Speaker 1: Hi, get everybody. I'm Dan Horde and thanks for downloading
Speaker 1: the Bengals Booth Podcast. The one on one I wanna
Speaker 1: play that game tonight. Addition, as we bring you two
Speaker 1: one on one conversations. The first is with one of
Speaker 1: eight unrestricted free agents who signed with the Bengals in
Speaker 1: the off season, Safety Von Bell, will discuss leaving the Saints,
Speaker 1: joining the Bengals and his insane daily schedule. The second
Speaker 1: conversation is with national radio talk show host Adam Shine,
Speaker 1: who also writes a column for NFL dot com, and
Speaker 1: he recently wrote the following about the Bengals after they
Speaker 1: drafted Joe Burrow. I envisioned Cincinnati turning into a consistent winner. Seriously,
Speaker 1: you will like what Adam has to say. The Bengals
Speaker 1: Booth Podcast is presented by Prime Sport, the official fan,
Speaker 1: travel and hospitality partner of the Cincinnati Bengals. And here's
Speaker 1: a quick reminder that you can have the latest edition
Speaker 1: of this podcast delivered write to your phone, tablet, or
Speaker 1: computer by subscribing at iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, or
Speaker 1: pod Bean. It's the greatest thing since the Home Court App.
Speaker 1: I have a fourteen year old son, that loves basketball,
Speaker 1: and he recently started using the home Court App. It
Speaker 1: uses your iPhone or iPads camera to analyze your shot.
Speaker 1: Just download the app, point your device toward the court,
Speaker 1: shoot the ball, and get real time shot tracking, analysis
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Speaker 1: a court somewhere nearby, I highly recommend checking out the
Speaker 1: home Court App. Now, let's get to football. My first
Speaker 1: conversation is with a Bengals newcomer, safety Von Bell, who
Speaker 1: signed a three year, eighteen million dollars deal with the
Speaker 1: Bengals after spending the last four years with the New
Speaker 1: Orleans Saints. Vaughan was a second round draft pick back
Speaker 1: in twenty sixteen after a great career at Ohio State,
Speaker 1: where he was one of Urban Meyer's most highly touted recruits.
Speaker 1: I caught up with a twenty five year old former
Speaker 1: Buckeye this week. Von Did you enjoy the free agency
Speaker 1: process or was it stressful? It's a little bit of both,
Speaker 1: but I could say it's a pleasing to be in it,
Speaker 1: and man, really just being optimistic and really just find
Speaker 1: that shit to you and your family and really just
Speaker 1: beginning new chapter and I'm excited about it. And a
Speaker 1: guy has a plan and as you got trusted. Were
Speaker 1: the Bengals on your radar from the beginning it was
Speaker 1: off and how much money or anything was going to
Speaker 1: go on the situation they play out, so everybody and
Speaker 1: everything worked out. I supposed to work out. So I'm
Speaker 1: just glad to go on Bengal. You're one of eight
Speaker 1: unrestricted free agents that the team signed. They spent more
Speaker 1: than one hundred and thirty million. Is there a message there?
Speaker 1: They want to win? And without kays Cala, guys have
Speaker 1: been in programs and football clubs and have been successful
Speaker 1: and just getting great character guys and leadership and just
Speaker 1: combined what they are have. You know, they have great
Speaker 1: talent there already and um and just combined us and
Speaker 1: they just want to win. They says nothing enough. The
Speaker 1: whole plan was wasn't working, so we gotta try something new.
Speaker 1: So and everything's gonna work out. I supposed to work out.
Speaker 1: We are visiting with von Bell. For those who don't know,
Speaker 1: you were an All American at Ohio State and a
Speaker 1: key member of the twenty fourteen national championship team. Does
Speaker 1: it feel right to be coming back to Ohio where
Speaker 1: you had so much success. It so they're gonna come
Speaker 1: back home. Like I said, guy opened and closed doors.
