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Bengals Booth Podcast: I Get Opinions · Bengals Booth Podcast

0:03
Speaker 1: Hi, get everybody on Dan Hoard and thanks for downloading
0:06
Speaker 1: The Bengals Booth Podcast.
0:08
Speaker 2: B from you.
0:10
Speaker 1: I get opinions addition as spots. Nineteen Sports director Joe
0:16
Speaker 1: Daniman joins me to tackle ten fun questions ranging from
0:20
Speaker 1: the likelihood of the Bengals returning to the playoffs. Two
0:23
Speaker 1: are Bengals related hot takes. The Bengals Booth Podcast is
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Speaker 1: healthcare provider of the Bengals. Now here's a quick reminder
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Speaker 1: that you can have the latest edition of this podcast
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Speaker 1: delivered right to your phone, tablet, or computer by subscribing
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Speaker 1: wherever you get your podcasts. It's the greatest thing since
0:58
Speaker 1: the kindness of Zach Taylor and Brian Callahan. A few
1:03
Speaker 1: days before Christmas, our friend Jay Morrison, who has been
1:06
Speaker 1: writing about the Bengals for nearly three decades, most recently
1:09
Speaker 1: for Bengals Talk dot Com, lost his wife Nicky when
1:13
Speaker 1: a medical procedure turned catastrophic. Last week, a celebration of
1:18
Speaker 1: Nicky's life was held by Jay and their two kids
1:21
Speaker 1: at a hotel in Hamilton, and the Bengals head coach
1:25
Speaker 1: and former offensive coordinator asked to pay for the event.
1:30
Speaker 1: Coach Taylor and his wife Sarah attended the event as well.
1:34
Speaker 1: It's not uncommon for coaches to become friendly with the
1:37
Speaker 1: reporters that are around their team on a regular basis,
1:41
Speaker 1: but I can't imagine there are many who are as
1:44
Speaker 1: thoughtful and kind as Zach Taylor and Brian Callahan. Now
1:49
Speaker 1: let's get to this week's guest. My friend Joe Daneman
1:53
Speaker 1: is the sports director at Fox nineteen in Cincinnati and
1:56
Speaker 1: does that job as well as anybody in the country.
1:59
Speaker 1: He's a great storyteller, and his work ethic has earned
2:03
Speaker 1: Joe the universal respect of players, coaches, fellow reporters, and
2:08
Speaker 1: most importantly, his viewers. Joe gave me about an hour
2:12
Speaker 1: of his time this week to tackle ten questions night
2:16
Speaker 1: about the Bengals and one about Sunday Super Bowl. All right, Joe,
2:21
Speaker 1: I want you to answer my first question on a
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Speaker 1: percentage basis, So zero percent chance to one hundred percent chance.
2:31
Speaker 1: Here goes, what is the likelihood that the Bengals return
2:35
Speaker 1: to the playoffs next year?
2:38
Speaker 2: Okay, So I'm going to go big on this number,
2:41
Speaker 2: and quite honestly, even though it might feel big to
2:44
Speaker 2: some of the listeners, I think it might end up
2:46
Speaker 2: being too low. So the number I've landed on is
2:50
Speaker 2: seventy five percent chance the Bengals are back in the
2:53
Speaker 2: playoffs next year, and I think I want to go
2:55
Speaker 2: as high as eighty or eighty five percent, because Dan,
2:59
Speaker 2: I've done it on I'll do it again. I have
3:02
Speaker 2: put my foot in my mouth two years ago and
3:04
Speaker 2: I said, I guarantee if Joe Burrow plays seventeen games
3:10
Speaker 2: in any NFL season, that team will make the playoffs.
3:14
Speaker 2: Two years ago, he played seventeen games, had a near
3:18
Speaker 2: MVP kind of season, and the Bengals were just short
3:22
Speaker 2: of making the playoffs. Now, that year felt extreme, almost
3:26
Speaker 2: as if everything that could go wrong for the Bengals
3:30
Speaker 2: did go wrong that year, and they still had a
3:32
Speaker 2: shot in the final window on Sunday of the final
3:36
Speaker 2: Sunday of the season to make the playoffs, and they
3:39
Speaker 2: didn't make it. But here's the number, Okay, seventy five percent,
3:43
Speaker 2: because you think about Joe Burrow's last thirteen starts, the
3:47
Speaker 2: Bengals are ten and three. Even if you go back
3:49
Speaker 2: to his last seventeen starts, which is part of the
3:52
Speaker 2: twenty twenty five and twenty twenty four seasons, they were
3:56
Speaker 2: eleven and six. Eleven wins will get you into the playoffs.
3:59
Speaker 2: So my bet is on Joe Burrow, and my bet
4:02
Speaker 2: is that Joe Burrow will play all seventeen games in
4:04
Speaker 2: twenty twenty six, and if he does so, I'm putting
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Speaker 2: it at seventy five percent. The Bengals are in the playoffs,
4:11
Speaker 2: all right.
4:12
Speaker 1: I like it. And if you are worried about anybody
4:14
Speaker 1: listening thinking that your seventy five percent is too high,
4:18
Speaker 1: are you ready for mine? Ninety percent? Yeah, ninety if
4:24
Speaker 1: Joe Burrow plays at least fifteen games, ten percent if
4:29
Speaker 1: he doesn't. The Bengals have missed the playoffs each to
4:33
Speaker 1: the last three years. In the first of those three years,
4:36
Speaker 1: he missed seven and a half games. Last year he
4:39
Speaker 1: missed nine and a half games. It's not the only
4:41
Speaker 1: reason they missed the playoffs in those seasons. San Francisco
4:45
Speaker 1: made the playoffs this year, even though Brock Purty missed
4:48
Speaker 1: eight games. But more often than not, if you're starting
4:51
Speaker 1: quarterback misses a big chunk of time, you are going
4:56
Speaker 1: to struggle. Lamar Jackson missed four games this year. The
4:59
Speaker 1: Ravens the playoffs. Jayden Daniels missed ten games this year.
5:04
Speaker 1: Washington's got the seventh pick in the draft. I think
5:07
Speaker 1: the Bengals defense will improve enough that I'm confident in
5:12
Speaker 1: saying there's a ninety percent chance the Bengals will go
5:16
Speaker 1: to the playoffs if Joe Burrow plays at least fifteen games.
5:22
Speaker 1: So you're off the hook. Your seventy five percent now seems.
5:25
Speaker 2: Low, okay, because I said at the beginning, I said
5:28
Speaker 2: it felt like seventy five percent was even low to me. Okay,
5:31
Speaker 2: So now I feel confident of boosting that up to
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Speaker 2: eighty five percent. So there we go. Final number. Lock
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Speaker 2: it in. Eighty five percent chance the Bengals are back
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Speaker 2: in the playoffs next season.
5:43
Speaker 1: If Joe plays at least fifteen games. Correct, All right,
5:46
Speaker 1: Topic number two. We are about a month away from
5:49
Speaker 1: the start of free agency. In your opinion, what must
5:55
Speaker 1: the Bengals do? What did they need to do? Not
5:58
Speaker 1: Mooy it'd be great if they did this, this, and this.
6:00
Speaker 1: What must they do?
6:02
Speaker 2: I have landed on the idea that I don't feel
6:05
Speaker 2: comfortable with the Bengals going into twenty twenty six with
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Speaker 2: Miles Murphy and Shamar Stewart being their number one and
6:13
Speaker 2: number two defensive ents. Now, they might grow into that,
6:16
Speaker 2: And we've seen the growth from Miles Murphy here in
6:20
Speaker 2: the last season, the second half of the last season,
6:22
Speaker 2: how much he came on at the end of the season.
6:24
Speaker 2: And I think it's still incomplete to have any kind
6:28
Speaker 2: of a judgment on what Shamar Stewart is or what
6:31
Speaker 2: he might become. But I think you can't go into
6:33
Speaker 2: opening Day with hope that those guys have developed into
6:38
Speaker 2: your number one and number two outside of quarterback and
6:43
Speaker 2: maybe even the wide receiver position, the guys who catch
6:45
Speaker 2: the ball from the quarterback. The number one most valuable
6:49
Speaker 2: commodity in the NFL is guys who affect the quarterback.
