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Speaker 1: Hi, get to read Buddy on dan Hoard and thanks

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Speaker 1: for downloading The Bengals Booth Podcast.

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Speaker 2: The Meet Me in a Land of Hope and Dreams.

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Speaker 1: Addition, as Sports Illustrated Senior NFL writer Connor Or explains

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Speaker 1: why he thinks the Bengals are contenders again after their

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Speaker 1: moves in free agency. Plus, Joe Flacco re signed with

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Speaker 1: the Bengals this week for what will be his nineteenth

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Speaker 1: NFL season and that makes him a perfect candidate for

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Speaker 1: the game I call ten teammates in a hat. The

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Speaker 1: Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you by pay Corps,

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Speaker 1: proud to be the Bengals official HR software provider, by

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Speaker 1: Alta Fiber, future proof fiber Internet designed to elevate your home, business,

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Speaker 1: and community to a new level, and by Kettering Health

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Speaker 1: the best care for the best fans. Kettering Health is

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Speaker 1: the official healthcare provider.

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Speaker 2: Of the Bengals.

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Speaker 1: Now here's a quick reminder that you can have the

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Speaker 1: latest edition of this podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet,

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Speaker 1: or computer by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's

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Speaker 1: the greatest thing since Photographer Number twenty four. The Master's

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Speaker 1: Tournament is about two weeks away, and the tournament's official

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Speaker 1: Twitter or X account recently promoted an upcoming documentary called

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Speaker 1: Photographer Number twenty four, The Kid behind the Lens. It's

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Speaker 1: the story of how Baseball Hall of Famer Ken Griffy

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Speaker 1: Junior covered the Masters last year as a credentialed photographer.

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Speaker 1: I got to know Junior when he played for the

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Speaker 1: Cincinnati Reds, and he's one of my all time favorite

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Speaker 1: athletes on and off the field. The trailer for the

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Speaker 1: documentary looks great and I will be setting my DVR

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Speaker 1: to make sure I don't miss it. Photographer Number twenty

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Speaker 1: four premieres on NBC on Sunday, April fifth, that's Easter

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Speaker 1: Sunday at one o'clock. Now, let's get to my first guest.

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Speaker 1: Sports Illustrated Senior NFL writer and fellow Syracuse University alum

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Speaker 1: Connor Orr has written quite a bit about the Bengals

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Speaker 1: in recent years, including a big feature story about the

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Speaker 1: bond between Jamar Chase and t Higgins that appeared in

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Speaker 1: the magazine last August. But I had to talk to

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Speaker 1: Connor this week after seeing a story he wrote for

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Speaker 1: SI dot Com. Connor, I reached out after you wrote

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Speaker 1: a recent story ranking NFL teams after free agency, with

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Speaker 1: this I catching headline for Cincinnati fans host free agency

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Speaker 1: power rankings, Bengals commanders are contenders. Again, that suggests that

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Speaker 1: you like what Cincinnati did in free agency. What in

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Speaker 1: particular stood out well.

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Speaker 3: I think the way that they operate they upgraded the

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Speaker 3: pass rush is is kind of where it's going. We

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Speaker 3: watched Seattle last year win a Super Bowl, not with

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Speaker 3: one elite pass rusher or not with trying to make

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Speaker 3: one pass rusher elite, and it was instead four or

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Speaker 3: five guys that are gonna get seven or eight sacks piece.

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Speaker 4: And I think that's where the game is going.

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Speaker 3: So long as you can coach the players in that

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Speaker 3: way and teach them to be a little bit unselfish

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Speaker 3: and so bringing some of that vibe with you to Cincinnati,

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Speaker 3: I think that that's what that defense is going to

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Speaker 3: look like. They kind of for so long it was

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Speaker 3: so dependent on Trey Hendrickson.

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Speaker 4: But I like that.

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Speaker 3: I like getting a run stopping safety they're going to

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Speaker 3: be able to play. I think a little bit of

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Speaker 3: a bigger nickel kind of defense like we're seeing is

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Speaker 3: pretty prevalent in the NFL.

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Speaker 4: So they set themselves up well. I like them in

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Speaker 4: the division right now.

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Speaker 1: Their offseason mission was to fix the defense. I think

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Speaker 1: we all expect the offense to be good, particularly if

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Speaker 1: Joe stays healthy this year. Do you think the defense

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Speaker 1: looks like it is slightly improved or significantly improved based

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Speaker 1: on what they've done.

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Speaker 4: It's hard.

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Speaker 3: It's hard because you know, you can never measure the

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Speaker 3: loss of someone like Trey Hendrickson because it goes beyond

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Speaker 3: on what he does on the field. But I think

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Speaker 3: that if you take the onus off of one pass

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Speaker 3: rusher and you allow yourself to be a little bit

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Speaker 3: more flexible, I think that automatically makes the defense better

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Speaker 3: because one injury doesn't wipe you out like it used to.

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Speaker 4: And I saw the.

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Speaker 3: Defense coming around towards the end of last year, some

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Speaker 3: of the tackles. You know, Murphy had some of his

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Speaker 3: better games I think towards the end of last year,

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Speaker 3: So you have to count on some of that too.

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Speaker 3: I think some of these guys are just gonna eventually

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Speaker 3: kind of find their way too, so I think they

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Speaker 3: got better for sure.

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Speaker 1: Was there anything you thought the Bengals should have done

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Speaker 1: and didn't or at least haven't yet.

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Speaker 3: It's hard for me to say, because I thought that

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Speaker 3: there were some fun dynamic backs in free agency that

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Speaker 3: and even though that, I think Cincinnati's like relatively settled

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Speaker 3: at the position that just could have added.

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Speaker 4: That extra you know, just that extra mile for that offense.

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Speaker 3: Like Joe Burrow is so good in the pocket and

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Speaker 3: he's so good at moving around, and I thought someone

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Speaker 3: like Kenneth gain Will would have been so perfect. And

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Speaker 3: they've seen him in the division a couple of times.

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Speaker 3: I mean, he barrel Aaron Rodgers out of so many

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Speaker 3: holes last year and basically the Bucks replaced him Rashad

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Speaker 3: White with him, which shows how much they thought of him.

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Speaker 3: And so I always liked the idea of adding a

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Speaker 3: dynamic back for someone like Burrow at quarterbacks like him,

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Speaker 3: But you know, I think that's small potatoes, and if

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Speaker 3: you are confident enough in your scouting staff, you feel

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Speaker 3: like you can get one of those guys in the draft.

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Speaker 1: Connor Or from Sports Illustrated is our guest, how many

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Speaker 1: times have you picked Joe Burrow as your preseason MVP?

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Speaker 5: And will you do it again this year?

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Speaker 3: I can't so last year it was three years in

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Speaker 3: a row, starting with the post Super Bowl he was

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Speaker 3: our football preview issue cover and so we had a

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Speaker 3: profile at Joe which was a lot of fun to

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Speaker 3: work on.

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Speaker 4: Let me picked him to be the MVP, and.

