First, tell me about your media career and how that got started?
Well, went I went to Syracuse I started off as a pre-law major, but I decided I didn’t like the law books and studying law. I was playing football and thought that if I didn’t get into coaching maybe broadcasting would be a direction to go. I got my degree in PR and communications at the Newhouse School at Syracuse after that.
After that I tried to understand more about the business and did substituted some for Bengals radio during the week. Paul Brown after I retired asked if I wanted to color for their radio broadcasts so I interviewed and got the job.
I started there in ’96 and have been there since then. I also have done college football – for the SEC, ACC and Big 12. I’ve done high school analyst work as well.
Is it hard separating the player from the media guy?
When they had me audition Paul told me he wanted me to call it like I was with the fans. So tat made it easier. You always want to see the teams you played for win of course.
This current Bengals team – you like the way it’s trending and it’s future?
I think it all starts with the quarterback – it’s a quarterback-driven league. We have a guy that can be here for a decade-plus. Burrow has tremendous skills – and one of his biggest attributes is his people skills. He respects people and is a natural born leader. He gets guys to play at the highest level for him.
He has the physical skills and the football IQ – and he loved the grind of football. When your best player is like that it makes others think about whether they are doing enough as well.
It’s a big burden – but he enjoys it. He never seems to make the same mistake twice – he learns from prior experience. This eight-game stretch, he saw what teams like the Ravens were able to do against him and was able to adjust afterwards. He has the accuracy and anticipation to throw guys open and thread the needle – the double A’s. He’s a special player.
Remind you of a guy you used to play with in Ken Anderson?
Very much so yes. Ken went to school on a basketball and baseball scholarship – he didn’t even start off as a great football player in college. Basketball helped him with his footwork for sure – and Burrow started off the same way. So there are similarities between the two.
People underestimated Kenny’s athletic ability and I think they do Joe’s as well. Football like most sports starts with the feet and ends with the hands – throwing a ball, swinging a bat… those two guys were very similar in their skillsets – even Joe’s accuracy and anticipation are a lot like Kenny’s was. It’s a much smaller sample size so far, but you can see it.
When you played the Steelers back in your day, did you guys prepare for them differently than you did other teams?
Paul Brown was the head coach when I got there, and every time we played the Steelers or the Browns it was Steelers Week and Browns Week. When we played Pittsburgh it was a different mindset – a different feel. They had started accumulating their championships and we wanted to measure up to them. And Cleveland we wanted to beat because of Paul’s connection to Cleveland.
There was always a different bounce in our step those weeks for sure.
Anyone you personally looked forward to playing against in those games?
Well, it was never like going on a vacation! I respected everyone on that Steel Curtain defense – they had Hall of Fame players at every level of that defense.
But I looked at it like a good test. That was my philosophy – if you could play well against Joe Greene others took notice. It helped show that you belonged in the league. It brought out the best in your for sure.
Cleveland had some great players too. Walter Johnson, God rest his soul, he was a beast. He was a wrestler and was difficult to block. Jerry Sherk too – they had really good players too.
Any fun stories from those games?
There was plenty of physicality but not a lot of talking. I certainly wasn’t going to exacerbate things!
The first time I played Joe Greene I remember the first time I lined up against him, him putting his facemask under mine and yelling “Cincy – how are we doing today!” I thought, “So that’s how it’s going to be!”
One game too we were near the goal line and Joe yelled at me that I tried to cut his legs he’d break my you-know-what neck. Lambert too – he’d have his teeth out for the games, yelling and spit flying everywhere. One game I got kicked in the head and was a bit loopy – I found myself in the Steelers defensive huddle with Lambert. I got out of there fast!
Any other things you remember about those matchups?
Greene was a team player. Lambert wasn’t a big guy – his strength was angling towards the gaps and making tackles. Greene would angle himself and force you to double-team him to keep guys away from Lambert. He sacrificed himself for the team. I had a lot of respect for that.
You guys had some success against those Steelers teams – why was that?
I think it was just pure rivalry. We’d split games even in those years when they won Super Bowls. It was something about the matchups.
I knew Mike Webster from the college All-Star games – we became friends – another guy who passed away, God rest his soul. Well, we had a guy, Wilson Whitley out of Houston who gave Mike fits. Something about that matchup, but he’d force Mike to have bad snapping problems because of him.
We always played them close. There was one game – we were leading three to nothing. It started snowing heavily – Bleier just scored and it was 7-3. So much snow you could hardly stand up in it. The Steelers defensive linemen took off their shoes and played in their socks – they thought it would give them easier footing.
And of course Kenny Anderson was a big part in that as well. One game he went I think 20 for 22 and broke the completion percentage record. In fact the Steelers had so much respect for Kenny that after one game they invited him into their sauna for a beer. That was unheard of. Kenny almost missed the team bus!
What do you think of the rivalries in the NFL today – have they changed since you played?
It’s all changed. There are so many ways now that guys communicate. In the 70’s and 80’s guys didn’t fraternize with other teams’ players unless maybe you went to college together. Now these guys all train and vacation together. They communicate through social media. When I played I couldn’t tell you anything about Joe Greene I didn’t see on film.
Now, it’s all one big fraternity. It was before in that we all played the same game. But now guys are closer – they all have relationships and that’s changed a lot of how it’s gone.
Read more by former Steelers via the book Steelers Takeaways: Player Memories Through the Decades. To order, just click on the book:
