WEBVTT - Bengals Booth Podcast: Who Are You 0:00:03.640 --> 0:00:06.400 Hike and everybody. I'm Dan Horde, and thanks for downloading 0:00:06.440 --> 0:00:11.920 the Bengals Booth Podcast the Hoo are you Hoo hoo 0:00:12.360 --> 0:00:15.880 hoo hoo admission as we take a look at the 0:00:16.000 --> 0:00:19.480 biggest plunge the Bengals have ever taken in free agency, 0:00:19.960 --> 0:00:23.599 one that's caused many Bengals fans to excitedly ask, who 0:00:23.640 --> 0:00:27.280 are these guys coming up? I'll spend forty five minutes 0:00:27.280 --> 0:00:30.720 with my broadcast partner Dave Lapham as we discuss DJ 0:00:31.000 --> 0:00:35.280 reader Trey Waynes, Von Bell and the other free agent pickups, 0:00:35.560 --> 0:00:39.839 and then take your questions under the hashtag ask lap 0:00:40.200 --> 0:00:43.720 and Yes, in case you're wondering, Joe Burrow does come up. 0:00:44.240 --> 0:00:47.680 The Bengals Booth Podcast is presented by Prime Sport, the 0:00:47.720 --> 0:00:52.320 official fan, travel and hospitality partner of the Cincinnati Bengals. 0:00:52.479 --> 0:00:54.200 And here's a quick reminder that you can have the 0:00:54.280 --> 0:00:58.639 latest edition of this podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet, 0:00:58.800 --> 0:01:04.680 or computer by subscribing. It's the greatest thing since Yatzi. 0:01:05.760 --> 0:01:07.959 If you've been looking for things to do at home 0:01:08.120 --> 0:01:12.680 during COVID nineteen restrictions, perhaps you've forgotten about that Yatzi 0:01:12.800 --> 0:01:15.960 board game. Sitting in the back of a closet. According 0:01:16.000 --> 0:01:20.240 to the current owner Hasbro, fifty million Yatsy games are 0:01:20.280 --> 0:01:23.800 sold every year, So there's a decent bet that you haven't. 0:01:24.200 --> 0:01:26.480 Our family has been playing in recent days, and for 0:01:26.520 --> 0:01:29.400 a game that came out in the early nineteen forties, 0:01:29.800 --> 0:01:33.520 it still holds up remarkably well with just the right 0:01:33.640 --> 0:01:37.120 mix of luck and strategy for players of all ages. 0:01:37.160 --> 0:01:42.240 So here's the Yatze and rolling five of a kind. Now, 0:01:42.680 --> 0:01:45.319 let's get to this week's visit with my broadcast partner 0:01:45.600 --> 0:01:49.440 Dave Lapham Lap. As we sit down to do this recording, 0:01:49.440 --> 0:01:53.080 the Bengals have spent approximately one hundred and thirty five 0:01:53.240 --> 0:01:57.720 million dollars on free agents from other teams. What has 0:01:57.800 --> 0:02:01.720 gotten into our beloved Cincinnati bengk I'll tell you Dan, 0:02:01.800 --> 0:02:04.520 it's incredible. I mean, the overhaul continues. Uh. You know, 0:02:04.600 --> 0:02:09.080 I think there's potentially five defensive starters in that in 0:02:09.120 --> 0:02:13.040 that group, and obviously an offensive lineman that is going 0:02:13.120 --> 0:02:16.600 to be a starter at the at the right guard position. Tentatively, 0:02:16.880 --> 0:02:19.360 you know, you got to you got a starting cornerback 0:02:19.440 --> 0:02:24.560 in Wayne's you have a starting Nicol Corner and Alexander Um. 0:02:24.600 --> 0:02:28.480 I think Dray Kirkpatrick's future is dim in Cincinnati. I 0:02:28.520 --> 0:02:31.080 don't I think it's going to be short lived. Um 0:02:31.240 --> 0:02:33.880 William Jackson, I believe would be the other the other corner. 0:02:34.800 --> 0:02:38.280 It's it's incredible vom Bell, who has made a lot 0:02:38.320 --> 0:02:40.679 of plays in New Orleans Saints. I mean, he's a 0:02:41.000 --> 0:02:43.000 he's a quality safety and he played well up in 0:02:43.040 --> 0:02:45.400 Ohio State room with the road and all about. You 0:02:45.440 --> 0:02:50.080 know his his contributions. DJ Reader is a high level 0:02:50.160 --> 0:02:53.360 starter in the interior of the defensive line. You know, 0:02:53.400 --> 0:02:54.840 I know, I know a lot of people are going 0:02:54.880 --> 0:02:58.240 to be well, the only linebacker is Josh bynes Well. 0:02:58.280 --> 0:03:01.280 You know. The thing is simple