That is a good football team.

Yeah, offensively, defensively, right? This is another game where Trevor Lawrence is probably not going to have to finish the game, right? And they've got such a huge lead again.

We talked about this a few weeks ago, and this has continued for them.

They are blowing teams out.

And yes, I get it.

We understand where the Ravens are at right now.

But this is not just the Ravens.

factor.

I'm expecting him to be on a little bit of a pitch count, but if they can get the Bengals into some third-and-long situations, I do think those are going to be some golden opportunities for James Pierce to show why he was such a productive rookie last season in this game.

Yeah, the Bengals offensive line isn't what it used to be, and I say that in a positive way because it was at times the worst offensive line in the league.

Somehow they made it to the Super Bowl and AFC Championship game back-to-back years with a terrible line that could not protect Joe Burrow.

But the last two years, it's been solid, if not good, at this point in pass protection.

He's got his lowest sack rate of his career right now.

It's one of the best in the league.

And that's for a team that throws the ball as much as anyone.

I think that's really going to be critical to the Falcons' success.

Do you think that they really could kind of go seek out someone to bring in some depth piece at edge?

I think they could.

And I was thinking about this even before the Howell injury and it, it kind of cemented it because I don't think miles Murphy's taken that positive step that they were hoping the way he ended last year.

And, and granted he's coming off his best game of the year, I think versus the Titans.

hard to say this right now but i think overall through seven games you would say okay we probably would like a little bit more out of him uh and howell has at times seemed to disappear in games and hit that rookie wall which is expected that's how rookies are they are very up and down there will be games where he flashes there's the games where he or he doesn't so At that point, when Shamar's inactive, we're on last week talking about that.

And do we really love Cedric Johnson as like the third DN and if Howell goes down? I don't.

And you have to wonder what this edge room really looks like if it's just Boye Mafe.

What are you expecting from Shamar? Because for me, if they can't play him this week, if he can't get on the field this week, then they have to make a move at defensive end because they just don't have enough in that room.

I'm expecting him to be on a little bit of a pitch count, but if they can get the Bengals into some third-and-long situations, I do think those are going to be some golden opportunities for James Pierce to show why he was such a productive rookie last season in this game.

Yeah, the Bengals offensive line isn't what it used to be.

And I say that in a positive way because it was at times the worst offensive line in the league.

Somehow they made it to the Super Bowl and AFC Championship game back-to-back years with a terrible line that could not protect Joe Burrow.

But the last two years, it's been solid, if not good, at this point in pass protection.

He's got his lowest sack rate of his career right now.

It's one of the best in the league.

I think that's really going to be critical to the Falcons' success.

I think that's the first time that's ever happened, isn't it?

I've never seen that before.

Al Michaels did say that Aaron Rodgers had a game where he had to leave and then came back and won the game at the end.

I don't remember that, though.

So that's an interesting one that he pulled that up.

He said he did like 34 Green Bay Packers games in his life.

So who knows if he's...

terms of the like names lots of big names but in terms of the returns that some of these teams got for them probably not worth two first round picks and me as a ravens guy i mean max crosby not on that list maybe is a good thing for the ravens so i mean how do you think tennessee made out in this one joe i was going to bring that up that both of our teams made

Is tight ends now in your opinion an area of need for the Spangles team as the trade deadline looms or do you think with those four guys you'd have confidence enough and getting through the season and getting the production that you need out of that group.

I think it is a need.

I think that's why they immediately went out and got a guy that they can plug in this week.

And Kim Grandy, that can play a little bit for you that knows the offense, right? Because it is a Bengals have been at 12 personnel team pretty heavily this year.

They're at the top 10 in the league.

If you consider Mike Kosecki as a tight end, but we know Mike Kosecki plays a lot of slot and just out wide wide receiver.

So if you really don't look at him and just say, drew sample, Jack entries, cam Grandy, that might be the worst tight end room in the league, but They don't rely on that group to do anything other than what they're supposed to do.

How do you approach that element of it? Do you think that they'll just be able to handle it business as usual? Or what would your approach be on offense knowing that he is a game wrecker on the other side?

I know there are no moral victories, Joe, but is there anything that the Patriots can take away from this one despite losing that you think they can hang their head on?

Yeah, I think the Bears are a really good team in the NFC, right? So if you're going to go toe-to-toe with them, and plus the Patriots have been winning.

It started off rough for them.

I think they have figured out the offense.

May is putting up points.

He looks a little bit better now.

