Latest / Bengals Booth Podcast / Bengals Booth Podcast: Better Now

Transcript

Bengals Booth Podcast: Better Now · Bengals Booth Podcast

0:03
Speaker 1: Hi again everybody. I'm Dan hord and thanks for downloading
0:06
Speaker 1: the Bengals Booth Podcast, the you Know I say that
0:10
Speaker 1: I Am Better Now, Better Now edition, as ESPN analyst
0:16
Speaker 1: Jason mccordy tells us why he thinks the Bengals are
0:19
Speaker 1: among the top Super Bowl contenders in the AFC this year.
0:24
Speaker 1: The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you by pay Corps,
0:27
Speaker 1: proud to be the Bengals official HR software provider, by
0:31
Speaker 1: Alta Fiber future proof fiber Internet designed to elevate your home,
0:35
Speaker 1: business and community to a new level, and by Kettering
0:39
Speaker 1: Health the best care for the best fans. Kettering Health
0:42
Speaker 1: is the official healthcare provider of the Bengals. Now here's
0:46
Speaker 1: a quick reminder that you can have the latest edition
0:49
Speaker 1: of this podcast delivered write to your phone, tablet, or
0:52
Speaker 1: computer by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's the
0:56
Speaker 1: greatest thing since cleaning up photos on your iPhone. I've
1:02
Speaker 1: seen the commercials for it on TV for a year
1:04
Speaker 1: or two, but until our recent vacation, I had never
1:07
Speaker 1: tried the cleanup feature for pictures I've taken on my phone.
1:12
Speaker 1: I'm sure you've seen the ads too, if you haven't
1:14
Speaker 1: already been using it. It's simple. After you take a picture,
1:18
Speaker 1: if there's something or someone you would like to erase,
1:22
Speaker 1: you hit the cleanup button and then rub your finger
1:26
Speaker 1: over the part of the picture that you want to
1:27
Speaker 1: get rid of. Moments later, poof, it's gone, and the
1:32
Speaker 1: cleanup function uses AI to make the background match for
1:36
Speaker 1: where the object used to be. It's an amazing tool.
1:40
Speaker 1: I just hope my wife doesn't erase me from our
1:43
Speaker 1: wedding photos. Now, let's get to this week's guest. After
1:48
Speaker 1: a thirteen year NFL career that included a Super Bowl
1:51
Speaker 1: title with the twenty eighteen Patriots, former defensive bag Jason
1:55
Speaker 1: mccordy has made a smooth transition to broadcasting after calling
1:59
Speaker 1: gays for CBS over the last few years. Mccordy recently
2:03
Speaker 1: signed an exclusive multi year deal with ESPN to be
2:08
Speaker 1: one of the primary NFL analysts on such shows as
2:11
Speaker 1: Get Up, First, Take, NFL Live, and SportsCenter. I got
2:16
Speaker 1: to know Jason a couple of years ago when he
2:17
Speaker 1: was calling a Bengals game, and he was kind enough
2:20
Speaker 1: to give me some time out of his busy schedule
2:22
Speaker 1: this week. Jason, what was your reaction when you heard
2:26
Speaker 1: Joe Burrow say this year's Bengals team reminds him of
2:31
Speaker 1: the twenty nineteen LSU team going into that season.
2:35
Speaker 2: Big small on my face.
2:36
Speaker 3: I think, just as an NFL fan, Joe Burrow is
2:39
Speaker 3: one of the very best players in our league. So
2:42
Speaker 3: hearing his excitement about the Cincinnati team now, I think
2:46
Speaker 3: a lot of analysts are excited about the moves they've
2:48
Speaker 3: made on defense, obviously to returning stars that they have
2:51
Speaker 3: on the offensive side of the ball, But hearing Joe
2:54
Speaker 3: Burrow be that fired up about this team just his offseason.
2:58
Speaker 3: He's mentioned Super Bowl multiple times, He's mentioned winning a
3:02
Speaker 3: ton of games in Cincinnati, I think it goes.
3:05
Speaker 2: A long way.
3:05
Speaker 3: I remember being on ESPN on Get Up, probably was
3:08
Speaker 3: a December I think, where Burrow talked about enjoying the
3:11
Speaker 3: game and everybody took every they ran away with it,
3:15
Speaker 3: where now he was retiring, he was going to the
3:18
Speaker 3: Jets because he didn't want to be a Cincinnati Bengal,
3:21
Speaker 3: all of these different things, but obviously you could tell
3:23
Speaker 3: in that moment that it was.
3:25
Speaker 2: A frustrating period of time.
3:26
Speaker 3: Form injuries played a large part in that, So stand
3:29
Speaker 3: back healthy and fired up and excited about this year's season.
3:34
Speaker 3: Is just really cool as a football fan, because he's
3:37
Speaker 3: an awesome player.
