Speaker 1: Merry Christmas, everybody. I'm Dan Horde and this is the
Speaker 1: Bengals Booth Podcast, the one Last Time edition, A little
Speaker 1: dose of Hamilton for you there. As we are down
Speaker 1: to the final game of the season, the Bengals will
Speaker 1: take a six and nine record into it after losing
Speaker 1: in Cleveland on Sunday twenty six to eighteen. Coming up,
Speaker 1: you'll hear radio replays, locker room comments from key players,
Speaker 1: and Dave Lapp them will join me for postgame analysis. Plus,
Speaker 1: in this week's fun Facts interview, you'll get to know
Speaker 1: quarterback Jeff Driscold. Among other things, we'll discuss the three
Speaker 1: years he spent living in Japan between the ages of
Speaker 1: eight and ten. All of that is straight ahead, but first,
Speaker 1: here's a quick reminder that you can have the latest
Speaker 1: edition of this podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet,
Speaker 1: or computer by subscribing on iTunes or pod Bean. It's
Speaker 1: the greatest invention since stores that will wrap the gift.
Speaker 1: I do some things well, but rapping presence is not
Speaker 1: on the list. No matter how hard I try, a
Speaker 1: Dan Horde wrapped gift always looks hideous. So thank you
Speaker 1: to the stores that make my presence look nice and neat.
Speaker 1: Now let's get to football. The first time the Bengals
Speaker 1: faced Cleveland four weeks ago, the Browns were unstoppable in
Speaker 1: the first half, scoring on their first four drives to
Speaker 1: take a twenty eight nothing lead. That was not the
Speaker 1: case in the rematch, as the Browns punted on their
Speaker 1: first two possessions and did not score in the first quarter. Unfortunately,
Speaker 1: the Bengals didn't exactly capitalize. Driscoll wants a shotgun, snap,
Speaker 1: stomps the right foot, catches the snap, drops back, that's hit,
Speaker 1: fumbles the football and it's recovered by the Bengals at
Speaker 1: the forty nine yard line. Joe Schobert with a sack
Speaker 1: to dislodge the ball from Driscoll, and Giovanni Bernard fell
Speaker 1: on the bouncing pick. The Bengals finished the first half
Speaker 1: with minus fifteen yards passing. You heard me, minus fifteen,
Speaker 1: and once the Browns started to click offensively, they scored
Speaker 1: on five straight drives. Duke Johnson lining up to the
Speaker 1: right of Baker Mayfield. Here's a law for Najoku. He
Speaker 1: high points the ball and pulls down the touchdown. That
Speaker 1: was the first of three touchdown passes for the first
Speaker 1: pick in this year's draft, Baker Mayfield. Here's Bengals rookie
Speaker 1: Sam Hubbard. You know he talks a lot, but obviously
Speaker 1: he backs it up and the way to get them
Speaker 1: to quiet down and beat him, and that's what we
Speaker 1: gotta do. One of the reasons Mayfield is thriving is
Speaker 1: the creative play calling of new offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens.
Speaker 1: And he dipped into his bag of tricks the next time.
Speaker 1: The Browns had the ball first and ten from the thirty,
Speaker 1: the Browns leading seven nut thing. Here is a double
Speaker 1: reverse and now Landry wants to throw guns it deep
Speaker 1: down field. It is gone man Calloway running inside the
Speaker 1: ten and he will be tackled at the seven yard line.
Speaker 1: Make that Perryman on the catch. A double reverse and
Speaker 1: Jarvis Landry stepped into a deep ball and gunned it
Speaker 1: with a left hand way down field for the completion
Speaker 1: to Preshad Perryman. Jarvis Landry's option pass went for a
Speaker 1: sixty three yard gain. Here's Will Jackson. They did a
Speaker 1: lot of trickery plays which we knew he was gonna get.
Speaker 1: We knew he was gonna get that. It's crazy, but
Speaker 1: it's a great pass and it's set up the brown
Speaker 1: second touchdown. Mayfield fakes a handoff, rolls to the right,
Speaker 1: sprinting toward the sideline, throws and it is caught for
Speaker 1: a touchdown. Fells with a touchdown catch one of the
Speaker 1: three tight ends. Baker. Mayfield sprinting down the field pumping
Speaker 1: his arms, and the Browns have taken a thirteen nothing lead.
