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Bengals Booth Podcast: Holly Jolly Christmas · Bengals Booth Podcast

0:03
Speaker 1: Happy Holidays, everybody. I'm Dan Horden. Thanks for downloading the
0:07
Speaker 1: Bengals Booth Podcast. The have a Holly Jolly Christmas edition
0:14
Speaker 1: as the Bengals look to extend the holiday celebration with
0:17
Speaker 1: a home win over Arizona on Sunday. Coming up, I'll
0:21
Speaker 1: talk to former Bengals wide receiver Andrew Hawkins about trying
0:24
Speaker 1: to be the voice of reason where Cincinnati is concerned.
0:28
Speaker 1: On ESPN, a one on one player interview is with
0:31
Speaker 1: Jordan Battle, who is tied for second in the NFL
0:34
Speaker 1: in a category that should be an official NFL stat
0:39
Speaker 1: and my broadcast partner Dave Lappam will join me to
0:41
Speaker 1: discuss the value of a strong finish even in a
0:45
Speaker 1: disappointing season. The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you
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1:03
Speaker 1: Kettering Health is the official healthcare provider of the Bengals.
1:07
Speaker 1: Now here's a quick reminder that you can have the
1:09
Speaker 1: latest edition of this podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet,
1:13
Speaker 1: or computer by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's
1:18
Speaker 1: the greatest thing since Jay and Nicky Morrison. Jay Morrison,
1:24
Speaker 1: who's been writing about the Bengals for nearly three decades,
1:27
Speaker 1: most recently for Bengals Talk dot Com, lost his wife
1:31
Speaker 1: Nicki this week when a medical procedure turned catastrophic. I've
1:36
Speaker 1: had the opportunity to socialize with the Morrisons on several
1:39
Speaker 1: occasions over the years, and Nicky lit up a room
1:42
Speaker 1: with her smile, laugh, and what I would describe is
1:45
Speaker 1: her game for anything personality. In sharing the tragic news
1:49
Speaker 1: on social media, Jay described his wife of thirty seven
1:53
Speaker 1: years as a beautiful, caring, badass rocker chick. Jay is
2:00
Speaker 1: liked and respected among Bengals players and coaches, as well
2:04
Speaker 1: as those of us who cover the team. If you've
2:07
Speaker 1: enjoyed his work over the years, please keep Jay and
2:09
Speaker 1: his two kids in your thoughts and rip to Nicky, who,
2:14
Speaker 1: in my experience, made every occasion a little more fun.
2:18
Speaker 1: Now let's get to my first guest, who's enjoying remarkable
2:23
Speaker 1: success off the field after playing in the NFL for
2:26
Speaker 1: the Bengals. And Browns. You talk about an impressive resume.
2:32
Speaker 1: He played in the NFL for seven years. He's got
2:34
Speaker 1: a master's degree from an Ivy League school. He's one
2:37
Speaker 1: an Emmy, he's one an Oscar. He's a successful entrepreneur.
2:41
Speaker 1: We see him regularly on ESPN. He is former Bengals
2:46
Speaker 1: wide receiver Andrew Hawkins Hawk. We are catching you a
2:50
Speaker 1: few days after a forty five to twenty one win
2:53
Speaker 1: for the Bengals in Miami. Did you see anything last
2:57
Speaker 1: Sunday that made you think, Okay, maybe this is a
3:00
Speaker 1: preview of what's to come in twenty twenty six.
3:04
Speaker 2: Yes, yes, and no, because I feel like it was
3:07
Speaker 2: a confirmation of things that I already knew, which is
3:10
Speaker 2: the team plays so much better when Joe Burrow is
3:13
Speaker 2: in a lineup, right, Because even when you look at
3:15
Speaker 2: some of the grades, you know for a lot of
3:17
Speaker 2: the offense when he's out versus when he's in, there's
3:21
Speaker 2: just a lift that somebody with that amount of talent
3:23
Speaker 2: like it means for them. And it's not just because
3:26
Speaker 2: he's talented, it's because his leadership. It's like people feel accountable, right,
3:30
Speaker 2: they're doing their job. They understand like the gravity of
3:33
Speaker 2: the situation every time he's in there, and it was
3:36
Speaker 2: an all around great win. Brown played great. You know,
3:40
Speaker 2: this is a Miami team. Yeah, they had a new quarterback,
3:43
Speaker 2: but for the most part, they've also played really hard
3:47
Speaker 2: down the stretch. You know, for the situation they're in
3:49
Speaker 2: where their GM goes, they benched their quarterback. You have
3:52
Speaker 2: a head coach who, you know, all the national media
3:56
Speaker 2: is saying, you know, he probably is not going to
3:57
Speaker 2: be there. He can't get them to play. They play
3:59
Speaker 2: really hard. So for the Bengals to come out there
4:02
Speaker 2: and put that kind of effort forward and all around
4:04
Speaker 2: when I do feel like it's what's to come, but
4:08
Speaker 2: more of what it could be if they can keep
4:12
Speaker 2: that for the entirety of a seventeen game stretch.
4:16
Speaker 1: You've been in an interesting position in recent weeks on ESPN.
4:20
Speaker 1: Some of your colleagues I'm not going to name names,
4:23
Speaker 1: have taken comments from Joe Burrow and kind of run
4:26
Speaker 1: wild with it. Have you felt like you've had to
4:29
Speaker 1: be the voice of reason at times?
