock, this is ESPN 1530. Mo Egger broadcasting today from the transept. Quite a scene on Saturday night. Kentucky beats LSU for the second consecutive week. UK wins a game 35-34 in overtime, converting a two-point conversion for the win. The UK Sports Network, you hear it on ESPN 1530, which means you hear our guy Jeff Pecoro on the call of UK games. And when they're good, we get them on. And they're good and they're fun. And there was quite a scene in Lexington on Saturday. And so Pick is with us. What is going on?
00:22:41
Speaker 8: I'll tell you what, that cigar was so sweet in the parking lot after the game.
00:22:48
Speaker 3: The only place you could go, the mayor of Lexington, the only place you could go to have a victory cigar was the parking lot?
00:22:56
Speaker 9: You know what?
00:22:57
Speaker 8: They were still tailgating. There was a guy from Nashville they brought in, was playing guitar. And this was at 1230 at night. So yeah, we sat there in a chair and kicked back and smoked a big old gherkin it was fantastic.
00:23:12
Speaker 3: Well deserved uh the scene in the stadium you've called these games for a long time has there ever been anything in that stadium quite like it the.
00:23:21
Speaker 8: Only other time that i can remember is when they beat alabama uh in overtime you know it was only like the second win ever for kentucky over alabama and that was like 25 years ago so yeah it's been forever and when they beat lsu when they were number one that was that was a lot of fun too But this was crazy.
00:23:42
Speaker 3: You and I talked when Kentucky hired Will Stein, and I know you were a fan of the hire. This is working, and I think it's working sooner than a lot of people thought.
00:23:50
Speaker 9: Why?
00:23:51
Speaker 8: Well, I think that you heard Cignetti when he got the job at Indiana, and they asked him, why are you going to be successful?
00:23:59
Speaker 9: He said, look me up. I win everywhere I go.
00:24:03
Speaker 8: And Will Stein at SEC Needy Days said, why is Kentucky going to win?
00:24:07
Speaker 9: He said, because of me. Um, and you know, I don't think he was being arrogant.
00:24:12
Speaker 5: It's, you know, the last three years, he had three different quarterbacks at Oregon, three different quarterbacks. All three of them are in the league and all three years they were top 15 offense at Oregon. Um, so the guy can call some plays, Joe Sloan, his offensive coordinator.
00:24:26
Speaker 9: Uh, again, they're on the same page.
00:24:29
Speaker 5: Um, you know, they, they set up. what they're going to try to do all through the week. And Joe calls the plays. And every once in a while, he'll get on there and ask. And Will listens. It's kind of neat.
00:24:41
Speaker 8: But I just think Will Stein, you know, and the other thing too, Mo, is that it's a younger staff. I mean, the whole staff, they're all young guys. And these players connect to them.
00:24:52
Speaker 9: It's the vibe. He calls it juice.
00:24:55
Speaker 8: The juice around here is electric.
00:25:00
Speaker 3: What are you thinking when, in Columbia, they're down 17-0? I know they had gone to Texas A & M and won that game. It kind of felt like the way the Aggies have played since. Maybe the shine has come off that game. The Gamecocks are blowing them out early. What are you thinking when it's 17-0?
00:25:18
Speaker 8: When it's 17-zip, I was like, I was almost Dandy Don Meredith, you know, turn out the light, the party's over. But right before the half, Kentucky drives down and scores.
00:25:29
Speaker 9: And the one.
00:25:30
Speaker 8: Thing that Will has said since he took the job is you've got to win the four and four, the middle four, they call it. The four minutes going into half and the four minutes coming out of half, right?
00:25:40
Speaker 7: Yeah.
00:25:40
Speaker 5: They score, they cut the lead, they get the ball, they kick off to them, and the third quarter was magical.
00:25:47
Speaker 8: You know, they go down and score, and now it's a ball game. And I think for South Carolina, it's one of those snowball things with them. It's kind of like it just hasn't been a good year. It really hasn't been a good two years for them. And when that snowball started rolling, there was just no stopping it.
00:26:07
Speaker 2: Is this, for this season, is this sustainable?
00:26:10
Speaker 3: Could they play themselves into at least, I don't know, the edges of the conversation for the playoff?
00:26:17
Speaker 2: Can they go to Oklahoma and win? How's this going to play out?
00:26:20
Speaker 9: I think this is a key game.
00:26:22
Speaker 8: I said before the season started, the two games that I really wanted to see was Alabama and South Carolina. Because for whatever reason, the last four years, South Carolina has beaten them. And Kentucky's been the better team. Last year, South Carolina only won four games. Unfortunately, one of those four wins was against Kentucky. And it's just one of those things, you know, and I'm sure UC has the same thing. There's that one team that they just seem to not be able to beat. And that was South Carolina for Kentucky. And they finally got over that hump. So I thought that was a key game, and I thought the Alabama game. And for three quarters, Kentucky played really well, and the defense just fell apart in the fourth quarter. But, and it's a huge but, I thought they showed at LSU against a very good team with a very good play caller that they could hang with them.
00:27:08
Speaker 9: And that, look.
00:27:11
Speaker 9: It's like the Yogi Berra.
00:27:12
Speaker 8: Quote, 90% of this game is half mental.
00:27:17
Speaker 5: I think that these guys believe. They believe that they can win. It's a positive attitude. It's a great attitude. I think that this is going to be a huge game.
00:27:27
Speaker 9: If they can.
00:27:28
Speaker 8: Somehow win this game, that would really be fantastic.
00:27:33
Speaker 9: I will tell you this. They haven't had their bye yet.
00:27:36
Speaker 5: They go to Oklahoma, then they have Vandy at home, then they get their bye.
00:27:40
Speaker 9: Because they're banged up. They're beat up. The SEC, and I know you hear this all the time, but every week is an absolute.
00:27:46
Speaker 8: brawl um but again it's that next man up mentality so i think this is a huge game vanderbilt is nowhere near what they were last year there's no diego pavia coming through that door for vanderbilt this year so um you know i think that you can never say it's going to be a win but i i think that if anybody could say the first uh bye week for them that they have five or six wins.
00:28:08
Speaker 9: They would have they would have loved that before the season started What.
00:28:12
Speaker 3: I love most about the two-point play at South Carolina was it went to the pride of Taylor Mill, my hometown, Willie Rodriguez.
00:28:19
Speaker 2: His role is expanding. Are we going to see more?
