WEBVTT - Bengals Booth Podcast: Seen The Difference 0:00:03.480 --> 0:00:06.319 Hi, get everybody. I'm Dan Horde and thanks for downloading 0:00:06.360 --> 0:00:11.320 The Bengals Booth Podcast. The You've seen the difference and 0:00:11.680 --> 0:00:16.960 it's getting better all the time. Addition, as I discussed 0:00:17.000 --> 0:00:19.400 the state of the Bengals and what they are likely 0:00:19.480 --> 0:00:22.440 to do in the draft with my friend Charles Davis, 0:00:22.600 --> 0:00:26.160 who calls games for CBS Sports and analyzes the draft 0:00:26.320 --> 0:00:29.600 for the NFL Network. Then I'll talk to a man 0:00:29.640 --> 0:00:32.200 who has seen it all in more than four decades 0:00:32.200 --> 0:00:36.320 in Cincinnati, Paul Sparling, who announced this week that he 0:00:36.400 --> 0:00:40.360 is retiring as the Bengals head athletic trainer. He'll share 0:00:40.400 --> 0:00:44.440 some great nuggets about Paul Brown, Tim Crumrye, Joe Burrow, 0:00:44.800 --> 0:00:49.680 and Moore. The Bengals Booth Podcast is presented by Ultimate Bengals. 0:00:50.159 --> 0:00:53.280 Download Ultimate Bengals ahead of the twenty twenty two season 0:00:53.720 --> 0:00:57.920 gets free to play next level fantasy football with fantastic 0:00:58.000 --> 0:01:01.240 Bengals prizes. Get it now on the App Store and 0:01:01.400 --> 0:01:04.000 Google Play. And here's a quick reminder that you can 0:01:04.040 --> 0:01:06.720 have the latest edition of this podcast delivered write to 0:01:06.760 --> 0:01:10.920 your phone, tablet, or computer by subscribing wherever you get 0:01:10.920 --> 0:01:21.480 your podcasts. It's the greatest thing since the Masters. I 0:01:21.600 --> 0:01:23.399 joked with a buddy this week that I think I 0:01:23.480 --> 0:01:26.679 love the Masters Tournament more than I love my family. 0:01:27.360 --> 0:01:30.600 I love the traditions, the Green jacket, the champions dinner, 0:01:30.640 --> 0:01:36.080 the Part three contest, Pimento cheese, sandwiches, etc. I love 0:01:36.120 --> 0:01:38.840 the beauty of the chorus with the azaleas and Dogwoods 0:01:38.840 --> 0:01:41.440 in full bloom. And I love the history and the 0:01:41.520 --> 0:01:46.720 thrilling moments provided by Jack, Tiger, Phil and so many others. 0:01:47.280 --> 0:01:50.040 I have attended the Masters once, and if you stick 0:01:50.080 --> 0:01:52.840 around until the end of this episode, I will share 0:01:52.960 --> 0:01:58.760 my amusing but somewhat painful experience in story time with Dan. 0:01:59.400 --> 0:02:03.920 But now let's get to football. The NFL Draft is 0:02:04.040 --> 0:02:07.760 three weeks away. NFL Network will provide live coverage of 0:02:07.800 --> 0:02:11.760 the draft from Las Vegas April twenty eighth through thirtieth, 0:02:11.960 --> 0:02:14.360 and this week I have the chance to visit with 0:02:14.560 --> 0:02:19.519 NFL Network draft analyst Charles Davis. Charles, your first mock 0:02:19.600 --> 0:02:22.320 draft came out this week. You have the Bengals selecting 0:02:22.440 --> 0:02:26.200 Tyler Linderbaum, the center out of Iowa. Tell us, why 0:02:27.360 --> 0:02:29.960 oh look, I think he's the best center in the draft, 0:02:30.240 --> 0:02:33.200 and I think he has qualities similar to Creed Humphrey 0:02:33.320 --> 0:02:36.120 last year of Oklahoma, who went in the second round 0:02:36.160 --> 0:02:38.760 in Kansas City, was plugged right in as their starting 0:02:38.800 --> 0:02:41.680 center and went to not just the Pro Bowl, what 0:02:41.800 --> 0:02:44.400 was an All Pro center as a rookie, which was 0:02:44.480 --> 0:02:47.920 really a phenomenal accomplishment. But I think that Linderbaum is 0:02:47.960 --> 0:02:51.880 a similar player, same type of qualities to him, same 0:02:51.919 --> 0:02:53.959 type of plug in play. Right away, coming from the 0:02:54.040 --> 0:02:57.040 University of Iowa, where how often is it, Dan that 0:02:57.120 --> 0:03:00.160 your head coach spends more time with your offensive line 0:03:00.200 --> 0:03:03.880 than he does any other position, Maybe since what Vince Lombardi, 0:03:04.760 --> 0:03:06.720 