WEBVTT - Bengals Booth Podcast: Back Home Again In Indiana 0:00:03.720 --> 0:00:06.480 Hi, get everybody. I'm Dan Horde and thanks for downloading 0:00:06.519 --> 0:00:15.280 The Bengals Booth podcast. The back Home again in Indiana. Addition, 0:00:15.800 --> 0:00:19.239 as we head to Indianapolis for the NFL Scouting Combine 0:00:19.880 --> 0:00:22.800 this week, the Bengals were permitted to meet with forty 0:00:22.840 --> 0:00:27.960 five different players for exactly eighteen minutes. So what are 0:00:27.960 --> 0:00:31.840 those meetings like? The team's director of college scouting, Mike Potts, 0:00:31.960 --> 0:00:35.400 takes us inside the room. Have you ever tried a 0:00:35.479 --> 0:00:38.720 mock draft simulator where your computer makes picks for the 0:00:38.760 --> 0:00:41.240 other thirty one teams and then when it's your turn, 0:00:41.600 --> 0:00:44.200 you see who's left and pick for the Bengals. I 0:00:44.320 --> 0:00:48.080 enjoy doing three round mock drafts for Cincinnati and thought 0:00:48.080 --> 0:00:50.360 it would be fun at the combine to have some 0:00:50.440 --> 0:00:54.600 of the top draft gurus do that. Dane Brugler from 0:00:54.600 --> 0:00:58.080 the Athletic is up first, but before we get to that, 0:00:58.560 --> 0:01:01.880 I'll talk to a very special guest, Hall of Fame 0:01:01.920 --> 0:01:05.839 wide receiver James Lofton, who tells us why he's happy 0:01:05.840 --> 0:01:09.600 to see Ken Riley joining him in Canton. The Bengals 0:01:09.600 --> 0:01:12.880 Booth Podcast is brought to you by Alta Fiber future 0:01:12.920 --> 0:01:17.360 Proof fiber Internet capable of delivering multi gigabit speeds designed 0:01:17.360 --> 0:01:20.720 to take your home, business, and community to a new level. 0:01:21.040 --> 0:01:25.119 Elevate your connection with Alta Fiber. Now here's a quick 0:01:25.160 --> 0:01:27.680 reminder that you can have the latest edition of this 0:01:27.800 --> 0:01:31.479 podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet, or computer by 0:01:31.520 --> 0:01:35.720 subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's the greatest thing 0:01:35.800 --> 0:01:41.240 since beer rankings. I'm not talking about ranking your favorite 0:01:41.240 --> 0:01:45.800 beer brands or favorite beer styles. I'm talking about ranking 0:01:45.800 --> 0:01:50.560 your favorite beer drinking occasions, like a tailgating beer, or 0:01:50.600 --> 0:01:54.760 a beach beer, or a just finished mowing a lawn beer. 0:01:55.320 --> 0:01:57.960 I bring up the topic because I recently got stuck 0:01:58.000 --> 0:02:01.720 in the Charlotte airport for several hours, and the delayed 0:02:01.800 --> 0:02:05.840 flight beer might be number one on my list. There's 0:02:05.880 --> 0:02:10.080 something about shared misery and a frosty beer that turns 0:02:10.200 --> 0:02:14.880 anybody and everybody from grumpy to friendly. So here's a 0:02:15.000 --> 0:02:19.640 toast to the delayed flight beer. When your departure is late, 0:02:20.440 --> 0:02:25.600 it tastes great. Now, let's get to football. On Saturday, 0:02:25.639 --> 0:02:29.360 August fifth, Ken Riley will join Anthony Munio's as the 0:02:29.480 --> 0:02:32.919 second player who spent most of his career in Cincinnati 0:02:33.240 --> 0:02:36.919 to enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I recently 0:02:36.919 --> 0:02:39.880 had the opportunity to visit with Hall of Fame wide 0:02:39.919 --> 0:02:46.880 receiver James Lofton. We discussed the Ratler and much more. James, 0:02:46.919 --> 0:02:49.760 you indorsed Ken Riley's case to join you in the 0:02:49.800 --> 0:02:52.480 Pro Football Hall of Fame before he got voted in. 0:02:52.720 --> 0:02:55.639 What was your reaction to the Ratler getting selected this year? 0:02:56.360 --> 0:03:01.720 I was excited, you know, just but you go, man. 0:03:01.760 --> 0:03:04.040 I wish he could be around to enjoy it, because 0:03:04.080 --> 0:03:08.520 he really did earn it, and it just seems like 0:03:09.080 --> 0:03:12.080 for some reason, once he got passed over the first, 0:03:12.120 --> 0:03:15.720 second or third times, then people just he became an afterthought. 