WEBVTT - Bengals Booth Podcast: This Is It 0:00:03.720 --> 0:00:07.080 Happy holidays everybody on Dan Horde and this is the 0:00:07.120 --> 0:00:13.280 Bengals Booth podcast. This is it. Make no mistake where 0:00:13.400 --> 0:00:19.520 you are. This is it You'll go in no further addition, 0:00:20.200 --> 0:00:22.880 as we look ahead the Sunday season finale at Paul 0:00:22.920 --> 0:00:25.840 Brown Stadium between the one and fourteen Bengals and the 0:00:25.920 --> 0:00:29.800 six and nine Cleveland Browns. Coming up, we'll hear from 0:00:29.840 --> 0:00:32.560 Andy Dalton on what could be his final game in 0:00:32.600 --> 0:00:35.920 a Bengals uniform. Dave Lapham and I will weigh in 0:00:36.000 --> 0:00:38.920 on that. Plus, now that the Bengals have clinched the 0:00:39.000 --> 0:00:41.560 number one pick in the draft, we'll share some thoughts 0:00:41.640 --> 0:00:45.440 on the quarterback that many people expect Cincinnati to select 0:00:45.800 --> 0:00:49.599 Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow from LSU. And in this 0:00:49.640 --> 0:00:52.440 week's Know the Faux segment, we'll discuss the Browns and 0:00:52.520 --> 0:00:55.560 the future of first year head coach Freddie Kitchens with 0:00:55.720 --> 0:00:59.360 Zack Jackson, who covers the team for the Athletic All 0:00:59.360 --> 0:01:01.800 of that is straight ahead, but first, here's a quick 0:01:01.840 --> 0:01:04.360 reminder that you can add the latest edition of this 0:01:04.400 --> 0:01:08.760 podcast delivered rite to your phone, tablet, or computer by 0:01:08.840 --> 0:01:14.800 subscribing on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, or pod Bean. 0:01:15.280 --> 0:01:20.640 It's the greatest thing since board games. In this high 0:01:20.640 --> 0:01:24.400 tech you can do anything on your phone world, sometimes 0:01:24.400 --> 0:01:27.920 it's nice to play a traditional board game. This Christmas, 0:01:28.240 --> 0:01:30.880 my son received a game called Ticket to Ride as 0:01:30.920 --> 0:01:33.560 a gift. There's a board with a big map of 0:01:33.560 --> 0:01:38.960 the US, some plastic train cars and cards. That's it. 0:01:39.520 --> 0:01:44.160 No joystick, no WiFi required. It's an old school board 0:01:44.200 --> 0:01:47.880 game and it's awesome. And I don't just say that 0:01:47.960 --> 0:01:52.360 because I dominated our family's first attempt to play. So 0:01:52.640 --> 0:01:56.400 here's to Monopoly, Scrabble, Munchkin, and all of the great 0:01:56.440 --> 0:01:59.240 board games out there that are awesome for the first 0:01:59.240 --> 0:02:02.120 few days after Christmas until they wind up in a 0:02:02.160 --> 0:02:07.080 closet until next Christmas. Now, let's get to Sunday's football 0:02:07.120 --> 0:02:11.120 game at Paul Brown Stadium. There's a real possibility that 0:02:11.200 --> 0:02:13.359 Andy Dalton will play in his one hundred and thirty 0:02:13.400 --> 0:02:17.160 seventh and final game in a Bengals uniform on Sunday. 0:02:17.200 --> 0:02:20.359 It's not definite. He's under contract for one more season 0:02:20.400 --> 0:02:25.679 at seventeen point five million dollars. And here are the possibilities. A. 0:02:26.400 --> 0:02:29.520 If the Bengals draft Joe Burrow or another quarterback Number 0:02:29.520 --> 0:02:33.040 one overall, they could keep Andy as a veteran mentor 0:02:33.160 --> 0:02:37.160 to help the rookies adjustment to the NFL B the 0:02:37.240 --> 0:02:41.200 Bengals select a QB number one overall and trade Dalton 0:02:41.320 --> 0:02:44.520 for a draft pick, which seems like the most likely 0:02:44.560 --> 0:02:47.280 outcome if they can get a good enough deal or 0:02:47.880 --> 0:02:51.240 see the Bengals could look at, say Chase Young is 0:02:51.240 --> 0:02:54.160 the only sure thing in the draft, and keep Dalton 0:02:54.520 --> 0:02:57.400 for at least one more season as the starting quarterback. 