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Bengals Booth Podcast: Underdog · Bengals Booth Podcast

• 0:03
  Speaker 1: I get everybody. I'm Dan Hord and thanks for downloading
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: The Bengals Booth Podcast. The Underdog Underdog addition, as we
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: meet an undrafted rookie who ranks among the most freakishly
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: athletic players on the Bengals roster, plus a five questions
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: chat with third round draft pick McKinley. Jackson, produces a
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: candidate for Quote of the Year, and we look at
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: the eleven players on the Bengals Ring of Honor ballot
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: with team president Mike Brown. The Bengals Booth Podcast is
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: brought to you by pay Corps, proud to be the
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: Bengals official HR software provider, by Alta Fiber, future proof
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  Speaker 1: fiber Internet designed to elevate your home, business, and community
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  Speaker 1: to a new level, and by Kettering Health the best
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: care for the best fans. Kettering Health is the official
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: healthcare provider of the Bengals. Now here's a quick reminder
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: that you can have the latest edition of this podcast
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: delivered write to your phone, tablet, or computer by subscribing
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: wherever you get your podcasts. It's the greatest thing since
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: the Greater's Ice Cream Truck. My son Sam graduated from
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: high school last week and we teamed up with the
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: parents of his three closest buddies to throw a graduation
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: party for the four boys. The party was a rousing success,
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: thanks in no small part to our decision to reserve
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: the Greater's ice Cream Truck for the occasion. It's basically
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: a Greater Scoop shop on wheels with a wide variety
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: of flavors, Chip, Wheelie's, sorbet, you name it. So if
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: you're looking for something to make a celebration extra special,
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: consider renting the Greater's ice Cream Truck. It puts the
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: cherry on top of the Sunday. Now let's get to football.
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: One of the most intriguing undrafted rookies on the bench
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: roster is wide receiver and kick returner Cole Burgess. He
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: played at Sunny Cortland. That stands for State University of
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: New York at Cortland. It's a small school about thirty
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: minutes from Syracuse University. Syracuse is my alma mater, but
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: Cortland is the alma mater of a Bengals coach, and
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: that helps explain why Cole Burgess is looking to make
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: his NFL dream come true in Cincinnati. Call you won
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: a Division three National championship last year at Suny Cortland
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: and Upstate New York, which happens to be the alma
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: mater of the Bengals offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher. Did you
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: two have much contact prior to winding up with the Bengals.
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: Yeah, but not as much as you would expect. He
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: called me pre or post prode and just kind of
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: like gave me the scoop on what to expect coming up.
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: And then I think he reached out one more time
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: before the draft, talking about like, hey, we want you
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: here if you don't end up getting drafted. And then
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: seventh round rolls around and if it wasn't looking like
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: I was getting drafted, and they were talking with my
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: agent and we had that deal in place for if
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: I didn't get drafted. So right after the draft he
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: calls me up and says, you're ready to come over it.
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: He'd be a bank. Did you know much about him
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: playing at Courtland?
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: Not knew about him, but I didn't really know in
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: much details. I knew he played there. I saw him
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: in the record books in a few spots, and I
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: knew he was a Bengals coach, and I knew he
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: just got promoted the offensive coordinator, but other than that,
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: I really didn't know much about him at all.
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: Tell us why you signed with Cincinnati.
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: I signed with Cincinnati because a few reasons. I've been
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: a follower of Cincinnati, not a fan, but I've been
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: following the team. I think they got a lot of
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: potential here, and I think there's opportunity for a guy
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: like me to come in here and make the roster
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: and help the team win on special teams, on offense,
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: I think this guy's a limit. And also having a
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: coach like coach pitcherd be in my corner, Like there's
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: not many teams that would have anybody coaching wise that
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: would be looking after me, but just has to have
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: that little little advantage over in other teams is definitely
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: why I came here.
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: Did you start following Cincinnati and when did you start
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: following Cincinnati?
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: Probably one Burrow and Chase guy here. I was following
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: them a lot at LSU. That was one of my
• 4:08
  Speaker 2: favorite college college teams to watch, So just following their
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: career and just watching their fun to watch.
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: So Courtland doesn't have a pro day, how did you
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: show NFL scouts what you're capable of doing.
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: I actually got recommended to go to two pro days
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: at Buffalo and Syracuse, so I was able to able
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: to just show my skills like the rest of them.
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: And you crushed it at those pro days. A four
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: four forty, a forty one and a half inch vertical,
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: which is insane. You broad jumped more than eleven feet.
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: Did interest from NFL teams skyrocket after you posted those numbers?
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that was when the ball started rolling and teams
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: started to show a little bit interest.
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: So you've got good size as well. You're six feet tall,
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: one hundred and ninety two pounds and obviously a great athlete.
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: Why did you attend Courtland?
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: I went to a small high school in upstate New
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: York and didn't really get much exposure coming out of
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: high school. So the three is the only route I had,
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: and Courtland was a good opportunity. I played baseball and
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: football there my freshman year, and you know, people always
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: ask why I did not transfer, But to be honest,
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: I thought Courtland was the best spot for me throughout
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: the whole time, and we ended up winning that national
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: championship there and I was able to showcase my skills
• 5:15
  Speaker 2: on the highest level.