3:39
Speaker 1: I'm glad you brought up that day in December because
3:41
Speaker 1: naturally here in Cincinnati, we're very sensitive to when the
3:44
Speaker 1: national media makes the case that Joe desperately wants to
3:48
Speaker 1: get out of Cincinnati, and you're very measured, I think
3:50
Speaker 1: where that is concerned. But why do you think so
3:53
Speaker 1: many people assume that Joe Burrow is not happy here?
3:57
Speaker 3: I think some of it has to do when you
3:59
Speaker 3: see a quarterback at that level, you're wanting to see
4:02
Speaker 3: the crazy moves to bring him a Super Bowl appearance,
4:06
Speaker 3: another one obviously since twenty twenty one, and when you
4:10
Speaker 3: see on the defensive side of the ball they've lacked
4:12
Speaker 3: some of those moves, you just start to come up
4:15
Speaker 3: with different things.
4:15
Speaker 2: We also got to feel air. We got to find
4:17
Speaker 2: things to talk about.
4:18
Speaker 3: But I think when you and Andrew, a player like
4:21
Speaker 3: Andrew Luck retired out of nowhere. So you look at
4:24
Speaker 3: Joe Burrow and you look at the success, and when
4:26
Speaker 3: you hear him talk about not enjoying the game or
4:29
Speaker 3: not doing it, when he no longer does, you start
4:31
Speaker 3: to make those inferences because you're wondering what's going on,
4:34
Speaker 3: is he happy there? And you start to try to
4:37
Speaker 3: connect the dotson. Trying to be first on something or
4:39
Speaker 3: come up with a different angle or a different take
4:42
Speaker 3: is all part of our business to analyze and try
4:44
Speaker 3: to come away with things that are going to happen.
4:47
Speaker 3: So I think just overall, the comparison to the LSU
4:51
Speaker 3: team I saw earlier in this offseason, he talked about
4:54
Speaker 3: just his leadership style and trying to make a shift,
4:57
Speaker 3: and he used the word being more mean, and I
5:00
Speaker 3: talked about the fact that playing on a team with
5:02
Speaker 3: Tom Brady for me, I got there and my tenth
5:05
Speaker 3: year in the league, and Brady wasn't mean, but he
5:08
Speaker 3: was very deliberate with his communication and human nature, There's
5:12
Speaker 3: gonna be points in time where you're extremely frustrated, and
5:15
Speaker 3: that comes across to the entire team. And the one
5:18
Speaker 3: thing that Brady was amazing. He wasn't always super vocal,
5:22
Speaker 3: but the level in which he prepared, in the level
5:25
Speaker 3: of which he attacked things, it rolls the tie for
5:28
Speaker 3: everyone else. So I think where Burrow and I saw
5:31
Speaker 3: Dan Pittrier say that with him, it hasn't been mean,
5:33
Speaker 3: but it's been blunt and it's been immediate. I think
5:36
Speaker 3: a team resonates with that, and it just forces everybody
5:40
Speaker 3: to feel that.
5:40
Speaker 2: Sense of urgency.
5:42
Speaker 3: I think for Burrow, as you get older in your career,
5:44
Speaker 3: you go to a super Bowl early, and then the
5:46
Speaker 3: year started to take mind. You're just like, damn, I
5:48
Speaker 3: don't know how much longer you're going to have these opportunities.
5:51
Speaker 3: Not because of your play on the field, but it
5:54
Speaker 3: takes so many different special things within the locker room
5:57
Speaker 3: of having the right guys in the right MENTACN to
6:00
Speaker 3: be able to chase that.
6:01
Speaker 1: Lombardi Joe's teammates certainly heard the LSU comparison. How do
6:06
Speaker 1: you think that resonated among the guys.
6:10
Speaker 3: You look at that, and when you hear your star player,
6:12
Speaker 3: not just your quarterback, but your superstar player face of
6:15
Speaker 3: the franchise talk about the team in such a positive
6:18
Speaker 3: way and setting the expectations as high as he as
6:22
Speaker 3: he did, I think you look at that and you
6:24
Speaker 3: take ownership over your own part in it, and you're like,
6:27
Speaker 3: all right, I'm going to make sure in these five
6:29
Speaker 3: weeks from OTA's to training camp, am I doing everything
6:32
Speaker 3: I possibly can to come back in the best shape
6:35
Speaker 3: that I can come back mentally and physically prepare to
6:38
Speaker 3: attack this season to give us a chance to do
6:40
Speaker 3: the things that our quarterback is talking about. I think
6:43
Speaker 3: especially if you're the guys on the defensive side of
6:45
Speaker 3: the ball, because you know you were decide to let
6:48
Speaker 3: the team down in a sense last year with the
6:50
Speaker 3: success and the amount of points whether it was Joe
6:52
Speaker 3: Burrow or Joe Flacco that was in the lineup that
6:55
Speaker 3: they were able to put up. So I think obviously
6:57
Speaker 3: the additions of some of those veterans on that defense
7:00
Speaker 3: side of the.
7:00
Speaker 2: Ball will help drive that.