math. When you look 0:03:01.320 --> 0:03:05.720 at the linebacker position in free agency, it wasn't as 0:03:05.720 --> 0:03:08.440 deep as the draft is potentially. When you look at 0:03:08.440 --> 0:03:13.760 the sheer numbers, almost every package three or four or 0:03:13.760 --> 0:03:18.000 five defensive linemen, four or five, six defensive backs, most 0:03:18.040 --> 0:03:22.839 times two linebackers. So sheer numbers say that if you've 0:03:22.880 --> 0:03:26.799 got a prospect that you can upgrade in the defensive 0:03:26.800 --> 0:03:28.720 liner on the back end where there are more players 0:03:28.760 --> 0:03:31.240 on the field, go for it. Go for it. And 0:03:31.360 --> 0:03:35.040 I do think that the drafted linebackers deep enough where 0:03:35.280 --> 0:03:37.960 they can make us make some serious noise. I harked 0:03:38.080 --> 0:03:42.560 back to at the turn of the century, nearly two thousands, 0:03:42.640 --> 0:03:46.440 when you draft h Spikes, Brian Simmons both in the 0:03:46.480 --> 0:03:50.640 first round, and Steve Foley, and the third round you 0:03:50.760 --> 0:03:53.400 drew and Ross as a free agent. They redid their 0:03:53.400 --> 0:03:58.040 whole linebacker position that year, and the coach was Mark Duffner, 0:03:58.160 --> 0:04:01.320 who's now on the staff. So lightning can strike twice 0:04:01.440 --> 0:04:04.280 with jeff Nor on the staff in terms of rebuilding 0:04:04.320 --> 0:04:07.440 that linebacker core. A lot of it through the draft lap. 0:04:07.480 --> 0:04:10.120 I want to go back to DJ Reader, probably the 0:04:10.120 --> 0:04:13.000 most prized of the free agents. Four years, fifty three 0:04:13.080 --> 0:04:15.920 million bucks. He's twenty five years old right now. He'll 0:04:15.920 --> 0:04:18.720 be twenty six by the start of next season. I 0:04:18.760 --> 0:04:22.599 went back to my old notes on the Houston Texans 0:04:22.640 --> 0:04:24.920 and the last time that the Bengals played them, and 0:04:25.040 --> 0:04:28.039 at the time I had written down based on something 0:04:28.080 --> 0:04:31.040 that I heard or something that I read, that he 0:04:31.120 --> 0:04:35.120 was like a young Vince Wilfork, which is basically the 0:04:35.160 --> 0:04:38.840 guy he replaced in Houston. Is that a good comp 0:04:39.080 --> 0:04:43.760 Is he potentially that good? Yeah? I think he is. 0:04:43.880 --> 0:04:47.400 I think he's even maybe not quite as you know, 0:04:47.560 --> 0:04:50.920 massive as Wilford as he was. I mean, this guy's 0:04:50.960 --> 0:04:52.839 a big dude. I mean over three undred and fifty 0:04:52.839 --> 0:04:55.279 pounds on a six foot three inch frame. That's that's 0:04:55.279 --> 0:04:58.320 fairly massive. Wilfork as a house. But I think this 0:04:58.400 --> 0:05:01.520 guy's more athletic in terms of his ability to pursue 0:05:01.560 --> 0:05:04.480 inside out. I mean he'll watching him, he'll run from 0:05:04.480 --> 0:05:07.599 the nose, tackle to the sideline and get involved in 0:05:07.640 --> 0:05:11.919 a play, and very athletic. Like Wilfork was very agile 0:05:12.040 --> 0:05:13.640 with his feet. It was hard to get that big 0:05:13.640 --> 0:05:15.560 old bear on the ground. I mean he was very, 0:05:15.680 --> 0:05:18.359 very difficult to get off his feet. And Readers that 0:05:18.480 --> 0:05:21.320 that kind of guy too. And another similarity they have, 0:05:21.400 --> 0:05:23.400 Dan to the point you're making, and it's a good point, 0:05:23.440 --> 0:05:26.039 there are a lot of similarities is the ability to 0:05:26.120 --> 0:05:29.000 push the pocket and to penetrate inside. You know, if 0:05:29.080 --> 0:05:30.880 you if you single up on on a guy like 0:05:31.160 --> 0:05:34.839 these guys, it's, uh, that's tough chore. I mean, somebody's 0:05:34.839 --> 0:05:37.960 gonna have a long day, so he's gonna he's gonna 0:05:38.520 --> 0:05:41.760 consume a couple of offensive linemen. And you know, now, okay, 0:05:42.040 --> 0:05:44.680 do you a double reader? Do you double gino? You 0:05:44.680 --> 0:05:47.159 can't double everybody who you're