Speaker 1: And now I'm back home in Ohio and I'm ready
Speaker 1: to have much success that I did in college and
Speaker 1: now I can't wait. So after Ohio State, you started
Speaker 1: fifty games for the Saints, including five playoff games. What
Speaker 1: were the highlights of your times a time in New Orleans? Man,
Speaker 1: It's it's countless times, um man. I feel like in practice,
Speaker 1: you know, just me growing as a young player in
Speaker 1: this league is being behind older guys and just really
Speaker 1: just soaking up the knowledge, like from Drew Brees and
Speaker 1: the other guys in a locker room that are veterans.
Speaker 1: I feel like that was really highlight my career instead
Speaker 1: of just playing on the field, because you do so
Speaker 1: much off the field to prepare yourselcialty ready as full
Speaker 1: capacities for Sunday and Monday nights and Thursday night games.
Speaker 1: And it's like, man, it's like I feel like those
Speaker 1: my highlights in locker room because we gotta had good,
Speaker 1: high character guys and just had more success on the
Speaker 1: field because you want to play harder for your brothers.
Speaker 1: So that's what I will tell you. We're chatting with
Speaker 1: von Bell. The Bengal have had some heartbreaking playoff losses
Speaker 1: in their history, including a couple of Super Bowls, and
Speaker 1: as a member of the Saints over the last three years,
Speaker 1: the team lost in the playoffs on the final play
Speaker 1: of the game. They were all punches to the gut.
Speaker 1: Can you describe how difficult that was to be in
Speaker 1: uniform for those games? This, man, it's very difficult. It
Speaker 1: just felt like we can never give it at home
Speaker 1: and man, like the first time with the pr called
Speaker 1: we'll play against the Rams and the Minnesota miracle and
Speaker 1: Minnesota again. It's like, man, it's like I felt like
Speaker 1: we can never give that hume. But you know, we
Speaker 1: just had we had that team where it was always hungry.
Speaker 1: We always want to prove more, and we wanted to
Speaker 1: establish I said, we wanted to say we're not done yet.
Speaker 1: We was hungry. We pushed each other iron shoppers iron.
Speaker 1: We just had all these competitive excellence or deals with
Speaker 1: it in the locker room. It didn't have to worry
Speaker 1: about what the coaches said because the guys wanted in
Speaker 1: locker room, and that's the biggest thing and my whole
Speaker 1: coach always told me this player as the coach led,
Speaker 1: I fed league and um and it's from by the players,
Speaker 1: and that's what I really believe in. I feel that
Speaker 1: we had a great group of guys coming into the
Speaker 1: locker room, a cininry, a scant way to get it.
Speaker 1: The website Pro Football Focus great at you as the
Speaker 1: NFL's top run stopping safety last year. Do you take
Speaker 1: that as a compliment or do you feel like it
Speaker 1: ignores your coverage ability? It didn't knows my coach. I
Speaker 1: feel like I'm safety. I had all the tencibles to
Speaker 1: the game. I feel like I plase safety, m playing
Speaker 1: in the box, playing in BANKI making plays on the ball.
Speaker 1: There's always being around the ball, and it's just I
Speaker 1: just loving the games. So I feel like I'm like, man,
Speaker 1: I'm more than just a quote unquote box safety. I
Speaker 1: feel like I could do all the things that safety
Speaker 1: pranks of the league. I spoke to Luke Fickle, who's
Speaker 1: now the head coach at the University of Cincinnati and
Speaker 1: obviously was with you at Ohio State as defensive coordinator.
Speaker 1: The first thing he mentioned was your leadership ability right
Speaker 1: from day one at Ohio State. He said, yeah, man,
Speaker 1: I'm one of the alpha dogs and just that successful
Speaker 1: all my career, even to a high school, going to
Speaker 1: college in the NFL. It's just always just been a
Speaker 1: pedigree to me. And I always want my older brother.
Speaker 1: I always played up. I never played in my age movie.
