Speaker 1: Hi, get everybody. I'm Dan Horde and thanks for downloading
Speaker 1: The Bengals Booth Podcast the Glory Days addition, as I
Speaker 1: visited with the two newest members of the Bengals Ring
Speaker 1: of Honor, wide receiver Isaac Curtis and offensive lineman Willie Anderson.
Speaker 1: The Bengals Booth Podcast is presented by Ultimate Bengals. Download
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Speaker 1: the greatest thing since Cramponds. I'm back to work after
Speaker 1: a family vacation that included a five day trip to Iceland.
Speaker 1: It was awesome, with the notable except of tasting fermented shark.
Speaker 1: Let me put it this way, the worst thing you
Speaker 1: have ever eaten is scrumptious in comparison. In any case.
Speaker 1: One of our activities in Iceland was hiking a glacier,
Speaker 1: which required us to wear crampons. You can probably picture them.
Speaker 1: They are basically pointy spikes that attached to the bottom
Speaker 1: of your hiking boots. Well, I am here to tell
Speaker 1: you that they are remarkably effective no matter how slick
Speaker 1: or slippery the ice. So in conclusion, if you visit Iceland,
Speaker 1: use the crampons and skip the shark. Now time to
Speaker 1: hear from the two players that you have selected to
Speaker 1: join Paul Brown, Anthony Munio's Ken Anderson and Ken Riley
Speaker 1: in the Bengals Ring of Honor. Isaac Curtis was the
Speaker 1: Bengals first round draft pick in nineteen seventy three and
Speaker 1: spent his entire twelve year NFL career in Cincinnati. He
Speaker 1: was a four time Pro Bowler and still holds the
Speaker 1: franchise record for career average yards per catch at seventeen
Speaker 1: point one. His world class speed was a big reason
Speaker 1: why the NFL changed its rules. Chad Johnson used the
Speaker 1: nickname Ocho Sinko, but Isaac Curtis was the Bengals first
Speaker 1: great number eighty five. Isaac, let me start by congratulating
Speaker 1: you on becoming the first wide receiver in the Bengals
Speaker 1: Ring of Honor. I know that you are in the
Speaker 1: San Diego State Athletic Hall of Fame. I know you're
Speaker 1: in the Orange County Sports Hall of Fame. I imagine
Speaker 1: there are others as well. What does this particular honor
Speaker 1: mean to you. It's probably the most prestigious that it
Speaker 1: means the most to me than anything. I mean, you know,
Speaker 1: I think when you grow up, you know, my you
Speaker 1: inspire you play football in high school and college and
Speaker 1: you look to get into the NFL, you know, And
Speaker 1: so I mean, this was a goal and to have,
Speaker 1: you know, to be honored to be in the Bengals
Speaker 1: Ring of Honor, it's you know, it's a it's the
Speaker 1: best thing, best honor that I think that I have
Speaker 1: received in a sports You were chosen by the fans.
Speaker 1: There were fifteen former Bengals on the ballot, including some
Speaker 1: more recent stars like Chad Johnson and Bloomer Asias. And
Speaker 1: is it nice to know that the fans remember how
Speaker 1: great you were even though it's been more than three
Speaker 1: decades since you played. Yeah, I think so that's that's
Speaker 1: what's really surprising, because it has been a long time
Speaker 1: since I've played, and I'm sure there's a whole new
Speaker 1: generation of fans that are in the stadium that maybe
Speaker 1: did not have the opportunity, you know, to see myself
Speaker 1: and some of the guys that played in the early
Speaker 1: early early seventies. But so yeah, I was. I was.
Speaker 1: It's it's really great to have been selected and to
Speaker 1: have the fans that still remembered me, enough of them
Speaker 1: still remembered me that they voted for me. So I
Speaker 1: certainly appreciate that. And like I said, we have some
Speaker 1: great fans. I've always appreciated them, and certainly this is
Speaker 1: certainly a way that they show that they certainly appreciate
Speaker 1: my time in Cincinnati. I think I can hear a
Speaker 1: little surprise in your voice. Is that accurate? To be
Speaker 1: selected the first receiver selected kind of kind of surprised
Speaker 1: me a little bit because I just thought that, you know,
Speaker 1: there's the generation the KIT people that are understands now
Speaker 1: there's a whole new generation, you know, and they probably
Speaker 1: forgot some of us, some of us older guys. Maybe
Speaker 1: I was thinking maybe they ought to have a senior
Speaker 1: committee so that they don't forget about some of us guys.
Speaker 1: It wasn't necessary. Our guest is Ring of Honor inductee
Speaker 1: Isaac Curtis. You join your primary former quarterback, ken Anderson
Speaker 1: in the Ring of Honor. How quickly did you two
Speaker 1: guys click and why was it such a potent combination
Speaker 1: for so many years? Well, I think we clicked. We
Speaker 1: did a lot of work. I had to do a
Speaker 1: lot of work being a young wide receiver and actually
Speaker 1: only played wide receiver on one year in college before
Speaker 1: coming to Cincinnati, so it took a lot of work.
Speaker 1: We put a lot of time on the field to
Speaker 1: work on our timing, and I put a lot of
Speaker 1: study time in and just listening and watching Kenny and
Speaker 1: I had some really some good veteran wide receivers that
Speaker 1: were there that that really helped me. Charlie joined our
Speaker 1: Chip Myers. You know that, I really that I really
Speaker 1: learned how to really learn how to study and really
Speaker 1: learn how to prepare for that position. And like I said,
Speaker 1: we just put a lot of time in with with
Speaker 1: Kenny and Kenney just been an excellent quarterback. As timing
Speaker 1: was good, it didn't take long for us to get
Speaker 1: in get catch our stride. I think probably about the
Speaker 1: third or fourth game, or fourth week or the fifth
Speaker 1: week of the season, I think we finally caught our stride.
Speaker 1: And you know, we had confidence at each other and
Speaker 1: he finally realized that I was going to be where
Speaker 1: I was supposed to be. You spent twelve years in
Speaker 1: the NFL, all of them in Cincinnati. You were part
Speaker 1: of the bengals first super Bowl team in eighty one.
Speaker 1: What do you cherish most about those dozen years with
Speaker 1: the Bengals. I would have to say that eighty one season.
Speaker 1: You know, I think everybody that that plays in this league,
Speaker 1: you know, inspires or would love to play in a
Speaker 1: super Bowl. And that was just such a magical season.
