 OK, before I get started, Page Six Grade, championship game versus Ennsworth, Saturday, 9.30. So my son Bryce is going to go against Coach William's son there at Ennsworth. So big battle, bragging rights, obviously are a big thing this weekend. So looking forward to it. When do we have availability with Bryce? I don't know. He says his mom doesn't really allow him to talk too much. So you'll have to go through her. 9.30 AM, it's an early one. He's had some games at 8 AM too, which has been interesting to get him up. So yeah, this is from my mom who passed away over 20 years ago with pancreatic cancer. So it's just good that we can remember her and all the other people that have fought through cancer. So I just texted my sister and my brother, told him I got him a shirt so we can reminisce. Yeah, it's been over 20 years. She passed away 10 days after 9.11. So that was obviously a big thing. So thank you. I guess lost Kierce, I guess, on Friday and Mason slides into public role. What was that transition like? And how do you think Mason did? Good. It's the guy that's been back there. He played against the Rams last year. So we had a bunch of confidence of Mason going back in there and catching some punts. And it was really good to see him on the first punt. It wasn't a great punt. He did a great job of getting in front of it, squaring up to it, catching it off the bounce, and getting positive yards. So we'll continue to work with him. Hopefully we can, as we said earlier, we want to catch the ball, get a first-first down. But now we've got to be a little bit more selfish and try to get a little bit more. But obviously protecting the football. So that's one of the things we'll continue to work on today. You mentioned about helping, though, like helping adding to. Do you see that just through three weeks of just how important that's going to be to pick up an extra 10 or 15 whenever you can? Oh, sure. I mean, that's going to be huge for our team. And our players understand that. I think our guys on the outside are doing a tremendous job with Kendall and Trey Avery. Those guys are doing a great job, whether we single or double press them on the outside. When Nick Westbrook comes out there, they're doing a really good job. So our guys are really locked into that unit. And we've got to continue to make that a strength for us. The kickoff is just kind of one of their options, like you guys have there with Julia Centiere and stuff. Yeah. That was interesting. Tajah, I thought, did a really good job for a guy with the Browns, with Hopkins. And that ball was up there four or five. I think we had one of them that was almost four or six. But I thought he did a really good job catching the ball, getting upfield. We just missed one block. And then I know we'd like to have back. And otherwise, I thought Tajah had a good read on it. We're going to continue to mix it up, whether it's Tajah back there, someone else, Chris Moore, any other guys that we want to feel that can go back there and return it, whether it's getting touchbacks for catches or returning the ball. But we'll have to see how it plays out each and every week. Your unit probably was heard more than any other with the losses of chestnut and brown. Can you talk about what they brought to the team? Yeah, obviously four core special teams players that do a really good job. And then to add on to it, we lost Luke a little bit at the end. So we had to make a bunch of adjustments. And that's the great part about our football team. Guys are willing to step up. They might not even got a rep for Luke's spot or Julia's spot, because those are very limited during practice on how many reps that we actually get. But I was really proud of our guys stepping up, understanding the role that Julius has and some other guys that are four core players and them wanting to be a part of our special teams and commit to it and do whatever is needed to win. Thanks. Yeah, positive, looking forward to Sunday. Look forward to coming to work, getting better. I was working together as a whole and then making it all come together in addition to the details, the concept of the play and then let it transition out here and then let it go into Sunday. One of the coaches who's staying earlier this week, there's been a real emphasis on details for everything. What does that mean, like maybe for you or for the running backs, you know, focusing on details? Yeah, a coach has been preaching it all week, just understanding what you're doing, understanding the details of the play, what we're trying to get done to make the play successful when it takes all 11. Whatever guy got to be locked in on your job specifically on each play. What do you see, Derek, is, I guess how important to have success in the running game, you think, on Sunday and maybe what stands out about the Bengals as you try to do that? Takes all 11. Everybody focused, having the will to get off the line and scrimmage, create space, finish and runs. Guys going there and digging out safeties and DBs. No, they love to blitz the nickel. They've had success against us in these past couple of games and we just got to be better focused, play better, get into drives and everybody do their job the way they're supposed to. Is there an example of one of those details that you're really honing in on to help you do exactly what you just said against the Bengals? I mean, just whatever play is called, just knowing my job and trying to execute it the best way I can and being focused in the meetings to know the whole concept, all of us, and then doing it out here and then going out there on Sunday putting the plays together so we can have success. What about the