WEBVTT - Bengals Booth Podcast: Get Ready 0:00:03.600 --> 0:00:06.359 Hi, get everybody. I'm Dan Horde and thanks for downloading 0:00:06.360 --> 0:00:11.479 The Bengals Booth Podcast. The Get Ready becaus Ira, Come 0:00:11.640 --> 0:00:17.320 my Way, get Ready Kauzira Come. Addition, a little motown 0:00:17.360 --> 0:00:20.160 seemed appropriate as the three and two Bengals head to 0:00:20.200 --> 0:00:22.720 the Motor City to try to keep the Owen five 0:00:22.800 --> 0:00:26.079 Lions winless. Coming up, I'll talk to one of the 0:00:26.079 --> 0:00:28.160 guys who will call the game on TV for Fox 0:00:28.200 --> 0:00:32.760 this Sunday, former Dallas Cowboys Pro Bowl fullback Darryl Johnston. 0:00:33.000 --> 0:00:35.120 My one on one player interview this week is with 0:00:35.159 --> 0:00:37.800 one of the Bengals highest graded players so far this 0:00:37.880 --> 0:00:42.240 year according to Pro Football Focus, Defensive tackle DJ reader 0:00:42.680 --> 0:00:45.640 Dave Lapham joins me to discuss the latest Bengals news 0:00:45.680 --> 0:00:49.640 and answer some questions you submitted via Twitter. And finally, 0:00:49.840 --> 0:00:52.680 it's our noa Fox segment as we discuss why the 0:00:52.800 --> 0:00:55.560 Lions don't have a win with the host of the 0:00:55.640 --> 0:00:59.960 Locked On Lions podcast, Matt darry The Bengals Booth Podcast 0:01:00.000 --> 0:01:03.800 as is presented by Ultimate Bengals. The free to play 0:01:04.319 --> 0:01:08.119 Next Level Fantasy Football game downloaded now from the App 0:01:08.160 --> 0:01:11.560 Store and Google Play. And here's a quick reminder that 0:01:11.680 --> 0:01:14.360 you can have the latest edition of this podcast delivered 0:01:14.440 --> 0:01:18.319 right to your phone, tablet, or computer by subscribing on iTunes, Stitch, 0:01:18.360 --> 0:01:22.080 your Google Play, Spotify, or pod Bean. It's the greatest 0:01:22.080 --> 0:01:27.319 thing since The official trailer for Get Back. This week, 0:01:27.400 --> 0:01:30.319 a three minute, fifty eight second trailer was released to 0:01:30.440 --> 0:01:35.200 preview a three part documentary about the Beatles called Get Back. 0:01:35.800 --> 0:01:39.119 Just when you thought there couldn't possibly be anything new 0:01:39.160 --> 0:01:43.400 out there about the band, they've unearthed never before seen 0:01:43.840 --> 0:01:48.200 crystal clear footage gathered from nineteen sixty nine leading up 0:01:48.240 --> 0:01:51.680 to the beatles final live performance on a rooftop in London. 0:01:52.080 --> 0:01:54.400 If you haven't seen it yet, check out that trailer 0:01:54.440 --> 0:01:58.360 for Get Back. The three part series should be incredible 0:01:58.440 --> 0:02:02.960 for lovers of the original Fab four. Now time to 0:02:02.960 --> 0:02:05.920 go from the Beatles to the Bengals, beginning with one 0:02:05.960 --> 0:02:09.040 of the guys who will call this week's game in Detroit. 0:02:10.440 --> 0:02:12.839 He was the best fullback of his era and he'll 0:02:12.840 --> 0:02:15.400 be in the booth for Fox this Sunday. Former Dallas 0:02:15.400 --> 0:02:20.160 Cowboys great Darryl Moose Johnston, Darryl, you had the Bengals 0:02:20.160 --> 0:02:23.200 in Week one, that overtime victory against the Minnesota Vikings. 0:02:23.480 --> 0:02:25.960 What stood out about Cincinnati when you called that game. 0:02:27.400 --> 0:02:29.880 Really the big thing for me was the resiliency you 0:02:29.919 --> 0:02:32.760 know through that game. You know, a team that's that's 0:02:32.960 --> 0:02:35.520 made a lot of splash in the off season with 0:02:35.560 --> 0:02:38.560 some of the free agent acquisitions and then the draft, 0:02:39.200 --> 0:02:42.440 there's expectations coming in and then you get into a 0:02:42.520 --> 0:02:45.080 game and those are the areas where you want to 0:02:45.080 --> 0:02:47.040 see if you've taken that next step. You know, how 0:02:47.360 --> 0:02:49.520 quickly has that talent that we assembled in the off 0:02:49.560 --> 0:02:51.640 season come together? And that was really the one thing 0:02:51.639 --> 0:02:54.280 that I was impressed with. You know, there were moments 0:02:54.280 --> 0:02:56.320 there for a Minnesota team that's been together for a 0:02:56.320 --> 0:02:59.799 long time and had some high expectations for their own 0:02:59.800 --> 0:03:02.839 team coming into that opener, and at times it looked 0:03:02.880 --> 0:03:04.280 like there was a chance that they could kind of 0:03:04.280 --> 0:03:07.040 take that game away. And I thought the resiliency of 0:03:07.040 --> 0:03:10.600 the Bengals was very impressive in Week one with everything 0:03:10.600 --> 0:03:12.640 that they've done in the offseason to kind of validate 0:03:13.160 --> 0:03:15.160 that not only do we have talent, but we're starting 0:03:15.160 --> 0:03:16.600 to come together as a team. We're gonna be able 0:03:16.600 --> 0:03:19.359 to fight through some of this adversity. Let's talk a 0:03:19.360 --> 0:03:21.640 little bit about Joe Burrow. You were drafted in the 0:03:21.680 --> 0:03:24.400 second round by the Cowboys in nineteen eighty nine, the 0:03:24.520 --> 0:03:27.680 same year they took Troy Aikman number one overall. So 0:03:27.720 --> 0:03:30.280 you saw his growth from one in fifteen as a 0:03:30.360 --> 0:03:33.440 rookie to Super Bowl champion in year four. Do you 0:03:33.560 --> 0:03:36.960 see any parallels where Joe Burrow is concerned? You know, 0:03:37.080 --> 0:03:40.400 That's It's funny you ask that because in the production meeting, 0:03:40.440 --> 0:03:42.560 and one of the reasons that, you know, I wanted 0:03:42.600 --> 0:03:44.280 to come up to Cincinnati. You know, a lot of 0:03:44.440 --> 0:03:46.600 a lot of times we're gonna do things via zoom 0:03:46.640 --> 0:03:50.120 nowadays in our preparation, but I really wanted to be 0:03:50.160 --> 0:03:53.640 able to sit across from Joe Burrow and Zach Taylor 0:03:53.760 --> 0:03:55.160 and really kind of get a feel for who they 0:03:55.200 --> 0:03:57.920 are is men as much as who they are as 0:03:58.080 --> 0:04:02.480 football coaches and quarterbacks. And I was really impressed with Joe. Uh, 0:04:02.680 --> 0:04:05.440 you know, I thought he was very purposeful. Um he 0:04:05.480 --> 0:04:07.640 reminded me of Troy that which where he's very serious 0:04:08.240 --> 0:04:09.880 when it comes to the game. You know, it kind 0:04:09.880 --> 0:04:11.680 of seemed like he was already kind of sliding into 0:04:11.720 --> 0:04:14.840 that that pre game mentality, you know, on a Friday afternoon, 0:04:14.840 --> 0:04:17.000 and that was very similar to Troy. Uh. You know, 0:04:17.040 --> 0:04:19.120 he got more and more serious as we got through 0:04:19.160 --> 0:04:21.080 the course of the week and moved into the weekend. 0:04:21.160 --> 0:04:25.600 So I thought, just from a personality standpoint, you could see, uh, 0:04:25.839 --> 0:04:28.840 you could see the seriousness, the purposefulness. But but then 0:04:28.880 --> 0:04:31.400 also you know, very very conversational with us, very open 0:04:31.400 --> 0:04:34.640 to sharing information. So you know, for a younger guy 0:04:34.680 --> 0:04:38.039 in the NFL here in season two, for him coming 0:04:38.040 --> 0:04:40.680 off that big injury, I was impressed and I'm glad 0:04:40.680 --> 0:04:42.120 we got to see that face to face because I 0:04:42.160 --> 0:04:43.839 don't know if he would have staw that Vida zoom call. 0:04:44.640 --> 0:04:46.520 So that was something that that I felt was very 0:04:46.560 --> 0:04:49.600 beneficial coming out of Week one. Our guest is three 0:04:49.640 --> 0:04:52.680 time Super Bowl champ Darryl Johnston. As you prepared for 0:04:52.760 --> 0:04:56.880 Week one, you heard about and read about Jamar Chase's pregames, 0:04:56.880 --> 0:05:00.320 a preseason struggles with dropping the football, and then he 0:05:00.360 --> 0:05:02.760 was great against the Vikings and he's been outstanding in 0:05:02.800 --> 0:05:05.239 the first five weeks. What do you think of Jamar 0:05:05.360 --> 0:05:08.880 and the Bengals receiving group as a whole. Well, I 0:05:08.920 --> 0:05:11.640 