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Bengals Booth Podcast: Start Again · Bengals Booth Podcast

0:03
Speaker 1: Hi, get everybody. I'm Dan Hoard and thanks for downloading
0:06
Speaker 1: the Bengals Booth Podcast. The I Just want to Rule
0:09
Speaker 1: Moss leaves up and start again. Addition, as I discussed
0:15
Speaker 1: the Bengals off season priorities with one of Cincinnati's best sportscasters,
0:19
Speaker 1: Fox nineteen sports director Joe Danoman. Plus we'll celebrate the
0:24
Speaker 1: two year anniversary of the Fumble in the Jungle with
0:28
Speaker 1: Sam Hubbard. The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you
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0:41
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0:44
Speaker 1: Kettering Health is the official healthcare provider of the Bengals.
0:48
Speaker 1: Now here's a quick reminder that you can have the
0:50
Speaker 1: latest edition of this podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet,
0:54
Speaker 1: or computer by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's
0:58
Speaker 1: the greatest thing since Manning and Belichick on Burrow. There's
1:03
Speaker 1: so much great NFL content out there these days that
1:06
Speaker 1: it's hard to catch everything. And one show that I
1:09
Speaker 1: meant to watch this year but never really did. Was
1:12
Speaker 1: called The Breakdown with Peyton and Belichick, featuring Peyton, Manning,
1:16
Speaker 1: and Bill Belichick analyzing film of upcoming games. Now that
1:20
Speaker 1: Bill is coaching again at the University of North Carolina,
1:23
Speaker 1: I imagine that the show will not continue. And if
1:26
Speaker 1: that's the case, one of the final episodes featured the
1:29
Speaker 1: two legends looking ahead to the Bengals Cowboys game on
1:33
Speaker 1: December ninth. It begins with Peyton looking at burrows brilliance
1:38
Speaker 1: and ends with Belichick analyzing some of the Bengals problems
1:42
Speaker 1: on defense. If you have ESPN Plus and want to
1:45
Speaker 1: check it out, just look for the Breakdown with Peyton
1:47
Speaker 1: and Belichick. Now let's get to my first guest. Years ago,
1:52
Speaker 1: when I was a TV sports anchor at Fox nineteen
1:54
Speaker 1: and Cincinnati, we hired a young man out of my
1:57
Speaker 1: alma mater, Syracuse University, named Joe Dana. Joe has been
2:01
Speaker 1: the primary sports anchor there for about twenty years, and
2:04
Speaker 1: since he grew up in northern Kentucky, he's been following
2:07
Speaker 1: the Bengals for his entire life. He joined me this
2:10
Speaker 1: week to discuss coaching changes, free agency, and the upcoming draft. Joe,
2:18
Speaker 1: I want to start by publicly congratulating you on being
2:21
Speaker 1: named Ohio Sportscaster of the Year. We worked together at
2:24
Speaker 1: Fox nineteen many years ago, and when I was a
2:28
Speaker 1: local TV sports caster, it was so much easier than
2:30
Speaker 1: it is now. You wrote, you talked, maybe you do
2:34
Speaker 1: a little bit of editing. Nowadays you do everything. I
2:37
Speaker 1: don't know how you do it, But as I've told
2:41
Speaker 1: you privately and as I've said publicly, I can't imagine
2:44
Speaker 1: there's anybody in the country doing a better job as
2:47
Speaker 1: a local TV sports anchor and reporter. So I hope
2:50
Speaker 1: this award let you know how your peers feel about
2:55
Speaker 1: you and your work ethic and the great stuff that
2:57
Speaker 1: you're doing.
2:58
Speaker 2: Well. Thank you, and this one was completely unexpected. I
3:03
Speaker 2: knew I was a finalist. I thought the award was
3:05
Speaker 2: named after you at this point. As I told you
3:09
Speaker 2: on text, and as I tweeted as well publicly, I
3:13
Speaker 2: hope that the so many people that have been involved
3:16
Speaker 2: in my career getting it started mentoring me take a
3:21
Speaker 2: small bit of this award as well, because I think
3:24
Speaker 2: we're all a product of who we grew up working with,
3:27
Speaker 2: looking up to, and as I get into this part
3:31
Speaker 2: of my career. I take great pleasure in seeing some
3:33
Speaker 2: of my former interns and former co workers do great
3:37
Speaker 2: things themselves. In fact, one of my great thrills was
3:40
Speaker 2: last summer I was a finalist for an Emmy Award
3:43
Speaker 2: and one of the other finalists was a former intern
3:45
Speaker 2: of mine. So to share that moment with him, knowing
3:49
Speaker 2: that he's had success and I was a small bit
3:52
Speaker 2: a part of it, I was very rewarding. And I
3:55
Speaker 2: think that's what this award to me is. I hope
3:57
Speaker 2: everybody that has influenced me a lot the way knows
4:00
Speaker 2: that they're a big part of this award as well.
4:04
Speaker 2: Plus Dan. At the actual event, Iron Eagle is being awarded,
4:09
Speaker 2: the national sportscaster Mike Turrico is going into the Hall
4:12
Speaker 2: of Fame. So I just can't wait to be around
4:15
Speaker 2: guys like that at this event and get my picture
4:19
Speaker 2: taken with them and shake their hand and tell them
4:21
Speaker 2: how much of a fan I am of them.
4:23
Speaker 1: That is the best part about being named the State
4:27
Speaker 1: Sportscaster of the Year, whatever state you're from, If you're
4:30
Speaker 1: able to attend the event, which is in North Carolina
4:32
Speaker 1: every summer, you meet all of these people that you
4:35
Speaker 1: have tremendous admiration and respect for you. Develop relationships with them,
4:40
Speaker 1: hanging out, having a beverage. It's really fun. So I'm
4:44
Speaker 1: glad that you're going to be able to go, and
4:46
Speaker 1: I'm sure you'll have a great experience.
4:48
Speaker 2: What's great is every time I see Mike Turrico, whenever
4:50
Speaker 2: he's in town to call a Bengals game, I name
4:54
Speaker 2: drop you every single time. Only two things I have
4:57
Speaker 2: to do with Mike Rico are say the word Syracuse
5:00
Speaker 2: and Dan Horde, and he literally stops and talks to me.
5:03
Speaker 2: You can tell he's on the move to go somewhere.
5:06
Speaker 2: He's got somewhere important to be, but he always has
5:08
Speaker 2: a story about you and always has a nice word
5:11
Speaker 2: to say about Syracuse. I know he's still very involved
5:14
Speaker 2: in Syracuse in decision making and very much involved with
5:20
Speaker 2: the administration and the athletics. So to make Syracuse proud
5:24
Speaker 2: of this too, not just my mentors and all the
5:27
Speaker 2: people I've worked with, but to go to a place
5:29
Speaker 2: like that that has such a great reputation and now
5:31
Speaker 2: to be a small brick in that massive colossus that
5:36
Speaker 2: is the Syracuse broadcasting family, I'm proud of that as well.
5:40
Speaker 1: All right, let's talk about the Cincinnati Bengals and a
5:44
Speaker 1: very important offseason that is underway. Let's start with how
5:48
Speaker 1: last year finished. Was the five game winning streak to
5:51
Speaker 1: end the year momentum in any way, or just kind
5:55
Speaker 1: of a reminder of what could have been?
5:57
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think it's more the latter, And I've talked
5:59
Speaker 2: to Zach Taylor about this. I talked about in season,
6:02
Speaker 2: week to week momentum or season to season momentum. And
6:06
Speaker 2: it's funny because you'll hear him say that sometimes, but
6:09
Speaker 2: I can tell you in private conversations he doesn't believe
6:12
Speaker 2: in that. He believes in momentum and games, but he
6:15
Speaker 2: does not believe in week to week, season to season momentum.
