WEBVTT - Bengals Booth Podcast: Good Vibrations 0:00:03.600 --> 0:00:06.680 Hi, get everybody. I'm Dan Horde and thanks for downloading 0:00:06.840 --> 0:00:15.480 the Bengals Booth Podcast. Uh good, good, good good vibrations. Addition, 0:00:16.040 --> 0:00:18.440 as we talk to the author of a recent Bengals 0:00:18.480 --> 0:00:22.680 State of the Franchise story, Adam Rank from NFL dot Com, 0:00:22.760 --> 0:00:26.720 he writes that the Bengals are quote a team on 0:00:26.840 --> 0:00:32.720 the rise, potentially heading for unprecedented levels of success. Adam 0:00:32.880 --> 0:00:36.680 will explain why. He also picks the team's breakout star 0:00:36.800 --> 0:00:39.560 for twenty twenty and it's not Joe Burrow or T 0:00:39.840 --> 0:00:43.360 Higgins or DJ reader. I will talk to the player 0:00:43.440 --> 0:00:47.319 that Adams selected. The Bengals Booth Podcast is presented by 0:00:47.360 --> 0:00:51.239 Prime Sport, the official fan, travel and hospitality partner of 0:00:51.320 --> 0:00:54.200 the Cincinnati Bengals. And here's a quick reminder that you 0:00:54.240 --> 0:00:57.840 can have the latest edition of this podcast delivered write 0:00:57.840 --> 0:01:01.960 to your phone, tablet, or computer by some scribing on iTunes, Stitcher, 0:01:02.080 --> 0:01:06.400 Google Play, Spotify, or Podbean. It's the greatest thing since 0:01:07.640 --> 0:01:11.600 Father's Day. My love of sports came from my dad. 0:01:11.920 --> 0:01:15.440 Like many fathers and sons, we bonded while talking about sports, 0:01:15.800 --> 0:01:21.040 and his favorite teams became my favorite teams. Between the NFL, NBA, 0:01:21.360 --> 0:01:25.319 NHL and Major League Baseball, those teams have combined for 0:01:25.400 --> 0:01:30.240 one championship. So thanks Dad for passing down a lifetime 0:01:30.360 --> 0:01:36.640 of frustration. Just kidding, I think in any case, as 0:01:36.680 --> 0:01:39.760 the son of Larry Horde, the stepson of Jack Bailey, 0:01:40.040 --> 0:01:42.560 and the father of young Sam, I hope you and 0:01:42.600 --> 0:01:46.880 your family have a wonderful Father's Day. Now let's get 0:01:46.880 --> 0:01:51.160 to this week's guests. Recently, NFL dot com has been 0:01:51.200 --> 0:01:54.960 posting state of the Franchise stories about every NFL team, 0:01:55.000 --> 0:01:59.720 and the Bengals version was extremely positive. The title was 0:02:00.200 --> 0:02:03.960 Bengals trending up with Joe Burrow and I am going 0:02:04.040 --> 0:02:08.640 to read the second paragraph here goes, It's an exciting 0:02:08.680 --> 0:02:11.440 time to be a Bengals fan. This is a team 0:02:11.480 --> 0:02:15.640 on the rise, potentially heading for unprecedented levels of success, 0:02:16.080 --> 0:02:19.160 and the Bengals are a proud franchise if they have 0:02:19.200 --> 0:02:22.200 a history filled with some of the greatest innovators in 0:02:22.240 --> 0:02:24.960 the game and some of the best who ever played it. 0:02:25.480 --> 0:02:29.200 The only thing missing is a championship. I'm not going 0:02:29.240 --> 0:02:31.800 to sugarcoat it and say that a title is within 0:02:31.919 --> 0:02:35.120 reach this season, but the Bengals are putting together the 0:02:35.200 --> 0:02:39.519 building blocks to get there one day. The person who 0:02:39.520 --> 0:02:41.760 wrote that is Adam Rank, and he joins me on 0:02:41.840 --> 0:02:44.960 this week's podcast. Adam, your first beer is on me 0:02:45.000 --> 0:02:48.200 if we ever meet. But in all seriousness, is the 0:02:48.280 --> 0:02:52.600 optimism you expressed mostly due to Joe Burrow. Well, I 0:02:52.600 --> 0:02:55.639 gotta be honest with you. I have great editors, apparently 0:02:55.639 --> 0:02:58.320 because I'm not that eloquent, so I appreciate them and 0:02:58.400 --> 0:03:00.720 all the hard work that they do for that. But really, 0:03:00.760 --> 0:03:04.600 you know, I, you know, is somebody who was a 0:03:04.680 --> 0:03:07.520 huge fan of Carson Palmer growing up and everything like that. 0:03:07.639 --> 0:03:11.480 I really