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Bengals Booth Podcast: Your Schedule · Bengals Booth Podcast

0:03
Speaker 1: Hi, get everybody.
0:04
Speaker 2: I'm Dan Hord and thanks for downloading the Bengals Booth podcast,
0:08
Speaker 2: the I Know you got your schedule, Land you keep
0:10
Speaker 2: an it tight edition as I discussed Cincinnati's just released
0:14
Speaker 2: twenty twenty five schedule with Bengals dot Com editor Jeff
0:18
Speaker 2: Butch Hobson. Then it's the latest edition of five Questions
0:22
Speaker 2: with one of this year's draft picks, followed by five
0:26
Speaker 2: observations after watching practice. The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought
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Speaker 2: you get your podcasts. It's the greatest thing since free
1:02
Speaker 2: food samples. I was at a farmer's market recently where
1:06
Speaker 2: one of the purveyors was offering up little pieces of
1:09
Speaker 2: grilled lamb sausage on a toothpick. My wife and I
1:13
Speaker 2: each tried one, found it delicious, and purchased a package.
1:17
Speaker 2: That's how it's supposed to work. But more often than not,
1:21
Speaker 2: I'm the guy who takes the sample, even if there's
1:24
Speaker 2: a very slim chance that I am going to purchase
1:27
Speaker 2: the product. Shoot, there have been times at Costco where
1:30
Speaker 2: I walked out stuffed after grazing through all of the goodies.
1:35
Speaker 2: And it's amazing what you'll try when it's a little
1:37
Speaker 2: free sample. HM roasted pig ear in a honey mustard sauce.
1:43
Speaker 2: Don't mind if I do so, keep those samples coming
1:46
Speaker 2: food merchants. As a member of the media, I am
1:50
Speaker 2: basically required to eat any and all free food. Now
1:55
Speaker 2: let's get to the Bengals hot off the Press's schedule.
1:58
Speaker 2: We already knew the who and where, but we didn't
2:01
Speaker 2: know the win. Now we do. In terms of difficulty,
2:06
Speaker 2: it looks like a middle of the pack schedule. Nine
2:08
Speaker 2: of the bengals seventeen opponents went to the playoffs last year,
2:12
Speaker 2: and six of those games against playoff teams will be
2:15
Speaker 2: on the road. That's the hard part. But there are
2:19
Speaker 2: also two games against the Browns and home games against
2:23
Speaker 2: the Jags, Jets, Bears, and Patriots. All of those teams
2:27
Speaker 2: lost at least twelve games last year. Based on last
2:32
Speaker 2: year's records, it's the fourteenth toughest schedule in the league.
2:35
Speaker 2: Based on projected win totals. In Vegas, it's the seventeenth toughest, again,
2:42
Speaker 2: middle of the pack. The Bengals also have the fewest
2:45
Speaker 2: travel miles of any team in the NFL this year,
2:48
Speaker 2: about two thousand fewer than Buffalo. The Chargers, on the
2:52
Speaker 2: other hand, will travel about four times as many miles
2:56
Speaker 2: as Cincinnati, roughly thirty seven miles compared to the Bengals
3:02
Speaker 2: eight thousand, seven hundred fifty three. For a closer look
3:06
Speaker 2: at the eighteen week grind, beginning on September seventh, I
3:10
Speaker 2: caught up with Bengals dot Com editor Jeff Butch Hobson.
3:15
Speaker 2: All right, Butch, Week one is a road game at Cleveland,
3:19
Speaker 2: starting at one o'clock in the afternoon. The Reds are
3:21
Speaker 2: at home against the Mets that weekend, so a road
3:24
Speaker 2: opener seemed likely to me. The second time in three years,
3:28
Speaker 2: the Bengals will open up the regular season with a
3:30
Speaker 2: road game in Cleveland, and end it with a home
3:33
Speaker 2: game against the Cleveland Browns. A couple of years ago,
3:36
Speaker 2: Joe Burrow couldn't move because of his calf injury. The
3:39
Speaker 2: Bengals managed only six first downs and a twenty four
3:41
Speaker 2: to three loss. You would think their chances of a
3:45
Speaker 2: road win are good this time around, regardless of whether
3:49
Speaker 2: Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dylan Gabriel, Shador Sanders, or somebody
3:54
Speaker 2: else starts at quarterback for Cleveland. If you look at
3:57
Speaker 2: ESPN bets over underwin per injections for the upcoming season,
4:02
Speaker 2: Cleveland gets the fewest of any team in the NFL
4:04
Speaker 2: at four and a half. So what do you think
4:07
Speaker 2: Week one on the road at Cleveland.
4:10
Speaker 3: Well, it's Paul Brown's one hundred and seventeenth birthday, So
4:13
Speaker 3: I think that's a good vibe going to the city
4:17
Speaker 3: where he now holds the record for the most NFL championships.
4:23
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean this feels like one. This feels more
4:27
Speaker 4: like twenty eleven, not twenty twenty three. Although Andy Dalton
4:32
Speaker 4: was a rookie quarterback the member the Bengals won that
4:35
Speaker 4: one and went on your first game actually as an
4:37
Speaker 4: announcer board he was a Cleveland Browns opener.
4:40
Speaker 5: Yeah, you know, I.
4:43
Speaker 4: Like the match up with Cleveland, not just because of
4:46
Speaker 4: the quarterback, but I think their defense I think is
4:50
Speaker 4: squid a little bit. Although they you know, they still
4:53
Speaker 4: have Garrett, they did draft Mason Graham, so but I
4:58
Speaker 4: do think their secondary is little bit more, you know,
5:01
Speaker 4: even though they have Denzel. I think the Bengals get
5:05
Speaker 4: over a big hump, I think, just mentally by sweeping.
5:09
Speaker 5: Them last year. So this does not feel like twenty three. Yeah.
5:14
Speaker 2: The Browns also announced this week that they're great linebacker
5:17
Speaker 2: j Okay as he's known is going to miss the
5:20
Speaker 2: entire season after his neck injury last year. So that
5:23
Speaker 2: takes away one of the fastest linebackers in the NFL
5:26
Speaker 2: and a guy who is emerging is a really good
5:28
Speaker 2: player for Cleveland off that great defense.
5:31
Speaker 4: And are they drafted one at the top of the
5:33
Speaker 4: at the top of the second round, but he's not
5:36
Speaker 4: going to be a Joka at the openers.
5:39
Speaker 2: You wouldn't think. So that's week one. Week two, the
5:42
Speaker 2: Bengals play their home opener at one o'clock against Jacksonville,
5:44
Speaker 2: a team coming off of four and thirteen season. They've
5:47
Speaker 2: got a new coach and former University of Kentucky offensive
5:50
Speaker 2: coordinator Liam Cohen. In Zach Taylor's tenure, the Bengals are
5:55
Speaker 2: one in five in week one and zhen six in
5:58
Speaker 2: week two. Last year, they were just about guaranteed to
6:02
Speaker 2: start the season three and one because of the schedule,
6:04
Speaker 2: and we know how that went. They went one in
6:06
Speaker 2: three instead. Stuff obviously happens. But with Cleveland in week one,
6:11
Speaker 2: at a home game against Jacksonville in Week two, there
6:14
Speaker 2: is a great opportunity at least to start this season
6:18
Speaker 2: two and zero.
6:19
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, but it's you know, it's the same
6:21
Speaker 4: thing as like last year, right, you get a first
6:24
Speaker 4: time quarterback going going in Cleveland, you know, for Cleve,
6:30
Speaker 4: you get a first time that'll be playing quarterback for
6:32
Speaker 4: Cleveland will be that opener. Then the next week a
6:36
Speaker 4: rookie head coach, and then probably the same thing in
6:39
Speaker 4: Minnesota the next week a quarterback playing for the first time.
6:43
Speaker 5: So you know, I think the Jaguars are, you.
6:46
Speaker 4: Know, clearly clearly in transition because you know there they
6:51
Speaker 4: try to do some things in the draft to reshape
6:53
Speaker 4: their team. So I mean, I think you know you're
6:58
Speaker 4: gonna have I think Bill, I think by the time
7:01
Speaker 4: they get in here, the Jaguars, they'll be in a
7:03
Speaker 4: bit of circus mode with the Travis Hunters stuff.
7:07
Speaker 5: You know, how many snaps.
