WEBVTT - Bengals Booth Podcast: Mr Big Stuff 0:00:03.600 --> 0:00:06.400 Hi, get everybody on Dan Horde and thanks for downloading 0:00:06.400 --> 0:00:11.520 The Bengals Booth Podcast. Uh mister big Stuff, who do 0:00:11.680 --> 0:00:15.760 you think you are? Addition, as we go one on 0:00:15.760 --> 0:00:18.680 one with the Bengals' biggest free agent acquisition of the 0:00:18.760 --> 0:00:22.080 off season, both in terms of his physique and his contract. 0:00:22.440 --> 0:00:27.319 Defensive tackle DJ Reader plus offensive coordinator Brian Callahan gives 0:00:27.360 --> 0:00:30.480 us a Joe Burrow update after the quarterbacks first few 0:00:30.560 --> 0:00:34.240 days in the NFL, and then is roughly thirty minutes 0:00:34.240 --> 0:00:38.280 of solid gold from my broadcast partner, Dave Lapham. The 0:00:38.360 --> 0:00:42.320 Bengals Booth Podcast is presented by Prime Sport, the official fan, 0:00:42.400 --> 0:00:46.400 travel and hospitality partner of the Cincinnati Bengals. And here's 0:00:46.400 --> 0:00:48.600 a quick reminder that you can have the latest edition 0:00:48.680 --> 0:00:52.280 of this podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet, or 0:00:52.320 --> 0:00:56.800 computer by subscribing on iTunes, Stitch, your Google Play, Spotify, 0:00:57.160 --> 0:01:03.440 or pod Bean. It's the greatest thing Magic for Humans. 0:01:04.480 --> 0:01:07.520 I love magic, and my fourteen year old son and 0:01:07.600 --> 0:01:10.880 I have recently started watching the show Magic for Humans 0:01:11.000 --> 0:01:15.280 on Netflix. It features a magician and comedian named Justin 0:01:15.400 --> 0:01:18.680 Willman as he performs magic tricks for people on the 0:01:18.720 --> 0:01:22.840 street and it's amazing. Each episode is only twenty to 0:01:22.880 --> 0:01:26.280 twenty five minutes long, and there are some short segments 0:01:26.280 --> 0:01:29.759 on YouTube if you want to sneak peak, so check 0:01:29.800 --> 0:01:35.240 out Magic for Humans. You won't be disappointed. Now let's 0:01:35.240 --> 0:01:38.560 get to football. I probably don't have to tell you 0:01:38.640 --> 0:01:41.120 that the Bengals were last in the NFL. It's stopping 0:01:41.120 --> 0:01:44.400 the run last year, giving up nearly one hundred fifty 0:01:44.560 --> 0:01:48.240 rushing yards per game. In the immortal words of Madmen's 0:01:48.280 --> 0:01:52.520 Pete Campbell, not great, Bob. Now, let's take a look 0:01:52.520 --> 0:01:56.720 at this year's schedule. It includes NFL rushing leader Derreck Henry, 0:01:57.080 --> 0:02:00.120 two games against the league's second leading rusher, Nick u, 0:02:00.560 --> 0:02:04.200 two games against Lamar Jackson, two games against mark Ingram, 0:02:04.240 --> 0:02:08.600 plus games against Ezekiel Elliott, Leonard Fournette, Marlon Mack and 0:02:08.600 --> 0:02:12.160 Saquon Barkley. You know what those eight guys have in common. 0:02:12.639 --> 0:02:16.000 They all ran for more than one thousand yards last year. 0:02:16.720 --> 0:02:19.320 When you take all of that into consideration, it's easy 0:02:19.320 --> 0:02:22.120 to see why the Bengals made free agent DJ Reader 0:02:22.520 --> 0:02:25.520 the highest paid nose tackle in the NFL when they 0:02:25.560 --> 0:02:29.160 signed him to a four year, fifty three million dollar deal. 0:02:29.680 --> 0:02:32.880 According to the website Pro Football Focus, of all the 0:02:32.919 --> 0:02:36.600 interior defensive linemen in the NFL last year who were 0:02:36.639 --> 0:02:39.120 on the field for at least fifty percent of their 0:02:39.120 --> 0:02:43.919 team's defensive snaps. Reader ranked number four in the league 0:02:43.960 --> 0:02:48.480 at defending the run, behind Calais Campbell, Cam Hayward and 0:02:48.639 --> 0:02:52.280 Aaron Donald. That's like being the fourth member of the Beatles. 0:02:52.760 --> 0:02:57.280 He's ringo. Reader is sixty three, slimmed down to about 0:02:57.280 --> 0:03:00.760 three hundred and twenty five pounds, and just twenty six 0:03:00.880 --> 0:03:05.320 a month ago. I spoke to mister big stuff this week, DJ, 0:03:05.400 --> 0:03:06.920 I want to start with something I bet a lot 0:03:06.960 --> 0:03:11.000 of Bengals fans don't even know yet. Back in twenty thirteen, 0:03:11.680 --> 0:03:15.840 there was one two sport athlete on the Clemson football team. 0:03:15.960 --> 0:03:20.320 It wasn't Sammy Watkins, it wasn't Shack Lawson. It was 0:03:20.480 --> 0:03:25.120 DJ Reader, defensive tackle on the football team, first baseman 0:03:25.160 --> 0:03:28.440 and potential pitcher on the baseball team. It sounds like 0:03:28.440 --> 0:03:31.639 you were quite the all around athlete coming up, Yes, sir, 0:03:31.800 --> 0:03:35.160 plenty of a lot of sports growing up was home 0:03:35.200 --> 0:03:37.840 schools those six mos. I spent a lot of time outside, 0:03:38.080 --> 0:03:42.119 a lot of time and a basketball player as well, right, yeah, 0:03:42.160 --> 0:03:45.640 in high school. You know, my parents real competitive. My 0:03:45.680 --> 0:03:48.120 mom played college softball at a bunch of cousins and 0:03:48.200 --> 0:03:51.200 play sports in college. So most of them females, but 0:03:51.240 --> 0:03:54.200 they're just really competitive. And Dad told me a lot 0:03:54.240 --> 0:03:56.720 of just about ball, use my rickball coach and things 0:03:56.760 --> 0:03:58.880 like that. So you know, always just was around sports 0:03:59.000 --> 0:04:01.920 ball life. What did you hit on the radar gun 0:04:01.920 --> 0:04:05.000 as a picture? I think I topped out like ninety 0:04:05.000 --> 0:04:11.520 fives overhead, probably sat around like ninety ninety one into 0:04:11.600 --> 0:04:13.800 high school, like towards my senior year, so I was 0:04:13.880 --> 0:04:17.880 slinking pretty good. I'm trying to picture how intimidating it 0:04:17.960 --> 0:04:21.039 must have been to have a man your size throwing 0:04:21.120 --> 0:04:25.200 that hard to high school kids. Yeah, I think I think. Um, 0:04:25.839 --> 0:04:29.320 I retwittered to picture somebody I treated out the other 0:04:29.400 --> 0:04:33.320 day on my Twitter about it was um none of 0:04:33.360 --> 0:04:36.120 my child was talking about my son, just me. It 0:04:36.240 --> 0:04:40.360 is me at thirteen, throwing a fastball and in Cooperstown, 0:04:40.400 --> 0:04:42.080 New York. It was kind of crazy just to look 0:04:42.120 --> 0:04:45.280 back and see it, just the picture of the pitch, 0:04:45.520 --> 0:04:47.440 just like how you know how big I did look 0:04:47.480 --> 0:04:49.479 compared to other kids. I you know, I just just 0:04:49.720 --> 0:04:51.760 I mean, I never really noticed how big I looked 0:04:51.839 --> 0:04:54.760 towards other kids. Had a really big team at that time, 0:04:54.800 --> 0:04:57.119 so I just didn't ever think about So you played 0:04:57.160 --> 0:05:00.400 in some sort of youth tournament in Cooperstown, So there 0:05:00.480 --> 0:05:03.640 was a twelve another tournament that usually playing cooperstowns about 0:05:03.880 --> 0:05:06.760 ninety six teams. It's always a good top and the 0:05:06.839 --> 0:05:08.719 kid's gonna stay in the beards and things like that. 0:05:08.800 --> 0:05:11.960 So it's a fun little event. Learned a lot about 0:05:11.960 --> 0:05:14.080 the district baseball go down to the Hall of Fame. 0:05:14.160 --> 0:05:16.919 I still that's cool. DJ. I'm gonna hit you with 0:05:16.960 --> 0:05:21.719 one more baseball reference. This week, defensive coordinator lou Anna 0:05:21.800 --> 0:05:25.120 Rumo was asked about you, and he said, we hit 0:05:25.160 --> 0:05:29.320 a home run as an organization. Can you sense how 0:05:29.440 --> 0:05:34.799 thrilled your new coaches and teammates are that you signed here? Definitely, um, 0:05:34.960 --> 0:05:37.320 you know, and it's different for me. You know, I'm 0:05:37.480 --> 0:05:40.000 real reserved guy obviously, just trying to come in and 0:05:40.000 --> 0:05:41.440 sit in and be one of the guys. So it's 0:05:42.160 --> 0:05:44.680 it's always just been, I mean, always been that, you know. 0:05:44.720 --> 0:05:47.159 I've never really had like a lot of hype around 0:05:47.200 --> 0:05:52.000 me growing up being a kid who's a three star recruise. 0:05:52.120 --> 0:05:54.080 It's not really sure if I was gonna play baseball 0:05:54.120 --> 0:05:57.119 or football or went to college, and you know, fifth 0:05:57.240 --> 0:05:59.800 round pig. Nothing really kind of went the way I 0:06:00.160 --> 0:06:03.120 expecting and then this is kind of it's different. It's 0:06:03.160 --> 0:06:05.160 definitely different, but you know, just trying to stay with 0:06:05.200 --> 0:06:07.680 them myself, and you know, I like coach Lu loves 0:06:07.680 --> 0:06:10.040 the system that we're in, and so I'm excited. We're 0:06:10.120 --> 0:06:13.840 chatting with DJ Reader. Your coaches and teammates in Houston 0:06:14.000 --> 0:06:17.360 obviously knew how good you were. J. J. Watt publicly 0:06:17.360 --> 0:06:20.240 said you were the best nose tackle in the NFL. 0:06:20.720 --> 0:06:22.800 But now that you have signed as a free agent 0:06:22.960 --> 0:06:25.960 with the Bengals and became the highest paid nose tackle 0:06:26.040 --> 0:06:29.160 in the league, do you think that validates just how 0:06:29.240 --> 0:06:33.200 good you are. I don't know. I think I gotta 0:06:33.200 --> 0:06:34.560 go out there and still improve it. Man, you know, 0:06:34.600 --> 0:06:38.120 you gotta stay hungry. Um. I think it's It's also 0:06:38.240 --> 0:06:41.400 it's nice to see that people who think that you're 0:06:41.400 --> 0:06:43.440 there good and you know they're warding for it. But 0:06:43.480 --> 0:06:45.120 so you gotta go up there improved. Now that I 0:06:45.160 --> 0:06:46.760 got this, dal, I gotta go out the improve it 0:06:46.760 --> 0:06:50.240 again and go out there every year. This feel I mean, 0:06:50.279 --> 0:06:52.039 I feel like I'm the best nose tackle in the league. 