Speaker 1: Hi, get everybody. I'm Dan Board and thanks for downloading
Speaker 1: The Bengals Booth Podcast. The you Know when it's time
Speaker 1: to go. Addition, as we look ahead to Sunday's season
Speaker 1: opener against the New England Patriots, coming up, my one
Speaker 1: on one conversation with T Higgins, who says he's on
Speaker 1: a mission. In twenty twenty four, Dave Lapham joins me
Speaker 1: to discuss Jamar Chase, Joe Burrow and the latest Bengals news.
Speaker 1: And in our Noha Faux segment, ESPN's Mike Reese tells
Speaker 1: us how the Patriots are looking as they begin life
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Speaker 1: the greatest thing since a good sprinkler. For years, I've
Speaker 1: been watering my lawn with a crappy plastic sprinkler. Did
Speaker 1: I mention it was crappy? For example, the little knob
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Speaker 1: a decent sprinkler. If my front yard could speak, it
Speaker 1: would say it's about time. Now let's get to football.
Speaker 1: When the Bengals exercise their franchise tag rights with t
Speaker 1: Higgins in February, giving him a salary of nearly twenty
Speaker 1: two million dollars this year, there was speculation in the
Speaker 1: national media that he might skip training camp. Instead, t
Speaker 1: signed the tag early and reported for duty on day one.
Speaker 1: Since being selected with the first pick in the second round,
Speaker 1: back in twenty twenty, the same year the Bengals drafted
Speaker 1: Joe Burrow. T has been a great Bengal, averaging more
Speaker 1: than nine hundred yards per season and catching a pair
Speaker 1: of touchdown passes in Super Bowl fifty six. We sat
Speaker 1: down this week to discuss the upcoming season. T. I
Speaker 1: asked your wide receivers coach Troy Walters about you recently.
Speaker 1: He said the following. You can tell that T is
Speaker 1: on a mission. Is that true? And if so, what
Speaker 1: is the mission?
Speaker 2: Uh?
Speaker 3: Yeah, for sure, man.
Speaker 2: Mission number one is to you know, help my team
Speaker 2: win games. You know, That's that's obviously mission umber one.
Speaker 2: MISSI number two. You know, for my self, CAAs I
Speaker 2: want to be the best version of myself that I
Speaker 2: have been in the past few years. You know what
Speaker 2: I'm saying. So, uh, that's that's really my main mission. Team.
Speaker 1: Nobody other than the I R S knows what I
Speaker 1: make for a living, and I like it that way.
Speaker 1: In your case, for the last couple of years, somebody's
Speaker 1: probably asked you about your contract every day. If they
Speaker 1: don't ask you about it, you hear other people talking
Speaker 1: about it every day. How difficult is that?
Speaker 4: Is? It?
Speaker 2: Uncomfortable at first, you know, before I signed the tag, Yeah,
Speaker 2: I mean, you know, it was it was I kept
Speaker 2: getting caused, what you're gonna do, what you're gonna do,
Speaker 2: You're gonna do this, You're gonna do that. And then
Speaker 2: when I requested the trade, obviously there's even more calls
Speaker 2: like who you think you're gonna go to? Who you
Speaker 2: think go trade for you? This and that. But you know,
Speaker 2: it was just really just any one or out the
Speaker 2: other most of the time. And then once I signed
Speaker 2: the tag, you know, put me. I know, I looked
Speaker 2: at it as in like puting position to know, be
Speaker 2: successful in life. You know, even if ball stop after
Speaker 2: this year, you know what I'm saying. So that's how
Speaker 2: I looked at it and didn't really think nothing that's
Speaker 2: of it. I'm here for another year, so guarantee you
Speaker 2: another year. So that's just what I'm focused on, is
Speaker 2: just finishing this season out and hopefully, you know, finish
Speaker 2: a strong so well.
Speaker 1: One of the ways that you are going to do
Speaker 1: that is by having a healthy season. And let's talk
Speaker 1: about that, because last year he had to miss five
Speaker 1: games two years, two games with a broken rib, three
Speaker 1: games with a sore ham string. There's not much you
Speaker 1: can do about a rib, but with the hammy. Have
Speaker 1: you done anything in your off season training in hopes
Speaker 1: of avoiding that again?
Speaker 2: Yeah, man, a lot of you know, soft tissue things.
Speaker 2: Just working on my mobility, you know, just just strengthening
Speaker 2: my handstrings the best way I can, just so I
Speaker 2: can avoid those injuries. You know, last year missed what
Speaker 2: you say, five games. That's the most games I ever
Speaker 2: missed ever in my entire life. And I don't look
Speaker 2: I don't look forward to doing that again. I like
Speaker 2: being in the field like my guys, you know, I'
Speaker 2: competing with my gods, having them guys get wins. And man,
Speaker 2: just looking forward to to a healthy season this year
Speaker 2: because I know how big of a season this is
Speaker 2: for me.
Speaker 1: You're hoping your quarterback has a healthy season as well.
Speaker 1: He went through training camp healthy, which is the first
Speaker 1: time since you've been together that he's had a normal
Speaker 1: training camp. Did you see his throws get better and
Speaker 1: better as camp went along, because he said early in
Speaker 1: camp they're going where I want them to, but not
Speaker 1: necessarily spinning the way I would like them to.
Speaker 2: Yeah. I can agree with him on that, you know,
Speaker 2: I've been with him for you know, going on five
Speaker 2: years now, so I know when the ball is spinning
Speaker 2: from him, you know what I'm saying. So uh, definitely
Speaker 2: was getting there where he wanted to go, but it
Speaker 2: just wasn't you know, spinning how you wanted, like he said.
