WEBVTT - Bengals Booth Podcast: Tomorrow Tomorrow 0:00:03.640 --> 0:00:06.519 Hike and everybody. I'm Dan Horde and thanks for downloading 0:00:06.559 --> 0:00:13.160 the Bengals Booth podcast. The tomorrow Tomorrow addition, as we 0:00:13.240 --> 0:00:15.280 get to set for the start of training camp, which 0:00:15.280 --> 0:00:20.040 gets underway on Saturday at two thirty at Dayton's Welcome Stadium. 0:00:20.079 --> 0:00:22.840 Coming up, we'll hear from Joe Mixon, who talked to 0:00:22.880 --> 0:00:27.400 reporters on Friday about the Bengals new offense under Zach Taylor. 0:00:27.440 --> 0:00:30.360 And let me put it this way, after listening to Mixon, 0:00:30.920 --> 0:00:34.160 you'll want to draft him for your fantasy team. I'll 0:00:34.200 --> 0:00:36.760 talk to my broadcast partner Dave Lapham about the big 0:00:36.840 --> 0:00:40.760 questions going into training camp, and lap will also reminisce 0:00:41.120 --> 0:00:45.520 about what training camp was like under the legendary Paul Brown. 0:00:46.040 --> 0:00:49.199 And in this week's fun Facts conversation, you'll get to 0:00:49.240 --> 0:00:53.559 know new offensive coordinator Brian Callahan. He'll tell us what 0:00:53.640 --> 0:00:55.480 it was like as a player to be part of 0:00:55.480 --> 0:00:59.320 the longest winning streak in high school football history, and 0:01:00.080 --> 0:01:02.560 he'll tell us why he never wears the Super Bowl 0:01:02.640 --> 0:01:06.800 ring he won as an assistant coach with the Denver Broncos. 0:01:07.440 --> 0:01:10.759 Those conversations are straight ahead, but first, here's a quick 0:01:10.760 --> 0:01:13.119 reminder that you can have the latest edition of this 0:01:13.240 --> 0:01:17.800 podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet, or computer by 0:01:17.880 --> 0:01:23.480 subscribing on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, or pod Bean. 0:01:23.959 --> 0:01:31.280 It's the greatest invention since Game of Thrones episode recaps. 0:01:31.360 --> 0:01:34.440 So I'm just a little bit late to the party. 0:01:34.640 --> 0:01:37.679 My wife and I are finally watching Game of Thrones. 0:01:37.680 --> 0:01:40.800 We're on season three, and I'm pretty sure I would 0:01:40.800 --> 0:01:44.400 be missing a ton if not for the episode recaps 0:01:44.440 --> 0:01:50.000 available online. So if you didn't watch GOOT and decide 0:01:50.040 --> 0:01:53.600 to finally take the plunge, don't worry if it seems confusing. 0:01:53.960 --> 0:01:58.000 The episode recaps will save the day. Now time for 0:01:58.040 --> 0:02:01.440 football by any reason. In a bowl measure, Joe Mixon 0:02:01.520 --> 0:02:04.720 had a sensational second year in the NFL. He led 0:02:04.760 --> 0:02:08.359 the AFC in rushing despite missing two games, added forty 0:02:08.400 --> 0:02:12.680 three receptions and scored nine touchdowns. But as he visited 0:02:12.680 --> 0:02:15.800 with reporters in front of his locker on Friday, Joe 0:02:15.880 --> 0:02:19.200 made it clear that he expects to have Todd Gurley 0:02:19.360 --> 0:02:22.720 like numbers now that the Bengals are basically running the 0:02:22.840 --> 0:02:27.080 Rams offense. What's that mean? Well, over the last two years, 0:02:27.120 --> 0:02:32.400 between rushing and receiving, Gurley averaged one thousand, nine hundred 0:02:32.520 --> 0:02:37.120 sixty two yards and twenty touchdowns. Here's the Q and 0:02:37.200 --> 0:02:40.600 A with Mixon, who turned twenty three this week. Do 0:02:40.639 --> 0:02:43.480 you think the so called experts, if you have a 0:02:44.400 --> 0:02:46.920 kind of you know, I mean, you've kind of looked 0:02:46.919 --> 0:02:51.560 the town on his team overall. I mean, I mean 0:02:51.639 --> 0:02:54.160 they always do. They did from even when I was 0:02:54.160 --> 0:02:55.959 in college or high school. They always did that to 0:02:56.040 --> 0:02:57.760 the baas. I mean, at the end of the day, 0:02:57.919 --> 0:02:59.600 i gotta say, I'm not worried about it. When I 0:02:59.720 --> 0:03:02.040 go out there and when people got to line up 0:03:02.040 --> 0:03:04.320 against me, they're gonna know, they're gonna know who I am, 0:03:04.400 --> 0:03:06.760 you know what I'm saying. So I'm not worried about that. 0:03:06.840 --> 0:03:08.880 I'm not worried about no ranking. At the end of 0:03:08.919 --> 0:03:13.760 the day, real football players, real football fans, owners, whatever 0:03:13.800 --> 0:03:16.320 the case may be, they know they know what I 0:03:16.320 --> 0:03:19.080 could do. So I'm not worried about you know what 0:03:19.080 --> 0:03:22.360 I'm saying, No preseason ranking or how they rank whoever. 0:03:22.400 --> 0:03:24.679 I mean, at the end of the day, it's all opinionated. 0:03:24.720 --> 0:03:27.400 Anyway you act. Any back in the league, I'm sure 0:03:27.400 --> 0:03:29.639 it's about fifteen backs that'll be like, oh, I'm number one. 0:03:29.919 --> 0:03:32.400 I'm number one. I mean, at the end of the day, 0:03:32.440 --> 0:03:34.440 we all felt like that. But at the same time, 0:03:34.840 --> 0:03:38.080 when you go look into skill set and what they 0:03:38.120 --> 0:03:40.440 could do for the team, I mean, it's the proof 0:03:40.520 --> 0:03:42.240 is in the pudding. I could do it. I'll do 0:03:42.320 --> 0:03:45.000 it all. That's just what I do. But like I said, 0:03:45.080 --> 0:03:47.640 I just gotta I gotta be that much better than everybody. 0:03:47.760 --> 0:03:50.120 So that's what I'm gonna do. I was just keep different. 0:03:51.080 --> 0:03:54.920 I was just walking. I mean, really, the schemes commatically. 0:03:55.000 --> 0:03:57.720 You know how coach Taylor he come in and you know, 0:03:57.760 --> 0:04:00.920 the like I said, the offense is the way he 0:04:00.960 --> 0:04:03.240 got it set up. It's it's crazy. It's night and 0:04:03.360 --> 0:04:06.720 day from where everybody has seen in these past years 0:04:06.760 --> 0:04:10.040 between the Bengals or old Bengals or whatever the case 0:04:10.120 --> 0:04:12.480 may be. But you know, because Taylor, he got it 0:04:12.520 --> 0:04:16.640 to where it's gonna be a nightmare for the defense, 0:04:16.800 --> 0:04:19.039 you know what I'm saying. So you know, like I said, 0:04:19.040 --> 0:04:22.200 I look forward to it, and you know, everybody gonna 0:04:22.200 --> 0:04:24.159 take it upon themselves to be the best them in 0:04:24.200 --> 0:04:27.000 his offense, and you know you can count on you 0:04:27.000 --> 0:04:28.719 know what I'm saying, The people and the leaders that's 0:04:28.720 --> 0:04:31.440 out there to go deliver. Like I said, I can't wait. 0:04:31.800 --> 0:04:34.200 I mean, sounds like they're kind of running. I mean, 0:04:34.240 --> 0:04:36.280 if that's what they're gonna do, I'm gonna do it. 0:04:36.320 --> 0:04:38.320 But at the end of the day, I mean, I 0:04:38.360 --> 0:04:40.320 just gotta be in shape. I gotta be ready to 0:04:40.360 --> 0:04:42.039 put on I gotta be ready to do all of that. 0:04:42.240 --> 0:04:44.880 Like I say, I'll take it upon me. I'll take 0:04:44.920 --> 0:04:47.200 it upon myself. You know what I'm saying, to be 0:04:47.279 --> 0:04:48.840 able to do these things and do it at a 0:04:48.920 --> 0:04:51.039 high level. And that's what I'm gonna do. I don't 0:04:51.080 --> 0:04:53.080 care what you know what I'm saying. Nobody gonna say 0:04:53.240 --> 0:04:56.039 he did see that. So what I mean, I could 0:04:56.080 --> 0:04:58.200 do it. That's just what I do. This is your 0:04:58.240 --> 0:05:00.719 third year. You're obviously a puffle wint of this offense 0:05:00.760 --> 0:05:03.760 to you, do you start thinking about leadership and maybe 0:05:03.760 --> 0:05:06.080 taking that next step in that regard. Yeah, I mean, 0:05:06.120 --> 0:05:07.880 at the end of the day, I know, I know 0:05:07.920 --> 0:05:09.719 I'm a I know I'm a vocal leader, and i 0:05:09.760 --> 0:05:12.080 know I'm anna lead by example. I mean, everybody on 0:05:12.120 --> 0:05:15.680 the offense, even on the defense, not that coaches know that, um, 0:05:15.880 --> 0:05:18.839 you know, it might not be you know where I'm 0:05:18.960 --> 0:05:20.960 they put me out at the captain or something. But 0:05:21.040 --> 0:05:23.360 at the same time, they know they know who to 0:05:23.480 --> 0:05:25.520 lean on, they know who to go to when they 0:05:25.560 --> 0:05:27.360 need when they need that talking to I'm gonna talk 0:05:27.400 --> 0:05:29.760 to him. I'm gonna get them ready, I say, I'll 0:05:29.800 --> 0:05:32.560 take that upon myself. I don't care. Like you know, 0:05:32.640 --> 0:05:34.680 I'm a third year player and this, this and that. 0:05:34.880 --> 0:05:37.080 I mean, that's just what I've always done. I didn't 0:05:37.080 --> 0:05:39.039 get that year and year out, you know what I'm saying. 0:05:39.080 --> 0:05:41.920 So you know, they and they respect it because you 0:05:41.920 --> 0:05:43.919 know I'm doing you know what I'm saying. You know 0:05:43.920 --> 0:05:45.640 I'm telling I'm doing what I'm saying. You know what 0:05:45.680 --> 0:05:48.039 I'm saying. So at the end of the day, I 0:05:48.120 --> 0:05:49.800 just got to go out there and you know, like 0:05:49.839 --> 0:05:52.360 I said, lead by example, and if it's to do 0:05:52.400 --> 0:05:54.880 whatever I can, you know, being vocal, and I'll do 0:05:54.960 --> 0:05:57.560 that too, but you know, for the most part, you know, 0:05:57.680 --> 0:05:59.960 go out there, lead by example and then everybody else 0:06:00.080 --> 0:06:02.760 gonna follow. As somebody's flocking, that's when we go go 0:06:02.800 --> 0:06:05.360 ahead and pick him up. How would you describe Aj 0:06:05.520 --> 0:06:08.520 Green as a leader? AJ Green, He's a He's a 0:06:08.600 --> 0:06:11.280 leader by example, you know, AJ, he don't he don't 0:06:11.320 --> 0:06:13.680 talk too much. You know what I'm saying. He if 0:06:13.720 --> 0:06:15.640 it's if it's like a big game or something, then 0:06:16.000 --> 0:06:18.200 and you know he feeling you know, emotional, he might 0:06:18.240 --> 0:06:19.880 say a couple of words, but at the same time, 0:06:20.240 --> 0:06:22.159 you know he gonna go out there and leave by example. 