Forgot About Joe? OF COURSE Joe Burrow’s Return Will Make Bengals Better!

Forgot About Joe? OF COURSE Joe Burrow’s Return Will Make Bengals Better!

There’s a good chance Joe Burrow, yes, that Joe Burrow is back and going to play for the Bengals again this season. And if that happens, that’s a great thing. I thought we’d all be on the same page. Apparently, we’re not. It’s time to break it all down right now on Cincinnati Bengals Talk. [Music] Hi again everyone and welcome in to CBT. I’m James Rene of Bengles.com. If you’re watching here on YouTube, well, you can tell that we have a beautiful, beautiful backdrop. And it is a beautiful, beautiful thing when you hear that Joe Burrow has started practicing, that Joe Burrow could throw passes for the Bengals again this season. And I thought that went without saying. I thought that was something that just everyone would want. Everyone would think, yeah, if if Joe Burrow is healthy and he could come back, well, bring him back. And yet a lot of you don’t even think he’s better than Joe Flacco apparently because we’re living in some weird time warp where people just forget how good Joe Burrow is. Hi again everyone. I’m James Rene and like I said the the backdrop is awesome. This video is brought to you by Sleeper. More on Sleeper in just a second. Check us out wherever you get your podcast as well as here on YouTube. But let’s dive in because Joe Burrow, well, he has until December 1st to be activated. When he talked and we posted the entire thing of him talking on Monday, it’s very clear if they don’t win the next couple of games or they’re not in it at all and they’re three and eight, I don’t think Joe Burrow is going to come back for Thanksgiving. I don’t. But if they do and they are in it and they do make a run and the division is still wide open and Joe Burrow does feel like he’s ready to go, guess what? He’s playing He’s planning on playing on Thanksgiving and he may stink on Thanksgiving. That may happen. He may be so bad he may throw 40 passes, complete 20 of them, have three picks and a fumble. Like, that may happen. I don’t care. He’s Joe Burrow. And that’s what I think a lot of people are are forgetting, missing, uh, emotional about, whatever. But when I get messages and tweets and comments on YouTube and anywhere and everywhere like, “It’s not going to matter. It’s not going to matter, James. This defense, Joe Flacco’s playing great.” Fine. Joe Flacco is playing great. There’s no doubt. And I’m not going to go anti Flaco here to promote Burrow because I don’t need to. Joe Burrow is one of the three best players on the planet when healthy. Maybe higher than that. And maybe you think he’s fifth, maybe you think he’s seventh, whatever. Or maybe you think he’s 12th. Doesn’t matter. He’s certainly not in the, “Oh my goodness, what should we do? We have Joe Flacco versus Joe Burrow.” Like, that isn’t a thing. And certainly not a thing in the year 2025. And yet, it’s a thing for a lot of you. And it’s because you’re so scarred from this defense. The Bengals would have a winning record today if Joe Burrow were healthy the whole year. They would have been better against Minnesota and better against Denver and better against Green Bay. Joe Flacco started that game by the way and better against Chicago. And even late against the Jets, those final two drives, you’re telling me that Joe Burrow doesn’t get them into field goal range on either possession. So, let’s relax here with the, “Oh, well, why would they even bring him back? He’s not even better than Joe Fleck.” Like, fine, don’t bring him back if they’re three and eight. But if they were five and four, I think everyone would say, “Well, of course bring them back.” and you’d be worried about the defense and you should be and I get that. But this idea that it’s close or that there’s a dilemma or a debate or a discussion. No. Like how long have you guys been around? How long have you guys paid attention? Do you watch football? Do you watch Bengals football? Like those are legitimate questions when I get comments like it doesn’t make any sense to bring him back because it’s not going to help them. There’s no scenario where Joe Burrow on the field doesn’t help the Bengals. Now, it may be too little, too late. They may be out of it. It might not be worth the risk if you’re three and eight. All of those things are different. Like, that’s that’s a whole completely