Speaker 1: I think everything from the players that we had, Uh,
Speaker 1: we just had such good chemistry. You know, we got
Speaker 1: along with each other, well, we've had fun together on
Speaker 1: the field and off the field. And then having the
Speaker 1: opportunity to to go and play in a Super Bowl, Um,
Speaker 1: that was that. It was just a magical season and
Speaker 1: that I'll always remember that. But like I said, it
Speaker 1: was just a chemistry and that whole year and that
Speaker 1: whole season players a type of players that we had.
Speaker 1: We had a lot of young guys and uh that
Speaker 1: that blended in with with some of the old veterans
Speaker 1: that were there, and it was just it was just
Speaker 1: a good. Uh, it was a good team. Did last
Speaker 1: year's Super Bowl team remind you of that? They did?
Speaker 1: They did? They They had some they have some great
Speaker 1: young players. You know, they got some steady, steady veterans there.
Speaker 1: But uh, you know, you got a great, you know,
Speaker 1: great quarterback. I mean Joe Burrows is just outstanding, you know,
Speaker 1: and you got great wide receivers. You got a great
Speaker 1: running game, and uh you got you had a defense
Speaker 1: that was it was pretty really feisty. You know. Um,
Speaker 1: they do remind me of our our eighty one a
Speaker 1: super Bowl team. You know, they're young, and I think
Speaker 1: they're gonna be good for a while. Your first head
Speaker 1: coach was Paul Brown. Your first offensive coordinator was Bill Walsh,
Speaker 1: although I don't think he had the title back then.
Speaker 1: But what do you respect about each of those guys
Speaker 1: and how big of an impact did they have on
Speaker 1: your success? You know, I respect both of them tremendously.
Speaker 1: I think Paul Brown, it was just the business. You know,
Speaker 1: it was a you know that you really understood. You know,
Speaker 1: your job is really understand this game and understand your business.
Speaker 1: And this is a business and you need to you know,
Speaker 1: you you there's a way to go about it, you know.
Speaker 1: And uh, and with Bill Wallace, I mean he was
Speaker 1: just such a tremendous offensive mine as well. I mean
Speaker 1: he was just, uh, you know, you can come in
Speaker 1: at halftime. He put a game plan to get you
Speaker 1: coming into a half time. He'll look at you and
Speaker 1: say that they do this, they do this. We're going
Speaker 1: to make the changes. He'll make it all the all
Speaker 1: the adjustments that you want to make. But just a great,
Speaker 1: great offensive mine imagination. You know, they were. They were
Speaker 1: both just tremendous coaches, geniuses in their own in their
Speaker 1: own right. Isaac, as you mentioned, you were only a
Speaker 1: wide receiver for one year in college at San Diego State,
Speaker 1: who'd played running back and run track at Cal prior
Speaker 1: to that. Do you think you could have had a
Speaker 1: long and successful NFL career as a running back. I
Speaker 1: do not. I do not. I think I may have
Speaker 1: had a career, but I think eventually I would have
Speaker 1: been moved to wide receiver. You know, I was. I
Speaker 1: was kind of a long, lanky, kind of a running
Speaker 1: act um, you know, a nine three sprinter, So I
Speaker 1: had I had outside speed. It was not it was
Speaker 1: not to be in the in the backfield. And one
Speaker 1: of the reasons I'd transferred to UH to San Diego
Speaker 1: State now and I had that opportunity was, you know,
Speaker 1: I kind of felt that wide receiver was my position.
Speaker 1: And so when I when I looked at going over
Speaker 1: to San Diego State with Don Creele there, um, I
Speaker 1: was going to be moved to a to a wide receiver,
Speaker 1: and I was, and I thought that was a more
Speaker 1: natural position for me. So I always say that was
Speaker 1: the best move I ever made. What about track? Had
Speaker 1: you concentrated on track, do you think you would have
Speaker 1: won a medal in seventy two and the one hundred meters?
Speaker 1: I think that I certainly would have had an opportunity
Speaker 1: to UH to win a medal. I think I would
Speaker 1: have had an opportunity to to make that to make
Speaker 1: that that track team, the Olympic team. Um, you know,
Speaker 1: I was running well that year, but that was the
Speaker 1: year that I transferred from from cal to San Diego State.
Speaker 1: So and it was my senior year and I was
Speaker 1: changing positions from you know, from running back to wide receiver.
Speaker 1: So if I made the if I made the team,
Speaker 1: I would have missed the first part of the football
Speaker 1: season and I was a football player first. You know,
Speaker 1: I love track, but I was a football player first,
Speaker 1: and uh and I you know, that's one thing I
Speaker 1: wish I could have done and it would have worked
Speaker 1: out because I love track and I would have loved
Speaker 1: to have that opportunity to run for the you know,
Speaker 1: the run for the US, represent the US in the
Speaker 1: in the Olympics in Munich that year. Of course, we
Speaker 1: had some issues even our track team that that year
Speaker 1: with their starting time. Our sprinters missed the US miss
Speaker 1: the prelims right, and only one American ultimately was in
Speaker 1: the final for the one hundred meters that year and
Speaker 1: he won the silver medal. Isaac, part of your legacy
Speaker 1: is the Isaac Curtis Rule. Following your rookie year, the
Speaker 1: NFL changed the rules. Paul Brown helped make that change
Speaker 1: where defensive backs were only allowed to bump you in
Speaker 1: the first five yards. After that, What was it like
Speaker 1: to play wide receiver before that rule was passed. Well,
Speaker 1: I'll tell you what it was. It was a lot
Speaker 1: of work, you know, I mean it it was it
Speaker 1: was a battle getting up and down the field because
Speaker 1: you know it was kind of open game. I mean,
Speaker 1: cornerbacks can come up, they can bump you. They can
Speaker 1: bump you up and down the field. I would I
Speaker 1: got cut. I would get cut every now and then.
Speaker 1: Every now and then a corner would would roll would
Speaker 1: come up on you, and then outside linebacker would come
Speaker 1: and try to cut your leg from under you, or
Speaker 1: a corner would roll up and just cut you. You know.
Speaker 1: And as long as the ball wasn't in the air,
Speaker 1: they can they can do whatever they want. And so
Speaker 1: you you really battled getting up and down the field,
Speaker 1: you know. And I never really complained about it because
Speaker 1: that back then, that's just the way the game was played,
Speaker 1: you know. And that's uh. And it was the same
Speaker 1: for everyone. But you know, it certainly opened up the game.
Speaker 1: And what it's done to the game today. It's certainly
Speaker 1: a passing league. And uh, it's it's tough to cover
Speaker 1: some of these wide receivers, uh, you know, when you
Speaker 1: can only bump them, uh five with the five yards
Speaker 1: off of the off the line of scrimmage. These guys
Speaker 1: are big and fast and talented and uh, but it's
Speaker 1: an exciting game. But it was a it was a
Speaker 1: good route change. I I was all for it. You
Speaker 1: helped make professional football a much more entertaining game. That's
Speaker 1: the bottom line with the Isaac Curtis rule. Well, let's
Speaker 1: it opened it up. It certainly opened it up. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I've teased a couple of guys in the past about that.
