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Bengals Booth Podcast: Feels Like The First Time · Bengals Booth Podcast

0:03
Speaker 1: Hi, get everybody. I'm Dan Horde and thanks for downloading
0:06
Speaker 1: the Bengals Booth podcast. The feels like the first time
0:13
Speaker 1: addition as we take an in depth look at the
0:15
Speaker 1: bengals first ever win, albeit in a game that doesn't count,
0:19
Speaker 1: under new head coach Zach Taylor. Coming up, you'll hear
0:23
Speaker 1: radio replays from the game, locker room comments from players
0:26
Speaker 1: and coaches, and Dave Lapp them will join me for
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Speaker 1: postgame analysis, plus in this week's fun Facts conversation. It's
0:34
Speaker 1: one of the greatest and most popular Bengals of all time,
0:38
Speaker 1: wide receiver Chad Johnson. All of that is straight ahead,
0:42
Speaker 1: but first, here's a quick reminder that you can have
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Speaker 1: the latest edition of this podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet,
0:48
Speaker 1: or computer by subscribing on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify,
0:53
Speaker 1: or pod Bean. It's the greatest invention since blackout curtains.
1:00
Speaker 1: I have something in common with Dracula. I have a
1:03
Speaker 1: hard time sleeping if there's light in the room. It
1:06
Speaker 1: could be a bright alarm clock or a street lamp
1:09
Speaker 1: position just so outside the window. But I like a
1:13
Speaker 1: room that's as dark as the bottom of a well.
1:16
Speaker 1: So when I get home really late from a road
1:19
Speaker 1: trip with the intention of sleeping in, only to be
1:23
Speaker 1: foiled by sunlight streaming into my bedroom. It's time to
1:27
Speaker 1: purchase blackout curtains. Now, let's get to football. The start
1:32
Speaker 1: of Thursday's game in Washington was like a three Stooges comedy.
1:36
Speaker 1: There were seven penalties called on the first seven plays.
1:40
Speaker 1: It was uglier than my ninth grade class photo, which
1:44
Speaker 1: I will not be sharing on a throwback Thursday. But
1:48
Speaker 1: it looked like the flagfest was going to help the Bengals.
1:52
Speaker 1: Two fifteen yard penalties on the man who jumps over
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Speaker 1: bulls Josh Norman look it up, gave the Bengal the
2:00
Speaker 1: ball in the red zone. But it was the Red
2:03
Speaker 1: Skins that scored. From the eleven. Dalton's back to throw
2:07
Speaker 1: his pass batted at the line of scrimmage and intercepted
2:10
Speaker 1: at the five yard line. Running it back down the
2:12
Speaker 1: near sideline and headed toward the house is Monte Nicholson.
2:17
Speaker 1: He's going to score a pick six that goes ninety
2:23
Speaker 1: six yards. Wow. Dustin Hopkins missed the extra point and
2:27
Speaker 1: later missed a fifty yard field goal. At the end
2:30
Speaker 1: of the first quarter, it was six nothing Washington. After
2:34
Speaker 1: Andy Dalton was in for the first three drives, rookie
2:36
Speaker 1: Ryan Finley took over at quarterback and promptly drove the
2:40
Speaker 1: Bengals right down the field. He went eight for eight
2:43
Speaker 1: on a twelve play ninety three yard touchdown drive. Audent
2:48
Speaker 1: Tate and Drew Sample out to the left. Wouldn't be
2:50
Speaker 1: surprised to see the Bengals trying to get it to
2:52
Speaker 1: Auden Tate in the red zone from the five yard line.
2:55
Speaker 1: Cuddly throws for Sample, makes the catch and takes it
2:58
Speaker 1: into the end zone for his first NFL touched out.
3:03
Speaker 1: Beat Craig Reynolds a little bunch formation and the Washington Redskins.
3:08
Speaker 1: As the bunch formation unfolded, they forgot all about Sample.
3:12
Speaker 1: Drew Sample struggled in his preseason debut last week, but
3:16
Speaker 1: found the end zone in week two. You know, it
3:18
Speaker 1: was just surreal. You know, it's kind of just a
3:20
Speaker 1: you know, they called the playing a huddle, and you know,
3:22
Speaker 1: I know there was a chance that was coming to me.
3:24
Speaker 1: So you know, just ran my rout Ryan through a
3:27
Speaker 1: perfect ball and in the end zone and it was
3:29
Speaker 1: just everything you know that I hoped it would be.
