1
00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:06,319
Speaker 1: Hi, get everybody. I'm Dan Horde and thanks for downloading

2
00:00:06,360 --> 00:00:11,320
Speaker 1: The Bengals Booth Podcast. The You've seen the difference and

3
00:00:11,680 --> 00:00:16,960
Speaker 1: it's getting better all the time. Addition, as I discussed

4
00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:19,400
Speaker 1: the state of the Bengals and what they are likely

5
00:00:19,480 --> 00:00:22,440
Speaker 1: to do in the draft with my friend Charles Davis,

6
00:00:22,600 --> 00:00:26,160
Speaker 1: who calls games for CBS Sports and analyzes the draft

7
00:00:26,320 --> 00:00:29,600
Speaker 1: for the NFL Network. Then I'll talk to a man

8
00:00:29,640 --> 00:00:32,200
Speaker 1: who has seen it all in more than four decades

9
00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:36,320
Speaker 1: in Cincinnati, Paul Sparling, who announced this week that he

10
00:00:36,400 --> 00:00:40,360
Speaker 1: is retiring as the Bengals head athletic trainer. He'll share

11
00:00:40,400 --> 00:00:44,440
Speaker 1: some great nuggets about Paul Brown, Tim Crumrye, Joe Burrow,

12
00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:49,680
Speaker 1: and Moore. The Bengals Booth Podcast is presented by Ultimate Bengals.

13
00:00:50,159 --> 00:00:53,280
Speaker 1: Download Ultimate Bengals ahead of the twenty twenty two season

14
00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:57,920
Speaker 1: gets free to play next level fantasy football with fantastic

15
00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:01,240
Speaker 1: Bengals prizes. Get it now on the App Store and

16
00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:04,000
Speaker 1: Google Play. And here's a quick reminder that you can

17
00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:06,720
Speaker 1: have the latest edition of this podcast delivered write to

18
00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:10,920
Speaker 1: your phone, tablet, or computer by subscribing wherever you get

19
00:01:10,920 --> 00:01:21,480
Speaker 1: your podcasts. It's the greatest thing since the Masters. I

20
00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:23,399
Speaker 1: joked with a buddy this week that I think I

21
00:01:23,480 --> 00:01:26,679
Speaker 1: love the Masters Tournament more than I love my family.

22
00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:30,600
Speaker 1: I love the traditions, the Green jacket, the champions dinner,

23
00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:36,080
Speaker 1: the Part three contest, Pimento cheese, sandwiches, etc. I love

24
00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:38,840
Speaker 1: the beauty of the chorus with the azaleas and Dogwoods

25
00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:41,440
Speaker 1: in full bloom. And I love the history and the

26
00:01:41,520 --> 00:01:46,720
Speaker 1: thrilling moments provided by Jack, Tiger, Phil and so many others.

27
00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:50,040
Speaker 1: I have attended the Masters once, and if you stick

28
00:01:50,080 --> 00:01:52,840
Speaker 1: around until the end of this episode, I will share

29
00:01:52,960 --> 00:01:58,760
Speaker 1: my amusing but somewhat painful experience in story time with Dan.

30
00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:03,920
Speaker 1: But now let's get to football. The NFL Draft is

31
00:02:04,040 --> 00:02:07,760
Speaker 1: three weeks away. NFL Network will provide live coverage of

32
00:02:07,800 --> 00:02:11,760
Speaker 1: the draft from Las Vegas April twenty eighth through thirtieth,

33
00:02:11,960 --> 00:02:14,360
Speaker 1: and this week I have the chance to visit with

34
00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:19,519
Speaker 1: NFL Network draft analyst Charles Davis. Charles, your first mock

35
00:02:19,600 --> 00:02:22,320
Speaker 1: draft came out this week. You have the Bengals selecting

36
00:02:22,440 --> 00:02:26,200
Speaker 1: Tyler Linderbaum, the center out of Iowa. Tell us, why

37
00:02:27,360 --> 00:02:29,960
Speaker 1: oh look, I think he's the best center in the draft,

38
00:02:30,240 --> 00:02:33,200
Speaker 1: and I think he has qualities similar to Creed Humphrey

39
00:02:33,320 --> 00:02:36,120
Speaker 1: last year of Oklahoma, who went in the second round

40
00:02:36,160 --> 00:02:38,760
Speaker 1: in Kansas City, was plugged right in as their starting

41
00:02:38,800 --> 00:02:41,680
Speaker 1: center and went to not just the Pro Bowl, what

42
00:02:41,800 --> 00:02:44,400
Speaker 1: was an All Pro center as a rookie, which was

43
00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:47,920
Speaker 1: really a phenomenal accomplishment. But I think that Linderbaum is

44
00:02:47,960 --> 00:02:51,880
Speaker 1: a similar player, same type of qualities to him, same

45
00:02:51,919 --> 00:02:53,959
Speaker 1: type of plug in play. Right away, coming from the

46
00:02:54,040 --> 00:02:57,040
Speaker 1: University of Iowa, where how often is it, Dan that

47
00:02:57,120 --> 00:03:00,160
Speaker 1: your head coach spends more time with your offensive line

48
00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:03,880
Speaker 1: than he does any other position, Maybe since what Vince Lombardi,

49
00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:06,720
Speaker 1: because he was one of the seven blocks of Granted,

50
00:03:06,960 --> 00:03:09,960
Speaker 1: you just don't get it very often. Maybe in Cincinnati

51
00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:13,480
Speaker 1: you had that before with Forest Gregg maybe perhaps, but

52
00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:16,799
Speaker 1: you hear where I'm coming with that. Look, that's where

53
00:03:17,400 --> 00:03:19,880
Speaker 1: Kirk Ferren spends his time at the University of Iowa.

54
00:03:19,960 --> 00:03:22,519
Speaker 1: Like when these coaches scatter, Kirk Farrence is with that

55
00:03:22,639 --> 00:03:25,400
Speaker 1: offensive line. He's a tremendous offensive line coach in the NFL.

56
00:03:25,639 --> 00:03:28,600
Speaker 1: He's been a tremendous head coach at Iowa. That's his baby,

57
00:03:28,680 --> 00:03:32,080
Speaker 1: and this kid, I think has the movement, skills, the strength,

58
00:03:32,200 --> 00:03:35,200
Speaker 1: everything that you're looking for to be a starter right away.

59
00:03:35,320 --> 00:03:37,520
Speaker 1: And now, look, I do realize that you've made some

60
00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:40,080
Speaker 1: moves in the off season. I do realize there's a

61
00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:42,960
Speaker 1: certain young man who came over by name of Carris

62
00:03:43,320 --> 00:03:47,160
Speaker 1: Right that has center in his background. Last year he

63
00:03:47,200 --> 00:03:50,120
Speaker 1: played his first games at guard for New England and

64
00:03:50,160 --> 00:03:52,560
Speaker 1: played much of the season as they're starting left guard.

65
00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:56,200
Speaker 1: If Linderbaumb comes in, Carris goes into competition at a

66
00:03:56,280 --> 00:03:59,920
Speaker 1: guard spot. So this is more of a the player

67
00:04:00,760 --> 00:04:04,280
Speaker 1: is too good to pass up than any perceived need

68
00:04:04,320 --> 00:04:08,040
Speaker 1: on the offensive line. To me, yes, and you're also

69
00:04:08,120 --> 00:04:11,440
Speaker 1: wanting to increase You remember last year prior to the draft, Dan, Look,

70
00:04:11,520 --> 00:04:14,040
Speaker 1: you remember it all very well. You're immersed in it, right.

71
00:04:14,760 --> 00:04:17,680
Speaker 1: How much was the debate like you probably went to

72
00:04:17,800 --> 00:04:19,800
Speaker 1: different places and said, oh no, I don't want to

73
00:04:19,800 --> 00:04:22,840
Speaker 1: hear this debate anymore. Should we take a tackle in

74
00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:26,400
Speaker 1: Piney's sewel to take care of our young quarterback or

75
00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:29,160
Speaker 1: do we go get Jamar Chase the wide receiver? Right,

76
00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:31,440
Speaker 1: Because that was that's all we talked about, and that

77
00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:34,320
Speaker 1: was debated ad nauseum. And I'm sure you closed the

78
00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:36,560
Speaker 1: door a few times said okay, I can't do this anymore,

79
00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:39,359
Speaker 1: I'm done. They'll figure it out. Well, they figured it

80
00:04:39,360 --> 00:04:42,200
Speaker 1: out last year because they knew that they believed in

81
00:04:42,279 --> 00:04:45,560
Speaker 1: Jonah Williams. So because they believed in Jonah william just

82
00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:49,719
Speaker 1: said Jonah Williams is healthy, Jamar Chase another weapon out

83
00:04:49,760 --> 00:04:52,200
Speaker 1: Why that shore worked out pretty darned well for them

84
00:04:52,279 --> 00:04:55,520
Speaker 1: right Well, to me, Tyler Linderbaum is another way of

85
00:04:55,560 --> 00:04:59,760
Speaker 1: making things better for this young quarterback. Increasing your offensive line.

86
00:05:00,640 --> 00:05:03,680
Speaker 1: It wasn't a debate last year in Cincinnati. It was

87
00:05:03,720 --> 00:05:08,680
Speaker 1: a civil war. You were Team Chase or Teams Seul.

88
00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:12,960
Speaker 1: I admit to being Teams Seul. But I learned my lesson.

89
00:05:13,040 --> 00:05:16,360
Speaker 1: What I learned last year is that the value of

90
00:05:16,400 --> 00:05:20,760
Speaker 1: a transcendent wide receiver is greater than the value of

91
00:05:20,800 --> 00:05:24,120
Speaker 1: a single offensive lineman, no matter how good the offensive

92
00:05:24,160 --> 00:05:27,880
Speaker 1: lineman is. And obviously you want great offensive lineman, but

93
00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:32,040
Speaker 1: a game changing wide receiver has so much value. That

94
00:05:32,160 --> 00:05:34,760
Speaker 1: was the lesson that I learned from last year. Well,

95
00:05:34,760 --> 00:05:36,800
Speaker 1: it's a great lesson. It's a lesson for all of

96
00:05:36,880 --> 00:05:41,039
Speaker 1: us because it is a legitimate debate, and as you said,

97
00:05:41,080 --> 00:05:43,599
Speaker 1: in a legitimate war about which way do we go?

98
00:05:44,120 --> 00:05:47,479
Speaker 1: Because in your team's history taking Anthony Munos a left tackle.

99
00:05:47,600 --> 00:05:50,200
Speaker 1: Sure worked out pretty darn well. Okay, you talked about

100
00:05:50,240 --> 00:05:54,440
Speaker 1: transcendent talent. Yeah, I get the wide receiver. But if

101
00:05:54,440 --> 00:05:55,799
Speaker 1: you all of a sudden you thought you were getting

102
00:05:55,839 --> 00:05:59,240
Speaker 1: another Anthony Muno's type player and he signed off on that.

103
00:05:59,279 --> 00:06:01,880
Speaker 1: I remember for the draft, I went, oh, boy, that's

104
00:06:01,920 --> 00:06:03,920
Speaker 1: putting some pressure on Duke Topin and the rest of

105
00:06:03,960 --> 00:06:07,159
Speaker 1: the decision makers. And Anthony Munios goes go get the tackle.

106
00:06:08,520 --> 00:06:10,560
Speaker 1: Remembers how well he played and what he did for

107
00:06:10,560 --> 00:06:12,280
Speaker 1: a team that went to a couple of Super Bowls

108
00:06:12,279 --> 00:06:15,080
Speaker 1: while he was there. But bottom line is, they got

109
00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:18,960
Speaker 1: it right last year. They nailed it to me, Linda Bob. Again,

110
00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:22,120
Speaker 1: as you said, I'm taking the player much more so

111
00:06:22,200 --> 00:06:26,279
Speaker 1: than absolute need. But again it's not quite the same

112
00:06:26,320 --> 00:06:30,440
Speaker 1: as I'm taking Sam Bowie instead of Michael Jordan because

113
00:06:30,480 --> 00:06:34,280
Speaker 1: I have Clyde Drexler who was a tremendous player. But

114
00:06:34,320 --> 00:06:37,640
Speaker 1: it's along those lines. Let's not make that mistake again.

115
00:06:37,680 --> 00:06:39,400
Speaker 1: If I got a chance to get better, I go

116
00:06:39,440 --> 00:06:43,080
Speaker 1: ahead and get better. NFL Network Draft analyst Charles Davis

117
00:06:43,160 --> 00:06:47,280
Speaker 1: is our guest. Let's talk about cornerback. The Bengals have Chitube,

118
00:06:47,320 --> 00:06:50,200
Speaker 1: A Wouge and Mike Hilton signed for multiple seasons, but

119
00:06:50,360 --> 00:06:52,760
Speaker 1: Eli Apple is coming back on a one year deal.

120
00:06:53,520 --> 00:06:57,560
Speaker 1: Depth beyond that threesome is questionable. So if the Bengals

121
00:06:57,600 --> 00:07:01,280
Speaker 1: were to go cornerback, which is obvious a strong possibility,

122
00:07:01,680 --> 00:07:04,800
Speaker 1: who do you like among the guys that might still

123
00:07:04,839 --> 00:07:08,800
Speaker 1: be there at number thirty one? Well? I like kier

124
00:07:08,920 --> 00:07:12,200
Speaker 1: Elam at the University of Florida. I love his build,

125
00:07:12,280 --> 00:07:14,840
Speaker 1: I love his toughness. I love his bloodlines with a

126
00:07:15,240 --> 00:07:17,720
Speaker 1: father and an uncle who played in the NFL as well.

127
00:07:18,200 --> 00:07:21,200
Speaker 1: He gets it. Hasn't had quite the college career that

128
00:07:21,240 --> 00:07:23,960
Speaker 1: you would like due to some injuries. But I think

129
00:07:23,960 --> 00:07:26,200
Speaker 1: that he's a terrific player and he's one name that

130
00:07:26,240 --> 00:07:28,240
Speaker 1: I would list and Dan I'm not listing him in

131
00:07:28,320 --> 00:07:31,360
Speaker 1: any order of preference. I'm just listing names at this stage.

132
00:07:31,560 --> 00:07:34,800
Speaker 1: I wonder for Roger McCreary from Auburn's going to be available.

133
00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:38,040
Speaker 1: Really impressing me at the Senior Bowl, I'd been told

134
00:07:38,080 --> 00:07:40,680
Speaker 1: going into the Senior Bowl people were a little disappointed

135
00:07:40,680 --> 00:07:42,840
Speaker 1: about the lack of plays he made on the ball.