Speaker 2: But now man as as camp is as we've been
Speaker 2: going through camp and it's just you can see it.
Speaker 2: He's getting better and better each and every day. And
Speaker 2: you know, he finished camp out this year, so looking
Speaker 2: forward to what the scenes that brings for him and
Speaker 2: get it going from there.
Speaker 1: Yeah, we're chatting to t Higgins for the past few years.
Speaker 1: Tyler has been the vet in your room now at
Speaker 1: age twenty five, Are you that guy?
Speaker 2: It's crazy. We was just talking about it today, had
Speaker 2: teen pictures and I looked around the room like it's crazy.
Speaker 2: I got me and t t. I has the most
Speaker 2: experience in the room and it you know, it's it's
Speaker 2: wild to even think about it like that, man, because
Speaker 2: for so long I've been you know, it's been TV,
Speaker 2: and so now that I have to step up into
Speaker 2: that vet role, me and Ti and obviously Jamar as well,
Speaker 2: you know, just kind of just you know, coach you
Speaker 2: guys and help them out with things like little things,
Speaker 2: especially the rookies Burn and Cole, you know, just teach
Speaker 2: them the little things with like things that go on
Speaker 2: in the league and things like that. So it's been
Speaker 2: it's been a it's been an interesting thing that came
Speaker 2: about for me, but it's been it's been fun.
Speaker 1: Yeah, for the past few years, we've been blessed to
Speaker 1: watch the Cincinnati three way jamar yourself and Tyler. Now
Speaker 1: that Tyler's gone, it seems like Andre Josi Vosh has
Speaker 1: kind of stepped up, at least to this stage, to
Speaker 1: be the logical quote unquote third receiver. What stood out
Speaker 1: to you about his growth from last year to this year?
Speaker 2: To me, I think it's just he's way more confident,
Speaker 2: you know, with with coming in and out of his routes.
Speaker 2: You know, because Andre has a ton of speed. You know,
Speaker 2: I didn't feel like last year he didn't know how
Speaker 2: to control it. But this year you could tell he's
Speaker 2: he's really controlling that speed. No when to burst, no
Speaker 2: when to you know, go eighty percent in the route,
Speaker 2: no one to go one hundred percent in the route,
Speaker 2: and just him breaking down as tally'sazy like me, you know,
Speaker 2: big guy, breaking down, getting out of routes. His releases
Speaker 2: has been tremendous. It's like skyrocketed up. Like you can
Speaker 2: just tell the difference between last year and this year
Speaker 2: with Andre And you know, I'm looking forward to seeing
Speaker 2: what he do this year. Happy for him because you
Speaker 2: know it's a big role he's stepping into, and you know,
Speaker 2: I'm happy for him to see what he do.
Speaker 1: Man, we got a glimpse of Jermaine Burton's big play
Speaker 1: potential in the preseason. What would your advice to him
Speaker 1: be for his rookie year?
Speaker 2: Head down, lock in and play your game. Don't worry
Speaker 2: about the outside. I know that's what people say. You know,
Speaker 2: you're gonna you're gonna have people criticize you, gonna people
Speaker 2: cheer for you. Man, just even when people to cheer
Speaker 2: for you. But don't don't get your head to high
Speaker 2: with things like that. You know, Just go in and
Speaker 2: and just be who you are at the end of
Speaker 2: the day and lock in and help the team win.
Speaker 1: The first thing you see when you walk into the
Speaker 1: locker room this week is a mannequin with the new
Speaker 1: all orange uniform on it and it's your number on
Speaker 1: that mannequin, Number one. What do you think of the look?
Speaker 1: Number two? Any meaning to you that they chose your
Speaker 1: jersey to be the one that everybody sees when they
Speaker 1: walk in this week?
Speaker 2: Yeah, number one jerseys look good, man. I love orangetan.
Speaker 2: I love the orange and orange. But the whole thing
Speaker 2: behind my jersey's being on there was if you go
Speaker 2: look at the Donnican, it's a black side and a
Speaker 2: white side, So black black cleak's black gloves or white
Speaker 2: cleat's white gloves. You know, we wanted to see through
Speaker 2: the guys in the locker room which side looks better
Speaker 2: with the uniform saying I said black. A lot of
Speaker 2: guys say white. But you'll see me with the black
Speaker 2: accessories on.
Speaker 1: So we're getting a sneak peek by looking at that manneic.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you get to see what side looks better. So
Speaker 2: I want you to go back in there and you
Speaker 2: tell me which side looks better than.
Speaker 1: Let me know, all right, I will give you my
Speaker 1: review momentarily. Final thing. If this is it in Cincinnati,
Speaker 1: and certainly there's a very strong possibility that that could
Speaker 1: be the case, how do you want this season to
Speaker 1: go for you.
Speaker 2: Personally, I just want to go out with a bang man,
Speaker 2: you know, not necessarily. I don't want to disappoint you know,
Speaker 2: obviously the Cimsey fans, because I grew a love for
Speaker 2: these fans here. Man, It's it's like no other man.
Speaker 2: I love it here. But no, just go out with
Speaker 2: a bang man and make these make the city proud,
Speaker 2: you know. That's that's my whole thing. I just want
Speaker 2: to make the city proud, no matter if we win
Speaker 2: or lose, I just want to go out and make
Speaker 2: the city proude. No matter what. I don't want to
Speaker 2: go I want to leave in they want me to leave.