follow the Bengals for quite some time. Obviously 0:03:11.480 --> 0:03:14.119 I follow every team, but this is a time where 0:03:14.160 --> 0:03:15.720 I look at it and I don't know if it's 0:03:15.760 --> 0:03:18.360 just because of Joe Burrow and his arrival, but I 0:03:18.440 --> 0:03:21.160 look at what the Bengals have going on and I 0:03:21.200 --> 0:03:22.960 just feel really good about it. And I, you know, 0:03:22.960 --> 0:03:24.360 and I talk about it in a piece, and I 0:03:24.360 --> 0:03:26.560 know we can de dive into it a little bit more. 0:03:26.639 --> 0:03:29.200 But I know it's hard to believe that, you know, 0:03:29.320 --> 0:03:33.359 just one player can come in and change in an 0:03:33.480 --> 0:03:37.360 entire organization, but I believe that he can't. And I'm 0:03:37.400 --> 0:03:39.360 just a huge believer in Joe Burrow, and I love 0:03:39.400 --> 0:03:42.200 everything that he's bringing to the Bengals, and so if 0:03:42.200 --> 0:03:44.360 I'm a fan of the team, I would be fired up. 0:03:44.360 --> 0:03:46.320 And again, like I said, I don't want to say 0:03:46.360 --> 0:03:48.640 that you're going to be in the playoffs or you 0:03:48.680 --> 0:03:50.600 know now that you wouldn't want to be in the plaff, 0:03:50.640 --> 0:03:53.400 but you know they got the franchise moving in the 0:03:53.480 --> 0:03:55.520 right direction for the first time what feels like a 0:03:55.520 --> 0:03:58.320 while we are chatting with Adam Rank from NFL dot com. 0:03:58.360 --> 0:04:01.720 I only have one quibble with your article. You wrote 0:04:01.720 --> 0:04:04.040 that the Bengals have had some great quarterbacks, but have 0:04:04.160 --> 0:04:07.720 never had one who was the dude, a guy that 0:04:07.800 --> 0:04:12.760 exerted confidence. I think Boomer Assiasin was actually the epitome 0:04:12.800 --> 0:04:14.880 of that, and that's one of the reasons why I'm 0:04:14.880 --> 0:04:18.080 so excited about Joe Burrow. I think he's the first 0:04:18.080 --> 0:04:21.479 guy since Boomer that has what you're talking about. You 0:04:21.520 --> 0:04:24.960 know what, I hear what you're saying. I think, yeah, 0:04:24.960 --> 0:04:27.760 I might have meant a little bit mistaken because you know, 0:04:28.000 --> 0:04:30.520 you think it back to the super Bowl and pad 0:04:30.600 --> 0:04:33.320 the forty nine ers on the ropes ropes, excuse me, 0:04:33.720 --> 0:04:36.279 and if they would have been able to win that one, then, 0:04:36.400 --> 0:04:39.360 you know, I think that Boomer's career would be looked 0:04:39.360 --> 0:04:41.400 at differently. So I would agree with you, and I 0:04:41.400 --> 0:04:43.719 think I might have might have missed miss spoke, but 0:04:43.760 --> 0:04:45.760 I was thinking of more of the recent quarterbacks and 0:04:46.080 --> 0:04:48.120 guys who I really loved it, guys who I thought 0:04:48.360 --> 0:04:50.800 are good quart like they're great quarterbacks. Like you look 0:04:50.839 --> 0:04:52.479 at him and you're like, this is a great quarterback. 0:04:52.760 --> 0:04:54.680 But the example that I used, and this would be 0:04:54.720 --> 0:04:57.359 lost on anybody who doesn't like wrestling, but there's a 0:04:57.400 --> 0:04:59.719 difference between a guy like the Rocks and a guy 0:04:59.760 --> 0:05:01.919 like Roman Graine. So both are very good, but the 0:05:02.040 --> 0:05:06.000 Rock is another level. And I have Joe Burrows that 0:05:06.080 --> 0:05:08.960 kind of player that is on another level. I think 0:05:09.000 --> 0:05:12.520 that going to LSU and doing everything that he did 0:05:12.800 --> 0:05:14.599 that really helped him, you know. And if you're at 0:05:14.680 --> 0:05:17.279 quarterback after there and thinking about going back to college, 0:05:17.440 --> 0:05:19.960 if you can use college the way Joe Burrow did, 0:05:20.200 --> 0:05:22.599 because I believe that he walks into the building right 0:05:22.640 --> 0:05:25.720 now ready to go, and I will agree with you, 0:05:26.279 --> 0:05:29.600 he is the best quarterback. He's