0:06:52.080 --> 0:06:53.440 But you know, I gotta go out there improved. I 0:06:53.480 --> 0:06:55.200 can say that all I want you in my head. 0:06:55.320 --> 0:06:57.000 I gotta go through that every day, day in and 0:06:57.080 --> 0:07:01.080 day DJ you have been part of league good teams. 0:07:01.080 --> 0:07:03.599 You spent four years in Houston. You won the division 0:07:03.600 --> 0:07:06.000 title three out of the four. You played for a 0:07:06.120 --> 0:07:10.640 national championship your last year at Clemson. Did anybody close 0:07:10.720 --> 0:07:14.560 to you question your decision to join a team coming 0:07:14.560 --> 0:07:19.240 off at two and fourteen season. Oh no, I'm talking 0:07:19.240 --> 0:07:21.000 to my mom about it. My mom's really bigging her 0:07:21.040 --> 0:07:23.000 faith for me. That's that's kind of how I grew 0:07:23.040 --> 0:07:25.200 up in the church, and my mom told me, you 0:07:25.240 --> 0:07:28.000 know that she's her big thing was she go, as 0:07:28.000 --> 0:07:29.200 a man, you don't get to go a lot of 0:07:29.200 --> 0:07:31.800 places a lot of times and leave your mark on 0:07:31.840 --> 0:07:34.560 the place and best like, she was like, that's what 0:07:34.640 --> 0:07:35.880 you have to do. You know, you have to be 0:07:35.920 --> 0:07:38.520 ready to step up as a leader. What they're looking 0:07:38.520 --> 0:07:40.440 at you is and go in there and be that. 0:07:40.600 --> 0:07:43.400 She said, guy's calling you for a reason. So I 0:07:43.480 --> 0:07:45.040 was too happy, you know to hear that for my 0:07:45.080 --> 0:07:48.280 mom and her never questioned her decision and her sit 0:07:48.400 --> 0:07:50.320 there and pray with me while I was getting ready 0:07:50.320 --> 0:07:52.840 to make that decision. J anybody knows me, you know, 0:07:52.880 --> 0:07:54.360 that's that's what I lean on the most. So I 0:07:56.040 --> 0:07:57.600 had to back end from my family. You know, they 0:07:57.600 --> 0:08:00.800 were just excited. Do you tall take it as a 0:08:00.800 --> 0:08:05.400 personal challenge to try to be part of a huge turnaround. Yeah. 0:08:05.440 --> 0:08:08.040 I mean I wouldn't have came here if I didn't. 0:08:08.280 --> 0:08:10.000 I think there's a lot of guys that we got 0:08:11.240 --> 0:08:14.640 on this team, in the room and things like that 0:08:14.720 --> 0:08:16.960 just that are really good. I don't think the record 0:08:17.080 --> 0:08:20.080 shows like the last year's record especially shows like what 0:08:20.160 --> 0:08:23.560 was exactly going on with the team. I think, you know, 0:08:23.640 --> 0:08:26.600 there's a lot of factors that go into having a 0:08:26.640 --> 0:08:29.240 season like that. You know, I've been a part of 0:08:29.240 --> 0:08:31.320 the four and twelve season. We also want to vision 0:08:31.760 --> 0:08:35.280 three out of four times. So it's just that's how 0:08:35.280 --> 0:08:37.960 the league goes sometimes, and you know, so it's about 0:08:38.600 --> 0:08:41.320 building a consistently good team. I think that's where we're 0:08:41.360 --> 0:08:44.000 on the way to do it. DJ is getting Pro 0:08:44.080 --> 0:08:47.280 Bowl recognition in the near future a big deal to you. 0:08:48.800 --> 0:08:52.960 It used to be not now I think I kind 0:08:52.960 --> 0:08:55.760 of fed myself up with that whole Or do you 0:08:55.880 --> 0:08:58.320 or realize that, you know, people vote for their friends 0:08:58.320 --> 0:09:01.319 and not for really who they feel like should be 0:09:01.360 --> 0:09:03.760 in there. Now I don't. I don't really care anymore. 0:09:03.800 --> 0:09:05.199 I'm just trying to go out there and play man. 0:09:05.280 --> 0:09:07.719 Winds are always Trump Pro Bowls and things like that 0:09:07.840 --> 0:09:12.400 over me. Defensive line coach Nikkison said, the Bengals planned 0:09:12.440 --> 0:09:14.160 to give you a bigger role than the one you 0:09:14.240 --> 0:09:18.160 had in Houston. How would you like to be used however, 0:09:18.200 --> 0:09:20.280 this is said, Man, I really want to use me. 0:09:20.520 --> 0:09:23.720 I can do it. I'll figure it out. I never 0:09:23.720 --> 0:09:27.520 had a problem figuring things out before. I'm just excited, man, 0:09:27.520 --> 0:09:29.360 to go out there and play football. It spent all 0:09:29.440 --> 0:09:31.199 spring and summer just trying to be in the dust 0:09:31.240 --> 0:09:32.640 shape of my life to go out to get out 0:09:32.640 --> 0:09:35.240 to getting ready to go out there and play the 0:09:35.240 --> 0:09:37.200 game I love. I've been playing since as a kid. 0:09:37.440 --> 0:09:40.319 You know, it's a child's game and I enjoy it. 0:09:40.760 --> 0:09:45.160 So that's really what it is. It's nothing, nothing crazy. 0:09:45.200 --> 0:09:47.000 I'm excited to see what they have a store and 0:09:47.080 --> 0:09:49.880 so far overs me going well well. Speaking of being 0:09:49.880 --> 0:09:52.800 in great shape, you're twenty pounds lighter than you were. 0:09:53.480 --> 0:09:57.520 Why and how did you drop that weight? Oh? Just 0:09:57.640 --> 0:10:00.440 being consistent in your diet and work. And you know, 0:10:00.480 --> 0:10:04.640 I just wanted to be better and better shape, being 0:10:04.679 --> 0:10:07.200 able to play more. If I had to all those 0:10:07.240 --> 0:10:08.839 things fact, then you know, I just wanted to be 0:10:08.920 --> 0:10:12.680 a better player and better overall. So yeah, I felt 0:10:12.720 --> 0:10:15.600 like if I lost that weight and just stay stay strong, 0:10:15.760 --> 0:10:17.520 kept my strength, and I could be the best player 0:10:17.480 --> 0:10:19.719 that I wanted to, like the best player. But I've 0:10:19.760 --> 0:10:22.840 been so far, and I'm just getting older and understanding 0:10:22.920 --> 0:10:26.079 that I need to maximize this opportunity that I have 0:10:26.200 --> 0:10:27.920 and this one day to play in the NFL, and 0:10:27.960 --> 0:10:29.800 I want to do it's the best of my ability. 0:10:30.360 --> 0:10:35.680 What unhealthy food that you love is now off limits? Cereal. 0:10:35.920 --> 0:10:39.839 I'm a big Cereal guy. Not that good healthy stuff. No, 0:10:40.080 --> 0:10:44.680 I'm a kid called Captain Crups, fruity pellows, fruit loops, 0:10:46.280 --> 0:10:50.240 Reese's posts, all types of cereal and milk. So I am. 0:10:50.480 --> 0:10:54.120 I have stopped on the Cereal train. And I'm a 0:10:54.160 --> 0:10:56.280 big fan of like grits and everybody who tries to 0:10:56.280 --> 0:10:58.120 tell you old mill and grits were similar than not, 0:11:00.600 --> 0:11:03.480 so that type of stuff and then I'm from the south, 0:11:03.640 --> 0:11:07.480 from Greensboro, and there's this thing we do we call Liverpool, 0:11:07.679 --> 0:11:09.640 and that's kind of like my cheap deal. And I 0:11:09.640 --> 0:11:12.079 don't really you probably don't want to hear on here 0:11:12.120 --> 0:11:15.199 what Liverpool is, but you can kind of take your guests. 0:11:15.200 --> 0:11:20.120 So but you know, so that's those are really my vices, honestly, 0:11:20.160 --> 0:11:22.640 as far as unhealthy foods like, those are my vices, 0:11:22.640 --> 0:11:27.440 like and fancy I eat chilings, which is also probably 0:11:27.480 --> 0:11:29.920 not the best thing to be doing. I will admit 0:11:29.960 --> 0:11:34.920 that sugary cereal sounds better than liver pudding. It is objectives. 0:11:38.480 --> 0:11:40.400 I am definitely going to take your word for it 0:11:40.520 --> 0:11:45.840 on that one. DJ. You agreed to the contract but 0:11:45.960 --> 0:11:49.400 couldn't come here right away. Now you're here, what's it 0:11:49.520 --> 0:11:51.679 like for you to get to town and finally get 0:11:51.679 --> 0:11:55.240 to enter the facility. Oh, you know, it's good, um, 0:11:55.240 --> 0:11:57.200 glad to just be able to go into facility and 0:11:57.200 --> 0:12:00.640 go to work. Man. You know, it's it's a long 0:12:00.720 --> 0:12:02.800 time with all the things that are going on in 0:12:02.800 --> 0:12:06.040 the world, and you know, praying for everybody to be 0:12:06.080 --> 0:12:09.240 safe and stay happy here in this pandemic. It's been crazy. 