WEBVTT - Bengals Booth Podcast: Still On The Line 0:00:03.480 --> 0:00:06.359 Hi, get everybody. I'm Dan Horde and thanks for downloading 0:00:06.360 --> 0:00:13.800 The Bengals Booth Podcast. The is still on the line addition, 0:00:13.880 --> 0:00:16.720 as we discuss how the Bengals can improve their offensive 0:00:16.760 --> 0:00:20.840 line with Brandon Thorne, the author of the Trench Warfare newsletter. 0:00:21.200 --> 0:00:25.360 Coming up, we'll discuss free agents Ryan Jensen, Lake and Tomlinson, 0:00:25.480 --> 0:00:29.600 Brandon Schurf, and others. Then we get into potential first 0:00:29.680 --> 0:00:34.720 round draft picks, including Iowa center Tyler Linderbaum. And finally, 0:00:35.040 --> 0:00:37.599 Brandon tells us why it's way too soon to give 0:00:37.680 --> 0:00:41.600 up on Jackson Carmen and the Bengals other recent offensive 0:00:41.640 --> 0:00:45.239 line draft picks. The Bengals Booth Podcast is presented by 0:00:45.479 --> 0:00:49.360 Ultimate Bengals. Download Ultimate Bengals ahead of the twenty twenty 0:00:49.400 --> 0:00:53.199 two season. It's free to play next level fantasy football 0:00:53.520 --> 0:00:57.400 with fantastic Bengals prizes. Get it now on the App 0:00:57.480 --> 0:01:00.560 Store and Google Play. And here's a quick reminder that 0:01:00.600 --> 0:01:03.400 you can have the latest edition of this podcast delivered 0:01:03.440 --> 0:01:07.200 write to your phone, tablet, or computer by subscribing wherever 0:01:07.360 --> 0:01:11.480 you get your podcasts. It's the greatest thing since the 0:01:11.640 --> 0:01:17.000 pen tell Energell zero point seven millimeter pen. There was 0:01:17.040 --> 0:01:19.560 a story about Zach Taylor in The Athletic that was 0:01:19.560 --> 0:01:23.640 written by Dan Pompey back in November that mentioned Zach's 0:01:23.680 --> 0:01:27.959 favorite pen. The Bengals head coach apparently swears by the 0:01:28.120 --> 0:01:32.720 Pilot brand point zero seven millimeter. Now, I'm not much 0:01:32.760 --> 0:01:35.560 of a pen guy, to be quite honest. I typically 0:01:35.600 --> 0:01:39.240 steal them from hotel rooms. But I recently stumbled upon 0:01:39.680 --> 0:01:45.080 the pen tell Energill zero point seven millimeter pen, and 0:01:45.160 --> 0:01:49.000 I think it's turning me into a pen snob. There's 0:01:49.040 --> 0:01:52.240 something about the quality of this pen that turns my 0:01:52.360 --> 0:01:57.840 chicken scratch handwriting into calligraphy. Taking a quick look at Amazon, 0:01:58.320 --> 0:02:02.840 it gets eighty nine percent five star reviews. For what 0:02:02.960 --> 0:02:06.840 it's worth, the Zach Taylor pen only gets eighty four 0:02:06.920 --> 0:02:12.280 percent five star reviews. It appears that my pen is mightier. 0:02:13.080 --> 0:02:17.720 Now time to hear from my guest, Brandon Thorne, author 0:02:17.760 --> 0:02:21.200 of the Trench Warfare newsletter, where he writes about and 0:02:21.360 --> 0:02:27.200 does video studies of offensive and defensive line play. Brandon, 0:02:27.240 --> 0:02:30.360 the Bengals are obviously determined to improve their offensive line. 0:02:30.360 --> 0:02:33.000 They've got the thirty first overall pick, they have two 0:02:33.120 --> 0:02:35.400 extra draft picks as well, and they're likely to have 0:02:35.480 --> 0:02:39.280 more than thirty million dollars in cap space? How would 0:02:39.320 --> 0:02:42.120 you go about addressing it? If you're the Cincinnati Bengals, 0:02:42.840 --> 0:02:45.560 I would look to getting the best guys I could 0:02:45.560 --> 0:02:48.280 possibly get. As simple as that sounds, I think you 0:02:48.280 --> 0:02:51.760 could pretty much upgrade any position on the line. I 0:02:51.800 --> 0:02:54.760 think probably your best spot right now is you know, 0:02:54.880 --> 0:02:58.200 left tackle and Jonah Williams, but I mean even he 0:02:58.320 --> 0:03:02.400 could be upgraded by somebody like toront Armstead. But you know, 0:03:02.639 --> 0:03:06.560 that's best case scenario there. Otherwise, I think the other 0:03:06.600 --> 0:03:08.840 four positions are pretty much up in the air. So 0:03:09.200 --> 0:03:11.120 you know, I would look at best player available, and 0:03:11.200 --> 0:03:14.120 there's a couple interesting guys in free agency and in 0:03:14.160 --> 0:03:17.280 the draft that I think could could provide that. Well, 0:03:17.360 --> 0:03:19.960 let's start with free agency then, because there are some 0:03:20.000 --> 0:03:23.440 Pro Bowl level players out there. You mentioned Ton Armstead 0:03:23.520 --> 0:03:25.920 from the Saints. He's a three time Pro Bowl left tackle. 