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Bengals Booth Podcast: Gonna Fly Now · Bengals Booth Podcast

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Hi again, everybody.
• 0:04
  Speaker 2: I'm Dan Hoard, and thanks for downloading the Bengals Booth Podcast, the...
• 0:09
  Speaker 2: Gonna fly now. edition, as the Bengals turn their attention
• 0:15
  Speaker 2: to Week 1 against Tampa Bay after wrapping up the
• 0:17
  Speaker 2: preseason in Philly. Coming up, radio replays, locker room comments,
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: and post-game analysis from former UC and NFL quarterback Tony Pike. Then,
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: in this week's Fun Facts Conversation... It's a trip down
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: memory lane with fan favorite CJ Uzama. I think you're
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: going to enjoy it. The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: to you by Paycor, proud to be the Bengals' official
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: HR software provider. By AltaFiber, future-proof fiber internet designed to
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: elevate your home, business, and community to a new level.
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: And by Kettering Health, the best care for the best fans.
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: Kettering Health is the official healthcare provider of the Bengals. Now,
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: here's a quick reminder. that you can have the latest
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: edition of this podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet,
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: or computer by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: the greatest thing since Yards for Youth. That's the name
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: of the Joe Burrow Foundation's football season fundraising campaign, turning
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: Joe's on-field performance into off-field impact to help underprivileged and
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: underserved kids.
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: Here's how it works.
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: Fans choose a pledge level for every 25 yards that
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: Joe passes for. The rookie level is a dollar for
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: every 25 yards, the pro level is five dollars, and
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: the hall of fame level is 10. Let's say that
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: Joe passes for 4,000 yards this year, a figure that
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: he's reached in his three healthy seasons. A one dollar
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: pledge for every 25 yards would come out to 160
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: dollars for a season. A $ 5 pledge would be $ 800,
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: and a $ 10 pledge would be $ 1, 600. Again, that's based
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: on 4,000 passing yards. The money goes to great causes,
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: so if you would like to help Joe Burrow help others,
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: go to the Joe Burrow Foundation website, and you'll see
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: a link at the very top of the homepage for
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: where you can donate two yards for youth. Let's get
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: to Friday's preseason finale against the Eagles. The score of
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: tonight's preseason game between the Bengals and the Eagles doesn't
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: mean that much, but tonight's game is anything but meaningless.
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: Jobs are at stake tonight, whether it's on the 53-man
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: roster or the 16-man practice squad, where the minimum salary
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: is nearly $ 250, 000 a year. We're about to see who
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: will take advantage of their last chance to impress, and
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: it is time for the pigskin to fly here in Philadelphia.
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: Dante Myers took advantage of his opportunity to impress as
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: he has done throughout training camp and in all three
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: preseason games. First and 10 from the Philly 42. Johnson
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: fakes a handoff. It's a deep drop looking to fire downfield.
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: Dante Myers again makes the catch on a crossing route
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: and goes out of bounds at the 17 of Philly.
• 3:16
  Speaker 3: He's crushing them with one high safety looks. Philly's trying
• 3:18
  Speaker 3: to rotate late. Josh Johnson's seen all this before.
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: Three catches for 51 yards on the opening drive and
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: Myers was promptly taken out of the game. I'd be
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: stunned if Dante is not on the 53-man roster. Cincinnati's
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: opening drive ended with a 30-yard field goal to make
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: it 3-0. The Bengals didn't drive it quite as far
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: on their next possession, but it didn't matter.
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: Thanks to Evan McPherson.
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: Here comes his 58-yard try. Distance is not a problem.
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: It is good for Money Mac. It was the second
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: game in a row that featured a 58-yard field goal
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: by McPherson. He ended practice with a 61-yarder this week.
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: Money Mac has never looked better. It was 6-0 after
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: a quarter, and the Bengals' defense came up with a
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: big play in the second. McKee catches the shotgun snap,
• 4:08
  Speaker 2: bouncing in the pocket. Oh, baby. Intercepted by Bobo Davis. Oh, baby.
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: Off a ricochet. Bobo will run out to the 36
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: as the Bengals get a takeaway, and now Takario Bobo
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: Davis motioning to his defensive teammates, come join me for
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: a celebration in.
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: The end zone.
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: Takario Bobo Davis led the team in tackles last week
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: and had two nice plays in coverage against the Eagles,
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: including that interception on a pass intended for first-round draft
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: pick Makai Lemon. It led to a field goal and
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: a 9-0 lead. Tony Pike talked to Davis after the game.
• 4:43
  Speaker 3: Let's talk about the performance tonight, but not just tonight
• 4:48
  Speaker 3: for you personally, but the progression throughout training camp that
• 4:51
  Speaker 3: you feel you've made the strides in.
• 4:53
  Speaker 4: I'm just really just focused on it each and every day,
• 4:56
  Speaker 4: stacking days, controlling one day at a time, one practice
• 4:58
  Speaker 4: at a time, one rep at a time. Just kept
• 5:01
  Speaker 4: stacking and went out there and just had fun.
• 5:03
  Speaker 3: You've had a chance to get a lot of reps
• 5:05
  Speaker 3: during training camp against the number one wide receivers on
• 5:08
  Speaker 3: this Bengals team. How much does that help you when
• 5:11
  Speaker 3: you get into a game setting knowing you go up
• 5:13
  Speaker 3: against those guys at practice?
• 5:15
  Speaker 4: Knowing that I'm going against the best every day, it
• 5:17
  Speaker 4: don't get no better than that. So I make every
• 5:19
  Speaker 4: team make the game slow down slower for me. But, yeah,
• 5:22
  Speaker 4: it don't get no better than that.
• 5:24
  Speaker 5: How much are you able to use your length?
• 5:25
  Speaker 3: You saw that early on tonight in coverage, one of
• 5:28
  Speaker 3: the first couple plays of the game with the pass breakup.
• 5:30
  Speaker 3: Just talk about using your length to your advantage.
• 5:33
  Speaker 4: Yeah, use what God gives me with, which is brain speed.
• 5:36
  Speaker 4: So going out there, putting myself in the right position
• 5:39
  Speaker 4: to use it.
• 5:40
  Speaker 3: Interception, you come down with the reaction to hit it
• 5:43
  Speaker 3: with the left, tap it back to your right. Yards
• 5:45
  Speaker 3: after the interception, just go through that play and the
• 5:47
  Speaker 3: reaction you're able to have.
• 5:49
  Speaker 5: I just seen the ball.
• 5:49
  Speaker 4: I just seen, like, his hands wasn't really, like, it was, like, closed.
• 5:54
  Speaker 4: So I seen it, and I just played it, seen
• 5:55
  Speaker 4: the ball, see the ball, go get the ball.
• 5:58
  Speaker 5: Tips and overthrows, got to get those.
• 5:59
  Speaker 4: So seen it, picked it off, and tried to go
• 6:02
  Speaker 4: score it.
• 6:04
  Speaker 3: You take the next step. You've gone into a rookie,
• 6:07
  Speaker 3: a training camp as a rookie. A lot of install,
• 6:10
  Speaker 3: a lot of stacking days. Training camp portion is over.
• 6:13
  Speaker 3: What's the focus now going forward for you?
• 6:15
  Speaker 4: It's getting better each and every day. It's still learning.
• 6:17
  Speaker 4: It's still being a rookie. It's still learning. It's still developing.
• 6:20
  Speaker 4: Just control what I control and just putting one foot
• 6:23
  Speaker 4: forward every day.