0:03:16.400 --> 0:03:19.480 But as a player on the field, he was somebody 0:03:19.520 --> 0:03:23.040 to contend with. He really was. You faced him when 0:03:23.040 --> 0:03:25.600 you were a youngster, and he was toward the tail 0:03:25.720 --> 0:03:29.000 end of his NFL career, but he was still getting 0:03:29.000 --> 0:03:32.160 it done at the very end. But we had two 0:03:32.240 --> 0:03:34.680 kind of head to head meetings, one in Green Bay, 0:03:35.520 --> 0:03:38.119 and I remember, because of the highlights, I always see 0:03:38.120 --> 0:03:40.760 this highlight. I caught a pass maybe from about the 0:03:40.760 --> 0:03:43.280 eleven yard line, a little fade route. He was stumbling, 0:03:44.080 --> 0:03:46.720 and being the young player that I was, I kind 0:03:46.760 --> 0:03:49.800 of turned and spiked the ball in his direction, you know, 0:03:49.960 --> 0:03:52.400 and and spiked it hard, then putting my hands up 0:03:52.400 --> 0:03:55.360 and ran back down to our sideline and took high 0:03:55.400 --> 0:03:58.880 fives from all the players. And then fast forward and 0:03:58.880 --> 0:04:01.680 it's the nineteen eighty three season and it's week nine 0:04:02.120 --> 0:04:06.000 and I am leading the NFL in yards. After eight games, 0:04:06.040 --> 0:04:09.080 I have eight hundred yards. So in my mind, I'm going, man, 0:04:09.120 --> 0:04:12.040 I'm gonna have fifteen hundred and sixteen hundred yards this season. 0:04:12.760 --> 0:04:14.240 At the end of the game, when you picked up 0:04:14.240 --> 0:04:17.479 the newspaper we had newspapers in those days, my stat 0:04:17.520 --> 0:04:20.160 line was zero for zero, but there should have been 0:04:20.160 --> 0:04:24.000 an asterisk there. I had two offensive passing affairs calls 0:04:24.040 --> 0:04:26.920 against me pushing off on Ken trying to get to 0:04:26.960 --> 0:04:29.800 the ball. He was all over me that day, so 0:04:29.839 --> 0:04:32.599 he didn't forget that spike at all. We are visiting 0:04:32.600 --> 0:04:36.200 with Hall of Famer James Lofton, another former Bengal AJ 0:04:36.440 --> 0:04:41.279 Green recently announced his retirements. Injuries likely derailed his chance 0:04:41.320 --> 0:04:43.159 of going to the Hall of Fame someday. But what 0:04:43.240 --> 0:04:46.600 did you think of aj in his prime and his 0:04:46.680 --> 0:04:50.919 career as a whole. It's funny when you watch the game, 0:04:51.600 --> 0:04:54.320 you watch players. You watch their mannerisms, the way they play, 0:04:54.400 --> 0:04:57.119 the way they moved. And he was a guy who 0:04:57.360 --> 0:05:00.760 was built like I was and I and I always 0:05:00.800 --> 0:05:02.760 looked at him and said, man, that's that's kind of 0:05:02.760 --> 0:05:05.359 what I would look like in today's game, and obviously 0:05:05.440 --> 0:05:08.800 today's game referencing when he played, you know, ten years ago. 0:05:09.320 --> 0:05:11.240 But I looked at him and I just love the 0:05:11.279 --> 0:05:16.440 way he played. He was beautiful to watch. And yeah, 0:05:16.480 --> 0:05:19.839 it's difficult for him just when you start to look 0:05:19.839 --> 0:05:23.120 at the numbers that guys are going to consistently put up, 0:05:24.279 --> 0:05:26.480 and the injuries got the injury bug got him the 0:05:26.520 --> 0:05:29.359 last couple of years, which was unfortunate because he was 0:05:29.440 --> 0:05:33.600 really one terrific player. The Bengals obviously have a great 0:05:33.640 --> 0:05:36.279 trial of wide receivers right now in Jamar, Chase te 0:05:36.440 --> 0:05:39.520 Higgins and Tyler Boyd. Do you think that's the best 0:05:39.560 --> 0:05:43.080 group in the NFL. It's interesting. I think that they 0:05:43.120 --> 0:05:46.880 are really up there. And as I was watching the 0:05:46.880 --> 0:05:50.680 AFC Championship game, I remember when Tyler Boyd took over 0:05:50.720 --> 0:05:54.080 from A. J. Green as the number one receiver and 0:05:54.120 --> 0:05:56.800 now he slid down to that number three receiver. But 