think that that's going to be probably the big tide 0:05:11.640 --> 0:05:15.440 turner this weekend against the Lions. Yeah, you know, Jamar 0:05:15.520 --> 0:05:17.240 Chase to going through camp, you have some drops. I 0:05:17.240 --> 0:05:19.320 think we all go through drops at a certain point 0:05:19.320 --> 0:05:21.080 in our career. You know, I had a training camp 0:05:21.080 --> 0:05:23.880 where I stayed after practice for three consecutive days. I 0:05:23.880 --> 0:05:26.000 mean it was just simple things and it gets into 0:05:26.000 --> 0:05:28.359 your head and you just continue to work and grind 0:05:28.360 --> 0:05:30.120 and try and get it out of there. And I 0:05:30.120 --> 0:05:32.159 think that that's exactly what happened to Jamar Chase. It 0:05:32.200 --> 0:05:34.160 was just odd that it was, you know, in his 0:05:34.200 --> 0:05:37.840 training camp of his rookie season, with all these expectations 0:05:37.839 --> 0:05:39.360 that were placed on him. So I think a lot 0:05:39.360 --> 0:05:42.159 of people, me included, might have made out made that 0:05:42.160 --> 0:05:43.919 out to me in a little bit more. But you 0:05:43.960 --> 0:05:46.080 could hear his teammates talk about it. Hey, listen, we 0:05:46.120 --> 0:05:48.320 watch always working at practice. He's doing everything to kind 0:05:48.320 --> 0:05:51.000 of work himself out of this. You know. That was 0:05:51.040 --> 0:05:53.400 the big thing I think in Week one was his 0:05:53.480 --> 0:05:55.520 performance there kind of solidified that the work he had 0:05:55.520 --> 0:05:57.840 put into kind of remedy that situation, you know, had 0:05:57.880 --> 0:06:00.320 paid off. And since that time, we've seen him make 0:06:00.320 --> 0:06:03.279 a number of fantastic catches. Uh. You know, there was one, 0:06:03.360 --> 0:06:05.800 you know, the go route down the left side. The 0:06:05.800 --> 0:06:07.880 one time when he caught the back end of the football. Uh, 0:06:07.920 --> 0:06:10.599 you know that that was outstanding. UM. So yeah, his 0:06:10.680 --> 0:06:13.320 confidence is just going to continue to grow. I think 0:06:13.320 --> 0:06:15.560 when you put him together with everybody else that they 0:06:15.600 --> 0:06:19.000 have there. Uh. You talk about trios of wide receivers 0:06:19.080 --> 0:06:20.680 being able to you know, kind of roll out that 0:06:20.720 --> 0:06:23.320 thirteen personnel, you know, the three wides on the one 0:06:23.360 --> 0:06:26.600 running back, one tight end. That's become very very popular 0:06:26.640 --> 0:06:29.719 in the NFL. When you've got the wide receiver group 0:06:29.760 --> 0:06:33.240 that that Cincinnati does. Um, you know, that's that's gonna 0:06:33.240 --> 0:06:35.320 be very difficult for people to defend. And I think 0:06:35.360 --> 0:06:38.360 it was something that we saw last week in Minnesota, Uh, 0:06:38.400 --> 0:06:40.800 you know, being able to roll out feeling uh and 0:06:40.960 --> 0:06:44.680 Justin Jefferson against Detroit. But they've also got that identity 0:06:44.680 --> 0:06:47.080 of wanting to run the football and we thought maybe 0:06:47.080 --> 0:06:49.280 they'd back off that a little bit with Dalvin Cook out, 0:06:49.279 --> 0:06:52.520 but they got a little bit stubborn with the run game. UM. 0:06:52.600 --> 0:06:55.040 And the great matchups were in the past game. I mean, 0:06:55.200 --> 0:06:57.039 Justin Jefferson got off to a tremendous start. He had 0:06:57.040 --> 0:07:00.920 a hundred yards by halftime. UM. So I expect Cincinnati 0:07:00.960 --> 0:07:02.200 to do the same thing. I think they're going to 0:07:02.320 --> 0:07:05.599 challenge Detroit in their secondary because of the injuries that 0:07:05.600 --> 0:07:08.080 they've had and how young they are and how much 0:07:08.080 --> 0:07:10.280 their margin for air to win a football game is 0:07:10.280 --> 0:07:13.840 is so razor thin. You know, that's where the matchups 0:07:13.840 --> 0:07:16.880 are going to be for Cincinnati, and how much do 0:07:16.920 --> 0:07:21.160 they commit to that. Frank Pollock