• 6:24
  Speaker 3: How much has the game slowed? I know rookie things
• 6:27
  Speaker 3: can get fast. How much has it slowed from day
• 6:29
  Speaker 3: one to now?
• 6:30
  Speaker 5: I mean, a lot, for real. You asked me a lot.
• 6:32
  Speaker 4: Just watching film, just knowing how to watch film, watching
• 6:36
  Speaker 4: certain formations, down the distance, knowing the situation, it slowed
• 6:41
  Speaker 4: down for me a lot.
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: Fumbled by running back Gary Brightwell led to a Philly
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: field goal that made it 9-3 at the half. Then
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: on the second half kickoff, Taj Brooks fumbled leading to
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: another field goal that made it 9-6. But for the
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: second straight week, Sean Clifford took over at quarterback in
• 6:59
  Speaker 2: the third quarter and immediately orchestrated... a 70-yard touchdown drive.
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: Clifford's ready. Catches the shotgun snap. Good blitz pickup by Milton.
• 7:07
  Speaker 4: Nice.
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: The pass caught by Keyshawn Williams.
• 7:10
  Speaker 6: Nice.
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: Spins around at the four. Runs for the end zone. Touchdown, Bengals.
• 7:17
  Speaker 6: And the Philadelphia crowd reacts accordingly.
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: The red rifle, Andy Dalton, answered with a short touchdown
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: pass for Philly to make it a three-point game going.
• 7:26
  Speaker 5: To the fourth.
• 7:27
  Speaker 2: But the Bengals put it away in the final quarter,
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: by running the ball down the Eagles' throats. Kentrell Bullock
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: had a five-yard touchdown run as part of a 14-carry,
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: 85-yard night. Then, fellow rookie Jamal Haynes put the cherry
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: on top of the sundae. They hand it off to
• 7:44
  Speaker 2: Jamal Haynes. Haynes looked like a dead duck.
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: Wow. And he's still running.
• 7:48
  Speaker 2: Wow. Inside the 30, cutting to the middle of the field.
• 7:52
  Speaker 5: See ya.
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: 15, 10, 5, touchdown.
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: Man. An incredible touchdown run by Jamal Haynes. who refused
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: to go down. That 39-yard run was coffin nails. Haynes
• 8:05
  Speaker 2: had seven carries for 78 yards and talked to me
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: after the game.
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: I thought you were down early in the play. You refused.
• 8:14
  Speaker 7: Yeah, you know, just being undrafted free agent, you really
• 8:17
  Speaker 7: just got to come in here and take advantage of
• 8:18
  Speaker 7: any opportunity you get. Whether it's one drive, two drives,
• 8:21
  Speaker 7: or the whole game, just get the ball and take
• 8:23
  Speaker 7: advantage of that opportunity.
• 8:24
  Speaker 2: Jamal, I have not seen final team stats, but I'm
• 8:27
  Speaker 2: pretty sure the Bengals ran for more than 200 yards
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: in this game.
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: How good is that offensive line?
• 8:32
  Speaker 7: The offensive line did amazing all night, but it goes
• 8:34
  Speaker 7: back to during the week, details, and within side practice,
• 8:37
  Speaker 7: and all of us collaborating together, just knowing that when
• 8:39
  Speaker 7: we start the ball and we need to run the ball,
• 8:41
  Speaker 7: we will run the ball.
• 8:42
  Speaker 2: How satisfying was the fourth quarter when basically Philadelphia knew
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: you were going to try to run it and you
• 8:47
  Speaker 2: were still able to?
• 8:48
  Speaker 7: I mean, that's something we've been harping on all OTA,
• 8:50
  Speaker 7: something we've really been focusing on, four-minute offenses, two-minute offense,
• 8:53
  Speaker 7: but also running the ball when the defense knows we're
• 8:55
  Speaker 7: going to run the ball. And that's exactly what we
• 8:57
  Speaker 7: did tonight, just knowing that we were going to go
• 8:58
  Speaker 7: downhill and run the ball.
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: You had a great game tonight. So did Kentrell Bullock.
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: A couple of rookies trying to make statement in the
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: final week of the preseason. I thought both of you
• 9:07
  Speaker 2: guys did.
• 9:08
  Speaker 7: Absolutely, we both did. I mean, that's something we really
• 9:10
  Speaker 7: built a great relationship on, just knowing that the opportunities
• 9:13
  Speaker 7: right now come limited. We're in a loaded running back room,
• 9:15
  Speaker 7: so we know when we get that opportunity to go
• 9:17
  Speaker 7: out there and touch the ball, we have to make
• 9:18
  Speaker 7: full advantage of it, take full advantage of it.
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: We're visiting with running back Jamal Haynes.
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: What has this experience been like for you, your first
• 9:25
  Speaker 2: NFL training camp?
• 9:26
  Speaker 7: It's been amazing, you know, just something I've been dreaming
• 9:28
  Speaker 7: about since I was five years old, so Honestly, just
• 9:31
  Speaker 7: getting here and just really having great leadership guys, great
• 9:33
  Speaker 7: veterans to come back down and just really take control
• 9:36
  Speaker 7: and really just help me, guide me through my rookie season.
• 9:38
  Speaker 7: It's just been a blessing, just a blessing.
• 9:40
  Speaker 2: People say wins and losses don't matter in the preseason,
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: but when you go 3-0, does it build a little
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: momentum going into the Tampa Bay game in a couple
• 9:48
  Speaker 2: of weeks?
• 9:49
  Speaker 7: Indeed, it definitely does, but if you're a winner, you
• 9:51
  Speaker 7: love winning regardless. If it's a preseason game, if it's
• 9:53
  Speaker 7: a regular season game, if it's a playoffs game, you're
• 9:55
  Speaker 7: a winner, you love winning. That's that's period point.
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: Blank this game just ended a few minutes ago i
• 10:00
  Speaker 2: imagine you can't wait to see footage of your touchdown i.
• 10:04
  Speaker 7: Really like to see the runs where i probably could
• 10:06
  Speaker 7: have made a little better on i probably could have
• 10:07
  Speaker 7: stayed on my feet you know there's touchdown runs as
• 10:09
  Speaker 7: a running back those are always going to be there
• 10:11
  Speaker 7: but it's those runs that you want to be more
• 10:13
  Speaker 7: detailed on getting back and watching film and Just knowing
• 10:16
  Speaker 7: those little holding calls I think I had on my
• 10:17
  Speaker 7: second run, just knowing where to hit the hole and
• 10:19
  Speaker 7: being more patient at it.
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: I appreciate your attitude, but trust me, you are going
• 10:23
  Speaker 2: to enjoy it when you get to watch that highlight.
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: It was spectacular. Thank you so much.
• 10:27
  Speaker 5: I appreciate that.
• 10:29
  Speaker 2: The Bengals ran for 211 yards and averaged six yards
• 10:32
  Speaker 2: a carry. Josh Johnson and Sean Clifford passed for 209
• 10:36
  Speaker 2: as the Bengals finished the preseason with a 30-13 win
• 10:40
  Speaker 2: and a 3-0 record. Here's my conversation with Zach Taylor.
• 10:46
  Speaker 2: Did your team check about every box it could in
• 10:49
  Speaker 2: three preseason games?
• 10:50
  Speaker 5: I was really proud.