0:12:09.360 --> 0:12:12.200 Then all the things that are going on, you know, 0:12:12.240 --> 0:12:17.080 with trying to change the world, you know, just understanding 0:12:17.160 --> 0:12:19.240 that the innocent lives are being lost every day. So 0:12:19.280 --> 0:12:20.640 it's just I mean, it gave me time to be 0:12:20.880 --> 0:12:22.600 sit back and reflect on a lot of stuff that 0:12:22.679 --> 0:12:25.160 was going on. I'm thankful for that. I got a 0:12:25.160 --> 0:12:26.720 lot to spend a lot of time around my son, 0:12:26.840 --> 0:12:28.600 you know, becoming a father and just being able to 0:12:28.600 --> 0:12:30.360 get that time around my son. It was a blessing, 0:12:31.120 --> 0:12:33.640 you know. I'm just glad to be here. Um, still 0:12:33.640 --> 0:12:35.839 trying to stay safe, you know, we're not in the 0:12:35.920 --> 0:12:37.839 clear year with all the things that are going on, 0:12:37.920 --> 0:12:39.640 so you know, just trying to stay safe and just 0:12:40.559 --> 0:12:43.200 the people are nice. That's the biggest I've noticed that 0:12:43.200 --> 0:12:45.360 people were very very nice here and that's been that's 0:12:45.400 --> 0:12:49.400 been awesome. So just getting to a new place, you know, 0:12:49.400 --> 0:12:51.760 it's always different moving from some place that you've been 0:12:51.840 --> 0:12:54.160 for years and then coming to a new place. So 0:12:54.160 --> 0:12:56.280 I'm just trying to still figure about my way around here. 0:12:57.080 --> 0:12:59.480 You haven't been around your new teammates for very long, 0:12:59.520 --> 0:13:02.760 but where do your early impressions of Gino and Carlos 0:13:02.840 --> 0:13:06.880 and Sam Hubbard and Carl Lawson other guys who have 0:13:07.000 --> 0:13:08.960 just done it well for a long time, especially though 0:13:08.960 --> 0:13:11.400 Gino Carlos, they've done it just at the highest level 0:13:11.440 --> 0:13:17.120 for a long time, saying Carlos and other day said 0:13:17.120 --> 0:13:20.360 I'm in the loving greet. So it's funny, you know 0:13:20.400 --> 0:13:22.640 what to think about that many years just playing ball, 0:13:23.520 --> 0:13:26.480 and you know, it's just it's a blessing to be 0:13:26.520 --> 0:13:28.480 around those guys and just to cheat off the energy 0:13:28.520 --> 0:13:31.040 and a different intered parts they know about the game. 0:13:31.080 --> 0:13:32.559 And then you know you got the young guys with 0:13:33.280 --> 0:13:35.760 carl and Sam who and they're right, have played a 0:13:35.760 --> 0:13:37.360 lot of good ball in the last couple of years 0:13:37.440 --> 0:13:40.160 and still learning it. Be here, to be here and 0:13:40.200 --> 0:13:42.480 watching them hit their stride as I'm starting to hit 0:13:42.520 --> 0:13:45.120 my stride is gonna be an awesome thing. A few 0:13:45.120 --> 0:13:47.839 more questions for DJ reader. You're a Clemson guy. I'm 0:13:47.880 --> 0:13:51.320 sure you followed the team closely. What was your reaction, Yeah, 0:13:51.360 --> 0:13:53.640 what was your reaction to the selection of T Higgins 0:13:53.679 --> 0:13:57.480 in the second round. I'm super excited. You know, I've 0:13:57.480 --> 0:14:01.720 watched T player cups from just knew what kind of 0:14:01.720 --> 0:14:06.560 receiver he was. Just very good players, especially like the 0:14:06.600 --> 0:14:09.080 way they used him at close to them, so I knew. 0:14:09.080 --> 0:14:12.320 He's a kid who played multiple sports also a high 0:14:12.320 --> 0:14:16.440 school so he's very athletic, but just understands the game. 0:14:16.480 --> 0:14:19.360 He's humble, like he's not a I've never seeing him 0:14:19.400 --> 0:14:21.880 get out of character. Anybody say anything crazy about meim 0:14:21.880 --> 0:14:24.520 he's a very humble kid. And you know he's just 0:14:25.200 --> 0:14:30.040 shows up with that smile and works hum he's a 0:14:30.160 --> 0:14:31.880 he's a good player and you know, as I was 0:14:31.920 --> 0:14:35.280 excited to have him. We learned on the NFL network 0:14:35.520 --> 0:14:38.240 when you were on recently that your nickname going back 0:14:38.240 --> 0:14:42.440 to your college days is Barbecue. Have your Bengals teammates 0:14:42.440 --> 0:14:45.440 picked up on that. I'm not. Yeah, I don't know 0:14:45.480 --> 0:14:50.480 if anybody real maybe, but not not yet. Nobody. Nobody's 0:14:50.480 --> 0:14:51.800 picked up on it. And then you don't get you 0:14:51.800 --> 0:14:53.720 don't hear it too often. That's why you know when 0:14:53.760 --> 0:14:55.760 I when I hear it, I know you know me 0:14:55.960 --> 0:14:58.520 like it's not it's not a doubt in my mind 0:14:58.560 --> 0:15:01.000 that you either know somebody that really really knows me 0:15:01.080 --> 0:15:03.760 or you know me yourself. And I always turned every 0:15:03.760 --> 0:15:07.720 time I hear Geno Atkins was a fourth round draft 0:15:07.760 --> 0:15:09.640 pick and just turned out to be one of the 0:15:09.680 --> 0:15:12.960 best defensive players in the NFL. You were a tip, 0:15:13.200 --> 0:15:16.560 you were a fifth round draft pick. Does that still 0:15:16.600 --> 0:15:19.440 tick you off? Oh? Yeah, I carry a chip my 0:15:19.520 --> 0:15:23.160 shoulder about that every day. Um. You know, there's plenty 0:15:23.200 --> 0:15:24.720 of people who got picked before me, and I didn't 0:15:24.760 --> 0:15:27.040 feel it better than me. Um, I don't get to 0:15:27.080 --> 0:15:28.440 talk to you about it. I just put my head 0:15:28.440 --> 0:15:32.400 down at work. But yeah, there's I mean, there's plenty 0:15:32.400 --> 0:15:34.440 of things I could be pissed off about, like just 0:15:35.080 --> 0:15:37.920 from the respect point of what I get in the 0:15:38.040 --> 0:15:42.040 league now. So you know, that's just one of them. 0:15:42.080 --> 0:15:43.920 You know, everybody has their little thing they carried with 0:15:44.080 --> 0:15:46.160 them that's a chip for them, and so that's really 0:15:46.720 --> 0:15:48.360 one of the biggest ships that I carry. It's just 0:15:48.440 --> 0:15:51.040 that a lot of people passed on me, and whatever 0:15:51.120 --> 0:15:53.960 reason that was that they did not just I knew 0:15:54.000 --> 0:15:55.400 that I didn't want to. I wanted to make sure 0:15:55.440 --> 0:15:58.160 everybody knew they couldn't pass on me again, just so 0:15:58.240 --> 0:15:59.720 I wanted to go out there and play a roof 0:15:59.760 --> 0:16:03.240 and every day. Do you have any short term goals 0:16:03.280 --> 0:16:07.240 for this year personally? Um, just go out there and 0:16:07.280 --> 0:16:11.400 be a better player, better teammate, Just play hard. Um 0:16:11.720 --> 0:16:14.720 as a team, just win. That's the biggest thing. Just win, 0:16:15.120 --> 0:16:17.360 no matter how it comes down. I'm scratching a claw 0:16:17.400 --> 0:16:20.560 and to win, straining to win games. You know, go 0:16:20.640 --> 0:16:23.840 out there and know that the game is what it is. 0:16:23.880 --> 0:16:25.760 It's always been the same. You're gonna have to fight 0:16:25.880 --> 0:16:28.360 to win every single time. Just says still. Let of 0:16:28.440 --> 0:16:30.600 people and everybody getting that. You know, you gotta go 0:16:30.640 --> 0:16:33.200 out there and fight your golf to win the game. 0:16:33.240 --> 0:16:35.720 And that's like, that's probably my biggest thing. You know. 0:16:35.800 --> 0:16:37.720 You gotta go out there every Sunday and feel like 0:16:38.400 --> 0:16:40.880 you're the baddest guys on the field. And of course 0:16:40.960 --> 0:16:42.480 other teams don feel like that too, but you got 0:16:42.600 --> 0:16:44.080 to impose your rule on them, and that's how you 0:16:44.080 --> 0:16:46.840 got to go about it. That is music to the 0:16:46.880 --> 0:16:53.400 ears of Bengals fans. Yeah, that is exactly what folks 0:16:53.400 --> 0:16:56.200 are craving and we are so excited that you're part 0:16:56.200 --> 0:16:58.160 of the team. That, sir, If you're not going out 0:16:58.160 --> 0:16:59.960 there and play the sport that way, you're not playing it. 0:17:00.840 --> 0:17:04.320 DJ appreciate your time, stay safe, look forward to watching 0:17:04.320 --> 0:17:06.720 your practice in the weeks to come. Thank you, sir. 0:17:06.760 --> 0:17:10.119 I appreciate you. In addition to getting a great player 0:17:10.160 --> 0:17:13.040 the Bengals are getting a team leader. Reader was the 0:17:13.080 --> 0:17:16.639 Houston Texans nominee for the Walter Peyton NFL Man of 0:17:16.640 --> 0:17:21.600 the Year Award in twenty nineteen. This week, NFL teams 0:17:21.640 --> 0:17:24.280 began with the league calls Phase one of training camp, 0:17:24.440 --> 0:17:28.919 consisting of meetings, conditioning, workouts, and daily walkthroughs. That means 0:17:29.000 --> 0:17:31.359 most of the Bengals got their first look at Joe 0:17:31.480 --> 0:17:35.000 Burrow as he called out plays and made adjustments during 0:17:35.040 --> 0:17:40.720 those walkthroughs. Here's offensive coordinator Brian Callahan. I think a 0:17:40.800 --> 0:17:42.600 lot of guys that had made some comments to the 0:17:42.680 --> 0:17:45.240 day a bottom and he's just got a great feel 0:17:45.240 --> 0:17:49.200 for what we're trying to do. His offseason work was outstanding. 0:17:49.240 --> 0:17:52.280 He worked really hard. I think that part gets skipped 0:17:52.280 --> 0:17:56.240 over a little bit. He's such an intense worker that 0:17:56.840 --> 0:18:00.520 he's put himself in position to know what to do 0:18:00.560 --> 0:18:03.000 and how to do it, and I think that that's 0:18:03.040 --> 0:18:05.800 that's rubbed off on his teammates um and obviously his 0:18:05.880 --> 0:18:09.720 presentation and how he goes about his business has been 0:18:10.400 --> 0:18:12.879 everything we thought it would be. If there's a rookie 0:18:12.960 --> 0:18:17.639 quarterback miss not having a preseason game, getting hit for 0:18:17.680 --> 0:18:20.400 the first time, that's usually that's usually a big part 0:18:20.400 --> 0:18:23.240 of it. UM. You know, all quarterbacks kind of have those. 