Speaker 1: I get everybody. I'm Dan Horde, and thanks for downloading
Speaker 1: the Bengals Booth podcast. The Old Days, Good Times I remember. Addition,
Speaker 1: as I catch up with four former Bengals, including three
Speaker 1: who were chosen among the top fifty retired players in
Speaker 1: team history when the Bengals celebrated their fiftieth season. But
Speaker 1: we're not looking back. On this edition of the pod,
Speaker 1: I'll talk to David Fulcher, Joe Walter, Jim Breach, and
Speaker 1: John Jackson about the team's offseason moves and it's immediate future.
Speaker 1: Before we get to those conversations, here's a quick reminder
Speaker 1: that you can have the latest edition of this podcast
Speaker 1: delivered right to your phone, tablet, or computer by subscribing
Speaker 1: wherever you get your podcasts. It's the greatest thing since
Speaker 1: since Bob's. If you love Bengals memorabilia in general and
Speaker 1: bobbleheads in particular, courage you to check out Sincy Bobs.
Speaker 1: It's a new company started by Bengals fans Joshua Hoffman
Speaker 1: and Hollis Strunk that makes incredibly detailed bobble heads, beginning
Speaker 1: with Bengals greats Anthony Munio's and Ken Riley, and there
Speaker 1: are more to come as part of their Bengals Legend set.
Speaker 1: You can find the complete list on their Facebook page.
Speaker 1: Ken Aderson and Tim Crumry are coming next with autograph
Speaker 1: opportunities planned for September, so if you're interested, look for
Speaker 1: Sincy Bobs on Facebook. There's also a website coming soon.
Speaker 1: Another player who is part of the Legends Bobblehead set
Speaker 1: is safety David Fulcher. I recently caught up with a
Speaker 1: three time Pro bowler and discussed the contract status of
Speaker 1: Jesse Bates and why David is happy that some people
Speaker 1: consider last year's Super Bowl run a fluke. David, what
Speaker 1: was your reaction to some of the moves the Bengals
Speaker 1: have made in the offseason. Oh, unbelievable. I think finally,
Speaker 1: as so many years of watching this franchise kind of
Speaker 1: stay in the middle of the pack, I think some
Speaker 1: of the free agent picks were well overdoing. I'm I'm
Speaker 1: excited just to see Burrow play with somebody up front
Speaker 1: that that can really protect him. Yeah, they had an
Speaker 1: obvious need and they went out and signed three free
Speaker 1: agents to fix it. And that's surprising because we've been
Speaker 1: around there for so long that those are the things
Speaker 1: that u's couch quarterbacks have been waiting for, and all
Speaker 1: of a sudden boom, the Bengals do exactly what we expected,
Speaker 1: we wanted them to do, not expected wanted them to do,
Speaker 1: and and once again, and they still got to play football.
Speaker 1: But at least we addressed what we needed. And then
Speaker 1: in the draft they went heavily on guys that played
Speaker 1: your position, A couple of safeties and a cornerback. And
Speaker 1: these guys are all very versatile. You are an extremely
Speaker 1: versatile player. I imagine you'd like seeing that and the
Speaker 1: guys they drafted. But that was great. I mean, I
Speaker 1: think it's always good that you can put you know,
Speaker 1: a safety over there at corner. You know, they put
Speaker 1: five wides in there. They put big in there then,
Speaker 1: you know, and these guys can come and play big
Speaker 1: as well. Unfortunately, I hate to see Jesse Bates sit
Speaker 1: around and not be part of this football team right now.
Speaker 1: But I understand the business part of it and understand
Speaker 1: what Jesse's trying to do. But it's really nice to
Speaker 1: have choices. When you have choices, it gives you an
Speaker 1: opportunity to do a whole lot of things. And I
Speaker 1: think this football team has put themselves in position to
Speaker 1: make plays and maybe get back to the Super Bowl again.
Speaker 1: They still have until July fifteenth to theoretically extend Jesse Bates.
Speaker 1: I don't know where that stands. Obviously, Joe Burrows contract
Speaker 1: is going to be coming up before too much longer.