• 10:51
  Speaker 8: I thought these guys handled things situationally really well. I
• 10:54
  Speaker 8: thought they closed out the game really well. A lot
• 10:57
  Speaker 8: of guys got opportunities today. A lot of guys took
• 10:59
  Speaker 8: advantage of the opportunities today, whether that helps them here
• 11:01
  Speaker 8: or somewhere else. Really proud of the effort everyone on
• 11:04
  Speaker 8: the signing master gave us.
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: A couple of games ago, one complaint maybe was that
• 11:09
  Speaker 2: the team did not close out the game well on
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: the ground. The opposite was true tonight. In the fourth quarter,
• 11:15
  Speaker 2: they knew you were going to run it, and you
• 11:16
  Speaker 2: were really successful doing it.
• 11:17
  Speaker 8: And that's where a lot of the big runs are
• 11:19
  Speaker 8: going to come from. You know, when you have a
• 11:20
  Speaker 8: 200-yard rushing day, it's because you were able to play
• 11:22
  Speaker 8: with a two-score lead and keep pounding the run, and
• 11:24
  Speaker 8: eventually that dam breaks. You get some long ones, and
• 11:27
  Speaker 8: it was fun to watch those guys get some long ones.
• 11:29
  Speaker 8: The linemen are jacked up. Sidelines are jacked up. Backs
• 11:31
  Speaker 8: did a great job. I thought our guys in all
• 11:34
  Speaker 8: three phases played really well. Jamal Haynes and Kentrell Bullock,
• 11:38
  Speaker 8: two running backs. We haven't seen all that much of
• 11:41
  Speaker 8: were outstanding tonight. As you said, whether it's in Cincinnati
• 11:44
  Speaker 8: or somewhere, those guys showed that they can play in
• 11:46
  Speaker 8: the NFL. It was cool. Again, not getting a lot
• 11:48
  Speaker 8: of opportunities. They finally get one. They make the most
• 11:51
  Speaker 8: of it. Some big splash plays. Really fun to see.
• 11:55
  Speaker 2: Dante Myers on the opening drive. Three catches for more
• 11:58
  Speaker 2: than 50 yards. I think he winds up like 240
• 12:02
  Speaker 2: all-purpose yards in the preseason. Are you comfortable at this
• 12:05
  Speaker 2: point saying that he's going to be part of your
• 12:07
  Speaker 2: team tomorrow.
• 12:08
  Speaker 8: He's put himself in a great position, you know, and,
• 12:10
  Speaker 8: and just part of the way that he's been consistent
• 12:12
  Speaker 8: when his numbers called, he takes advantage of it. Um,
• 12:15
  Speaker 8: so I think he's had an excellent training camp.
• 12:17
  Speaker 2: How about the defensive line tonight? Second half for Isaiah Foskey.
• 12:22
  Speaker 2: I think Powell Ryland had a second half. Landon Robinson
• 12:25
  Speaker 2: winds up around the quarterback a lot. How about those guys?
• 12:27
  Speaker 8: I mean, those guys played so much, you know, we
• 12:29
  Speaker 8: only had six of them. Sometimes we played five of
• 12:32
  Speaker 8: them at a time and they gave us everything they
• 12:34
  Speaker 8: had in the heat. Um, Fourth quarter, guys kept coming
• 12:37
  Speaker 8: at them, and they just kept making plays and putting
• 12:39
  Speaker 8: pressure on the quarterbacks. So I was really proud of
• 12:41
  Speaker 8: especially those six guys that played for us up front today.
• 12:44
  Speaker 5: I thought they did a great job.
• 12:46
  Speaker 2: What does a 3-0 preseason record mean? That's the best
• 12:49
  Speaker 2: you can do.
• 12:50
  Speaker 8: I think that's some team unity and team chemistry that
• 12:54
  Speaker 8: no matter whose number was called, they stepped up and
• 12:56
  Speaker 8: made plays. They had the support of everybody on the sidelines.
• 12:59
  Speaker 8: I think it goes a long way. It says a
• 13:00
  Speaker 8: lot about our scouting department, the depth of the roster
• 13:02
  Speaker 8: they brought in here. I think it says a lot
• 13:04
  Speaker 8: about the coaching staff. how they've gotten the most out
• 13:06
  Speaker 8: of these guys. So I think organizationally it says a
• 13:09
  Speaker 8: lot about where we're at right now.
• 13:11
  Speaker 2: Probably had a couple of decisions where the 53-man roster
• 13:14
  Speaker 2: is concerned that you'll make between now and tomorrow, but
• 13:17
  Speaker 2: did the practice squad decisions get tougher based on how
• 13:21
  Speaker 2: some of the guys toward the latter portion of the
• 13:23
  Speaker 2: roster played?
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: I think so, yeah.
• 13:25
  Speaker 8: I think a lot of guys showed up well, and
• 13:27
  Speaker 8: if it doesn't work out here, I'll be happy to
• 13:29
  Speaker 8: cheer for them somewhere else because really we've got a
• 13:31
  Speaker 8: lot of depth that's going to make it really hard
• 13:33
  Speaker 8: over the next 48 hours to.
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: Sort out how we want that to look. Congrats on
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: three wins in the preseason. Awesome. Appreciate it.
• 13:40
  Speaker 2: One of the big storylines of training camp has been
• 13:43
  Speaker 2: the amount of time the Bengals have spent working on
• 13:45
  Speaker 2: their under center offense. It's had mixed results, especially early
• 13:50
  Speaker 2: in camp, but sticking with it appears to be paying
• 13:53
  Speaker 2: dividends as nearly all of the Bengals' 211 rushing yards
• 13:57
  Speaker 2: came with their quarterbacks under center instead of in the shotguns.
• 14:01
  Speaker 2: I discuss that and much more in a noisy locker
• 14:04
  Speaker 2: room with Tony Pike.
• 14:07
  Speaker 3: It's the hardest thing about camp practices because you go
• 14:10
  Speaker 3: in their center and you can't judge what a running
• 14:13
  Speaker 3: play will do.
• 14:14
  Speaker 5: Is it a 2-yard game?
• 14:15
  Speaker 3: Is it a 10-yard? You don't get to judge that
• 14:17
  Speaker 3: until you get into a game. And you saw the
• 14:19
  Speaker 3: fruits of that even tonight. When you get the running
• 14:22
  Speaker 3: game going, now the play action becomes a lot easier.
• 14:25
  Speaker 3: Now the pass rush slows just a little bit and
• 14:27
  Speaker 3: you're able to step into a clean pocket and and
• 14:29
  Speaker 3: make a throw. I say all the time the running
• 14:31
  Speaker 3: game can set up the passing game, but what they
• 14:33
  Speaker 3: can do under center in the running game, and especially
• 14:36
  Speaker 3: at a point in the game late where the defense
• 14:39
  Speaker 3: knew what was coming and you were still able to
• 14:41
  Speaker 3: do that, that's a demoralizing feeling for a defense and
• 14:44
  Speaker 3: a really gratifying experience for an offense.
• 14:47
  Speaker 2: Zach Taylor all but said it in my post-game conversation
• 14:50
  Speaker 2: with him. Dante Myers.
• 14:52
  Speaker 1: Has made the.
• 14:53
  Speaker 2: Team what a remarkable preseason he's had what a great
• 14:55
  Speaker 2: story he is.