0:02:58.240 --> 0:03:01.480 If Sunday's game is and he's last in Orange and black, 0:03:01.760 --> 0:03:05.280 he'll leave quite a legacy. He's completed more passes and 0:03:05.360 --> 0:03:09.760 thrown more tds than any other quarterback in franchise history, 0:03:09.800 --> 0:03:12.240 and if he leads the Bengals to a win on Sunday, 0:03:12.639 --> 0:03:16.320 he'll have the highest winning percentage of any Bengals quarterback 0:03:16.360 --> 0:03:19.320 to start at least twenty five games. If the team 0:03:19.400 --> 0:03:23.440 loses on Sunday, Andy will fall to number two behind 0:03:23.560 --> 0:03:27.120 Ken Anderson. Andy and his wife jj have also been 0:03:27.160 --> 0:03:31.720 incredibly giving of their time and resources to needy families 0:03:31.760 --> 0:03:36.400 in the Cincinnati area through their foundation. Here's Andy on 0:03:36.520 --> 0:03:39.560 the potential of this being his final game as a 0:03:39.640 --> 0:03:44.560 Cincinnati Bengal. I understand the possibility of it. So I mean, 0:03:44.600 --> 0:03:46.360 I'll have to wait and see once the season's over 0:03:46.400 --> 0:03:49.040 and see see what happens. But it's obviously not my 0:03:49.120 --> 0:03:53.600 focus right now. Like I said, I understand the situation 0:03:53.680 --> 0:03:59.400 that that I'm in, and so I'm trying to go 0:03:59.440 --> 0:04:01.640 out and play a game I could play. Like I said, 0:04:01.640 --> 0:04:03.080 I want to finish this thing all the right way. 0:04:03.120 --> 0:04:05.600 I want to finish this thing off of a win 0:04:05.680 --> 0:04:09.040 for this team, and um, so doing everything I can 0:04:09.120 --> 0:04:13.280 to make sure we play well on Sunday. Yes, it's 0:04:13.320 --> 0:04:15.640 not the end of my career. Obviously, there's been a 0:04:15.640 --> 0:04:18.720 lot of Uh, a lot of our life has been 0:04:18.760 --> 0:04:22.479 here in Cincinnati. And again, we don't know what's going 0:04:22.560 --> 0:04:24.960 to happen. I don't know what's going to happen, and um, 0:04:25.080 --> 0:04:27.120 I have to wait and see after the season for 0:04:27.240 --> 0:04:30.200 all that to get handled. But um, you know, a 0:04:30.240 --> 0:04:32.720 big part of our life has been here, and um 0:04:33.360 --> 0:04:37.120 you know we've made Cincinnati our home and uh, you know, 0:04:37.240 --> 0:04:40.599 we've grown up. My family's grown up together, JJ and 0:04:40.640 --> 0:04:42.920 I have. You know, it's been our whole merry life 0:04:42.960 --> 0:04:46.400 here like three kids. Like you said, so it's been 0:04:46.600 --> 0:04:48.000 the city has been a big part of our life. 0:04:48.279 --> 0:04:50.880 There's a lot of good people here in Cincinnati, and 0:04:50.920 --> 0:04:53.400 there's a lot of people that are willing to, you know, 0:04:53.760 --> 0:04:56.560 to help others. And I think, uh, you know, kind 0:04:56.560 --> 0:04:58.640 of once we started our foundation and kind of started 0:04:58.680 --> 0:05:00.440 some of the things that that we've been doing, there's 0:05:00.440 --> 0:05:02.000 a lot of people that hopped on board just because 0:05:02.040 --> 0:05:05.160 they're they're willing to serve and willing to um, you know, 0:05:05.360 --> 0:05:07.600 give to those in need. And so I think there's 0:05:07.600 --> 0:05:09.960 an instant connection there. And then we're just trying to 0:05:09.960 --> 0:05:12.160 be as involved as we can and try to help 0:05:12.279 --> 0:05:15.360 out in so many different ways. And so, um, I think, 0:05:15.360 --> 0:05:17.640 I just you can't do it by yourself. You have 0:05:17.680 --> 0:05:19.159 to have support from a lot of people. And we've 0:05:19.160 --> 0:05:20.920 had a lot of support from the city. That was 0:05:20.960 --> 0:05:22.880 the one thing that that we wanted to do when 0:05:22.880 --> 0:05:24.280 we first got here, is we want to make sure 0:05:24.279 --> 0:05:26.360 that we were all in, and we were. We've been 0:05:26.400 --> 0:05:28.800 all in too since the day since we got here, 0:05:29.080 --> 0:05:34.360 and hopefully people see that, you know, I've I've received 0:05:34.360 --> 0:05:38.839 a lot of support throughout throughout my