Speaker 1: Hi, get everybody. I'm Dan Horde and thanks for downloading
Speaker 1: the Bengals Boot Podcast the second time around. Addition, as
Speaker 1: we get you set for Week two of the preseason,
Speaker 1: as the Bengals head to New Jersey on Sunday night
Speaker 1: to take on the New York Giants. Coming up, you'll
Speaker 1: hear from two rookies who did well in their preseason debuts,
Speaker 1: wide receiver Kendrick Pryor and offensive lineman Desmond Noel out
Speaker 1: of Coal Rane High School. Robert Weintrouf from Football Outsiders
Speaker 1: in Cincinnati Magazine joins me to discuss the upcoming season,
Speaker 1: and I'll chat about the latest training camp developments with
Speaker 1: Bengals dot Com editor Jeff Hobson. The Bengals Booth podcast
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Speaker 1: One of the standouts in the Bengals preseason opener last
Speaker 1: Friday was undrafted rookie receiver Kendrick Pryor now plitt fix
Speaker 1: an inside handoff guns to throw down field, Kendrick pre
Speaker 1: with the one handed, left handed catch. Should he get it? Yes?
Speaker 1: He did. Prior finished with four catches for eighty nine
Speaker 1: yards and a touchdown at Wisconsin. With its heavy emphasis
Speaker 1: on the run, he never had more than seventy two
Speaker 1: receiving yards in a game. I talked to Kendrick about
Speaker 1: his eye opening debut when the Bengals returned to practice
Speaker 1: on Sunday. I assume you have now seen the footage
Speaker 1: of your falling over backward one handed, left handed catch.
Speaker 1: Where do you think? Um? I think it was a
Speaker 1: pretty good catch. Um on my end, though I should
Speaker 1: have said so, it's covered two faded more to the sideline,
Speaker 1: so I wouldn't have to have been as much of
Speaker 1: a tough catch as it was. But just happy I
Speaker 1: got the got the outcome, Happy they coach challenged it,
Speaker 1: Happy that I knew it was Personally I knew as
Speaker 1: the kids, I called the boat over half possession. If
Speaker 1: I know, next time he's got to make sure I
Speaker 1: keep that possession all the way inside. Get up, so
Speaker 1: don't give them a chance to try to overturn the call. Well,
Speaker 1: you are clearly your own toughest critic if you describe
Speaker 1: that as pretty good and that you should have run
Speaker 1: the route a little bit differently or better. Oh, you know,
Speaker 1: it just can't be satisfied, you know, just always trying
Speaker 1: to find ways to get better. You know, just don't
Speaker 1: want to be that guy that has the one good
Speaker 1: game and then doesn't show up this week in Pagasta,
Speaker 1: next week and the next game in the game after
Speaker 1: following a week. So it just kind of figuring out
Speaker 1: what I need to do better to perfect my craft
Speaker 1: and just keep on continue to work on things that
Speaker 1: can help me get better. Four catches eighty plus yards
Speaker 1: in a touchdown in your first NFL preseason game. Did
Speaker 1: that go about as well as you could have hoped? Oh? Yeah,
Speaker 1: definitely just wanted to go out there. I feel like
Speaker 1: I could have had a more a couple of more yards,
Speaker 1: a couple of more catches in there. But you know,
Speaker 1: it's just always going back looking at that film saying, well, Okay,
Speaker 1: that's why I did last game, and let's trying not
Speaker 1: to make those mistakes or just do the same things,
Speaker 1: trying to get better each week. But definitely something I
Speaker 1: was very proud of, like you said, first game, to
Speaker 1: have those stats, but you know, we got to continue
Speaker 1: to get better. We're chatting with Kendrick Pryor. It seems
Speaker 1: to me from watching these practices that you have been
Speaker 1: getting better and better and more comfortable almost by the
Speaker 1: day over the last week or two. Is that how
Speaker 1: you feel about it? Oh yeah, definitely, just things slowing down,
Speaker 1: you know, just gave me more comfortable with the playbook
Speaker 1: when I'm not thinking as much, and I'm actually can
Speaker 1: now just go out there and play football and just
Speaker 1: showcase what I can do in the field. So yeah,
Speaker 1: every days been slowing. Things been slowing down from me.
Speaker 1: I mean, you know, it's still some definitely some stuff
Speaker 1: areas I can prove when things I can work. But
Speaker 1: but I feel like that's just gonna come more and
Speaker 1: more of a time, you know, just seeing how things work,
Speaker 1: getting the flow the game, and then just you know,
Speaker 1: watching film, talking pot after again, just you know, making
Speaker 1: those corrections. So it's just, like I said, just getting
Speaker 1: more comfortable with things starting to slow down while I'm
Speaker 1: not thinking as much anymore, or now I'm just kind
Speaker 1: of playing football. How did yesterday feel the day after
Speaker 1: a performance like that in your debut. I'm sure you're
Speaker 1: getting a lot of messages and so forth. How did
Speaker 1: that feel to you? Oh? It felt good, you know,
Speaker 1: kind of like when I got in the car with
Speaker 1: my parents after you know what, it seems too happy.
Speaker 1: I'm like, oh no, I am definitely happy with that
Speaker 1: kind of when they get out the car. Like like
Speaker 1: you said, I'm kind of my toughest critic, so just
Speaker 1: always trying to find ways to get better. But once
Speaker 1: I kind of drop my parents, I was like driving
Speaker 1: back to the hotel, Like that's kind of when it
Speaker 1: set in. Really just like, oh, like first game, I
Speaker 1: did pretty good for myself and just kind of continue
Speaker 1: to build off that. But definitely very happy for how
Speaker 1: I did from my first game. So it's a good
Speaker 1: building block. Does it give you a little bit I've
Speaker 1: added confidence going into the second game next week? Oh yeah,
Speaker 1: definitely it's a confidence just to show that, Okay, like
Speaker 1: I can make those players I belong, You're in it,
Speaker 1: just like you said, giving me that extra boost of
Speaker 1: confidence talking to like I said, a couple of my friends,
Speaker 1: just sending me text message before the game, you know,
Speaker 1: just not trying to over complicate, overthinking yet first NFL game. Yes,
Speaker 1: the NFL. They definitely want to take that moment there,
Speaker 1: you know, because not a lot of people get the opportunity,
Speaker 1: but you know, trying not to make it bigger than
Speaker 1: what it is. You know, still the same game I've
Speaker 1: been playing since I was younger. So it's just realized
Speaker 1: getting those texts and then just going out there into
Speaker 1: having a performance that I had just definitely a confidence boost,
Speaker 1: so kind of make things that even feel a little
Speaker 1: comfortable for me, things feel better next week. It's a
Speaker 1: great start. Congrats, best of luck next week. Appreciate it.
Speaker 1: Kenrick was not the only undrafted rookie who performed well.
Speaker 1: Offensive lineman Desmond Noel out of Coleraine High School was
Speaker 1: the Bengals highest graded pass blocker according to Pro Football Focus.