Speaker 2: You know what I'm saying. I want that. That's never
Speaker 2: That's never a good feeling. But yeah, man, at the
Speaker 2: end of the day, I just want to make make
Speaker 2: the city proud, make the organization proud. Yeah, I mean,
Speaker 2: it's it's been a drink on true man, playing for
Speaker 2: my favorite team that I grew up watching for years.
Speaker 2: So I mean this has been a drink on true.
Speaker 1: Sure, we look forward to seeing you go out and
Speaker 1: do your thing this year. Thanks for the time, best
Speaker 1: of Lucky, I appreciate it. Now More on tea with
Speaker 1: my broadcast partner Dave Lappham. All right, lap, I did
Speaker 1: walk back into the locker room after that interview and
Speaker 1: check out the mannican. He chose wisely. I think the
Speaker 1: black accessories with the all orange uniform look better than
Speaker 1: the white.
Speaker 3: I agree.
Speaker 1: So he has contract like contract. All right, let's talk
Speaker 1: about his expectations and hopes for having a big season
Speaker 1: back to back one thousand yards three years ago and
Speaker 1: two years ago, and then last year due to the injuries,
Speaker 1: didn't quite get to seven hundred yards, although he did
Speaker 1: have a career high yards per catch average more than
Speaker 1: fifteen yards per catch. Does he look like a man
Speaker 1: on a mission to you?
Speaker 3: He does? I mean just today talk to him on
Speaker 3: the practice field and I said, man, you had a
Speaker 3: good camp tea? Do you think so? I mean, he's
Speaker 3: so humble, you know, I mean he really is. He's
Speaker 3: he's a great guy man and just an unbelievable teammate.
Speaker 3: And he goes, you know, I feel like I could
Speaker 3: have done some things better and and I'm like, you
Speaker 3: know what, that's what makes uh, you know, the good ones,
Speaker 3: great tea, and you're gonna you're you're a great player,
Speaker 3: because he's never satisfied. That's the thing, you know, It's like, oh,
Speaker 3: I've arrived, I'm satisfied. But I mean I thought he had.
Speaker 3: He had a very solid camp. I mean he high
Speaker 3: pointed everything. With that big body and long arms that
Speaker 3: he has, he can uh, he's I think he's deceptive
Speaker 3: with his with his speed, and like he talked about Yosie,
Speaker 3: he's starting to figure out okay in this phase of
Speaker 3: the route, but roke it down to eighty here and
Speaker 3: then all of a sudden, when you burst to one hundred,
Speaker 3: you know, they're like wow, they can't backpedal and flip
Speaker 3: their hips fast enough. And that change of speed stuff
Speaker 3: is very very important in your route running. And he's
Speaker 3: got all that down. I think he's one hell of
Speaker 3: a player, and the community loves him, and he loves
Speaker 3: the community. I mean, there's a lot of things that
Speaker 3: are pointing in the right direction for t Higgins to
Speaker 3: go out there and light it up, and I think
Speaker 3: he very easily could.
Speaker 1: And then there's Tea's running mate and good friend Jamar Chase.
Speaker 1: Jamar hasn't practiced much during camp as contract negotiations have
Speaker 1: been going on, but he was on the field Wednesday
Speaker 1: and Thursday, which is obviously encouraging with the season opener
Speaker 1: just a few days away. So how did he look?
Speaker 1: Here was Joe Burrow after Wednesday's practice.
Speaker 5: I saw him out there today. You know, he looks fast, strong,
Speaker 5: like he always does. No, I know he's been doing
Speaker 5: what he needs to do to stay ready if he
Speaker 5: needs to be ready. So I'm confident that if he
Speaker 5: does go out there on Sunday, then he'll be the
Speaker 5: jama we all know.
Speaker 1: I think that might be true in limited doses. I
Speaker 1: can't imagine that Jamar Chase would be able to go
Speaker 1: out there and give the Bengals the kind of volume
Speaker 1: in terms of snaps that were accustomed to see.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, he is somebody that runs through contact
Speaker 3: and he is a very strong runner after the reception
Speaker 3: of the football. But let's face it, when you're in
Speaker 3: training camp and you've gone through the grind of practices
Speaker 3: that they had this year at training camp, or you haven't,
Speaker 3: I should say, and you haven't been part of the
Speaker 3: joint practices, and those were pretty intense. We saw how
Speaker 3: physical those were, all those routes that weren't run And
Speaker 3: I'm not saying he wasn't running. He's probably run a
Speaker 3: lot of routes as well, but not an equipment, not
Speaker 3: with defensive backs trying to reroute him and everything that
Speaker 3: goes along with that. So we've always talked about there's
Speaker 3: you know, football conditioning, and it's different. It definitely is.
Speaker 3: And the number of routes that he would have he's
Speaker 3: missed miles of route running, not consecutively, but you add
Speaker 3: up all the routes and the reps that you know
Speaker 3: he would have taken. It's in football conditioning. So you
Speaker 3: have to make sure that you don't overdo it, you know,
Speaker 3: with him in that first game and again, hopefully the
Speaker 3: Bengals have the ball for a ton of plays, Hopefully
Speaker 3: they have twenty twenty five more snaps than the Patriots do,
Speaker 3: and then that would be a good problem to have. Geez,
Speaker 3: how many do we put Jamar out there for? Better
Speaker 3: not be twenty twenty twenty five plays less than the Patriots.
Speaker 3: That would not be a good situation, and Jamar would
Speaker 3: probably be out there for a lot of those because
Speaker 3: the Bengals would be trying to you know, probably win
Speaker 3: a football game at that point. If you're if you're
Speaker 3: in the in the hole by twenty twenty five snaps.