years here, and 0:05:37.800 --> 0:05:40.560 um again, we'll have to wait and see how this 0:05:40.600 --> 0:05:44.480 whole thing ends up. Badly enough, before Andy takes the 0:05:44.480 --> 0:05:47.760 field on Sunday, we could all be watching his successor 0:05:48.000 --> 0:05:51.880 on Saturday when LSU faces Oklahoma in the Peach Bowl, 0:05:52.240 --> 0:05:54.720 as Joe Burrow looks to lead the Tigers to the 0:05:54.839 --> 0:06:00.720 National Championship game against Ohio State or Clemson. This conversation 0:06:00.760 --> 0:06:04.359 with Dave Lapham, we start with the current favorite to 0:06:04.480 --> 0:06:08.400 be the number one pick in the twenty twenty NFL Draft. 0:06:08.760 --> 0:06:11.680 I am now thinking that I'm on the Joe Burrow train. 0:06:11.720 --> 0:06:15.000 The Heisman Trophy winning quarterback out of LSU. He completed 0:06:15.080 --> 0:06:17.640 seventy eight percent of his passes this year through for 0:06:17.680 --> 0:06:22.240 nearly five thousand yards, forty eight touchdown passes, six interceptions. 0:06:22.640 --> 0:06:25.839 He's a leader. The intangibles are off the charts. The 0:06:25.880 --> 0:06:28.359 one negative when you talk to football people that have 0:06:28.440 --> 0:06:31.040 seen him is that they say he has what they 0:06:31.080 --> 0:06:35.800 describe as an average plus arm. That's what's said about 0:06:35.839 --> 0:06:37.839 Joe Montana coming out. And note to Dame when he 0:06:37.880 --> 0:06:40.200 was drafting the third round, it was the arm strength 0:06:40.320 --> 0:06:44.080 was the question, not the football IQ, not the decision making. 0:06:44.160 --> 0:06:47.360 You know nothing from an intangible standpoint, but they were 0:06:47.400 --> 0:06:51.720 worried about his arm. And you know, when you talk 0:06:51.760 --> 0:06:55.000 to a lot of quarterbacks, quarterback coaches, people familiar with 0:06:55.040 --> 0:06:58.279 the position. The biggest thing is throwing with the anticipation 0:06:58.320 --> 0:07:00.719 and accuracy. You have to be a straight a player 0:07:01.279 --> 0:07:04.400 and his accuracy, my gosh, in the SEC to be 0:07:04.440 --> 0:07:07.760 completing almost eighty percent of year passes man to shives 0:07:08.040 --> 0:07:10.320 and uh so he has to be throwing with some 0:07:10.480 --> 0:07:13.800 anticipation to have those kind of completion numbers. So I 0:07:13.840 --> 0:07:15.600 think he might be one of those straight a Guys's 0:07:15.600 --> 0:07:17.240 got to do a little bit more. Look, you know, 0:07:17.320 --> 0:07:21.000 research into you know, how he plays. But the thing 0:07:21.080 --> 0:07:25.640 that every team that's having success now, not just the 0:07:25.760 --> 0:07:28.240 Jacksons of the world where there's you know, just one 0:07:28.240 --> 0:07:30.800 of those kind of guys, but quarterbacks that can extend 0:07:30.840 --> 0:07:34.240 and create plays and make it impossible for guys in 0:07:34.280 --> 0:07:36.600 the back end to cover long enough. The mahomes Is 0:07:36.600 --> 0:07:40.000 of the world, Aaron Rodgers, you know at his he's 0:07:40.000 --> 0:07:42.960 still doing it. Those guys that can do that get 0:07:42.960 --> 0:07:47.680 out of pocket and buy time, they're valuable in borrows athletic. 0:07:48.440 --> 0:07:50.480 He can do it. I mean, he's he's shown that 0:07:50.520 --> 0:07:55.680 in the SEC's spun away from people. He's not afraid to, uh, 0:07:55.720 --> 0:07:57.559 you know, step up in the pocket, climbed the pocket, 0:07:57.680 --> 0:08:02.560 hit a rush lane that's vacated, get yards he's got. Probably. 