Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - Cincinnati Bengals-Las Vegas Raiders Week 9 First Look: Marvin Lewis Revenge Game?!

Starting point is 00:00:01 Yes, there's a Marvin Lewis revenge game storyline as the Cincinnati Bengals host the Las Vegas Raiders this week. But we'll tell you what the other stories are as these teams are searching, even though we're in midseason in this week's crossover. You are locked on NFL crossover, part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. As the Cincinnati Bengals prepare to host the Las Vegas Raiders in week nine, we are going to cross over, Locked-on Bengals, Locked-on Raiders to take our first look at this week's week-nine matchup. I'm Jake Liskill from Locked-on Bengals along with your boy, Q, from Locked-on Raiders here to bring you the biggest stories and keys to victory for each team as they prepare for week nine. And as I mentioned, we're also going to have to talk about a Marvin Lewis Revenge Game storyline.

Starting point is 00:01:03 And crossover Thursday always brought to you by prize picks where you can download the app and use code. Locked on NFL, you will win $50 instantly when you play your first $5 in queue. This season not really going as either team probably hoped it would. And both teams with records that are well south of 500, perhaps not meeting expectations, probably not meeting expectations. But let's start with what's going on with that Raiders team. Give me the big picture, biggest story for this team as they go into week nine. Well, unfortunately for them, Antonio Pearson Company, they're still looking for their identity.

Starting point is 00:01:44 They don't have an identity of who they actually are. There's an identity and there's a theory of who they want to be, but the idea of who they actually are is not there right now. They want to be a team that's smash mouth, run the ball, strong defense, quarterback doesn't get in the way and just does enough to win games, right? I mean, that's what the theory was. That's what the idea was back in training camp and preseason. and for one reason or the other that hasn't come to fruition. And a lot of that has to do with the fact that they haven't been able to run the ball. They've really struggled to get the running game going.

Starting point is 00:02:17 They had Josh Jacobs a year ago. He's now in Green Bay as their free agent that they picked up. And now the Raiders are running with Zemir White and Alexander Madison. And really, as of late, it's been Alexander Madison and maybe Zemir White. So really, Alexander Madison, who signs with the Raiders from the Vikings as a free agent. And really, in my opinion, is the number two, a really good number two running back. has been elevated to number one because he understands the outside zone running scheme that the Raiders are trying to run and is a lot better at it than Samir White, who is more of just the power back, get downhill, you know, get behind your shoulder pads between the tackles and run through them with strength as opposed to having to be patient, find the hole, hit the hole and go.

Starting point is 00:02:59 Alexander Madison is a lot more comfortable doing that. And so they haven't been able to run the ball consistently. the offensive scheme and then the game plan, the play calling from Luke Getzzi has, you know, needed a lot to be desired. It wasn't really, and it hasn't been where it needs to be consistently. You know, they have spurts where it's good. Their scripted plays are really good.

Starting point is 00:03:18 But after those first 15, when you get off script, then all of a sudden it's a work in progress. And it's usually a tough road to host. So it's going to be, it's got to be that, like I said, the lack of identity, not really necessarily knowing who they are and still trying to discover it. And that's not where you want to be when you're heading into week nine. It's got to be tough when you're changing quarterbacks the way the Raiders have had quarterback questions and changes throughout the season when the personnel maybe just isn't what you needed to be to do different things at an NFL level.

Starting point is 00:03:50 Is it, I mean, I'm really excited to talk about Brock Bowers too, but is it as much an issue as not having an identity in a direction from a coaching perspective as it is? Maybe they just don't have the guys to do what they want to do. I mean, I think that there's a lot of that that goes into it. But, you know, the offensive line has been a work in progress. They've been a lot of guys been injured. So, you know, they've been having a mix match with different offense alignment. Their center, Andre James went down last week against Kansas City. And so they had to move their rookie Jackson Powers Johnson from left guard to center.

Starting point is 00:04:22 But he played center at Oregon. You know, he's a rookie. So he did that and he did that really well. So that was a pretty seamless transition. But it's just still so many different moving parts. So the offensive line hasn't been one unit. That's the one unit that you want to always be consistent, have the same five out there.