0:05:57.120 --> 0:05:59.480 I'm looking at it, and I'm thinking about football, and 0:05:59.520 --> 0:06:02.200 I'm thinking about what makes a team and what holds 0:06:02.200 --> 0:06:05.520 it together. Well, glue holds it together. And on the 0:06:05.560 --> 0:06:08.240 defensive side, it said Nickel. Defensive back that comes in, 0:06:08.279 --> 0:06:11.159 who can stop the third receiver? And the third receiver 0:06:11.279 --> 0:06:13.600 is the glue that holds the offense together. Yeah, you've 0:06:13.600 --> 0:06:16.080 got a good run game, you've got good starting receivers, 0:06:16.080 --> 0:06:19.120 a good tight end, but who can cover that third guy? 0:06:19.360 --> 0:06:22.480 And normally people could not cover Tyler Board. I think 0:06:22.520 --> 0:06:26.039 he had fifty eight receptions, seven hundred and sixty two yards, 0:06:26.120 --> 0:06:30.479 five touchdowns last year. And when he got hurt, I said, oh, 0:06:30.600 --> 0:06:32.960 the Bengals are I said this to myself, I said, 0:06:32.960 --> 0:06:34.760 the Bengals are in a little bit of trouble now. 0:06:35.360 --> 0:06:38.479 And as it turned out, they really were because they 0:06:38.600 --> 0:06:40.880 didn't have that third guy to go to and that 0:06:40.960 --> 0:06:44.600 allowed coverage to shift and really slow down Jamar Chase. 0:06:45.600 --> 0:06:48.360 They almost got back to the Super Bowl despite that, 0:06:49.000 --> 0:06:51.120 after coming within a couple of minutes of winning the 0:06:51.160 --> 0:06:54.120 Super Bowl the year before. How did this past season 0:06:54.360 --> 0:06:57.040 impact your view of the Bengals and how close they 0:06:57.080 --> 0:07:02.520 are going forward. I'm just I'm looking at the AFC North, 0:07:02.880 --> 0:07:05.359 and they are what the AFC West was supposed to be. 0:07:05.480 --> 0:07:09.960 Everybody talked about the Bengals and not the Bengals, but 0:07:10.000 --> 0:07:12.080 they're talked about the Broncos. And you talked about the 0:07:12.160 --> 0:07:14.880 Chargers and the Raiders and you said, Kansas, See, they're 0:07:14.880 --> 0:07:17.480 all gonna have winning records. Well, they didn't all have 0:07:17.520 --> 0:07:20.160 winning records. The team that almost the division that almost 0:07:20.160 --> 0:07:22.840 did have winning records from top to bottom was the 0:07:22.840 --> 0:07:26.320 AFC North with Cleveland finishing at seven and ten, but 0:07:26.480 --> 0:07:29.880 Pittsburgh nine and eight, the Ravens ten and seven, and 0:07:29.920 --> 0:07:33.640 then the Bengals on top. And I don't know if 0:07:33.680 --> 0:07:37.360 somebody can jump up from that division and move make 0:07:37.400 --> 0:07:40.080 the move. Deshaun Watson, is he gonna be the ju 0:07:40.160 --> 0:07:43.360 Saum Watson that we saw early in his career in Houston? 0:07:43.760 --> 0:07:47.320 And as Lamar Jackson gonna be the MVP type guy 0:07:47.360 --> 0:07:49.600 that he was early on in his career. Right now, 0:07:50.200 --> 0:07:52.520 if you're looking at it and you're saying that this 0:07:52.640 --> 0:07:56.680 is a quarterback driven league, Joe Burrow is at the 0:07:56.720 --> 0:08:00.320 top of the class in that division. Well, you mentioned 0:08:00.360 --> 0:08:02.480 two of the great ones in the AFC. Let's take 0:08:02.480 --> 0:08:06.040 a closer look at the entire conference. You've got Patrick Mahomes, 0:08:06.080 --> 0:08:10.040 You've got Josh Allen, You've got Trevor Lawrence, and obviously 0:08:10.040 --> 0:08:12.960 the guys you mentioned in the north. Where does Burrow 0:08:13.040 --> 0:08:15.080 rank on the list? And what do you like in 0:08:15.120 --> 0:08:19.239 respect about Joe? Well, you know I made my list, 0:08:19.560 --> 0:08:22.080 and you know you throw Josh Allen in there, two, 0:08:22.320 --> 0:08:28.120 Trevor Lawrence, Mahomes, justin Herbert Deshaun Watson Jackson, and then 0:08:28.240 --> 0:08:33.000 Joe Burrow and each Sunday, each Sunday. These guys can 0:08:33.040 --> 0:08:35.760 win games for you. Not that you win games with 0:08:35.840 --> 0:08:39.079 them or you think that you need better they are 0:08:39.120 --> 0:08:42.480 They are the guys that win games. And so now 0:08:42.480 --> 0:08:45.079 of the supporting cast, and do you do the little 0:08:45.120 --> 0:08:47.800 things during the course of the game. Do you protect 0:08:47.800 --> 0:08:50.520 the passer well enough? Do you have a good edge rusher? 