WEBVTT - Bengals Booth Podcast: Saints Come Marching In 0:00:03.560 --> 0:00:05.960 Hi, Get everybody. I'm Dan Horde and this is the 0:00:06.040 --> 0:00:10.200 Bengals Booth Podcast The Saints Come Marching. In addition, as 0:00:10.240 --> 0:00:12.240 we get you set for Sunday's game at Paul Brown 0:00:12.360 --> 0:00:15.240 Stadium between the five and three Bengals and the seven 0:00:15.280 --> 0:00:19.680 and one New Orleans Saints, coming up some outstanding material 0:00:19.800 --> 0:00:23.480 for football junkies, as you'll hear from two guests who 0:00:23.480 --> 0:00:27.560 are great at looking at the game from different perspectives. First, 0:00:27.720 --> 0:00:30.920 you'll hear from the tape study guy Greg Cosell from 0:00:31.080 --> 0:00:34.520 NFL Films and ESPN. He's one of the very best 0:00:34.560 --> 0:00:37.720 at studying the game tape and explaining the x's and 0:00:37.760 --> 0:00:41.200 oh's without either confusing you or putting you to sleep. 0:00:41.680 --> 0:00:45.440 And then you'll hear from the analytics guy Sam Monson 0:00:45.479 --> 0:00:48.800 from Pro Football Focus, the website where they grade every 0:00:48.880 --> 0:00:53.240 player on every play. Before you hear from Greg and Sam, 0:00:53.280 --> 0:00:55.960 i'll discuss the latest Bengals news and look ahead to 0:00:56.040 --> 0:00:59.640 Sunday's game with my broadcast partner Dave Lappam. All of 0:00:59.640 --> 0:01:02.480 that is right ahead, but first, here's a quick reminder 0:01:02.520 --> 0:01:05.000 that you can have the latest edition of this podcast 0:01:05.040 --> 0:01:08.679 delivered right to your phone, tablet, or computer by subscribing 0:01:08.959 --> 0:01:13.520 on iTunes, Stitcher, or pod Bean. It's the greatest invention 0:01:13.640 --> 0:01:19.360 since listening to the radio online or on an app. 0:01:19.880 --> 0:01:22.480 As many of you know, I also broadcast University of 0:01:22.520 --> 0:01:27.040 Cincinnati basketball games, and following Wednesday season opener against Ohio State, 0:01:27.400 --> 0:01:29.840 I got a text message from a buddy who is 0:01:29.880 --> 0:01:33.080 currently in China on business and he wanted to let 0:01:33.120 --> 0:01:36.240 me know that he listened to the broadcast in Shanghai. 0:01:36.920 --> 0:01:39.200 I know that Bengals fans all over the world do 0:01:39.240 --> 0:01:41.720 the same thing every Sunday, and if you're one of them, 0:01:42.200 --> 0:01:45.840 leave a comment and let me know. All right, time 0:01:45.880 --> 0:01:48.760 to talk football with Dave Lapham Lap. We thought the 0:01:48.760 --> 0:01:51.800 Bengals would get healthier after the bye week. Now comes 0:01:51.800 --> 0:01:54.000 the news that aj Green is likely to be out 0:01:54.040 --> 0:01:56.480 for a few weeks at least with a foot injury. 0:01:56.480 --> 0:01:59.840 At least it sounds that way now what it seems 0:01:59.840 --> 0:02:03.360 like this is a reoccurrence of a prior injury, potentially 0:02:03.400 --> 0:02:06.840 because it's the same foot, same type of injury, So yeah, 0:02:06.880 --> 0:02:10.320 it's interesting. Doesn't need to have surgery. That's that was 0:02:10.400 --> 0:02:13.120 just confirmed, which is good news, But you don't know 0:02:13.160 --> 0:02:15.640 how long he's going to be out. Because I remember 0:02:15.639 --> 0:02:18.520 in that instance he had an insert put in his 0:02:18.560 --> 0:02:21.760 shoe and tried to play and couldn't do it. So 0:02:22.200 --> 0:02:24.359 he's going to be interesting how it unfolds as the 0:02:24.760 --> 0:02:27.480 as the week and weeks go along. But yeah, when 0:02:27.480 --> 0:02:32.239 you lose a guy like AJ Green, that's a that's 0:02:32.240 --> 0:02:36.080 a that's a tough tyler. Boyd started a taste a 0:02:36.080 --> 0:02:38.079 little bit what it's like to get double team. He's 0:02:38.080 --> 0:02:39.880 going to taste at every snap. Now they're going to 0:02:39.919 --> 0:02:43.600 tilt coverage to him, Odd and Tate. Unfortunately, due to 0:02:43.600 --> 0:02:46.120 the injury to Carl lasson the ACL, he's on the 0:02:46.160 --> 0:02:48.079 IR and it opened to barrossa spot and they brought 0:02:48.080 --> 0:02:50.560 out and Tat up from the practice squad, and you know, 0:02:50.600 --> 0:02:52.720 hopefully he gets this opportunity because he's one of those 0:02:52.720 --> 0:02:54.280 guys that's open wh he's covered. You know, he's a 0:02:54.280 --> 0:02:56.480 big guy, can box people out and can make catches. 