Speaker 1: All right, let's sort through what has transpired today for
Speaker 1: the Bengals and around the NFL. Who better to do
Speaker 1: that with than my leadoff guest tonight, he covers the
Speaker 1: Bengals his publisher of Bengals Talk dot com. You got
Speaker 1: to listen to the Cincinni Bengals Talk and Lockdown Bengals podcast.
Speaker 1: Man has he been busy today? Let's welcome in James Orpene.
Speaker 2: How are you now?
Speaker 1: I'm well, I'm curious. I'll ask the question everybody's wondering
Speaker 1: and everybody's discussing today, the trade of Logan Wilson. Your
Speaker 1: reaction to Logan to the Cowboys for a seventh round
Speaker 1: draft pick.
Speaker 3: I think given the position that they put themselves in,
Speaker 3: which is benching their captain in favor of rookie and
Speaker 3: looking at his contract, I think this makes sense. You
Speaker 3: wanted to get that contract off the books. You free
Speaker 3: up roughly five point two million dollars in cap space
Speaker 3: if you combined this year and next year and what
Speaker 3: they'll save, and so it stinks, but it beats the
Speaker 3: alternative of you keep Logan around until February.
Speaker 2: You cut it.
Speaker 3: You have a bigger cap hit. You don't have any
Speaker 3: cap savings. You don't have any seventh round pick, and
Speaker 3: he's still signing elsewhere. So did they handle everything right
Speaker 3: leading up to it, from the benching and everything involved
Speaker 3: there that really hurt his trade value. No, by getting
Speaker 3: something and getting someone to take on that contract, I
Speaker 3: think it was worth it.
Speaker 1: Yeah, here's what I and you bring up a point
Speaker 1: that I've never understood in all of this when when
Speaker 1: they initially did this with Logan, it to me it
Speaker 1: just it screamed rebuild and we're moving on, and yet
Speaker 1: they were still in it. And yet by doing it,
Speaker 1: they exposed themselves to the inexperience and the problems that
Speaker 1: came with it. It just it's seem like mixed messaging
Speaker 1: or goals.
Speaker 3: You can totally agree. And I've asked Zach a few
Speaker 3: times about the play because he's like, yeah, we got
Speaker 3: to play the young guys. Then I get it at
Speaker 3: like a left guard. You drafted Dylan Fairchild to play
Speaker 3: left guard and start right away.
Speaker 2: You knew that on draft day.
Speaker 3: Demetrius Knight, even if you disagreed with the pick at
Speaker 3: the time, you drafted him to do that to play
Speaker 3: linebacker for you. You took him in the second round.
Speaker 3: You knew he was going to start from day one
Speaker 3: or replace Jermaine Prepp. Fine, but Logan wasn't so bad
Speaker 3: that you had to bench. And in turn, when you
Speaker 3: did that, you're right. You open yourselves up to a
Speaker 3: lot of mistakes when you're still very much in it,
Speaker 3: when you had just traded for Joe Flacco. Barrett Carter's
Speaker 3: first start was Joe Flacco's first start at Lambo, and
Speaker 3: you have just traded for Joe Flackle. You're trying to
Speaker 3: stay in it. And the other element here is it
Speaker 3: completely tanks any value Logan Wilson might have had. So
Speaker 3: there are a lot of people look at this and say,
Speaker 3: you couldn't get a fifth for Logan Wilson or a
Speaker 3: sixth for Logan Wilson. Well, maybe you could have if
Speaker 3: he had another thirty tackles and he's on the field
Speaker 3: and maybe had an interception or two, and they made
Speaker 3: the move then. And I do think it's a questionable
Speaker 3: move that as of now, has it made them better.
Speaker 3: Maybe it will, but benching Logan Wilson has not made
Speaker 3: them better on defense, and the past four games are
Speaker 3: pretty obvious where the defense has had every opportunity even
Speaker 3: at Lambo at third and eight, to get the ball
Speaker 3: back to Joe Flacko in the Bengals kit to win
Speaker 3: that game. An opportunity to put the Steelers away didn't
Speaker 3: do it. Multiple opportunities to put the Jets away, an
Speaker 3: opportunity to put the Bears away.
Speaker 2: This defense hasn't done it.
Speaker 3: And you do wonder, man, if Logan was out there,
Speaker 3: would he have made a play, just that one play
Speaker 3: that could have put one of those games away.
Speaker 1: Are you surprised Trey Hendrickson is still here.
Speaker 2: I'm not surprised.
Speaker 3: I'm I'm disappointed, but there's there's so many layers to this.