got the best demeanor, 0:05:29.720 --> 0:05:32.960 the best swagger, the best confidence of any quarterback since 0:05:32.960 --> 0:05:36.120 Boomer size. If I apologize to Boomer, a fellow leftie, 0:05:36.960 --> 0:05:38.560 might I might have missed the boat on that one. 0:05:39.520 --> 0:05:43.560 Apology accepted on Boomer's behalf. We're talking to Adam Rank 0:05:43.600 --> 0:05:47.159 from NFL dot com aside from Joe Burrow. What did 0:05:47.160 --> 0:05:50.120 you think of the Bengals draft? Oh? I loved it. 0:05:50.279 --> 0:05:53.640 I you know what, I really love the idea of 0:05:53.680 --> 0:05:56.200 having a young quarterback and saying, you know, we should 0:05:56.279 --> 0:06:00.440 do we should surround him with some really good players. 0:06:00.440 --> 0:06:03.800 It's the opposite approach of what the Packers did, where 0:06:03.800 --> 0:06:06.359 Aaron Rodgers were like, hey, we've got a great quarterback, 0:06:06.680 --> 0:06:09.400 let's draft his replacement for three years down the road. 0:06:09.680 --> 0:06:12.279 So I love when they drafted t Higgins. You know, 0:06:12.440 --> 0:06:14.600 you know, you're thinking about it. You're just kind of like, Okay, 0:06:14.600 --> 0:06:16.120 what are they gonna do here? They're gonna go defense, 0:06:16.400 --> 0:06:19.000 they could address the secondary, and they brought in Kei Higgins, 0:06:19.160 --> 0:06:21.440 who to me was a first round talent and a 0:06:21.880 --> 0:06:23.640 who was not a surprise because there was a lot 0:06:23.680 --> 0:06:25.960 of good receivers in the draft, but it was, you know, 0:06:25.960 --> 0:06:27.279 a little bit of a shock that he was still 0:06:27.320 --> 0:06:30.040 available day two and the Bengals took him and I'm like, 0:06:30.200 --> 0:06:32.320 you know what, this is what I like. This is 0:06:32.320 --> 0:06:34.880 what I like to see. They're committed to going out 0:06:34.920 --> 0:06:37.520 there and winning and giving. And you know, you look 0:06:37.520 --> 0:06:39.800 at the receiver room as it is right now, there's 0:06:39.800 --> 0:06:41.880 some pretty good guys in there. You know, a J Green, 0:06:41.960 --> 0:06:44.160 assuming he comes back and is healthy and ready to go, 0:06:44.520 --> 0:06:46.880 and Tyler Boyd has put together back to back thousand 0:06:46.960 --> 0:06:49.520 yard seasons. We like all it, and take John Ross 0:06:49.520 --> 0:06:51.320 when he's available, But then you bring in a guy 0:06:51.360 --> 0:06:53.680 like te Higgins and I'm like, this is it. They're 0:06:53.680 --> 0:06:55.599 gonna go out there and they're going to give it 0:06:55.600 --> 0:06:57.279 a go, and this is what I think the Bengals 0:06:57.279 --> 0:06:59.640 need to do. So I'm getting fired up just talking 0:06:59.640 --> 0:07:02.680 about it, and we are getting fired up listening to 0:07:02.720 --> 0:07:05.720 you talking about it. Adam Rank wrote the Bengal State 0:07:05.720 --> 0:07:08.760 of the Franchise story on NFL dot Com this past Wednesday. 0:07:08.839 --> 0:07:11.120 It's a great read. I highly recommend going back and 0:07:11.240 --> 0:07:14.320 checking it out if you didn't read it already. Among 0:07:14.360 --> 0:07:18.480 other things, you've got some great analogies in there, including 0:07:18.480 --> 0:07:24.120 one where you compared Zach Taylor to TV chef Gordon Ramsey. 0:07:24.480 --> 0:07:27.640 Explain why, well, I think that you know, it's one 0:07:27.680 --> 0:07:29.720 of those things that you notice in television that when 0:07:29.720 --> 0:07:35.280 there's a successful TV formula where you're having a like 0:07:35.360 --> 0:07:38.520 Gordon Ramsey goes out and does rest for Kitchen Nightmares, 0:07:38.920 --> 0:07:41.440 and he goes out there, and then every other networks like, 0:07:41.520 --> 0:07:44.400 we need our own version, and sometimes they work out, 0:07:44.760 --> 0:07:48.960 sometimes they don't. And you know, last year, Jack Taylor, 0:07:49.520 --> 0:07:54.520 to my conjecture, was hired because of his association with 0:07:54.520 --> 0:07:57.600 Sean mcveay and that was a selling point and I 0:07:57.600 --> 0:08:00.880 don't disagree with it, but okay, he was kind of inexperience, 0:08:00.920 --> 0:08:03.440 but okay, so let's see how this goes. And after 0:08:03.520 --> 0:08:06.560 one season, I don't think we got a good read 0:08:07.200 --> 0:08:10.200 on what Zack Taylor is all about. I don't think 0:08:10.240 --> 0:08:11.680 it was any fault of his own. There was a 0:08:11.720 --> 0:08:13.560 lot of things that were going wrong, and I wouldn't 0:08:13.600 --> 0:08:15.640 pin it on him, but we want to know, like, 0:08:15.760 --> 0:08:18.120 what is his deal going to be? Like is he 0:08:18.200 --> 0:08:20.600 going to be the guy who steps up? And you're like, yes, 0:08:20.960 --> 0:08:23.240 this is a great spinoff. This is better than what 0:08:23.360 --> 0:08:25.760 Robert Irvine did with his life. I think his was 0:08:25.840 --> 0:08:29.480 Kitchen Nightmare, And so you want him, You want Zack 0:08:29.560 --> 0:08:32.560 to take a step up and I again, and I 0:08:32.600 --> 0:08:33.920 put this at the end of the piece. It's like, 0:08:34.360 --> 0:08:37.400 I'm willing to say last year never happened. I would 0:08:37.480 --> 0:08:41.560 not pulled last year against him anything like that. They've 0:08:41.559 --> 0:08:43.920 now put together a pretty good deal. There's still some 0:08:44.200 --> 0:08:46.840 issues on the offensive line and things like that, but 0:08:46.960 --> 0:08:49.200 I think now that they've given him a pretty good 0:08:50.400 --> 0:08:53.120 a pretty good template to work with, and now it's 0:08:53.360 --> 0:08:55.000 it's up to him to take a step forward. He 0:08:55.000 --> 0:08:57.520 even admitted I was reading an article on Don Bengel 0:08:57.640 --> 0:08:59.800 dot com where he was like, we need dudes who 0:08:59.800 --> 0:09:01.360 have a little bit of an edge, a little bit 0:09:01.400 --> 0:09:04.080 of a swagger, and even some of the teams with 0:09:04.120 --> 0:09:07.080 Marvin Lewis had that defensively. I would like to see 0:09:07.080 --> 0:09:09.400 that on the offensive side, and I think Joe Burrow 0:09:09.480 --> 0:09:11.200 could do it. And it's up to Zach Taylor right 0:09:11.200 --> 0:09:13.840 now to kind of harness that. I'm embarrassed to admit 0:09:13.960 --> 0:09:17.200 that I watched that Robert Irvine show once. Not my 0:09:17.280 --> 0:09:21.280 proudest moment. We're visiting with Adam Rank. You can follow. 0:09:21.640 --> 0:09:24.360 I like Robert Irvin, but yeah, that was a misstep, 0:09:25.120 --> 0:09:27.800 terrible show. I don't know enough about him other than 0:09:27.840 --> 0:09:30.640 that show, but that show was awful. You can follow 0:09:30.679 --> 0:09:34.720 Adam Rank on Twitter at Adam Rank. You pick second 0:09:34.760 --> 0:09:38.160 year tight end Drew Sample to be the Bengals breakout 0:09:38.200 --> 0:09:42.559 star this year. Why Drew Well? I believe that it's 0:09:42.960 --> 0:09:46.200 a position that could flourish for the Bengals when you 0:09:46.280 --> 0:09:49.720 bring in a lot of guys who stretched the field 0:09:50.040 --> 0:09:52.080 and can get after it. Obviously, we just talked about 0:09:52.080 --> 0:09:54.840 the receivers a moment ago. I do believe that a 0:09:54.880 --> 0:09:57.439 guy like Drew can make a step forward this year 0:09:57.520 --> 0:10:00.240 with a young quarterback who's going to target is tight 0:10:00.320 --> 0:10:03.719 ends underneath. If if the lanes are opened up for him, 0:10:03.720 --> 0:10:06.400 I think he can make kind of a step forward. 