WEBVTT - Bengals Booth Podcast: On My List

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<v Speaker 1>Hi, get everybody. I'm Dan Hord and thanks for downloading

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<v Speaker 1>The Bengals Booth Podcast. The is on My List edition

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<v Speaker 1>as we look at Pro Football Focus's recent ranking of

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<v Speaker 1>the top rosters in the NFL with one of the

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<v Speaker 1>guys that put that list together, Jim Wyman. But first

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<v Speaker 1>five questions with fifth round draft pick Josh fig Newton,

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<v Speaker 1>and I'll introduce you to an undrafted rookie who is

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<v Speaker 1>hoping to be the Bengals starting punter, Austin macnamara. The

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<v Speaker 1>Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you by pay Corps,

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<v Speaker 1>Kettering Health is the official healthcare provider of the Bengals.

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<v Speaker 1>Now here's a quick reminder that you can have the

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<v Speaker 1>latest edition of this podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet,

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<v Speaker 1>or can by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's

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<v Speaker 1>the greatest thing since popsicles. Roughly one hundred and twenty

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<v Speaker 1>years ago, an eleven year old kid named Frank Epperson

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<v Speaker 1>left a cup of soda with a stirring stick in

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<v Speaker 1>it sitting on the porch when he went indoors. The

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<v Speaker 1>soda froze overnight like an icicle, and when young Frank

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<v Speaker 1>discovered it the next morning, he decided to taste it,

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<v Speaker 1>and thus the popsicle was born. I discovered a bunch

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<v Speaker 1>of popsicles in our freezer the other day and I

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<v Speaker 1>have been binging on them ever since. It is a

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<v Speaker 1>great summertime snack. Oh and by the way, many years

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<v Speaker 1>after Frank Epperson started selling his frozen icy treats, he

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<v Speaker 1>patented his simple snack and his kids came up with

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<v Speaker 1>the name. They called them pops Sickles. Now let's get

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<v Speaker 1>to football. I've been getting to know the Bengals draft

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<v Speaker 1>picks this year by asking them five questions that are

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<v Speaker 1>a little different from the norm. This week we meet

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<v Speaker 1>a cornerback out of TCU. Time for five questions with

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<v Speaker 1>fifth round draft pick Josh Newton. Your nickname is Fig,

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<v Speaker 1>as in Fig Newton. When did people start calling you Fig?

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<v Speaker 1>And did you like it?

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<v Speaker 2>Uh?

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<v Speaker 3>It was I think my wrist shirt freshman year.

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<v Speaker 4>So this is around twenty eighteen, I was like, fee

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<v Speaker 4>had I even had a kitchen on myself. But once

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<v Speaker 4>I caught on, I'm like, wish shit, let me just

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<v Speaker 4>roll with it.

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<v Speaker 3>I ain't tripping. I want a post to it.

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<v Speaker 4>It just kind of heat me, like, you know, like

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<v Speaker 4>kind of awkward, but I just still with it and

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<v Speaker 4>now you know, is doing what it's supposed to do

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<v Speaker 4>right now.

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<v Speaker 1>But do you like the fig Newton cookie.

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<v Speaker 3>A something before?

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<v Speaker 4>I'm not really a fan of it, but if they

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<v Speaker 4>pay me to eat them, my wheel for sure.

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<v Speaker 1>All right, there we go. Endorsement deal hopefully coming down

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<v Speaker 1>the road. Question number two. I heard you say in

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<v Speaker 1>an interview that you are trying to find ways to

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<v Speaker 1>turn football off. Do you think about the game NonStop?

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<v Speaker 4>Yeah, even when I'm not trying to, it's still just

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<v Speaker 4>Jie Popbull. Just it's been it was my life now,

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<v Speaker 4>So I mean, honestly, it's like you just gotta roll

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<v Speaker 4>with it because it's doing it's helping my family, it's

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<v Speaker 4>taking care of me my family, and you know, to

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<v Speaker 4>be able to be a provider. So it's kind of

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<v Speaker 4>like in the sense you really don't get to turn

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<v Speaker 4>it off. But it's just like when I have time

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<v Speaker 4>to downtime. Is just trying to find the things to

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<v Speaker 4>just really calm me down, just set me down.

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<v Speaker 1>I could hear Joe Burrow saying the same thing. I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>he just thinks all the time, how can I be

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<v Speaker 1>the best in the world.

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<v Speaker 4>Yeah, I love a guy like that is running my team,

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<v Speaker 4>the captain and just considering throwing them is throwing the ball.

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<v Speaker 4>So shit, hey, I let Joe be Joe. If you

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<v Speaker 4>don't want to turn it off, Hey, don't let him

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<v Speaker 4>turn it off. So that that right there is gonna

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<v Speaker 4>get us to what we want to be in February.

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<v Speaker 3>So I'm just.

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<v Speaker 4>I'm glad I'll have a quarterback this relatively young, but

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<v Speaker 4>he has seen a lot and he didn't done it

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<v Speaker 4>at the highest level of you Ain and the year up.

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<v Speaker 1>So question number three for Josh Newton. You are a

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<v Speaker 1>great wide receiver in high school. At one point you

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<v Speaker 1>had five straight one hundred yard games, but you only

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<v Speaker 1>had one scholarship offer. From what I understand, Do you know.

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<v Speaker 4>Why I don't complain about nothing. I don't question God.

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<v Speaker 4>Look what he done for me. Now, there's one thing

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<v Speaker 4>I don't do. Question God. Look one man now with

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<v Speaker 4>a whole nother position, with a whole nother route, a

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<v Speaker 4>whole nother turn, and at the end of the day,

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<v Speaker 4>I still seen the light I was supposed to see

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<v Speaker 4>at the end.

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<v Speaker 1>So question number four. After starting out at Louisiana Monroe,

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<v Speaker 1>you transferred to TCU for your final two college seasons

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<v Speaker 1>and in your first training camp you made a speech

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<v Speaker 1>that went viral to your teammates. I watched it on

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<v Speaker 1>YouTube and it's awesome. I was ready to run through

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<v Speaker 1>a wall. Do you think that had an impact on

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<v Speaker 1>what the team did that year? Because you guys played

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<v Speaker 1>for the national championship at the end of that year.

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<v Speaker 4>Everybody says it, so I'm gonna believe it. So from

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<v Speaker 4>Lego as, from the trainers to the players and.

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<v Speaker 3>The coaches as well.

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<v Speaker 4>So if they if this what they're saying, then it

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<v Speaker 4>gotta be truated because it was more than just me

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<v Speaker 4>out there playing.

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<v Speaker 3>I just was the one to get the words.

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<v Speaker 4>They're the ones that felt it, so obviously, like my

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<v Speaker 4>my energy was felt that day, and definitely I feel

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<v Speaker 4>like it's sparkan us into what we wanted to be.

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<v Speaker 1>For sure, you talked about effort and teamwork and things

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<v Speaker 1>like that, but You also spoke about gratitude, which resonated

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<v Speaker 1>with me. It was obvious how much you appreciated the opportunity,

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<v Speaker 1>the coaches, the teammates, everything about your experience.

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<v Speaker 4>Right, because you got to think all the coach's efforts

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<v Speaker 4>in breaking field down, watching other teams shit, even giving

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<v Speaker 4>us a game plan, all that is for us as players.

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<v Speaker 4>So it's just be like, as a player, you gotta

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<v Speaker 4>talk to other players to try to get them to

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<v Speaker 4>help and to understand the bigger picture of things. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 4>it's about us, but at the end of the day,

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<v Speaker 4>we help the coaches too, but with our differences in

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<v Speaker 4>executing what they teaching. Because if we balling, Joe Burrow balling,

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<v Speaker 4>we going to the Super Bowl, Zach Taylor don't go nowhere.

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<v Speaker 4>We just keep getting extending, extending, extending. So it's like,

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<v Speaker 4>you know what I'm saying, it helped me help you situation.

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<v Speaker 4>So like once the players don't kind of take it

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<v Speaker 4>like it's literally all about us, and it's like literally like.

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<v Speaker 3>Just work and helping and helping out.

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<v Speaker 4>When you think when you get when you get to

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<v Speaker 4>think about helping out and tell yourself, if you're just

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<v Speaker 4>helping out, you kind of like just you look at

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<v Speaker 4>it from a different perspective and the bigger picture of things,

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<v Speaker 4>like I'm just one piece of the puzzle, and some

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<v Speaker 4>people get caught up in their presence and you can't

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<v Speaker 4>let that your ego take over at the end of

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<v Speaker 4>the day. Like I told the same team last year,

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<v Speaker 4>like I need y'all just like y'all need me. So

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<v Speaker 4>it's like just just understanding, like everybody is. Everybody matters

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<v Speaker 4>bro for sure.

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<v Speaker 1>Fifth and final question for Josh Newton. Tell me something

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<v Speaker 1>about you that not that many people know.

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<v Speaker 3>I like to cook. I like to cook. I like

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<v Speaker 3>to cook.

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<v Speaker 4>I've been growing for I said the last two years.

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<v Speaker 4>I've grown like like I cook just whenever I feel

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<v Speaker 4>like it.

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<v Speaker 3>So it's just that's the one thing I like to do.

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<v Speaker 3>For sure. I'm a big griller. If you was gonna

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<v Speaker 3>go to.

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<v Speaker 4>That too, any holiday, I'll slap some on the grill

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<v Speaker 4>for sure. So I'm definitely gonna carry that.

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<v Speaker 3>For the rest of my life for sure.

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<v Speaker 4>And I just watching MAM's in the kitchenhen I was young,

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<v Speaker 4>you know what I'm saying, just sitting there seeing her

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<v Speaker 4>season and you know, at the end of the day,

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<v Speaker 4>if your food is flavor, is gonna cook yourself. So

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<v Speaker 4>you just cook for color, see what you like, see

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<v Speaker 4>what you don't like, and you can really please yourself.

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<v Speaker 3>And it's it teach me patience.

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<v Speaker 4>It teaches me, you know, just just be yourself honestly too,

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<v Speaker 4>because it's like you can't rush the meat and not

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<v Speaker 4>gonna cook faster for you.

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<v Speaker 3>Just wait and you.

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<v Speaker 4>Gotta think about my story. Like I could have been

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<v Speaker 4>asking God, bro, can you can.

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<v Speaker 3>You hurry up? Hurry up and get me to the lead.

