Speaker 1: Hi, get everybody. I'm Dan Hoard and thanks for downloading
Speaker 1: the Bengals Booth Podcast. The I Just want to Rule
Speaker 1: Moss leaves up and start again. Addition, as I discussed
Speaker 1: the Bengals off season priorities with one of Cincinnati's best sportscasters,
Speaker 1: Fox nineteen sports director Joe Danoman. Plus we'll celebrate the
Speaker 1: two year anniversary of the Fumble in the Jungle with
Speaker 1: Sam Hubbard. The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you
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Speaker 1: Now here's a quick reminder that you can have the
Speaker 1: latest edition of this podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet,
Speaker 1: or computer by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's
Speaker 1: the greatest thing since Manning and Belichick on Burrow. There's
Speaker 1: so much great NFL content out there these days that
Speaker 1: it's hard to catch everything. And one show that I
Speaker 1: meant to watch this year but never really did. Was
Speaker 1: called The Breakdown with Peyton and Belichick, featuring Peyton, Manning,
Speaker 1: and Bill Belichick analyzing film of upcoming games. Now that
Speaker 1: Bill is coaching again at the University of North Carolina,
Speaker 1: I imagine that the show will not continue. And if
Speaker 1: that's the case, one of the final episodes featured the
Speaker 1: two legends looking ahead to the Bengals Cowboys game on
Speaker 1: December ninth. It begins with Peyton looking at burrows brilliance
Speaker 1: and ends with Belichick analyzing some of the Bengals problems
Speaker 1: on defense. If you have ESPN Plus and want to
Speaker 1: check it out, just look for the Breakdown with Peyton
Speaker 1: and Belichick. Now let's get to my first guest. Years ago,
Speaker 1: when I was a TV sports anchor at Fox nineteen
Speaker 1: and Cincinnati, we hired a young man out of my
Speaker 1: alma mater, Syracuse University, named Joe Dana. Joe has been
Speaker 1: the primary sports anchor there for about twenty years, and
Speaker 1: since he grew up in northern Kentucky, he's been following
Speaker 1: the Bengals for his entire life. He joined me this
Speaker 1: week to discuss coaching changes, free agency, and the upcoming draft. Joe,
Speaker 1: I want to start by publicly congratulating you on being
Speaker 1: named Ohio Sportscaster of the Year. We worked together at
Speaker 1: Fox nineteen many years ago, and when I was a
Speaker 1: local TV sports caster, it was so much easier than
Speaker 1: it is now. You wrote, you talked, maybe you do
Speaker 1: a little bit of editing. Nowadays you do everything. I
Speaker 1: don't know how you do it, But as I've told
Speaker 1: you privately and as I've said publicly, I can't imagine
Speaker 1: there's anybody in the country doing a better job as
Speaker 1: a local TV sports anchor and reporter. So I hope
Speaker 1: this award let you know how your peers feel about
Speaker 1: you and your work ethic and the great stuff that
Speaker 1: you're doing.
Speaker 2: Well. Thank you, and this one was completely unexpected. I
Speaker 2: knew I was a finalist. I thought the award was
Speaker 2: named after you at this point. As I told you
Speaker 2: on text, and as I tweeted as well publicly, I
Speaker 2: hope that the so many people that have been involved
Speaker 2: in my career getting it started mentoring me take a
Speaker 2: small bit of this award as well, because I think
Speaker 2: we're all a product of who we grew up working with,
Speaker 2: looking up to, and as I get into this part
Speaker 2: of my career. I take great pleasure in seeing some
Speaker 2: of my former interns and former co workers do great
Speaker 2: things themselves. In fact, one of my great thrills was
Speaker 2: last summer I was a finalist for an Emmy Award
Speaker 2: and one of the other finalists was a former intern
Speaker 2: of mine. So to share that moment with him, knowing
Speaker 2: that he's had success and I was a small bit
Speaker 2: a part of it, I was very rewarding. And I
Speaker 2: think that's what this award to me is. I hope
Speaker 2: everybody that has influenced me a lot the way knows
Speaker 2: that they're a big part of this award as well.
Speaker 2: Plus Dan. At the actual event, Iron Eagle is being awarded,
Speaker 2: the national sportscaster Mike Turrico is going into the Hall
Speaker 2: of Fame. So I just can't wait to be around
Speaker 2: guys like that at this event and get my picture
Speaker 2: taken with them and shake their hand and tell them
Speaker 2: how much of a fan I am of them.
Speaker 1: That is the best part about being named the State
Speaker 1: Sportscaster of the Year, whatever state you're from, If you're
Speaker 1: able to attend the event, which is in North Carolina
Speaker 1: every summer, you meet all of these people that you
Speaker 1: have tremendous admiration and respect for you. Develop relationships with them,
Speaker 1: hanging out, having a beverage. It's really fun. So I'm
Speaker 1: glad that you're going to be able to go, and
Speaker 1: I'm sure you'll have a great experience.
Speaker 2: What's great is every time I see Mike Turrico, whenever
Speaker 2: he's in town to call a Bengals game, I name
Speaker 2: drop you every single time. Only two things I have
Speaker 2: to do with Mike Rico are say the word Syracuse
Speaker 2: and Dan Horde, and he literally stops and talks to me.
Speaker 2: You can tell he's on the move to go somewhere.
Speaker 2: He's got somewhere important to be, but he always has
Speaker 2: a story about you and always has a nice word
Speaker 2: to say about Syracuse. I know he's still very involved
Speaker 2: in Syracuse in decision making and very much involved with
Speaker 2: the administration and the athletics. So to make Syracuse proud
Speaker 2: of this too, not just my mentors and all the
Speaker 2: people I've worked with, but to go to a place
Speaker 2: like that that has such a great reputation and now
Speaker 2: to be a small brick in that massive colossus that
Speaker 2: is the Syracuse broadcasting family, I'm proud of that as well.
Speaker 1: All right, let's talk about the Cincinnati Bengals and a
Speaker 1: very important offseason that is underway. Let's start with how
Speaker 1: last year finished. Was the five game winning streak to
Speaker 1: end the year momentum in any way, or just kind
Speaker 1: of a reminder of what could have been?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think it's more the latter, And I've talked
Speaker 2: to Zach Taylor about this. I talked about in season,
Speaker 2: week to week momentum or season to season momentum. And
Speaker 2: it's funny because you'll hear him say that sometimes, but
Speaker 2: I can tell you in private conversations he doesn't believe
Speaker 2: in that. He believes in momentum and games, but he
Speaker 2: does not believe in week to week, season to season momentum.
Speaker 2: But I do think it's a reminder of what this
Speaker 2: team can be when they get functional play from their defense,
Speaker 2: and they got that the final few weeks of the season.