0:08:03.000 --> 0:08:04.840 I bet people are going to be surprised to see 0:08:04.880 --> 0:08:08.080 his times at the combine, how fast he is, and 0:08:08.120 --> 0:08:09.960 what his shuttle is and all those kind of things, 0:08:09.960 --> 0:08:12.360 because this guy's an All state basketball player. I mean, 0:08:12.400 --> 0:08:14.200 you do basketball. You know the athletes that are on 0:08:14.240 --> 0:08:17.040 basketball court. In my opinion, NBA players are the best 0:08:17.080 --> 0:08:19.920 athletes in the world and these guys are ridiculous, and 0:08:20.600 --> 0:08:25.920 you know, he's athletic, So I'm pretty much sold. I'm 0:08:25.960 --> 0:08:28.160 going to be very interested to see him Saturday night 0:08:28.200 --> 0:08:31.440 against Ohio State because all the people here in Ohio 0:08:31.440 --> 0:08:34.480 are going to be, you know, highly interested and keenly 0:08:34.480 --> 0:08:37.640 interested in that football game because they think sunrises and 0:08:37.720 --> 0:08:41.000 sets on Buckeyes offense, defense or whatever, see if the 0:08:41.000 --> 0:08:44.079 defense can do anything with Joe Burrow. We don't know 0:08:44.160 --> 0:08:46.000 for sure how things are going to play out next year, 0:08:46.000 --> 0:08:49.040 but it certainly feels like there's a strong possibility that 0:08:49.080 --> 0:08:51.000 this is going to be Andy Dalton's last game at 0:08:51.000 --> 0:08:54.200 the Bengals uniform. Yeah, it does. And you know, I 0:08:54.200 --> 0:08:58.680 think he's handled everything with class. No surprise there when 0:08:58.720 --> 0:09:01.360 he was raised right, He's a man of faith and 0:09:01.480 --> 0:09:03.880 his faith is the strongest thing in his life, obviously, 0:09:03.880 --> 0:09:07.760 and he does things the right way. And honestly, he's 0:09:07.800 --> 0:09:10.000 had a great career. I mean when you look at 0:09:10.080 --> 0:09:14.160 him leading the Bengal statistically in a lot of passing 0:09:14.200 --> 0:09:17.760 areas considering the quarterbacks that have been here, and I 0:09:17.800 --> 0:09:19.600 know it's different eras and throw the ball a heck 0:09:19.640 --> 0:09:21.800 of a lot more and all those things. But he's 0:09:22.080 --> 0:09:24.480 done a good job for this franchise on and off 0:09:24.480 --> 0:09:27.480 the football field. His foundation has had a huge impact 0:09:28.240 --> 0:09:30.679 here in the state of Ohio and in the state 0:09:30.760 --> 0:09:33.680 of Texas as well. So he's done He's done a 0:09:33.679 --> 0:09:37.760 lot of really unbelievable things, and you know, it's it's 0:09:37.800 --> 0:09:41.000 it's a I'm sure it'll be bittersweet for him. And 0:09:41.400 --> 0:09:43.360 if they particularly if they go and beat the Cleveland 0:09:43.360 --> 0:09:46.240 Browns and he has a big game, and that that's 0:09:46.280 --> 0:09:48.040 what you hope for. You hope that goes out on 0:09:48.320 --> 0:09:51.000 the highest note possible. And you know, like about a 0:09:51.080 --> 0:09:56.640 three touchdown, three hundred yard performance, no interception is Baker 0:09:56.679 --> 0:09:59.959 Mayfield has some turnovers, he doesn't, they win the football 0:10:00.240 --> 0:10:03.800 and potentially rides off into the sunset, you know, in 0:10:03.840 --> 0:10:07.280 a very very positive way. I hope that works out 0:10:07.320 --> 0:10:09.840 for him, and that would be the Hollywood script as such, 0:10:10.240 --> 0:10:12.680 and I think he deserves that. So I'm hopeful that 0:10:13.320 --> 0:10:15.240 that it does turn out that way for him because 0:10:15.480 --> 0:10:18.079 he's given everything he's got, you know, to the organization. 0:10:18.120 --> 0:10:22.040 And I think he's as stunned as anybody that in 0:10:22.160 --> 0:10:25.600 training camp. Watching him operate in training camp when he 0:10:25.640 --> 0:10:28.880 had most of his bodies available to him, and even 0:10:28.920 --> 0:10:31.240 before that, no ta's and mini camps, I was like, man, 0:10:31.679 --> 0:10:34.760 this is gonna this offense fits and he Dalton skill set. 0:10:35.280 --> 0:10:37.120 AJ Green's gonna have a big year. I mean, all 0:10:37.160 --> 0:10:40.840 these guys are gonna have play well. Man just unfolded. 