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Speaker 1: Hi, get everybody on Dan Horde and thanks for downloading

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Speaker 1: the Bengals Booth podcast. The I'm on the Bridge addition,

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Speaker 1: as I discussed Joe Burrow in the Bengals outlook in

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Speaker 1: twenty twenty three and beyond with a Hall of Famer

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Speaker 1: quarterback Kurt Warner. Long snapper cal Adamitas earned a contract

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Speaker 1: extension this week and joins me to discuss being thrown

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Speaker 1: into the fire as a rookie. And with the NFL

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Speaker 1: Combine coming up next week, we'll hear from NFL Network

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Speaker 1: draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah about a position group that Cincinnati

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Speaker 1: is likely targeting. The Bengals Booth podcast is brought to

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Speaker 1: you by Bengals Picks and Ultimate Bengals The free to

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Speaker 1: play with tickets and signed merchandise up for grabs. Find

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Speaker 1: both inside the Bengals app. Now here's a quick reminder

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Speaker 1: that you can have the latest edition of this podcast

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Speaker 1: delivered right to your phone, tablet, or computer by some

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Speaker 1: scribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's the greatest thing

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Speaker 1: since Tim McCarver, the Hall of Fame baseball broadcaster, passed

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Speaker 1: away last week at the age of eighty one. I

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Speaker 1: was a Mets fan as a kid, and we got

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Speaker 1: the games on wo RTV, so I listened to the

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Speaker 1: trio of Lindsey Nelson, Bob Murphy and Ralph Kiner almost

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Speaker 1: every night. They were great to learn from because each

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Speaker 1: was so distinctive. Their personalities could not have been more different.

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Speaker 1: Then Tim McCarver became a Mets broadcaster in nineteen eighty three,

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Speaker 1: and he made a big impact on me because he

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Speaker 1: was so curious about everything. He constantly challenged traditional baseball wisdom,

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Speaker 1: and I had never really heard a broadcaster do that before.

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Speaker 1: In fact, he was a lot like Dave Lapham in

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Speaker 1: the sense that he had an endless desire to learn

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Speaker 1: about the game and could describe a complex sport in

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Speaker 1: an entertaining and easy to understand way. So here's to

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Speaker 1: Tim McCarver, who accomplished the goal of every sports broadcaster.

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Speaker 1: He enhanced my enjoyment of the game. Now let's get

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Speaker 1: to this week's guests. Up first, Hall of Fame quarterback

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Speaker 1: Kurt Warner, a two time MVP, a Super Bowl champion,

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Speaker 1: and a man who met Joe Burrow when the Bengals

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Speaker 1: quarterback was only a few months old. Kurt for those

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Speaker 1: who don't know. You and Jimmy Burrow, Joe's dad, have

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Speaker 1: been friends for more than twenty five years, going back

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Speaker 1: to when he was the assistant head coach for the

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Speaker 1: Arena League's Iowa Barnstormers and you were the starting quarterback.

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Speaker 1: You were together there for three years. Describe your relationship

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Speaker 1: with Jimmy and the Borough family. Well, I mean, you know,

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Speaker 1: one of those things player coach, you know for a

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Speaker 1: period of time, but Arena League was always a little

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Speaker 1: bit different, you know, just the structure of it. I think,

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Speaker 1: you know, as players, we got a chance to really

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Speaker 1: connect with our coaches be a little bit differently than

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Speaker 1: when you look at the structure of the NFL. UM.

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Speaker 1: You know, so obviously you're you know, player coach, but

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Speaker 1: you also become friends, get to know families, um, as

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Speaker 1: we did there, and it's just been something over the

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Speaker 1: years where, um, you know, we've stayed in touch at

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Speaker 1: different times. Um, you know, his Nebraska connection. My son

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Speaker 1: walked on at the University of Nebraska, and so there

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Speaker 1: were always kind of ties that kept us connected over

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Speaker 1: the years. And then it's been obviously a joy to

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Speaker 1: watch as you get to know people as coaches or

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Speaker 1: as friends and get to watch their family, get to

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Speaker 1: watch Joe, um, you know, do what he's done and

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Speaker 1: kind of follow it from afar and then we've been

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Speaker 1: able to kind of reconnect as our you know, circles

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Speaker 1: have uh you know, have crossed once again in the

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Speaker 1: NFL and at different events that that we've done. So

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Speaker 1: it's been fun. But you're always just cheering for for

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Speaker 1: good people and good families and people that helped you

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Speaker 1: to be able to accomplish the things that you you know,

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Speaker 1: you accomplish in your career and was one of those guys.

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Speaker 1: So Joe was born before your third and final year

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Speaker 1: with the Barnstormers. Is it crazy to you that this

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Speaker 1: little toddler that you probably met when he was about

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Speaker 1: four months old is now one of the best quarterbacks

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Speaker 1: in the NFL. I mean, I think it's always crazy

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Speaker 1: because you never, you know, you never think about things

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Speaker 1: like that. But obviously knowing the pedigree of the family

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Speaker 1: and the football background, UM, I'm never surprised when you

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Speaker 1: understand that part of it, and when you know football

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Speaker 1: is kind of, um, you know, a natural fabric for

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Speaker 1: a family. U that you know, the son of a coach,

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Speaker 1: the son of a good football player becomes a good

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Speaker 1: football player, and so um, yeah, it's you know, it's

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Speaker 1: always weird thinking, oh man, he was his dad was

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Speaker 1: coaching me. Um, you know, and remember when he was born.

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Speaker 1: And then all of a sudden, it's like boom, here

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Speaker 1: he is, uh, you know, top pick, Heisman Trophy winner

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Speaker 1: and everything that he's accomplished. It's it's fun, but the

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Speaker 1: biggest thing is that it's good people. And you know,

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Speaker 1: got a chance to meet Joe, you know, just a

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Speaker 1: few years back before he get drafted into the NFL

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Speaker 1: and kind of build a connection there. And what you

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Speaker 1: realize is that what I knew about his dad and

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Speaker 1: the kind of person that he was, that's exactly who

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Speaker 1: Joe is as well. And so it's an easy family

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Speaker 1: to cheer four. He's an easy individual to cheer four.

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Speaker 1: And it's been fun to watch him as send at

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Speaker 1: this level. We are visiting with Hall of Famer Kurt

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Speaker 1: Warner of the great young quarterbacks in the NFL right now?