0:06:22.279 --> 0:06:24.320 He don't need to say too much. You know what 0:06:24.360 --> 0:06:26.640 you're gonna get out of Aja. You know what I'm saying. So, 0:06:27.160 --> 0:06:28.640 you know me, I felt like I could do I 0:06:28.680 --> 0:06:30.320 could do the balance. If you need me to be 0:06:30.360 --> 0:06:32.760 a vocal leader, I'm gonna do that. You know, we're 0:06:32.800 --> 0:06:35.160 gonna always lead by example, But at the end of 0:06:35.160 --> 0:06:36.640 the day, you need me to be vocal, I could 0:06:36.680 --> 0:06:39.240 do that. But you know, every like I said, everybody 0:06:39.279 --> 0:06:41.920 know you know who the real you know what I'm saying, 0:06:41.960 --> 0:06:44.240 cop ins or who who to lean on on the team, 0:06:44.480 --> 0:06:46.719 And that's just what it is. And you know, like 0:06:46.760 --> 0:06:49.520 I said, you can take that upon ourselves. That's I've 0:06:49.560 --> 0:06:52.360 always been like that and I'm gonna always be like that. 0:06:52.480 --> 0:06:55.080 So ain't nothing gonna change. That's all. You clowning with 0:06:55.120 --> 0:06:56.800 him when we were talking to him a little bit ago. 0:06:56.839 --> 0:06:58.760 He didn't break is there another guy in this locker 0:06:58.839 --> 0:07:02.760 room that could say stone to face it's like that, Uh, probably, 0:07:02.880 --> 0:07:06.400 you know, I can. Yeah, other than that, and it's 0:07:06.440 --> 0:07:09.279 not too many people that you know gone, you know, 0:07:09.320 --> 0:07:11.840 they probably break. I think they a break. But you know, 0:07:11.920 --> 0:07:14.960 like I said, you ajauc right there, that's AJ. You 0:07:15.040 --> 0:07:17.880 come to USC behind closed doors. I mean, at the 0:07:17.960 --> 0:07:20.040 end of the day, you know, here real down the 0:07:20.040 --> 0:07:24.200 earth dude. I never met an NFL player that at 0:07:24.200 --> 0:07:28.080 that caliber level that is that down the earth and 0:07:28.160 --> 0:07:31.320 humble is AJ Grhant. I mean I didn't met a 0:07:31.360 --> 0:07:34.280 lot of them. And just the way he goes about 0:07:34.320 --> 0:07:37.480 himself being professional, and you know, even the way he 0:07:37.760 --> 0:07:40.440 just like he having fun. You know it might not 0:07:40.560 --> 0:07:43.200 be everybody else loud and having fun type of stuff. 0:07:43.240 --> 0:07:45.280 I mean, that's just not AJ. I mean, at the 0:07:45.400 --> 0:07:47.360 end of the day, like I said, he's the most 0:07:47.760 --> 0:07:51.200 professional U down the earth guy or like I said, 0:07:51.240 --> 0:07:54.040 on that caliber level that you could tell that having 0:07:54.160 --> 0:07:56.880 changed one bit. And you know, I always respected that 0:07:56.920 --> 0:07:59.520 out of a j since day one. And you know, 0:07:59.600 --> 0:08:02.000 I'm sure. I mean he and it's a nineteen year 0:08:02.080 --> 0:08:04.960 or something like that, and he, you know, like I said, 0:08:05.080 --> 0:08:07.400 the way he handles himself and the way he goes 0:08:07.400 --> 0:08:09.840 about things. I mean, you know, hopefully I could be 0:08:09.880 --> 0:08:12.760 able to show one day with a younger guy, you know, 0:08:12.960 --> 0:08:15.840 be like, Okay, Joe's he wanted. The humblest dudes you 0:08:15.880 --> 0:08:18.240 know that I've ever met. Like I said, I feel 0:08:18.280 --> 0:08:19.760 that way about Aja, and I'm sure a lot of 0:08:19.760 --> 0:08:21.840 people do. But I mean, just like I said, the 0:08:21.920 --> 0:08:26.000 calorable level at Aja his own you know, he Hall 0:08:26.040 --> 0:08:28.200 of Fame bound. And you know a lot of people 0:08:28.280 --> 0:08:30.560 they be, you know, big headed and all of that. 0:08:30.680 --> 0:08:33.640 Aja is super down the earth, most humble dude that 0:08:33.679 --> 0:08:36.440 I've ever met. And I'll take that, you know, saying 0:08:36.480 --> 0:08:38.000 it a great with me. I mean, he just is. 0:08:39.400 --> 0:08:42.440 You've talked about trying to take another step forward this year, 0:08:43.280 --> 0:08:45.920 let the league in rushing last year? In your own mind, 0:08:45.960 --> 0:08:49.200 were you good last year? Were you great? Were you okay? 0:08:49.440 --> 0:08:51.800 How did you feel? Um? I think I think I 0:08:51.840 --> 0:08:54.720 did a good job. At the end of the day. 0:08:54.800 --> 0:08:58.080 The lineman, you know, that's that's really who who created it, 0:08:58.120 --> 0:09:00.720 you know what I'm saying. The receivers, block and down field, 0:09:01.000 --> 0:09:02.760 all of them dudes, they play a part of it. 0:09:03.080 --> 0:09:04.640 At the end of the day, I could have did 0:09:04.679 --> 0:09:06.959 a whole hell of a lot better. I mean, everybody 0:09:07.000 --> 0:09:09.560 think he was that good that year. At the same time, 0:09:09.600 --> 0:09:12.439 I left a lot of yards on the field. You 0:09:12.520 --> 0:09:14.680 might not think so because I had a lot, But 0:09:14.760 --> 0:09:17.160 at the same time, there's a lot more other yards 0:09:17.200 --> 0:09:19.320 that you know it was there that I could have got. 0:09:19.480 --> 0:09:21.959 But I mean it's just little things that plays a 0:09:22.040 --> 0:09:23.480 part of it. I mean, at the end of the day, 0:09:23.480 --> 0:09:26.640 like I said, this year, I'm gonna put myself on 0:09:26.679 --> 0:09:29.000 that that that pedestals who are I just got to 0:09:29.040 --> 0:09:31.760 be that much better, you know than everybody else. I mean, 0:09:31.800 --> 0:09:33.800 that's just what I'm gonna do. You know. The offense 0:09:33.840 --> 0:09:36.559 we got and the players around us and the coaches 0:09:36.600 --> 0:09:38.840 around us, they're gonna get us in that position to 0:09:38.880 --> 0:09:41.240 be able to do that. So, like I said, it's 0:09:41.320 --> 0:09:43.960 it's a lot in store for us. Just gotta go 0:09:44.000 --> 0:09:46.320 out there, you know, when the time comes and deliver. 0:09:46.760 --> 0:09:48.760 I mean, that's all it is to it, man, and 0:09:49.040 --> 0:09:51.160 really nothing else I saw that this is to it. 0:09:51.440 --> 0:09:54.719 You seem like you're bubbling with excitement the opportunity to 0:09:54.760 --> 0:09:57.320 play in this offense. Oh yeah, for sure. I mean 0:09:58.520 --> 0:10:03.480 if you were to see the the opportunity that a 0:10:03.600 --> 0:10:06.679 certain individual can do on the offense, and it's not 0:10:06.760 --> 0:10:09.560 being a quarterback. He'd be like, okay, like man like, 0:10:10.080 --> 0:10:11.920 hopefully I could be able to do that, you know 0:10:11.920 --> 0:10:14.160 what I'm saying. And the film me and the film 0:10:14.200 --> 0:10:16.760 speak for itself. You see the Rams running wild all 0:10:16.840 --> 0:10:20.520 day like and we got that same offense, And I mean, 0:10:20.559 --> 0:10:22.840 I will, I will think we have better players than them, 0:10:23.160 --> 0:10:25.400 you know what I'm saying, So at least offensive weapons, 0:10:25.840 --> 0:10:28.240 and like I said, I will think that we could 0:10:28.240 --> 0:10:30.400 do the same stuff, if not more than they can. 0:10:30.559 --> 0:10:33.719 If anybody side and said, look, we're gonna be We're 0:10:33.720 --> 0:10:36.439 gonna focus on the run. Um. I mean at the 0:10:36.520 --> 0:10:38.800 end of the day, to our offense and what we run, 0:10:38.880 --> 0:10:43.760 it's the run starts first. And by the run starting first, 0:10:43.760 --> 0:10:46.320 it's set ups the play actions and it's set up 0:10:46.360 --> 0:10:49.200 the jets suite, just set up the shots down the field. 0:10:49.480 --> 0:10:51.480 At the end of the day, if our run is going, 0:10:51.880 --> 0:10:54.440 then our past will be on two. And you know, 0:10:54.559 --> 0:10:56.760 by our past and our run being on at the 0:10:56.800 --> 0:10:59.840 same time, you gotta play the defense honest. If you ain't, 0:11:00.120 --> 0:11:02.720 it's on defense. If the defense not playing honest. And 0:11:02.760 --> 0:11:04.040 at the end of the day, you're not doing what 0:11:04.040 --> 0:11:06.640 you're supposed to be doing on offense. And I feel like, 0:11:07.080 --> 0:11:09.360 you know, you know, me being a back that I 0:11:09.400 --> 0:11:13.240 am and capable of being, and the receivers that we 0:11:13.320 --> 0:11:15.920 have with aj you know on the outside and Tyler 0:11:15.960 --> 0:11:17.880 and the slot. You know what I'm saying. You got 0:11:17.920 --> 0:11:21.240 John on outside, Cody on the outside, them boys, they're 0:11:21.280 --> 0:11:24.080 gonna be able to spread, you know, the ball around, 0:11:24.080 --> 0:11:26.200 and you got to play it honest. If you don't 0:11:26.240 --> 0:11:28.240 play honest and you just gonna have to pick take it, 0:11:28.320 --> 0:11:30.080 You're gonna have to take your choice and your chance 0:11:30.120 --> 0:11:33.640 to stop in the past getting extra dvs or extra 0:11:33.679 --> 0:11:35.800 big guys for the run. And at the end of 0:11:35.800 --> 0:11:38.120 the day, our offense should be so good we could 0:11:38.160 --> 0:11:41.160 be whatever defense out there, no matter what personnel they running. 0:11:41.559 --> 0:11:43.440 And you know, like I said, we just gotta do 0:11:43.480 --> 0:11:46.440 whatever we can man and put ourselves in position to 0:11:46.679 --> 0:11:50.720 excel in that level. Um. But I mean, it'll it'll come, 0:11:50.760 --> 0:11:53.640 and you know it's it's en due time. I mean, 0:11:53.760 --> 0:11:55.960 it's only so much we can say right now. But 0:11:56.440 --> 0:11:58.600 you know when when when the games start to come home, 0:11:58.840 --> 0:12:01.240 we'll be there for you. I ever even heard the 0:12:01.280 --> 0:12:04.080 name Zach Taylor. Did you watch the Rams the last 0:12:04.120 --> 0:12:06.800 two years and go, man, why can't they be stop 0:12:06.880 --> 0:12:09.760 these guys? Yeah? Yeah, for sure. And you know when 0:12:09.760 --> 0:12:12.120 you see Todd Gurley doing the things that he's done 0:12:12.679 --> 0:12:14.760 in that offense, she'd be like what, like, what the 0:12:14.760 --> 0:12:17.040 hell do they got going on? Like you know what 0:12:17.080 --> 0:12:20.200 I'm saying. But you know, when when you get coach 0:12:20.240 --> 0:12:25.600 Taylor bringing in that offense and you know, doing those 0:12:25.640 --> 0:12:29.480 things and the stuff that Todd did and the stuff 0:12:29.520 --> 0:12:31.080 that I know that I could be able to do 0:12:31.120 --> 0:12:34.679 the same thing, you know, if not more, then I mean, 0:12:34.679 --> 0:12:36.880 who wouldn't be excited? You know what I'm saying. Todd 0:12:37.000 --> 0:12:39.600 is a great player, like a great running back. Like 0:12:39.679 --> 0:12:42.960 it ain't it ain't no, no, I'm saying, it's you 0:12:43.000 --> 0:12:47.000 get one Tidd decades, just take one, like like decades 0:12:47.040 --> 0:12:48.760 to get one Ted Gurley. You know what I'm saying. 