Speaker 2: Now we can all look at the offenses they've played,
Speaker 2: we can pick apart the quarterbacks that they went up against.
Speaker 2: But I think there's a reminder here, right that once
Speaker 2: you get late in the season and Joe Burrow has
Speaker 2: had an entire year, and you know, I have to
Speaker 2: stand on this and eat these words. Dan I said
Speaker 2: before the season on every podcast and every radio appearance
Speaker 2: I did, every time I was on TV, I guaranteed
Speaker 2: that if Joe Burrow played seventeen games, this team would
Speaker 2: make the playoffs. I mean it took basically this season.
Speaker 2: That was an act of God for this team not
Speaker 2: to make the playoffs with Joe playing seventeen games. But
Speaker 2: I'll have to own it that they didn't make the
Speaker 2: playoffs and he played the entire year. But I do
Speaker 2: think it's a reminder of what this core is capable of.
Speaker 2: And I do think it's a reminder, especially going back
Speaker 2: to that Denver game, a reminder of what this success
Speaker 2: in this window is built upon. It's built upon Burrow,
Speaker 2: Chase Higgins. And that's going to be one of those
Speaker 2: driving questions here the next couple of months after what
Speaker 2: we saw those three do the final five weeks of
Speaker 2: the season.
Speaker 1: So when Joe came out after the Dallas game and
Speaker 1: his postgame news conference really out of the blue and said,
Speaker 1: I think we can keep t Higgins. We've had conversations.
Speaker 1: He sounded confident that was going to happen. What was
Speaker 1: your reaction, because I was really caught off guard.
Speaker 2: So I was standing on the field in Dallas. We
Speaker 2: had two cameras down there. We were doing the live
Speaker 2: Bengals postgame show. So I'm on the field with one camera.
Speaker 2: We have another camera inside for Joe Burrows press conference.
Speaker 2: And you know how it goes when you're on TV.
Speaker 2: The press corps towards is playing. I can hear it
Speaker 2: in my ears, but also at the same time, I'm
Speaker 2: discussing with the producers where we're going next. We got video,
Speaker 2: we got graphics, we've got commercials. And I hear Joe
Speaker 2: say that, and I told everybody stop. I said, I
Speaker 2: need to hear this and what he's saying right here,
Speaker 2: because did I miss something or did Joe just say
Speaker 2: what he just said? And to me, that changed the
Speaker 2: entire tone about this conversation going forward. Now, I've talked
Speaker 2: about this multiple times and here's my take on this situation. Obviously,
Speaker 2: Joe has a plan of what he wants for T Higgins.
Speaker 2: I think we know what Jamar and T's plans are
Speaker 2: to keep this together as well. I've always wondered, is
Speaker 2: Joe Jamar T's plan in alignment with the front office's
Speaker 2: plan and so we don't know that we won't find
Speaker 2: that out here until this starts to play out. But
Speaker 2: what I think Joe has now done, and we've talked
Speaker 2: about the evolution of Joe Burrow the quarterback, the player,
Speaker 2: the celebrity, the person here in Cincinnati, un there are
Speaker 2: levels to where he's going now raised himself within the
Speaker 2: organization with his success, with his professional maturity and with
Speaker 2: his understanding of rosters now and what he needs to
Speaker 2: be successful, that he's put himself, I believe, in a
Speaker 2: position where he has to be kept in the loop
Speaker 2: about what this organization is going to do with T. Higgins,
Speaker 2: where if they do make a decision one way or
Speaker 2: the other, I think Joe has now put himself in
Speaker 2: position where they have to say, Okay, Joe, here's what
Speaker 2: it looks like if we keep T. Here's option B
Speaker 2: of what it looks like if we decide to move
Speaker 2: on from T and reallocate that money somewhere else. So
Speaker 2: I think it's important that Joe has put himself in
Speaker 2: position that he's not necessarily a decision maker, but he
Speaker 2: has to understand the thought process of whatever it is
Speaker 2: they do do with T. Higgins. And I think He's
Speaker 2: earned that with what he means of this organization.
Speaker 1: And that's the way it should be. You're in the
Speaker 1: Joe Burrow business. It's not a matter of trying to
Speaker 1: keep him happy. I hear people say things like that, oh,
Speaker 1: you got a koutout of what Joe wants. It's not that.
Speaker 1: It's he's your best player. He's the face of the
Speaker 1: frameise and he's a smart guy. So if he thinks
Speaker 1: this is the best path going forward, then it probably
Speaker 1: is the best path going forward. Without knowing what the
Speaker 1: numbers are going to be, so let's talk about that
Speaker 1: a little bit. They're going to try to extend Jamar
Speaker 1: Justin Jefferson got thirty five million a year last year
Speaker 1: for four years, so that's the beginning number, and it's
Speaker 1: probably going to be higher than that.
Speaker 2: For T.
Speaker 1: Is there a team out there that would pay him
Speaker 1: thirty million dollars a year? And if so, is it
Speaker 1: realistic to do both at those numbers or does T
Speaker 1: have to come in more in the twenty six twenty
Speaker 1: seven million dollar range.
Speaker 2: I would think that I would think you'd probably have
Speaker 2: to come into twenty six twenty seven million dollar range
Speaker 2: for the Bengals, and yes, there was a team out
Speaker 2: there who will give him thirty million dollars, But it's
Speaker 2: on the Bengals not to let that happen, right, I mean,
Speaker 2: that's the important part of this offseason. They still do
Speaker 2: have the power of flexing the second franchise tag and
Speaker 2: not letting T Higgins get to free agency. And what
Speaker 2: they decide to do there with that is they can
Speaker 2: franchise tag them and they can negotiate a long term
Speaker 2: contract to keep him here. The question is what does
Speaker 2: T Higgins and what does his agent want, because they
Speaker 2: still have power themselves to flex in this situation as
Speaker 2: far as you know, if they're not happy with the situation,
Speaker 2: will T be here? Will he show up and do it?
Speaker 2: And everything we've seen from T so far in his career,
Speaker 2: he's been very professional. Even during this situation in the offseason.
Speaker 2: He was here and he was a training camp and
Speaker 2: he was practicing a training camp understanding that he didn't
Speaker 2: get what he wanted, which is a long term deal
Speaker 2: here in Cincinnati. But to answer your question, yeah, there's
Speaker 2: certainly a team out there who will pay T. Higgins
Speaker 2: that kind of money. Outside of quarterback, I would put
Speaker 2: wide receiver right there with defensive end as that the
Speaker 2: value positions that every team in the NFL is trying
Speaker 2: to find and trying to find difference makers. But you said,
Speaker 2: the Bengals are in the Joe Burrow business. The Bengals
Speaker 2: are in the Big three business. They're in the Jamar
Speaker 2: Chase T. Higgins, Joe Burrow business. That's what makes them unique,
Speaker 2: that's what makes them a Super Bowl contender. And we
Speaker 2: could talk about defense, and we will, and we could
Speaker 2: talk about improving the run game and we will this offseason.
