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Bengals Booth Podcast: I Want You · Bengals Booth Podcast

0:03
Speaker 1: Hi, get everybody. I'm Dan Horde and thanks for downloading
0:06
Speaker 1: the Bengals Booth Podcast. The Won't You I Want You
0:12
Speaker 1: So Bad? Addition, as we look ahead to the twenty
0:18
Speaker 1: twenty one NFL Draft and discuss from a Sewell, Jamar Chase,
0:23
Speaker 1: and other possible Bengals targets with the top NFL Draft expert. Plus,
0:29
Speaker 1: you'll get to know the person under the pads as
0:31
Speaker 1: I do fun facts with quarterback Brandon Allen. The Bengals
0:35
Speaker 1: Booth Podcast is presented by bud Light. Seltzer refreshed the
0:39
Speaker 1: game and here's a quick reminder that you can have
0:42
Speaker 1: the latest edition of this podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet,
0:46
Speaker 1: or computer by subscribing on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify,
0:51
Speaker 1: or pod Bean. It's the greatest thing since the Mock
0:55
Speaker 1: Draft Simulator. In just a bit, I'll be joined by
0:59
Speaker 1: Tone Paul Leane, the chief Draft analyst for Pro Football
1:02
Speaker 1: Network dot com and the co host of the Draft
1:05
Speaker 1: Analyst podcast on the Belief podcast Network. If you go
1:09
Speaker 1: to Pro Football Network dot com, at the top of
1:12
Speaker 1: the home screen, you'll see a few tabs, including one
1:15
Speaker 1: labeled draft, and if you move the cursor over the
1:19
Speaker 1: word draft, you'll see a link to the mock Draft simulator.
1:23
Speaker 1: Once you click that, you can play Bengals GM for
1:27
Speaker 1: as many rounds of the draft as you want. The
1:29
Speaker 1: simulator begins making picks in order, and then when it's
1:33
Speaker 1: your turn, you will get trade proposals or can make
1:36
Speaker 1: trade proposals and decide whether you want a wheel and
1:39
Speaker 1: deal or go ahead and pick. I've been doing three
1:42
Speaker 1: round drafts and it's a great way to learn some
1:45
Speaker 1: of the players that are likely to be available to
1:47
Speaker 1: the Bengals, as well as being a lot of fun.
1:50
Speaker 1: So check out the mock Draft simulator at Pro Football
1:54
Speaker 1: Network dot com. If you're like me, you'll start to
1:57
Speaker 1: believe that you are qualified to be an NFL LGM.
2:01
Speaker 1: As I record this podcast, the NFL Draft is ninety
2:05
Speaker 1: eight days away. Will the Bengals select Oregon offensive lineman
2:10
Speaker 1: pinay Sewell? Should they select pinay Sewell? I discussed that
2:14
Speaker 1: and more with the NFL draft analyst Tony Pauline Tony.
2:19
Speaker 1: For months, Bengals fans have been lusting after Oregon offensive
2:23
Speaker 1: lineman Pinais Sewel. Just how good of a prospect is he?
2:27
Speaker 1: He's a real good left tackle prospect, very athletic, flew
2:30
Speaker 1: it off the edge. I mean, he's a smooth offensive
2:34
Speaker 1: lineman who can adjust, can block in motion, get out
2:38
Speaker 1: to the second level. I think the one problem or
2:40
Speaker 1: the one issue I have with his game is he
2:42
Speaker 1: doesn't have that nasty attitude when you watch them the
2:44
Speaker 1: first couple of years you played at Oregon, he wasn't
2:46
Speaker 1: the type of offensive lineman that was always looking to
2:49
Speaker 1: bury opponents into the ground. So I think that's something
2:53
Speaker 1: Sometimes it can be developed. Oftentimes it's just a matter
2:56
Speaker 1: of attitude and it never is developed. Where do you
2:58
Speaker 1: think the likelihood is that he's still there at number five?