Speaker 1: He always told me to play with him who were
Speaker 1: playing basketball or any sport, and he said, when you
Speaker 1: get to your agh movie, to go dominated because everything
Speaker 1: will come easy to you. And that's that's not always
Speaker 1: been with My mother and dad were the structure we
Speaker 1: had at home and just really to just showing me
Speaker 1: how to be the man I am today. And that's
Speaker 1: what I just brought. That structure and that leadership structs
Speaker 1: and is always just being the alpha dog. So I
Speaker 1: think them Vanu led the NFL with five fumble recoveries
Speaker 1: last year and had another one in the playoffs. How
Speaker 1: much of that is right place, right time and how
Speaker 1: much is a nose for the ball. I think it's both.
Speaker 1: We always like party at the ball. You never know
Speaker 1: what can happen. You know, you might get tips, no
Speaker 1: those you might get you know what I'm saying, Scooper,
Speaker 1: score guys, just running to the ball and just really
Speaker 1: just see eleven hands of the ball, just always just
Speaker 1: being around it and uh and players gonna happen when
Speaker 1: you do that. Your final year as a Buck guy
Speaker 1: was Joe Burrows first, and now you're going to be
Speaker 1: teammates again in Cincinnati. He didn't play back then, but
Speaker 1: you obviously competed against him at practice. What stood out, Oh, man,
Speaker 1: his his warrior mentality. Um, you know him and Stephen
Speaker 1: Carter was on the two youngest quarterbacks at the time,
Speaker 1: and they always want to look squad and they had
Speaker 1: the two youngest quarterbacks always live against the defiance, so
Speaker 1: you could hit him right. I was to this guy
Speaker 1: taking shots from everybody, and I'm like, man, this dude
Speaker 1: he just never had that quitting and he always had
Speaker 1: a knack of talent. He had that confidence, he had
Speaker 1: that swagger, and um, that's why I really knew that
Speaker 1: he get a chance he could be a special player.
Speaker 1: Were you responsible for some of those hits at practice?
Speaker 1: Sometimes I was sometimes, you know, Joey getting there a
Speaker 1: couple of guys. It's a couple of guys, but you know, hey,
Speaker 1: you know he always he always had that confidence. He
Speaker 1: never backed down. He loves competition and man, that's what
Speaker 1: made it successful on his journey. And I'm very proud
Speaker 1: of him. And uh, you know that's what I know
Speaker 1: a kind of man and what type of football Cali
Speaker 1: player he is because he's been he's been entrenched with
Speaker 1: me at Oil State, and he's been in the weight room.
Speaker 1: You've been through the Matt Rill, so I know the
Speaker 1: type of guy he is. Vane, I understand. The last November,
Speaker 1: the Saints had a Thursday night game, meaning you had
Speaker 1: the following weekend off, and you chose to drive to
Speaker 1: Baton Rouge to watch Joe Burrow at LSU. Describe that experience.
Speaker 1: That's my first LSU game. Oh, that's playing Texas and
Speaker 1: him the year before that. That was when he went
Speaker 1: in a Crazy Old Times the year before that. So
Speaker 1: it was a big hype game. I said, man, let
Speaker 1: me um, let me go. Try to go to LSU
Speaker 1: and do my first game. Get the tiger Land experience
Speaker 1: and just being out there in the atmosphere and it
Speaker 1: was electric. Was seeing height. I didn't really want to
Speaker 1: miss him for the game out was there and it
Speaker 1: was a big moment for him, you know, through all
Speaker 1: the adversity, you know, through the quarterback bows. Now he's
Speaker 1: on top. You know, he was in hot and the race,
Speaker 1: chance to compete the national championship is like, man, what
Speaker 1: a time. I was glad to be there in the
Speaker 1: moment and uh, just living in the moment. And that's
Speaker 1: what I did. I really enjoyed it. That was the
Speaker 1: game where he came out with b U R R
Speaker 1: E A U X on the back of his jersey. Correct, yes, sir,
Speaker 1: they did. Yes, Louisiana did it home Vane. Describe your
Speaker 1: routine these days, since it could be a while before
Speaker 1: NFL teams can get together. Man, my routine right now, Man,
Speaker 1: Monday day, I wake up at four am every day,
Speaker 1: work out with a coup of guys and work out
Speaker 1: around five, and then we have our means our virtual meetings.
