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Bengals Booth Podcast: Money, Money, Money, Money · Bengals Booth Podcast

0:03
Speaker 1: Hi, get everybody on Dan Horde, and thanks for downloading
0:06
Speaker 1: the Bengals Booth Podcast. The Money Money, Money, Money Money addition,
0:14
Speaker 1: as we take a look at the big bucks the
0:16
Speaker 1: Bengals are reportedly shelling out in free agency. By the way,
0:20
Speaker 1: that Money, Money, Money Money song is my second favorite
0:24
Speaker 1: OJ's tune behind Backstabbers. My guest on this edition is
0:29
Speaker 1: NFL analyst Andy Benoit, formerly of Sports Illustrated and The MMQB.
0:34
Speaker 1: He's as good as it gets at studying the tape
0:37
Speaker 1: and sharing his insights, and he'll weigh in on the
0:40
Speaker 1: four free agents the Bengals have reportedly signed. I stress
0:44
Speaker 1: reportedly because until they pass physicals and put pen to paper,
0:48
Speaker 1: NFL teams are not permitted to make official announcements. The
0:53
Speaker 1: Bengals Booth Podcast is presented by Prime Sport, the official fan,
0:57
Speaker 1: travel and hospitality partner of the Cincinnati Bengals. And here's
1:01
Speaker 1: a quick reminder that you can have the latest edition
1:04
Speaker 1: of this podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet, or
1:08
Speaker 1: computer by subscribing. It's the greatest thing since watching the
1:14
Speaker 1: nineteen seventy five World Series with your kid. Back in
1:18
Speaker 1: two thousand and six, I purchased a DVD box set
1:22
Speaker 1: of the nineteen seventy five World Series, the Classic seven
1:26
Speaker 1: Games Showdown between the Reds and Red Sox. After making
1:30
Speaker 1: the purchase, I immediately watched Game six, the Carlton Fiscom
1:34
Speaker 1: run game, but I had never gone back and relived
1:37
Speaker 1: the entire series until this week. I've been watching a
1:41
Speaker 1: game every night with my thirteen year old son and
1:44
Speaker 1: we're having a ball after this. We're planning on all
1:48
Speaker 1: seven games of a classic NBA Finals, and I'm sure
1:52
Speaker 1: we'll watch entire NFL games as well. The Freezer Bowl
1:56
Speaker 1: seems like a great place to start, so if you
1:59
Speaker 1: miss watching live sporting events, and don't we all, it's
2:03
Speaker 1: a fun alternative. Now let's get to this week's guest.
2:08
Speaker 1: For many years, Andy Benoit has been one of my
2:11
Speaker 1: favorite NFL analysts and he's been a frequent guest on
2:14
Speaker 1: our Bengals radio shows. This week, after it was reported
2:18
Speaker 1: that the Bengals had reached a deal with free agent
2:20
Speaker 1: defensive tackle DJ Reader, Andy tweeted out video analysis for
2:25
Speaker 1: why he thinks it's such a valuable pickup. I reached
2:29
Speaker 1: out to Andy to get his thoughts on all four
2:31
Speaker 1: of the free agents that the Bengals have reportedly agreed
2:34
Speaker 1: to deals with, as well as the state of the
2:37
Speaker 1: linebacker position and the possibility of Andy Dalton winding up
2:42
Speaker 1: with the Patriots. Andy and the Bengals signed DJ Reader.
2:47
Speaker 1: You tweeted out that it was a great, great signing
2:50
Speaker 1: by the Bengals in the second great was in all caps?
2:55
Speaker 1: Why such a great pickup? Well, first of all, I
2:58
Speaker 1: don't know how to tell us I and twit. I
3:00
Speaker 1: don't even know if you can, So that's why I
3:02
Speaker 1: did all caps in the second grade. But I think
3:06
Speaker 1: for one, obviously Cincinnati badly, badly needed help and run defense,
3:11
Speaker 1: and Reader obviously fits that bill. But I think there's
3:14
Speaker 1: a lot more to him than what would lead the eye.