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Speaker 3: Then the year after that, and then last year I

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Speaker 3: did it again, and like the one of the executive

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Speaker 3: editors of the magazine was like, you can can't. You

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Speaker 3: can't do that. It's like Chris Berman and what we

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Speaker 3: picked the Bills, those.

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Speaker 1: Forty nine erscutive years.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, and they're like, it's gonna start to take on

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Speaker 3: that air to it. And I gave like a mister

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Speaker 3: Smith goes to Washington, like in passion speech in a meeting,

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Speaker 3: and I was like, this is why it has to

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Speaker 3: be this and if he if he doesn't win it

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Speaker 3: this year, we'll never pick him again. But I'm gonna

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Speaker 3: go back and try to do it again this year too.

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Speaker 3: I mean, he's gonna throw like forty touchns.

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Speaker 5: You're bound to be right sooner or later.

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Speaker 4: Exactly if I just stay with it, you know, that's

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Speaker 4: that's the course.

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Speaker 1: So, getting back to your power rankings from earlier this week,

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Speaker 1: you have Cincinnati eleventh overall, Baltimore twelfth, Pittsburgh twentieth, and

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Speaker 1: Cleveland thirtieth. I'm just gonna kind of toss Cleveland away

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Speaker 1: because nobody expects them to contend in the AFC North.

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Speaker 1: But based on that, do you kind of see a

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Speaker 1: Cincinnati Baltimore top tier Pittsburgh a step back?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, And it's just it's hard because we don't know

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Speaker 3: for sure who the Steelers quarterback is going to be, right,

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Speaker 3: and so doing one of those exercises is difficult because

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Speaker 3: it's like I can imagine and we know what they're

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Speaker 3: going to look like with Aaron Rodgers. I think they're

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Speaker 3: going to take a step back with the McCarthy offense,

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Speaker 3: which I think plays into Rogers's worst habits as a

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Speaker 3: quarterback and doesn't give him that complimentary run game that

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Speaker 3: Art Smith gave him. And so I see them taking

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Speaker 3: a step back regardless. And I think it's impossible to

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Speaker 3: follow Mike Tomlin no matter who you are, even if

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Speaker 3: you're Mike McCarthy. So I do think it's that one

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Speaker 3: two with the Ravens. But Baltimore lost a lot of

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Speaker 3: talent this offseason, a lot of guys. They're changing to

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Speaker 3: a brand new head coach who while he's in that

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Speaker 3: Baltimore system, might just take a while to find your footing,

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Speaker 3: you know, and get going. And so I think this

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Speaker 3: is one of those times where you think there's a

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Speaker 3: fair amount of chatter about how well Cincinnati could have

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Speaker 3: done on the market if they changed head coaches this

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Speaker 3: past offseason, but maybe holding on to Zach Taylor and

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Speaker 3: seeing what he could do makes the most sense at

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Speaker 3: this point.

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Speaker 1: You know, did Baltimore really back out of the Max

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Speaker 1: Crosby deal because of a failed physical?

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Speaker 4: I'll put it this way.

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Speaker 3: I think that there is not enough onus being placed

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Speaker 3: on the Raiders, because you know, it's like the great

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Speaker 3: analogy that I heard was like, oh, I did TurboTax

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Speaker 3: and I thought I was going to get a ten

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Speaker 3: thousand dollars refund, so I went and bought a car,

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Speaker 3: and then the governments that I actually didn't get the refund,

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Speaker 3: and now I'm upset, and it's like, well, no, you

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Speaker 3: have to wait until the thing's done. You have to

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Speaker 3: wait until the money's in the bank, the checks in

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Speaker 3: the mail, and you know, I think that there were

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Speaker 3: way more questions about Crosby's long term health in the

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Speaker 3: NFL medical community than is being let on right now,

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Speaker 3: and I think that the public perception is on the

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Speaker 3: side of the Raiders at this point. But I think

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Speaker 3: long term we might see Baltimore come out of this

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Speaker 3: looking a little rosier than they do right now, just

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Speaker 3: because it's a strange I think it was a strange

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Speaker 3: out to take Procedurally. It's just different than some other

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Speaker 3: guys that have had that injury in the past, and

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Speaker 3: I think it's harder for teams to project, and that

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Speaker 3: there's a chance for reinjury, and so I think that

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Speaker 3: there's a lot of issues there.

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Speaker 4: You know, if you're not sure, don't spend two first

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Speaker 4: round picks on it.

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Speaker 1: You made the case this week that the Browns should

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Speaker 1: trade Miles Garrett. Do you think there's any chance they'll

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Speaker 1: consider it.

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Speaker 3: The only reason why I say yes is because you

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Speaker 3: try to do your powers of like deductive reasoning. Why

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Speaker 3: did they restructure the contract like they did yesterday, because

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Speaker 3: Miles Garrett has no trade clause. But what you did

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Speaker 3: was you basically pushed all of the guaranteed money that

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Speaker 3: you owe him. Instead of paying him right at the

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Speaker 3: beginning of the league year, you're paying him like a

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Speaker 3: week before the season starts. Why else would you need

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Speaker 3: a two month runway between when you were going to

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Speaker 3: pay him and when you are going to pay him,

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Speaker 3: outside of the fact that maybe you need more cash

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Speaker 3: relief at.

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Speaker 4: That time of the year.

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Speaker 3: A lot of teams are going to this model anyway,

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Speaker 3: like the Eagles all their contracts look like this, and

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Speaker 3: the Browns GM and the Eagles director of football strategy

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Speaker 3: your brothers. So maybe there was something to that, right,

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Speaker 3: But the only other thing I can think of is

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Speaker 3: like this team is clearly rebuilding. They let a lot

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Speaker 3: of guys go, they change coaching staffs, everything is pointing

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Speaker 3: towards the twenty twenty seven draft, where there's going to

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Speaker 3: be maybe eight first round draft pick quarterbacks available, And like,

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Speaker 3: I just don't know what else you could get out

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Speaker 3: of Miles Garrett at this point. If you're the Browns,

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Speaker 3: you can still build a statue when he retires. It's

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Speaker 3: not going to change anything. You already got the sack

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Speaker 3: record season, like, it's all there, So why not try

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Speaker 3: to get like, you know, two first round picks for him,

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Speaker 3: which I think you could get for him right now.

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Speaker 1: You know, I don't think there's any doubt about it.

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Speaker 1: I mean, based on the price tag that some of

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Speaker 1: the other pass rushers have earned, he's the best. He's

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Speaker 1: not that old. I think they could get two ones

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Speaker 1: and probably a player too.

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Speaker 4: I agree. I think it would match the Parsons comp.

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Speaker 3: The reason that Crosby didn't get it is because you know,

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Speaker 3: I think he's a step I think it's probably Miles

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Speaker 3: Garrett in a tier by himself. You know, if you

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Speaker 3: talk to scouts and executives around the league, they'll say

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Speaker 3: he's in that Bruce Smith, Reggie White tire right, that's

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Speaker 3: the Mount Rushmore pass rusher. He's gonna be one of

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Speaker 3: the greatest that ever did it, you know. And then

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Speaker 3: you have Michael Parsons in a tier. And then there's

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Speaker 3: the Max Crosby's of the world, who maybe they come

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Speaker 3: around once every four years instead of once every twenty years.