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: So you're not just a guy that posted great numbers
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: at a pro day. Here are some of your stats
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: from the last couple of years at Courtland. Twenty seven
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: touchdown catches in your career, you averaged nearly eighteen yards
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: a catch. You had three kickoff returns for touchdowns. I
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: guess the big question now is level of competition. Is
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: that what you are looking to show now that you're
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: in a Bengals uniform.
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm trying to show it to everybody, including myself.
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: You know, I don't know what my capability is against
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: these guys, but I know that I have the numbers
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: to go up against them, so I like my chances.
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: I got confidence, and I'm just ready to go out
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: there and just keep playing the same game I've been
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: playing my whole life.
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: Getting that Division III National championship, you caught the game
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: winner with less than two minutes to go. Describe that moment.
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: Surreal, just catching it and realizing I was going to score,
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: looking at myself on the jumbo tron, looking at my
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: teammates faces, looking at the crowd. I mean, then they
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: went down and scored again, So that didn't last long,
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: but we ended up winning that game, and that was
• 6:10
  Speaker 2: just the infestment of my life.
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: So while you were at Courtland, you got suspended for
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: a year, But these were not high crimes and misdemeanors.
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: You threw a Halloween party apparently during COVID and they
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: suspended you. How did you overcome that?
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: Just that whole time, I never let myself get down
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: about the situation. I just knew that I was going
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: to make the most out of it. I couldn't change
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: my situation, so all I could do was just make
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: the most of it. So I just was grinding that
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: whole time to make myself a better person, a better athletes.
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: So when I did step back on the field, I
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: was going to be that much better.
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: And it wasn't just a football thing too. They suspended
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: you from school, is that correct?
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: Yeah, the whole campus.
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: I couldn't go in for two semesters. Wow, So what'd
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: you do? I had a couple of.
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: Jobs, but worked out a lot. That was when I
• 6:53
  Speaker 2: was my strongest and my biggest, and just mentally I
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: grew in. I started, you know, getting in the religion
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: and meditating and just just help trying to make myself
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: just grow as a person. As well as as a
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: as a like a football player.
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: So Cole, as you mentioned, you've had an interest in
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: the Bengals since Burrow and Chase arrived. How surreal is
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: it going to be to catch passes from Joe and
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: be in meeting rooms with Jamar.
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: I don't know yet. I know it's gonna be crazy,
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: but it's not gonna hit me until it hits me,
• 7:22
  Speaker 2: you know, every time I walk in the locker room
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: or sometimes I just be going it like.
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: Oh there, But yeah, it's gonna be cool. I'm excited
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: to meet him, so I get working with them, Excited
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: to see you do it. Welcome to Cincinnati, best look
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: going forward.
• 7:33
  Speaker 3: Thank you so much.
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: The media was allowed to attend practice on Tuesday, and
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: for the first time, we saw the Bengals working on
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: the NFL's new kickoff format. It's going to take some
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: getting used to. The coverage team lines up at the
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: other team's forty yard line. That's twenty five yards ahead
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: of the ball. Nine members of the return team are
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: lined up between five and ten yards away. They're in
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: close proximity in order to cut down on dangerous high
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: speed collisions, and those players can't move until the ball
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: hits the ground or one of the two kick returners
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: who have to line up between the goal line and
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: the twenty Cole Burgess was among the players fielding kickoffs
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: at practice, along with Chase Brown, Trayveon Williams, Chris Evans,
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: and Jermaine Burton. Speaking of Burton, the third round draft
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: pick joined me on last week's podcast to answer five
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: unusual questions. I've been hitting the rookies with questions that
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: they haven't been getting in other interviews. This week, the
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: Bengals other third round draft pick might have given me
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: the quote of the year. All right, time for five
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: questions with rookie McKinley Jackson. Question number one, has anybody
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: ever told you that your name sounds like a US
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: president McKinley Jackson.
• 8:58
  Speaker 4: I get this from a lot of people, Will McKinley
• 9:00
  Speaker 4: or introjection. Yeah, so, I mean, I'd be like, Mama,
• 9:04
  Speaker 4: just get me a unique name.
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: I can't help your So, your first name, McKinley, has
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: two ends, which is also a little bit unusual. Is
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: there a story behind being named McKinley.
• 9:14
  Speaker 4: Yeah, just some uniqueness, you know. I don't feel like
• 9:16
  Speaker 4: it hurt the name, but you know, it's just more
• 9:20
  Speaker 4: to sign on my signature. So like that's that's better.
• 9:23
  Speaker 4: I could practice my curse will little better.
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: Oh, the graph seekers would like to see your cursive.
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: All right, question number two. You're a big man six, two, three,
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: twenty six. At Texas A and M. You did not
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: wear a big man number. You were thirty five and
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: then you were number three. Why those numbers?
• 9:39
  Speaker 4: So thirty five was is you know, a last tar
• 9:41
  Speaker 4: number for me? But you know I made most of it.
• 9:44
  Speaker 4: I think I put a good name on that number.
