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Bengals Booth Podcast: Fine Line · Bengals Booth Podcast

• 0:03
  Speaker 1: I get everybody. I'm Dan Board and thanks for downloading
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: The Bengals Booth Podcast. BA will be a fun addition
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: as I step into the Bengals trenches with offensive line
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: coach Scott Peters and defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery. The
• 0:21
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  Speaker 1: is the official healthcare provider of the Bengals. Now here's
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  Speaker 1: a quick reminder that you can have the latest edition
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  Speaker 1: of this podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet, or
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  Speaker 1: computer by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's the
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: greatest thing since The Masters. I joked with a buddy
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: this week that I think I love the Master's Turn
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: more than I love my family. I love the traditions,
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: the green jacket, the Champions dinner, the par three contest,
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: and Pimento cheese sandwiches even though I've never had one.
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: I love the beauty of the course with the azaleas
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: and dogwoods in full bloom. And I love the history
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: and the thrilling moments provided by Jack, Tiger, Phil and
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: so many others. I've attended the Masters once and if
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: you stick around until the end of this episode, I
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: will share my experience in storytime with Dan. But now
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: let's get to football. We're going into the trenches on
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: this episode of the Pod on both sides of the ball.
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: Up first, Bengals offensive line coach Scott Peters. Scott, you
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: got all five of your starters back. I'm looking for
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: an analogy to try to put that in perspective. Is
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: it like starting with a ten yard jump and a
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: one hundred yard dash?
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: Interesting analogy. I think it's good. It's uh, you know,
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: you look around the league and you always I think
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: the one thing that you really do value is continuity
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: along the line. When you can finish the season with
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: the same crew and start the next season with the
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: same crew, you gotta you know, you have a head start.
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: So it's a real good thing for us. With that said,
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: every year is a different year in the league, so
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: you're always looking to add some pieces where you need
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: need to and uh, you're always looking for Uh, with
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: contingencies in mind, and and to to bolster the group. Uh,
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: you know, because obviously each year is a different team.
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: So but yeah, we're fortunate in that way to have
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: five guys coming back.
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: The one guy who is free to leave was Dalton
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: Rister and obviously he resigned to a one year contract.
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: What did Dalton do for your offensive line?
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: Dalton brought a lot of value to the offensive line
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: from like a leadership standpoint, a veteran player, a true pro,
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: a guy that was uh. I think Ted called him
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: like the ultimate football professional. I think he called him
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: that last year, and I think that's absolutely certain that
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: that's correct. I mean, you know, what Dalton does is uh,
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: he's just a great resource for the young players. He
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: comes out and does everything he's asked to do at
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: a high level. He's a tough kid, smart kid, and
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: just brings a gel of the room. I think he
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: really has helped us with regard to building continuity next
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: to a Marius in his second year and having that
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: going forward is great. And I think anything like when
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: you get a guy like Dalton in there with a
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: blend of young and older players. He's a guy that's
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: seen a lot of things, and I think he's a
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: guy with good insights and so, like I said, that's
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: where his leadership comes from. It's not a he's not
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: a raw, raw, vocal guy as much as he is
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: just a solid person in here and I think just
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: a just a great thing.
• 3:36
  Speaker 3: We have him back.
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: A Marius publicly campaigned for Dalton to come back. He
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: called him the best right guard in the league, which
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: Dalton said, I appreciate. I'm not sure if that's exactly
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: the case. But what did Dalton specifically do for a
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: Marius his growth?
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: I think, you know, when you have a veteran in
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: there next to a younger player in a Marius, because
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: a Marius last year was his first full season that
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: he's played, and I think for that, you know, but
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: that comes to a lot of tremendous growth and to
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: have somebody next to you that's that's more comfortable because
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: with the Marius growth, you know, growth curve, I think
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: for him just to as he get goes, I mean,
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: he's becoming a veteran player, so having a guy next
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: to him who's done it all, seen it all, is
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: able to communicate calls to him and then like that
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: unspoken continuity that they have. It's nice to know who
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: you're playing next to. That's that's something that happens, uh,
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: not all that often in the NFL when you have
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: a lot of turnovers. So when you get that, I
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: think it's really welcomed and just just having a solid,
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: you know, foundational guy with confidence in there. It's it's
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: always tough when you bring in rookie and young players,
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: but we have a group of young men in this
• 4:42
  Speaker 2: room too that are that are excellent, like like like
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: obviously Dylan and Jalen, those kids are they're they're well
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: you know, uh, I mean they're they're much more wise
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: than their years I think. And but you bring a
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: guy Dalton and who's who kind of epitomizes that as
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: a as a veteran player in that position. He kind
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: of shows those guys the light to not just to Marius,
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: but but the other kids too.
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: We're visiting the Scott Peters. What's the next step for
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: Marius Mims?
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: Total domination? Total domination. It's a licensed to kill. I mean, seriously,
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: you know, it's a I said last year, you got
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: to be greedy about how good you can be, because
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: you know, there's very few humans walking planet Earth that
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: have the potential and the talent, really the talent that
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: he has, and it has the makeup that he has,
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: the ability athletically, the physical stature of the size, the
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: power of the strength, the movement skills, and for him,
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: it's it's time to really kind of you know, let
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: the world know who he is. That's that's my goal
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: for him, to see him become the best version of
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: himself and have some fun out there. And he started
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: to do that last year and I think where he
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: knows there's more and more room to grow, there's a
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: lot of room for growth. So really excited about that
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: that prospect this year.
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: I think there's a movie poster there, license to Kill,
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: with a picture of a Marius mems On.
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: He's got a license to kill. Hey. You know sometimes
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: when you're a big guy grow up, you're a big guy.
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: I could relate a little bit. You know, you're a
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: big guy growing up. Everybody tells you, hey, don't break anything. Hey, Marius,
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: break something, man, let's go. It's time to go. You
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: can push the limit, man. We want to see what
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: you can do. So he and he's he's starting to
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: see that and I think that's for him just watching
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: his ability shine through and you know, and and that's
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: when the game becomes a lot of fun for him.