3:16
Speaker 1: And I've been guilty of this as well. You put
3:18
Speaker 1: on the film, he kind of just by default expect
3:21
Speaker 1: to see a guy who's a first and second down
3:23
Speaker 1: run defender, and he is a great one at that.
3:26
Speaker 1: But he can bring some juice to the pass rush.
3:28
Speaker 1: He's not going to be confused for Geno Atkins per se,
3:32
Speaker 1: but his ability to move left and right within confined
3:35
Speaker 1: areas is very good. He can penetrate and get up
3:38
Speaker 1: the field, and I think that's going to help a
3:40
Speaker 1: lot on their first and second down pass rush because
3:43
Speaker 1: one thing Reader gives you, he'll line up at that
3:46
Speaker 1: nose shape position where he's kind of tilted over the center.
3:50
Speaker 1: He has a very good sense for how to transition
3:52
Speaker 1: from being a run defender to a pass rusher at
3:55
Speaker 1: that position from that spot, and that can be a
3:58
Speaker 1: deceptively valuable weapon, especially anymore with so many teams play
4:03
Speaker 1: action passing is now so common that you've got to
4:06
Speaker 1: be able to stop the pass on first and second down.
4:09
Speaker 1: That sounds really unusual to me for somebody who's three
4:12
Speaker 1: hundred and forty seven pounds, And that's why the Bengals
4:15
Speaker 1: paid him all that money. Guys like that at that
4:18
Speaker 1: size typically do not they can't move as well as
4:21
Speaker 1: he does. And another thing, I'm mat Reader at the
4:24
Speaker 1: Senior Bowl a few years ago, and the reason he
4:27
Speaker 1: was there is because the Houston Texans coaching staff they
4:31
Speaker 1: were coaching one of the Senior Bowl teams, and Reader
4:34
Speaker 1: realized hates a chance to just go get some free
4:37
Speaker 1: coaching and be around I get I'm allowed to do that,
4:40
Speaker 1: So he just went to the Senior Bowl to be
4:41
Speaker 1: around coaches, to get that much more exposure to football.
4:45
Speaker 1: I was like in his second or third season. So
4:47
Speaker 1: that's the kind of guy that the Bengals have signed.
4:49
Speaker 1: What does that addition mean to Gino, to Carlos Dunlapping,
4:53
Speaker 1: the other guys up front? You know someone's gonna get
4:56
Speaker 1: double team because typically it's four man rush versus five
4:59
Speaker 1: man protect. You know, in the run game, it's a
5:03
Speaker 1: little bit different. And even though I'm saying Reader's a
5:05
Speaker 1: great pass rusher for what he is, you're still signing
5:08
Speaker 1: him primarily for your run defense. I don't know against
5:11
Speaker 1: the run if it makes a huge difference for those
5:13
Speaker 1: guys because run plays tend to just be based on
5:16
Speaker 1: the structure of the defense and we're going to double
5:19
Speaker 1: team near the ball and work up or whatever it
5:21
Speaker 1: is we're gonna do. It's more in past protection where
5:24
Speaker 1: you really focus on, Hey, how do we take away Dunlap?