• 9:46
  Speaker 4: But number three year is a significant to my best
• 9:48
  Speaker 4: friend who passed away with my first media college from
• 9:50
  Speaker 4: back home, so you know, I awarded to symbolize him.
• 9:52
  Speaker 4: I've been waiting off my first men to get the number,
• 9:54
  Speaker 4: but you know, I mean I had to wait my
• 9:56
  Speaker 4: turn for it, and I think it just holds a
• 9:58
  Speaker 4: special media in my heart.
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: I don't just you know, it wasn't just to be warned.
• 10:01
  Speaker 4: It was more to be you know, signor five for him,
• 10:04
  Speaker 4: and you know, just embraced him, and you know, I
• 10:07
  Speaker 4: know he's thinking about me.
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: That's awesome. Had he worn the number three in high school?
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: All right, we're doing five questions with McKinley Jackson. Question
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: number three, you were one of the top defensive line
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: recruits in the country. He basically could have gone anywhere
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: out of high school. What coach was it hardest to
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: deliver the news to that you weren't coming to his school.
• 10:29
  Speaker 4: I don't say them names, but uh, you know, it's
• 10:34
  Speaker 4: it's one guy that, like, you know, definitely is especially
• 10:39
  Speaker 4: guy in college football. I feel like, you know, I
• 10:42
  Speaker 4: made a bus decision for me, but you know, I
• 10:44
  Speaker 4: mean I would love to, you know, be coach barn
• 10:46
  Speaker 4: but at the end of the day, I had to
• 10:47
  Speaker 4: make a decision for me. But you know, how could
• 10:49
  Speaker 4: it was to him and his team, and I appreciate
• 10:51
  Speaker 4: them for you know, you can give an opportunity, especially
• 10:53
  Speaker 4: coming from a small town like I did.
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: But you don't want to share any names, all right?
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: Fair enough? Question number four, you were mister foot in
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: the state of Mississippi. I read somewhere that you are
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: like an expert on Mississippi high school football legends. Is
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: that true, sir? Uh?
• 11:09
  Speaker 4: You know, I just like looking at the history of
• 11:10
  Speaker 4: it because I feel like we, uh under the radar
• 11:13
  Speaker 4: when it comes to high school football. Talent and especially
• 11:15
  Speaker 4: in the NFL nowadays. So you know, I got to like,
• 11:17
  Speaker 4: you know, broadcast that up to the world. And I know,
• 11:19
  Speaker 4: like we're one of those guys, Like we might have
• 11:22
  Speaker 4: produce the most guys, but we produced some real some
• 11:23
  Speaker 4: real talent.
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: So what do you know about them? Typically their hometown,
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: their high school, their achievements, but do you know high school?
• 11:31
  Speaker 4: You know, and effect they're FM Misissippi like guys like
• 11:33
  Speaker 4: leaning down like a J. Brown, the Mario Davies, so DK,
• 11:37
  Speaker 4: Mitchale Woodie, gay guys like that, you know, just represent
• 11:39
  Speaker 4: them and let them know, like Mississippi has a lot
• 11:41
  Speaker 4: of a lot of powerful talents, to include myself now
• 11:44
  Speaker 4: camp makers of you know, the list goes on and on.
• 11:46
  Speaker 4: So you know, I'm just I'm glad to be part
• 11:48
  Speaker 4: of the part of the list right now.
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: All right, where's AJ Brown from?
• 11:52
  Speaker 4: He's from Starkville, Chris Jones, Chris Jones, he's from I
• 11:58
  Speaker 4: want to say, I ain't gonna say Columbia. He's from
• 12:02
  Speaker 4: both the.
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: Macon Houston or Houston. I don't know how it's pronounced,
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: Mississippi Houston. Yeah, we go back to Walter Payton. I
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: say Columbia. Correct, Okay, all right, you know you know
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: you're Mississippi legend. Yes you did. All right? Fifth and
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: final question, tell me one thing about you that not
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: that many people know.
• 12:24
  Speaker 4: When it comes with football, I'm a real but I don't.
• 12:27
  Speaker 4: I don't play this game really nice at all. You know,
• 12:29
  Speaker 4: I have the feel it's all fun. It's fun and
• 12:31
  Speaker 4: survivors chier.
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: You know.
• 12:32
  Speaker 4: I'm a great teammate, goods to be around, but I'm
• 12:35
  Speaker 4: gonna feel I'm gonna pel But like I like to win,
• 12:38
  Speaker 4: I hate to lose a little wins, So you know
• 12:40
  Speaker 4: I get it. I put that on my teammate. You know,
• 12:41
  Speaker 4: stress him a lot right now. I'm trying to earn
• 12:43
  Speaker 4: that role of like you know, I've been a leader
• 12:45
  Speaker 4: and you know, really standing my power. But you know,
• 12:47
  Speaker 4: I want to push it and maximize everyone's a potentially
• 12:49
  Speaker 4: each and every day. And I feel like, you know,
• 12:51
  Speaker 4: that's how I gotta be Like Jordan did it, Kobe
• 12:54
  Speaker 4: did it. It's reason why he howled the ball. It
• 12:56
  Speaker 4: wasn't because he was a ball, because he was. You
• 12:58
  Speaker 4: want to be a winner, so I got I took
• 13:00
  Speaker 4: them in so overn football.