0:18:23.400 --> 0:18:25.560 They got a little jitters. They don't get touched very 0:18:25.560 --> 0:18:28.240 often in practice, they don't feel a live rush, and 0:18:28.320 --> 0:18:31.720 especially for a kid hasn't played NFL football at rookie quarterback, generally, 0:18:32.359 --> 0:18:34.919 that first time that rush comes live at full speed 0:18:35.080 --> 0:18:37.760 is a little bit different than college. Now, he was 0:18:37.760 --> 0:18:40.640 playing against great players in the secats. It's that's as 0:18:40.640 --> 0:18:43.160 close as you're gonna ever get probably to NFL speed 0:18:43.200 --> 0:18:46.879 and tempo. But that first that first pass rush, that 0:18:47.000 --> 0:18:50.679 first hit, that first time they get jolted around, uh, 0:18:50.840 --> 0:18:52.800 kind of reminds him that it's time to play football again. 0:18:52.880 --> 0:18:55.920 So you'd like that to happen obviously before the opener, um, 0:18:56.320 --> 0:18:57.920 but that we don't. We don't get that this year. 0:18:57.960 --> 0:19:00.199 So that's one thing. The other thing is gonna be 0:19:00.440 --> 0:19:03.720 the just being on the field in the huddle on 0:19:03.760 --> 0:19:05.760 your own. You know, every practice, guys are kind of 0:19:05.760 --> 0:19:08.800 behind and coaches are there and interacting and um just 0:19:08.920 --> 0:19:11.080 and then dealing with the game situations as they come up, 0:19:11.160 --> 0:19:13.639 dealing with the clock, the play clock. UM. There's a 0:19:13.640 --> 0:19:16.520 lot of just operational things that come into play that 0:19:16.520 --> 0:19:18.040 that we're not going to get a chance to do 0:19:18.119 --> 0:19:20.720 in a live situation. And we can simulate those things, 0:19:21.359 --> 0:19:23.280 but it's always different when you when you walk out 0:19:23.280 --> 0:19:26.160 there and it's just the eleven guys on the other 0:19:26.160 --> 0:19:29.280 eleven guys and when you're playing football for real. So, um, 0:19:29.760 --> 0:19:31.680 I think he'll be fine, But I know there's there's 0:19:31.680 --> 0:19:33.520 a part of there's some things that you're gonna miss 0:19:33.800 --> 0:19:36.320 without having the preseason games, just getting the getting the 0:19:36.400 --> 0:19:40.119 jitters out, if you will, um, from from that starting 0:19:40.119 --> 0:19:44.320 aspect for a young player, and Joe Burrow has generated 0:19:44.440 --> 0:19:47.800 so much excitement that people see a still photograph of 0:19:47.920 --> 0:19:50.480 him and they're they're frothing at the mouth around here. 0:19:50.960 --> 0:19:53.520 How is he handling that? And is there a lot 0:19:53.560 --> 0:19:56.280 of good natured ribbing going on with his teammates and 0:19:56.320 --> 0:20:01.160 coaches about the spotlight that's being shown on him right now? Yeah, 0:20:01.200 --> 0:20:03.680 I mean it's not anything anything out of the ordin area. 0:20:03.720 --> 0:20:06.280 I don't think, Um, you know, he's I think he's 0:20:06.359 --> 0:20:08.119 used to it too. You know, his spot out at 0:20:08.200 --> 0:20:11.240 LSU last year was pretty bright, to the point where 0:20:11.240 --> 0:20:14.440 he probably didn't go out much in Baton Rouge without 0:20:15.160 --> 0:20:17.200 a lot of people all over him. You know, he 0:20:17.720 --> 0:20:20.000 was a he became a celebrity down there, and then 0:20:20.000 --> 0:20:22.800 he became really a celebrity across the country. So I 0:20:22.840 --> 0:20:24.359 don't think it's new to him. I think he handles 0:20:24.400 --> 0:20:27.200 it just like he handles everything else. He handles things 0:20:27.200 --> 0:20:30.439 with with poise and confidence, and you know, knows how 0:20:30.480 --> 0:20:33.600 to be gracious and knows how to how to respond 0:20:33.640 --> 0:20:36.199 to people that are in his corner and cheering for 0:20:36.280 --> 0:20:38.560 him and excited for him. So I think it's great 0:20:38.600 --> 0:20:40.600 for the city of Cincinnati and the fans of the Bengals. 0:20:40.720 --> 0:20:43.520 I know we're just as excited as they are, So um, 0:20:43.560 --> 0:20:46.040 that's great, you know. Unfortunately, I don't know if we're 0:20:46.040 --> 0:20:48.040 gonna get to have everybody in the stadium to cheer 0:20:48.080 --> 0:20:51.400 him on. But um, you know, I'm, I'm it makes 0:20:51.400 --> 0:20:53.560 me excited that everybody else is excited. On top of it, 0:20:54.560 --> 0:20:57.679 we'll see Joe Burrow in a Bengals helmet on Wednesday. 0:20:57.960 --> 0:21:02.120 Who who when Faced two of practice begins and then 0:21:02.200 --> 0:21:07.119 padded practices can get underway on Monday, August seventeenth, roughly 0:21:07.200 --> 0:21:11.359 four weeks before the season opener against the Chargers. Before 0:21:11.359 --> 0:21:13.880 we get to our next conversation. Here's a quick reminder 0:21:13.960 --> 0:21:16.160 that you can take your Bengals pride to the next 0:21:16.240 --> 0:21:19.840 level in twenty twenty with an official Bengals fan package 0:21:20.080 --> 0:21:23.280 from Prime Sport. Now here's this week's visit with my 0:21:23.320 --> 0:21:27.159 broadcast partner Dave Lapham. All Right, Lap, let's start with 0:21:27.320 --> 0:21:30.800 trying to play under these circumstances. If you were still 0:21:30.840 --> 0:21:34.600 an active player, would you be comfortable playing in a pandemic? 0:21:34.880 --> 0:21:37.000 You know, I would have talked it over with my 0:21:37.040 --> 0:21:40.440 wife first and foremost, because you know, when I was 0:21:40.520 --> 0:21:43.680 twenty five years old, I was already married with two kids, 0:21:44.200 --> 0:21:46.480 so we started our family pretty young, so it would 0:21:46.480 --> 0:21:50.280 have been an interesting decision. But having talked it over 0:21:50.320 --> 0:21:53.800 with Lynn, asking her that very question, what would what 0:21:53.840 --> 0:21:56.639 would you think about, you know, playing through this pandemic? 0:21:57.240 --> 0:22:01.000 And her response was, I know you would want to play. 0:22:01.200 --> 0:22:03.080 I know you'd be smart, I know you'd be as 0:22:03.119 --> 0:22:06.240 safe as you can be, so you know, why not play? 0:22:06.560 --> 0:22:10.800 And that would be my reaction obviously. I know as 0:22:10.840 --> 0:22:12.920 a back in the day, I would want to play 0:22:13.080 --> 0:22:17.160 under any circumstances I possibly could, and I'd make sure 0:22:17.240 --> 0:22:19.920 that the team obviously did everything they possibly could to 0:22:21.160 --> 0:22:23.840 from a protocol standpoint to make it as safe as possible. 0:22:23.840 --> 0:22:26.480 And I do think it's interesting the guys that have 0:22:26.560 --> 0:22:30.159 opted out. All I can hold is those guys that 0:22:30.200 --> 0:22:32.800 have decided to opt out, and I can understand why, 0:22:32.920 --> 0:22:37.119 but boy, pressures on. If I opted out, I'd have 0:22:37.160 --> 0:22:39.760 to live the life of a monk. I'd go nowhere 0:22:40.160 --> 0:22:43.320 because if I went somewhere and got COVID after opting 0:22:43.320 --> 0:22:46.800 out for my NFL season, I'd never forgive myself, you know, 0:22:46.800 --> 0:22:48.880 And now I'd be in danger in the family all 0:22:48.880 --> 0:22:51.240 the things the reason I opted out, So, man, I'd 0:22:51.280 --> 0:22:53.000 put myself on a lock and key of Literally, I 0:22:53.040 --> 0:22:55.119 would be a monk. I would not go anywhere, do 0:22:55.200 --> 0:22:58.680 anything if that's be a heavy, heavy decision to make, 0:22:58.960 --> 0:23:01.480 and that would be a tough lifestyle live. So I 0:23:01.560 --> 0:23:06.080 probably would play in trust that the team is doing 0:23:06.160 --> 0:23:09.520 everything possibly can at Paul Brown Stadium and surrounding practice 0:23:09.560 --> 0:23:11.880 fields and everything to keep everybody's self And it's on me. 0:23:12.160 --> 0:23:14.399 It's on me when I'm away from the stadium to 0:23:14.480 --> 0:23:16.480 do the right thing, just like it's on these guys 0:23:16.560 --> 0:23:19.840 opting out. They have more time to wander and do 0:23:19.920 --> 0:23:24.200 other things. And I'm telling you it'd be interesting to 0:23:24.600 --> 0:23:27.320 monitor the sixty six guys or however many it is 0:23:27.320 --> 0:23:29.480 they've opped it out, and see how many of them 0:23:29.520 --> 0:23:32.840 do end up getting coronavirus testing positive would be very interesting. 0:23:33.280 --> 0:23:36.840 That is a tremendous call, because if and when one 0:23:36.880 --> 0:23:41.440 of those guys tests positive, the abuse that he's going 0:23:41.480 --> 0:23:45.520 to suffer is going to be unbelievable, no doubt, no doubt. 0:23:45.920 --> 0:23:49.040 Let's look ahead to training camp a little bit. Obviously, 0:23:49.080 --> 0:23:53.000 they've started with strength and conditioning and some walkthroughs, but 0:23:53.119 --> 0:23:56.760 nothing really juicy yet. That's still about a week away. 0:23:57.359 --> 0:23:59.760 But as I said the last time we did a podcast, 0:24:00.160 --> 0:24:02.960 I thought the next time we got together we would 0:24:02.960 --> 0:24:05.720 look ahead to some training camp battles. So what training 0:24:05.760 --> 0:24:10.480 camp battle are you most looking forward to watching. Well, 0:24:10.480 --> 0:24:13.199 I've already talked about, you know, the old line. I 0:24:13.200 --> 0:24:15.360 guess probably a nausea and being a former old line, 0:24:15.359 --> 0:24:18.159 but I've done that. But I am very interested in 0:24:18.160 --> 0:24:22.200 the linebacker, you know position. I want to see how 0:24:22.240 --> 0:24:25.520 these young linebackers come along, how quickly they can come along. 