3:01
Speaker 1: I'd say probably less than fifty percent. I think the
3:04
Speaker 1: Jets at tour possibility, maybe the Dolphins, maybe somebody trades
3:09
Speaker 1: up to grab them. Especially if a team like the
3:12
Speaker 1: Jets and the Miami Dolphins are looking to trade out
3:14
Speaker 1: of that second or third spot, I'd say right now,
3:17
Speaker 1: you gotta think it's less than fifty fifty. Do you
3:19
Speaker 1: think teams are bothered at all that he opted out
3:22
Speaker 1: this year. I don't know if they're bothered by it,
3:24
Speaker 1: but I think the fact that he wasn't on the
3:27
Speaker 1: field to show some progress in his game, which allowed
3:30
Speaker 1: other players from Oregon basically to step up and really
3:33
Speaker 1: improve their game. I think that's that's something that's a
3:37
Speaker 1: missed opportunity. I don't think listen to the remark was
3:42
Speaker 1: made to me over the summer or for all the
3:45
Speaker 1: opt outs you know occurred, was that Penny Sewell can
3:48
Speaker 1: sit around in two twenty and do nothing, but he
3:51
Speaker 1: cheese doodles and he's still going to be a top
3:53
Speaker 1: ten pick. It may bother some, but I think it's
3:57
Speaker 1: a missed opportunity for Sewell. I do like cheese doodles,
4:00
Speaker 1: so I wouldn't hold that against them. We're talking to
4:02
Speaker 1: Tony Pauline, chief draft analysts for Pro Football Network dot com.
4:07
Speaker 1: You released your new big board this week of more
4:09
Speaker 1: than fifteen hundred prospects. It's pretty remarkable. I counted eight
4:14
Speaker 1: offensive linemen in your top thirty two. Is there a
4:18
Speaker 1: significant dropoff from Sewell to the next offensive lineman. I'd
4:22
Speaker 1: say so, especially with the injury to why At Davis.
4:25
Speaker 1: I thought maybe Why Davis, the offensive guard from Ohio State,
4:29
Speaker 1: had an opportunity to be a top fifteen pick, depending
4:32
Speaker 1: on what the situation is with that injury, You're probably
4:35
Speaker 1: looking at Penny Sewell, and then your next offensive lineman
4:38
Speaker 1: probably isn't going to come off the board, so about
4:41
Speaker 1: pick eighteen, so you're really looking at about a half
4:44
Speaker 1: round difference between Sewell and the rest of the offensive
4:47
Speaker 1: line class. Interesting, we're talking to Tony Pauline. You can
4:51
Speaker 1: follow him on Twitter at Tony Pauline pau L I
4:55
Speaker 1: n E. Tony, you published a mock draft back in
4:58
Speaker 1: December when the Bengals still had the number three pick
5:01
Speaker 1: at the time, and you had them taking LSU wide
5:04
Speaker 1: receiver Jamar Chase instead of Sewell. Why well number one?
5:09
Speaker 1: At that point in time, Jonah Williams was actually playing
5:11
Speaker 1: some pretty good football, and then Jonah Williams got hurt,
5:14
Speaker 1: as he often does. I mean, I don't think that
5:17
Speaker 1: Penny Sewell is a guy that you're gonna draft and
5:20
Speaker 1: just naturally slide into the right tackle spot. So I
5:24
Speaker 1: guess at that point in time, I'm looking at Jonah
5:26
Speaker 1: Williams playing some pretty good football living up the expectations.
5:30
Speaker 1: A couple of weeks after that, after that mock draft
5:33
Speaker 1: comes out, Jonah Williams goes down with his knee injury.
5:36
Speaker 1: So it's a different, different set of issues now, different
5:38
Speaker 1: set of questions right now. As far as Jamar Chase
5:41
Speaker 1: is concerned, I just think that Jamar Chase being coupled
5:45
Speaker 1: with Joe Burrow makes sense in so many ways. I mean,
5:48
Speaker 1: the Bengals are going to need help at receiver, they
5:52
Speaker 1: need a deep threat, they need a guy that's reliable.
5:55
Speaker 1: And you add to the fact that not only is
5:58
Speaker 1: Jamar Chase all of those things, but he has a
6:01
Speaker 1: history and he has a relationship with Joe Burrow during
6:04
Speaker 1: Burrow's record setting senior campaign at LSU. So I think
6:10
Speaker 1: it was the point that number one Williams was playing
6:12
Speaker 1: well at left tackle. Number two, I am not a
6:15
Speaker 1: believer Penny Sewell just being able to slide into the
6:17
Speaker 1: right tackle spot. And number three. With the need at
6:20
Speaker 1: receiver that the Bengals also have, the coupling of Jamar
6:24
Speaker 1: Chase back with Joe Burrow just made an incredible amount
6:28
Speaker 1: of sense. Tony, Let's stick with wide receiver. Last year's
6:31
Speaker 1: crop was historically good. T Higgins was the seventh wide
6:35
Speaker 1: receiver selected and he turned out to be great for Cincinnati.
