Speaker 1: Higen. Everybody, I'm Dan Horde and thanks for downloading The
Speaker 1: Bengals Booth Podcast. The Friday Can't come fast enough Yo
Speaker 1: edition as we get you set for Friday's preseason opener
Speaker 1: against the Arizona Cardinals with three guests, NFL writer and
Speaker 1: podcaster Tyler Dunn, Bengals quarterback Jake Browning, and my broadcast
Speaker 1: partner Dave Lapham. The Bengals Booth Podcast is presented by
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Speaker 1: you can have the latest edition of this podcast delivered
Speaker 1: right to your phone, tablet, or computer by subscribing wherever
Speaker 1: you get your podcasts. It's the greatest thing since seeing
Speaker 1: live music. As you can probably tell from my brief
Speaker 1: singing appearance is at the start of this podcast. I
Speaker 1: like a wide variety of music, and one of the
Speaker 1: things I missed most during the pandemic was seeing concerts.
Speaker 1: I caught Elvis Costello this week and planned to see
Speaker 1: Lake Street Dive next week. So if the title of
Speaker 1: an upcoming episode is pump it up or call off
Speaker 1: your dogs, you'll know why. Now let's get to my
Speaker 1: first guest. If you love great feature stories about NFL
Speaker 1: players and coaches, there's nobody out there doing better ones
Speaker 1: than Tyler Dunne. He's written for newspapers and Bleacher Report
Speaker 1: in the past, but now he has his own website,
Speaker 1: golongtd dot com. There's plenty of free content there, including
Speaker 1: a story this week about one of the Bengals starting cornerbacks. Tyler.
Speaker 1: You posted a great profile on Eli Apple on Monday morning.
Speaker 1: The title was Eli Apple sends peace and love to
Speaker 1: his haters. Did you come to Sense Daddy specifically intending
Speaker 1: to write about him or did that just kind of
Speaker 1: happen when you got here? Good question, because it just
Speaker 1: kind of happened, honestly, great access. I got to start there.
Speaker 1: The Cincinnati Bengals. They they're great to us media folks
Speaker 1: versus a lot of other teams out there. So to
Speaker 1: have those two opportunities to get some players in the
Speaker 1: same day. I just saw Eli in the locker room
Speaker 1: earlier in the day and figured, hey, we should catch
Speaker 1: up because I talked to him ahead of the Super Bowl.
Speaker 1: You know, after that Kansas City game when he was
Speaker 1: riding the high baby, you know, he took it to
Speaker 1: the Chiefs. He let Tyreek Hill know that was like
Speaker 1: prime peak. Eli Apple figured, you know, what, a lot
Speaker 1: has happened since we talked, So let's touch base and
Speaker 1: you know, kind of a mental check. You know, we
Speaker 1: all kind of saw the world come crashing down at
Speaker 1: Eli Apple, so I wanted to see how he was
Speaker 1: doing it. He's doing great. He's doing great. He certainly
Speaker 1: does not back away from, as you put it in
Speaker 1: the title, the haters. I mean, he seems to embrace
Speaker 1: being this Twitter villain that other NFL players have no
Speaker 1: hesitation in calling out. I've never seen anything like this,
Speaker 1: And I mean you've covered this game longer than me,
Speaker 1: and you know, granted their Twitter has only been around
Speaker 1: since what oh nine, twenty ten, but I've never seen
Speaker 1: players collectively rag on a guy like this. It's it's
Speaker 1: not like he had these unspeakable mistakes or gaffs or
Speaker 1: these He didn't really do anything different than what we've
Speaker 1: seen from any player ever in big games. But for
Speaker 1: every reason, like you know, he Mike Hilton said, the best,
Speaker 1: and he does run his mouth. He likes to talk.
Speaker 1: It's part of the reason they love him. You know.
Speaker 1: He's kind of that that soundtrack for the secondary where
Speaker 1: they've got a lot of gnarly dudes that want to
Speaker 1: kick your butt and let you know, you know, outcasts,
Speaker 1: guys that other teams gave up on. They play with
Speaker 1: an EDGI. I love it. I mean, I think the
Speaker 1: secondary is more equipped to face these quarterbacks in the
Speaker 1: AFC than anybody. But he is. When he talked right,
Speaker 1: when he talking, things don't go well, players are ready
Speaker 1: to pounce. And by god, did they pounce. It was gosh,
Speaker 1: what a lot of players who were sitting at home
Speaker 1: on their couch for the Super Bowl. We should add, right,
Speaker 1: I mean Tyreek Hill, McCole, Hardman, Lamar Jackson, Rashad Bateman
Speaker 1: across the board, guys enjoying the game from the comfy
Speaker 1: confines of home, not in the game. You know, we
Speaker 1: can maybe we can make that clear had had their fun.
Speaker 1: But I think Eli Apple took it in stride. You know,
Speaker 1: he posted a message on Instagram shortly after that game
Speaker 1: just saying he'll be back. And then when we caught
Speaker 1: up Dan it was just, you know what, everybody's going
Speaker 1: through problems, everybody has things going on into their life,
Speaker 1: peace and love. I'm in a good place. And he
Speaker 1: really did say, like he turned that corner just out
Speaker 1: of that game. I thought it would have been earlier,
Speaker 1: you know, maybe when the Giants gave up on him,
Speaker 1: or the Saints or he's bouncing around, But he said
Speaker 1: he really kind of rode that roller coaster up until
Speaker 1: that ram Super Bowl game. So I take him at
Speaker 1: his word. I think he's in a really good place
Speaker 1: mentally into this twenty twenty two season. Done is our guest.
Speaker 1: He's a writer in podcast. You can find him at
Speaker 1: golongtd dot com. I want to get to some more
Speaker 1: of your training camp observations in just a bit, but
Speaker 1: I also want to first look back at some of
Speaker 1: the other profiles that you've written about Bengals players in
Speaker 1: recent months. You wrote a great Joe Burrows story in
Speaker 1: January before the playoff run. The title was Joe Burrow
Speaker 1: is the most Dangerous man in Football. It was terrific.
Speaker 1: From all of the people that you talked to in
Speaker 1: writing that story. What stood out most to you about
Speaker 1: Joe the game was never too fast for him, and
Speaker 1: you really appreciate that when you watch other training camps
Speaker 1: and other quarterbacks, especially young quarterbacks where I mean we
Speaker 1: all saw it on Sundays last year. Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson,
Speaker 1: justin Fields, I mean, players who dominated college football, Heisman
Speaker 1: Trophy playoff games. They made it look easy. I mean,
Speaker 1: Lawrence was unbelievable at Clemson. Fields was unbelievable at Ohio State.
Speaker 1: Remember getting socked in the jaw, gets up, throws a
Speaker 1: touchdown and then the pros come and everything's too fast. Everything.
Speaker 1: I mean, we can, you know, blame urban Meyer all
Speaker 1: we want. He was a disaster, I get it, but
Speaker 1: Lawrence deserves some blame too. It just seems like they're
Speaker 1: all kind of skittish to some degree, and rightfully so
Speaker 1: it's a different speed. And I saw that Steelers training camp,
Speaker 1: you know, before you know seeing you guys are at
Speaker 1: Sincy with Kenny Pickett where I mean he's got the
Speaker 1: red jersey on, you're not gonna get hit, but there
Speaker 1: is that hesitation. And I'm not poking fun of Kenny Pickett.