0:24:26.160 --> 0:24:28.880 I think Josh Binds's role in listening to lou Ana 0:24:28.960 --> 0:24:32.280 Uma the other day at the presser was his role 0:24:32.480 --> 0:24:36.720 is to be the example that the young guys aspire 0:24:36.760 --> 0:24:40.520 to be the locker room leader. The guy that wasn't 0:24:40.600 --> 0:24:44.240 drafted coming out of college, made a football team, you know, 0:24:44.320 --> 0:24:46.600 went to the super Bowl. All all the things that 0:24:46.640 --> 0:24:50.720 go along with it, high level performer, overachiever kind of thing. 0:24:51.400 --> 0:24:54.680 Watch how he prepares, Watch how he trains, Watch how 0:24:54.720 --> 0:24:57.840 he eats, watch how he does everything. And not to 0:24:57.840 --> 0:25:00.119 say that he's not going to play initially. He may 0:25:00.160 --> 0:25:03.280 have to be. He may be given them some significant snaps. 0:25:03.280 --> 0:25:06.359 But I'm very interested to see how quickly, you know, 0:25:06.480 --> 0:25:11.080 Logan Wilson, m Keene, Davis Gaither, how how quickly can 0:25:11.119 --> 0:25:15.360 they work their way in to those sub packages and 0:25:15.359 --> 0:25:19.040 and make significant snaps because as we know Dan, the 0:25:19.119 --> 0:25:22.600 linebackers get isolated and they get they get you know, 0:25:23.080 --> 0:25:25.000 people spread the field, put them in one on ones, 0:25:25.040 --> 0:25:27.639 and it was a it was a tough, tough dynamics. 0:25:27.680 --> 0:25:30.920 So I think, uh, I think that position group is 0:25:31.240 --> 0:25:33.440 the one where I'm gonna be watching how the battles 0:25:33.520 --> 0:25:37.080 unfold and uh, you know, see how Pratt advances in 0:25:37.240 --> 0:25:39.280 year two, all the things that go along with that 0:25:39.359 --> 0:25:42.960 position group. I'm very very intrigued by it. I am 0:25:43.040 --> 0:25:51.440 all about right tackle. Yep, ken Ken Fred Johnson beat 0:25:51.480 --> 0:25:54.760 out Bobby Hard. I do agree when the coaches say 0:25:54.800 --> 0:25:58.880 Bobby Hart's not as bad as everybody thinks. I don't 0:25:58.920 --> 0:26:02.280 think he's the worst tackle, worst right tackle in the 0:26:02.359 --> 0:26:04.880 National Football League. But I do think we've seen enough 0:26:04.920 --> 0:26:06.880 of him at this point to know that he's not 0:26:07.080 --> 0:26:10.080 among the best and is never going to be among 0:26:10.119 --> 0:26:13.760 the best. What kind of upside does Fred Johnson have? 0:26:14.240 --> 0:26:16.879 If you look at the Pro Football Focus rankings from 0:26:16.960 --> 0:26:19.880 last year, and I know that's not the be all, 0:26:20.000 --> 0:26:23.760 end all, he would have been several spots ahead of 0:26:23.840 --> 0:26:27.480 Bobby Hart in a limited sample size. So can he 0:26:27.760 --> 0:26:30.600 elevate that position from what you know you're going to 0:26:30.600 --> 0:26:33.040 get at this point out of Bobby Hart. The thing 0:26:33.080 --> 0:26:36.280 that I think Fred has to do Dan is physically. 0:26:37.040 --> 0:26:39.440 I think they feel good about Fred. You know, six 0:26:39.520 --> 0:26:42.080 or eight long long arms the whole nine yards. Bobby 0:26:42.119 --> 0:26:44.080 Hart is strawly long too. He's got some long arm 0:26:44.080 --> 0:26:47.840 blown them. The thing that he has to show is 0:26:48.200 --> 0:26:52.960 Bobby's had problems with penalties, and now Fred has to 0:26:52.960 --> 0:26:55.679 show that his poise, composure, those kind of things. And 0:26:55.680 --> 0:26:58.440 if he shows that he's he handles that a little 0:26:58.440 --> 0:27:01.200 bit better than Bobby has handled it historically. That could 0:27:01.200 --> 0:27:03.000 give him a little bit of an edge. The other 0:27:03.040 --> 0:27:07.760 thing is Bobby Hart his football IQ and overall IQ 0:27:07.880 --> 0:27:11.720 has been praised by coach Turner, praised by a very 0:27:11.840 --> 0:27:14.480 very intelligent guy in Trey Hopkins. So you know, the 0:27:14.560 --> 0:27:19.160 dude is smart. Coaches and teammates trust and like smart players. 0:27:19.600 --> 0:27:22.160 So Bobby Hart is not going to make as Simon errors. 0:27:22.400 --> 0:27:25.760 Fred Johnson can't make as Simon arrss that I think 0:27:25.800 --> 0:27:29.080 if if he shows that mentally he can handle it 0:27:29.119 --> 0:27:32.679 in terms of you know, not making penalty mistakes and 0:27:32.800 --> 0:27:35.840 mental mistakes in terms of your assignment, I think those 0:27:35.840 --> 0:27:38.000 are things that you're going to be looking for. Because 0:27:38.000 --> 0:27:40.640 it was such a small sample size over time, how 0:27:40.640 --> 0:27:43.560 does that pan out between those two guys? All right? 0:27:43.680 --> 0:27:47.800 Is there a lesser known newcomer that you are eager 0:27:47.840 --> 0:27:50.040 to watch? We're all excited to watch Joe Burrow and 0:27:50.119 --> 0:27:52.480 some of the high profile free agents that they signed, 0:27:52.520 --> 0:27:54.680 But is there a lesser known guy that you're eager 0:27:54.720 --> 0:27:58.320 to get your eyes on? You know, Again, in listening 0:27:58.320 --> 0:28:01.840 to lou Anna Rumo during his pressor, and I asked 0:28:01.920 --> 0:28:06.320 him about other cornerbacks or Trey Waynes and McKenzie Alexander 0:28:06.400 --> 0:28:08.880 they as advertised, he goes, yeah, yeah, but don't sleep 0:28:09.000 --> 0:28:12.720 on Winston Rose, who led the Canadian Football League and interception. 0:28:13.040 --> 0:28:15.960 Don't sleep sleep on less Shawn Simms, who's played a 0:28:15.960 --> 0:28:19.440 lot of good snaps to the Tennessee Titans, significant snaps, 0:28:19.800 --> 0:28:22.600 and not only will they give depth to that you know, 0:28:22.640 --> 0:28:25.919 back end of the defense, it'll increase the production and 0:28:25.960 --> 0:28:29.040 performance hopefully for Darren Simmons on special teams as well. 0:28:29.480 --> 0:28:33.439 So I don't think people are even thinking about those guys, 0:28:33.760 --> 0:28:36.680 and they could, you know, play a significant role. How 0:28:36.800 --> 0:28:39.720 significant role, It all depends on injury and everything else 0:28:39.720 --> 0:28:42.080 that goes along with it. But it sounds like lu 0:28:42.120 --> 0:28:45.200 Ana Room was very satisfied with him. He's like, they're long, 0:28:45.440 --> 0:28:48.200 they're athletic. You know. I like him. So for him 0:28:48.240 --> 0:28:50.760 to come right out and the very first pressor and 0:28:50.880 --> 0:28:53.000 mentioned those guys made me sit up and take notice. 0:28:53.040 --> 0:28:55.200 He must have really liked the tape that he saw 0:28:55.240 --> 0:28:57.640 those guys before they signed him. Yeah, I'm withy on 0:28:57.720 --> 0:29:00.400 Winston Row as they signed a two years to two 0:29:00.440 --> 0:29:03.440 year deal in January, So this is not necessarily a 0:29:03.520 --> 0:29:05.520 just you know, show up and see if you can 0:29:05.520 --> 0:29:07.680 sneak on to the back end of the roster kind 0:29:07.680 --> 0:29:10.160 of guy. Maybe he's somebody who's ready to make the 0:29:10.240 --> 0:29:12.840 jump from the CFL to the NFL. As you mentioned, 0:29:12.920 --> 0:29:15.600 led the CFL and picks with nine part of a 0:29:15.680 --> 0:29:19.320 Great Cup championship team last year with Winnipeg. The starting 0:29:19.400 --> 0:29:22.200 quarterback of that team and the Great Crop Cup was 0:29:22.280 --> 0:29:24.880 former UC quarterback Zach Collaris, So I'll have to reach 0:29:24.880 --> 0:29:26.400 out to him and see if he gave me them 0:29:26.440 --> 0:29:29.880 intel on Winston Rose. The other person that I'm going 0:29:29.960 --> 0:29:33.040 to put on the list, and it really shouldn't count 0:29:33.080 --> 0:29:35.080 because I asked you for a newcomer that you were 0:29:35.120 --> 0:29:38.760 eager to see. But a guy that I'm really interested 0:29:39.040 --> 0:29:42.120 to watch even more closely going into this year is 0:29:42.240 --> 0:29:46.480 Darius Phillips, just based on how well he did in 0:29:46.560 --> 0:29:52.040 such a tiny sample size seventy five snaps in pass coverage, 0:29:52.480 --> 0:29:57.480 four interceptions, three pass breakups. That's amazing. I mean, that 0:29:57.880 --> 0:30:00.960 is productivity. That is a most of the football, That 0:30:01.080 --> 0:30:03.120 is ball skills. When you have an opportunity to make 0:30:03.120 --> 0:30:05.320 a play on football, you're making a play on football. 0:30:05.760 --> 0:30:08.160 And let's face it, you know how many times have 0:30:08.280 --> 0:30:11.640 we seen guys great courage and great position, Oh can't 0:30:11.680 --> 0:30:13.880 make a play? I mean the bottom lining, You've got 0:30:13.880 --> 0:30:17.160 to make plays. And Darius Phillips was showing that, showing 0:30:17.240 --> 0:30:19.520 people that he's a playmaker. He can make plays. I 0:30:19.640 --> 0:30:23.880 agree one hundred thousand percent. All right. On previous podcast, 0:30:24.320 --> 0:30:27.200 we did this and we're going to do it again. 