Speaker 3: Usually that's not a good sign. So I think it's
Speaker 3: all played by year, you know. I think see how
Speaker 3: he responds. You know, he's he's going to be in
Speaker 3: practice for the first time today and tomorrow and he'll have,
Speaker 3: you know, a Friday situational practice. He'll have Saturday walkthrough
Speaker 3: and that won't be much. So it will be interesting
Speaker 3: to see, you know, how many snaps Jamar Chase does
Speaker 3: take against the New England Patriots. I want to, you know,
Speaker 3: will he be on a pitch count as such or
Speaker 3: will it be something that will be decided during the
Speaker 3: course of the flow of the game. You know, it's
Speaker 3: just how many how many reps have you taken, how
Speaker 3: much rest have you gotten between drives? All all those
Speaker 3: things I think will play a little bit of a factor.
Speaker 1: Do they need much out of Jamar Chase to beat
Speaker 1: the New England Patriots in Week one?
Speaker 3: I mean, I think he makes things so different, you know, offensively,
Speaker 3: just just the fact that if he's out there just
Speaker 3: being a threat that he is is significant. I think theoretically,
Speaker 3: would they need Jamar Chase to take every offensive snap
Speaker 3: to beat the Patriots. I would hope not. I would
Speaker 3: hope that wouldn't be the case. But I do think
Speaker 3: that I would like to see him take a reasonable
Speaker 3: number of snaps because the next game is the son
Speaker 3: of a gun, there you go. And I mean, you know,
Speaker 3: Kansas City, you need him. And and he's the kind
Speaker 3: of guy. He's different. I mean, he's even more different
Speaker 3: than most football players. He is a genetic marvel, There's
Speaker 3: no doubt. I mean, he's he's definitely, you know, a
Speaker 3: unique human being in terms of his physical makeup. And
Speaker 3: I would think, you know, if he got quite a
Speaker 3: few snaps under his belt against the Patriots, that would
Speaker 3: bode well for him to participate pretty fully, if not
Speaker 3: totally fully against the Kansas City Chiefs. So I think
Speaker 3: the Patriots might be a ramp up game for him,
Speaker 3: but I hope he ramps up quickly, as do we all.
Speaker 1: The Bengals looking to win their season open for the
Speaker 1: first time in three years. They've only done it once
Speaker 1: in Zach Taylor's five year tenure. That was a home
Speaker 1: game against the Vikings in overtime a few years ago.
Speaker 1: The Super Bowl years had turned out, but in fairness
Speaker 1: to Zach, it hasn't all been his fault. Obviously, Joe
Speaker 1: Burrow's status the last couple of years was a major
Speaker 1: reason why the Bengals started slowly. He was a shell
Speaker 1: of himself in Week one each of the last two years,
Speaker 1: first because of the g app and decomy two years
Speaker 1: ago and then because of the calf injury last year.
Speaker 1: So when you've got a quarterback who isn't even close
Speaker 1: to being himself, it's hard to win. Having said all that,
Speaker 1: Zach Taylor has changed things a little bit in training
Speaker 1: camp this year and hopes of getting off to a
Speaker 1: faster start, And he said today he thinks his team
Speaker 1: is good to go for Week one.
Speaker 6: We had a great training camp. This team's ready to go.
Speaker 6: We're ready to play. You know. I'm happy we've got
Speaker 6: these last three days of work to get in there.
Speaker 6: But I think this team's really chomping up a bit
Speaker 6: to go out there and play against a real opponent
Speaker 6: in a real game. We're as prepared as we're going
Speaker 6: to be, and so I'm just excited watching these guys.
Speaker 6: Let it lose your pay.
Speaker 1: Training camp wasn't the Gulag. It wasn't like when you
Speaker 1: played lap with you know, two practices a day in pads,
Speaker 1: full contact, but it was tougher, more challenging. They had
Speaker 1: a pair of dual practices obviously with the Chicago Bears
Speaker 1: in the Indianapolis Colts where it's very physical and long.
Speaker 2: Yep.
Speaker 1: I do think they are more battle tested than they've been.
Speaker 3: And there's no doubt that Joe Borrow got more throws
Speaker 3: in this training camp for the reasons you just talked about.
Speaker 3: Their practices on a daily basis were a lot of
Speaker 3: situational football and you know, two minute drill backed up
Speaker 3: things of that nature. He got a lot of significant
Speaker 3: reps and he was very very accurate with the football.
Speaker 3: I mean a lot of times the ball wasn't in
Speaker 3: the ground very much. And it brought me back to
Speaker 3: you know, early years man Kenny Anderson throwing the football.
Speaker 3: When is this guy gonna have an incompletion? And it's
Speaker 3: just remarkable how how these guys complete passes at such
Speaker 3: a high high percent eighty percent plus during the course
Speaker 3: of training camp, and you know, their action in preseason
Speaker 3: and these joint practices. I thought Joe was very, very good.
Speaker 3: I thought he had an outstanding training camp. I really
Speaker 3: did and I think he's probably feels like he's more
Speaker 3: ready than he's ever been to start an NFL season,
Speaker 3: I think rightfully, so he should feel that way.
Speaker 1: So how is Joe Burrow feeling heading into Sunday season
Speaker 1: opener against the Patriots.
Speaker 5: I feel great. This is the best I felt going
Speaker 5: into week one, you know, since my rookie season. So
Speaker 5: that's exciting for me to be able to get these
Speaker 5: reps in training camp and you know, bank all those
Speaker 5: and continue to get better throughout this time as opposed
Speaker 5: to just trying to get back to baseline.