0:12:48.760 --> 0:12:51.319 Todd as a special player in the league. You know 0:12:51.360 --> 0:12:54.400 what I'm saying. But at the same time, when when 0:12:54.640 --> 0:12:56.720 when we get that opportunity and you see what he 0:12:56.760 --> 0:12:58.880 could do and Coach Taylor bringing in that same thing, 0:12:59.240 --> 0:13:02.959 I mean, who wouldn't get excited? Who would last year 0:13:02.960 --> 0:13:04.840 do you feel like you're gonna get the same mount. 0:13:05.360 --> 0:13:07.400 I mean, I mean, at the end of the day, 0:13:07.440 --> 0:13:09.839 only time would tell. I mean, you never know how 0:13:09.880 --> 0:13:12.400 the game goes and things like that. But at the 0:13:12.440 --> 0:13:15.360 same time, I felt like, whatever touches that I get, 0:13:15.520 --> 0:13:17.240 I'm gonna be able to, you know, put on no 0:13:17.280 --> 0:13:19.280 matter what if it's in the past, are in the run. 0:13:19.360 --> 0:13:21.760 So I said, I just gotta be in physical shape 0:13:22.120 --> 0:13:24.240 and uh, you know, just to be able to take 0:13:24.280 --> 0:13:27.800 on that role and at that pounding of getting the 0:13:27.880 --> 0:13:30.200 rock and you know, like I said, I felt like 0:13:30.200 --> 0:13:32.559 I'd being great shaped for it. And now I's got 0:13:32.559 --> 0:13:34.760 to make sure when the time comes, it's gotta be ready. 0:13:34.880 --> 0:13:37.600 That's it. Last year, Joe Mixon became just the second 0:13:37.679 --> 0:13:40.880 running back in team history to lead his conference in rushing. 0:13:41.440 --> 0:13:45.520 Do you know the other one? Not Corey Dillon, not 0:13:45.679 --> 0:13:50.720 Ruddy Johnson, not James Brooks, and not Ikey Woods. It 0:13:50.760 --> 0:13:54.560 was Paul Robinson who led the AFL in rushing in 0:13:54.640 --> 0:13:58.480 the bengals very first season. When the team opens training 0:13:58.520 --> 0:14:02.360 camp on Saturday, it will be Dave Lapham's forty fourth 0:14:02.360 --> 0:14:05.840 with the Bengals, ten as a player and thirty four 0:14:05.960 --> 0:14:09.839 as a broadcaster. We began our training camp discussion with 0:14:10.000 --> 0:14:13.800 memories of his very first one lap. We are recording 0:14:13.840 --> 0:14:16.839 the day before training camp begins, and you're playing days. 0:14:17.440 --> 0:14:20.760 Were you excited today or were you dreading what was 0:14:20.800 --> 0:14:23.640 to come? I guess it all depended on the year, 0:14:23.720 --> 0:14:26.720 you know. I remember, you know, my first training camp. 0:14:26.800 --> 0:14:31.280 You talk about, you know, not knowing anything from an 0:14:31.360 --> 0:14:35.720 environmental standpoint or expectations. I mean it was also new 0:14:35.800 --> 0:14:39.800 and I can just remember, you know, going into the cafeteria, 0:14:40.280 --> 0:14:43.080 getting my food, sitting over in a corner by myself, 0:14:43.120 --> 0:14:45.520 and just not saying boot anybody. You know. It's like 0:14:46.480 --> 0:14:50.360 I took on the approach that rookies are not to 0:14:50.400 --> 0:14:54.280 be seen or heard from, you know, unless you're invited 0:14:54.400 --> 0:14:56.400 into a group or whatever the case may be. So 0:14:57.120 --> 0:14:59.200 I do remember just like looking around and just trying 0:14:59.200 --> 0:15:01.360 to observe as any things that I could observe, try 0:15:01.400 --> 0:15:04.280 to absorb and sponge in as much of the new 0:15:04.400 --> 0:15:09.880 environment as possible. And um, just man, don't don't don't DVA, 0:15:10.000 --> 0:15:14.080 keep your keep your nose to the grindstone. Um, if 0:15:14.080 --> 0:15:16.320 you have questions, don't be afraid to ask him, obviously, 0:15:16.800 --> 0:15:19.360 and then you find out veterans that you can you 0:15:19.400 --> 0:15:21.120 can trust, and guys that want to help you and 0:15:21.440 --> 0:15:23.240 all that sort of things. That rookie year it's a 0:15:23.480 --> 0:15:25.640 it's a big adjustment. Even though you played at a 0:15:26.200 --> 0:15:28.960 you know, a major college program and such, it's a 0:15:28.960 --> 0:15:31.480 different dynamic coming to the NFL. And I'll never forget 0:15:31.960 --> 0:15:35.360 the first pregame talk. Paul Brown gets up there with 0:15:35.400 --> 0:15:38.720 his Benjamin Franklin glasses on and and his notes and 0:15:39.200 --> 0:15:42.520 addresses the team and I'm thinking, man, this is this 0:15:42.560 --> 0:15:45.120 is unbelievable. This guys, he's in the Hall of Fame coach. 0:15:45.160 --> 0:15:47.080 You know, I can't believe I'm here. Go from Bench 0:15:47.080 --> 0:15:49.720 sports Wild, hall of Fame college coach my senior year 0:15:49.960 --> 0:15:53.280 to Paul Brown, Hall of Fame professional coach, my rookie 0:15:53.360 --> 0:15:56.200 in the NFL. And I thought, man, I am unlucky, dude, 0:15:56.200 --> 0:15:59.600 you know, go from one coach like that to another one. 0:16:00.040 --> 0:16:02.240 And they both had unbelievable respect for each other. Paul 0:16:02.240 --> 0:16:05.520 Brown really respected, you know, Bench Schwartzwald because he got 0:16:05.520 --> 0:16:07.560 a lot of guys from Syracuse over the years between 0:16:07.640 --> 0:16:10.360 his Cleveland Brown and Cincinnati Bengal teams. And of course 0:16:10.600 --> 0:16:14.160 Ben Schwartzwald thought you know, the moon rose and the 0:16:14.200 --> 0:16:17.040 sun rose, and said on Paul Brown. For sure, when 0:16:17.040 --> 0:16:19.240 Paul would get up and do that beginning of camp 0:16:19.320 --> 0:16:21.600 speech that he was famous for, what did you think? 0:16:22.680 --> 0:16:26.440 You know, I thought that he was. He was no nonsense. 0:16:27.680 --> 0:16:31.160 You know, he's a very accomplished orator. You know, he 0:16:31.200 --> 0:16:34.560 had he had a very strong message and h and 0:16:34.640 --> 0:16:37.000 he gave it the same message every year, the same speech. 0:16:37.040 --> 0:16:39.360 So you know, the veteran guys were all bored by it, 0:16:39.400 --> 0:16:42.200 and I'm like, on every word, I was like mesmerized, 0:16:42.640 --> 0:16:45.720 and you know, he covered a lot of things and 0:16:46.600 --> 0:16:48.560 I just looking at him, I thought, you know, this 0:16:48.600 --> 0:16:51.600 guy is uh, he's impressive. And then the more I 0:16:51.640 --> 0:16:55.320 got to know him as a rookie player, it was like, 0:16:55.560 --> 0:16:57.960 you know, I think if he got into politics, he 0:16:58.000 --> 0:17:00.000 would have been president. I think if he got into business, 0:17:00.040 --> 0:17:01.960 he would have run p And you know, he's just 0:17:02.000 --> 0:17:06.800 that kind of guy, just unbelievably intelligent, you know, ahead 0:17:06.840 --> 0:17:09.760 of the game. All the things that he that he invented, 0:17:09.800 --> 0:17:12.600 including the face mask and so many things that are 0:17:12.600 --> 0:17:15.960 taken for granted today. Paul Brown was the originator and 0:17:17.119 --> 0:17:21.200 so he just was and the thing that impressed me too, 0:17:21.320 --> 0:17:23.639 is his organizational ability when he get out of the 0:17:23.640 --> 0:17:25.720 coaching part of it. Even as a coach, he'd hired 0:17:25.720 --> 0:17:28.879 an assistant coach that he felt like he could trust 0:17:29.080 --> 0:17:31.439 and then let him do his job. He let him 0:17:31.480 --> 0:17:34.160 do his work, and if you didn't do it, he'd 0:17:34.200 --> 0:17:36.440 move on from you. But you get an opportunity to 0:17:36.960 --> 0:17:40.080 do it and do it well. So I think his 0:17:40.240 --> 0:17:44.360 organizational ability his ability to judge people and put him 0:17:44.359 --> 0:17:49.560 in positions to succeed and surround them with methodology and 0:17:50.040 --> 0:17:53.360 ways to succeed. He was a brilliant guy, very brilliant. 0:17:53.920 --> 0:17:56.240 Zach Taylor's first training camp as the Bengals head coach 0:17:56.320 --> 0:17:57.919 is going to look a lot different from what you 0:17:58.000 --> 0:18:01.640 experienced as an NFL player. Practices will be two hours, 0:18:01.960 --> 0:18:05.960 no two of days, no Oklahoma drill, no half line drill. 0:18:06.240 --> 0:18:10.000 What do you think Paul Brown was like that? Paul was? 0:18:10.640 --> 0:18:12.720 I mean, a two hour practice was a long practice 0:18:12.800 --> 0:18:16.159 for Paul, but it was very quick tempo and h 0:18:17.600 --> 0:18:19.920 His belief was, you're not on your own schedule. We're 0:18:19.920 --> 0:18:22.119 not going to beat you up. You did you know 0:18:22.560 --> 0:18:25.639 live we had nine on seven run game, we had 0:18:25.680 --> 0:18:29.240 live pass rush and things like that, but it wasn't 0:18:29.280 --> 0:18:31.720 he didn't really scrimmage at the end of practice. We'd 0:18:32.080 --> 0:18:34.879 we'd have a few plays of scrimmage, but nothing, you know, 0:18:34.960 --> 0:18:37.080 like a half an hour scrimmage or anything like that. 0:18:37.520 --> 0:18:42.280 But Forrest greg though, man, his training camps were, I 0:18:42.320 --> 0:18:45.280 mean they were they were tough. They were challenging mentally, 0:18:45.280 --> 0:18:48.800 physically everywhere they could challenge you. But you know, Forrest 0:18:48.880 --> 0:18:51.840 had the credibility of Lombardi asked him to at least 0:18:51.840 --> 0:18:54.200 do what he's asking us to do. Maybe more so 0:18:54.359 --> 0:18:56.320 he did it. He's not asking us to do anything 0:18:56.359 --> 0:18:59.000 he didn't do. He's still alive and walking and ticking. 0:18:59.440 --> 0:19:01.639 So let's let's see what we can get done. But 0:19:02.160 --> 0:19:04.520 I mean the conditioning part of it, in full pads, 0:19:04.560 --> 0:19:08.640 the up downs, you know, the famous grass drills running place, 0:19:08.720 --> 0:19:09.960 hit the ground, you know, I have to hit it 0:19:10.000 --> 0:19:12.680 on your belly, bounce up, and you know, we do 0:19:12.800 --> 0:19:14.800 sets of thirty, like three sets of thirty of them, 0:19:14.840 --> 0:19:16.920 and it's like your tongue's dragging at that point. And 0:19:16.920 --> 0:19:19.239 then practice hasn't even started yet, you know, it's like, 0:19:19.280 --> 0:19:22.440 oh my gosh. And they were very physical, and I 0:19:22.440 --> 0:19:26.119 remember we had the goal line stand against US in 0:19:26.200 --> 0:19:28.800 Super Bowl sixteen, and the very first practice the following 0:19:28.880 --> 0:19:32.800 year for training camp, we basically stretched, took a lap 0:19:32.840 --> 0:19:34.880 around the field and blew his whistl was a live 0:19:34.920 --> 0:19:37.639 goal line scrimmage. That will never happen on my watch again. 