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: Orlando Brown Junior signed a two year contract extension, so
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: he's under contract for three more years. What stood out
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: about Orlando in your first year coaching him.
• 6:29
  Speaker 2: Orlando's another guy is like a consummate professional. You know,
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: he has played the game a long time. He's got
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: a lot of good awareness and insights. I mean, he's long,
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: he's got great pass protection skills and traits, and another
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: guy in the room that you can lean on. You know,
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: he's He's faced all these rushers around the league. He's
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: been a good uh another good uh model for for
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: Marius in here as someone who's a veteran player bring
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: so he brings leadership skills, brings a lot of experience
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: and and he and he's a great pass protect her
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: on the edge and just somebody that you know, we
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: all love to be around. So great great deminor great
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: personality in here, and we're fortunate to have them. So,
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: you know, with with Orlando and the rest of the crew,
• 7:12
  Speaker 2: it's it's a good group of guys. It's a lot
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: of chemistry, and I think Orlando's a big piece of that.
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: Describe villain a Dylan Fairchild's rookie.
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: Year, Dylan's Dylan's rookie year. I think I would call
• 7:22
  Speaker 2: it a successful rookie year. I think for Dylan coming
• 7:25
  Speaker 2: in where he came in, where he started, and where
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: he finished. And when I call it successful rookie years,
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: when you grow and and you see benefit and gain
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: and and and you make it through.
• 7:35
  Speaker 4: Uh.
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: On the other side, and I told him about halfway
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: through the season, you're a veteran now, so start to
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: own that. So watching him kind of transform, because it's
• 7:44
  Speaker 2: a long rookie year for any rookie in this league.
• 7:46
  Speaker 2: You go through all the process now that they're doing, uh,
• 7:49
  Speaker 2: the current guys, the new class, the new crop. You know,
• 7:52
  Speaker 2: they finished their college year, last college season, they get
• 7:55
  Speaker 2: to the you know, the All Star Game if they
• 7:57
  Speaker 2: do it, They got the combine, the Pro Day, the interviews,
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: the thirty visits, and it's a whole lot of stuff
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: that they've got to kind of put in. And then
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: all of a sudden, they're drafted and they shoot out
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: to whatever location they're going to, and now they're bombarded
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: with information, this is the new system, this is their
• 8:12
  Speaker 2: new location, this is your new home. And so I
• 8:14
  Speaker 2: think with Dylan is to watch the progress that he's
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: made was really really good, and it's a good platform
• 8:20
  Speaker 2: for him. It's a good jumping off point for next
• 8:22
  Speaker 2: year because I think he's a chance to be a
• 8:24
  Speaker 2: dominant player in this league too, And I think where
• 8:26
  Speaker 2: he can kind of get a chance in the off
• 8:28
  Speaker 2: season to reflect and come back here ready to go,
• 8:31
  Speaker 2: hoping to see a better version of Dylan Fairchild in six.
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: What's the plan for Jalen Rivers? Is he strictly a
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: guard at this point?
• 8:39
  Speaker 2: See the thing about Jalen, the fact that you can
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: even ask that question, is that tells you he's got
• 8:44
  Speaker 2: versatility in his game. Jalen is We kept him at
• 8:47
  Speaker 2: guard last year because that's really where he that's probably
• 8:50
  Speaker 2: his sweet spot. Jalen's I mean, we love Jalen. Jalen
• 8:55
  Speaker 2: is excellent. He's got great, unbelievable length, He's got the
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: heaviest hands on the team. He's got good pass pro,
• 9:01
  Speaker 2: good length, and I think where he really belongs as
• 9:03
  Speaker 2: that guard, but he can also function that tackle. It's
• 9:07
  Speaker 2: it's not his true position in my opinion, but it's
• 9:09
  Speaker 2: something he can do. And uh, but all these all
• 9:12
  Speaker 2: these positions you want to kind of isolate, especially a
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: young player at a at a spot it's hard to
• 9:17
  Speaker 2: bounce him around too much where where that's where they
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: start kind of getting confused and it's hard to get
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: make those games. But Jalen did a really nice job
• 9:23
  Speaker 2: for us last year coming in and starting. He got
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: banged up a little bit, and we're looking forward to
• 9:28
  Speaker 2: seeing what he can do this year because he's a
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: true professional. Like I said, he's he's got wisdom beyond
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: his years. He's a great person and great kid. And
• 9:36
  Speaker 2: we're fired up at Watson and see what he can
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: do this year.
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: Cody Ford's got a year left on his deal. Do
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: you anticipate a battle for that backup swing tackle spot.
• 9:44
  Speaker 2: Well, you always anticipate a battle for that for that
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: position anytime you know you're talking about a swing tackle,
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: you know, backup interior player even sometimes you're looking at
• 9:54
  Speaker 2: what we always want competition. So that's the goal. That's
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: what drives the growth in this business and in this
• 10:01
  Speaker 2: in this room, in this league. And so of course
• 10:03
  Speaker 2: you know who that person is. We have a couple
• 10:06
  Speaker 2: of candidates. Young guys on the roster now, you know,
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: but we always these guys you want them to come
• 10:12
  Speaker 2: back and take that next step, and young and older guys,
• 10:15
  Speaker 2: they always got to be looking out and they got
• 10:16
  Speaker 2: to take steps too, because you know, other people always
• 10:19
  Speaker 2: have plans to move ahead. And Cody's been around this
• 10:22
  Speaker 2: business a long time and he understands what's required of him,
• 10:24
  Speaker 2: so I know he'll be ready to roll when when
• 10:27
  Speaker 2: it comes time. But uh, yeah, I think there should
• 10:30
  Speaker 2: be always a competition for the third tackle spot.
• 10:33
  Speaker 1: We're visiting the Scott Peters. We're having this conversation the
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: day after the team let Matt Lee go looking at
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: the roster. There's not an obvious backup center to Ted Karras,
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: So whether it's somebody still out there in free agency
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: or the draft, is that a priority now to have
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: that spot person locked up?
