Speaker 1: Hi, get everybody on danboard and thanks for downloading The
Speaker 1: Bengals Booth Podcast. Nah gotta watch the time because it's
Speaker 1: flying right. By addition, as the Bengals look to finish
Speaker 1: the year with a winning record, as they end the
Speaker 1: season against the Cleveland Browns. Coming up, I'll talk to
Speaker 1: DJ Reader about his injury and his status going forward.
Speaker 1: I'll look back at the season with the greatest Bengal
Speaker 1: of them all, Anthony Munio's And in this week's No
Speaker 1: The Faux Conversation, we'll get the skinny on the Browns
Speaker 1: with longtime Cleveland reporter Tony Grossi. The Bengals Booth Podcast
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Speaker 1: official healthcare provider of the Bengals. Now here's a quick
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Speaker 1: since the Bengals locker room. As another season winds down,
Speaker 1: I want to take a moment to thank Bengals players
Speaker 1: and coaches for their cooperation throughout the year. They've joined
Speaker 1: us at Cincinnati area bars and restaurants for our radio shows,
Speaker 1: sat down with me for extended fun facts and podcast interviews,
Speaker 1: and answered questions in the locker room after games regardless
Speaker 1: of the outcome. As Dave Lapham likes to say, the
Speaker 1: Bengals have assembled a locker room with a jerk factor
Speaker 1: of zero. Now let's get to my first guest. When
Speaker 1: DJ Reader suffered a torn right quad tendon in Game
Speaker 1: fourteen against the Vikings, it was eerily similar to the
Speaker 1: injury he suffered to his left leg in twenty twenty.
Speaker 1: DJ obviously made a full recovery then and vows to
Speaker 1: do it again, but with the uncertainty about where he's
Speaker 1: going to be playing next year, I talked to him
Speaker 1: about that this week. Dj, you seem to be in
Speaker 1: very good spirits. Is that the case?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 3: Pretty good? I mean as good as it's gonna get.
Speaker 4: I think I generally have pretty pretty good attitude about
Speaker 4: these type of things, So you know, it's.
Speaker 3: Going good and moving around around the guys, so he's
Speaker 3: always a good time.
Speaker 1: How does this compare to the previous time he suffered
Speaker 1: a similar.
Speaker 4: Introg We're in the middle of COVID last time, so
Speaker 4: it's like, you know, you get used to the isolation.
Speaker 3: And you down it's kind of a little bit more
Speaker 3: depressive this time. You know, the world's a little bit
Speaker 3: more open.
Speaker 4: Families around, so it's lie easier to make adjustments, get
Speaker 4: things done. And I kind of like the fact that
Speaker 4: I got to stay here this time. This is the
Speaker 4: place I'm comfortable with coming in, working with the staffs,
Speaker 4: those people, you know what I'm saying. So it's always
Speaker 4: awesome to have like people that you're comfortable with now,
Speaker 4: Like at first year, we're un comfortable with everybody, so
Speaker 4: you know, I have to go back to send the
Speaker 4: dude the center, third.
Speaker 3: And Blazer Buckley. It's just a lot of moving around.
Speaker 4: Make me feel great at the beginning, So this time,
Speaker 4: you know, it's been it's been awesome.
Speaker 1: The fact that you came back and were as good
Speaker 1: or better than ever, does that give you a lot
Speaker 1: of confidence that you are going to be the same
Speaker 1: player next year.
Speaker 3: I'll be better. It'll be better than I was.
Speaker 4: That's that's a year the progression that I take mestally anyway,
Speaker 4: I don't I don't have any doubt that I prepare
Speaker 4: and you know, be that from a mental and physical standpoint,
Speaker 4: just Lord will and just how fast that process goes,
Speaker 4: I don't know. And I'm gonna push it every day
Speaker 4: and do my best to get better every day and
Speaker 4: taking a step to do the right things put myself
Speaker 4: in advantage. But I still think I'll be a better
Speaker 4: player next year.
Speaker 1: For visiting with DJ Reader, I don't know how much
Speaker 1: stock you put in PFF rankings, but you are the
Speaker 1: bengals highest graded defensive player this year, even a little
Speaker 1: bit ahead of Trey Hendricksonho's obviously had a great season.
Speaker 1: Did you feel like you were playing as well as
Speaker 1: you've played.
Speaker 4: I feel like I was playing some goodball, you know, Yeah,
Speaker 4: those games where you feel obviously feel better than others.
Speaker 4: I felt like I was doing a really good job,
Speaker 4: and though I didn't not really the numbers I wanted
Speaker 4: pass rust while I feel like I.
Speaker 3: Got a lot of pressures and won a lot of
Speaker 3: one on.
Speaker 4: One reps especially, so I was pretty excited about just
Speaker 4: what I had done. You know, the numbers they'll come
Speaker 4: and whatever they are, and I just felt like I
Speaker 4: put a good resume on it. It kind of suck
Speaker 4: that we weren't just get on team on defense and
Speaker 4: certain things, and I really take pride in those things.
Speaker 4: But I also know that, you know, there's other people
Speaker 4: out there, and those people have to grow and with
Speaker 4: growth will come more team.