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Speaker 1: Is he the one that reminds you the most of

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Speaker 1: yourself without a doubt, without a doubt, the way he

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Speaker 1: plays the game, the mental aspect that he brings his

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Speaker 1: ability to anticipate. You know, a lot of people probably

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Speaker 1: would have said about me in my career, you know,

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Speaker 1: wasn't the most physically talented, it didn't have the biggest arm.

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Speaker 1: I've never put much weight in that stuff, because if

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Speaker 1: you know how to play, none of that stuff matters.

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Speaker 1: You can make the game easier for guys around you

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Speaker 1: by not throwing the all hard and not having to

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Speaker 1: throw it sixty yards down the field. But he's got

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Speaker 1: such a great feel for the game and his timing

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Speaker 1: and anticipation, which were things that I felt really separated

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Speaker 1: me my ability to process information, all of those things.

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Speaker 1: You know, when I watch film, I watch film on

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Speaker 1: all these guys, But when I watch film, I get

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Speaker 1: joy out of watching guys that do what I did

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Speaker 1: because I understand it. I see it very similarly. And

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Speaker 1: Joe is one of those guys that I love to

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Speaker 1: pop on the tape every week because I know, you know,

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Speaker 1: what I'm going to be thinking when I watch play

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Speaker 1: play out is the same thing that he's thinking. And

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Speaker 1: you know, oftentimes you know it goes hand in hand

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Speaker 1: that he's doing exactly what I would have done on

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Speaker 1: that play with the same timing, the sense of accuracy

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Speaker 1: that he has, all those different things remind me a

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Speaker 1: lot of myself. This is the first offseason where the

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Speaker 1: Bengals are allowed to try to extend his contract, and

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Speaker 1: obviously that is something they are hoping to do. He

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Speaker 1: was asked late in the course of the season about

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Speaker 1: the notion of a quarterbacks window, the ideal situation for

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Speaker 1: an NFL team being to have an elite quarterback in

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Speaker 1: his rookie contract, and when Joe was asked about that,

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Speaker 1: he said, the window is my entire career. Did you

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Speaker 1: hear that comment? Do you agree? And what do you

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Speaker 1: think of the notion of a quarterbacks window? Well, yeah,

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Speaker 1: I mean I think there's a couple of sides to it.

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Speaker 1: Is that I understand exactly what he's saying. I mean

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Speaker 1: I heard the comments and it was like, yeah, I

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Speaker 1: mean every time I stepped on the field, I expected

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Speaker 1: to win too. I mean I expected to be in

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Speaker 1: a championship game. Now we understand that it's the ultimate

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Speaker 1: team game as well, So you know, it doesn't matter

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Speaker 1: how good I am the entirety of my career, I

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Speaker 1: still need I need guys around me. I need good

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Speaker 1: players around me. But yeah, you feel like you can

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Speaker 1: elevate everybody, and if you're a good enough player, that

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Speaker 1: expectation to win is always there. And it didn't matter,

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Speaker 1: you know, where I was playing, I expected my team

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Speaker 1: to be one of the best teams competing for championships

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Speaker 1: every single year. I was under setting And so, yeah,

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Speaker 1: I heard the comment, and I think it's a great comment,

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Speaker 1: and it makes sense, especially in a day and age

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Speaker 1: where A he's young, and b we're seeing players play

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Speaker 1: at a high level much later than before. So you know,

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Speaker 1: the window for a quarterback. You know, we talk about

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Speaker 1: like windows for running backs. I was talking to a

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Speaker 1: friend today and it's kind of like when once they

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Speaker 1: hit thirty, that windows kind of closed with them being

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Speaker 1: the top of their game as quarterbacks. I mean, you know,

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Speaker 1: you look at where Joe's at right now, and you say,

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Speaker 1: you know, thirteen fourteen more years, you can expect these

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Speaker 1: guys to play at an extremely high level. So it

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Speaker 1: isn't a short window anymore for really good quarterbacks. I

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Speaker 1: expect Patrick Mahomes for the next fifteen years to believe

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Speaker 1: he's going to go to the Super Bowl every year.

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Speaker 1: I believe Joe Burrow and Josh Allen and those guys

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Speaker 1: are going to be saying those same things. And I

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Speaker 1: fully understand it, because once you get to that level,

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Speaker 1: you say to yourself, I have no expectation that this

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Speaker 1: level is going to dwindle, especially when I just saw

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Speaker 1: a guy play at that level till he was forty five.

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Speaker 1: I mean, man, my windows open for two more decades.

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Speaker 1: I mean, most guys don't even think about playing that long.

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Speaker 1: And now we think, as quarterbacks, our window is open

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Speaker 1: that long because you know, we've reached a certain level

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Speaker 1: of play. Your challenging road to the Hall of Fame

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Speaker 1: as well documented. It was the subject of a great movie,

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Speaker 1: American Underdog. Joe's path wasn't that difficult, but he did

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Speaker 1: have to leave Ohio State to get his opportunity at LSU.

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Speaker 1: Do you think that stuff has served him well? I

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Speaker 1: really think. You know, our journeys always serve us well

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Speaker 1: if we're willing to embrace what is the journey? You know,

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Speaker 1: I think that's one of the things. You know, when

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Speaker 1: I looked at the Super Bowl this year with Jalen

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Speaker 1: hurts Is, I think one of the things that impressed

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Speaker 1: me is that he embraced the journey. He and pray

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Speaker 1: embraced the struggle and realized, you know that sometimes when

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Speaker 1: we get into those situations where like he was benched

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Speaker 1: at Alabama, it was like, okay, yeah, I can look

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Speaker 1: and point to two it was just really good, or

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Speaker 1: the coach didn't want me, and or you can say, Okay,

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Speaker 1: why did I get benched? What do I need to learn?