Speaker 1: Can you afford to pay a Jesse Bates at the
Speaker 1: top of the pay scale with some of the other
Speaker 1: guys that are going to be coming due, Well, I
Speaker 1: think that's what's happening right now. Just to sit back
Speaker 1: and watch and see it. If these young guys pan
Speaker 1: out to be just as good as Jesse, then you
Speaker 1: know you're you're gonna lose Jesse, and especially when you
Speaker 1: got you know, Burrow and Chase him that offensive the
Speaker 1: football team that they got to try to keep them. So,
Speaker 1: you know, it's it's unfortunate, man, that they're not in
Speaker 1: nineteen eighties, you know, where the contracts aren't that big.
Speaker 1: But it is what it is, and you know it's
Speaker 1: a business because that's what Mike Brown told me when
Speaker 1: I when I was released by the Bengals. He told
Speaker 1: me it was a business. And I never looked at
Speaker 1: it as a business because I just love playing the
Speaker 1: game of football, and they paid me to hit people.
Speaker 1: So I can understand now thirty years later that it
Speaker 1: really is a business. And you know, you gotta take
Speaker 1: what you got. And you know, if I'm Jesse, you know,
Speaker 1: and I can give him some words with wisdom. I
Speaker 1: know he wants that big contract, but if you love
Speaker 1: playing a game of football, fourteen million ain't bad. It
Speaker 1: ain't bad at all, man, It ain't bad under any circumstances.
Speaker 1: Von Bell is not as big as you were when
Speaker 1: you played. But do you see a little bit of
Speaker 1: yourself and him in terms of his demeanor, his his
Speaker 1: willingness to hit, etc. Yeah, I think, you know. I
Speaker 1: try to tell people, Hey, I always asking about von
Speaker 1: Bell and he's not as big as you are. David
Speaker 1: doesn't weigh as much as did, but he but he
Speaker 1: makes plays. And you know, if you got the heart
Speaker 1: to play this game, you don't have to be six four,
Speaker 1: you know, and you gotta be two forty. You just
Speaker 1: gotta make sure you make plays. And the guy makes
Speaker 1: plays and people respect him back there and receivers see
Speaker 1: him back there, come across the middle and you know
Speaker 1: he's not wearing thirty three, but he you know he
Speaker 1: could hit like thirty three. So yeah, I respect him
Speaker 1: and and I wish him well and I hope that
Speaker 1: it continues more success. There's a bit of a national
Speaker 1: narrative out there that the Bengals were something of a fluke.
Speaker 1: Maybe that's not the word that some people are using,
Speaker 1: but you know what I mean. Does that annoy you
Speaker 1: with that impression that seems to be out there in
Speaker 1: other parts of the country. You know, I like that. Man,
Speaker 1: you keep calling me a fluke all you want. If
Speaker 1: we keep winning and we keep getting to the super Bowl,
Speaker 1: you're gonna have to one day say it's not a fluke.
Speaker 1: And and and I don't think anybody a true Bengal fan,
Speaker 1: even a player. I was only concerned about winning one
Speaker 1: playoff game when they beat the Raiders. I was happy.