7:08
Speaker 4: He's gonna play on defense, what's he looked like on offense? So,
7:12
Speaker 4: you know, I think they might get a club that
7:14
Speaker 4: will be uh, you know, probably even by the second
7:17
Speaker 4: week that draggled a little bit.
7:20
Speaker 2: Do you buy the adage that you want to face
7:23
Speaker 2: new coaches and new quarterbacks as early in the season
7:26
Speaker 2: as possible.
7:27
Speaker 5: I didn't so last year.
7:28
Speaker 4: But no, I think most of the time that that
7:32
Speaker 4: I think, you know, the law of averages that's due
7:35
Speaker 4: to break their way.
7:36
Speaker 5: You know.
7:36
Speaker 4: Now a guy like the next game we talk about,
7:40
Speaker 4: you know, that's a little bit of a different deal.
7:41
Speaker 4: Although JJ was hurt last year, he's still been around
7:46
Speaker 4: the program, and O'Connell has, you know, is still good.
7:48
Speaker 4: I think he could throw me in there and i'd
7:50
Speaker 4: you know, i'd get a maybe I could throw for
7:53
Speaker 4: a bucko one. But you know, I think for the
7:58
Speaker 4: most part this is I think these first three games
8:01
Speaker 4: are probably as good as you could you know, probably
8:03
Speaker 4: could have good as as for coming out of the game.
8:06
Speaker 2: Yeah, So let me just fill in the details. On
8:08
Speaker 2: Week three, that's a one o'clock road game at Minnesota.
8:11
Speaker 2: So their first three games of the year are all
8:13
Speaker 2: one o'clock starts, which maybe is a little bit of
8:15
Speaker 2: surprise considering how big of a profile team the Bengals
8:18
Speaker 2: have become with Joe Burrow. The Vikings are coming off
8:21
Speaker 2: of fourteen and three season, but Sam Darnold is gone.
8:25
Speaker 2: You referenced JJ McCarthy, the projected starter at quarterback after
8:29
Speaker 2: missing his entire rookie year with a knee injury. The
8:32
Speaker 2: Vegas preseason win projection for Minnesota is eight and a
8:36
Speaker 2: half after they won fourteen last year. So because of
8:39
Speaker 2: the quarterback change and maybe regression to the mean, they're
8:43
Speaker 2: kind of projected more like a five hundred team and
8:46
Speaker 2: a seventeen game schedule. But like you said, their head
8:49
Speaker 2: coach is excellent and for me, even though statistically I
8:55
Speaker 2: don't think this is the case or scientifically this isn't
8:57
Speaker 2: the case. That stadiums the one I've ever been in
9:01
Speaker 2: in my life. I know Kansas City and Seattle have
9:04
Speaker 2: set the decibel level record. The last time the Bengals
9:07
Speaker 2: played in Minnesota, I literally got a headache from the
9:11
Speaker 2: noise at the beginning of the game.
9:12
Speaker 4: Yeah, the last couple of times they've been up there,
9:15
Speaker 4: the game get out of hand, it unraveled a little bit,
9:18
Speaker 4: and I chucked that up to the to the noise,
9:21
Speaker 4: I mean, I know, they get up there in five
9:23
Speaker 4: rolled and pretty good, and you just couldn't hear yourself
9:27
Speaker 4: thinking the same thing happened in seventeen, I think. But yeah,
9:30
Speaker 4: for my money, I mean, Minnesota blows everyone's doors.
9:35
Speaker 2: Off, all right. Week four, the first of four scheduled
9:38
Speaker 2: primetime games, a Monday night road game in Denver. Three
9:43
Speaker 2: of the four primetime games are on the road, at Denver,
9:46
Speaker 2: at Baltimore, and at Miami. So after becoming the first
9:49
Speaker 2: team in NFL history to play five primetime road games
9:53
Speaker 2: last year, they're scheduled to play three this year. And
9:56
Speaker 2: if you look at last year's schedule when it came out,
9:59
Speaker 2: it was three, and then the Chargers and Steelers road
10:03
Speaker 2: games became night games because they were flexed late in
10:06
Speaker 2: the season. So once again, it's great to be high profile,
10:10
Speaker 2: it's great to be a team that everybody wants to watch.
10:13
Speaker 2: But in the Bengals case, you wind up playing primetime
10:16
Speaker 2: games on the road, which is difficult.
10:18
Speaker 4: Yeah, I don't know what's wrong with the you know,
10:21
Speaker 4: you know, mix in a few primetimers at home where
10:25
Speaker 4: Jolie Burrow is, you know, five and one, you know,
10:29
Speaker 4: but everybody has trouble in the road. I mean, I
10:33
Speaker 4: I you know, I mean, I know why this game
10:35
Speaker 4: is on a Monday night. They hope they're going to
10:38
Speaker 4: keep They're going to pick up where they left off
10:39
Speaker 4: in that overtime game. Bo Nix and Joe Burrow put
10:43
Speaker 4: on a showdown here that was topped off by T Higgins.
10:46
Speaker 4: So we know that's a play you know, ten years ago,
10:50
Speaker 4: one of the greatest games in Bengals sister one of
10:52
Speaker 4: the best when AJ mccarrn had this team on the
10:56
Speaker 4: brink of a playoff by in a Monday nighter at
10:59
Speaker 4: Mile in that place. You talk about loud, that's that's
11:04
Speaker 4: that's pretty loud. So you go back to back to
11:06
Speaker 4: two pretty pretty noisy joints, you know, and uh but
11:10
Speaker 4: I'll you know, it's interesting.
11:12
Speaker 5: I thought, you know, the Broncos first round pick was J. J.
11:17
Speaker 4: Barron from Texas to corner, and I think that was
11:19
Speaker 4: a tip of a cap to what Higgins did and
11:22
Speaker 4: did to him. He was just unbelievable that night that
11:25
Speaker 4: night at Paycourt against the Broncos. Three touchdowns, one hundred
11:28
Speaker 4: and thirty one yards, a lot of I like to say, well,
11:32
Speaker 4: and he goes up for a ball, you know, it's
11:33
Speaker 4: a it's it's a it's a Bill Russell game seven rebound.
11:38
Speaker 5: You know he tears it away and you know he's
11:40
Speaker 5: got it. And he had some of those against the Broncos.
11:44
Speaker 2: Sure did all right. Week five one of the most
11:47
Speaker 2: attractive home games on the schedule this year, a four
11:49
Speaker 2: to twenty five late afternoon on Fox game against the
11:53
Speaker 2: Detroit Lions, presumably with Tom Brady in the booth for Fox.
11:57
Speaker 2: Uh so we'll get to hear Brady on Burrow in
12:00
Speaker 2: that four twenty five game. The line's coming off of
12:03
Speaker 2: fifteen and two season despite numerous injuries. Like the Bengals,
12:08
Speaker 2: Vegas has. They're over under this year at ten and
12:10
Speaker 2: a half wins going in. But that is going to
12:13
Speaker 2: be a greatly anticipated home game this year.
12:18
Speaker 4: Yeah, you know, it kind of reminds me of it's
12:20
Speaker 4: almost the same day, it's almost the same week in
12:23
Speaker 4: the Seattle when they played Seattle two years ago.
12:26
Speaker 5: You know, and.
12:30
Speaker 4: Just a really you know, that's a big time headline game.
12:34
Speaker 4: You know, it's also the second straight home game. Two
12:37
Speaker 4: number one pick quarterbacks are going at it. You've got
12:40
Speaker 4: Trevor Lawrence for the Jaguars against Burrow, and then you
12:43
Speaker 4: got Burrow going against Scof.
12:45
Speaker 5: He's beating both guys.
12:47
Speaker 4: You know, but that team, that team he beat in
12:49
Speaker 4: Detroit in twenty twenty one, I mean, that's not exactly
12:55
Speaker 4: the same club. They're fast, they're physical. You know, it's
13:00
Speaker 4: it's an interesting matchup. The Bengals led the league in passing,
13:04
Speaker 4: the Lions led the league in overall offense with that
13:06
Speaker 4: terrific run game. So I think you're gonna get you know,
13:09
Speaker 4: you not only get a great game. I think you're
13:10
Speaker 4: gonna get a great you know, it's going to be
13:13
Speaker 4: a great dichotomy game. You know, they're gonna try empower you,
13:19
Speaker 4: and the Bengals are gonna do what they do, which
13:21
Speaker 4: is kill you not so softly.