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: When it comes to football. I'm a real butthole? Is
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: that the quote of the year? According all right, now,
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: very presidential from McKinley Jackson, but a great quote. I
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: appreciate your time. It's great to have you in Cincinnati.
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: Best of luck going forward.
• 13:15
  Speaker 4: So thank you appreciation.
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: Here's hoping that the guys that try to block McKinley
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: this year know exactly what he means by that quote.
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you by pay Corps,
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: Proud to be the Bengals official HR software provider, by
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: Alta Fiber, future proof fiber Internet designed to elevate your home, business,
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: and community to a new level, and by Kettering Health
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: the best care for the best fans. Kettering Health is
• 13:44
  Speaker 1: the official healthcare provider of the Bengals. Last week, voting
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: got underway for the Bengals twenty twenty four Ring of
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: Honor class. There are eleven former players on the ballot,
• 13:55
  Speaker 1: and who better to discuss them than team president Mike Brown.
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: This is an edited version of an interview I did
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: with Mike when the Bengals formed the Ring of Honor
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: three years ago. We moved to the all time leading
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: scorer in team history and the Bengals kicker for thirteen years,
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: wearing that little size five shoe on his kicking foot.
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: Jim Breach.
• 14:18
  Speaker 3: We came up with Jimmy. He was let go by
• 14:22
  Speaker 3: Oakland and I don't know what all befell him out there,
• 14:27
  Speaker 3: but he came here and he wasn't long as kickers go,
• 14:33
  Speaker 3: but he was a great competitor. You could turn up
• 14:37
  Speaker 3: the heat on him and it didn't matter. We'd be
• 14:41
  Speaker 3: in a game where we had to have a field
• 14:44
  Speaker 3: go to win it, and when he was kicking you
• 14:48
  Speaker 3: didn't have much concern about it because he just was
• 14:51
  Speaker 3: good for it. He made him all seem that might
• 14:57
  Speaker 3: seem to the casual obs is nothing so special. Why
• 15:04
  Speaker 3: shouldn't he That's what he's paid to do, they might say, Well,
• 15:07
  Speaker 3: believe me, that's not what most of them do do.
• 15:11
  Speaker 3: They don't manage to hold up when the pressure's on.
• 15:16
  Speaker 3: But Jimmy did for us for a good number of years.
• 15:20
  Speaker 3: I think he still has the most points of anyone
• 15:24
  Speaker 3: ever with the Bengals.
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: Never missed a kick in overtime, a perfect nine for nine.
• 15:30
  Speaker 1: Jim Breach. I've heard the next player on the list
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: referred to as the toughest player pound for pound in
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: team history. Running back James Brooks.
• 15:39
  Speaker 3: James was a player we acquired from San Diego. We
• 15:44
  Speaker 3: traded Pete Johnson, who was a fine player, and we
• 15:49
  Speaker 3: got in return James Brooks. They were opposites. Pete was
• 15:54
  Speaker 3: a big power back. James was an offsized, asked quick scooter.
• 16:02
  Speaker 3: He could catch the ball, had wonderful hands, great receiver.
• 16:08
  Speaker 3: He was excellent running too. You would have misjudged him
• 16:15
  Speaker 3: if you looked at him and said, well, he's too
• 16:18
  Speaker 3: small to be a great runner. But he was a
• 16:21
  Speaker 3: great runner, not just outside but inside as well. And
• 16:25
  Speaker 3: he did one other thing that was exceptional. He was
• 16:28
  Speaker 3: a terrific pass protector. He was small, but he knew
• 16:34
  Speaker 3: how to go about pass protection. He took these rushers on.
• 16:39
  Speaker 3: They could be big people, defensive lineman, and he would
• 16:43
  Speaker 3: pop right up into him and joke them. He didn't
• 16:48
  Speaker 3: back down. He wasn't afraid, and he knew which ones
• 16:54
  Speaker 3: to pick up. That too, takes a little bit of skill.
• 16:59
  Speaker 3: You have to to mount, and he could and did so.
• 17:03
  Speaker 3: He had everything that a back should have. He could
• 17:08
  Speaker 3: run the ball, he could pass protect, he could catch
• 17:12
  Speaker 3: the ball, and you referred to him as tough. Well,
• 17:19
  Speaker 3: I don't know for sure sometimes exactly what tough is,
• 17:23
  Speaker 3: but if you're talking about it meaning a football player
• 17:27
  Speaker 3: who did everything ask of him, James Brooks was that guy.
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: In nineteen eighty one, your top two draft picks were
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: wide receivers, the sculpted David Versa out of Kansas in
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: round one, and then a skinny, gangly kid out of
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: Florida in round two who turned out to pay pretty
• 17:45
  Speaker 1: darn good. Chris Collinsworth.
