00:00One of the storylines is the Cincinnati-Baltimore game, which is obviously now a huge game for Baltimore as they've taken over the division lead from Pittsburgh.
00:09They've won five consecutive games. They're over 500 now, and the division title is theirs for the taking.
00:15They're in total control of their destiny with a bunch of division games still coming up, including tomorrow night.
00:20It's the last game of the trio tomorrow night.
00:22And the storyline is that Joe Burrow is going to play, and he should play, by the way.
00:27If he's healthy and the toe is fine, why wouldn't he play?
00:31And yet there are people out there that are questioning whether or not Joe Burrow should play because the season is a wrap for the Bengals.
00:39They're, what, 3-7, I think, right now, right?
00:41Yeah, no chance.
00:42Yeah, so it's over. It's done. I think they're going to have a new coach next year, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
00:47But the same people that are now publicly questioning why Joe Burrow is playing in a lost season coming off yet another injury
00:55would be the same people that have a problem with load management in the NBA,
00:59the same people that have a problem when superstars take themselves out of games or don't fight through injuries,
01:04and you just cannot have it both ways.
01:07Joe Burrow, excuse me, has a contract worth north of $250 million.
01:13He's the highest-paid Bengal in the history of the franchise, and it's not close.
01:18And what I loved about Joe Burrow yesterday, because he was asked the question,
01:22why are you playing?
01:24The season's a wrap.
01:26You had another injury. It was the toe-turf, whatever it was, right?
01:30It's like the fourth injury you've had of significance in your short but illustrious career.
01:35And Joe Burrow came out and said, if I'm healthy, I'm playing.
01:39Like, my mind can't process being able to play and sitting on the sideline because we're 3-7,
01:48because the season's lost.
01:50They're paying me a lot of money.
01:52And, oh, by the way, I love playing football.
01:56Now, not every athlete loves playing.
01:58We've seen guys that go through the motions and just, you know, steal money and steal a check.
02:02But he's not one of those guys.
02:04He's also in his athletic prime.
02:06And one of the realities of being a professional athlete is that the far majority of your careers
02:12end, sadly, before you turn 30, not after you turn 30.
02:17Quarterbacks, of course, are different.
02:18And he will play well into his 30s, A, because they're paying him a lot of money,
02:22and B, because the sport allows that, right?
02:24Yep.
02:25But he's also had significant injuries that have curtailed more than half of his career thus far
02:31have been lost to medical situations.
02:34But I love the fact, I'm not a Bengals guy.
02:38I don't much care for Cincinnati.
02:39It's why most smart people that work in Cincinnati live in Kentucky.
02:43It's the armpit of the Midwest.
02:45And I go on and on and on about the only great thing about Cincinnati is Skyline Chili.
02:50I'm here for all of it, okay?
02:51Okay.
02:51You don't like runny bolognese spaghetti on top of your beans?
02:57I do, okay?
02:59I love Skyline Chili, and I get mine 10-way, which means everything in the kitchen goes
03:05on top of them beans, okay?
03:07That being said, we need more people like Joe Burrow.
03:12Like, one of my biggest gripes about LeBron James, especially this year, is inventing an
03:17injury and taking time off.
03:19Joe Burrow's not doing that.
03:20Joe Burrow got the medical clearance to play, and he's telling the Bengals, I'm playing.
03:26Am I at risk of injury?
03:28You're at risk of injury every time you walk on an NFL field.
03:32No more than he was, you know, six months ago, a year ago, five years ago, right?
03:36But the people out there that are yelling and screaming, ah, why is Joe Burrow playing?
03:42You're either diehard Ravens fans, which makes a lot of sense to me, because if I'm a Ravens
03:47fan, I don't want to see Joe Burrow, because Joe Burrow represents a threat to my streak
03:53right now that's at five, and I want to make it six, and I want to get to seven and five
03:59overall.
03:59I cross my fingers that the Steelers lose, and I open up myself a full game advantage
04:05over Pittsburgh for the division title.
04:07But if you're not a Ravens fan, and you're just one of these, like, you know, armchair
04:13quarterbacks who thinks you know better than everybody else, I'm sorry, guys.
04:18You're wrong.
04:19We expect guys to play when they are healthy.
04:23The only time, in my opinion, a player should not play when he's healthy is at the very end
04:29of a season in a rout.
04:31And if I got a playoff game next week, and you saw it with Saquon Barkley last year, where
04:36the season was over.
04:38Game was meaningless.
04:38Game is meaningless.
04:40And they're getting him ready for a playoff game.
04:43I tolerate that.
04:45I accept that because there's bigger fish to fry.
04:47The Bengals have nothing to play for other than the joy they would get if they played
04:54the role of spoiler.
04:55I'm sure Cincinnati fans would love to take responsibility for knocking either the Steelers
05:02or the Ravens out.
05:04One of those two teams has to win the division and get a playoff game.
05:07But whichever team doesn't, for Cincinnati, the only thing left to play for is to bow up
05:14your chest and say, whether it's the Steelers or the Ravens, the reason you're not playing
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