gonna double, So you know 0:05:47.160 --> 0:05:50.000 it could help Gino and um the staffs that he's 0:05:50.040 --> 0:05:52.440 on the field. It could lessen the load a little bit. 0:05:52.920 --> 0:05:55.479 And you know, I know they're gonna be cognizant of 0:05:55.920 --> 0:05:58.360 not him taking as many staffs as he did last 0:05:58.440 --> 0:06:00.880 year and not having we're down like he did to 0:06:00.960 --> 0:06:03.159 at the end of the last year. So I think 0:06:03.160 --> 0:06:05.560 he's a big plus in so many ways. There's a 0:06:05.560 --> 0:06:08.760 big ripple effect with Reader for sure. Since we've been 0:06:08.800 --> 0:06:11.440 doing the games together in twenty eleven, the Bengals have 0:06:11.480 --> 0:06:14.919 always prioritized two things on defense and trying to build 0:06:14.920 --> 0:06:18.680 their team pass rushers and cover guys. We've seen the 0:06:18.720 --> 0:06:22.039 money they've spent on Gino and Carlos Dunlap. We've seen 0:06:22.080 --> 0:06:25.000 all the number one picks over the years on cornerbacks 0:06:25.000 --> 0:06:28.760 in particular, So this really to me reflects what they 0:06:28.760 --> 0:06:32.200 did in free agency. DJ Reader a great run stopper obviously, 0:06:32.240 --> 0:06:33.960 but as you mentioned, a guy that can push the 0:06:34.000 --> 0:06:39.160 pocket as a pass rusher, and then Waynes Alexander von 0:06:39.320 --> 0:06:42.200 Bell plus Lashawn Simms from Tennessee who played on a 0:06:42.279 --> 0:06:45.920 very good team last year. That shows you when they 0:06:45.960 --> 0:06:49.840 looked at their struggles defensively over the past several seasons. 0:06:50.520 --> 0:06:52.320 To me, at least, they went back to their core 0:06:52.440 --> 0:06:56.000 values pass, rush, cover guys. I couldn't agree with you 0:06:56.080 --> 0:06:59.159 more and the other caveat. I think to all these guys, 0:06:59.640 --> 0:07:02.760 they played on recent playoff teams, So all of a sudden, 0:07:02.800 --> 0:07:06.400 you bring that, uh, that successful mindset, that culture to 0:07:06.440 --> 0:07:08.800 your locker room where you know, hey, I know what 0:07:08.800 --> 0:07:11.560 it's supposed to look like. I was just in the playoffs, 0:07:11.560 --> 0:07:14.440 and you know, here's here's here's what we need to 0:07:14.520 --> 0:07:17.840 get done. Guys. Here's here's what I experienced. Here's where 0:07:18.000 --> 0:07:20.960 we're a little deficient, Here's where we're okay, here's where 0:07:20.960 --> 0:07:23.280 we need to improve. I mean, all those things I 0:07:23.320 --> 0:07:26.440 think are valuable. And just about every free agent they signed, 0:07:26.880 --> 0:07:28.960 you know, has been on the in the playoffs recently, 0:07:29.360 --> 0:07:32.600 which I think is uh, it is not by accident. 0:07:32.680 --> 0:07:35.800 I think you know that that's if there's by accident, 0:07:35.840 --> 0:07:38.920 it's a very fortunate accident. They're going after guys that 0:07:39.200 --> 0:07:41.800 I think have been on on football teams that have 0:07:41.920 --> 0:07:46.000 experienced success and have you know, have have lifted, have 0:07:46.160 --> 0:07:48.520 lifted firsthand, so they can they can bring it to 0:07:48.560 --> 0:07:51.080 this locker room. And you know usually with that kind 0:07:51.080 --> 0:07:54.040 of success, Um, it breads a good chemistry in a 0:07:54.040 --> 0:07:58.720 locker room. And uh, reader, it's interesting easan Um. They're 0:07:58.760 --> 0:08:03.240 both clums and graduates, and Easton knows readers parents. I mean, 0:08:03.280 --> 0:08:06.880 he knows the whole family. It's it's it's crazy. You know, 0:08:06.960 --> 0:08:10.720 you'll you'll get connections, uh that that with coach or 0:08:10.800 --> 0:08:16.400 player or former teammates, you know, talking about the other players. Um, 0:08:16.480 --> 0:08:19.760 it's it's it's very interesting. There's there's no doubt about it. 0:08:20.360 --> 0:08:22.320 The last corner that they just sounded them trying to 0:08:22.320 --> 0:08:28.680 think of Simms. Sims. Yeah, Leshawn