Speaker 1: I'm remembering last year's opener. What a miserable day that was.
Speaker 1: The weather sucked in Cleveland. Yep, Joe looked terrible. He
Speaker 1: was the statue of liberty back there. It's going to
Speaker 1: be fun to see a much more normal looking Joe
Speaker 1: Burrow in action this week.
Speaker 3: It will and Joe Burrow on the injury report, people
Speaker 3: are going to be like, oh my gosh, it's right
Speaker 3: wrist is on the injury report. Full participation, you know.
Speaker 3: I think, honestly, I'm not sure that Joe Burrow officially
Speaker 3: is out of every phase of rehab. I mean, he's
Speaker 3: still technically a rehab patient as such from from the injury.
Speaker 3: So I think by NFL rule, he has to be
Speaker 3: put on the injury report if he's getting that kind
Speaker 3: of you know, treatment from trainers. So it's it's everybody
Speaker 3: was kind of like, oh my gosh, Joe Burrow, you
Speaker 3: know on the injury report. I mean, it's it's it's
Speaker 3: obviously is it perfect, No, it's not. But is it
Speaker 3: is he fully cleared to play? Hell? Yeah, He's been
Speaker 3: fully cleared to practice forever and he's fully cleared to play.
Speaker 3: And so I would not I would not be wang
Speaker 3: chunged as such about Joe Burrow being on the injury
Speaker 3: report with the right wrist, because his participation is full.
Speaker 1: We've seen him make every type of throw in training camp, deep, intermediate, tight, wind,
Speaker 1: tight windows, any throw he has to make, we saw
Speaker 1: him make at some point during camp.
Speaker 3: Absolutely and and uh and with velocity and pinpoint accuracy.
Speaker 3: I mean he he threw the ball well not again,
Speaker 3: you're in your interview with t in the beginning, you know,
Speaker 3: he wasn't happy with how it was was going, but
Speaker 3: in terms of the spin on the football, but that
Speaker 3: came back quickly, you know, And uh, you have to.
Speaker 3: You have to maybe make a little bit of an
Speaker 3: adjustment in your grip and the way you release it
Speaker 3: and whatever it might be. That's that's what you do
Speaker 3: that when you have injuries, you have to compensate in
Speaker 3: some way, shape or form to be able to still
Speaker 3: perform an extremely high level with with that particular injury,
Speaker 3: whatever it may be. And I mean professional athletes have
Speaker 3: to do it all the time in every sport.
Speaker 1: Well. For the last four years, the Bengals have had
Speaker 1: the best trio of wide receivers in the NFL, Jamar
Speaker 1: Chase T. Higgins and Tyler Boyd, the so called Cincinnati
Speaker 1: three way. Now, Boyd is a member of the Tennessee Titans,
Speaker 1: and the guy in line to take over that spot
Speaker 1: at least to begin the season is the second year
Speaker 1: pro out of Princeton Andre yo Si Vash. Earlier today,
Speaker 1: I asked offensive cordner Dan Pitcher if it is fair
Speaker 1: to call Yo see Vash Tyler Boyd's primary replacement. I
Speaker 1: think that's fair.
Speaker 7: You know, I think that qualifying word is important, and
Speaker 7: you know, primary can mean fifty percent, you know, it
Speaker 7: can mean nine. I don't know where that's going to fall.
Speaker 1: I and maybe.
Speaker 7: Maybe that word is not appropriate two weeks from now.
Speaker 7: I don't know, but I think he's done enough to
Speaker 7: warrant opportunity as as the primary one of our options
Speaker 7: to kind of fill that void left by Tyler. But
Speaker 7: there's other players that have that have definitely shown that
Speaker 7: they deserve opportunity.
Speaker 1: As well, and we intend to use all those guys
Speaker 1: lapping The Bengals drafted Andrea Yosi Vash last year. I
Speaker 1: don't think anybody envisioned him as a slot receiver. Maybe
Speaker 1: if he developed the long term replacement on the outside
Speaker 1: for t Higgins, But here he is is Tyler Boyd's replacement.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and and honestly a tip of the cap to
Speaker 3: Troy Walters. I mean he has everybody learning every position interchangeable.
Speaker 3: And you know you've seen Jamar Chase in the slot
Speaker 3: with tremendous results. Yo, Si, I think is going to
Speaker 3: be a darn good slot receiver. I think he's he's
Speaker 3: a big, strong, fast. I mean he's gotten bigger and stronger.
Speaker 3: It's all been good weight. It hasn't affected his speed.
Speaker 3: I think he might even be a half a step faster.
Speaker 3: I mean he is, he is really done a heck
Speaker 3: of a job. I think he and Joe Burrow on
Speaker 3: the offensive side of the football have done more to
Speaker 3: improve their bodies in the offseason than anybody probably. And
Speaker 3: and I know a lot of the offensive lineman Orlando
Speaker 3: Brown worked hard, He redid his Alex Kappa, you know,
Speaker 3: really really worked hard. I mean noticeable differences in their bodies.
Speaker 3: And I think that's the thing that has encouraged me
Speaker 3: about this football team. It didn't start, you know, in
Speaker 3: training camp and OTAs. It started in the off season
Speaker 3: getting ready for OTAs in training camp. And Yosi is
Speaker 3: one of those guys that put a lot of time
Speaker 3: and effort into improving his physicality. He's always been smart,
Speaker 3: and he's a smart football player, but he's he's advanced.
Speaker 3: I mean, he's he's definitely you know, as sending as
Speaker 3: a football player, there's no question in my mind.
Speaker 1: I'll give you one on defense as well. Zach Carter,
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, Zach Carter is.