0:19:37.840 --> 0:19:40.080 And it was like, got your next shortened, you know, 0:19:40.680 --> 0:19:44.600 fifteen minutes into training camp in that nineteen eighty two season, 0:19:44.640 --> 0:19:48.199 that strike shortened season. So that was that was that 0:19:48.280 --> 0:19:51.520 was interesting. He was his training camps were by far 0:19:51.840 --> 0:19:54.560 the most physical, that most physical thing I'd ever been 0:19:54.560 --> 0:19:57.920 through in my life, football, non football, whatever. You'd be 0:19:57.960 --> 0:20:01.600 two inches taller if not for US training camps. In 0:20:01.640 --> 0:20:05.320 your mind, is there a fine line between how hard 0:20:05.680 --> 0:20:07.800 you need to work to be ready to play NFL 0:20:07.880 --> 0:20:11.880 football and keeping guys fresh and healthy? Yeah, And it's 0:20:11.880 --> 0:20:15.200 so different now because back then, you know, we'd have 0:20:15.680 --> 0:20:19.600 one mandatory camp in the offseason, and I mean I 0:20:19.600 --> 0:20:22.320 had an offseason job. Most guys had an offseason job. 0:20:22.359 --> 0:20:24.080 It was you know, you weren't making the money that 0:20:24.320 --> 0:20:27.800 football makes today. And uh, you know, plus the fact 0:20:27.840 --> 0:20:29.800 that I wanted to try to prepare myself for life 0:20:29.800 --> 0:20:32.280 after football because it could have been at any season, 0:20:32.320 --> 0:20:35.200 So I wanted to do things to eliminate vocations, if 0:20:35.280 --> 0:20:38.800 nothing else, and get experience and exposure in different things. 0:20:39.560 --> 0:20:42.080 And I had like, you know, six or seven different 0:20:42.080 --> 0:20:50.120 offseason jobs from teaching to you know, selling chemicals, selling adhesives, 0:20:51.280 --> 0:20:55.879 working at a savings and loan, all kinds of different jobs, 0:20:55.920 --> 0:20:57.520 you know, just to see what I might like and 0:20:57.600 --> 0:21:02.240 not like. And so guys, I mean I work out 0:21:02.240 --> 0:21:04.439 in my lunch period and I'd come in earlier in 0:21:04.480 --> 0:21:06.240 the morning so I could take an hour and a 0:21:06.280 --> 0:21:08.240 half lunch and go lift, go down to spinning field, 0:21:08.320 --> 0:21:09.840 lift you might run, and all that sort of thing, 0:21:09.880 --> 0:21:13.080 and then come back and work in the afternoon. So 0:21:13.520 --> 0:21:16.239 it wasn't Now it's a year round thing. I mean, 0:21:16.240 --> 0:21:18.840 they're conditioning, as we know, you know, all year round, 0:21:18.880 --> 0:21:21.639 and um they have you know, the OTAs and the 0:21:21.640 --> 0:21:24.320 mandatory mini camps and all those sort of things. So 0:21:24.359 --> 0:21:27.399 it's it's guys don't really get out of shape as 0:21:27.480 --> 0:21:30.400 much as guys used to back in those years, and 0:21:30.480 --> 0:21:33.159 a lot of times guys would literally play themselves in 0:21:33.200 --> 0:21:36.000 the shape at training camp. It would be my second 0:21:36.040 --> 0:21:38.560 year in the in the league in nineteen seventy five, 0:21:38.600 --> 0:21:40.640 we had a Hall of Fame game against the Redskins. 0:21:40.720 --> 0:21:44.240 So we had seven preseason games. We had training camp 0:21:44.280 --> 0:21:49.359 for nine weeks. I mean, I my son was born 0:21:49.440 --> 0:21:52.280 and you know, didn't see him for two and a 0:21:52.320 --> 0:21:55.000 half months. You know, it was like, geez, this is crazy. 0:21:55.560 --> 0:21:58.639 But that that was. That was the lifestyle of the 0:21:58.720 --> 0:22:01.600 NFL in those in those years or so training camps. 0:22:01.640 --> 0:22:03.399 I think they felt like they had to be a 0:22:03.400 --> 0:22:06.080 lot different. But when you look at it, guys would 0:22:06.080 --> 0:22:08.640 come into training camp not in very good shape at all, 0:22:08.800 --> 0:22:11.160 and they just beat them to death initially, and they'd 0:22:11.160 --> 0:22:13.080 wonder why they had pulled muscles and all these and 0:22:13.119 --> 0:22:15.560 guys weren't ready for the A lot of guys weren't. 0:22:16.800 --> 0:22:19.320 I never tried to let myself, you know, get that. 0:22:19.640 --> 0:22:21.600 I always felt like if I let myself get that 0:22:21.640 --> 0:22:24.040 badly out of shape, I'm gonna lose your job. Man. 0:22:24.200 --> 0:22:26.280 You know, it's a competitive world, not NFL. Man. You 0:22:26.320 --> 0:22:29.840 gotta keep yourself physically and mentally ready. But some guys 0:22:29.840 --> 0:22:33.240 would just you know, take it for granted and show 0:22:33.359 --> 0:22:36.119 up and early in camp have some kind of muscle 0:22:36.119 --> 0:22:39.480 pull that they shouldn't have really had. But so and 0:22:39.720 --> 0:22:42.600 like I can remember too back then, it would be 0:22:43.160 --> 0:22:47.239 nights one hundred percent humidity and one water break. Like 0:22:47.640 --> 0:22:50.520 back then, you were soft. If you drank water and 0:22:50.560 --> 0:22:53.520 they give you salt tablets, you know, it's like, oh, 0:22:53.520 --> 0:22:56.000 this is but it was just it was like the 0:22:56.040 --> 0:22:58.800 reverse of what should have been. And I can remember 0:22:58.880 --> 0:23:03.479 just losing literally number one practice, losing sixteen pounds waiting 0:23:03.520 --> 0:23:06.920 in the morning, waiting out after the second practice was 0:23:06.960 --> 0:23:09.640 sixteen pounds of water weight now and lunch. You tried 0:23:09.680 --> 0:23:11.240 to make it up in between, but you couldn't you 0:23:11.440 --> 0:23:13.920 make it up that fast. And you talk about man 0:23:14.080 --> 0:23:16.760 trying to just pound fluids and make sure you don't 0:23:16.800 --> 0:23:20.439 cramp to death, you know. So, yeah, training camp was 0:23:20.480 --> 0:23:24.159 so different back then. It was crazy. Seven preseason games 0:23:24.200 --> 0:23:26.600 has to be the record. No team ever played more 0:23:26.600 --> 0:23:29.439 than seven preseason games than it. No, I wouldn't think so, 0:23:30.040 --> 0:23:31.679 you know, because the Hall of Fame game was on 0:23:31.720 --> 0:23:34.879 a rotation, so you know, you get that extra one 0:23:34.920 --> 0:23:38.000 and it's like, I'm thinking I was only this, you 0:23:38.040 --> 0:23:40.359 know my rookie years. Is my second year in the league, 0:23:40.359 --> 0:23:42.840 and I'm thinking two years ago we only played eleven 0:23:42.880 --> 0:23:46.200 games in a regular season in college. We're playing seven games, 0:23:46.240 --> 0:23:48.520 don't even count. I mean, none of them even mena 0:23:48.600 --> 0:23:51.240 hill of beans, you know, and then so we play 0:23:51.320 --> 0:23:55.040 seven that don't count, and then we played fourteen to count. Crazy. 0:23:55.800 --> 0:23:58.240 All right, let's talk about the latest Bengals news, beginning 0:23:58.240 --> 0:24:01.920 with the return of Andre Smith. Do you figure, all right, 0:24:01.960 --> 0:24:04.320 there's your third tackle or is there still a chance 0:24:04.359 --> 0:24:06.159 in your mind that the Bengals will be looking to 0:24:06.200 --> 0:24:08.520 make a deal or trying to find, you know, the 0:24:08.560 --> 0:24:11.120 best available guy after cuts? Yeah, I mean, I think 0:24:11.160 --> 0:24:16.440 I think that as an organization, they probably always continue 0:24:16.480 --> 0:24:19.520 that on a daily basis. You're looking to improve your roster, 0:24:20.000 --> 0:24:21.840 you know, from one to fifty three. Once you get 0:24:21.880 --> 0:24:24.000 that final fifty three men roster, you're trying to improve 0:24:24.040 --> 0:24:26.440 it as much as you can. I think that they 0:24:26.480 --> 0:24:31.159 feel much better about where they are. I mean, because literally, 0:24:31.160 --> 0:24:33.800 you had two tackles. How are you gonna play preseason games? 0:24:34.000 --> 0:24:36.200 Are you gonna You're gonna kick these guards out and 0:24:37.160 --> 0:24:40.359 have them play tackle for over a half maybe three 0:24:40.440 --> 0:24:43.200 quarters of a preseason game where some of them might 0:24:43.240 --> 0:24:45.639 not even obviously make the team and others It's like 0:24:45.760 --> 0:24:47.879 you're taking away reps that maybe they need to have 0:24:47.960 --> 0:24:50.200 more at guard. Now you're kicking them out there at tackle. 0:24:50.280 --> 0:24:52.159 They may not even play it during the season, so 0:24:52.520 --> 0:24:55.359 you were just short bodies. So to get somebody in 0:24:55.400 --> 0:24:58.040 there to just, uh, you know, take reps like that. 0:24:58.720 --> 0:25:00.840 But there were other guys out there, you know, like 0:25:00.920 --> 0:25:03.080 guys like Perkins and guys like that that are going 0:25:03.160 --> 0:25:05.720 to get reps in the preseason games and try to 0:25:05.760 --> 0:25:09.520 hook on either here or other NFL teams. But I 0:25:09.560 --> 0:25:12.520 think I think to have who could what could be 0:25:12.560 --> 0:25:15.560 your third tackle there from day one a training camp 0:25:15.640 --> 0:25:18.560 taking reps with offensive lineman that will be making the 0:25:18.600 --> 0:25:21.879 football team, I think it is a plus. So I 0:25:21.920 --> 0:25:24.800 think that to get that signing done when they did, 0:25:25.280 --> 0:25:27.560 I think before training camp even started, I think as 0:25:27.600 --> 0:25:29.520 a as a positive because there was I mean, it 0:25:29.560 --> 0:25:31.720 was you didn't have to be a football linstein to realize, Man, 0:25:31.760 --> 0:25:33.959 we got a hole there, you know, at that tackle spot. 0:25:34.320 --> 0:25:36.840 And as we've talked about before, you're gonna find in 0:25:36.880 --> 0:25:40.119 your five best lineman. If you've got a guy that 0:25:40.119 --> 0:25:42.800 can play tackle, he can usually kick inside to play guard. 0:25:43.200 --> 0:25:46.160 So I mean, you're gonna find your five best offensive lineman. 