WEBVTT - Bengals Booth Podcast: Prayers For Damar 0:00:03.760 --> 0:00:06.560 Hi and everybody. I'm Dan Board and thanks for downloading 0:00:06.559 --> 0:00:11.280 The Bengals Booth Podcast, the Prayers for Damar edition, as 0:00:11.320 --> 0:00:14.280 we reflect on the life saving treatment that Damar Hamlin 0:00:14.400 --> 0:00:18.080 received on Monday night, and then look ahead to Sunday's 0:00:18.120 --> 0:00:23.040 game against Baltimore Coming up. Bengals long snapper cal Adamidas 0:00:23.079 --> 0:00:26.200 shares thoughts about his former high school and college teammate 0:00:26.480 --> 0:00:30.440 who is making progress at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. 0:00:30.840 --> 0:00:33.920 Special Teams captain Michael Thomas describes how he and his 0:00:33.960 --> 0:00:37.320 teammates are dealing with their emotions as they prepare to 0:00:37.400 --> 0:00:41.159 return to action. Peter King from NBC Sports gives us 0:00:41.159 --> 0:00:44.640 the national perspective on what took place in Cincinnati on 0:00:44.720 --> 0:00:47.400 Monday night, and finally, in this week's Know the Fast 0:00:47.479 --> 0:00:50.520 segment will spend a few minutes with former Ravens wide 0:00:50.560 --> 0:00:54.480 receiver Codrea Smile. The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to 0:00:54.480 --> 0:00:58.840 you by Alta Fiber future proof fiber Internet capable of 0:00:58.920 --> 0:01:02.400 delivering multi game of its speeds, designed to take your home, business, 0:01:02.400 --> 0:01:06.160 and community to a new level. Elevate your connection with 0:01:06.280 --> 0:01:09.440 all to Fiber. Now. Here's a quick reminder that you 0:01:09.480 --> 0:01:12.760 can have the latest edition of this podcast delivered. Write 0:01:12.760 --> 0:01:16.760 to your phone, tablet, or computer by subscribing wherever you 0:01:16.840 --> 0:01:21.200 get your podcasts. It's the greatest thing since the NFL's 0:01:21.360 --> 0:01:25.559 Emergency Action Plan and the dedicated professionals at pay Course 0:01:25.640 --> 0:01:30.120 Stadium who saved the life of Damar Hamlin. The NFL's 0:01:30.120 --> 0:01:34.840 Emergency Action Plan or EAP, is utilized in instances of 0:01:34.959 --> 0:01:38.240 severe trauma. Every team in the league is required to 0:01:38.280 --> 0:01:41.840 rehearse it twice each year before the start of preseason games, 0:01:42.240 --> 0:01:46.640 then sixty minutes before every game, the medical professionals in 0:01:46.680 --> 0:01:51.400 attendance hold a meeting to go over everybody's assignment so 0:01:51.440 --> 0:01:55.120 that there is no confusion if an emergency takes place. 0:01:55.560 --> 0:01:59.880 After all, every second counts. On average, there are roughly 0:02:00.240 --> 0:02:05.640 thirty medical staffers at every NFL game, including doctors, trainers, paramedics, 0:02:05.880 --> 0:02:10.440 and an airway management physician that's the person responsible for 0:02:10.480 --> 0:02:14.000 the emergency measures required to save a player who has 0:02:14.040 --> 0:02:17.160 stopped breathing. There is an ambulance parked close to the 0:02:17.200 --> 0:02:22.080 field at every stadium that includes cardiac life support equipment. 0:02:22.680 --> 0:02:25.799 Everything I just described proved to be crucial when Damar 0:02:25.880 --> 0:02:31.200 Hamlin went into cardiac arrest. The EAP is comprehensive and 0:02:31.560 --> 0:02:35.040 everybody involved at pay Course Stadium followed it with speed 0:02:35.200 --> 0:02:39.400 and skill to restore Damar's heartbeat before he was transferred 0:02:39.400 --> 0:02:42.760 to the hospital. As I record this podcast on Thursday, 0:02:42.919 --> 0:02:47.280 there is encouraging news as Damar is awake and communicating 0:02:47.280 --> 0:02:51.200 with family members. His doctors say he has shown substantial 0:02:51.240 --> 0:02:55.600 improvement in the last twenty four hours. Damar Hamlin is 0:02:55.639 --> 0:02:57.799 in his second year with the Buffalo Bills after being 0:02:57.800 --> 0:03:01.280 a four year starter at pitt Prior to that, he 0:03:01.360 --> 0:03:04.280 was ranked as one of the top defensive back recruits 0:03:04.320 --> 0:03:08.440 in the country while playing for Pittsburgh Central Catholic High School. 