August 26, 2025 • 36 mins
The Bengals set their roster – at least for now – and turn their attention to the season opener. Dan Hoard’s guests include former NFL quarterback and ESPN analyst Alex Smith and wide receiver Charlie Jones. Plus, Dan shares his Top 5 training camp standouts.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, get everybody on Dan Horde and thanks for downloading
the Bengals Booth Podcast. The theyg got a go Goo addition,
as the Bengals set the roster at least for the moment,
and turn their attention to the season opener in Cleveland
(00:23):
coming up. When Urban Meyer recruited Joe Burrow in high school,
he told him he could be a certain NFL quarterback.
I'll talk to that QB. Charlie Jones joins me to
discuss his best training camp and while Charlie was terrific,
he doesn't quite make my list of the five training
camp standouts. You'll hear who did. The Bengals Booth Podcast
(00:44):
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reminder that you can have the latest edition of this
(01:06):
podcast delivered write to your phone, tablet, or computer by
subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's the greatest thing since.
Lee Corso. The ninety year old former head coach, is
set to make his final appearance on ESPN's College Game
Day this Saturday, and while the show will surely still
be good, it will never quite be the same. For
(01:29):
nearly forty years, Corso has added good natured fun to
the show, from his signature not so fast, my friend,
before disagreeing with a colleague, to the four hundred and
thirty times he's ended the show by wearing a mascot's
headgear to signal his pick in the big game, Lee
Corso will go down as one of the most beloved
(01:50):
figures in the history of college football. Now let's get
to my first guest. Former NFL quarterback Alex Smith was
in town this week to record a one on one
interview with Joe Burrow for ESPN. They started against each
other in Smith's final season in Burrow's rookie year, but
that's only scratching the surface of the many things that
(02:12):
the two quarterbacks have in common. Alex, when your college
coach Urban Meyer was recruiting Joe Burrow to Ohio State,
he told him he could be the next Alex Smith.
Apparently there are some physical similarities and the mental makeup
was similar at that age. I know Joe told you
about that. What did you think.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Yeah, listen, when Joe first told me that story, I'd laughed,
you know, flattered, you just, you know, obviously looking at
it at this point in Joe's career and the player
he is a person, he is pretty funny to think that, Yes, seventeen,
eighteen year old Joe was told that his ceiling was me.
(02:56):
You know, I'm not sure what to make of it.
You know, I do get a kick out of it,
you know, obviously, it's funny the world, the NFL, you know,
the football world and how small it can be at times,
and the links that we have, even Joe and I,
even though we're obviously uh you know, pretty big age gap,
but obviously played for the same college coach. And you know,
even even the the guy that recruited him to LSU
(03:19):
is the same guy that they recruited me to Utah
from a position standpoint, so a lot of similarities. But yeah,
it's Joe, Joe's ceilings. Obviously, I'm not sure we still
know what it is at this point, which is saying
a lot you know, to be heading into a six season,
I'm not. I don't think any of us can say
what he can't do at this point.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
You came to town for one of these quarterback to
quarterback chats a few years ago, and from watching it,
it seemed like you two guys had great chemistry right
off the bat. Was it the Urban Meyer connection or
was that just being two members of the quarterback fraternity.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Yeah, it's a good question.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
You know.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
It's funny like for you know, I grew up in
San Diego, very different than than Ohio. But you know,
my dad same thing, coach coach football for a while.
By the time I got to high school, though he
had he had moved on and become a high school principal.
But I think that you know, the son of of
of coaches, you know, and then our journey. Maybe some
similarities there, but you know, it's funny there there are
(04:22):
there are differences as well, and and uh, you know,
obviously Joe's game, but but especially I think his confidence
is something that's so unique. It's hard in the NFL.
It's hard to be a number one pick and come
to a team and and and uh, you know, again,
I think from the outside perspective, people look at his
first five years in the NFL and listen, he's gone
to the Super Bowl, he's been Pro Bowls. He just
had one of the greatest NFL seasons of all time.
(04:46):
And it's easy to say that it looks easy, right,
and then he's been on this rocket ship. He also,
you know, realized like he's been the comeback Player of the
Year twice. This guy's gone through a lot of adversity,
a ton of injuries, and he has really changed the
narrative around this place. Right. The spotlight that is on
the Cincinnati Bengals as an organization has gotten brighter, and
it's because of Joe, right, Expectations have changed because of him.
(05:11):
And you know, man, it's it's it's it's so impressive, right,
and again, I think, to survive all that that adversity,
right to come out the other side and to where
he is and playing at the level he has he
is right now, is just it's really impressive. It's really unique. Honestly,
it takes it's not just that the it's not just
the player. It really takes a unique person to go
(05:32):
through all that and still have the resolve that he has.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
We're visiting with Alex Smith. You were an NFL quarterback
for sixteen years, first pick in the draft, multi time
Pro bowler. You had a great career in your own right.
But are there any Joe Burrow traits that you wish
you could have stolen? Well?
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Yeah, yeah, I mean that was the one I just
hit on there. Man, I listen, this is the NFL
can be a humbling, humbling place. Everybody's good, you know,
and again one of the great big prizes of being
a number one pay because you go to the worst
team in football, and man, it can steal your confidence, right,
you know. I think I had lost one game in
(06:12):
high school, in one game in college, in my entire life,
and then you go to the NFL, and those first
few seasons were hard for me, right. It was hard
to keep your confidences, hard to keep your kind of stinger,
so to speak. And to me, that's what I see
about Joe is one of his kind of superpowers. This
guy just, you know, unwavering belief in himself, which I
think you have to have I do. And I think
(06:36):
with that, the guys on this team, you can see
they looked at him and they believe in him. Right,
And I think that does a lot.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
Also.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
You know, it's funny. I can remember being a young
player in this league and you know, and again, you're
the quarterback and there's a leadership position that comes with
that and people looking to you when things aren't going well.
And man, I can remember doing and saying some dumb
stuff because I thought i'd needed to, you know, and
you learn, I learned the hard way. But I just
don't see that from him. I just again, like this
isn't he's not a raw rock guy when he doesn't
(07:04):
have to be. I just think, again, he has this
great resolve about him that I think rubs off on
his teammates. Right, And this team, this team has kind
of shown that every year they finish better than they start, right,
Like they just this team, you know, I think continues
to improve. It kind of comes from that kind of
focus and that kind of mindset and attitude. And obviously,
I know the last two seasons, you know, came up
(07:27):
a little short as far as making the playoffs. But
you know, I think this is a team I see,
I see it from the outside, and there's a sense
of urgency I think that this team has, and I
think it comes from Joe.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
You had seven offensive coordinators in your first seven years
and multiple head coaches. Joe's had one head coach, He's
been the play caller, only two offensive coordinators. How do
you think the Bengals have assisted Joe in the first
six years of his NFL career?
Speaker 2 (07:53):
Well, yeah, that stability is exactly it, right, I mean,
I think that's it's rare in the NFL. It just
doesn't happen. And uh, you know, I think it's a
recipe for success. I mean this is like again a
model of what it looks like right, how to how
to draft a guy, really develop them and turn turn
something around, change the culture. It takes time, and there's
(08:14):
a lot of the media is impatient. Owners are impatient, right,
we want to see we want to see it right now.
