Speaker 1: Hi, get everybody. I'm Dan Horde and thanks for downloading
Speaker 1: The Bengals Booth Podcast the There's Nothing Holding Me Back
Speaker 1: edition as I catch up with three guests a little
Speaker 1: more than one week into Bengals training camp, right tackle L. L. Collins,
Speaker 1: three time National Sportswriter of the Year, Peter King, and
Speaker 1: Bengals dot Com editor Jeff Hobson. The Bengals Booth Podcast
Speaker 1: is presented by Ultimate Bengals. Download Ultimate Bengals ahead of
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Speaker 1: by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's the greatest
Speaker 1: thing since Vin Scully, the incomparable voice of the Dodgers,
Speaker 1: passed away this week at the age of ninety four,
Speaker 1: and I remain in awe of his talent. He was eloquent, funny, smart, poignant,
Speaker 1: and a master storyteller. Here's a personal memory. Several years ago,
Speaker 1: I filled in on TV on a Red's Road trip
Speaker 1: to Los Angeles and San Diego. It began at Dodger Stadium,
Speaker 1: and the final game of the series was not televised
Speaker 1: in Cincinnati, so TV analyst Chris Welsh and I decided
Speaker 1: to drive to San Diego one day early to play golf.
Speaker 1: I'm the drive south. We listened to Scully called the
Speaker 1: final game of the series, and he told an amazing
Speaker 1: story about Red's outfielder Adam Dunne that I had never heard.
Speaker 1: When then finished, I turned to Chris and asked if
Speaker 1: he knew the story. He laughed and said no. We
Speaker 1: had been around Adam dunn every day for several years
Speaker 1: and Scully had a fantastic anecdote that neither of us knew.
Speaker 1: That's one of about a million reasons why I consider
Speaker 1: Vince Scully to be the greatest broadcaster in history, not sportscaster, broadcaster. Now,
Speaker 1: let's get to football. The Bengals have practiced half a
Speaker 1: dozen times so far, but two of their most important
Speaker 1: players haven't suited up yet. Joe Burrow as he recovers
Speaker 1: from his appendeck, to me at new right tackle El Collins,
Speaker 1: who's on the non football injury list due to a
Speaker 1: sore back. I caught up with ELC in front of
Speaker 1: his locker this week. How you doing physically? I guess
Speaker 1: that's on the mind of Fall Bengals fans right now.
Speaker 1: I feel pretty good, man, just you know, taking them
Speaker 1: one day at a time. He gives myself ready to
Speaker 1: go and just continue to do everything I need to
Speaker 1: do for my body. Just tweaks something lifting weights or
Speaker 1: something like that, or what happened, well just I mean
Speaker 1: didn't even really feel another happened. It's just something just
Speaker 1: trying to flat up. But you know, I think we've
Speaker 1: got it on troll. You got a good plan trying
Speaker 1: and stuff, doing a great job and shooting. Man, just
Speaker 1: as forward. You're a vet, he've been through this a
Speaker 1: million times. Do you feel like it's no big deal
Speaker 1: for you if you have to miss a few raps
Speaker 1: early in camp? Oh yeah, I don't think it is.
Speaker 1: You're getting all the mental reps I can, watching all
Speaker 1: the film that I can. I mean, the fields a
Speaker 1: good part of the game. I mean that's what I
Speaker 1: live for. So I know once I get right out there,
Speaker 1: you know, and get moving and everything like that, I'll
Speaker 1: be ready to ruck. I talked to Frank yesterday he
Speaker 1: said he's got you sitting next to Kappa in the
Speaker 1: meeting room. He's kind of like sitting where you would
Speaker 1: be playing. Do you guys pick up a lot from
Speaker 1: each other even just from doing that? Absolutely? I mean
Speaker 1: anytime you're sitting next to the guy that you're gonna
Speaker 1: be playing. Within the games and practice and everything like that,
Speaker 1: able to kind of communicate and talk to each other
Speaker 1: while we're watching films, saying hey, how would you do this?
Speaker 1: How would you do that? And you know, it just
Speaker 1: helps builds that chemistry, gives the start of a camp
Speaker 1: in a new place convigorating for you. It's it's awesome.
Speaker 1: You know, it's awesome being here. You know, something new.
Speaker 1: This locker room is great. The guys on this team,
Speaker 1: that's great. A lot of selfless individualism. I think with
Speaker 1: the mentality and the mentality, understand what we're doing, put
Speaker 1: the work in, we're gonna be right. We want to
Speaker 1: do Do you have any sort of timetable for when
Speaker 1: you think you'll be able to go? Not necessarily, but
Speaker 1: just focusing on keep taking the one day at its own.
Speaker 1: Collins has been doing some work on the rehab field
Speaker 1: during practice and has also been offering pointers to some
Speaker 1: of the young offensive linemen during drills. The Bengals Booth
Speaker 1: podcast is presented by Ultimate Bengals, the Freedom play fantasy
Speaker 1: football game. This past season, Ultimate Bengals awarded a weekly
Speaker 1: winner during the course of the year with tickets, autograph merchandise,
Speaker 1: and money can't Buy experiences all up for grabs. Find
Speaker 1: Ultimate Bengals in the App Store and Google Play. Peter
Speaker 1: k from NBC Sports was at training camp this week
Speaker 1: and took some time out of his busy schedule to
Speaker 1: discuss the defending AFC Chaps Peter, for a defending Super
Speaker 1: Bowl team that attacked it's one glaring weakness in the offseason,
Speaker 1: I don't see a lot of people outside of Cincinnati
Speaker 1: liking their chances of making it back. Do you agree
Speaker 1: with that and why do you think that might be
Speaker 1: the case. Well, I think when you look at the
Speaker 1: way the Bengals won, everything was narrow. You know, everything
Speaker 1: was close. You know they benefit from a late Ryan
Speaker 1: Tannehill interception and beat the top seeded team in the
Speaker 1: divisional game on the road on a long field goal.
