Speaker 1: Hi, get everybody on Dan Horde and thanks for downloading
Speaker 1: the Bengals Booth podcast. On with the show, this is
Speaker 1: it addition as we take an in depth look at
Speaker 1: the Bengals final preseason game at thirteen six loss to
Speaker 1: the Indianapolis Colts. Coming up, you'll hear radio replays from
Speaker 1: the game, locker room comments from players and coaches, and
Speaker 1: Dave lapp Them will join me for postgame analysis. Plus,
Speaker 1: in this week's Fun Facts Conversation, I'll chat with rookie
Speaker 1: quarterback Jake dola Gala on a wide variety of topics,
Speaker 1: ranging from the injury he suffered as a high school
Speaker 1: senior that jeopardized his career, too just how far he
Speaker 1: can throw a football. All of that is straight ahead,
Speaker 1: but first, here's a quick reminder that you can have
Speaker 1: the latest edition of this podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet,
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Speaker 1: or pod Bean. It's the greatest invention since the heated
Speaker 1: butter knife. There are few things worse than a hard
Speaker 1: chunk of butter that rips up your toast when you
Speaker 1: try to spread it. The heated butter knife solves the
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Speaker 1: a breeze. I'll admit I haven't purchased one yet, but
Speaker 1: the concept is genius. Now let's get to football. In
Speaker 1: the Bengals final preseason game, nearly half of the team
Speaker 1: had the night off, some due to injury, most to
Speaker 1: avoid the possibility of injury. As a result, most of
Speaker 1: the guys that did play were out there for the
Speaker 1: entire game, and many were desperately trying to hold onto
Speaker 1: a job, either on the fifty three man roster or
Speaker 1: the ten man practice squad, like undrafted wide receiver Ventell
Speaker 1: Bryant out of Temple, who finished with nine catches for
Speaker 1: eighty three yards and hopes to still be on the
Speaker 1: Bengals after Saturday's roster cut down. What are the next
Speaker 1: couple of days going to be like for you? I
Speaker 1: have no idea, you know, I'm just gonna sit by
Speaker 1: my phone. You know, I know what the reality could be.
Speaker 1: So you know, I'm just thankful for this opportunity. You know,
Speaker 1: not too many people can say they played in the
Speaker 1: NFL preseason game, you know, and I played in all four.
Speaker 1: So I'm very happy with what I accomplished and what
Speaker 1: I did and what I showcased. Roster or practice squad
Speaker 1: are good livings. I mean, even the practice squad is
Speaker 1: a six figure living and a chance to remain with
Speaker 1: an NFL team, and at some point during the year,
Speaker 1: most of the guys typically get a chance to play.
Speaker 1: How would you feel about that? I would love it.
Speaker 1: You know, I love this game of football. You know,
Speaker 1: since I've been a little I wanted to be in
Speaker 1: the NFL, you know, and you mentioned the practice squad.
Speaker 1: You know, if I'm blessed with the opportunity to make
Speaker 1: the practice squad, you know, I would be all in
Speaker 1: for you know, former team in him on Keith Kirkwood
Speaker 1: with the same teams on the practice squad. He got
Speaker 1: moved up Week nine and now he's on the fifty
Speaker 1: three man roster and he's one of the starting gossip
Speaker 1: of Saints. So I know, just talking to him and
Speaker 1: him being in my ear every day, just telling me,
Speaker 1: you know that I can do it. You know I
Speaker 1: belong in this league. You know it means a lot
Speaker 1: to me. And today I just wanted to come out
Speaker 1: and showcase everything that I had and leave everything out
Speaker 1: on the table. That sums up just how meaningful Thursday's
Speaker 1: game was for Bryant and many of his teammates. It
Speaker 1: started well for the Bengals as they came up with
Speaker 1: a special team's takeaway midway through the first quarter. Punt
Speaker 1: returner Penny Hart waits at the twenty five. This is
Speaker 1: a very low returnable kick. Heart starts from the thirty four.
Speaker 1: He muffed it. He dropped it. A Bengal dives and
Speaker 1: recovers at the Indianapolis thirty two yard line, long snapper
Speaker 1: Dan Godsill sprinting down the field and launching himself onto
Speaker 1: that football. The Bengals drove to the twenty three and
Speaker 1: could have tried a forty one yard field goal to
Speaker 1: take the lead, but elected to go for it. On
Speaker 1: fourth down and a yard and a half, Dolla Gala
Speaker 1: hands it off to Anderson and he's tackled or a loss.
Speaker 1: The running game has been abysmal, and Anderson has tackled
Speaker 1: for a two yard loss, so that takeaway didn't lead
Speaker 1: to points, But a few minutes later the Bengals got
Speaker 1: another one one fifty six left in a scoreless first quarter.
Speaker 1: Shotgun snap Kelly with Tom He's gonna fire deep the
Speaker 1: Paris Campbell and it's intercepted at the five yard line
Speaker 1: by Darius Phillips, who had inside position on the former
Speaker 1: Ohio State Buckeye. Timed it perfectly and came down with
Speaker 1: the I NT. I mean Kelly looked to that spot
Speaker 1: immediately and he saw that Phillips was in good position.