4:32
Speaker 3: I do, man, and it's hard for me.
4:34
Speaker 4: Dan.
4:34
Speaker 2: I'm not going to lie, because I really do have
4:37
Speaker 2: a deep Bengals fandom, right and you know my history.
4:42
Speaker 2: I've obviously played for the Browns for a number of years.
4:45
Speaker 2: That organization has been incredible to me. I grew up
4:48
Speaker 2: a Bengals fan. I've been a part of Woday nation
4:51
Speaker 2: since nineteen ninety eight, like I could name all the quarterbacks.
4:54
Speaker 2: The first training camp or NFL practice I ever went
4:58
Speaker 2: to was actually before my rather even played for the team,
5:01
Speaker 2: and Eric b Enemy pulled me out of the stands
5:03
Speaker 2: randomly and took me in the locker room to get
5:05
Speaker 2: autographs and that kind of cement to me as a
5:07
Speaker 2: Bengals fan. And so I'm always in this weird situation,
5:11
Speaker 2: obviously rooting for both franchisees, but more importantly, when I'm
5:14
Speaker 2: on television or we're having these conversations, it is really
5:18
Speaker 2: tough for me to separate people being analysts and me being,
5:22
Speaker 2: you know, letting the thirteen year old version of me
5:25
Speaker 2: speak in my answers and what my perspective is. And
5:29
Speaker 2: I do feel like I need to be the voice
5:30
Speaker 2: of reason at times, just because you know, I think
5:34
Speaker 2: it's easy to look at all these situations in a vacuum.
5:37
Speaker 2: And why I give the detail of being a fan
5:40
Speaker 2: of the Bengals organization since I was a kid. It
5:43
Speaker 2: is because every situation plays back in your mind, like
5:47
Speaker 2: you do, go back to a baseline of like, well,
5:52
Speaker 2: what is the last situation we saw with this happening?
5:54
Speaker 2: What is the last situation we saw with that? What
5:56
Speaker 2: are the time when the organization has been successful, when
5:58
Speaker 2: the players have been SUCCESSU what is the mindset?
6:01
Speaker 3: And you know?
6:02
Speaker 2: And so I feel like in a lot of those
6:04
Speaker 2: conversations I find myself sometimes probably skewing a little bit
6:08
Speaker 2: more bangal than player, which is just the opposite of
6:11
Speaker 2: what I do for all other thirty one organizations. But
6:14
Speaker 2: at the same time, I think there's validity to it,
6:16
Speaker 2: meaning like, look, nothing's ever going to be perfect. And
6:20
Speaker 2: in the NFL and my experience, the better you are,
6:25
Speaker 2: the better that you say you are, the better the
6:27
Speaker 2: fans think you are, the better, the organization pays you
6:30
Speaker 2: and puts more. There is more on your shoulders. The
6:33
Speaker 2: standard is different. And is it fair. Absolutely not. But
6:37
Speaker 2: I can remember being in those games in close environments
6:40
Speaker 2: and if I don't make a play, it's like, damn Hawk,
6:43
Speaker 2: we wish you would have made that play. When AJ
6:47
Speaker 2: has to make a play, it's like, hey, what this
6:50
Speaker 2: hat like we're banking on this the old everybody your
6:53
Speaker 2: expected and he understood that, right, because with great power
6:56
Speaker 2: comes great responsibility. So yeah, I do find myself being
7:00
Speaker 2: trying to be the voice of reason, trying to give
7:03
Speaker 2: you know, the sky isn't falling and this isn't this
7:07
Speaker 2: isn't on anybody's one piece of the conversation shoulder, Whereas
7:13
Speaker 2: if everybody takes the ownership, then you can you can
7:16
Speaker 2: find ways to make the leap to the next level.
7:20
Speaker 1: I do wonder at times why certain things where the
7:23
Speaker 1: Bengals are concerned never seem to change in the mind
7:26
Speaker 1: of the national media. For example, the Bengals are cheap,
7:30
Speaker 1: so they signed Joe Burrow to the greatest contract that
7:34
Speaker 1: a quarterback had at the time in the NFL. They
7:36
Speaker 1: extend Jamar and t this past offseason, and no matter
7:40
Speaker 1: what they do, that just seems to be cemented in
7:43
Speaker 1: the minds of some people and they are not going
7:46
Speaker 1: to move off that position. And you often find yourself
7:50
Speaker 1: on sets with some of those people.
7:53
Speaker 2: I'm with you, I'm like, everything can't be true. That's
7:56
Speaker 2: the saying that I always use, right, and you know,
8:01
Speaker 2: we have probably with Cincinnati the best wide receiver duo
8:06
Speaker 2: in the NFL, and we have at the very least
8:11
Speaker 2: a top three quarterback in the NFL, if not higher,
8:15
Speaker 2: depending on what week it is or who you're talking to.
8:18
Speaker 3: Those things are cheap, those things, aren't.
8:20
Speaker 2: You know, Like, we can't have that and have every
8:24
Speaker 2: position being top five unless you just you hit a
8:28
Speaker 2: lights out draft or you go get players situationally that
8:31
Speaker 2: you probably shouldn't get or that you luck into a
8:34
Speaker 2: lot of time. So to your point, I try to
8:37
Speaker 2: remind people of like, Okay, we're you see the contracts,
8:41
Speaker 2: we talk about them week in and week out, so
8:43
Speaker 2: that the narrative that it's just being cheap and you're
8:45
Speaker 2: not players for players sake. It's just it's just it's
8:48
Speaker 2: just wrong, you know. So I'm with you one thousand percent.