• 10:51
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it is, because you want to have again, you
• 10:54
  Speaker 2: want to have depth, and that's that's the thing about
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: the league. Every year you have you know, unfortunately Matt
• 10:59
  Speaker 2: is not with us any more, but it's it's like
• 11:01
  Speaker 2: this every year with every team, so you're always looking
• 11:04
  Speaker 2: for the next guy to come in. And we have
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: Jacob Bear here. Jacob spent some time in the practice
• 11:08
  Speaker 2: squad last year and we have a lot of positive
• 11:12
  Speaker 2: feelings about him and we see what he can do.
• 11:15
  Speaker 2: So so, but he's gonna have to compete with somebody.
• 11:17
  Speaker 2: So for that to be done, of course, you're going
• 11:19
  Speaker 2: to want to try to boost the roster in that regard,
• 11:21
  Speaker 2: and whether that's done a free agency or in the draft, yeah,
• 11:25
  Speaker 2: we'll we'll we'll have the people to to compete, and
• 11:28
  Speaker 2: I think that's a that's a that's a competition that
• 11:30
  Speaker 2: we're looking forward to.
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: Seeing what's the strength of this draft when it comes
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: to alignment.
• 11:35
  Speaker 2: There's some high end players in this draft. I think,
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: you know, there are some some pretty unique talents in
• 11:41
  Speaker 2: this draft. I would say that the volume of talent
• 11:44
  Speaker 2: is probably not as high this year. Not to say
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: there aren't really good players in the draft, but I
• 11:49
  Speaker 2: think the class is smaller from from a standpoint of volume.
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: I think that might have something to do with I
• 11:53
  Speaker 2: was told it had something to do with the COVID
• 11:55
  Speaker 2: year and some of the guys that were playing longer.
• 11:58
  Speaker 2: But there's there's always uh, you know, every hands a winner,
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: every hands a loser. You know, you know, you look
• 12:05
  Speaker 2: at this thing and and you're trying to make, you know,
• 12:08
  Speaker 2: make sense of all of it. But you know, there
• 12:10
  Speaker 2: are some really top end players and for us, we're
• 12:12
  Speaker 2: looking for the right fit. And that's what every team does. So,
• 12:15
  Speaker 2: like I said, every hands and winner and every hands
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: a loser. You know, you're looking for the perfect winner
• 12:19
  Speaker 2: for you. And so that's kind of what we try
• 12:21
  Speaker 2: to wrap our heads around. Knowing that this room is
• 12:23
  Speaker 2: is pretty well established, knowing that we have the five starters,
• 12:28
  Speaker 2: you know, kind of in place, Knowing that you have
• 12:30
  Speaker 2: to have depth and you're never looking like you're never
• 12:32
  Speaker 2: satisfied with where you're at. Yeah, we're just looking for
• 12:35
  Speaker 2: for people that we can come in and add value
• 12:37
  Speaker 2: to this, to this room, because again, the league is
• 12:40
  Speaker 2: like everybody's going to play, you know, at the end
• 12:42
  Speaker 2: of the day, it's it's very rare that you you
• 12:45
  Speaker 2: get through a season with the same guys in tax.
• 12:47
  Speaker 2: So we're always looking to elevate that from that perspective
• 12:50
  Speaker 2: and h and that's what kind of makes it fun too,
• 12:52
  Speaker 2: because new blood coming in and if that happens, we'll
• 12:56
  Speaker 2: embrace those guys and they've got their work cut out
• 12:58
  Speaker 2: for us with a veteran room.
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: How many guys do you study in grade going into
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: the draft.
• 13:04
  Speaker 2: It kind of depends, but I'm looking around, you know,
• 13:06
  Speaker 2: anywhere from like seventy to one hundred guys, you know,
• 13:09
  Speaker 2: so that's a lot of guys and and maybe more honestly,
• 13:12
  Speaker 2: you lose count. I could probably tally them up for you,
• 13:14
  Speaker 2: but you watch so many guys. You're really watching the
• 13:16
  Speaker 2: entirety of the draft. So guys that are draft eligible,
• 13:19
  Speaker 2: guys that have you know, a draftable grade or don't.
• 13:24
  Speaker 2: Guys that are coming out that are eligible for the draft.
• 13:26
  Speaker 2: You're looking at those guys too, because they could come
• 13:28
  Speaker 2: out as a as an undrafted free agent, a guy
• 13:31
  Speaker 2: that and there's a lot of the good players that
• 13:32
  Speaker 2: can you know, really help your team that could that
• 13:35
  Speaker 2: come to you that didn't were not drafted. So you're
• 13:38
  Speaker 2: you're really evaluating those those guys too, the guys that
• 13:40
  Speaker 2: maybe maybe have uh you know, but they have some
• 13:43
  Speaker 2: traits that you really like and they have the upside
• 13:46
  Speaker 2: and if they have the will and all the intangibles,
• 13:48
  Speaker 2: those guys can be really really good players. And additions
• 13:51
  Speaker 2: that and there's a lot of if you look around
• 13:53
  Speaker 2: the league. There's a lot of guys like that that
• 13:54
  Speaker 2: end up finding their way into starting spots and having
• 13:57
  Speaker 2: great careers. So you really can't discount anybody, So you're
• 13:59
  Speaker 2: really looking at everybody.
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: Over the final twelve games of the year. Last year,
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: Pro Football Focus grated you guys as the sixth best
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: pass blocking line in the NFL. Did you think that
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: the Bengals line was among the league's best for that
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: stretch of the season that's basically three quarters of the season.
• 14:18
  Speaker 2: Well, I don't know. I don't know what people evaluate
• 14:21
  Speaker 2: there in terms of some of the analytics, because I
• 14:24
  Speaker 2: do look at our growth and I think we got better.