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Speaker 1: How do I need to get better? And I really

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Speaker 1: feel like Joe's been that in those different situations as well,

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Speaker 1: as he hasn't just looked at it like, oh, well,

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Speaker 1: you know, I'm not playing because a coach doesn't like

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Speaker 1: me or whatever. It's like, I have to continue to

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Speaker 1: get better. I have to continue to grow. And when

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Speaker 1: we go through those struggles and we take that approach,

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Speaker 1: I think that always bodes well for a player. And

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Speaker 1: you know, I think we've both seen numerous people that

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Speaker 1: go the other route and they point the finger at

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Speaker 1: this or that, and they never pointed it themselves and

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Speaker 1: go okay, why. You know, I was benched a number

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Speaker 1: of times in my career, and every time I had

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Speaker 1: to step back and go, okay, why. And sometimes I

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Speaker 1: think it was because of things that I did or

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Speaker 1: could have done better, or things that our team wasn't

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Speaker 1: doing other times it was circumstantial, but I think it's

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Speaker 1: important to be able to embrace each situation and go, Okay,

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Speaker 1: if there is something I can do better, I need

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Speaker 1: to make sure I look at that and I hone

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Speaker 1: in on that and I get better at it so

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Speaker 1: it doesn't happen again. And I really felt Joe had

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Speaker 1: done that as well. It wasn't just while I'm transferring

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Speaker 1: from here because they're not giving me the shot that

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Speaker 1: I want. It was about, you know, developing as a

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Speaker 1: player and figuring out who he was. And I think

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Speaker 1: we even saw that at LSU, from you know, where

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Speaker 1: he was his second to last year to where he

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Speaker 1: was his last year and the growth made there and

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Speaker 1: we all said that, okay, why well, because he embraced

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Speaker 1: what he needed to get better at and he got

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Speaker 1: better at it. And that to me is where great

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Speaker 1: quarterbacks become great. And so I think, you know, we've

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Speaker 1: seen both sides. We've seen guys that have had easier

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Speaker 1: pass but I still think they all embrace those different

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Speaker 1: things that you know that they noticed and say, okay,

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Speaker 1: I'm not going to look to you know, just try

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Speaker 1: to squeeze by and you know, hope nobody notices this.

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Speaker 1: I'm going to grab a hold of that and get

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Speaker 1: better at that so it never becomes a liability for us.

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Speaker 1: And you know, I think that's a story of my journey,

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Speaker 1: even though it's a little different than Joe's and a

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Speaker 1: little different than other guys. But yeah, I think he

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Speaker 1: has definitely embraced those moments and looked to improve himself

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Speaker 1: through those moments. And now you've got one of the

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Speaker 1: best quarterbacks in the league. You are arguably the quarterback

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Speaker 1: of the greatest offense in NFL history, the greatest show

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Speaker 1: on turf, Isaac Bruce, Tory, Halt, Marshall Falk and others.

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Speaker 1: Does the Bengals offensive weaponry, Chase Higgins, mixing Boyd, etc.

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Speaker 1: Kind of remind you of those days in Saint Louis? Yeah,

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Speaker 1: I think a little bit. I mean, I think we're

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Speaker 1: seeing more and more teams, We're seeing more and more talent,

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Speaker 1: you know, across the board with certain teams that always

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Speaker 1: I think remind us of that. You know, the beautiful

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Speaker 1: thing about our team is we were built a certain way,

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Speaker 1: but we you know, we we were full of talent

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Speaker 1: all over the place. And yeah, so anytime you get

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Speaker 1: a team that has, you know, three really good wide

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Speaker 1: receivers that can all be considered you know ones or

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Speaker 1: high level two wide receivers to have, you know, running

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Speaker 1: back in the backfield that can do a lot of

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Speaker 1: different things, you know, but there's always that caveat with

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Speaker 1: the greatest show on turf is that we always had

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Speaker 1: two eight in the backfield. And Marshall fallk was was

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Speaker 1: the different guy. You know, was a difference maker because

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Speaker 1: of all the things that he can do. And so

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Speaker 1: when a lot of teams, you know, you'll see that

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Speaker 1: brought up the teams to score a lot of points

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Speaker 1: or throw it for a lot of yards. And I

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Speaker 1: can definitely see that from Cincinnati in terms of what

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Speaker 1: they have on the outside. And no knock on on

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Speaker 1: Joe because uh, you know, and Joe Mixon because he's

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Speaker 1: a really good player. Marshall was different and that was

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Speaker 1: the key piece that I believe made us, As you said,

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Speaker 1: and I'll argue to this day, the best offense the

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Speaker 1: league has ever seen is because of that guy, and

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Speaker 1: that guy being different than even the great weapons that

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Speaker 1: I had at the wide receiver position. The Bengals came

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Speaker 1: within two minutes of winning the Super Bowl two years ago,

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Speaker 1: they were WITHINSI. Returning to the Super Bowl this past year,

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Speaker 1: what do you think of their immediate prospects going forward

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Speaker 1: and is there anything specific that you think is still

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Speaker 1: needed for Cincinnati to get over the hump? Obviously, you know,

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Speaker 1: I think the prospects are good. It starts with, you know,

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Speaker 1: Joe Burrow and the fact that you've got a young

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Speaker 1: guy that plays that position and can compete with anybody

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Speaker 1: in the league at that position. We know, that's where

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Speaker 1: it all starts. You know, if they can keep the

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Speaker 1: weapons around him to allow him to do what he

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Speaker 1: does well, boom. That's part two. Especially in the NFL

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Speaker 1: now that is more built around offense and throwing the

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Speaker 1: football than ever before. Defense has been you know, solid,

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Speaker 1: and again I don't think you have to necessarily be

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Speaker 1: great on both sides of the ball, but you have

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Speaker 1: to be you have to be good, especially in the

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Speaker 1: AFC as you know, I mean, you're not going to

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Speaker 1: just be able to go and outscore everybody if your

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Speaker 1: defense can't stop anybody. So I like all those pieces,

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Speaker 1: you know, I still think I want to see more

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Speaker 1: growth in their offensive line. Um, you know, where they

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Speaker 1: can truly utilize, you know, their weapons down the field.

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Speaker 1: You know, because I think we've seen times obviously last year,

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Speaker 1: we all know the issues that they had, and although

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Speaker 1: better this year, you know that there were still I

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Speaker 1: think issues at times of just protecting or even saying, hey,

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Speaker 1: if we need to win a game running the football,

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Speaker 1: because that, to me is what always really separates teams

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Speaker 1: of it, you know, for the most part, and getting

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Speaker 1: to Super Bowls is sometimes you got to find ways

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Speaker 1: to win games away from your strength. And you know

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Speaker 1: they're going to have a strength for a long time

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Speaker 1: with Joe and Jamaar and company. But they'll be times

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Speaker 1: where it's like, Okay, we're not going to be able

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Speaker 1: to do it this way? Can you can we win

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Speaker 1: other ways against the Patrick Mahomes and against the Josh

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Speaker 1: Allens and and those guys, And that, to me will

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Speaker 1: be the real question moving forward, because I don't know

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Speaker 1: if I've I'm fully believing that, you know, there's numerous

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Speaker 1: ways they can win. I feel like they almost always

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Speaker 1: have to get a good performance from Joe and get

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Speaker 1: the big plays on the outside. And again, I like

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Speaker 1: their defense, but I want to see them develop a

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Speaker 1: little bit more offensive line run game where they can

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Speaker 1: count on that in key moments to help them win

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Speaker 1: those tough games that they're going to face in the

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Speaker 1: mc hurt. This has been a real treat for me.