5:27
Speaker 1: What do we do to stop Geno Atkins? So to
5:31
Speaker 1: answer your question, that answer becomes a function of how
5:34
Speaker 1: often will read or be on the field and obvious
5:37
Speaker 1: passing situations. And let's say he's on for ten snaps
5:42
Speaker 1: a game, and abvious past situations, which would be a lot,
5:44
Speaker 1: but he did that at times in Houston. I would
5:47
Speaker 1: imagine he's not going to draw the extra attention in
5:50
Speaker 1: and of himself many of those times, if at all,
5:53
Speaker 1: so you know, as great as he is, I don't
5:56
Speaker 1: know if it makes a big difference for Geno Atkins
5:59
Speaker 1: or Carlos other than just that they have one extra
6:02
Speaker 1: good pass rusher around them. And I'd be one thing
6:06
Speaker 1: I'd be interested to know if the Bengals feel they
6:08
Speaker 1: can do stunts and twists with Reader, because that can
6:11
Speaker 1: help Atkins and Dunlap. You can certainly do that against
6:15
Speaker 1: the run, where you start them out in one gap
6:17
Speaker 1: and have them defend another gap against the pass. That's
6:20
Speaker 1: a little bit of a different story, but I would
6:23
Speaker 1: imagine the Bengals are having these discussions right now. Our
6:26
Speaker 1: guest is Andy Benoit, NFL Analysts. The Bengals have also
6:29
Speaker 1: reportedly signed two quarterbacks, so we're the Minnesota Vikings Trey
6:33
Speaker 1: Waynes to play on the outside and Mackenzie Alexander to
6:36
Speaker 1: play in the slot. What did you think of each guy?
6:39
Speaker 1: And have the Bengals upgraded their secondary? Yes, I think
6:43
Speaker 1: they have upgraded the secondary, especially considering they were playing
6:46
Speaker 1: with some backups last year that spot. Both guys had
6:51
Speaker 1: fine careers in Minnesota, stellar careers, but the hard reality
6:57
Speaker 1: is also you know they were their first time they
7:00
Speaker 1: have been free agents, and the team that drafted him,
7:02
Speaker 1: Trey Wayne's is a first round pick. McKenzie I was
7:05
Speaker 1: in or the second rounder. The team that drafted him
7:07
Speaker 1: with that high of a draft capitol didn't re signed them.
7:10
Speaker 1: So obviously their careers in Minnesota were not great. But
7:13
Speaker 1: I think Wayne, I know the Vikings felt he was
7:16
Speaker 1: their top cover corner last year. Alexander's a pretty classic
7:21
Speaker 1: pier slot guy. Both of those guys are experienced in
7:24
Speaker 1: zone coverage with your Vikings do a lot, and that's
7:28
Speaker 1: the way Cincinnati has typically played. The Bengals released right
7:33
Speaker 1: guard John Miller and have reportedly signed Xavier sue Philo.
7:37
Speaker 1: Is that an upgrade? Well, sue Philo's typically played on
7:41
Speaker 1: the left side in his career, and that's I'm sure
7:44
Speaker 1: that's where he's most comfortable. That doesn't mean he can't
7:47
Speaker 1: play on the right. But what's always stood out with
7:50
Speaker 1: sue Field he's not a very strong player physically. He's
7:54
Speaker 1: gotten better in that sense, there's no question he got
7:56
Speaker 1: better A few years ago there, but that's not his strength.
7:59
Speaker 1: What you want was to a feel of the reason
8:01
Speaker 1: you'd pay him is he's a very mobile run blocker,
8:04
Speaker 1: and when he does what they call gap scheme runs
8:07
Speaker 1: where you're pull blocking, he is very good at staying
8:10
Speaker 1: tight to the line of scrimmage. He's a highly efficient
8:13
Speaker 1: pull blocker. Now I don't know if Sue Filo would
8:17
Speaker 1: be as good of a puller if he's pulling from
8:19
Speaker 1: the right guard spot versus the left. And when I
8:21
Speaker 1: say I don't know, I mean I don't know. We
8:23
Speaker 1: haven't seen it. But overall, Dan, I do think it's
8:26
Speaker 1: still an outgre I mean the Bengals they didn't have
8:28
Speaker 1: far to go to upgrade along their offensive line. That
8:31
Speaker 1: was a real problem area for them last year. We're
8:33
Speaker 1: talking to Andy Benoit. You can follow him on Twitter
8:36
Speaker 1: and see some great video analysis at Andy Underscore Benoit
8:40
Speaker 1: be n O. I getting back to the offensive line.