And again, I you know, listen, there to criticism everywhere,
especially in the media. There's enough to go around, but
I think sometimes we don't look at what these you know,
teams and franchises have done. Right, then that's certainly it here, right,
(08:34):
like that kind of stability what Zach Taylor's done to
settle things down here again, so the focuses on football
right to have the same system in place now for
six years for Joe, just to see the level that
he can go to, right, like real ownership for all
these guys. Again, it's rare, but it's what you want,
right And again I think it's going to show up.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
We're visiting with Alex Smith. You famously came back from
one of the most gruesome leg injuries of all time. Ironically,
you were the starting quarterback for Washington when Joe Burrow
is a rookie tour his ACL, MCL and PCL. What
stands out to you about how he overcame that injury
and the other injuries that he's had in the first
(09:14):
five years of his NFL career.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
Yeah, I mean I remember the day really well. You know,
it's my first home game coming off of obviously my
own leg injury and journey back, and you know, to
see Joe, who a guy I was such a big
fan of from Afar And again I have so much
empathy again for the number one pick thing, and you
know him starting right away and playing, he just showed
(09:38):
so much guts that rookie year and then obviously to
see it on the same field, you just feel for him.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
Right.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
But again, I mean, to have that knee injury and
come right back and plead his team to the super Bowl,
and then you know, back to the AC Championship game,
and again, I think probably coming off his best season
as a professional, right off off of this risk injury,
which no one else has really seen, especially from a
uarterback standpoint. So I'm kind of scared to think what
he might do here off of a healthy offseason, a
(10:05):
normal training camp.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
He claims that he never threw the ball the way
he wanted to last year, and as you said, he
had one of the great statistical seasons of all time.
When you hear him say that, do you go, come on.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
Yeah, that's crazy to think about. And you know, I
did hear him say that, and it makes sense though.
I mean, obviously the risk is pretty important in the
throwing motion, and I can imagine that, you know, I
know from my own injury, even when I came back
and played, ye, I mean a year later, I felt
even better. Right, a year later, I felt even I
feel better now than I did then, right, Like that
(10:39):
is the body things take time, especially from these traumatic injuries,
and so I'm not surprised to hear that, right I
think that. Yeah, he's only stronger, right that that thing's
going to continue to heal and get better. So it'll
be fun to watch. I can't wait.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
Joe wanted to play in the preseason. The Bengals granted
that wish. Five series, four touchdowns and great staff. Was
it worth the risk? Do you think it was so
wise to give Joe that opportunity?
Speaker 2 (11:05):
Well, sitting here now, yeah, with him healthy, yes, yeah,
let's be very clear. Yes, Now you know that's the
great concern. He's playing guys in the preseason and obviously
just risking the hits. I thought it was really smart. Listen,
I missed this whole seventeen game regular season, game three
three preseason game, and it does change the dynamic a
little bit, I think, on if you want to play them.
And it's funny that that, you know, the Bengals followed
(11:29):
kind of the similar program that the Chiefs did, right
and Patrick that the guys played in that first one
and then the third one and they get a little
two week break here before the opener. But I think
it was nice to get those guys out there, get
him with the ones, get some time again. They haven't
had that luxury in years. Past because of the injuries
in training camp and so to take advantage of it. No,
I know, no Bengals fans left seeing him get hit,
(11:50):
But again, as a quarterback, some you never get hit right,
and so sometimes it's nice to get that one kind
of you realize you're a football player still and you
still can handle it. So I would actually say, like obviously,
looking looking back on it, Uh, couldn't have gone any better. Uh,
if you're a Bengals fan or Zach Taylor as far
as getting your guys out there, getting them a little
(12:12):
little action, they had had a ton of success and
came out healthy.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
A couple more questions for Alex Smith. Were you surprised
the Bengals were able to extend both Jamar Chase and
t Higgins? And what do you think of spending that
kind of money on a wide receiver position as a
team building strategy?
Speaker 2 (12:31):
Yeah, I mean it's it's I don't think there's any
one right answer for this, right like that, there's a
finite amount of money to spend in the cap and
you got to you know, pick your spots, uh, to
to spend it. I certainly absolutely love continuing to build
around Joe, right like, I mean, he's the strength of
this team, and it is obviously so special and unique,
and so I think to utilize him and continue to
(12:51):
kind of weaponize him, so to speak, it only makes sense, right,
and I think you have to do that. But there's
a give and take to all that, right, Like you, Okay,
if you're spending there, you may not have as much
money to spend on the other side of the ball.
And certainly we see a lot of youth over there
and and draft picks that need to step up and play.
And so that's that's part of the deal. We've seen
(13:13):
it in Kansas City. You know, you look at Patrick's
you know, his career was very similar. Early ton of
ton of money spent on the offense side of the football, right,
a lot of firepower, and then he saw the last
couple of years that did kind of shift. They did
make the decision obviously Tyreek leaves, they be kind of
become more of a defensive team with a with a
quarterback on the other side to kind of, you know,
(13:34):
to complete it. So I don't think there is any
one way. I don't think it'll be this way forever,
you know, here for Joe. But but right now. This
is it and obviously two guys that he has great
rapport with. And I think when healthy, you just see
it like, I'm not sure how you stop. It can't
double everybody, you know. And again, Joe's as maybe the
best in the NFL when it comes from, you know,
(13:57):
running an offense and delivering the football on time, you know,
And so I think it'll it'll think it'll be again,
I think a lot of fireworks on offense.
Speaker 4 (14:06):
You know.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
Hopefully those guys stay healthy on the outside, because again
it's it's unique, they're very unique.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
Final question, and I really appreciate your time. The Bengals
will be a Super Bowl contender in twenty twenty five
if what goes right.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
Yeah, I mean, I think the easy thing obviously. The
point too is like if these this defense gels right,
it comes together and can play. I mean, I don't know,
it's just this defense doesn't need to be I mean,
it doesn't have to be the eighty five Bears, but
you know, they gotta they you gotta have some you know,
some toughness. It's a new system obviously with the new
coordinator come in and they gotta figure that's going to
(14:42):
take a little time. These young guys gotta got to
figure out pro football. But if they can find their way,
you know, kind of come the end of the season,
and if this team can can punch a ticket, right, like,
who's going to doubt them?
Speaker 1 (14:54):
You know?
Speaker 2 (14:54):
And I think the other thing that goes into all
of this though, is health, right, Like, it's just such
a wild card in the NFL. I mean, everybody's trying
to figure out how to stay healthy, but it's not
an exact science, and so that's part of it for
all these teams in their journeys, Like, again, can you
stay healthy along the way? And certainly those are the
(15:15):
teams that they have the depth I think come postseason
to make good runs.
Speaker 1 (15:20):
Your first sit down with Joe Burrow is terrific. I
look forward to seeing the second. Thanks again for your time.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
Yeah, thanks a lot, appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
Smith's sit down interview with Burrow a likely run on
September twenty ninth as part of the Monday Night football
pregame show before the Bengals Week four matchup against Denver.
Still to come, I'll share my picks for the five
biggest standouts at training camp. But first, a conversation with
a guy who just missed the list. Wide receiver Charlie Jones.
(15:50):
Here's offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher.
Speaker 5 (15:53):
Chucks had probably his best sustained period of play with us,
and and you know he's when the ball is going
to him, he's making plays.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
He can do a variety of things for us, and
he's been around a long time. He understands the offense.
So happy we've over seen some child. This is Charlie's
third NFL season, and unfortunately the first two have been
cut short by injuries. He missed seven games as a
rookie with a thumb injury and nine games last year
with a sports hardia. Charlie is healthy going into this
season and looking to remind people that he led the
(16:26):
nation in receptions in his final college season at Purdue.
How do you feel at this point of the preseason
in comparison to your first two years?
Speaker 3 (16:38):
Uh, definitely more confident. You know, I'm feeling healthy. I've
been healthy this camp, which is a big part of it,
and just really that confidence piece, you know, being year three,
you know, had a really good offseason when when I
was able to be out there, I was doing a
lot of good work in Atlanta in the summer, and
(17:01):
you know, know where I'm supposed to be when I'm
supposed to be there, So all those kind of working
together and you know, just just helping me feel good
out there.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
You were off to a really good start in training
camp last year, then you had a collision with a
teammate where you bump knees and that threw you back
for a few weeks. Then you recovered from that. We're
playing well in the regular season, particularly as a return specialist,
and then you got hurt and missed the second half
of the year. It's football, injuries happened. But how hard
was that for you personally and emotionally?