0:10:40.880 --> 0:10:42.959 The football gods couldn't have been more cruel this year, 0:10:43.000 --> 0:10:45.600 for sure. It's funny how things have gone with him 0:10:45.679 --> 0:10:47.440 during his first five years, when they went to the 0:10:47.440 --> 0:10:50.120 playoffs every season. In that in that fifth year where 0:10:50.120 --> 0:10:53.199 he was a legitimate MVP candidate, it seemed like people 0:10:53.200 --> 0:10:56.640 were like, he's good, He's not good enough. And now 0:10:56.679 --> 0:11:00.320 that it appears that it might be winding down, there's 0:11:00.360 --> 0:11:04.120 a different feeling among Bengals fans. Well, we had it 0:11:04.120 --> 0:11:08.520 pretty good. Yeah, it's careful what you wish for. You know, 0:11:08.600 --> 0:11:10.800 you don't really miss it until you really do miss it. 0:11:10.840 --> 0:11:13.680 You know, you don't really know what you have until 0:11:13.720 --> 0:11:18.679 you don't. All those things. Uh. Andy Dalton was amazing 0:11:18.720 --> 0:11:21.400 to me that when he first said when he lost 0:11:21.400 --> 0:11:23.360 his third game in a row one season as Bengal, 0:11:23.640 --> 0:11:25.520 it's like this new experience. But I've never lost there 0:11:25.600 --> 0:11:30.040 in a row at any level you sports, high school, college, 0:11:30.559 --> 0:11:33.160 in the NFL. I'm like, wow, when you think about that, 0:11:33.559 --> 0:11:37.000 and any in all sports that you're participated in, Devon 0:11:37.120 --> 0:11:40.080 never lost three games in a row. That tells you 0:11:40.120 --> 0:11:43.000 that you know, it's not every single time. It can't 0:11:43.040 --> 0:11:44.840 be the team. You must be a factor in the 0:11:45.000 --> 0:11:49.360 in the formula that all those teams were winners. And 0:11:49.360 --> 0:11:52.560 Andy Dalton is a is a winner. I mean his makeup, 0:11:52.640 --> 0:11:55.480 his personality, the way he lives his life. He lives 0:11:55.480 --> 0:11:58.720 his life as a winner, not a loser. Speaking of winning, 0:11:59.280 --> 0:12:02.280 what a win at the end of a what so 0:12:02.440 --> 0:12:05.280 far as a one and fourteen season really make much 0:12:05.280 --> 0:12:08.680 of a difference. It would in my mind, as you know, 0:12:08.679 --> 0:12:11.760 as a former player, particularly after a last week's game, 0:12:12.679 --> 0:12:15.240 to make the comeback they made and not to finish it. 0:12:15.679 --> 0:12:17.800 You'll never hear about it anymore. It doesn't go in 0:12:17.880 --> 0:12:20.040 the record book as biggest come from behind to tie 0:12:20.040 --> 0:12:23.480 and losing overtime. It's the biggest come from behind victory 0:12:23.480 --> 0:12:26.480 and franchise history, it's not the biggest come from behind 0:12:26.720 --> 0:12:30.000 to almost win. It just it'll disappear except for the 0:12:30.000 --> 0:12:32.199 guys that played in it, and you know, people that 0:12:32.240 --> 0:12:34.800 were around to watch it and listen to it and 0:12:34.880 --> 0:12:38.839 hear about it and everything else. It's it's gonna historically, 0:12:39.600 --> 0:12:42.640 it won't have a legacy like it would in a 0:12:42.640 --> 0:12:45.120 record book. So not going to make a record book. 0:12:45.520 --> 0:12:48.040 So you're you're kind of like you have a you know, 0:12:48.840 --> 0:12:52.360 a weird taste in your mouth that you did a 0:12:52.440 --> 0:12:55.480 lot of things well to turn a game that was 0:12:55.640 --> 0:12:58.360 lopsided into a game, but you didn't win that game. 0:12:59.720 --> 0:13:02.680 So I think if you can win a division game 0:13:02.800 --> 0:13:06.040 and snap to add ten game division losing streak franchise 0:13:06.120 --> 0:13:09.439 records twelve in a row, you're at ten. If you 0:13:09.520 --> 0:13:12.040 lose this one, you're in danger of tying the record 0:13:12.160 --> 0:13:15.079 in your first division contest next year. You would want 0:13:15.080 --> 0:13:17.719 to eliminate that. You'd want to get a division win 0:13:17.800 --> 0:13:21.920 at home, you know, and in the season on a 0:13:22.000 --> 0:13:25.640 high note. And it is true the one thing you 0:13:25.679 --> 0:13:28.320 do remember in the offseason, you remember your last game 0:13:28.360 --> 0:13:31.760 first before anything else, and then you'll start remembering other games, 0:13:31.800 --> 0:13:34.559 but the last game is your most recent memory. So 0:13:34.800 --> 0:13:37.000 if you can go out with a win, you know, 0:13:37.040 --> 0:13:38.800 against a team that was on the cover of sports 0:13:38.760 --> 0:13:41.080 illustration is supposed to be all this and that. And 0:13:41.679 --> 0:13:43.880 you don't want to be swept two years in a 0:13:43.960 --> 0:13:46.600 row by the Cleveland Browns. That hasn't happened for a while. 