6:53
Speaker 2: And we saw it against the Jets, we saw it
6:56
Speaker 2: against the Bears when the Bengals didn't have their closer,
6:59
Speaker 2: Trey Hendrick. Those are games that got away from them
7:02
Speaker 2: in the final minutes. They've got to have somebody who's
7:05
Speaker 2: a proven Sunday ready commodity in the NFL. That is
7:10
Speaker 2: a capital letters need for the Cincinnati Bengals to go
7:14
Speaker 2: into free agency and find a guy that can do that.
7:18
Speaker 2: And we know he can do that because he's proven
7:21
Speaker 2: he can do that in the NFL. Now you're talking
7:24
Speaker 2: about one of the most valuable positions in the NFL
7:27
Speaker 2: and these guys. There will be bidding wars for these
7:29
Speaker 2: guys all over the league to find the best, and
7:32
Speaker 2: maybe the Bengals do a good job again like they
7:35
Speaker 2: did with Trey Hendrickson, of finding the kind of player
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Speaker 2: that's just ready to break out. Maybe he's not that
7:40
Speaker 2: Tier one guy that everybody's going to be bidding for
7:43
Speaker 2: and giving just insanemounts of money to. Maybe they can
7:47
Speaker 2: find that second tier guy that's ready to take that
7:50
Speaker 2: next jump like Trey Hendrickson did when it felt like
7:53
Speaker 2: the Bengals overspent for him in New Orleans. And then
7:56
Speaker 2: his return on investment is in the stats, leading the
8:00
Speaker 2: league in sacks and now is the number one edge
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Speaker 2: guy on the free agent market as we expect this
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Speaker 2: coming free agency. So that's my number one need outside
8:09
Speaker 2: of that. Dalton Reisner. Re signed Dalton Reisner. It feels
8:12
Speaker 2: like a no brainer. The offensive line has been fortified
8:15
Speaker 2: and solidified with him. Get him signed before free agency.
8:18
Speaker 2: But the capitol letters need for me is finding a
8:22
Speaker 2: proven commodity on the edge to help this team affect
8:26
Speaker 2: the quarterback in twenty twenty six.
8:28
Speaker 1: All right, I've got a couple of capital letters needs.
8:32
Speaker 1: We're on the same page. For one, I say they
8:34
Speaker 1: must add at least one proven pass rusher. I don't
8:39
Speaker 1: care if it's an edge, I don't care if it's
8:42
Speaker 1: a tackle. Somebody with a proven track record of getting
8:45
Speaker 1: after the quarterback. Ideally, like you expressed, it's the next
8:51
Speaker 1: Trey Hendrickson. I wouldn't expect him to be that good.
8:53
Speaker 1: But somebody ascending second contract guy a lot of tread
8:58
Speaker 1: left on the tires. But short of that, maybe it's
9:02
Speaker 1: an old guy that's got one year left of productive football.
9:07
Speaker 1: A Bosa, a Khalil Mack, a Kaleis Campbell who's going
9:11
Speaker 1: to be forty. I don't care. Somebody with a proven
9:15
Speaker 1: track record for getting after the quarterback. That is a need. Secondly,
9:19
Speaker 1: an upgrade from Geno Stone that's in need. Gino made
9:25
Speaker 1: sense when they signed him. He's had moments where he's
9:28
Speaker 1: been okay, but I think that they really need to
9:32
Speaker 1: upgrade that spot. It's a deep market in this particular
9:37
Speaker 1: free agency at safety. Maybe former Bear cap Brian Cook
9:41
Speaker 1: will be the guy. His contracts up with Kansas City.
9:44
Speaker 1: So to me, those are two capital letter needs, a
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Speaker 1: pass rusher and an upgrade at safety.
9:51
Speaker 2: There's a reason I didn't say safety as a capital
9:54
Speaker 2: letters need in free agency. That maybe is a tease
9:59
Speaker 2: to a little bit later in the podcast of where
10:01
Speaker 2: I think they can address that need at safety of
10:05
Speaker 2: upgrading ginostone. There's no doubt there's an upgrade needed there,
10:09
Speaker 2: but I'm with you a pass rusher, right, yeah, it
10:12
Speaker 2: could be interior or edge. And you mentioned some of
10:15
Speaker 2: those guys the bosas the Max the Campbell's. Imagine adding
10:19
Speaker 2: a player like that to a room as young and
10:23
Speaker 2: as inexperienced as the Bengals have, like with Shamar Stewart,
10:27
Speaker 2: even though Miles Murphy's been in the league several years.
10:30
Speaker 2: To give those guys that kind of person in the
10:34
Speaker 2: room to help them added bonus.
10:36
Speaker 1: All Right, we're chatting with Fox nineteen's Joe Daniman. You
10:39
Speaker 1: can follow him on X at Fox nineteen Joe topic
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Speaker 1: number three. A few years ago, the Bengal shocked everybody
10:47
Speaker 1: by signing the number one offensive lineman available on the
10:52
Speaker 1: free agent market, Orlando Brown Junior. Nobody saw it coming
10:56
Speaker 1: in some ways kind of fell fortuitously into their but
11:00
Speaker 1: nonetheless they got the job done. Give me an unlikely
11:06
Speaker 1: but bold move that would fire up the Bengals fan
11:10
Speaker 1: base if they could pull it.
11:11
Speaker 2: Off, kind of like what the Reds just did with
11:13
Speaker 2: Aohanniosmorenz right before this season gets going. That fired up
11:17
Speaker 2: the fan base and was come somewhat unexpected considering how
11:21
Speaker 2: quiet it had been. Okay, so there's three names I'm
11:24
Speaker 2: going to give you that would be an unlikely but
11:27
Speaker 2: bold move because they are going to be top level
11:30
Speaker 2: free agents that a lot of teams are going to
11:33
Speaker 2: be putting bids in to come play defense for them.
11:36
Speaker 2: Devin Lloyd and Devin Bush the two Devns linebacker. Okay,
11:40
Speaker 2: so we saw the experiment in the second half of
11:42
Speaker 2: the season with the Bengals playing their two rookie linebackers,
11:45
Speaker 2: Demetrius Knight Junior and Barrett Carter, kind of like what
11:49
Speaker 2: you said with Geno Stone. Some good moments, but also
11:52
Speaker 2: some moments where you said, man, if they had a
11:54
Speaker 2: veteran right there that could make plays improve in it
11:58
Speaker 2: in the league. Evan Lloyd and Devin Bush are those guys,
12:01
Speaker 2: but they're going to come with a huge price tag.
12:04
Speaker 2: So those two names. The other one is Jalen Phillips.
12:07
Speaker 2: If you talk about a guy who's going to get
12:08
Speaker 2: to the quarterback, Jalen Phillips is going to get to
12:11
Speaker 2: the quarterback. That is a proven commodity. But again it's
12:14
Speaker 2: going to be a huge splash when it comes to
12:17
Speaker 2: the amount of money he's going to get. So those
12:19
Speaker 2: are the three names. But I really want to say this.
12:22
Speaker 2: The unlikely but bold move that I think the Bengals
12:25
Speaker 2: should make and I think would satisfy the fan base,
12:29
Speaker 2: would be signing Chase Brown, DJ Turnerm and Dak Silda
12:32
Speaker 2: contract extensions early because we've seen in previous years sometimes
12:36
Speaker 2: the Bengals have waited too long to get that done
12:40
Speaker 2: and it's come back to hurt them. In the case
12:42
Speaker 2: of Jamar Chase T. Higgins, you name the player, the
12:45
Speaker 2: price tag has gone up, and sometimes so far up
12:48
Speaker 2: that it hurts them if they get ahead of it
12:51
Speaker 2: right now with Chase Brown, DJ Turner and Dax Hill.
12:55
Speaker 2: Then you tell the fan base we're changing. Okay, that's
13:00
Speaker 2: different than how they've done it before. We've seen them
13:02
Speaker 2: step out of their comfort zone on some of these contracts,
13:05
Speaker 2: including Joe Burrows. Can they do that now with Chase Brown,
13:09
Speaker 2: which would be a fascinating conversation in the modern NFL
13:13
Speaker 2: economy of giving a running back a second contract. And
13:16
Speaker 2: then DJ Turnament Dax Hill, two guys who have proven
13:19
Speaker 2: it they're ready. They can be this team's bookend corners.