• 14:27
  Speaker 2: I know we got better. And with that said, you know,
• 14:30
  Speaker 2: we're never satisfied there, you know, you know, we know
• 14:32
  Speaker 2: we can do better yet. So one of the big
• 14:34
  Speaker 2: things that we emphasized last year in this room, which
• 14:38
  Speaker 2: was a personal challenge to everybody, including myself, is like,
• 14:41
  Speaker 2: we really want to rebrand this unit as a group
• 14:43
  Speaker 2: that's elite in that regard. So we take a lot
• 14:45
  Speaker 2: of pride and our effort at work that we put
• 14:48
  Speaker 2: into improvement and pass protection because it's not a perfect science,
• 14:52
  Speaker 2: but it's it's a you got to make it perfect,
• 14:54
  Speaker 2: and you got to find ways because when you have
• 14:56
  Speaker 2: a quarterback like Joe Burrow, your your livelihood and and
• 15:00
  Speaker 2: your life is dependent on how well we do individually
• 15:03
  Speaker 2: and collectively. So it's a pride point for us. Where
• 15:06
  Speaker 2: some places like hey, I'd rather run the ball here,
• 15:08
  Speaker 2: we embrace fully the past protection element. So with that,
• 15:11
  Speaker 2: I think it's the guys really did embrace the work
• 15:13
  Speaker 2: that we put in, and I was glad to see
• 15:15
  Speaker 2: that growth. But I couldn't tell you where we would
• 15:18
  Speaker 2: have ranked, you know, because again we're not. It sounds
• 15:20
  Speaker 2: like six, But that's one perspective, and it's good to
• 15:24
  Speaker 2: see that because you know, even those things, they kind
• 15:27
  Speaker 2: of help build your confidence as you go in. I
• 15:29
  Speaker 2: think all of our players saw the growth that they've
• 15:31
  Speaker 2: made individually, and we're not ready to stop there. They
• 15:36
  Speaker 2: know where we've left off, and we're going to pick
• 15:38
  Speaker 2: right up from there and hopefully asscend in twenty twenty six.
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: Your system's a little different. How quickly do you do
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: you feel like the guys felt comfortable doing things the
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: way you were teaching it.
• 15:50
  Speaker 2: It's going to take time, you know. You like to
• 15:51
  Speaker 2: think right away, even if they fully buy in. You know,
• 15:55
  Speaker 2: you can say, hey, they buy in. Well, it's about
• 15:57
  Speaker 2: building movement patterns, and you're doing some and very unique
• 16:01
  Speaker 2: and pass protection is probably one of the most. Uh,
• 16:04
  Speaker 2: I don't know, it's uh, it's an unnatural things that
• 16:06
  Speaker 2: a guy can do. You're you're doing a glorified backpedal
• 16:09
  Speaker 2: trying to stop a guy full charge at you, so
• 16:12
  Speaker 2: try to stop him on the line. And and some
• 16:14
  Speaker 2: of the players you see across the line of scrimmage
• 16:16
  Speaker 2: are obviously they're phenoms or monsters, and they're they're excellent
• 16:19
  Speaker 2: so and they're they're excellent at they're trade at pass rushing.
• 16:23
  Speaker 2: And then you got factors in, like all the pressures
• 16:24
  Speaker 2: and you get all the things that that are that
• 16:26
  Speaker 2: are done that way.
• 16:28
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I think, uh, it's it's a it's a unique
• 16:31
  Speaker 4: it's a unique skill set that we have to develop
• 16:33
  Speaker 4: and we're looking for guys with those traits and then
• 16:35
  Speaker 4: building the skill set around it, because it is a
• 16:37
  Speaker 4: true skill set.
• 16:38
  Speaker 2: It's not just something you show up and do.
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: I know you're busy. I appreciate your time. Thanks so much.
• 16:43
  Speaker 2: You're welcome, glad to help.
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: We'll talk defense next with Jerry Montgomery. But first, here's
• 16:48
  Speaker 1: a quick reminder that the Bengals Booth podcast is brought
• 16:51
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• 16:53
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• 17:05
  Speaker 1: for the best fans. Kettering Health is the official healthcare
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: provider of the Bengals. Now time for my conversation with
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery. Jerry, let's start with the
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: two big free agent acquisitions on the defensive line. What
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: excites you about working with Boye Mafe?
• 17:24
  Speaker 5: Just a well rounded athlete, a guy that's versatile. He
• 17:28
  Speaker 5: effects a quarterback. Matter of fact, he affects a quarterback
• 17:31
  Speaker 5: pretty quick. If you don't have a plan versus him,
• 17:34
  Speaker 5: he'll win immediately. Now a lot of those times that
• 17:38
  Speaker 5: he won the balls out right. So people say, oh,
• 17:40
  Speaker 5: he doesn't have this, or you doesn't have that. You
• 17:42
  Speaker 5: study the film, you know he's a good player. He's
• 17:45
  Speaker 5: a guy that athletically can drop and coverage. He can
• 17:49
  Speaker 5: do a lot of different things for us. So I'm
• 17:50
  Speaker 5: excited about having a piece that can win some one
• 17:56
  Speaker 5: on ones and help us, you know, on all downs.
• 17:59
  Speaker 5: He's a really good run player. He sets edges, very
• 18:02
  Speaker 5: smart and instinctive football player.
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: Did Duke and his staff rely on your opinion for
• 18:08
  Speaker 1: how boy a can fit and help?
• 18:10
  Speaker 3: I think it was a group effort.
• 18:12
  Speaker 5: You know, you've got Al's background myself, Sean Deci was
• 18:18
  Speaker 5: there when they drafted him, so there was a lot
• 18:21
  Speaker 5: of insight into the individual and the kid from a
• 18:26
  Speaker 5: personal personality standpoint and a fit. So yeah, I mean
• 18:31
  Speaker 5: it was a group effort and then those guys upstairs
• 18:33
  Speaker 5: did the rest.
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: He had a nine sacks season in his second year
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: in Seattle. How eager is he be? How eager is
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: he to try to be that guy again?
• 18:43
  Speaker 3: Yeah?