Simms. His position coach 0:08:29.080 --> 0:08:32.000 is now with the Cincinnati Bengals, So, I mean they 0:08:32.120 --> 0:08:34.800 pick him up from Tennessee, another playoff team. So here's 0:08:34.880 --> 0:08:39.200 Leshawn Simms, you know who's experienced the playoff success down 0:08:39.200 --> 0:08:41.640 to Tennessee and they're you know, they like him, They 0:08:41.720 --> 0:08:43.920 like him a lot, and he can he can play 0:08:43.960 --> 0:08:47.760 on special teams as well. And this position coach, uh 0:08:47.800 --> 0:08:50.120 you know, is now now with the Cincinnati Bengals. So 0:08:50.600 --> 0:08:54.040 you have an obvious connection to Steve Jackson. You know, 0:08:54.280 --> 0:08:56.440 liked him a lot when he's down there in Tennessee 0:08:56.480 --> 0:09:01.400 and Leshawn Simms von Bell the connection up at you know, 0:09:01.480 --> 0:09:04.760 up in a high state. He's got teammates, uh that 0:09:04.760 --> 0:09:08.320 that are with the Cincinnati Bengals obviously in Sam Hubbard 0:09:08.360 --> 0:09:12.040 and Billy Price, and so it's it is, it's it's uh, 0:09:12.200 --> 0:09:16.160 it's very interesting, how you know, the thread is very 0:09:16.240 --> 0:09:18.840 very wolving, very very tightly through the National Football League 0:09:18.840 --> 0:09:22.800 A lot of times. Is Xavier sewer Feelo a significant 0:09:22.920 --> 0:09:28.359 upgrade from John Miller? I'm not sure, you know, Um, 0:09:28.880 --> 0:09:31.720 I thought John Miller was a pretty solid player. But 0:09:32.040 --> 0:09:36.520 John Miller, um, you know, obviously had had an injury problem. 0:09:36.559 --> 0:09:39.120 And looking at John the difference between those two guys. 0:09:39.360 --> 0:09:42.160 John Miller to me is a beefed up three ten 0:09:42.720 --> 0:09:46.640 as opposed to you know, Xavier's a natural three ten. 0:09:46.800 --> 0:09:51.400 He's a bigger frame, bigger body guy. Um, John Miller 0:09:51.400 --> 0:09:54.440 is pretty athletic guy, but so Zoe Xavier he can pull, 0:09:54.840 --> 0:09:56.760 you know. Obviously, the Bengals the second half the year, 0:09:56.760 --> 0:09:58.560 as we saw down in the running game improved so 0:09:58.679 --> 0:10:02.600 much that they went to that gap, you know, pin 0:10:02.720 --> 0:10:06.240 and poll schematic and having big boys out in space 0:10:06.800 --> 0:10:11.000 leading Joe Mixon and Xavier can do that. He came 0:10:11.000 --> 0:10:14.080 out as a second round pick out of UCLA initially Houston, 0:10:14.160 --> 0:10:17.640 so there's another tie. He and DJ Reader or Team 0:10:17.679 --> 0:10:21.000 Bates at Houston before he went over to Dallas, So 0:10:23.080 --> 0:10:27.240 the weave continues. Linebacker Josh Bines will be thirty one 0:10:27.360 --> 0:10:29.640 next year. He played pretty well down the stretch for 0:10:29.679 --> 0:10:33.000 the Ravens last year and going back several years, he 0:10:33.080 --> 0:10:36.439 made the tackle on Ted Gin to seal the Super 0:10:36.440 --> 0:10:38.960 Bowl went over the forty nine ers several years ago. 0:10:39.679 --> 0:10:43.600 Is he more or less a depth guy in a 0:10:43.640 --> 0:10:47.920 group that didn't have much depth at all, or potentially 0:10:48.000 --> 0:10:52.439 a solid starter in the short term. Yeah. They did 0:10:52.440 --> 0:10:54.560 sign him to, you know, just a one year contract. 0:10:54.600 --> 0:10:56.800 He's thirty years old. You know, he's on the back 0:10:56.880 --> 0:11:00.640 nine obviously his career. But he run on that Super 0:11:00.679 --> 0:11:02.960 Bowl team as you mentioned with the Ravens, and then 0:11:02.960 --> 0:11:05.640 they brought him off the street last year as we remember, 0:11:05.679 --> 0:11:07.480 and you know, he plucked them in and they had 0:11:07.520 --> 0:11:10.400 a couple of inside linebackers and Ravens defense they brought 0:11:10.400 --> 0:11:12.600 off the street to finish the season. They played pretty 0:11:12.600 --> 0:11:15.800 well and he and Josh was one of them. Uh, 0:11:15.880 --> 0:11:18.440 Josh Bynes, I think has you know, has something left 