Speaker 1: I'll get to him in just a bit, but first,
Speaker 1: I caught up this week with a guest who has
Speaker 1: appeared on this podcast before, Robert Weintraub, who covers the
Speaker 1: NFL for Football Outsiders and writes about the Bengals for
Speaker 1: Cincinnati Magazine. All right, Robert, the Bengals were less than
Speaker 1: two minutes away from winning the Super Bowl. They addressed
Speaker 1: their obvious weekness the offensive line. But my handy dandy
Speaker 1: Football Outsiders Almanac projects Cincinnati to have the seventh highest
Speaker 1: win total in the AFC. Explain why, Wow, it makes
Speaker 1: it sound like that's a bad thing. I mean, remember
Speaker 1: who youngly won six games and I used the Royal
Speaker 1: wei in this case, six games in two years, seventh
Speaker 1: best record in the AFC would have sounded pretty good,
Speaker 1: you know, maybe before the calendar flipped to January, twenty
Speaker 1: twenty two. I feel like the expectations definitely got our
Speaker 1: turbo boost from that last month obviously and into the
Speaker 1: super Bowl, as it should. Basically, you have to remember,
Speaker 1: a football outsiders, our main stat DVOA, which essentially measures
Speaker 1: down by down efficiency. As we both know, the Bengals
Speaker 1: were more of a boom er Bus team at large
Speaker 1: parts of the season last year. As such, their DVOA
Speaker 1: was not especially high, especially for a team that went
Speaker 1: to the Super Bowl. You would think it would be
Speaker 1: much higher, so it was lower. They'd have that base
Speaker 1: DBOA projection system that you reference essentially plays out the
Speaker 1: season one million times, no lasers, no sharks outfitted with
Speaker 1: lasers involved. However, we do play it out that many times,
Speaker 1: and you know, they didn't have a huge dvawats as
Speaker 1: I say, to build upon, and the projection system likes
Speaker 1: to see it more than once. I remember we talked,
Speaker 1: you know, a year ago, and the Browns we're going
Speaker 1: to the Super Bowl, and the Steelers we're going to
Speaker 1: be in the four and thirteen team and our numbers
Speaker 1: spoken otherwise, and everybody's like, why is doing this? Why
Speaker 1: how can you say that? And it's like, well, you know,
Speaker 1: it takes more than just one season essentially to convince
Speaker 1: our numbers. We're going to do that. Still, seventh is good,
Speaker 1: and you have to remember also that it's really at
Speaker 1: the margins where the Bengals have improved. According to our system,
Speaker 1: They've doubled their likelihood of winning twelve or more games,
Speaker 1: put their chances of winning five or fewer games in half.
Speaker 1: So that's where you really look to see where the
Speaker 1: improvements lie. Listen, as we all know, and as the
Speaker 1: Bengals proved last season, anything can happen. Everything can happen.
Speaker 1: The idea that they were saying they're definitely the seventh
Speaker 1: best team, what does that even really mean? Is the
Speaker 1: showing lots going to play six games? Is he going
Speaker 1: to play twelve games? Is he going to play it all? Well,
Speaker 1: you never play again fingers crossed? Uh, you know, it's
Speaker 1: that kind of thing. Who know, that's just you know,
Speaker 1: an example, right small. You know the injury history that
Speaker 1: we know the Bengals were pretty fortunate last year, These
Speaker 1: things can change. On the time. The Ravens were the
Speaker 1: exact opposite. Their whole team was wiped out by an
Speaker 1: injury tsunami. If they're back then being healthy, things look different.
Speaker 1: Those are just two examples of a million. The idea
Speaker 1: that we're definitely saying the Bengals are the seventh best
Speaker 1: team in the AFC isn't necessarily what you should take
Speaker 1: from it. We should, well you should take is that
Speaker 1: they're a contender. They've launched themselves out of the bottom
Speaker 1: of the dregs of the league where they stayed for
Speaker 1: a couple of years, and to put themselves into a
Speaker 1: you know, a solid playoff type team. Now it's just,
Speaker 1: you know, are the what are the small bits going
Speaker 1: to be to either launch them back to the super
Speaker 1: Bowl or we won't even go there, But let's talk
Speaker 1: about something else. But you know, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1: You know what I'm getting at. Robert Weintraub is our
Speaker 1: guests from Football Outsiders and from Cincinnati Magazine. Had you
Speaker 1: asked me before I picked up the Football Outsiders Almanac
Speaker 1: if Joe Burrow was good in the red zone last year,
Speaker 1: I would have said absolutely, and I would have been
Speaker 1: very wrong. As it turns out. Can you explain the
Speaker 1: room for growth there for a guy who otherwise is
Speaker 1: so terrific? Yeah, he was actually based on our numbers
Speaker 1: in the red zone. And again, remember our numbers don't
Speaker 1: factor in all things when it comes to the passing game,
Speaker 1: but it does factor in sex, which a lot of
Speaker 1: numbers that you see that love Burrow do not. He
Speaker 1: was the second to worst quarterback in the red zone
Speaker 1: of all qualifying quarterbacks, only Trevor Lawrence was worse. I
Speaker 1: think we can all close our eyes and picture the
Speaker 1: Denzel Ward ninety nine yard interception, neat a couple other
Speaker 1: goal line picks, but it isn't really so much those
Speaker 1: highlight plays as it was just again but down to
Speaker 1: down consistency where the Bengals, you know, we all remember
Speaker 1: the huge plays, the bombs to Chase, the bombs to
Speaker 1: Higgins plays even to Uzama over the course of the season,
Speaker 1: but when they got done deep didn't nearly match that
Speaker 1: kind of efficiency that they need to have to turn
Speaker 1: you know what are otherwise field goal drives and thank
Speaker 1: god for Evan McPherson into touchdown drives. Those four point plays,
Speaker 1: so to speak, four point drives when they got down deep,
Speaker 1: really spelled the difference in a lot of close games.
Speaker 1: And that's definitely a place where I think Zach Taylor
Speaker 1: and Joe and the entire offensive unit. I'm sure they
Speaker 1: have spent a great deal of time this offseason looking
Speaker 1: for plays that worked, heightening the efficiency and not just
Speaker 1: relying on you know, Jamar getting open and you know
Speaker 1: the meme throw it to him regardless of whether he's open.
Speaker 1: They need to help their efficiency leveled down deep to
Speaker 1: a much higher capacity than if they do. Boy, the
Speaker 1: offense really has this room to grow. As you reference,
Speaker 1: the Bengals were fortunate where injuries were concerned last year.
Speaker 1: That's undeniable, and I think the stat exists, whether it's
Speaker 1: in Football Outsiders or elsewhere. Demonstrated that the difference between
Speaker 1: their injuries and their opponents injuries was number one in
Speaker 1: the NFL. Is that the biggest area where the Bengals
Speaker 1: were quote unquote lucky? Is there a way to quantify
Speaker 1: that from the various data the Football Outsiders has, you know,
Speaker 1: calling it the biggest area, it's definitely up there, and
Speaker 1: it's definitely something that the Bengals are not used to
Speaker 1: being in that position, that's for sure. And it does
Speaker 1: have a what we call plexiglass principle, where wouldn't where
Speaker 1: it happens one year tends to bounce back the next year.
Speaker 1: That doesn't mean that all of a sudden, you know
Speaker 1: they're going to lose Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase for
Speaker 1: sizeable chunks of time. You have to remember we do
Speaker 1: weight the injuries and guys who play more snaps. It's
Speaker 1: a snap weighted system, so the guys who play more
Speaker 1: snaps when they get hurt, that goes into the into
Speaker 1: the algorithm and is weighted. You know, the Angles have
Speaker 1: also had years when they've had a lot of issues
Speaker 1: because their depth was a concern. They had injuries throughout
Speaker 1: I think backack to just twenty twenty, and when they
Speaker 1: had that huge run of injuries in the defensive secondary,
Speaker 1: that really cost them a lot. They wound up playing
Speaker 1: guys who should never have played. And you know, Burrow
Speaker 1: got all the attention when he went down, but really
Speaker 1: that cost them a lot of games as well. The
Speaker 1: fact they didn't have that kind of depth of good
Speaker 1: players to come in and take over for guys who
Speaker 1: were nicked in or out for the season. God forbid.
Speaker 1: It's really the kind of thing where it's very difficult
Speaker 1: to predict. That was obviously a huge factor in what
Speaker 1: the Bengals did last year, but at the same time,
Speaker 1: again according to our numbers, it's not like they were
Speaker 1: at the top of the pyramid. You know, they had
Speaker 1: some guys injured, and there was definitely a room to
Speaker 1: grow in that sense too, So they can absorb a
Speaker 1: couple more injuries this year, improve the team anyway, and
Speaker 1: still be in a good position. I think a lot
Speaker 1: of fans are sort of waiting for the other shoe
Speaker 1: to drop. You know, obviously we're not telling you can
Speaker 1: talking about Joe Burrow, but if any of the top
Speaker 1: five or eight players go down, that's caused for alarm.