• 18:43
  Speaker 5: I think he's you know, I think he wants to
• 18:48
  Speaker 5: prove himself to everybody that he belongs in that, you know,
• 18:53
  Speaker 5: top of the league from a pressure and a sack standpoint,
• 18:57
  Speaker 5: and I think he knows he can do it. I think,
• 19:00
  Speaker 5: you know, they were so deep at D line, they
• 19:02
  Speaker 5: just rotated guys and sometimes that's hard, but you see
• 19:06
  Speaker 5: the success of it when you have a group of
• 19:08
  Speaker 5: D lineman that you can rotate all the time. And
• 19:11
  Speaker 5: so so that's nice, and that's our goal is to
• 19:14
  Speaker 5: build a room where there's no drop off from the
• 19:17
  Speaker 5: starting group. And like, if you can get that done,
• 19:19
  Speaker 5: you can see the success of the teams that have
• 19:21
  Speaker 5: had really good defensive fronts. You see the two guys
• 19:24
  Speaker 5: in the Super Bowl, two teams in the Super Bowl.
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: Then there's defensive tackle Jonathan Allen, a two time Pro
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: Bowler at his peak in Washington. What stood out.
• 19:34
  Speaker 5: Yeah, I've known Jonathan since he was a sophomore in
• 19:38
  Speaker 5: high school. I was at the University of Michigan. I
• 19:41
  Speaker 5: recruited him the whole process. He ended up going to Alabama.
• 19:44
  Speaker 5: So obviously I didn't do a good enough job, but
• 19:49
  Speaker 5: the kid is outstanding. Again, I'm gonna go back on
• 19:53
  Speaker 5: this one because I used to go watch him play
• 19:55
  Speaker 5: basketball and I used to watch him take off and
• 19:59
  Speaker 5: don't on people in games. As you know, he wasn't
• 20:02
  Speaker 5: three hundred pounds yet, but like he was a big
• 20:05
  Speaker 5: man and he'd go coast to coast and he'd two
• 20:08
  Speaker 5: step and he'd jam it on people and it was fun.
• 20:11
  Speaker 5: So I thought I was gonna get a good one.
• 20:13
  Speaker 5: But now I'm finally getting to coach him. However, many
• 20:15
  Speaker 5: years later, I think he may have said it's twenty
• 20:17
  Speaker 5: years or something like that. But guy's always been a
• 20:21
  Speaker 5: productive player. He pressures and is around the quarterback at
• 20:26
  Speaker 5: a high high rate, and he's always done that. He's
• 20:30
  Speaker 5: got a move that people knows know is coming and
• 20:33
  Speaker 5: they still can't stop it. So I'm excited to add
• 20:37
  Speaker 5: an element inside the interior defensive line room with the
• 20:43
  Speaker 5: guy that can win some one on ones and you know,
• 20:46
  Speaker 5: he changes us a little bit on third down. When
• 20:49
  Speaker 5: you can put a guy inside that can do those
• 20:50
  Speaker 5: type of things, it helps the guys on the edge
• 20:53
  Speaker 5: maybe their landmarks a little bit deeper because the quarterback
• 20:56
  Speaker 5: may not be able to step up in those type
• 20:57
  Speaker 5: of things. So looking forward to it, he's been a
• 21:01
  Speaker 5: great player for a long time. And then even you
• 21:03
  Speaker 5: go back to watching him last year, even though they
• 21:07
  Speaker 5: moved him quite a bit around, which was different for him,
• 21:10
  Speaker 5: he still was productive and what they asked him to
• 21:13
  Speaker 5: do on the snaps. So I watched every one of
• 21:15
  Speaker 5: his snaps.
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: Since you first got to know him as a tenth grader.
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: Have you kept a close eye on him ever since?
• 21:22
  Speaker 5: Well a couple things, so yes, And then I think
• 21:26
  Speaker 5: I had him in two Pro Bowls we worked when
• 21:29
  Speaker 5: I was in Green Bay, we had the opportunity to
• 21:31
  Speaker 5: work a couple of Pro Bowls and he was there
• 21:35
  Speaker 5: and all he wanted to do was talk football. Other
• 21:39
  Speaker 5: guys was more concerned about, like what are they doing
• 21:41
  Speaker 5: that night, And he wanted to talk technique and fundamentals
• 21:45
  Speaker 5: how I could help his game, And so, like I
• 21:48
  Speaker 5: remember that like it was yesterday. We're at the very
• 21:51
  Speaker 5: first Pro Bowl and he is just talking ball. So
• 21:56
  Speaker 5: it's rare to get guys or pros that love it
• 21:59
  Speaker 5: and are as passionate as they are about it and
• 22:03
  Speaker 5: want to be great. And your best players normally are
• 22:05
  Speaker 5: the guys that love the game.
• 22:07
  Speaker 3: And so he's got a love for it. He wants
• 22:08
  Speaker 3: to win.
• 22:09
  Speaker 5: He's gonna come to a place where we've got offensive
• 22:12
  Speaker 5: we can score, We're gonna tighten up defense, and he'll
• 22:15
  Speaker 5: be a big part of that.
• 22:16
  Speaker 1: We're chatting with D line coach Jerry Montgomery. Is interior
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: pass rush more important than ever because of how quickly
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: the ball comes out.
• 22:25
  Speaker 5: Well, look, when the ball comes out quick, the only
• 22:28
  Speaker 5: thing you can really do is get a hand up
• 22:31
  Speaker 5: tip a ball change a game. But it's when you
• 22:36
  Speaker 5: get true five step drop where that's going to be
• 22:38
  Speaker 5: such an impact. Again, just with the ball coming out
• 22:42
  Speaker 5: extremely quick, there's not a whole lot you can do
• 22:44
  Speaker 5: other than get some interior push, get a hand up
• 22:47
  Speaker 5: tip some balls. But where it's really going to change
• 22:50
  Speaker 5: for us is we get when somebody wants to truly
• 22:52
  Speaker 5: five step drop, we're gonna have an opportunity to win
• 22:56
  Speaker 5: inside and push the pocket and then have some guys
• 22:59
  Speaker 5: on the edge. You know that were before I felt
• 23:01
  Speaker 5: like we kind of lacked that interior push in those
• 23:04
  Speaker 5: passing situations, so quarterback could step up when a guy
• 23:07
  Speaker 5: won on the edge. Right, So now you've got guys
• 23:10
  Speaker 5: that can win in outside and went inside.
