WEBVTT - Bengals Booth Podcast: If This Is It 0:00:03.760 --> 0:00:06.480 Hi, get everybody. I'm Dan Horde and thanks for downloading 0:00:06.519 --> 0:00:11.360 the Bengals Booth Podcast. The If This Is It addition, 0:00:11.720 --> 0:00:14.160 as the Bengals take stock of where things stand during 0:00:14.200 --> 0:00:17.439 their bye week and at least consider making a change 0:00:17.440 --> 0:00:20.880 at punter. Coming up, we'll hear from special teams coordinator 0:00:20.960 --> 0:00:24.759 Darren Simmons and practice squad punter Drew Chrisman, who was 0:00:24.800 --> 0:00:27.640 waiting in the wings if the Bengals decide to move 0:00:27.680 --> 0:00:30.320 on from Kevin Huber. We'll also look at why the 0:00:30.400 --> 0:00:33.440 running game was so much better last week and update 0:00:33.479 --> 0:00:36.240 you on a couple of key players who appear ready 0:00:36.240 --> 0:00:39.760 to return from injuries after the bye. And finally, I'll 0:00:39.840 --> 0:00:42.680 chat with Paul Hyrons from the Bengals Fan Club in 0:00:42.680 --> 0:00:46.760 the United Kingdom about their recent visit to Cincinnati. The 0:00:46.840 --> 0:00:50.960 Bengals Booth Podcast is presented by Bengals Picks and Ultimate Bengals. 0:00:51.000 --> 0:00:53.880 They're free to play with tickets and signed merchandise up 0:00:53.920 --> 0:00:58.120 for grabs. Find both inside the Bengals app. Now here's 0:00:58.120 --> 0:01:00.080 a quick reminder that you can have the lay this 0:01:00.320 --> 0:01:03.200 edition of this podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet, 0:01:03.320 --> 0:01:07.320 or computer by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's 0:01:07.360 --> 0:01:11.720 the greatest thing since The Offer. I'm a huge fan 0:01:11.760 --> 0:01:14.840 of the movie The Godfather. If I'm flipping channels and 0:01:15.000 --> 0:01:18.520 Godfather one or two is on, I'm definitely going to 0:01:18.560 --> 0:01:21.520 watch at least thirty minutes, even though I've seen each 0:01:21.560 --> 0:01:26.080 one approximately one thousand times. Well, recently, I've been watching 0:01:26.080 --> 0:01:29.880 a series on Paramount Plus called The Offer, and it's 0:01:29.920 --> 0:01:33.640 about the development and filming of the first Godfather movie. 0:01:33.959 --> 0:01:37.399 It's told from the perspective of the movie's producer, Albert Ruddy, 0:01:37.760 --> 0:01:40.200 and I don't know how realistic it is, but the 0:01:40.319 --> 0:01:43.679 making of the movie was a lot like the movie itself. 0:01:44.280 --> 0:01:46.959 The critics reviews have been mixed, but I think it's great. 0:01:47.280 --> 0:01:50.720 If you love The Godfather, I bet you'll love The Offer. 0:01:51.240 --> 0:01:54.760 Now let's get to football. I've gotten to know Kevin 0:01:54.840 --> 0:01:57.360 Huber's folks over the years that I joke with them 0:01:57.400 --> 0:02:00.200 that I might have seen Kevin punt in person more 0:02:00.200 --> 0:02:02.680 than they have since I called his games home and 0:02:02.720 --> 0:02:05.560 away for his entire career at you see end have 0:02:05.680 --> 0:02:08.079 done the same for most of his career with the Bengals. 0:02:08.639 --> 0:02:12.280 Kevin is without question the best punter in team history 0:02:12.600 --> 0:02:15.400 and has played in a franchise record two hundred and 0:02:15.440 --> 0:02:19.440 sixteen regular season games, but there's at least a chance 0:02:19.639 --> 0:02:22.600 that he won't make it to two seventeen. So far 0:02:22.680 --> 0:02:25.600 this year, the fourteen year vet has not punted up 0:02:25.639 --> 0:02:28.600 to his high standards. He ranks next to last in 0:02:28.639 --> 0:02:32.520 the league in punting average and net average. Here's special 0:02:32.520 --> 0:02:36.480 teams coordinator Darren Simmons. Well, think he's been he's been 0:02:36.480 --> 0:02:38.640 struggling a little bit. That's that's no secret. And I 0:02:38.639 --> 0:02:40.519 think he'd be the first to tell you that. He 0:02:40.720 --> 0:02:43.040 made a pretty good analogy. He said, he's