0:25:46.160 --> 0:25:48.159 It's just who's going to be that third tackle in 0:25:48.200 --> 0:25:50.639 that or that swing tackle that can play both right 0:25:50.680 --> 0:25:53.439 and left. For what it's worth. In shorts and a 0:25:53.480 --> 0:25:56.520 T shirt, at least, Andrea appeared to be in decent shape. Yeah, 0:25:56.560 --> 0:25:58.159 I think I agree with you. I think he's uh. 0:25:58.200 --> 0:26:00.879 I think he's been working in you know, this is 0:26:00.920 --> 0:26:03.280 his you know, he's in double digit's career now in 0:26:03.280 --> 0:26:07.920 the National Football League. So I think not that he 0:26:07.960 --> 0:26:10.800 ever took anything for granted, But if he did, I 0:26:10.800 --> 0:26:14.680 don't think he does anymore. And I think he's he's 0:26:14.680 --> 0:26:17.440 got a career and a story that he can tell 0:26:17.520 --> 0:26:19.960 some of the younger guys, you know, maybe things to avoid, 0:26:20.400 --> 0:26:25.399 things to do, you know, accentuate this, stay away from that, 0:26:25.760 --> 0:26:29.359 and you'll you'll have a successful NFL career. Plus the 0:26:29.400 --> 0:26:32.600 fact of having you know, played in a hundred games, 0:26:32.600 --> 0:26:35.280 over ninety of him here in his career with the Bengals, 0:26:35.320 --> 0:26:38.119 that he's he's seen a lot. You've seen a lot 0:26:38.160 --> 0:26:41.720 of players, he's seen a lot of defensive configurations, He's 0:26:41.720 --> 0:26:44.240 seen a lot of things that he can help, you know, 0:26:44.320 --> 0:26:48.200 young lineman with advanced their careers. News release came out 0:26:48.240 --> 0:26:51.080 on Friday morning that Billy Price begins the season on 0:26:51.119 --> 0:26:53.399 the non football injury list. That's also the case for 0:26:53.480 --> 0:26:57.400 long snapper Clark Harris. Let's start with Billy Price. They're 0:26:57.440 --> 0:27:00.159 not saying much about whatever the injury is, but they 0:27:00.160 --> 0:27:03.119 are saying it it did not appear to be too serious. Yeah, 0:27:03.160 --> 0:27:05.760 I think it's a sounds like it's a precautionary thing, 0:27:05.840 --> 0:27:07.680 you know, as much as anything. I think they want 0:27:07.680 --> 0:27:10.280 to make sure that he's that he's right, that he's 0:27:10.320 --> 0:27:13.919 one hundred percent right before he starts to you know, 0:27:13.960 --> 0:27:17.400 to take on the grind of an NFL season. And honestly, 0:27:17.480 --> 0:27:20.320 Dan the first as we know, the first few days 0:27:20.320 --> 0:27:22.600 and not even in pads. I mean they really they 0:27:22.640 --> 0:27:24.760 break them in easily. So it's almost like an extension 0:27:24.800 --> 0:27:27.080 of a mandatory mini camp at this stage. And I'm 0:27:27.080 --> 0:27:29.159 not saying, oh, yeah, you know it's not important, you 0:27:29.160 --> 0:27:31.320 can skip it. But if you have to miss something, 0:27:31.800 --> 0:27:33.639 you know, I think that would be the stage where 0:27:33.880 --> 0:27:38.919 it would be the most you know, you could overcome it. 0:27:39.000 --> 0:27:42.320 I'm trying to say, I guess it's the easiest rather 0:27:42.359 --> 0:27:45.280 than missing you know, halfway into training camp or towards 0:27:45.320 --> 0:27:47.439 the end of training camp and then starting a regular 0:27:47.480 --> 0:27:49.399 season coming off of an injury that you've had to 0:27:49.400 --> 0:27:51.840 take some time off, so hopefully, you know, let it 0:27:51.920 --> 0:27:55.480 heal and uh, like I'm saying, hopefully it's not that significant. 0:27:55.480 --> 0:27:58.160 Hopefully let it heal up and then get right into 0:27:58.200 --> 0:28:01.080 it and uh and get the pads on and start 0:28:01.080 --> 0:28:03.840 working with that with that offensive line that you're going 0:28:03.880 --> 0:28:06.439 to be a very important industrial part of making all 0:28:06.440 --> 0:28:09.560 the calls and directing traffic and all the responsibilities of 0:28:09.600 --> 0:28:13.679 the center house. And Clark Harris's case, with his track 0:28:13.720 --> 0:28:16.719 record and his experience, I assume that if he's healthy 0:28:16.800 --> 0:28:20.040 by September first, it doesn't even matter how much practice 0:28:20.040 --> 0:28:22.440 time he gets in, He'll be fine as your long snapper. Yeah, 0:28:22.480 --> 0:28:24.560 they signed Dan God, so there's a long snapper, and 0:28:24.600 --> 0:28:26.520 I'm thinking, you know, why why do we have to 0:28:26.560 --> 0:28:28.480 have two long snapper as a training camp? It's not 0:28:28.520 --> 0:28:31.320 really that that necessary, that essential. I mean, every team 0:28:31.359 --> 0:28:34.480 has a backup deep snapper long snapper, but you don't. 0:28:34.520 --> 0:28:37.920 You don't usually necessarily have, particularly in Clark's case, where 0:28:38.400 --> 0:28:41.320 he hasn't had a miss execution in his career. Here 0:28:41.440 --> 0:28:45.000 knock on wood with the Bengals, so um, you know, 0:28:45.080 --> 0:28:47.440 he had been in a recent Pro Bowl. But now 0:28:47.560 --> 0:28:50.120 obviously it makes sense with him a little bit nicked 0:28:50.200 --> 0:28:52.560 up and on the injury list at this point in time. 0:28:52.840 --> 0:28:54.560 I want to talk to you about the offensive line 0:28:54.560 --> 0:28:57.200 because I was listening to another podcast a week or 0:28:57.200 --> 0:29:00.520 two ago specifically on offensive line play, and the person 0:29:00.640 --> 0:29:05.160 doing it talked about how the Rams offense will make 0:29:05.200 --> 0:29:09.600 the Bengals offensive line look better even if the individual 0:29:09.640 --> 0:29:13.200 players aren't better. In other words, it's an offensive line 0:29:13.680 --> 0:29:19.360 friendly scheme. Right. Yeah, That's that's been my thought and 0:29:19.600 --> 0:29:23.320 about it as well. And I can speak from experience. 0:29:23.640 --> 0:29:26.040 When your running game is going well, and the running 0:29:26.040 --> 0:29:28.760 game has to go well or it doesn't, you know, 0:29:29.360 --> 0:29:31.720 your your play action passing game isn't going to work. 0:29:32.040 --> 0:29:33.520 You do have to have the threat of the run. 0:29:33.720 --> 0:29:36.840 If you're getting your run stuffed the play action pass, 0:29:36.920 --> 0:29:39.600 you're going to find yourself in down in distance situations 0:29:39.600 --> 0:29:42.080 where it's tough to play action pass and you're gonna 0:29:42.120 --> 0:29:44.400 have to drop back and pass and protect the quarterback. 0:29:44.640 --> 0:29:48.800 But if you're able to create positive plays with your 0:29:48.800 --> 0:29:51.880 play action stuff, pulling lineman and you know, cross blocking 0:29:51.880 --> 0:29:54.200 and doing some of the things that you do with this. 0:29:54.920 --> 0:29:57.560 In this particular offense, a lot of movement, a lot 0:29:57.560 --> 0:30:01.840 of formation, movement. Mult things happen. Defensive linemen, they have 0:30:01.880 --> 0:30:04.520 to come off the football respect the run, so they 0:30:04.600 --> 0:30:06.720 choke it down a little bit or even come to 0:30:06.760 --> 0:30:09.320 a stop if they're really fooled by it, and then 0:30:09.360 --> 0:30:11.800 they have to restart or else re accelerate if they 0:30:11.800 --> 0:30:13.880 don't come to a complete stop. That gives you an 0:30:13.920 --> 0:30:19.400 edge as an offensive lineman, and you know not to 0:30:19.480 --> 0:30:21.840 mention what it does to the linebackers and the safeties 0:30:21.840 --> 0:30:24.920 with respect to potential big chunks down the field. And 0:30:25.080 --> 0:30:27.600 compound that with wide receivers on the edge they come 0:30:27.600 --> 0:30:30.880 in and blocking safeties, they're cracking on outside linebackers. Whatever 0:30:30.880 --> 0:30:33.960 they're doing in the running game, they go at that 0:30:34.040 --> 0:30:38.000 same movement, that same motion, same look to those guys. 0:30:38.240 --> 0:30:40.440 And so now you're playing its solid to play the run, 0:30:40.480 --> 0:30:42.000 and he runs right by you, and all of a sudden, 0:30:42.000 --> 0:30:44.320 you get a chunk play down the football field. So, 0:30:44.880 --> 0:30:47.360 I mean, there are so many, so many benefits to it, 0:30:47.600 --> 0:30:50.080 and you don't have to be an outstanding pass protector 0:30:50.360 --> 0:30:52.440 in that type of scheme. Now, at some point in time, 0:30:52.840 --> 0:30:55.920 you know you're gonna have to protect the quarterback. He's 0:30:55.920 --> 0:30:58.080 gonna take five seven step drops where he's seven nine 0:30:58.160 --> 0:31:01.280 yards deep in the pocket. But if rather than having 0:31:01.320 --> 0:31:03.520 to do that fifty times a game, or a defensive 0:31:03.560 --> 0:31:05.800 lineman knows where is and he's just teeing off, you know, 0:31:05.840 --> 0:31:09.640 fifty straight times, this offense with all the movement, formation, 0:31:09.720 --> 0:31:13.480 movement um, changing the launch point of the quarterback in 0:31:13.560 --> 0:31:16.000 and out of the pocket, moving the pocket, all of 0:31:16.040 --> 0:31:17.960 those kind of things that this offense is going to do, 0:31:18.280 --> 0:31:20.160 it's gonna make it a lot easier. I think it's 0:31:20.240 --> 0:31:24.040 I think it's offensive player friendly, it's offensive line friendly, 0:31:24.160 --> 0:31:28.320 quarterback friendly, receiver friendly. I think I think it can 0:31:28.360 --> 0:31:30.840 be all those things. But you know, as we've seen 0:31:32.000 --> 0:31:34.320 Newing Patriots figured it out. You know, they did a 0:31:34.320 --> 0:31:38.120 good job. But that's that's that guy's the best to 0:31:38.160 --> 0:31:40.560 ever do it, Bill Belichick, in terms of scheming on 0:31:40.600 --> 0:31:42.160 the defensive side of the football, and then he has 0:31:42.200 --> 0:31:44.520 a great quarterback executing on the other side of it. 0:31:44.560 --> 0:31:46.680 But I mean, they got to the Super Bowl running 0:31:46.720 --> 0:31:48.640 that offense. And this offense is going to be real 0:31:48.680 --> 0:31:52.520 interesting to watch, Dan because you know there's going to 0:31:52.560 --> 0:31:55.080 be some ram stuff, some West Coast stuff. You know, 0:31:55.920 --> 0:31:58.200 all the guys and the staff have had different exposures 0:31:58.400 --> 0:32:01.920 to different offenses. And they're three of them played quarterback. 0:32:01.960 --> 0:32:04.800 They all have input. So it's going to be, you know, 0:32:05.160 --> 0:32:09.080 a hybrid type of not a mishmatch, but a hybrid 0:32:09.120 --> 0:32:12.840 type of maybe everything that they like about these offenses 0:32:12.840 --> 0:32:14.920 put it all together and come up with something that 0:32:14.960 --> 0:32:18.760 could really create problems from matchup standpoint for defenses. It's 0:32:18.800 --> 0:32:20.880 going to be fun to watch, But I don't think 0:32:20.920 --> 0:32:24.720 you have to be a you know, a dominant pass 0:32:24.800 --> 0:32:29.480 protector as an offensive lineman they have success in this offense. 