7:02
Speaker 3: But I think when you hear those words, there's a
7:04
Speaker 3: lot of there's a look in the mirror moment because
7:07
Speaker 3: from Burrow says it for himself, it forces you to
7:09
Speaker 3: rise to the occasion when you put those expectations. But
7:12
Speaker 3: I think it forces the locker room to do the
7:14
Speaker 3: same and look at that mirror and figure out what
7:16
Speaker 3: you got to do.
7:17
Speaker 1: We're chatting with Super Bowl champ and ESPN analyst Jason mccordy.
7:21
Speaker 1: What did trading the tenth pick in the draft to
7:24
Speaker 1: get Dexter Lawrence say to you about the Bengals front
7:28
Speaker 1: office this offseason.
7:29
Speaker 2: Well, first just in there, like, well, Dan, what's going
7:32
Speaker 2: on in Sinci.
7:32
Speaker 3: We're not used to these type of moves, But to
7:36
Speaker 3: go all in, I think and they've realized too, like
7:39
Speaker 3: we have Burrow here, we have them in his prime.
7:41
Speaker 3: We went and we brought Te Higgins back and Jamar
7:44
Speaker 3: Chase Gasekia is back as well, like you Chase Brown,
7:47
Speaker 3: like you're doing all of these things on one side
7:49
Speaker 3: of the ball. Think the realization was that we need
7:51
Speaker 3: more help on the defensive side of the ball. And
7:54
Speaker 3: had getting a chance over the last few years to
7:56
Speaker 3: talk to Dexter Lawrence and production meetings and things of
7:58
Speaker 3: that nature. And here in the way his teammates with
8:01
Speaker 3: the Giants spoke about him. When you make that trade
8:04
Speaker 3: for the tenth pick, obviously you're saying, we're hoping that
8:07
Speaker 3: our tenth pick becomes a Dexter Lawrence. But he was
8:11
Speaker 3: a captain with the New York Giants. Aside from just
8:13
Speaker 3: his dominant play on the field, but he was a
8:16
Speaker 3: culture changer in the locker room, and he was a
8:18
Speaker 3: guy that other players followed.
8:20
Speaker 2: And tried to emulate.
8:21
Speaker 3: And I think that is huge when you're talking about
8:24
Speaker 3: building your defense and wanting guys to not only learn
8:27
Speaker 3: the system and perform well, but play a certain way.
8:30
Speaker 3: You need to have a tone setter and a guy
8:32
Speaker 3: that's going to be that example every single day.
8:35
Speaker 2: So when you make that trade.
8:37
Speaker 3: When you go out and you sign Super Bowl winning
8:39
Speaker 3: players like boy Mafe, like Brian Cook, you're setting the
8:43
Speaker 3: tone and temple on defensive saying, fellows, we know it
8:45
Speaker 3: is not good enough, and as a front office.
8:47
Speaker 2: We're gonna go out there and do our job to
8:49
Speaker 2: improve it.
8:50
Speaker 3: Now for the guys in the locker room, it's up
8:52
Speaker 3: to you with the coaching staff, to go out there
8:55
Speaker 3: and actually make it happen. So I love the combination
8:58
Speaker 3: of veterans that have won and then guy like Dexter
9:00
Speaker 3: Lawrence who have had some success, but he's got he
9:03
Speaker 3: hasn't had a chance to go play in that Super
9:05
Speaker 3: Bowl or being a conference championship and playing games of
9:08
Speaker 3: that magnitude. So when you mesh those two things together,
9:11
Speaker 3: you usually get the best of both worlds.
9:14
Speaker 1: I think when you won your Super Bowl in New England,
9:16
Speaker 1: it was about year eleven year ten or eleven or
9:18
Speaker 1: ten year NFL career year ten, So Dexter Lawrence is
9:22
Speaker 1: similar in that sense. He's not quite that far along
9:25
Speaker 1: in his NFL career. But how does that affect the
9:27
Speaker 1: guy who's had a lot of individual success but hasn't
9:31
Speaker 1: been on a team that's competed for a championship.
9:33
Speaker 3: Yeah, you're just hungry. I can remember today, I got traded.
9:38
Speaker 3: I get to New England. I have a meeting with
9:39
Speaker 3: Belichick and we're sitting in his office and we're talking.
9:42
Speaker 3: I think at that time they had been to two
9:45
Speaker 3: or three straight Super Bowls, and he said, on this team,
9:47
Speaker 3: we had literally have guys that think we're going to.
9:51
Speaker 2: The super Bowl.
9:51
Speaker 3: Because of that, he was like, your perspective coming on
9:55
Speaker 3: this team. I was coming off one season in Cleveland
9:57
Speaker 3: where we didn't win a single game, but I hadn't
9:59
Speaker 3: played in a playoff game.
10:00
Speaker 2: In my entire career.
10:01
Speaker 3: I had won more than nine games in a single season.