Speaker 2: But as long as you have those three and I
Speaker 2: know sometimes it comes with an eye roll of people
Speaker 2: on social media. No one wanted to face this team
Speaker 2: in the playoffs, right, And I don't think Kansas City
Speaker 2: went out and laid down to keep Joe Burrow out
Speaker 2: of the playoffs. Maybe they did. Maybe they did, And
Speaker 2: that's fine. They have that prerogative. And I would say this.
Speaker 2: I had this conversation with Zach. I said, if the
Speaker 2: shoe was on the other foot, Zach, and you had
Speaker 2: the number one seed and Patrick Mahomes was lurking right
Speaker 2: there as the seventh seed, what would you do? And
Speaker 2: he said to me, he said, listen, if we were
Speaker 2: two times Super Bowl defending champions and we were fifteen
Speaker 2: and one, there wouldn't be a team in football that
Speaker 2: scared me. And I said, good answer, But but yeah,
Speaker 2: we saw how that played. So to answer your question,
Speaker 2: I think the narrative has changed here in Cincinnati as
Speaker 2: far as T Higgins in his future in Cincinnati. Where
Speaker 2: I thought midway of the season, this was it. This
Speaker 2: was the last dance of the Chicago Bulls, right, the
Speaker 2: Big three, last dance that Denver game, to me is
Speaker 2: when I flipped and you saw the value of T
Speaker 2: Higgins and what he means to this team in such
Speaker 2: a big game late in the season. For him to
Speaker 2: perform score three touchdowns and the attention he draws away
Speaker 2: from Jamar Chase, I'm sold. You gotta do what you
Speaker 2: gotta do. He has to be kept. And to me,
Speaker 2: those are the top two priorities of the offseason because
Speaker 2: they set in motion every other domino that goes with
Speaker 2: this team this offseason. They've got to get Jamar Dunn
Speaker 2: as soon as possible, and they have to make their
Speaker 2: decision on T Higgins. And if it were me, I'm
Speaker 2: paying him. I'm keeping them. He's got to stay here
Speaker 2: in Cincinnati because those three together is what makes the
Speaker 2: Bengals unique.
Speaker 1: I guess I flipped when Joe started talking about it
Speaker 1: the way he did and expressing confidence that it could happen.
Speaker 1: That implied to me that, you know, he's willing to
Speaker 1: do whatever it takes. T is willing to come back
Speaker 1: for maybe a little less than he might be able
Speaker 1: to get on the open market. I don't think Joe
Speaker 1: would have said what he said if that wasn't the case.
Speaker 1: I was probably ninety ten that it wasn't going to
Speaker 1: happen until that point. Now I think it's at least
Speaker 1: fifty to fifty, maybe a little bit better. It's really interesting, though,
Speaker 1: because you've got Trey Hendrickson thrown in there as well.
Speaker 1: He's got a year left on his deal. He'd certainly
Speaker 1: like to reward him for the great player that he's
Speaker 1: been and maybe extend that for a couple of years
Speaker 1: if you can. He's you know, he's thirty, but he's
Speaker 1: certainly not playing like he's approaching the back nine. I
Speaker 1: guess my priorities are Jamar first, Trey second, t third.
Speaker 1: If they can do all of that, and it's going
Speaker 1: to be very interesting to see if they can.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and we've documented how important those three were this year, Joe,
Speaker 2: Jamar and Trey to what this team was and what
Speaker 2: they did, you know, setting NFL records and the first
Speaker 2: team in NFL history the lead in passing guards, receiving yards,
Speaker 2: in sacks, and trade to me is such an interesting
Speaker 2: case because of what happened last offseason with him and
Speaker 2: him demanding a trade and then coming back and having
Speaker 2: the kind of season he did. And if I'm Trey
Speaker 2: Hendrickson at age thirty and I've had the year that
Speaker 2: I just had and the years that I've had in Cincinnati,
Speaker 2: You've got one last chance here, I would think, at
Speaker 2: one last big contract. And you mentioned it him being
Speaker 2: thirty years old. It doesn't feel like a guy who's
Speaker 2: playing at thirty years old. It feels like this guy
Speaker 2: can be an elite pass rusher for multiple seasons going forward.
Speaker 2: And so is there a world where you can reward
Speaker 2: him as you said and extend him in a smaller window.
Speaker 2: And if I'm Trey Hendrickston and I'm his agent, I
Speaker 2: certainly want some kind of security for multiple years going
Speaker 2: forward and find the Bengals, and I'm bringing in a
Speaker 2: new defensive coordinator. You want that cornerstone of a guy
Speaker 2: that's a difference maker, a game wrecker. They're on the
Speaker 2: defensive end. Those are hard to find. And it was
Speaker 2: funny because mid season, when the Bengals defense was struggling
Speaker 2: the way it was and people are trying to come
Speaker 2: up with solutions on how to make this team better.
Speaker 2: You know they're talking about the Max Crosby's of the
Speaker 2: world and pick your favorite defensive end. NFL teams aren't
Speaker 2: giving these guys up. These guys are really hard to find,
Speaker 2: and when they do get them in their organization, they're
Speaker 2: doing everything they can to keep them. And I hope
Speaker 2: the Bengals have the same idea about Trey Hendrickson because
Speaker 2: they're very hard to find. The Bengals had been trying
Speaker 2: to draft guys that can play opposite him and produce
Speaker 2: at a consistent level, and it's hard to find. I mean,
Speaker 2: Joseph Asais shown flashes, Miles Garrett shown better flashes this year.
Speaker 2: Excuse me not Miles Garrett, Miles Murphy. But when you
Speaker 2: talk about these guys and you bring them in, you
Speaker 2: draft them, and you try to develop them, it's hard
Speaker 2: It's just hard to find guys that can do what
Speaker 2: Trey Hendrickson did and does, so when you do get one,
Speaker 2: you have to reward him and whatever Trey wants. I
Speaker 2: think they have to listen here because they understand a
Speaker 2: guy going into his final year of his contract after
Speaker 2: what he did last offseason, is most likely wants to
Speaker 2: have more security than just a one year deal. So
Speaker 2: I fully think this is going to be one of
Speaker 2: the difficult conversations this team has in the offseason is
Speaker 2: how to best take care of Trey Hendrickson because they
Speaker 2: cannot let him get out the door because of what
Speaker 2: kind of a difference maker he is for this defense.
Speaker 1: People age differently. He certainly does not appear to be
Speaker 1: getting old at age thirty. He's like Selma Hayek. He's
Speaker 1: aging gracefully, that's for sure. Let's talk about defensive coordinator.