Speaker 3: I'm disappointed because I'm afraid that we're going to go
Speaker 3: down the same path that they went down this past year,
Speaker 3: which is Trey just kind of in the wind. They
Speaker 3: can franchise tag him, and his agent left him open
Speaker 3: for the franchise tag, and I think that's very much
Speaker 3: in play. I know he dismissed that a few months ago,
Speaker 3: but I do. I think that's very much in play.
Speaker 3: Once upon a time, Lance I told t Higgins, like,
Speaker 3: watch out for that tag again. They're going to tag
Speaker 3: you next year. This is This wasn't during an interview.
Speaker 3: This is just me and him chatting.
Speaker 2: He was like, oh say that. I was like, I'm
Speaker 2: telling you. And guess what they did. Now? They ended
Speaker 2: up keeping Tea because.
Speaker 3: Joe Brow moved mountains behind.
Speaker 2: The scenes to do so.
Speaker 3: But you get my point here is this this tray thing.
Speaker 3: Now it's just continuing to dangle and it is a
Speaker 3: distraction and it is an issue and it impacts Trey
Speaker 3: and it messes with him, and I get it. You
Speaker 3: need playmakers. Fine, well, if you need play then pay him.
Speaker 3: And if you don't want to pay him, then trade him.
Speaker 3: And instead it's this weird in between where they're three
Speaker 3: and six. But Trade's gonna come back and he's going
Speaker 3: to help them some and they're going to be in
Speaker 3: this little middle ground. But I don't think any team
Speaker 3: should want to be in, and I think that's where
Speaker 3: they're going to be.
Speaker 1: They had a number of other expiring contracts, be it
Speaker 1: Cam Taylor Bridge, Ginostone, long list, Joseph's side, long list
Speaker 1: of brothers. Should they have done more today beyond Logan
Speaker 1: Wilson and not doing something with Trade?
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know me, of course they should have I
Speaker 3: mean of course they do you think. Let me ask
Speaker 3: you this, do you think that the Bengals and I
Speaker 3: maybe no one wanted to trade for Genostone, but do
Speaker 3: you think they're worth if Gino Stone just.
Speaker 2: Isn't on the roster outside of depth, No, I mean
Speaker 2: I don't, and.
Speaker 3: I'm not trying to be mean to Gino, but he
Speaker 3: should have tackled Coastal Love them the other day. Yeah,
Speaker 3: Jordan Battle should have tackled Coastal Love on.
Speaker 2: The other day. I just some of these guys.
Speaker 3: Joseph aside, You've had so many opportunities to be a
Speaker 3: consistent for this team and it hasn't happened. You couldn't
Speaker 3: get a pick spot for Joseph O's SI that Joseph
Speaker 3: try On a Trion could deal with the Bears where
Speaker 3: the Browns send Joe try On to the Bear like.
Speaker 3: Of course you could have. And so those are the
Speaker 3: type of deals that I think that I would have
Speaker 3: been open to. I wanted them to be open to
Speaker 3: because I'm not sure it makes you worse. It hurts
Speaker 3: your depth a little bit, but I'm not sure it
Speaker 3: makes you worse, And it gives you more resources, more
Speaker 3: tools for the future. So yeah, Cam Taylor Britt would
Speaker 3: have been one like Cam, but would have been open
Speaker 3: to dealing him. Joseph O'SI sure for sure, and in
Speaker 3: plenty of these other guys on expiring contracts or just
Speaker 3: guys that don't seem like they're going to be part
Speaker 3: of the long term plan.
Speaker 1: Did you anticipate yesterday when you guys spoke with Zach,
Speaker 1: did you anticipate any change to the coaching staff?
Speaker 2: I did not.
Speaker 3: So much so, And this is not a shameless plug.
Speaker 3: I just want to make it clear of how much I,
Speaker 3: without talking to anyone, without asking anyone, knew.
Speaker 2: They weren't going to make a move.
Speaker 3: I had recorded my podcast before Zach talked before Locker
Speaker 3: Room and said they're not going to make a move,
Speaker 3: we won't have to come back and record one, and
Speaker 3: talked about the coaching staff why they shouldn't. I don't
Speaker 3: really blame them for not making a move coaching staff wise.
Speaker 3: And here's why, I asked Al Golden. And this is
Speaker 3: after I recorded the Lockdown Bgals podcast too. I asked
Speaker 3: Al Golden, Hey, is there any teaching point for Jordan
Speaker 3: Battle in that situation against Colston Loveland?
Speaker 2: Like no, I just get him to the ground. And
Speaker 2: so at some point and I did it.
