WEBVTT - Bengals Booth Podcast: State of the World 0:00:03.560 --> 0:00:06.519 Hi, get everybody on dan Hoard and thanks for downloading 0:00:06.640 --> 0:00:10.000 The Bengals Booth Podcast, the That's. 0:00:09.760 --> 0:00:11.760 The State of the World. 0:00:11.440 --> 0:00:15.120 To day edition, as I discussed the state of the 0:00:15.160 --> 0:00:18.040 Bengals and the rest of the AFC North with the 0:00:18.160 --> 0:00:22.040 NFL Network's Adam Rank. The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought 0:00:22.079 --> 0:00:24.440 to you by pay Core, Proud to be the Bengals 0:00:24.480 --> 0:00:29.440 official hr software provider, by Alta Fiber future proof fiber 0:00:29.520 --> 0:00:32.559 Internet designed to elevate your home, business and community to 0:00:32.600 --> 0:00:35.760 a new level, and by Kettering Health the best care 0:00:35.960 --> 0:00:39.279 for the best fans. Kettering Health is the official healthcare 0:00:39.280 --> 0:00:42.879 provider of the Bengals. Now here's a quick reminder that 0:00:42.960 --> 0:00:45.919 you can have the latest edition of this podcast delivered 0:00:46.000 --> 0:00:49.879 write to your phone, tablet or computer by subscribing wherever 0:00:50.040 --> 0:00:53.959 you get your podcasts. It's the greatest thing since pre 0:00:54.120 --> 0:00:58.520 season football magazines. I love magazines and find it sad 0:00:58.600 --> 0:01:04.119 that so much of that content is now only available online. Thankfully, 0:01:04.520 --> 0:01:08.480 you can still get thick preseason guides for NFL and 0:01:08.600 --> 0:01:11.319 college football and always buy a few of each. 0:01:11.680 --> 0:01:13.240 So here's to you. 0:01:13.400 --> 0:01:18.200 Lindy's Aflon the FTN Football almanat the phil Steel Guide, etc. 0:01:18.959 --> 0:01:23.399 As long as you're publishing, I'm buying. Now let's get 0:01:23.400 --> 0:01:26.639 to this week's guest. Every year around this time, Adam 0:01:26.720 --> 0:01:29.280 Rak from the NFL Network writes a state of the 0:01:29.360 --> 0:01:33.880 Franchise story about all thirty two NFL teams for NFL 0:01:34.000 --> 0:01:36.960 dot com. He wrote about the teams in the AFC 0:01:37.000 --> 0:01:40.640 North last week, and join me to discuss the Bengals 0:01:40.760 --> 0:01:46.199 and their division rivals. Adam, your State of the Franchise 0:01:46.280 --> 0:01:50.400 articles end with five categories for determining whether a team 0:01:50.520 --> 0:01:53.440 is going to be successful for the upcoming season. So 0:01:53.520 --> 0:01:56.559 the categories are as follows A win the Super Bowl, 0:01:56.960 --> 0:02:00.320 B make a playoff run, see earn a playoff berth, 0:02:00.880 --> 0:02:05.480 D finish above five hundred or e show progress. In 0:02:05.520 --> 0:02:09.480 the AFC North, two teams are a win the Super Bowl. 0:02:09.600 --> 0:02:13.119 The other two are B make a playoff run. As 0:02:13.160 --> 0:02:15.800 you have studied all thirty two teams, is there any 0:02:15.840 --> 0:02:18.040 other division in the NFL that's like that? 0:02:18.720 --> 0:02:20.320 Not at all, not even close. 0:02:21.000 --> 0:02:24.480 You know, the NFC North has got an interesting set 0:02:24.480 --> 0:02:26.519 of circumstances as well, But I don't think that any 0:02:26.560 --> 0:02:30.480 team or any division is as complete from top to 0:02:30.520 --> 0:02:33.480 bottom as the AFC North all four of those teams, 0:02:33.480 --> 0:02:36.519 and honestly, like if any four of those teams ended 0:02:36.600 --> 0:02:39.600 up in the Super Bowl wouldn't be a complete shock. 0:02:39.800 --> 0:02:41.359 I think two of them you'd be like, okay, yeah, 0:02:41.360 --> 0:02:44.679 that we've seen them make runs towards the championship game. 0:02:44.720 --> 0:02:47.720 The other two haven't really had playoff success over the 0:02:47.800 --> 0:02:50.400 last number of years. But I think, truly, when you 0:02:50.440 --> 0:02:53.520 look at division's top to bottom, there is no team, 0:02:53.560 --> 0:02:55.800 there's no division better than the AFC North. 