136
00:07:43,640 --> 00:07:45,360
Speaker 1: I didn't see that at the Senior Bowl. He made

137
00:07:45,400 --> 00:07:47,480
Speaker 1: a lot of players on the football that entire week

138
00:07:47,520 --> 00:07:50,400
Speaker 1: and showed the aggressiveness and the willingness not just to

139
00:07:50,520 --> 00:07:52,560
Speaker 1: mix it up in the run game, but to be

140
00:07:52,640 --> 00:07:54,760
Speaker 1: there in the passing game and make them make sure

141
00:07:54,760 --> 00:07:57,960
Speaker 1: that receivers were making contested catches. I think that the

142
00:07:58,040 --> 00:08:02,640
Speaker 1: University of Washington has two corners McDuffie and Kyler Gordon.

143
00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:05,640
Speaker 1: And it was interesting. I got done my first mock draft.

144
00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:07,400
Speaker 1: I got a couple of texts from some people that

145
00:08:07,520 --> 00:08:09,720
Speaker 1: I really trust in the league. You know, you and

146
00:08:09,760 --> 00:08:12,080
Speaker 1: I we a lot of things that we do. We

147
00:08:12,200 --> 00:08:14,280
Speaker 1: bounced off of other people in the league that we

148
00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:16,720
Speaker 1: count on. I didn't even have to bounce this one off.

149
00:08:16,960 --> 00:08:19,320
Speaker 1: They came to me and said, hey, man, don't fall

150
00:08:19,320 --> 00:08:21,720
Speaker 1: asleep on Kyler Gordon because I Trent mcduffy going in

151
00:08:21,760 --> 00:08:24,880
Speaker 1: the teams. Okay, don't fall asleep on Kyler Gordon the

152
00:08:24,920 --> 00:08:28,560
Speaker 1: corner at Washington. He would probably be available around that

153
00:08:28,600 --> 00:08:31,160
Speaker 1: time frame, Dan that someone would take a good strong

154
00:08:31,200 --> 00:08:33,720
Speaker 1: look at and say, hey, he might be the guy

155
00:08:33,760 --> 00:08:35,440
Speaker 1: that we would go for. So I'm just talking about

156
00:08:35,440 --> 00:08:37,360
Speaker 1: it in the first round. As we get past the

157
00:08:37,400 --> 00:08:39,839
Speaker 1: first round, those numbers start to really jump out there.

158
00:08:39,920 --> 00:08:42,600
Speaker 1: More and more because there's plenty of corners, not nearly

159
00:08:42,640 --> 00:08:45,520
Speaker 1: as many receivers, but there's still a decent amount of

160
00:08:45,520 --> 00:08:47,439
Speaker 1: depth at the corner of position. But those would be

161
00:08:47,520 --> 00:08:49,840
Speaker 1: the guys I would see. I don't know that there's

162
00:08:49,880 --> 00:08:52,280
Speaker 1: going to be a precipitous drop for the top corners.

163
00:08:52,840 --> 00:08:55,559
Speaker 1: You know, would and Andrew Ruth from Clemson drop in there?

164
00:08:55,600 --> 00:08:59,079
Speaker 1: I don't think so. Derek Stingley, you know less, unless

165
00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:01,959
Speaker 1: something really crazy happens. I don't see any of those

166
00:09:01,960 --> 00:09:08,680
Speaker 1: guys dropping down, and certainly not my guy, Sauce Gardner. No, no, no, listen.

167
00:09:09,120 --> 00:09:11,080
Speaker 1: I was working a show the other day and we

168
00:09:11,160 --> 00:09:13,240
Speaker 1: did a thing like where's the highest he can go?

169
00:09:13,240 --> 00:09:15,400
Speaker 1: Where's the lowest he can go? And I think the

170
00:09:15,480 --> 00:09:19,040
Speaker 1: highest we started with was three to Houston and the

171
00:09:19,080 --> 00:09:21,720
Speaker 1: lowest was ten to the Jets with their second pick.

172
00:09:22,280 --> 00:09:24,280
Speaker 1: If the Jets don't use them at four with their

173
00:09:24,280 --> 00:09:27,400
Speaker 1: first pick. You know, I mocked him to Seattle at nine.

174
00:09:27,960 --> 00:09:29,760
Speaker 1: I mean, could you imagine if Pete Carroll saw the

175
00:09:29,840 --> 00:09:32,640
Speaker 1: Sauce the gardener was still standing there at nine with

176
00:09:32,760 --> 00:09:34,640
Speaker 1: the way he likes to play with those corners, with

177
00:09:34,760 --> 00:09:38,640
Speaker 1: the length of those guys, look Richard Sherman is going

178
00:09:38,679 --> 00:09:40,920
Speaker 1: to go to the Hall of Fame. We know that, right,

179
00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:44,400
Speaker 1: And he's built similarly to a mod gardener. A mid

180
00:09:44,480 --> 00:09:47,880
Speaker 1: gardeners way faster than Richard Sherman. What a mod's gotta

181
00:09:47,960 --> 00:09:50,640
Speaker 1: do is maximize the brain power that Richard brought to

182
00:09:50,679 --> 00:09:53,440
Speaker 1: the field and the reason he didn't get beat very often.

183
00:09:53,640 --> 00:09:55,960
Speaker 1: He eliminated most of the stuff you couldn't you could

184
00:09:56,040 --> 00:09:58,640
Speaker 1: do or couldn't do against him before the ball was snapped,

185
00:09:58,920 --> 00:10:01,760
Speaker 1: and he was ready for what remaining. That's what a

186
00:10:01,760 --> 00:10:04,640
Speaker 1: great corner does. That's what Sherman did. That's going to

187
00:10:04,720 --> 00:10:07,080
Speaker 1: be the next step step for Sauce Gardner. I'll tell

188
00:10:07,120 --> 00:10:10,400
Speaker 1: you this about Sauce Gardner. So he's been attending most

189
00:10:10,440 --> 00:10:14,040
Speaker 1: of the University of Cincinnati's spring practices. He has been

190
00:10:14,120 --> 00:10:17,720
Speaker 1: coaching up the young guys, and it shows to me

191
00:10:17,880 --> 00:10:20,360
Speaker 1: the knowledge that he's gained from three years of playing

192
00:10:20,360 --> 00:10:24,120
Speaker 1: college football. He's out there like a legitimate defensive backs

193
00:10:24,160 --> 00:10:27,920
Speaker 1: coach sharing his knowledge, which which shows me something. Yeah,

194
00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:30,880
Speaker 1: and it tells me something about him too, dan One.

195
00:10:31,120 --> 00:10:33,280
Speaker 1: Just what you talked about the knowledge that he's gained,

196
00:10:33,280 --> 00:10:37,680
Speaker 1: and he's not just willing to impart it. But there's

197
00:10:37,720 --> 00:10:41,520
Speaker 1: one other element, the pride in the University of Cincinnati program,

198
00:10:41,559 --> 00:10:43,719
Speaker 1: the pride and being a Bearcat, the pride and what

199
00:10:43,800 --> 00:10:46,440
Speaker 1: they've built up over his timeframe and his career there

200
00:10:46,559 --> 00:10:49,040
Speaker 1: where the team got progressively better to wear. The last

201
00:10:49,080 --> 00:10:52,119
Speaker 1: two seasons, they lose a game in the regular season. Okay,

202
00:10:52,240 --> 00:10:54,640
Speaker 1: so he put it up there. Now he has part

203
00:10:54,640 --> 00:10:57,160
Speaker 1: of that grouping, and I think by his coaching up

204
00:10:57,200 --> 00:11:00,920
Speaker 1: these youngsters, he's also telling them silently, well, what's the

205
00:11:00,920 --> 00:11:04,800
Speaker 1: old Montreal Canadians thing about, you know, from failing hands

206
00:11:04,800 --> 00:11:08,040
Speaker 1: where they tossed the torch. Well, his hands aren't failing,

207
00:11:08,480 --> 00:11:10,520
Speaker 1: but he's passing the torch and he expects them to

208
00:11:10,600 --> 00:11:12,640
Speaker 1: uphold it to the standards that he and his teammates

209
00:11:12,640 --> 00:11:15,720
Speaker 1: have established there at Cincinnati. That's part of why he's

210
00:11:15,760 --> 00:11:19,160
Speaker 1: coaching these kids up that way. I would believe. NFL

211
00:11:19,240 --> 00:11:22,120
Speaker 1: Network Draft analyst Charles Davis is our guests, the Bengals

212
00:11:22,160 --> 00:11:26,400
Speaker 1: like to rotate defensive lineman right now, at least for now,

213
00:11:26,440 --> 00:11:29,000
Speaker 1: they don't have Larry Ogan job back in the fold

214
00:11:29,480 --> 00:11:33,000
Speaker 1: after his free agent deal fell through in Chicago. Maybe

215
00:11:33,040 --> 00:11:35,520
Speaker 1: he winds up back with the Bengals but in any case,

216
00:11:35,559 --> 00:11:38,640
Speaker 1: they like to rotate those guys up front. Are there

217
00:11:38,679 --> 00:11:42,760
Speaker 1: any defensive tackles that you would consider at thirty one?

218
00:11:43,360 --> 00:11:46,480
Speaker 1: At thirty one a Logan Hall from Houston. Although I

219
00:11:46,559 --> 00:11:50,199
Speaker 1: am really torn on him Dan for this reason body type.

220
00:11:50,640 --> 00:11:52,760
Speaker 1: I feel like he's more of an edge guy. He

221
00:11:52,800 --> 00:11:55,120
Speaker 1: looks a lot like his teammate coming out last year

222
00:11:55,160 --> 00:11:58,080
Speaker 1: went to New Orleans and Peyton Turner, you know who

223
00:11:58,280 --> 00:12:00,160
Speaker 1: ended up going into first round and cost of as

224
00:12:00,200 --> 00:12:03,319
Speaker 1: to few people similar body type. But when he works

225
00:12:03,320 --> 00:12:06,880
Speaker 1: at the three technique, he's tremendous off the snap, great

226
00:12:06,960 --> 00:12:09,960
Speaker 1: arm overmove, tries to knife through and make plays and

227
00:12:10,040 --> 00:12:12,360
Speaker 1: he did a nice job of that at the comm

228
00:12:12,679 --> 00:12:15,680
Speaker 1: not not just see me at the Senior Bowl. So yes,

229
00:12:15,800 --> 00:12:17,679
Speaker 1: can he be that type of a guy. I think

230
00:12:17,679 --> 00:12:20,040
Speaker 1: he needs a little more bulk, But that's just me.

231
00:12:20,600 --> 00:12:22,640
Speaker 1: But you got a pretty darn good defensive line coach

232
00:12:22,640 --> 00:12:24,720
Speaker 1: and Marion Hobby. And I'm not just saying that because

233
00:12:24,720 --> 00:12:27,440
Speaker 1: we were teammates the University of Tennessee. The world got

234
00:12:27,480 --> 00:12:30,520
Speaker 1: to see that last year, you know, on display. If

235
00:12:30,520 --> 00:12:32,120
Speaker 1: you didn't know it before, you had to watch it

236
00:12:32,160 --> 00:12:35,960
Speaker 1: throughout that as injuries happened as different things, mixing and matching.

237
00:12:36,160 --> 00:12:38,480
Speaker 1: That line continued to play better as a year went on,

238
00:12:38,640 --> 00:12:40,720
Speaker 1: So I would think that he would benefit from that.

239
00:12:41,000 --> 00:12:43,600
Speaker 1: But he would be a guy because I don't think

240
00:12:43,679 --> 00:12:46,840
Speaker 1: Jordan Davids from Georgia DeVante Wyatt from Georgia. I don't

241
00:12:46,840 --> 00:12:48,880
Speaker 1: think they make it down that far, you know, in

242
00:12:49,040 --> 00:12:51,520
Speaker 1: terms of being big defensive tackles and guys that would go.

243
00:12:51,960 --> 00:12:54,600
Speaker 1: If you've got to sneak another person into the first round,

244
00:12:55,440 --> 00:12:57,960
Speaker 1: would it be a Perian Winfrey from from Oklahoma as

245
00:12:57,960 --> 00:13:00,920
Speaker 1: a playmaking type of a defensive tackle. I just am

246
00:13:00,960 --> 00:13:03,719
Speaker 1: skeptical about how many guys would jump up. I think

247
00:13:03,800 --> 00:13:06,040
Speaker 1: Dan the bidding would starting to stecond round for d

248
00:13:06,120 --> 00:13:09,480
Speaker 1: tackles and guys that would be available for for the Bengals.

249
00:13:10,120 --> 00:13:14,440
Speaker 1: Travis Jones from Yukon. Would that name one that would

250
00:13:14,440 --> 00:13:16,280
Speaker 1: be a great one that you would sneak into the

251
00:13:16,320 --> 00:13:19,520
Speaker 1: first round because he's a guy that's literally on the rise.

252
00:13:19,840 --> 00:13:23,200
Speaker 1: People liked him before, people loved him even more after

253
00:13:23,200 --> 00:13:26,000
Speaker 1: the Senior Bowl, and by the time the combine was over,

254
00:13:26,559 --> 00:13:30,000
Speaker 1: now you're having full on man crushes. Okay, the question

255
00:13:30,040 --> 00:13:32,320
Speaker 1: you're going to ask yourself is with all that power

256
00:13:32,600 --> 00:13:35,920
Speaker 1: that he packs and his ability to move people. Are

257
00:13:35,960 --> 00:13:38,600
Speaker 1: you getting pass rush that goes with it? That gives

258
00:13:38,600 --> 00:13:40,840
Speaker 1: you the value that you want at thirty one? But

259
00:13:40,960 --> 00:13:43,760
Speaker 1: he is a legitimate name that the Bengals are looking

260
00:13:43,800 --> 00:13:46,839
Speaker 1: and thinking. Yeah, I would put him in there just

261
00:13:46,880 --> 00:13:50,280
Speaker 1: like you, just with the kid from Houston I mentioned before,

262
00:13:50,360 --> 00:13:53,280
Speaker 1: Logan Hall Da would be my top two candidates at

263
00:13:53,360 --> 00:13:57,440
Speaker 1: thirty one to possibly get in there. Let's get back

264
00:13:57,440 --> 00:14:00,360
Speaker 1: to the Bengals offensive line for a second, specifically the

265
00:14:00,440 --> 00:14:03,960
Speaker 1: moves they made in free agency, because you called Bengals

266
00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:06,320
Speaker 1: games this year for CBS. You know this team well,

267
00:14:06,800 --> 00:14:11,720
Speaker 1: Ted Carriss, Alex Kappa, l Collins. How big of an

268
00:14:11,800 --> 00:14:16,120
Speaker 1: upgrade have the Bengals accomplished on their offensive line? Well?