stuff that's in the playbook, Derek? How much of that are we seeing from like creativity standpoint? Is that it again? How much of the playbook in the running game are we seeing so far and what sort of creativity or new stuff comes in week by week? You gotta ask Tim that. I mean, I don't really know what you're trying to ask but we just try to go out there and do it and try to go out there and make success out of what's called and just do our job. Derek, you haven't been shut down or had as few opportunities in a game in a long time like on Sunday. Does that make you kind of chop at the bit this week or are you a little extra motivated to get out there on Sunday? I'm always motivated to play the next game. Last weekend, it was rough. I didn't have much success. So obviously, at the end of the day, I'm always gonna be locked in. I always need to focus on my job and what I gotta do and try to go out there and play my best. But last weekend, add a little bit more fuel, definitely. Individuals versus leading in a group, just after a loss like that, do you talk to a whole team? Do you talk to individual teammates? Do you kind of leave people alone? Just what's your approach after a loss like that? Yeah, I mean, leaders, definitely. We all want to step up, all want to be vocal. I want to go out there and work and let our work show and do whatever we can to get everybody going. That's the title of being the leader. And I think guys are trying to do that the best way they can and get guys going and give you guys confidence. Let everybody go out there, but also have fun playing the game as well. Derek, what do you feel like it has been the past three times you've met with individuals that maybe they have your number you guys aren't able to kind of get over the hump in that situation? They've just been a better team. The last couple of times we played them and credit goes to them. The game plan they put in, they've worked and we didn't execute enough to be able to have success against those guys to be able to win. So they have had great game plans against us. You know, the credit goes to them. But hopefully we come out here and get better every day and let it transition to Sunday. I mean, I know they didn't get off to a great start but that's still a great team. It's going to be a tough matchup. Is it new year? Do you guys feel like you owe them one maybe after the last few years? Not really. All in one. I think we treat it as the next game. Don't get too caught up in emotions. Things like that happen. But at the end of the day, we've got to line up and play on Sunday. So they're a great team. They're coming off a win. We're looking for one. Trying not to get tied up in emotions and this is a fresh season. But at this point, there's been a lot more losses than the wins. How frustrating does that get? Do you have to deal with that or try to ignore that? We're just three games in. Lost 2-1-1. We still got time to get back on track as early as this season. We definitely don't want to go out there and lose but sometimes the virtually strikes earlier than other times. So just staying focused on what we want to do and how we want to play as a team and take it week by week to try to go out there and get a win. But at the end of the day, it starts out here and let it transition to Sunday. How much do you think see Julius go down and maybe what have you said to him to kind of lift his spirits? Yeah, you know, I'm tough, tough with Julius. You know, he was in good spirits even after, you know. Anytime I see him in here when he's in the building, I'll just talk to him and try to lift his spirits. But I have no doubt he'll be back once he goes through what he goes through and works through it. Be back, be the same player, the same effort he gives on when that time comes. Scoring was the biggest issue with last year's team and you guys are down this year and went two games without scoring a touchdown. How confident are you that this offense is going to take you to places where you can be more like what you were going to charge for? Still confident. Like I told her, we just had a tough one, a little adversity. But at the end of the day, you just got to trust and believe and your training and what we do and eventually it'll pop off for us. That last weekend was a tough one, but never let it waver your confidence and how we want to be at the offense. Yeah, you know, I don't think that part of it's tough. I mean, it's tough to watch because no one's proud of what it looked like or what the end result was. But it does provide us an opportunity to be able to go and say, hey, when we're not as detailed as we need to be, when we don't do the things that we want to and execute the keys the way that we need to, you can go out there and put out a performance like that. So, you know, unfortunately for us, we have to be able to learn from that and move on quickly because again, we got another good opponent coming in here in a couple of days. When it comes to the time, you mentioned details and that seems to be a big emphasis this week. What are some details, you know, in particular maybe that you want to see the line? Yeah, different, you know, making sure we understand who we're working with, making sure we understand the different, the different, you know, checks, plays, looks that may be triggering based upon what we're seeing. And then understanding when we have help. And then, you know, there's going to be times where we got to go out there and one-on-one and one-match up and understand when that's going to happen and what techniques we need to do, when techniques we need to use in order to get that done. How do you get them in the line