0:02:57.400 --> 0:03:00.200 So the Bengals are an a in order to be 0:03:00.240 --> 0:03:03.760 successful in your opinion, they must win the Super Bowl. 0:03:04.440 --> 0:03:06.359 Why is the bar set that high? 0:03:07.160 --> 0:03:07.440 Why? 0:03:07.919 --> 0:03:09.919 I believe that when you look at the quarterback situation 0:03:10.040 --> 0:03:13.519 and how well he's played when completely healthy, there should 0:03:13.520 --> 0:03:17.600 be no other expectation for this Bengals team. And obviously 0:03:17.639 --> 0:03:19.400 getting to the Super Bowl wasn't one of them. But 0:03:19.400 --> 0:03:22.239 at some point you want to win one of these things. 0:03:22.360 --> 0:03:26.480 I was convinced coming into twenty twenty two going up 0:03:26.480 --> 0:03:28.400 against the Rams, despite the fact that it was in 0:03:28.480 --> 0:03:31.400 Sofi Stadium, I really thought the Bengals were going to 0:03:31.560 --> 0:03:33.120 I thought they were the better team and thought they 0:03:33.120 --> 0:03:35.120 were going to end up winning that one, and so 0:03:35.440 --> 0:03:38.480 I still believe that the expectation should be the same. 0:03:38.720 --> 0:03:40.920 I don't think that despite the fact of what happened 0:03:40.960 --> 0:03:44.360 last year, which again it's interesting because I wrote this 0:03:44.440 --> 0:03:47.160 in the article, like you look at the Bengals season 0:03:47.240 --> 0:03:49.120 last year and you think to yourself, like, I was 0:03:49.160 --> 0:03:53.080 a bad season, nine to eight, despite not having Joe 0:03:53.120 --> 0:03:55.120 Burrow for a good chunk of it, and even Joe 0:03:55.160 --> 0:03:57.960 Burrow not being healthy for the majority of it. I mean, 0:03:58.000 --> 0:04:00.920 you remember that Mudday night game again the Rams, where 0:04:00.960 --> 0:04:03.360 you're like, what should they do? Like you almost thought 0:04:03.400 --> 0:04:06.000 that should they shut him down? Like you didn't know. 0:04:06.640 --> 0:04:09.920 Despite all of that, with everything that was going wrong, 0:04:10.200 --> 0:04:12.560 it was still a nine to eighteen, which in they 0:04:12.600 --> 0:04:15.640 call that the Tomlin. I believe just getting nine to eight, 0:04:15.640 --> 0:04:17.520 which is good enough, that's all we care about now. 0:04:18.760 --> 0:04:21.000 I don't want to. I don't want to take it 0:04:21.040 --> 0:04:22.880 easy on the Bengals. I don't I don't want to. 0:04:23.000 --> 0:04:24.280 I don't want to sit here and be like, ah, 0:04:24.320 --> 0:04:26.600 if you win a couple of playoffs. No, we're past that. 0:04:27.200 --> 0:04:30.159 Joe Burrow is too good. T Higgins is on his 0:04:30.360 --> 0:04:33.400 franchise tender. It's time to go out and win one 0:04:33.440 --> 0:04:35.440 of these and I think that the Bengals have a 0:04:35.520 --> 0:04:39.320 special group of players and I think they understand the mission. 0:04:39.360 --> 0:04:42.600 They understand what it is, what's at stake. Ever since 0:04:42.600 --> 0:04:44.320 they got to the Super Bowl a couple of years ago, 0:04:44.360 --> 0:04:47.719 I think that that that bar has been raised. And 0:04:47.760 --> 0:04:50.080 I think for Joe Burrow, that's how he's going to 0:04:50.080 --> 0:04:54.159 be measured moving forward. Is what do you do in 0:04:54.240 --> 0:04:57.160 the postseason and beyond? Can you win super Bowls? Can 0:04:57.200 --> 0:04:59.520 you be that guy who breaks through? You know, you 0:04:59.520 --> 0:05:01.560 don't want to be Mano. Not that Dan Marino had 0:05:01.560 --> 0:05:04.600 a terrible career, but Dan Marino goes to the Super 0:05:04.600 --> 0:05:08.760 Bowl in his second season and everybody was like, well, 0:05:08.800 --> 0:05:11.080 you know he'll be back, He'll get into their opportunity, 0:05:11.080 --> 0:05:13.440 and it never happened. I would not want to see 0:05:13.480 --> 0:05:16.040 that for the Cincinnati Bengals. I really want to see 0:05:16.040 --> 0:05:18.560 them make that next step. And when it comes to 0:05:18.680 --> 0:05:21.560 teams in the ASC, and you talk about how tough 0:05:21.600 --> 0:05:26.080 the AFC is, who's the team that gives the Chiefs 0:05:26.120 --> 0:05:26.880 the most trouble? 