6:18
Speaker 2: But I do think it's a reminder of what this
6:19
Speaker 2: team can be when they get functional play from their defense,
6:24
Speaker 2: and they got that the final few weeks of the season.
6:27
Speaker 2: Now we can all look at the offenses they've played,
6:30
Speaker 2: we can pick apart the quarterbacks that they went up against.
6:33
Speaker 2: But I think there's a reminder here, right that once
6:36
Speaker 2: you get late in the season and Joe Burrow has
6:39
Speaker 2: had an entire year, and you know, I have to
6:42
Speaker 2: stand on this and eat these words. Dan I said
6:44
Speaker 2: before the season on every podcast and every radio appearance
6:48
Speaker 2: I did, every time I was on TV, I guaranteed
6:51
Speaker 2: that if Joe Burrow played seventeen games, this team would
6:55
Speaker 2: make the playoffs. I mean it took basically this season.
6:58
Speaker 2: That was an act of God for this team not
7:01
Speaker 2: to make the playoffs with Joe playing seventeen games. But
7:03
Speaker 2: I'll have to own it that they didn't make the
7:05
Speaker 2: playoffs and he played the entire year. But I do
7:08
Speaker 2: think it's a reminder of what this core is capable of.
7:11
Speaker 2: And I do think it's a reminder, especially going back
7:14
Speaker 2: to that Denver game, a reminder of what this success
7:18
Speaker 2: in this window is built upon. It's built upon Burrow,
7:22
Speaker 2: Chase Higgins. And that's going to be one of those
7:25
Speaker 2: driving questions here the next couple of months after what
7:28
Speaker 2: we saw those three do the final five weeks of
7:31
Speaker 2: the season.
7:31
Speaker 1: So when Joe came out after the Dallas game and
7:34
Speaker 1: his postgame news conference really out of the blue and said,
7:37
Speaker 1: I think we can keep t Higgins. We've had conversations.
7:41
Speaker 1: He sounded confident that was going to happen. What was
7:44
Speaker 1: your reaction, because I was really caught off guard.
7:46
Speaker 2: So I was standing on the field in Dallas. We
7:48
Speaker 2: had two cameras down there. We were doing the live
7:51
Speaker 2: Bengals postgame show. So I'm on the field with one camera.
7:55
Speaker 2: We have another camera inside for Joe Burrows press conference.
7:58
Speaker 2: And you know how it goes when you're on TV.
7:59
Speaker 2: The press corps towards is playing. I can hear it
8:01
Speaker 2: in my ears, but also at the same time, I'm
8:03
Speaker 2: discussing with the producers where we're going next. We got video,
8:07
Speaker 2: we got graphics, we've got commercials. And I hear Joe
8:09
Speaker 2: say that, and I told everybody stop. I said, I
8:13
Speaker 2: need to hear this and what he's saying right here,
8:15
Speaker 2: because did I miss something or did Joe just say
8:17
Speaker 2: what he just said? And to me, that changed the
8:21
Speaker 2: entire tone about this conversation going forward. Now, I've talked
8:26
Speaker 2: about this multiple times and here's my take on this situation. Obviously,
8:31
Speaker 2: Joe has a plan of what he wants for T Higgins.
8:34
Speaker 2: I think we know what Jamar and T's plans are
8:37
Speaker 2: to keep this together as well. I've always wondered, is
8:40
Speaker 2: Joe Jamar T's plan in alignment with the front office's
8:45
Speaker 2: plan and so we don't know that we won't find
8:47
Speaker 2: that out here until this starts to play out. But
8:49
Speaker 2: what I think Joe has now done, and we've talked
8:52
Speaker 2: about the evolution of Joe Burrow the quarterback, the player,
8:55
Speaker 2: the celebrity, the person here in Cincinnati, un there are
8:58
Speaker 2: levels to where he's going now raised himself within the
9:01
Speaker 2: organization with his success, with his professional maturity and with
9:05
Speaker 2: his understanding of rosters now and what he needs to
9:09
Speaker 2: be successful, that he's put himself, I believe, in a
9:12
Speaker 2: position where he has to be kept in the loop
9:14
Speaker 2: about what this organization is going to do with T. Higgins,
9:18
Speaker 2: where if they do make a decision one way or
9:20
Speaker 2: the other, I think Joe has now put himself in
9:23
Speaker 2: position where they have to say, Okay, Joe, here's what
9:25
Speaker 2: it looks like if we keep T. Here's option B
9:29
Speaker 2: of what it looks like if we decide to move
9:31
Speaker 2: on from T and reallocate that money somewhere else. So
9:33
Speaker 2: I think it's important that Joe has put himself in
9:36
Speaker 2: position that he's not necessarily a decision maker, but he
9:39
Speaker 2: has to understand the thought process of whatever it is
9:42
Speaker 2: they do do with T. Higgins. And I think He's
9:45
Speaker 2: earned that with what he means of this organization.
9:47
Speaker 1: And that's the way it should be. You're in the
9:49
Speaker 1: Joe Burrow business. It's not a matter of trying to
9:51
Speaker 1: keep him happy. I hear people say things like that, oh,
9:54
Speaker 1: you got a koutout of what Joe wants. It's not that.
9:57
Speaker 1: It's he's your best player. He's the face of the
9:59
Speaker 1: frameise and he's a smart guy. So if he thinks
10:03
Speaker 1: this is the best path going forward, then it probably
10:07
Speaker 1: is the best path going forward. Without knowing what the
10:11
Speaker 1: numbers are going to be, so let's talk about that
10:13
Speaker 1: a little bit. They're going to try to extend Jamar
10:17
Speaker 1: Justin Jefferson got thirty five million a year last year
10:20
Speaker 1: for four years, so that's the beginning number, and it's
10:22
Speaker 1: probably going to be higher than that.
10:25
Speaker 2: For T.
10:27
Speaker 1: Is there a team out there that would pay him
10:29
Speaker 1: thirty million dollars a year? And if so, is it
10:33
Speaker 1: realistic to do both at those numbers or does T
10:38
Speaker 1: have to come in more in the twenty six twenty
10:41
Speaker 1: seven million dollar range.
10:43
Speaker 2: I would think that I would think you'd probably have
10:45
Speaker 2: to come into twenty six twenty seven million dollar range
10:48
Speaker 2: for the Bengals, and yes, there was a team out
10:49
Speaker 2: there who will give him thirty million dollars, But it's
10:52
Speaker 2: on the Bengals not to let that happen, right, I mean,
10:55
Speaker 2: that's the important part of this offseason. They still do
10:58
Speaker 2: have the power of flexing the second franchise tag and
11:03
Speaker 2: not letting T Higgins get to free agency. And what
11:06
Speaker 2: they decide to do there with that is they can
11:08
Speaker 2: franchise tag them and they can negotiate a long term
11:10
Speaker 2: contract to keep him here. The question is what does
11:13
Speaker 2: T Higgins and what does his agent want, because they
11:17
Speaker 2: still have power themselves to flex in this situation as
11:21
Speaker 2: far as you know, if they're not happy with the situation,
11:24
Speaker 2: will T be here? Will he show up and do it?
11:26
Speaker 2: And everything we've seen from T so far in his career,
11:28
Speaker 2: he's been very professional. Even during this situation in the offseason.
11:32
Speaker 2: He was here and he was a training camp and
11:35
Speaker 2: he was practicing a training camp understanding that he didn't
11:38
Speaker 2: get what he wanted, which is a long term deal
11:40
Speaker 2: here in Cincinnati. But to answer your question, yeah, there's
11:43
Speaker 2: certainly a team out there who will pay T. Higgins
11:45
Speaker 2: that kind of money. Outside of quarterback, I would put
11:49
Speaker 2: wide receiver right there with defensive end as that the
11:52
Speaker 2: value positions that every team in the NFL is trying
11:55
Speaker 2: to find and trying to find difference makers. But you said,
11:58
Speaker 2: the Bengals are in the Joe Burrow business. The Bengals
12:01
Speaker 2: are in the Big three business. They're in the Jamar
12:03
Speaker 2: Chase T. Higgins, Joe Burrow business. That's what makes them unique,
12:07
Speaker 2: that's what makes them a Super Bowl contender. And we
12:09
Speaker 2: could talk about defense, and we will, and we could
12:11
Speaker 2: talk about improving the run game and we will this offseason.
