Charlie Goldsmith | Cincinnati Bengals insider, Cincinnati Enquirer

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Actually, pretty soon we'll have to shift to baseball. But Charlie, given that it was not even 24 hours after the Bengals lost by three points in Kansas City, a tight affair that really was emotionally and physically challenging and took all of them. How would you describe the tone around the players and the coaches from what you observed Monday? So the message from Zach Taylor was all about appreciating one of the best teams in franchise history. Appreciating maybe the most talented team in franchise history.

But it was a day where everyone was thinking, one, what could have been, and two, how it might look differently next year. Jesse Bates, Eli Apple, Jermaine Pratt, Von Bell, all reflecting on maybe their last day in the Bengals locker room. Made it very emotional talking for those players as they spoke to the media today. So those emotions, again, were being balanced as they tried to also reflect on a really good season.

They maybe started a little slowly but came on as one of the top teams in the league, including a franchise record 10-game win streak and some other milestones along the way. Were there specific moments or plays that were talked about on Monday? Well, everything Chris Jones did. The Bengals last year lost in the Super Bowl because Aaron Donald showed why he's a Hall of Famer. And he was pointing to his ring finger after making the game winning stack in the fourth quarter.

And then yesterday, Chris Jones didn't do the point, but he did do the wave to the crowd after he sacked Burrow on the Bengals final play on offense. The difference was the Bengals were down three starting offensive line. They were down three backups, three young guys who had been really working to develop behind the scenes to a great Buffalo that didn't carry forward. It does show that the Bengals need to specifically do a better job in the draft with how they build their offensive line depth.

And I think that's something they're really going to try to address this offseason. Obviously, the offensive line was a challenge against the Kansas City Chiefs, but yet they dominated in Buffalo. Why such a difference between the way the O-line performed in those two games? I think the offensive line really wasn't tested as much in Buffalo. The snow really made a huge difference for the pass rushers, like a bunch of Bengals defensive players actually said this.

When you're a pass rusher and you don't know where you're going as much, it's harder than when you're an offensive line, meaning you do know where you're going in the snow. So the Bengals had that edge in Buffalo. And also the difference between Chris Jones and the Bills' best pass rusher, defensive tackle Ed Oliver, is pretty much the same as the difference between like Joe Burrow and Kirk Cousins. So the Bengals were facing a much stiffer test. And again, Chris Jones took over the game. From your perspective, Charlie, what are a couple of moments or factors that, in addition to Chris Jones, that you will remember from this AFC Championship game loss? I think the biggest thing is just the feeling of, you know, Joe Burrow gets the ball with two minutes left.

And every time in his life he converts in that situation. Every time this season, you know, that's when incredible moments happen. I could point to four or five times over the course of the year where Burrow got that ball. Throw, throw, throw, and then they're in the end zone and they come out with a win.

And this time that didn't happen. Even for one of the much, most clutch players in the NFL, it's always surprising to see a passing offense that's so dynamic and so explosive come up just short. Were you surprised at all that they didn't turn to the run the way that they had against Buffalo?

Again, another factor that was so different. Samaje, Peewine, their backup running back, actually played about twice as many snaps as Joe Mixon. They were so concerned about pass protection that they used Peewine who's their pass protecting back in that expanded role. That shows that, again, pass protection and the idea of needing to protect Burrow was that much more of a priority than even establishing the run game. The Bengals historically have shied away from the run in huge games and put as much on Burrow's play as possible.

I'd do the same thing. I'd go down with the MVP candidate and your superstar receivers over the run game. But that certainly wasn't the first time the Bengals run game hasn't really showed up in a massive playoff game. Again, they just were trying to go down with Burrow and the passing game as best they could. Although I agree with you, there definitely was an anticipation in the fourth quarter when the Bengals would get the ball. And yes, Chris Jones over and over again seems to spoil those plans. We're spending a few minutes with Charlie Goldsmith who covers the Bengals and was there at the AFC Championship game for Cincinnati Inquirer.

It's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio. How much was said about the Joseph Assai late hit and then his reaction following that moment? The part of that that's really become viral is in the postgame locker room afterwards. Bengals defensive tackle BJ Hill, a veteran standing right next to Joseph, putting his arm around Joseph, responding to some of the questions Joseph received. And really, again, showing support through leadership and showing support and adversity in that way. A lot of players around the league, John Calipari, all tweeting about what BJ Hill showed in that moment.