Speaker 1: He ran the route better than the receiver did. Here's
Speaker 1: Darius Phillips on the pick. I kind of knew that
Speaker 1: it was coming my way then once I see him
Speaker 1: look up, I lift up and went up for the
Speaker 1: ball as my first, my first NFL pick. Even though
Speaker 1: it's in the preseason, I'm still excited about it. It
Speaker 1: was a great play. How important did you feel tonight
Speaker 1: was for you? Oh? I feel like it was very
Speaker 1: important for me, just because I didn't put it, really
Speaker 1: put the whole game together. Like first game, I had
Speaker 1: a good defensive game in the best special teams game,
Speaker 1: same game, I had a say game. I had a
Speaker 1: good speed team game, but he couldn't finish due to injury,
Speaker 1: so I missed a third game. In this fourth game,
Speaker 1: I just wanted to go out in the showcase what
Speaker 1: I can do, Moron Phillips. A bit later after his interception,
Speaker 1: the Bengals drove from their own five to the Indianapolis
Speaker 1: four thanks to two long passes by rookie Jake Dola Gala.
Speaker 1: Shotgun snapped Dola Gala against a four man rush. It's
Speaker 1: gonna float one deep down the right sideline, and it
Speaker 1: is called a huge game. Cody core reeled it in,
Speaker 1: then hit the ground and the ball popped out. They
Speaker 1: are giving him the catch, at least for now. It
Speaker 1: stood for a thirty nine yard gain, and later on
Speaker 1: the drive, Big Jake hit Ventel Bryant for twenty six more.
Speaker 1: The drive stalled in the red zone, and a short
Speaker 1: field goal by Tristan Viscano gave Cincinnati a three nothing lead.
Speaker 1: It didn't last, as Chad Kelly, thephew of Buffalo Bill's
Speaker 1: Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly, led the Colts on
Speaker 1: a seventy five yard drive third down in two from
Speaker 1: the Bengals seven. Kelly rolling left, He'll look to take
Speaker 1: off and run, and he'll run into the end zone
Speaker 1: untouched for an Indianapolis touchdown. Little zone read right there,
Speaker 1: and Kelly kept it Bengals defensive responsibilities not fulfilled. Somebody
Speaker 1: has the quarterback and nobody had the quarterback. At the half,
Speaker 1: the Colts had a seven three lead. Two minutes into
Speaker 1: the third quarter, the Bengals reach the end zone for
Speaker 1: the first time. Darius Phillips will be the return man
Speaker 1: for the Bengals. He waits at the twenty two yard line.
Speaker 1: Here comes the right footed punt. It's got an awkward
Speaker 1: looking spin to it. Phillips catches at the twenty eight,
Speaker 1: makes the gunner miss looked out. He's off to the
Speaker 1: races at the forty five the fifty. There's a penalty
Speaker 1: flag down to the Colts forty the thirty near sideline
Speaker 1: twenty ten five. He takes it into the end zone
Speaker 1: for a touchdown, but there's a penalty flag back at
Speaker 1: the twenty seven yard line. Sure enough, an illegal block
Speaker 1: on Trey Von Henderson wiped out the score, but it
Speaker 1: was still a great return by Phillips, who had fumbled
Speaker 1: twice on punt returns in the preseason opener at Kansas City.
Speaker 1: Like you said, I went out the Chiefs game and
Speaker 1: had two months, So I just want to thank them
Speaker 1: for keep for keep believing in me and staying after
Speaker 1: practice with me to catch puntson. Just keep having faith
Speaker 1: in me, and that's doesn't kept me going though. Some
Speaker 1: people you'll drop balls and give up turnovers and they
Speaker 1: just get down. But them showing me that they have
Speaker 1: faith in me kept me going in I didn't want
Speaker 1: to discipline. After a costly mistake by the punt return team,
Speaker 1: the punt coverage team made up for it. Hubert punts
Speaker 1: from his own ten hits it very very high. Penny
Speaker 1: Hart back penals catches, has the ball knocked out. The
Speaker 1: Bengals dive and recover again. Long snapper Dan Godsil for
Speaker 1: the second time recovers, this time at the twenty five
Speaker 1: of Indy, and it looks like the penalty is going
Speaker 1: to be on Indy. It was four illegal block that
Speaker 1: did not prevent Davante Harris from forcing the fumble once again.
Speaker 1: The Bengals drove into the red zone, only to come
Speaker 1: away with nothing as Viscano missed the thirty seven yard
Speaker 1: field goal try. At that point, the Bengals had three
Speaker 1: takeaways to none for the Colts and still trailed seven
Speaker 1: to three. A few minutes later, Indianapolis forced to fumble
Speaker 1: second down and eight, Dolagala fakes a handoff, he gets
Speaker 1: stripped hit from behind and the ball is out at
Speaker 1: the seventeen yard line. The officials come running in and
Speaker 1: the Colts have recovered it led to a field goal
Speaker 1: in at ten three Indie lead. The Colts drove for
Speaker 1: another field goal to make it thirteen three going to
Speaker 1: the final quarter. Early in the fourth, the Bengals drove
Speaker 1: into the red zone again, this time making it all
Speaker 1: the way to the Indie six. Dolagala, standing at the
Speaker 1: twelve waiting for the shotgun, snap, catches the ball he's
Speaker 1: back to throw, now has to run backward and he
Speaker 1: will be sacked way back at the wy yard line.