269
00:14:16,160 --> 00:14:19,120
Speaker 1: To me, this is how big it is. Dan Collins

270
00:14:19,120 --> 00:14:22,280
Speaker 1: immediately slots in at right tackle as a starter. Okay,

271
00:14:22,400 --> 00:14:24,760
Speaker 1: you already have Jonah Williams as your left tackle as

272
00:14:24,800 --> 00:14:28,960
Speaker 1: a starter. Kappa slots in probably at right guard immediately

273
00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:31,240
Speaker 1: as a starter. You remember last year became a mix

274
00:14:31,280 --> 00:14:35,080
Speaker 1: and match situation. Wasn't going to be Jackson Carman, wasn't

275
00:14:35,080 --> 00:14:37,200
Speaker 1: going to be a Chema dentagy. Was it going to

276
00:14:37,280 --> 00:14:39,400
Speaker 1: be both of them in the Super Bowl. It was

277
00:14:39,960 --> 00:14:41,960
Speaker 1: that's what you ended up with with some guys who

278
00:14:42,200 --> 00:14:44,320
Speaker 1: you know who went through all that. So he slots

279
00:14:44,360 --> 00:14:47,840
Speaker 1: in right there, Ted Carres. Immediately you can plug him

280
00:14:47,880 --> 00:14:49,880
Speaker 1: in at center, or you can plug youm in at

281
00:14:49,960 --> 00:14:52,720
Speaker 1: left guard. That's the way I look at depends on

282
00:14:52,760 --> 00:14:55,120
Speaker 1: how you want to go about doing it. But immediately

283
00:14:55,160 --> 00:14:57,360
Speaker 1: he's got starter's potential. That's what he played for New

284
00:14:57,400 --> 00:14:59,200
Speaker 1: England last year. Remember, I think we said at the

285
00:14:59,240 --> 00:15:02,480
Speaker 1: beginning his left guards played last year in New England,

286
00:15:02,480 --> 00:15:04,360
Speaker 1: the first time he'd ever played guard in the NFL.

287
00:15:04,680 --> 00:15:08,280
Speaker 1: He'd been a center here to four. But immediately, great upgrades.

288
00:15:08,800 --> 00:15:10,840
Speaker 1: Guys who plug him play right out, right out of

289
00:15:10,840 --> 00:15:13,680
Speaker 1: the gate, and we'll just see how it all plays out.

290
00:15:13,880 --> 00:15:16,160
Speaker 1: That's why I came back to linder Bomb again. I

291
00:15:16,200 --> 00:15:19,880
Speaker 1: don't think getting Ted Carris takes you away from getting Linderbomb.

292
00:15:20,120 --> 00:15:22,080
Speaker 1: If indeed he's still on the board, you want to

293
00:15:22,120 --> 00:15:23,920
Speaker 1: go get him because someone could go ahead and pluck

294
00:15:23,960 --> 00:15:25,800
Speaker 1: him before you get the thirty one. He's that good.

295
00:15:26,400 --> 00:15:29,280
Speaker 1: You called the Super Bowl last year for the international feed.

296
00:15:29,600 --> 00:15:32,960
Speaker 1: How surprised were you by the Bengal success? Oh? I

297
00:15:33,080 --> 00:15:35,680
Speaker 1: think I think anyone who says that they weren't surprised

298
00:15:35,760 --> 00:15:38,160
Speaker 1: is a little bit disingenuous. I dan, I think that

299
00:15:38,240 --> 00:15:40,160
Speaker 1: anyone who would sit here and say, well, you know,

300
00:15:40,680 --> 00:15:43,640
Speaker 1: preseason I had the Bengals riding it all the way through.

301
00:15:44,640 --> 00:15:48,000
Speaker 1: We saw talent there, but there were enough question marks

302
00:15:48,040 --> 00:15:51,040
Speaker 1: to give you pause. That offensive line that we talked about.

303
00:15:51,160 --> 00:15:53,960
Speaker 1: Remember Jonah Williams hadn't done it for a full season yet.

304
00:15:54,520 --> 00:15:56,240
Speaker 1: You know, he's a first round draft choice that had

305
00:15:56,280 --> 00:15:58,600
Speaker 1: been dinged up the whole time. And remember the debate

306
00:15:58,680 --> 00:16:00,440
Speaker 1: was still raging. Man, I don't know, Oh, they probably

307
00:16:00,440 --> 00:16:02,800
Speaker 1: should have getten Penney Sewell instead of the wide receiver

308
00:16:02,920 --> 00:16:05,240
Speaker 1: because you got a bunch of receivers, so that debate

309
00:16:05,320 --> 00:16:08,280
Speaker 1: was still raging. Joe Burrow coming back from the knee injury,

310
00:16:08,360 --> 00:16:10,840
Speaker 1: would he be the Joe Burrow we expected him to be?

311
00:16:11,520 --> 00:16:14,120
Speaker 1: Turned out? He was and then some even as he

312
00:16:14,200 --> 00:16:16,640
Speaker 1: was still working his way back through the knee injury.

313
00:16:16,880 --> 00:16:19,160
Speaker 1: How about on the defensive side, when you just get

314
00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:22,520
Speaker 1: to the cornerback position. I don't know anyone who could

315
00:16:22,520 --> 00:16:24,640
Speaker 1: have said Eli Apple would have given you that type

316
00:16:24,640 --> 00:16:26,520
Speaker 1: of play that he did all the year long. I

317
00:16:26,560 --> 00:16:29,800
Speaker 1: just don't know that anyone would have signed off on that. Yeah,

318
00:16:29,800 --> 00:16:32,760
Speaker 1: I'm in Eli Apple, He's gonna give you exactly new

319
00:16:33,120 --> 00:16:35,560
Speaker 1: because Trey Waynes, who was supposed to be that guy,

320
00:16:35,880 --> 00:16:39,120
Speaker 1: was ding most of the year. So Logan Wilson comes

321
00:16:39,120 --> 00:16:44,960
Speaker 1: out hot, intercepting passes like crazy, gets hurt. What happens now, Well,

322
00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:47,360
Speaker 1: they found a way to plug and play. Larry Ogan

323
00:16:47,440 --> 00:16:49,920
Speaker 1: Joeb does a great job. But how about how great

324
00:16:49,920 --> 00:16:51,960
Speaker 1: a move was that by Duke Tobin and crew to

325
00:16:52,040 --> 00:16:55,040
Speaker 1: get bj Hill right before the season begins. As it

326
00:16:55,120 --> 00:16:58,720
Speaker 1: turned out, it bids a prescient move because once Ogan

327
00:16:58,800 --> 00:17:01,560
Speaker 1: Joey got hurt, they'll move right in and let them play.

328
00:17:01,760 --> 00:17:04,320
Speaker 1: So bottom line is, I'm just pointing out different spots

329
00:17:04,320 --> 00:17:07,639
Speaker 1: stand and I could go into other ones. Did we

330
00:17:07,680 --> 00:17:10,640
Speaker 1: expect them to be improved? I think yes. I think

331
00:17:10,680 --> 00:17:13,320
Speaker 1: people like Zach Taylor like what he brought to the table.

332
00:17:13,640 --> 00:17:15,560
Speaker 1: But the idea of six to twenty five and one

333
00:17:15,640 --> 00:17:18,080
Speaker 1: turning into a super Bowl team in the year three,

334
00:17:19,160 --> 00:17:20,960
Speaker 1: I would have to say that anyone who told me

335
00:17:21,040 --> 00:17:23,560
Speaker 1: they saw that coming, I'd have to put them on

336
00:17:23,600 --> 00:17:25,920
Speaker 1: the stand and question them a little bit. I don't

337
00:17:25,920 --> 00:17:29,440
Speaker 1: believe they're being totally truthful with us. Put your left

338
00:17:29,480 --> 00:17:33,520
Speaker 1: hand on the Bible, raise your right hand. We're talking

339
00:17:33,560 --> 00:17:37,520
Speaker 1: to NFL Network draft analyst Charles Davis. As long as

340
00:17:37,600 --> 00:17:42,439
Speaker 1: the topic is looking ahead and making predictions. Caesar's Sports

341
00:17:42,440 --> 00:17:46,040
Speaker 1: Book came out with their season win total odds a

342
00:17:46,080 --> 00:17:49,040
Speaker 1: few days ago. In the AFC, the favorite is Buffalo

343
00:17:49,119 --> 00:17:52,120
Speaker 1: eleven and a half wins. The Chiefs, Chargers, and Broncos

344
00:17:52,160 --> 00:17:54,720
Speaker 1: are next to ten wins. Then you have a bunch

345
00:17:54,760 --> 00:17:57,520
Speaker 1: of teams, including the Bengals at nine and a half wins.

346
00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:02,120
Speaker 1: Should four teams have our odds in the AFC than

347
00:18:02,160 --> 00:18:06,760
Speaker 1: the defending AFC champion as a general rule, The answers no.

348
00:18:07,440 --> 00:18:09,920
Speaker 1: I mean, as a general rule, no, But here's where

349
00:18:09,920 --> 00:18:12,119
Speaker 1: we run into what you know. Let's just go ahead

350
00:18:12,119 --> 00:18:14,080
Speaker 1: and say it, Dan, Because you and I are friends,

351
00:18:14,119 --> 00:18:16,919
Speaker 1: we've been we've known each other a long time. I

352
00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:19,000
Speaker 1: do believe that you and I can put our bona

353
00:18:19,040 --> 00:18:21,440
Speaker 1: fides up there about knowing the league and knowing how

354
00:18:21,480 --> 00:18:25,520
Speaker 1: things operate. If you took the name Cincinnati off of this,

355
00:18:26,359 --> 00:18:28,920
Speaker 1: I think the odds would be higher, I really do.

356
00:18:29,080 --> 00:18:32,000
Speaker 1: I just think that that's just part of how people think,

357
00:18:32,040 --> 00:18:35,200
Speaker 1: how people see, how people go through things and experience it,

358
00:18:35,760 --> 00:18:38,479
Speaker 1: and the idea that Cincinnati is going to repeat what

359
00:18:38,520 --> 00:18:42,199
Speaker 1: we saw before, well, remember how shortsighted we're being if

360
00:18:42,200 --> 00:18:46,359
Speaker 1: we're saying that, because during that Marvin Lewis run, that's

361
00:18:46,359 --> 00:18:48,960
Speaker 1: what six straight years in the playoffs, five and six

362
00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:53,480
Speaker 1: out of selling five, five and six seasons, multiple division championships,

363
00:18:53,560 --> 00:18:56,919
Speaker 1: not dimension wild cards in getting there. So it can happen,

364
00:18:57,520 --> 00:18:59,879
Speaker 1: but it becomes one of those things where Cincinnati's one

365
00:18:59,880 --> 00:19:02,320
Speaker 1: of those franchises that people always want to look at

366
00:19:02,320 --> 00:19:06,040
Speaker 1: the negative side as opposed to understanding what's happening. We

367
00:19:06,200 --> 00:19:08,840
Speaker 1: forget that in a sentence. His team's ahead of schedule,

368
00:19:09,800 --> 00:19:12,480
Speaker 1: absolutely ahead of schedule. But the beauty is you got

369
00:19:12,480 --> 00:19:16,080
Speaker 1: a quarterback that I think would be ninety five years

370
00:19:16,119 --> 00:19:19,080
Speaker 1: old and not satisfied with what he's doing. He'd still

371
00:19:19,080 --> 00:19:21,000
Speaker 1: be trying to go out and play. And when you

372
00:19:21,040 --> 00:19:23,800
Speaker 1: have that type of leadership on your team and he's

373
00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:26,399
Speaker 1: not letting down, I think everyone else will come along

374
00:19:26,440 --> 00:19:28,920
Speaker 1: with him. So I see Cincinnati a little bit higher

375
00:19:28,960 --> 00:19:32,240
Speaker 1: than that, but I understand why they have other people

376
00:19:32,280 --> 00:19:35,159
Speaker 1: ahead of them, because I just think it's a how

377
00:19:35,200 --> 00:19:38,560
Speaker 1: would we say it? Dan Institutional type of thinking with

378
00:19:38,760 --> 00:19:41,639
Speaker 1: the league, other franchise will get a little bit extra

379
00:19:41,920 --> 00:19:45,560
Speaker 1: that Maybe a franchise like Cincinnati a couple more questions

380
00:19:45,560 --> 00:19:49,400
Speaker 1: for Charles Davis. The Bengals lost c. J Uzama as

381
00:19:49,440 --> 00:19:51,360
Speaker 1: a free agent to the New York Jets. They went

382
00:19:51,400 --> 00:19:55,199
Speaker 1: out and signed Hayden Hurst to replace him. Let the

383
00:19:55,240 --> 00:19:59,000
Speaker 1: record show that in twenty eighteen you might not even

384
00:19:59,040 --> 00:20:03,159
Speaker 1: remember this. You had the Bengals selecting hayden Hurst and

385
00:20:03,280 --> 00:20:09,200
Speaker 1: a mock draft. Boy did well. It all comes back

386
00:20:09,240 --> 00:20:13,600
Speaker 1: around like I saw that coming has been how many

387
00:20:13,640 --> 00:20:16,720
Speaker 1: places now because he was in Atlanta, but he started

388
00:20:16,720 --> 00:20:20,720
Speaker 1: out who took him Baltimore in Atlanta two years apiece?

389
00:20:21,400 --> 00:20:23,960
Speaker 1: But this shows you a little bit too about how

390
00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:28,360
Speaker 1: the league operates um for fans. Many who know this,

391
00:20:28,680 --> 00:20:30,840
Speaker 1: So I don't ever want to act like I'm talking

392
00:20:30,920 --> 00:20:33,760
Speaker 1: down to fans. I don't know how you feel about it. Dan,

393
00:20:34,240 --> 00:20:36,199
Speaker 1: you've been around this league a long time. I've been

394
00:20:36,240 --> 00:20:39,080
Speaker 1: around in a decent amount of time as well. One

395
00:20:39,119 --> 00:20:43,200
Speaker 1: thing I've told my colleagues is we in the positions

396
00:20:43,240 --> 00:20:45,840
Speaker 1: we're in, we have to be more careful than ever

397
00:20:46,320 --> 00:20:50,800
Speaker 1: about understanding that fans have accessed information way better than

398
00:20:50,840 --> 00:20:54,040
Speaker 1: they did before. You know, I think you and I

399
00:20:54,040 --> 00:20:57,159
Speaker 1: if we were sitting in a room one day with

400
00:20:57,240 --> 00:20:59,639
Speaker 1: a bunch of Cincinnati Bengals fans and they were peppering

401
00:20:59,720 --> 00:21:02,000
Speaker 1: us with their thoughts and opinions. We used to have

402
00:21:02,040 --> 00:21:04,600
Speaker 1: a great trump card. You remember what it was. Well,

403
00:21:04,600 --> 00:21:06,399
Speaker 1: you know, we get to watch all the All twenty

404
00:21:06,400 --> 00:21:08,119
Speaker 1: two tape, We got to watch the coaches tape. You

405
00:21:08,119 --> 00:21:11,320
Speaker 1: guys could never see that. Guess what, they can watch

406
00:21:11,320 --> 00:21:14,720
Speaker 1: the All twenty two tape and do so. So now

407
00:21:14,760 --> 00:21:18,080
Speaker 1: you're in a position where your opinion their opinion. They're like, look,

408
00:21:18,080 --> 00:21:21,119
Speaker 1: I watched eight games too. I know what I'm talking about.