Speaker 1: If they would have lost the next week, I would
Speaker 1: have been like, you know what, we thought only won
Speaker 1: the playoff game. But then all of a sudden, it
Speaker 1: got to the point where they started winning and winning
Speaker 1: and winning. And you know, a player two away from
Speaker 1: winning the super Bowl, you know, you don't get to
Speaker 1: the super Bowl because as a flop. You get the
Speaker 1: Super Bowl, Man, because you've done something good to get there,
Speaker 1: and this football team's got it. Great to see. Appreciate
Speaker 1: the time this sir man thick here. This week, David
Speaker 1: hosted his sixth annual put for Penguins celebrity golf outing
Speaker 1: to benefit the Wave Foundation. That's an organization that partners
Speaker 1: with a Newport aquarium to educate the community about aquatic
Speaker 1: life and the importance of conservation. Updext another all time
Speaker 1: Bengals great offensive lineman Joe Walter, the right tackle for
Speaker 1: the nineteen eighty eight AFC champs, who unfortunately had to
Speaker 1: miss the Super Bowl that year after tearing his ACL
Speaker 1: in the regular season finale. Everybody knew the Bengals needed
Speaker 1: to improve the offensive line. They went out and signed
Speaker 1: three guys. What was your action? You know, I gotta
Speaker 1: tell you that I was really excited. Those are three
Speaker 1: stout guys, veteran guys, leaders. It's exactly what they needed
Speaker 1: for this offensive line to help this young guys grow
Speaker 1: and figure it out. These are some players. Leyall Collins,
Speaker 1: the new right tackle, came from Dallas, has the reputation
Speaker 1: of just being a Maller. Sounds a little bit like
Speaker 1: a modern day Joe Walter. To me, Yeah, your reaction
Speaker 1: to him specifically playing your old spot. You know what,
Speaker 1: I'm excited about this guy. Watched him play when he
Speaker 1: was a Dallas and he is a maller and you know,
Speaker 1: just the way he came in. I've got your bag,
Speaker 1: Joe Burrow, Nobody's gonna touch it. You know, that was
Speaker 1: just big. I'm excited about him. I really am. As
Speaker 1: an old lineman. How difficult was it to watch the
Speaker 1: Super Bowl? It was very hard to watch. It was
Speaker 1: very hard to watch just you know that far into
Speaker 1: the season, a lot of technique problems and issues and
Speaker 1: footwork issues. It was just, you know, you just scratch
Speaker 1: your head at some of the stuff that they were doing. Like,
Speaker 1: you know, football is an easy game. If you just
Speaker 1: go by the rules, you're gonna be okay. And it
Speaker 1: was like they weren't even going by their rules and
Speaker 1: it it was crazy, But you know, we got there
Speaker 1: and we'll get there again. Rules as in how to
Speaker 1: handle twists, how to handle stunts, offensive line rules, rules
Speaker 1: on how to handle a twist, your footwork rules, your
Speaker 1: blocking rules. You know, if there's a twist, where are
Speaker 1: you supposed to be? There's all kinds, right it's it's
Speaker 1: an easy game once you figured it out. These guys
Speaker 1: obviously haven't figured it out yet, and hopefully this veteran
Speaker 1: leadership will help them. We're chatting with Joe Walter. What
Speaker 1: was your reaction to seeing Joe Burrow's demeanor as he
Speaker 1: got hit. Never complains about the old line, never has that,
Speaker 1: you know, whiney face after a sack. What did that
Speaker 1: represent to you? Well, that's a true leader. And you know,
Speaker 1: we don't know what he was saying in the huddle,
Speaker 1: We don't know what he was saying in the locker room.
Speaker 1: I'm sure there was some butt chewing's going on, but
Speaker 1: as far as not showing it publicly, it was really good.
Speaker 1: And that means a lot to alignment. Right when they
Speaker 1: know that the quarterbacks got your back. You know, he
Speaker 1: made choo your tail inside, but outside, nobody's gonna know.
Speaker 1: How excited are you for this season? You know, I'm
Speaker 1: pretty excited about it. You know, it's all about health.
Speaker 1: They've got to stay healthy, and you know they were
Speaker 1: one of the healthier teams last year, hence the reason
Speaker 1: they got to where they were gone, plus some big plays.
Speaker 1: But this is a fun, exciting team. To watch. You know,
Speaker 1: just if you can give pearl. You know, you think
Speaker 1: of the last play of the Super Bowl. If he'd
Speaker 1: just had one more second and gotten the ball off,
Speaker 1: there was a possible opportunity to win the Dad Gume thing, right.
Speaker 1: So I just think that with this group of guys,
Speaker 1: the leadership that they brought in, they're keeping the talent around.
Speaker 1: I'm excited about it. Again, it's all about staying healthy. Oh,
Speaker 1: he's great to visit. Appreciate your time, Big Dan. Thank
Speaker 1: you very much. Good seeing your brother. Jill also recently
Speaker 1: hosted a golf outing to benefit Ohio Valley Goodwill. It's
Speaker 1: the twenty first year he's been the celebrity host, and
Speaker 1: he's also served on the board of directors. The Bengals
Speaker 1: Booth podcast is presented by Ultimate Bengals, the free to
Speaker 1: play fantasy football game. This past season, Ultimate Bengals awarded
Speaker 1: a weekly winner during the course of the year with tickets,
Speaker 1: autograph merchandise, and money can't buy experiences all up for grabs.