Speaker 1: Do you have an ideal candidate or a type of
Speaker 1: coach that you would like to see them higher for
Speaker 1: that position.
Speaker 2: I like Al Golden a lot. I like the fact
Speaker 2: that he's been in Cincinnati, he's worked with Zach Taylor before,
Speaker 2: and for him to take Notre Dame to the precipice
Speaker 2: of a national championship built on a defense of physicality,
Speaker 2: development of young players who have gotten better into his system,
Speaker 2: and there's some creativity also in his system as well
Speaker 2: at Notre Dame. It's gonna be interesting. I'm gonna be
Speaker 2: down in Atlanta this weekend and certainly Al Golden will
Speaker 2: be one of my targets to talk to about his
Speaker 2: future after this game coming on Monday night against Ohio State.
Speaker 1: First question, or will you soften him up a little bit? First?
Speaker 2: You know how these situations go. There's gonna be all
Speaker 2: around him. Yeah, So it's gonna be He's gonna take
Speaker 2: that question at least ten different times. I'll do it
Speaker 2: like this, and I've learned the art of question asking
Speaker 2: from the great Dan Horde. I think you have to
Speaker 2: give him a question he can answer and you can
Speaker 2: get insight into what he's going to say. So I'm
Speaker 2: curious about his experience in Cincinnati, are working with Zach Taylor,
Speaker 2: what he liked about it, what he thinks of this
Speaker 2: job here in Cincinnati, Because you talk about defensive coordinators
Speaker 2: and people that look around the league and look for
Speaker 2: the best positions for them to go, and how could
Speaker 2: you not want to come to Cincinnati to where you
Speaker 2: get to work with a team that has Joe Burrow,
Speaker 2: Jamar Chase, and maybe T Higgins. So you're hitching your
Speaker 2: wagon to an offense that can win a Super Bowl tomorrow,
Speaker 2: and quite honestly, all you have to do is just
Speaker 2: be okay as a defensive coordinator for this team to
Speaker 2: be a contender for a Super Bowl. So yeah, I
Speaker 2: think I like Al Golden. I love what Matt Eberflus
Speaker 2: did in Indianapolis. I mean you look back and it
Speaker 2: kind of mirrors a little bit of the Bengals here.
Speaker 2: What he inherited in Indianapolis in twenty eighteen was a
Speaker 2: team that was giving up twenty five points a game.
Speaker 2: The Bengals just average given up twenty five points a game.
Speaker 2: They were thirtieth in the NFL, and defense the Colts
Speaker 2: were And in one year he went from thirtieth to tenth.
Speaker 2: So if you're a Cincinnati and you're a Bengals fan
Speaker 2: and you're looking for a quick fixer, Matt Eberflus is
Speaker 2: proven he can be a quick fixer. So those are
Speaker 2: the two names that you read a lot about this,
Speaker 2: you think about this a lot. Those are the two
Speaker 2: names to me that really keep jumping up to the
Speaker 2: top of mind as guys that would be great fits. Now,
Speaker 2: as far as what Bengals fans should want from a
Speaker 2: defensive coordinator, I think two things stand out. I think
Speaker 2: you want a defensive coordinator who's very good with player
Speaker 2: development because we've seen what this team has to do defensively, right,
Speaker 2: they have to draft young defensively. They might have to
Speaker 2: go cheaper defensively because of what they have to pay.
Speaker 2: We think the Big three going forward on offense, So
Speaker 2: you're going to get a lot of young players. You
Speaker 2: got to develop these young players and be able to
Speaker 2: communicate with them what your vision is defensively and help
Speaker 2: them develop into that system. And also, I think the
Speaker 2: other thing you need to find out is, and these
Speaker 2: are hard questions for Zach Taylor and the other members
Speaker 2: of the front office who are going to do these interviews,
Speaker 2: is how does a coach coach when he has some deficiencies.
Speaker 2: This defense is not going to be loaded with stars.
Speaker 2: There were going to be holes. You can't fix this
Speaker 2: in one offseason or one draft. There will be deficiencies.
Speaker 2: How can you coach around those deficiencies and still be successful.
Speaker 2: So development and working through deficiencies I think are very
Speaker 2: very important, and then also experience, and I think he
Speaker 2: got that with Al Golden and he got that with
Speaker 2: Matt Erablus.
Speaker 1: I got the impression from the little bit of time
Speaker 1: that I spent with Alan his two years as Bengals
Speaker 1: assistant coach that he really liked it here. He wasn't
Speaker 1: one of those assistant coaches that would linger and just
Speaker 1: talk to you NonStop. You know, he kind of had
Speaker 1: to catch him on the move. It seemed like he
Speaker 1: was always, you know, racing from the practice field to
Speaker 1: his office, cutting through the cafeteria really quickly with you know,
Speaker 1: take out food in his hand. But he seemed to
Speaker 1: like it here. I think it's going to come down
Speaker 1: to does he want to be an NFL coach again
Speaker 1: or does he really like what he's doing and think
Speaker 1: that it will help him become a college head coach again,
Speaker 1: because he was obviously extremely successful at Temple when nobody
Speaker 1: won there. He did reasonably well at the University of Miami,
Speaker 1: a place where the expectations are super high. So if
Speaker 1: he is in fact the guy that they want to hire,
Speaker 1: it'll be interesting interesting to see if that is his
Speaker 1: priority to be in the NFL again.
Speaker 2: And it's curious too, it's been somewhat quiet here. And look,
Speaker 2: these things take time, and the Bengals will likely talk
Speaker 2: to some of these candidates multiple times, but it does
Speaker 2: feel a bit with the timetable that they are waiting
Speaker 2: on something, whether it be someone who's still coaching in
Speaker 2: the playoffs or someone who's still coaching in the college
Speaker 2: football and National Championship and giving his time to do
Speaker 2: this job before they approach him about becoming the Bengals
Speaker 2: defensive coordinator. And I think a lot of eyes will
Speaker 2: be on Al Golden on Monday Night in that great
Speaker 2: Ohio State offense, and if he can limit them and
Speaker 2: win that game, considering the kind of talent Ohio State
Speaker 2: has offensively and really look good doing that, I think
Speaker 2: then a lot of Cincinnati Bengals fans will really start
Speaker 2: to take notice of what he's doing. So we already
Speaker 2: know you working in this market for for a long time.