different conversation. But when it comes to, well, Joe Burrow is healthy. Should he be on the field? We’re still in it. Does is he better than Joe Flacco? Does he make them better? Well, the the answer isn’t about the defense. The answer isn’t about tackling. The answer isn’t about safety play. It’s not about young linebackers. It’s not about pass rush. It’s not about Al Golden. It’s not about what the hell Lu Anarumo is doing in Indianapolis. It’s yes. It’s yes. Get his ass on the field. That’s the answer. And some of you are so lost in the sauce. And whatever that sauce is, I don’t want it because it’s really it’s ridiculously bad that you forgot that. Some of you have forgotten what this was, who this team was, who this organization was prejo. And it and I could tell. And so this idea that you getting Joe Burrow back doesn’t help them. Of course it does. Of course it does. Now, if they’re not in it, don’t bring him back. I get it. If they’re not in it, I don’t want to see him on the field. But if they’re four and seven and he looks at that schedule and he says, “I’m feeling good. Let’s roll. He’s probably going to feel like he can make a make a run and he probably thinks nine and eight might win this division. He said it yesterday, the division is wide open. And so whatever planet everyone’s on right now, get off of it and understand that yeah, Joe Burrow getting back is a big thing. It is a big deal. And and we put our thumbnail yesterday was this is huge. And people tried to say it wasn’t huge. that it didn’t matter. Joe Bro could be thrown to me and have you blocking for him and it matters. More on this topic coming up next. Today’s show is brought to you by Sleeper. Right now, you can get a free $20 with Sleeper. No deposit required. And of course, you can get up to a $100 match on your first deposit. All you have to do is use promo code Bengals Talk. Sleeper is such a fun way to play fantasy football. And if you’re like me, you’re either eliminated in a few leagues like Guillotine League or you’re just not doing too hot in a couple of leagues. Well, that’s where sleeper comes in because you look at those player projections and whether it’s Joe Flacco or Joe Burrow or Jamar Chase or T. Higgins, you can pick more or less on these player projections and boom, you can win big with the Sleeper app. So download it today, check it out, and make sure you use promo code Bengals Talk to get up to a $100 match on your first deposit. some things don’t need to be said and I I’m shocked that we’re here with the Joe Burrow element of this and maybe it’s because I see it like I saw him in camp dominate in camp. I you obviously saw the preseason and him dominate in the preseason and yeah he struggled against against Cleveland. The offense wasn’t great in the first quarter plus against the Jaguars. Like maybe that’s it. Maybe you’re just thinking of that. I don’t know what it is. But here’s the other element. A lot of you are saying, “Well, they were nine and eight with Joe Burrow last year. What did that get them? This defense, this defense, this defense.” There’s a couple things here that that need to be pointed out. One, they were nine and eight. They’re one and six without Joe this year. One and six to be clear. So like that alone regardless and and some are going to say, “Well, just it’s only on the defense.” Well, the defense stunk last year too and they were nine and eight. And here’s the other element to this and it’s a really big one because the thing Joe Flacco does well he will throw the ball away. There’s like one to two plays a game where he’ll throw it away. Joe Bro probably tries to extend the play and and takes a hit. And so I’ve seen that but I’ve seen a lot of people say well Joe Flacco just knows how to get the ball out. Joe Burrow throws it just as fast like that. That’s look it up. It’s like just over two seconds. And when Joe Burrow feels like he needs to extend the play, he has that ability. Flaco doesn’t. Flaco throws it away. Burrow tries to extend the play. A lot of times that equals big plays. You don’t want to take that away from him. That’s what makes him special. So what makes a lot of these guys special that’s what makes Patrick Mahomes special, being able to go off script, keep the play alive, and make a play. The other element here is the Bengals offensive line. Give them some credit. They’ve protected really well in the Joe Flacco era. They