Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - Cincinnati Bengals should be ACTIVE at NFL Trade Deadline

Episode Date: November 3, 2025

The Cincinnati Bengals are in a bad place, and the trade deadline is here. The Brown-Blackburn family, Duke Tobin, and the front office need to be really honest with themselves about their future, and figure out which pieces aren't part of their plans that they can trade for draft capital. Jake Liscow and James Rapien break down why the Bengals need to make decisive moves, and how the coaching staff fits into the conversation over the bye week.Join the Locked On Bengals Insider Community! https://joinsubtext.com/lockedonbengalsFind and follow Locked On Bengals on your favorite podcast platforms:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-bengals-daily-podcast-on-the-cincinnati-bengals/id1159723162Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7AObc0lh0WmQl5fJVgtajsGoogle Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vbG9ja2Vkb25iZW5nYWxz?sa=X&ved=0CAYQrrcFahcKEwio_sXtj8nuAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAgStitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-on-bengalsSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!BILTTurn your rent into rewards and start earning points around your neighborhood by going to https://joinbilt.com/lockedonnfl.Supply HouseJoin the free TradeMaster program today and score serious perks like priority shipping, lower prices, and a dedicated support line. Visit https://SupplyHouse.com to sign up for free and use promo code SHNFL5 for 5% off your first order.PelotonLet yourself run, lift, flex, and push forward. Explore the new Peloton Cross Training Tread+ today at https://www.onepeloton.com.PrizePicksDownload the PrizePicks app today and use code LOCKEDONNFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup.Click Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFLGametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelRight now, new customers can bet just FIVE dollars and if your bet wins—you’ll get THREE HUNDRED dollars in bonus bets to use across the app.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It's time for the Cincinnati Bengals to be really, really honest with themselves at this crucial part of the season. Their bye week, the trade deadline. Let's break it down. You are locked on Bengals, your daily Cincinnati Bengals podcast. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. Well, on Bengals fans, and welcome to another episode of the Lockdown Bengals podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. He's James Rapine. I'm Jake Lusco. We've been covering your Cincinnati Bengals here on Lockdown Bengals between the two of us since 2016. Your most consistent one-stop shop on the internet or wherever you get your Bengals content for everything going on the Cincinnati Bengals news analysis, film breakdowns, post-game reactions.

We've got it all here all year round on Lockdown Bengals. Every dayers already know it. And if you make us part of your routine, you make us your first listen. We appreciate all of you out there. there with those great listening habits. And, well, we've got some big topics to get into today, James Rupin, the trade deadline right around the corner. The Cincinnati Bengals in a position to really evaluate who is part of their future, be honest about who they are this year, and make choices accordingly. That's where we start today in an episode brought to you by

Fandul, where new customers can bet just $5. And if that bet wins, you'll get $300 in bonus best to use across the app. But James, like I said, starting with trade deadline discussions. And to me, any discussion around the trade deadline for the Cincinnati Bengals means they need to be honest about who they are this year with themselves and understand where they're at. They need to have a clear plan about what players on this team are part of their future. They need to have a good idea of how to execute that plan, even if that means starting it this year. And if they have offers for guys who aren't part of that plan, or can generate trade interests in guys who aren't part of that plan,

they should move them and start loading up because they need a major reload on the defensive side of the ball. Yep. There's a lot of starters that should be traded. You ready? I'm going to go down the list. I'm going to go down the list of literally should be traded, and I'm serious about this.

Not all will listen or, no, they should be traded. Obviously, it starts with Trey Hendrickson. We can dive into him more in just a second because that's where the bulk of our conversation, I think, would start because he has the most value. Joseph Osai, I would trade. B.J. Hill, I would trade. Cam Taylor Britt, I would certainly trade.

Logan Wilson, not a starter, would trade. Gino Stone, can you get something for him? I would trade. Jordan Battle, I don't think anyone would be mad if you traded him. I'm not sure what he would have, but what value he would have. But there's a theme there, and it's all right, well, big contracts, Logan Wilson, B.J. Hill, bye-bye. Expiring contracts. Joseph Osai, Gino Stone, bye-bye.