13:23
Speaker 2: With Burrow and two guys who used to coach together,
13:28
Speaker 2: and Zach Taylor and Dan Campbell, and they were both
13:30
Speaker 2: with the Miami Dolphins. Week six, the fourth straight game
13:34
Speaker 2: against the team that went to the playoffs last year.
13:37
Speaker 2: This is another four to twenty five star Nanson romo,
13:40
Speaker 2: in this case, as the Bengals take on the Packers
13:42
Speaker 2: at lambeau Field, green Bay, coming off an eleven and
13:45
Speaker 2: six season. This is October twelfth, so the tundra won't
13:49
Speaker 2: be frozen. It should be decent temperatures in Green Bay
13:52
Speaker 2: for Cincinnati fans who might want to make the pilgrimage
13:55
Speaker 2: to lambeau if they've never been there before.
13:58
Speaker 4: It's a you know, the Bengals I believe played the
14:00
Speaker 4: hottest game ever in the history of Green Bay the
14:05
Speaker 4: last time they were there. Uh, probably, but that was September,
14:09
Speaker 4: so this is so, this is October, so they're they're
14:11
Speaker 4: in pretty good shape. It is, you know, get there
14:14
Speaker 4: early to see the Hall of Fame and all of that.
14:17
Speaker 4: But it's you know, the Packers are one of those
14:19
Speaker 4: teams are hard to get a read on, like who
14:22
Speaker 4: are these guys? You know, but they.
14:25
Speaker 5: Especially since Rodgers left, you know, but they.
14:28
Speaker 4: Keep you know that guy, that guy's a good coach
14:30
Speaker 4: up there, man, he keeps he keeps churning out these
14:32
Speaker 4: thirteen winning clubs and really really not the greatest players.
14:37
Speaker 5: Really when you think, you know, I mean they do
14:39
Speaker 5: have some, you know, good players and everything, but I mean,
14:42
Speaker 5: Jordan loves a good player. But you know, I don't know,
14:46
Speaker 5: it's uh, where does he rate in that division of quarterbacks?
14:50
Speaker 6: You know.
14:51
Speaker 5: So it's a really good all around team. And that's it.
14:54
Speaker 5: And that's a tough one just because of the venue.
14:58
Speaker 2: On the week seven and the Thursday night home game
15:01
Speaker 2: against the Pittsburgh Steelers. AFC North games in primetime overwhelmingly
15:06
Speaker 2: favor the home team. The last time the Bengals played
15:10
Speaker 2: a division rival at home at night, their quarterback was
15:13
Speaker 2: Ryan Finley and the two ten and one Bengals beat
15:16
Speaker 2: the eleven and two Pittsburgh Steelers. So it goes to
15:19
Speaker 2: show you the home team typically fareswell in the AFC
15:21
Speaker 2: North in a primetime game. The Bengals have played five
15:25
Speaker 2: road games in the division in primetime since that last
15:29
Speaker 2: home game. It's about time they get to host an
15:31
Speaker 2: AFC North rival at home.
15:34
Speaker 4: Yeah, the the Von Bell Culture game, and that could
15:39
Speaker 4: be that could be interesting. I guess that's going to
15:41
Speaker 4: be Aaron Rodgers, right, We've got We've got Burrow versus
15:45
Speaker 4: Aaron Rodgers, perhaps, which would be the second time the
15:50
Speaker 4: second time they went out. The first time they went
15:52
Speaker 4: it was a great game, was an overtime win for
15:54
Speaker 4: a rod But I don't know, Boardy, you think you
15:57
Speaker 4: think Rogers is going to be in Pittsburgh.
16:00
Speaker 2: Be Aaron Rodgers. It could still be Kirk Cousins. I
16:03
Speaker 2: can't imagine it's going to be Mason Rudolph or Will Howard.
16:06
Speaker 2: So I do think they will add one of those vets.
16:09
Speaker 2: You know, Rogers has met with the team. That seems
16:12
Speaker 2: to be the most prominent rumor, although in the last
16:14
Speaker 2: week I've seen reports of a possible trade with the
16:17
Speaker 2: Falcons for Kirk Cousins. So I would anticipate Rogers or
16:21
Speaker 2: Cousins instead of Rudolph or Howard.
16:24
Speaker 4: Yeah, I I just don't see, you know that the
16:26
Speaker 4: Steelers have you know, what have they done?
16:29
Speaker 5: You know, really, I mean they've you know, they they
16:32
Speaker 5: drafted a.
16:33
Speaker 4: Defensive tackle, but they didn't really you know, I don't
16:38
Speaker 4: know how much they've really upgraded.
16:39
Speaker 5: They got you know, they they got rid of their
16:41
Speaker 5: headache and pickens.
16:43
Speaker 4: And they've got you know, and they but but they've
16:45
Speaker 4: just still really got one one weapon, really, you know,
16:48
Speaker 4: a receiver Metcalf who's a models player. But that looks good,
16:54
Speaker 4: you know, that looks good, especially obviously since it's a
16:58
Speaker 4: short week, all.
17:00
Speaker 2: Right, week eight after the mini buy, it's one o'clock
17:02
Speaker 2: home game against a team projected to be among the
17:05
Speaker 2: worst in the NFL, the Jets coming off of five
17:08
Speaker 2: wins season. They've got a new coach and Aaron Glenn,
17:10
Speaker 2: they've got a new quarterback and Justin Fields. He's fourteen
17:13
Speaker 2: and thirty as a starter in the NFL. So that's
17:16
Speaker 2: one of those games that going into the season you
17:18
Speaker 2: would anticipate, all right, that should be a W at home.
17:21
Speaker 4: You only think of the bad stuff as a fan, right,
17:23
Speaker 4: so I think of Justin Fields coming off the bench
17:27
Speaker 4: for Andy Dalton winning your game for the Bears, and
17:30
Speaker 4: then last year he got a key first down at
17:32
Speaker 4: the end of the game. So but yeah, you know
17:37
Speaker 4: that's one, right, that's one. You look at the schedule
17:39
Speaker 4: and everybody is going to be doing it. At eight
17:41
Speaker 4: oh one in Cincinnati, they're going to be going down.
17:43
Speaker 4: What's a W, what's an L? You know that's got
17:46
Speaker 4: to be a W. We know what happened there, I
17:48
Speaker 4: guess in twenty one when the Jets had an unknown
17:52
Speaker 4: quarterback come out and throw for four bills. So I
17:55
Speaker 4: guess you never know when you're going through the things. So,
17:58
Speaker 4: but right now, on May fourteenth.
18:02
Speaker 5: That's got to be a W. And so does the
18:03
Speaker 5: next one have to be? One year at home.
18:06
Speaker 2: Week nine, the last game before the middle of the
18:09
Speaker 2: season by and the Bengals third straight home game. It's
18:11
Speaker 2: a one o'clock start against the Chicago Bears. The Bears
18:14
Speaker 2: are the only team in the NFC North that didn't
18:16
Speaker 2: win at least eleven last year. They've got former Lions
18:19
Speaker 2: offensive coordinator Ben Johnson taking over as head coach. Great
18:23
Speaker 2: offensive mind. We get back to a topic we discussed earlier,
18:28
Speaker 2: were you're hoping to get the Bears early while they're
18:31
Speaker 2: still adjusting to their new system, because that's not the
18:33
Speaker 2: way it worked out.
18:35
Speaker 4: Yeah, no, I mean it's but they got to like
18:37
Speaker 4: the way the buy worked out. I mean I think
18:39
Speaker 4: that's you know, it's right smack in the middle of
18:42
Speaker 4: the years, and that's perfect.
18:44
Speaker 5: Probably wouldn't have liked to have gotten the Bears a
18:46
Speaker 5: little earlier, but you know.
18:50
Speaker 4: That's you know, getting him in the first half of
18:52
Speaker 4: the year is better than getting him in the second half.
18:54
Speaker 4: So I still think that works for him because you know, basically,
18:59
Speaker 4: I mean, I know, the quarterback is going to be
19:01
Speaker 4: in his second season, but he's in the first year
19:03
Speaker 4: of a new system, so is that you know, still
19:06
Speaker 4: makes him a bit rookie ish. So uh, but here's
19:09
Speaker 4: another one where you just have to you know, the
19:12
Speaker 4: home the home field, like you know, is where this
19:15
Speaker 4: gets to be so important, you know, where where you know,
19:17
Speaker 4: you establish yourself at home against teams that can be
19:22
Speaker 4: maybe dangerous, you know, and just uh, you know, second
19:26
Speaker 4: game in a row heading into a bye that looks
19:28
Speaker 4: good too, you know. I think the way the way
19:30
Speaker 4: that first half of the season breaks down, you know,
19:34
Speaker 4: except for the back to back the Vikings and the Broncos,
19:38
Speaker 4: I mean, it works out pretty well for him, I think.