8:52
Speaker 1: Hawk. When you were in Cincinnati, the Bengals had an
8:54
Speaker 1: unbelievable receiving corps. AJ Green, Marvin Jones, Mosts, a New
8:59
Speaker 1: your Elf, Tyler Raiford, Jermaine Gresham. It was pretty impressive,
9:04
Speaker 1: certainly among the best in the NFL. What do you
9:07
Speaker 1: think of the group now?
9:09
Speaker 3: Yes, I still feel the same way.
9:10
Speaker 2: I think it's I think it's the talent wise, you're
9:13
Speaker 2: getting a lot of the talent that we had in
9:14
Speaker 2: that core.
9:17
Speaker 3: With even fewer guys.
9:18
Speaker 2: You know, I think T Higgins is a number one
9:20
Speaker 2: receiver in this league. I think he's one of the
9:23
Speaker 2: best thirty two receivers in the National Football League, and
9:26
Speaker 2: I don't think he's thirty two.
9:27
Speaker 3: Obviously.
9:28
Speaker 2: Jamar Chase is one of the best receivers you know,
9:32
Speaker 2: in his time since he's stepped foot in the NFL.
9:35
Speaker 2: And I think that that's what the Bengals have always
9:38
Speaker 2: done well, you know, I think I think the Steelers
9:41
Speaker 2: for a long time got a lot of credit for
9:43
Speaker 2: their ability to go get receivers in the second, third
9:46
Speaker 2: round and turn them into like, you know, household names
9:49
Speaker 2: or Pro Bowl caliber players. And I would argue that
9:52
Speaker 2: the Bengals have done even even better, which is why
9:55
Speaker 2: it's it's been such a departure from what they not
9:58
Speaker 2: only have done, but what they've had to do, where
10:01
Speaker 2: they pay two incredibly good wide receivers because we want
10:04
Speaker 2: to keep that core intact.
10:07
Speaker 3: Because they've had so much luck.
10:09
Speaker 2: Even the names that you mentioned, those are third round picks,
10:11
Speaker 2: fifth round picks, guys that came from Canada, the second
10:15
Speaker 2: round tight ends, and it goes back to.
10:17
Speaker 3: The Hushman's side of days, the Jo Choe sinkles.
10:19
Speaker 2: These aren't top ten wide receivers drafted, you know, Tyler Boys,
10:24
Speaker 2: I mean, you name it. They've done incredibly well in
10:28
Speaker 2: that department. And they've been able not only to find
10:30
Speaker 2: guys with talent, you know, on that core. I mean,
10:33
Speaker 2: I let an NFL team in receiving most of the news,
10:36
Speaker 2: let an NFL team in receiving. Marvin Jones has let
10:39
Speaker 2: an NFL team in receiving. Aj Green has led an
10:41
Speaker 2: NFL team in receiving. That is a rarity, right for
10:44
Speaker 2: your fourth receiver to end up going to be a
10:46
Speaker 2: number one somewhere. And so you know, to your point,
10:49
Speaker 2: when I look at this team now, there is so
10:52
Speaker 2: much to build on there because even when you look
10:54
Speaker 2: at like some of the matchups are going into this week,
10:58
Speaker 2: there's just things you can bank on.
11:00
Speaker 3: There's no way you can.
11:01
Speaker 2: Cover both t and Jamar with Joe at the helm
11:07
Speaker 2: and just completely take their receivers away unless their self
11:11
Speaker 2: inflicted wounds on the Cincinnati offense side.
11:13
Speaker 3: And that's what makes them special.
11:15
Speaker 1: It is Christmas week. We have items at the top
11:18
Speaker 1: of our wish lists. What should the Bengals have at
11:21
Speaker 1: the top of their wish list going forward for next year?
11:25
Speaker 2: Continuing to invest into the defense however possible. I think,
11:32
Speaker 2: you know, doing whatever we can. And again, a lot
11:35
Speaker 2: of this happenstance, it's luck, it's the way the ball bounces.
11:40
Speaker 2: Joe Burrow playing a seventeen game season makes this a
11:44
Speaker 2: completely different team, you know. And the hope is that,
11:49
Speaker 2: you know, in any fifteen year career, there's going to
11:53
Speaker 2: be on average, probably three seasons that you're going to end.
11:56
Speaker 3: And I are right.
11:57
Speaker 2: The hope is that, Okay, we've seen those seasons now
12:00
Speaker 2: and now Joe Burrow going forward is like, you know,
12:03
Speaker 2: he's in the lineup constantly because it's just a completely
12:06
Speaker 2: different team.
12:06
Speaker 3: Right.
12:07
Speaker 2: This is such a quarterback driven league. So if you
12:09
Speaker 2: have a quarterback that's just decent, you have a chance.
12:12
Speaker 2: If you have a quarterback that is elite as Joe
12:14
Speaker 2: Burrow and he's in the lineup, this is no kidd.
12:17
Speaker 3: And you can miss the playoffs three years in.
12:18
Speaker 2: A row, and immediately next year you could be in
12:22
Speaker 2: the running to win the Super Bowl. And that's what's special.