0:30:27.240 --> 0:30:30.200 And by this I mean the following. If you could 0:30:30.200 --> 0:30:34.160 pick a player off another team's roster other than Patrick Mahomes, 0:30:34.480 --> 0:30:37.440 who would it be? And now that the roster is set, 0:30:37.560 --> 0:30:40.440 the eighty man roster is set, if you could grab 0:30:40.480 --> 0:30:42.840 somebody off another team's roster, who would that player be? 0:30:43.840 --> 0:30:48.720 George Kittle? Because in my mind, with the receiver corps 0:30:48.720 --> 0:30:52.400 that the Bengals have and hopefully the offensive line improvement, 0:30:52.920 --> 0:30:56.320 George Kittle is a dominant run blocker as well as 0:30:56.400 --> 0:31:01.120 dominant receiver. He is the blocks I could tackle, can 0:31:01.200 --> 0:31:03.640 run routes from catch like a receiver. He is the 0:31:03.680 --> 0:31:07.560 epitome of the tight end. And I'll tell you the 0:31:07.600 --> 0:31:10.600 guy when I the more I watch of him, it's like, man, 0:31:10.640 --> 0:31:13.720 this dude he loves football, I mean, and he just 0:31:13.760 --> 0:31:17.000 gets after it. And when I think back then the 0:31:17.080 --> 0:31:19.400 great Bengals teams that I've played on in the seventies, 0:31:19.720 --> 0:31:22.600 Bob Trumpy Pro Bowl tight end could block and catch. 0:31:23.240 --> 0:31:26.160 Getting a little bit later, Dan Ross Pro Bowl tight 0:31:26.280 --> 0:31:28.680 end block and catch eleven catches in the Super Bowl 0:31:28.720 --> 0:31:31.840 was shared the record for a long time. Rodney Holman 0:31:32.200 --> 0:31:34.600 in the eighty eight Super Bowl team block and catch 0:31:34.680 --> 0:31:37.680 Pro Bowl, all three of them Pro Bowl caliber tight ends. 0:31:38.120 --> 0:31:40.440 And I think with the receiving corps around him in 0:31:40.480 --> 0:31:42.840 the running game, you know, they help in that running game. 0:31:43.160 --> 0:31:46.280 To me, if I could pluck George Kittle and put 0:31:46.360 --> 0:31:47.800 him at the end of the line of scrimmage or 0:31:47.800 --> 0:31:50.080 flex him and you know, let him play, you know, 0:31:50.120 --> 0:31:53.720 three downs every series, I'd be a happy man. George Kendall, R. 0:31:53.800 --> 0:31:58.200 Travis Kelsey yere one. Now this is this is interesting 0:31:58.280 --> 0:32:00.840 because the last time we did this, we both chose 0:32:01.040 --> 0:32:06.040 Indianapolis Colts. You chose Quenton Nelson, I chose Darius Leonard. 0:32:06.160 --> 0:32:09.640 We would still happily take him most lines, but not 0:32:09.760 --> 0:32:12.160 about it. But now that we're doing it this time around, 0:32:12.200 --> 0:32:15.000 we are both choosing San Francisco forty nine ers. You 0:32:15.160 --> 0:32:18.440 chose George Kittle, I want Nick Bosa there you go. 0:32:18.640 --> 0:32:20.840 And here's my thinking as I look at the roster 0:32:21.000 --> 0:32:24.120 right now. Carlos Dunlap played great in the second half 0:32:24.200 --> 0:32:27.120 of the season last year, but let's face it, he's 0:32:27.160 --> 0:32:29.680 approaching the end of his career. Hopefully he's got a 0:32:29.680 --> 0:32:31.600 few more good years left, but he's not going to 0:32:31.640 --> 0:32:36.840 play forever. I would love for this team to have 0:32:37.360 --> 0:32:40.840 the dominant defensive line that they had during their run 0:32:40.960 --> 0:32:44.000 of five straight playoff appearances. And how did the forty 0:32:44.040 --> 0:32:47.440 nine ers turn it around last year from being one 0:32:47.480 --> 0:32:49.880 of the first teams in the NFL Draft to being 0:32:49.960 --> 0:32:52.240 a super Bowl team. Well, they did a lot of 0:32:52.280 --> 0:32:55.000 things well, but it all started with that great defensive line. 0:32:55.320 --> 0:32:58.440 So let's steal Nick Bosa from the forty nine ers 0:32:58.680 --> 0:33:04.080 defensive line. Ten sacks as a rookie, fifty two hurries 0:33:04.200 --> 0:33:06.800 as a rookie. We know he can get into Baker 0:33:06.840 --> 0:33:11.720 Mayfield's head by planting the flag again. So you'll take 0:33:11.760 --> 0:33:15.240 George Gittle, I'll take Nick Bosa, you know, And that's 0:33:15.240 --> 0:33:17.400 a great calling. Look at the forty nine ers, Dan 0:33:17.480 --> 0:33:20.280 all number one draft picks that defensive line. They had 0:33:20.320 --> 0:33:23.840 five first round picks, you know. John Lynch said, Hey, 0:33:24.160 --> 0:33:25.800 it starts up front. I know that's what I have 0:33:25.840 --> 0:33:29.160 to do to rebuild my defense. Invested five first rounders. 0:33:29.200 --> 0:33:32.800 The interesting thing is we picked guys from both sides 0:33:32.840 --> 0:33:36.080 of the ball of a team that had a lead 0:33:36.120 --> 0:33:38.600 in the Super Bowl seven minutes to play. And I 0:33:38.640 --> 0:33:41.800 think a big reason why is those two guys, you know, 0:33:41.960 --> 0:33:44.440 on either side of that football. They were huge contributors. 0:33:44.480 --> 0:33:48.320 There's no doubt about it. Let's take all four Quentony Elson, 0:33:48.480 --> 0:33:53.000 Darius Leonard, George Kittle and Nick Bosa would be a 0:33:53.000 --> 0:33:56.080 heck of an addition to the roster. All right, Time 0:33:56.160 --> 0:34:00.440 for ask Lap questions. These are questions submitted from fans 0:34:00.600 --> 0:34:04.600 via Twitter. We start with Don. Here's Don's question, how 0:34:04.640 --> 0:34:07.520 big of an impact? Well, no preseason games have I'm 0:34:07.560 --> 0:34:11.719 getting ready for Week one, specifically against the Chargers. Yeah, 0:34:11.760 --> 0:34:16.239 that's that's a you know, everybody's automatic reaction is anybody 0:34:16.280 --> 0:34:19.400 that has a rookie head coach or a rookie quarterback 0:34:19.800 --> 0:34:22.359 is going to be behind the eight ball. Well, you know, 0:34:23.040 --> 0:34:24.920 Zach Taylor is not a rookie head coach. He went 0:34:24.920 --> 0:34:28.160 through some trials and tribulations, there's no question, but he's 0:34:28.200 --> 0:34:30.560 got new members in his coaching staff, and he's got 0:34:30.600 --> 0:34:32.760 a bunch of new players, you know, by free agency 0:34:32.760 --> 0:34:35.960 and the draft. So you'd like to have you know, 0:34:36.000 --> 0:34:39.560 you would have liked had OTAs and a rookie quarterback obviously, 0:34:39.760 --> 0:34:41.920 you'd like to have all the preparation, all the steps, 0:34:41.960 --> 0:34:44.720 all the protocols as such leading up to the twenty 0:34:44.760 --> 0:34:47.440 twenty season to be normal. But it's not. But I 0:34:47.480 --> 0:34:51.200 will say, if I had to pick a rookie quarterback 0:34:51.360 --> 0:34:54.279 and I don't know how many years to handle this, 0:34:54.960 --> 0:35:00.360 you know, with poise and you know, just composure, be 0:35:00.440 --> 0:35:03.720 Joe Burrow. And again, you know, we keep saying, uh, 0:35:03.800 --> 0:35:08.920 Lamar Jackson is unanimous MVP last year, second player in 0:35:09.040 --> 0:35:12.240 NFLA history to do that. Joe Burrows older than Lamar 0:35:12.360 --> 0:35:16.400 Jackson and at least as mature. You know, he actually 0:35:16.600 --> 0:35:19.239 is not. No, I take that back. You're right. He 0:35:19.400 --> 0:35:23.680 is older than Lamar Jackson. He's not as old as Mahomes. 0:35:23.680 --> 0:35:27.560 That's great, right, Like Lamar Jackson I think turned twenty three, 0:35:27.640 --> 0:35:29.880 like a week before the end of the season or 0:35:29.880 --> 0:35:32.480 something like that. I mean, but it's you know, it's 0:35:33.280 --> 0:35:36.680 he's He's had a lot of a lot of experiences, 0:35:37.320 --> 0:35:40.680 good and bad. You know, he's handled it all, Um, 0:35:40.880 --> 0:35:43.839 He's He's had a heck of a path to lead 0:35:43.960 --> 0:35:45.839 him to where he is right now, and I think 0:35:45.840 --> 0:35:48.880 he can handle it. You know, I think, I honestly 0:35:48.920 --> 0:35:51.600 believe that Joe Burrow is not going to be the 0:35:51.640 --> 0:35:54.720 biggest problem in Cincinnati Bengals have in the early stages 0:35:55.000 --> 0:35:57.120 of the season. Now, do I think that they're going 0:35:57.160 --> 0:35:59.759 to be as good in Week one as they're going 0:35:59.800 --> 0:36:03.560 to be, you know, if they're God willing, they're able 0:36:03.560 --> 0:36:06.160 to play sixteen games as they will be in November 0:36:06.200 --> 0:36:08.960 and December. No, you know, I don't think anybody will 0:36:09.000 --> 0:36:13.479 be without OTAs and you know, training the normal training camp, 0:36:13.480 --> 0:36:16.920 in preseason games and everything else. And I do believe, 0:36:17.200 --> 0:36:19.359 you know, teams like New Orleans with a veteran head 0:36:19.360 --> 0:36:21.759 coach and the veteran quarterback have a huge leg up, 0:36:22.000 --> 0:36:25.400 There's no question about it. Um. But you know, everybody's 0:36:25.440 --> 0:36:27.960 got the same issues. Everybody's dealing with the same problems. Dan, 0:36:29.080 --> 0:36:31.920 do you think Tyrod Taylor justin Herbert starts for the 0:36:32.040 --> 0:36:36.560 Chargers in Week one? The way, when I when I 0:36:36.600 --> 0:36:39.720 listen to people from the Chargers organization, it really sounds 0:36:39.719 --> 0:36:43.000 like it's going to be Tyrod Taylor, and that that 0:36:43.120 --> 0:36:46.839 would would not surprise me whatsoever that Tyrod Taylor's the guy, 0:36:47.200 --> 0:36:49.600 you know, I and I could see in the first 0:36:49.600 --> 0:36:51.719 two to four games in the season, depending on how 0:36:52.080 --> 0:36:55.680 Tyrod Taylor does and how the team does overall, they 0:36:55.719 --> 0:36:59.920 make a decision accordingly. All right, next question comes from Steven. 