Speaker 1: Instead of scoring seven, the Bengals settled for three to
Speaker 1: make it thirteen to six. Jake dola Gala played the
Speaker 1: entire game, going twenty seven for forty two for two
Speaker 1: hundred and fifty three yards with no touchdowns or picks
Speaker 1: for a passer rating of eighty two point seven. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I thought I did a decent job. Obviously, I think
Speaker 1: I left some plays out there on the field, But
Speaker 1: as a whole you know, there's a couple of mental
Speaker 1: mistakes that I would want back, and there were simple
Speaker 1: stuff too, But you know, I think that's just I
Speaker 1: got to do a better job of refocusing after each play,
Speaker 1: forgetting about the next one and just moving on. You
Speaker 1: feel like you went out there and when you look
Speaker 1: in the mirror after you take your shower tonight, you're
Speaker 1: gonna say, I gave it everything I had. Yeah I did.
Speaker 1: I didn't give it everything I had. You know, I
Speaker 1: hope they look at the film and you know, they
Speaker 1: see some of my talent and then you know, we'll
Speaker 1: see what happens, honestly, because it's all to them, not
Speaker 1: up to me. The Bengals will certainly try to keep
Speaker 1: Dola Gala on the practice squad, if not the fifty
Speaker 1: three man roster. The six foot seven inch quarterback appeared
Speaker 1: to put the Bengals in position to possibly win the
Speaker 1: game with about four minutes to go. Tightly clustered formation,
Speaker 1: Dola Galla crows he's got a man wide open at
Speaker 1: the two young line, and Flowers knifed his way into
Speaker 1: the end zone for a Bengals touchdown with four or
Speaker 1: one to go. As the Bengals were getting set to
Speaker 1: line up for a two point conversion in hopes of
Speaker 1: taking the lead. The officials went to the replay monitor,
Speaker 1: presumably to make sure that Flowers had reached the end
Speaker 1: zone before his knee hit the ground, but after studying
Speaker 1: the play, they called offensive pass interference on tight end
Speaker 1: Mason Shrek for setting a pick at the goal line,
Speaker 1: wiping out the touchdown catch for Quentin Flowers. When did
Speaker 1: you realize it was going to be taken off the board? Honestly,
Speaker 1: when I said, when I see on the jamotron, I
Speaker 1: seen that I wasn't down. I was like, yeah, I
Speaker 1: told coach way before it even half, I say, coach
Speaker 1: on school. But at the end of day they came
Speaker 1: back and say it was passing inference, which that wasn't
Speaker 1: what they would looking for. But you know, at the
Speaker 1: end of the day, is nothing I can do about
Speaker 1: that is nothing I can control, you know, I just
Speaker 1: me and offense. We just foughts in the air and
Speaker 1: that's what we came out with. Al So at the
Speaker 1: end of day, we just got to keeping nights. The
Speaker 1: Bengals still had a chance after the penalty, as they
Speaker 1: drove to the one yard line before going for a
Speaker 1: touchdown on fourth and goal. Shrek and Core out to
Speaker 1: the left, Bryant and Malone out to the right. Flowers
Speaker 1: in the backfield to the left of Jake Dolla Gala,
Speaker 1: who waits for a shotgun snap fourth and goal from
Speaker 1: the one, Dolla Gala with his zone read, he handed
Speaker 1: it off and Flowers gets tackled for a one yard
Speaker 1: loss at the two yard line. In case you weren't
Speaker 1: keeping track, the Bengals drove into the red zone four times.
Speaker 1: They kicked two field goals, missed the field goal, and
Speaker 1: turned the ball over on downs. Here's Dolla Gala. That
Speaker 1: was kind of a sore spot for us tonight. When
Speaker 1: you get down there, you expect to score or at
Speaker 1: least come away with three. But we didn't do a
Speaker 1: good enough shob you know, actually being successful with what
Speaker 1: we were trying to accomplish on each play. You know,
Speaker 1: I think it was a combination of a bunch of things.
Speaker 1: But you know, obviously I could have played better down there,
Speaker 1: and you know, as a whole, I think we could
Speaker 1: have meshed a little bit better and you know, put
Speaker 1: a touchdown on the board that would have been nice.
Speaker 1: The final score Indie thirteen, Cincinnati six. The Bengals finished
Speaker 1: the preseason one in three. But there was something that
Speaker 1: hurt more than Thursday's loss. Early in the second quarter,
Speaker 1: rookie running back Rodney Anderson, who was so impressive in
Speaker 1: his preseason debut last week, injured his right knee, the
Speaker 1: same knee that was surgically repaired after an ACL tear
Speaker 1: early last season at Oklahoma. According to Bengals dot Com
Speaker 1: editor Jeff Hobson, the team fears that he tore the
Speaker 1: ACL again. After the game, Dave Lapham spent three minutes
Speaker 1: with Zach Taylor and the first topic was the bengals
Speaker 1: inability to score more touchdowns in the red zone. Disappointing.