Speaker 1: You know, I said, well, you know it's such, it's
Speaker 1: you know, the game is open. I mean, you guys
Speaker 1: ought to give me a percentage of hitting now. But uh,
Speaker 1: you say it was enjoyable when I played, But it was.
Speaker 1: I certainly opened a game up and uh made it
Speaker 1: made it Uh made it fun, made it fun, Isaac,
Speaker 1: I think you can make the case that the Bengals
Speaker 1: have had more great players at wide receiver than any
Speaker 1: other position. As I mentioned, Mike has told me on
Speaker 1: several occasions he considers you to be the best. But
Speaker 1: there are other great ones like your former teammate Chris Collinsworth,
Speaker 1: Chad Johnson, A. J. Greene, now Jamar Chase and T Higgins.
Speaker 1: It's quite an impressive list. Who do you consider to
Speaker 1: be the best? Guys, I'll allow you to remain modest
Speaker 1: and not include yourself on the list, But of the others,
Speaker 1: who did you enjoy watching the most? Well, do you
Speaker 1: know what I enjoy watching this whole crew. But smart Chase,
Speaker 1: I really, I really, I mean, he's so exciting, you know,
Speaker 1: and so explosive. And but but all Higgins, all those
Speaker 1: guys are fantastic receivers, you know, really really top receivers.
Speaker 1: But but Chase is probably is probably my my my favorite.
Speaker 1: He's the one that I really enjoy watching. He's so
Speaker 1: he's such exciting player. When he scores a touchdown, he
Speaker 1: does the gritty dance. When you scored a touchdown, you
Speaker 1: had one of the coolest, most low key touchdown cell
Speaker 1: librations of all time where you casually dropped the ball
Speaker 1: over your shoulder. Where did that come from? You know?
Speaker 1: That came down at up San Diego State. We were
Speaker 1: before the season. There was a lot of a lot
Speaker 1: of the wide receiver were all kind of stretching and
Speaker 1: warming up down in the end zone getting ready for practice,
Speaker 1: and a lot of the new guys. And I was
Speaker 1: kind of one of the new guys there because I
Speaker 1: was only there for one season. And one of the
Speaker 1: guys were kind of kidding around what kind of spikes
Speaker 1: where they're gonna do if they score? And one of
Speaker 1: the guy looked at me says, well, Isaac, what are
Speaker 1: you gonna do? You know, when you scored testdown, I said,
Speaker 1: just handed back to the referee. You know, let's you know,
Speaker 1: you know know, that'd be about it. And he says, no,
Speaker 1: you gotta do something. So he tossed me the ball
Speaker 1: and I just dropped it over my shoulder and I said,
Speaker 1: that's it. And so that's kind of where that where
Speaker 1: that came from, and it kind of stuck. I think
Speaker 1: it fits your personality. You were very cool, not only
Speaker 1: in the way that you played, but the way you looked.
Speaker 1: Everything about you is kind of graceful and cool. You
Speaker 1: find that to be an app description of your playing days. Oh,
Speaker 1: I don't know. I try to keep a level head,
Speaker 1: you know, for the most for the most part, you know,
Speaker 1: I always saw always tell guys, I said, you know what,
Speaker 1: I don't like to slam the ball and throw it
Speaker 1: in defensive backspace or make a you know, kind of
Speaker 1: embarrassing I said. I said, I don't. I don't need
Speaker 1: to give him any more incentive than they already do
Speaker 1: to try to take my head off. So I just
Speaker 1: casually throw it tossed behind mine my head. But I
Speaker 1: was telling I was talking with Mel Blunt, you know,
Speaker 1: the Pro Bowl one time, and one time, you know,
Speaker 1: he was talking about that my spike, Well it wasn't
Speaker 1: a spike, but he says, you know what, that upset
Speaker 1: us more than anything, as you act like it was
Speaker 1: no big deal. You know, we would have you know,
Speaker 1: if you would have jumped up and got excited and
Speaker 1: threw the ball down, you know, we would just say, okay, yeah,
Speaker 1: you should be excited if I'm scoring with us. But
Speaker 1: when you score, if you scored, you act like it
Speaker 1: was no big deal. That really upset us. Fantastic, Isaac.
Speaker 1: Let's talk a little bit about your expectations for the
Speaker 1: twenty twenty two Bengals. You alluded to it earlier. You
Speaker 1: think they can be good for an extended period of time.
Speaker 1: What do you think about this upcoming season and what
Speaker 1: do you consider the biggest roadblocks to be coming off
Speaker 1: the Super Bowl appearance. Well, I think that, like I say,
Speaker 1: I think they're going to be good. They got you know,
Speaker 1: they got their said at quarterback, they got great wide receivers,
Speaker 1: they got great running backs. They've upgraded their offense, their
Speaker 1: offensive line, which was you know, probably something that most
Speaker 1: people looked at and thought might have been suspect a
Speaker 1: little bit. But but you know, it's just repeating. It's
Speaker 1: always tough for to go back and try to do it,
Speaker 1: do it, do it, do it again. But I think
Speaker 1: potentially with the talent that these guys have, um and uh,
Speaker 1: you know, they're just seemed they're well coached, and they
Speaker 1: just seemed to got their heads on. They got a
Speaker 1: lot of confidence. I think, uh, you know, it's been
Speaker 1: a young team. I certainly field that they probably feel like,
Speaker 1: you know what we can we can do this again,
Speaker 1: and we're gonna and this time we can we can
Speaker 1: go all the way with it. But I think they're
Speaker 1: gonna have a good year. You know, I can say
Speaker 1: it's not gonna be easy, but it's uh, but they
Speaker 1: got a lot of talent. One of the highlights of
Speaker 1: the year will be week four, Thursday night football Bengals
Speaker 1: Dolphins at Paul Brown Stadium. That will be the Ring
Speaker 1: of Honor game where you will officially be inducted. Is
Speaker 1: there anything specific you are looking forward to about that
Speaker 1: night and who will be there? Well, I'm just excited
Speaker 1: to see all of the you know, all of the
Speaker 1: other you know players that are coming in, that will
Speaker 1: be you know that have been nominated, that are coming in.