0:05:27.000 --> 0:05:28.120 Like it is the Bengals. 0:05:28.160 --> 0:05:30.360 Like the Chiefs go in there and they kind of 0:05:30.440 --> 0:05:32.920 ruin everybody, you know, they go in there, they make 0:05:33.000 --> 0:05:38.000 Baltimore's life miserable, Miami not competitive. Jacksonville did okay against 0:05:38.000 --> 0:05:40.120 them a couple of years ago but eventually got kind 0:05:40.120 --> 0:05:43.240 of blown out. It's the Bengals, And while I might 0:05:43.279 --> 0:05:46.359 advise against the doing the burrow head thing, I still 0:05:46.400 --> 0:05:48.800 liked it, and I liked the moxie, and I think 0:05:48.839 --> 0:05:49.279 a lot of it. 0:05:49.320 --> 0:05:50.679 And it's not really just Burrow. 0:05:50.760 --> 0:05:54.719 It's lou An Roumo who makes everything so difficult for them. 0:05:54.800 --> 0:05:57.960 So I think that the expectation should be the super Bowl. 0:05:58.640 --> 0:06:01.600 Even last year, next to last game of the regular 0:06:01.640 --> 0:06:04.520 season without the Bengals led. 0:06:06.000 --> 0:06:09.320 With with Jacob Browning playing quarterback, and you thought, like, 0:06:09.440 --> 0:06:11.960 you know what, they're doing it again, like they're doing 0:06:12.000 --> 0:06:16.080 it and again, like you know, the twelfth, the twelfth, 0:06:16.360 --> 0:06:19.880 the twelfth Chief comes out at some point too where 0:06:19.880 --> 0:06:21.720 you're like, oh, I forgot, you got to deal with 0:06:21.760 --> 0:06:24.640 this still, But yeah, like that was a thing, like 0:06:24.680 --> 0:06:28.040 a regular season game. That's another crazy thing about the 0:06:28.080 --> 0:06:31.039 Bengals season is like nine and eight, like okay and 0:06:31.040 --> 0:06:34.240 everything like that, But man, that game they should have 0:06:34.279 --> 0:06:37.560 won that game against the Kansas City Chiefs, should should 0:06:37.560 --> 0:06:39.640 have come away with that one. And again it comes 0:06:39.680 --> 0:06:42.039 down to the coordinator and you know, thank goodness, and 0:06:42.080 --> 0:06:45.040 I mean, it's unfortunate. I don't know if lou has 0:06:45.400 --> 0:06:48.320 aspirations to be a head coach, he does or anything 0:06:48.400 --> 0:06:51.719 like that. I'm sure he does. Everybody does. It's amazing 0:06:51.720 --> 0:06:54.279 to me that he doesn't get considered like it really is. 0:06:54.320 --> 0:06:57.159 And he's he's a big time he reminds me. I 0:06:57.160 --> 0:06:59.080 don't know if I wrote this or not. I was 0:06:59.120 --> 0:06:59.960 thinking it were. 0:07:00.080 --> 0:07:03.360 It's kind of like Robert Rory where you're like, oh, like, 0:07:04.080 --> 0:07:06.320 you know, Robert Orriy averages game bomp. 0:07:06.680 --> 0:07:09.000 You know, he averages seven points a game, but yet 0:07:09.040 --> 0:07:11.320 he makes the big shots over and over again. And 0:07:11.320 --> 0:07:14.560 that's the most interesting thing about the Bengals is you 0:07:14.560 --> 0:07:16.920 look at their defense. They're never a top fifteen defense. 