Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - The Cincinnati Bengals continue to find brutal ways to lose football games, drop to 1-4

Starting point is 00:00:00 collapse, it's inexcusable. They're one and four. They should not be there. 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.

Starting point is 00:00:24 What's going on, Bengals fans? And welcome to another episode of the Locked on Bengals podcast. I'm your host, Jake Liskow. He's your host, James Serpene. This is a Lockdown Bengals podcast on the Lockdown Podcasts that we're covering your team every day even after embarrassing brutal losses like this one, which we will break down

Starting point is 00:00:44 and talk about what needs to change for this team as they're now one and four. We're on YouTube or everywhere you get your podcast if you're interested in staying up to date, as you should be on all things Bengals, your team, you can find us on those spots and shout out to the everydayers and all of you who make us your first listen

Starting point is 00:01:00 for checking us out today after a tough game. LinkedIn Jobs is the sponsor of this episode. helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to you faster. You can post your job for free at LinkedIn.com slash lockdown NFL terms and conditions apply. And James, the Bengals at 1 and 4 had the second worst scoring defense in the NFL, the fourth best scoring offense in the NFL. And that's with a low scoring game in week one to keep those numbers both in check a little bit.

Starting point is 00:01:26 Really bad stuff in this game. Yeah. And they're also ranked 32nd in being able to make plays with the game on the line. they've lost four games by a total of 15 points it's just brutal all one possession losses you know you're five point monday nider your three points today six points the week one i mean one point in kansas city like just brutal brutal brutal um and so yeah i i think about i think about this team in there was so much good today jake and part of it is because i have to rate the story and have the story ready to go as the game ends. I had like three different

Starting point is 00:02:07 versions of the Bengals win. At 3828, 28 was my first one. And that's not jinxing it. That's what I do every single game, whether they're up or down. Then I had 3835 and 41 38. Then you have it the other way, 44, 38 Ravens. And then they get another chance. And that's the struggle here is, I think about the game and everything, all of the good that happened on offense, all of the bad that happened on defense. And then the defense does what it didn't do two weeks ago against the commanders. And they do get, they hold to a field goal and then they get a stop in overtime. I wasn't expecting that. I didn't think that was going to happen. And that's when the game should have been over. And it wasn't. And I think the story, the biggest story is two things.

Starting point is 00:02:53 One, you have a rookie holder that finally looked like a rookie holder. And that's the nightmare scenario of when that happened. We can discuss that. But, everybody is frustrated with the three straight runs and overtime following the germane prep fumble recovery what's your reaction to that naturally i'm always put the ball in nine's hands at the same time if this if the the rookie holder holds the ball the way the rookie holder has held the ball all throughout camp uh through the first four games of the year well then i'm sure we're we're not having this conversation and yet here we are the 53 yard field goal doesn't work and the ravens win it two plays later yeah i guess you could argue that no matter how much field position you gain after the

Starting point is 00:03:42 fumble if riko handles it was a bad snap too if riko handles a bad snap that way then you can't make the field goal anyway he said the snap was fine just full disclosure i'm sure he would say that he's taking accountability that's great it wasn't fine it was playable you can handle that snap, but it wasn't a good snap. It was an off target, but playable snap. And so, yes, he should have gotten the hold down. Yes, the snap could have been better. But

Starting point is 00:04:10 regardless of how they missed a field goal, when you call three straight runs, when your quarterback is playing the way he's playing, and there are going to be some fans that point to the last couple drives when he wasn't playing the way he was playing for the rest of that second half, I

Starting point is 00:04:26 it's playing not to lose, right? It's playing so conservatively, both Joe Burrow and Zach Taylor after the game talking about, you know, Ravens have a pass rush. If you take a sack there, you're out of field goal range. I'd rather try a 60-yard field goal, just as much as I'd like to try a 53-yard field goal. Like, those aren't, I know they're different. They're not different enough to take the ball out of Joe Burroughs hands to me, the way that they've been killing the Ravens secondary the entire game until Jamar Chase and his words ran a shitty route that leaves of Joe Burroughs' only interception of the game.