Speaker 1: I think all young quarterbacks are pretty much like that
Speaker 1: in the NFL. But Joe Burrow never was, and he
Speaker 1: probably had the most poor sim of an offensive line
Speaker 1: if any of these guys as a rookie, he's getting
Speaker 1: snot beat out of him, but he never seemed hesitant.
Speaker 1: I mean, you're watching this guy way more than me,
Speaker 1: But when you have that kind of vantage point of
Speaker 1: comparing to other guys, it's stunning. Kurt Warner first kind
Speaker 1: of opened my eyes to it, where he noted early
Speaker 1: on and Joe Burrow's pro career, like, this guy is
Speaker 1: going through his progressions one to two to three to four,
Speaker 1: and he takes his lap layups. He's not relying on
Speaker 1: his athleticism. He has it, he can move, but he's
Speaker 1: not bailing out of plays. And that's what it takes
Speaker 1: to win a super Bowl. To get to a Super
Speaker 1: Bowl where you've everything tightens in the playoffs, you know,
Speaker 1: the windows get smaller, there's pressure in your face, everything,
Speaker 1: everybody knows everything about you. You're gonna win with your
Speaker 1: head a lot more than you're gonna win with athleticism.
Speaker 1: And I think that's why Joe Burrow and year two
Speaker 1: gets to Super Bowl, where a lot of these other
Speaker 1: quarterbacks are insanely athletic. They can't. They can't. I mean,
Speaker 1: and I love Lamar Jackson, He's incredible, but I think
Speaker 1: Burrow is more dangerous than Lamar Jackson because he can
Speaker 1: can win with his brain and that's what it takes
Speaker 1: in January. But yeah, it's he's the most dangerous man.
Speaker 1: It's not a surprise, right he his dad was a
Speaker 1: college football coach. He's been around this since he was
Speaker 1: a little kid, studying films since he was little, so
Speaker 1: he was always ahead of the game. It starts way
Speaker 1: back as far as you can remember. That's great insight
Speaker 1: about Joe Burrow. And the thing that I always say
Speaker 1: about these young quarter backs. If I'm watching an NFL
Speaker 1: game on TV, and they have the skycam over the field, right,
Speaker 1: and they line that cam up behind the offensive line,
Speaker 1: so you're kind of seeing the play from above the offense,
Speaker 1: so almost like the way the quarterback would see it,
Speaker 1: but higher and behind them. Any completed pass that's not
Speaker 1: a screen as a miracle to me, because you've got
Speaker 1: these three hundred pound behemoths in their face. The defense
Speaker 1: is shifting all over the place. Their world class athletes,
Speaker 1: the receivers you're trying to hit are moving at an
Speaker 1: incredible rate. How do these quarterbacks do it? I mean,
Speaker 1: it really is a remarkable skill to be able to
Speaker 1: complete passes that aren't screens in an NFL game. That's
Speaker 1: so perfectly put man like it is people don't realize
Speaker 1: they're watching at home because it just seems so stagnant.
Speaker 1: But pre snap, I mean, everything is disguised. Defenses are
Speaker 1: really preserving their plans and their tensions until the absolute
Speaker 1: last split second before the ball is snapped. And like
Speaker 1: you said, they're all running four threes, they're all two
Speaker 1: hundred fifty pounds, all take your heads off, and you
Speaker 1: have a quarterback in the middle of that, nahem who
Speaker 1: can dissect us all and process at all so incredibly fast.
Speaker 1: Is rare. I mean, you don't see this. And I
Speaker 1: think that's why we're gonna see him playing for super
Speaker 1: Bowls for a really long time, because that's something that's
Speaker 1: only going to get better. I mean, the fact that
Speaker 1: he can process things that quickly this soon. I can't
Speaker 1: think of a comparison. I mean, Payton Manning did, Aaron
Speaker 1: Rodgers had the benefit of sitting for a few years.
Speaker 1: Tom Brady even sat for a year. I can't think
Speaker 1: of many quarterbacks who are able to think the game
Speaker 1: this fastest. Soon. Tyler Dunn is our guest. You can
Speaker 1: follow him on Twitter at tie Done. That is Dunne.
Speaker 1: I want to reference one more story that you've written
Speaker 1: about a Bengals player in the last year, and that
Speaker 1: was your story about Tyler Boyd. Tremendous story, a great
Speaker 1: look at his impoverished hometown, Clareton, PA, what it was
Speaker 1: like for him to grow up there. But there was
Speaker 1: one thing about that story, not specifically about Tyler, about
Speaker 1: Tyler Boyd that stood out to me, and that is
Speaker 1: this is November fifth of last year. The Bengals have
Speaker 1: played eight games. They're five and three. You right at
Speaker 1: the top of that story. Believe it or not, the
Speaker 1: Bengals are ready to contend. What did you see eight
Speaker 1: games in that maybe the rest of the NFL world
Speaker 1: did not. Well. If you say that stuff enough, you're
Speaker 1: gonna be right once in a while, all right, that's all.
Speaker 1: I can't even play Noster damas that no. I mean
Speaker 1: I think that the fact that this offense had you
Speaker 1: could tell it. They've had three stud receivers with a
Speaker 1: Joe Burrow and really with a I'm sure we'll get
Speaker 1: into it, a little bit of a defense that has
Speaker 1: an edge to it, And yeah, it just seemed like
Speaker 1: a confident, blissful, blissfully ignorant team, which is a great
Speaker 1: team to be, right when you don't know what you
Speaker 1: don't know and you're out there playing and talking trash
Speaker 1: and you know you've never been here before. I think
Speaker 1: there's a value to that. You're not overthinking it. There's
Speaker 1: really no pressure, gosh, you know, and that I think
Speaker 1: this would have happened probably after the story ran. You
Speaker 1: know better than me. But you know what play really
Speaker 1: sold me on the Bengals was again they actually lost
Speaker 1: right against San Francisco. And I think the quarterback coach
Speaker 1: Pitcher was telling me about this. He probably told you
Speaker 1: about it too. Joe Burrow is scrambling right and Jamar
Speaker 1: Chase is kind of in the scrambled Joe with them,
Speaker 1: and Jamar Chase is running one direction and Burrow throws
Speaker 1: it the other direction to the corner, just knowing that
Speaker 1: he's gonna cut and get that pieline, which you don't
Speaker 1: see veterans make a play like that. It was diabolical
Speaker 1: almost for him to throw the ball as Jamar Chase
Speaker 1: is running the other direction. I was really sold after
Speaker 1: that play. Right after that description from a quarterbacks coach
Speaker 1: is going to be a head coach somewhere very very soon.