6:39
Speaker 1: Is this year comparable? I actually think that this year
6:42
Speaker 1: could be better at the top with Jamar Chase, who
6:44
Speaker 1: you just mentioned, with the Davante Smith of Alabama, who
6:49
Speaker 1: is probably the best of all the Alabama receivers last year,
6:52
Speaker 1: and you had two Crimson Tide receivers taken in the
6:55
Speaker 1: first round in Henry Ruggs and Jerry Judy. I don't
6:59
Speaker 1: think it's as I don't think you're gonna find real
7:02
Speaker 1: good receivers in the fourth fifth rounds like you did
7:05
Speaker 1: in twenty twenty. But I really think that in the
7:08
Speaker 1: first sixty picture so you're going to be able to
7:10
Speaker 1: get a quality receiver guy that can come in and
7:14
Speaker 1: produce as a rookie develop into a starter. There's a
7:17
Speaker 1: large versatility of receivers. You've got your possession type guys,
7:22
Speaker 1: You've got your quick slot guys that can also double
7:25
Speaker 1: as return men. So I think last year's was slightly better,
7:29
Speaker 1: but I think the quality at the top in this
7:31
Speaker 1: year's draft surpasses two twenty. Draft our guest is Tony Pauline,
7:35
Speaker 1: co host of the Draft Analyst podcast on the Belief
7:38
Speaker 1: podcast Network. The Bengals need defensive line help just as
7:44
Speaker 1: badly as they need offensive line help. They had seventeen
7:47
Speaker 1: sacks as a team this year. How high do you
7:50
Speaker 1: have to draft a defensive lineman this year to get
7:52
Speaker 1: an impact guy? I don't know that there are any
7:56
Speaker 1: true impact guys in this year's draft. I think you know,
8:00
Speaker 1: you mentioned about how many offensive lineman I have graded,
8:03
Speaker 1: you know, in the top forty five or whatever it was.
8:06
Speaker 1: I think you know, really there's there's a lot to
8:09
Speaker 1: be desired this year if you're looking for an edge rusher,
8:12
Speaker 1: even if you're looking for an interior defensive tackle. I mean,
8:15
Speaker 1: who is the top pass rusher in this year's draft?
8:18
Speaker 1: I like Ronnie Perkins of Oklahoma, A lot of people
8:21
Speaker 1: like Gregory Rousseau of Miami of Florida, some people like
8:25
Speaker 1: Quitty Pay of Michigan. But the fact is all of
8:27
Speaker 1: those guys at best at the earliest or mid first
8:31
Speaker 1: round choices. In fact, they're probably bottom half of Round
8:34
Speaker 1: one guys. So you don't have a lot of quality
8:37
Speaker 1: at the top. You do have some players on Day two,
8:40
Speaker 1: Patrick Jones of Pittsburgh, Hartless Basham of Wake Forrest, Jones's
8:44
Speaker 1: teammate Rachard Weaver of Pittsburgh, Jalen Phillips of Miami of Florida,
8:49
Speaker 1: who basically took the opportunity that was presented to him
8:52
Speaker 1: after Gregory Rousseau decided to opt out and had a
8:55
Speaker 1: terrific year. It's not a good year for pass rushers.
8:58
Speaker 1: It's an even worse situation at the defensive tackle class.
9:02
Speaker 1: Not great news for the Bengals since they have needs
9:05
Speaker 1: on the edge and in the middle. I'm a big
9:07
Speaker 1: proponent of trading down in general. The Bengals have the
9:10
Speaker 1: fifth overall pick, should they trade down in your opinion?
9:14
Speaker 1: And if so, how far every fan wants their team
9:17
Speaker 1: to trade down because every team you know feels that
9:20
Speaker 1: it's better if you have you have more picks and
9:22
Speaker 1: more players than the high pick and take a player
9:26
Speaker 1: with it, with those top in the top day of
9:28
Speaker 1: top five whatever. I don't think you can broad brush it.