19:42
Speaker 2: All right after the bye in Week eleven, Game ten,
19:45
Speaker 2: it's a one o'clock road game at Pittsburgh, the Bengals
19:48
Speaker 2: looking to win in Pittsburgh for the fourth time in
19:50
Speaker 2: the last five years. Prior to this stretch, the Bengals
19:53
Speaker 2: had lost nine of their previous to eleven in Pittsburgh.
19:57
Speaker 2: So in the Borough era, that is it at least
20:00
Speaker 2: one demon that has been exercised. They have no fear
20:04
Speaker 2: of going to Pittsburgh and coming back with a win.
20:07
Speaker 5: And it would be four you know, and it would
20:08
Speaker 5: be four different quarterbacks too.
20:11
Speaker 4: I mean, whoever it's going to be, it will be
20:14
Speaker 4: the it will be.
20:16
Speaker 5: The fourth different one.
20:17
Speaker 4: Which is it kind of speaks to I think where
20:20
Speaker 4: the Bengals are at and where the Steelers are at,
20:22
Speaker 4: and they have to take advantage of that. So I
20:25
Speaker 4: think I kind of like going into Pittsburgh after having
20:28
Speaker 4: a you know, getting the getting soothed in the whirlpool
20:33
Speaker 4: all right.
20:33
Speaker 2: In Game eleven, it's a one o'clock home game against
20:36
Speaker 2: the Patriots, a chance to atone for last year's dismal opener.
20:40
Speaker 2: The Patriots were a four win team a year ago,
20:42
Speaker 2: but Drake May showed promise at quarterback. They've hired a
20:45
Speaker 2: proven head coach and Mike Rabel. I think New England
20:49
Speaker 2: is going to be the most improved team in the
20:51
Speaker 2: AFC this year. That doesn't mean I think they're going
20:54
Speaker 2: to beat the Bengals at pay Corps, but I do
20:57
Speaker 2: expect the Patriots to have a very respectable season.
21:01
Speaker 5: Yeah, I think Rabel will make sure that he does that.
21:03
Speaker 4: So you know they're gonna be better on defense, and
21:06
Speaker 4: uh Zach has had Zach had good success against.
21:09
Speaker 5: Rabel, right, he beat him here, He beat him here.
21:12
Speaker 4: And Borrow, Borrow beat him as a rookie, went in
21:15
Speaker 4: there and won some tough games. Of course, won the
21:17
Speaker 4: you know one, the h that great AFC divisional that
21:22
Speaker 4: mcphist and wanted at the gun, the logan, the logan
21:26
Speaker 4: Wilson pick.
21:29
Speaker 5: The Jamaic chase bench route. You know. So he's got
21:32
Speaker 5: a look you know that. I think that, you know,
21:34
Speaker 5: but does that carry over? I mean, Rabel it's a
21:36
Speaker 5: totally different team, totally different venue.
21:39
Speaker 4: But I think also the Patriots are going to be
21:42
Speaker 4: different because Vrabel is a Patriot, you know what I mean,
21:46
Speaker 4: And that that that they'll be they'll be better because
21:49
Speaker 4: they'll be better because the culture is going to be better.
21:52
Speaker 4: You know, no shot at Mayo, but Vrabel comes in,
21:56
Speaker 4: you know, resume intact. But I think, you know, here again,
22:02
Speaker 4: you can just imagine Borrow out playing me, you know, on.
22:05
Speaker 2: To Game twelve, Thanksgiving night in primetime in Baltimore. So
22:12
Speaker 2: I recognize that the schedule is a complex puzzle for
22:15
Speaker 2: the NFL. Total fairness is impossible. But this is the
22:19
Speaker 2: fourth year in a row that the Bengals have played
22:22
Speaker 2: a night game in Baltimore. It's the third straight on
22:25
Speaker 2: a Thursday night. I am calling BS. I mean, they
22:30
Speaker 2: should have programmed the software so their primetime game in
22:35
Speaker 2: Baltimore was highly unlikely, and a Thursday night road game
22:39
Speaker 2: was impossible. In a division rivalry that's as tough as
22:44
Speaker 2: Cincinnati versus Baltimore, there's no way they should be playing
22:48
Speaker 2: on a Thursday for the third year in a row
22:50
Speaker 2: on the road.
22:51
Speaker 5: No.
22:52
Speaker 4: All I know is the last time they played in
22:53
Speaker 4: Baltimore in broad daylight, they.
22:58
Speaker 5: Won forty one seventeen.
22:59
Speaker 4: Now, saying that's a I'm not saying, but I'm just saying, hey,
23:03
Speaker 4: you know, make it four twenty five, you know, or something.
23:07
Speaker 5: Just uh, let us see the stunt in Baltimore, you
23:09
Speaker 5: know what I mean.
23:10
Speaker 4: So, but man, I went back to look back, you know,
23:15
Speaker 4: the two games last year just absolute classics.
23:17
Speaker 5: How are they gonna how are they going to do? Uh,
23:20
Speaker 5: what are they going to do? For an encore?
23:22
Speaker 2: I mean, make the final play to win?
23:24
Speaker 5: Well, yeah, that's for sure. I mean I'm talking about
23:27
Speaker 5: the two teams. Yeah, I mean, you can't.
23:30
Speaker 4: I mean making a field goal to win it and
23:33
Speaker 4: then stopping a two point play modeling the quarterback though,
23:38
Speaker 4: But I mean, just don't get any closer than that,
23:42
Speaker 4: you know, I mean it'd be, uh, what if you
23:45
Speaker 4: switched it? What if there was a prime time or
23:46
Speaker 4: a preay corps, you know, and at one o'clock at Baltimore.
23:50
Speaker 5: Doesn't the computer look at these things?
23:52
Speaker 2: You would think, like I said, I know, it's a
23:54
Speaker 2: complex puzzle. But you know, after all that out what
23:58
Speaker 2: you enter into a computer program and they should have
24:01
Speaker 2: entered in Cincinnati ad Baltimore in primetime on Thursday cannot happen.
24:08
Speaker 5: Right well?
24:09
Speaker 4: And also after all this, Oh and by the way,
24:11
Speaker 4: it's Thanksgiving, which only the second time in history this
24:16
Speaker 4: club will will play.
24:19
Speaker 5: While the rest of the world is eating. Well, I
24:21
Speaker 5: guess we'll be by then.
24:23
Speaker 4: I guess people will probably be napping, but they won't
24:26
Speaker 4: be napping because they'll be burrowing the ravens. So but yeah,
24:30
Speaker 4: the last one was in a galaxy far far away
24:35
Speaker 4: when they replayed the two thousand and nine AFC Wildcard
24:40
Speaker 4: game the Jets Bengals.
24:42
Speaker 5: They played that on Thanksgiving in twenty ten.
24:45
Speaker 2: Game thirteen, a four to twenty five Sunday road game
24:50
Speaker 2: in early December at Buffalo. They'll have some extra time
24:54
Speaker 2: to recover and prepare after playing on Thanksgiving as they
24:57
Speaker 2: look to be Josh Allen and the Bills for the
24:59
Speaker 2: third time in a row.
25:01
Speaker 5: You look at that.
25:02
Speaker 4: And some of the moves they made this year in
25:06
Speaker 4: the draft. The two linebackers that can run. To me,
25:09
Speaker 4: that's how do you stop Allen and Jackson? You know,
25:15
Speaker 4: two linebackers that can run in the most athletic defensive
25:19
Speaker 4: lineman in the draft of the last forty years, Shamas Stewart.
25:23
Speaker 4: So to me, the draft the first, the first, second,
25:29
Speaker 4: or fourth pix in this draft.
25:31
Speaker 5: You're reading this schedule at Baltimore at.
25:34
Speaker 2: Buffalo, followed by Baltimore again in game fourteen. It's a
25:39
Speaker 2: Baltimore rematch seventeen days after the Thanksgiving road game. So
25:44
Speaker 2: beginning in Week three, the Bengals play five playoff teams
25:48
Speaker 2: in a row, Minnesota, Denver, Detroit, Green Bay, and Pittsburgh.