Jordan Battle, is he part of the solution? and doesn't feel like it if you could get something considered bye-bye. And then obviously it's the Trey Hendrickson one. And that's the really the big one. A lot of those names I just mentioned you're not getting a ton for. It doesn't mean you're not getting something for them. You're not getting a ton. And they're not going to move all of those guys.

But the Trey Hendrickson thing has lingered and lingered. Like we're talking about eight plus months now, going back to the Combine, nine months, of uncertainty, of trade request, of permission for trade request, and now he's dealing with a hip issue. I'm sure he'll be healthy enough to play when the Bengals get back from their buy,

but you're 3 and 6. He's going to be 3 and 31 years old. Is he part of your long-term future? And if the Bengals have any hesitation about using the franchise tag, have any hesitation about signing him to a long-term deal, have any hesitation about making Trey Hendricks and part of their long-term future,

well then the answer is pretty clear the writing's on the wall because i think you could get a day two pick probably a round two pick maybe and a player maybe in a round two and a late pick as well like i it's not insane to think you could get multiple picks for trey hendricks in and the other thing that i found myself when i was thinking about this found myself wondering about is when the bengals get back to the super bowl and i know people are going to hear that and say oh well You're ridiculous, James. They're never going to give. And I get it.

But when they get back to the Super Bowl, Jake, do you envision Trey Hendrickson out there with the Super Bowl logo that patch? Do you think you'll see that again? If you do sign him on term, if you do bring him back, like, is that realistic? And if the answer is no, then you might as well get what you can for him now. And I think that's the most realistic thing is that you trade him, you maximize what you can get for him and you move on. Yeah, I think the complicating part with Trey is the franchise tag. And we talked about this when he signed the adjusted deal. The fact that he allowed that void year and his agent allowed that void year

mean that the franchise tag for Trey Hendrickson is an affordable, is an affordable, sorry, number also avoidable if they had signed him to a long-term deal, but an affordable number for the Cincinnati Bengals next year, the cap hit is roughly the same as otherwise would be because of that void year, but from a cash outlay, it's the same. It's the same as a basic franchise tag. It's cheaper than it had to be. If they hadn't agreed to the void year,

that that franchise tag would be an untenable idea for the Bengals. So maybe it is anyway, but it would be an financially untenable number for the Bengals to think about. The fact that that option exists does muddy the waters a little bit, amid reports from Diana Rusini, who is the only one really reporting. about what the Bengals are asking for as of the time of us recording this episode, James, saying that the Bengals are still looking for a first round pick in return for Trey Hendrickson.

And I get it because you look at the Micah Parsons return. You look at the asking price for the top end ed rushers in the NFL. And that's what the Bengals are saying that Trey is from a trade market perspective. I get why they would ask that. But in season, expiring deal, the team would have to give up a lot of money. It's a lot of the same reasons that they didn't get that offer in the offseason. and now you're in season. You're hoping for a desperate team

that really wants that pass rush help to make you an offer. Jalen Phillips was just traded for a third round pick and Trey is better than Jalen Phillips, but he's also older and more expensive. And so those are factors that the bank I have to contend with. But the biggest complication here,

me, is that franchise tag option in their back pocket. If they are considering that and they're like, ah, you might want to franchise them, then that really probably clouds, their analysis of is Trey Hendricks and part of our future or not? Well, if they want to franchise them and that's something they consider, then they might as well just talk to them now and negotiate an extension. Yeah, you know.

And that's why I said at the beginning when I was talking about execute your plan, even if it starts now, that's exactly what I meant. I mean, you could sign him tomorrow to an extension. So like if that's it, then do it and cross that box off. you and I both know that's not it. That's not going to happen. There's zero chance he signs an extension this week, right? I mean, that's not even a bridge that they're even close to.