Starting point is 00:05:01 I hated it. I hated the three straight runs. Joe Burrough supposedly changed from a pass to a run on the first play after the fumble. That should be a play action pass all day. The Bengals go under center there. One thing that highlighted for me, James, is I understand that this coaching staff likes Andre Yosevash's ability to contribute as a run blocker, but I hate taking T. Higgins off the field for 12 personnel, and they did on that play.

Starting point is 00:05:27 In crime, you're taking T. Higgins off the field. You had three players today, play out of their minds good on offense. Well, two, really. And T was really good, too. But Jamar Chase and Joe Burrow were on another level today. Outside of the one play I just mentioned, T. Higgins was also really good. You're taking T off the field for that play?

Starting point is 00:05:43 I don't like that. I don't like running it three times. And when I say, if you're watching on YouTube, you can see the background. One and four is inexcusable. That is the players. That is also the coaches that is the decision to run it three times and take it out of Joe Burroughs hands, a lesson that we thought Zach Taylor learned against San Francisco 49ers, the San Francisco 49ers a few years ago. That is the spot you're in on defense where the only way for you

Starting point is 00:06:10 to steal a play is to gamble and sell out to stop the runner the pass. And when you guess wrong, you're getting gashed because you have guys that can't figure out where they're supposed to be on the field and you can't string plays together. And you're emptying out your entire roster playing almost everybody on the defensive side of the ball. And you go through safeties deep and all your safeties are bad. I'm starting to rant, but back to the three plays, that's part of what's inexcusable about this. It cannot be Joe Burrow trying to drag the entire Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase and T. Higgins and whatever players were fine on defense. It can't be just those guys trying to drag the rest of the team and the coaching staff in the front office into wins. It's not sustainable.

Starting point is 00:06:48 Even if they win today, we have concerns about how sustainable it is because they're scoring a ton of points, but they're still losing games. They can't finish. It's that old aphorism, right, that you always say bad teams finding ways to lose games, and they keep finding new ones, and they keep surprising us with the way they do it. Yeah, it's been different things for sure. Look, three straight runs. So it's Chase Brown, no gain, Chase Brown three yards, Chase Brown, no game. One, get Zach Moss in there a little bit because he's your passing down back. At least pretend you're going to pass. And I know Chase Brown caught the touchdown today, but there's very clearly a different feel,

Starting point is 00:07:28 different vibe when Zach is in the game, when they're going to throw it, similar to O, T, go in for, or Andre, go in for T, like, to your point. Same thing for all, Cody Ford's the extra tackle, and he was on that second down play. That went for three yards. And then, so you get the ball,

Starting point is 00:07:45 and you're at a 56-yard field goal. And I get that's in range. But to your point, and look, I get Evan McKeown. Fierston in Money Mac. There's so many things that can go wrong with the field goal. It could get blocked. It could get tipped. I thought it got tipped initially before I saw the hold when the broadcast went back to the hold because the ball just looked weird. And so you have to put it like this. If Joe gets sacked on second down, I'm probably not as annoyed about the

Starting point is 00:08:19 result as I am being conservative and not letting Joe make the call, the decision, putting the game in his hands. And it goes hand in hand there. And so that's what sucks, because if you pick up eight yards, maybe it's just a little different. The vibe is different. I also thought it was weird. They had personnel-wise called a timeout before that attempt. I had to get the right personnel on the field. Just another weird thing. But that's, after everything that happened, That should be game over. Germain Pratt, Bumble. Lamar Jackson gifted it to you.