25:51
Speaker 2: That's obviously tough, but I would say at Baltimore at
25:56
Speaker 2: Buffalo home against Baltimore might be the of his three
26:00
Speaker 2: game stretch. Any team in the NFL plays this year.
26:04
Speaker 5: Yeah, that's a good call.
26:05
Speaker 6: You know.
26:05
Speaker 4: Also that that's seventeen day gap between the Baltimore games.
26:14
Speaker 4: That's the smallest regular season gap playing the same opponents
26:20
Speaker 4: since eighty six when they played the when they split
26:24
Speaker 4: with the Steelers in eighty six on thirteen days in October.
26:29
Speaker 5: So that's something you don't see very often, you know.
26:31
Speaker 4: Now you see it in the playoffs, like they played
26:33
Speaker 4: the Ravens and back to back weeks in twenty two,
26:37
Speaker 4: you know, to end the season and the Wildcaid game.
26:40
Speaker 4: I mean, if they played the two games they played
26:44
Speaker 4: last year, I mean, what nerves are gonna be left
26:46
Speaker 4: if you do that? If that happens in a seventeen
26:48
Speaker 4: days fan, I mean, you know, it's that's gonna be wild,
26:53
Speaker 4: isn't it.
26:54
Speaker 2: No doubt it's gonna be fun, But it's gonna be wild.
26:57
Speaker 2: We've got three games left, game fifteen Sunday Night Football
27:01
Speaker 2: at Miami four days before Christmas, so the Bengals avoid
27:04
Speaker 2: sweltering heat early in the season. Could be a holiday
27:08
Speaker 2: week road trip for Bengals fans. It's not the trip
27:11
Speaker 2: to Spain that many had speculated about, but a chance
27:14
Speaker 2: for warm weather against the Miami team coming off an
27:17
Speaker 2: eight to nine season just before Christmas.
27:20
Speaker 5: Who would have funked the mayor of Madrid prevying fake
27:24
Speaker 5: news anyway, But anyway, shouldn't they win the last three? Hordy?
27:30
Speaker 5: I mean, is Miami? Where is Miami?
27:32
Speaker 4: Miami's in a bit of a Miami could be falling
27:36
Speaker 4: back right It might be.
27:37
Speaker 5: They seem to be a bit desperate.
27:40
Speaker 2: Seems that way. Some of it was injury related. Last year.
27:43
Speaker 2: I think they had as many injuries as any team
27:45
Speaker 2: in the AFC, so that's one of the reasons why
27:48
Speaker 2: they took a step back. But I'm in agreement with you.
27:50
Speaker 2: They seem to kind of be on a teeter toatter
27:53
Speaker 2: right now. You don't know if it's going to go
27:55
Speaker 2: up or down.
27:56
Speaker 5: Now.
27:56
Speaker 2: It's a Sunday night road game, which is tough. That
28:00
Speaker 2: adds to the degree of difficulty. But I do wonder
28:04
Speaker 2: if Miami is a team that had its moment and
28:07
Speaker 2: that moment is coming gone.
28:10
Speaker 5: Yeah, that's tough.
28:10
Speaker 4: Though you know, Sunday night on the road is not
28:12
Speaker 4: a it's not a day at the beach, although you
28:15
Speaker 4: know it's not a Sunday night in Miami. I mean
28:18
Speaker 4: it's not a Sunday night in Green Bay on December
28:20
Speaker 4: twenty first, or in Pittsburgh. So I think that's a break.
28:25
Speaker 4: I think that's a break too, you know. I mean
28:27
Speaker 4: I just think, and you know, we also so many
28:30
Speaker 4: things happen, but you know, this club plays well if
28:34
Speaker 4: you look at it. Historically under Zach Taylor in the
28:37
Speaker 4: Borough era, December has been good to them, particularly at home.
28:42
Speaker 4: I know we're gonna you know, and that's where they end.
28:45
Speaker 4: Sorry to do the segue there, but that's where they
28:47
Speaker 4: end Arizona and Cleveland, right, which is you know, they've
28:51
Speaker 4: won I think they've won ten of their last eleven
28:55
Speaker 4: games regular season games in December and January at home.
29:00
Speaker 4: So if they could get through, you know, if they
29:01
Speaker 4: can you know, get through that Sunday night or in Miami,
29:06
Speaker 4: that's a good ending for them. I mean, at least
29:08
Speaker 4: historically they've you know, they've they've they've done really well
29:12
Speaker 4: here in December.
29:13
Speaker 5: All right.
29:14
Speaker 2: So Game sixteen is a Saturday home game against Arizona.
29:18
Speaker 2: That's the final Saturday of December. Arizona likely coming east
29:24
Speaker 2: to deal with a high probability of cold weather, you
29:27
Speaker 2: would think, so that could be tough on the Cardinals,
29:29
Speaker 2: and then Game seventeen could be either Saturday or Sunday,
29:33
Speaker 2: a home game against Cleveland. If it seems like the
29:36
Speaker 2: Bengals usually win their final home game of the regular season,
29:42
Speaker 2: your feeling is accurate, because whether they're having a good year,
29:45
Speaker 2: a bad year, or somewhere in the middle type of season,
29:49
Speaker 2: they're twelve and one in their last thirteen regular season
29:53
Speaker 2: home finales. Twelve and one.
29:56
Speaker 5: That's crazy, preddam home happy. That was Jack Renning. Jack
30:01
Speaker 5: Brennan pr tag. He rolled that out.
30:04
Speaker 4: Every year and you could do that now, and I
30:07
Speaker 4: think probably PJ does.
30:09
Speaker 5: But I think it's interesting.
30:11
Speaker 4: Arizona, you know, you remember this twenty eleven, almost the
30:17
Speaker 4: same week.
30:17
Speaker 5: Of the season they came.
30:20
Speaker 4: They came East, I think with someone named Skelton playing
30:26
Speaker 4: your quarterback. It nearly beat and nearly beat the Bengals,
30:29
Speaker 4: nearly denied them a playoff spot, but it worked out
30:32
Speaker 4: that they ended up making it, but Arizona almost They
30:37
Speaker 4: had to fend off Arizona at the end.
30:39
Speaker 2: That was the Yeah, that was the Jerome Simpson somersault game, right.
30:44
Speaker 4: And then and I think they I think Conn has
30:47
Speaker 4: dropped the ball in the end zone.
30:48
Speaker 5: I think that would have maybe tied or something. But
30:51
Speaker 5: so you never know.
30:52
Speaker 4: It always looks like, oh yeah, coming east in December,
30:55
Speaker 4: but that it didn't work out, you know, so you
30:57
Speaker 4: can never you know, it's like, uh. Also that same
31:01
Speaker 4: weekend when the Bengals went to New England, remember and
31:05
Speaker 4: it was the coldest ice still the coldest game Joe
31:08
Speaker 4: Burrows ever played in.
31:10
Speaker 5: And you know, what's it going to what's the weather?
31:12
Speaker 5: You know, what is the weather going to be? Like?
31:14
Speaker 4: It could be sixty in Bombing, it could be you know,
31:16
Speaker 4: in Cincinnati, you could get anything.
31:19
Speaker 5: Well.
31:19
Speaker 2: I gave these numbers earlier on the podcast. They play
31:23
Speaker 2: nine playoff teams. They also play a few teams that
31:27
Speaker 2: were terrible last year. I think it kind of balances out.
31:31
Speaker 2: This is a middle of the pack type schedule to
31:34
Speaker 2: me in terms of difficulty. Now, you never know, because
31:37
Speaker 2: teams that you think are going to be awesome wind
31:39
Speaker 2: up being bad. I mean, who would have thought San
31:41
Speaker 2: Francisco would have six wins last year? And then there's
31:45
Speaker 2: always going to be a team that you expect to
31:47
Speaker 2: be weak that has that breakthrough season that will happen
31:50
Speaker 2: to a few of the teams on this schedule, but again, overall,
31:53
Speaker 2: all things considered, kind of feels like a middle of
31:56
Speaker 2: the pack type schedule in terms of difficulty. Other than
31:59
Speaker 2: another their Thursday night road game at Baltimore. I really
32:03
Speaker 2: don't have any strong gripes.
32:06
Speaker 5: I just really love three of the last four at home.
32:10
Speaker 5: I mean even on one of them was Baltimore.