And that's why, again, I try to put the Super Bowl element in perspective. You're trying to get back to the Super Bowl. How do you get back to the Super Bowl? And if you do get back there, is it realistic to think that 91 is going to have Hendrickson on the back of his jersey and have that Super Bowl patch? I just don't think it is. I really don't. I mean, maybe the past couple. weeks where they give up 87 points and two games. Maybe that's it. Maybe that's what's

86 points. That's what's clouding my mind. But maybe not. Maybe this is just who they are. And the defense needs a complete revamp. And plus, you get those assets. And I get it. There are people that are going to be like, man, they're going to waste those assets anyway. That's fine. I have a whole other wrinkle trade deadline wise that I want to get to coming up in a bit after we discuss the roster here. But you can't just hold on to hold. on and if you can get value for tray, if you could get a two and a five for tray, which I don't think is out of the question. Let's say you get a late two, a playoff team sends you a two and then a fifth round. Can you really say no to that? I would have a hard time saying no to that,

given where they are, given where he is, given where the contract extension would have to be with guarantees and everything that he would want. You already know that. You've been down this pipe. Even with the tag and everything, I'm good, man. I'm good. If you can get like a two and a five, two and a six, two and a player, whatever. Now, it would take a two. I'm not giving them away. Two gets in the door here. I know they're saying one, fine with the

negotiating part. But by Tuesday at two, or at Tuesday at 4 p.m., a two plus would get it done for me. Yeah, I think I'm probably on the same page as you, if that's the decision. I think that like, there's still an argument to keep them as part of your long-term plan. And we're not really discussing that here because I don't think either of us really buy that that's the Bengals vision here. The way they treated him this offseason, the way this has

been going on for years, that the saga back and forth, you mentioned training camp. It goes back longer than that. It goes back years. It goes back to that first sweetener and one-year extension and then last year's trade requests and this year's trade request and the trade request permission granted this year. It's been going on for a long time now, which really makes you doubt that Trey Hendrickson is part of that long-term plan, which is why you come around to, okay, trade the most valuable piece you have, get as many assets as you can. And if your point goes to Duke Tobin and how you're going to spend those assets, well, then there is a bigger conversation there.

And then you're talking about ownership stepping in and facilitating the trade and deciding later whether Duke Tobin is going to be the guy to use those assets or not. Again, a bigger conversation. But all of these questions about the Cincinnati Bengals and where they're at do go to the top. We'll continue, like you said, James, Morty. get to here on the trade deadline in terms of other players that could be traded in terms of your ideas for what the Bengals could do coming up next. Nobody likes paying rent, but if you must, you might as well get something for it.

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Whether you're grabbing food at your favorite local restaurant, heading to the gym, you can earn rewards with Built. It's that simple, and your rent is finally going to work for you. Turn your rent into rewards and start earning points around your neighborhood. All you have to do is go to joinbilt.com slash lockdown NFL. that's join built.com slash locked on NFL, J-O-I-N-B-L-T dot com slash locked-on NFL. Make sure to use that link so they know we sent you. It's so interesting, Jake, that we're in this spot and I look at it, and I'm thinking like long-term plan. And I think the way you framed it is important because the plan on defense is so big right now.

Like you've got to have a vision because they need so much. that if you're going to turn this defense around, if you're going to fix it, and I asked Zach Taylor, hey, can't it be fixed? We're going to try. Didn't say for sure, yes. He said abs and then he stopped himself

because he knew, I think. And I did, I exchanged some texts from coaches in other NFL personnel Sunday night, early Monday morning, just about the talent level. And I'm just like, all right, well, just to make sure, one, I'm ripping them for tackling,

and all those things and just all of it, just to kind of confirm and bounce ideas off of them. And I mean, the talent level, shocker, is lacking. NFL circles feel the same way that we do, that fans do, that everybody does. And so if you're the Bengals, not only should you be willing to move some of these guys that clearly aren't in your long-term plans. And Logan Wilson, not. Joseph O'Side, not. I mean, I think it's pretty unlikely that he resigns here.