0:37:00.160 --> 0:37:02.279 With the addition to Joe Burrow and the return of 0:37:02.280 --> 0:37:05.120 AJ Green and the changes on the offensive line, will 0:37:05.160 --> 0:37:09.880 we see a vastly different offensive system? You know, I 0:37:10.239 --> 0:37:13.000 think that I think the running game is going to 0:37:13.080 --> 0:37:17.120 be carried over from the changes that they made last year. 0:37:17.120 --> 0:37:20.360 About halfway through the season, everybody knows, traveling to London, 0:37:20.400 --> 0:37:22.520 it was like, look, we gotta we gotta change. We 0:37:22.560 --> 0:37:25.160 can't just do it inside outside zone. We have to 0:37:25.200 --> 0:37:27.840 pin and pull people, we have to angle block, we 0:37:27.880 --> 0:37:29.560 have to gap block, we have to change it up 0:37:29.560 --> 0:37:31.799 and do a lot of things. And the Bengals were 0:37:31.800 --> 0:37:33.640 the sixth best rushing team in the league, and Joe 0:37:33.760 --> 0:37:35.880 Mixon was in the top ten and you know, in 0:37:36.120 --> 0:37:39.160 a bunch of categories. So in my mind, they're gonna 0:37:39.480 --> 0:37:41.480 they're gonna stay with that system in the running game 0:37:41.600 --> 0:37:44.920 and try to fine tune it and and develop that. 0:37:46.000 --> 0:37:49.640 As far as the offense with Joe Burrow at quarterback, 0:37:50.680 --> 0:37:53.480 Zach said it, Joe has said it. They're kind of 0:37:53.520 --> 0:37:58.399 melding what Joe feels real comfortable with. There is there. 0:37:58.680 --> 0:38:04.960 I think there's not a huge gigantic philosophical gap between 0:38:05.040 --> 0:38:07.759 what he did at LSU and what Zach Taylor wants 0:38:07.800 --> 0:38:10.880 to do. So I think from that standpoint, you know, 0:38:11.160 --> 0:38:13.560 terminology and things like that that every rookie has to 0:38:13.600 --> 0:38:17.640 deal with. Unlearned some terminology and relearn new. But Joe 0:38:17.719 --> 0:38:20.399 knows there's only so many ways you can line up 0:38:20.400 --> 0:38:24.280 and do things. From a football standpoint, it's just vernacular. 0:38:24.280 --> 0:38:27.279 It's just terminology. And then he does have things he 0:38:27.400 --> 0:38:30.520 likes to do and does well, and Zach probably knows them, 0:38:30.960 --> 0:38:34.560 and Joe wants to communicate those and I think they'll 0:38:34.840 --> 0:38:37.279 they'll come up with a formula for success. I really 0:38:37.280 --> 0:38:41.040 believe that, you know that those two equations will mesh 0:38:41.280 --> 0:38:43.960 what Joe likes to do and does well. Zach has 0:38:44.080 --> 0:38:47.120 at his disposal on his offense, and he'll just pare 0:38:47.160 --> 0:38:50.719 it down to what fits and what feels comfortable. Next 0:38:50.760 --> 0:38:53.400 question comes from Nick, who will be a bigger factor 0:38:53.520 --> 0:38:56.600 toward the Bengals having success. Joe Mixon or a J 0:38:56.880 --> 0:39:02.200 Green and how many yards for each if they stay healthy? Man. 0:39:03.080 --> 0:39:07.200 You know, that's like peanut butter and jelly. They're both 0:39:07.280 --> 0:39:11.439 good apart, but they're better together and they both feed 0:39:11.480 --> 0:39:13.160 off each other. You know. I mean you like a 0:39:13.160 --> 0:39:15.919 peanut butter sandwich. Yeah, jelly sandwich is okay, but peanut butter, 0:39:16.160 --> 0:39:20.359 PEBJ it's good stuff. So I think I think Joe 0:39:20.440 --> 0:39:23.520 Mixon will help AJ Green and AJ Green will help 0:39:23.600 --> 0:39:25.719 Joe Mixon. I think it's gonna be one of those 0:39:25.760 --> 0:39:28.719 deals where you know, Joe Mixon is gonna gonna make 0:39:29.120 --> 0:39:31.600 life easier for AJ because they left to you know, 0:39:32.320 --> 0:39:34.240 load the box up a little bit, pay more attention 0:39:34.239 --> 0:39:36.759 to Joe Mixon. And if they don't and they start 0:39:36.800 --> 0:39:39.400 paying attention to AJ Green, now Joe's gonna have more 0:39:39.480 --> 0:39:41.440 running lanes and bigger running lanes in the box. So 0:39:41.480 --> 0:39:43.759 it's like, you know, it's it's one hand washing the other. 0:39:43.760 --> 0:39:46.239 It's like pick your poison. Some weeks, it's gonna be 0:39:46.320 --> 0:39:49.960 a heavier box AJ has to eat some weeks when 0:39:49.960 --> 0:39:52.680 it's not the heavy box, Joe has to eat and 0:39:52.680 --> 0:39:55.839 and you know, make people change what they're what they're 0:39:56.160 --> 0:40:00.279 went into the game plan with so um, really, i'd 0:40:00.280 --> 0:40:03.439 love to see him both get fifteen hundred, Joe rush 0:40:03.480 --> 0:40:06.560 for fifteen and aj catch fifteen hundred. But you know, 0:40:06.640 --> 0:40:10.760 I think they're obviously both very capable of thousand yard seasons. 0:40:10.800 --> 0:40:12.880 I'd almost be disappointed that they don't go for a 0:40:12.920 --> 0:40:19.880 thousand each. I'm hoping twelve thirteen hundred. Nice, twelve hundred, 0:40:20.239 --> 0:40:25.360 twelve hundred plus, Yeah, yeah, nice balanced season. Speaking of 0:40:25.360 --> 0:40:28.400 Pebe and j have you seen that Graders is coming 0:40:28.400 --> 0:40:32.279 out with peanut butter and jelly ice cream stronger than 0:40:32.280 --> 0:40:35.440 New Road there as they celebrate there one hundred and 0:40:35.480 --> 0:40:39.720 fifty of anniversary. All right, next question comes from man. 0:40:40.280 --> 0:40:43.920 Man asks how would you handle the Red starting pitching? 0:40:44.320 --> 0:40:48.200 And he says, Jess kidding His real Bengals question is 0:40:48.280 --> 0:40:52.160 Ken Rennell ren make a second year leap and help 0:40:52.239 --> 0:40:56.080 the defensive line. Well you gotta hope, though, hope, so 0:40:56.239 --> 0:40:58.200 hope that's the case. And he's nicked up a little 0:40:58.200 --> 0:41:01.920 bit right now, but he's got great potential, you know. 0:41:02.040 --> 0:41:05.400 And now that Josh Tupau has decided to you know, 0:41:05.520 --> 0:41:08.680 opt out and it's interesting Dan. Only three teams in 0:41:08.680 --> 0:41:11.600 the NFL went through this opt out period without any 0:41:11.640 --> 0:41:14.400 player opting out, the Chargers, the Steelers, and the Falcons. 0:41:14.800 --> 0:41:17.280 So the Bengals have three games against team, two against 0:41:17.280 --> 0:41:20.080 the Steelers, one against the Chargers where nobody opted out 0:41:20.080 --> 0:41:24.000 of their of their organizations and U and really with 0:41:24.120 --> 0:41:27.200 Josh opting out it it puts a little strain on 0:41:27.239 --> 0:41:31.440 the defensive tackle position. And Wren, you know, you hope 0:41:31.680 --> 0:41:33.600 that he does step up. And I can speak from 0:41:33.640 --> 0:41:35.839 experience from in a lot of players that I know 0:41:36.400 --> 0:41:38.759 over you know, many years, a lot of them feel 0:41:38.800 --> 0:41:41.520 the same way. Year one to year two, the light 0:41:41.560 --> 0:41:44.319 really starts to go on. Now year one you think 0:41:44.360 --> 0:41:46.680 you know, but you really don't know what you don't know. 0:41:47.040 --> 0:41:48.959 And the year two you start to realize I really 0:41:49.000 --> 0:41:51.239 didn't know, and now I do feel like I know, 0:41:51.960 --> 0:41:54.880 and you start to uh, you know, the graph starts 0:41:54.880 --> 0:41:57.960 to go up, and it's there's not not for everybody, 0:41:58.200 --> 0:42:01.200 but even the players they had great rookie years. Very 0:42:01.280 --> 0:42:03.560 rarely do they have a you know, a great rookie 0:42:03.680 --> 0:42:05.680 or a solid rookiear and then fall off a cliff. 0:42:06.120 --> 0:42:09.360 You know, So I think, you know, Ren had his moments. 0:42:09.560 --> 0:42:13.440 I mean, he's he's he obviously belongs, but there's miles 0:42:13.480 --> 0:42:15.279 to go before he rests. I mean, there's a lot 0:42:15.320 --> 0:42:17.960 of development that he can you know, he can go through, 0:42:18.440 --> 0:42:21.520 and I think in year two he could be a factor. 0:42:21.560 --> 0:42:24.759 I mean, the dude is a house He's definitely a 0:42:24.840 --> 0:42:27.439 space eater or an. He's an athletic, big body guy. 0:42:28.000 --> 0:42:31.280 He's got potential. Hopefully in year two he really starts 0:42:31.320 --> 0:42:34.399 to elevate that level of play. What would you think 0:42:34.400 --> 0:42:37.640 of the possibility of bringing back a thirty five year 0:42:37.680 --> 0:42:43.600 old Demato Peco for depth? I would. I love domatp 0:42:43.640 --> 0:42:48.200 peco um, but you know I would that would be 0:42:48.200 --> 0:42:51.520 my last resort. I mean, if in my mind, if 0:42:51.560 --> 0:42:55.759 they bring Domata Peco back, it's that wasn't there in 0:42:55.920 --> 0:42:58.520 their first option they had in mind. And I'm not 0:42:58.600 --> 0:43:01.040 saying it's you know, it's I shouldn't say a last 0:43:01.080 --> 0:43:03.560 resort either. I'd have it on my list of options, 0:43:03.920 --> 0:43:08.399 but it wouldn't be my highest and Dormata he's done 0:43:09.200 --> 0:43:11.840 an unbelievable job of taking care of himself for a 0:43:11.880 --> 0:43:14.520 lot of years, and the thing about him, the dude's 0:43:14.520 --> 0:43:18.120 a dinosaur. You can't hurt him. He never never had surgery. 