Speaker 1: You know, the first fourth and one and a half
Speaker 1: call we got out. We expect to get that and
Speaker 1: we just we didn't get it done. And then you
Speaker 1: had the one on the goal on especially that we
Speaker 1: had a shot there and didn't happen. So tough to
Speaker 1: win regular season games. We cannot lead points on the
Speaker 1: field like that. And that's just the way went tonight.
Speaker 1: Offensive pass interference, I mean, my understanding was there's a yard.
Speaker 1: If you more than a yard, you can't run through him.
Speaker 1: If he's pressing within a yard, you can run through him.
Speaker 1: I right on that or and that was dicey. Even
Speaker 1: with that, if they're talking about a yard or a
Speaker 1: yard plus, I mean to me, I don't know, how
Speaker 1: do you what do you tell your player to do
Speaker 1: differently than he did? People are gonna have sub call
Speaker 1: pass plays on the one yard line, I mean quite frankly,
Speaker 1: because it's always going to be tight coverage like that,
Speaker 1: and when they confront you at the on of scrimmage
Speaker 1: and then you're trying to fight to work at edge
Speaker 1: and get off of them, there's either stopped running them
Speaker 1: out or you got to try to work at edge
Speaker 1: on the day and it becomes difficult. So I don't
Speaker 1: know that that's really what we want with all this stuff,
Speaker 1: to lose ten yard when we're when we're down there
Speaker 1: on the goal line. And you know, so that was
Speaker 1: that tough. So you mentioned before the game, we were
Speaker 1: talking to the pregame that tonight is this tape is
Speaker 1: resume for a lot of guys. I mean, they're trying
Speaker 1: to put out as good a resume as they possibly can,
Speaker 1: and quite a few guys took advantage of opportunities. Bryant,
Speaker 1: you know, nine catches for eighty three yards I think
Speaker 1: it was. And Flowers you know down the stretch, had
Speaker 1: some plays. Doula Gala you know, had his moments. He
Speaker 1: was kind of up and down. But guys really stepped up. Yeah,
Speaker 1: they did, you know, and it was good to see that.
Speaker 1: Whether they whether these guys make our team or somebody
Speaker 1: else's team, Um, there are ours right now and you're
Speaker 1: proud of all of them. And after they put in
Speaker 1: and so see those guys go out there and make
Speaker 1: plays was really encouraging. And we're really excited for all
Speaker 1: those guys. Um, people are texting and whatever. Can you
Speaker 1: give us any update on Malik Jefferson? What was going
Speaker 1: on there? Ah yet non football related and we'll just
Speaker 1: we'll check into over we had an update tomorrow. Any
Speaker 1: any word on Anderson's injury. I mean if that that's heartbreaking.
Speaker 1: I mean the kid rehabbing the way he did, and
Speaker 1: I mean it's the right knee any worked on theirs
Speaker 1: early it is. I don't have an update yet, but
Speaker 1: hopefully tomorrow would have some news. So all in all,
Speaker 1: preseason you know, is complete, it's it's put away. What
Speaker 1: are your overall thoughts how the preseason went for your
Speaker 1: first time the guys made progress each and every week,
Speaker 1: and we needed all these games, and I feel like
Speaker 1: we're gonna be prepared next Sunday in Seattle. Excited to
Speaker 1: start game planning and Sierra players kind of start to
Speaker 1: think the way we think when it comes to attacking
Speaker 1: an opponent and just excited to get next week underway. Coach,
Speaker 1: the guys that didn't play, they're out in the field
Speaker 1: busting it at three thirty. I mean, you're getting their
Speaker 1: heart rate up. I mean that was an endurance deal
Speaker 1: out there. They probably got more from that than they
Speaker 1: would have played a series or two in this football game. Well,
Speaker 1: we needed simulate as best we can. Then playing in
Speaker 1: a game. Today was a game day, and the way
Speaker 1: that we have the schedule structured for the next ten days,
Speaker 1: they needed the work that they got today. And so
Speaker 1: if they're not gonna play in the game, we're gonna
Speaker 1: make sure that they get it some other way. Time
Speaker 1: for more postgame analysis with LAP and we start with
Speaker 1: a significance of the final preseason game. Before the game,
Speaker 1: they knew this was their final opportunity to get video resume,
Speaker 1: and guys put things on a videotape resume they could
Speaker 1: be proud of, you know, Bryant for one, Flowers for another,
Speaker 1: Dola Gala, you know, and both teams. I mean, the
Speaker 1: Colts players were doing the same thing. Might not have
Speaker 1: been important to a lot of people watching and listening,
Speaker 1: but to the players, they're out here playing, they're trying to,
Speaker 1: you know, get one of the final roster spots of
Speaker 1: fifty three men roster or ten spot practice squad deal,
Speaker 1: which is a six figure income. That's significant. There's pressure
Speaker 1: there and you want to try to continue your NFL career,
Speaker 1: and more than half of those practice squad guys wind
Speaker 1: up getting activated at some point during the course of
Speaker 1: the season. Let's get back to Jake Dola Gala. He
Speaker 1: played the entire game. We knew that Andy Dalton would
Speaker 1: not play. Ryan Finley also did not play, and the
Speaker 1: undrafted rookie out of Central Connecticut State twenty seven for
Speaker 1: forty two, two hundred and fifty four yards, no touchdowns,
Speaker 1: no picks. He did us out on a few opportunities
Speaker 1: where the easy pass was wide open, and he tried
Speaker 1: for the bigger game. Yeah, Ellis. A couple of times
Speaker 1: Ellis probably came back to him and said, bro, what
Speaker 1: have I done wrong. You know, I'm wide open. One
Speaker 1: of them would have been a touchdown, third down in
Speaker 1: the red zone on the in the end zone going
Speaker 1: up towards the city, away from the river. That baby
Speaker 1: was was potentially six. So and I asked him, you know,
Speaker 1: after the game, assess your performance. And he said, because
Speaker 1: I said, you guys start you started hot. It was
Speaker 1: a lull fourth quarter. Pick things up again and you know,
Speaker 1: a little bit choppy up and down. And he said that,
Speaker 1: you know there were some staffs I like top back,
Speaker 1: pre snap reads, you know, uh, coverage, he said, you
Speaker 1: know I was seeing the field okay, but I'm sure
Speaker 1: when he sees the checkdowns that were there to Ellis
Speaker 1: and some other things. But he's very honest in his assessment.