409
00:21:21,680 --> 00:21:24,479
Speaker 1: But one thing I want to want to bring up

410
00:21:24,520 --> 00:21:28,720
Speaker 1: with this is hayden Hurst was in the division. And

411
00:21:28,760 --> 00:21:31,840
Speaker 1: the other part is they keep all the reports that

412
00:21:31,880 --> 00:21:34,920
Speaker 1: they filed on kids when they were drafted. So if

413
00:21:34,920 --> 00:21:37,520
Speaker 1: you liked the young man but you didn't get him,

414
00:21:38,440 --> 00:21:40,680
Speaker 1: there's someone in that building that said, you know something,

415
00:21:40,720 --> 00:21:43,080
Speaker 1: I really liked Tayden Hurst coming out, and they bring

416
00:21:43,160 --> 00:21:45,320
Speaker 1: that file back, and then of course that file is

417
00:21:45,400 --> 00:21:48,639
Speaker 1: upgraded because of what he's done since that time. You

418
00:21:48,720 --> 00:21:51,640
Speaker 1: saw him twice a year within division, you scouted him

419
00:21:51,680 --> 00:21:54,960
Speaker 1: coming out of college. There's someone in that organization, maybe

420
00:21:55,040 --> 00:21:58,560
Speaker 1: multiple people have said, you know something, hey, like Tayden Hurst,

421
00:21:58,600 --> 00:22:02,080
Speaker 1: here's our opportunity is gone. And they bring the reports,

422
00:22:02,080 --> 00:22:04,440
Speaker 1: They go over the tape, the whole deal. But that's

423
00:22:04,440 --> 00:22:07,520
Speaker 1: how it goes with. None of that stuff's ever filed jumped, like,

424
00:22:07,600 --> 00:22:10,199
Speaker 1: all those files are kept. Just like you finding me

425
00:22:10,320 --> 00:22:14,480
Speaker 1: with the twenty eighteen d draft. Duke Tobin and his

426
00:22:14,560 --> 00:22:18,080
Speaker 1: staff they got all the reports. Someone might Hayden Hurst

427
00:22:18,119 --> 00:22:20,320
Speaker 1: way back when and they think that he still can

428
00:22:20,359 --> 00:22:23,239
Speaker 1: be a value now. That's why he's a Bengal. Last thing,

429
00:22:23,280 --> 00:22:25,760
Speaker 1: and I'll let you go. This is a Bengals podcast,

430
00:22:25,800 --> 00:22:27,960
Speaker 1: but we obviously have a lot of people listening that

431
00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:31,520
Speaker 1: are interested in the University of Cincinnati. There's a chance

432
00:22:31,560 --> 00:22:35,440
Speaker 1: the Bearcats could have eight, maybe even nine players drafted.

433
00:22:35,760 --> 00:22:39,520
Speaker 1: The school record is six. What do you think of

434
00:22:39,560 --> 00:22:42,800
Speaker 1: the rise of the Bearcat program under Luke Fickle and

435
00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:46,440
Speaker 1: the fact that there's so much legitimate, high end NFL

436
00:22:46,560 --> 00:22:49,760
Speaker 1: talent now coming out of Cincinnati. Well, I think it's

437
00:22:50,080 --> 00:22:54,240
Speaker 1: marvelous because to me, this is like the finishing school

438
00:22:54,760 --> 00:22:56,800
Speaker 1: of a number of people who have come through there

439
00:22:56,800 --> 00:22:59,520
Speaker 1: and done a really good job. With Cincinnati, but didn't

440
00:22:59,520 --> 00:23:02,520
Speaker 1: stay the course as long as Luke Fickle has right,

441
00:23:02,840 --> 00:23:05,000
Speaker 1: helped me out here, Dan, let me go back a little.

442
00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:08,000
Speaker 1: Brian Kelly was your head coach. I'll give you the order,

443
00:23:08,160 --> 00:23:12,760
Speaker 1: Mark D'Antonio, Ryan Kelly, Butch Jones, it didn't work out

444
00:23:12,800 --> 00:23:15,359
Speaker 1: great at your alma mater, but still he made it

445
00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:20,520
Speaker 1: to that level. Tommy Tupperville didn't work out so well.

446
00:23:19,640 --> 00:23:23,359
Speaker 1: That one didn't work out so well. And obviously Luke Fickle,

447
00:23:23,359 --> 00:23:25,440
Speaker 1: who has been the most successful of them all. Well,

448
00:23:25,480 --> 00:23:28,679
Speaker 1: let's go back, okay, very quickly. First one was Mark D'Antonio.

449
00:23:29,480 --> 00:23:33,600
Speaker 1: I remember, tell me if I'm wrong. Mark d'antonio's Bearcats

450
00:23:33,880 --> 00:23:38,240
Speaker 1: beat Rutgers after Rutgers won that big game against Louisville. Correct,

451
00:23:38,320 --> 00:23:42,200
Speaker 1: Rutgers was in the top ten. Mark D'Antonio and Cincinnati

452
00:23:42,200 --> 00:23:44,439
Speaker 1: beat them at Dunford Stadium, correct, all right? You remember

453
00:23:44,480 --> 00:23:46,159
Speaker 1: that they had just beatn Louisville and that was a

454
00:23:46,160 --> 00:23:49,399
Speaker 1: titanic Thursday night game and the whole deal. Right, And

455
00:23:49,520 --> 00:23:52,520
Speaker 1: the very next time out the Bearcats did it. Mark

456
00:23:52,600 --> 00:23:55,040
Speaker 1: d'Antona did a nice job when to Michigan State. You

457
00:23:55,080 --> 00:23:57,600
Speaker 1: saw how that turned out, worked out pretty well, right,

458
00:23:57,840 --> 00:24:01,720
Speaker 1: who was after Brian Kelly. I was actually part of

459
00:24:01,760 --> 00:24:06,959
Speaker 1: a broadcast team. It when during the BCS when Cincinnati

460
00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:09,600
Speaker 1: went to a BCS Bowl and played against Virginia Tech

461
00:24:09,600 --> 00:24:12,159
Speaker 1: and Tyrod Taylor and Nat Crew. So you saw the

462
00:24:12,200 --> 00:24:15,960
Speaker 1: success there, and how did Brian Kelly parlay that? Notre

463
00:24:16,040 --> 00:24:20,520
Speaker 1: Day worked out any now he's at LSU, right, Okay,

464
00:24:20,680 --> 00:24:22,680
Speaker 1: then then we ended up with Butch Jones. But she

465
00:24:22,760 --> 00:24:24,720
Speaker 1: did a very nice job there par laid that too.

466
00:24:24,760 --> 00:24:27,919
Speaker 1: Tennessee was that close to getting over the home Ye

467
00:24:28,760 --> 00:24:31,720
Speaker 1: that close in fact, that twenty fifteen had Oklahoma on

468
00:24:31,760 --> 00:24:36,480
Speaker 1: the ropes at home in Knoxville. Oklahoma felt rally got

469
00:24:36,600 --> 00:24:39,159
Speaker 1: over Tom Baker Mayfield goat him home. Tennessee almost got

470
00:24:39,200 --> 00:24:42,680
Speaker 1: over the Hume. Then sixteen beat Florida looked good, didn't

471
00:24:42,760 --> 00:24:44,679
Speaker 1: quite get there, and then then the you know, the

472
00:24:44,720 --> 00:24:48,320
Speaker 1: doors came off. But still all I'm saying is put

473
00:24:48,400 --> 00:24:51,680
Speaker 1: all those coaches together. They did have their pockets of success.

474
00:24:52,320 --> 00:24:54,800
Speaker 1: Fickle has taken it to Remember I said, finishing school.

475
00:24:55,840 --> 00:24:59,240
Speaker 1: He's been there long enough. He's turning over. The recruiting

476
00:25:00,080 --> 00:25:03,600
Speaker 1: people are there, the interest is there, the success is there.

477
00:25:04,760 --> 00:25:09,000
Speaker 1: And then I look back and Zach Taylor recruited your

478
00:25:09,080 --> 00:25:12,200
Speaker 1: quarterback Desmond Ritter, who's about to get draft into the

479
00:25:12,359 --> 00:25:15,760
Speaker 1: NFL as well. Now you got the Cincinnati guys together

480
00:25:16,280 --> 00:25:18,640
Speaker 1: getting it done. Zach Taylor head coach of the Bengals.

481
00:25:19,119 --> 00:25:21,680
Speaker 1: Luke Fickle still head coach of Cincinnati. And this is

482
00:25:21,720 --> 00:25:24,880
Speaker 1: how good a job it's become. Now Luke Fickl's still

483
00:25:24,920 --> 00:25:27,520
Speaker 1: the head coach of Cincinnati. There have been some pretty

484
00:25:27,560 --> 00:25:29,679
Speaker 1: darn good openings that have come along, Dan, And you

485
00:25:29,720 --> 00:25:32,399
Speaker 1: know better than I do how much people have walked

486
00:25:32,400 --> 00:25:34,159
Speaker 1: in and how much interest Luke may or may not

487
00:25:34,240 --> 00:25:36,399
Speaker 1: have had. He could have had any of those jobs.

488
00:25:37,040 --> 00:25:40,320
Speaker 1: Those jobs were available for him right And the best

489
00:25:40,320 --> 00:25:42,919
Speaker 1: part for me in watching what he's done is it

490
00:25:43,040 --> 00:25:47,800
Speaker 1: is a terrific college program. But if you have NFL aspirations,

491
00:25:48,240 --> 00:25:50,639
Speaker 1: you will get coach to be ready to go into

492
00:25:50,640 --> 00:25:53,840
Speaker 1: the NFL. But if you don't, if you're not an

493
00:25:53,920 --> 00:25:56,520
Speaker 1: NFL player, you're gonna get your degree, You're gonna play

494
00:25:56,600 --> 00:25:59,159
Speaker 1: terrific college football at a high level. You're gonna be

495
00:25:59,240 --> 00:26:02,280
Speaker 1: respected where you go, and pride in being a Bearcat

496
00:26:02,400 --> 00:26:05,119
Speaker 1: is at an all time high. I don't know that

497
00:26:05,200 --> 00:26:07,800
Speaker 1: anyone's done a better job over the last ten fifteen

498
00:26:07,840 --> 00:26:11,000
Speaker 1: years as a head coach in college football than Luke Fickle.

499
00:26:11,480 --> 00:26:13,280
Speaker 1: No one will ever do the same job. Bill Snyder

500
00:26:13,320 --> 00:26:15,920
Speaker 1: Dick Kansas State can't be done. Okay, that was an

501
00:26:15,920 --> 00:26:19,840
Speaker 1: absolute waste land. Okay, there's no getting around it. But

502
00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:22,399
Speaker 1: Luke Fickle over the last fifteen years, Who's done a

503
00:26:22,440 --> 00:26:27,080
Speaker 1: better job overall? I don't think anyone agree. Always a

504
00:26:27,119 --> 00:26:30,080
Speaker 1: treat to pick your brain. I appreciate your time. Keep

505
00:26:30,160 --> 00:26:32,399
Speaker 1: up the great work. We look forward to walking watching

506
00:26:32,440 --> 00:26:35,920
Speaker 1: your coverage with the NFL Network leading up to and

507
00:26:36,200 --> 00:26:38,760
Speaker 1: during the weekend of the draft. Well thanks Dan, Always

508
00:26:38,760 --> 00:26:41,120
Speaker 1: a pleasure to spend time with you. And one last thing,

509
00:26:41,640 --> 00:26:43,320
Speaker 1: thank you so much for being so great to me

510
00:26:43,400 --> 00:26:45,840
Speaker 1: over the years, each and every time. I can never

511
00:26:45,920 --> 00:26:48,840
Speaker 1: thank you enough. I know we're colleagues in there. There

512
00:26:48,920 --> 00:26:51,879
Speaker 1: is some some of that formality that goes along with it,

513
00:26:51,920 --> 00:26:54,960
Speaker 1: but it goes far beyond that. You're top of your

514
00:26:54,960 --> 00:26:57,520
Speaker 1: profession at what you do, but your top of your

515
00:26:57,520 --> 00:27:00,000
Speaker 1: profession of being a person too. So thank you so much.

516
00:27:00,080 --> 00:27:02,959
Speaker 1: I really appreciate you kind words, my friend. I appreciate you.

517
00:27:03,080 --> 00:27:06,680
Speaker 1: Thanks so much. Take care, Dan. Charles will join Rich

518
00:27:06,720 --> 00:27:09,720
Speaker 1: eyes In, Daniel Jeremiah, and many others as part of

519
00:27:09,720 --> 00:27:12,960
Speaker 1: the NFL Network's live coverage of all three rounds of

520
00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:17,400
Speaker 1: the draft. The Bengals Booth podcast is presented by Ultimate Bengals,

521
00:27:17,400 --> 00:27:20,919
Speaker 1: the free to play fantasy football game. This past season,

522
00:27:21,080 --> 00:27:23,800
Speaker 1: Ultimate Bengals awarded a weekly winner during the course of

523
00:27:23,800 --> 00:27:27,960
Speaker 1: the year with tickets, autograph merchandise, and money can't Buy

524
00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:31,679
Speaker 1: experiences all up for grabs. Find Ultimate Bengals in the

525
00:27:31,720 --> 00:27:35,480
Speaker 1: App Store and Google Play. In the summer of nineteen

526
00:27:35,560 --> 00:27:39,560
Speaker 1: seventy eight, a sophomore at Wilmington College named Paul Sparling

527
00:27:39,920 --> 00:27:43,640
Speaker 1: started working for the Bengals athletic training staff part time

528
00:27:43,680 --> 00:27:47,159
Speaker 1: at training camp. Fourteen years later, Paul climbed to the

529
00:27:47,200 --> 00:27:50,680
Speaker 1: top of the Totem pole as the Bengals head athletic trainer,

530
00:27:51,000 --> 00:27:54,760
Speaker 1: a job he's held for the last thirty years. This week,

531
00:27:55,000 --> 00:27:58,359
Speaker 1: Sparling announced he's retiring. He'll be with a team in

532
00:27:58,359 --> 00:28:01,959
Speaker 1: an advisory role this season to help ease the transition

533
00:28:02,000 --> 00:28:05,760
Speaker 1: before officially calling at quits. Imagine what he's seen and

534
00:28:05,840 --> 00:28:09,160
Speaker 1: heard over the last thirty years and the relationships he's

535
00:28:09,200 --> 00:28:12,359
Speaker 1: built in the Bengals training room. I talked to Paul

536
00:28:12,400 --> 00:28:16,240
Speaker 1: about his life in football this week. Paul, I want

537
00:28:16,280 --> 00:28:19,440
Speaker 1: to turn the clock back. Do you remember how young

538
00:28:19,560 --> 00:28:22,400
Speaker 1: you were when you first said you'd like to beat

539
00:28:22,440 --> 00:28:26,879
Speaker 1: the Bengals head trainer. Actually, I was in high school.