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: How do these additions affect Shamar Stewart and your plans
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: for him going forward?
• 23:19
  Speaker 3: Yeah? Again, you go back.
• 23:21
  Speaker 5: Schamar missed six months of football, he was injured, He
• 23:25
  Speaker 5: missed most of the season. Year two is going to
• 23:29
  Speaker 5: be a much better year for him. I would say
• 23:32
  Speaker 5: there were times that he wasn't ready to be out there,
• 23:37
  Speaker 5: you know, as a guy that just missed so much football.
• 23:40
  Speaker 5: I think with some development and off season, a full
• 23:43
  Speaker 5: off season, he's healthy. He's doing a great job in
• 23:45
  Speaker 5: his off season training Right now, I look for him
• 23:47
  Speaker 5: to have a big year and I'm excited about his future,
• 23:52
  Speaker 5: and you know, I just got to hold him to
• 23:54
  Speaker 5: a standard and just get him to believe in what
• 23:59
  Speaker 5: it is we're doing on a day to day basis
• 24:01
  Speaker 5: and just know we're here to help him. And if
• 24:04
  Speaker 5: he will allow that to happen, I think he'll be
• 24:06
  Speaker 5: what we drafted him to be. You know, but with
• 24:09
  Speaker 5: all the time that he missed last year, you probably
• 24:12
  Speaker 5: didn't get to see that as much.
• 24:13
  Speaker 3: Probably some flashes.
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: I thought he was really coming on toward the end
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: of training camp, and then played well in week one,
• 24:20
  Speaker 1: so I thought, hmm, this could be special. Then he
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: gets hurt in week two and it seemed to derail everything.
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: Did you kind of feel he was on the same track.
• 24:28
  Speaker 5: Yeah, That's what's unique about the whole situation is the
• 24:31
  Speaker 5: guy ended up coming into camp late and then really flashed,
• 24:37
  Speaker 5: got better during camp, played well early in the game
• 24:40
  Speaker 5: against Cleveland, and they got hurt in Jacksonville, and he
• 24:43
  Speaker 5: comes back and I don't think he was quite himself
• 24:46
  Speaker 5: all year from that point on. Then he got hurt again, right, so,
• 24:50
  Speaker 5: just you know, just I'm an advocate for the kid,
• 24:55
  Speaker 5: and I think the future is bright. I think with
• 24:58
  Speaker 5: a full healthy season, we'll see a different kid out there.
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: Milesburth. He came a long way last year. Is he
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: close to being what he can be? Or is he
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: still just scratching the surface.
• 25:10
  Speaker 5: Tell you what, He's come a long way, and I'm
• 25:14
  Speaker 5: proud of what he accomplished. I challenged him. I held
• 25:18
  Speaker 5: him accountable to a standard in which I believe the
• 25:22
  Speaker 5: game should be played at and I don't think he
• 25:26
  Speaker 5: ever fought it. But I don't know if he ever
• 25:29
  Speaker 5: early on thought like this guy means business and that
• 25:32
  Speaker 5: this is literally how we need to play the game
• 25:36
  Speaker 5: all the time. And until that game, after the Denver
• 25:39
  Speaker 5: game where we set him for he had eight snaps,
• 25:43
  Speaker 5: and I think he realized, like, you know what, if
• 25:45
  Speaker 5: I want to be what I say I want to be,
• 25:48
  Speaker 5: I need to follow this lead. And he did that
• 25:50
  Speaker 5: and he got better. He had a career, and there
• 25:53
  Speaker 5: were still some plays left out there, but he got
• 25:56
  Speaker 5: better each week. I'm excited for his upside because I
• 25:59
  Speaker 5: still think he can in one on one rushes at
• 26:01
  Speaker 5: all higher rate than what he's doing. But what I
• 26:05
  Speaker 5: love about what he's doing now is he's playing with
• 26:07
  Speaker 5: a high motor, which when you make mistakes are when
• 26:13
  Speaker 5: you don't win a one on one, it's the second
• 26:15
  Speaker 5: and third effort that get you those sacks, and he
• 26:17
  Speaker 5: had some of those show up. So he's starting to realize, like,
• 26:21
  Speaker 5: I'm as talented as anybody, but if I play to
• 26:24
  Speaker 5: a certain place style all the time, I'll have a
• 26:26
  Speaker 5: lot of success. So I do think he's got a
• 26:29
  Speaker 5: little more in the tank and it's my job to
• 26:31
  Speaker 5: get it out of What.
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: Are you looking for from Chris Jenkins this year?
• 26:35
  Speaker 3: Yeah, just have Big Chris healthy. You know.
• 26:38
  Speaker 5: I want to say the first year, right, he had
• 26:41
  Speaker 5: the cast on that affected him a little bit. When
• 26:45
  Speaker 5: he was healthy for us this year he did a
• 26:47
  Speaker 5: really good job. So I'm looking for him to be
• 26:50
  Speaker 5: healthy and to have another good year and do a
• 26:53
  Speaker 5: great job for us.
• 26:53
  Speaker 3: In the run game.
• 26:54
  Speaker 5: And then whatever role it is that we ask him
• 26:56
  Speaker 5: to do, I know he'll do a great job. It's
• 26:58
  Speaker 5: important to him. He works at it, and so I
• 27:02
  Speaker 5: think I think you have a solid year.
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: I've talked to a lot of draft gurus at the combine,
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: and since most of them seem to think it's a
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: really good class for edge rushers. Do you feel the
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: same way.
• 27:15
  Speaker 5: Yeah, there there are some guys that do a really
• 27:19
  Speaker 5: good job of getting after the quarterback. All different heights,
• 27:23
  Speaker 5: weights and speeds. So it is good. It's good that
• 27:28
  Speaker 5: it's deep. It's good that you you know, you have
• 27:30
  Speaker 5: some options if that's which way you want to go.