Starting point is 00:04:37 It hasn't. There's been a lot of different moving parts there. You know, and the running game, like I said, it just hasn't been there. So the coaching might not necessarily be coaching it up exactly where it needs to be, but the execution of what the coaches are coaching up hasn't been there either. So, you know, Antonio Pierce was asked on Monday if there was something that he could point the finger at that the Raiders do really well in his simple.

Starting point is 00:05:00 answer was no. So, you know, and then he went on to say that they're still looking for their identity. That's why I feel like that there's no doubt about it, that that's the biggest storyline going on with the Silver Black, again, heading into week nine to take on Cincinnati. Yeah, that's rough. A couple of players on that offense, so that I know Cincinnati Bengals fans and we on Lockdown Bengals were interested in the draft process in Jackson Powers Johnson and Brock Bowers, especially Brock Bowers, who will surely talk about when we get to some of the keys for this game, because I see it that way from the Bengals side of things, where that's the threat one on offense to me as I look at this game from a Bengals perspective.

Starting point is 00:05:37 But let's transition to talk about that Raiders defense a little bit. Max Crosby, obviously the household name, the spotlight player, the star. What else should we know about that Raiders defense this year? Well, it's funny. They don't have a lot of big names, right? I mean, Christian Wilkins was the big free agent pickup that they had from Miami that was supposed to make life super easier or a lot easier, I should say, for Max. and also Malcolm Coons and Tyree Wilson.

Starting point is 00:06:02 Well, Malcolm Coons goes down before the season starts. Christian Wilkins is currently on IR, so he's not going to be available, the big fellow in the middle. And Max is still Max, but he's been a little bit banged up. He got a high ankle sprain in week two against Baltimore. So he hasn't been 100 percent, but he's still going to give you the maximum effort. Outside of that, there's not really some big names. There's not some guys that I'm going to say like Trayvon Merrick,

Starting point is 00:06:22 and he's just going to pop off like, yeah, that's a great safety. I mean, he's good. He's playing at a high level and they played good as a unit, but there's no big fancy names. I will say one guy to pay attention to is second round cornerback, or second year quarterback, I should say, fourth round pick out of Maryland, Jacorian Bennett. He's been playing some really good ball this season.

Starting point is 00:06:42 I mean, really good. And he was the guy that his rookie year was thrown right into the mix, and he has speed to run with just about anyone, but just wasn't really quite understanding the game at the level that he needed to understand it. Then he got banged up, and it looked like he lost a little bit of his confidence. But I can tell you, Jay, going back to training camp, you saw something from Jacorian. You knew that, okay, this guy's got something, man.

Starting point is 00:07:03 He's looking like he's a really good corner. He's been the Raiders' best corner so far this year. And especially on third down, the money down, as he likes to call it, he's been stepping up and really had a lot of PbUs. He doesn't have any interceptions yet. He's still looking for his first career interception, but he's had a lot of PbUs, not allowing too many catches on him. He's been in the right place at the right time.

Starting point is 00:07:23 He's good at sticking his head in there and getting a tackle as well. Nate Hobbs plays that corner, that nickel spot, that slot and he's been a very physical from the point of attack he's been doing a really good job again it's not any big names but they do play really well as a unit even dealing with all the injuries that they have excited to see how those young corners match up with jemar chase and company maybe more jermain burton this week t higgins remains out of practice we'll talk about what's going on with the bengals coming up in just a minute but before we transition to the big stories around the bengals queue i got to ask marvin lewis what's he doing with the raiders has he been

Starting point is 00:07:58 asked about this revenge game is he pumped up. I mean, he hasn't been back to Cincinnati in the capacity of opposing coach with another NFL team because he went from the Bengals to Arizona State before he came back into his current role with the Raiders. So what's going on with Marvin? You know, it's funny is I don't think anybody, well, we haven't asked him. We haven't talked to him. He's the assistant head coach of the team.