540
00:28:28,280 --> 00:28:30,880
Speaker 1: A friend of mine, Don Brown, who was a sportscaster

541
00:28:31,040 --> 00:28:35,439
Speaker 1: and ultimately became a sportscaster in Dayton, asked me. I

542
00:28:35,480 --> 00:28:38,360
Speaker 1: believe I was probably a senior or junior in high school,

543
00:28:38,360 --> 00:28:40,320
Speaker 1: and he asked me what I've wanted to be when

544
00:28:40,320 --> 00:28:41,920
Speaker 1: I grew up. I think he was sitting in the

545
00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:44,560
Speaker 1: hot tub. He was a baseball player for Stevens High School,

546
00:28:44,560 --> 00:28:47,360
Speaker 1: where we both went, and I told him my goal

547
00:28:47,480 --> 00:28:49,720
Speaker 1: was to one day become the head athletic trainer for

548
00:28:49,720 --> 00:28:52,400
Speaker 1: the Cincinnati Bengals. And every time I see him, he

549
00:28:52,440 --> 00:28:54,640
Speaker 1: has reminded me of that, as that was quite a

550
00:28:54,680 --> 00:28:57,520
Speaker 1: few years ago, and that's really amazing. I mean, it's

551
00:28:57,800 --> 00:29:00,600
Speaker 1: there only thirty two of these jobs, and to think

552
00:29:00,600 --> 00:29:02,840
Speaker 1: of it at that age and for it to come true,

553
00:29:02,840 --> 00:29:06,440
Speaker 1: it's pretty remarkable. It is an incredible story. How I

554
00:29:06,480 --> 00:29:10,280
Speaker 1: got interested in athletic training was I realized I wanted

555
00:29:10,320 --> 00:29:12,840
Speaker 1: to be an athlete. But I figured out pretty quickly.

556
00:29:12,880 --> 00:29:15,160
Speaker 1: I was too small to play football, too short to

557
00:29:15,160 --> 00:29:17,760
Speaker 1: play basketball, and I couldn't hit a curveball. I went

558
00:29:17,760 --> 00:29:20,040
Speaker 1: out for the track team and ran around the track

559
00:29:20,680 --> 00:29:22,560
Speaker 1: three or four times, and I said, this is stupid.

560
00:29:22,560 --> 00:29:25,040
Speaker 1: I'm running in an oval. What is the point of this?

561
00:29:25,920 --> 00:29:28,200
Speaker 1: And the coach asked me if i'd be as manager.

562
00:29:28,320 --> 00:29:31,520
Speaker 1: So I did that for the rest of the track season,

563
00:29:31,520 --> 00:29:33,160
Speaker 1: and then they asked me to be the manager for

564
00:29:33,200 --> 00:29:35,880
Speaker 1: the football team, and then the manager for the basketball team.

565
00:29:35,920 --> 00:29:39,600
Speaker 1: And one day that coach, teacher coach at mad River

566
00:29:39,800 --> 00:29:42,920
Speaker 1: Junior High, asked me if I was interested in athletic training. Now,

567
00:29:42,920 --> 00:29:46,040
Speaker 1: mind you, this was fifty years ago, and my impression

568
00:29:46,080 --> 00:29:48,000
Speaker 1: of an athletic trainer back then would have been an

569
00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:52,200
Speaker 1: old guy, overweight, heavy set, with a white T shirt

570
00:29:52,240 --> 00:29:55,520
Speaker 1: and khaki pants and probably a bald head towel over

571
00:29:55,560 --> 00:29:58,160
Speaker 1: his shoulder and a bucket of water in one hand

572
00:29:58,200 --> 00:30:00,680
Speaker 1: and a black bag in the other hand. And I said, sure,

573
00:30:00,720 --> 00:30:04,240
Speaker 1: why not? He sent away for a home correspondence course

574
00:30:04,960 --> 00:30:07,160
Speaker 1: that I took. He spent his own money on it,

575
00:30:07,800 --> 00:30:09,680
Speaker 1: and I fell in love with it. I learned about

576
00:30:09,760 --> 00:30:13,240
Speaker 1: muscle strains and ankle sprains, when to use ice, when

577
00:30:13,280 --> 00:30:15,840
Speaker 1: to use heat, all those kinds of things, and I

578
00:30:15,880 --> 00:30:19,000
Speaker 1: realized that that just hit me in the right spot,

579
00:30:19,000 --> 00:30:21,719
Speaker 1: and from that point on, I decided that was going

580
00:30:21,760 --> 00:30:23,960
Speaker 1: to be the direction I wanted to take my career.

581
00:30:24,880 --> 00:30:28,160
Speaker 1: Visiting with Paul Sparling, you attended Wilmington College back when

582
00:30:28,200 --> 00:30:30,800
Speaker 1: the Bengals held their training camp there. How did you

583
00:30:30,840 --> 00:30:33,560
Speaker 1: wind up working for the team and what were your

584
00:30:33,600 --> 00:30:37,320
Speaker 1: initial responsibilities. Well, one of the reasons I went to

585
00:30:37,360 --> 00:30:41,040
Speaker 1: Wilmington is because the Bengals were there. I had looked

586
00:30:41,040 --> 00:30:43,360
Speaker 1: at other schools. I looked at Ohio Estate that was

587
00:30:43,400 --> 00:30:46,880
Speaker 1: too big for me. Ohio University was too far out

588
00:30:46,960 --> 00:30:50,360
Speaker 1: Bowling Green. I visited during a blizzard, decided I didn't

589
00:30:50,360 --> 00:30:53,160
Speaker 1: want to go up there, and I got a letter

590
00:30:53,240 --> 00:30:57,520
Speaker 1: from Roger Tewkesbury, the head athletic trainer for the Wilmington College,

591
00:30:58,200 --> 00:31:01,120
Speaker 1: inviting me to come visit his program that he was

592
00:31:01,160 --> 00:31:04,680
Speaker 1: starting up there at Wilmington. And I went up and

593
00:31:04,800 --> 00:31:07,040
Speaker 1: visited and felt like it fit just right and if

594
00:31:07,040 --> 00:31:08,680
Speaker 1: it was good enough for the Bengals, it'd be good

595
00:31:08,760 --> 00:31:12,680
Speaker 1: enough for me. I was offered the position of training

596
00:31:12,720 --> 00:31:16,040
Speaker 1: camp laundry boy by Tom Gray, then the equipment manager.

597
00:31:16,080 --> 00:31:18,120
Speaker 1: They were looking for somebody to do laundry during the

598
00:31:18,160 --> 00:31:20,840
Speaker 1: six week time period that they were there, and I

599
00:31:20,960 --> 00:31:23,840
Speaker 1: jumped at the chance, and I washed socks and jocks

600
00:31:23,880 --> 00:31:27,880
Speaker 1: and towels and shimmels. Turned out I was getting done

601
00:31:27,960 --> 00:31:29,600
Speaker 1: much sooner than the guy that had done it the

602
00:31:29,760 --> 00:31:33,080
Speaker 1: couple of seasons prior, and so Tom asked me to

603
00:31:33,120 --> 00:31:35,959
Speaker 1: start helping him out in the equipment room, fixing shoulder

604
00:31:36,000 --> 00:31:38,360
Speaker 1: pads and helmets. And then Marv Pollin's, then the head

605
00:31:38,360 --> 00:31:41,240
Speaker 1: athletic trainer, found out that I was an athletic trainer

606
00:31:41,240 --> 00:31:44,080
Speaker 1: that could tape ankles. So he said, when you're done

607
00:31:44,080 --> 00:31:45,840
Speaker 1: with the laundry and you're done in the equipment room,

608
00:31:45,880 --> 00:31:48,760
Speaker 1: come in here and help me and Bill Bill Connley,

609
00:31:48,520 --> 00:31:51,440
Speaker 1: the assistant trainer at the time, help us tapes and ankles.

610
00:31:51,920 --> 00:31:55,000
Speaker 1: And that's where it started. And so I have always

611
00:31:55,040 --> 00:31:57,400
Speaker 1: been able to tell the assistants and students here that

612
00:31:57,400 --> 00:31:59,400
Speaker 1: I'll never ask you to do anything I haven't done,

613
00:32:00,080 --> 00:32:03,400
Speaker 1: because I've done at all. That is quite the from

614
00:32:03,520 --> 00:32:07,040
Speaker 1: humble beginnings story. What do you remember about Paul Brown?

615
00:32:08,200 --> 00:32:13,400
Speaker 1: I tell you what he had, such a such an

616
00:32:13,400 --> 00:32:16,960
Speaker 1: impressive personality, gravitas if you will. I mean when he

617
00:32:17,080 --> 00:32:21,680
Speaker 1: spoke in some of the meetings, people definitely listened and

618
00:32:22,120 --> 00:32:28,120
Speaker 1: very astute, had a wry, funny sense of humor. But

619
00:32:28,160 --> 00:32:34,200
Speaker 1: it was very clear that he was a gifted man intellectually,

620
00:32:34,840 --> 00:32:39,280
Speaker 1: clearly knew what he was doing, clearly had a phenomenal reputation,

621
00:32:39,920 --> 00:32:41,920
Speaker 1: and I was just I was honored just to be

622
00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:46,680
Speaker 1: in his presence. Was he intimidating the first time I

623
00:32:46,720 --> 00:32:48,840
Speaker 1: met him, Yes, But the more I got to know him,

624
00:32:48,880 --> 00:32:52,600
Speaker 1: the more I realized he was a very kind and gentleman.

625
00:32:52,680 --> 00:32:56,120
Speaker 1: And just from that point on, actually Mike was more

626
00:32:56,120 --> 00:33:00,600
Speaker 1: intimidating to me than than Paul. Re visiting with longtime

627
00:33:00,640 --> 00:33:03,440
Speaker 1: Bengals had athletic trainer Paul Sparling. You've had a great

628
00:33:03,440 --> 00:33:06,840
Speaker 1: relationship with Mike for more than four decades. When asked

629
00:33:06,880 --> 00:33:10,280
Speaker 1: about you, the first word that he brings up his trust.

630
00:33:10,760 --> 00:33:14,000
Speaker 1: How did you develop that relationship with him? Well, I

631
00:33:14,080 --> 00:33:17,240
Speaker 1: just call it the way I see it as the

632
00:33:17,320 --> 00:33:20,640
Speaker 1: athletic trainer. There are times you have to deliver bad news.

633
00:33:21,400 --> 00:33:24,239
Speaker 1: There's no easy way to deliver bad news. But the

634
00:33:24,280 --> 00:33:26,600
Speaker 1: best way to deliver bad news is to be upfront

635
00:33:26,640 --> 00:33:30,320
Speaker 1: and honest about it. That to me, is a critical,

636
00:33:31,560 --> 00:33:34,640
Speaker 1: critical trait in what I've done over the years, not

637
00:33:34,720 --> 00:33:37,520
Speaker 1: only to ownership, but also to the players and to

638
00:33:37,640 --> 00:33:41,000
Speaker 1: the coaches, to the doctors, to everybody. You've just got

639
00:33:41,000 --> 00:33:42,560
Speaker 1: to call it the way you see it. You might

640
00:33:42,640 --> 00:33:46,640
Speaker 1: be wrong, but give your opinion and stand behind it.

641
00:33:46,880 --> 00:33:52,400
Speaker 1: And I have been blessed to have a great relationship

642
00:33:53,040 --> 00:33:57,160
Speaker 1: with Mike. It's been built over years, decades, if you will.

643
00:33:57,920 --> 00:34:00,880
Speaker 1: And I'll never forget the first time I had to

644
00:34:00,880 --> 00:34:04,160
Speaker 1: give him bad news. I was the head athletic trainer

645
00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:06,400
Speaker 1: for the first time in ninety two. It was early

646
00:34:06,440 --> 00:34:09,439
Speaker 1: in training camp and Eddie Brown came to me with

647
00:34:09,520 --> 00:34:13,759
Speaker 1: some upper extremity arm and hand numbness and tingling that

648
00:34:14,440 --> 00:34:17,399
Speaker 1: I pretty quickly figured out was probably coming from his neck.

649
00:34:18,080 --> 00:34:20,239
Speaker 1: And so we sent him into Cincinnati and had an

650
00:34:20,360 --> 00:34:22,759
Speaker 1: MRI done and it showed that he was going to

651
00:34:22,880 --> 00:34:26,040
Speaker 1: need to have season ending surgery. And I had to

652
00:34:26,040 --> 00:34:28,680
Speaker 1: convey that to Mike, and I did it to him

653
00:34:28,680 --> 00:34:31,400
Speaker 1: over the phone, and all I'll say is the reception

654
00:34:31,440 --> 00:34:34,799
Speaker 1: that I got was less than pleasant. I hung up

655
00:34:34,840 --> 00:34:37,319
Speaker 1: the phone and I asked myself, why am I doing this.