9:31
Speaker 1: I think you have to look at what options are
9:33
Speaker 1: presented to you at the time. You don't trade for
9:36
Speaker 1: the sake of trading. You trade because you're getting good
9:39
Speaker 1: value in return for your pick. So if the Bengals
9:43
Speaker 1: so happens that one of the quarterbacks is still on
9:46
Speaker 1: the board, when the Bengals a quot of the clock
9:48
Speaker 1: at five, and there's a team that's clamoring to get
9:51
Speaker 1: up to get one of those quarterbacks, and they're offered
9:54
Speaker 1: a good package, then if I'm in the Bengals, I
9:56
Speaker 1: consider it. But I'm just not trading down for the
9:59
Speaker 1: sake of trading down and collecting more selections. That never
10:02
Speaker 1: made any sense to me, Tony. There's kind of a
10:04
Speaker 1: common argument around here these days that drafting offensive lineman
10:09
Speaker 1: has become too unpredictable and that the Bengals would be
10:12
Speaker 1: better off to sign a proven starter in free agency
10:15
Speaker 1: and then draft another position. Do you agree with that concept?
10:20
Speaker 1: It depends on who's that veteran is, and the veteran's
10:24
Speaker 1: history depends on you know, what kind of contract you're
10:27
Speaker 1: going to offer from I mean, let's be serious, the
10:29
Speaker 1: Cincinnati Bengals as an organization are not known to basically
10:33
Speaker 1: open the checking account for players. They're a little bit
10:35
Speaker 1: tight with those purse strings. So I don't know what
10:38
Speaker 1: kind of a veteran you're going to get. Are you
10:39
Speaker 1: going to get a veteran tackle? What are you going
10:41
Speaker 1: to pay him? You know? And what is the value
10:45
Speaker 1: of the player that you're looking at? You know, everyone
10:48
Speaker 1: talks about Penny Sewell at the top of round one.
10:51
Speaker 1: There are some real good offensive tackles that will be available.
10:54
Speaker 1: I would suspect to the Cincinnati Bengals in the second
10:57
Speaker 1: and third round. So it's not just first round players.
10:59
Speaker 1: You talked about te Higgins. T Higgins was the second
11:02
Speaker 1: round Church. You can get good players in Day two
11:04
Speaker 1: and Day three of the draft, and I happen to
11:06
Speaker 1: think there'll be some very good right tackle prospects available
11:10
Speaker 1: to the Bengals in the second and third round, which
11:13
Speaker 1: is definitely a position of need. Last year they had
11:16
Speaker 1: the first pick in every round. We mentioned Burrow, Higgins,
11:20
Speaker 1: Logan Wilson, Kim Davis Gaith or a Keem Identagy. All
11:25
Speaker 1: of these guys got on the field this year. What
11:27
Speaker 1: did you think of last year's Bengals draft. I thought
11:30
Speaker 1: it was good. I thought Joe Burrow exceeded my expectations
11:34
Speaker 1: before the injury. I thought he played fantastic. Same thing
11:37
Speaker 1: with te Higgins, but they worked hand in hand. Logan
11:40
Speaker 1: Wilson not surprised. I mean, they basically revamped their entire
11:44
Speaker 1: or it looks like they revamped their entire linebacker unit.
11:48
Speaker 1: And last year's draft, I mean it looked good on paper.
11:52
Speaker 1: I think what looked good on paper, was transitioned into
11:56
Speaker 1: production on the field. Tony, what did you think of
12:00
Speaker 1: Bearcat's quarterback Desmond Ritter's decision to return to college for
12:03
Speaker 1: his senior year. I thought it was a terrific decision.
12:05
Speaker 1: I mean, Ritter right now grade is a fourth maybe
12:09
Speaker 1: third round choice. He's got a great amount of upside.