Speaker 1: It's always great to get together to see you know,
Speaker 1: to see all the all the players. And just so
Speaker 1: my appreciation to the fans that have voted, that voted
Speaker 1: me in, um, certainly appreciate that my my my of
Speaker 1: course my my wife will be there here and since Natie,
Speaker 1: my son, and since Nattie will probably be there, we'll
Speaker 1: know we're going to get a whole whole big crew
Speaker 1: of a family coming out from California because we're going
Speaker 1: to be there two weeks earlier because my youngest son
Speaker 1: is getting married in September. So nice, we're coming out
Speaker 1: and then we're coming back and then we turn around
Speaker 1: coming back. So so um, but we are, but we
Speaker 1: are looking looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to
Speaker 1: the to the ceremony and the induction, but most of
Speaker 1: all also looking forward to seeing all of all of
Speaker 1: my former teammates and all of the other players. It's
Speaker 1: always it's always great to get together and see the
Speaker 1: guys and talk about the old times and you know,
Speaker 1: let this is the story I could like they say,
Speaker 1: the stories always get bigger. Sounds like September is going
Speaker 1: to be a very special month in the Curtis family.
Speaker 1: We look forward to Yeah, we look forward to having
Speaker 1: you back in town for that game. And congratulations again
Speaker 1: this bit of recognition from Bengals fans. It is well
Speaker 1: deserved and we are thrilled to see you entering the
Speaker 1: Bengals Ring of Honor. Congratulations, well, thank you, thanks for
Speaker 1: having me. In that conversation, I mentioned the Isaac Curtis
Speaker 1: rule that states that a defender is only allowed to
Speaker 1: bump a receiver within five yards of the line of scrimmage.
Speaker 1: Here's Mike Brown on his father Paul pushing for that
Speaker 1: rule in part because of Isaac Curtis, offense in the
Speaker 1: National Football League had ground down. The defense had come
Speaker 1: to dominate. And back in those days you had to
Speaker 1: pass protect with your hands against your chest, and you
Speaker 1: had to run patterns against cornerbacks who could bump you,
Speaker 1: push you, cut you, shove you all over the field. Well,
Speaker 1: that made it hard to throw the ball. And there
Speaker 1: came the time when finally my father, who was on
Speaker 1: the competition committee, Don Shula Textram, they were the competition committee,
Speaker 1: and they met about the predicament the league had found
Speaker 1: itself in and they came up with the changes in
Speaker 1: the rules which allowed the use of the hands to
Speaker 1: some degree on past protection and limited bumping a receiver
Speaker 1: to five yards down field. Well, that opened the game up.
Speaker 1: For most of his career, Isaac played under the old rules.
Speaker 1: Just at the end when he was probably at the
Speaker 1: downside of his career, he had the benefit of the
Speaker 1: new rules. But if he had had the benefit earlier,
Speaker 1: I think he would have rewritten the record book, not
Speaker 1: just the Bengals, but the National Football League record book.
Speaker 1: He was a splendid white out. He had a great,
Speaker 1: great speed. He was fast enough to try out for
Speaker 1: the Olympics, and he was close to making it. He
Speaker 1: had great hands, And I told the story maybe you've
Speaker 1: heard it, where he went down the sideline against Cleveland
Speaker 1: on a go pattern and he was on the right
Speaker 1: side and reached up with his outside arm his right
Speaker 1: arm and just pulled the ball in with one hand
Speaker 1: in stride and ran away from the cornerback. And later
Speaker 1: in the game he did the same thing on the
Speaker 1: other side with his left hand and just two one
Speaker 1: handed catches that kept him right in stride. And I've
Speaker 1: never seen anything like that since let alone to see
Speaker 1: it twice by one player in the same game. I
Speaker 1: remember we played Houston one time. We had to win
Speaker 1: to get in the playoffs, and he caught a ball
Speaker 1: with Hurdley. It was like so extra time. I mean,
Speaker 1: the clock was gone and he caught the ball and
Speaker 1: ran through about their whole team for fifty yard touchdown
Speaker 1: score And it was a great, great critical play for us.
Speaker 1: He was a top receiver. Many people would say he
Speaker 1: was the Bengals all time top receiver, and I wouldn't
Speaker 1: argue with him. Before we get to our next Ring
Speaker 1: of Honor inductee, here's a reminder that the Bengals Booth
Speaker 1: podcast is presented by Ultimate Bengals, the free to play
Speaker 1: fantasy football game. This past season, Ultimate Bengals awarded a
Speaker 1: weekly winner during the course of the year with tickets,
Speaker 1: autographed merchandise, and money can't buy experiences all up for grabs.
Speaker 1: Find Ultimate Bengals in the app store and Google Play.
Speaker 1: Willie Anderson with the Bengals first round pick in nineteen
Speaker 1: ninety six and spent twelve years in Cincinnati before ending
Speaker 1: his NFL career with one season in Baltimore. He was
Speaker 1: a four time Pro bowler who remarkably only gave up
Speaker 1: sixteen sacks in his entire career. He is widely considered
Speaker 1: to be the best right tackle of his era. Willing
Speaker 1: congratulations on being chosen for the Bengals Ring of Honor.
Speaker 1: There are five players now who have been selected, including
Speaker 1: the best left tackle en franchise history, Anthony Munio's and
Speaker 1: now the best right tackle in franchise history. Yourself, what
Speaker 1: does it mean to you not only to be picked,
Speaker 1: but to be one of the first five players selected.
Speaker 1: He's definitely an honor and being a part of the
Speaker 1: first five, it's something that I think everybody's fans, players,
Speaker 1: and everybody's been included, been warning from from the Bengals
Speaker 1: the Ring of Honor for a long time. So um
Speaker 1: always thought that a lot of the older guys should
Speaker 1: go first. But I'm so appreciative of the fans and
Speaker 1: people picking me. To Gordon with a great gallet Isaac
Speaker 1: Curtis um can we kind of like both blend the generations.
Speaker 1: You know, him being from the seventies and I think
Speaker 1: myself being the first person who actually played in Paul
Speaker 1: Brown Stadium to be selected for the Ring of Honor.
Speaker 1: So definitely a great deal. Humble by it, and I'm grateful.
Speaker 1: Have you gotten to know Isaac well over the years?
Speaker 1: On fourth, I haven't um the guys I know. I
Speaker 1: know obviously Kenny Anderson very well. UM coach, He's one
Speaker 1: of my coaches. When I played for the Bengals in
Speaker 1: the last couple of years. I got to know Ken
Speaker 1: Raleigh very well. So I'm definitely excited about getting to
Speaker 1: get to know Isaac and get to know the original
Speaker 1: eighty five Willie. I saw you a few weeks ago
Speaker 1: when you were in Cincinnati for Bengal Jim Foster's Jungle
Speaker 1: to the Hall rally, which is an effort by Bengals
Speaker 1: fans to raise awareness for the players who deserve to
Speaker 1: be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame from Cincinnati,
Speaker 1: and your appreciation of the fans port was really obvious
Speaker 1: that day. Can you articulate what that means to you?