Speaker 1: That's really when you have a team wide run of
Speaker 1: injuries like Baltimore half last year, that's what it really
Speaker 1: gets to a point where it affects your team and
Speaker 1: win loss record. Otherwise shouldn't be something that keep fans
Speaker 1: up at night. I'm glad you mentioned Baltimore because you
Speaker 1: wrote the Bengals chapter in this year's Football Outsiders Almanac.
Speaker 1: You also wrote the Ravens chapter, and I didn't realize
Speaker 1: until reading what you wrote about Baltimore that the Ravens
Speaker 1: truly had a historically bad season when it comes to injuries.
Speaker 1: We all knew it was bad. I didn't realize this
Speaker 1: was like NFL history bad, right, the worst since we've
Speaker 1: been doing it, since we put together that just a
Speaker 1: games lost stat And I didn't really realize it either
Speaker 1: until we ran the numbers and it came out that way.
Speaker 1: And again, it's not just because of the guys you
Speaker 1: can think of up the top of your head. You
Speaker 1: got hurt Marcus Peters and JK. Dobbins and a couple
Speaker 1: other other quote unquote star players, but it was really
Speaker 1: the sort of team wide and also not just for
Speaker 1: the entire season, but guys missing a month here, Rashad
Speaker 1: Bateman missed the first half of the season. Obviously, Lamar
Speaker 1: Jackson went down near the end of the season, but
Speaker 1: still count And the more of these guys you know,
Speaker 1: had played before that also affects the way that that
Speaker 1: number is tabulated. But no question, it was the worst
Speaker 1: in this century is basically when we've been doing that number,
Speaker 1: and it was by far the worse, not just you know,
Speaker 1: sort of sneaking ahead of one team here or there.
Speaker 1: I mean, they were lapping the field. I think I
Speaker 1: compared them to a secretariat at the belt On in
Speaker 1: that chapter so it was definitely historic. It's definitely a
Speaker 1: reason why the Ravens fans are a little chesty this
Speaker 1: summer because they assume things will just snap back to
Speaker 1: the way they were before all the injuries hit, and
Speaker 1: if they certainly will be improved, and having players the
Speaker 1: likes of the guys we mentioned on the field for
Speaker 1: the entirety of the season will obviously help them. Still,
Speaker 1: as I write in the chapter, there's a lot of
Speaker 1: other issues underlying all that, and you can't just point
Speaker 1: to with the injuries and say that was a reason
Speaker 1: why they, you know, collapse at the end of the season,
Speaker 1: And that's not necessarily a reason why they're all of
Speaker 1: a sudden going to turn around and go thirteen and
Speaker 1: four this year. Either they realized they had some issues,
Speaker 1: they had six fourth round draft picks and use them all.
Speaker 1: I think they should tell you that what they thought
Speaker 1: about the guys in their reserve units and their depth
Speaker 1: pieces that they needed to improve, similar to Cincinnati, when
Speaker 1: guys like that go down and you're not confident in
Speaker 1: the next wave of players, that affects the team all
Speaker 1: the way through. Our guest is Robert Weintraub from Football Outsiders,
Speaker 1: in Cincinnati Magazine. You can follow them on Twitter at
Speaker 1: Rob Wine w ei N. Let's talk about the Bengals
Speaker 1: offensive line improvements. We tend to look at that as okay,
Speaker 1: now we can cut down on the sacks, and then
Speaker 1: clearly that would be a good thing. Nobody would be
Speaker 1: bothered by that. But do you think that's the biggest
Speaker 1: way they stand to benefit by having a better offensive line.
Speaker 1: It's definitely up there, there's no question about that. You know,
Speaker 1: we talk about the sacks, and yes, they were thirty
Speaker 1: first in our adjusted sackurate. They were also thirty first
Speaker 1: in power situations, which is almost as important. You know,
Speaker 1: third down and short, fourth down and short. We don't
Speaker 1: have to bring up the Super Bowl to remember. You
Speaker 1: got to convert those situations, and the Bengals were second
Speaker 1: and lass in the league at doing so. They also
Speaker 1: gave up by far the most in the league in
Speaker 1: terms of sacks when we marked it as rusher untouched,
Speaker 1: which essentially means somebody did not pick up the blitzer
Speaker 1: or the stunt completely kerfuffled the line and they was
Speaker 1: all over for Joel. Basically, you'll eliminate sort of picking
Speaker 1: number fifteen of those kind of plays, of the sacks
Speaker 1: that he had to take or throw away the ball
Speaker 1: in key situations, handful of times where they convert on
Speaker 1: third and short where they didn't last year. These are
Speaker 1: the small things that spell the difference throughout the season
Speaker 1: in winning or losing. They're the small things that affect
Speaker 1: our numbers in terms of efficiency. And there are the
Speaker 1: small things that you would wind up putting the Bengals
Speaker 1: back in the Super Bowl. They were in a lot
Speaker 1: of ways much better in the playoffs defensively when you
Speaker 1: look at those same stats, and on special teams to
Speaker 1: a lesser degree. And that's a big reason why they
Speaker 1: went to the Super Bowls, because they played and came
Speaker 1: up in those timely situations on defense so often game
Speaker 1: after game. And you know, if the Bengals imports on
Speaker 1: the offensive line means that they have those similar improvements
Speaker 1: on offense. I think we're all pretty segment about the
Speaker 1: abilities of the skill players. You know, it's just a
Speaker 1: matter of how those guys are going to gel the
Speaker 1: new players, the hard seas as I call them Kappa
Speaker 1: Carris mccollins, if they can all blend together. You know,
Speaker 1: the way we saw Kansas City's line, for example, blend
Speaker 1: together pretty rapidly last year and avoid injuries. Obviously, you know,
Speaker 1: they don't have to become the best line in the
Speaker 1: league by any stretch. With the guys that have the
Speaker 1: playmakers Cincinnati has, you know, all they have to do
Speaker 1: is get out of the bottom of the league and
Speaker 1: get into the twenties. That would be okay, into the
Speaker 1: teams in terms of league ranking. Then again, it's similar
Speaker 1: to what we is tucked about the offense. As you know,
Speaker 1: a turbo boost and a sky's the limit. There's no
Speaker 1: reason why they can't, you know, be at the top
Speaker 1: of the league in terms of points, score and efficiency.
Speaker 1: So there's a lot of riding on it. Those three
Speaker 1: imports are gonna have a lot of light on them.
Speaker 1: I prefer to have seen their depth look a little
Speaker 1: bit better in the first preseason game, but you know
Speaker 1: it was only the first preseason game. A lot of
Speaker 1: room for improvement, and there's still I think moves to
Speaker 1: be made in terms of guys who are not on
Speaker 1: the team yet. No team is finished, as we know,
Speaker 1: until you know they say you can't make any more moves.
Speaker 1: So yes, I do think the offensive line it's a cliche,
Speaker 1: but that's definitely the place where you look to first
Speaker 1: for an improvement. In terms of the Bengals, let's talk
Speaker 1: about what the Bengals did in the draft, because one
Speaker 1: of the guiding principles in the Football Outsiders Almanac every
Speaker 1: year is that establishing the run is wrong. That's not
Speaker 1: the way to win football games. You pass to build
Speaker 1: the lead. It's a more efficient way of scoring points,
Speaker 1: and then you run the ball to main tying the lead,
Speaker 1: to work the clock, etc. So in the draft, the
Speaker 1: Bengals go heavy on defensive backs to counter the modern
Speaker 1: passing game. What did you think of that approach? Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think it made all the sense in the world,
Speaker 1: and I think it's all part of lou Ana Rumo still.
Speaker 1: You know, he took a lot of last season to
Speaker 1: kind of figure out what worked, what didn't work. He
Speaker 1: was kind of a mad scientist even as the season
Speaker 1: was going along, and I think he discovered something certainly
Speaker 1: hit on it towards the end of the season and
Speaker 1: obviously in the playoffs, which was that having multi positional
Speaker 1: players who can do a lot of things in the secondary,
Speaker 1: dropping eight players at a time or pretending to and
Speaker 1: bringing bwitzers from where you don't know they're coming from.