3:33
Speaker 1: And then you know it was over just like that
3:35
Speaker 1: back on the sideline back in the game. So, um, no,
3:37
Speaker 1: it was. It was. It was awesome. Um it was
3:40
Speaker 1: exciting to kind of get the first one. Um, but no,
3:43
Speaker 1: it was. It was really fun. We're talking to Drew Sample,
3:46
Speaker 1: a couple of tight ends we're out tonight and concussion protocol.
3:49
Speaker 1: Tyler Reifer was out there for one snap, So you
3:52
Speaker 1: were one of the tight ends that got a ton
3:54
Speaker 1: of reps tonight. In your position as a rookie trying
3:57
Speaker 1: to adjust to the NFL, is that a good thing? Definitely?
4:00
Speaker 1: You know, you know, being able to I mean play
4:02
Speaker 1: every special team's play on offense as much as they can.
4:05
Speaker 1: You know, it's definitely just you know, getting used to it,
4:08
Speaker 1: getting used to, you know, different plays, just the rhythm
4:10
Speaker 1: of the game. I think it was. I think it's
4:12
Speaker 1: definitely in viable and I was glad I was able
4:14
Speaker 1: to do it because you know, I need as many
4:16
Speaker 1: you know, reps I can get, So I think it
4:18
Speaker 1: was good. Brandy Bullocks extra point was wide right and
4:21
Speaker 1: the game was tied at six. In the second quarter,
4:24
Speaker 1: the Redskins turned to their rookie quarterback to Wayne Haskins
4:28
Speaker 1: who threw fifty touchdown passes last year at Ohio State.
4:32
Speaker 1: Wayne Haskins, the fifteenth pick in the draft, waits for
4:34
Speaker 1: a shotgun snap. He has the ball looking left cos
4:38
Speaker 1: the arm throws it deep. It is caught at the
4:41
Speaker 1: Bengals fifteen yard line. It's going to be a fifty
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Speaker 1: five yard touchdown to Robert Davis. He had a forty
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Speaker 1: five yard touchdown catch last week against the Cleveland Browns.
4:53
Speaker 1: He's got a fifty five yarder against the Cincinnati Bengal.
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Speaker 1: Haskins long TD pass Gabe Washington a thirteen SA halftime lead,
5:01
Speaker 1: but in the second half, the Bengals sacked him three
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Speaker 1: times third down and eight for the red Skins. They're
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Speaker 1: at their own twenty two yard line, leading by seven.
5:08
Speaker 1: High shotgun snap caught by Hasket. He gets hit front
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Speaker 1: behind by Willis. The ball rolls forward. The Bengals scoop
5:15
Speaker 1: it up As we wait to find out if it's
5:18
Speaker 1: a fumble or an incompletion. The Bengals are celebrating. Carrie
5:22
Speaker 1: Wins sprinting towards the sideline to scoop it up at
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Speaker 1: the twenty five yard line. Cincinnati capitalized on the takeaway.
5:29
Speaker 1: Ryan Finley catches a shotgun, snap fires a slant, It
5:33
Speaker 1: is caught for a touchdown by Auden Tate that tied
5:37
Speaker 1: the game at thirteen. Here's Auden Tate on his touchdown.
5:41
Speaker 1: Just getting this side of defending, you know, just playing
5:43
Speaker 1: your body between him and the ball and just making
5:45
Speaker 1: a kitch, you know, like I said, just trusted a quarterback,
5:47
Speaker 1: you know, giving me the opportunity and just making it.
5:50
Speaker 1: Is that a special moment getting it in the ends
5:52
Speaker 1: on here? Oh yeah, definitely. You know I ain't scores
5:55
Speaker 1: last year, preseason, first game, so you know, it's definitely
5:58
Speaker 1: feel good to get back into. Definitely. Finley finished twenty
6:01
Speaker 1: for twenty six for one hundred and fifty yards, two touchdowns,
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Speaker 1: no picks, and a passer rating of one fifteen point nine.
6:08
Speaker 1: I felt really good. I thought, um, we just moved
6:11
Speaker 1: the ball really well on some of the drives that
6:13
Speaker 1: I got to be in there, and I thought we
6:15
Speaker 1: were really balanced, and I thought Jordan ran the ball great,
6:18
Speaker 1: and guys just made Guys just made plays. I thought.