Speaker 1: You know he knows that that it was. He. I said,
Speaker 1: when you look in the mirror after your shower, you're
Speaker 1: going to be pleased with the performance. And said, yeah,
Speaker 1: I did all I could do. I know it wasn't perfect,
Speaker 1: but you know I tried my best. Darius Phillips had
Speaker 1: an interception and seventy two yard punt returned touchdown that
Speaker 1: unfortunately was wiped out by a penalty. So he did
Speaker 1: some great things. I thought Cody Core had a solid game.
Speaker 1: I don't know for sure if those guys were on
Speaker 1: the bubble or not. If they were, are they guaranteed
Speaker 1: roster spots after what they did tonight? Yeah? I think
Speaker 1: Cody Core and Josh Malone were in a battle. You know,
Speaker 1: they both played quite a bit in this fourth preseason game.
Speaker 1: And you know, Josh Malone started the preseason as as
Speaker 1: the guy and you know other players passed them by,
Speaker 1: so he was he's in a battle and corp with
Speaker 1: his special team's ability and he made some players tonight.
Speaker 1: I you know, you got to think that, uh he's
Speaker 1: he's he's a guy that's that's going to be in
Speaker 1: the mix. Do they keep six? I think they probably
Speaker 1: keep seven on the fifty three and uh so there
Speaker 1: you know as the room for Jake, you know, are
Speaker 1: you exposing the waivers and hope nobody claims and bring
Speaker 1: them back put them on your practice squad. I mean,
Speaker 1: but Anderson, that's that's the big story of the night,
Speaker 1: you know, unfortunate injury to Anderson. I asked UH coach
Speaker 1: Taylor about both Anderson and Malik Jefferson, and you know
Speaker 1: he said, non football sickness or non football issue with
Speaker 1: Malik and then no injury you know, update yet Anderson.
Speaker 1: But that's the guy that we're counting on, and that's
Speaker 1: an unfortunate It is the right knee, the one that
Speaker 1: he had reconstructed after the ACL. Tare Rodney Anderson has
Speaker 1: had the worst injury luck possible in his football career
Speaker 1: since high school. In four years at Oklahoma, he suffered
Speaker 1: three serious season ending injuries. Broken leg, fractured vertebrae in
Speaker 1: his neck, torn ACL. The one year he played he
Speaker 1: was great, and he looked so good last week. He
Speaker 1: can only hope that it's not as serious as fear
Speaker 1: and it's not nicks. I mean these are like you know,
Speaker 1: injuries you get from automobile accidents. I mean, these are serious,
Speaker 1: serious injuries. I mean some guys, unfortunately, are cursed by
Speaker 1: the football gods. You know. Hopefully his curse ends soon.
Speaker 1: Hopefully this isn't as bad as people think it might be.
Speaker 1: Cross your fingers and say a prayer for Anderson. Lap
Speaker 1: The Bengals went to one in three in the preseason,
Speaker 1: and as you look back at training camp and those
Speaker 1: four preseason games, what were the biggest positives in your mind. Well,
Speaker 1: I think it started out as a negative when Aj
Speaker 1: Green went down forty five minutes into training camp up
Speaker 1: in Dayton, and he's elite. You know, he's still one
Speaker 1: of the top handful receivers in the National Football League
Speaker 1: and you don't want to lose him, and they're gonna
Speaker 1: lose him for three maybe four football games, hopefully at
Speaker 1: the max. With that said, young guys said, all right,
Speaker 1: you know AJ's down, other guys are nicked up. You
Speaker 1: know Ross is not practicing. How about me? And I
Speaker 1: give Bobby Bicknell and the players a lot of credit.