13:22
Speaker 2: I say, bold, move, fire up the fan base, show
13:26
Speaker 2: you're going to be different. Reward Chase Brown, DJ Turnament,
13:30
Speaker 2: Dax Hill. This has always been in my time covering
13:33
Speaker 2: the team, a draft, develop, retain organization. Here they are
13:38
Speaker 2: three players you drafted, you developed, they're getting into their prime.
13:44
Speaker 2: Keep them in Cincinnati because of what they can give
13:48
Speaker 2: you in their second contract. All three players deserve it.
13:52
Speaker 2: I say reward.
13:53
Speaker 1: All three love it, and I don't even necessarily think
13:56
Speaker 1: that that's that far fetched. Maybe all three might be
13:59
Speaker 1: a little bit beyond what they're looking to do, but
14:01
Speaker 1: I could certainly see them getting deals done with at
14:04
Speaker 1: least a couple of those guys. I'm going to go
14:07
Speaker 1: even bolder than that. I've got two possibilities. Number One,
14:12
Speaker 1: trade for Max Crosby's gonna cost you a bundle, but
14:17
Speaker 1: he's signed for the next four years about thirty million
14:20
Speaker 1: a year. It's actually a little higher than that. So
14:22
Speaker 1: you're committing a big chunk of your defensive salary cap
14:26
Speaker 1: space to one player. But he's a difference maker and
14:29
Speaker 1: it would obviously fire up the fan base. And then
14:32
Speaker 1: my second one is something that I'm really not in
14:35
Speaker 1: favor of, but I'm going to toss it out there anyway.
14:39
Speaker 1: Trade up in the first round. If Ruben Bain is
14:43
Speaker 1: your guy or David Bailey is your guy, and you think,
14:47
Speaker 1: you know what, based on all of our research, he's
14:50
Speaker 1: just not going to be there at number ten. Take
14:53
Speaker 1: a big swing now, moving up from ten to say four,
14:59
Speaker 1: based on the draft chart the teams use, would cost
15:03
Speaker 1: you your second round pick. I don't think I'm in
15:06
Speaker 1: favor of that, but if a team was willing to
15:09
Speaker 1: do it for my third round pick, I think I
15:12
Speaker 1: would do that. So couple of possibilities for you. Swing
15:16
Speaker 1: a big trade for Max, move up in the first
15:19
Speaker 1: round to get your guy.
15:20
Speaker 2: And it's interesting too, because it depends how high you
15:23
Speaker 2: are moving. Yeah, if you're going from ten to four
15:26
Speaker 2: to get your guy, then the second round might be
15:29
Speaker 2: the price. But if you're moving ten to eight or
15:32
Speaker 2: ten to seven because my guys there, I don't want
15:36
Speaker 2: who's picking at eight to nine or whatever, then that
15:39
Speaker 2: might not cost you your second round pick. So I
15:43
Speaker 2: think it depends on how high you want to jump.
15:45
Speaker 2: But listen, I'm always on board with taking a big
15:49
Speaker 2: swing in the draft to move up as high as
15:51
Speaker 2: possible if you have targeted a guy and think he
15:54
Speaker 2: can help you from day one.
15:55
Speaker 1: Topic number four with Joe Danaman. In an otherwise disappointing season,
16:00
Speaker 1: what was the biggest positive last year?
16:03
Speaker 2: I think it's DJ Turner's breakout because I remember sitting
16:07
Speaker 2: there at training camp having side conversations on the sidelines
16:11
Speaker 2: about the idea that DJ Turner might not be a
16:14
Speaker 2: starter for this team, that DJ Turner might be one
16:17
Speaker 2: of the biggest disappointments, and he turned out to be
16:20
Speaker 2: one of the biggest bright spots for this team, not
16:22
Speaker 2: just with his play, but doing what we do and
16:25
Speaker 2: seeing his maturity of how he handles himself, not only
16:31
Speaker 2: with the media, but answering questions about his place within
16:34
Speaker 2: the team and his understanding of what he means to
16:38
Speaker 2: that room. I think you saw a lot of growth
16:41
Speaker 2: from DJ Turner, not only on the field, but also
16:45
Speaker 2: mentally and leadership wise and understanding that, Okay, it's time
16:51
Speaker 2: now that I might be getting towards a second contract.
16:54
Speaker 2: I can be a leader and a difference maker and
16:56
Speaker 2: a guy that people look up to inside this room.
16:59
Speaker 2: So I don't that was one of the best stories
17:01
Speaker 2: of the team, and I thought the biggest positive because
17:03
Speaker 2: now you can kind of look at it and say
17:06
Speaker 2: that's taken care of. I mean, he's one of the
17:08
Speaker 2: best at what he does in the AFC. And you
17:12
Speaker 2: look at the other side, And we talked about it
17:14
Speaker 2: earlier about extending both DJ and Dax, and I think
17:17
Speaker 2: Dax has established himself as a very reliable, good starter.
17:21
Speaker 2: So as a starting point for a defense that still
17:24
Speaker 2: needs to be rebuilt. Then I said this last season
17:27
Speaker 2: before the offseason that you're not going to rebuild this
17:30
Speaker 2: defense in one offseason. The fact that you have a
17:32
Speaker 2: couple of foundational building blocks Dax Hill and DJ Turner,
17:37
Speaker 2: it's a great place to start from. In the NFL.
17:39
Speaker 2: So DJ Turner's breakout season not only on the field,
17:43
Speaker 2: but the way he's handling himself and the way he
17:46
Speaker 2: kind of views himself now within the organization. To me,
17:49
Speaker 2: I thought that was one of the positive developments of
17:51
Speaker 2: last season.
17:53
Speaker 1: No doubt. My biggest positive was the improved play of
17:56
Speaker 1: the offensive line after the buye in Week nine, so
18:00
Speaker 1: basically halfway through the season. Pro football Focus great of
18:03
Speaker 1: the Bengals offensive line is the fourth best pass blocking
18:08
Speaker 1: line in the NFL. Number four. They allowed five sacks
18:11
Speaker 1: in the last eight games. Dalton Reisner started at right
18:15
Speaker 1: guard in the last seven of those games. So that
18:17
Speaker 1: gets back to the point that you made earlier about
18:20
Speaker 1: the importance of trying to bring him back, and I
18:22
Speaker 1: agree that that's big. If you go all the way
18:25
Speaker 1: back to Week six, that was the Green Bay game
18:29
Speaker 1: when Jake Browning stopped playing quarterback, so Flacco and Burrow.
18:33
Speaker 1: From there on, Pro football Focus great of the Bengals
18:36
Speaker 1: as the sixth best pass blocking line in the NFL.
18:40
Speaker 1: So now you're talking about twelve games, that's not a
18:44
Speaker 1: small sample size. That's the bulk of your season. So
18:48
Speaker 1: for all of the Borough era year after year. The
18:51
Speaker 1: topic up until now had always been can you give
18:55
Speaker 1: him a good enough line? They've done it. I think
18:57
Speaker 1: we've learned that Scott Peters is an excellent defensive line coach.
19:01
Speaker 1: To me, that's the biggest positive. We're not even really
19:04
Speaker 1: talking that much about the offensive line anymore, and that
19:07
Speaker 1: is a huge thing to be able to say with
19:10
Speaker 1: Joe Burrow at quarterback.
19:11
Speaker 2: And I think it's a big reason that you say
19:13
Speaker 2: a ninety percent chance the Bengals go back to the
19:15
Speaker 2: playoffs next year and I landed at eighty five percent
19:18
Speaker 2: for the Bengals to go back to the playoffs next
19:20
Speaker 2: year is because they don't have to touch almost anything
19:24
Speaker 2: on offense. They can devote almost all of their energy
19:27
Speaker 2: to defense. Now. They did that last year in the
19:29
Speaker 2: draft when they use five of their six players in
19:32
Speaker 2: the draft on defense. But I think there's some urgency
19:36
Speaker 2: now when we had the Duke Tobin press conference to
19:39
Speaker 2: really understand they need Sunday proven players on defense and
19:44
Speaker 2: free agency. I think they understand that. Duke Tobin, if
19:47
Speaker 2: you go back and listen to the full one hour
19:49
Speaker 2: in six minutes, my biggest takeaway was how much he
19:53
Speaker 2: understood how much this team needs a pass rush and
19:57
Speaker 2: I think he gets it that. Yeah, they've taken swings
19:59
Speaker 2: on Miles Murphy and they've taken swings on Shamar Stewart.