0:07:16.960 --> 0:07:18.760 It's not like the Jets, like, oh, they're the number 0:07:18.760 --> 0:07:21.880 two overall defense. But when it comes to the playoffs, 0:07:22.720 --> 0:07:25.840 when you need to devise a scheme to slow down 0:07:25.880 --> 0:07:31.160 players like Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes, nobody's better than 0:07:31.200 --> 0:07:34.240 lou Anaruma. And to me, if I'm hiring a coach, 0:07:34.280 --> 0:07:36.880 if I'm hiring a coach and I know that there 0:07:36.960 --> 0:07:39.720 is a lot of job openings in the AFC. I'm 0:07:39.720 --> 0:07:42.160 thinking about Tennessee in particular. I'm like, ooh, Like you 0:07:42.160 --> 0:07:44.160 don't want to have the guy who kind of owns 0:07:44.680 --> 0:07:47.360 like the guy who's kind of done a really nice 0:07:47.440 --> 0:07:49.640 job against some of these AFC teams, Like okay, so 0:07:49.720 --> 0:07:53.440 be it. But man, I think at some point I 0:07:53.480 --> 0:07:55.720 think of the Jets as the one like if things 0:07:55.760 --> 0:07:57.880 don't work out for the Jets this year, like okay, 0:07:58.000 --> 0:08:01.320 Like I know nobody wants to hire defensive coordinators anymore, 0:08:01.720 --> 0:08:03.600 but I think that he really deserves it, and I'm 0:08:03.720 --> 0:08:06.720 impressed by his game and I'm impressed every time I 0:08:06.720 --> 0:08:08.960 see him in those big moments because they really do 0:08:09.040 --> 0:08:11.040 find a way to shut op posing teams down. 0:08:11.440 --> 0:08:14.160 So that's the perfect segue to my next question, because 0:08:14.160 --> 0:08:16.320 one of the categories you have in your articles for 0:08:16.400 --> 0:08:20.760 every NFL team is most important non quarterback, and I 0:08:20.800 --> 0:08:23.280 think in recent years where the Bengals are concerned everybody, 0:08:23.280 --> 0:08:26.040 we'd say offensive line because it's been all about trying 0:08:26.080 --> 0:08:28.320 to protect Joe Burrow better. But you have picked the 0:08:28.400 --> 0:08:32.920 defensive line, specifically two defensive tackles. Rookie Chris Jenkins, the 0:08:32.920 --> 0:08:35.640 second round pick out of Michigan and Sheldon Rankins. 0:08:35.640 --> 0:08:37.000 The free agent signing. 0:08:37.520 --> 0:08:40.280 Yeah, I mean the offensive line was a I feel 0:08:40.280 --> 0:08:42.760 like we address that enough, like you talk about that enough, 0:08:42.800 --> 0:08:45.680 like you talk about Burrow, Zach Moss coming in to 0:08:45.679 --> 0:08:47.800 play running back and everything like that. But the defensive 0:08:47.800 --> 0:08:50.840 line to me was another sticking point and trying to 0:08:50.840 --> 0:08:53.439 get that pressure on the quarterback. And I was really 0:08:53.520 --> 0:08:55.440 impressed number one with a draft pick. I thought that 0:08:55.559 --> 0:08:58.120 was the fact that he fell that far. I'm like, Okay, 0:08:58.160 --> 0:09:00.760 that's a perfect spot for him. The free agent signing 0:09:00.880 --> 0:09:03.920 was good. You can get pressure on the outside, but 0:09:03.960 --> 0:09:07.319 if you can sort of get up the middle and 0:09:07.440 --> 0:09:09.320 collapse the pocket, and we've seen that a lot with 0:09:09.360 --> 0:09:11.040 these Bengals defenses over the years. 0:09:11.600 --> 0:09:12.400 If you can get that. 0:09:12.480 --> 0:09:14.840 Solved and get that short up, I think that that 0:09:15.440 --> 0:09:18.319 helps them moving forward. When you're playing against all these 0:09:18.320 --> 0:09:20.280 great quarterbacks, what is one of the different Like you 0:09:20.280 --> 0:09:23.679 look at what really frustrated Tom Brady back in the day, 0:09:23.760 --> 0:09:24.960 it's like pressure up the middle. 0:09:24.960 --> 0:09:26.280 And that's for a lot of quarterbacks now. 0:09:26.280 --> 0:09:29.560 Obviously Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen have the ability to 0:09:29.600 --> 0:09:31.920 scramble out of the pocket and everything like that. But 0:09:32.040 --> 0:09:34.240 you still want to flush them like, you still want 0:09:34.240 --> 0:09:37.400 to get them off rhythm and really just be a 0:09:37.480 --> 0:09:40.240 pest for lack of a better term. So I really 0:09:40.280 --> 0:09:41.880 thought that that was kind of an underrated thing that 0:09:41.880 --> 0:09:44.760 the Bengals did during the offseason. And again looking through this, 0:09:45.240 --> 0:09:48.040 you know you can see. I mean, obviously, Jamar Chase 0:09:48.120 --> 0:09:52.360 is wildly important for this team. Protecting Joe Burrow is 0:09:52.400 --> 0:09:54.000 wildly important. But I did want to give a little 0:09:54.040 --> 0:09:55.600 bit of a shout out to the defense because I 0:09:55.640 --> 0:09:59.160 think it is important to get pressure on the opposing quarterbacks. 