Speaker 1: Then on Friday, I do my balancing, core and stability
Speaker 1: work out. And I still like after the days other
Speaker 1: Monday and Thursday, I still like get a twelve mile
Speaker 1: bike riding or fourteen and buries on some days. And
Speaker 1: it's really just staying to it, just cooking my breakfast,
Speaker 1: cooking my meals, and just staying on top of other
Speaker 1: reading books. Really staying in the process, watching film and
Speaker 1: just really just being around the game and just stoking
Speaker 1: up the knowledge from the game and really just going
Speaker 1: back and just really trying to you know, the self
Speaker 1: critical yourself and insteadying other guys around the league. I
Speaker 1: still take still communicate with guys around the league and
Speaker 1: really talk about and just really talk about life, spending
Speaker 1: time with families. So that's where getting up at four,
Speaker 1: working out at five, that's Kobe Bryant MoMA mentality stuff.
Speaker 1: It is it is, and I feel like that's the
Speaker 1: only way to success. I'm getting up before everyone and
Speaker 1: getting your work in. It's like you're ahead of everybody already.
Speaker 1: And I always want to tell the stars just that
Speaker 1: competitive nature and it's that momentality and um so it's
Speaker 1: always just striving for greatness and just really just chasing
Speaker 1: greatness and affection. Fine, how challenging is it to try
Speaker 1: to learn the Bengals defense through zoom meetings? I was
Speaker 1: pretty challenging, But you know, I'm a very heady any play,
Speaker 1: I'm brady smart. There's just really determinology and some of
Speaker 1: the system somatic things they do. But I'm gonna get it.
Speaker 1: I'll come along very well with it. Just when we
Speaker 1: get when we be able to get in the facility
Speaker 1: and do the walk throughs, and I could really see
Speaker 1: things move and make the same you know, the adjustments
Speaker 1: with their terminology and everything. It's gonna be smooth, it's
Speaker 1: gonna be better and uh everything we'll start clicking on
Speaker 1: all cylinders. You have some former Buckeye teammates, not only
Speaker 1: Joe Burrow, but Sam Hubbard, Billy Price and others on
Speaker 1: this roster. Does that add to your comfort level and
Speaker 1: joining a new team for sure? Um, you know, we
Speaker 1: always know, but the brotherhood is always unbroken. We know
Speaker 1: what type of caliber guys they are, and it's like family.
Speaker 1: And before you go and um yes, uh, you know,
Speaker 1: I'm a very outgoing person, So I don't think it's
Speaker 1: rich you are to make a friend of me. Um,
Speaker 1: this always is open a year, um shot, you know,
Speaker 1: and just want to be that guy that you just
Speaker 1: come to and talk to, be he's talking to and
Speaker 1: but yeah, it's always helping. You got a couple of
Speaker 1: Buckeyes on the team or not, You're obviously one of
Speaker 1: the big acquisitions of the off season by the Bengals.
Speaker 1: Cincinnati is thrilled to have you. We welcome you back
Speaker 1: to the state of Ohio and look forward to seeing
Speaker 1: you in person when that's possible. Yes, sir, thank you
Speaker 1: so much. I'm glad to be back to the world.