Speaker 1: Find Ultimate Bengals in the App Store and Google Play.
Speaker 1: It's hard to imagine any kicker in NFL history having
Speaker 1: a better rookie year than Evan McPherson. He booted five
Speaker 1: walkoff game winners, including two in the playoffs, kicked nine
Speaker 1: field goals of fifty or more yards that's the most
Speaker 1: in a Bengal's career, let alone a season, and drilled
Speaker 1: a team record fifty eight yarder. Who better to discuss
Speaker 1: that with than the team's all time leading scorer and
Speaker 1: the kicker on their two previous Super Bowl teams, Jim Breach.
Speaker 1: All right, Jim, I'm sure you had high expectations for
Speaker 1: Evan McPherson. But did he exceed them? I think pretty
Speaker 1: apparent he exceeded everybody's expectations except maybe his own. Uh.
Speaker 1: And it was just amazing what he did last year.
Speaker 1: And you know, you hope there's no complacency there, and
Speaker 1: you know you do it once, you got to do
Speaker 1: it to come back and do it again, so to
Speaker 1: prepare well mentally. But he's he was phenomenal. I mean,
Speaker 1: I really think that he's justin Tucker like maybe because
Speaker 1: of his youth. He's still a hair short if he
Speaker 1: can put ten years like that together. But you know,
Speaker 1: they that was a great pick he got. They got
Speaker 1: ripped for picking him in the fifth round and Now,
Speaker 1: I was like, I think, you know, if we took
Speaker 1: him in the second rounds, there would have been a
Speaker 1: good pick. Now with what he accomplished, Yeah, I think
Speaker 1: he eliminated the saying don't draft a kicker, right, Yeah,
Speaker 1: And even when I think it was Cleveland took a
Speaker 1: kicker in fourth or fifth round. And I see their
Speaker 1: raving about this guy. You know, when you're when he
Speaker 1: got points involved, it's a huge thing. You know, it's
Speaker 1: it's it's part of your offense. And if they can
Speaker 1: really impact your offense, and why wouldn't you, you know,
Speaker 1: why why worry about all the analytics part of it?
Speaker 1: How does he impact your team? And he makes a
Speaker 1: huge difference to the Bengals. And I was telling to
Speaker 1: Zach Taylor recently about that, and he said, you know,
Speaker 1: it allows us to think differently on our play calling
Speaker 1: when we know once we get over the fifty, we've
Speaker 1: got a chance. You famously were money in the clutch.
Speaker 1: Do you see anything in his demeanor that helps explain
Speaker 1: why he was so adept at coming through in those
Speaker 1: pressure pack situations. I think it's hard to really see
Speaker 1: some of these demeanors. There are times when the guy
Speaker 1: who seems real fidgety, but there's definitely a confidence in
Speaker 1: his case. And it's just it's one of those things
Speaker 1: you know, you get into good routine, you understand how
Speaker 1: to deal with it, and you really have to want it.
Speaker 1: You have to enjoy it, because I always thought it
Speaker 1: was kind of the coolest thing. You kind of put
Speaker 1: yourself out there. Can I do this when it matters most?
Speaker 1: And to me, that was the most fun and I
Speaker 1: would say that he probably feels the same way. But
Speaker 1: it's also the greatest way you can help your team
Speaker 1: as a kicker, because obviously we're only on the field
Speaker 1: for a couple of minutes a game, so if we
Speaker 1: can impact it positively, because these guys are out there
Speaker 1: busting their heads and at least we can help him
Speaker 1: out right, He kicked a walk off game winner in
Speaker 1: his NFL debut. Do you think that propelled him going forward?
Speaker 1: It certainly didn't hurt. I was huge, and what a
Speaker 1: great comeback against and then the fumble they got to
Speaker 1: be able to go down and kick the field goal.
Speaker 1: So everything he did, I mean, there's nothing you can
Speaker 1: really think about that he didn't handle well, you know,
Speaker 1: the game against Green Bay, whatever, was so windy, and
Speaker 1: he and Gus we were both struggling. He bounced right
Speaker 1: back from it. I don't know if he missed another
Speaker 1: kick or maybe one kick the rest of the year.