12:14
Speaker 2: But as long as you have those three and I
12:18
Speaker 2: know sometimes it comes with an eye roll of people
12:20
Speaker 2: on social media. No one wanted to face this team
12:24
Speaker 2: in the playoffs, right, And I don't think Kansas City
12:27
Speaker 2: went out and laid down to keep Joe Burrow out
12:29
Speaker 2: of the playoffs. Maybe they did. Maybe they did, And
12:31
Speaker 2: that's fine. They have that prerogative. And I would say this.
12:35
Speaker 2: I had this conversation with Zach. I said, if the
12:38
Speaker 2: shoe was on the other foot, Zach, and you had
12:40
Speaker 2: the number one seed and Patrick Mahomes was lurking right
12:44
Speaker 2: there as the seventh seed, what would you do? And
12:46
Speaker 2: he said to me, he said, listen, if we were
12:48
Speaker 2: two times Super Bowl defending champions and we were fifteen
12:52
Speaker 2: and one, there wouldn't be a team in football that
12:54
Speaker 2: scared me. And I said, good answer, But but yeah,
12:58
Speaker 2: we saw how that played. So to answer your question,
13:01
Speaker 2: I think the narrative has changed here in Cincinnati as
13:04
Speaker 2: far as T Higgins in his future in Cincinnati. Where
13:08
Speaker 2: I thought midway of the season, this was it. This
13:11
Speaker 2: was the last dance of the Chicago Bulls, right, the
13:13
Speaker 2: Big three, last dance that Denver game, to me is
13:17
Speaker 2: when I flipped and you saw the value of T
13:19
Speaker 2: Higgins and what he means to this team in such
13:22
Speaker 2: a big game late in the season. For him to
13:25
Speaker 2: perform score three touchdowns and the attention he draws away
13:29
Speaker 2: from Jamar Chase, I'm sold. You gotta do what you
13:31
Speaker 2: gotta do. He has to be kept. And to me,
13:34
Speaker 2: those are the top two priorities of the offseason because
13:36
Speaker 2: they set in motion every other domino that goes with
13:40
Speaker 2: this team this offseason. They've got to get Jamar Dunn
13:43
Speaker 2: as soon as possible, and they have to make their
13:45
Speaker 2: decision on T Higgins. And if it were me, I'm
13:48
Speaker 2: paying him. I'm keeping them. He's got to stay here
13:50
Speaker 2: in Cincinnati because those three together is what makes the
13:53
Speaker 2: Bengals unique.
13:55
Speaker 1: I guess I flipped when Joe started talking about it
13:57
Speaker 1: the way he did and expressing confidence that it could happen.
14:01
Speaker 1: That implied to me that, you know, he's willing to
14:03
Speaker 1: do whatever it takes. T is willing to come back
14:06
Speaker 1: for maybe a little less than he might be able
14:09
Speaker 1: to get on the open market. I don't think Joe
14:10
Speaker 1: would have said what he said if that wasn't the case.
14:14
Speaker 1: I was probably ninety ten that it wasn't going to
14:17
Speaker 1: happen until that point. Now I think it's at least
14:19
Speaker 1: fifty to fifty, maybe a little bit better. It's really interesting, though,
14:24
Speaker 1: because you've got Trey Hendrickson thrown in there as well.
14:26
Speaker 1: He's got a year left on his deal. He'd certainly
14:28
Speaker 1: like to reward him for the great player that he's
14:30
Speaker 1: been and maybe extend that for a couple of years
14:34
Speaker 1: if you can. He's you know, he's thirty, but he's
14:37
Speaker 1: certainly not playing like he's approaching the back nine. I
14:40
Speaker 1: guess my priorities are Jamar first, Trey second, t third.
14:47
Speaker 1: If they can do all of that, and it's going
14:49
Speaker 1: to be very interesting to see if they can.
14:51
Speaker 2: Yeah, and we've documented how important those three were this year, Joe,
14:56
Speaker 2: Jamar and Trey to what this team was and what
14:59
Speaker 2: they did, you know, setting NFL records and the first
15:02
Speaker 2: team in NFL history the lead in passing guards, receiving yards,
15:06
Speaker 2: in sacks, and trade to me is such an interesting
15:09
Speaker 2: case because of what happened last offseason with him and
15:14
Speaker 2: him demanding a trade and then coming back and having
15:18
Speaker 2: the kind of season he did. And if I'm Trey
15:20
Speaker 2: Hendrickson at age thirty and I've had the year that
15:23
Speaker 2: I just had and the years that I've had in Cincinnati,
15:27
Speaker 2: You've got one last chance here, I would think, at
15:29
Speaker 2: one last big contract. And you mentioned it him being
15:32
Speaker 2: thirty years old. It doesn't feel like a guy who's
15:36
Speaker 2: playing at thirty years old. It feels like this guy
15:39
Speaker 2: can be an elite pass rusher for multiple seasons going forward.
15:46
Speaker 2: And so is there a world where you can reward
15:48
Speaker 2: him as you said and extend him in a smaller window.
15:52
Speaker 2: And if I'm Trey Hendrickston and I'm his agent, I
15:54
Speaker 2: certainly want some kind of security for multiple years going
15:58
Speaker 2: forward and find the Bengals, and I'm bringing in a
16:01
Speaker 2: new defensive coordinator. You want that cornerstone of a guy
16:05
Speaker 2: that's a difference maker, a game wrecker. They're on the
16:07
Speaker 2: defensive end. Those are hard to find. And it was
16:11
Speaker 2: funny because mid season, when the Bengals defense was struggling
16:14
Speaker 2: the way it was and people are trying to come
16:16
Speaker 2: up with solutions on how to make this team better.
16:19
Speaker 2: You know they're talking about the Max Crosby's of the
16:21
Speaker 2: world and pick your favorite defensive end. NFL teams aren't
16:24
Speaker 2: giving these guys up. These guys are really hard to find,
16:28
Speaker 2: and when they do get them in their organization, they're
16:30
Speaker 2: doing everything they can to keep them. And I hope
16:32
Speaker 2: the Bengals have the same idea about Trey Hendrickson because
16:36
Speaker 2: they're very hard to find. The Bengals had been trying
16:38
Speaker 2: to draft guys that can play opposite him and produce
16:42
Speaker 2: at a consistent level, and it's hard to find. I mean,
16:45
Speaker 2: Joseph Asais shown flashes, Miles Garrett shown better flashes this year.
16:49
Speaker 2: Excuse me not Miles Garrett, Miles Murphy. But when you
16:52
Speaker 2: talk about these guys and you bring them in, you
16:54
Speaker 2: draft them, and you try to develop them, it's hard
16:56
Speaker 2: It's just hard to find guys that can do what
16:58
Speaker 2: Trey Hendrickson did and does, so when you do get one,
17:01
Speaker 2: you have to reward him and whatever Trey wants. I
17:03
Speaker 2: think they have to listen here because they understand a
17:07
Speaker 2: guy going into his final year of his contract after
17:09
Speaker 2: what he did last offseason, is most likely wants to
17:13
Speaker 2: have more security than just a one year deal. So
17:17
Speaker 2: I fully think this is going to be one of
17:19
Speaker 2: the difficult conversations this team has in the offseason is
17:23
Speaker 2: how to best take care of Trey Hendrickson because they
17:25
Speaker 2: cannot let him get out the door because of what
17:29
Speaker 2: kind of a difference maker he is for this defense.