20:02
Speaker 2: They might do it again with Ruben Bain in this draft,
20:04
Speaker 2: or pick your favorite pass rusher in this draft. But
20:08
Speaker 2: it's like quarterback. If you don't have one, you keep
20:10
Speaker 2: swinging until you get one. And I think the Bengals
20:13
Speaker 2: kind of understand they're going to have to get that
20:15
Speaker 2: in free agency and not wait just for the draft.
20:18
Speaker 2: They've got to get a proven commodity. And that goes
20:20
Speaker 2: back to my point about the offense. You don't have
20:23
Speaker 2: to touch it outside of bringing back Dalton Reisner or
20:26
Speaker 2: figuring it out who plays that position if you don't,
20:28
Speaker 2: and that's a big reason that offensive line. The continuity
20:31
Speaker 2: of the offense, why both you and I and I'm
20:34
Speaker 2: sure a lot of people listening to this think the
20:36
Speaker 2: Bengals aren't far off from getting back to the playoffs.
20:39
Speaker 1: I am going to toss in one more positive that
20:42
Speaker 1: Joe burrows surgically repaired tow was fine. Remember when we
20:48
Speaker 1: learn that it was a Grade three turf toe injury
20:51
Speaker 1: and that surgery is going to be required. Jack Lambert
20:54
Speaker 1: retired because of that. Dean Sanders had toes amputated because
20:58
Speaker 1: of that. Technically it was blood clots. But you remember
21:02
Speaker 1: the conversation at the time. Let me ask you this,
21:05
Speaker 1: were you a little bit nervous seeing him run around
21:08
Speaker 1: in the Pro Bowl games?
21:09
Speaker 2: One hundred percent? Of course too. I mean I'm nervous
21:13
Speaker 2: watching Jamar Chase do a backflip into the end zone
21:16
Speaker 2: and t Higgins run around. Yeah, because it's the Pro
21:20
Speaker 2: Bowl game. I'll say this. You can go into my phone, Dan,
21:22
Speaker 2: and I could pull up text messages on the day
21:24
Speaker 2: that Joe got hurt, and you'll you'll find text messages
21:27
Speaker 2: as I sent to people saying seasons done, Joe's not
21:30
Speaker 2: coming back. By the time he comes back, the season
21:32
Speaker 2: will be so far gone. What's the point. I agree
21:36
Speaker 2: with you. It's one of the best positives. The fact
21:38
Speaker 2: that not only did he get back as soon as
21:41
Speaker 2: he did, he played good football and he made it
21:44
Speaker 2: out of the season okay and well enough that he
21:48
Speaker 2: was willing to go participate in the Pro Bowl was
21:51
Speaker 2: a really cool thing. So yeah, I'm with you on
21:53
Speaker 2: that topic.
21:55
Speaker 1: Number five, aside from their six and eleven record. What
21:58
Speaker 1: was the Bengals' biggest disappointment.
22:02
Speaker 2: That the Joe Flacco story should have been the best
22:05
Speaker 2: story in the NFL. It's remarkable what the Bengals did.
22:10
Speaker 2: They traded for this guy. He's forty years old. He's
22:13
Speaker 2: on the road on the phone talking to Zach Taylor,
22:17
Speaker 2: going over the playbook before he goes to play the
22:19
Speaker 2: Green Bay Packers on the road, and the guy delivers
22:23
Speaker 2: really good football over a two month period, including I
22:27
Speaker 2: think if he went back and looked at the highlight
22:29
Speaker 2: of the season outside of the Thursday night Thanksgiving night
22:32
Speaker 2: women all the Bengals were around the turkey and Joe
22:34
Speaker 2: Burrow was back throwing touchdowns, I would say the Thursday
22:38
Speaker 2: night win against the Pittsburgh Steelers was the other season highlight,
22:42
Speaker 2: and that was mastered by Joe Flacco. What he did
22:48
Speaker 2: at his age, with almost no time to get into
22:51
Speaker 2: a playbook and then was so likable when he was
22:55
Speaker 2: at the podium in front of a microphone, so relatable
22:58
Speaker 2: to so many guys are who were dad's talking about
23:02
Speaker 2: living the dad life and playing football, going to restaurants
23:05
Speaker 2: by himself, trying to sneak in a meal and have
23:09
Speaker 2: some alone time, all these things that connected with so
23:11
Speaker 2: many people. It was an incredible story and would have
23:15
Speaker 2: been the best story in the NFL if the Bengals
23:18
Speaker 2: weren't one in seven in his eight starts as the quarterback.
23:22
Speaker 2: So that's my biggest disappointment is that we leave this
23:26
Speaker 2: season saying that Joe Flacco on what he did, and
23:30
Speaker 2: it's amazing because look, I always watched Joe Flacco from afar.
23:34
Speaker 2: I knew what he was about on the football field.
23:35
Speaker 2: I knew nothing of his personality. I became a fan
23:38
Speaker 2: Joe Flaco and there are so many people in Cincinnati
23:41
Speaker 2: that becomes huge fans of Joe Flacco. That's a win
23:45
Speaker 2: for Bengals fans that forever they'll have this moment in
23:48
Speaker 2: time with Joe Flacco and they'll look back on his
23:51
Speaker 2: one season here in Cincinnati, if it is his one
23:54
Speaker 2: season in Cincinnati, and look back at it finally, But
23:57
Speaker 2: it should have been such a bigger national story than
23:59
Speaker 2: it was just because the Bengals weren't winning games.
24:03
Speaker 1: If nothing else, they should have been able to beat
24:05
Speaker 1: the Jets and Bears. They scored thirty eight and forty
24:08
Speaker 1: two with Joe Flackwood quarterback and did not manage to
24:11
Speaker 1: win either of those games. Even if they just win
24:15
Speaker 1: those two games and still missed the playoffs, it would
24:19
Speaker 1: have added so much to the Flacco legend just to
24:22
Speaker 1: have this winning streak where they're scoring a ton of
24:25
Speaker 1: points when he's the first forty year old in franchise history.
24:29
Speaker 2: The lore of Joe Flacco. It's amazing because Dan on
24:33
Speaker 2: the final day of the Bengals availability, the day after
24:37
Speaker 2: the season ended, and you do the exit interviews with
24:39
Speaker 2: all the players. So we all made our way around
24:42
Speaker 2: the locker room. You know, we talked to some important guys.
24:44
Speaker 2: DJ Turner, who's got a contract coming up, Chase Brown,
24:48
Speaker 2: Dalton Reisner, all these players that fans are interested in.
24:52
Speaker 2: I posted all of our interviews to YouTube, and the
24:55
Speaker 2: numbers that Joe Flacco got dwarfed every other player that
25:01
Speaker 2: I posted on YouTube. So you can see the kind
25:03
Speaker 2: of connection Bengals fans had to Joe Flacco right now.
25:07
Speaker 2: Even my wife last night, I was home during the
25:08
Speaker 2: Pro Bowl and I would yell, hey, Jamar just did this.
25:11
Speaker 2: He just did this. I said, Hey, Joe Flacco's on
25:13
Speaker 2: the field. She gets up from the kitchen table to
25:16
Speaker 2: watch Joe Flacco. That's the kind of pole he has
25:19
Speaker 2: here in Cincinnati now, which I think is a great thing.
25:22
Speaker 1: All Right. I've got a couple of biggest disappointments that
25:25
Speaker 1: I scribbled down. Number one that Jermaine Burton never became
25:29
Speaker 1: a dependable pro. He said all of the right things
25:33
Speaker 1: going into this season. He appeared to have learned from
25:36
Speaker 1: his rookie year, but it obviously didn't last. He wasn't
25:39
Speaker 1: active for a single game. He was released with four
25:42
Speaker 1: games to go. I always enjoyed my interactions with Jermaine.