because he was one of the seven blocks of Granted, 0:03:06.960 --> 0:03:09.960 you just don't get it very often. Maybe in Cincinnati 0:03:10.000 --> 0:03:13.480 you had that before with Forest Gregg maybe perhaps, but 0:03:13.680 --> 0:03:16.799 you hear where I'm coming with that. Look, that's where 0:03:17.400 --> 0:03:19.880 Kirk Ferren spends his time at the University of Iowa. 0:03:19.960 --> 0:03:22.519 Like when these coaches scatter, Kirk Farrence is with that 0:03:22.639 --> 0:03:25.400 offensive line. He's a tremendous offensive line coach in the NFL. 0:03:25.639 --> 0:03:28.600 He's been a tremendous head coach at Iowa. That's his baby, 0:03:28.680 --> 0:03:32.080 and this kid, I think has the movement, skills, the strength, 0:03:32.200 --> 0:03:35.200 everything that you're looking for to be a starter right away. 0:03:35.320 --> 0:03:37.520 And now, look, I do realize that you've made some 0:03:37.560 --> 0:03:40.080 moves in the off season. I do realize there's a 0:03:40.080 --> 0:03:42.960 certain young man who came over by name of Carris 0:03:43.320 --> 0:03:47.160 Right that has center in his background. Last year he 0:03:47.200 --> 0:03:50.120 played his first games at guard for New England and 0:03:50.160 --> 0:03:52.560 played much of the season as they're starting left guard. 0:03:53.040 --> 0:03:56.200 If Linderbaumb comes in, Carris goes into competition at a 0:03:56.280 --> 0:03:59.920 guard spot. So this is more of a the player 0:04:00.760 --> 0:04:04.280 is too good to pass up than any perceived need 0:04:04.320 --> 0:04:08.040 on the offensive line. To me, yes, and you're also 0:04:08.120 --> 0:04:11.440 wanting to increase You remember last year prior to the draft, Dan, Look, 0:04:11.520 --> 0:04:14.040 you remember it all very well. You're immersed in it, right. 0:04:14.760 --> 0:04:17.680 How much was the debate like you probably went to 0:04:17.800 --> 0:04:19.800 different places and said, oh no, I don't want to 0:04:19.800 --> 0:04:22.840 hear this debate anymore. Should we take a tackle in 0:04:23.000 --> 0:04:26.400 Piney's sewel to take care of our young quarterback or 0:04:26.400 --> 0:04:29.160 do we go get Jamar Chase the wide receiver? Right, 0:04:29.160 --> 0:04:31.440 Because that was that's all we talked about, and that 0:04:31.560 --> 0:04:34.320 was debated ad nauseum. And I'm sure you closed the 0:04:34.360 --> 0:04:36.560 door a few times said okay, I can't do this anymore, 0:04:36.600 --> 0:04:39.359 I'm done. They'll figure it out. Well, they figured it 0:04:39.360 --> 0:04:42.200 out last year because they knew that they believed in 0:04:42.279 --> 0:04:45.560 Jonah Williams. So because they believed in Jonah william just 0:04:45.560 --> 0:04:49.719 said Jonah Williams is healthy, Jamar Chase another weapon out 0:04:49.760 --> 0:04:52.200 Why that shore worked out pretty darned well for them 0:04:52.279 --> 0:04:55.520 right Well, to me, Tyler Linderbaum is another way of 0:04:55.560 --> 0:04:59.760 making things better for this young quarterback. Increasing your offensive line. 0:05:00.640 --> 0:05:03.680 It wasn't a debate last year in Cincinnati. It was 0:05:03.720 --> 0:05:08.680 a civil war. You were Team Chase or Teams Seul. 0:05:09.440 --> 0:05:12.960 I admit to being Teams Seul. But I learned my lesson. 0:05:13.040 --> 0:05:16.360 What I learned last year is that the value of 0:05:16.400 --> 0:05:20.760 a transcendent wide receiver is greater than the value of 0:05:20.800 --> 0:05:24.120 a single offensive lineman, no matter how good the offensive 0:05:24.160 --> 0:05:27.880 lineman is. And obviously you want great offensive lineman, but 0:05:28.000 --> 0:05:32.040 a game changing wide receiver has so much value. That 0:05:32.160 --> 0:05:34.760 was the lesson that I learned from last year. Well, 0:05:34.760 --> 0:05:36.800 it's a great lesson. It's a lesson for all of 0:05:36.880 --> 0:05:41.039 us because it is a legitimate debate, and as you said, 0:05:41.080 --> 0:05:43.599 in a legitimate war about which way do we go? 0:05:44.120 --> 0:05:47.479 Because in your team's history taking Anthony Munos a left tackle. 