Speaker 1: Bron is expected to start at safety next to Jesse
Speaker 1: Bates and is one of five free agents who could
Speaker 1: start on defense, along with DJ Reader, Trey Waynes, Mackenzie
Speaker 1: Alexander and Josh Bines. Before we get to the next conversation,
Speaker 1: here's a quick reminder that you can take your Bengals
Speaker 1: prior to the next level in twenty twenty with an
Speaker 1: official Bengals fan package from Prime Sport. My next guest
Speaker 1: is a national radio host who is among the best
Speaker 1: in the business at combining strong opinions with a great
Speaker 1: sense of humor. We are joined by one of my
Speaker 1: favorite people to listen to and watch, and not only
Speaker 1: because he is a proud graduate of Syracuse University. He
Speaker 1: is the host of Shandon Sports every weekday from ten
Speaker 1: to one on Sirius XM radio and the host of
Speaker 1: multiple NFL TV show was on CBS Sportsnet. Adam Shine, Adam,
Speaker 1: I am such a big fan of your work and
Speaker 1: we've communicated by email in the past, but this is
Speaker 1: the first time we have spoken to each other, and
Speaker 1: I appreciate you coming on the Bengals Booth podcast absolutely, Dan. Likewise,
Speaker 1: I'm a huge fan of yours, as you know, and listen,
Speaker 1: we go back in terms of the same same connection
Speaker 1: to wae ER and to Syracuse, and you know, you're
Speaker 1: the guys that I looked up to with Mike Tarico
Speaker 1: and I An Eagle and Sean McDonough that that great
Speaker 1: era of broadcasters at at wae R. So seriously, thank
Speaker 1: you for paving the way for people like me. Well,
Speaker 1: thank you for including me in that line up. I'm
Speaker 1: not sure that I'm worthy, but I appreciate it anyway.
Speaker 1: I have been eager to have you as a guest
Speaker 1: on this podcast because between your Twitter feed, your radio show,
Speaker 1: and your column on NFL dot Com, you have been
Speaker 1: expressing a lot of optimism about the Bengals recently. Explain why, Well,
Speaker 1: I really like what the Bengals are doing, you know,
Speaker 1: and I think it's important Dan, to actually go back
Speaker 1: to my opinion when Zach Taylor was hired, you know,
Speaker 1: I I thought it was an inspiring choice, you know,
Speaker 1: last year was not a good season, right as Bill
Speaker 1: Parcels once said, you are, which the record says, and
Speaker 1: there were a lot of reasons why. But I I
Speaker 1: don't look at the head coach and you know put
Speaker 1: that on him. There were injuries that were circumstance, and
Speaker 1: you know, I'd a lot of people in the NFL
Speaker 1: tell me that that Zach Taylor was on their list,
Speaker 1: a lot of executives to be a head coach. I
Speaker 1: thought the Bengals slammed that out of the park, and
Speaker 1: then I thought they had a really strong draft with
Speaker 1: Jonah Williams that he got hurt, didn't play it down.
Speaker 1: And then I thought that, you know a j Greene,
Speaker 1: who I've always argued as a Hall of Famer, you know,
Speaker 1: I would have another great season. He got hurt, didn't
Speaker 1: play it down. And then you get the number one pick,
Speaker 1: and you know, Joe Burrow to me, has hits and
Speaker 1: I just love watching him at LSU. You know, I
Speaker 1: think he has all the tangibles, all the intangibles in
Speaker 1: terms of a true franchise quarterback, and I think he's
Speaker 1: going to inspire his teammates, inspire the coaching staff, inspire
Speaker 1: the great Cincinnati Bengals fans, and you know, I can't
Speaker 1: wait to see him work. And you know, AJ's coming back,
Speaker 1: which I think is fantastic. And I was waiting for
Speaker 1: you some kind of comment from AJ on that, and listen,
Speaker 1: I never thought AJ was gonna wear a Bengals uniform again.
Speaker 1: It turns out I was wrong. And I'm thrilled for
Speaker 1: Cincinnati that I was. And I thought he was ready
Speaker 1: to move on after a great chapter and I'm thrilled
Speaker 1: he's coming back. I think Joe Mixon is on the
Speaker 1: shortlist in terms of best running backs in the league.
