WEBVTT - Bengals Booth Podcast: Time Has Come Today 0:00:03.480 --> 0:00:06.359 Hi, get everybody. I'm Dan Horde and thanks for downloading 0:00:06.360 --> 0:00:12.040 the Bengals Booth Podcast. The time has come today. Addition, 0:00:12.440 --> 0:00:15.400 as the Bengals practice in full pads for the first 0:00:15.440 --> 0:00:19.079 time in training camp. Coming up, Dave Lapham joins me 0:00:19.120 --> 0:00:22.159 to share his training camp observations, and then I'll be 0:00:22.239 --> 0:00:25.119 joined by Robert Weintraub, who writes about the NFL for 0:00:25.160 --> 0:00:29.160 Football Outsiders and writes about the Bengals for Cincinnati Magazine. 0:00:29.520 --> 0:00:33.520 We'll discuss the Bengals chapter in this year's Football Outsiders Almanac, 0:00:33.800 --> 0:00:37.279 and much more. The Bengals Booth Podcast is presented by 0:00:37.440 --> 0:00:41.080 Bud Light Seltzer. Refresh the game, and here's a quick 0:00:41.080 --> 0:00:43.480 reminder that you can have the latest edition of this 0:00:43.560 --> 0:00:47.400 podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet, or computer by 0:00:47.440 --> 0:00:52.080 subscribing on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, or pod Bean. 0:00:52.440 --> 0:00:57.720 It's the greatest thing since Dan Patrick's Interviews. Due to 0:00:57.760 --> 0:01:00.400 training camp, I'm usually not able to tune into Dan 0:01:00.480 --> 0:01:03.320 Patrick's radio show, but lately I've been listening to the 0:01:03.480 --> 0:01:07.320 Best of Dan Patrick podcast on my ride home. The 0:01:07.480 --> 0:01:10.360 producers take the best segments from his three hour show 0:01:10.720 --> 0:01:13.600 and condense it to less than an hour on the podcast, 0:01:14.080 --> 0:01:17.880 and that's where his interviewing ability really shines. Dan does 0:01:17.880 --> 0:01:20.520 his homework and clearly comes in with a list of questions, 0:01:20.600 --> 0:01:23.920 but he's naturally curious, so he doesn't feel the need 0:01:24.120 --> 0:01:27.280 to stick to his list. He listens to his guests, 0:01:27.640 --> 0:01:30.880 ask great follow up questions, and his sense of humor 0:01:30.959 --> 0:01:33.920 puts those guests at ease. A few things for me 0:01:34.000 --> 0:01:37.920 to keep in mind each week on this podcast. Now, 0:01:38.360 --> 0:01:41.880 let's get to football. The Bengals held their first padded 0:01:41.920 --> 0:01:45.080 practice on Tuesday, and when it was finished, offensive line 0:01:45.080 --> 0:01:48.760 coach Frank Pollock asked my broadcast partner Dave Lapham and 0:01:48.920 --> 0:01:52.400 Hall of Famer Anthony Munio's to address his group. He 0:01:52.520 --> 0:01:55.240 told them that lap and Anthony were part of one 0:01:55.240 --> 0:01:58.800 of the best offensive lines in franchise history and a 0:01:58.880 --> 0:02:01.360 key reason why the Banks got to the Super Bowl. 0:02:01.680 --> 0:02:05.640 He then said, that's the standard we are trying to reach. 0:02:06.320 --> 0:02:09.000 When Anthony spoke to the current players, you could sense 0:02:09.040 --> 0:02:12.400 the respect and reverence that they have for the greatest 0:02:12.440 --> 0:02:15.720 Bengal of all time. I spoke to lap about that 0:02:16.080 --> 0:02:19.919 and the first few days of training camp. Anthony obviously 0:02:20.639 --> 0:02:24.800 in the Hall of Fame, and I mean perennial pro 0:02:24.919 --> 0:02:28.320 bowler twelve Pro Bowls in thirteen years or some such 0:02:28.360 --> 0:02:31.880 thing like that. That was crazy. You know, obviously I'm 0:02:31.919 --> 0:02:34.880 listening to him in of what he's got to say, 0:02:35.320 --> 0:02:38.000 and he's just, you know, he's just such a special guy, 0:02:38.120 --> 0:02:43.080 special friend, special husband, special father, special grandfather. He's just 0:02:43.840 --> 0:02:46.720 he's he's solid gold and every every way you can be. 0:02:47.320 --> 0:02:50.800 And it's funny when we were talking about some of 0:02:50.800 --> 0:02:54.080 the things training camp and repetition of techniques and all that, 0:02:54.240 --> 0:02:56.239 just it just takes you right back