Speaker 1: You know, they benefit for Mahomes mistake, you know, and
Speaker 1: win on another long field goal, and then they get
Speaker 1: to the super Bowl, and you know, it's the kindy
Speaker 1: year that you look at it and you just say,
Speaker 1: it's justice that they got to the super Bowl. But
Speaker 1: you know, not necessarily the Raiders game, you know, the
Speaker 1: wild Card game, but the other two games definitely the
Speaker 1: wrong word is luck. But you know, football is such
Speaker 1: a game, such a game that's decided by very narrow margins,
Speaker 1: and both of those games were you look at him
Speaker 1: and you say, anybody could have won. Now, good for
Speaker 1: the Bengals. They won. I think they won because they had,
Speaker 1: you know, one of the all time clutch postseason performances
Speaker 1: by a kicker that you know, a month before he
Speaker 1: did all this stuff nobody ever heard of. And then
Speaker 1: you know, Joe Burrow just you know, he's got this
Speaker 1: I don't care gene in him, you know, and not
Speaker 1: I don't care what's the right gene. But he's got this,
Speaker 1: this this attitude that you know, we're just gonna let
Speaker 1: the chips fall. I'm gonna play hard. If we win,
Speaker 1: that's what I live for, and if we don't, we'll
Speaker 1: live to fight another day. But I think when I
Speaker 1: look at this team, the reason that they're so so
Speaker 1: much trouble really for the opposition is that they have
Speaker 1: a kicker who is Vinitari esque in terms of his
Speaker 1: ability to kick great in the clutch. And then they've
Speaker 1: got a quarterback who so far has shown no nerves
Speaker 1: whatsoever when he plays this game. Those are the two
Speaker 1: most important positions in terms of playing at your best
Speaker 1: when the best is required. Not to say that other
Speaker 1: guys on this team don't, but I think if you've
Speaker 1: got a clutch kicker, if you've got a clutch quarterback,
Speaker 1: both of whom have great ability, you're going to be
Speaker 1: able to be in every game. I just think the
Speaker 1: AFC is so narrow. I think the Bills are the
Speaker 1: best team, not just in the AFC but in football.
Speaker 1: But we'll see. You had the opportunity for a private meeting.
Speaker 1: That's Zach Taylor. I don't want to spoil anything that's
Speaker 1: coming up in next Monday's Football Morning in America column,
Speaker 1: But did you have a question in mind coming into
Speaker 1: Cincinnati about this team that you really wanted him to answer.
Speaker 1: I was really curious about the end of the game,
Speaker 1: the end of the Super Bowl and samajp Ryan being
Speaker 1: in the game and mix and not and you know,
Speaker 1: the inability of the line to keep Burrow clean at
Speaker 1: the end. And I mean za Zach's point is, I
Speaker 1: think is a good point about especially about Burrow. You know,
Speaker 1: he basically I said, just look at every team that
Speaker 1: plays that has played the Rams, and you tell me
Speaker 1: how they all block two good edge guys, you know,
Speaker 1: including von Miller, And then how do you block you know,
Speaker 1: the greatest defensive lineman in football in Aaron Donald. And
Speaker 1: that to me is I think he's a pragmatist about
Speaker 1: the game. You know, first of all, things happen in
Speaker 1: real time. It's good, I guess to be able to
Speaker 1: sit back at the end of a practice or at
Speaker 1: the end of a game rather at the end of
Speaker 1: a season and basically say, point man, I wish we
Speaker 1: did this. The unfortunate thing is, especially as it really
Speaker 1: pertains to the offensive line. You have what you have,
Speaker 1: What are you gonna do. There's a lousy offensive line
Speaker 1: last year. They had a chance to fix it. And
Speaker 1: we'll see if Collins, Carras and whom I for, Kapappa,
Speaker 1: We're going to be good enough. But they have to
Speaker 1: be good enough because everybody else if you look at
Speaker 1: the improvements that have been made in the rest of
Speaker 1: the AFC. I think all the teams have gotten better,
Speaker 1: other than I would say Kansas City. Kansas City really
Speaker 1: hasn't gotten a lot worse, because look, I'm a you know, obviously,
Speaker 1: I think the Tyreek Hill thing was interesting, you know,
Speaker 1: the trade, But you know, Patrick Mahomes will figure it out.
Speaker 1: It's like the really good quarterbacks, they figure it out.
Speaker 1: So I think Mahomes will, But I don't know. I
Speaker 1: look at this I look at this conference and it's
Speaker 1: one of the best. It's one of the most top
Speaker 1: heavy with really good teams conferences that I've ever seen.
Speaker 1: Peter King is our guest. A little more than two
Speaker 1: years ago, from his basement, Roger Goodell announced that the
Speaker 1: Joe Burrow was number one pick in the NFL draft.