The offense looks better.

I mean, what have you seen from him, Joe? Because it feels like he has his confidence, he has his swagger, and this Carolina team is rallying behind him.

We asked Joe about that possibility.

Jonathan Taylor has been such a huge conversation for Bengals fans this week because, yeah, when the Colts fired their GM, Chris Baylor, after 10 seasons, that usually signifies a fire sale and wanting to rip the Band-Aid completely.

Now, this is their star player on the offensive side.

So you wonder what the price is going to be.

I would assume it'd have to be like a second round pick.

And he's got two years left on his deal, averaging about 15 to $16 million cap it for the team that would trade for him.

So would that be worth it? Some people right away are like, yes, worth it completely.

which,

So plenty of outcomes here, Joe, but obviously Lamar's status, the biggest storyline here in Baltimore.

No doubt it's the biggest for the Ravens.

It's the biggest storyline for the Bengals too.

To be honest, in Cincinnati is Lamar going to play.

We let off our last show on lockdown Bengals within our whole first segment was if Lamar plays, this is a game, right? And if he doesn't, you feel so much better about this matchup and.

Honestly, I'd rather see both teams go at it full strength, and it's because we've missed so much of each other's quarterbacks for so long.

Honestly, I feel for Baltimore because we've been in those shoes.

Is there a front runner in that wide receiver three room? Is it Yosif Ash? Like what's kind of going on there?

But at the same time, if he's not like, at or at least near 100 percent feeling as good as he can based off the circumstances it was a pretty nasty ankle injury he suffered you know maybe he's not able to move the way he wants to maybe he's not able to throw the way or run the way he wants to and that puts both the Ravens and Lamar at a disadvantage against again a vastly improved Bengals front seven defensive line and you know I think to me it's just about being smart with it where him playing in this divisional matchup is so huge but not at the expense of his long-term health if he goes out there can't do what he does and then you know dexter lawrence bears down on him or someone else and you know there's a sack that happens and an unfortunate situation happens and he re-injures something or gets hurt even worse because he's not able to do what he does so plenty of outcomes here joe but obviously lamar's status the biggest storyline here in baltimore

No doubt it's the biggest for the Ravens.

It's the biggest storyline for the Bengals too.

To be honest, in Cincinnati is Lamar going to play.

We let off our last show on lockdown Bengals within our whole first segment was if Lamar plays, this is a game, right? And if he doesn't, you feel so much better about this matchup and Honestly, I'd rather see both teams go at it full strength, and it's because we've missed so much of each other's quarterbacks for so long.

Honestly, I feel for Baltimore because we've been in those shoes.

When you look at how much you miss your franchise quarterback, it's a terrible feeling.

Is there a front runner in that wide receiver three room? Is it Yosif Ash? Like what's kind of going on there?

I know you recently did a deep dive on Jonathan Taylor, but when it comes to either of those two backs, are one of those guys the Bengals should be going after?

You know, I wonder about Najee Harris because you can get him and put him on your practice squad right now, right? And that would be an easy add and something you can see if there's something there.

He got injured last year, sounded like a self-inflicted thing with the Chargers, never really was able to get on the field.

And then the Giants this year are cutting him after just five weeks.

So I don't know what's going on there, but I would be interested in at least kicking the tires to see.

But Jonathan Taylor has been such a huge conversation or Bengals fans this week because, yeah, when the Colts fired their GM Chris Ballard after 10 seasons, that usually signifies a fire sale and wanting to rip the Band-Aid completely.

Now, this is their star player on the offensive side.

And so maybe the Bengals could get him for a little less than we realized because of that contract.

I don't know if you're the team you were last year.

Yeah, Cody also brought up the five sacks they had previously.

I think they had five in this game as well.

So good calls by him.

Yeah, and I was going to pivot to that as well, Tyler, that Bo Nix, you're not escaping this either.

Like we're talking about Sam Darnold here.

Bo throws for 107 yards in this game.

Like, I just think the Giants are going to keep winning these games.

But am I being too optimistic saying that I'll buy Bengals stock here during this bye week given that they're three and two, and given the how they won in week five?

No, I'd be buying stock as well.

Uh, just for the first five weeks, I, I agree.

I think the...

If you wanna be frustrated for the people that are frustrated and say, you know, "They should have beat these teams better," or, "with a bigger margin of victory," still you go look at the Dolphins and look at some of the a- analytics of that.

The Bengals controlled that game and had a win probability over 90% for about three-quarters of that game.