6:21
Speaker 1: I thought Drew Sample had some awesome catches. It was
6:23
Speaker 1: fun to get him his first touchdown. And then Tate
6:27
Speaker 1: just a big body play in the ends on two,
6:29
Speaker 1: so um, it was fun. In two preseason games, Finley
6:32
Speaker 1: has completed seventy five percent of his throws, tossed three
6:35
Speaker 1: touchdown passes, and has a passer rating of one h
6:39
Speaker 1: two point four. Here's Alex ericson now. He's got a
6:42
Speaker 1: lot of poise. He's a gamer, and he's got that
6:44
Speaker 1: savvness about him. He's got that that calm, you know,
6:48
Speaker 1: collective way about him. And it showed tonight and he
6:52
Speaker 1: went out there and he commanded the huddle, he commanded
6:54
Speaker 1: the drives, and we were able to drive it down
6:56
Speaker 1: the field and score some points with him at the helm.
6:58
Speaker 1: So it's always good to see that, just especially a
7:03
Speaker 1: young guy coming in and it's hard, man, it's hard.
7:05
Speaker 1: It's hard to do that. And he's done a heck
7:07
Speaker 1: of a job and it's been fun watch him grow
7:10
Speaker 1: and develop and it's you know, it's only gonna get better.
7:13
Speaker 1: With a score tide at thirteen in the fourth quarter,
7:15
Speaker 1: the Bengals blew a chance to take the lead when
7:18
Speaker 1: rookie kicker Tristan Viscano missed a forty six yard field
7:21
Speaker 1: goal try, but he got a chance to redeem himself
7:25
Speaker 1: the next time, the Bengals got the ball, so Tristan
7:28
Speaker 1: Biscano attempting a fifty seven yard field goal in hopes
7:33
Speaker 1: of giving the Bengals a fourth quarter lead with eight
7:35
Speaker 1: minutes in fourteen seconds to go. Kevin Huber right me
7:38
Speaker 1: on the ground, waits for the snap, stands the right hand,
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Speaker 1: puts the ball down. Biscano's kick. It has the distance
7:45
Speaker 1: and it is good. Tristan Biscano from fifty seven yards
7:51
Speaker 1: away gives the Bengals a three point lead with eight
7:55
Speaker 1: minutes and nine seconds left. Did you know you would
7:59
Speaker 1: be given opportunity from that range? I hoped I would,
8:04
Speaker 1: you know, after I missed the one before. I wasn't
8:06
Speaker 1: sure if they were, you know, gonna have the confidence
8:08
Speaker 1: in me to send me back out there. But I
8:10
Speaker 1: definitely wanted the opportunity, and you know, I'm thankful that
8:14
Speaker 1: they gave me a shot and let me, let me
8:15
Speaker 1: go swinging and put it up. So, yeah, Dritan Viscaino
8:20
Speaker 1: is our guest. According to your bio, your longest in
8:23
Speaker 1: college was forty four. Was that accurate? I don't know,
8:28
Speaker 1: maybe forty four somewhere around there. Yeah, what's the longest
8:31
Speaker 1: one you've made in practice and in practice here practice anywhere. Um,
8:36
Speaker 1: it's hit a seventy yard or before. But I mean
8:39
Speaker 1: one time anywhere in that range sixty to seventy hit
8:45
Speaker 1: somewhere at some point in time. Well go back to
8:47
Speaker 1: the one you missed that forty six yard or you
8:49
Speaker 1: had plenty of distance but pushed it a little bit
8:51
Speaker 1: to the right. As you come off the field after that,
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Speaker 1: are you thinking, man, I just hope I get another shot. Uh? Yeah, absolutely,
8:57
Speaker 1: Um just wanted a little redemption and I was hoping
9:01
Speaker 1: that I get an opportunity and I did so. Yeah,
9:04
Speaker 1: I worked out, but yeah, I just just wanted another chance.
9:06
Speaker 1: Leading sixteen thirteen, the Bengals defense forced to three and
9:10
Speaker 1: out to get the ball right back and Alex Ericsson
9:13
Speaker 1: put the game away. Here comes the punt from tress Way.
9:16
Speaker 1: He's punted a lot, very very high. Ericson will try
9:20
Speaker 1: to return from the twenty five yard line, hearing towards
9:23
Speaker 1: the near sideline. At the thirty thirty five forty to
9:25
Speaker 1: the fifty, the Redskins territory breaks it. Town goes no
9:31
Speaker 1: flags on the field as Alex Ericson goes seventy five
9:35
Speaker 1: yards for a punt return touchdown. Unbelievable. Describe what you
9:41
Speaker 1: saw after catching that ball. Well, he was booming him
9:44
Speaker 1: all night, so I knew I was gonna get a chance,
9:46
Speaker 1: and we had a good play called on and I
9:49
Speaker 1: was able to get around the corner and guys obviously
9:51
Speaker 1: set up a great wall. I was able to cut
9:53
Speaker 1: back and get to the house. You had win in
9:56
Speaker 1: your first NFL preseason game, come close since, but have
10:01
Speaker 1: not taken one to the house since. Yeah, it's a
10:03
Speaker 1: good feeling, I'm sure. Yeah, it just just show us
10:06
Speaker 1: all hard at us, you know, UM, just never take
10:10
Speaker 1: for granted. I guess, no matter if it's in the
10:12
Speaker 1: first quarter of week whatever, the fourth quarter of preseason
10:17
Speaker 1: game two, I guess it's all it's all the same.