It doesn't really make sense. B.J. Hill, you could argue, I guess he is, but it's a bad. contract, so why not just move it? And so plenty of guys like that. But if you can find a building block, if you can find the next DJ reader, the next insert whoever that costs a significant piece, maybe you flip tray and use that second round pick for it, whatever the case is, if you can find a building block that can help you, help transform what you're doing or help you get closer to that vision. and carry out that plan at the deadbine, I would totally be willing to do it. I know how uneasy that makes people feel, but if you can get a guy that's under contract

next year and beyond and you're trading, I don't know, a mid-round pick in Joseph Osai, I'm just throwing out an idea here. Well, I would totally be willing to do it, right? And some of those guys could be available. And that's the other conversation here. I don't think the Bengals should just be sellers. I think if they could find the right fit that's part of their future plans or could be part of their future plans, or could be part of their future plans and their foundation,

they should absolutely pursue that guy. Almost never happens in the NFL, right? Like, I don't disagree with you. Across the NFL, and we're asking the Bengals to do something that's bleeding edge, no doubt. Almost never happens when you're a bad team. Neither does 52 miss tackles in a game and we've seen that. You know, like, I just, they have to.

They should at least. Well, one of them is not them willing it to happen. One of them is just the incompetence, right? So, like, if you're talking about a long-term piece, say, for example, Quinn and Williams, like, that's actually going to cost a fair price. That might cost you a first-round pick. Maybe it's the second, and maybe there's some other change you can throw in to get there without a first-round pick. We just saw Jaylen Phil's. Who's a solid player?

Probably not as good as, like, the, you know, Jeffrey Simmons's ideas or the Quinn and Williams ideas, you know, the stud interior defensive lineman that you can build a defense around. That's going to cost a lot. I'm not opposed to it because you need those pieces and the Bengals clearly haven't been able to find them on rookie contracts outside of maybe DJ Turner. That's the one piece on a rookie contract. You're really hoping you can build around on this defense right now. But given the, and I don't disagree.

Like I said, I don't disagree that they should be exploring those options. But given the unlikelyhood, it's just like I just get, keep coming back to what assets can they pile up? And then deciding later probably like, is this the regime that we want to spend those assets given the way those assets have been spent recently? But there are some players that very clearly should be traded. If anyone is interested in Logan Wilson, you move them. If anyone is interested in Camp Taylor Britt, you move them. There's interest in both of those guys. Exactly. And given that Ray Hendrickson, we don't think as part of the Bengals long-term plans, we think that that should be one of the obvious moves as well. When you go

down the list and you start talking about BJ Hill. If you can get someone to take that contract, is he part of your long term plan? I think he's a fine player. This isn't anything against BJ Hill. It's just like you need so much on that side of the ball. What pieces are you keeping? And we keep coming back to

a few of those rookie contracts, DJ Turner, Dax Hill, and then so much needs to be rebuilt around those guys. So why not? If there's anybody interested in Miles Murphy before his rookie deal expires. Why not?

Right? There's some guys that you would like to see develop. You need to be able to field a team, but why not is my question for most of the guys on this defense. DJ Turner should get an extension. So I don't think I'm trading him. But beyond that, Dax Hill probably should get an extension. Don't think I'm trading him.

Beyond that, I don't know if there's anyone on this defense that I'm not trade. Miles Murphy, is this too rich for you? Miles Murphy and a two for Kavon, Tibino. I would do Miles Murphy in a three. I think that's a no-brainer. A two is a high two from the Bengals. Like you've got to think of it that way. Yeah.

I would have to look at what Kavon Tivodeo's doing lately. I don't know if he's like the game-changing long-term piece I want to build around. Agreed. So what I would say is for Kvon-Tibito, it would be like Miles Murphy and a three I would do. For Quinn and Williams, if you have a two for Trey, I would offer Trey's two and there two for Quina Williams, like without, because there are two could be 37th. Like, it could be pretty high. It could be in the 30s when it's all said and done, depending on how it goes. Those are the ideas, though, like it's so bad. And the reason I mention it, because the Bengals aren't going to do it,

let's be real. We'd be stunned. The reason I mention it, they need those kind of like, oh my God, they signed DJ. Like you and Joe were doing the show and they signed DJ Reader. How freaking, oh my God, they signed DJ Reader were you guys? Like you were. And it's shocking in the moment. Like, what the hell they sign? Like, they need that. They need that jolt. Obviously, they need to get it right. But like, whatever that is, and I'm not saying go get DJ reader.