Speaker 3: Success than those type of undy spots. So but you know,
Speaker 3: I can do better.
Speaker 4: I can't play things better and do a whole lot
Speaker 4: of stuff better, So there's so much room for growth
Speaker 4: and improvement in my game. And from a team aspect,
Speaker 4: I think that these young guys are only going to
Speaker 4: get better just.
Speaker 3: Another year in the system.
Speaker 4: We played a lot of year one or two year
Speaker 4: players out there, especially in the back end. Those fits
Speaker 4: will only get better. So I was excited. I felt like, yeah,
Speaker 4: so I felt like I was playing goodball and it
Speaker 4: was good to you know, have the room with did
Speaker 4: and just play around the way we deal with the group.
Speaker 3: That I had felt over very fiery and a lot
Speaker 3: of moments.
Speaker 1: For a layman like me, the struggles in the run
Speaker 1: defense are hard to understand because most of the Front
Speaker 1: seven was back. It seemed like this was a group
Speaker 1: that was among the NFL's best last year and yet
Speaker 1: this year, from the very beginning, it was a struggle.
Speaker 3: Yeah, but there's also other parts to fit and run
Speaker 3: like it.
Speaker 4: Teams who run the ball well aren't just gonna let
Speaker 4: you play it with your five seven are You're gonna
Speaker 4: make every player.
Speaker 3: And your team tackle and every player on the team and.
Speaker 4: Just see the fits. You know what I'm saying, and
Speaker 4: you lose what you did. This veteran play just understanding
Speaker 4: of the game and just for our defense acts fits
Speaker 4: so little dad, So you gotta figure it out. You're
Speaker 4: thinking a little bit more. And it is what it is.
Speaker 4: There's nobody's fault. It's just the growth and growing pains
Speaker 4: of will come with the game. And you couldn't say
Speaker 4: what you want about having it beyond specific guys.
Speaker 3: We just got to better. We gotta do better up front.
Speaker 4: Front seven has to do better to make it a
Speaker 4: little bit cleaner for these guys in the lifeing.
Speaker 3: But you know, you also just gotta know that's gonna happened.
Speaker 4: People are going to have two struggles when it comes
Speaker 4: to those type of things. And it also it all
Speaker 4: works hand in hand. You can't hard to stop it
Speaker 4: and just be dominant over all the time. If it's
Speaker 4: not what m I felt like at the end of
Speaker 4: the season. You know those games probably when I got hurt,
Speaker 4: I felt like we got a couple of games in
Speaker 4: a row. We have really figured out those fits and
Speaker 4: like understood what it takes on.
Speaker 3: You know, that's what happens.
Speaker 4: You have those right spots and then over time you
Speaker 4: make enough of those players you're like, all right, that's
Speaker 4: what it is.
Speaker 1: The timing of your injury was brutal, late in a
Speaker 1: contract here. I know that really bummed out your teammates
Speaker 1: and your coaches. How tough was that for you emotionally?
Speaker 4: Oh, you know, it's tough, especially at the beginning of
Speaker 4: the emotional Then you got to kind of like process
Speaker 4: it as it is what it is. You never know
Speaker 4: what happened, how it shakes out, So it's.
Speaker 3: Not really something that's in my control. Now. You know,
Speaker 3: ta put some good film out there.
Speaker 4: Play football, and you always want to be able to
Speaker 4: finish the season healthy and be able to have all
Speaker 4: those cards in your hand, but like some still pretty
Speaker 4: good cards and feel really good about where I'm at,
Speaker 4: my chance.
Speaker 3: To recover and be better. Like I said, so.
Speaker 4: You know now to be on me and them and
Speaker 4: to figure it out and or you know, whatever it is, and.
Speaker 3: You know it sucks you miss out on some personal
Speaker 3: things that you may want.
Speaker 4: But you know, other than that, it was just as Minnis,
Speaker 4: I feel like, you know, I come back, I know
Speaker 4: what I'm supposed to do out.
Speaker 3: I'll figure all the other part out. You'll be thirty
Speaker 3: in July.
Speaker 1: It doesn't seem like there's any doubt in your mind
Speaker 1: that you aren't going to be playing in the NFL
Speaker 1: next year and beyond.
Speaker 3: Yeah, no, it's not.
Speaker 4: I watching guys play at like thirty four to thirty
Speaker 4: five playing goodball. Shoot, the quarterbacks seem like they're getting
Speaker 4: younger though, order they get these guys out there, especially
Speaker 4: like Stafford. You look at that guy. I'm crazy, but
Speaker 4: you know, you know you got I played a lot
Speaker 4: of good balls. Still feel young, Like you said, I'll
Speaker 4: just just be turning thirty in July, so I still
Speaker 4: got some good time ahead of me.
Speaker 3: You know. I'm just so excited to play.
Speaker 4: I feel like I started out some of my best
Speaker 4: years to leg but you know, only Thomas heard that.
Speaker 1: It was a really strange year. Everybody expected the Bengals
Speaker 1: to be one of the top two or three teams
Speaker 1: in the NFL. Joe gets hurt on the second day
Speaker 1: of training camp, and it just seemed like it was
Speaker 1: a scramble to try to get where you wanted to
Speaker 1: be from the very beginning.