12:12
Speaker 1: He needs just a bit more seasoning and more development
12:15
Speaker 1: in this game, which I'm sure he'll get in two
12:18
Speaker 1: twenty one. I thought it was the right move. I
12:20
Speaker 1: thought if he entered the draft it would have been
12:23
Speaker 1: a struggle for him at the next level because it's
12:25
Speaker 1: such a steep curve, not just you know, the competition,
12:28
Speaker 1: the learning and the conditioning everything. Thought he made a
12:31
Speaker 1: great decision. I thought maj Sanders also made a real
12:34
Speaker 1: good decision going back to school. I was a little
12:37
Speaker 1: bit surprised by James Hudson's choice. I thought he would
12:39
Speaker 1: have been better off returning, although there were some in
12:41
Speaker 1: the scouting community who feel Hudson is a potential top
12:45
Speaker 1: forty two choice. All right, Tony, last thing, you did
12:49
Speaker 1: a mock draft in December. As I mentioned, Jamaar Chase
12:52
Speaker 1: going number three to Cincinnati at that time they wind
12:56
Speaker 1: up with a fifth pick. Do you have somebody in
12:58
Speaker 1: mind at this point that you think would be ideal
13:00
Speaker 1: for the Bengals at the fifth spot. You know, I'm
13:04
Speaker 1: still gonna stick with the receivers. I don't know if
13:06
Speaker 1: it's going to be Jamar Chase or Davanta Smith. Devanta
13:09
Speaker 1: Smith has made a major move up draft boards. Just
13:11
Speaker 1: watch his film, watches the way he's played and got
13:15
Speaker 1: better week in and week out against better competition. I'm
13:18
Speaker 1: still right now. I mean, obviously, we have to see
13:20
Speaker 1: what the situation with Jonah Williams is and what they
13:23
Speaker 1: think of Jonah Williams. If Penny Sewel's there and there
13:26
Speaker 1: they feel they can move Jonah Williams inside to one
13:29
Speaker 1: of the interior offensive line positions, maybe even to write tackle,
13:33
Speaker 1: then I could understand them selecting Penny Sewell. Otherwise, if
13:38
Speaker 1: they're satisfied with Jonah Williams at left tackle, I still
13:41
Speaker 1: think a receiver has got to be an option, Tony.
13:44
Speaker 1: For people who aren't familiar with your work, what can
13:47
Speaker 1: we look forward to on Pro Football Network dot com
13:49
Speaker 1: and on the Draft Analyst podcast on the Belief podcast
13:53
Speaker 1: network next week is Senior Bowl week, and we have
13:56
Speaker 1: plans to be in mobile for all three days of
13:58
Speaker 1: Senior Bowl practices, so the wal to wall information on
14:02
Speaker 1: SA Bowl practices will have a breakdown of every single
14:04
Speaker 1: player how they do every single day. We'll have some
14:07
Speaker 1: nightly recaps, and then moving towards the draft, obviously we'll
14:12
Speaker 1: have information on the workouts, assuming we have some pre
14:15
Speaker 1: draft workouts, and it'll all culminate with probably more than
14:18
Speaker 1: eight hundred individual scouting reports. So Bengal fans will not
14:22
Speaker 1: only be able to find information on the players at
14:24
Speaker 1: the team drafts, but the players at the team sign
14:26
Speaker 1: as free agents after the draft. Tony, great staff. F
14:29
Speaker 1: really appreciate your time, thanks for joining us, Thanks for
14:32
Speaker 1: having me. Tony's big Board at Pro Football Network dot
14:35
Speaker 1: com is pretty remarkable. Among other things, you can pick
14:39
Speaker 1: out a position such as quarterback and see where Tony
14:42
Speaker 1: has them ranked among the top fifteen hundred draft prospects.
14:47
Speaker 1: Since we mentioned you sees Desmond Ritter in the interview,
14:50
Speaker 1: I looked him up on Tony's big board and he
14:52
Speaker 1: has das ranked eleventh among quarterbacks and number one fourteen overall,
14:58
Speaker 1: which projects Ritter to be if they're round draft pick.
15:01
Speaker 1: Dez is hoping to improve that by returning to Cincinnati
15:04
Speaker 1: for his senior year. The Bengals Booth podcast is presented
15:08
Speaker 1: by Bud Light Seltzer. It's light and refreshing with a
15:12
Speaker 1: hint of fruit flavor for ten years now. One of
15:15
Speaker 1: the segments on the radio pregame show each week is
15:18
Speaker 1: my fun Facts interview, where the objective is to get
15:21
Speaker 1: to know the person under the pads. I later share
15:25
Speaker 1: those segments on this podcast, and for the final game
15:28
Speaker 1: of this season, I was joined by the Bengals starting
15:31
Speaker 1: quarterback time for some fun facts with quarterback Brandon Allen
15:35
Speaker 1: from Fayetteville, Arkansas. That's where you grew up, It's where
15:38
Speaker 1: you played high school football, it's where you played college football.
15:41
Speaker 1: For somebody who has never been to Fayetteville, describe your hometown.
15:46
Speaker 1: It is a hidden gym, is the way I would
15:49
Speaker 1: describe it. I think a lot of people just here
15:52
Speaker 1: Arkansas and think you know one. I don't know where
15:55
Speaker 1: that is and to why would I want to go there?