• 17:48
  Speaker 3: A story on Chris goes back to when they had
• 17:53
  Speaker 3: what was the equivalent of the Combine in those days,
• 17:56
  Speaker 3: it was down in Tampa. They weigh and measure players
• 18:03
  Speaker 3: and work them out. They did that back then differently,
• 18:07
  Speaker 3: but they did it then as they do it today
• 18:10
  Speaker 3: over in Indianapolis. When we have the combine. Chris walked
• 18:15
  Speaker 3: out on the not the stage as it would be today,
• 18:21
  Speaker 3: but he walked out in front of the assembled scouts,
• 18:27
  Speaker 3: which were probably twenty some in the room, looking up
• 18:36
  Speaker 3: at the scales where the players would be weighed. And
• 18:40
  Speaker 3: Chris got on the scales and you could hear the snickers,
• 18:44
  Speaker 3: and Chris understood, he knew what was going on in
• 18:48
  Speaker 3: their minds, and he, to his credit, laughed and they
• 18:54
  Speaker 3: laughed with him. I forgot what he weighed, but it
• 18:58
  Speaker 3: certainly wasn't very much. He was tall six or four
• 19:01
  Speaker 3: plus and just as skinny as you could draw one up.
• 19:07
  Speaker 3: So when it came to the draft, we picked David
• 19:11
  Speaker 3: Verser in the first round, who had all the majoraballs
• 19:14
  Speaker 3: you could imagine, very fast, good size, very productive and
• 19:20
  Speaker 3: a player in college. And then in the second round
• 19:25
  Speaker 3: Lindy and Fonte, who was an assistant coach for us,
• 19:30
  Speaker 3: the equivalent of the offensive coordinator, if you will. I
• 19:33
  Speaker 3: don't think we gave him that title. No one had
• 19:37
  Speaker 3: titles back in those days. He argued for Chris and
• 19:43
  Speaker 3: my father, who could say yay or nay on the
• 19:46
  Speaker 3: draft as to which player we took or didn't take.
• 19:50
  Speaker 3: He kept hearing Lindy when we were in the first round,
• 19:55
  Speaker 3: and then in the second round he didn't give up.
• 19:58
  Speaker 3: He still went on. My father said, oh, will take
• 20:01
  Speaker 3: him too. We doubled up on receivers, and what a
• 20:06
  Speaker 3: good thing it was for us that we did. When
• 20:10
  Speaker 3: Chris came on, I recall being out at Spinnyfield, our
• 20:16
  Speaker 3: practice site, and watching and you knew immediately you had
• 20:21
  Speaker 3: a special player.
• 20:22
  Speaker 4: He was.
• 20:24
  Speaker 3: For a big guy, tall guy, quick. He could move
• 20:27
  Speaker 3: sideways quickly, and he had acceleration, he had top end speed,
• 20:34
  Speaker 3: he could catch everything, and he seemed to have his
• 20:38
  Speaker 3: wits about him all the time. You knew right away
• 20:43
  Speaker 3: that you had a special player. And occasionally you have
• 20:49
  Speaker 3: that experience. You draft the guy, he comes in and
• 20:52
  Speaker 3: you just know you have one. And when you get
• 20:56
  Speaker 3: the good ones, that's what makes your team special. And
• 21:01
  Speaker 3: he was one of those. A great receiver.
• 21:06
  Speaker 1: He played the role of country Bumpkin early in his career,
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: but went on to get a law degree. He's had
• 21:12
  Speaker 1: a great broadcasting career. He's the honor of Pro Football Focus.
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: Obviously a guy that's had a tremendous career after football.
• 21:19
  Speaker 3: Yes, he's been very successful in his endeavors after football.
• 21:26
  Speaker 3: I remember what you were referring to Country Bumpkin. He
• 21:33
  Speaker 3: put on an act if you will that aus shucks,
• 21:37
  Speaker 3: poor country boy me. How could you expect me to
• 21:40
  Speaker 3: know anything? And that's when he was being interviewed by
• 21:45
  Speaker 3: the media. But he wasn't that way with the guys
• 21:50
  Speaker 3: or anybody else. That was just something that he tried
• 21:53
  Speaker 3: out for a while, and to his credit discarded not
• 21:57
  Speaker 3: soon enough came his real self, which is all you
• 22:02
  Speaker 3: would need to be very successful in a media career.
• 22:05
  Speaker 3: And just look at the success he's had.
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: We are reminiscing about the Bengals Ring of Honor candidates
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: with President Mike Brown. The team's all time leading rusher
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: is Corey Dylan, who ran angry for seven years in
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: Cincinnati and had two of the best games of all
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: time two hundred and forty six yards as a rookie
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: and then two seventy eight against the Broncos in two thousand,
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: an NFL single game record at the time.
• 22:30
  Speaker 3: I remember that game. They couldn't stop us, and Corey
• 22:35
  Speaker 3: just ran right over top of him. It was so
• 22:38
  Speaker 3: bad that the next week they fired their defensive coordinator.
• 22:44
  Speaker 3: I thought that was somewhat unfair. Corey was power back,
• 22:51
  Speaker 3: and when you first saw him, what you saw was
• 22:55
  Speaker 3: a guy that ran heavy. He was a two hundred
• 22:58
  Speaker 3: and thirty pound guy, and when he ran he had balance.