Speaker 1: I loved how the Bengals not only drafted Borrow supported
Speaker 1: him in round two with T Higgins, I thought T
Speaker 1: Higgins was a first round pick, and I think that
Speaker 1: sometimes organizations fail when they draft the first round quarterback.
Speaker 1: Don't give him the proper offensive line, don't give him
Speaker 1: the proper weapons. You you want to make sure he's
Speaker 1: in a position to be successful. Look last year after
Speaker 1: the draft, and that's why I go back to last year.
Speaker 1: I thought the Bengals could win seven games, you know,
Speaker 1: win games where they were underdogs, win games you'd expect
Speaker 1: them to win. That's my field for Cincinnati this year.
Speaker 1: I thought the Bengals spent money wisely in the off season.
Speaker 1: You know, they did a really good job improving the defense,
Speaker 1: the defensive line, the defensive backfield, and then you add
Speaker 1: in these pieces via the draft, and Burrows one of
Speaker 1: those guys, even as a rookie, I think, lifts everyone up.
Speaker 1: I really think the Bengals been a surprise of people,
Speaker 1: and there's great hope and enthusiasm for the future. Our
Speaker 1: guest is Adam Shy, the host of shan On Sports
Speaker 1: on Sirius XM radio. When you host a three hour
Speaker 1: national radio show, you have to have strong opinions, and
Speaker 1: you are not shy in stating the Bengals would not
Speaker 1: win a Super Bowl with Marvin Lewis as the head
Speaker 1: coach and Andy Dalton as the starting quarterback. You're right,
Speaker 1: And I didn't say that necessarily with joyous julation, but
Speaker 1: I you know, and I was right on that. You know,
Speaker 1: it's funny. I always think, Dan, there's perspective, right. They
Speaker 1: won a lot of games, and they deserve I think
Speaker 1: a lot of credit for winning a lot of games.
Speaker 1: It's not easy to win in the NFL, and I
Speaker 1: hope that that Bengals fans actually look back on it
Speaker 1: all very fondly. You know, I thought Andy was a
Speaker 1: really good quarterback who had some great seasons for since
Speaker 1: he you know, the primetime numbers, the playoff numbers. I mean,
Speaker 1: that's that's where I think he falls short of true
Speaker 1: quote unquote greatness. Pretty had a really great run in
Speaker 1: terms of being, you know, a great guy in the
Speaker 1: community and a rock solid quarterback for a long time.
Speaker 1: Marvin epitome of class. I you know, there were there
Speaker 1: were issues in terms of discipline that have been documented,
Speaker 1: but it was it was time for a change. And
Speaker 1: you know, I think it's tough to win in the NFL,
Speaker 1: and those guys is credit for getting win and win totals.
Speaker 1: You know, I remember talking to Carson Palmer at the
Speaker 1: Super Bowl this past year. You know, I will always
Speaker 1: believe that the year that he got hurt with von Olhoffen,
Speaker 1: that Bengal team could have gone to the super Bowl.
Speaker 1: That was an amazing just a tremendous, tremendous offense and
Speaker 1: opportunistic defense. I thought that team, he totally agreed with me,
Speaker 1: could have absolutely gone to the super Bowl. But yeah,
Speaker 1: I've been screaming that for years. In terms of our guys,
Speaker 1: Marvin Anvy, we are speaking to Adam Shine a great
Speaker 1: Twitter follow at Adam Shine Schei n Way back in
Speaker 1: mid January, you tweeted Joe Burrow will save the Bengals.
Speaker 1: So that was obviously well before the NFL draft, and
Speaker 1: I assume based on watching the semi final performance against
Speaker 1: Oklahoma and the National Championship game against Clemson, you knew
Speaker 1: at that point this is the guy Cincinnati had to draft. Absolutely,
Speaker 1: And you know, there was some conversation at the Super
Speaker 1: Bowl about justin Herbert, you know, and I happen to
Speaker 1: think there's going to be a big time quarterback, and
Speaker 1: you know, the Bengal is obviously there for the Senior Bowl.