Speaker 1: Oh Baker Bayfield bought time, bot Time bought time. Cleveland
Speaker 1: missed the extra point, but kicker Greg Joseph made his
Speaker 1: next attempt, a thirty seven yard field goal with ten
Speaker 1: seconds left in the second quarter that made the halftime
Speaker 1: score sixteen nothing. Here's Marvin Lewis. When you get a position,
Speaker 1: then we're gonna make the play. Because we didn't make
Speaker 1: the plays early in the game. That's what I said
Speaker 1: at halftime. As they've had they made all the plays.
Speaker 1: We're gonna make some place. There was only one scoring
Speaker 1: play in the third quarter, and the Bengals didn't make it.
Speaker 1: Mayfield holds up his left fist before catching the shotgun
Speaker 1: snap his pass caught over the middle. Higgins, racing inside
Speaker 1: the ten the five, extends the ball in his left
Speaker 1: arm toward the pylon and it is a touchdown for
Speaker 1: the Cleveland Browns. The Bengals trailed twenty three nothing going
Speaker 1: to the fourth quarter, and their first objective was to
Speaker 1: avoid being shut out for the first time since the
Speaker 1: two seventeen season opener at home against Baltimore. A fifty
Speaker 1: one yard attempt Harris to snap, Hubert to hold. Here
Speaker 1: comes the kick. It's got the distance and it is
Speaker 1: yes good, So the Bengals avoid the shutout. As Randy
Speaker 1: Bullet connects from fifty one yards away, they are booing
Speaker 1: here in Cleveland because the Bengals have managed to score.
Speaker 1: Cleveland answered with a field goal to make a twenty
Speaker 1: six to three midway through the fourth quarter, and it
Speaker 1: certainly didn't look like the Bengals would have a chance
Speaker 1: to win, but to their credit, they made it interesting.
Speaker 1: Drisco waits for a shotgun snap, Billie Price ready fires
Speaker 1: it back. Drisco back to throw good pocket throws toward
Speaker 1: the end zone. Usama leaps and pulls it in. It's
Speaker 1: a Bengals touchdown with four fifty six to go. Jeff
Speaker 1: Driscle's touchdown pass to Cjuzama made it twenty six to
Speaker 1: ten and one minute later, the Bengals came up with
Speaker 1: a big play on special teams. Here comes the bullets
Speaker 1: blocked by Clayton Fetulum, and the Bengals are going to
Speaker 1: take over for the twenty three yard line of Cleveland.
Speaker 1: As Clayton Vegulum named a first alternate to the Pro Bowl.
Speaker 1: Is a special teams ace blocked the coal quit punt
Speaker 1: and the Bengals take over deep in Brown's territory. Clayton
Speaker 1: Vegelum says Sam Hubbard deserves the credit for the block punt.
Speaker 1: We schemed it up pretty well, and it was really
Speaker 1: it all happened to the Sam. You know, Sam beat
Speaker 1: the snapper across his face and took the PP out
Speaker 1: of it. All I had to do is run forward
Speaker 1: and take the ball off his foot. So it was
Speaker 1: a great plan and then with Sam and then just
Speaker 1: it is a great execute play. The PP, by the way,
Speaker 1: stands for personal protector. And three plays after the block punt,
Speaker 1: the Bengals found the end zone again, two receivers to
Speaker 1: each side of the formation. Second down in goal from
Speaker 1: the Cleveland three yard line, Driscoll catches a high shotgun
Speaker 1: snap in trouble. Scrambling left throws into the end zone
Speaker 1: touchdown Sean Ross running along the back line of the
Speaker 1: end zone, and the Bengals have scored back to back tds. Now,
Speaker 1: if they go for two, they could make it a
Speaker 1: one score game. They could pull within eight if they
Speaker 1: can convert a two point conversion. Paul Is placed at
Speaker 1: the two yard line. Driscal Is under center, takes the snap,
Speaker 1: fakes to mix and looking throws. It is got by
Speaker 1: Cody Core for a two point conversion and the Bengals
Speaker 1: pull within eight with two minutes and fifty six seconds
Speaker 1: to go. Man, where is this been? The Bengals were
Speaker 1: down by eight with two fifty six to go and
Speaker 1: no timeouts remaining. Marvin Lewis elected not to go for
Speaker 1: an onside kick and the Bengals never got the ball back.
Speaker 1: At a short pass by Mayfield to tight end David Najoku,
Speaker 1: Jesse Bates gambled and tried to make a diving interception.