Speaker 1: And now here we are with a Cincinnati team that
Speaker 1: really doesn't have a glaring weakness on the roster. What
Speaker 1: do you think of the job that Duke Tobin's done
Speaker 1: and building the roster, and Zach Taylor's done in coaching it. Well,
Speaker 1: I think, you know, first of all, you can never
Speaker 1: fix everything at once, and so I was a little
Speaker 1: dubious when they made the Jamar Chase pick in the
Speaker 1: first round, and quite frankly, I was totally wrong because
Speaker 1: I just thought that Burrow had enough weapons, and I
Speaker 1: was most concerned with keeping Burrow. I would be most
Speaker 1: more concerned with keeping Burrow upright than giving him another weapon. Now,
Speaker 1: even though I think I forget, it's a pro football
Speaker 1: focused stat somewhere that he that he basically was hitting
Speaker 1: more than any quarterback in football last year and that
Speaker 1: has to stop. But I just can't imagine, you know,
Speaker 1: Zach Taylor's sitting down with his staff and making a
Speaker 1: game plan and not having Jamar Chase, you know, to
Speaker 1: be the key guy, especially because looking today's football, you
Speaker 1: have no idea how long you're gonna have te Higgins
Speaker 1: and Tyler Boyd. You just don't, you know, somebody could
Speaker 1: throw stupid money at him one day. You just you
Speaker 1: don't know that. So I think they made the right
Speaker 1: decision with Jamar Chase. And then, you know, the one
Speaker 1: other thing I'll tell you. I remember this, At the
Speaker 1: time they signed Hendrickson, everybody in the league thought they
Speaker 1: overpaid for Hendrickson and they didn't necessarily see him translating
Speaker 1: into an outstanding player in the NFL. You know, outside
Speaker 1: of New Orleans, he was a good player in New Orleans.
Speaker 1: There were times last year where he was t J.
Speaker 1: Watt great here. And so if you take just those
Speaker 1: two decisions and look, a guy in Duke Tobin's position
Speaker 1: has to make a lot of decisions, but those two
Speaker 1: decisions encapsulate in a big way why this team got
Speaker 1: as far as it did last year. And they were
Speaker 1: both right on. So you know, there's a lot of
Speaker 1: other things. You know, what happens with Jesse Bates and
Speaker 1: and you know, could Dax He'll be ready if he
Speaker 1: has to. I personally think Bates will be in before
Speaker 1: Labor Day weekend, but we'll see. But I think a
Speaker 1: lot of the decisions and you know, Dan, one of
Speaker 1: the other things about about the way this team operates,
Speaker 1: as you know, if you're Mike Brown right now, one
Speaker 1: of the reasons it's hard to pay Jesse Bates a
Speaker 1: lot of money is that you're kind of thinking, if
Speaker 1: I have to have a lot of guaranteed money put
Speaker 1: in escrow for Joe Burrow. And I think the way
Speaker 1: the NFL does contracts is prehistoric. It's dumb that Mike
Speaker 1: Brown is going to have to put whatever it is,
Speaker 1: one hundred and thirty one hundred and fifty million dollars
Speaker 1: in escrow to guarantee the guarantee in Joe Burrow's contract. Obviously,
Speaker 1: in a place like Cincinnati, that is going to have
Speaker 1: an effect on how much Jesse Bates can be paid.
Speaker 1: And it's a shame, but it is also the reality
Speaker 1: of the NFL. Knowing Mike as well as you do,
Speaker 1: are you surprised that the Bengals are investigating selling naming
Speaker 1: rights to Paul Brown Stadium? You know, I don't know
Speaker 1: anything about it, really, Dan, but it strikes me that,
Speaker 1: like many teams have done, it won't be that they're
Speaker 1: going to take down the name of Paul Brown Stadium.
Speaker 1: It strikes me that it's probably more likely that it'll
Speaker 1: be Greater's ice Cream Field at Paul Brown's Stadium or something,
Speaker 1: you know, whatever it is. But you know, if you're Mike,
Speaker 1: the reality of the situation is you got to start
Speaker 1: looking in the couch cushions and getting all the money
Speaker 1: together that you can, because whether it be this contract
Speaker 1: with Burrow or the next one, you're just gonna need
Speaker 1: an awful lot of guaranteed money, probably not Deshaun Watson
Speaker 1: kind of guaranteed money, but a lot of money. Last
Speaker 1: thing I'll let you go. I appreciate your time. There's
Speaker 1: a lot of star power on this roster right now,
Speaker 1: with Mix and Higgins, Hendrickson, etc. The guy that you
Speaker 1: want to talk to here in Cincinnati is Jamar Chase.
Speaker 1: Why Jamar, I don't know him at all, and I
Speaker 1: just thought that be good to get to know the
Speaker 1: guy who, over the next five years might be the
Speaker 1: best receiver in football. You know, times change and great players,
Speaker 1: you know, phase out over time. You know. I've been
Speaker 1: thinking Brady turns forty five this week, and I've always
Speaker 1: been able to sort of talk to Brady if I
Speaker 1: really need him. And my thought was, man, he's forty
Speaker 1: five years old. I'm not going to have Brady much longer,
Speaker 1: you know. And so I don't know. You're in a
Speaker 1: position like mine, and you start to think that you
Speaker 1: really want to get to know some of the younger
Speaker 1: guys who were great. That's one of the things I
Speaker 1: do when I go around on my training camp tour.
Speaker 1: I try to meet guys who are really bright but
Speaker 1: really kind of very young stars and that's part of
Speaker 1: what I do on this trip. And I think the
Speaker 1: other thing is, I mean, I'm not going to get
Speaker 1: to the bottom of Jamar Chase in twelve minutes. I
Speaker 1: understand that, but I just think he's had a very
Speaker 1: interesting career to this point in college and in the pros,
Speaker 1: and I'm just really curious about the bond he formed
Speaker 1: with this quarterback at LSU and how it's paying dividends today,
Speaker 1: because it sure seems like it is. You're the best.
Speaker 1: Thank you, all right, Hey, thanks, Dan, appreciate it. Peter
Speaker 1: has a podcast, it's the Peter King Podcast, and the
Speaker 1: latest episode includes an interview with Jamar Chase. It also
Speaker 1: includes an anecdote about my next guest, Bengals dot Com
Speaker 1: editor Jeff Butch Hobson, describing how Jeff helped Jamar Chase
Speaker 1: after practice last week. I suspect you can also read
Speaker 1: about it next Monday in Peter's Football Morning in America column.