Speaker 1: This means a lot, especially as an ex player. You
Speaker 1: know sometimes in this generation of of of media that
Speaker 1: that go so fast the former guys, it's in the
Speaker 1: music business, sports, everything. When you're a former guy, you
Speaker 1: kind of get left behind because information goes so fast now,
Speaker 1: So the fans are the Bengals fans to me have
Speaker 1: inspired guys like myself, UM and other former guys because
Speaker 1: the love and passion they show for us, you know,
Speaker 1: doing retirement. You know, I've been retiring now for thirteen years,
Speaker 1: I think, and just through social media, guys like Bengals
Speaker 1: Gym and you know, all these guys that that are
Speaker 1: doing things for the for the ex players. Um, this
Speaker 1: gives us hope, gives us hope to give us since
Speaker 1: the pride, because you want to be um involved with
Speaker 1: your organization that that you put so much time man
Speaker 1: so for the fans to keep things like this going.
Speaker 1: I know for myself personally, with these guys been doing
Speaker 1: for me, along with media people like Jeff Hobson and
Speaker 1: guys for the Hall of Fame push, it's great. Um.
Speaker 1: I remember talking to Ken Rally before he passed away.
Speaker 1: He told me that he wished things like this would
Speaker 1: be happening a lot sooner and he got a chance
Speaker 1: to see it a little bit. But the push the
Speaker 1: fans been doing for guys like him and Kenny Anderson
Speaker 1: and a lot of these famer guys included myself, has
Speaker 1: been just tremendous. Our guest is the great Willie Anderson.
Speaker 1: You had the misfortune of joining the franchise when the
Speaker 1: Bengals were struggling and didn't make it to the playoffs
Speaker 1: until your tenth year. Does the recognition and the adulation
Speaker 1: that you are getting now helped make up for that?
Speaker 1: It does? It does because like when you when you
Speaker 1: do retire, you played on bad teams early in my career,
Speaker 1: like I did. I remember a couple of years ago
Speaker 1: talking to Tequila's fights and we both said, man, we
Speaker 1: just come come to the conclusion that our careers are
Speaker 1: part and I'm never going to get seen by anyone
Speaker 1: because no one's going to pay attention to that era
Speaker 1: of Bengals, you know what I mean. And this was
Speaker 1: before just run they're going on right now. So, um
Speaker 1: I it doesn't makes us feel better that that we're
Speaker 1: getting this kind of publicity retired, because there's there's so
Speaker 1: many guys and people in general that have never seen
Speaker 1: us play before. You know, all my kids and even
Speaker 1: my college and programs at my academy here, they've never
Speaker 1: seen me play before. They've seen my videos got post
Speaker 1: on social media, but they you know, get for those
Speaker 1: people right there to get a chance to see um
Speaker 1: our career and see that we're being honored this late
Speaker 1: in our lives. Um, it's definitely a great feeling and
Speaker 1: you know, good thing to see be involved in. Those
Speaker 1: kids should queue up one of Corey Dillon's two hundred
Speaker 1: yard games. Hey man, I talk about Corey all the time,
Speaker 1: you know, I tell people all the time I got
Speaker 1: like CD, if you put him with a top just
Speaker 1: an average passing game, I guarantee all these kids would
Speaker 1: know who he was, you know. I mean the things
Speaker 1: that Corey had to fight through. Um, you know, just
Speaker 1: eight to nine man boxes and you know those kids
Speaker 1: they've never seen an eight nine ten man box right
Speaker 1: now in the days, well because of the spread offense. Well,
Speaker 1: you know, Corey Dillon was running out of the our
Speaker 1: formation and offset formations, and he didn't have the best
Speaker 1: of quarterbacks for most of his career with the Bengals
Speaker 1: until he got to you know, Tom Brady, and you
Speaker 1: know he set records. You know, So City is a
Speaker 1: record setter that I wish more people would see and
Speaker 1: more people would talk about because he is one of
Speaker 1: the big time players NFL history. In my opinion, I
Speaker 1: imagine he is one of my answer one of your
Speaker 1: answers to my next question, which is who are some
Speaker 1: of the guys you would like to see get in
Speaker 1: next after you and Isaac Curtis to the Bengals Ring
Speaker 1: of Honor. Like I said, I said last year when
Speaker 1: they first came up with it, I said, I wish
Speaker 1: the older guys are boarding first, because let's be honest,
Speaker 1: we're about thirty years behind, you know, on having a
Speaker 1: sting right now. So there's guys like you know, I
Speaker 1: had a chance to play with one of the superstars
Speaker 1: of the Bengals organizations in Boom Size. You know, I mean,
Speaker 1: I watched Boom as a kid in nineteen eighty eight.
Speaker 1: I was thirteen years old watching him go to the
Speaker 1: super Bowl. Then you know here eleven years later, I
Speaker 1: had a chance to play with him for a year,
Speaker 1: so to me and that that was a big deal
Speaker 1: for me. And the guy was the MVP of the league,
Speaker 1: and and and and and and brought a lot of
Speaker 1: motor rider to this team. But a guy like Boomer
Speaker 1: and of those of those older guys like that, um,
Speaker 1: I personally wish we had more than two guys going
Speaker 1: in so we can get some of the older guys in.
Speaker 1: Then we can get guys in like a Corey Diller
Speaker 1: and Ojo, you know, Tequille Spikes and you know guys
Speaker 1: some guy some our era. But I do understand first
Speaker 1: if the people who picking though the U, the season
Speaker 1: ticket holders, you know, I would love to see some
Speaker 1: of the older guys get you know, get established. The boomers.
Speaker 1: Um your chim crumb rise guys that that you're Reggie Williams.
Speaker 1: Got a guy who I talked to on Facebook a lot,
Speaker 1: and um, you know, he keeps his he keeps his
Speaker 1: his name kind of going along because I tell Reggie
Speaker 1: all the times that man. When I was younger and
Speaker 1: the eighty eight, watching you guys down in Mobile, Alabama,
Speaker 1: I thought Reggie Williams was a mayor. I literally, I
Speaker 1: literally thought he's an mayor of Cincinnati and he played
Speaker 1: football because I always saw him in suits. I always
Speaker 1: saw him at different meetings and involved in the city,
Speaker 1: whether it's doing the stripe blocked out or he was
Speaker 1: doing things and helping the city out. So I thought
Speaker 1: as a kid, I thought, man, this guy was a
Speaker 1: mayor and he really played for the Bengals. I thought
Speaker 1: that was so cool. As a kid, so um guys
Speaker 1: said that, UM just just just bridging those gaps from
Speaker 1: the older guys who played before us and some of
Speaker 1: my teammates all guys that played in my era. So
Speaker 1: do you have a favorite game or favorite moment in
Speaker 1: the Bengals uniform. It's a weird, it's a weird one.