Starting point is 00:08:18 But Antonio Pierce hasn't been asked about him. So that's something that I look forward to on Friday when we get to meet with AP. Ask him if, you know, Marvin Lewis has said anything about return to Cincinnati. Honestly, I hadn't even thought about it. it. I hadn't even thought about, you know, what he, you know, might be feeling about this game, because I'm still trying to, you know, see how much he's helping AP develop. Like, he's been added to this, you know, Raiders coaching staff. He was helping assist AP as the interim last season. Saw him around the press box quite a lot, became officially a member of the coaching staff in the

Starting point is 00:08:48 offseason. So I'm a lot at training camp, talked to him a lot. And he told us that his role was going to be, you know, add his contributions when needed. When someone comes to him, like, Antonio Pierce that says, hey, what do you think about this? He'll contribute there. I'll say this. I think that he probably needs to contribute a little bit more and maybe give some suggestions and not wait to be talked to, if that makes sense, right?

Starting point is 00:09:10 Just jump in there and say, hey, I think in this situation, the better decision would be called time out here. Or maybe go for it on fourth down here because this is how the defense is playing. I think he'll be in a better position. I think he probably needs to moving forward, give more suggestions. But as far as, you know, Cincinnati and everything,

Starting point is 00:09:27 maybe because it's been so long removed since he's been there. I don't think that anybody's really talked about that this week. Like I said, I'll ask on Friday, though, because now that you brought that up, so there you go. You just contributed to Antonio Pierce's press conference coming up at the end of the week. Fantastic. I mean, I know we're talking about it on the Bengal side of things. Marvin was a huge part of revitalizing the organization was with the team for almost two decades.

Starting point is 00:09:52 So obviously a big connection there. but interesting to hear that that hasn't come up yet. We'll be keeping an eye on that Friday presser to see what's said about Marvin's return to Cincinnati. Coming up next, speaking of Cincinnati, we will get into some of the big stories surrounding the Cincinnati Bengals as we continue this week's crossover. This crossover is sponsored by five-hour energy.

Starting point is 00:10:16 Our friends at five-hour energy know that being a passionate football fan, it's not just a hobby, it's a way of life, and it takes a lot of energy to power through all-day tailgates. touchdown celebrations, that really rough heart-pumping end-of-game or second overtime. And, well, since they know that that's difficult, they've created Stan the Fan, a new five-hour energy shot, the energy shot made for super fans just like you, whether it's getting ready to keep your voice going in the fourth quarter when you need to get loud at that home game, or you just need to get that extra energy for that pre-game to get going on.

Starting point is 00:10:54 a Sunday morning, five-hour energy has you covered. They know no matter what team you root for, being a fan requires heart, soul, and a whole lot of energy, whether you're prepping for the big tailgate or just ironing your jersey, your game day to-do list is a mile long, and that stand-the-fan, five-hour energy shot, is here to keep you fueled throughout the season. What's your fan-fueled this week?

Starting point is 00:11:15 Whatever it is, you can do it with a five-hour energy, available on five-hour energy.com shipped nationwide. And here we go. Back on this crossover edition, Week 9 action, the Cincinnati Bengals will be hosting the Las Vegas Raiders. The Raiders come in two and six. And what are the Bengals?

Starting point is 00:11:34 Four and four right now? Is that where they're at, Jake? Is that their own record? You would be feeling better if it was four and four. They're three and five. Things aren't going well. My bad. My bad.

Starting point is 00:11:44 I just know the Raiders are down bad. So they're down bad at two and six overall. But okay, Cincinnati, three and five. So yeah, both teams, neither one of them, are where they're at. But we talked all things, Raiders, storylines offensively and defensively earlier in the show. And Jake, now we want to jump into the Cincinnati Bengals.

Starting point is 00:12:01 And, you know, they were a team that came in with a lot of expectations. I know the AFC North is a tough division. We know it's going to be the most competitive and it's supposed to be the most competitive in the National Football League. But Cincinnati just has not gotten where they need to be. So what has been going on? What is the biggest storyline when it comes to the Bengals and their offensive side of things?