I spoke with BJ today. He said in that moment all he could think about was he said he comes from a big family. He knows how many times he has had to really stand up for his literal brothers and sisters through adversity. And that's just what he defaulted to in that moment. And again, it went viral. A great example of leadership as BJ Hill stood up for his teammates.

Agreed. I loved that, that in that moment there were teammates, specifically Hill, who cared more about Joseph than they did about the outcome of the game. I was also really impressed that Joe, at 22 years old, took questions following the game.

Was he available again on Monday? He was not, but again, he certainly gave a lot of explanation on Sunday. Joseph Osai is one of the most energetic, enthusiastic players in the Bengals locker room. On top of that, he might be the best hustled player on the Bengals. His effort and his intensity is why they drafted him. It's why his role has taken off in the second half of the season. Unfortunately, he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time against Patrick Mahomes and led to the play that changed and ended the game, really. But again, Osai, everyone pretty universally today, yesterday, I would never ask about him in the media.

Very supportive things to say. It was a tough mistake to make in that moment. So, Charlie, you mentioned a few names at the start of this conversation. Changes that could be coming for the Bengals in the offseason. Who do you think are the most significant potential departures from the Bengals roster? Well, it's the secondary. The secret of the whole Bengals roster over the last two years is the secondary has been about as consistent of a unit as there is on the entire roster.

As dynamic of a unit as there's been on the entire roster. It's this veteran group with the most energy that you'll see anywhere across the NFL. And now pretty much half that group is set to hit for agency, most notably the co-quarterbacks of the defense, safety's Von Bell and Jesse Bates, the guys who make all the checks and the reads at the line of scrimmage.

The guys who do everything from guarding Travis Kelce one-on-one to double-teaming the superstar receivers they face like Stephon did to playing deep zone coverage down the field as well as anyone together. So the Bengals, they'd like to bring both of them back but they don't get to live in that world now as their biggest priority is preparing for Joe Burrow's contract which is expected to come this offseason. So that's leading to some tough decisions and talking to Von there were a lot of questions about what it's going to look like. But then especially Jesse and quarterback Eli Apple seemed pretty confident that this might be their last time in the Bengals locker room. Yeah, it seemed like they were issuing more goodbyes or maybe preemptive strikes if they don't have an opportunity to say goodbye.

It was a little bittersweet to see what they had to say. And Jesse, I mean, he was a 21-year-old kid coming out of Wake Forest when the Bengals drafted him. He said he was an knucklehead. We thought he could, he was reflecting on this yesterday, we thought he could make every play in the defense and then Lou Ann Arumo changed the Bengals defensive coordinator, changed the way he viewed himself, changed the way he viewed leadership, teamwork, playing the safety position. Jesse Bates became, you know, in 2020 he was PFF highest graded safety in football.

This year he was playing at a Pro Bowl level completely. Bates bet on himself twice looking for a big contract. And I think he's certainly going to earn it when he hits the open market. Well, speaking of big contracts, as you point out, the number one priority is figuring out common ground with Joe Burrow. What kind of range are we thinking here for Joe Burrow? There isn't a deal he could sign where my reaction is someone who covers the team would be the Bengals overpaid. I think Burrow, Burrow should be the highest paid quarterback in the league as he now is the latest guy with the chance to set the market. He is in a league where Mahomes and Allen and maybe to an extent Lawrence and Herbert are going to be competing for conference championships for the next decade. Burrow is a guy who gives you as good of a chance as quite literally anyone.

And again, the price tag on that you can't underestimate. I get the sense that the Bengals are very confident in where these conversations are going to be trending over the course of the offseason. Burrow has said he wants to get this done. The Bengals obviously want to get this done. Jamar Chase wants to get this done and then start working on his own deal next offseason. The Bengals know who they are and they know who they're building around. Are we thinking north of 50 million though since that's what Roger's got? What the Bengals said before the season was what they would love is for Burrow to take the Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes approach and just sign him up to the exact same contract with that long term security that Kansas City and Buffalo both have.

I forget those terms but it's over 50 a year average for Mahomes and Allen. Charlie Goldsmith is with us from Cincinnati after covering the AFC Championship and of course another stellar Bengals campaign for the Inquirer. It's after hours on CBS Sports Radio. So there's certainly player personnel decisions that have to be made. What about the coaching staff? Lots of rumblings around the coordinators. Lou Annaromo and Brian Callahan, their offensive coordinator and their defensive coordinator. There was some, I guess mist might be the best word that they hadn't been receiving interviews. The secret of the Bengals is they have one of the best coaching staff in football. Jamar Chase missed time this year.