• 14:56
  Speaker 3: The story itself is remarkable for him to come in
• 15:00
  Speaker 3: and not just sneak by and make this roster but
• 15:03
  Speaker 3: go to a guy that you think can be a
• 15:05
  Speaker 3: contributing factor in the passing game this year he gives
• 15:08
  Speaker 3: them something completely different than what they have on the
• 15:10
  Speaker 3: most part of these big possession catch radius receivers outside
• 15:16
  Speaker 3: of jamar chase he's a guy that can separate he
• 15:18
  Speaker 3: wins with route running And every time he's been given
• 15:21
  Speaker 3: an opportunity, he's made the most of it. He's sure-handed.
• 15:24
  Speaker 3: He gets north and south. Unbelievable story. And not just that,
• 15:30
  Speaker 3: but now almost a groundbreaking example. for other players that
• 15:35
  Speaker 3: may not get the NFL exposure right away to say, hey,
• 15:37
  Speaker 3: there is a path, and there is a way that
• 15:39
  Speaker 3: you can do it, and he's laid that groundwork.
• 15:41
  Speaker 2: I want to ask you about Javon Foster. Backup offensive tackle.
• 15:46
  Speaker 2: He got a lot of snaps, rather, at left tackle
• 15:49
  Speaker 2: in this game.
• 15:49
  Speaker 5: I thought he played really well.
• 15:51
  Speaker 2: Now, admittedly, he's not basically that great Eagles defensive line,
• 15:56
  Speaker 2: and that would have made a difference. But against the
• 15:58
  Speaker 2: guys that he has the opportunity to play against tonight,
• 16:01
  Speaker 2: I thought he made a positive statement. And maybe he
• 16:04
  Speaker 2: can be that swing tackle.
• 16:06
  Speaker 3: They've looked for it all camp. And at one point
• 16:09
  Speaker 3: you thought maybe Cody Ford. It wasn't Cody Ford. Like
• 16:12
  Speaker 3: I said, Zach Taylor challenged these guys. We need someone
• 16:15
  Speaker 3: to step up. We're waiting for someone to step up.
• 16:17
  Speaker 3: I thought he did it. I thought he was great
• 16:19
  Speaker 3: in pass protection. But more importantly, I thought he was
• 16:21
  Speaker 3: physical and attacking in the run game. I thought he
• 16:24
  Speaker 3: played with a chip on his shoulder. And that's the
• 16:27
  Speaker 3: hard thing to do. When you're at this level, you
• 16:29
  Speaker 3: get challenged. Who's going to bring out the worst or
• 16:32
  Speaker 3: the best in you? And I think for him tonight,
• 16:34
  Speaker 3: it brought out the best in him and what he
• 16:35
  Speaker 3: was able to put on film.
• 16:37
  Speaker 2: There are 32 starting quarterbacks in the NFL. I think
• 16:41
  Speaker 2: Cincinnati has two of the best 32 in Joe Burrow
• 16:45
  Speaker 2: and Joe Flacco. And if you expand that to backups,
• 16:48
  Speaker 2: so now you're talking about top 64 in the world,
• 16:50
  Speaker 2: I think they've got three. Because I think Josh Johnson
• 16:53
  Speaker 2: is an unbelievably good number three quarterback. And I know
• 16:57
  Speaker 2: you sought him out after the game just to compliment
• 16:59
  Speaker 2: him on his play.
• 17:00
  Speaker 3: I sought him out just to shake his hand and
• 17:02
  Speaker 3: say how much I appreciate watching him play. because he's
• 17:06
  Speaker 3: a guy who's the same age as I am. And
• 17:09
  Speaker 3: to see what he's doing at this level and to
• 17:11
  Speaker 3: see how he attacks every day, you know, he prepares
• 17:15
  Speaker 3: in a preseason game like.
• 17:16
  Speaker 5: It's a Super Bowl.
• 17:17
  Speaker 3: And you can tell that by watching how mentally locked
• 17:19
  Speaker 3: in he is, how prepared he is. He has an
• 17:21
  Speaker 3: answer for everything the defense does. He's doing it a
• 17:24
  Speaker 3: lot of times with second and third team guys, a
• 17:26
  Speaker 3: lot of younger guys that he's bringing along and kind
• 17:29
  Speaker 3: of carrying under his wing as well. I'm just I'm
• 17:32
  Speaker 3: so impressed at his professionalism and his approach to the
• 17:34
  Speaker 3: game at this point in his career. when it would
• 17:37
  Speaker 3: be very easy to put it in cruise control and say, hey,
• 17:39
  Speaker 3: you know who I am, you know what you're getting.
• 17:41
  Speaker 3: He's still trying to get better, and it was. It's
• 17:44
  Speaker 3: been a privilege to kind of watch him go through that.
• 17:47
  Speaker 2: After this preseason and tonight's game in particular, now I'm
• 17:50
  Speaker 2: wondering who might get plucked off the practice line because
• 17:54
  Speaker 2: he can make somebody else's 53.
• 17:56
  Speaker 3: And it's the hard part about it because it's been
• 17:59
  Speaker 3: so much fun watching all of these guys compete together.
• 18:02
  Speaker 3: There was a moment in the game where the defense
• 18:05
  Speaker 3: got to stop in the fourth quarter of preseason game
• 18:07
  Speaker 3: number three. Dexter Mullins was one of the first ones
• 18:09
  Speaker 3: on the field congratulating the guys, high-fiving the guys. There's
• 18:12
  Speaker 3: a togetherness, and it's almost bittersweet that it's got to
• 18:16
  Speaker 3: be trimmed down to 53, but it's the nature of
• 18:18
  Speaker 3: this league, and it's a credit to the organization who
• 18:23
  Speaker 3: put this group together for this training. I mean, think
• 18:25
  Speaker 3: about training camp. There was no starting job up for grabs,
• 18:28
  Speaker 3: and it was still fascinating to follow along because of
• 18:31
  Speaker 3: the depth. And that's one of the things. It's bittersweet
• 18:34
  Speaker 3: because you don't want to lose the guys, but it's
• 18:36
  Speaker 3: going to be fun seeing how many of these guys
• 18:38
  Speaker 3: get opportunities elsewhere because of what they've done over training camp.
• 18:41
  Speaker 2: After the 53-man roster is announced on Sunday, then the
• 18:44
  Speaker 2: practice squad gets.
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: Announced on Monday.
• 18:48
  Speaker 2: Sometimes they don't fill all 16 spots right away. They'll
• 18:51
  Speaker 2: be trying to get guys from other teams. This is
• 18:54
  Speaker 2: a year where I'm not sure that they'll do this.
• 18:56
  Speaker 2: I think they could easily fill those 16 spots. internally
• 19:01
  Speaker 2: because of how many players have had good camps and
• 19:03
  Speaker 2: good pre-seasons.
• 19:05
  Speaker 3: And again, the closeness of the team. It's a team
• 19:07
  Speaker 3: you want to gravitate towards. It's a team that you
• 19:08
  Speaker 3: probably feel like can do something special. You know the
• 19:11
  Speaker 3: system already. You can develop. You can learn. You can grow.
• 19:15
  Speaker 3: You can do it here. I think that's very, very
• 19:18
  Speaker 3: appealing to a lot of players. Sometimes you kind of
• 19:21
  Speaker 3: feel maybe the grass is greener elsewhere. You know what
• 19:24
  Speaker 3: it is here in Cincinnati and the work that everyone
• 19:26
  Speaker 3: put in.
• 19:27
  Speaker 5: I'm with you.
• 19:28
  Speaker 3: I think that they could formulate a very good practice
• 19:31
  Speaker 3: squad where you can make a very good living still
• 19:34
  Speaker 3: playing football and being a Cincinnati Diner.