Speaker 4: Yeah, and that's just the way the ball rover sometimes,
Speaker 4: you know, I think that's just it. And you come
Speaker 4: in with certain expectations and you need adversity, and you
Speaker 4: never know what that adversity is going to be. It's
Speaker 4: just got overcoming and I'm telling you know we are
Speaker 4: already overcoming. Then some things you just can't overcome exactly.
Speaker 4: But you know, stuff all like, we give ourself a
Speaker 4: chance play some goodball. Jake came in there and tore
Speaker 4: it up. Dies when your gung guys came in there
Speaker 4: a bigger thing. So you can't look at it as
Speaker 4: a wash. You just look at it as you know,
Speaker 4: we had the opportunity to grow. Season is still good.
Speaker 3: There's only a.
Speaker 4: Certain my team may pops on the body. You always
Speaker 4: want to be nacking, but that's just the way it
Speaker 4: could crumble.
Speaker 1: Sometimes, Man, you have been an awesome Bengal, one of
Speaker 1: the best free agents the franchise as has ever signed.
Speaker 1: And from a selfish perspective, I hope there's another Cincinnati
Speaker 1: contract to come.
Speaker 3: Best of luck and rehabit. I appreciate the time, man,
Speaker 3: me too, I appreciate it.
Speaker 1: Bro. I'm not alone and hoping that DJ will return
Speaker 1: to the Bengals. Here's defensive coordinator lou Anarumo.
Speaker 5: I'd love to have DJ back, you know, love everything
Speaker 5: about him. He's such a big influence in the locker room.
Speaker 5: He's such a big influence on our defense and has
Speaker 5: done so many great things for the city, the community,
Speaker 5: and our team. You know, would really like to get
Speaker 5: him back if we can.
Speaker 1: I mentioned DJ's high grades from Pro Football Focus. His
Speaker 1: overall grade is eighty two point two and for sake
Speaker 1: of comparison, all Pro Chris Jones of the Chiefs is
Speaker 1: at eighty two point eight. The Bengals Booth Podcast is
Speaker 1: brought to you by pay Corps, proud to be the
Speaker 1: Bengals official HR software provider by Alta Fiber future Proof
Speaker 1: fiber Internet designed to elevate your home, business and community
Speaker 1: to a new level by Kettering Health the best care
Speaker 1: for the best fans. Kettering Health is the official healthcare
Speaker 1: provider of the Bengals. Sam Hubbard is wrapping up season
Speaker 1: number six in Cincinnati, and he has seen it all.
Speaker 1: He's been on a team that started zero to eleven,
Speaker 1: and he's been on a team that was less than
Speaker 1: two minutes away from winning a Super Bowl. Sam says
Speaker 1: that finishing this season with a winning record is a
Speaker 1: significant goal on Sunday, even if it's not what they
Speaker 1: were shooting for to begin the season.
Speaker 6: Yeah, obviously we expected to be here playing for seeding,
Speaker 6: playing for the playoffs, but that's not how it worked out,
Speaker 6: and it's unfortunate. You know, we put in the work,
Speaker 6: we fought hard for a long season, and we came
Speaker 6: up short. But we still got one more game left
Speaker 6: to finish with the winning season, and that's important to us,
Speaker 6: it's important to the fans.
Speaker 3: So we're gonna go out there and fight hard.
Speaker 1: How about trying to get an AFC North win.
Speaker 6: Yeah, we want that too. That's huge for us, especially
Speaker 6: against arrival like the Browns. So you know, it's a
Speaker 6: great opportunity to finish season on the high note. I
Speaker 6: know we finished in twenty nineteen with the home win
Speaker 6: against the Browns and we went two and fourteen that year.
Speaker 6: But that was really good momentum going in the off season.
Speaker 3: A strange year.
Speaker 1: Expectations were so high and from the very beginning it
Speaker 1: just didn't seem like things are going to fall you away.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it was.
Speaker 6: It was a difference, was stranger, like you said, from
Speaker 6: Joe going down early in training camp, all types of
Speaker 6: stuff happening. You know, you just name all the things
Speaker 6: that happen. It seems like it's just crazy. But that's
Speaker 6: the life in the NFL. That's every year is going
Speaker 6: to go, not how you draw it up, how you
Speaker 6: expect it, and that's what we signed up for.
Speaker 1: Guys always leave at the end of the year, whether
Speaker 1: it's free agency, whatever. Is there a feeling of this
Speaker 1: might be the last time this group of guys gets
Speaker 1: to play together.
Speaker 6: I think everyone knows now that it's there's no playoffs,
Speaker 6: this last week together, so we're gonna enjoy each other to.
Speaker 3: The locker room.
Speaker 6: We have the time we have because no matter what
Speaker 6: things are gonna change next year, every year it's a
Speaker 6: totally different team.
Speaker 3: That's just how it goes.
Speaker 6: So I think guys understand that are gonna, you know,
Speaker 6: take this time to enjoy each other and work hard together.