• 23:04
  Speaker 3: He seemed to sink into the ground as he ran.
• 23:09
  Speaker 3: You hit him and you were hitting a stump. He
• 23:13
  Speaker 3: had the ability to run inside, the ability to run outside,
• 23:18
  Speaker 3: and you say, angry I don't know if that's exactly
• 23:22
  Speaker 3: the right word, but determined, there's no question about that.
• 23:27
  Speaker 3: And he did have emotion. He carried it with him.
• 23:32
  Speaker 4: He was our.
• 23:35
  Speaker 3: Top runner of all time. And unfortunately we couldn't hang
• 23:41
  Speaker 3: on and we couldn't manage him. At the end, he
• 23:43
  Speaker 3: got out of sorts about what I don't even remember,
• 23:49
  Speaker 3: but we couldn't keep him content, so we felt obligated
• 23:53
  Speaker 3: to trade him. We traded him up to a Belichick
• 23:56
  Speaker 3: in New England, and for them, he took the Patriots
• 24:01
  Speaker 3: to two Super Bowls. So he did it here, he
• 24:05
  Speaker 3: did it there. He could do it period wherever he was.
• 24:09
  Speaker 3: And yes, a top player, a great player.
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: I remember you describing observing him. I think it was
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: at Spinnyfield early in his Bengals tenure, and it was
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: like the earth moved when he got going. Oh.
• 24:23
  Speaker 3: I remember being on the sideline and he ran by
• 24:28
  Speaker 3: after he had caught a ball out wide, and he
• 24:33
  Speaker 3: was close to me, and as he ran by, I
• 24:38
  Speaker 3: honestly felt the ground shake underfoot, and that registered with me.
• 24:48
  Speaker 3: I've never had that experience with another back. But you
• 24:52
  Speaker 3: wouldn't have wanted to tackle him if you were a cornerback.
• 24:55
  Speaker 3: I guarantee you.
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: That another of the game changers in franchise history was
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: David Fulcher. You didn't see safeties that were six three,
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: two hundred and thirty eight pounds who could be used
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: in so many ways before him.
• 25:09
  Speaker 3: Yeah, he was a big safety, to say the least.
• 25:15
  Speaker 3: We Dick le Bow was our secondary coach, and he
• 25:22
  Speaker 3: took folchure and used him in a way that got
• 25:26
  Speaker 3: out of David what he had to give. But that
• 25:30
  Speaker 3: sounds as though I'm describing a player who was slow.
• 25:35
  Speaker 3: He wasn't slow. He was just big. And when I
• 25:39
  Speaker 3: say big at the end of his career, I don't
• 25:42
  Speaker 3: think I'm exaggerating when I say he was actually at
• 25:45
  Speaker 3: two sixty. Tell me when you last saw a safety
• 25:49
  Speaker 3: at two sixty. The way they used him, the way
• 25:53
  Speaker 3: we used him was we had him up closer to
• 25:57
  Speaker 3: the line of scrimmage as much as possible. And not
• 26:01
  Speaker 3: that he couldn't play deep. He could, but up front
• 26:05
  Speaker 3: he was like an extra linebacker, and he would nub
• 26:10
  Speaker 3: him when he hit him, they were hit and stopped.
• 26:15
  Speaker 3: He was an exceptional player, one of a kind. I've
• 26:19
  Speaker 3: never seen one quite like him before or since.
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: A tenth round draft pick in nineteen eighty three, became
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: one of the best defensive players in franchise history, a
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: guy who led the team in tackles five times as
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: a noseguard, which is unheard of.
• 26:35
  Speaker 3: Tim CRUMRAI, Yeah, Timmy came to us out of Wisconsin.
• 26:41
  Speaker 3: He wasn't anything that we thought much about when he came.
• 26:47
  Speaker 3: He was off size small for a defensive tackle. When
• 26:52
  Speaker 3: they went home. This was after the draft. He came
• 26:54
  Speaker 3: when they went home. We get together with the players later.
• 27:00
  Speaker 3: We brought him in for some work and we didn't
• 27:04
  Speaker 3: even bother to tell him to come because we didn't
• 27:07
  Speaker 3: think he could do anything much. But he came anyway,
• 27:11
  Speaker 3: which showed you how he saw the world. And he
• 27:15
  Speaker 3: was dead right. He could do a whole heck of
• 27:18
  Speaker 3: a lot. He became a great player, and he had
• 27:25
  Speaker 3: tremendous competitiveness. He just would compete until he dropped. He
• 27:33
  Speaker 3: had no give in him. He was a high school wrestler,
• 27:36
  Speaker 3: college wrestler, and that showed. I've always respected the kids
• 27:41
  Speaker 3: players who were wrestlers because in my book, that's the
• 27:45
  Speaker 3: toughest sport. Of all those guys, they can't quit because
• 27:51
  Speaker 3: if they get quit. They just get to malledge. They
• 27:54
  Speaker 3: learned not to. Timmy was that way. He didn't have
• 27:57
  Speaker 3: any quit in him. And I remember, of course, in
• 28:01
  Speaker 3: the Super Bowl game down Miami when he broke his leg,
• 28:05
  Speaker 3: and that was a tragedy for him and us both.