there. It's it's 0:02:56.320 --> 0:02:59.560 it's truly amazing how when you go through something like that. 0:02:59.600 --> 0:03:03.040 I'm sure guys in the military even more so, or 0:03:03.200 --> 0:03:05.520 guys you know in a police force or fire department 0:03:05.560 --> 0:03:08.200 over where you have to be codependent with guys you 0:03:08.200 --> 0:03:11.760 know next year from a physical standpoint and all the 0:03:11.840 --> 0:03:14.080 things that go along with it. I there's there's something 0:03:14.120 --> 0:03:17.040 to that, there's something to that bond. And I remember 0:03:17.080 --> 0:03:20.400 Tiger Johnson telling me after I made the team as 0:03:20.440 --> 0:03:23.320 a rookie, he said, congratulations, young man, do this as 0:03:23.400 --> 0:03:25.079 long as you can, because he goes, you're gonna make 0:03:25.520 --> 0:03:29.079 relationships here that you'll never be able to duplicate in 0:03:29.240 --> 0:03:31.440 any other walk of life, and he was exactly right. 0:03:32.320 --> 0:03:35.920 Anthony began his address to the offensive line by saying, 0:03:36.120 --> 0:03:39.600 be coachable, whether in your first year or eleventh year, 0:03:40.120 --> 0:03:42.360 pay attention to the coach, and try to get better 0:03:42.400 --> 0:03:45.880 every day. Yeah, I mean Anthony, that's that's a good 0:03:45.880 --> 0:03:49.400 example of his humbleness, you know, because he's playing at 0:03:49.440 --> 0:03:52.720 the highest level possible. But if somebody had a suggestion 0:03:52.800 --> 0:03:55.920 or a recommendation, it had merit to him. You know, 0:03:55.960 --> 0:03:59.680 he wouldn't necessarily do it all, but he'd experiment, try it, 0:04:00.520 --> 0:04:03.720 always looking to improve his game, never thinking he had arrived. 0:04:04.160 --> 0:04:05.880 Even as great as he was for as long a 0:04:05.920 --> 0:04:08.840 period of time as he was, never felt like he'd arrived. 0:04:08.880 --> 0:04:10.840 And that's I think a key to his greatness. I 0:04:10.840 --> 0:04:14.280 think it's a key to anybody's greatness if they're at 0:04:14.360 --> 0:04:16.839 the top of their profession, whatever it may be. You know, 0:04:17.040 --> 0:04:19.560 never settled, never say you know, I've done it, I'm 0:04:19.600 --> 0:04:21.760 here because that's the end of the journey. You know, 0:04:21.800 --> 0:04:25.080 Anthony never wanted the journey to end. So we're basically 0:04:25.160 --> 0:04:28.240 a week into practice. They've had six sessions. Today was 0:04:28.279 --> 0:04:31.120 the first one in full pads by and large, the 0:04:31.240 --> 0:04:34.320 defense has been ahead of the offense. Why do you 0:04:34.320 --> 0:04:37.599 think that's the case. Well, I think defense is a 0:04:37.600 --> 0:04:40.039 reactionary thing and the offense is more of a you know, 0:04:40.080 --> 0:04:43.119 a timing and a coordination of a multiple of things. 0:04:43.160 --> 0:04:48.040 But honestly, I just think the defense is executing their 0:04:48.520 --> 0:04:51.279 fulfilling their assignments extremely well, you know what I mean. 0:04:51.320 --> 0:04:54.440 I think they're playing with a lot of enthusiasm. When 0:04:54.480 --> 0:04:56.600 Pratt had his interception yesterday, it was like they won 0:04:56.640 --> 0:05:00.000 a playoff game. The guys reacted and everybody exploded off 0:05:00.040 --> 0:05:01.760 the sideline. That's good to see. I mean it was, 0:05:02.200 --> 0:05:05.320 you know, still an unpadded practice, and uh they're they're 0:05:05.320 --> 0:05:08.720 taking it, you know that seriously. So um yeah, I 0:05:09.440 --> 0:05:13.920 think defensively, they I think they have a solid understanding 0:05:13.920 --> 0:05:15.880 of what Leu and Rouma wants and how he wants 0:05:15.880 --> 0:05:19.880 it done. He said that during OTAs he you know, 0:05:19.960 --> 0:05:23.280 really was aggressive with his installation, and their attention of 0:05:23.360 --> 0:05:25.159 that has been pretty good. They're doing quite a few 0:05:25.200 --> 0:05:28.440 things and they're doing them pretty well. So I think, 0:05:28.560 --> 0:05:33.080 uh yeah, right now, the