Speaker 1: Now here's my conversation with Jeff but for six practices
Speaker 1: in you pick a player of the day every day
Speaker 1: at practice, the coveted Jeff Hobson player of the day.
Speaker 1: Do you have a few players of the camp so
Speaker 1: far that it stood out to you. Yeah, I guess
Speaker 1: you gotta gotta start with number one, right, I mean,
Speaker 1: start number one with number one. I mean, he's been great,
Speaker 1: you know, as as much as he dropped the ball
Speaker 1: last year as a rookie. I mean, he's just it
Speaker 1: seems like he's caught everything and then always and then
Speaker 1: number two behind Chase, pick any of the corners because
Speaker 1: they're right there with him and Tyler Boyd and some
Speaker 1: of these young receivers. There's I mean, every ball seems
Speaker 1: contested almost. I was talking to Brandon Allen about that,
Speaker 1: and he was saying, you know, Lou, I guess throw
Speaker 1: in a couple of you know, wrinkles, and that makes
Speaker 1: the coverages a little bit tough reasons. But that's you know,
Speaker 1: that's some u some tight windows in there. So you know,
Speaker 1: Chase is my leader obviously. But then after that, not
Speaker 1: five behind the Woozier Apple in Hilton, and then I think, uh,
Speaker 1: I think after that, I I kind of like the
Speaker 1: young long snapper. No, I'm just kidding, Bay, I'm just
Speaker 1: gonna have we had it because it's really which is
Speaker 1: going to be interesting. I think I'm more intrigued I
Speaker 1: am intrigued by that battle because how do you how
Speaker 1: do you judge it? You know, you're really getting into
Speaker 1: the nuance of it, so kind of keeping an eye
Speaker 1: on Darren and what he does there. But you know,
Speaker 1: you look at Admitas and Clark, you know, kind of
Speaker 1: hard to you know, McPherson's making everything, So how do
Speaker 1: you tell you know? So it's it's kind of an
Speaker 1: interesting camp. Yeah, I mean, cal Adamitas, if he wins
Speaker 1: that job, would have to win it based on his
Speaker 1: ability to get down the field. They can both snap
Speaker 1: the football. I don't think that there's a real noticeable
Speaker 1: difference between how they snap it. But Clark Harris is
Speaker 1: a bigger man. That's an advantage in terms of blocking
Speaker 1: up front, and then at least to this point of
Speaker 1: his year and to his career, and he's obviously getting
Speaker 1: up there in years, but historically he's done a nice
Speaker 1: job of getting down the field and making plays. And
Speaker 1: cal has to adjust to h he has to he
Speaker 1: has to block now he didn't have to block the
Speaker 1: last two years he was a pit. I mean, I
Speaker 1: guess Darren was saying his first two years pit did
Speaker 1: have a pro style thing. But now it was in college.
Speaker 1: I guess you can just snap and run down a field.
Speaker 1: Well that's not going to happen against Arizona, so that
Speaker 1: will be you know, I never thought I'd be watching
Speaker 1: chott and long snappers, but here we go. I want
Speaker 1: to circle back to the corners for a bit because
Speaker 1: if I had to pick a star of training camp,
Speaker 1: excluding Joe Burrow last year, I think I would have
Speaker 1: gone with chitube O Wouge. I thought he was just tremendous.
Speaker 1: From day one of camp it was like, Wow, what
Speaker 1: assigning this guy is? And he's been very good so
Speaker 1: far this year. But I would say Eli Apple might
Speaker 1: be the guy. Yeah, he's been beaten by Chase a
Speaker 1: few times. That's going to happen. Plus a few of
Speaker 1: those times the catches have been unbelievable. But he's been
Speaker 1: extremely competitive. It looks like the decision to resign him
Speaker 1: and bring him back as a likely starter was a
Speaker 1: very good one. He's an interesting guy, Hordy. I. In fact,
Speaker 1: I wrote about him today and about how you know
Speaker 1: that wasn't an easy thing to overcome. I don't think
Speaker 1: you know, you get uh kind of a tough deal.
Speaker 1: You get you know, they win the Super Bowl thrown
Speaker 1: at you. But you know, people forget that Eli was
Speaker 1: a big reason they got there. I mean, how many
Speaker 1: teams could have survived, you know, uh losing you know,
Speaker 1: losing their starting quarter for the second year in a row.
Speaker 1: And Trey Waynes and he stepped in and uh, you know,
Speaker 1: made a huge play in Tennessee to win a playoff
Speaker 1: game in a road arguably turned the AFC Championship game
Speaker 1: around with a tackle on Tyree Kills. So this guy,
Speaker 1: it's it's it's weird because you know, he's just he
Speaker 1: just gets you know, he he talks a lot. He's
Speaker 1: on Twitter. He admits it, you know, and that just
Speaker 1: opens him up some total to so much criticism. And
Speaker 1: I asked him, why do you do that? Why do
Speaker 1: you why do you go on Twitter? And he just said, Look,
Speaker 1: he says, I'm used to this stuff, you know, and
Speaker 1: if you look, you know, he says, everything that's bad
Speaker 1: it could happen to me in the NFL has happened.