0:03:09.040 --> 0:03:12.520 In high school and college, one of his teammates was 0:03:12.639 --> 0:03:17.440 Bengals long snapper cal Adamidas. I talked to Cal about 0:03:17.440 --> 0:03:21.240 his friend. You were his high school and college teammate. 0:03:21.320 --> 0:03:24.240 What would you like people to know about tomorrow? I 0:03:24.240 --> 0:03:27.079 think you know, a lot of what he's done through 0:03:27.080 --> 0:03:29.000 his career is kind of public knowledge now with you know, 0:03:29.080 --> 0:03:31.920 his his foundation and his toy drive and all that 0:03:32.160 --> 0:03:34.640 those different things. But you know, UM, just really with 0:03:34.680 --> 0:03:37.080 my experience, UM knowing Damar through high school and in 0:03:37.080 --> 0:03:40.320 college and he's just always, Um, although he's you know, 0:03:40.360 --> 0:03:42.400 in high school, he was our biggest recruit and you know, 0:03:42.440 --> 0:03:44.720 the star of our team. He was always a good dude. 0:03:44.720 --> 0:03:45.840 And you know, I was a guy who was always 0:03:45.840 --> 0:03:47.760 fighting for playing time and uh, this is when I 0:03:47.760 --> 0:03:49.440 was still a tight end. And he you know, always 0:03:49.440 --> 0:03:51.560 treated everyone on that team the same way. And whether 0:03:51.600 --> 0:03:53.800 you had thirty offers or you know, we're helping out 0:03:53.800 --> 0:03:55.680 on the scout team. So I think that's a you know, 0:03:55.720 --> 0:03:58.200 an important thing to remember about him. And while you 0:03:58.280 --> 0:04:01.240 keep him in your prayers, could you tell from an 0:04:01.240 --> 0:04:04.120 early age that he was likely to realize this dream 0:04:04.160 --> 0:04:06.960 of being an NFL player? Oh? Yeah, absolutely, I mean 0:04:07.000 --> 0:04:09.880 he uh, he definitely was just not only you know 0:04:09.960 --> 0:04:13.600 as extremely physically gifted, um, even at high school. Um, 0:04:13.640 --> 0:04:15.520 but you know had had a great work ethic always 0:04:15.560 --> 0:04:18.120 as well. And uh you know in high school he 0:04:18.120 --> 0:04:20.640 was always getting extra workouts and always working with two 0:04:20.680 --> 0:04:22.760 tents speed and agility, which is you know the guy 0:04:22.760 --> 0:04:25.440 that Aaron Donald trains with as well, and um, you 0:04:25.440 --> 0:04:29.200 know he's constantly constantly worked with him. Um, and then 0:04:29.279 --> 0:04:32.039 you know even in college as well, Um, just the 0:04:32.080 --> 0:04:34.560 way he prepared for every game and uh, you know, 0:04:34.800 --> 0:04:37.440 took care of his body and I'm sure continues to 0:04:37.480 --> 0:04:39.920 take care of his body throughout his professional career so far. 0:04:40.000 --> 0:04:41.640 You know, he just knew he was he was a 0:04:41.680 --> 0:04:45.480 pro before he was a pro. Basically, the outpouring of 0:04:45.520 --> 0:04:48.320 support has been amazing. The last time I looked, more 0:04:48.320 --> 0:04:51.479 than six million dollars has been raised for his children's 0:04:51.560 --> 0:04:54.440 toy drive. What is that showing you? What does that 0:04:54.480 --> 0:04:57.280 meant to you? You know, that's definitely the the uh, 0:04:57.560 --> 0:04:59.880 the silver lining of all this so far, as just 0:05:00.400 --> 0:05:03.400 seeing how many people you know, love dMar and care 0:05:03.480 --> 0:05:06.120 for him and just just that outpouring of support. It's 0:05:06.160 --> 0:05:07.920 been uh, you know, it's been a men's it's been 0:05:08.279 --> 0:05:11.240 borderline overwhelming. You know, it's uh, and I can only 0:05:11.279 --> 0:05:14.239 imagine how how his family's feeling with just the roller 0:05:14.240 --> 0:05:18.480 coaster of emotions and uh, you know, just just pray 0:05:18.520 --> 0:05:20.599 that people keep supporting because you know it's uh, that's 0:05:20.600 --> 0:05:22.880 still still gonna be a battle for for some time, 0:05:23.480 --> 0:05:25.560 um from what I've heard, but UM, you know, if 0:05:25.600 --> 0:05:28.200 there's anyone that's gonna I think, is capable to you know, 0:05:28.240 --> 0:05:29.800 pull through and you know, be able to live the 0:05:29.880 --> 0:05:31.240 rest of their life, the way they want to. I 0:05:31.240 --> 0:05:34.080 think that's gonna be DeMar So, you are a captain 0:05:34.120 --> 0:05:36.080 your last year at Pitt, he was a captain the 0:05:36.160 --> 0:05:40.800 year before. That's a player elected title at at Pitt. 0:05:41.600 --> 0:05:44.040 Was he a no brainer to be in that role? Yeah? 0:05:44.040 --> 0:05:46.120 I think so. I think everyone pretty much saw it 0:05:46.120 --> 0:05:48.440 coming that that he'd be one of our captains just uh, 0:05:48.839 --> 0:05:51.480 you know, for kind of the the reasons that um, 0:05:51.520 --> 0:05:53.240 you know I just mentioned with him, you know, just 0:05:53.520 --> 0:05:55.800 being a weight room guy. Not only just a gifted 0:05:56.200 --> 0:05:58.479 player on the field with you know, great football IQ 0:05:58.640 --> 0:06:01.560 and and senses, but just um, just the way he 0:06:01.600 --> 0:06:03.960 prepares for every game. And that was always something that 0:06:04.000 --> 0:06:06.000 stuck out and you know, something that I learned from 0:06:06.080 --> 0:06:08.080 as well, being a year younger him, you know, through 0:06:08.160 --> 0:06:10.520 my time at Central Land at PIT. So it was 0:06:10.560 --> 0:06:13.160 definitely definitely a no brainer that that he was would 0:06:13.160 --> 0:06:16.400 be one of our captains at pit. How emotional and 0:06:16.440 --> 0:06:19.240 difficult has this been for you having known him for 0:06:19.279 --> 0:06:22.280 as long as you have and been his teammate. Yeah, 0:06:22.320 --> 0:06:25.320 it's um, you know, to be quite frank, it's just uh, 0:06:25.360 --> 0:06:28.280 it's it's it's still things are still sinking in each day, 0:06:28.320 --> 0:06:31.880 and um, it is odd because you know, obviously, uh, 0:06:32.960 --> 0:06:35.000 I spent a lot of time with him, and you know, 0:06:35.080 --> 0:06:38.360 it's it's weird. It's always uncomfortable, like get a ton 0:06:38.360 --> 0:06:40.760 of people reaching out to you, and uh, it's great, 0:06:40.839 --> 0:06:44.080 like you appreciate it, but also like just it can 0:06:44.080 --> 0:06:47.360 be uncomfortable at times, like you don't necessarily want to 0:06:47.400 --> 0:06:50.360 be the center of attention and a time like this, 0:06:50.680 --> 0:06:52.919 um and you just want to keep all the you know, 0:06:53.000 --> 0:06:55.200 the prayers and the love going towards him and his family, 0:06:55.240 --> 0:06:57.760 and you know, it's greatly appreciated all the support that 0:06:58.040 --> 0:07:00.360 you know, with people reaching out to me, my brother 0:07:00.360 --> 0:07:02.920 who also played with him in high school, and all 0:07:02.920 --> 0:07:05.040 our high school teammates just getting back in touch with 0:07:05.200 --> 0:07:08.440 each other and supporting each other. But it's just it's 0:07:08.440 --> 0:07:12.320 just kind of too many emotions of process. Really appreciate 0:07:12.480 --> 0:07:15.840 sharing some thoughts on Damar and we're obviously all praying 0:07:15.880 --> 0:07:18.760 for his continued recovery and hope to get great news. 0:07:18.760 --> 0:07:22.400 Suit Absolutely thank you. Kalla schedule to join us on 0:07:22.440 --> 0:07:24.760 Friday for the Bengals pep Rally show at the Wings 0:07:24.760 --> 0:07:27.800 and Rings location in Beckett Ridge. The show runs from 0:07:27.840 --> 0:07:30.280 three to six and Cal will be there in the 0:07:30.320 --> 0:07:33.440 final hour. The Bengals Booth podcast is brought to you 0:07:33.480 --> 0:07:37.760 by Kettering Health, the official healthcare provider of the Cincinnati Bengals. 