0:03:26.000 --> 0:03:27.720 You've got a left guard brand and sure if a 0:03:27.800 --> 0:03:31.640 five time Pro bowler, do you favor spending a big 0:03:31.760 --> 0:03:34.560 chunk of that cap space on a guy like that 0:03:35.160 --> 0:03:40.000 or signing multiple lower priced free agents. Yeah, it's a 0:03:40.080 --> 0:03:44.240 really interesting discussion. You know, team building philosophy for offensive line. 0:03:44.320 --> 0:03:48.640 We've seen it I think done more successfully recently with 0:03:48.680 --> 0:03:52.640 the Ladder in terms of adding multiple, you know, guys 0:03:52.720 --> 0:03:55.400 at more discount type prices. You look at how the 0:03:55.440 --> 0:03:58.440 Bills built their offensive line a couple of years ago 0:03:58.840 --> 0:04:01.600 when they retooled it. You know, they signed I think 0:04:02.160 --> 0:04:05.200 three or four maybe five guys, and then they drafted 0:04:05.280 --> 0:04:08.720 Cody Forward as well. And you know, I think that 0:04:08.920 --> 0:04:12.960 gives you a lot. It just increases your margin for 0:04:13.120 --> 0:04:16.120 error that way a little bit more. You could kind 0:04:16.120 --> 0:04:18.559 of just get by with that's, you know, just having 0:04:18.640 --> 0:04:22.040 solid guys everywhere as opposed to just kind of center 0:04:22.080 --> 0:04:25.560 pieces or pillars at a couple of places. So that 0:04:25.600 --> 0:04:28.599 worked for them, and then the Chiefs, the Chiefs kind 0:04:28.600 --> 0:04:32.560 of you know, they just allocated so many resources to it. 0:04:32.880 --> 0:04:35.719 They didn't necessarily just get solid players. They got like 0:04:35.760 --> 0:04:39.120 a really good left tackle, a really good left guard, 0:04:40.120 --> 0:04:41.760 and then they hit it out of the park in 0:04:41.760 --> 0:04:44.239 the draft. You know, it's center and right guard. So 0:04:45.200 --> 0:04:47.560 you know, ideally that's how you do it, but that 0:04:47.680 --> 0:04:51.880 doesn't always work. Obviously, you know, they had they had 0:04:51.920 --> 0:04:55.720 to have had a lot go right. Plus I'm big 0:04:55.760 --> 0:04:58.240 on believing, like who your offensive line coaches. I think 0:04:58.279 --> 0:05:00.960 Cincinnati has a pretty good one in Frank Pollock. You know, 0:05:01.040 --> 0:05:03.200 Kansas City has a very good one in Andy Heck. 0:05:03.600 --> 0:05:07.760 Plus the infrastructure around them, the scheme the quarterback helps, 0:05:07.920 --> 0:05:11.200 which I think since he has some of those similar parallels, 0:05:11.240 --> 0:05:13.200 so I think that they could execute a kind of 0:05:13.200 --> 0:05:15.960 a similar plan here. I don't know, I'm not too 0:05:16.000 --> 0:05:19.720 familiar with cap situations and things like that, but you know, 0:05:19.800 --> 0:05:22.880 a guy like Toront Armstead would be an impact guy, 0:05:23.400 --> 0:05:25.280 and then if you have enough money to go get 0:05:25.360 --> 0:05:28.360 somebody else like a Ryan Jensen or something like that. 0:05:28.920 --> 0:05:32.119 I mean that right there would completely transform the line. 0:05:32.160 --> 0:05:34.919 And then if you can draft one or two as well, 0:05:35.760 --> 0:05:37.360 then all of a sudden, you know, you could have 0:05:37.400 --> 0:05:41.800 three four new starters. So I think it really depends 0:05:41.839 --> 0:05:44.200 on what players we're talking about in terms of how 0:05:44.240 --> 0:05:48.240 I would approach it. To me, I believe Toron Armstead 0:05:48.920 --> 0:05:52.840 is worth, you know, investing significant amount of money in 0:05:52.880 --> 0:05:54.680 and making him the highest paid guy in the league 0:05:54.720 --> 0:05:57.880 if need be considering the caps going up, all that 0:05:57.920 --> 0:05:59.760 will probably look like a bargain deal in one or 0:05:59.800 --> 0:06:02.160 two years. He's young enough to where I think that 0:06:02.200 --> 0:06:05.560 makes sense. The injury history is there, and it's you know, 0:06:05.600 --> 0:06:07.600 he's played eleven and a half games over the last 0:06:07.600 --> 0:06:12.800 five years on average, so that's you know, a consideration. 