0:02:56.639 --> 0:02:58.480 The biggest thing to do is catch to football. You know, 0:02:58.560 --> 0:03:00.800 see if he has some of a niche a role 0:03:00.840 --> 0:03:03.799 carved out in the red zone or a third down packages, 0:03:03.840 --> 0:03:05.639 whatever the case may be. So yeah, it's going to 0:03:05.720 --> 0:03:08.240 be one of those cases Dan where there's not another 0:03:08.240 --> 0:03:10.560 Aj Green. They're not going to be able to replace 0:03:10.639 --> 0:03:14.000 him with another guy. So it's one of those old sayings. 0:03:14.040 --> 0:03:15.760 Everybody do a little, nobody has to do a lot 0:03:16.120 --> 0:03:18.160 because nobody's gonna be able to do what Aj Green 0:03:18.240 --> 0:03:21.600 does just one person. Other people across the board are 0:03:21.600 --> 0:03:24.480 gonna have to step up their game collectively to replace 0:03:24.520 --> 0:03:28.120 aj Green. The Bengals will definitely be without Carl Lawson 0:03:28.200 --> 0:03:30.000 for the rest of the year. He only had one 0:03:30.080 --> 0:03:32.040 sack in the first half of the season lap, but 0:03:32.160 --> 0:03:34.280 he was third on the team in quarterback hits behind 0:03:34.280 --> 0:03:37.640 Geno Atkins and Carlos Dunlap. How is Carl Lawson playing 0:03:37.640 --> 0:03:40.200 and who gets those snaps? I think Carl Lawson was 0:03:40.240 --> 0:03:42.480 playing well in terms of, you know, making the quarterback 0:03:42.520 --> 0:03:44.120 get off his spot. You know, he would a lot 0:03:44.160 --> 0:03:47.720 of times he was the initial penetration guy and the 0:03:47.800 --> 0:03:50.120 quarterback had to make a move as a result of 0:03:50.480 --> 0:03:53.560 his effort to disrupt and then other guys would you know, 0:03:53.640 --> 0:03:56.880 would benefit from it. So, I mean, he's he's a 0:03:56.920 --> 0:03:59.360 definite factor in that edge rush. And there's there's no 0:03:59.360 --> 0:04:03.040 doubt that, uh that Carlsson is a huge loss. There's 0:04:03.080 --> 0:04:05.880 no question about it that Nickel pass rush. God, it's 0:04:05.880 --> 0:04:09.000 gonna I think, play more snaps outside and not as 0:04:09.040 --> 0:04:11.920 many as as a pass rushing defensive tackle and nicol 0:04:12.000 --> 0:04:14.440 as Sam Hubbard. Sam is going to have to, uh 0:04:14.560 --> 0:04:16.320 you know, be involved, and I think I think you'll 0:04:16.360 --> 0:04:18.920 do well. You know, they got a rotation now where 0:04:19.040 --> 0:04:22.080 they're they're basically down to four defensive ends, so you know, 0:04:22.200 --> 0:04:25.400 Michael Johnson can go inside, Sam Hubbard can go inside. 0:04:25.440 --> 0:04:28.120 Both those guys can slide inside and play nickel defensive 0:04:28.160 --> 0:04:30.320 tackle and pass rush from there, you know, you can 0:04:30.360 --> 0:04:32.960 have Jordan Willison, Carlos Dunlap on the edge. Then you 0:04:32.960 --> 0:04:35.280 can also you know, leave Billings and Atkins in there 0:04:35.560 --> 0:04:38.720 and let Hubbard and Michael Johnson take some snaps as 0:04:38.800 --> 0:04:41.839 as defensive ends as well, you know, for a rotation standpoint, 0:04:42.080 --> 0:04:45.240 so you have the versatility of Hubbard and Johnson being 0:04:45.279 --> 0:04:47.760 able to do both to swing inside and stay on 0:04:47.760 --> 0:04:50.479 the edge. And uh but I think I think that 0:04:50.520 --> 0:04:53.800 their snaps will increase and I think Hubbards will decrease 0:04:54.040 --> 0:04:57.239 as that as that you know that Nickel defensive tackle 0:04:57.240 --> 0:05:01.240 pass rusher um and I think will it be will 0:05:01.279 --> 0:05:03.680 they give the same look that Carl Lawson gave no, 0:05:04.120 --> 0:05:06.800 you know, not not necessarily. But they both have their 0:05:06.839 --> 0:05:10.120 own skill set and I think the Bengals will will 0:05:10.160 --> 0:05:12.320 be fine with that with that rotation. But you know, 0:05:12.320 --> 0:05:14.839 they're down to eight down to eight defensive lineman now 0:05:15.080 --> 0:05:18.560 instead of nine with Carl Lawson going on on injury reserve. 