00:28:21
Speaker 9: Yes. Yes, he has been fantastic.
00:28:25
Speaker 8: He's actually been hobbled a little bit the last two weeks with turf toe. He banged up his toe, and he hasn't practiced all through the week until Thursdays of the last two weeks, but now he's healthy again. He's leading the team in receptions. He is just a fantastic kid, and I think if you're a Kentucky fan, you hold your breath and keep your fingers crossed that he comes back. He has one more year of eligibility, but if he continues on the trajectory he's on right now, And the reason why he's so good, too, Mo, is because he's a three-down tight end. He runs a 4'5, 40, but he's 6'5, and 250 pounds. So he's a dog as a tight end blocking. He loves to block.
00:29:07
Speaker 5: So he can play all three downs in the NFL. And Kentucky uses him a lot like the Bengals do, where they have their tight end in a slot formation.
00:29:16
Speaker 9: He's in the backfield.
00:29:19
Speaker 5: Field on the wildcat where he takes the ball and runs so he's so useful and that that H back in the NFL is so huge right.
00:29:28
Speaker 2: Now should have gone to Scott.
00:29:33
Speaker 9: I'm right behind you.
00:29:34
Speaker 8: On that as should have the hefty lefty should have gone to Scott as well.
00:29:40
Speaker 3: And God rest his soul. I told him that often. I told him that often. It's been fun to watch. I can't thank you enough for doing this, man. Thanks so much.
00:29:49
Speaker 9: Well, anytime you need me, you know where to call.
00:29:52
Speaker 2: I sure do.
00:29:53
Speaker 3: Jeff Pecoro, UK Sports Network, Kentucky, coming off that win over LSU.
00:29:57
Speaker 2: Up next, Oklahoma, resurgent Oklahoma.
00:30:00
Speaker 3: After their victory over Arch Manning in Texas on Saturday in the Red River rivalry. It is quarter to six. We're broadcasting from the transept. By the way, I didn't do sports headlines.
00:30:11
Speaker 2: I should do them.
00:30:12
Speaker 3: Tanner Hudson out for the year, unfortunately. Torn Peck done for 2026. Bengals off this week. They are in Baltimore a week from Sunday on ESPN 1530. Evander good to go for a second consecutive day at FC Cincinnati's training as they get set to take on New England tomorrow night. American League Championship Series game two in St.
00:30:33
Speaker 2: Pete.
00:30:34
Speaker 3: Nathaniel Lott with the big tie-breaking two-run single yesterday for the Guardians. They win game one. Game two tonight, Parker Messick against Freddy Peralta.
00:30:43
Speaker 2: There you go.
00:30:44
Speaker 3: Quarter to six. We're at the transept. This is ESPN 1530 Cincinnati Sports Station.
00:30:49
Speaker 1: Cincinnati's ESPN 1530.
00:30:53
Speaker 2: Traffic in the preseason raising a banner though next week we got like four minutes.
00:31:01
Speaker 3: Yeah I'm with you there Taryn if you're gonna run your offense to the guy pay him like you're running the offense through him we have four minutes left.
00:31:09
Speaker 2: In the show we'll give we'll give two each.
00:31:12
Speaker 3: To our two folks we have waiting on hold starting with Cody in Lexington hi Cody.
00:31:17
Speaker 4: Hey Mo how are you wonderful yourself I'm doing well man.
00:31:21
Speaker 5: Great show today um well thank you zach taylor yeah yeah great yeah let's talk about zach taylor real quick i think we're going to be frustrated for the rest of his tenure because as you talked about with the buffalo game st louis and it's like hey we're going to kind of impose our will you're not going to be able to take this away every time the bengals offensive offense sputters after the game it's like well they took away the deep ball Well, they took away the deep ball. And at the same time, I think they are really content at dinking and dunking down the field, which is fine. I think Burrow's efficient at it. But then you've got to take 12 to 18 plays to get down the field and then one bad sack, one bad penalty derails the entire drive.
00:32:03
Speaker 4: And as a fan, it's really frustrating.
00:32:05
Speaker 5: Go ahead. Yeah.
00:32:08
Speaker 3: Well, I was going to say, like, that's been their M.O. on offense the last couple of years, right? We're going to dink and dunk down the field. That's why I bring up the lack of yards after the catch, and it's striking to me. And Tony and I talked about this at length yesterday. There's only three teams in the NFL that are getting more yards after the catch than the Bengals.
00:32:24
Speaker 2: And so if you're going to dink and dunk, that's fine.
00:32:26
Speaker 3: But if you're going to talk about explosives and you're going to dink and dunk, the way you do that is by getting the ball to the guys in space.
00:32:32
Speaker 2: And, like, I see it.
00:32:34
Speaker 3: I see way too many catches where a guy is getting tackled right after he makes the catch. You can't, there's, you get explosive plays in the passing game by heaving it downfield or by, you know, your, your guys breaking off large chunks of yardage after they make the catch. And that's, that's been missing now for a while. That's not something they've been good at for a couple of years now.
00:32:53
Speaker 7: Yeah.
00:32:54
Speaker 5: But the, but the problem is like you, you say so well when they play the Browns and not so much recently, but you know, A couple years ago, it would be like, well, it's just a bad matchup.
00:33:03
Speaker 7: And it's like, well, you're a coach.
00:33:05
Speaker 5: You should be able to scheme up a better offensive scheme to kind of work to your strengths and against their strengths. And I think that's why people get frustrated with Zach and why even Lou Anarumo, he shut down Patrick Mahomes. And I'm not saying he's a better defensive coordinator than Al Golden, but I'm saying in the big games, he came up with a great scheme, and Zach has.
00:33:26
Speaker 4: Failed to do that.
00:33:27
Speaker 9: It's like, well, they just took that away. Well, they were just really good today. Yeah.
00:33:31
Speaker 2: Yeah, you hear that a lot, Cody. Thank you. Yeah, we were on the same page. Thank you for the phone call, Cody. You're right.
00:33:41
Speaker 3: I feel like I hear about it often. They just took that away. The comparison we've made for years is that is best. Travis Kelsey, you know he's getting the ball. Especially in the red zone, you know he's getting the ball. It doesn't stop the Chiefs from giving it to him. It does feel like the Bengals for a while now have allowed the other team to dictate what they do and how they play. Mike, you can have the last word.
00:34:01
Speaker 2: Go ahead.