Speaker 1: It's like, yeah, they've got something special cooking here. That
Speaker 1: was a ridiculous play. Fourth down as well, so it's
Speaker 1: do or die. You're scrambling, you're in trouble. Chase is
Speaker 1: running in the opposite direction on the back line of
Speaker 1: the end zone. You throw it hoping that he'll pivot
Speaker 1: see the ball and run it down and burrow through
Speaker 1: it with perfect timing, perfect touch. And Chase is so
Speaker 1: damn good that he made the play. That really was
Speaker 1: a memorable More, isn't like from your banner's point, like
Speaker 1: when you're seeing that up above, Yeah, that was insane.
Speaker 1: I mean, obviously we're doing the live play by play,
Speaker 1: so you're following. Your eyes are following the ball as
Speaker 1: the play by play announcer, So I'm following Burrow. It's
Speaker 1: really only after the fact, when I go back and
Speaker 1: talk to people and look at the replay that I
Speaker 1: see that Jamar Chase is running in the opposite direction.
Speaker 1: His head is not turned. He just sent that he
Speaker 1: would spin around at that moment and be able to
Speaker 1: find the ball, stay in bounds and make the catch.
Speaker 1: It was a ridiculous play. It's a play you only
Speaker 1: see like Aaron Rodgers, DeVante Adams with a decade of reps,
Speaker 1: you know, Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison. It's that kind of
Speaker 1: stuff out of a first year player and a second
Speaker 1: year player. So you know, you can pay those two guys.
Speaker 1: I don't care what else happens on that roster though.
Speaker 1: They'll be okay, they'll compete, trust me, they will. I
Speaker 1: don't think there's any doubt they will pay those two guys.
Speaker 1: Tyler Dunn is our guest. Your specialty is the in
Speaker 1: depth profile what we used to get in the back
Speaker 1: of Sports Illustrated on a weekly basis from guys like
Speaker 1: Frank de Ford or Gary Smith. Those stories aren't out
Speaker 1: there much anymore. How do you pick your stories and
Speaker 1: build the relationships with players and coaches that allow you
Speaker 1: to tell them? Man, I really appreciate that because that's
Speaker 1: definitely the goal, right. I just think it's getting squeezed
Speaker 1: out of sports media coverage. It's a lot of you know,
Speaker 1: fast food, quick stuff today memes and gifts and tweets
Speaker 1: and takes and trying to zag away from the zigging.
Speaker 1: I think it's just relationships. It's it's not any different
Speaker 1: than life and any any walk of life. It's just
Speaker 1: getting to know people across you know, I guess different
Speaker 1: lanes where I know a lot of agents, I know
Speaker 1: a lot of players, I know a lot of teams,
Speaker 1: and you just kind of scouts coaches and you add
Speaker 1: it all up and you just try to learn as
Speaker 1: much as you can and at some point a light
Speaker 1: bulb might go off and it's like, Okay, this is
Speaker 1: a story. This is something worth kind of digging into
Speaker 1: a little bit, whether it's you know, behind the scenes
Speaker 1: kind of story and we've done those, you know, the
Speaker 1: New York Giants, which might show an ugly side of
Speaker 1: a team that wasn't very pretty as things were kind
Speaker 1: of going south for then towards the end of last
Speaker 1: season and they're about to fire everybody, or you know,
Speaker 1: the stuff we're talking about player profiles and kind of
Speaker 1: humanizing the game. So it's, you know, it's just getting
Speaker 1: to know people and just being curious. I always think, like,
Speaker 1: what are people talking about at the bar? Like if
Speaker 1: you're at the bar, with your buddies, just having a
Speaker 1: couple of IPA's, Like what would just get you? What
Speaker 1: would get you talking? It's probably not. You know, you
Speaker 1: might talk about your fantasy teams and you know the
Speaker 1: fact that you're running back needs seventy seven yards to
Speaker 1: win your game that night. Not really interested in that stuff.
Speaker 1: It's like, it's those holy, you know what moments. I've
Speaker 1: never heard that before, right like this that that is bizarre,
Speaker 1: that's crazy, and I want to know more. And I
Speaker 1: guess the teams for your listeners. I had one of
Speaker 1: those moments on this trip with another Cincinnati Bengals player,
Speaker 1: so we'll have that story later this month. But uh,
Speaker 1: and it does take you know, just great PR departments
Speaker 1: at times too. And I gotta get a lot of
Speaker 1: love to the Bengals there where they're incredibly helpful. They
Speaker 1: just get it. They want good storytelling, and that's not
Speaker 1: always the case as well. I can see why players
Speaker 1: would open up to you because your respect for them
Speaker 1: is obvious in what you write. You know, respect for
Speaker 1: the toughness and commitment it takes to play professional football. Man,
Speaker 1: thanks a lot. It's I mean, like a lot of
Speaker 1: us all played back in the days to some degree,
Speaker 1: and it just is a different It's just a different
Speaker 1: game and it just takes, god, it takes a different
Speaker 1: level of violence. Yeah, I think I'm trying to think back.
Speaker 1: Chris Borland obviously stepped away from football really young, and
Speaker 1: it kind of shoot the football world. This was my
Speaker 1: first story of Bleach Report when I was there, and
Speaker 1: he even Chris Borland, I loved how he put it.
Speaker 1: He said, football is just different. It's like a drug.
Speaker 1: Because if you're a linebacker out there, as he was
Speaker 1: for Wisconsin and San Francisco, you know, if I if
Speaker 1: I botch my assignment, if I do something wrong, the
Speaker 1: player next to me might get be lined and be
Speaker 1: down for the count with a concussion or something. Right
Speaker 1: like that takes a different level of togetherness and teamwork
Speaker 1: and intelligence in the moment that Hey, I love basketball, hockey.
Speaker 1: There's a lot of good to other sports, but football
Speaker 1: is just different with the angles that these guys are
Speaker 1: hitting each other. So yeah, I mean, if these players
Speaker 1: are out there head that, I make no bones about it.
Speaker 1: I'm a pretty pro player guy and go along. I
Speaker 1: think these are the ones out there risking their bodies,
Speaker 1: risking their brains, and a lot of them come from
Speaker 1: places like Tyler Boyd where it's how in the hell
Speaker 1: did you get out of that place? And football can
Speaker 1: be such a beacon of hope for them and their families. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I just can't get enough of it, and I'm glad
Speaker 1: that readers enjoy what we're putting out. All right, let's
Speaker 1: get to your training camp visit. So after you're in
Speaker 1: the locker room talking to Eli Apple and others, you
Speaker 1: attended practice on a day where the Bengals defense dominated.
Speaker 1: It was an ugly day for the offense. It's been
Speaker 1: the only one this camp that looked like that, thankfully,
Speaker 1: and obviously Joe Burrow is not taking part in practice yet.