12:24
Speaker 2: When I think you know, making sure you are building
12:27
Speaker 2: in a way that is supportive for the absolutes that
12:32
Speaker 2: you have in Joe Burrow or the receiving corps or
12:35
Speaker 2: these pieces that you can bank on. It's now, how
12:37
Speaker 2: do you lift everything else to put that insurance policy
12:41
Speaker 2: in place?
12:43
Speaker 1: Hockey, you spent your entire career in the AFC North.
12:46
Speaker 1: What do you make of the Steelers being two games
12:48
Speaker 1: up with two games to go?
12:50
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, I think at this point I'm not surprised.
12:53
Speaker 2: I think Mike Tomlin has done an incredible job.
12:56
Speaker 3: You just know what you get with him. Kind of
12:57
Speaker 3: little we talk about with absolutes.
12:59
Speaker 2: We've seen him do it, Yes, with Aaron Rodgers, who's
13:02
Speaker 2: far past his prime. That's the reality of the situation.
13:04
Speaker 2: We've seen him do it with Roethlisberger for a year,
13:06
Speaker 2: but we seen him do it, you know, with Kenny Pickett.
13:11
Speaker 2: We've seen them do it with every other quarterback that
13:15
Speaker 2: has like medaled in the middle. He's still able to
13:19
Speaker 2: produce winning seasons. So, but the reality for them and
13:22
Speaker 2: their standard is nobody in Steelers fandom or a part
13:26
Speaker 2: of that organization is going to be happy with them
13:28
Speaker 2: just winning the division, right because that is not what
13:31
Speaker 2: they play for. And because it's an absolute, it's like
13:34
Speaker 2: guaranteed we're going to win nine games. We know that,
13:37
Speaker 2: we understand that nine games plus. How do we turn
13:40
Speaker 2: that into playoff wins?
13:41
Speaker 3: How do we.
13:42
Speaker 2: Actually start to put a DT in there? And you know,
13:46
Speaker 2: for them, I would argue that there's nobody in Pittsburgh
13:50
Speaker 2: fandom organization, in the city of Pittsburgh that care about
13:54
Speaker 2: them being two games up in the division at this
13:57
Speaker 2: point if it doesn't equate to a first round playoff win.
14:00
Speaker 1: The Bengals host the Cardinals this week at pay Court Stadium.
14:03
Speaker 1: What are a couple of keys for the Bengals coming
14:06
Speaker 1: away with a victory at home?
14:08
Speaker 2: Big key for their defense would be trying to limit
14:12
Speaker 2: Trade McBride right, I think the Bengals defense, obviously, they've
14:15
Speaker 2: struggled against tight ends. I think they lead the league
14:18
Speaker 2: in receptions, giving up yards, given up touchdowns, giving up
14:21
Speaker 2: the tight ends. And Trey was a little quiet last week,
14:25
Speaker 2: and I think the Falcons did a really good job
14:27
Speaker 2: against him. So if the Bengals can take a page
14:30
Speaker 2: out of their book and limit Trey down the middle
14:32
Speaker 2: of the field, that's going to be a really really
14:35
Speaker 2: big deal for them, and I think if they can
14:36
Speaker 2: limit that offense because Jacoby Prissett, he does have the
14:39
Speaker 2: ability to be really really productive on offense. And you've
14:43
Speaker 2: seen a lift not to the Joe Burrow level, but
14:45
Speaker 2: you've seen a lift from their offense when Jacobi's in
14:49
Speaker 2: there because you understand what he can do. He's gotten
14:52
Speaker 2: even the most out of Wilson at the wide receiver position.
14:55
Speaker 2: I think Trade McBride is going to be absolutely the
15:01
Speaker 2: most important piece of that defense to try.
15:03
Speaker 3: To stop Hawk.
15:04
Speaker 1: I mentioned off the top that you are an entrepreneur.
15:07
Speaker 1: One of your ventures is Status Pro, a virtual reality
15:10
Speaker 1: company that has partnered with the NFL. Tell us a
15:14
Speaker 1: little bit about what's going on with that because we
15:16
Speaker 1: see Dan Orlovsky use it to great effect on NFL Live.
15:20
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a company my co founder, Troy Jones, and
15:23
Speaker 2: I started about seven years ago with the idea of like,
15:27
Speaker 2: how do we deepen fandom, how do we deepen understanding
15:31
Speaker 2: of what's going on because we are football guys.
15:33
Speaker 3: As you know, this has been.
15:34
Speaker 2: My life's work, and you know, if I can show
15:38
Speaker 2: people just how hard it is for Joe Burrow out
15:40
Speaker 2: there or John Kittner or Jeff Blake or you know,
15:44
Speaker 2: insert whatever quarterback for the Bengals we've watched over the years.
15:48
Speaker 2: Then I think it helps fans understand a little bit more.
15:50
Speaker 2: So what we do is the technology. We take the
15:53
Speaker 2: NGS data that NFL players wear in their shoulder pads
15:56
Speaker 2: and we convert it to a simulation, and we take
15:59
Speaker 2: that simulation and the output can be in three different ways.