Starting point is 00:12:19 Yeah, the offense has mostly been good enough. but the last few weeks has been suffering a little bit, whether it's late-half or late-game meltdowns like we saw against the Eagles are just not doing enough against some of the tougher defenses in the NFL at times. They did really well for a few weeks there, and they lost all those games when they were averaging 30-plus points except for a win over the Carolina Panthers. And overall, when you look at the Bengals track record this year,

Starting point is 00:12:43 I saw something that had a tier list of NFL teams ordered by the number of wins that the opponents they've beaten have this year. The Cincinnati Bengals' opponents have won just a handful of games between zero and five. The Cincinnati Bengals' strength of victory this year near the bottom, if not the bottom of the NFL. So they're able to get up and beat the really bad teams in the NFL, and we'll see if the Raiders fall into that category, right, with the 2-and-6 record that they bring to Cincinnati, surely falling short of their expectations this year.

Starting point is 00:13:14 But against these better teams in the NFL, they're either not making a critical play or just not able to string anything together against the Eagles. They got a couple stops early, and then they missed a field goal and didn't stop the Eagles the rest of the way on their way to what looked like a route in a game that the Bengals honestly outplayed the Eagles for a lot of the first half.

Starting point is 00:13:33 It just wasn't enough. They couldn't sustain that throughout the game. They haven't won a game without T. Higgins this year, who looks like he is still on demand. Orlando Brown also didn't practice on Wednesday as he's dealing with a calf-slash-kne issue that he had to leave the game with again after he aggravated it last week.

Starting point is 00:13:50 So some injuries there to some key players in Orlando Brown, who's been by far their best offensive linemen and T. Higgins, who's a key cog for this offense. But despite all of that, I look at this matchup and think that the Bengals offense should be able to get back on track against the Las Vegas Rangers. But I also thought they would have opportunities in the last few weeks where they haven't necessarily taken advantage of those opportunities. A lot of that will come down to the health of Orlando Brown at left tackle.

Starting point is 00:14:17 But overall, the team just hasn't met expectations, despite getting an awesome year from Joe Burrow, an awesome year from Jemar Chase, and an awesome year from T. Higgins when he's been on the field. Everything else just hasn't been good enough. The pass protection is trending in the wrong direction, and they simply cannot run the ball at all anymore. They were able to do a little bit at the beginning of the year,

Starting point is 00:14:35 but against quality defenses, that just hasn't been there. And so when you talk about the Raiders looking for an identity, the Bengals are also looking for something, whether that's answers, the path forward, a path to improvement. they are searching. And when you're talking week nine and you're searching for a team that had championship expectations in the preseason, you know things have gone off the rails.

Starting point is 00:14:57 Well, what has been the explanation from head coach Zach Taylor when it comes to what's gone wrong? Again, the recipe is there. I mean, I know Joe Mixing is no longer there, but I can't imagine that he's the only reason why the run game's not going. Like, what's the reason why it seems like the ingredients aren't all working together as they have in years past? I mean, some of that's on Zach.

Starting point is 00:15:18 himself, he's acknowledged that the fourth down play call that was a turning point in that game against the Eagles last week to throw the ball behind the line of scrimmage, he acknowledged that that was just a bad play call. And he's right, it was just a bad play call. Even if you're playing to get the ball into the hands of your best playmaker, Jamar Chase, throwing the ball behind the line of scrimmage on fourth and short, which he's done before this year, it's just a bad idea. You have a quarterback who's able to find the path to deliver the ball downfield beyond

Starting point is 00:15:44 the sticks, and just too often this year we've seen them throw short of the six. But beyond that, Taylor also acknowledging that they're just not playing physical enough in the run game. And you can see that week after week where there are repeated instances of guys just getting tossed. And you can point to details here and there, but it's also just a physicality, strength, play strength kind of thing where they just need to play up to the level of the competition they're getting in the trenches and they're just getting bullied and they're too often in the run game. And when you're that one dimensional, even when you are Joe Burrow, it's tough to live that way. And it's tough to sustain that way. And we've seen that a little bit from them lately. You know, and I know that the Bengals are hosting the Raiders.