Speaker 2: How many fans there are of Notre Dame and Ohio
Speaker 2: State in the greater Cincinnati area, So the ratings were
Speaker 2: always going to be high, but I am curious how
Speaker 2: many Bengals fans who don't have a dog in this
Speaker 2: fight are curious to watch Al Golden his defense match
Speaker 2: up against Chip Kelly, Ryan Day and that talented offense
Speaker 2: at Ohio State in kind of starting to think, Okay, yeah,
Speaker 2: this is a guy that coached with Zach Taylor. If
Speaker 2: he can take Notre Dame to this spot and then
Speaker 2: can out coach Ryan Day and Chip Kelly and get
Speaker 2: a win for Notre Dame in that game, I think
Speaker 2: a lot of people would be circling Al Golden as
Speaker 2: the next defensive coordinator for the Bengals.
Speaker 1: It's funny you say that, because I would rank one
Speaker 1: of the top five moments of my life as a
Speaker 1: sports fan watching LSU Oklahoma in the semifinals when you
Speaker 1: knew the Bengals had the number one pick in the draft.
Speaker 1: I didn't have a dog in the fight. But Burrow
Speaker 1: throws seven touchdown passes in the first half, and I
Speaker 1: am so giddy knowing that that's our guy. I mean,
Speaker 1: it's amazing. All these teams I've rooted for my whole life,
Speaker 1: and that is one of my greatest fan moments of
Speaker 1: all time.
Speaker 2: And there was one play in particular where Joe was
Speaker 2: flushed out of the pocket. His running towards the sideline,
Speaker 2: he dodged three or four guys, broke a tackle, and
Speaker 2: threw the ball down the field. And I kind of
Speaker 2: I remember standing in my living room watching that play
Speaker 2: and said, I can't believe this is going to hit
Speaker 2: Cincinnati next season. And it's such a unique thing right
Speaker 2: where you knew, I mean, not many fan bases can
Speaker 2: watch a guy and know that's going to be their guy.
Speaker 2: I remember interviewing Moeger and Rocky Boyman the day after
Speaker 2: the National Championship game when Joe was pointing to his
Speaker 2: ring finger. They were owning the National championship and doing
Speaker 2: the big story the next day about this is going
Speaker 2: to be the Bengals quarterback, and Moe was already wearing
Speaker 2: the T shirt of Joe Smoke the Cigar with LSU,
Speaker 2: And it was kind of a cool thing for a
Speaker 2: couple of weeks for Cincinnati. It kind of felt by
Speaker 2: proxy was celebrating this National championship for LSU, knowing they
Speaker 2: were getting Joe Burrow and future. No one knew they
Speaker 2: were getting Jamar Chase as well, but that's the way
Speaker 2: it all worked out. But yeah, that's a great point
Speaker 2: of kind of comparing the two here of watching Joe
Speaker 2: Burrow in that great run he went on in twenty nineteen.
Speaker 1: Defensive coordinator is obviously a huge hire, but so is
Speaker 1: offensive line coach. I've always felt that there are really
Speaker 1: four he coaches on a staff, the three coordinators and
Speaker 1: the offensive line coach. They almost should call it like
Speaker 1: offensive line coordinator. It's that important to a staff. What
Speaker 1: does the next guy need to improve.
Speaker 2: It's interesting because I think if you look at the
Speaker 2: playoffs last weekend, and there were six games, and we
Speaker 2: talked so much about the NFL being a quarterback driven
Speaker 2: league and a passing driven league. I challenge anybody to
Speaker 2: go back and look at the winners from last week,
Speaker 2: and I have them all written down here. I think
Speaker 2: you could go look at the box scores and you're
Speaker 2: not going to find any quarterback who had a huge
Speaker 2: game and just had that MVP moment in throwing the ball.
Speaker 2: There's nobody with four hundred yards passing and three touchdowns.
Speaker 2: And certainly Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen have their moments,
Speaker 2: but these games were one with defense and running.
Speaker 1: Nobody threw for three hundred yards and four of the
Speaker 1: six winners rushed for one hundred and sixty five plus, So.
Speaker 2: That points to when you get into the playoffs, you
Speaker 2: still have to play defense. You still have to run
Speaker 2: the ball. And to your point, if you took the
Speaker 2: six winning teams, they combined for more than a thousand
Speaker 2: yards rushing, and those six wins the losing teams combined
Speaker 2: for five hundred, so they doubled them up. So running
Speaker 2: the game, running the ball still matters. And the interesting
Speaker 2: thing about the Bengals is, you know, they finished last
Speaker 2: year third worse in the NFL with ninety three yards
Speaker 2: rushing per game. That number is a little bit skew
Speaker 2: just because of who the Bengals are and the way
Speaker 2: they're that they're always going to be at least a
Speaker 2: sixty to forty passing to run offense, maybe even more,
Speaker 2: maybe sixty five to thirty five considering the offensive talent
Speaker 2: they have a quarterback and wide receiver. But if they
Speaker 2: can just get better in the margins in the run game,
Speaker 2: they average four point one yards per carry, and I
Speaker 2: think Chase Brown has been a great fit, especially in
Speaker 2: the second half of the season what he's done. If
Speaker 2: they can just get that from like four point one
Speaker 2: yards per carry to something like four point six. All
Speaker 2: of a sudden, you drop from bottom ten, you jump
Speaker 2: all the way to the top ten. An efficiency and
Speaker 2: running the ball, and what a difference maker that is
Speaker 2: going forward, because as you mentioned, it's not just offensive
Speaker 2: line coordinator, this is run game coordinator. That was Frank
Speaker 2: Pollock's title here in Cincinnati. So you can see that
Speaker 2: running the ball, playing defense still matters. That's why this
Speaker 2: coaching higher matters, just maybe not as much as defensive coordinator,
Speaker 2: but it's an important higher for this team going forward.
Speaker 2: And also the makeup of the offensive right to we
Speaker 2: talked about development with the defensive coordinator. You know, he's
Speaker 2: whoever the offensive line coach is is inheriting a right tackle,
Speaker 2: one of Marius Mimms, who's young. Ted Terrris is probably
Speaker 2: nearing the end of his time and since not maybe
Speaker 2: his career as he gets older that they're likely going
Speaker 2: to be replacing at least one of their guards. So
Speaker 2: there's young players development cohesion that this new offensive line
Speaker 2: coach is going to have to have going forward. And
Speaker 2: I think there has to be an emphasis understanding what
Speaker 2: just happened in the playoffs, What we've seen going forward
Speaker 2: that running the football matters even if you have Joe
Speaker 2: Burrow and Jamar Chase, that you still have to do
Speaker 2: it at an efficient level. So very important higher to
Speaker 2: me considering the makeup of the offensive line, and also
Speaker 2: what we just witnessed watching the first weekend of the
Speaker 2: NFL playoffs in the importance of running the football at
Speaker 2: an efficient clip.