15:58
Speaker 1: But I think we've been ranked ranked the top top
16:02
Speaker 1: three at least in SEC schools to go to, So
16:06
Speaker 1: I'd say hidden gem. There's a lot to do. It's
16:07
Speaker 1: a it's a beautiful, beautiful area, and it's it's it's
16:11
Speaker 1: grown a lot since I first got there. You are
16:13
Speaker 1: a coach's kid. Your dad has been part of the
16:16
Speaker 1: staff at Arkansas for twenty years. How did that impact
16:19
Speaker 1: you growing up? I was always around football, so um,
16:23
Speaker 1: you know, being out at the practices and playing on
16:25
Speaker 1: the dummies and all that stuff, and you know, just
16:28
Speaker 1: before a game, you know, he'd bring us all early,
16:31
Speaker 1: all all the brothers, We get out there early and
16:32
Speaker 1: playing the field. So I think just growing up around
16:36
Speaker 1: it so much kind of sparked our love for the game.
16:39
Speaker 1: And uh, you know, I think that's just kind of
16:41
Speaker 1: where it came from. We're doing fun facts with Brandon Allen.
16:44
Speaker 1: Was there any doubt that if you were good enough
16:47
Speaker 1: to play college football that you would play for the Razorbacks? No,
16:51
Speaker 1: I don't think so. Um. I think growing up there
16:55
Speaker 1: always being a fan of Arkansas football, and and we
16:58
Speaker 1: didn't have any really pro sports, you know, too close
17:01
Speaker 1: to us, so um, it wasn't ever a huge you know, NFL, NBA.
17:06
Speaker 1: I didn't have a team to root for, so it
17:08
Speaker 1: was always just the Hogs in Arkansas, and um, so
17:11
Speaker 1: I think when I got the opportunity to go play there,
17:13
Speaker 1: that was a no brainer for me. The early portion
17:17
Speaker 1: of your Arkansas career was tumultuous. Three head coaches in
17:20
Speaker 1: your first two years. You saw the ugly side of
17:23
Speaker 1: fan passion. You had your truck egged one time. How
17:26
Speaker 1: difficult was that and how did it shape who you
17:29
Speaker 1: are now? Yeah, it was tough obviously, going through all
17:32
Speaker 1: those coaching changes and having down years, and um, you
17:36
Speaker 1: know it was. It was hard. It was hard to
17:38
Speaker 1: try and fight through it and stick around a lot
17:40
Speaker 1: of guys you know, transferred in one other places, and
17:42
Speaker 1: and you know, I really just want to see it through.
17:44
Speaker 1: I wanted to see us through, um those hard times
17:47
Speaker 1: that we were going through, and we did. Um for
17:50
Speaker 1: a part, I think we started winning a lot of games.
17:52
Speaker 1: They're late in late in my career, and um, you
17:55
Speaker 1: know it was it was fun to be able to
17:57
Speaker 1: go through that. And I think, um, you saw a
18:00
Speaker 1: lot of adversity during that time, and so to be
18:03
Speaker 1: able to handle that adversity and come out on the
18:05
Speaker 1: other side, I think was really beneficial for me. You
18:09
Speaker 1: played a big role in helping get things turned around.
18:11
Speaker 1: You went back to back Bowl games. You went down
18:13
Speaker 1: as one of the great quarterbacks in school history. What
18:16
Speaker 1: was the highlight of your college experience? You know, I
18:19
Speaker 1: don't know that there's really one in particular highlight all
18:23
Speaker 1: through calls, but just the people I met at the
18:26
Speaker 1: university and the teammates I had, I think, you know,
18:29
Speaker 1: kind of shaped everything about the joy I had planned
18:31
Speaker 1: for for the state of Arkansas and at that university.
18:34
Speaker 1: And so I don't know that I can pinpoint one
18:38
Speaker 1: certain part that was a highlight, But I think just
18:40
Speaker 1: the relationships you built through college athletics and all that
18:43
Speaker 1: I think was the best. And I still got, you know,
18:45
Speaker 1: so many teammates that are still some of my closest friends.
18:48
Speaker 1: Today we're chatting with Brandon Allen, you got drafted by
18:51
Speaker 1: Jacksonville in the sixth round in twenty sixteen, described that
18:55
Speaker 1: life changing phone call. It was a long waiting game
18:58
Speaker 1: for me. You know, you hear certain things and different
19:02
Speaker 1: stories on draft day, but for me, you know, you
19:05
Speaker 1: just sit around you hear you know, all these names
19:07
Speaker 1: getting called, his names getting called, and it kind of
19:09
Speaker 1: creeps in the back of your head. You know, maybe
19:10
Speaker 1: I won't get my name called and then when they called,
19:13
Speaker 1: you know, it just kind of, um, you know, everyone's overjoyed.