00:34:05
Speaker 7: Well, I dropped the phone, so that's a bad way to start.
00:34:08
Speaker 3: Thank you, Mo.
00:34:10
Speaker 7: Real quick, it's Baseball Mania with me. And this small ball.
00:34:15
Speaker 2: Are you worried about your Dodgers?
00:34:18
Speaker 7: Of course I am. Well, they just, you know, Shohei is hurt. He's hurt. He's not, you know, it's obvious he's hurting. So, Brock is going to have to sit in. He's got to sit in because he's in automatic out right now. That's what he is.
00:34:32
Speaker 2: Feels like it, yeah.
00:34:34
Speaker 7: And these Indians, or these Guardians, now there's something else. They had a better team ERA than Tampa did by a hair. They were the ninth best defensive team in the MLB. The Rays were 13th. They had four starters with over 30 starts. And they were under. 500 by one game at home, but over. 500. seven games over on the road, so it's obvious what's happening. This team plays really well on the road, and I don't think you can discount the importance of the veteran presence of Jose Ramirez.
00:35:09
Speaker 3: No, Jose Ramirez has been awesome. They've won four games on the road. I would have lost a lot of money betting against them after they were down 2-0 and got seven hits in the first two games against the White Sox. and then even coming back and winning last night. I think it's going to be a long series. Two teams that to a degree sort of mirror each other, but maybe Ramirez is going to be the difference.
00:35:38
Speaker 2: We'll see.
00:35:38
Speaker 3: The Brewers, I think what's happened, Mike, thank you very much for the phone call. I think what's happened in that series has as much to do with the fact that Milwaukee's bullpen.
00:35:48
Speaker 2: Has been, and Dustin May, who's a starter, did give him an inning.
00:35:52
Speaker 3: In the 9-plus, they've worked in the postseason, holding the Dodgers to just two hits. That Milwaukee bullpen has been terrific in the holdout lineup, even acknowledging that Shohei doesn't look like Shohei to 10 hits in two games is remarkable. The Guardians look dead after the first two games of that series against the White Sox.
00:36:10
Speaker 2: Dead. Seven hits in the.
00:36:12
Speaker 3: First two games, and now they're up 1-0 in the ALCS with a chance to go up 2-0 tonight.
00:36:17
Speaker 8: We are done.
00:36:18
Speaker 3: Thanks to our friends here at the Transcept for hosting us. And don't forget to go to delightmore.com. Look for tickets to the Bengals Ravens Watch Party at the Mercantile Immersive. And anything you may have missed on this show, go find on the iHeartRadio app.
00:36:32
Speaker 2: We are done. Show's over. Got to go.
00:36:34
Speaker 3: Have a great night. Thanks to Mike Mills for producing on site. And, of course, thanks to Taryn for producing back in Kenwood. We'll talk to you tomorrow at 3.05. This is ESPN 1530 Cincinnati Sports Station.
00:36:52
Speaker 2: Podcast.
Speaker 1: ESPN 1530.
00:00:01
Speaker 2: You sure have.
00:00:02
Speaker 3: What's up?
00:00:03
Speaker 2: Good afternoon. I'm Mo Legger.
00:00:04
Speaker 3: This is ESPN 1530. Thank you so much for listening. I do appreciate it. I hope you're having an awesome Tuesday afternoon. We are broadcasting from the transept. The transept is under the Delightmore umbrella. Go to delightmore.com. Delightmore Events and Catering, absolutely awesome. Their event venues, absolutely awesome. This is our second consecutive week here at the transept. And you can learn all about some of the Delightmore venues, including Mercantile Immersive, which next weekend will be hosting a Bengals Ravens Watch Band. excuse me, a Bengals Ravens watch party, too much iced tea, Bengals Ravens watch party, uh, a week from Sunday. And, uh, you could be completely immersed in the game. Go to delight more.com to learn more about that in 15 minutes, FC Cincinnati on Saturday night, a middle weekend where a lot of other stuff was happening. Noah Vander, they made some changes, got a badly, badly needed, uh, three points on the road against Atlanta. Um, Pat Noonan talked about making changes and didn't. A lot of coaches talk about making changes and didn't. Pat Noonan did. FC Cincinnati is home tomorrow. Then Columbus on Sunday. Nate Bucati, Apple TV, joins us in 15 minutes. Kentucky football. I think Kentucky football is one of the biggest stories in college football right now. I'm looking at ESPN's CFP Bubble Watch. There's Kentucky being mentioned. They have a game against Oklahoma, resurgent Oklahoma football. On Saturday, our guy Jeff Pecoro is going to join us in 30 minutes. A few more thoughts on the Bearcats as they get set to go to West Virginia this weekend and some baseball postseason stuff as well with game two tonight in St. Petersburg between the Guardians and the Tampa Bay Rays. Eric All had a couple of really bad moments on Sunday. I'm the Eric All guy.
00:01:58
Speaker 2: Like, I... I own it, man.
00:02:00
Speaker 3: I think Eric Hall has the physical tools to be really, really good in this league. Now, physical tools only go so far. There's the mental part of it. There's not making mistakes. There's being healthy. There's understanding your responsibilities and your role on the team and Eric Hall got 34 snaps on offense on Sunday, and now with Tanner Hudson, who unfortunately is going to miss the rest of the season with a torn pectoral muscle, you've got to think that Eric Hall is going to get even more opportunities, but you can't commit a stupid penalty on special teams. Ball protection, which he got bailed out by maybe a half an inch. on Sunday, Zach Taylor was upset at Eric Hall. And I don't know if there's something beyond that. I don't know if there's something beyond the mistakes that he made on the field that compelled Zach Taylor to yell and scream at Eric Hall. That's not who Zach is. Let's be honest, man. You watch the NFL every single week. Who are the better coaches?
00:03:02
Speaker 2: Andy Reid.
00:03:02
Speaker 3: I think To me, Kyle Shanahan is the best coach in the NFL because I feel like every single week it's like three more 49ers players can't play. And there is his team functioning on offense. Mike Evans looks like he's five years younger. Tony is a huge fan of Kevin O'Connell, who despite an offense that isn't great, is 5-0. Ben Johnson. I'm still a big Ben Johnson guy. Sean McVay, obviously the better coaches in the league, whoever you think they are. John Harbaugh is one of the most accomplished. Look, his, his team does have three wins in five games. I don't know how often I see them losing their minds on their players. So like I see that on Sunday and I see a couple of different things on social media that I think are unfair. One is Zach needs to do that more. I, I don't know that discipline and accountability has to be something that unfolds in public. I think Zach was kind of caught in a moment that he was frustrated with Eric All, and I don't want to say the emotions got the best of him.