Speaker 1: And you know, obviously having a strong pass rush as
Speaker 1: a key to that too, but having guys who can
Speaker 1: run and who can play multiple positions in the secondary
Speaker 1: is it's, you know, the gold standard right now in
Speaker 1: the NFL, and I think you're seeing that around the
Speaker 1: league and the Bengals are right there at the forefront
Speaker 1: for once, which is nice. And yeah, I think Dax
Speaker 1: Hill showed it just at him his first game too,
Speaker 1: where he made a lot of plays. It's a heavy guy.
Speaker 1: He can do a lot of things on the field,
Speaker 1: even as a rookie. They're giving him a lot of
Speaker 1: stuff to, you know, kind of take on his plate
Speaker 1: and call some secondary plays in the back end and
Speaker 1: be ready to take over at a moment's notice at
Speaker 1: every secondary position, which is obviously critical. Again, the depth
Speaker 1: that we keep referring to, Cam Taylor, Brittain, Tyson, Anderson
Speaker 1: just fall into that same mold of guys. Obviously they
Speaker 1: what the Bengals like to do. You've talked about it
Speaker 1: in your profiles of the draft. They're leaders, they were
Speaker 1: college captains, They're guys who were kind of, you know,
Speaker 1: boisterous and talkative dudes. All that all is great. What
Speaker 1: they can really do is run and play a lot
Speaker 1: of positions and hit, and I think that's what lou
Speaker 1: Eneruma wants to see. And I think you know that
Speaker 1: the money is in the draft, as we always talk about.
Speaker 1: You know, you can talk a good game about any position,
Speaker 1: but who your draft really defines the kind of team
Speaker 1: that you want to build. And that's what the Bank
Speaker 1: will showed with these picks, no question. A few more
Speaker 1: questions for Robert Weintraub. So when you write for Football Outsiders,
Speaker 1: you do not do it from the perspective of a
Speaker 1: Bengals fan, But when you write for Cincinnati Magazine, it's
Speaker 1: a little bit different. And immediately after the Super Bowl
Speaker 1: you wrote the following, I am not over it. I
Speaker 1: will never be over it. That was February. How you're
Speaker 1: doing six months later, not over it, never again to
Speaker 1: be over it. I mean, listen, I think I mentioned
Speaker 1: this in the Football Outsiders too. You know, I go
Speaker 1: back to those eighties Super Bowls. I was a kid,
Speaker 1: but I still go back that far, and it wasn't
Speaker 1: quite like those losses where the team was either the
Speaker 1: first or second best team in the league by consensus,
Speaker 1: and they lost heartbreakers, and you got to think, Wow,
Speaker 1: this is our this is a great team that had
Speaker 1: their chance, and maybe we're not going to have another one,
Speaker 1: at least anytime soon. This felt, obviously, as we discussed
Speaker 1: before the Super Bowl, a lot different. This was much
Speaker 1: more of a rocketship ride to the moon out of nowhere.
Speaker 1: It feels much more sustainable. Still got Joe Burrow on
Speaker 1: that all important rookie contract. They're adding to the team.
Speaker 1: They have the you know three white outcomo that's the
Speaker 1: envy of the league. We just discussed the offensive line,
Speaker 1: the defense, and special teams were the key to their around.
Speaker 1: They have a really good base and they have a
Speaker 1: really good, you know team overall. We talked about how
Speaker 1: seventh in the AFC didn't really float your boat necessarily,
Speaker 1: but listen, they're right up there. I think anybody would
Speaker 1: tell you, including me, that they're definitely a playoff slash
Speaker 1: Super Bowl contender this season. So I feel in that sense,
Speaker 1: you know, far more optimistic than that necessarily did after
Speaker 1: the other two Super Bowls. But you're in the Super Bowl,
Speaker 1: you had the ball, you're driving the field with seconds
Speaker 1: to play, and a chance to win it, and you know,
Speaker 1: the jamar Chas is breaking wide open, and you don't
Speaker 1: get that play pulled off for that in various other reasons.
Speaker 1: You know, he just you'll never ever get that one back,
Speaker 1: and it doesn't I know, we talked about it before
Speaker 1: the game that I worried that losing in the Super
Speaker 1: Bowl would leave sort of a bittersweet taste on that
Speaker 1: great ride that they had, and I don't think it
Speaker 1: necessarily did. I think most Bengal fans kind of took
Speaker 1: it pretty well. Maybe if they'd gotten slaughtered in the game,
Speaker 1: it would have been sort of, oh, you know, they
Speaker 1: were pretenders after all, and just got lucky for a
Speaker 1: few weeks in the playoffs. I don't think they did that.
Speaker 1: They went toe to toe with the Super Bowl champs,
Speaker 1: showed that they could well have been Super Bowl champs
Speaker 1: and maybe have a chance to do that now, if
Speaker 1: not this year, certainly in the next couple of years
Speaker 1: and beyond. So I feel good about that in the
Speaker 1: macro sense, but in the micro sense, I will never
Speaker 1: be over it now, absolutely not. Robert had approximately this
Speaker 1: time last year, you wrote a fabulous profile of my
Speaker 1: broadcast partner Dave Lapham for Cincinnati Magazine the definitive Dave
Speaker 1: Lapham profile, which was great. What do we have to
Speaker 1: look forward to as the season approaches with the Bengals
Speaker 1: getting set to open up against the Steelers at home.
Speaker 1: I was hoping to write the definitive Dan Horde profile.
Speaker 1: My editors say he's way too overexposed. Nobody would want
Speaker 1: to read the correct accurate. Your editors are correct. Now,
Speaker 1: well we have is a much more straightforward sense this year.
Speaker 1: But a two part Bengals preview coming in Cincinnati Magazine,
Speaker 1: So I'll show you how the Bengals have gone up
Speaker 1: the step ladder in terms of importance in the Cincinnati area.
Speaker 1: Last year I only wrote the one. So we'll talk about,
Speaker 1: you know, everything we just talked about and more. And
Speaker 1: you know, I'm hoping to still write the definitive Joe
Speaker 1: Burrow profile. We'll see if that actually happens. We've put
Speaker 1: in our request, but you know that these things take time.
Speaker 1: I think Dave was certainly much more in terms of
Speaker 1: longevity and importance the Cincinnati's scene low these many years,
Speaker 1: deserved to be the man who came first. The great
Speaker 1: thing about the Bengals is now there's no shortage of
Speaker 1: profile material. So you got a lot of guys, a
Speaker 1: lot of interesting personalities, and that goes for the front
Speaker 1: office too and the sideline. So in that sense, the
Speaker 1: Bengals are in a great shape. Not only are they
Speaker 1: better on a field, but they're much more interesting, you know,
Speaker 1: off the field. And that was a pretty much a
Speaker 1: definitive part of those great eighties teams that the city
Speaker 1: fell in love with them beyond as I was in
Speaker 1: New York at the time, but you know, everybody loved
Speaker 1: the fact that the team had a personality and they
Speaker 1: do again, and that's really key. It's not just that
Speaker 1: they win some ball games. You look at the Bengals
Speaker 1: and you immediately think of something. You think of that
Speaker 1: Joe Burrow swagger, those long balls to Chase hitting the gritty,
Speaker 1: all the other things that go with the Bengals, and
Speaker 1: the fact that they have this sort of you know,
Speaker 1: kind of rising profile in the league. They have the
Speaker 1: white helmets going, which is also a great touch. I
Speaker 1: was very happy to say that when I get that
Speaker 1: on record, and you know, it's a team on their rise.
Speaker 1: Now they just have to have the winning continue to
Speaker 1: go along with that. Whether it's in pay Corps Stadium
Speaker 1: or Paul Brown Stadium, it all comes down to those ws.