• 28:09
  Speaker 3: Without him, we weren't quite the same defensively, and if
• 28:15
  Speaker 3: he hadn't been hurt, we would have had a better
• 28:17
  Speaker 3: chance in that game.
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: My broadcast partner, Dave Lapham was smart enough off the
• 28:22
  Speaker 1: field to get admitted into Harvard although he chose Syracuse,
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: and smart enough on the field to play all five
• 28:28
  Speaker 1: offensive line spots in the same game multiple times.
• 28:33
  Speaker 3: Dave was smart enough, no one questions that, but that's
• 28:38
  Speaker 3: never what stood out about him in my mind. He
• 28:42
  Speaker 3: went beyond that. He was built like a football player.
• 28:45
  Speaker 3: The first time I ever saw him, he was in
• 28:48
  Speaker 3: his shorts and a training table at the Blue Gray
• 28:52
  Speaker 3: game down in Alabama, and jeez, I looked at him
• 28:56
  Speaker 3: and I said, this guy, he's built like they're supposed
• 28:59
  Speaker 3: to be. Big go over. He was an excellent player
• 29:05
  Speaker 3: and he could play anywhere you needed him. But it
• 29:10
  Speaker 3: went beyond that. He has become someone tied to the
• 29:18
  Speaker 3: Bengals in his own special way. He was a player
• 29:23
  Speaker 3: for us and later he was an announcer for us.
• 29:29
  Speaker 3: He can tell our story. He's been around here close
• 29:32
  Speaker 3: on to fifty years as a player and as an announcer.
• 29:37
  Speaker 3: He knows all the guys that were here from the
• 29:40
  Speaker 3: beginning on, and he can tell about them. He's a
• 29:45
  Speaker 3: good storyteller. I know this doesn't have much to do
• 29:50
  Speaker 3: with being in the Ring of Honor, but as a personality,
• 29:54
  Speaker 3: he liked being around him. He's fun and that isn't
• 29:59
  Speaker 3: something unique with me. Everyone feels that way. They gravitate
• 30:04
  Speaker 3: towards them because he just makes the occasion happier. I'm
• 30:11
  Speaker 3: glad he's in this list. He's deserving.
• 30:14
  Speaker 1: Could not agree with you more. Clapp was the starting
• 30:17
  Speaker 1: left guard on the nineteen eighty one Super Bowl team.
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: The starting right guard in both Super Bowls, as a
• 30:22
  Speaker 1: matter of fact, was Max Montoya, probably the greatest guard
• 30:27
  Speaker 1: in franchise history.
• 30:29
  Speaker 3: He was a great player. Max had a cherubic face.
• 30:35
  Speaker 3: You would have thought he was innocent as a lamb,
• 30:39
  Speaker 3: but he had a dark heart As a football player.
• 30:45
  Speaker 3: He showed no mercy. He was rough and he could
• 30:52
  Speaker 3: dish it out he could take it. When he was
• 30:55
  Speaker 3: on the field, there was no quarter given or asked.
• 30:59
  Speaker 3: But for us, he was with a great group of
• 31:03
  Speaker 3: offensive linemen. That group that he was a member of
• 31:09
  Speaker 3: was my favorite of all time for us. And Max
• 31:14
  Speaker 3: could not only block straight ahead, he could pull and
• 31:18
  Speaker 3: run to the outside, where he was very effective, probably
• 31:22
  Speaker 3: the best pulling guard we ever had. I have a
• 31:27
  Speaker 3: high regard for Max. He's done well with his life
• 31:31
  Speaker 3: after football, and I respect him. I respect him as
• 31:36
  Speaker 3: a player and as a man.
• 31:38
  Speaker 1: One of the many great nicknames in team history is
• 31:41
  Speaker 1: Leaping Lamar, for Lamar Parrish, who scored thirteen touchdowns on
• 31:45
  Speaker 1: returns and recoveries and set a team record by averaging
• 31:49
  Speaker 1: nearly nineteen yards per punt return in nineteen seventy four.
• 31:54
  Speaker 3: Lamar deserves more people remember him than do I don't
• 32:01
  Speaker 3: know why that's so. During his time here I think
• 32:05
  Speaker 3: was about seven years he played for us, he was
• 32:10
  Speaker 3: the most talented cornerback we ever had, and we've had
• 32:15
  Speaker 3: some great cornerbacks, but he was also the best returner
• 32:21
  Speaker 3: we ever had. And the one story that we stood
• 32:26
  Speaker 3: out in my mind about Lamar was when we played
• 32:32
  Speaker 3: Washington here, they had a good team, and we had
• 32:35
  Speaker 3: something like three yards total offense. We didn't move the
• 32:39
  Speaker 3: ball at all. We won the game. We went it
• 32:42
  Speaker 3: on returns. Lamar on one punt return when to a
• 32:49
  Speaker 3: group of players that looked like a ball of players
• 32:52
  Speaker 3: that he dove into and somehow he ran out the
• 32:56
  Speaker 3: back end of all this accumulated group of players and
• 33:02
  Speaker 3: went on without losing stride for a touchdown. It was
• 33:06
  Speaker 3: a very odd looking play. And when he came off
• 33:10
  Speaker 3: the field, my dad said, Lamar, how did it look
• 33:15
  Speaker 3: when you ran inside with all those players? Always said, Coach,
• 33:18
  Speaker 3: it was dark in there. How I explained, And my
• 33:23
  Speaker 3: dad loved that story, and I loved it because he
• 33:26
  Speaker 3: loved it.