10:05
Speaker 3: And he said to me, your perspective in this locker
10:07
Speaker 3: room is going to be huge of showing guys that
10:11
Speaker 3: you can have individual success. And I was never as
10:14
Speaker 3: good as a player as Dexter Lawrence, where when he
10:16
Speaker 3: walks in that locker room, everyone's going to know who
10:19
Speaker 3: he is. They're going to know his sack danced and celebration,
10:22
Speaker 3: They're gonna know all of those things.
10:23
Speaker 2: But I think that perspective for him throughout his career. Like, yes,
10:28
Speaker 2: that one.
10:28
Speaker 3: Year, I think it was twenty twenty two, they made
10:30
Speaker 3: it to the playoffs. They beat the Vikings on the
10:32
Speaker 3: roll and it was a big season, but outside of
10:34
Speaker 3: that didn't have the team success that one would hope
10:38
Speaker 3: that perspective when he stands up in front of a
10:40
Speaker 3: meeting room, whether it's defense, whether it's team, and talks
10:43
Speaker 3: about his journey when playoffs come around and they're in
10:46
Speaker 3: it and you're getting ready to go on a run.
10:48
Speaker 2: Or attempt to go on a run.
10:49
Speaker 3: When you have a player of that caliber stand up
10:52
Speaker 3: and you have a boy a Mafia or Brian Cook
10:54
Speaker 3: talk about the experience of getting and winning a Super Bowl,
10:57
Speaker 3: and then you have a veteran and All Pro player
10:59
Speaker 3: who talks about the feelings of not being able to
11:02
Speaker 3: do it or falling short into playoffs. Man, that is huge,
11:06
Speaker 3: and I think he recognizes on being on teams.
11:08
Speaker 2: As a defensive player.
11:10
Speaker 3: When you get to Cincinnati and you get out there
11:12
Speaker 3: to practice and every single day you get to see
11:15
Speaker 3: Joe Burrow operate, you start to realize that this window
11:19
Speaker 3: is short of how many years I may have to
11:21
Speaker 3: play with a quarterback of that caliber or receiver Jamar
11:24
Speaker 3: Chaser T Higgins caliber.
11:26
Speaker 2: So you got to maximize it right now.
11:28
Speaker 1: Your reference meeting Dexter Lawrence in those production meetings before
11:31
Speaker 1: you call it games on CBS. What was he like
11:33
Speaker 1: in that environment, same.
11:36
Speaker 2: As what you see.
11:36
Speaker 3: I think his interactions around everyone like a guy that
11:40
Speaker 3: loves a smile. He talked about his wife being a chef,
11:42
Speaker 3: loving to eat as one would imagine, but just the
11:46
Speaker 3: seriousness and the nature and how he prepares and goes
11:49
Speaker 3: about his job I think was the biggest thing. He
11:53
Speaker 3: was not afraid to talk about wanting to be dominant
11:56
Speaker 3: on the football field, and that seems to be a
11:59
Speaker 3: similar theme amongst the big defensive tackles. The guys in
12:02
Speaker 3: the middle, whether it's Dexter Lawrence or Jeffrey Simmons or
12:05
Speaker 3: Quinn Williams, those guys know that they're good.
12:08
Speaker 2: I think a lot of it is the realization.
12:10
Speaker 3: That games are one up front in the trenches, and
12:13
Speaker 3: for a defensive team linebackers and secondary, you go as
12:17
Speaker 3: the front goals, and those guys understand that their leadership
12:20
Speaker 3: needs to be vocal as well as performance on the field.
12:23
Speaker 3: Lead by example, but they got to talk about it
12:25
Speaker 3: because the same with Joe Burrow on offense, when you
12:28
Speaker 3: put that pressure on yourself and the team, guys typically
12:30
Speaker 3: rise to the occasion, and Dexter Lawrence is no different
12:33
Speaker 3: than that, and everything I'm reading it seems that he's
12:35
Speaker 3: taking that same approach in Cincinnati, being a leader already
12:39
Speaker 3: and trying to get guys to follow.
12:41
Speaker 1: We're visiting with ESPNS, Jason mccordy. You referenced a couple
12:44
Speaker 1: of the guys that they've signed in free agency, Boy
12:47
Speaker 1: Mafe and Brian Cook. They also signed Jonathan Allen and
12:50
Speaker 1: your former New England teammate Kyle Dugger. With those four
12:54
Speaker 1: editions all on defense plus Dexter Lawrence, did they do
12:58
Speaker 1: what was necessary to significantly upgrade the defense.
13:02
Speaker 3: I believe they did. Obviously, you got to wait to
13:05
Speaker 3: see what it looks like. Al Golden. I think his
13:08
Speaker 3: system coming in is going to help change that. And
13:10
Speaker 3: then part of it is when you bring in a
13:12
Speaker 3: new defensive coordinator from lou Ana Romo.
13:14
Speaker 2: To Al Golden.