0:08:50.760 --> 0:08:54.800 Can you run a game? Compliment this quarterback? So, Joe Burrow, 0:08:55.760 --> 0:08:59.520 if you're stacking guys, you have to put Patrick Mahomes 0:08:59.520 --> 0:09:03.120 there first, because he's won the Super Bowls in that group. Next, 0:09:03.559 --> 0:09:05.400 it's kind of like a wedding when you throw the 0:09:05.440 --> 0:09:11.960 guarter belt. It's a mad scramble. Number two, Joe Burrows 0:09:12.080 --> 0:09:15.439 hed better dive on it because I mean, you could 0:09:15.520 --> 0:09:20.360 have an argument with anybody at a bar in one 0:09:20.400 --> 0:09:22.439 of those cities and they would put their guy in 0:09:22.520 --> 0:09:25.319 number two. They would be foolish to put their guy 0:09:25.360 --> 0:09:28.320 above Patrick Mahomes, but to put their guy in number two, 0:09:28.880 --> 0:09:31.160 they would have a legitimate claim for that. And so 0:09:31.200 --> 0:09:34.440 I think it's that close with those guys. But when 0:09:34.440 --> 0:09:37.839 you look at clothes, you look at production, and production wise, 0:09:38.280 --> 0:09:40.640 it's Joe Burrow because he's been to the Super Bowl, 0:09:40.679 --> 0:09:43.679 He's played in AFC Championship Game two years in a row, 0:09:43.760 --> 0:09:47.280 so he is kind of a clear number two. But 0:09:47.440 --> 0:09:51.760 really just depends on who's buying. We are chatting with 0:09:51.840 --> 0:09:54.720 the great James lofton, does Joe remind you of anybody 0:09:54.720 --> 0:09:58.240 who played with or against? I know you got the 0:09:58.440 --> 0:10:04.120 comparison with the Joe Tanna because of the demeanor, and 0:10:04.520 --> 0:10:07.079 Joe Montana was like that. I was with him at 0:10:07.080 --> 0:10:10.640 the Super Bowl at an event on Radio Row and 0:10:11.040 --> 0:10:15.160 I just remember him being the guy that I felt like, 0:10:15.520 --> 0:10:17.400 if I wasn't playing in Green Bay, I want to 0:10:17.400 --> 0:10:20.040 be playing with Joe Montana. And I think a lot 0:10:20.080 --> 0:10:22.480 of players around the league, if they weren't playing where 0:10:22.480 --> 0:10:25.320 they were currently playing, they won't be playing with Joe Burrow. 0:10:26.480 --> 0:10:29.000 So this is the first offseason where the Bengals can 0:10:29.000 --> 0:10:32.160 try to extend Joe's contract, and obviously they will try 0:10:32.200 --> 0:10:34.960 to do that. He's probably going to be making fifty 0:10:34.960 --> 0:10:37.719 million dollars a year or something like that. What did 0:10:37.720 --> 0:10:41.800 you just say, fifty million dollars or something like that? 0:10:42.200 --> 0:10:45.000 How does that sound? Sounds pretty good? Right? It does 0:10:45.120 --> 0:10:49.640 sound crazy, but it's happened. I remember when it was 0:10:49.679 --> 0:10:52.520 seventy five cents to go to the movies. So assuming 0:10:52.679 --> 0:10:56.480 they get this done and they keep guys like Higgins 0:10:56.920 --> 0:11:00.959 and Chase with a salary cap ley, you know, I 0:11:01.040 --> 0:11:04.880 don't I don't know if if you can do quarterback 0:11:04.960 --> 0:11:09.679 friendly deals like Tom Brady did with New England, you know, 0:11:09.760 --> 0:11:12.080 he still got paid a lot of money, but he 0:11:12.160 --> 0:11:16.280 wasn't always the highest paid guy. He wasn't always making 0:11:16.320 --> 0:11:18.600 what he deserved for what he was doing for his team. 0:11:19.880 --> 0:11:24.720 So it's not my money. So what a quarterback? I 0:11:24.720 --> 0:11:27.040 can't believe I'm about to say this, take a discount 0:11:27.040 --> 0:11:29.160 and only take forty million a year as opposed to 0:11:29.200 --> 0:11:31.280 fifty million a year. And would that really make a 0:11:31.280 --> 0:11:35.200 big difference? Because