• 19:36
  Speaker 2: That grass is green. It's thick. It doesn't have a
• 19:39
  Speaker 2: lot of weeds. It's been well mowed and well trimmed.
• 19:43
  Speaker 2: Things are looking good as we get ready for the
• 19:45
  Speaker 2: start of the regular season in two weeks against Camelback.
• 19:49
  Speaker 3: It's been so much fun for the preseason. But now
• 19:52
  Speaker 3: the real stuff starts. And players will get a little
• 19:56
  Speaker 3: time off to kind of recoup. And then it's the grind.
• 20:00
  Speaker 3: A 17-game slate. Hopefully this team is playing well into February.
• 20:06
  Speaker 3: But this portion is done The real work starts. Tampa
• 20:10
  Speaker 3: Bay's coming to town. Vita Vea, Baker Mayfield, a team
• 20:14
  Speaker 3: in the NFC who people think can make some noise,
• 20:17
  Speaker 3: potentially get to that NFC championship game. So these next
• 20:21
  Speaker 3: couple weeks are imperative. But they've checked from when the
• 20:25
  Speaker 3: season ended last year, every offseason hurdle they've checked, free agency,
• 20:29
  Speaker 3: the draft, the trades.
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: They've made the layups.
• 20:33
  Speaker 3: They've hit the home runs. The draft was awesome. Those guys,
• 20:37
  Speaker 3: you can make the argument all draft picks are going
• 20:39
  Speaker 3: to make this roster or could make this roster, and
• 20:41
  Speaker 3: now they've crossed every preseason box that you could want
• 20:44
  Speaker 3: to see. I'm excited for the regular season.
• 20:48
  Speaker 2: So we've reached cut-down time. The Bengals have to trim
• 20:51
  Speaker 2: the roster to 53 players by Sunday at 6 p.m.
• 20:54
  Speaker 2: Teams can also place two players on injured reserve on
• 20:58
  Speaker 2: Sunday that do not take up spots on the 53
• 21:01
  Speaker 2: until they are activated. For the guys that get cut,
• 21:04
  Speaker 2: teams can claim waived players until Monday afternoon at 1.
• 21:08
  Speaker 2: The Bengals are 10th in waiver priority based on last
• 21:12
  Speaker 2: year's record. The Bengals have until 6 o'clock on Monday
• 21:16
  Speaker 2: night to put up to 16 players on their practice squad.
• 21:20
  Speaker 2: The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you by Paycor,
• 21:23
  Speaker 2: proud to be the Bengals' official HR software provider. By AltaFiber,
• 21:27
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• 21:31
  Speaker 2: community to a new level. and by Kettering Health, the
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• 21:37
  Speaker 2: official health care provider.
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: Of the Bengals.
• 21:40
  Speaker 5: C.J.
• 21:40
  Speaker 2: Uzama was back in Cincinnati this week for the first
• 21:43
  Speaker 2: time since he left the team following the 2021 Super
• 21:47
  Speaker 2: Bowl season. I'm happy to say that he's going to
• 21:50
  Speaker 2: be returning to Cincinnati on a regular basis to do
• 21:53
  Speaker 2: some work with us on Bengals TV and radio shows.
• 21:57
  Speaker 5: C.J.
• 21:58
  Speaker 2: Is my Fun Facts guest this week as we took
• 22:00
  Speaker 2: an enjoyable trip down memory lane. Time for some fun
• 22:05
  Speaker 2: facts with a guy who spent the first seven of
• 22:07
  Speaker 2: his 10 NFL seasons here in Cincinnati, a fan favorite,
• 22:11
  Speaker 2: number 87, CJ Uzama.
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: CJ, great to see you again.
• 22:16
  Speaker 2: When you were coming into Cincinnati from the airport and
• 22:19
  Speaker 2: you got that first glimpse of the downtown skyline, what
• 22:23
  Speaker 2: went through your head?
• 22:25
  Speaker 5: Man, this is cool.
• 22:26
  Speaker 6: No, I think first initial thoughts was oh the airport's
• 22:31
  Speaker 6: not in Cincinnati and then it was oh I get
• 22:34
  Speaker 6: to drive in and see the skyline this is going
• 22:36
  Speaker 6: to be cool and then yeah I mean seeing that
• 22:39
  Speaker 6: skyline I mean growing up in Georgia you drive into
• 22:41
  Speaker 6: Atlanta and you don't really know where the skyline is
• 22:43
  Speaker 6: from from where I'm coming from I'm like I don't
• 22:45
  Speaker 6: know where where Atlanta begins or ends and so being
• 22:48
  Speaker 6: able to see that skyline man it it was it
• 22:51
  Speaker 6: was pretty awesome So it's.
• 22:53
  Speaker 2: Been five years since you played a big role in
• 22:56
  Speaker 2: one of the most special seasons in Bengals history, the
• 22:59
  Speaker 2: trip to Super Bowl 56. I'm sure a lot of
• 23:01
  Speaker 2: people listening to this remember that kind of the unofficial
• 23:05
  Speaker 2: slogan that year was, why not us? But they might
• 23:08
  Speaker 2: not remember the fact that you started it.
• 23:11
  Speaker 5: We've got the pieces.
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: We've gone out.
• 23:13
  Speaker 5: We've got coaches that are telling us what to do.
• 23:15
  Speaker 6: We've got guys that have been in the system for
• 23:17
  Speaker 6: long enough now to know exactly how to do things.
• 23:19
  Speaker 5: Why not us?
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: Why not us?
• 23:21
  Speaker 2: At the beginning of training camp, August 2nd of that year,
• 23:24
  Speaker 2: you said, why not us? Did you just throw it
• 23:28
  Speaker 2: out there or did you actually have a feeling that
• 23:30
  Speaker 2: that might be a special team?
• 23:32
  Speaker 6: So I'll say yes. I had done a podcast. I'm
• 23:38
  Speaker 6: a huge Chelsea soccer team supporter and I had done
• 23:42
  Speaker 6: a podcast with them and they kind of were like, yeah,
• 23:44
  Speaker 6: you know, why not us? Why can't we be great
• 23:46
  Speaker 6: and all these things? And earlier in that day, I
• 23:49
  Speaker 6: don't know if you remember or not, but Zach had
• 23:51
  Speaker 6: gone up and spoken because it was, it was kind
• 23:53
  Speaker 6: of an open practice and people were out there and
• 23:56
  Speaker 6: he said, okay, CJ, you're going to talk. And I
• 23:58
  Speaker 6: was like, I don't know what I'm supposed to say.
• 23:59
  Speaker 6: So I said, thanks for coming out and all these things.
• 24:01
  Speaker 6: And I said, you know, uh, pressure makes diamonds, diamonds
• 24:05
  Speaker 6: are on rings. Let's go get us one. And he
• 24:07
  Speaker 6: looked at me and was like, dude, you're supposed to
• 24:09
  Speaker 6: just cheer him up for today. Like not set these expectations.
• 24:12
  Speaker 6: And yeah, then later after practice, I, I, And I
• 24:15
  Speaker 6: was thinking, I was like, why not us? I mean,
• 24:17
  Speaker 6: we have the pieces. We have the team.
• 24:19
  Speaker 5: We're young. We're talented.
• 24:20
  Speaker 6: And, yeah, so it was a combination of a couple
• 24:22
  Speaker 6: things where I was like, okay, well, I put us
• 24:24
  Speaker 6: in this situation.
• 24:25
  Speaker 5: Why not go out there and do it?