8:44
Speaker 1: Jonah Williams. We assume he'll be back and healthy at
8:47
Speaker 1: left tackle. The Bengals are hoping that Michael Jordan Fred
8:50
Speaker 1: Johnson can make progress in year two. Are those the
8:53
Speaker 1: building blocks of an offensive line that should be significantly better? Well,
9:00
Speaker 1: I mean, I think Williams and theory can be a
9:02
Speaker 1: building block, though, to be honest, I think it's difficult
9:06
Speaker 1: to build around a tackle in today's NFL for your
9:10
Speaker 1: offensive line. Really the guys that make a difference, and
9:13
Speaker 1: when you're talking about when you say a building block,
9:15
Speaker 1: in my mind's eye, Dan, I see, okay, guys that
9:17
Speaker 1: are influencing the scheme, Guys that are bringing the dynamic
9:21
Speaker 1: traits to how we play, what's happening after the snap.
9:25
Speaker 1: Really that comes from the guard position, and so if
9:28
Speaker 1: you want to change the makeup of your line signing,
9:31
Speaker 1: a really good guard can do that. Tackles, in my opinion,
9:35
Speaker 1: the reason they get paid is because they're the insurance
9:37
Speaker 1: policy to protect your quarterback, and that's obviously that's a
9:40
Speaker 1: very important role. So Williams can be the building block
9:44
Speaker 1: in the sense that they have a guy at left
9:46
Speaker 1: tackle they can feel comfortable with, probably get more guys
9:50
Speaker 1: out and routes because they're not having to help their
9:52
Speaker 1: line quite as much if he's in there. But those
9:55
Speaker 1: other guys to me are puzzle piece players. And I
9:58
Speaker 1: imagine and the I'm sure that Bengals would feel fine,
10:01
Speaker 1: especially with Jordan going into this season, But I would
10:04
Speaker 1: imagine that their scouting department, their assistant coaches are still
10:08
Speaker 1: keeping an eye on what kind of guards are available.
10:11
Speaker 1: To me, that'd still be a draft need for them.
10:14
Speaker 1: Let's talk about linebacker. The Bengals reportedly got outbid for
10:18
Speaker 1: Joe Schobert and Nick Witkowski. They have Germaine Pratts and
10:23
Speaker 1: really some special teams guys on the roster right now.
10:26
Speaker 1: Are there any free agent linebackers still out there that
10:29
Speaker 1: you like? The last I heard as we were recording
10:31
Speaker 1: is I believe alec Ogletree is still available. I've liked
10:35
Speaker 1: him a lot. I think he got better as a
10:37
Speaker 1: RAM over his career. He became a more alert and
10:40
Speaker 1: reliable player, and he can still move very well, and
10:44
Speaker 1: the Giants saw that last year. So he's not going
10:47
Speaker 1: to go all pro or anything like that, but he
10:49
Speaker 1: would be a drastic upgrade versus what they've had in
10:53
Speaker 1: the past few years. And the linebacker market did kind
10:57
Speaker 1: of get cleaned out pretty quickly. I think a lot
11:00
Speaker 1: of the top linebackers were signed early in this process,
11:03
Speaker 1: no question about that. The Bengals spent reportedly have spent.
11:08
Speaker 1: Nothing's final until the physicals are done, but fifty three
11:11
Speaker 1: million on Reader, forty two million on Wanes, four million
11:16
Speaker 1: for one year on Alexander. So that's ninety nine million
11:19
Speaker 1: on the defensive line and the secondary. Nothing yet on linebacker.
