Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - Cincinnati Bengals at Los Angeles Chargers SNF First Look: Any Help Coming For Joe Burrow?

Starting point is 00:00:02 The powers that be saw fit to flex the Los Angeles Chargers hosting the Cincinnati Bengals to Sunday night football. Let's cross over, Locked on Bengals, Locked on Chargers to break it down. You are locked on NFL crossover. Part of the Locked on podcast network. Your team every day. It's time for another locked on crossover here on the Locked on podcast network. I'm Jake. Let's go from Locked on Bengals joined today by Dave.

Starting point is 00:00:40 David Jogamire from Lockdown Chargers, as we always do. We've got your biggest stories for both teens and the keys to victory leading into another prime time game here. David, we're going to talk about the Bengals and the Chargers. And this one, as always, the Lockdown Crossovers brought to you by prize picks where you can use code Lockdown NFL to win $50 instantly when you play your first $5. We appreciate all of you out there who make your Lockdown podcast of choice. your first listen, all the everydayers out there. And if you're new to Lockdown Bengals or Lockdown Chargers, well, you're in for a treat.

Starting point is 00:01:17 You get a crossover for your first episode, and you can hit that subscribe button on YouTube or wherever you get your podcast to join one of those two exclusive clubs of listeners. And David, as always, we're going to get started with the biggest stories. And this week we'll start with the Los Angeles Chargers. Tell me, what's going on with that offense? It looks to me, from the outside looking in,

Starting point is 00:01:37 that is Justin Herbert, a decent offensive line that we'll have to get into in a little bit more depth. Ladd McCawkey and tell me more about what the essence of this version of that LA Chargers offense is about as they go into week 11th. Yeah. So I think the Chargers offense in kind of stark contrast to the last few years is let's take some off of Justin Herbert's plate. Let's not make Justin Herbert have to do absolutely everything.

Starting point is 00:02:03 And I think that's really what the formula was. The formula was, hey, let's get Justin Herbert a really good defense. let's get him a more competent running game and then let's let's let just and hearbert go out there and manage the game make the big plays and the big throws when i need him to but not have to put all of the pressure and all of the expectations all on his plate solely so that's what it is you know at least in in the in the the principle that's what they want it to look like um obviously they have had some struggles trying to affirm that identity which is you know

Starting point is 00:02:39 stark contrast to what they have done in the past. But I think the biggest storyline for me here is can Justin Herbert stay hot? I mean, Justin Herbert over the last month has been fantastic. I mean, since week seven, according to PFF, he's made 13 big time throws and had zero turnover worthy plays. And he has only one interception this season. He has one of the best touchdown to interception ratios in the NFL. This is going to be a great quarterback matchup. Two of the best pure passers in the league, in my opinion, with Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert. But hey, it's going to be offense versus defense. So I'm excited to see what Justin Herbert's going to do against the Bengals defense. And it's going to be obviously a big story in this game because

Starting point is 00:03:20 we know the Bengals can score. Let's see if the Chargers are going to be able to keep up. It's fascinating to hear you talk about the way the chargers have turned around their approach in the Harbaugh era with Justin Herbert trying to take things off of his plate. When you juxtapose that with what the Cincinnati Bengals this year are doing with Joe Burrow, where there's so much on Burrow's shoulders and on Jamar Chase's shoulders. And if you look at the defense, you can throw Troy Hendrickson into the mix as well, where Bengals fans would tell you that you have arguments for an MVP candidate in Joe Burrow, an offensive player of the year candidate and a triple crown leader currently in Jamar Chase,

Starting point is 00:03:53 where today, by the way, media had to define for Joe Burrow what the wide receiver triple crown was. He wasn't aware of the triple crown in the NFL. I thought that was a funny moment. And Trey Hendrickson leads to league in Saxon would be a candidate for defensive player of the year. But everything is so firmly on Burroughs shoulders. You talked about bumps in the road and affirming that identity.