I think with all the revenue sources 0:11:35.200 --> 0:11:39.280 that the NFL has, the salaries are I guess they 0:11:39.360 --> 0:11:43.520 really are justified. Whatever Joe makes is going to be 0:11:43.559 --> 0:11:46.680 justified in Cincinnati, I can tell you that. So the 0:11:46.760 --> 0:11:50.640 Bengals offensive and defensive coordinators got head coaching interviews this 0:11:50.760 --> 0:11:54.040 past off season. They did not get selected. So the 0:11:54.080 --> 0:11:56.520 Bengals will go into next year with Zach Taylor in 0:11:56.559 --> 0:11:59.760 his fifth season and all of his coordinators with him 0:11:59.800 --> 0:12:02.240 for that entire time. Lu and a Rumo on defense, 0:12:02.280 --> 0:12:06.520 Brian Callahan on offense, Darren Simmons as the special team's coordinator. 0:12:06.840 --> 0:12:11.720 How advantageous do you think that is? Well, it is 0:12:11.840 --> 0:12:15.679 advantageous because you don't have any new learning, But then 0:12:15.720 --> 0:12:18.880 on the other end, it's also disadvantageous because you don't 0:12:18.920 --> 0:12:23.079 have any new learning. You're not bringing a new spice 0:12:23.160 --> 0:12:26.680 into the building. Because everybody who's competing against you in 0:12:26.679 --> 0:12:28.680 your own division, they're getting to know you a little 0:12:28.679 --> 0:12:30.840 bit better, You're getting to know them a little bit better. 0:12:31.360 --> 0:12:34.319 And then it really does boil down to the personnel. 0:12:34.559 --> 0:12:38.240 And you mentioned about the quarterback getting the contract extension, 0:12:39.000 --> 0:12:42.960 who does that chop off? That was really good, But 0:12:43.080 --> 0:12:45.360 now you've got to bring in somebody and teach them 0:12:45.480 --> 0:12:49.000 what this guy already knew. So having new the same 0:12:49.040 --> 0:12:54.079 coordinators helps in that fashion. So, but coordinators are important. 0:12:54.160 --> 0:12:58.480 Head coaches are important, and I love coaches who have 0:12:58.600 --> 0:13:02.600 smart gambles. So during the course of a game going 0:13:02.640 --> 0:13:05.320 forward on third down, you know, having a third down 0:13:05.360 --> 0:13:07.199 where you got third and one, throw that ball deep 0:13:07.200 --> 0:13:08.760 because you know you can pick it up on fourth 0:13:08.760 --> 0:13:10.760 down or you have confidence to do that. And you 0:13:10.840 --> 0:13:12.839 played to the strength of your players. What do they 0:13:12.880 --> 0:13:15.320 do well? Don't ask guys to do things that they 0:13:15.320 --> 0:13:18.840 don't do real well. And I think that the Bengals 0:13:18.880 --> 0:13:21.320 have done that when I watched them play. They don't 0:13:21.320 --> 0:13:23.400 ask guys to do things that they aren't capable of 0:13:23.440 --> 0:13:27.920 doing exceptionally well. Final question for James Lofton. We've crossed 0:13:27.920 --> 0:13:29.840 paths a few times over the years when you've been 0:13:29.840 --> 0:13:33.160 broadcasting Bengals games. The last one you did was in 0:13:33.200 --> 0:13:37.920 the twenty twenty season, shortly after Joe Burrow got hurt. Yeah, 0:13:38.000 --> 0:13:41.160 were you stunned that they were in the super Bowl 0:13:41.360 --> 0:13:44.840 the next year? You know what? And you go back 0:13:44.880 --> 0:13:48.679 to about week twelve and the Bengal I can't remember 0:13:48.720 --> 0:13:51.520 who the Bengals had lost too, but it was a 0:13:51.600 --> 0:13:55.520 loss and it might have been the Chargers. I don't 0:13:55.520 --> 0:13:58.480 know if that sounds if that's correct, but there was 0:13:58.520 --> 0:14:01.079 somebody that they lost to. That last quarter of the 0:14:01.080 --> 0:14:03.839 season is up, they're kind of done, and then they 0:14:03.840 --> 0:14:06.640 won the next four or five to close out the season. 