• 24:27
  Speaker 8: You know, I'm tired of saying next year, next year,
• 24:28
  Speaker 8: next year.
• 24:29
  Speaker 5: This is it.
• 24:30
  Speaker 2: So last week, Joe Burrow said some things that were
• 24:33
  Speaker 2: somewhat similar, at least in a similar vein. He said,
• 24:37
  Speaker 2: I'm tired of saying next year, next year, next year.
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: This is it.
• 24:40
  Speaker 2: Life is too short to be pushing things down the road.
• 24:44
  Speaker 2: I imagine you heard it or saw it when he
• 24:46
  Speaker 2: said that. What was your reaction?
• 24:48
  Speaker 6: I don't know if you remember or not either, but
• 24:50
  Speaker 6: during that same year, the Titans game, it became, it
• 24:54
  Speaker 6: is us as opposed to why not us? Because from
• 24:57
  Speaker 6: his perspective, he was tired of having an underdog mentality.
• 25:01
  Speaker 6: And so I think that was the first thing I
• 25:03
  Speaker 6: thought when he said that was, okay, yeah, he's tired of,
• 25:07
  Speaker 6: which is good. It's not a, all right, we got close.
• 25:12
  Speaker 5: We got close. five years ago.
• 25:14
  Speaker 6: Now it's time to stop saying we're close. It's time
• 25:19
  Speaker 6: to stop winning a playoff game or two and win
• 25:22
  Speaker 6: the whole thing. He's absolutely right in saying that. That
• 25:28
  Speaker 6: got me very excited for things to come this year.
• 25:31
  Speaker 2: We're visiting with CJ Uzama. People ask me all the time,
• 25:35
  Speaker 2: what's Joe Burrow like? I never feel like I have
• 25:38
  Speaker 2: a great answer to that question. Then I heard you
• 25:42
  Speaker 2: on Bengal Jim's podcast earlier this year, and I thought
• 25:45
  Speaker 2: you nailed it perfectly. You said something to the effect
• 25:49
  Speaker 2: of he's incredibly smart and quirky. Is quirky endearing to you?
• 25:55
  Speaker 2: Is that an endearing quality for Joe?
• 25:57
  Speaker 5: The quirk is what makes him approachable.
• 26:00
  Speaker 6: And I think, you know, to a degree, when I'm
• 26:05
  Speaker 6: listening to him talk, and I think the more I
• 26:09
  Speaker 6: hear him talk to the media and the more I
• 26:11
  Speaker 6: think I feel like the media hears him talk, his pause,
• 26:14
  Speaker 6: the pause that he has when he says, well, and
• 26:17
  Speaker 6: then he makes this kind of face, he's thinking about
• 26:19
  Speaker 6: everything that he could say and saying it in a
• 26:23
  Speaker 6: way that can't really be misconstrued in any way. And
• 26:28
  Speaker 6: that's how smart he is of, okay, I'm thinking of
• 26:30
  Speaker 6: five different things. I can word things and whatever. But
• 26:32
  Speaker 6: then in that same interview, he'll say something about Pokemon
• 26:35
  Speaker 6: cards and Or how he loves SpongeBob or things like
• 26:38
  Speaker 6: that where it's like, OK, no, we can. He's he's
• 26:41
  Speaker 6: he's one of the guys. He's quirky with with what
• 26:45
  Speaker 6: he says and how he does things. But, yeah, it
• 26:48
  Speaker 6: makes it fun.
• 26:48
  Speaker 5: It makes it.
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: Oh, that's my quarterback.
• 26:50
  Speaker 5: All right, cool.
• 26:50
  Speaker 6: Like, yeah, he's he's just as weird as I am.
• 26:53
  Speaker 6: I'm I'm weird in some things. He's weird in other things. So, yeah,
• 26:56
  Speaker 6: it it makes it it makes it fun to be
• 26:59
  Speaker 6: around him.
• 27:00
  Speaker 2: Cincinnati trailing 14-3. Shotgun snap. Burrow with time. Floats it downfield.
• 27:05
  Speaker 2: Caught at the two by Uzama. And he runs it
• 27:08
  Speaker 2: into the end zone for Joe Burrow's first NFL touchdown pass.
• 27:13
  Speaker 2: You are the answer to a trivia question. You caught
• 27:15
  Speaker 2: his first NFL touchdown pass. Week two of his rookie year,
• 27:19
  Speaker 2: Thursday night football in Cleveland. But just as importantly, you
• 27:22
  Speaker 2: caught his first playoff touchdown pass against the Raiders. in
• 27:27
  Speaker 2: what is my all-time favorite Bengals game. I've been broadcasting
• 27:30
  Speaker 2: the games for 15 years. It ended the playoff drought.
• 27:34
  Speaker 2: It was home, so the fans were out of their minds.
• 27:37
  Speaker 2: Where does that one rank for you?
• 27:38
  Speaker 6: Yeah, no, that's definitely up there. In the moment, you're happy.
• 27:45
  Speaker 6: I mean, you're like, oh, my goodness, finally, right? I've
• 27:49
  Speaker 6: been here for seven years. This is the first one,
• 27:51
  Speaker 6: and then you think about the fans and everything that
• 27:54
  Speaker 6: they've endured since– 1990 and you're like wow this is
• 27:57
  Speaker 6: their first one from before I was born and but
• 27:59
  Speaker 6: then you get back into the locker room it's just
• 28:01
  Speaker 6: the guys and you're just like all right next one
• 28:03
  Speaker 6: let's go and so you don't really get to think
• 28:05
  Speaker 6: about it and the magnitude of it until the end
• 28:07
  Speaker 6: of the year or until now like walking back on
• 28:10
  Speaker 6: the stadium after five like into the stadium after five
• 28:12
  Speaker 6: years and yeah it's special it's truly one of the
• 28:18
  Speaker 6: more magical moments definitely in my playing career but in
• 28:23
  Speaker 6: life too, of just being able to celebrate with, with,
• 28:26
  Speaker 6: with your brothers.
• 28:28
  Speaker 2: You were cooking in the post season, six targets, six
• 28:31
  Speaker 2: catches and a touchdown against the Raiders, seven catches the
• 28:34
  Speaker 2: next week in the victory at Tennessee. And then you
• 28:37
  Speaker 2: got hurt, seriously hurt in the first quarter of the
• 28:39
  Speaker 2: AFC championship game against Kansas city. Did you think your
• 28:42
  Speaker 2: season was done?
• 28:44
  Speaker 6: No, I knew that I was going to do whatever
• 28:47
  Speaker 6: it took to play in the Superbowl. I, You know,
• 28:52
  Speaker 6: in that moment, I was like, okay, I can move
• 28:55
  Speaker 6: it a little bit so it's not completely gone. And,
• 29:02
  Speaker 6: you know, you get the early assessments, and the trainer's like, okay, well,
• 29:04
  Speaker 6: it's not your ACL. And when I heard that, I
• 29:06
  Speaker 6: was like, all right, well, then I can do whatever. Like,
• 29:08
  Speaker 6: I can figure out anything else. And I thought back
• 29:11
  Speaker 6: to a moment where my dad and I, when we
• 29:14
  Speaker 6: were six, I think, or maybe like six through eight,
• 29:17
  Speaker 6: and we were always playing Madden. And he made a
• 29:21
  Speaker 6: Lombardi with a pool floatie. He cut it for me,
• 29:26
  Speaker 6: spray-painted it, taped it together. And I just thought back
• 29:30
  Speaker 6: to that, and I was like, no, that's that's why
• 29:32
  Speaker 6: i'm playing the game for that for that moment of
• 29:34
  Speaker 6: beating my dad back when you're playing madden and all
• 29:37
  Speaker 6: of the things so in in my head there was
• 29:39
  Speaker 6: no there was in the shadow of doubt that i
• 29:41
  Speaker 6: wasn't going to play.