11:24
Speaker 1: What is the relative importance of that position in the
11:28
Speaker 1: current NFL. Well, if you're strong at your D line
11:32
Speaker 1: in your secondary, I think you can help your linebackers
11:35
Speaker 1: and kind of plug them in a little bit, especially
11:37
Speaker 1: since you're if you're going to be a zone defense,
11:39
Speaker 1: which the Bengals are now. Having said that, you feel
11:44
Speaker 1: a little bit like you're playing with fire when you
11:46
Speaker 1: talk about this team in that regard, because there were
11:49
Speaker 1: times last year where their linebackers really immensely struggled, And
11:54
Speaker 1: so I would not blame the Bengals at all for
11:57
Speaker 1: almost overcorrecting in that position because they just were. They
12:02
Speaker 1: really struggle a linebacker at times. So you can plug
12:06
Speaker 1: them in in theory, but you can't. You've got to
12:10
Speaker 1: have a you don't need the highest for this, right
12:12
Speaker 1: then you don't need the highest ceiling with your linebackers
12:14
Speaker 1: and that kind of scheme given what they have at
12:16
Speaker 1: the other spots, but you do need a higher floor
12:20
Speaker 1: than what they've had recently, a few more questions for
12:23
Speaker 1: NFL analysts Andy Benoit, do you have a few best
12:27
Speaker 1: moves so far in NFL Free agency and worst moves
12:31
Speaker 1: so far at NFL free agency? Some of the trades
12:35
Speaker 1: I think I've really liked, Like they're like Buckner from
12:37
Speaker 1: the forty nine Ers to the Colts. I thought that
12:40
Speaker 1: was a trade that really benefited both teams given their
12:43
Speaker 1: respective cabin and situations in their draft capital. I like
12:47
Speaker 1: it when you see trades that benefit both sides. Does
12:50
Speaker 1: it seem like we're getting a lot more trades than
12:52
Speaker 1: we used to? Yes, yeah, I would's so that makes
12:56
Speaker 1: it more exciting. That certainly makes it more exciting. Some
12:59
Speaker 1: of the trade you scratch your head out a little bit.
13:01
Speaker 1: I'm probably in the group of people that have wandered
13:04
Speaker 1: a little bit about why DeAndre Hopkins trade went the
13:07
Speaker 1: way it did. But you know, we don't know any
13:11
Speaker 1: of this stuff to we see how all of these
13:13
Speaker 1: guys fit with their new team. And I learned a
13:14
Speaker 1: good lesson last year dan with Zadarius Smith and Preston Smith,
13:19
Speaker 1: especially Preston Smith. I didn't think that those were great
13:22
Speaker 1: signings by the Packers. I liked is Zadarius Smith as
13:25
Speaker 1: a raven, but I didn't think throwing all that money
13:28
Speaker 1: at him and Preston Smith was worthwhile. And obviously the
13:32
Speaker 1: biggest difference in Green based defense this year into defense
13:35
Speaker 1: that helped them go to the NSC Championship was having
13:38
Speaker 1: those two guys. So the right free agent can do
13:42
Speaker 1: a lot for you. The problem is most teams will
13:44
Speaker 1: they've bat about two fifty on their free agent signings.
13:48
Speaker 1: Is there a quarterback the Patriots should pursue in your opinion, Well,
13:54
Speaker 1: we have to remember and it's gonna maybe be different
13:56
Speaker 1: because we still have the draft to account for and
13:59
Speaker 1: there could be their opportunities to get guys, but as
14:02
Speaker 1: of right now, their white receiving core is very limited,
14:06
Speaker 1: so if they're gonna be dependent on play design as
14:09
Speaker 1: much as anything. So a guy like Jamis Winston to me,
14:12
Speaker 1: whose value if you can curtail the interceptions, and that's
14:15
Speaker 1: a big if. His value is his ability to work
14:18
Speaker 1: the ball down field at the deeper intermediate levels. That's
14:22
Speaker 1: not the kind of quarterback that would suit New England
14:25
Speaker 1: right now because they're gonna be dinking and dunking like
14:27
Speaker 1: they have in recent years, trying to feature Julian Elman
14:31
Speaker 1: and line up in ways that help their wide receivers.