defense, I'd say they're stacking 0:05:33.120 --> 0:05:35.720 good practices together. You know, three or four in a 0:05:35.800 --> 0:05:39.680 row have been really really high level um defending between 0:05:39.720 --> 0:05:43.720 the twenties, red zone, low red zone, inside the ten 0:05:43.800 --> 0:05:45.960 yard line, first and goal stuff. I mean, they're they're 0:05:46.000 --> 0:05:48.880 plastering people, they're suffocating, they're they're doing a good job. 0:05:49.120 --> 0:05:52.440 You know. For Joe, it's like when he's uh, when 0:05:52.440 --> 0:05:54.680 he can has time to set his feet and scope 0:05:54.760 --> 0:05:58.719 the field, there's coverage, and then it's times they're open players, 0:05:58.760 --> 0:06:00.800 but there's no time to set his so it's like 0:06:01.880 --> 0:06:05.280 pressure and coverage or complimenting each other. The defense is 0:06:05.279 --> 0:06:08.240 on a nice little role right now. For sure, Joe's 0:06:08.279 --> 0:06:12.520 moving around fine, scrambling left and right, rolling out whatever 0:06:12.560 --> 0:06:17.200 the past play calls for. Seems to have moments where 0:06:17.200 --> 0:06:19.919 he's throwing the ball extremely well. But in the eleven 0:06:19.960 --> 0:06:24.400 and eleven sessions, he test is a tick off, and 0:06:24.560 --> 0:06:27.520 I think I think it's because, like we talked about 0:06:27.560 --> 0:06:31.279 how well the defense is playing, and you know, he's human, 0:06:31.760 --> 0:06:34.000 and I think he's pressing a little bit and he 0:06:34.040 --> 0:06:36.520 wants to do well. He wants to show his teammates. 0:06:37.360 --> 0:06:39.479 The need is not an issue. I'm back, I'm here, 0:06:39.520 --> 0:06:42.560 I'm doing everything, and I'm doing everything well. And I 0:06:42.600 --> 0:06:46.640 think everybody watch him practice has such an expectation every 0:06:46.640 --> 0:06:49.279 throw is going to be a beautiful fifty yard touchdown pass. 0:06:49.360 --> 0:06:53.479 And so I'm not saying there's pressure. If there is, 0:06:53.520 --> 0:06:56.680 if he's feeling any pressure, it's self imposed, obviously, But 0:06:56.800 --> 0:06:58.920 I think he just he wants to do well and 0:06:59.279 --> 0:07:03.200 he's competitor, and I think he's frustrated. And sometimes when 0:07:03.200 --> 0:07:05.120 that occurs, you know, you just start to press a 0:07:05.160 --> 0:07:07.600 little bit, and sometimes that's the worst thing you can do. 0:07:08.120 --> 0:07:10.720 If all eyes are on Burrow, they then go to 0:07:10.840 --> 0:07:13.680 Jamar Chase next. They always said checking out the first 0:07:13.760 --> 0:07:17.440 round draft pick in any season, And similarly, he's had 0:07:17.520 --> 0:07:21.400 moments where he's looked great, but he hasn't been dominant yet. 0:07:21.760 --> 0:07:24.680 And I suppose I find myself wondering a little bit 0:07:24.720 --> 0:07:27.200 about the fact that he missed all of last year 0:07:27.200 --> 0:07:28.840 and maybe it's just going to take a little while 0:07:29.080 --> 0:07:31.080 to get back up to speed. Yeah, I think you 0:07:31.080 --> 0:07:33.160 know you can, you can make a case in a 0:07:33.280 --> 0:07:38.720 legitimate case that you know, opting out is a factor. Um, 0:07:38.800 --> 0:07:41.280 but I watched TUPO, and of course that's interior line 0:07:41.280 --> 0:07:43.960 players opposed to skill position a wide receiver, and he 0:07:44.080 --> 0:07:47.239 seems to be, you know, hold holding the Ford pretty 0:07:47.240 --> 0:07:51.040 well inside as an interior defensive lineman. But yeah, I 0:07:51.080 --> 0:07:52.960 think I think, I think they're going to be fine. 0:07:53.120 --> 0:07:55.680 I mean, this is still very very early in training 0:07:55.720 --> 0:07:58.680 camp when when we look at team reps there's probably 0:07:58.920 --> 0:08:01.280 two sets of fifty or sixteen during the course of 0:08:01.320 --> 0:08:04.720 a practice, so, you know, a couple of practices and 0:08:05.200 --> 0:08:09.000 barely over sixty reps. But is it something you abnor, No, 0:08:09.200 --> 0:08:10.840 do you feel like you need to make adjustments and 0:08:10.920 --> 0:08:13.640 improve and get better? Hell, yes, there's no question about it. 0:08:13.920 --> 0:08:16.640 And I think defensively they're riding. They're riding a nice 0:08:16.680 --> 0:08:18.760 little little high right now. I'm sure they're talking about 0:08:18.800 --> 0:08:21.200 it in the locker room and in everything that goes 0:08:21.200 --> 0:08:24.520 along with it. But you know, the practices they had 0:08:24.600 --> 0:08:27.520 up until today, Dan, I just I just look at 0:08:27.560 --> 0:08:30.480 that as a football conditioning, you know, and uh, it's 0:08:30.760 --> 0:08:34.920 it's good football conditioning. But now, putting pads on for 0:08:34.960 --> 0:08:37.240 the first time, I remember when every training camp I 0:08:37.280 --> 0:08:40.120 did this. This was the last day my body was 0:08:40.160 --> 0:08:42.360 going to feel good until the Steveson was over. And 0:08:42.400 --> 0:08:45.320 hopefully that's February for this football team after the Super Bowl. 0:08:45.960 --> 0:08:48.640 But yeah, tomorrow morning, when they wake up they'll be 0:08:48.640 --> 0:08:51.120 a little sore. It's a good sore. You're back to 0:08:51.200 --> 0:08:54.680 playing football. But your body is adjusting, you know, and 0:08:54.080 --> 0:08:56.840 it'll it'll have to be adjusting now for the rest 0:08:56.840 --> 0:08:59.800 of the season. With the full pads on, they did 0:08:59.800 --> 0:09:03.760 their first past rush drills where an individual offensive lineman 0:09:03.960 --> 0:09:07.120 is isolated one on one against an individual pass rush. 0:09:07.160 --> 0:09:09.760 Are a little bit unfair for the offensive lineman because 0:09:09.800 --> 0:09:12.520 the defensive guy has great latitude to go left and right, 0:09:12.559 --> 0:09:14.920 which you wouldn't have with a lot of traffic around. 0:09:14.960 --> 0:09:18.840 But I thought by and large, the starting offensive lineman 0:09:18.920 --> 0:09:21.400 or the guys that are expected to play a lot, 0:09:21.520 --> 0:09:23.800 held up pretty well. I agree with you, Dan, you know, 0:09:23.840 --> 0:09:26.400 I think you know, people are like, oh jeez, he 0:09:26.800 --> 0:09:30.079 get pushed back five yards in that drill. It's almost 0:09:30.120 --> 0:09:33.480 impossible to wire you guy at the line of scrimmage 0:09:33.480 --> 0:09:35.240 and he doesn't move a muscle and moving in So 0:09:35.280 --> 0:09:37.680 that's just not gonna happen. They're gonna take an edge 0:09:37.679 --> 0:09:39.440 on you every once in a while, they're gonna try 0:09:39.480 --> 0:09:41.720 to bull rush. But you know, like you said, Interstate 0:09:41.760 --> 0:09:43.720 seventy one and seventy five are both open. You got 0:09:43.720 --> 0:09:46.360 two lanes and they can utilize both of those lanes, 0:09:46.360 --> 0:09:49.719 and you know, then you get into pass protection with 0:09:50.240 --> 0:09:52.839 the garden tackle center garden tackle and the twists and 0:09:52.880 --> 0:09:54.959 stunts and all that. That's a different animal. That's a 0:09:55.000 --> 0:09:57.600 totally different scenario. They didn't do any of that kind 0:09:57.600 --> 0:10:00.440 of stuff today, but they'll get to that. But yeah, 0:10:00.440 --> 0:10:03.240 I thought, I agree with you. I thought that, you know, 0:10:03.280 --> 0:10:06.800 the five guys that Frank has been working with probably 0:10:06.840 --> 0:10:10.960 the most, and I thought really at tackle they held 0:10:11.040 --> 0:10:13.440 up pretty well. Every once in a while there was 0:10:13.440 --> 0:10:15.880 a problem at the interior position where a guy get 0:10:15.920 --> 0:10:18.720 beaten quickly, pretty quickly and got off balance. You know, 0:10:19.040 --> 0:10:22.000 either you know, you know, leaned his shoulders or or 0:10:22.360 --> 0:10:24.360 you know, get his body out of total balance or 0:10:24.400 --> 0:10:27.439 whatever the case may be. So um, there's there's always 0:10:27.480 --> 0:10:29.640 work to be done. But for a very first day 0:10:29.640 --> 0:10:32.120 of pass rush, it was yin and yang. There were 0:10:32.120 --> 0:10:34.240 some wins, there were some losses, just like you'd expect. 