0:05:18.640 --> 0:05:21.120 They brought up out and tap and stayed with the 0:05:21.240 --> 0:05:23.480 with the eight down lineman and just have a pure 0:05:23.560 --> 0:05:26.599 rotation with four interior guys and four guys on the edge, 0:05:27.240 --> 0:05:30.159 sticking with a D line. Adolphus Washington was in for 0:05:30.279 --> 0:05:33.000 thirty five snaps in the last game. He had three tackles, 0:05:33.000 --> 0:05:36.000 including a sack. He had another quarterback hit. How his 0:05:36.160 --> 0:05:40.080 he looked since joining his hometown team. I think he's 0:05:40.120 --> 0:05:42.520 what I thought he'd be in terms of he's pretty athletic. 0:05:42.680 --> 0:05:45.479 I mean, he's he's a guy that that he's a 0:05:45.480 --> 0:05:48.599 big body guy, but he has great lateral movement, you know, 0:05:48.600 --> 0:05:51.440 and he has a field burst. He can, he can penetrate, 0:05:51.760 --> 0:05:53.960 he can he can move well, like I said, from 0:05:54.000 --> 0:05:57.080 side to side. His lateral movement skills. The sack that 0:05:57.160 --> 0:05:59.640 he got, everybody was fooled by the hard play fake 0:05:59.680 --> 0:06:01.480 it was you know, it was It was a hard 0:06:01.480 --> 0:06:03.920 play action run to the left away from him. He 0:06:03.960 --> 0:06:06.560 was playing the defensive tackle on the opposite side, and 0:06:06.640 --> 0:06:10.240 everybody linebackers included, everybody a bit hard and he didn't. 0:06:10.480 --> 0:06:12.520 So he saw something reds He just took it straight 0:06:12.600 --> 0:06:14.839 up the football field and as a result of that 0:06:14.960 --> 0:06:18.320 got a quarterback sack, contained and corraled the quarterback individually, 0:06:18.360 --> 0:06:20.279 and then took him to the ground. So that was 0:06:20.480 --> 0:06:23.039 that was a really good play by him. And I 0:06:23.080 --> 0:06:25.240 think as the season goes on and he becomes more 0:06:25.279 --> 0:06:28.120 and more familiar with not only this defensive scheme and 0:06:28.279 --> 0:06:30.680 terminology and everything goes along with it, but his teammates 0:06:31.160 --> 0:06:33.640 and how guys you know. It's it's just like an 0:06:33.680 --> 0:06:37.359 offensive lineman. I remember playing when when you first started 0:06:37.360 --> 0:06:40.279 playing with a new tackle and the twists and stunts 0:06:40.360 --> 0:06:44.000 and end penetrate tackle loop or the or the reverse 0:06:44.040 --> 0:06:46.839 the tackle penetrate end loop. You have to have a 0:06:46.920 --> 0:06:49.640 feel for what level. You know, one one tackle white 0:06:49.640 --> 0:06:51.880 set a little bit deeper than the other. One guy 0:06:51.920 --> 0:06:54.960 has longer legs, shorter arms. One guy is longer arm shortly. 0:06:55.080 --> 0:06:57.039 You just have to get a feel for the for 0:06:57.080 --> 0:06:59.160 the guy next to you, and it becomes an unspoken 0:06:59.520 --> 0:07:02.320 you know communication, and then you don't even worry about it. 0:07:02.320 --> 0:07:04.400 And you've done it so many times, you know, if 0:07:04.440 --> 0:07:06.240 you pass that off, the tackles right there to take 0:07:06.360 --> 0:07:08.120 when you're gonna take the looper. Well, same thing with 0:07:08.160 --> 0:07:10.440 defensive lineman. You know they have to have a sense 0:07:10.440 --> 0:07:12.320 and a feel for all right, is he going to 0:07:12.440 --> 0:07:14.640 hit the gap hard? Is he gonna grab two? Is 0:07:15.160 --> 0:07:17.240 he more of a penetrator that doesn't grab two, he 0:07:17.280 --> 0:07:19.560 just grabs one. You know, there's different things that you 0:07:19.600 --> 0:07:22.040 have to work through and the only way you can 0:07:22.040 --> 0:07:26.280 do that is by repetition and practice. Repetition is one thing, 0:07:26.480 --> 0:07:28.960 but in a game totally different ball game, you can 0:07:29.000 --> 0:07:31.680 rep it fifty times in practice and will never unfold 0:07:31.840 --> 0:07:33.920 the way to unfolds in a football game in live 0:07:33.960 --> 0:07:37.440 action with you know guys you've never gone against as 0:07:37.480 --> 0:07:41.080 an opposition. So there's a lot to that lap. According 0:07:41.120 --> 0:07:43.680 to the website Pro Football Focus, where they grade every 0:07:43.720 --> 0:07:47.080 player on every play, the highest graded Bengal at his 0:07:47.160 --> 0:07:50.560 position is not Geno Atkins, who is tenth among interior lineman, 0:07:50.840 --> 0:07:53.240 or A. J. Green, who is seventh among wide receivers. 0:07:53.600 --> 0:07:56.800 It's rookie Jesse Bates, who ranks fourth among safeties. Does 0:07:56.840 --> 0:08:00.400 that surprise you. I'm not shocked, maybe mildly surprised that 0:08:00.920 --> 0:08:03.160 he transitioned as quickly as he did. I think they 0:08:03.200 --> 0:08:05.440 had a lot of confidence in him because we've met 0:08:05.520 --> 0:08:08.480 him and know how intelligent he is and focused he is, 0:08:08.520 --> 0:08:10.720 and you know, he's, like we talked about Dan, he's 0:08:10.760 --> 0:08:12.920 one of these rookies that seems like a ten year guy. 0:08:13.280 --> 0:08:15.840 You know, Sam Hubbard and last year's rookie class had 0:08:15.880 --> 0:08:17.840 willis the same type of guy. They they come in 0:08:17.880 --> 0:08:19.800 as rookies and they act like they're you know, five 0:08:19.920 --> 0:08:23.360 seven ten year pros already in terms of understanding what 0:08:23.400 --> 0:08:25.080 it is to be a pro and how to get 0:08:25.120 --> 0:08:27.920 ready mentally, physically, every way there is to do it. 0:08:27.960 --> 0:08:34.160 And I do remember with him, veteran players saying during 0:08:34.160 --> 0:08:36.000 the course of training camp, when I was asking about 0:08:36.080 --> 0:08:39.360 him how he's doing back there, saying, remember him saying 0:08:39.400 --> 0:08:42.040 that he doesn't hesitate to ask these veterans questions. And 0:08:42.080 --> 0:08:44.920 then I asked the veterans, you know, Bates, he's pretty 0:08:44.920 --> 0:08:47.000 inquisitive him. They're like, yeah, man, you know, he asked 0:08:47.040 --> 0:08:49.800 good questions. It's not he doesn't just throw stuff out 0:08:49.840 --> 0:08:52.320 there just to like, you know, do it to maybe 0:08:52.320 --> 0:08:55.280 try to impressure. He's asking good, good questions, so we 0:08:55.400 --> 0:08:58.520 know that he's understanding the big picture. And so that 0:08:58.840 --> 0:09:01.600 that was an encouraging sign. And then the guy's a playmaker. 0:09:01.679 --> 0:09:03.720 You know, they were they were wanting to get that 0:09:03.920 --> 0:09:06.480 injection of that type of player at the state position. 0:09:06.480 --> 0:09:08.600 They've gotten it, and it's rubbed off a little bit. 0:09:08.600 --> 0:09:10.920 And Sean Williams, both those guys three interceptions a piece, 0:09:10.960 --> 0:09:13.400 you know, amongst the league leaders, and Jesse took one 0:09:13.440 --> 0:09:15.880 back for score. That's one of the four defensive touchdowns. 0:09:15.880 --> 0:09:19.080 So they've had their issues defensively, no doubt, but he's 0:09:19.080 --> 0:09:21.680 definitely been a bright spot. Lap This Sunday, the Bengals 0:09:21.720 --> 0:09:24.280 host in New Orleans Saints, who lost their opener forty 0:09:24.360 --> 0:09:27.920 eight to forty to Tampa Bay and have not lost since. 0:09:27.960 --> 0:09:29.839 And the guy leading the way as their thirty nine 0:09:29.880 --> 0:09:34.360 year old quarterback, Drew Brees eighteen touchdown passes, one interception, 0:09:34.720 --> 0:09:37.560 the best passer rating in the NFL at one twenty 0:09:37.760 --> 0:09:41.199 point six, and the interesting thing Dan also on third 0:09:41.240 --> 0:09:43.720 down in the fourth quarter, the two money spots for 0:09:43.760 --> 0:09:46.040 a quarterback. He's got a rating of one twenty and 0:09:46.080 --> 0:09:48.880 both of those instances think he's second in the NFL 0:09:48.960 --> 0:09:51.840 and one categorian like third or fourth and the other. 