Speaker 3 (17:32):
Yeah, I mean it's always tough, you know, when you're
not out there, and you know you work so hard
all year round to be out there and you know
to hopefully have a good year, and whenever you have
any type of injury, especially one where you know last
year I missed half the year, it's frustrating. But you
know for me it was, you know, not really much
(17:54):
I could do at the time. You know, I got
a different perspective, you know, whenever you're sitting out you
see things from from a little bit of a different
perspective and you can take that time to really learn
and watch. And you know, for me, you know, I
made some changes this offseason. I had some things that
(18:14):
I had to switch up with my routine, you know,
to stay healthy. And you know, you have more of
an appreciation for the game when when you're not playing
and you understand that, you know, you know this game
you can only play for so long, and you know,
whenever you miss time, it's you. You're kind of reminded
(18:36):
of that. So for me, I learned a lot. It's
definitely really frustrating, but it made me, you know, that
much more motivated for my third season.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
What were the biggest changes in your routine?
Speaker 3 (18:53):
Just kind of you know, the way I rehab the
way you know, I've always been pretty pretty routine based,
you know, throughout college, and you know, found a really
good routine that worked for me. And you know the
thing with routines is sometimes that they have to change.
(19:15):
You can't be too stubborn, you know when it comes
to that. If there's better ways of doing things that
you've done before, you know, you got to make that change.
So I think, you know, for me, you know, the
way I recovered, the way I you know, the things
that I focused on this off season as far as
being a receiver changed. You know, I went to Atlanta
(19:38):
for a little bit of the winter and in all
of the summer, which was a change for me, working
with new people, new strength staff, new receiver coaches, new
everything out there. So made a lot of changes this
offseason and you know, feel feel great about the decisions
I made and the and the changes that I made,
(19:59):
and I think that's that's helping me right now.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
One of the people you worked with was Drew Lieberman,
the wide receiver guru that andre Yosi Vash and Chase
Brown started working with last year. Did you see what
it did for them and then want the same thing
for yourself.
Speaker 3 (20:13):
Yeah, definitely. I mean, you know, they went out, you know,
the year before, and you know I saw them come back,
and you know, I loved the routine that they came
back with, and you know, they both made huge strides
in year two and another jump going into our third year.
(20:36):
So you know that that's a thing where you know,
you know, those are you know, it's a bonus that
those are you know, my two best friends on the team,
and you know, I saw the improvements that they had
made and I was I wanted to be a part
of that, so I got out there with Drew. Loved Drew.
I think he's a great coach, you know, a good dude,
(20:57):
and he genuinely cares about us out there. So I
was definitely very happy with the results from Atlanta.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
We're visiting with Charlie Jones. You had two surgical procedures
to fix a sports hernia? Was it a matter of
trying to figure out exactly what the problem was? Is
that why you had to have two.
Speaker 3 (21:14):
Yeah, Well, I mean we didn't really know that until
like right when it happened. We didn't really know it
was a hernia situation. So the second half of the season,
I was really you know, trying to go and just
couldn't go. And then I eventually, you know, flew out
to see a doctor and that's when I found out
(21:35):
it was a sports hernian. We had I think four
weeks left of the year, still trying to push through it.
But but yeah, you know, the first one, we we
did it like a true sports hernia surgery, and you know,
still was having complications still. Once I got out, once
I reheabbed here and went to Atlanta. I couldn't really
get out of my stance, and you know, I knew
(21:57):
something something must have been off. So, you know, we
saw a couple other people and you know, got a
different type of surgery done. And you know, it's always
a tough decision to make, especially having two in one year.
It's not for sure that I need to have that surgery.
You know, maybe just waited out see what happens. But
you know, I wanted to make every step or make
(22:19):
sure I was taking the right steps in the right direction,
to make sure, you know, by at least summer, I
was fully healthy. So you know, I'm definitely definitely glad
I ended up taking that second surgery.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
We often hear about wide receivers earning their quarterbacks trust,
and you have definitely earned Joe Burrow's trust. I have
a multiple choice question for how a wide receiver earns
a quarterbacks trust. Is it one knowing your assignment and
running the right route? Is it two getting open? Is
(22:51):
it three catching the ball slash making plays? Or is
it four something that a layman like me wouldn't even know.
Speaker 3 (22:59):
I think that's a tough question. It's really all the above.
There's a lot that goes into it. You know, he's
got to trust that you know what you're doing where
you're supposed to be. You got to make the play
when when he goes you so continue to build that trust. Uh.
And then there's other things, you know, like we're we're
people outside of this building. You got to build relationships
(23:22):
a little bit off the field, and you know, I
think that's something that you know, we've done, and you know,
I think there's a bunch of different things that go
into it. And you know, I think all around our
team is is pretty close this year in general. So
all those are factors into into earning the trust to
your quarterback as well as you know, all your teammates
(23:44):
and coaches.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
Zach Taylor told us that on your touchdown catch last
week in Washington, you were the third option on that
play when you're running the route, do you know like
a quarterback based on the coverage pretty quickly? Okay, even
though I'm the third option, this is probably probably coming
to me.
Speaker 3 (24:02):
Yeah, I think, you know, on some plays, you definitely
know kind of where you are in the progression. But
something for me that I've been focusing on, you know,
is you know, sometimes all right, I'm not the first
read on this. I can run my route a different
way or you know, set it up for someone else
(24:22):
in a certain way. But then having that mindset that
after I do a job, if this is a do
a job route, like I still could get this ball
at any point, especially with the quarterback like Joe who's
mobile in the pocket, who can scramble so well. So
really just going into every play thinking this is this
is going to come to me at some point at
(24:44):
this play, you know, whether it's you know, first read
or the last read. So that's that's kind of been
a little bit of a shift in my mentality for
this year is every time I'm out there, you know,
I'm expecting to get the ball even you know, no
matter who's in Like, that's just you have to think
as a receiver if you if you want to you know,
play Well.
Speaker 1 (25:04):
We're visiting with Charlie Jones. You also had a kick
return out to the forty two yard line last week.
This is year two of this kickoff rule format that
the NFL went to last year. You had a kick
return touchdown last year. Do you like it? Is it
good for you as a return man?
Speaker 3 (25:20):
I think it is and I think, you know, even
more this year than last year with the with the
rules of you know, got teams are going to want
to keep that ball in play. So being a returner,
I think this is definitely in favor of us. I
think we're going to see a lot more opportunities back there,
and you know, I really enjoy being back there. And
(25:41):
you know, I think it's a special play in this game.
It's you know, it's a it's a big spark. You
could really change the game back there, and that's what
I'm trying to do. So I'm definitely a fan of
the of the new rule.
Speaker 1 (25:54):
One of the reasons why the NFL did it was safety.
There are a fewer high speed collisions. But I think
of that in terms of the blocking guys and the
tackling guys as opposed to the returner. Does it feel
any safer to you?
Speaker 3 (26:08):
Maybe maybe a little bit. I mean, I guess with
the old rule, if someone you know, beat their beat
their blocker and you know, had that much more space,
you know, full speed, I guess he it could be
a little bit of a different hit. But you know,
it's still I feel like, you know, with the new rule,
(26:29):
I mean I'm almost getting up there quicker than I
was before, you know, especially if they're trying to kick
it right past the twenty yard line like like we
saw last week. You know, I'm getting up there. You
know it's kind of bang bang. So it's all I
feel like it might be the same as far as
(26:49):
you know, the hits that you might take or you know,
anything like that.
Speaker 1 (26:54):
Well, as I said off the top, you're having a
great camp in preseason. It's great to see a healthy
and playing well. Best of luck this year.
Speaker 3 (27:00):
Thank you, I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (27:03):
Charlie had a one hundred yard kick return touchdown last
year and an eighty one yard punt return touchdown as
a rookie. The only other player in team history with
a kick return touchdown and a punt return touchdown will
be inducted into the Ring of Honor in late October. Leapin'
Lamar Parrish. The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you
(27:24):
by pay Corps, Proud to be the Bengals official HR
software provider, by Alta Fiber future Proof Fiber Internet designed
to elevate your home, business and community to a new level,
and by kettering health the best care for the best fans.