Starting point is 00:08:55 It was a gift. He gifted it to you. After everything that happened, and we could talk about the Burrow Interception and the 90 seconds to go, game tied, and you get sacked on that down, all of those things. There's a lot of stuff to discuss,

Starting point is 00:09:07 but you get this gift in overtime. Go win the game. Yeah. That's it. Go win the game. Don't sneak away with the win. Go win it. It's not like they're even running the ball well either.

Starting point is 00:09:18 That's the other thing. this frustrating to me about it. You're not even running the ball well. I get it maybe if you're running the second half. That went away. The Ravens made their adjustment. They took away your running game. No doubt. I mean, Chase Brown got a couple chunks early and then that was it. It was like, ah, we're taking this away. And Burrow was, Burrow was on fire. And yeah, it's, it really does. It feels a lot like San Francisco a few years ago in 21. Like there are vibes to that where it's like, Man, bro is the reason you have 38. And you ride or die with your ride or die.

Starting point is 00:09:53 Nine is their ride or die. And they died without nine today, essentially, by not using him with the game on the line. We have a lot more to discuss. All of those things I just mentioned, the Bengals are one in four. We'll continue the conversation coming up next. Today's show is brought to you by LinkedIn. LinkedIn Jobs has the tools that you need to hire the right professionals for your team faster and for free. LinkedIn isn't just a job board. LinkedIn helps you hire professionals. You can't

Starting point is 00:10:22 find anywhere else, even those who aren't actively searching for a new job, but might be open to the perfect role. It's why you've got to post on LinkedIn because over 70% of LinkedIn users don't visit other leading job sites. So if you're not looking on LinkedIn, you're looking in the wrong place. 2.5 million small businesses use LinkedIn for hiring and you should to. And right now you can post your job for free at LinkedIn.com slash locked on NFL. That's LinkedIn.com slash on NFL to post your job for free terms and conditions apply. This episode of Lockdown Bengals is also sponsored by BetterHelp. What's something that scares you?

Starting point is 00:10:57 Maybe it's that the Bengals won't figure this thing out in the Joe Burrow era. Maybe it's that the offense needs a new play caller. Maybe it's just that they won't ever find the right defensive personnel. Well, Halloween lets us have fun with what scares you. But if it's a real fear that you need to address, it's not related to the Bengals, something in your life is going on that you need to. to overcome. Therapy is a great tool for facing those fears because sometimes the scariest thing isn't actually facing those fears. It's holding ourselves back from facing them in the first place.

Starting point is 00:11:27 If you're thinking of starting therapy, you can give a better help a try right now. It's entirely online. It's designed to be convenient, flexible, suited to your schedule. All you have to do to get started is fill out a brief questionnaire to be matched with a licensed therapist that's suited to what you're looking for. If it's not a good fit, you can switch therapists at any time for no additional charge. You can overcome your fears with BetterHelp. Check it out at BetterHelp.com slash locked on today to get 10% off your first month. That's BetterHelp, help.com slash locked up. All right, Jake. Let's continue the conversation with the interception. We're basically going to start with the bad and go back. And I guess we could do the third down,

Starting point is 00:12:12 or the 90-second drive. But before that, the thing that put them in the position of being tied with the Ravens after just being so dominant on offense from late second quarter through midway through the fourth quarter. The interception. And Jamar Chase said he ran a bad route. Joe Burrow didn't say that. Did say he wouldn't have done anything different on that play, said Marlon Humphrey made a really good play. All signs point of that being on Jamar. Jamar was amazing today. But those are the plays. That's the difference. And giving the ball back to the Ravens there, just opened the door when the door didn't need to be opened. They were two first downs away from winning the game for sure.

Starting point is 00:12:54 They were a touchdown away from basically ending the game, a first down and a field goal away from close to ending the game. And instead you give the ball back to the Ravens after a penalty on a Jamar Chase slant because he ran a bad route. Yeah, that is a brutal moment in the game for the offense. If you want to blame the offense this year, as you're looking for things to blame with this team, you would blame the offense for not finishing games the way you want the offense to finish games.