0:11:18.440 --> 0:11:21.000 from the tank and you need you need an alpha dog. 0:11:21.520 --> 0:11:24.520 Um this this group is pretty young at the linebacker position. Now, 0:11:24.559 --> 0:11:27.880 There's there's no question about it. He's he's steady, he's 0:11:28.040 --> 0:11:31.040 very instinctive, a smart guy. He knows how to play 0:11:31.080 --> 0:11:33.760 to his strengths and and you know, to hide some 0:11:33.840 --> 0:11:37.040 of these deficiencies as such. I you know, I think 0:11:37.040 --> 0:11:39.640 that he's going to be the leader that everybody looks 0:11:39.640 --> 0:11:42.679 to in that linebacker room because once again played in 0:11:42.760 --> 0:11:45.120 the Super Bowl and um, you know, played at the 0:11:45.200 --> 0:11:47.960 at the highest level you possibly can and it's a 0:11:47.960 --> 0:11:51.560 big achievement. You get some credit, instantaneous credit with that. 0:11:52.000 --> 0:11:55.240 There's there's no no doubt about it. So I think 0:11:55.280 --> 0:11:57.360 I think it is a good edition. I think he's 0:11:57.360 --> 0:11:59.679 gonna play pretty well. I think he's gonna really make 0:11:59.760 --> 0:12:02.880 a rush to be a starting inside linebacker, you know, 0:12:02.960 --> 0:12:05.480 for for at least the season, and with that one 0:12:05.559 --> 0:12:08.360 year contract, there's high incentive for him to play well 0:12:08.760 --> 0:12:10.040 and to see if he can get a bite of 0:12:10.080 --> 0:12:12.560 an apple, a little bigger bite than just that that 0:12:12.679 --> 0:12:14.960 one year. It's kind of like a show me something 0:12:15.400 --> 0:12:19.720 type contract. And he's anxious. I think to prove that 0:12:19.720 --> 0:12:23.200 that very thing. I do think they need to find 0:12:23.440 --> 0:12:25.920 you know, they will in the draft, but they're they're 0:12:25.960 --> 0:12:27.720 probably the biggest the trace to see now with Nick 0:12:27.800 --> 0:12:30.800 Vigil you know, going to San Diego or the lah Chargers. 0:12:31.440 --> 0:12:33.400 They got to get that Sam backer, you know, they 0:12:33.440 --> 0:12:35.760 have to. They have to find somebody there, some sort 0:12:35.760 --> 0:12:38.559 of edge guy, you know, that can provide some some 0:12:38.640 --> 0:12:40.439 kind of pass rush as well as at the edge 0:12:40.440 --> 0:12:42.640 in the running game. I think that's a that's a 0:12:42.679 --> 0:12:44.920 big factor that they have to find, you know, in 0:12:45.000 --> 0:12:47.480 the draft. And it would not I would not be 0:12:47.600 --> 0:12:50.760 the least bit upset Dan if the second and third round, 0:12:51.360 --> 0:12:53.920 if there were guys there that were worthy that they 0:12:53.920 --> 0:12:55.920 spent both of them the linebacker position, kind of like 0:12:55.920 --> 0:12:57.880 they did in the first round with Spikes and Simmons. 0:12:58.200 --> 0:13:00.000 Then they came back in the third round here again 0:13:00.120 --> 0:13:03.439 with Foldy. I'm not saying spend all your picks on linebackers. 0:13:03.480 --> 0:13:06.040 I do think in my mind the two areas that 0:13:06.080 --> 0:13:08.880 I really focus on in the draft would be linebacker 0:13:08.920 --> 0:13:11.680 an offensive line. You know, to just add bodies to 0:13:11.720 --> 0:13:14.240 compete and see who best man win kind of thing. 0:13:14.240 --> 0:13:17.040 And you know it's so deep at wide receiver at 0:13:17.080 --> 0:13:19.160 some point there's probably gonna be a wide receiver there 0:13:19.200 --> 0:13:21.040 that it's like, oh, hell, I didn't think this guy 0:13:21.400 --> 0:13:23.520 would be here at this point. We had him with 0:13:23.640 --> 0:13:26.320 a grade around maybe two rounds higher. So you're gonna 0:13:26.360 --> 0:13:29.320 grab that wide receiver. But I think all things being equal, 0:13:29.880 --> 0:13:32.559 i'd really look for, you know, linebacker heavy in the 0:13:32.640 --> 0:13:36.040 draft and an offensive line. What do you think happens 0:13:36.080 --> 0:13:39.800 with Andy Dalton at this point? That's a that's a 0:13:39.840 --> 0:13:43.040 great