0:10:06.400 --> 0:10:08.200 And I know a lot of people were upset last 0:10:08.240 --> 0:10:10.000 year because it only seems weird when you draft the 0:10:10.080 --> 0:10:12.320 tight end in the second round and a lot of 0:10:12.320 --> 0:10:14.560 people are you know, I'm a Bears fan, so they 0:10:14.679 --> 0:10:17.120 grafted Cole Commit this year and I'm like, oh, this 0:10:17.200 --> 0:10:19.960 is kind of a tough one to sell. But I 0:10:20.000 --> 0:10:22.600 do believe, and I watched him at Washington. I think 0:10:22.640 --> 0:10:25.559 he's he's a good player. I think that's a he's 0:10:25.600 --> 0:10:28.520 a good blocker. That was his calling card. So Number 0:10:28.520 --> 0:10:30.600 one he's going to help out of the running game. 0:10:30.760 --> 0:10:32.920 You know, we're looking for Joe Mixon to breakout, like 0:10:33.040 --> 0:10:36.040 really breakout this season, and he's going to help in 0:10:36.080 --> 0:10:37.959 the running game, but he can also be one of 0:10:38.000 --> 0:10:40.440 those pass catchers and they need somebody to step up 0:10:40.679 --> 0:10:43.800 down to Tyler e. Birts down in Jacksonville, So you 0:10:43.840 --> 0:10:45.079 know he's going to be one of those guys. I 0:10:45.080 --> 0:10:46.880 don't think he's going to go out there and be 0:10:46.920 --> 0:10:49.240 the second coming of Robert Kronkowski, but I think he's 0:10:49.280 --> 0:10:51.720 going to go out there and sneakily to put together 0:10:51.760 --> 0:10:53.600 a number of touchdowns. And I know if you're a 0:10:53.640 --> 0:10:56.319 fantasy player, you'll be upset because you're starting Tyler Boyd 0:10:56.679 --> 0:10:59.040 or Tee Higgins and they're gonna be like, oh, touchdown, 0:10:59.080 --> 0:11:01.800 who wasn't too and gonna be Drew Sample and you're 0:11:01.800 --> 0:11:04.280 gonna be great. Nobody has them on their roster, but whatever. 0:11:04.320 --> 0:11:06.920 But for Bengal fans, I think they will enjoy him 0:11:06.920 --> 0:11:09.880 taking that leap forward this year. All right, Adam, you've 0:11:09.880 --> 0:11:12.240 been doing the state of the franchise stories on every 0:11:12.280 --> 0:11:14.640 team in the AFC North. Where do you think about 0:11:14.640 --> 0:11:17.199 the division as a whole? I have a good division. 0:11:17.280 --> 0:11:20.280 I think it's gonna be a lot tougher this year. Obviously, 0:11:20.320 --> 0:11:23.680 with the Steelers getting back Ben Roethlisberger, that's gonna be 0:11:23.720 --> 0:11:26.320 huge for them. They had a top five defense last year. 0:11:26.679 --> 0:11:31.720 They're eight nights with absolutely dreadful play at the quarterback position. Now, 0:11:31.720 --> 0:11:35.040 if Ben Roethlisberger can return and he doesn't have to 0:11:35.080 --> 0:11:38.120 be the guy who's throwing for forty five hundred yards, 0:11:38.160 --> 0:11:40.480 but if he can be a little bit productive, just 0:11:40.800 --> 0:11:43.920 better than Mason Rudolph level, I think that's a very 0:11:43.920 --> 0:11:47.720 good team. The Ravens obviously, not only are a good team, 0:11:47.720 --> 0:11:50.920 they got better with Kalis Campbell and the Browns. You know, 0:11:50.960 --> 0:11:54.320 it's unfortunate that they got Kevin Stefanski because I'm sure 0:11:54.320 --> 0:11:56.600 you guys all enjoyed Freddie Kitchens and what he did. 0:11:57.320 --> 0:12:01.199 I wanted a lifetime contract for Freddie Kitchens. Oh my gosh, 0:12:01.200 --> 0:12:03.480 like bring them back him another year. You get rid 0:12:03.480 --> 0:12:06.199 of them so quickly. Yeah, that's that's the unfortunate thing. 0:12:06.280 --> 0:12:10.239 So I think for the Bengals that they'll be improvement. 0:12:10.880 --> 0:12:13.240 And it's going to be hard to really register because 0:12:13.280 --> 0:12:15.960 these those other three teams in the division are so good. 0:12:16.240 --> 0:12:18.720 But I think they're going to come out and I 0:12:18.760 --> 0:12:20.000 think this division is going to be one of the 0:12:20.000 --> 0:12:21.800 best in football, that's your question. But I think the 0:12:21.800 --> 0:12:24.280 Bengals are going to be good. But it's like, oh, 0:12:24.320 --> 0:12:26.560 if you were in another division, you would have an 0:12:26.559 --> 0:12:29.360 opportunity to maybe make a little bit of a rhyme. 