0:06:13.120 --> 0:06:16.000 But I think even if you're getting him for twelve, thirteen, 0:06:16.080 --> 0:06:19.680 fourteen games, that's worth it just because of how good 0:06:19.680 --> 0:06:23.440 he is. So that's one guy that I would advocate for, 0:06:24.120 --> 0:06:27.560 you know, in terms of investing a lot in the 0:06:27.600 --> 0:06:31.400 offensive line, is like my centerpiece. But then other guys 0:06:31.480 --> 0:06:34.760 like Schurf. His injury history to me is a little 0:06:34.760 --> 0:06:40.359 bit even almost more concerning than Tehran so and plus 0:06:40.360 --> 0:06:42.920 he's a guard, not a tackle. So I don't know 0:06:42.920 --> 0:06:45.960 if I would necessarily go there with Schurf, but I 0:06:45.960 --> 0:06:48.480 can understand if they did. Yeah. I mean, I'm a 0:06:48.520 --> 0:06:50.440 big fan of Ryan Jensen as well. You know, I 0:06:50.480 --> 0:06:53.760 think he's a game changing presence on the interior. He's 0:06:53.800 --> 0:06:56.840 a tone setter, he's very smart. He could handle all 0:06:56.839 --> 0:07:00.599 the protections, you know, alleviate some of that pressure of Burrow, 0:07:01.080 --> 0:07:03.440 kind of like how Corey Linsley did for you know, 0:07:03.560 --> 0:07:07.520 justin Herbert last year in Los Angeles, a similar effect. 0:07:07.520 --> 0:07:09.640 Although I think Jensen's better, I think he's more of 0:07:09.640 --> 0:07:13.320 an impact guy than Lindsley. Lindsley's more of a technician 0:07:13.360 --> 0:07:16.960 who's smart. Jensen's more of a smart guy who can 0:07:17.200 --> 0:07:21.600 physically impose, you know, himself on guy defenders in the 0:07:21.640 --> 0:07:26.040 pass and run games. He's scheme diverse, he's big, you know, 0:07:26.120 --> 0:07:30.120 he's Lindsley's a little undersized. Jensen's a big starting center. 0:07:30.240 --> 0:07:33.280 So and he hasn't missed a game in like four 0:07:33.400 --> 0:07:37.480 or five years. So Jensen and Armstead I think are 0:07:37.480 --> 0:07:41.000 the two prize, like top prizes on the free agent 0:07:41.040 --> 0:07:43.760 market right now in terms of offensive lineman. But there's 0:07:43.800 --> 0:07:45.880 some other good ones as well, so you know, there's 0:07:45.880 --> 0:07:50.360 other ways to attack it. Ryan Jensen's thirty. He's probably 0:07:50.400 --> 0:07:53.160 the free agent offensive lineman who has been linked to 0:07:53.240 --> 0:07:56.840 the Bengals the most. Frank Pollock at the combine talked 0:07:56.880 --> 0:08:00.360 about wanting glass Eaters to have that personnelity on his 0:08:00.480 --> 0:08:03.360 offensive line, and it sounds like Ryan Jensen fits all 0:08:03.400 --> 0:08:07.760 of that. Plus, while he'll probably be high priced among 0:08:07.800 --> 0:08:10.640 the center free agents out there, he certainly wouldn't cost 0:08:10.680 --> 0:08:14.320 as much as Toronto Armstead, right right, yeah, because what 0:08:14.440 --> 0:08:16.360 is the top of the market for center, like thirteen 0:08:16.400 --> 0:08:19.200 million or so a year, and then tackle is you know, 0:08:19.200 --> 0:08:22.320 you'd have to go over like close to twenty or whatever. 0:08:22.440 --> 0:08:24.720 So yeah, I mean it makes sense, you know, given 0:08:24.760 --> 0:08:28.520 the scarcity of the tackle position out there, you know, 0:08:28.560 --> 0:08:31.840 compared to center, there's more starting level centers and tackles. 