Speaker 1: It didn't work. Najoku turned it into a sixty six
Speaker 1: yard gain down to the Bengals three yard line, and
Speaker 1: the Browns elected to run out o clock for an
Speaker 1: eight point win. After going one and thirty one over
Speaker 1: the last two years, the Browns improved to seven seven
Speaker 1: and one. They also swept the Bengals for the first
Speaker 1: time since two thousand and two, the year before Marvin
Speaker 1: Lewis became head coach. The Bengals are assured of finishing
Speaker 1: with a losing record and in last place in the
Speaker 1: AFC North. Here's Joe Mixon. It was very frustrating. Man.
Speaker 1: I've never been a part of a losing program, and
Speaker 1: you know, I'm never gonna get comfortable with being a
Speaker 1: part of it. At the end of the day, man,
Speaker 1: you only take it for what it is. This year building,
Speaker 1: you know, try to get better, get ready for next year.
Speaker 1: But I mean, we still got another week coming up.
Speaker 1: Like I said, it's a big one, man, But I
Speaker 1: promise you we ain't gonna be in this for long.
Speaker 1: And that's mixing. By the way, finished with sixty eight
Speaker 1: yards on seventeen carries to go over one thousand yards
Speaker 1: for this season, despite facing a Browns defense geared towards
Speaker 1: stopping him. You seen how it was. I mean it's
Speaker 1: nine ten man, bucks. I mean, I'll still was busting
Speaker 1: out there. So I mean it's it's hard, you know,
Speaker 1: to get through that, but you know, you can only
Speaker 1: hope to contain me. You're not gonna stop me, j
Speaker 1: which is a diminish the accomplishment of having a thousand
Speaker 1: yards that it came in the game in a loss.
Speaker 1: I mean, I told you I don't care about the
Speaker 1: individual stats, so we can't get to win. I I mean,
Speaker 1: I don't give it down with some players, I wouldn't
Speaker 1: buy that. With Mixon, I absolutely do. For the second
Speaker 1: straight year, the Bengals will go into the final game
Speaker 1: of the season facing questions about the future of Marvin Lewis.
Speaker 1: ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on Sunday that if the Denver
Speaker 1: Broncos fire head coach vans Joseph, he is expected to
Speaker 1: emerge as a candidate for the Bengals defensive coordinator job
Speaker 1: and potentially eventually the head coaching job when Marvin decides
Speaker 1: he has had enough of coaching again. All of that
Speaker 1: was according to Adam Scheff. The Bengals have not said
Speaker 1: anything about Marvin's status Following the game. Carlos Dunlap was
Speaker 1: asked about the only head coach he's had in nine
Speaker 1: NFL seasons. When you have three straight losing seasons, obviously
Speaker 1: it's very frustrating. You get the questions about Marvin Lewis,
Speaker 1: what is your confidence in him returning next season? I
Speaker 1: don't know. I mean, this is the professional football league.
Speaker 1: A lot of things happen. You know, everybody's making business decisions.
Speaker 1: I have confidence in the football team and the players
Speaker 1: that we have here that we can do what we
Speaker 1: need to do. We've been there before, so you know,
Speaker 1: you can make arguments anyway, but you know, I just
Speaker 1: want to get back to it, whatever it takes to
Speaker 1: get back to where we started off here, the habits
Speaker 1: that we created. I want that feeling back, and today
Speaker 1: is not the feelings. Regardless of the head coach. Next year,
Speaker 1: you feel like this team is built to win again.
Speaker 1: Say what, regardless of the head coach, you feel like
Speaker 1: the team is built to win again if we have
Speaker 1: the players on this team to do whatever we need
Speaker 1: to do. I'm not in charge of deciding who it is.
Speaker 1: We've done it with the coast that we have and
Speaker 1: we played hard today, So you can look at it
Speaker 1: and spending all kinds of different ways as you want to.
Speaker 1: I just know that we have the talent in this
Speaker 1: locker room to do it, and we've done it with
Speaker 1: the coaches that we have here as well, So it's
Speaker 1: not my decision to make. I just want to get
Speaker 1: back to it. However, we need to get back to
Speaker 1: it now. Time to bringing my broadcast partner Dave Lapham
Speaker 1: for postgame analysis and we start with a depleted Bengals offense,
Speaker 1: managing just two hundred and nine total yards multiple times
Speaker 1: mentioned during the course of the game. I mean, it
Speaker 1: was like the Bengals weren't a sword fight with a
Speaker 1: pocket knife, you know, in terms of weapons the Browns
Speaker 1: had available to them and as opposed to weapons the
Speaker 1: Bengals had available to them. And uh, it took it
Speaker 1: took a little too long for the Bengals to open
Speaker 1: it up a little bit and get some things going.