19:16
Speaker 1: I was at my parents' house with a lot of
19:18
Speaker 1: family and friends there, and you know, we just we're
19:21
Speaker 1: all very excited, obviously just to hear your name called
19:23
Speaker 1: in a draft and just a real special moment for
19:26
Speaker 1: me and for my family. After a year as a
19:29
Speaker 1: backup in Jacksonville, you got claimed by the Rams and
19:31
Speaker 1: spent a couple of years as a backup there, including
19:34
Speaker 1: the Super Bowl season in twenty eighteen. Sean McVeigh was
19:37
Speaker 1: the head coach, Zach Taylor was an assistant. How much
19:40
Speaker 1: did you learn in those two years with the Rams?
19:43
Speaker 1: I learned a lot, you know. I think just the
19:46
Speaker 1: way that that Sean details everything from the quarterback position
19:51
Speaker 1: and how much how much defense he actually teaches the
19:54
Speaker 1: quarterbacks to understand what you're looking at when you get
19:57
Speaker 1: on the field. Um, I think those two years in
20:00
Speaker 1: LA we're definitely my biggest learning experience to date. So
20:05
Speaker 1: you know, there's there's certain things you can't replace, like
20:08
Speaker 1: actually getting in the game and getting the actual reps.
20:10
Speaker 1: But I think being there for two years and learning
20:13
Speaker 1: as much as I did under Sean and Zach and
20:16
Speaker 1: everyone that was there really helped me to be a
20:21
Speaker 1: better quarterback and be a better player in this league.
20:23
Speaker 1: So you joined the Denver Broncos last year and finally
20:25
Speaker 1: got that opportunity to play in a regular season game,
20:28
Speaker 1: beating the Cleveland Browns in your NFL debut with a
20:30
Speaker 1: passer rating of one twenty five point six. It had
20:34
Speaker 1: been nearly four years between starts. What were your most
20:38
Speaker 1: vivid memories of that day? You know, I think there
20:41
Speaker 1: was a lot of nervous energy for me, Um, just
20:44
Speaker 1: from the from the first snap, and you know, it's
20:47
Speaker 1: been it had been such a long time. You know,
20:50
Speaker 1: obviously there's preseason games and all that, but it's just
20:52
Speaker 1: not the same really, and being able to get into
20:55
Speaker 1: n actual regular season game, I think was it was
20:59
Speaker 1: extremely exciting for me. Obviously, I was, you know, very
21:01
Speaker 1: pumped to play and obviously get the win too was
21:04
Speaker 1: the best feeling. But um, you know, like I said,
21:07
Speaker 1: you know, a lot of guys will be in the
21:08
Speaker 1: league for a long time and still never see that opportunity.
21:11
Speaker 1: So just to be able to get that was m
21:14
Speaker 1: was It was an awesome, awesome feeling for me. We're
21:16
Speaker 1: talking to Brandon Allen, you joined the Bengals this year
21:19
Speaker 1: initially as the so called quarantine quarterback, where you had
21:23
Speaker 1: to be kept away from the other guys as much
21:24
Speaker 1: as possible. What was the hardest part of that? Um?
21:28
Speaker 1: You know, I think just not being around him, I
21:30
Speaker 1: think was the hardest part. You know, you when you've
21:33
Speaker 1: done things a certain way for so long and then
21:35
Speaker 1: you know, COVID comes and everything just changes. It's all
21:38
Speaker 1: Zoom calls, it's you you got to stay away from
21:40
Speaker 1: when you can't go near anyway, It's it's just very
21:43
Speaker 1: different um feeling, and so I think just the hardest
21:46
Speaker 1: part was not being around really any of the guy,
21:47
Speaker 1: especially the quarterback room. You know, you you you grow
21:50
Speaker 1: relationships in that room when you're in meetings together, and
21:53
Speaker 1: to be over Zoom and have to stay away from
21:56
Speaker 1: the practice was was kind of challenging and difficult at
21:59
Speaker 1: the same time. All Right, a few wildcard questions as
22:02
Speaker 1: we wrap up fun Facts of Brandon Allen. Are you
22:04
Speaker 1: a fan of another sport and if so, what team
22:08
Speaker 1: do you follow? I think that goes back to me
22:11
Speaker 1: growing up in argust I didn't really have a team.