Speaker 3: The defense has been so bad and it looks so bad,
Speaker 3: but I refuse to believe that this coach that people
Speaker 3: eight months ago, months ago, ten months ago, we're saying
Speaker 3: was the best defensive coordinator in the country at Notre
Speaker 3: Dame just forgot how to coach. And the other proof
Speaker 3: I have is lou Anarumo goes to the Colts and
Speaker 3: he clearly didn't forget how to coach. So like fool
Speaker 3: me once it's all on move, Well, clearly it wasn't fine,
Speaker 3: But I'm still okay with the change because I think
Speaker 3: they got a good coach and now Golden it doesn't
Speaker 3: look good now and they're so bad. Fine, but that
Speaker 3: does firing Al Golden today.
Speaker 2: Make them better? Like they're all on the hot seat.
Speaker 3: We know that they're three and six, like they should
Speaker 3: all be.
Speaker 2: On the hot seat.
Speaker 3: Zach's on the hot seat. They're all on the hot seat.
Speaker 3: So making a move now, I'm not sure that matters,
Speaker 3: but they better be better.
Speaker 2: You know.
Speaker 3: It's it's a shame because I I'm just shocked at
Speaker 3: how bad it's gotten. Like this is, this is comically bad.
Speaker 3: I've covered some bad teams. I mean when we were
Speaker 3: working together daily. Think about some of those twenty seventeen
Speaker 3: twenty eighteen Bengals Mark and of Marvin era defenses. They
Speaker 3: were bad, but it wasn't like this. This is is
Speaker 3: the worst I've ever seen.
Speaker 1: Got about a minute. You've in covering all those teams,
Speaker 1: been in that locker room for high points and low points.
Speaker 1: Describe the vibe Sunday after the game in that locker room.
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, I mean starting to starting to come to
Speaker 3: the realization.
Speaker 2: Of what they are.
Speaker 3: And it's maddening. I think it's maddening you because you
Speaker 3: see one side and you know it's this offensive line
Speaker 3: that I think has done a pretty darn good job
Speaker 3: in the Joe Flacco era. And obviously you have the
Speaker 3: skill guys that are just unbelievable. I mean, Jamar and
Speaker 3: t have been just insane, and Andre steps up and
Speaker 3: Chase Brown's making plays and I know he had a
Speaker 3: few drops, but all these guys are making place for
Speaker 3: Joe Flacco. The offensive line is playing well, and the
Speaker 3: defense just can't make a play. Of course, a turnover
Speaker 3: can't get off the field. Third and ten, Caleb Williams
Speaker 3: just rolls out and runs for fourteen yards against the
Speaker 3: That's the hidden.
Speaker 2: Play in all of this.
Speaker 3: They had him at third down, and I don't think
Speaker 3: anyone in the building was confident they were getting a stop,
Speaker 3: and so I think that's it. And I don't know
Speaker 3: how they fix it on defense, I really don't.
Speaker 2: I've I just kind of expected to come back to
Speaker 2: the mean a little bit, but.
Speaker 3: It's just been so bad that I would be throwing
Speaker 3: a bunch of stuff at the wall. And that's why
Speaker 3: I would have been open to trading some of those guys.
Speaker 3: I really would have. And maybe they were right. I
Speaker 3: don't think so. I just know their history and how
Speaker 3: they operate. I don't think they were pushing Cam Taylor
Speaker 3: Bride or pushing a VJ. Hill trade or push to
Speaker 3: get his contract off the books, or you know, open
Speaker 3: to trading Jordan. Battle just didn't feel like that. But
Speaker 3: they probably should have, just to just switch.
Speaker 2: It up a little bit.
Speaker 3: You never know what a little new life could bring you.
Speaker 3: We've seen that with Joe Flacco. So yeah, it's I
Speaker 3: think reality has said in a bit on this team,
Speaker 3: for sure.
Speaker 1: You have been cranking out the content, not just today,
Speaker 1: but day after day. What do you have up now,
Speaker 1: what will be coming and how can listeners partake in
Speaker 1: all of it.
Speaker 3: I just posted a lock on Bengals podcast. We've relive
Speaker 3: on Cincinnati Bengals Talk on YouTube for an hour. Plenty
Speaker 3: of stuff there. I'm looking at Bengals Talk dot com
Speaker 3: and there are a bunch of articles reacting to the
Speaker 3: Logan Wilson deal, reacting to their lack of trades with
Speaker 3: Trey hendrickson the cap space that they saved for Logan Wilson,
Speaker 3: the actual pick that the Cowboys are sending isn't the Cowboys?
Speaker 3: That details there. There's so much at Bengals Talk dot
Speaker 3: com as well.
Speaker 2: Busy day.
Speaker 1: I appreciate your carbon out time.
Speaker 2: Thank you absolutely thanks Mans