Speaker 1: I could say all of the Russian records that we sat.
Speaker 1: I was a part of two Russian records. But the
Speaker 1: Old five game in Detroit, you know, like you said,
Speaker 1: after ten years, I wanted to be in the playoffs
Speaker 1: and just that feeling of, you know, we're in the
Speaker 1: locker rooms. We had shirts made up and Margaret was
Speaker 1: so pissed off at the shirts. I remember that. I
Speaker 1: couldn't understood that too, Like you know, we just wanted
Speaker 1: the vision. But you know, I waited ten years to
Speaker 1: win the division and just seeing I think we blew
Speaker 1: the I think we brew the lines out the game
Speaker 1: and they were down. You know, their franchise had been
Speaker 1: down with us too for a while too, but at
Speaker 1: that point in time, we were up. We had Carson,
Speaker 1: we had Rudy and o'chill and TJ. We had a
Speaker 1: really good offensive line, had a defense that was turning
Speaker 1: the ball over at a rapid rate. So me, a
Speaker 1: lot of those guys thought that feeling was normal, but
Speaker 1: I knew better. I knew I waited ten years for
Speaker 1: that moment to happen and get to the playoffs. And
Speaker 1: I remember getting to the playoffs and a lot of
Speaker 1: my teammates from a lot of guys around the league
Speaker 1: who I played with him at college, like my boy
Speaker 1: Wayne Gandy, who played at Pittsburgh at the time. He
Speaker 1: was calling me that morning the playoffs. You know, we
Speaker 1: were eating breakfast that morning. Hey man, you finally made
Speaker 1: it to the playoffs, like, you know, ten years in
Speaker 1: and you know, I knew how hard it. I knew
Speaker 1: how long and hard I waited for that moment. A
Speaker 1: lot of guys on the team had, you know, they
Speaker 1: hadn't been in that long to witness. I think it
Speaker 1: was just like myself, Brad Saint Louis and Richie Brown,
Speaker 1: guys who have been around, you know, since the mid nineties.
Speaker 1: I think Brian Simmons to experience that the hard time
Speaker 1: was in the nineties and now finally reaching over the
Speaker 1: hump and oh five. So that game of Detroit part
Speaker 1: of my fondest memory because as a team, we just
Speaker 1: played so long, you know, for that national recognition that
Speaker 1: happened for us. It's interesting that you mentioned that game
Speaker 1: because I've talked to Mike Brown over the years about
Speaker 1: some of his most memorable games. Obviously he's been there
Speaker 1: for all of them, and he also picks out that
Speaker 1: game and specifically describes sitting in his front row bus
Speaker 1: seat that he's always in first seat of bus one
Speaker 1: looking out the window and seeing all of you guys
Speaker 1: and the joy on your faces from getting over the
Speaker 1: hump and ending that long streak of not going to
Speaker 1: the postseason. Yeah, I mean, definitely it was a big moment. Man,
Speaker 1: Like Marvin had been there for what that was the
Speaker 1: third year correct we got out the hump. We had
Speaker 1: a couple of eight and eight seasons, get a figure
Speaker 1: Oh two was two and fourteen. So and the next
Speaker 1: year Marvin got there, we were one game my way
Speaker 1: from going to the playoffs, and I think oh four,
Speaker 1: we missed it about two games, so then oh five.
Speaker 1: For those things that happen and everything, you know, you know,
Speaker 1: accumulated that day in Detroit. You know, we're just like,
Speaker 1: hey man, we we we we got over one hurdle.
Speaker 1: That hurdle was getting to the postseason. We're visiting with
Speaker 1: Willie Anderson. You're widely considered to be the best right
Speaker 1: tackle of your era. What do you consider to be
Speaker 1: the most important traits that helped you excel? Just being
Speaker 1: able to I spoke at a clinic a couple weeks
Speaker 1: ago in Dallas, just being able to evolve, Like I
Speaker 1: came into the leagues. If you see all my rookie
Speaker 1: all my rookie cards that they hand out rookie, my
Speaker 1: rookie player cards, they all said role grading run blockers.
Speaker 1: So for all people who gives me credit for being
Speaker 1: a devastating pass blocking a great pass blocker of my career,
Speaker 1: I came in the league. You know, the league was
Speaker 1: all about running football. You know, the the quarterbacks were
Speaker 1: not yet the superstar the superstars where you're running backs,
Speaker 1: and in particular in our division, we had some of
Speaker 1: the all time great running backs in our division along
Speaker 1: with Corey and then they don't get rooted. Um. So
Speaker 1: me being able to evolve my career from the mid
Speaker 1: nineties where it was a devastating, you know, run blocking league.
Speaker 1: You know, tough guy on tough guy, you know what
Speaker 1: I mean. You know, I was moved to the right
Speaker 1: side as my rookie year because we didn't have anybody
Speaker 1: strong enough and big enough to play on that side,
Speaker 1: because the Russias on that side were big power for men,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean. And you're faster, the more
Speaker 1: athletic guys so called, we're over the left tackle. So
Speaker 1: we didn't have anybody in our team to do it,
Speaker 1: so they didn't move me over there, and and it worked.
Speaker 1: But my game evolved over the years because I say
Speaker 1: all the time, the Russias went from being as big
Speaker 1: as Reggie White and Michael straighthand and Judas Peppers sixty
Speaker 1: five to sixty seven. Peppers was m to oh five
Speaker 1: Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeni is six foot one and
Speaker 1: we have never we have never seen guys that size
Speaker 1: at defense end before in the history of the league.
Speaker 1: They were coming in doing spin moves, they were ducking
Speaker 1: under guy's arms. So they were two day were the
Speaker 1: small love with duck under your arms. So seeing those
Speaker 1: guys have been able to evolve my game over the years.
Speaker 1: I think then once you look into all the pro
Speaker 1: football focus and the Pro Football Reference they ranked my
Speaker 1: pass blockings one in last twenty years. That's all time best.
Speaker 1: Um so for being a run blocker to you know,
Speaker 1: a shutdown pass protector later my career, you know, I said,
Speaker 1: just being able to evolve my games. I think I'm
Speaker 1: biggest straight. Anybody that follows you on Twitter has seen
Speaker 1: the videos that you post working with young offensive linemen.