0:05:47.600 --> 0:05:50.200 Sure worked out pretty darn well. Okay, you talked about 0:05:50.240 --> 0:05:54.440 transcendent talent. Yeah, I get the wide receiver. But if 0:05:54.440 --> 0:05:55.799 you all of a sudden you thought you were getting 0:05:55.839 --> 0:05:59.240 another Anthony Muno's type player and he signed off on that. 0:05:59.279 --> 0:06:01.880 I remember for the draft, I went, oh, boy, that's 0:06:01.920 --> 0:06:03.920 putting some pressure on Duke Topin and the rest of 0:06:03.960 --> 0:06:07.159 the decision makers. And Anthony Munios goes go get the tackle. 0:06:08.520 --> 0:06:10.560 Remembers how well he played and what he did for 0:06:10.560 --> 0:06:12.280 a team that went to a couple of Super Bowls 0:06:12.279 --> 0:06:15.080 while he was there. But bottom line is, they got 0:06:15.120 --> 0:06:18.960 it right last year. They nailed it to me, Linda Bob. Again, 0:06:19.000 --> 0:06:22.120 as you said, I'm taking the player much more so 0:06:22.200 --> 0:06:26.279 than absolute need. But again it's not quite the same 0:06:26.320 --> 0:06:30.440 as I'm taking Sam Bowie instead of Michael Jordan because 0:06:30.480 --> 0:06:34.280 I have Clyde Drexler who was a tremendous player. But 0:06:34.320 --> 0:06:37.640 it's along those lines. Let's not make that mistake again. 0:06:37.680 --> 0:06:39.400 If I got a chance to get better, I go 0:06:39.440 --> 0:06:43.080 ahead and get better. NFL Network Draft analyst Charles Davis 0:06:43.160 --> 0:06:47.280 is our guest. Let's talk about cornerback. The Bengals have Chitube, 0:06:47.320 --> 0:06:50.200 A Wouge and Mike Hilton signed for multiple seasons, but 0:06:50.360 --> 0:06:52.760 Eli Apple is coming back on a one year deal. 0:06:53.520 --> 0:06:57.560 Depth beyond that threesome is questionable. So if the Bengals 0:06:57.600 --> 0:07:01.280 were to go cornerback, which is obvious a strong possibility, 0:07:01.680 --> 0:07:04.800 who do you like among the guys that might still 0:07:04.839 --> 0:07:08.800 be there at number thirty one? Well? I like kier 0:07:08.920 --> 0:07:12.200 Elam at the University of Florida. I love his build, 0:07:12.280 --> 0:07:14.840 I love his toughness. I love his bloodlines with a 0:07:15.240 --> 0:07:17.720 father and an uncle who played in the NFL as well. 0:07:18.200 --> 0:07:21.200 He gets it. Hasn't had quite the college career that 0:07:21.240 --> 0:07:23.960 you would like due to some injuries. But I think 0:07:23.960 --> 0:07:26.200 that he's a terrific player and he's one name that 0:07:26.240 --> 0:07:28.240 I would list and Dan I'm not listing him in 0:07:28.320 --> 0:07:31.360 any order of preference. I'm just listing names at this stage. 0:07:31.560 --> 0:07:34.800 I wonder for Roger McCreary from Auburn's going to be available. 0:07:34.880 --> 0:07:38.040 Really impressing me at the Senior Bowl, I'd been told 0:07:38.080 --> 0:07:40.680 going into the Senior Bowl people were a little disappointed 0:07:40.680 --> 0:07:42.840 about the lack of plays he made on the ball. 0:07:43.640 --> 0:07:45.360 I didn't see that at the Senior Bowl. He made 0:07:45.400 --> 0:07:47.480 a lot of players on the football that entire week 0:07:47.520 --> 0:07:50.400 and showed the aggressiveness and the willingness not just to 0:07:50.520 --> 0:07:52.560 mix it up in the run game, but to be 0:07:52.640 --> 0:07:54.760 there in the passing game and make them make sure 0:07:54.760 --> 0:07:57.960 that receivers were making contested catches. I think that the 0:07:58.040 --> 0:08:02.640 University of Washington has two corners McDuffie and Kyler Gordon. 0:08:03.000 --> 0:08:05.640 And it was interesting. I got done my first mock draft. 