0:43:18.680 --> 0:43:21.399 I mean he's put together. I mean he's like he's 0:43:21.440 --> 0:43:24.319 indestructible in terms of that type of thing. So I 0:43:24.360 --> 0:43:26.160 mean he can he can still get in there and 0:43:26.239 --> 0:43:30.000 take up space and clog things up. But thirty five 0:43:30.080 --> 0:43:32.359 years old, you know, no matter who you are, you're 0:43:32.360 --> 0:43:34.200 on the back nine. What hole you pot it out 0:43:34.239 --> 0:43:37.040 on is the key. The thing I would like about 0:43:37.080 --> 0:43:39.680 at two things. One, as you mentioned, he's so durable, 0:43:40.840 --> 0:43:44.400 you know what you're gonna get. And secondly, he played 0:43:44.400 --> 0:43:46.879 for cheap last year, so I don't think he would 0:43:46.920 --> 0:43:50.400 be looking for huge veteran dollars. I think he would 0:43:50.400 --> 0:43:53.839 play close to the veteran minimum. And Dan you know, 0:43:54.120 --> 0:43:58.600 over the years, Marvin Lewis Andrew Worth led the offense, 0:43:58.640 --> 0:44:02.600 Domatopeco led the defense. Those two guys were the unquestioned 0:44:02.640 --> 0:44:05.640 when when it came to, you know, let's let's put 0:44:05.640 --> 0:44:08.200 the marbles on the table here, you know, all right, 0:44:08.520 --> 0:44:11.920 who's who's gonna who's gonna determine things? Who are the 0:44:11.920 --> 0:44:14.400 guys that set up the practices and got the team 0:44:14.400 --> 0:44:17.160 going In two thousand eleven, d the work stoppage Andrew 0:44:17.320 --> 0:44:22.720 Worth offensively, Domato Pecco defensively, and plenty of players lived 0:44:22.719 --> 0:44:25.680 at their houses literally when they first you know, young 0:44:25.760 --> 0:44:28.200 rookies trying to find something we'll take in. I mean 0:44:28.800 --> 0:44:32.520 multiple guys at the same time. We're living at their 0:44:32.520 --> 0:44:37.120 houses and they both have families, so, you know, unquestioned 0:44:37.400 --> 0:44:41.319 in terms of the type of person leader all the intangibles, 0:44:41.680 --> 0:44:45.160 Domato Pecco is top top shelf across the board in 0:44:45.200 --> 0:44:48.800 all those areas. All right, two more ask lap questions. 0:44:48.840 --> 0:44:51.560 This one is from Ryan. Give me one player on 0:44:51.719 --> 0:44:55.760 offense and one player on defense that could surprise people 0:44:55.840 --> 0:45:01.920 this year. I'm hoping since I mentioned Kittle, I'm hoping 0:45:01.960 --> 0:45:06.520 Drew Sample becomes George Kittleish. I'm hoping Drew Drew Sample 0:45:06.560 --> 0:45:09.239 came out of college as the best blocking tight end 0:45:09.280 --> 0:45:13.919 in college football and you know, capable receiver, and then 0:45:14.880 --> 0:45:18.520 you know he played decently and then got hurt. So 0:45:19.280 --> 0:45:22.560 I'm hoping again, from year one to year two, there's 0:45:22.560 --> 0:45:26.680 a big elevation in terms of understanding everything around you, 0:45:27.719 --> 0:45:30.719 what's going to make you successful as a player. I'm 0:45:30.719 --> 0:45:34.239 hoping that Drew Sample stays healthy first and foremost and 0:45:34.360 --> 0:45:37.919 took his learning experiences from that rookie year and during 0:45:37.960 --> 0:45:41.200 the offseason did what he needed to do to make improvements. 0:45:41.680 --> 0:45:43.839 And I hope he comes back as a complete tight 0:45:43.960 --> 0:45:47.560 end that Joe Burrow can rely on, because tight end 0:45:47.600 --> 0:45:51.719 as a quarterback's best friend normally, you know, unless you 0:45:51.760 --> 0:45:55.319 are a George Kittle or you know, a Kelsey or 0:45:55.320 --> 0:45:57.719 people like that, where they're gonna get double teamed even 0:45:57.800 --> 0:46:00.479 more than the Whiteouts. I mean, if they double teammates Green, 0:46:01.160 --> 0:46:03.839 you know, and U and T Higgins shows that he's something, 0:46:03.880 --> 0:46:06.279 you get Tyler Boyd and you have free receivers. Now 0:46:06.320 --> 0:46:09.200 you have sample. They can't They're not gonna double everybody 0:46:09.360 --> 0:46:12.719 can sample win one on ones and make himself an 0:46:12.760 --> 0:46:15.560 available target for Joe Burrow. And then can he block 0:46:15.640 --> 0:46:16.960 on the edge? Can he steal the edge in the 0:46:17.040 --> 0:46:19.839 running game. I'm hoping it through sample offensively, and then 0:46:19.880 --> 0:46:23.800 I'm hoping it's Jermaine Pratt defensively in that linebacker position. 0:46:24.320 --> 0:46:27.040 You know, he made strides, There's no question about it. 0:46:27.400 --> 0:46:29.640 But again, you know, like all the first year guys, 0:46:29.719 --> 0:46:33.200 miles to go before he rests um but they you know, 0:46:33.239 --> 0:46:37.360 they drafted linebackers. If I'm a linebacker, like Pratt, and 0:46:37.440 --> 0:46:39.719 they draft Logan Wilson in the third round and they 0:46:39.800 --> 0:46:42.520 draft Davis Gather in the fourth. I'm thinking, oh, that's 0:46:42.760 --> 0:46:45.600 that's about where I was drafted. Am I good? They 0:46:45.600 --> 0:46:48.239 think I'm good enough? I mean, I'm thinking I gotta 0:46:48.280 --> 0:46:50.680 bust my butt here. I gotta get into training camp. 0:46:50.719 --> 0:46:54.400 I gotta compete. So I think that drafting those linebackers 0:46:54.440 --> 0:46:58.080 who justify their pick obviously hopefully it lit a fire 0:46:58.160 --> 0:47:00.799 under Jermaine Pratt and he's saying, man, I can't rest 0:47:00.800 --> 0:47:03.560 in any laurels. I don't have anything going here. I'm 0:47:03.600 --> 0:47:05.799 not a shoe in. I gotta bust my tail. So 0:47:05.880 --> 0:47:08.560 hopefully he has a breakout season and surprises people this 0:47:08.640 --> 0:47:12.120 year as well. All Right, our final ask Lap question 0:47:12.239 --> 0:47:16.440 comes from Maine Bengals. That's like the state of Maine, 0:47:16.719 --> 0:47:19.799 m Ai ne. Maybe this is somebody that saw your 0:47:19.800 --> 0:47:24.160 brothers star at the University of Maine in football and basketball. 0:47:24.480 --> 0:47:28.320 Here comes the question, Lap. Imagine you're in your prime 0:47:29.120 --> 0:47:32.279 and you had to line up across from Geno Atkins 0:47:32.880 --> 0:47:39.080 or DJ Reader. Who would you choose? And why? Oh man? 0:47:39.560 --> 0:47:44.200 All right, well, now I'm saying DJ Reader is in 0:47:44.239 --> 0:47:48.920 his prime and Gino is not in his prime prime anymore. 0:47:49.640 --> 0:47:51.399 So I would say I'm going to put them both 0:47:51.440 --> 0:47:53.600 in their prime. Though you know it's like prime prime. 0:47:53.640 --> 0:47:56.640 You can't say all right, DJ Reader now today in 0:47:56.760 --> 0:47:59.239 Geno Atkins today, that's there are at different stages of 0:47:59.239 --> 0:48:02.160 their career. DJ Reader is going to be a snap eater. 0:48:02.760 --> 0:48:04.960 Gino actions If he's a snap eater, we're in trouble. 0:48:05.120 --> 0:48:07.560 I mean, they got to monitor his snaps. So they 0:48:07.560 --> 0:48:09.600 are at different stages of their career, there's no question 0:48:09.640 --> 0:48:13.279 about it. But when they're both in their prime. I 0:48:13.360 --> 0:48:15.960 love DJ Reader. I love watching how he pursues and 0:48:16.040 --> 0:48:20.080 hustles and Sam Hubbard DJ Reader, I'm telling you Dan, 0:48:20.840 --> 0:48:24.960 Tim Crumrye when he came to the Bengals practice sucked. 0:48:25.440 --> 0:48:28.960 I was going against timmy every day. I'm thirty years old, 0:48:29.040 --> 0:48:31.880 I'm eight years in the league. He's playing every snap 0:48:32.160 --> 0:48:36.200 like as super Bowl. And I'm like, Tim, Man, I'm thirty. 0:48:36.440 --> 0:48:39.800 I can't play a thousand games. I can't every Wednesday Thursday. 0:48:39.880 --> 0:48:43.080 I can't. I mean, man, but you know what, he 0:48:43.160 --> 0:48:46.759 made me better? And guys that play like that. I'm 0:48:46.800 --> 0:48:49.239 watching the tape of practice and it's like we're in 0:48:49.280 --> 0:48:51.919 a game. We're actually going that that hard that lot 0:48:52.600 --> 0:48:56.839 DJ reader has that type of reputation where and Sam does. 0:48:56.880 --> 0:49:00.200 Obviously we've seen it. Sam goes hard. They're gonna you 0:49:00.239 --> 0:49:04.640 every snaptoget, but Gino and his prime Dan who man, 0:49:04.960 --> 0:49:06.920 I would not ask for that. I would not ask 0:49:06.960 --> 0:49:09.880 for you guys that have that low center of gravity 0:49:09.920 --> 0:49:13.960 and convention press the world. Man, it is literally like 0:49:14.080 --> 0:49:18.400 trying to block a bowling ball, a cannon ball, I 0:49:18.440 --> 0:49:22.399 mean low center of gravity power. Oh my gosh, man, 0:49:23.080 --> 0:49:25.760 it's it's nightmare just trying to think about it. Gino 0:49:25.800 --> 0:49:32.279 actions in his prime was unbelievably effective and couldn't single 0:49:32.320 --> 0:49:36.920 block the guy. As we both know, Geno Atkins doesn't 0:49:36.920 --> 0:49:40.120 say much, particularly the members of the media, but if 0:49:40.160 --> 0:49:42.879 I pass this along to him, it actually might get 0:49:42.880 --> 0:49:50.160 a response. I'll tell you. Gino stud capital asque capital 0:49:50.239 --> 0:49:54.880 T capital to U capital d stud Geno Atkins player. 0:49:56.480 --> 0:50:00.880 All right, that concludes this week's chat for the podcast. 0:50:01.400 --> 0:50:04.600 Let's pass some COVID nineteen tests and go watch practice 0:50:04.640 --> 0:50:08.719 sometime soon. I'm with you, coach. Sounds like a plan. Bye, 0:50:08.760 --> 0:50:11.080 thanks to this week's guests, and that's going to do 0:50:11.120 --> 0:50:13.759 it for this episode of the Bengals Booth Podcast, brought 0:50:13.760 --> 0:50:17.000 to you by Prime Sport, the official fan, travel and 0:50:17.200 --> 0:50:21.160 hospitality partner of the Cincinnati Bengals. If you haven't done 0:50:21.160 --> 0:50:23.760 so already, please subscribe, and if you have a minute, 0:50:24.040 --> 0:50:26.960 give it a rating or share a comment that helps 0:50:27.000 --> 0:50:31.080 more Bengals fans find this podcast. I'm Dan Horde, and 0:50:31.160 --> 0:50:34.600 thank you for listening to The Bengals Booth Podcast.