Starting point is 00:04:11 Where are those bumps and how have they been dealing with them and overcoming them? Because obviously you look up and the Chargers are now six and three. Yeah, I mean, obviously you look at the schedule and it's probably been a little bit softer, save for the Steelers and the Chiefs. But I mean, they can only play the teams that are on their schedule. And that's never been a guarantee in the past playing a quote unquote bad team. The Chargers have found ways to lose to those teams for several years. So, um, you know, them having a new leader who is a proven culture changer and, and Jim Harbaugh, uh, you know, his, his whole identity is is physicality. It's I want to run the ball. I want to dominate the line of scrimmage. I want to be physical. I want to be tough. I want to be technically sound. Those are the things that Jim Harbaugh really harbaw really harps on and the, you know, the attention to detail. But, you know, the running game has been up and it's been down. I think that's really been the inconsistent part of the offense, which has caused lulls and some of their drives. especially in the second half of games.

Starting point is 00:05:09 Now it's been better recently. They've done a better job of scoring in the second half. But in the beginning part of the season, they had some good drives. And then they had three and out, three and out, three and out, back to back to back. So it's just eliminating those empty drives and trying to put together more consistent drives, which is aided by a running game that has been inconsistent. Now, last week, Gus Edwards came back off of IR, looked much, much healthier and really contributed to that one two punch, that kind of smash and dash that they thought they were going to have with J.K. Dobbins.

Starting point is 00:05:42 Obviously a lot of help coming from the defensive side of the ball. Of course. And it's the best scoring defense in the NFL, obviously. And when you point that out to Bengals fans, they'll tell you that, well, they played the Raiders. They played the totally defunct Carolina Panthers. Sure. They played the early season Denver Broncos. I would say that Arizona is a pretty good offense.

Starting point is 00:06:05 But then you add in the foundering and floundering New Orleans Saints to Cleveland Browns, the Tennessee Titans into the mix. You can only play the team across from you, however, as you point out. And the Bengals have played some of those teams and managed to give up points. What's the story with this Chargers defense that is looking at a tougher stretch of opposing offenses coming up here on their schedule? Absolutely. And the thing with the Chargers defense is, you know, including the Chiefs, including the Steelers, they have not given up more than 20 points to any team. entire season. So yes, the majority of their team, the teams they've played have been against subpar quarterbacks and subpar offenses, which is why this biggest story here is can they

Starting point is 00:06:47 prove it against an elite quarterback, right? And a very high powered offense that can score points, right? That right there, this is the real like first litmus test to see if this Chargers defense is for real because, you know, Jesse Minter is going to have to put together a very good game plan Joe Perot is super hot right now nine touchdowns over his past two games there's some uncertainty on christian fulton's availability who has been the chargers top corner this year he's been truly phenomenal when he's been on the field can you know the backup corners the rookie fifth round picks camhart and tarheep still going up against you know probably the one of the better tandem of wire receivers in the league if t higgins is out there you know what jimar james james james brings to the

Starting point is 00:07:29 table he you know showcased that for the world you know going 260 yards of fricking offense, which is insane. I mean, that dude is is unbelievable. But as you said, you know, not much help. The Chargers need to prove it here against one of the best receivers and one of the best quarterbacks in the league. It's a bit of a litmus test for the Cincinnati Bengals on the other side of things as well. And we'll get into that coming up in just a minute. But it's so fun to hear you talk about the Chargers in some ways and think about how these things apply to the Bengals or, you know, how you compare them to what's going on in Cincinnati. And there's some opposite things happening, especially with like the supporting cast and the priorities.

Starting point is 00:08:08 And, you know, you're talking about the corners and dealing with Jamar Chesa. And rightly so, that's every defensive coordinator's priority. But then I look at those defensive pass rushing group that you've got with the Los Angeles Chargers led by the Ageless Wonder, Kalil Mack. And we'll probably have time to talk about Khalil Mack. We'll have time to talk about Lab Makaki, an object of some Bengals fans' draft dreams this prior year. year when we get to some of the mattress. But let's pivot, David, and let's talk a little bit about what's going on with the Cincinnati Bengals coming up next. But first, I got to tell you guys about Hillsdale College, history, economics, the great works of literature, the meaning of the U.S.