between help, no help when you're going against a dominant guy like Garrett or a guy who's having success like Hendrick? Yeah, yeah, obviously, you know, seems like every week when you're playing these teams, there's a guy who's making a lot of money, you know, rushing the passer on the edge. So we are very aware and there's going to be times where we need to pick our spots, where we think either the ball is going to get out based upon the different situation where we're out in the field, so on and so forth. But yeah, there is a fine line there to make sure that we aren't getting enough help to those guys on the edge and to make sure that we're giving our guys a chance to be successful. As you were saying to him during that game sort of changed how you looked at that game plan based on? Yeah, I think you kind of get a feel for it as you're going through, like, hey, we're holding up. Hey, you know, we may need a little bit more help. So yeah, that's kind of a fluid thing, but we definitely went into the game plan, you know, with different ways to try and get help to different people. Is it the way you all wanted a team was winning like that up front? How much does that limit what you're able to do? Yeah, you know, it definitely limits what's going on. You know, the more limiting factor ends up being in second and 12 and being in third and long. Again, hopefully it's the last time I have to say that, but if we're living in that world, it's going to be hard. I don't care who you have walking up front, like, that's hard. Those guys are pinning their ears back. They don't have to worry about any type of run game in that situation. And they're able to go rush the passer, which is what they get paid to do and work all day on it. So we got to do a better job staying out of those situations. So the same guys are giving you problems to get games on first down. How do you solve the first damage? Yeah, I can help them out with better play calls. And we got to do a better job of executing. What goes into the decision of let's give this guy some help and keep him out there, or let's try to figure a different way to help him versus making a lineup change like you do when you put Dylan in? Yeah, yeah, I think there's a lot. Bless you. I think there's a lot of things that go into it, right? Ultimately, that group, it's all about the sum of the five. So how do we get our best five on the field? And then how do we get those five to play at a higher level than what they played last week? Tim, what about the running game in regards to getting that going? Yeah. Is it a creativity thing? Is it a winning one thing? What all goes into that being better this week? Yeah, it's probably a combination of everything. Leaning into more of what we're more efficient at. Limiting some of the moving parts, whatever it may be. I think it's a combination of whether it's being more creative, being less creative, kind of finding that sweet spot, and then, again, just making sure that we're putting our guys in a good spot, and they feel confident in what we're asking them to do. When it comes to the tight end and the run block situations, what would you like to see more out of them? Yeah, just continue to be consistent. I think that's what it is across the board, right? You go back and you look at some of those plays from the other day, and there's a couple where it's like, OK, that play was blocked pretty well. And then the very next play, it's like, holy, like, that was not blocked very well. So we just got to do a better job across the board, just with the consistency of being able to go out there and execute. When you're juggling up front, how do you ensure that a guy like Derek still gets his touches? Yeah, just got to continue to, again, figure out what is best for us schematically in terms of the different run games and the different run schemes, and then continuing to have trust in those guys up front. Because obviously, you know, just got to get Derek started. And then we've all seen the highlights of him being able to make huge plays. So it's a combination of kind of both of those things, is continuing to have trust in Derek and then making sure, again, that we're executing a little bit more consistently. Have any explosive plays? Did you guys, when you watch the film, maybe leave on the field because of a miss block here? Yeah, that was a long time ago, to be honest with you. Like, we aren't where it passed that. I don't know that off the top of my head. There's always a few, though. Tim, with the offensive line, what are the little things you've seen them do, or maybe what they've done in spurts that give you confidence that the product can be done? Yeah, yeah, I mean, you look at how we perform against LA. First and second down, did a really good job. There are multiple times where Ryan was back there with plenty of time to function and be able to take some of those shots. It's, again, like, you see spurts of it. We just need to do them more consistently. When he catches 10 yards, just what needs to be done to kind of unlock that skill a little bit more? Yeah, and get in situations where we can get him out and get him in the ball. Are you able to kind of still sit in meetings? I don't know when he's coming back, but, of course, Grotsky, is he able to sit through meetings where he'll hit the ground running when his health allows it? Yeah, yeah, it was good to get him back in the building and see him back in here. Obviously, Pete, he's intelligent. He's diligent, so I'm not too concerned with that. Kind of trailing Berks, the full trailing Berks right now, or I know he missed the time in camp, and seems to be maybe still dealing with the