• 29:42
  Speaker 2: So before the team traveled to the super bowl in
• 29:45
  Speaker 2: la there was a big pep rally here at paycore
• 29:47
  Speaker 2: stadium 30 000 fans came out to see you guys
• 29:50
  Speaker 2: off you're on crutches you had the big knee brace
• 29:53
  Speaker 2: on and you gave us this pro wrestling moment Up
• 29:57
  Speaker 2: on the stage where you ripped off the knee brace,
• 29:59
  Speaker 2: you tossed it off the stage, and everybody went nuts.
• 30:03
  Speaker 2: Was that your idea? Who came up with that great
• 30:06
  Speaker 2: viral moment?
• 30:07
  Speaker 6: So I will give credit to, they were my best
• 30:11
  Speaker 6: men in my wedding, Shannon and Mac, and I was
• 30:15
  Speaker 6: talking to them about how we have this pep rally,
• 30:16
  Speaker 6: and I'm going to have to give a speech. And
• 30:18
  Speaker 6: at the time, I was before Joe.
• 30:21
  Speaker 1: So.
• 30:22
  Speaker 6: I was like, oh, this is great. I'm going to
• 30:23
  Speaker 6: say a bunch of things and then I'm going to
• 30:24
  Speaker 6: rip my brace. They're like, then rip your brace off
• 30:27
  Speaker 6: at the end. Everyone will go crazy. And I'm like, oh, perfect.
• 30:32
  Speaker 6: And then we're in this tunnel and they say, hey,
• 30:35
  Speaker 6: Joe doesn't want to go last. He's going to be
• 30:38
  Speaker 6: before you and you're going to go after Joe.
• 30:40
  Speaker 5: And I was like, all right. Well, I'm on my phone.
• 30:43
  Speaker 5: I'm like, guys, I'm last now. What do I do?
• 30:46
  Speaker 5: I'm freaking out.
• 30:48
  Speaker 6: So I just decided to do it beforehand and the
• 30:51
  Speaker 6: MVP chance for going on.
• 30:52
  Speaker 5: And yeah, it was, that was a fun moment for sure.
• 30:55
  Speaker 6: We've been giving out game balls around the city, but
• 30:58
  Speaker 6: next week we're bringing the game ball and it's going
• 31:01
  Speaker 6: to be a part of the entire week, baby.
• 31:02
  Speaker 2: Let's go.
• 31:03
  Speaker 1: It is us.
• 31:04
  Speaker 4: Who did?
• 31:05
  Speaker 2: Burrow ready for the shotgun snap on fourth and a
• 31:08
  Speaker 2: yard long count. Joe has the ball drops back to throw.
• 31:11
  Speaker 2: He gets hit.
• 31:13
  Speaker 1: He gets rid of the ball.
• 31:14
  Speaker 2: It's incomplete intended for P Ryan and the Los Angeles
• 31:18
  Speaker 2: Rams are going to win the super bowl. Let's go
• 31:21
  Speaker 2: to the final offensive play of the Super Bowl. Every
• 31:24
  Speaker 2: Bengals fan in the world has seen the footage of
• 31:26
  Speaker 2: Jalen Ramsey slipping and Jamar Chase is running down the
• 31:29
  Speaker 2: field wide open. Unfortunately, Aaron Donald gets to Joe before
• 31:33
  Speaker 2: he could possibly throw it deep. But if you go
• 31:35
  Speaker 2: back and watch the play, it's fourth and one at
• 31:38
  Speaker 2: the Rams 49, 43 seconds to go. A field goal
• 31:42
  Speaker 2: would potentially force overtime.
• 31:45
  Speaker 1: He looks left.
• 31:46
  Speaker 2: You're wide open to the left for the first down.
• 31:49
  Speaker 2: Were you actually the first option on that play?
• 31:52
  Speaker 6: If I remember correctly, if he has Jamar, it's Jamar.
• 31:57
  Speaker 6: And so it's more of a look. But I know
• 32:00
  Speaker 6: that I have Jamar over here, so I'm more looking
• 32:02
  Speaker 6: the safety off to throw it to Jamar. And I
• 32:07
  Speaker 6: don't have a photographic memory, so I'm not entirely sure.
• 32:10
  Speaker 6: I do recall the first peak, though. because there was
• 32:16
  Speaker 6: slants on the outside, him probably in his mind thinking, okay,
• 32:20
  Speaker 6: that corner could fall off quick and stop this.
• 32:24
  Speaker 5: So I might as well know that I have Jamar
• 32:27
  Speaker 5: on this one-on-one.
• 32:30
  Speaker 2: After that season, you signed with the Jets. I feel
• 32:34
  Speaker 2: like when players leave as free agents, more often than not,
• 32:37
  Speaker 2: fans are like, he's dead to me now. In your case,
• 32:40
  Speaker 2: I never got that impression. I thought that Bengals.
• 32:43
  Speaker 1: Fans' reaction... by and large was it's a great deal.
• 32:47
  Speaker 1: I get it. Is that how you felt or was
• 32:50
  Speaker 1: it different?
• 32:51
  Speaker 5: The majority? Yes.
• 32:53
  Speaker 6: But then obviously you hear whispers and like, you see
• 32:55
  Speaker 6: things and you're like, okay, like there's like, don't twist
• 32:58
  Speaker 6: my words of what I'm saying and things like that.
• 33:01
  Speaker 6: And so, yeah, I mean, I think the reception when
• 33:05
  Speaker 6: I see people is definitely, definitely like lifted the spirits of, okay, no,
• 33:11
  Speaker 6: this is, this is how, you know, people feel. Um,
• 33:15
  Speaker 6: I think, you know, me leaving and saying, oh, yeah,
• 33:17
  Speaker 6: I mean, obviously I want to stay, but, you know,
• 33:20
  Speaker 6: everything's a money situation, and bringing up money and things
• 33:22
  Speaker 6: like that, I think, you know, that ruffled feathers, but
• 33:25
  Speaker 6: in my opinion, it's, I mean, that's the.
• 33:28
  Speaker 5: Nature of the business, right?
• 33:29
  Speaker 6: Like, I would have loved to have stayed here, but
• 33:32
  Speaker 6: I'm also looking at my wife and my daughter, and
• 33:34
  Speaker 6: I'm like, yeah, I mean, it ended up working out
• 33:37
  Speaker 6: best for all parties, and I get to come back
• 33:39
  Speaker 6: here and, you know, officially be done as a Bengal, and...
• 33:44
  Speaker 6: I think that's the greatest thing for me in the world,
• 33:47
  Speaker 6: and that's the one thing that I wanted to do
• 33:49
  Speaker 6: at the start of my career. So, yeah, I by
• 33:53
  Speaker 6: and large feel like the reception to me leaving was, okay, well,
• 33:58
  Speaker 6: I wish him the best.
• 33:59
  Speaker 5: We loved him, and I appreciated that greatly.
• 34:02
  Speaker 2: Let's talk about your wife and daughter. Your wife back
• 34:05
  Speaker 2: then was a prominent social media Bengals fan known as
• 34:09
  Speaker 2: Commissioner Yaz.