Kettering Health is the official healthcare provider of the Bengals.
Now time to share my top five training camp standouts.
(27:48):
Number five is rookie offensive lineman Dylan Fairchild. Now, part
of this is circumstantial. If I was just picking a
most impressive O lineman, it would be a Marius Mims
who makes past protection look comically easy. But Fairchild was
plugged into the starting lineup from day one and looks
like he belongs. Pro Football Focus graded him as the
(28:12):
NFL's fifth best guard in the preseason. Here's O line
coach Scott Peters on fair Child's ability to handle the
task of starting as a rookie.
Speaker 6 (28:21):
Obviously, you know that's going in. It's it's rand new
for him. But I think he's done a good job.
But we're gonna keep pushing him, and he's pushing himself,
and so hopefully we just got to keep taking steps
each day.
Speaker 1 (28:32):
You know, Patty help up really well in the one
on one pass rush and stuff. Today did he show
the trades that had you so excited us was a.
Speaker 6 (28:40):
Big, strong kid with good length and you know, and
he's got good movement and the key is just kind
of being roll refined in a posture and getting this
timing of the strikes.
Speaker 1 (28:50):
But he it's getting better.
Speaker 6 (28:52):
So you know, for guys, most of the guys from college,
it's like he's like, we got to forget what we
did there. This is like two different games and check
your checkers and chess. Not going out there like a
meathead and try to head bang somebody because it wouldn't work.
So he's done a really nice job getting those things corrected.
Speaker 1 (29:07):
Still ways to go, but yeah, I think today it
was nice to see.
Speaker 6 (29:09):
Him get out there, get a chance to go in
one on ones where you get to test your your
stuff and see what you got to work at. And
you know, I tell the guys you either win or
you learn, so if you lose, you got to learn something.
There's always something to be learned. I think he's done
a good job as far so.
Speaker 1 (29:23):
One thing that's gonna be stood out.
Speaker 6 (29:24):
He has physical traits that that are pretty top end.
I mean, he's a really big guy's big, thick, square,
strong athletic.
Speaker 1 (29:32):
He's tough. Dylan only allowed one pressure on twenty six
pass blocking snaps in the preseason. Standout Number four is
defensive tackle Chris Jenkins, last year's second round draft pick,
started nine games as a rookie, but was hampered by
the broken thumb that he suffered just before the start
of the season. Now that he's healthy, he frequently made
(29:56):
plays in training camp. Here's Al Golden.
Speaker 7 (29:58):
I've said to you guys multiple time, I think Jenkins
arguably has had the best camp of anybody. I watched
what you guys watched last year. Unbeknownst to me, you know,
he missed a lot of camp with an arm issue,
and he was behind from the get go, So he
got behind the eight ball. And I don't think he
was uh either one hundred percent uh, nor was he
(30:21):
happy with uh, you know, the way it went for him.
And he's worked really hard to remedy that and and
really and and and take his games at the next level.
And he's done that for us. So I'm I'm uh,
I'm really excited about him. His versatility. Uh, he's become
a better pass rusher on early downs. We're giving him
the freedom to do that. And Uh, he's strong, he
(30:42):
brings energy. He's a horrible basketball player in here when
when when we when we shoot, he's awful.
Speaker 1 (30:47):
But he's really done a nice job in terms of that.
Going into his senior year at Michigan, Jenkins was ranked
as the sixth biggest athletic freak in college football for
his combination of strength and quickquickness. Training camp standout Number
three is another athletic freak, andre yosivaj. No Bengals receiver
(31:08):
including Jamar Chase and T Higgins caught more passes of
twenty plus yards during camp than Yosi vash. I put
it this way, everything that people are hoping that Jermaine
Burton can become andre Yosi vash already is big, strong, fast,
and tough. Here's Dan Pitcher.
Speaker 8 (31:30):
He's the perfect example of a guy that you take
late in the draft because of his physical gifts. He's
got tremendous intelligence. Right, So you got a smart guy
with physical gifts coming from a small school entering the
big pond, right and having to figure out what that
means and the physicality that comes with that and the
(31:50):
consistency that we need out of him to be the
passing attack that we want to be. So he makes
a jump from year one to two. Now from two
to three, you see the confidence, you see the chest out,
you see you see just how he carries himself like
he believes that he's like those other two guys, and
he's making steps to get there. And in a lot
of other buildings he would have the opportunity that a T.
(32:12):
Higgins has, and so when you don't have that same volume,
he knows that when the ball does come his way,
he's got to take advantage of it. And I just
think you've seen the confidence grow, super proud of his progression,
and I think you're only going to see him continue
to get better.
Speaker 1 (32:27):
The Bengals had the Cincinnati three way when Tyler Boyd
was here. I think they have it again with andre
Yosi Vash. My number two training camp standout is Cam
Taylor Britt. After a rocky twenty twenty four, CTB looks
like the player who is being touted as a possible
pro bowler prior to last season. Cornerbacks coach Chuck Burks
(32:50):
says it's all about consistency, and Taylor Britt has taken
that message to heart. That's what I plan to do. Man,
be consistent in everything that I do.
Speaker 9 (32:58):
A routine mayher the same time every morning, the same routine,
and literally I'm go go lift right now, go home,
walk the dolls, eat. I'll do the same thing every day.
Speaker 1 (33:08):
So when he says consistency, he's not talking down to down,
he's talking every aspect of your life. Life is a problem.
Speaker 9 (33:15):
If you don't keep your room clean, you can't be right.
As simple as that. You don't make your bed in
the morning. You know, you don't start your day off right.
And that's kind of the same thing. But how I
go to the footballs doesn't man in the day you
come in this building, it will work, and you gotta
do the same thing every day.
Speaker 1 (33:27):
Zach Taylor says he's got great expectations for Cam this year.
Finally training camps stand out number one, and there's no
drum roll needed. It's obviously Joe Burrow. He is throwing
the ball with surgical precision and led the team to
four touchdown drives on five preseason possessions. That's eighty percent.
(33:50):
To put that in perspective, the league average on touchdowns
per drive last year was twenty four percent. Burrow just
keeps getting better, largely because that's his focus.
Speaker 10 (34:04):
Constantly improving every day in every facet of your game.
There's never an area of your game that you stop
working on. You know, obviously you go into an offseason
and you reflect on on the year before and think about,
you know, things you could have done better, things you
(34:26):
could have done more, things you could have done less.
But you know, when you get into into the training,
you're trying to get better and every every faster of
your game.
Speaker 4 (34:35):
This time of year, Joe, everybody's got this idea of
who the best quarterbacks are in the NFL. And certainly
we look back to last year's stats or who wanted
the playoffs? What would you consider the criteria as the
separator of the best quarterbacks in the ENA? But when
you start talking about the elite names, what's the separator
for those guys?
Speaker 10 (34:55):
I think consistency is what it is at the end.
Speaker 5 (34:58):
Of the day.
Speaker 10 (34:59):
You know, there's anybody can go out and do it
for a game, a couple games, four games, five games,
But can you do it for seventeen games? Can you
do it for years and years and years in a row?
That's a I think that's what ultimately separates the great
ones from the good ones. And you know, I think
(35:20):
you can tell the guys that do it year in
and year out.
Speaker 1 (35:22):
Great question there by Fox nineteen's Joe Daniman. That wraps
up this edition of The Bengals Booth Podcast, brought to
you by pay Core, Proud to be the Bengals official
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designed to elevate your home, business and community to a
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(35:42):
the best fans. Kettering Health is the official healthcare provider
of the Bengals. If you haven't done so already, please
subscribe to this podcast and if you have a minute,
give it a rating or share a comment that helps
more Bengals fans find us. I'm Dan Horde and thanks
for listen big to the Bengals Booth Podcast.