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Speaker 1: I can't thank you enough for your time and your insight,

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Speaker 1: and I hope the rest of your off season is outstanding.

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Speaker 1: Thank you, you got it. Good being on and let's

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Speaker 1: catch up again before the season starts. By the way,

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Speaker 1: if you've never seen the movie about Kurt's life, American Underdog,

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Speaker 1: I highly recommend it. I expected it to be the

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Speaker 1: story of how he went from stocking grocery store shelves

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Speaker 1: to becoming one of the NFL's best quarterbacks, but it

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Speaker 1: also details Kurt's relationship with his wife, Brenda, a former

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Speaker 1: marine and a divorced mother of two, including a disabled son.

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Speaker 1: Their story of supporting each other is the heart of

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Speaker 1: the movie, and if you're not a Kurt Warner fan already,

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Speaker 1: you will be after seeing American Underdog. The Bengals Booth

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Speaker 1: podcast is brought to you by Alta Fiber future proof

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Speaker 1: fiber internet capable of delivering multi gigabit speeds designed to

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Speaker 1: take your home, business, and community to a new level,

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00:17:15,119 --> 00:17:20,320
Speaker 1: elevate your connection with Alta Fiber. The Bengals' biggest offseason

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Speaker 1: storyline is Joe Burrows contract, as the team looks to

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Speaker 1: ensure that Joe will remain in Cincinnati for many, many

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Speaker 1: years to come. That's obviously not the only deal that

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Speaker 1: the Bengals are working on, and this week they re

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Speaker 1: signed long snapper Cal Atomitas. He became the starter after

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Speaker 1: fourteen year veteran Clark Harris tore his biceps in the

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Speaker 1: season opener, and Atamitas did not have an unplayable snap

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Speaker 1: in eighteen games after taking over. I spoke to Cal

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Speaker 1: on Wednesday, moments after he signed his new contract. Cal,

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Speaker 1: they're only thirty two of these jobs in the world.

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Speaker 1: You have earned a contract extension with the Bengals. Describe

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Speaker 1: what that means to you. You know, it's it's awesome,

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Speaker 1: just another chance to you know, keep continuing to compete

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Speaker 1: and uh, you know, keep getting better at my craft,

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Speaker 1: which is snapping. And I'm just excited for another chance

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Speaker 1: to come back and OTAs in camp and just get

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Speaker 1: better and chase another chase down a Super Bowl. Is

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Speaker 1: there anything in particular that you feel like you need

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Speaker 1: to get a little better at Yeah, you know, I think, um,

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Speaker 1: you had some good conversations with with coach Simmons after

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Speaker 1: the season, and just trying to improve myself physically, you know,

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Speaker 1: get a little bigger, faster, stronger. That's you know, that's

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Speaker 1: always the goal. Um. And then just some some detail things,

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Speaker 1: you know, things that um, you know, I'm no longer

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Speaker 1: a rookie, so things that i'll you know, need to

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Speaker 1: do at a very high level. And just all the details,

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Speaker 1: all the small details that I can't just brush off

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Speaker 1: anymore and be like, oh, you know, I'm a rookie mistake.

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Speaker 1: You know, there's no more rookie mistakes for me. I

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Speaker 1: guess before OTAs in mini camps, do you snap or

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Speaker 1: do you just work out. I'll definitely get back into

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Speaker 1: snapping in the coming weeks here, and I'll definitely snap

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Speaker 1: leading up to OTAs you know, certain guys have different

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Speaker 1: routines and more veteran guys tend to snap a little

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Speaker 1: less in the offseason. But just knowing my position and

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Speaker 1: knowing how I'll have to continue to compete to, you know,

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Speaker 1: be the starting guy come next season again, definitely is

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Speaker 1: in my best interest to keep snapping and keep improving

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Speaker 1: up until that time. Who will be on the receiving

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Speaker 1: end of those snaps. You know, luckily with having a

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Speaker 1: good relationship with the staff at PITT and I'll be

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Speaker 1: able to snap to the guys there and you know,

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Speaker 1: train with them, and you know, my dad might even

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Speaker 1: get out with me here and there. But it'll mostly

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Speaker 1: be just some some former teammates and uh, you know

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Speaker 1: some some of the specialists as well get together in

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Speaker 1: different parts of the country and work out together and train.

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Speaker 1: So it'll probably be a mix of guys, but mostly

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Speaker 1: some of my old teammates from Pitt. We're visiting with

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Speaker 1: cal Adamidas. Let me turn the clock back to week one.

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Speaker 1: You earned a spot on the practice squad. I think

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Speaker 1: many of us thought you would get a red shirt

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Speaker 1: season basically behind Clark Harris, and then of course he

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Speaker 1: got hurt against the Steelers. In that game. Where were

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Speaker 1: you and what immediately went through your mind? Yeah, I

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Speaker 1: was on the sideline and my you know, my hoodie

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Speaker 1: and tennis shoes, and you know, I just remember the

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Speaker 1: feeling before that game. Definitely, even just in the locker room,

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Speaker 1: I was like, wow, like, you know, going to be

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Speaker 1: on the sideline for an NFL game, and I remember

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Speaker 1: kind of stepping on the field and just feeling like, okay,

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Speaker 1: you know, even though I'm not playing, like this just

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Speaker 1: feels like football. And at that point in time, I

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Speaker 1: really kind of try to promise myself that I would,

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Speaker 1: you know, never never doubt my ability to perform no

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Speaker 1: matter what the level. And uh, you know, my chance

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Speaker 1: came a lot sooner than I initially expected following camp,

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Speaker 1: but uh, I'm trying to stay true to that promise

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Speaker 1: I made myself and just keep keep working hard. So

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Speaker 1: you made your debut in week two at Dallas. Describe

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Speaker 1: the process of getting ready for that game with Darren Simmons.