0:09:52.200 --> 0:09:55.800 So he is big time. And the thing about he's 0:09:55.800 --> 0:09:59.720 a unicorn, you know, a six foot quarterback in today's NFL, 0:09:59.760 --> 0:10:02.600 where the prototype is the six foot five in strapping 0:10:02.679 --> 0:10:06.400 lad with the big strong cannon arm. You know, Mahomes 0:10:06.440 --> 0:10:08.840 is six three, two hundred and thirty plus pounds. Drew 0:10:08.840 --> 0:10:11.640 Brees is a peanut compared to that guy. But he 0:10:11.679 --> 0:10:15.640 throws with such anticipation and accuracy, and he knows his offense, 0:10:15.800 --> 0:10:20.240 I mean inside out. And I remember here recently, you know, 0:10:20.320 --> 0:10:23.880 reading reading something about how even when he has a 0:10:23.920 --> 0:10:26.760 bye week or in the early stage as a training camp, 0:10:26.840 --> 0:10:30.000 he'll go out and go through all of his reads 0:10:30.000 --> 0:10:32.560 and all of his movements against air, just to get 0:10:32.640 --> 0:10:35.000 his entire workout in. And people are like, you know, hey, 0:10:35.400 --> 0:10:36.920 why don't you go home? We have a week off, 0:10:36.920 --> 0:10:39.040 And that's just he gets in that mode. Nobody out 0:10:39.040 --> 0:10:42.040 works Drew Brees, and that's he's a great example of 0:10:42.080 --> 0:10:44.960 there are no shortcuts, and you know, hard work pays off, 0:10:45.000 --> 0:10:47.720 and for him to do what he's done, and this 0:10:47.840 --> 0:10:50.040 stat is interesting one of the week for me. You know, 0:10:50.080 --> 0:10:52.840 I saw it a while back where he's thrown for 0:10:52.840 --> 0:10:56.040 forty three hundred yards in war twelve straight seasons. John 0:10:56.040 --> 0:10:59.080 Elway never did it once in Elway's sixteen year career 0:10:59.080 --> 0:11:02.000 in the Hall of Fame. Breeze a model of consistency. 0:11:02.080 --> 0:11:06.520 Forty three hundred plus yards twelve straight years after ripping 0:11:06.600 --> 0:11:09.080 up a labor. I mean, you know, he first pick 0:11:09.120 --> 0:11:11.679 in the second round to the Chargers. They went LT 0:11:12.120 --> 0:11:15.440 and Drew Brees. LT's in the Hall of Fame. Drew 0:11:15.440 --> 0:11:18.000 Brees is gonna be I mean, Chargers had a hell 0:11:18.040 --> 0:11:20.719 of a draft. Unfortunately for Breezy, rips his labor them 0:11:20.800 --> 0:11:24.680 up and it was Miami or New Orleans. Saban was 0:11:24.679 --> 0:11:27.079 the head coach at Miami. Decided to go to New Orleans. 0:11:27.080 --> 0:11:28.520 A Saban gun him. He would have won a bunch 0:11:28.520 --> 0:11:31.000 of Super Bowls in Miami and not even gone to 0:11:31.040 --> 0:11:33.520 the college ranks, went all the national championships. He would 0:11:33.559 --> 0:11:36.080 have been right down in Miami winning them all. Like 0:11:36.200 --> 0:11:39.400 Don Shula. Did we know how good The Saints offense 0:11:39.559 --> 0:11:41.480 is number two in the NFL and scoring at about 0:11:41.520 --> 0:11:44.920 thirty five points a game. One point below Kansas City. 0:11:45.360 --> 0:11:48.240 But what about the Saints defense. Well, they've they've got 0:11:48.240 --> 0:11:50.679 some players. I mean, Cameron Jordan is a good defensive end, 0:11:51.200 --> 0:11:53.720 a consistent pass rush or a multiple Pro Bowl guy. 0:11:54.160 --> 0:11:56.000 On the back end, they have Lattimore, you know, a 0:11:56.040 --> 0:12:00.000 shutdown corner player. But they've had their issues. I mean, 0:12:00.040 --> 0:12:02.240 they're they're towards the bottom of the standings in a 0:12:02.320 --> 0:12:05.440 lot of categories, and an area that they struggle in 0:12:05.559 --> 0:12:08.520 is red zone defense. They're they're giving up a lot 0:12:08.559 --> 0:12:11.760 of touchdowns. They're touchdown percentages well into the sixty percent, 0:12:12.360 --> 0:12:14.560 about twenty seventh in the league as I recall. So 0:12:15.080 --> 0:12:17.280 they're struggling there and I think that's going to be 0:12:17.360 --> 0:12:20.120 a big key in this football game. The Bengals and 0:12:20.200 --> 0:12:23.679 number one in the NFL and red zone touchdown percentage, 0:12:23.800 --> 0:12:26.240 the Saints are right up there, third or fourth themselves. 