0:32:29.800 --> 0:32:32.840 You do have to be a pretty good run blocker though, 0:32:32.960 --> 0:32:35.920 to have success. And we've talked about it before. I 0:32:36.040 --> 0:32:39.680 always harken back to the Houston Texans under Gary Kubiak 0:32:39.760 --> 0:32:42.160 when they were really lightening it up. I'd watch end 0:32:42.240 --> 0:32:44.760 zone tape and it would be at the mesh point 0:32:44.800 --> 0:32:46.560 when the quarterbacks, you know, is he going to hand 0:32:46.600 --> 0:32:47.880 it off or not to the running back in the 0:32:47.880 --> 0:32:51.080 play action fake. The offensive lineman are looking the exact 0:32:51.160 --> 0:32:53.920 same whether they're running it or the play action pass. 0:32:54.320 --> 0:32:56.840 You know, they're not lying down the field, but they're 0:32:56.920 --> 0:32:59.479 doing their inside outside zone type schemes and they're doing 0:32:59.520 --> 0:33:02.360 it aggress It's like man is that a run? And 0:33:02.600 --> 0:33:05.280 even looking at the tight ends of receivers, like, I mean, 0:33:05.320 --> 0:33:08.240 their footwork, everything's the exact same. I'm like man and 0:33:08.560 --> 0:33:11.040 guests and would literally be a guest in fifty to 0:33:11.120 --> 0:33:13.400 fifty it was like seemed like half the time. Dam 0:33:13.720 --> 0:33:17.360 that's right, I thought there, And even considering down in distance, 0:33:17.440 --> 0:33:19.600 a lot of times they do that play acts and stuff. 0:33:19.640 --> 0:33:21.920 On second and eight, second and nine, you think they 0:33:22.000 --> 0:33:24.200 probably probably passed here and they're going to run it. 0:33:24.360 --> 0:33:26.800 Third and four they run it, you know, sometimes third 0:33:26.840 --> 0:33:28.120 and two, I think I gonna run it. No, it's 0:33:28.120 --> 0:33:30.920 a play action pass. So if you get that running 0:33:30.920 --> 0:33:33.760 game going, you can be real contrarian, you know, in 0:33:33.840 --> 0:33:36.440 your play calling and really get the defense on their 0:33:36.480 --> 0:33:38.320 heels and put them in a guessing game. Then you 0:33:38.400 --> 0:33:40.560 got you got a leg up for sure. How much 0:33:40.600 --> 0:33:44.280 did that scheme help Andrew Whitworth maintain his status as 0:33:44.320 --> 0:33:46.280 being known as one of the best left tackles in 0:33:46.320 --> 0:33:49.400 the NFL in his late thirties, Yeah, I think I 0:33:49.440 --> 0:33:52.400 think a lot. And uh Sullivan the center that um, 0:33:52.680 --> 0:33:55.440 you know, Sullivan and Whitworth were up there and advanced 0:33:55.480 --> 0:33:58.880 long on the tooth, and I do think that that 0:33:59.320 --> 0:34:01.680 you know, rather than just having Wit drop you know, 0:34:01.760 --> 0:34:04.760 set up and pass protect fifty straight times, you know, 0:34:04.840 --> 0:34:07.360 or fifty times during the course of a game, you know, 0:34:07.440 --> 0:34:09.640 in pass protection and Sullivan doing the same thing. I 0:34:09.680 --> 0:34:13.479 think you know, it makes it makes life easier, There's 0:34:13.480 --> 0:34:18.000 no question about it. You know, it's um any anytime, anytime, 0:34:18.040 --> 0:34:20.440 you can put an element of doubt in a defensive 0:34:20.440 --> 0:34:23.920 player's mind. This whole game is about confidence, you know, 0:34:24.000 --> 0:34:27.239 playing with confidence. If you if you think you know 0:34:27.719 --> 0:34:30.439 exactly you know, you know, you know exactly what to do, 0:34:30.840 --> 0:34:33.759 and you think your opponent doesn't really know what to do. Man, 0:34:34.280 --> 0:34:36.200 you feel like you're superman at that point, you know, 0:34:36.400 --> 0:34:38.680 And it is it's all about putting an element of doubt. 0:34:38.719 --> 0:34:41.200 That's why, you know, the defensive side of it. If 0:34:41.400 --> 0:34:45.759 if you're out there, whatever position it is, and it's like, man, 0:34:45.960 --> 0:34:48.200 you know, I'm not sure about this. What if he 0:34:48.239 --> 0:34:50.440 does this? What if he does that? You're done. You're beaten. 0:34:50.520 --> 0:34:53.200 You're beaten before you even even the stamp of the football. 0:34:53.320 --> 0:34:54.920 But if you line up and it's like, I know 0:34:54.960 --> 0:34:56.960 exactly what I'm gonna do. I don't care what he does. 0:34:57.239 --> 0:34:59.879 I know by rules, by rules. I know what I'm 0:35:00.000 --> 0:35:01.319 spposed to do. If he does this, I know what 0:35:01.320 --> 0:35:03.000 I'm supposed to do. If he does that, I'm gonna 0:35:03.000 --> 0:35:06.920 go kick his tail. And you know, now you're playing fast, 0:35:06.960 --> 0:35:10.120 you're playing confidently. And last year we saw a Bengals 0:35:10.160 --> 0:35:13.080 defense that was playing in doubt and a lot of times, 0:35:13.120 --> 0:35:16.880 I mean, sometimes guys are giving cushion because they're not sure. 0:35:17.520 --> 0:35:19.480 You know, they're not supposed to give seven yards cushion. 0:35:19.520 --> 0:35:20.879 And as a coach, I l y'all to you're kicking 0:35:20.960 --> 0:35:22.560 him in the butt, pushing them back up close to 0:35:22.600 --> 0:35:24.960 the line of scrimmage. But when you're not sure, it 0:35:25.040 --> 0:35:27.799 drives me nuts. When you teams that the you know, 0:35:27.880 --> 0:35:30.400 inside the ten yardline, a guy's given four yards cushion 0:35:30.440 --> 0:35:32.440 in the end zone, Why the heck would you do that? 0:35:32.800 --> 0:35:34.920 I mean, you know, it's like, you know, get up 0:35:34.960 --> 0:35:37.000 and challenge some people every once in a while, and 0:35:37.360 --> 0:35:40.480 so it is. It's all about mindset, it's all about mentality. 0:35:40.560 --> 0:35:43.600 And if you're a confident athlete, is an athlete that 0:35:43.680 --> 0:35:47.200 can play fast, and you know that's what you're looking for. 0:35:47.600 --> 0:35:49.560 We're in the locker room talking to quite a few 0:35:49.560 --> 0:35:52.840 of the players on Friday. I got excited just hearing 0:35:52.960 --> 0:35:58.160 Joe Mixon because he is bubbling with excitement with the 0:35:58.160 --> 0:36:01.000 opportunity to play in this scheme he is. I think 0:36:01.000 --> 0:36:03.320 he uh, you know, he led the AFC in rushing 0:36:03.440 --> 0:36:06.640 last year. You know he's uh, he's obviously coming off 0:36:06.640 --> 0:36:09.240 of off of that. Now. You know, Lindsay got injured 0:36:09.560 --> 0:36:13.080 the Broncos he was tracking. There's there's always circumstances and everything. 0:36:13.080 --> 0:36:16.040 Bottom line is, though he was number one in the 0:36:16.400 --> 0:36:19.360 in the AFC rushing the football, he missed two games himself. 0:36:19.760 --> 0:36:23.480 So he did it in in a fourteen game season. Pretty impressive, um, 0:36:24.160 --> 0:36:26.200 you know, and I think he wants to build on that. 0:36:26.320 --> 0:36:30.120 And I think there's always a guy that you know, 0:36:30.200 --> 0:36:33.560 some guys don't say a boo when they're leading, and 0:36:33.600 --> 0:36:37.680 they lead by example. Other guys are emotional and vociferous, 0:36:37.719 --> 0:36:40.799 and you know they not only lead by example, but 0:36:40.880 --> 0:36:43.799 they lead by um, you know, trying to elevate you 0:36:44.160 --> 0:36:46.520 from a verbal standpoint wherever the case. And Joe's Joe's 0:36:46.560 --> 0:36:48.879 that guy. I mean, Joe's the guy when they're having 0:36:48.880 --> 0:36:52.120 their competitive periods of practice. Was Joe's like, oh, there's 0:36:52.120 --> 0:36:54.399 an offense and defensive guy that's you know, getting after 0:36:54.440 --> 0:36:56.520 each other. Joe's always the offensive guy that's getting after 0:36:56.560 --> 0:36:59.719 the defense. So he's he's that you know, he's that 0:36:59.800 --> 0:37:02.640 kind the guy. He's the type a personality guy that way, 0:37:02.760 --> 0:37:04.560 but he backs it up. And that's that's what you 0:37:05.000 --> 0:37:06.759 that's what you like to have. The thing that the 0:37:06.760 --> 0:37:09.600 things I love about Joe when I watched Joe, if 0:37:09.600 --> 0:37:12.799 they're up twenty or down twenty, if he makes a 0:37:12.800 --> 0:37:18.200 big play, he celebrates it, you know, and not necessarily 0:37:18.200 --> 0:37:21.080 in a way to call attention to Joe. It's just like, yeah, 0:37:21.080 --> 0:37:22.759 you know, I did exactly what I was supposed to do. 0:37:22.800 --> 0:37:25.960 And he's he's an excitable football player. I like those 0:37:26.040 --> 0:37:28.400 kind of guys, you know, and U Joe's not a 0:37:28.440 --> 0:37:30.959 selfish player. I think Joe's just a you know, he'll 0:37:31.000 --> 0:37:33.200 give credit to his offensive line of good, credit to 0:37:33.239 --> 0:37:36.600 his wide receivers is full if there is one. Everybody 0:37:36.719 --> 0:37:39.600 tight ends, everybody blocking for him. But he just he 0:37:40.040 --> 0:37:42.480 wh when a play is executed the way it's supposed 0:37:42.480 --> 0:37:44.600 to be done, he celebrates it. And I don't I 0:37:44.600 --> 0:37:48.919 don't see anything wrong with that. Our summer vacation is over. Unbelievable. 0:37:49.080 --> 0:37:52.239 Here we go. First, first practice up in Dating is 0:37:52.280 --> 0:37:55.239 celebrating the one hundredth year of the game. First game 0:37:55.239 --> 0:37:58.960 played up there in Dating, the Dating Triangles beat the 0:37:58.960 --> 0:38:02.359 team from Columbus fourteen ZIP. That was big back then. 0:38:02.400 --> 0:38:05.799 I guess I'm sure it was. The Columbus team name, 0:38:05.880 --> 0:38:09.840 by the way, was the Panhandles. The gates at Welcome 0:38:09.920 --> 0:38:13.720 Stadium open at one thirty on Saturday, and admission is free. 0:38:14.120 --> 0:38:16.879 Practice a schedule to start at two thirty and last 0:38:16.920 --> 0:38:20.439 for about an hour, followed by an autograph session. If 0:38:20.440 --> 0:38:24.040 you can't make it, NFL Network will air live coverage. 