Uh, the same is true for the Bucs game and the Texans game.

What's a reasonable outlook for them moving forward after the bye?

Sort of, what, what are your sort of, like, long-term thoughts about all this?

Yeah, I think if they don't make the playoffs, Zac Taylor is gone.

Uh, I think, uh, the, the course has run there.

Uh, but at the same time, because they are favored in every game other than one more coming up on their schedule, I assume they'll make the playoffs.

So I, I haven't allowed myself to get to those thoughts too often, other than losing back-to-back games right now, and, and being in that, it kind of bring up a lot of negative conversation and, and, and angst from the fan base, right? Of course it does.

Uh, but at the same time, I still think they'll be okay long term, unless, you know, some major injury happens this year.

Uh, and I, I, I s- I assume if they make the playoffs, that means Zac is good.

Joe, Joe, what do you think of the Bills so far?

What, what are your sort of, like, long-term thoughts about all this?

Yeah, I think if they don't make the playoffs, Zac Taylor is gone.

Uh, I think that, the, the course has run there.

Uh, but at the same time, because they are favored in every game other than one more coming up on their schedule, I assume they'll make the playoffs.

So I, I haven't allowed myself to get to those thoughts too often, other than losing back-to-back games right now, and, and being in that, it kind of bring up a lot of negative conversation and, and, and angst from the fan base, right? Of course it does.

Uh, but at the same time, I still think they'll be okay long term, unless, you know, some major injury happens this year.

Uh, and I, I, I s- I assume if they make the playoffs, that means Zac is good.

Joe, Joe, what do you think of the Bills so far?

So in the end, do you feel better about their chances this year than you did before week one, whether that's just in terms of the AFC North or the Super Bowl or whatever context you like?

I had them 3-1 at this point.

I thought they would beat that Steelers team, and they didn't.

That's okay.

So 2-2, I had them getting to 12 wins, so maybe that means I should adjust and say 11 wins still.

That should get you into the playoffs in the AFC.

I think the bigger questions of my hopes for looking at this team as a Super Bowl contender or potentially climbing into that elite echelon of the AFC is, is that they sold the under-center portion of the offense so much that I started to believe it stupidly.

Joe, what do you think of the Bills so far?

What's the big talking point? I have a feeling I know what it is, but what's the big talking point this week in Cincinnati ahead of week five?

Well, finding a way to win games, even though it's a veteran team.

This last two weeks, they had the ball thriving to put the game away or win it or tie it.

Tie it in the Steelers game.

Could have easily won it.

They're in Evan McPherson's field goal range, which is a weapon over 50 yards as a kicker.

And Dalton Reisner gets beat for his first loss of the game versus the Steelers.

I think that's a really interesting matchup for this game.

What's, uh, What's the big talking point? I have a feeling I know what is, but what's the big talking point this week in Cincinnati ahead of week five?

well uh finding way to win games even though it's a veteran team this two last two weeks they had the ball thriving to put the game away or win it or tie it uh tie it in the steelers game could have easily won it they're in evan mcpherson's field goal range is a weapon over 50 yards as a kicker and dalton reisner gets beat for his first loss of the game versus the steelers gets beat by derek harman joe burrow tries to make a play fumbles it's recovered by the steelers and everyone's like man, what a really good game.

Other than that one play for Joe burrow and Dalton Reisner, you got to find a way to finish and capitalize.

Well, you get the same scenario versus the Jags.

You're down by five and burrow doesn't have T or Jamar or Andrea.

She's down three receivers at this point.

And he's dealing Joe burrow look great on tape last week, other than the big plays that will haunt you.

I think that's a really interesting matchup for this game.

Where do you fall? Is this something where the Bengals have to fix this, this run game, and if so, where do they start?

start?It's hard to win in the NFL without a good run game, without an efficient run game.

Now, when people s- send like, "Oh, they're averaging 80 something yards per game," I don't care about that.

That does not, that has no effect on my opinion of what this offense can do or this run game.

To me, it's about efficiency.

It's about getting this offense, this passing offense primarily, into good situations.

So if they're getting one or two yards on first down, that is a failure.

What do you think leads to that, and how do you fix it for Burrow?

And that's better than they've been at times in the past.

no doubt at least the four if you're a browns fan and i'm a draft guy so like when i watch the the this browns roster i think they've nailed like three drafts in a row and that gives you a great foundation and enough players that you can get the ball to and the offense looks like it's having a good time out there you're getting it to the playmakers you get it to harold bannon and denzel boston and casey conception and even jerry judy makes a play on that last drive right So and then Judkins, of course, they are loaded at talent to make them fun to watch.