13:15
Speaker 3: You got to allow this now coaching staff to be
13:18
Speaker 3: able to get players that they feel like they can
13:20
Speaker 3: mold into their system and make it come alive and
13:23
Speaker 3: get those right pieces in place. But the same thing
13:26
Speaker 3: I think for Jonathan Allen, his success was with Jaden Daniels,
13:30
Speaker 3: that quarterback. Other than that, he didn't have that same
13:32
Speaker 3: level of success with Washington. A guy like Kyle Dugger,
13:35
Speaker 3: who I was with in New England, started his career
13:37
Speaker 3: on an absolute high signs back with the Patriots, and
13:40
Speaker 3: then it kind of went downhill when Vrabel and their
13:42
Speaker 3: staff got there.
13:43
Speaker 2: He had to move on to Pittsburgh.
13:45
Speaker 3: So he's a guy that's trying to research his career
13:49
Speaker 3: as well and get back to the top. So I
13:51
Speaker 3: think they've made moves. And what you love is when
13:54
Speaker 3: you make moves on different levels. You got guys up front,
13:57
Speaker 3: you got guys in the secondary. You have young linebackers
14:00
Speaker 3: that you'll hope and continue to come up age and
14:02
Speaker 3: be able to make those plays out there on the
14:04
Speaker 3: defensive side of the ball and beat the quarterbacks.
14:06
Speaker 2: But I do think it because that offense is so good.
14:09
Speaker 3: Similar to the way a lot of people talk about
14:11
Speaker 3: the Dallas Cowboys. Their defense doesn't have to be a
14:15
Speaker 3: top three unit in the NFL for them to be
14:18
Speaker 3: contenders in the AFC.
14:20
Speaker 2: Their defense has to be able to create takeaways.
14:22
Speaker 3: They have to be able to get stops in the
14:23
Speaker 3: red zone and get the ball back to the offense
14:26
Speaker 3: and allow them to kind of lead to charge. Being
14:29
Speaker 3: in New England those few years and then talking to
14:31
Speaker 3: my brother throughout the course of his career, when you
14:33
Speaker 3: have a quarterback that's a guy you know if you
14:35
Speaker 3: can just get him the ball back, you can have
14:38
Speaker 3: a chance to win the game with the ball in
14:39
Speaker 3: his hands in a two minute drill, you feel pretty
14:42
Speaker 3: damn good about your chances.
14:44
Speaker 1: The Kyle Dugger signing got very little attention. I think
14:47
Speaker 1: it's kind of a sneaky, under the radar good move
14:50
Speaker 1: by the Bengals. But since you played with him, what
14:53
Speaker 1: can he contribute.
14:54
Speaker 3: He's a physical free and that was the one thing
14:57
Speaker 3: that was so impressive when he first got there. Big
15:00
Speaker 3: safety can play in the box, but had to range
15:02
Speaker 3: in athleticism in the back end to get sidelined the sideline.
15:06
Speaker 3: And I think for Dougger over these last few years,
15:09
Speaker 3: trying to find a fit within the different schemes has
15:12
Speaker 3: been a bit of a challenge, and I think for
15:14
Speaker 3: him getting back to the basics, and this is a
15:17
Speaker 3: spot where Cincinnati I think needed help at the safety position.
15:20
Speaker 3: Brian Cook, a short tackler, I think he's gonna help
15:23
Speaker 3: a ton, especially with leadership in the back end, and
15:25
Speaker 3: you get a guy like Douger, you have battle there.
15:28
Speaker 3: Gino Stone struggled a little bit a year ago, So
15:31
Speaker 3: getting other guys in there that not only can play
15:34
Speaker 3: out there, but also can force communication throughout that back end.
15:38
Speaker 3: I think Douger, if he can get back to his
15:40
Speaker 3: stride and get back to the player.
15:41
Speaker 2: He was, he's a chess piece. Not that he has
15:44
Speaker 2: to be a.
15:44
Speaker 3: Starter there, but if you have a guy that you
15:46
Speaker 3: can play in the box in some of those dime situations,
15:49
Speaker 3: but also a guy that you can play in bass
15:51
Speaker 3: at safety, that scheme flexibility goes such a long way
15:55
Speaker 3: of having players that can fill multiple spots.
15:59
Speaker 1: Skilled to cup, Jason tells us why he considers DJ
16:02
Speaker 1: Turner to be quote an absolute monster, and he'll tell
16:07
Speaker 1: us where Jamar Jason T Higgins rank among the NFL's
16:11
Speaker 1: top wide receiver duos. But first, here's a quick reminder
16:15
Speaker 1: that the Bengals Booth podcast is brought to you by
16:17
Speaker 1: pay Corps, proud to be the Bengals official HR software provider,
16:21
Speaker 1: by Alta Fiber future proof Fiber Internet designed elevate your home,
16:26
Speaker 1: business and community to a new level, and by Kettering Health,
16:31
Speaker 1: the best care for the best fans. Kettering Health is
16:34
Speaker 1: the official healthcare provider of the Bengals. Now back to
16:38
Speaker 1: my conversation with Jason mccordy. Jason, you were an NFL
16:43
Speaker 1: defensive back for thirteen years. The Bengals have two high
16:46
Speaker 1: draft picks at cornerback going into the final year of
16:50
Speaker 1: the rookie contracts, DJ Turner and Dax Hill. How good
16:53
Speaker 1: is that duo?