Speaker 1: He get traded, he gets suspended, He you know, he
Speaker 1: u tough tough baptism in New York as it first,
Speaker 1: there's nothing tougher in the league. Than me in the
Speaker 1: first round picking New York, you know, and so uh,
Speaker 1: you know this guy is uh, he's bulletproof. Carry comes
Speaker 1: the former Cole Ryne High School coach who was an
Speaker 1: assistant coach at Ohio State when Eli Apple played there,
Speaker 1: then went and coached in the NFL. Now he's come
Speaker 1: back and he's coaching at UC. He loves Eli Apple,
Speaker 1: believes in him. And you know, I have a lot
Speaker 1: of faith in Carry's opinion, and I think he lies
Speaker 1: backing it up. I thought, I agree. And Jamar Chase
Speaker 1: is a very uh he's much older than his twenty
Speaker 1: two years playing and also just observing. And he had
Speaker 1: a great line on Eli. He said, uh, he's a
Speaker 1: villain with with with a big heart, you know, because
Speaker 1: he said he said he told the media, you know,
Speaker 1: he said, Uh, he pisses me off. He talks a lot,
Speaker 1: he's aggravating. But I think they know that he's down deep,
Speaker 1: that he's this guy's a he's a team to me.
Speaker 1: He strikes me as a team guy, you know. And uh, yeah,
Speaker 1: you know, and Eli and Jamas said it. Yes, they
Speaker 1: talked about how how the difference, but Woozier and Apple
Speaker 1: and Eli is long. You know, he's one of those
Speaker 1: those guys don't grow on trees, you know, those long,
Speaker 1: lean corners that can run. So it's interesting that you
Speaker 1: have carry as carry that you know you have as
Speaker 1: a resource because I'm sure nobody knows him better than him.
Speaker 1: Let's talk about a couple of guys who I think
Speaker 1: would fit in the everything you could have hoped for
Speaker 1: category at least through one week of training camp. Hayden Hurst,
Speaker 1: who's been making several catches every day. And Ted Carriss,
Speaker 1: who's really established himself as this year's version of a
Speaker 1: Mike Hilton or a Von Bell, just a total pro
Speaker 1: from winning programs that comes in and carries himself exactly
Speaker 1: the way you would want him to. That's a great call.
Speaker 1: Three years in a row, right with Bell came in
Speaker 1: in twenty Hilton came in in twenty one, and you're
Speaker 1: exactly right, Carris is Carris fits that mold. It's interesting.
Speaker 1: You know, obviously Carris was raised in the Brady belichickle
Speaker 1: culture locker room, so it's interesting to him talk about
Speaker 1: It's very interesting for me to talk about get his
Speaker 1: feedback on this team. He said, you know something interesting
Speaker 1: about Jonah Williams and who I didn't realize this until
Speaker 1: he said it, but Jonah Williams was the first pick
Speaker 1: at his Zach Taylor era, and he's the most senior
Speaker 1: Bengal in the offensive line room. That's how much internals
Speaker 1: has been over there. And Carris, as Joan, has been
Speaker 1: a terrific leader. So it kind of takes a guy
Speaker 1: coming from the outside to give you some perspective on that,
Speaker 1: and Carris is that kind. He's also got the greatest name.
Speaker 1: He's got the greatest nickname I've heard in a while, Mongo,
Speaker 1: which is, of course, was that that was the name
Speaker 1: of his great uncle's character in Blazing Saddles. So Mark
Speaker 1: Duffner has been calling a Mongo. And then I asked
Speaker 1: him about it, and he said, always since I get
Speaker 1: that all the time, you know, So I think, I guess.
Speaker 1: I guess Blazing Saddles is still watched by this generation,
Speaker 1: which is a good thing. Well, at least Mark Duffner,
Speaker 1: I mean, might might cue it up in a team meeting,
Speaker 1: who knows. Let's talk about the left guard spot. Jack
Speaker 1: Carmen has been getting the reps so far with the
Speaker 1: first team for the most part, saw a little bit
Speaker 1: of Cordell Volson towards the end of the week. When
Speaker 1: do you think that that's going to come down? Is
Speaker 1: that going to be one of these things that will
Speaker 1: play out through preseason games or do you think they'll
Speaker 1: they'll kind of try to get that locked up so
Speaker 1: then get these five guys playing together. Well, it short
Speaker 1: looks like Jackson's their guy over there. You know, we're
Speaker 1: in there there, we're going to be going head into
Speaker 1: the sixth seventh practice. I don't think he's rotated him.
Speaker 1: I think he's uh, I think he's rotated Cordell with
Speaker 1: over there at right guard with you know, with energy.
Speaker 1: It looks like they're sticking with him. You know. Now,
Speaker 1: obviously we'll see what happens in the game. But I know,
Speaker 1: talking to some guys around, I think they they really
Speaker 1: think Carmen hasn't you know, improved massively. You know. So
Speaker 1: it's an interesting question. When will they get these five
Speaker 1: guys locked up and ready to go? I think, you know,
Speaker 1: and when well, I guess the other question is, you know,
Speaker 1: the other shooter falls Vile Collins, when will he be
Speaker 1: healthy and up and going? Because I think I figured
Speaker 1: Frank Frank Paul at the offensive line coach probably figures,
Speaker 1: you know, until Collins is ready, he might as well
Speaker 1: rotate as you know, as much as he wants. But
Speaker 1: it doesn't. You know, it looks like Karis Carmen. You
Speaker 1: know he went to cat when once Kappa was healthy,
Speaker 1: he went right the right guard. So I think they're there, Hordy,
Speaker 1: I think you know it would to me, would it
Speaker 1: would be barring a three mile island in the game,
Speaker 1: you know, a disaster in the games. I think that's
Speaker 1: your five. Yeah. They asked Jack Jackson Carmen to show
Speaker 1: up at three hundred and twenty five pounds. He did.