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Starting point is 00:09:29 enroll there's no cost and it's easy to get started that's hillsdale dot edu slash locked on to register that's hillsdale dot edu slash locked on this crossover episode is also sponsored by fan duel america's number one sportsbook and right now fan duels new customers can get a hundred and fifty dollars one hundred and fifty dollars in bonus bets if you win your first five dollar bet so when we look at the los angeles chargers hosting the cincinnati bengals on sunday night football and you you see that one and a half point spread, regardless of the team you root for, if you feel really good about one of those picks, you can put $5 at it. And if you get that pick right, that's $150 in bonus bets for you with Fanduel. And it's not just lines and money lines and that sort of thing.

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Starting point is 00:10:54 powers galore there with joe burrow and jimar chase especially coming off of that performance that they had, uh, you know, on Thursday night football like a tremendous, like unbelievable outing out there for Jamar Chase and Joe Burrow. But, um, you, you had mentioned outside of that, maybe there's been some issues, you know, finding some more consistency and complementary aspects of the Bengals offense. So, you know, sitting here through 10 games, you know, what has your assessment been so far? What's the biggest storyline on offense for the Cincinnati Bengals? Yeah, Joe Burroughs playing great football. Jamar Chase is playing great football. And nobody else on that offense, can you say, is playing great football?

Starting point is 00:11:32 I mean, there's some other players that are contributing. Mike Keseki has found a role in the T. Higgins' absence in the last few weeks, and he's contributing at a high level as a pass catcher, but they lose Eric All at tight end, and he was their kind of do-everything tight end. And they're left with a collection of tight ends now in Mike Keseki and Tanner Hudson. They're more receiving options and Drew Sample. And last week, it was a practice squad call-up in Cam Grandy that are more of pure blocking options at tight end.

Starting point is 00:11:55 And where they've tried to fit some pieces in to Eric All's role, they've clearly been lacking from that do-it-all tight end. So this is a team that went from an 11 personnel dominant team, one of the highest frequencies of 11 personnel in the Tyler Boyd, part of the triumvirate of receivers with T. Higgins and Jamar Chase for the last few years to a leading the NFL and 12 personnel this year, which if you're not following the Bengals closely might surprise you, but losing Tyler Boyd and not getting a ton from that receiver that stepped into that role,

Starting point is 00:12:24 whether it's been Andre Yosebosha, who's been there for most of the year and has contributed in the clutch but hasn't contributed on. on a down-to-down basis as much as you would like, or whether that's Romaine Burton, the rookie who is trying to get his act together and contribute on the field and stay in line off the field. And that's been in the news for the Bengals in recent weeks with healthy scratches for him in weeks where they really could have used him, the Los Angeles, or sorry, the Las Vegas Raiders game, most notably.

Starting point is 00:12:51 But they've also been dealing with injuries, right? When T. Higgins and Jumar Chase are on the field together, the offense just feels much smoother. and that's obviously helped quite a bit when their best offensive line in Orlando Brown is on the field. That guy hasn't missed much time in his career. So they're getting used to playing without him

Starting point is 00:13:05 the last couple of weeks. Those guys, as of the time of recording this on Thursday, or on Wednesday, I should say, Wednesday evening, Eastern time. They had a limited practice for T. Higgins, a DNP for Orlando Brown. We'll see for those guys. They're crucial pieces, though.

Starting point is 00:13:20 And when we talk about big stories, all of this comes together insofar as saying, can they do something to make it easier for Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase? Because the offense, while it's been putting up numbers the last couple of weeks, is a lot of Joe Burrow creating outside of structure, extending plays, hitting second, third windows, or improvising, and against a disciplined defense, against one of the better defenses in the NFL without the best defense in the NFL

Starting point is 00:13:46 by statistics and performance so far, in a team that certainly can cover better than the Ravens and the Raiders, that might be harder. And so if they can get a little bit more instruct, sure that would help if they could get some of these guys healthy that would help and if they could reinvigorate one of the worst running games in the NFL that would help but that's a lot of ifs and it's hard to see even just one of those things coming together in a in a big enough way to feel like they've taken a significant step forward I would say yeah I mean obviously a lot of