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Speaker 4: So I still think they could get two ones in

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Speaker 4: a player for him. I don't have any doubt about it.

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Speaker 5: Connor Or from Sports Illustrated is our guest.

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Speaker 1: You can follow him on x at connor or one

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Speaker 1: n in Connor co n o R. You made bold

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Speaker 1: predictions for every NFL team recently. When it came to

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Speaker 1: the Bengals. You predicted that they will draft secondary help

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Speaker 1: with the tenth overall pick, namely Ohio State safety Caleb

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Speaker 1: Downs or LSU cornerback Monsieur de Layne. Do you have

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Speaker 1: a preference between those two if either or both are there.

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Speaker 3: Well, it shook me a little bit to hear John

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Speaker 3: Harbaugh call Downs a few your Hall of Famer after

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Speaker 3: the Ohio State Pro Day, And I mean, people forget

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Speaker 3: that when he wasn't coaching special teams, he was coaching

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Speaker 3: defensive backfields and knows that position really well. I'd be

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Speaker 3: surprised if he's not on the board for the Giants

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Speaker 3: there too. I think that the game is going more

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Speaker 3: toward like your flex safety players and just being able

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Speaker 3: to get by in your coverages, but have guys that

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Speaker 3: are going to be able to really contribute to the

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Speaker 3: run and to be able to cover tight ends and prevent.

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Speaker 3: I mean, we saw what the Rams were doing last

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Speaker 3: year torturing people with three tight end sets now right,

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Speaker 3: And of course the NFL is going to follow suit

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Speaker 3: and everybody copies Sean McVay, and so I might find

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Speaker 3: more usefulness to that. And I think that's kind of

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Speaker 3: where you're seeing I mean, the Bengals have already gotten

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Speaker 3: that really good kind of run, stuffing safety and free agency.

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Speaker 3: But I think that you can't ever have too much

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Speaker 3: of that. I mean, Nicki Monmoury was a game changer

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Speaker 3: for the Seahawks last year, and you see how valuable

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Speaker 3: that position is.

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Speaker 1: Bengals fans would like Caleb Downs to still be there

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Speaker 1: at ten. But we'll see to give you credit for something,

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Speaker 1: I think, more than any other NFL national reporter, you've

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Speaker 1: consistently pointed out that the Bengals don't deserve the reputation

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Speaker 1: for being cheap. Do you feel like kind of the

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Speaker 1: lone voice crying out in the wilderness at times?

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Speaker 3: Well, it's just it's weird to me, Like, you know,

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Speaker 3: we see the NFLPA report cards and we see all

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Speaker 3: that stuff come out, and I just think that there

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Speaker 3: are bigger issues generally speaking with other teams, and you're like, well,

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Speaker 3: you know, that's weird, and that's weird, and why don't

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Speaker 3: we talk about that a little bit more. I Mean,

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Speaker 3: I just don't know, like every time that there's a

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Speaker 3: rub with the Bengals in particular, it seems like something

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Speaker 3: has been done to disprove it right, Like, very early

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Speaker 3: on in Zach Taylor's tenure, I think two of his

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Speaker 3: first four years they were top three in free agencies

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Speaker 3: spending the offseason. You have to double check me on that.

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Speaker 3: They redid the offensive line essentially twice. They built a

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Speaker 3: practice facility, they added scouts, they paid Jamar Chase and

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Speaker 3: t Higgins one in one A at the.

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Speaker 4: Top of the market.

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Speaker 3: They're doing everything they can to pacify Joe and to

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Speaker 3: keep them there and to keep them happy.

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Speaker 4: Like, I don't know, like what else do you want?

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Speaker 3: Right Like, they're so like and I wrote this with

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Speaker 3: when they traded for Flacco last year. There are so

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Speaker 3: many teams that are just playing for eight and nine

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Speaker 3: and they'll be happy as long as they can suck out,

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Speaker 3: you know, a net profit, Like if your owner is

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Speaker 3: demonstrating an ability or want or desire to win in

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Speaker 3: any way, shape or form, like you have to realize

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Speaker 3: how special that is, Like it's still rare in the NFL,

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Speaker 3: it is, And so I don't know, I'm I'm I'm happy.

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Speaker 3: I'm happy carving out that little niche on on my island.

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Speaker 4: I'll keep it there till the day I die.

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Speaker 5: Would like to see it spread.

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Speaker 3: Trust me, it's just an old right, it's it's an

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Speaker 3: old trope, and and those things we see are hard to.

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Speaker 4: To shake.

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Speaker 3: I mean, there's still some less informed draft analysts out

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Speaker 3: there saying like, oh, the Raiders will take a speedy

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Speaker 3: wide receiver in the first round, and it's like Al

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Speaker 3: Davis has been gone, God bless his soul for how long,

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Speaker 3: you know, like things have changed, times have changed, but

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Speaker 3: not according to some people.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I assume that if in one of the Bengals

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Speaker 1: win a Super Bowl, they will no longer be perceived

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Speaker 1: as cheap. But until then that reputation might not go

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Speaker 1: away no matter how much they spend and what they

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Speaker 1: spend it on.

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Speaker 3: And you know, I'll just say this, and it's like

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Speaker 3: kind of my closing argument for this, Like the small

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Speaker 3: scouting staff is like an interesting example because during the

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Speaker 3: Super Bowl run I had the Bengals for you know,

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Speaker 3: you divide up the reporters. One guy has the Rams,

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Speaker 3: one guy has the Bengals, and because that issue's got

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Speaker 3: to go to print like the morning after the Super Bowl, right,

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Speaker 3: so you have to have a Bengals wind store, and

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Speaker 3: you have to have a Rams win story and talking

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Speaker 3: to the people who have worked for the Bengals scouting staff,

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Speaker 3: who've worked for the Bengals coaching staff. The reason why

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Speaker 3: you had a small staff is because you had the

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Speaker 3: coaches and the staff work together and it was possible

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Speaker 3: to explain in a different way.

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Speaker 4: Hey, this is the kind of guy I want.

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Speaker 3: Like, you know, there was a great story about this

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Speaker 3: scout that was like, look at how awful this defensive

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Speaker 3: tackle is, and Marvin Lewis is like, no, man, that's

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Speaker 3: he's doing this and I actually need him to do that.

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Speaker 3: So can we pick this guy?

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Speaker 2: You know?

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Speaker 4: And so there's this always this loss.

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Speaker 3: In translation I think between scouting and coaching, and that

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Speaker 3: pipeline is so critical. It's why the Rams are so good, right,

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Speaker 3: It's why the forty nine ers are so good. But

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Speaker 3: that was almost by design, Like okay, yeah, maybe it

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Speaker 3: saved money, but it also helped the team draft a

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Speaker 3: lot of really good players over the years, you know,

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Speaker 3: But that's a ramp for another time.