17:32
Speaker 1: People age differently. He certainly does not appear to be
17:36
Speaker 1: getting old at age thirty. He's like Selma Hayek. He's
17:41
Speaker 1: aging gracefully, that's for sure. Let's talk about defensive coordinator.
17:45
Speaker 1: Do you have an ideal candidate or a type of
17:48
Speaker 1: coach that you would like to see them higher for
17:50
Speaker 1: that position.
17:52
Speaker 2: I like Al Golden a lot. I like the fact
17:54
Speaker 2: that he's been in Cincinnati, he's worked with Zach Taylor before,
17:58
Speaker 2: and for him to take Notre Dame to the precipice
18:01
Speaker 2: of a national championship built on a defense of physicality,
18:06
Speaker 2: development of young players who have gotten better into his system,
18:11
Speaker 2: and there's some creativity also in his system as well
18:14
Speaker 2: at Notre Dame. It's gonna be interesting. I'm gonna be
18:16
Speaker 2: down in Atlanta this weekend and certainly Al Golden will
18:19
Speaker 2: be one of my targets to talk to about his
18:22
Speaker 2: future after this game coming on Monday night against Ohio State.
18:26
Speaker 1: First question, or will you soften him up a little bit? First?
18:30
Speaker 2: You know how these situations go. There's gonna be all
18:33
Speaker 2: around him. Yeah, So it's gonna be He's gonna take
18:35
Speaker 2: that question at least ten different times. I'll do it
18:38
Speaker 2: like this, and I've learned the art of question asking
18:41
Speaker 2: from the great Dan Horde. I think you have to
18:44
Speaker 2: give him a question he can answer and you can
18:47
Speaker 2: get insight into what he's going to say. So I'm
18:49
Speaker 2: curious about his experience in Cincinnati, are working with Zach Taylor,
18:54
Speaker 2: what he liked about it, what he thinks of this
18:58
Speaker 2: job here in Cincinnati, Because you talk about defensive coordinators
19:02
Speaker 2: and people that look around the league and look for
19:06
Speaker 2: the best positions for them to go, and how could
19:08
Speaker 2: you not want to come to Cincinnati to where you
19:12
Speaker 2: get to work with a team that has Joe Burrow,
19:14
Speaker 2: Jamar Chase, and maybe T Higgins. So you're hitching your
19:17
Speaker 2: wagon to an offense that can win a Super Bowl tomorrow,
19:20
Speaker 2: and quite honestly, all you have to do is just
19:23
Speaker 2: be okay as a defensive coordinator for this team to
19:27
Speaker 2: be a contender for a Super Bowl. So yeah, I
19:31
Speaker 2: think I like Al Golden. I love what Matt Eberflus
19:34
Speaker 2: did in Indianapolis. I mean you look back and it
19:37
Speaker 2: kind of mirrors a little bit of the Bengals here.
19:40
Speaker 2: What he inherited in Indianapolis in twenty eighteen was a
19:44
Speaker 2: team that was giving up twenty five points a game.
19:47
Speaker 2: The Bengals just average given up twenty five points a game.
19:50
Speaker 2: They were thirtieth in the NFL, and defense the Colts
19:52
Speaker 2: were And in one year he went from thirtieth to tenth.
19:55
Speaker 2: So if you're a Cincinnati and you're a Bengals fan
19:57
Speaker 2: and you're looking for a quick fixer, Matt Eberflus is
20:00
Speaker 2: proven he can be a quick fixer. So those are
20:02
Speaker 2: the two names that you read a lot about this,
20:04
Speaker 2: you think about this a lot. Those are the two
20:06
Speaker 2: names to me that really keep jumping up to the
20:09
Speaker 2: top of mind as guys that would be great fits. Now,
20:12
Speaker 2: as far as what Bengals fans should want from a
20:15
Speaker 2: defensive coordinator, I think two things stand out. I think
20:17
Speaker 2: you want a defensive coordinator who's very good with player
20:20
Speaker 2: development because we've seen what this team has to do defensively, right,
20:24
Speaker 2: they have to draft young defensively. They might have to
20:27
Speaker 2: go cheaper defensively because of what they have to pay.
20:30
Speaker 2: We think the Big three going forward on offense, So
20:33
Speaker 2: you're going to get a lot of young players. You
20:35
Speaker 2: got to develop these young players and be able to
20:37
Speaker 2: communicate with them what your vision is defensively and help
20:41
Speaker 2: them develop into that system. And also, I think the
20:43
Speaker 2: other thing you need to find out is, and these
20:46
Speaker 2: are hard questions for Zach Taylor and the other members
20:49
Speaker 2: of the front office who are going to do these interviews,
20:51
Speaker 2: is how does a coach coach when he has some deficiencies.
20:56
Speaker 2: This defense is not going to be loaded with stars.
20:59
Speaker 2: There were going to be holes. You can't fix this
21:01
Speaker 2: in one offseason or one draft. There will be deficiencies.
21:05
Speaker 2: How can you coach around those deficiencies and still be successful.
21:09
Speaker 2: So development and working through deficiencies I think are very
21:13
Speaker 2: very important, and then also experience, and I think he
21:16
Speaker 2: got that with Al Golden and he got that with
21:18
Speaker 2: Matt Erablus.
21:19
Speaker 1: I got the impression from the little bit of time
21:21
Speaker 1: that I spent with Alan his two years as Bengals
21:23
Speaker 1: assistant coach that he really liked it here. He wasn't
21:26
Speaker 1: one of those assistant coaches that would linger and just
21:28
Speaker 1: talk to you NonStop. You know, he kind of had
21:30
Speaker 1: to catch him on the move. It seemed like he
21:32
Speaker 1: was always, you know, racing from the practice field to
21:35
Speaker 1: his office, cutting through the cafeteria really quickly with you know,
21:38
Speaker 1: take out food in his hand. But he seemed to
21:40
Speaker 1: like it here. I think it's going to come down
21:42
Speaker 1: to does he want to be an NFL coach again
21:46
Speaker 1: or does he really like what he's doing and think
21:49
Speaker 1: that it will help him become a college head coach again,
21:53
Speaker 1: because he was obviously extremely successful at Temple when nobody
21:56
Speaker 1: won there. He did reasonably well at the University of Miami,
22:00
Speaker 1: a place where the expectations are super high. So if
22:04
Speaker 1: he is in fact the guy that they want to hire,
22:06
Speaker 1: it'll be interesting interesting to see if that is his
22:09
Speaker 1: priority to be in the NFL again.
22:11
Speaker 2: And it's curious too, it's been somewhat quiet here. And look,
22:15
Speaker 2: these things take time, and the Bengals will likely talk
22:18
Speaker 2: to some of these candidates multiple times, but it does
22:21
Speaker 2: feel a bit with the timetable that they are waiting
22:24
Speaker 2: on something, whether it be someone who's still coaching in
22:27
Speaker 2: the playoffs or someone who's still coaching in the college
22:30
Speaker 2: football and National Championship and giving his time to do
22:34
Speaker 2: this job before they approach him about becoming the Bengals
22:37
Speaker 2: defensive coordinator. And I think a lot of eyes will
22:40
Speaker 2: be on Al Golden on Monday Night in that great
22:43
Speaker 2: Ohio State offense, and if he can limit them and
22:48
Speaker 2: win that game, considering the kind of talent Ohio State
22:53
Speaker 2: has offensively and really look good doing that, I think
22:58
Speaker 2: then a lot of Cincinnati Bengals fans will really start
23:00
Speaker 2: to take notice of what he's doing. So we already
23:04
Speaker 2: know you working in this market for for a long time.