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Speaker 1: You know, having a coach like Coach Simmons is is huge,

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Speaker 1: especially for a rookie, UM, because he really is a

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Speaker 1: detail oriented guy. And he really just made sure that,

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Speaker 1: you know, my focus throughout the whole week and and

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Speaker 1: you know, throughout camp and everything leading up to that

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Speaker 1: was just the details and what I needed to do

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Speaker 1: to be ready to play. Um. You know, it really

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Speaker 1: never even I guess he never allowed to come into

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Speaker 1: my mind to let you know, the moment seem too

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Speaker 1: big because we were so focused on just you know,

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Speaker 1: getting better each practice and learning to do the things

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Speaker 1: I needed to learn to do, and by the time

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Speaker 1: the game came around, you know, there's kind of a

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Speaker 1: sense of relief in my opinion, because there's just so

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Speaker 1: much build up leading up to it and everyone asking you, oh,

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Speaker 1: you're ready, You're ready. You're just like, yeah, I'm ready,

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Speaker 1: Like this is what I do. So I'm jumping around

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Speaker 1: quite a bit here, but all of the specialists received

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Speaker 1: game balls after the playoff win in Buffalo under those

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Speaker 1: brutal snowy conditions. You're from Pittsburgh, you played at pitt

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Speaker 1: I'm sure you've snapped in snow before. But how big

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Speaker 1: of a challenge was that game for you? Yeah, you know,

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Speaker 1: it certainly a challenging game, but I think the three

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Speaker 1: of us did a really solid job of just embracing

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Speaker 1: the moment and you know, realizing this is the type

430
00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:50,280
Speaker 1: of game that you dream of being and as a

431
00:21:50,280 --> 00:21:53,440
Speaker 1: little kid, and you know, you watch these snowy playoff

432
00:21:53,440 --> 00:21:55,520
Speaker 1: games on TV growing up and you're just like, Wow,

433
00:21:55,560 --> 00:21:57,399
Speaker 1: that'd be so cool to be there. And you know,

434
00:21:57,400 --> 00:22:01,080
Speaker 1: even though the snow certainly presents its own challenges, um,

435
00:22:01,119 --> 00:22:03,640
Speaker 1: you know, each game has its own challenges, and um,

436
00:22:03,680 --> 00:22:06,159
Speaker 1: just not letting the moment get too big and focus

437
00:22:06,200 --> 00:22:08,640
Speaker 1: on our fundamentals and and uh, you know, just doing

438
00:22:08,640 --> 00:22:10,440
Speaker 1: the little things right and that's what you know helped

439
00:22:10,480 --> 00:22:13,840
Speaker 1: us perform. Had you played in conditions even worse than that,

440
00:22:14,800 --> 00:22:17,840
Speaker 1: I've played in rainier conditions. Um, but that was probably

441
00:22:17,840 --> 00:22:20,240
Speaker 1: the most accumulated snow that I ever played. And you know,

442
00:22:20,280 --> 00:22:22,880
Speaker 1: I'd never been in a game before where in every

443
00:22:22,960 --> 00:22:25,199
Speaker 1: you know, TV time out, they were snow blowing the

444
00:22:25,240 --> 00:22:27,359
Speaker 1: lines that they could see. But it was it was

445
00:22:27,400 --> 00:22:29,760
Speaker 1: a neat experience and a fond memory I have from

446
00:22:29,760 --> 00:22:32,280
Speaker 1: that game was, um, you know, after we had had

447
00:22:32,280 --> 00:22:35,000
Speaker 1: the last punt and we were pretty much you know

448
00:22:35,040 --> 00:22:37,439
Speaker 1: just um, our defense was on the field running off

449
00:22:37,480 --> 00:22:40,640
Speaker 1: the clock before we got the interception, and uh, Evan

450
00:22:40,720 --> 00:22:42,440
Speaker 1: Drew and I were just sitting on the benches and

451
00:22:42,480 --> 00:22:44,400
Speaker 1: Evan was like, if you look straight up into the sky,

452
00:22:44,480 --> 00:22:47,000
Speaker 1: the snow looks really cool through the lights. Like the

453
00:22:47,080 --> 00:22:49,280
Speaker 1: last thirty seconds we were looking up and it looked

454
00:22:49,280 --> 00:22:50,800
Speaker 1: like a snow globe, and it was just a cool,

455
00:22:51,119 --> 00:22:54,240
Speaker 1: cool way to finish off that game. You snapped for

456
00:22:54,280 --> 00:22:57,600
Speaker 1: five years at pit, what was the biggest difference in

457
00:22:57,640 --> 00:23:00,760
Speaker 1: snapping in the NFL. UM, you know, I just think

458
00:23:00,760 --> 00:23:04,120
Speaker 1: the mental side of things, what's expected from you to

459
00:23:03,760 --> 00:23:07,880
Speaker 1: prepare for each game. Um. You know, especially with coach Simmons,

460
00:23:07,880 --> 00:23:10,240
Speaker 1: you know, he prides himself on his players all being

461
00:23:10,240 --> 00:23:12,720
Speaker 1: you know, the most prepared special teams guys in the field,

462
00:23:12,720 --> 00:23:15,280
Speaker 1: and UM, you know, he really wanted me to go

463
00:23:15,280 --> 00:23:18,280
Speaker 1: out there and be in headspace where you know, UM,

464
00:23:18,320 --> 00:23:21,320
Speaker 1: I was basically the second, you know, personal protector on

465
00:23:21,400 --> 00:23:23,600
Speaker 1: punt team. You know, knew everything that was going on

466
00:23:23,680 --> 00:23:26,359
Speaker 1: and even could you know, make a check to the

467
00:23:26,440 --> 00:23:29,000
Speaker 1: protection if if I felt necessary, which we never you know,

468
00:23:29,040 --> 00:23:31,879
Speaker 1: had to do. But I feel like me and everyone

469
00:23:31,880 --> 00:23:33,760
Speaker 1: else on the punt team at any point in time,

470
00:23:33,800 --> 00:23:35,679
Speaker 1: we're ready to do that. And that's probably the biggest

471
00:23:35,680 --> 00:23:39,440
Speaker 1: difference from from college in my opinion. You mentioned Drew Chrisman.

472
00:23:39,560 --> 00:23:43,000
Speaker 1: He took over as the punter in Week ten in Pittsburgh.

473
00:23:43,200 --> 00:23:45,000
Speaker 1: You're a rookie at that point, but at least you've

474
00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:46,800
Speaker 1: got a few games under your belt. Did you kind

475
00:23:46,800 --> 00:23:49,159
Speaker 1: of take on a season veteran role to try to

476
00:23:49,200 --> 00:23:51,520
Speaker 1: help him? You know, I can't say that I tried

477
00:23:51,560 --> 00:23:55,920
Speaker 1: to really play the season veteran card but just more,

478
00:23:55,960 --> 00:23:57,840
Speaker 1: more or less, both of us just had a mindset

479
00:23:57,840 --> 00:24:00,199
Speaker 1: of we've we've played in big games before. You know,

480
00:24:00,200 --> 00:24:03,000
Speaker 1: he played at Ohio State and I can't say there's

481
00:24:03,160 --> 00:24:06,400
Speaker 1: a bigger collegiate venue to play in the Ohio State.