0:07:38.000 --> 0:07:41.280 With more than one hundred twenty care facilities and fifteen 0:07:41.360 --> 0:07:45.120 hundred care providers, Kettering Health is committed to guiding you 0:07:45.680 --> 0:07:49.040 to your best health. Visit Kettering health dot org to 0:07:49.120 --> 0:07:52.720 learn more. The Bengals are not only a legitimate Super 0:07:52.720 --> 0:07:56.720 Bowl contender, they're young. There are only two players on 0:07:56.800 --> 0:07:59.720 the active roster who are no longer in their twenties, 0:08:00.160 --> 0:08:04.000 backup quarterback Brandon Allen, who is thirty and special teams 0:08:04.040 --> 0:08:08.120 captain Michael Thomas, who is thirty two. Mike is in 0:08:08.200 --> 0:08:11.240 his eleventh NFL season, and I reached out to him 0:08:11.240 --> 0:08:14.760 this week to get his perspective on returning to the 0:08:14.760 --> 0:08:19.480 field on Sunday. Mike grabbing this conversation on Wednesday at 0:08:19.480 --> 0:08:21.920 about one thirty in the afternoon. How are you and 0:08:22.000 --> 0:08:27.640 your teammates doing? Still processing everything? I think, you know, 0:08:28.560 --> 0:08:32.920 everybody's trying to get back to what it's normal to 0:08:33.040 --> 0:08:36.440 us since we, you know, have work to do. But 0:08:36.720 --> 0:08:39.320 there's no mistake, like there is no normal heels in normal. 0:08:39.360 --> 0:08:42.000 What happened it's not normal, and I think guys are 0:08:42.000 --> 0:08:45.000 still processing it. But it's good to be back around 0:08:45.040 --> 0:08:48.080 each other and you know, joking in the locker room, 0:08:48.160 --> 0:08:51.120 you know, lifting weights and and and you know, it's 0:08:51.120 --> 0:08:55.080 probably more questions than answers at this point, but I 0:08:55.120 --> 0:08:58.720 think us doing being there together, I think that helps 0:08:58.760 --> 0:09:02.320 WIT moving forward. Could you sleep on Monday night? What 0:09:02.480 --> 0:09:06.600 you do on Tuesday? Yeah, there's absolutely no sleep. Man 0:09:06.640 --> 0:09:10.720 and wife talking. Thank god they were here, just so 0:09:10.760 --> 0:09:12.960 I can have somebody to go back to and be 0:09:13.080 --> 0:09:18.880 with after the game. Just talking just put things in 0:09:19.000 --> 0:09:23.240 perspective as the first time in my career where I 0:09:23.360 --> 0:09:27.040 actually I had any type of thoughts of like and 0:09:27.280 --> 0:09:29.200 as what I'm doing right? You know, it's just worth it. 0:09:29.320 --> 0:09:31.360 As my wife and kids came from Houston for this 0:09:31.400 --> 0:09:36.720 game and they were in the stands. Yeah, Tuesday though 0:09:37.679 --> 0:09:42.720 filled with a lot of calls, a lot of trying 0:09:42.760 --> 0:09:44.560 to figure out what's happening. A lot of guys had questions. 0:09:44.559 --> 0:09:47.800 I still had questions. I'm still processing everything, wrapped my hand, 0:09:48.160 --> 0:09:50.920 trying to wrap my head around of what we just experienced. 0:09:51.480 --> 0:09:54.880 In my loving year career, I've never seen, heard of 0:09:55.000 --> 0:09:59.400 or experience anything like that um and accepting the fact 0:09:59.440 --> 0:10:01.560 that like, yeah, I was a little shit and not 0:10:01.600 --> 0:10:04.080 trying to brush you know what I'm saying, like like 0:10:04.160 --> 0:10:06.680 brush over that and trying to you know, a bunch 0:10:06.720 --> 0:10:09.240 of teammates hitting me up asking questions, and you know, 0:10:09.280 --> 0:10:11.560 I was trying to get answers, visiting constant communication with 0:10:11.640 --> 0:10:15.679 leadership or whether that's the NFLPA, and you know, as 0:10:15.679 --> 0:10:18.559 an execuve committee member, I was still serving. I'm in 0:10:18.960 --> 0:10:21.960 even you know, I'm actively involved in experienced this, but 0:10:22.080 --> 0:10:25.920 still serving. I'm in serving the Bills players, you know. 0:10:25.920 --> 0:10:27.440 But it was in contact with a couple of those 0:10:27.440 --> 0:10:32.520 guys serving uh De mar Reese Smith actually flew down 0:10:32.720 --> 0:10:35.560 and we took a visit to the hospital. We met 0:10:35.600 --> 0:10:42.280 with DeMar's family and they were appreciative of that. And 0:10:42.400 --> 0:10:47.080 I just think that I'm thankful that the Bengals organizations, 0:10:47.120 --> 0:10:50.840 the NFL, NFLPA were just providing so many resources to 0:10:50.880 --> 0:10:53.520 their family because they felt the love, they felt the support. 