Starting point is 00:16:23 And so it's not going to, in the grand scheme of things, matter a whole lot in this game, but it does matter. I mentioned earlier in the show about the AFC North, how difficult it is. And obviously, Pittsburgh's doing really well. Baltimore is doing really well. How are our Bengals fans feeling right now about the season and how this thing feels like it could be slipping away? Or is the loss of the Raiders who is another AFC opponent? Would this make the season slip away? way if they don't get this victory on Sunday.

Starting point is 00:16:49 Absolutely. It's seen as a must-win game, but they've been in must-win mode since they started 1-3-0-3, and then they finally got a win. They are angry in the fan base, I think rightly so. There's a lot of, I guess, impetus for change, whether it's clamoring for the replacement of coaches, upset with the front office and some of the decisions made about which players the key, which players to draft. There's a lot of harsh feelings,

Starting point is 00:17:20 I think, and I think rightly so. The Bengals are far short of expectations from the front office down to the players executing. We've talked about it on lockdown Bengals. It's, to me, an organizational failure so far this year to be where they are, even though they had a past interference penalty that lost

Starting point is 00:17:36 them the games against the Chiefs in the final seconds, they had a missed field goal that should have won the game for them against the Baltimore Ravens, two of the best teams in the NFL by record and by most power rankings, they were this close, as I hold my fingers very close together, for those of you not watching on YouTube,

Starting point is 00:17:53 to winning both of those games, but they didn't. And when you don't make the plays, you're a team that doesn't make the plays. And when you're 3 and 5, then you're in the middle of the season, at some point you're what your record are, you're what your track record is,

Starting point is 00:18:04 and to me, that's what the Bengals are right now until they show that they're not. And no offense to the Raiders fans listening, I don't think there's much they could do this week outside of like a 56 to 3 victory that's going to make me feel much different. And I'm not expecting that to be clear. I'm just saying it would need to be a dominant performance for me to feel any differently than I have to this point, which is that they're deeply flawed team.

Starting point is 00:18:27 Well, with that being said, that's, you know, the offense and just the overall picture of the Bengals and where they are sitting there at three and five, as you mentioned. So what about the defense? Where are they at? You mentioned that play against Kansas City. And, you know, the thing I've been saying about the Raiders, are as they're not a very good team with a not a very good record as they're sitting there at two and six, sometimes those bad teams just find ways to make that bad play.

Starting point is 00:18:50 And that's what I felt like happened when Cincinnati played Kansas City and had that bad play at the end, that passed an interference penalty. It's just a bad play by a team that was playing, you know, bad ball. And that's just what happens. But defensively, what has been going on with the Bengals? Where are they sitting at right now? Yeah, you talk about bad teams, just making game losing plays. The Bengals have just had a little bit too much of that this year. It is both sides of the ball.

Starting point is 00:19:12 The offense hasn't been able to get the game-winning drive, that icing drive when they need it. But the defense, just honestly, we are really worried about the run-D earlier this season. It's been largely good enough. Maybe that's because they're selling out to deal with the run because they know that that's going to be an issue for them. But on the back end and in the pass rush,

Starting point is 00:19:31 it's just not been good enough. So every week I'm looking for is somebody going to step up and make a leap in the pass rush to help Trey Hendrickson out. Or if Trey Hendrickson has taken away, as the Eagles did with their backup left tackle, a former Bengal, Fred Johnson, last week, the pass rush just looks anemic, and Jalen Hertz is dealing with five-yard pockets,

Starting point is 00:19:51 and any quarterback is going to be able to deal in those situations, but beyond that, the secondary has had plenty of its own issues, not being able to make plays, being out of position, whether that's in man or in zone. So really, it's a wholesale, top-to-botton deal on the defensive side of the ball, where there are players playing well. B.J. Hill, a defensive tackle, Trey Hendrickson, a defensive end,

Starting point is 00:20:10 Logan Wilson and linebacker. Those guys are playing well. Mike Hilton continues to play well in the slot, but it's just not enough as a unit, and they're not getting those complimentary pieces to step up. And as a result, it just hasn't been very good on that side of the ball. And they could be a get-right game for some teams as this season goes on if things don't turn around, largely because you don't get after the passer?