0:08:05.680 --> 0:08:07.400 I got a couple of texts from some people that 0:08:07.520 --> 0:08:09.720 I really trust in the league. You know, you and 0:08:09.760 --> 0:08:12.080 I we a lot of things that we do. We 0:08:12.200 --> 0:08:14.280 bounced off of other people in the league that we 0:08:14.320 --> 0:08:16.720 count on. I didn't even have to bounce this one off. 0:08:16.960 --> 0:08:19.320 They came to me and said, hey, man, don't fall 0:08:19.320 --> 0:08:21.720 asleep on Kyler Gordon because I Trent mcduffy going in 0:08:21.760 --> 0:08:24.880 the teams. Okay, don't fall asleep on Kyler Gordon the 0:08:24.920 --> 0:08:28.560 corner at Washington. He would probably be available around that 0:08:28.600 --> 0:08:31.160 time frame, Dan that someone would take a good strong 0:08:31.200 --> 0:08:33.720 look at and say, hey, he might be the guy 0:08:33.760 --> 0:08:35.440 that we would go for. So I'm just talking about 0:08:35.440 --> 0:08:37.360 it in the first round. As we get past the 0:08:37.400 --> 0:08:39.839 first round, those numbers start to really jump out there. 0:08:39.920 --> 0:08:42.600 More and more because there's plenty of corners, not nearly 0:08:42.640 --> 0:08:45.520 as many receivers, but there's still a decent amount of 0:08:45.520 --> 0:08:47.439 depth at the corner of position. But those would be 0:08:47.520 --> 0:08:49.840 the guys I would see. I don't know that there's 0:08:49.880 --> 0:08:52.280 going to be a precipitous drop for the top corners. 0:08:52.840 --> 0:08:55.559 You know, would and Andrew Ruth from Clemson drop in there? 0:08:55.600 --> 0:08:59.079 I don't think so. Derek Stingley, you know less, unless 0:08:59.120 --> 0:09:01.959 something really crazy happens. I don't see any of those 0:09:01.960 --> 0:09:08.680 guys dropping down, and certainly not my guy, Sauce Gardner. No, no, no, listen. 0:09:09.120 --> 0:09:11.080 I was working a show the other day and we 0:09:11.160 --> 0:09:13.240 did a thing like where's the highest he can go? 0:09:13.240 --> 0:09:15.400 Where's the lowest he can go? And I think the 0:09:15.480 --> 0:09:19.040 highest we started with was three to Houston and the 0:09:19.080 --> 0:09:21.720 lowest was ten to the Jets with their second pick. 0:09:22.280 --> 0:09:24.280 If the Jets don't use them at four with their 0:09:24.280 --> 0:09:27.400 first pick. You know, I mocked him to Seattle at nine. 0:09:27.960 --> 0:09:29.760 I mean, could you imagine if Pete Carroll saw the 0:09:29.840 --> 0:09:32.640 Sauce the gardener was still standing there at nine with 0:09:32.760 --> 0:09:34.640 the way he likes to play with those corners, with 0:09:34.760 --> 0:09:38.640 the length of those guys, look Richard Sherman is going 0:09:38.679 --> 0:09:40.920 to go to the Hall of Fame. We know that, right, 0:09:41.000 --> 0:09:44.400 And he's built similarly to a mod gardener. A mid 0:09:44.480 --> 0:09:47.880 gardeners way faster than Richard Sherman. What a mod's gotta 0:09:47.960 --> 0:09:50.640 do is maximize the brain power that Richard brought to 0:09:50.679 --> 0:09:53.440 the field and the reason he didn't get beat very often. 0:09:53.640 --> 0:09:55.960 He eliminated most of the stuff you couldn't you could 0:09:56.040 --> 0:09:58.640 do or couldn't do against him before the ball was snapped, 0:09:58.920 --> 0:10:01.760 and he was ready for what remaining. That's what a 0:10:01.760 --> 0:10:04.640 great corner does. That's what Sherman did. That's going to 0:10:04.720 --> 0:10:07.080 be the next step step for Sauce Gardner. I'll tell 0:10:07.120 --> 0:10:10.400 you this about Sauce Gardner. So he's been attending most 0:10:10.440 --> 0:10:14.040 of the University of Cincinnati's spring practices. He has been 0:10:14.120 --> 0:10:17.720 coaching up the young guys, and it shows to me 0:10:17.880 --> 0:10:20.360 the knowledge that he's gained from three years of playing 0:10:20.360 --> 0:10:24.120 college football. He's out there like a legitimate defensive backs 0:10:24.160 --> 0:10:27.920 coach sharing his knowledge, which which shows me something. Yeah, 0:10:28.000 --> 0:10:30.880 and it tells me something about him too, dan One. 0:10:31.120 --> 0:10:33.280 Just what you talked about the knowledge that he's gained, 0:10:33.280 --> 0:10:37.680 and he's not just willing to impart it. But there's 0:10:37.720 --> 0:10:41.520 one other element, the pride in the University of Cincinnati program, 0:10:41.559 --> 0:10:43.719 the pride and being a Bearcat, the pride and what 0:10:43.800 --> 0:10:46.440 