Speaker 1: They got better every single day. They made plays in
Speaker 1: practice when the opportunity presented itself. Willis secured the starting
Speaker 1: x X position, the split in position at the in
Speaker 1: the opener against Seattle, and they made it very, very
Speaker 1: difficult for the coaching staff to decide which of these
Speaker 1: guys are we going to let go because they are
Speaker 1: all deserving. That says a lot to me that that
Speaker 1: was a very big positive. I think the defensive line
Speaker 1: was another positive. I think eleven guys made a case
Speaker 1: they could make the football team. It's too many, They're
Speaker 1: not gonna be able to keep that many obviously at
Speaker 1: any point during the course of the season on a
Speaker 1: fifty three man roster, but you know, they tough decisions
Speaker 1: to be made, and even during the course of this week,
Speaker 1: they're still going to be tweaked for the roster. This
Speaker 1: roster's not done. They're still gonna be making decisions to
Speaker 1: improve the back end of the roster and practice squad players.
Speaker 1: What are the biggest question marks you still have lap
Speaker 1: going into the season offensively the offensive line. You know,
Speaker 1: it's probably game day they're going to only have seven
Speaker 1: guys dressed. I think Jim Turner did a great job
Speaker 1: of establishing position versatility. He rolled in, like he said,
Speaker 1: it was a kaleidoscope of matchups that, you know, of
Speaker 1: pairings that he had to try to see what was
Speaker 1: the best possible combination of players. And when you only
Speaker 1: can go into a football game in the NFL with
Speaker 1: just seven players, you have a lot of position versatility.
Speaker 1: And I think that's what the plan is. But you know,
Speaker 1: will they be effective enough as a group. In my mind,
Speaker 1: a really good offensive line, the sum total of the
Speaker 1: offensive line is better than any individual part, and that's
Speaker 1: what has to happen with this group because there's no
Speaker 1: offensive allowing you go, Wow, that guy's unbelievable. That guy
Speaker 1: knocks your socks off. That's a perennial pro bowler. But
Speaker 1: you have to hope that as a group they play
Speaker 1: even higher. It's like one plus one plus one plus one.
Speaker 1: It doesn't equal five, at equals eight or something like that.
Speaker 1: So but that's the big biggest question offensively. Defensively linebacker,
Speaker 1: the linebacker position. It's like, you know, I still they
Speaker 1: still may be tweaking both of these position groups as
Speaker 1: we speak. I don't think they're done with their work.
Speaker 1: Last year, Dan, we saw it, teams isolated the linebackers,
Speaker 1: and in today's NFL, seventy five eighty percent of the
Speaker 1: time you're in multi multiple receiver formations where you're only
Speaker 1: playing two linebackers. If i'd the Bengals, I only play one.
Speaker 1: I mean, you know, it's like unless unless you other
Speaker 1: guys step up. I try to limit the number of
Speaker 1: snaps I have linebackers on the field, you know, and
Speaker 1: see if these smaller guys can hold up in the
Speaker 1: running game. And you'll find out right away. Because Seattle
Speaker 1: led the league in rushing last year one hundred and
Speaker 1: sixty yards a game. So you know, maybe against Seattle,
Speaker 1: you're gonna have to go with more traditional you know,
Speaker 1: two linebacker sets and unickel package, and they may line
Speaker 1: up and make the Bengals go base defense because they
Speaker 1: know linebackers the weakest position. It's going to be interesting
Speaker 1: to follow that matchup. We want to remind you that
Speaker 1: our Bengals radio shows get underway next week. Bengals Line
Speaker 1: every Monday night from six to nine, the Bengals Game
Speaker 1: Plan Show Wednesdays from six to eight, and the Bengals
Speaker 1: pep Rally Show Friday afternoons from three to six at
Speaker 1: a Buffalo Wings and Rings location in the area. Next Friday,
Speaker 1: we'll be at the King's Mills location with a current
Speaker 1: player joining us in the final hour of the show.
Speaker 1: We'll let you know who as soon as that's finalized.
Speaker 1: Now time for this fun facts segment, because we get
Speaker 1: to know the person under the pads. In this case,
Speaker 1: it's Big Jake, the rookie quarterback who took every snap
Speaker 1: in the preseason finale against the Colts. Time for some
Speaker 1: fun facts with quarterback Jake. Dola Gala from Hamburg, New York,
Speaker 1: not far from Buffalo less than five miles from New
Speaker 1: Era Field, the home of the Buffalo Bills. How Bills crazy?
Speaker 1: Is the Dola Gala family or were they? Until now?
Speaker 1: They were crazy? I'm about the Bills. You know, I
Speaker 1: got some blood from the Bills. My grandfather played back
Speaker 1: in the sixties for them, so we were, you know,
Speaker 1: pretty gung ho on on the Bills growing up. Your grandfather,
Speaker 1: LB Miller, I think I'm saying that right. It's part
Speaker 1: of a national championship team at Syracuse, my alma mater
Speaker 1: nineteen fifty nine, played on two AFL championship teams. In Buffalo.