0:12:29.360 --> 0:12:31.240 But I think being in the AFC North is going 0:12:31.280 --> 0:12:34.439 to be tough. It is challenging, but that's the way 0:12:34.480 --> 0:12:36.840 it is. You are predicting a victory for the Bengals 0:12:36.880 --> 0:12:39.280 in Week one against the Chargers, and it was an 0:12:39.280 --> 0:12:41.120 excellent read. You did a great job of the state 0:12:41.120 --> 0:12:43.240 of the franchise story. And I don't only say that 0:12:43.320 --> 0:12:47.120 because it was optimistic. In general, it was very well done, 0:12:47.480 --> 0:12:50.480 a fun read as well, and I enjoyed it very much. 0:12:50.880 --> 0:12:52.800 Oh my gosh, thank you so much for having me 0:12:52.880 --> 0:12:56.360 appreciate it. Let's do this again sometime and I look 0:12:56.440 --> 0:12:59.480 forward to you buying me that there. I'll buy Adam 0:12:59.600 --> 0:13:02.040 sever role if the Bengals reach the heights that he 0:13:02.120 --> 0:13:05.160 thinks are possible under Joe Burrow. And just so we 0:13:05.200 --> 0:13:08.640 have our TV cooking shows straight. Gordon Ramsey did Hell's 0:13:08.720 --> 0:13:14.400 Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares Robert Irvine did restaurant impossible. Before 0:13:14.400 --> 0:13:16.840 we get to our next conversation, here's a quick reminder 0:13:16.880 --> 0:13:18.800 that you can take your Bengals pride to the next 0:13:18.880 --> 0:13:22.360 level in twenty twenty with an official Bengals fan package 0:13:22.520 --> 0:13:25.800 from Prime Sport. As we heard in my conversation with 0:13:25.840 --> 0:13:28.760 Adam Rank, his pick for the Bengals breakout star in 0:13:28.800 --> 0:13:32.640 twenty twenty, his tight end Drew Sample, the Bengals second 0:13:32.720 --> 0:13:36.160 round draft pick last year out of the University of Washington. 0:13:36.760 --> 0:13:39.800 Drew had five catches for thirty yards last year before 0:13:39.840 --> 0:13:42.480 missing the final seven games of his rookie season with 0:13:42.520 --> 0:13:45.480 an ankle injury. Now that Tyler Eifford has gone to 0:13:45.600 --> 0:13:48.760 Jacksonville as a free agent, Drew as likely to play 0:13:48.800 --> 0:13:52.040 a much larger role in twenty twenty. And I caught 0:13:52.080 --> 0:13:55.640 up with a twenty four year old tight end this week, Drew. 0:13:55.679 --> 0:13:57.839 I saw some footage of you on the local news 0:13:57.880 --> 0:14:01.239 recently working out at his Cincinnati are A fitness facility. 0:14:01.360 --> 0:14:05.400 Did you stay here in the off season? Uh? Yeah, 0:14:05.440 --> 0:14:08.640 I took after after the season, I went home for 0:14:08.640 --> 0:14:10.680 a little bit. I think it was about two weeks 0:14:11.640 --> 0:14:13.360 and then we were back here and then we had 0:14:13.400 --> 0:14:16.400 a few trips. Uh went to Pebble Beach for my 0:14:16.480 --> 0:14:20.240 dad's fiftieth birthday. But we've been back since basically the 0:14:20.320 --> 0:14:23.520 fault before all the coronavirus stuff hit. We were back 0:14:23.520 --> 0:14:26.800 at the beginning of March and the February, I believe, 0:14:26.880 --> 0:14:29.400 and we've been We've been here ever since, so it's 0:14:29.400 --> 0:14:31.600 been nice to kind of have a home base now 0:14:32.280 --> 0:14:35.960 as a golf lover. How was Pebble Beach? It was amazing, 0:14:36.040 --> 0:14:38.560 it was It was definitely an awesome experience, and we 0:14:38.600 --> 0:14:41.720 played pretty much all the major courses down there, and 0:14:42.440 --> 0:14:45.320 we ended with Pebble and it was It was tough. 0:14:45.360 --> 0:14:47.560 It was tough for us, obviously, but it was as 0:14:47.600 --> 0:14:51.120 gorgeous as advertised, and it was it was awesome. Worth 0:14:51.160 --> 0:14:56.360 turning fifty for your daddent got I got one birdie, 0:14:56.440 --> 0:14:59.120 So I was tapping with that. There you go, Drew, 0:14:59.160 --> 0:15:01.560 and that the TV story that I referenced. You were 0:15:01.600 --> 0:15:04.360 working out with Sam Hubbard. Have you guys been pushing 0:15:04.400 --> 0:15:07.440 each other in the off season. Yeah, definitely, we've been 0:15:07.440 --> 0:15:10.600 working out a black Feet performance. It's kind of it's 0:15:10.640 --> 0:15:13.200 up in Blue Ash And Sam was the one that 0:15:13.240 --> 0:15:16.400 introduced me to Pat who's our trainer. I think last 0:15:16.440 --> 0:15:19.040 offseason for kind of a after a pah stuff, and 0:15:19.960 --> 0:15:22.360 I really like everything that he's been about, and it's 0:15:22.400 --> 0:15:24.760 it's been nice to go to work out with someone 0:15:24.800 --> 0:15:27.160 like Sam who, like you said, we can really push 0:15:27.200 --> 0:15:29.120 each other. I think we compliment each other well, like 0:15:29.200 --> 0:15:32.160 in workouts and stuff, and then obviously on the field 0:15:32.320 --> 0:15:34.320 going into show a lot of practice and stuff. I 0:15:34.320 --> 0:15:36.920 think it's a it's a nice competition. It's a good 0:15:36.960 --> 0:15:39.680 little rivalry. We are talking to Bengals tight end Drew 0:15:39.800 --> 0:15:43.040 sample For many of us, Drew the one bright spot 0:15:43.120 --> 0:15:46.440 during the coronavirus shutdown has been spending more time with 0:15:46.480 --> 0:15:50.000 our families. Your first child was born last August, you 0:15:50.040 --> 0:15:53.480 have another one on the way. How has this time 0:15:53.520 --> 0:15:56.400 been for you and your wife? It's been amazing, Like 0:15:56.680 --> 0:15:59.160 you know, obviously ups and downs being quarantined, but I think, 0:15:59.240 --> 0:16:00.720 you know, both of us just tried to make the 0:16:00.760 --> 0:16:02.600 best of it. I mean, we were able to have 0:16:02.640 --> 0:16:06.160 spend so much time with Olivia, and you know, she's grown. 0:16:06.240 --> 0:16:08.600 She's at the age where she's grown so much. Even 0:16:08.600 --> 0:16:10.480 though the past like two weeks, you know, she just 0:16:10.480 --> 0:16:13.160 started crawling about a month ago and now, you know, 0:16:13.240 --> 0:16:16.000 Nastal standing up. Like, there's just so many different things 0:16:16.040 --> 0:16:18.880 that you know, probably without the coronavirus, I would have 0:16:18.920 --> 0:16:21.440 probably missed or at least not been there to see 0:16:21.440 --> 0:16:23.520 you know, her first time crawling, her first time standing 0:16:23.600 --> 0:16:26.960 and things like that. So, you know, definitely just finding 0:16:27.120 --> 0:16:29.800 the positive things. And as a dad, you know, I 0:16:29.880 --> 0:16:31.760 was really happy I was able to put him that 0:16:31.880 --> 0:16:34.360 time and spend time with you know, my wife obviously 0:16:34.400 --> 0:16:37.480 and Olivia. So it's I think it's been good. Obviously 0:16:37.560 --> 0:16:38.800 there's a lot of stuff going on in the world, 0:16:38.840 --> 0:16:41.040 but I think, you know, you just gotta take pausits 0:16:41.040 --> 0:16:43.000 from it, and it was definitely one of them. It's 0:16:43.040 --> 0:16:46.400 definitely a good silver lining. Let's go back to last year. 0:16:46.520 --> 0:16:49.800 You suffered suffered a high ankle sprain and missed the 0:16:49.800 --> 0:16:52.400 final seven games of the season. How bad was it 0:16:52.480 --> 0:16:54.800 and how are you doing now? Um, you know, obviously 0:16:54.880 --> 0:16:57.480 this was an ideal, you know, getting rolled up on 0:16:57.800 --> 0:16:59.680 trying to rehab back again of the season, but it 0:16:59.800 --> 0:17:04.119 just wasn't just wasn't progressing, and so um it was actually, 0:17:04.200 --> 0:17:06.000 you know, I was I would say I was fully 0:17:06.040 --> 0:17:08.240 healthy probably you know, a month a month or so 0:17:08.480 --> 0:17:11.160 after the season. Um, So I was kind of able 0:17:11.200 --> 0:17:14.320 to come into this offseason pretty much fully healthy. So 0:17:14.440 --> 0:17:17.240 give me, gave me a full offseason plus this you know, 0:17:17.240 --> 0:17:20.720 obviously had a lot of extra time with the coronavirus, 0:17:20.720 --> 0:17:24.240 and so I feel really good, you know, uh, rehabbed 0:17:24.280 --> 0:17:26.640 as much as I can, you know, strengthening that type 0:17:26.640 --> 0:17:28.720 of thing. And so you know, I felt like I've 0:17:28.720 --> 0:17:30.679 had a really good off season and I'm definitely sadder 0:17:30.680 --> 0:17:33.480 for this season coming up. We're catching up with du sample. 