22:14
Speaker 1: I think I grew up just watching and having favorite players,
22:18
Speaker 1: and I didn't really have a favorite team, so I
22:21
Speaker 1: am a fan of all the sports. I love watching golf.
22:23
Speaker 1: I think that's probably my favorite thing to watch other
22:25
Speaker 1: than football. And obviously Justin Thomas and those guys are
22:30
Speaker 1: DJ are a lot of fun to watch, and seeing
22:33
Speaker 1: Tiger back out there has been a lot of fun
22:35
Speaker 1: to watch. So if I had to pick, I definitely
22:37
Speaker 1: probably say golf sounds like you play. I do. I
22:41
Speaker 1: tried to anyway, not as good as Finley, but I'm
22:44
Speaker 1: working on it. Is he the chap? Is he the
22:47
Speaker 1: Bengals a golfing chap? I think he is right now.
22:50
Speaker 1: I think he's probably the guy that everyone wants to
22:52
Speaker 1: take down and on the golf course. Do you have
22:55
Speaker 1: any hidden talents? I don't know that they're hidden talents.
22:59
Speaker 1: I walk into Drew Sample today and he said one
23:01
Speaker 1: of his offseason projects is to learn to juggle, and
23:04
Speaker 1: I told him I could probably teach him how to
23:05
Speaker 1: juggle in five minutes, So maybe juggling could be a
23:07
Speaker 1: hidden talent. Other than that, I don't really I don't
23:09
Speaker 1: really have anything that special. You and aj Green are
23:12
Speaker 1: team jugglers. I don't know if you're aware that he
23:14
Speaker 1: has that skill. He's got the juggling skill. I didn't
23:17
Speaker 1: know as many people didn't know how to juggle, so
23:19
Speaker 1: I guess it is a more of a hidden talent
23:21
Speaker 1: than I thought it was. I'm on that list, unfortunately.
23:24
Speaker 1: What has been your most extravagant purchase. I've done a
23:29
Speaker 1: good job of not having too many extravagant purchases. I
23:35
Speaker 1: would have to say, just last Christmas, I think I
23:40
Speaker 1: bought my wife a Louis Vuitton purse, and that probably
23:44
Speaker 1: would have been the most money for what I was
23:47
Speaker 1: getting that I probably spent in my career so far
23:51
Speaker 1: a lot of dough in a small box. Uh. I know,
23:54
Speaker 1: I know those things are expensive, all right. If you
23:57
Speaker 1: could meet anybody in history, athlete, entertainer, statesman, whatever, who
24:05
Speaker 1: would that person be? That is hard. I probably have
24:10
Speaker 1: to say, I've met a lot of really good football
24:14
Speaker 1: players that probably Michael Jordan. I've not had that pleasure
24:18
Speaker 1: of meeting Michael jo I think that would be a
24:19
Speaker 1: really cool thing, just to say that you've shook hands
24:23
Speaker 1: with Michael Jordan. You met Michael Jordan. I think is
24:25
Speaker 1: a really cool thing. I'd love to play some golf
24:27
Speaker 1: with him sometimes, so that would be that would be
24:29
Speaker 1: pretty cool. You'd have to play for big money based
24:31
Speaker 1: on everything everybot about him at the golf course. I
24:34
Speaker 1: better bring some people with me to put it all right.
24:38
Speaker 1: You are off the hot seat. I appreciate your time.
24:41
Speaker 1: Best of luck in the final game of the year,
24:43
Speaker 1: and I have a great offseason. Thank you very much.
24:46
Speaker 1: The final game didn't work out so well, but Brandon
24:48
Speaker 1: Allen was outstanding the week before at Houston and it'll
24:52
Speaker 1: be interesting to see if he resigns with the Bengals
24:54
Speaker 1: in the off season or if the team pursues another
24:57
Speaker 1: veteran quarterback to back up Joe Burrow. That's going to
25:01
Speaker 1: do it for this episode of the Bengals Booth Podcast,
25:04
Speaker 1: brought to you by Bud Light Seltzer, refresh the game.
25:08
Speaker 1: If you haven't done so already, please subscribe, and if
25:11
Speaker 1: you have a minute, give it a rating or share
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Speaker 1: a comment that helps more Bengals fans find this podcast.
25:17
Speaker 1: I'm Dan Horde, and thanks for listening to The Bengals
25:21
Speaker 1: Booth Podcast.