0:08:31.880 --> 0:08:35.719 But yeah, so that makes sense. But Jensen, I mean, 0:08:35.720 --> 0:08:38.800 if Pollock said that in terms of glass eaters, you know, 0:08:38.840 --> 0:08:42.199 and that whope dynamic of what you want an offensive lineman, 0:08:42.280 --> 0:08:45.320 Jensen as the poster child for that, So that makes 0:08:45.320 --> 0:08:47.640 a lot of sense. We're talking to Brandon Thorne. He 0:08:47.760 --> 0:08:50.920 is the author of the Trench Warfare newsletter. I subscribe. 0:08:50.920 --> 0:08:53.360 It's the best content out there to learn about offensive 0:08:53.400 --> 0:08:57.199 and defensive line play. Let's talk about Laramie Tunsel. There 0:08:57.200 --> 0:09:00.199 have been reports that he could be available in aid 0:09:00.240 --> 0:09:02.280 with the Texans. What would you think of the Bengals 0:09:02.280 --> 0:09:07.199 trying to trade for him, you know, so largely contingent 0:09:07.280 --> 0:09:10.760 on the compensation for him. I mean, I think when 0:09:10.760 --> 0:09:14.440 he's healthy, he's one of the six or seven probably 0:09:14.480 --> 0:09:17.480 best left tackles in football, you know, somewhere around there. 0:09:18.400 --> 0:09:20.920 So you know, you're definitely getting a top ten guy 0:09:20.960 --> 0:09:24.600 if he's healthy at a premium position. So I'm I 0:09:24.640 --> 0:09:27.600 would imagine that would require a lot of resources. He's 0:09:27.679 --> 0:09:29.480 he's fairly young as well. I want to say he's 0:09:29.520 --> 0:09:32.920 like twenty seven or so, twenty eight somewhere in there. 0:09:33.000 --> 0:09:37.760 So you're getting a guy who's still in his prime. Yeah, 0:09:37.840 --> 0:09:40.280 I mean, that's very appealing to me. For sure. He's 0:09:40.360 --> 0:09:43.040 he's a better pass protector than run run blocker, but 0:09:43.120 --> 0:09:46.480 he's still solid as a run blocker. But he's a 0:09:46.480 --> 0:09:49.600 guy that you can, you know, leave on an island 0:09:49.760 --> 0:09:54.000 against most competition off the edge, and that really frees 0:09:54.080 --> 0:09:57.920 up an offense in a lot of different ways. So yeah, 0:09:57.960 --> 0:10:00.720 I mean, he's he's a very appealing piece, depending on 0:10:00.760 --> 0:10:03.959 what you'd have to pay for. It all about the compensation. 0:10:04.000 --> 0:10:05.720 As you pointed out, he has signed for a couple 0:10:05.760 --> 0:10:08.000 more years, which is also a positive in his case, 0:10:08.000 --> 0:10:10.960 although he is making big bucks. Let's get back to 0:10:11.200 --> 0:10:14.880 free agents centers. The Bengals have Trey Hopkins under contract 0:10:14.880 --> 0:10:17.440 for one more year, but he's coming off to tourn 0:10:17.480 --> 0:10:21.280 acl from a couple of years ago. He struggled quite 0:10:21.280 --> 0:10:23.080 a bit this past season, and there have been a 0:10:23.080 --> 0:10:24.920 lot of talks that the Bengals will make him a 0:10:25.000 --> 0:10:29.560 cap casualty if the Bengals don't sign Ryan Jensen because 0:10:29.559 --> 0:10:32.080 there'll be a lot of competition for his services. A 0:10:32.080 --> 0:10:34.160 couple of other names that have been mentioned are Bradley 0:10:34.200 --> 0:10:38.559 Bozeman from Baltimore and Ben Jones from Tennessee. Good fits 0:10:38.559 --> 0:10:42.040 for the Bengals. Um, yeah, I think they're pretty good fits. 0:10:42.120 --> 0:10:46.120 I prefer Ben Jones even though he's older, you know, 0:10:46.160 --> 0:10:48.439 I think, you know, he's what five years older I'm 0:10:48.440 --> 0:10:52.400 looking at than Bozeman, So in terms of long term, 0:10:52.400 --> 0:10:55.959 obviously you'd go Bozeman. Plus he has more positional versatility. 0:10:56.000 --> 0:10:59.320 He's played guard, you know, which helps. But I just 0:10:59.360 --> 0:11:02.800 think Jones is a better player. I'm a big fan 0:11:02.840 --> 0:11:05.680 of Ben Jones, so, you know, he's one of those 0:11:05.720 --> 0:11:10.360 guys who has been really underrated for you know, I 0:11:10.400 --> 0:11:13.880 think half a dozen years now that I've been watching him. 0:11:13.920 --> 0:11:17.240 He's a guy who's a very good run blocker, and 0:11:17.320 --> 0:11:19.440 he's a pretty good pass protector. You know, he's a 0:11:19.480 --> 0:11:22.920 guy who can definitely handle the mental side of it 0:11:22.960 --> 0:11:25.240 as well. He's been doing it a long time in Tennessee. 