Starting point is 00:14:15 changes here with the bangles and then you know switching things over to kind of the defensive side here for the for the bangles so far looking at the statistics you know against the run against the pass, you know, towards the bottom end of the league there. I mean, besides Trey Hendrickson, who we know is fantastic. I mean, a true difference maker, you know, getting after the quarterback and he's having one hell of a year. Tell me about the rest of the defense and what has kind of went right and what's been what's went wrong for the, the Bengals so far. Yeah, it's a lot of what's gone wrong. And we're talking about a team that had high expectations, but the free agent acquisitions this offseason that were meant to patch holes for departed players,

Starting point is 00:14:55 whether it's Jesse Bates who left two years ago or DJ Reader, who they could not find an agreement with before he left to go play with the Detroit Lions this year, they bring in Gino Stone as they continue to try to fill the shoes of Jesse Bates. They bring Bon Bell back, and he was part of that safety tandem the last time the Bengals were a deep playoff contender, and they replaced DJ Reader's contributions, at least on paper, with Sheldon Rankins. And the free agent additions, as we talked about this week on lockdown Bengals, have not hit.

Starting point is 00:15:22 Gino Stone in the Bengals' schematic approach has not lived up to the performance that he put together under Mike McDonald's tutelage. Mike McDonald, of course, now no longer with the Ravens. And you're seeing the effects of his departure on the Ravens secondary. You're also seeing what happens when Gino Stone is removed from that situation and playing a lot more too high in the previous year under Mike McDonald in Baltimore, where now he's being asked to play post-safety a lot more. And it just exposes the athletic deficiencies a little bit there. and you're still saying a lot of the same issues that he's had before without getting the playmaking ability that we thought the Bengals were getting when they signed him away from a division rival.

Starting point is 00:16:01 Meanwhile, Shelton Rankins is on pace for a career worst year in terms of pressure percentage and you'd have to go all the way back to his rookie season to see him producing at this kind of level. So you've got Trey Hendrickson and not much else going for you on the defensive line where B.J. Hill is putting together an admirable season, but isn't, you know, a game record out there by any means. and they haven't been able to find a complementary edge rusher at a consistent level to go along with Trey Hendrickson. And I've said on several of these crossovers this year, David, if you can erase Trey Hendrickson, it is tough, tough sledding for this Bengals team to get pressure.

Starting point is 00:16:35 And despite the weapon deficiency that I would argue exists right now for the Chargers, if you give Justin Herbert time, it doesn't matter who's a wide receiver. I think Limecocki's good. And these receivers are good enough to be. the Bengals secondary that has had its issues this year if they can't get pressure and disrupt Justin Herbert, who's even been good under pressure generally throughout his career. You see him making throws with guys draped over him all the time. Tough player to bring down, right?

Starting point is 00:17:04 So it's again, the sum of the parts just isn't coming together on this defensive side of the ball where you can see them finding game plan answers here and there. And that's Luana Rumo's strength as a defensive coordinator is game planning for specific opponents, but the execution just isn't consistent. And you're seeing them have to sell out. And when they sell out the wrong way on a given play, that's when they're getting beaten. So it has been tough for this team this year. Defense obviously largely inconsistent throughout the NFL, a very volatile thing.

Starting point is 00:17:36 So Bengals fans hoping for a second half bounce back and they got to get through this game to get to the buy. They really need this game, obviously. But the defense has not been able to consistently get stops when they need it. and complimentary football has not been an often cited thing for the Cincinnati Bengals this year. Yeah, no, I hear you. And for the Chargers, as far as like their weaknesses and places to exploit, I think you look at the interior of the offensive line for the Chargers. I think last week, it was better. But for the majority of the season, they've had issues dealing with stunts and twists on the

Starting point is 00:18:09 inside. The outside, they've been great. You know, they have two premier tackles on each side with with Rishon Slater and Joe Walt, the rookie, the fifth overall pick. He has acquitted himself extremely well. Um, so far this season being a equally good run blocker and pass blocker. And Rishon Slater's playing at an all pro level. Um, so he is spectacular. So that is going to be a gigantic battle, you know, Godzilla King Kong style with Trey Hendrickson going one on one there against Rishan Slater.