32:13
Speaker 4: But like I said, Burrow and Zach, they they kind of,
32:17
Speaker 4: you know, they seem to you know, they seem to
32:20
Speaker 4: rise the occasion in December here, so I I, you know,
32:23
Speaker 4: I got That's what I take away from this thing.
32:25
Speaker 5: Three, three or four at home. To finish it.
32:30
Speaker 2: On a personal note, the schedule lines up about as
32:33
Speaker 2: well as I could have hoped for my own version
32:36
Speaker 2: of the Amazing Race as I call University of Cincinnati
32:39
Speaker 2: and Bengals games in the fall. The toughest weekend will
32:43
Speaker 2: feature a road game at Utah on Saturday, November first,
32:47
Speaker 2: followed by a one o'clock home game against the Bears
32:49
Speaker 2: the next day. If that Utah game is at night,
32:53
Speaker 2: I might not get back to Cincinnati until seven am.
32:55
Speaker 2: But hey, that's what coffee is.
32:58
Speaker 7: Four.
32:59
Speaker 2: Now time to move on to another edition of five
33:02
Speaker 2: questions with a Bengals rookie. My way of getting to
33:05
Speaker 2: know them a little bit better by asking five questions
33:08
Speaker 2: that they don't hear over and over again. Time for
33:13
Speaker 2: five questions with second round draft pick Demetrius Night out
33:16
Speaker 2: of South Carolina. I think by now a lot of
33:19
Speaker 2: Bengals fans know that you are a married father of
33:21
Speaker 2: two and we're a door dash driver to help support
33:25
Speaker 2: your family while you're playing college football. Here's the question,
33:29
Speaker 2: what is a door dash driver's biggest nightmare?
33:33
Speaker 8: The biggest nightmare would have to be when you get
33:36
Speaker 8: in order and they say, drop it off at my
33:38
Speaker 8: door and it's an apartment complex where they do not
33:41
Speaker 8: give you the code to get into the apartment, so
33:44
Speaker 8: you're just gonna wait in there because sometimes a lot
33:47
Speaker 8: of people come in and out, and sometimes you're waiting
33:49
Speaker 8: there for at least ten minutes, and they're taking you
33:51
Speaker 8: say hey, where's my food, and it's like, I have
33:53
Speaker 8: no way to get in. They say, you're waiting the
33:55
Speaker 8: tailgate behind a car to get into the gay and
33:57
Speaker 8: then run it up to their door and drop it off,
33:59
Speaker 8: and that that is the one of the biggest nightmares.
34:02
Speaker 2: And when people are going in and out. They're probably
34:05
Speaker 2: nervous that somebody's trying to break in.
34:08
Speaker 8: Yes, so they will, so they will go slow on
34:10
Speaker 8: purpose sometimes to try to get you caught in the gates.
34:12
Speaker 8: So luckily there are no dents in the car from gates,
34:15
Speaker 8: so able to avoid that.
34:17
Speaker 2: All right, question number two for Demitrius Night according to
34:20
Speaker 2: your bio, and again this is something people have seen
34:22
Speaker 2: music legends. Gladys Knight and Aretha Franklin are distant relatives.
34:27
Speaker 2: Have you met either one?
34:30
Speaker 8: I believe when I was very small, I met, I met,
34:33
Speaker 8: I thank you, Gladys. But other than that, we was
34:37
Speaker 8: never able to get to the family reunions with Aretha,
34:40
Speaker 8: as you probably know, just they're probably everywhere is full,
34:44
Speaker 8: So haven't been able to get to those. My oun
34:48
Speaker 8: did and she talks about how there's big food is glorious,
34:51
Speaker 8: so I talk can only imagine. But yeah, haven't got
34:54
Speaker 8: to get to those two. But I'm sure or Aretha,
34:58
Speaker 8: but which as she up in heaven now. But I'm
35:01
Speaker 8: as glad as I believe I should be able to
35:03
Speaker 8: get to hopefully Sue if not later in the year,
35:06
Speaker 8: just to you know, maybe get a maybe get a
35:09
Speaker 8: tip or two, how to saying and whatnot?
35:12
Speaker 2: When you learned that they were distant relatives, did you
35:14
Speaker 2: take an interest in their careers?
35:16
Speaker 5: I did?
35:17
Speaker 8: I did, of course. I knew what amazing superstar that
35:21
Speaker 8: they were, and just having to be tied to them
35:24
Speaker 8: was like, well, I gotta do my homework. Now I
35:26
Speaker 8: got to learn everything I can about them, so when
35:28
Speaker 8: I get the chance to meet them face to face,
35:31
Speaker 8: I can ask different questions and things like that, how'd
35:33
Speaker 8: you deal with this? How'd you go through this? And
35:35
Speaker 8: see how they truly you know, made it up?
35:38
Speaker 2: Question three for Demetrius Night. You spent your final college
35:41
Speaker 2: season at South Carolina. Last year, you had a great year.
35:44
Speaker 2: The team at an excellent season. The defense was tremendous.
35:48
Speaker 2: Their in state rival is Clemson. They call it the
35:51
Speaker 2: pal Meadow Ball. Last year, late in the game, your
35:54
Speaker 2: team's got a three point lead, Clemson's driving. You clinched
35:58
Speaker 2: the win with an interception at the fifteen yard line
36:02
Speaker 2: in the final minute. That's one of those plays that's
36:04
Speaker 2: going to go down in South Carolina history. Are you
36:08
Speaker 2: prepared to talk about this with South Carolina fans for
36:11
Speaker 2: the rest of your life.
36:13
Speaker 8: For the rest of my life? Yes, I am very prepared,
36:16
Speaker 8: and I've already explained it a couple of times in
36:18
Speaker 8: the public's on Jervais Street in Columbia to a couple
36:21
Speaker 8: of people and asking me how it feels about it.
36:23
Speaker 8: But that's a story I'll never get tired of telling,
36:26
Speaker 8: even my kids. But I know they'll once they grew up,
36:29
Speaker 8: they'll probably be like, Okay, we've heard it a hundred times,
36:31
Speaker 8: and I'm gonna tell you like like you have you yesterday,
36:33
Speaker 8: which he does in my mind, so something I'll never forget. Then,
36:37
Speaker 8: to make it even sweeter, it was against Clemson, which
36:39
Speaker 8: I know I'll remind him every day since he's my
36:42
Speaker 8: locker mix.
36:43
Speaker 2: That's right, your fellow Rocky Barrett Carter, who's standing a
36:46
Speaker 2: few feet away, question number four for Demetrius Night. Last year,
36:50
Speaker 2: ESPN's Cole Kublick nicknamed you the most interesting man in
36:54
Speaker 2: the SEC. I've seen references to visiting museums. I've seen
36:59
Speaker 2: reference says to taking an interest in Frank Sinatra. Tell
37:03
Speaker 2: me something that makes you the most interesting man, or
37:06
Speaker 2: made you the most interesting man in the SEC.
37:09
Speaker 8: Yeah, just everything that I do. I'm a jack of
37:12
Speaker 8: all trades, but I'm a guy who, uh, I gonna
37:16
Speaker 8: be very very nice and humble off the field. On
37:19
Speaker 8: the field, I'm different animal, become the hunter, become the predator.
37:24
Speaker 8: But you know, when I'm off the field, I like
37:27
Speaker 8: to create. My mind's always thinking, especially when it comes
37:29
Speaker 8: to movies. When it comes to watching movies with family,
37:33
Speaker 8: especially my wife, She'll be the first to tell you.
37:35
Speaker 8: She's like, why are you pointing stuff out? I just
37:36
Speaker 8: want to watch the movie without seeing different things here
37:39
Speaker 8: and things like that. But another thing makes me interested,
37:43
Speaker 8: man that probably people don't know. With my degree from
37:45
Speaker 8: Georgia Tech, I'm gonna become a producer one day. Already
37:48
Speaker 8: have been screenwriting things on my phone already on the
37:51
Speaker 8: different screen running apps, seeing seeing things and scenes and
37:56
Speaker 8: movies played in my mind and write them down. So
37:58
Speaker 8: when the football it does come to an end very
38:02
Speaker 8: long from now, I'll be able to transition into that
38:05
Speaker 8: film industry and to have people in Cincinnati to tune in.
38:09
Speaker 2: Do you have an all time favorite movie?
38:12
Speaker 8: The god Father?
38:13
Speaker 2: Number one? I number one, number one to us, also
38:17
Speaker 2: great three. We don't need to discuss it, right.