00:04:11
Speaker 2: A coach yells at a player.
00:04:13
Speaker 3: It's not exactly like some crazy concept. I think if you're hoping to see more of that from Zach Taylor, one, It's well established that's not who he is, too. That's the sort of thing that just doesn't happen with a ton of frequency. It does happen, but with a ton of frequency in the NFL. And then I saw criticism for him doing it because he was being disingenuous or stuff like, I don't know, man. In a moment of deep frustration with a guy who he's giving opportunities to, who I think could be vital to this team, that guy keeps making mistakes and kind of a natural reaction, and a natural reaction even for a mild-mannered guy. I don't know really what the expectation there is for that. I don't need public demonstrations of anger or frustration. I need the mistakes to get cleaned up. And if there's public yelling and screaming and the mistakes don't get cleaned up, then who cares about the public yelling and screaming? If the mistakes get cleaned up, and these issues get resolved behind closed doors, then that's fine by me. There were a lot of folks on social media, and the more I do this, the more I believe social media is not real life. That we're laughing at Zach, or criticizing Zach, or wanting more of that from Zach. I have no problem with Zach Taylor's sidelined demeanor. Certainly no problem with him getting angry occasionally. I want the mistakes to get cleaned up. I don't think the mistakes getting cleaned up is necessarily going to be a direct byproduct of Zach Taylor publicly yelling and screaming at people. I do think accountability matters. Like, I think it's encouraging. And not that Chase Brown was, he did make a huge mistake, the red zone fumble, but like in a season defined by urgency, Zach Taylor said like, all right, cool. We're going to involve Samaj AP Ryan Moore and maybe Chase Brown a little bit less. Like that's, that's what I want to see. You want to see more opportunities given to the guys who are reliable? Samaj AP Ryan is reliable. I don't need public yelling and screaming. I need the mistakes to get cleaned up or them to play the players more who aren't as likely to make mistakes. I do think this, though, and in the years that I've been doing this show, I don't want to say I'm proud of this, but I probably spend the least amount of time, compared to others, and this is not a knock on anybody else, talking about the nuts and bolts of play calling. Tony Pike does play calling talk because Tony's qualified to do play calling talk. I'll spend a lot of time on clock management and knowing when to throw a challenge flag or burn your timeouts because I don't think that stuff is that difficult to figure out. And we had some coaches this weekend that just seemingly couldn't wrap their brain around the basic math of clock management or making common sense decisions. But like play calling, let's be real. How many of us know what goes into calling a play?
00:07:25
Speaker 2: Most of us don't.
00:07:26
Speaker 3: I can go like, hey, don't run the ball on second and 12th. let's call some more plays for our better players let's get the ball in the hands of playmakers like Jamar Chase and T. Higgins I don't do a lot of play calling talk not qualified to don't pretend to be qualified to I'll get folks on who are good at doing play calling talk Tony Pike on Mondays I'll ask him play calling questions because I think he's qualified Rocky Boyman down the hall I'll talk play calling with him A dude has had plays called on the defensive side.
00:08:02
Speaker 2: I don't do that.
00:08:03
Speaker 3: But I love this sport, and I've watched it my entire life, and I have working eyes. They don't work as well as maybe they did 15 years ago. I know what it looks like when an offense is kind of disjointed. I also know what it looks like when an offense seems to function more smoothly. I watch teams, and it took a while last night for both offenses to get going. And granted, the Rams lost the game, but there were times last night, and Tony and I were texting about this with each other, there were times last night where I just.
00:08:40
Speaker 3: I see how they say, screw it, we're getting the ball to Puka Nakua no matter what. He had 17 targets last night. I see Matthew Stafford throwing very quick passes to his wide receivers when they're at the line of scrimmage, and the defender is... Five six seven yards away and it turns into a 10-yard running play I see how they could expose holes in the field with their tight ends and the rams have like a thousand tight ends just like the bangles When their deep threats take defenders downfield with them. I see the ease with which the 49ers operate on offense I see the physical nature of how the ravens play when derrick henry is in the game And derrick henry is a major reason for that. Like I I see these things whether they're schematic or or creative that just, it feels like those teams can hang their hats on certain things, or they don't care if you take away something that they try to feature. Like I'm sure teams decide we're going to try to take away Pook and the Kua. I'm sure the Buffalo Bills tried last night. They threw him the ball 17 times. I just, I, I, when I, when I think of Zach and I'm usually like the guy who's quick to defend a lot of different things, I think of the overall function of the offense, and there's the productivity part of it. There's the statistical part of it. Bengals aren't very good at getting yak. I think in large part because they throw a lot of passes to guys who have two or three guys who are near them.
00:10:05
Speaker 2: But I do watch other teams. Tony and I talk about this a lot. He talks about this more than I do.
00:10:11
Speaker 3: But I watch other teams, and I see the ease with which their best players get the football. And I see the ease with which their guys, the other team's players, get the ball in space and have room to operate once they make the catch. I see the ease with which quarterbacks will make passes to guys at the line of scrimmage and take a free five or six yards because by the time the receiver catches the ball, the defender is still a few yards away. That's stuff that I wonder about when it comes to Zach and the play calling. That's stuff that I wonder about when it comes to the overall just function of the offense. Why are there things that I watch, and again, I'm not the play-calling guy. Why are there things that I watch when I watch other teams that just make me feel like the Bengals' offense, for all of the talent they have, and for as great as Joe Burrow is, and frankly, for as well as their offensive line, for the most part, has played, why do things seem to come.
00:11:13
Speaker 3: Things are more difficult for the Bengals than... For some of the other teams that I watch on a regular basis, and I'm not comparing them to the Titans or the Dolphins or, you know, dregs like that, the Jets. But I see teams that have established offensive minded coaches and head coaches. And I don't know, man, I just I see the ease with which those offenses function sometimes. And I watch them. like I did with the Rams last night, even in a game that they lost. Josh Allen is superhuman. As a borough guy, I'm willing to say right now, Allen's the best player in the NFL, in my opinion.
00:11:47
Speaker 2: But the ease with which.