That doesn't make sense. But the Lions wouldn't deal. But go find that next version of that. That gives you that jolt. That gives you that excitement. That makes us through the emergency show. They need that if they can, which means, you know, if that guy's available. And so it might not be someone that we're discussing.

It might not. It might be someone completely off the radar. Fine. It's their job to find that guy. And that's why I pointed out. Yeah. The difference, obviously, being that, like, again, these trades almost never happen in the NFL. It's hard.

It is hard. The job is hard. The position they're in is hard to recover from. But the reality to us, based on what our understanding of the Cincinnati Bengals are this season, what we think their plans are for these guys in terms of their long-term future, again, I think muddied a bit by that franchise tag possibility for Trey Hendrickson is there's a lot of guys on this defense that the Bengals should be actively taking calls for and actively trying to recoup as many draft picks as possible for.

I mean, there are a bunch of stats coming out on Monday, James, Monday morning before we started recording this episode, about how this defense is historically bad by D.E. EVOA, one of the worst defenses ever, by points allowed, one of the worst defenses ever. I ran through a bunch of stats yesterday, a bunch of categories in which they're the worst or second worst or third worst or fourth worst in the last 25 years. And unsurprisingly, with the way offense is going, that means they're also the worst in the Super Bowl era in a lot of those numbers or near worst in the Super Bowl era in a lot of those numbers. And I know Jay Morrison wrote about it over at banglesock.com as well because it's not hyperbole to say that. A lot of times it is when you're watching a game and you're feeling, man, I've never seen anything like this.

A lot of times it is hyperbole. A lot of times it is victim of the moment. And statistically, that is really not what it is for the Cincinnati Bengals right now, considering what they're doing on the offensive side of the ball, especially with Joe Flacco. It's just beyond disappointing. And as a result, I think that's why we're talking about long-term plans, dumping assets, really considering the future of the front office. really the onus is on ownership to do these things, right?

Because you have to have those hard conversations about Duke Tobin. And maybe they're not even considering them, in which case, that's its own problem. But that's where we're out with the trade deadline. And then there's questions about the coaching staff. And as of the time of recording, it doesn't appear that the Bengals are making any bi-week moves on the coaching staff. Maybe that changes by the time you listen to this.

If it does, we'll have another episode up. But what's to do about the coaching staff at the by week? That's next. Today's show is brought to you by Fandall. Fandall is America's number one sports book. And the NBA is back. And there's no better place to get in on the action than Fandall. It's the official sports betting partner of the NBA.

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Head to fandle.com right now, and new customers get $300 in bonus bets when your first $5 bet wins. Sign up and play your game with Fandle, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. What do you do about this coaching staff, James? You've got an offense that since Joe Flacco took over a quarterback for Jake Browning, leads the NFL in EPA per play. Joe Flacko on a career heater here playing through the AC joint. You've got your three defensive rookies really struggling despite being asked to play a lot. Like I said, the defense, an unmitigated disaster.

But Zach, an offensive head coach, is the head coach. what are you thinking about their direction at the bi-week here? We started to talk about it a little bit yesterday. Yeah, I would make it clear that I would tell everyone that, hey, C-Tat, I just, when examining, hey, am I going to fire this guy, right? Like, am I going to fire Zach Taylor? And you start with the head coach and you answer that question. Does it make the Bengals better?

Are you just doing it to do it? And as of now, I just think it would do it to do it. I don't think it would necessarily make them better. I think it would make the offense worse. Defense can't really get worse. Fine. So there's one. Al Golden, well, we think the talent's bad, right?

Like we just talked about it. Like, you've got to revamp, got to do all these things. I get it. They stink. They're awful. All right. So firing Al Golden, how does it make them better? Who do you go to?