0:09:59.240 --> 0:10:01.920 And I felt Network candalyst Adam Rank is our guest. 0:10:01.960 --> 0:10:04.040 You can read his state of the franchise stories on 0:10:04.120 --> 0:10:07.120 all thirty two NFL teams at NFL dot com. You 0:10:07.200 --> 0:10:11.160 highlight a few key players or coaches for every NFL team. 0:10:11.200 --> 0:10:14.640 For the Bengals, you've picked out new offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher, 0:10:15.000 --> 0:10:19.080 running back Zach Moss, and wide receiver Jermaine Burton. Let's 0:10:19.080 --> 0:10:22.400 specifically talk about Moss. What do you make of the 0:10:22.559 --> 0:10:26.880 Zach Moss Chase Brown combo taking over for the guy 0:10:26.880 --> 0:10:29.160 who got almost all of the work, Joe Mixon. 0:10:30.320 --> 0:10:33.640 Zach Moss was tremendous last year and I felt like 0:10:33.760 --> 0:10:35.440 the cert like if he would have been able to 0:10:35.480 --> 0:10:38.120 give it an opportunity to play a full season. Now, 0:10:38.160 --> 0:10:40.280 obviously he gets bumped from his gig, which is going 0:10:40.360 --> 0:10:44.320 to happen life of a backup. He really did show 0:10:44.320 --> 0:10:46.040 some promise, and I don't think that he needs to 0:10:46.080 --> 0:10:48.400 come into Cincinnati and be the number one guy and 0:10:48.440 --> 0:10:53.360 take all the carries like Joe Mixon did because of 0:10:53.400 --> 0:10:54.280 who they've got there. 0:10:54.280 --> 0:10:55.160 And we talked about this. 0:10:55.200 --> 0:10:57.679 We talked about this in the fantasy take too with 0:10:57.840 --> 0:11:00.120 Brown there, and I kind of stole this from you, 0:11:00.160 --> 0:11:01.920 and I'll let everybody know. I'll pull back the curtain. 0:11:02.000 --> 0:11:04.360 I didn't like, listen, just sell. Everybody knows when I 0:11:04.400 --> 0:11:06.040 do this with all the teams. If I when I 0:11:06.080 --> 0:11:08.079 have contacts with certain teams, I'll be hey, let me 0:11:08.120 --> 0:11:10.760 ask you a question. Because one of the things that 0:11:10.800 --> 0:11:13.199 we liked about Joe Mixon, and you pointed this out 0:11:13.240 --> 0:11:14.599 to me, and I was like, oh, yeah, that is 0:11:14.640 --> 0:11:18.720 a great point is that Joe Mixon's great, consistent, sturdy, 0:11:19.200 --> 0:11:22.880 but wasn't like a home run hitter. And you want 0:11:22.920 --> 0:11:26.080 the you want the Nelly Dela Cruz, the Joey Vado type, 0:11:26.080 --> 0:11:28.120 a home run hitter who can come in there and 0:11:28.160 --> 0:11:29.480 give you a little bit of pop. And I think 0:11:29.559 --> 0:11:32.440 that's a dynamic that's going to be added to this 0:11:32.480 --> 0:11:36.120 Bengals offense this season. I thought last year he was 0:11:36.160 --> 0:11:37.679 really good. What do you have like five point six 0:11:37.800 --> 0:11:40.000 yards per carry something ridiculous Like he. 0:11:40.000 --> 0:11:40.920 Did a great job. 0:11:41.520 --> 0:11:44.679 So I think this running back tandem is going to 0:11:44.720 --> 0:11:48.719 be good because Zach Moss has the consistency, He can 0:11:48.760 --> 0:11:51.120 do the kind of stuff that Joe Mixon does, but 0:11:51.120 --> 0:11:54.520 it's but it's it's Brown who can go out there 0:11:54.920 --> 0:11:57.960 and give you a little bit more punch. And when 0:11:57.960 --> 0:12:00.720 you have a team with Joe Burrow and Chase if 0:12:00.760 --> 0:12:02.840 you have the ability to hit a home run with 0:12:02.960 --> 0:12:05.679 your running back when you're inside the tent like your 0:12:05.720 --> 0:12:08.520 own ten or own twenty, anything like that, having that 0:12:08.640 --> 0:12:11.040 kind of threat can really change that a dynamic of 0:12:11.080 --> 0:12:13.440 an offense, something that they haven't had over the last 0:12:13.480 --> 0:12:14.600 couple of years. 