0:12:26.280 --> 0:12:29.560 Both defenses are struggling in that area. So who's going 0:12:29.600 --> 0:12:31.840 to get seven? Who's going to be held to three? 0:12:31.880 --> 0:12:34.080 I think the defense that rises up in the condensed 0:12:34.120 --> 0:12:37.160 field and holds it to field goal opportunities. And if 0:12:37.200 --> 0:12:38.679 that can happen more than once, you know, all of 0:12:38.720 --> 0:12:40.839 a sudden, you're trading in seven for three and you're 0:12:40.880 --> 0:12:43.480 down to score. You know, it's fourteen to six. So 0:12:44.679 --> 0:12:46.320 I think that's going to be a big, big factor 0:12:46.360 --> 0:12:49.360 who plays the best red zone defense because I think 0:12:49.400 --> 0:12:51.920 both offenses are probably going to be able to move 0:12:51.920 --> 0:12:55.079 the football between the twenties and then who's going to 0:12:55.120 --> 0:12:58.360 batten down the hatches. And the thing about you know, 0:12:58.480 --> 0:13:01.640 Drew Brees, we've talked about earlier. He's got one interception 0:13:01.679 --> 0:13:03.679 and they didn't return it for any yards, so he 0:13:03.720 --> 0:13:06.160 hasn't heard his football team a lick. You know, They've 0:13:06.480 --> 0:13:08.520 they've fumbled it a little bit. They've put it on 0:13:08.520 --> 0:13:10.960 the ground eleven times, they've lost seven of them. But 0:13:11.120 --> 0:13:13.360 I mean, Drew Brees will not turn the football over. 0:13:13.400 --> 0:13:16.080 So Andy's gonna have to be good in that area. 0:13:16.160 --> 0:13:18.560 And the Bengals have only lost one fumbled themselves all year, 0:13:18.679 --> 0:13:20.920 so they're tied for first in that category. So it 0:13:21.000 --> 0:13:23.760 is going to be a football game decided by who 0:13:23.800 --> 0:13:25.920 takes care of the football and who scores in the 0:13:25.920 --> 0:13:29.000 red zone because I think both defenses have had their 0:13:29.000 --> 0:13:31.679 issues in terms of given up yards and that could continue. 0:13:32.200 --> 0:13:34.840 When people discuss the NFL's best head coach is Bill 0:13:34.880 --> 0:13:37.680 Belichick obviously tops the list. You're probably going to hear 0:13:37.720 --> 0:13:41.040 the name Andy Reid, maybe the young gun Sean McVeigh 0:13:41.080 --> 0:13:45.520 the Rams. Seems to me Sean Payton doesn't generally get 0:13:45.559 --> 0:13:48.200 that kind of acclamation. How high should he be on 0:13:48.240 --> 0:13:51.240 the list? I think pretty high. And the reason I'm 0:13:51.280 --> 0:13:53.360 based out on a lot of things, but one of 0:13:53.400 --> 0:13:56.160 the biggest things is Mike Zimmer's respect for him. And 0:13:56.200 --> 0:13:59.160 I respect the hell out of Zimmer as a defensive 0:13:59.160 --> 0:14:02.400 coach and as a coach in general. I think he 0:14:02.480 --> 0:14:06.679 knows good coaches and he has nothing but high praise 0:14:06.720 --> 0:14:09.280 for Sean Payton. You know, they worked together with Bill 0:14:09.320 --> 0:14:12.320 Parcels down in Dallas, and and Sean Payton is from 0:14:12.360 --> 0:14:15.960 that Bill Parcels coaching tree as his Zimmer And I 0:14:16.120 --> 0:14:18.920 think that I met Sean Payton the first time I 0:14:18.960 --> 0:14:21.240 met him was at Miami of Ohio. He was on 0:14:21.280 --> 0:14:23.560 the coaching staff when my son was playing football up there. 