23:08
Speaker 2: How many fans there are of Notre Dame and Ohio
23:11
Speaker 2: State in the greater Cincinnati area, So the ratings were
23:15
Speaker 2: always going to be high, but I am curious how
23:17
Speaker 2: many Bengals fans who don't have a dog in this
23:19
Speaker 2: fight are curious to watch Al Golden his defense match
23:24
Speaker 2: up against Chip Kelly, Ryan Day and that talented offense
23:27
Speaker 2: at Ohio State in kind of starting to think, Okay, yeah,
23:31
Speaker 2: this is a guy that coached with Zach Taylor. If
23:33
Speaker 2: he can take Notre Dame to this spot and then
23:35
Speaker 2: can out coach Ryan Day and Chip Kelly and get
23:38
Speaker 2: a win for Notre Dame in that game, I think
23:40
Speaker 2: a lot of people would be circling Al Golden as
23:42
Speaker 2: the next defensive coordinator for the Bengals.
23:44
Speaker 1: It's funny you say that, because I would rank one
23:47
Speaker 1: of the top five moments of my life as a
23:50
Speaker 1: sports fan watching LSU Oklahoma in the semifinals when you
23:56
Speaker 1: knew the Bengals had the number one pick in the draft.
23:58
Speaker 1: I didn't have a dog in the fight. But Burrow
24:01
Speaker 1: throws seven touchdown passes in the first half, and I
24:05
Speaker 1: am so giddy knowing that that's our guy. I mean,
24:09
Speaker 1: it's amazing. All these teams I've rooted for my whole life,
24:12
Speaker 1: and that is one of my greatest fan moments of
24:14
Speaker 1: all time.
24:15
Speaker 2: And there was one play in particular where Joe was
24:18
Speaker 2: flushed out of the pocket. His running towards the sideline,
24:21
Speaker 2: he dodged three or four guys, broke a tackle, and
24:24
Speaker 2: threw the ball down the field. And I kind of
24:26
Speaker 2: I remember standing in my living room watching that play
24:28
Speaker 2: and said, I can't believe this is going to hit
24:31
Speaker 2: Cincinnati next season. And it's such a unique thing right
24:34
Speaker 2: where you knew, I mean, not many fan bases can
24:38
Speaker 2: watch a guy and know that's going to be their guy.
24:42
Speaker 2: I remember interviewing Moeger and Rocky Boyman the day after
24:46
Speaker 2: the National Championship game when Joe was pointing to his
24:48
Speaker 2: ring finger. They were owning the National championship and doing
24:51
Speaker 2: the big story the next day about this is going
24:54
Speaker 2: to be the Bengals quarterback, and Moe was already wearing
24:58
Speaker 2: the T shirt of Joe Smoke the Cigar with LSU,
25:01
Speaker 2: And it was kind of a cool thing for a
25:03
Speaker 2: couple of weeks for Cincinnati. It kind of felt by
25:06
Speaker 2: proxy was celebrating this National championship for LSU, knowing they
25:10
Speaker 2: were getting Joe Burrow and future. No one knew they
25:14
Speaker 2: were getting Jamar Chase as well, but that's the way
25:16
Speaker 2: it all worked out. But yeah, that's a great point
25:19
Speaker 2: of kind of comparing the two here of watching Joe
25:22
Speaker 2: Burrow in that great run he went on in twenty nineteen.
25:25
Speaker 1: Defensive coordinator is obviously a huge hire, but so is
25:29
Speaker 1: offensive line coach. I've always felt that there are really
25:33
Speaker 1: four he coaches on a staff, the three coordinators and
25:36
Speaker 1: the offensive line coach. They almost should call it like
25:39
Speaker 1: offensive line coordinator. It's that important to a staff. What
25:43
Speaker 1: does the next guy need to improve.
25:46
Speaker 2: It's interesting because I think if you look at the
25:48
Speaker 2: playoffs last weekend, and there were six games, and we
25:51
Speaker 2: talked so much about the NFL being a quarterback driven
25:55
Speaker 2: league and a passing driven league. I challenge anybody to
25:59
Speaker 2: go back and look at the winners from last week,
26:01
Speaker 2: and I have them all written down here. I think
26:03
Speaker 2: you could go look at the box scores and you're
26:05
Speaker 2: not going to find any quarterback who had a huge
26:07
Speaker 2: game and just had that MVP moment in throwing the ball.
26:12
Speaker 2: There's nobody with four hundred yards passing and three touchdowns.
26:15
Speaker 2: And certainly Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen have their moments,
26:19
Speaker 2: but these games were one with defense and running.
26:22
Speaker 1: Nobody threw for three hundred yards and four of the
26:25
Speaker 1: six winners rushed for one hundred and sixty five plus, So.
26:29
Speaker 2: That points to when you get into the playoffs, you
26:32
Speaker 2: still have to play defense. You still have to run
26:34
Speaker 2: the ball. And to your point, if you took the
26:37
Speaker 2: six winning teams, they combined for more than a thousand
26:40
Speaker 2: yards rushing, and those six wins the losing teams combined
26:43
Speaker 2: for five hundred, so they doubled them up. So running
26:46
Speaker 2: the game, running the ball still matters. And the interesting
26:49
Speaker 2: thing about the Bengals is, you know, they finished last
26:51
Speaker 2: year third worse in the NFL with ninety three yards
26:54
Speaker 2: rushing per game. That number is a little bit skew
26:57
Speaker 2: just because of who the Bengals are and the way
26:59
Speaker 2: they're that they're always going to be at least a
27:02
Speaker 2: sixty to forty passing to run offense, maybe even more,
27:07
Speaker 2: maybe sixty five to thirty five considering the offensive talent
27:10
Speaker 2: they have a quarterback and wide receiver. But if they
27:12
Speaker 2: can just get better in the margins in the run game,
27:16
Speaker 2: they average four point one yards per carry, and I
27:19
Speaker 2: think Chase Brown has been a great fit, especially in
27:21
Speaker 2: the second half of the season what he's done. If
27:23
Speaker 2: they can just get that from like four point one
27:26
Speaker 2: yards per carry to something like four point six. All
27:29
Speaker 2: of a sudden, you drop from bottom ten, you jump
27:31
Speaker 2: all the way to the top ten. An efficiency and
27:33
Speaker 2: running the ball, and what a difference maker that is
27:35
Speaker 2: going forward, because as you mentioned, it's not just offensive
27:38
Speaker 2: line coordinator, this is run game coordinator. That was Frank
27:42
Speaker 2: Pollock's title here in Cincinnati. So you can see that
27:46
Speaker 2: running the ball, playing defense still matters. That's why this
27:49
Speaker 2: coaching higher matters, just maybe not as much as defensive coordinator,
27:53
Speaker 2: but it's an important higher for this team going forward.
27:56
Speaker 2: And also the makeup of the offensive right to we
28:00
Speaker 2: talked about development with the defensive coordinator. You know, he's
28:04
Speaker 2: whoever the offensive line coach is is inheriting a right tackle,
28:07
Speaker 2: one of Marius Mimms, who's young. Ted Terrris is probably
28:11
Speaker 2: nearing the end of his time and since not maybe
28:13
Speaker 2: his career as he gets older that they're likely going
28:16
Speaker 2: to be replacing at least one of their guards. So
28:21
Speaker 2: there's young players development cohesion that this new offensive line
28:26
Speaker 2: coach is going to have to have going forward. And
28:30
Speaker 2: I think there has to be an emphasis understanding what
28:32
Speaker 2: just happened in the playoffs, What we've seen going forward
28:37
Speaker 2: that running the football matters even if you have Joe
28:39
Speaker 2: Burrow and Jamar Chase, that you still have to do
28:41
Speaker 2: it at an efficient level. So very important higher to
28:44
Speaker 2: me considering the makeup of the offensive line, and also
28:48
Speaker 2: what we just witnessed watching the first weekend of the
28:51
Speaker 2: NFL playoffs in the importance of running the football at
28:54
Speaker 2: an efficient clip.