Hi, get everybody on Dan Horde and thanks for downloading
the Bengals Booth Podcast. The theyg got a go Goo addition,
as the Bengals set the roster at least for the moment,
and turn their attention to the season opener in Cleveland
(00:23):
coming up. When Urban Meyer recruited Joe Burrow in high school,
he told him he could be a certain NFL quarterback.
I'll talk to that QB. Charlie Jones joins me to
discuss his best training camp and while Charlie was terrific,
he doesn't quite make my list of the five training
camp standouts. You'll hear who did. The Bengals Booth Podcast
(00:44):
is brought to you by pay Corps, proud to be
the Bengals official HR software provider, by Alta Fiber, future
proof Fiber Internet designed to elevate your home, business and
community to a new level, and by Kettering Health the
best care for the best fans. Kettering Health is the
official healthcare provider of the Bengals. Now here's a quick
reminder that you can have the latest edition of this
(01:06):
podcast delivered write to your phone, tablet, or computer by
subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's the greatest thing since.
Lee Corso. The ninety year old former head coach, is
set to make his final appearance on ESPN's College Game
Day this Saturday, and while the show will surely still
be good, it will never quite be the same. For
(01:29):
nearly forty years, Corso has added good natured fun to
the show, from his signature not so fast, my friend,
before disagreeing with a colleague, to the four hundred and
thirty times he's ended the show by wearing a mascot's
headgear to signal his pick in the big game, Lee
Corso will go down as one of the most beloved
(01:50):
figures in the history of college football. Now let's get
to my first guest. Former NFL quarterback Alex Smith was
in town this week to record a one on one
interview with Joe Burrow for ESPN. They started against each
other in Smith's final season in Burrow's rookie year, but
that's only scratching the surface of the many things that
(02:12):
the two quarterbacks have in common. Alex, when your college
coach Urban Meyer was recruiting Joe Burrow to Ohio State,
he told him he could be the next Alex Smith.
Apparently there are some physical similarities and the mental makeup
was similar at that age. I know Joe told you
about that. What did you think.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Yeah, listen, when Joe first told me that story, I'd laughed,
you know, flattered, you just, you know, obviously looking at
it at this point in Joe's career and the player
he is a person, he is pretty funny to think that, Yes, seventeen,
eighteen year old Joe was told that his ceiling was me.
(02:56):
You know, I'm not sure what to make of it.
You know, I do get a kick out of it,
you know, obviously, it's funny the world, the NFL, you know,
the football world and how small it can be at times,
and the links that we have, even Joe and I,
even though we're obviously uh you know, pretty big age gap,
but obviously played for the same college coach. And you know,
even even the the guy that recruited him to LSU
(03:19):
is the same guy that they recruited me to Utah
from a position standpoint, so a lot of similarities. But yeah,
it's Joe, Joe's ceilings. Obviously, I'm not sure we still
know what it is at this point, which is saying
a lot you know, to be heading into a six season,
I'm not. I don't think any of us can say
what he can't do at this point.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
You came to town for one of these quarterback to
quarterback chats a few years ago, and from watching it,
it seemed like you two guys had great chemistry right
off the bat. Was it the Urban Meyer connection or
was that just being two members of the quarterback fraternity.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Yeah, it's a good question.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
You know.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
It's funny like for you know, I grew up in
San Diego, very different than than Ohio. But you know,
my dad same thing, coach coach football for a while.
By the time I got to high school, though he
had he had moved on and become a high school principal.
But I think that you know, the son of of
of coaches, you know, and then our journey. Maybe some
similarities there, but you know, it's funny there there are
(04:22):
there are differences as well, and and uh, you know,
obviously Joe's game, but but especially I think his confidence
is something that's so unique. It's hard in the NFL.
It's hard to be a number one pick and come
to a team and and and uh, you know, again,
I think from the outside perspective, people look at his
first five years in the NFL and listen, he's gone
to the Super Bowl, he's been Pro Bowls. He just
had one of the greatest NFL seasons of all time.
(04:46):
And it's easy to say that it looks easy, right,
and then he's been on this rocket ship. He also,
you know, realized like he's been the comeback Player of the
Year twice. This guy's gone through a lot of adversity,
a ton of injuries, and he has really changed the
narrative around this place. Right. The spotlight that is on
the Cincinnati Bengals as an organization has gotten brighter, and
it's because of Joe, right, Expectations have changed because of him.
(05:11):
And you know, man, it's it's it's it's so impressive, right,
and again, I think, to survive all that that adversity,
right to come out the other side and to where
he is and playing at the level he has he
is right now, is just it's really impressive. It's really unique. Honestly,
it takes it's not just that the it's not just
the player. It really takes a unique person to go
(05:32):
through all that and still have the resolve that he has.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
We're visiting with Alex Smith. You were an NFL quarterback
for sixteen years, first pick in the draft, multi time
Pro bowler. You had a great career in your own right.
But are there any Joe Burrow traits that you wish
you could have stolen? Well?
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Yeah, yeah, I mean that was the one I just
hit on there. Man, I listen, this is the NFL
can be a humbling, humbling place. Everybody's good, you know,
and again one of the great big prizes of being
a number one pay because you go to the worst
team in football, and man, it can steal your confidence, right,
you know. I think I had lost one game in
(06:12):
high school, in one game in college, in my entire life,
and then you go to the NFL, and those first
few seasons were hard for me, right. It was hard
to keep your confidences, hard to keep your kind of stinger,
so to speak. And to me, that's what I see
about Joe is one of his kind of superpowers. This
guy just, you know, unwavering belief in himself, which I
think you have to have I do. And I think
(06:36):
with that, the guys on this team, you can see
they looked at him and they believe in him. Right,
And I think that does a lot.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
Also.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
You know, it's funny. I can remember being a young
player in this league and you know, and again, you're
the quarterback and there's a leadership position that comes with
that and people looking to you when things aren't going well.
And man, I can remember doing and saying some dumb
stuff because I thought i'd needed to, you know, and
you learn, I learned the hard way. But I just
don't see that from him. I just again, like this
isn't he's not a raw rock guy when he doesn't
(07:04):
have to be. I just think, again, he has this
great resolve about him that I think rubs off on
his teammates. Right, And this team, this team has kind
of shown that every year they finish better than they start, right,
Like they just this team, you know, I think continues
to improve. It kind of comes from that kind of
focus and that kind of mindset and attitude. And obviously,
I know the last two seasons, you know, came up
(07:27):
a little short as far as making the playoffs. But
you know, I think this is a team I see,
I see it from the outside, and there's a sense
of urgency I think that this team has, and I
think it comes from Joe.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
You had seven offensive coordinators in your first seven years
and multiple head coaches. Joe's had one head coach, He's
been the play caller, only two offensive coordinators. How do
you think the Bengals have assisted Joe in the first
six years of his NFL career?
Speaker 2 (07:53):
Well, yeah, that stability is exactly it, right, I mean,
I think that's it's rare in the NFL. It just
doesn't happen. And uh, you know, I think it's a
recipe for success. I mean this is like again a
model of what it looks like right, how to how
to draft a guy, really develop them and turn turn
something around, change the culture. It takes time, and there's
(08:14):
a lot of the media is impatient. Owners are impatient, right,
we want to see we want to see it right now.