they've built up over his timeframe and his career there 0:10:46.559 --> 0:10:49.040 where the team got progressively better to wear. The last 0:10:49.080 --> 0:10:52.119 two seasons, they lose a game in the regular season. Okay, 0:10:52.240 --> 0:10:54.640 so he put it up there. Now he has part 0:10:54.640 --> 0:10:57.160 of that grouping, and I think by his coaching up 0:10:57.200 --> 0:11:00.920 these youngsters, he's also telling them silently, well, what's the 0:11:00.920 --> 0:11:04.800 old Montreal Canadians thing about, you know, from failing hands 0:11:04.800 --> 0:11:08.040 where they tossed the torch. Well, his hands aren't failing, 0:11:08.480 --> 0:11:10.520 but he's passing the torch and he expects them to 0:11:10.600 --> 0:11:12.640 uphold it to the standards that he and his teammates 0:11:12.640 --> 0:11:15.720 have established there at Cincinnati. That's part of why he's 0:11:15.760 --> 0:11:19.160 coaching these kids up that way. I would believe. NFL 0:11:19.240 --> 0:11:22.120 Network Draft analyst Charles Davis is our guests, the Bengals 0:11:22.160 --> 0:11:26.400 like to rotate defensive lineman right now, at least for now, 0:11:26.440 --> 0:11:29.000 they don't have Larry Ogan job back in the fold 0:11:29.480 --> 0:11:33.000 after his free agent deal fell through in Chicago. Maybe 0:11:33.040 --> 0:11:35.520 he winds up back with the Bengals but in any case, 0:11:35.559 --> 0:11:38.640 they like to rotate those guys up front. Are there 0:11:38.679 --> 0:11:42.760 any defensive tackles that you would consider at thirty one? 0:11:43.360 --> 0:11:46.480 At thirty one a Logan Hall from Houston. Although I 0:11:46.559 --> 0:11:50.199 am really torn on him Dan for this reason body type. 0:11:50.640 --> 0:11:52.760 I feel like he's more of an edge guy. He 0:11:52.800 --> 0:11:55.120 looks a lot like his teammate coming out last year 0:11:55.160 --> 0:11:58.080 went to New Orleans and Peyton Turner, you know who 0:11:58.280 --> 0:12:00.160 ended up going into first round and cost of as 0:12:00.200 --> 0:12:03.319 to few people similar body type. But when he works 0:12:03.320 --> 0:12:06.880 at the three technique, he's tremendous off the snap, great 0:12:06.960 --> 0:12:09.960 arm overmove, tries to knife through and make plays and 0:12:10.040 --> 0:12:12.360 he did a nice job of that at the comm 0:12:12.679 --> 0:12:15.680 not not just see me at the Senior Bowl. So yes, 0:12:15.800 --> 0:12:17.679 can he be that type of a guy. I think 0:12:17.679 --> 0:12:20.040 he needs a little more bulk, But that's just me. 0:12:20.600 --> 0:12:22.640 But you got a pretty darn good defensive line coach 0:12:22.640 --> 0:12:24.720 and Marion Hobby. And I'm not just saying that because 0:12:24.720 --> 0:12:27.440 we were teammates the University of Tennessee. The world got 0:12:27.480 --> 0:12:30.520 to see that last year, you know, on display. If 0:12:30.520 --> 0:12:32.120 you didn't know it before, you had to watch it 0:12:32.160 --> 0:12:35.960 throughout that as injuries happened as different things, mixing and matching. 0:12:36.160 --> 0:12:38.480 That line continued to play better as a year went on, 0:12:38.640 --> 0:12:40.720 So I would think that he would benefit from that. 0:12:41.000 --> 0:12:43.600 But he would be a guy because I don't think 0:12:43.679 --> 0:12:46.840 Jordan Davids from Georgia DeVante Wyatt from Georgia. I don't 0:12:46.840 --> 0:12:48.880 think they make it down that far, you know, in 0:12:49.040 --> 0:12:51.520 terms of being big defensive tackles and guys that would go. 0:12:51.960 --> 0:12:54.600 If you've got to sneak another person into the first round, 0:12:55.440 --> 0:12:57.960 would it be a Perian Winfrey from from Oklahoma as 0:12:57.960 --> 0:13:00.920 a playmaking type of a defensive tackle. I just am 0:13:00.960 --> 0:13:03.719 skeptical about how many guys would jump up. I think 0:13:03.800 --> 0:13:06.040 Dan the bidding would starting to stecond round for d 0:13:06.120 --> 0:13:09.480 tackles and guys that would be available for for the Bengals. 