28:56
Speaker 1: They scored the most points of any team Enfranchise his
29:00
Speaker 1: They finished second in points per game of any team
29:04
Speaker 1: in franchise history, So it's hard to complain much about
29:08
Speaker 1: the offense and the plays they're calling and the way
29:10
Speaker 1: it's structured. Having said all that, to me, being more
29:14
Speaker 1: efficient in the running game is about helping to protect
29:18
Speaker 1: Joe Burrow and in some cases from himself. So I
29:22
Speaker 1: was with you prior to the season. In every interview
29:25
Speaker 1: I did, I said, if Joe Burrow's healthy, they will
29:27
Speaker 1: be a Super Bowl contender, and that's not the way
29:29
Speaker 1: it played out. But I want to maximize the possibilities
29:34
Speaker 1: going forward that he always plays seventeen games, and I
29:37
Speaker 1: think one of the ways they can do that is
29:39
Speaker 1: being more efficient in the run game. So I'm with
29:42
Speaker 1: you on the importance of that from the next guy
29:44
Speaker 1: in this role.
29:45
Speaker 2: And if you really want to get into the analytics
29:47
Speaker 2: of Joe Burrow in the run game, he had his
29:50
Speaker 2: best year when it came to play action pass numbers.
29:55
Speaker 2: So if you continue to get this running game more efficient,
29:59
Speaker 2: you would think by just that being there them running
30:05
Speaker 2: it better, that the play action would be that much
30:07
Speaker 2: more dangerous. And I think play action passing lends to
30:10
Speaker 2: what you said of protecting Joe as well. Yet his
30:13
Speaker 2: best year throwing the ball in play action. I think
30:15
Speaker 2: if you're bringing an offensive coordinator, excuse me, an offensive
30:18
Speaker 2: line coach who can get this running game going just
30:20
Speaker 2: a more efficient clip, it only helps Joe even more
30:23
Speaker 2: in that situation as well.
30:24
Speaker 1: All Right, a few more questions for Fox nineteens Joe Daniman.
30:27
Speaker 1: We haven't talked about some of the other free agents
30:29
Speaker 1: that have actually reached the end of their contracts. So
30:32
Speaker 1: guys like Mike Hilton, Mikeasicki, BJ hill A, Keen Davis
30:36
Speaker 1: gaither any strong feelings on guys like that and the
30:40
Speaker 1: need to try to retain any of them.
30:42
Speaker 2: It's interesting, And there's also guys who could have to
30:46
Speaker 2: have their contracts restructured as well, and those will be
30:49
Speaker 2: contracts that'll be interesting conversations for this team to have
30:53
Speaker 2: in the offseason. Mikeasicki's the one to me that jumps
30:56
Speaker 2: right to the top of the list. And I know
30:58
Speaker 2: he's listed as a tight end. He's basically a wide receiver.
31:03
Speaker 2: But we saw at the end of the year his
31:04
Speaker 2: value and the number of times Joe was going towards him,
31:09
Speaker 2: and maybe there was starting to be a little bit
31:13
Speaker 2: more of a cohesion between Joe and Mike Kasicki and
31:17
Speaker 2: in the plays they like to use together. And we've
31:20
Speaker 2: seen so many times here in recent years, especially with
31:22
Speaker 2: Joe Burrow's quarterback, that it's been this revolving door of
31:25
Speaker 2: one year prove it deals for tight ends to come
31:28
Speaker 2: to Cincinnati, have a good year with Joe Burrow, the
31:31
Speaker 2: go sign a bigger contract somewhere else. And when we
31:34
Speaker 2: talked to Mike the day after the season ended, you
31:36
Speaker 2: got the understanding that Mike is is looking for a
31:41
Speaker 2: good deal that he hasn't had it line up where
31:44
Speaker 2: he's either coming off of a good season or coming
31:46
Speaker 2: off of a healthy season and able to sign a
31:49
Speaker 2: new contract. But also at the same time, you know
31:51
Speaker 2: he just When he talks about Joe Burrow, he lights up.
31:55
Speaker 2: He gushes he got to the best quarterback in the
31:57
Speaker 2: league and wants to continue to play with him. But
32:00
Speaker 2: it comes down to luxury, right, I mean he would
32:02
Speaker 2: be if Jamar stays, if t stays, at best, he's
32:06
Speaker 2: your third option, maybe your fourth option, even though he
32:10
Speaker 2: had big games at the end of the year. What's
32:12
Speaker 2: that number look like for Mike is SICKI is really
32:14
Speaker 2: interesting to me. So in a perfect world, yeah, bring
32:16
Speaker 2: him back, but we have to understand what Mike wants
32:20
Speaker 2: and also that the value of what he gives to
32:23
Speaker 2: the team as maybe a third or fourth option. Mike
32:26
Speaker 2: Hilton is the one that's fascinating to me because of
32:29
Speaker 2: what Mike Hilton has meant to this team, his strengths,
32:33
Speaker 2: his weaknesses. He's he's not the perfect player again, a
32:38
Speaker 2: guy who's aging at a position where it's hard to age.
32:42
Speaker 2: But but find me someone who's who's better at blitzing
32:45
Speaker 2: off the edge. Find someone who's who's better at fitting
32:49
Speaker 2: in and mixing into a room like he did in
32:52
Speaker 2: the Bangles locker room, and that stuff matters. So so
32:55
Speaker 2: the conversation about Mike Hilton going forward. You know he
32:58
Speaker 2: was limited in his in his third downs this year,
33:01
Speaker 2: but at the same time, whenever the guy was asked
33:03
Speaker 2: to make a play, he made plays. He came on
33:05
Speaker 2: at the end of the year, made a lot of plays.
33:07
Speaker 2: So to me, he's fascinating. Bj Hill has been one
33:10
Speaker 2: of the great trade acquisitions in franchise history. What would
33:14
Speaker 2: a deal look like for him going forward? Knowing that
33:17
Speaker 2: the Bengals invested in Chris Jenkins and McKinley Jackson at
33:21
Speaker 2: the top of the draft last year, so each of
33:24
Speaker 2: those guys comes with a sure would love them back
33:28
Speaker 2: for what they mean, how they fit. But what's the number?
33:31
Speaker 2: And that's the interesting part about this. Everybody listening to
33:34
Speaker 2: this is a huge Bengals fan. We know this. You
33:36
Speaker 2: wouldn't listen to podcasts about the Bengals if you weren't
33:40
Speaker 2: a huge Bengals fan. So everybody knows about the amount
33:43
Speaker 2: of money the Bengals have below the cap to spend.
33:46
Speaker 2: They might have even more once they get into cuts
33:49
Speaker 2: and salary cap cuts as well. So there's money out
33:52
Speaker 2: there to spend for this team. How will they spend it?
33:54
Speaker 2: Who will they spend it on? Is it about keeping
33:57
Speaker 2: their own guys. To me, that's another part of what
33:59
Speaker 2: makes this the most interesting offseason I think the Bengals
34:02
Speaker 2: have had since I've been doing this job.
34:05
Speaker 1: Mock drafts have started coming out. It's all a crap
34:07
Speaker 1: shoot at this point. We don't really know who's going
34:10
Speaker 1: to be there at number seventeen. But in terms of
34:12
Speaker 1: a position, do you have a strong feeling for what
34:15
Speaker 1: they should be looking for with their first pick.