25:48
Speaker 1: My interviews with him were fine, But I say all
25:51
Speaker 1: the time, our brains are wired differently, and what makes
25:56
Speaker 1: perfect sense to me might not make sense to somebody else.
26:01
Speaker 1: For whatever reason, things just never added up properly for Jermaine.
26:05
Speaker 1: I don't think he's a malicious person, but for whatever reason,
26:09
Speaker 1: he just didn't prove to be capable of doing what's
26:12
Speaker 1: required to be an NFL pro every day. Maybe he
26:15
Speaker 1: could do it five days a week, but he just
26:18
Speaker 1: was not able to demonstrate he could do it seven
26:20
Speaker 1: days a week.
26:22
Speaker 2: I'm with you all. My interactions with him were great.
26:25
Speaker 2: We had him on our live show at Newport He
26:27
Speaker 2: was one of our better guests at that time, was
26:30
Speaker 2: very introspective, said all the right things, wanted to do well.
26:35
Speaker 2: But I tell people all the time, you know, we
26:37
Speaker 2: don't know these guys. We only know what we see
26:41
Speaker 2: from the brief time or inside their little world, So
26:44
Speaker 2: we don't know everything there is to know about a person.
26:47
Speaker 2: But the biggest disappointment football wise with him was now
26:51
Speaker 2: the Bengals are in a spot where do they have
26:53
Speaker 2: to look at upgrading the number three wide receiver position
26:57
Speaker 2: because Jermaine Burton was supposed to be guy you could
27:00
Speaker 2: put next to Jamar Chase and T Higgins, maybe even
27:03
Speaker 2: BET's replacement if T didn't sign another contract here in Cincinnati.
27:07
Speaker 2: So it's one of those things that are the Bengals
27:09
Speaker 2: going to look to in free agency that spot wide
27:14
Speaker 2: receiver three? Look at it in the draft in the
27:16
Speaker 2: middle rounds. That wasn't supposed to be something that were
27:19
Speaker 2: going to have to address. Now they do because Jermaine
27:22
Speaker 2: Burton never really materialized in Cincinnati.
27:25
Speaker 1: The other thing for me would be that Trey Hendrickson's
27:28
Speaker 1: time with the Bengals ended the way that it appeared
27:31
Speaker 1: to end. I think keeping him last year was the
27:34
Speaker 1: right move. The Bengals expected to be a Super Bowl contender.
27:37
Speaker 1: They felt like Trey, coming off back to back seventeen
27:41
Speaker 1: and a half sax seasons could help them potentially get there.
27:45
Speaker 1: As it turned out, he only had four He only
27:47
Speaker 1: played in seven games. The whole thing was strange. He
27:50
Speaker 1: just kind of seemed to vanish in early November when
27:53
Speaker 1: he had his injury. So I'm bummed that a great
27:57
Speaker 1: run ended the way it did. Trey was another that
28:00
Speaker 1: was really good to me personally. I know he bumped
28:03
Speaker 1: heads with some members of the media at times, but
28:05
Speaker 1: he treated me really well. Wish him the best going forward.
28:09
Speaker 1: We'll see what the Bengals do if they decide to
28:11
Speaker 1: attack and trade him or just let him go. But
28:13
Speaker 1: that was a Bengals tenure that unfortunately ended on a
28:16
Speaker 1: sour note.
28:17
Speaker 2: And if you go on Google and type in NFL
28:21
Speaker 2: free agents, guess who pops up as the number one
28:24
Speaker 2: free agent in the nfls Trey Hendrickson for a team
28:27
Speaker 2: that's desperate for someone who's a proven commodity at edge.
28:32
Speaker 2: It's such a shame that it has to end this way,
28:34
Speaker 2: because the Bengals need him. He could be the missing
28:38
Speaker 2: piece to help them get over the hump, for whatever
28:41
Speaker 2: hump they want to get to, not just making the playoffs,
28:43
Speaker 2: but winning playoff games. It's a shame that it's soured
28:47
Speaker 2: this way, and his time in Cincinnati is most likely
28:50
Speaker 2: up because of the mutual need both sides. Half.
28:53
Speaker 1: We are halfway through our ten questions with Joe. We'll
28:56
Speaker 1: discuss the draft next, but first, here's a quick reminder
29:00
Speaker 1: that the Bengals Booth podcast is brought to you by
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Speaker 1: by Kettering Health the best care for the best fans.
29:16
Speaker 1: Kettering Health is the official healthcare provider of the Bengals.
29:21
Speaker 1: All Right, topic number six. With a tenth pick in
29:26
Speaker 1: the twenty twenty six NFL Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals select,
29:32
Speaker 1: and I will let you fill this in any way
29:34
Speaker 1: you choose to.
29:35
Speaker 2: I would be most excited if the Bengals drafted Caleb
29:39
Speaker 2: Downs at number ten. I get it, it's a safety
29:44
Speaker 2: as a top ten pick that just does not happen
29:47
Speaker 2: in the NFL. But Caleb Downs would affect the entire defense.
29:53
Speaker 2: And I'm glad I've got another podcast platform to do
29:56
Speaker 2: this because I was on Tony Pike Show on ESPN
30:00
Speaker 2: fifteen thirty and the words Caleb Downs is not a
30:04
Speaker 2: playmaker came out of my mouth and I did not
30:07
Speaker 2: mean it for it to come out that way. Caleb
30:10
Speaker 2: Downs is a different safety than you might think a
30:14
Speaker 2: team would take in the top ten. If you think
30:16
Speaker 2: top ten safety, you're thinking playmaker like Ed Reid. You're
30:20
Speaker 2: thinking playmaker like Troy Polamalo. I watched every snap Caleb
30:25
Speaker 2: Downs played at Ohio State the last two years. He
30:27
Speaker 2: doesn't make a ton of plays with the ball in
30:31
Speaker 2: the air, doesn't go up and intercept a lot of
30:33
Speaker 2: passes and then take the passes back for a touchdown.
30:36
Speaker 2: He does have a punt return for a touchdown against
30:38
Speaker 2: Indiana two years ago, which was one of the most
30:40
Speaker 2: electrifying plays of the Ohio State season. But he is
30:45
Speaker 2: a playmaker in the fifteen yards from the line of
30:49
Speaker 2: scrimmage to the safety position and even in the backfield.
30:53
Speaker 2: The guy doesn't make mistakes. I call him the iceman
30:56
Speaker 2: right top gun iceman Ice Cold never makes mistakes. This
31:00
Speaker 2: guy never makes mistakes, he never misses tackles, He makes
31:06
Speaker 2: plays in the backfield, He gets guys lined up. He
31:09
Speaker 2: can play multiple positions. I think when you add a
31:13
Speaker 2: playmaker like that, that becomes a chess piece, that becomes
31:17
Speaker 2: a game changer. Bengals fans think about this. Who does
31:20
Speaker 2: Zach Taylor always talk about as the best player and
31:24
Speaker 2: hardest player to game plan four in the AFC North
31:29
Speaker 2: Kyle Hamilton. He says it all the time. He's there.
31:32
Speaker 2: Kyle Hamilton. Now, his measurables are a little bit different.
31:35
Speaker 2: Kyle Hamilton's tall, long. Caleb Downs is not that, but
31:38
Speaker 2: he doesn't make mistakes. He's versatile like Kyle Hamilton. If
31:43
Speaker 2: the Bengals want to get their Kyle Hamilton and have
31:46
Speaker 2: that position taken care of, boom Caleb Downs. Now, if
31:50
Speaker 2: you want to take another swing at edge or someone
31:53
Speaker 2: who gets to the quarterback, that's cool too. And we
31:56
Speaker 2: saw what Ruben Bain did in the College Football Playoff.
31:59
Speaker 2: He's a game wrecker, and game wreckers are hard to find.
32:05
Speaker 2: Everybody in the NFL is going to be looking for
32:07
Speaker 2: them in free agency and in the draft. There's a
32:09
Speaker 2: reason those guys go in the top ten. If he's there,
32:12
Speaker 2: I have no problem with that. But if it were
32:14
Speaker 2: up to me, I would want Caleb Downs playing safety
32:18
Speaker 2: for the Cincinnati Bengals.