0:10:53.760 --> 0:10:56.360 So that's what about Tuesday looked like we're visiting that. 0:10:56.440 --> 0:11:01.440 Michael Thomas, what did this episode, this incident tell you 0:11:01.480 --> 0:11:06.520 about the NFL brotherhood. It's bigger than football, man, It's 0:11:06.559 --> 0:11:08.600 bigger than competing. It's bigger than trying to win a 0:11:08.640 --> 0:11:12.480 Super Bowl or a conference championship or the Vision Championship. 0:11:12.559 --> 0:11:16.600 Like at the end of the day, nobody ever wants 0:11:16.640 --> 0:11:20.880 to see somebody injured, let alone fighting for their life 0:11:21.520 --> 0:11:25.040 from playing on the field. I've never again, never experienced 0:11:25.120 --> 0:11:27.720 nothing like then. And to see how we all came 0:11:27.800 --> 0:11:33.120 together once we saw what happened and realize that, nah, 0:11:33.120 --> 0:11:36.520 that's not no regular injury. There's something bigger than that. 0:11:36.679 --> 0:11:39.319 Like I love the fact that we didn't have to 0:11:39.360 --> 0:11:40.920 talk about it, we didn't have to huddle. It's just 0:11:40.960 --> 0:11:44.880 instantly everybody like, nah, like this we're trying, we're trying 0:11:44.880 --> 0:11:47.320 to like come together, we're praying together. We we we've 0:11:47.320 --> 0:11:49.679 been together, we're fighting together because that's one of our 0:11:49.679 --> 0:11:53.080 brothers down there. And then to see instantly how the 0:11:53.120 --> 0:11:57.400 rest of our brothers across the league, in our membership 0:11:58.360 --> 0:12:03.240 past present, came together. And then you saw it because 0:12:03.240 --> 0:12:05.000 you saw that, you saw how the rest of the world, 0:12:05.000 --> 0:12:06.439 how the rest of the US, how the rest of 0:12:06.600 --> 0:12:09.520 you know, sports world, just regular sittings, how they poured 0:12:09.600 --> 0:12:11.680 their love and started prayer. Like that's just how you know, 0:12:11.760 --> 0:12:14.520 Like this is way bigger than a sport of competition 0:12:14.600 --> 0:12:17.080 like this, somebody fighting for their live. This is a 0:12:17.160 --> 0:12:21.760 human you know what I'm saying. And that's that's we were. 0:12:22.520 --> 0:12:28.800 We were, I guess, force to recognize that in that moment. 0:12:28.800 --> 0:12:30.400 And we you know, we don't normally live in that 0:12:30.840 --> 0:12:35.079 with football. That's normally I escape football being in this facility, 0:12:35.080 --> 0:12:37.120 and that's normally I escaped. And we were forced to 0:12:37.160 --> 0:12:39.280 like deal with something real at that point. But I 0:12:39.360 --> 0:12:41.760 just love the fact that we all there was no 0:12:41.800 --> 0:12:43.959 discussion needed, like we all just came together and did 0:12:44.040 --> 0:12:46.160 the right thing, the human thing, the brotherhood thing. Man, 0:12:46.200 --> 0:12:48.640 it just came together and was praying together. And because 0:12:48.640 --> 0:12:50.000 that was one of our brothers on the field fighting 0:12:50.000 --> 0:12:53.560 for his life, the world is praying for Damar. Many 0:12:53.559 --> 0:12:56.320 of us are also praying for t Higgins. It was 0:12:56.559 --> 0:12:59.760 an unfortunate accident. It was a freak accident. I don't 0:12:59.800 --> 0:13:03.320 think anybody could reasonably think that he did anything wrong. 0:13:03.400 --> 0:13:07.640 And yet simply from being involved, many of us are 0:13:07.720 --> 0:13:10.880 just worried about his mental space. How will you and 0:13:11.040 --> 0:13:17.360 your teammates try to help Tea continue to ask him 0:13:17.400 --> 0:13:22.360 if he's all right, which it will be like paying 0:13:22.360 --> 0:13:24.400 a little close attention. And I'm saying that with a 0:13:25.040 --> 0:13:28.720 smile and like a smirk because T's are naturally quiet, 0:13:28.960 --> 0:13:32.640 you know, individual he has a different personality and you 0:13:32.679 --> 0:13:35.640 know he's unique in that way. So to say, oh, 0:13:35.679 --> 0:13:38.200 well he's being quiet or he's being to himself like na, 0:13:38.280 --> 0:13:41.080 that's actually kind of normal, you know. So it's like nah, 0:13:41.200 --> 0:13:44.280 but spending a little bit extra time like saying what 0:13:44.440 --> 0:13:47.440 up going by checking on him and I think guys 0:13:47.440 --> 0:13:49.920 are naturally doing that. Don't want to make it, you know, 0:13:50.000 --> 0:13:52.200 too crazy, want to keep some type of normal seeing it, 0:13:52.280 --> 0:13:55.440 but like just letting him know we're here from him, 0:13:55.480 --> 0:14:02.480 and clearly there was nothing menacing or you know, like malicious. 