0:17:33.560 --> 0:17:36.560 The coaches said, you were really coming on at the 0:17:36.600 --> 0:17:39.359 point where you got injured. How did you feel you 0:17:39.400 --> 0:17:42.040 were doing at that point. I think that's fair. I 0:17:42.040 --> 0:17:44.040 think I was starting to really adjust to it. Obviously, 0:17:44.040 --> 0:17:46.000 it's you know, a big jump, um, you know, from 0:17:46.040 --> 0:17:48.439 college to NFL, and so you know, I was definitely 0:17:48.480 --> 0:17:51.760 getting more comfortable just seeing things games starting to kind 0:17:51.760 --> 0:17:54.919 of slow down a little bit. Um. So, obviously I 0:17:54.920 --> 0:17:56.520 was pretty bob not being able to play the rest 0:17:56.520 --> 0:17:58.359 of the year, but you know, I just try to 0:17:58.400 --> 0:18:01.919 take everything learned last year and put it into this 0:18:01.960 --> 0:18:04.960 offseason and put it in this season. Um. So you know, 0:18:05.000 --> 0:18:07.359 whenever we get going, I'm really excited to go out there. 0:18:07.359 --> 0:18:10.359 And show what I could do. Discussing that college to 0:18:10.400 --> 0:18:13.840 the NFL jump that you reference, was there anything specific 0:18:13.920 --> 0:18:16.920 that was a real eye opener for you? I mean 0:18:17.000 --> 0:18:18.640 I kind of knew and you know, you you know 0:18:18.960 --> 0:18:21.760 that that obviously everyone there's no there's no bad players. 0:18:21.840 --> 0:18:24.240 Everyone was at the top of their level. Um and 0:18:24.320 --> 0:18:26.399 you know, in the first ten or so games, I 0:18:26.400 --> 0:18:28.280 mean every week, you know, you play against really good 0:18:28.280 --> 0:18:31.240 players that you've either grown up watching or you or 0:18:31.280 --> 0:18:33.680 you've heard of, or you know, just just people that 0:18:33.720 --> 0:18:36.040 have been in the league for a long time. And um, 0:18:36.080 --> 0:18:38.160 so you just know, there's no there's no weeks off. 0:18:38.240 --> 0:18:40.399 Every game is a battle. Every plays a battle, and 0:18:40.400 --> 0:18:42.119 that's what's fun about it. You get to compete against 0:18:42.119 --> 0:18:45.320 the best of the best. And I think that's you 0:18:45.359 --> 0:18:46.959 know that with the speed of the game, I mean, 0:18:47.040 --> 0:18:49.000 like just because everyone's so good. I think those are 0:18:49.040 --> 0:18:51.720 just the main things. And you know, once you kind 0:18:51.760 --> 0:18:54.400 of there's so much information without learning a new offense, 0:18:54.440 --> 0:18:56.560 everything that goes into it's you know, it's hard to 0:18:56.600 --> 0:18:58.960 just play free. And so um, I felt like I 0:18:59.000 --> 0:19:00.479 was starting to do that, you know, towards the end 0:19:00.480 --> 0:19:02.360 and there so I'm excited for I'm excited to get 0:19:02.359 --> 0:19:04.680 things to go on this year. Have you tweeked anything 0:19:04.720 --> 0:19:08.640 about your off season prep based on that experience? No? 0:19:08.720 --> 0:19:11.040 I mean I think this is an interesting year because 0:19:11.040 --> 0:19:13.800 everyone says, you know, the best off season is you know, 0:19:14.320 --> 0:19:16.000 or the hardest off season I should say is after 0:19:16.000 --> 0:19:17.560 you're a year, because you rookie year, you know, you 0:19:17.720 --> 0:19:20.199 commea and train everything, and then this is this year 0:19:20.240 --> 0:19:22.600 has been kind of an interesting challenge because obviously it's 0:19:22.720 --> 0:19:26.160 longer than normal. We didn't go at protas and so um. 0:19:26.359 --> 0:19:28.080 You know, I've been working with Sam and Pat and 0:19:28.119 --> 0:19:31.080 I think we've we've been able to navigate it really well. 0:19:31.160 --> 0:19:33.320 So I feel like I haven't had a true, you know, 0:19:33.440 --> 0:19:37.239