he's great 0:02:43.040 --> 0:02:44.880 on the practice range. He's not taken to the first 0:02:44.919 --> 0:02:47.799 heat and he's been His practice has been pretty solid, 0:02:48.240 --> 0:02:50.359 His pregame warmups has been solid. He's just not taken 0:02:50.520 --> 0:02:52.440 to the game. And I think as you get older, 0:02:52.800 --> 0:02:55.320 you know, your margin for air becomes really small. Some 0:02:55.360 --> 0:02:57.080 of these guys are that are real strong and real 0:02:57.160 --> 0:02:59.880 powerful of young young legs, you can get away with 0:03:00.280 --> 0:03:02.560 some things, can get away with the get off times 0:03:02.600 --> 0:03:04.120 being a little slow, get away with the drop not 0:03:04.200 --> 0:03:06.680 being the exactly the right spot. They can adjust and 0:03:07.600 --> 0:03:09.680 you know, his his margin frere with some of that 0:03:09.680 --> 0:03:11.919 stuff is just it's just reduced, you know, compared to 0:03:11.960 --> 0:03:14.560 what it used to be with true un practice squad. 0:03:14.760 --> 0:03:18.160 Is the buy a time to evaluate where things stand. Well, 0:03:18.200 --> 0:03:21.320 I mean, like I said, we we've constant consummate evaluating 0:03:21.320 --> 0:03:24.880 this whole thing. Um, our plunny game obviously, our playing 0:03:24.880 --> 0:03:27.400 games got improved. Um, you know, we're not We're not 0:03:27.440 --> 0:03:28.799 getting out of it when we need to get out 0:03:28.800 --> 0:03:31.000 of it in terms of flipping the field. And so 0:03:31.320 --> 0:03:33.320 someone will take a look at over over this bye 0:03:33.360 --> 0:03:35.320 week and try to figure out what the best thing 0:03:35.360 --> 0:03:39.440 is going forward. Just to clarify, is it possible that 0:03:39.440 --> 0:03:41.960 when the Bengals return from their bye week next Sunday 0:03:42.360 --> 0:03:46.880 that Drew Chrisman is their punter at Pittsburgh? Well, you know, 0:03:46.920 --> 0:03:49.440 I don't know. That's something we'll talk about. I'll think about. 0:03:49.480 --> 0:03:52.120 You know, we've got whatever it is, howby days to 0:03:52.120 --> 0:03:55.760 figure that out. Um, you know, but this is something 0:03:55.800 --> 0:03:58.160 that's that's sort have been building over some time, you 0:03:58.200 --> 0:04:00.040 know for sure, And we got to do something and 0:04:00.120 --> 0:04:02.280 to you know, put her team in a good spot 0:04:02.320 --> 0:04:04.400 to control field position, and we've got to be better 0:04:04.440 --> 0:04:07.480 with that. Darren went on to say that holding for 0:04:07.520 --> 0:04:09.840 field goals and extra points will not be a factor 0:04:09.920 --> 0:04:12.920 in the decision. He's confident that Chrisman can do a 0:04:12.960 --> 0:04:17.480 solid job as a holder. It's all about punting. Drew 0:04:17.520 --> 0:04:20.599 average forty nine point six yards in the preseason, but 0:04:20.680 --> 0:04:23.719 his net average of thirty eight point six is only 0:04:23.839 --> 0:04:27.559 slightly better than Huber's current net average of thirty seven 0:04:27.600 --> 0:04:30.640 point four. I caught up with Chrisman in the locker 0:04:30.720 --> 0:04:35.320 room this week, so Darren told us yesterday that the 0:04:35.400 --> 0:04:38.840 punting situation will be evaluated during the bye. Did you 0:04:38.880 --> 0:04:41.880 see those comments and what were your thoughts? Yeah, I 0:04:41.880 --> 0:04:44.480 didn't see him, but I mean, obviously I've been here 0:04:44.520 --> 0:04:48.159 the whole season and thoughts are just prepared every week 0:04:48.240 --> 0:04:49.600 as if you're going to play. That's what I've been 0:04:49.600 --> 0:04:53.479 doing the whole time. So really nothing changes, and you know, 0:04:53.520 --> 0:04:56.520 get some extra work and this buy work on some 0:04:56.600 --> 0:04:58.320 things that we need to work on, and then yeah, 0:04:58.320 --> 0:05:00.560 we'll see what next week brings. Does it add a 0:05:00.560 --> 0:05:03.000 little intrigue for the next week or two for you? 0:05:03.720 --> 0:05:05.520 I mean, of