0:10:35.720 --> 0:10:38.560 The kicking battle has been closely watched at the end 0:10:38.600 --> 0:10:41.080 of practice. They did not attempt field goals at the 0:10:41.160 --> 0:10:45.280 end of practice on Tuesday. But unless he has a 0:10:45.320 --> 0:10:49.040 horrible preseason, I think Evan McPherson is just about a 0:10:49.080 --> 0:10:52.080 lock to be this team's kicker on opening day. Dan, 0:10:52.160 --> 0:10:55.200 you've covered baseball for a long time. You know how 0:10:55.679 --> 0:10:59.120 the special hitters the ball sounds different coming off their bat. 0:10:59.160 --> 0:11:01.280 When the ball comes off this guy's foot, it has 0:11:01.320 --> 0:11:05.960 a different sound. You know. He just absolutely cranks the thing. 0:11:06.120 --> 0:11:09.320 I mean, the thud is just even more pronounced. It's 0:11:09.360 --> 0:11:13.640 it's unbelievable how hard he strikes the ball and how 0:11:13.640 --> 0:11:16.400 it just jumps, like the ball jumps off of a bat, 0:11:16.440 --> 0:11:18.319 and like the ball jumps off of this guy's foot, 0:11:18.760 --> 0:11:21.920 and he is he is explosive. I don't know if 0:11:21.920 --> 0:11:27.640 it's it's overall strength, biomechanics, the leverage of it. Whatever 0:11:27.640 --> 0:11:29.839 he's got going on, it's going on very very well 0:11:29.880 --> 0:11:32.559 and very very powerful. There's no question about it. This 0:11:32.720 --> 0:11:35.320 team lost Will Jackson as a free agent. I have 0:11:35.400 --> 0:11:38.120 no idea how he's doing in camp for Washington, but 0:11:38.200 --> 0:11:41.240 they basically signed two guys for the same price, chittabey 0:11:41.280 --> 0:11:45.040 O Wouge and Mike Hilton. Boy, they both looked good 0:11:45.040 --> 0:11:47.800 at this camp. Couldn't agree more, Dan, I mean, you 0:11:47.880 --> 0:11:51.200 go two for it's it's it's hard to beat, particularly 0:11:51.200 --> 0:11:53.240 when the two for two for one is playing like 0:11:53.320 --> 0:11:59.079 they are and and they're basically Cheeto is doing what 0:11:59.080 --> 0:12:02.040 Will Jackson did, maybe as well or maybe even better 0:12:02.080 --> 0:12:04.079 at this Now it's early, you know, first day of 0:12:04.120 --> 0:12:07.000 pads and all that, and then you get the best 0:12:07.360 --> 0:12:10.720 pressure guy at slot corner in the National Football League, 0:12:10.720 --> 0:12:14.480 and he's got he's got some juice to him, there's 0:12:14.520 --> 0:12:16.920 no question. I mean, he's a guy that players are 0:12:16.920 --> 0:12:20.040 gravitating toward because he came from a great defensive football 0:12:20.040 --> 0:12:23.080 team and a team that has had overall success for many, 0:12:23.120 --> 0:12:26.400 many years, and that gives him some credibility. How does 0:12:26.480 --> 0:12:30.440 Riley reeflick? He looks He looks good. You know, he's 0:12:30.440 --> 0:12:32.320 battling a little bit of an ankle injury now. He 0:12:32.320 --> 0:12:35.800 twisted his ankle on the interception that Pratt had against 0:12:35.880 --> 0:12:39.000 Joe Barrow. Nothing serious, you know, He's just a little 0:12:39.040 --> 0:12:40.760 bit of a hitch and hiss. Get along. I think 0:12:40.800 --> 0:12:44.040 he's going to be back sooner rather than later. But yeah, 0:12:44.080 --> 0:12:46.720 he's a he's a ten year of veteran that gets it, 0:12:46.720 --> 0:12:48.880 gets it in every possible way you can get it 0:12:48.960 --> 0:12:50.880 on and off the field, and he's going to be 0:12:50.920 --> 0:12:53.880 a stabilizing influence on and off the field. For this 0:12:53.960 --> 0:12:56.800 offensive line in this football team. I think all season long, 0:12:57.720 --> 0:13:01.400 Joe Mixon looks frisky like he can't wait for his 0:13:01.480 --> 0:13:06.120 first regular season carry. That's a great, great word, great description. Yeah, 0:13:06.160 --> 0:13:09.320 it's like, uh, the first time you let the puppy 0:13:09.320 --> 0:13:12.080 out in the backyard, you know, and it's yeah, he's 0:13:12.120 --> 0:13:15.560 he's he's ready to he's ready to roll. And I 0:13:15.600 --> 0:13:19.679 would not I'm not sure. I might wrap him and 0:13:19.720 --> 0:13:21.760 suran rap and just make sure that he's there on 0:13:21.840 --> 0:13:24.439 the twelfth or opening day against the Minnesota Vikes because 0:13:24.600 --> 0:13:27.720 he's in great physical shape. He understands this running game, 0:13:28.000 --> 0:13:31.240 and he's getting plenty of reps. He'll get every rep 0:13:31.280 --> 0:13:33.440 that he needs and uh, you know when they do 0:13:33.520 --> 0:13:36.760 thump drill in the team process, he's getting what he needs. 