482
00:24:06,440 --> 00:24:08,560
Speaker 1: And he's you know, he's played in his fair share

483
00:24:08,600 --> 00:24:11,159
Speaker 1: also with big ten you know, cold and windy games,

484
00:24:11,160 --> 00:24:14,800
Speaker 1: and so it wasn't as much you know, um, who's

485
00:24:14,800 --> 00:24:16,719
Speaker 1: played in more NFL games at that point, but just

486
00:24:16,760 --> 00:24:19,520
Speaker 1: the fact that we've played and we've played in bad conditions,

487
00:24:19,520 --> 00:24:22,119
Speaker 1: we played in big, big games, and we're prepared to

488
00:24:22,480 --> 00:24:25,439
Speaker 1: play this one. So your rookie year ended in the

489
00:24:25,480 --> 00:24:30,280
Speaker 1: AFC Championship game. Was it a shock when it was over? It? Uh,

490
00:24:30,320 --> 00:24:32,040
Speaker 1: it certainly was a little bit of a shock. You know,

491
00:24:32,080 --> 00:24:36,439
Speaker 1: it ended so abruptly, and uh, you know, obviously with

492
00:24:36,640 --> 00:24:38,760
Speaker 1: the guys we have on this team, UM, I feel

493
00:24:38,760 --> 00:24:41,119
Speaker 1: like we went into every game just kind of knowing

494
00:24:41,119 --> 00:24:43,080
Speaker 1: we would win, Like if we just do what we're

495
00:24:43,119 --> 00:24:45,800
Speaker 1: capable of doing, well, we'll win the game. And that's

496
00:24:45,800 --> 00:24:47,840
Speaker 1: how we felt, you know, all of us felt and

497
00:24:48,200 --> 00:24:51,240
Speaker 1: that or at least that's how I felt. We all felt. Um,

498
00:24:51,640 --> 00:24:53,600
Speaker 1: really up until that last field goal went through the

499
00:24:53,680 --> 00:24:56,200
Speaker 1: uprights and you know the clock hit triple zero because

500
00:24:56,600 --> 00:24:58,439
Speaker 1: we just we just expect to win. But you know,

501
00:24:58,480 --> 00:25:00,840
Speaker 1: as long as we get as many guys back as possible,

502
00:25:00,880 --> 00:25:02,840
Speaker 1: you know, there's no reason why we should not be

503
00:25:02,880 --> 00:25:06,040
Speaker 1: back next year and and and you know, finish the

504
00:25:06,119 --> 00:25:09,160
Speaker 1: job this time. I think most people listening to this

505
00:25:09,359 --> 00:25:11,080
Speaker 1: know that you went to high school in college with

506
00:25:11,160 --> 00:25:16,320
Speaker 1: Damar Hamlin, and on the Friday after his collapse on

507
00:25:16,400 --> 00:25:18,680
Speaker 1: Monday night at pay Course Stadium, you were able to

508
00:25:18,680 --> 00:25:20,840
Speaker 1: go to the hospital and see him With Tyler Boyd.

509
00:25:20,840 --> 00:25:22,879
Speaker 1: You're undoubtedly one of the first people to do that.

510
00:25:23,280 --> 00:25:26,600
Speaker 1: Describe that meeting selfishly. From my perspective, it kind of

511
00:25:26,600 --> 00:25:28,280
Speaker 1: put me at ease just to be able to see him.

512
00:25:28,320 --> 00:25:31,960
Speaker 1: You know, obviously his life has kind of become, you know,

513
00:25:32,160 --> 00:25:34,159
Speaker 1: very very public life after that. You know, there's a

514
00:25:34,560 --> 00:25:36,600
Speaker 1: everybody wants to talk to him and hear his story,

515
00:25:36,680 --> 00:25:38,879
Speaker 1: and uh, you know, it's just good to get in

516
00:25:38,880 --> 00:25:41,760
Speaker 1: and see him in person before things got even crazier

517
00:25:41,920 --> 00:25:43,919
Speaker 1: over the past couple of months, which is you know

518
00:25:43,960 --> 00:25:46,680
Speaker 1: how inspirational his story is, and uh, you know, it's

519
00:25:46,720 --> 00:25:49,360
Speaker 1: just just really nice getting to see him and see

520
00:25:49,359 --> 00:25:51,560
Speaker 1: that he's doing well and and just talk to him,

521
00:25:51,600 --> 00:25:55,160
Speaker 1: and uh, you know, I'm just happy that he's doing good.

522
00:25:55,200 --> 00:25:57,280
Speaker 1: You know. It just definitely just makes me smile just

523
00:25:57,320 --> 00:26:00,320
Speaker 1: knowing that he's, um, you know, making an impact and

524
00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:03,480
Speaker 1: for a positive thing and just doing good things. And

525
00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:07,159
Speaker 1: that's really the what I Yeah, that's that's it for me.

526
00:26:08,359 --> 00:26:11,040
Speaker 1: All right, final thing for cal Ademitas. You signed a

527
00:26:11,080 --> 00:26:14,879
Speaker 1: contract extension today. I think every Bengals fan wants to know.

528
00:26:15,119 --> 00:26:18,480
Speaker 1: Did you leave enough money for Joe Burrow? You know,

529
00:26:18,520 --> 00:26:20,880
Speaker 1: I sure did. I was trying not to pench them

530
00:26:20,880 --> 00:26:23,040
Speaker 1: for pennies. So because I definitely want to see Joe

531
00:26:23,040 --> 00:26:27,640
Speaker 1: back to appreciate your time. Congratulations and I look forward

532
00:26:27,640 --> 00:26:30,880
Speaker 1: to seeing you at OTAs and mini camps. Absolutely Hude.

533
00:26:31,520 --> 00:26:34,440
Speaker 1: The Bengals Booth podcast is brought to you by Kettering Health,

534
00:26:34,680 --> 00:26:38,080
Speaker 1: the official healthcare provider of the Bengals. With more than

535
00:26:38,119 --> 00:26:41,440
Speaker 1: one hundred twenty care facilities and fifteen hundred care providers,

536
00:26:41,720 --> 00:26:45,280
Speaker 1: Kettering Health is committed to guiding you to your best health.