Speaker 1: I think there was a five game stretch where Joe
Speaker 1: was fully healthy beat some of the best teams in
Speaker 1: the NFL. Do you leave the season feeling okay when
Speaker 1: he's back, this is still one of the NFL's best teams.
Speaker 3: Yeah, no doubt.
Speaker 6: Like like you said, that stretch, we were playing some really,
Speaker 6: really good football in the middle of the year, and
Speaker 6: you know, it's all about playing the best football at
Speaker 6: the right time of the year. This year, we played
Speaker 6: it in the middle of the season when we need
Speaker 6: to be playing it at the end of the year.
Speaker 6: And yeah, we have all the all the confidence in
Speaker 6: the world and the guys we have in this locker
Speaker 6: room when we're all together, So getting him back is
Speaker 6: obviously key, and he's well on his way. So I
Speaker 6: know this year is not.
Speaker 3: What we all drew up.
Speaker 6: And for me, this offseason, I'm gonna be thinking I
Speaker 6: was trying to get back to where we were the
Speaker 6: last two years and finishing the job. So I think
Speaker 6: a lot of guys have them mine set too.
Speaker 1: To put the twenty twenty three season in perspective. I
Speaker 1: caught up with the greatest Bengal of all time this week,
Speaker 1: Hall of Famer Anthony Munos. What do you think they're
Speaker 1: playing for against Cleveland on Sunday.
Speaker 7: Well, let's put it this way, interstate rivalry, pride, and
Speaker 7: just to have a positive filling in your mouth when
Speaker 7: you head into the offseason to get ready. You know,
Speaker 7: it's that last game is always the one that's going
Speaker 7: to give you a sour taste or say, hey, we
Speaker 7: finished on a good note, let's build on it.
Speaker 1: There have been positives this year, and one of the
Speaker 1: biggest is that they know definitively that they have a
Speaker 1: good backup quarterback. And Jake Browning, what did he show
Speaker 1: you in the last month and a half.
Speaker 7: He wasn't rattled, you know, And I like that with
Speaker 7: the young guy when you come in and you know
Speaker 7: you're filling in some big shoes and you just aren't rattled.
Speaker 7: And he showed me his smarts and being able to
Speaker 7: just play within the system. And that was a good
Speaker 7: thing about it. You know, you talk about a backup,
Speaker 7: and that's always nice to have, especially when you have
Speaker 7: someone the caliber of Joe. You never know what's going
Speaker 7: to happen, and you get Jake coming in and he
Speaker 7: does pretty well.
Speaker 2: So I was happy to see that.
Speaker 1: So many things have to go right for a team
Speaker 1: to win a Super Bowl, and for this season for
Speaker 1: the Bengals, the adversity started on day two of training
Speaker 1: camp when Joe Burrow strained his calf. How difficult is
Speaker 1: that for professional football player when you're riding that roller
Speaker 1: coaster all season long.
Speaker 7: I think it makes it even more difficult when it's
Speaker 7: the most important player on your team.
Speaker 2: You know, Joe Burrow is a man. I'll tell you
Speaker 2: what you know.
Speaker 7: And I'm sure when that happened, you know, I talked
Speaker 7: about it earlier.
Speaker 2: When that happened, it.
Speaker 7: Was kind of like, oh, even though you knew it's
Speaker 7: going to be back, you just hate to see that
Speaker 7: at the beginning of the season with such high expectations.
Speaker 7: And first of all, you know, for me, in my
Speaker 7: humble opinion, you know things are going to get started
Speaker 7: slowly anyway, because of just the nature of the Beast
Speaker 7: not playing any preseason. You have to work your way
Speaker 7: into it. Now you have, you know, Joe not there,
Speaker 7: that's going to add to it. So you know, it
Speaker 7: was sad to see it and then all of a
Speaker 7: sudden you see him coming on and things are getting better,
Speaker 7: and then you see the thing with the risks. So
Speaker 7: you know, it's one of those things you talk about
Speaker 7: the last game of the season. Let's let's wipe that out,
Speaker 7: let's rehab, and let's get back healthy and get rolling
Speaker 7: for twenty twenty four.
Speaker 1: As we take stock of this season and look ahead
Speaker 1: to twenty twenty four, what are some areas that you
Speaker 1: would like to prioritize for this team to reach its
Speaker 1: potential going forward.
Speaker 7: Well, first of all, if we can just talk about
Speaker 7: back up again. You know, you talk about Jake Brown,
Speaker 7: and let's talk about Chase Brown. I mean the kid,
Speaker 7: and I you know, I tell people you can see
Speaker 7: somewhat of a guys can do in the preseason, but
Speaker 7: the way he played, I thought that was great, not
Speaker 7: only for the team, but I thought it was excellent
Speaker 7: for Joe Mixon.
Speaker 2: You know, having someone nipping at his heels. They're doing
Speaker 2: pretty well.
Speaker 7: So, you know, again, you talk about Jake being a backup,
Speaker 7: and I was impressed with Chase Brown. Where you know,
Speaker 7: we look look for in the you know, in the offseason,
Speaker 7: as far as the team. You know, I think maybe
Speaker 7: again it's an area that was overhauled. I think we
Speaker 7: still need to continue to work on that offensive line.