And again, I you know, listen, there to criticism everywhere,
especially in the media. There's enough to go around, but
I think sometimes we don't look at what these you know,
teams and franchises have done. Right, then that's certainly it here, right,
(08:34):
like that kind of stability what Zach Taylor's done to
settle things down here again, so the focuses on football
right to have the same system in place now for
six years for Joe, just to see the level that
he can go to, right, like real ownership for all
these guys. Again, it's rare, but it's what you want,
right And again I think it's going to show up.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
We're visiting with Alex Smith. You famously came back from
one of the most gruesome leg injuries of all time. Ironically,
you were the starting quarterback for Washington when Joe Burrow
is a rookie tour his ACL, MCL and PCL. What
stands out to you about how he overcame that injury
and the other injuries that he's had in the first
(09:14):
five years of his NFL career.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
Yeah, I mean I remember the day really well. You know,
it's my first home game coming off of obviously my
own leg injury and journey back, and you know, to
see Joe, who a guy I was such a big
fan of from Afar And again I have so much
empathy again for the number one pick thing, and you
know him starting right away and playing, he just showed
(09:38):
so much guts that rookie year and then obviously to
see it on the same field, you just feel for him.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
Right.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
But again, I mean, to have that knee injury and
come right back and plead his team to the super Bowl,
and then you know, back to the AC Championship game,
and again, I think probably coming off his best season
as a professional, right off off of this risk injury,
which no one else has really seen, especially from a
uarterback standpoint. So I'm kind of scared to think what
he might do here off of a healthy offseason, a
(10:05):
normal training camp.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
He claims that he never threw the ball the way
he wanted to last year, and as you said, he
had one of the great statistical seasons of all time.
When you hear him say that, do you go, come on.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
Yeah, that's crazy to think about. And you know, I
did hear him say that, and it makes sense though.
I mean, obviously the risk is pretty important in the
throwing motion, and I can imagine that, you know, I
know from my own injury, even when I came back
and played, ye, I mean a year later, I felt
even better. Right, a year later, I felt even I
feel better now than I did then, right, Like that
(10:39):
is the body things take time, especially from these traumatic injuries,
and so I'm not surprised to hear that, right I
think that. Yeah, he's only stronger, right that that thing's
going to continue to heal and get better. So it'll
be fun to watch. I can't wait.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
Joe wanted to play in the preseason. The Bengals granted
that wish. Five series, four touchdowns and great staff. Was
it worth the risk? Do you think it was so
wise to give Joe that opportunity?
Speaker 2 (11:05):
Well, sitting here now, yeah, with him healthy, yes, yeah,
let's be very clear. Yes, Now you know that's the
great concern. He's playing guys in the preseason and obviously
just risking the hits. I thought it was really smart. Listen,
I missed this whole seventeen game regular season, game three
three preseason game, and it does change the dynamic a
little bit, I think, on if you want to play them.
And it's funny that that, you know, the Bengals followed
(11:29):
kind of the similar program that the Chiefs did, right
and Patrick that the guys played in that first one
and then the third one and they get a little
two week break here before the opener. But I think
it was nice to get those guys out there, get
him with the ones, get some time again. They haven't
had that luxury in years. Past because of the injuries
in training camp and so to take advantage of it. No,
I know, no Bengals fans left seeing him get hit,
(11:50):
But again, as a quarterback, some you never get hit right,
and so sometimes it's nice to get that one kind
of you realize you're a football player still and you
still can handle it. So I would actually say, like obviously,
looking looking back on it, Uh, couldn't have gone any better. Uh,
if you're a Bengals fan or Zach Taylor as far
as getting your guys out there, getting them a little
(12:12):
little action, they had had a ton of success and
came out healthy.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
A couple more questions for Alex Smith. Were you surprised
the Bengals were able to extend both Jamar Chase and
t Higgins? And what do you think of spending that
kind of money on a wide receiver position as a
team building strategy?
Speaker 2 (12:31):
Yeah, I mean it's it's I don't think there's any
one right answer for this, right like that, there's a
finite amount of money to spend in the cap and
you got to you know, pick your spots, uh, to
to spend it. I certainly absolutely love continuing to build
around Joe, right like, I mean, he's the strength of
this team, and it is obviously so special and unique,
and so I think to utilize him and continue to
(12:51):
kind of weaponize him, so to speak, it only makes sense, right,
and I think you have to do that. But there's
a give and take to all that, right, Like you, Okay,
if you're spending there, you may not have as much
money to spend on the other side of the ball.
And certainly we see a lot of youth over there
and and draft picks that need to step up and play.
And so that's that's part of the deal. We've seen
(13:13):
it in Kansas City. You know, you look at Patrick's
you know, his career was very similar. Early ton of
ton of money spent on the offense side of the football, right,
a lot of firepower, and then he saw the last
couple of years that did kind of shift. They did
make the decision obviously Tyreek leaves, they be kind of
become more of a defensive team with a with a
quarterback on the other side to kind of, you know,
(13:34):
to complete it. So I don't think there is any
one way. I don't think it'll be this way forever,
you know, here for Joe. But but right now. This
is it and obviously two guys that he has great
rapport with. And I think when healthy, you just see
it like, I'm not sure how you stop. It can't
double everybody, you know. And again, Joe's as maybe the
best in the NFL when it comes from, you know,
(13:57):
running an offense and delivering the football on time, you know,
And so I think it'll it'll think it'll be again,
I think a lot of fireworks on offense.
Speaker 4 (14:06):
You know.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
Hopefully those guys stay healthy on the outside, because again
it's it's unique, they're very unique.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
Final question, and I really appreciate your time. The Bengals
will be a Super Bowl contender in twenty twenty five
if what goes right.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
Yeah, I mean, I think the easy thing obviously. The
point too is like if these this defense gels right,
it comes together and can play. I mean, I don't know,
it's just this defense doesn't need to be I mean,
it doesn't have to be the eighty five Bears, but
you know, they gotta they you gotta have some you know,
some toughness. It's a new system obviously with the new
coordinator come in and they gotta figure that's going to
(14:42):
take a little time. These young guys gotta got to
figure out pro football. But if they can find their way,
you know, kind of come the end of the season,
and if this team can can punch a ticket, right, like,
who's going to doubt them?
Speaker 1 (14:54):
You know?
Speaker 2 (14:54):
And I think the other thing that goes into all
of this though, is health, right, Like, it's just such
a wild card in the NFL. I mean, everybody's trying
to figure out how to stay healthy, but it's not
an exact science, and so that's part of it for
all these teams in their journeys, Like, again, can you
stay healthy along the way? And certainly those are the
(15:15):
teams that they have the depth I think come postseason
to make good runs.
Speaker 1 (15:20):
Your first sit down with Joe Burrow is terrific. I
look forward to seeing the second. Thanks again for your time.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
Yeah, thanks a lot, appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
Smith's sit down interview with Burrow a likely run on
September twenty ninth as part of the Monday Night football
pregame show before the Bengals Week four matchup against Denver.
Still to come, I'll share my picks for the five
biggest standouts at training camp. But first, a conversation with
a guy who just missed the list. Wide receiver Charlie Jones.
(15:50):
Here's offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher.
Speaker 5 (15:53):
Chucks had probably his best sustained period of play with us,
and and you know he's when the ball is going
to him, he's making plays.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
He can do a variety of things for us, and
he's been around a long time. He understands the offense.
So happy we've over seen some child. This is Charlie's
third NFL season, and unfortunately the first two have been
cut short by injuries. He missed seven games as a
rookie with a thumb injury and nine games last year
with a sports hardia. Charlie is healthy going into this
season and looking to remind people that he led the
(16:26):
nation in receptions in his final college season at Purdue.
How do you feel at this point of the preseason
in comparison to your first two years?
Speaker 3 (16:38):
Uh, definitely more confident. You know, I'm feeling healthy. I've
been healthy this camp, which is a big part of it,
and just really that confidence piece, you know, being year three,
you know, had a really good offseason when when I
was able to be out there, I was doing a
lot of good work in Atlanta in the summer, and
(17:01):
you know, know where I'm supposed to be when I'm
supposed to be there, So all those kind of working
together and you know, just just helping me feel good
out there.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
You were off to a really good start in training
camp last year, then you had a collision with a
teammate where you bump knees and that threw you back
for a few weeks. Then you recovered from that. We're
playing well in the regular season, particularly as a return specialist,
and then you got hurt and missed the second half
of the year. It's football, injuries happened. But how hard
was that for you personally and emotionally?