0:14:07.760 --> 0:14:10.520 So it depends on getting hot at the right time. 0:14:11.240 --> 0:14:13.600 And we're always talking about playing your best football in 0:14:14.080 --> 0:14:17.040 December and January, and the Bengals have done that the 0:14:17.120 --> 0:14:19.640 last two years. And that really does boil down to 0:14:19.760 --> 0:14:23.640 coaching and the coach having that confidence in his players 0:14:23.680 --> 0:14:26.800 that pushes them enough during training camp a little bit 0:14:26.840 --> 0:14:29.440 during this course of the season, knows when to back off, 0:14:30.320 --> 0:14:33.360 understands the bye weeks, understands the Thursday night games and 0:14:33.400 --> 0:14:36.480 all of that, and makes it not that it's just 0:14:36.600 --> 0:14:39.520 player friendly, but it's also coach friendly because you want 0:14:39.520 --> 0:14:42.080 your coaches to be energized at the later part of 0:14:42.080 --> 0:14:44.600 the season. So that's what I think Zach Taylor has 0:14:44.600 --> 0:14:48.480 done exceptionally well. James, this has been great and on 0:14:48.600 --> 0:14:52.440 behalf of Bengals fans, thank you for publicly endorsing Ken 0:14:52.520 --> 0:14:55.440 Riley's Hall of Fame case before he got in. I 0:14:55.480 --> 0:14:59.160 think the impact of legends like yourself and others who 0:14:59.240 --> 0:15:02.280 spoke up and trying to make the case the cannon 0:15:02.400 --> 0:15:06.080 is sixty five interceptions deserve to be in Canton made 0:15:06.080 --> 0:15:09.040 a big difference. So thank you very much. Well, I 0:15:09.120 --> 0:15:11.160 just got to tag the Ken Riley's story with this, 0:15:11.320 --> 0:15:14.520 so we had the two head to head matchups. And 0:15:14.560 --> 0:15:16.400 then he takes a coaching job with the Green Bay 0:15:16.400 --> 0:15:19.280 Packers and he lives five houses away from me, just 0:15:19.360 --> 0:15:21.880 to torment me even more. I couldn't get open to 0:15:21.880 --> 0:15:27.160 even when he was coaching for the Packers. Well, that 0:15:27.280 --> 0:15:29.640 bust is going to look great in Canton, and thank 0:15:29.680 --> 0:15:32.360 you for the impact that you had in making it happen. 0:15:32.480 --> 0:15:35.400 So again, thank you for your time. Greatly appreciate it, 0:15:35.400 --> 0:15:37.720 and I hope our paths crossed in a broadcast booth 0:15:37.760 --> 0:15:41.760 sometime soon. Great scene you get Dan. The Bengals Booth 0:15:41.760 --> 0:15:44.720 podcast is brought to you by Kettering Health, the official 0:15:44.760 --> 0:15:47.840 healthcare provider of the Bengals. With more than one hundred 0:15:47.880 --> 0:15:52.080 twenty care facilities and fifteen hundred care providers, Kettering Health 0:15:52.160 --> 0:15:55.680 is committed to guiding you to your best health. Visit 0:15:55.800 --> 0:16:00.000 Kettering health dot org. To learn more and by pay Corps. 0:16:00.320 --> 0:16:03.480 More than twenty nine thousand customers trust paycre to help 0:16:03.520 --> 0:16:08.960 them recruit, pay, engage, and retain employees. Learn more at 0:16:09.000 --> 0:16:13.440 paycorps dot com. The NFL Scouting Combine has been going 0:16:13.520 --> 0:16:17.320 on this week in Indianapolis, and while the drills are televised, 0:16:17.600 --> 0:16:20.920 one thing we don't get to see are the meetings 0:16:20.960 --> 0:16:24.360 that the teams hold with the players. What exactly are 0:16:24.360 --> 0:16:27.880 those meetings like To find out, I caught up with 0:16:27.960 --> 0:16:33.480 the Bengals director of college scouting Mike Potts. Mike, how 0:16:33.640 --> 0:16:36.880 valuable is the combine and what do you value the 0:16:36.920 --> 0:16:40.800 most while you're here? It's really valuable overall. I think 0:16:41.080 --> 0:16:44.200 the medical is probably the thing that is the most 0:16:44.320 --> 0:16:45.920 valuable at the end of the day for us. Just 0:16:46.280 --> 0:16:48.920 having three hundreds some players all in the same place, 0:16:49.000 --> 0:16:52.920 with all these doctors from around the league getting in 0:16:53.040 --> 0:16:56.200 depth scans and everything that they all that information that 0:16:56.240 --> 0:16:58.040 they need, that's probably, at the end of the day, 0:16:58.080 --> 0:17:00.280 the most valuable thing that we get out of it. 0:17:00.320 --> 0:17:02.960 But then