0:14:02.559 --> 0:14:05.640 There was nothing malicious or ill you know intended like 0:14:06.320 --> 0:14:09.960 play with T the more number. That was a football play. 0:14:10.360 --> 0:14:13.000 That was just a and that to be honest, just 0:14:13.040 --> 0:14:17.079 for a second, that's kind of what shaking everybody too, 0:14:17.160 --> 0:14:21.200 because that was just a football play and that's what happened. 0:14:21.200 --> 0:14:25.680 And it's like so down we were gonna continue to like, 0:14:25.920 --> 0:14:28.480 you know, put our arms around tea and like brother, man, 0:14:28.600 --> 0:14:30.080 you know what I say, you are brother, We got you, 0:14:30.200 --> 0:14:31.960 like you know, you didn't do nothing wrong, the Bills 0:14:32.120 --> 0:14:35.400 all and so much love and support for everyone in 0:14:35.400 --> 0:14:38.000 that Bills organization, the players, man. Like, we've been in 0:14:38.080 --> 0:14:41.760 constant conversation, communication and having conversations with them, your regards 0:14:41.760 --> 0:14:43.520 if you had a relationship with guys, even the ones 0:14:43.560 --> 0:14:47.160 we didn't. Everybody's still just been texting, hitting up, hitting 0:14:47.200 --> 0:14:48.760 each other up on social media, CoA and just let 0:14:48.760 --> 0:14:52.080 everybody letting each other know. No one you know what 0:14:52.080 --> 0:14:55.920 I'm saying. That was nobody's fault and we're still trying 0:14:55.920 --> 0:15:00.360 to understand what happened, you know. So it's as being 0:15:00.360 --> 0:15:02.160 there for our brothers, being there for each other. Man. 0:15:02.200 --> 0:15:06.080 That's it. As a Bengals fan, I'm proud to have, 0:15:07.400 --> 0:15:11.160 proud to have Zach Taylor as our head coach. After 0:15:11.200 --> 0:15:15.240 seeing how he conducted himself, after seeing him go to 0:15:15.240 --> 0:15:19.240 the hospital to visit tomorrow that night. Does this incident 0:15:19.680 --> 0:15:22.440 st a light on your head, coach? Absolutely? I Mean 0:15:24.520 --> 0:15:28.520 there's so many things you can try to a ways 0:15:28.560 --> 0:15:30.240 you can try to describe it and say, oh, this 0:15:30.280 --> 0:15:32.240 is the reason why he's such a great head coach, 0:15:32.280 --> 0:15:34.080 and this is the reason why he took that approach. 0:15:34.080 --> 0:15:37.600 You know, he's a former player, he understand like that 0:15:37.760 --> 0:15:39.880 aspect of it in the need to have a more 0:15:40.520 --> 0:15:45.080 humane and personally, you know, personable reaction to what's happening 0:15:45.080 --> 0:15:48.360 out there. Or you know, he's just a great guy 0:15:48.440 --> 0:15:50.360 and he's just a great human being, or you know 0:15:50.400 --> 0:15:53.400 he's he's passing, he's a players Like that's just who 0:15:53.520 --> 0:15:56.880 Zach Taylor is. And he knew and understood the magnitude 0:15:56.880 --> 0:15:59.840 of everything where football did not matter in that moment. 0:16:00.560 --> 0:16:04.120 That was a son, that was an older brother, that 0:16:04.240 --> 0:16:06.440 was a teammate that was laying down, They're fighting for 0:16:06.520 --> 0:16:08.600 his life, and at that point football did not matter 0:16:08.680 --> 0:16:10.880 no more. And he knew as a head coach, if 0:16:10.880 --> 0:16:12.920 I looked at as a leader of this organization, as 0:16:12.960 --> 0:16:16.280 this team to face whatever, it's my job if I 0:16:16.360 --> 0:16:18.720 got a team coming to my you know, my house, 0:16:18.800 --> 0:16:21.040 my stadium, that I stand up and say, like, nah, 0:16:21.240 --> 0:16:25.240 we care that