Speaker 1: I gotta give credit though, to CJ. Zama and other
Speaker 1: guys for you know, fighting to the finish and showing
Speaker 1: h you know, showing that they're they're not going to
Speaker 1: quit no matter what. CJ. Zama playing with a badge shoulder.
Speaker 1: As we said, Dan for quite a while. It was
Speaker 1: good to see him get rewarded with some players because
Speaker 1: you know, it was tough for him out there physically,
Speaker 1: I'm sure unlike the first meeting, between these two teams.
Speaker 1: The Bengals defense stopped the Browns early in the game,
Speaker 1: but once the Browns got rolling, much like that first game,
Speaker 1: they had a stretch where they marched right up and
Speaker 1: down the field. Yeah, I mean the second quarter belonged
Speaker 1: to the to the Cleveland Browns. You know, they've outscored
Speaker 1: the Bengals sixteen nothing. I think it was in that
Speaker 1: second quarter, maybe sixteen three in the Bengals put Browns
Speaker 1: put up sixteen points to second quarter. Bengals put put
Speaker 1: up eighteen points in the fourth quarter of the football
Speaker 1: game or something like that. But at any rate, the
Speaker 1: Bengals second quarter has been their achilles heel. They've allowed
Speaker 1: two hundred points in the second quarter. Now with this
Speaker 1: adding today's total to it, and I mean they've scored
Speaker 1: one hundred and fifteen. That's pretty good. They've been outscored
Speaker 1: by eighty five points, allowing two hundred points in one quarter.
Speaker 1: Fifteen games, fifteen quarters, they've allowed two hundred points. It's
Speaker 1: almost incomprehensible. It's really mind boggling. And that's what's put
Speaker 1: them in the eight ball. You know, many times down
Speaker 1: the stretch here after that four and one start, the
Speaker 1: Bengals had minus fifteen yards passing in the first half.
Speaker 1: What did they do in the second half to at
Speaker 1: least get something going? Yeah, I think I think part
Speaker 1: of it was, you know what Greg Williams decided to do.
Speaker 1: I mean, when when he was going eight and nine
Speaker 1: guys in the box with one safety deep, you know,
Speaker 1: he had ten guys, you know, within five yards of
Speaker 1: line screamings because a lot of times with one receiver's
Speaker 1: playing press coverage, everybody's up there tight, so it's like
Speaker 1: they were operating in a box in a closet, And
Speaker 1: that's how the Bengals were kind of playing. And then
Speaker 1: he started, you know, with a comfortable lead, he changed
Speaker 1: his mindset a little bit and uh, loosening things up
Speaker 1: in the Bengals by formation, loosen some things up, and
Speaker 1: they took advantage of some opportunities that were presented. I
Speaker 1: will have to say, though, honestly, in eight quarters of play,
Speaker 1: Baker Mayfield's maybe the most accurate quarterback I've seen this year.
Speaker 1: I mean, some some players were there wide open, but
Speaker 1: other plays he made unbelievable throws and his receivers rewarded
Speaker 1: him with great catches, and you know, I asked Marvin
Speaker 1: about all the all the Gadget plays, uh, you know
Speaker 1: the coach Kitchens had and he said, you know, we
Speaker 1: worked against all of them. You know, they they'd seen
Speaker 1: them all on tape. It was nothing that was a
Speaker 1: big surprise. They just got out executed. And when you
Speaker 1: think about it, they were in position to make plays
Speaker 1: on a lot of them. But you know, Landry made
Speaker 1: as good to throw as any quarterback can make. He
Speaker 1: threw the ball on the money. They threw it as
Speaker 1: far as he could and it was a strike. It
Speaker 1: was it was dropped into perfect spot. So got to
Speaker 1: give the Browns credit. You know, they made plays and
Speaker 1: the Bengals didn't, and they won the football game. Beast
Speaker 1: wide receiver arms since Bahabbit sent out Yeah, I'm telling
Speaker 1: you he just he did. He can he can chuck
Speaker 1: it in the lefty too. I mean he's like a
Speaker 1: snake stabler of of of wide receivers. It was in
Speaker 1: Michael Vick, you know, throwing the ball. It was it
Speaker 1: was impressive to watch that play. But they you know,
Speaker 1: Cleveland's a good football team. And eight quarters they didn't
Speaker 1: allow a quarterback sack. They didn't turn the football over
Speaker 1: I'm gonna win you a lot of football games. They'll
Speaker 1: go hand in hand. When you're not getting consistent pressure
Speaker 1: from the quarterback, He's not gonna put the ball in jeopardy.