Speaker 1: He blocked for OJ Simpson in OJ's rookie year, so
Speaker 1: he had quite the career. How did that impact you? Well,
Speaker 1: I guess, you know, it was just something I could
Speaker 1: always look up to. Um My dream I was growing
Speaker 1: up was, you know, to be in the NFL and
Speaker 1: to have somebody like a relative you know, have gone
Speaker 1: through that. Um, you know, it's just something to look
Speaker 1: up to. And you know I was people to ask
Speaker 1: him questions, you know what he was able to do
Speaker 1: to get there, and you know, he just he would
Speaker 1: always tell me he was just a very lucky, lucky boy.
Speaker 1: And um, I'd like to think I'm you know, one
Speaker 1: of the same. You know, I'm just very lucky to
Speaker 1: be here. And um, you know, it was just it
Speaker 1: was it was a blessing to have, you know, a
Speaker 1: relative in the in the league we're tracking too. Quarterback
Speaker 1: Jake do Lagala. You went to Saint Francis High School
Speaker 1: in Buffalo. Other than football, what kinds of activities or
Speaker 1: other sports you involved in? Well, it's Saint Francis. I
Speaker 1: didn't do much other than football. Um, kind of you know,
Speaker 1: try to focus focus on that one skill there. But
Speaker 1: prior to I mean I played every sport in another sun. Really.
Speaker 1: Um My dad wanted to, you know, have like us kids,
Speaker 1: be well rounded and in any any sport. You know
Speaker 1: that he kind of threw us out there. Um, you
Speaker 1: know outside of football, Um, I love golfing, I love
Speaker 1: to go fishing. I'm big fly fishermen. So you know,
Speaker 1: those are just some things that you know, kind of
Speaker 1: take my mind off it doing fun facts with Jake
Speaker 1: dola Gala. As a high school football player, there was
Speaker 1: a good quarterback at your high school, so you weren't
Speaker 1: the full time starter until your senior year and then Unfortunately,
Speaker 1: you suffered a serious injury in your third game. Describe
Speaker 1: how it happened and just how bad it was. A
Speaker 1: third game my senior season. It was the third drive.
Speaker 1: I believe We're down in Erie, Pa. We're playing Cathedral
Speaker 1: Prep and I throw a ball tipped, end up getting picked.
Speaker 1: I go trying mctackle totally with I'm a guy, and
Speaker 1: it was kind of just a fluke thing that happened.
Speaker 1: I just landed like weird on my shoulder, on my arm,
Speaker 1: and I kind of felt like it was just like
Speaker 1: locked in like a certain position, and you know, I
Speaker 1: was kind of bent over, and as I was walking
Speaker 1: to the sideline, you know, I just felt like swivel
Speaker 1: like back into its position, and UM, you know, I
Speaker 1: kind of knew something was up. I just didn't know
Speaker 1: what it was. You know, my older brother had already
Speaker 1: gone through shoulder stuff, and you know, I kind of
Speaker 1: made me nervous. So I go over to the sideline
Speaker 1: and you know, our trainer did a couple of tests
Speaker 1: on me, and you know, he sat me for us
Speaker 1: the game, but he knew exactly what it was and
Speaker 1: UM ended up being a torn laboram So how long
Speaker 1: was it before you could throw normally again. It took forever,
Speaker 1: it felt like, Um, it was like four months until
Speaker 1: I started, like just to try uphill the ball. Um.
Speaker 1: You know, in those first couple of months, I wasn't
Speaker 1: throwing it more than ten yards. And then um, progressively
Speaker 1: over that summer, you know, I was able to you know,
Speaker 1: ramp up the velocity and the distance. Um, where I
Speaker 1: was able to play at Milford Academy. And even then, um,
Speaker 1: it wasn't where it needed to be. It doesn't even
Speaker 1: it wasn't even close to where it is now. But um,
Speaker 1: you know I worked through it, and UM, I would say,
Speaker 1: you know, it took probably a year to get back
Speaker 1: to you know, throwing like I once was. He wound
Speaker 1: up at Central Connecticut State, had a great career started
Speaker 1: for four years. When did the NFL begin to seem
Speaker 1: like a possibility. Well, when the scouts started coming to practice,
Speaker 1: like my sophomore year. They weren't there for me at
Speaker 1: the time, as far as I know, Um, they were
Speaker 1: there for our tackle, Tyler Hurd. He was an athletic kid,
Speaker 1: and you know, I think for them coming to practice
Speaker 1: to watch him a little bit, they kind of caught
Speaker 1: a glimpse of me and then before I know it,
Speaker 1: you know, they're starting to show up at you know,
Speaker 1: more and more practice, you know, just following two years.
Speaker 1: That was when I was like, all right, this this
Speaker 1: could be reality, and you know it. It created some excitement.
Speaker 1: You know, every practice kind of felt like, you know,
Speaker 1: I was being Hawkeye view. Um, so I had to
Speaker 1: be you know, on point every practice. I think that
Speaker 1: helped me, you know, throughout the seasons. But I would
Speaker 1: say junior year was was the time I was like, yeah,
Speaker 1: this could be a thing. We're talking to Jake Doladala.