656
00:34:37,880 --> 00:34:40,160
Speaker 1: I had come back to be the head athletic trainer

657
00:34:40,160 --> 00:34:42,799
Speaker 1: when they invited me. I saw him out on the

658
00:34:42,800 --> 00:34:45,200
Speaker 1: field when practice began, and he came to me and

659
00:34:45,239 --> 00:34:50,279
Speaker 1: he apologized, And never from that point on did I

660
00:34:50,320 --> 00:34:54,080
Speaker 1: ever hear that tone of voice again, And so there's

661
00:34:54,120 --> 00:34:56,680
Speaker 1: a mutual respect and admiration. I think the world of

662
00:34:56,760 --> 00:35:00,560
Speaker 1: him and couldn't be more pleased to have been able

663
00:35:00,600 --> 00:35:04,200
Speaker 1: to spend all my time here. We have seen you

664
00:35:04,600 --> 00:35:07,360
Speaker 1: in the role of bearer of bad news to the

665
00:35:07,400 --> 00:35:11,000
Speaker 1: players on Hard Knocks a couple of times. I distinctly

666
00:35:11,040 --> 00:35:14,520
Speaker 1: remember the Reggie Kelly interview is the very first episode

667
00:35:14,560 --> 00:35:16,799
Speaker 1: of a Bengals Hard Knock show, and you had to

668
00:35:16,800 --> 00:35:19,279
Speaker 1: be empathetic but also tell him exactly what he was

669
00:35:19,320 --> 00:35:23,280
Speaker 1: dealing with. How do you approach that with the players?

670
00:35:24,560 --> 00:35:28,040
Speaker 1: I try to have empathy and accept the fact that

671
00:35:28,160 --> 00:35:30,320
Speaker 1: it's going to be hard to deliver them that news,

672
00:35:30,960 --> 00:35:32,880
Speaker 1: but I think it's better for them to hear it

673
00:35:32,960 --> 00:35:35,279
Speaker 1: straight up from the very beginning and not give him

674
00:35:35,960 --> 00:35:39,640
Speaker 1: false hopes. With Reggie's I knew right away what he

675
00:35:39,680 --> 00:35:42,040
Speaker 1: had done. I could feel the Achilles was torn, and

676
00:35:42,680 --> 00:35:45,600
Speaker 1: I didn't see any point in delaying the inevitable and

677
00:35:45,600 --> 00:35:47,880
Speaker 1: tell him, well, let's see we'll get an MRI. And

678
00:35:48,440 --> 00:35:51,320
Speaker 1: I just the way I would want to be informed

679
00:35:51,560 --> 00:35:54,960
Speaker 1: is the way I tried to inform the players, realizing

680
00:35:55,000 --> 00:35:57,479
Speaker 1: that at times it's you know, you're crushing a dream,

681
00:35:57,600 --> 00:36:02,759
Speaker 1: you're hitting where it hurts and it I've dealt with

682
00:36:02,800 --> 00:36:05,560
Speaker 1: their emotions and what have you, but I've also taken

683
00:36:05,600 --> 00:36:08,600
Speaker 1: the philosophy that after I give them the bad news

684
00:36:08,640 --> 00:36:11,200
Speaker 1: and I'll tell them, you've got twenty four hours to powell,

685
00:36:11,840 --> 00:36:14,000
Speaker 1: and then after that, it's time for us to focus

686
00:36:14,040 --> 00:36:16,960
Speaker 1: on forward. So get it out of your system. And

687
00:36:17,000 --> 00:36:19,359
Speaker 1: that's just kind of the philosophy that I've followed, and

688
00:36:19,400 --> 00:36:22,040
Speaker 1: I think, at least from what I can tell, most

689
00:36:22,080 --> 00:36:24,759
Speaker 1: of the guys respected that and recognize that you can

690
00:36:25,640 --> 00:36:28,279
Speaker 1: only dwell on the negative. It's time to start focusing

691
00:36:28,400 --> 00:36:30,880
Speaker 1: on forward. And I'll tell you the guy that really

692
00:36:30,880 --> 00:36:35,160
Speaker 1: demonstrated that to me was Joe Burrow. When I talked

693
00:36:35,160 --> 00:36:37,280
Speaker 1: to him, gave him the same story. In the bus

694
00:36:37,880 --> 00:36:41,440
Speaker 1: on the way from the Redskin Stadium or the now

695
00:36:41,560 --> 00:36:47,239
Speaker 1: Commander's Stadium to the airport. I told him my philosophy

696
00:36:47,280 --> 00:36:49,160
Speaker 1: of the twenty four hours and he said, there's no

697
00:36:49,200 --> 00:36:53,640
Speaker 1: pouting here. I'm working on getting back and that spoke

698
00:36:53,719 --> 00:36:56,520
Speaker 1: volumes to me and he demonstrated it. Those weren't just

699
00:36:56,600 --> 00:36:59,839
Speaker 1: empty words. How unique was he last year in coming

700
00:37:00,160 --> 00:37:03,560
Speaker 1: from his injury. Well, we knew that, given the nature

701
00:37:03,600 --> 00:37:06,440
Speaker 1: of the position, the likelihood was he would make it back.

702
00:37:08,040 --> 00:37:11,280
Speaker 1: So much of it is not just physical, it's the mental,

703
00:37:11,360 --> 00:37:14,279
Speaker 1: the psychological part of it, and I think that's what

704
00:37:14,360 --> 00:37:18,080
Speaker 1: he was dealing with early on. He attacked his rehab

705
00:37:18,120 --> 00:37:21,920
Speaker 1: and he and Nick developed a special relationship and as

706
00:37:21,960 --> 00:37:25,680
Speaker 1: a team, they worked superbly together. Could not have gone

707
00:37:25,719 --> 00:37:28,279
Speaker 1: any better. He did not have any setbacks during the

708
00:37:28,320 --> 00:37:32,080
Speaker 1: course of his rehab, but I think he will probably

709
00:37:32,120 --> 00:37:34,360
Speaker 1: tell you as time went on during the season that

710
00:37:34,440 --> 00:37:37,240
Speaker 1: he gained the confidence that he knew he could plant,

711
00:37:37,640 --> 00:37:39,759
Speaker 1: cut and pivot and didn't have to worry about it.

712
00:37:40,040 --> 00:37:42,440
Speaker 1: But it takes time for that to develop, and unfortunately,

713
00:37:42,440 --> 00:37:46,279
Speaker 1: there's no mental exercise that we as athletic trainers or

714
00:37:46,320 --> 00:37:49,319
Speaker 1: physical therapists can run them through. They have to go

715
00:37:49,360 --> 00:37:52,440
Speaker 1: out and do it and experience it with him. We

716
00:37:52,920 --> 00:37:58,759
Speaker 1: did get him out early during training camp, making sure

717
00:37:58,800 --> 00:38:02,880
Speaker 1: that he was ready from day one, and we also

718
00:38:03,000 --> 00:38:05,879
Speaker 1: were cautious with him and didn't let him get too

719
00:38:05,880 --> 00:38:09,360
Speaker 1: far ahead of himself where he ends up developing soreness

720
00:38:09,400 --> 00:38:11,239
Speaker 1: and swelling and what have you, to the point where

721
00:38:11,280 --> 00:38:14,120
Speaker 1: you have to hold him back because you have to. Instead,

722
00:38:14,200 --> 00:38:16,480
Speaker 1: we were proactive about that and he played an active

723
00:38:16,560 --> 00:38:19,400
Speaker 1: role in the pace as well. But you could not

724
00:38:19,440 --> 00:38:21,279
Speaker 1: have asked for a better patient. I can tell you

725
00:38:21,320 --> 00:38:24,680
Speaker 1: that we're visiting the long time Bengals head athletic trainer

726
00:38:24,719 --> 00:38:28,360
Speaker 1: Paul Sparling. I mentioned hard knocks. How difficult was it

727
00:38:28,440 --> 00:38:32,080
Speaker 1: to have the curtain pulled back on what you do well?

728
00:38:32,280 --> 00:38:34,080
Speaker 1: I will tell you the first time that they came

729
00:38:34,120 --> 00:38:36,840
Speaker 1: in it was awkward. We had to kind of decide

730
00:38:36,880 --> 00:38:38,160
Speaker 1: what are we going to let him see and what

731
00:38:38,200 --> 00:38:40,600
Speaker 1: are we not going to let him see. The second

732
00:38:40,640 --> 00:38:43,680
Speaker 1: go around was easy. We knew what to expect and

733
00:38:43,719 --> 00:38:46,799
Speaker 1: we felt comfortable and confident in how we were going

734
00:38:46,840 --> 00:38:50,480
Speaker 1: to let them see certain things. There were a couple

735
00:38:50,520 --> 00:38:52,640
Speaker 1: of times that they would be filming and I ended

736
00:38:52,680 --> 00:38:55,760
Speaker 1: up having to tell them that, you know, I needed

737
00:38:55,760 --> 00:38:59,960
Speaker 1: them to cut that for whatever reason. But they were very,

738
00:39:00,040 --> 00:39:03,279
Speaker 1: very cooperative. I will tell you it was a little bit,

739
00:39:03,320 --> 00:39:05,960
Speaker 1: like I said, awkward at first. I did watch a

740
00:39:06,000 --> 00:39:10,120
Speaker 1: couple of episodes of previous teams just to kind of

741
00:39:10,120 --> 00:39:13,359
Speaker 1: get an idea what to expect, and they were good

742
00:39:13,400 --> 00:39:15,880
Speaker 1: people to work with. They were very respectful, and if

743
00:39:15,960 --> 00:39:19,719
Speaker 1: we said something was off limits, I quickly realized that

744
00:39:20,160 --> 00:39:24,839
Speaker 1: they would certainly respect that. Every picture of Tim crum

745
00:39:25,000 --> 00:39:28,560
Speaker 1: rise devastating injury and Super Bowl twenty three includes a

746
00:39:28,640 --> 00:39:32,279
Speaker 1: young Paul Sparling right by his side. Are all of

747
00:39:32,400 --> 00:39:36,520
Speaker 1: the stories true of Tim refusing to go to the hospital,

748
00:39:36,640 --> 00:39:41,280
Speaker 1: of turning down painkillers, etc. They're not stories, They're fact.

749
00:39:41,600 --> 00:39:46,160
Speaker 1: I was there. I remember his wife coming in, Cheryl.

750
00:39:46,200 --> 00:39:49,520
Speaker 1: I believe she had some athletic training background or education,

751
00:39:49,560 --> 00:39:51,360
Speaker 1: and she came in and saw the X rays and

752
00:39:52,040 --> 00:39:55,080
Speaker 1: I'll never forget how she said, they don't look too bad.

753
00:39:57,360 --> 00:39:59,319
Speaker 1: Tim could see it as well as anybody, and they

754
00:39:59,320 --> 00:40:03,719
Speaker 1: looked at tros We knew what he had and the physicians,

755
00:40:03,760 --> 00:40:07,960
Speaker 1: the doctors wanted to transport him to the hospital just

756
00:40:08,000 --> 00:40:11,480
Speaker 1: because of the normal management for that significant of an injury,

757
00:40:11,480 --> 00:40:13,640
Speaker 1: and he wasn't going to have it. I can remember

758
00:40:13,760 --> 00:40:18,040
Speaker 1: doctor height Sor casting his leg and me holding his

759
00:40:18,080 --> 00:40:21,480
Speaker 1: foot to try to stabilize it while that he was

760
00:40:21,520 --> 00:40:24,239
Speaker 1: putting on the casts so that he could at least

761
00:40:24,239 --> 00:40:26,600
Speaker 1: stay at the stadium for a time and watched the game.

762
00:40:27,480 --> 00:40:31,080
Speaker 1: The paramedics did ask him if he wanted pain medication,

763
00:40:31,120 --> 00:40:35,000
Speaker 1: because most patients would have requested it. He insisted he

764
00:40:35,040 --> 00:40:39,399
Speaker 1: didn't want pain medication. He preferred an alcoholic beverage. I

765
00:40:39,440 --> 00:40:41,920
Speaker 1: wasn't around to see if they offered that to him,

766
00:40:41,960 --> 00:40:45,680
Speaker 1: but that's certainly what he requested. And then we did

767
00:40:45,719 --> 00:40:48,319
Speaker 1: transport him finally before the game was over. And I

768
00:40:48,360 --> 00:40:51,120
Speaker 1: remember the next day when we brought him back. In

769
00:40:51,200 --> 00:40:53,520
Speaker 1: order to get him up on the plane, we actually

770
00:40:53,560 --> 00:40:57,560
Speaker 1: put him in the food truck, food catering truck on

771
00:40:57,680 --> 00:41:00,680
Speaker 1: his journey and pulled him up, brought him in through

772
00:41:00,719 --> 00:41:05,280
Speaker 1: first class. And I mean, again, just a tough, tough injury,

773
00:41:05,400 --> 00:41:10,120
Speaker 1: tough tough player. And but those stories are not stories,

774
00:41:10,120 --> 00:41:11,799
Speaker 1: they are in fact. I was there. I was a

775
00:41:11,800 --> 00:41:15,600
Speaker 1: witness to it. Has there been a Bengals injury that

776
00:41:15,760 --> 00:41:20,200
Speaker 1: you found especially heartbreaking? Well, I think they all are

777
00:41:20,360 --> 00:41:23,120
Speaker 1: all the I mean Kelvin Moore fractured his neck that

778
00:41:23,320 --> 00:41:26,200
Speaker 1: ended his career when he was playing up in We

779
00:41:26,200 --> 00:41:29,440
Speaker 1: were playing up in Pontiac, Michigan at the Silver Dome

780
00:41:30,200 --> 00:41:34,880
Speaker 1: Scott Brumfield when he had the spinal cord concussion that

781
00:41:35,040 --> 00:41:38,279
Speaker 1: left and paralyzed for months after the injury ultimately made

782
00:41:38,280 --> 00:41:42,640
Speaker 1: a full and complete recovery. You know, the litany of

783
00:41:42,760 --> 00:41:45,680
Speaker 1: serious injuries that Kajana Carter had. I mean, you just

784
00:41:45,800 --> 00:41:48,600
Speaker 1: you felt for the kid because he wanted to do

785
00:41:49,520 --> 00:41:51,759
Speaker 1: so much and so much was expected of him. An

786
00:41:51,760 --> 00:41:55,440
Speaker 1: injury kept him from being able to reach his full potential.

787
00:41:56,600 --> 00:41:59,640
Speaker 1: Icky Wood's shortened career as a result of a of

788
00:41:59,680 --> 00:42:02,480
Speaker 1: an a cl injury. I mean, they all are tough.

789
00:42:03,080 --> 00:42:05,120
Speaker 1: I don't know that I'd weigh one more than the other.

790
00:42:05,160 --> 00:42:09,759
Speaker 1: But you know, injuries are not a good thing. And

791
00:42:09,800 --> 00:42:13,120
Speaker 1: when you have to deliver bad news, you better be

792
00:42:13,160 --> 00:42:15,360
Speaker 1: able to have a thick skin because not everybody's going

793
00:42:15,400 --> 00:42:18,200
Speaker 1: to be thrilled with the information you give them. But

794
00:42:18,239 --> 00:42:20,960
Speaker 1: you've got to be upfront and honest and take it

795
00:42:21,000 --> 00:42:25,200
Speaker 1: and move on and go from there. Coaches want their

796
00:42:25,200 --> 00:42:28,920
Speaker 1: players on the field. Your priority is health and safety.