Speaker 1: In Baker Mayfield didn't. He had time envisioned to top rate,
Speaker 1: and when you give him that, he's deadly. He puts
Speaker 1: the ball in tight spots. Next week, season finale in
Speaker 1: Pittsburgh has been flexed from one in the afternoon to
Speaker 1: four twenty five, and it's become a must win game
Speaker 1: for the Steelers just to make the playoffs. After losing
Speaker 1: to the Saints on Sunday, Pittsburgh is a half game
Speaker 1: behind Baltimore in the AFC North and a half game
Speaker 1: behind both Tennessee and Indianapolis in the battle for the
Speaker 1: last wild card spot. Those two teams face each other
Speaker 1: next week, so unless they tie, the winner is guaranteed
Speaker 1: to finish ahead of the Steelers. Therefore, for the Steelers
Speaker 1: to make the playoffs, they have to beat the Bengals
Speaker 1: and hope that the Cleveland Browns can upset the Ravens
Speaker 1: in Baltimore. It's hard to believe, but the Steelers could
Speaker 1: miss the playoffs. They were six two and one before
Speaker 1: dropping or out of their last five games. Now time
Speaker 1: for this week's fun facts segment, where you get to
Speaker 1: know the person under the pads. In this case, it's
Speaker 1: the twenty five year old that took over at quarterback
Speaker 1: when Andy Dalton broke his thumb. Time for some fun
Speaker 1: facts with Bengals quarterback Jeff Driscoll. Your hometown has listed
Speaker 1: as oviatoh, Florida, near Orlando, but you moved around a
Speaker 1: lot as a kid, right, Yeah, So my dad was
Speaker 1: in the Navy, long military background, both grandparents in the Navy.
Speaker 1: Dad in the Navy, and so he was stationed in
Speaker 1: Jacksonville I was born, and then his final tour was
Speaker 1: in Japan. So I lived there when I was eight, nine, ten,
Speaker 1: and then he retired in Ovido, which is right outside Orlando.
Speaker 1: Tell me a little bit about that experience in Japan.
Speaker 1: Did you live on a naval base where you know,
Speaker 1: apartment with a family. How did that work out? The
Speaker 1: waiting list to live on There was two navy bases
Speaker 1: in the town. We were in Sassebo, and so we
Speaker 1: had to live off the base for about a year
Speaker 1: and a half and they called him chose each and
Speaker 1: had their own neighborhood and it was called a chow
Speaker 1: and and we lived in a house for you know,
Speaker 1: about a year and a half, and there was a
Speaker 1: high school bus stop right outside our house, so we
Speaker 1: would always see the Japanese kids when they were getting
Speaker 1: out of school and stuff in their uniform. So it
Speaker 1: was different. But you know, I enjoyed it, but definitely
Speaker 1: happy to move back to the back to the States,
Speaker 1: for sure. We're doing fun facts with Jeff driscoll. Your
Speaker 1: dad signed you up for a little league, which is
Speaker 1: like a full time job in Japan, and he says
Speaker 1: you towered over the Japanese kids so much that they
Speaker 1: called you Godzilla. Was that the case? Yeah, I was
Speaker 1: a little bit bigger than the other kids my age there.
Speaker 1: And like you said, full time job, we practiced. I mean,
Speaker 1: like I said, eight nine and ten years old, we
Speaker 1: practiced from nine to five on Saturday and Sundays with
Speaker 1: an hour lunch break. So it was a wild different
Speaker 1: animal over there. No wonder the Red Sox drafted you
Speaker 1: with that kind of work ethic, Yeah, no doubt, no doubt.
Speaker 1: So I got burnt out a little bit there, all right,
Speaker 1: I know you're not going to do it for me here.
Speaker 1: But can you still sing Silent Night in Japanese? I
Speaker 1: can say it, but like you said, I'm not gonna
Speaker 1: do it. I can. I don't know if it's right,
Speaker 1: but from what I remember that those are the words.