0:38:24.480 --> 0:38:27.480 The Bengals will hold their first practice in downtown Cincinnati 0:38:27.800 --> 0:38:31.840 on Sunday afternoon at three. Now time for this week's 0:38:31.880 --> 0:38:34.239 fun fact segment as we get to know a new 0:38:34.320 --> 0:38:38.360 member of the coaching staff. He was John Gruden's quarterbacks 0:38:38.400 --> 0:38:41.840 coach last year in Oakland after earning a Super Bowl 0:38:41.960 --> 0:38:45.360 ring with the Denver Broncos. Time for some fun facts 0:38:45.360 --> 0:38:49.200 with Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan. The Bengals list your 0:38:49.239 --> 0:38:53.120 hometown as Champagne, Illinois, but as the son of a coach, 0:38:53.160 --> 0:38:56.239 I'm guessing you lived all over the place. As a kid, 0:38:56.360 --> 0:38:58.160 was that the case. Yeah, for the most part, I 0:38:58.200 --> 0:39:00.839 lived in I really got I went to high school 0:39:00.840 --> 0:39:03.400 in one place, so birthplace with Champaign, Illinois. My dad 0:39:03.440 --> 0:39:06.279 was at the University of Illinois. But we moved to 0:39:06.520 --> 0:39:09.560 Arizona and north to Carpondale and Madison, Wisconsin. I would 0:39:09.560 --> 0:39:11.880 say Madison is kind of where my childhood was kindergarten 0:39:11.880 --> 0:39:14.520 through fifth grade. And then when we lived in South Jersey, 0:39:14.520 --> 0:39:15.680 when I was in middle school with my dad was 0:39:15.680 --> 0:39:17.560 the Eagles. And then I went to high school out 0:39:17.600 --> 0:39:18.879 in the Bay Area and my dad was with the Raiders. 0:39:18.880 --> 0:39:20.160 So I got through high school in one place. I 0:39:20.200 --> 0:39:22.960 was fortunate. It's not always the case for every coaches kids. 0:39:23.000 --> 0:39:25.560 So but yeah, we moved around a little bit. You 0:39:25.680 --> 0:39:29.040 probably learned how to make friends quickly. I loved moving around, 0:39:29.080 --> 0:39:31.480 and I think when you look back, and I'm actually 0:39:31.560 --> 0:39:33.560 kind of excited for my kids to have that experience. 0:39:33.600 --> 0:39:36.840 I've lived in most major geographical areas of the country. 0:39:37.200 --> 0:39:39.000 You get to meet a bunch of different types of people. 0:39:39.520 --> 0:39:41.439 It allows you to learn how to get along with people, 0:39:41.480 --> 0:39:43.480 allows you to learn how to make friends you don't 0:39:43.480 --> 0:39:46.480 know anybody. I think it helped me as a kid 0:39:46.520 --> 0:39:49.200 grown up to be a little more outgoing and put 0:39:49.239 --> 0:39:52.000 myself out there and learned how to make a friend 0:39:52.080 --> 0:39:55.040 or two and needed. We're doing fun facts with Brian Callahan. 0:39:55.120 --> 0:39:57.280 Your dad, Bills, the former head coach of the Oakland 0:39:57.320 --> 0:40:00.720 Raiders and the Nebraska Cornhuskers. He's currently lead the offensive 0:40:00.719 --> 0:40:03.640 line coach of the Washington Redskins. Were you allowed to 0:40:03.680 --> 0:40:07.120 go behind the scenes with his teams as a kid? Oh? Yeah, 0:40:07.160 --> 0:40:09.160 that was the best part about being a coach's kid. 0:40:09.200 --> 0:40:11.319 If you love football. What a great way to grow up. 0:40:11.920 --> 0:40:14.680 I was in I was in OTAs and training camps, 0:40:14.680 --> 0:40:17.200 and I worked in the equipment room. I used to 0:40:17.239 --> 0:40:19.839 go to practice and throw, so I would be out 0:40:19.880 --> 0:40:22.560 there throwing individual drills as a high school kid, which 0:40:22.600 --> 0:40:24.320 was a great experience. I got to throw some pretty 0:40:24.320 --> 0:40:26.480 good players in Oakland there for a couple of years. 0:40:26.600 --> 0:40:30.120 And yeah, I got to sit in meetings. So oddly enough, 0:40:30.160 --> 0:40:32.440 I used to sit in John Gruden's quarterback meetings when 0:40:32.440 --> 0:40:34.680 I was fourteen and fifteen years old and he was 0:40:34.719 --> 0:40:37.040 still the head coach there, and low and behold, a 0:40:37.080 --> 0:40:38.640 bunch of years later, I get to go work for him. 0:40:38.680 --> 0:40:40.880 So yeah, I got to see kind of all of it, 0:40:41.520 --> 0:40:44.799 from meetings to dealing with the players and being at 0:40:44.800 --> 0:40:47.360 practice and being around and I had to get occasional 0:40:47.400 --> 0:40:49.560 reminder that whatever I heard in the field as it 0:40:49.600 --> 0:40:52.399 wasn't okay to bring back to the house. But yeah, 0:40:52.400 --> 0:40:55.120 I got to see you quite a bit. For a 0:40:55.160 --> 0:40:56.840 young kid, I've been hanging around training camps since I 0:40:56.880 --> 0:40:59.239 was about eleven or twelve. And who are some of 0:40:59.239 --> 0:41:01.600 the guys who were throwing too in Oakland? Tim Brown, 0:41:01.719 --> 0:41:05.399 Jerry Rice, those two guys, those pretty good players. Um 0:41:06.239 --> 0:41:08.680 you know, then those were those areasly too that stand out. 0:41:08.680 --> 0:41:10.160 But then to get to be around a guy like 0:41:10.239 --> 0:41:12.640 Rich Gannon as a high school high school athlete, to 0:41:12.680 --> 0:41:14.719 see him and he was always great to me and 0:41:14.920 --> 0:41:18.000 answer questions, and I got a chance to pick his 0:41:18.040 --> 0:41:20.960 brain here and there, and uh, you know, Jim Harbaugh 0:41:21.040 --> 0:41:24.279 was a quart to control coach. Then David Shaw was 0:41:24.320 --> 0:41:27.160 on that staff. A bunch of really really good coaches, 0:41:27.719 --> 0:41:30.440 Mark Trustman. There's guys that have been around coaching pro 0:41:30.520 --> 0:41:32.760 football for a long time and head coaches in college. 0:41:32.760 --> 0:41:34.480 So just to be able to grow up around that 0:41:34.560 --> 0:41:37.479 environment where there's a bunch of guys at that point 0:41:37.480 --> 0:41:39.400 where they were young too, that you know, took an 0:41:39.440 --> 0:41:42.200 interest in me and helped me and answer questions when 0:41:42.200 --> 0:41:44.319 I had questions. So it was a great experience growing up. 0:41:44.600 --> 0:41:48.160 Kind of suits my current profession. I'll say, in his 0:41:48.280 --> 0:41:50.400 first year as a head coach, your dad took the 0:41:50.560 --> 0:41:53.440 Raiders to the Super Bowl. Unfortunately the game against Tampa 0:41:53.440 --> 0:41:55.640 Bay didn't turn out well. But where are your most 0:41:55.719 --> 0:41:59.040 vivid memories of that season and that Super Bowl appearance? 0:42:00.520 --> 0:42:02.520 Quite a bit. I was. I was a freshman in college, 0:42:02.520 --> 0:42:04.759 so I had a chance. I was. I was into it. 0:42:04.760 --> 0:42:06.880 It was very it was important to me. I was proud, 0:42:06.920 --> 0:42:09.800 I was was excited for my dad. So I remember 0:42:11.600 --> 0:42:14.239 remember a Pittsburgh game where they threw the ball I 0:42:14.239 --> 0:42:16.719 don't know, like sixty sometimes and beat the Steelers because 0:42:17.000 --> 0:42:19.759 the Steelers front was really good that year. They're hard 0:42:19.760 --> 0:42:21.839 to run the ball against. I just remember a bunch 0:42:21.880 --> 0:42:25.279 of Charlie Gardner highlights. I remember Tyrone Wheatley kind of 0:42:25.440 --> 0:42:28.759 smashing people down when they needed him too. Um and 0:42:28.800 --> 0:42:31.000 then just I just remember specifically just how great of 0:42:31.000 --> 0:42:35.120 a season rich Gannon had that year's NFL MVP. His 0:42:35.120 --> 0:42:38.239 his accuracy, his preparation that was my first kind of 0:42:38.280 --> 0:42:42.480 exposure to what an elite prepare, uh, you know how 0:42:42.520 --> 0:42:45.280 he approached the game. So there were some really fun moments. 0:42:45.320 --> 0:42:49.000 I think that AFC Championship game against the Titans when 0:42:49.040 --> 0:42:51.160 they kind of they they beat him once through the 0:42:51.239 --> 0:42:53.319 year they played NFC CHAMPIONI game, Oakland was rocking. It 0:42:53.400 --> 0:42:55.880 was an awesome environment. I'll never forget that. That was 0:42:55.920 --> 0:42:59.000 a That AFC Championship game is pretty special. That crowd 0:42:59.080 --> 0:43:02.560 there and the energy electricity at the stadium and cmrays 0:43:02.600 --> 0:43:05.520 at AFC. The Lamar Hunt Trophy for the to go 0:43:05.560 --> 0:43:07.439 to the Super Bowl was a was a pretty cool 0:43:07.520 --> 0:43:10.880 moment for me and my family. We're visiting with offensive 0:43:10.880 --> 0:43:13.400 coordinator Brian Callahan. Let's talk about your playing career a 0:43:13.400 --> 0:43:15.960 little bit. As a high school player, you were part 0:43:16.000 --> 0:43:19.440 of the greatest winning streak in history day las Sell 0:43:19.560 --> 0:43:22.359 High School won one hundred and fifty one consecutive games 0:43:22.400 --> 0:43:24.920 from ninety two to two thousand and four. You were 0:43:24.960 --> 0:43:27.400 there toward the tail end of the winning streak. Was 0:43:27.440 --> 0:43:29.440 there a lot of pressure on you and your teammates 0:43:29.440 --> 0:43:33.840 to extend the streak? You know, we never we finally 0:43:33.920 --> 0:43:36.200 felt it, you know, looking back now, but back then. 0:43:36.280 --> 0:43:38.920 We didn't know any any different. We just we just 0:43:39.000 --> 0:43:40.480 knew we were really good and we knew that we 0:43:40.480 --> 0:43:43.200 were gonna I think what the foundation of that program 0:43:43.239 --> 0:43:46.239 was pretty unique and special. Bob Ladish is an incredible 0:43:46.600 --> 0:43:49.279 high school football coach and human being, and the way 0:43:49.280 --> 0:43:54.040 that he made that culture there. We never felt the pressure. 