coached in Dallas after 0:07:21.200 --> 0:07:23.320 your playing days. So I don't know how well you 0:07:23.360 --> 0:07:26.000 know him personally, if at all, but do you see 0:07:26.000 --> 0:07:31.200 the Bengals offensive line making progress under his coaching? Absolutely? Absolutely, 0:07:31.200 --> 0:07:33.040 And it's actually, you know, on my to do list, 0:07:33.120 --> 0:07:34.880 I'd love to have the opportunity to maybe visit with 0:07:35.000 --> 0:07:37.560 coach Pollock, you know, away from the production meeting, just 0:07:37.600 --> 0:07:39.880 to kind of pick his brain a little bit. You know, 0:07:39.920 --> 0:07:42.200 he's one of those those coaches at the offensive line 0:07:42.240 --> 0:07:44.800 position that you hear about that just seems to make 0:07:44.840 --> 0:07:47.160 a huge difference when he gets into an organization, kind 0:07:47.160 --> 0:07:49.560 of like Bill Callahan has done throughout his career in 0:07:49.600 --> 0:07:52.040 the NFL. It seems that his offensive lines are are 0:07:52.080 --> 0:07:56.440 just always very very technique sound, you know, very very physical. 0:07:56.920 --> 0:07:59.239 We're really really well as as a group of five, 0:08:00.320 --> 0:08:02.000 and you can see that. You can see the growth 0:08:02.000 --> 0:08:04.640 from week one till now already. You know, I went 0:08:04.680 --> 0:08:07.280 back and watched, you know, the Pittsburgh game just to 0:08:07.280 --> 0:08:09.440 see how they did there. You know, for for that 0:08:09.520 --> 0:08:11.720 group to break that street. You know, Pittsburgh had had 0:08:11.720 --> 0:08:14.600 a sack in seventy five consecutive games, and they kept 0:08:14.680 --> 0:08:17.360 Joe Burrow clean that entire game. That's impressive. You know, 0:08:17.400 --> 0:08:19.240 Pittsburgh was you know, kind of in the midst of 0:08:19.360 --> 0:08:21.520 kind of figuring things out. But but that's still a 0:08:21.600 --> 0:08:23.960 very very sound defense, very very strong defense. So I 0:08:23.960 --> 0:08:26.880 think that that's a huge stepping stone for that group 0:08:27.240 --> 0:08:29.720 on the offensive line. And when you watch them run 0:08:29.760 --> 0:08:31.360 the football, you know, one of the big things that 0:08:31.480 --> 0:08:33.719 that's the most important for an offensive line is to 0:08:33.760 --> 0:08:36.319 stay on your feet. You know, continue to push, continue 0:08:36.320 --> 0:08:37.959 to stay on your feet, don't get on the ground. 0:08:37.960 --> 0:08:39.920 You know, we used to call him otgs. You know. 0:08:40.000 --> 0:08:43.640 Sometimes you know, your offensive lineman can can create as 0:08:43.720 --> 0:08:46.439 much of distraction as a defensive player who's in the 0:08:47.280 --> 0:08:49.720 running lane because they're on the ground. So I think 0:08:49.720 --> 0:08:51.480 that that Frank does a great job and his guys 0:08:51.520 --> 0:08:53.839 do a great job of just staying up, keeping their 0:08:53.840 --> 0:08:58.439 feet moving the zone blocking schemes are very effective. Um, 0:08:58.720 --> 0:09:01.959 you've got good runners behind with Joe Mixon and j p. Ryan. 0:09:02.480 --> 0:09:05.880 So it's just it's it's impressive to watch, you know, 0:09:05.880 --> 0:09:08.839 when that unit really starts to come together. And from 0:09:08.920 --> 0:09:11.400 week one until now, just kind of going back and 0:09:11.440 --> 0:09:13.240 watching the film, you can see the growth of those 0:09:13.320 --> 0:09:16.920 those five guys. Former Pro Bowl fullback Darryl Johnston is 0:09:16.920 --> 0:09:19.280 our guest. As you noted, you had the Lions game 0:09:19.360 --> 0:09:22.439 last week in Minnesota. They're o and five, but in 0:09:22.520 --> 0:09:24.760 two out of their last three games they had the 0:09:24.840 --> 0:09:27.120 lead in the final minute and lost on a really 0:09:27.280 --> 0:09:30.440 long field goal sixty six and fifty four yards. What 0:09:30.559 --> 0:09:34.199 are the strengths of the Lions right now? Their resiliency, 0:09:34.360 --> 0:09:38.080 their grit um. You know, there's