Starting point is 00:20:31 Yeah. We're making things really easy. Any quarterback can play seven-on-seven football, even at the NFL level when we're talking NFL quarterbacks. Coming up next to you, let's get into some of the big matchups in this game as we wrap up this crossover Thursday coming up next. This episode, this crossover brought to you by Fandle. Get ready to tackle the NFL action with Fandul America's number one sportsbook. Right now they've got a new special offer for you.

Starting point is 00:20:59 New customers can bet $5 and get $150 in bonus bets if you win. The Fandul Sportsbook app gives you everything you need to place. bets on the NFL all in one place. So when you get a hunch in the middle of the game, you can check out the latest stats. You can see the live play by play and get tons more information on the same page you place your bets. You can check it out at fendool.com to join today.

Starting point is 00:21:24 And whether you're looking at that seven and a half point line in this game where the where the Raiders are visiting the Cincinnati Bengals or one of these teams straight up, maybe that 46.5 point over under, they've got it all for you. And you're going to get $150 in bonus bets. if you win your first $5 bet. You can again check it all out at fandul.com where you can never waste a hunch and make every moment more with Fandul,

Starting point is 00:21:49 official partner of the NFL. Listen up, renters, ever feel like you're stuck in this loop of rent payments? Just watching your money vanish in the thin air. Well, it's time to turn that rent game around and start earning some serious rewards. That's where Built Rewards comes in. Built is breaking ground as a neighborhood rewards program that hooks you up with points on your rent.

Starting point is 00:22:09 Every month, pay your rent and watch the built points roll in. Use points to jet off on a dream vacation. Put your points towards a flight or a hotel stay with 500 plus airlines and 700,000 plus hotels and properties. You could also use your points to book fitness studio classes, redeem them toward a future rent payment. They're designed to meet your lifestyle. Pay rent hassle free through the Built Rewards app.

Starting point is 00:22:32 Your rent game just got a major upgrade. Built points have been consistently ranked the highest value point currency by the points guy and bank rate. Right now, earn points by paying rent when you go to joinbilt.com slash locked on NFL. That's J-O-I-N-B-T dot com slash locked-on NFL. It's all one word. Make sure to use our URL so they know that we've sent you. Join built.com slash locked on NFL to start earning points with your rate rent payments

Starting point is 00:23:01 today. All right, Q. Let's talk about some of the specific matchups that need to go. one team's way for them to come out on top. When I look at the Raiders, I have mentioned the players that I'm aware of that I think are threats, Max Crosby, Brock Bowers. How does this game have to go for the Raiders to come out of Cincinnati with a win? Well, they've got to get some consistent offensive play calling and execution, right?

Starting point is 00:23:29 So Luke Gatsy, the offensive play caller has got to get pretty creative and get the playmakers, the ball. You mentioned Brock Bowers, but Jacob Myers is a really good playmaker as well. he's a guy that at one point in his career was the number one wide receiver that was back in New England. He's been a number two since he's been in Vegas because they had Devante Adams. Well, there's no Devante Adams.

Starting point is 00:23:47 So now he's basically the number one wide receiver, but the number two target, because Brock Bowers is definitely target number one. So those two guys definitely have to get involved. But Jake, they also have to get the run game going. And I know Cincinnati's been doing a better job with slowing down the run. Somehow, some way the Raiders have to run the ball.

Starting point is 00:24:05 I don't know how that's going to be. I don't know if they're going to have to, run from the on the outside. I don't know if they're going to get why receivers involved in jet sweeps and Brock Bowers involved. I don't know what they have to do, but they have to find some form of a run game.

Starting point is 00:24:18 They haven't really had it. They've had two games where they've gone over 100 yards. Once was against Cleveland where they went for, I believe, a buck 52 and then another one against the Rams where they went over 122. Both teams are not very good to stop in the run. So if they can find something to exploit in Cincinnati's defense, they have to do it.

Starting point is 00:24:34 But Alexander Madison, Samir White, combination of the two. maybe Amir Abdullah, you know, any of those guys that could run the rock have to do that. Brock Bowers is going to be able to get, you know, a good 10 to 12 targets. You might get eight or nine catches. That's fine. But he's not going to be able to do it all himself. Jacob Myers either.