Speaker 7: I think to really and for me, it's more consistency.
Speaker 7: I think we have individuals that are capable of doing it,
Speaker 7: but I think it's it's consistency, you know, and someone
Speaker 7: that gets a little frustrated at times with kind of
Speaker 7: the state of what's going on. I'm thinking, you got
Speaker 7: a three hundred and forty pounds left tackle, you got
Speaker 7: a big old man at left guard. There's got to
Speaker 7: be a way just to get under center and just
Speaker 7: come off the football at times. But I understand that
Speaker 7: the pass is big now in the NFL, and I
Speaker 7: understand the pass is big with our Cincinnati Bengals, But
Speaker 7: you still look at teams that you know, win championships,
Speaker 7: win football games. They're not in a two point stance
Speaker 7: all the time, and they're they're getting after it. You know,
Speaker 7: if it's putting two guys behind the quarterback and getting
Speaker 7: ten guys pushing your quarterback on third and one or
Speaker 7: fourth to one, you know that the Eagles that brought
Speaker 7: the surface do that. But I'd have to say that's
Speaker 7: probably one of the areas that I would love to
Speaker 7: see more consistency and come along with is yeah, let's
Speaker 7: keep throwing the football, but when it's time to run
Speaker 7: the football, let's be physical and make the defense pay
Speaker 7: for it.
Speaker 1: Let me follow up on that big left tackle Orlando
Speaker 1: Brown Junior, because you two had a memorable zoom chat
Speaker 1: prior to the season, and I know he considers it
Speaker 1: an honor to play your former position. What did you
Speaker 1: think of Orlando in his first year in a Bengals uniform.
Speaker 2: I enjoyed watching them, you know.
Speaker 7: If there's and I always looking, I love to give
Speaker 7: all the positives, so I love watching. If there's just
Speaker 7: one area where I would say, you know, again as
Speaker 7: an offensive line, is just pad level a little lower
Speaker 7: for big You know, he's a big man, and I
Speaker 7: understand when you're six ' eight it's tougher to get
Speaker 7: low compared to a guy that's sixty three six four
Speaker 7: sixty five.
Speaker 2: But if there's.
Speaker 7: Anything that I would say, is just pad level a
Speaker 7: little lower. But I enjoyed watching them, you know, I
Speaker 7: thought the enthusiasm he played with was contagious. I love
Speaker 7: what we have up front is just again, I can't
Speaker 7: say it enough. The word that stuck is stuck in
Speaker 7: my mind right now is consistency. Not overhauled the whole thing,
Speaker 7: but just getting a little more consistent.
Speaker 1: So, Anthony, the season ends against the Cleveland Browns. The
Speaker 1: Bengals are zero to five against the AFC North. They're
Speaker 1: eight and three against everybody else. They didn't have a
Speaker 1: healthy Joe Burrow for four quarters in any of those
Speaker 1: AFC North games. Is it that simple or were there
Speaker 1: other things about the games against Cleveland, Baltimore and Pittsburgh
Speaker 1: that stood out to you?
Speaker 2: I mean, that's part of it.
Speaker 7: But again, I'm going to get back to the physicality
Speaker 7: of football games. I really believe when we played those games,
Speaker 7: it appeared that those teams are a little more physical
Speaker 7: than we were. They might have not necessarily, wasn't a fact,
Speaker 7: but it appeared watching that they might wanted it a
Speaker 7: little more.
Speaker 2: And I think it's apparent.
Speaker 7: And this is one of the parts of the games
Speaker 7: that I do not like, and being a former offensive
Speaker 7: football player, it appears that happens more on defense.
Speaker 2: I'm not profiling or I'm.
Speaker 7: Not generalized, but there's a little shove now and then
Speaker 7: after plays, and it comes more from the defense. I
Speaker 7: think there was a little more of that, and I
Speaker 7: think you have to put a stop to that, not
Speaker 7: to get a penalty, because as we know, the second
Speaker 7: guy's always caught, but you can't allow a team to
Speaker 7: do that. To me, it appears that those three divisional
Speaker 7: teams have a tendency to do that and we got
Speaker 7: to be on the other end of that. And I
Speaker 7: think maybe there was just maybe a little more quickness
Speaker 7: to the ball, maybe a little more physical but that's,
Speaker 7: you know, that's a fine line, and that's to me,
Speaker 7: that is something that can be resurrect I mean rectified.
Speaker 7: It's not something like, oh my goodness, we can't. We
Speaker 7: can't compete with these guys. We can't and I know
Speaker 7: we can't.
Speaker 1: So beginning next week, everybody's attention is going to turn
Speaker 1: to the draft and free agency. Is there something at
Speaker 1: the top of the wish list the dynamic tight end,
Speaker 1: somebody on the offensive or defensive line. Is there a
Speaker 1: position group or something along those lines that you would
Speaker 1: love to see them address?