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<v Speaker 4>But would if I would have got to lead unprepared

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<v Speaker 4>or unseasoned or missed out on the flavor that it

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<v Speaker 4>was supposed to be there, I probably won't be this

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<v Speaker 4>real round or this real groom or this mature. So

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<v Speaker 4>it's just like cooking is kind of like a way

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<v Speaker 4>that I kind of like just released when you're trying

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<v Speaker 4>to relax, Like but if they go back to question one,

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<v Speaker 4>like that's probably if if I had one way to

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<v Speaker 4>kind of like if you said, that'll kind of just

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<v Speaker 4>ease me.

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<v Speaker 3>Like cooking for sure, because it forces you to do it.

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<v Speaker 1>Fourth of July is coming. Fake Newton is in charge

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<v Speaker 1>of the grill.

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<v Speaker 4>Uh chicken Uh ribs sausage and maybe something whatever whatever else.

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<v Speaker 4>The fan won't really do it, but you know, real

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<v Speaker 4>chicken sausage, it's more to that's kind of like.

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<v Speaker 3>You really yeah you straight with that? Yeah for sure?

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah you straight or that? Yeah for sure, you straight

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<v Speaker 3>for sure. Yeah. Maybe some porchouses him like.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, fourth of July is gonna be good at the

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<v Speaker 1>Newton Household.

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<v Speaker 4>Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah, he's gonna be He's

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<v Speaker 4>gonna be crazy.

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<v Speaker 3>We're gonna go, We're gonna have a good time, pop forwards.

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<v Speaker 3>We're gonna we're gonna have a little Femily time before

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<v Speaker 3>I have to come back.

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<v Speaker 1>In Locky in for for so this has been fun.

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<v Speaker 1>I appreciate your time. It's great to have in Cincinnati.

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<v Speaker 3>Glad to be here.

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<v Speaker 1>Man.

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<v Speaker 4>I'll be telling coach Taylor thank you every other day, Lily.

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<v Speaker 1>It's easy to see why Josh was a team captain

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<v Speaker 1>of TCU. Head coach Sonny Dykes called him the least

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<v Speaker 1>entitled player I have ever coached. And here's one thing

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<v Speaker 1>I noticed during the Bengals offseason practices. When the guys

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<v Speaker 1>come out to stretch as a group, Josh is always

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<v Speaker 1>a little bit off to the side away from his teammates.

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<v Speaker 1>Trey Hendrickson does the same thing. When I asked Josh

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<v Speaker 1>about it, he said he uses that time to get

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<v Speaker 1>focused and locked in for practice. He is a very

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<v Speaker 1>easy guy to root for. When training camp gets underway

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<v Speaker 1>in late July, one of the key battles will be

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<v Speaker 1>at punter. Brad Robbins was inconsistent as a sixth round

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<v Speaker 1>draft pick last season, so the Bengals brought in training

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<v Speaker 1>camp competition in undrafted rookie Austin McNamara out of Texas Tech.

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<v Speaker 1>There were three highly regarded punters in this year's draft class.

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<v Speaker 1>I was Tory Taylor, who was selected in the fourth

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<v Speaker 1>round by the Bears, BYU's Ryan Rico who signed with

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<v Speaker 1>Kansas City, and macnamara, who averaged nearly forty six yards

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<v Speaker 1>of punt in his college career. He's a big guy

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<v Speaker 1>at six ' five, and I talked to him after

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<v Speaker 1>he arrived in Cincinnati. Austin, the Bengals have made no

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<v Speaker 1>secret of wanting to bring in competition for Brad Robbins.

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<v Speaker 1>How aggressively did they pursue you after the draft?

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah?

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<v Speaker 5>I mean Kushiamans and I had talked throughout this whole

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<v Speaker 5>process from the Combine and prode up until to the

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<v Speaker 5>draft and during the draft, and you know, I knew

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<v Speaker 5>it was gonna be in a good spot regardless of

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<v Speaker 5>what happens, you know, when I'm drafted undrafted, and so

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<v Speaker 5>you know, Kaschhimman's obviously expressed his interest in me, and

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<v Speaker 5>I'm glad he's interested in me and willing to kind

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<v Speaker 5>of give me a chance and give me an offer

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<v Speaker 5>to be able to come and and uh and can

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<v Speaker 5>come and compete and and you know, I'm so excited

0:11:10.600 --> 0:11:12.439
<v Speaker 5>for the opportunity and can't wait to look forward to

0:11:12.480 --> 0:11:13.040
<v Speaker 5>what's to come.

0:11:13.320 --> 0:11:16.400
<v Speaker 1>So how how extensively did he work you out or

0:11:16.480 --> 0:11:18.480
<v Speaker 1>look at you before the draft?

0:11:18.840 --> 0:11:20.760
<v Speaker 5>Yeah, Like I mentioned, we he I first met with

0:11:20.800 --> 0:11:22.800
<v Speaker 5>the Combine and he was at the Combine watching and

0:11:22.800 --> 0:11:25.560
<v Speaker 5>then at my pro day in Dallas as well, and

0:11:25.640 --> 0:11:27.480
<v Speaker 5>so we did those two and then we also had

0:11:27.480 --> 0:11:29.880
<v Speaker 5>a Zoom meeting prior to the draft as well.

0:11:29.920 --> 0:11:32.760
<v Speaker 2>So uh, we talked, you know, just about different techniques.

0:11:32.760 --> 0:11:34.480
<v Speaker 5>Obviously, he was a punt of himself and so it's

0:11:34.480 --> 0:11:36.040
<v Speaker 5>been great to learn from him and learn what he

0:11:36.080 --> 0:11:37.960
<v Speaker 5>has to offer. And we can talk back and forth

0:11:38.000 --> 0:11:40.360
<v Speaker 5>about the terminology and all that stuff. So that's been

0:11:40.360 --> 0:11:42.360
<v Speaker 5>great to be able to learn from him and.

0:11:41.920 --> 0:11:43.559
<v Speaker 2>And uh, you know, get used to the get used

0:11:43.600 --> 0:11:44.040
<v Speaker 2>to that as.

0:11:43.920 --> 0:11:46.280
<v Speaker 5>A abina as a coach, and so he's been great

0:11:46.280 --> 0:11:48.600
<v Speaker 5>that way, and and uh looking forward to learning.

0:11:48.400 --> 0:11:48.959
<v Speaker 2>From him some more.

0:11:49.320 --> 0:11:52.160
<v Speaker 1>It is unusual for an NFL Special teams coordinator to

0:11:52.280 --> 0:11:55.200
<v Speaker 1>have been a former college punter. Have your coaches in

0:11:55.240 --> 0:11:57.280
<v Speaker 1>the past had playing experience at that level?

0:11:57.520 --> 0:11:59.160
<v Speaker 2>No, sirry, Yeah, this is my this is my first one.

0:11:59.200 --> 0:12:00.360
<v Speaker 2>I mean, my dad kind of me and my dad

0:12:00.440 --> 0:12:00.960
<v Speaker 2>kind of learned.

0:12:00.800 --> 0:12:02.880
<v Speaker 5>Together throughout my high school career and he's still coaches

0:12:03.360 --> 0:12:04.640
<v Speaker 5>the specialist back in my high school.

0:12:05.080 --> 0:12:06.120
<v Speaker 2>But in college, I didn't.

0:12:05.880 --> 0:12:08.480
<v Speaker 5>Have anybody really that was that was We had one

0:12:08.480 --> 0:12:11.040
<v Speaker 5>guy for a little while, but not especially as coordinator

0:12:11.040 --> 0:12:14.360
<v Speaker 5>that knows as punted himself and kicked and kicked himself

0:12:14.400 --> 0:12:17.000
<v Speaker 5>into college or at any point. And that's why it's

0:12:17.000 --> 0:12:18.679
<v Speaker 5>great to learn from Coushimmons. And I'm really excited to

0:12:18.880 --> 0:12:19.360
<v Speaker 5>get started.

0:12:19.559 --> 0:12:22.520
<v Speaker 1>Great with chatting with Austin McNamara. You had quite a

0:12:22.559 --> 0:12:25.319
<v Speaker 1>college career a Texas Tech. You've got the tenth best

0:12:25.400 --> 0:12:28.800
<v Speaker 1>hunting average in NCAA history. For anybody with one hundred

0:12:28.800 --> 0:12:31.320
<v Speaker 1>and fifty punts or more, what do you consider to

0:12:31.320 --> 0:12:33.200
<v Speaker 1>be your biggest strengths biggy strength.

0:12:33.320 --> 0:12:34.679
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, So my bigges strength, I feel like is my

0:12:34.720 --> 0:12:36.760
<v Speaker 2>directional punting. So I work on that a lot. We

0:12:36.800 --> 0:12:38.520
<v Speaker 2>did that Texas Tech. I've done it since high school.

0:12:39.200 --> 0:12:40.679
<v Speaker 2>And so I thought my dressial punning in my ma

0:12:40.679 --> 0:12:41.000
<v Speaker 2>hain time.

0:12:41.040 --> 0:12:42.800
<v Speaker 5>Since I'm a taller guy, I mean, we get through

0:12:42.880 --> 0:12:45.240
<v Speaker 5>a little bit better than most that are shorter, and

0:12:45.320 --> 0:12:46.520
<v Speaker 5>so kind of use that.

0:12:46.480 --> 0:12:47.000
<v Speaker 3>To my advantage.

0:12:47.000 --> 0:12:49.959
<v Speaker 5>She does my strengths and and really just try and

0:12:50.200 --> 0:12:51.600
<v Speaker 5>you know, be consistent as I can.

0:12:51.640 --> 0:12:53.640
<v Speaker 2>And I thought my consistency is getting better and better.

0:12:53.679 --> 0:12:56.000
<v Speaker 5>And and you know, I have a lot of experience

0:12:56.000 --> 0:12:58.440
<v Speaker 5>playing different wind conditions, being Loveac which is really windy,

0:12:58.480 --> 0:13:00.760
<v Speaker 5>and and you know I've on the assets that kind

0:13:00.760 --> 0:13:01.920
<v Speaker 5>of added my tool walks over the year.

0:13:01.960 --> 0:13:03.199
<v Speaker 2>So but those are part of my mainstraints.

0:13:03.240 --> 0:13:05.720
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, you mentioned hang time. You were fourth in the

0:13:05.720 --> 0:13:08.400
<v Speaker 1>country last year according to Pro Football Focus. How much

0:13:08.520 --> 0:13:10.960
<v Speaker 1>was that emphasized that Texas terribly Yeah.