14:33
Speaker 1: So a guy, a serviceable guy that you trust to
14:37
Speaker 1: run the offense and play on schedule by design, that's
14:41
Speaker 1: the kind of quarterback they oble to be looking for. Now,
14:43
Speaker 1: who is that guy? I know a lot of people
14:45
Speaker 1: will suggested maybe Andy Dalton and theory that could be
14:48
Speaker 1: the right kind of fit to me. Let's we'll put
14:53
Speaker 1: it this because Dalton and Winston are kind of the
14:54
Speaker 1: two that are left standing right now. Dalton is a
14:58
Speaker 1: better fit than Winston is he's available. You know these guys.
15:02
Speaker 1: He's become available for a reason as well. It's it's rare.
15:05
Speaker 1: And I know Tom Brady just hit the market and
15:07
Speaker 1: that's that's what makes it rare. But it's rare, especially
15:10
Speaker 1: a quarterback, to find a flawless or even a not
15:13
Speaker 1: so flawed the specimen just sitting out there waiting to
15:17
Speaker 1: be signed. Last question for NFL analyst Andy Benoit. You
15:22
Speaker 1: came to Cincinnati last year during OTA's and shadowed Zach
15:26
Speaker 1: Taylor for a day. You were in his office, you
15:27
Speaker 1: were in the meeting rooms, you spend time at his house.
15:30
Speaker 1: Do you see his fingerprints on what the Bengals have
15:34
Speaker 1: been doing in the off season. Yeah, that's hard to say, because,
15:37
Speaker 1: to be honest, they had so many areas that needed correcting,
15:40
Speaker 1: especially on defense. And now obviously Zach Taylor runs the
15:43
Speaker 1: offense primarily from a schematic standpoint. So I don't know
15:47
Speaker 1: if I would say I see his fingerprints yet. I
15:49
Speaker 1: imagine we will once the draft rolls around. But the
15:52
Speaker 1: roster that Taylor inherited, it wasn't an awful roster, but
15:57
Speaker 1: it was one that still needed updating. And in think
16:00
Speaker 1: of it like this, you buy a house from the
16:02
Speaker 1: mid nineties. Yeah, it's not grossly outdated, but we're gonna
16:06
Speaker 1: have to update it anyway. We might as well do
16:07
Speaker 1: it sooner than later. That's kind of what the Bengals
16:10
Speaker 1: roster is like for Zach Taylor last year. So they
16:13
Speaker 1: took a step back in order to take a step forward,
16:16
Speaker 1: and they're in the very early stages right now that
16:19
Speaker 1: step forward, per se. So I don't see his fingerprints
16:22
Speaker 1: on it a whole lot yet, but I think we
16:25
Speaker 1: will by the end of this spring. It certainly next
16:27
Speaker 1: year we'll start to see that. He's likely to have
16:30
Speaker 1: his quarterback. In April twenty third. Yeah, that'll help, but
16:33
Speaker 1: getting that quarterback helps help helps you figure out where
16:37
Speaker 1: to put the other fingerprints. Andy, this has been great.
16:41
Speaker 1: I always enjoy chatting with you. Thanks for the insight anytime, Dan. Thanks.
16:47
Speaker 1: One final note, As I mentioned early in the podcast,
16:50
Speaker 1: NFL teams are not permitted to comment about their free
16:53
Speaker 1: agent editions until physicals are completed and contracts are signed.
16:58
Speaker 1: As soon as that gets done, head coach Zach Taylor
17:01
Speaker 1: has agreed to talk to me about it and other
17:04
Speaker 1: off season maneuverings. So even though this is typically a
17:07
Speaker 1: once a week podcast in the offseason, there could be
17:10
Speaker 1: another edition coming very soon. That's going to do it
17:14
Speaker 1: for this episode of the Bengals Booth Podcast brought to
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Speaker 1: you by Prime Sport, the official fan, travel and hospitality
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Speaker 1: partner of the Cincinnati Bengals. If you haven't done so already,
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Speaker 1: please subscribe, and if you have a minute, give it
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Speaker 1: a rating or share a comment that helps more Bengals
17:30
Speaker 1: fans find this podcast. I'm Dan Horde, and thanks for
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Speaker 1: listening to The Bengals Booth Podcast.