course, I mean every week's you know, 0:05:05.600 --> 0:05:09.240 full opportunities. You know, lots of things happen around the league, 0:05:09.240 --> 0:05:12.479 injuries every so you know, opportunities pop up. But you 0:05:12.560 --> 0:05:15.520 know it's uh, man'd be awesome that happened here for sure. 0:05:15.920 --> 0:05:18.359 I know you have the utmost respect for Kevin. The 0:05:18.440 --> 0:05:21.840 way Darren described it yesterday, Kevin feels like he's been 0:05:21.880 --> 0:05:25.320 practicing well and then like a golfer, it doesn't take 0:05:25.360 --> 0:05:30.039 it out to the first team. Has that been your observation, Yeah, 0:05:30.040 --> 0:05:32.400 I mean it's it's tough. I'm not in issues, and 0:05:32.560 --> 0:05:34.279 I know, I know for a personal experience, you know, 0:05:34.360 --> 0:05:36.799 playing you might have a great warm up, that doesn't 0:05:36.800 --> 0:05:38.680 necessarily mean you're gonna have a great game. You know, 0:05:38.839 --> 0:05:41.960 it's uh doesn't always. I mean the game and situation. 0:05:42.040 --> 0:05:44.280 You know, you feel that drill and pumping a little 0:05:44.279 --> 0:05:46.599 more and everything. You know, sometimes you know your steps 0:05:46.600 --> 0:05:48.760 are a little off, dropped a little inside, and the 0:05:48.839 --> 0:05:51.480 nature of our position just an inch you know off. 0:05:51.920 --> 0:05:57.120 It contains the whole whole matter of the operations. So um, yeah, 0:05:57.200 --> 0:05:59.640 I mean I would say that's pretty sound. Have you 0:05:59.680 --> 0:06:04.200 been doing anything in particular to improve in practice in 0:06:04.200 --> 0:06:07.840 the pregame warm ups, etc. Yeah. From you know, taking 0:06:07.839 --> 0:06:09.880 this opportunity, no one I wasn't going to be playing. 0:06:09.880 --> 0:06:11.680 You know, the first couple of weeks I've been able 0:06:11.680 --> 0:06:13.320 to tweaks some things in my form and things I 0:06:13.360 --> 0:06:16.000 didn't like in the preseason, and improve some areas that 0:06:16.000 --> 0:06:18.080 I knew that I needed some improvement. And I feel 0:06:18.120 --> 0:06:20.200 pretty comfortable where I'm not right now. For sure. I 0:06:20.240 --> 0:06:23.000 haven't studied every practice squad, but I don't think every 0:06:23.040 --> 0:06:26.160 team has a punter on the practice squad. What does 0:06:26.200 --> 0:06:28.320 it mean to you that the Bengals thing highly enough 0:06:28.320 --> 0:06:30.839 of you to want to keep you here for when 0:06:30.880 --> 0:06:32.880 that day comes? Now, it's been great, Yeah, I mean 0:06:32.880 --> 0:06:34.800 this is this is pretty rare. I would say, Yeah, 0:06:34.839 --> 0:06:38.920 I'm not sure too many other teams do that, just 0:06:38.960 --> 0:06:40.920 to carry a punter throughout the season, maybe for a 0:06:40.960 --> 0:06:45.360 week or two something flares up, but not continually. And 0:06:45.400 --> 0:06:47.280 I think that, you know, that goes to show kind 0:06:47.279 --> 0:06:48.840 of what I did in the preseason, you know, knowing 0:06:48.920 --> 0:06:50.920 that I was close and so has some things that 0:06:51.040 --> 0:06:53.520 work on and just you know, waiting for the right opportunity. 0:06:54.800 --> 0:06:57.480 Kevin Huber's thirty seven years old, but it's worth pointing 0:06:57.480 --> 0:07:00.719 out that last year his punting average and net average 0:07:01.000 --> 0:07:05.000 were slightly better than his career numbers. Will find out 0:07:05.080 --> 0:07:07.400 soon if he'll be given the chance to show that 0:07:07.440 --> 0:07:10.640 this is only a slump, or if the Bengals decide 0:07:10.680 --> 0:07:14.400 to make a switch to a lesser extent. Evan McPherson 0:07:14.640 --> 0:07:17.200 is also in a slump. In the last two games, 0:07:17.240 --> 0:07:19.680 He's missed forty seven and forty eight yard field goal 0:07:19.760 --> 0:07:23.480 tries and a thirty three yard extra point. But Darren 0:07:23.480 --> 0:07:28.360 Simmons doesn't sound too concerned about money. Mac. You know, 0:07:28.760 --> 