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Speaker 1: You came to Cincinnati last year and wrote a great

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Speaker 1: feature story on the friendship between Jamar Chase and t Higgins.

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Speaker 1: What stood out to you and getting to know those guys.

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Speaker 4: I mean just such.

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Speaker 3: I mean there's an intentionality behind their way of being,

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Speaker 3: behind their leadership and behind their friendship too. And I

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Speaker 3: think it's it's like it's one of those things that's infectious,

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Speaker 3: you know. I think that it it gets a lot

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Speaker 3: of people on board. There's a real lack of ego there,

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Speaker 3: I think. I mean, like there's going to be some

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Speaker 3: degree of ego when you're making that much money, no

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Speaker 3: matter what, you're that talented. But I think I was

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Speaker 3: surprised that just their desire to want to do it here,

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Speaker 3: that that tracked with, you know, talking to Joe's parents

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Speaker 3: right after they drafted him too. I think that there's

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Speaker 3: a feeling of that and and just like I mean,

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Speaker 3: they're just such regular dudes. I mean they have, like,

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Speaker 3: you know, a million dollar Lamborghini, but like we all

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Speaker 3: have the same waffle house order, you know, and you know,

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Speaker 3: I love that about them. So I think they're they're

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Speaker 3: really unique dudes.

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Speaker 1: I went back and reread the feature Tea's favorite Mexican

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Speaker 1: restaurant has gone out of business. No, I don't even

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Speaker 1: know if he knows yet.

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Speaker 4: So the day that it was funny, I forget what

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Speaker 4: it was called, but tequila. Yes, And and that day

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Speaker 4: I went, I got.

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Speaker 3: To the stadium with the photography crew, and a lot

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Speaker 3: of times, if I'm going to do like interviews all day,

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Speaker 3: I don't eat in the morning because I just don't

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Speaker 3: want to be like, you know, feel bloated or anything

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Speaker 3: like that. And so by the time he was describing

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Speaker 3: this meal, I was so hungry, and I was like,

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Speaker 3: I'm going straight there. But my one of my best

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Speaker 3: friends in the world, my college roommate, lives in Cincinnati.

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Speaker 3: So we had chicken and waffles right after near the

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Speaker 3: Red Stadium and that was really good too.

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Speaker 4: So hopefully that place is still in business.

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Speaker 1: I'm guessing it probably is. But yeah, he's going to

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Speaker 1: be heartbroken when he learns that he can.

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Speaker 4: I'm not going to tell you. Somebody's going to break

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Speaker 4: it to him.

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Speaker 1: Uh, you picked the Bengals to win the Super Bowl

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Speaker 1: a few years ago, Unfortunately it didn't happen that time.

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Speaker 5: Do you think they're going to win one in the

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Speaker 5: Joe Burrow era?

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Speaker 3: Yes, I just And I think it's just it's one

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Speaker 3: of those things that people need to understand, like it

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Speaker 3: doesn't always happen on a particular timeline, and I think

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Speaker 3: that a lot of what this is is like the

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Speaker 3: rest of the NFL has to be amenable to what's

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Speaker 3: going on with you too. And like we had this

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Speaker 3: argument about Joe Flacco the other day actually, which I

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Speaker 3: thought was kind of interesting.

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Speaker 4: It's like there was.

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Speaker 3: The Seattle Cover three era, there was the Vic Fangio

403
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Speaker 3: Cover two era, and like there are just certain quarterbacks

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Speaker 3: that succeed better against certain trends. And I do think

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Speaker 3: that Joe is built for what defenses they're playing right now.

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Speaker 3: It's just like everything's got to line up right health

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Speaker 3: I mean really, I mean New England's run to the

408
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Speaker 3: super Bowl last year, so much of that was happenstance

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Speaker 3: and luck and schedule and all that stuff.

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Speaker 4: And there's just so much stuff that has to happen there.

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Speaker 3: And so I think for the people that are pounding

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Speaker 3: the table and saying it's got to happen when he's

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Speaker 3: you know, thirty one or thirty two or whatever, like

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Speaker 3: he could win it at thirty eight. You know, I

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Speaker 3: think he's the kind of guy that would still want

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Speaker 3: to play when he's.

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Speaker 4: That old, and it might just take a while to happen.

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Speaker 1: You know, were you surprised to see him jump, cutting,

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Speaker 1: and basically getting tackled in flag football.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I don't know why anybody. I mean, I've been

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Speaker 3: writing this for a year and it was quite a

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Speaker 3: satisfying victory lap if I might say so myself, that

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Speaker 3: the US flag football team was always going to demolish

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Speaker 3: a team of NFL players because it's a different sport.

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Speaker 4: It's not the same sport, right.

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Speaker 3: Djokovic isn't gonna be good at pickleball and Bryson d

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Speaker 3: Pitt Chamba isn't gonna be good at putt putt.

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Speaker 4: Right, it's different thing. And I was just surprised.

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Speaker 3: Now, the money was probably really good, but I was

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Speaker 3: surprised that you would sign yourself up to.

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Speaker 4: Get waxed like that by guys who are you know

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Speaker 4: what I mean.

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Speaker 3: It's just like like if you're a if you're like

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Speaker 3: a professional skier and then you know you want to

435
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Speaker 3: do ski halfpipe or whatever, you know you're gonna get embarrassed.

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Speaker 3: It's a different sport. And so yeah, I was surprised.

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Speaker 3: I'm sure every Bengals fan was out there holding their

438
00:20:47,400 --> 00:20:47,840
Speaker 3: breath like.

439
00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:51,560
Speaker 4: Please don't do this anymore. You know, that's it's terrifying.

440
00:20:51,880 --> 00:20:54,280
Speaker 1: I asked Zach Taylor the other day how he felt

441
00:20:54,320 --> 00:20:56,359
Speaker 1: when that was on. He was he was watching the

442
00:20:56,440 --> 00:20:58,760
Speaker 1: NCAA tournament at the time, but he said his phone

443
00:20:58,840 --> 00:21:01,280
Speaker 1: was blowing up from you three other coach and scout

444
00:21:01,359 --> 00:21:05,240
Speaker 1: saying what's Burrow doing? Hey, he's living his life. Thankfully

445
00:21:05,320 --> 00:21:07,439
Speaker 1: he did not get hurt, you know.

446
00:21:07,520 --> 00:21:09,240
Speaker 3: And the other thing, too, is like, and this is

447
00:21:09,280 --> 00:21:11,719
Speaker 3: something that Bengals fans need to think about. It's something that, like,

448
00:21:11,880 --> 00:21:13,960
Speaker 3: you know, you talk every fan base off the ledge

449
00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:17,240
Speaker 3: about like it's one hundred percent injury rates sport and

450
00:21:17,520 --> 00:21:20,159
Speaker 3: it's unfortunate, but like you can't live your drive to

451
00:21:20,240 --> 00:21:22,000
Speaker 3: drive life being like, well, I have to cut my

452
00:21:22,080 --> 00:21:24,440
Speaker 3: running back off at X carries because this is what's

453
00:21:24,480 --> 00:21:25,040
Speaker 3: going to happen.