Speaker 1: His effort and attitude had been great. We know about
Speaker 1: the physical tools. So I think it's fair to say
Speaker 1: at this point it's his job to lose. As long
Speaker 1: as he doesn't mess things up, he'll be the guy
Speaker 1: in week one. I would think, no question. And I
Speaker 1: think we underestimated last year. And I think you know,
Speaker 1: people wrote this the other day. People were upset that
Speaker 1: he was not the reincarnation of Max Montoya right away,
Speaker 1: and people really didn't realize he was changing tackled, he
Speaker 1: was changing positions, he was changing sides, and he was
Speaker 1: coming off back surgery, you know, So I mean that,
Speaker 1: you know, uh, And I still thought he played pretty
Speaker 1: well with the Super Bowl on the line, in the
Speaker 1: last drive in Kansas City, I thought he was terrific,
Speaker 1: you know, And I was kind of surprising in super Bowl,
Speaker 1: but I thought he was good when it mattered. And
Speaker 1: so I I, yeah, I think, um, you know, now,
Speaker 1: clearly he can't have any you know, he can't fall
Speaker 1: back to any habits or anything. I mean, I think,
Speaker 1: but I agree with you. I think he's there. I
Speaker 1: think he's there guy, and you know, you get you
Speaker 1: get Joan over there. I know Jan has been criticized
Speaker 1: down through the years, but you know, he just he's
Speaker 1: a smart guy, and I think they looked to him,
Speaker 1: and um, you know, I think he's a little underrated
Speaker 1: as well. We talked a little bit about long snapper.
Speaker 1: Let's talk about punter. Those guys punted quite a bit
Speaker 1: on Tuesday. Didn't appear to be a very good day
Speaker 1: for Kevin Hubert, but obviously he's proven over the last
Speaker 1: fourteen years. When Drew Chrisman hits one right, there's no
Speaker 1: question he's got the stronger leg at this point. But
Speaker 1: Darren Simmons wants it between the numbers and the sideline
Speaker 1: with good hang time, and that will be decided in
Speaker 1: the preseason games. I don't think practice is going to
Speaker 1: determine which of those two guys wins the job. And
Speaker 1: he said, uh, talking to Darren, you know, he's going
Speaker 1: to rotate them during a He's not going to give
Speaker 1: one guy a game and the other guy the next game.
Speaker 1: He's gonna They're gonna rotate during the game so they
Speaker 1: can see them, so they can compare them. And I
Speaker 1: think that's that's the only way to do it. And
Speaker 1: it's interesting. And again, this is another thing. You know,
Speaker 1: McPherson is such a weapon. How much of the is
Speaker 1: the holding thing going to be come into a factor?
Speaker 1: Drew hasn't. I don't think, you know, obviously, clearly he
Speaker 1: doesn't have as much experience as Hubert does. Nobody does
Speaker 1: probably in the league when it comes to holding. You know,
Speaker 1: he's been doing it for fourteen years. And I think,
Speaker 1: you know, it's how big of a factor is that
Speaker 1: because you better make sure this kickers, You better make
Speaker 1: sure this guy's is happy. You know, I was here.
Speaker 1: I I date back to uh, you know, the Great Depression.
Speaker 1: But no, I mean, I mean, I go back a
Speaker 1: few years and I remember in nineteen ninety nine, Doug Pelfrey,
Speaker 1: one of the finest kickers in the league, and they
Speaker 1: just come off a pretty good contract, and yet he
Speaker 1: lost his long snapper Lee Johnson left. He was the punter.
Speaker 1: They couldn't find the punter, they couldn't find a long snapper,
Speaker 1: and next thing you know, Pelfrey's out of the league.
Speaker 1: But he was the same guy. He was the same kicker,
Speaker 1: but they couldn't get the ball to him. So, you know,
Speaker 1: I just I just think the whole I think the
Speaker 1: holding thing is a that's a big deal. Every player
Speaker 1: and coach that I've talked to says that they fully
Speaker 1: expect Jesse Bates to be here. Most people seem to
Speaker 1: think it's going to be in time for for Week
Speaker 1: one of the regular season against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Is
Speaker 1: everybody just saying that, or do you think everybody truly
Speaker 1: believes that that Jesse's going to be here and good
Speaker 1: to go for a Week one? Yeah? I think they.
Speaker 1: I think I don't think they're trying to talk themselves
Speaker 1: into it, because I think they know Jesse, and I
Speaker 1: think they I'm sure they've been talking to him, you
Speaker 1: know what I mean. I certainly his teammates have been
Speaker 1: talking to him. So you know, you know, Jesse, you've
Speaker 1: talked to him. You know, he's a terrific kid, um
Speaker 1: and and a fine player, and it just be hard
Speaker 1: for me to see him not wanting to be out
Speaker 1: there in the opener. So yeah, I don't think they're
Speaker 1: trying to talk themselves into it. I think they believe it. Um,
Speaker 1: will he be able to walk in here? I mean,
Speaker 1: I will he be able to walk in here? Whenever
Speaker 1: he walks in here and be the statter I would,
Speaker 1: I would think. So, you know, he's a smart guy.
Speaker 1: I'm sure he's going to be in shape. But that's interesting,
Speaker 1: you know, Uh, it's uh, I can't remember the last
Speaker 1: time that's that's happened around here, but it has happened, So,
Speaker 1: you know, I I think, uh, you know, particularly the
Speaker 1: way they play the game now you know they don't
Speaker 1: they really don't practice as much, you know, they don't.