Starting point is 00:13:21 You would blame the offense for not taking advantage of those last two drives well enough. And you wouldn't be wrong, but I do think that when you have 10-point leads multiple times in the second half and you score 38 points, that should be enough to win a football game. And so we're going to talk about the offense here, but don't get me wrong.

Starting point is 00:13:43 my primary concern for this team remains on the defensive side of the ball. I believe you agree with me there, James. There were four straight drives for the Cincinnati Bengals and went for touchdowns between the late second quarter and that interception drive. Four play 79 yards in 25 seconds, including trips, double post call that I don't think I've seen the Bengals run before, getting Jamar Chase, one-on-one with a deep safety in the middle of the field, perfect play call, perfect throw, perfect execution. they put themselves in a really challenging situation from a time perspective by not calling timeouts on the previous Baltimore drive.

Starting point is 00:14:17 I understand why they didn't the way Baltimore is moving the ball. But because Baltimore took a timeout, they score a touchdown there. They go 12 play, 70 yards out of the half, including very difficult third down conversions from Joe Burrow. Part of a stretch where he converted at least seven straight third downs. They were one for five, I think, in the first half on third downs and finished positive on third downs in this game, which speaks to how well he was playing. In the second half, they go 12 play 70 yards. they go Jamar Chase, flat screen for touchdown,

Starting point is 00:14:44 and then you get the interception. But even on that interception, the Ravens haven't stopped a slant all day. All day. The Bengals were killing them on slant. So only balls they didn't complete, unintended slant targets were either drops or high throws from Joe Burrow. There were a couple of those in this game.

Starting point is 00:15:01 But Burrow was right. He needed to play perfectly in this game. He was very close to playing perfectly in this game. everyone is going to say this on every single podcast that talks about the Bengals, every single article, Joe Burrow said it himself. They're going to quote Joe Burrow.

Starting point is 00:15:19 Before the game, they're going to quote Joe Burrow after the game because he was right. But that's insane. You shouldn't have to be absolutely perfect. You shouldn't have to have your receivers win on every single route. I mean, terrible outcome, by the way, the first slant of the game that doesn't work

Starting point is 00:15:34 because of a defensive play is an interception instead of a past breakup. But to Jamar's point, saying that he ran a bad route, he got jammed out of the play. And Joe Burrow, you throw a slant with anticipation, right? You don't see it open. You trust your guy, your number one receiver, your Jamar Chase, who's going crazy in this game, is going to win that route against press. And worst case, just throwing an incomplete pass.

Starting point is 00:15:59 Didn't happen that way. Have a hard time putting too much on Joe there. The drive to start or to finish the fourth quarter, though, like, I don't know what you really want Joe Burrow to do there. There's not much of a chance on that first down play. Maybe you want the draw on second down or you want the pass to just be completed there on second down as Burrow doesn't quite get it to T. Higgins in time for him to make a clean play in the ball.

Starting point is 00:16:22 Hard time blaming Burrow for that one either, to be clear. And then the conservatism in overtime. So you can point to the offense not finishing the game. You wouldn't be wrong. But again, despite those things going wrong, it's unfair. to say that they need to be perfect. They need to score 40. And we were joking, go score 40 and you can win the game.

Starting point is 00:16:43 They needed to score 40. And they didn't. No, you're right. They needed to score 40. They should have scored 40. They scored 36. Defense gave them two. They should have scored 39, to be quite honest.