0:13:10.960 --> 0:13:13.280
<v Speaker 5>I mean, you know, coach Perry, my socialscordinator, I mean,

0:13:13.360 --> 0:13:15.320
<v Speaker 5>we really wanted to make that emphasis as well. As

0:13:15.360 --> 0:13:17.880
<v Speaker 5>directional punting, and so I worked on those a ton

0:13:17.920 --> 0:13:20.440
<v Speaker 5>and put those two together, you know, trying to limit

0:13:20.440 --> 0:13:22.160
<v Speaker 5>return as the best we can put the ball, make

0:13:22.200 --> 0:13:22.880
<v Speaker 5>the returner have to.

0:13:22.880 --> 0:13:26.120
<v Speaker 2>Move around a little bit and pin them in the.

0:13:25.800 --> 0:13:27.439
<v Speaker 5>Worst place possible so we can get the ball back

0:13:27.480 --> 0:13:29.520
<v Speaker 5>and and uh, you know, defense go out there and

0:13:29.559 --> 0:13:31.839
<v Speaker 5>make a stop. So you know, really trying to that's

0:13:31.920 --> 0:13:33.079
<v Speaker 5>that's been my game. That's what I've been trying to

0:13:33.080 --> 0:13:34.800
<v Speaker 5>emulate it and I will continue to do that.

0:13:35.480 --> 0:13:39.440
<v Speaker 1>You're six ' five, You've got offensive lineman sized hands

0:13:39.480 --> 0:13:42.480
<v Speaker 1>according to the Combine. How did you become a punter? Yeah?

0:13:42.600 --> 0:13:44.079
<v Speaker 5>Yeah, I uh, you know, I grew up playing soccer,

0:13:44.080 --> 0:13:46.520
<v Speaker 5>gri up playing basketball as well in high school, and

0:13:46.600 --> 0:13:49.440
<v Speaker 5>so football kind of came my freshman year of high school.

0:13:49.440 --> 0:13:51.800
<v Speaker 5>I started kicking and full time, and I really really

0:13:51.880 --> 0:13:53.319
<v Speaker 5>enjoyed it. Like I said, I mentioned I played soccer.

0:13:53.320 --> 0:13:54.880
<v Speaker 5>A lot of soccer players end up kicking or at

0:13:54.960 --> 0:13:56.880
<v Speaker 5>least try it, and and so you know, obviously I'd

0:13:56.920 --> 0:13:58.440
<v Speaker 5>love to do it, and you know, it was awesome,

0:13:58.520 --> 0:14:00.920
<v Speaker 5>and and you had a great pre season, great experience

0:14:00.960 --> 0:14:02.719
<v Speaker 5>by football. I'm in general, and I want to keep

0:14:02.720 --> 0:14:04.560
<v Speaker 5>doing it and then ended up I can maybe do

0:14:04.640 --> 0:14:07.360
<v Speaker 5>some college, so I kept soon in and obviously end

0:14:07.440 --> 0:14:08.880
<v Speaker 5>up to tax SEC and nowt here. So I'm really

0:14:08.880 --> 0:14:11.160
<v Speaker 5>excited and obviously kicking punts my passion.

0:14:11.440 --> 0:14:13.080
<v Speaker 2>You know, it's give me, excuse me, a challenge I love.

0:14:13.120 --> 0:14:15.600
<v Speaker 5>I love the challenge of it and being able to

0:14:15.600 --> 0:14:16.800
<v Speaker 5>miss it a ball, I know why, I kind of

0:14:16.800 --> 0:14:18.000
<v Speaker 5>get it back and kind of face it.

0:14:18.120 --> 0:14:19.520
<v Speaker 2>And it's obviously great hand and good ball as well,

0:14:19.560 --> 0:14:20.480
<v Speaker 2>so it goes hand in hand.

0:14:21.120 --> 0:14:24.560
<v Speaker 1>I think an NFL roster should say punter slash holder,

0:14:24.720 --> 0:14:27.400
<v Speaker 1>because it's half of the job, it really is. Did

0:14:27.440 --> 0:14:29.840
<v Speaker 1>you hold throughout your career at Texas Tech?

0:14:29.880 --> 0:14:31.560
<v Speaker 5>I didn't, sir, Yeah, I held for about three and

0:14:31.560 --> 0:14:32.880
<v Speaker 5>a half, almost four seasons.

0:14:33.080 --> 0:14:33.440
<v Speaker 3>I hold.

0:14:33.440 --> 0:14:35.640
<v Speaker 5>My freshman year at Kittson High School, I fiegals kickoffs

0:14:35.640 --> 0:14:37.760
<v Speaker 5>and I outs uponted, So my freshan year I learned

0:14:37.760 --> 0:14:40.720
<v Speaker 5>how to hold. But then my sophomore year I kind

0:14:40.720 --> 0:14:42.120
<v Speaker 5>of accept that I was able to jump into that

0:14:42.160 --> 0:14:44.000
<v Speaker 5>role a little bit more and build a hold, and.

0:14:44.240 --> 0:14:45.920
<v Speaker 2>I held for the last three or four seasons at

0:14:45.960 --> 0:14:47.160
<v Speaker 2>Texas Tech. So ready for it.

0:14:47.240 --> 0:14:47.440
<v Speaker 5>Yeah.

0:14:48.120 --> 0:14:51.800
<v Speaker 1>Chatting with Austin McNamara, you had an eighty seven yard

0:14:51.840 --> 0:14:55.120
<v Speaker 1>punt at Texas Tech against West Virginia. I've seen the

0:14:55.120 --> 0:14:58.560
<v Speaker 1>footage online. So your team's at your own thirteen yard line,

0:14:58.600 --> 0:15:01.200
<v Speaker 1>you're standing in the end zone. You punted it to

0:15:01.320 --> 0:15:06.320
<v Speaker 1>the other end zone. Explain the feeling of that punt.

0:15:07.160 --> 0:15:08.560
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, that was It was a crazy feeling.

0:15:08.600 --> 0:15:08.760
<v Speaker 3>You know.

0:15:08.760 --> 0:15:10.880
<v Speaker 5>I got hit right after I punted it, so I

0:15:10.880 --> 0:15:12.720
<v Speaker 5>didn't get to see the ball flight.

0:15:13.360 --> 0:15:14.640
<v Speaker 3>You know, Usually you.

0:15:14.640 --> 0:15:16.040
<v Speaker 5>Look up and see how where it's going right away,

0:15:16.040 --> 0:15:17.480
<v Speaker 5>but I was on the ground for a couple of seconds,

0:15:17.520 --> 0:15:18.560
<v Speaker 5>looked up and it was still going to there. I

0:15:18.560 --> 0:15:20.600
<v Speaker 5>could hear the crowd kind of like cheering. It's usually

0:15:20.640 --> 0:15:22.520
<v Speaker 5>either the cheering. It's either really bad or really good.

0:15:22.640 --> 0:15:24.840
<v Speaker 5>So I didn't know which one at the beginning. And

0:15:24.840 --> 0:15:27.280
<v Speaker 5>and you know, obviously I worked obviously, don't do that

0:15:27.320 --> 0:15:30.160
<v Speaker 5>every time, I wish, you know, but I uh, it

0:15:30.160 --> 0:15:32.160
<v Speaker 5>was abously. It's one of those confidence musters for sure,

0:15:32.240 --> 0:15:33.800
<v Speaker 5>And you know, I know I have it in me

0:15:33.840 --> 0:15:36.200
<v Speaker 5>and and obviously my consistency is my strength and that's

0:15:36.240 --> 0:15:36.720
<v Speaker 5>what I'm going for.

0:15:36.840 --> 0:15:38.680
<v Speaker 2>But it's for good to hit a good punt, you know,

0:15:38.720 --> 0:15:39.920
<v Speaker 2>big punt every once in a while.

0:15:39.760 --> 0:15:43.360
<v Speaker 1>So good what has Darren told you about the competition?

0:15:43.560 --> 0:15:46.600
<v Speaker 1>Here is it? You and Brad best Man Wins.

0:15:47.080 --> 0:15:49.360
<v Speaker 5>We talked about it a little bit, you know, we

0:15:49.360 --> 0:15:50.400
<v Speaker 5>we've been going back and forth.

0:15:50.840 --> 0:15:51.680
<v Speaker 2>You know, I haven't mad bradea.

0:15:51.720 --> 0:15:53.840
<v Speaker 5>I'm I was excited to meet him and learned from

0:15:53.920 --> 0:15:55.320
<v Speaker 5>him and work with him and stuff through over the

0:15:55.360 --> 0:15:55.920
<v Speaker 5>next few months.

0:15:55.920 --> 0:15:58.080
<v Speaker 2>And and you know, for me, it's just competition with

0:15:58.120 --> 0:15:59.160
<v Speaker 2>me and with me and me.

0:15:59.320 --> 0:16:02.080
<v Speaker 5>You know, I'm just be against myself and enough if

0:16:02.120 --> 0:16:04.200
<v Speaker 5>I you know, put the work in now and you know,

0:16:04.280 --> 0:16:06.760
<v Speaker 5>do my best ever single day mile that all worked

0:16:06.800 --> 0:16:07.640
<v Speaker 5>out one way or the other.

0:16:07.760 --> 0:16:08.880
<v Speaker 2>So I'm really just.

0:16:08.840 --> 0:16:10.880
<v Speaker 5>Kind of having that mindset going into this, going this

0:16:10.920 --> 0:16:12.440
<v Speaker 5>whole thing, and oly happens.

0:16:12.480 --> 0:16:13.560
<v Speaker 1>So great chatting with you.

0:16:13.680 --> 0:16:15.640
<v Speaker 2>Welcome to Sincinnat, sir, Thank you so much for sid it.