• 34:11
  Speaker 1: How did you guys connect?
• 34:13
  Speaker 6: We actually connected through the equipment guys here. So that's
• 34:18
  Speaker 6: another reason why Cincinnati is going to hold such a
• 34:21
  Speaker 6: near and dear place in my heart forever.
• 34:24
  Speaker 5: Because the equipment guys were like, hey, do you know
• 34:27
  Speaker 5: this girl, Commissioner Yaz? She's huge on social media and
• 34:30
  Speaker 5: she loves the Bengals.
• 34:31
  Speaker 6: And I was like, I have no idea who she is.
• 34:33
  Speaker 6: And I looked her up and I was like, wow,
• 34:35
  Speaker 6: she is great. And, you know, years passed because... we
• 34:40
  Speaker 6: were both, she's in California doing her own thing. I
• 34:43
  Speaker 6: was here doing my own thing and in different phases
• 34:46
  Speaker 6: of our life with different people and all this other things.
• 34:48
  Speaker 6: And eventually it tied us together and we met for
• 34:52
  Speaker 6: the first time in Cincinnati. Um, and yeah, I, that's
• 34:58
  Speaker 6: how we met was through trunk, Sam and Adam and,
• 35:01
  Speaker 6: and brick brick at the time was still there. And
• 35:03
  Speaker 6: he was, he, he talked, they, and they talked about,
• 35:07
  Speaker 6: about her. And I was like, Oh my gosh, yes.
• 35:09
  Speaker 1: Perfect.
• 35:10
  Speaker 6: Wife.
• 35:11
  Speaker 2: Your daughter is very excited to see you being interviewed
• 35:14
  Speaker 2: on the other side of the glass.
• 35:15
  Speaker 5: Yes, she is.
• 35:17
  Speaker 6: Anytime football is on the TV, anytime she sees something
• 35:22
  Speaker 6: that resembles a Bengal, it's.
• 35:25
  Speaker 5: Dada, Dada, Dada, you play football? I'm like, yeah, yeah,
• 35:29
  Speaker 5: I used to play football. So she's great.
• 35:33
  Speaker 2: What are you doing now? to scratch your competitive itch?
• 35:37
  Speaker 2: I mean, when you play big-time college football and then
• 35:40
  Speaker 2: 10 years in the NFL, that's hard to replace.
• 35:42
  Speaker 6: A multitude of things, truthfully. You know, I think I
• 35:49
  Speaker 6: sometimes have to stop playing games with friends because I
• 35:51
  Speaker 6: get a little too competitive and too upset with my
• 35:54
  Speaker 6: teammates playing said games. But no, I try to golf
• 36:00
  Speaker 6: as much as I can and get better at that,
• 36:02
  Speaker 6: which is a never-ending process.
• 36:04
  Speaker 5: I've tried curling. Curling? Curling.
• 36:08
  Speaker 6: There's a spot that's seven minutes from my house. It's
• 36:10
  Speaker 6: called T-Line. I've been out there a multitude of times,
• 36:14
  Speaker 6: and I'm convinced that if I go out another couple
• 36:18
  Speaker 6: of years, I could be an Olympian. That's the trait
• 36:23
  Speaker 6: that I have of, oh, I can figure this out.
• 36:26
  Speaker 5: But, yeah, there's a lot of things, a lot of,
• 36:28
  Speaker 5: all right, let's go run. Let's see how fast I
• 36:31
  Speaker 5: can run now or whatever. So it's a lot. And
• 36:34
  Speaker 5: I think, yeah, sometimes it's like.
• 36:35
  Speaker 6: You have to get out of the house and do
• 36:36
  Speaker 6: something because I can't deal with this right now.
• 36:40
  Speaker 5: We'll play cards, and she's like, oh, you won.
• 36:42
  Speaker 1: Cool.
• 36:42
  Speaker 5: All right, moving on. And I'm like, no, you don't understand.
• 36:45
  Speaker 5: I needed that.
• 36:47
  Speaker 2: One of my good buddies calls curling for NBC in
• 36:51
  Speaker 2: the Olympics. I have never wanted you to make the
• 36:53
  Speaker 2: team more.
• 36:54
  Speaker 1: I will give him so much information.
• 36:55
  Speaker 5: All right, see, there it is.
• 36:57
  Speaker 6: Now I'm on a mission to practice daily to– That's
• 37:03
  Speaker 6: going to be my next goal.
• 37:05
  Speaker 1: All right, final thing for C.J.
• 37:07
  Speaker 5: Uzama.
• 37:08
  Speaker 2: I mentioned that touchdown catch against the Raiders in the
• 37:10
  Speaker 2: playoff game earlier. After you scored, your celebration was half
• 37:15
  Speaker 2: icky shuffle, half gritty, which was awesome. Well, you're shaking
• 37:22
  Speaker 2: your head. You don't seem quite as thrilled about this
• 37:24
  Speaker 2: as I thought you would be.
• 37:25
  Speaker 6: Well, look, I think it was half icky shuffle.
• 37:30
  Speaker 5: I would say like a third....
• 37:32
  Speaker 6: A quarter gritty and then a quarter trying to do
• 37:36
  Speaker 6: the gritty. I think it was, I get a lot
• 37:40
  Speaker 6: of heat from my friends and more, honestly, more from
• 37:47
  Speaker 6: Commissioner Yaz than anybody. Hey, remember that time you tried
• 37:52
  Speaker 6: the gritty? So, truthfully, I will gritty so many times, like,
• 37:56
  Speaker 6: randomly throughout the house. Blake, our daughter, loves it and
• 38:00
  Speaker 6: all these things just to be like, hey, look, I
• 38:01
  Speaker 6: can do it. I can actually do it now. We'll
• 38:04
  Speaker 6: be in Target, and I'm over here gritting.
• 38:06
  Speaker 5: Like, guys, look at this. Look at this.
• 38:08
  Speaker 6: But if you think, like, it's tough to go in
• 38:11
  Speaker 6: from the icky to the gritty, so.
• 38:13
  Speaker 5: I should have practiced.
• 38:15
  Speaker 2: I thought you nailed it. See, I thought it was
• 38:17
  Speaker 2: a 50-50 split. So in my mind, you did a
• 38:19
  Speaker 2: great job.
• 38:19
  Speaker 5: Okay, well, then I appreciate that.
• 38:20
  Speaker 6: I'll take that, and that is going to be ammunition
• 38:25
  Speaker 6: for Yaz saying, well, remember that time?
• 38:27
  Speaker 5: Dan said it was phenomenal.
• 38:30
  Speaker 2: It's so good to see you again, to have you
• 38:32
  Speaker 2: back here in Cincinnati. Look forward to doing some work
• 38:35
  Speaker 2: with you down the road. And congratulations. Ten years in
• 38:38
  Speaker 2: the NFL is a big deal. You got a Super
• 38:40
  Speaker 2: Bowl ring with the Philadelphia Eagles. Wish it had come
• 38:42
  Speaker 2: with Cincinnati, but you helped us get there, and we
• 38:45
  Speaker 2: appreciate that.
• 38:46
  Speaker 5: Yeah, no, I wish it was here, too, and I
• 38:48
  Speaker 5: appreciate you.
• 38:50
  Speaker 2: That's going to do it for this episode of the
• 38:52
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• 39:18
  Speaker 2: That helps more Bengals fans find us. I'm Dan Hoard,
• 39:22
  Speaker 2: and thanks for listening to the Bengals Booth Podcast.