Speaker 3: Huge, buff man. He is, He's a big boy.
Speaker 4: He is.
Speaker 3: He's done and quietly, you know, I mean, a lot
Speaker 3: of no big fanfare with any of this. It's just
Speaker 3: guys decided, Okay, Joey Joey. Let's say, obviously, the Bengals
Speaker 3: strength and conditioning coach, here's what I want to do,
Speaker 3: and they put together a program to get it done
Speaker 3: with respected diet and weight training and conditioning and everything
Speaker 3: goes along with it. And I'm telling you this is
Speaker 3: the off season is when you lay the foundation to
Speaker 3: have a great year, and a lot of guys worked
Speaker 3: really hard to lay some good bricks to that foundation.
Speaker 1: Man, I think andre Yosi Vosh is going to have
Speaker 1: a big year as the so called third receiver alongside
Speaker 1: Jamar Chase and t Higgins. Tyler Boyd averaged sixty eight
Speaker 1: catches for seven hundred and seventy five yards over the
Speaker 1: last four years. I would not be the least bit
Speaker 1: surprised if andre puts up similar numbers. The Bengals Booth
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Speaker 1: proof fiber Internet designed to elevate your home, business, and
Speaker 1: community to a new level, and by Kettering Health the
Speaker 1: best care for the best fans. Kettering Health is the
Speaker 1: official healthcare provider of the Bengals. Now tem for this
Speaker 1: week's know the faux segment. ESPN's Mike Reese has been
Speaker 1: covering the Patriots for various news outlets for roughly twenty
Speaker 1: five years, and he joined Lapping Me this week on
Speaker 1: the Bengals Game Plan Show. I started our conversation by
Speaker 1: asking Mike just how different the vibe in New England
Speaker 1: is now that Bill Belichick is gone and thirty eight
Speaker 1: year old Girod Mayo is the head coach.
Speaker 4: Well, Dan and Dave, it's great to be with you,
Speaker 4: looking forward to the trip out, you know, Cincinnati, and
Speaker 4: I would say the difference is extreme. And I mean,
Speaker 4: that's that's probably the short the short answer. I'm gonna
Speaker 4: just try to give you like two examples to just
Speaker 4: you know that reflect it. The first is one of
Speaker 4: their players started a podcast this week and the first
Speaker 4: guest or was Gerrod Mayo.
Speaker 1: Wow, And I.
Speaker 4: Thought, and I thought to myself, would Bill Belichick ever
Speaker 4: be a podcast guest for one of his players? So
Speaker 4: so that you know, but I and the reason I
Speaker 4: mentioned it, guys is I think it's just reflect of
Speaker 4: one of the reasons they made the change, and it's
Speaker 4: just that they felt like they're so appreciative and I'm
Speaker 4: talking about ownership, the Craft family of what Bill Belichick
Speaker 4: did for their franchise, just the feeling of maybe it
Speaker 4: had just run its course, you know, and that the
Speaker 4: systems of the in the league have changed, where the
Speaker 4: players coming in have changed, and they were looking for
Speaker 4: a leader that connected with the players before they really
Speaker 4: demanded from the players. And I think I don't know
Speaker 4: if I made sense with that example, but I think
Speaker 4: it's reflective of the change. And you could go on
Speaker 4: and on, but hopefully that sort of gives a little
Speaker 4: flavor to it.
Speaker 3: Mike, do you sense a youthful energy? I mean, the
Speaker 3: GM's forty two, the head coach is thirty eight years old,
Speaker 3: and any new ideas that you've noticed. Is there a
Speaker 3: collaboration more so than a dictatorship as such? What's it
Speaker 3: like that way?
Speaker 4: So I think that's fair Dave to say, like, definitely
Speaker 4: more like traditional model, like you have the front office
Speaker 4: and you have the coaching staff, and the front office
Speaker 4: provides the players for the coaching staff. Bill Belichick was
Speaker 4: sort of everything right. And that's not to diminish what
Speaker 4: the personnel people like Scott Pioli and Nick Cassio did,
Speaker 4: because they did a lot, but I always felt like
Speaker 4: ultimately the buck stopped with Bill. This is much more
Speaker 4: traditional model, And I think in terms of like, I
Speaker 4: don't say like youthful because honestly, like the offensive coordinator
Speaker 4: Alex van Pelt to me is a great story. I
Speaker 4: know you guys are familiar with him from his time
Speaker 4: with the Bengals. Like he's fifty four and he's getting
Speaker 4: his first shot to on a you know, call the
Speaker 4: plays and run the show. So it's not like youthful
Speaker 4: as much as it is like former players connecting with
Speaker 4: the current players, if that makes sense.
Speaker 3: Yeah, totally.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Ike Grease covers the Patriots for ESPN. Mike, I've been
Speaker 1: reading your stuff leading up to the game. I've been
Speaker 1: reading the Boston Globe as well. It seems like offensive
Speaker 1: line is a major concern for the Patriots going into
Speaker 1: the season. What's the status of that group, both in
Speaker 1: terms of talent and also in terms of health.