38:19
Speaker 8: We want to talk about that. We won't speak of
38:21
Speaker 8: that one we'll not speaking that.
38:22
Speaker 2: One, all right. So when you make an offer that
38:24
Speaker 2: the other team can't refuse, well, no, it's a Godfather
38:27
Speaker 2: related reference. Fifth and final question for Demetrius Knight. For
38:31
Speaker 2: a hot minute, when you got to Cincinnati, you were
38:34
Speaker 2: photographed holding up the number fifty nine. Now you are
38:37
Speaker 2: number forty four. You changed very quickly. What happened?
38:43
Speaker 8: I pretty much just asked if that if forty four
38:45
Speaker 8: was available, and if it was, I'd be honored to
38:49
Speaker 8: wear it. But I fifty nine was what I wore then, perfect,
38:52
Speaker 8: That's fine by me. I just threw it out just
38:54
Speaker 8: to ask because I wore number forty and forty four
38:57
Speaker 8: when I was first started playing in football, So I
39:01
Speaker 8: want to see if like maybe throw it back to
39:03
Speaker 8: those days, maybe put it all full circle one day.
39:06
Speaker 8: So being able to get backing for you for was
39:09
Speaker 8: a blessing was humbly so.
39:10
Speaker 2: As soon as it became available, you were able to
39:13
Speaker 2: snatch it. Yes, sir, all right, I'm sure you're going
39:15
Speaker 2: to wear it well, appreciate your time. Look forward to
39:18
Speaker 2: a great Bengals career followed by a successful career as
39:21
Speaker 2: a Hollywood producer.
39:22
Speaker 5: Absolutely, thank you.
39:24
Speaker 2: Up next we'll go from five questions to five observations.
39:28
Speaker 2: But first, here's a quick reminder that the Bengals Booth
39:31
Speaker 2: podcast is brought to you by pay Corps, proud to
39:33
Speaker 2: be the Bengals Official HR software provider, by Alta Fiber
39:38
Speaker 2: future Proof Fiber Internet designed to elevate your home, business,
39:41
Speaker 2: and community to a new level, and by Kettering Health
39:45
Speaker 2: the best care for the best fans. Kettering Health is
39:47
Speaker 2: the official healthcare provider of the Bengals. Now time for
39:52
Speaker 2: five observations after watching the Bengals practice on Tuesday. Topic
39:57
Speaker 2: number one involves a guy who didn't practice this first
40:00
Speaker 2: round draft pick, Samar Stewart. When the Bengals held their
40:04
Speaker 2: one day rookie mini camp last week, Stuart and Demetrius
40:07
Speaker 2: Knight observed from the sideline because they haven't signed contracts yet.
40:12
Speaker 2: That changed a couple of days later for Night, who
40:15
Speaker 2: as of this recording still hasn't signed a contract, but
40:19
Speaker 2: has signed a waiver that allows him to practice and
40:22
Speaker 2: protects him in the event of injury. Stuart has not
40:25
Speaker 2: signed either yet, so he's still observing from the sideline.
40:29
Speaker 2: I'll admit that I'm surprised by the reaction this is
40:33
Speaker 2: generated on social media, with some people ripping Stuart and
40:36
Speaker 2: his agent and others criticizing the Bengals. At this point,
40:40
Speaker 2: it's a non issue. If weeks go by and Stuart
40:44
Speaker 2: still isn't practicing, then it's fair to question if it's
40:47
Speaker 2: going to hurt his development. But I don't expect that
40:50
Speaker 2: to happen. I think a deal gets done sooner rather
40:53
Speaker 2: than later, maybe even by the time you listen to
40:57
Speaker 2: this podcast. Topic number two two is year two for
41:02
Speaker 2: Jermaine Burton. As we all know, Jermaine had a disappointing
41:06
Speaker 2: rookie season, culminating with not even traveling with the team
41:09
Speaker 2: to the regular season finale at Pittsburgh. There were questions
41:13
Speaker 2: about his maturity level going into the draft, and unfortunately
41:17
Speaker 2: that's how year one played out, as he didn't earn
41:20
Speaker 2: the trust of teammates and coaches. But he's got a
41:23
Speaker 2: chance to change that in year two, and I'm encouraged
41:26
Speaker 2: by what I've seen so far. For example, during draft weekend,
41:30
Speaker 2: Jermaine was in the building every morning, working out and
41:33
Speaker 2: eating in the cafeteria. Maybe it's a small thing, but
41:37
Speaker 2: I took it as a positive sign, and I talked
41:40
Speaker 2: with Jermaine this week. What are you looking to show
41:44
Speaker 2: people this year?
41:46
Speaker 7: You know, once again my ability. You know how much
41:49
Speaker 7: this you know, game means to me, and uh, you know,
41:53
Speaker 7: just my love for the game of football.
41:55
Speaker 2: I noticed in the throwing groups today that you were
41:58
Speaker 2: always kind of in line to catch from Joe, which
42:02
Speaker 2: is usually a sign that they expect you to be
42:05
Speaker 2: a major part of the rotation. Do you take it
42:07
Speaker 2: that way?
42:09
Speaker 7: I honestly just take everything with a granted So I'm
42:11
Speaker 7: just trying to you know, still learn, still still work
42:14
Speaker 7: my best, and still you know, work my mechanics and
42:17
Speaker 7: routes and stuff like that. So yeah, but you know,
42:19
Speaker 7: it's always good catching from Joe.
42:21
Speaker 2: They didn't draft a wide receiver. Did you take that
42:24
Speaker 2: as a lot of confidence.
42:26
Speaker 7: Yeah, you know, I love this team and uh you know,
42:29
Speaker 7: I know they have really high hopes and uh, you
42:31
Speaker 7: know expectations for me. You know, I can't wait to
42:34
Speaker 7: just take everything in and you know, showing what I'm
42:36
Speaker 7: really capable of.
42:37
Speaker 2: The biggest lessons you learned as a rookie were watching.
42:41
Speaker 7: You know, be where your feet are at man, you know,
42:44
Speaker 7: regardless of you know what's going on, and you know
42:46
Speaker 7: how hard life gets is uh, you know, be where
42:49
Speaker 7: your feet at. You know, maintain the goal and maintain
42:51
Speaker 7: the mission and never get off track, and you know
42:53
Speaker 7: always they focus.
42:54
Speaker 2: How eager are you for games to begin, to get
42:56
Speaker 2: out on the field and show what you can do?
43:00
Speaker 7: It's hard to sleep at night, literally, that's how bad.
43:04
Speaker 5: For real?
43:06
Speaker 7: You know, I can stay up twenty four hours and
43:08
Speaker 7: you know thinking about this game. So I'm more the
43:12
Speaker 7: eager and you know, I just can't wait to show people.
43:16
Speaker 2: Time will tell if Jermaine has truly turned a corner,
43:18
Speaker 2: but if he has the scope position talent on this
43:22
Speaker 2: roster is ridiculous. Topic three, the Peters Principles. It's been
43:29
Speaker 2: very interesting to watch new offensive line coach Scott Peters
43:32
Speaker 2: had practiced because he is as hands on as any
43:35
Speaker 2: o line coach I've seen at any level. At times,
43:39
Speaker 2: it looks like a martial arts academy. When Scott coached
43:43
Speaker 2: alongside Bill Callahan and Cleveland, Bill called him a hands expert,
43:48
Speaker 2: and you can see why. Peters has trained several UFC competitors,
43:52
Speaker 2: including Brock Lesner. Cody Ford is going into his seventh
43:56
Speaker 2: NFL season with three different teams, so he's had six
44:00
Speaker 2: old line coaches. Here's what he had to say when
44:03
Speaker 2: I asked him about Peters.
44:07
Speaker 1: On some of the stuff we're doing is amazing.
44:10
Speaker 9: Uh.
44:11
Speaker 1: I'm I'm bought in on it, and I'm taking everything
44:15
Speaker 1: he says, and you know, just gaining the education of
44:22
Speaker 1: his techniques and trying to apply on.
44:26
Speaker 2: As I got about halfway through the question, it was
44:28
Speaker 2: almost like your eyes lit up, like even the mention
44:30
Speaker 2: of him is really kind of got you excited.