16:02
Speaker 2: Number one is gaming, so we have a VR video
16:04
Speaker 2: game that's one of the best selling video games in
16:06
Speaker 2: VR history and the top selling sports video game. And
16:10
Speaker 2: then we put it in training, so we have literal
16:13
Speaker 2: you know, NFL teams, high level college teams that use
16:18
Speaker 2: it for their quarterbacks, for their special teams, for their
16:21
Speaker 2: running backs, for blitz pickup, for route recognition, formation recognition,
16:26
Speaker 2: so they can get actual reps where it feels like
16:28
Speaker 2: you're on the field and take the wear and tear
16:29
Speaker 2: off their body. And then lastly, like you mentioned, we
16:31
Speaker 2: use it in media where Dan or insert whatever analysts
16:35
Speaker 2: will put it on and explain to the fans, like
16:37
Speaker 2: the decisions that a quarterback like Joe Burrow has to make,
16:41
Speaker 2: all the considerations that have to go into that decision,
16:44
Speaker 2: making and how fast he has to make it with
16:46
Speaker 2: a limited view, right, and so it's been awesome to
16:50
Speaker 2: kind of continue to.
16:51
Speaker 3: Bring into life.
16:52
Speaker 2: Like I said, if I can contribute to the game
16:54
Speaker 2: of football in a way that makes somebody love it
16:56
Speaker 2: a little bit more than I feel like I've been
16:59
Speaker 2: a good steward of the which has been so good
17:01
Speaker 2: to me.
17:02
Speaker 1: You're doing a tremendous job on ESPN and in all
17:05
Speaker 1: of your ventures. I really appreciate your time. Happy holidays
17:08
Speaker 1: and look forward to chatting with you again down the road.
17:10
Speaker 3: My pleasure, Dan, thanks for having me man.
17:13
Speaker 1: Until recently, Andrew ranked fiftieth all time and receiving yards
17:17
Speaker 1: for the Bengals and fiftieth all time and receiving yards
17:21
Speaker 1: for the Browns. Jerry Judy recently passed him on Cleveland's
17:25
Speaker 1: all time list, but when Andrea Yosi Vosh adds seventeen
17:29
Speaker 1: yards to his career total, the symmetry will be back.
17:33
Speaker 1: Hawk will rank fifty first for both teams. Pro Bowl
17:38
Speaker 1: rosters were announced this week, and Jamar Chase was named
17:41
Speaker 1: to the AFC team for the fifth time in five years.
17:44
Speaker 1: AJ Green is the only other player in team history
17:48
Speaker 1: to start his career in similar fashion, and AJ made
17:51
Speaker 1: it in each of his first seven seasons. T Higgins,
17:55
Speaker 1: DJ Turner, and kick returner Charlie Jones were named Pro
17:59
Speaker 1: Bowl all times and could wind up being added if
18:02
Speaker 1: others are unable to play. DJ Turner, who's tied for
18:07
Speaker 1: the NFL lead and passes defense, seem to have a
18:10
Speaker 1: particularly strong case for making it this year. I discussed
18:14
Speaker 1: that and more this week with Bengals safety Jordan Battle. Jordan,
18:19
Speaker 1: I thought there was a good chance that DJ Turner
18:21
Speaker 1: was going to make the Pro Bowl roster this year.
18:23
Speaker 1: We learned on Tuesday that he's an alternate.
18:25
Speaker 5: What was your reaction, obviously, you know, if he's frustrated.
18:29
Speaker 6: I feel, you know, obviously having a great year, easily
18:33
Speaker 6: easily a top five corner in the league this year,
18:36
Speaker 6: and I feel all his frustration. I feel where he's
18:38
Speaker 6: coming from, obviously, you know, ME see him like wow,
18:42
Speaker 6: I think him in I think him and the other
18:44
Speaker 6: guy from the Bears, right, I think he. I think
18:46
Speaker 6: they both got pretty bad.
18:50
Speaker 1: I'm glad you mentioned right n Sean Wright. So in
18:54
Speaker 1: the official NFL stats, we see league leaders for interceptions,
18:58
Speaker 1: league leaders for fumbles. They never add up the two
19:01
Speaker 1: and make that into a stat for yeah, for takeaways.
19:04
Speaker 1: If they did, he's number one, you're tied for number two.
19:07
Speaker 1: He's got seven. You've got six, four interceptions and two
19:10
Speaker 1: forest fumbles. Should that be like an official NFL stat?
19:15
Speaker 1: And what's been the key for you to do so
19:17
Speaker 1: well in that category this year?
19:19
Speaker 6: Yeah, I mean they added as a stat. You know,
19:22
Speaker 6: I would love that obviously, you know, a dozen off
19:24
Speaker 6: this year, but yeah, just this year, you know, trying
19:28
Speaker 6: to be more ball away, you know, as a season
19:29
Speaker 6: going on, just understanding you know, whenever whenever there's a chance,
19:33
Speaker 6: you know, to make a tackle, you know there's a
19:35
Speaker 6: chance for the ball to come out, and obviously you
19:37
Speaker 6: know when the ball is in there, you know, just.
19:39
Speaker 5: Trying to make a play on the ball. You know, however,
19:40
Speaker 5: I can you know, I know most.
19:42
Speaker 6: Of them been been tips this year, but you know,
19:44
Speaker 6: even just going to get the ball out of the air.
19:46
Speaker 1: Sometimes going back to training camp, you guys would do
19:49
Speaker 1: drills even before you stretched to begin practice, where you're
19:53
Speaker 1: working on ripping the ball away, punching the ball away,
19:56
Speaker 1: anything you can to create takeaways. Does that because second
20:01
Speaker 1: nature muscle memory when you do that every day.