0:11:25.480 --> 0:11:27.840 He really succeeds in a kind of a similar type 0:11:27.840 --> 0:11:30.800 of scheme, is of compared to what the Bengals run 0:11:30.880 --> 0:11:34.840 more so than Bozeman. You know, Bozeman's coming from Baltimore's 0:11:34.880 --> 0:11:39.480 heavy gap scheme, whereas Ben Jones has been blocking in 0:11:39.559 --> 0:11:42.960 Tennessee scheme, which is more wide tighten zone, you know, 0:11:43.040 --> 0:11:45.240 which is kind of more similar to what Cincinnati does. 0:11:45.240 --> 0:11:47.920 So I think it makes more sense from a schematic 0:11:48.000 --> 0:11:51.600 perspective to get Ben Jones. And I just always been 0:11:51.640 --> 0:11:53.840 a fan of him. I just think he, you know, 0:11:53.920 --> 0:11:56.640 to get kind of technical. He plays with really good leverage, 0:11:57.400 --> 0:12:00.120 and he understands how to stay attached to blocks, and 0:12:00.160 --> 0:12:03.560 it's very impressive how he works combinations with the guards. 0:12:04.480 --> 0:12:06.400 And he's been doing that for so long in Tennessee. 0:12:06.440 --> 0:12:08.160 He's been one of the more underrated parts of their 0:12:08.240 --> 0:12:11.280 run game. The work that he's done with Roger Saffol 0:12:11.440 --> 0:12:13.480 next to him and then Nate Davis. I mean, he's 0:12:13.559 --> 0:12:16.240 kind of he's a key cog in what they do. 0:12:17.000 --> 0:12:20.600 And from everything I've heard, you know, consummate leader, all 0:12:20.600 --> 0:12:22.720 that type of stuff, you know, checks all those boxes 0:12:22.760 --> 0:12:24.800 in terms of what he can bring to the locker 0:12:24.920 --> 0:12:27.360 room and that kind of thing. So yeah, I'm a 0:12:27.360 --> 0:12:29.000 big fan of Ben Jones, but he's just more of 0:12:29.000 --> 0:12:31.679 a short term answer as opposed to Bozeman, where you 0:12:31.720 --> 0:12:34.360 can maybe expect him to, you know, be there a 0:12:34.360 --> 0:12:37.720 little bit longer. We're talking to offensive line defensive line 0:12:37.720 --> 0:12:40.199 expert Brandon Thorne. You can follow him on Twitter at 0:12:40.200 --> 0:12:44.120 Brandon Thorne NFL. Let's move to guards. If there's one 0:12:44.200 --> 0:12:47.040 name that's been mentioned most frequently where the Bengals are concerned, 0:12:47.080 --> 0:12:50.520 it's Lake and Tomlinson from San Francisco. What would you 0:12:50.559 --> 0:12:53.959 think of that marriage. I think it would make sense, 0:12:54.520 --> 0:12:56.720 you know, again, kind of a similar scheme, you know, 0:12:56.760 --> 0:13:01.160 with San Francisco being his own heavy place Tomlinson is. 0:13:01.440 --> 0:13:04.520 It's almost a little redundant to me. With Spain, you know, 0:13:04.600 --> 0:13:07.520 I kind of see them similar. You know, they're more 0:13:07.920 --> 0:13:10.640 kind of a they're very physical tone set or kind 0:13:10.640 --> 0:13:15.320 of guys good play strength. You know, they can get 0:13:15.440 --> 0:13:18.319 in trouble if they're isolated in past protection against sub 0:13:18.360 --> 0:13:21.920 package rushers, you know, and and really good three techniques. 0:13:22.080 --> 0:13:23.520 You know, they're not going to be guys who are 0:13:23.520 --> 0:13:26.400 going to be very good in past protection. A little 0:13:26.440 --> 0:13:30.079 bit stronger as run blockers. Maybe a slight upgrade over Spain, 0:13:30.400 --> 0:13:34.600 you know, but I don't know that it's significant. So 0:13:35.280 --> 0:13:38.240 you know, if you just want to slightly upgrade the 0:13:38.240 --> 0:13:40.120 position and get a guy who I think is a 0:13:40.120 --> 0:13:42.800 little bit younger that kind of thing, then you know, 0:13:42.800 --> 0:13:45.480 it makes sense. But you know not I don't think 0:13:45.520 --> 0:13:49.040 it would be a you know, a game changing presence. 