every single person in here, you know, 0:16:25.320 --> 0:16:27.680 new came to compete. They're leaving out of here healthy 0:16:27.640 --> 0:16:30.120 and if they can't, I'm gonna make sure that I 0:16:30.160 --> 0:16:32.960 show y'all enough respect to come to y'all locker room 0:16:32.880 --> 0:16:35.080 and say what do y'all want to do? Oh, he 0:16:35.080 --> 0:16:36.680 has to spend the night over here and y'all going 0:16:36.720 --> 0:16:38.480 back home. I'm gonna go I'm gonna treat like you 0:16:38.560 --> 0:16:40.600 one of my players. I'm gonna go see you know 0:16:40.640 --> 0:16:42.360 what I'm saying, Like, that's who Zach Taylor is. So 0:16:42.400 --> 0:16:44.160 there's nothing but respect. I mean, he had that most 0:16:44.200 --> 0:16:48.520 respect for him before, but that's just you know, adds 0:16:48.560 --> 0:16:51.280 on to who he is as you just know that 0:16:51.400 --> 0:16:55.520 in the immediate aftermath, the game is insignificant, but player 0:16:55.560 --> 0:16:59.160 is going to continue on Sunday. It's an important game 0:16:59.400 --> 0:17:02.520 for the bank. You're taking on a division rival, you 0:17:02.560 --> 0:17:05.560 are still in Super Bowl contention. You know, how do 0:17:05.600 --> 0:17:13.960 you approach practicing and playing this way? I mean, again, Dan, 0:17:14.040 --> 0:17:19.360 with so many questions that we don't have answers too. 0:17:19.760 --> 0:17:23.159 At the end of the day, we know that life 0:17:24.280 --> 0:17:27.280 continues to go like this, sport continues to go, and 0:17:27.960 --> 0:17:31.160 all we can do is keep pressing forward and we're 0:17:31.160 --> 0:17:33.560 gonna find We're gonna find out what that looks like together. 0:17:33.600 --> 0:17:35.800 We're gonna figure that out together. But at the end 0:17:35.840 --> 0:17:39.600 of the day, I think there's something to it of us, 0:17:39.880 --> 0:17:42.199 you know, whatever that looks like, doing it together and 0:17:42.280 --> 0:17:47.119 getting back to our routine. It allows us to not 0:17:47.240 --> 0:17:51.000 take our minds off of it, but just grow and 0:17:51.040 --> 0:17:53.800 go through that process together to try to find healing 0:17:53.840 --> 0:17:55.879 in it. And if we have questions, I love the 0:17:55.920 --> 0:17:59.840 fact that this organization has provided so many resources, the NFLP, 0:18:00.160 --> 0:18:02.760 the NFL, They've provided so many resources for us to 0:18:02.840 --> 0:18:05.560 just even have open space to talk, like ask a question, 0:18:05.560 --> 0:18:07.080 even if we don't have to answer and ask a question, 0:18:07.080 --> 0:18:09.840 because I know y'all feeling that, and I think that 0:18:09.880 --> 0:18:11.919 allows us to move forward and get and prepare for 0:18:11.960 --> 0:18:15.439 these games. And again, yeah, we're experiencing on the field, 0:18:15.440 --> 0:18:19.040 but shoot, everybody else was watching. They're experiencing it too. 0:18:19.080 --> 0:18:21.320 They got the same questions too, And we know that 0:18:21.400 --> 0:18:24.680 just because of our union and the calls we've had 0:18:24.760 --> 0:18:28.359 just in these last twenty four forty eight hours, and guys, 0:18:29.119 --> 0:18:31.159 guys are feeling the same thing around the league. So 0:18:31.160 --> 0:18:34.200 it's like, yeah, we got an important game, but nothing's 0:18:34.240 --> 0:18:36.520 more important than the more fighting for his life and 0:18:36.600 --> 0:18:38.560 us trying to figure out when what happened in two 0:18:38.760 --> 0:18:42.520 like is he gonna be okay, we didn't get that. Oh, 0:18:42.600 --> 0:18:45.160 the guy got injured, but he walked off on his own. 0:18:45.359 --> 0:18:46.840 The guy had to get on the court, but he 0:18:46.880 --> 0:18:48.760 gave us a thumbs up. We haven't gotten that, and 0:18:48.840 --> 0:18:51.280 normally that's what gives guys a strength to keep fighting, 0:18:51.280 --> 0:18:52.879 to keep putting that, putting it on the line out 0:18:52.920 --> 0:18:55.199 there on the field. We haven't gotten it. So the 0:18:55.200 --> 0:18:58.520 prayers are going to continue to go. We just want 0:18:58.560 --> 0:19:02.320 to see him continue fight and be trending into a 0:19:02.359 --> 0:19:04.359 positive direction when it comes to this healing. But our 0:19:04.359 --> 0:19:08.000 prayers they're going out for him, his family, and we're 0:19:08.000 --> 0:19:10.720 just gonna keep finding a way whatever that looks like. Together. 