Speaker 1: Hopefully they'll continue and go match last year's effort with
Speaker 1: one extra win attached to it. Robert, as you once
Speaker 1: said of Joe Burrow, he uses awesomeness out of every pore. Indeed,
Speaker 1: that's still probably my all time favorite line about Joe Burrow,
Speaker 1: and it's proven to be true. It's an understatement of anything.
Speaker 1: That's the amazing thing. Always great to catch up. Really
Speaker 1: enjoyed the chapter on the Bengals and Football Outsiders and
Speaker 1: always enjoy your work in Cincinnati Magazine. Thanks so much
Speaker 1: for the time, and last year we did it right
Speaker 1: before the Super Bowl, so hopefully I'll be reaching out
Speaker 1: again then absolutely, let's hope fingers crossed. Thanks so much, Dan,
Speaker 1: really appreciate it. Before getting to my next guest, here's
Speaker 1: a reminder that the Bengals Booth podcast is presented by
Speaker 1: Ultimate Bengals, the free to play fantasy football game. This
Speaker 1: past season, Ultimate Bengals awarded a weekly winner during the
Speaker 1: course of the year with tickets, autograph merchandise, and money
Speaker 1: can't buy experiences all up for grabs. Find Ultimate Bengals
Speaker 1: in the App Store and Google Play. Offensive lineman Desmond
Speaker 1: no Well is an undrafted rookie out of Florida Atlantic
Speaker 1: who grew up in Cincinnati. According to Pro Football Focus,
Speaker 1: he was in for ten pass blocking snaps in week
Speaker 1: one of the preseason and did not allow a sack, hit,
Speaker 1: or hurry and PFF was not the only source to
Speaker 1: give him a solid grade Jasmin. When it comes to
Speaker 1: offensive line play, I defer to Dave Lapham. He's the
Speaker 1: expert in our radio booth. Lap thought, you played really
Speaker 1: well in your NFL preseason debut last week. How did
Speaker 1: you feel about it? Oh? I felt really good. I mean,
Speaker 1: obviously there's always things to clean up and improve on
Speaker 1: my game. Coming from Laplin that that means a lot.
Speaker 1: I'm excited about that. So hopefully I'll just keep working
Speaker 1: and just keep checking advice from these coaches and do
Speaker 1: what I'm coaching. Do and a little turner hall I want.
Speaker 1: You're a Cincinnati kid out of Coleraine High School. How
Speaker 1: big was the rooting section for that first preseason game?
Speaker 1: A lot of tickets, A lot of people they're rooting
Speaker 1: for me, not just in the family and frons section
Speaker 1: just just in general though, you know, to say, in
Speaker 1: touch with everybody in the community that I knew from
Speaker 1: the past with Colereene, so, um, it was crazy. It
Speaker 1: was a dream out there for sure for the first game.
Speaker 1: Did I read correctly that mom is within walking distance
Speaker 1: at pay Court Stadium? Yeah? Definitely. Yeah, she's living downtown,
Speaker 1: so she's really close, really active. Was it surreal for
Speaker 1: you to take the field in a Cincinnati Bengals uniform
Speaker 1: being from here, Yeah, that's not even the word. I
Speaker 1: really couldn't even explain the type of feeling I was getting. Um.
Speaker 1: I mean, I've been to so many games, seeing so
Speaker 1: many players play on this field, and just to be
Speaker 1: on the field and actually get to play, actually get
Speaker 1: to get in and get some reps. It was crazy.
Speaker 1: It'll be a memory that I'll always hold with me.
Speaker 1: For sure. We're visiting with offensive lineman Desmond Noel. There
Speaker 1: have been some Bengals legends at training camp. Anthony Munio's
Speaker 1: talk to the O line. Well, he Anderson addressed the team.
Speaker 1: Chad Johnson has been here. Does that make you feel
Speaker 1: like a kid again when you see those guys? Definitely?
Speaker 1: I mean, you know, when when I was a kid.
Speaker 1: Like I've said before, like I always thought I had
Speaker 1: a legitimate side of in the league, but you know,
Speaker 1: playing for the bank is just crazy. So to see
Speaker 1: all these legends come and give us wise words, Um,
Speaker 1: it's unreal. The goal is obviously to make the team,
Speaker 1: but is the goal within the goal to make the
Speaker 1: practice squad initially, stick with the team, continue to develop,
Speaker 1: continue to learn, and ultimately hope to get a shot
Speaker 1: at the regular roster. Um, Yeah, I think so. I
Speaker 1: think that's a direction. But you know, at the end
Speaker 1: of the day, like uh, like I said, I'm just
Speaker 1: gonna do what I'm coached to do and whatever position
Speaker 1: they feel like they want to put me in, you know,
Speaker 1: I'm just gonna keep working, you know, whatever I can
Speaker 1: do for the team, whatever role they want me to play,
Speaker 1: I'll play that role. So it's an NFL training camp
Speaker 1: more or less what you expected or is it different
Speaker 1: in any way? Um, it's a little bit different. You
Speaker 1: know a college that they really depend on what college
Speaker 1: you go to, they really try to beat you up,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean. But you know now in
Speaker 1: this in the league, you know, camp is just they
Speaker 1: want to see something. They want to see you work.
Speaker 1: You know, they want to see your talents on the field,
Speaker 1: so it's not necessarily you know them how to beat
Speaker 1: you up and physically like that. But um, the mental
Speaker 1: game is it's a lot deeper. Obviously, the playbook is
Speaker 1: is deep. The the semantics, everything is a lot deeper.
Speaker 1: So that adds a whole new aspect of the game.
Speaker 1: We're chatting the Desmond Noel. What do you think of
Speaker 1: Frank Pollock? Great coach even you know when you got
Speaker 1: the legends come through like Emuneus talk to hus as
Speaker 1: a group, and he just thinks he's a great coach.
Speaker 1: You know, he thinks that we could be a really
Speaker 1: great old line as long as we just are do
Speaker 1: do what we coach will do and just listen to
Speaker 1: listen to Pollock. So I think he's a great coach.
Speaker 1: This might come as a surprise, but I once had
Speaker 1: red hair. When I was young and had hair, it
Speaker 1: was raddy, you have very bright red hair. Were you
Speaker 1: an Andy Dalton guy as a result? I mean, I
Speaker 1: don't know if I was an any daln guy. You know,
Speaker 1: maybe I'll related to him a little bit. I had
Speaker 1: the same kind of nicknames and stuff like that. But yeah,
Speaker 1: I watched any doing a lot, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1: It's definitely a player I looked up to when I
Speaker 1: was younger. So yeah, so if he was the red rifle,
Speaker 1: what were you? Whatever they want to called me. You know,
Speaker 1: I'm putting names on myselves, whatever, whatever you guys want
Speaker 1: to call me. So it's a road game this week
Speaker 1: in New York against the Giants. You'll have the whole
Speaker 1: experience of traveling with an NFL team, taking the field
Speaker 1: in a road stadium that you've seen a million times
Speaker 1: on TV. Is that especially exciting prospect for you? Definitely?
Speaker 1: Just being able to get on the road with the
Speaker 1: with the team is in itself very cool, a dream
Speaker 1: and within itself. So I'm excited to see how it goes.
Speaker 1: You know, how everything is set up, how they how
Speaker 1: they run their team on the road, and yeah, we'll
Speaker 1: see what I'm excited for them, all right. Well, Number
Speaker 1: sixty two Dave Lapham back in the day, gave number
Speaker 1: sixty Desmond Noel his stamp of approval in Week one,
Speaker 1: best of luck and having another excellent performance. And I
Speaker 1: appreciate your time. I appreciate too, thank you. Sunday's game
Speaker 1: and Medlife Stadium starts at seven o'clock. Our pregame coverage
Speaker 1: on the Bengals Radio Network will begin at five thirty. Finally,
Speaker 1: time to discuss the latest training camp developments with Bengals
Speaker 1: dot Com editor Jeff Butch Hobson. All right, but let's
Speaker 1: start with Joe Burrow. He's practiced a couple of times.