0:07:31.840 you can't dwell on anything too much with him. You 0:07:31.880 --> 0:07:35.160 have to let good or bad roll off his back 0:07:35.200 --> 0:07:37.800 and let him go out and react and go to 0:07:37.800 --> 0:07:39.840 the next kick. You know, I thought that came into 0:07:39.880 --> 0:07:42.080 play here go in the playoffs. You know, he had 0:07:42.120 --> 0:07:43.800 a practice I think he missed seven kicks and one 0:07:43.880 --> 0:07:47.840 practice and you know, came back and you know, made 0:07:47.840 --> 0:07:51.840 all madile these four field goals in the game. So yeah, 0:07:51.840 --> 0:07:54.840 it's I'm a little concerned about it, but I'm trying 0:07:54.840 --> 0:07:56.040 not to make too big of a deal about it. 0:07:56.040 --> 0:07:57.560 And you know, it's something he's going to get worked 0:07:57.600 --> 0:07:59.040 out here over the course of mixt couple of weeks. 0:07:59.200 --> 0:08:01.800 Even if Early had seven misses in a practice, that's 0:08:01.880 --> 0:08:06.640 not embellishment. That's no embellishment. That's that's real. What's he 0:08:06.760 --> 0:08:14.680 that a practice record. This is something that's really got you. Um, yeah, 0:08:14.760 --> 0:08:19.840 I think it's a record that's a lot of misses. No, uh, 0:08:20.000 --> 0:08:21.880 it was it was one practice he had a couple. 0:08:22.560 --> 0:08:24.200 It was he had a couple of bed he hits 0:08:24.240 --> 0:08:25.880 during a row, and so we're not in on that one. 0:08:26.440 --> 0:08:29.080 And he missed again. I said, we're not in on 0:08:29.160 --> 0:08:31.280 that one. And he missed again, and I'm not in 0:08:31.320 --> 0:08:34.320 on that one, and he missed again, And after seventh one, 0:08:34.360 --> 0:08:37.720 I said, right the hell with this. We're done. We're done. 0:08:38.640 --> 0:08:41.600 The Bengals Beak Podcast is brought to you by Cattering Health, 0:08:41.640 --> 0:08:44.920 the official healthcare provider of the Bengals. With more than 0:08:44.960 --> 0:08:48.439 one hundred and twenty care facilities and fifteen hundred care providers, 0:08:48.679 --> 0:08:52.240 Cattering Health is committed to guiding you to your best health. 0:08:52.679 --> 0:08:56.800 Visit cattering health dot org to learn more. Sometime during 0:08:56.800 --> 0:08:59.520 the second quarter of last Sunday's broadcast, I made a 0:08:59.559 --> 0:09:03.280 prediction that came true. I'm not claiming you'd be Nostradama, 0:09:03.280 --> 0:09:05.560 as it was an easy call. I said that Joe 0:09:05.600 --> 0:09:09.000 Mixon would be named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week. 0:09:09.200 --> 0:09:13.040 First and goal from the three officially Burrow takes the snap, 0:09:13.240 --> 0:09:18.800 gives it to Mixon, show is into the end zone. Touchdown, Bengals, 0:09:18.920 --> 0:09:22.640 Joe Mixon half and a half. That's his second touchdown 0:09:22.960 --> 0:09:25.840 of the afternoon, and the Bengals are up by three 0:09:25.880 --> 0:09:29.240 t ds. And you're saying, Joe Mixon a Pro Bowl 0:09:29.320 --> 0:09:33.720 caliber running back? When is the day coming? This has 0:09:33.760 --> 0:09:36.240 been a get right day. Mix and rushed for one 0:09:36.320 --> 0:09:38.760 hundred and fifty three yards on twenty two carries and 0:09:38.880 --> 0:09:42.720 caught four passes for fifty eight more. His two hundred 0:09:42.760 --> 0:09:45.599 eleven yards from scrimmage marked a career high, and his 0:09:45.760 --> 0:09:49.920 five total touchdowns is a new franchise record. The Bengals 0:09:50.000 --> 0:09:52.920 entered that game ranked thirtieth in the league and rushing 0:09:52.920 --> 0:09:55.920 at a meager eighty one yards per game. They nearly 0:09:55.960 --> 0:09:59.280 tripled that against the Panthers, running for two forty one. 0:09:59.480 --> 0:10:03.840 Here are center Ted Carriss and offensive coordinator Brian Callahan. 