Starting point is 00:24:51 They're not going to be able to do it all themselves. And Gardner Minshu is the quarterback is not going to be doing it all himself either. I will say this, don't be surprised if you see a package for Desmond Ritter. He's the quarterback that the Raiders just picked up off waivers, or not off waivers, but off the Arizona Cardinals practice squad. and Antonio Pierce told us on Wednesday that they are trying to put together some packages for him. They put him in the game last week against the Chiefs

Starting point is 00:25:13 and there was a false start so he came out and he never went back in. But they are trying to use his athleticism. So, you know, maybe that's a way that they could generate some of the run game. So if you see number 10, you see Desmond Ritter all of a sudden enter the game, who knows what's going to happen? He can't throw the ball, but most likely they'll use his athleticism.

Starting point is 00:25:30 But somehow, some way, they've got to get that run game going. So offensively, Bowers, Myers and the run game have to be very effective. And that's going to fall on Luke Getty to call a good game. But it's also going to fall on those offensive playmakers to execute a really good game as well. Potentially opportunities for the Raiders to get explosive in the passing game this week with Bowers, with Myers, if the Bengals can't get a pass rush home on the other side of things, just from the Bengals perspective, when the Raiders have the ball on offense, it's pass rush to me.

Starting point is 00:26:02 Can they get a pass rush this week? It's been maddeningly inconsistent. It's been poor far too often this year for the amount of money in draft picks of Bengals have spent on that defensive line, on that pass rush unit. They need to be willing to blitz if they're not getting home. They weren't willing to blitz against the Eagles last week. If that's something they need to go to more often this week, need to see that adaptability a little bit quicker from that defense.

Starting point is 00:26:27 And just need guys to win. It's pretty simple. I did have one follow-up question, though. Have you seen a Brock Bowers carry this? year yet because that was something that was fun to see when they went to it on occasion at Georgia. Yeah, no, I haven't seen it yet. Haven't seen it. See them lined up in the back field once, saw it a couple times in preseason, haven't seen it in the regular season yet. So I'm interested to see when that's going to get added to the mix because I know it could be

Starting point is 00:26:49 there. I know it can. But again, the play calling has been, you know, pretty erratic. And a lot of folks are calling for Lou Geesey's head. But I think that, like I said, a lot of it is Getsy has a lot of blame, but the players have some blame as well with the execution and the way that they go about, you know, their offensive gameplay is shooting themselves in a foot, right? Too many penalties, especially pre-snap penalties. Like I said, the false start with Ritter. Like, you get them in there to bring his athleticism to the game and then you get a false start. So you can't do that, right? And so that's just what bad teams do, as I mentioned. Bad teams find a way to do bad things. And so the Raiders have been doing that consistently. They've been

Starting point is 00:27:23 turning the ball over. They've got to play a clean game. That's something not been telling everyone every week. It's the same because they haven't been playing that clean. They turned a ball over one time last week. So it was better than what they had done the previous weeks, but still was a turnover. And they can't have that. And they can't have, like I said, dumb penalties, especially pre-snap penalties that's going to burn you every time. For a team that needs to play almost a perfect game, they can't have those penalties, can't have those turnovers, and they've got to get creative offensively. What else is it that Cincinnati needs to do or needs to stay away from doing, I should say, to find a way to win this game? Yeah. Well, just want to mention Desmond Ritter, another

Starting point is 00:27:59 Cincinnati college product. Cincinnati fans obviously very familiar here. He came from Cincinnati as well. Trade Tucker. Also, we've got a DJ Turner on offensive receiver and a DJ Turner on defensive corner. And I'm going to see some DJ Turner on DJ Turner crime in their game, potentially. We'll see if we get that matchup.

Starting point is 00:28:19 For the Bengals, he's playing mostly outside, it looks like the Raiders, DJ Turner mostly playing in the slot. So we may or may not see that one. But yeah, I mean, you're talking about a team that's been turnover prone, mistake prone in the Raiders. I'm looking for the defense to make plays, whether that's in the past rush, which, again, I'm desperately looking for every week from this team or for just somebody else to make plays on the football.