0:16:16.840 --> 0:16:20.160
<v Speaker 1>McNamara was named the Big Twelve Special Teams Player of

0:16:20.200 --> 0:16:22.880
<v Speaker 1>the Year last season. He was the first Red Raider

0:16:23.240 --> 0:16:28.360
<v Speaker 1>to win a major conference award since twenty fourteen, when

0:16:28.360 --> 0:16:32.120
<v Speaker 1>some guy named Patrick Mahomes was tabbed the Big Twelve

0:16:32.320 --> 0:16:36.760
<v Speaker 1>Freshman Offensive Player of the Year. The Bengals Booth Podcast

0:16:36.880 --> 0:16:38.600
<v Speaker 1>is brought to you by pay Corps. Proud to be

0:16:38.640 --> 0:16:43.000
<v Speaker 1>the Bengals official HR software provider, by Alta Fiber future

0:16:43.040 --> 0:16:46.560
<v Speaker 1>proof fiber Internet designed to elevate your home, business, and

0:16:46.680 --> 0:16:50.480
<v Speaker 1>community to a new level, and by Kettering Health the

0:16:50.520 --> 0:16:54.000
<v Speaker 1>best care for the best fans. Kettering Health is the

0:16:54.040 --> 0:16:57.960
<v Speaker 1>official healthcare provider of the Bengals. We know that the

0:16:57.960 --> 0:17:01.040
<v Speaker 1>Bengals have a talented roster, but how does it stack

0:17:01.120 --> 0:17:06.360
<v Speaker 1>up against other NFL teams. Pro Football Focus recently had

0:17:06.359 --> 0:17:10.240
<v Speaker 1>two of its analysts, Jim Wyman and Dalton Wasserman, rank

0:17:10.680 --> 0:17:15.440
<v Speaker 1>all thirty two NFL rosters from first to worst. Jim

0:17:15.760 --> 0:17:18.560
<v Speaker 1>did the write ups about the AFC teams, and I

0:17:18.640 --> 0:17:23.040
<v Speaker 1>talked to him about the list. Jim, let's start with

0:17:23.080 --> 0:17:26.199
<v Speaker 1>the methodology that you guys used for ranking all thirty

0:17:26.240 --> 0:17:30.760
<v Speaker 1>two NFL rosters. Was it strictly data driven with PFF

0:17:30.840 --> 0:17:33.600
<v Speaker 1>grades or was there some opinion and guesswork involved.

0:17:34.359 --> 0:17:38.480
<v Speaker 6>PFF grades was definitely kind of the primary focus on this.

0:17:38.680 --> 0:17:41.160
<v Speaker 6>I mean, we do want to kind of emphasize our

0:17:41.200 --> 0:17:43.359
<v Speaker 6>bread and butter more or less, but there was definitely

0:17:43.720 --> 0:17:46.199
<v Speaker 6>some opinion thrown in there because we're also trying to

0:17:46.240 --> 0:17:49.760
<v Speaker 6>project a little bit. As far as these rankings are concerned,

0:17:49.800 --> 0:17:52.879
<v Speaker 6>they are purely on paper based, so coaching did not

0:17:53.000 --> 0:17:55.680
<v Speaker 6>factor at all into this unless we were going into

0:17:55.760 --> 0:17:58.240
<v Speaker 6>the over under. Otherwise it would just be a true

0:17:58.400 --> 0:18:01.840
<v Speaker 6>power ranking and not just a on roster ranking, so

0:18:01.920 --> 0:18:02.359
<v Speaker 6>to speak.

0:18:03.000 --> 0:18:05.480
<v Speaker 1>All Right, your number one rank roster in the NFL

0:18:05.560 --> 0:18:08.000
<v Speaker 1>belongs to the San Francisco forty nine ers. I don't

0:18:08.000 --> 0:18:11.040
<v Speaker 1>think anybody would be shocked by that. But eight of

0:18:11.080 --> 0:18:14.960
<v Speaker 1>your top twelve rosters belonged to AFC teams, and you

0:18:15.000 --> 0:18:18.160
<v Speaker 1>were responsible for the AFC ride ups. Is it fair

0:18:18.200 --> 0:18:20.040
<v Speaker 1>to say the road to the super Bowl in the

0:18:20.080 --> 0:18:22.000
<v Speaker 1>AFC is a gauntlet?

0:18:22.960 --> 0:18:26.000
<v Speaker 6>It absolutely is. It might even be trickier than last year,

0:18:26.119 --> 0:18:29.600
<v Speaker 6>especially since two Kansas City the defending champs. I think

0:18:29.640 --> 0:18:32.160
<v Speaker 6>on paper, got better team that won the super Bowl,

0:18:33.080 --> 0:18:36.240
<v Speaker 6>even if Rashid Rice doesn't miss a single game from

0:18:36.240 --> 0:18:39.639
<v Speaker 6>suspension this season. He added Marquis Brown, or Hollywood as

0:18:39.840 --> 0:18:43.000
<v Speaker 6>people like to call him, Xavier Worthy. I know a

0:18:43.040 --> 0:18:44.840
<v Speaker 6>lot of people are concerned that he's just a speed

0:18:44.840 --> 0:18:46.640
<v Speaker 6>demon coming to the draft, but he's so much more

0:18:46.640 --> 0:18:48.520
<v Speaker 6>than that. I know people may be a little scared

0:18:48.560 --> 0:18:52.000
<v Speaker 6>off after John Roston pan out, but Ross also had

0:18:52.000 --> 0:18:54.640
<v Speaker 6>some injury concerns coming out that Worthy just doesn't have.

0:18:55.520 --> 0:18:58.639
<v Speaker 6>And then you've got the Baltimore Ravens who just added

0:18:58.640 --> 0:19:01.679
<v Speaker 6>Derrick Henry to a backfield include Lamar Jackson, and so

0:19:01.920 --> 0:19:05.119
<v Speaker 6>that's gonna be something tricky to overcome for most teams.

0:19:05.240 --> 0:19:09.200
<v Speaker 6>And then the Texans, there's surrounding your young cordock of talent.

0:19:09.520 --> 0:19:12.600
<v Speaker 6>And then there's what the Texans did by adding Stefan

0:19:12.680 --> 0:19:15.240
<v Speaker 6>Diggs to a group that already included Nico Collins who

0:19:15.280 --> 0:19:17.800
<v Speaker 6>just had a huge year last year, Tank Dell, who

0:19:17.840 --> 0:19:20.320
<v Speaker 6>looks like a steal out of the third round. That

0:19:20.400 --> 0:19:22.480
<v Speaker 6>Texans receiving group is pre stacked. And then we have

0:19:22.520 --> 0:19:26.399
<v Speaker 6>Cincinnati up next at number eight, which we kind of

0:19:26.960 --> 0:19:29.440
<v Speaker 6>went back and forth out where to place them because

0:19:29.480 --> 0:19:32.600
<v Speaker 6>I could totally see Cincinnati being a little higher, especially

0:19:32.600 --> 0:19:35.280
<v Speaker 6>with Joe Burrow being back in the fold. I mean,

0:19:35.440 --> 0:19:38.639
<v Speaker 6>last year they went nine to eight despite Burrow missing

0:19:38.680 --> 0:19:41.040
<v Speaker 6>half the season, and even to start to start the season,

0:19:41.080 --> 0:19:42.960
<v Speaker 6>he wasn't a one hundred percent because he had that

0:19:43.400 --> 0:19:46.040
<v Speaker 6>leg issue that looked pretty scary in preseason with the

0:19:46.080 --> 0:19:49.280
<v Speaker 6>non contact injury, and he didn't look himself the first

0:19:49.320 --> 0:19:52.400
<v Speaker 6>few weeks. It wasn't until like maybe late September early

0:19:52.440 --> 0:19:56.320
<v Speaker 6>October that he really got going. So Cincinnati right in

0:19:56.359 --> 0:19:58.200
<v Speaker 6>the mix of it, and then right behind them is Buffalo,

0:19:58.320 --> 0:20:01.639
<v Speaker 6>Miami and Cleveland, which as far as those rankings go,

0:20:01.760 --> 0:20:04.280
<v Speaker 6>we were splitting hairs for the most part. You could

0:20:04.280 --> 0:20:06.320
<v Speaker 6>be just rearrange those teams in any order you want

0:20:06.400 --> 0:20:09.840
<v Speaker 6>and have a strong argument for them. I know Buffalo

0:20:09.960 --> 0:20:11.919
<v Speaker 6>had a lot of roster cuts recently, but they were

0:20:11.960 --> 0:20:14.840
<v Speaker 6>a lot deeper than they seemed. The big thing with

0:20:14.880 --> 0:20:18.600
<v Speaker 6>Buffalo is replacing Stefan Diggs, who they sent to Houston

0:20:18.680 --> 0:20:23.240
<v Speaker 6>for pennies on the dollar. I think if Keon Coleman,

0:20:23.280 --> 0:20:27.159
<v Speaker 6>their top draft pick hands out, because he's probably the

0:20:27.160 --> 0:20:29.800
<v Speaker 6>biggest wild card amongst in the NFL draft, because we

0:20:29.840 --> 0:20:34.680
<v Speaker 6>have no idea. He had some separation issues in college,

0:20:35.200 --> 0:20:36.840
<v Speaker 6>like there were times where like most of his catches,

0:20:36.840 --> 0:20:39.800
<v Speaker 6>he's got a defender draped all over him, which sometimes

0:20:39.840 --> 0:20:42.120
<v Speaker 6>that works out, like sometimes that guy becomes des Bryant,

0:20:42.200 --> 0:20:44.680
<v Speaker 6>other times he becomes Nick hil Harry. So they're very

0:20:44.720 --> 0:20:48.680
<v Speaker 6>hard to kind of figure out. But in his testing

0:20:49.320 --> 0:20:52.040
<v Speaker 6>was inconsistent too. But I'm a little more encouraged by

0:20:52.040 --> 0:20:55.520
<v Speaker 6>the fact that despite running the slow as forty amongst receivers.

0:20:55.560 --> 0:20:57.720
<v Speaker 6>He was the fastest guy in the gauntlet drill, which

0:20:57.760 --> 0:20:59.680
<v Speaker 6>is the actual on field stuff, which is the stuff

0:20:59.680 --> 0:21:02.119
<v Speaker 6>that might translate a little better to the league. So

0:21:02.840 --> 0:21:05.720
<v Speaker 6>I have confidence that Keon Coleman. We might not be

0:21:06.440 --> 0:21:09.920
<v Speaker 6>the productive receiver that Stefan Diggs was, but he's if

0:21:09.920 --> 0:21:12.080
<v Speaker 6>he's like show something promised by the end of season,

0:21:12.119 --> 0:21:15.200
<v Speaker 6>Josh Allen's good enough that he'll he'll get his targets.