797
00:42:28,960 --> 00:42:33,879
Speaker 1: Is that push and pull difficult? It really isn't. I mean, here,

798
00:42:33,920 --> 00:42:36,560
Speaker 1: it's always been made perfectly clear that the doctors do

799
00:42:36,600 --> 00:42:40,319
Speaker 1: the doctoring, and that was made very clear from the

800
00:42:40,440 --> 00:42:43,200
Speaker 1: very get go when Paul Brown first started the club

801
00:42:43,200 --> 00:42:47,160
Speaker 1: in nineteen sixty eight and it remains the same to

802
00:42:47,239 --> 00:42:50,719
Speaker 1: this day. There are some things that we as athletic

803
00:42:50,800 --> 00:42:53,600
Speaker 1: trainers and physical therapists and the physicians can do to

804
00:42:53,680 --> 00:42:58,279
Speaker 1: help to help try to facilitate a speedy return, but

805
00:42:58,400 --> 00:43:01,200
Speaker 1: safety still has to come first and foremost. You've got

806
00:43:01,200 --> 00:43:02,840
Speaker 1: to make sure not only that the guy can be

807
00:43:02,920 --> 00:43:06,680
Speaker 1: on the field and play, but play effectively. Number one

808
00:43:06,680 --> 00:43:10,040
Speaker 1: and number two be able to protect themselves. So I

809
00:43:10,080 --> 00:43:12,960
Speaker 1: think our biggest job is to communicate to the coaches

810
00:43:13,080 --> 00:43:16,960
Speaker 1: and the players what the expectations are when the injury occurs,

811
00:43:17,600 --> 00:43:20,960
Speaker 1: and then carry that out and understanding that there's a

812
00:43:20,960 --> 00:43:24,160
Speaker 1: bell curve, there's an average. Some players will defy the

813
00:43:24,200 --> 00:43:27,960
Speaker 1: odds and they can make us look good. Others are

814
00:43:28,000 --> 00:43:29,640
Speaker 1: on the other side of that bell curve and they

815
00:43:29,680 --> 00:43:31,680
Speaker 1: make us look not so good. But there's an average,

816
00:43:31,680 --> 00:43:35,640
Speaker 1: and we know what to expect, and our job we

817
00:43:35,640 --> 00:43:37,359
Speaker 1: want to get the players back on the field as

818
00:43:37,400 --> 00:43:39,719
Speaker 1: soon as we can too, because there's no benefit to

819
00:43:39,800 --> 00:43:44,359
Speaker 1: us keeping them on the sideline with us. And I

820
00:43:44,440 --> 00:43:47,720
Speaker 1: understand the competitive nature of the position and the sport,

821
00:43:47,760 --> 00:43:50,880
Speaker 1: and there are times we have some healthy discussions about that,

822
00:43:50,960 --> 00:43:53,960
Speaker 1: and I get it. That's part of the deal. My

823
00:43:54,120 --> 00:43:56,120
Speaker 1: job is to take care of the athlete, make sure

824
00:43:56,160 --> 00:43:58,920
Speaker 1: that we're doing them right, not only for today, but

825
00:43:59,000 --> 00:44:01,799
Speaker 1: for their life after a ball. And it's been made

826
00:44:01,840 --> 00:44:04,799
Speaker 1: perfectly clear that that's the way ownership sees it, and

827
00:44:04,880 --> 00:44:07,080
Speaker 1: I think it's a balancing act. But I think we've

828
00:44:07,080 --> 00:44:10,600
Speaker 1: done a pretty good job of making that happen. You've

829
00:44:10,600 --> 00:44:14,080
Speaker 1: been the Bengals point person for following the NFL COVID

830
00:44:14,120 --> 00:44:17,400
Speaker 1: protocols for the last couple of years. I've seen those emails,

831
00:44:17,440 --> 00:44:20,800
Speaker 1: I've been subjected to the testing. How did that affect

832
00:44:20,920 --> 00:44:24,000
Speaker 1: you and the other people in the department, and how

833
00:44:24,000 --> 00:44:27,440
Speaker 1: do you think the NFL did well. The fact that

834
00:44:27,480 --> 00:44:29,919
Speaker 1: the NFL didn't have to cancel any games, I think

835
00:44:30,000 --> 00:44:32,160
Speaker 1: speaks volumes. How in the world you can do that

836
00:44:32,280 --> 00:44:34,920
Speaker 1: during a pandemic when the rule of thumb is six

837
00:44:34,960 --> 00:44:38,920
Speaker 1: feet of distance between people was amazing. I didn't imagine

838
00:44:38,960 --> 00:44:45,480
Speaker 1: it could happen, but incredibly it did. The league did

839
00:44:45,520 --> 00:44:47,920
Speaker 1: give teams the latitude if they wanted to bring on

840
00:44:47,960 --> 00:44:51,040
Speaker 1: additional people to help manage the COVID protocols to do that,

841
00:44:51,200 --> 00:44:53,960
Speaker 1: and here we decided to absorb it amongst our staff.

842
00:44:54,520 --> 00:44:59,040
Speaker 1: So it did require a lot of additional duties that

843
00:44:59,120 --> 00:45:02,560
Speaker 1: we were not necessar necessarily trained for. We learned on

844
00:45:02,600 --> 00:45:07,280
Speaker 1: the fly. We learned about contact tracing and COVID testing

845
00:45:07,320 --> 00:45:09,480
Speaker 1: and all that kind of thing. And it wasn't just me,

846
00:45:09,560 --> 00:45:13,680
Speaker 1: it was the entire staff. Our director Security handled the

847
00:45:13,719 --> 00:45:19,840
Speaker 1: administrative folks. I handled more of the players, coach, coaches,

848
00:45:19,880 --> 00:45:24,520
Speaker 1: and football staff in terms of enforcing the protocols, but

849
00:45:24,960 --> 00:45:27,120
Speaker 1: it was an all hands on deck. We all played

850
00:45:27,160 --> 00:45:30,080
Speaker 1: specific roles, but I will be the first to tell

851
00:45:30,120 --> 00:45:32,920
Speaker 1: you it was like a second full time job, not

852
00:45:33,000 --> 00:45:35,360
Speaker 1: only for me but also for our doctors as well,

853
00:45:36,120 --> 00:45:40,279
Speaker 1: and it was a challenge. I'm glad it's over, at

854
00:45:40,360 --> 00:45:46,120
Speaker 1: least for me. Hopefully it's over for everybody. Anyone who

855
00:45:46,200 --> 00:45:49,040
Speaker 1: thought that the getting the vaccine was going to make

856
00:45:49,120 --> 00:45:53,200
Speaker 1: the twenty one season easier was mistaken. It was not

857
00:45:53,320 --> 00:45:56,920
Speaker 1: any easier. In my mind, the testing ultimately became easier,

858
00:45:56,920 --> 00:46:00,239
Speaker 1: and I think as time went on, the NFL was

859
00:46:00,280 --> 00:46:05,440
Speaker 1: able to demonstrate that you didn't need to test as

860
00:46:05,480 --> 00:46:08,359
Speaker 1: frequently as they did. And at the same time, if

861
00:46:08,400 --> 00:46:11,839
Speaker 1: you're asymptomatic and positive, what does it really mean? So

862
00:46:11,880 --> 00:46:14,480
Speaker 1: I think a lot of questions were answered. I would

863
00:46:14,520 --> 00:46:17,760
Speaker 1: assume that there'll be it'll be a little bit easier

864
00:46:17,800 --> 00:46:20,839
Speaker 1: the next pandemic that runs around, and hopefully that won't

865
00:46:20,840 --> 00:46:24,680
Speaker 1: be in my lifetime. What have you enjoyed most about

866
00:46:24,719 --> 00:46:28,960
Speaker 1: four plus decades in the NFL. Well, I mean it's

867
00:46:29,520 --> 00:46:32,880
Speaker 1: it's the people that you meet, the relationships that you develop,

868
00:46:32,960 --> 00:46:36,319
Speaker 1: the things that you learn, and certainly Sunday afternoons at

869
00:46:36,360 --> 00:46:38,800
Speaker 1: one o'clock, I mean, you can't beat it. It is

870
00:46:38,840 --> 00:46:43,920
Speaker 1: an incredible experience. I feel sorry for our interns that

871
00:46:44,000 --> 00:46:47,040
Speaker 1: worked with us during the twenty season that didn't get

872
00:46:47,040 --> 00:46:51,480
Speaker 1: to experience what normal games are like. But the thrill

873
00:46:51,520 --> 00:46:54,800
Speaker 1: of victory is incredible. And I've learned as well when

874
00:46:54,840 --> 00:46:58,280
Speaker 1: the team doesn't win the game not to take it personal.

875
00:46:58,400 --> 00:47:02,400
Speaker 1: Don't don't let that change your mood or your attitude.

876
00:47:02,440 --> 00:47:05,239
Speaker 1: You have to kind of stay even keel. But it's

877
00:47:05,280 --> 00:47:07,879
Speaker 1: just amazing to me. You get all these players coming

878
00:47:07,920 --> 00:47:12,160
Speaker 1: from so many diverse backgrounds. You really begin to appreciate

879
00:47:12,200 --> 00:47:18,520
Speaker 1: that there's so many different people, different upbringings, different family backgrounds,

880
00:47:18,560 --> 00:47:23,960
Speaker 1: different medical backgrounds. To see them ultimately meld together as

881
00:47:24,000 --> 00:47:28,359
Speaker 1: a team with one common focus is just it's an

882
00:47:28,360 --> 00:47:32,120
Speaker 1: incredible experience to see it. You're still going to be

883
00:47:32,160 --> 00:47:34,239
Speaker 1: around here at Paul Brown Stadium, got a lot of

884
00:47:34,239 --> 00:47:36,920
Speaker 1: responsibilities still on your plate, but you have decided to

885
00:47:36,960 --> 00:47:41,480
Speaker 1: retire as the head athletic trainer. Why and why now? Well?

886
00:47:42,920 --> 00:47:46,560
Speaker 1: I had told Mike and Katie late in the year

887
00:47:46,640 --> 00:47:49,000
Speaker 1: that I felt as though, after thirty years, it was

888
00:47:49,040 --> 00:47:51,640
Speaker 1: time for me to begin to spend more time with

889
00:47:51,680 --> 00:47:55,319
Speaker 1: my wife and family and begin to enjoy some of

890
00:47:55,320 --> 00:47:58,040
Speaker 1: the things in life that we haven't been able to enjoy.

891
00:47:58,880 --> 00:48:03,319
Speaker 1: The time commitment phenomenal. I never envisioned that I would

892
00:48:03,400 --> 00:48:06,839
Speaker 1: last this long. Right now, there are three other head

893
00:48:06,840 --> 00:48:08,799
Speaker 1: athletic trainers that have been in the league for twenty

894
00:48:08,840 --> 00:48:13,839
Speaker 1: years or more, which is not very many. And I

895
00:48:13,920 --> 00:48:15,880
Speaker 1: was just looking for, you know, a way to be

896
00:48:15,960 --> 00:48:18,440
Speaker 1: into coast, if you will. Most people that when they

897
00:48:18,480 --> 00:48:20,680
Speaker 1: run a marathon, they don't collapse when they get to

898
00:48:20,680 --> 00:48:22,920
Speaker 1: the finish line, although some do. I don't want to

899
00:48:22,920 --> 00:48:24,359
Speaker 1: be the collapse or I want to be the guy

900
00:48:24,400 --> 00:48:27,400
Speaker 1: that kind of coasts to the finish and that to

901
00:48:27,480 --> 00:48:31,719
Speaker 1: me was appealing. And I just you know that the

902
00:48:31,800 --> 00:48:34,120
Speaker 1: last two years with COVID, it made things much more

903
00:48:34,200 --> 00:48:37,759
Speaker 1: complicated and difficult and stressful. And it's time for me

904
00:48:37,840 --> 00:48:39,840
Speaker 1: to lose a little bit of that stress. It's not

905
00:48:39,920 --> 00:48:42,680
Speaker 1: good for you. And I want to be able to

906
00:48:42,680 --> 00:48:45,560
Speaker 1: sit back and enjoy, you know, seeing what I've done

907
00:48:45,600 --> 00:48:49,200
Speaker 1: and reflect back on it. And it's time for a

908
00:48:49,239 --> 00:48:54,000
Speaker 1: younger generation to come in and start taking taking the reins.

909
00:48:54,120 --> 00:48:57,800
Speaker 1: So it felt like a good time. I like even numbers,

910
00:48:57,840 --> 00:49:02,080
Speaker 1: thirty as a nice even number. Marv Pollins, who I succeeded,

911
00:49:02,160 --> 00:49:04,920
Speaker 1: was here for twenty four years, so I beat him

912
00:49:04,960 --> 00:49:06,880
Speaker 1: by six, So I think I'm in pretty good stead

913
00:49:06,880 --> 00:49:09,720
Speaker 1: with that. But it's been an absolute honor and pleasure,

914
00:49:09,719 --> 00:49:14,520
Speaker 1: and being able to be affiliated with the Brown family

915
00:49:14,760 --> 00:49:17,480
Speaker 1: as their head althletic trainer over all these years has

916
00:49:17,520 --> 00:49:22,000
Speaker 1: just been something I never could have imagined. Yes, I

917
00:49:22,040 --> 00:49:24,880
Speaker 1: did at one point in time in high school dream

918
00:49:24,920 --> 00:49:29,120
Speaker 1: of becoming the head aletic trainer for the Bengals. Not

919
00:49:29,160 --> 00:49:31,440
Speaker 1: only did I achieve it, but I have been able

920
00:49:31,480 --> 00:49:35,919
Speaker 1: to maintain that for three decades, which is a quite

921
00:49:35,960 --> 00:49:38,040
Speaker 1: a feat in and of itself. But it's time. I

922
00:49:38,080 --> 00:49:40,880
Speaker 1: could feel it as the season went on, Yes, it

923
00:49:41,000 --> 00:49:43,040
Speaker 1: was exciting with the playoffs and what have you, and

924
00:49:43,080 --> 00:49:45,080
Speaker 1: I was so thankful to get another shot at it.