44:34
Speaker 1: I think he's going to be a great addition to
44:37
Speaker 1: what what we have going on here. Uh. Like I said,
44:41
Speaker 1: I'm bought in. I believe in his coaching style. I've
44:45
Speaker 1: talked to other guys who have been coached binding before
44:47
Speaker 1: and they've all had great things to say. And like
44:50
Speaker 1: I said, my first impressions are the stuff we're already
44:53
Speaker 1: working on is some some good stuff, and I think
44:58
Speaker 1: it will help us w he comes down to it
45:00
Speaker 1: training camp when we're trying to be at the end
45:03
Speaker 1: of the season.
45:05
Speaker 5: I think he can.
45:06
Speaker 1: Help us get there. And you know, I think he's
45:08
Speaker 1: their guy.
45:10
Speaker 2: Ford, by the way, is among the candidates to start
45:12
Speaker 2: at right guard this year. He started at both tackle
45:16
Speaker 2: spots and left guard. Last year, but didn't take a
45:19
Speaker 2: single snap at right guard, but he has started nine
45:23
Speaker 2: NFL games at that position in his career. Topic four
45:27
Speaker 2: is a sneaky training camp battle. Cal Adamitas has been
45:31
Speaker 2: the Bengals long snapper for the last three years, but
45:34
Speaker 2: his job will be on the line at training camp
45:36
Speaker 2: after the Bengals signed undrafted free agent Will Wagner. Wagner
45:41
Speaker 2: started forty three games at Michigan, snapping nearly five hundred
45:45
Speaker 2: times in all sorts of weather, and special teams coordinator
45:48
Speaker 2: Darren Simmons had him rated as the best long snapper
45:53
Speaker 2: in this year's draft class. All right, based on everything
45:57
Speaker 2: that I read, you were considered to be the number
45:59
Speaker 2: one long snapper in this year's draft class. And I
46:01
Speaker 2: imagine there had to be a lot of interest out
46:03
Speaker 2: there from NFL teams.
46:05
Speaker 9: Why Cincinnati, Well, Cincinnati's a great program, and especially for
46:10
Speaker 9: this year. I mean, we're going to make a Super
46:13
Speaker 9: Bowl run. And then also I have a ton of
46:16
Speaker 9: family out here in Cincinnati, and I thought of no
46:18
Speaker 9: better place but in Cincinnati.
46:21
Speaker 2: How much contact have you had with Darren over the years,
46:23
Speaker 2: because obviously I'm sure he worked out Jake Moody we
46:27
Speaker 2: know he worked out Brad Robbins. Were you involved in
46:30
Speaker 2: those workouts?
46:31
Speaker 1: No?
46:31
Speaker 9: I wasn't actually, but when I was at the combine,
46:35
Speaker 9: I got to talk to him for a while. We
46:38
Speaker 9: did a couple of zooms and I got a top
46:40
Speaker 9: thirty visit here, so I got to interact with him
46:42
Speaker 9: a lot before the draft.
46:44
Speaker 2: What have you been led to believe about the opportunity here?
46:47
Speaker 2: Do you anticipate a training camp battle for the job.
46:50
Speaker 4: Yes, I do.
46:51
Speaker 9: I think it's going to be an open competition between
46:53
Speaker 9: me and Cal.
46:54
Speaker 2: I read an article somewhere that you apply your engineering
46:58
Speaker 2: background to long snap. Can you explain?
47:01
Speaker 9: Yeah, I mean I even do that, Like, oh, my
47:05
Speaker 9: butt came up a little bit that it's about variable
47:08
Speaker 9: mitigation and like, h if your hips are going this high,
47:12
Speaker 9: like you can't have it go over this angle. It's
47:15
Speaker 9: like that's where you get to a zone where it's
47:18
Speaker 9: you're gonna fly the ball over the punter shatter. So's
47:21
Speaker 9: it's just like I did actually do a project snapping
47:27
Speaker 9: in college.
47:28
Speaker 2: So it's get an egg, no, give me a bet.
47:31
Speaker 9: But but what can you say?
47:36
Speaker 5: It was a summer class.
47:37
Speaker 2: Did you deserve a beat?
47:40
Speaker 5: Oh?
47:40
Speaker 9: I got to in the class. I gotta be in
47:42
Speaker 9: the project. Oh I thought I deserve today.
47:46
Speaker 6: I put so much into that.
47:49
Speaker 2: It sounds like his professor was a tough grader. I
47:52
Speaker 2: found it interesting that Will had a top thirty visit
47:55
Speaker 2: to Cincinnati before the draft. I have not seen that
47:58
Speaker 2: reported elsewhere. The fifth and final topic is another undrafted player,
48:03
Speaker 2: center Seth McLaughlin. After spending last year at Ohio State
48:07
Speaker 2: in the previous four at Alabama, McLaughlin was a sure
48:10
Speaker 2: thing to be drafted this year before tearing his achilles
48:14
Speaker 2: in November. By signing him as a college free agent,
48:18
Speaker 2: the Bengals basically wound up adding a seventh draft pick.
48:23
Speaker 2: How is your recovery from a torn achilles coming along?
48:26
Speaker 6: It's coming along right on progress of you know where
48:29
Speaker 6: I think I should be in kind of the plan
48:30
Speaker 6: that they thought I was going to be at this
48:32
Speaker 6: point and just got to get back right and keep
48:35
Speaker 6: going at it.
48:36
Speaker 2: Are you allowed to share any sort of timetable or
48:39
Speaker 2: anything like that.
48:40
Speaker 6: Yeah, hopefully I'm back before training camp. That's kind of
48:43
Speaker 6: the goal.
48:45
Speaker 2: So you are widely expected to be a third or
48:48
Speaker 2: fourth round pick based on the things that I've read.
48:51
Speaker 2: How difficult was it to get injured in November? And
48:55
Speaker 2: how did you cope?
48:57
Speaker 6: I coached by just hanging out around the guys and
48:59
Speaker 6: still being a part of the team and trying to
49:01
Speaker 6: coach where I can and help out where I can,
49:04
Speaker 6: definitely made it a lot better that we ended up
49:07
Speaker 6: winning at all, and I didn't have to feel any
49:09
Speaker 6: sort of guilt for you know, letting the team down,
49:12
Speaker 6: getting hurt or anything like that. So that was definitely
49:14
Speaker 6: a positive. You know, I didn't expect to go undrafted,
49:18
Speaker 6: but it is what it is. Can't control what happens.
49:22
Speaker 6: All I can control is how I attack rehab and
49:25
Speaker 6: how I learned the offense, and you know, how I
49:27
Speaker 6: gel with the guys in the room. And that's my
49:29
Speaker 6: goal to come in and eventually, you know, be a
49:33
Speaker 6: be a solid part of this team and help this
49:35
Speaker 6: team win games.
49:36
Speaker 2: ESPN rated you as the number one undrafted player available
49:41
Speaker 2: this year. I imagine you saw that, and I imagine
49:44
Speaker 2: there had to be a lot of interest from NFL teams.
49:48
Speaker 2: What led you to Cincinnati Just the.
49:50
Speaker 6: Quality of organization here, the quality of you know, offense
49:54
Speaker 6: that's going to be here for as long as Joe
49:55
Speaker 6: Burrows here and even after it's close down the road,
49:59
Speaker 6: the move wasn't going to be too hard. I love
50:02
Speaker 6: being in Ohio. I love Ohio, love the people in Ohio.
50:05
Speaker 6: I know they love their football. So just to stay
50:07
Speaker 6: here in the state and go compete in win games,
50:10
Speaker 6: it was just an opportunity I can pass up.
50:13
Speaker 2: Ted Karras has one year left on his deal. Did
50:16
Speaker 2: you look at NFL rosters and try to ascertain where
50:19
Speaker 2: there might be the best opportunity down the road.
50:22
Speaker 6: Yeah, I let my agent do that. I really just
50:24
Speaker 6: focus on doing my rehab and controlling what I can control,
50:27
Speaker 6: and I kind of left that up to him to decide,
50:29
Speaker 6: and he just told me, he advised meent this is
50:33
Speaker 6: going to be a really good spot, and like all
50:36
Speaker 6: the things I mentioned earlier played into it.
50:39
Speaker 2: Seth said the goal is to be back from his
50:41
Speaker 2: injury in time for training camp. Experience tells me that
50:45
Speaker 2: the player's perspective on an injury timetable is always the
50:49
Speaker 2: best case scenario. So we'll see if that's the way
50:51
Speaker 2: it plays out. But even if it takes a little longer,
50:54
Speaker 2: Seth has a real chance to be an NFL starter
50:57
Speaker 2: down the road. That's going to do it for this
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