0:19:11.680 --> 0:19:13.960 I said at the beginning of the broadcast on Monday 0:19:14.040 --> 0:19:17.320 night that it didn't feel like just a playoff atmosphere. 0:19:17.320 --> 0:19:19.320 To me, it felt like a Super Bowl atmosphere. It 0:19:19.400 --> 0:19:23.560 felt like the Olympic opening ceremonies. And you guys came 0:19:23.600 --> 0:19:26.760 out and it looked like you were going to play 0:19:26.840 --> 0:19:30.800 your absolute best game. I think by my math, that 0:19:30.920 --> 0:19:33.320 was the one and twenty fifth NFL game that you've 0:19:33.359 --> 0:19:36.879 played in. Had you experienced anything like that in the 0:19:36.920 --> 0:19:42.760 regular season? Like though, you, like you said, there, we 0:19:43.400 --> 0:19:45.199 approach and that's what I love about this team. We 0:19:45.240 --> 0:19:47.560 approach everything like, nah, it's just another game. We got 0:19:47.560 --> 0:19:50.199 to go through our process and be who we are 0:19:50.240 --> 0:19:54.040 and just do what we do. Guys knew what that 0:19:54.200 --> 0:19:58.600 can be. And I love the fact that everybody was 0:19:58.760 --> 0:20:00.800 executing at a high level. Well, even if we gave 0:20:00.880 --> 0:20:05.040 up a play, there was something great either somebody you know, 0:20:05.080 --> 0:20:07.640 being physical coming off the ball, like making a play, 0:20:07.720 --> 0:20:11.840 making a block, like everybody kind of raised they level 0:20:11.880 --> 0:20:14.200 a little bit. And it definitely did have any electric feel. 0:20:14.800 --> 0:20:19.600 It definitely did have that Super Bowl type just level 0:20:19.640 --> 0:20:25.520 of concentration, level of focused, level of execution. So for 0:20:25.720 --> 0:20:29.359 what is worth whatever it ends up being called a 0:20:29.480 --> 0:20:34.960 dress rehearsal by no no contest whatever, Like I think, 0:20:36.320 --> 0:20:40.040 I think we got the answers we wanted. I really 0:20:40.080 --> 0:20:42.880 appreciate your willingness to talk about this and your thoughtfulness. 0:20:43.200 --> 0:20:46.400 We are all thinking about you, guys. Obviously our prayers 0:20:46.680 --> 0:20:49.879 are mostly centered around tomorrow Hamlin, but we're thinking about 0:20:49.880 --> 0:20:51.640 all of you and we wish you all the best 0:20:51.640 --> 0:20:54.280 going forward. Thank you, Dan, appreciate it Man that we're 0:20:54.280 --> 0:20:56.159 praying for his family too. Thank you for having me 0:20:57.280 --> 0:20:59.720 the Thos Booth Podcast. It's brought to you by pay. 0:21:00.520 --> 0:21:03.760 More than twenty nine thousand customers trust Paycorps to help 0:21:03.800 --> 0:21:09.200 them recruit, pay engage, and retain employees. Learn more at 0:21:09.280 --> 0:21:14.239 paycorps dot com. The NFL has not announced if the 0:21:14.240 --> 0:21:18.240 Bengals game against Buffalo will be continued. The most likely 0:21:18.320 --> 0:21:21.600 scenario seems to be that the game will be declared 0:21:21.880 --> 0:21:24.800 no contest and that the Bengals and Bills will play 0:21:24.880 --> 0:21:28.919 one fewer game than everybody else. If that's the case, 0:21:29.400 --> 0:21:31.760 the Bengals would no longer have a shot at the 0:21:31.800 --> 0:21:35.080 number one seed in the AFC, but could still be 0:21:35.119 --> 0:21:38.760 the number two seed if they beat Baltimore and Buffalo 0:21:38.920 --> 0:21:42.439 loses to New England. That's a big deal because the 0:21:42.560 --> 0:21:45.720 number two seed gets a second home game if it 0:21:45.800 --> 0:21:49.359 wins its playoff opener. If the Bengals Bills game is 0:21:49.359 --> 0:21:53.360 declared no contest and Buffalo beats New England on Sunday, 0:21:53.760 --> 0:21:57.040 then Cincinnati would be the AFC North champion and the 0:21:57.200 --> 0:22:00.399