0:43:54.080 --> 0:43:56.920 There was never any pressure from them, any pressure that 0:43:57.000 --> 0:43:58.920 it usually came from the outside. We just wanted to 0:43:58.960 --> 0:44:02.120 go out and play well and do our job right 0:44:02.200 --> 0:44:04.680 and whatever our assignment was or whatever our goals or 0:44:04.719 --> 0:44:06.560 commitments for that week where we wanted to meet those 0:44:06.640 --> 0:44:09.000 and U I think it's a really good lesson for 0:44:09.040 --> 0:44:11.440 a young any young athlete. You start to learn that 0:44:11.960 --> 0:44:13.879 you know, all the all the end results don't really 0:44:13.920 --> 0:44:15.680 matter as much as the as the process and the 0:44:15.760 --> 0:44:18.160 journey of getting to that point. So UM did a 0:44:18.160 --> 0:44:19.520 really good job of kind of keeping a bunch of 0:44:19.520 --> 0:44:23.600 young high school kids focused on the on the daily 0:44:23.680 --> 0:44:26.319 goals and the and the and the doing things the 0:44:26.400 --> 0:44:28.839 right way all the time, versus just assuming that we 0:44:28.840 --> 0:44:30.239 were just going to go win a game because we 0:44:30.239 --> 0:44:32.120 were good or because we've had the street we were 0:44:32.120 --> 0:44:34.440 gonna go win. It was It was a unique, unique 0:44:34.480 --> 0:44:37.600 environment to start my football career. I still, I would say, 0:44:37.600 --> 0:44:39.759 a lot of the things that I learned there I 0:44:39.800 --> 0:44:42.400 still carry over into this level. And you know, if 0:44:42.440 --> 0:44:44.640 there's not a lot of secrets in football, so good 0:44:44.680 --> 0:44:47.040 teams usually good teams for a reason. Uh. And and 0:44:47.080 --> 0:44:48.759 a lot of those things that we did there, I've 0:44:48.840 --> 0:44:50.520 kind of carried throughout my coaching careers a little bit 0:44:50.520 --> 0:44:53.719 of the foundation of who I am as a football coach, 0:44:53.760 --> 0:44:56.680 and at the time was as a player, you walked 0:44:56.680 --> 0:44:59.439 down to UCLA and served as a backup quarterback. When 0:44:59.480 --> 0:45:02.319 did you side to pursue a career in coaching after 0:45:02.480 --> 0:45:05.440 my So I walked on, uh. And I was a 0:45:05.560 --> 0:45:08.480 typical walk on. I was the fourth or fifth or 0:45:08.520 --> 0:45:10.960 sixth quarterback, and I'd run some scout team and I 0:45:11.000 --> 0:45:12.479 enjoyed it, and I love being a part of the team, 0:45:12.480 --> 0:45:15.239 and I love competing, and I wanted to try to 0:45:15.280 --> 0:45:16.840 do my best to try to My goal was to 0:45:16.880 --> 0:45:19.360 go walk on earn a scholarship, mainly approved to myself 0:45:19.360 --> 0:45:21.480 that I could that I could find a way to 0:45:21.520 --> 0:45:24.240 do that. But after my sophomore year, obviously I realized 0:45:24.239 --> 0:45:26.320 that you know, the NFL probably wasn't in my future. 0:45:26.920 --> 0:45:28.759 I was gonna have to find another alternative to go 0:45:28.800 --> 0:45:31.120 earn a living, which you know, for anybody who plays 0:45:31.120 --> 0:45:33.920 football as a you get to eighteen nineteen years old 0:45:33.920 --> 0:45:36.000 and all of a sudden you go as a professional 0:45:36.040 --> 0:45:38.920 career might not be in my future. So I started 0:45:38.920 --> 0:45:41.080 thinking of the options that were kind of in front 0:45:41.120 --> 0:45:43.319 of me. And I love football, I love being around it, 0:45:44.080 --> 0:45:46.160 so it was the next logical choice. Plus it was 0:45:46.160 --> 0:45:49.759 a chance to be a graduate assistant at UCLA get 0:45:49.800 --> 0:45:52.040 my grad degree UCLA, and I figured if I didn't 0:45:52.080 --> 0:45:53.920 love coaching after being a grad assistant, I'd have two 0:45:53.960 --> 0:45:56.319 degrees from UCLA and I'd be okay, so I could 0:45:56.320 --> 0:45:58.480 find something I would like to do with that. But 0:45:58.760 --> 0:46:00.840 I ended up loving it. I love being a graduate assistant, 0:46:00.880 --> 0:46:03.560 I love coaching. I loved all of it. So I 0:46:03.600 --> 0:46:06.560 pursued the coaching aspect. What was your first full time 0:46:06.600 --> 0:46:09.759 coaching job and what were the responsibilities My first full 0:46:09.800 --> 0:46:14.239 time coaching job, I was the freshman offensive coordinator at 0:46:14.400 --> 0:46:16.759 Unipero Serra High School in sam Mateo, California, which is 0:46:16.800 --> 0:46:20.440 Tom Brady's alma mater. Good Good High School program, Competitive 0:46:20.480 --> 0:46:22.719 Catholic League in the Bay Area. But that was I 0:46:22.760 --> 0:46:25.279 was a freshman football coach and you're only You're only 0:46:25.320 --> 0:46:27.880 allowed thirteen coaches on the staff at the time in 0:46:27.920 --> 0:46:30.719 the league, so it kept them from having all kinds 0:46:30.719 --> 0:46:33.360 of coaches and you had to have x amount of 0:46:33.400 --> 0:46:35.480 them on campus. So I took a job as a 0:46:35.520 --> 0:46:38.960 full time teacher and UH assistant football coach, and that 0:46:39.000 --> 0:46:41.239 was my first full time gig, and I loved every 0:46:41.239 --> 0:46:43.120 second of it. To me, it actually some of the 0:46:43.120 --> 0:46:46.279 most fun I've ever had coaching. I was coaching high 0:46:46.320 --> 0:46:50.719 school kids. It's I wasn't ready at twenty three years 0:46:50.760 --> 0:46:52.480 old to settle down for the next forty years as 0:46:52.480 --> 0:46:54.200 a high school teacher and coach. It just wasn't. It 0:46:54.239 --> 0:46:56.120 wasn't for me at that time, so I decided I 0:46:56.160 --> 0:46:58.160 wanted to keep pushing further. But um, that was my 0:46:58.200 --> 0:47:00.239 first full time job, and I loved every second. I 0:47:00.280 --> 0:47:02.120 still talked to a bunch of the kids that I 0:47:02.160 --> 0:47:04.520 coached there. We're doing fund facts with Brian Callahan as 0:47:04.560 --> 0:47:06.640 an NFL assistant coach. You were part of a Super 0:47:06.640 --> 0:47:10.239 Bowl winning staff with the Broncos in twenty fifteen. Turned 0:47:10.239 --> 0:47:14.600 out to be Peyton Manning's final game. Describe Peyton Manning boy, 0:47:14.640 --> 0:47:18.840 how much time you got. He was incredible. He was 0:47:18.880 --> 0:47:22.600 incredible to me. My role, especially that year, had kind 0:47:22.600 --> 0:47:25.160 of morphed. I was a little bit of a I'd 0:47:25.239 --> 0:47:27.279 kind of played the go between between him and coach 0:47:27.360 --> 0:47:29.719 Kubiak because I was one of the few guys that 0:47:29.800 --> 0:47:32.120 was still there that knew kind of everything about how 0:47:32.160 --> 0:47:34.040 he had done things previously. We were trying to transition 0:47:34.080 --> 0:47:36.160 the system a little bit at the time to what 0:47:36.239 --> 0:47:38.520 Gary had done for so long, so we kind of 0:47:38.520 --> 0:47:40.839 had to marry these two systems together, and that kind 0:47:40.840 --> 0:47:43.000 of became my middle role. There was with that, And 0:47:44.040 --> 0:47:46.640 the best part about being around him was the challenge 0:47:47.120 --> 0:47:49.000 every day was you had to be on and he 0:47:49.000 --> 0:47:51.319 had He'd have a thousand questions and he'd ask you, 0:47:51.360 --> 0:47:53.239 and he had to be affirmative in your answers and 0:47:53.440 --> 0:47:55.520 you had to know what you were talking about. And 0:47:55.560 --> 0:47:57.239 over if the course of four years that I kind 0:47:57.239 --> 0:48:00.600 of earned his respect. I think in that are for 0:48:00.719 --> 0:48:04.040 my preparation to help him, And I think that when 0:48:04.040 --> 0:48:06.000 you get to the when you deal with guys like that, 0:48:07.200 --> 0:48:09.239 the challenge is the most fun. They keep you on 0:48:09.239 --> 0:48:12.160 your toes. There's you know, there was never a never 0:48:12.239 --> 0:48:14.360 a moment where I didn't feel like I had to 0:48:14.400 --> 0:48:17.000 be studying or on whatever it was repreparing for and 0:48:17.040 --> 0:48:18.680 it and it pushed me and made me a much 0:48:18.719 --> 0:48:21.600 better a much better coach, and a much better football 0:48:21.640 --> 0:48:24.520 mind because the way he kind of stimulated and made 0:48:24.520 --> 0:48:28.440 me think about things, and then just getting the overall 0:48:28.440 --> 0:48:31.160 picture of what the quarterback position is supposed to look like, 0:48:31.680 --> 0:48:34.040 how to go about your daily business, how to manage, 0:48:34.080 --> 0:48:36.239 how to be in the locker room, how he went 0:48:36.280 --> 0:48:40.000 about preparing, how he practiced, the intensity at which he practiced, 0:48:40.040 --> 0:48:43.440 and in meetings at eighteen years into the league, that 0:48:43.560 --> 0:48:45.279 every day was like a new day, like he had 0:48:45.280 --> 0:48:48.440 never heard the information before. It was really really impressive, 0:48:48.440 --> 0:48:51.440 and I'm very grateful to have been around that and 0:48:51.480 --> 0:48:53.239 to him to allow me to be a part of 0:48:53.239 --> 0:48:55.640 that journey for four years in Denver. It was it 0:48:55.719 --> 0:48:57.719 was really it was very challenging and it was a 0:48:57.719 --> 0:49:00.520 lot of fun. Where it's your super Bowl ring and 0:49:00.600 --> 0:49:03.879 when do you show it off? A super Bowl ring 0:49:04.200 --> 0:49:07.400 is in a safe. Um it is here in Cincinnati, 0:49:07.440 --> 0:49:10.000 but it's in a safe and I show it off. 0:49:10.320 --> 0:49:12.280 You know, I've never actually worn it to be totally. 0:49:12.280 --> 0:49:14.719 I've never I've never worn it anywhere except to the 0:49:14.760 --> 0:49:17.160 ring ceremony in Denver that that's at the end of 0:49:17.200 --> 0:49:20.799 that year. Um. I show it occasionally and people kind 0:49:20.800 --> 0:49:23.400 of ask about it. I don't take it out too often, 0:49:24.000 --> 0:49:26.279 but it is I assume at some point later in 0:49:26.320 --> 0:49:28.840 my life I will. But it's really big and gaudy 0:49:28.920 --> 0:49:31.719 and it's it's almost over the top. I just I 0:49:31.760 --> 0:49:33.360 don't know when to wear it. I don't know, you know, 0:49:33.960 --> 0:49:36.000 there's probably events at some point in some reunion and 0:49:36.080 --> 0:49:38.600 someday I'll wear it too. But they're really not meant 0:49:38.600 --> 0:49:41.400 to be worn anymore. No, they're they're they're so big 0:49:41.440 --> 0:49:44.279 that they they're they're more of a presentation piece than 0:49:44.320 --> 0:49:46.880 they are. I have a replica of the super Bowl trophy. 0:49:46.880 --> 0:49:49.239 That's it's it's in my house and that tends to 0:49:49.320 --> 0:49:52.400 kind of quell most of the curiosity about it. And 0:49:52.600 --> 0:49:54.640 every now and against my gonna be ring and if 0:49:54.680 --> 0:49:56.560 I have it there, I'll be happy to show it. 0:49:56.760 --> 0:49:59.040 You're off the hot seat. I appreciate the time, best 0:49:59.040 --> 0:50:01.719 of luck this year, very much appreciate it. And that's 0:50:01.719 --> 0:50:03.680 going to do it. For this week's podcast. If you 0:50:03.680 --> 0:50:08.120 haven't done so already, don't forget to subscribe on iTunes, stitch, 0:50:08.120 --> 0:50:11.000 your Google Play, Spotify or pod Bean, and if you 0:50:11.080 --> 0:50:13.520 have a minute, please give it a rating or leave 0:50:13.520 --> 0:50:16.600 a comment. Your feedback has been helpful and those five 0:50:16.640 --> 0:50:20.839 star ratings help more Bengals fans find this podcast. I'm 0:50:20.960 --> 0:50:25.200 Dan Horde and thanks for listening to The Bengals Booth Podcast.