injury. Is that holding him back at all? There are definitely times where when he's out there and you feel him running and you feel the speed and you're feeling him being able to get behind two pretty good corners that we played last week, I know he drew, drawed, whatever the word is. The DPI there on our sideline had a couple of other opportunities. So we're definitely seeing flashes of what we feel like he can be. Tim, what goes into your own self-evaluation of what you've done in regards to play calling the first three weeks? Yeah, always evaluating it. Don't sleep a whole lot, especially after a game like that, because you're always constantly, what could I have done better? What could I have done differently? So good or bad, I think you're always in the mode of being able to go and evaluate what you're asking your players to do. So yeah, again, like we talked about, just got to find a way to get them into a rhythm quicker. Andre, I guess in particular, it's like the numbers and kind of the eye test would seem he's kind of struggling against the pass. But are you seeing signs that he's learning as he's going along that he's making some improvement? Sure, yeah. Like I said, you go and you watch the tape and there's times where he's singing up on arguably one of the best pass roasters in the NFL, and he's blocking him. He's doing a good job. So it's just, again, finding that, OK, look, here's the techniques that we're teaching, that you're using. And when we do it consistently, you're pretty effective. In terms of athleticism and his ability to be able to match and mirror on the edge, it's up there. So just being able to continue to trust the techniques and trust in his ability to be able to go out there and execute. Because when he does, it looks pretty good. Good? Thank you guys. Yeah, so these are two extremely special women to me. My mom, my mother-in-law, both are battling, fighting, breast cancer. Extremely tough individuals would never know they're dealing with what they're dealing with. Really proud of them and the way they carry themselves, the way they battle. But yeah, good to represent them, show encouragement for them, and then also bring awareness to a nasty disease. Shane, switching over to Joe Burrow, he showed that even with a sore calf that he could maneuver and get some balls completed. Does that make him more dangerous, or do you prepare for a fully healthy Joe Burrow? Yeah, it's unique. I mean, he's different than what he's been, obviously, just because there is some limitations with his mobility. In the past, he's always been a threat to take a scramble lane when it's there, to extend plays, to make plays down the field late in the down. So I mean, you see a little bit of a difference. We've got to be able to rush and affect them just the same. And we'll kind of see as he progresses here. I mean, he said to himself, he felt like he's getting stronger week by week. So we'll kind of see where he's at here this week. But we've got to be ready to cover and rush, just like any other quarterback. How much do you take from what they've done against you the last couple of times? Yeah, I think you go back and look. You always do kind of see what shows up, how they're trying to attack us, different things. There's things that kind of show throughout the different games we played against them. And then there's always going to be some new things, some wrinkles that show up. Again, last year, Chase didn't play against us, right? So that was a little bit different, where he's going to be out there here Sunday, obviously. So I mean, you take some things from it, but you're always preparing for something new, too. I mean, it's a lot of attention Chase does, obviously. But how tough is T. Higgins and how difficult a match up is he? Yeah, I think this is probably the most dynamic skill group we've faced so far between Chase, Higgins, Boyd, Mixon, right? They're all pretty dynamic players when they get the ball in their hands. They all are a little bit different skill set. Like I talked about a few weeks ago, we got to know who we're going against. Chase is different than Higgins. Higgins is different than Boyd. Boyd is different than Chase. They're all different types of receivers who really play at a high level. So we've got to make sure we understand who we're on, who we're covering, what their skill set is, and what they're going to try to do. What do you think is just the size? The size, the catch and run, the 50-50 balls, the balls down the field. I mean, he's a really good receiver in this league. And we're going to have to be competitive down the field on him. We are. He does a good job timing it up, going up high point in the football. And then when he does catch it on the underneath stuff, we can't let him build speed and get going. When you go into a game, do you have kind of a scouting report about the officiating crew and how they're known to call games so you can instruct your corners specifically about how physical they're allowed to play? Yeah, something, braves and stretch, go through every week with us. We meet about it. We talk about it. We bring it to note with the players. But I mean, early in the year, it's hard. You go off of kind of what they did last year a little bit and have an idea. But it is something we address. Did you explain to them what happened against the passing game so far? How many of them have been, yeah, like Amore making a great play on the sideline the other day? And how many have been things where you're in the film and saying, we have to correct this? Yeah, I would say probably if I had to put a percent, I would say 50-50. I mean, I don't think there's been a lot of