00:11:48
Speaker 3: Some of these teams do things, San Francisco, no matter who they have on the field, and it feels like there are things that they just operate more smoothly than the Bengals, who's so far on offense, and it's still early in the year, there's a level of disjointedness and unevenness that even early in the season, I don't see some of the other teams play with. And a lot of those teams either don't have the Bengals talent or the talent they have is maybe on par with the Bengals, but not better. Those are fair criticisms of Zach. If you're going to get mad at him for yelling at a player and not yelling at a player, I don't know. I think discipline and accountability, those things don't have to necessarily be enforced in public. It's cool that Pat Murphy of the Brewers will pull players out of a game And we can make a big stink out of that.
00:12:38
Speaker 2: And it's good to see. It's good to see a manager who's willing to do that. Trust me.
00:12:42
Speaker 3: I wish the guy here was willing to do that. But for the most part, I think corrections and accountability take place behind the scenes. I think how your offense runs and how your schemes work and how your philosophies are translated into how you're playing, I think that stuff unfolds very, very publicly.
00:13:00
Speaker 2: And I just see other teams doing it better.
00:13:02
Speaker 3: And I watch with a degree of envy and a degree of curiosity as to why when I watch some offenses, things seem to run smoothly and here things still, and again, I, the rest of the season could change this, but things still seem clunky 17 minutes after five o'clock. And by the way, clunky, despite all the continuity, um, More on that coming up a little bit later on. Poll questions on Twitter, at Mo Egger. How is this season going to end in the regular season for the Bengals? Vote now, thanks to United Heartland Insurance. FC Cincinnati is home tomorrow. New England's in town. Evander, we hope, will play. He's been in training the last two days. Nate Bucati calls that match for Apple TV. He joins us next. We're broadcasting from the transept on ESPN 1530 Cincinnati Sports Station.
00:13:53
Speaker 1: Cincinnati's ESPN 1530.
00:13:57
Speaker 2: Traffic. From the UC Health traffic.
00:14:00
Speaker 1: All in the natty. Brought to you in part by Skyline Chili on ESPN 1530. The official home of the Cincinnati Bengals.
00:14:10
Speaker 2: Your football news of the day.
00:14:12
Speaker 3: Tanner Hudson, unfortunately, out for the season with a torn pectoral muscle. That news was first revealed by his agent. I think Charlie Clifford at News 5 was the.
00:14:22
Speaker 2: First to report it.
00:14:24
Speaker 3: Bummer for Tanner Hudson, who is a reliable part of this offense, part of a loaded tight end room. The good news is they have a loaded tight end room. The schedule is going to be loaded for FC Cincinnati here because of the makeup game from the postponement earlier this year. They're about to play three games within a week of each other, each one of them at home, starting tomorrow night against New England. That game will start at 7.30 on Apple TV. The orange and blue, a badly needed and I thought impressive A three-point pickup on Saturday. 3-1 victory over Atlanta without Evander. Nate Bucati called that match. He's going to have the match tomorrow. It's like the TV voice of FC Cincinnati. What's going on?
00:15:05
Speaker 4: What's up, Moe? How you doing, man?
00:15:06
Speaker 2: Good to talk to you again. Good to have you. You know, I'm not going to doubt Pat Noonan anymore.
00:15:12
Speaker 3: And look, this has been a disjointed season, and they have at times played very much like.
00:15:18
Speaker 3: A non Pat Noonan team for lack of a better way of putting it, but he said he was going to make changes.
00:15:23
Speaker 2: He made changes. And on Saturday night, they paid off.
00:15:27
Speaker 4: They did. And, um, look, I think it's a huge win for the team.
00:15:31
Speaker 6: As you said, gets them above the playoff line for now, which is massive and just, you know, stops that winless streak.
00:15:37
Speaker 4: Uh, they were better defensively.
00:15:39
Speaker 6: I would also point out though, they went up against an Atlanta United side that had been shut out nine times this year.
00:15:44
Speaker 4: Um, And so, you know, there's still work to be done.
00:15:49
Speaker 6: And we've got some bad injury news for Cincinnati with Miles Robinson going out for a couple of weeks after this game. So, you know, I think that the challenges stay there for Cincinnati. They're certainly not out of the woods yet, but it was a big step in the right direction.
00:16:04
Speaker 2: You're not going to pour cold water on this for me, are you? Come on.
00:16:09
Speaker 6: Hey, I was trying to talk you into being in a better mind frame last time I was on with you.
00:16:15
Speaker 2: You were. You were.
00:16:17
Speaker 4: It's a big step in the right direction, but that's what it is.
00:16:21
Speaker 5: Yes.
00:16:21
Speaker 3: No, it's a small step, but an important one. I did feel like, and whether it was the change of goalkeeper, whether it was the changes they made in the back line, like, They've had an issue all year long preventing goals. It felt to me like, though, and you could speak to this more than I, it did feel to me, though, that defensively, saying what you want about the opponent they played, that they were more organized defensively.
00:16:45
Speaker 6: They were, and I thought the two wingbacks that came in that were summer acquisitions for the team showed why that was a big priority for them to give them a little more balance and responsibility. on the wings, uh, defensively, we've got see Molotini coming in the second half as well. Now you got the injury to miles Robinson, which it just seems to be a trend sometimes when he comes back from international duty, unfortunately, but yeah, like I said, look, they were better defensively. They were more responsible and they still found some of the attack and they did it without Evander.
00:17:20
Speaker 4: I think we should point that.
00:17:21
Speaker 2: Out as well.
00:17:23
Speaker 5: Yeah.
00:17:23
Speaker 7: Yeah.
00:17:24
Speaker 3: And hopefully, I know he's been at training each of the last couple of days. Would love to see him give it a go tomorrow. I felt like there were moments on Saturday night where you could feel them playing tight. And it's easy when you get a goal late in the game, but you could feel it. And I know fans felt it. I know I felt it. It just, it felt like there was a sigh of relief when Tom Barlow gave him a 2-1 lead. And I just, I wonder if like, You know, the streak without getting three points, having not won a game since August the 19th, had kind of taken on a life of its own, and I wonder if they do play. Look, they still have a lot of work to do between now and the end of the year. I wonder if there's a little bit more of a loose effort tomorrow night.
00:18:03
Speaker 4: You would think so.
00:18:04
Speaker 6: I mean, look, a lot of times when you're on a winless streak like that, everybody knows about it.
00:18:08
Speaker 4: Guys start pressing.