10:19
Speaker 1: If you're gonna be out there, you might as well
10:20
Speaker 1: give it your all and uh make a play. And
10:22
Speaker 1: we're able to do that and it end up being
10:24
Speaker 1: a big play in the game. Obviously where we're at
10:26
Speaker 1: and um, I know it's just a preseason, but we're
10:28
Speaker 1: trying to win every single game. We're trying to we're
10:30
Speaker 1: trying to build a winning culture here, and UM, the
10:33
Speaker 1: only way to do that is by winning games, So
10:35
Speaker 1: it was good to get the w tonight, and um,
10:38
Speaker 1: you know, sometimes it's all the phases and social teams
10:42
Speaker 1: showed up big, big tonight, and um it helped us
10:44
Speaker 1: win the win the game. The final score Cincinnati twenty three,
10:48
Speaker 1: Washington thirteen. Dave Lapham spoke to Zach Taylor shortly after
10:53
Speaker 1: his first unofficial win as a head coach. Did you
10:57
Speaker 1: feel like there was stride? There was strides made from
11:00
Speaker 1: game one to game two. I know you wanted to
11:02
Speaker 1: see if guys could basically work through adjustments after week
11:07
Speaker 1: one and show those coaching adjustments in week two. Did
11:10
Speaker 1: you feel like that occurred for the most part, especially
11:12
Speaker 1: on defense. You know, they held him to seven points.
11:14
Speaker 1: It was a big third down play where they got
11:16
Speaker 1: a big play on us, but otherwise they scored on
11:18
Speaker 1: the pick six, and so I thought a defense really
11:20
Speaker 1: stepped up and it was physical and they tended to
11:22
Speaker 1: details better. Special teams did a good job, you know,
11:24
Speaker 1: I think they affected the way a game in a
11:26
Speaker 1: positive way. We just got to start faster on offense,
11:30
Speaker 1: but I was proud of the way that the unit
11:31
Speaker 1: responded in the second half. Were down, We're down seven
11:33
Speaker 1: points when we came back and shut him out and
11:36
Speaker 1: got a lot of points on the board. That's how
11:38
Speaker 1: we want to finish. Ryan Finley ten for ten to
11:40
Speaker 1: start the first nine for nine tonight before he had
11:43
Speaker 1: an incompletion. He seems to have that innate feel, you know,
11:46
Speaker 1: in the pocket, win to move and how to move,
11:48
Speaker 1: and some guys have it, some guys don't. It's just
11:50
Speaker 1: a knack, isn't it. Yeah. I think he's starting to
11:52
Speaker 1: hit his groove a little bit. You know, he feels
11:53
Speaker 1: confidence in the offense and things are slowing down for him,
11:55
Speaker 1: and he's he was playing well in the games. That's
12:00
Speaker 1: for quarterback, that supported for any position. But you know
12:03
Speaker 1: he's played with all the conference right now. That's good
12:05
Speaker 1: to see. What about Michael Jordan. I know you obviously
12:07
Speaker 1: weren't watching Michael Jordan, but he seemed to have quit
12:10
Speaker 1: himself pretty well. I mean, it doesn't seem too big
12:12
Speaker 1: for him out there, No, it doesn't. You know, he's
12:14
Speaker 1: played at a big school, playing some big games. It
12:16
Speaker 1: has not been too big for him yet. The consistencies
12:20
Speaker 1: improving from week to week, and so be in stod
12:23
Speaker 1: to watch the tape and see how those guys played
12:25
Speaker 1: as a whole true sample and Pratt both I thought,
12:28
Speaker 1: big jump from week one to week two shouldn't be surprising.
12:30
Speaker 1: You know, the first one, you're kind of getting the
12:32
Speaker 1: jitters out a little bit. You get winded very quickly
12:34
Speaker 1: because you're nervous and things are coming fast at you.
12:36
Speaker 1: So they get a chance to rebound this week, and
12:38
Speaker 1: I thought both of them stepped up from what I saw.