Speaker 1: You know, there's a lot of a lot of mental
Speaker 1: reps that they like to say. So I think he'd
Speaker 1: be you know, I think he'd be all right, you know,
Speaker 1: no matter when he gets in, I do honestly think
Speaker 1: that it's going to be helpful for Dax Hill. He's
Speaker 1: getting all of these reps with the first team, and
Speaker 1: what exactly does that mean. I talked to safety's coach
Speaker 1: of Rob Livingston, and he said eight more snaps a
Speaker 1: practice being with the first team, which I thought was
Speaker 1: really interesting that you know, you can pin it down
Speaker 1: to a number. So now multiply that over practice over
Speaker 1: several weeks. You know, that's a lot of reps with
Speaker 1: those first team guys, and more reps in general that
Speaker 1: your number one draft pick wouldn't get otherwise. Yeah, I
Speaker 1: think of what if Jesse was here, would he be
Speaker 1: I guess he'd be, you know, he'd be getting the
Speaker 1: reps with the second team. I wonder if they'd be
Speaker 1: working him a corner. I think they will. I think
Speaker 1: they eventually see him as a you know, I think
Speaker 1: he'd be potentially in nickel, but I think he could
Speaker 1: probably play. I think he's one of these guys he
Speaker 1: could put him anywhere in the second day be able
Speaker 1: to play. But given that you know they've put I
Speaker 1: think they don't want to. They don't want to crowd
Speaker 1: his plate. He's a rookie, and uh so they're just
Speaker 1: having him since he is getting all the snaps. There's
Speaker 1: having them focus on safety. But I could see a
Speaker 1: situation where Jesse Base comes in and they'll you know,
Speaker 1: louis not adverse to playing three safeties, and I think
Speaker 1: you know, they like him as they want to see
Speaker 1: what he can do a corner. You know, look at
Speaker 1: that December Horyu Mahomes Brady Josh Allen on January second.
Speaker 1: You can use another corner and hopefully he would have
Speaker 1: gotten you know, by then, Jesse be in in a
Speaker 1: couple of months. I'm sure that Dax would have get
Speaker 1: some snaps a corner. So maybe he'll have a little
Speaker 1: coming out party there. Joe Burrow is back this week.
Speaker 1: I'll be on the back of a golf cart watching practice.
Speaker 1: But obviously he lifted everybody's spirits just by being back
Speaker 1: in the building. Do you have a gut for when
Speaker 1: you think he'll be out there practicing. I don't you
Speaker 1: know this guy, he's he's a phone booth guy. He's
Speaker 1: one of these guys. He goes into a phone booth
Speaker 1: and he's just he's gonna. You know, it just seems
Speaker 1: like he's got it and whenever he wants to do
Speaker 1: what he can do it. It's like it was like
Speaker 1: last year when he kind of struggled early on and
Speaker 1: then went the phone booth and he was Borrow. You know,
Speaker 1: So when's the phone booth? I don't know, but I
Speaker 1: do think whenever it is, he'll be you know, he's
Speaker 1: just he'll answer the bell. You know. It's like we'll
Speaker 1: be next week, we'll be the week after. I don't know,
Speaker 1: but I don't think it matters either, do I. It's
Speaker 1: interesting to think back to last year and just how
Speaker 1: bad he was and the offense was in week one.
Speaker 1: It's totally been for gotten because of how well he
Speaker 1: played and the run to the super Bowl. But at
Speaker 1: this time, one week into training camp last year, we
Speaker 1: were all saying, oh, good lord, it might take half
Speaker 1: a season for Joe Burrow to be good again. He
Speaker 1: couldn't throw, Chase good and catch. So I wonder what
Speaker 1: exactly are we doing out there watching? You know, maybe
Speaker 1: we should watch Blazing Saddles instead of this, because it
Speaker 1: certainly wasn't it certainly wasn't a foreshadowy Yeah, that's for sure.
Speaker 1: He turned out to be pretty good, to say the least.
Speaker 1: Any thoughts on the coaching staff, the comfort level that
Speaker 1: they seem to have with each other, We've we've often
Speaker 1: mentioned that, you know, it's really unique that they've got
Speaker 1: the coordinators back. That's been the case for the entire
Speaker 1: time that Zach Taylor has been the head coach. But
Speaker 1: they do have a few changes on the staff, a
Speaker 1: few new guys and the position coaches, with Chuck Burks
Speaker 1: coaching cornerbacks, James Betcher coaching linebackers, how does they the
Speaker 1: fifth scene to you with all these uh these changes? Well,
Speaker 1: I talk to you know, I think I think Betcher
Speaker 1: is a obviously we know he's a he's NexTable guy.
Speaker 1: I think I've been around the league at a couple
Speaker 1: of stops. I remember bumping into Bruce Arians at the combine.
Speaker 1: You couldn't say enough good things you know about the guy,
Speaker 1: and that that means something. I think, you know, and
Speaker 1: I and you talk to people about Chuck Burks rising star,
Speaker 1: this guy's you know, this guy's you talk to the
Speaker 1: guy who spent three minutes with him, and you know
Speaker 1: he's you know, he's on the ball. You know It's interesting.
Speaker 1: I did a story on him when he get hired,
Speaker 1: and he was when I walked into his office, he
Speaker 1: had like he had nothing. He was just starting from scratch.
Speaker 1: But he had three books and one of them was
Speaker 1: Atomic Habits. And I just saw where Eli Apple is
Speaker 1: reading Automic Habits now, which is basically a self help
Speaker 1: book about if you change a little bit of your routine,
Speaker 1: it can you can make a big impact on your life.
Speaker 1: And so obviously Burks is you know, had had some
Speaker 1: impact on some of his players, which is interesting to watch.
Speaker 1: So I think Burkes is a rising guy to watch.
Speaker 1: I think Betcher is a you know, to get a
Speaker 1: guy who's been a two time defensive coordinator coach in
Speaker 1: the position is a big is a big thing, I think.