Speaker 4: Yeah, major concern. I think anyone that watched that final
Speaker 4: preseason game of the NFL preseason on Sunday Night on
Speaker 4: NBC nationally televised, they got called for four penalties where
Speaker 4: they couldn't align properly. Yeah, you know, and so that
Speaker 4: starts with that, Like fundamentally, you figure they're going to
Speaker 4: get that part cleaned up if they If they don't,
Speaker 4: they're in for a long, long season health wise. They're
Speaker 4: starting left tackle the Darien Lowe, who whether that's even
Speaker 4: good enough before we get to the health is a
Speaker 4: whole other conversation. He's been limited with uh, you know,
Speaker 4: chest oblique type injury. I'm sensing he won't be ready
Speaker 4: to go Sunday, but we'll see. And then they're left
Speaker 4: guard the starter city So a second year player, he
Speaker 4: didn't practice today, he's been out for the last week
Speaker 4: or so. I'd be surprised if he plays. So it's
Speaker 4: the whole left side, you know, of the line that
Speaker 4: they're going down to already opening week, second layer. And
Speaker 4: when I look at the Bengals, to me, one of
Speaker 4: the strength of the defense looks like the ends. So
Speaker 4: I think that that looks to me like a favorable
Speaker 4: matchup for the Bengals.
Speaker 3: I'm in total concert with you, Mike. I mean, I
Speaker 3: think that Hendrickson and Hubbard it's going to be a
Speaker 3: gonna be a tough matchup with the offensive line. We
Speaker 3: talked about alex Van Pelt, you know, coming on board
Speaker 3: first time calling the shots offensive coordinator. He and Jacoby
Speaker 3: Brissett have that common denominator. The twenty two season in
Speaker 3: Cleveland eleven starts together. Was that a big reason. Was
Speaker 3: that a factor in bringing Alex van Pelt, the fact
Speaker 3: that he and Jacoby Brissett had a prior relationship that
Speaker 3: was a good one.
Speaker 4: So it was a huge factor in them signing per
Speaker 4: set when they did, because they had hired Van Pelt
Speaker 4: before that, and I think so they knew they were
Speaker 4: going to run that system, that West Coast system, and
Speaker 4: then they get the free agency gave and they're like,
Speaker 4: let's get the veteran that's run it, that we know
Speaker 4: is going to be a great mentor to whatever quarterback
Speaker 4: we draft, and we'll see where that leads. And I
Speaker 4: think that's worked out exactly the way they thought it would,
Speaker 4: and they want to give May the number three overall
Speaker 4: pick a little more time. And they feel like specifically
Speaker 4: Alex van Pelt and their quarterbacks coach TC McCartney, who
Speaker 4: is with the Browns as well. They love Jacoby Brissett.
Speaker 4: I mean, I think he had six in just six
Speaker 4: interceptions and those eleven starts. You know, coaches love don't
Speaker 4: turn it over, give us a chance, yep. And I
Speaker 4: think that's what they hope he'll do for them, you know,
Speaker 4: until whenever Drake May ultimately takes over.
Speaker 1: How did Drake May look?
Speaker 4: Oh man, this was like the horse race where the
Speaker 4: horse is slow getting out of the gate and you're
Speaker 4: thinking to yourself, where what is this horse gonna contend?
Speaker 4: You know, like, and then all of a sudden they
Speaker 4: come down the home stretch and Jacoby brissets almost that
Speaker 4: I'm gonna say, he's almost at whatever the finish line
Speaker 4: would be in a horse race, and Drake May comes
Speaker 4: charging on the outside and it makes it like closer
Speaker 4: than you would have ever thought it would be, you know,
Speaker 4: by the end of camp. So he sort of turned
Speaker 4: it on. Call it like the last week and a
Speaker 4: half two weeks of preseason training camp, and Gerrod Mayo
Speaker 4: is on record the head coach as saying that change
Speaker 4: happened when he stopped deferring to Jacoby Brissett as the
Speaker 4: veteran and guys, my take on it, just being around
Speaker 4: the team is like, this is a a plus kid,
Speaker 4: an individual. Drake May just turned twenty two, you know,
Speaker 4: within the last week, and I think he was so
Speaker 4: concerned with fitting in and doing the right thing. So
Speaker 4: his heart, his intention is in the right place, but
Speaker 4: he almost took it too far to like acquiesce to Jacoby,
Speaker 4: and I think Girod Mayo was like, let's get this
Speaker 4: guy competing like we want to. We want him to know, like, hey,
Speaker 4: this is out there for you, go get it. And
Speaker 4: I think once he did that, you know, the performance
Speaker 4: took off a little bit.
Speaker 3: Defensively, Mike. I mean, they they're obviously, I mean they've
Speaker 3: been phenomenal for the last five years. They've been a
Speaker 3: top ten defense and all of those years, Girod Mayo
Speaker 3: was a big part of that, and so was the
Speaker 3: newly named defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington. Is it Bentley's show?
Speaker 3: Does he run the show? I mean, it looks like
Speaker 3: they only gave up a little over ninety three yards
Speaker 3: a game rushing last year in three point three a carry,
Speaker 3: which is outstanding. I mean, that's like lowest allowed since
Speaker 3: the merger of nineteen seventy for crying out loud. Is
Speaker 3: Bentley that kind of guy?
Speaker 4: So this is interesting, Dave. So I'm gonna get. I'm
Speaker 4: gonna start on a little bit of why I think
Speaker 4: it might not continue, and then why it might continue.
Speaker 4: So I think, first of all, you don't have Bill
Speaker 4: Belichick anymore. And Belichick didn't coordinate the defense, but I
Speaker 4: always felt like he was the guy that said, this
Speaker 4: is how we need to play to win the game
Speaker 4: this week. And I it's my belief that no one
Speaker 4: was better at him than doing that. Like you'd hear
Speaker 4: people say, he knew us our team almost as much
Speaker 4: as well as we knew ourselves. It's not better, Dave,
Speaker 4: They don't. They don't have it anymore. So start with that.