Starting point is 00:16:56 But at least. But you're right. You get the ball back 95 seconds ago or so. I think there's 135 left. You get the sack. You're behind the chains to second and 17. and then Burrough he throws it to T and it's a contested play it's a tough play you need to get yards there and and then your your third and 17 they don't have any

Starting point is 00:17:20 timeouts you've got to run the clock out like no issue there at that point you do have to run it with Chase Brown or Zach Moss but what I will say is I do wonder if that that possession and how it went aided Zach who we just mentioned it I mean, before the interception. So it's touchdown, touchdown, touchdown, touchdown, interception, three and out at the end of regulation. And then you get the ball in overtime after the fumble. I wonder if it's that three and out where he's like,

Starting point is 00:17:50 a lot of bad things are happening. Let's just get the hell out of here with a win. I'm sure, but that's coach and scared. And it does, agreed, and that usually doesn't work. That usually doesn't work in anything to be quite, if you're playing a pickup basketball game and you're up 10 to 7, And you're like, all right, I just got to get one more. And you're just like, oh, I'm going to do.

Starting point is 00:18:13 You're probably losing 10 not. Like you still have to be aggressive. What got you there? What got you to that point? And so I do think just tying them together, how bad that last drive went at the end of the regulation? Because I was like, all right, well, they had the interception. Now just going to go down field and they're going to go kick a field goal and win it. Because the defense was able to hold Baltimore to three and have 95 seconds left on the clock.

Starting point is 00:18:36 And they didn't do it. And it's because of that sack. And I'm sure Zach was like, well, we're within Evans range now. If we get sacked, then it's a 60-yarder. Then I'm worried about that. And we're probably considering punning. And you don't want to overthink it either. What's your bread and butter?

Starting point is 00:18:53 Joe Burrow is your bread butter? It's the full course. And, yeah, I know he checked into a run on one of the plays. That's his job. If you don't have a good luck against your passing play, you don't just run it, then run it. Like run the play to run the play, you want the best look for that, that defense. But man, that's a tough one.

Starting point is 00:19:15 That's one that a lot of people are going to think about and discuss for quite some time. When Zach Taylor comes up, when this one and four record comes up. Even if Joe checks out of one run, what about the next two plays? What about the personality come on the field? Checks out of one pass, yeah. I mean, there's still two more plays there just because you don't succeed on a, I don't know, man. there's more going on than that. We haven't discussed the defense enough.

Starting point is 00:19:41 And why not throw it on third down? It's third and seven. What's scary are Joe Burrow throwing at the Jamar, Chase, and T. Higgins are running with Chase Brown? No-brainer. We haven't talked about the defense enough. It was a tale of two halves, but the defense is still largely, despite getting some reinforcements this week, looking like the same unit that we've seen the last couple of weeks. And that's where the problem is, really, for this team.

Starting point is 00:20:07 We will discuss the defense to finish up the show. Coming up next. Today's show is brought to by Fandall. Hey, NFL fans, you can get in on the action right now with America's number one sportsbook. And Fandall has an offer that you have to take advantage of right now. You're going to get $200 in bonus bets guaranteed when you place your first $5 bet at Fandall.com. That means maybe you're watching us and it's right before Sunday night football. You're thinking ahead to the Bengals and their chances in week six on Sunday night football against the New York football.

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Starting point is 00:21:03 Again, that is fandle.com. The defense gave up 40. points. They scored two. The first half was looking promising. The first drive I was thinking, well, this is bad. This looks like the same team. And then they force a punt.

Starting point is 00:21:21 And then they not only force a punt, but things are trending in the right direction. Instead of third and one and third and two, they're getting third and five, third and seven, third and five. They get a three and out. The Bengals' offense, unfortunately, goes three and out on their first drive,

Starting point is 00:21:37 goes incomplete, incompleting, complete sack on their third drive in a 7-7 game, and then goes three out again after the Ravens scored touchdown to go up 14 to 7. At that point, you're thinking, man, this team is just bad. The defense is getting some stops, but the offense can't do anything with it. Man, what are we doing? How is the offense not figuring it out? And then you get that beautiful Ryan Rico punt down to the one-yard line or whatever

Starting point is 00:22:04 it was, two-yard line, who's a minus two-yard safety, Sam Hubbard safety. And even after the safety, the Bengals run five plays and punt. It's 14 to 9. The Bengals defense somehow gets another stop. They get the Ravens into a third and 10 after an incomplete pass on first down, a run for no gain on second down, and Baltimore weirdly choosing to take a timeout with 49 seconds left on third and 10. The Bengals are calling a time out there tells you everything that they're thinking.