32:20
Speaker 1: So before Zach Taylor said the things that he said
32:23
Speaker 1: this past year about Kyle Hamilton, he used to say
32:26
Speaker 1: similar things about Mega Fitzpatrick. So you're right, a great
32:30
Speaker 1: safety along those lines, and makeham might be a little
32:33
Speaker 1: bit more, certainly more like Caleb Downs than Kyle Hamilton is.
32:37
Speaker 1: A safety of that magnitude can have a huge impact
32:40
Speaker 1: on what the opposing team's offense wants to do. So
32:43
Speaker 1: I'm down for Caleb Downs. He would be third on
32:46
Speaker 1: my list. Ruben Bain first, David Bailey second, Caleb Downs third.
32:52
Speaker 1: I suspect a lot of Bengals fans would be happy
32:55
Speaker 1: with any of those three. So I'm just going to
32:58
Speaker 1: kind of assume that none of them are going to
33:00
Speaker 1: be there, just to prepare myself for what the Bengals
33:03
Speaker 1: are going to have to do if they're all gone.
33:06
Speaker 1: With the tenth pick in the twenty twenty six NFL Draft,
33:10
Speaker 1: the Cincinnati Bengals select the best defensive player available. This
33:16
Speaker 1: defense needs difference makers, guys that are going to rank
33:21
Speaker 1: among the best in their position group. I think they've
33:25
Speaker 1: got one in DJ Turner. I think based on training
33:30
Speaker 1: camp last year, there's still a chance that Jamar Stewart
33:33
Speaker 1: eventually becomes a guy like that. But I'm not sure
33:36
Speaker 1: I feel that way about anybody else. I think they've
33:40
Speaker 1: got a lot of good players, but I don't know
33:42
Speaker 1: that they have anybody that's going to be considered among
33:45
Speaker 1: the best at their position group. That should be the
33:49
Speaker 1: goal with the tenth pick in the draft. Now. Ideally
33:53
Speaker 1: it's not a corner because I think they've got two
33:56
Speaker 1: really good ones in DJ Turner and Dax Hill. But
34:00
Speaker 1: if the best safeties and defensive linemen and even linebackers
34:04
Speaker 1: are gone, then I'm okay with a cornerback. I want
34:09
Speaker 1: a defensive difference maker, and that's the goal in the
34:13
Speaker 1: top ten. If you look back at the bengals last
34:16
Speaker 1: several top ten picks Joe Burrow, Jamar Chase, AJ Green,
34:22
Speaker 1: John Ross. So they didn't go four for four, but
34:25
Speaker 1: they went three for four, three superstars out of the
34:28
Speaker 1: last four times they've had a top ten pick. How
34:31
Speaker 1: about a defensive superstar again, almost regardless of position. With
34:37
Speaker 1: a tenth pick in the draft.
34:39
Speaker 2: It's like the scene from Draft Day with Kevin Costner
34:42
Speaker 2: reach into the pocket. It's going to say, on the
34:44
Speaker 2: piece of paper, draft defense, no matter what in the
34:49
Speaker 2: first round. And I think we look back on this
34:51
Speaker 2: conversation this time next year, as the Bangles are getting
34:54
Speaker 2: ready to play in Super Bowl sixty one, we will
34:56
Speaker 2: look back at this and say, the Bengals found a
35:00
Speaker 2: difference maker at number ten. I'm not sure the Bengals
35:03
Speaker 2: can get back to the super Bowl if they don't
35:06
Speaker 2: hit on this draft pick. I think it's that urgent
35:09
Speaker 2: for this team to get it right at number ten.
35:12
Speaker 2: Find a guy who changes games, who affects game plans,
35:17
Speaker 2: puts fear into an offensive coordinator's mind. That the Bengals
35:21
Speaker 2: can find someone that they can hit on with the
35:24
Speaker 2: tenth pick that can come in Day one, be a
35:27
Speaker 2: difference maker. I think you're talking about a team ready
35:29
Speaker 2: to take a step.
35:30
Speaker 1: We're visiting with Fox nineteen sports director Joe daniman topic
35:34
Speaker 1: number seven. The national media loves to bash the Bengals.
35:38
Speaker 1: Is there anything the Bengals deserve credit for that never
35:42
Speaker 1: gets mentioned?
35:43
Speaker 2: You mentioned it earlier. I'm gonna go with what you
35:45
Speaker 2: said earlier that they've quietly built a good offensive line.
35:50
Speaker 2: It's been the punching bag of the Joe Burrow era.
35:52
Speaker 2: I think back to the Jamar Chase and Pane's soul
35:57
Speaker 2: meme that was making its rounds Oliver ex leading up
36:01
Speaker 2: to that draft. I think back to the playoff win
36:03
Speaker 2: in Tennessee when I believe Joe was sacked nine times,
36:06
Speaker 2: and the Super Bowl loss to the Rams and the
36:08
Speaker 2: number of sacks in that game. Look, the offensive line
36:11
Speaker 2: is not perfect, but Joe has said it, Zach Taylor
36:15
Speaker 2: has said it. It's right now, the best it's been
36:17
Speaker 2: in Joe Burrow's time in Cincinnati. You put the stats
36:20
Speaker 2: out there second half of the season, PFF says, fourth
36:24
Speaker 2: best in the NFL. Now that they have continuity, Now
36:28
Speaker 2: that they have the right pieces. Now it's time to
36:31
Speaker 2: make sure that extends into twenty twenty six. By bringing
36:35
Speaker 2: Dalton Reisner back. They have found it. He wants to
36:38
Speaker 2: be here. You've heard Ted Karris talk about it. You've
36:41
Speaker 2: heard of Marius Mims talk about it, how much they
36:44
Speaker 2: like playing next to him, what he brings in tangibles
36:48
Speaker 2: and also tangibly. I think if you could run it
36:50
Speaker 2: back in twenty twenty six, and again it's not perfect,
36:55
Speaker 2: it's not a dominant offensive line, but it's the best
36:59
Speaker 2: it's been with Joe Burrow and Zach Taylor. I think
37:01
Speaker 2: the Bengals quietly deserve some credit for finally getting it
37:05
Speaker 2: right after so many people pointed the finger at the
37:08
Speaker 2: Bengals and said, that's the reason Joe Burrow is going
37:11
Speaker 2: to want to leave Cincinnati. That's the reason Joe Burrow
37:14
Speaker 2: is going to be and Andrew luck and retire early.
37:16
Speaker 2: They've gotten it right. They now have found a way
37:19
Speaker 2: to build an offensive line that can protect their quarterback.
37:22
Speaker 2: They deserve credit for it.
37:24
Speaker 1: I think they deserve more credit for how they manage
37:27
Speaker 1: the cap. So when they extended first Joe, then Jamar
37:33
Speaker 1: and t on the same day, what did everybody say, Well,
37:36
Speaker 1: that's great, but you'll have no money left to spend
37:39
Speaker 1: on your defense. It's no secret that the Bengals drive
37:43
Speaker 1: hard bargains. There have been times that it probably cost
37:47
Speaker 1: them money in the long run. We could acknowledge that,
37:49
Speaker 1: but I think they should get credit for spending up
37:52
Speaker 1: to the salary cap and yet always seeming to have
37:57
Speaker 1: some room the next year to add somebody. Now right now,
38:02
Speaker 1: depending on what website you look at, they are either
38:04
Speaker 1: seventh or eighth in effective salary cap space. Again, that's
38:09
Speaker 1: with one of the highest paid quarterbacks, the highest paid
38:12
Speaker 1: wide receiver, certainly the highest paid number two receiver in
38:16
Speaker 1: the NFL. So I think they deserve credit for putting
38:19
Speaker 1: themselves in position to fix the defense this year with
38:22
Speaker 1: the cap space that they have in spite of some
38:24
Speaker 1: of those huge deals.
38:25
Speaker 2: And we've seen the Bengals when they do have cap
38:28
Speaker 2: space and a game plan and an urgency to get
38:32
Speaker 2: it fixed defensively, that they can fix it in one offseason.