34:17
Speaker 2: So it'd have to go in there and look at
34:19
Speaker 2: what the draft is deep at. I mean, last year
34:21
Speaker 2: it worked out that the Bengals needed an offensive lineman
34:24
Speaker 2: and it was deep at offensive line, even though we
34:25
Speaker 2: were all watching the draft and watching Brock Bauers slip
34:29
Speaker 2: and slip in wonder and the Bengals got out of
34:32
Speaker 2: it with the Marius Mims, who I think has been
34:34
Speaker 2: a very good fit and a very good draft pick
34:36
Speaker 2: and has a great future here in Cincinnati. Certainly, you know,
34:41
Speaker 2: you talk about these teams and every team needs a quarterback,
34:45
Speaker 2: right and the teams that are near the top of
34:46
Speaker 2: the draft or wherever they're drafting, you got to keep
34:49
Speaker 2: taking a swing until you get it right. For me,
34:51
Speaker 2: that that's me with edge and I've known they They've
34:55
Speaker 2: invested a lot of draft capital and edge, but I
34:57
Speaker 2: think they have to keep swinging at a difference maker
35:01
Speaker 2: coming off the edge until they get it right. Opposite
35:04
Speaker 2: of Trey Hendrickson. Whatever they decide to do with Trey,
35:07
Speaker 2: whether he's here one year, or they extend him, or
35:10
Speaker 2: if they trade him, who knows what happens with Trey Hendrickson.
35:13
Speaker 2: He's not going to be here forever, and there is
35:16
Speaker 2: a shelf life on his production as he goes past
35:18
Speaker 2: thirty years old. We all understand that. But I think
35:21
Speaker 2: this team and I would have to see the draft
35:23
Speaker 2: and how it falls out as far as depth at
35:25
Speaker 2: that position. But if there's someone there that they believe
35:28
Speaker 2: can be the next swing to find someone who can
35:31
Speaker 2: rush the quarterback, that has to be a priority for
35:35
Speaker 2: this team, understanding the other positions of value are already fielded,
35:38
Speaker 2: quarterback and wide receiver.
35:40
Speaker 1: All Right, We've got about four minutes to go on
35:43
Speaker 1: this zoom, so I'm going to wrap this up with
35:45
Speaker 1: a few fun fact style questions for Joe Daniman, Are
35:49
Speaker 1: you ready ready your all time favorite athlete in any sport?
35:55
Speaker 2: And why Kobe Bryant, Because Kobe Bryant was never satisfied
36:02
Speaker 2: with success. Kobe Bryant was obsessed with work, What's next
36:07
Speaker 2: in the famous line of jobs not finished. So as
36:10
Speaker 2: someone who prides himself on working hard, not necessarily on talent,
36:16
Speaker 2: Kobe Bryant and the the never ending appetite for work
36:24
Speaker 2: and improvement is why Kobe Bryant is my number one.
36:27
Speaker 1: I'll tell you a good Kobe Bryant's story after we're finished.
36:31
Speaker 1: Your all time favorite sports broadcaster is well.
36:35
Speaker 2: Immediately went to Marty Brenneman because he was the reason
36:39
Speaker 2: I got into this business, growing up with Marty and
36:41
Speaker 2: listening to him and wanting to do something in the
36:43
Speaker 2: same business as someone who I looked up to as
36:46
Speaker 2: much as Marty Brenneman. But as I've gotten older and
36:51
Speaker 2: listen more, I'm gonna go with.
36:56
Speaker 1: I.
36:56
Speaker 2: An Eagle was jumped up high on my list. Mike Tarico.
36:59
Speaker 2: You know you watch Mike Tico to the Olympics. Yeah,
37:02
Speaker 2: and he makes it look so easy and it's it's unbelievable. Yeah,
37:07
Speaker 2: I would go with those three. I would go Marty Brenneman,
37:10
Speaker 2: Iron Eagle, Mike to Rico as my top three.
37:14
Speaker 1: The happiest you've ever been as a sports.
37:15
Speaker 2: Fan, I would have to say it was Carmelo Anthony
37:23
Speaker 2: leading Syracuse to a national championship. Yes, it's interesting because
37:29
Speaker 2: during that run, I had some sadness in my life,
37:33
Speaker 2: you know, a personal loss, and you know you're trying
37:37
Speaker 2: to find ways to get yourself out of a funk,
37:40
Speaker 2: you know, and it just wasn't a good start to
37:42
Speaker 2: the two thousand and three year for me. So for
37:46
Speaker 2: for Jerry McNamara Carmelo Anthony to take Syracuse to a
37:50
Speaker 2: national championship, the funny story is I was supposed to
37:54
Speaker 2: go and I was just starting my career at Fox
37:57
Speaker 2: nineteen and I had time to use and I could
38:01
Speaker 2: use my vacation. I called all my friends when we
38:02
Speaker 2: made the final four, I said, we're going, we gotta go.
38:05
Speaker 2: And I'm like, ah, we can. We got this, We
38:07
Speaker 2: got that, we got this. And in the day before
38:08
Speaker 2: the game, we're like, we're going, we're picking you up.
38:10
Speaker 2: I'm like, I can't get out of work now. I
38:13
Speaker 2: have to give them at least five days advance for
38:16
Speaker 2: them to get somebody to fill my shift. So yeah,
38:18
Speaker 2: Carmelo Anthony Jerry McNamara National Championship Jim Beheim finally gets
38:23
Speaker 2: his national championship.
38:24
Speaker 1: To me, that was a great night we were working
38:27
Speaker 1: together at Fox nineteen. I went, I wonder if that
38:31
Speaker 1: if that's why you couldn't get out of your shift,
38:34
Speaker 1: because I was sorry there.
38:35
Speaker 2: Well, it led to a great story of you meeting
38:37
Speaker 2: up with Jim Baheim after the national championship. That's good
38:41
Speaker 2: enough for me.
38:42
Speaker 1: All right, we are out of time. This was great.
38:45
Speaker 1: I really appreciate your time, Joe. Keep up the tremendous work,
38:48
Speaker 1: and again, congratulations on your richly deserved recognition as the
38:52
Speaker 1: sportscaster of the Year in Ohio.
38:54
Speaker 2: Dan, thanks for having me.
38:56
Speaker 1: By the way, the Kobe Bryant story wasn't anything. I
39:00
Speaker 1: just didn't want to run out of time with Joe.
39:02
Speaker 1: The story is actually courtesy of UC basketball coach Wes Miller,
39:06
Speaker 1: who was in the stands in Los Angeles for a
39:09
Speaker 1: game in two thousand and five when Kobe Bryant had
39:12
Speaker 1: sixty two points at the end of the third quarter.
39:16
Speaker 1: At that point in the game, Kobe had sixty two
39:18
Speaker 1: and the Lakers opponent, Dallas had sixty one. The Lakers
39:23
Speaker 1: had a huge lead at that point, and when Phil
39:25
Speaker 1: Jackson asked Kobe if he wanted to go back in
39:28
Speaker 1: in the fourth quarter. He said no, adding that he
39:31
Speaker 1: would have another night like it. Roughly a month later,
39:34
Speaker 1: Kobe scored eighty one against the Raptors. The Bengals Booth
39:38
Speaker 1: Podcast is brought to you by Paycorp, Proud to be
39:41
Speaker 1: the Bengals Official HR software provider, by Alta Fiber, future
39:45
Speaker 1: proof Fiber Internet designed to elevate your home, business, and community
39:48
Speaker 1: to a new level, and by Kettering Health the best
39:51
Speaker 1: care for the best fans. Kettering Health is the official
39:54
Speaker 1: healthcare provider of the Bengals. A couple of days ago,
39:57
Speaker 1: on January fifteenth, my friend Morrison pointed out on social
40:01
Speaker 1: media that it was the two year anniversary of what
40:05
Speaker 1: is arguably the greatest single play in Bengals history, the
40:09
Speaker 1: Fumble in the Jungle, Sam Hubbard's ninety eight yard fumble
40:13
Speaker 1: return touchdown against Baltimore that gave Cincinnati a thrilling twenty
40:18
Speaker 1: four to seventeen playoff win. Not too long ago, I
40:21
Speaker 1: sat down with Sam to answer a few questions I
40:24
Speaker 1: had about the play, including did Ravens tight end Mark
40:27
Speaker 1: Andrews get a piece of his shoe on the run back,
40:31
Speaker 1: did Marcus Bailey get away with an illegal block in
40:34
Speaker 1: the back? And what nickname for the play? Does Sam prefer?