16:54
Speaker 3: DJ Turner was a absolute monster last year Chuck Burks,
16:59
Speaker 3: the DEFENSI about coach cornerbacks. Coach I was with in Miami,
17:02
Speaker 3: so me and him communicate a few times throughout the
17:05
Speaker 3: course of the season.
17:06
Speaker 2: He had texted me he was like, you need to go.
17:07
Speaker 3: Back and really watch DJ Turner some of the matchups
17:10
Speaker 3: that he's had with some of the best receivers in
17:13
Speaker 3: the NFL.
17:14
Speaker 2: And he was a stud. I mean, he was out
17:15
Speaker 2: there locking guys down, making plays.
17:18
Speaker 3: So having a guy that can be your shutdown corner
17:21
Speaker 3: that you can say week in and week out, we
17:23
Speaker 3: trust him to go out there and challenge whoever the
17:26
Speaker 3: other team's best receiver is. That doesn't mean you're gonna
17:28
Speaker 3: win every battles. Those guys are good too, but that
17:31
Speaker 3: can go out there and compete and make plays. And
17:33
Speaker 3: he proved last year that he's one of those guys
17:36
Speaker 3: in the league at the cornerback position that can do so.
17:39
Speaker 3: And the same with and that allows you with Dax
17:41
Speaker 3: Hill on the other side, that the matchup is the
17:43
Speaker 3: second best player. Now you have a duo that can
17:46
Speaker 3: go out there and be formidable each and every week.
17:48
Speaker 3: So I really liked those guys on the outside. And
17:52
Speaker 3: like I said, DJ Turner was a stud last year.
17:54
Speaker 3: He was fun to watch.
17:55
Speaker 1: Where do you think of Chuck as a coach?
17:57
Speaker 2: Oh?
17:58
Speaker 3: The one thing about Chuck that that stands out, and
18:02
Speaker 3: we talked a lot when I was in Miami. We're
18:03
Speaker 3: the same exact age. That's when you know it's almost
18:06
Speaker 3: time to go ahead and retire. We're talking about our
18:09
Speaker 3: high school graduation years being the same. But Chuck is
18:12
Speaker 3: the type of coach that he cares about the guys
18:14
Speaker 3: that he's coaching, and that resonated a lot with me
18:17
Speaker 3: because you don't always get that in the league. And
18:19
Speaker 3: that's not a knock on any other coach. There are
18:22
Speaker 3: guys that are tremendous at their job, whether it's teaching
18:25
Speaker 3: the x'es and o's or getting a guy to understand his.
18:28
Speaker 2: Strengths or his weaknesses.
18:29
Speaker 3: Chuck was a guy that cared about you as a
18:31
Speaker 3: football player, wanted to make you into an all Pro player,
18:34
Speaker 3: but also wanted to make you into an all Pro
18:37
Speaker 3: dad and all Pro husband and really pour into who
18:40
Speaker 3: you were as a man. So that was always for
18:42
Speaker 3: me of sitting in his room at times as a
18:45
Speaker 3: cornerback and just being on that team. I was like, Dan,
18:48
Speaker 3: this dude, he really cares about these men and he
18:50
Speaker 3: wants to build those relationships and friendships well beyond their
18:53
Speaker 3: playing days.
18:55
Speaker 1: I don't know how many wide receivers that are in
18:57
Speaker 1: the Hall of Fame you covered during your career and
18:59
Speaker 1: had to be a bunch in a thirteen year career.
19:02
Speaker 1: Jamar Chase is on that type of track if he
19:05
Speaker 1: can stay healthy and play for a long time. What
19:07
Speaker 1: makes Jamar Chase so unique among the great receivers in
19:11
Speaker 1: the league.
19:12
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think with Jamar you look at it, a
19:15
Speaker 3: lot of receivers can run the route, tree, can get open,
19:18
Speaker 3: can catch the ball up in the air, go up
19:20
Speaker 3: over guys. When you can be as good as he
19:23
Speaker 3: is with the ball in your hands, that's a complete
19:26
Speaker 3: separator for a quarterback. When I can line you up
19:29
Speaker 3: on the outside and know that I can throw a
19:31
Speaker 3: fade to you down the sideline because you have the
19:33
Speaker 3: speed and you have the awareness and the ball tracking
19:36
Speaker 3: to be able to catch a forty yard bomb, but
19:39
Speaker 3: also under pressure they're coming with a max blitz, I
19:42
Speaker 3: can throw the ball out to you on a now
19:44
Speaker 3: screen and you can take it sixty yards in the
19:47
Speaker 3: same realm. Like that's just so hard, not only to
19:50
Speaker 3: cover before a defensive coordinator to prepare for because you
19:54
Speaker 3: can roll the safety over the top and have a
19:57
Speaker 3: corner up front, but when they're running a wide receiver
19:59
Speaker 3: scre I mean, you can't take that away passes that
20:02
Speaker 3: happen behind the line of scrimmage. But then you also
20:05
Speaker 3: want to put pressure on the quarterback. But then you're
20:08
Speaker 3: not comfortable with your cornerback being out there. One on
20:10
Speaker 3: one with the guy with his strength and his ability.