0:13:47.040 --> 0:13:48.640 So there's a lot of reasons you want to win 0:13:48.679 --> 0:13:53.000 this football game, and not to mention the most important 0:13:53.200 --> 0:13:56.400 building momentum for next year. You asked Jack Taylor question 0:13:56.480 --> 0:13:59.120 the other day about his biggest lessons in his first 0:13:59.240 --> 0:14:01.360 year is the Bengals head coach, and he talked about, 0:14:01.800 --> 0:14:04.880 we've hired good people, now I have to empower them. 0:14:04.920 --> 0:14:07.120 Do you think that that's a really significant thing for 0:14:07.200 --> 0:14:09.439 him to have learned? I do you know, I think 0:14:10.320 --> 0:14:15.040 as a CEO's that's probably I think that was the 0:14:15.080 --> 0:14:18.240 best trait that Paul Brown had. In my mind, Paul 0:14:18.240 --> 0:14:20.200 Brown could have been president of the United States, could 0:14:20.200 --> 0:14:24.240 have been CEO of p and because he surrounded himself 0:14:24.280 --> 0:14:27.240 with good people that he felt could do their job, 0:14:27.480 --> 0:14:30.120 and then he let them do their job. So and 0:14:30.160 --> 0:14:31.960 then if you didn't do the job, he would not 0:14:32.040 --> 0:14:35.080 hesitate to make a move and replace you. But he 0:14:35.320 --> 0:14:38.040 hired you with the intent of I believe in you, 0:14:38.520 --> 0:14:40.200 you believe in me, I'm going to let you do 0:14:40.240 --> 0:14:42.280 your job. So I do think that that's a big, 0:14:42.880 --> 0:14:47.440 big thing for Zach, you know, to think about and 0:14:47.520 --> 0:14:49.520 improve upon and all those sort of things, and for 0:14:49.600 --> 0:14:52.360 him to mention that as a lesson, I think it's 0:14:52.400 --> 0:14:55.560 a very positive thing. Zach and this staff will get 0:14:55.560 --> 0:14:57.800 to coach the Senior Bowl in a few weeks. How 0:14:57.840 --> 0:15:00.600 helpful can that be? I think very you know, I mean, 0:15:00.640 --> 0:15:03.120 you can you can watch tape on on guys and 0:15:03.200 --> 0:15:06.120 you can, um you know, see the athletic abilities and everything, 0:15:06.160 --> 0:15:09.080 but you can't see the intangibles. You know, and you 0:15:09.080 --> 0:15:11.720 can hear about them. But sometimes they can be jaundice 0:15:11.840 --> 0:15:14.480 one way or the other, depending on you know, a 0:15:14.520 --> 0:15:16.400 guy may have rubbed somebody the wrong way at a 0:15:16.480 --> 0:15:19.160 very high level and that now all of a sudden 0:15:19.520 --> 0:15:23.360 unfairly so, and so his label does whatever now if 0:15:23.360 --> 0:15:25.840 it's a consensus opinion, you know that's the way it is. 0:15:25.880 --> 0:15:30.600 But um, there's nothing like getting firsthand evaluation that stuff 0:15:30.880 --> 0:15:34.160 and finding out what makes a guy tick and uh, 0:15:34.200 --> 0:15:36.680 you know, putting him in situations where you want to 0:15:36.680 --> 0:15:39.120 see how he's going to respond on the football field, 0:15:39.160 --> 0:15:42.400 off the football field, whatever those things may be. And um, 0:15:42.880 --> 0:15:45.120 you know you can you can learn a lot. You 0:15:45.120 --> 0:15:46.880 can learn a lot about not only the player, but 0:15:46.960 --> 0:15:51.040 the person. And I think that's the big key is, Um, 0:15:51.480 --> 0:15:54.400 the player shows up on tape, the person doesn't. So 0:15:54.480 --> 0:15:58.000 I think I think getting that that hands on, um, 0:15:58.040 --> 0:16:02.360 you know, introduction and evaluation of people is huge. The 0:16:02.440 --> 0:16:06.360 Bengals placed AJ Green on injured reserve finally, so he's 0:16:06.360 --> 0:16:08.680 not on the roster for the final game of the season. What, 0:16:09.120 --> 0:16:12.600 in your mind is the best case scenario where his 0:16:12.680 --> 0:16:15.920 future is concerned. Well, that's a good question, Dan, I 0:16:15.920 --> 0:16:21.200 mean it's I guess. I guess that. I think his 0:16:21.320 --> 0:16:26.240 biggest deal right now is adjusting to that hundred percent. 