0:10:05.280 --> 0:10:07.320 I think we're getting there. Yeah, I think yesterday was 0:10:07.440 --> 0:10:09.520 who we want to be. And if we can continue 0:10:09.559 --> 0:10:11.160 to run the ball like that with nine and as 0:10:11.200 --> 0:10:14.640 our QB, it'll be hard to, you know, stop us. 0:10:15.360 --> 0:10:17.480 I think that'll be a great addition to our offense. 0:10:17.559 --> 0:10:19.760 If we can continue to run the ball for you know, 0:10:19.960 --> 0:10:23.040 over one fifty would be a good mark, but you 0:10:23.040 --> 0:10:25.480 know that's going to come down to performance on Sundays, 0:10:25.480 --> 0:10:29.080 and really we did our best yesterday, so hoping to 0:10:29.160 --> 0:10:31.400 do it again for the eight game stretch we have 0:10:31.480 --> 0:10:35.120 coming up. Joe finally ran with the demeanor and the 0:10:35.120 --> 0:10:37.839 passion and the energy and the things that he's always done, 0:10:38.200 --> 0:10:41.320 finally showed up this week, you know, and it broke tackles, 0:10:42.280 --> 0:10:46.240 ran hard, ran aggressively, you know, made it. He was 0:10:46.240 --> 0:10:48.360 a tough out for the Panthers defense this week and 0:10:48.559 --> 0:10:50.439 hopefully that's that's what Joe is for the rest of 0:10:50.480 --> 0:10:53.200 the rest of the season going forward. But um, you know, 0:10:53.240 --> 0:10:55.640 he breathed a lot of life into the plan this week. Obviously, 0:10:55.640 --> 0:10:57.599 it's it all looks good on a chalkboard down and 0:10:57.679 --> 0:10:59.680 drawing and presenting it to the team, but when you 0:10:59.679 --> 0:11:02.480 got going out and you know, blocking defensive ends like 0:11:02.480 --> 0:11:05.840 Trent Taylor did and tb did, and Joe making people 0:11:05.880 --> 0:11:08.160 miss and running for yards and running people over, it 0:11:08.200 --> 0:11:10.880 makes it look a lot better. So that's what happened. 0:11:11.800 --> 0:11:15.240 Speaking to Brian Callahan, he addresses the team every Saturday 0:11:15.280 --> 0:11:18.560 morning and according to Mix, and did an especially good 0:11:18.640 --> 0:11:20.720 job of getting the guys ready to go for the 0:11:20.760 --> 0:11:25.599 Carolina game. He had a head of a meeting on Saturday, 0:11:25.640 --> 0:11:28.040 and the way that you could just tell, like the 0:11:28.120 --> 0:11:30.800 hunger and everything in his eyes. And we had a 0:11:30.800 --> 0:11:34.920 great preparation all week. But the way that Callaghan he 0:11:34.960 --> 0:11:38.360 was getting at us on Saturday, and I just loved 0:11:38.360 --> 0:11:40.320 how he came in with an edge and that meeting 0:11:40.360 --> 0:11:44.040 and basically everything that he said, we made it happen today, 0:11:44.080 --> 0:11:47.960 So we spoke it into existence. I asked Brian about 0:11:47.960 --> 0:11:52.679 his speech. I'm glad that he felt that it was effective. 0:11:52.760 --> 0:11:56.160 I don't know that. I'm too many pregame speeches or 0:11:56.240 --> 0:11:58.600 meeting speeches have won too many games. He went out 0:11:58.640 --> 0:12:00.520 and played really well, which is all that really mattered. 0:12:00.559 --> 0:12:03.960 But yeah, I mean my Saturday mornings are kind of 0:12:04.200 --> 0:12:08.640 a recap of the week, what the plan is going forward, 0:12:08.720 --> 0:12:11.160 how we're going to play the particular game we're getting 0:12:11.160 --> 0:12:15.120 ready to play on Sunday, And most of the time 0:12:15.160 --> 0:12:18.520 it's it's practice clips and you know, kind of spliced 0:12:18.559 --> 0:12:20.960 them with the game clips and just so we show 0:12:20.960 --> 0:12:22.640 how we're going to attack a team and things that 0:12:22.640 --> 0:12:25.400 we think are going to look work well and all 0:12:25.440 --> 0:12:27.080 those types of things. And then I usually try to 0:12:27.120 --> 0:12:30.240 have some sort of message, And you know, it's our 0:12:30.320 --> 0:12:32.319 job as coaches is to try to have a message 0:12:32.320 --> 0:12:37.440 that can be digestible, relatable, something that has an impact. 0:12:37.480 --> 0:12:41.160 And some weeks it's something a little more funny and lighthearted. 