12:40
Speaker 1: Here are some final numbers. The Bengals out gained the
12:43
Speaker 1: Redskins three thirty five to two twelve, had nineteen first
12:47
Speaker 1: downs to only eight for Washington, and controlled the clock
12:51
Speaker 1: for thirty six and a half minutes. Time for some
12:54
Speaker 1: postgame analysis from lap and we begin with the two
12:58
Speaker 1: special teams plays in the fourth quarter that gave Cincinnati
13:02
Speaker 1: the win. Both of them are special special teams play
13:05
Speaker 1: as special teams wasn't very special last week. This week,
13:07
Speaker 1: they didn't start off well, miss some kicks as did
13:10
Speaker 1: the Redskins, but when the game was on the line,
13:13
Speaker 1: a cameo drilled one fifty seven. I mean, anytime you
13:15
Speaker 1: hit fifty seven, I don't care what level of football, preseason,
13:19
Speaker 1: regular season, postseason, high school, peewee, I mean that's that's special.
13:23
Speaker 1: Then Alex Erickson is just a gamer. I mean he
13:27
Speaker 1: makes plays and need to be made to win football games.
13:30
Speaker 1: That's that's what he's all about. I thought special teams
13:32
Speaker 1: in defense really with the big story of the night.
13:35
Speaker 1: Going into the game, Alex Rickson was going to handle
13:38
Speaker 1: some punt returns. Darius Phillips is originally set to handle
13:42
Speaker 1: the rest. Darius Phillips suffered an injury, so Alex Errickson
13:45
Speaker 1: handled them all and he did not play it safe
13:49
Speaker 1: lap He kept returning punt after punt he did. I mean,
13:52
Speaker 1: he's that's just the way. That's just the way he is.
13:55
Speaker 1: I mean, once he gets into game, those competitive juices
13:57
Speaker 1: start flowing and he wants to do everything he can
14:00
Speaker 1: to help his football team, you know, win a football game.
14:03
Speaker 1: And I think Darren Simmons is probably in a way
14:07
Speaker 1: happy because he gets to evaluate a lot of young
14:09
Speaker 1: guys in their ability to block and understand the concepts
14:12
Speaker 1: of what he's trying to do with blocking patterns on
14:14
Speaker 1: special teams. But certainly didn't want to get alex Ericson
14:17
Speaker 1: nicked up, that's for sure. Alex Rickson said he thought
14:20
Speaker 1: it was important to win. That's why he kept returning
14:22
Speaker 1: those points. He wanted to give Zach Taylor victory as
14:25
Speaker 1: an NFL head coach, and although it doesn't go in
14:27
Speaker 1: the record books, he does get a win in his
14:29
Speaker 1: second preseason game. Let's talk about the defense. They held
14:33
Speaker 1: the Redskins to eight first downs. They were strong. I mean,
14:37
Speaker 1: I thought that, you know, the defense or front even
14:40
Speaker 1: without some of the frontline players, put consistent pressure on
14:43
Speaker 1: the quarterback. I thought linebackers stepped up. I thought Pratt
14:46
Speaker 1: played a lot better than he played in the first
14:48
Speaker 1: preseason game. I thought sample, did you know offensively as well?
14:52
Speaker 1: And I thought Finley, you know, put together back to
14:55
Speaker 1: back week so you know, the rookies and they're all
14:58
Speaker 1: stepping up and showing that they belong the league. Overall, Dan,
15:01
Speaker 1: I mean, the Bengals dominated the game. They had a
15:03
Speaker 1: more than thirteen minute time of possession advantage and more
15:05
Speaker 1: than twenty two snap advantage. But again, you know, there
15:08
Speaker 1: were some issues with penalties and turnovers and things of
15:12
Speaker 1: that nature that need to be cleaned up. But I
15:15
Speaker 1: thought it was a step forward from week one to
15:18
Speaker 1: week two, but still miles to go before they rest.
15:20
Speaker 1: And I just wish the officials to keep their flags
15:22
Speaker 1: in their pockets for a while. Let's follow up on
15:25
Speaker 1: Ryan Finley twenty for twenty six, one hundred and fifty yards,
15:29
Speaker 1: two touchdowns, no picks, a passer rating of one fifteen
15:32
Speaker 1: point nine, and when you talk to his teammates, the
15:35
Speaker 1: thing that everybody starts with is his composure is calm.