Starting point is 00:22:38 They're thinking we don't want to give it. up more points here. Baltimore calls the timeout, gives a ball back to the Bengals. The Bengals punish them for taking that time out with a touchdown. But in the first half, you're thinking, well, maybe this defense has got something. But man, this offense needs to figure it out until that sequence that starts with the safety and leads to them scoring going into halftime. They then double up coming out of the half. And then the defense just is exactly what we feared it has been. They have to sell out to stop anything. They're trying the safety rotation that we talked about. Jordan Battle dips his toe in. And I looked during live grading at the worst

Starting point is 00:23:11 graded Bengals defensive players in this game. They were the three safeties they played. They played almost every player on the roster on defense in this game. Jason Anderson and Dejohn Anthony, I think the only two that didn't get in for defensive maybe they should. Maybe they should. They have a safety problem. They have a defense problem that goes to coaching. It goes to personnel. They couldn't get pressure consistently when they did get personnel. Sam Hubbard was getting fit or getting stiff arm to the ground, 20 yards behind the line of scrimmage and Lamar Jackson's throwing touchdowns. That was the second half.

Starting point is 00:23:40 By the way, is a huge problem for this team. Yeah, by the way, Sam Hubbard is going to be on every highlight reel in rightfully so. You got to bring him down. You don't bring him down. Hey, Gino Stone, don't lose a tight end. Don't lose a tight end. Like, you mentioned the safeties.

Starting point is 00:23:56 Like, what? What in the world? Like, because Vaughn got beat on the one where I think he thought coverage was. over the top on Charlie, Colar, and then a colar, and then Jordan Battle got beat as soon as he got into the game, first play, they went after him. But in the end zone there, like, it's a scramble drill. Like, just don't let Isaiah likely run around. You're a safety. He's a tight end. Like, it's not like he got body. Like, he got beat. And that's, that can't happen. Yeah. I mean, this defense gave up three straight touchdown.

Starting point is 00:24:34 to start the second half. Touchdown, touchdown, touchdown. They hold them to a field goal, and you're like, and it just can't be that way. I mean, that's 24 points. And then the fumble, you finally get a stop. Like, that's it.

Starting point is 00:24:51 Like, how many stops did it take? How many possessions did it take in the second half to where you're like, man, the Ravens actually didn't score? They didn't score there. And it's because it's something they were gifted. It wasn't even something that the defense really forced. They just kind of picked up the ball, which they deserve credit for. but sheesh.

Starting point is 00:25:07 I mean, you can't even really call it a stop. You call it a gift. I mean, yeah, you deserve credit for picking up the ball. But that's twice in this game. Lamar Jackson put snaps on the ground. The other time you put the snap on the ground is that Sam Hubbard play I just talked about. And I went back and watched that play several times.

Starting point is 00:25:19 It was a full like two seconds between the snap and Lamar Jackson actually having the ball in his hands and standing up. Three seconds before he becomes a passer again. Four seconds, Sam Hubbard finally has some pressure. And then everybody knows what happened the rest of the way. But like, you're telling me you can't get a pressure when the ball is literally on the ground, the QB hasn't even dropped back for three seconds?

Starting point is 00:25:41 What that play should have ended up is a scrum, balls on the ground, Lamar falls on it. Yes. Five yards behind the line of scrimmage. That's the best case for the Ravens. That's how that should have ended up. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:25:51 Best case, maybe a throwaway, right? Like he picks it up clean and gets away and throws it away. Yeah. He was sacked once for three yards. Which is the first, second driver of the game early? Yeah. It was on a scramble. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:26:04 Sam Hubbard is the one who got the credit for it. Yeah. The Ravens were largely held in check early in this game in the run game. The Bengals were selling out to stop it. Harbaugh came out of halftime. They're doing those halftime interviews now with the sideline reporter said, they're giving us all these heavy run fronts. We need to find explosives in the passing game when we get those fronts.