• 33:27
  Speaker 1: But it was just.
• 33:30
  Speaker 3: A description about Lamar, who could do exceptional things at
• 33:36
  Speaker 3: his position. He had exceptional, unique, almost quickness. He could
• 33:42
  Speaker 3: cover like a blanket, receivers didn't get open on him,
• 33:49
  Speaker 3: and he could play the ball. We had on the
• 33:53
  Speaker 3: other side. Kenny was over there, and we had two
• 33:59
  Speaker 3: corners equal of any team ever.
• 34:03
  Speaker 1: Long before there were great receiving tight ends like Tony
• 34:05
  Speaker 1: Gonzalez and Travis Kelcey. The Bengals helped pioneer moving the
• 34:10
  Speaker 1: tight end all around the formation with a twelfth round
• 34:13
  Speaker 1: draft pick named Bob Trumpy.
• 34:15
  Speaker 3: Trumpy had a storied relationship with the Bengals as a player.
• 34:23
  Speaker 3: As an announcer, he became a public figure here locally
• 34:29
  Speaker 3: as a radio call in show host. He was good
• 34:35
  Speaker 3: at that. But as a player when he started out here,
• 34:40
  Speaker 3: he was probably off size for where we put him
• 34:43
  Speaker 3: a tight end, but he could really run and he
• 34:49
  Speaker 3: would take cover two. That's when they have two safeties
• 34:52
  Speaker 3: in the middle of the field, run right through it
• 34:55
  Speaker 3: and they couldn't keep up with them. Safeties couldn't keep
• 34:58
  Speaker 3: up with them alone own the linebackers. He made big
• 35:04
  Speaker 3: plays for us, helped that Greg Cook was the quarterback
• 35:08
  Speaker 3: for him one year when Greg was our quarterback before
• 35:13
  Speaker 3: he got hurt, and then Kenny Anderson came along. Bob
• 35:19
  Speaker 3: bought the attention of other teams that we played at.
• 35:23
  Speaker 3: Kansas City, for example, at that time, was the top
• 35:27
  Speaker 3: team in the league, and they won to trade for
• 35:31
  Speaker 3: him right away after we played them, and I always
• 35:35
  Speaker 3: remembered how insistent they were, and that was a no
• 35:40
  Speaker 3: go with us. We had Bob for a long career
• 35:44
  Speaker 3: here as a tight end and he was a receiving
• 35:49
  Speaker 3: tight end, but a willing blocker. He would face up
• 35:54
  Speaker 3: on guys and he wasn't afraid to do it. But
• 35:58
  Speaker 3: as a receiver was as good as they came at
• 36:01
  Speaker 3: his position.
• 36:03
  Speaker 1: Finally, a linebacker from your alma mater, Dartmouth College, who
• 36:07
  Speaker 1: was a Bengals starter for fourteen years, Reggie Williams.
• 36:11
  Speaker 3: Reggie and I both went to Dartmouth, so when he
• 36:15
  Speaker 3: came along up there, I was anxious to get him
• 36:19
  Speaker 3: for us. I knew about him, and Dartmouth isn't so
• 36:25
  Speaker 3: much a powerhouse as a football team and Ivy league team.
• 36:29
  Speaker 3: I think Dartmouth did win the national championship in the
• 36:33
  Speaker 3: twenties one time, but Reggie came along much after that,
• 36:38
  Speaker 3: and at Dartmouth today he's considered the best player they've
• 36:42
  Speaker 3: ever had here. He was very athletic, very willing, very
• 36:51
  Speaker 3: competitive and determined, and he was a steady player for
• 36:58
  Speaker 3: us for I think for teen or fifteen years, whatever
• 37:01
  Speaker 3: it was. It played a long time, and he was
• 37:05
  Speaker 3: smart as well as tough.
• 37:08
  Speaker 1: This has been a treat for me. I really appreciate
• 37:11
  Speaker 1: your time. Thank you very much.
• 37:12
  Speaker 3: We'll enjoy doing it too.
• 37:15
  Speaker 1: Two of those eleven players will be selected by season
• 37:17
  Speaker 1: ticket members and suite holders this year, joining Paul Brown,
• 37:21
  Speaker 1: Anthony Munoz, Ken Anderson, Willie Anderson, Ken Riley, Isaac Curtis
• 37:26
  Speaker 1: Boomersiasin and Chad Johnson in the Ring of Honor. They
• 37:31
  Speaker 1: will be inducted at halftime of the Monday night home
• 37:34
  Speaker 1: game against Washington on September twenty third. That's week three
• 37:39
  Speaker 1: of the season. That's going to do it for This
• 37:42
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