Speaker 1: You seem to love it. What do you get out
Speaker 1: of that? Just a joy and a promise I made
Speaker 1: to myself and God that you know once I once,
Speaker 1: I made it that I would always look back for
Speaker 1: kids because when I was younger then I had had
Speaker 1: a weird. I had a weird I thought. I kept dreaming,
Speaker 1: like why won't Michael Jordan Oprah Winfrey comes to Mobile,
Speaker 1: Alabama and just show us how to make it out
Speaker 1: of here? Like those those are two most famous people
Speaker 1: that you know that we looked at it and our
Speaker 1: in our err and I'm like, God, dog, like how
Speaker 1: do you make it? Like? What things do you have
Speaker 1: to do to make it throughout high school? Then? Because
Speaker 1: now there's so much, so much information for these kids now,
Speaker 1: I mean they can go get a step my step
Speaker 1: boklet to follow and I kind of called myself that
Speaker 1: that eight to Z guy helping these kids make it
Speaker 1: from high school, you know, to college. And even the
Speaker 1: kids who are not gonna play college football out of
Speaker 1: my cademy, you don't, we have some kids that just
Speaker 1: want to be high school starters and their parents wanted
Speaker 1: to make the team and be a starter and mom
Speaker 1: and dad going to your form on Friday night. Um,
Speaker 1: I have those kind of kids all the way to
Speaker 1: the guys like the Paris Johnson was who if Lloyd
Speaker 1: wouldn't things were right, it could be it can be
Speaker 1: a first round drift pick next year that had PJ
Speaker 1: since his ninth grade year in high school. So just
Speaker 1: just just fulfilling that promise I made the guard that
Speaker 1: the healthy kids out, Um, I can be a lot
Speaker 1: more famous, probably training a bunch of pros and my
Speaker 1: gym I had a bunch of pros and because the
Speaker 1: NFL media would eat it up. But my joy and
Speaker 1: passion comes from a last year we had fifteen kids
Speaker 1: to signed scholarships out of my academy. We we hit,
Speaker 1: we worked there, worked there recruiting, and we training, and
Speaker 1: to me, that's fifteen families that these kids stay in school,
Speaker 1: they'll leading school with no no college debts. They're on
Speaker 1: a free ride. And to me, that's that's bigger than me,
Speaker 1: than me having a bunch of pros and kind of saying, hey,
Speaker 1: I trained this guy. I trained this guy, but you
Speaker 1: know I trained a five foot ten left guard at
Speaker 1: this high school. You know what I mean? Who travels
Speaker 1: and Alabama Enterprise Alabama travel to Alata two and a
Speaker 1: half hours to come of training me. He's probably gonna
Speaker 1: play Division three ball at best, but he's he has
Speaker 1: the willing and the power, you know, the willpower drive
Speaker 1: for two and a half hours to come see me.
Speaker 1: It's one of the reasons why I give kids two
Speaker 1: hour sessions. We never have an our sessions. I have
Speaker 1: kids driving two and a half hours sometimes to come train,
Speaker 1: sometimes out of state. So I try to give him
Speaker 1: more than what they give me. And that gives me
Speaker 1: my joy and pleasure to help these kids because because
Speaker 1: I wanted someone to help my son, and my son
Speaker 1: only made it to college because I had a group
Speaker 1: of guys around him that were really good people who
Speaker 1: really loved him, and they weren't really worried about just
Speaker 1: making money off him. They really wanted to see him
Speaker 1: to see so I have a right to pay that
Speaker 1: back as a skill developer of these big guys. That
Speaker 1: is awesome stuff. Let me ask you a couple of
Speaker 1: questions about the current team. What do you think of
Speaker 1: new right tackle la L. Collins else? Who will play
Speaker 1: your own position? I ain't got my old number on them.
Speaker 1: So he is the third right tackle we've had that
Speaker 1: seventy one after me. So, but I worked at l LC.
Speaker 1: I didn't Dallas before twenty eighteen out with the Cowboys
Speaker 1: working with them and training camp and mini camp and
Speaker 1: had a chance to build a relationship with him then. Um,
Speaker 1: he's definitely kind of guy. Um, I think the Beagles
Speaker 1: needed right tackle. He's a he's a He called himself
Speaker 1: an enforcer, and you watch him play, he plays like
Speaker 1: an enforcer. I think right now with Joe Burrow at quarterback,
Speaker 1: we need some enforces up there. We need those kind
Speaker 1: of guys along with Jonah Jonah at the left tackle.
Speaker 1: We finally got those two book ins you know that
Speaker 1: that we had back when you know it was Andrew
Speaker 1: Witworth and and Andrew Smithton. Before that was myself and
Speaker 1: Levi Jones. You know what I mean, the Beagles always
Speaker 1: has success they've had two dominating tackles, whether it be
Speaker 1: the great the Goat, Anton Muyos and my mentor Joe Walters,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean. So this this team's had
Speaker 1: success when they've had those kind of two tackles. And
Speaker 1: I think um Ulya provides an attitude because we have
Speaker 1: to have an attitude adjuster. He's a dominating run blocker.
Speaker 1: He's a guy who shuts down guys and pathbitecture and
Speaker 1: the guy who's gonna live to me as the right
Speaker 1: tacle position going to play at a Pro Bowl level
Speaker 1: or you know, so or high just just just what
Speaker 1: he's done the whole time he's been in the NFL.
Speaker 1: Let's played a Pro Bowl right tackle. How about Jackson Carmen.
Speaker 1: I know you gave a stamp of approval before he
Speaker 1: was drafted last year. You've worked with him some in
Speaker 1: the past. What does he need to do to become
Speaker 1: the kind of NFL player you think he could be.
Speaker 1: Just keep developing his game and and and and focusing
Speaker 1: on the game and um you know, it's a different
Speaker 1: it's a different aspect playing. Let's tackle your whole career
Speaker 1: of high school in college and then coming to play
Speaker 1: left guard, like Jackson's a tall, big guy, and those guards,
Speaker 1: those tackles deferent the tackle down, you're gonna look at
Speaker 1: a guy like Aaron Um, the guy out of you know,
Speaker 1: I'm having Aaron don bad. He's got six foot one,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean. And so a guy like
Speaker 1: Jackson having to been down and play at that leverage.