00:18:09
Speaker 6: Sometimes guys try to do more than their own responsibility because they want to be a big part of the reason that things turned back around and you know i i will admit that when atlanta scored the equalizer to make it 1-1 i thought to myself oh no um this is gonna be another one of those games for cincinnati but they got the goal from barlow they added another one which i thought was really big too to salt the game away so yeah we'll see if they come out maybe a little more confidence but you know what things you got to give you know you got to give cincinnati credit for They've been scoring late goals all year long, and they've been fighting back to get results.
00:18:45
Speaker 4: Sometimes they've been draws.
00:18:47
Speaker 6: But I think it's, you know, they have more stoppage time equalizers than any team in.
00:18:51
Speaker 2: The league this year.
00:18:52
Speaker 6: So while they don't look like a Pat Noonan side from their defensive record on the year, they do look like a Pat Noonan side from the standpoint that they keep fighting and they don't give up. And so, you know, there's still much to play for for the team this year.
00:19:05
Speaker 3: They last played New England, which feels like two and a half years ago in mid-March. That did not go well. They lost 6-1. How much does the current version of New England reflect what we saw back on March 15th?
00:19:24
Speaker 6: New England's an interesting one because all of a sudden they did a little bit of a hiccup the last couple of games. Some of that could be due to the fact that They lost some of their most important players to the international window. I was on the call for their game two games ago when they lost in Salt Lake City, which Salt Lake haven't exactly been on fire here lately either. So might be catching New England at a good time. But look, they're they're a team that at times this year's look like one of the top four teams in the eastern conference and they got carlos heel one of the best number tens be gonna have two of the best number tens in the league if evander plays in this game between heel and evander so yeah it's gonna be a tough game but uh i'll bet you there's a little revenge on the mind of uh fc cincinnati as well in this game.
00:20:08
Speaker 3: You get to call tomorrow night. Any chance you get to call Sunday? The game that we care about the most?
00:20:16
Speaker 4: Not unless something changes on the schedule.
00:20:18
Speaker 6: They got me going to Orlando on Sunday.
00:20:22
Speaker 3: I'm in and out tomorrow, buddy. Hell is real when Columbus isn't very good this year. It's a chance to get three points. We're coming down the stretch. I don't think there's going to be a look ahead But I can tell you a lot of fans are already looking ahead, and maybe we shouldn't. But Sunday is going to be a lot of fun. First things first, tomorrow, 7.30 against New England. First of three consecutive home games for the Orange and Blue. 7.30 tomorrow night on Apple TV. The great Nate Bucati on the call. The TV voice of FC Cincinnati. I appreciate the time, man. Thanks so much.
00:20:56
Speaker 4: Always good to come to the Queen City, Mo. Thanks for having me, buddy.
00:20:59
Speaker 2: You got it. You're the best.
00:21:00
Speaker 3: Nate Bucati, Apple TV, FC Cincinnati wins on Saturday night. Yes, Miles Robinson's going to miss some time. Evander went through training today and yesterday, hopefully plays tomorrow. The FC Cincinnati is currently tied for eighth in the Eastern Conference with Red Bull New York, one game behind Orlando City, who has 37 points. FC Cincinnati has 36. Speaking of Saturday night, Kentucky's win over LSU, an amazing scene, a great game, history. They've won back-to-back games, 35-34, scoring the winning point in overtime. Jeff Pecoro from the Kentucky Sports Network will join us next on ESPN 1530 Cincinnati Sports Station.
00:21:49
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.
00:22:03
Speaker 2: Traffic. From the UC Health.
00:22:05
Speaker 3: From 6 o'clock, this is ESPN 1530. Mo Egger broadcasting today from the transept. Quite a scene on Saturday night. Kentucky beats LSU for the second consecutive week. UK wins a game 35-34 in overtime, converting a two-point conversion for the win. The UK Sports Network, you hear it on ESPN 1530, which means you hear our guy Jeff Pecoro on the call of UK games. And when they're good, we get them on. And they're good and they're fun. And there was quite a scene in Lexington on Saturday. And so Pick is with us. What is going on?
00:22:41
Speaker 8: I'll tell you what, that cigar was so sweet in the parking lot after the game.
00:22:48
Speaker 3: The only place you could go, the mayor of Lexington, the only place you could go to have a victory cigar was the parking lot?
00:22:56
Speaker 9: You know what?
00:22:57
Speaker 8: They were still tailgating. There was a guy from Nashville they brought in, was playing guitar. And this was at 1230 at night. So yeah, we sat there in a chair and kicked back and smoked a big old gherkin it was fantastic.
00:23:12
Speaker 3: Well deserved uh the scene in the stadium you've called these games for a long time has there ever been anything in that stadium quite like it the.
00:23:21
Speaker 8: Only other time that i can remember is when they beat alabama uh in overtime you know it was only like the second win ever for kentucky over alabama and that was like 25 years ago so yeah it's been forever and when they beat lsu when they were number one that was that was a lot of fun too But this was crazy.
00:23:42
Speaker 3: You and I talked when Kentucky hired Will Stein, and I know you were a fan of the hire. This is working, and I think it's working sooner than a lot of people thought.
00:23:50
Speaker 9: Why?
00:23:51
Speaker 8: Well, I think that you heard Cignetti when he got the job at Indiana, and they asked him, why are you going to be successful?
00:23:59
Speaker 9: He said, look me up. I win everywhere I go.
00:24:03
Speaker 8: And Will Stein at SEC Needy Days said, why is Kentucky going to win?
00:24:07
Speaker 9: He said, because of me. Um, and you know, I don't think he was being arrogant.
00:24:12
Speaker 5: It's, you know, the last three years, he had three different quarterbacks at Oregon, three different quarterbacks. All three of them are in the league and all three years they were top 15 offense at Oregon. Um, so the guy can call some plays, Joe Sloan, his offensive coordinator.
00:24:26
Speaker 9: Uh, again, they're on the same page.
00:24:29
Speaker 5: Um, you know, they, they set up. what they're going to try to do all through the week. And Joe calls the plays. And every once in a while, he'll get on there and ask. And Will listens. It's kind of neat.
00:24:41
Speaker 8: But I just think Will Stein, you know, and the other thing too, Mo, is that it's a younger staff. I mean, the whole staff, they're all young guys. And these players connect to them.
00:24:52
Speaker 9: It's the vibe. He calls it juice.
00:24:55
Speaker 8: The juice around here is electric.