Speaker 1: Looks like he dropped a few pounds, but other than that,
Speaker 1: looks normal. Can we safely say at this point that
Speaker 1: they didn't really miss a beat as a team and
Speaker 1: that they should be okay going forward. You know, we
Speaker 1: haven't seen him with the team yet, you know, and
Speaker 1: lets it will be. I remember how it was last year,
Speaker 1: and maybe it was because you know of his rehab
Speaker 1: and everything. But it's kind of like watching you know,
Speaker 1: making sausage made, kind of watching offense get going, you know,
Speaker 1: with a new when the quarterback comes back and the
Speaker 1: pads are on, and it never just no matter who
Speaker 1: it is, it never seems to look good early. And
Speaker 1: now maybe last year that was just because you know,
Speaker 1: Joe is coming off the because I remember, we all
Speaker 1: remember how the first couple of practices everybody looked a
Speaker 1: little bit out of sink so, but I think they're
Speaker 1: fathering along now, you know. But I just think probably
Speaker 1: it's you know, it's it just seems like I kind
Speaker 1: of we've kind of seen this move before. He'll go
Speaker 1: out there and he'll probably be you know, he'll have
Speaker 1: a good first day. He might go down the next day.
Speaker 1: You know, it's gonna be like watching the stock market
Speaker 1: and everybody's gonna be petrified. And I think he'll be fine.
Speaker 1: But I mean, I think it's just gonna take take time.
Speaker 1: What's interesting to me, Hordy is, and this kind of
Speaker 1: plays into the Borough question, is you know, we may
Speaker 1: this may be the first preseason ever where we don't
Speaker 1: see a starting player, even even for a couple of snaps.
Speaker 1: I mean, that seems to be where it's trendling, So
Speaker 1: you know, I don't I just think it's gonna be
Speaker 1: it's gonna be kind of interesting how this thing unfolds.
Speaker 1: They play the Giants this Sunday. Their final preseason game
Speaker 1: is against the Rams the following week at pay Course Stadium,
Speaker 1: but they're gonna have two joint practices with the Rams
Speaker 1: before that game. Do you think that those have basically
Speaker 1: become the preseason games for the starters. I absolutely we
Speaker 1: do think that, and I think we may be getting
Speaker 1: a glimpse of the future if we haven't seen it
Speaker 1: already maybe, you know, I think it's been going on
Speaker 1: the last couple of years, kind of quietly behind the scenes.
Speaker 1: But I think it's interesting that the guy who's kind
Speaker 1: of at the forefront of this, protecting players and taking
Speaker 1: a really light Sean McVay, Zach Taylor, you know, mentored
Speaker 1: under him and with the Rams took a lot, you know,
Speaker 1: copied a lot of the pro you know, you're kind
Speaker 1: of looking at mirror programs. That's what made the Super
Speaker 1: Bowl so interesting, the way they run this thing and
Speaker 1: the fact that they're kind of got the last tune
Speaker 1: up before the season open. I think it's kind of
Speaker 1: ironic because I don't think I think exactly what you said.
Speaker 1: I think the games are probably going to be played
Speaker 1: Tuesday or whenever it is Wednesday, Thursday, whenever. The practices
Speaker 1: are those two practices those I don't think we'll see
Speaker 1: anybody in the game. I don't know that may change,
Speaker 1: but yeah, it's kind of interesting. It's interesting that the
Speaker 1: two guys, you know that McVeigh is here, and he's
Speaker 1: kind of he kind of think it kind of he
Speaker 1: made that a bit of a fashion when they when
Speaker 1: they became so successful. So it's interesting to see the
Speaker 1: kind of looking kind of looking in the mirror here.
Speaker 1: He's a pretty good guy to copy. Two super Bowl trips,
Speaker 1: including a super Bowl title before the age of forty. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean I I was talking to somebody who said, uh,
Speaker 1: kind of it was a snuck comment, said, you know,
Speaker 1: just could just stand next to Sean McVay. What's that mean? Well,
Speaker 1: it means a hell of a lot because just of
Speaker 1: what you said, what he's accomplished it. But I think
Speaker 1: even more impressively is how he's done it. And this
Speaker 1: is where I tipped my hat to Zach, because I
Speaker 1: think Zach has has seen the future and what it
Speaker 1: means and how to handle players. And I think he's
Speaker 1: done a hell of a job with that. I really
Speaker 1: do think he's uh really done a great job. He
Speaker 1: did a great job last year getting the guys to
Speaker 1: the gate. I thought he did a good job in
Speaker 1: the pandemic. He han't. I mean, nobody, nobody had coached
Speaker 1: in a in a once in a hundred year pandemic.
Speaker 1: You know, the last guy who did it was George
Speaker 1: Hollis from THEE in the nineteen twenty pandemic. Nobody known
Speaker 1: how to do it right, So and I thought he
Speaker 1: did a good job. They didn't have a good record,
Speaker 1: but I thought he got everybody to the gate and uh,
Speaker 1: you know, and I think he learned He learned it
Speaker 1: on the McVeigh. So I listen to the guys, what
Speaker 1: you said, so so successful theft the age of forty.
Speaker 1: I mean he's got to be successful. They're building a
Speaker 1: statue of him in Miami of Ohio, so he must
Speaker 1: be good. But yeah, no, I think the fact that
Speaker 1: Zach did stand next to McVeigh, I think is in
Speaker 1: is in his favor. Let's turn to the offensive line.
Speaker 1: Four of the five projected starters did not play against Arizona,
Speaker 1: but most of the guys who did play didn't have
Speaker 1: a stellar night against the Cardinals. Is that a concern
Speaker 1: at this early juncture or is that part for the
Speaker 1: course when you're talking about second and third string offensive lineman. Well,
Speaker 1: I think it's probably in one spot you're you're talking about,
Speaker 1: you know, they'd like to see probably Jackson Carmen probably
Speaker 1: be transfer transfer what he's done in practice, because he's
Speaker 1: practice very well, they'd like to, you know, probably we're
Speaker 1: hoping he would, you know, uh, transition a little bit
Speaker 1: better into a game situation. But I think with Jackson,
Speaker 1: I mean, he's so under the microscope. I think he
Speaker 1: had you know, he had some bad plays. I think
Speaker 1: they all had some bad plays. I also think he
Speaker 1: had some good plays. So this rush to you know,
Speaker 1: sentence Jackson common to the to the dust spin and
Speaker 1: I think is a bit is a bit premature, you know.
Speaker 1: I think again, this is another thing where uh, you know,
Speaker 1: every day is every hour now is bringing stunning breaking
Speaker 1: news and we have to react to it, you know,
Speaker 1: And so it's but I think this is going to
Speaker 1: be a again, the practices are probably just as important,
Speaker 1: maybe more important, than the games. They got about seven
Speaker 1: or eight of those left to get the two games.
Speaker 1: So I think, uh, you know, I do you know,
Speaker 1: I was and you know in in you know this
Speaker 1: Hordy because you watch it with lap and and uh
Speaker 1: you think maybe a guy didn't play particularly well, and
Speaker 1: then you talk to the coaches and you know, like
Speaker 1: like Trey Hill, I think I think they like what
Speaker 1: I think they like how Trey Hills trending. And he's
Speaker 1: a key guy because you know, he's gonna have to
Speaker 1: play both, you know, center and guard, backing up Ted
Speaker 1: Carris at center. So you know, I think, uh, you know,
Speaker 1: I think there's always concerned particularly around this offensive line,
Speaker 1: given the history of the last you know year and
Speaker 1: h but I think there, you know, it's uh, you know,
Speaker 1: it's myke This is where I this is the time
Speaker 1: year I always pull out to Kevin Bacon line and
Speaker 1: animal house, you know, remain calm and you know. So,
Speaker 1: I mean, if we're having this discussion on Labor Day,
Speaker 1: you know, yeah, but I still think we've got a
Speaker 1: ways to go. Talking to coaches and scouts off the record,
Speaker 1: they basically say exactly what you were saying about Jackson Carmen.