0:13:10.120 --> 0:13:14.440 Travis Jones from Yukon. Would that name one that would 0:13:14.440 --> 0:13:16.280 be a great one that you would sneak into the 0:13:16.320 --> 0:13:19.520 first round because he's a guy that's literally on the rise. 0:13:19.840 --> 0:13:23.200 People liked him before, people loved him even more after 0:13:23.200 --> 0:13:26.000 the Senior Bowl, and by the time the combine was over, 0:13:26.559 --> 0:13:30.000 now you're having full on man crushes. Okay, the question 0:13:30.040 --> 0:13:32.320 you're going to ask yourself is with all that power 0:13:32.600 --> 0:13:35.920 that he packs and his ability to move people. Are 0:13:35.960 --> 0:13:38.600 you getting pass rush that goes with it? That gives 0:13:38.600 --> 0:13:40.840 you the value that you want at thirty one? But 0:13:40.960 --> 0:13:43.760 he is a legitimate name that the Bengals are looking 0:13:43.800 --> 0:13:46.839 and thinking. Yeah, I would put him in there just 0:13:46.880 --> 0:13:50.280 like you, just with the kid from Houston I mentioned before, 0:13:50.360 --> 0:13:53.280 Logan Hall Da would be my top two candidates at 0:13:53.360 --> 0:13:57.440 thirty one to possibly get in there. Let's get back 0:13:57.440 --> 0:14:00.360 to the Bengals offensive line for a second, specifically the 0:14:00.440 --> 0:14:03.960 moves they made in free agency, because you called Bengals 0:14:04.000 --> 0:14:06.320 games this year for CBS. You know this team well, 0:14:06.800 --> 0:14:11.720 Ted Carriss, Alex Kappa, l Collins. How big of an 0:14:11.800 --> 0:14:16.120 upgrade have the Bengals accomplished on their offensive line? Well? 0:14:16.160 --> 0:14:19.120 To me, this is how big it is. Dan Collins 0:14:19.120 --> 0:14:22.280 immediately slots in at right tackle as a starter. Okay, 0:14:22.400 --> 0:14:24.760 you already have Jonah Williams as your left tackle as 0:14:24.800 --> 0:14:28.960 a starter. Kappa slots in probably at right guard immediately 0:14:29.000 --> 0:14:31.240 as a starter. You remember last year became a mix 0:14:31.280 --> 0:14:35.080 and match situation. Wasn't going to be Jackson Carman, wasn't 0:14:35.080 --> 0:14:37.200 going to be a Chema dentagy. Was it going to 0:14:37.280 --> 0:14:39.400 be both of them in the Super Bowl. It was 0:14:39.960 --> 0:14:41.960 that's what you ended up with with some guys who 0:14:42.200 --> 0:14:44.320 you know who went through all that. So he slots 0:14:44.360 --> 0:14:47.840 in right there, Ted Carres. Immediately you can plug him 0:14:47.880 --> 0:14:49.880 in at center, or you can plug youm in at 0:14:49.960 --> 0:14:52.720 left guard. That's the way I look at depends on 0:14:52.760 --> 0:14:55.120 how you want to go about doing it. But immediately 0:14:55.160 --> 0:14:57.360 he's got starter's potential. That's what he played for New 0:14:57.400 --> 0:14:59.200 England last year. Remember, I think we said at the 0:14:59.240 --> 0:15:02.480 beginning his left guards played last year in New England, 0:15:02.480 --> 0:15:04.360 the first time he'd ever played guard in the NFL. 0:15:04.680 --> 0:15:08.280 He'd been a center here to four. But immediately, great upgrades. 0:15:08.800 --> 0:15:10.840 Guys who plug him play right out, right out of 0:15:10.840 --> 0:15:13.680 the gate, and we'll just see how it all plays out. 0:15:13.880 --> 0:15:16.160 That's why I came back to linder Bomb again. I 0:15:16.200 --> 0:15:19.880 don't think getting Ted Carris takes you away from getting Linderbomb. 0:15:20.120 --> 0:15:22.080 If indeed he's still on the board, you want to 0:15:22.120 --> 0:15:23.920 go get him because someone could go ahead and pluck 0:15:23.960 --> 0:15:25.800 him before you get the thirty one. He's that good. 0:15:26.400 --> 0:15:29.280 You called the Super Bowl last year for the international feed. 0:15:29.600 --> 0:15:32.960 How surprised were you by the Bengal success? Oh? I 0:15:33.080 --> 0:15:35.680 think I think anyone who says that they weren't surprised 0:15:35.760 --> 0:15:38.160 is a little bit disingenuous. I dan, I think that 0:15:38.240 --> 0:15:40.160 anyone who would sit here and say, well, you know, 0:15:40.680 --> 0:15:43.640 preseason I had the Bengals riding it all the way through. 