40:38
Speaker 1: Fumble in the jungle or the Hubbard yard dash. Here's
40:42
Speaker 1: a four minute look back.
40:44
Speaker 3: Third down and goal from the one hundred sticks the
40:48
Speaker 3: ball out.
40:49
Speaker 1: The Bengals have the boy.
40:50
Speaker 3: They are running it back Sam Hubbard with blockers behind him.
40:55
Speaker 3: Hubbard of the Ravens forty, the thirty, the twenty, the ten.
41:01
Speaker 1: Touchdown.
41:03
Speaker 3: Bengalso Tyler Hudley tried to extend the ball over the
41:08
Speaker 3: goal line, it got poked away. Sam Hubbard scooped it
41:13
Speaker 3: up and ran the length of the field for a
41:16
Speaker 3: go ahead Bengals touchdown.
41:19
Speaker 1: All right, let's turn the clock back seventeen all twelve
41:23
Speaker 1: minutes to go on the fourth quarter, third and goal
41:25
Speaker 1: from the one. Described what happened in as much detail
41:29
Speaker 1: as you can.
41:30
Speaker 4: Yeah, it was a fourteen play drive, so we're all
41:32
Speaker 4: pretty gassed down in the one yard line, kind of
41:35
Speaker 4: backs against the wall. The quarterback decided to try and
41:39
Speaker 4: go over the top of the pile and a quarterback
41:41
Speaker 4: sneak and Logan Wilson and Jermaine Pratt punched the ball
41:44
Speaker 4: out landed in my hands and had enough gas to
41:47
Speaker 4: get the end zone and ended up winning the game
41:49
Speaker 4: for US.
41:50
Speaker 1: You glanced back a couple of times early. It looked
41:54
Speaker 1: like you looked at the video board in the midst
41:56
Speaker 1: of the run. Did you have a sense of what
41:59
Speaker 1: was behind you? Uh?
42:00
Speaker 4: I kind of was backwards on the jumbo tron, so
42:03
Speaker 4: I swerved the wrong way because it's backwards. But I
42:07
Speaker 4: had some blockers with me. Yeah, I was all blur.
42:12
Speaker 4: I just am glad that I didn't get tripped up
42:14
Speaker 4: on the ten yard line.
42:16
Speaker 1: Mark Andrews looked like Usain Bolt as he tried to
42:19
Speaker 1: run you down. He dove at your feet around the twenty.
42:22
Speaker 1: You stumbled ever so slightly. Did he get a piece
42:25
Speaker 1: of your shoe?
42:26
Speaker 4: I think I was just trying to pick my feet up. Uh,
42:28
Speaker 4: you know, usually I'm on the other end of that,
42:30
Speaker 4: trying to take out the runner's ankles. But uh, you know,
42:34
Speaker 4: I just know that you've picked your feet up. Keep him,
42:36
Speaker 4: keep them chopping, and you're gonna You're gonna get in
42:38
Speaker 4: the end zone.
42:39
Speaker 1: Marcus Bailey came dangerously close to a possible blocking in
42:43
Speaker 1: the back call. Ravens fans obviously think he was guilty.
42:47
Speaker 4: Was that a.
42:47
Speaker 1: Topic of discussion when you all look back at the tape?
42:51
Speaker 4: No, I was a clean blockie, you know he was.
42:54
Speaker 4: He turned his back and he was lateral with him,
42:56
Speaker 4: so you know, you can't really call that. But uh,
42:59
Speaker 4: great for by Mark. He's a hell of a player.
43:01
Speaker 4: Be competing against him since college and I got the
43:05
Speaker 4: utmost respect for him.
43:06
Speaker 1: We've all seen the famous shot of you in the
43:08
Speaker 1: oxygen mask? Did you request it? How did that come about?
43:12
Speaker 2: Yeah?
43:12
Speaker 4: I truly was completely exhausted. I don't think I could
43:15
Speaker 4: play anymore of the game. I really emptied the tank
43:18
Speaker 4: after that drive straight into that run, and I had
43:21
Speaker 4: nothing left. But I had some teammates that stepped up
43:24
Speaker 4: for me and finished out the game.
43:32
Speaker 2: The Cincinnati kuld Hotard's gonna come by Chase by Andrews
43:37
Speaker 2: with the three the twenty well stop.
43:44
Speaker 1: I went to college with Mike Tariko. I'm sure you've
43:47
Speaker 1: heard his famous call of the play where he first
43:50
Speaker 1: used the Cincinnati kid. What did you you and your
43:52
Speaker 1: family think of that?
43:54
Speaker 4: I thought it was perfect. A credit to him for
43:56
Speaker 4: doing the research, talking to Doug Rosfeld before the game,
44:00
Speaker 4: knowing my you know, just knowing everybody's story and being
44:04
Speaker 4: so invested in the game he was calling and really
44:06
Speaker 4: made for a special moment.
44:08
Speaker 1: The play was ninety eight yards, you actually covered one
44:11
Speaker 1: hundred and twenty three. You always do sprints at the
44:14
Speaker 1: at the end of practice. Does that cross your mind
44:17
Speaker 1: now as you're doing those sprints.
44:19
Speaker 4: No, I'm just getting in shape for the season and
44:22
Speaker 4: get myself ready for whatever happens next. You know, I've
44:25
Speaker 4: made some big plays at the end of the game
44:27
Speaker 4: the last couple of pro seasons, just being in better
44:29
Speaker 4: shape than everybody else, and that's something I continue to
44:32
Speaker 4: plan on doing.
44:33
Speaker 1: I think it's the greatest single play in franchise history
44:36
Speaker 1: as a Cincinnati native. What does that mean?
44:39
Speaker 4: It means a lot. It's got its place in history,
44:42
Speaker 4: and I look forward to continuing to build on that legacy.
44:47
Speaker 1: Fumble in the Jungle or the Hubbard yard dash. I'll
44:51
Speaker 1: let the people decide that I'm a fumble in the
44:53
Speaker 1: Jungle guy.
44:54
Speaker 4: Yeah, I like that too, Thanks Sam, Yeah, thank you.
44:59
Speaker 1: As I said to Sam, I think it's the single
45:01
Speaker 1: greatest play in Bengals history, but it's certainly not Sam's
45:04
Speaker 1: only great moment in the AFC Championship game the year before.
45:08
Speaker 1: The Chiefs were four yards away from a go ahead
45:11
Speaker 1: touchdown with about ninety seconds to go when Hubbard sacked
45:16
Speaker 1: Patrick Mahomes on back to back plays to force Kansas
45:20
Speaker 1: City to settle for an overtime forcing field goal. On
45:24
Speaker 1: the second sack, Mahomes had more than nine seconds to
45:27
Speaker 1: throw before Hubbard ran them down and actually forced to
45:30
Speaker 1: fumble that Joe Tooney recovered for k C. Had the
45:34
Speaker 1: Bengals come up with the ball to end the game,
45:37
Speaker 1: Sam could have had the fumble in the jungle and
45:40
Speaker 1: the Sam slam at arrowhead. That's going to do it
45:44
Speaker 1: for This episode of the Bengals Booth podcast brought to
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Speaker 1: you by pay Corps, Proud to be the Bengals official
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Speaker 1: HR software provider, by Alta Fiber future proof Fiber Internet
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Speaker 1: designed to elevate your home, business, and community to a
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Speaker 1: new level, and by Kettering Health the best care for
45:58
Speaker 1: the best fans. Kettering Health is the official healthcare provider
46:02
Speaker 1: of the Bengals. If you haven't done so already, please
46:05
Speaker 1: subscribe to this podcast and if you have a minute,
46:08
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46:10
Speaker 1: more Bengals fans find US. I'm Dan Horde and thank
46:14
Speaker 1: you for listening to the Bengals Booth podcast