15:40
Speaker 1: Typically not what you expect out of a rookie in
15:42
Speaker 1: his second preseason game. Yeah, I mean I thought we
15:45
Speaker 1: talked about, you know, during training camp, balanced between being
15:49
Speaker 1: too cool for school and being have a little sense
15:51
Speaker 1: or urgency. Let's pick the temple up. I think he's
15:53
Speaker 1: found that balance and I think that you know he is.
15:56
Speaker 1: He nothing flusters him. He doesn't get rattled. The thing
15:58
Speaker 1: I like about him too, he seems to have that
16:00
Speaker 1: sixth sense in the pocket, the eyes and the back
16:02
Speaker 1: of the head just just knows when to sidesteps, step up.
16:05
Speaker 1: I mean, some guys have a knack, some guys don't.
16:07
Speaker 1: He seems to have a knack for that. And uh,
16:09
Speaker 1: you know, he's not a stiff getting out of pocket.
16:11
Speaker 1: I mean he showed at the end of the half
16:13
Speaker 1: when he spun out and lots some more time than
16:15
Speaker 1: zig zag back across the football field, and he's got
16:17
Speaker 1: a little dipsy due to him as well. So I
16:19
Speaker 1: thought he played well. I thought Drisco played well too.
16:22
Speaker 1: I mean, Driscoll showed his speed on that thirteen yard
16:24
Speaker 1: run knife from between a couple of guys. He threw
16:26
Speaker 1: a great deep ball that didn't work out, but it
16:28
Speaker 1: wasn't because of his you know, his lack of effort.
16:31
Speaker 1: I mean, they're very fortunate. There's there's some competitions going
16:34
Speaker 1: on that are pretty stout a wide receiver position. Damian
16:38
Speaker 1: Willis had his best game out of two. He had
16:41
Speaker 1: a touchdown catch negated by offensive pass interference, and Autumn
16:45
Speaker 1: Tate got into the end zone for the first time
16:47
Speaker 1: since his very first preseason game last year. Yeah, and
16:51
Speaker 1: these these young receivers, you know, it's been talked about
16:53
Speaker 1: all training camp with AJ Green and John Ross out.
16:57
Speaker 1: All these young guys are going to get a lot
16:58
Speaker 1: of opportunity. And the thing is they're all of the
17:02
Speaker 1: mentality that they love football, they want to get better,
17:05
Speaker 1: they want to be coached, and they're improving, you know,
17:08
Speaker 1: and the wide receiver room. I know Bob mcnell in
17:11
Speaker 1: conversation with him, he loves it. He loves everybody's attitude.
17:15
Speaker 1: Everybody's pulling for each other, everybody's getting each other better,
17:18
Speaker 1: and there's going to be some decisions to be made
17:20
Speaker 1: there too. I mean, there's some good competitions going on.
17:22
Speaker 1: And then when Aj Green and John Ross come back, man,
17:25
Speaker 1: they're gonna be, you know, that much better for it.
17:28
Speaker 1: Up next, the first preseason home game coming up next
17:32
Speaker 1: Thursday night against the New York Giants. Now time for
17:36
Speaker 1: this week's fun Facts segment, and we're dipping into the
17:38
Speaker 1: archives for a conversation with one of the bengals all
17:42
Speaker 1: time best and most popular players. Back when I was
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Speaker 1: a sports anchor at Fox nineteen, I hosted a segment
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Speaker 1: every Sunday night during the football season called Chad's Corner
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Speaker 1: with the one and only Chad Johnson. We started doing
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Speaker 1: it before his career really took off and didn't pay
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Speaker 1: him all that much. Once he became a superstar, his
18:02
Speaker 1: agent demanded a much higher fee that the station couldn't afford,
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Speaker 1: but Chad said, nope, these guys were with me from
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Speaker 1: the beginning and I'll keep doing it for the same amount.
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Speaker 1: I loved watching him play and always enjoyed our conversations,
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Speaker 1: including this one on the sideline of Paul Brown Stadium
18:22
Speaker 1: back in two fifteen. Time for some fun facts with
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Speaker 1: an old friend. The Bengals all time leader in receptions,
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Speaker 1: receiving yards, and touchdown catches number eighty five, Chad Johnson. Chad,
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Speaker 1: when you came back to town, the first thing you
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Speaker 1: tweeted out was it's good to be home. Do you
18:39
Speaker 1: feel that way about Cincinnati? Yeah? Most definitely, always have.
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Speaker 1: You know, anytime you when they mean they welcome with
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Speaker 1: open arms, and that's really all I know. Cincinnati is
18:49
Speaker 1: all I knew besides my birthplace, so I considered it home.