20:13
Speaker 3: So I think that run after catch and that is
20:16
Speaker 3: such a separator for him with how good he is.
20:19
Speaker 3: And then obviously at the catch point, we used to
20:21
Speaker 3: always talk about it as DB's or I had coaches
20:23
Speaker 3: that would grade you, whether it's your technique, your alignment,
20:26
Speaker 3: your assignment, and all of those things. But then what
20:28
Speaker 3: are you doing at the point of attack? Now the
20:30
Speaker 3: ball is in the air. You had tremendous coverage, You're
20:33
Speaker 3: all over this player, but can you come away with
20:35
Speaker 3: the pass breakup or the interception? Jamar Chase is so
20:38
Speaker 3: good at that level too, of coming away with the
20:41
Speaker 3: football with sean hands that it just makes them so
20:43
Speaker 3: tough to cover.
20:45
Speaker 1: Is Jamar m t the best one to two combo
20:48
Speaker 1: D wide receiver in the NFL?
20:51
Speaker 3: Oh, It's hard pressed to find another. I have them
20:54
Speaker 3: right square with the Dallas Cowboys with Ceedee Lamb and
20:57
Speaker 3: George Pickens. Those are probably the two that I think
21:00
Speaker 3: are separate. Obviously, with Wallall and Tyreek Hill now being
21:03
Speaker 3: separated at AJ Brown leaving Philadelphia, I would say those
21:07
Speaker 3: two duels at the very top.
21:09
Speaker 2: If if you had to make me choose one or
21:12
Speaker 2: the other. That's tough.
21:16
Speaker 3: I'll say jamar Ty proof of concept. They've been doing
21:20
Speaker 3: it longer.
21:21
Speaker 1: Very good analysis. That's why you just got a big
21:23
Speaker 1: contract extension for ESPN. The Bengals are the only team
21:27
Speaker 1: in the AFC North that still has the same head coach.
21:30
Speaker 1: Is that continuity a significant advantage?
21:33
Speaker 2: I think so.
21:35
Speaker 3: It's one of those statements when you say that, it
21:37
Speaker 3: brings such different responses. I've heard analysts say, is that
21:43
Speaker 3: a good thing? When you talk about the fact that
21:45
Speaker 3: they've remained intact with their entire staff. So I think
21:48
Speaker 3: the perspective and what you look at it can vary
21:52
Speaker 3: when you come away with an answer. I think the
21:54
Speaker 3: fact that they do have the same system allows you
21:56
Speaker 3: to hit the ground running a little faster than it
21:58
Speaker 3: may take. A Jesse and Joe Brady, who are both
22:02
Speaker 3: first time head coaches in the AFC and then obviously
22:05
Speaker 3: in their own division with Cleveland, it seems like they're
22:07
Speaker 3: alternating coaches each and every year. With Pittsburgh, Tomlin has
22:11
Speaker 3: been such a fixture in that division him and Harball
22:15
Speaker 3: that now those two guys moving on, you got to
22:19
Speaker 3: figure out what exactly Baltimore and Pittsburgh are without those
22:22
Speaker 3: two guys in the building, so it gives them a
22:25
Speaker 3: little bit of a legout to start with.
22:27
Speaker 2: But I think ultimately when it comes down.
22:29
Speaker 3: To winning that division, the x's and oers of winning
22:32
Speaker 3: football games in December in the beginning of January, like,
22:36
Speaker 3: that's what's gonna come down to. And yes, they have
22:39
Speaker 3: the continuity, Zach Taylor, are You're gonna be able to
22:42
Speaker 3: design something to beat jesse mentor late in the game
22:44
Speaker 3: to maybe dictate who's going to win the division. I
22:47
Speaker 3: think that's ultimately what it's going to be. Yet to
22:50
Speaker 3: see what Jesse Minter is going to do or what
22:53
Speaker 3: McCarthy what he's gonna mean in Pittsburgh. But the continuity,
22:57
Speaker 3: I do believe is big to start the season. I
22:59
Speaker 3: don't really care about it when it comes to November December,
23:02
Speaker 3: when it comes to finish.
23:03
Speaker 2: In the season.
23:04
Speaker 1: Last thing for Jason mccordy, and you've been very generous
23:07
Speaker 1: with your time, Thank you so much. There are a
23:09
Speaker 1: bunch of good teams in the AFC, and they have
23:11
Speaker 1: good quarterbacks. Buffalo, New England, Baltimore, Kansas City, the Chargers, Denver, Houston, Jacksonville.
23:17
Speaker 1: The list goes on and on. How did the Bengals
23:20
Speaker 1: stack up in your opinion?
23:22
Speaker 3: So I said earlier the off season the Bengals were
23:24
Speaker 3: my team that I said they were going to be
23:26
Speaker 3: at the very.