454
00:21:25,160 --> 00:21:27,040
Speaker 4: And you know, I mean, it's just if.

455
00:21:26,920 --> 00:21:29,560
Speaker 3: It's gonna happen, it's gonna happen, you know, And you

456
00:21:29,600 --> 00:21:31,639
Speaker 3: know he could just as easily be hurt, like falling

457
00:21:31,680 --> 00:21:33,640
Speaker 3: off a curb and over the rhine.

458
00:21:33,680 --> 00:21:35,040
Speaker 4: Is that what they call it? Walking down?

459
00:21:35,280 --> 00:21:35,480
Speaker 5: Yeah?

460
00:21:35,600 --> 00:21:35,920
Speaker 2: Very good.

461
00:21:36,040 --> 00:21:38,080
Speaker 5: You got your Cincinnati neighborhoods down.

462
00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:38,400
Speaker 4: That's right.

463
00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:39,879
Speaker 5: Yeah.

464
00:21:39,920 --> 00:21:41,760
Speaker 1: Well, as Joe said when he came back from his

465
00:21:41,800 --> 00:21:43,880
Speaker 1: turf toe injury. I'm not going to live my life

466
00:21:43,880 --> 00:21:44,320
Speaker 1: in fear.

467
00:21:46,200 --> 00:21:46,800
Speaker 2: We do.

468
00:21:47,080 --> 00:21:48,879
Speaker 1: We have to trust that his luck is bound to

469
00:21:48,960 --> 00:21:50,960
Speaker 1: change sooner or later, and that the Bengals are going

470
00:21:50,960 --> 00:21:53,399
Speaker 1: to get seventeen regular season games out of him this

471
00:21:53,520 --> 00:21:55,080
Speaker 1: year and hopefully a Super.

472
00:21:54,840 --> 00:21:56,280
Speaker 4: Bowl run no doubt.

473
00:21:56,400 --> 00:21:59,640
Speaker 1: Yeah, Connor, this has been fun. I always appreciate your time.

474
00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:00,680
Speaker 1: Thanks so much.

475
00:22:00,800 --> 00:22:02,800
Speaker 5: Keep up the great work and go Orange.

476
00:22:03,080 --> 00:22:04,480
Speaker 4: All right, thanks Dan, Go Orange.

477
00:22:05,440 --> 00:22:08,879
Speaker 1: Up next, we'll have some fun with Joe Flacco. But first,

478
00:22:08,880 --> 00:22:11,919
Speaker 1: here's a quick reminder that the Bengals Booth Podcast is

479
00:22:11,920 --> 00:22:14,520
Speaker 1: brought to you by Paycrep, proud to be the Bengals

480
00:22:14,560 --> 00:22:19,600
Speaker 1: official HR software provider, by Alta Fiber future proof fiber

481
00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:22,760
Speaker 1: Internet designed to elevate your home, business, and community to

482
00:22:22,800 --> 00:22:26,320
Speaker 1: a new level, and by Kettering Health the best care

483
00:22:26,640 --> 00:22:29,840
Speaker 1: for the best fans. Kettering Health is the official healthcare

484
00:22:29,840 --> 00:22:33,720
Speaker 1: provider of the Bengals. Several years ago, when I used

485
00:22:33,720 --> 00:22:35,919
Speaker 1: to host a weekly radio show, I came up with

486
00:22:35,960 --> 00:22:40,400
Speaker 1: a segment called ten Teammates in a Hat. I started

487
00:22:40,440 --> 00:22:42,960
Speaker 1: doing it with Major League Baseball players who had had

488
00:22:43,080 --> 00:22:46,480
Speaker 1: long careers, and here's how it works. I write down

489
00:22:46,520 --> 00:22:50,000
Speaker 1: the name of one teammate from every team they ever

490
00:22:50,080 --> 00:22:53,200
Speaker 1: played for on a slip of paper, and then fold

491
00:22:53,240 --> 00:22:56,400
Speaker 1: that paper up. Then I take all of those little

492
00:22:56,440 --> 00:22:59,760
Speaker 1: slips of paper, toss them in a baseball hat, and

493
00:22:59,800 --> 00:23:04,040
Speaker 1: have my guest blindly pull out ten telling a little

494
00:23:04,080 --> 00:23:07,280
Speaker 1: story about each of those former teammates. It's harder to

495
00:23:07,280 --> 00:23:10,480
Speaker 1: do in football than baseball because fewer players last for

496
00:23:10,520 --> 00:23:14,760
Speaker 1: more than ten years, but Joe Flacco is approaching twenty,

497
00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:18,680
Speaker 1: making him the perfect subject for the segment.

498
00:23:19,680 --> 00:23:20,840
Speaker 2: Joe Flacco has.

499
00:23:20,680 --> 00:23:23,760
Speaker 1: Re signed with the Bengals for a nineteenth NFL season,

500
00:23:23,840 --> 00:23:25,399
Speaker 1: and I am asking him to play a game I

501
00:23:25,520 --> 00:23:29,280
Speaker 1: call ten teammates. In a hat, I have written down

502
00:23:29,359 --> 00:23:32,159
Speaker 1: the name of a teammate from each of your first

503
00:23:32,280 --> 00:23:35,360
Speaker 1: eighteen NFL seasons. I'm going to ask you to pick

504
00:23:35,359 --> 00:23:37,639
Speaker 1: out a little slip of paper, read what's on a

505
00:23:37,680 --> 00:23:39,840
Speaker 1: slip of paper, and then share a story, or an

506
00:23:39,880 --> 00:23:43,320
Speaker 1: anecdote or a memory about that former teammate. Are you ready,

507
00:23:43,359 --> 00:23:44,440
Speaker 1: Joe Flacco.

508
00:23:44,240 --> 00:23:46,320
Speaker 6: Yes, I'm ready. I know he said it's not a test,

509
00:23:46,320 --> 00:23:48,439
Speaker 6: but it does feel like it can turn into some

510
00:23:48,560 --> 00:23:49,080
Speaker 6: kind of test.

511
00:23:49,200 --> 00:23:51,320
Speaker 2: I don't think there are any stumpers here, but here.

512
00:23:51,240 --> 00:24:01,880
Speaker 6: Goes Kyle Ustchek. Just got a text from Kyle last

513
00:24:01,960 --> 00:24:05,840
Speaker 6: night on the way here a group of us are in.

514
00:24:05,960 --> 00:24:08,640
Speaker 6: But man, Kyle, I got a lot of stories about

515
00:24:08,720 --> 00:24:12,320
Speaker 6: Kyle just playing with him, because we became really good friends,

516
00:24:12,359 --> 00:24:15,720
Speaker 6: just hanging out in the lunch room and talking. And

517
00:24:16,800 --> 00:24:19,680
Speaker 6: there's a particular story where he was kind of getting

518
00:24:19,680 --> 00:24:21,080
Speaker 6: in a fight with one of the guys on our

519
00:24:21,119 --> 00:24:24,600
Speaker 6: team during a walkthrough. Not a real fight, but they

520
00:24:24,600 --> 00:24:26,320
Speaker 6: were kind of going back and forth at each other.