DJ Reeder missed time this year. A bunch of their key players had to miss time. The offense had this evolution beginning in week five where they completely changed the identity of the unit on the fly and became the most efficient offense in the league.

The defense is this versatile adaptable unit that turned all these free agents into the most cohesive group in the NFL. And of course Brian and Lou deserved the credit for that. They hadn't been rewarded yet with interviews and it sounds like that changed yesterday. Brian Callahan set to go to Arizona, same with Lou Annaromo for interviews. Brian Callahan will have a second interview with the Indianapolis Colts.

Bengals quarterbacks coach Dan Pitcher, according to head coach Jack Taylor, remains in conversations with a few teams about offensive coordinator openings. So the Bengals are certainly getting the attention and the recognition for the work the coaching staff did this off-season. When you think about priorities in terms of putting them over the hump in 2023, what would you say are a couple of areas that they need to address? Well that's the thing. I really think they were the most complete roster in the NFL this season. Then three offensive linemen got hurt and that changes everything.

That shows you that you gotta be better than you were this year even though it was the most talented team in franchise history. If you're the Bengals you do hope your offensive linemen don't get hurt all at the exact same time in the postseason next year. But you again have to do a better job drafting and developing the young players in the building. You have to continue to maintain waves of defensive linemen who are able to consistently create pressure. And then the biggest thing really is again with the free agents we mentioned, you're going to have guys like last year's first round pick Dax Hill at safety, stepping up into starting roles. With Jermaine Pratt likely to leave at linebacker, you're going to have fourth year player Akeem Davis-Gator who's been, I'm really high on him, he's developing in the wings. He's going to have to step up in his first opportunity to be a full time starter. So it's really about this next wave of young players who could either be drafted this year or who have been developing behind the scenes for the last few years.

When they get their opportunities there has to be as little drop off as humanly possible. Do you remember when the Bengals started out 0-2 and then when they were 2-3? That seems like a long time ago. I mean another example of what they accomplished this season, when they were 0-2 Zach Taylor could have said, you know we'll be fine, we made the Super Bowl last year, we have Joe Burrow. But he took the opposite approach, he started scrapping the whole offense, they changed the whole run scheme, they started really really working with Joe Burrow to play an entirely different way, prioritizing efficiency over explosive plays. They made some changes to some of their analytical approach, they decided to take the ball first when they won the coin toss. They did all these things after they started 0-2 that shaped the course of the season and gave the Bengals their identity that they had in the 2022 season. And again they wrote that identity as the SE title game and Patrick Mahomes, you just tip your cap to him after he outplayed them. But it was also huge plays by the defense too as we've talked about with Chris Jones and that D-line Frank Clark, he was all over the place too. So yeah it's nice to know that we'll have some of these teams continuing to butt heads like Bills, Bengals and then Bengals and the Chiefs. It certainly was a season of a lot of milestones as we talked about and you want to make sure you find Charlie on Twitter because he's got a lot of quotes from the players that were speaking in their exit interviews on Monday.

So he's at Charlie G underscore, Charlie Goldsmith still working. So both Reds and Bengals, I hope you have some time off before baseball starts to capture a lot of your hours. Well I'm heading to Arizona in a couple weeks excited to shift gears but as you know football season never truly ends. That's true, it is all consuming and it is round the clock. Well we appreciate a couple of minutes with you, thank you so much.

Thank you. Goalie gummies get you so close to your goals you can actually taste them. The trick?

Simply start with bite size steps. Like Goalie's apple cider vinegar gummies with added B vitamins for daily health. Or Goalie ashwagandha gummies to help you relax, restore and unwind.

Mmm tastes like wellness just got a whole lot better. And when goals taste this good, it's easy to achieve them. Goalie, taste your goals. Learn more at Goalie dot com today. Goalie gummies get you so close to your goals you can actually taste them. The trick?

Simply start with bite size steps. Like Goalie's apple cider vinegar gummies with added B vitamins for daily health. Or Goalie ashwagandha gummies to help you relax, restore and unwind.

Mmm tastes like wellness just got a whole lot better. And when goals taste this good, it's easy to achieve them. Goalie, taste your goals. Learn more at Goalie dot com today. Goalie gummies get you so close to your goals you can actually taste them. The trick?

Simply start with bite size steps. Like Goalie's apple cider vinegar gummies with added B vitamins for daily health. Or Goalie ashwagandha gummies to help you relax, restore and unwind. Mmm tastes like wellness just got a whole lot better. And when goals taste this good, it's easy to achieve them. Goalie, taste your goals. Learn more at Goalie dot com today.