there's always a little 0:09:38.080 --> 0:09:39.720 bit of a talent deficiency when you're going through a 0:09:39.720 --> 0:09:42.280 rebuild um, and the Lions are in the middle of 0:09:42.280 --> 0:09:44.800 that right now. And to to you know, to add 0:09:44.840 --> 0:09:46.920 to that, they've had some key injuries, uh, you know, 0:09:47.200 --> 0:09:51.160 rush in secondary. It's just it's made a really challenging 0:09:51.200 --> 0:09:53.760 for them. Uh, you know, the Taylor Decker they're starting 0:09:53.800 --> 0:09:56.680 left tackle, got hurt, you know, getting ready for Week one, Uh, 0:09:56.760 --> 0:09:58.800 they're starting center who some people consider to be, you know, 0:09:58.800 --> 0:10:01.040 one of the best centers in the NFL all you know, 0:10:01.080 --> 0:10:03.320 got hurt the week before Minnesota's games. So it just 0:10:03.520 --> 0:10:05.720 it seems like every week it's a similar scenario for 0:10:05.760 --> 0:10:09.760 Detroit where they're they're losing heartbreaking games, they're losing key 0:10:09.760 --> 0:10:11.640 players on the team, Yet every Monday they come back 0:10:11.679 --> 0:10:13.920 to work and get ready to play. You know that 0:10:13.920 --> 0:10:16.480 that's a testament to Dan Campbell and what he's building 0:10:16.760 --> 0:10:19.839 in Detroit. So you know, as as opponents, when you're 0:10:19.840 --> 0:10:23.680 getting ready for the Detroit Lions, you have to understand 0:10:24.120 --> 0:10:26.720 that they will give you everything they have for sixty minutes. 0:10:27.200 --> 0:10:29.600 Your your talent level may be superior to what they 0:10:29.640 --> 0:10:32.320 have right now, but if they play a clean game, 0:10:33.400 --> 0:10:34.920 they are going to stretch you to the end. And 0:10:35.160 --> 0:10:37.160 that's what I think we're seeing. And even without these 0:10:37.240 --> 0:10:39.640 clean games, and that's one of the things that Dan 0:10:39.760 --> 0:10:41.680 will say is we keep shooting ourselves in the foot. 0:10:41.760 --> 0:10:45.520 So you know, if Detroit catches somebody on a Sunday 0:10:45.559 --> 0:10:47.960 afternoon where they're playing a clean football game, it's gonna 0:10:47.960 --> 0:10:50.000 be a tough It's gonna be a tough out for people. 0:10:50.000 --> 0:10:52.480 They remind me a lot of my nineteen eighty nine 0:10:52.520 --> 0:10:55.480 team here in Dallas. They finished one in fifteen. You know, 0:10:55.600 --> 0:10:57.560 I never believe that we were one in fifteen team 0:10:59.320 --> 0:11:02.240 because there were there were opportunities for us to win games. 0:11:02.240 --> 0:11:04.400 We should have been four and twelve or maybe even 0:11:04.400 --> 0:11:06.280 five and eleven, but we just did not know how 0:11:06.280 --> 0:11:08.200 to win a game. And I see a lot of 0:11:08.200 --> 0:11:10.680 that with the Detroit Lions right now. You know, there's 0:11:10.720 --> 0:11:12.199 a ton of fight in them. There's talent that you're 0:11:12.200 --> 0:11:14.400 going to see grow down down the road, but but 0:11:14.480 --> 0:11:16.400 they just don't know how to finish those games. They 0:11:16.400 --> 0:11:18.439 don't know how to close them out and get that victory. 0:11:19.160 --> 0:11:21.240 You certainly learned how to win in Dallas with three 0:11:21.280 --> 0:11:24.680 Super Bowl titles. Final question for Daryl Moose Johnson. I 0:11:24.679 --> 0:11:27.800 appreciate your time. If you were an NFL GM or 0:11:27.840 --> 0:11:33.680 head coach, would your roster include a full back? Absolutely? Absolutely, 0:11:33.960 --> 0:11:37.040 m I still think it's a very valuable position, and 0:11:37.080 --> 0:11:39.480 we're starting to see guys, you know, around the league 0:11:40.400 --> 0:11:42.600 do what I think is necessary to really bring it back. 0:11:42.720 --> 0:11:45.040 I think the full back in today's game has to 0:11:45.040 --> 0:11:48.640 be able to break formation and go outside and give 0:11:48.720 --> 0:11:51.880 the give the defense a challenge in a matchup. You 0:11:51.920 --> 0:11:53.280 know who you're