38:36
Speaker 2: They did it in twenty twenty one. They added all
38:39
Speaker 2: the pieces and Bengals fans don't need me to lay
38:42
Speaker 2: out the list of all the players that they brought
38:44
Speaker 2: in twenty twenty one that helped them go to a
38:46
Speaker 2: Super Bowl. But I think you go back to that
38:49
Speaker 2: run in the Super Bowl year, it was the defense
38:51
Speaker 2: who helped carry this team all the way through the
38:54
Speaker 2: AFC Championship Game and then within a couple of minutes
38:58
Speaker 2: of winning, the franchises for Super So with that effective
39:02
Speaker 2: cap space and an urgency, now it feels to get
39:05
Speaker 2: it right. There's a good chance here the Bengals make
39:08
Speaker 2: a big swing in free agency.
39:09
Speaker 1: Joe, you did a weekly one on one interview with
39:11
Speaker 1: Zach Taylor for Fox nine team this year. You got
39:14
Speaker 1: to know him well. He is the only AFC North
39:17
Speaker 1: coach who kept his job this season. Do you think
39:20
Speaker 1: the upcoming season is make or break for Zach Taylor?
39:25
Speaker 2: I think it's only fair to the moment in time
39:30
Speaker 2: in Bengals history, the moment being the Joe Jamar t
39:33
Speaker 2: window that if it doesn't work this coming season, that
39:38
Speaker 2: the Bengals have to try a new voice. So yes,
39:40
Speaker 2: I do think it's a make or break season for
39:42
Speaker 2: Zach Taylor. What does make or break mean? I don't know.
39:45
Speaker 2: I'm gonna have to see it and see how it
39:47
Speaker 2: looks and see how it feels. But certainly if they
39:51
Speaker 2: go back to the playoffs, if they win a playoff
39:53
Speaker 2: game or two, it kind of feels like, Okay, the
39:55
Speaker 2: Bengals are back on track. Zach's the guy we know.
39:58
Speaker 2: Joe likes Zach. But we've seen now in the NFL
40:03
Speaker 2: how quickly sometimes a new voice can accelerate timelines for
40:09
Speaker 2: teams New England Patriots. What four wins to the Super
40:13
Speaker 2: Bowl with Mike Rabel. Look at Seattle, whant to coach
40:18
Speaker 2: in his second season, Super Bowl. Look at the Bears,
40:22
Speaker 2: Ben Johnson new coach, team going back to the playoffs.
40:27
Speaker 2: So sometimes yes, a change at that position, a new
40:31
Speaker 2: voice can re energize, reinvigorate a team. But Zach Taylor,
40:37
Speaker 2: I believe, I believe deserves one more year. I don't
40:42
Speaker 2: think people sometimes fully credit the idea of coaching without
40:48
Speaker 2: your quarterback and the Bengals not making the playoffs this
40:52
Speaker 2: last year and Joe Burrow missed nine games. Eight games,
40:57
Speaker 2: that's a lot. It's hard for a team to make
40:59
Speaker 2: it back to the playoffs. It's hard to fire a
41:01
Speaker 2: coach that has gotten you to a Super Bowl, in
41:04
Speaker 2: the AFC Championship and back to back years in the
41:06
Speaker 2: last five years because his quarterback wasn't healthy. Now, I
41:10
Speaker 2: know that's not as simple as just that, but I
41:12
Speaker 2: do believe Zach Taylor deserves one more year, a prove
41:17
Speaker 2: it season for the Bengals head coach to prove he
41:19
Speaker 2: can do it with this group. And based off of
41:22
Speaker 2: our numbers, I think if you put a ninety percent
41:25
Speaker 2: chance or an eighty five percent chance on the team
41:27
Speaker 2: going to the playoffs. Then they don't make it, that's
41:30
Speaker 2: a massive disappointment and a new voice might be needed.
41:34
Speaker 2: So yes, I do think make or break year for
41:37
Speaker 2: Zach Taylor and his coaching staff.
41:39
Speaker 1: I think that's probably the case. This will be Zach's
41:43
Speaker 1: eighth year as the Bengals head coach. Keep in mind
41:47
Speaker 1: that puts him halfway to Marvin Lewis's tenure, so we
41:51
Speaker 1: know Mike Brown is very patient. But one thing to
41:54
Speaker 1: keep in mind with Marvin going into or roughly the
41:58
Speaker 1: same spot, So going into his nineth year, the fan
42:01
Speaker 1: base was down on him. They were ready for a change,
42:04
Speaker 1: and that's kind of when like Marvin two point oh began.
42:09
Speaker 1: They drafted Andy and AJ and they got good again
42:12
Speaker 1: and they went to the playoffs five straight years. Unfortunately,
42:15
Speaker 1: they couldn't get over the hump and win a playoff game,
42:18
Speaker 1: But sticking with Marvin proved to be a good move,
42:21
Speaker 1: I believe. I mean, it's hard to make the playoffs
42:23
Speaker 1: five straight years, especially in the AFC North, so I
42:27
Speaker 1: think Zach is poised to have a similar resurgence. Andy
42:31
Speaker 1: probably needs to. But at roughly the same time, when
42:36
Speaker 1: Marvin had his two point oh and they got good again.
42:39
Speaker 1: I think that that's, you know, what the Bengals are
42:42
Speaker 1: banking on with Zach. We'll see if it happens. We
42:45
Speaker 1: both think it's likely this year at least, but something
42:49
Speaker 1: to keep in mind in terms of the likelihood that
42:51
Speaker 1: he sticks around for a while as the Bengals head coach.
42:55
Speaker 1: Topic number nine, Give me a Joe Daniman related hot take.
43:02
Speaker 2: Okay, so I think this is a hot take, but
43:05
Speaker 2: my bold move earlier wasn't nearly as bold as yours.
43:10
Speaker 2: So I'll go as hot as I think I can go.
43:13
Speaker 2: That Jamar Chase does something that not even Jerry Rice,
43:19
Speaker 2: Randy Moss, Calvin Johnson pick your all time favorite big
43:24
Speaker 2: name wide receiver has ever done, and that's become the
43:29
Speaker 2: first player in eighty years to win the wide Receiver
43:34
Speaker 2: Triple Crown twice. If he played all seventeen games this year,
43:39
Speaker 2: remember the one game he missed because of suspension, he
43:42
Speaker 2: would have finished with the most catches in the NFL.
43:45
Speaker 2: He would have broken his own franchise record for most
43:48
Speaker 2: catches in a season. The yards, the touchdowns, They were
43:51
Speaker 2: slightly down this season, but he played nine games without
43:54
Speaker 2: Joe Burrow one hundred and eighty five targets is absolutely absurd,
44:00
Speaker 2: and that's in sixteen games. So I know, thinking, oh,
44:04
Speaker 2: he might get two hundred targets next year, that's not
44:07
Speaker 2: going to happen because you look back at some of
44:08
Speaker 2: the games that he had the target share. That Thursday
44:11
Speaker 2: night game against Seattle when he had won twenty four
44:14
Speaker 2: twenty five targets, maybe that target number isn't going to
44:17
Speaker 2: go higher than one eighty five. But you give him
44:20
Speaker 2: something around that number, he will win the triple ground
44:24
Speaker 2: for a second time in three years, something that hasn't
44:28
Speaker 2: been done by the same player twice in the NFL
44:32
Speaker 2: since the nineteen forties.
44:35
Speaker 1: Love it, excellent hot take, And actually, as you're building
44:39
Speaker 1: up to the climax there, I thought you were going
44:41
Speaker 1: to say something slightly different, which made me wonder if
44:45
Speaker 1: this is going to happen. How about Jamar Chase becoming
44:48
Speaker 1: the first two thousand yard receiver in NFL history. Calvin
44:53
Speaker 1: Johnson came closest. Megatron had nineteen something, I believe, but
44:57
Speaker 1: nobody's ever hit two thousand as a wide receiver. Running
45:00
Speaker 1: Backs have done it, so as much as they throw
45:02
Speaker 1: it these days in the NFL, you would think somebody's
45:05
Speaker 1: going to do it sometime soon. Why not?
45:07
Speaker 2: Jamar and Calvin Johnson did his I believe in a
45:10
Speaker 2: sixteen game schedule, So now seventeen games, Hey, why not?