20:03
Speaker 6: Yeah, I feel like this year, like the first year
20:06
Speaker 6: I could say like I've actually been like going to
20:09
Speaker 6: punch at the ball, Like it's been on my mind,
20:11
Speaker 6: like going for a tackle, to to go for the ball.
20:14
Speaker 6: So I feel like that's that's helped me starting the
20:16
Speaker 6: training camp. OTA's you know, even when like when coach
20:19
Speaker 6: our first got here, like that was his main thing,
20:21
Speaker 6: you know, takeaways, takeaways, takeaways, rip at the ball, punch
20:24
Speaker 6: at the ball. So I feel like, uh, that's kind
20:26
Speaker 6: of been like second nature to me, like going into
20:28
Speaker 6: the games.
20:28
Speaker 1: Now, were visiting with Jordan Battle. Let me circle back
20:31
Speaker 1: to DJ Turner for a second. You guys were part
20:33
Speaker 1: of the same draft class. It's turned out to be
20:36
Speaker 1: an excellent draft for the Bengals. What have you seen
20:38
Speaker 1: in Dj this year that's taken him from the level
20:42
Speaker 1: he was at prior to this season to being one
20:44
Speaker 1: of the top five corners in the NFL.
20:46
Speaker 6: Yeah, I think just the way he's prepared, you know,
20:48
Speaker 6: coming into the week. You know, this year, he had
20:51
Speaker 6: a mindset of you know, going and garden the best
20:53
Speaker 6: even on East team. You know, I told coach Chuck that,
20:55
Speaker 6: you know, told us that, you know, and he's been
20:58
Speaker 6: living up to it. You know, he's been going out
21:00
Speaker 6: you know to practice, you know, ready to cover you know,
21:02
Speaker 6: whoever's the opponent's best receiver. You know, he's been taking
21:05
Speaker 6: that challenge very well. You know, he's been locked in
21:07
Speaker 6: into his off the field things, you know, with meditation,
21:11
Speaker 6: with his reading, you know, getting his body right, you know.
21:13
Speaker 6: And that's kind of like been been to help for
21:15
Speaker 6: me as well, you know, like just doing pilates, like
21:18
Speaker 6: doing the extra things and massages. You know, I haven't
21:21
Speaker 6: I wasn't really into pilates or you know, like stretching
21:24
Speaker 6: outside of the building, you know, and I got into that.
21:26
Speaker 6: So I feel like that's you know, elevating my game
21:28
Speaker 6: a little bit as well.
21:29
Speaker 1: Miles Murphy's part of your draft class as well. What
21:32
Speaker 1: is he showing you in the second half of this season?
21:34
Speaker 6: Uh, you know, he showed us you know everything everything,
21:37
Speaker 6: you know what he drafting them for. You know, the
21:39
Speaker 6: effort on the edge, you know, the speed, the physicality
21:43
Speaker 6: you know, setting the edge and being able to play
21:45
Speaker 6: the run game, you know, and create TFLs for defense,
21:48
Speaker 6: you know, and then obviously the speed off the edge
21:50
Speaker 6: to to get some sacks. You know, in the past
21:52
Speaker 6: few games, I feel like that he's been taking this
21:55
Speaker 6: game to the next level and he's only gonna get better.
21:58
Speaker 1: In recent weeks, after the injury to Cam Taylor Brett,
22:01
Speaker 1: Jalen Davis became the starting slide corner. Dax Hill move
22:04
Speaker 1: to outside corner. Let's start with Jalen. What do you
22:06
Speaker 1: admire and respect about him?
22:08
Speaker 6: Yeah, I just respect his just how how bored in
22:11
Speaker 6: he is and he's been, you know, even when he
22:13
Speaker 6: wasn't playing. You know, just I just respected his game,
22:17
Speaker 6: you know, respect his knowledge for the game, you know,
22:19
Speaker 6: obviously being a guy who wasn't given a chance in
22:22
Speaker 6: his career, you know, and obviously now he's been starting
22:25
Speaker 6: to pass a few games and he's been playing very
22:27
Speaker 6: well for us, you know. Uh, and he's that's predicated
22:30
Speaker 6: to all the work he's put in, you know, coming
22:32
Speaker 6: uh of living up to this moment. You know, even
22:34
Speaker 6: in the training camp, you know, see him making players
22:36
Speaker 6: in one on ones. You know, see him making plays
22:39
Speaker 6: in practice. You know, when guys aren't practicing, he comes in.
22:41
Speaker 6: He makes players, create, create turnovers in practice.
22:44
Speaker 4: You know.
22:44
Speaker 6: So, uh, when she in the game, it's like, okay,
22:47
Speaker 6: we knew he We knew he was gonna do that.
22:48
Speaker 6: You know, we knew he can trust him. You know,
22:50
Speaker 6: that's why he's out there. So just see him, you know,
22:52
Speaker 6: continue to do good. And then you know, obviously knowing
22:56
Speaker 6: that he has a great family, you know, I know
22:57
Speaker 6: they're proud of him as well.
22:58
Speaker 1: Do you feel like the team is found the best
23:00
Speaker 1: spot for Dax?
23:02
Speaker 3: Uh?
23:04
Speaker 6: Yes and no, but I feel like that's a guy
23:07
Speaker 6: who can play, you know, anywhere. Obviously we all know that.