Speaker 1: So everything he did, he showed he's got just great perseverance,
Speaker 1: but great confidence and great talent. Did you WinCE when
Speaker 1: he prematurely celebrated in the Green Bay game, thinking that
Speaker 1: he had kicked the game winner, only to see it
Speaker 1: get blown to the left? I get it. I mean,
Speaker 1: when you kick it, you have a pretty good handle
Speaker 1: on it, and you know, and then you're watching it fly,
Speaker 1: and you know, in that case, it probably wasn't moving
Speaker 1: a lot, and he's thinking, hey, it looks really good
Speaker 1: and then boom it moves. So yeah, I did I
Speaker 1: feel bad for him because it looked like the game
Speaker 1: was over and then all of a sudden, how that happened.
Speaker 1: It was unfortunate. But again, when the wind comes into play,
Speaker 1: you really don't know. You got to make sure it's
Speaker 1: done before you know. That's one where I wish they
Speaker 1: had made more of an effort to get the ball closer,
Speaker 1: because it was so windy and all, and both guys
Speaker 1: were really struggling, so when Kevin Huber resigned, I was
Speaker 1: speaking at a Bengals related speaking engagement, and I joked, well,
Speaker 1: the Bengals have resigned their holder because now that they've
Speaker 1: got a better offensive line, they don't plan to punt
Speaker 1: this year anyway. But in all seriousness, Kevin Huber says
Speaker 1: his job now is sixty percent holding, forty percent hunting.
Speaker 1: How valuable is Kevin Huber as a holder? The holder
Speaker 1: is unbelievably valuable to the kicker if you have If
Speaker 1: you don't have a good holder, it is one. It's
Speaker 1: a struggle because you don't know exactly when the ball
Speaker 1: is going to be there. If he doesn't have quick hands,
Speaker 1: if he blocks the ball with his hand, if he
Speaker 1: can't get it down quick quickly is big because you
Speaker 1: know it's such it's only like one point two seconds,
Speaker 1: so you want to be able to see the ball.
Speaker 1: If it's slow getting down, you're kicking just as it's
Speaker 1: getting there. It is a huge, huge part of the
Speaker 1: kicker's confidence and and and good snaps to make a
Speaker 1: big difference. So they're really in great shape there. The
Speaker 1: holder is a mate, so I get that because because
Speaker 1: he's such a you know Evans is such a weapon
Speaker 1: that I can see with what he's saying, and he
Speaker 1: might be right. He might not be punning a lot
Speaker 1: this year, which was offense. Yeah, last thing. As one
Speaker 1: of the guys who played in the two previous Super Bowls,
Speaker 1: what did last year's Super Bowl run mean to you?
Speaker 1: It was so unexpected and it was so fun the
Speaker 1: way the city responded. I've always said, I just wish
Speaker 1: these guys, the current guys, it could find out what
Speaker 1: the city feels like when your team is just killing
Speaker 1: it and they start killing there towards the end and
Speaker 1: the city just went nuts, and it was so much
Speaker 1: fun to see the life in the city and how
Speaker 1: it came to be everywhere if you think about Bengal
Speaker 1: fans were all over the country because I mean, it
Speaker 1: came out of nowhere. And this guy, whether you know,
Speaker 1: a messed up knee and he's playing that next year
Speaker 1: and boom they make it to the super Bowl. Really
Speaker 1: within you know, a fraction of winning the Super Bowl.
Speaker 1: And that's the biggest thing we've struggled. We can't see
Speaker 1: him to get We play them all close, and we
Speaker 1: can't see him to close it out. So we got
Speaker 1: to figure out how to close it out. Every Super
Speaker 1: Bowl has been getting closer. It's gone from five points
Speaker 1: to four points to three points, so it's getting closer. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and and the last two we were ahead. And that's
Speaker 1: the thing. I mean, we've got to be the team
Speaker 1: that steps up like they did in the playoffs where
Speaker 1: they come up with the big players. We gotta be
Speaker 1: that team that stops that drive. It doesn't allow that
Speaker 1: to have the chance to score and come away with
Speaker 1: the winner. So they're getting closer, and I just hope
Speaker 1: they have another opportunity. I hope they have a few
Speaker 1: opportunities in his next few years. Me too. Always great
Speaker 1: to catch up. Thank you, thanks for being Irdan. Jan's
Speaker 1: among the fifteen nominees on this year's Ring of Honor ballot.