Speaker 1: It wasn't bad on every snap or a couple of
Speaker 1: glaring ones that you could see replayed ad nauseam on
Speaker 1: TV or on Twitter or whatever. But there were good
Speaker 1: things in the game, and the things that he did
Speaker 1: poorly are very correctable. So let's not bury him based
Speaker 1: on a half of a game against the Cardinals. On
Speaker 1: the other hand, the Bengals offensive or the highest graded
Speaker 1: offensive lineman, at least according to PFF, was Cordell Wolson.
Speaker 1: They gave him a seventy four point eight. So what
Speaker 1: do you think happens this week? Does Wolson get the
Speaker 1: opportunity to start? Obviously he practiced with the ones this
Speaker 1: week and Jackson has a rap on his elbow. That's
Speaker 1: what it would seem, you know, it seemed to be
Speaker 1: they just switch it. I think maybe you know, Wolson
Speaker 1: gets his thirty or so snaps in the first half,
Speaker 1: Jackson goes in the second. That would seem to be
Speaker 1: where it's trendling. I know, I don't think they're two,
Speaker 1: you know, I don't think they're two into the Well,
Speaker 1: we gotta play, you know, we gotta playim against better
Speaker 1: competition or whatever, because I think they feel like they're
Speaker 1: getting that out here right, you know. And I think
Speaker 1: that you know, they're going against the ones he's going against.
Speaker 1: You know, the defensive line is pretty good now that
Speaker 1: Bengals defensive line is good. And it's something that Wolson
Speaker 1: told me that I thought was interesting. He thought that
Speaker 1: the train the training camp practice is really prepared him
Speaker 1: well for the game as far as the speed and
Speaker 1: everything like that. And he thought it was. You know,
Speaker 1: obviously it's differently North Dakota. You know, that's that's it's
Speaker 1: a big gap. But he was prepared for that. He
Speaker 1: was prepared with that switch, which I found kind of interesting.
Speaker 1: So I think it tells me too how important the
Speaker 1: practices are because Zach is running him, you know. I
Speaker 1: thought he delved into that. That was kind of interesting
Speaker 1: in the other day when he was talking about why
Speaker 1: he wanted to go two days with pads and then
Speaker 1: take a day, you know, take a day off from
Speaker 1: the field, and then go at it, you know, go
Speaker 1: hide for two days and then back off. And I
Speaker 1: think you play faster, you practice faster, you know, And
Speaker 1: so I think that's and I think you can see
Speaker 1: that maybe what Volson was saying. And Volson looked pretty good.
Speaker 1: It has been interesting to watch that in this camp
Speaker 1: because with that philosophy now of two days and pads
Speaker 1: and a day off, they really get after it on
Speaker 1: those two days. It's not like a few periods are
Speaker 1: kind of physical and then they back way down. They're
Speaker 1: going hard for two solid days and pads and then
Speaker 1: have that recovery day. And you know, even even in
Speaker 1: the back end on seven and seven. You know, they're
Speaker 1: chicken fighting. They're going they're going forward, you know, big time.
Speaker 1: I mean, that's a That's what I thought was kind
Speaker 1: of nice to see the uh on Monday with te
Speaker 1: Higgins was going up and being physical with that shoulder.
Speaker 1: You know, that's his game, you know, and it was
Speaker 1: it was good to see that in another kind of practice,
Speaker 1: she might not see that, oh back off of them
Speaker 1: and all that and everything. So it is an interesting
Speaker 1: approach and it's, uh, it's kind of you know, it
Speaker 1: is it is in the bottom line is it's getting
Speaker 1: them ready for what they'll see on the eleventh. As
Speaker 1: listeners have already heard on this podcast, we listened to
Speaker 1: Kendrick Pryor, who had a great preseason debut four catches
Speaker 1: eighty nine yards in a touchdown. Can he or Qualmi
Speaker 1: Lasseter make the fifty three man roster barring an injury
Speaker 1: or are they trying to secure spots on the practice squad. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think Laster's got the best shot, I think because
Speaker 1: he can return, but he would have to do an
Speaker 1: Alex Ericsson and you know, go crazy on three punts
Speaker 1: because I'm gonna be hard to blow Trent Taylor out
Speaker 1: of there. Particularly, I thought how well he played from
Speaker 1: scrimmage in the opener against Arizona. I mean, he showed
Speaker 1: why they love him, because he's just reliable, you know.
Speaker 1: So you know, it's a tougher client for Prior because
Speaker 1: Prior doesn't return. You know, I think I think they'd
Speaker 1: like to keep six receivers, which I find interesting since
Speaker 1: they are such are they're a three receiver team. You
Speaker 1: think they keep seven, but you know they want to
Speaker 1: keep it at six, and because I think they want
Speaker 1: to keep some extra stuff for you know, defense of
Speaker 1: an offensive lineman. But you know, if Prior, what if
Speaker 1: Prior plays like he did, you know, the next two games,
Speaker 1: you know, you might have to go with seven receivers.
Speaker 1: Maybe if he if he's that good, if he's really
Speaker 1: that developing, that that well, but that's a tough room.
Speaker 1: You know, that's a tough room. I think they're going
Speaker 1: for practice. I think they're going for practice squad spots.
Speaker 1: It's nothing wrong with that because you know, Stanley Morgan
Speaker 1: came out of there and has become a solid player.
Speaker 1: You know. Now, I think they're also looking on the
Speaker 1: other end, and I say, I think they'd also probably
Speaker 1: like to like to upgrade a little bit that first
Speaker 1: guy off the bench. But you know, Mike Thomas is
Speaker 1: a fine player too. I mean, I don't think you're
Speaker 1: gonna find much better than Mike Thomas out there who
Speaker 1: knows the system. They really trust him, and that's a
Speaker 1: big thing. Coaches trust Mike Thomas. He's a good teams player.
Speaker 1: So you know, I don't don't poo poo him being
Speaker 1: the fourth because I think he'd be high pressed. They
Speaker 1: do much better than that if you wanted to, you know,
Speaker 1: if you wanted to go around the league and find something.
Speaker 1: And Stanley as solid as the fifth, you know, they
Speaker 1: probably like to see him do a little bit more
Speaker 1: from scrimmage. But he's such a solid teams player. And
Speaker 1: then you go, you know that that six guys probably
Speaker 1: gonna be Taylors because he's such a good returner. But
Speaker 1: if Kwamy, you know, if Kwamy blows him out, then
Speaker 1: he would get the job. But like I said, that's
Speaker 1: a hard that's going to be a hard number. And
Speaker 1: maybe maybe and maybe prior makes him keep set up.
Speaker 1: I think Trent Taylor's also having a really good camp.
Speaker 1: It's not just the preseason game. I mean, he's targeted
Speaker 1: four times and had four catches, so he couldn't have
Speaker 1: done any better than that against the Cardinals. But when
Speaker 1: I watched these wide receiver drills, he looks like he's
Speaker 1: got the best short space quickness of any guy on
Speaker 1: that receiving corps. And he didn't play a big role
Speaker 1: as a receiver last year. He wasn't active until the
Speaker 1: final four games of the season, I don't think, and
Speaker 1: then the postseason. But when they needed a two point
Speaker 1: conversion to tie the Cardinals in the playoffs, that's the
Speaker 1: guy they went to. No, there's no question. And I
Speaker 1: think on the other side of the ball, he got
Speaker 1: a guy like Clay Johnston. He made one. He was
Speaker 1: on the field for one play in the playoff game
Speaker 1: and he stopped the King Derrick Henry on a two
Speaker 1: point conversion that probably got him into the AFC Championship game.
Speaker 1: And now a guy like that, he's got a tough
Speaker 1: nut two linebacker. But you know, performing down the stretch
Speaker 1: and situations like that pretty hard to get guys out
Speaker 1: of here. So Johnston, I think, is a you know,
Speaker 1: you get to think about him as a possible fifth
Speaker 1: pack or you know, he'll stay here on the practice squad.