521
00:24:26,359 --> 00:24:28,040
Speaker 6: I don't know if I want to say exactly what.

522
00:24:28,080 --> 00:24:29,600
Speaker 2: Was said, but probably not.

523
00:24:29,920 --> 00:24:36,520
Speaker 6: But Kyle's a great friend, and you know, I mean, listen,

524
00:24:36,560 --> 00:24:37,840
Speaker 6: he's been doing it at a high level for a

525
00:24:37,880 --> 00:24:38,800
Speaker 6: really long time now.

526
00:24:38,840 --> 00:24:41,560
Speaker 2: So nice to have Harvard buddies too. Yeah, that's right,

527
00:24:42,119 --> 00:24:42,520
Speaker 2: all right.

528
00:24:42,640 --> 00:24:45,639
Speaker 1: Kyle Yuschek was former teammate number one. Here comes former

529
00:24:45,680 --> 00:24:47,840
Speaker 1: teammate number two with Joe Flatco.

530
00:24:49,040 --> 00:24:56,159
Speaker 6: Terrell Suggs. I mean, that's an unbelievable player. Brought a

531
00:24:56,200 --> 00:24:59,359
Speaker 6: lot of fun energy to the locker room my rookie year.

532
00:24:59,359 --> 00:25:04,560
Speaker 6: He would always and like these magazine clipped in my locker.

533
00:25:04,840 --> 00:25:06,800
Speaker 6: I don't necessarily need to say what they were of,

534
00:25:06,960 --> 00:25:09,480
Speaker 6: but he felt like they were like either good luck

535
00:25:09,560 --> 00:25:13,399
Speaker 6: charms or something like that. But like I said, great

536
00:25:13,400 --> 00:25:15,800
Speaker 6: in the locker room and unbelievable football player.

537
00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:19,520
Speaker 1: All right, we move on to former teammate number three.

538
00:25:19,560 --> 00:25:20,960
Speaker 1: Feel free to drop those on the floor.

539
00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:23,200
Speaker 2: I'll clean. Marshall.

540
00:25:23,280 --> 00:25:28,719
Speaker 6: Yanda Marshall, another one of my really close friends, is

541
00:25:29,200 --> 00:25:37,240
Speaker 6: just an unbelievably tough old school football player. There's nobody

542
00:25:37,280 --> 00:25:39,960
Speaker 6: I'd rather be out on a football field with than

543
00:25:39,960 --> 00:25:40,360
Speaker 6: this guy.

544
00:25:40,480 --> 00:25:40,720
Speaker 2: Wow.

545
00:25:40,960 --> 00:25:45,640
Speaker 6: Just his mentality and the toughness that he brings, and

546
00:25:45,720 --> 00:25:47,560
Speaker 6: you just feel like you got you just feel like

547
00:25:47,560 --> 00:25:51,000
Speaker 6: you got a partner, like a true partner. And when

548
00:25:51,040 --> 00:25:55,160
Speaker 6: you're out there with him, everything kind of feels, you know,

549
00:25:55,440 --> 00:25:59,600
Speaker 6: that much more calm, and he just kind of has

550
00:25:59,600 --> 00:26:02,040
Speaker 6: that press to him that allows you to settle into

551
00:26:02,080 --> 00:26:03,800
Speaker 6: the game and go do what you want to do.

552
00:26:04,080 --> 00:26:05,040
Speaker 2: That's quite a compliment.

553
00:26:05,320 --> 00:26:07,360
Speaker 1: Nobody'd rather be out in the field with, all right

554
00:26:07,720 --> 00:26:11,120
Speaker 1: us check Suggs Yonder Former teammate.

555
00:26:10,840 --> 00:26:15,600
Speaker 6: Number four, Garrett Wilson A man. I mean this he

556
00:26:15,680 --> 00:26:18,359
Speaker 6: brings up just like some cool memories with some of

557
00:26:18,359 --> 00:26:22,240
Speaker 6: those young guys, you know. I want to say it

558
00:26:22,280 --> 00:26:27,200
Speaker 6: was my last year in New York, his athleticism jumps

559
00:26:28,040 --> 00:26:30,280
Speaker 6: out at you right away. I mean, I remember when

560
00:26:30,320 --> 00:26:32,159
Speaker 6: we first got him in the building and he was

561
00:26:32,200 --> 00:26:34,960
Speaker 6: breaking guys down in one on ones and we were

562
00:26:34,960 --> 00:26:36,600
Speaker 6: just kind of looking at each other in the quarterback

563
00:26:36,640 --> 00:26:38,719
Speaker 6: room like, Okay, I think we got something special. But

564
00:26:39,240 --> 00:26:41,360
Speaker 6: I mean, the thing about him is just his personality

565
00:26:41,400 --> 00:26:44,600
Speaker 6: and like the life that he brings into a room

566
00:26:44,680 --> 00:26:46,639
Speaker 6: and you know, kind of always walking around with a

567
00:26:46,680 --> 00:26:49,280
Speaker 6: smile on his face and brightening everybody's day up.

568
00:26:49,359 --> 00:26:52,159
Speaker 1: So all right, your final year in New York, his

569
00:26:52,240 --> 00:26:54,639
Speaker 1: first year in New York to move on to former

570
00:26:54,720 --> 00:26:55,720
Speaker 1: teammate number.

571
00:26:55,440 --> 00:26:57,920
Speaker 6: Five, Lamar Jackson.

572
00:26:58,680 --> 00:26:58,960
Speaker 2: Wow.

573
00:27:00,320 --> 00:27:02,959
Speaker 6: I think the the memories I have of Lamar are

574
00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:05,840
Speaker 6: sitting sitting in the QB room together. It was me

575
00:27:05,840 --> 00:27:08,639
Speaker 6: and him and RG three and just kind of like

576
00:27:09,240 --> 00:27:12,159
Speaker 6: smiling about certain things, looking at each other smiling. And

577
00:27:14,200 --> 00:27:16,879
Speaker 6: you know, obviously there was a lot going on with

578
00:27:16,880 --> 00:27:19,439
Speaker 6: that relationship, or not really the relationship, but what was

579
00:27:19,440 --> 00:27:22,359
Speaker 6: made maybe about it just because you know, I was

580
00:27:22,480 --> 00:27:24,440
Speaker 6: I was still playing there and still wanted to play there,

581
00:27:24,480 --> 00:27:27,760
Speaker 6: and and and they drafted him. But yeah, I mean,

582
00:27:27,840 --> 00:27:32,720
Speaker 6: Lamar is a a quiet reserved at least in the

583
00:27:32,760 --> 00:27:34,800
Speaker 6: locker room and just a football player. You know, you

584
00:27:34,840 --> 00:27:36,800
Speaker 6: can tell what jumps out about him is when he

585
00:27:36,800 --> 00:27:38,399
Speaker 6: gets on a football field. You can tell that he

586
00:27:38,440 --> 00:27:40,160
Speaker 6: field at home and really loves to play the game.