0:21:16.480 --> 0:21:19.160
<v Speaker 1>Jim Wiman from Pro Football Focus is our guests. We're

0:21:19.200 --> 0:21:21.000
<v Speaker 1>going to get to the Bengals in more detail in

0:21:21.080 --> 0:21:24.000
<v Speaker 1>just a moment, but I've got to ask you about

0:21:24.040 --> 0:21:26.560
<v Speaker 1>the most shocking team on the list. In my opinion,

0:21:27.359 --> 0:21:31.119
<v Speaker 1>your number four roster in the NFL belongs to a

0:21:31.160 --> 0:21:33.919
<v Speaker 1>team that went seven to ten last year, the New

0:21:34.000 --> 0:21:37.159
<v Speaker 1>York Jets. We know that the return of Aaron Rodgers

0:21:37.240 --> 0:21:40.520
<v Speaker 1>makes a big difference, but the fourth best roster in

0:21:40.560 --> 0:21:41.560
<v Speaker 1>the NFL.

0:21:42.760 --> 0:21:45.439
<v Speaker 6>Yeah, this one. We got killed for this one on

0:21:45.480 --> 0:21:47.919
<v Speaker 6>social media. You're not the only one who seems dumbfounded

0:21:47.960 --> 0:21:50.600
<v Speaker 6>by the rankings. Pretty much like to scroll through comments

0:21:50.680 --> 0:21:53.280
<v Speaker 6>kind of get the pulse of what the fan are saying.

0:21:53.640 --> 0:21:56.600
<v Speaker 6>Pretty Much every single comment has an issue with us.

0:21:56.600 --> 0:21:59.160
<v Speaker 6>Placing at Jets at number four. And when we came

0:21:59.200 --> 0:22:01.400
<v Speaker 6>to this discussion, I think it was first Dalton who

0:22:01.440 --> 0:22:03.960
<v Speaker 6>pitched the Jets being number four, and I heard some

0:22:04.040 --> 0:22:05.920
<v Speaker 6>surprise in his voice. It was like I had it

0:22:05.960 --> 0:22:08.680
<v Speaker 6>at five. So I was just as high on them

0:22:08.720 --> 0:22:12.360
<v Speaker 6>as he was. And the main thing is one thing

0:22:12.440 --> 0:22:16.080
<v Speaker 6>I want to kind of bring to the attention is, yeah,

0:22:16.119 --> 0:22:18.960
<v Speaker 6>the Jets went seven to ten, but they did this

0:22:19.240 --> 0:22:23.440
<v Speaker 6>with Zach Wilson at quarterback and Tim Boyle taking meaningful snaps.

0:22:24.200 --> 0:22:26.399
<v Speaker 6>Even the Patriots, with as good a defense as they had,

0:22:26.400 --> 0:22:29.439
<v Speaker 6>couldn't survive their bad quarterback play. The Jets did for

0:22:29.480 --> 0:22:31.160
<v Speaker 6>the most part, I mean, as much as a seven

0:22:31.160 --> 0:22:33.800
<v Speaker 6>and ten team can. And not only that, they made

0:22:33.840 --> 0:22:37.479
<v Speaker 6>some moves in the offseason that we really liked. At

0:22:37.480 --> 0:22:40.359
<v Speaker 6>wide receiver. Last year it was basically just Garrett Wilson

0:22:40.400 --> 0:22:43.520
<v Speaker 6>and a couple undrafted rookies playing some significant playing time.

0:22:43.920 --> 0:22:47.920
<v Speaker 6>The Adam Mike Williams, who is He's not gonna catch

0:22:47.960 --> 0:22:50.040
<v Speaker 6>a ton of passes every game, but he's consistently up

0:22:50.080 --> 0:22:52.480
<v Speaker 6>there in yards per reception. I think Rogers is gonna

0:22:52.480 --> 0:22:54.879
<v Speaker 6>have fun throwing to him deep downfield, even just on

0:22:54.880 --> 0:22:58.160
<v Speaker 6>a one year deal, and then Malachi Corley, who they

0:22:58.160 --> 0:23:01.000
<v Speaker 6>took in a third round, being the exact opposite receiver

0:23:01.680 --> 0:23:04.320
<v Speaker 6>in terms of He's probably gonna be a high volume catches,

0:23:04.320 --> 0:23:07.840
<v Speaker 6>probably lower depth of target, but he's dying in white

0:23:07.840 --> 0:23:09.840
<v Speaker 6>with the ball in his hands. He's me pretty fun.

0:23:10.359 --> 0:23:13.080
<v Speaker 6>Offensive line is kind of where I was fifty to

0:23:13.119 --> 0:23:16.080
<v Speaker 6>fifty because they did add Tyron Smith and Morgan Moses

0:23:16.119 --> 0:23:20.320
<v Speaker 6>at offensive tackle. Both guys have dealt with some injuries,

0:23:20.359 --> 0:23:22.879
<v Speaker 6>Smith in particular, but when they've been on the field,

0:23:22.880 --> 0:23:25.560
<v Speaker 6>they've been much more productive, especially considering what the Jets

0:23:25.560 --> 0:23:28.159
<v Speaker 6>been thrown out there last year. And even if one

0:23:28.160 --> 0:23:30.880
<v Speaker 6>of the two tackles I mentioned before falter, they drafted

0:23:30.920 --> 0:23:33.840
<v Speaker 6>Olufashnu in the first round, who can step right in

0:23:33.920 --> 0:23:36.000
<v Speaker 6>and he might even be the best tackle on the

0:23:36.080 --> 0:23:37.760
<v Speaker 6>roster right now. We don't have him listen as a

0:23:37.800 --> 0:23:39.919
<v Speaker 6>starter at the moment, but I wouldn't be surprised that

0:23:40.080 --> 0:23:44.320
<v Speaker 6>I'm starting from the get go. And one last thing

0:23:44.359 --> 0:23:47.240
<v Speaker 6>by the Jets offense, they ranked dead last in EPA

0:23:47.280 --> 0:23:49.879
<v Speaker 6>per play last season, worse than even the Patriots of

0:23:49.880 --> 0:23:51.840
<v Speaker 6>the Falcons or other teams were talking about who had

0:23:51.920 --> 0:23:54.679
<v Speaker 6>some struggles and they still won seven games as a results,

0:23:54.680 --> 0:23:57.199
<v Speaker 6>So that goes a testament to how good defense is.

0:23:57.880 --> 0:24:01.119
<v Speaker 6>Even if Aaron Rodgers isn't like and four time MVP

0:24:01.280 --> 0:24:04.000
<v Speaker 6>Aaron Rodgers anymore, even if he's just you know, kind

0:24:04.040 --> 0:24:05.560
<v Speaker 6>of what we saw at the end of his Packers

0:24:05.640 --> 0:24:07.640
<v Speaker 6>career where he seemed like he might have been turning downward,

0:24:08.760 --> 0:24:10.960
<v Speaker 6>He's this Jets team is gonna be fine and they're

0:24:10.960 --> 0:24:13.439
<v Speaker 6>going to be in contention with the AFC East title

0:24:13.840 --> 0:24:15.520
<v Speaker 6>as long as he's at least healthy.

0:24:16.480 --> 0:24:19.040
<v Speaker 1>Jim Wiman from Pro Football Focus is our guest. He

0:24:19.160 --> 0:24:21.840
<v Speaker 1>and Dalton Wasserman have ranked all thirty two rosters in

0:24:21.880 --> 0:24:24.879
<v Speaker 1>the NFL, from San Francisco at number one to Denver

0:24:24.920 --> 0:24:28.160
<v Speaker 1>at number thirty two. The Bengals, as you mentioned, check

0:24:28.200 --> 0:24:31.320
<v Speaker 1>in at number eight overall, number five in the AFC,

0:24:31.359 --> 0:24:34.639
<v Speaker 1>behind Kansas City at two, the Jets at four, Baltimore

0:24:34.640 --> 0:24:37.520
<v Speaker 1>at five, in Houston at seven. What stood out to

0:24:37.560 --> 0:24:41.080
<v Speaker 1>you is some of the biggest strengths on the Bengals roster.

0:24:41.680 --> 0:24:44.399
<v Speaker 6>Immediately what stands out as the wide receivers. I know

0:24:44.440 --> 0:24:47.080
<v Speaker 6>there's some issues surrounding t Higgins, whether he's going to

0:24:47.320 --> 0:24:49.720
<v Speaker 6>sign an extension, whether it's gonna be back, especially considering

0:24:50.040 --> 0:24:53.600
<v Speaker 6>Jamar Chase is due next year for an extension. At

0:24:53.600 --> 0:24:57.680
<v Speaker 6>the moments, we've got Higgins returning because we've heard nothing

0:24:57.720 --> 0:24:58.440
<v Speaker 6>to the contrary.

0:24:59.320 --> 0:25:01.600
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, he'll I'll be there on the franchise tag. I

0:25:01.600 --> 0:25:04.359
<v Speaker 1>don't think anybody, I mean, Tea has even said publicly

0:25:04.640 --> 0:25:06.840
<v Speaker 1>he expects to play for Cincinnati this year.

0:25:07.320 --> 0:25:09.200
<v Speaker 6>Yeah, and that's gonna be huge for this Bengals teams

0:25:09.400 --> 0:25:11.879
<v Speaker 6>if he comes back. I mean, Jamar Chase can do

0:25:11.920 --> 0:25:13.600
<v Speaker 6>a lot for an offense, but just having a guy

0:25:13.760 --> 0:25:16.119
<v Speaker 6>like T Higgins there, Like, even if you want to

0:25:16.160 --> 0:25:19.280
<v Speaker 6>double Jamar Chase you want, you can't do that because

0:25:19.320 --> 0:25:21.080
<v Speaker 6>T Higgins is going to kill you if you do that.

0:25:21.480 --> 0:25:24.080
<v Speaker 6>And I know they let go of Tyler Boyd, but

0:25:24.160 --> 0:25:26.040
<v Speaker 6>I think Jermaine Burton, the guy that took him the

0:25:26.040 --> 0:25:27.960
<v Speaker 6>third round, at least on the field as an upgrade

0:25:28.280 --> 0:25:31.240
<v Speaker 6>over Boyd. This was a guy that we considered at

0:25:31.240 --> 0:25:33.880
<v Speaker 6>PFF to be a first round talent who fell due

0:25:33.920 --> 0:25:37.119
<v Speaker 6>to some character concerns. There was one incident in college

0:25:37.119 --> 0:25:39.800
<v Speaker 6>I kind of raise some concerns and there's some reports

0:25:39.920 --> 0:25:44.440
<v Speaker 6>of it maybe not being most levelheaded guy. But hey,

0:25:44.520 --> 0:25:46.720
<v Speaker 6>if he is in a good situation in Cincinnati where

0:25:46.760 --> 0:25:49.720
<v Speaker 6>he buys in. This is a dangerous player and a

0:25:49.760 --> 0:25:52.160
<v Speaker 6>guy who even if t Higgins let Walk could step

0:25:52.160 --> 0:25:55.280
<v Speaker 6>into that number two role opposite Chase What.