0:12:41.760 --> 0:12:45.640 Some weeks it's some movie clips we use a lot 0:12:45.640 --> 0:12:50.760 of I've used a lot of different documentaries, sports documentaries, 0:12:51.800 --> 0:12:54.640 just you know, just have some other voice in perspective 0:12:55.360 --> 0:12:57.520 on whatever the topic might be. So I've done a 0:12:57.559 --> 0:13:00.200 lot of them over four years, and I appreciate that 0:13:01.120 --> 0:13:03.880 Joe Joe felt like that will made an impact on Saturday. 0:13:03.920 --> 0:13:06.920 But you know, it's just sort of part of part 0:13:06.920 --> 0:13:10.800 of the normal weekly routine. And again, if maybe some 0:13:10.880 --> 0:13:13.559 of some have probably fallen pretty flat over the years, 0:13:13.559 --> 0:13:15.440 and some of some of them I think of have 0:13:15.480 --> 0:13:17.760 been better than others. But you have to ask the 0:13:17.800 --> 0:13:19.800 guys and what they think and if if they're really 0:13:19.800 --> 0:13:21.240 as good as I think they are, as bad as 0:13:21.280 --> 0:13:23.200 they can be. Sometimes I try to keep it as 0:13:23.240 --> 0:13:26.000 entertaining as possible, but um, you know, it's a pretty 0:13:26.040 --> 0:13:28.959 normal part of the week and normal routine, normal Saturday meeting, 0:13:28.960 --> 0:13:32.640 and I thought the message this week it was probably 0:13:32.679 --> 0:13:35.199 a little more aggressive than others, but it was it 0:13:35.280 --> 0:13:38.440 seemed to have resonated, so that's good. I don't know 0:13:38.480 --> 0:13:40.959 what he said, but I hope he has something similar 0:13:41.000 --> 0:13:44.559 planned for Pittsburgh. The Bengals Booth podcast is brought to 0:13:44.559 --> 0:13:47.640 you by pay Corps. More than twenty nine thousand customers 0:13:47.679 --> 0:13:51.679 trust pay Corps to help them recruit, pay, engage, and 0:13:51.760 --> 0:13:57.240 retain employees. Learn more at paycorps dot com. Now let's 0:13:57.280 --> 0:14:00.160 get to an injury update. The Bengals have not had 0:14:00.240 --> 0:14:02.400 DJ Reader in the lineup since he suffered a knee 0:14:02.440 --> 0:14:05.480 injury in Week three against the Jets, but the team 0:14:05.520 --> 0:14:08.920 is optimistic that he could return after the bye. I 0:14:09.080 --> 0:14:12.320 asked defensive coordinator lou Anna Romo about the big man 0:14:12.400 --> 0:14:15.839 in the middle of his defense. All Right, your poised 0:14:15.880 --> 0:14:19.080 to potentially get some reinforcements back after the bye, most 0:14:19.080 --> 0:14:22.560 notably DJ. Is that your hope? Yeah, I hope. So 0:14:22.600 --> 0:14:24.520 I think he's on track, you know. So I'm running 0:14:24.520 --> 0:14:28.160 around out there this morning and looking good. So hopefully 0:14:28.200 --> 0:14:31.360 he'll he'll stay trend in that way, and you know, 0:14:31.440 --> 0:14:33.080 just give us a great lift when he gets back, 0:14:34.480 --> 0:14:37.080 you know, really really hard to block one on one 0:14:37.120 --> 0:14:40.000 in the run game, and gives you more rush than 0:14:40.040 --> 0:14:43.200 you would think from a guy his size. So and 0:14:43.240 --> 0:14:46.240 then just his leadership out there on the field, he's 0:14:46.280 --> 0:14:50.640 a dominating force. Her football focus has DJ graded as 0:14:50.680 --> 0:14:54.680 the second best interior defensive lineman in the league this year. 0:14:55.080 --> 0:14:58.040 He's one spot behind Chris Jones of the Chiefs and 0:14:58.200 --> 0:15:02.720 one spot ahead of Aaron Donald. Quarterback Mike Hilton missed 0:15:02.760 --> 0:15:06.720 last week's game against Carolina after tearing ligaments and fracturing 0:15:06.720 --> 0:15:09.840 the pinky finger on his left hand in three places 0:15:10.120 --> 0:15:13.000 in the Monday night game at Cleveland. He had surgery 0:15:13.000 --> 0:15:16.520 the following day and says he'll definitely be back next 0:15:16.520 --> 0:15:19.480 week in Pittsburgh. I find this hard to believe, but 0:15:19.640 --> 0:15:23.120 some people apparently question Mike's toughness when he was ruled 0:15:23.160 --> 0:15:26.440 out of last week's game. Hall of famer Ronnie Lott 0:15:26.640 --> 0:15:30.280 famously had the tip of his pinkie finger amputated in 0:15:30.400 --> 0:15:32.960 order to play in a playoff game, but Lott says 0:15:33.040 --> 0:15:36.760 he regrets doing it, and I seriously hope that nobody 0:15:36.800 --> 0:15:40.600 expected Mike Hilton to do the same thing. Mike saw 0:15:40.640 --> 0:15:44.200 some criticism on social media and sent out a tweet saying, 0:15:44.840 --> 0:15:48.480 l L y'all think I quit on my team? Folks 0:15:48.520 --> 0:15:52.680 are hilarious. Here's what he had to say about that tweet. 