587
00:27:40,760 --> 00:27:44,080
Speaker 1: Three great running quarterbacks RG three, Lamar Jackson, and Joe Flash.

588
00:27:44,119 --> 00:27:47,600
Speaker 2: That's right alright. Former teammate number six.

589
00:27:49,920 --> 00:27:50,600
Speaker 6: Von Miller.

590
00:27:52,359 --> 00:27:52,639
Speaker 2: Wow.

591
00:27:54,320 --> 00:27:56,280
Speaker 6: Well, he's he's one of those guys that, like when

592
00:27:56,320 --> 00:27:58,639
Speaker 6: y when you go to practice with him, he ruins

593
00:27:58,680 --> 00:28:03,640
Speaker 6: your whole practice much kind of like Miles Garrett in Cleveland,

594
00:28:03,680 --> 00:28:05,679
Speaker 6: Like it was very hard to practice when Miles was

595
00:28:05,680 --> 00:28:07,600
Speaker 6: on the other side, just because he'd be on you

596
00:28:07,600 --> 00:28:10,640
Speaker 6: in a couple in one second. Vaughn was very much

597
00:28:10,720 --> 00:28:12,879
Speaker 6: like that. You know, he'd bend around that corner and

598
00:28:12,920 --> 00:28:14,960
Speaker 6: the play would be over. Now you have to get

599
00:28:15,040 --> 00:28:18,320
Speaker 6: used to just playing on but he made it very hard.

600
00:28:18,920 --> 00:28:20,880
Speaker 1: Miles Garrett's in this hat. I don't know if you'll

601
00:28:20,880 --> 00:28:22,520
Speaker 1: pull that name or not, but we still get a

602
00:28:22,560 --> 00:28:23,040
Speaker 1: few to go.

603
00:28:25,440 --> 00:28:32,840
Speaker 6: Steve Smith Senior man, He's he's right up there with

604
00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:38,880
Speaker 6: probably some of the best wide receivers ever. A small

605
00:28:38,880 --> 00:28:41,520
Speaker 6: guy with a lot of heart, a ton of ton

606
00:28:41,560 --> 00:28:46,000
Speaker 6: of strength on the field, so easy to throw too.

607
00:28:47,200 --> 00:28:50,760
Speaker 6: I mean, listen, he he lives every day of his

608
00:28:50,880 --> 00:28:52,840
Speaker 6: life with passion, and you can tell that on a

609
00:28:52,880 --> 00:28:56,440
Speaker 6: football field, because you know when you're out there with practice,

610
00:28:57,400 --> 00:28:59,120
Speaker 6: when you're out there at practice with him every day,

611
00:28:59,680 --> 00:29:02,600
Speaker 6: like he's as serious as anybody and just takes his

612
00:29:02,680 --> 00:29:05,480
Speaker 6: craft so serious and works as hard as anybody I've seen.

613
00:29:05,560 --> 00:29:10,400
Speaker 6: And another I mean, listen to these guys are all

614
00:29:10,440 --> 00:29:16,400
Speaker 6: been pretty incredible, but getting the throw to him, I

615
00:29:16,760 --> 00:29:20,320
Speaker 6: was definitely a privilege. He was an unbelievable, unbelievable player

616
00:29:20,360 --> 00:29:22,520
Speaker 6: and just just I mean, I think we can all

617
00:29:22,560 --> 00:29:24,640
Speaker 6: see it. Everybody could see it. Just the fire that

618
00:29:24,720 --> 00:29:26,440
Speaker 6: he brought and the intensity that he brought.

619
00:29:26,840 --> 00:29:30,280
Speaker 1: Feisty comes to mind with Steve all Right. Here comes

620
00:29:30,280 --> 00:29:31,520
Speaker 1: former teammate number.

621
00:29:31,240 --> 00:29:39,480
Speaker 6: Eight, Sam Darnold. Oh. Sam was great. It's it's It

622
00:29:39,800 --> 00:29:42,120
Speaker 6: was a unique experience with him in New York. I

623
00:29:42,200 --> 00:29:44,680
Speaker 6: kind of came in on the back end there, and

624
00:29:46,280 --> 00:29:48,800
Speaker 6: I think the thing that stood out to me about

625
00:29:48,840 --> 00:29:51,280
Speaker 6: Sam was just his maturity at such a young age

626
00:29:51,320 --> 00:29:53,120
Speaker 6: to be able to kind of handle everything that was

627
00:29:53,160 --> 00:29:57,280
Speaker 6: going on there and and not let it affect him

628
00:29:57,360 --> 00:29:59,160
Speaker 6: like it would most people. And I think that you've

629
00:29:59,160 --> 00:30:01,680
Speaker 6: been able to now see that resiliency a handful of

630
00:30:01,720 --> 00:30:06,560
Speaker 6: years later. But once again, I mean a lot of

631
00:30:06,600 --> 00:30:09,200
Speaker 6: the memories with these guys comes down to hanging out

632
00:30:09,200 --> 00:30:10,960
Speaker 6: with them in a single corner of the locker room

633
00:30:11,120 --> 00:30:14,480
Speaker 6: or going into the city for you know, a sushi

634
00:30:14,520 --> 00:30:17,680
Speaker 6: dinner or something like that. But yeah, the thing about

635
00:30:17,720 --> 00:30:21,160
Speaker 6: him that set out was just probably that underlying resiliency

636
00:30:21,200 --> 00:30:21,640
Speaker 6: that he has.

637
00:30:21,960 --> 00:30:23,520
Speaker 1: Was it cool for you to see him go through

638
00:30:23,560 --> 00:30:25,400
Speaker 1: that fire in New York and then win a Super

639
00:30:25,440 --> 00:30:26,240
Speaker 1: Bowl last year?

640
00:30:26,280 --> 00:30:28,680
Speaker 6: It was because I mean it wasn't just New York.

641
00:30:28,800 --> 00:30:31,440
Speaker 6: Like you know, He's obviously had had to stick it

642
00:30:31,480 --> 00:30:33,240
Speaker 6: out for a few years now, and I just think

643
00:30:34,080 --> 00:30:37,360
Speaker 6: when you've been in this sport, or just in a sport,

644
00:30:37,600 --> 00:30:40,000
Speaker 6: or in any profession for a long time and maybe

645
00:30:40,040 --> 00:30:43,840
Speaker 6: things aren't as exactly as you would had planned, it

646
00:30:43,840 --> 00:30:48,040
Speaker 6: can be tough to stay confident and ready and all

647
00:30:48,080 --> 00:30:49,960
Speaker 6: those things. And the fact that he was able to

648
00:30:49,960 --> 00:30:51,480
Speaker 6: do that was pretty pretty incredible.

649
00:30:51,680 --> 00:30:54,640
Speaker 2: All Right. We get to former teammate number nine with Joe.