Speaker 1: That's the FCS level their home stadium seats about fifty
Speaker 1: five hundred. I believe. Were there times that you thought, man,
Speaker 1: I should be in the SEC or the big ten? Yeah,
Speaker 1: of course. Um, you know I watching other guys you know,
Speaker 1: play at that level, and UM, you know, obviously you'd
Speaker 1: like to think that you could do with the job better. Um,
Speaker 1: but you know, you don't know what those the you know,
Speaker 1: what the play calls are or anything like that. But um,
Speaker 1: you know, I thought I was confident enough in myself that,
Speaker 1: you know, if if you would have put me head
Speaker 1: to head with any guy in the you know, in
Speaker 1: the SEC or whatever. Um, you know I would have
Speaker 1: been able to compete for that spot. So you got
Speaker 1: invited to the pro day at the University of Buffalo,
Speaker 1: and this is an opportunity to do your thing in
Speaker 1: front of NFL scouts. Going into that day, were you
Speaker 1: thinking this is the biggest day of my life to
Speaker 1: this point? Ah, yeah, just about was. Um. You know,
Speaker 1: I had prepared as best as I could. UM with
Speaker 1: my quarterback coach back home, Jim Kubiak, and you know,
Speaker 1: he had kind of gone through He had bounced around
Speaker 1: the NFL for a while, so he kind of knew
Speaker 1: what what it was about. So him and I, UM,
Speaker 1: you know, I thought we did the best job we
Speaker 1: could have to get to get ready for that day.
Speaker 1: And I thought I had a great day. Um. You know,
Speaker 1: I thought I showed my arm talent. You know, I
Speaker 1: thought I tested as well as I could have. Um.
Speaker 1: You know, I think I did everything I needed to
Speaker 1: to put myself in the best position on draft day. Um.
Speaker 1: But you know, like you said, FCS level, you just
Speaker 1: don't see the talent around you, like you don't play
Speaker 1: the talent that you know. These NFL coaches like to see.
Speaker 1: So the Bengals and Giants brought you in for pre
Speaker 1: draft visits. What was your trip to Cincinnati? Like, what
Speaker 1: did you do while you were here? Mine was quick actually,
Speaker 1: so my my layover in Washington got delayed three hours,
Speaker 1: so everything I did here was kind of cut down,
Speaker 1: way down. Um, you know, I got to meet with
Speaker 1: with everybody I needed to, but it was just very brief. Um.
Speaker 1: You know, they did some memori imaging on my shoulder
Speaker 1: and um, you know, I did some of the medical
Speaker 1: tests with the doctors and that was about it. That
Speaker 1: was the extent and then I flew home the next day. So, um,
Speaker 1: it wasn't the full like gam I guess of what
Speaker 1: it should have been, but um, yeah, I got everything
Speaker 1: done I needed to. So a few more fun facts
Speaker 1: with Jake Dola Gala. The Bengals signed you as an
Speaker 1: undrafted free agent, and Alex Van Pelt was involved. The
Speaker 1: Bengals quarterbacks coach. He played for the Buffalo Bills. He
Speaker 1: was wildly popular when he was in Buffalo. Was that
Speaker 1: a factor at all? Um? Yeah, for sure. You know,
Speaker 1: Alex is a great coach and a great great person. Um,
Speaker 1: so you know, me haven't known of him, and um,
Speaker 1: you know the people some of my coaches back home,
Speaker 1: you know, close friends, they they know, they knew of
Speaker 1: Alex and you know they they said, you know, he's
Speaker 1: a man of integrity, and um, you know this would
Speaker 1: be a great spot for you, you know, and not
Speaker 1: like that, but you know, I had a you know,
Speaker 1: I have a great opportunity here, um, you know, and
Speaker 1: I think as this preseason goes along, um, you know,
Speaker 1: I'm I'm making the most of it. Your first opportunity
Speaker 1: to play came in week three of the preseason. First drive,
Speaker 1: you go right down the field and throw a touchdown pass.
Speaker 1: Later in the quarter you throw another touchdown pass. Was
Speaker 1: it almost surreal to get your first opportunity and have
Speaker 1: a quarter like that? Oh? Yeah, it was cool for sure.
Speaker 1: It was everything I expected it to be. Everything I
Speaker 1: dreamed of it, you know, and it was awesome. It was,
Speaker 1: you know, a dream come true. Last thing, how far
Speaker 1: can you throw football? I don't know, A Jonalin Pumpin,
Speaker 1: who knows? Who knows? Honestly, I read seventy five yards somewhere? Yeah, probably, Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think. Yeah, that's all gonna say, because I don't
Speaker 1: really know. I haven't done it at all, all right.
Speaker 1: It doesn't matter how far you can throw it. Accuracy
Speaker 1: is far more important and it's looked great so far.
Speaker 1: Congratulations on a terrific debut in Bestiflu that's Jakelagala Dola.
Speaker 1: Gala completed seventy percent of his passes in the preseason,
Speaker 1: with two touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of
Speaker 1: one hundred point one. Best on the team that's going
Speaker 1: to do it for this edition of the podcast. If
Speaker 1: you haven't done so already, don't forget to subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher,
Speaker 1: Google Play, Spotify, or pod Bean, and if you have
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Speaker 1: I'm Dan Horde. Thanks for listening to The Bengals Booth podcast.