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Speaker 1: Do you think you made Cincinnati cool at the height
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Speaker 1: of your fame. I made it okay to be a fan.
19:01
Speaker 1: I made it okay to where your Bengal stuff outside
19:03
Speaker 1: of the city of Cincinnati, you know, at a time
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Speaker 1: when it was really bad. You know, I would like
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Speaker 1: to think I've read life back into the city. You know.
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Speaker 1: I don't think I helped get us to where we
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Speaker 1: are now, but I just made the game fun. I
19:17
Speaker 1: made it okay to pay your money and sit out
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Speaker 1: here at one o'clock every Sunday and just make it
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Speaker 1: fun again. We're doing fun facts with Chad Johnson. This
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Speaker 1: is the tenth anniversary of the two thousand and five team,
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Speaker 1: one of the most entertaining teams, certainly in Bengals history,
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Speaker 1: if not NFL history. And that was the year of
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Speaker 1: the Checklist. It was the year of the end Zone celebrations.
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Speaker 1: When I say, oh, five to eighty five, what comes
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Speaker 1: to mind, Fun, consistency, entertainment. I was all of those
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Speaker 1: wrapped in one weekend and week out. One of the
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Speaker 1: most fun things that I've ever had the opportunity to
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Speaker 1: do us a broadcaster was host Chad's Corner back when
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Speaker 1: I was working for Fox nineteen and you were playing
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Speaker 1: with the Bengals, because I felt like I was on
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Speaker 1: the ground floor just as it started to take off
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Speaker 1: as your stardom started to grow. Back then, did you
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Speaker 1: worry about other guys being jealous of it? No, there
20:14
Speaker 1: would be no reason too, because I was mean my
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Speaker 1: personality I was. I was a loving person mode and
20:19
Speaker 1: was there to be jealous of. You know, I'm approachable.
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Speaker 1: I'm one who can communicate with everybody, someone can relate
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Speaker 1: to everybody to regardless of what leve are you on
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Speaker 1: wherever you come from, there's really nothing to hate, and
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Speaker 1: that lovable side continues to this day. You've got three
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Speaker 1: point five million followers on Twitter. You typically tell all
20:37
Speaker 1: of them you love them on a daily basis. What
20:40
Speaker 1: do you get out of Twitter? It's a voice, So
20:44
Speaker 1: my own voice, my own platform, say whateverbody feel is
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Speaker 1: on my mind. I said, you know, so, it's just fun.
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Speaker 1: It's fun chat. I had to look it up to
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Speaker 1: remember that your first two years or the Bengals were
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Speaker 1: pre Marvin Lewis. I almost forgot that you were with
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Speaker 1: Cleobo for two years before Marvin arrived. Yeah, that was fun.
21:03
Speaker 1: Lebo was cool. Man Vow was really cool. How are
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Speaker 1: you and Marvin these days? Really good? I still bother
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Speaker 1: them all the time, still text him all the time.
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Speaker 1: Sure he gets aggravating because when I text, I text
21:15
Speaker 1: four or five in the morning, same way I did
21:17
Speaker 1: when I was playing. Nothing change you and I relationship,
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Speaker 1: Nothing change same way. After ten years and six Pro
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Speaker 1: Bowls with the Bengals, you went to New England for
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Speaker 1: that one season you got to the Super Bowl. Didn't
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Speaker 1: have the statistics we were accustomed to seeing in Cincinnati.
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Speaker 1: Do you look back at that year fondly. It was cool.
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Speaker 1: I enjoyed it, you know, being there, seeing how that
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Speaker 1: that entity itself is run. You know why they're successful
21:45
Speaker 1: every year. You know, it was fun as far the production,
21:49
Speaker 1: understanding that if you think about it, the type of was,
21:53
Speaker 1: you know, an outside receiver like myself, a dominant outside receiver.
21:57
Speaker 1: I mean, his office didn't really fit me well, you know,
22:00
Speaker 1: even with it being Tom Brady as a quarterback. If
22:03
Speaker 1: you think about their offense is run from the inside out.
22:07
Speaker 1: It's for the slot guys, for the tight ends, you know,
22:09
Speaker 1: and their third option to me, if if you pay
22:11
Speaker 1: attention to that offense and really dissected, the third option
22:14
Speaker 1: is or tailback out of the backfield, then the receiver.
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Speaker 1: Unless your last name is Mark Moss, which I'm not
22:20
Speaker 1: Randy Moss, you know, you're expendable. So you know, I
22:24
Speaker 1: really wasn't needed, and but I did enjoy it. I
22:27
Speaker 1: enjoyed my time there. I enjoyed Tom, I enjoyed build,
22:29
Speaker 1: I enjoyed the entire organization, and I enjoyed it. Chat.