Speaker 4: They traded Matthew Judan, their best pass rusher, which is
Speaker 4: a whole other story, you know, and that gets into
Speaker 4: where they are right now and building and and and contracts.
Speaker 4: And they lost Christian Barmore, who they felt was going
Speaker 4: to be a budding star at defensive tackle when he
Speaker 4: was diagnosed with blood clots in the preseason. So that's
Speaker 4: to me, that's three hits before you've played your first game.
Speaker 4: That doesn't mean they can't be good again, and I
Speaker 4: think they will be good again, but I just sort
Speaker 4: of want to acknowledge, like those those to me are
Speaker 4: more than just like small dings. Those are big hits
Speaker 4: that they're taking.
Speaker 3: Yep.
Speaker 1: My final question from me. Patriots won four games last year,
Speaker 1: they drafted a quarterback third overall, they're slated to have
Speaker 1: the most cap room of any team in the NFL
Speaker 1: next year, so it kind of feels like a rebuilding year.
Speaker 1: I think that's probably a fair statement. But Lapp grew
Speaker 1: up in New England. I lived there for several years
Speaker 1: when I was doing the Patucket Red Sox games. Boston
Speaker 1: fans are not known for their patients. How are they
Speaker 1: taking the notion of this Patriot team that was the
Speaker 1: team of the decade really facing an uphill climb.
Speaker 4: It's so interesting. I turn on the local sports talk
Speaker 4: radio today, like the biggest drive time show, and the
Speaker 4: host is just killing them like you can't be the
Speaker 4: New England Patriots and say that you're gonna have a
Speaker 4: year that you just aren't competitive. And so that's the
Speaker 4: tenor to give you a feel for like what sports
Speaker 4: radio is like. But my sense, to be honest guys,
Speaker 4: talking to fan season ticket members is there's a little
Speaker 4: bit of an understanding that as appreciative as everyone was
Speaker 4: for what Bill Belichick the Super Bowls that the last
Speaker 4: few years have been tough, you know, the a talent drain,
Speaker 4: you know, decisions on offense that just really didn't work out.
Speaker 4: That that there's almost an acknowledgment like the team that
Speaker 4: this regime is taking over was not stocked like it
Speaker 4: and it's gonna take some time. And I think fans
Speaker 4: that have been around almost have used that first year
Speaker 4: that Bill Parcells came in in ninety three when they
Speaker 4: drafted Drew Bledsoe. You know, they were five and eleven
Speaker 4: that year, but by the end of the year, people
Speaker 4: were pumped, yeah, because they felt like a foundation had
Speaker 4: been created. And I think that's what the longtime fans,
Speaker 4: I believe, sort of have looked at and said that
Speaker 4: would make this a successful year.
Speaker 3: Let me ask you an all important third phase question, Mike,
Speaker 3: and appreciate your time as always, you're so kind carving
Speaker 3: all this time. Special teams Jeremy Springer's group the Patriots
Speaker 3: are to the NFL lead since twenty fourteen with twenty
Speaker 3: two block kicks, ten field goals, blocked, three extra points,
Speaker 3: nine punts. I mean, are they going to be as
Speaker 3: aggressive on special teams as they have been and maybe
Speaker 3: even more so a special special teams in area where
Speaker 3: they say, you know, we got to win this phase.
Speaker 1: So well said.
Speaker 4: And first of all, I could talk to you guys
Speaker 4: all night. You're gonna you're gonna be the one to
Speaker 4: get me up the phone. I love tucking football. Have
Speaker 4: you guys are the bat like? I love the way
Speaker 4: you talk about it. So here's what to know about
Speaker 4: Patriots special teams. First of all, yes to what you said.
Speaker 4: They need bonus points right because they're still putting together
Speaker 4: offensive stuff right. And Marcus Jones was a twenty twenty
Speaker 4: two All Pro as a punt returner, like he was
Speaker 4: the guy THEO. He was a rookie that year. People
Speaker 4: forget about him because he got hurt early last year.
Speaker 4: So he's gonna you're gonna see him Sunday returning punts,
Speaker 4: probably returning kickoffs. So they're they're hoping that they can
Speaker 4: be very explosive in that face of the game. Their
Speaker 4: coordinator is his name is Jeremy Springer. He's a first
Speaker 4: time coordinator, came from the Rams and there. Their assistant
Speaker 4: is Tom Quinn, who's a real veteran special teams coach.
Speaker 4: Really came up through the Giants with Tom Coughlin, spent
Speaker 4: double digit years with the Giants, So sort of a
Speaker 4: combination of like new blood and energy with Jeremy Springer
Speaker 4: and the old sage coach with Tom Quinn. And and
Speaker 4: I'll actually they have a third coach, Kobe Tippett, the
Speaker 4: son of Pro Football Hall of Famer, So three layers
Speaker 4: on the special teams coaching. So honestly, like, I don't
Speaker 4: know how aggressive they'll be, but I just sort of
Speaker 4: try to give you because I think that there's a
Speaker 4: lot of unknown for everyone with special teams this year
Speaker 4: with the new rules. But that's sort of the snapshot
Speaker 4: and I'm like fascinated to see how it unfolds. Starting Sunday,
Speaker 4: out your way thanks.
Speaker 1: To Mike Reeve, one of the best the business. And
Speaker 1: here's a quick reminder to join lapping me for the
Speaker 1: Bengals pep Rally show on Friday from three to six
Speaker 1: on ESPN fifteen thirty And if you're not in the
Speaker 1: Cincinnati area, just search for ESPN fifteen thirty on the
Speaker 1: free iHeartMedia app. That's going to do it. For this
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