• 27:33
  Speaker 5: So look forward to draft night and see see what happens.
• 27:36
  Speaker 5: But there's some good players, definitely.
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: How many do you look at before a draft.
• 27:42
  Speaker 5: I'm gonna tell you I evaluated over ninety guys, A
• 27:51
  Speaker 5: lot of guys. So you do a report, you watch production,
• 27:59
  Speaker 5: point of attack plays, mistackles, then you go back and
• 28:07
  Speaker 5: then you watch games, you watch any all stars. So
• 28:10
  Speaker 5: you do that for over ninety guys, and sometimes I
• 28:14
  Speaker 5: think you start to see double But you know what,
• 28:18
  Speaker 5: it's a process you got to go through. And you know,
• 28:21
  Speaker 5: Mike Moon, my assistant, does a great job. We come
• 28:25
  Speaker 5: in here and we do them all together, so we
• 28:28
  Speaker 5: talk through guys and so it's nice to not do
• 28:30
  Speaker 5: it by yourself and then kind of have some feedback
• 28:34
  Speaker 5: to bounce things off of each other.
• 28:35
  Speaker 3: So Mike Moon does a great job of helping with that, I.
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: Know you were involved in at least one of the
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: All Star Games. Did you like it?
• 28:43
  Speaker 5: Yeah? So, look, I don't plan on not being in
• 28:46
  Speaker 5: the playoffs again. But if you're not in the playoffs
• 28:52
  Speaker 5: and you're not trying to work one of those All
• 28:54
  Speaker 5: Star games, whether it's the Senior or the East West,
• 28:57
  Speaker 5: to me, those are two top man, it's a shame
• 29:01
  Speaker 5: because it saved me on a good I don't know,
• 29:06
  Speaker 5: fifteen to twenty evaluations. It helps your process because you
• 29:09
  Speaker 5: know exactly what you're getting. It's like being able to
• 29:13
  Speaker 5: test ride something before you purchase it. You know their
• 29:16
  Speaker 5: work ethic, you know how they learn in the classroom,
• 29:19
  Speaker 5: you know how they take coaching, you know how they process,
• 29:23
  Speaker 5: you know how they handle coaching and teaching. And then
• 29:27
  Speaker 5: you know if guys are really passionate about the game
• 29:30
  Speaker 5: or love the game, because that's important.
• 29:33
  Speaker 3: You can go get a guy that.
• 29:36
  Speaker 5: Is a talented guy that doesn't love football, and then
• 29:41
  Speaker 5: your job every day is to motivate them to get
• 29:44
  Speaker 5: out there and get to the best of their ability.
• 29:47
  Speaker 5: When it's nice to have guys that love it and
• 29:49
  Speaker 5: all you got to do is teach them technique and
• 29:52
  Speaker 5: fundamentals and teach them how to get better. But it's
• 29:55
  Speaker 5: hard when you're trying to coach effort and play style,
• 29:58
  Speaker 5: you know, So it's nice to be able.
• 29:59
  Speaker 1: To what you're getting. We're chatting to Jerry Montgomery. It's
• 30:03
  Speaker 1: year two for you here as defensive line coach. Al
• 30:06
  Speaker 1: Golden's in his second years DC. Mike Codges is in
• 30:09
  Speaker 1: his second year as the linebackers coach. How big of
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: a difference does that make.
• 30:14
  Speaker 5: Yeah, we don't have to go through the gymnastics of
• 30:18
  Speaker 5: you know, installing a defense and going through that and
• 30:21
  Speaker 5: spending countless hours on building things. Like all that work
• 30:26
  Speaker 5: is done. Now we get to get in here and
• 30:29
  Speaker 5: just keep diving into our guys and molding them as
• 30:33
  Speaker 5: a group. So I think we have a really good
• 30:36
  Speaker 5: feel for what we have, what we have coming back,
• 30:39
  Speaker 5: and then obviously when we get additions, see how we
• 30:42
  Speaker 5: like to utilize those guys. But just from an operation standpoint,
• 30:47
  Speaker 5: it's going to be nice to know what's expected from,
• 30:51
  Speaker 5: you know, from Al on down, like, hey, Al needs
• 30:54
  Speaker 5: this on these days, Boom boom boom.
• 30:55
  Speaker 3: So the process is much better.
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: The defense played pretty well for the last six or
• 31:00
  Speaker 1: seven games last year. What was the difference?
• 31:03
  Speaker 5: You know, I give credit to coach Golden and obviously
• 31:07
  Speaker 5: the players, but like you know, we we we simplified
• 31:12
  Speaker 5: and lined up and these guys bought in. We played fast, physical,
• 31:20
  Speaker 5: and you know, we were able to prepare for opponents
• 31:24
  Speaker 5: at a high level, which allows you to play fast also.
• 31:28
  Speaker 5: But I just I think with coach saying, all right,
• 31:30
  Speaker 5: this is who we are. All right, let's throw all
• 31:33
  Speaker 5: this stuff out and let's do these things. Is we're
• 31:35
  Speaker 5: really good at these things, so let's be really good
• 31:37
  Speaker 5: at them. And it allowed our guys to play fast.
• 31:40
  Speaker 1: It's not your position group, but Brian Cook was certainly
• 31:43
  Speaker 1: a big addition to the defense. What do you think
• 31:45
  Speaker 1: of Brian?
• 31:46
  Speaker 5: Good player, smart, instinctive guy that is a really good
• 31:52
  Speaker 5: open field tackler. He likes to be around the line
• 31:55
  Speaker 5: of scrimmage and and he gets there fast from from
• 31:59
  Speaker 5: safety depth, which is which is nice. So there's times
• 32:03
  Speaker 5: we're not gonna need them down there, and then there's
• 32:04
  Speaker 5: gonna be times where like somebody makes a mistake, you know,
• 32:07
  Speaker 5: so come on, you know, so looking forward to it, we're.
• 32:12
  Speaker 1: Not too far away from the draft, but the returning
• 32:15
  Speaker 1: players will be back here shortly as well. How eager
• 32:18
  Speaker 1: are you to get back to work with this group
• 32:20
  Speaker 1: of guys?