Speaker 1: I think even a thing like hiring Adams Zimmer as
Speaker 1: a as like a consultant on the offensive side of
Speaker 1: the ball. I mean, you know, he was a defensive
Speaker 1: you know, he worked with his dad. He worked here
Speaker 1: with his dad for a year. He's been his uh
Speaker 1: he broke in with Sean Payton on the Super Bowl
Speaker 1: Saints and oh nine, he's he's uh, you know, um
Speaker 1: been a like I said, he's been a coordinator under
Speaker 1: his dad to sort to have him in that role. Uh,
Speaker 1: you know, on the I mean on offense. I mean,
Speaker 1: I think something that might seem like a little thing,
Speaker 1: but I mean I think that shows that. H I mean,
Speaker 1: I think that's I think that's helpful. I mean I
Speaker 1: think they you know, I think they really get some
Speaker 1: they get some interesting guys working here in you know,
Speaker 1: beyond that, those solid core of guys, and you wonder
Speaker 1: how long that's going to be. You know, Brian Callahan
Speaker 1: interviewed for a job last year, so to lou in
Speaker 1: a rumo. Uh, Darren Simmons is one of the best
Speaker 1: kept secrets in the league. I mean, if John Harbaugh
Speaker 1: is successful, you know, and it was going to open
Speaker 1: the door for a special teams coach. Here's here's a guy,
Speaker 1: you know, going into his twentieth year and it just
Speaker 1: continues to produce. Uh, you know, but that's good. That's
Speaker 1: good if if if it's if if they go into
Speaker 1: the radar, that's good for Cincinnati. Right. So, but it's
Speaker 1: a you know, it's it's a it's certainly unique to
Speaker 1: have all three coordinators and your play caller. Yeah, intact,
Speaker 1: they're also grooming the next wave of guys that could
Speaker 1: step up if some of those guys are to get
Speaker 1: head coaching opportunities down the road. Ian Rappaport was here
Speaker 1: from NFL Network a few days ago. He said one
Speaker 1: of the reasons he wanted and wanted to come to
Speaker 1: town was to get to know Dan Pitcher because he's
Speaker 1: hearing things from around the league. This guy's going to
Speaker 1: be a future coordinator or maybe someday head coach. I mean,
Speaker 1: and look at Troy Walters. Let's I mean, look at
Speaker 1: the year that m Chase had as a rookie. Uh,
Speaker 1: you know, coaching's got something to do with that too.
Speaker 1: And he's a guy who was a well thought of
Speaker 1: offensive coordinator in the college. He's a Stanford guy. His
Speaker 1: his his futures, you know, to me is limitless because
Speaker 1: of even before we saw what he did with Chase.
Speaker 1: So you know, it's a you know Pitcher, you know Pitcher,
Speaker 1: Troy Walters, you know the Craigthorpe who's helping out helping
Speaker 1: out Walters with the receivers. You know, you might want
Speaker 1: to get a good look at these guys because this
Speaker 1: is what happens when you win. That's That's the tough
Speaker 1: thing about winning is can you keep your coaches? Final thing?
Speaker 1: A little bit of a change of subject. You've been
Speaker 1: working for the Bengals for quite a long time, you
Speaker 1: know Mike Brown extremely well. What was your initial reaction
Speaker 1: when someone told you in house, Hey, Jeff, I don't
Speaker 1: know if you've heard this yet, but they're considering a
Speaker 1: naming rights deal. Yeah, I was. That took me. That
Speaker 1: took me by surprise. But uh, you know, the great
Speaker 1: Kerry Hobson when a big fan of your podcast, she
Speaker 1: wanted to know what was going on, you know, and
Speaker 1: I said, well, I said, look at it this way,
Speaker 1: more money for burrowing Chase and uh, okay, you know,
Speaker 1: so you know what I mean. So I I you know,
Speaker 1: I mean the thing about Mike is that and I
Speaker 1: and I have learned this since really i've known him.
Speaker 1: He's always looking ahead, you know. And hell, when he
Speaker 1: hired me, he was looking ahead. We didn't no, I
Speaker 1: didn't don't even know what the team website was going
Speaker 1: to do, you know. And how there's thirty two of
Speaker 1: them so or thirty two writers anyway, But you know,
Speaker 1: I think, you know, I mean, I think he said
Speaker 1: it best really And you know, Mike, he's got a
Speaker 1: great he's got a great ability to some something some
Speaker 1: something up in a few words. And when he said,
Speaker 1: he goes, I'm sure you know, he goes. My father
Speaker 1: was off of doing it what's best for the team,
Speaker 1: So I think he'd be I think he would agree
Speaker 1: with me with this, and I think I think he's
Speaker 1: probably right. I mean, this is a whole new you know,
Speaker 1: there's stadium improvements, there's these monster deals, um, you know,
Speaker 1: there's the indoor facility. I mean these were not you know,
Speaker 1: these were not these were not issues when when the
Speaker 1: thing was named. So I think it, you know, I
Speaker 1: think it. Also it's just another example if you if
Speaker 1: you put if you, if you try to put a
Speaker 1: label on Mike Brown and do the Mike Brown stereotype
Speaker 1: not a good idea because he's usually a step ahead.
Speaker 1: Appreciate your time as always. Thanks Push forty. You're the
Speaker 1: best way to work. That's going to do it for
Speaker 1: this episode of The Bengals Booth podcast presented by Ultimate Bengals.
Speaker 1: Download Ultimate Bengals ahead of the twenty twenty two season.
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Speaker 1: more Bengals fans find us. I'm Dan Horde and thanks
Speaker 1: for listening to the Bengals Booth podcast