And right now, I just don't know if there's an answer here. I mentioned the text messages I sent. And part of it was to weigh that, like get people across the league, their opinion that isn't in this building. And one person told me like, yeah, I think Al Golden's a good coach. I thought Lou was a good coach. So what's the issue? And the issue is obviously, like it goes to the talent part of it.

So what I would say is don't, why make heads roll? Like if they keep playing like this, Zach and Al, they're all gone anyway. They're all gone. And they should be. Like if they keep playing this way and they keep sucking and they're losing, like, it's just, because you're going to have to reset anyway. But look in the mirror, don't act with emotion, look in the mirror and figure out the plan. And I think that's such a huge part of it is what is this ownership going to do to fix this issue?

Because that's where it starts. Like, it starts there, and then it goes down to Duke, and then it goes down. And by the way, there are a lot of people that ask, oh, well, why doesn't Duke talk? Why don't you ask this? why don't you ask that? By the way, the media has requested Duke. Like, I'm at Paycorr right now. Duke is not going to talk this week. Like, we've tried. We would love to talk to Duke. Shocker. But we would love to talk to ownership too, right? We already know the answer there. And so it's tough because Zach is answering all these questions. And a lot of these are Duke questions. But when it comes to talent and trades and stuff, but Zach has to answer them. And so, yeah, we'll, we'll, we'll, we'll,

see, I, I'm totally fine. It's going to offend people. I'm totally fine with them not firing anyone right now. I, because I just, I think we had the answer, not that it isn't coaching, but I think there's so many layers to it. And if firing a coach, if you're just firing a coach to fire a coach, was that going to make Jordan battle tackle better? Is that going to change the locker room mindset? Is that going to, and if the answer is no, then I'm not sure why you do that now. But maybe you have a conversation and make sure that the coaches are going to make changes, tweak stuff,

whatever. Or maybe you just do fire. You know, I get it. People want to just fire, fire, fire, fire. Al Golden was considered the best defensive coordinator in the country,

like eight months ago, nine months ago. Like, he didn't just forget. Louana Rumo didn't just forget either. And we knew that when they fired him. We thought maybe there's, there's time for a change.

Five. But that's it. By the way, I'm sitting in the room where Zet, I know I'm going on a rant here. I'm sitting in a room where Zach Taylor is going to talk like 20 feet away from me. And what is it? It's in two and a half hours.

Right after Zach's done, guess who's going to talk to us? Al Golden's going to talk to us. These coaches do face the music. They do have to answer the tough questions. It's going to be probably uncomfortable in both of those press conferences. I don't always come down here on Monday. I'm here on Monday. And so I think we know what we're looking at here.

And so is it going to be the most comfortable conversations in the world? know, but I also don't know if it makes the Bengals organization or team better by making a move with Zach or Al specifically, because I think those are the two everyone's thinking about. Don't know if it makes them worse, long term or short term. That's the other side of it. And I get it. If it doesn't make them better, why do it? If there's no upside to it, I just, I don't know if there's a significant downside to it on defense either. We're talking about one guy, two guys on this defensive roster that you're interested. and building around right now

and a bunch of rusted guys are like how we'll see we'll see if there's any development from these rookies that's it so like what's the downside that's the other question here sure and the other thing would be who was stopping on the table for

Demetrius night and taking the risky like the riskiest linebacker prospect on day two combined with and I'd have to look to confirm that but probably combined with one of the riskiest day one prospect like was that Duke was that the defensive staff? Like who, that's what's so tough.

By the way, if Al Golden's like, yeah, I need Demetrius Knight, well, I would have told him, shut the hell up. No, you don't on draft day, let alone now when it obviously hasn't worked out. Anyway, keep going. I just, ugh. Yeah, and that does make it tough, for sure. The lack of clear, clear bright line between front office and coaching staff in Cincinnati and the blame games that happened there, we played the blame game a couple of times now.

it inevitably goes to the top, but the coaches are involved. It's just really hard to look at a team that, like I said, in the last four weeks, is leading the league in EPA, is near the top of the league in EPA or in success rate on offense, is running the ball really well or throwing the ball real well, depending on the game. Last week it was throwing the ball really well. It has the worst defense by many numbers in the last, like, 70 years. That's maybe too many years, 50 years.