0:16:26.560 --> 0:16:30.800 That's a different hundred percent. So you know, from from 0:16:30.800 --> 0:16:33.960 the team's standpoint, you can understand, Well, if that's what 0:16:34.000 --> 0:16:37.120 you're struggling with. Mentally, we're going to have to see 0:16:37.280 --> 0:16:39.200 how you do adjust to that we're going to tag you. 0:16:39.880 --> 0:16:41.760 And AJ is not gonna like to be tagged, but 0:16:42.000 --> 0:16:44.400 I think you don't. He won't even have to dig 0:16:44.440 --> 0:16:47.440 deep down. I think he's going to understand. He won't 0:16:47.440 --> 0:16:49.280 like it, but I think he's going to have an 0:16:49.360 --> 0:16:53.160 understanding of why they're they're, you know, going to be 0:16:53.200 --> 0:16:55.400 feeling that that's the way they have to approach it 0:16:56.040 --> 0:16:59.800 um And you know, I just hope, I just hope 0:16:59.800 --> 0:17:03.960 that at some point in time makes his own decisions. 0:17:04.440 --> 0:17:07.080 You hire agents, they work for you. You You don't work 0:17:07.080 --> 0:17:11.120 for them, so and you hire them to do their job, 0:17:11.720 --> 0:17:19.000 but you still hire them. So ultimately they're they're advisors 0:17:19.560 --> 0:17:21.840 to you, they're they're consultants to you. There are all 0:17:21.840 --> 0:17:25.440 those kinds of things. But you make the decisions. So 0:17:25.840 --> 0:17:30.200 I wonder how as it all unfolds, the Aj Green 0:17:30.240 --> 0:17:32.960 that we all know and love. I wonder how how 0:17:33.119 --> 0:17:36.159 this is going to impact him, and there's decisions that 0:17:36.200 --> 0:17:38.040 he makes down the road. If in fact, he does 0:17:38.040 --> 0:17:39.960 get tagged, which I think is probably going to happen 0:17:40.600 --> 0:17:43.200 to me, it seems like tagging him and trading him 0:17:44.400 --> 0:17:47.720 might be more realistic than tagging him and holding on 0:17:47.760 --> 0:17:49.520 to him for one more year and hoping that he 0:17:49.520 --> 0:17:52.640 plays well, and then resigning him. I don't know. I mean, 0:17:52.760 --> 0:17:55.000 the Bengals haven't shared their thoughts on that with any 0:17:55.040 --> 0:17:57.640 of us, but you could see a scenario where he's 0:17:57.680 --> 0:18:01.480 tagged and plays for another year and hopefully that sends 0:18:01.520 --> 0:18:04.199 everything back in the right direction. Yeah, I mean, I 0:18:04.320 --> 0:18:07.040 just keep going back to the thing that the wise 0:18:07.040 --> 0:18:09.800 old Paul Brown said, you don't trade a guy until 0:18:09.840 --> 0:18:10.840 you have a guy you know they can do it 0:18:10.880 --> 0:18:13.640 at least as well or better. They don't. They don't, 0:18:13.680 --> 0:18:16.760 So in my mind, I tag him to see if 0:18:16.840 --> 0:18:21.760 you know things can be worked out. You know who 0:18:21.800 --> 0:18:25.080 knows that. I guess you're hoping against hope a little bit. 0:18:25.240 --> 0:18:27.800 But to trade him when you have nobody on your 0:18:27.880 --> 0:18:31.400 roster that is close to what he gave you when 0:18:31.400 --> 0:18:33.720 he was AJ Green. That's the big thing. Nobody knows, 0:18:34.359 --> 0:18:37.280 you know, what is what's the new AJ Green? He 0:18:37.320 --> 0:18:39.919 doesn't know. He doesn't know what his new hundred percent is. 0:18:40.080 --> 0:18:42.760 So if he doesn't know, nobody else knows, that's for sure. 0:18:43.320 --> 0:18:46.600 So it is. It's a but even a even an 0:18:46.600 --> 0:18:50.919 eighty five percent AJ Green pretty damn special, because that 0:18:50.960 --> 0:18:54.639 guy is elite. I mean he he's is smooth and 0:18:54.760 --> 0:18:58.520 gifted and fluid an athlete has I've ever seen on 0:18:58.720 --> 0:19:03.840 any sport. Really, he does his job as effortlessly and easily. 