Speaker 1: So it's a whole different game in him playing tackle
Speaker 1: and guard. And I think the more experience he gets
Speaker 1: um you know, all season things he continues he does,
Speaker 1: and the things he gets to do it and training him,
Speaker 1: I think, you know, just getting just getting more and
Speaker 1: more reps. I think the more the more reps he
Speaker 1: can get, the better he'll be. But it takes some
Speaker 1: time for tackles to go into guard because there's less space,
Speaker 1: and I mean the time is more faster. The guys
Speaker 1: are are are probably more you know, not just as
Speaker 1: big as him, but sometimes they're biggest, big big as
Speaker 1: he is. Sometimes they're smaller, more quicker, more explosive guys.
Speaker 1: So him figuring that part of the game, I think
Speaker 1: something big adjustment for him. I think he bigble should
Speaker 1: be able to do it. WILLI That Ring of Honor
Speaker 1: game will be in week four, Thursday night game against
Speaker 1: the Miami Dolphins. Is there anything in particular you are
Speaker 1: looking forward to that night and who do you plan
Speaker 1: to have in attendance. Um, I'm talking to some of
Speaker 1: my teammates right now. Obviously my mom is coming, Um, Um,
Speaker 1: my brother Pastor Floyd walking up then Cincinnati right now. Owner,
Speaker 1: happiest pieces my brother, He's coming. But what I'm looking
Speaker 1: for is some of my teammates to come back, because
Speaker 1: you if you look at the years past, when other
Speaker 1: teams you know, Pittsburgh, Baltimore or you see you see
Speaker 1: the patients every year doing it, the former guys come back,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean? And and uh fortunately and
Speaker 1: unfortunately for us, we only second year doing it, so
Speaker 1: we don't have as many guys. They're gonna be they're
Speaker 1: gonna be wearing the jackets. But I do what some
Speaker 1: of my teammates to come back, because you know, those
Speaker 1: guys help, you know, build a legacies that we have.
Speaker 1: And so many guys have helped me make it to
Speaker 1: this level. All the guards I played with, from from
Speaker 1: Mike Golf to my boy Bobby Williams, the guys that
Speaker 1: that man, Ken black Man's guys that haven't seen in years,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean. Talk to a lot of
Speaker 1: guys out. I know we have a big group text
Speaker 1: of being us. My boy Levi Jones talking about coming
Speaker 1: up and so guys at that man, guys that you know,
Speaker 1: Richie Brown, talk to Richie all the time. You know,
Speaker 1: guys at that who who helped my career out. Um,
Speaker 1: I want to be able to celebrate this with them
Speaker 1: and hopefully those guys being a couple of years so
Speaker 1: hopefully hopeful, hopefully guys coming back in the Austin, you know,
Speaker 1: the former guys coming back, get a chance to come
Speaker 1: back and have a good time and see this all right?
Speaker 1: Final thing, you look great. You've lost a ton of weight.
Speaker 1: You're gonna look great in that jacket. I can tell
Speaker 1: you that on Ring of Honor night. What motivated you?
Speaker 1: And how do you feel? Feel? Good? Man? I feel great,
Speaker 1: you know, I man, I've lost seventy five pounds of things. Um,
Speaker 1: just just my health, need to just I spent so
Speaker 1: much time, you know, last five you know, my son's
Speaker 1: high school career, just trying to help him out and
Speaker 1: got him, you know, traveling him around the country trying
Speaker 1: to you know, just training, and I was doing way
Speaker 1: more things for him that I was doing for myself
Speaker 1: and even into his college career at Georgia Tech. And
Speaker 1: I just decided, you know, doing COVID. Hey man, you know,
Speaker 1: I mean, I'm too doug on big right now, you
Speaker 1: know what I mean. And you know, I had some
Speaker 1: health issues I'm dealing with and all different things that
Speaker 1: so I think the weight loss would I figured the
Speaker 1: weight loss will help those things out. I feel better,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean, you know, and I need
Speaker 1: to do it, man, you I need to eat better
Speaker 1: and I need to stay moving a lot more. Doing COVID.
Speaker 1: I started doing these crazy long walks because because we
Speaker 1: couldn't go to the gyms, and we were all listing
Speaker 1: in the Zombie World Zombie a Populous World, and we
Speaker 1: thought they're working to go outside. So I started going outside, man,
Speaker 1: just walking and you know, walking fifty minute walks. And
Speaker 1: I kept doing it from from then and so so
Speaker 1: since two twenty one February, when I started growing this beard,
Speaker 1: I made a committing myself to start you know, walking
Speaker 1: crazy and late night gym sessions. I can't go too
Speaker 1: hard in me, Jim, because my body is still hate
Speaker 1: hurts every day. But just walking and staying active man,
Speaker 1: and not you know, the late night eating stuff stop.
Speaker 1: You know, lost the weight man. I feel good, you know,
Speaker 1: I mean hopefully I look good. You do look good.
Speaker 1: Congratulations on dropping seventy five pounds. That's not too easy
Speaker 1: to do. But more importantly, congratulations on being one of
Speaker 1: the first five players selected for the Ring of Honor.
Speaker 1: It's well deserved and we looked forward to seeing you
Speaker 1: in week four on Thursday night for Hey. Thanks that
Speaker 1: last year, Willie was one of fifteen Modern era finalists
Speaker 1: for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and while he
Speaker 1: wasn't elected, he was one of only two offensive linemen
Speaker 1: on the ballot, and the other one, Tony Basselli, got in.
Speaker 1: Here's Mike Brown on a worthy candidate to join Anthony
Speaker 1: Muno's in Canton. He was special. Willie was massive, and
Speaker 1: he had quick feet, the feet of dancer. He had
Speaker 1: long arms. When anyone got to him, it didn't do
Speaker 1: him much good because he was so big and strong
Speaker 1: and they couldn't throw him off balance and he could
Speaker 1: dance with them, glide with them to the outside when
Speaker 1: they tried to get around to the outside, so they
Speaker 1: couldn't go outside, They couldn't go inside, they didn't go anywhere.
Speaker 1: They just stayed where they were, and we had a
Speaker 1: right tech that was as good a right tech or
Speaker 1: as this league is seen. He should be in the
Speaker 1: Hall of Fame along with Anthony. As a pair there was.
Speaker 1: There wouldn't have been two better than those two. Hopefully
Speaker 1: Willie will eventually get his gold jacket, but we do
Speaker 1: know this, he and Isaac Curtis will get their Bengals
Speaker 1: Ring of Honor jackets on Thursday night, September twenty ninth,
Speaker 1: when the Bengals host the Dolphins. That's going to do
Speaker 1: it for this episode of The Bengals Booth podcast, presented
Speaker 1: by Ultimate Bengals. Download Ultimate Bengals ahead of the twenty
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Speaker 1: comment that helps more Bengals fans find us. I'm Dan
Speaker 1: Horde and thanks for listening to the Bengals Booth podcast