gonna put out there. You're gonna put 0:11:53.280 --> 0:11:55.439 a linebacker out there and is he athletic enough that 0:11:55.440 --> 0:11:57.760 that's considered a mismatch on the outside. But then you've 0:11:57.800 --> 0:11:58.920 also got to be able to come in and be 0:11:58.960 --> 0:12:01.440 an effective lead blocker because that's that's the bread and 0:12:01.440 --> 0:12:03.560 butter or the fullback position. But we're starting to see 0:12:03.600 --> 0:12:05.559 that Kyle Uschek is a great example of that out 0:12:05.559 --> 0:12:09.320 in San Francisco. Uh, we're seeing teams that are coming 0:12:09.360 --> 0:12:13.520 off that that Kyle Shanahan tree um, you know, going 0:12:13.520 --> 0:12:15.360 back years to his dad, going back all the way 0:12:15.360 --> 0:12:18.240 to the to the Kubiak era um. You know that 0:12:18.240 --> 0:12:21.120 that offense that that values that running game and for 0:12:21.120 --> 0:12:25.679 formational flexibility. You know, I think that that's a great opportunity, uh, 0:12:25.720 --> 0:12:27.720 you know for the fullback position to start to make 0:12:27.760 --> 0:12:30.920 a resurgence in the NFL. But the problem is we've 0:12:30.920 --> 0:12:33.280 gotten away from it so much at the collegiate level 0:12:33.280 --> 0:12:35.640 that there's not really a pipeline coming to the NFL 0:12:36.120 --> 0:12:38.880 with a true traditional fullback that can do the things 0:12:38.920 --> 0:12:41.600 that we talked about. So you're trying to convert. You're 0:12:41.640 --> 0:12:44.880 trying to convert an outside linebacker, you're trying to convert 0:12:44.960 --> 0:12:48.240 a tight end. Uh. And the full the fullback position 0:12:48.320 --> 0:12:50.880 is very unique. Uh. You know, you're you're not close 0:12:50.920 --> 0:12:53.120 to the to the people you're blocking. It comes from 0:12:53.160 --> 0:12:55.760 from distance you're separated by anywhere from you know, six 0:12:55.800 --> 0:12:58.520 to eight to ten yards. Uh. And and those collisions 0:12:58.559 --> 0:13:00.920 can be violent at times. So you know, really, you know, 0:13:00.920 --> 0:13:04.200 the fullback position is not all about technique as much 0:13:04.200 --> 0:13:06.559 as it is about mentality. And if you haven't been 0:13:06.600 --> 0:13:08.360 in that position and learn how to do that and 0:13:08.400 --> 0:13:11.600 develop that mentality of that style of play, it's it's 0:13:11.600 --> 0:13:14.120 hard to convert somebody who's work at the line of 0:13:14.160 --> 0:13:17.160 scrimmage with only about you know, you know, six inches 0:13:17.160 --> 0:13:20.320 to a yard of separation for those those collisions in 0:13:20.360 --> 0:13:22.960 that contact. So hopefully we'll see some of the collegiate 0:13:22.960 --> 0:13:25.719 teams start to bring back the fullback position, which will 0:13:25.760 --> 0:13:29.080 help the NFL teams find valuable guys to fill that role. 0:13:29.080 --> 0:13:31.640 But absolutely I'll scolet the entire country if I ever 0:13:31.679 --> 0:13:34.000 get an opportunity to make sure I've got a good 0:13:34.040 --> 0:13:37.440 fullback in that offense. Well, I know that Emmett Smith 0:13:37.559 --> 0:13:40.520 is happy he had a great one in Dallas. I 0:13:40.559 --> 0:13:43.240 appreciate your time, have a great call this Sunday. Thanks 0:13:43.280 --> 0:13:46.200 appreciate it. Good luck to you guys. Up next, my 0:13:46.400 --> 0:13:49.920 one on one visit with defensive tackle DJ Reader, who 0:13:50.040 --> 0:13:52.800 is part of a position group that's been dominant in 0:13:52.840 --> 0:13:56.559 the first five weeks of this season. Dj, I want 0:13:56.600 --> 0:14:00.400 to start with Pro Football Focus rankings for defensive accles 0:14:00.559 --> 0:14:04.559 in the NFL. You're number six, Josh Tupo is number fifteen, 0:14:04.960 --> 0:14:07.960 b J Hill is number eighteen. That's three Bengals in 0:14:08.000 --> 0:14:11.720 the top twenty. Do you think people realize how good 0:14:11.880 --> 0:14:15.439 the middle of the Bengals defense is playing so far? Um, 0:14:15.640 --> 0:14:18.240 You know, I think people recognize that we're playing well. 0:14:18.600 --> 0:14:21.280 Those are nice to have and not something that we 0:14:21.400 --> 0:14:23.600 paid too much attense too. But you know, I think 0:14:23.600 --> 0:14:25.320 we're playing good as a group together. I think a 0:14:25.360 --> 0:14:27.200 lot of guys are going They're given great effort and 0:14:27.320 --> 0:14:29.480 playing very hard. You know, they're proudful about what they do. 0:14:29.520 --> 0:14:32.000 They come to work to work hard every day and 0:14:32.000 --> 0:14:34.360 it's something that we're really trying to correct. Here's a 0:14:34.440 --> 0:14:37.240 number that does matter. Your seventh in the NFL and 0:14:37.320 --> 0:14:40.520 points allowed. That includes a pick six and a field 0:14:40.520 --> 0:14:42.520 goal in the Chicago game where the Bear started at 0:14:42.560 --> 0:14:45.360 the nine yard line. Take those ten points away and 0:14:45.360 --> 0:14:48.760 you're number four in the NFL and points allowed. What 0:14:48.840 --> 0:14:52.880 has the Bengals defense done especially well in your opinion? 0:14:53.080 --> 0:14:55.760 I think we do a good job, Bendon not breaking. 0:14:55.840 --> 0:14:57.960 I think in the red zone we do a good job. 0:14:58.040 --> 0:15:00.080 You know, we have a lot of longer we've for 0:15:00.120 --> 0:15:02.040 as soon as to make long drives. We don't give 0:15:02.080 --> 0:15:04.000 up too many big plays, you know, try to do 0:15:04.000 --> 0:15:06.840 a good job of living of those and forcing long drives. 0:15:06.840 --> 0:15:08.200 And I think, you know, when I'm back against the 0:15:08.200 --> 0:15:10.920 wall and the road zone especially, we blow up. We're 0:15:11.000 --> 0:15:13.600 chatting with DJ reader. Is there anything on defense that 0:15:13.760 --> 0:15:16.840 disappointed you so far? No, you know, just not getting wins. 0:15:16.840 --> 0:15:18.920 I feel like a couple of games has been on 0:15:19.040 --> 0:15:20.840 us and we've done a good job, but we just 0:15:20.880 --> 0:15:23.200 got to take that step forward and get cold. Those 0:15:23.240 --> 0:15:25.160 turnovers at the end to go our way or things 0:15:25.200 --> 0:15:26.720 just to go our way. Settling a thing I think 0:15:26.760 --> 0:15:28.000 on third day, and we got to do a lot 0:15:28.000 --> 0:15:31.200 better of getting off the field. I think we've done 0:15:31.200 --> 0:15:33.840 a decent job, but sometimes, you know, I think we 0:15:33.920 --> 0:15:36.880 give up big third downs that we should be correcting. 0:15:37.000 --> 0:15:38.560 So I think that's a that's the thing as a 0:15:38.560 --> 0:15:40.400 team that we got to get better at. You've played 0:15:40.440 --> 0:15:42.440 in a lot of football games. Have you ever played 0:15:42.480 --> 0:15:46.320 in one with more emotional swings as that game had 0:15:46.400 --> 0:15:49.760 last week? If I have, I can't remember, but you know, 0:15:49.760 --> 0:15:51.240 it was fun to play and you know, you know, 0:15:51.280 --> 0:15:52.680 it was one of those fights and it's kind of 0:15:52.680 --> 0:15:56.040 crazy after watching that backs boxing match night before that 0:15:56.120 --> 0:15:58.480 Wilder and Food match and then coming back and having 0:15:58.520 --> 0:16:00.800 that game and just kind of everybody just throwing punches 0:16:00.840 --> 0:16:02.880 back and forth, and there was a fun game to 0:16:02.880 --> 0:16:05.440 play in. You know, guys play hard. We're chatting with 0:16:05.520 --> 0:16:08.160 DJ reader. You missed the last eleven games last year 0:16:08.160 --> 0:16:11.320 with the torn quad recepts. Where was your tear and 0:16:11.400 --> 0:16:14.640 how severe was it? Ruptured the tendon um? So it's 0:16:14.680 --> 0:16:18.640 pretty severe. It's a beginning of surgeries. First six weeks 0:16:18.680 --> 0:16:22.360 can't move. It's a nine month ree have So it 0:16:22.400 --> 0:16:24.640 was just it was a long little process. It's kind 0:16:24.680 --> 0:16:28.240 of at fifty percent return rate, it's not very high, 