0:25:55.280 --> 0:25:57.840
<v Speaker 1>Do you consider to be the most significant question marks?

0:25:58.280 --> 0:26:01.720
<v Speaker 6>Probably running back at the moment and right now that

0:26:01.840 --> 0:26:04.840
<v Speaker 6>so Joe Mixon took on a lot of the workload

0:26:04.880 --> 0:26:06.680
<v Speaker 6>for the for the Bengals last year. The other three

0:26:06.760 --> 0:26:10.200
<v Speaker 6>running backs on the roster combined last year couldn't reach

0:26:10.240 --> 0:26:14.800
<v Speaker 6>three hundred snaps for the entire season, so losing mixing

0:26:15.240 --> 0:26:17.240
<v Speaker 6>kind of leaves a little of a hole. They added

0:26:17.320 --> 0:26:19.200
<v Speaker 6>Zach Moss last year, who I put as a team's

0:26:19.280 --> 0:26:23.320
<v Speaker 6>X factor on our roster just because this last year

0:26:23.359 --> 0:26:25.600
<v Speaker 6>was his first year he got a significant workload and

0:26:25.640 --> 0:26:28.959
<v Speaker 6>he showed some ability to kind of be able to

0:26:28.960 --> 0:26:31.600
<v Speaker 6>be that guy. We haven't really seen it yet from

0:26:31.640 --> 0:26:33.800
<v Speaker 6>a long term perspective, but he played pretty well in

0:26:33.800 --> 0:26:36.600
<v Speaker 6>Indianapolis last year, set career highs pretty much across the

0:26:36.600 --> 0:26:39.159
<v Speaker 6>board in any category you can think of. So this

0:26:39.200 --> 0:26:40.919
<v Speaker 6>is going to be his show in the backfield in

0:26:40.920 --> 0:26:44.720
<v Speaker 6>Cincinnati because right now they're running with Chris Evans, who

0:26:44.760 --> 0:26:46.440
<v Speaker 6>I think has mostly been used as a kick returner

0:26:46.520 --> 0:26:48.800
<v Speaker 6>as well as tray Van Williams has gotten some look

0:26:48.840 --> 0:26:51.240
<v Speaker 6>there as well. They drafted Chase Brown last year, who

0:26:51.280 --> 0:26:53.400
<v Speaker 6>I kind of like, which I saw a little bit

0:26:53.400 --> 0:26:56.560
<v Speaker 6>more of him last year, but we'll see how things

0:26:56.760 --> 0:27:00.199
<v Speaker 6>shake up this year. But he's definitely like someone I

0:27:00.240 --> 0:27:04.639
<v Speaker 6>think could probably be the second back behind Zach Moss

0:27:04.640 --> 0:27:06.680
<v Speaker 6>and kind of maybe be more the receiving guy of

0:27:06.720 --> 0:27:11.040
<v Speaker 6>the backfield. But right now, I would say the room

0:27:11.200 --> 0:27:15.960
<v Speaker 6>is paper thin just given the unproven depth behind a

0:27:16.000 --> 0:27:19.919
<v Speaker 6>guy who himself we've only really seen him be productive

0:27:20.080 --> 0:27:24.159
<v Speaker 6>one time. So I would say running backs probably the

0:27:24.200 --> 0:27:27.800
<v Speaker 6>weakest group, But in terms of rooms to be weak in,

0:27:28.080 --> 0:27:31.119
<v Speaker 6>running back might be the position to choose if you

0:27:31.160 --> 0:27:31.960
<v Speaker 6>had to choose one.

0:27:33.440 --> 0:27:34.879
<v Speaker 1>So, Jim, one of the things you do in the

0:27:34.960 --> 0:27:39.000
<v Speaker 1>article is list every team's projected starting lineup along with

0:27:39.040 --> 0:27:43.240
<v Speaker 1>their PFF grades, and this caught my eye. The highest

0:27:43.240 --> 0:27:46.440
<v Speaker 1>graded offensive player last year was Jamar Chase no big

0:27:46.480 --> 0:27:50.600
<v Speaker 1>surprise there, but the second highest graded player was the

0:27:50.640 --> 0:27:55.040
<v Speaker 1>new right tackle, Trent Brown. Between him and drafting Amrius

0:27:55.119 --> 0:27:58.200
<v Speaker 1>Mims in the first round, do you see a significantly

0:27:58.320 --> 0:28:00.160
<v Speaker 1>upgraded offensive line?

0:28:00.440 --> 0:28:00.679
<v Speaker 5>I do.

0:28:00.800 --> 0:28:02.600
<v Speaker 6>This office of the line is definitely a lot better

0:28:02.640 --> 0:28:04.520
<v Speaker 6>on paper than spend in years past. I know the

0:28:04.560 --> 0:28:06.880
<v Speaker 6>Bengals have thrown a lot of money at the unit

0:28:06.880 --> 0:28:10.359
<v Speaker 6>the last couple of years with mixed results. Trent Brown's

0:28:10.359 --> 0:28:15.359
<v Speaker 6>an interesting case because he played extremely well to start

0:28:15.359 --> 0:28:17.760
<v Speaker 6>the season last year. I think against Miami, off top

0:28:17.800 --> 0:28:19.879
<v Speaker 6>I head, he had a PFF grade of like ninety six,

0:28:20.400 --> 0:28:22.760
<v Speaker 6>which I maybe seen like two games grades that were

0:28:22.800 --> 0:28:24.720
<v Speaker 6>higher than that. I can think, oh, it's top my head,

0:28:25.080 --> 0:28:27.159
<v Speaker 6>and had another game I think against Buffalo and New

0:28:27.200 --> 0:28:30.160
<v Speaker 6>England actually won one where he was in the nineties

0:28:30.200 --> 0:28:33.320
<v Speaker 6>as well. Trent Brown think he's going to be productive

0:28:33.320 --> 0:28:35.800
<v Speaker 6>once again. I know he's getting up there in age

0:28:35.800 --> 0:28:37.639
<v Speaker 6>a little bit, but a guy in his size that

0:28:37.800 --> 0:28:40.600
<v Speaker 6>moves as well as he does, he's shoring up the

0:28:40.640 --> 0:28:42.040
<v Speaker 6>right side can be great for him. I think at

0:28:42.080 --> 0:28:44.440
<v Speaker 6>the right tackles his best spot. He played a little

0:28:44.440 --> 0:28:47.200
<v Speaker 6>bit on the left side from New England and then

0:28:47.240 --> 0:28:50.760
<v Speaker 6>Amarius Mims I can I think maybe Philadelphia is the

0:28:50.840 --> 0:28:52.800
<v Speaker 6>only other place where I thought of where could be

0:28:52.920 --> 0:28:55.640
<v Speaker 6>a potentially better spot for him to land. Cincinnati is

0:28:55.640 --> 0:29:00.000
<v Speaker 6>a great spot and he doesn't need to start right away.

0:29:00.160 --> 0:29:02.719
<v Speaker 6>He can kind of get seasoning kind of figure out

0:29:02.720 --> 0:29:04.720
<v Speaker 6>the league a little bit and not be thrown to

0:29:04.760 --> 0:29:07.480
<v Speaker 6>the fire like a guy with a similar profiles from

0:29:07.520 --> 0:29:10.280
<v Speaker 6>Tyler Goeyton and Dallas might be. And yet right now

0:29:10.320 --> 0:29:12.040
<v Speaker 6>he's projected to start at left tackle for the Dallas

0:29:12.080 --> 0:29:15.120
<v Speaker 6>Cowboys right out the gate. Whereas Mims gets to learn,

0:29:15.560 --> 0:29:18.160
<v Speaker 6>he gets to get better as a player who in

0:29:18.240 --> 0:29:21.040
<v Speaker 6>his craft, and it's an opportunity that he's being given

0:29:21.120 --> 0:29:24.080
<v Speaker 6>rather than being thrown to the wolves like Geyiton might be.

0:29:25.200 --> 0:29:29.240
<v Speaker 1>So Jim, the highest graded Bengals player on defense wasn't

0:29:29.280 --> 0:29:34.240
<v Speaker 1>Trey Hendrickson. It was rookie safety Jordan Battle, who probably

0:29:34.280 --> 0:29:36.800
<v Speaker 1>won't start to begin this season after the Bengals picked

0:29:36.880 --> 0:29:39.840
<v Speaker 1>up Geno Stone and brought back Von Bell. What do

0:29:39.880 --> 0:29:42.760
<v Speaker 1>you think of the secondary after those changes at safety?

0:29:43.320 --> 0:29:47.040
<v Speaker 6>Yeah, so safety, I can totally see a sort of

0:29:47.120 --> 0:29:49.200
<v Speaker 6>rotation between the three of them. I think Geno Stone

0:29:49.240 --> 0:29:51.480
<v Speaker 6>is the only one who's a really true free safety

0:29:51.560 --> 0:29:54.160
<v Speaker 6>kind of play that deep center field role. I think

0:29:54.240 --> 0:29:56.959
<v Speaker 6>Battle in Von Bell, who might be a little bit

0:29:56.960 --> 0:30:00.320
<v Speaker 6>more of a rotation than as a player kind of

0:30:00.320 --> 0:30:03.480
<v Speaker 6>a similar style of safety, I think Battle might get

0:30:03.480 --> 0:30:07.720
<v Speaker 6>the edge there over Bell, just given battles younger and

0:30:08.040 --> 0:30:11.680
<v Speaker 6>Bell isn't coming off the best season in New Orleans,

0:30:11.720 --> 0:30:14.160
<v Speaker 6>but he's still like a quality player who will definitely

0:30:14.160 --> 0:30:17.080
<v Speaker 6>see plenty of playing time. Daxon Hill is a guy

0:30:17.120 --> 0:30:18.840
<v Speaker 6>I was hoping it would break out last year. Actually

0:30:18.840 --> 0:30:22.120
<v Speaker 6>an article last summer where I tried to predict a

0:30:22.200 --> 0:30:25.320
<v Speaker 6>breakout player at every single position, and I picked Dax

0:30:25.360 --> 0:30:29.200
<v Speaker 6>Hill as one of the safeties. So it was really

0:30:29.240 --> 0:30:31.560
<v Speaker 6>his first year as a full time player. He was

0:30:31.560 --> 0:30:34.480
<v Speaker 6>pretty much red shirted his rookie year, so I'm not

0:30:34.680 --> 0:30:37.560
<v Speaker 6>ready to give up on him just yet. Same goes

0:30:37.600 --> 0:30:41.560
<v Speaker 6>for DJ Turner, who was a second round rookie last year,

0:30:42.280 --> 0:30:47.360
<v Speaker 6>and he's another guy. Corner is a very, very tough

0:30:47.400 --> 0:30:49.560
<v Speaker 6>position to transition from college to the pros, just because

0:30:49.560 --> 0:30:51.720
<v Speaker 6>the quality receiver is so much different than what you're

0:30:51.720 --> 0:30:55.480
<v Speaker 6>gonna face, and corners themselves is a pretty volatile position

0:30:55.520 --> 0:30:57.040
<v Speaker 6>in terms of what you can expect from a year

0:30:57.040 --> 0:31:01.000
<v Speaker 6>to year basis. So Dj Turner's another guy I could

0:31:01.080 --> 0:31:04.480
<v Speaker 6>see potentially stepping in and playing well in his second

0:31:04.520 --> 0:31:08.360
<v Speaker 6>year despite a down rookie season. Cam Taylor Brits another

0:31:08.400 --> 0:31:11.000
<v Speaker 6>guy who has shown some flashes as and I think

0:31:11.000 --> 0:31:13.040
<v Speaker 6>He's gonna be quality starting this league for a long time.