23:10
Speaker 6: But seeing the way he's playing, you know, obviousitly DJ
23:14
Speaker 6: right now, like he's he's getting locked into that and
23:17
Speaker 6: he's he's getting comfortable in that, and uh like this
23:20
Speaker 6: might be where he where he I mean, when he
23:23
Speaker 6: the next few years might.
23:24
Speaker 5: Be where he stays.
23:24
Speaker 6: You know, obviously he's playing very well carrying Pobu's playing
23:28
Speaker 6: real good in the run game, you know, setting edges
23:31
Speaker 6: which makes it easier for safeties and linebackers to make tackles,
23:33
Speaker 6: uh and for him to make plays himself.
23:36
Speaker 5: So like, you know, he's find his spot for the
23:38
Speaker 5: next few years for sure.
23:39
Speaker 1: We're chatting with Jordan battle. You take on the Cardinals
23:42
Speaker 1: this week. They've got a tight end and Trey McBride,
23:44
Speaker 1: who's got one fewer catch than Jamar Chase. That's how
23:47
Speaker 1: often they're getting the ball to Trey McBride. What stands
23:51
Speaker 1: out about him, like you've watched the Cardinals this week.
23:53
Speaker 6: Yeah, he's a very physical route runner. He uses his
23:56
Speaker 6: hands very well coming out of his brakes. Obviously he's
24:00
Speaker 6: he's a high hot target. You know, a lot of
24:04
Speaker 6: Brissetts you know, reads or starts with him and then
24:07
Speaker 6: he goes back away to either fourteen or eighteen, you know,
24:11
Speaker 6: So he's got to understand that nor he is on
24:13
Speaker 6: the field, we kind of got a good you know
24:15
Speaker 6: feel for you know, his routes and where he's lined up,
24:19
Speaker 6: you know, so we've got to understand that, know where
24:21
Speaker 6: he is, you know, and to be able to play
24:22
Speaker 6: the routse that we that we know will will come.
24:25
Speaker 5: And obviously they like to give him a lot of a.
24:27
Speaker 6: Lot of screens or you know a lot of quick throws,
24:29
Speaker 6: you know, because he's a lot he's very physical runner
24:31
Speaker 6: as well, and he guys the ball.
24:32
Speaker 5: He has gets good rack, so you know you have
24:34
Speaker 5: to do a good job tackling as well.
24:36
Speaker 1: Be honest, I haven't watched a lot of the Cardinals
24:38
Speaker 1: this year, so studying them this week, I'm surprised by
24:41
Speaker 1: how prolific their passing tack is. After Kyle Murray went down,
24:45
Speaker 1: it got better. Koby Perssetts playing well. There's seventh in
24:49
Speaker 1: the NFL in passing yards. This is an offense that
24:52
Speaker 1: has earned your respect.
24:53
Speaker 5: Yeaheah, for sure.
24:54
Speaker 6: Obviously coming into the game, there's's probably gonna be the
24:58
Speaker 6: team that passed the most this year that we played against.
25:01
Speaker 5: Coming to the game, they were, They're very.
25:04
Speaker 6: They take the most i think play action shots this
25:07
Speaker 6: year out of any team.
25:09
Speaker 5: So we got to understand that.
25:10
Speaker 6: Know that Jacob's not a phrase to go the ball downfield,
25:13
Speaker 6: you know, So that gives us a chance to make
25:15
Speaker 6: players as well. So we've got to be in position
25:17
Speaker 6: and then go out there and make those plays.
25:18
Speaker 1: To the end of year three for you, unfortunately you
25:20
Speaker 1: haven't been to the playoffs yet. How desperate are you
25:24
Speaker 1: to turn next season, season four into the type of
25:28
Speaker 1: year that you probably expected to have when you came here.
25:30
Speaker 6: Very desperate, you know, already ready to make a playoff
25:33
Speaker 6: and win the Super Bowl, you know, I feel like
25:36
Speaker 6: that's the last thing on my checklist.
25:37
Speaker 5: You know the cross off.
25:38
Speaker 6: You know I got to the high school championship, high
25:41
Speaker 6: school national championship, got the national championship in college.
25:44
Speaker 5: I think super Bowl is the.
25:45
Speaker 6: Last thing, but first making the playoffs and then getting
25:49
Speaker 6: a Super Bowl.
25:49
Speaker 1: Appreciate your time as always, Merry Christmas, Thanks for spending
25:52
Speaker 1: a few minutes with us.
25:53
Speaker 5: May Christmas Holladays.
25:56
Speaker 1: The Bengals Booth podcast is brought to you by Paid Corps,
25:59
Speaker 1: Proud to be the ben official HR software provider, by
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Speaker 1: Ulta Fiber future Proof Fiber Internet designed elevate your home,
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Speaker 1: business and community to a new level, and by Kettering
26:10
Speaker 1: Health the best care for the best fans. Kettering Health
26:13
Speaker 1: is the official healthcare provider of the Bengals. Joe Burrow
26:18
Speaker 1: has a history of leading the Bengals to strong finishes.
26:21
Speaker 1: They ended last season with a five game winning streak.