Speaker 1: But what did you come away thinking about the defending
Speaker 1: AFC champs after attending that practice? Yeah, I mean it's
Speaker 1: it's hard to really rip the offense, right. I mean,
Speaker 1: if any team loses their quarterback for an extended period
Speaker 1: of time and they're reliant on the quarterback, they're probably
Speaker 1: toast coverts and packer teams. Was like that, Aaron Rodgers
Speaker 1: goes down and you're cycling through Scott Tolzine and Matt
Speaker 1: Flynn and you're barely getting by. So yeah, they want
Speaker 1: Joe Burrow out there. So that's you know, priority number one,
Speaker 1: and it's it's gonna be hell for any team that
Speaker 1: loses a talent like that. But I think you can
Speaker 1: take a lot from that defense. And I feel like
Speaker 1: we're not talking about it enough rightfully. So we've kind
Speaker 1: of obsessed nationally from a standpoint of Tyree Killer to
Speaker 1: the Dolphins Russell Wilson to Denver Devantae Adamsgas. You know,
Speaker 1: all these teams loaded up at pass rusher to get
Speaker 1: after these quarterbacks and all, by the way, the Bills
Speaker 1: are Super Bowl favorites and the Chiefs are kind of
Speaker 1: remaking their offense. And this Bengal secondary made Patrick Mahomes
Speaker 1: look like a bomb. I mean that second half, he
Speaker 1: had a twelve quarterback rating. I mean he struggled to
Speaker 1: complete a pass. There was pressure in his face, The
Speaker 1: coverage was tight. All those Bengals dbs were picking up
Speaker 1: on their routes. They knew it was coming. And we'll
Speaker 1: see what happens with Jesse Bates. That's a big one.
Speaker 1: Do you want him out there? But even in the draft,
Speaker 1: the Bengals covered their bases a little bit anticipated him
Speaker 1: potentially missing some time. I think you want him out there.
Speaker 1: But with or without Bates, this is a secondary to
Speaker 1: me that is more equipped to at least get by
Speaker 1: and contain these explosive offenses. Hey, I live here in
Speaker 1: Buffalo that this this Bills team is a lot of fun.
Speaker 1: They're gonna put up a lot of points. They couldn't
Speaker 1: stop a nose bleeded arrowhead. I mean, it was I
Speaker 1: love that game as much as everybody else, but if
Speaker 1: you love defense, it was kind of ugly. There wasn't
Speaker 1: much defense being played, right. I mean, the Bengals will
Speaker 1: play a little defense, and up until that last drive
Speaker 1: in the Super Bowl, they were doing enough to win,
Speaker 1: and then that last drive happened. We can't just skim
Speaker 1: pass that. There's no look passes and Cooper Cup doing things.
Speaker 1: But I think in today's NFL, with every rule again
Speaker 1: against you, and the flags get thrown all over the place,
Speaker 1: and the league trying to get into your brain and
Speaker 1: make you be a hesitant player out there, or whether
Speaker 1: you're a pass rush or a linebacker. dB. Since he's
Speaker 1: kind of thread of that needle, they figured out how
Speaker 1: to be aggressive on the back end and make the
Speaker 1: necessary players they have to make. I think those turnovers
Speaker 1: weren't flukey. Towards the end of this season. I think
Speaker 1: that can stick. You've been on an NFL training camp tour.
Speaker 1: So when you come through Cincinnati and you see Chase Higgins,
Speaker 1: Boyd Hurst, Mixon and others, is that the best skill
Speaker 1: position talent you've seen on one team? It's right there
Speaker 1: with Buffalo. You know, I think that you'd probably say
Speaker 1: Cincinnati even has the edge. And I know it sounds
Speaker 1: like I'm pandering here on your show, right, I promise
Speaker 1: I'll say the same thing on WGR you're in Buffalo,
Speaker 1: I promise, Hey, in all honesty, I think Joe Mixon
Speaker 1: is better than any of the Bills running backs. They've
Speaker 1: got good depth there, good variety of players, but I
Speaker 1: think Joe Mixon is the separator. That's me on my podcast.
Speaker 1: He is, I mean, he is a top five running
Speaker 1: back at least. Really, he's right there. So and then
Speaker 1: when you look at the weapons, I mean, Jamar Chase Digs,
Speaker 1: that's a toss up. You can make a case for
Speaker 1: either one. Dave Davis could do some big things for Buffalo,
Speaker 1: but you've seen it a little bit more out of
Speaker 1: te Higgins and then in the slot I do a
Speaker 1: show with Isaiah McKenzie, had go along and he's gonna
Speaker 1: replace Cole Beazy. Hey love Isaiah McKenzie. He's to no
Speaker 1: fault of his own. He just hasn't been used that much.
Speaker 1: That's on the coaching staff, not him. But we've seen
Speaker 1: it on a Tyler Boyd. I mean, he just has
Speaker 1: a lot more productions. So I think you'd say Cincinnati
Speaker 1: for firepower. Dawson Knox is more proven, has a longer
Speaker 1: track record than hayden Hurst, but hayden Hurst has had
Speaker 1: a tremendous camp and was a first round pick for
Speaker 1: a reason. So it is quite a group, no doubt.
Speaker 1: That would probably be the one slight Bill's edge there.
Speaker 1: You're right, all right. So for folks who are not
Speaker 1: familiar with Golong, tell them what your website is all
Speaker 1: about and how they can find it and subscribe. Beautiful yep,
Speaker 1: Golong tv dot com. You can just sign up. You know,
Speaker 1: you can pay for a full subscription if you'd like.
Speaker 1: It's gotta think of my charge, right, eight dollars a month,
Speaker 1: fifty year. But also there's free options, so I encourage
Speaker 1: everybody you know. You don't have to pay a dime.
Speaker 1: Just plug in your email hop on that free list.
Speaker 1: You'll still get a ton of stories. And if you
Speaker 1: like it and you want to get everything you can
Speaker 1: create at any time to a full subscription, then I
Speaker 1: just had this idea here because I really love this
Speaker 1: talk and I love Bengals fans are a lot of fun.
Speaker 1: If anybody does subscribe out there, just hit me up
Speaker 1: on Twitter, shoot me an email, reach out however, and
Speaker 1: we'll send you a Golong shirt. So I got a
Speaker 1: few of those I still got. I just saw it downstairs.
Speaker 1: We got a whole box of shirts. So I want
Speaker 1: to try to build up a little bit of a
Speaker 1: Bengals following because it's just a fun ass hell team
Speaker 1: and it's a cool logo. It'll be a good shirt.
Speaker 1: Oh thanks, Yeah, it's my buddy as an artist here
Speaker 1: in Western New York and he does all my artwork
Speaker 1: and he's incredible. But but yeah, i'd even answer your question.
Speaker 1: I guess a lot of long form journalism features profiles.
Speaker 1: Q and A's podcast just really try to kind of
Speaker 1: go beyond just the clicky stuff on social media and
Speaker 1: sit down and really get to know these players. So
Speaker 1: I'm just you know, I'm incredibly thankful that these guys
Speaker 1: are willing to sit down and then talk about their
Speaker 1: lives and dig a little deeper, because it definitely takes
Speaker 1: two to tango. Well, Bengals fans can find the Eli
Speaker 1: Apple story, they can find the Joe Burrow most dangerous
Speaker 1: man in football. You wrote about Tyler Boyd. As I
Speaker 1: mentioned last November. I think there was a Mike Kilton
Speaker 1: profile before the Super Bowl. So there's a ton of
Speaker 1: great Bengal stuff there right now. Again, go LONGTD dot com.
Speaker 1: Tyler Dunn has been my guest again. You can follow
Speaker 1: him at Twitter. Get those shirts tie done at Tie Done,
Speaker 1: t y d U n n E. We look forward
Speaker 1: to whatever that thing is you're gonna write about the Bengals.