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Speaker 1: A lot of people that care about you, myself included,
22:36
Speaker 1: wondered how you would be when football was over. You
22:40
Speaker 1: seem very happy, to me, Yeah, I played a long time.
22:45
Speaker 1: Not only did I play a long time, I played
22:47
Speaker 1: a long time, and I did it my way. You know.
22:49
Speaker 1: I didn't conform to the way society or the NFL
22:53
Speaker 1: gods felt I should have been. You know, it's funny
22:55
Speaker 1: that I got to this point in life and all
22:57
Speaker 1: of a sudden I supposed to change everything about myself,
23:02
Speaker 1: you know. And I always thought to myself, where were
23:05
Speaker 1: you guys when I was in high school? Where were
23:07
Speaker 1: you when I was in junior high or playing a
23:08
Speaker 1: little league, you know, And all of a sudden, I
23:10
Speaker 1: get to this point. Now you're telling me how I
23:12
Speaker 1: suppol to play football because of the money. And the
23:15
Speaker 1: funny thing about it, I never played for the money,
23:16
Speaker 1: which is why I was always giving it away, you know.
23:19
Speaker 1: And so I played long and I did it my way.
23:21
Speaker 1: So there's really nothing to miss except maybe I didn't
23:25
Speaker 1: get a ring. But there's a lot of people that
23:27
Speaker 1: played them to get a ring. But enough is enough.
23:30
Speaker 1: I'm at peace big time. You're getting involved in the
23:33
Speaker 1: cigar business. Now, I love cigars, but this is interesting
23:36
Speaker 1: to me because you're not putting your name on something
23:39
Speaker 1: for somebody else with money you're getting into this, You've
23:41
Speaker 1: been to the Dominican Republic. You want to do it
23:43
Speaker 1: right right. I want to those that have been the
23:47
Speaker 1: cigar game for years, those that have entities that have
23:50
Speaker 1: passed down from generation to generation. I want them to
23:53
Speaker 1: take me seriously to see the see the growth and
23:56
Speaker 1: how serious I am about making an a quality of cigar.
23:59
Speaker 1: And that was the whole point of me going to
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Speaker 1: the dr and learning how cigars are made instead of
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Speaker 1: me just buying the finished product, which I've always done
24:06
Speaker 1: all these years. So now that I got my understanding together,
24:10
Speaker 1: I did my homework. I'm coming out with my own line,
24:13
Speaker 1: eighty five cigars. Eighty five cigars. You and my nine
24:16
Speaker 1: year old son Sam have something income and you are
24:19
Speaker 1: both obsessed with FIFA on EA Sports, and you've actually
24:23
Speaker 1: been showing up at people's houses randomly to take them on. Yeah.
24:26
Speaker 1: I've been doing that for a while for a couple
24:27
Speaker 1: of years now now that I've been free, it's fun.
24:31
Speaker 1: It's fun. It's fun beating someone in their house and
24:33
Speaker 1: also rating their refrigerator. But just the fact that being
24:38
Speaker 1: able to do to walk in someone's house, go in
24:42
Speaker 1: their refrigerator and beat them at their game that they
24:44
Speaker 1: felt they were good out crisis. It's really good to
24:49
Speaker 1: see you. Thanks for the memories always. I hope you
24:51
Speaker 1: feel welcome when you come back to Cincinnati. Oh ways,
24:54
Speaker 1: oh ways, du man, it's been love man everywhere I
24:56
Speaker 1: win like love, like literally the jersey. They're still fan
25:00
Speaker 1: the jersey Like that's dope. That's really dope. If you
25:06
Speaker 1: like cigars, you should check out eighty five cigars dot
25:10
Speaker 1: com and or follow eighty five Cigars on Twitter. Last
25:14
Speaker 1: week they gave out some free tickets to the Bengals
25:17
Speaker 1: Redskins game, so you never know what you might be
25:20
Speaker 1: able to win. That's going to do it for this
25:23
Speaker 1: edition of the podcast. If you haven't done so already,
25:26
Speaker 1: don't forget to subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify,
25:30
Speaker 1: or pod Bean. And if you have a minute, please
25:33
Speaker 1: give it a rating or leave a comment. Your feedback
25:35
Speaker 1: is always helpful and those five star ratings help more
25:38
Speaker 1: Bengals fans find this podcast. I'm Dan Horde. Thank you
25:43
Speaker 1: for listening to the Bengals Booth Podcast