Starting point is 00:18:42 That is going to be a matchup to watch for sure. I like that. I like that King Kong Godzilla analogy. I would just call it Strength on Strength, but yours is so much more exciting than strength on strength. We will talk about some of those matchups. That is certainly one that I was going to highlight is looking at that Chargers interior offensive line. I'm also interested to see if he can circle back to Lab McConkey, and certainly we'll talk about those Chargers pass rushers. When we look at the keys to victory in the matchups that will have to go in the Chargers or the Bengals' favor

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Starting point is 00:20:34 Some of the key matchups in this game, we've alluded to them. I've hinted at them. Let's start with the chargers. let's see if you name some of the players that are looming large in my head. When you think about the three things that have to go right for the Chargers in this game, as we wrap up this crossover episode brought to you by prize fix, again, where you can use code locked on NFL to win $50 instantly when you play your first $5 lineup. What are you thinking for those three keys for the Chargers?

Starting point is 00:21:04 Yeah, so three things that the Chargers absolutely have to do in order to win this game is play a complete game. That's first and foremost. The second is keep up the pressure. And third is win the battle in the trenches. You got to be more physical. Play a complete game. This game could turn into a shootout, right?

Starting point is 00:21:22 You're going to take 60 minutes. It's going to take a full effort to get this one done. You can't have the scoring droughts that we've seen from the Chargers. They still have one of the highest three and out percentages in the NFL. So have to consistently find ways to get more offense, more consistently for the Chargers. And then keep up the pressure. The Chargers have racked up seven sacks last week, and they have 18 over their last three, which is the most in the league in that span. They should get a full workload from Joy Bosa.

Starting point is 00:21:52 Hopefully, Kloyal Mack is able to work his way back, who, like I said, is dealing with a little bit of a groin injury. But even their backup edge rushers are making an impact. Tully, Tully-Palo 2 has more sacks than anyone. In the last three weeks, he has five and a half sacks. So he's been playing very, very well with, you know, Joy Bosa. saw unlimited snaps and Cleo Mac dealing with a little bit of an injury. That's really, really big. Burrow was sacked, it has been sacked about 2.3 times per game. The difference is you got to be able to finish. We know Joe Burrell is really good in the pocket, being able to

Starting point is 00:22:23 evade pressure. So that's something that the charges are going to have to account for. And then be more physical. You got to win the battle in the trenches. Offensively, this means having an effective running game, limiting the amount of negative runs or no runs for no yards. You got to keep the Bengals running game down. The Chargers got to pushed around last week, you know, giving up about six yards to carry. The Bengals, they average the third, uh, averages the third least, uh, and rushing yards per game. That's 29th overall. Um, getting that Bengals offense behind the sticks is going to be crucial. Uh, that way you can really let those pass rushers go to town. Yeah, I, I hear those and they resonate with me thinking

Starting point is 00:23:01 about things from, from a Bengals perspective. And if Khalil Mack and Bosa and Tui Polo do go off, well, that's going to be really hard for Joe Burrow in this offense to overcome. Tell me a little bit before I talk about some keys for the Bengals about Lab McConkey's impact on this offense. I just can't go to the whole episode without talking about Ladd McCocky. My co-host, James Rapine, who couldn't be with us today, would be incensed if we didn't talk about Lab McCocky, one of his favorite players in the draft. How much of a difference maker has he been?

Starting point is 00:23:29 Man, he's been so much fun to watch because Ladd McConkey is such a precise route runner. And he has real four three speed. I mean, when you want to cut that off, snap that route off at seven yards. He's doing exactly at seven yards every single time. He has been able to create separation so quickly and so consistently that he has really made himself one of Justin Herbert's most trusted and top targets. And they're not just, you know, throwing the ball to him in the short and intermediate. They're starting to target him down the field as well because his route running chops were NFL ready when he stepped on the football field. and the charges are really trying to find different ways to get those explosions because, yes, he's a little bit of a smaller guy, but he is underrated with the ball in his hands.

Starting point is 00:24:15 He can really, really move. So the charges are trying to put him in positions to use that yards after catchability, but also he's just been a really big target on third downs. He's made himself very friendly to the quarterback. And so this is a guy that seems like he is going to be a big time security blanket for Justin Herbert for years to come. Yeah, I mean, I'm looking at that matchup is one that could be difficult. I think Mike Hilton is a Bengals best corner right now, and he's their slot corner, but his forte is not necessarily hanging with really shifty guys and really fast guys. Mike Hilton's an awesome player.