Starting point is 00:28:40 They've had a knack in the past in previous iterations of Bengals' defenses to make the big play when they need it. They haven't gotten that enough this year. But on the offensive side of the ball, can they win without T. Higgins if they can't get T. Higgins back this week if they're trying to make sure T's ready to go for the Thursday night game the Bengals have coming up after this. regular Sunday game where they have to go on the road to play Baltimore on a short week, and they are desperate to win that game to get back into the division, potentially get back to

Starting point is 00:29:07 500, trying to get closer to the top of what they see in the AFC North. Well, you've got to get through a game without D. Higgins. And to do that, you're going to need to be able to block well. You're going to need to be able to handle Max Crosby. That's going to be largely Amarius Mims, the rookie first round pick on the right side, dealing with Crosby coming off the defense's left. And can they get more Jermaine Burton action in there this week and get a way, find a way to get him the ball because for a third round pick with tremendous talent and had some character issues,

Starting point is 00:29:36 as in the words of his own mentor, T.J. Hushman Zada had his own issues and it's been his own fault a little bit that he hasn't gotten on the field. At the same time, to me, it's on this coaching staff to also get everybody ready to play better. And when you have a playmaker with the ability that Burton has shown in terms of the cutting ability, the route running understanding, If he can understand the playbook well enough to just do what he needs to do on a play-to-play basis, the Bengals can unlock something there, even without T. Higgins. So while certainly the focus should be on Jamar Chase and Joe Burrow in this game, I expect those guys to continue to play well. The complimentary pieces, Andre Yosevash, who hasn't done enough in the role he's had this year's

Starting point is 00:30:13 wide receiver of three, the Tyler Boyd-era parent, the running game in general, which has really been hampered by poor run blocking, Mike Kisicki, Jermaine Burton, these other pieces will need to emerge. And they'll need to find something consistent there to go along with Jemar Chase and when he gets back to Higgins. So talking about playmaking on defense if the opportunities are theirs. You're talking about the Raiders, giving teams those opportunities this year. And on offense, consistency is really it because Joe Burroughs playing at a really high level this year.

Starting point is 00:30:44 Everything around him outside of Jamar Chase, I would say, has largely been too much of a letdown too often. and it's not everything, obviously. I'm hyperboizing a little bit there, but it's been a disappointing season to watch when they're getting that level of play from Burrow. And that was a question in the preseason that has largely been answered in the affirmative as to Joe Burrow continuing to play at a high level.

Starting point is 00:31:05 There you go. There you go. Sounds like a good breakdown. Sounds like it should be an interesting game to see what team can do what they have to do, right, to get out of their own way. And obviously the Raiders are going to have to try to slow down Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase. That's going to be that one-two punch.

Starting point is 00:31:19 I'm interested to see. There's a really good matchup to look for. And I mentioned Jacori and Bennett earlier. How often is Jacorian Bennett going to be matched up with Jamar Chase? That's good on good right there, right? I mean, and Shamar is fantastic. One of the best wide receivers in the league. There's no doubt about that.

Starting point is 00:31:32 Obviously, Burrell can get them the ball early and often. Want to see how much they get, you know, tagged up and teamed up against each other, right? One-on-one. And see how the Raiders also defend that. What's the safety play look like? I'm sure there's going to be a lot of attention on Mr. Chase because, well, there should be. but Jacorian Bennett's been holding his own. So that's one of those matchups that I'm definitely paying attention to.

Starting point is 00:31:52 Always is. Clouded Jamar. It's always cloudy when you're playing receiver. Right. Your Jamar Chase. That's going to do it for this crossover. Appreciate the insight from Lockdown Raiders and Lockdown Bengals coming together here on crossover Thursday on the Lockdown Podcast Network.

Starting point is 00:32:08 We'll have more for you this week before the game on Lockdown Raiders and Lockdown Bengals. So make sure you tune in on YouTube or wherever you get your podcast. and thanks for listening to this crossover Thursday on the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day.

Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - Cincinnati Bengals-Las Vegas Raiders Week 9 First Look: Marvin Lewis Revenge Game?!

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.