Speaker 3 (17:32):
Yeah, I mean it's always tough, you know, when you're
not out there, and you know you work so hard
all year round to be out there and you know
to hopefully have a good year, and whenever you have
any type of injury, especially one where you know last
year I missed half the year, it's frustrating. But you
know for me it was, you know, not really much
(17:54):
I could do at the time. You know, I got
a different perspective, you know, whenever you're sitting out you
see things from from a little bit of a different
perspective and you can take that time to really learn
and watch. And you know, for me, you know, I
made some changes this offseason. I had some things that
(18:14):
I had to switch up with my routine, you know,
to stay healthy. And you know, you have more of
an appreciation for the game when when you're not playing
and you understand that, you know, you know this game
you can only play for so long, and you know,
whenever you miss time, it's you. You're kind of reminded
(18:36):
of that. So for me, I learned a lot. It's
definitely really frustrating, but it made me, you know, that
much more motivated for my third season.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
What were the biggest changes in your routine?
Speaker 3 (18:53):
Just kind of you know, the way I rehab the
way you know, I've always been pretty pretty routine based,
you know, throughout college, and you know, found a really
good routine that worked for me. And you know the
thing with routines is sometimes that they have to change.
(19:15):
You can't be too stubborn, you know when it comes
to that. If there's better ways of doing things that
you've done before, you know, you got to make that change.
So I think, you know, for me, you know, the
way I recovered, the way I you know, the things
that I focused on this off season as far as
being a receiver changed. You know, I went to Atlanta
(19:38):
for a little bit of the winter and in all
of the summer, which was a change for me, working
with new people, new strength staff, new receiver coaches, new
everything out there. So made a lot of changes this
offseason and you know, feel feel great about the decisions
I made and the and the changes that I made,
(19:59):
and I think that's that's helping me right now.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
One of the people you worked with was Drew Lieberman,
the wide receiver guru that andre Yosi Vash and Chase
Brown started working with last year. Did you see what
it did for them and then want the same thing
for yourself.
Speaker 3 (20:13):
Yeah, definitely. I mean, you know, they went out, you know,
the year before, and you know I saw them come back,
and you know, I loved the routine that they came
back with, and you know, they both made huge strides
in year two and another jump going into our third year.
(20:36):
So you know that that's a thing where you know,
you know, those are you know, it's a bonus that
those are you know, my two best friends on the team,
and you know, I saw the improvements that they had
made and I was I wanted to be a part
of that, so I got out there with Drew. Loved Drew.
I think he's a great coach, you know, a good dude,
(20:57):
and he genuinely cares about us out there. So I
was definitely very happy with the results from Atlanta.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
We're visiting with Charlie Jones. You had two surgical procedures
to fix a sports hernia? Was it a matter of
trying to figure out exactly what the problem was? Is
that why you had to have two.
Speaker 3 (21:14):
Yeah, Well, I mean we didn't really know that until
like right when it happened. We didn't really know it
was a hernia situation. So the second half of the season,
I was really you know, trying to go and just
couldn't go. And then I eventually, you know, flew out
to see a doctor and that's when I found out
(21:35):
it was a sports hernian. We had I think four
weeks left of the year, still trying to push through it.
But but yeah, you know, the first one, we we
did it like a true sports hernia surgery, and you know,
still was having complications still. Once I got out, once
I reheabbed here and went to Atlanta. I couldn't really
get out of my stance, and you know, I knew
(21:57):
something something must have been off. So, you know, we
saw a couple other people and you know, got a
different type of surgery done. And you know, it's always
a tough decision to make, especially having two in one year.
It's not for sure that I need to have that surgery.
You know, maybe just waited out see what happens. But
you know, I wanted to make every step or make
(22:19):
sure I was taking the right steps in the right direction,
to make sure, you know, by at least summer, I
was fully healthy. So you know, I'm definitely definitely glad
I ended up taking that second surgery.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
We often hear about wide receivers earning their quarterbacks trust,
and you have definitely earned Joe Burrow's trust. I have
a multiple choice question for how a wide receiver earns
a quarterbacks trust. Is it one knowing your assignment and
running the right route? Is it two getting open? Is
(22:51):
it three catching the ball slash making plays? Or is
it four something that a layman like me wouldn't even know.
Speaker 3 (22:59):
I think that's a tough question. It's really all the above.
There's a lot that goes into it. You know, he's
got to trust that you know what you're doing where
you're supposed to be. You got to make the play
when when he goes you so continue to build that trust. Uh.
And then there's other things, you know, like we're we're
people outside of this building. You got to build relationships
(23:22):
a little bit off the field, and you know, I
think that's something that you know, we've done, and you know,
I think there's a bunch of different things that go
into it. And you know, I think all around our
team is is pretty close this year in general. So
all those are factors into into earning the trust to
your quarterback as well as you know, all your teammates
(23:44):
and coaches.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
Zach Taylor told us that on your touchdown catch last
week in Washington, you were the third option on that
play when you're running the route, do you know like
a quarterback based on the coverage pretty quickly? Okay, even
though I'm the third option, this is probably probably coming
to me.
Speaker 3 (24:02):
Yeah, I think, you know, on some plays, you definitely
know kind of where you are in the progression. But
something for me that I've been focusing on, you know,
is you know, sometimes all right, I'm not the first
read on this. I can run my route a different
way or you know, set it up for someone else
(24:22):
in a certain way. But then having that mindset that
after I do a job, if this is a do
a job route, like I still could get this ball
at any point, especially with the quarterback like Joe who's
mobile in the pocket, who can scramble so well. So
really just going into every play thinking this is this
is going to come to me at some point at
(24:44):
this play, you know, whether it's you know, first read
or the last read. So that's that's kind of been
a little bit of a shift in my mentality for
this year is every time I'm out there, you know,
I'm expecting to get the ball even you know, no
matter who's in Like, that's just you have to think
as a receiver if you if you want to you know,
play Well.
Speaker 1 (25:04):
We're visiting with Charlie Jones. You also had a kick
return out to the forty two yard line last week.
This is year two of this kickoff rule format that
the NFL went to last year. You had a kick
return touchdown last year. Do you like it? Is it
good for you as a return man?
Speaker 3 (25:20):
I think it is and I think, you know, even
more this year than last year with the with the
rules of you know, got teams are going to want
to keep that ball in play. So being a returner,
I think this is definitely in favor of us. I
think we're going to see a lot more opportunities back there,
and you know, I really enjoy being back there. And
(25:41):
you know, I think it's a special play in this game.
It's you know, it's a it's a big spark. You
could really change the game back there, and that's what
I'm trying to do. So I'm definitely a fan of
the of the new rule.
Speaker 1 (25:54):
One of the reasons why the NFL did it was safety.
There are a fewer high speed collisions. But I think
of that in terms of the blocking guys and the
tackling guys as opposed to the returner. Does it feel
any safer to you?
Speaker 3 (26:08):
Maybe maybe a little bit. I mean, I guess with
the old rule, if someone you know, beat their beat
their blocker and you know, had that much more space,
you know, full speed, I guess he it could be
a little bit of a different hit. But you know,
it's still I feel like, you know, with the new rule,
(26:29):
I mean I'm almost getting up there quicker than I
was before, you know, especially if they're trying to kick
it right past the twenty yard line like like we
saw last week. You know, I'm getting up there. You
know it's kind of bang bang. So it's all I
feel like it might be the same as far as
(26:49):
you know, the hits that you might take or you know,
anything like that.
Speaker 1 (26:54):
Well, as I said off the top, you're having a
great camp in preseason. It's great to see a healthy
and playing well. Best of luck this year.
Speaker 3 (27:00):
Thank you, I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (27:03):
Charlie had a one hundred yard kick return touchdown last
year and an eighty one yard punt return touchdown as
a rookie. The only other player in team history with
a kick return touchdown and a punt return touchdown will
be inducted into the Ring of Honor in late October. Leapin'
Lamar Parrish. The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you
(27:24):
by pay Corps, Proud to be the Bengals official HR
software provider, by Alta Fiber future Proof Fiber Internet designed
to elevate your home, business and community to a new level,
and by kettering health the best care for the best fans.