0:15:53.840 --> 0:15:55.880 You know how people are, They think just because it's 0:15:55.880 --> 0:15:57.880 a pinky compared to what people do get back in 0:15:57.880 --> 0:15:59.920 the day. I got all the little Ronnie Lot stories. 0:16:00.000 --> 0:16:02.400 That's cool and all, but this is twenty twenty two. Like, 0:16:02.960 --> 0:16:04.600 I'd rather be healthy for the back end of the 0:16:04.600 --> 0:16:07.200 season than we entered myself in put the team in 0:16:07.200 --> 0:16:10.920 the worst position. So I got those dems and now there. 0:16:11.000 --> 0:16:13.560 I just laughed and put that tweet out, But I'm 0:16:13.640 --> 0:16:16.320 ready to go out. I'm RuSHA good Never consider cutting 0:16:16.320 --> 0:16:19.080 it off. Oh no, no, no, that's not going to 0:16:19.120 --> 0:16:21.440 cross my mind. Hey, I respect to running a lot. 0:16:21.480 --> 0:16:26.360 You know you're great, But that's not from pound. Mike 0:16:26.440 --> 0:16:30.120 Hilton is among the toughest players in the NFL. The 0:16:30.200 --> 0:16:34.520 Bengals Booth Podcast is presented by Alta Fiber future proof 0:16:34.600 --> 0:16:38.720 fiber Internet capable of delivering multi gigabit speeds designed to 0:16:38.760 --> 0:16:41.560 take your home, business, and community to a new level. 0:16:41.920 --> 0:16:46.080 Elevate your connection with all to fiber. Now time for 0:16:46.160 --> 0:16:49.080 something a little different. One of the best things about 0:16:49.080 --> 0:16:52.000 the Bengals two trips to London has been meeting Bengals 0:16:52.040 --> 0:16:54.680 fans from all over the world, and one of the 0:16:54.720 --> 0:16:58.960 most dedicated is Paul Hyrns. The name might sound familiar. 0:16:59.480 --> 0:17:01.560 Paul was one of the leaders of the Bengals fan 0:17:01.640 --> 0:17:06.280 club in the UK and co host the popular Cincinator podcast, 0:17:06.640 --> 0:17:10.720 which follows the Bengals from an international perspective. Paul and 0:17:10.840 --> 0:17:14.040 a large group of Bengals fans from overseas were at 0:17:14.080 --> 0:17:16.920 the game last Sunday and Cincinnati and I had a 0:17:17.000 --> 0:17:21.520 chance to talk to him about their visit this week. Paul, 0:17:21.520 --> 0:17:24.919 how many Bengals fans made it to the US for 0:17:25.000 --> 0:17:29.119 this trip and how did this adventure come about? Well, 0:17:29.680 --> 0:17:32.840 to answer your first question, it was twenty five. How 0:17:32.880 --> 0:17:35.320 it came about, I think there was always as the 0:17:35.400 --> 0:17:39.240 fan group grew, there was always kind of talk about 0:17:39.320 --> 0:17:40.959 we should go away, we should all get together and 0:17:41.000 --> 0:17:43.560 go away. But there was no really I mean, frankly, 0:17:43.640 --> 0:17:47.840 I wasn't going to underwrite that trip and there, but 0:17:47.880 --> 0:17:49.879 there was always like we should go And of course 0:17:49.960 --> 0:17:52.439 one or two mates came over together and there was 0:17:52.600 --> 0:17:56.000 you know, a few pockets of Bengals fans from the 0:17:56.080 --> 0:18:01.080 UK came over on their own steam, but then COVID 0:18:01.119 --> 0:18:04.360 happened that kind of shelved everything. And then this year 0:18:04.440 --> 0:18:07.200 a company in the UK called Touchdown Trips. I'm sure 0:18:07.200 --> 0:18:10.639 you can guess what line of work they came to for. 0:18:11.440 --> 0:18:14.679 They called me and said, listen, you know, we the 0:18:14.760 --> 0:18:17.480 Bengals