But also you can watch them and any objective Browns fans going to watch that and say, oh, if we just had a better quarterback that didn't miss a couple of these plays or a couple of these throws or that maybe I could buy into myself, this team would have a real ceiling.

And I think that's what the season's going to come down to.

They may end up now winning too many games or enough games that when you look back in the offseason to go, don't know that that was the best thing for them long haul here.

But was it fun and exciting for Browns fans? Probably.

I will go with Cincinnati to win this game at home, though.

I agree completely there that this is a barometer game for the Bengals.

Are you kind of seeing what's troubling and what are you kind of still optimistic about moving forward with the defense?

Yeah, I'm still optimistic because I never was really expecting a top 10 defense.

I know the first two weeks we're feeling really good about it.

But the Bucks did move the ball before fumbling four times, right? So there was that.

The Texans, I'm not sure if that offense is going to be good.

They've never really even had a good offense since CJ Shroud has been there.

Nico Collins is great, and when they get tanked out, maybe they can get more explosive again, but that's not a good offense.

week against Parker Washington, so I can understand playing Dax against him even before Jalen Davis went on IRN.

Just which one of those areas do you think is the most concerning for the Spangles team moving forward that they need to address and they need to address it this week?

even if we say special teams was the biggest issue giving directly 10 points to the Steelers right in a situation where the defense was finally responding forcing their first two points of the game that special teams is the major issue for that game it's probably the bulk of the mistakes they'll make all season Aaron Simmons has been coaching the special teams unit since I was in high school I think I think that's accurate actually and He typically gets the special teams unit right throughout the season, and it'll be a good special teams unit at the end of the year.

I believe that because he I mean, the proof is in it that he's done it this many times.

So that'll be fine.

So if we're saying long term issue, I think I'm more concerned with the defense.

And it's because of the first two weeks, I thought they looked very good, right? We're very excited.

Dexter Lawrence is a star and national media is picking it up.

What are your thoughts on this topic and the idea about Joe Burrow, whether or not he's clutched?

And I have a hard time believing that it's not him.

I have a hard time believing he's not on the hot seat right now, right? Like if there's odds being improved over the night of who's the first coach fired, I can't imagine that he's not getting dangerously close to the top of that list because it looked that bad and it felt that bad.

And you could feel it from the home crowd at Lambeau.

They were frustrated.

They were mockingly cheering when they got a first down in the third quarter.

Yeah, I think squarely they have done so much for this offensive line and drafting these guys, Jordan Morgan and others, that they have felt like, oh, this will be the next run of offensive line.

The Packers have been a very good drafting team when it comes to the trenches.

Shout out, Michelle.

designation so his contract has obviously been lingering there I don't know that he's going to be back to play this week we'll see if he is but Patrick Graham Steelers defensive coordinator said he does have two different plans set in place for if Porter plays versus if he doesn't and Joe it's been a ton of zone coverage without Joey Porter these first two weeks

And it's looked like a lot of single high, too, as well, meaning you're given one-on-one opportunities on the outside, even if it is a cover three scenario.

I think that's going to change if you're playing the Bengals.

It's funny because even you go to Tomlin and last year and talk about that a little bit.

I know it's a completely new system, but the first time they played was the Flacco, Unk Bowl, and Jamar Chase had, what, 17 targets that game? And they realized that we can't do that.

We can't.

So, you know, next time we play, Jamar's not in that next one.

But who, if the Steelers are going up against the Bengals, who is going to be tasked with guarding Washington and Friermuth if those tight ends are getting worked in a bit more?

How concerned should we be about Orlando Brown Jr. and this offensive line given the five sacks and all the pressures and everything that Joe dealt with on Sunday?

Yeah, I think we're riding really high after week one, right? We had some fears of the clips and preseason we got of Orlando Brown of, oh, no, has he fallen off the cliff? Is it just a guy that really wasn't never a great athlete as he reached that career cliff where he can't recover from that? And week one, he was really good and he gave up a couple of pressures.

And I'm fine with that.

We can handle that.

No one's going to pitch a shutout every week and you shouldn't be expected.

But I think what they asked him to do early in this game was weird, to say the least.

Like, they were giving him an island on left tackle.

Is it really just kind of that Dexter Lawrence effect or is there more to it?