0:12:15.440 --> 0:12:18.600 Tyler Boyd is gone and will be missed, but they 0:12:18.720 --> 0:12:22.600 drafted Jermaine Burton. Yeah, this past year. They drafted Charlie 0:12:22.679 --> 0:12:25.360 Jones and Andre yoc Vash. They have added Mike Caseki 0:12:25.440 --> 0:12:28.040 as a wide receive as a tight end weapon. How 0:12:28.040 --> 0:12:30.280 do you think those weapons stack up with the rest 0:12:30.280 --> 0:12:30.760 of the pack. 0:12:31.440 --> 0:12:32.480 I like Burton a lot. 0:12:32.679 --> 0:12:35.240 I think that he can come in and really making 0:12:35.280 --> 0:12:38.360 an impact immediately. I you know, a lot of people 0:12:38.400 --> 0:12:41.520 look at this through a fantasy lens and you've got 0:12:41.559 --> 0:12:45.640 t Higgins and Bartase getting the majority of the of 0:12:45.720 --> 0:12:49.319 the of the targets. But when Tyler Boyd was here, 0:12:50.000 --> 0:12:52.880 he was the number one slot receiver, Like he had 0:12:52.920 --> 0:12:55.199 the most targets for a slot receiver since I think 0:12:55.200 --> 0:12:57.720 it was twenty twenty two or it excually twenty twenty. 0:12:58.280 --> 0:13:01.080 And obviously he's in Tennessee now, but like that's still 0:13:01.080 --> 0:13:04.680 a huge part of this offense. And whomever steps in there, 0:13:04.679 --> 0:13:06.000 and I think that Burton can come in to be 0:13:06.080 --> 0:13:09.080 that guy, it's going to get a lot of opportunities. 0:13:09.600 --> 0:13:12.600 Mike is sicky, you know before the last couple of seasons, 0:13:12.640 --> 0:13:15.480 which really didn't the fit didn't really work out for him, 0:13:15.520 --> 0:13:17.640 But he was a guy who was consistently getting around 0:13:17.640 --> 0:13:22.280 seven hundred receiving yards a year. These guys can come 0:13:22.320 --> 0:13:25.760 in and add something to the team, like you have superstars. 0:13:26.240 --> 0:13:28.199 I think that's what people like gets lost a lot 0:13:28.200 --> 0:13:30.640 of times is that you have superstars. We have Jamar 0:13:30.720 --> 0:13:35.760 Chase and Tyler and to T Higgins. You've got that covered, 0:13:36.040 --> 0:13:39.560 but sometimes you need that gritty underneath guy. It's third 0:13:39.600 --> 0:13:42.160 and nine, you know the defense is rolling over to 0:13:42.240 --> 0:13:44.440 Jamar Chase. If you can get somebody with a pretty 0:13:44.480 --> 0:13:46.800 good one on one matchup, you want to go to him. 0:13:47.400 --> 0:13:49.760 And that's one of these and we need and Weed. 0:13:50.000 --> 0:13:52.360 The Bengals need somebody like that to step up. I'm 0:13:52.360 --> 0:13:54.760 getting ready to do my Bears podcast, so I'm getting 0:13:54.800 --> 0:13:58.400 used to saying the West, but like, those kind of 0:13:58.440 --> 0:14:01.440 guys matter, and it's the most most frustrating thing. Like, 0:14:01.480 --> 0:14:03.719 think about it last year when you were watching like 0:14:03.760 --> 0:14:06.800 the Cleveland Browns and when David and Joku started taking off, 0:14:06.880 --> 0:14:09.319 Like how annoying that is as a fan, Like, oh 0:14:09.320 --> 0:14:11.600 my god, Okay, we got a Marii Cooper covered got 0:14:11.600 --> 0:14:14.040 this guy And then you're like, oh, it's in Joco 0:14:14.360 --> 0:14:14.960 third and nine. 0:14:15.040 --> 0:14:16.200 He gets a ten yard reception. 