question. Um. You know, the thing the thing with 0:13:43.080 --> 0:13:51.040 Andy is he's got playoff experience. And the other thing 0:13:51.200 --> 0:13:54.679 is he went through this as a rookie. Thinking back 0:13:54.720 --> 0:13:57.960 to twenty eleven, there are no OTAs, no mini camps, 0:13:58.840 --> 0:14:01.319 and j Gruden, diet hell of a job with Andy 0:14:01.440 --> 0:14:04.720 Dalton and Andrew Worth and dolmatop Peco. Remember they had 0:14:04.760 --> 0:14:08.720 those voluntary workouts to get togethers. And Andy Dalton didn't 0:14:08.760 --> 0:14:11.320 know what he didn't know in terms of the Bengal system. 0:14:12.000 --> 0:14:15.280 And I mean to have him get up to speed 0:14:15.320 --> 0:14:18.440 as quickly as he did that year and this year. 0:14:18.640 --> 0:14:21.520 It's not a work stop. It's a medical issue that 0:14:21.720 --> 0:14:26.160 is causing maybe a delay in the systems and installation 0:14:26.240 --> 0:14:30.720 of things with young quarterbacks. Andy Dalton he learned to 0:14:30.800 --> 0:14:33.040 quickly proof that he could learn it quickly, and I 0:14:33.080 --> 0:14:36.360 think Joe Burrow could prove the same thing. But Andy 0:14:36.400 --> 0:14:38.840 Dalton already knows it. So the fact that you're in 0:14:38.880 --> 0:14:42.560 a situation so odd this year because of the coronavirus, 0:14:43.240 --> 0:14:45.560 you do have a guy that knows your system cold 0:14:46.080 --> 0:14:48.600 and worst case scenario, could go out there and perform 0:14:48.680 --> 0:14:51.280 for you, you know. And I think the Bengal is 0:14:51.280 --> 0:14:54.000 gonna be very very patient with this. I know the 0:14:54.120 --> 0:14:56.160 knowing of Patriots are going to be. They have a 0:14:56.240 --> 0:14:58.600 history of being patient. They're gonna try to get as 0:14:58.600 --> 0:15:02.080 good a deal as possible if they're if they're truly 0:15:02.080 --> 0:15:06.040 interested in Andy Dalton. And by the way, where is 0:15:06.120 --> 0:15:14.240 Jay Gruden Jacksonville Jacksonville offensive coordinator? Maybe he says, all right, okay, minshew, Yeah, Well, 0:15:15.240 --> 0:15:18.200 I know Andy Dalton. Like Andy Dalton didn't work out 0:15:18.200 --> 0:15:21.320 in Chicago, where one of his offensive former offensive coordinators 0:15:21.320 --> 0:15:25.520 resides now, but there's another one that's former offensive coordinator, 0:15:25.560 --> 0:15:28.800 former head coach now down there in Jacksonville. So to me, 0:15:29.760 --> 0:15:31.680 I think you have to be patient, you know, get 0:15:31.720 --> 0:15:35.680 through the draft with the late reporting that's going on, 0:15:35.760 --> 0:15:38.800 the fact that he knows the system so well, you know, 0:15:39.000 --> 0:15:41.320 just the word. I don't think the worst thing in 0:15:41.360 --> 0:15:43.920 the world would be if they keep him and have 0:15:43.960 --> 0:15:46.120 a hell of a one two punch of the quarterback position. 0:15:46.480 --> 0:15:48.520 Hell with the way the first round picks have gone 0:15:48.520 --> 0:15:51.760 in the last four or five years, Man, I got you. 0:15:51.760 --> 0:15:54.680 Don't you want to just say about eighteen thousand hail marriage, 0:15:54.760 --> 0:15:56.640 nothing happens to Joe Burrow. But what if it does? 0:15:57.400 --> 0:15:59.840 Then you got Andy Dalton. You know, I'm not sure 0:16:00.520 --> 0:16:03.240 they would necessarily. I guess they could with all that 0:16:03.280 --> 0:16:06.040 they've spent here in free agency. They may have to 0:16:06.080 --> 0:16:08.920 trend that seventeen million dollar contract down a little bit. 0:16:08.920 --> 0:16:12.600 But Andy may say, rather than getting waived, if if 0:16:12.640 --> 0:16:15.320 you're if your Bengals terminate him, somebody's got to pick 0:16:15.320 --> 0:16:17.760 in their a pain of seventeen million. So he may say, 0:16:18.200 --> 0:16:20.200 somebody's gonna pick me up and give me a haircut 0:16:20.200 --> 0:16:22.080 to be a backup. Why don't I stand in Cincinnati, 0:16:22.080 --> 0:16:24.360 see if my haircut's not as bad. You'd be a 0:16:24.440 --> 0:16:26.520 back cup, back up for a year and play that, 0:16:26.840 --> 0:16:29.320 you know, maybe take a little bit of a haircut 0:16:29.360 --> 0:16:31.440 in the contract and play out that year. I don't know. 0:16:31.440 --> 0:16:34.560 I just think there's all kinds of possibilities on the table, 0:16:35.000 --> 0:16:37.480 and I don't think i'd be in a rush right now. Tom. 0:16:38.040 --> 0:16:40.360 You know, I certainly wouldn't panic and wave him at 0:16:40.360 --> 0:16:43.280 this point in time, that's sure. The Jacksonville thing is interesting. 