Speaker 1: But like you said, no chance I'm singing it. With
Speaker 1: your dad's naval background, safe to assume that discipline was
Speaker 1: pretty strict in the Driscoll household. Yeah, I mean no,
Speaker 1: I'd no more, no less than you know, most other
Speaker 1: kids my age. And you know, I think my dad
Speaker 1: did or my parents did a did a really good
Speaker 1: job of instilling disciplined and values like that when me
Speaker 1: and my brother were young. So I'm sure that had
Speaker 1: to do a little bit with the navy and how
Speaker 1: he was brought up as well. Your brother, Jason was
Speaker 1: a college quarterback, had a great run at Florida Atlantic
Speaker 1: a couple of years ago. They won eleven games, they
Speaker 1: won a bowl game. How competitive were you two guys
Speaker 1: as kids? Yeah? Very competitive. You know, like any other
Speaker 1: older brother younger brother combination. You're always gonna compete in everything.
Speaker 1: And the big brother is gonna beat up on a
Speaker 1: little brother a little bit, but it's only going to
Speaker 1: help him out in the long run. And yeah, Jason
Speaker 1: had had a real nice career at FAU and you
Speaker 1: enjoyed his time there or visiting with Jeff Driscoll. You
Speaker 1: became the starting quarterback at your high school as a
Speaker 1: ninth grader, had a great high school career, National Player
Speaker 1: of the Year your senior year. I'm trying to picture
Speaker 1: what recruiting must have been like when you are one
Speaker 1: of the top high school quarterbacks in the country. It
Speaker 1: was crazy, you know, you see all this stuff on
Speaker 1: Instagram and social media now with all these kids who
Speaker 1: have boxes and boxes and boxes a mail and offers
Speaker 1: from people that they never talked to. And you know,
Speaker 1: I kind of had that same recruiting story, and you know,
Speaker 1: you don't really know when you're that age, you don't
Speaker 1: really understand it, and you think it's really cool, but
Speaker 1: at the end of the day, you know you want
Speaker 1: to go to somewhere that fits and you can. You
Speaker 1: can only play for one team, so it doesn't matter
Speaker 1: how many you get, and you just got to make
Speaker 1: the most out of your opportunities. But yeah, the recruiting
Speaker 1: process was nuts. I picture the first few letters being awesome,
Speaker 1: and then just the whole thing becoming overwhelming. Yeah, I
Speaker 1: mean you definitely hit it on the head. You know,
Speaker 1: the first letter you get, you think you're going there,
Speaker 1: and that's not how it played out. But it definitely
Speaker 1: got to be a lot, and I was ready for
Speaker 1: it to be over, to be honest with you. You
Speaker 1: committed to Florida to play for Urban Meyer and then
Speaker 1: he left. He resigned cited health problems. Eventually year later
Speaker 1: wound up coaching at Ohio State. But I mean one
Speaker 1: of the reasons why you choose the school, I assume
Speaker 1: has a lot to do with the coach. When that happens,
Speaker 1: how tough is it? Yeah, I mean it's tough. You know,
Speaker 1: they they spend a lot of time with you and
Speaker 1: your family, and you know, you kind of get to
Speaker 1: know him as people, and then you play for somebody else.
Speaker 1: It's tough, but that's I mean, that's the business of it.
Speaker 1: And you know, maybe as a seventeen year old kid,
Speaker 1: you don't understand that, but when you look back on it,
Speaker 1: you know, you totally understand that that things happen and
Speaker 1: you move forward and you know it worked out just
Speaker 1: how it was supposed to. So your sophomore year, you
Speaker 1: lead Florida to eleven wins and a trip to the
Speaker 1: Sugar Bowl. The team was ranked number two in the
Speaker 1: country at one point that season. The following year, emergency
Speaker 1: appendeck to me prior to the season broken leg in
Speaker 1: Week three. How did those setbacks impact you? The appendicitis
Speaker 1: that wasn't a big deal. That was surprisingly only a
Speaker 1: couple of days in training camp, So it was an
Speaker 1: awesome job of the doctors diagnosing that getting a fix
Speaker 1: as soon as possible. And then the broken leg was
Speaker 1: was tough. You know. I was, you know, coming off
Speaker 1: a decent year and feeling comfortable going into my junior season,
Speaker 1: and yeah, I ended up breaking my leg and getting
Speaker 1: a red shirt year for that year. But it was tough.