0:14:23.800 --> 0:14:25.920 And every time I see Sean Payton, I my son Dave. 0:14:26.160 --> 0:14:28.480 We were at a Super Bowl together and we're walking 0:14:29.080 --> 0:14:32.080 around at media day and there Sean Payton. He comes 0:14:32.120 --> 0:14:34.440 up and says, hello, my son almost dropped his teeth 0:14:34.440 --> 0:14:37.120 you know that Sean Payton would remember him and you know, 0:14:37.200 --> 0:14:39.000 come up out of a crowd and say hello to 0:14:39.120 --> 0:14:41.040 us and everything, and uh so that told me a 0:14:41.080 --> 0:14:43.480 lot about Sean Payton. The mind that he has to 0:14:43.520 --> 0:14:45.680 have that kind of memory, I think is pretty pretty 0:14:45.720 --> 0:14:49.440 extraordinary in the people's skill stuff, but I think he 0:14:49.560 --> 0:14:53.400 is an unbelievably skilled coach in terms of not only 0:14:53.440 --> 0:14:58.080 handling and leading men, but in terms like Andy Reid type, 0:14:59.720 --> 0:15:02.880 his ematic. You know, the way he window dresses things, 0:15:02.880 --> 0:15:05.960 the way he puts guys in different parts of the formation, 0:15:06.440 --> 0:15:10.280 and what he's doing with Taysom Hill is amazing. This 0:15:10.440 --> 0:15:12.720 quarterback from Byu who's like two hundred and twenty five 0:15:12.760 --> 0:15:14.520 pounds and he's using them in the wildcat. He's using 0:15:14.560 --> 0:15:17.480 the special teams. You know, he always has a little 0:15:17.520 --> 0:15:19.680 gimmick and gadget. The thing that I remember him for 0:15:19.800 --> 0:15:22.320 to is the onside kicking the Super Bowl. Gutsie come 0:15:22.320 --> 0:15:24.320 out to start the second half, try to get the 0:15:24.360 --> 0:15:26.520 possession of the football and it worked. I mean, you'd 0:15:26.600 --> 0:15:29.800 roll the dice man you can get killed forever or 0:15:30.400 --> 0:15:33.720 as if it works out, your riverboat gambler and successful 0:15:33.720 --> 0:15:35.520 one to boot for the rest of your life. So 0:15:35.800 --> 0:15:37.880 he hit the guts to do that in the biggest stage, 0:15:37.920 --> 0:15:41.160 the biggest game of his life. And I think Dan, 0:15:41.320 --> 0:15:44.800 it's like Brady and Belichick. You know, in this league 0:15:44.840 --> 0:15:48.560 in this era, head coach, quarterback or a king. Now 0:15:48.560 --> 0:15:51.000 you have Andy Reid and you have Mahomes. Everybody's buzzing 0:15:51.040 --> 0:15:54.160 about that. How about Drew Brees and Sean Payton. I 0:15:54.200 --> 0:15:56.400 mean that dynamic duo was about as good as there's 0:15:56.400 --> 0:15:58.240 been in the league for a long long time in 0:15:58.320 --> 0:16:03.560 terms of, you know, offensive mindset, productivity, everything that goes 0:16:03.560 --> 0:16:06.640 along with it. Those two are attached to hip and 0:16:06.680 --> 0:16:08.960 he's I think he's special. I think he's a heck 0:16:09.000 --> 0:16:12.240 of a coach. Last thing, since these two teams are 0:16:12.280 --> 0:16:15.160 in opposite conferences, they don't play each other very often. 0:16:15.240 --> 0:16:18.360 Every four years, the Bengals take on the Saints. Back 0:16:18.400 --> 0:16:21.200 in your playing days, you faced New Orleans three times, 0:16:21.200 --> 0:16:24.280 including a game second week of the nineteen seventy five 0:16:24.360 --> 0:16:28.280 season that was the first regular season game ever played 0:16:28.800 --> 0:16:32.120 in the Superdome. What do you remember. I remember we 0:16:32.120 --> 0:16:35.280 shut him out. It was twenty one nothing and I 0:16:35.360 --> 0:16:37.960 was playing against a guy named Bob Pollard to war 0:16:38.080 --> 0:16:40.600 number eighty two. I'd never played against the defensive lineman 0:16:40.600 --> 0:16:42.400 that war number in the eighties before, and I remember 0:16:42.560 --> 0:16:45.040 looking at him on looking at it on the celluloyd 0:16:45.080 --> 0:16:47.240 the sixteen millimeter film back in the day, and I'm like, 0:16:47.280 --> 0:16:49.400 what did this guy move from tight end to a 0:16:49.480 --> 0:16:52.200 defensive tackle and six three, two hundred and fifty ish 0:16:52.240 --> 0:16:54.960 type guy. So he was a different type of you know, 0:16:55.040 --> 0:16:58.280 more linear type defensive tackle as opposed to Joe Green, 0:16:58.400 --> 0:17:00.880 Walter Johnson, guys that I had been playing, you know, 0:17:00.960 --> 0:17:04.200 twice a year Pittsburgh and Cleveland, those type of big behemus. 