0:16:43.320 --> 0:16:45.760 They've already signed Tyler Eifford and dark Quist and Art, 0:16:45.800 --> 0:16:49.880 so that's becoming Cincinnati's South. But but if it reaches 0:16:49.920 --> 0:16:53.160 a point where they're not going to pay him seventeen mil, 0:16:53.400 --> 0:16:56.080 and that seems far fetched me considering how much money 0:16:56.080 --> 0:17:00.280 they've taken on in free agency, plus the tag with 0:17:00.320 --> 0:17:04.919 aj Green. So if they try to get him conceivably 0:17:05.359 --> 0:17:08.240 to stick around for less, I wonder at that point 0:17:08.240 --> 0:17:10.119 if he'll say, you know what, I don't care about 0:17:10.119 --> 0:17:12.320 the money. I'm going to go to the team where 0:17:12.359 --> 0:17:16.440 I think I've got the best chance to play. Yeah, 0:17:16.560 --> 0:17:21.680 And uh, I think I mean, honestly, if I'm Andy 0:17:21.760 --> 0:17:25.760 Dalton and I feel that Bill Belichick has some sort 0:17:25.800 --> 0:17:28.119 of an honest interest, and I think he does. I 0:17:28.160 --> 0:17:31.080 think Bill Belichick feels like Andy Dalton can win you 0:17:31.119 --> 0:17:35.000 football games at the quarterback position. And uh and more importantly, 0:17:35.359 --> 0:17:39.239 won't necessarily lose you football games give games away at 0:17:39.240 --> 0:17:42.240 the quarterback position. If he feels that way in any 0:17:42.760 --> 0:17:45.560 and these people in any feel that that's that is 0:17:45.600 --> 0:17:49.360 the case, I do everything I possibly could to see 0:17:49.600 --> 0:17:52.720 how that could be fulfilled. I mean, you know you 0:17:52.840 --> 0:17:56.040 and and honestly, I think, as we know, the Bengals 0:17:56.040 --> 0:17:58.720 are vocalized that a bunch of times, and I know 0:17:59.080 --> 0:18:03.640 we both believe it. They definitely appreciate everything they aid 0:18:03.680 --> 0:18:06.280 the Dalton has done for the organization and how he's 0:18:06.320 --> 0:18:10.280 done it. Um So I think that if they could, 0:18:10.880 --> 0:18:13.760 they would make it very fair and equitable for Andy 0:18:13.840 --> 0:18:17.159 Dalton at all costs. Yeah, Andy Dalton is better than 0:18:17.200 --> 0:18:20.520 Brian Hoyer. We don't know how good Jared Stidham is. 0:18:20.640 --> 0:18:24.440 Maybe he's going to be good, who knows. But I 0:18:24.480 --> 0:18:27.359 think despite what the Patriots have done with Brian Hoyer, 0:18:27.400 --> 0:18:29.359 if they could get Andy Dalton on the cheap, I 0:18:29.400 --> 0:18:32.639 think they would. And I think I think that that 0:18:33.480 --> 0:18:36.240 if in fact, somebody could get him, you know, as 0:18:36.240 --> 0:18:41.720 you say, on the cheap. And Okay, Jacksonville, in my mind, 0:18:41.720 --> 0:18:44.920 I'm thinking, Okay, Bill Belichick really wants them. Jake Rudin 0:18:45.000 --> 0:18:48.440 really wants them. Okay, then if they if they say 0:18:48.480 --> 0:18:51.280 it's gonna Bill Belichick really wants them and said, I'll 0:18:51.320 --> 0:18:53.080 just wait till they wave him. Well, Jackson is going 0:18:53.119 --> 0:18:55.760 to get him before the Patriots. So at that point 0:18:55.800 --> 0:18:58.439 Bill Belichick may say, I'll give you a pick, you know, 0:18:58.520 --> 0:19:01.000 to make sure that I can get him before you 0:19:01.040 --> 0:19:04.159 wave them. Um, you know that that could possibly happen, 0:19:04.160 --> 0:19:06.880 and then and then he'd we do the contract extended. 