0:15:44.640 --> 0:15:48.000 We saw talent there, but there were enough question marks 0:15:48.040 --> 0:15:51.040 to give you pause. That offensive line that we talked about. 0:15:51.160 --> 0:15:53.960 Remember Jonah Williams hadn't done it for a full season yet. 0:15:54.520 --> 0:15:56.240 You know, he's a first round draft choice that had 0:15:56.280 --> 0:15:58.600 been dinged up the whole time. And remember the debate 0:15:58.680 --> 0:16:00.440 was still raging. Man, I don't know, Oh, they probably 0:16:00.440 --> 0:16:02.800 should have getten Penney Sewell instead of the wide receiver 0:16:02.920 --> 0:16:05.240 because you got a bunch of receivers, so that debate 0:16:05.320 --> 0:16:08.280 was still raging. Joe Burrow coming back from the knee injury, 0:16:08.360 --> 0:16:10.840 would he be the Joe Burrow we expected him to be? 0:16:11.520 --> 0:16:14.120 Turned out? He was and then some even as he 0:16:14.200 --> 0:16:16.640 was still working his way back through the knee injury. 0:16:16.880 --> 0:16:19.160 How about on the defensive side, when you just get 0:16:19.200 --> 0:16:22.520 to the cornerback position. I don't know anyone who could 0:16:22.520 --> 0:16:24.640 have said Eli Apple would have given you that type 0:16:24.640 --> 0:16:26.520 of play that he did all the year long. I 0:16:26.560 --> 0:16:29.800 just don't know that anyone would have signed off on that. Yeah, 0:16:29.800 --> 0:16:32.760 I'm in Eli Apple, He's gonna give you exactly new 0:16:33.120 --> 0:16:35.560 because Trey Waynes, who was supposed to be that guy, 0:16:35.880 --> 0:16:39.120 was ding most of the year. So Logan Wilson comes 0:16:39.120 --> 0:16:44.960 out hot, intercepting passes like crazy, gets hurt. What happens now, Well, 0:16:45.000 --> 0:16:47.360 they found a way to plug and play. Larry Ogan 0:16:47.440 --> 0:16:49.920 Joeb does a great job. But how about how great 0:16:49.920 --> 0:16:51.960 a move was that by Duke Tobin and crew to 0:16:52.040 --> 0:16:55.040 get bj Hill right before the season begins. As it 0:16:55.120 --> 0:16:58.720 turned out, it bids a prescient move because once Ogan 0:16:58.800 --> 0:17:01.560 Joey got hurt, they'll move right in and let them play. 0:17:01.760 --> 0:17:04.320 So bottom line is, I'm just pointing out different spots 0:17:04.320 --> 0:17:07.639 stand and I could go into other ones. Did we 0:17:07.680 --> 0:17:10.640 expect them to be improved? I think yes. I think 0:17:10.680 --> 0:17:13.320 people like Zach Taylor like what he brought to the table. 0:17:13.640 --> 0:17:15.560 But the idea of six to twenty five and one 0:17:15.640 --> 0:17:18.080 turning into a super Bowl team in the year three, 0:17:19.160 --> 0:17:20.960 I would have to say that anyone who told me 0:17:21.040 --> 0:17:23.560 they saw that coming, I'd have to put them on 0:17:23.600 --> 0:17:25.920 the stand and question them a little bit. I don't 0:17:25.920 --> 0:17:29.440 believe they're being totally truthful with us. Put your left 0:17:29.480 --> 0:17:33.520 hand on the Bible, raise your right hand. We're talking 0:17:33.560 --> 0:17:37.520 to NFL Network draft analyst Charles Davis. As long as 0:17:37.600 --> 0:17:42.439 the topic is looking ahead and making predictions. Caesar's Sports 0:17:42.440 --> 0:17:46.040 Book came out with their season win total odds a 0:17:46.080 --> 0:17:49.040 few days ago. In the AFC, the favorite is Buffalo 0:17:49.119 --> 0:17:52.120 eleven and a half wins. The Chiefs, Chargers, and Broncos 0:17:52.160 --> 0:17:54.720 are next to ten wins. Then you have a bunch 0:17:54.760 --> 0:17:57.520 of teams, including the Bengals at nine and a half wins. 0:17:58.000 --> 0:18:02.120 Should four teams have our odds in the AFC than 0:18:02.160 --> 0:18:06.760 the defending AFC champion as a general rule, The answers no. 0:18:07.440 --> 0:18:09.920 I mean, as a general rule, no, But here's where 0:18:09.920 --> 0:18:12.119 we run into what you know. Let's just go ahead 0:18:12.119 --> 0:18:14.080 and say it, Dan, Because you and I are friends, 0:18:14.119 --> 0:18:16.919 we've been we've known each other a long time. I 0:18:17.000 --> 0:18:19.000 do believe that you and I can put our bona 0:18:19.040 --> 0:18:21.440 fides up there about knowing the league and knowing how 0:18:21.480 --> 0:18:25.520 things operate. If you took the name Cincinnati off of this, 0:18:26.359 --> 0:18:28.920 I think the odds would be higher, I really do. 0:18:29.080 --> 0:18:32.000 I just think that that's just part of how people think, 0:18:32.040 --> 0:18:35.200 how people see, how people go through things and experience it, 0:18:35.760 --> 0:18:38.479 and the idea that Cincinnati is going to repeat what 0:18:38.520 --> 0:18:42.199 we saw before, well, remember how shortsighted we're being if 0:18:42.200 --> 0:18:46.359 we're saying that, because during that Marvin Lewis run, that's 0:18:46.359 --> 0:18:48.960 what six straight years in the playoffs, five and six 0:18:49.000 --> 0:18:53.480 out of selling five, five and six seasons, multiple division championships, 0:18:53.560 --> 0:18:56.919 not dimension wild cards in getting there. So it can happen, 0:18:57.520 --> 0:18:59.879 but it becomes one of those things where Cincinnati's one 0:18:59.880 --> 0:19:02.320 of those franchises that people always want to look at 0:19:02.320 --> 0:19:06.040 the negative side as opposed to understanding what's happening. We 0:19:06.200 --> 0:19:08.840 forget that in a sentence. His team's ahead of schedule, 0:19:09.800 --> 0:19:12.480 absolutely ahead of schedule. But the beauty is you got 0:19:12.480 --> 0:19:16.080 a quarterback that I think would be ninety five years 0:19:16.119 --> 0:19:19.080 old and not satisfied with what he's doing. He'd still 0:19:19.080 --> 0:19:21.000 be trying to go out and play. And when you 0:19:21.040 --> 0:19:23.800 have that type of leadership on your team and he's 0:19:23.840 --> 0:19:26.399 not letting down, I think everyone else will come along 0:19:26.440 --> 0:19:28.920 with him. So I see Cincinnati a little bit higher 0:19:28.960 --> 0:19:32.240 than that, but I understand why they have other people 0:19:32.280 --> 0:19:35.159 ahead of them, because I just think it's a how 0:19:35.200 --> 0:19:38.560 would we say it? Dan Institutional type of thinking with 0:19:38.760 --> 0:19:41.639 the league, other franchise will get a little bit extra 0:19:41.920 --> 0:19:45.560 that Maybe a franchise like Cincinnati a couple more questions 0:19:45.560 --> 0:19:49.400 for Charles Davis. The Bengals lost c. J Uzama as 0:19:49.440 --> 0:19:51.360 a free agent to the New York Jets. They went 0:19:51.400 --> 0:19:55.199 out and signed Hayden Hurst to replace him. Let the 0:19:55.240 --> 0:19:59.000 record show that in twenty eighteen you might not even 0:19:59.040 --> 0:20:03.159 remember this. You had the Bengals selecting hayden Hurst and 0:20:03.280 --> 0:20:09.200 a mock draft. Boy did well. It all comes back 0:20:09.240 --> 0:20:13.600 around like I saw that coming has been how many 0:20:13.640 --> 0:20:16.720 places now because he was in Atlanta, but he started 0:20:16.720 --> 0:20:20.720 out who took him Baltimore in Atlanta two years apiece? 0:20:21.400 --> 0:20:23.960 But this shows you a little bit too about how 0:20:24.000 --> 0:20:28.360 the league operates um for fans. Many who know this, 0:20:28.680 --> 0:20:30.840 So I don't ever want to act like I'm talking 0:20:30.920 --> 0:20:33.760 down to fans. I don't know how you feel about it. Dan, 0:20:34.240 --> 0:20:36.199 you've been around this league a long time. I've been 0:20:36.240 --> 0:20:39.080 around in a decent amount of time as well. One 0:20:39.119 --> 0:20:43.200 thing I've told my colleagues is we in the positions 0:20:43.240 --> 0:20:45.840 we're in, we have to be more careful than ever 0:20:46.320 --> 0:20:50.800 about understanding that fans have accessed information way better than 0:20:50.840 --> 0:20:54.040 they did before. You know, I think you and I 0:20:54.040 --> 0:20:57.159 if we were sitting in a room one day with 0:20:57.240 --> 0:20:59.639 a bunch of Cincinnati Bengals fans and they were peppering 0:20:59.720 --> 0:21:02.000