00:25:00
Speaker 3: What are you thinking when, in Columbia, they're down 17-0? I know they had gone to Texas A & M and won that game. It kind of felt like the way the Aggies have played since. Maybe the shine has come off that game. The Gamecocks are blowing them out early. What are you thinking when it's 17-0?
00:25:18
Speaker 8: When it's 17-zip, I was like, I was almost Dandy Don Meredith, you know, turn out the light, the party's over. But right before the half, Kentucky drives down and scores.
00:25:29
Speaker 9: And the one.
00:25:30
Speaker 8: Thing that Will has said since he took the job is you've got to win the four and four, the middle four, they call it. The four minutes going into half and the four minutes coming out of half, right?
00:25:40
Speaker 7: Yeah.
00:25:40
Speaker 5: They score, they cut the lead, they get the ball, they kick off to them, and the third quarter was magical.
00:25:47
Speaker 8: You know, they go down and score, and now it's a ball game. And I think for South Carolina, it's one of those snowball things with them. It's kind of like it just hasn't been a good year. It really hasn't been a good two years for them. And when that snowball started rolling, there was just no stopping it.
00:26:07
Speaker 2: Is this, for this season, is this sustainable?
00:26:10
Speaker 3: Could they play themselves into at least, I don't know, the edges of the conversation for the playoff?
00:26:17
Speaker 2: Can they go to Oklahoma and win? How's this going to play out?
00:26:20
Speaker 9: I think this is a key game.
00:26:22
Speaker 8: I said before the season started, the two games that I really wanted to see was Alabama and South Carolina. Because for whatever reason, the last four years, South Carolina has beaten them. And Kentucky's been the better team. Last year, South Carolina only won four games. Unfortunately, one of those four wins was against Kentucky. And it's just one of those things, you know, and I'm sure UC has the same thing. There's that one team that they just seem to not be able to beat. And that was South Carolina for Kentucky. And they finally got over that hump. So I thought that was a key game, and I thought the Alabama game. And for three quarters, Kentucky played really well, and the defense just fell apart in the fourth quarter. But, and it's a huge but, I thought they showed at LSU against a very good team with a very good play caller that they could hang with them.
00:27:08
Speaker 9: And that, look.
00:27:11
Speaker 9: It's like the Yogi Berra.
00:27:12
Speaker 8: Quote, 90% of this game is half mental.
00:27:17
Speaker 5: I think that these guys believe. They believe that they can win. It's a positive attitude. It's a great attitude. I think that this is going to be a huge game.
00:27:27
Speaker 9: If they can.
00:27:28
Speaker 8: Somehow win this game, that would really be fantastic.
00:27:33
Speaker 9: I will tell you this. They haven't had their bye yet.
00:27:36
Speaker 5: They go to Oklahoma, then they have Vandy at home, then they get their bye.
00:27:40
Speaker 9: Because they're banged up. They're beat up. The SEC, and I know you hear this all the time, but every week is an absolute.
00:27:46
Speaker 8: brawl um but again it's that next man up mentality so i think this is a huge game vanderbilt is nowhere near what they were last year there's no diego pavia coming through that door for vanderbilt this year so um you know i think that you can never say it's going to be a win but i i think that if anybody could say the first uh bye week for them that they have five or six wins.
00:28:08
Speaker 9: They would have they would have loved that before the season started What.
00:28:12
Speaker 3: I love most about the two-point play at South Carolina was it went to the pride of Taylor Mill, my hometown, Willie Rodriguez.
00:28:19
Speaker 2: His role is expanding. Are we going to see more?
00:28:21
Speaker 9: Yes. Yes, he has been fantastic.
00:28:25
Speaker 8: He's actually been hobbled a little bit the last two weeks with turf toe. He banged up his toe, and he hasn't practiced all through the week until Thursdays of the last two weeks, but now he's healthy again. He's leading the team in receptions. He is just a fantastic kid, and I think if you're a Kentucky fan, you hold your breath and keep your fingers crossed that he comes back. He has one more year of eligibility, but if he continues on the trajectory he's on right now, And the reason why he's so good, too, Mo, is because he's a three-down tight end. He runs a 4'5, 40, but he's 6'5, and 250 pounds. So he's a dog as a tight end blocking. He loves to block.
00:29:07
Speaker 5: So he can play all three downs in the NFL. And Kentucky uses him a lot like the Bengals do, where they have their tight end in a slot formation.
00:29:16
Speaker 9: He's in the backfield.
00:29:19
Speaker 5: Field on the wildcat where he takes the ball and runs so he's so useful and that that H back in the NFL is so huge right.
00:29:28
Speaker 2: Now should have gone to Scott.
00:29:33
Speaker 9: I'm right behind you.
00:29:34
Speaker 8: On that as should have the hefty lefty should have gone to Scott as well.
00:29:40
Speaker 3: And God rest his soul. I told him that often. I told him that often. It's been fun to watch. I can't thank you enough for doing this, man. Thanks so much.
00:29:49
Speaker 9: Well, anytime you need me, you know where to call.
00:29:52
Speaker 2: I sure do.
00:29:53
Speaker 3: Jeff Pecoro, UK Sports Network, Kentucky, coming off that win over LSU.
00:29:57
Speaker 2: Up next, Oklahoma, resurgent Oklahoma.
00:30:00
Speaker 3: After their victory over Arch Manning in Texas on Saturday in the Red River rivalry. It is quarter to six. We're broadcasting from the transept. By the way, I didn't do sports headlines.
00:30:11
Speaker 2: I should do them.
00:30:12
Speaker 3: Tanner Hudson out for the year, unfortunately. Torn Peck done for 2026. Bengals off this week. They are in Baltimore a week from Sunday on ESPN 1530. Evander good to go for a second consecutive day at FC Cincinnati's training as they get set to take on New England tomorrow night. American League Championship Series game two in St.
00:30:33
Speaker 2: Pete.
00:30:34
Speaker 3: Nathaniel Lott with the big tie-breaking two-run single yesterday for the Guardians. They win game one. Game two tonight, Parker Messick against Freddy Peralta.
00:30:43
Speaker 2: There you go.
00:30:44
Speaker 3: Quarter to six. We're at the transept. This is ESPN 1530 Cincinnati Sports Station.
00:30:49
Speaker 1: Cincinnati's ESPN 1530.
00:30:53
Speaker 2: Traffic in the preseason raising a banner though next week we got like four minutes.