0:19:06.920 --> 0:19:09.680 Whatever he's gonna do. But it's going to be interesting 0:19:09.720 --> 0:19:12.240 how it plays out. But I wouldn't be in a 0:19:12.320 --> 0:19:15.560 rush as long as there's more than one interested party. 0:19:17.200 --> 0:19:19.600 You know, at that point in time, you know, you 0:19:19.680 --> 0:19:22.840 might say, look, we we are going to wave him, Bill, 0:19:22.920 --> 0:19:24.760 and if we waive him, you're not going to get 0:19:24.800 --> 0:19:27.840 him because we know Jake Gruden has an extreme interest 0:19:27.840 --> 0:19:30.879 in him. He's not going to make it. U spark 0:19:30.920 --> 0:19:33.920 down on the waiver claims as an only Patriots, Another 0:19:33.920 --> 0:19:37.280 team besides Jake Gruden and the Jaguars could all claim 0:19:37.320 --> 0:19:39.560 before he gets in the Patriots as well. I think 0:19:39.600 --> 0:19:42.840 if he is terminated, I think there would be I 0:19:42.880 --> 0:19:44.359 think a lot of a lot of teams in the 0:19:44.440 --> 0:19:47.560 National Football League look at Andy Dalton as a starting 0:19:47.640 --> 0:19:50.880 quarterback that one football games with. But right now he's 0:19:50.960 --> 0:19:55.080 under contract for seventeen point five million bucks. Yeah, that's 0:19:55.119 --> 0:19:58.040 a lot for a team that is thinking of him 0:19:58.080 --> 0:20:00.320 as all right, he could be a great bat up, 0:20:00.920 --> 0:20:03.760 somebody that we could plug in with no hesitation and 0:20:03.800 --> 0:20:05.679 know that we could win games with him if we 0:20:05.760 --> 0:20:08.880 had to. But that's a lot of dough for that guy, 0:20:09.720 --> 0:20:12.119 including the Bengals, you know, Like I said, I mean, 0:20:12.160 --> 0:20:15.359 he knows their system, they know what he's about, and 0:20:15.840 --> 0:20:19.480 he would obviously. The toughest place to do something like 0:20:19.520 --> 0:20:21.720 that is a place where he wants to start or 0:20:21.840 --> 0:20:25.080 went to five straight playoffs. That's a tough that's a 0:20:25.200 --> 0:20:29.320 very very tough shot to your ego, and it's much 0:20:29.320 --> 0:20:31.159 easier to do it somewhere else where you don't have 0:20:31.160 --> 0:20:34.080 a history already established, you know, I mean, all these 0:20:34.080 --> 0:20:36.640 guys have a pride. Andy Dalton is a prideful guy. 0:20:37.119 --> 0:20:40.320 He doesn't necessarily want to acquiesce and you know, say, 0:20:40.560 --> 0:20:43.520 I know my mind and my heart, I know I'm 0:20:43.560 --> 0:20:46.399 still starting quarterback in the NFL. I don't want to 0:20:46.400 --> 0:20:49.360 be a backup quarterback to the place where I had 0:20:49.920 --> 0:20:52.879 my first you know, my first seventy six games. I 0:20:52.960 --> 0:20:55.880 was fifty twenty five and one and went to five 0:20:55.920 --> 0:20:59.439 straight playoffs. And now in the backup when I know 0:20:59.480 --> 0:21:01.800 I've got your left in my career as a potential star, 0:21:02.200 --> 0:21:04.679 that's a tough pill to swallow, and you know, and 0:21:04.760 --> 0:21:06.960 a lot of times, I mean, look look at Cam Newton. 0:21:07.240 --> 0:21:10.959 Look how Cam Newton reacted with the Carolina Panthers. Now, 0:21:11.000 --> 0:21:13.080 the Panthers obviously teased him a lot worse than the 0:21:13.080 --> 0:21:17.160 Bengals ever think about treating Andy Dalton. I think Carolina Panthers, 0:21:17.600 --> 0:21:19.159 you know, I think they could have let him go 0:21:19.240 --> 0:21:21.920 a lot earlier. He could have had other opportunities. I 0:21:22.200 --> 0:21:24.760 think he's pretty upset about it. But that whole thing 0:21:24.800 --> 0:21:27.639 I think was mishandled. And that's the last thing in 0:21:27.640 --> 0:21:29.720 the world I think the Cincinnati Bengals weren't do is 0:21:29.760 --> 0:21:34.440 mishandled anything with respecting Andy Dalton. All right, let's open 0:21:34.480 --> 0:21:36.679 this up to Bengals fans. I have a bunch of 0:21:36.760 --> 0:21:41.919 questions using the hashtag ask Lap on Twitter. Are you ready? 0:21:42.040 --> 0:21:45.119