Speaker 7: You know what, I think it's something that uh and
Speaker 7: I know we have some pretty good tight end, but
Speaker 7: I want a dominant guy that that you have to
Speaker 7: be able to say, Okay, we're concerned about this stud
Speaker 7: tight end. He's a factor in this game. And I
Speaker 7: think when you look at teams that have that impactful
Speaker 7: tight end, it gives the other guys an opportunity, you know,
Speaker 7: to go one on one or to pick your poison
Speaker 7: who you're going to double team. So I think if
Speaker 7: there's that tight end that we can say, man, this
Speaker 7: is a guy that we can bring in and you
Speaker 7: know he's going to be a pretty good blocker, but
Speaker 7: he occupies the big area, that middle of the football field.
Speaker 7: I think that's one area that maybe I would say,
Speaker 7: I think i'd look there.
Speaker 1: You've got your Hall of Fame sweatshirt on. Bengals fans
Speaker 1: are thrilled this past offseason when Ken Riley joined you
Speaker 1: in Canton. Now, Willy Anderson is a semi finalist for
Speaker 1: the third year in a row. What do you think
Speaker 1: of Big Willy's chances of becoming a Hall of Famer.
Speaker 7: I think it's an excellent chance, especially with the percentages
Speaker 7: when you've become a finalist, and I know he's been
Speaker 7: a finalist, so I'm just I'm playing for more Bengal strifes.
Speaker 7: Willie Anderson, Kenny Anderson, you know, because I want to
Speaker 7: buy more.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 7: One of the first things I did, I got my
Speaker 7: Kenny Riley hat. I got my Kenny Riley shirt. I
Speaker 7: want to get my seventy one jersey. I want to
Speaker 7: get my fourteen Well I already have my fourteen jersey,
Speaker 7: just put.
Speaker 2: It back on. But I think he's got an excellent
Speaker 2: chance of going in.
Speaker 7: I look at the list, the career he had, and
Speaker 7: again the percentages of those that have been finalists.
Speaker 2: Of going in. I think he has an excellent chance.
Speaker 7: So maybe we have another bust or two it up
Speaker 7: to Canton and August this summer.
Speaker 1: That would obviously be awesome. Last thing for Anthony Munoz.
Speaker 1: Last year, Joe Burrow famously said the Super Bowl window
Speaker 1: is my entire career, and now he's signed with the
Speaker 1: Bengals through twenty twenty nine at least hopefully many years
Speaker 1: beyond that. In your mind, do they go right back
Speaker 1: to being one of the top Super Bowl contenders next
Speaker 1: year when Joe's healthy?
Speaker 2: I think so. I think.
Speaker 7: You know, again, I've not looked closely on the free
Speaker 7: agents or who they are going to might lose, but
Speaker 7: what they have on the roster. I really believe they're
Speaker 7: very talented and I think that they still are one
Speaker 7: of the contenders. I think he comes back healthy, they
Speaker 7: get rolling, things go well in the offseason. I can't
Speaker 7: believe that they wouldn't be with who they have on
Speaker 7: their roster. So, in my humble opinion, not only because
Speaker 7: I'm a former Cincinnati Bengals football player, because I watch
Speaker 7: the teams, I think they are one of the top
Speaker 7: top teams in the league.
Speaker 1: Always great to pick your brain. Happy New Year, thanks
Speaker 1: for joining us.
Speaker 7: Hey, Dan, always a pleasure to be with you. Happy
Speaker 7: New Year, and August will come quickly.
Speaker 1: Finally, it's time for this week's Know the Faux segment.
Speaker 1: The Cleveland Browns opened the season with a twenty four
Speaker 1: to three win over the Bengals on a rainy day
Speaker 1: in Cleveland that saw Cincinnati finish with one hundred and
Speaker 1: forty two yards of offense and a total of six
Speaker 1: first downs. I said after that game that the Browns
Speaker 1: defense was so good that if Cleveland got decent quarterback play,
Speaker 1: the Browns would be a contender in the AFC. Well,
Speaker 1: I was right, but little did I realize that thirty
Speaker 1: eight year old Joe Flacco would turn out to be
Speaker 1: the quarterback. The Bengals won't see Flacco on Sunday. Kevin
Speaker 1: Stefanski is resting as many starters as possible since Cleveland
Speaker 1: is locked in as the number five playoff seed in
Speaker 1: the AFC. For more on the eleven to five Browns,
Speaker 1: longtime Cleveland reporter Tony Grossi joined Dave laphaman me on
Speaker 1: the Bengals Game Plan Show. Here's my question for you.
Speaker 1: How long have you covered the Browns and is this
Speaker 1: the most remarkable season you have witnessed in that time?
Speaker 8: Yeah, I have covered him, I think before Dave Lapham
Speaker 8: was even drafted that long. Interviewed him at the combine. Yes, yes, yes, Yeah,
Speaker 8: it's been a blast because it's it's been uh you know,
Speaker 8: kind of the drama has been on the field this
Speaker 8: year as opposed to off the field, and and they've
Speaker 8: gotten better with every piece of adversity. And now that
Speaker 8: Joe Flackup's story is just unbelievable. What's going on. So yeah,
Speaker 8: it's been it's been a blast. And finally Browns are
Speaker 8: in and the Bengals are the team that is playing
Speaker 8: out the strength.