00:31:01
Speaker 3: Yeah I'm with you there Taryn if you're gonna run your offense to the guy pay him like you're running the offense through him we have four minutes left.
00:31:09
Speaker 2: In the show we'll give we'll give two each.
00:31:12
Speaker 3: To our two folks we have waiting on hold starting with Cody in Lexington hi Cody.
00:31:17
Speaker 4: Hey Mo how are you wonderful yourself I'm doing well man.
00:31:21
Speaker 5: Great show today um well thank you zach taylor yeah yeah great yeah let's talk about zach taylor real quick i think we're going to be frustrated for the rest of his tenure because as you talked about with the buffalo game st louis and it's like hey we're going to kind of impose our will you're not going to be able to take this away every time the bengals offensive offense sputters after the game it's like well they took away the deep ball Well, they took away the deep ball. And at the same time, I think they are really content at dinking and dunking down the field, which is fine. I think Burrow's efficient at it. But then you've got to take 12 to 18 plays to get down the field and then one bad sack, one bad penalty derails the entire drive.
00:32:03
Speaker 4: And as a fan, it's really frustrating.
00:32:05
Speaker 5: Go ahead. Yeah.
00:32:08
Speaker 3: Well, I was going to say, like, that's been their M.O. on offense the last couple of years, right? We're going to dink and dunk down the field. That's why I bring up the lack of yards after the catch, and it's striking to me. And Tony and I talked about this at length yesterday. There's only three teams in the NFL that are getting more yards after the catch than the Bengals.
00:32:24
Speaker 2: And so if you're going to dink and dunk, that's fine.
00:32:26
Speaker 3: But if you're going to talk about explosives and you're going to dink and dunk, the way you do that is by getting the ball to the guys in space.
00:32:32
Speaker 2: And, like, I see it.
00:32:34
Speaker 3: I see way too many catches where a guy is getting tackled right after he makes the catch. You can't, there's, you get explosive plays in the passing game by heaving it downfield or by, you know, your, your guys breaking off large chunks of yardage after they make the catch. And that's, that's been missing now for a while. That's not something they've been good at for a couple of years now.
00:32:53
Speaker 7: Yeah.
00:32:54
Speaker 5: But the, but the problem is like you, you say so well when they play the Browns and not so much recently, but you know, A couple years ago, it would be like, well, it's just a bad matchup.
00:33:03
Speaker 7: And it's like, well, you're a coach.
00:33:05
Speaker 5: You should be able to scheme up a better offensive scheme to kind of work to your strengths and against their strengths. And I think that's why people get frustrated with Zach and why even Lou Anarumo, he shut down Patrick Mahomes. And I'm not saying he's a better defensive coordinator than Al Golden, but I'm saying in the big games, he came up with a great scheme, and Zach has.
00:33:26
Speaker 4: Failed to do that.
00:33:27
Speaker 9: It's like, well, they just took that away. Well, they were just really good today. Yeah.
00:33:31
Speaker 2: Yeah, you hear that a lot, Cody. Thank you. Yeah, we were on the same page. Thank you for the phone call, Cody. You're right.
00:33:41
Speaker 3: I feel like I hear about it often. They just took that away. The comparison we've made for years is that is best. Travis Kelsey, you know he's getting the ball. Especially in the red zone, you know he's getting the ball. It doesn't stop the Chiefs from giving it to him. It does feel like the Bengals for a while now have allowed the other team to dictate what they do and how they play. Mike, you can have the last word.
00:34:01
Speaker 2: Go ahead.
00:34:05
Speaker 7: Well, I dropped the phone, so that's a bad way to start.
00:34:08
Speaker 3: Thank you, Mo.
00:34:10
Speaker 7: Real quick, it's Baseball Mania with me. And this small ball.
00:34:15
Speaker 2: Are you worried about your Dodgers?
00:34:18
Speaker 7: Of course I am. Well, they just, you know, Shohei is hurt. He's hurt. He's not, you know, it's obvious he's hurting. So, Brock is going to have to sit in. He's got to sit in because he's in automatic out right now. That's what he is.
00:34:32
Speaker 2: Feels like it, yeah.
00:34:34
Speaker 7: And these Indians, or these Guardians, now there's something else. They had a better team ERA than Tampa did by a hair. They were the ninth best defensive team in the MLB. The Rays were 13th. They had four starters with over 30 starts. And they were under. 500 by one game at home, but over. 500. seven games over on the road, so it's obvious what's happening. This team plays really well on the road, and I don't think you can discount the importance of the veteran presence of Jose Ramirez.
00:35:09
Speaker 3: No, Jose Ramirez has been awesome. They've won four games on the road. I would have lost a lot of money betting against them after they were down 2-0 and got seven hits in the first two games against the White Sox. and then even coming back and winning last night. I think it's going to be a long series. Two teams that to a degree sort of mirror each other, but maybe Ramirez is going to be the difference.
00:35:38
Speaker 2: We'll see.
00:35:38
Speaker 3: The Brewers, I think what's happened, Mike, thank you very much for the phone call. I think what's happened in that series has as much to do with the fact that Milwaukee's bullpen.
00:35:48
Speaker 2: Has been, and Dustin May, who's a starter, did give him an inning.
00:35:52
Speaker 3: In the 9-plus, they've worked in the postseason, holding the Dodgers to just two hits. That Milwaukee bullpen has been terrific in the holdout lineup, even acknowledging that Shohei doesn't look like Shohei to 10 hits in two games is remarkable. The Guardians look dead after the first two games of that series against the White Sox.
00:36:10
Speaker 2: Dead. Seven hits in the.
00:36:12
Speaker 3: First two games, and now they're up 1-0 in the ALCS with a chance to go up 2-0 tonight.
00:36:17
Speaker 8: We are done.
00:36:18
Speaker 3: Thanks to our friends here at the Transcept for hosting us. And don't forget to go to delightmore.com. Look for tickets to the Bengals Ravens Watch Party at the Mercantile Immersive. And anything you may have missed on this show, go find on the iHeartRadio app.
00:36:32
Speaker 2: We are done. Show's over. Got to go.
00:36:34
Speaker 3: Have a great night. Thanks to Mike Mills for producing on site. And, of course, thanks to Taryn for producing back in Kenwood. We'll talk to you tomorrow at 3.05. This is ESPN 1530 Cincinnati Sports Station.
00:36:52
Speaker 2: Podcast.