Speaker 1: They scored the most points of any team Enfranchise his
Speaker 1: They finished second in points per game of any team
Speaker 1: in franchise history, So it's hard to complain much about
Speaker 1: the offense and the plays they're calling and the way
Speaker 1: it's structured. Having said all that, to me, being more
Speaker 1: efficient in the running game is about helping to protect
Speaker 1: Joe Burrow and in some cases from himself. So I
Speaker 1: was with you prior to the season. In every interview
Speaker 1: I did, I said, if Joe Burrow's healthy, they will
Speaker 1: be a Super Bowl contender, and that's not the way
Speaker 1: it played out. But I want to maximize the possibilities
Speaker 1: going forward that he always plays seventeen games, and I
Speaker 1: think one of the ways they can do that is
Speaker 1: being more efficient in the run game. So I'm with
Speaker 1: you on the importance of that from the next guy
Speaker 1: in this role.
Speaker 2: And if you really want to get into the analytics
Speaker 2: of Joe Burrow in the run game, he had his
Speaker 2: best year when it came to play action pass numbers.
Speaker 2: So if you continue to get this running game more efficient,
Speaker 2: you would think by just that being there them running
Speaker 2: it better, that the play action would be that much
Speaker 2: more dangerous. And I think play action passing lends to
Speaker 2: what you said of protecting Joe as well. Yet his
Speaker 2: best year throwing the ball in play action. I think
Speaker 2: if you're bringing an offensive coordinator, excuse me, an offensive
Speaker 2: line coach who can get this running game going just
Speaker 2: a more efficient clip, it only helps Joe even more
Speaker 2: in that situation as well.
Speaker 1: All Right, a few more questions for Fox nineteens Joe Daniman.
Speaker 1: We haven't talked about some of the other free agents
Speaker 1: that have actually reached the end of their contracts. So
Speaker 1: guys like Mike Hilton, Mikeasicki, BJ hill A, Keen Davis
Speaker 1: gaither any strong feelings on guys like that and the
Speaker 1: need to try to retain any of them.
Speaker 2: It's interesting, And there's also guys who could have to
Speaker 2: have their contracts restructured as well, and those will be
Speaker 2: contracts that'll be interesting conversations for this team to have
Speaker 2: in the offseason. Mikeasicki's the one to me that jumps
Speaker 2: right to the top of the list. And I know
Speaker 2: he's listed as a tight end. He's basically a wide receiver.
Speaker 2: But we saw at the end of the year his
Speaker 2: value and the number of times Joe was going towards him,
Speaker 2: and maybe there was starting to be a little bit
Speaker 2: more of a cohesion between Joe and Mike Kasicki and
Speaker 2: in the plays they like to use together. And we've
Speaker 2: seen so many times here in recent years, especially with
Speaker 2: Joe Burrow's quarterback, that it's been this revolving door of
Speaker 2: one year prove it deals for tight ends to come
Speaker 2: to Cincinnati, have a good year with Joe Burrow, the
Speaker 2: go sign a bigger contract somewhere else. And when we
Speaker 2: talked to Mike the day after the season ended, you
Speaker 2: got the understanding that Mike is is looking for a
Speaker 2: good deal that he hasn't had it line up where
Speaker 2: he's either coming off of a good season or coming
Speaker 2: off of a healthy season and able to sign a
Speaker 2: new contract. But also at the same time, you know
Speaker 2: he just When he talks about Joe Burrow, he lights up.
Speaker 2: He gushes he got to the best quarterback in the
Speaker 2: league and wants to continue to play with him. But
Speaker 2: it comes down to luxury, right, I mean he would
Speaker 2: be if Jamar stays, if t stays, at best, he's
Speaker 2: your third option, maybe your fourth option, even though he
Speaker 2: had big games at the end of the year. What's
Speaker 2: that number look like for Mike is SICKI is really
Speaker 2: interesting to me. So in a perfect world, yeah, bring
Speaker 2: him back, but we have to understand what Mike wants
Speaker 2: and also that the value of what he gives to
Speaker 2: the team as maybe a third or fourth option. Mike
Speaker 2: Hilton is the one that's fascinating to me because of
Speaker 2: what Mike Hilton has meant to this team, his strengths,
Speaker 2: his weaknesses. He's he's not the perfect player again, a
Speaker 2: guy who's aging at a position where it's hard to age.
Speaker 2: But but find me someone who's who's better at blitzing
Speaker 2: off the edge. Find someone who's who's better at fitting
Speaker 2: in and mixing into a room like he did in
Speaker 2: the Bangles locker room, and that stuff matters. So so
Speaker 2: the conversation about Mike Hilton going forward. You know he
Speaker 2: was limited in his in his third downs this year,
Speaker 2: but at the same time, whenever the guy was asked
Speaker 2: to make a play, he made plays. He came on
Speaker 2: at the end of the year, made a lot of plays.
Speaker 2: So to me, he's fascinating. Bj Hill has been one
Speaker 2: of the great trade acquisitions in franchise history. What would
Speaker 2: a deal look like for him going forward? Knowing that
Speaker 2: the Bengals invested in Chris Jenkins and McKinley Jackson at
Speaker 2: the top of the draft last year, so each of
Speaker 2: those guys comes with a sure would love them back
Speaker 2: for what they mean, how they fit. But what's the number?
Speaker 2: And that's the interesting part about this. Everybody listening to
Speaker 2: this is a huge Bengals fan. We know this. You
Speaker 2: wouldn't listen to podcasts about the Bengals if you weren't
Speaker 2: a huge Bengals fan. So everybody knows about the amount
Speaker 2: of money the Bengals have below the cap to spend.
Speaker 2: They might have even more once they get into cuts
Speaker 2: and salary cap cuts as well. So there's money out
Speaker 2: there to spend for this team. How will they spend it?
Speaker 2: Who will they spend it on? Is it about keeping
Speaker 2: their own guys. To me, that's another part of what
Speaker 2: makes this the most interesting offseason I think the Bengals
Speaker 2: have had since I've been doing this job.
Speaker 1: Mock drafts have started coming out. It's all a crap
Speaker 1: shoot at this point. We don't really know who's going
Speaker 1: to be there at number seventeen. But in terms of
Speaker 1: a position, do you have a strong feeling for what
Speaker 1: they should be looking for with their first pick.