bust, so to speak. I mean, there's been a couple. Don't get me wrong, there's been a couple of busts. But I think some of those, we've been beat one on one at times down the field. And then other times, we're close enough and they make a play, which that's the definition of 50-50. But we got to make sure it's more 50-50 than what it's been right now. So with the pass, no one there going to make some plays here. What do you have to do to make it so they're not thrown for 300 yards? I think our guys, we got to make sure we're playing with better technique and fundamentals. I think that's where we're not where we need to be right now. Like whether we're in man, whether we're in zone, whether we're in a match coverage, like we got to understand what coverage we're playing. And each coverage has a specific technique, depending on where you're aligned, where you're at. And then the fundamentals really carry on throughout, whether you end up in man or zone, understanding what's going on and what it takes to execute the coverage. And I think some of these one-on-one situations, our technique hasn't been the best. I think we got to be better with our eyes. We got to be better with our leverage. We got to be able to be better at the line of scrimmage and not let these free releases. So there's a lot of technique stuff that's showing up that we're working on and it's got to improve. Does Sean need to calibrate better with how the game's being called with his physicality? Yeah, I mean, I think the first third down, I get it. I can kind of see why they called that one. The second one, I think it's some crews call it. Some crews don't. I thought it was pretty square on the second one there, later in the game. Again, if we're challenging and we're aggressive and they're not dumb penalties, you kind of have to live with it at some point. You've got to be able to play the game how it's being called. And again, every receiver is going to be taught make sure you're pushing off, because they're not calling it. So in order to be close, you've got to be able to challenge and play aggressive and be physical with these guys, especially on these stick routes on third, fourth down. It's the down the field stuff, the grab in the guy get behind you, not locating the ball. All that type of stuff is the stuff that we got to make sure we eliminate. And at times, if we get called on being too aggressive at the sticks, so be it. We got to line up and play again. Is Christian's confidence taking him kind of a hit? In terms of what do you have to do to try to get him back to play in the way it was in camp and preseason? Yeah, I think just being out here, right? I think he's got to practice. He was dealing with some stuff early on. The practice, the speed of practice, line it up and go in. And like I talked about earlier, just the technique and fundamentals. Play in and play out. We've got to assume every single guy on the field has to assume they're going to get the ball thrown on them every single play. Like that's how we got to play. We can't take plays off. We got to be locked in, because the moment you do, they find it, right? So I have no question about his confidence level. I know he was a whatever, busted coverage of whatever you want to call it. And then he had the DPI on the third down, or on the GBOT, which I thought he was in good shape. I really do. I thought he was in good shape. And then late, it just kind of got away from him down the field. But he was in pretty good position on that one, the one they called on Coop. So and then the other one, I think, with Coop, I mean, they're competing, right? Whether you want to call it a push off, whatever you want to call it. He's competing. He's battling much like I talked about earlier. They're going to win some. We're going to win some. Hopefully, we will win more than we lose. Shane, that technique you're talking about within different coverage, is that related to all to anything you guys on your end of change this year? Is it just players need to be more mindful of stuff they should do? Yeah, a little bit. Like we're doing some different things coverage-wise. Obviously, with Chris coming and some of the stuff he's done in the past, we're doing some different things. He's got a different way of doing things than maybe we've had in the past year, just with specific techniques, right? And I think a lot of that stuff we talked to our guys about, like, we're going to have stuff we believe in as coaches, but at the same time, if there's things that, I mean, that's part of being a pro. There's things that you've done differently that you feel more comfortable doing. Like, we're all for it, like, but we got to go do it, right? So I think in a lot of the stuff, there's a lot of similarities, the eyes, the vision, the footwork, right, playing square. All that stuff carries through on a lot of this stuff that we just got to make sure that we're getting play in and play out. What are your thoughts on this season? Is this where you kind of expect Harold to be at this point? And maybe what would you like to see from him? Yeah, I think he's still working his way back, right? Getting back out there, live action, rolling. I think the thing with him, he just got to continue to press the envelope in practice, continue to press the envelope out there. And when he's going, he's got to go. You know, he's got to go. And again, he's coming back. And it's live bullets now, where in practice, it's one thing. But there's live bullets. There's bodies flying around. There's a bunch going on. And we just got to go play. Like, you got to go play, cut it loose and play, and he'll get there. Thanks. Yep. Thanks a lot.