Starting point is 00:26:25 They immediately throw that ball to Charlie Kohler. And the early rush success rate and EPA for the Ravens was pretty bad. Their late-down rushes is. third and fourth down rushing plays in this game, all of them went for first downs. The Bengals just could not string stops together effectively. When you have a 10-point lead at 31 to 21 and at 24 to 14, and at 38 to 28,

Starting point is 00:26:53 three times in the second half, the Bengals had a 10-point lead. And I know they had the interception, but you got to get a stop. You got to find ways to get stuff. It's a team game. The offense, like I said earlier, can't be expected to go score 40 every week and win games. 38 should be enough.

Starting point is 00:27:12 That should be enough points. Yeah, it should. And you also, if your defense is going to be that flawed, your offense can't turn it over, and your holder can't mess up. Like the margin for error is what it is. And right now against these elite level teams, and the Ravens are really darn good. And Joe Burrell played awesome. I would say career high five touchdown passes seem to have answers for I mean think about with

Starting point is 00:27:40 Cody Ford at tackle I mean there are some positives here but the negatives when you put yourself in a one and three hole and you fall to one and four they are what they are where do they go from here I think we can have that conversation this week we're going to have a lot of tough conversations I think this week about the Bengals what they are who they are and and what they can be this year because I'll tell you this, Jake, if you would have told me that the big names on this team would be healthy, and they would be one and four after five weeks, if you would have said that when you were here at camp, I would have laughed. I might have sent you packing.

Starting point is 00:28:17 You might have been back in Canada. You might have had to take a flight back because there's just no way I would have believed it, right? And yeah, that's the reality they face for a bunch of reasons. Yeah. I mean, it's a team that has been a play short several times. That's the theme of the season. They're missing a single play or two plays here or there. They are leaving opportunities on the field this week.

Starting point is 00:28:40 You can call it the hold. You can call it the running plays. You can call it the interception. You can call it one of those early drives. Point to any of those things going differently. And maybe the Bengals are two and three right now. We feel really good about a good win where the offense looks good and the defense did just enough. But we're not.

Starting point is 00:28:57 And it's a team that consistently has been lacking those plays. and whether that is the players or the roster construction or the investments that haven't panned out on the defensive side of the ball with all the early picks in the draft or whether it's injuries or whether it's coaching. And I do think that there are some coaches that probably should be on the hot seat at this point, especially on the defensive side of the ball. At some point, the miscommunications over more than a season of football and the decisions about what personnel they want in the secondary and how those guys are used at certain times. some point that does come back to the coaching staff, right? And it's not just the players. But whatever the reason is, and there's a laundry list, they're one and four. And even if they're better than that by aggregate, it's hard to say they don't deserve that record because they're not making the plays they need to make to win these games. Yeah. And we could talk

Starting point is 00:29:53 this week about the staff, because I think a lot of people are with you staff-wise. maybe you're not thinking about the same names they are, but it's certainly a conversation we can have. At some point it gets to that point is all I'm thinking. Like at some point, the buck has to stop somewhere. And it's in a few places, to be fair, and we'll see after film review, after Data Digest, after more time to think about it,

Starting point is 00:30:22 where we're going from here, like you said, James, because you can play the schedule game and you could very easily see them getting to a winning record by the next time they played Baltimore. But can you really be that confident in that right now? I don't know. We'll have plenty of time to look ahead. But that's going to do it for this episode of the Lockdown Bengals podcast,

Starting point is 00:30:43 a brutal loss. Sorry we've had to deal with so many of those this year. Until next time, take care of yourself and have a good one.

Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - The Cincinnati Bengals continue to find brutal ways to lose football games, drop to 1-4

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