Speaker 2: So it'd have to go in there and look at
Speaker 2: what the draft is deep at. I mean, last year
Speaker 2: it worked out that the Bengals needed an offensive lineman
Speaker 2: and it was deep at offensive line, even though we
Speaker 2: were all watching the draft and watching Brock Bauers slip
Speaker 2: and slip in wonder and the Bengals got out of
Speaker 2: it with the Marius Mims, who I think has been
Speaker 2: a very good fit and a very good draft pick
Speaker 2: and has a great future here in Cincinnati. Certainly, you know,
Speaker 2: you talk about these teams and every team needs a quarterback,
Speaker 2: right and the teams that are near the top of
Speaker 2: the draft or wherever they're drafting, you got to keep
Speaker 2: taking a swing until you get it right. For me,
Speaker 2: that that's me with edge and I've known they They've
Speaker 2: invested a lot of draft capital and edge, but I
Speaker 2: think they have to keep swinging at a difference maker
Speaker 2: coming off the edge until they get it right. Opposite
Speaker 2: of Trey Hendrickson. Whatever they decide to do with Trey,
Speaker 2: whether he's here one year, or they extend him, or
Speaker 2: if they trade him, who knows what happens with Trey Hendrickson.
Speaker 2: He's not going to be here forever, and there is
Speaker 2: a shelf life on his production as he goes past
Speaker 2: thirty years old. We all understand that. But I think
Speaker 2: this team and I would have to see the draft
Speaker 2: and how it falls out as far as depth at
Speaker 2: that position. But if there's someone there that they believe
Speaker 2: can be the next swing to find someone who can
Speaker 2: rush the quarterback, that has to be a priority for
Speaker 2: this team, understanding the other positions of value are already fielded,
Speaker 2: quarterback and wide receiver.
Speaker 1: All Right, We've got about four minutes to go on
Speaker 1: this zoom, so I'm going to wrap this up with
Speaker 1: a few fun fact style questions for Joe Daniman, Are
Speaker 1: you ready ready your all time favorite athlete in any sport?
Speaker 2: And why Kobe Bryant, Because Kobe Bryant was never satisfied
Speaker 2: with success. Kobe Bryant was obsessed with work, What's next
Speaker 2: in the famous line of jobs not finished. So as
Speaker 2: someone who prides himself on working hard, not necessarily on talent,
Speaker 2: Kobe Bryant and the the never ending appetite for work
Speaker 2: and improvement is why Kobe Bryant is my number one.
Speaker 1: I'll tell you a good Kobe Bryant's story after we're finished.
Speaker 1: Your all time favorite sports broadcaster is well.
Speaker 2: Immediately went to Marty Brenneman because he was the reason
Speaker 2: I got into this business, growing up with Marty and
Speaker 2: listening to him and wanting to do something in the
Speaker 2: same business as someone who I looked up to as
Speaker 2: much as Marty Brenneman. But as I've gotten older and
Speaker 2: listen more, I'm gonna go with.
Speaker 1: I.
Speaker 2: An Eagle was jumped up high on my list. Mike Tarico.
Speaker 2: You know you watch Mike Tico to the Olympics. Yeah,
Speaker 2: and he makes it look so easy and it's it's unbelievable. Yeah,
Speaker 2: I would go with those three. I would go Marty Brenneman,
Speaker 2: Iron Eagle, Mike to Rico as my top three.
Speaker 1: The happiest you've ever been as a sports.
Speaker 2: Fan, I would have to say it was Carmelo Anthony
Speaker 2: leading Syracuse to a national championship. Yes, it's interesting because
Speaker 2: during that run, I had some sadness in my life,
Speaker 2: you know, a personal loss, and you know you're trying
Speaker 2: to find ways to get yourself out of a funk,
Speaker 2: you know, and it just wasn't a good start to
Speaker 2: the two thousand and three year for me. So for
Speaker 2: for Jerry McNamara Carmelo Anthony to take Syracuse to a
Speaker 2: national championship, the funny story is I was supposed to
Speaker 2: go and I was just starting my career at Fox
Speaker 2: nineteen and I had time to use and I could
Speaker 2: use my vacation. I called all my friends when we
Speaker 2: made the final four, I said, we're going, we gotta go.
Speaker 2: And I'm like, ah, we can. We got this, We
Speaker 2: got that, we got this. And in the day before
Speaker 2: the game, we're like, we're going, we're picking you up.
Speaker 2: I'm like, I can't get out of work now. I
Speaker 2: have to give them at least five days advance for
Speaker 2: them to get somebody to fill my shift. So yeah,
Speaker 2: Carmelo Anthony Jerry McNamara National Championship Jim Beheim finally gets
Speaker 2: his national championship.
Speaker 1: To me, that was a great night we were working
Speaker 1: together at Fox nineteen. I went, I wonder if that
Speaker 1: if that's why you couldn't get out of your shift,
Speaker 1: because I was sorry there.
Speaker 2: Well, it led to a great story of you meeting
Speaker 2: up with Jim Baheim after the national championship. That's good
Speaker 2: enough for me.
Speaker 1: All right, we are out of time. This was great.
Speaker 1: I really appreciate your time, Joe. Keep up the tremendous work,
Speaker 1: and again, congratulations on your richly deserved recognition as the
Speaker 1: sportscaster of the Year in Ohio.
Speaker 2: Dan, thanks for having me.
Speaker 1: By the way, the Kobe Bryant story wasn't anything. I
Speaker 1: just didn't want to run out of time with Joe.
Speaker 1: The story is actually courtesy of UC basketball coach Wes Miller,
Speaker 1: who was in the stands in Los Angeles for a
Speaker 1: game in two thousand and five when Kobe Bryant had
Speaker 1: sixty two points at the end of the third quarter.
Speaker 1: At that point in the game, Kobe had sixty two
Speaker 1: and the Lakers opponent, Dallas had sixty one. The Lakers
Speaker 1: had a huge lead at that point, and when Phil
Speaker 1: Jackson asked Kobe if he wanted to go back in
Speaker 1: in the fourth quarter. He said no, adding that he
Speaker 1: would have another night like it. Roughly a month later,
Speaker 1: Kobe scored eighty one against the Raptors. The Bengals Booth
Speaker 1: Podcast is brought to you by Paycorp, Proud to be
Speaker 1: the Bengals Official HR software provider, by Alta Fiber, future
Speaker 1: proof Fiber Internet designed to elevate your home, business, and community
Speaker 1: to a new level, and by Kettering Health the best
Speaker 1: care for the best fans. Kettering Health is the official
Speaker 1: healthcare provider of the Bengals. A couple of days ago,
Speaker 1: on January fifteenth, my friend Morrison pointed out on social
Speaker 1: media that it was the two year anniversary of what
Speaker 1: is arguably the greatest single play in Bengals history, the
Speaker 1: Fumble in the Jungle, Sam Hubbard's ninety eight yard fumble
Speaker 1: return touchdown against Baltimore that gave Cincinnati a thrilling twenty
Speaker 1: four to seventeen playoff win. Not too long ago, I
Speaker 1: sat down with Sam to answer a few questions I
Speaker 1: had about the play, including did Ravens tight end Mark
Speaker 1: Andrews get a piece of his shoe on the run back,
Speaker 1: did Marcus Bailey get away with an illegal block in
Speaker 1: the back? And what nickname for the play? Does Sam prefer?