0:16:28.280 --> 0:16:30.360 but you know it's it's gotten better, you know, with 0:16:30.520 --> 0:16:34.040 modern medicine and you know, just everything. You know, surgeons 0:16:34.080 --> 0:16:36.640 have gotten a lot better. So it was just one 0:16:36.640 --> 0:16:38.880 of those things that you know, we attacked and it 0:16:38.960 --> 0:16:41.000 was it was crazy. It was a hard journey, but 0:16:41.160 --> 0:16:43.000 you know, it came back and I feel really good 0:16:43.040 --> 0:16:46.200 and confident, Like could you stand up and sit down? 0:16:46.360 --> 0:16:50.560 Could you sleep? What? Normal activities became impossible? Not really 0:16:50.600 --> 0:16:53.000 at the beginning of Like I said, the first six weeks, 0:16:53.000 --> 0:16:56.400 you can't move it like it's straight because the tendon 0:16:56.480 --> 0:16:58.360 has to repair. And then you know, after that, the 0:16:58.440 --> 0:17:00.880 tending strong, so then you start being then maybe twenty 0:17:00.920 --> 0:17:04.560 five degrees and fifty degrees and it just it sucks 0:17:04.600 --> 0:17:06.280 all the way up until that point. Like it's just 0:17:07.320 --> 0:17:10.480 it's really really rough. But you know, I think sleeping 0:17:10.600 --> 0:17:12.800 was probably the hardest thing, you know, because you can't 0:17:12.800 --> 0:17:14.359 move at all. You gotta sleep on your back, you 0:17:14.440 --> 0:17:17.400 gotta sleep straight, you're gonna brace you know. So that's 0:17:17.400 --> 0:17:20.480 a little rough. All right. You got the Lions this week. 0:17:20.840 --> 0:17:23.679 They're rowing five. They're in the rebuilt, rebuilding stage. But 0:17:23.760 --> 0:17:26.359 based on everything I've read and heard, they are playing 0:17:26.400 --> 0:17:29.239 extremely hard. Does that stand out when you watch them 0:17:29.280 --> 0:17:32.359 on take? Yeah, they played tough, they played physical. Um, 0:17:32.680 --> 0:17:35.760 they really brought into what their coaches saying, Um, you 0:17:35.800 --> 0:17:37.960 know it's a team that's rebuilding, but you know there's 0:17:38.040 --> 0:17:40.359 there's a lot of guys over there who played ball 0:17:40.400 --> 0:17:43.480 and they've won. They understand the game, so they're playing really, 0:17:43.480 --> 0:17:45.399 really hard, and you know, you can't look at it 0:17:45.440 --> 0:17:47.440 as anything like that anty given sound to. Anybody can 0:17:47.440 --> 0:17:49.399 be beaten. So you gotta go in there, and you 0:17:49.440 --> 0:17:51.399 gotta really put up your dukes, and you gotta go 0:17:51.440 --> 0:17:53.440 in there for a fight, because that's just what's gonna happen. 0:17:54.040 --> 0:17:56.200 The coach broke down in tears after the game last 0:17:56.240 --> 0:17:59.000 week because he wanted his guys to win so badly. 0:17:59.040 --> 0:18:00.879 If you were playing for that guy, how would you 0:18:00.920 --> 0:18:03.320 feel this week? You want to run through a wallfare guy. 0:18:03.400 --> 0:18:04.719 You know, you'd be amped up to go out there 0:18:04.720 --> 0:18:07.520 and play. And I think that's that's just how it feels, 0:18:08.280 --> 0:18:10.520 you know, especially losing tough games and you can't really 0:18:10.520 --> 0:18:13.480 seem to get things right and you want to win 0:18:13.560 --> 0:18:15.399 so bad. I think, you know, similar to how we 0:18:15.440 --> 0:18:17.280 felt in our locker room last week. You know, it's tough, 0:18:17.320 --> 0:18:19.000 it's got rich, and you gotta want to go back 0:18:19.040 --> 0:18:20.720 out there and be hungry. The next Sunday to go 0:18:20.760 --> 0:18:22.400 out there and really still and win an A dub 0:18:23.359 --> 0:18:26.120 last question for DJ Reader at a topic I've never 0:18:26.160 --> 0:18:30.040 asked you about. You're David Vernon Reader Junior. So DJ 0:18:30.240 --> 0:18:32.920 is short for David Junior. Your son is not David 0:18:32.960 --> 0:18:36.639 the third. He's Rocky, as in Rocky belbow Hunter. How 0:18:36.680 --> 0:18:39.000 did that come about? Me and my dad always watched 0:18:39.000 --> 0:18:41.679