0:13:36.760 --> 0:13:38.680 Just don't bring him to the ground, and don't let 0:13:38.720 --> 0:13:41.120 anybody in the preseason bring him to the ground. You know, 0:13:41.760 --> 0:13:45.120 maybe maybe he may as Again I say this as 0:13:45.160 --> 0:13:47.040 a as a former player, but you want to go 0:13:47.040 --> 0:13:48.880 through and check all the boxes, Well, maybe he wants 0:13:48.920 --> 0:13:51.080 to have a box checked where he has a couple 0:13:51.080 --> 0:13:52.959 of three carries to get hit, get back up and 0:13:53.280 --> 0:13:56.000 make sure that everything's good. Last thing hasn't have been 0:13:56.080 --> 0:13:58.080 nice at training camp to be able to get up 0:13:58.080 --> 0:14:01.040 close and personal and see the various trills from a 0:14:01.040 --> 0:14:03.640 few feet away as opposed to last year where we 0:14:03.679 --> 0:14:06.600 had to stand on the very periphery. Yeah, Dan, that's 0:14:06.640 --> 0:14:09.360 that's a great, a great point. And uh, you know, 0:14:09.880 --> 0:14:12.240 you can tell a lot by looking into a guy's eyes, 0:14:12.320 --> 0:14:15.240 you know. And the thing you talked about at the 0:14:15.320 --> 0:14:17.679 end of practice with Anthony and I when I looked 0:14:17.840 --> 0:14:19.840 at those guys and when Anthony was talking and I 0:14:19.880 --> 0:14:22.520 looked at him and looked at them. Man, you talk 0:14:22.560 --> 0:14:26.160 about laser focus and just just you know, absorbing and 0:14:26.200 --> 0:14:29.600 living on every single word. That kind of stuff is powerful, 0:14:29.640 --> 0:14:31.360 you know. You see, you can tell if a message 0:14:31.400 --> 0:14:34.960 is being delivered. A coach can tell easier than zoom. 0:14:35.000 --> 0:14:37.160 You know, when you're you're in a meeting room with 0:14:37.200 --> 0:14:40.120 guys and everything that goes along with it. Plus you know, 0:14:40.240 --> 0:14:44.600 just building relationships with teammates face to face. You gotta 0:14:44.600 --> 0:14:45.720 be able to do that. You gotta be able to 0:14:45.760 --> 0:14:47.880 shake that guy's hand, look in his eyes, see what 0:14:47.920 --> 0:14:50.960 he's all about. Appreciate this. Thank you, you're the best, sir. 0:14:52.160 --> 0:14:55.880 The Bengals Booth Podcast is presented by Bud Light Seltzer. 0:14:55.920 --> 0:14:59.040 It's light and refreshing with a hint of fruit flavor. 0:14:59.600 --> 0:15:02.040 The foot All Outsiders Almanac went on sale a few 0:15:02.040 --> 0:15:04.440 weeks ago, and I purchased a copy the first day 0:15:04.520 --> 0:15:07.680 it was available. I love it. There's a chapter on 0:15:07.760 --> 0:15:12.560 all thirty two teams featuring great statistical analysis, but more importantly, 0:15:13.240 --> 0:15:17.640 very entertaining writing. One of the writers is Robert Weintraub, 0:15:17.720 --> 0:15:20.680 and the name might sound familiar since he also writes 0:15:20.720 --> 0:15:25.480 about the Bengals for Cincinnati magazine. Robert, Before we get 0:15:25.480 --> 0:15:28.480 to this year's Football Outsiders Almanac, let's start with your 0:15:28.560 --> 0:15:31.000 thoughts on the team. Because you don't hide the fact 0:15:31.000 --> 0:15:34.000 that you are a Bengals fan at heart. What gives 0:15:34.000 --> 0:15:38.280 you hope, what gives you concern? Well, yes, I am 0:15:38.320 --> 0:15:41.240 a Bengals fan, both at heart and deep in my soul. 0:15:41.360 --> 0:15:46.080 Then thank you, And you know, obviously my concerns are 0:15:46.680 --> 0:15:50.400 several fold, one being just kind of the last five 0:15:50.520 --> 0:15:53.480 