0:14:16.760 --> 0:14:18.560 Those are the type of players that you're looking for 0:14:18.600 --> 0:14:20.600 with it's Bengals offense. And Joe Burrow has done a 0:14:20.600 --> 0:14:24.080 great job of including a lot of different people into 0:14:24.080 --> 0:14:26.520 this and I think of like it's funny because the 0:14:27.160 --> 0:14:29.560 Bengals have had kind of like Rando tight Ends over 0:14:29.600 --> 0:14:32.040 the last couple of years, but always seem to make 0:14:32.080 --> 0:14:34.240 big plays. And I think that's what they got, and 0:14:34.240 --> 0:14:36.840 they've done a really nice job of replenishing that roster. 0:14:37.320 --> 0:14:39.560 And I think Burton is also there just. 0:14:39.480 --> 0:14:42.760 In case te Higgins eventually moves on, but right now, 0:14:42.800 --> 0:14:44.560 I think that he can step in and kind of 0:14:44.640 --> 0:14:47.160 take some of that production that Tyler Boyd had. 0:14:47.960 --> 0:14:51.520 Joe Burrow helps tight ends get paid. He did it 0:14:51.560 --> 0:14:54.040 with c j Uzama, got a big zob from the Jets. 0:14:54.040 --> 0:14:55.760 He did it with Hayden Hurst, got a big day, 0:14:55.880 --> 0:14:58.800 a big deal from the Panthers. Mike Kasicki signs a 0:14:58.800 --> 0:15:02.040 one year deal. He produces in a big way for Cincinnati. 0:15:02.400 --> 0:15:04.600 Chances are he's going to get a big contract from 0:15:04.640 --> 0:15:05.160 somebody else. 0:15:05.480 --> 0:15:08.400 Yeah, he'll go to Carolina and get millions of dollars. Yeah, 0:15:08.480 --> 0:15:11.160 something like that. That's a great job with that. Yeah, 0:15:11.200 --> 0:15:11.800 I was trying to think. 0:15:11.800 --> 0:15:13.360 I was trying to think of ben Utech if that 0:15:13.760 --> 0:15:17.200 if that crossed, but no, it was it was Oma, yeah, 0:15:17.280 --> 0:15:19.440 pre Burrow And sometimes like listen, as we get older, 0:15:19.480 --> 0:15:20.960 you're like, did they play together. 0:15:21.800 --> 0:15:23.520 Did Dan Ross play with Burton? No? 0:15:23.640 --> 0:15:26.000 Okay, but you know what I'm saying, like you kind 0:15:26.000 --> 0:15:28.000 of like, but like cj Uzama was the guy that 0:15:28.120 --> 0:15:28.480 was thinking of. 0:15:28.640 --> 0:15:32.760 Cj Uzama was a is a player that I really like. 0:15:32.840 --> 0:15:35.760 But he is also of that mold of Okay, he's 0:15:35.800 --> 0:15:38.440 not he's not a superstar per se, like he's not 0:15:38.480 --> 0:15:42.960 Tony Gonzalez, but still just is so good and so adapted, 0:15:43.040 --> 0:15:44.840 like oh, they're on the goal line, like, okay, they 0:15:44.880 --> 0:15:48.359 got mixing covered, they got chased. Oh there's there's Uzama 0:15:48.440 --> 0:15:50.360 just going out there and catching a touchdown. I think 0:15:50.400 --> 0:15:53.800 it's mostly frustrating from fantasy to that you have those 0:15:53.800 --> 0:15:56.440 players and you're like, of course it's cj Uzama. Couldn't 0:15:56.480 --> 0:15:58.480 be anybody else I have. I have Tyler Boydy that 0:15:58.880 --> 0:16:00.560 still couldn't be that guy. But you know what, those 0:16:00.640 --> 0:16:01.360 kind of things happen. 0:16:01.960 --> 0:16:04.600 Excellent deep cut with Dan Ross. By the way, Bengals 0:16:04.600 --> 0:16:08.040 fans will appreciate that in your State of the Bengals story, 0:16:08.080 --> 0:16:11.320 you don't specifically name a weakness or a biggest question mark. 0:16:11.680 --> 0:16:13.840 Do you have one with Cincinnati? 0:16:14.240 --> 0:16:16.000 I mean you got to protect the quarterback. I think 0:16:16.000 --> 0:16:17.440 that's what I think it comes down to the. 0:16:17.400 --> 0:16:20.400 Health of Joe Burrow, and it's I don't know if 0:16:20.440 --> 0:16:23.760 it's fair to question. I I don't like saying players 0:16:23.760 --> 0:16:26.600 are injury prone because I think it's like it's a 0:16:26.680 --> 0:16:30.960 violent game, like anybody like nobody's impervious to injuries. 