also the workouts in the interviews are obviously, 0:17:03.600 --> 0:17:07.960 um incredibly important as well. So it's it's just it's 0:17:07.960 --> 0:17:10.680 just really really great. We've been scouting these guys all 0:17:10.760 --> 0:17:13.800 year and um, it's it's great to have them all 0:17:13.840 --> 0:17:15.880 in the same location for a week and you get 0:17:15.920 --> 0:17:17.800 to sit down and look them in the eye and 0:17:18.600 --> 0:17:20.640 talk to him face to face and see him work 0:17:20.720 --> 0:17:22.840 work out there on the field. So I love it 0:17:22.840 --> 0:17:25.240 every year. I look forward to it every year. Um 0:17:25.240 --> 0:17:27.760 coming to Indie and UM, it's just a it's just 0:17:27.800 --> 0:17:30.560 a great event. I would love to be a fly 0:17:30.640 --> 0:17:32.720 on the wall for the one on one interviews, or 0:17:32.840 --> 0:17:34.760 not one on one because you have several people in 0:17:34.760 --> 0:17:38.000 the room, but the interviews that you do with the prospects, 0:17:38.040 --> 0:17:40.320 how many do you do while you're here? And how 0:17:40.359 --> 0:17:43.560 long are they? So there's forty five interviews that we 0:17:43.640 --> 0:17:46.920 get this year. They were spread out throughout Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, 0:17:46.920 --> 0:17:50.199 Thursday this week. UM. Some some years that it may 0:17:50.240 --> 0:17:52.919 be spread over five days or so, but they're eighteen 0:17:52.960 --> 0:17:55.680 minutes long each. We get to we get to pick 0:17:56.160 --> 0:17:58.320 the forty five guys that we want we want to 0:17:58.400 --> 0:18:01.320 interview and they can be anywhere from starting at eight 0:18:01.320 --> 0:18:03.760 am and then they can end as late as eleven 0:18:03.800 --> 0:18:08.160 pm at night. So there's there's some long days, but 0:18:08.240 --> 0:18:11.439 it's it's Uh, you know, probably my favorite part of 0:18:11.480 --> 0:18:15.239 it just you're you're talking to staff members from all 0:18:15.280 --> 0:18:18.760 these colleges, all of their coaches and getting information in 0:18:18.800 --> 0:18:21.040 their opinion on the player. But it's but it's nice 0:18:21.040 --> 0:18:23.960 to then bring that full circle and meet the player 0:18:24.000 --> 0:18:26.679 face to face. So it's a great process. We go 0:18:26.760 --> 0:18:30.680 through it. Um, I have set questions that I ask everybody, 0:18:30.720 --> 0:18:34.080 and then there's also specific questions tailored to that individual, 0:18:34.440 --> 0:18:36.679 and then we let our position coach go through some 0:18:36.760 --> 0:18:39.280 tape with them and and everybody in the room is 0:18:39.359 --> 0:18:41.919 kind of free to shoot out questions at you know, 0:18:41.960 --> 0:18:44.240 towards the end of it, if there's specific things that 0:18:44.280 --> 0:18:47.600 pop up. So it's, uh, it's an awesome, awesome process, 0:18:47.640 --> 0:18:49.840 and it's it's great for for some of the people 0:18:49.840 --> 0:18:52.320 that aren't familiar with the player to really have a 0:18:52.359 --> 0:18:55.600 strong baseline and introduction to some of these players. Is 0:18:55.600 --> 0:18:58.240 that typically the first time you have ever talked to 0:18:58.280 --> 0:19:01.800 the player, it typically is at some of the small schools. 0:19:01.800 --> 0:19:04.960 They may bring if they only have one prospect or 0:19:05.160 --> 0:19:07.280 one or two, they may bring them in to meet 0:19:07.320 --> 0:19:10.600 with you. If you go on a scouting visit to 0:19:10.600 --> 0:19:13.159 say a Division two school or something like that, and 0:19:13.200 --> 0:19:15.359 then there's a handful of schools that they'll introduce you 0:19:15.400 --> 0:19:18.600 to the player very briefly, but I would say probably 0:19:18.600 --> 0:19:21.040 a good ninety percent of the time it's the first 0:19:21.160 --> 0:19:24.800 real interaction with that player, and then that'll continue throughout 0:19:24.800 --> 0:19:28.359 the spring. Obviously going to their pro days, you'll get 0:19:28.440 --> 0:19:30.240 