0:17:04.200 --> 0:17:06.480 He was. He was a different kind of guy, um, 0:17:06.960 --> 0:17:09.560 and I thought I matched up well against him because 0:17:09.560 --> 0:17:12.440 he was he was more of a basketball type guy, 0:17:12.880 --> 0:17:14.720 and I played basketball as well, and a lot of 0:17:14.720 --> 0:17:16.960 his moves were predicated on that type of thing. So 0:17:17.000 --> 0:17:18.720 I really felt like I was out on a basketball 0:17:18.800 --> 0:17:20.600 court boxing this guy out, you know, but I was 0:17:20.640 --> 0:17:23.040 looking at him instead of doing it from you know, 0:17:23.160 --> 0:17:25.080 with my with my dairy air, you know, not being 0:17:25.119 --> 0:17:26.639 able to see him, just feeling that would now I 0:17:26.640 --> 0:17:28.440 could see him and move with him, and I felt 0:17:28.440 --> 0:17:30.240 like I could move decently and had had a pretty 0:17:30.240 --> 0:17:32.679 good game against him. And the other thing I remember is, uh, 0:17:33.000 --> 0:17:35.560 one of my all time favorite people, Archie Manning got 0:17:35.960 --> 0:17:38.320 a beating. He took up pounding that day. The defense 0:17:38.720 --> 0:17:41.520 shut the Saints out, Archie got you know, yanked, and 0:17:41.840 --> 0:17:44.800 Kenny Anderson, you know, it was magnificent with his three 0:17:44.880 --> 0:17:48.159 touchdown passes. So Kenny out played Archie. But two of 0:17:48.200 --> 0:17:51.040 the not only great quarterbacks of the era, but two 0:17:51.040 --> 0:17:53.120 of the best people you're ever gonna want to meet, 0:17:53.480 --> 0:17:56.760 Archie Manning and Kenny Anderson squaring off and uh. And 0:17:56.840 --> 0:17:59.840 that I do remember though, walking out and looking up 0:18:00.040 --> 0:18:02.080 because you know, you play in the Astrodome. That's one 0:18:02.119 --> 0:18:04.200 thing put the Superdome. You could have put the Astrodome 0:18:04.200 --> 0:18:07.159 in the Superdome multiple times. The vastness of it. I 0:18:07.200 --> 0:18:09.199 remember looking up, It's like a mouth of gape, you know, 0:18:09.280 --> 0:18:12.080 like what the heck? And when we drove up to it, 0:18:12.119 --> 0:18:14.520 I thought, this looks like a like an outer space 0:18:14.560 --> 0:18:16.439 thing came and landed in New Orleans, right in the 0:18:16.440 --> 0:18:18.719 middle of the you know, of the French Quarter. I mean, 0:18:19.160 --> 0:18:21.800 it was so different looking on the exterior, the architectural 0:18:21.840 --> 0:18:24.320 design of it and everything was strikingly different. It was 0:18:24.400 --> 0:18:27.920 definitely a you know, a trend setter. If the if 0:18:27.960 --> 0:18:31.120 the the Astrodome is the eighth wonder of the world, 0:18:31.160 --> 0:18:33.159 this had to be higher than that because it was. 0:18:33.280 --> 0:18:35.920 It was an amazing place, the home to seven Super 0:18:35.960 --> 0:18:39.320 Bowls and five Final Fours. To me, still the best 0:18:39.400 --> 0:18:43.159 place for a big time sporting event. Fans can congregate 0:18:43.200 --> 0:18:45.640 and on Bourbon Street hang out in New Orleans. They 0:18:45.760 --> 0:18:48.680 kind of live and let live, vibe and then get 0:18:48.720 --> 0:18:51.280 together for the big game, whether it's football or basketball 0:18:51.520 --> 0:18:54.920 under the Superdome. A couple of Hurricanes, a couple of Beignets. 0:18:54.960 --> 0:18:57.800 You know, it's it's a good living, there's no question 0:18:57.840 --> 0:18:59.880 about it. And there's not a bad seat in the place, 0:19:00.040 --> 0:19:02.000 that's for sure. And there's a lot of them. There's 0:19:02.000 --> 0:19:04.760 a lot of seats. Yeah, New Orleans. That's a tough 0:19:04.800 --> 0:19:08.239 place to beat in terms of an event like that 0:19:08.440 --> 0:19:12.040 party plus the actual event itself at doug Will Hunt 0:19:12.080 --> 0:19:14.840