0:16:31.000 --> 0:16:35.120 There's nobody that's you know, that escapes it. 0:16:35.160 --> 0:16:38.040 You know, it gets everybody at some point. I mean, listen, 0:16:38.400 --> 0:16:40.480 you look at what happened to Aaron Rodgers last season, 0:16:41.040 --> 0:16:43.440 and I was riding up the Jets thing today and 0:16:43.480 --> 0:16:46.040 it's just like that wasn't like the offensive line, that 0:16:46.160 --> 0:16:48.360 wasn't this or you know, anything like that. It was 0:16:48.480 --> 0:16:50.480 like it was the turf, you know, and it's a 0:16:50.520 --> 0:16:53.800 turf monster and everything like that. So truly it does 0:16:53.840 --> 0:16:59.000 come down to the health of Joe Burrow. Although Browning 0:16:59.040 --> 0:17:02.520 play pretty well last listen. But the thing that that's 0:17:02.560 --> 0:17:04.800 the big key, and it's weird to me, and maybe 0:17:04.800 --> 0:17:08.200 I spend too much time on TikTok like some sort 0:17:08.200 --> 0:17:10.240 of like I don't know if it's one person or 0:17:10.280 --> 0:17:12.040 if it's a it's a number of people who like 0:17:12.400 --> 0:17:15.320 somehow have now decided they're taking aim at Joe Burrow. 0:17:15.359 --> 0:17:17.080 I'm like, really, like you want to you want to 0:17:17.080 --> 0:17:20.280 take dame of Joe Burrow, Like okay, Like I will 0:17:20.320 --> 0:17:21.159 have that conversation. 0:17:21.240 --> 0:17:23.600 I think that he's one of the best. 0:17:23.359 --> 0:17:25.120 In the game, and I think we saw that when 0:17:25.119 --> 0:17:28.960 he came to LSU, just the swagger and everything about him, 0:17:29.000 --> 0:17:33.080 and you know, coming into Cincinnati, going to AFC championship 0:17:33.119 --> 0:17:35.800 games in two times in his first three years, Like 0:17:36.200 --> 0:17:38.640 you can't ignore stuff like that, Like he is a 0:17:38.680 --> 0:17:40.960 big time player. But the truth is he's got to 0:17:40.960 --> 0:17:43.320 be healthy. But that's every that's every quarterback, that's every 0:17:43.400 --> 0:17:47.280 that's everything. And so I do hope that the changes 0:17:47.280 --> 0:17:50.720 that they've made over the offensive line help out and everything. 0:17:50.800 --> 0:17:53.280 But you know, Joe, I have a lot of faith in. 0:17:53.400 --> 0:17:55.119 I think he's one of the bright young stars in 0:17:55.160 --> 0:17:57.440 this game. I am not one of those haters. 0:17:57.480 --> 0:17:58.240 I don't know. I don't know. 0:17:59.280 --> 0:18:02.320 It offends me in a way, but I think that 0:18:02.320 --> 0:18:05.800 that's basically what it comes down to. It's Joe Burrow 0:18:05.880 --> 0:18:08.040 is healthy. This team's going deep into the playoffs. So 0:18:08.200 --> 0:18:10.000 I don't I don't think there's any question about that. 0:18:10.640 --> 0:18:14.159 Joe Burrow has finished two of his four seasons. He 0:18:14.200 --> 0:18:16.480 went to the Super Bowl and won. He lost the 0:18:16.520 --> 0:18:20.199 AFC Championship on the last second field goal in the 0:18:20.240 --> 0:18:22.840 other So that's what a healthy Joe Burrow does. 0:18:23.280 --> 0:18:26.800 Yeah, one hundred percent. And that's the thing too. You know, 0:18:26.880 --> 0:18:30.880 we saw what happened last year with Lamar Jackson. Now 0:18:30.920 --> 0:18:33.520 he was coming off a season where he didn't get 0:18:33.560 --> 0:18:36.240 the chance to finish it. The Ravens fell off at 0:18:36.240 --> 0:18:39.440 the end of the year. Lamar Jackson stays healthy, he's 0:18:39.440 --> 0:18:42.679 a near unanimous MVP. They go all the way to 0:18:42.720 --> 0:18:45.760 the AFC Championship Game and then blow it per usual, 0:18:45.960 --> 0:18:48.920 but still they go to the AFC Championship game. Similar 0:18:48.920 --> 0:18:51.320 thing with Joe Burrow if he's healthy, Like, that's a 0:18:51.840 --> 0:18:55.160 that's a championship team too. And I know when I'm 0:18:55.160 --> 0:18:58.119 sitting there doing the records, like everybody will look, I 0:18:58.160 --> 0:18:58.560 do have the. 0:18:58.480 --> 0:18:59.480