0:13:49.080 --> 0:13:51.520 But I mean, Tomlinson is a guy who, you know, 0:13:51.559 --> 0:13:56.480 if he's your maybe fourth best offensive lineman, then that's 0:13:56.520 --> 0:13:59.640 really good. You know, if he's your second best, you know, 0:13:59.760 --> 0:14:02.679 it's your line might not be you know, that great, 0:14:02.840 --> 0:14:04.560 you know what I mean. So it's that's kind of 0:14:04.559 --> 0:14:06.080 how I see him. I see him as kind of 0:14:06.080 --> 0:14:09.320 just a solid, solid starter, which is fine, you know, 0:14:09.320 --> 0:14:10.760 if you want to go that approach, If you want 0:14:10.760 --> 0:14:13.120 to take that approach and you know, add him with 0:14:13.160 --> 0:14:15.920 some other guys, I get it. But if he's kind 0:14:15.920 --> 0:14:19.160 of your prize guy in free agency, you know, that's 0:14:19.480 --> 0:14:23.760 I don't know exactly how much better you got in 0:14:23.840 --> 0:14:26.120 general terms. Do you subscribe to the theory that the 0:14:26.200 --> 0:14:29.160 line is only as good as its weakest link? I 0:14:29.240 --> 0:14:31.280 think so, yeah, I think there's a lot of merit 0:14:31.360 --> 0:14:36.480 to that, you know viewpoint for sure, because from what 0:14:36.600 --> 0:14:40.360 I understand how pass rushers and how defensive coordinators defensive 0:14:40.400 --> 0:14:43.720 line coaches approach game plans, they're always looking for the 0:14:43.800 --> 0:14:46.880 quote unquote fish. You know, I've heard it called, or 0:14:47.320 --> 0:14:50.480 you know, just one. They're always looking for that guy 0:14:50.520 --> 0:14:54.240 that they can isolate in a game plan, and that's 0:14:54.280 --> 0:14:56.960 the guy that they're keying on. They're always trying to 0:14:57.280 --> 0:14:59.240 even if it's only two or three times a game, 0:14:59.360 --> 0:15:01.720 you know, as long as it's in a high leverage situation, 0:15:02.160 --> 0:15:04.480 they're going to be trying to isolate that guy against 0:15:04.520 --> 0:15:07.480 a good a good pass rusher, and a lot of 0:15:07.480 --> 0:15:09.360 the times they're able to accomplish that. I mean, you 0:15:09.400 --> 0:15:13.200 can't protect a weak link all game long. Typically a 0:15:13.200 --> 0:15:15.960 lot has to go right for that to happen. So 0:15:16.360 --> 0:15:19.200 I think you're playing with fire if you're you know, 0:15:19.640 --> 0:15:22.680 you're building a line and just leaving one spot kind 0:15:22.720 --> 0:15:25.240 of weak and you're trying to, you know, protect him 0:15:25.240 --> 0:15:27.920 with scheme and stuff like that all games. It's tough. 0:15:28.000 --> 0:15:30.840 So yeah, I do think there's a lot of merit 0:15:30.920 --> 0:15:35.080 to that. My broadcast partner, Dave Lapham, former Bengals offensive lineman, 0:15:35.080 --> 0:15:37.800 would be smiling right now. He also uses the expression 0:15:37.840 --> 0:15:40.640 the fish. Can you guys have that in common? Let's 0:15:40.680 --> 0:15:43.040 talk about some of the other guards. Some names that 0:15:43.080 --> 0:15:46.040 have been mentioned possibly where the Bengals are concerned, Connor 0:15:46.120 --> 0:15:49.600 Williams from Dallas, Austin Corbett from the Rams, Andrew Norwell 0:15:49.680 --> 0:15:52.560 from the Jags, who is from the Cincinnati area. Do 0:15:52.760 --> 0:15:56.440 those guys or any of the other available guards out 0:15:56.440 --> 0:15:59.640 there really appeal to you? So out of those names, 0:16:00.160 --> 0:16:03.480 I'm I'm a pretty big fan of Austin Corbett. So 0:16:03.800 --> 0:16:06.600 he's a guy that I've watched a lot of over 0:16:06.640 --> 0:16:10.520 the last couple of years. Was a twenty twenty. I 0:16:10.560 --> 0:16:13.240 thought he was a top ten right guard in the 0:16:13.360 --> 0:16:17.320 NFL in twenty twenty. This year this past season, maybe 0:16:17.360 --> 0:16:20.080 a little bit of a dip in his play in consistency, 0:16:21.160 --> 0:16:24.760 but still there's some there's some upside with Corbette that 0:16:24.840 --> 0:16:27.000 I don't think is there with those other guys. Maybe 0:16:27.000 --> 0:16:29.120 Connor Williams has some of that upside, but I haven't 0:16:29.160 --> 0:16:33.480 seen it