Speaker 1: My final guest this week is an offensive lineman who
Speaker 1: spent most of his fourteen year NFL career in Pittsburgh
Speaker 1: before ending it with his hometown Bengals, Woodward High School
Speaker 1: grad John Jackson. It's no secret the Bengals needed to
Speaker 1: improve the offensive line in the off season. They went
Speaker 1: out and signed three veterans. What was your reaction. I
Speaker 1: was happy, because you need to really take care of
Speaker 1: the guys in the backfield, and especially that quarterback. He's
Speaker 1: young and upcoming, and I think he's almos gonna be
Speaker 1: as good as his offensive long So we'll see this year.
Speaker 1: I mean gonna have a tough schedule. Anytime you go
Speaker 1: to the Super Bowl, you get the best of the best.
Speaker 1: It is loaded, no doubt about that. Now, there were
Speaker 1: some free agents out there that were at the top
Speaker 1: of the pay scale, and had you signed one of
Speaker 1: those guys, you might have only been able to get one. Instead,
Speaker 1: they were able to get three veterans with good track
Speaker 1: records at a relatively reasonable price. Do you like that
Speaker 1: strategy as opposed to signing Trent Williams or Brandon Shure.
Speaker 1: If somebody like that, well, I think you've got to
Speaker 1: look at this, squay. I mean, whatever it fits in
Speaker 1: that locker room and the culture. You don't want to
Speaker 1: disrupt that culture having a hot price guy going there.
Speaker 1: It might have rubb a couple people wrong. So I
Speaker 1: think they did it the right way. You know, three
Speaker 1: is better than one any day. That's a very accurate math.
Speaker 1: Did you WinCE as you watched the playoff win over
Speaker 1: Tennessee when Joe got sacked eight times, or the Super
Speaker 1: Bowl when he got sacked six times? Was that difficult
Speaker 1: as a former O lineman to watch. It's always hard
Speaker 1: to watch those quarterbacks go down because you know offensive
Speaker 1: line take pride and you know what they do and
Speaker 1: it's just one of those things that you know you're
Speaker 1: gonna learn from it. But that's one of those things
Speaker 1: you don't want to be a recurrent thing. So hopefully
Speaker 1: they can get that thing fixed this offseason and have
Speaker 1: a great season. Um. I know the fans and Cincinna
Speaker 1: are excited. It's about time. The schedule is brutal, as
Speaker 1: you alluded to, but the roster is better. What do
Speaker 1: you think of their prospects for this year? I think
Speaker 1: they got a great chance. I mean it all boils
Speaker 1: down to stand healthy and when somebody does go down,
Speaker 1: do you have that quality backup to go in there
Speaker 1: and play up to that level. So I think they're
Speaker 1: close to getting that done, but only time will tell.
Speaker 1: What impresses you most about Burrow He's just cold blooded.
Speaker 1: I mean he's got ice in his veins. You give
Speaker 1: him some time and he'll put it in the right spot.
Speaker 1: For a quarterback to be hit that many times, that's
Speaker 1: that's that's pretty impressive. What did the team's success mean
Speaker 1: to you last year? I was just proud of him,
Speaker 1: especially being from Cincinnati, but you know, I played with
Speaker 1: three different teams and I had a chance to come
Speaker 1: here and play and it was just it was just
Speaker 1: fun to watch them. So I'm excited about this season
Speaker 1: and we'll see what goes on. Great to see you,
Speaker 1: appreciate the time. Good seeing you. That's going to do
Speaker 1: it for this episode of The Bengals Booth Podcast, presented
Speaker 1: by Ultimate Bengals. Download Ultimate Bengals ahead of the twenty
Speaker 1: twenty two season. It's free to play next level fantasy
Speaker 1: football with fantastic Bengals prizes. Get it now on the
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Speaker 1: so already, please subscribe to this podcast and if you
Speaker 1: have a minute, give it a rating or share a
Speaker 1: comment that helps more Bengals fans find us. I'm Dan Horde,
Speaker 1: and thanks for listening to The Bengals Booth Podcast