Speaker 1: Another great Bengal story coming in next month. And I
Speaker 1: really appreciate you time today, Thank you, Thank you, Dan,
Speaker 1: loved it. We should do it again, and hey, you're
Speaker 1: always welcome on our podcast. We'll do a little home
Speaker 1: and home. Now. Let's transition to Friday's preseason opener against
Speaker 1: the Arizona Cardinals. Joe Burrow obviously won't play and that
Speaker 1: probably would have been the case even if he hadn't
Speaker 1: had appendicitis. So the Bengals starting quarterback will be Joe's
Speaker 1: back up for the past two years, Brandon Allen. We've
Speaker 1: seen him quite a bit. Brandon started six games for
Speaker 1: the Bengals over the last two seasons, but we haven't
Speaker 1: seen the next quarterback who will get into the game.
Speaker 1: Jake Browning. Jake is a former University of Washington star
Speaker 1: who once finished sixth in the Heisman Trophy vote. You're
Speaker 1: spending two years on the Minnesota Vikings practice squad. He
Speaker 1: was cut after the preseason last year and joined the
Speaker 1: Bengals practice squad. His NFL playing experience consists of five
Speaker 1: preseason games over the course of three years. Jakie joined
Speaker 1: the team after the preseason last year. How eager are
Speaker 1: you to play in a game again? And how important
Speaker 1: our preseason games for somebody in your role? Yeah, I
Speaker 1: mean for me, I've been on peace squads for a
Speaker 1: couple of years now, and you know, I haven't played
Speaker 1: a ton of the preseason, didn't play a ton of
Speaker 1: rookie year, didn't have in my COVID year, and then
Speaker 1: played a little bit last year. So I think anytime
Speaker 1: you put as much time into something that have you
Speaker 1: just want to play and be able to put it
Speaker 1: on tape and and let all the hard work hopefully
Speaker 1: show in the game and in a setting that you
Speaker 1: know everybody can see. So yeah, I'm excited to play
Speaker 1: in this offense. You know, I was able to watch
Speaker 1: Joe all of last year and watch Brandon and you know,
Speaker 1: kind of learned from them and see how explosive this
Speaker 1: offense can be. And so I'm excited to be able
Speaker 1: to actually line up and put some pads on, actually
Speaker 1: play real football in this offense. So excited as you
Speaker 1: know that you did get some time with the Vikings
Speaker 1: in the preseason last year. Did you have a preseason highlight?
Speaker 1: Was there a moment that was, you know, particularly enjoyable
Speaker 1: for you? Uh? Not particularly. I mean I did get cut,
Speaker 1: so I didn't go like, uh, probably as good as
Speaker 1: I would have hoped. So, you know, I think anytime
Speaker 1: you have a preseason where I kind of wish you
Speaker 1: would have played a little bit better or kind of
Speaker 1: saw some things and learned some different things. Uh, you're
Speaker 1: kind of chumping out the bit to see it back
Speaker 1: out there and give it another swing. So that's kind
Speaker 1: of where I'm at. But now I didn't really have
Speaker 1: like a highlight per se anything like that. It was
Speaker 1: more definitely learned some some harder lessons and hopefully learn
Speaker 1: from those and and uh, you know, do better this
Speaker 1: training camp in this preseason. Jake Browning's our guest quarterback
Speaker 1: Joe Burrow couldn't practice early in camp after his app
Speaker 1: in deck. To me, that's meant a lot of reps
Speaker 1: for you. How has that helped you? Yeah, I mean
Speaker 1: I haven't taken it didn't take any reps in the offense,
Speaker 1: you know, last year obviously because we're in the season,
Speaker 1: but uh yeah, it's helped a lot. Be able to
Speaker 1: get some reps in practice, work through some different things
Speaker 1: on different plays, and hopefully that shows in the preseason.
Speaker 1: You were on the practice squad last year, so you
Speaker 1: were in the meeting rooms with Burrow. You obviously watched
Speaker 1: the team's run to the Super Bowl. What stood out
Speaker 1: about Joe? I mean, I think he, uh, you know,
Speaker 1: obviously prepares and dolls and does all those things, but
Speaker 1: I think a lot of quarterbacks do that. I think
Speaker 1: he's got pretty unshakable confidence, and I think that showed
Speaker 1: some of those big moments. You know, he's not afraid
Speaker 1: to put the ball up there and let Jamar make
Speaker 1: a play or let t make a play. And you know,
Speaker 1: I think they always say like play within the moment,
Speaker 1: stay in the moment, and I think he does a
Speaker 1: pretty good job of that and plays confident. I'm sure
Speaker 1: people listening to this remember you from your time at
Speaker 1: Washington is the four years starting quarterback, but I want
Speaker 1: to turn the clock back before that to your days
Speaker 1: in Fulsome California. One of your offensive lineman was Jonah Williams.
Speaker 1: Pretty remarkable coincidence. Did Jonah help you adjust and get
Speaker 1: comfortable here in Cincinnati? Yeah, I had to try out here,
Speaker 1: I think, if I remember correctly, it was on a Tuesday,
Speaker 1: So I get him Monday and it was you know,
Speaker 1: went to dinner with him. So it's kind of nice
Speaker 1: to see a familiar face, you know, the first time
Speaker 1: I got here. So yeah, anytime you got some high
Speaker 1: school teammates. There's a couple of us playing in the
Speaker 1: NFL now that we're on that team, and Jonah definitely
Speaker 1: helped me a lot in high school, helped us throw
Speaker 1: the ball a ton, So that was pretty nice when
Speaker 1: he showed up. Yeah, I mean, I think anytime you
Speaker 1: walk into a locker room and you're brand new, you know,
Speaker 1: to see some familiar faces. I know him from high school.
Speaker 1: I know Drew Sample from college. So just just to
Speaker 1: know a couple of people, so you know, it's just
Speaker 1: completely the brand new person is always kind of nice,
Speaker 1: full familiarity. California's a big state. You set most of
Speaker 1: the career passing records there, ninety one touchdown passes your
Speaker 1: final year of high school. Did you guys ever run?
Speaker 1: Did you have running plays? Uh? Yeah, I think we
Speaker 1: pretty much knew the first half and then the second
Speaker 1: half we'd run the whole time. But uh yeah, I mean,
Speaker 1: like you said, I had Jonas and my left tackle
Speaker 1: stot help a lot, had a really good coaching staff
Speaker 1: with Troy Taylor and Chris Richardson who are now at
Speaker 1: Sack State, probably Fresques, and uh, you know, I think
Speaker 1: I think I was up the right place at the
Speaker 1: right time. I obviously had some ability, but I think
Speaker 1: anytime you're putting up some numbers like that, there's a
Speaker 1: lot going on around you. That's that's pretty nice to have.
Speaker 1: So left tackle a couple of really good receivers, really
Speaker 1: good defense, really good old line, and a good system.