26:25
Speaker 1: He missed the final seven games of the previous season
26:28
Speaker 1: with his wrist injury. So if you go back to
26:31
Speaker 1: the year before that, the Bengals ended the regular season
26:34
Speaker 1: with an eight game winning streak and in twenty twenty
26:37
Speaker 1: one they won three straight. Had to have at games
26:41
Speaker 1: to win the AFC North At the end of the
26:43
Speaker 1: year before Joe set out the regular season finale prior
26:48
Speaker 1: to the Bengals Super Bowl run. This year, the best
26:51
Speaker 1: they can do is end with a three game winning streak,
26:53
Speaker 1: and that seems like a strong possibility since their final
26:56
Speaker 1: two opponents are the three and twelve Cardinals and the
27:00
Speaker 1: three and twelve Browns. I discuss that with my broadcast
27:03
Speaker 1: partner Dave Lapham.
27:06
Speaker 4: It would mean a lot in my estimation. You know,
27:08
Speaker 4: as a former player, I can say that, you know,
27:11
Speaker 4: winning the last three games of the season is is
27:14
Speaker 4: a plus. It's a factor going into the getting your
27:17
Speaker 4: mind right for the following season for twenty twenty six. Now,
27:21
Speaker 4: you know, you just put the records out there, three
27:25
Speaker 4: and twelve, three and twelve, six and twenty four not great,
27:28
Speaker 4: not great. Fan base is going to be who cares?
27:31
Speaker 3: Right?
27:32
Speaker 4: You know, you beat those two football teams, who really cares? Well,
27:36
Speaker 4: You'll care if they lose to one of them, That's
27:38
Speaker 4: that's for sure. You'll hear about that all day long,
27:41
Speaker 4: on every day of the week until the next football game.
27:44
Speaker 4: But you do you you want to be a pros pro.
27:47
Speaker 4: You want to finish is with the best ruck you
27:50
Speaker 4: possibly can and seven and ten, you know, is nothing
27:53
Speaker 4: right home about. You know, it's not anything to raise
27:56
Speaker 4: the flag over. But considering where they were to crawl
28:00
Speaker 4: back to a seven and ten mark and to finish
28:03
Speaker 4: the season on an uptick, and the graft was going
28:05
Speaker 4: up as the season finished off, I think that's important.
28:08
Speaker 1: I think the other thing that's really important is that
28:11
Speaker 1: even if they win these last two games to get
28:13
Speaker 1: to seven wins, you still have to remember, Okay, our
28:16
Speaker 1: job's not done. That doesn't really change the big picture.
28:19
Speaker 1: This team needs to fix the defense absolutely to get
28:22
Speaker 1: where they want to go next year. So even if
28:25
Speaker 1: they finish on a high, it doesn't change the mission.
28:28
Speaker 1: Attack the offseason and surround Joe Burrow with a defense
28:32
Speaker 1: that can help him get the Bengals back to the
28:33
Speaker 1: Super Bowl.
28:34
Speaker 4: Bingo, Dan, you know your football, no question about it.
28:37
Speaker 4: You're doing games a while now, and it's been very enjoyable,
28:40
Speaker 4: my man, right back back at you. You know, it's yeah. Defensively,
28:47
Speaker 4: they've got some pieces, very few though they don't have
28:51
Speaker 4: a whole lot of them. The thing they do have
28:53
Speaker 4: those youth and they have young football players I think
28:56
Speaker 4: that have shown enough to forecast promising futures. You know,
29:00
Speaker 4: I don't think that they've got a bunch of tents
29:03
Speaker 4: out there that can't play the game and can't understand
29:05
Speaker 4: the game of football. I think they've got players that
29:08
Speaker 4: they can work with. I think, uh, you know, you're
29:10
Speaker 4: not going to have a superstar at every single position.
29:12
Speaker 4: That's unrealistic in the National Football League. It's just not
29:15
Speaker 4: going to happen. But you know, you want to have good, solid,
29:19
Speaker 4: sound football players, and uh, you know, the National Football
29:23
Speaker 4: League is the best of the best. You know, you're
29:25
Speaker 4: you're bringing in the cream of the crop. You're bringing
29:27
Speaker 4: in the best college football players every year in the draft,
29:30
Speaker 4: and you're trying to get you know, good football players.
29:34
Speaker 4: They might not have been in need on the team
29:36
Speaker 4: that they were on, so they're on the market and
29:39
Speaker 4: you can go and get them. And you have a
29:41
Speaker 4: need on your football team, go get a free agent
29:43
Speaker 4: and solidify it your football team even a little bit
29:46
Speaker 4: more so the front office, you know, Duke Tobin and
29:49
Speaker 4: his people in the scouting department, all those people have
29:52
Speaker 4: have some work ahead of them. Their season really is
29:56
Speaker 4: just beginning.
29:57
Speaker 1: A good description the Bengals, depending on what website you
30:00
Speaker 1: check out, have either the seventh or eighth most salary
30:04
Speaker 1: cap space. They've got all of their high draft picks,
30:06
Speaker 1: they will have resources to attack fixing the defense in
30:10
Speaker 1: the off season. Here's a quick invitation to join lap
30:14
Speaker 1: in me for the Bengals Pep Bradley Show This week
30:17
Speaker 1: will be at the on the Rhine Eatery that's the
30:20
Speaker 1: food hall on the second floor above the downtown Kroger
30:23
Speaker 1: on Friday from three to six and our scheduled guest
30:27
Speaker 1: in the final hour of that show will be rookie
30:29
Speaker 1: offensive lineman Dylan Fairchild. That's going to do it for
30:33
Speaker 1: this episode of the Bengals Booth podcast, brought to you
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Speaker 1: by pay Corp. Proud to be the Bengals official HR
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30:58
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31:04
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31:08
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