Kettering Health is the official healthcare provider of the Bengals.
Now time to share my top five training camp standouts.
(27:48):
Number five is rookie offensive lineman Dylan Fairchild. Now, part
of this is circumstantial. If I was just picking a
most impressive O lineman, it would be a Marius Mims
who makes past protection look comically easy. But Fairchild was
plugged into the starting lineup from day one and looks
like he belongs. Pro Football Focus graded him as the
(28:12):
NFL's fifth best guard in the preseason. Here's O line
coach Scott Peters on fair Child's ability to handle the
task of starting as a rookie.
Speaker 6 (28:21):
Obviously, you know that's going in. It's it's rand new
for him. But I think he's done a good job.
But we're gonna keep pushing him, and he's pushing himself,
and so hopefully we just got to keep taking steps
each day.
Speaker 1 (28:32):
You know, Patty help up really well in the one
on one pass rush and stuff. Today did he show
the trades that had you so excited us was a.
Speaker 6 (28:40):
Big, strong kid with good length and you know, and
he's got good movement and the key is just kind
of being roll refined in a posture and getting this
timing of the strikes.
Speaker 1 (28:50):
But he it's getting better.
Speaker 6 (28:52):
So you know, for guys, most of the guys from college,
it's like he's like, we got to forget what we
did there. This is like two different games and check
your checkers and chess. Not going out there like a
meathead and try to head bang somebody because it wouldn't work.
So he's done a really nice job getting those things corrected.
Speaker 1 (29:07):
Still ways to go, but yeah, I think today it
was nice to see.
Speaker 6 (29:09):
Him get out there, get a chance to go in
one on ones where you get to test your your
stuff and see what you got to work at. And
you know, I tell the guys you either win or
you learn, so if you lose, you got to learn something.
There's always something to be learned. I think he's done
a good job as far so.
Speaker 1 (29:23):
One thing that's gonna be stood out.
Speaker 6 (29:24):
He has physical traits that that are pretty top end.
I mean, he's a really big guy's big, thick, square,
strong athletic.
Speaker 1 (29:32):
He's tough. Dylan only allowed one pressure on twenty six
pass blocking snaps in the preseason. Standout Number four is
defensive tackle Chris Jenkins, last year's second round draft pick,
started nine games as a rookie, but was hampered by
the broken thumb that he suffered just before the start
of the season. Now that he's healthy, he frequently made
(29:56):
plays in training camp. Here's Al Golden.
Speaker 7 (29:58):
I've said to you guys multiple time, I think Jenkins
arguably has had the best camp of anybody. I watched
what you guys watched last year. Unbeknownst to me, you know,
he missed a lot of camp with an arm issue,
and he was behind from the get go, So he
got behind the eight ball. And I don't think he
was uh either one hundred percent uh, nor was he
(30:21):
happy with uh, you know, the way it went for him.
And he's worked really hard to remedy that and and
really and and and take his games at the next level.
And he's done that for us. So I'm I'm uh,
I'm really excited about him. His versatility. Uh, he's become
a better pass rusher on early downs. We're giving him
the freedom to do that. And Uh, he's strong, he
(30:42):
brings energy. He's a horrible basketball player in here when
when when we when we shoot, he's awful.
Speaker 1 (30:47):
But he's really done a nice job in terms of that.
Going into his senior year at Michigan, Jenkins was ranked
as the sixth biggest athletic freak in college football for
his combination of strength and quickquickness. Training camp standout Number
three is another athletic freak, andre yosivaj. No Bengals receiver
(31:08):
including Jamar Chase and T Higgins caught more passes of
twenty plus yards during camp than Yosi vash. I put
it this way, everything that people are hoping that Jermaine
Burton can become andre Yosi vash already is big, strong, fast,
and tough. Here's Dan Pitcher.
Speaker 8 (31:30):
He's the perfect example of a guy that you take
late in the draft because of his physical gifts. He's
got tremendous intelligence. Right, So you got a smart guy
with physical gifts coming from a small school entering the
big pond, right and having to figure out what that
means and the physicality that comes with that and the
(31:50):
consistency that we need out of him to be the
passing attack that we want to be. So he makes
a jump from year one to two. Now from two
to three, you see the confidence, you see the chest out,
you see you see just how he carries himself like
he believes that he's like those other two guys, and
he's making steps to get there. And in a lot
of other buildings he would have the opportunity that a T.
(32:12):
Higgins has, and so when you don't have that same volume,
he knows that when the ball does come his way,
he's got to take advantage of it. And I just
think you've seen the confidence grow, super proud of his progression,
and I think you're only going to see him continue
to get better.
Speaker 1 (32:27):
The Bengals had the Cincinnati three way when Tyler Boyd
was here. I think they have it again with andre
Yosi Vash. My number two training camp standout is Cam
Taylor Britt. After a rocky twenty twenty four, CTB looks
like the player who is being touted as a possible
pro bowler prior to last season. Cornerbacks coach Chuck Burks
(32:50):
says it's all about consistency, and Taylor Britt has taken
that message to heart. That's what I plan to do. Man,
be consistent in everything that I do.
Speaker 9 (32:58):
A routine mayher the same time every morning, the same routine,
and literally I'm go go lift right now, go home,
walk the dolls, eat. I'll do the same thing every day.
Speaker 1 (33:08):
So when he says consistency, he's not talking down to down,
he's talking every aspect of your life. Life is a problem.
Speaker 9 (33:15):
If you don't keep your room clean, you can't be right.
As simple as that. You don't make your bed in
the morning. You know, you don't start your day off right.
And that's kind of the same thing. But how I
go to the footballs doesn't man in the day you
come in this building, it will work, and you gotta
do the same thing every day.
Speaker 1 (33:27):
Zach Taylor says he's got great expectations for Cam this year.
Finally training camps stand out number one, and there's no
drum roll needed. It's obviously Joe Burrow. He is throwing
the ball with surgical precision and led the team to
four touchdown drives on five preseason possessions. That's eighty percent.
(33:50):
To put that in perspective, the league average on touchdowns
per drive last year was twenty four percent. Burrow just
keeps getting better, largely because that's his focus.
Speaker 10 (34:04):
Constantly improving every day in every facet of your game.
There's never an area of your game that you stop
working on. You know, obviously you go into an offseason
and you reflect on on the year before and think about,
you know, things you could have done better, things you
(34:26):
could have done more, things you could have done less.
But you know, when you get into into the training,
you're trying to get better and every every faster of
your game.
Speaker 4 (34:35):
This time of year, Joe, everybody's got this idea of
who the best quarterbacks are in the NFL. And certainly
we look back to last year's stats or who wanted
the playoffs? What would you consider the criteria as the
separator of the best quarterbacks in the ENA? But when
you start talking about the elite names, what's the separator
for those guys?
Speaker 10 (34:55):
I think consistency is what it is at the end.
Speaker 5 (34:58):
Of the day.
Speaker 10 (34:59):
You know, there's anybody can go out and do it
for a game, a couple games, four games, five games,
But can you do it for seventeen games? Can you
do it for years and years and years in a row?
That's a I think that's what ultimately separates the great
ones from the good ones. And you know, I think
(35:20):
you can tell the guys that do it year in
and year out.
Speaker 1 (35:22):
Great question there by Fox nineteen's Joe Daniman. That wraps
up this edition of The Bengals Booth Podcast, brought to
you by pay Core, Proud to be the Bengals official
HR software provider, by Alta Fiber future proof fiber Internet
designed to elevate your home, business and community to a
new level, and by Kettering Health the best care for
(35:42):
the best fans. Kettering Health is the official healthcare provider
of the Bengals. If you haven't done so already, please
subscribe to this podcast and if you have a minute,
give it a rating or share a comment that helps
more Bengals fans find us. I'm Dan Horde and thanks
for listen big to the Bengals Booth Podcast.
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