Speaker 1: So yeah, fun memories, but uh, you know to hoping
Speaker 1: to have a good preseason and and those are those
Speaker 1: are kind of in the past, but cool things. Probably
Speaker 1: when I'm done playing. We look forward to seeing you
Speaker 1: against the Cardinals. Best of luck in the game throughout
Speaker 1: the preseason. Thank you appreciate it. That's quarterback Jake Browning
Speaker 1: after Brandon Allen and Jake Browning play. We could also
Speaker 1: see former Loveland High School and Ball State quarterback Drew Plitt,
Speaker 1: who joined the team at the start of training camp
Speaker 1: following Joe Burrows appendack to me. The Bengals Booth podcast
Speaker 1: is presented by Ultimate Bengals, the free to play fantasy
Speaker 1: football game. This past season, Ultimate Bengals awarded a weekly
Speaker 1: winner during the course of the year with tickets, autograph merchandise,
Speaker 1: and money can't buy experiences all up for grabs. Find
Speaker 1: Ultimate Bengals in the app Store and Google Play. Now
Speaker 1: time for my weekly training camp update with Dave lapham Lap.
Speaker 1: There was a practice this week where the defense dominated,
Speaker 1: the offense struggled, and the offensive line in particular struggled.
Speaker 1: Did you have days like that? Does it happen to
Speaker 1: everybody aside from Anthony Munio's at some point? Yeah, it does.
Speaker 1: I mean I do think you know, even Anthony, as
Speaker 1: great as he was, he'll tell you there are guys,
Speaker 1: you know, He'll probably say Bruce Smith, you know, was
Speaker 1: a guy that he had had to bring his best against.
Speaker 1: And there's always somebody or something that occurs where you
Speaker 1: don't have as good a day as you would hope.
Speaker 1: Are antics paid in individually or collectively and most important collectively? UM?
Speaker 1: And that that was the key. That was the key factor.
Speaker 1: Like you said, there were you know, too many guys
Speaker 1: didn't have a very good day. And when you combine
Speaker 1: all that together, it's like we talked about before, it's
Speaker 1: like making that fist. And when those five components aren't acting,
Speaker 1: you know, like an automatic reflex when I'm working with
Speaker 1: each other, it can be it can be a tough day.
Speaker 1: And then what you do is you, you know, go
Speaker 1: back to your techniques, go back to ground zero and
Speaker 1: UM and start over again and put together a rebound day,
Speaker 1: which is what they tried to do. And I thought
Speaker 1: there were a lot better the following day. Should we
Speaker 1: even really be evaluating these guys that closely until they
Speaker 1: get the five that are going to play together for
Speaker 1: the first time. Yeah, I think that's a valid point.
Speaker 1: There's there's no no two ways about it. And when
Speaker 1: you uh, you know, you've got now not only do
Speaker 1: you not have eyes like Ac, but now Smith is down.
Speaker 1: I mean, now you've got chemodenergy going out and playing
Speaker 1: some tackle, showing the versatility position versatility you know that
Speaker 1: he has, and you've got you know, you get guys
Speaker 1: just like with any injury, the trickle down effect. As
Speaker 1: Devin Cochran taken Snapster, he may not have anticipated he
Speaker 1: was going to be taken at the beginning of training camp,
Speaker 1: but these are opportunities. I mean, that's why you have
Speaker 1: training camp. That's why you bring in the number of
Speaker 1: players you bring in. And when you bring the guy in,
Speaker 1: you know, you hope you did a good enough job
Speaker 1: scouting him and evaluating his talents that he belongs. And really,
Speaker 1: i'd say, for the for the most part, there's you know,
Speaker 1: almost ninety guys in camp here and I'd say a
Speaker 1: very very high number do belong. There's no two ways
Speaker 1: about it. But the rubber meets the road. Like you said,
Speaker 1: when everybody is up playing together against another opponent, you
Speaker 1: know somebody that doesn't wear the same jersey that you're wearing.
Speaker 1: Because the offensive line has struggled in recent years, we
Speaker 1: tend to evaluate a day like that as bad for
Speaker 1: the offense as opposed to whoa great for the defense.
Speaker 1: Trey Hendrickson is going to give a lot of people
Speaker 1: headaches like he did a few days ago, no question.
Speaker 1: I mean, he is an elite pass rusher. He's got
Speaker 1: boundless energy, he's got endurance, he's got intelligence. It was
Speaker 1: a couple of one on ones that I was watching
Speaker 1: with him. It's it's like, all right, who's going to
Speaker 1: be more patient than the other. Who's going to wait
Speaker 1: before they commit their hands? And the tackle is doing
Speaker 1: a pretty darn good job of being patient, waiting, waiting,
Speaker 1: and then Trey made that initial move that you thought, okay,
Speaker 1: well here it is. So then he commits and brings
Speaker 1: the hand to counter it, and Trey just is athletic
Speaker 1: enough to pull it back and give a counter move.
Speaker 1: And it's like, son of a gun man, this guy's good.
Speaker 1: He's smart, he's athletic, he's got primary moves, he's got
Speaker 1: secondary moves. Who he's a he's a load, you know,
Speaker 1: and they had to end up chipping them already a
Speaker 1: couple of times here in practice, you know. And then
Speaker 1: on the other side of things, Sam Hubbard has taken
Speaker 1: advantage of that. So the h boys are doing a
Speaker 1: bang up job. There's no question they're they're they're really
Speaker 1: good at the edge, and they've got other guys that
Speaker 1: are showing themselves a little bit too. I mean, it's
Speaker 1: going to be very interesting to see once preseason games start.
Speaker 1: I don't think we're going to see Henderson and Hubbard.
Speaker 1: If we see him at all, it's going to be
Speaker 1: very very little. So the battle to who's going to
Speaker 1: make up the back end of that roster from the
Speaker 1: edge rush standpoint is going to be very very interesting
Speaker 1: to watch. We're talking after Sunday's practice. Former Bengals defensive
Speaker 1: coordinator and Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer was in attendance today.
Speaker 1: You happen to be nearby when Mike Zimmer got Sam
Speaker 1: Hubbard's attention to tell him how much he enjoys watching
Speaker 1: him play. Yeah, and Sam was, you know, kind of
Speaker 1: swelled him up a little bit. And Sam was very appreciative,
Speaker 1: and Zim doesn't throw those kind of compliments out, those
Speaker 1: big bouquet compliments very very readily. You know. I mean,
Speaker 1: he's he's a he's a guy that he's a man's man,
Speaker 1: and he's a great football coach in every sense of
Speaker 1: the word. But he does appreciate guys like Hendrickson and Hubbard.
Speaker 1: He said, man, those are those two guys off the edge,
Speaker 1: and now they give you everything they've got every snap.
Speaker 1: Don't think I'm like absolutely coaching. I remember talking to
Speaker 1: Mike Ziner about this many many times when he was
Speaker 1: defensive coordinator for the Bengals and said, you know, the
Speaker 1: good defenses you've had over the years, what's the common denominator?
Speaker 1: He said, corners, edge rushers. When you have corners and
Speaker 1: edge rushers, particularly in today's NFL, but he said, any
Speaker 1: era of NFL that I was coaching in that was big.