0:31:13.520 --> 0:31:17.200
<v Speaker 6>And Mike Hilton is the number one right now despite

0:31:17.280 --> 0:31:19.400
<v Speaker 6>being about thirty years old at the moment. But he

0:31:19.440 --> 0:31:21.760
<v Speaker 6>is coming off one of the better seasons that he's

0:31:21.800 --> 0:31:24.280
<v Speaker 6>had in his career, and he's still got plenty left

0:31:24.280 --> 0:31:28.120
<v Speaker 6>in tank despite his age. So the Bengals secondary I

0:31:28.120 --> 0:31:29.880
<v Speaker 6>think could surprise some people.

0:31:30.560 --> 0:31:34.040
<v Speaker 1>Jim, let's talk about the AFC North. Every team has

0:31:34.040 --> 0:31:36.720
<v Speaker 1>a roster that's graded in the top half of the NFL.

0:31:37.040 --> 0:31:40.959
<v Speaker 1>I mentioned the Baltimore's fifth, Cincinnati's eighth, Cleveland is twelfth,

0:31:41.000 --> 0:31:44.840
<v Speaker 1>Pittsburgh is sixteenth. I'm interested in the Ravens because they

0:31:44.960 --> 0:31:48.680
<v Speaker 1>lost fifteen free agents, including Patrick Queen and three of

0:31:48.720 --> 0:31:52.200
<v Speaker 1>their starting offensive linemen. They have added some good players,

0:31:52.280 --> 0:31:55.200
<v Speaker 1>led by Derrick Henry. But is it a top five

0:31:55.280 --> 0:31:58.480
<v Speaker 1>roster because they had depth or because the guys that

0:31:58.560 --> 0:32:01.240
<v Speaker 1>are still there are that good.

0:32:01.800 --> 0:32:03.959
<v Speaker 6>I would say it's a mix. They definitely had depth.

0:32:04.280 --> 0:32:06.880
<v Speaker 6>I know losing Patrick Queen might hurt in the defense,

0:32:07.120 --> 0:32:09.760
<v Speaker 6>but they still had roe qworn Smith. I think when

0:32:09.760 --> 0:32:13.040
<v Speaker 6>we darraw rankings, we spent the longest time on Baltimore

0:32:13.120 --> 0:32:15.720
<v Speaker 6>versus Detroit, with whom who had at number six. I

0:32:15.760 --> 0:32:17.480
<v Speaker 6>think he spent, like I said, ten fifteen minutes trying

0:32:17.480 --> 0:32:21.080
<v Speaker 6>to figure out between these two. My main hold up

0:32:21.160 --> 0:32:23.760
<v Speaker 6>with the Ravens was losing some offensive linemen and they're

0:32:23.760 --> 0:32:28.280
<v Speaker 6>going to have some unproven guys up front, and then

0:32:28.880 --> 0:32:31.840
<v Speaker 6>receiver is a little lacking in depth. Say four Howers

0:32:31.880 --> 0:32:35.360
<v Speaker 6>had a really nice rookie year after him, though Rashad

0:32:35.440 --> 0:32:38.920
<v Speaker 6>Bateman hasn't really been with the Ravens. Hoped and I

0:32:39.200 --> 0:32:41.760
<v Speaker 6>got the third list of receivers, Deontay Party, who is

0:32:42.280 --> 0:32:46.560
<v Speaker 6>mainly a kick return specialist, but who occasionally will come

0:32:46.600 --> 0:32:47.840
<v Speaker 6>in and make some plays. I know he had a

0:32:47.840 --> 0:32:50.960
<v Speaker 6>few plays when he was with the Saints that were explosive.

0:32:51.360 --> 0:32:54.400
<v Speaker 6>They also drafted Tedes Walker out of North Carolina in

0:32:54.520 --> 0:32:55.880
<v Speaker 6>early in the fourth round, which I thought was a

0:32:55.880 --> 0:32:58.160
<v Speaker 6>great value for them. He's a guy who can really

0:32:58.160 --> 0:33:02.000
<v Speaker 6>stretch the field. And then Lamar Jackson Derek Henry might

0:33:02.080 --> 0:33:03.960
<v Speaker 6>be the scariest backfield in football if you're trying to

0:33:04.000 --> 0:33:06.320
<v Speaker 6>defend the run, so you're either going to get your

0:33:06.320 --> 0:33:08.480
<v Speaker 6>ankles broken your whole body broken trying to tackle one

0:33:08.480 --> 0:33:09.400
<v Speaker 6>of those guys.

0:33:09.800 --> 0:33:11.720
<v Speaker 1>We certainly know it from seeing him at least twice

0:33:11.720 --> 0:33:15.040
<v Speaker 1>a year, Cleveland checked in at number twelve. The strength

0:33:15.160 --> 0:33:18.640
<v Speaker 1>is the defense, arguably the best in the NFL. Where

0:33:18.640 --> 0:33:21.400
<v Speaker 1>would Cleveland be on the list if they had more

0:33:21.400 --> 0:33:23.720
<v Speaker 1>of a sure thing at quarterback than Deshaun Watson.

0:33:24.040 --> 0:33:26.840
<v Speaker 6>Yeah, Deshaun Watson was the real hold up about this

0:33:26.880 --> 0:33:30.200
<v Speaker 6>Browns roster because the defense it might be my favorite

0:33:30.200 --> 0:33:33.719
<v Speaker 6>on paper in the entire NFL, especially considering they were

0:33:33.800 --> 0:33:36.400
<v Speaker 6>number one in EPA per play allowed last season by

0:33:36.400 --> 0:33:41.160
<v Speaker 6>a comfortable margin, and everybody's back, including defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz,

0:33:42.000 --> 0:33:45.720
<v Speaker 6>Deshaun Watson last year, he hasn't really gotten a chance

0:33:45.920 --> 0:33:48.520
<v Speaker 6>to get it in a rhythm. Part about his own doing.

0:33:48.680 --> 0:33:50.640
<v Speaker 6>Part of that is a freak injury that happened in

0:33:50.680 --> 0:33:53.680
<v Speaker 6>the middle of the season. Play on field looks like

0:33:53.720 --> 0:33:56.080
<v Speaker 6>a guy who hasn't played football regularly in the year

0:33:56.080 --> 0:33:58.640
<v Speaker 6>and a half and so. But the thing with the

0:33:58.640 --> 0:34:01.880
<v Speaker 6>Browns is they've still won eleven games and probably would

0:34:01.880 --> 0:34:05.600
<v Speaker 6>have won most divisions while starting five different quarterbacks. So

0:34:06.800 --> 0:34:10.400
<v Speaker 6>I'm not super worried about their ability to be competitive

0:34:10.400 --> 0:34:13.120
<v Speaker 6>once again for the playoffs. But if Deshaun Watson is

0:34:13.120 --> 0:34:16.320
<v Speaker 6>twenty twenty, Deshaun Watson This team's a favorite in the division.

0:34:16.320 --> 0:34:18.200
<v Speaker 6>I think they even jump the Jets at number four,

0:34:19.160 --> 0:34:21.640
<v Speaker 6>and they could be competing for their first Super Bowl

0:34:21.680 --> 0:34:24.239
<v Speaker 6>if Deshaun Watson looks like he does in twenty twenty.

0:34:24.520 --> 0:34:27.360
<v Speaker 1>Well as a Bengals broadcaster, let's hope that he doesn't.

0:34:28.200 --> 0:34:31.399
<v Speaker 1>The Steelers come in at number sixteen. Here's a team

0:34:31.400 --> 0:34:33.520
<v Speaker 1>that won ten games last year. With Kenny Pickett and

0:34:33.560 --> 0:34:37.279
<v Speaker 1>Mason Rudolph playing quarterback, is Pittsburgh a bigger threat to

0:34:37.320 --> 0:34:41.240
<v Speaker 1>contend with Russell Wilson and or Justin Fields back there.

0:34:42.320 --> 0:34:44.040
<v Speaker 6>I think it's gonna be similar. I think they're going

0:34:44.120 --> 0:34:47.160
<v Speaker 6>to hover around the same win total. The defense is

0:34:47.880 --> 0:34:49.680
<v Speaker 6>I think they got a little bit better this year,

0:34:49.800 --> 0:34:52.399
<v Speaker 6>especially with adding Patrick Queens the middle of that linebacking group.

0:34:52.440 --> 0:34:54.719
<v Speaker 6>I think that was a big get for them. Defensive

0:34:54.760 --> 0:34:57.640
<v Speaker 6>line is mostly the same what That's a good thing

0:34:57.760 --> 0:35:00.799
<v Speaker 6>considering how good they were last year. I have some

0:35:01.040 --> 0:35:03.399
<v Speaker 6>questions in the secondary, but in general, I think it's

0:35:03.400 --> 0:35:06.600
<v Speaker 6>pretty solid. I'm expecting a big leap forward from Joey

0:35:06.640 --> 0:35:09.520
<v Speaker 6>Porter Junior this year after I saw some flashes last year.