Speaker 9: Tony, This this is nuts to me that the Browns
Speaker 9: have thirty five giveaways, dead last in the NFL. Yeah,
Speaker 9: twenty more giveaways in the Bengals. The Bengals have fifteen giveaways,
Speaker 9: tied for third fewest. The Browns have had six return
Speaker 9: touchdowns against them, most in the NFL. Four pick sixes,
Speaker 9: tied to most.
Speaker 3: In the NFL.
Speaker 9: How the hell did they have eleven wins. You'd think
Speaker 9: they'd be five and eleven instead of eleven and five.
Speaker 8: I know, I mean, this is one for the This
Speaker 8: season is defying all analytics that keep harping about, you know, turnovers,
Speaker 8: and they keep on turning it over and they keep
Speaker 8: on winning. Right, and Placo in five games has thrown
Speaker 8: those two pick sixes. He hasn't had an interception free
Speaker 8: games yet, and yet he looks like he's, you know,
Speaker 8: in the prime of his career. He's gunning the ball
Speaker 8: down the field. I don't know how to explain any
Speaker 8: of it. I mean, their defense is excellent. It's kind
Speaker 8: of played out of a any slump and it's playing
Speaker 8: it's humming pretty well. They're well coached, and they've gotten
Speaker 8: I think they hidden reason. It's a small reason, but
Speaker 8: their special teams are so much better. They don't lose
Speaker 8: games on special teams. I mean, they're a complete team
Speaker 8: for the first time in a long time.
Speaker 1: So Kevin Stefanski has made it abundantly clear he's going
Speaker 1: to try to rest as many key players as he can,
Speaker 1: understandably going into the postseason. Here's my question, though, why
Speaker 1: Jeff Driscoll and not PJ. Walker.
Speaker 8: I think he might have been nailed down Coach of
Speaker 8: the Year by winning a game with a fifth That's
Speaker 8: only been done as far as we can tell, in
Speaker 8: the strike season of nineteen eighty seven. But New England
Speaker 8: won with five quarterbacks, one with Doug Flutey who crossed
Speaker 8: the ticket line to get a cheap win. Another one
Speaker 8: was one of their strike replacement players. I think what
Speaker 8: it is is it's an opportunity for them to see
Speaker 8: if he's better than PJ. Walker. They're a little uncomfortable
Speaker 8: with PJ. Walker as the backup. He was a turnover machine.
Speaker 8: He did win two games miraculously. I think Van Pelt
Speaker 8: has some exposure that Driscoll, and he's the first quarterback
Speaker 8: to start for both teams in the Battle of Ohio.
Speaker 8: Knew that. I'm sure that's crazy I was, I was
Speaker 8: shocked by his announcement today. It was we knew, you know,
Speaker 8: he's going to rest a lot of guys, but Driscoll
Speaker 8: just joined them last week and they needed a third
Speaker 8: quarterback because their rookie During Thompson Robinson is on injured reserve,
Speaker 8: uh with with an injury. So I guess it's a
Speaker 8: it's a cheap way of seeing you know what he
Speaker 8: can drink is he's not going to get much practice
Speaker 8: time once they go into playoff mode.
Speaker 9: Right, Okay, so the injury report comes out, seventeen players
Speaker 9: are on it. Eight offense, seven defense, and both your kickers,
Speaker 9: your place kicker and here punter. Foreshadowing you know what's
Speaker 9: going to be coming. How many people do you think
Speaker 9: they're going to elevate from the practice squad? Do you
Speaker 9: think that anybody will get a couple of series before
Speaker 9: they're yanked or what do you think is going to happen?
Speaker 8: Well, first of all, the punter will be back, Beharcas
Speaker 8: he had a quad injury, missed the Jets game, but
Speaker 8: they cut the practice squad punter, So I talked to Corey.
Speaker 2: He'll be back.
Speaker 3: Okay.
Speaker 8: The kicker is still not ready so they one elevation
Speaker 8: will go to the to the practice squad. Kicker Riley Patterson,
Speaker 8: he's going to have to kick. I think now Skofanski
Speaker 8: would not specify who's playing and who's not, other than
Speaker 8: we know Flacco's not playing. But I think he's going
Speaker 8: to clear the decks to the most of the familiar names. Yeah,
Speaker 8: it's not like pre season. We have ninety players and
Speaker 8: you could you could start all your second at third string, right,
Speaker 8: you can't do that. But I think anybody who's on
Speaker 8: that list with an injury, even though they didn't practice,
Speaker 8: they'll be okay for the playoffs. So we're going to
Speaker 8: see a lot of backups in this game. But there
Speaker 8: are certain position groups where you know, running back Karimont
Speaker 8: might not play. But but you only got two of
Speaker 8: the guys there. You know, of Jerome Ford they're leading rusher,
Speaker 8: and Pierre Strong who's got a lot of playtime. So
Speaker 8: there will be some position groups will they'll be familiar names.
Speaker 1: Tony Grossi is our guest. Both of these franchises, Tony
Speaker 1: have quarterbacks who have among the biggest contracts in the NFL.
Speaker 1: When does the Deshaun Watson deal make it difficult for
Speaker 1: the Browns from a cap perspective.