25 years certainly 50 years and some other numbers and say yeah you know everything's fine we should just roll with this for the rest of the year we shouldn't make any changes obviously when you get through the offseason

there will be changes unless there's a huge sea level change but there's no reason to believe that sea level change is coming right we'll talk about a dead cat bounce at some point there a couple games at the end of the schedule that looks soft hate it And you can't get pulled by that?

I hate that we keep hearing Jake Liscoe say those words. It's nothing against you. I just hate it. It's two years in a row now. It's not like I like to say it, but the beggars have made these mistakes in their history. And so we talk about it. Stupid cat, bouncing. They are a cat team.

So we're at a point where they should be making trades to build for the future. They need to consider who's using those picks in the future. They can fire a coach, not fire a coach. Does it make a difference? I think that is a real question. does it make a difference for? I think that is a real question, but given that you're expecting to talk to Al Goldin shortly after we record this episode, probably not a coaching change coming, and they're going to live with that. And we're going to talk about what it means for this coaching

staff, that they do maintain their jobs through the byweek, if that indeed is what comes to pass. That is what it seems like here midday Monday. We're going to talk about their activity or inactivity at the trade deadline, what that means about what their plan is, or the their ability to execute a plan that is considering the future, is considering how do we dig ourselves out of this hole and put a team around Joe Burrow that isn't embarrassing half the time it's on the field. That's the task now for the Cincinnati Bengals for the second straight year. Can they do more than sign a single nose tackle to try to fix their defense?

Well, we'll see, but that starts this week. That starts with the trade deadline. And I know a lot of people out there thinking the trade deadline is so overhyped. The Bengals never do anything. The NFL never does anything. It's a pretty clear-cut approach to me for the Bengals this year that starts with them really understanding their position. Do something. Do something. There's no one in the league that doesn't think you should do something. And I'm not even talking about teams that want your guys. It's just so obvious. So do something. That I agree with. Two, I will post, my goal is to post Al Golden won't be on camera. It's going to be

audio. My goal is to post on socials. The audio, I know people want to hear from them. Obviously, Zach Taylor will talk. If he says anything interesting, I'll post that on social as well. Because, let's be honest here, Jake. People want to hear, people want to know, they want accountability, they want all of those things.

And I get it. What a frustrating time. I mean, this score 80 points in two home games against teams that you could have should or would have beat. And if you do, you're five. It's just, it changes everything. And now we're talking about a team and an organization searching. And you're right, they got to, they got to make some moves. If we, if we're back, if our next show isn't

because of breaking news and we're back after the deadline with they haven't done anything, then they've failed. Just setting expectations now. Then they failed because they should have done something, even if it's selling, that is something that we should be discussing here on this podcast. they should be doing several things like even if it's just if it's just a Logan Wilson trade first I'll probably be disappointed if that's all that happens it should be Trey Logan

Trey Logan and Camp because like there are teams that want Logan and want Cam like I know obviously Trem minimum is probably Cam and Logan bare minimum yeah because they do last thing they do

as weird as it was with McKinley and everyone wondered about the Mike Pennell situation. Part of the reason why, and I can't share a ton of that, but part of the reason why they moved on for Mike Pennell, they did want to get McKinley on the field. So say it for what it was. Someone did maybe because it wasn't last week where it was Jordan Jefferson ahead of McKinley Jackson the entire game. And they're battling. And clearly they're battling for whatever, but obviously McKinley was active. We will have your trade deadline reactions. We'll have trade analysis. If a trade happens, we will get through this buy week together.

Eventually, we will get back to the film against the Bears at some point during this buy week as well. Until next time, thanks for listening to this episode of the Lockdown Bengals podcast. And have a good book.