925
00:49:45,719 --> 00:49:49,560
Speaker 1: In fact, when Zach and Joe came, I told them

926
00:49:49,719 --> 00:49:52,319
Speaker 1: then that I was late in the fourth quarter and

927
00:49:52,520 --> 00:49:55,320
Speaker 1: not planning on going into overtime, and I'd appreciate it

928
00:49:55,360 --> 00:49:57,879
Speaker 1: if they do whatever they could to give us one

929
00:49:57,920 --> 00:50:01,160
Speaker 1: more shot, and they did, Son of a Gun, and

930
00:50:01,280 --> 00:50:03,319
Speaker 1: they'll have another shot next year, and we'll see where

931
00:50:03,320 --> 00:50:06,360
Speaker 1: things end up. I'm just pleased to be able to

932
00:50:06,400 --> 00:50:09,520
Speaker 1: do it on my terms, at my pace, and be

933
00:50:09,600 --> 00:50:14,000
Speaker 1: able to contribute in whatever meaningful manner ownership feels like

934
00:50:14,080 --> 00:50:15,839
Speaker 1: I can. I don't want to be in the way

935
00:50:15,840 --> 00:50:18,480
Speaker 1: of my successor. I want to be in his corner

936
00:50:19,000 --> 00:50:21,319
Speaker 1: and do everything I can to support him so that

937
00:50:21,360 --> 00:50:25,839
Speaker 1: it's as smooth transition as anyone could ever imagine. You've

938
00:50:25,880 --> 00:50:29,920
Speaker 1: had a remarkable career. Congratulations, I've enjoyed our interactions over

939
00:50:29,960 --> 00:50:32,360
Speaker 1: the years. Best of luck going forward. Thank you, I

940
00:50:32,400 --> 00:50:36,719
Speaker 1: appreciate it. Bengal's new head trainer is Matt Summers, who

941
00:50:36,800 --> 00:50:39,320
Speaker 1: spent the last four years at the University of Louisville

942
00:50:39,560 --> 00:50:44,440
Speaker 1: and has previous NFL experience with the Chargers, and now,

943
00:50:44,600 --> 00:50:48,879
Speaker 1: as promised, it's time for another edition of Storytime with Dan.

944
00:50:56,960 --> 00:51:00,560
Speaker 1: Here's the concept. I've been broadcasting in some shape or

945
00:51:00,600 --> 00:51:03,640
Speaker 1: form since the mid nineteen eighties, when I had a

946
00:51:03,719 --> 00:51:07,160
Speaker 1: thick head of red hair as a Syracuse University student.

947
00:51:07,600 --> 00:51:11,279
Speaker 1: While my hair vanished, my experiences grew, and I have

948
00:51:11,360 --> 00:51:14,440
Speaker 1: had the good fortune to cover Super Bowls, the World Series,

949
00:51:14,480 --> 00:51:18,200
Speaker 1: the final four Major Bowl Games, shoot. I was once

950
00:51:18,200 --> 00:51:21,839
Speaker 1: the announcer for the luge competition in Lake Placid. In

951
00:51:21,880 --> 00:51:25,280
Speaker 1: other words, I have some stories to tell, and since

952
00:51:25,360 --> 00:51:30,000
Speaker 1: this is Master's weekend, that's the topic for storytime with Dan.

953
00:51:30,640 --> 00:51:34,400
Speaker 1: Here goes. I have been to the Masters once, not

954
00:51:34,520 --> 00:51:37,319
Speaker 1: as a reporter, but as a spectator. Back in two

955
00:51:37,360 --> 00:51:40,480
Speaker 1: thousand and five, which was the fourth of tiger Woods

956
00:51:40,560 --> 00:51:44,320
Speaker 1: five Masters wins. He beat Chris de Marco in a playoff.

957
00:51:45,040 --> 00:51:47,400
Speaker 1: That year, Tiger hit the most famous shot of his

958
00:51:47,480 --> 00:51:50,520
Speaker 1: career and arguably the most famous shot in Master's history.

959
00:51:50,960 --> 00:51:53,879
Speaker 1: Remember the chip shot on the par three sixteenth hole

960
00:51:54,200 --> 00:51:56,040
Speaker 1: where he hit the ball toward the top of a

961
00:51:56,160 --> 00:52:00,960
Speaker 1: ridge and then watched it slowly trickled downhill, and just

962
00:52:01,040 --> 00:52:03,160
Speaker 1: before it looked like the ball was going to stop,

963
00:52:03,760 --> 00:52:07,280
Speaker 1: it dropped in for a miraculous birdie with the Nike

964
00:52:07,440 --> 00:52:11,520
Speaker 1: logo perfectly framed for TV. For nearly two seconds before

965
00:52:11,560 --> 00:52:15,799
Speaker 1: tumbling in. Here's how Verne lun Quiz called it. On CBS.

966
00:52:16,200 --> 00:52:19,560
Speaker 1: We pick up Verne's call as the ball is slowly

967
00:52:19,680 --> 00:52:40,920
Speaker 1: rolling toward the cup. Now here it comes. Oh, my goodness,

968
00:52:41,160 --> 00:52:45,520
Speaker 1: in your life, have you seen anything like that? As

969
00:52:45,560 --> 00:52:48,960
Speaker 1: a matter of fact, I have. I was there, standing

970
00:52:49,000 --> 00:52:51,480
Speaker 1: a few feet away with my friends Joe and Paul.

971
00:52:52,000 --> 00:52:54,320
Speaker 1: We got to the sixteenth hole a few groups before

972
00:52:54,400 --> 00:52:57,600
Speaker 1: Tiger played it and were in perfect position to see

973
00:52:57,680 --> 00:53:01,600
Speaker 1: him make history. Immediately after the tournament, my buddy Paul

974
00:53:01,760 --> 00:53:05,040
Speaker 1: was obsessed with bragging that we were there, much like

975
00:53:05,239 --> 00:53:08,720
Speaker 1: I am doing right now. But Paul said, we need proof,

976
00:53:08,719 --> 00:53:11,600
Speaker 1: for nobody is going to believe it. So he called

977
00:53:11,640 --> 00:53:14,440
Speaker 1: home after Tiger one and asked his wife if she

978
00:53:14,520 --> 00:53:17,239
Speaker 1: recorded the final round like he had asked her too,

979
00:53:17,360 --> 00:53:20,840
Speaker 1: and she said yes. So we were all set, or

980
00:53:20,960 --> 00:53:24,120
Speaker 1: so we thought. Paul lived in Connecticut, and when he

981
00:53:24,160 --> 00:53:27,320
Speaker 1: got home from Augusta, he reviewed the tape of Tiger's

982
00:53:27,360 --> 00:53:32,799
Speaker 1: shot frame by frame. Unfortunately, you couldn't see us from

983
00:53:32,800 --> 00:53:35,840
Speaker 1: where we were standing. The camera angles were wrong and

984
00:53:35,880 --> 00:53:38,640
Speaker 1: the shots were too tight to really point out the

985
00:53:38,640 --> 00:53:41,560
Speaker 1: three of us. I didn't really care. I figured my

986
00:53:41,600 --> 00:53:44,640
Speaker 1: friends would believe me, but my pal Paul was devastated.

987
00:53:45,040 --> 00:53:47,680
Speaker 1: There was no video evidence that we were standing a

988
00:53:47,719 --> 00:53:50,600
Speaker 1: few feet away from Tiger Woods when he hit the

989
00:53:50,640 --> 00:53:55,319
Speaker 1: most iconic shot of his career. So several months went by.

990
00:53:55,760 --> 00:53:57,840
Speaker 1: I hadn't really thought about it, when all of a

991
00:53:57,920 --> 00:54:00,600
Speaker 1: sudden one day, I see Paul's number hop up on

992
00:54:00,680 --> 00:54:03,960
Speaker 1: my phone. Hey Paul, what's up. I can hear him

993
00:54:04,000 --> 00:54:06,960
Speaker 1: huffing and puffing like he's just run a marathon. Finally,

994
00:54:07,000 --> 00:54:09,520
Speaker 1: he says, go to the nearest bookstore and pick up

995
00:54:09,520 --> 00:54:12,439
Speaker 1: the PGA Tour Annual. Then go to page twenty one.

996
00:54:12,840 --> 00:54:17,839
Speaker 1: Got that PGA Tour Annual, Page twenty one. Click. So

997
00:54:18,400 --> 00:54:21,240
Speaker 1: I go to a bookstore I find the new PGA

998
00:54:21,320 --> 00:54:24,239
Speaker 1: Tour Annual. I opened it up to page twenty one,

999
00:54:24,280 --> 00:54:27,560
Speaker 1: and sure enough, there was a two page color photograph

1000
00:54:27,560 --> 00:54:30,920
Speaker 1: of Tiger taken a split second after the ball had

1001
00:54:31,000 --> 00:54:34,759
Speaker 1: left his club, and sure enough, a few feet behind him,

1002
00:54:34,800 --> 00:54:37,040
Speaker 1: as clear as a bell, or me and my two

1003
00:54:37,040 --> 00:54:40,960
Speaker 1: buddies standing there with our mouths agape. The third guy

1004
00:54:41,000 --> 00:54:43,480
Speaker 1: in our group, my friend Joe, worked in publishing at

1005
00:54:43,480 --> 00:54:47,200
Speaker 1: the time, so he contacted the photographer and promised to

1006
00:54:47,320 --> 00:54:49,759
Speaker 1: use him on a future project. If the three of

1007
00:54:49,880 --> 00:54:53,840
Speaker 1: us could get the photograph, he agreed, and we all

1008
00:54:53,920 --> 00:54:57,640
Speaker 1: have it framed proof that we were there. That's a

1009
00:54:57,680 --> 00:55:01,000
Speaker 1: pretty good story, right, we'll believe it or not. That's

1010
00:55:01,040 --> 00:55:04,800
Speaker 1: not even the best part. On the Monday after the Masters,

1011
00:55:04,840 --> 00:55:07,520
Speaker 1: there's a vip outing where a few people get to

1012
00:55:07,560 --> 00:55:10,560
Speaker 1: play the course. It includes a lottery for some lucky

1013
00:55:10,640 --> 00:55:15,239
Speaker 1: media members, along with some corporate sponsors and other big wigs. Well,

1014
00:55:15,239 --> 00:55:18,359
Speaker 1: my friend Joe was sufficiently connected that when we made

1015
00:55:18,440 --> 00:55:21,399
Speaker 1: that trip in two thousand and five, it included an

1016
00:55:21,480 --> 00:55:26,160
Speaker 1: invitation to play in the vip outing on Monday. Greatest

1017
00:55:26,200 --> 00:55:30,080
Speaker 1: thing ever, right. Unfortunately, that year, most of the second

1018
00:55:30,160 --> 00:55:32,280
Speaker 1: round was rained out, meaning they had to play thirty

1019
00:55:32,320 --> 00:55:34,799
Speaker 1: six holes on Saturday, and we got a phone call

1020
00:55:34,920 --> 00:55:37,560
Speaker 1: late that day saying that due to the wet weather,

1021
00:55:37,640 --> 00:55:40,680
Speaker 1: the course was taking a beating and that the vip

1022
00:55:40,880 --> 00:55:43,560
Speaker 1: outing was going to be shortened and we did not

1023
00:55:43,760 --> 00:55:47,360
Speaker 1: make the cut. However, we were invited to give his

1024
00:55:47,480 --> 00:55:51,719
Speaker 1: contact at augusta National three dates later that summer where

1025
00:55:51,719 --> 00:55:54,200
Speaker 1: we could come back and they would allow us to

1026
00:55:54,200 --> 00:55:57,239
Speaker 1: play the course with a member. As far as I

1027
00:55:57,360 --> 00:55:59,920
Speaker 1: was concerned, that was even better. Sure, we would have

1028
00:56:00,080 --> 00:56:01,680
Speaker 1: to spend the money to get back down there, but

1029
00:56:01,800 --> 00:56:05,120
Speaker 1: so what we wouldn't be rushed through in a VIP outing.

1030
00:56:05,480 --> 00:56:09,360
Speaker 1: We would get the full Augusta National experience with a member.

1031
00:56:09,840 --> 00:56:12,560
Speaker 1: So we came up with our three dates. They said

1032
00:56:12,600 --> 00:56:15,120
Speaker 1: the first one was fine and we were all set,

1033
00:56:16,120 --> 00:56:19,200
Speaker 1: or so I thought. About a week before the big day,

1034
00:56:19,280 --> 00:56:22,400
Speaker 1: my friend Joe, who made the whole thing happen, came

1035
00:56:22,440 --> 00:56:25,719
Speaker 1: down with an inner ear infection so severe that he

1036
00:56:25,760 --> 00:56:29,200
Speaker 1: couldn't travel. Initially, me and the other guy, Paul thought,

1037
00:56:29,400 --> 00:56:32,480
Speaker 1: too bad for him, We're going, But after thinking about it,

1038
00:56:32,520 --> 00:56:35,760
Speaker 1: if not for Joe, we would have never had the opportunity.

1039
00:56:36,239 --> 00:56:40,040
Speaker 1: So he called his contact to Augusta National and explained

1040
00:56:40,080 --> 00:56:43,919
Speaker 1: the situation, and the guy said, we understand completely. Get

1041
00:56:43,920 --> 00:56:46,080
Speaker 1: healthy and we look forward to seeing you at the

1042
00:56:46,080 --> 00:56:49,680
Speaker 1: club at a future date. That was the summer of

1043
00:56:49,719 --> 00:56:54,160
Speaker 1: two thousand and five. Seventeen years later, we have not

1044
00:56:54,320 --> 00:56:59,040
Speaker 1: been back because his contact passed away. Moral of the story,

1045
00:56:59,440 --> 00:57:03,879
Speaker 1: if the chance to play Augusta National, do not turn

1046
00:57:03,960 --> 00:57:07,640
Speaker 1: it down. And that concludes this week's episode of Storytime

1047
00:57:08,040 --> 00:57:18,120
Speaker 1: with Dan. That's going to do it for this episode

1048
00:57:18,120 --> 00:57:21,680
Speaker 1: of the Bengals Booth Podcast presented by Ultimate Bengals. Download

1049
00:57:21,760 --> 00:57:24,680
Speaker 1: Ultimate Bengals ahead of the twenty twenty two season. It's

1050
00:57:24,720 --> 00:57:29,080
Speaker 1: free to play next level fantasy football with awesome Bengals prizes.

1051
00:57:29,520 --> 00:57:32,200
Speaker 1: Get it now on the App Store and Google Play.

1052
00:57:32,600 --> 00:57:35,280
Speaker 1: And if you haven't done so already, please subscribe to

1053
00:57:35,320 --> 00:57:37,040
Speaker 1: this podcast and if you have a minute, give it

1054
00:57:37,080 --> 00:57:40,240
Speaker 1: a rating or share a comment that helps more Bengals

1055
00:57:40,240 --> 00:57:43,800
Speaker 1: fans find us. I'm Dan Horde and thanks for listening

1056
00:57:44,040 --> 00:57:46,240
Speaker 1: to The Bengals Booth Podcast.