on the field actually materialized as much as 0:16:33.480 --> 0:16:35.760 I have with Corbett. I think Connor is more up 0:16:35.800 --> 0:16:39.520 and down, especially in past protection. He struggles. I mean, 0:16:39.600 --> 0:16:42.640 he's he's a good athlete, and he's young. He's somebody 0:16:42.640 --> 0:16:45.000 who you you know with a good line coach, you 0:16:45.000 --> 0:16:47.760 know and stuff like that. I can understand wanting to 0:16:47.800 --> 0:16:49.760 get him in the building and try to mold him 0:16:49.800 --> 0:16:53.280 and improve him over time, but that would probably be 0:16:53.280 --> 0:16:56.480 my next choice. But I like Corbett. I think his 0:16:56.600 --> 0:17:00.080 play strength is really impressive as a run blocker and 0:16:59.800 --> 0:17:02.360 in his anchor and pass protection a lot of the 0:17:02.360 --> 0:17:04.800 time as well. You watch him last year against the Bucks, 0:17:05.359 --> 0:17:08.679 what he did against Sue was very impressive, and then 0:17:08.720 --> 0:17:11.159 twenty twenty, I have a whole tape you can go 0:17:11.200 --> 0:17:15.000 on my Trench Warfare site. Every positive block he made 0:17:15.040 --> 0:17:18.000 that season I have on my my sub stack, so 0:17:18.080 --> 0:17:21.520 people can really see what he would bring. But just 0:17:21.560 --> 0:17:25.199 a really good run blocker pass protection. This year, like 0:17:25.240 --> 0:17:26.960 I said, took a little bit of a dip, But 0:17:27.960 --> 0:17:31.119 I like him. I think he's a, you know, probably 0:17:31.160 --> 0:17:34.600 an above average starter at right guard, so you know 0:17:34.680 --> 0:17:37.639 somewhere in that ten to you know, twelve range or 0:17:37.680 --> 0:17:40.960 so of right guards across the league. So yeah, I 0:17:41.960 --> 0:17:44.600 prefer Corbett personally. That's one of my favorite guys in 0:17:44.640 --> 0:17:47.600 the free agent class. Do you see much left in 0:17:47.640 --> 0:17:52.200 the tank for Andrew Norwell, not a whole lot, but 0:17:52.560 --> 0:17:54.720 a little bit. You know, he's a guy who he 0:17:55.200 --> 0:17:58.560 definitely is a really good processor in terms of handling 0:17:58.640 --> 0:18:02.080 himself in pass protection and seeing things quickly. He can 0:18:02.160 --> 0:18:06.040 decipher stunts and line games and blitz is very quickly. 0:18:06.720 --> 0:18:10.560 But there's just not the same level of explosiveness and 0:18:10.640 --> 0:18:12.840 juice as there once was, you know. When he signed 0:18:12.840 --> 0:18:16.800 that deal in Jacksonville, became the richest guard in NFL history, 0:18:17.280 --> 0:18:19.760 you know. And I watched him a lot in Carolina. 0:18:19.760 --> 0:18:22.840 I've loved him in Carolina. Former undrafted guy. I love 0:18:22.880 --> 0:18:26.160 those kind of guys. But yeah, I just think physically 0:18:26.200 --> 0:18:28.840 there's a lot of wear and tear there. Maybe like 0:18:28.920 --> 0:18:31.280 on a very short term basis, you know, he could 0:18:31.320 --> 0:18:35.240 provide maybe a little bit of an upgrade over Spain. 0:18:35.359 --> 0:18:37.640 But I'm not sure how much we're talking here because 0:18:37.720 --> 0:18:39.719 I kind of like Quentin Spain for what he is, 0:18:39.880 --> 0:18:43.440 you know. So I think we're all talking about kind 0:18:43.440 --> 0:18:46.040 of middle of the pack, were below kind of guys 0:18:46.119 --> 0:18:49.719 right now, but I think Corbett is maybe more above that. 0:18:49.880 --> 0:18:51.720 So but yeah, that's kind of how I see no 0:18:51.840 --> 0:18:54.680 ORL right now. Brandon Thorne is our guest. He is 0:18:54.720 --> 0:18:58.040 the author of the Trench Warfare newsletter. Again, I subscribe 0:18:58.040 --> 0:19:00.520 and I highly recommend it. If you're interest didn't learning 0:19:00.520 --> 0:19:04.640 more about offensive and defensive line play, Let's move to tackles. 