When the Bengals bus into storied, stately, and symbolic Lambeau Field for Sunday's game (4:25-p.m.-Cincinnati's Local 12) in Green Bay, they'll twist and turn through a series of neighborhoods.
That's just about right because the matchup against the Packers has all the feel of a backyard barbecue where no introductions are needed.
Former Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis, who slipped successor Zac Taylor an encouraging text a few weeks ago, is calling the game for Sports USA Radio.
While Taylor matches wits with his old buddy from the Rams staff, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur, his father-in-law, former Packers head coach Mike Sherman, is watching on NFL Ticket back in Massachusetts.
"It's a very unique home field," says Sherman, who called Lambeau home for six seasons. "Calling it a game might not do it justice. It's more of an event."
Even the Bengals' emergency quarterback who just walked into the building fewer than 72 hours ago has that kind of recognizable face, and that's what Bengals president Mike Brown told Joe Flacco the other day at practice. Flacco has played the Bengals and Steelers 22 times, his most common foes. He's now played for every AFC North team but the Steelers.
And, if Flacco thinks this week is short, he gets them a 23rd time Thursday night at Paycor Stadium.
"(Brown) was like, 'You seem like a familiar face just because we have played so many games against each other,'" Flacco said Friday in his first Bengals' media appearance. "I'm hitting up everybody in the division at this point."
Brown absolutely had to meet Flacco. He's never not known a Bengals quarterback. Now he knows Flacco.
Flacco came off more soft-spoken than you thought a Bengals villain would be. He even had some Joe Burrow-type pauses before giving a thoughtful answer. A man who definitely has the ease and air of someone who has been there before.
"I don't want to get into comparing guys I've played with," said the man about to throw to Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. "I've been fortunate to play with some good players and some good teams. I haven't gotten to play with these guys yet.
"But man, they are exciting to watch. I can put myself in my kids' shoes, for instance. I remember when I was a kid watching wide receivers was the coolest thing. Quarterbacks, their job is to kind of get the ball to the guy. The guys doing all the cool things are the guys with the ball in their hands. The running back, the wide receivers. I've gotten a chance to play with good wide receivers and just be part of good teams. I'm excited to be with these guys as well.
At 40, his age has brought a mix of curiosity and comparison into Bengaldom this week. Brown has 50 years on him, and even he has never been part of a team in his eight decades in the league that is trying to do what the Bengals are trying to do and win with a quarterback who arrived in mid-week.
(They did call back Wayne Clark after they cut him earlier in the 1974 season to play the finale, but he had seen the playbook.)
"Drank a lot of coffee this week," Taylor said after Friday's practice during a true week of Joe in which wife Sarah surprised him with a cup of coffee around dinnertime on Thursday when he didn't answer her calls or texts. "The coffee gets you through it. You sleep on the plane a little bit (Saturday). Probably the bus ride from here to the airport as well. Get my solid 20 minutes of deep REM cycle."
Mike Sherman, who hired Taylor as a graduate assistant when he was the head man at Texas A&M, can certainly understand why his daughter is having such a tough week. He never had to get a new quarterback ready this quickly.
"Not when you have Brett Favre," said Sherman of the Hall-of-Famer who never missed a start in Sherman's 96 games as Packers coach.
But then, Sherman's not alone. The guy trying to do it has never done it in his 18 seasons, 200 games, and now six teams.
"Come on," Flacco said. "This is pretty unique.
"I don't think I'm curious to see how I'll respond. I think part of that response is already happening. I think I'm going to be able to look back at it and feel like I handled it well, but going out there and playing the game is a different thing. You've got to go out there, and you've got to play a good game and be consistent. I'm not worried about how I'm going to handle the situation. I am not worried about that much. I just want to go out there and keep it simple and play the best game I can."
The wives have been on deck all week. Flacco's wife Dana doesn't usually help with game plans, but like her husband said. This is a unique week.
"I've never had my wife kind of read stuff out to me and but the other night, and sitting in the hotel, I did have her read some of the base game plan to me and have me repeat it back to her," Flacco said. "She didn't do badly, because there is a rhythm to it. There's a rhythm not only to like saying the play in the huddle, but there is a rhythm to giving someone the play, like as Zac would give me the play."
If it sounds complicated, it is. The key for Zac Taylor this week is to pare down his system without dumbing it down.
"Sometimes, I'll call a personnel and stand there until he repeats it until I heard him say the personnel that's in the huddle," Taylor said. "He's so easy-going. He has probably been coached a million different ways before. Now we'll get to the last 48 hours, the honest feedback portion of things. Which plays do you not want? Is there something we're missing that you think you'd be good at? That's where this next 48 hours goes."
And, yes, he'll be looking at a wristband Sunday, but so would Burrow and Jake Browning, who have been in the playbook a combined 11 years.
"We always have a wrist-band plan for the road. Especially in the low red zone, often you can't hear anything," Taylor said. "We'll wristband it all.
"I'll try to give him a heads-up on the play I'm about to call so at least he knows what's coming at him before he reads the wristband. So he can picture the concept and then read it so he's not reading it and visualizing it for the first time. We'll do that. I have a couple hand signals. So far, he hasn't really needed any of that."
Lewis is going to tell his national audience that the Bengals made a good move with Flacco and that's high praise. No head coach but Mike Tomlin has played him more. And Flacco is 9-11 against Lewis for his only losing record against teams he's played more than seven times.
"It gives you a chance. He gets the ball out of his hand," says Lewis, who always feared Flacco's deep ball. "That's how they won the Super Bowl. They weren't that great in the regular season. But in the playoffs, his deep ball was awesome."
Lewis says Flacco fits their big-play receivers. And he thinks he'll have a fun time with tight end Mike Gesicki.
"He always had good tight ends in Baltimore. The kid in Cleveland, (David Njoku) is good," Lewis says. "That's what he likes. He loves the little spot spacing routes. They ran a lot of concepts in Cleveland that way.
"It's like anything else. You have to protect him," says Lewis after gazing at All-Pro sacker Micah Parsons on his iPad all week. "You've got to make sure you get four hands on No. 1 to give those guys (Chase and Higgins) time to get open."
Rookie left guard Dylan Fairchild (knee) went back to work Friday in limited fashion and is questionable. If he can't go, they have a healthy veteran available in Dalton Risner and another vet, former Packer Lucas Patrick (calf) could be close. He went full for the second straight day and is marked questionable.
So is Chase with an illness. Taylor sent him home before practice after he was in meetings and at walkthrough.
That gives Flacco two days throwing to Chase. No doubt his kids think that's plenty as they learn a new team. Their dad thinks so.
"They're back at home, and they seem to be excited, especially because of the two guys (Chase and Higgins) that you were talking about," Flacco said.
"You can't overthink it. I know everything you like to talk about and all that and the chemistry and everything. Those guys are two of the best in the world at what they do. If you can't throw to them and get on the same page as them, then you are in trouble."
Sherman is in no such trouble back there in the Bay State, away from the wins and losses. But he'll live and die with his family.
"He's a smart guy. He'll figure it out. He knows what he's doing," Sherman says of his son-in-law. "They'll be ready to play."
He's also a very interested observer as well as a relative at this backyard barbecue.
"I'll be anxious to see how it transpires," Sherman says. "Just from a coaching perspective. How do you get player to play in such a short period of time? We'll soon find out."