Speaker 1: But that happens in football, you know, every year somebody
Speaker 1: that happens to, you know, a bunch of people. So
Speaker 1: you just have to be able to, you know, not
Speaker 1: let it get you down and be able to come
Speaker 1: back and respond. You walked off the field with a
Speaker 1: broken leg, I did. I did. I don't know how
Speaker 1: smart that was? Not very I thought I'd be a
Speaker 1: tough guy at the moment, but I don't know how
Speaker 1: smart that was. You finished your college career at Louisiana
Speaker 1: Tech Rust in Louisiana through for more than four thousand
Speaker 1: yards your senior year year. What was that season like
Speaker 1: getting that opportunity and taking advantage of it. Yeah, it
Speaker 1: was awesome. I got there and they're on the quarter
Speaker 1: system there, so I think it was February, which was
Speaker 1: February March. It was the first day of spring spring practice,
Speaker 1: so you know, have to having to learn everything all
Speaker 1: at once, and it was it was awesome. The people
Speaker 1: there made it really fun. The coaching staff, the players,
Speaker 1: and the people in the town made it awesome. And
Speaker 1: then you know, us playing pretty well made it fun too.
Speaker 1: We had some really talented players, guys that play against
Speaker 1: in the league, so that that was really really special season,
Speaker 1: and you know, I'm happy that it worked out like
Speaker 1: it did. Jeff, for those who don't know, you are
Speaker 1: under contract to two professional sports teams, the Bengals and
Speaker 1: the Boston Red Sox. Explain how it happened. You've told
Speaker 1: us on radio shows before, but people might be listening
Speaker 1: now that haven't heard that explanation previously. Definitely got a
Speaker 1: little bit overwhelmed, not overwhelmed, but a shock in my
Speaker 1: junior junior year in college. You know, I was watching
Speaker 1: the draft of my phone because I had a bunch
Speaker 1: of buddies that we're going to get drafted. And you know,
Speaker 1: when you're in the twenty whatever round in the MLB draft,
Speaker 1: picks are flying off the board left and right. So
Speaker 1: you know, I see you, buddy get drafted. You know,
Speaker 1: text them whatever, go back in, look at the look
Speaker 1: at the tracker, and I see my name, and I
Speaker 1: was like, what in the world is going on And
Speaker 1: didn't know if it was real or I didn't know
Speaker 1: what was going on. And a couple days later, I
Speaker 1: got a call from them say, hey, you know, we
Speaker 1: drafted you. You know, and I thought to myself, why
Speaker 1: would you draft me? I'm a football player, and that's
Speaker 1: what I told them, and they said, um, hey, just
Speaker 1: in case you ever want to play football, we wanted
Speaker 1: to be for the Red Sox, so I said, yeah,
Speaker 1: I'll sign, so, you know, not not looking to play baseball,
Speaker 1: but if I do, it has to be for the
Speaker 1: Red Sox. Kind of a cool trivia nugget. Yeah, no doubt.
Speaker 1: All right. Last thing for Jeff driscoll, you and your
Speaker 1: wife tarn became parents this year your daughter was born
Speaker 1: earlier this season, how his fatherhood impacted you. Oh man, it's,
Speaker 1: you know, one of the greatest things that could ever
Speaker 1: happen to me, you know, aside from from getting married.
Speaker 1: That's the best day of my life. Um, and it's
Speaker 1: it's been awesome. You get to go home every day,
Speaker 1: good day, bad day, okay day, it doesn't matter. Um,
Speaker 1: you know, your family is happy to see you. And uh,
Speaker 1: you know, it just really puts everything else in perspective
Speaker 1: that the most important thing isn't in this building and us.
Speaker 1: It just helps you keep it, keep it in perspective
Speaker 1: and m it really gives you a reason to go
Speaker 1: out and do what you do and h and provide
Speaker 1: for them. Well, put you're off the hot seat. Happy holidays,
Speaker 1: appreciate the time. Thanks Dan, And that's going to do
Speaker 1: it for this episode of the podcast. If you haven't
Speaker 1: done so already, don't forget to subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher,
Speaker 1: or pod being and give it a rating or leave
Speaker 1: a comment. Your feedback is always appreciated, and five star
Speaker 1: ratings help more Bengals fans find this podcast. I'm Dan Horde,
Speaker 1: wishing you a merry Christmas and thanks for listening to
Speaker 1: the Those Booth podcast m