Speaker 1: But Burrow, to me is just he's special. And you know,
Speaker 1: I think with other quarterbacks and even Tuah and Herbert,
Speaker 1: there was always there's upside downside, right, there's risk reward.
Speaker 1: I don't see downside with Burrow. I think you can
Speaker 1: you can debate or go into the crystal ball when
Speaker 1: it comes to great this, but I think he's going
Speaker 1: to be a very good to great quarterback for a
Speaker 1: long period of time. And Dan I just thought, well,
Speaker 1: he did at LSU. I mean, you don't want you
Speaker 1: want to make sure you're not a prisoner at the moment,
Speaker 1: right And you know, there have been some amazing seasons
Speaker 1: in the history of college football, but all things considered,
Speaker 1: I think you could have a solid argument that what
Speaker 1: he did this past year and la Asu greatest season
Speaker 1: ever behind a quarterback in the history of college football,
Speaker 1: and it's going to carry over, in my opinion, to Cincinnati.
Speaker 1: You are fired up about Burrow versus Baker Mayfield in Wait,
Speaker 1: I can't wait for that game. I you know, I
Speaker 1: was pleased at the NFL put that one in primetime.
Speaker 1: I you know, I put that on my list on
Speaker 1: my shyne I of the ones that I'm looking forward
Speaker 1: to the most. I am really fired up because, you know,
Speaker 1: go back to the old days. You know, Cincinnati Cleveland,
Speaker 1: and I know it's a rivalry in Ohio, but I
Speaker 1: mean when it was a rivalry nationally, like when I
Speaker 1: was growing up in New York. But you wanted to
Speaker 1: see the Bengals, you wanted to see the Browns. You
Speaker 1: wanted to see Sam Wish, and you wanted to see Boomer,
Speaker 1: and you wanted to see Marty Like those were great games.
Speaker 1: And now you got a couple of quarterbacks, albeit with
Speaker 1: different personalities, but they've got a little swagger and a
Speaker 1: little edge to them, and I thought that was a
Speaker 1: great job by the league. Look, I think the Browns
Speaker 1: are going to be really, really strong this year. And
Speaker 1: I feel like I've said that all the time, but
Speaker 1: I really think the Crowns are gonna be strong this year,
Speaker 1: and I think it's in case they're not smart Flyer
Speaker 1: putting to that game early in the season, I think
Speaker 1: people are gonna want to watch Joe Burrow just like
Speaker 1: they did in college. I was a great job in
Speaker 1: my opinion by the NFL. We are visiting with Adam Shine.
Speaker 1: Let's talk about the rest of the AFC, North Baltimore
Speaker 1: and Pittsburgh. What do you think. I think Baltimore won
Speaker 1: through fifty three? Is the best team in the NFL? Now,
Speaker 1: don't miss interpret. I think Kansas City, you know, could
Speaker 1: easily repeat and you know, barring anything unforeseeing that, that'll
Speaker 1: be my pick. But I think Baltimore is loaded. Their machine.
Speaker 1: I love their their owner, their GM Erik to Costa
Speaker 1: head coach, love the JK. Dobbins pick, Patrick Queen and linebacker,
Speaker 1: you know, all those third round picks. Then I had
Speaker 1: to work a war room. I really Lamarus Special. The
Speaker 1: defense was excellent the second half of the season. You know, Pittsburgh.
Speaker 1: I'm not high on Pittsburgh. I think Pittsburgh has some problems.