are one of the only clubs that we've not 0:18:18.119 --> 0:18:21.480 been to. We've been to pretty much every NFL club 0:18:21.480 --> 0:18:25.600 in the US, but so we did like a bit 0:18:25.600 --> 0:18:27.960 of an exercise where we contacted the clubs that we've 0:18:28.000 --> 0:18:30.320 never been to, and the Bengals kind of said, yeah, 0:18:30.320 --> 0:18:32.840 we'd love to help out and make this happen. And 0:18:32.880 --> 0:18:37.520 then he asked me, would we be interested in aligning 0:18:37.880 --> 0:18:40.560 or kind of joining together in a loose arrangement and 0:18:40.680 --> 0:18:44.320 calling it a Bengals UK trip, And I said, well, 0:18:44.400 --> 0:18:46.280 let's go for it. I was a bit I wasn't 0:18:46.359 --> 0:18:49.800 sure what the interest was going to be because you know, 0:18:49.880 --> 0:18:52.040 moneys are very tight at the moment, times are tough. 0:18:52.800 --> 0:18:56.320 I needn't of worried. Really, the interest was like sky high. 0:18:57.320 --> 0:19:00.359 So yeah, in the end, twenty five people came of 0:19:00.480 --> 0:19:03.359 that group of twenty five who had been to Cincinnati before. 0:19:03.400 --> 0:19:05.640 If anybody, Oh, there's a good question, let me think. 0:19:05.720 --> 0:19:10.560 Maybe maybe me. So this is my third time here, 0:19:10.640 --> 0:19:14.920 very lucky and very privileged to have done that. Another 0:19:14.960 --> 0:19:18.080 guy had been once, I think so, yeah, only kind 0:19:18.080 --> 0:19:21.200 of two of us. Yeah. So I am a fan 0:19:21.320 --> 0:19:24.480 of Leicester City in the Premier League and the first 0:19:24.520 --> 0:19:27.320 time the Bengals went to London in twenty sixteen, I 0:19:27.359 --> 0:19:29.440 went to one of their matches. It was at Tottenham 0:19:29.960 --> 0:19:32.840 and it didn't seem real to me. I had been 0:19:32.840 --> 0:19:36.159 watching Jamie Vardy and Casper schmike goal on TV and 0:19:36.200 --> 0:19:38.160 they had won the Premier League title of the year before. 0:19:38.200 --> 0:19:41.719 It was like a movie. Was it like that for 0:19:42.240 --> 0:19:44.719 the Bengals fans who came to the US for this 0:19:44.760 --> 0:19:47.399 game and watched the game last Sunday? Oh? I mean yeah. 0:19:47.640 --> 0:19:51.280 The short answer is yes. The slightly longer answer, I 0:19:51.280 --> 0:19:53.720 mean I wept when I first came over and saw 0:19:53.840 --> 0:20:01.280 Paul Brown Stadium as it was cooled. It is emotional, 0:20:01.359 --> 0:20:04.040 and I believe you met a guy called Tom a 0:20:04.040 --> 0:20:06.080 couple of weeks ago who put a video on social 0:20:06.080 --> 0:20:09.400 media with him bawling his eyes out. It means so 0:20:09.480 --> 0:20:12.840 much to people and as soon as we got into 0:20:12.880 --> 0:20:16.439 town and checked into our hotel, I said, look, you know, 0:20:16.560 --> 0:20:20.040 pay court. I mean it's just there and everyone's gonna like, okay, 0:20:20.080 --> 0:20:24.840 we go and it so it wasn't like it wasn't 0:20:24.920 --> 0:20:27.560 kind of like like a virgin touch for the very 0:20:27.600 --> 0:20:31.720 first time for me personally, but still it felt surreal 0:20:31.880 --> 0:20:34.720 and it just I kind of exhaled and think, there 0:20:34.800 --> 0:20:39.760 she is, there, she is. Um. But those guys were 0:20:39.840 --> 0:20:43.520 kind of like in awe. UM. I have to say, 0:20:43.560 --> 0:20:47.600 this stadium looked different, brighter, more lights, and I think 0:20:47.640 --> 0:20:49.680 that goes in you know, it's in line with everything 0:20:49.680 --> 0:20:54.160 Elizabeth and her team have done. So it looks spectacular. 0:20:54.480 --> 0:20:56.960 And those guys do you know what. It was kind 0:20:57.000 --> 0:21:01.080 of like being a dad giving a Christmas present to 0:21:02.920 --> 0:21:06.840 a child on Christmas Day and watching their faces open it. 0:21:06.960 --> 0:21:09.720 You know, it was just brilliant. They were just like oh, 0:21:09.760 --> 0:21:13.240 you know, they were really really taken aback. And I'm 0:21:13.280 --> 0:21:17.119