more face to face interaction with them, and then we 0:19:30.280 --> 0:19:32.400 may well we get thirty guys that we can bring 0:19:32.440 --> 0:19:35.840 in for visits to Cincinnati, so we'll get some more 0:19:35.840 --> 0:19:38.479 face to face interaction, but that typically most of the 0:19:38.480 --> 0:19:41.720 time is the first time that you're talking to them 0:19:41.800 --> 0:19:44.199 face to face. We're visiting with the Bengals director of 0:19:44.240 --> 0:19:47.840 college Scouting, Mike Potts. Eighteen minutes isn't very long. Do 0:19:47.840 --> 0:19:50.720 you have to stick to a tight script to try 0:19:50.720 --> 0:19:52.960 to get as much accomplished as you can in those 0:19:53.000 --> 0:19:56.040 eighteen minutes we do. We try to take advantage of 0:19:56.119 --> 0:19:59.480 every second that we have, so some of it is scripted, 0:19:59.720 --> 0:20:02.800 but there we try to make it a balance to 0:20:02.800 --> 0:20:06.600 where it's not too scripted and it's it's somewhat casual 0:20:06.640 --> 0:20:09.920 and conversational to where in that eighteen minutes you're not 0:20:09.960 --> 0:20:12.000 going to find out everything, but you want to get 0:20:12.000 --> 0:20:14.800 a feel for who they are as a person, get 0:20:14.800 --> 0:20:18.520 a feel for their general personality, you know, just just 0:20:18.600 --> 0:20:20.920 so you can go off of your scouting instincts and 0:20:20.960 --> 0:20:23.359 compare them to guys that you've interviewed in the past. 0:20:23.400 --> 0:20:24.919 And like I said, we ask a lot of the 0:20:24.920 --> 0:20:27.080 guys the same questions, so we can compare even the 0:20:27.119 --> 0:20:29.480 forty five guys that we interview this year, we can 0:20:29.480 --> 0:20:33.040 compare some of the ways that they answer those same questions. 0:20:33.040 --> 0:20:35.640 But yes, we try to make it as efficient as possible, 0:20:35.680 --> 0:20:38.040 and we're constantly tweaking it every year if there's one 0:20:38.119 --> 0:20:39.960 question we want to take out and a new question 0:20:40.000 --> 0:20:43.119 we want to add. But like you said, it's you 0:20:43.160 --> 0:20:46.080 can never get one hundred percent conviction on a guy 0:20:46.080 --> 0:20:47.880 in eighteen minutes, But we try to do the best 0:20:47.880 --> 0:20:52.320 that we possibly can. Are they taped? They We used 0:20:52.320 --> 0:20:54.760 to do that, but we chose not to go with 0:20:54.800 --> 0:20:57.679 that now. Like I said, it goes along with wanting 0:20:57.720 --> 0:21:01.679 to get a true feel or the person. And you know, 0:21:01.760 --> 0:21:04.040 just how it is with anybody. If a camera's in 0:21:04.080 --> 0:21:07.240 your face, you're probably not going to act exactly how 0:21:07.520 --> 0:21:09.720 how you would be in a casual setting. You know, 0:21:09.800 --> 0:21:12.560 you and I just sitting here having a conversation. So 0:21:12.880 --> 0:21:15.760 we had done that at times in the past, but 0:21:15.960 --> 0:21:17.840 we've kind of went away from that and we have 0:21:17.960 --> 0:21:20.280 we've chosen not to record it, but we do. We 0:21:20.320 --> 0:21:22.080 do take notes on everything. You know, all of our 0:21:22.119 --> 0:21:24.840 scouts in the room or are taking different notes and 0:21:24.840 --> 0:21:27.840 and we'll grade guys A through F in terms of 0:21:28.440 --> 0:21:30.480 you know, what we what we thought of them in 0:21:30.560 --> 0:21:34.720 the interview process. So it's it's, uh, you know, there's 0:21:35.040 --> 0:21:37.600 it's documented in a certain way, but we don't. We 0:21:37.720 --> 0:21:41.639 chose not to video or audio record it. If you 0:21:41.720 --> 0:21:44.919 have a quote unquote red flag on a guy, something 0:21:45.040 --> 0:21:48.080 that's happened in their past, an incidents, something that happened 0:21:48.119 --> 0:21:50.119 on their team, whatever that might be, is this a 0:21:50.240 --> 0:21:52.800 major opportunity to get to the bottom of it? Is 0:21:52.800 --> 0:21:55.280 that kind of when you address it? It is because 0:21:56.440 --> 0:22:00.280