Speaker 8: Every year, because what's unique about his deal being totally guaranteed,
Speaker 8: there are no shortcuts like Mahomes, you know. I think
Speaker 8: Burrow has certain years where you can where you can
Speaker 8: allocate resources differently. That's not the case with this one.
Speaker 8: They've redid them this year, which means they push money forward.
Speaker 8: So he's got a sixty eight million dollar cap hit
Speaker 8: next year. I don't know if they could support that
Speaker 8: whole thing. They're going to have to push that forward
Speaker 8: at some point in the five year deal, and he's
Speaker 8: been with them two years. They're gonna have to suck
Speaker 8: it up and take his full cap charge. Whether it's
Speaker 8: next year or the year after, I don't know, but
Speaker 8: you can't keep moving it in. They'll be paying on
Speaker 8: him till, you know, to the cows come home if
Speaker 8: they do that. So it's going to take effect. There's
Speaker 8: a couple of players that is going to be tricky,
Speaker 8: whether they can bring them back or not. As a
Speaker 8: result of.
Speaker 9: It, Tony Jim Schwartz has just done an unbelievable job.
Speaker 9: I mean, the defenses is just suffocating him. I mean
Speaker 9: they are playing at such a high level.
Speaker 2: Yeah, is he Is.
Speaker 9: There any buzz about him in the loop for a
Speaker 9: head coaching opportunity? They say there's going to be potentially
Speaker 9: you know, half a dozen, seven or eight.
Speaker 8: Well, the day they hired him, I said he'd have
Speaker 8: the most impact of any new face in the building.
Speaker 8: And he made me look good because he has. He
Speaker 8: has done that. He transformed their culture on defense. I
Speaker 8: don't know, you know, he's in our age group a
Speaker 8: little bit there. Yees over fifty and the trend still
Speaker 8: looks like it's going to be offensive coaches. Who knows
Speaker 8: if he gets you know, if they get a long
Speaker 8: ride into the playoffs, he might get a look. There
Speaker 8: was a recent older defensive coach fired recently. I'm trying
Speaker 8: to recall his name, so, I mean, it's not out
Speaker 8: of the realm that he would, but I'm not getting
Speaker 8: that vibe right now. But if they you know, one
Speaker 8: or two years in the Age championship picture, and he's
Speaker 8: gonna get a look, I would think.
Speaker 9: And final question, and thanks for your time. As always,
Speaker 9: you're always gracious and we appreciate that. Kevin Stefanski, is
Speaker 9: he Coach of the Year, and is Jim Schwartz assistant Coach.
Speaker 3: Of the Year.
Speaker 8: Well, the second question, you know, the secret to this
Speaker 8: team is Bill Callahan. There's no doubt about it. I mean,
Speaker 8: on their third left tackled or the third right tackle,
Speaker 8: there's second left tackle. They've had to play with another center.
Speaker 8: They the only one who hasn't miss the game that
Speaker 8: is the right guard, Wyatt Teller, And they haven't missed
Speaker 8: the beat. So I don't want to be remiss in
Speaker 8: not mentioning him now coach of the Year. Uh, it's
Speaker 8: got to be between him and Dan Campbell. Now Dan Campbell,
Speaker 8: I mean they he's listed the Titanic out of Lake Michigan.
Speaker 2: I went in that.
Speaker 8: Division for the first time in thirty years. I don't
Speaker 8: want you know that's not a small accomplishment. They should
Speaker 8: have an AFC and an NFC Coach of the Year.
Speaker 8: But I'll tell you if I were voting, I would
Speaker 8: vote for Stefante because I lived through this thing. He
Speaker 8: won games with p J Walker, DeShawn Watson, Dori and
Speaker 8: Thompson Robinson in the rookie one might have been the
Speaker 8: biggest game when they played Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh, because you
Speaker 8: know what those division games mean and they needed that game,
Speaker 8: and they just just outlasted Pittsburgh, you know. And Thenny
Speaker 8: Benn Placo is just one four in a row. I
Speaker 8: tell you, if he went with Riscal, how can you
Speaker 8: deny it?
Speaker 3: It's crazy.
Speaker 1: There's an excellent point about Bill Callahan though, and I
Speaker 1: do think Bill needs to spend more time with his
Speaker 1: son and his grandkids.
Speaker 7: You know.
Speaker 8: Yeah, he's been awesome. I mean that line has been
Speaker 8: a secret to everything, you know, and even mentioned they
Speaker 8: haven't had Nick Chubb since week two, so and yet
Speaker 8: they reached what everyone you know, even the most optimistic prognosticators,
Speaker 8: maybe since I think they could get to eleven wins,
Speaker 8: I didn't, but that considering what they've gone through, it's
Speaker 8: remarkable and it's made them stronger. It's one of those
Speaker 8: things that you couldn't predict.
Speaker 1: All right, thanks to Tony Grossi and that's going to
Speaker 1: do it for this episode of the Bengals Booth Podcast,
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Speaker 1: more Bengals fans find us. I'm Dan Horde and thanks
Speaker 1: for listening to the Bengals Booth podcast