Speaker 1: Fumble in the jungle or the Hubbard yard dash. Here's
Speaker 1: a four minute look back.
Speaker 3: Third down and goal from the one hundred sticks the
Speaker 3: ball out.
Speaker 1: The Bengals have the boy.
Speaker 3: They are running it back Sam Hubbard with blockers behind him.
Speaker 3: Hubbard of the Ravens forty, the thirty, the twenty, the ten.
Speaker 1: Touchdown.
Speaker 3: Bengalso Tyler Hudley tried to extend the ball over the
Speaker 3: goal line, it got poked away. Sam Hubbard scooped it
Speaker 3: up and ran the length of the field for a
Speaker 3: go ahead Bengals touchdown.
Speaker 1: All right, let's turn the clock back seventeen all twelve
Speaker 1: minutes to go on the fourth quarter, third and goal
Speaker 1: from the one. Described what happened in as much detail
Speaker 1: as you can.
Speaker 4: Yeah, it was a fourteen play drive, so we're all
Speaker 4: pretty gassed down in the one yard line, kind of
Speaker 4: backs against the wall. The quarterback decided to try and
Speaker 4: go over the top of the pile and a quarterback
Speaker 4: sneak and Logan Wilson and Jermaine Pratt punched the ball
Speaker 4: out landed in my hands and had enough gas to
Speaker 4: get the end zone and ended up winning the game
Speaker 4: for US.
Speaker 1: You glanced back a couple of times early. It looked
Speaker 1: like you looked at the video board in the midst
Speaker 1: of the run. Did you have a sense of what
Speaker 1: was behind you? Uh?
Speaker 4: I kind of was backwards on the jumbo tron, so
Speaker 4: I swerved the wrong way because it's backwards. But I
Speaker 4: had some blockers with me. Yeah, I was all blur.
Speaker 4: I just am glad that I didn't get tripped up
Speaker 4: on the ten yard line.
Speaker 1: Mark Andrews looked like Usain Bolt as he tried to
Speaker 1: run you down. He dove at your feet around the twenty.
Speaker 1: You stumbled ever so slightly. Did he get a piece
Speaker 1: of your shoe?
Speaker 4: I think I was just trying to pick my feet up. Uh,
Speaker 4: you know, usually I'm on the other end of that,
Speaker 4: trying to take out the runner's ankles. But uh, you know,
Speaker 4: I just know that you've picked your feet up. Keep him,
Speaker 4: keep them chopping, and you're gonna You're gonna get in
Speaker 4: the end zone.
Speaker 1: Marcus Bailey came dangerously close to a possible blocking in
Speaker 1: the back call. Ravens fans obviously think he was guilty.
Speaker 4: Was that a.
Speaker 1: Topic of discussion when you all look back at the tape?
Speaker 4: No, I was a clean blockie, you know he was.
Speaker 4: He turned his back and he was lateral with him,
Speaker 4: so you know, you can't really call that. But uh,
Speaker 4: great for by Mark. He's a hell of a player.
Speaker 4: Be competing against him since college and I got the
Speaker 4: utmost respect for him.
Speaker 1: We've all seen the famous shot of you in the
Speaker 1: oxygen mask? Did you request it? How did that come about?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 4: I truly was completely exhausted. I don't think I could
Speaker 4: play anymore of the game. I really emptied the tank
Speaker 4: after that drive straight into that run, and I had
Speaker 4: nothing left. But I had some teammates that stepped up
Speaker 4: for me and finished out the game.
Speaker 2: The Cincinnati kuld Hotard's gonna come by Chase by Andrews
Speaker 2: with the three the twenty well stop.
Speaker 1: I went to college with Mike Tariko. I'm sure you've
Speaker 1: heard his famous call of the play where he first
Speaker 1: used the Cincinnati kid. What did you you and your
Speaker 1: family think of that?
Speaker 4: I thought it was perfect. A credit to him for
Speaker 4: doing the research, talking to Doug Rosfeld before the game,
Speaker 4: knowing my you know, just knowing everybody's story and being
Speaker 4: so invested in the game he was calling and really
Speaker 4: made for a special moment.
Speaker 1: The play was ninety eight yards, you actually covered one
Speaker 1: hundred and twenty three. You always do sprints at the
Speaker 1: at the end of practice. Does that cross your mind
Speaker 1: now as you're doing those sprints.
Speaker 4: No, I'm just getting in shape for the season and
Speaker 4: get myself ready for whatever happens next. You know, I've
Speaker 4: made some big plays at the end of the game
Speaker 4: the last couple of pro seasons, just being in better
Speaker 4: shape than everybody else, and that's something I continue to
Speaker 4: plan on doing.
Speaker 1: I think it's the greatest single play in franchise history
Speaker 1: as a Cincinnati native. What does that mean?
Speaker 4: It means a lot. It's got its place in history,
Speaker 4: and I look forward to continuing to build on that legacy.
Speaker 1: Fumble in the Jungle or the Hubbard yard dash. I'll
Speaker 1: let the people decide that I'm a fumble in the
Speaker 1: Jungle guy.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I like that too, Thanks Sam, Yeah, thank you.
Speaker 1: As I said to Sam, I think it's the single
Speaker 1: greatest play in Bengals history, but it's certainly not Sam's
Speaker 1: only great moment in the AFC Championship game the year before.
Speaker 1: The Chiefs were four yards away from a go ahead
Speaker 1: touchdown with about ninety seconds to go when Hubbard sacked
Speaker 1: Patrick Mahomes on back to back plays to force Kansas
Speaker 1: City to settle for an overtime forcing field goal. On
Speaker 1: the second sack, Mahomes had more than nine seconds to
Speaker 1: throw before Hubbard ran them down and actually forced to
Speaker 1: fumble that Joe Tooney recovered for k C. Had the
Speaker 1: Bengals come up with the ball to end the game,
Speaker 1: Sam could have had the fumble in the jungle and
Speaker 1: the Sam slam at arrowhead. That's going to do it
Speaker 1: for This episode of the Bengals Booth podcast brought to
Speaker 1: you by pay Corps, Proud to be the Bengals official
Speaker 1: HR software provider, by Alta Fiber future proof Fiber Internet
Speaker 1: designed to elevate your home, business, and community to a
Speaker 1: new level, and by Kettering Health the best care for
Speaker 1: the best fans. Kettering Health is the official healthcare provider
Speaker 1: of the Bengals. If you haven't done so already, please
Speaker 1: subscribe to this podcast and if you have a minute,
Speaker 1: give it a rating or share a comment that helps
Speaker 1: more Bengals fans find US. I'm Dan Horde and thank
Speaker 1: you for listening to the Bengals Booth podcast