537
00:26:45,720 --> 00:26:49,520
Speaker 1: Visit kettering health dot org to learn more and buy

538
00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:52,840
Speaker 1: pay Corps. More than twenty nine thousand customers trust pay

539
00:26:52,880 --> 00:26:57,920
Speaker 1: Core to help them recruit, pay, engage, and retain employees

540
00:26:58,359 --> 00:27:02,240
Speaker 1: learn more at pay Corps. The NFL Draft is about

541
00:27:02,240 --> 00:27:05,280
Speaker 1: two months away, meaning we've reached the point where we

542
00:27:05,359 --> 00:27:09,520
Speaker 1: all start paying attention to mock drafts. NFL Network analyst

543
00:27:09,600 --> 00:27:12,480
Speaker 1: Daniel Jeremiah came out with his second edition this week

544
00:27:12,760 --> 00:27:17,000
Speaker 1: and had the Bengal selecting Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer.

545
00:27:17,560 --> 00:27:20,960
Speaker 1: That would be a popular selection in Cincinnati since Mayor

546
00:27:21,040 --> 00:27:25,160
Speaker 1: attended Covington Catholic High School. This is apparently a good

547
00:27:25,240 --> 00:27:27,040
Speaker 1: year to be in the market for a tight end.

548
00:27:27,560 --> 00:27:31,560
Speaker 1: Jeremiah says, it's the best draft class at that position

549
00:27:32,080 --> 00:27:36,480
Speaker 1: in the last ten years. I have eleven tight ends

550
00:27:36,480 --> 00:27:39,119
Speaker 1: that I have top three round grades on, which is

551
00:27:39,240 --> 00:27:42,880
Speaker 1: a ridiculous number. It is just a really, really good group.

552
00:27:42,960 --> 00:27:45,719
Speaker 1: And to me, I know he's coming off of an

553
00:27:45,760 --> 00:27:47,719
Speaker 1: injury right now, and I know he's kind of more

554
00:27:47,720 --> 00:27:52,280
Speaker 1: of a flex tight end, but Dalton Kincaid from Utah

555
00:27:52,720 --> 00:27:54,920
Speaker 1: is I think he's a big time player. I think

556
00:27:54,920 --> 00:27:57,480
Speaker 1: he's one of my favorite players to watch in this draft.

557
00:27:57,520 --> 00:27:59,479
Speaker 1: I think he's one of the best players in the draft.

558
00:28:00,520 --> 00:28:03,480
Speaker 1: He's just sudden and everything that he does, he separates.

559
00:28:03,920 --> 00:28:06,920
Speaker 1: He's outstanding after the catch. You know, he can win

560
00:28:07,040 --> 00:28:11,479
Speaker 1: on contact over the middle of the fields. He's really

561
00:28:11,480 --> 00:28:13,520
Speaker 1: really good after the catch. You know, as a blocker,

562
00:28:13,560 --> 00:28:16,560
Speaker 1: he's gonna more shield you and wall off. I don't like,

563
00:28:16,840 --> 00:28:19,920
Speaker 1: you know, when you compare guys to all time great players,

564
00:28:19,960 --> 00:28:22,520
Speaker 1: but just in his movement stuff he moves, he kind

565
00:28:22,520 --> 00:28:24,440
Speaker 1: of looks like Kelsey, just the way he moves in

566
00:28:24,560 --> 00:28:27,639
Speaker 1: and out of breaks. He's a really really good player.

567
00:28:27,640 --> 00:28:29,880
Speaker 1: I think he's you know, I really like zach Ertz

568
00:28:29,880 --> 00:28:31,800
Speaker 1: when he was coming out the year he was coming out.

569
00:28:31,800 --> 00:28:34,280
Speaker 1: I think he's a better version of zach Ertz. So

570
00:28:34,680 --> 00:28:37,360
Speaker 1: he's up there. You've got Mayor, who's just an all

571
00:28:37,400 --> 00:28:40,440
Speaker 1: around tight end. Not going to be real dynamic at

572
00:28:40,440 --> 00:28:42,840
Speaker 1: a Notre Dame, but he is kind of the king

573
00:28:42,840 --> 00:28:46,240
Speaker 1: of the combat catches. He's got a good feel on

574
00:28:46,280 --> 00:28:48,600
Speaker 1: option routes, just keeping guys on his back and kind

575
00:28:48,640 --> 00:28:51,360
Speaker 1: of walling him off and making plays. But a good

576
00:28:51,400 --> 00:28:55,640
Speaker 1: overall tight end, good blocker. Darnell Washington is massive from

577
00:28:55,640 --> 00:28:59,240
Speaker 1: Georgia's He's like playing with a sixth offensive lineman in

578
00:28:59,320 --> 00:29:01,800
Speaker 1: the run game, and he's still developing and learning in

579
00:29:01,840 --> 00:29:04,760
Speaker 1: the past game, you know, I think there's more there. Obviously,

580
00:29:04,760 --> 00:29:06,200
Speaker 1: they had the best tight end of the country there

581
00:29:06,200 --> 00:29:09,560
Speaker 1: in Bowers, who's just an absolute freak show. So he

582
00:29:09,600 --> 00:29:12,200
Speaker 1: doesn't get as many balls as he would in another offense,

583
00:29:12,280 --> 00:29:16,640
Speaker 1: but he's he's really intriguing. Musgrave from Oregon States can

584
00:29:16,720 --> 00:29:18,760
Speaker 1: probably run in a low four fives. At two hundred

585
00:29:18,800 --> 00:29:22,080
Speaker 1: and fifty five pounds, he could go in the first round.