• 32:20
  Speaker 5: You know what I think, Year two with a group
• 32:24
  Speaker 5: of men, just they know my expectations and the standards
• 32:29
  Speaker 5: in which we want to play at is a defensive line.
• 32:32
  Speaker 5: So I'm looking forward to it because there's not going
• 32:35
  Speaker 5: to be anybody in here other than maybe the new
• 32:38
  Speaker 5: guys that are showing up. Like how we work and
• 32:41
  Speaker 5: how we operate, and how we want to go about
• 32:43
  Speaker 5: our difference, our day to day operation, and how we practice,
• 32:48
  Speaker 5: because to me, that's everything. You don't show up on
• 32:50
  Speaker 5: game day and practice like all week and then expect
• 32:53
  Speaker 5: to play well. We expect to practice well and it
• 32:56
  Speaker 5: carries over and when you do things like that like
• 32:59
  Speaker 5: a pro, the results will improve on the field.
• 33:04
  Speaker 1: Jerry, always appreciate your time. Thanks so much.
• 33:06
  Speaker 3: Absolutely appreciate you.
• 33:08
  Speaker 1: Finally, as promised, it's a Master's Tournament edition of Storytime
• 33:13
  Speaker 1: with Dan. I've been to the Masters once, not as
• 33:24
  Speaker 1: a reporter but as a spectator back in two thousand
• 33:27
  Speaker 1: and five, which was the fourth of tiger Woods five
• 33:31
  Speaker 1: Masters wins. He beat Chris DeMarco in a playoff that year,
• 33:35
  Speaker 1: Tiger hit the most famous shot of his career and
• 33:39
  Speaker 1: arguably the most famous shot in master's history. Remember the
• 33:43
  Speaker 1: chip shot on the par three to sixteenth hole where
• 33:46
  Speaker 1: he hit the ball toward the top of a ridge
• 33:49
  Speaker 1: and then watched it slowly trickle downhill, and just before
• 33:53
  Speaker 1: it looked like the ball was going to drop in
• 33:55
  Speaker 1: for a miraculous birdie, it stopped with the Nike logo
• 34:00
  Speaker 1: perfectly framed for TV, for nearly two seconds before finally
• 34:04
  Speaker 1: tumbling in. Here's how Vern Lundquist called it on CBS.
• 34:09
  Speaker 1: We pick up the call as the ball is slowly
• 34:12
  Speaker 1: rolling toward the cup. Oh my goodness, oh wow?
• 34:28
  Speaker 3: In your life?
• 34:29
  Speaker 1: Have you seen anything like that? As a matter of fact,
• 34:34
  Speaker 1: I have. I was there standing a few feet away
• 34:38
  Speaker 1: with my friends Joe and Paul. We got to the
• 34:41
  Speaker 1: sixteenth hole a few groups before Tiger played it and
• 34:44
  Speaker 1: were in perfect position to see him make history. Immediately
• 34:49
  Speaker 1: after the tournament, my buddy Paul was obsessed with bragging
• 34:52
  Speaker 1: that we were there, much like I am doing right now.
• 34:56
  Speaker 1: But Paul said, we need proof or nobody is going
• 34:59
  Speaker 1: to believe it. So he called home and asked his
• 35:01
  Speaker 1: wife if she recorded the final round like he had
• 35:04
  Speaker 1: asked her to. She said yes, So we were all set,
• 35:08
  Speaker 1: or so we thought. When Paul got home, he reviewed
• 35:12
  Speaker 1: the tape of Tiger's shot frame by frame like it
• 35:15
  Speaker 1: was the Zapruder film. Unfortunately, you couldn't see us from
• 35:20
  Speaker 1: where we were standing. The camera angles were wrong and
• 35:23
  Speaker 1: the shots were too tight to find us. My buddy
• 35:26
  Speaker 1: Paul was devastated. There was no video evidence that we
• 35:30
  Speaker 1: were standing a few feet away from Tiger Woods when
• 35:34
  Speaker 1: he hit the most icontic shot of his career. So
• 35:38
  Speaker 1: several months went by and I really hadn't thought about it,
• 35:40
  Speaker 1: when all of a sudden one day, I see Paul's
• 35:43
  Speaker 1: number pop up on my phone. Hey Paul, what's up.
• 35:47
  Speaker 1: I could hear him huffing and puffing like he'd just
• 35:49
  Speaker 1: run a marathon. Finally, he said, go to the nearest
• 35:53
  Speaker 1: bookstore and pick up the PGA Tour Annual. Then go
• 35:57
  Speaker 1: to page twenty one. Got that PGA Tour Annual, page
• 36:01
  Speaker 1: twenty one. Click. So I go to a bookstore, I
• 36:06
  Speaker 1: find the new PGA Tour Annual. I open it up
• 36:09
  Speaker 1: to page twenty one and there is a two page
• 36:12
  Speaker 1: color photograph of Tiger taking a split second after the
• 36:16
  Speaker 1: ball has left his club, and sure enough, a few
• 36:20
  Speaker 1: feet behind him, as clear as a bell, are me
• 36:23
  Speaker 1: and my two buddies standing there with our mouths agape.
• 36:27
  Speaker 1: The third guy in our group, my friend Joe, worked
• 36:30
  Speaker 1: in publishing at the time, so he contacted the photographer
• 36:34
  Speaker 1: and promised to use him on a future project if
• 36:36
  Speaker 1: the three of us could get the photograph. He agreed,
• 36:40
  Speaker 1: and we all have it frame proof that we were
• 36:43
  Speaker 1: standing just a few feet away from one of the
• 36:46
  Speaker 1: most famous moments in Master's history. That concludes storytime with
• 36:58
  Speaker 1: Dan and this episode of the Bengals Booth Podcast brought
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  Speaker 1: of the Bengals. If you haven't done so already, please
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  Speaker 1: more Bengals fans find us. I'm Dan Hord and thanks
• 37:33
  Speaker 1: for listening to The Bengals Booth Podcast.