years of futility and the fact that you know, there's 0:15:53.520 --> 0:15:57.680 not necessarily been a massive change except the quarterback. And 0:15:57.840 --> 0:16:01.640 that leads to my next particular concern, which is that 0:16:02.680 --> 0:16:05.040 you know we're we're all been kind of banking on 0:16:05.080 --> 0:16:07.720 the fact that Joe Burrow is fully healthy again. He 0:16:07.800 --> 0:16:10.440 seems like he's okay. He's running around and training camp 0:16:10.480 --> 0:16:13.120 like he's you know, back to one hundred percent, But 0:16:13.160 --> 0:16:16.840 we'll never really know until he gets out there, faces 0:16:16.840 --> 0:16:20.360 a real pass rush, tries to avoid, you know, a 0:16:20.400 --> 0:16:23.760 three hundred pound man with evil intentions, trying to plant 0:16:23.800 --> 0:16:26.240 them back into the turf, or stepping up into the 0:16:26.240 --> 0:16:28.840 pocket with guys rolling around at his feet, that kind 0:16:28.840 --> 0:16:32.640 of thing. And you know, I have every hope and 0:16:32.720 --> 0:16:36.720 I optimism that he'll be at least right back to normal, 0:16:37.280 --> 0:16:39.280 but there's always going to be in the back of 0:16:39.320 --> 0:16:40.880 his mind, and certainly in the back of all of 0:16:40.880 --> 0:16:43.880 our minds, you know, the worry that it's going to 0:16:43.960 --> 0:16:49.200 take a while and he won't quite be the special athlete, 0:16:49.280 --> 0:16:52.400 slash escape artist, slash udde man that we saw in 0:16:52.400 --> 0:16:55.880 the first Apple last season before the unfortunate injury, And 0:16:56.000 --> 0:16:59.200 you always have to be considering that in the back 0:16:59.240 --> 0:17:02.720 of our minds it could happen again. This could happen again. 0:17:02.880 --> 0:17:07.440 So that's really the main thing. Otherwise, I'm fairly optimistic, 0:17:07.560 --> 0:17:10.760 certainly about the offense. I think the addition of Jamar. 0:17:10.880 --> 0:17:13.840 Chase is certainly going to bring an explosivelopment that's been 0:17:13.840 --> 0:17:17.840 missing the last couple of years. And you know, in 0:17:17.960 --> 0:17:19.879 terms of the offensive line, while I think you and 0:17:19.960 --> 0:17:24.400 I were both teams Sewell, you know, the offensive line 0:17:24.480 --> 0:17:28.880 is not going to be quite the drawback the anchor 0:17:29.160 --> 0:17:31.800 maybe that it has been in recent years. It can 0:17:31.840 --> 0:17:35.600 be upgraded still, I believe, and they can improve, certainly 0:17:35.600 --> 0:17:39.719 with Frank Pollock there to shepherd the guys to shape. 0:17:40.119 --> 0:17:43.480 I have a great optimism about his capabilities. So it's, 0:17:43.600 --> 0:17:45.760 you know, kind of a guarded optimism, but it's it's 0:17:45.800 --> 0:17:50.240 also you know, a realistic realism that's tempered by the 0:17:50.280 --> 0:17:52.600 fact that I've been optimistic in this way the last 0:17:52.640 --> 0:17:56.639 few years as well hasn't necessarily worked out. So before 0:17:56.720 --> 0:18:01.840 they before I really go and Overhaug of my optimism 0:18:01.880 --> 0:18:05.240 and my deep in my soul Bengal fandom, they have 0:18:05.280 --> 0:18:07.160 to prove it to me a little bit before I 0:18:07.200 --> 0:18:10.040 really jump right back in with both feet. Let's say 0:18:10.200 --> 0:18:13.200 fair enough. I think any Bengals fan can understand that. 0:18:13.359 --> 0:18:17.600 And more on Chase versus Sewell to come. But you 0:18:17.720 --> 0:18:21.080 wrote the Bengals chapter in last year's Almanact. Mike Tanyer 0:18:21.119 --> 0:18:23.720 wrote it this year and he didn't pull any punches. 0:18:25.080 --> 0:18:28.680 Before we get to specifics about that chapter, how do 0:18:28.800 --> 0:18:31.479 those assignments work. Do you like to switch it up 0:18:31.520 --> 0:18:35.960 from year to year? Yeah, we uh, you know, bounce around. 