Starting point is 00:24:52 Sure. But they've been taking him off the field in some third in passing situations because they kind of understand what the skill set is. He's a great physical player, awesome run game player, really good when he can play downhill, diagnosing screens, really smart player. But Limecocki is going to be a difficult matchup, I think, for most corners in the NFL, and I think Mike Hilton is no exception there. So that is one matchup I'm looking for. I'm not going to call that necessarily a key to the game,

Starting point is 00:25:17 but when I look at the first key from the Bengals side of things, I'm thinking about can this defense find a way to bounce back and get some stops on a consistent basis? This Chargers offense has not been the most consistent thing in the world, as you point out, despite Justin Herbert playing at a lights out level, especially recently. But the path to disrupting the Chargers offense is what I'm trying to find for the Bengals. They've been pretty good against run against some good running teams,

Starting point is 00:25:42 including the Ravens, despite Derek Henry's overtime run, that really inflated their numbers the first time these teams played back in week five. But they have managed, I think, to do enough to suppress the run recently when they've been healthy on the defensive line. And then the past defense has eventually given it up late in the game. And so from that perspective, it's like, okay, well, can they replicate the results against the run against the team that wants to run the ball against the team with really good tackles? But some questions on the interior. So can the interior hold up where the Bengals also have some questions and have been susceptible at times this year?

Starting point is 00:26:18 Then if the charges do have to pass, is there any pressure to speak of? And that's the concerning thing, right? The Trey Hendrickson-Gonzilla King Kong match up with Rishon Slater massive in this game. For Sean Slater holds his own as he has against great edge rushers in the past, it could be a tough day where Justin Herbert is sitting back there in cavernous pockets, as we've seen quarterbacks do against this Bengals team too often this year. And most prominent example that I can think of is Jade and Daniels back in week three, just massive, comfortable pockets to throw the ball to whoever he wanted whenever he wanted.

Starting point is 00:26:50 I don't care who's a wide receiver. I don't care what you think about Quentin Johnston. I don't care what you think about Josh Palmer. those guys are good enough and Justin Herbert's good enough and you can even throw Will Disley into the mix or those running backs, those receivers into the mix.

Starting point is 00:27:05 If you can't get pressure, it's going to be really difficult for this defense. So from the defensive side, I guess that's kind of two things. We'll call that two keys and one. On the offensive side for the Bengals, can they protect this week? Because it has been bad.

Starting point is 00:27:18 If they can get Orlando Brown and T. Higgins back, I think those are huge, huge shots in the arm for this offense and those could go a long way and helping them play within the strong. of the offense and take a little bit off of Joe Burrow having to take all the hits that he's taking trying to extend plays you go look at the tape against the Baltimore Ravens not only was it an impressive game for him on paper you look at what's happening when he's throwing some of those balls yeah they're getting off the defenders hanging all over him yeah and and he's like throwing he can't follow through he's throwing off platform because he knows what the the kind of football he has to play right now and he said that in his presser today he's talking about yeah that's just the way I'm going to have to play right now. That's where we are as a team.

Starting point is 00:28:01 The Bengals badly, badly need this game. They're going to need to do whatever they can do to try to get out of this game with a win. But I do think it's a tough challenge. And so if they can protect, that would go a long way in helping this offense to get its footing against the defense that so far, as we've talked about this year, David, has been fantastic and is at least statistically the best defense of Bengals will have faced so far this year. I can't wait for it man on prime time Sunday night football in front of the world two of the best quarterbacks on planet earth are going head to head and we get to see what really what trajectory each of these teams are going to take on coming out of this game because it could be a pivotal moment for both of these teams absolutely make or break in many many ways for the Cincinnati Bengals if not mathematically at least thematically going into the Bengals by week. That's going to do it for this episode. This locked on crossover, locked on chargers, locked on bengals, make sure you tune in wherever you get your podcast or on YouTube. We will keep you updated as the game approaches after the game and throughout the season

Starting point is 00:29:11 here on the lockdown podcast network where we appreciate you listening today and make sure you stay around as a locked on podcast network has you covered for your team every day.

Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - Cincinnati Bengals at Los Angeles Chargers SNF First Look: Any Help Coming For Joe Burrow?

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