0:35:09.920 --> 0:35:13.360
<v Speaker 6>He was really good. Their first game against Baltimore offensively

0:35:13.440 --> 0:35:15.720
<v Speaker 6>is kind of where all the question marks coming to play.

0:35:15.800 --> 0:35:18.600
<v Speaker 6>The offensive line is gonna be pretty much half rookies

0:35:18.719 --> 0:35:20.880
<v Speaker 6>coming in, which I love that they did that in

0:35:20.920 --> 0:35:22.920
<v Speaker 6>the draft because offensive line was a huge issue for

0:35:23.000 --> 0:35:25.040
<v Speaker 6>them and they recognize it and so they just hammered

0:35:25.080 --> 0:35:30.000
<v Speaker 6>it pretty much every pick. Imaginable wide receiver is very

0:35:30.040 --> 0:35:33.000
<v Speaker 6>thin right now. After George Pickens, I think we have

0:35:33.400 --> 0:35:35.640
<v Speaker 6>Van Jefferson, who rated is one of the words receivers

0:35:35.719 --> 0:35:38.840
<v Speaker 6>in football according to our grading system last season, and

0:35:38.880 --> 0:35:41.400
<v Speaker 6>then a rookie in Roman Wilson out of Michigan who

0:35:41.440 --> 0:35:43.839
<v Speaker 6>he was productive at Michigan. I don't know if he's

0:35:43.840 --> 0:35:45.920
<v Speaker 6>going to necessarily be a big play guy that's gonna

0:35:45.920 --> 0:35:48.280
<v Speaker 6>scare you, but I think he's gonna be reliable possession receiver.

0:35:49.239 --> 0:35:52.680
<v Speaker 6>And then as far as Pittsburgh's quarterbacks go, I wouldn't

0:35:52.680 --> 0:35:55.239
<v Speaker 6>be too surprised that Justin Fields takes over sooner than later.

0:35:55.320 --> 0:35:58.239
<v Speaker 6>I know a popular pick in the off season was

0:35:58.280 --> 0:36:00.799
<v Speaker 6>for Justin Fields to go to Atlanta because they feel

0:36:00.840 --> 0:36:02.920
<v Speaker 6>like he would fit that kind of offense to a

0:36:03.000 --> 0:36:05.800
<v Speaker 6>t well. Arthur Smith got canned and became the offensive

0:36:05.840 --> 0:36:08.239
<v Speaker 6>coordinator in Pittsburgh, and so now he is going to

0:36:08.280 --> 0:36:09.840
<v Speaker 6>be working with Justin Fields for a little bit, and

0:36:09.880 --> 0:36:12.560
<v Speaker 6>I think this might be the best possible spot firm.

0:36:13.040 --> 0:36:15.319
<v Speaker 6>I do believe that Russell Wilson is going to start

0:36:15.400 --> 0:36:18.120
<v Speaker 6>right out of the gate, but as far as long

0:36:18.200 --> 0:36:21.799
<v Speaker 6>term prospects go, I think Justin Fields is more likely

0:36:21.880 --> 0:36:24.120
<v Speaker 6>to be the guy for them going forward, even if

0:36:24.200 --> 0:36:26.239
<v Speaker 6>Russell Wilson is the starter out of the gate with

0:36:26.400 --> 0:36:30.120
<v Speaker 6>his more experience and more of a past history of success.

0:36:31.320 --> 0:36:35.000
<v Speaker 1>Jim on your list. Here are the bottom eight rosters

0:36:35.160 --> 0:36:40.600
<v Speaker 1>in the NFL, starting from dead last, Denver, the New

0:36:40.680 --> 0:36:46.800
<v Speaker 1>York Giants, Carolina, New England, Arizona, Washington, the LA Charger

0:36:46.800 --> 0:36:49.480
<v Speaker 1>it's a bit of a surprise, and the Tennessee Titans.

0:36:49.920 --> 0:36:53.880
<v Speaker 1>The Bengals play seven of those eight teams. Three is

0:36:53.880 --> 0:36:56.280
<v Speaker 1>the result of finishing in fourth place in the AFC

0:36:56.320 --> 0:37:00.279
<v Speaker 1>North last year. Is beating up on those box them

0:37:00.320 --> 0:37:04.320
<v Speaker 1>of the barrel rosters a big key to Cincinnati's potential

0:37:04.360 --> 0:37:05.200
<v Speaker 1>success this year.

0:37:06.239 --> 0:37:07.960
<v Speaker 6>I think it's truly going to help them cushion their

0:37:08.000 --> 0:37:09.719
<v Speaker 6>win total a little bit. But you play who you play,

0:37:09.800 --> 0:37:12.600
<v Speaker 6>so it's not really a knock against Cincinnati that they're

0:37:12.600 --> 0:37:15.160
<v Speaker 6>going to be playing some lesser level teams. That being said,

0:37:15.200 --> 0:37:18.359
<v Speaker 6>I think Cincinnati is very much in contention to go

0:37:18.440 --> 0:37:20.360
<v Speaker 6>from worse to first this year. I actually wrote an

0:37:20.440 --> 0:37:23.200
<v Speaker 6>article this past few months a couple months ago where

0:37:23.200 --> 0:37:26.000
<v Speaker 6>I ranked every last place team by their chances of

0:37:26.080 --> 0:37:29.120
<v Speaker 6>going from worse to first. Cincinnati came into number one,

0:37:29.160 --> 0:37:31.400
<v Speaker 6>of course, them being the first team in the modern

0:37:31.440 --> 0:37:33.720
<v Speaker 6>era to finish in last place with the winning record.

0:37:34.120 --> 0:37:37.080
<v Speaker 6>So as long as I mean, obviously this is a

0:37:37.080 --> 0:37:39.600
<v Speaker 6>big if with any NFL team, but they stay healthy,

0:37:40.239 --> 0:37:41.960
<v Speaker 6>Joe Burrow is able to be at full health from

0:37:42.040 --> 0:37:46.319
<v Speaker 6>last season, and no major injuries happened or any kind

0:37:46.320 --> 0:37:49.239
<v Speaker 6>of massive inconsistencies that we can't foresee, they should be

0:37:49.360 --> 0:37:51.320
<v Speaker 6>right in the thick of things and even in the

0:37:51.440 --> 0:37:54.560
<v Speaker 6>running for an AFCA championship. So the schedule is certainly

0:37:54.560 --> 0:37:56.200
<v Speaker 6>going to help them a little bit. But this team,

0:37:56.320 --> 0:37:59.400
<v Speaker 6>even if it wasn't kind of a bottom feed or schedule,

0:37:59.719 --> 0:38:01.840
<v Speaker 6>they still have success this season.

0:38:01.880 --> 0:38:05.120
<v Speaker 1>I think, following up on what you just said, your

0:38:05.160 --> 0:38:08.640
<v Speaker 1>conclusion in the article reads as follows. One of the

0:38:08.680 --> 0:38:12.239
<v Speaker 1>favorites to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl, is

0:38:12.280 --> 0:38:15.240
<v Speaker 1>it as simple as a healthy Burrow for the Bengals

0:38:15.239 --> 0:38:15.640
<v Speaker 1>to be in.

0:38:15.600 --> 0:38:19.399
<v Speaker 6>That mix, I really think it is. Jake Browning wasn't

0:38:19.440 --> 0:38:22.719
<v Speaker 6>bad last year as Burrow's replacement. Actually their grades were

0:38:22.760 --> 0:38:25.760
<v Speaker 6>kind of similar. I think Browning came in at sixteenth

0:38:25.840 --> 0:38:29.719
<v Speaker 6>and Burrow at eighteenth in terms of qualifying quarterbacks. Even so,

0:38:30.040 --> 0:38:32.200
<v Speaker 6>Joe Burrow, in my opinion, is the second best quarterback

0:38:32.200 --> 0:38:34.640
<v Speaker 6>in football. I would take him over Josh Allen just

0:38:34.680 --> 0:38:37.279
<v Speaker 6>because every now and then Josh Allen will go into

0:38:37.320 --> 0:38:40.480
<v Speaker 6>hero and lose you a game. What that being said,

0:38:40.560 --> 0:38:43.920
<v Speaker 6>Joe Burrow, I think is much more reliable, and we've

0:38:43.960 --> 0:38:46.440
<v Speaker 6>seen before to his two really healthy seasons. He went

0:38:46.480 --> 0:38:50.480
<v Speaker 6>to an AFC Championship game with mostly a very similar

0:38:50.520 --> 0:38:52.839
<v Speaker 6>roster to what we're seeing right now, and I think

0:38:52.840 --> 0:38:54.799
<v Speaker 6>there's no reason to believe that if he plays the

0:38:54.800 --> 0:38:56.920
<v Speaker 6>whole season, the Bengals won't be one of the favorites

0:38:56.920 --> 0:38:59.160
<v Speaker 6>in the AFC from start to finish this season.

0:39:00.400 --> 0:39:03.120
<v Speaker 1>Jim, we all love lists. The list that you've put

0:39:03.160 --> 0:39:06.080
<v Speaker 1>together with Dalton Wasserman was very entertaining, is great reading,

0:39:06.080 --> 0:39:08.000
<v Speaker 1>and I appreciate you taking the time to discuss it

0:39:08.040 --> 0:39:10.239
<v Speaker 1>with us. Thanks so much, and keep up the good work.

0:39:10.600 --> 0:39:11.319
<v Speaker 6>Thanks for having me.

0:39:12.360 --> 0:39:14.400
<v Speaker 1>If you would like to read the article. Just search

0:39:14.480 --> 0:39:18.959
<v Speaker 1>for PFF Roster rankings and it should pop right up.

0:39:19.400 --> 0:39:22.839
<v Speaker 1>It's worth noting that Jim and Dalton predict whether each

0:39:22.880 --> 0:39:26.600
<v Speaker 1>team will finish over or under its projected win total

0:39:26.680 --> 0:39:30.480
<v Speaker 1>in Vegas, and they have the Bengals going over ten

0:39:30.560 --> 0:39:33.360
<v Speaker 1>and a half wins. That's going to do it for

0:39:33.400 --> 0:39:35.680
<v Speaker 1>this episode of the Bengals Booth Podcast, brought to you

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<v Speaker 1>If you haven't done so already, please subscribe to this

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0:39:58.920 --> 0:40:02.600
<v Speaker 1>rating or share it comment that helps more Bengals fans

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<v Speaker 1>find us. I'm Dan Horde. Thanks for listening to The

0:40:06.800 --> 0:40:08.600
<v Speaker 1>Bengals Booth Podcast