Speaker 1: But in today's era in the NFL, if you have
Speaker 1: corners and edge rush guys, you get yourself ingredients to
Speaker 1: have a heck of a defense. And I think the
Speaker 1: Bengals are pretty good in that regard. Joe Burrow watch
Speaker 1: continues today. He apparently picked up a football and people
Speaker 1: noticed it, so that was, you know, jokingly big news.
Speaker 1: But in all series, he stood and watched practice for
Speaker 1: much of the day today instead of watching it from
Speaker 1: the back of a cart. I don't want to pretend
Speaker 1: that this is walking on water, but it's another sign
Speaker 1: that he is gradually moving toward being able to practice again. Well,
Speaker 1: I know that standing and watching practice is a lot
Speaker 1: harder than sitting in a cart watching practice. We can
Speaker 1: attest to that when you're on your feet for two
Speaker 1: plus whatever it is hours. So I think he is advancing.
Speaker 1: I do think that there's there's no question about it.
Speaker 1: And when he was walking, it wasn't as gingerly, you know,
Speaker 1: he had his normal gait back to him. So it
Speaker 1: tells me that everything's healing. And that pulling that you feel,
Speaker 1: you know sometimes during that healing process, I think is subsiding.
Speaker 1: So those are all good signs, but I'm not sure.
Speaker 1: I'm not sure when we're going to see him back
Speaker 1: taking team snaps and that kind of thing. We may
Speaker 1: see him throwing a football and doing other things and
Speaker 1: gradually ramping up as such, but in terms of getting
Speaker 1: in the huddle, calling a play, going to the line,
Speaker 1: of scrimmage with his teammates and executing and checking off
Speaker 1: and audibling and all the things that you have to
Speaker 1: do and to mentally executing them to be able to
Speaker 1: physically execute it. I wonder, I wonder when that's going
Speaker 1: to be. And at this point there's no panic, no rush,
Speaker 1: So I let him just advance to progress at the
Speaker 1: rate that he's doing. I'm fine with that. The training camp,
Speaker 1: we always look closely at the rookies, see who looks
Speaker 1: like he might be able to contribute right off the bat.
Speaker 1: Dax Hill clearly will be able to contribute from day one.
Speaker 1: I think of the rest of the class, the two
Speaker 1: paths rushers have stood out the most to me, Zach
Speaker 1: Carter and Jeffrey Gunter. I agree. I think I think
Speaker 1: Zach Carter is going to make make a little bit
Speaker 1: of noise inside. I mean, he seems to have that
Speaker 1: natural feel. It's just it's funny. Some guys just have
Speaker 1: a natural instinct to counter almost they predict the move
Speaker 1: is going to happen almost before it happens. Conrad so
Speaker 1: quickly and he's got that that kind of ability. Now
Speaker 1: it hasn't been starting Lineman, but I've seen him in
Speaker 1: matchups with guys that are trying to win backup positions
Speaker 1: were they don't lay a glove on him. I mean
Speaker 1: he's he's got the edge now making him miss totally.
Speaker 1: So he has an explosive first step, there's there's he's
Speaker 1: going to get off as they say, there's no question
Speaker 1: about it. And he's a big body guy too. I
Speaker 1: mean he's, you know, pushing three hundred pounds. He'll be
Speaker 1: able to to uh, you know, stop the run and
Speaker 1: the three technique as well as put pressure on the quarterback.
Speaker 1: But when you have a size quickness combination like that man,
Speaker 1: he can be a disruptive force. You can have him
Speaker 1: inverting the line of scrimmage in the running game and
Speaker 1: the passing game like Ogan Joby did for him. So
Speaker 1: at practiced today, Drew Sample is out there with a
Speaker 1: pretty heavy leg brace on after hurting his knee. It
Speaker 1: doesn't sound like anything too serious. He could be back
Speaker 1: within a couple of weeks, but it does exacerbate a
Speaker 1: position group where you've got a clear cut number one
Speaker 1: receiving target and Hayden Hurst when healthy, you've got a
Speaker 1: clear cut good blocker in Drew Sample, and then a
Speaker 1: lot of other guys that are battling for the third
Speaker 1: spot practice squad spots. That's a pretty unsettled position group
Speaker 1: after those verse two. Yeah, it really is. And fortunately
Speaker 1: Drew Sample. You know, it doesn't sound like his foot
Speaker 1: was on the ground planted and he got hit and
Speaker 1: it caved in that way that that would have been
Speaker 1: some extensive damage going over a pile. Maybe it was
Speaker 1: off the ground and then you get kind of a
Speaker 1: whiplash effect, you know, if somebody hits your leg and
Speaker 1: you still have a strain of a ligament, but not
Speaker 1: if it was planted and smashed and now you've got
Speaker 1: a real problem. So he kind of dodged a bullet
Speaker 1: I think a little bit there. But in his absence,
Speaker 1: if it's a couple of weeks, you know, you've got
Speaker 1: other guys that are trying to, you know, jockey for position.
Speaker 1: I think Will Box as a guy that probably is
Speaker 1: the front runner, you know, to move up and to
Speaker 1: get more snaps um, you know, after hayden Hurst, particularly
Speaker 1: in this in this first football game, you're gonna see
Speaker 1: tight ends that I'm not sure how much you're gonna
Speaker 1: see hayden Hurst. You're gonna see the battle of the
Speaker 1: tight end starts to rage, and you know we're gonna
Speaker 1: be looking at guys like Willcox, you Banks, rig guys
Speaker 1: that are household names, you know, for Thaddius Moss. Uh
Speaker 1: So it's gonna be it's gonna be very interesting to see,
Speaker 1: you know who who steps up. Scotty Washington is another
Speaker 1: one that's a you know, is a former wide receiver
Speaker 1: that's bulking up showing to try to play the tight
Speaker 1: end position. So you've got a real that's going to
Speaker 1: be a very very interesting battle that goes on in
Speaker 1: that that Arizona Cardinal preseason game. It's like their super Bowl.
Speaker 1: I mean, they're fighting for their professional lives. So you
Speaker 1: know a lot of people are like, yeah, you know
Speaker 1: those games they don't mean anything. Means the hell of
Speaker 1: a lot to these guys. I mean, they're they're chocking
Speaker 1: for position in a very significant way. And because they
Speaker 1: know that it's not just these guys, it's the other
Speaker 1: teams around the National Football League maybe letting go of
Speaker 1: their number three tight end, potentially their number four tight
Speaker 1: end who may have more NFL experience than these guys do.
Speaker 1: So they need to show that, you know, they can
Speaker 1: fit this system and do well within it, because they're
Speaker 1: going to be other guys out there on the waiver
Speaker 1: wire during the course of training camp that muddy the
Speaker 1: waters competitively, competitively for these guys as well as well.
Speaker 1: I don't know if any of the undrafted wide receivers
Speaker 1: will make the fifty three man roster. They're pretty setted
Speaker 1: wide receiver, but those guys are battling for practice squad spots.
Speaker 1: Certainly there's going to be a one or two of
Speaker 1: those guys on the practice squad. Kwami Lasseter number eighteen
Speaker 1: makes several catches every day. It seems he also looked
Speaker 1: good in the OTAs. Kendrick Pryor number nineteen didn't stand
Speaker 1: out to me at all in the OTAs, but in
Speaker 1: the last several practices it seems like he's been coming on. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I agree, I thought Laster. Laster kind of caught my eye.