have over the past four games. They’ve held up well. They’ve done their job. They’ve kept Flacco upright. They’ve given him a chance. And these weapons, Jamar, Chase, and T. Higgins are balling. That matters a ton. And so when you have that, when you have guys making plays, making contested catches, that goes a long way. and and so Joe Flacco is playing great. This isn’t some anti- Flaco thing. That’s why I didn’t want to get into Flaco stats. I didn’t want to look at that Bears game, which I certainly think they win with Joe Burrow. I don’t think it needs to be some last second crazy comeback in the fourth quarter with a flurry if Joe Burrow’s on the field. But a couple of these things have really changed with Flaco under center and the offensive line. It could be as simple as Dylan Fairchild getting in a groove, Jaylen Rivers getting more comfortable, the veterans jelling with the young guys, Amarius Mims taking a step forward, and I think he has. Orlando Brown Jr. settling in as well. I think Orlando and Ted Carris have both settled in and played better in recent weeks. So, there’s that. Here’s the other element, and it’s a big one. Zack Taylor certainly is calling a game much differently. And that doesn’t mean it’s bad. It means if you do that with Burrow, I want to see what that looks like because he is calling a game to make sure that Joe Flacco, knowing that Joe Flacco isn’t mobile, gets the ball out fast and has has a couple reads and he’s going to go. And while Burrow does get the ball out quick, there’s no doubt I think that element matters because when the offensive line loses, Flaco still has options. When that doesn’t work, it breaks down like it did against the Jets. Right, that final drive against the Jets. The Jets know that the Bengals are going to throw the ball and they get that first down from Chase Brown and then what happens? The drive kind of falls apart. A big reason why that drive fell apart is because Flaco isn’t going to go off script. He’s not going to be able to extend the play. That’s the example. That’s what makes Joe Burrow special. So fine, you want to dismiss it and say, “Oh, well Joe Burrow doesn’t matter and it’s not going to fix the defense and what position on defense does he play?” That’s funny. It’s funny water cooler talk and it’s good it’s a good punchline and you’re a stand-up comedian. It’s great. Joe Bro matters. He does. And if you don’t think so, stand on that. But stand on it after this season. Stand on it regardless going into next year and continue to stand on it. Write the the oh trade Joe Burrow, keep Joe Flacco. Do that do that column if you want to or that comment here on YouTube or or wherever you get your podcast. Go ahead. Cuz you can go on that side. I’m going to go on the side of I was here before Joe Burrow. Plan on being here after Joe Burrow. I know what it’s like with Joe Burrow. And it’s certainly better with Joe Burrow than it’s been with anybody else uh at quarterback since I’ve covered this team. Make sure you hit that subscribe button on YouTube. Follow wherever you get your podcast. What? Where is that? That’s Apple. That’s Amazon. That’s Spotify. That’s the iHeart Radio app. By the way, tonight Tonight is the night. Backdrop included. Andrew Fox Miller and I enter the jungle. Really excited about it. You’re going to hear from Joe Burrow. We have plenty to discuss 8 o’clock tonight, Tuesday night, right here on Cincinnati Bengals Talk. Until then, I’m James Pine. Thank you so much for watching and listening to Cincinnati Bengals Talk. [Music]

Joe Burrow is BACK—and it’s causing major debate among Bengals fans! In this episode of Cincinnati Bengals Talk, James Rapien dives deep into the latest Bengals news, breaking down why Burrow’s potential return is a HUGE deal for the team. Is bringing Burrow back the right move? How does he stack up against Joe Flacco, and can he save the Bengals’ season? James Rapien tackles fan comments, talks about the team’s struggles, the impact of Joe Burrow, and what this means for the rest of the season.

Tune in for analysis on the Bengals’ defense, offensive line improvements, key players like Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, and how Zac Taylor’s play-calling could shift with Burrow under center. Plus, don’t miss a look at the current AFC North standings and Bengals playoff hopes!

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