650
00:30:54,440 --> 00:31:00,760
Speaker 6: Flacco, Alec Pierce. Yeah, listen, I was just pulling out

651
00:31:01,000 --> 00:31:02,560
Speaker 6: I have a handful. I don't have it like I

652
00:31:02,600 --> 00:31:07,400
Speaker 6: never did. A bunch of jersey swaps or even like

653
00:31:07,480 --> 00:31:09,680
Speaker 6: in the locker room after the year. But he's one

654
00:31:09,680 --> 00:31:13,440
Speaker 6: that I have, and I was just pulling him out

655
00:31:13,480 --> 00:31:16,440
Speaker 6: because I recently moved and his I can picture his

656
00:31:16,520 --> 00:31:19,680
Speaker 6: jersey that I just moved it down into my basement

657
00:31:19,760 --> 00:31:21,479
Speaker 6: where hopefully I'm going to be hanging it.

658
00:31:21,560 --> 00:31:24,680
Speaker 2: But yeah, I was.

659
00:31:24,720 --> 00:31:26,640
Speaker 6: I was so impressed with Alec and just the head

660
00:31:26,680 --> 00:31:29,400
Speaker 6: he has on his shoulders. But like you know, I

661
00:31:29,440 --> 00:31:33,640
Speaker 6: think he's such a fast, explosive wide receiver and a

662
00:31:33,640 --> 00:31:35,360
Speaker 6: lot of times I think when people think of those,

663
00:31:35,360 --> 00:31:37,719
Speaker 6: they don't necessarily think of like the skill that can

664
00:31:37,760 --> 00:31:40,719
Speaker 6: also come with that. But he's he kind of like

665
00:31:40,720 --> 00:31:43,840
Speaker 6: struck me as a very strong, complete wide receiver right away.

666
00:31:45,840 --> 00:31:50,160
Speaker 6: And yeah, listen, I love I loved the few games

667
00:31:50,160 --> 00:31:52,880
Speaker 6: I got to play with him, drop back and throw

668
00:31:52,880 --> 00:31:56,080
Speaker 6: it up. And that's why I have his jersey framed

669
00:31:56,080 --> 00:31:56,800
Speaker 6: in my house.

670
00:31:56,920 --> 00:32:00,000
Speaker 1: A former UC bearcat who just got a gigantic contract.

671
00:32:00,320 --> 00:32:02,320
Speaker 2: I know, good for him, right, Pear's all right.

672
00:32:02,160 --> 00:32:05,080
Speaker 1: This is our tenth teammate and a hat. We've got

673
00:32:05,120 --> 00:32:07,440
Speaker 1: a bunch of slips of paper left. Willie Anderson, Oh

674
00:32:07,520 --> 00:32:08,720
Speaker 1: there we go from your rookie year.

675
00:32:08,880 --> 00:32:11,480
Speaker 6: Yeah, It's funny we were I was out here in

676
00:32:11,520 --> 00:32:15,840
Speaker 6: training camp the year I played in Indie and he

677
00:32:15,920 --> 00:32:17,920
Speaker 6: was here. He happened to be here. The thing I

678
00:32:18,000 --> 00:32:20,600
Speaker 6: remember about him is, man, he had some mits on

679
00:32:20,680 --> 00:32:23,560
Speaker 6: him and like that's what he would do, you know,

680
00:32:23,600 --> 00:32:26,640
Speaker 6: he would he would set back and just get those

681
00:32:26,680 --> 00:32:32,160
Speaker 6: hands on guys. Another infectious personality, but man, he could.

682
00:32:32,240 --> 00:32:34,400
Speaker 6: He had those hands that if he got on you,

683
00:32:34,560 --> 00:32:36,000
Speaker 6: good luck. You weren't getting away.

684
00:32:37,080 --> 00:32:39,680
Speaker 1: There are names in this hat left like ray Lewis,

685
00:32:40,240 --> 00:32:44,400
Speaker 1: Ed Reid, Ted Carris. Does it reinforce how special this

686
00:32:44,560 --> 00:32:45,920
Speaker 1: ride has been when you hear a.

687
00:32:45,840 --> 00:32:46,480
Speaker 2: List like that.

688
00:32:47,600 --> 00:32:49,600
Speaker 6: Yeah, I think it is about the people at the

689
00:32:49,680 --> 00:32:52,120
Speaker 6: end of the day too, That's what you start to realize.

690
00:32:52,160 --> 00:32:56,760
Speaker 6: It's about all those relationships that you've made. I think

691
00:32:56,760 --> 00:32:59,440
Speaker 6: there's probably certain people that you wish you got to

692
00:32:59,440 --> 00:33:02,120
Speaker 6: play with when I was like I wish I had

693
00:33:02,160 --> 00:33:03,280
Speaker 6: to play with one on Maybe I was at a

694
00:33:03,320 --> 00:33:04,960
Speaker 6: little bit different stage in my life, Like you know,

695
00:33:05,040 --> 00:33:07,320
Speaker 6: some of those guys I only got to play with

696
00:33:07,360 --> 00:33:09,280
Speaker 6: when I was twenty three, twenty four years old, you know,

697
00:33:09,360 --> 00:33:11,880
Speaker 6: And there's other things scrolling around in my head, so

698
00:33:11,920 --> 00:33:14,280
Speaker 6: you don't get to you don't get to realize the

699
00:33:14,320 --> 00:33:16,720
Speaker 6: weight of it now. Listen, Like I think when Ray

700
00:33:16,800 --> 00:33:19,520
Speaker 6: Lewis walks into the locker room and Ed Reid and trellsgs,

701
00:33:19,680 --> 00:33:22,640
Speaker 6: I think you do kind of realize the significance to

702
00:33:22,680 --> 00:33:27,560
Speaker 6: a certain point. But yeah, there's still a little piesy

703
00:33:27,600 --> 00:33:30,320
Speaker 6: that takes it for granted, and nowadays you don't really

704
00:33:30,360 --> 00:33:33,000
Speaker 6: do that anymore. Just because you do, you start to

705
00:33:33,000 --> 00:33:35,080
Speaker 6: realize how cool it is that you've been able to

706
00:33:35,120 --> 00:33:38,160
Speaker 6: do that. So yeah, I definitely feel very fortunate.

707
00:33:38,400 --> 00:33:40,800
Speaker 1: It's been a remarkable run and we are delighted in

708
00:33:40,880 --> 00:33:43,680
Speaker 1: Cincinnati that it's going to continue in twenty twenty six.

709
00:33:43,760 --> 00:33:45,480
Speaker 2: Welcome back, I appreciate it, Thanks for the time.

710
00:33:45,560 --> 00:33:46,480
Speaker 6: Yeah, good to be here.

711
00:33:47,440 --> 00:33:49,200
Speaker 1: That's going to do it for this episode of the

712
00:33:49,200 --> 00:33:52,000
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713
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719
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Speaker 1: share a comment that helps more Bengals fans find us.

721
00:34:20,120 --> 00:34:23,480
Speaker 1: I'm Dan Horde and thanks for listening to the Bengals

722
00:34:23,480 --> 00:34:24,640
Speaker 1: Boot Podcast