Speaker 1: Even in an ots You just see a guy with
Speaker 1: his body mechanics and the way he runs and the
Speaker 1: way he runs routes and sinks his hips and gets
Speaker 1: in and out of those cuts and gets in and
Speaker 1: out of him sharply and doesn't round him and things
Speaker 1: of that nature, and it's like, oh jeez, you know
Speaker 1: that guy. That guy is a is a very precise
Speaker 1: and very poisoned route runner. So you know you wanted
Speaker 1: to see him when the pads came on, and he's
Speaker 1: he's still responding, responding pretty well. And that's that's another
Speaker 1: group that has you know, Trent Taylor is somebody that
Speaker 1: you know people are trying to unseat, but they know
Speaker 1: what he can do. The coaches have a handle on
Speaker 1: what Trent Taylor can do, not only as a as
Speaker 1: a receiver and block people and catch football, but as
Speaker 1: a put returner. And and that's where the job is
Speaker 1: going to be. I think one and lost who's going
Speaker 1: to show themselves as a good return guy. Kawami Laster
Speaker 1: has that that ability as well. But you're right, I
Speaker 1: mean Prior has stepped up and made plays. He's he
Speaker 1: showed him off. I think Stanley Morgan is a lock,
Speaker 1: you know, to be on the roster. Sorenson has got
Speaker 1: to you know, he's a dark dark horse. But the
Speaker 1: thing is what happens is in training camp you've shown
Speaker 1: you blung. Then all of a sudden in a preseason game,
Speaker 1: somebody steps up and makes a player two and it's like, wow, boy,
Speaker 1: when the light goes on, when the competition really starts,
Speaker 1: Let's see if it happens again. And then if you
Speaker 1: can string a couple or three together, three preseason games together,
Speaker 1: that's how guys come out of nowhere and make NFL rosters.
Speaker 1: So it has to start in the first preseason game, though,
Speaker 1: And really the biggest thing is handling that pressure of all, right,
Speaker 1: I know I have to make a play, but I
Speaker 1: can't try to do too much, because when I try
Speaker 1: to do too much, it's going to backfire and it'll
Speaker 1: probably end up the other team will make a big
Speaker 1: play because I'm trying too hard and I'm going to
Speaker 1: do something that's going to lead a defensive back to
Speaker 1: make a play against me, and then all of a sudden,
Speaker 1: there the whole thing blows up in my face. So
Speaker 1: those those battles are always very interesting to watch as well.
Speaker 1: But you know, Mike Thomas is a is a guy
Speaker 1: that's a special team staple um, you know. And then
Speaker 1: the Big three is very big and looms very large.
Speaker 1: They're not going anywhere. Eli Apple had a few days
Speaker 1: earlier this week where he didn't take part in any
Speaker 1: team period because of a minor injury. He was back
Speaker 1: out there today with the first string. What do you
Speaker 1: think of the camp that Eli Apple is having? Extremely competitive,
Speaker 1: you know, and uh and I think, you know, probably
Speaker 1: some of the time coaches and general managers and ownership
Speaker 1: are like, don't take it too far, you know, don't
Speaker 1: take anybody to the ground or um, you know, let's
Speaker 1: let's not have any have any injury. But he is
Speaker 1: stepping up to the challenge of taking taking on guys
Speaker 1: like Chase and um and matching up well, you know,
Speaker 1: and competing and everything's a contested, competitive scenario. And um,
Speaker 1: I think that last year did wonders for that guy's confidence.
Speaker 1: I mean, he is to me, he looks like not
Speaker 1: a different football player, but a much more confident football player.
Speaker 1: There's no question about that. I think he really feels
Speaker 1: like he's part of this thing. He feels like he
Speaker 1: was a big part of the success they had last
Speaker 1: year and rightfully show so he should feel that way.
Speaker 1: So I think they got themselves a guy that you
Speaker 1: know is going to be a cornerback, like Mike Zimmer
Speaker 1: talks about that can be a factor and you know,
Speaker 1: allows the edge rush to even get there. It's almost
Speaker 1: like the hand fitting glove. The edge rush sometimes will
Speaker 1: hide a little you know, blemish that they have in
Speaker 1: the secondary or vice versa. The secondary is smothering all
Speaker 1: rights routes so much that the rush will have an
Speaker 1: extra half second to a second to get there, and
Speaker 1: they get there and they finish it. So I think
Speaker 1: he may be part of that equation. We are five
Speaker 1: days away from our first preseason broadcast. Do you know
Speaker 1: the Arizona Cardinals third string, because we're gonna have to
Speaker 1: run from it is it's going to be you know,
Speaker 1: you know what's interesting. It's like, yeah, I'm gonna I'm
Speaker 1: gonna learn it because, like I said earlier, to these guys,
Speaker 1: this is huge. This is huge, and uh, you know,
Speaker 1: I always, I always enjoy good football competition. So it's
Speaker 1: not like it's going to be one team's number ones
Speaker 1: against another team's number threes and it's like, hey, you
Speaker 1: know this and this will be like a big boring
Speaker 1: honor um will it? Will it be? I hope it's
Speaker 1: a competitive contest. I hope there are I love good football.
Speaker 1: I hope there are good football players made. And you know,
Speaker 1: I'm going to respect the fact that these guys are
Speaker 1: out there fighting tooth and nail to survive for another
Speaker 1: week in an NFL training camp, and that's what it's
Speaker 1: all about. It's going to be to them. It is
Speaker 1: going to be like go time and showtime. The worst
Speaker 1: of those one hundred eighty players is a great football
Speaker 1: player just to be out there bingo. I mean, there's
Speaker 1: there's a lot of guys in the Canadian Football League,
Speaker 1: the XFL, the USFL who wish they were in a
Speaker 1: training camp right now competing for an NFL roster. And
Speaker 1: that's the thing, like we talked about before, Practice reps
Speaker 1: are all taped, you know, and it's going to have
Speaker 1: all that tape, but there's nothing like game tape. And
Speaker 1: these guys know that. So the more snaps are out there,
Speaker 1: they know that the more opportunities they have to show
Speaker 1: that they belong in the professional realm of football somewhere.
Speaker 1: If it's not with Cincinnati or Arizona, is it with
Speaker 1: another NFL team, is with another pro league that may
Speaker 1: not be as the highest level that the NFL is. Obviously,
Speaker 1: these guys are fighting for their professional football lives and
Speaker 1: it's going to be interesting to watch them fight and
Speaker 1: scratch Friday's game starts at zeven thirty. Our pregame coverage
Speaker 1: on the Bengals Radio Network begins at six pm, and
Speaker 1: by the time you get up on Saturday morning, there
Speaker 1: will be a new episode of this podcast waiting with
Speaker 1: radio replays and postgame analysis. That's going to do it
Speaker 1: for this episode of the Bengals Booth Podcast, as presented
Speaker 1: by Ultimate Bengals. Download Ultimate Bengals ahead of the upcoming season.
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Speaker 1: more Bengals fans find us. I'm Dan Horde and thanks
Speaker 1: for listening to The Bengals Booth Podcast