0:18:36.000 --> 0:18:38.560 I usually stick with the AFC North just because of 0:18:38.640 --> 0:18:42.800 my familiarity to it. And you know, it's always good. 0:18:43.000 --> 0:18:45.680 It's generally speaking, a two out of every three year 0:18:45.800 --> 0:18:47.880 kind of deal with the Bengals, or you know, has 0:18:47.920 --> 0:18:51.000 been every other year in the last couple of years 0:18:51.040 --> 0:18:55.439 for me, just to give somebody else a chance to 0:18:56.080 --> 0:18:58.560 you know, observe the team. I thought in this case, 0:18:58.640 --> 0:19:00.880 as you mentioned, Mike ten year this year, and it's 0:19:00.920 --> 0:19:04.080 good from the aspect of letting Bengal fans kind of 0:19:04.119 --> 0:19:07.719 know how the outside world sort of sees them, you know, 0:19:07.760 --> 0:19:11.400 how a neutral observer sees them. And as you say, 0:19:11.400 --> 0:19:14.600 he didn't pull any punches. So I did. The Cleveland 0:19:14.600 --> 0:19:17.560 Browns one of my teams this year, and in Cleveland 0:19:17.960 --> 0:19:22.879 there's nothing but unbridled optimism there. And you know, something 0:19:22.920 --> 0:19:25.000 I've done in the past and did again this year 0:19:25.240 --> 0:19:28.320 was used the figures and the stats to throw a 0:19:28.320 --> 0:19:32.600 little cold water on those optimistic dreams. So it works 0:19:32.640 --> 0:19:36.320 both ways. You know, I don't know that I'm overly 0:19:37.080 --> 0:19:40.360 optimistic or view the Bengals through rose colored glasses when 0:19:40.359 --> 0:19:45.359 I write about them for Football Outsiders, but perhaps somebody 0:19:45.400 --> 0:19:48.960 else coming in from a different perspective will and doesn't 0:19:49.000 --> 0:19:51.400 necessarily have the same history with the team that I have, 0:19:51.880 --> 0:19:53.719 will look at some of their moves in a different 0:19:53.880 --> 0:19:58.560 perspective and see them, in this case much more negatively, 0:19:59.000 --> 0:20:00.920 And people will probably accuse me of doing the same 0:20:00.960 --> 0:20:04.120 for Cleveland and Pittsburgh as well, who I wrote about 0:20:04.119 --> 0:20:07.439 this year. So it's a good opportunity for everybody to 0:20:07.480 --> 0:20:12.040 switch around and sort of take other perspectives on teams 0:20:12.080 --> 0:20:14.840 that you don't get locked down and caught in the 0:20:14.880 --> 0:20:18.080 minutia every single year writing about the same team we 0:20:18.119 --> 0:20:20.800 are talking to. Robert Weintrauba writes about the NFL for 0:20:20.800 --> 0:20:24.280 Football Outsiders, He writes about the Bengals for Cincinnati Magazine, 0:20:24.280 --> 0:20:27.119 and he is also the author of several books, including 0:20:27.200 --> 0:20:32.560 The Divine Miss Marble, which comes out in paperback next week. Robert, 0:20:32.640 --> 0:20:37.680 most analytic or analytical websites, including Pro Football Focus, seem 0:20:37.760 --> 0:20:40.240 to think the Bengals got it right by choosing Jabar 0:20:40.320 --> 0:20:43.840 Chase instead of Pinney Sewell. As you mentioned earlier, we 0:20:43.840 --> 0:20:47.880 were both team Sewell prior to the draft. The Football 0:20:47.880 --> 0:20:51.560 Outsiders Almanac was very critical of that move in a 0:20:51.640 --> 0:20:56.479 nutshell why well, I think from that perspective it was 0:20:57.600 --> 0:21:00.639 and from mine too, It's less about the cape abilities 0:21:01.119 --> 0:21:04.199 of the two players. I certainly believe that jo Mar 0:21:04.280 --> 0:21:07.000 Chase will be very good. I don't think anybody who's 0:21:07.040 --> 0:21:10.760 seen him play at LSU or you know, figure how 0:21:10.920 --> 0:21:14.000 him and Joe Burrow going to reconnect their unique chemistry 0:21:14.040 --> 0:21:16.320 and Cincinnati have any doubt that he's going to be 0:21:16.560 --> 0:21:19.000 a stud in the NFL. It's more about like a 0:21:19.040 --> 0:21:22.760 team building concept, especially for me. You know, what do 0:21:22.760 --> 0:21:24.520 you want to be as a team. The Bengals have 0:21:24.600 --> 0:21:28.879 historically had good wide receivers, high flying offenses, and you 0:21:28.920 --> 0:21:31.520 know where's it gotten them. They've had good offensive lines 0:21:31.560 --> 0:21:33.600 in the past too, and when they've been really successful 0:21:34.200 --> 0:21:36.760