0:19:04.040 --> 0:19:06.160 He's one of those guys where, oh man, he looks 0:19:06.400 --> 0:19:08.040 makes it look so easy and you know it's not. 0:19:08.520 --> 0:19:10.480 But he is so gifted. He makes it look like 0:19:10.640 --> 0:19:13.080 rolling out of bed, and it's far from that. It's 0:19:13.080 --> 0:19:16.560 just the opposite of that. So I don't I don't 0:19:16.600 --> 0:19:20.280 necessarily move him unless I have to, because I don't 0:19:20.320 --> 0:19:22.400 have anybody that can give me what he can give me. 0:19:22.600 --> 0:19:26.600 When it's aj Green Underrated Story of the Year, it's 0:19:26.600 --> 0:19:30.520 Week seventeen, it's Game sixteen, Tyler Eiford, We're playing every 0:19:30.560 --> 0:19:34.520 game this year. It is big, and I think, and 0:19:34.720 --> 0:19:36.800 this is something that AJ Green I think has to 0:19:36.840 --> 0:19:43.360 think about too, because the Bengals have Nick Cosgray is good. 0:19:44.160 --> 0:19:47.720 He knows what he's doing. And Nick Cosgray knows AJ 0:19:47.880 --> 0:19:51.680 Green's history, he knows his body. Look what he did 0:19:51.680 --> 0:19:54.399 for Tyler Eifford, many many rehabs. I mean, Tyler Eifford 0:19:54.440 --> 0:19:56.520 has spent more time with Dick Cosgary than any family 0:19:56.520 --> 0:20:00.240 member friend or anything. So to me, I honestly believe 0:20:00.280 --> 0:20:03.680 that part of your process when you're deciding, like Andrew, 0:20:03.680 --> 0:20:07.280 we're worth in the Rams full court press on Tyler Eiffort. Well, 0:20:07.400 --> 0:20:10.720 the Rams don't know Tyler Eiffort's medical history. The Bengals 0:20:10.720 --> 0:20:14.960 and Nick Cosgray do. Aj To me, that would be 0:20:15.000 --> 0:20:19.560 a factor. They they these guys here in Cincinnati know 0:20:19.800 --> 0:20:22.800 everything that I've gone through and reasons that that has 0:20:22.800 --> 0:20:25.480 happened this way, and to turn you back on all 0:20:25.480 --> 0:20:28.600 of that, I think is a little bit of a 0:20:28.600 --> 0:20:31.560 tough thing to do. So to me, that's that's the 0:20:31.680 --> 0:20:34.679 edge the Bengals do get and and the tipebreak they 0:20:34.680 --> 0:20:38.639 do get. Is that the history between the athlete and 0:20:38.760 --> 0:20:41.959 the and the rehab people, the training, all the you know, 0:20:41.960 --> 0:20:44.240 strength and conditions, everything that they were part of, I 0:20:44.280 --> 0:20:47.239 think is a factor. It would be for me, you know, 0:20:47.480 --> 0:20:49.679 and go somewhere and hey, how you doing so? And 0:20:49.720 --> 0:20:53.199 so you know, here's all my medical history. You know, 0:20:53.240 --> 0:20:55.320 all that is his pictures and all that. It's like 0:20:55.720 --> 0:20:58.560 the Senior Bowl. The pictures tell you one thing, but 0:20:58.640 --> 0:21:01.320 you don't know. You haven't deal with the people like 0:21:01.480 --> 0:21:04.199 these guys have for years now for Tyler Eiffort and 0:21:04.440 --> 0:21:07.280 unfortunately years now, for not as many years, but years 0:21:07.280 --> 0:21:10.080 now for Aj Green. To me, there's something to that. 0:21:10.600 --> 0:21:12.400 And I don't know how big a factor it would 0:21:12.440 --> 0:21:16.639 be in AJ's decision making process, but I know it 0:21:16.680 --> 0:21:20.159 was a factor in Tyler's decision making process. You know. 0:21:20.200 --> 0:21:22.520 He's phrased it as the Bengal stood by me in 0:21:22.560 --> 0:21:25.280 the tough times and they let me do the rehab 0:21:25.280 --> 0:21:26.840 and all that, and they paid me the whole time. 0:21:27.160 --> 0:21:31.040 Same thing with Aj Green and Tyler Eiffort decided to stay. 0:21:31.560 --> 0:21:34.040 Maybe Aj Green will look at it similarly to the 0:21:34.040 --> 0:21:37.240