586
00:29:22,320 --> 00:29:24,080
Speaker 1: I mean, then you just you start going through the list,

587
00:29:24,240 --> 00:29:28,120
Speaker 1: Laporta from Iowa, Tucker Craft from South Dakota State, you

588
00:29:28,160 --> 00:29:32,000
Speaker 1: get Davis Allen from Clemson's intriguing, Payne Durham from Purdue,

589
00:29:32,920 --> 00:29:37,160
Speaker 1: Schoonmaker from Michigan, Strange from Penn State, Wiley from Cincinnati. Like,

590
00:29:37,200 --> 00:29:40,600
Speaker 1: there's those are the eleven guys. It is a really

591
00:29:40,600 --> 00:29:45,680
Speaker 1: really good group. Wiley from Cincinnati is Josh Wiley, another

592
00:29:45,840 --> 00:29:48,640
Speaker 1: local product. He's out of LaSalle High School and he

593
00:29:48,680 --> 00:29:51,800
Speaker 1: caught more touchdown passes at you see than any other

594
00:29:51,840 --> 00:29:56,440
Speaker 1: tight end in school history, including Travis Kelsey. Josh is

595
00:29:56,440 --> 00:29:58,760
Speaker 1: six six, somewhere between two hundred and fifty and two

596
00:29:58,840 --> 00:30:01,640
Speaker 1: hundred and sixty pounds and ran a four six five

597
00:30:01,840 --> 00:30:04,560
Speaker 1: forty at UC with a thirty five and a half

598
00:30:04,600 --> 00:30:08,400
Speaker 1: inch vertical leap. I followed up with Daniel Jeremiah about

599
00:30:08,440 --> 00:30:11,520
Speaker 1: Wiley and some other Bearcats who are expected to be

600
00:30:11,640 --> 00:30:17,080
Speaker 1: picked in this year's draft. Hey, DJ, you mentioned Josh

601
00:30:17,120 --> 00:30:20,360
Speaker 1: Wiley earlier as being a possibility in the first three rounds.

602
00:30:20,400 --> 00:30:23,760
Speaker 1: I'm interested in your take on three other University of

603
00:30:23,840 --> 00:30:28,040
Speaker 1: Cincinnati guys, wide receivers Trade Tucker and Tyler Scott and

604
00:30:28,200 --> 00:30:32,600
Speaker 1: linebacker Ivan Pace. Sure Tyler Scott is you know, we're

605
00:30:32,600 --> 00:30:35,440
Speaker 1: just talking about speed. That's speed, like that's legit, big

606
00:30:35,440 --> 00:30:38,800
Speaker 1: time speed on the outside. And what I love about

607
00:30:38,880 --> 00:30:40,680
Speaker 1: him is when the ball goes up as fast as

608
00:30:40,680 --> 00:30:43,960
Speaker 1: he is, he gets faster. He's fast after the catch.

609
00:30:44,680 --> 00:30:47,200
Speaker 1: You can use him on jet sweeps. He's got you know,

610
00:30:47,280 --> 00:30:51,560
Speaker 1: he's he's got reliable hands. The one thing it's normal

611
00:30:51,600 --> 00:30:53,480
Speaker 1: with a lot of fast guys is just gearing down

612
00:30:53,480 --> 00:30:55,800
Speaker 1: getting in and out of cuts. That's a little bit

613
00:30:55,800 --> 00:31:00,480
Speaker 1: more effort there. But a pure vertical receiver. I think

614
00:31:00,480 --> 00:31:02,320
Speaker 1: he's the grade that I gave him as a Day

615
00:31:02,320 --> 00:31:04,800
Speaker 1: two grade. So second, third round I think is where

616
00:31:04,800 --> 00:31:07,440
Speaker 1: he goes while he you know it can flex out.

617
00:31:07,440 --> 00:31:10,840
Speaker 1: He's a clean route runner, he's smooth, he shows you

618
00:31:10,960 --> 00:31:14,240
Speaker 1: at two hundred and sixty pounds, the polish to tempo routes,

619
00:31:14,280 --> 00:31:19,080
Speaker 1: to change speeds. You know, he's an intriguing player. Pace

620
00:31:19,240 --> 00:31:22,440
Speaker 1: is one of the best off ball blitzing linebackers that

621
00:31:22,480 --> 00:31:25,360
Speaker 1: I've seen. Really. I mean, it's like his superpower. He's

622
00:31:25,360 --> 00:31:28,040
Speaker 1: just got a really good feel. He can shoot gaps.

623
00:31:28,040 --> 00:31:31,320
Speaker 1: He's got a wide variety of moves as a rusher there,

624
00:31:32,200 --> 00:31:34,640
Speaker 1: you know, the the agility, the change of direction, the

625
00:31:34,720 --> 00:31:38,440
Speaker 1: pure speed. You know, I'm curious about that once we

626
00:31:38,440 --> 00:31:41,400
Speaker 1: get to the combine. But you know, if you if

627
00:31:41,400 --> 00:31:43,320
Speaker 1: you're looking for guys that can do one thing really well,

628
00:31:43,360 --> 00:31:46,360
Speaker 1: he's an unbelievable blitzer off the ball. So I have

629
00:31:46,440 --> 00:31:49,440
Speaker 1: him more kind of in that fourth fifth round range.

630
00:31:50,040 --> 00:31:53,320
Speaker 1: Trey Tucker is. You know, he's really good on special teams,

631
00:31:53,760 --> 00:31:56,360
Speaker 1: play in the slot. He's got some suddenness as well.

632
00:31:56,400 --> 00:32:00,120
Speaker 1: You can use him on jet sweeps. He's tough. He

633
00:32:00,560 --> 00:32:04,320
Speaker 1: can win against press coverage with his quickness. You know,

634
00:32:04,520 --> 00:32:06,719
Speaker 1: I thought he had the profile. He's a little bit

635
00:32:06,720 --> 00:32:09,680
Speaker 1: smaller obviously, at five little hundred five nine hundred and

636
00:32:09,720 --> 00:32:12,200
Speaker 1: ninety pounds, I thought he profiled this kind of a

637
00:32:12,200 --> 00:32:15,480
Speaker 1: fourth receiver and a special teams player, which you know

638
00:32:15,520 --> 00:32:17,920
Speaker 1: I've put him in that and right around the fifth

639
00:32:18,000 --> 00:32:21,240
Speaker 1: round range would be about where my grade is. I'll

640
00:32:21,280 --> 00:32:23,600
Speaker 1: be at the Combine next week and we will hear

641
00:32:23,760 --> 00:32:27,840
Speaker 1: from several of the top draft gurus in upcoming editions

642
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Speaker 1: of this podcast. That's going to do it for this

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Speaker 1: episode brought to you by Kettering Health, the official healthcare

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Speaker 1: provider of the Bengals, by Bengals Picks and Ultimate Bengals.

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00:32:38,240 --> 00:32:41,040
Speaker 1: They're free to play with tickets and signed merchandise up

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Speaker 1: for grabs by pay Corps, the official HR software provider

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Speaker 1: of the Bengals, and by Alta Fiber future Proof Fiber

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Speaker 1: Internet LEHR connection with Alta Fiber. If you haven't done

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Speaker 1: so already, please subscribe to this podcast if you have

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Speaker 1: a minute, give it a rating or share a comment

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Speaker 1: that helps more Bengals fans find us. I'm Dan Horde,

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Speaker 1: and thanks for listening to The Bengals Booth Podcast