0:19:04.680 --> 0:19:08.359 Aside from Tehran Armstead, who will be the highest priced 0:19:08.400 --> 0:19:11.680 free agent tackle out there, what other guys are available 0:19:11.680 --> 0:19:15.440 that you like? So on a short term basis, there's 0:19:15.480 --> 0:19:19.199 some there's some bridge type guys at left tackle, at 0:19:19.280 --> 0:19:22.359 least if if Cincinnati wanted to move Jonah Williams to 0:19:22.359 --> 0:19:24.960 the right side or whatever, you know, I guess that's feasible. 0:19:25.000 --> 0:19:28.080 You know, he played right tackle at Alabama at least 0:19:28.119 --> 0:19:32.400 for one season. So Dwayne Brown is a guy who 0:19:32.560 --> 0:19:36.040 I like. He kind of he definitely dipped last year 0:19:36.080 --> 0:19:39.000 compared to twenty twenty. Twenty twenty he was excellent, Like 0:19:39.800 --> 0:19:42.320 he was one of the five or six best left 0:19:42.320 --> 0:19:45.240 tackles in the game. In twenty twenty, twenty twenty one, 0:19:45.280 --> 0:19:46.640 it was a little bit more up and down. Their 0:19:46.640 --> 0:19:49.440 whole offensive line was really But I think if you're 0:19:49.480 --> 0:19:52.760 talking about for a year or two, Dwayne Brown is 0:19:52.760 --> 0:19:55.560 somebody that I would really like. And then another guy 0:19:55.680 --> 0:19:58.480 kind of like that who's maybe doesn't even have that 0:19:58.600 --> 0:20:01.440 much left in the tank. He's four years old. Jason Peters. 0:20:02.240 --> 0:20:04.240 You know, Peters is a guy if he's like your 0:20:04.240 --> 0:20:07.120 fourth best offensive lineman at this point, third maybe then 0:20:07.119 --> 0:20:09.879 that's pretty good. But I just I'm watching every snap 0:20:09.880 --> 0:20:13.360 of him for a highlight tape I'm making, and Peters 0:20:13.440 --> 0:20:15.679 was better than I think a lot of people thought, 0:20:16.480 --> 0:20:19.280 considering he was thirty nine last year and he got 0:20:19.359 --> 0:20:22.399 signed Layton training Camp all that stuff. He has some 0:20:23.240 --> 0:20:27.040 pretty impressive reps that he put on tape and definitely 0:20:27.080 --> 0:20:29.040 isn't the same guy. You know, he's a Hall of Famer, 0:20:29.440 --> 0:20:34.119 but he's not what he once was. But he's so crafty. 0:20:34.400 --> 0:20:38.440 He's still very strong, and I think he's a guy 0:20:38.480 --> 0:20:41.240 that you can definitely win with if you signed him 0:20:41.320 --> 0:20:44.440 on obviously like a one year deal, but in terms 0:20:44.440 --> 0:20:48.040 of like answers, you know, long term at the tackle position, 0:20:49.200 --> 0:20:51.399 I don't really think you're going to find anybody in 0:20:51.440 --> 0:20:54.879 free agency. You know, I'm looking at the list again, 0:20:55.000 --> 0:20:58.520 but I mean for more than one or two years. 0:20:58.600 --> 0:21:00.960 I mean, I really like Trent Round, but it's just 0:21:01.160 --> 0:21:04.480 tough to bank on him being available week in week out. 0:21:04.560 --> 0:21:08.160 But his upside I think is probably the highest after 0:21:08.359 --> 0:21:11.480 Armstead in the whole class um. But there's a lot 0:21:11.520 --> 0:21:15.880 of variants there, so that one's tough. But yeah, tackle 0:21:16.040 --> 0:21:18.120 is just the position on the line. It's like quarterback. 0:21:18.160 --> 0:21:21.320 I mean, you know, they very rarely hit the market 0:21:21.359 --> 0:21:23.760 like Toronto Armstead does. You know where you're getting the 0:21:23.800 --> 0:21:26.840 top three or four guy at his position, and they 0:21:26.880 --> 0:21:28.719 just don't make a lot of those guys. You know, 0:21:28.760 --> 0:21:32.280 there's just there's just not a lot of offensive tackles period, 0:21:32.480 --> 0:21:34.840 you know. I mean it's funny I talk about this 0:21:35.000 --> 0:21:37.439 kind of a sidebar, but like the developmental leagues that 0:21:37.520 --> 0:21:40.120 pop up, I always say that it might as well 0:21:40.119 --> 0:21:43.080 be seven on seven because the offensive line is always 0:21:43.119 --> 0:21:45.000 going to be bad in those. It's just it's just 0:21:45.040 --> 0:21:47.880 the way it is, especially tackle, because there's not enough 0:21:47.920 --> 0:21:51.680 to fill NFL rosters, you know, let alone developmental league. 0:21:51.720 --> 0:21:54.520