23:26
Speaker 2: Top of the AFC.
23:28
Speaker 3: It just feels the right trajectory in the sense of
23:32
Speaker 3: for the last several years, we've talked about the top
23:35
Speaker 3: quarterbacks in the league, Dame Maholmes being, Josh Allen being
23:38
Speaker 3: Lamar Jackson, and we've continued to say Joe Burrow is
23:42
Speaker 3: that fourth guy, and then it's after that, it's all right?
23:45
Speaker 3: Is it justin Herbert now Drake May all of these
23:47
Speaker 3: different guys. I just don't see them continuing to be
23:50
Speaker 3: a team that's not making the playoffs and not contending.
23:53
Speaker 3: So the moves they've made on the defensive side of
23:55
Speaker 3: the ball, I have them rake their lumped at the
23:58
Speaker 3: very top with those teams, and I know odds and
24:00
Speaker 3: all of those different things don't have them as high,
24:03
Speaker 3: but I do.
24:04
Speaker 2: See them as true contenders. See I continue to see
24:07
Speaker 2: New England at the top.
24:08
Speaker 3: Although their schedule is going to be a lot harder
24:11
Speaker 3: this season, they won't be sneaking up on anyone.
24:13
Speaker 2: The addition of AJ Brown.
24:15
Speaker 3: With Kansas City, the health of Patrick Mahomes, where is
24:19
Speaker 3: that going to be?
24:20
Speaker 2: And for Joke, for Josh Allen and for Lamar Jackson.
24:24
Speaker 3: I think it's only five times rookie head coaches have
24:27
Speaker 3: made it to the Super Bowl.
24:28
Speaker 2: The last time was two.
24:29
Speaker 3: Thousand and nine when Jim Caldwell did it with the
24:31
Speaker 3: Indianapolis coach. So when you talk about contending and getting
24:35
Speaker 3: to that stage, can they.
24:37
Speaker 2: Do it in year one with brand new head coaches?
24:39
Speaker 3: The AFC is going to be fascinating because I don't
24:42
Speaker 3: think they have the juggernauts of like the Rams and
24:44
Speaker 3: the Seahawks and the NFC side, but just the competition
24:47
Speaker 3: level with all of those teams.
24:49
Speaker 2: Bow Knicks, how healthy is he going to be to
24:51
Speaker 2: start the season? C J Stroud? You mentioned him?
24:55
Speaker 3: Is c J Stroud the guy we saw when he
24:56
Speaker 3: first got in the league or is he the guy
24:58
Speaker 3: we saw in the playoffs last seas?
25:00
Speaker 2: And so many storylines to follow and the.
25:03
Speaker 3: Charges of me a lot of really good moves, Mike
25:05
Speaker 3: McDaniel now being that offensive coordinator, what he does with Herbert,
25:09
Speaker 3: There's gonna be some There's gonna be some good primetime
25:11
Speaker 3: games with AFC quarterbacks this season.
25:14
Speaker 1: Jason, this has been fantastic and I must say an
25:18
Speaker 1: Emmy Award and a Lombardi Trophy in your background is
25:22
Speaker 1: about as good as it gets.
25:23
Speaker 2: And they're all group They're all group trophies.
25:27
Speaker 3: There are a lot of other people better than me
25:29
Speaker 3: a part of those groups. But very proud to be
25:33
Speaker 3: be able to do both of those things. The Emmy
25:34
Speaker 3: I'm probably a little bit more proud of because since
25:37
Speaker 3: the kid, I've dreamed about winning on Lombardy and playing
25:40
Speaker 3: in the NFL and playing in the super Bowl. At
25:42
Speaker 3: no point did I ever probably know what an Emmy
25:45
Speaker 3: was as a kid, So having that and being a
25:47
Speaker 3: part of a show like NFL Live, I'm super proud
25:50
Speaker 3: of that.
25:50
Speaker 1: Leave some room on the shelf because I'm sure there
25:53
Speaker 1: will be more. Thanks again for doing this. I really
25:56
Speaker 1: appreciate it, and I hope our paths cross again soon.
25:59
Speaker 2: Good to see it.
26:01
Speaker 1: That's going to do it for this episode of the
26:03
Speaker 1: Bengals Booth Podcast, brought to you by pay Core, Proud
26:06
Speaker 1: to be the Bengals official HR software provider by Alta
26:10
Speaker 1: Fiber future proof fiber Internet designed to elevate your home
26:14
Speaker 1: business and community to a new level and by Kettering
26:18
Speaker 1: Health the best care for the best fans. Kettering Health
26:21
Speaker 1: is the official healthcare provider of the Bengals. If you
26:24
Speaker 1: haven't done so already, please subscribe to this podcast and
26:28
Speaker 1: if you have a minute, give it a rating or
26:30
Speaker 1: share a comment that helps more Bengals fans find us.
26:34
Speaker 1: I'm Dan Hord and thanks for listening to the Bengals
26:38
Speaker 1: Booth podcast