45:15
Speaker 2: That's even hotter? Okay? I like that one better than
45:18
Speaker 2: the Striple Crown twice two thousand yards for Jamar Chase.
45:23
Speaker 1: All right, mine is Bengals related. I think this one's
45:27
Speaker 1: pretty hot.
45:28
Speaker 2: Are you ready ready?
45:30
Speaker 1: Chris collins Worth is the greatest analyst in the history
45:35
Speaker 1: of sports TV In any.
45:37
Speaker 2: Sport, he's outstanding, and him with Taurico is the best
45:42
Speaker 2: listen in the NFL.
45:45
Speaker 1: So anytime I post anything positive about Chris on X,
45:50
Speaker 1: a bunch of people get back to me and say,
45:53
Speaker 1: you've got to be kidding, right, he sucks. I hate
45:55
Speaker 1: Chris collins Worth. If you hate Chris collins Worth, it's
45:59
Speaker 1: probably be because he said something critical but honest about
46:04
Speaker 1: the team that you root for. John Madden is the
46:07
Speaker 1: most beloved commentator in sports history. Bob Trumpy was awesome.
46:12
Speaker 1: He's in the Pro Football Hall of Fame as an announcer,
46:15
Speaker 1: not as a tight end pickout. Tim McCarver and baseball
46:18
Speaker 1: Hubie Brown and basketball Bill Raftory Tony Kuback for when
46:23
Speaker 1: I was a kid in baseball. I honestly think if
46:27
Speaker 1: I had to pick one in all of those sports,
46:30
Speaker 1: it would be Collinsworth. Honest, critical, funny, uber, prepared at
46:37
Speaker 1: all times. That is my hot take. Chris Collinsworth is
46:41
Speaker 1: the greatest color analyst in the history of televised sports.
46:45
Speaker 2: Honest, critical, intelligent, m HM, and conversational. You know, you
46:51
Speaker 2: go back to what we do, and when we went
46:53
Speaker 2: to Syracuse, the number one thing they told us when
46:56
Speaker 2: you do a broadcast is be as conversational as you
47:00
Speaker 2: possibly can be. And it's conversational explaining sometimes some difficult
47:06
Speaker 2: concepts for a not avid football viewer. You get someone
47:13
Speaker 2: on Sunday Night, I'm sure you get somewhat of a
47:16
Speaker 2: football fan that's not watching every moment breaking down the
47:20
Speaker 2: All twenty two. There is kind of a casual fan.
47:23
Speaker 2: His ability to be conversational in what he does, and
47:27
Speaker 2: he still feels like he's excited about what he's seeing
47:30
Speaker 2: and still enjoys what he's doing. And I think that's
47:33
Speaker 2: so important to what it is for a viewer to
47:36
Speaker 2: enjoy what they're watching. If the person who's commentating on
47:41
Speaker 2: the game, seems to be enjoying it. It feels like
47:44
Speaker 2: I'm going to enjoy it too. That's what I've liked
47:46
Speaker 2: about tom Brady. Tom Brady's not perfect, but Tom Brady
47:49
Speaker 2: seems to be having a great time when he's up
47:51
Speaker 2: there in the booth, and I really enjoy hearing that
47:55
Speaker 2: and listening to that, and with Chris collins Worth, that
47:57
Speaker 2: really comes through how much he's still loves to do
48:01
Speaker 2: what he does.
48:03
Speaker 1: All right. Our tenth and final topic very topical. Who
48:07
Speaker 1: wins the Super Bowl and why.
48:11
Speaker 2: I'm pretty heavy on the Seahawks in this game, and
48:14
Speaker 2: I understand how prepared Mike Vrabel and his staff will
48:17
Speaker 2: be for this game. But if there are five paths
48:22
Speaker 2: for these teams to win this game, I think four
48:24
Speaker 2: of the paths go to the Seahawks and there's one
48:28
Speaker 2: path for the Patriots. The fact that Seattle shows up
48:32
Speaker 2: with that defense, with their run game, the way Kenneth
48:36
Speaker 2: Walker has looked now that Zach Charboney is not playing,
48:39
Speaker 2: did a masterful job Seattle did all season long, and
48:42
Speaker 2: keeping Kenneth Walker fresh for the playoffs and now eventually
48:45
Speaker 2: the Super Bowl. I think he's a difference maker with
48:48
Speaker 2: the ball in his hand and he'll get the ball
48:49
Speaker 2: fifteen to twenty times. He's going to make some big
48:52
Speaker 2: plays against New England. I think the one path for
48:56
Speaker 2: New England to win the game is if Sam Darnold
49:01
Speaker 2: just Sam Darnald's this thing and turns the ball over twice.
49:05
Speaker 2: What are you doing with that pass? Oh my gosh,
49:08
Speaker 2: he dropped the snap. Sam Darnald turned into a pumpkin
49:11
Speaker 2: on the Super Bowl. That's the path for me for
49:14
Speaker 2: the Patriots. But if Sam Darnald doesn't throw this thing away,
49:18
Speaker 2: I think Seattle's defense, their run game, and their ability
49:21
Speaker 2: to make plays and wide receiver with JSN, I think
49:25
Speaker 2: that ultimately leads to a Seattle pretty comfortable win to
49:28
Speaker 2: the Super Bowl.
49:29
Speaker 1: Don't know about comfortable, but I agree that Seattle's going
49:32
Speaker 1: to win. And there's probably just as much of a
49:35
Speaker 1: chance that Drake May pulls a Sam Donald as there
49:39
Speaker 1: is that Sam Donald pulls a Sam Donald. Drake May
49:42
Speaker 1: has fumbled six times in the playoffs so far this year.
49:46
Speaker 1: The Patriots had the third easiest schedule in the last
49:50
Speaker 1: forty eight years, according to the Metrics. To their credit,
49:55
Speaker 1: they won the games. They beat good teams in the playoffs.
49:57
Speaker 1: They are a good team and they're in a sending teams,
50:00
Speaker 1: so this might be the last chance in a while
50:03
Speaker 1: to get them. But I think Seattle is proven this
50:07
Speaker 1: year to be the better team on both sides of
50:10
Speaker 1: the ball. They're the number one seed in the NFC
50:13
Speaker 1: and got through a division that had three teams that
50:16
Speaker 1: won twelve or more games. They are battle tested. The
50:20
Speaker 1: defense is awesome, number one scoring defense, number one against
50:24
Speaker 1: the run. Again, I kind of agree with you. Sam
50:27
Speaker 1: Donald was part of twenty turnovers this year, most in
50:30
Speaker 1: the NFL. He's probably going to commit one or two
50:33
Speaker 1: in the Super Bowl. But if he doesn't fall on
50:36
Speaker 1: his face, I think Seattle wins. I think it's probably
50:39
Speaker 1: going to be a close game, but I think Seattle wins.
50:42
Speaker 2: So I don't like to open myself for people to
50:45
Speaker 2: come back and point a finger and say gotcha. But
50:48
Speaker 2: during the second half of the Rams Seahawks NFC Championship,
50:52
Speaker 2: I tweeted, this is one hell of a Super Bowl,
50:55
Speaker 2: So it's out there. If the Patriots win it on Sunday,
50:59
Speaker 2: people will come at me and say, oh yeah, how
51:01
Speaker 2: about that JB varsity game from the ABC Championship And
51:05
Speaker 2: NFC Championship is what it kind of felt like to me.
51:08
Speaker 2: So I've got it out there that I think Seattle
51:10
Speaker 2: is gonna win and win comfortably. So I think I
51:12
Speaker 2: have to stand by it.
51:13
Speaker 1: The underdogs one for the last file boys. So it
51:16
Speaker 1: is the super Bowl. We'll see, but we are in
51:19
Speaker 1: agreement about two things. Number one, the Bengals are going
51:22
Speaker 1: to the playoffs next year eighty five percent we've settled
51:25
Speaker 1: on as our number. And that Seattle will win the
51:29
Speaker 1: Super Bowl. Joe, this has been great. Really appreciate your time,
51:33
Speaker 1: great takes as always, and look forward to doing it
51:36
Speaker 1: again sometime relatively soon.
51:38
Speaker 2: Always a pleasure, Dan, anytime you need me. I always
51:42
Speaker 2: enjoy doing this one.
51:42
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