Speaker 1: But then, of course you have the universal question, would
Speaker 1: a guy like would guys like Lasseter Prior with their
Speaker 1: tape and Johnston with his tape, with his good tape,
Speaker 1: would they survive, you know, the cutdown or would they
Speaker 1: get claimed? Always a concern year after year, no question. Also,
Speaker 1: I think I misspoken said the Cardinals when I meant
Speaker 1: the Chiefs, referring to the Trent Taylor two point conversion.
Speaker 1: Let's get to some news of the week. Second year
Speaker 1: rush end Whyatt Hubert announced his retirement. He's been injured NonStop,
Speaker 1: unfortunately since being drafted in the seventh round. Last year,
Speaker 1: undrafted offensive lineman Ben Brown suffered a season ending torn tornpacktoral,
Speaker 1: so we're not going to see him this year. Tight
Speaker 1: Endrew Sample is walking around at a knee brace. It's
Speaker 1: going to be a couple of weeks probably for him.
Speaker 1: Backup tight end Mitchell Wilcox has been in a walking
Speaker 1: boot after twisting his ankle or hurting his foot, I'm
Speaker 1: not sure which. In the preseason opener, Cam Taylor Britt
Speaker 1: hasn't practiced for several days because of a core muscle problem.
Speaker 1: Do you see the Bengals having to you know, go
Speaker 1: out and get somebody at one of these spots, just
Speaker 1: to add depth to the roster. I think even probably
Speaker 1: before Wilcox get hurt, I think probably they were looking
Speaker 1: at to upgrade a little bit at tight end. And
Speaker 1: I think that's what they're doing right now. They're trying
Speaker 1: to upgrade the final How do you do that? Can
Speaker 1: you upgrade that final spot? You know? And uh, you know,
Speaker 1: I think see how long tailor Brits out, you know,
Speaker 1: and see what their reaction is. I think they'd like to,
Speaker 1: you know, before they made a move. I think there,
Speaker 1: I mean, see how long Brits you know, is he
Speaker 1: going to be back in three days or three months?
Speaker 1: I have no idea. I don't know. We haven't seen him.
Speaker 1: So I think that's why all these guys are playing.
Speaker 1: You know, all these guys are you know, what you
Speaker 1: need now is right? Is right? That's what you're looking
Speaker 1: for is a fifth corner right behind Trey Flowers? Who's
Speaker 1: your fourth? So? Um, you know, I think if you know,
Speaker 1: if you can, you upgrade over what you've got with
Speaker 1: the with the rookie, you know, with the Alan Georges
Speaker 1: and the Dalante hoods and if you can't upgrade, they
Speaker 1: would do it. But like I said, I don't I
Speaker 1: don't know. I don't think we're there yet. I think,
Speaker 1: you know, they got to find out more about Taylor Britain,
Speaker 1: and they got to find out more about you know,
Speaker 1: how these other kids are playing. But I think tight end,
Speaker 1: I think it's something that's a spot they've always been.
Speaker 1: I think trying to really upgrade there and m and
Speaker 1: I think it's you know, uh with the offensive line.
Speaker 1: I think what Brown at best probably would have been
Speaker 1: on the practice squad. It's too bad. They like him.
Speaker 1: I think they think he's got a pretty good future
Speaker 1: so uh that that's too bad that he probably gonna
Speaker 1: lose a year on a practice squad. But I'm not
Speaker 1: sure they make a move there either, because it's a
Speaker 1: pretty it's a pretty full you know, it's pretty full
Speaker 1: there right now. You also have an issue right now
Speaker 1: where every NFL team has nearly ninety guys on the roster,
Speaker 1: so the pool of players that could actually help your
Speaker 1: team during the season probably isn't great until cutdown day.
Speaker 1: You can you know, always claim guys that are out
Speaker 1: there at that point and also pull off a trade
Speaker 1: just before the start of the season, much like they
Speaker 1: did last year to get b J. Hill. So maybe
Speaker 1: that's when they eventually fill some of that depth after
Speaker 1: teams have determined, you know who they can no longer
Speaker 1: keep on their fifty three man rosters. Yeah, I think
Speaker 1: we're talking about we're talking about September decisions really, I
Speaker 1: mean Labor Day decisions, because now the way the way
Speaker 1: I think it's horty if i'm if I'm not mistaken,
Speaker 1: it's kind of it's kind of pushed back a little
Speaker 1: bit in that we'll push back up or however you
Speaker 1: want to look at it. But they've got some extra
Speaker 1: time now between after the last preseason game and before
Speaker 1: to you know open I think they get two full weeks, so,
Speaker 1: you know, I think historically it had been nine or ten,
Speaker 1: so they've got some time to play with there, and
Speaker 1: as you noted, they did the b J. Hill Billy
Speaker 1: Price deal at that time. But you know, I think
Speaker 1: that will give them enough time. The three preseason games
Speaker 1: and all those practices that we're talking about, it's going
Speaker 1: to give them enough time to make them evaluate their
Speaker 1: own guys and if they got to go get somebody
Speaker 1: I'm gonna make a prediction for you. By the way,
Speaker 1: the Cleveland Browns have lost two centers with the season
Speaker 1: ending injuries. Apparently in training camp. Billy Price is still
Speaker 1: out there. But if he winds up in Cleveland, that's
Speaker 1: amazing that Billy Price is still out there. I think
Speaker 1: I thought he was. I thought he was okay here,
Speaker 1: I really was. I think the worst thing that can
Speaker 1: happen to a guy who get draft him in the
Speaker 1: first round because you're supposed to be superman or something,
Speaker 1: and if you're just a solid player, that doesn't help you.
Speaker 1: You know, um it. It would be interesting if with Cleveland,
Speaker 1: if they show up and we play them, and they've
Speaker 1: got and they've got Pricent and Billy and Billy Price,
Speaker 1: is there is their center. I mean, it's you can't.
Speaker 1: That's why you can't. All these inner all these predictions,
Speaker 1: these these this preseason stuff. It's it's it's a you
Speaker 1: can maybe do it in baseball, whether it just or
Speaker 1: basketball or it just seems like football is even though
Speaker 1: it's the ultimate team game, it seems to be the
Speaker 1: one most affected by personnel, but you know, by injuries.
Speaker 1: It's it's really so it's just uh, you know that's
Speaker 1: why I think again it goes back to highest statut.
Speaker 1: The you know, this interview with me is getting borrowed. Ready,
Speaker 1: that's the to me, that's the story. If you can,
Speaker 1: if you can get to the gate with your team intact,
Speaker 1: you get a shot, you know, I mean, you gotta
Speaker 1: I mean, you know, it's not like baseball where if
Speaker 1: you get healthy to the gate, you know, five teams
Speaker 1: have a chance. You know it pretty much if you
Speaker 1: get a you know, pretty much, you get to the
Speaker 1: gate intact. In the NFL get a shot of making
Speaker 1: the playoffs if you got a half decent club. So
Speaker 1: I think, you know, and you know this, you go,
Speaker 1: you read, You need the headlines every you know, every
Speaker 1: hour on the hour, looking at if somebody goes down,
Speaker 1: you know, I mean Zach Wilson did there. That is
Speaker 1: they're gonna be They're gonna be issuing bulletins in New
Speaker 1: York today on Zach Wilson's surgery. It's gonna be like
Speaker 1: the James Garfield medical updates, you know, when he was
Speaker 1: shot the President of United States. They're gonna you know,
Speaker 1: is it gonna be two to four weeks or is
Speaker 1: there more damage you know, you know what, maybe maybe
Speaker 1: he shouldn't have played, you know, I mean, I just
Speaker 1: I just you know, yeah, I know he's got to
Speaker 1: develop and all that stuff, but you know, wow, get
Speaker 1: your club to the gate. That's going to do it.
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Speaker 1: more Bengals fans ends find us. I'm Dan Horde, and
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