Speaker 1: I think, you know, they they've really neglected them the
Speaker 1: backup quarterback position, which which is nonsensical. And I I
Speaker 1: thought the Mason Rudolph pick in twenty eighteen in the
Speaker 1: third round was was a good flyer. You know that
Speaker 1: has not worked out. Uh, Doc Hodgers, if he's an answer,
Speaker 1: I'd love to know the question. Roethlisburgher's thirty eight covered
Speaker 1: off with elbow surgery, so I'm surprised that that they
Speaker 1: decided to run that thing back. I mean, and even
Speaker 1: like I'll give you a compareda trast with the Bengals, right,
Speaker 1: and Pittsburgh's defense is fantastic, and they have three first
Speaker 1: team All Props. But like, I look at the skill
Speaker 1: position players for the Bengals versus the Steelers, and I
Speaker 1: just think that the skill position players for since they trump,
Speaker 1: they dwarf the those for the for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Speaker 1: I don't like that run game. You know, they were
Speaker 1: twenty ninth or worse than a lot of key statistics.
Speaker 1: We talked about that on CBO Sports Network. This this
Speaker 1: I ask you this past week, and I don't see
Speaker 1: it getting better this year. You know, James Connor is
Speaker 1: a great story. I don't think he's a great running back.
Speaker 1: I don't like the depth of receiver. You know, I
Speaker 1: liked Juju as a number two. He didn't pan out
Speaker 1: last year. See what happens this year as a number one.
Speaker 1: I think that that Pittsburgh, well, that defense is great.
Speaker 1: I think they have seven and nine eight written all room.
Speaker 1: Very interesting. That would not break hearts here in Cincinnati,
Speaker 1: that's for sure. A final question for Adam Shine. I
Speaker 1: appreciate your time. You alluded to the Bengals head first
Speaker 1: plunge into free agency eight unrestricted free agents, more than
Speaker 1: one hundred and thirty million dollars spent. They were one
Speaker 1: of the biggest spenders of any NFL team this year
Speaker 1: in free agency. How shocked were you by that? I was.
Speaker 1: I was surprised, pleasantly surprised because you don't always think
Speaker 1: of the Bengals doing that. And what I liked, Dan,
Speaker 1: it wasn't It wasn't foolish money. It wasn't like old
Speaker 1: school Redskins money. It was Okay, here's areas of weakness
Speaker 1: and let's go attack it and let's go get it.
Speaker 1: You know, you think of teams I mentioned the Ravens,
Speaker 1: or you think of the Patriots, or you know the Eagles.
Speaker 1: See a problem, fix a problem, right, I mean, that's
Speaker 1: that's what those teams do. And I I just thought
Speaker 1: Cincinnati had a really smart, brilliant, calculated offseason. I mean,
Speaker 1: you know, part of the deal is you knew Joe
Speaker 1: is going to be that that number one tick. You know,
Speaker 1: this was a great receiver class. You had to feel
Speaker 1: good about finding a guy who could contribute in round
Speaker 1: number two, so you know you can now. I love
Speaker 1: the weapons that they have on offense, you attack the defense.
Speaker 1: And I really think this Bengal team is going to
Speaker 1: surprise some people. I mean, you know, we'll see how
Speaker 1: I feel. We get closer, we will put the h
Speaker 1: the picks in pan as I always do Wednesday after
Speaker 1: Labor Day. But I could see Cincinnati being a seven
Speaker 1: and nine team and winning winning games that people don't
Speaker 1: expect them to win. This year, get to start to
Speaker 1: move in the right direction. I hope you are right.
Speaker 1: I hope it's better than that, but certainly would that
Speaker 1: would be a good start. Adam, This has been fun.
Speaker 1: Thanks so much for doing it. Keep up the great
Speaker 1: work and hopefully we'll have you on again at some
Speaker 1: point anytime. Damn, this was a blast. I enjoyed it
Speaker 1: thanks to Von Bell and Adam Shine. And that's going
Speaker 1: to do it for this episode of The Bengals Booth Podcast,
Speaker 1: brought to you by Prime Sport, the official fan, travel
Speaker 1: and hospitality partner of the Cincinnati Bengals. If you haven't
Speaker 1: done so already, please subscribe, and if you have a minute,
Speaker 1: give it a rating or share a comment that helps
Speaker 1: more Bengals fans find this podcast. I'm Dan Horde, and
Speaker 1: thanks for listening to The Bengals Booth Podcast.